Sermon by Pastor Cheryl Foulk (June 24) - "The Life of David: Battling Giants"

      

David and Goliath : the  tale  about a giant and a kid with a sling shot!

This video gives us a short recap  of the story:

This was a commercial that aired during  the Super Bowl of 1995 advertising Wilson sports equipment.

Probably most of the football fans that day recognized the story even if they knew little about the Bible.

This story is  the grandfather of all “underdog versus the champion” tales. We hear the term “David versus Goliath”  as a description often:

The small college team versus the university squad,  the individual versus a large corporation,

the  lesser known candidate versus the incumbent, the amateur  versus the professional. The term is used to describe what appears to be a lopsided situation.  On occasion,we enjoy cheering on the underdog to an unlikely victory.  But underdogs can triumph!

This is one of the early stories about David and his youth. We've been told previously  that he is the youngest of eight children, that he is a shepherd for his father's flocks,  and that he plays the lyre. He has also been anointed by the prophet Samuel secretly  and in the future, will lead his people as king.

If we have any doubts about David's abilities, what makes this kid special, our doubts are answered in the Valley of Elah where David  faces a threatening  enemy to  his people.

Tensions are great in the valley; for 6 weeks the challenge has been offered by the Philistines daily: who will come and fight one on one with Goliath? It is a fight to the death situation.

Goliath is a large man with heavy armor and advanced weapons. He also has a big mouth with no respect for the God of Israel nor for the Israelites, or for young  David.

On the side with the Israelites is their king Saul who is not stepping forward to fight.  Apparently none of the soldiers want to take on the intimidating Goliath.

David, who is  younger than the others,volunteers to go out on the field. Quickly he uses his weapon and Goliath is silenced. He falls to the ground and David uses Goliath's own sword to mortally wound him .The threat of the Philistines is gone for now. David is on his way to becoming a man who will fight many battles.

Besides being a great underdog story, what can we learn from David's actions?

We will be looking at five areas and I'll be asking five questions.

David recognized that the threat was not just to him, but to all his people.  He was responding to a concern that affected all of them. He had to take a stand for his people who were in trouble. Their homes, their families, their way of life was being diminished by the Philistines. David felt called to step forward.

Rev. Corey Brown is a pastor at New Beginnings Church on the South side of Chicago. His neighborhood is torn by violence, drug use, economic problems. In one year, he had 10 funerals for young  men in the neighborhood; his heart was breaking for what was happening around him.  

 He pitched a tent on the roof of  a nearby abandoned motel to raise awareness of what was happening in his neighborhood.  He lived in the tent for 3 months to determine what God would have him to do . His church raised enough money to buy the lot and tear down the old motel. On that site they want to build a community center for the youth and families of the neighborhood. Today Pastor Brown is walking across America  from New York City  to Los  Angeles. Through walking, he hopes to talk to people in other cities about urban violence and to raise the needed monies.
“God wants me to do something larger than this church”  he has told his congregation.   He is facing an incredible giant of violence but he  and others  are stepping out  literally to say that there is hope for their cities.  What breaks your heart about our community?

David did have courage, and was perhaps reckless in his eager response to Goliath, but most of all he relied on his past experience with God. He remembered how God had been with him in times of danger.

In taking care of his sheep, he had defended them against wild animals. David depended upon God to do what he could not do on his own.  God had helped him as he protected his lambs, and David could not forget this.

Psalm 18: I love you Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock,in whom I take refuge.”

How has God been faithful to you?

David did not let the others persuade him that he couldn't fight. His  older brother questioned his motives, and King Saul doubted his abilities and his stamina.  David acted regardless of their opinions.

In life, sometimes people get it wrong when they evaluate us!

Walt Disney was told by a newspaper editor that”he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

Oprah Winfrey was fired as a t.v. reporter and was described as being “unfit for t.v.”

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball  team in N.C.

Fred Astaire , after a movie screen test, was  described as someone who  “Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.”   

 I've heard some discouraging words along the way; we all have. Question is: how does God see me? And what does God expect of me?

David used what he had and who he was to respond to the challenge. Saul's armor did not fit him ( too heavy and restrictive) and he had no sword.  David had his own lethal battle weapon- the slingshot with 5 river rocks.    Use what you have and what you can do in your battles with giants.

At  Annual Conference, we were introduced to a teen who is 14 years old.. When she was 4 years old she heard about Grace Children's Hospital in Haiti and wanted to help the children there. 

Grace Children's Hospital    brings much needed care and healing to children with tuberculosis , AIDS,and other diseases.  The hospital was damaged by the earthquake in  2010   but has continued, with alterations, to provide medical care for the children.  This young woman has raised money each year for the hospital  by making Christmas ornaments . This past year she could not make the ornaments because of a health condition that she has, but she did make Easter candy for sale. She raised over $1000 dollars, and  presented her gift to the Bishop  in a Glad bag!

For 10 years she has battled the giant of disease in Haiti with what she could do. Next summer, she is, with great excitement, going on a mission trip to Haiti to see the dream that she supports year round.  Are we trusting in God and in our abilities as we respond to the cries of the world?

David sounded off to those who felt that they could not act, who were afraid, who were at a standstill.

“They were dismayed and greatly afraid” reads the description in the Scriptures. David  proclaimed to the Israelites   their true identity: that they belonged to the Creator of earth and heaven, the One who chose them as his people and who had led them and sustained them. David, for some,is known for his military might and for his ruthless actions  to obtain whatever he wanted. But to me, David is important  because of his constant witness to God's presence. When we have our doubts ,when we are  facing a challenge, will you be the one to tell us once again that the Lord is with us!

There are  many giants that affect the whole world: poverty, homelessness, human slavery, disease, addictions,ethnic hatreds, lack of clean water,famine, economic turmoil, illiteracy, war, damage to our earth.   Problems seem immense, the answers complicated,  these giants don't seem to go away.

Philistines were not completely defeated in the valley . The Israelite history  tells us that there were many more battles between these two peoples in the years ahead.  We may feel, what's the use,what do our small efforts matter?

David's story is more than “under dog wins” headline. It is a story of how God is diligently working in our lives and in our world in impossible situations with unlikely people !   Like us.

In the valley of Elah, the people saw the one who was considered invincible, FALL.  Giants are tumbling in our world. The hungry are being fed, the sick are being healed, the imprisoned are being freed,  weapons are being turned into plowshares.  Enemies are becoming friends,  hearts are opening to the grace of Jesus Christ, love is breaking the bonds of hate.

Paul wrote: I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength.

Remember the story of David and his battle with Goliath , the weak who was made strong through his faith in Yahweh.

Let us act and be encouraged by the empowering presence of God.

And don't forget your slingshot.