From Shepherd to King
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Intro
I’m curious how many of you have spoken to people who have found it hard to relate to Biblical characters? Maybe some of us in chapel today have uncertainties about measuring up; Afterall, the Bible is about people who dedicated their lives to God, right? But there are 6 other days in the week! There are 24 hours in those days and for about 18 of those hours, I’m awake! That’s 108 hours a week, and 5,616 hours a year I’m not in church! This week in our series we get a look into the early life of King David. For some of us, this might be the breath of fresh air you need. We get a rather full picture of David; we see his flaws, his sins great and small and get an inside look at the favor God has for him. The good news is that the grace God shows to David is not reserved for him.
I like David because he is easy to identify with; he’s spiritual without being super righteous and human without being committed to evil. Just as capable of sinning as anyone else, nevertheless he stands out because of how he responds. Unlike Saul, he admits his guilt, he doesn’t hide or flee, but accepts consequences and never finds excuses. His faults don’t consume him, instead, they humble him and enabled him to be merciful and forgiving towards others. Last week we learned that Saul feared God’s plan. David, on the other hand, though deserving of God’s wrath on occasion, sought God’s plan above all. God can work with that. God uses David, and God can use you too. If all you bring to the table is faithfulness, God can use you. In fact, we will see that if you are faithful to God, any kind of might represented in the giant Goliath, means nothing.
Transition
Just like each of us, David was not without troubles and he was not without limitations.
Our story begins with “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look.” This is displayed to the people through Saul, the first King. Let me briefly review the events that have taken place. Samuel, the last of the Judges is an old man. The people want a king to rule over them, desiring to be like the nations around them. Samuel warns them that this is a rejection of God as their king as we learned last week, but the people were determined. They accepted Saul to lead them, and why not? He stands head and shoulders above all the other men of Israel, he’s strong and handsome. He looked like the perfect choice as king, and he would have been. “But, Saul...” The people were so consumed with fitting in with the rest of the nations, with doing things the way the rest of the world did it that they forgot that they were set apart. They forgot that if they were faithful to God, any kind of might represented in their king, meant nothing. God sees us differently. God sees us not as we are, but as he will make us.
Illustration
In 1809, thousands of children were being born. Among them were influential men of literature, science, and politics: Charles Darwin, Robert Charles Winthrop, Edgar Alan Poe, Alfred Tennyson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, William Gladstone, and Abraham Lincoln to name a few. But those names meant nothing then because in 1809 a little French man called Napoleon was marching through Austria and for a while it looked like all the world might fall under his control. 200 years later, more people’s lives have been touched by those no-name babies than by Napoleon.
Point 1
In the very same way, David appears on the scene of a war front between the Philistines and the Israelites. The first thing I want us to observe from this text is that God uses ordinary people. “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” The nation of Israel stands in fear of a giant. What were they waiting for? My guess is either a miracle or an Israelite giant.
I wonder how often we accuse God of being unfaithful when he’s already equipped us? When you think about it, it’s actually our lack of faithfulness expressed through our insisting on how God works. Remember, Samuel said, “The LORD does not look at the things people look.” And he doesn’t look at things the same way that we do either.
David was the least of his father’s household and his family from the smallest tribe in all of Israel; sound familiar? Next Sunday we start Advent, a word that means arrival and the season of preparation for the coming Lord.
Recall the introduction to The Story series, Chaplain Koyn brought out the ladder and illustrated the high and low story. The low story is what God is doing right here in this specific instance, though its implications may be great in nature, the high is what God is doing big picture; illustrating our heritage as believers, weaving together relevance from the low stories into the tapestry of our faith.
You see, low story, God is using David’s faithfulness to deliver Israel. Low story, God is convicting his people of their wicked ways, this story becoming a lesson about God’s faithfulness and that His ways are above our ways. High story, God is showing us that we can know that Jesus is the Messiah. High story, God is fulfilling his covenants with Abraham and Moses and weaving it into the covenant we have with him today.
At the end of David’s life, God makes a covenant with him that he will establish his throne forever. This is an important revelation about the Messiah prophesies of in Deuteronomy. 400 years before it was said that he would be a prophet like Moses, and now we learn that he will be too a king like David and from his house. This is only the second such prophesy and it would still be nearly 1,000 years until Jesus is born. God uses the willing. Low Story, David’s faithfulness is the point. High story, David is the means to the point; that God can use you too.
