KING DAVID (pt. 2)

Assurance begins when we ask the right questions… Assurance begins when we stop measuring the giant and start measuring the giant against the Lord.

Assurance begins when we identify the lions and bears God helped defeat in the past and know we are prepared for what is to come.

Assurance encourages us to reject and take off the heavy, awkward armor of reliance of anyone or anything other than the Lord.

Assurance is the beginning of a perspective shift from “me vs. it” to God vs. it”

Our assurance to be victorious over our giants is built on faith and on remembering God’s faithfulness and His promise of forever.

Transcript

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You're listening to the New Beginnings Church podcast from Delaware, Ohio. To learn more about New Beginnings Church, visit us online at Delaware NewBeginnings.com. Today's message is from Pastor David Forth.

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Over the next few weeks, we are looking at key moments within the life of King David and discover how God works not only in our righteousness or in our goodness, but also our mess. And if you're anything like me, there's a whole lot more mess to sift through. Amen. Last week we talked about David's anointing and how David was anointed and how he was chosen. And the main thing, takeaway we had was this that God didn't check David's resume. It wasn't about what he had done or even what he was doing, because what did God know? He knew his heart. And we talked about how God knows our heart, our innermost being. This week, our key word is assurance. Can you say assurance? Assurance, right? Our assurance to be victorious over our giants is built upon our faith and remembering God's faithfulness in our past and his promise forever. That's where our assurance comes from. And so we're going to look at this through the story of David and Goliath, and uh it's it's longer than what I think some of us know, so we're not gonna go through the entire chapter. I'm gonna speak to some parts on it. Um, but there's there's one key uh piece that we're gonna key in on, some some verses here. Uh and so we have this picture of Goliath, just kind of give us this idea. I mean, it's not a perfect rendition and rendering of what it looked like, but the Philistines and the Israelites were going to war. And they were basically there was this valley, and there were these two high spots that they were both on the top of each end of the valley of Allah. And that's key because it's a classic military stalemate. Because when you want to have a battle, you want the high ground, always. If any of you know anything about history and even the Civil War, and specifically Gettysburg, you had Little Round Top, a very small defense that held off an entire army and was key in winning that piece of the Civil War. And so neither of them were gonna move because they each had the high ground. And here comes Goliath, all nine foot nine of him, probably 450, 500 pounds, and he's dressed in this bronze armor that probably weighed over a hundred pounds. And he for 40 days he would emerge every morning and every evening and just taunt the Israelites because they knew that they couldn't defeat him. And he even made this this uh this offer of let's do a winner-take-all duel. Your best versus me. Let's save the lives of all of our armies, because with me, you guys can't win anyways. And so let's do this winner takes all. Jesse's youngest son, the one we talked about last week that was anointed to be king. And Jesse sends David to the front lines to his brothers in order to send nourishment for them. Probably knew that nothing was happening. So, I mean, you're not gonna send the anointed king to the front lines, are you? Unless you know it's gonna be safe. Um, but so here goes David. David comes to the front lines, giving this nourishment to his brothers, this food and probably water, whatever they need for the captains, too. And he's just in time to hear Goliath's taunt. And this is where we're gonna go today with verses following that. So if you want to follow along, it'll be on the screen as well. We'll be in 1 Samuel chapter 17, uh, beginning with verse 24. And the first thing I want you to listen for is listen to the questions that are asked. Right? Asking the right questions. This is about asking the right questions and hearing the questions that are asked between some of our characters, and then we're gonna kind of reflect on asking questions in asking the right questions in our life. So beginning with verse 24. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, Goliath, they began to run away in fright. Have you seen the giant? The men asked. He comes each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man's entire family will be exempted from paying taxes. Now let's pause there a second. What's the question the soldiers ask? Have you seen the size of this guy? Have you seen him? We're out of here. And here's what they pass on. If you're bold enough and want to take a chance, you can even marry one of the king's daughter, daughters. And uh I tell you what, I don't need another wife. Uh, but after last week, I tried to do it just not to ever have to pay taxes again. That that would be worth it for me. But you know, this is their question. Have you seen this guy? Do you know anybody who really wants to do this? So there's the question they're asking. Uh let's continue on. Um, such an extravagant gift from the the king to to go and probably die for for their country. David asked the soldiers standing nearby, what will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? What