10/13/2019
A Heart After The Heart of God
I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart…
Conflict is Inevitable
1 Samuel 17:1-3 The Philistines gathered for war & assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh & Azekah. Saul & the Israelites assembled & camped in the Valley of Elah & drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill & the Israelites another, with a valley between them.
Some Problems Are Colossal
1 Samuel 17:4-7 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head & wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves & a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.
Intimidation Can Paralyze You
1 Samuel 17:8-11 Goliath stood & shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man & have him come down to me. If he is able to fight & kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him & kill him, you will become our subjects & serve us.” Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man & let us fight each other.” On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul & all the Israelites were dismayed & terrified.
Ignoring Problems Prolongs Them
1 Samuel 17:16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
God’s Solutions are Often Ignored
1 Samuel 17:12-15 David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, & in Saul’s time he was old & well advanced in years. Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab & the third, Shammah. David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back & forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
God Orchestrates Events
1 Samuel 17:17-20 Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain & these ten loaves of bread for your brothers & hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are & bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul & all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.” Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up & set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.
The Resolution of Conflict Falls To Us
1 Samuel 17:21-24 Israel & the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of supplies & ran to the battle lines to greet his brothers. As he talked with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines & shouted his usual defiance & David heard it. When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.
Defiance of God’s People Defies God
1 Samuel 17:25-27 “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage & will exempt his father’s family from taxes in Israel.” David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine & removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
1 Samuel 17:28-30 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him & asked, “Why have you come down here? With whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are & how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” He then turned away to someone else & brought up the same matter; the men answered him as before.
Mark 6:4 Jesus left there & went to his hometown, with his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue & many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son & the brother of James, Joseph, Judas & Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives & in his own home.”
A Youth With God In The Heart Can Face A Man With The Devil In Theirs
1 Samuel 17:31-33 What David said was overheard & reported to Saul, Saul sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go & fight him.” Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine & fight him; you are only a boy, & he has been a fighting man from his youth
A Heart of Faith in God Is Forged in Small Beginnings
1 Samuel 17:36-37 Your servant has killed both the lion & the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion & the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go & the LORD be with you.”
Face Your Own Challenges According to Your Own Abilities
1 Samuel 17:38-40 Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him & a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic & tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag & with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
God’s Servants Are Underestimated By God’s Enemies
1 Samuel 17:41-44 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over & saw that he was only a boy, ruddy & handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “I will give your flesh to the birds of the air & the beasts of the field!”
Confidence In The Face of Challenge Changes The Future
1 Samuel 17:45-47 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword & spear & javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, I WILL strike you down & cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air & the beasts of the earth & the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, He will give all of you into our hands.”
Perfect Aim Creates Perfect Confidence
1 Samuel 17:48-51 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag & taking out a stone, he slung it & struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead & he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling & a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine & killed him. David ran & stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword & drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned & ran.