X-Man’s Colossus points out that it’s only “four or five moments - that's all it takes to become a hero. Everyone thinks it's a full-time job…” he says. But, “over a lifetime there are only four or five moments that really matter. Moments when you're offered a choice to make a sacrifice, conquer a flaw, save a friend - spare an enemy.” When you are willing, God will use you.
Transition
Secondly, God uses those who are teachable. Earlier we discussed that people sometimes find it hard to relate to our Biblical heroes. One of the most prominent obstacles to identifying with the stories within our Bible is that the clouds have never opened up, the sun has never shown as a spotlight, and I’ve never heard God’s voice.
Illustration
I’m reminded of a routine by comedian Bill Engvall. He said one year for a friend’s 38th birthday he got two cakes, one that said “happy” and had a candle in the shape of a “3” on it, and another that said, “birthday” and had a candle-shaped as an “8.” When he got to the checkout the employee at the asked if he had twins. “He said yes, my wife was in labor for 5 years!” This routine was his trademark known as “here’s your sign.”
Point 2
Now I’ll admit life would be a lot easier if God spoke up more. But when you think about it, would that really benefit us? Would that align with God’s intent for his kingdom? We wouldn’t be required to discern, to draw ever closer to God, discipline ourselves, disciple new generations, preach, teach, or require any sort of faithfulness of his people. The analogy Jesus uses to describe his relationship with the church is that of marriage. We are his bride; he is our bridegroom. What sort of relationship can you have with someone who refuses to pursue you, with someone who refuses to study you, commit themselves to you, or remain faithful to?
The story of David is relatable because it resembles more closely the relationship we have with God. It conveys his struggle to understand God’s will; David laments in the desert the triumph of evildoers. In fact, if you read through David’s entire story ( through ) God only speaks directly to David 5 times. Though we attribute David’s success, and rightly so, to God as an intercessor, you will not find one overt miracle. What I mean here is that the laws of physics are never broken. The death of Goliath is the natural reaction of receiving the blow delivered by David’s sling. God works in our lives every day this very same way, the difference here is that in our lives, we can only see what the Lord has done in hindsight. Imagine you were to write “the book of ‘your name’” how would you describe the Lord’s every day intercession? Sure, the Army sent me to basic training, but it was really God that sent me. When I got there at exactly the right time and made precisely the right battle buddy, he gave me his sister’s address so I could write her letters. Through God’s provision we became pen-pals and Erin is sitting in that pew over there. We’ve been married now 8 years and have two beautiful children. If nothing else, the timing was miraculous. The first step in relating to Biblical characters is not demystifying it, it’s perceiving your relationship with God differently.
Jesus issues a warning about blasphemies against the Holy Spirit. He calls these, eternal sins; but they’re not actions for which there is no forgiveness. It’s an outlook that refuses categorically to recognize God’s intercession. Blasphemy is irreverence, contempt, or claiming for one’s self the attributions of God. I can almost guarantee that none of you are guilty of that. In Oh Brother Where Art Thou, George Clooney’s character receives a prophecy. The blind seer tells him, “You shall see things, wonderful to tell. You shall see a cow on the roof of a cotton house and oh, so many startlements.” After everything had come to pass, Pete and Delmer tell him it’s a miracle, but he insists they’re ignorant. “There’s a perfectly logical and scientific explanation for all of this,” he says. As he sees the cow on roof of a cotton house, however, he’s quick to change the subject. Zero teachability. You see, this blasphemy isn’t something you do once and you’re out, it’s the outlook of the person who can’t see the work God does in their life that will never accept that he does.
I think it’s pretty clear that God expects us to be like David and draw from our own abilities and the abilities of others when faced with difficulties. Jesus tells his disciples in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich man, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ So How can I know God’s will? How do we know God’s voice? God’s will isn’t that difficult to ascertain. God expects us to do the right thing and the right thing isn’t mysterious.
How did David manage? Where did he get his information? It’s clear David had studied; he was knowledgeable about sacrifices and knew the intricacies of transporting the ark. He discovered it was wrong to have multiple wives from his personal struggle, and he learned first-hand to not do what Saul did. The point is we can learn a lot from experience; our own and others and from reading the Bible. That approach worked well for David and he had very little Bible to work with; today we have more, but that is our blessing.
Transition
So, God uses the willing, God uses those who are teachable, and the third thing we learn from young David is that God uses those who’s faith lead to action.