did I hear? Now I think this piques David's interest because, first of all, if you marry the daughter of the king, what do you become? Part of the king's family. Well, he's the anointed one, anyways. I don't know, maybe he's putting some things together, but then something kind of just flips. He says, Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God? Now, there's the right question. Right? He went from what do I get? To who's this guy, anyways? Who does he think he is, this pagan Philistine? He's not even one of us. He doesn't even what? Worship the same God. And what's he doing? He's defying our God, the God that rescued us out of Egypt from the Egyptian army. Who is this guy? He's flabbergasted that no one is defending God's honor or even defending their faith in God who's their deliverer. And so he's calling out. I see he's calling out two people here. He's calling out, basically, right now, he's Goliath, who's this pagan Philistine, but he's also calling out Israel. You are the army of the living God. Why are you not standing up to defend the honor of God? Let's continue. He says, and these men gave David the same reply. They said, Yes, that is the reward for killing him. Yeah, you could go ahead, give it a shot. But when David's older brother Eliob, do you remember Eliab from last week? Oldest son? The one that Samuel thought, oh, this is the guy. He looks the part. But God rejected his for him to be king. But when David's oldest brother Eliab heard David talking to the men, he was angry. Now I see a little sibling conflict here. What are you doing around here anyway? I don't know why he would ask that. Maybe he's thinking, you're the anointed one, what are you doing here? Or it's I'm big brother. What are you doing around here? You're too small to do this. He demanded, what about those few sheep you're supposed to be taking care of? It's almost like, hey, you may be anointed, but you ain't the king yet. Get back in the field where you belong. He says, I know about your pride and deceit, which is just an interesting piece on how big brother sees little brother. You just want to see the battle. And so we see some sibling rivalry here. So what's the question the the brother asks? What are you doing here? What are you doing here? And he totally dismisses David. And he kind of plays him off and he says, get back into the field. Get back where you're supposed to be. And then David continues. What have I done now to you? David replied. I was only asking the question. He walked over to some others and asked the same thing and received the same answer. Then David's question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him. So despite this dismissal that he has from his family, despite the cowardly actions of what's supposed to be the Lord's army, David's question, the right one, who is this pagan Philistine who defies the army of God, reaches Saul's ears. And this sets up the duel that we're gonna know. You see how there can be different outcomes to different questions? Every question was about the same subject, but different types of questions that would bring out very different outcomes. And so it's important for us to learn to ask the right questions in our spiritual faith, especially when we're going up against giants and things that seem impossible in our life. This last week I went and visited my mental health doctor, therapist, and it's amazing how God puts things in your life when you're doing things. Do I own this? And if I own this, you you make a pie graph and put how much do I own of this? You know, basically saying, how much of a hot fault am I of this? And it's not to deflect responsibility, but to understand that just because something happens or I feel or think this way doesn't mean that I have to own it. And by asking myself that question, it's supposed to give me this assurance of victory over whatever is causing my anxiety or whatever it might be for that time. Friends, assurance begins when we begin to ask the right questions. In our faith, in our faith walk, when the giants are before us. And then that assurance begins when we stop measuring, this is important, when we stop measuring the giant that's in front of us, and start measuring that giant against the Lord. Because this is what David's doing. David's not just measuring, I'm sure he measured up that giant, but he's measuring it up against the Lord. He's defying the army of God. How dare he? Why aren't we speaking to this? Why aren't we believing that? Why aren't we faithful to this? And so once we begin asking the right questions about our giants, then we are able to look backward. This is gonna, we're gonna go back to last week for a minute here. That we're gonna be able to look backward to see where God has already shown up and already has been preparing us for the time. This is remembering the pasture. Last week we talked about David being in the pasture before being anointed. And I said, hold on to that piece because we're gonna talk about it. And this is David remembering the pasture. So he goes and sees Saul, and this is verses 32 to 37. Don't worry about this Philistine, David told Saul. I'll go fight him. Don't be ridiculous, Saul replied. There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win. You're only a boy, and he's been a man of war since his youth. But David persisted. I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats, he said. When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the animal from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and I club it to death. Who says the Bible's boring? I 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. The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine. He's