======================================================================== DAVID'S SECRET STRENGTH THAT KILLED GOLIATH by Sandeep Poonen ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon emphasizes the importance of having a heart devoted to God, focusing on the story of David before he faced Goliath. It highlights the need for faithfulness and courage in private, cultivating a personal devotion to God, and singing from the heart rather than for show. The message encourages young people to be faithful, courageous, and thankful in their daily lives, seeking to please God above all. Topics: "Devotion to God", "Courage in Faith" Scripture References: 1 Samuel 16:7, Ephesians 5:18, Psalm 95:1, Proverbs 4:23, Colossians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Psalm 100:2, Matthew 6:1, Psalm 33:3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon emphasizes the importance of having a heart devoted to God, focusing on the story of David before he faced Goliath. It highlights the need for faithfulness and courage in private, cultivating a personal devotion to God, and singing from the heart rather than for show. The message encourages young people to be faithful, courageous, and thankful in their daily lives, seeking to please God above all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Heavenly Father, before You, Lord, each one of us comes to You, and first of all, we want to thank You for this time. It is a time with which You blessed us. We could be anywhere, Lord, but You gathered us around Your Word, You gathered us at a time of sharing with each other. I ask You, Lord, to make this time a blessing for each one of us. I ask You, Lord, to fill our hearts and lives with Your Holy Spirit and Your presence. Heavenly Father, I thank You for all those who will be touched by them tonight, Lord, and will speak to them, Lord. I thank You for Sandip, I thank You for Cristi, I thank You for all those who are online now. I ask You to bless them. And in the name of Jesus Christ, Lord, pour Your grace on them tonight. Lord, put in my mouth the words that I have to speak to them, so I can translate them to Sandip. Amen. Amen. Amen. So, I wanted to share something from the life of David. I have met a lot of children over the years, and by far, the story of David is their favorite story. And they all love David because of the story of David and Goliath. There are a lot of other stories, like Daniel in the lion's den, which is crazy, and things like that, but the kids all seem to like David and Goliath. And when you are a child, that is what gets you excited. But as we get older, we can look a little deeper to find out more about the life of David. And the story of David and Goliath, if you want to turn there, is in 1 Samuel chapter 17. That's 1 Samuel chapter 17, and as I said, that is what all the children get excited about. But if we want to know a little bit more of the secret of David, we have to dig a little deeper. So, I want to show you a few things about the life of David before he killed Goliath. So, I want to go to 1 Samuel chapter 16, the previous chapter, where we get to hear about David for the first time. So, I want to go to 1 Samuel chapter 16, the previous chapter, where we get to hear about David for the first time. And 1 Samuel chapter 16 talks about how David is anointed as the next future king of Israel. King Saul was the first king of Israel, but God had rejected him, and so now there was going to be another king being prepared, and that's where we find David. King Saul was the first king of Israel, but God had rejected him, and so now there was going to be another king being prepared, and that's where we find David. And God sent Samuel to Jesse in Bethlehem, and Samuel asks to see all of Jesse's children. And one by one, all of Jesse's seven sons come and see Samuel, and Samuel thinks one of these are the ones, but they're not. And one by one, all of Jesse's seven sons come and see Samuel, and Samuel thinks one of these are the ones, but they're not. See in verse 10, Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said, The Lord has not chosen those. See in verse 10, Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said, The Lord has not chosen those. And Samuel then says in verse 11, Are these all your children? And Samuel then says in verse 11, Are these all your children? You know, what we see here is that even Jesse didn't think about his own son, David. You know, what we see here is that even Jesse didn't think about his own son, David. Jesse brought his seven sons, but he didn't even come to think, Wait a minute, hold on, I actually have an eighth person out in the field, I should get him to come too. Jesse brought his seven sons, but he didn't even come to think, Wait a minute, hold on, I actually have an eighth person out in the field, I should get him to come too. This, to me, tells me a little bit of the attitude that Jesse had towards his own son, David. This, to me, tells me a little bit of the attitude that Jesse had towards his own son, David. No father is perfect, and some fathers can be partial towards some children over others. No father is perfect, and some fathers can be partial towards some children over others. And there can be children who are like David, who their own parents think differently about them. And there can be children who are like David, who their own parents think differently about them. And you see in verse 6, to go back a few verses, Samuel looks at the oldest, and even Samuel, the prophet was fooled. He's like, surely the Lord's anointed is in this boy, but the Lord said in verse 7, No, God looks at the heart. He's like, surely the Lord's anointed is in this boy, but the Lord said in verse 7, No, God looks at the heart. So even the great prophet of God was fooled. Maybe he would have also looked down on David. And then David comes. So for us, as young