1 Samuel 17:32-40

Five smooth
stones 1 Samuel 17:32-40

Introduction: David and goliath, we all have heard the story
and know it well, but what does it have to do with us? Our goliath doesn't carry sword or shield; he
swings blades of unemployment, abandonment, bigotry, greed. He throws spears of sexual abuse, child
abuse, insecurity or depression. Your giant doesn't parade up and down the
hills insulting your god and you; he prances through your office, your bedroom,
your classroom. He brings bills you can't pay, expectations you cannot reach,
people you can't please, whiskey you can't resist, pornography you can't
refuse, a career you can't escape, a past you can't shake, and a future you
can't face. You know your goliath well. What is our fear, our battle?

1.
WHO WAS DAVID

A.
DAVID A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART ACTS 13:22

B.
THE WROTE SONGS ABOUT HIS VICTORIES

C.
YET HE SPENT YEARS ON THE RUN FROM SAUL

D.
HE WROTE PSALMS, SANG AND DANCED BEFORE THE LORD

E.
BUT HE
COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH BATHSHEBA

F.
HE WON VICTORIES OVER AMMONITES, AND PHILISTINES

G.
THEN MURDERED URIAH

H.
YET DAVID FAILED AS MUCH AS HE SUCCEEDED.

I.
HE WAS ON THE RUN AS OFTEN AS HE STOOD TO
FIGHT.

J.
DAVID LOST AS MUCH AS HE WON. A LOT LIKE US.

2.
THE WEAPONS HE USED

A.
SOMEONE ELSE’S WEAPONS 17:38

B.
FIVE SMOOTH STONES FROM THE BROOK

C.
EPH 6:10-18 THE ARMOR OF GOD

D.
A STONE OF FAITH,

E.
A STONE OF GOD’S WORD,

F.
A STONE OF FORGIVENESS,

G.
A STONE OF GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU,

H.
A STONE OF GOD’S PROMISE,

I.
A STONE OF PRAYER

J.
WHAT ARE THESE COMPARED TO YOUR GIANTS WEAPONS.

K.
PEOPLE AROUND US POKE FUN AT OUR WEAPONS OF
FAITH

3.
EMPOWERED BY GOD

A.
JUST FIVE SMOOTH STONES FROM THE BROOK, SMALL,
THEY FIT IN A SHOULDER BAG.

B.
SMOOTH STONES WORN OVER BY TIME, OLD.

C.
IN THE BROOK, COMMON, OVER LOOKED YET AVAILABLE
TO ALL

D.
WHY DIDN’T ANYONE ELSE PICK THEM UP?

E.
FIVE SMOOTH STONES, YET EMPOWERED BY GOD THEY
BRING DOWN A GIANT.

F.
“YOU HAVE YOUR SWORD, SPEAR AND JAVELIN” “I HAVE THE NAME OF THE LORD”

G.
GIDEON 6:37- 7:7 TOLD HE HAD TO MANY MEN FOR THE BATTLE

H.
ELISHA 2 KINGS 6:13-17 HAD AN INVISIBLE ARMY

I.
ROMANS 8:26-39
IF GOD BE FOR US WHO CAN STAND AGAINST US

Conclusion: many poke
fun at our faith. Our giants scream and
yell like a banshee from hell. Yet it is
god who empowers your weapons, even if they seem small and insignificant. David
a man like us took only 5 smooth stones from the brook, empowered by god and brought
down goliath. The weapons god has given
you, and empowered will defeat your goliath as well.

1 Samuel 9:1-6

Text 1 Samuel 9:1-6 “Not What You Expected”

The Hand of Faith Gold Nugget:

This gold nugget actually carries two distinctions: "the largest gold
nugget found by a metal detector" and "the largest gold nugget
currently in existence". It was discovered on September 26, 1980 somewhere
near the small town of Kingower in Victoria, Australia.

The nugget's discoverer, Kevin Hillier, was aided by a metal detector in this
precious find. Hillier found the nugget in a vertical position just a foot
below the surface. Hillier tried his
metal detector out the door of his trailer.
He thought the metal detector was broken but dug down and found one of
the largest gold nuggets ever found.

in

1866, and another later
weighing 45 ounces. A little girl named Clotilde Gilbert was crossing a ford of
the stream when she found in the sand a nugget about the size of a pigeon's
egg. "My father sent me on Sunday morning for a horse in the field to go
to church; when crossing the stream I saw something shining along-side the water and took it up to show my father.

