Sunday July 8th – 1st talk in series
Intro: John Eldredge, author of Wild At Heart, has a new book out. It’s a little book called, “Epic: The Story God Is Telling”. I want to start by reading to you some of it today. And I want you to listen to what he says in it about our lives. He says…
“We find ourselves in the middle of a story that is sometimes wonderful, sometimes awful, often a confusing mixture of both, and we haven’t a clue how to make sense of it all.”
Then he asks, wouldn’t it be great to be able to know where you are in this story and where you should go? And he tells a clue about where to start. He says…
“Start with the movies you love.
I’m serious. Think about your favorite movies. Notice that every good story has the same ingredients: Love. Adventure. Danger. Heroism. Romance. Sacrifice. The
Most of us haven’t stopped to ask ourselves, now why that heart? Why those longings and desires? Then he says…
Next, I want you to notice that all the great stories pretty much follow the same story line. Things were once good, and then something awful happened, and now a great battle must be fought or a journey taken. At just the right moment (which feels like the last possible moment) a hero comes and sets things right, and life is found again.
Its true of every fairy tale, every myth, every Western, every epic – just about every story you can think of, one way or another. Braveheart, Titanic, the Star Wars series, Gladiator, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. They all pretty much follow the same story line.
Have you ever wondered why? And this is the part I want us to hear from him today…
Every story great and small shares the same essential structure, because every story we tell borrows its power from a Larger Story, a story woven into the fabric of our being – what Jung tried to explain as archetype or what Joseph Campbell calls myth.
All these stories are borrowing from the Story. From Reality. We hear echoes of it through our lives. Some secret written on our hearts. A great battle to fight, and someone to fight for us. An adventure, something that requires everything we have, something to be shared with those we love and need.
There is a Story that we just can’t seem to escape. There is a Story written on the human heart.
As Ecclesiastes has it,
“He has planted eternity in the human heart”
Later Eldredge says this...
What if?
What if all the great stories that have ever moved you, brought you joy or tears – what if they are telling you something about the true Story into which you were born, the Epic into which you have been cast?
We won’t begin to understand our lives, or what this so-called Gospel is that Christianity speaks of, until we understand the Story in which we have found ourselves. For when you were born, you were born into an epic that has already been underway now for quite some time. It is a story of beauty and intimacy and adventure, a story of danger and loss and heroism and betrayal.”
Most of us here today don’t realize it, but the problems and junk that you’re facing in your life – that you think are holding you back and messing you up – could actually be the battle that gives you the greatest opportunity you’ve ever had to see God work in you and through you.
Today you’re about to hear one of the most famous, amazing stories in the Bible about a mild manner guy who because of his faith in God, faces a problem – the battle of a lifetime – and comes out of it as a hero. And after it all over, his life is never the same!
You’re about to see from the life of David the first lesson you need to learn to become a hero. Turn with me to 1 Samuel 16. I’m just going to just tell you the story today, but you can read and follow along – if you want to.
Backdrop:
1 Samuel CHAPTER 16 - Samuel Anoints David as King
1Finally, the LORD said to Samuel, "You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of
2But Samuel asked, "How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me." "Take a heifer with you," the LORD replied, "and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD. 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me."
4So Samuel did as the LORD instructed him. When he arrived at
5"Yes," Samuel replied. "I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them, too.
6When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, "Surely this is the LORD's anointed!" By any human standards Eliab, Jesse’s oldest, was the man! He was the first born and he just had the look of a leader. But was he the one? Listen and see…
7But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at a person's thoughts and intentions."
Let’s stop for a second here, so we don’t miss this… God has a certain standard he uses when he chooses someone to use and it’s not the same ours and the rest of the world’s standards.
We judge by people’s look, their personality, their charisma. We look on the outside. We look at their family background. We look at their resume.
But God decides who to use based on the qualities you can’t see. It’s based on their heart - their thoughts, desires, and intentions – and their faith. God’s looking for a person with a good heart. Someone who has good thoughts, desires and intentions - someone who has faith in Him.
He’s not looking for someone who is perfect. He’s looking for someone who wants to do their best to do what’s right. He’s looking for someone who will trust and rely on him. He’s looking for someone who will take a step of faith and take a risk for him. That’s someone he can use!
This is good news! That means that anyone – any of us – can qualify to be used by God. If we just guard our hearts and trust in God.
