Slaying Goliath | The Battles Before Goliath | Part 2
Amen. All right well we’re there. In First Samuel Chapter 17, and like we’ve been talking about, we started last week, a series on the subject of slaying Goliath, and we’re learning about how to slay the Goliaths in our lives. And if you remember last week, and I’m not going to re-preach last week’s sermon, but just to give you the context.
Remember last week we saw that Goliath, last week, we really only dealt with the first 11 verses of this chapter, we’re going to pick up at verse 12 where we left off. But last week, we saw when the children of Israel were confronted with Goliath, the Bible says that they were dismayed and greatly afraid. And last week we talked about the Goliath in our lives, the Goliath in your life, and the Goliath in my life is that thing that makes us dismayed and afraid. If you remember, dismayed has to do with hope or hopelessness. When you look at a situation, and you say there is no hope. There’s no hope that this is going to be resolved, there’s no hope that this will continue the way it should, or it will go the way it should. There’s no hope that the outcome will come in my favor.
And when we talk about something about being afraid, it’s something that will cause us hurt. We’re afraid that it’s going to hurt us, and we talked about those things, that are either make us hopeless, or we’re afraid that they’re going to hurt us, or we’re afraid that it’s going to be both. It makes us dismayed and afraid. And look, we talked about the fact that, that could be a relationship, that could be a financial situation, it could be … some of you, you’re looking at your financial situation, and you’re saying there’s no hope for this. Right?
Too many bad decisions were made, or too many things happened that were out of my control, and you know this is never going to get better, and we’re never going to be able to overcome. Or it may be a relationship with a spouse, or with a child, or with a friend. It may be a sin, it may be that sin, like Hebrew says, that does so easily beset us. And you look at it, and you say there’s no hope, I’m not going to win, I’m not going to be able to beat it. And we talked about that Goliath. And we simply just asked that question, what makes you dismayed and afraid?
What makes you dismayed and afraid? Because if you’re going to slay Goliath you have to be able to identify Goliath and understand Goliath, and that’s where we kind of pick up the story. Now we’re going to through some of these verses just to get a little bit of a context, before we get into the main part of the message, but I want you to look down at verse 12. And in verse 12, you know we have our hero enter the story. And he’s a very unlikely hero. Look at verse 12, now David was the son of an Ephrathite a Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons. I want you to notice David was the son of Jesse, Jesse had eight sons, and the man went among men for an old man in the days Saul. Notice verse 13. And three eldest sons of Jesse, went and followed Saul to battle.
So you’ve got eight sons, and the three oldest go to battle. Now we’re not sure why the rest don’t go to battle, the context seems to indicate that the three eldest were the ones that were old enough to go to battle, but maybe that’s not necessarily the case. We don’t know. Here it says the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle, and the names of his three sons that went to battle, were Eliab the firstborn, and next after him Abinadab, and the third, Shammah. Look at verse 14. And David was the youngest.
So of the eight, we have three, the eldest three, are going to battle, and David is the youngest. And I want you to understand, David enters this story as a very unlikely hero for a couple of reasons. Number one, he was the youngest. Nobody was expecting him to accomplish anything, nobody was expecting Jesse, nobody was expecting the sons of Jesse to go out and fight Goliath, but if someone was expecting Jesse, if someone was expecting the sons of Jesse, they would not have been expecting David. And we know that even from the story of when Samuel went to anoint David. Remember Samuel goes to anoint David, and bring all of the sons of Jesse before Samuel, and they forgot about David.
You know Samuel had to ask, is there another son? And they’re like well there is our youngest, you know, and David is an unlikely hero in the story. Because of the fact that he was the youngest, the Bible says there in verse 14, and David was the youngest, and the three eldest followed Saul.
Look at verse 15. We have another reason why he was an unlikely hero, and David went and returned from Saul, notice what it says, to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. Not only was David the youngest boy of Jesse, but David was also a shepherd boy. David was the one that went and took care of the sheep. Not only was David a shepherd boy, but he was an errand boy. Notice Verse 16. And the Philistines drew near morning and evening, and presented themselves forty days, and Jesse said unto David his son, notice, take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these 10 loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren and carry these 10 cheeses unto the captors of their thousands, and look how thy brethren fair, and take their pled.
David is the youngest boy, he is a shepherd boy, and he is an errand boy. They’re sending David to go take food to the brothers, they’re sending David to go see how the brothers are doing while fighting this battle. I just want you to understand. David was a very unlikely hero. Nobody was expecting David, nobody thought that David was a warrior, and nobody saw anything of value in David. I also want you to notice, and this is all just by way of introduction, that David was a young man of character. David was a young man of a good character. And you know in the Bible you’ll often learn about young people, you can read the story Joseph, and you can read the story of Daniel. And of course you can read the story of David, and most people believe that David was a older teen at this time, maybe 17 or 18 years old, and I didn’t study that out, real thoroughly, but everybody agrees that he’s a young man. Even the context of the story tells us he was a young man.