Point 3
David, about 15 years old at this point is sent by his father to bring food to his brothers. As he arrives at the lines, he hears Goliath’s taunt as he did, our Bibles tell us, twice a day for 40 days. 40 days Israel’s Army was hold up in fear of one man. says they all fled from him in great fear. Upon hearing his words, David responds a little differently. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” He says. He couldn’t hear Goliath’s threat and not respond. It wasn’t about his pride; it was about his zeal for God. He knew because he had read the word of God that they weren’t to tolerate his blaspheming. That the mighty God of Israel was with his chosen people, and that this land had been delivered unto them. For David, believing and acting were synonymous.
When Saul heard of this Israelite who was unafraid, he sent for him. When he met the king, David said, “let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” David was so persistent he convinced King Saul to let him fight the giant. Not only does this show that David is well versed in the word of God, but his appeal to the King’s objection over his age suggests he had experienced the Lord’s faithfulness. He said, “When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 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. 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. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Faith is never inactive. David’s faith possessed him, it compelled him, sustained him, convicted him, and compelled him to action. David is credited with 75 Psalms; he couldn’t think about God and truth without writing down his thoughts. He couldn’t consider what he had written without putting it into song and danced to the Lord without shame.
How has your faith led to action? The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; do you have these? They say “the longest journey in the world is the 18 inches from your head to your heart.” Faithfulness means that if you know something with your head and believe it in your heart, you will act accordingly. David had this down pat. It was the same for James who said, “show me your faith without works and I’ll show you mine by my works.” We have plenty of ways you can get plugged into a community dedicated to action right here. You can give, an expression of your faithfulness and kindness, it goes directly to ministering to both Soldiers on Fort Bragg through chaplain led programs and our partner ministries through designated offering. You can invest in others through discipleship; showing love, sharing goodness and modeling self-control. There are many ways you can worship God with joy but they require action not empty words.
Application
Bible stories instruct us, the heroes inspire us, together they tell the story of God’s faithfulness to us. David was not without his own troubles or limitations but God doesn’t see us as we see us. So, how do you see yourself? More importantly, how does God see you? How do you see others? God can use you, but only if you’re willing, teachable, and committed to action. If you embody these things limitations mean nothing.
So how can God use you? What are the giants in your life that need to be faced with courage? How can God equip you to do this? Have you already been equipped? Faith is the bridge that spans the 18 inches from your head to your heart. In Luke chapter 6, Jesus says that “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.”
Conclusion/response
I want to give us all a chance to pray together, and as the praise team comes up, I want to remind you that next week we enter Advent. This is a time of reflection, how dark and hopeless the world was, how desperate we are according to the law. A time of preparation as we await his coming. How much more equipped are we, on this side of his earthly ministry if we remain willing, teachable, and committed to action?
David was physically unremarkable. He was the least of his father’s household and his family from the smallest tribe in all of Israel. He was faithful but not self-righteous; human but not committed to evil. I think we can all relate to that. He wasn’t afraid of God’s plan and was just as capable of sinning as anyone else. He owned his sin, accepted its consequences and never found excuses. All because his faith inspired action. Despite his character flaws he is remembered as “a man after God’s own heart.” Because of his faithfulness God promised to establish his house forever. God is faithful and once we know that in our heads and believe it in our hearts believing and acting become the same.
Prayer
Please pray with me, Father in Heaven, thank you. Thank you for your continuous faithfulness, not because we earned anything, but because you are God who keeps his promises. You honored David with a promise, and you keep the promise you have made to us in that any who believe in the name of Jesus will claim eternal life. Lord make our belief action. Convict us, today of your truth, that you use those who are for your plan, that faith makes us unafraid and willing, that if we remain teachable and sincere at heart, embracing all that we are; all that you’ve given us we will take up action. Lord cast out anything that is impure in us. Anything that will cause us to stumble, that hinders our obedience or allows us to believe that we aren’t able to measure up; because we believe in your name and we believe that when it's you who are working our weaknesses mean nothing because you are faithful. We love you Lord, we submit to you, and pray this prayer that your will be done in us, that we remain for you and not against you. It is in the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Benediction
Let me bless our meal, Lord God, we thank you for this food you have prepared by the hands of people. We pray that you bless it, bless the hands that fixed it, and may your blessing remain upon us as we fellowship. May you fill us with joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope, Amen.