The Rise of King David
Sermon Notes
Introduction:
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m the lead pastor here at City Awakening, it’s great to gather with you both onsite and online. At this time let’s dismiss the children to children’s church. If you didn’t get to check your child in, please see our children’s ministry leaders in the back and they’d be more than happy to assist you with that. Before we get into today’s message I want to celebrate that last week on Easter we had our 2nd highest attended worship gathering since we started City Awakening, and we had an additional 40 plus people attend online...We had a lot of great stories come out of last week such as people taking steps of faith towards Jesus, people wanting to start attending church again, people facing struggles but finding hope in Christ. One of the greatest celebrations was baptizing Kelly and Alex. Part of their story is somebody invited Kelly to our church, then Kelly invited Alex, and both publicly declared their faith in Jesus last week through baptism. So let’s praise God for the work he’s doing in our church!...All of this is evidence of the grace of Jesus at work in our church, and it’s an example of how our invitations can lead to transformations. So let’s keep inviting, and let’s keep praying for those we invite.
Now today we’re continuing our teaching series called The Story, where we’re going through the biblical narrative from the very beginning in Genesis 1 to the last amen in Revelation 22, and today’s text brings us to the story of King David. We’re talking about the rise of King David this week, and the fall of King David next week. In the rise of King David we’ll see he starts as a man with great faith and optimism in the Lord. Most of us start with great faith and optimism when we first believe in the Lord. But as soon as hardships come, we start assuming the negative. We’re like “God doesn’t love me. God doesn’t care about me. If he did he wouldn’t let me go through this hardship.” But if you truly believe God is great, then why assume the negative?...If you truly believe God is great, then why not give God the benefit of the doubt, and trust he’s using your hardship to prep your heart for greater things?...Today we’re going to see what lead to the rise of King David and his optimism about life, despite facing hardships in life. So let’s turn to 1st Samuel 16 and get into it. You’ll find 1st Samuel in the front quarter of your bible, and we’ll be in 1st Samuel 16-17. Title of today’s message is The Rise of King David, and here’s the big idea. If you believe God is great, then believe he’s prepping you for greater things in life...If you believe God is great, then believe he’s prepping you for greater things in life...
Context:
Here’s your context. 1st Samuel was written during a time when Israel was transitioning from a theocracy to a monarchy. They were transitioning from wanting the Lord to lead them, to wanting a physical king to lead them like other nations. The Lord warns them that having a monarchy won’t go well, but he grants their desire, and the prophet Samuel anoints King Saul as the first king of Israel. Saul starts out as a great king, but fails miserably by disobeying the Lord and becoming a jealous paranoid king. So the Lord removes his kingship, and sends Samuel to search for a new king from the house of Jesse, which is the grandson of Ruth and Boaz who we learned about last week. Jessie introduces his son Eliab to Samuel, and here’s what happens next.
The Word:
1st Samuel 16:6, “When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, ‘Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before him.’ 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.’” When the bible talks about the “heart” it’s talking about the inward spiritual and moral character of a person. In Mark 7 Jesus says our evil intentions, our evil words, actions, and thoughts come from the heart. King Saul’s an example of this, because he looked like a king on the outside. He was handsome, tall, physically fit, a strong leader and warrior, but time revealed he had a corrupt heart. The Lord’s teaching Samuel and us, that outward appearances aren’t a good indicator for what a person’s like on the inside. Eliab has similar physical attributes as Saul on the outside, but the Lord sees similar corruption on the inside.
In our culture we value outward appearances more than inward character, but God values inward character more than outward appearances. We value primping our bodies, over prepping our hearts. We often prioritize working out and primping in a mirror, over studying the bible and prepping our hearts in the morning. I had a friend ask me a great question the other day. He said “Louie you care for yourself physically, but what are you doing to care for yourself emotionally and spiritually?” It’s a great question I’m processing in my life, and it’s a great question for you to process in your life. What are you doing to care for yourself emotionally and spiritually? What are you doing to grow the emotional and spiritual muscle in your heart?...Take care of yourself physically, but also take care of yourself emotionally and spiritually by remaining consistent in reading your bible, praying, going to church, going to small group. The Lord values your heart, more than your lunges. The Lord values your heart, more than your makeup. The Lord’s teaching Samuel and us, that he values our inward character, more than our outward appearance.