And I want you to notice that David was a young man of character. And again I’m not preaching on this, this morning, but those of you that are parents, you might want to write these things down, you know there are some things you need to be instilling in your children, there are some things you need to be instilling in your young people, and you want them to get to the point, when they’re 15 years old, and 16 years old, and 17 years old, and 18 years old, and 19 years old, where you’ve developed certain character traits in their lives, and then notice the character of David, as a very young man.
Look at Verse 19. Now Saul and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines, look at Verse 20, and David, we receive the first character trait of this young man David. David rose up early in the morning. Notice David was a disciplined young man, he had been given a task, he had been given a job, and the Bible tells us that he rose up early in the morning to take care of that task. To take care of that job.
You know we ought to be teaching our young people to raise up early in the morning. We ought to be teaching them to get up early, and to accomplish their responsibilities, not only that, but I want you to notice in this verse that David was an obedient young man. Notice what it says there. He rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took and went, notice what the Bible says, as Jesse had commanded him.
He was given orders, and took those seriously. He obeyed. Not only was he disciplined, not only was he obedient, but he was also responsible. Look at Verse 20. Again and David rose up early in the morning, notice what the Bible says, and left the sheep with a keeper. He had a responsibility that was to take care of those sheep, he was given a task to do, and when he went to do that task, he didn’t just forget about the other responsibility, he left the sheep with a keeper. That shows us that David was a responsible young man.
Look at Verse 21. And Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army, and David, notice he’s showing up to the battle, notice what it says. Look everything in the Bible is in there for a reason. God is telling us this is about David, because it’s important to God to tell us that David, notice, left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage. God is highlighting for us that this was a young man, that was responsible. He not only was responsible, he was obedient. Not only was he obedient, he was disciplined, and these are the things we need to instill into our children, when we command them, that they obey. When we command them, that they do as their told. And that they do it in a disciplined manner, and that they do it in a responsible manner.
David was not a young man that had to have somebody micromanaging him, you know guiding him at every step, he was a young man that his dad could give him a job, and David just got up early the next day, obeyed the command, and took responsibility, left the sheep with a keeper, left the carriage in the hands of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army and came and saluted his brethren.
And as parents, let us be always wanting to instill these types of things into our children. You know with our own children we try to teach them, you obey. You need to obey right away, with a smile. We try to say that to them over, and over again, you know especially when they’re young children. Obey right away, with a smile. Obey right away with a smile. It’s not enough that they obey, they need to obey right away. And they better do it with the right attitude. Obey right away, with a smile.
As a parent lets make sure that we are trying to instill, look nobody has perfect children. Obviously children mess up, and they’re rebellious, we have to discipline them. We all understand that, but as our job as parents look my goal as a parent, and your goal as a parent ought to be to try to raise the next David that’s going to slay a Goliath. And you see that, that began early in the life of David. Because he was a disciplined young man, and he was an obedient young man, and he was a responsible young man.
Now that leads us to the context of what I wanted to get into this morning. This morning I’m preaching on the subject of, before you get to Goliath, before you get to Goliath. Because here’s the honest truth. Nobody wakes up one day, and just slays Goliath. Nobody wakes up one day, and just confronts Goliath. We all have or if you don’t have, you will have one day, something looking you in the face, that makes you dismayed and afraid. You will have a Goliath you have to slay.
But before you get to Goliath, there are some small battles you have to fight along the way. And what’s interesting about this story, and this chapter about David and Goliath, that before we get to the big climax of the story, where Goliath falls, and David conquers Goliath, we see that David has three different conversations on his way to Goliath. And I want you to notice that each one of those conversations was a confrontation that David had to win before he could even get to Goliath.
See here’s the truth of the matter, and I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, and I’m not trying to make you upset. My job as a pastor is to try to help you, and part of that is to try to warn you, God has placed a Goliath in your life. God has a victory for you to win. Some of you will not even get to the Goliath in your life, but you will not even confront the little giants before you get to Goliath.
Now I want you to notice these little giants. These little confrontations that David had to have before he ever got to Goliath. We see the first one there starting in Verse 23. Notice what the Bible says. And as he, that’s David, talked with them, his brothers. Remember in Verse 22 he left the carriage in the hand of the keeper, and ran into the army and came and saluted his brethren. So he finds his brethren, he’s talking with them, seeing how they’re doing. Behold at that time, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name. And all the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words, and David heard them. The same words we talked about last week.