people too, there can be times in which in these days, especially in our teenage years, where we can think that our parents don't understand us. where we can think that our parents don't understand us. And they don't understand us properly. But David was faithful at this time. See, all the other boys were at home. David was out in the fields. David was out in the fields, taking care of the sheep. Why didn't the father say, You know what, David, you're all alone, why don't you take one of your brothers with you? He didn't even say that. Why didn't the father say, You know what, David, you're all alone, why don't you take one of your brothers with you? He didn't even say that. So David was being ignored. Go, no, David, you're the small boy, you go take care of the sheep. Let all the other brothers here be here and help me at home. But God was looking at the heart. And God was pleased with what he saw in David's heart. So now we have to think, OK, David, you're being ignored by your family. What is in your heart? So let's say some of you are being misunderstood by your family. That's possible. My question is, God's looking to see what is in your heart. You have these resentments in your heart, but God is looking to see what is in your heart. And now we will look to see what was in David's heart before he was anointed King of Samuel. We find out what was in David's heart when we go to 1 Samuel 17, the next chapter. And if you see in 1 Samuel 17, David says something in verse 34-37. You can maybe read Dan from 1 Samuel 17, the next chapter, from 34-37. And if he rose against me, I would strike him with a spade, I would beat him and I would kill him. So your servant, the lion, came down, and the bear. And with this Philistine, with this uncut one around him, he will be like one of them, because they believed in the Lord of the living God. David said, Lord, who has set me free from the fangs of the lion and from the tail of the bear, he will set me free from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, go and let the Lord be with you. And this was happening when David was out in the field. David is all alone in the field, taking care of the sheep, and he is in a place where there are lions and bears. Let me ask you, what would you have done if you were asked to go take care of the sheep and then a lion came and attacked? We'd probably all run home and say, Daddy, Mommy, a lion attacked, but thank you, I'm safe. And Daddy, Mommy would be like, okay, thank you, you're safe. It's okay if all the sheep got eaten up. That's not what David did. It says he grabbed the sheep, he grabbed the lion by the beard and punched him and killed him. Actually, first he ran after the lion. The lion is going with the sheep in his mouth. David is running after the lion. He grabs the lion by the mouth and pulls the lion out of the lion's mouth. Then the lion is angry, so the lion starts to attack David. David grabs the lion by the beard and punches him and kills him. You tell me, which is a better story? David killing the lion with a stone or David beating up this lion? I don't care about the lion. I want to see the story of David beating up a lion and David beating up a bear. Imagine what would have happened if you had that with a lion. You come home and you tell your dad, hey, guess what happened? I didn't run away. And just so that you know, David was probably around 14, 15 at this time. He was around 17, I think, when he killed Goliath. 17 or 18, around that time. So this is a 14 or 15-year-old boy, fighting a lion and beating him. Then he comes home and tells his dad and mom, mom, you know what happened? I didn't run away. I actually killed the lion. And now he probably comes home and tells his parents, you know what? I didn't run away. The lion came, but I killed it. What would you do if you were a dad or a mom? And I would tell him, if I were a dad, I would tell him, you know what, David? Don't do that again. Come home quickly. Don't ever go alone by yourself. I'm going to send two of your brothers with you. But no, none of that. Next day, David, go by yourself. Yeah, I know. You fought the lion. Yeah, hopefully you won't see a lion again. Next time a bear comes. David's out there by himself and he has to fight a bear now. Still no help. So even when Samuel comes to see Jesse, David's all out by himself, taking care of the sheep. What a remarkable boy David was. What a remarkable teenager David was. And he cared about the small little little sheep that was entrusted to him. His father had told him, take care of the sheep. He took care of the sheep. He was faithful. And he had courage. Dear young boys and girls, you are facing different lions and bears. The lions and bears you face are coming through social media. The lions and bears are coming through your friends and the advertisements and the movies and the music. And nobody's watching. And your parents may not be watching over you and caring for you like they should. Maybe you're not receiving the love and the support you need from your own family. You may feel alone. But God is asking you to be faithful with what He's been giving you. Maybe it's your studies. Maybe it is what you are working on. And God is asking you to have courage. To not be afraid when a lion or a bear comes to try to steal what God has put into you. That's the first thing we learn about David. This was in secret. Nobody was watching. The thing that gave David confidence to kill the lion was that God had helped him kill the lion and the bear. You see that in 1 Samuel 17 verse 36. