1 Samuel 17

Good evening, church.

We're going to continue our series from 1 Samuel, and tonight we're going to study chapter 17.

It's a famous story.

It's about David versus Goliath.

And we all have Goliath standing and looking at us in our Christian walk.

So as we study this chapter tonight, we're going to meet our true champion, and we're going to turn to our true champion.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for gathering us here tonight.

And Lord, please prepare our hearts to receive your message.

And Lord, I pray that only your deeds, your perfect track records, and your glory will shine tonight.

And Lord, use your servant only as an instrument to deliver your message.

In Jesus' name, amen.

1 Samuel chapter 17 can be found in your pew Bible, page 239.

1 Samuel 17 · chapter mention

That's page 239.

It's a long chapter, so we're not going to read the whole chapter tonight.

We will look at certain parts of the chapter, and you're welcome to read this entire chapter on your own.

So Philistines gather their armies for battle once again.

And one side, there's a Philistine army with this 10-foot giant named Goliath.

And the other side, there is King Saul and Israel army, and they're facing each other.

And Goliath is just taunting the Israel army, throwing insults and threats, and just physically intimidating them,

because he is the champion, and he is almost 10-foot tall.

Let's look at verses 8-11, and also verse 16.

Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel,

Why have you come out to draw up for battle?

Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul?

Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.

If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants.

But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.

And the Philistines said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day.

Give me a man that we may fight together.

When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

Verse 16.

For 40 days, the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

So for 40 days and nights, this giant is taunting the Israel army.

And he's putting a lot of pressure on them, saying, choose one man.

And if you guys, he wins, we'll be your servants.

If I win, then you're going to be our servants.

And King Saul, we learned in previous weeks, the Bible says King Saul was a head taller than everybody else.

So let's just say King Saul was maybe close to seven foot tall.

But he's not stepping forward.

Basically, everybody is just frozen, gripped by this paralyzing fear.

And this is, and the way he taunts them, when he says, you guys are but nothing, you guys are nothing but servants of Saul.

Which is not true because they are actually armies of living God.

And they have track record that goes back to Moses, Joshua, Gideon.

But Goliath is, for 40 days and 40 nights, he's keep telling them, you guys are nothing but servants of Saul.

He conceals Israel's true identity.

And just keep gripping them and pushing them to look within themselves.

Look at yourself.

Who's going to fight me?

And he defied all ranks of Israel.

And paralyzing fear, it leads to unbelief.

And eventually you end up in despair.

In the times of Moses, when they were just about to enter the promised land,

they sent out 12 spies into the promised land to scope the land first.

Only two spies came back and reported to the people saying that, yes, the Lord gave us this land.

We can conquer this land because the Lord is with us.

He's going to fight for us.

But rest of the tent spies came back and they said, we're doomed.

We're good as dead.

They said, they have fortified walls.

They have fortified cities.

And they are giants in this land.

And they came back.

They cried all night in their tent saying they were doomed.

They were just gripped by this paralyzing fear when they saw the sights of the walls and the cities and the giants living in this land.

This generation saw what God did.

They witnessed the 10 plagues God put on the Egyptians.

This generation actually walked through the parted Red Sea.

They saw the pillar of cloud by the day and pillar of fire by the night.

And yet, when they heard this report from these 10 spies, all of a sudden they just forgot God's perfect track record.

They went into despair and unbelief.

And the Bible says God became angry with that generation.

And nobody entered the promised land except Joshua and Caleb.

Now, David comes to the battlefield.

And he was delivering some food, some goodies for his brothers and brothers' captains.

And as he comes to the battle, he also hears the same threats.

Goliath is making these insults and threats.

And as soon as King David hears, now he has different response.

He's not gripped by this paralyzing fear.

Let's turn to verse 26.

David says,

For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?

Not just any ordinary army.

King David says,

Who is defying the armies of the living God?

One of my favorite battle stories from the Old Testament is from Joshua chapter 10.

Joshua 10 · chapter mention

There was an Amorite king who forms a coalition.

He gets five other kings in the region.

And then they form a coalition to attack Israel together.

So the battle begins.

And Joshua and the armies of the living God, they are winning.

They are against all odds.