Where Goliath comes out, the champion, and lays out his challenge. And he says, give me a man that we should fight. And he’s basically taunting them, and embarrassing them, and shaming them. Look at Verse 24. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. So David is there when Goliath comes out, he’s talking to his brethren, and as he’s talking to his brethren, Goliath comes out, Goliath starts shaming them, and challenging them and as he’s talking to them the Bible says all the men of Israel, everybody that he’s talking with fled from him. From Goliath and were sore afraid.
Look at Verse 25. And the men of Israel said, these are the same men that are fleeing, and fearing. These are the same men that fearful, and running away, fleeing. They fled from Goliath. The men of Israel said, they’re talking to David now. Notice what they said. They said, have you seen this man that is come up? They look at David, because keep in mind they’ve been dealing with this now for days, every day, multiple times a day, Goliath is coming out and shaming them, and challenging them, and rebuking them, and defying them.
And now David shows up, the new guy, and they go up to David, and they said, have you seen this man that is come up, surely to defy, defy means to shame, or to embarrass, to openly rebel against Israel? Is he come up?
And I want you to notice that this first group that David had to deal with. This first group that David had to speak with was a group of soldiers who understood the battle. They understood who they were, they were the children of Israel. They understood who the enemy was, it was the Philistines. They could communicate what needed to be done, they could communicate what had to be done. They’re speaking to David, and they’re saying, have you seen this man that has come up surely to defy Israel, is he come up?
Notice they understood what would happen if somebody could beat Goliath. They said, and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. Now here’s what I want you to understand. These men understood the battle, these understood what needed to be done, these men understood what would happen if someone would be the Goliath. But I want you to understand something about these men. These men, none of these men had any plans of fighting Goliath themselves.
They understood that someone needed to fight Goliath. But they were not planning on doing it. And I want you to understand that before you get to the Goliath in your life, you may have to confront the indifference. You may have to confront people who know what God wants them to do, who know what God has called them to do, who know who the enemy is, who know what the reward would be, but are not actually planning on doing anything about it themselves. See the truth of the matter is, there are indifferent people. Indifferent Christians around us all the time. They know what the Bible says, they know what the word of God says, they’re not stupid they can identify the Goliath in their life, but they really have no plans on fighting them himself.
Give your place there in First Samuel 17. Go with me to the book of lamentations, keep your finger there in First Samuel 17, that’s obviously our text for this morning, go with me to the book of lamentations. If you find those major books in the Bible towards the end of the New Testament, you got Isaiah, a big prophetic book, Jeremiah, big prophetic book, and then you got Lamentations, which is a small book right between Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which is another big book. Lamentations Chapter 1.
Lamentations Chapter 1. Let me explain something to you. If you’re going to be a man of action or a woman of action, someone whose going to accomplish great things for God, someone who is going to slay a Goliath in your life. If you’re going to be that person, you’re going to have to be willing to do that while having to confront indifferent people all around you. People who know what to do, people who know what should be done, people who know what will happen when it gets done, but have no plans of doing it themselves. I’m talking this morning about the husband, who knows that God has called him to be the spiritual leader of his home. Who knows that the Bible says, that Joshua said, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. But he’s not willing to take that responsibility on. His wife may be spiritual, his wife may be godly, his wife has a walk with God, his wife serves the Lord, but he’s just kind of there.
He’s not against it, see here’s what Jesus was saying, indifferent people, they’re not bad people. It’s not that they’re against David and for Goliath, they not against us, they’re just not going to help us. And look, if you’re going to slay the Goliath in your life, you may have to deal with those people who understand who Goliath is, but don’t count on me to help. I understand who Goliath is, but don’t count on me to be there. Who understand who Goliath is, I can tell you where he is, I can tell you what he’s said, I can tell you what will happen if someone slays him, but don’t count on me to be there. Look that may be you this morning, or it may be you who is dealing with an indifferent person. You may be dealing with a husband, or a father who’s just … he’s not against the things of God, he’s just indifferent when it comes to the things of God.
He’s not going to lead a family bible time, he’s not going to lead … you know take his children out soul winning with him. He’s not going to read the Bible with his wife, praying with his wife. He’s not going to take the spiritual lead, he’s not against it, he’s just not going to step up to do that. See those of us who are trying to slay Goliaths have to deal with indifferent people all around us. You know what I’m talking about?
