Confidence in Battle

Read: 1 Samuel 17:41-49 

What gives you hope? What gives you hope in people? Much of the time I feel like we need a good dose of restoration to maintain and develop our faith. That's not just our faith in God but our faith in people too. I feel like we need to feed the soul routinely so that we can be optimistic during doubtful times. Restorative moments are nutrients for the spirit and I think they are just as quintessential as nutrients for the body. 

When I see people helping people it gives me hope. When I see the underdog make come out on top it give me hope. When I see government policies helping and accommodating people I receive hope. When I see church groups serving people it gives me hope. I am often revived with an amount of hope when I witness young people doing volunteer work with zeal and excitement. (Especially when they are not told to). I receive hope when I see God’s work through the most unlikely person. It gives me hope when I witness God’s work making a difference in people. These things not only give me hope but they give me confidence. And, I am not talking about confidence in myself. I am talking about confidence in God. 

Do other people give you hope? Does that hope build confidence in God’s presence? Perhaps your confidence strengthens the faith in other people. David’s confidence in battle developed a lot of hope and faith in the people of Israel. It was hope they needed. You see, there hope was starting to diminish. They had little confidence in themselves and they had nearly forgotten about the Living God. They had put themselves in a position that could have been a means to an end. There was only one direction they could go; there was no turning back. And, that road was uncertain and dark. At the end of that road stood a large and powerful Philistine army ready to crush king Saul and the Israelites (God’s people).   

Saul was the king of Israel. He was the king that seems like God didn’t want them to have. Before Saul there was not a king. Yahweh was the King of Israel. God protected them and met all of their needs. But for Israel, it wasn’t enough. They wanted a king so that they could be like the other nations. Reluctantly, God gave them one. They did not realize that they could not have God's rule over them and a king to rule over them. Since they wanted to take matters away from God and into their own hands, problems emerged. Before, the Philistines were unsuccessful at attacking Israel. But, now that God turned control over to their new king, the Philistines were coming to take over. 

As Samuel promised the elders of Israel years before this event, they were suffering from the spoils of war. Men were dying in battle and the women were becoming slaves of war. To make matters worse, they were losing. The significance in them losing to the Philistines is much greater than just losing any war. You see, when a nation is defeated, everything about them is defeated, even the god they worship. The enemy knew the Israelites worshiped the Living God and if they defeated them it would show that God was either weak or not on their side. 

On the lines of battle the Israelites stood frightened, worried, anxious, and alone because they did not feel like God was with them. They were facing what seemed to be definite defeat. To make matters worse, a large intimidating leader of the Philistine army emerged to the battle line and started taunting them. Many of us know the story. Goliath tells them to send their best warrior and he will defeat him to prove his strength. But, there’s much more to it than that. He knows that the Israelites are vulnerable. He knows that there is a chance that God is no longer with them because he sees his chance of victory. He knows that they are wounded physically, emotionally, and spiritually so he throws salt on the wounds because he knows he has the opportunity to hurt them even more without lifting a finger. He does this by defying the one thing they have left to hold onto. He defies God. He says, “You’re God hates you and forsakes you. Who cares because your God can’t even defeat my army. Your God is weak. Look at this! How much stronger are my gods than yours? Your God has run from battle because of fear. Since your God is too weak to fight me, send me the best warrior you’ve got. I will defeat him too.”

The Israelites placed a lot of trust in their king, Saul. But, Saul was failing as a leader. He was not allowing God to rule. But, God knew this would happen. God warned them of it, but they did not listen. Saul had become Israel’s problem. He was overzealous and eager to lead but he had no concern for his people. For that, they were at the brink of destruction. They had lost hope in their king and they were losing hope in God.