measuring his giant against God, not what he has, but what God has prepared him to, and because he is part of the Lord's army. And finally Saul consented. All right, go ahead, he said, and may the Lord be with you. The pasture is where the Lord prepares us for the next. Whether it's a next challenge or even something good for the next blessing. God is always preparing us for something that's coming up. David's faith and confidence wasn't just positive thinking. He wasn't just giving a TED talk here. He wasn't just like, hey, listen to me, I'm gonna fire you up and we're gonna see what happens. It wasn't about his personal ego, though ego does have a part in this. I always say, is your ego righteous or is it selfish? And he has a righteous ego because of his faith in the Lord. He has a heart after the Lord. And so David remembered the pastures. He remembered the victories over the lions and the bears. He remembers the preparation in the pasture that the Lord was preparing him for at this very moment in a valley between two giant armies and this big, huge mammoth of a man. This defiant giant that stands before them. Another thing that my doctor and I talked about this week was she reminded me of a cartoon way back when, and it's been used a lot, and it's always of an angel and the devil on the shoulders. Anybody know that what I'm talking about? The angel's telling you, do the good thing. It's my cookie monster voice. Sorry. I was like, that was really bad. Uh but she reminded me of that, and that the devil's voice is always loud, or or the voice of whatever's going on in our minds, whether it's mentally, emotionally, however it is with our anxieties, our depressions, our stressors, whatever it is, that this this devil part is always louder. It's always louder. Uh, that it it's always mocking us and pulling us in. We hear that so much more than the good voice saying it's gonna be okay. Remember to ask the right questions, remember to have faith in the Lord. See, we see this in here because what does Saul say? You can't win. You can't win. You're a boy. This guy was as big as you when he was born. You can't win. This guy was born with a spear in his hand, ready to fight. You can't win. And it's almost as as if David says, You're right, I can't win. But the Lord will, but the Lord will win. The Lord's got this. This is his army, this is his nation, this is his victory. And so assurance begins when we identify the lions and the bears that God helped us defeat in the past, and know that we are prepared for what is to come. This is the ripple effect of God's work in our lives. This is the ripple effect of the victories that God has given us in the past, whether they were four days ago or 40 years ago. And I even want to say this is the ripple effect of the defeats that the Lord sustains us through and uses uh uses as a preparation for what is to come. That even in our defeats here in this world, eternally we have victory. Because it's Jesus, not me. And so we gotta be a little careful. Because some of us, you know, we go, I remember the pasture, but it it's it just doesn't, it doesn't feel like enough. And there's a reason for that, because we're still trying to fight today's battle using the armor we think is best. We we want to you win the army with what others think is best instead of what God has said is best. So this next part is learning to say no, rejecting the wrong armor because this is David, little shepherd boy David, who stands in front of the king of Israel and says no, verses 38 to 40. Then Saul gave David David his own armor, a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. Best armor he could probably get his hands on. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, 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 to Saul. Imagine that? Telling the king no? I can't go in these, he protested. I'm not used to them. So David took off them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and he put them into a shepherd's bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd's staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. I tried to picture Saul's face when David's like, I can't wear these going. What did I just get myself into? Has someone ever wanted you to do something their way? I said, This is the only way? Or maybe you've done that to someone saying, This is the only way, this is the way I know that it works, so I want you to do it this way. We do that in our life. I do that with myself, going, I think I need to do it this way because this is how it always worked. Or I read in a book that this is how it worked, or whatever it may be, but there may really be a better, greater, more spiritual, more Jesus-like way for us to do things. Saul tried to make David be him. Here's some armor. I have fought battles. This is the armor you wear, this is what you take in the battle, this is their only chance to win. But the thing is, is God prepared David not to be Saul, but to be David. David the shepherd. He's gonna lead like a shepherd. He's gonna fight like a shepherd, he's gonna live like a shepherd. This is what God has prepared him for at this moment. And so when we ignore our assurances, right? We ignore our assurances when we take the fight into our own hands and we go, this is the armor we've always used, this is the way we've always done it. We we ignore our assurances that there could be something better with our faith in God. This doesn't mean we don't have a role in it. David still had to use the sling, David still had to go out to the battle. It just means that we give up total control to