I’m talking about the non-spiritual wife. I’m talking about the wife, we got some of them in our church. They show up to church because their husband shows up to church. You watch them during the service, they’re not paying attention, the whole time their on their phone, or playing with the baby, or doing something different. They go into that mother-baby room and just talk the whole time. They don’t have a personal walk with God. They’re not reading the Bible on their own, they’re not spending time in prayer on their own. If their husband got sick and didn’t go to church, they wouldn’t go to church. You’re dealing with indifferent people. They’re not bad people they just don’t care. They’re not bad people, they’ll tell you, there’s Goliath, there’s the Devil, there’s the world, there’s the battle, that’s what needs to be done, that’s what needs to be accomplished. But don’t count on me to help you.
You know what I’m talking about? I’m talking about the teenager who is just waiting. They’re sitting there, and they’re just waiting, and they’re just saying, one day I’m going to be 18 years old, and I’m going to get out of here. And this is my mom’s thing, and this is my dad’s thing, and you know this whole Christianity thing, they make me come here, but as soon as I have the ability to I got the first ticket out of here. They’re not bad kids. It’s not that they hate God, they’re just not interested in helping us fight Goliath.
David had to deal with these people who were indifferent. You find that. You find Jeremiah having to deal with these people that were indifferent. Are you in Lamentations Chapter 1? Notice what Jeremiah said. In Lamentations Chapter 1, just to get a little bit of the context. Jerusalem has been destroyed, Babylon has came in and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and Jeremiah is dealing with people that are just indifferent. They just really don’t care. It’s not that they wanted Jerusalem to get destroyed, it’s not that they wanted Babylon to conquer the people, but at the end of the day, it’s just kind of whatever. That’s what he says, look at Verse 1.
He says, how doth the city sit solitary that was full of people? How has she become a widow, she that was great among the nations? And princes among the provinces? How has she become tributary, she weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks among all her lovers she have none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are all become her enemies. Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude, she dwelled among the heathen, she findeth no rest, all her persecutors overtook her between the straits.
Look at Verse 5. Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper. Look at Verse 7. Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction, and of her misery, all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her. He’s talking about all these things that have happened to the children of Israel, to God’s people. And I want you to notice the response because he’s preaching to these people, and saying this is what happened, and this is the cause sin, and this is what Goliath has done in our life, and look at Verse 12.
His response, and you got to understand the emotion here, Jeremiah the weeping prophet, the prophet whose heart was broken, cries out in Verse 12. And he says Nothing to you, he says is it nothing to you all ye that pass by? Is that you just really don’t care? Does it really just not matter to you what the enemy have done?
You know I’m looking at Christians today, who I just kind of want to shake them and say is it nothing to you? Does it really just not matter to you what’s happening in our country? Does it really just not matter to you that people are dying, and going to hell? Does it really not matter to you, that the next generation of Christianity of Fundamentalism, could be lost? Does it just really not matter to you? I’m just telling you if we are ever going to fight the Goliath in our lives, we’re going to have to learn to deal with indifferent people.
They’ll tell us about Goliath, oh yeah the government passing these law, and blah blah. What are you going to do about? Well you know. Oh yeah, people are dying and going to hell, we need a mission, you going to go soul winning with us? Oh well you know. They’ll tell us all about Goliath, they’ll tell us all about what needs to be done, what could be done, what should be done, what will be done, what will happen when somebody slays Goliath. You say are you going to help? Not planning on doing it myself.
Here’s all I’m telling you. If you’re going to be a David, who is going to slay Goliath, you’re first going to have to confront indifferent people. And the question I have for you is, is it nothing to you? Is it nothing to you all ye that pass by? Do you just really don’t care? Do you just really don’t care that much, or you can’t take time on Monday morning, and open up the word of God and read it? Where you just can’t get on your knees on Monday morning and spend time with God in prayer? Does it really just not matter to you?
Go back to First Samuel 17. We see our hero, our unlikely hero, David, he had to deal with the indifference. He had to deal with people who just don’t care. You talk to them, and they don’t want to talk about spiritual things, they want to talk about everything as long as it’s not Bible. Everything as long as it’s not the word of God. Everything, just don’t ask me to step in and fight Goliath. And fight the battles of the Lord.
So how do you deal with indifferent people? Well why don’t you notice how David dealt with them. Look at Verse 25. And the men of Israel said, have you seen this man that has come up? Surely to defy Israel is he come up. And it shall be that the men who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. They’re telling him about the rewards. And by the way, there is nothing wrong with being motivated by rewards.
The Lord Jesus Christ said, you have to turn there, but in Revelations 22:12. The Lord Jesus Christ said, and Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. You know, if you say, I’m going to serve God, I’m motivated by the judgment seat of Christ, I am motivated by the rewards that I can get, then you might just be a David. Because notice these people, they said two things to him. They said there is a man that is come to defy Israel, and there is a reward for anyone who kills him. Notice what David chose to focus on. Verse 26.
