David and Goliath

Good morning, Zion family! Are you with me? Are you excited? Alright, am I on? Is my button on? The green light's on? Okay, good. It's good to see you. It's been a little while since I've been here. In fact, it's been 11 years since I last stood on this platform with you. Since then, I've had five grandbabies, so life comes at you fast. You remember those commercials: "Life comes at you fast"? It kind of seems that way. A lot has happened—plenty of interesting twists and turns, peaks and valleys over the last 11 years of our crazy journey.

God has blessed me, though. I’ve seen something I never thought I would see. I’m part of a church in Greensboro, and it’s interesting. It’s not a big church, but it’s a different kind of church—a multi-ethnic, multicultural, multi-generational mosaic, pretty much multi-everything. In fact, it’s now almost 40 percent African-American. It’s White, Latino, Asian, rich, poor—there are even homeless people. It ranges from Lutheran to Pentecostal. Can you picture what that’s like in one worship service? It might start with some kind of liturgy and end with speaking in tongues, but it is a beautiful mosaic. I love them, and I’m proud of them.

It’s been a year of change and a season of loss. We’re going to talk about that a little bit, but it’s good to be with you. I consider this family. I spent 14 years of my ministry—half my ministry life—here at Mount Zion. It was really cool for Deb and me to drive just four miles instead of 26 miles to church today. That was kind of fun too.

If you would, turn with me in Scripture this morning to the first book of Samuel. We’re going to cover chapters 16 to 30. We’ll do an expository breakdown of 15 chapters today—not really, I’m kind of kidding. We’re just going to do a flyby on most of them and hang out on a couple of verses in chapter 30. But we’ll start at 16.

I want to pray before we begin. Growing up, my mom always said, “You cannot sit at the table and eat until you’ve washed your hands.” I’ve always thought that before you read and study Scripture, you should pray about it. We have the Holy Spirit living within us, those of us who walk with and follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit guides us and teaches us in all truth. It works better if you include God in that study. So, would you pray with me as we get started this morning?

Father, thank You for the opportunity to be with family, to be home here in Thomasville. I thank You for the opportunity to share in this word. Lord, You gave it to me, and now, as I make this humble attempt to give it to them, would You take this and do what You need to do with it? As it encouraged me and pulled me along for the last two years, would You do that for this family and these people here this morning? We love You, we trust You, we thank You for the Word, and Lord, now teach us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

You may be familiar with a guy named Matt Rhule. He’s the head coach of the Carolina Panthers football team. He’s only been there a couple of years, and it’s been a tough start for Matt. Last year, the season started with a loss, then a win, then a loss, then a win. Then there were eight losses, back to back to back. Everybody said, “Wow, what a failure.” They gave up. I remember this: on December 27th last year, there was an interview, either Friday or Saturday, before the game against Washington. At that point, they had four wins and ten losses. The interviewer asked, “So, what do you do? How do you get your team up for this, knowing they’ve had this season, it’s the last game of the year, and there’s no chance at the playoffs?” Matt said something that stuck with me: “How we finish this season will absolutely determine and set the course for how we start the next season.” I want to say it one more time because it’s important, and I don’t want you to miss it: How we finish this season will absolutely determine and set the course for how we start the next season.

That hit me hard. I started thinking about what that looks like for us this morning, for you and me. For some of you, maybe the last year and a half or two years haven’t been difficult. You’ve sailed through; COVID, the election, or social unrest hasn’t impacted you to any degree. But for a lot of us, we have felt the effects. For many, it’s been a losing season—loss of life, good friends, and people I’ve come to love at my church who died with COVID. That hurts; it’s hard. I’ve lost 60 percent of my congregation, my youth group, my children’s ministry, my worship team—a lot. And I’m not the only one. I had a call from a pastor in Charleston this week who just wanted a brother to talk to. He began to recite all the losses.

