GOD USES LITTLE THINGS!: Five Small Stones 9-22-24

GOD USES LITTLE THINGS!: Five Small Stones 9-22-24

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Dust

A staff

A jawbone

 

“Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. 

 

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. 

 

Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.” Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.” 

 

David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.” When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. 

 

David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” 

 

Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 

 

Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” 

 

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 

 

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 

 

Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent. As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.” The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.” As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head. “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him. David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.””

           1 Samuel 17:1-58 NIV

 

I.  PROBLEM - WE ARE CHALLENGED BY GIANTS

 

“7 health problems for the modern age” from Benenden Health.co.uk

 

We're living longer than ever before but 21st-century lifestyles bring their own perils. Here are 7 common problems you may face in modern life.

 

1.      Cyclist’s bum

 

Bikes are the way forward, but watch out behind

 

Cycling is on the rise, with more than two million Britons saddling up at least once a week, an all-time high according to British Cycling, the sport’s governing body in the UK.

 

But while being a good way to get fit, it can also have potential health issues. One such condition is ‘numb bum’ – or peroneal nerve compression –syndrome. Excess pressure from the saddle on the nerves near the buttocks can result in numbness, pain and tingling in the groin or legs.

If symptoms are left untreated, nerves can become thickened and damaged, potentially leading to lasting problems down below.

 

Research shows 61% of male and 34% of female cyclists are affected. Adjusting saddle angle, height and handlebar position can help shift weight away from the vital nerves. 

 

Daniel Lloyd, a former Tour de France cyclist, says: “Taking a few seconds pedalling out of the saddle every few minutes can allow the blood to flow and alleviate pain.

 

2.      Text claw

 

Maybe it’s time to get a grip on your mobile use

 

Stepping onto busy roads while texting isn’t the only hazard for mobile phone addicts.

 

Text claw can affect frequent mobile users, resulting in wrist pain, thumb tenderness, hand spasms and difficulty with gripping.

 

Better known among doctors as De Quervain syndrome, text claw is a type of repetitive strain injury (RSI). The thumb is painful to straighten due to inflamed tendons. This stubby digit has evolved to grip and squeeze, not for the delicate, fast movements of text typing. Overusing the thumb in this manner can eventually cause tendons to become thickened and irritated.

 

The condition can usually be remedied by taking time out from thumb-intensive activities, applying ice to the area and taking pain relief if required.

 

3.     Headphone-induced hearing loss

 

Why only Spinal Tap should be turning the volume up to 11.

 

More than one billion young people worldwide risk losing their hearing through unsafe listening practices, according to the World Health Organization.

 

Half of all people aged 12–35 regularly listen to music through headphones at levels above 85 decibels – the equivalent of a microwave beep – for prolonged periods.

 

Exposure to sound at this level for more than a few minutes damages the delicate sound-sensing hair cells deep within the ear.

 

These cells detect everything we hear but cannot be repaired once destroyed, and hearing loss is permanent.

 

Experts recommend volume should be turned up to no higher than 60% of a personal audio device’s maximum loudness.

 

And listening to music through headphones should be limited to one-hour stints, even when out and about.

 

4.     Information fatigue syndrome

 

Learn to make more of less...

 

Life in the ‘information age’ can feel like weathering a never-ending storm of digital distractions, from 24-hour television to mobile phone messages and bulging email inboxes.

 

Dr Sandra Chapman, chief director of the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas, says: “Our brain is exposed to an unrelenting stream of information via various sources of technology and media, as well as an overabundance of input from family and social responsibilities. The sheer volume of information we are exposed to every day is nearly 200 times more than we were exposed to 20 years ago.”

 

This information deluge is equivalent to trying to read 174 newspapers every day, research suggests.

 

Trying to process the incessant electronic jibber-jabber can cause information fatigue syndrome (IFS) – also known as information overload. This can lead to anxiety, poor concentration, indecision, and a compulsion to check email, voicemail and social media.

 

Dr Chapman says: “Information overload degrades the brain’s ability to block out irrelevant information, decreasing efficiency and learning capacity. Those who experience information overload become paralysed by indecision.”

 

Take control of technological devices, rather than letting them control you, she advises. “Practise vetting and reading a single source of information to learn about a topic or inform a decision, instead of believing the more you read the smarter you will become.”

 

5.     3D viewing sickness

 

Specs appeal loses some of its allure?

 

There is a good reason 3D TV has proved a turn-off – it can make audiences feel ill, with some issues ranging from eyestrain or headaches to nausea.

 

Makers of 3D TV and cinema content have worked to avoid such side effects, but it was never going to work well for the three million Britons with strabismus – a squint – and other conditions that impair depth perception.

 

Normally when we see an object getting closer to us, our eyes rotate inwards to focus on it in a process called accommodation.

 

When watching a 3D film, our eyes focus
on an area in front of the screen, making everything momentarily blurry, which for anyone with less than perfectly aligned eyes or not sitting directly in front of the screen can lead to queasy, headache-inducing optical effects.

 

Most of us will enjoy the odd bit of 3D exposure, but its use as a more sustained format will take quite a bit of fine-tuning yet.

 

6.     Blue light insomnia

 

Step. Away. From. The. Screen … and ZZZZ.

 

You may not realise it but your body knows what time it is. A tiny biological clock, no bigger than a grain of rice, ticks continuously in a brain region called the suprachiasmatic nucleus just behind the eyes. It tells your body when it is time to wake, time to eat, time to work and time to sleep. Our microscopic timepieces have served us unfailingly since the dawn of humankind. Until the advent of the digital screen, that is.

