Good evening, church.
We're going to continue our series from 1 Samuel, and tonight we're going to study chapter 17.
It's a famous story.
It's about David versus Goliath.
And we all have Goliath standing and looking at us in our Christian walk.
So as we study this chapter tonight, we're going to meet our true champion, and we're going to turn to our true champion.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, thank you for gathering us here tonight.
And Lord, please prepare our hearts to receive your message.
And Lord, I pray that only your deeds, your perfect track records, and your glory will shine tonight.
And Lord, use your servant only as an instrument to deliver your message.
In Jesus' name, amen.
1 Samuel chapter 17 can be found in your pew Bible, page 239.
That's page 239.
It's a long chapter, so we're not going to read the whole chapter tonight.
We will look at certain parts of the chapter, and you're welcome to read this entire chapter on your own.
So Philistines gather their armies for battle once again.
And one side, there's a Philistine army with this 10-foot giant named Goliath.
And the other side, there is King Saul and Israel army, and they're facing each other.
And Goliath is just taunting the Israel army, throwing insults and threats, and just physically intimidating them,
because he is the champion, and he is almost 10-foot tall.
Let's look at verses 8-11, and also verse 16.
Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel,
Why have you come out to draw up for battle?
Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul?
Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.
If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants.
But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.
And the Philistines said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day.
Give me a man that we may fight together.
When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
Verse 16.
For 40 days, the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.
So for 40 days and nights, this giant is taunting the Israel army.
And he's putting a lot of pressure on them, saying, choose one man.
And if you guys, he wins, we'll be your servants.
If I win, then you're going to be our servants.
And King Saul, we learned in previous weeks, the Bible says King Saul was a head taller than everybody else.
So let's just say King Saul was maybe close to seven foot tall.
But he's not stepping forward.
Basically, everybody is just frozen, gripped by this paralyzing fear.
And this is, and the way he taunts them, when he says, you guys are but nothing, you guys are nothing but servants of Saul.
Which is not true because they are actually armies of living God.
And they have track record that goes back to Moses, Joshua, Gideon.
But Goliath is, for 40 days and 40 nights, he's keep telling them, you guys are nothing but servants of Saul.
He conceals Israel's true identity.
And just keep gripping them and pushing them to look within themselves.
Look at yourself.
Who's going to fight me?
And he defied all ranks of Israel.
And paralyzing fear, it leads to unbelief.
And eventually you end up in despair.
In the times of Moses, when they were just about to enter the promised land,
they sent out 12 spies into the promised land to scope the land first.
Only two spies came back and reported to the people saying that, yes, the Lord gave us this land.
We can conquer this land because the Lord is with us.
He's going to fight for us.
But rest of the tent spies came back and they said, we're doomed.
We're good as dead.
They said, they have fortified walls.
They have fortified cities.
And they are giants in this land.
And they came back.
They cried all night in their tent saying they were doomed.
They were just gripped by this paralyzing fear when they saw the sights of the walls and the cities and the giants living in this land.
This generation saw what God did.
They witnessed the 10 plagues God put on the Egyptians.
This generation actually walked through the parted Red Sea.
They saw the pillar of cloud by the day and pillar of fire by the night.
And yet, when they heard this report from these 10 spies, all of a sudden they just forgot God's perfect track record.
They went into despair and unbelief.
And the Bible says God became angry with that generation.
And nobody entered the promised land except Joshua and Caleb.
Now, David comes to the battlefield.
And he was delivering some food, some goodies for his brothers and brothers' captains.
And as he comes to the battle, he also hears the same threats.
Goliath is making these insults and threats.
And as soon as King David hears, now he has different response.
He's not gripped by this paralyzing fear.
Let's turn to verse 26.
David says,
For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?
Not just any ordinary army.
King David says,
Who is defying the armies of the living God?
One of my favorite battle stories from the Old Testament is from Joshua chapter 10.
There was an Amorite king who forms a coalition.
He gets five other kings in the region.
And then they form a coalition to attack Israel together.
So the battle begins.
And Joshua and the armies of the living God, they are winning.
They are against all odds.
They were winning against this coalition of armies led by five kings.
