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The Call of David - Immersed Series
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In this sermon, Ridley Barron preached about the concept of being ordinary people called to serve an extraordinary God. He emphasized the importance of focusing on the condition of our hearts over outward appearances or achievements, using the biblical story of David as an illustration. Barron encouraged the congregation to recognize their everyday roles and gifts as opportunities for divine purpose, reminding them that true significance and exceptionalism come not from human accolades but from being empowered by the Holy Spirit for God's glory. With inviting humility, he urged listeners to embrace their ordinariness as a platform for God's extraordinary work and to remain open to wherever He calls them, whether in public or private spaces.
Timestamps:
00:00 "Gospel Conversations Define Lasting Impact"
03:05 "Samuel: Last Judge, First Prophet"
06:11 Saul's Disobedience and Samuel's Rebuke
11:13 Samuel's Arrival: Fear and Sacrifice
13:39 "Embrace and Serve Your Faith"
16:24 "Prepare Internally for God's Use"
20:54 "True Humility Over Social Prestige"
26:10 "Parental Delusion in Sports Abilities"
26:54 Ordinary to Extraordinary Through God
31:42 "Divine Purpose in Everyday Tasks"
34:00 "Embracing the Extraordinary"
38:14 "Stop Excuses, Embrace the Call"
41:03 "Purposeful Callings Explored"
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Transcript
Service Order Change and God's Early Morning Conversations
00:00:00
Speaker
If got your Bibles, turn to 1 Samuel chapter 16. um For those of you who are paying attention, you're a little nervous because you're thinking, wait a minute, he's got an hour to preach now?
00:00:11
Speaker
um don't Don't flip out on us a little bit. We changed things around today just to get you out of your comfort zone. I'm going to be preaching first, and we're goingnna follow with the time of worship today with music as Jaden's going to lead us. It was very sweet during our 8 o'clock service to listen to the sounds of our Grove Hill people as they worship together.
00:00:28
Speaker
um Been awake since 2 o'clock this morning on this one.
David's Anointing and Significance in Israel
00:00:32
Speaker
Woke up, started having conversations with God. About 3 or 3.30, if I had been in Pentecostal, I might have broken out into speaking in tongues.
00:00:40
Speaker
little shada-la-la-bing-bing, you know, and should bought a Honda or whatever. you know But I'm not that person, okay? So you're just going to have to rest in me that I'm so i'm just speaking my South Georgia drawl.
00:00:53
Speaker
And I hope I'm preaching God's word to you in purity and clarity this morning so that you hear exactly what God wants you to hear. We were in the story of David last week, 1 Samuel 16, the same passage. You're going to recognize it, but we went back there for a couple reasons. Number one, because David is just such an important figure, not just in the history of Israel, but in the story of Jesus Christ, the story of God.
00:01:15
Speaker
And also because it's a natural place to go back and capture one of the most important stories in Scripture, one that most people know even if they never grew up in church, and that is the story of David and Goliath.
00:01:27
Speaker
So we're going to start in chapter 16, verse 12, and ah I'll kind of walk you through the story, and and we'll get to what we're going to talk about this morning. What I want you to focus on this morning, what I want you to center your heart on this morning, is this idea What does it take to be the man or god or excuse me the man or woman that God uses?
00:01:47
Speaker
what What's involved? What is what does it do will take to make that person, that character that God wants to use? That's what we're going to sit this morning. 1 Samuel 16, verse says,
00:01:58
Speaker
so jesse sent for him He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance. Then the Lord said, anoint him for he is the one. You remember last week we talked about this when it describes Jesse sending for him and it says a beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance.
00:02:15
Speaker
That was not a compliment. Basically what Jesse was suggesting, what the writer was suggesting is that David was not cut out to be a king or a warrior. He was just an ordinary, normal kid.
00:02:28
Speaker
And I want you to kind of put that in the back of your mind today because right away as we begin to address the topic of the day, one of the things that people use as an excuse is, well, I'm just a normal person.
