Real People, Real Faith Series
David -No Fear
Ron Fast
[email protected] Copyright 2007 by Ron Fast
Intro
We live in a world that seems to be crumbling at the seams. We live in a world that is full of fear. People are in fear of the future. People live in fear of their lives. Your generation is growing up in a world of guns, terrorist attacks, and lots-o drugs. It seems that our country has taken all their morals and tossed them out the window. How can a person growing up in this world be assured of anything? Can a person really live at peace? Can a person live in this country, in this world, and not worry?
When your world is crumbling apart all around you, how can you live in peace? Even Christians worry and fear. We are not immune to fear and worry. Phil 4:6-7 tells us not to be anxious about anything. sure . . . uh huh. . . Right. How do we do that when there is death and destruction around? When families are falling apart.
We are going to take a look at the life of David. David was a regular person. For the first couple of decades of his life, he spent most of his time with sheep. How much social interaction can you have with a sheep? (It's weird to call a single sheep a sheep. It seems like it should be a shep or ship or something. Like ear wax. If you have one ear wax, shouldn't you call it an ear wac? Anyway. . . see how my mind wanders.)
David was the least of all of his brothers. All of his bros were great warriors, but David tended sheeps (that's what I call more than one sheep). His bros had all the armor and stuff needed to fight wars. David had a staff and a sling. His bros had been trained as soldiers, David had been trained to protect his family's sheeps.
When Dave was out watching the sheeps, he was pretty much all alone. He had no one to talk to. His dad couldn't afford a cell phone or a Walkman for him so he had to entertain himself. I wonder what he did to pass the time away. Maybe he was into sheep tossing - probably a big sport back then. That would be a great way of building up his pecs. Maybe he played sheep football. He probably had enough to make several teams. Maybe he played "Where's Waldo" with all of the flocks. See, he probably had a name for every sheep and one was named Waldo. Waldo looked like all the rest, except for maybe a red stripe someplace on him. He would tell Waldo to go and hide in the flock someplace. Then Dave would spend the rest of the day looking for Waldo.
Anyway, Dave had a lot of spare time alone with God. I imagine that he and God were pretty good buds. God used David in a great way. Because Dave was entrusted with the family fortune, the sheeps, he had to be able to defend them from the animals that thought sheeps were a tasty treat. So he became awfully good at embedding little smooth stones in their foheads.
All the time that he was out tending the flocks, God was shaping him into the man that God could use.
Monday
When you see the words "NO FEAR" pasted on t-shirts and banners and car windows, what do you think it means? When people say "No Fear", what are they talking about?
List some of the things that you fear or worry about.
Can a follower of Christ really, truly live a life without fear? Why or why not?
"No Fear" not only means living a life without fear but also taking radical risks for something you believe in. Do you think that the "No Fear" attitude can be applied to the Christian life?
Imagine if each person in your youth group would not only not live in fear but that each one would risk each day to live a totally radical Christian life. What do you think your youth group could accomplish?
Tuesday
Dave was an ordinary boy growing up in a violent and harsh world. He daily faced things that could easily have destroyed him. There were always wild animals around that wanted to take a bite out of his family's wooly possessions. But he was ordinary, just like you and me. Let's take a look at how the Bible describes him. We're going to do a fast forward in the life of Dave to a time when he was anointed King of Israel because the story of his anointing has a great description of Dave compared to his bros. Read 1 Sam. 16:1-13.
How many bros did Dave have?
What was Dave's father's name?
God didn't tell Sam, the priest, the name of the dude he was supposed to anoint as king. So he didn't know which of Jesse's sons he was supposed to pick. Sam saw Dave's brother, Eliab. What was Sam's reaction to this brother?
Why did Sam assume that he was supposed to be the one he was to anoint as king?
What was God's response to Sam?
God didn't want Sam to pick Eliab. So Sam went on to the next bro. What was God's answer for this brother?
One by one, all of Dave's bros passed before Sam so that he could pick the right person. Were any of them the one that God wanted as king?
This story is sort of like Cinderella. Dave is Cinderella and his bros are the ugly stepsisters except his bros weren't ugly. They were big, strong warrior types and Sam assumed that God would pick one of them because they each looked like they could be a king. But obviously, looks aren't everything, especially to God. I think Jesse and Sam were thinking that God wasn't really paying attention when Sam was trying to pick one. But God knew that the one who was supposed to be king wasn't in the house. Where was Dave?