But as the battle is going on, they needed more daylight to finish the battle.
So Joshua cries out to God.
And then God, the Bible says,
The sun stopped in the midst of heaven.
And eventually, the sun set so slowly,
it gave Israelites another whole day worth of daylight.
And they come out victoriously.
One night, I was praying to God.
And I was praising Him.
Imagining this particular battle scene.
I don't know how God...
I mean, sun stood still basically means the earth kind of stopped rotating.
And it slowed down to the point it almost stopped.
I don't know whether God just had to verbally command the earth to slow down and stop.
Or whether He put His invisible hand on top of the earth and making it to slow down.
I trembled in joy as I was praying.
Because this is awesome God.
Our God is mighty and awesome God.
Now, David...
I'm sure he heard all these stories of his ancestors.
But to him, this was not just a folktale that he heard from his grandfather.
All the battles that God fought for Israel during the times of Moses, Joshua, Gideon.
David's faith was deeply rooted in God's perfect track record.
So as soon as he heard these insults and threats from Goliath,
He's saying, who is this guy?
Who is this defying the armies of living God?
Let's look at David's testimony from verses 34 to 37.
So David goes up to King Saul and says,
King Saul, let me fight this guy.
And this is what he tells King Saul.
Your servant used to keep sheep for his father.
And when there came a lion or a bear and took a lamb from the flock,
I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth.
And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.
Your servant has struck down both lions and bears,
and this circumcised Philistine shall be like one of them.
For he has defied the armies of the living God.
And David said,
The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear
will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.
The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear
will deliver me from the hand of Goliath.
When the enemy is pushing for them to look within themselves,
David does not look within himself.
He looks to the Lord.
David says,
The Lord who rescued me from the paw of bear and lion.
The Lord will also rescue me from this ten-foot giant.
So,
when the enemy
attacks us,
trying to conceal our true identity
and also create this paralyzing fear
so that we're going to despair and unbelief,
David just does not look at himself.
I mean,
if you really look at David,
he's not even a soldier.
He's a shepherd.
He's a local shepherd.
The Bible said he's a young boy.
So,
I don't know,
maybe he's 15,
16,
19 at the most.
And he is facing
this ten-foot professional warrior.
So,
if David was looking at himself,
I can,
I can fight this guy.
But he
knows God's track record.
And his faith
was deeply
rooted
in God's track record.
Not his own.
Not his own strength.
He didn't go up to
King Saul and say,
Oh,
King,
I have this great secret weapon
that I can just get,
you know,
put him down.
He didn't say,
you know,
I perfected this sling skill
with the right wind,
with the right velocity,
with the right size of stone.
I couldn't,
he,
he didn't do that.
It wasn't,
it wasn't about him.
He said,
the Lord
who rescued me
from the bear
and the lion's paw
will deliver me
from the hand
of Philistine.
The other thing we
learn about
David
is
that he
did not
abandon his sheep.
He went
after the bear.
He went
after the lion.
He risked his life
to rescue
his sheep.
I have a teenage son.
His name is also David.
He's 14.
If my son
was a shepherd,
I'll remind them
every morning,
son,
I love you so much.
If a bear
or lion,
never mind bear
or lion,
a wolf
takes our sheep,
just walk away.
Do not risk your life.
I love you too much.
I don't even want you
to get a scratch
on your body.
It's okay.
Just at the end
of the day,
tell me
how many
sheep we lost.
I can write that down
on our business
loss column
in our tax return.
That's okay.
Don't risk your life.
But David
did not do that.
He
didn't abandon
his sheep.
He went
after the bear,
after the lion,
risking his life.
And he
rescued the sheep.
Now,
who does this
remind us of?
Who else
does not
abandon us?
Just like we sang
a couple of minutes ago,
who always
comes to our rescue?
Who never
leave us?
Who never
abandon us?
And that
is our shepherd,
the true
humble
king
and our champion,
Jesus.
in Luke 15,
Jesus tells us
a parable.
If a man,
if a man has
a hundred
sheep,
and if one
gets lost,
this man
will search
and search
until he
finds
the lost
sheep.
And when
he finds
this lost
sheep,
Jesus said,
he rejoices.