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear and this Goliath will be just like them. We have no chance against Goliath. And remember, Goliath was in public in front of everybody. But we will not have any chance against Goliath in public if we are not faithful with the lion and the bear in private. We have to be faithful and have courage in private. That's the first thing I learned that he was doing in private. And remember, God looked at the heart. He didn't look at the talent. He didn't look at the outside. Even the prophet was fool, but God wasn't fool. So dear teenager or young person, focus on your heart. Don't focus on your outside circumstances. Don't focus on all the things that are wrong and not right in your life. God is looking at the heart. Don't let all these outside circumstances pollute your heart. And God wants you to be faithful and have courage to stand up for what you know to be right. God wants you to watch what you think about, what you see, what you hear, when nobody is watching. So that's the first thing. Second thing is if you go back to 1 Samuel 16, the previous chapter. We see that in verse 13, that when Samuel sees David, God says, this is the one, and Samuel anoints David. And the Spirit of God, it says in verse 13, came upon, mightily upon David. And in the rest of the chapter, what we read about is that Saul was being oppressed by an evil spirit. Oppressed means he was being really frightened, and Saul became really scared and full of anxiety and fear. And remember, this is the king, and they don't know how to solve the problem. And you see in verse 18, that the people tell him, look, there's this little boy of Jesse who's a skillful musician, and he's good with his speech, and he's a strong man, and God is with him. So he ends up coming, this is before Goliath, he ends up coming and playing music for Saul. And it says that in the end of that verse, in verse 23, that David would play the harp, and the evil spirit would leave Saul. David was doing something else when he was out by himself with the sheep. He could have been complaining. He could have been daydreaming and just wasting his time. He didn't do that. He took his harp and he played songs to the Lord. He learned how to talk to God. And he didn't write songs to be sung on YouTube by millions. Those psalms that he wrote, some of those psalms were written between him and God when he was just taking care of the sheep. Listen to me carefully, young people. Most of the songs that we hear, Christian songs being sung, I don't get the sense that they are being written and sung from a person directly to God. Instead, they are being written and sung about God, but being written for people to enjoy. There's a difference. I'll say it again. David wrote songs to God and didn't care what anybody else thought about it. Most of the songs today are written about God, but what they care about is what other people think about it. What are the songs that you like? Well, they have to sound good. They have to make you feel good. Yeah, they have to talk about God too. But this is not a personal song of devotion between the singer and God. It's a performance. It's entertainment. That is why, personally, I'm not impressed. And when I go and I see things on the internet or I go to churches, I listen and say, who is this for? Are they singing to the people or are they singing to God? They may be crying, but they may be just crying because they are in front of people. They may be very emotional, but it's just a trick. Don't be fooled by that. Some of you may have an interest in music. Try to write a song just for God. Write a song just telling God how you feel. Write a song thanking God for all that He has given you. Let it come from the heart. Don't worry about how it sounds. That's a different kind of song. That is the kind of song that David sang when nobody was listening. That is the kind of song that David sang when nobody was listening. When David sang at the altar, he never thought that one day he would be called to sing in front of a king. When he was playing the harp, he wasn't thinking, oh, you know what, one day maybe King Saul will call me to play in front of him. He just played the harp out with the sheep by himself and he sang to God. He sang in front of the sheep, but he sang for God. God saw him and God took notice. God said, you can't stop me from lifting him up. God took him and just like that, he was playing in front of the king. He had the power and the ability to drive the evil spirit away. This is the supernatural power that God can give us. We can kill huge giants. We can drive evil spirits of fear away from people, big kings. But the secret of it is, what are you doing when you're all alone? And that is where God makes and prepares us. And I think that those were David's most special years. When he didn't have to prove himself to anybody. Maybe he was made fun of by all of his seven brothers and his parents didn't support him. He would get up in the morning, pack his little harp in his bag and he'd go out with the sheep. And he committed to just being faithful to take care of the sheep and he enjoyed singing songs just for God. God saw it. And God said, my son Jesus Christ is going to come from that man. He is a man who is interested in my heart. He's not a man, I'm sorry, he's a teenage boy who's interested in my heart. Most of you here may be teenagers. This is what God can do in the life of a teenager. Let's close in prayer. Father we thank you for the wonderful examples of those who lived before us. Lord Jesus we want to repent of the times that we have wasted in the past. Even though Lord Jesus I am not a teenager, I want that heart. Please help me Lord to be somebody who wants your heart. I don't want to do anything to impress anybody else. Help me Lord Jesus, help us all to grow in our devotion to you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Over to you Dan for any questions or for the young teenagers if you have any questions or thoughts. I have no questions. In their private time until now they haven't done like David. It's the same thing I will tell myself. Start today. God's message to me is always about the present. He wants me to recognize