THE PROBLEM OF EMOTIONALLY UNHEALTHY … · a blessing in your life to spend some time with God each ... being in introvert because of the messages you have gotten from ... Am I the

Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – February 28-March 1, 2015 Page 1

BEGIN THE JOURNEY INTO EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY SPIRITUALITY

Part 2: Know Yourself that You May Know God

1 Samuel 17

THE PROBLEM OF EMOTIONALLY UNHEALTHY SPIRITUALITY

7 Pathways

1. Know Yourself that You May Know God 2. Going Back in Order to Go Forward 3. Journey Through the Wall 4. Enlarge Your Soul Through Grief and Loss 5. Discover the Rhythms of the Daily Office and Sabbath 6. Grow into an Emotionally Mature Adult 7. Go the Next Step to Develop a “Rule of Life”

FALSE SELF-SYMPTOMS 1. I say “yes” when I really mean “no.” 2. I get depressed when people are upset with me. 3. I have a need to be approved by others to feel good about myself. 4. I act nice on the outside, but inside “I can’t stand you!” 5. I often remain silent in order to “keep the peace.” 6. I believe that if I make mistakes, I myself am a failure. 7. I avoid looking weak or foolish for not having the answer. 8. I criticize others in order to feel better about myself. 9. I have to be doing something exceptional to feel alive.

10. I have to be needed to feel alive. 11. I am fearful and can’t take risks. 12. I do what others want so they don’t get mad at me. 13. I use knowledge and competence to cover my feelings of inadequacy. 14. I want my children to behave well so others will think I am a good parent. 15. I compare myself a lot to other people.

THREE OBSTACLES THROUGH WHICH DAVID CUTS 1. His Family (vv.28-31) 2. Significant Others With Authority and Experience (vv. 32-33)

3. Goliath (vv.41-44)


FOUR PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES TO BEGIN MAKING THE RADICAL TRANSITION TO LIVING FAITHFUL TO OUR TRUE SELF IN CHRIST

1. Pay Attention to Your Interior in Silence and Solitude 2. Find Trusted Companions 3. Move Out of Your Comfort Zone 4. Pray for Courage

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:3


Theme: Begin the Journey to Emotionally Healthy Spirituality “Know Yourself that You May Know God”

Sermon preached by Jeff Huber

February 28-March 1, 2015 at First United Methodist Church, Durango

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17: 28-33

28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”

29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” 30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.

32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

VIDEO EHS Intro Week 2

SLIDE Know Yourself that You May Know God

I want to invite you to take out of your bulletin your Message Notes, this sheet of paper folded in half. You find the title of the sermon on top and then a number of highlights from the sermon today that you may want to refer to. I believe the Holy Spirit has something it longs to speak to each of us so if you hear something today I hope you will write it down and take it with you throughout the week. We also have books that go along with this sermon series, and while we ran out of them last week, we got some more in this week if you would like one.

You will notice there are no Meditation Moments in the bulletin and that is because we want each of you to have this Day by Day devotional for this series and the season of Lent. We have plenty as you leave today so if you did not get one last week I hope you’ll take it one with you today. I think you will find it to be a blessing in your life to spend some time with God each day, cultivating a relationship that can be sustaining.

We began a new sermon series last week by talking about the problem of emotional UNhealthy spirituality. We looked at King Saul and his tendency to do


things for God without having a relationship WITH God. Today we’re going to talk about how we can know ourselves so that we can know God, by looking at King David, the King of Israel who followed Saul. Knowing yourself so you may know God is the first of the seven pathways to emotionally healthy spirituality because an awareness of yourself and your relationship with God are closely related.

Let me give you a practical example of this. Let’s say you are an introvert, someone who needs alone time to recharge their batteries and who needs some quiet time every day just to be healthy. We live in a pretty extroverted world and let’s say you decide to try and live as an extrovert. Maybe you feel ashamed of being in introvert because of the messages you have gotten from others and so you decide to deny that part of yourself. If you live a life like you’re an extrovert when you’re with a friend then you’re acting like you’re somebody you’re not. They’re not getting the real you but instead are getting a false you. Maybe you’re asked to go somewhere or to do something with lots of other people and you would rather have a night alone, doing something quiet. But you do it anyway because you feel like you are supposed to or you feel guilty. You don’t want to do it and you’re there in body, but you’re not there mentally.

