“Command and teach these things. Don’t let
anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the
believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” Timothy 4:11-12 (NIV)
It was wonderful to grow up in church as a kid and learn
about the great Bible characters and stories. This book, the Bible, was bigger
than life and shared stories that rivaled any comic book with super heroes and
potential catastrophic situations. From
such things as:
*Noah, the
Ark, and the flood
*Joseph and his rise to power in
Egypt
*Moses and
his leadership of a nation
*Joshua and
the wall of Jericho
*Samson,
his might, and his “thrill of victory and agony of defeat”
But there’s another great story that most little boys loved
because they could dream of it and even act it out in their own back yard with
a friend or their enemy (neighborhood bully or big brother). It was the story of a boy named David and his
faith/fight against a bully named Goliath found in I Samuel 17.
David was not your normal “super hero” or even hero to fight
against a bully, and a giant at that. He
was the youngest son of Jesse, most likely a young teenager. But what he lacked
in stature, he made up in faith in God and his promises/plans. While most of his Israeli nationals cowered
in fear of the enemy, Goliath, he seemed to grow stronger in faith that was
ready for action. Who was this enemy?
Goliath, the champion soldier of the Philistine army, was believed
to be almost 10 ft. tall and to have great weight, size, and strength as seen
by the sheer size and weight of his armor. He loved to go out to the
battlefield day after day and mock Israel, its armies, and God. His pride and ego was full to the top and no
one from Israel was ready to challenge him…until David showed up on the
battlefield to bring food to his brothers.
That’s when the story gets good.
On his visits between delivering food to his family and
taking care of his family sheep, David continued to hear and witness the
mocking by this warrior, Goliath. One
day David had finally heard enough and said: “Who is this uncircumcised
Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” People, like his
brothers and King Saul, attempted to slow him down and chastised him because he
was young. It didn’t work and finally
King Saul told him: “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
And that’s what David did.
He took only his staff, sling, and five smooth stones as he approached
the mocking Philistine.
I love this about David.
Here was a teenager who was ready to “charge hell with a water
pistol”. It wasn’t because he was a
great mighty warrior, over-confident, or felt he was better than others. He had
faith in His God, His armies and His purpose for their nation of Israel. He believed what God said and was willing to
put his words into action. David knew
that he couldn’t and wouldn’t defeat Goliath by the sword or spear but only
through his Lord who saves. As he said
in verse 47, “for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into
our hands.” And that God did. It only
took the first stone that David put in his sling to strike down Goliath. David
then ran over to him and drew Goliath’s very own sword and cut off his head.
David had won the battle for Israel.
What can we take away
from this?
First, David had
a faith in God that most didn’t. He
believed what He had been taught and read about God and was willing to put his
faith into action whether others did or not.
The whole army of Israel was afraid of Goliath but David had the courage
to trust God for the victory because the battle belonged to the Lord. The youngest one set the example for those
who should have been modeling it for him? Do we often cower to fear instead of
believing what God has done for us through Jesus Christ? Are we setting the
faith course for others to follow?
Second, when we
look around our society it might be easy to get cynical doubting our nation’s
future due to a perception of teenagers or a reputation earned or even worse
given by the media and its influences – good and bad. But I believe there is
still hope and a generation of teenagers just like David who are willing to
stand up in faith and face the giant’s or bullies of today in our cultural
influences, government, and society. We have a responsibility as a church and
Christian homes to continue to invest in our children and their children
leaving a legacy of faith and influence so when the “Goliath’s” come their way
they can stand up in faith and fight.
Here at North Side we have this in place through our church
and family ministries. But it is not
simply carried out here during a few hours of a week. It must be done within
the support and leadership of the home by Christian parents believing and modeling
a similar faith. If you are a parent or
grandparent I hope you will not only consider but also come to a Parent Summit
hosted by our church annually. It is
never too early or too late to get started. Our young are ready to be led and
many are already doing it. They have met
Jesus and are following in faith. They
are ready and forced to do battle in our culture already. Let’s lead in faith and they will follow.
Scripture to Claim:
Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the LORD
your God, Deuteronomy 31:13Submitted By Jim Garner
