Faith for the Fight By: Min. Nicholas Christian

 

Faith for the Fight

1 Samuel 17:32-51

Triumph Baptist Church

1648 West Hunting Park Ave.

The Sacred Desk

September 21, 2020

The Minister Nicholas C. Christian, M. Div

“32Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” 33“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”34But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35I go after it with a club and rescue 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 rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”38Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. 40He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.41Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43“Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44“Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. 45But David said to the Philistine,“You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand.”48When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. 50So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David's hand. 51Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it.” (NRSV)

 

On July 9, 2000, the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, philanthropist and former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, stood and delivered a speech that would forever impact the world. That day marked the 13th International AIDS Conference in Durban of South Africa. While Mandela was present at the conference, history suggests leaders from all over the world used their time to debate the primacy of politics and science instead of the cure for HIV/AIDS and a plan to help those presently infected. During Nelson Mandela’s speech, he reminded the leaders that while they were arguing and debating the primacy of politics and science, people who were burdened by poverty and encumbered by homelessness were also actively in a fight for their lives because of HIV/AIDS. 

Since Nelson Mandela’s speech, much has changed in the space of HIV/AIDS and its impact on the lives of those infected. Many have suggested Mandela’s speech forever changed the discourse around HIV/AIDS and aided those in positions of power to prioritize funding and cure finding over their personal gains and political preferences. Today marks a little over twenty years since Nelson Mandela delivered his speech to world leaders. Poignantly, while this nation has changed its behavior concerning the prioritization of HIV/AIDS, our world leaders, especially America’s, still need to be reminded that while we hold presidential debates and social media twitter fights about the primacy of politics and science, people in America and all over this world are still in a fight for their lives. 

The most obvious fight that we actively face is COVID-19, a strand of the coronavirus that has taken over 220,000 lives in America alone. Many across the country have taken up fighting techniques such as social distancing, wearing a mask, and quarantining at home. These are all great measures that we should take, however, they do not eliminate the consequences that the presence of COVID-19 has created. As this virus continues to spread across the world, it brings with it multiple new stresses we must face and fight.

We are fighting the COVID-19 stresses that include physical and psychological health risks, isolation and loneliness, the closure of many schools and businesses, economic vulnerability, and job losses. All these stresses hold the propensity to put all of us at odds with peace, happiness, and prosperity. Children, mothers, and even fathers are fighting against the heightened vulnerability to domestic violence while stay-at-home orders and efforts to social distance make it even more difficult for them to report their cases and seek help. There are even instances of anxiety and depression that have been heightened. Not to mention the impact on funerals, weddings, graduations and even our children’s proms that they for so many years have desired and anxiously anticipated. Athletes with desires to play at the next level of their sport or simply to compete have had their seasons taken away from them, and are fighting to find some sense of closure, or opportunity to continue to play the sport that they love. 

Moreover, many of us were fighting issues that existed before and have persisted through the pandemic. Somebody was fighting for their marriage that is on the rocks, kids that won’t do right, or for pay equity on their job that won’t treat them right. Couples have been fighting, praying and trying for children and have consistently been unsuccessful. Single women and men have been praying and looking for spouses and still find themselves suffering from loneliness. Not to mention issues like poverty, homelessness, disease, illness, and low self-esteem. To make matters worse, we are fighting to stop the senseless violence, that is, seeing our children gunned down in the streets everyday by each other, even when it feels and looks like no help is on the way.  We are fighting against voter suppression tactics, trying to make our vote count by mail-in ballot, or by standing in lines for hours to make sure our voices are heard. We are fighting for the justice of those Black women and men who are being killed at the hands of those who swore to protect us, yet are murdering our people as if they have a target on their backs. And we are fighting against a vicious racist in the White House, whose lips still drip with the words of interposition and nullification. My brothers and my sisters it is clear that we are in a fight for our lives and if we are going to win this fight against the giants that we face, it is not guns that we need, it is not the violence that we need, it is not the politics that we need, but what David shows us in this text is that we need “Faith for the Fight”. 

At the time of our text, David, a young shepherd boy, could not believe the blasphemous words that came from the giant Philistine’s mouth. When he heard the words, he began to question to everyone around him “What shall be done for the man who 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?” and when he utters these words, eventually, they made it back to Saul, and Saul sends for David. Now when David arrives, he tells the king of Israel, “don’t worry about this Philistine. I’ll go fight him!” In other words, David assessed the giant himself, heard about the giant from everybody around him, yet still maintained his faith to fight the giant before him. 

