Do Something Alternative – Part 3, Run, for You are Watched
2006 : June  |  Website Version  

Today’s message is the last in the three part Series submitted by our friend Kevin Mounce. Kevin has been exploring the different lessons we can learn from the Bible’s story of David and Goliath. We pray that this Series has been a blessing to you.

1 Samuel 17, as revealed by the Holy Spirit to Kevin Mounce…

Run
When presented with opportunities from the Lord… we need to have the same ATTITUDE that David had, because we can learn much from David’s attitude and preparation for battle. What is David doing as he stands before the 9 ft. behemoth Goliath?

The answer is found in verse 1 Samuel 17:48, where we see that, “As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.” David doesn’t fear Goliath. In fact, the Bible teaches us that David, without hesitation, runs to engage Goliath in battle. Furthermore,
  • David doesn’t question the Lord about his circumstance
  • David doesn’t do any second-guessing
David trusted that God was going to get him through the encounter with Goliath.

Part of David’s faith comes from the fact that the Lord had prepared him well for this battle. We see the Lord developing David’s faith for the battles ahead by bringing him through prior battles:
 
         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.
  1 Samuel 17:34-35 (NIV)
 
God had already rescued David from episodes with a bear AND a lion, and this gives David the courage to say,
 
         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
  1 Samuel 17:36-37 (NIV)
 
We should understand that God does the same with us. He prepares us for the challenges that lie ahead, and we need to have faith that He walks through them with us. No matter what the task, we can rest assured that the Lord is not going to leave us hanging out there on our own; He will always be there for us:
  • We may have to STRETCH a little
  • We may have to step outside of our comfort zone
However, God has promised to never leave us, and if we BELIEVE that… we will have no problem doing what He has asked us to do. So, when you are called by God to do something…RUN to the battle line:
  • Don’t just STAND there
  • Don’t try to think up excuses why you CAN’T do it
  • And for heaven’s sake don’t run away
Run to the battle line.

You Are Watched
  • What happens when we do this?
  • What happens when we live by faith?
  • What happens when we… RUN toward the battle line?
All David needed was 5 smooth stones and a sling.
  • He didn’t need a sword
  • He didn’t need a coat of armor
  • He didn’t need a bronze helmet
  • He didn’t NEED all that extra stuff
I’m sure people thought David was crazy for going to battle Goliath without traditional armor. I mean, who goes to battle with 5 smooth stones and a sling? However, God provided David with what he needed.

Similarly, God promises to provide US with what we need. We don’t NEED:
  • Million-dollar homes
  • Top-of-the-line luxury vehicles
  • Big-screen televisions
Oh, those are NICE things… but they’re not needs. God promises to provide for our NEEDS.

An interesting thing happens when we begin to focus on having our NEEDS met. All of a sudden, all of the “niceties” (cars, houses, and jobs) don’t seem so important. We begin to see the IMPORTANT things in life are the RELATIONSHIPS we have with people and God.

We begin to realize that God always keeps His promises and provides for our needs. EVENTUALLY, we realize that all we have to ask is for God to meet our needs: ‘God, give us this day our daily bread…and help me to focus on the things that have ETERNAL value.’ These become our prayers and our hearts desires. As Hebrews 13:5 puts it, we begin to, ‘…be content with the things that we have because God has said He will never leave us or forsake us’.

When WE learn to depend on God, ANOTHER interesting thing happens; people will notice your faith. Matthew 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” (NIV)
  • When you step out in faith
  • When you are content living WITHOUT all of those comforts
  • When you are radical in your faith
  • When you do something alternative
People will notice it, because you ARE that brightly lit city on a hill. It might be dark all around you, but you can guarantee that people are watching you shine in the darkness, and it makes them ask:
  • What’s so different about them?
  • How can they be content with so little?
Deep down people know the things this world has to offer will not satisfy them… and they have an urge to know what WILL satisfy them. Tired of our society’s answers, people long for something different… something alternative.

Always remember…people are watching, and when you’re living for God, they are attracted to that. They will want what you have, HOWEVER,
  • If there’s nothing DIFFERENT about you
  • If you blend in with the rest of the crowd
  • If the ONLY difference between YOUR life and their life is where you go on Sunday morning
Then there really IS no difference between you and the world… and people will not be drawn to you. If they are not drawn to YOU, because your life is not giving off any light, then they are not drawn to Christ, since we are His representatives.

Conclusions

The purpose of our existence is to glorify God forever, and we’re not glorifying Him if we approach our battles from the human perspective. Others can see when our life is focused on God. The Lord is then glorified in our victories and also in our actions through our trials. Further, if our life is devoted to God, we cannot take the credit when the miraculous occurs. This is what David is referring to when he says,
 
         47 “All those gathered will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves…”
  1 Samuel 17:47 (NIV)
 
David was not going to be able to credit for this one. It was the Lord’s victory; the Lord who provided what he needed when he needed it… and He will do the same for us.

If God is calling you to do something, it’s time for you to get rid of all the barriers and the obstacles that are standing in your way. It’s time for you to stop focusing on the solutions the world offers and focus on God’s way. Rest in the Lord, and let Him work in you. If God has called you to a task, don’t run away. Run to the battle line with confidence in the Lord
  • Do something BIG
  • Do something DIFFERENT
  • Do something ALTERNATIVE
  • Do it TODAY


May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you today and always…

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1 Samuel 17:45-48 (NIV)

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.”
48  As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.

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