Vs. 10, “After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, ‘The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.’ 11 Samuel asked him, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ Jessie answered, ‘There is still the youngest, but right now he’s tending the sheep.’” In the original Hebrew the word ‘youngest’ is ‘haqqaton.’ It means more than being the youngest in the family. It means small, insignificant, the runt of the family, which is why Jessie doesn’t present him to Samuel. It’s because on the outside this son is a scrawny little runt who can’t intimidate anybody. Surely the Lord isn’t picking him to be the king of Israel! But it’s exactly who the Lord picks.
Vs. 12, “Then the Lord said, ‘Anoint him, for he is the one.’ 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David from that day forward.” So David becomes king not by outward physical attributes and power, but by the Lord’s anointing and power. It says the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David. The implication is that the rise and strength of King David comes from the Lord. His rise and strength doesn’t come from outward physical attributes, it comes from an inward reliance on the Lord. He’ll need that inward reliance on the Lord, for the giant he’s about to face in ch 17.
Ch. 17:1 states, “The Philistines gathered their forces for war...2 Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines. 3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them.” Okay so here’s what’s happening. The Philistines and Israelites were enemies, and historically we know the Philistines were a technologically advanced superpower. It’s because they’re the first civilization to start working with metals. They helped usher in the Iron Age, which allowed them to have superior weapons, armor, and chariots. It gave them a significant advantage over other civilizations. So the Israelites are terrified when they see the Philistines gathering their military to attack. The Philistines are standing on one hill, the Israelites on another hill, and in between them is the valley of death. It’ll become the valley of death when the two militaries collide in the middle...The Philistines make the first move.
Vs. 4, “Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches, tall 5 and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds. 6 There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds” Notice the incredible historical detail with all the metal Goliath has as a Philistine warrior. The Israelites are clearly outmatched in weapons and armor, but they’re also outmatched in size. Goliath is 9 feet 9 inches tall. The most current record we have of the tallest man in the Guinness Book of World Records, is Robert Wadlow. He was 8 feet 11 inches tall, and was born right here in the U.S...What’s interesting is archaeologists have discovered an early Philistine inscription with the name Goliath on it. They don’t know if it’s the same Goliath, they just know the name clearly existed since it’s on a Philistine inscription. The bible teaches Goliath was a giant Philistine champion, and he was fearless. He walks right down to the valley of death, and starts challenging Israel to send their best warrior to fight him.
Vs. 8, “Goliath stood and shouted...‘Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. 9 If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us. 10 I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!’” This is called representative warfare. Think Brad Pitt and the movie Troy. It’s where each side sends their best warrior to fight as a representative for their entire country. The warrior who wins, will win for their entire country. The warrior who loses, will lose for the entire country. It allowed countries to avoid the great cost and bloodshed of large scale military combat. The Philistines send out Goliath, and he’s calling out the Israelites every morning, every night, for several days. But nobody wants to fight him, except David.
Vs. 22, “When David arrived, he asked his brothers how they were. 23 While he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion Goliath came forward from the Philistine battle line, and shouted his usual words, which David heard...32 David said to Saul, ‘Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!...34 Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth...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.” David’s the only one willing to fight Goliath. It’s because he’s confident the Lord will defeat Goliath. He’s confident the Lord is a greater giant than Goliath. So he meets Goliath in the valley with a sling, which Egyptians used in the 2nd millennium B.C., and here’s how Goliath responds.
Vs. 43, “He said to David, ‘Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?...44 Come here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!’ 45 Then David said, ‘You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him. 46 Today the Lord will hand you over to me. Today I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, 47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.” Not bad for a scrawny, insignificant runt of the family...That’s some good Conor McGregor style trash talk...But notice he repeatedly focuses on the Lord. He repeatedly relies on the Lord for his strength and victory. He relies on the Lord against lions and bears, and he’s relying on the Lord here against Goliath.
Vs. 48, “When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground.” That stone was the last thing to enter Goliath’s mind...He fell to the ground and died... It’s the Brad Pitt Achilles vs. Boagrius scene, where Brad Pitt charges giant Boagrius and kills him with one blow...In this case David charges Goliath and kills him with one blow. The rest of the Philistines flee, and the Israelites win the battle...So what’s this story really about, and how does it apply to our lives today?...I’ll give you 3 applications, 3 takeaways, then I’ll close.
