"The Battle is the Lord's"

Here's the video link to the entire worship service including the sermon:
https://vimeo.com/132101320

Meditation on 1 Samuel 17: 32-49

June 28, 2015

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     “David said to Saul, ‘Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.’ But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.’ David said, ‘The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.’ So Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you!’

      “Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, ‘I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.’ So David removed them. Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

       “The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. The Philistine said to David, ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.’ But 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. This 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, and 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.’

      “When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet the Philistine. David 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.”

***

    I had just sat down with my books to prepare for my Thursday morning Bible study when there was a knock at my back door. I opened it to find a young lady dressed in Sunday best, holding some printed material and a Bible. “Can I help you?” I asked, cracking the door just wide enough to stick my head through, without my two, small, barking dogs running out. She gestured to the church building next door and said, “I guess you are the pastor’s wife.”

      I laughed. Most people don’t expect the pastor to be wearing yoga pants and a pink T-shirt.

     She asked if I wanted to read the Bible with her. I looked past her and saw a sedan idling in my driveway. Two or three people, similarly dressed, were watching and waiting for her. She was a Jehovah’s Witness. Some had come to our home about a year ago when we were out. I had seen the telltale signs--“The Watchtower” and “Awake!” magazines at the door. At the time, I remember thinking how bold they were to come to the house next to a church, which was almost certainly the pastor’s. The message was loud and clear. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have targeted our community for conversion. What better way of influencing an entire congregation than to persuade the pastor of their errors in their doctrine and ways? I was annoyed when I saw the material last year, but now it wasn’t just a handout to toss in the trash. She was a real, live person standing at my door, someone whom God loved as much as He loved me. And I thought, “But for the grace of God, that could be me or one of my children.” I felt sorry for her, but I didn’t feel safe inviting her in, especially with the carload of Witnesses in my driveway, as I was home alone. And I was busy--preparing for my Bible study. I had God’s work to do.

    I took her literature. “The Lord be with you,” I said, as a prayer for her soul and not a declaration of God’s presence. Jehovah’s Witnesses are not Christians; they have their own Bible translation called the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Among their errors in doctrine, they adhere to a works-salvation mentality. They coerce new members to prove the authenticity of their faith by going door to door. According to statistics on the Web, more than 8 million Jehovah’s Witnesses are involved in “evangelism” and more than 19 million people worldwide adhere to the faith. They refuse military service and blood transfusions. They shun all “pagan” celebrations, including birthdays, Easter and Christmas. They refuse to salute the American flag or say the “Pledge of Allegiance.” But the most destructive doctrine they teach is that God is not Trinitarian. Jesus is not “Christ our Lord and Savior,” for he is not divine. If Jesus is not both human and divine, then his death on a cross did not achieve humanity’s forgiveness for their sins. We are not, therefore, reconciled with God.

    I closed the door, thinking, again, how bold she was to come to a pastor’s home. And how vulnerable people are, especially the elderly, alone in their homes, too polite, perhaps, to ask someone dressed in “church” clothes, carrying a Bible, to leave. Jehovah’s Witnesses seem so “nice.”

     Friends, the spiritual battle wages on! There’s a battle for our souls. Thank God the battle is the Lord’s!

***

     I had been meditating on this passage in 1 Samuel when the stranger came to my door. The line that was engraved in my memory was, indeed, verse 47, when David says, “The battle is the Lord’s!”

     But first, let’s admit what we are all thinking about David as we read this passage. He must have been nuts! Why on earth did he go into battle wearing no protective gear, armed only with a slingshot? Why did he think he could “win” against Goliath, the giant who had already killed veteran Israelite soldiers, bigger and stronger than David? And why did his family and community let him do it?! Although we don’t know hold old David was for sure, he is disdained for his youth, red hair and complexion, and attractive appearance or face. I Samuel 17:42 says when Goliath “looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance." 

     It wasn’t just his appearance that made David stand out from other youth and men.  The one whom God had chosen for His purposes was completely without fear, a teenager able to convince a king that he was fierce enough to do battle for Israel; for the entire Philistine threat is embodied in Goliath, not a giant of fairy tales, but a very large, powerful fighting man. David tells Saul he saved his father’s flocks, rescuing lambs from the mouths of lions and bears.“And if it turned against me,” David says, “I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it.”

      The most important thing we should know about David--even more important than his youth, courage and strength-- is his extraordinary faith and devotion to the Lord. As Acts 13:22 tells us, “David the son of Jesse, was raised up by God to be king of the Israelites because he was a man after God’s own heart, a man who would do “all” God’s will.

    Now God was calling young, fair David to make a stand, live by it or die. David wanted everyone to see and know that he was on the Lord’s side! The battle--and the victory--would not be won by David’s wisdom, power and strength. “Your servant has killed both lions and bears,” David tells his king. “And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.”  Saul answers, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you!’

    But the youth who had never tasted battle is too small to walk with the heavy armor that professional soldiers wear. He cannot use his king’s proffered sword. Strengthened by the spiritual gifts God has given him and the skills learned as a shepherd boy, David relies on the Lord for victory. He picks up his slingshot and five stones from the wadi--a creek bed that is dry, except during a rainy season. Then he responds to the giant’s trash talk with his own declaration of faith. “Goliath, you come to me with sword and spear and javelin,” says David. “But I come to you in the name of the Lord.” 

***

    Friends, not many of us will encounter actual giants that we must fight with slingshot and stones. But every day, we are engaged in spiritual battle. We make choices that reveal to God and the world whose side we are on--and whether or not we are with the Lord. We may live in fear or in confidence, depending on whether we believe, like David, that God has already won. We can live our lives for ourselves and our own desires or we can choose to live like the one Scripture says was a man after God’s own heart, a man who would do “all” God’s will.

       I couldn’t stop thinking about the visitor who came to my door this week. I kept wondering if I did the right thing. Should I have invited her in and shared Jesus with her? Should I have been bold and told her how destructive these people are who seem so “nice,” for they turn people away from the gospel of love, mercy and grace?  I can only pray that the Spirit would lead her to discover the hope and promise that we have through belief on the perfect work of Christ Jesus, God’s Son. The spiritual battle wages on. But Christ’s followers need not fear. We can go with the confidence of our faith into every dark place. Like David, let us be brave when God calls upon us to make a stand, live by it or die. Let us with courage declare by our words and acts of love whose side we are on. And that the battle, the victory, and WE belong to Him.

   

Let us pray.

Holy Three- in- One, thank you for your Word and Spirit that guides us to your truth and reveals your love and mercy for sinners. Thank you for sending your Son to die in our place. Thank you for your forgiveness and for winning the spiritual battle for us before it was even begun. Help us to be brave and do all your will. Empower us to go with confidence with the Good News of Jesus Christ to the dark places in our community and world. Stir us to be bold--as bold as Jehovah’s Witnesses who go door to door. We lift up to you all the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other non-Christians in our area--and ask that you would draw them closer to you. Open their hearts and minds to hear and embrace the true gospel of grace. May the young lady who came to my door come to believe that Christ was not only human; he was fully divine. And He is alive today! Forgive us for not caring enough about our non-Christian neighbors to reach out to them more. Stir us to let everyone know by our words and acts of love that we are on the Lord’s side! And the battle is the Lord’s. Amen.