I Would Like to Talk About 5 Challenges We Face

Facing Goliath

I would like to talk about 5 Challenges we face

I Samuel 17 – Story of David and Goliath

We all know the story very well, but do we see the great lessons within this story

Challenge #1

Being Comfortable with an Annoying Problem?

Goliath proposed a single combat, instead of fighting between armies

1 Samuel 17:8-11 (NIV)
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me.
9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us."
10 Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other."
11 On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

This daily winner-take-all challenge intimidated Saul and all Israel.

For forty days the daily challenge continued with neither army moving

1 Samuel 17:12 (NIV)
12 Now David was the son of Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was old and well advanced in years.

The fact that the Philistines later reneged on the agreement

Suggests that this type combat was not taken seriously

Even by those who advocated it

Yet the reader has already been told that appearances can be deceiving.

1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV) SPEAKING ABOUT SAUL
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

When David is sent to bring food to his brothers, his father Jesse said,

1 Samuel 17:19 (NIV)
19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines."

Yet no “fighting” has really been going on.

Saul and the men with him, are not happy with this “challenge”

They seem to have settled into a level of comfort with the “status quo”

Neither army moving.

Yes, this daily “challenge” is unnerving to Israel

Yet it beats actually meeting Goliath in battle.

Does this story somewhat mirror something in our lives?

We are annoyed or bothered by a sin

But we have accepted the lie that the cure would be worse than the problem

What do we do with sin around us. Just ignore it and hope it goes away

Challenge #1

Being Comfortable with an Annoying Problem?

Challenge #2

Dealing with Unspiritual Eliab

David has come to the place were Goliath challenges Saul

David is immediately rebuked by his brother Eliab

1 Samuel 17:28 (NIV)
28 When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

David gives a normal youngest-brother response:

1 Samuel 17:29 (NIV)
29 "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?"

Sounds like exasperation over a few years of nagging and complaining

There are many people like Eliab.

Since Eliab will not move, he ridicules anyone who tries to be faithful.

He does not want to grow spiritually;Sound somewhat familiar

Rather he tends to want everyone to remain at his level, accepting his excuses.

This is one reason why we always need to be converting people

Because the zeal and optimism of new converts help us from becoming spiritual Eliabs.

We must encourage one another to take the necessary risks involved in serving God

Hebrews 10:24 (ASV)
24 and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works;

Applications:

Do we tend to be negative like Eliab?

Do we tend to shoot down ideas with statements like, “That will never work”?

Are we threatened with other people, either in the congregation or in the family, who start gettingtheir lives together?

Are we negative because we are trying to cover our tracks

That is, excuse our lack of action when it comes to saving others

Are we preoccupied with things that just do not matter at the moment

This is really a problem with us in America - Too many things to do

One might say David has to fight three Goliaths in this chapter

1 Goliath himself

3. With Saul when he meets the might of Goliath

2. With Eliab he faces the contempt of Goliath

David deals with Eliab in the most effective manner

Just ignore him and do not let him get in the way of getting God’s work done.

1 Samuel 17:33 (NIV)
33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."

1 Samuel 17:38-39 (NIV)
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head.
39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off.

Challenge #2

Dealing with Unspiritual Eliab

Challenge #3

Seeing it from the Right Perspective

In the eyes of Israel, Goliath was “this man”

1 Samuel 17:25 (NIV)
25 Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father's family from taxes in Israel."

In the eyes of David, Goliath was an “uncircumcised Philistine”.

David brings a whole new view to this situation

David introduces the godly question into this episode.

Doesn’t having a living God make a difference in all this?

Goliath has mocked ‘the ranks of the living God’.

If God is so identified with Israel

Do you think He is indifferent toward such slurs on His reputation?

Do you expect a living God to allow an uncircumcised Philistine

To trample His name in military and theological mud?

Israel, with Saul as it’s leader, thought the Philistine was invincible

For David he was only uncircumcised.

A living God gives a whole new view of things.

David’s question is not a magic charm for solving every problem

But surely it instructs us.

It shows us how crucial it is that we hold the right starting point

That we raise the right question at the very beginning

All the believer’s life and all the church’s life

Requires centering on God as our prime concern

Application:

How do we view our sins—as surmountable problems?

How do we view challenges at work or with our children

Within our abilities, through Christ who strengthens us?

How do we view problems in our relationships

Solvable, through biblical principles?

We need David’s fresh perspective.