Like these people Saul went
looking for something but got something unexpected.

1.LOOKING FOR SOMETHING

A. WENT TO THE PROPHET LOOKING FOR DONKEYS

B. HE IS ANOINTED KING

C.
10:6 CHANGED BY THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD

2. OTHER WHO FOUND SOMETHING
UNEXPECTED

A. Acts
9:1-12 Another Saul sought to persecute Jesus’ followers and became one of
their greatest leaders

B. John
20:1-18 Mary came to a tomb looking for a dead friend and found a living God

C.
Jesus asked the people who came to see John the Baptist LK 7:24-28

3. WHAT DID YOU COME LOOKING
FOR?

A. AS WE SIT QUIT FOR A LITTLE BIT ASK THAT QUESTION OF
YOUR SELF TODAY AND TELL GOD ABOUT IT “GOD THIS IS WHY I AM HERE TODAY.”

Jer 29:11 What plans might God
have for you?

Zech 4:6 whatever that plan
is the key is God’s power and not yours, so what limits are there for the plans
God could have for you have for you?

What holds us back?

Father God we lift up to you
our heart and our lives for you to do as you wish. Give us vision by the Holy Spirit and direct
us on your path for our life.

Numbers 20:1-13

Numbers 20:1-13

Numbers 11-20 tells us of some very interesting events of
the Exodus. The People complain and fire
from God consumed the parts of the camp.
The people complain about the manna and get poison quail and the
complainers die. Moses sister Miriam and
His brother Aaron try to take his place and Miriam becomes leprous. The explores where sent out and even with a
good report of the bounty of the land, they let their lack of trust in God keep
them from entering the land. God judges
them and none of them will be allowed to enter.
Korah and his group all want to be priest and choose who can serve God
as priest, the ground opens up and swallows them. So by the time we get to our passage we can
understand Moses frustration. Yet Moses
frustration leads to actions of disrespect to God and Moses will pay the price.

1.
DID NOT TRUST GOD ENOUGH TO HONOR GOD

A.
PEOPLE WANT WATER

B.
MOSES IS TOLD TO SPEAK TO THE ROCK

C.
MOSES GIVES THEM THE WHAT FOR

D.
MOSES STRIKES THE ROCK AND WATER COMES OUT

E.
GOD CONFRONTS MOSES

2.
MOSES DOES NOT FOLLOW GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS

A.
MOSES SPEAK TO THE ROCK, DON’T HIT THE ROCK
MOSES

B.
THE FAMOUS GOLFER WHO LOST THE MATCH

C.
THE DANGER OF GOING OUR WAY

D.
SORT OF KIND OF FOLLOWING GOD

E.
MATTHEW 7:21-23

F.
2 TIM 3:2-5
IN THE END TIMES

3.
MOSES TAKES THE CREDIT BEFORE HE STRIKES THE
ROCK

A.
“MUST WE BRING WATER FROM THIS ROCK”

B.
IT IS NOT OUR POWER, EFFORT, OR KNOWLEDGE.

C.
Zec 4:6 “NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER, BUT BY MY
SPIRIT,

CONCLUSION: Do we trust God enough to follow His
instructions, even when we do not understand the reasons? Do we honor God with our speech, our actions,
our lives?

Over and over we see in these chapters the danger of
disrespect toward God. Let us resolve to
respect God, trust God and His Word. Ask
God to search your heart today and show you any place that in your life that is
not right with Him. Let us be sure that
we not only leave Egypt but that we also enter the land.

Numbers 22:21-31

Numbers 22:21-31
Saved From Ourselves

Chapters 21-30 of Numbers is filled with battles, rebellion
and more directions from God about worship.
Though Israel will face many foes in their trip Moab is one of the
greatest. When Moab cannot fight an
enemy they send out their woman to seduce them.
Moses even has a Moabite wife. In
the middle of all of this is Balaam and his donkey. Balaam is a diviner of spirits. The King calls on Balaam to curse the
Israelites because “who you bless are blessed and who you curse are
cursed.” The King of Moab thinks that
Balaam has the power to bless or curse whom he wills. Balaam is not a Prophet of God. Balaam is well known because of his brave ,
loyal, and yes, talking donkey. Even
more interesting is that Balaam talks back to the donkey. Here in this passage we can learn some
things about our world.