00:02:39
Speaker
I don't have special qualifications. I don't have special training. I'm just a normal, normal kid, normal adult, normal dad or or husband or wife.
00:02:50
Speaker
And the argument really doesn't carry much weight with God. Because when God calls a man or woman to use them, immediately what he says is what you bring to me is not what I need. What you need is what I'm going to give you.
00:03:03
Speaker
And I just need you to trust that I'm going to take you into this journey. And you're just going to follow along with me and trust that I will give you what you need. It says, remind you.
00:03:14
Speaker
verse thirteen so samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of the brothers and the spirit of the lord came powerfully on david from that day forward let me remind you Throughout the Old Testament, the characters we see, every time that the Spirit of God came on someone, they came, they did whatever they were required to do, and then the Spirit went away.
00:03:39
Speaker
The Spirit came upon Moses. The Spirit came upon Aaron. The Spirit came upon Joshua. They would come for a short time. They would do the task they were called to do, and then the Spirit would go away. This is the first instance in Scripture where the Spirit descends on someone, anoints someone, and stays with them for the
David's Preparation for Goliath
00:03:56
Speaker
rest of their life. That's why David is unique and special.
00:04:00
Speaker
David is called to a task, and God starts right away in his life saying, hey, I'm um i'm doing something special in you, and it's signified by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The last sentence that says, Samuel set out and went to Ramah. If you were watching this as a movie, as it was unfolding, this would be a really disappointing turn in the movie because you've just watched this really cool moment where Samuel the prophet anoints David to be the next king, and then there's this sentence that says, Samuel went home.
00:04:31
Speaker
And David went back to the field. We talked about that a little bit last week. But what we're going to see is that there was a purpose in David being in that field. There was a purpose for Samuel to go back home.
00:04:42
Speaker
There was an extended time before we get to the next part of the story. And it's a key portion of David's life because it means something to what he's about to do. Because we're about to turn the page into 1 Samuel 17.
00:04:56
Speaker
1 Samuel 17 is the story of David facing Goliath. Now, if you know anything about the Philistine people, the Philistine people were part of those people who lived in the promised land that God had promised to his people.
00:05:07
Speaker
And if you will remember, God said, if you will trust me, if you'll follow me and obey my commands, I will drive these people out before you. Well, immediately you recognize the Philistines are still there. Why?
00:05:20
Speaker
Because they didn't trust God and they didn't obey his commands. So for the rest of the history of Israel, to this point anyway, the Philistines are a thorn in the flesh of the Israelite people.
00:05:32
Speaker
We read about them constantly raiding and taking taking away people from Israel, taking away their crops, their livestock, sometimes burning down villages. And in this instance, 1 Samuel 17, what we see is that they are there again.
00:05:47
Speaker
They've come to cause problems. They are in the Valley of Elah, which is about 15 miles from where David lives in Bethlehem. And they have come out to declare war against the people of Israel.
00:05:58
Speaker
people of israel Now, what happened in that day and age was typically what was known as representative warfare. Representative warfare. What would happen is the two armies would line up on either side across battlefield from each other, and basically they would talk smack at each other.
00:06:16
Speaker
gay They would go, we're going to kill you. And they would go, you're not going to touch us. We're going to kill you, Nanny Boo Boo. And they would do that back and forth. And at some point, yeah, Nanny Boo Boo, that's Hebrew. um at some point At some point, what would happen is one side would choose their champion and they would call out the champion from the other side.
00:06:36
Speaker
And that's exactly what happens in the story. Goliath enters the field. Goliath, nine feet tall. few years ago, I had the opportunity to stand next to one of the University of Georgia linemen who was six foot ten.
00:06:51
Speaker
It was like a mountain standing next to me. And I remember thinking in that moment, man, Goliath must have been awe-inspiring as he stood there. He comes out into the field. He calls out to Israel. And not only does he talk smack against Israel, he talks Israel's God and says, your God isn't much to speak of.
00:07:10
Speaker
Your God is really worthless. I defy your God and I defy any of you to defend your God. And for 40 days, Goliath walked into that valley. For 40 days, he taunted the people of Israel.
