After God’s Own Heart - Week 2
"David the Victorious Warrior"
Preaching Text:1 Samuel 17:1-11 - The Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them. 4 Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall 5 and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds. 6 There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds. In addition, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him. 8 He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations, “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. 9 If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.
“Goliath”
· Champion - The man of the betweens; the man between two parties; representative
J. Robert Vannoy –“The significance should be obvious: Israel here does not just face a formidable foe in battle, but instead the fight with the Philistines is reflective of a deeper spiritual war that has existed since the fall into sin and which is the Lord’s primary focus in all of his redemptive acts on behalf of his people.”
The Problem – “Fear”
“Fear Paralyzes”
- 1 Samuel 17:11 - “When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.”
“Fear Patronizes”
- 1 Samuel 17:28 – David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and he became angry with him. “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart—you came down to see the battle!”
Eugene Peterson –“The moment we permit evil to control our imaginations, dictate the way we think, and shape our responses, we at the same time become incapable of seeing the good and the true and the beautiful.”
“Fear Plagiarizes”
- 1 Samuel 17:38-39 - Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. 39 David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off.
The Counteraction – “Faith”
1. Where fear paralyzes people, Faith Mobilizes the People of God.
- 1 Samuel 17:40 - Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
2. Where fear patronizes people, Faith Minimizes the spirit of the Naysayer.
- 1 Samuel 17:41-45 - The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy and handsome. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” 45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him.
3. Where fear plagiarizes, Faith Manifests our True Identity.
- 1 Samuel 17:48-54 - When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground. 50 David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword. 51 David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled. 52 The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. 54 David took Goliath’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
The Solution – “A Victorious Champion”
“David was a good champion on behalf of his people… But Jesus is the Greatest Champion on behalf of all people.”
- Colossians 2:13-14 - You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Big Takeaways:
- Don’t see yourself like David defeating your giants, see yourself like Israel, rescued by your great champion.
- Trust (have faith) in the victory of Christ, who has already overcome the ultimate enemy.
- Live in the freedom and confidence of the King who fights for you.
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