And David spake to the men that stood by him saying, Tell me more about Goliath. Is that what it says? How big is that shield? Is that what he said? How many battle has he won? Is that what he said? Notice they said two things to David. They said there is a giant and there is a reward. And David responds, what shall be done to the man that killeth the Philistine? And taketh away the reproach from Israel? You know what David was focused on? He was focused on the reward. He said I’m not to worried about the giant, God will take care of the giant, but what’s that reward that you’re talking about?
For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him, after this manner saying, so shall it be done to the man that killeth him. Here’s what you need to understand. You say how do I deal? You say pastor I’ve got indifferent people all around me. I’ve got people around me that just don’t care. I’ve got people around me that are just not interested. I’ve got people around me that are just not godly. I’ve got people around me that are just not spiritual. You say how do you deal with them?
Here’s how you deal with it. Here’s how David dealt with it. To fight, to conquer indifferent people, you just have to make sure you stay motivated. What question did David ask? What shall be done to the man that killeth the Philistine? You want to talk to me all day about the Philistine, I want to talk about what shall be done to the man that killeth the Philistine. I want to talk about the reward. I want to talk about … what was David doing? He was trying to motivate himself. There’s something worth. There’s a reward worth the risk that comes. So we notice that David had to deal first with those who were indifferent.
Now listen to me, before you get to Goliath you must confront the indifferent. But there’s a second group of people you’ve got to confront. Not only do you have to confront the indifferent, but you must also confront, before you get to Goliath, you must confront the naysayers. Now what’s a naysayer? A naysayer is a person who criticizes, who objects to, or who opposes something. Notice that David had to deal with the naysayers.
Look at Verse 28. We’re onto our second conversation. And Eliab his eldest brother, heard what he spake unto the men. So Eliab, who’s the older brother, is listening to David talk to the men about what shall happen to the man that shall kill this Philistine? What is the reward all about? Notice what the Bible says about Eliab. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David. Now look, just stop right there and you got ask this question to Eliab. Why? Eliab, why are you so mad? That David is even talking about it. That David is even talking about slaying a Philistine. Why are you so mad? And here’s what you need to understand.
Naysayers will be mad at those who do what they failed to do. Naysayers will be mad at those who do, or who attempt to do what they failed to do. And here’s what you need to understand. If there was anybody in the family of David that was going to fight Goliath, you know who it should have been? Eliab. Remember last week, we talked about how Saul was head and shoulders above every man in Israel? Well you know what’s interesting, and we’re not going to turn there. But in the story of Samuel, when Samuel comes to anoint David, remember when he comes into the house, remember when they forgot about David? They didn’t bring him in. Remember when Samuel walks in, he sees Eliab, the eldest brother, and this is what Samuel said within himself. He said, surely the Lord’s anointed is before me.
And what did God say to Samuel? God said, look not thou upon his stature, he said don’t look at how tall he is, don’t look at his appearance. He said, you know man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh upon the heart. You know what that tells us about Eliab? Not only was he the oldest, he was the biggest. He was the strongest. If there was anybody in the family of David that should have fought Goliath, it should have been Eliab, and when David shows up and he’s talking about what are they going to give, what are the rewards? What will happen to the man that slays David. It angers Goliath, you know why? Listen to me.
If you’re going to accomplish anything for God, if you’re going to slay giants for God. Just realize this, people who are doing nothing will be mad at you for it. They’ll get mad at you. When you are doing what God has called you to do, you say why are you mad at me? I’m just doing what God has called me to do. But you know why they get mad at you? Because they’re not doing it. Look, that’s why your family mocks you. That’s why they say you’re in a cult. That’s why they call you names. You know why? Because they liked it when you were a drunk, they liked it when you when you were a drug addict. They liked it when you were a loser. They liked it when you were living wrong. You know why? Because they are same thing.
When they see you fighting that Goliath, and your marriage is getting on fine, and your children are being obedient, and your finances are getting better, and you’re getting cleaned up, and you’re doing right, it bothers them. It makes them mad, why? Because they’re not willing to fight the same Goliath. And look if you’re going to fight the Goliath in your life, you going to have to learn to deal with the naysayers. Those who will criticize, and object, and oppose you, and be mad at you, and be upset with you. Why? They’re mad at you because you’re doing something, because you’re doing something that they’re not willing to do.
Because you’re doing something that they’re afraid to do. Look at Verse 28 again. Eliab heard his brother, heard what he spake unto the man, and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he sat. Not only will the naysayers get mad at you when you do, or when you attempt to do what they failed to do, naysayers will also question your motives. And that’s what he said. Why camest thou down hither? Why camest thou down hither? Why camest thou down hither? Here’s what’s interesting about that. It was not David’s idea to come down to the battle. David was very content with the sheep. Why did David come? Because his dad asked him to.