David’s actions in this text are often contrary to how we respond to the giant problems in our own lives. For many of us, the size of the problem and what others have to say about that problem, is usually the deciding factor on the existence or sum of our faith. We hear a person has cancer and we believe they can beat it. However, when we hear a person has stage four cancer, based on the reputation of stage four cancer, our faith wavers and we think it’s only a matter of time.  The truth is, too often we look to google for the “overcomer statistics” around the bigger problems in our lives, not because God isn’t bigger than our problems or better than some poorly recorded google statistics, but because our faith is too often in ourselves and not in God. We all are faced with the problems of life, but as believers or those who have faith in God we have assurance that there is no problem that our God cannot solve. 

We as believers in God must train our minds to depend and believe in God regardless of the size, track record, or reputation of our problems. God is bigger. God’s track record is flawless. God’s reputation is so good that at His Son’s name, every knee must bow, and every tongue will confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord. Yet, while we know this truth, it does not make being faithful in the face of adversity easy or simple. The good news is this text not only tells us we need “Faith for the Fight” but it gives us examples of “how”, even when we are facing the giants of our lives, we can have “Faith for the Fight.”

Anticipate Faith-Deficient Believers/Non-Believers

 

At the start of our pericope, the Bible suggests that Saul looked at David and concluded there was no way he could fight the Philistine and win, because David was just a boy. However, I believe Saul’s conclusion was deeper than his visual assessment. I believe it was also personal. Saul was the king of Israel and had the power that came with that position. Saul was older, and likely had more years behind him than in front of him. He was not new to war and had seen his share of victories. He had been in many battles and fought and killed thousands of men throughout his entire life. However, this very truth became the tunnel that drained his faith. All the war experience and the thousands of victories in man-to-man combat, yet Saul was still worried about this Philistine. 

Saul had been in battles his whole life and had killed his thousands of men and still didn’t believe that he could kill Goliath.  His lack of faith in himself would not allow him to think that someone he believed he was better than in terms of experience, strength, and authority could do what his lack of faith in himself said that he couldn’t. Saul revealed in his reasoning for David being unfit for success that he lacked faith in God being God enough to use a boy to defeat a giant, but it also revealed that Saul lacked faith in himself. His supremacist mentality, accompanied with his faith deficiency, caused him to suggest that based on what he saw from David, and what he thought of himself, David was not enough to kill Goliath. I believe this text reveals that it was not really David that lacked anything as much as it was Saul’s lack of faith. 

In other words, the first “how we can have faith for the fight” that shows up in this text is that we believers must anticipate those persons with faith deficiencies. We must do the work to avoid allowing them to negatively influence or drain our own faith. This text is tailored to teach us and remind us that there will people in our lives whose supremacist mentalities and personal inadequacies will force them to look at us and believe that we are inadequate beyond measure. There are people who because of their own deficiencies and inabilities will suggest that we cannot do the job, are unqualified to solve problems, or are not fit to face and fight the giants of our lives. However, we must know that it is not a flaw in us that makes them conclude such things, it is a flaw in themselves and their faith. More importantly, we must not give credence or care to their poorly founded conclusions and prodigiously problematic perspectives. It is God who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. It is God who sits high and looks low and has the final say in and over our lives. It is God in whom we live, move and have our being. It is not we alone that stands, fights, or solves any problems that we face, but it is the God inside of us that continues to keep and cover us, and the grace and mercy of God that continues to enables us. Thus, when we face the giant problems in our lives and those people and perspectives come to tell us we cannot win, or we will not make it, keep the faith anyhow. Why you might ask? Because the gospel of John reminds us, that “greater is He that in you, than he that in is the world.” So even if you alone are inadequate beyond measure to face the giants of life, the good news is you are not fighting alone. The good news is that God is with you in the fight for your life and He will protect you, keep you, and fight for you, but you at least have to have “Faith for the fight”.

“Isaiah 41:10 - do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

 

 

Remember What God Did

 

We must remain vigilant and anticipatory of those persons who will say we are unfit because of their own deficiencies. However, secondly, the “how we are going to have faith for the fight” that shows up is that we must also have a good memory. You see Saul told David he was unfit for the fight, but Saul did not know David’s story. In response to Saul, David puts his mental rolodex on display, and he informs Saul that he was made for this moment not because of his stature or his reputation, but because of what he had been through. David tells Saul: 

“34I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35I go after it with a club and rescue 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 rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

 

According to the text, when Saul told David he was unfit for the fight, David remembered what he had overcome before and begins to explain to Saul that he could overcome again. However, notice that his belief or faith that he would win the fight was not in his own ability to fight, but it was in God’s ability to rescue him from the fight. Verse 37 in the established pericope suggests David looked down the corridors of time and he remembered that God had been faithful, and from that truth David sourced his faith. 

