On our tour of Hebrews 11, we have studied several people who were highlighted by the writer as models of faith. Many of them activated their faith in a pivotal or critical moment in time in their life or in a crucial moment in the lives of God’s people. We know part of their stories, but we don’t necessarily have information on a large portion of their life. Today’s character, however, is one we have a lot of information about. We know about him as a young person and Scripture details his story as an emerging adult, his coronation as the King of Israel, and we know about his leadership over the course of many years. While he wasn’t perfect by any stretch, he was someone I believe we can look to, to understand how to exercise faith over the course of an entire life. The goal for all of us is not simply that we would have faith in a crisis, but that we would have an activated, steady faith over the course of our lifetimes.
We read in I Samuel 16 about how David was anointed by the Prophet Samuel to be Israel’s King. He would be King Saul’s successor, but not for many years. As the Prophet Samuel was sent to the house of a man named Jesse, sent for the purpose of anointing Israel’s next King, and as all of Jesse’s sons passed by him one at a time without being tapped by Samuel as the next King, David wasn’t even in the room.
Some of you know what that feels like. Not being in the room. Not being considered for a position. Not being invited to bring your skills to the table. Not being present when an opportunity is being handed out. David wasn’t in the room. He was out tending sheep. No one even thought to include David. They didn’t consider him a possibility for the kingship.
Seven of his brothers came to the anointing ceremony, but none of them were chosen. Samuel asked if there were any other children in the home. Only then was David sent for. I Samuel 16:13 says, the Prophet Samuel anointed David with oil in the presence of his brothers and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully on David.
David received an empowering that he never lost. He was touched in a way that invited him into a faith-filled relationship with God from that day on. Young people, you can enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ from this time in your life that will carry you through the totality of your life. You can exercise faith in God at every juncture, every transition and every milestone and during all of the in-between times.
David started serving the Lord from that day. Listen, When you begin to serve God, you will begin to further your faith. You can grow your faith by coming to church, by reading Scripture and by praying, and you should, but when you actually begin to step out and begin to use your gifts and talents to serve God, and when you start to engage in spiritual warfare, and when you trust God for protection in moments when you are being hunted by your enemy, and when you look to God for His perfect timing and divine wisdom to help you occupy the place God has chosen for you, you will live your entire life with an activated faith. David exercise faith in God in all of those ways.
David had musical gifts. They weren’t just exceptional musical gifts, but they were God-anointed musical gifts. When King Saul was being tormented by evil spirits, (yes, that’s a thing,) he called for someone who was skilled at playing music to come and play to soothe his soul. It wasn’t just that David could slay on the lyre (like David Fizer can on the electric guitar), but he had been anointed by God (which is also like you, David!). My point is, there is a difference between playing an instrument or singing a song and being anointed by God to do it. David was anointed. God moved through his music. King Saul got help from God through young David as he played his instrument in the king’s presence.
He got so much help, that King Saul told Jesse, “I’m keeping your son. I need David to remain in my service. I need him here in the palace. Find a new shepherd for the sheep.” David entered into King Saul’s service, not only as an anointed musician, but he also became one of Saul’s armor-bearers. An armor-bearer would carry additional weapons for army commanders. They would also be responsible for killing enemies that were wounded in the battle. King Saul may have considered David one of his servants, but the truth is, David was serving the Lord first and foremost. God was putting David in places where he could activate the anointing that was on his life and where he could get ready for bigger battles down the road.
We see the development of David’s faith as he takes on a literal giant, the leader of the Philistine army. Goliath was a big boy. Most scholars have him as well over nine feet tall. He seemed as broad as he was tall. His armor made him like an impenetrable tank. He had a mouth the size of Texas. He was a bully. He taunted Israel. He defied the armies of Israel. He begged for them to send someone out to fight him. King Saul and the rest of the army were scared spitless.
Who rose to the challenge? Who believed they could take the giant out? The musician and armor-bearer. The guy who had only gotten his feet wet in battle. His oldest brother basically told him that he had no business even being in the vicinity of the challenge. King Saul also told him he wasn’t up to the task.
