| “FIVE SMOOTH STONES FOR SERVICE” Deuteronomy 10:12-22; I Samuel 17 Olivet Covenant Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA © Rev. Linda Jaymes, 01-10-2010 |
As we heard in our first lesson this morning, as God’s people we are all called to
“…fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees…given…for your own good.” (Deut. 10:12-14) But I think we
all know that serving God faithfully can be very difficult, to say the least. Last week I suggested six principles that can help us
lead godly lives, and today we’ll be looking at five principles demonstrated in the life of David that I think will help us as we
seek to serve God faithfully and obediently.
Most of you are familiar with David’s story, and will remember that his public service to God began with his battle against
Goliath. David met the challenge of that battle by first gathering five smooth stones into his shepherd's bag to use as the
ammunition he would need to accomplish that mission. In the same way, I want to suggest five smooth stones, or operating
principles, to help equip us as we serve the Lord and battle the Goliaths of our own time.
The first "stone" that we need to put in our bags is to know and accept who we are. Unless we begin there we cannot
honestly move forward to anywhere else. David knew he was Jesse's son. He knew he was the youngest of eight sons. He
knew he was expected to shepherd his father's sheep, and he accepted his role in the family and took responsibility for the work
that belonged to him. He didn't use his "last" place in the family either as a crutch or an excuse or as a reason for special
consideration. David honestly knew and accepted who he was. But perhaps more importantly, he also trusted that God knew
who he was, and David believed that belonging to the Living God always compensates for any limits imposed by one's
particular circumstances or place in either our biological families or in the family of God. Like David, we will be most effective
in our attempts to serve God if we understand and accept who we are and whose we are. Knowing who we are gives us an
honest understanding of where we are starting from and what our advantages or handicaps may be, and knowing whose we are
reminds us that there are unlimited possibilities for where we can go.
The second "stone" is to identify the skills that are needed in our particular circumstances and start practicing them right
where we are. We certainly cannot practice them where we are not! We may daydream about what we might do "if only" we
were somewhere else: in the right family, the right neighborhood, the right job, or the right church. But it is pretty hard to
become really accomplished at any skill just by dreaming about it or by thinking we can only develop it somewhere else. David
may have longed to be doing something other than shepherding. Perhaps shepherding was a fairly routine job, even boring,
much of the time. Nevertheless, David identified the skills that shepherding required, which included mastering the sling. That
may not have been the most exciting skill to practice, but David knew that it could mean the difference between life and death—
not only for his sheep, but also for him when he had to fight off predatory animals. Boring or not, he must have practiced often
with the sling, so that when the need arose, he would be ready to use it.
In the same way, to be effective disciples and witnesses for the Lord, we must approach our ministries the way David
did. Even though we are faced with some tasks at home, at work, at seminary or even at church that may seem useless,
boring, or of little consequence, it is amazing how God often uses them for his purposes. If we are willing to identify the skills
needed for our particular circumstances, and then work to practice and perfect them as David did, we might be surprised at the
ways God can use us to work miracles that may slay the giants of our own time and bring glory to God.
The third "stone" for our bags is to remain obedient to God's calling and his guiding hand in our lives even in the face of
criticism and ridicule—which may sometimes come from those closest to us. David's own brother, Eliab, was jealous of this
pipsqueak brother of his, and he felt that David's motivations were presumptuous and that his heart was evil. Eliab couldn't
believe that David was either capable or worthy of doing anything more than keeping sheep.
We will sometimes find that same attitude as we attempt to be obedient to God, to reflect his nature and his ways in every
area of our lives. Whenever we put ourselves on the front lines by living out our faith, we open ourselves to criticism from
some who question our motivations or from others who, because of their own insecurity or jealousy, find us threatening.
There will always be those who believe we are not capable of what we attempt, or worthy to try it in the first place. Those
folks can become a very discouraging reality in our efforts to be faithful to God. So when these naysayers come along, like
David we need to turn away from any negative voices that prevent us from following God's voice and direction. We need to
remember that the encouragement of God is greater than the discouragement of our critics, and the Holy Spirit will lead us and
keep us as we attempt to follow Jesus in every area of our lives.
