Grace Emmanuel Church
Pastor Sam Chess
CONFESSION OF A
CAVEMAN-1
Introduction: We've looked for three weeks at Peter, the most
mentioned man in the New Testament. His life lessons, learned through
failure, were an encouragement to us in our spiritual journey.
Actually, Peter is only mentioned 158 times in 65 chapters of
the Bible
Who, in all of the Bible, gets the most mentions and the most
chapters?
Jesus Christ, our Lord, is mentioned 983 times in 105 chapters
David is mentioned 1,085 times in 141 chapters of the Bible?
Truth is, the writer didn't actually write it for you…he was
expressing his own feelings at what must have been a trying time in
his life…
When did he write it? As a shepherd boy sitting out under the
stars watching the sheep..
Must have been a calm serene life that boy lived…
Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He
lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3
He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor
to his name.
Does this sound calm and serene?..
4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be
afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect
and comfort me. (NLT)
We began to dig out little clues, here and there, out of the Bible
Wednesday evening and we got a little different view of this boy's
early life. He was the youngest of eight boys but while the other
seven were off making there mark on the world David was, literally
forgotten out caring for sheep. He was overlooked, ignored, perhaps
even disliked by his family. He didn't get to grow up spending hours
bouncing his thoughts off his older siblings, or even Jesse his dad.
He was lonely, and he quickly learned the only real close friend
he had was God. When his flock was attacked by lions and bears…his
brothers didn't come running to his defense… God gave him the
strength to (his words) grab the animals by the jaw and beat them to
death. He was forced to be a tough, independent kid who found all his
strength in God.
And He wrote everything down. If you know where to line up the 73
Psalms he wrote with his life, you can tell what he was thinking and
feeling.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies
display his craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known. 3 They speak without a sound
or word there is no speech or language where there voice is not
heard.
He wrote that as a young man sitting with the sheep, out under the
stars… This too…
Psalm 19:12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant from
deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of
guilt and innocent of great sin. 14 May the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my
redeemer.
When Prophet Samuel comes to anoint the next great king of Israel,
Dad (Jesse) lines up his seven tall warrior sons waiting for one to
be chosen…none are… Is this all your sons? Samuel asked…. Let me
think… No I've got one more little squirt…. but he's not king
material…
1st Samuel 16:11 Then Samuel asked, “Are these all
the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,”
Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and
goats.” “Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to
eat until he arrives.” 12 So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and
handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, “This is the one;
anoint him.” 13 So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel
took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with
the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from
that day on.
Nothing changes… the big brothers go back to their influential
lives… the squirt goes back out to the sheep. The big brother's rub
shoulders with the great leader's of Israel, even getting to meet
King Saul…David is back alone, out in the wilderness, talking to his
sheep… and God. How in the world can all this aloneness prepare him
to be the greatest King who ever lived???
God used all his one-on-one time with David to build into him a
depth of relationship that probably would never have happened had
David been living a normal life. I've never really seen this before
this week but this should be put on the mirror of every young man in
this room and memorized:
Psalm 101: 1 I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will
praise you with songs.
2 I will be careful to live a blameless life… I will lead a life
of integrity in my own home. 3 I will refuse to look at anything vile
and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do
with them. 4 I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every
evil.
5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will
not endure conceit and pride. 6 I will search for faithful people to
be my companions. Only those who are above reproach will be allowed
to serve me. 7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house, and
liars will not stay in my presence. 8 My daily task will be to ferret
out the wicked and free the city of the Lord from their grip.
Many teen age boys are dreaming of fame and fortune… David is
dreaming of being the most Godly adult he can possibly be. You can
clearly see that he knows that God is preparing him for something
more than sheep-herding.
And sure enough…God is…David gets his big break…in the strangest
of ways…
His oldest brothers are fighting their neighbors… the Philistines.
They've got some overactive thyroid family with one brother reaching
nine feet tall. The Phillistines get there armor-producing company to
make him a jumbo sized bronze helmet and a coat of armor weighing 125
lbs. His spear was like a small tree with the spearhead weighing 15
lbs.
For forty days he comes out in front of the Israelite Army…
mocking them and they are all scared out of their gourds. Truth is;
probably any two of them could have run in distracted "The Hulk" and
stabbed him before he could lift his tree trunk spear in the air.
But no…Goliath grunted:
1 Samuel 17:10 I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man
who will fight me!” 11 When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they
were terrified and deeply shaken.
