How David Prepared Himself to Serve God by Fighting Goliath

One of the amazing things about the Bible is that any story can be read on many levels.  This is the first of three messages on the David story.  We know how mightily God used David and we should want God to use us in a mighty way.  This article tells why God was able to use David so that we can get ready for God to use us.

The second discusses the story from the point of view of how family members get along or don’t.  The third shows that in the very first recorded example of an army hiring a civilian contractor to do a job, the contractor didn’t get paid even though he performed on time and under budget.

Most of you have heard the story over and over, but you probably heard it from a Bible storybook or from a Sunday school lesson.  Do Bible stories keep us from sin?

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  Psalm 119:11

The Bible teaches that hiding God’s Word in my heart, that is, memorizing Bible verses, keeps me from sin.  It does not say that hiding God’s stories in my heart will keep me from sin.  God’s stories may be interesting, they may be fun to tell and to read, but they won’t keep us from sin.  For that, we have to read God’s Word.

I’m going to ask you to try, if you can, to forget you ever heard the story of David and Goliath.  I always heard that story as men told it, not as God told it.  Most of us heard that story as men tell it in their words.  Please turn to I Samuel 17, forget what you know about the story, and let’s read it in God’s words.  It’s much more important to know how God told the story than to know how men told the story.  If you listen closely, you’ll get a lot of details that are left out when men tell it.

Read the Story – I Samuel 17

God used David to kill Goliath, a giant who had insulted God by saying that Goliath’s god was more powerful than David’s God.  When the Philistines saw that David had killed their champion, they realized that David could not have killed Goliath without God’s help.  When they saw that David’s God was more powerful than their god, the Philistines ran away.  Did God need David to kill Goliath?  No, God could have sent fire from heaven to wipe out Goliath as He wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah and as He sent fire to burn up the sacrifice and the stone altar on Mount Carmel.  God didn’t need David but He chose to work through David.

God doesn’t need us to do the work of His kingdom, but God chooses to work through us.

We’re going to find out why God was able to use David.  God has used men from the earliest times down to today.  God wanted to use David, He wants to use me, and He wants to use you.  Where else in the Bible does God do His work through men?  When He raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus had men roll away the stone so that Lazarus could come out of the tomb (Jn. 11:39).  God often gives people things to do when He’s working.

Does God still work though His people today?  In Mark 16:15, Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel,” that means you and me.  God could spread the Gospel without us, but He chooses to work through His people.  I don’t know why He uses men and women, but that’s how God works.  He worked through Abraham and Sarah, He worked through Moses and Miriam, He worked through Rahab and Joshua, He worked through Ruth and David, and He wants to work through you.

God doesn’t use everybody.  When God sent Samuel to choose a man to be king instead of Saul, Samuel wanted to anoint David’s oldest brother Eliab, but God said no:

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.  I Samuel 16:7

Samuel wanted David’s older brother Eliab to be king, but God didn’t use Eliab, He used David.  Why?  Why could God use David and not his older brother?  What made God able to use David?  God looks on the heart and David’s heart was right toward God.  As we look at what David did that showed that God could use him, I want you to ask yourself, “Could God use me?”  I want you to ask yourself what you are doing so that God can use you now and in the future.

Let’s look at three reasons why God was able to use David:

I God was Real to David

God wasn’t just an idea to David, God was real.

A. David was insulted when Goliath insulted David’s God v 26b.  Are you insulted when you hear people use God’s name as a curse?  What do you do about it?

B. David gave God the glory for protecting him from the bear and from the lion v 37.  David knew that God would help him kill Goliath for defying God v 37.  Do you thank God publicly when He takes care of you?

C. David fought in God’s name v 45.  Do you work in God’s name?  With all your might?  (Ec 9:10)

D. David gave God the glory in advance v 46-47.

This is part of what the Bible means by saying that David’s heart was perfect toward the Lord his God (I Kings 15:3).  God was real to David; God was a person to David.  David was insulted when God was insulted.  David trusted God, David believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness as it was for Abraham (Rom 4:3, Gal 3:6, Jam 2:23).  Romans 4:9-13 says we get righteousness through faith in the same way.

Is God real to you?  God was real to David, but there’s more to why God was able to use David.

II David was Prepared:

David was ready to serve God.  The Bible tells us how David got ready to serve.

A. David had kept sheep.  This taught him leadership and responsibility as it taught Moses responsibility.  If you have a job, you’ve learned at lest some responsibility.  What about kids?  Do they do chores around the house?  Taking out the garbage or feeding the animals teaches children to be responsible.

B. David protected his sheep by killing the lion and the bear (v 37).  This taught him to do his duty and protect the sheep at the risk of his life.  Our children seldom risk their lives to do their chores, but when our son went to bed without feeding the dog, we made him get up and feed the dog.