The fourth "stone" is to remember that we cannot meet the enemy wearing someone else's armor or equipped with
someone else's ammunition. David quickly realized that Saul's armor and sword would never fit him, but would only be a
liability in carrying out the mission against Goliath. David had no prior experience in wearing armor, and Saul's armor wasn't
tailored to fit David's frame. Apparently at that point in his life, David was not proficient with the sword, or at least he was not
used to Saul's sword, and he quickly realized that armor and sword would be of no use to him in that particular situation. They
would only get in the way of what David's gifts and experience had trained him to do. So he took them off and turned to the
one skill he had practiced and used many times before while he was tending the sheep. He loaded up his shepherd's bag with
five smooth stones and took off with his sling to face the giant. Such a simple, unexciting tool compared to the fancy battle
equipment of those around him! But even so, no other ammunition was required, nor would it have been useful. The simple
weapon that David had mastered for his work as a shepherd was exactly what was needed to overcome the enemy.
The same principle holds true for us. Someone else's armor or tools or way of doing things will be of little use to us if
they were not made for our frame or personality or if we have not had the opportunity to work with them and practice with
them before a crisis arises. But if we will rely on God and the tools we already use in the everyday situations where He has
placed us, we will be ready to fight the battles that come our way. This doesn't mean that we should never learn new skills or
try new tools or new ways of using them, but we should develop the resources which God has already given us and never
assume that someone else's fancy equipment is more effective than ours. Many times, our faith is lived out most powerfully
when we use the simple and familiar tools that are right at our fingertips, like a kind word, a helping hand, or a shoulder to cry
on. If we're going to be authentic in the way we live out our faith, using someone else's fancy equipment will only get in the
way of our service for Christ.
The fifth smooth "stone" is the awareness that all of the circumstances of life contain opportunities to serve and glorify
God, if we will only learn to recognize them. When David left his sheep to deliver provisions to his brothers in the army, he had
no idea that this routine assignment would turn into anything more than that. Oh, perhaps he hoped to see some of the
excitement of battle. But I doubt if he was seeking or expecting a special assignment from God. Still, he kept his ears and eyes
open to what was going on all around him, to see if God could make use of him in that particular circumstance. David quickly
discerned that his skills and the saving power of God—together—were exactly what were needed for the situation at hand.
In only a moment, David's common and ordinary profession and all those days or perhaps months and years of repetitive
practice with his sling were transformed into God's miraculous provision for the deliverance of God’s people. What began as a
menial and limited (and SMELLY!) job as a shepherd became the means by which David was able to glorify God in a unique
and powerful way. In a similar way, if we desire to serve and glorify God, we will find that there are opportunities for service
all around us. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can discern how God is working in our midst and determine the skills needed
to help accomplish God's mission. Most of the time, we don't have to go looking for special assignments or foreign mission
fields. There are battlefields of mission and service all around us. They arise right in the midst of our daily round, while we are
carrying provisions to those troops at our dinner tables, in our offices, in our schools and hospitals and churches. And if we
have been practicing with our slings, with God's help we can slay the giants just as David did. We just never know when the
things we do as part of our everyday existence will suddenly determine the difference between life and death for ourselves or
someone else.
Perhaps you remember the movie, Schindler's List, about a man with very questionable morals who, nonetheless, managed
to save 1,200 Jews from extermination in Nazi death camps. He certainly wasn't seeking to be a hero or the savior of European
Jews, and maybe the only motivation to keep his business going was greed. It seems doubtful that he had a heart for God.
Yet he used his particular gift of shrewd business skills in the circumstances in which he found himself in Nazi Europe, and the
result was that God used him to save a remnant of the Jewish community. Only God knows whether he was merely a greedy
businessman or a humanitarian, but either way, he made a difference in the lives of generations of people. If God could use a
Schindler to battle a Goliath, what might God accomplish through people who do have a heart for God and eyes open to the
opportunities to glorify Him in every circumstance of life?
