Have You Proved Your Armour And Sword?

Introduction: Many of us are very familiar with this particular passage of Scripture.

I would believe tonight that if I asked you to recount the details of this passage, you probably could with great accuracy.

I want us not to look at this whole narrative, but rather at a small portion.

So please open your Bibles to I Samuel chapter 17. We will begin by reading verse 31.

Read I Samuel 17.

Let’s pray.

For just a few moments this evening, I want us to think upon this thought, “Have you proved your armour and sword?”

We have been taking some time in Adult Sunday School to discuss this matter of spiritual warfare.

And though this is a real-life battle, a physical battle that we see here and a victory in the life of David, I would like to draw some lines from a particular phrase that we find in this passage.

This, of course, is the well-known battle that took place between David and Goliath.

We understand that there was a time when the nation of Israel was engaged in warfare with the Philistines under the leadership or you might say lack of leadership of Saul the Benjamite.

This passage introduces us to a giant named Goliath of Gath. And indeed, this man was a giant individual.

To give you an idea of how tall this man was, the Bible tells us that Goliath’s “height was six cubits and a span” (I Samuel 17:4). As we would measure folks, that would be 9’ 6” tall.

Last week the evangelist very keenly asked the kids if there was a young person approximately 3’ 6” tall.

And he had that young man come out front and told the other young people that if that kid were to get on his shoulders, this would give them the idea of exactly how tall this giant of a man Goliath was.

It is an amazing record of what took place.

This classic battle between a small young man and a giant man of war has been the subject of many sermons.

I believe it exemplifies no doubt that battle that you and I face and also points us in the right direction having an understanding concerning the Christian life that with men, this is impossible, but with God, the victory is in hand!

Let us examine just a few points this evening that would help us.

I. This Battle is Real

I cannot stress enough that every Christian here tonight is in the midst of a real battle.

There is no option to say, “I’m not playing...”

There is no option to say, “I don’t want to participate.”

Every Christian is facing spiritual warfare.

Sometimes we get clouded in our thinking and caught up in the peripheral elements of this time and this world.

We may get to a place where we forget our purpose; we forget what is really going on here and what we are truly engaged in.

I have been trying to communicate the Word of God effectively over the past several weeks and help Christians here at Sharon Baptist Church to understand that this is no game we are engaged in.

We are in the midst of a war, and time is marching on.

I read just the other day in my Bible reading concerning the raising of Lazarus. And the Lord Jesus Christ in the book of John delivers such an excellent key to the Christian life.

In John chapter 9, the Lord states this, “9 ... Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. 10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.”

This speaks about the urgency of walking in the light, walking in the path that God has for us while it is day.

In that particular passage, the Lord was about to do something that appeared to be counterintuitive.

That means something that, to some, would not make sense rationally speaking.

He was about to travel to the area right outside of Jerusalem in a place called Bethany to accomplish the Father’s will concerning raising Lazarus from the dead.

This, at the time, did not make sense to the disciples, for they said in verse 8, “Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?”

In other words, it seemed as if the Lord was headed headlong into a confrontation with the enemies of Christ.

They were concerned for the physical welfare of Jesus Christ.

But the truth that the Lord delivers to them is simply this, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”(John 9:4)

You and I, my friend, are in a battle with Goliath.

And there are works that you and I must stand our ground to accomplish.

That wonderful Bible verse in Ephesians 2:10 so often propels me forward; it gets me excited for the Bible says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

We do not have the time to second guess our purpose.

We do not have time to get caught up in the frivolities of this world; we have battles to fight.

There are giants afoot, and as David aptly declared (v26) “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

(v29) “Is there not a cause?” before us?"

There is a battle taking place, and this battle is real.

Just as we see this real-life battle recorded for us in the Word of God, we understand the battle is still taking place today.

Not only are we to know and understand that this battle is real.

Secondly, in our text, we reckon that:

II. This Giant is Real

Here is the simple truth for you and me, this giant named Goliath is real.

How do you and I determine what is real and not real?

Is it based upon all that sits in front of us and is recognized by our eyes, ears, noses, and sense of touch?

We see here a real account of a giant. He declared by the Word of God to be 9’ 6”.

Is this real? Is this true?

The Bible declares this as fact and not fiction.

If we hold the Bible to be true, then we understand that this is no made-up story.

This event took place.

The Bible, over and over again, validates itself and declares to you and I truth.

It reveals to us those things which we cannot see.

We understand that God for instance, is a Spirit and cannot be seen except that He manifests Himself.

The Bible says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:18)

Does this make God any less real?

We would say by faith and according to the Word of God certainly not.

And so, just as we are to understand that the battle we face is real, you and I are to understand that the giants we face are also real.

We battle against the World, the Flesh, and the Devil.

We can count on the world following in the direction of the enemy.

The Devil is marching according to His plan.

The World is under his influence will continue to go in the direction of the Wicked One.

Our flesh is at war inside of us with our spirit.

And so, the giants that we face are many.

I want you to understand really what is taking place behind the curtain — so to speak.

We quote this verse often, but it needs to be reckoned (Ephesians 6:12) “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Aren’t you glad that God has given you His Holy Word and that by it, we can look out at this world and understand what is taking place?