In other words, what David teaches is when we face the giants of life, sometimes we have to look back down the corridors of time and remind ourselves and others of how God has already delivered us. David actions and source of his faith teaches us that we must not allow ourselves to become so inebriated by the aroma of victory that we detrimentally give ourselves credit for the work that God has done. Notice David thought he would win not because he had won before, but because he remembered that with him resided the same God that delivered him before. My brothers and my sisters it is foolish to believe we can defeat obviously unfair or unequal odds by ourselves, but it is the faith to know we can with God. Self-dependency holds the propensity and power to encumber our relationship with God and kill our upward climb on the ladder of success and prosperity. It is not you or I that is responsible for our wins, victories, or the success of our lives it; is Jesus. Trust me when I tell you that, that news all by itself is enough reason to give God glory. Because you see the enemy can kill you and I. However, the enemy already tried to kill Jesus, and over two thousand years later we are still talking about how Jesus came from behind in the battle with death and the devil and put one foot on death’s throat, the other foot on the devil’s throat and got up out the grave with all power in His hand. Based on the truth and fact that Jesus could not lose even to death and the devil, we can have faith now as we the face of the giants of our lives because that same Jesus is living on the inside of us. What shows up in the text is David remembered what God had done for him during his journey of life up until this point. So, David decided to anchor his faith for the fight not in himself, but in his memory of what God did and had proven to be. 

Moreover, I do not know who is reading this message and I certainly do not know what giants of life you are facing, but David sent me a message to tell you that you may have faith for the fight ahead of you. David told me to tell you maybe you need to remember how God has already delivered you. David told me to remind you that God is the same yesterday, today and forever more. In other words, what David is saying is if God interceded on your behalf to work things out for your good and His glory before, God can do it again; we just have to remember. Maybe your memory is when you were sick and pain wrapped your body like a shawl on a woman’s back, God still healed you. Maybe you remember when you were bound by the clutches of anxiety, depression, loneliness or some form of post-partum and God still delivered you. Maybe you recall when your marriage was on the rocks or your relationship was headed down the drain, and God stepped in and fixed your situation, or helped you find someone better. Maybe you remember when you were praying for your children every night, worried about what would happen to them in the streets and whether they would come back to church, and somehow God has kept them safe and protected them from every stray bullet and every demonic attack of the enemy. Maybe you remember when you had more month left than money, or you couldn’t find your way, but God stepped in and made a way out of no way. Or maybe you simply remember when you were sinking deep in sin, far from a peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more, but the Master of the Sea, heard your despairing cry and from the waters He lifted you and now you are safe. I do not know what you remember. However, if you’re reading this right now, I know the Lord has brought you out of something. How do I know? Because you are still here. God has not only brought you out, but He has also kept you out. He kept you when you did not know you needed to be kept. He kept you when your actions said you did not want to be kept, and He kept you when your circumstances looked to you like there was nothing to be kept. Whichever holds true, all of us have enough of a testimony to remember what God has done for us and we ought to use that as a source of faith for the fight in our lives. 

Remember What God Said

 

David teaches us in this text that if we are going to face the giants of our lives, we must anticipate those who will try to deter or detour us from the fight. His actions in response to Saul teach us we must remember what God has done, and proven to be for us, even before we have arrived at our current fight. However, David’s actions give exposure to another “how we can have faith for the fight” answer as we are exposed to David’s confidence and told of his choice of weapon. 

As believers, we will never fully understand God or God’s plan for our lives. Simply put, God is just too much God for our full comprehension. This very truth causes us not to be fully certain of what God will or will not do and is precisely why Walter Brueggemann says “our faith is never in a settled state”. We know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This means the same God that delivered us from our problem, brought us over our obstacle, or out of our battles before, is the same God that can deliver us from, over, or out again. However, we say “can deliver us” because there are instances in our lives and even those of others where we experience, or witness God decide not to deliver. Even in the 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 Paul writes “Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it (thorn in Paul’s flesh) would leave me, 9 but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” Paul testifies that he petitioned God to deliver him from this pain in his side and God said “no, take my grace”. Thus, this dimension or possibility of God causes us to consider why David had so much confidence in God rescuing him from the Philistine, when we know God’s ability does not always equate to God’s activity. 