The answer, of course, is that with God and five smooth stones, there is no limit to the Goliaths that God can conquer
through people who have a heart for their Lord. Of course the giants don't always take the shape of a Goliath or a Hitler.
There are numerous other ways that the enemy seeks to destroy God's people or at least prevent them from being all that God
intends. But in Christ, we are promised that we are already more than conquerors through Him who loves us and gave Himself
for us. We know that the final victory is already won. It is only for us to be faithful and gather our smooth stones into our
shepherd bags, to use during the battles that will inevitably rage until Jesus comes again. But like David, we need not be afraid
or discouraged, even when it appears that the enemy has all the advantages.
That's when we need to remember David's faith and his belief that the battle belongs to the Lord. It is God's might that
overcomes remarkable giants to win the victory. Long ago, British author Rudyard Kipling witnessed to David's quality of faith
in his own time when he said,
"the only thing more terrible in battle than a regiment of desperados officered by a half dozen young daredevils is a
company of "Scotch" Presbyterians who rise from their knees and go into action convinced they are about to do the will of
God!" 1
People like David and our Scottish forbears and so many others who have served God down through the centuries have learned
that it is God's power, not ours, which can overcome the enemy and win the day.
With God and five smooth stones, people with a heart for God can face the worst of giants. Like David, we can be
faithful and obedient servants of the Living Lord, the Lord we have come to know in the person of Jesus Christ. Even if we
find ourselves up against Goliath, Jesus' resurrection victory over death reminds us that God is greater than any Goliath who
comes our way. And Christ has promised that through the power and presence of his own Spirit, we will do even greater
things than He did. But like David, we must have the courage to live out this life of faith wherever we are, believing that God
has supplied us with all the smooth stones we need to fight the giants that challenge us along the way. Like David, it is up to us
to have our smooth stones ready, so that we will be prepared when God calls on us to use them. And God willing, just like
David, we will discover that just one plus God is always a majority, and even the greatest giants can be conquered with God
and five smooth stones.
Let us pray.
1. Sperry, Willard Learoyd. The Disciplines of Liberty: the Faith and Conduct of the Christian Freeman. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. 1921, 21.
“…fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees…given…for your own good.” (Deut. 10:12-14) But I think we
all know that serving God faithfully can be very difficult, to say the least. Last week I suggested six principles that can help us
lead godly lives, and today we’ll be looking at five principles demonstrated in the life of David that I think will help us as we
seek to serve God faithfully and obediently.
Most of you are familiar with David’s story, and will remember that his public service to God began with his battle against
Goliath. David met the challenge of that battle by first gathering five smooth stones into his shepherd's bag to use as the
ammunition he would need to accomplish that mission. In the same way, I want to suggest five smooth stones, or operating
principles, to help equip us as we serve the Lord and battle the Goliaths of our own time.
The first "stone" that we need to put in our bags is to know and accept who we are. Unless we begin there we cannot
honestly move forward to anywhere else. David knew he was Jesse's son. He knew he was the youngest of eight sons. He
knew he was expected to shepherd his father's sheep, and he accepted his role in the family and took responsibility for the work
that belonged to him. He didn't use his "last" place in the family either as a crutch or an excuse or as a reason for special
consideration. David honestly knew and accepted who he was. But perhaps more importantly, he also trusted that God knew
who he was, and David believed that belonging to the Living God always compensates for any limits imposed by one's
particular circumstances or place in either our biological families or in the family of God. Like David, we will be most effective
in our attempts to serve God if we understand and accept who we are and whose we are. Knowing who we are gives us an
honest understanding of where we are starting from and what our advantages or handicaps may be, and knowing whose we are
reminds us that there are unlimited possibilities for where we can go.