And today the naysayers, why are you … why camest thou down hither? And with whom has thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? Notice the questioning of his motives. I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart. For thou art come down, that thou mightest see the battle. See the naysayers will not only get mad at you, the naysayers will question your motives. There’s one more thing I want you to notice there. I read it already, but I want you to see it again. The naysayers will belittle you. They’ll belittle you. Notice what he said. He said, with whom has thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?
You know what he was telling David? He was saying, you’re a nobody David. You’re a nobody, you’re a nothing, God can’t use you, get these thoughts out of your head. And listen to me. Naysayers, the naysayers will constantly question your motives, they’ll constantly belittle you, they’ll constantly argue with you, criticize you, be against you. I remember when we started reading about this church, but you know people were just saying, ah this, you know, this new IFB movement. You guys are going to accomplish nothing. You know. A couple of weeks ago, we had over 3,000 people saved in one day. And glory be to God, it’s not us.
But you know what they used to say to us, they’d say, you know where did you leave those few sheep? You say, why were they so mad? Because we were fighting the battle they refuse to. That’s why. Because we were taking the stands that they were too scared to stand, that’s why. And I’m just telling you, if you’re going to slay Goliath, if you’re going to be the man, if you’re going to be the woman that’s going to conquer the Goliath in your life, you’re going to have to deal with those who are indifferent. They can tell you all about all the problems, and all the issues, and what can be done, and should be done, but don’t count on them to help you.
And you’re going to have to deal with the naysayers. Who will criticize you, who will belittle you, who will mock you, and they’ll question you. And here’s what you need to understand. And here’s why many people never get to Goliath. Because sometimes we are fighting Goliath for our own glory. And when we do it for ourselves, when we do it for ourselves, it bothers us when people question our motives. Because they’re putting their finger on something that they might be right about. When we do it for ourselves, it bothers us when they belittle what we’re accomplishing. Why? Because we’re really doing it, because we want people to see how strong we are, we want people to see how great we are, but you know what? When you get to the place where you can actually come before God and say, you know what?
Forget what anybody says, forget what anybody thinks. Lord I am doing this for you. I’m not fighting my own battles, I’m here to fight the battles of the Lord. If you can actually ever get to that point, then it doesn’t matter what they say about you. It doesn’t matter what they write about you. It doesn’t matter what they accuse you with. It doesn’t matter that they question you. It doesn’t matter that they belittle you. It doesn’t matter because here’s the thing. It’s not about you. David, had to not only deal with the indifferent.
Confront and overcome the indifferent. David had to confront and overcome the naysayers. But there’s a third conversation that David had. Before he got to Goliath. Notice Verse 31. And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul. People started talking about, hey there’s a young man talking about fighting Goliath. And it came to the ears of Saul the king. Notice last part of Verse 31. And he, that’s Saul, and he sent for him. That’s David. Who’s Saul?
Look at Verse 32. And David said to Saul, let no man’s heart fail because of him. Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine, and please understand this. That’s not pride, that’s confidence. Sometimes people … oh you’re pride filled. You know we need to be careful about being prideful, God resents the proud, and gives with grace to the humble. But sometimes people confuse pride with confidence. And you have the confidence in God and here David shows up and says, hey, thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, notice what Saul says. Thou art not able to go against this Philistine. He says, you cannot beat Goliath. To fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
Now who is Saul? Because here we find Saul advising David, and telling David what he can and cannot do. What does Saul represent? Here’s what you need to understand. Saul represents worldly counsel. Because if you know the story up to this point, is Saul right with God at this point? Yes or no? No. In fact Saul is extremely backslidden. The kingdom has already been, you know, prophesied that will remove it from Saul, in fact the story of Goliath is setting in motion, the new king that God is going to replace Saul with. God has already determined that the kingdom will be taken from Saul, God has already determined that the kingdom will be … that he will be relieved from his duty. And here we have Saul, who is having worldly counsel, who is a worldly counselor, and he goes to David.
I want you to notice a couple of things about worldly counsel. Notice the last part of Verse 31. And he, who is that? That’s Saul. Sent for him. That’s David. Let me explain something to you. Worldly counselors will always find you. They will go out of their way to throw in their two cents. To give you their thoughts, to give you their opinion, and worldly counselors will always give you bad advice. Notice Saul says, you can’t do it. Thou art not able to go against this Philistine. Now here’s the thing, it’s true that David was not able to, but you know who was able to? God.
