"David said to Saul, your servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Your servant slew both the lion and the bear:”
They might have a great reputation and
considered to be upstanding in character, moral, ethical and be very outgoing
and friendly, always wanting to make things better for those around them.
We may assume that such a one(s) to be
Christian(s) and they may well be a Christian(s) and it is hoped that such
person(s) is a Christian(s), for Christians
are to do good and be upstanding people and embracing values such as family
integrity, honesty and concern for other.
But good works, morals, ethics and values
are not the sole property of Christianity. We can find persons doing good who
are not Christians. Buddhist, Hindus and even atheist do good works and be can be
person(s) of high character and integrity, warm and friendly. These
qualities are seen in the lives of non-Christians as well.
Not Good Enough
Morals, ethics, good works, character and
values are all very good things, and it is good that good is done. But they are not of themselves
good enough.
All these things apart from
Jesus Christ, and that which is not born out of our relationship with him, are
only temporary and for this life alone and have only limited impact.
It is good to do good, but good apart from
Jesus is, for the here and the now only. However, what emerges out of a
relationship with Jesus Christ can transform a people’s lives around us forever
and have impact beyond the confines of this world. Even if it is a simple act
of kindness of just giving a cool cup of water, for if this good work comes out
of the Holy Spirit in our lives then it has power to change a life for all time
and forever.
Evidence of Jesus
What should be evident in the life of a
Christian is the residency of our Lord Jesus Christ .The Christian life is to
reflect the truth that our Lord Jesus is living, and that we are in
participation with Jesus, joining him in his ongoing eternal ministry.
The Ministry of Jesus did not end at his Ascendance into the Heavens, nor
did Jesus abdicate it to humanity, that is the Church, but rather Jesus brings
us into what he has and is continually doing in the lives of those around us.
In Private
The Christian life is more than just, "doing” it is "being”, that is,
being who we are meant to be in Jesus Christ and being in a relationship with him.
Knowing him, spending our time in relationship with him.
It is important that in our private moments, when none but our Lord's
eyes are upon us, that we are focused on Jesus, for it is in our private life,
our prayer and reading of the word of God which gives impact to our public
life. It is this time spent in private communion with our Lord that we are
transformed and made ready to go forth among the people around us.
What we do in private will have a public impact.
David Prepared for the Time and the Time Prepared
for David
We can see this in the life of David as he
watched over the flocks of his father Jesse. It was in these times alone with
only the Lord, that God was transforming David from a shepherd to a warrior and
then to a King.
As David cared for the sheep and thought upon
the word of God, he was equipped to deal with the challenges of governing a
nation. It was in these private moments , out of sight of the world at large,
that God made David into a person whose impact upon the world would be
felt for generations.
David was prepared for the time and the time
prepared for David.
The Lion and Bear
It was in David's times apart from the public
eye that David dealt with a threat to the flock under his care. Two predators, a Lion and a Bear, came against
the flocks, and David fearlessly confronted them, giving him confidence of God’s
providential oversight of his life. David recounted this to King Saul as
he offered to go and do battle with the Philistine giant Goliath.
"David said to Saul, Your
servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a
lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered
it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard,
and smote him, and slew him. Your servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing
he has defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that
delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he
will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." 1Sam:17:34-37
David came to know his God in the moments of his private life, so when
that moment of time arose to confront Goliath ,who threaten the freedom
of Israel and spoke blasphemy against the great God of Israel , David was
prepared to face him and defeat him even as more seasoned warriors and King
Saul were dismayed.
"Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to
battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongs to Judah, and
pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. And Saul and the men of
Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the
battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on a
mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and
there was a valley between them. And there went out a champion out of the camp
of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a
span. And he had an helmet of brass on his head, and he was armed with a coat
of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he
had greaves of brass on his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head
weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
And he stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why are you
come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and you servants
to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able
to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I
prevail against him, and kill him, then shall you be our servants, and serve
us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a
man, that we may fight together. When Saul and all Israel heard those words of
the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid." 1Sam:17:1-11
David came to know his God and grew in godly
confidence. David with the guidance of God learned how to face the challenges,
and as a result, the threat against the people of God, embodied in the person
of Goliath, was defeated. The men of Israel's armies withdrew from the sight of
the Giant Goliath, but not David having faced the bear and lion in private, he
now would face the imposing giant Goliath in public and defeat him.
"And all the men of Israel, when they saw
the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have
you seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it
shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great
riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in
Israel.
And David spoke to the men that stood by him,
saying, What shall be done to the man that kills this Philistine, and takes
away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that
he should defy the armies of the living God?" 1Sam: 17:24-26
David knew that his God would stand with and for him and that victory
would come not through his own "efforts" but from
his God alone. As a result, the threat(s) which confronted the nation was overcome
and defeated and Israel was made secured for a time.
"And the Philistine came on and drew near to David; and the
man that bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about,
and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a
fair countenance. And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come
to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the
Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the fowls
of the air, and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine,
You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to
you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you
have defied. This day will the LORD deliver you into my hand; and I will smite
you, and take your head from you; and I will give the carcasses of the host of
the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the
earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this
assembly shall know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear: for the
battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands.
And it came to pass, when the Philistine
arose, and came, and drew near to meet David, that David hastened, and ran
toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag,
and took there a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead,
that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell on his face to the earth.
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a
sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was
no sword in the hand of David.Therefore David ran, and stood on the Philistine,
and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and
cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was
dead, they fled"1Sam:41-51
Knowing Him
David's private life was spent in preparation,
it was out of the sight of others in obscurity with his God that he was
developed into all that he became. In private David dealt with and killed the
bear and lion. David's life has had generational impact and led David to the
very throne of Israel.
It is when we spend our private lives in
Communion with the great God that we too can be prepared for that which our
Lord may have for us.
In the moments of our private lives, when we
are out of sight of the public, in obscurity that we need to face the bear(s)
and lion(s) of our own lives which prepares us and makes us ready to take on
the great giants and Goliaths which we may face.
Be Still
The private moments that David spent with God
were largely in quiet and in peaceful contemplation upon the word of God and
who that word reveals God to be. In these still times David came to know his
God, not just know about him, but knew him.
" "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted
among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Ps: 46:10
It is in the times alone, in our private moments with our Lord that he
will touch our lives and prepare us for our service to him.
Our Lord Jesus may be working in the midst of
each of our lives to face a Goliath threat that may arise in our lives or the
lives of those around us.
A Time Comes
As the years pass and evil days arise in the future,
of us, all the people of God, may be called on as never before to share the
Gospel regarding Jesus Christ, and the public impact which we have may be prepared in the private
moments which we have spent coming to know, in a deep personal communion , our
Lord Jesus Christ.
": but the people that do know their God
shall be strong, and do exploits." Dan: 11:32b
God may be preparing his people for a time, and a time for His people, to have a
public impact which we may have never thought possible, doing great exploits of
lifting the name of Jesus Christ high over all the earth, impacting many here
and now and on into eternity.
We may face a Goliath challenge, and through
Jesus Christ we will prevail and our private life will have a very public
impact.
Benediction: May we each and all spend our private
moments with our Lord Jesus being prepared to have a public impact, today,
tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.
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Rev. Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma
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