The problem is, if we focus on our losses, it’s going to be a hard start to the next season. But more than focusing on our losses, we have to focus on what we do have. That’s what has really pulled me along this year. We had a building; it was empty and wasn’t being used. This year, we opened something called the Hope Center, a ministry to the homeless population—not just homeless, but street people. It’s been an amazing, beautiful thing. Now, in the middle of the week, on Tuesdays, I work the streets. I drive around with hot meals provided by a food truck. I’ve gotten to know Daryl, Jackie, Norma Jean, James, Kenny, and a bunch of other guys. Some have street names. I’ve become pretty close to Fred, but his street name is Rambo because he always carries a lot of weapons. Rambo’s a super nice guy. They call me Stone Cold. I don’t know why, but when I pull up with food, they’re like, “Hey, it’s Stone Cold!” One guy told me last week, “This is my neighborhood; I own it.” He was pretty serious, and I wasn’t sure if he was calling me out. I said, “That’s cool. Can we share?” He said, “Well, I guess so.” I told him, “I’m just trying to share Jesus, man. I’m not out here trying to take anything from you.” His name’s Scott, and we’ve kind of developed a friendship. It’s changed; it looks different, but there have been losses along the way.

Let’s look at this season of David and see if you can relate. I know some of you have been through a lot of losses this year—family, friends, work, home. For some, it’s been loss after loss, a losing season. Let’s study David in First Samuel for a few minutes this morning. In chapter 16, it’s a great start. He’s a young shepherd boy. You know the story: Israel needed a king, and they chose Saul. Saul began to fail and do evil in the sight of the Lord, so they needed a different, godly king. David was seen in the eyes of the Lord, but he wasn’t ready; he was just a kid. Samuel went out, found him, and anointed him. It’s a great story.

Chapter 17 is the story of David and Goliath. He fights the giant and takes on the entire Philistine army. He went by himself down into the valley, found five smooth stones, and wouldn’t wear armor. He ran toward Goliath and launched a stone from his sling like a bullet. It sunk into Goliath’s forehead, and he fell like a giant tree. That’s a victory, a win! Right out of the gate, the season starts: David takes down Goliath and the Philistines. He’s a hero. Saul takes him back to live in the palace. That’s a win. David’s one and zero.

But in chapter 18, jealousy creeps into Saul. He begins to hate David and plots to get rid of him. That’s a loss. David’s one and one. In chapter 19, Saul, filled with jealousy, attempts to murder David. That’s a big deal. If someone tried to kill me, that’d be a bad day. Are you with me? That’s a loss. David’s one and two. In chapter 20, David’s on the run. He has to leave his home, friends, and life behind. He’s one and three. In chapter 21, he’s rejected by the people of Gath, where he tries to hide. They kick him out. That’s a loss. David’s one and four. In chapter 22, he’s in a cave in the desert of Adullam, barely eating, with few resources. Others begin to live there with him, but things couldn’t be worse. That’s a loss. He’s one and five. In chapter 23, Saul pursues him with an entire army, hunting him down because of hatred. That must have been terrifying and discouraging. That’s a loss. David’s one and six.

In chapter 29, David is now partnering with the Philistines, the enemies he once defeated. He’s become a Philistine, basically, and goes with 600 troops to fight his own people, Israel. That would be hard. But the Philistine leaders tell King Achish, “We don’t want David here. He could turn on us. Send him away.” The king tells David, “I’m sorry, you’ve come all this way, but you’ve got to go.” That’s a loss. David’s one and seven.

In chapter 30, he gets back to his village, Ziklag, in Philistine territory. The Amalekites have attacked, taken the women, children, animals, and everything of value, and burned the place down. Could it get any worse? He’s one and eight. It does get worse, though. In verse 6, David was greatly distressed because his men were talking of stoning him to death. They were tired of following him, saying, “He’s a failure; nothing works out.” That’s a loss. David’s one and nine.

It gets worse still. On his way, pursuing the enemy, he inquires of the Lord, who says, “Go after them.” At the Besor Brook, 200 of his 600 men—one-third—say, “We’re not feeling it. We can’t go on. We’re not with you anymore, David.” He’s down to 400 men going after an army of thousands. That’s a bad day. He’s one and ten on the season.