The Israelite army clearly needed some alone-time with God to get
back their perspective. Their God rolled back the Red Sea and
delivered them from the entire Egyptian army…. Their God had
repeatedly given their small army miraculous victories over huge
armies and now one overgrown clod has them completely paralyzed. When
David shows up to bring supplies to his lily-livered brothers…he
can't believe what he is hearing…
1 Samuel 17: 22 David left his things with the keeper of
supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. 23 As he
was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath,
came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his
usual taunt to the army of Israel. 24 As soon as the Israelite army
saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 “Have you seen the
giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel.
David…who's entire focus for years….. has been feeding on the
awesome splendor, power, presence of God.. is shocked… How could
anyone firmly believe in the Creator of the universe and be afraid of
a 9' chunk of meat with a grape sized brain?
26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby… Who is this pagan
Philistine … that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living
God?”
This isn't a question of Goliath's power… or even of the Israelite
army's power… This nit-wit is messing with Almighty God! Notice the
warm reception from his oldest brother…
28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to
the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he
demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking
care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the
battle!” 29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking
a question!”
King Saul hears of David's comments and perhaps a little old bell
of spiritual recognition rings in his mind…besides… he's desperate.
Bring me the kid!
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go
fight him!” 33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way
you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy,
and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s
sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a
lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb
from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and
club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and
I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the
armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws
of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
Again… the issue in David's mind is not how strong he is…
he doesn't see his victory over the lions and bears as a personal
victory. His strength comes, purely because of his connection with
the God of all Power! Listen to him when he is finally facing Goliath
with just a sling and five stones.
45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword,
spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have
defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and
cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men
to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that
there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know
that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This
is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
1) Who is David representing in the battle? 2) Who does David say
is going to conquer Goliath?
3) How many people will find out that "there is a God in Israel?
4) Who's battle is it when we face giants in our lives?
For you that won't rest easy without "the rest of the story"…
48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to
meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone,
he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead.
The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the
ground.
This great victory in David's life sent him into a whirl-wind of
success. He's lauded by King Saul…He's promised the King's daughters
hand in marriage. He is made a commander of Saul's army.
T or F Wow…now David is really seeing the blessing of God in his
life.
Those lonely days out in the wilderness with the sheep were the
"bad times" of David's life… but now that God has brought him through
those "bad years"…now David is in the truly blessed stage where all
his dreams will come true?
That's the promise of God to every Christian…once you get through
the early trials the rest of life will be lived in fame, wealth, and
perfect health???
If you know anything about David's story in the Bible, you will
understand the title of this sermon; Confessions of a Caveman.
David's "cave" days are still ahead.
It sure doesn't seem like it at the present… Imagine going from
ignored sheep-herder to commander in the King's army all in one
month…and you are going to become the King's son-in-law with a pretty
cute daughter that David has only seen from afar.
As soon as David tries his hand as army commander he has instant
success! The same God who helped him kill Goliath seems to go before
him into every battle. His King is proud to call him his commander
and is going to be even prouder to call him "son….
It's still in the very next chapter in the Bible that David's
success starts to go sour. It's comes from an unexpected source…King
Saul.
You would think Saul would have been ecstatic to have found a
warrior son like David to marry in his family and lead his troops
victoriously into battle…but that not quite how things turn out.
1 Samuel 18:5-8 Whatever Saul asked David to do,
David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men
of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s
officers alike. 6 When the victorious Israelite army was returning
home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns
of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy
with tambourines and cymbals. 7 This was their song: “Saul has killed
his thousands, and David his ten thousands!” 8 This made Saul very
angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands
and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” 9
So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. (NLT)
This jealousy is going to go from bad to worse. Saul will end up
using his whole army to hunt down David like a wild animal. David
will be stripped of his fame… his success… eventually his wife will
be taken from him.
God promised he would someday be king…but life is going quickly in
the wrong direction. If only we could get in David's mind and know
how he felt right then…what his focus was… we can…we look up the
Psalms he wrote during that time and his mind comes alive to us…
Psalm 11: 1 I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say
to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! 2 The wicked are
stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They
shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right… 4 But the
Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven.
(NLT)
Psalm 64:1 Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint; protect my
life from the threat of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the conspiracy of
the wicked, from that noisy crowd of evildoers. 5 They encourage each
other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say,
"Who will see them?" 7 But God will shoot them with arrows; suddenly
they will be struck down. 9 All mankind will fear; they will proclaim
the works of God and ponder what he has done. 10 Let the righteous
rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; let all the upright in
heart praise him!