Listen, people with an activated faith dismiss those who would want to discourage and discredit them.
David had some experience he had kept to himself. He had some victories he hadn’t disclosed to anyone, but because Saul wasn’t going to let him take the giant on, he had to share about some previous battles. He had struck down lions and bears while he had guarded sheep. When an animal turned on him, he seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. He knew he hadn’t done that in his own strength. He knew God had shown up in power in those moments. He had faith that God would show up in power in the battle with Goliath. He said in I Samuel 17:37, “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”-I Samuel 17:37
David’s faith wasn’t in anything he could do. It was in the God who had anointed and empowered him to rise to whatever challenge he faced, whether evil spirits, ferocious animals, or highly decorated military operatives.
I can tell you his faith was fully placed in the LORD because it wasn’t his name that he was concerned about. He declared that Goliath was defying the armies of the living God. This fight wasn’t between David and Goliath. It was between God and Goliath. David was God’s servant in this situation. David readied himself with some stones and a sling. He didn’t even wind up wearing armor. God was his armor. God was his protection.
Goliath had a shield bearer in front of him. (How do you carry a shield to cover a 9-ft. 9-inch man? That would be interesting to see.) Goliath started talking trash, but David started talking truth!
David’s faith was in the name of the LORD. Look at what he said in verses 45-47:
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 deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, 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.”
These weren’t the words of a cocky, idealistic young man. These were the words of someone who knew God’s faithfulness, who knew theirs was the God who could not fail. It only took one stone from David’s sling, one stone that hit Goliath in the exact spot that would kill him.
Today, you can activate the same kind of faith in the name of the Lord. The Bible says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe!” Proverbs 18:10
Speak the name of Jesus in faith, Church. Speak it over your mind, over your body, over your spirit, over your family, over your circumstance, over your future and even over your enemy. There is power in the name of Jesus to break curses and to cancel the enemy’s plans. There is power in the name of Jesus to part waters, to open doors, and to make a way for you. Speak the name of Jesus over the situations that plague you. Open your mouth and declare, “I speak Jesus over this car problem. I speak Jesus over the upcoming school year. I speak Jesus over my doctor’s appointment. I speak Jesus over my work issues. I speak Jesus over the pressure to conform to the world’s ways. I speak Jesus over my marriage, my children, my loved ones.” The name of the LORD, when declared in faith and the authority He has given us, will enable us to take out anything that is coming against us.
When David hurled that stone from his slingshot, he wasn’t counting on his precision. He wasn’t counting on his marksmanship. He wasn’t counting on big Goliath’s inability to duck quickly. He was counting on the name of the LORD! He slung that sucker by faith, Church!
You know what that victory won him? The adulation of so many people that King Saul decided to kill him. Saul couldn’t have David having a greater following than he, the king had. David had to hit the road. He had to live on the run. He lived as a hunted man. He had to trust God by faith to protect him in the desert. David knew he had been anointed as Israel’s next King. Because he believed God was working out his plans in David’s life, by faith, he knew he could trust God to keep him safe until the time came for him to ascend to the throne. David’s faith in God enabled him to wait for God to deliver him to his appointed place!
You may be struggling with the reality that where you find yourself isn’t where you are meant to be. You may have heard something from the Lord that hasn’t yet come to pass. You may be waiting for God to open a door that you have been praying would be prepared for you. Hold on in faith. If God calls you to something, He will see that you make it!
There were two times when David had an opportunity to kill Saul, something that would have eliminated the threat to his safety and made way for him to assume the kingship, but because it wasn’t God’s will for him to take him out, because it was God’s will for David to wait him out, to wait for his turn to rule, in faith, David didn’t do what he could have in the flesh. He chose the route of faith.
I don’t have time to get into the many more battles David would fight before he would become king. David fought them all by faith. He defeated the Philistines, the Ammonites and members of Saul’s family. Many would have given up. There was roadblock after roadblock to him becoming Israel’s king. If he had been battling in the flesh, he would have quit, and oh, what he would have forfeited!