The second "stone" is to identify the skills that are needed in our particular circumstances and start practicing them right
where we are. We certainly cannot practice them where we are not! We may daydream about what we might do "if only" we
were somewhere else: in the right family, the right neighborhood, the right job, or the right church. But it is pretty hard to
become really accomplished at any skill just by dreaming about it or by thinking we can only develop it somewhere else. David
may have longed to be doing something other than shepherding. Perhaps shepherding was a fairly routine job, even boring,
much of the time. Nevertheless, David identified the skills that shepherding required, which included mastering the sling. That
may not have been the most exciting skill to practice, but David knew that it could mean the difference between life and death—
not only for his sheep, but also for him when he had to fight off predatory animals. Boring or not, he must have practiced often
with the sling, so that when the need arose, he would be ready to use it.
In the same way, to be effective disciples and witnesses for the Lord, we must approach our ministries the way David
did. Even though we are faced with some tasks at home, at work, at seminary or even at church that may seem useless,
boring, or of little consequence, it is amazing how God often uses them for his purposes. If we are willing to identify the skills
needed for our particular circumstances, and then work to practice and perfect them as David did, we might be surprised at the
ways God can use us to work miracles that may slay the giants of our own time and bring glory to God.
The third "stone" for our bags is to remain obedient to God's calling and his guiding hand in our lives even in the face of
criticism and ridicule—which may sometimes come from those closest to us. David's own brother, Eliab, was jealous of this
pipsqueak brother of his, and he felt that David's motivations were presumptuous and that his heart was evil. Eliab couldn't
believe that David was either capable or worthy of doing anything more than keeping sheep.
We will sometimes find that same attitude as we attempt to be obedient to God, to reflect his nature and his ways in every
area of our lives. Whenever we put ourselves on the front lines by living out our faith, we open ourselves to criticism from
some who question our motivations or from others who, because of their own insecurity or jealousy, find us threatening.
There will always be those who believe we are not capable of what we attempt, or worthy to try it in the first place. Those
folks can become a very discouraging reality in our efforts to be faithful to God. So when these naysayers come along, like
David we need to turn away from any negative voices that prevent us from following God's voice and direction. We need to
remember that the encouragement of God is greater than the discouragement of our critics, and the Holy Spirit will lead us and
keep us as we attempt to follow Jesus in every area of our lives.
The fourth "stone" is to remember that we cannot meet the enemy wearing someone else's armor or equipped with
someone else's ammunition. David quickly realized that Saul's armor and sword would never fit him, but would only be a
liability in carrying out the mission against Goliath. David had no prior experience in wearing armor, and Saul's armor wasn't
tailored to fit David's frame. Apparently at that point in his life, David was not proficient with the sword, or at least he was not
used to Saul's sword, and he quickly realized that armor and sword would be of no use to him in that particular situation. They
would only get in the way of what David's gifts and experience had trained him to do. So he took them off and turned to the
one skill he had practiced and used many times before while he was tending the sheep. He loaded up his shepherd's bag with
five smooth stones and took off with his sling to face the giant. Such a simple, unexciting tool compared to the fancy battle
equipment of those around him! But even so, no other ammunition was required, nor would it have been useful. The simple
weapon that David had mastered for his work as a shepherd was exactly what was needed to overcome the enemy.
The same principle holds true for us. Someone else's armor or tools or way of doing things will be of little use to us if
they were not made for our frame or personality or if we have not had the opportunity to work with them and practice with
them before a crisis arises. But if we will rely on God and the tools we already use in the everyday situations where He has
placed us, we will be ready to fight the battles that come our way. This doesn't mean that we should never learn new skills or
try new tools or new ways of using them, but we should develop the resources which God has already given us and never
assume that someone else's fancy equipment is more effective than ours. Many times, our faith is lived out most powerfully
when we use the simple and familiar tools that are right at our fingertips, like a kind word, a helping hand, or a shoulder to cry
on. If we're going to be authentic in the way we live out our faith, using someone else's fancy equipment will only get in the
way of our service for Christ.
The fifth smooth "stone" is the awareness that all of the circumstances of life contain opportunities to serve and glorify
God, if we will only learn to recognize them. When David left his sheep to deliver provisions to his brothers in the army, he had
no idea that this routine assignment would turn into anything more than that. Oh, perhaps he hoped to see some of the
excitement of battle. But I doubt if he was seeking or expecting a special assignment from God. Still, he kept his ears and eyes
open to what was going on all around him, to see if God could make use of him in that particular circumstance. David quickly
discerned that his skills and the saving power of God—together—were exactly what were needed for the situation at hand.
