Partners

Gtcotr/ss112507

Key Scripture: Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (NKJV)

One moment of favor is worth a thousand days of labor.

Luke 5 NKJV

1 ¶ So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,

2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.

3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

5 But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."

6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"

9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;

10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."

11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

Luke calls this body of freshwater in the Galilee region of Israel, the Lake of Gennesaret. It is interesting to note that of the Gospel writers only Luke calls it a lake and never a sea while the others never refer to it as a lake but only as a sea.

The name Gennesaret comes from the plain of the same name on the Northwestern shore of the lake. This name at times identified this bordering portion of the lake which stretches its shores west and southwards to the city of Tiberias and eastward to Capernaum.

Herein I believe, Luke gives us a definite point at which this event takes place … this northwestern corner cove not far from the fishing village of Magdala.

On this particular morning Jesus is pressed with multitudes of people wanting to crowd ever closer to hear Him and perhaps be the beneficiary of His healing touch. With the press Jesus walks by the water’s edge and finds two empty fishing boats. He chooses Peter’s boat, steps inside and asks the owner to push out a ways from the shore so He could be better seen and heard as He taught the multitudes.

We conclude from the other Gospel writers that this was not Peter’s first encounter with Jesus. Peter willingly complies with the request and provides his boat as a pulpit for this morning’s teaching.

Perhaps tired, maybe hungry and almost certainly a bit frustrated from a long night’s fruitless toil, Peter nonetheless listens to the Word of God. Whatever the topic, no doubt the spirit and the life of the Word entered into Peter’s heart and mind as he heard the Living Word from the Living Word.

When Jesus concludes His teaching He turns to Peter and addresses him directly.

Luke 5:4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

This is no easy suggestion. To launch out sounds simple enough but the task will most likely demand getting out the oars and rowing out a good distance from the shore … out into the deep. Well, the whole lake, 15 miles long, 7 miles wide, 33 miles in circumference is only less than 15 feet deep at it’s deepest. Just how far out does one have to row to get into ‘the deep’?

Added to this … Peter, Andrew his brother, James and John his partners have already been washing their nets, now they would have to be cleaned all over again. This is a hard request for a tired fisherman.

It’s like asking a restaurant owner who has been working all night without selling one meal to reopen the doors, reheat the grill, dirty the pots and pans and prepare food for a huge crowd, after closing time, before he sees his first customer … all of this after you have used his restaurant to hold a bible study after closing hours without prior notice requiring him to stop mopping the floors and sit and listen to your teaching. This is not a simple request!

Yet Peter says:

Luke 5:5 But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."

You know the rest of the story. It seems that:

After Peter and his company went to church and heard the Word of God, work became a whole lot easier and much more productive.

You see … when we partner with God in His business, He partners with us in ours. If you put God first, He will not forget you.

The priority is to go with God to His work first and then He will go with us to ours.

It’s a simple process of sowing and reaping. Even the law of nature requires we sow before we reap!

Notice that God will be indebted to no person. Whatsoever good thing any man does the same shall he receive of the Lord … and it any man gives to the poor he lends to the Lord and the Lord shall repay. The loan of the ship and the giving of tired and weary time were amply repaid with this bountiful harvest of fish.

Believe it or not, God needs you to give Him something to work with.

Proverbs 13:4 ¶ The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

Proverbs 22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

After they had caught all those fish, in what was perhaps their greatest day, their richest potential, their most fruitful and prosperous business adventure, they left it all to follow the Master.

In conclusion this morning I want to pose and at least in part answer three pertinent questions:

1. Why did Jesus choose Peter?

2. Why did Peter follow Jesus’ requests?

3. How can we apply these truths to our life today?

Conclusion:

1. Why did Jesus choose Peter?

Answer: Of course there are many reasons above none is the element of destiny. However it cannot be missed that Jesus was on the lookout for people to invest in, people to disciple, people with potential to partner with Him in His Kingdom work.

It is for this reason I believe that Jesus chose Peter. Peter was a hard worker, diligent in his business, untiring in his efforts and unafraid of hard work and difficult challenges in life.