Alright, back to the story…
8Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "This is not the one the LORD has chosen." 9Next Jesse summoned Shammah, but Samuel said, "Neither is this the one the LORD has chosen." 10In the same way all seven of Jesse's sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any of these." 11Then Samuel asked, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse replied. "But he's out in the fields watching the sheep." (Jesse didn’t think God could want to use David, because he was the youngest and in their culture that meant you were the lowest on the totem pole.) "Send for him at once," Samuel said. "We will not sit down to eat until he arrives."
12So Jesse sent for him. He was ruddy (reddish faced) and handsome, with pleasant eyes. And the LORD said, "This is the one; anoint him."
13So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it on David's head. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah. You can’t imagine how amazing this moment was for David. His other brother had to be shocked and jealous!
Before we go on, I want you to remember today, that it doesn’t matter today if you meet the requirements of what the world says is a successful person. God has a different set of requirements and he might just have chosen you or be choosing you to do something great through.
But first he has to prepare you for the big day when he can use you. You won’t be able to be used by God unless he can teach you how to trust him, rely on him, take a risk, and let him use you. And that lesson isn’t learned quickly. It takes repetition and practice.
You’re about to see how God prepared David and you might just find out that you’re in the middle of your training right now and not even know it…
CHAPTER 17
Goliath Challenges the Israelites
1The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in
4Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from
I want to stop for a second and clarify something here. Goliath was not a giant like in the story Jack and the beanstalk. As kids that’s the way we were told the story and that’s what made it seem to unbelievable to us later as grown-ups.
He was not a giant. He was just a huge man. Goliath was 9.75 feet – 3 meters. 3 ft 4 in. taller than Ioannis. (A lot taller than me!) That’s huge, but it’s not an unbelievable height.
The tallest recorded man to ever live according to the Guinness Book of World Records was Robert Pershing Wadlow. (See pic) He was 8 ft 11 in. He lived in
So see? This story’s not so unbelievable! Let’s get back to the story…
5He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds. F59 6He also wore bronze leggings, and he slung a bronze javelin over his back. 7The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver's beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. F60 An armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a huge shield.
8Goliath stood and shouted across to the Israelites, "Do you need a whole army to settle this? Choose someone to fight for you, and I will represent the Philistines. We will settle this dispute in single combat! 9If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! 10I defy the armies of
Jesse Sends David to Saul's Camp
12Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from
16For forty days, twice a day, morning and evening, the Philistine giant strutted in front of the Israelite army.
17One day Jesse said to David, "Take this half-bushel F61 of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers. 18And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring me back a letter from them." Jesse and David don’t realize this at the time, but Jesse is about to set his son up for a moment in time where he’s going to get the chance to be used by God to become a hero.
19David's brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the
24As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25"Have you seen the giant?" the men were asking. "He comes out each day to challenge
26David talked to some others standing there to verify the report. "What will a man get for killing this Philistine and putting an end to his abuse of
28But when David's oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. "What are you doing around here anyway?" he demanded. "What about those few sheep you're supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and dishonesty. You just want to see the battle!"
29"What have I done now?" David replied. "I was only asking a question!" Isn’t this a classic argument between an older brother and his kid brother!?!30He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31Then David's question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.
David Kills Goliath
32"Don't worry about a thing," David told Saul. "I'll go fight this Philistine!" Are you wondering why/how could David have so much confidence to volunteer to fight this huge dude? You’re about to see why. Listen…
33"Don't be ridiculous!" Saul replied. "There is no way you can go against this Philistine. You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!"
34But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
Can you believe someone could kill and bear & lion like that? Again I want you guys to see that this isn’t some make-believe, unbelievable story. I can prove someone killing a bear or lion like that because of what just happened less than a month ago!
Chris Everhart, an ex-Marine, saved the lives of his three young sons when a 300-pound bear attacked their
While cleaning up after dinner, the family came face to face with the large animal.
"From out of nowhere we heard this loud crash," Everhart said on "Good Morning America." "For a second, I didn't know what it was, but I realized it was a bear. I went to the back of the Jeep to get my pots and pans to scare the bear off."
At the same time, Everhart's 6-year-old son, Logan, tried to frighten the animal. Instead of running away, the bear turned on the boy.
"I threw about five rocks at the bear to keep him away," Kyle Everhart said.
Realizing his sons could be killed, Everhart grabbed a log and threw it at the bear's head, striking and killing him.
"I forgot all about pots and pans and picked up whatever I could to try to distract, fend off, do what I could to get this bear away," Everhart said.