00:07:23
Speaker
For 40 days, there was no reply. And what's sad about this is that the person who should have been the one to respond is King Saul.
00:07:35
Speaker
Remember, the whole reason he was chosen to be king was because he was a head taller than everybody else in Israel. He was the closest one to being an imposing force against Goliath. Instead, the Bible says that Saul was dismayed by the words of Goliath.
00:07:50
Speaker
In other words, Goliath's words had struck fear in his heart.
Faith versus Fear: David's Trust in God
00:07:55
Speaker
So as we pick up the story today, we all know the ending. David comes and he fights the battle that Saul should have fought. And he is victorious in the name of his God.
00:08:08
Speaker
But I want to look at what it was that made David qualified and and equipped to do what he did on behalf of Israel. And the reason I think it's important is today you and I stand in our own kind of valley here in our country.
00:08:25
Speaker
We are challenged on a daily basis by people who flaunt their immorality, who defy our God, who taunt us as believers, and who say, I dare you to do something about it.
00:08:39
Speaker
And for too long, the church has been like the cowards in the tents. We have sat back and said, who's going to step up and do something? Who is going to stand and face the enemy? Who's going to be brave enough to walk into that valley and fight this battle on behalf of God and his people?
00:08:56
Speaker
And I submit to you today there are over 600 of you who are qualified in this church to do it.
00:09:03
Speaker
Why? Not because you're the all that, but because he is. And when you allow God to live and work and breathe through you, then you have the ability to do things that no normal human can do.
00:09:17
Speaker
So let's talk about it this morning. What do we see? What is it that a man or god who' is man or woman i keep saying that man or woman who is used by God, what is it that he looks like or she looks like? Number one, they are filled with the Holy Spirit.
00:09:31
Speaker
We've already talked about this just a little bit. Last week, we talked about how Jesse had basically dismissed his youngest son. he He even forgot he was there. It was Samuel, the prophet, who reminded him, hey, you've got one more kid.
00:09:44
Speaker
isn't Isn't there an opportunity for us to talk to him? The older brothers had all tried. They had all tried to be valuable enough to be king, but God did not recognize any of them as being the potential.
00:09:57
Speaker
Instead, he waited for David to show up, and he filled David with the Holy Spirit. Throughout his life, David was going to have to learn a very critical lesson, and that was in order to be successful, he had to lean on that Holy Spirit inside of him.
00:10:15
Speaker
If you track out David's life, if you watch what he did for the remainder of his life, every instance where he consulted God first, David was victorious.
00:10:26
Speaker
But in every place where David launched out on his own without consulting God, he failed. Now here's the promise for you and I this morning. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, the Spirit doesn't pop in and out of your life.
00:10:40
Speaker
You today as a follower, as you sit here, if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the Bible says that you and I have the same Spirit inside of us that raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
Overcoming Faith Obstacles and Staying True to God's Calling
00:10:52
Speaker
The same power that brought him forth from the tomb, the event we're going to celebrate next week, that same power lives in you, which means as a follower of Jesus Christ, you've got nothing in this life that you need to be afraid of.
00:11:06
Speaker
The greatest enemy you know has already been defeated. He is a conquering hero. 1 John chapter 4 says that you and I as followers of Christ are now overcomers of this world.
00:11:18
Speaker
And greater is the one who lives inside of you than the one who lives in the world. The power you have is greater than anything the enemy can throw against you.
00:11:32
Speaker
But you have to lean into that spirit and trust it. You can't choose to follow your own path. You can't pick your own way. You've got to trust in the Holy Spirit. Second thing we see here this morning is Man or woman that's going to be used by God is going to have opposition from the enemy.
00:11:50
Speaker
Look at verse 4 and 5 chapter 17. It says, then a champion named goliath from gath came out from the philistine camp he was nine feet nine inches tall and wore a bronze helmet and bronze-cale armor that weighed one hundred and twenty-five pounds Then the Philistines said, I defy the ranks of Israel today.