They were winning against this coalition of armies led by five kings.

But as the battle is going on, they needed more daylight to finish the battle.

So Joshua cries out to God.

And then God, the Bible says,

The sun stopped in the midst of heaven.

And eventually, the sun set so slowly,

it gave Israelites another whole day worth of daylight.

And they come out victoriously.

One night, I was praying to God.

And I was praising Him.

Imagining this particular battle scene.

I don't know how God...

I mean, sun stood still basically means the earth kind of stopped rotating.

And it slowed down to the point it almost stopped.

I don't know whether God just had to verbally command the earth to slow down and stop.

Or whether He put His invisible hand on top of the earth and making it to slow down.

I trembled in joy as I was praying.

Because this is awesome God.

Our God is mighty and awesome God.

Now, David...

I'm sure he heard all these stories of his ancestors.

But to him, this was not just a folktale that he heard from his grandfather.

All the battles that God fought for Israel during the times of Moses, Joshua, Gideon.

David's faith was deeply rooted in God's perfect track record.

So as soon as he heard these insults and threats from Goliath,

He's saying, who is this guy?

Who is this defying the armies of living God?

Let's look at David's testimony from verses 34 to 37.

So David goes up to King Saul and says,

King Saul, let me fight this guy.

And this is what he tells King Saul.

Your servant used to keep sheep for his father.

And when there came a lion or a bear and took a lamb from the flock,

I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth.

And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.

Your servant has struck down both lions and bears,

and this circumcised Philistine shall be like one of them.

For he has defied the armies of the living God.

And David said,

The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear

will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.

The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear

will deliver me from the hand of Goliath.

When the enemy is pushing for them to look within themselves,

David does not look within himself.

He looks to the Lord.

David says,

The Lord who rescued me from the paw of bear and lion.

The Lord will also rescue me from this ten-foot giant.

So,

when the enemy

attacks us,

trying to conceal our true identity

and also create this paralyzing fear

so that we're going to despair and unbelief,

David just does not look at himself.

I mean,

if you really look at David,

he's not even a soldier.

He's a shepherd.

He's a local shepherd.

The Bible said he's a young boy.

So,

I don't know,

maybe he's 15,

16,

19 at the most.

And he is facing

this ten-foot professional warrior.

So,

if David was looking at himself,

I can,

I can fight this guy.

But he

knows God's track record.

And his faith

was deeply

rooted

in God's track record.

Not his own.

Not his own strength.

He didn't go up to

King Saul and say,

Oh,

King,

I have this great secret weapon

that I can just get,

you know,

put him down.

He didn't say,

you know,

I perfected this sling skill

with the right wind,

with the right velocity,

with the right size of stone.

I couldn't,

he,

he didn't do that.

It wasn't,

it wasn't about him.

He said,

the Lord

who rescued me

from the bear

and the lion's paw

will deliver me

from the hand

of Philistine.

The other thing we

learn about

David

is

that he

did not

abandon his sheep.

He went

after the bear.

He went

after the lion.

He risked his life

to rescue

his sheep.

I have a teenage son.

His name is also David.

He's 14.

If my son

was a shepherd,

I'll remind them

every morning,

son,

I love you so much.

If a bear

or lion,

never mind bear

or lion,

a wolf

takes our sheep,

just walk away.

Do not risk your life.

I love you too much.

I don't even want you

to get a scratch

on your body.

It's okay.

Just at the end

of the day,

tell me

how many

sheep we lost.

I can write that down

on our business

loss column

in our tax return.

That's okay.

Don't risk your life.

But David

did not do that.

He

didn't abandon

his sheep.

He went

after the bear,

after the lion,

risking his life.

And he

rescued the sheep.

Now,

who does this

remind us of?

Who else

does not

abandon us?

Just like we sang

a couple of minutes ago,

who always

comes to our rescue?

Who never

leave us?

Who never

abandon us?

And that

is our shepherd,

the true

humble

king

and our champion,

Jesus.

Jesus.

in Luke 15,

Jesus tells us

a parable.

If a man,

if a man has

a hundred

sheep,

and if one

gets lost,

this man

will search

and search

until he

finds

the lost

sheep.

