His Own Brother Asked What He Was Doing There

Sermon outline

David beat Goliath because his eyes were on God's ability and not on the giant, the critics or borrowed armour, and the trials that follow a victory are God refining our faith and character for the next level.

1. God wants us successful in all He calls us to do

   The Lord made David victorious wherever he went and he reigned with justice and righteousness. David was the smallest son and seemed insignificant until Goliath, and even through his trials the hand of God was on him. God wants us successful in His kingdom too, but a host of demonic forces opposes God's will being done through us.

   “So God wants us to be successful in all that he has called us to do in his kingdom.”

   • 2 Samuel 8:13-15

2. Satan's strategy is to make the giant look bigger than God

   The whole army of Israel, king included, was shivering in its boots while a boy bringing food to his brothers spoke a different language. Satan's first assignment is to convince us he is more powerful than God, and his second is to rob us of the faith placed in us when we were saved. David did not look at what was in front of him; he looked at God and His ability.

   “David did not have his eyes on what was in front of him. He had his eyes on God and God's ability.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:1-51

3. Behind every problem there is an opportunity

   David's question was not whether he could do it but what would be done for the man who did. When you consider something never done before, or an industry hard to break into, the fact that you are thinking about it means it is possible. David never saw a problem, he saw an opportunity, and that day moved him from shepherd boy to military leader.

   Illustration: He recalls his pastor saying that wherever your foot has gone, it is already yours.

   “Behind every problem we face, there is an opportunity.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:25-27
   • 1 Samuel 18:7

4. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine

   David was asking what a man with no covenant with God could do to God's people. Any of them could have done what he did, but he was the only one standing on the promises. Get your eyes off the problem, let your confession be confident in God's promises, and do not be distracted by other people's unbelief or go looking for allies; God should be your only ally.

   “God is and should be our only ally. His voice should be the only voice that we listen to.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:26

5. His own brother asked what he was doing there

   His eldest brother demanded to know what about the sheep he was supposed to be minding; he never saw David as a soldier. Anyone not in covenant with what you are doing will be negative. Most of us are the shepherd boy, the underdog, and God has always used the one everybody dismissed, not the richest or best educated. Even Saul spoke the conclusion of the natural mind, so do not be intimidated by natural reasoning.

   “Anybody who's not in covenant with what we are doing is going to be negative.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:28
   • 1 Samuel 17:33
   • Galatians 5:17

6. Go back to your point of power

   David told Saul about the lion and the bear: the God who delivered him then would deliver him now. Every past deliverance, healing or breakthrough is a point of power and a point of faith. Times and technology change, people do not, and God has not changed, so your past victory is still relevant. We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

   Illustration: On the Monday he had forwarded his father's daily business devotional to the church's business chat, telling them to look at it as a point of power for the day.

   “Whatever victory you've had in the past is not insignificant anymore.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:34-37
   • Revelation 12:11
   • Hebrews 13:8

7. Do not fight in armour you have never tested

   The whole army's weapons had not beaten the Philistines, yet they wanted to send David out in Saul's armour. He refused, because it was untried and untested, and took the sling and stones he knew. People will tell you to do it their way and wear their armour, but God's work can only be done God's way with the weapons He has given. It is easy to be confident at a safe distance; the test is where your focus is in the heat of battle.

   “When we try to do things without God's power, we actually trying on armor that we've never tested nor tried.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:38-40

8. The battle is the Lord's

   Goliath towered over David and boasted, and running would have seemed the only sensible thing, but David declared that the whole earth would know it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves. However impossible the problem, we are more than conquerors through Christ. He draws out three keys: David sought God's direction rather than leaning on past success, he knew the Lord was with him even when he could not feel it, and he saw God's bigger picture, that his success was for God's people and not for personal gain.

   “When we have that at the forefront of our mind, the success automatically comes, the victory automatically comes.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:45-47
   • Romans 8:35-37

9. The testing of our faith

   After the victory Saul grew jealous and hurled spears at David, so even with God's obvious approval David was not free of trials. God does not promise to keep us from problems but to protect us, strengthen us and use them for our good. David was anointed as a boy and only became king at thirty; the time in between was preparation. Trials refine character and strengthen faith, and we find out how mature we are under pressure. When the pressure is on, lean towards the Lord rather than collecting your friends' opinions, and seek Him with your whole heart, because self-reliance is the greatest hindrance to His power.

   Illustration: In bodybuilding you tear the muscle to build new fibres around it. Faith is the same: stretched through challenges, it grows stronger and forms a more refined, more Jesus-like you.

   “The person we were five years ago is not the person we are today.”

   • 1 Samuel 18:5-16
   • Psalm 63
   • Jeremiah 29:13
   • Job 42

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