 

Without Greenwich Mean Time to tell it the hour, our biological clock relies upon daylight to keep it in sync. It interprets yellow frequencies of light as dawn and dusk and translates blue light to mean daytime. By unfortunate coincidence, modern LED screens and smartphone displays emit light containing blue light of the same hue as normal daylight.

 

Peering at a smartphone or tablet before bed, therefore, tricks your brain into thinking it is day – 78% of adults admit to using a digital device before bed. A few glances can be enough to cause levels of the powerful sleep hormone melatonin to plummet and stress hormones to surge. Dropping off then becomes much harder, and the next day’s rhythm is knocked off-kilter, resulting in morning sleepiness.

 

The easiest and most effective answer to a good night’s sleep is to leave the phone in the sitting room after dark.

 

7.     Phantom phone vibration

 

Here’s one alert we should all be paying attention to...

 

Being disturbed by a mobile phone seems to be an inescapable part of modern life. Smartphone users typically receive about 50 alerts per day for incoming calls, messages, social media updates and calendar notifications.

 

Sometimes, though, prising an apparently vibrating phone from a pocket reveals a blank screen, with some 90% of mobile owners saying they’ve experienced this ‘phantom phone vibration’ (PPV).

 

According to Dr. Robert Rosenberger, of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta: “Mobiles are somehow changing our brains, making us feel inclined to feel these vibrations.”

 

Worrisome but not harmful, PPVs can be a symptom of overwork, anxiety or sleep deprivation – just ask any bleary-eyed parent how jumpy they become when deprived of shut-eye. Thankfully, our electronic babies are far easier to get into sleep mode.

 

           A.  40 days of taunting

                  1.   Giants stand before us.

                   2.  Giants don't give up because we are God's people.

                   3.  Giants are intimidating.

           B.  No one took the challenge

                     1.  Their eyes overcame their hearts.

                      2.  Fear overcame their faith.

               3.  Waiting, hoping someone would do something.

 

“One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the average man’s familiarity with the word impossible.”

       Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich.

 

II.  SOLUTION - CHILDREN CAN OVERCOME GIANTS

 

           A.  God uses little children to slay giants.

 

“David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.””

           1 Samuel 17:32 NIV

 

           B.  The faith of a child

 

“The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.””

           1 Samuel 17:37 NIV

 

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

          Romans 8:31 NIV

 

           C.  The possibility of God

 

Madeline L’Engle writes, "If Mary had the courage to take the impossible into her body, can we not have the courage to take it into our hearts?"

 

“David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.””

           1 Samuel 17:45-47 NIV

 

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””

        Matthew 19:26 NIV

 

Alice laughed. "There’s no use trying," she said: "one can’t believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven’t had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.

           Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

 

           D.  God does things His way

 

“So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”

           1 Samuel 17:50 NIV

 

           E.  God uses small things.

 

The story’s told in the Bible about a mighty king. And how when he was just a little boy he played around with a sling. Well he got up early one morning and before the sun had set that day, a nasty ol’ giant had lost his head and his body lay cold on the clay.

 

When David went out to the battlefield his big brother said, “Stay away! You’ve got no business out here, David, so go back home and play!” David said, “Step aside, boys. I’m gonna take that giant on!” His brother said, “Obey your elders David; get back home where you belong!”

 

David said, “That giant ain’t gonna make fun of MY God and King! I’m gonna find me five smooth stones and play awhile with my sling! I’m gonna challenge that devil in the Name of the Lord; and when he’s dead I’m gonna take my sword, chop of his head and let the world know that Jehovah is the Lord!”

 

His brother said, “Listen little David, you ain’t thinkin’ straight. That giant up there’s too big to hit, and your body he will mutilate!” David said, “Listen big brother; I’ve seen worse than this. That giant up there ain’t too big to hit, that giant’s too big to miss!”

 

Well the rest of the story you all know, I guess it’s history. David took one smooth stone and that giant fell like a tree. So when a giant of trouble gets in your way, you remember what “little David” had to say: “I’ve seen worse than this! That giant up there ain’t too big to hit, that giant’s too big to miss!

          

That giant up there ain’t too big to hit that giant’s too big to miss.  So whenever a giant gets in your way, you just remember this.  That the God who invented giants is big enough to whip them all and a stone hurled from the hand of the Lord will make any giant fall!  Any giant fall!

           Mark Lowry, Mark Lowry Goes to Hollywood, “Too Big to Miss”

 

III.  SYNOPSIS

 

           A.  We are challenged by giants.  

    B.  Children can overcome giants with God on their side.

         C.  God's children can do impossible things.

 

David and his Men - Once you slay a giant you lift up a standard for people to do the same e.g.

5 stones = 5 giants: David slew 1 giant (Goliath)

David’s men slew the remaining 4 giants.

 

“Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.” In the course of time, there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gob. At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha. In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod. In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David’s brother, killed him. These four were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men.”

           2 Samuel 21:15-22 NIV

 

CONCLUSION

 

We are challenged by giants.  Even children can overcome giants.  God can use you to do impossible things.

 

The Navy branch of the service called the Seabees had a unique slogan during World War II,

If its difficult, it will take a day or two.

If it’s impossible, it will take a little longer.

           J. Jeffrey Smead, Sermon Central, August 7, 2023.

 

"We have a God who delights in impossibilities."

           Billy Sunday

 

With God all things are possible.  Right now!  Go out and do your impossible for this week.

 

INVITATION

 

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins     and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.