#1 Rely on the Lord’s goodness, in the pasture: Rely on the Lord’s goodness, in the pasture. The pasture is the place where you’re waiting for the Lord to move, you’re waiting for the Lord to do something with your life. Remember in ch 16 David had this incredible moment where Samuel anoints him as king and he feels the Spirit of the Lord flowing powerfully inside him. But immediately after this incredible moment he goes back to the pasture. He goes back to shepherding sheep...He’s in the pasture for 2 yrs before battling Goliath, which is a long time to wait on the Lord, especially when your job is shepherding sheep. But here’s what the Lord was doing in those 2 yrs. He was using the pasture, to prepare a king...He was using the pasture, to prepare a king...It’s in the pasture that David learned how to worship and pray, leading to many psalms in the bible. It’s in the pasture that David learned how to rely on the Lord, when facing lions and bears. It’s in the pasture that David learned how to use the sling, that killed Goliath. In the pasture the Lord was preparing a king, and in the pasture the Lord is preparing you...So don’t despise the pasture, don’t despise the times you’re waiting on the Lord to do something in your life. Instead view your pastures as the place where the Lord’s preparing your heart. The daily routines you don’t like, the career you don’t like, the daily struggles of life, are the pastures the Lord’s using to prepare your character, your perseverance, your skills, your faith. It’s the kind of faith needed to face your future giants...King David says this in Psalm 27, “I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord!” As you wait for the Lord remember the Lord’s good, which means he’s using the pastures to prep your life for good.
#2 Rely on the Lord’s greatness, in facing your giants: We need to rely on the Lord’s goodness in the pasture, and rely on the Lord’s greatness in facing our giants. The reason David remains optimistic when everybody else is discouraged, is because he remembers that the Lord’s greatness has rescued him from giants before. The point of the text isn’t to say look at how great David is, it’s to say look at how great God is. It’s the Lord who chose scrawny David to be king! It’s the Lord who empowered him to be king! It’s the Lord who gave him the courage to fight and conquer Goliath. Everything points to David’s weakness, and the Lord’s supernatural greatness. He’s optimistic because he’s relying on the Lord’s greatness instead of his own. So don’t look at the size of your giants and become pessimistic, instead look at the size of the Lord’s greatness and be optimistic. What causes us to be discouraged and pessimistic about life isn’t the size of our giants, it’s the size of our unbelief in the Lord’s greatness. It’s relying on ourselves and our power, instead Jesus and his power. You’ll never know what it’s like for Jesus to be strong in your life, if you can’t admit you’re too weak to conquer your giants in life. Jesus wants you to be filled with him and his power, but he won’t do that if you’re full of yourself and your power.
#3 Rely on the Lord’s salvation, in the Valley: We need to rely on the Lord’s salvation in the valley. See the real giant, the real Goliath, the real valley of death is a fight for your soul. On one side of eternity there’s heaven, on the other side is hell, and in the middle is the valley of death. In the middle is representative warfare. Are you willing to represent yourself, to fight for your soul in that valley?...Are you willing to say you and you’re good deeds are great enough to escape hell and enter heaven?...You’ll die in that valley if you think you’re great enough to represent yourself. But the good news is Jesus stepped into that valley of death so we don’t have to. Jesus is the greater representative, the greater David who stepped into that valley of death to fight for our souls. Jesus stepped into that valley of death when he died on the cross for our sins. If you rely on his salvation, rely on him for your representative warfare, then you’ll enjoy eternal life in heaven with him. You’ll get to share in the victory of his representative warfare for eternal life.
The Big Idea:
The big idea of the message is if you believe God is great, then believe he’s prepping you for greater things in life. When you’re doing your daily chores, struggling at work, facing tough days, don’t be pessimistic wondering if this is really God’s best for your life. Instead believe God is great, and that he’s using those things to prep you for greater things in life.
Will you rely on Jesus in the pastures, in facing the giants, in facing the valley of death?... Will you rely on Jesus as your savior for representative warfare, for everyday life? The degree to which to you see what Jesus did for you on the cross...the degree to which you see him stepping in the valley of death for you out of deep love for you...is the degree to which you’ll be able to say, “I don’t fear the pastures, I don’t fear the giants, I don’t fear the valley of death, because I know my savior Jesus is with me.” You’ll be able to say what King David said in Psalm 23.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”