Peter had a basic good work ethic. Even though he had worked hard all night and had received nothing for it, he was nonetheless busy washing his nets and preparing them for the next time he would need them.

Jesus is still on the lookout for people who are busily engaged in the affairs of life. The parable of the talents tell us that Jesus has no respect or use for those who just sit idle all day and are wasting their time.

* Jesus wanted to favor Peter.

2. Why did Peter follow Jesus’ request?

Answer: Because of his evident respect for Jesus and His Word. Above his own tiredness, above his own wisdom, above his own experiences, Peter was moved by the Words of Jesus.

* Peter wanted to please Jesus.

3. How can we apply these truths to our life today?

Answer: We can apply these truths to our life today by realizing that:

* One moment of favor is worth a thousand days of labor.

* God needs us to give Him something to work with.

* If we partner with God in His business, He will partner with us in ours.

So, pray like it all depends on God and work like it all depends on you. Don’t forget to go to church, even when you are tired, listen to the Words of Life and as you partner with God in His business, He will partner with you in yours.

Remember our key scripture: You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you … well … it may be His strength but it will still be your labor.

Giving Thanks

Gtrcotr/ws112107

Key Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (NKJV)

Turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 6.

John 6 NKJV

1 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

The Sea of Galilee is the largest body of fresh water in Israel and is the lowest freshwater lake in the world. It sits in the Jordan Great Rift Valley at over 600 feet below sea level. Shaped like a violin it is about 15 miles long and 7 miles wide with a 33 mile circumference and a depth of about 15 feet, depending on the time of year and the level of the lake.

This lake is also known as Kinneret, the lake of Gennesaret, Chinnereth and the Sea of Tiberias. We find it spoken of in Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and 1 Kings. This important body of water is the current supply of fresh drinking water for the whole nation of Israel and is constantly protected by them as their only source.

Due to the geographical situation of the lake it is prone to sudden and violent storms especially in the winter. In Jesus’ time multitudes would gather here to take advantage of the warmer climate awaiting the spring and their return to farming and foraging.

With the abundance of natural hot springs in around the lake’s chief city, Tiberias, many sick and infirmed historically come to this region seeking relief from their ailments. This gave Jesus the perfect region to speak to multitudes of poor and sick in His day.

2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.

3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

Matthew 14, Mark 6 and Luke 9 give us insight into this event from their added perspectives. It seems that after ministering to many sick and needy people, Jesus and His disciples sailed across the lake to a deserted place on the northeast shore to a hillside belonging to the fishing town of Bethsaida. It was here that Jesus taught His disciples about the responsibilities of their ministry.

4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.

5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"

We are elsewhere told that it was now late evening and Jesus saw these multitudes as lost sheep without a shepherd to care for them. He had compassion on them and wanted to help them while also stretching the Apostles with another discipleship lesson.

6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

7 Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."

This amount was more money than Jesus and His disciple’s net worth combined. It would take a small fortune to give these thousands of people even a small piece of bread each.

8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,

9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"

10 Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

Luke 9:14 says that Jesus told the disciples to make them sit down in groups of fifty. This gives us some indication of about how many people one disciple can manage to intimately care for at one time. Without the multiplication of shepherds, sheep may continue to go without their intimate needs met. The fields are ripe and ready for harvest, only the labors are few …

We are also encouraged to realize that even the biggest of projects can be accomplished when they are broken down into manageable, bite size steps.

11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

Get the picture here. Jesus did not multiply enough food for the whole multitude Himself. Jesus supplied food to the disciples and the disciples continued the miracle to make supply from their portions to feed the each group, most likely returning after each group of 50 were fed to receive more from the Master.

12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."

God is liberally conservative. What does that mean? It means that God wants you to have all you need and even all you want but not to be wasteful. Eat, drink and be merry. Eat the fat, drink the sweet and send portions to those for whom nothing has been prepared. For a man to enjoy the fruit of his labor is a gift of God. God has given us richly all things to enjoy. However, after enjoying all you want to enjoy, don’t forget that:

All blessings come from God and those are His scraps … be liberal but don’t be wasteful!