He calls
all his
friends
and he
celebrates
because he
found
the lost
sheep.
And that
picture
of the
man
who is
searching,
not giving
up,
until he
finds
that lost
sheep.
That is
our shepherd,
Jesus.
In John
chapter 10,
Jesus tells
us,
I
am the
good
shepherd.
The good
shepherd
lays down
his life
for the
sheep.
And this
is exactly
what he
did for
us.
He
laid
down
his life
humbly
for us
so we
can have
life
in him.
I would
like to
read from
Philippians
chapter 2
verses
5
through
11.
and this
passage
shows us
how
humble
Jesus
is.
Verse
5
Have
this
mind
among
yourselves
which
is yours
in
Christ
Jesus
who
though
he was
in the
form of
God
did not
count
equality
with God
a thing
to be
grasped
but
empty
himself
by taking
the form
of a
servant.
Being
born in
the likeness
of men
and being
found
in human
form
he humbled
himself
by becoming
obedient
to the
point of
death.
death
even
death
on a
cross
therefore
God
has
highly
exalted
him
and
bestowed
on him
the name
that is
above
every
name.
So
at the
name of
Jesus
every
knee
should
bow
in
heaven
and on
earth
and under
the earth
and every
tongue
confess
that Jesus
Christ
is Lord
to the
glory of
God the
Father.
So
David
is
like a
sign
or
a preview
of what
to come.
David
is a
shepherd
who
became a
king
and
Jesus
is our
shepherd
and Jesus
is our
perfect
king.
So
when we
see David
we can
see
what
is
to
come
after
David.
and this
morning
Pastor
Nick
preached
about
you know
God's
covenant
with
Abraham.
God
blessed
Abraham
and he
made this
covenant
with him
saying
all
nations
will be
blessed
through
you.
God's
covenant
with Abraham
is a
threefold
blessing.
God
formed
a
nation
of
Israel
through
Abraham
and
God
blessed
Abraham
so his
descendants
will be
as many
as
stars
in the
sky.
And
the
third
blessing
is the
spiritual
blessing
that
all
nations
will be
blessed
through
you.
Since
Abraham
14
generations
later
King
David
comes
just
like
God
promised
Abraham
28
generations
later
from
King
David
then our
true
king
Jesus
comes
and
this
is all
according
to
God's
promise.
We read
today
in the
morning
Isaiah
chapter
55
and
there
it says
God's
words
do not
return to
him
empty.
it
accomplishes
what
he
purposes
and
that's
exactly
what's
happening
in
1 Samuel
17.
You're
seeing
God's
promise
to
Abraham
being
fulfilled.
King
David
comes
and
then
28
generations
later
our
true
champion
Jesus
comes.
Now
Jesus'
battle
was not
facing
a
ten-foot
giant.
Jesus'
battle
was not
about
flesh and
blood.
Jesus'
battle
was not
a nation
against
a nation.
Jesus
conquered
death.
Jesus
defeated
the
power of
sin.
And
so
conquering
death
he
became
the
true
champion.
Just
like
just like
fear
is
real
the
enemy
the
devil
is
also
real.
Apostle
Peter
warned
us
how
the
devil
prowls
around
like a
roaring
lion
seeking
someone
to
devour.
Is
the
enemy
taunting
you
like
the
Goliath
taunted
the
Israel
army?
