Sunday, 18th September 2022
Pastor Liu Tong (Guest Speaker)
1 Samuel 17:45-49
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
We hope that we can face the giants in our life like David’s heart, but don’t forget that David also faced many loneliness, fears, and doubts in his life, and many of his psalms express these real moods. However, David is also brave, and the secret of bravery is “persistence”, not insisting on one’s own opinion, but insisting on God.
TO KEEP TRUSTING IN GOD
1 Samuel 17:45,47 tells us that the people around David knew the giants well, and told David a lot about them, but his attention was not on the giants but on God. The more our attention is on giants, the more fearful we are. People will think that praying in the temple is a matter of God and going to war is relying on swords and guns; we will also think that reading the Bible and praying is a matter of God, and that business, work, and family depend on us. However, David mentioned “the living God” nine times in this chapter, and he knew that the victory or defeat of the battle depended on God. “If He is not the Lord of all, then He is not the Lord at all.” When we face all kinds of difficulties in life, we must insist on trusting God, because He is the Lord of everything in our life, He has the answer. As long as we are God’s children, our business is God’s business, and as Psalm 138:8 says, God will do everything that concerns us, and we must choose to insist on trusting him. When we face the giants of life, if we only see the army on the ground, we have nothing but fear. But we need to know that we are not alone, that there is more with us than there is in the world.
TO HOLD ON TO GOD’S PROMISES
David remembered God’s promises and remembered God’s faithfulness. In 1 Samuel 17:37, David remembered how God helped him overcome lions and bears when he was shepherding in the wilderness, and he believed that God helped him now. God is the faithful God in our lives, so remember his grace. He is the God of yesterday, today, and forever, who can not only help us in the past, but also help us today. No matter how circumstances change, God’s faithfulness does not change.
1 Samuel 22:2 tells that when King Saul pursued David, David fled to the cave of Adulan, and the people who came to him were in distress and had problems with their lives. Instead of complaining about those who came to him, David believed that God’s promise was not a cave, but a palace. No matter how difficult the circumstances may be and are very different from what God has promised, we must hold on to God’s promises. We should not be discouraged even if we fail, because it is a process, and although God’s promises are not fulfilled in our time and way, His promises must be fulfilled in his time and in his way. When Jesus told the disciples that they were going to cross the other side of the sea by boat, the matter of “crossing over there” would definitely be accomplished, but it was just the wind and waves they encountered when they were sailing on the sea. When the disciples called for help, they saw until Jesus was sleeping. Sometimes we are like these disciples in a storm, thinking that God seems to have done nothing. After Jesus got up and calmed the storm, he reminded his disciples that when he said we were going there, they would be able to get there, no matter how many storms there were in the process.
Hebrews 10:35-37 also encourages us not to give up “brave heart”, which is persistence in God. When some of us want to give up, the Lord is saying to us, “There is still a little time.” As long as we persist, we will receive God’s promise.
TO HOLD ON TO GOD’S ENTRUSTMENT
1 Samuel 16:13 Samuel anointed David with oil, representing God’s choice and entrustment to David. David used to care only about his own shepherding, but now he is concerned about the kingdom of God, the glory of God, and the name of God. So when he came to the battlefield and heard the giant Goliath cursing God, he would not feel that it had nothing to do with him, but would have a holy disgust in his heart. David was entrusted by God. No matter how difficult the circumstances were, he insisted on going out to face the giant Goliath, and finally won.
2 Corinthians 11:24-27 tells us about the hardships the apostle Paul faced in his mission at the beginning. Modern people may not want to participate in such a short mission. However, even if Paul was beaten to death, he stood up and returned to persecute him. where he went to preach the gospel, and when he was imprisoned, he wrote letters to exhort brothers and sisters in the churches. Acts 26:19 shows the source of Paul’s motivation. He insisted on the entrustment from God throughout his life, so no matter how much attack he could not stop him. It is because of his persistence that the gospel has spread to every corner of the world. Today, we also have entrustment from God, perhaps in positions such as family, education, culture, mission, community service, etc. No matter how many obstacles there are, we should not give up, but go forward bravely and insist on the entrustment of God. Our business, seeing God glorified in us.
TO STICK TO GOD’S WAY
When David faced Goliath, the people around him offered him many other ways. When we are facing the giants in our life, what we need is not good ideas from people, these are methods built for others, not suitable for us, what we need is God’s ideas, we need to humble ourselves to seek God, know what works best for us. David obeyed God’s leading and insisted on God’s way. Facing the heavily armed giant, David, holding only five pebbles and a slinger, firmly declared: “You came to attack me with swords, spears and halberds. I came to attack you with all armies. the name of the Lord”. The battle was not about how David threw the stone, but the Spirit of God on the stone he threw, making him hit the target in one fell swoop. We need to learn from David, humble ourselves to ask God, and ask God to show his way.
What are the giants in our lives? We must first understand that victory in battle depends on the Lord, but we will not sit still but go out to fight. We cannot overcome only by praying, but we must rise up, like David, by insisting on trusting God, insisting on God’s promises, commissions, and ways, in order to overcome the giants in life.
