The Armies of the Living God.
The sermon emphasizes the importance of recognizing and living with God's presence in our lives, which gives us the faith and power to overcome any challenge or difficulty.
F.B. Meyer emphasizes the stark contrast between David and the soldiers of Saul, who viewed God as distant and absent, while David experienced God as a living presence in his life. This deep relationship with God allowed David to confront the Philistine giant with unwavering faith, knowing that God was with him. Meyer urges believers to cultivate a similar awareness of God's presence in their daily lives, enabling them to face challenges and adversities with confidence. He asserts that true faith transforms our perception of difficulties, allowing us to see God as the ultimate solution to our problems. The sermon calls for a faith that actively invites God's presence into every situation we encounter.
Text
The armies of the living God. 1 Sam. xvii. 26, 36.
THIS made all the difference between David and the rest of the camp. To Saul and his soldiers God was an absentee ‑‑ a name, but little else. They believed that He had done great things for his people in the past, and that at some future time, in the days of the Messiah, He might be expected to do great things again; but no one thought of Him as present. Keenly sensitive to the defiance of the Philistine, and grieved by the apathy of his people, David, on the other hand, felt that God was alive. He had lived alone with Him in the solitude of the hills, till God had become one of ‑the greatest and most real facts of his young existence; and as the lad went to and fro among the armed warriors, he was sublimely conscious of the presence of the living God amid the clang of the camp.
This is what we need. To live so much with God, that when we come amongst men, whether in the bazaars of India or the market‑place of an English town, we may be more aware of his over‑shadowing presence than of the presence or absence of any one. Lo, God is here! This place is hallowed ground! But none can realize this by the act of the will. We can only find God everywhere when we carry Him everywhere. The miner sees by the candle he carries on his forehead.
Each of us is opposed by difficulties, privations, and trials of different sorts. But the one answer to them all is faith's vision of the Living God. We can face the mightiest foe in his name. If our faith can but make Him a passage, along which He shall come, there is no Goliath He will not quell; no question He will not answer; no need He will not meet
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Recognizing God's Presence
- The Need to Live with God
- Faith's Vision of the Living God
- Facing difficulties with faith
- God's power to overcome any challenge
Key Quotes
“Lo, God is here! This place is hallowed ground!” — F.B. Meyer
“We can only find God everywhere when we carry Him everywhere.” — F.B. Meyer
“If our faith can but make Him a passage, along which He shall come, there is no Goliath He will not quell;” — F.B. Meyer
Application Points
- We need to live with God in solitude and intimacy to become more aware of His presence in our lives.
- Faith's vision of the Living God is the answer to all difficulties, privations, and trials.
- We can overcome any challenge or foe by making God a passage in our lives through faith.