Isn’t it easy to lose hope when everything around us is crumbling down? Isn’t it hard to have confidence in what God is doing or will do when it feels like God is not doing anything for us? Then, of course something or somebody comes along and damages our spirit. You might hear something along the lines of, “I am doing fine without God.” “Why waste your time with it?” “Where is your God now?” Or, “What good is prayer when your prayers aren’t answered?” It is like salt on a big gaping wound. They are those big giant challenges that make us lose hope and confidence. That is the enemy. It’s our own personal giants that we have to face, the ones that scare us, the ones that haunt us, the ones that break us down. When we witness the enemy closing in and making advances we become even more fearful, we question whether or not we are on the right side, and at times we feel like we won’t survive. Do you know that feeling? Have you been there? I am not talking about physical battle; I am talking about the emotional ones we fight regularly. And, doesn’t it always seem like the enemy knows when to attack, when we are the most vulnerable. To make it even worse, the enemy is not afraid of the best warrior.         

But, there is good news. The enemy might be powerful, smart, and know a little something about God’s people; but the enemy assumes too much.

David was just a shepherd, a young boy full of God’s zeal. A man after God’s own heart, they called him. His love, trust, and ambition for the Living God were greater than anyone he knew. He wanted to represent God in all that he did. 

During the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites David was just an extra hand. He, along with all of the other men and women transported food, supplies, and munitions to the front lines for the soldiers. David wanted to fight but he was too young and not strong enough according to the military standards. Despite his size and age, while delivering supplies he worked his way up to the battlefront and witnesses something that really stirred him. He saw something that created fire and anger in him. He witnessed a man defying and insulting his beloved God, Yahweh. A Philistine, the enemy stood and insulted the God of Abraham and there was nothing in this world that could have angered David any more. To make matters worse, the Israelites, David’s people stood and watched and did nothing while this man cursed God. They did nothing! Though a young shepherd boy, David grabbed the attention of Israel’s army and with the rhetoric of a king in charge stood up for his God with confidence. He said, “Wow, can you believe the balls on this guy? Who does he think he is? I’ll say this; he got some nerve insulting the Living God like that! He has no idea what's about to happen to him and his entire army. He has no idea that they are about to fail miserably! Obviously he does not know that God is about to put an end to his life and this whole battle” This young boy's confidence continues by reprimanding his people for not moving forward with faith. He tells them, “Why do you let this guy say these things? Where is your faith?” 

David’s older brothers were among the people fighting for Israel and they heard what their younger sibling was saying. They became angry and told him to go back to tending his sheep in the wilderness. Someone reported to king Saul about this young boy stirring up the battlefront so he sent for David. David requested that Saul allow him to fight the giant but Saul did not grant his request. The king told him that he was too young and the Philistine was too strong. But David knew that Saul's love for God and his people was failing and the only way to reverse these problems was for God to show them that God is present and for them. Let me remind you, Israel’s failure would be a sign that God turned away from them. David would not have it. Finally he persuaded the king to allow him to fight the Philistine. If Saul was going to let this boy go into battle he wanted the enemy to see that he was sending a soldier, not a shepherd. So, he loaded him up with armor, mail, and weapons and sent him on his way. David was so confident in God’s armor and protection, he knew he did not need the armor of the world. Upon leaving the king, he dropped all of the weapons and ornaments that the king gave him. He picked up his shepherd staff, grabbed a few rocks from a creek, and made his way to the front lines of battle. 

The giant philistine laughed at him. He cursed David by his own pagan gods but David stood tall and proud that he was there for one purpose, to show all those who witnessed the strength of the Living God. He said, “You come here with sword, shield, and thick armor. I come here with something much greater, the Living God. You are unprepared for battle. You will be defeated.” Goliath advanced and David pulled a stone from his pocket, launched it at the giant, and killed him. 

This was not just a battle won by the Israelites. This was not simply a battle. This was God’s stand and outcome in the face of the enemy. When all hope was failing, when the people of Israel were losing hope, when the enemy was gaining ground, when their king, Saul was losing hope and evil was coming over him one young boy’s obedience, confidence, and trust manifested God’s rule. He was just a young shepherd with no experience in government, war, or politics. What he had was simple--confidence that God would deliver. 