00:12:11
Speaker
Send me a man so we can fight each other. When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and they were terrified. If you're going to follow Jesus Christ, you need to know there will always be opposition.
00:12:27
Speaker
In fact, I'm going to tell you that if you're going to follow Jesus Christ, you will always be in the minority. Jesus said, narrow is the way for those who choose to follow me and lead into life.
00:12:39
Speaker
But wide the gate that leads to destruction. That means there's more people who are choosing their own path, following their own way, than there are who follow after Jesus Christ.
00:12:49
Speaker
So there will always be opposition when you choose to be used by God. Some won't understand you. Ignorance will sometimes blind their heart. There will people who don't understand all this talk about a spirit inside of you or a God you can't see or feel or touch.
00:13:07
Speaker
But the power inside of you will give you direction and give you the courage to stand as a minority in a world that opposes your God.
00:13:19
Speaker
Many will be in direct conflict with you because their disobedience, their choices to rebel. Sometimes they will hate you because they hate your God, and sometimes they will hate you because they know inside of you they see a God that they need themselves.
00:13:33
Speaker
Many times when we recognize the sin in our own lives, being ah around people who are living a God-filled righteous life makes us feel very uncomfortable. And many times people will lash out and will become an opponent of yours rather than supporting you.
00:13:49
Speaker
Even in this story, it says that David shows up. His dad calls him over and says, hey, I need you to run some food to the front line and check on your brothers because they were all in the army. He goes up there and he gets to the front line and he happens to get there when when Goliath is coming into the valley to speak negatively about God again.
00:14:07
Speaker
And he begins to ask some questions. He says, hey, who is this guy and who does he think he is defying my God? And oh, by the way, why aren't any of you doing anything about this?
00:14:18
Speaker
what What's going on? And as he began to ask those questions, Big Brother shows up. Now, you remember Big Brother last week? We thought he might be the new king because soul ah Samuel liked the way he looked.
00:14:29
Speaker
And God said, no, he's he's not the man. So Eliab is there, and he sees David come up, and he begins to ridicule David and says, why are you here, you pest?
00:14:41
Speaker
Why aren't you back at home watching the sheep? That's your job. Go back home. You're just here because you want to watch some fight. And David says, well whoa, whoa, whoa, back off, big brother. I'm just here to ask a few questions.
00:14:53
Speaker
As he began to ask questions, one of the things he asked was, you know, what's going to happen for the guy who fights this battle? Well, the payoff was pretty good. They promised him riches. The king promised him that his daughter would become his wife and tax exemption for the rest of his life for his family.
00:15:11
Speaker
It's pretty good deal. How many of you wouldn't like that with tax day tomorrow? Right? Yeah, amen. So pretty good payoff and David begins to explore. Well, as he's asking questions, think about where Saul is, okay?
00:15:27
Speaker
King Saul, the king over all Israel. For 40 days, he's hidden inside his tent and he's been waiting for someone to step up and be the champion for Israel.
00:15:38
Speaker
And suddenly there's a whisper outside his tent, a murmur, because somebody's shown up who thinks they can take David. And you got to know he was excited because, man, this is finally about to be over. Our champion is here, and they opened up the tent, and in walks this scrawny teenager.
00:15:53
Speaker
And he's going, oh, my word, we're in trouble. David walks in and says, hey, I will go fight this giant. I will take him on. There's enough of this ridicule of my God. My God's bigger than this.
00:16:08
Speaker
My God's stronger than this. I will fight him. And the entire time, the biggest opposition that David is facing is his own brother. The one who should have known better. The one who should have trusted in God as much as David did.
00:16:24
Speaker
He knew the stories. He knew how God had been faithful. He knew what God had done on behalf of his chosen people. Sometimes the most discouraging people to the work of God that you and I are trying to do are the ones who are supposed to be on God's side.
00:16:37
Speaker
Sometimes they're the ones who stand in our way as we try to be obedient. Confronting giants? That's hard enough. But it's infinitely harder when the ones who are supposedly believers and followers of Jesus Christ stand in our way in opposition as we choose to follow him.
