On 29 September 2013, upon listening to Pastor Jentezen Franklin preached that we already have what we need, I decided to review my notebook on sermon messages which I have already received in City Harvest Church so as to find some solid food to write another article.
On the first page of my notebook dated 11 May 2013, I have notes on Rev Dr A.R. Bernard’s preaching on God’s plan and purposes as revealed in the Holy Bible --wherein 40 witnesses, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, consistently testify to the one true God. And, the common thread throughout the Holy Scriptures is: FAITH. Thus, a crisis in life for the believer is essentially a crisis of faith. In other words, are we going to trust God or not?
But, what gripped my attention the most was this line near the end of my sermon notes where Dr Bernard observed that: “God did not encourage David in his encounter with Goliath”. David did not require any encouragement from either God or men. The taunting of Goliath, whom he described as “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26b; NKJV), was enough to spur David into action. Based on his fellowship-cum-experiences with God and trust in Him, he has no doubt that, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37a; NKJV). It was so apt and worthwhile a fight for David that he was fixated to step on the plate and take a swing.
That day was a defining moment for David. It was the fortieth and last day that Goliath presented himself (1 Samuel 17:16). Interestingly, the number 40 in the Bible is uniformly associated with a period of probation, trial and chastisement of a covenant people. And, the number 40 is the product of multiplying 5 and 8 signifying the action of grace (5) resulting in revival and renewal (8) – a new beginning.
In that instance, I don’t think David acted out of presumption. On the contrary, he was the right person at the right place, at the right time and with the right people.
So why did David succeed? Firstly, I think he succeeded because He had already been chosen and anointed by God to be king over His people, over Israel. He had the mantle of a warrior king. Saul, who was chosen by the people rather than by God Himself, had earlier failed the test of obedience when he and his people did not utterly destroy the Amalekites and their possessions contrary to God’s instructions. They spared Agag, king of the Amalekites, and kept the best of the livestock and all that was good in their eyes.
Following from this rebellion, the prophet Samuel confronted Saul and said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22; NKJV).
God is always on the lookout for a fitting vessel for His glory; looking for a person who will obey His voice. In an e-mail from Dennis Burke Ministries of 13 October 2013 on Strength For The Task, it says, “Clearly God isn’t looking for super strength, a multitude of people, or the perfect weapon to fulfill His purposes. He is looking for individuals like you and me who are willing to do whatever He asks despite our weaknesses – knowing that our weaknesses only gives the Anointed One an opportunity to work though us” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
And, God had certainly seen the stuff David was made off notwithstanding that this shepherd boy was way out of men’s sight while he tended to his father’s sheep. David was Jesse’s eight and youngest son. As written in 1 Samuel 16:1b God says, “For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” In the centre column of my Bible, it indicates that God has literally “seen” a king among Jesse’s sons.
Secondly, I think David succeeded as he was a man who respected the authority which God had placed over him. “Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” (1 Samuel 17:17, 18; NKJV). Had he not left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse commanded, David would not have walked into his finest moment and we would not get to hear the epic combat of David versus Goliath.
David did not thrust himself into his battle against the giant. He first went in and out amongst the people to get a feel of the situation on the ground. On hearing the king’s rewards for the man who would kill the enemy’s champion, David showed interest and asked further to confirm.
Now, there are probably at least two camps on whether the rewards of great riches, marriage of the king’s daughter and exemption of his father’s house from tax, motivated David to step up to the plate. On the one hand, some would say David would not be tainted by rewards. On the other hand, some may say that David was prepared to do battle anyway and that the rewards were merely incidental to him. I think David was following proper protocol of his days as it was his apparent interest of the rewards and, by extension, his willingness and confidence to take on Goliath, which precisely spread the word to the king’s court and prompted king Saul to grant David an audience with him.
Thirdly, I think David succeeded because he has the courage and faith to believe that this was his fight and that God will be with him even though there was no prayer uttered, no angelic visitation or any indication that God was encouraging him to go for it. Some would fight over a bus seat (think Rosa Parks) while many a man would lash out against anyone who had insulted his mother (think head-butting Zidane). To David, this was his fight, right on time. More than his resoluteness to pick up this fight, David knew in his inner man that God would back him up. He was so sure that there was no evident that he consulted with God as with his many subsequent battles. He was not about to wait for God to give him a pat and/or speak from heaven.
“Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” ”(1 Samuel 17:45; NKJV).
By faith, David declared that the battle is the LORD’s. “Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47; NKJV). He was giving glory to God even before the battle is fought!
We, too, have our Goliaths to slay. God is training us through our obedience and understanding of His ways. When it’s time for us to fight the good fight of faith, may we declare, as King David did, that the battle belongs to the LORD!
