November 21, 2004

The Story Behind the Story
Misfit Series: Part 3
Speaker: Dave Gibbons

I Samuel 17:12-37 and Hebrews 12:1-13

I Samuel 17:12-37
¹² Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons in all. ¹³Jesse's three oldest sons--Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah--had already joined Saul's army to fight the Philistines. ¹⁴David was the youngest of Jesse's sons. Since David's three oldest brothers were in the army, they stayed with Saul's forces all the time. ¹⁵But David went back and forth between working for Saul and helping his father with the sheep in Bethlehem. ¹⁶For forty days, twice a day, morning and evening, the Philistine giant strutted in front of the Israelite army. ¹⁷One day Jesse said to David, "Take this half-bushel* of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers. ¹⁸And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring me back a letter from them.* " ¹⁹David's brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines. ²⁰So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts. He arrived at the outskirts of the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. ²¹Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. ²²David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. ²³As he was talking with them, he saw Goliath, the champion from Gath, come out from the Philistine ranks, shouting his challenge to the army of Israel. ²⁴As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. ²⁵"Have you seen the giant?" the men were asking. "He comes out each day to challenge Israel. And have you heard about the huge reward the king has offered to anyone who kills him? The king will give him one of his daughters for a wife, and his whole family will be exempted from psupaying taxes!" ²⁶David talked to some others standing there to verify the report. "What will a man get for killing this Philistine and putting an end to his abuse of Israel?" he asked them. "Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?" ²⁷And David received the same reply as before: "What you have been hearing is true. That is the reward for killing the giant." ²⁸But when David's oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. "What are you doing around here anyway?" he demanded. "What about those few sheep you're supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and dishonesty. You just want to see the battle!" ²⁹"What have I done now?" David replied. "I was only asking a question!" ³⁰He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. ³¹Then David's question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.

 ³²"Don't worry about a thing," David told Saul. "I'll go fight this Philistine!" ³³"Don't be ridiculous!" Saul replied. "There is no way you can go against this Philistine. You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!" ³⁴But David persisted. "I have been taking care of my father's sheep," he said. "When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, ³⁵I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. ³⁶I have done this to both lions and bears, and I'll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! ³⁷The LORD who saved me from the claws of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!"Saul finally consented. "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the LORD be with you!"

Hebrews 12:1-13
¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. ²We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.* He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God's throne in heaven. ³Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don't become weary and give up. ⁴After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. ⁵And have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his children? He said,"My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you,and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. ⁶For the Lord disciplines those he loves,and he punishes those he accepts as his children." ⁷As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined? ⁸If God doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children after all. ⁹Since we respect our earthly fathers who disciplined us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to the discipline of our heavenly Father and live forever? ¹⁰For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness. ¹¹No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening--it is painful! But afterward there will be a quiet harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. ¹²So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. ¹³Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.

Now most of you know the end of the story of David and Goliath? You know, David kills Goliath with some stones and a sling shot. This 9 foot tall giant, who defiantly challenged Israel was feared. So feared was he that he even interrupted normal conversations when he would yell his insults to the soldiers of Israel.

But there is a story behind the story.

How did David get to this place where he could have the confidence and the ability to conquer his own personal negatives as well as the insurmountable obstacle called Goliath?

A Misfit characterized:

He was young.

He was a shepherd

He was an outsider

How do we overcome personal negatives and seemingly insurmountable challenges?

• Be Faithful where you are.
• Be Persistent in the midst of a Choir of Criticism

How do you stay faithful and persist?

Know . . .

• what God has done in the past.
• that God allows difficulty because He loves us. . . really.
• others will become strong as a result of your journey.

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