Let’s say you do that over and over again. You’re not even sure why you do it, but whoever you are saying “yes” to is really not getting who you really are inside. They’re getting an imposter you. It consumes a great amount of energy to try and fake it and you will get worn out.

Let’s say you have anger and disappointment, but you feel guilty about being angry and disappointed. When you’re with your friends you’re nice and you’re soupy and syrupy, but inside you’re miserable. They’re getting a false you and they’re not getting the real you. Your anger is not the bad thing in that situation. The bad thing is that you’re being somebody that you’re really not and you’re holding all this stuff inside and it’s causing more pain and discomfort.

I want to suggest that the same thing is true with your relationship with God. Jesus gave us two great commandments, to love God and love others. If I don’t know myself, how can I give myself to God? How can I be in a healthy relationship with you, loving you as I love myself, if I don’t even know myself? I’m not really sure who I am in the first place. Our relationship with God is closely linked to how we feel about ourselves, which in turns affect our ability to love others. In a very real sense, when I have a limited awareness of myself my relationship with God is limited.


If I’m not really sure who I am and I’m in a marriage with my wife Tami, I really can’t give to her myself because I don’t know who I am or what I’m giving! If I don’t know who I am then how can I give myself to God or anyone else? When we don’t know ourselves it limits our intimacy, our ability to be close, and our love relationships.

When Adam and Eve were together in the Garden in the very beginning they were totally the same on the outside and the inside. They were unified within themselves and with God. Nothing was separating them. They were the same persons inside and out and they were able to give themselves fully to each and to God in a perfect way. It was seamless.

But when they made the decision to rebel against God, sin came into the equation. Remember that sin is separation between us and God or between us and each other. This story of Adam and Eve describes our human condition of being separated from God, from each other and from ourselves. Our inside and our outside become disconnected and are no longer integrated. We become compartmentalized in our lives and there is division. Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God also resulted in a cutoff. They were cutoff inside from themselves, from each other and from God. When we decide we want to be like God and have everything, like Adam and Even wanting that fruit from the tree that would give them all knowledge, we become cut off from the very source of that fruit. We pluck the fruit and it is only a matter of time before the fruit is rotten and no good for us and doesn’t look near as good as when it was on the tree!

Then we see Adam and Eve putting on masks and covering up, literally and figuratively, and blaming each other and even God. Their true authentic self in God is now shattered and they begin to construct a false self. They’re not living God’s original intention for their lives. If you read Genesis 3 and 4 you will find their lives become a big mess and their family has all sorts of problems. As we reflect on our first parents we can begin to see why we’re divided within ourselves and why we’re unsure of who we are and whose we are. We wrestle with our identity and we end up covering the authentic true self of who we are in God. We cover it with fig leaves much like they did and that is separation from God, what we call sin.

How do we know this is true of ourselves? How do we know we struggle with some of these same issues as Adam and Eve? Let’s look at some of these “false-self symptoms.” You will find these listed in your Message Notes. You might ask yourself is any of these apply to you.


SLIDE I say “yes” when I really mean “no”

We’re getting personal now aren’t we? Am I the kind of person that says “yes” when I really mean “no?”

SLIDE I get depressed when people are upset with me

SLIDE I have a need to be approved by others to feel good about myself

I really struggle with this in my own life and I know when I am answering “yes” to any of these questions it’s a symptom of something larger and deeper going on inside of me.

SLIDE I act nice on the outside, but inside I can’t stand you

SLIDE I often remain silent in order to keep the peace

SLIDE I believe that if I make myself mistakes, I myself am a failure

SLIDE I criticize others in order to feel better about myself

SLIDE I avoid looking weak or foolish for not having the answer

SLIDE I have to be doing something exceptional to feel alive

SLIDE I have to be needed to feel alive

SLIDE I am fearful and I can’t take risks

SLIIDE I do what others want so they don’t get mad at me

SLIDE I use knowledge and confidence to cover my feelings of inadequacy

SLIDE I want my children to behave well so others will think I’m a good parent

We can all say yes to that. Amen to that parents, right?

SLIDE I compare myself a lot to other people

These are simply some of the symptoms that indicate I’m probably living a lot more out of a false self than out of my authentic self in God. Knowing yourself that you may know God really is the first step towards emotionally healthy spirituality because we can’t give what we don’t have. If we don’t let our true selves be loved by God we can never fully be who God longs for us to be. It is out of this truth that everything else is going to flow.