However, when dive deeper into the actions of David, and do a biopsy of the personhood of David we find that David’s confidence was not just in the truth that God had delivered him before, but it was anchored in the promise from God found in the law of God. David’s faith was not only anchored in what God had done, but also in what God had said specifically about David’s situation. In Leviticus 24:16, the law said that any person that blasphemed the name of the Lord, shall be put to death, and that the congregation should stone him. Not only did David know the law, but his disgust and desire to fight Goliath was founded on Goliath’s blasphemous rhetoric that defied the armies of the living God. David had so much faith for this fight not just because he had avoided Saul’s faith deficiency and remembered what God had done for him in the past, but David knew he wasn’t standing alone to fight this giant, but he was standing on the promises of God. David knew the word of God could not come back void thus he put his faith in what God had did, and what God said. 

Furthermore, the question we have to ask ourselves is could it be that some of us are still fighting some battles in our lives because we haven’t studied our Word enough to know that God promised us He would deliver us? Could it be that like the Israelite army, there are some giants in our lives that we are afraid to face because we have given too much attention to how big the problem is, instead of how big God’s promises are? Could it be that we have become so consumed with news outlets, social media platforms, or he-said, she-said, and they-said that we have forgotten or ignored what God has said, and as a result, have sacrificed our deliverance and victories from the fights of our lives on the altar of biblical ignorance and godly aloofness? We need to know that God promised that no weapon formed against us will prosper. We need to know that God promised when the enemy came up against us like a flood the Lord would raise up a standard against him. We need to know that God said “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” We need to know that God promised we could walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and not fear any evil, because He would be with us. When we know this, we can have faith enough to stand on the promises of God.

My brothers and my sisters, if we are going to come out from under the dark clouds of systematic oppression, the manacles of mass incarceration, and the unspeakable horrors of police brutality then we do not need violence or weaponry, no what we need is faith for the fight. If we are going to be delivered from the century long fights for equity, equality, and justice, it is not more democratic, republican, or any other parties’ politics that we need, no what we need is faith for the fight. If you and I are ever going to face and fight the giant problems that unwillingly show up in our lives, it is not our fist or feet that we need, but what we need is faith for the fight. What is faith and why do we need it?

Faith is a gift that is based on God’s grace and mercy. Faith is an exhibition of trust through obedience to God’s Word. Faith is knowing and believing the promises of God. Faith is committing to and giving of oneself to the service of God. Faith is believing even when you do not see how things will work out, or worse, even when things look like they will not work out. Faith is transformative. Faith can move mountains. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen. 

In other words, without faith, we cannot have hope for a better tomorrow. Without faith we cannot hope for our children’s future. Without faith we cannot hope for the safe vaccination and extermination of COVID-19. Without faith, we cannot hope for educational, economical, and gender equality. Without faith, we cannot hope for a woman or man to lead this country who has displayed some level of logical, linguistic, and interpersonal intelligence married with a moral compass. Without faith, we cannot have hope for the eradication of racism, bigotry, and police brutality in this country and across the land; and without faith, we cannot hope for justice to roll like a river and righteousness like an overflowing stream. 

Most of all, without faith, we cannot hope for a Savior who came down through 42 generations. A man who was crucified and died on calvary’s cross. A man that was buried in a borrowed tomb. He stayed there through Friday night. Then Jesus stayed dead through Saturday night. But early one Sunday morning He got up out the grave with all power in His hands. But that’s not how the story ends, because the Bible says He Ascended into heaven, and one day He’s coming back to save you, and me and all of those who believe in Him.

That is my hope is anchored. That is why my hope is secure. That is why my hope isn’t fickle. That is why my hope never fails. That is why:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

When He shall come with trumpet sound

Oh may I then in Him be found

Dressed in his righteousness alone

Faultless to stand before the throne

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

 

Takeaway:

The battles we fight in our lives are inevitable. As we attempt to assess the work necessary to overcome them, some appear more difficult than others. However, we must do the work of insuring we have faith for any fight we face. We do this work by being cognizant of those whose own deficiencies may end up draining our faith. We also do this work by remembering what God has already done for us, and by knowing and believing what God’s Word promises us.