C. David practiced the harp; we know that music helped him later.  Is making music easy?  Did David have anyone to tell him to practice?  Or was he responsible enough to practice without someone telling him to?  If your children are taking music lessons, do they practice on their own or do you have to make them practice?  Do they do their chores without you telling them to or do you have to remind them every time?

D. David also practiced with his sling without anyone telling him to.  Kids, it’s a lot easier for you to learn responsibility if you have parents to help you, but David did most of his learning while he was alone with the sheep.  You can learn responsibility without parents if you lean on God.

Judges 20:16 tells us that there were 7,000 chosen men who could sling stones “at an hair breadth, and not miss.”  Slinging was a well-known art, but it took practice.  David chose to practice.  Nobody made him practice while he was out there with the sheep; he practiced because he was responsible and because he knew he might need his sling to protect the sheep.  Do you think he was surprised when he used his sling for God?

David’s heart was “perfect toward God” so his heart was ready to fight Goliath, he trusted in God so his courage was ready to fight, and he had practiced so his aim was ready to fight.  David was prepared.  Are you prepared?  What weapons do you use for God today?  We don’t often fight giants, but we always have to fight Satan.  Ephesians 6:13-17 tells me that the Bible gives us our weapons for fighting Satan.  It talks of the sword of the spirit, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith.  These weapons are for attacking; none of God’s weapons cover my back.  I’m not supposed to run away from Satan.  If I resist him, he runs away from me.

David’s sling had no value as a defense against Goliath’s sword or spear.  Like the Bible, David’s weapon is a weapon of attack; it’s not a weapon of defense.  As David practiced how to attack with his sling, you and I can practice with God’s Word so that we can attack the forces of Satan.

God was real to David and David was prepared to attack Goliath, but there’s still more.

David was Prudent

When Saul heard what David said, he told someone to bring David to him.  Saul didn’t think David could fight Goliath, but David convinced Saul that God would bring David the victory.  Saul could see David’s faith.

A. Saul offered to let David use his armor (17:38).  That was a great honor, but David did not know how to use Saul’s weapons (17:39).  If he had used the King’s weapons, he would not have been prepared and he would probably have lost.

How often do we try to do things when we aren’t prepared?  How often do God’s people do something that God didn’t tell us to do?  God’s plan for running a church is laid out in the New Testament, but people get bored with what’s in the Bible and want to try something else.  I Co 1:21 says that God chose to use preaching to save “them that believe,” that is, God’s people.  God says He uses preaching to save His people, but churches get tired of preaching and want to try seminars, or TV, or other fancy new programs.  Does this work?

Was David bored with his sling?  Should he have tried something new when he was about to go into battle?

B. David took 5 smooth stones (17:40) from a brook.  Not just any stones, David took 5 smooth stones.  Why did he want smooth stones?  Smooth stones don’t wobble as much.  A slung stones goes between 60 and 100 MPH.  A rough stone would wobble and David had to shoot straight.  Why 5?  Why not just one, that’s all he used.  David was careful, he knew his first shot might miss, and he didn’t want to run out of ammunition, but why only 5 stones?  Why not more?  17:48 says that David ran toward Goliath.  If he’d been carrying too many stones, he’d have been too heavy to run.

Conclusion

The Bible tells us why God could use David: God was real to David, David was prepared, and David was prudent.  Could God use you now, or are you too young?  How old was Samuel when God first called him?  I Samuel 1:24 tells us that Samuel’s mother brought him to the temple “when she had weaned him” and that “the child was young.”  I Samuel 2:11 says that he started serving right away, God uses young people but He only uses people who are willing to be used.  I Samuel 3:10 tells us that when God called, Samuel said, “Speak; for thy servant heareth.”  In calling himself God’s servant, Samuel told God that he was willing to serve God.  Are you willing to serve God?  Do you want God to call you or would you rather He left you alone?

Is God real to you?  God is preparing you to serve Him.  He had you born into a family that would bring you to church; He put you in classes where older Christians can teach you how to be ready to serve God.  When you’re ready, will you do what the Bible taught you to do or will you try something different because it seems fancy or flashy?  It’s always best to do things God’s way.  David did what he’d learned and what he’d practiced, and it worked for him.  Doing what God has you learn and practice will work for you, too.

So far, this has been a pretty conventional sermon based on David and Goliath.  I’m sure you’ve heard most of these points before.  But now let’s look at the details.  God told this story; He put in details which we often overlook.  God put in the details for our learning and to give us hope (Romans 15:4).  Let’s read the fine print in the next paper.

https://successful-marriage.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-david-story-illustrates-family.html