Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 17(1a, 4-11, 9-23, 32-49;Mark 4:35-41)
Dear Friends,
Today is Preacher’s Sunday, throughout the District our Preachers are exchanging pulpits and it is our joy to Welcome
Mr. Bambelela Ngxaki from South West Coast Circuit. His main message will be cantered around one of the most familiar texts the story of David and Goliath in 1 Sam 17.
Ask any person to name some story from the Bible, and you are likely to hear them say, David and Goliath. There are few upsets in the Soccer World Cup already or politics that do not engender a reference to this hallowed tale, wherein the tiny shepherd boy defeats the monstrous Philistine giant, much to the surprise and joy of the beleaguered Israelites and the shock and horror of the pagan Philistines. Well, the Israelites and Philistines may have been surprised at the outcome of the battle at Elah, but there is one person who was not in the least surprised, and that one was David himself. David looked at Goliath, saw his heavy chain mail and his heavy spear and knew that he had the weapon that was needed, namely a mobile missile launcher. Goliath would be far too slow either to get close enough to David or to dodge the stone. Little wonder that David said he “used to keep sheep”; his destiny is to be king and Goliath will be his meal ticket to greatness. The portrait of David here is the one we will see again and again in his fabulous story. He is immensely prepared to defeat whatever forces there may be to stand in his way to the kingship. Still there can be little doubt that David loves God; it is just that at more times than not he loves himself and his desire for power more. Any people we know, any pastors we know who sound just like that? This story is about God. Not David. Not Goliath. It is about God. David shouts the central premise of the entire story:
“This day the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!” How easily we forget. We forget even when the line is shouted by the main actor: “The whole world will know that God is God. The LORD saves”. Somehow we become so fixated on the stuff in front of our faces that we lose sight of the God who made it all. This story it isn’t about the big guy and the little guy. In fact, it purposely pits the little guy against the big guy so we’ll fix our eyes on the much bigger God. Scripture is not about giant enemies or David. Nor about fighting or making sure you have all five stones in your sack. It is about God, the God who is present, guarding, guiding, managing history in the direction he wants it to go for the benefit of his people.
All Scripture, but the psalms in particular, gives us a lens through which to see reality: “The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying, ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles’” Ps. 2:2. That is the stuff in front of our faces; that is “the scene.” Your eyes take it in. It is raw and real. Scripture never asks us to pretend we don’t live here. But Scripture offers us a lens to understand another reality: “The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the LORD scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ‘I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain’” (v. 4). Do you see both the scene and the unseen? Our God reigns through Jesus Christ our Lord! We, like the Israelites of old, are powerless to defeat him. What we cannot do for ourselves, Christ has done for us, just as David fought Goliath for Saul and the Israelites. Satan has a death grip on lost sinners. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves.
Jesus came and took on Satan one-on-one, and He won the victory. David did it by killing Goliath. Jesus did it by being
crucified on the cross of Calvary. But after He died to pay the penalty for our sins, He rose from the grave, triumphant over Satan, sin, and death. It was winner take all, and Jesus won by dying and by rising from the dead. All who acknowledge their sin, and who forsake trusting in themselves by placing their trust in Jesus Christ, have the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of living eternally in His kingdom. Thank God for our Champion, the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Solomzi