1.
THINGS ARE BIGGER THAN WE THINK OR SEE

A.
THE NARSASISTIC VIEW OF THE WORLD

B.
THE BIGGER PICTURE

a.
ISRAEL

b.
THE SPIRITUAL BATTLE

c.
“WE BATTLE NOT AGIANST FLEASH AND BLOOD” EPH 6:12

d.
JESUS’ DEATH ON THE CROSS

e.
THE END TIMES. THIS IS HORRIBLE NO THIS IS GOOD?

2.
PERCEPTION AND REALITY ARE NOT ALWAYS THE SAME

A.
COINSIDENCE

B.
SPIRITUAL BATTLES

C.
MISSED PLANES, TRAINS, AND BOATS

D.
CAR OUT OF GAS

E.
LONG LINE AT THE CHECKOUT

F.
THE SOLDURE IN A FOX HOLE

3.
GOD SAVES US FROM OURSELVES

A.
OUR OWN DESIRES

B.
OUR OWN DIRECTIONS

C.
EVEN OUR OWN ACTIONS

4.
GOD SAVES US FOR A PURPOSE

A.
A PURPOSE WE MAY ONLY SEE LATER

B.
A PURPOSE WE MAY NEVER UNDERSTAND

C.
SOMETIMES WE ARE NEVER TO KNOW

CONCLUSION: Today
the world is much bigger than you think.
What happing in the world is not always what it seems. God is in control and we can trust Him. Look beyond ourselves and see the world as
God sees it.

Deuteronomy 12:1-7

Deuteronomy 12 1-7

One place to worship

1.
REMOVE ALL THE PLACES OF WORSHIP

A.
HIGH PLACES

B.
UNDER TREES

C.
ALTERS

D.
SACRED STONES

E.
ASHERAH POLES

a.
May poles and Christmas trees

F.
THE EASE AT WHICH THE ISRAELITES INCOPIRATED
OTHER GODS

G.
“I WORSHIP GOD IN NATURE”

H.
WORSHIPING NATURE AND NOT GOD WHO CREATED IT

I.
COL 2:8
ANGEL WORSHIP

2.
ONE PLACE TO WORSHIP ONE GOD

A.
ONE PLACE OF WORSHIP

B.
JOHN 4:19-24

C.
ROMANS 21:1

3.
IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH

A.
IN SPIRIT

a.
NOT IN PLACES OT THINGS

b.
BEING CONTROLED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

c.
INTENDED PURPOSE

B.
IN TRUTH

a.
NOT A SHOW

b.
NOT A ONE HOUR COMITMENT

c.
TRULY GIVING YOU LIFE OVER TO GOD

CONCLUSION: Is there a place of false worship in your
life? Something that takes your focus
from God. If there is then we must break it down. Remove it from it’s high place. And once again worship God in Spirit and
Truth.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy

In Deuteronomy there is a shift in writing from a third
person historical narrative, “Moses did this, God said that, and the people did
this. Now it is a first person
historical narrative, I said to you, God said to you, and you did this. This is because Moses is speaking to the
people and recounting their joinery together in preparation for entering the
Promised Land. The Hebrew title is
“elleh haddebarim” which means “these are the words” and the book consist
mainly of speeches given to the people by Moses. The English title “Deuteronomy means
“repetition of the law”.

I found chapter 3:26 interesting “because of you God was
angry at me” Moses blames them for his sinful action of hitting the rock.

In Chapter 9 Moses points out a great truth to them, it is God
who is giving this land to you not because of your righteousness, but because
of His integrity and the judgment of the people who live there now. For us today it reminds us that our faith
comes from God. Before you could believe
and be saved God had to make it possible for you to believe.

1.
Israel given the land as a judgment of the other
people

A.
God judged the wickedness of the other nations
vs4.

B.
God made a promise to Israel

C.
God will later bring in other nations to judge
Israel

D.
We as a nation have been blessed not because of
our government being “Christian”, but because of the faith of the Christian
people who live in our nation.