When Dave came in God said, "That's him". "He's the one". "Sam, I want you to anoint David". Sam was probably thinking, "Uh. . . Hello. . . God, have you taken a look at this kid? He’s skinny and he's having a bad hair day. He's not a warrior and he doesn't have a six-pack. And . . . God. . . uh. . . he. . . (Sam sniffs Dave) he smells like. . like. . . sheep. We don't want a king that stinks, do we? He would probably have to be soaked for a week in some good smelly stuff". God said, "Trust me, He'll clean up really good. I have seen his heart and he has a heart for Me. He's the one to be king."
So Sam anointed Dave as the next king of Israel. Pretty cool, huh!!!
The thing that we need to remember from this is that God always looks on the inside. He looks at your heart.
Wednesday
Yesterday we saw that God has a different way of looking at people than we do. Now let's go back in time and see what can happen when you and I are in the center of God's will and have a clear line of communication with God.
Read 1 Sam 17 - We all know this story by heart. So, Jesse told Dave to go and take some burgers and fries (there happened to be a Wendy's just around the corner from their house) to his bros who were out on the frontlines doing battle. Who were they fighting?
As David was in the Israelite camp, he heard Goliath dissing God and His chosen people. What did Goliath call the army of Israel?
What was Dave's reaction to what he heard?
Goliath was no small boy, He was a cool 9 foot, 9 inches tall. If my daughter would stand next to him, she probably would come all the way up to his knee caps (Why does "knee" have a "k" in it. It should be "nee", oh well). He was a big boy. Anyway, we all know the rest of the story.
Thursday
Think about Dave for a minute. . . Okay. . . Time’s up. What kind of courage would it take for you to walk up to a 9 foot 9 inch giant, covered with armor, coolly find three smooth stones, put one of them in a sling, and then nail mister "Hugeness" in the fohead? What are some of the things in David's life that prepared him to take on "his largeness" (Goliath) with a sling and a stone? (and the answer goes deeper than "because he killed wild animals")
The story of Dave's walk to fame is something that we all can learn from. There are many voices that we can listen to. Some voices try to hold us back from getting to the place where we can live the "No Fear" Christian life the way God wants us to live. Let's look at some of the voices that Dave heard th
at could have kept him from being the "No Fear" stud Christian.
Voice #1:
Read 1 Sam 17:33
Who was talking to Dave?
What was this voice telling Dave?
Voice #2:
Read 1 Sam 17:28
Who was talking to Dave?
What was this voice telling Dave?
Why do you suppose they treated Dave like this?
Have you ever felt that people don't take you serious?
There was a young man in the New Testament who was having the same problem. Read 1 Tim 4:12 - The young man was Timothy. What was Paul the apostle trying to encourage him to do?
Let's get back to Dave for a moment. Dave wasn't listening to those other voices. Whose voice mattered in Dave's life? Read 1 Sam 17:34-47.
I guess in those long, lonely days taking care of his Dad's sheeps, he spent a lot of time with God. So when God spoke to him, he knew what it sounded like. How much time do you spend with God? Now God doesn't talk out loud to you and me, but He does talk to us.
What are some of the ways that God talks to us?
Friday
Trust God??? Who Me????
Our Christian walk is based on faith or trust in God. Because we can’t physically see God, it’s sometimes hard to know God is near. Doubts sometimes creep in because we don’t remember what God has done in our lives. To truly live a Radical, No Fear, “On The Edge” with our hair on fire going Mach 12 Christian life, we need to go back and remember what God has done for us. I would like you to think about times in your life where you have asked God for something or trusted God in a scary situation.
Spend some time thinking about your life and then tomorrow I want you to fill out the table on the last page of this study. I call these things Rock Piles because they are a reminder of what God has done for us. The concept of “Rock Piles” comes from the Old Testament. The Children of Israel built “Rock Piles” when they wanted to remember something for a long time. The “Rock Piles” served as reminders of what God has done for them. Read Joshua 4:1-9. What just happened to the Israelites that made them want to make this “Rock Pile”?
Why did Joshua command them to make this “Rock Pile”?
Saturday
Now it's your turn
I'd like for you to start building your own "Rock Piles" by thinking back and trying to remember some prayers that you prayed and how God has answered them. Then answer the following questions. If you can't remember any then you can start now by writing down things (or people) you need to pray for.
Remember that God answers prayers in his own way and in his own time. Sometimes the answer to a prayer may be "Yes" or "No" or "Wait".
What did you pray for?
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How did you trust God in this situation?
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How did God answer your prayer?
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Are you still waiting for an answer?
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Ron Fast is the author of G-TRAX Devos, Biblical devotionals for youth. G-TRAX Devo’s are now available online at www.youthministrydevotionals.com in an interactive form. He has over 9 years of experience working with Junior High and Middle School students. His personal mission is “to make the Bible relevant to today’s youth”.