(See pic and full story at http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3306263)That’s living proof of someone killing and bear with a log, so it’s obviously possible to kill it with a club like David did! But don’t be fooled. Don’t think David was able to do this cause he was some tough or powerful guy. He knew it wasn’t from his strength. He told Saul…37The LORD who saved me from the claws of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!"
Let’s stop again for a second. Here’s the reason David had so much confidence!! He had already seen God help him defeat a lion and a bear. (Bear’s average size can be up to 6 ft./Lion is 9.84 ft in length about Goliath’s size.)
David believed if God could help him defeat these two animals he could help him defeat anything! When you think about it that way, David’s confidence and faith seems a lot more logical.
Think about your current problems. What could God be training you for? In what ways could he be trying to grow your faith? One day if you trust God through it all you’ll be able to use this experience to defeat a bigger problem… and see victory!
That should be your incentive to trust God in whatever you’re going through! That’s how David was prepare and trained for his battle with Goliath. Back to the story…
Saul finally consented. "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the LORD be with you!"
38Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. "I can't go in these," he protested. "I'm not used to them." So he took them off again. 40He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd's bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd's staff and sling, he started across to fight Goliath.
It was good that David didn’t wear Saul’s armor, not just cause it didn’t fit him, but because it could’ve made him rely on the armor instead of on the Lord – the one who had always given him the victory before! This also allowed God to get the glory and credit in this.
41Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43"Am I a dog," he roared at David, "that you come at me with a stick?" And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44"Come over here, and I'll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!" Goliath yelled.
I would’ve been getting nervous at this point, but not David. Listen to the faith and courage (in God) in his words…
45David shouted in reply, "You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD Almighty—the God of the armies of
The cool this is that David never forgot this whole time who his strength was in and what was going to give him victory. It wasn’t his strength, or skill with a sling. He knew it was God.
This next scene is so cool. You’ve gotta imagine it in your head with me. Listen to what it says…
48As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49Reaching into his shepherd's bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it from his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face downward to the ground. 50So David triumphed over the Philistine giant with only a stone and sling. And since he had no sword, 51he ran over and pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath. David used it to kill the giant and cut off his head.
This is one of those moments when one person’s heroic action inspires and affects people all around him. Watch what happens next…
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52Then the Israelites gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as
I think the Israelites and the Philistines both realized the same thing when David killed Goliath: only God could have caused that to happen! When the Philistines realized this they became scared and ran. And the Israelites realized this they were filled with faith and courage and they ran and attacked!
55As Saul watched David go out to fight Goliath, he asked Abner, the general of his army, "Abner, whose son is he?" "I really don't know," Abner said.
56"Well, find out!" the king told him.
57After David had killed Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine's head still in his hand. 58"Tell me about your father, my boy," Saul said. And David replied, "His name is Jesse, and we live in
I want you to remember this today, because this is the part that applies to us …
David had the faith to face Goliath, because he had already trusted God over and over when he faced the lions and the bears. Those moments prepared him for this one.
Two things I want you to get from this:
1. For those of you who have seen God move and help you through things in the past… Is there a giant of a problem in your life right now? You know what you can do?
Remember what God’s done to help you in the past. Dwell on it. Relive it in your mind. Let it get you excited and let it remind you of God’s power. Remember what you did last time to trust God and move forward in action. Pray and ask God if you should do the same thing this time or something different.
I also want you to notice something else. It says that in the past, David clubbed the lion and the bear, but he doesn’t go in there this time with the same weapon and technique as he used in the past. He goes in with the same God, with the same faith, but he decides – this time - to use a sling and stones.
He let God guide him in a new way! So don’t get stuck on what you did the last time God did amazing things. Pray and ask God whether to do what you did before or whether you should do something else, but no matter what, go forward in faith and trusting God to help you.
- For those of you who have never seen God move and help you through things in the past… If there’s a problem you’re facing right now, then this could be your lion or bear. This is your chance to learn to trust God!
Read stories like this one from the Bible or biographies of Christ-followers who God has done amazing things in their lives, so that they can inspire you to trust God and take a step of faith. Pray and ask God what to do and when. Then do it!
You can only learn how to do something by doing it. You can only learn how to do something well by doing it over and over. It takes practice and repetition!
What you’re going through now could be your practice to get you ready for a future victory – the one that will matter the most in your life.
How you respond to this training will determine if you ever are ready for your greatest battle and your chance to be a hero! So use what you’re going through now to learn to trust him, rely on him, take a risk, and let him use you.
What area do you need to work on? Is it trust, reliance, courage/risk, letting God use you? Pray and ask God and ask him for his grace to help you to learn and improve in this area! Let’s close in prayer.
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