E.
Cannot expect the same judgment of our nation’s
wickedness as Israel received, and the nations before her.

F.
Perhaps we will see this judgment come in the
next few weeks.

2.
God given faith

A.
We often think we believe and are saved, yet
before we believed God saved us.

A.
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us
ⁿ and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for ¹⁰ our sins. ^o

A.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. ^v

B.
Jess lived on the street since she ran away from
home at 15. Now at 22 her church is
having a 1 year celebration of jess standing up, making a choice to live a new
life with Jesus. She chose to quit the
drugs, and all the things she did to pay for them. In the back out of the spotlight was Sam. Sam found jess passed out next to a dumpster
behind is restaurant. He brought her
inside out of the cold. Of all the lost
street people he had seen he chose to save jess. For two years he would pick her up, over and
over again. Sam lifted this broken girl
and held her up until she grew strong enough to stand on her own. If it was not for Sam, jess could have never
made a choice to change her life. Sam
chose to change it for her.

C.
God chose to change Israel’s life not because of
their faith but so they could have faith.
He chose them not because they were the people of God but so they could
choose to be the people of God.

D.
Helen Keller was an author, public speaker, and
an amazing person. She is celebrated for
her strength and determination to overcome her disabilities. Yet the real hero in her story was Anne
Sullivan who fought with Helen and her parents lift her up and hold her up
until she could stand and fight for herself.

E.
God chose to save you, to lift you up until you
could say “I believe in Jesus”

3.
the challenge to us

A.
To lift people up not because of the choices
they have made but so they can make better choices in the future.

B.
To lift them up not because of who they are or
what they are but because of who and what they can become.

C.
We must not get discouraged because once again
they have fallen down, because one day when we help them to their wobbly feet
they will stand.

D.
On that day many will celebrate their choice to
live a new life, like Sam sitting in the back watching jess, remember that God
used you to lift them up.

E.
Today remember that you are saved not because
you choose to believe but because first God chose you.

Joshua 1-10

Joshua 1-10

Taking over for Moses must have
been a daunting task for Joshua. Moses
had laid hands on Joshua and Joshua receives the Spirit which had guided
Moses. It is clear that Joshua receives
the ability to have direct conversations with God as Moses did. The passing on of the Spirit connection of
one prophet to another can be seen in Elijah and Elisha, where Elisha receives
the Spirit of Elijah.

God’s promises to Joshua are the
assurance of victory in battles to come and the assurance that God will never
leave or forsake Joshua. These same
promises are made by Jesus to all who would follow Him when He says “I will be
with you always even unto the end of the age.
While in Joshua’s time God limited this interaction to just one chosen
person, now God has opened this relationship to all who call upon the name of
Jesus. How often have we really looked
for this kind of relationship, not believing it possible, or just not taking
the time needed to have it? Moses,
Joshua, Elijah, and even Jesus spent many hours just focused on the presence of
God.

Joshua is
told to be strong and courageous because God will give him victory in all he
does. Yet in 1:7&8 Joshua is told
that his success and victory is connected with his careful keeping of the Book
of the Law, given to Moses. This would
require two things, first it requires that a Book of the Law exist, and second that
Joshua would have an in-depth knowledge of what the Book of the Law said. It is clear from Joshua 1 that the Pentateuch,
the first five books of the Bible must have been written before Moses died and
Joshua had possession of these books before he started to lead the people. Many people want to make the writing of much of
the Pentateuch to be added at a time after Joshua. Yet Joshua clearly had the writings of Moses
in his possession.

The promise
of success and victory being connected with the keeping of the Book of the Law
is very important to us today. All
through history God has connected obedience and success. God stressed to Moses the keeping to the Ten Commandments
and the Law. Now God stress the same
thing to Joshua. Later Jesus will stress
obedience to God as necessary for being loved by God and for answered prayer. Today we often find that we want the
assurance of success and victory while we live in a lazy fashion with regards
to obedience to God. Also many
Christians would like to leave out the hash judgement of God found in Joshua
1:18. To strike a balance between the
Grace of God and the Judgement of God seems difficult. Yet The God of love is also a God of justice,
the God of judgement is also a God of forgiveness and grace.