13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

What a miracle, especially for the lad who gave the little he had. Don’t you imagine that his mother was amazed that evening when this young boy came home with servants carrying the 12 baskets full of food as a return on his offering that day.

Matthew 14:21 tells us that there were 5000 men, besides the women and children. Easily the number of people fed that day could have been more than 15,000 in all.

Tonight I want us to go back and take a look at the catalyst for this miracle … verse 11.

John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

Even Jesus, with all His power and glory, the Son of God, Messiah and Savior of the world, understood the necessity and propriety of giving thanks.

Tomorrow when we sit down at our many tables, looking over the abundance of food we will consume on this Thanksgiving Day in the United States, let us all with a true heart of humility give thanks to our God, the Creator of the universe Who has abundantly supplied bread from the earth and fruit from the vines to give us strength and meet our need and fulfill our desire.

Our nation has reason to be thankful, but so do each one of us individually, not only on Thanksgiving Day, but also on every day!

Let’s stand and give God thanks right now as we close.

Five Smooth Stones

Gtcotr/ss111807

Key Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:47 "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." (NKJV)

1 Samuel 17 The Story of David and Goliath (vs. 1-39)

The Brook of Elah

There is a brook in the Valley of Elah. If one looks on the Google Earth website it is identified as the Streambed of Elah where David found his 5 smooth stones.

Almost every valley has a brook of fresh running water.

God has provided refreshing and provision in the valleys of life. It is in the valleys that we often find fresh, cool water, abundance of small game, fertile and fruitful fields and even our proverbial smooth stones that we can use to defeat the giant enemies in our life.

After refusing to wear King Saul’s armor verse 40 of 1 Samuel 17 says that David chose his own accompaniments that day.

1 Samuel 17: 40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. (NKJV)

Victory is often the result of being secure in who you are and in knowing who you are not.

David’s Choice?

David decided to face Goliath as a shepherd and not as a soldier.

David cast off the armor of a King to put on the clothes of a Shepherd!

Sound familiar?

The same God who put it into David’s heart to fight this man of war also put it into David’s head how to fight him.

What did David take with him?

1. Staff - a familiar friend for support

2. 5 Smooth Stones - abundant supply just in case

3. Shepherd’s Bag - no doubt filled with all sorts of things from food to ointment, but with a special place for the things most quickly accessed.

Sling in his hand

4. And David Advanced and Engaged

It’s this Shepherd’s bag that peaked my interest this week as I studied for today’s message. This little bag is still used by shepherds in the Middle East today. It is used to hold and carry the things shepherds need to take proper care of themselves and the flock.

From my studies I found that there is usually a special place in each bag which is designed to hold things considered valuable or things which need definite and quick access. Each individual shepherd determines what things are special and valuable to him.

David decided to put his 5 smooth stones in this special place in his shepherd’s bag.

What is in the special place in your shepherd’s bag?

What are your 5 Smooth Stones of Choice?

Allow me to tell you mine …

Pastor Ron’s 5 Smooth Stones of Choice

1. Prayer - My covering and my strength (Mark 9:29)

2. The Word of God - This is my sword and my shield

Why should I wear the King’s armor when I can have the armor of God! (Ephesians 6:11ff)

3. Praise - The spirit of a Psalmist was upon David and I make purposeful attempts to keep that same spirit in my life. (Colossians 3:16 – Spiritual Songs)

4. The Anointing - Anointing comes from the fellowship we have with the Holy Spirit during our desert days. David had already been anointed as King over Israel by the Prophet Samuel …

1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. (NLKV)

… and the Spirit of the Lord was with him from that day forward.

5. Confidence – Where do we get confidence – boldness - security? From the words of prophecy which have gone out from heaven over us, setting our course and protecting our destiny. It is by these words that we have the confidence to fight well in the Lord’s battles.

1 Timothy 1:18 Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they give you the confidence to fight well in the Lord’s battles.