Listen, if you battle in the flesh, you will get tired. You will be spiritually drained. You will become frustrated and angry. You will become disillusioned and dejected. You won’t be able to rest, and you won’t have peace. You’ll disconnect from people and that will foster isolation and depression and decrease your productivity and satisfaction. But if you will wait upon the Lord, you will renew your strength, even in the battles that seem unnecessary and ridiculous.
David could have gone back to shepherding. He could have delighted crowds with his musical prowess and started touring as a musician. He wasn’t without skill. He was pretty-well connected by this time. Surely his reputation and network would have yielded some opportunities, but he didn’t fall back on his gifts and abilities or his network. He relied on the power and plan of God by faith.
And even when David allowed the devil to get a foothold, even when he grievously sinned against God by having an affair with Bathsheba and by having her husband killed to cover up the pregnancy that resulted, David exercised faith in God. Listen, if you are going to overcome personal failure, it won’t be because you decide to pick yourself up by the bootstraps and start over; it will be because you have realized that relying on self won’t work and you have to place the full weight of your faith in God once again.
David exercised faith in God by confessing his sin and by asking God to forgive him. He believed that if he would come clean about what he had done that God would cleanse and restore him and help him refrain from ever going down that road again. I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
You have to believe that confessing sins to a loving God will actually produce a healing result in your life. You have to exercise faith to believe that God actually wants to hear from us, even when we have messed up. There is no redemption without faith. There is no forgiveness without faith. There is no spiritual healing without faith. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but the gift of God to us is that we can be made whole again by activating faith in the redemptive plan of God. Believe, confess, and repent. God will do the restoring. All of that takes faith.
In I Samuel 13:14, David was called a man after God’s own heart. God was pleased with David. Not because he was perfect, but because he pursued his relationship with God by faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
If you want to please God, ramp up your faith. Trust God in difficult times. Pursue God in the quiet moments of life. Acknowledge God at every turn. When you make decisions and when you make mistakes, acknowledge God.
The exercising of faith is meant to become a pattern for life, not once-in-a-while thing. David served the Lord in faith. His musical ability, his leadership abilities, something that was cultivated by simply leading sheep, was under God’s authority. God used David’s serving faith to develop him. David battled in faith. Did you know he actually ran to the battle line when he went up against Goliath? He declared that he was coming in the name of the LORD, and then he took off running. No hesitation! That’s what faith does! It makes us courageous! God used David’s battling faith to develop him. David trusted the Lord in faith. He looked to God for protection when people sought to destroy him. God used David’s trusting faith to develop him. David waited on the Lord in faith. Even though he knew he was destined for the throne, he relied on God to move him into place at the right time. He didn’t try to kick doors open. He didn’t try to move people out of his way. He let God do the opening. He let God do the moving. God used David’s patient faith to develop him. David confessed his sin by faith. He was vulnerable and transparent about his sin. He confessed it to the Lord in faith that God would take it from him. He came clean, and he did it without fear that God would reject him. He believed the God who had called him was the God who would cleanse him. God used David’s confessional faith to restore him.
You know the Apostle Paul gets a lot of press for writing many of the New Testament, but can we just acknowledge the emotional outpouring of raw, honest emotion and pure faith that is expressed in the Psalms of David? That man wasn’t afraid to show his emotions. He wasn’t afraid to admit his faults. He wasn’t scared to look weak. He knew his strength was found by resting in God. David had ups and downs like we all do, but David made the decision to stand in faith, even when he failed.
Do you need to start serving the Lord in faith? Do you need to battle in faith and quit letting the enemy taunt and intimidate you? Do you need to trust God in faith during some pressure-filled circumstance? In faith do you need to wait on God’s timing for something you are praying for? Do you need to confess your sin to the Lord today and believe God for forgiveness and a new start? No matter your age or stage in life, God is calling you to a deeper faith in Him right now.
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