the mistakes and the sins of the past. And he has prepared a solution for it. But the solution only works if we recognize the problem. It's like God wants to show you that your clothes are dirty. But if we don't see that the clothes are dirty we will never use the stain remover that he gives us. So all the dirt that is accumulated because we didn't do it right, God has a stain remover for that. But we have to completely recognize what is the wrong we have done. That's what to repent means. Repent is to say, oh I see my clothes have all kinds of stains on them. And I don't want those stains. And faith is to reach from God's hand the stain remover and apply it over all the shame and guilt that is there with those stains. Then if we have true faith we recognize that the stains are removed. And then it's so important for us to live in the present. And the life we live in the present is to say God I don't want those stains to come on my clothes anymore. So I am going to fight to keep those stains off of my clothes. So going forward, starting now I am going to have courage and faithfulness and I am going to seek to sing songs God just to you. I don't even worry about tomorrow. I don't even know if I am going to be alive tomorrow. But I am alive now. So I am going to choose to live for God today. The same thing that you have to do that I have to do. What Jesus told the woman caught in adultery. In many ways you would say that she was worse than any of us. She was caught in adultery. But in another sense she is no different from any of us. She was caught in that sin. We are shown another sin. So we all come to Jesus caught in some sin. And Jesus says I don't condemn you. Don't sin anymore. That's it. That's it. David. I have a question. David. He knew the calling that he had. That's why he used it. How do we know what our calling is in the soul of God? I don't know if David knew his calling. I don't know what Sebi means by saying David knew his calling. You mean that he was going to be king of Israel one day when Samuel anointed him? That's what he means? He was going to share with God his calling. He was going to develop this calling in his life. He had a calling on this side. Sebi, you mean his singing? Yes. But not as being king of Israel. But as a calling to sing? Exactly. Sebi said that not like calling to be a king. It's calling to sing before the Lord. All of us have a calling to sing to the Lord. You don't have to sing in key. That means it doesn't have to be very musical. We don't have to sing in a very musical way. It has to be a song. And when I refer to a song, I mean what comes from the heart. I want to show you a verse in Ephesians 5, verse 18. Ephesians 5, verse 18 and 19. Ephesians 5, verse 18 and 19. Shall I read it? Yes, please. Where are you, the last part of verse 19, where are you making melody? Not with your mouth. Not with the guitar. Not with the harp. With the heart. Is that what is written in your Bible too? Making melody with your heart. So where should there be a melody to the Lord? So cantare, does that mean song or does that mean melody? Melody, song. Yeah, see because cantare, song versus melody to me is two different things. Can I tell you what I mean by that? Song, you can listen to the song and say that's a horrible song. It is not good at all. But when we use the word melody, that is a nice song. It's a good tune. But when you say melody, it's something that resonates better, it's something that is harmonious. What God wants to tell us is that you can have in your heart a special sound, a beautiful sound. Sweet, sweet. Yes, and that is what God is looking for. God is not looking for what sounds good to the ears. This is my problem with almost all Christian music today. Christian music written by most Christians today. They are making melody with their mouth and their guitar and for their ears. This is not a melody coming from the heart. And this is not written by people who are fighting bears and lions in secret. They are not warriors for God in secret. That is what causes a melody to come from the heart. And Ephesians 5 verse 18 says do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. See, being drunk with wine is the way the world finds pleasure. All the young people are like, let's go get drunk, let's go drink a lot of alcohol and let's have a good time. That's their definition of a good time. What is the Christian's definition equal of getting drunk with wine? Let me say that one more time. What is the Christian's equal for the world who is saying let's go get drunk with wine? What gives the Christian pleasure? Being filled with the Spirit. And that's what it says in verse 19. Now it describes what being filled with the Spirit will look like. That you talk, not sing. Talk to one another and just talk to them in psalms and hymns and different ways, poetry about the Lord. It's making a sweet sound in the heart. And verse 20, giving thanks in all situations. Not complaining about how bad the situation is. There's a huge melody of thankfulness in your heart. This is what gives the Christian pleasure. This is our calling. You don't have to know how to play any musical instrument. You don't need to know how to sing on key. That means on the right notes. Have you heard somebody singing with all of his heart, but it sounds horrible to the ear? He doesn't even know how bad he sounds. But he's so happy to sing. Because he's not singing to you. He's not singing to me. He's singing to maybe to God or to somebody else. Sometimes he's singing to his wife or she's singing to her husband. They can be horrible to listen to, but it's so much joy. We have to stop being judging with our ears. Even Samuel the prophet was fooled. God's not fooled. God's not interested in how good the music sounds. I think you should start at a young age to listen to people's heart as they sing or as they speak. You'll have