Why did you come up here?

1 Samuel 17:21-28

“For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to to the same words. So David heard them. And all men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. So the men of Israel said “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel. Then David spoke to the man who stood by him, saying what shall be done to the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? and the people answered him in this manner, saying, so shall it be done for the man who kills him” Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, why did you come down here? and with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down here to see the battle” and David said “what have I done now? Is there not a cause?

David experienced resistance before he experienced victory and honor and the resistance was not from far but from his own brothers. I want us to notice a few issues on this story, that also apply to us in our walk with God and life in general.

1) David, in obedience to his father stumbled on a situation that made people recognize/notice him. It was never planned by him or his father but God had all things planned for him. Never think for a moment that God has forgotten about your destiny. The fact that man do not recognize you, does not mean God cannot use you, it simply means you need to be patient and wait on the Lord and focus on developing yourself and on serving the Lord.

2) David wanted to be part of the solution. When he saw Goliath talking and disrespecting Israel, he was provoked to a point of taking action. People that succeed in life and ministry are people that are involved in what God is doing. It is people that are ready to take action. It is people that see what other cannot see. David did not allow his age to be a hindrance to killing Goliath, the fact that the army of Israel was intimidated by this one man did not deter him. He saw victory even before he fought Goliath thereby being part of the solution. You can also improve your life by being part of the solution to the problems your family or nation is facing instead of always complaining and finding faults. People that are not serving are losing out on development and maturity. It is said that “Believing in negative thoughts is the single greatest obstruction to success” Surround yourself with positive people, their mindset will propel you to keep doing and achieving more.

3) His motivation to act was based on his love and respect for God and His covenant. He knew the covenant he had with God, and immediately knew the weakness of the opponent. David found the army led by King Saul fully armed but the army couldn’t kill Goliath, he was not armed but he killed him why? because he was not armed physically but was fortified spiritually. He won the fight in his mind before he even touched the stones. He had faith in God. He did not put his trust in the physical armor even after persuasion by Saul. What was the physical armor going to do to his mind? it was going to shift his focus from a spiritual war to a physical war and attribute victory to his protection and weapons. When he rejected the armor that was offered by Saul, he declared his dependence on God. The whole armor of God was on him:

– He girded his his waist with truth: Truth is the word of God. The Bible says in John 17:17 “Sanctify them by your truth Your word is truth” David chose to speak truth and in line with the word of God. He tapped into his covenant blessing with his words “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God” when he mentioned circumcision he was talking Abrahamic covenant, when he spoke about the armies of the living God he was referring to Yahweh (I AM WHO I AM) not I was. He addressed God by who He calls Himself and by what He said must be done by His people and that was a game changer for him. Immediately the armies of heaven were summoned to take up the fight that the physical army of Israel couldn’t win.

– He put the breastplate of righteousness. What is righteousness? The word righteousness comes from

– He shod his feet with the gospel of peace. He had the peace of God in the midst of the storm (attack by Goliath). He didn’t even allow the fear of the people around him affect him. The peace of God is not based on circumstances, its peace from within.

– He took the shield of faith. “Now faith is a substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 While Goliath was standing ready to kill David, David saw a dead man because of the faith he had in God. He risked it all because he had faith in God. His faith brought results from the spiritual realm into the physical realm.

– He had his helmet of salvation. Salvation entitles us to heavenly blessing. He was a blessed man.

– And the sword of the spirit. The sword of the spirit is the Word of God. It is through the Word of God that we conquer, Jesus used the Word when He was tempted by Satan we also should use it. The enemy will not leave us because of our emotions or influence but he will flee when we decree the word of God.

4) David used his words and reminded God about the covenant He had with Israel. When David spoke and said “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? his words had a creative power. He drew the line between what Goliath was entitled to and what he was entitled to. His words carried power because they were in line with Gods word “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” by talking covenant language, David did not need to do much afterwards, the heavens gave him a strategy for the enemy that can only come from God. It is not by power, nor by might it is by the My spirit says the Lord of Hosts. Only one stone was used to kill Goliath and that is what the whole army of Israel couldn’t achieve.

5) He was humble even when his brother rebuked and accused him of pride in front of people. Although he was accused of pride he never wasted time defending/proving that he was not proud instead he held his peace, he kept his eyes on the big problem (Goliath) instead of minor distractions from his brothers. If you want to succeed, you need to be focused and be goal oriented. Know what is important and what is a time waster. Understand that the mission is to win the war than battle.

6) He took action immediately. When he finished analyzing the problem, he went to Saul to tell him he will fight Goliath. When told that he was youth he never allowed that to discourage him instead he remembered his past victories.When your conviction gets to a certain level take action before it is too late. Sometimes people are trapped in planning and strategizing without ever taking action. Sadly, some great plans end in paper and never get to execution stage, may that not be your story in Jesus name. You can start small, or start in phases but start and make progress.

7) David killed Goliath, a might giant that was feared by the whole army of Israel without a spear in his hand. When you put your trust in God you will not be put to shame. David did not know that by obeying his father he was going to be the hero in Israel. From that day King Saul started to fear him and sought to kill him. Imagine a King fearing a young boy. David was in the perfect will and timing of God. He trusted in the Lord instead of leaning in human understanding. He was used mightily and took away shame from Israel. He executed the plan single handedly while his brothers were watching. It can only be God who can do such. The king watched as the young David took stones to kill a might giant, I’m sure they were all waiting for Goliath to embarrass him but David embarrassed Goliath. God works in mysterious ways. He is a might warier in battle.

8) You may also be experiencing opposition in what you want to do, take courage. If you have sought the Lord and He has given you a go-ahead He will help you but you need to have faith in Him. Know the timing and plan of God. David had it and he won. Do not be discouraged by naysayers along the way, they are part of your victory plan. David was celebrated so much because no one thought he could kill Goliath. When he did the celebration was sweet because nobody expected it.

Conclusion

A man that puts his trust in God is protected. David ascended to the throne as God intended. When you feel like your life is stagnant remember that God has not forgotten you. Joseph eventually came out of prison and became the answer to many but his life also started with challenges but he did not allow those challenges to make him a bitter man. Remember when others look down on you, God does not He knows what He has put in the inside of you. Jeremiah felt inadequate when he was called by God, so did Moses but they fulfilled purpose may you also fulfill yours in Jesus name Amen!

Shalom