The David and Goliath story is not really a “David and Goliath story”. In other words it is not simply the story of an underdog winning. This is a “God verses God’s people” story. God’s people were losing touch with God. Saul, the king of Israel that the leaders insisted that they have was losing touch with God. They did not put faith in God that God would deliver them from the enemy. They wanted to do it themselves. By doing this they nearly failed. But, God gave them the chance to experience God’s power. To give them a better understanding of it, God let them witness it through a young shepherd boy. God used the least of them to represent the best warrior. God used David to restore hope for God’s people. God used David’s confidence to restore hope, faith, and trust in God for God’s people. 

What restores your hope, your faith, and your trust in God’s will? Perhaps it is God’s work through God’s people. Perhaps it is a believer’s full confidence that God will protect and lead us through the most difficult circumstance such as when we have to face giants. Of course, I am not talking about actual giant people, but the things that truly intimidate us. I am talking about the things that challenge our faith in God. But, when we have confidence in God to deliver us, what is there to fear?

So, if it takes God’s work through God’s people to restore hope, faith, and trust in God’s will what does that mean for us? It means God uses us. We are not just the fearful Israelites; we are also the confident Davids. God calls us to the battlefront to show God’s strength. We must be courageous and confident in what God does through us because God uses those attributes to restore and recreate faith in people. Yes, we restore faith in humanity. We stand with our neighbors against the things that intimidate them. We show the world what God can do through people. We show confidence as a representation of God. We are God’s means for change and restoration. 

If you noticed, God chose the least for the greatest task. That tells me that God calls all. No believer is too young or too old. God’s sovereignty has no bounds. 

Our Living God is greater than all. There is nothing greater. When we trust in that power and have confidence in it, it becomes present. In the end, when we overcome our giants, the world will see and the world will know that God is great than anything that intimidates us. The world will know through your faith.   

They Won't Listen To Me

Read:

1 Samuel 8:4-20

“They Won’t Listen To Me”

If you are a parent I am sure you will agree that kids don't listen well, particularly in the early years of their lives. Am I right? I don’t know what it is. I can remember when I was a kid and my mom and dad told me to do something, or better yet, not to do something I became more curious in what would happen if I did or didn’t do it. What’s that saying? Curiosity killed the cat. It didn’t kill me but it certainly got me in a lot of trouble. I feel like a child’s disobedience has a lot to do with curiosity and negative influence. Kids see certain role models acting a particular way and they marvel at what their life would be like if they lived that lifestyle too. Sometimes they will seek that lifestyle even if they have to disobey parents and/or authorities to do it. And, it drives parents crazy when they do it. We just don’t understand why in the world kids would want to disobey when we give them everything they need. We give protection, nourishment, education, love, and the list goes on. But, but for some reason they just don't listen. I mean what do parents know? They’ve never been kids before, right? 

Often times when a parent realizes that their child is not going to listen, they seek other routes of instruction. One particularly is through another influence such as an aunt, uncle, grandparent, teacher, preacher, or friend. It might be suggested, “They won’t listen to me; but they will listen to you.” Have you ever said that? I can remember when I was younger and a parent of a friend of mine told me, “Will you try to talk to him? He listens to you better than he does his mom and I. See if you can talk some since into him.” I knew there had to be problem when the parent was asking me to influence them. 

Yes, talk some since into them. They listen to you better than they listen to me. The prophet, Samuel was given some instructions that sounded much like that. The Israelites were in good hands. They were in God’s hands. God was the King of Israel, the King that led them out of Egypt. God was the ruler and protector of the people. But, fear was starting to grow in them. There were other countries that began to notice the growth and wealth of Israel. Since Israel had no human king to govern them and only judges and prophets to direct them, other countries saw them as vulnerable. The Philistines acted on this temptation and failed. They could not defeat Israel. Why did they fail? Because God protected Israel. This should have been a lesson to God's people. But, fear still raged in many of the elders of Israel. They saw other countries with large armies of men and weapons. They were going to war and defeating other countries and they were gathering land and expanding. The other countries had wealthy systems of governance and slaves and land used for making money. The Israelites also noticed that these other countries worshiped particular deities, other gods, and they were very strong and wealthy. So, needless to say, many of them forfeited the worship of Yahweh to worship other gods. Israel was different from other countries because God wanted them to be different. But, the people of Israel did not want to conform to this different way of governance. They wanted to be like others: wealthy, powerful, militant, and feared by their enemies. They wanted a new king. 