Today we’re going to look at King David because David is a tremendous example of someone who knows himself. He’s true to himself and he also knows


God, and he brings them together beautifully, even though David himself is very human and very flawed. If we look at 1 Samuel 17 you will find one of the most famous stories of David that most people know even if they are not people of faith. It’s the story of David and Goliath.

The story begins with two great armies facing each other on opposite hills with a valley in between them. We’re talking about armies with tens of thousands of soldiers. On one side we have the Israelites led by King Saul while on the other side we have the Philistine army with a champion named…Goliath. Goliath publicly challenges any Israelite soldier to fight with him. He says, “Let’s deal with the battle this way. You bring out one person into the valley. I’m coming out into the valley as well. We’ll fight to the death and winner take all.”

Goliath is described in very imposing terms as being 9 feet tall, being able to dunk a basketball without jumping! He’s a very large man. He’s got a coat of armor that it says in your Bible’s footnotes weighs 125 pounds. I have done a little bit of weightlifting and I know I cannot even bench press 125 right now, let alone walk in it. I used to be able to bench that much, but not anymore and I can’t even imagine taking a hike with carrying that much weight! Goliath also has a spear that’s so big that the tip of it weighs 15 pounds. I just try to picture myself doing curls with this spear, you know?

The story makes it clear that Goliath is a behemoth of a man with a javelin with which he can kill you from a distance, before you ever get near him in for any hand to hand combat. He’s got an armor bearer in front of him, which is another guy who’s got this large rectangular shield. Goliath is armed to the hilt with his own personal body guard to boot. He’s also got years of experience in battle and he’s standing their ridiculing the army of Israel; daring them, anybody, to come out and fight him. It says in verse 9 and 10 that if someone can come out and fight him and win then all of the Philistines will become their subjects, and vice versa.

Goliath says, “I defy the armies of Israel. Give me a man. Let us fight each other.” Upon hearing these words from this large Philistine, King Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. They live in this state of being terrified for 40 days. Every morning and every evening Goliath comes out and intimidates them and puts fear in their hearts with his challenge. 80 times in a row this giant comes out and intimidates them. It’s like a recurring nightmare that just won’t stop!

They are not just afraid but terrified at the thought of coming out and


having to deal with Goliath and his army. It’s into this scene that David enters. Out of the entire nation of Israel, David is the one who steps out because he knows himself and he knows God. David cuts through the obstacles that are in his way to be his authentic self in God. He steps forward and his journey and his obstacles really are ours. We are meant to see ourselves in the story. Let’s look at three obstacles David encounters in this story. This is a great story so I want to start with verse 20 in 1 Samuel 17.

SLIDE 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.

24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He 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’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”

26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What 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?”

27 And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.”

28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”

29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a


question!” 30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.

Here we hit the first obstacle David hits as he begins to step out in faith and not fear, and that is his family we read about in verses 28 to 31. David is the youngest of eight boys. Eliab is the oldest brother and David’s three oldest brothers are in the army while he’s the youngest and skinniest and scrawniest and seen as the least in the family, the one who watches the sheep. He’s probably around 17 years old and his father Jesse is described as aging and dying which means the oldest brother has the authority in the family at this point.

David’s job is tending sheep back home. It’s pretty clear from his brother’s response that he gets little support from his family environment. That’s the point I want you to get here. His family is not supporting him. In fact, they judge him and they label him conceited and wicked which is a pretty heavy label. We see contempt towards David in verse 28 by his older brother Eliab when he asked why he had left the sheep, even calling him full of pride and conceit. Oh, and thanks for the food, now you can go! You came down to only watch the battle.

We don’t know what his family life was like, but what do you suppose was going on at home? Clearly, from this story and others we read about in David’s early life, things are not so beautiful in his family, at least for him. At the least he’s misunderstood and slandered. He’s ignored and he’s disregarded and he’s put down as a nothing. That’s a pretty big obstacle for your entire life, when you are put down by your family. The message he gets from his family is, “you’re a loser, go home.”

