3.26.23 Sermon Afterthoughts
Greetings Church Family,
What a wonderful Sunday it was together as we studied the story of David and Goliath! I'm sure that for those of you who grew up in the church, that was one of your favorite stories. I would call it an example of master storytelling how the author sets the details in place, not only in chapter 17, but in the preceding chapters as he describes how the Lord is working to bring Israel a new king.
As is often done, this story can be turned into a simple tale of morality. Many of us learned that this is how we are to defeat giants in our lives, how to rightly pick our stones for battle, or how to be the hero God desires. Yet, as we saw on Sunday, this story is about none of that. We think this because we have an innate ability to make ourselves the hero of the story. The truth is that we aren't David. We aren't the king from Bethlehem who has come to deliver His people.
As long as we see ourselves as the hero, we will see ourselves as the ones who must overcome, who must bring victory, who must defeat the giants. But when we come to realize that God has sent the King who saves us, then we know that our victory is in him and that, in him, we become more than conquerors. Friends, your salvation is not dependent on your being victorious. It's found in the fact that Christ is victorious on your behalf! The pressure is off for we are saved, not by our works, but by faith in His finished work for us. What a wonderful savior we have! Below are questions for your consideration.
1. If it is Christ's victory that assures our salvation, how does it change the way you fight against sin?
2. In what ways are you prone to believe that your victory is dependent upon yourself?
3. What other biblical stories have you had the habit of seeing as tales of morality? As you think through them, how do they rightly point you to Jesus?