This problem needs to be dealt with and we have God on our side

Challenge #3

Seeing it from the Right Perspective

Challenge #4

Letting our kids kill the lion and the bear

Initially Saul in unimpressed by David’s confident assertions

1 Samuel 17:33-37 (NIV)
33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."
34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,
35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.
36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

Yet David isn’t just bragging

Rather he has the proof to back up his assertions.

He has defeated enemies far more powerful and swift than Goliath

If God had delivered David out of the paw of the bear and the lion

Then how much more will God deliver David from a man who has mocked God!

This Philistine may have been a warrior since his youth

But David’s youth wasn’t wasted on frivolous matters.

David does not describe his prior victories over a lion and bear to mere chance or skill.

God had delivered him. This is important for the people of God.

Our Faith is sustained in the present, the here and now

As we remember God’s provision in the past.

The rich history of God’s past goodness, nurtures faith in ours current dilemmas.

For David, It is here that the memory of God delivered him then and there

And the logic, If He handled that, he is equipped for this

It is so crucial to remember God’s past deliverances.

If you have trouble doing so, perhaps you should invest in a diary.

David will be delivered not because he has true grit

But because he knows the true God.

Circumstances vary but,

God is the same whether among the sheep or in front of the Philistines

Applications:

Confidence does not just happen; rather it is rooted in prior victories.

Are we allowing our children to experience victories of the moral and spiritual kind?

Do we rush them away from neighbors or relatives when they are becoming too vocal about God?

Do we unnecessarily protect them (and maybe more often ourselves) from ridicule?

The lion and bear in modern times might be confronting an unfaithful relative.

Not backing down from an aggressive and unbelieving educator.

Writing a letter to the editor, or voicing your opinion about the moral choices of the local television station.

David would have probably never faced Goliath if Jesse his father, had never let David fight some of his own battles.

Allow your children to become spiritual warriors.

Have we lost sight of some prior victories?

We have indeed conquered various sins and temptations of the past.

Be armed with this information when you do battle with the temptations of the present.

Challenge #4

Letting our kids kill the lion and the bear

Challenge #5

Meeting the Problem with Speed and Fury

David can match Goliath for spicy speech

1 Samuel 17:45-47 (NIV)
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

David could carry on about corpses and decaying flesh.

More important, David affirms positively that all the world will know

From the box score in tomorrow’s papers that there is a God, a real God, in Israel

David especially stresses that God saves not by the instruments of human power

But through the weakness of his servants.

The theme of ‘weakness’ has been building throughout the chapter.

All the important people regard David as weak.

Eliab tells him, ‘You’re a pain’

Saul warns, ‘You’re a green horn’

Goliath sneers, ‘You’re puny’.

What matters is not whether you have the best weapons

But whether you have the real God

Applications:

Do we tend to excuse ourselves from doing something because our resources seem small?

Do we really believe the statement, that what matters is not material resources, but the fact that we have the living God?

What are our present challenges and problems that we think are beyond repair, beyond us, beyond all human wisdom, that are not beyond God?

How should we attack a temptation, problem, or challenge whenwe really believe that God is with us?

When is the last time that you really believed that God was with you

What were the results?

Challenge #5

Meeting the Problem with Speed and Fury

If we walk about from this chapter thinking that David won

Because he was clever or had more courage than Goliath

We have missed the point.

Goliath has mocked God

1 Samuel 17:45 (NIV)
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

The driving concern of this chapter is the honor of God’s name

His reputation - His glory.

David is driven by a passion for the honor of God.

So,in this chapter David essentially says to Israel and to us:

God’s reputation is at stake; that matters to me

That matters enough to risk my life for it

Can we say that?

Is that our vision, our point of view?

Can we say that,

That matters to us more than our advantage or reputation or security?

Our battles with Goliath may not appear to be as breathtaking as the battle in this chapter, but they are just as important

Romans 8:37 (ASV)
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Have you been just a pew warmer?

Just one standing on the side lines?

Afraid to get involved – because Goliath is out there?

Who is really on your side?

God is, and we need to step out and not be afraid of the Goliaths

Challenge #1 Being Comfortable with an Annoying Problem?

Challenge #2 Dealing with Unspiritual Eliab

Challenge #3 Seeing it from the Right Perspective

Challenge #4 Letting our kids kill the lion and the bear

Challenge #5 Meeting the Problem with Speed and Fury

Are you Facing Your Goliath ?