God is able, God is able to win the victory. God is able to empower him, but here we have Saul, whose the worldly counsel. Coming up to David, coming to David, wanting to give him wrong counsel. Doesn’t the Bible say this? Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. So what am I going to have to do if I’m going to beat Goliath. Here’s what you’re going to have to do. You’re going to have to beat worldly counsel. You’re going to have to conquer worldly counsel. You’re going to have to overcome worldly counsel.
Listen to me very carefully. Somebody’s going to walk up to you and say, you can’t do it, you shouldn’t do it, you shouldn’t even try, don’t do this, do that, don’t go here, go there. Don’t make that decision, make this decision. Don’t take that position, take this position. And you say, when somebody gives me counsel, what should I do with that counsel? Here’s the first thing you should do. You should consider the source. Who is giving you this counsel? Because you know what I’ve noticed, is worldly people they just want to call you and tell you what they think you should be doing, and what they think you should not be doing. And what they think the stand that you should be taking, the stand that you should not be taking. The decision that you should be making, the decision you should not be making.
But listen to me. Blessed is the man, that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. Who walketh not in the way of sinners. Who sitteth not in the seat of the scornful. But is the light, is in the law of the Lord. You say, where should I get my counsel from? The word of God. You should get it from God, and God’s word. You should allow the Bible to counsel you, you should allow those who are following the Bible to counsel you. But when somebody whose backslidden and worldly, somebody who is doing wrong in their life, someone who is not accomplishing anything for God in their life, is giving you counsel, you know what you should do? You should go running and screaming in the opposite direction.
They’re giving you the wrong counsel. When the worldly and backslidden … if you want to make all these decisions, say who told you to do that? Oh well you know, my in-laws. Your backslidden in-laws told you to do that? Oh you know, my co-workers. Your unsaved co-worker? Why don’t you ask somebody who loves the Lord? Why don’t you ask somebody who walks with God? Or better yet, why don’t you just ask the word of God? Why don’t you just ask the Bible?
See before you get to Goliath, you have to confront worldly counsel. Because worldly counsel, worldly counselors will always give you their two cents. I remember when the whole you know protest thing happened in 2016. People I didn’t even know, they’re sending me text messages, I don’t even know who they … I don’t have their number saved on my phone, they’re telling me, hey brother I just need to advise you, you should counsel the service.
Hey you need to back down, you need to apologize. Oh when’s the last time you went soul winning? When’s the last time you read the Bible? I’m not trying to belittle, I’m just telling you, if someone’s living a worldly sinful life, maybe you shouldn’t be taking their counsel. When Saul, whose backslidden, when Saul whose not right with God, when Saul whose not doing right in his life, is walking up to David and saying, thou art not able to go against this Philistine, to fight with him, for thou art but a youth. And he a man of war from his youth.
Trying to tell you why you can’t accomplish what God has called you to accomplish, what you do? What you do? Here’s all you do. Here’s all you have to do. What did David do? He just politely disagreed. Notice Verse 34. And David said to Saul, You backslidden heathen. Is that what he said? He said thy servant kept his father’s sheep, we’ll talk about this next week. And there came a lion, a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered him out of his mouth, and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him, and slew him, thy servant slew both the lion, and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them. Seeing he had the befouled the armies of the living God. You say, what does David say?
Here’s what David said, he said I politely disagree. You say I’m not able, and you’re right I’m not able, but God is. In Verse 37, David said moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, go, the Lord be with thee.
Notice he said, David said, the Lord will do it, and then Saul says, okay well then let the Lord help you. The Lord be with thee. You know why you should not take worldly counsel? Because when they see you do it in the strength of God, they’ll understand that it was God who did it. It was God who accomplished it. It was God who won the battle.
Now next week we’re going to pick up at Verse 38. And next week we’re going to look at this idea of facing your fears, because again, there are some things that make you afraid, and dismayed. And we’re going to look at some of the steps, just a few more steps that David took when he actually fought Goliath, when he actually went against Goliath, when he actually went to fight Goliath. And how he faced his fear.
But I want you to just notice, one verse that we skipped. We read it, but I didn’t really talk about in Verse 29 there in the chapter. And this is a real famous verse in this story. It’s often quoted when you read about David and Goliath. Look at Verse 29. The Bible says this, And David said, this is when they’re attacking him, and telling him, you’re not right, you’re not right with God, you’re filled with pride, you know why did you come here? And David said, what have I now done? That’s what he says.
Is there not a cause? Is there not a cause? You say, well what is he saying. He saying, is there not a reason, is there not a reason why someone should fight Goliath, why someone should take the stand? Why someone should take the risk? Is there not a cause? Listen to me. When the indifferent, come to you and try to tell you, you know don’t count on me. If it were me, that’s not what I would do. If it were me, that’s not the position I would take. If it were me, listen to me, you say what do you respond? Here’s what you should respond to the indifferent. Is there not a cause?
