Heroes that stand in the gap!

17:25 The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so 33 to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father’s house exempt from tax obligations in Israel.”
17:26 David asked the men who were standing near him, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? 34 For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?” (I Samuel)

Since pastor Dave Adams is supposed to come back and speak, it got me thinking of what he talked about last semester. To those who don't recall the former lawyers sermon, he discussed what David went through in the valley of Elah, where he fought and defeated the fearsome Goliath. He discussed the characteristics of a hero, in 3 ways: a hero is not afraid of what others may think, or is willing to 'stand in the gap' to defend the name of the Lord; a hero is confident that the Lord will bring victory over evil; and uh, I can't really remember the third one. Anyways, he discussed how important it is not to get caught up in David as a man, but David as a man of God.

17:32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged. 44 Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” 17:33 But Saul replied to David, “You aren’t able to go against this Philistine and fight him! You’re just a boy! He has been a warrior from his youth!”
17:34 David replied to Saul, “Your servant has been a shepherd for his father’s flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock, 17:35 I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it. 17:36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. 45 For he has defied the armies of the living God!”

Whether David was afraid or not is not mentioned, but regardless of how he felt, he let the righteousness of the Lord be his guide. When many of us see an obstacle before us, like graduating and going off to find a job, we make it such a grand task that we forget the Lord has carried us this far and will continue to do so. Even though David had never slaughtered a 7(some say 9)ft man before, he just saw it as being similar to protecting his own sheep. We too should see the obstacles before us as mere pebbles before the might of our God. It is perfectly natural for us to fear what we haven't encountered before, which is why we need God to put his super on our natural so that our power is supernatural!

17:50 53 David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. 54 17:51 David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath’s 55 sword, drew it from its sheath, 56 killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away.

James tells us "..submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (4:7). David was able to conquer his giant by trusting in God and ignoring the seemingly impossible power of the enemy. Ask yourselves today, what giants can God conquer in my life today? Pray about it too, hopefully at tonight's prayer meeting!