Samuel was a prophet, judge, and a leader for Israel in his older age. The Israelite elders assembled and approached Samuel for some guidance on a matter they had been contemplating. They decided that they needed a King to rule over them like the other countries had. They trusted Samuel’s judgment so they asked him to appoint them a king. But, they were not fooling him. He knew what was going on. He knew they were losing their trust in God. So, he prayed to God for direction. Essentially God said, “It’s obvious they will not listen to me; maybe they will listen to you. Comply with them and appoint them a king. But, before you do, warn them and tell them what they are getting into.” 

Samuel told the elders, “I will get you a king and he will govern you this way: your sons will be soldiers and they will be killed in war. If they do not become soldiers they will be slaves making the weapons and plowing the kings fields. He will take your daughters and they too will become slaves for the king. The king will take your best fields and your land for himself. He will make you pay taxes. He will take one-tenth of everything you own and share it with his officials. He will take your best livestock, your workers, and you will become slaves.” Whether they believed Samuel or not, they still wanted a king. Samuel went on to appoint them a king as the Lord requested him to. 

As it would seem, the Israelites might have made some bad decisions. They were God’s children, the chosen people of Jacob. Yet, they did not always obey God. From what we can gather by these inspired writers, the Israelites seldom obeyed God. They were just as good at making mistakes as anybody. They were as good at it as we are. 

We all know that we, the people in our context, in our culture, Christians, Americans, twenty-first century humans, boy…we can make some mistakes. No one person, government, community, religion, group, here, there, or anywhere else is free of some good mistake making. Right? What’s even funnier is how we don’t like to admit it. If we make a mistake and we find a way to hide it you better believe we’re going to do it. If we make a mistake and we can find a way to cover it up, we’ll do it. We don’t like to admit that we are wrong. When we can’t cover our mistakes we’ll just make excuses that we couldn’t help it. I mean we are just humans right? 

Let me explain… Christ followers know what the mission of Christ is. Christ followers know how to be obedient. We know what is good and bad, love and hate, pious and evil. We get those things. Even if a person has never read or studied the Bible they know a little something about living Christ-like. We know it's really not that hard to understand. But, people still fail at it. We read the parables in the gospel writings that describe Jesus’ commandments such as the King and the least of these, the Good Samaritan, the Lost Sheep, loving your neighbor, and we know these stories. But, do Christians live these stories? Not always… We make the mistake of not living the Christian standard and if nobody notices it, we hide it. If they do, we make excuses. “I am busy.” “I don’t have time.” “I just don’t care much for those people.” “My contribution will not help.” “It’s too dangerous.”

It’s pretty obvious that we do not listen to God. We do not live out what we know are God’s commandments. God gives to us, God shows us, God blesses us, God leads us, God forgives us but we still seek other means of fulfillment. It is quite familiar to the Israelites of Samuel’s day. They were led by God, blessed by God, delivered from slavery by the hands of God but they still sought out other means of fulfillment. 

So, God says, “If they won’t listen to me, maybe they will listen to each other. Maybe the ones that listen to me will be inspired by the ones that do not.” Have you ever thought about that? When you see another person that is being disobedient do you avoid them and think about how you are different from them; or do you inspire them to be different? I feel like God calls us to Samuel’s position. Some people do not know God. There are others that know God but do not live like they do. Then, there are some that know God but do not know God’s commandments. Perhaps our role is to inspire those who will listen to us and not God. Even though the Israelites wanted to change their ways away from God, God did not want to do it. God basically told Samuel to try and talk them out of it because they were doing well without a king. 

Perhaps God wants to use you to inspire a Christ-centric ethic in your community. When people will not obey or listen to God, perhaps they will listen to you. Perhaps there is a time that people are not standing up for someone but God needs you to inspire them to do it. We are servants of Christ; we are the hands and the voice of Christ today, inspiring people for Christ. 