The spies
sent out to recon the promise land do not have to travel far for the
information they need. It seems the spies
only make it to Jericho which is some 10 miles into the promised land. There
they discover the fear the people have of them, this stands in contrast to 40
years erlier when the spies sent by Moses painted a grim picture for the
people. Rahab who helped them is told to
place the scarlet cord around her window to mark her home so no one would be
hurt withen it is reminesant of the blood on the door post the night of
Passover in Egypt.

Also
reminiscent of the Exodus is the parting of the Jordan river just as the Red
Sea was parted. The people have a
tangable sign that God is with their leader Joshua as He had been with Moses. The parting of the Jordan River also leaves
no doubt of where it is that God wants the people to go.

When the
people reach Gilgal they do two things the first is the taking on the sign of
Abraham’s people, circumcision. The
second is the celibration of Passover. The
people who left Egypt failed to keep their identity as God’s people by the sign
of obedience, circumcision, or the sign of grace, Passover. It is important for each generation to
embrace their own relationship with God and not leave it to the past or to the
future. Quite often people see faith as
something about their parents lives or something their children need. But a relationship with Jesus is something
which is to be about us today.
Circumcision is a painful process, yet God requires it of the men. I have to wonder if in our own lives today,
God places demands which get often passed off as to radical or fanatical. I think that today there may be actions of
obedience that are just as painful and radical as circumcision was for the men
of Israel.

Joshua 6

Joshua 6 “The strange
ways of God”

INTRODUCTION: In all
our lives we face Jerichos. They can be
a place, a person, a job, a habit or addiction.
Jericho was a city that blocked the entrance into the promised
land. It was an important city of
trade. After Joshua curses the city it
is never rebuilt. A new city of Jericho
is built about a mile from the Jericho of Joshua’s time.

1.
JERICHO
BLOCKS THE WAY TO THE PROMISED LAND

A. ENTRANCE OF A TRADE ROAD

B. ENTRANCE TO TWO VALLEYS NORTH AND
SOUTH

2.
GOD’S
STRANGE WAY TO OVERCOME IT

a. March around the city with seven
priests blowing horns followed by the Ark of the Covenant with a few guards
then the people. Once they go around the
city they go back to camp. 6 days they
do this.

b. On the 7^th day they march
around the city seven times, they all shout and the walls fall down.

c. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

d. BLESS YOUR PERSACUTERS

e. CONFRONT EACHOTHER IN LOVE

f. BECOME GREAT BY SERVING

g. RECEIVE BY GIVING

h. BUILD A BOAT WHERE THERE IS NO WATER

i.
LOOSE
YOUR SELF TO SAVE YOUR SELF

j. LIVE BY DIEING

k. BECOME KING BY DIEING ON THE CROSS

l.
EXALT
THE HUMBLE AND HUMBLE THE PROUD

m. OBTAIN RICHES BY GIVING AWAY YOUR
MONEY

3.
FACING
OUR OWN JERICHO

A. A DISABILITY

B. FINACIAL PROBLEMS

C. RELATIONSHIP

D. SIFUL HABBIT OR DESIRE

E. LOST JOB

F. DEPRESION

G. ADDICTION

H. ATTITUDE

I. LIMMITS SET BY OTHERS

J. OBAY GOD OR NOT

K. FOLLOW HIM OR LISTEN TO THE CROWD

L. WILL WE BE FAITHFUL OR POLIICTALY
CORRECT

M. FOLLOW A 2000 THOUSAND YEAR OLD BOOK
OR THE NEWEST PUBLIC OPNION

N. WILL YOU RISK BEING LAUGHED AT AND
RIDACULED

CONCLUSION: WHAT
JERICHO DO YOU FACE? ARE YOU WILLING TO
DO WHAT GOD ASK EVEN IF IT MAKES YOU UNPOPULAR OR LOOK SILLY. WILL YOU MARCH AROUND YOUR JERICHO WHILE THEY
LAUGH. WILL YOU MARCH EVERY DAY? WILL YOU MARCH SEVEN TIMES AROUND IT AND THEN
GIVE A SHOUT OF VICTORY? GOD STILL
BREAKS DOWN WALLS, GOD STILL GIVES VICTORY OVER OUR JERICHOS.