Is there not a reason to get involved? Is there not a reason to get existed? Is there not a reason to get in the fight? Is there not a reason to do something and try something, and accomplish something? Is there not a cause?
When the naysayers question you, belittle you, mock you, question your motives, tell you, you know you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. God can’t use you. You’re … where did you leave those sheep? You know what you should respond? All you need to respond is, Is there not a cause? Is there not a cause? Is there not a reason to take the risk? To fight? To maybe be hurt, and injured? Is there not a cause?
When the worldly counselor goes out of their way, it’s interesting Saul goes out of his way, it’s not that David went to Saul, Saul went to David. When the worldly counselor goes out of their way to call you, to email you, to text you, to try to tell you, here’s what I think you should be doing. You say what’s the proper response? It’s this. Is there not a cause? Is there not a cause? Isn’t there a reason? Isn’t there a reason to look? When the indifferent person, when the indifferent person tries to influence you, here’s what you need to ask yourself.
Look at the individual that is telling you, you can’t do it. Look at the individual that’s telling you, you shouldn’t do it. Look at the individual that is telling you, you know you’re making the wrong decision, or the battle can’t be won. This Goliath is here. To shame us, and defy us. Look at that individual and just ask yourself, is this person indifferent? Is this person spiritual? Is this person fighting the Lord’s battles?
Oh well you know, I don’t think you should be judgemental. It’s funny because the Bible talks about not judging hypocritically, but the Bible does say, to judge righteous judgment. And here’s all I’m saying. Is if somebody who’s fighting the battle of the Lord, who’s right with God, who’s walking with God, who’s not indifferent, gives me a phone call, and says don’t do it. Don’t go there. Don’t accomplish that. Don’t make that position. I want to listen to that person.
But when I’m listening to an indifferent nobody, who is doing nothing, who is accomplishing nothing, you say what do you do? You just don’t listen. You just overcome that confrontation. Because they will keep you, they will keep you from slaying your Goliath. When the naysayer shows up, and says here’s why you can’t do it. Here’s why you can’t accomplish it. Here’s why it can’t be done. And you look at that individual and say, you what I think you might be mad because you’re not doing it. Say what do you do? You just turn away. If you read the story, David just turned away from Eliab. Started talking to somebody else.
And when Saul calls you. When your sibling, when your brother, or your sister, whose backslidden, calls you, and says here’s what I think you should be doing. When you’re in-laws, or your own parents, or your friend you grew up with, when they call you, and they’re backslidden as hell, and they’re not right with God, and they don’t read the Bible, and they don’t pray, and they’re saying well here’s what you should do. The decision you should be making. You know don’t walk in that counsel.
You say why? Because look, if you listen to Saul, you’ll end up like Saul. And if you listen to the naysayers, you listen to Eliab, you’ll end up like Eliab. And if you listen to the indifferent, you’ll end up like the indifferent. See the David’s in this world have to do something different. The David’s of this world, have to fight certain battles. Before they ever even get to Goliath.
So here’s a question for you. Are you going to make it to Goliath? Are you even going to make it to Goliath? Or are you going to let the indifferent, the naysayers, and the worldly counsel you, advise you, influence you, and stop you? See what made David different from everybody else in the nation of Israel, is that everybody else had this crowd mentality. They’re all saying, look at Goliath, look how big he is, look it nobody can fight him. And David was able to confront those little giants. Confront those little battles. That allowed him to get to Goliath.
Lets bow our heads and have prayer.
Heavenly Father, Thank you Lord for your word. Thank you for these stories, and scripture you’ve given them us to be able to learn from, to understand from. And Lord I pray you would help me in my life, and I pray that you would help everybody in this room. There are certain battles God has called them to fight. There are Goliaths that they are supposed to win. And there are indifferent, non-spiritual, non-committed, not doing anything people, trying to influence them. There are naysayers, trying to discourage them. And there are worldly people trying to counsel them. Backslidden people trying to tell them what to do.
Father I pray you’d help us to remember, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. Lord I pray you’d help us, I pray you’d help us to beat those little giants. Help us to see them for what they are, help us to conquer those little fights before we even get to Goliath. Because if we don’t beat those battles, we’ll never get to Goliath. We’ll never accomplish what God has prepared for us in our lives. Lord I pray you’d help us, I pray that you would help us to be a church filled with Davids. Fighting big battles for God. Making those giants that make us dismayed, and afraid, fall.
Lord I pray you’d help me, help me Lord to be able to fight these battles. To kindly and politely deal with the indifferent. To not allow the naysayers to get in my head, and discourage me. And to definitely not allow the worldly, backslidden people of this world to counsel me. Lord help us to be like David. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.