FAITH IN THE FACE OF FIRE
#480 FAITH IN THE FACE OF FIRE
Scripture I Samuel 17:26, 31-37 NIV Orig. 3-31-68
Rewr. 5-19-89
Passage: 26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Purpose: To share a message in which we may compare our own faith with that of a young shepherd boy out of the hills of Judea. It is typical, isn’t it? When trouble is recognized, all of us look for a near-point of escape. But we want this text to help us to examine the courage of our faith. “FAITH IN THE FACE OF FIRE” is our theme.
Keywords: Faith Vision Courage
Timeline/Series: Biographical
Introduction
We cannot be absolutely sure that David fully understands the danger that he is taking upon himself. There were stronger men in the Hebrew army who had declined the Goliathan offer. There were brave men on the field of battle who agreed that a fight between two representative soldiers would be better for the two nations than the onslaught of blood-letting that awaited them. But Israel had no representative soldier who was the equal of Goliath.
David, in his youthful vigor, offers to go out in battle against this loud-mouthed Philistine. If that is all it is, youthful vigor, then he and his king and people are in serious trouble.
But when the showdown came, David went out “in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” V40 “He went out with a staff, a slingshot, a bag of five stones, and faith.
Years ago, American soldiers were among those of a United Nations peace-keeping mission sent to the Congo to quell an uprising. These young soldiers were not sure what awaited them. To say they were anxious is an understatement.
Readers Digest, in its “Humor in Uniform” section, reported a dialogue that took place on the plane as it was preparing to land. An African American soldier turned to his white seatmate and said, “Ray, you are in more trouble than you have ever been in.” Ray, of course, wanted to know why. “Because,” said his friend, “if those Congolese soldiers come running toward this plane when we get off, I'm going to jump on your back and yell, ‘I got ‘im! I got ‘im!’
We don’t want to compare our courage with a young soldier, or even David. We do want to get a measure of our faith as compared with that evidence here.
I. The First Measure of His Faith is that it is Courageous Faith. V32 “Let no man’s heart fail because of him, thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” It does us well, from time to time, to remember that young soldiers are still being called to battle. We hear too little about their bravery. We hear more of the philosophical issues. A liberal press is often more interested in failure than in fortitude under fire. More of these brave young people have been sent to Panama.
Something like this happens on the spiritual level as well. Not only is the church under fire. The very character and integrity of Jesus is put to the test. “God is dead,” they say. “Morality is going out of style.” We Christians have a chance as never before, to stand by our faith. The enemies out there are Goliathan in proportion, but they are not invincible. As a soldier represents his battalion and a shepherd lad his people, we are to know where the power is in the confrontation with evil.
David, though young and without practical experience, had faith in God. For forty days Goliath had taunted Israel. David would stand in the gap.
On Wednesday night we studied Jonah. Because he went to Nineveh, the Northern Kingdom survived 50-75 years longer. It is also interesting to consider Daniel in light of the decree of Darius and Cyrus (Daniel 6:10f).
II. Next Measure David’s as a Confident Faith. V37 “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.”
Faith always draws on prior experience. One does not have to travel far to see much and feel deeply. What enemies he had encountered had been summarily dispatched. Why not this taunter of God as well?
There were betrayers of such confidence. He took the form of David’s elder brother, Eliab. I wonder why we are not surprised, because we have been older brothers, or known them, or had them. Eliab accused David of “pride,” of a “naughty spirit,” of “neglect” of his sheep. Perhaps Eliab saw himself in his younger brother. What does it take to betray your confidence in your faith?
III. Then I See David’s Faith as a Charted Faith. V39b “And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these: for I have not proved them. . . And he took his staff, . . . and chose five smooth stones.” We must respond to the enemies around us with our strengths and not our weaknesses. That doesn’t reflect any inability to attempt the untried. But it early recognizes all that is to its hurt. It is one thing not to be in the House of the Lord regularly, including Sunday evening. It is something else when we choose things that dishonor Christ instead.
Faith faces openly the things that strengthen it: dealing regularly with the word; knowing that there is no substitute for prayer; acknowledging that evil is exorcized by confronting it. Such faith is the link-up of believers that we know as the church. Someone makes a grievous point: “Five out of every six churches in America could be dismantled without damage to the Christian mission.” That was something said not by a critic, but a friend. Now is not the time to think of other. If everyone in your church were like you are would it be of the five, or of the one?
IV. It is Next Visualized as a Conquering Faith. V50 “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone.” We know, don’t we, that it was not the weapon. V50 “There was no sword in the hand of David.” Neither was it experience or the lack of it. Strength did not win this battle, though perhaps weakness played a part.
Did you see the Dexter Manley article (MMS 5/19/89 NFL/SB/PB)? A pro football defensive end, at 27 he enrolled in the Washington Lab School to learn to read. “I had to humble myself. I had to walk into the Lab School and not pretend.”
Every success in the faith venture brings a greater capacity for faith. Faith in the face of fire is not the kind to avoid. It is the kind to cherish. It is the kind to nourish. There will always be negative influences. Armor was Saul’s attempt to control. There was Eliab’s disdainful rebuke. Too many of us would have been effectively out of action. Satan would have won the battle.
V. Before Leaving David, We Must Assess His Faith as a Contagious Faith. V52 “And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines.” What did they see, these Hebrew men? Eliab saw an excitable boy. V55 Saul saw a “stripling.” V44 Goliath saw “buzzard meat.” David saw himself as v34 “shepherd,” v58 “son of Jesse,” v45 “servant of God.”
What they saw was sufficient to lift them out of their fears to face the fire of their own faith.
Conclusion
B.T. Bradley’s poem says enough with which to conclude.
Lord, when I am weary with toiling,
And burdensome seem thy commands,
If my load should lead to complaining,
Lord, show me thy hands, Thy nail-pierced hands, Thy cross-torn hands,
My Saviour show me Thy hands.
Christ, if ever my footsteps should falter,
And I be prepared to retreat,
If desert or thorn cause lamenting,
Lord show me Thy feet, Thy bleeding feet, Thy nail-scarred feet,
My Jesus, show me Thy feet.
O God, dare I show thee MY hands and MY feet