In light of what I have said this morning, here are some things to consider:

1. Most likely, there will be some giants in your life.

2. God is preparing you just like He was preparing David.

3. You are best when you are the you God made you to be.

4. It’s your choice what you keep in your shepherd’s bag.

5. You will never win if you don’t advance and engage the enemy.

I want to go back to our key scripture for a moment.

Key Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:47 "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." (NKJV)

The Holy Spirit moved upon David here to speak prophetically about his coming victory over Goliath but also David spoke heaven’s perspective concerning what was happening and who was witnessing this battle.

The Divinely inspired prophetic use of the Hebrew word translated herein as ‘assembly’ is very interesting. Notice David did not call them an army but rather an assembly.

In the 123 times this Hebrew word is used in the Old Testament, 86 times it is translated as congregation and specifically refers to the gathering of a congregation for religious observance.

The armies of Israel had ceased here to be an army, why? God was now on the scene and in charge. They were promoted as members of the congregation observing the moving of the Holy Spirit in power through God’s chosen shepherd of the day.

They were no longer fighting, they were having church!

That’s what happens when we advance and engage our enemies with God in our midst. We aren’t struggling or fighting with our enemies – we’re having church!

Our enemies better back up or we’ll start having church up in here.

“Get back now – I’m gonna start church on ya!”

Crazy David

Crazy David

Gtcotr/ws111407

Won’t you turn in your bibles to 1 Samuel 21.

When Joshua led the Children of Israel across the Jordan River and into the land of Canaan, he was determined to wipe out all of the opposition and take over complete control of the Promised Land. After some years Joshua secured Israel’s inheritance and established the borders of each tribe as God had told him to do.

However, when Joshua completed his military campaigns he had not yet conquered all of the people in the Land of Canaan. Specifically there were Five Lords of the Philistines left in their strong cities insuring a continual struggle for occupation and control of the land.

The names of these five Philistine cities were:

Ashdod

Askelon

Gaza

Ekron

Gath

Approximately 400 years after the death of Joshua, after all thirteen Judges had served in their seasons of deliverance the prophet Samuel anointed Saul as King over all Israel. During those 400 plus years and even into the reign of Saul, the children of Israel were continually plagued by the Philistines living in their borders.

The sons of Anak called the Anakims still lived in the cities of Gaza, Ashdod and Gath. (Joshua 11:22) These were giants, men of war. It was said in that day, “Who can stand before the sons of Anak!”

1 Samuel 17:4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (Over 9 feet tall) (NKJV)

1 Samuel 17 tells the story of David and Goliath. Goliath was a descendent of Anak and lived in the city of Gath.

If you know the story … David, just a young boy, met Goliath alone on the battle field and with a sling and a rock slew him and won a great victory for all Israel. This later helped to promote David to the rank of Captain of the Armies of Israel under King Saul.

1 Samuel 18 NKJV

7 So the women sang as they danced, and said: "Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands."

8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?"

The continuing story of David’s life unfolds as King Saul becomes very jealous of David’s popularity. Saul attempts to kill David forcing David to run for his life. By this time David is very well known for his bravery and his military victories against not only Goliath but against tens of thousands of Philistines which he had killed.

When David begins his escape from King Saul’s attempts to kill him, he runs to a city called Nob where the priest Ahimelech resides along with 80 other priests. When asked by Ahimelech why David is alone he answers the priest with a lie. David says that he is on a special secret mission for the King and needs food and weapons for himself and his men who will join him at an undisclosed location later.

The priest has no reason to doubt David, the Captain of the Armies of Israel, so he complies with David’s requests. Ahimelech gives David the Holy Bread which had been taken from the table of God that day along with the only weapon in the place --- the sword of Goliath, the giant Philistine warrior from Gath whom David had slain some years earlier.

In David’s fearful moment he takes this giant sword, the loaves of holy bread and runs away in the night. Let’s read the story from here:

1 Samuel 21 NKJV

6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.