00:16:52
Speaker
But I promise you it'll happen. The third thing that we see, anybody who's going to be used by God is full of faith. Verse 37. says, then david said 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 so sa i said to david go and may the lord be with you david had seen god's hand move before he knew he would see it again This wasn't a foolish decision just to walk out there. This wasn't an impulsive thing just to walk out there.
00:17:27
Speaker
And it wasn't even a calculated risk. David didn't sit around and go, hey, if I do this and this and this, then the odds might be in my favor. David walked into that battle believing the battle was already won.
00:17:40
Speaker
He walked into that battle believing that God had already finished the deal. Why? Because in that field as he sat between his anointing and the day he arrived at the Valley of Elah, David had seen God over and over and over again as his protector, his strong tower, his shield.
00:17:58
Speaker
And David believed as he walked into that battle that day that God would be no different there than he was back home in Bethlehem. David had done it once, he would do it again. Excuse me, God had done it once, he would do it again.
00:18:12
Speaker
Fourthly, the one that's going to be used by God is going to be real and he's going to be genuine. Verse 38 and 39. It says, We don't trust things that world puts in our hands.
00:18:24
Speaker
he put a bronze helmet on david's head and had him put on armor david strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk but he was not used to them i cannot walk in these david said to saul i am not used to them so david took them off we don't put our trust and things that the world puts in our hands We trust the things that God puts in our heart.
00:18:49
Speaker
You see, when we trust the things that the world puts in our hands, there's a chance that we're going to be too reliant on those things or that somehow those things might receive greater glory than God. And if we've learned anything as we've been reading through the Old Testament, God shares his glory with nobody.
00:19:04
Speaker
So he's going to take away all those things that somehow might somehow get credit taken away from him, who might somehow steal some of his glory. God says, I'm going to do this, but I'm going to do it in my way. And you've got to put away this armor because this armor is not made for you.
00:19:21
Speaker
We don't try to be something we are not. David was not used to Saul's armor because God did not create him to be Saul. He created him to be David.
00:19:32
Speaker
When I first started in ministry as a young pastor, after years of being a student minister, I don't know what happened to me, but somewhere along the way, I fell in love with the idea of being something else besides what God created be. What mean that? used to be pastor.
00:19:46
Speaker
I would listen to my favorite preachers, guys like Rick Warren and Bill Hybels and Louie Giglio and some of these great speakers, and I would try to imitate their preaching. And I failed miserably at it. Why?
00:19:58
Speaker
Because that's not who I'm created to be. Some of you laugh at the fact that when I preach on Sunday morning, you get what you see. That's because that's all I can be.
00:20:11
Speaker
Am I goofy? Yes. Do I embarrass my wife? Heck yes. and I mean, do I say things that offend people? Sometimes. Do I make big slips? Guaranteed just about every Sunday. But I cannot be anything more than what God has called me to be, and I cannot be anything less than what God has called me to be.
00:20:27
Speaker
I am not called to be like you, and you are not called to be like me. Amen? Quit looking at the people around you and comparing your walk with Jesus to their walk with Jesus.
00:20:40
Speaker
Quit saying, well, God, you gave them to do this and you gave them to do this. God says, I'm not concerned with what I gave them. I'm the one that gave it to them. I've got something I want to give you. Something I'm entrusting to you.
00:20:52
Speaker
Something I want you to use. Our identity in Christ is what gives us the confidence to step into the battles we face without worrying about what everybody else has.
00:21:04
Speaker
Some people carry swords, some carry javelins, some carry shields, some carry slings. Some walk in with no weapons at all. All of them that are victorious walk in the power of Jesus Christ.
00:21:16
Speaker
Fifthly, a person who's going to be used by God is always prepared. Always prepared. Look at verse 40. It says... 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.
00:21:33
Speaker
Then with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine. There's been a lot of conjecture about what did what in the world was he doing with with five stones? Why would he need five stones? If he really trusted God, why didn't he just pick up one stone? Well, if you flip over to 2 Samuel 21, verse 2, you read these words.