Or, perhaps there is a voice speaking to you right now, trying to influence you. Perhaps it is God’s voice speaking through someone else when you will not listen to the Spirit. Perhaps you are like the Israelites being manipulated by desires of the mind, trying to follow what seems to be the right way by the worlds standard; but it is not right by God’s call. I have been there. I have heard God speak to me through other people and I really did not want to listen. It was not what I wanted to hear but, it was God’s voice. God speaks to us through people and God speaks to people through us.

What does God want you to hear? That voice maybe shouting through people all around you. It might be God’s influence on you through another person. It might be a friend, relative, preacher, teacher, parent, spouse, coworker, your kids, and list goes on. Or, maybe God needs you to be the voice of the Spirit. Maybe God is saying, “They will not listen to me, but they will listen to you.” Perhaps if we act as God’s voice and listen to God’s voice we might avoid some very bad decisions.

A Father's Day Sermon

Read:

John 3:9-17

“Overlooking the Details”

I was talking to my mom and sister the other day about how I needed some new short sleeve shirts to wear because it was just way too hot to wear long sleeves. My sister asked if she could take me out to purchase some new shirts for Father’s Day. I said, “Sure. But, I’m not really a father.” She told me that I was a father and she would be doing the favor for Polar Bear (my dog). Of course, that makes perfect sense. 

I guess I am a dad to some degree. When I started thinking more about the idea I was inspired for a sermon idea, thanks to my sister and Po. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to Polar Bear or where he would be had I not adopted him seven years ago. If you don’t know the story, he popped up on my porch one day while I was living in Memphis. He was about 6 months old, malnourished, and happy to see someone with food. I have no idea where he came from but when a malnourished pitbull is running loose in midtown Memphis your mind starts to wonder. So, when I found him I decided to take him in even though my circumstances were not conducive to it. It wasn’t practical and I knew that I would have to make some sacrifices. About seven years later and here we are. 

I am sure he doesn’t think much about the fact that I adopted him. I am certain that he doesn’t think about what might have been had I not made some sacrifices. (At least I don’t think he does.) But, what he does recognize are the little things I give him. He loves the small gifts. He loves going to the dog park. I can pull up to our local running trail with him in the car and he starts whimpering as to say, “Hurry up so we can run!” He loves a good belly rub and he really likes it when I chase him around the house or around the yard. His favorite time of the day is when I sit down on the couch in the evening and he sits on the ottoman with his favorite toy with my feet beside him. Yes, I am sure to some degree Polar Bear loves the fact that I adopted him but what means the most to him are the little things, the small interactions that he experiences everyday. 

I know what you’re thinking, “But, it’s just a dog.” You’re right; it is. But, I have found that we can learn a whole lot from our four-legged companions. Polar Bear loves the small gifts he receives. But, don’t we all? The small daily consistent acts of love are what nourish us the most. Am I right? Don’t believe me? Fellas, randomly give your lady a flower and tell her you love her and see if she doesn’t, all of a sudden, have the best day of the week. It is the little things that stand out. Of course, there are those huge acts of love by our loved ones that are permanently tattooed on our hearts. Those pinnacle moments are often triggered and we are reminded of what we mean to that person. Often memories can trigger thoughts about that pinnacle moment. But, the small acts of love often cast a bright light on the bigger ones. That is how we come to know and understand a person’s love. 