7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

8 And David said to Ahimelech, "Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste."

9 So the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

11 And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?"

12 Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13 So he changed his behavior before them, feigned madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard.

14 Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?

15 "Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?"

So basically, after running scared for his life, David lies to the priest and gathers as many loaves of holy bread as he can carry under his arm, takes this very recognizable giant sword of Goliath and drags it right into the enemy’s stronghold where he is very well known as one who has killed tens of thousands of their soldiers.

I would say that definitely: David was not thinking too straight! David’s gone crazy …

Later in David’s life he wrote a Psalm about this rather stupid act and his deliverance from certain death. Let’s look at that Psalm,

Psalms 34

Psalms 34 is an alphabetical Psalm. It has 22 verses, each one beginning with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. This Psalms is also a Psalm of deliverance. David continually speaks to God’s goodness despite our circumstances or faults in the trouble we face. Let’s begin our look with a few verses in particular:

Psalms 34 KJV

17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Now back to the beginning of this Psalm:

1 --A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.-- I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Verse 4 begins with the letter Dalet(d) which is the picture of a door. It is accepted that when we seek the Lord, He hears us and makes a way or a door of escape for our deliverance.

5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

Now, I love this verse. It begins with the seventh letter, Zayin which stands for the number 7, representing completion or perfection. Zayin is a picture of projection and means spear, weapon, or arrow in the sense of being thrown, ejected or going out beyond limits.

This verse begins with the thought that God, the perfect God, is going to go out beyond limits to complete or accomplish something. What is God going to accomplish? Deliverance for one of His children … David in this instance.

What is so beyond the limits … way out there? David is!

The Hebrew word in this verse translated delivereth has a basic meaning of being rescued. Allow me to put this picture in perspective for us.

Here in this Psalm David is describing some stupid things he did once as a young man. David ran from his enemies in fear, lied to the priests of God, then took holy bread and a giant recognizable sword and walked straight into his greatest enemy’s camp.

When David came to his senses that he was recognized and was most likely going to be killed by the Philistines, he decided the best thing to do was to act crazy. So David began to spit on himself, drool on his beard, eat dirt, scratch on the gates, throw sand on his head and mumble like a crazy person, all the while acting the idiot.

Hey, but it worked! But why did it work? Were all of these people more stupid than David? No! God got involved.

You see, God encamps around those who fear Him and He rescues them from trouble, going beyond the limits to preserve His perfect plan, even when they (we) act like an idiot and do some really crazy things.

So, what can we conclude from this?

There is still hope for you!

Fear the Lord and know that there is nothing so terrible that is done to you or that you do to yourself that God is not willing to make a door of escape and go way beyond the limits to rescue you, even if you go crazy and act like an idiot!

Crazy David

Gtcotr/ws111407

Won’t you turn in your bibles to 1 Samuel 21.

When Joshua led the Children of Israel across the Jordan River and into the land of Canaan, he was determined to wipe out all of the opposition and take over complete control of the Promised Land. After some years Joshua secured Israel’s inheritance and established the borders of each tribe as God had told him to do.

However, when Joshua completed his military campaigns he had not yet conquered all of the people in the Land of Canaan. Specifically there were Five Lords of the Philistines left in their strong cities insuring a continual struggle for occupation and control of the land.

The names of these five Philistine cities were:

Ashdod

Askelon

Gaza

Ekron

Gath

Approximately 400 years after the death of Joshua, after all thirteen Judges had served in their seasons of deliverance the prophet Samuel anointed Saul as King over all Israel. During those 400 plus years and even into the reign of Saul, the children of Israel were continually plagued by the Philistines living in their borders.

The sons of Anak called the Anakims still lived in the cities of Gaza, Ashdod and Gath. (Joshua 11:22) These were giants, men of war. It was said in that day, “Who can stand before the sons of Anak!”

1 Samuel 17:4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (Over 9 feet tall) (NKJV)

1 Samuel 17 tells the story of David and Goliath. Goliath was a descendent of Anak and lived in the city of Gath.

If you know the story … David, just a young boy, met Goliath alone on the battle field and with a sling and a rock slew him and won a great victory for all Israel. This later helped to promote David to the rank of Captain of the Armies of Israel under King Saul.