to listen to my heart, not to whether I speak really well. You'll have to listen to my heart, not to whether I speak really well or not. And this can come over time as we prepare our own hearts. As our own hearts are for the Lord, we will recognize when somebody else who's singing, their heart is for the Lord too. And we'll also recognize when some people are just singing for the applause or for other people to like it. Sorry, I didn't hear the last part. Or we'll recognize when people are just really singing for the applause or for other people to like it. Can you hear me? Can the others hear me? Yes. Dan, can you hear me? No, I don't think Dan can hear me. Sorry. Is it better now? Yes. We should be able to recognize whether people are singing from their heart or they're just singing so that I can clap and that I can like it. But all of us, our calling is to be faithful in secret, to have courage in secret, and to have a personal devotion with the God where the song is coming from the heart. Thank you for the question. You're welcome. Thank you for the question. Are there any more questions? Angela has a question. No, Angela isn't here. Maybe after I explain everything, she'll have a question. If we are singing only with our heart, don't you think we are falling in other extremes? That means we are not singing without notes. Let's not sing with guitar or piano. No, I don't think singing with the heart means not singing in a pleasing way. In our church too, we sing and we want to sing. We don't allow people who don't know how to sing to sing in the church. We want it to be pleasing to the ear too. But it is useless if it is pleasing to the ear, but it does not come from a heart that is pleasing. So we must constantly be refining our music so that it is pleasing to God. So I play music, but it is very dangerous because it can just be what sounds good to the ear. So we must focus most on our heart. It says about David that he was a skilled musician. But God didn't choose David because he was a skilled musician. God chose David because David had the right heart. That is why David didn't go around making tables. He wasn't a skilled carpenter. His skill was in music. But he had the right heart. Some of us might have a good skill in stitching or in painting. But we can paint without the right heart about Jesus and it is not worth it. You are not going to be picked because you are a skilled painter. God is looking for those who have the right heart towards Him. Then He will use you in whatever skill He has given you. For David it was playing the harp and music. For others it may be painting. Maybe speaking, talking about God. For others it could be making carpentry or different things, all kinds of art. Music in the studio. Fine, but what God is looking for is the heart. If we are talking about singing, I have a question. If you see someone singing to impress in the church, are you going to stop him or are you going to let him sing? And you will pray for him that the Lord will take care of him and will bring him to the right way? I have a couple of thoughts on that. The person who was guilty of that most of all is me. I have been playing in church now for 30 years. I have seen so much in me that wants to impress other people. Over the years I have seen how I have done it in so many different ways. We are very good at fooling people. We can be crying but we are fooling people. We can be singing with great emotion but we are fooling people. I have seen that in my own heart. I have to judge myself very seriously. One response for me was to say I don't want to play anymore. I have tried that too. But I feel the way God has me now is to fight it and to hate it. And to be ruthless to pull it out any time I see it. And I think it's gotten better for me. Where it's less than it used to be. So that's the encouraging thing for me. It's gotten a little better. But it is a very deceiving thing. I still am fighting it a lot. Having friends who we trust can help. My wife is a good help in that. She can give me good feedback. You are trying to impress her with it. And then with other people, if we have responsibility in the church, then we have to take care of the flock. And we have to protect them. The word for those in responsibility is the word shepherd. Shepherd isn't going beating up the sheep all the time. The shepherd has to take care of the sheep. And clean up all the things that are wrong. We want to see him. Hey, this is my youngest sheep. I don't think he knows where the toy is. He was looking for a toy. I don't think the toy is here. So as it's dealing with shepherds, we have to care for the sheep, but get them to be good sheep. But if encouragement and guidance doesn't help them, maybe we have to tell them, look, take a break. But if we recognize that it is horrible, and it is a sin that we must hate, then we can be patient. But if we recognize that it is horrible, and it is a sin that we must hate, then we can be patient. I prayed for your exams. Father, we pray for these young boys and girls. I remember that time when I was their age. How much is on this time in their life, Lord. I pray, Lord, that you will give supernatural wisdom and help to these dear people. You are Daniel and you gave them wisdom. Help them to remember all that they have studied. Bless them, Lord, for the hard work and the hours that they have put in. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you love every one of them just as much as you love Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you love every one of them just as much as you love Jesus. Help us to work hard so that we can bring you glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/FLfpW6EwSp0.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/sandeep-poonen/davids-secret-strength-that-killed-goliath/ ========================================================================