00:21:51
Speaker
These four were descended from the giant in Gath and were killed by David and his soldiers. Goliath had four big brothers. And so David was prepared not only to take on Goliath, but to take on whatever came on next. Now, I want to be real careful here because in 2 Samuel chapter 21, just before that, it says that the four brothers were defeated by four other soldiers that served under David.
00:22:17
Speaker
David didn't kill them, but I want to suggest to you the reason those four guys were empowered and encouraged to take on the giants they took on is because they had seen the example of David as he took on Goliath.
00:22:29
Speaker
And so when he picked those five stones in that valley that day, those four guys were probably up there in the the lineup with Israel watching going, if he can do it, I can do it. If he can follow God and trust God, I have the same power to do that. I'm willing to go out and fight whatever battle God calls me to fight.
00:22:46
Speaker
And by the time we get to 2 Samuel 21, it says that all the giants are down.
Personal Battles and Trusting Jesus for Victory
00:22:53
Speaker
You remember Karate Kid, the movie? Miyagi. Miyagi-san. Miyagi-san. Okay, y'all going to have to wake up a little bit. Y'all know what i'm talking about, right? And you remember in that movie, that first movie, wax on, wax off.
00:23:07
Speaker
And he's got him polishing that car every single day. And the whole time, what is he sitting there doing? He's going, why why am I washing this car? I just washed it yesterday. I'm washing it again tomorrow. You know, why in the world, wax on, wax off?
00:23:19
Speaker
He walks into the fight, and in that fight, the first thing he does out of natural reaction, wax on, wax off. You see, what he didn't understand is that the entire time Miyagi was preparing him for the battle that was about to come.
00:23:30
Speaker
He couldn't see it. He couldn't understand it. Why? Because he didn't know what was going to happen when the battle came. Only God can know what's going to come down the road. So what we have to do is to be faithful in what he's called us to be right now.
00:23:43
Speaker
for david For David, it was you be the best doggone shepherd you can be. You take on whatever challenges are there. Finding water for your sheep, leading them to greener grass, taking on a bear or a lion, that's your job.
00:23:58
Speaker
But when the time comes and you step onto that battlefield, you'll find out that that sling has more than one purpose. And it's going to fulfill my command for you.
00:24:09
Speaker
The one who's used by God is always prepared. Number six. He will always run to the battle. Always run to the battle. Verse 48, it Here's what want understand. The most significant obstacle in this story, in our story, not the giant.
00:24:27
Speaker
here's what i want you to understand the most significant obstacle in this story and our story is not the giant The more significant obstacle in this story is the lack of confidence that the Israelis have in their God.
00:24:45
Speaker
You see, it's lack of confidence that kept them in the tent instead of coming out to fight the battle. It was lack of confidence that kept them dismayed and discouraged. It was lack of confidence that kept them from fulfilling what God wanted them to do.
00:24:59
Speaker
Our challenge today is to find confidence in a God who has always kept His promises. We must not take our eyes off of the giant, but we can't fight him without putting our eyes on Jesus first.
00:25:14
Speaker
We have to focus on what God is telling us to do. Stop listening to unbelieving followers of Jesus Christ. You ever had any of those?
00:25:26
Speaker
Those people who call themselves your brothers and sisters, but when it comes time to take a step of faith, they're stepping back. They don't want to trust God. They don't really believe that God's going to come through. They're going to find some other way to get around the problem that stands in front of them because they really don't have full faith in the God that they say they trust.
00:25:46
Speaker
We have to start from a place of confidence in the power, the all-encompassing power of God and his all-encompassing love for us. Then we will courageously one run to whatever battle God calls us to.
00:26:02
Speaker
Now, want to be real cautious here to say something to you. Your battle is your battle because God called you to it. Don't try to incorporate other people into your battle. They have their own battles to fight.
00:26:15
Speaker
They have their own battles to fight. One of the things that happens a lot of times in ministries, we'll get a phone call or somebody walk in the office and say, hey, I got a great idea for a ministry. And I'll go, great, go do it.