In only a moment, David's common and ordinary profession and all those days or perhaps months and years of repetitive
practice with his sling were transformed into God's miraculous provision for the deliverance of God’s people. What began as a
menial and limited (and SMELLY!) job as a shepherd became the means by which David was able to glorify God in a unique
and powerful way. In a similar way, if we desire to serve and glorify God, we will find that there are opportunities for service
all around us. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can discern how God is working in our midst and determine the skills needed
to help accomplish God's mission. Most of the time, we don't have to go looking for special assignments or foreign mission
fields. There are battlefields of mission and service all around us. They arise right in the midst of our daily round, while we are
carrying provisions to those troops at our dinner tables, in our offices, in our schools and hospitals and churches. And if we
have been practicing with our slings, with God's help we can slay the giants just as David did. We just never know when the
things we do as part of our everyday existence will suddenly determine the difference between life and death for ourselves or
someone else.
Perhaps you remember the movie, Schindler's List, about a man with very questionable morals who, nonetheless, managed
to save 1,200 Jews from extermination in Nazi death camps. He certainly wasn't seeking to be a hero or the savior of European
Jews, and maybe the only motivation to keep his business going was greed. It seems doubtful that he had a heart for God.
Yet he used his particular gift of shrewd business skills in the circumstances in which he found himself in Nazi Europe, and the
result was that God used him to save a remnant of the Jewish community. Only God knows whether he was merely a greedy
businessman or a humanitarian, but either way, he made a difference in the lives of generations of people. If God could use a
Schindler to battle a Goliath, what might God accomplish through people who do have a heart for God and eyes open to the
opportunities to glorify Him in every circumstance of life?
The answer, of course, is that with God and five smooth stones, there is no limit to the Goliaths that God can conquer
through people who have a heart for their Lord. Of course the giants don't always take the shape of a Goliath or a Hitler.
There are numerous other ways that the enemy seeks to destroy God's people or at least prevent them from being all that God
intends. But in Christ, we are promised that we are already more than conquerors through Him who loves us and gave Himself
for us. We know that the final victory is already won. It is only for us to be faithful and gather our smooth stones into our
shepherd bags, to use during the battles that will inevitably rage until Jesus comes again. But like David, we need not be afraid
or discouraged, even when it appears that the enemy has all the advantages.
That's when we need to remember David's faith and his belief that the battle belongs to the Lord. It is God's might that
overcomes remarkable giants to win the victory. Long ago, British author Rudyard Kipling witnessed to David's quality of faith
in his own time when he said,
"the only thing more terrible in battle than a regiment of desperados officered by a half dozen young daredevils is a
company of "Scotch" Presbyterians who rise from their knees and go into action convinced they are about to do the will of
God!" 1
People like David and our Scottish forbears and so many others who have served God down through the centuries have learned
that it is God's power, not ours, which can overcome the enemy and win the day.
With God and five smooth stones, people with a heart for God can face the worst of giants. Like David, we can be
faithful and obedient servants of the Living Lord, the Lord we have come to know in the person of Jesus Christ. Even if we
find ourselves up against Goliath, Jesus' resurrection victory over death reminds us that God is greater than any Goliath who
comes our way. And Christ has promised that through the power and presence of his own Spirit, we will do even greater
things than He did. But like David, we must have the courage to live out this life of faith wherever we are, believing that God
has supplied us with all the smooth stones we need to fight the giants that challenge us along the way. Like David, it is up to us
to have our smooth stones ready, so that we will be prepared when God calls on us to use them. And God willing, just like
David, we will discover that just one plus God is always a majority, and even the greatest giants can be conquered with God
and five smooth stones.
Let us pray.
1. Sperry, Willard Learoyd. The Disciplines of Liberty: the Faith and Conduct of the Christian Freeman. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. 1921, 21.