Not only is the Battle real, the Giants are real, but I want you to understand number 3,

III. This Armor is Real

Again we have been taking time to discuss the armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6 and also II Corinthians chapter 11.

But I want you to notice what we find next in our text.

A. A Former Proving

(v32) “And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

(v33) “And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

And as we look at the enemy of our souls, the Devil Himself, we know and understand from the Bible that He has proved Himself a powerful foe.

He has been warring against Almighty God and His Host from the beginning.

He has been warring against the Saints and is seeking whom He may devour.

But notice what David says in reply:

(v34) “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.”

We could state it this way. David had proved his weapons before.

There were previous battles that David had faced.

In this case, we are told of a bear and a lion.

Different foes on different occasions.

The fighting described here in our text indicates that David used those tools prescribed to a Shepherd.

And further, more importantly, He recognized that it was God that had delivered Him out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear.

You will see David’s recognition of this in verse 37, “The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.”

I am just telling you tonight that every battle we face and are victorious through the Lord Jesus Christ is a battle we can look back upon and give glory to God and be strengthened by that proving work.

The Bible declares to you and me that we shall live by faith as Christians. There is saving faith, and that was a beginning faith. A faith by which entered into the grace of God.

But daily, we dawn the shield of faith “wherewith we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

So many issues are cleared up in the Christian life if we would have faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Do you want to live in doubt or be victorious?

Do you want to walk in a way that pleases the Lord and Savior?

Then have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His provision for you and me in this life.

Here David had proved His weapons before…,He had proved His “armor” before… and what He found was that God has always been faithful to Him.

We see here not only A former proving… but notice concerning the Armor being real:

B. A Fake Proposed

Notice with me what the Bible has to say beginning at the end of verse 37:

“v37 ...And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. v38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. v39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it.”

This, my friend, is a typical tactic we find in this world and tells me so much about the battle we face.

It tells us that you and I should not be found taking counsel from those who are not walking with the Lord Jesus.

The best thing you can do is to surround yourself with folks walking with the Lord.

If you seek godly counsel, you do so from a godly person.

I find that this armor was not David’s armor. This was not proper armor for David.

We understand that the Word of God tells us that David was a young man.

When you look back in the Bible, you discover that Saul was a large man.

The Bible tells us that in I Samuel 9:2, “And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.”

Whereas David is described to us as being small in stature.

The Bible tells us in this chapter v42, “And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.”

Eliab, David’s brother, seems to be of a similar frame as Saul, according to the text in I Samuel 16:6 and 7.

When Samuel sees Eliab, Samuel exclaims, based on his appearance, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

This armor was not David’s Armor.

I want you to understand this night that God prescribes the armor and weapons for us as His children. They are the only options for the child of God.

This armor was a counterfeit.

And I am here to tell you, that there are plenty of counterfeits in the world today.

Many proposals will be presented to you to go about this warfare using different armor....“another way.”

And I promise you this, that you will discover just as David did, that the armor does not fit.

It’s not the correct size.

The only armor that belongs to the child of God, is what God has given us.

Thirdly, concerning this armor being real...

3. David discovered that he had not proved these.

The Bible tells us that David “assayed” to go.

He attempted to go forward and quickly discovered that he had not proved these.

In other words, we could say this… even though perhaps he felt this is awkward. Even though he thought this to be big and bulky and heavy, he attempted to go.

We can thank the Lord that he did not get out to the battlefield and discover it then.

We can thank the Lord that quickly he concluded; I have not proved these.

Listen, what sense does it make to sit under the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and then go and try to use worldly philosophies to fight the good fight of faith?

What sense does it make for us to be equipped with the Word of God, to spend our time and efforts and learn about the Sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, the helmet of Salvation, the shodding of our feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, the breastplate of righteousness or understand that we are to be encircled with the only truth the Word of God and the God the Word and then go outside and pick some secondary non-victory fake… armor and swords?

I tell you, it makes no sense at all.

At the end of the day, what David discovered and what you and I need to reckon on is that amid the battle, it is just you and the Lord Jesus Christ against the enemy.

When it came down to it… all David had was the spiritual armor of God to fight the giant he was facing.

And so the question we have tonight is: Are you proving your armor and sword?

This leads us to the final point, which is simply this:

IV. This Victory is Real

We all know how this narrative ends. The Bible shows us that David secured a real victory against this giant named Goliath.

You and I are on the battlefield every day God gives us here on this earth.

There are choices to be made. There are works that God has set aside for us to do. And the Giants, the enemies, are ever before us.

Our Lord and Savior understands this, and so by His good pleasure and grace and mercy, He has alerted us to the enemy and the armor of our warfare.

He has revealed to us in detail the fight before us and the tools that we have at our disposal. The choice then becomes ours.

My friend, if you take God at His Word and go the way He would have you to go, I can assure you that just as David saw the giant fall from a God-directed stone, you and I are standing on the Rock of our Salvation can move from victory to victory.

The Victory is real.

The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 15:57, “57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Bible tells us in II Corinthians 2:15, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.”

As we leave this place tonight, please consider this question, “Have you proved your armour and your sword?”