This morning, I preached in the chapel service of the Assemblies of God national office. My text was 1 Samuel 17:1-58. I made the following five points:

1. Faith is the settled conviction that God is always there. Whereas the army interpreted Goliath’s mocking as defiance of them (v. 25), David saw that it was really defiance of God  (v. 26). Indeed, he is the first person to mention God in this passage. David’s faith is the opposite of the army’s practical atheism, which believed that God is apparently not there (G.I.A.N.T.) during difficult times.
2. Faith is the antidote to fear. Compare the army’s fear (v. 24) with David’s faith-filled defiance of Goliath (v. 26).
3. Faith is the antidote to criticism. David’s faith provoked anger from his Eliab, who questioned his motives (v. 28). Eliab represents the Stupid Older Brother, who critique of David was likely rooted in jealousy. Eliab was afraid that David’s faith would demonstrate his own and the army’s own lack of faith. Rather than nurturing and releasing that faith, Eliab and Stupid Older Brothers the world over attempt to squelch it. (And yes, the abbreviation of Stupid Older Brothers is intentional.)
4. Faith is built through experience. David’s faith in God’s ability to protect Israel from Goliath is rooted in his experience of God protecting him from predators in the wild (v. 37). And God’s strategy for delivering Israel from Goliath built on those unique experiences, which is why David refused to wear Saul’s armor (vv. 39, 40).
5. Faith doesn’t play by the rules; it changes the game. Goliath wanted to fight a champion battle, which favored his size and strength. David knew that was a losing game, so instead of playing by those rules, he changed the game to a kind of fighting that favored him (v. 40).

Anyway, here’s the video:

 

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