00:26:27
Speaker
Go do it. God didn't call me to that ministry. He called you. He gave you the vision for it. He gave you the design for it. He gave you the equipment to do it. Go and do it. And don't look at everybody else in judgment if they don't jump on the bandwagon with you.
00:26:42
Speaker
Why? Because they're called to their own vision, their own mission. I am intentionally about to use some very bizarre examples. Do not think I'm crazy. There are people who walk around and go, man, we need to start a new ministry to people who grow sheep.
00:26:57
Speaker
Well, there's a person on the other side the room going, we need to start a ministry for people who grow cows. Well, in the middle stands a staff that says, we've only got enough people to manage one of those ministries.
00:27:09
Speaker
Which one is it going to be? You see the dilemma? So here's what we do. Let's start a ministry to those that raise llamas. We'll pick a different option. And suddenly we're chasing we're chasing our tail everywhere, right?
00:27:22
Speaker
We're not following what we've been called to do. We're we're just scrambling for options, scrambling for ideas. What happens is when we have a regular, real relationship with Jesus Christ, He calls us to specific ministries and He says, go and do what I've asked you to do.
00:27:38
Speaker
Quit worrying about what they're doing over there. Quit worrying about what that person said. Quit being offended because not everybody else is jumping on the bandwagon with you. If they've been called, let them join you. join you Let them be a part of what's going on.
00:27:52
Speaker
But don't judge other people for not being a part of the mission that God has called you to. It's your battle, not theirs.
00:28:02
Speaker
God calls you to fight your battles. Now, I know some of you right now are sitting going, what are you talking about battles? What what kind of battles are you talking about? Well, your battle may be praying for the soul of your children.
00:28:16
Speaker
Your battle may be being a stronger witness at work. Your battle may be being a stronger neighbor to those around you and to be an example Jesus as you watch them go through difficulties.
00:28:32
Speaker
The thing that God may be calling you to is leading a new Bible study or helping to revive an old one that's gone down. Your battle may be feeding the poor, clothing those without clothes.
00:28:44
Speaker
fighting for the lives of unborn children, your battle is your battle because God has assigned you to it.
00:28:52
Speaker
Verse 32, want you to notice something interesting here.
00:28:58
Speaker
It says, David, this is when he's called into the tent. David said to Saul, don't let anyone be discouraged by him. Your servant will go and fight this Philistine. Remember I told you David comes in, he starts asking some questions. He wants to know more about what's going on with this giant down in the valley.
00:29:14
Speaker
And he says, somebody ought to do something. Now he walks into the tent with King Saul and he says, I'll be that somebody. You see, there's a big difference between looking at everybody and everything and all the problems around us in our culture and going, man, somebody ought to do something and do something fast.
00:29:32
Speaker
There's a big difference between that and stepping up saying, God, I'll be the one.
00:29:37
Speaker
I'll be the one to take on that responsibility. I'll be on and take on that challenge. I'll be the one who will step up and lead that charge. I'll be the one that walk into that valley on your behalf and for your name.
00:29:50
Speaker
Lastly,
00:29:53
Speaker
will be victorious The person who's going to be used by God will be victorious. Verse 52, it says, the men of israel and judah ralled shouting their battle cry and chased the philistines to the entrance of the valley into the gates of ekron philistine bodies were stonen all along the sharaam road to gas and ekron This may come as a shock to you because if you're like me and you were brought up in church, you were taught all along that we were the Davids and we were supposed to go fight the Goliaths, right? you may You ever heard that?
00:30:24
Speaker
Got to go fight our giants. There's a lot of good Christian songs out there that insinuate that. There's a lot of great sermons that preach that. But here's the shocking news. In this story, you and I are not David. We're the cowards in the tent.
00:30:37
Speaker
We are the helpless Hebrews. Remember what I said at the very beginning? This is representative warfare. And we needed a representative to take on the biggest giant that humans have ever known.
00:30:50
Speaker
Our sin. David is Jesus. In fact, all the way through David's life, he is a foreshadowing of the Messiah who would come. Remember, Jesus comes from his line and his heritage.