There were many cases that Jesus tried to explain God’s love. We can read those stories in the Gospel writings and the letters to numerous faith communities. However there is one story that we hear a phrase that echoes through time and still many years later gives a believer chills when he or she hears it. It was a conversation with a man named Nicodemus. Jesus needed him to know the truth about God’s love. It was so important that this man come to understand God’s love because he was a Pharisee. Need I remind you that Jesus and the Pharisees (the Jewish leaders) did not have a stellar relationship. However, Nicodemus was very interested in Jesus. He might have believed in him but he had some questions. He was ready to listen to this man a little more because he was on board with the movement that Jesus supported. He noticed the miracles and he believed that he was a teacher from God. But, he didn’t quite understand the whole reborn idea. He did not quite understand the whole idea of adoption by the creator God. This was not the God that Nicodemus was taught about. This idea of God adopting the whole world by means of Spirit was a little too much for Nicodemus to understand. And the idea that God’s Spirit blows here and there like the wind was a little too much for him to comprehend. Jesus was offering him an explanation of God that did not align with the theology that he was taught growing up, that he had learned as a religious leader. Jesus wanted to explain to Nicodemus that God loved the entire world, socioeconomic status aside. God did not offer favor to the pious priests, pharisees, or lawyers in the temple. Jesus wanted him to know that God’s love was far greater than that; it was much bigger than he assumed. God loved them all. 

To better illustrate his point Jesus used a story from the Torah to help Nicodemus understand this love. In the book of Numbers, chapter 21, verse 4 the story tells that the Israelites became unruly and they questioned God and Moses. Many of them rebelled against their leader. The story tells that God’s response was to send poisonous snakes among them. Many of them died or became sick. Moses prayed for God to save the people and God commanded Moses to create a bronze statue of a snake. When an infected person looked at the snake they would be healed. The significance in this is the people became sick because they had been infected by poison. They were poisoned and there was only one way to be healed. A poison had also infected the people of Jesus’ day. The sin of the world was the poison and it had infected them. But, there was no need for a bronze statue for them to be healed. God sent something much more valuable. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

God so loved the world that God wanted them to all be healed from the sin of the world. God so loved the entire world; that means the ones that hated God, the ones that used God, the ones the world hated, the ones that we hate. God loves them all. This is what Jesus needed for Nicodemus to know. The Gospel writer that recorded the story needed us to know it too. But, the way I see it, the writer left something out. Perhaps Jesus didn’t feel the need to explain this to Nicodemus or perhaps the writer did not get the details of the interaction or didn’t feel like it was necessary. You see God so loved the world that God made the ultimate sacrifice. We know God’s love because we know Jesus Christ. We know how big that sacrifice is, at least we like to think we understand it but perhaps we do not. You see God made this sacrifice with intentions of adopting the whole world. I think that is far bigger than what we can fathom. But, here is the part that we miss. If God so loves the whole world that God would make this unfathomable sacrifice, can you imagine all of the little things along the way God does for the world. You see, Jesus told Nicodemus about the big thing; he didn’t talk about the little things. What did I say earlier? It is the little things that cast a light on the big ones. 

Today is a day (Father's Day) that we can be reminded of God’s love through the love of our fathers. It is also a day that we can be reminded of our father’s love by the way God loves us. My dad fought for this country, went to college and med school, and built a foundation for my family and I. It was a huge sacrifice in his life. He showed us unconditional love in doing that. But, the small acts of love over the years are what truly remind me of his unconditional love for his family. A father’s love can be found in the foundational moment that makes him (or her) a father. That is like the roots and the trunk of the tree. But, the acts of love over many years create all of the branches and leaves that cover it.  

God made a huge sacrifice so that we could all have eternal life. We just think we know God’s love but we have no idea. This is one of those huge acts of love that is permanently tattooed on our hearts. It is the foundation of our faith and it is summarized by Jesus when he said, “God so love the world that he gave the only Son.”But hear me; let us always recognize the little things that remind us of God’s love. Let us not forget about the small blessings that show us God’s love every day. Those small blessings are just reminders, small acts that cast a light on God’s true love. They are overcoming obstacles when we did not think we could. They are the sunsets on a fall evening or the sunrises on a spring morning. They are the miracles that we marvel over. They are the friendships we make or remake in our lives that persevere through the test of time. They are also the things we feel in our hearts. It might be something we witness like a stranger giving attention to someone in need. Or they might be something first hand like a hug, a smile, or an “I love you” with a flower. Acts of love in any shape or form are acts of God. 

Let us be thankful in every way possible that God so loved the world that God made such a sacrifice through Jesus Christ. But let us also be thankful for all of the small gifts that we are blessed with day by day.