2022年9月18日 主日信息
#战胜生命中的巨人
- 刘彤牧师
*撒母耳记上17:45-49
我们希望自己能有大卫的心一样面对生活中的巨人，但不要忘了，大卫一生中也面临很多孤单、恐惧、疑惑，他的许多诗篇就将这些真实的心境表述出来。然而，大卫也是勇敢的，勇敢的秘诀是“坚持”，并非坚持己见，而是对神的坚持。
一、要坚持信靠神
撒上 17:45,47 大卫周围的人对巨人很了解，跟大卫讲了很多关于巨人的事，可他的注意力不是集中在巨人而是神的身上。当我们的注意力越是在巨人身上，就越恐惧。人们会觉得在圣殿祷告是神的事，上场打战就是靠刀枪；我们也会觉得读经祷告才是神的事，生意、工作、家庭是靠我们自己的。然而，大卫在本章9次提到“永生神”，他知道，争战的胜败在乎神。“If He is not the Lord of all, then He is not the Lord at all.” 当我们面对人生各样难处时，一定要坚持来信靠神，因为他是在我们生命中一切事上的主，他拥有答案。只要我们是神的儿女，我们的事就是神的事，正如诗篇138:8所说，神必成全关乎我们的事，我们要选择坚持信靠他。当我们面对生命中的巨人，若只看见地上的军队，我们就只有恐惧。但我们要知道，我们不是孤单的，那与我们同在的比世界上的更多。
二、要坚持神的应许
大卫记得神的应许，也记念神的信实。撒上17章37节讲到大卫想起过去在旷野牧羊时神怎样帮助他胜过狮子和熊，他相信神如今也帮助他。神是我们生命中信实的神，所以要回想他的恩典，他是昨日、今日、以后永在的神，不仅能在过去帮助我们，今天他也能帮助我们。无论环境如何改变，神的信实不改变。
撒上22:2讲述当扫罗王追杀大卫的时候，大卫逃到亚杜兰洞，而来投奔他的人都是困苦窘迫、生命有问题的人。大卫没有抱怨那些来到他身边的人，而是相信神给的应许不是山洞，而是王宫。无论环境如何艰难、与神所应许的大不相同，我们都要坚持神的应许。我们即使失败也不要灰心，因为这是一个过程，神的应许虽然不是按照我们的时间的方式来成就，但他的应许一定能按照他的时间和方式来成就。当耶稣跟门徒说他们要乘船渡到海的另一边后，“渡到那边”这件事一定能成就，只是他们行船在海上的时候遇到的风浪，而当门徒呼救时，却看到耶稣在睡觉。有时候，我们就像这些门徒处在大风大浪中，以为神似乎什么都没做。耶稣起来平静风浪后，提醒门徒，当他说我们要渡到那边去，他们就一定能渡到那边，无论过程有多少风浪。
希伯来书10:35-37 也鼓励我们不要丢弃“勇敢的心”，就是对神的坚持。我们当中有人想放弃的，主在对我们说，“还有一点点时候”，只要坚持，就得着神的应许。
三、要坚持神的托付
撒上16:13 撒母耳用油膏抹大卫，代表领受神对大卫的拣选、托付。大卫以前只关心自己牧羊的事，现在他开始关心神国的事、神的荣耀和神的名字。所以当他来到战场上听到巨人哥利亚在咒骂神的时候不会觉得这事与他无关，而是在心中产生神圣的厌恶感。大卫有神的托付，不管环境有多么难，他坚持出去迎战巨人哥利亚，并且最终得胜。
哥林多后书11:24-27 讲述了使徒保罗当初宣教所面临的艰辛，现代的人可能都不会想要参加这样的短宣，然而保罗即使被打得半死都站起来回到逼迫他的地方去传福音、并在被关押的时候还写信劝勉众教会的弟兄姐妹。使徒行传26:19说明了保罗的动力来源，他一生坚持从神而来的托付，所以无论任何事情、多大的攻击都无法拦阻他。正是因着他的坚持，福音传到世界每一个角落。我们今天也有从神而来的托付，或许是在家庭、教育、文化、宣教、社区的服务等等的岗位上，无论有多少拦阻障碍，我们都不要放弃，而是勇往直前、坚持神所托付给我们的事，看到神在我们身上得荣耀。
四、坚持神的道路
大卫在迎战哥利亚的时候，周围的人给他提供很多其他的方法。当我们在面对生命中的巨人时，我们需要的不是从人而来的good idea, 这些是为别人打造的方法，不是适合我们的方法，我们需要的是God’s idea, 需要谦卑下来寻求神，知道对我们最适合的方法。大卫顺从神的带领、坚持神的道路。面对全副武装的巨人，只拿着5个小石子和甩石的机弦的大卫坚定宣告：“你来攻击我，是靠着刀枪和铜戟。我来攻击你，是靠着万军之耶和华的名”。这场争战不在乎大卫怎样甩石头，而是神的灵在他所甩的石头上，让他一举击中目标。我们要学习大卫，谦卑下来求问神，求神显明他的道路。
有什么事是我们生命中的巨人？我们首先要明白争战得胜是在乎耶和华，但我们也不会坐着不动，而是出去应战。我们不是只靠祷告就能得胜，而要起来，像大卫一样坚持信靠神、坚持神的应许、托付和道路，才能战胜生命中的巨人。
Zion Bread of Life Christian Church 
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