00:31:02
Speaker
David is a foreshadowing of Jesus, and it's no different in this story. Goliath, Goliath is Satan. He's death. He is sin. David is the slayer.
00:31:15
Speaker
You see, because Jesus absorbed all our sin, we have the courage to face all these lesser giants that we have to take on. The ones that come against us. Out of control futures.
00:31:27
Speaker
Painful broken relationships. The disapproval of others. The loneliness that people feel in this world even though they're surrounded by millions of others. You see real courage does not come from the assurance that we will never face trouble.
00:31:42
Speaker
And it is not the absence of fear or strife. Real courage comes from having a secure future in Jesus Christ. David's story is our victory.
00:31:55
Speaker
And it points us to the finished work of Jesus Christ. It points us to what happened at Calvary 2,000 years ago. It points us to the cross.
00:32:08
Speaker
It is time for us now, because of his victory, to have courage in stepping into our valleys, running to our battles, and with the confidence of Jesus Christ, be the one who answers to the call.
00:32:21
Speaker
Because our nation depends on it. An entire generation of lost people need us to be used by God.
Call to Action and Prayer Invitation
00:32:30
Speaker
Will you pray with me?
00:32:39
Speaker
Father, we thank you for the powerful message of David's life from beginning to end.
00:32:46
Speaker
David was never perfect.
00:32:51
Speaker
David was never better than anybody else.
00:32:55
Speaker
He was just available.
00:32:59
Speaker
He was just submitted.
00:33:02
Speaker
Totally surrendered in his desire and in his will.
00:33:11
Speaker
And this morning, I believe what David's story is trying to teach us is that we all, we all have a battle we need to step into. We can't stand on the sidelines, we can't hide in the tent, we can't be afraid and cowardly.
00:33:28
Speaker
There's an entire generation of lost people who need to know Jesus.
00:33:34
Speaker
For some of us that starts right in our own homes.
00:33:39
Speaker
It's there where we need to be Jesus, we need to be salt and light. For others of us, it's in our neighborhood, it's on our ball team, it's in our classroom, it's at our workplace.
00:33:52
Speaker
maybe at a club that we're a part of. Lord, there's all kinds of places where the call to step up and step forward on behalf of others is very, very real.
00:34:07
Speaker
This morning, Father, I pray that in this room, all three services, that you're finding hearts that are willing.
00:34:17
Speaker
Hearts that are courageous enough to step up and take the challenge.
00:34:24
Speaker
to quit making excuses, to quit chasing distractions, to quit pursuing idols,
00:34:38
Speaker
and to instead run to the battle, a sling in one hand, a stone in the other, and the complete confidence that you will be victorious.
00:34:51
Speaker
It's in Jesus' name I pray, amen. So we're going to worship together for a little while. But here's where we're doing something a little bit different this morning.
00:35:02
Speaker
For the entire remainder of our service, this altar is open for you.
00:35:08
Speaker
If you want to come up here and spend some time praying, we invite you to do it. Don't wait till the end. Because typically what happens is you wait till the end and then now you're ready to get out of here and you forget and you go home and you go back back to your normal life.
00:35:21
Speaker
God's speaking you, come spend some time on the altar. Maybe he wants you to bring your husband, your wife, your kids, maybe a friend. Maybe there's somebody in here that you've had some ill will towards and you know that the only way you're going to be able to live fruitfully this week is to make things right between you and them.
00:35:38
Speaker
And you might want to go grab them by the hand and spend some time praying together. If you've got questions this morning and you you're not real sure about your relationship with Jesus Christ, we've got probably questions Seventy people in this room who'd be happy to walk out here, take you into the prayer room, sit down and answer questions for you.
00:35:58
Speaker
To deal with whatever confusion you may have. To pray with you about situations that you're facing.
00:36:06
Speaker
But my prayer is that this morning, you have been challenged to be the one that raises their hand and says, not somebody needs to do something, it's me that needs to do something. that you will respond as God leads you as we sing this morning.
00:36:20
Speaker
Let's stand.