Faith, Courage, and Discernment by Brother Curtis Hansen

         This morning's scripture reading will be from the book of 1 Samuel. It is going to be very familiar to almost all christians, as it is the story of David and Goliath. We will be reading from chapter 17 of 1 Samuel, starting at verse 48. The scripture is going to be the tail end of the confrontation between David and Goliath. It also addresses what happens afterward.

        48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

        49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

        50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

        51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

        52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou came to the valley, and to the gates of Ek'-ron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Sha-a-ra'-im, even unto Gath, and unto Ek'-ron.

        53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.

        54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

        In the old testament, there were giants in the land that was promised to the Israelites back in Genesis. Giants were a huge, no pun intended, problem for Israel. If you go back to when 12 spies were sent into the promised land, 10 of them came back intimidated and scared because of those giants. In conflict, the Philistines would present a giant to Israel, and it would fill the Israelites with intimidation and fear.

        In chapter 16, David had been anointed by the prophet Samuel, yet he returned to the sheep fields. In popular literature, David would had been swept away by the palace guard, to be schooled and trained in the King's court. In scripture, David returned back to the fields to watch his sheep. God still works with what you have in order to deliver you a promise. God gave David a promise through Samuel but there was no big plan immediately laid out to fulfill it. 

        There are ways to see patterns in this scripture. David came as a servant to the kind and the front line into this confrontation. You have tools and operations for your walk. Often we don't need more faith but courage.

        As I said earlier, 10 of the 12 spies sent out were intimidated by the giants in the promised land. You can read that in Numbers 13. The Philistines used giants as a tool of intimidation until David showed up. After the anointing was the promise for David, yet he also retained favor from God. That favor translated in the sheep field.

        You have your promise working on your relationship with God and talents will pop up. You may be puzzled on how to use those talents where when a personal trial occurs, you can find a way to endure or flee from a trial. God wants you to build your character in the spirit to stand your ground and fight back the devil on his own turf.

        Giants were no longer used to intimidate after David. Faith is evidence of something to happen you are unsure of the initial outcome. It will take your faith to try something different. It takes courage to stand up and say you do not have authority over me. Use that for Jesus in the world.

        It wasn't why David faced Goliath but the way he went about it. You need enough faith to see God move once and it will activate courage.

        Discernment in church is a topic of discussion I am touching on to conclude this message. Everyone has even a small measure of discernment. There are 4 types of discernment for you which is detailed in the New Testament.

        Hebrews 5:14 It is a judgement between 2 things. You determine what spirit is behind it. That's discernment.

        1 John 1: 5-6 Fellowship with God yet walk in darkness is not the truth. Examining, probing, and scrutinize is the discernment.

        Philippians 1: 9-10 Application of experience and insight as a move of discernment. This discernment is used in the world.

        Acts 17:11 Discernment inquires and investigates. You look into something below a surface level. As a christian, it's good to ask questions to increase or deepen your knowledge. Using any of these types is touching into discernment, something spiritual.