And when

he finds

this lost

sheep,

Jesus said,

he rejoices.

He calls

all his

friends

and he

celebrates

because he

found

the lost

sheep.

And that

picture

of the

man

who is

searching,

not giving

up,

until he

finds

that lost

sheep.

That is

our shepherd,

Jesus.

In John

John 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10,

Jesus tells

us,

I

am the

good

shepherd.

The good

shepherd

lays down

his life

for the

sheep.

And this

is exactly

what he

did for

us.

He

laid

down

his life

humbly

for us

so we

can have

life

in him.

I would

like to

read from

Philippians

Philippians 2:5–11

chapter 2

verses

5

through

11.

and this

passage

shows us

how

humble

Jesus

is.

Verse

5

Have

this

mind

among

yourselves

which

is yours

in

Christ

Jesus

who

though

he was

in the

form of

God

did not

count

equality

with God

a thing

to be

grasped

but

empty

himself

by taking

the form

of a

servant.

Being

born in

the likeness

of men

and being

found

in human

form

he humbled

himself

by becoming

obedient

to the

point of

death.

death

even

death

on a

cross

therefore

God

has

highly

exalted

him

and

bestowed

on him

the name

that is

above

every

name.

So

at the

name of

Jesus

every

knee

should

bow

in

heaven

and on

earth

and under

the earth

and every

tongue

confess

that Jesus

Christ

is Lord

to the

glory of

God the

Father.

So

David

is

like a

sign

or

a preview

of what

to come.

David

is a

shepherd

who

became a

king

and

Jesus

is our

shepherd

and Jesus

is our

perfect

king.

So

when we

see David

we can

see

what

is

to

come

after

David.

and this

morning

Pastor

Nick

preached

about

you know

God's

covenant

with

Abraham.

God

blessed

Abraham

and he

made this

covenant

with him

saying

all

nations

will be

blessed

through

you.

God's

covenant

with Abraham

is a

threefold

blessing.

God

formed

a

nation

of

Israel

through

Abraham

and

God

blessed

Abraham

so his

descendants

will be

as many

as

stars

in the

sky.

And

the

third

blessing

is the

spiritual

blessing

that

all

nations

will be

blessed

through

you.

Since

Abraham

14

generations

later

King

David

comes

just

like

God

promised

Abraham

28

generations

later

from

King

David

then our

true

king

Jesus

comes

and

this

is all

according

to

God's

promise.

We read

today

in the

morning

Isaiah

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

chapter

55

and

there

it says

God's

words

do not

return to

him

empty.

it

accomplishes

what

he

purposes

and

that's

exactly

what's

happening

in

1 Samuel

17.

You're

seeing

God's

promise

to

Abraham

being

fulfilled.

King

David

comes

and

then

28

generations

later

our

true

champion

Jesus

comes.

Now

Jesus'

battle

was not

facing

a

ten-foot

giant.

Jesus'

battle

was not

about

flesh and

blood.

Jesus'

battle

was not

a nation

against

a nation.

Jesus

conquered

death.

Jesus

defeated

the

power of

sin.

And

so

conquering

death

he

became

the

true

champion.

Just

like

just like

fear

is

real

the

enemy

the

devil

is

also

real.

Apostle

Peter

warned

us

how

the

devil

prowls

around

like a

roaring

lion

seeking

someone

to

devour.

Is

the

enemy

taunting

you

like

the

Goliath

taunted

the

Israel

army?

