(7/11/2010, Los Alamitos) Our occasional “Sunday Sermons” are a glance away from current issues in Los Alamitos in an attempt to capture the much broader perspective of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. If you don’t want to read such a perspective, you have been warned.
Today’s “Sunday Sermon,” once again, is taken from one of the notes by Pastor Chuck Smith in The Word for Today Bible. I would love to post “Sunday [or Shabbat] Sermons” from other local pastors & rabbis. Please encourage yours to submit brief devotionals using the “contact us” button in the masthead.
David’s perspective:
From First Samuel 17:32 – 37 (English Standard Version):
And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”
But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
“Pastor Chuck’s” comments:
David saw this giant Goliath from the proper perspective. It wasn’t David against the giant, but the giant against the God David served. So it wasn’t “Poor me, I’m facing a giant,” but it was “Poor giant, he’s facing the eternal God of Israel.”
David’s take on Goliath was that he had “defied the armies of the living God” and didn’t have a chance.
So often we become overwhelmed by our problems, and lose true perspective. Fear then grips our heart, and we are open for defeat. Remember who God is. That will give you perspective.
The key to conquering the giants God wants us to conquer, and to peace in all situations, is to focus on God, not the problem:
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.Isaiah 26:3
Related posts:
To: Dave Emerson:
What are you trying to accomplish with your blogging? You are preaching to the non-christians (J. M. Ivler) of our fine city and expect them to understand God’s desire for humanity? You’ve got to be kidding!
Lousy Christians in this city that’s what we have in this city. Last time I checked, we were all GOD’S children.
You don’t have to be Christian to be with God!!!!
Dave-Please keep posting these sermons. They are a needed breath of fresh air.
why are you judging JM and the non Christians of the city?
That is not your job, if you are truly holy you would be praying for everybody instead of telling Dave what to do.
BTW what church do you attend? Go ahead, I dare you to embarrass your congregation.
It so sad that I can accept you as you are and you can’t accept me for who I am. Isn’t that what the teachings of Jesus were about? That you should not judge a person (ie: Mary Magdaline), but accept that person for who they are, for we are all G-d’s Children, and let “G-d, the Father” be the sole judge of their souls?
Seems you missed a few points there.
[And please, no praying for me, at me, over me, to me, etc. You wouldn't like it if you found someone was praying to Satan/Beelzebub/Apollyon/Abaddon/Belial/Lucifer for you, do others the same respect.]
George,
Thanks for your kind words. I’m just sharing thoughts I’ve found helpful from a spiritual perspective, and if you sometimes find them helpful as well, then it’s worth my while. There really are more important things in life than politics, and I think most of our readers find it helpful to pause and look up frequently.
Who,
Sorry if you’re having a rough day. I try to incorporate both Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, but I’m not trying to “preach” to anyone other than myself. Just sharing thoughts I’ve found helpful.
JM,
As you pointed out, that anti-establishment rabbi of Roman times, Yeshua, would agree with you on judging, as illustrated by both his life and his teachings (“Judge not, lest you be judged.”).
And we all know what the Jerusalem City Council had the Roman authorities do to him.
To all: If you attend a local church or synagogue we’d love to have your rabbi, priest, or pastor share a brief devotional for inclusion in this occasional series. The “contact us” button in the masthead is the easiest way to get in touch with us or to submit a “Sunday Sermon” (actually more like a sermonette) or any other article you’d like us to post.