{"id":8739,"date":"2023-08-20T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-20T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/?post_type=ctc_sermon&p=8739"},"modified":"2023-08-26T15:45:18","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T20:45:18","slug":"you-are-called-part-iii","status":"publish","type":"ctc_sermon","link":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/sermons\/you-are-called-part-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"You Are Called – Part III"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1 Samuel 17:12-54<\/strong> Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons. 13 Jesse\u2019s three oldest sons\u2014Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea\u2014had already joined Saul\u2019s army to fight the Philistines. 14 David was the youngest son. David\u2019s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul\u2019s army, 15 but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

16 For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

17 One day Jesse said to David, \u201cTake this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. 18 And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.\u201d 19 David\u2019s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

20 So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. 21 Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 \u201cHave you seen the giant?\u201d the men asked. \u201cHe comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man\u2019s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby, \u201cWhat will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

27 And these men gave David the same reply. They said, \u201cYes, that is the reward for killing him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

28 But when David\u2019s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. \u201cWhat are you doing around here anyway?\u201d he demanded. \u201cWhat about those few sheep you\u2019re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

29 \u201cWhat have I done now?\u201d David replied. \u201cI was only asking a question!\u201d 30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David\u2019s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

32 \u201cDon\u2019t worry about this Philistine,\u201d David told Saul. \u201cI\u2019ll go fight him!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

33 \u201cDon\u2019t be ridiculous!\u201d Saul replied. \u201cThere\u2019s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You\u2019re only a boy, and he\u2019s been a man of war since his youth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

34 But David persisted. \u201cI have been taking care of my father\u2019s sheep and goats,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I\u2019ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saul finally consented. \u201cAll right, go ahead,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd may the Lord be with you!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

38 Then Saul gave David his own armor\u2014a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t go in these,\u201d he protested to Saul. \u201cI\u2019m not used to them.\u201d So David took them off again. 40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd\u2019s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd\u2019s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 \u201cAm I a dog,\u201d he roared at David, \u201cthat you come at me with a stick?\u201d And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44 \u201cCome over here, and I\u2019ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!\u201d Goliath yelled.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

45 David replied to the Philistine, \u201cYou come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven\u2019s Armies\u2014the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord\u2019s battle, and he will give you to us!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd\u2019s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath\u2019s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. 54 (David took the Philistine\u2019s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man\u2019s armor in his own tent.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Must Recognize Where The Real Battle Lies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God\u2019s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God\u2019s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God\u2019s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit, at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.  <\/em>Ephesians 6:10-18<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.   <\/em>1 Peter 5:8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We use God\u2019s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.   <\/em>2 Corinthians 10:4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Must Recognize God\u2019s Desire to Use Us<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.    <\/em>1 Corinthians 12:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Must Remember That The Battle Belongs To The Lord<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord\u2019s battle, and he will give you to us!\u201d   <\/em>1 Samuel 14:47<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 Samuel 17:12-54 Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons. 13 Jesse\u2019s three oldest sons\u2014Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea\u2014had already joined Saul\u2019s army to fight the Philistines. 14 David was the youngest son. David\u2019s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul\u2019s army, 15 but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"ctc_sermon_topic":[],"ctc_sermon_book":[],"ctc_sermon_series":[],"ctc_sermon_speaker":[110],"ctc_sermon_tag":[],"class_list":["post-8739","ctc_sermon","type-ctc_sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","ctc_sermon_speaker-jesse-loew","ctfw-has-image"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/8739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ctc_sermon"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8739"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/8739\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8740,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon\/8739\/revisions\/8740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_topic?post=8739"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_book?post=8739"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_series?post=8739"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_speaker?post=8739"},{"taxonomy":"ctc_sermon_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loah.org\/marsd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ctc_sermon_tag?post=8739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}