the Lord and say, Your will be done. Assurance encourages us to reject and take off the heavy, awkward armor. And it's the armor of reliance of anyone or anything else other than the Lord. And so we reject it and we take it off and we say, We don't need it because we have the Lord. The Lord will fight our battles for us. Exodus 14, 14. The Lord will fight for you. All you need to do is what? Be still. Romans 8, verse 31. If God is for us, who can be against us? We have all these verses within our scripture that says, depend and trust on God. But sometimes we just don't. When we finally strip away the wrong armor, we begin to have clarity to see that the fight was not actually ours to do alone. And maybe just maybe that fight wasn't even ours to begin with. And so we ask, how much do we own? How much do I need to do, and how much do I need to rely on God? And this comes with a perspective shift. And that's what we read, at least what I read in this battle of David and Goliath is a perspective shift that David is not only trying to teach Israel, but is trying to teach us as well. Verse 41 to 51. Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 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. Come over here and I'll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals. Goliath yelled. David replied to the Philistine, You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of heaven's armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head, and then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel, and everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord's battle, and he will give you to us. As Goliath moved closer to attack, David ran quick, quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd's bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell down, fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. This is the Lord's battle. Alright? I want you to hold on to this verse. This is the Lord's battle, and he will give you to us. You hear what he's saying? This isn't my battle, this is God's battle. You're defying God. And we're not going to do anything to you. We can't take you, but God is going to give you to us. And everybody will know who the God of Israel is, and that he doesn't need a sword to win his victory. David was never an underdog. David was never. I learned that all through grade school. David was the ultimate underdog. David was never an underdog. Why? Because he was part of the Lord's army. And he knew that God would give them victory. That's why David had no fear. And so in this, David shifts the focus for Israel and he shifts the focus for us from me versus him or it or whatever that giant might be to God versus that giant. David didn't run to a giant, he ran with the Lord into battle. And he followed the Lord. Imagine if we use this for our spiritual health, our emotional health, our mental health, our physical health, that no matter what happens in life, win or lose, God wins. We realize that the battle is not about our strength. It's not about how well we do things, but the battle is all about showing the glory of God. For the first time in a long time, from one meeting with a doctor, I've had a perspective shift in how I view myself and how I respond to myself and the things that have happened in my life. I've gained the knowledge of asking new and better questions, to put on different armor, to have different perspectives. Isn't it time that we look at the giant that's standing in front of us, looking directly in his eyes and saying, This is the Lord's battle and he will give it to me? Whatever happens for us as personal people, or whatever happens with us as new beginnings church, this is the Lord's battle and he will give it to us. Isn't it time that we really give it all to God? That we no longer speak it, but we do it, we live it. Assurance is the beginning of a perspective shift from me versus it to God versus it. We all have our giants, we all have our giants in our lives, but we also have the evidence of God's faithfulness in our lives. So, what valley are you standing in today? What giant is standing before you? Have you taken a moment to consider how God has already prepared you for it? What armor are you trying to wear? What questions are you trying to ask? What is your perspective in things? Whose battle is it? Without Jesus, sin and death wouldn't have been defeated. But Jesus stood up to the biggest giant, the giant that we would have to face ourselves at the end of our life to account for our own sins. And Jesus defeated that that through Jesus we are saved. Jesus justifies us and redeems us to the Father. Because we cannot win that battle either. And what greater giant? If he can defeat that great giant, can't he defeat our giants too? Our assurance to be victorious over our giants is built on faith. And on remembering God's faithfulness and his promise of forever. When you leave this morning out by the welcome desk, there's a little like wooden toolbox and there's stones. Maybe you guys have done this before. I'm sure it's not the first time I've done this, but these are little river rocks. Grab one of these, all right? Put it, put it by your coffee pot, put it in front of your mirror, put it on your uh, you know, get some of that sticky stuff, put it on your dashboard, in your in your car. Wherever you can see it, that when something happens and the giant is appearing on the distance, or he pops up around the corner, you look at that rock and say, What? This is the Lord's battle, and he will give you to me. The Lord who helped me then will help me now.

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