is the

enemy

using

the

same

tactic

trying

to make

you

forget

that you

are

a child

you're

children

of God

instead

the

enemy

pushes

you

to

look

within

yourself

and

when we

look

within

ourselves

there

is

greed

pride

depression

habitual

sins

secret

sins

people

that

we

just

cannot

forgive

wounds

from

the

past

but

this

is

what

enemy

does

enemy

does

not

want

us

to

fix

our

eyes

on

the

true

champion

enemy

says

no

keep

look

within

yourself

we

we

need

to

fix

our

eyes

on

Jesus

because

he

conquered

the

death

once

and for

all

and

that's

not

something

we

can

do

that's

something

only

Jesus

can

do

and he

did

but

in our

Christian

walk

we

will

constantly

see

these

giants

because

the

enemy

will

constantly

taunt

us

so

how

do

we

how

do

we

fix

our

eyes

on

Jesus

there

was

a

battle

between

Amalekites

and

the

Israelites

this

is

in

Exodus

Exodus 17 · chapter mention

chapter

17

so

when

Amalekites

attacked

Israel

Joshua

led

the

armies

of

living

God

and

Moses

stood

at the

top of

the hill

with his

hands

up

and

when

Moses

kept

his

hands

up

the

Israel

army

they were

winning

but

eventually

fatigue

sets

in

so

Moses

put

his

arms

down

and

then

the

direction

of

the

battle

changes

and

now

the

Israel

is

losing

so

Aaron

and

her

brings

a

stone

for

Moses

to

sit

on

Aaron

on

one

side

holding

up

one

arm

and

her

on

the

other

side

holding

up

the

other

arm

and

they

supported

Moses

arm

throughout

the

whole

battle

my

brothers

and

sisters

in

Christ

do

you

have

Aaron's

and

her

in

your

life

do

you

have

Aaron's

and

her

praying

with

you

praying

for

you

encouraging

you

reminding

you

to fix

your

eyes

on

Jesus

instead

of

looking

within

yourself

or

are

you

trying

to

do

this

alone

by

yourself

if

you

already

have

people

surrounding

you

praying

for

you

praying

with

you

encouraging

you

that

is

that

is

wonderful

keep

praying

keep

encouraging

one

another

reminding

one

another

to

fix

your

eyes

upon

Jesus

if

you

don't

have

that

or

if

you

are

new

to

our

church

this

is

a

perfect

opportunity

in

front

of

you

there

is

a

welcome

card

but

back

of

the

welcome

card

you

can

write

your

prayer

request

if

you

want

us

to

if

you

want

only

staff

and

elders

to

pray

for

you

you

can

check

that

box

if

you

want

the

whole

church

as a

body

of

Christ

to

pray

for

you

you

can

check

the

other

box

check

both

point

is

we

would

like

to

pray

for

you

let

us

know

how

we

can

pray

for

you

this

Thursday

we're

having

church

prayer

meeting

at

seven

o'clock

so

I would

like

to

invite

you

to

come

to

our

prayer

meeting

this

Thursday

at

seven

so

we

can

pray

for

one

another

encourage

one

another

and

even

if

the

enemy

threatens

us

prowls

around

like

a

lion

that

we

can

encourage

one

another

remind

each

other

saying

don't

get

scared

look

at

Jesus

perfect

track

record

look

at

Jesus

so

I

invite

all of

you

to

use

the

prayer

card

and

also

come

this

Thursday

evening

I

would

like

to

end

this

evening

with

passage

from

1

1 Corinthians 15:54–58

Corinthians

chapter

15

verses

54

to

58

death

is

swallowed

up

in

victory

oh

death

where

is

your

victory

oh

death

where

is

your

sting

the

sting

of

death

is

sin

and

the

power

of

sin

is

the

law

but

thanks

be to

God

who

gives

us

the

victory

through

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

therefore

my

beloved

brothers

and

sisters

be

steadfast

immovable

always

abounding

in the

work

of the

Lord

knowing

that

in the

Lord

your

labor

is

not

in

vain

stand

firm

my

brothers

and

sisters

in

Christ

let

us

pray

Lord

Jesus

we

thank

you

that

you

are

our

shepherd

who

does

not

abandon

us

and

who

always

come

to

our

rescue

and

Lord

Jesus

we

thank

you

that

you

humbly

lay

down

your

life

for

your

sheep

and

defeating

the

power

of sin

the

death

and

now

we

have

true

champion

Lord

help us

to

fix

our

eyes

upon

you

in

the

midst

of

storm

mist

of

enemy

taunting

us

trying

to

scare

us

trying

to

lose

our

true

identity

Lord

help us

to pray

and Lord

help us

to pray

for one

another

help us

to pray

together

Lord

help us

to encourage

one another

and Lord

help us

to constantly

reminding

each other

that

don't be

afraid

fix

your

eyes

upon

Jesus

and Lord

we thank

you

and in

Jesus name

we pray

amen

God

Lord

God

help us