David is, after Jesus, probably the best picture of where we're headed in the Spirit. And one of his greatest exploits was facing and killing Goliath. Some guys asked about where he talked about killing a lion with his bare hands, and it's in the Goliath story. Here's an excerpt from I Sam 17:
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 delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
Big Nuts David. I love his confidence. Now, he refuses to wear Saul's heavy coat of armor (which represents the law), and instead struts out there free and easy, facing 9-foot Goliath, who's wearing armor and carrying a sword. David is carrying a SLINGSHOT. And this is what he shouts across the field of battle at Goliath:
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
Then David RAN AT GOLIATH. This boy, no more than 17, carried Goliath's head all the way back to Jerusalem, the capitol, and showed it off to everybody. David knew The God Who Fells Giants.
So don't get too squeamish, men, when I encourage you to get in touch with your emotions, worship with abandon, and weep before the LORD (and your family). There is a masculinity in the LORD that is powerful, brave, and worth reverence. Anybody with me?
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How fitting is Dave Schuster's (coincidence in name? I think not) prayer that the spirit of rejection be decapitated. Whoa buddy.
ReplyDeleteGoliath was a taunting bully, much like the enemy is in on our lives. We see our brothers fall around us, succumbing to fear, rejection, unloving, and it seems impossible for us to win the fight.
We have received basic weapons training in our lectures. We've got the slingshot, and we've got the ammo. Now we have to recognize that much like David v. Goliath, the Lord hands the enemy over to us. We just have to fire the stone.
By the way, if you want some more awesomeness involving David, check out what David SANG to the Lord in 2Samuel 22:1-51.
Listen to an audio file of it even (www.biblegateway.com has them). You will want to grab your sling and run through a brick wall by the end of it.
Here's a mere morsel to wet your appetite:
HE [the Lord] is my stronghold...
they trembled because HE was angry...
HE shot arrows and scattered the enemies...
HE rescued me from my powerful enemy...
HE rescued me because he delighted in me...
You save the HUMBLE...
HE is a shield for ALL who take refuge in him...