is the
enemy
using
the
same
tactic
trying
to make
you
forget
that you
are
a child
you're
children
of God
instead
the
enemy
pushes
you
to
look
within
yourself
and
when we
look
within
ourselves
there
is
greed
pride
depression
habitual
sins
secret
sins
people
that
we
just
cannot
forgive
wounds
from
the
past
but
this
is
what
enemy
does
enemy
does
not
want
us
to
fix
our
eyes
on
the
true
champion
enemy
says
no
keep
look
within
yourself
we
need
to
fix
our
eyes
on
Jesus
because
he
conquered
the
death
once
and for
all
and
that's
not
something
we
can
do
that's
something
only
Jesus
can
do
and he
did
but
in our
Christian
walk
we
will
constantly
see
these
giants
because
the
enemy
will
constantly
taunt
us
so
how
do
we
how
do
we
fix
our
eyes
on
Jesus
there
was
a
battle
between
Amalekites
and
the
Israelites
this
is
in
Exodus
chapter
17
so
when
Amalekites
attacked
Israel
Joshua
led
the
armies
of
living
God
and
Moses
stood
at the
top of
the hill
with his
hands
up
and
when
Moses
kept
his
hands
up
the
Israel
army
they were
winning
but
eventually
fatigue
sets
in
so
Moses
put
his
arms
down
and
then
the
direction
of
the
battle
changes
and
now
the
Israel
is
losing
so
Aaron
and
her
brings
a
stone
for
Moses
to
sit
on
Aaron
on
one
side
holding
up
one
arm
and
her
on
the
other
side
holding
up
the
other
arm
and
they
supported
Moses
arm
throughout
the
whole
battle
my
brothers
and
sisters
in
Christ
do
you
have
Aaron's
and
her
in
your
life
do
you
have
Aaron's
and
her
praying
with
you
praying
for
you
encouraging
you
reminding
you
to fix
your
eyes
on
Jesus
instead
of
looking
within
yourself
or
are
you
trying
to
do
this
alone
by
yourself
if
you
already
have
people
surrounding
you
praying
for
you
praying
with
you
encouraging
you
that
is
that
is
wonderful
keep
praying
keep
encouraging
one
another
reminding
one
another
to
fix
your
eyes
upon
Jesus
if
you
don't
have
that
or
if
you
are
new
to
our
church
this
is
a
perfect
opportunity
in
front
of
you
there
is
a
welcome
card
but
back
of
the
welcome
card
you
can
write
your
prayer
request
if
you
want
us
to
if
you
want
only
staff
and
elders
to
pray
for
you
can
check
that
box
if
you
want
the
whole
church
as a
body
of
Christ
to
pray
for
you
can
check
the
other
box
check
both
point
is
we
would
like
to
pray
for
you
let
us
know
how
we
can
pray
for
you
this
Thursday
we're
having
church
prayer
meeting
at
seven
o'clock
so
I would
like
to
invite
you
to
come
to
our
prayer
meeting
this
Thursday
at
seven
so
we
can
pray
for
one
another
encourage
one
another
and
even
if
the
enemy
threatens
us
prowls
around
like
a
lion
that
we
can
encourage
one
another
remind
each
other
saying
don't
get
scared
look
at
Jesus
perfect
track
record
look
at
Jesus
so
I
invite
all of
you
to
use
the
prayer
card
and
also
come
this
Thursday
evening
I
would
like
to
end
this
evening
with
passage
from
1
Corinthians
chapter
15
verses
54
to
58
death
is
swallowed
up
in
victory
oh
death
where
is
your
victory
oh
death
where
is
your
sting
the
sting
of
death
is
sin
and
the
power
of
sin
is
the
law
but
thanks
be to
God
who
gives
us
the
victory
through
our
Lord
Jesus
Christ
therefore
my
beloved
brothers
and
sisters
be
steadfast
immovable
always
abounding
in the
work
of the
Lord
knowing
that
in the
Lord
your
labor
is
not
in
vain
stand
firm
my
brothers
and
sisters
in
Christ
let
us
pray
Lord
Jesus
we
thank
you
that
you
are
our
shepherd
who
does
not
abandon
us
and
who
always
come
to
our
rescue
and
Lord
Jesus
we
thank
you
that
you
humbly
lay
down
your
life
for
your
sheep
and
defeating
the
power
of sin
the
death
and
now
we
have
true
champion
Lord
help us
to
fix
our
eyes
upon
you
in
the
midst
of
storm
mist
of
enemy
taunting
us
trying
to
scare
us
trying
to
lose
our
true
identity
Lord
help us
to pray
and Lord
help us
to pray
for one
another
help us
to pray
together
Lord
help us
to encourage
one another
and Lord
help us
to constantly
reminding
each other
that
don't be
afraid
fix
your
eyes
upon
Jesus
and Lord
we thank
you
and in
Jesus name
we pray
amen
God
Lord
God
help us