1 Samuel 18 NKJV

7 So the women sang as they danced, and said: "Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands."

8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?"

The continuing story of David’s life unfolds as King Saul becomes very jealous of David’s popularity. Saul attempts to kill David forcing David to run for his life. By this time David is very well known for his bravery and his military victories against not only Goliath but against tens of thousands of Philistines which he had killed.

When David begins his escape from King Saul’s attempts to kill him, he runs to a city called Nob where the priest Ahimelech resides along with 80 other priests. When asked by Ahimelech why David is alone he answers the priest with a lie. David says that he is on a special secret mission for the King and needs food and weapons for himself and his men who will join him at an undisclosed location later.

The priest has no reason to doubt David, the Captain of the Armies of Israel, so he complies with David’s requests. Ahimelech gives David the Holy Bread which had been taken from the table of God that day along with the only weapon in the place --- the sword of Goliath, the giant Philistine warrior from Gath whom David had slain some years earlier.

In David’s fearful moment he takes this giant sword, the loaves of holy bread and runs away in the night. Let’s read the story from here:

1 Samuel 21 NKJV

6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.

7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

8 And David said to Ahimelech, "Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste."

9 So the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

11 And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?"

12 Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13 So he changed his behavior before them, feigned madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard.

14 Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?

15 "Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?"

So basically, after running scared for his life, David lies to the priest and gathers as many loaves of holy bread as he can carry under his arm, takes this very recognizable giant sword of Goliath and drags it right into the enemy’s stronghold where he is very well known as one who has killed tens of thousands of their soldiers.

I would say that definitely: David was not thinking too straight! David’s gone crazy …

Later in David’s life he wrote a Psalm about this rather stupid act and his deliverance from certain death. Let’s look at that Psalm,

Psalms 34

Psalms 34 is an alphabetical Psalm. It has 22 verses, each one beginning with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. This Psalms is also a Psalm of deliverance. David continually speaks to God’s goodness despite our circumstances or faults in the trouble we face. Let’s begin our look with a few verses in particular:

Psalms 34 KJV

17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Now back to the beginning of this Psalm:

1 --A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.-- I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Verse 4 begins with the letter Dalet(d) which is the picture of a door. It is accepted that when we seek the Lord, He hears us and makes a way or a door of escape for our deliverance.

5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

Now, I love this verse. It begins with the seventh letter, Zayin which stands for the number 7, representing completion or perfection. Zayin is a picture of projection and means spear, weapon, or arrow in the sense of being thrown, ejected or going out beyond limits.

This verse begins with the thought that God, the perfect God, is going to go out beyond limits to complete or accomplish something. What is God going to accomplish? Deliverance for one of His children … David in this instance.

What is so beyond the limits … way out there? David is!

The Hebrew word in this verse translated delivereth has a basic meaning of being rescued. Allow me to put this picture in perspective for us.

Here in this Psalm David is describing some stupid things he did once as a young man. David ran from his enemies in fear, lied to the priests of God, then took holy bread and a giant recognizable sword and walked straight into his greatest enemy’s camp.

When David came to his senses that he was recognized and was most likely going to be killed by the Philistines, he decided the best thing to do was to act crazy. So David began to spit on himself, drool on his beard, eat dirt, scratch on the gates, throw sand on his head and mumble like a crazy person, all the while acting the idiot.

Hey, but it worked! But why did it work? Were all of these people more stupid than David? No! God got involved.

You see, God encamps around those who fear Him and He rescues them from trouble, going beyond the limits to preserve His perfect plan, even when they (we) act like an idiot and do some really crazy things.

So, what can we conclude from this?

There is still hope for you!

Fear the Lord and know that there is nothing so terrible that is done to you or that you do to yourself that God is not willing to make a door of escape and go way beyond the limits to rescue you, even if you go crazy and act like an idiot!