But something happens. Remember Matt Rhule’s quote: “How you end the season determines how you start the next season.” Matt won that game against Washington last year. Some criticized him, saying, “Why didn’t you just lay down and die? You would’ve been higher in the draft pick.” But he said, “No, that’s not who I am. That’s not what I do.” David’s not a quitter either. He may be one and ten, but he’s not going to lay down and die or curse his God and give up.

Look at First Samuel 30, verse 6. It says David was greatly distressed. I bet he was. That’s a tough season. I don’t know if I’ve been through anything quite that bad. You know what happens when you lose over and over, when the nation goes upside down, and you’re fed bad news every day? It seems like you just can’t win. Yesterday, we were excited about Thanksgiving. My brother Doc was coming; he hasn’t been around in a couple of years. We love Thanksgiving—it’s our favorite holiday. But last week, my son-in-law Michael got COVID and has been quarantining in the basement. Then yesterday, my daughter tested positive for COVID. This morning, she called and said, “I’ve never been this sick in my life. I can’t open my eyes or stand up.” There are three babies in the household, and both mom and dad have COVID. That’s scary; it’s not a good situation. It seems like this happens daily. Does anybody know what I’m talking about? You can’t get through a three-day stretch before someone calls with more bad news. Last week, someone vented to me, saying, “I don’t know what’s wrong with your preaching, but you just don’t preach like you used to. It’s weak.” Where did that come from? It feels like we get in a funk, and you just can’t get out of it. So many people are living in that funk today.

But listen to the second part of verse 6: “David was greatly distressed because the men were talking about stoning him because of all the losses of the sons and daughters, but David found strength in the Lord.” Somebody say “strength.” Come on, people, say “strength.” Good. David found strength in the Lord. I don’t know where he found it, but he did, and it was a game changer. He inquired of the Lord, “What am I supposed to do?” I kind of feel like maybe, just maybe, David found a stone. Maybe he had a satchel he’d carried for a long time. This isn’t in Scripture, but something caused him to think back to the time he went down to the brook and found a stone. Maybe he was in his funk, distressed, broken, praying, crying out, “Why have you forsaken me? Where are you now, God? What else could happen?” And as he’s praying, he looks down and finds a smooth stone. It takes him back to the Valley of Elah, years before, where he single-handedly, against all odds, ran down into a massive Philistine army, faced a giant, and defeated him. That’s a win.

Then all the losses came. But David found courage and strength. I have a feeling somebody here today needs strength. The Lord told me this strongly earlier at the first service: somebody’s tired of the negative, the losses, the bad news. Somebody needs to find strength in the Lord our God today. I know it’s been me. I’m being transparent and honest, as always. There are times we cry out, “Lord, I am tired.” Maybe you need the strength of the Lord today. Maybe, spiritually speaking, you need to find that smooth stone and remember the Valley of Elah, where you charged down, strong and courageous, and won that battle.

Remember what I said: how you finish this season determines how you start the next. After David found strength in the Lord and inquired of Him, he chased the Amalekite army down with 400 men, not 600, and he whooped them. He got everything back—animals, women, children, 100 percent—and took all the plunder from the Amalekite nation. Everything changed. When you flip the page to the second book of Samuel, David becomes the king of Israel, one of the greatest kings in the history of the world. I think it started the day he found a smooth stone and remembered his God.

Today, some of you may need a smooth stone. I’m going to open up this time at the close of the service. Maybe you need prayer today. Maybe you need someone to give you a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit, to put a hand on you and say, “In the name of Jesus Christ, renew their spirit. Bring them out of the funk, Lord. Bring a win today, Lord Jesus. Help them.” Maybe that’s you. Maybe you’d come and let a pastor or ministry person pray over you today. Do you still use an altar at Zion? I hope so. It’s a sacred place.

Father, I pray in the name of Jesus and the power of the Spirit in this sanctuary this morning. It’s Your turn, Lord, to do a work, to renew a spirit, to renew the joy of salvation. Bring them back, give them a win today, Lord God. Help the brokenhearted, those who’ve been through a losing season. Give strength, help them find strength in You, Lord, just like David did. For all those who are tired and weary, let them come. Let them come, Jesus, in Your name.