Even the best of families, have tough stuff in them that we bring to the table because of sin and brokenness. Our families can add to those layers of a false self that smothers our true selves that are made in the image of God. We grow up in families and cultures, even the best ones, where certain parts of who we are, our true selves, are just considered unacceptable. Our true selves can get cut off and hidden and buried. For some of us, we had to bury them so we could survive. Many people tell me, “Jeff, I just kind of felt like I was invisible in my family growing up. We couldn’t think or express certain thoughts. We didn’t feel certain feelings. We didn’t make mistakes. We couldn’t be weak or vulnerable.

When we grow up in that environment and then finally into young adulthood, we find out that our caregivers or some of the folks in significant


authority over us, did the best they could. They loved us, but we realized that they loved us not for who we were, uniquely crafted by God, but they loved us for who they WANTED us to be. You end up with this tension and struggle because they’re doing the best they can, however we can still miss out on the truth that we’re lovable and we’re good enough. Even if we get married or we go to college or if we have children or if we have a great career or make lots of money or fulfill whatever dreams our parents had for our lives, we can still miss out on feeling loved and valuable depending on the messages we got form our parents.

There are just certain things that we carry, just like David, who is ignored and disregarded, and basically told to, “shut up and go home.” Some of you know what it’s like to be born and nobody notices. But here is the truth, that while nobody notices David, God notices David. And David notices David.

SLIDE David cuts through his family as an obstacle

I like the word “cut.” David cuts through this family dynamic that would shut him down.

SLIDE David cuts through the obstacle of significant others and authority

Secondly, he cuts through the obstacle of significant other people in his life who have authority and experience, who also are seeking to shut him down. We go on to read this in the story.

SLIDE 32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” 33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

Here in verse 32 and 33, when Saul hears about David beginning to stand up to his family, and says, “I’ll go and fight this Philistine, Goliath. I’ll step out.” Remember that he’s not even a soldier. He’s a shepherd. He’s probably 17 years old, not very tall and has very little meat on him. King Saul hears about it and sends for him And David says to Saul in verse 32, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him.”

Saul replies, “You can’t. You’re not able to go up against this Philistine and fight him. You are only a boy. And he has been a fighting man from his youth.” Remember that Saul led an army of 330,000 men and had a phenomenal victory. Saul is famous. He’s experienced. And he’s saying David can’t do it. What would


you say? Would Saul’s comments shut you down and put a little doubt in your head?

Looking at Goliath, you might think, “You’re right. I’m overwhelmed. Oh man, let me out of here! I can’t do it! What do you think we should do, Saul? You’re the king anyway. Why don’t you do something!

What do you think? Everybody is fearful. All of these thousands of troops of Israel believe in God too, just like David. Saul believes in God. Everybody believes in the living God but in this moment they’re acting like they’re atheists. It can be easy it to say we believe in God, but we act like we’re atheists? They live as if there’s no God. And the guy with experience and authority is saying you can’t do it so the temptation would be to just stay where you are. Then we read this.

SLIDE 34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When 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’ll 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!”

Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”

38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a 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. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again.

Everybody fights in armor. That’s how it’s supposed to be done. You understand that everybody with experience, who’s in authority, is telling him how to do it. And David says, “This isn’t me.” David cuts through how it’s supposed to be done. Everybody’s giving advice to David on how to fight Goliath including Saul and the generals and probably his brothers. Remember that David admired and loved Saul, and Saul was saying he couldn’t do it

Maybe there were coaches or teachers or significant others or experts in your field, now or when you were growing up, and these people did have a lot of experience. We are to listen to good counsel, right? The Bible’s really clear that in


the abundance of counselors there is wisdom. I preached whole sermons on the importance of getting wise counsel. It’s really important, but what’s key here is not that we throw out counsel. The key here is that David knows himself so well and he knows God so well and he’s an expert on himself. Nobody can be an expert on you but you. David is able to listen to the counsel and know that this isn’t good counsel. God has a path for David and he knows it and so he is able to say “no” to the counsel, “I can do this.”

Without emotionally healthy spirituality this is a dangerous passage. People do things with this passage that are insane and we can commit stupidity in the name of God. But again, David knows himself and is able to say, “No, I can do this in God.” Here’s what happens, which you probably know, but its’ such a great story.

SLIDE 40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. 41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. 45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the 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’s battle, and he will give you to us!” 48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s 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.

David cuts through Goliath, this huge obstacle standing in front of him. We have big obstacles sometimes, don’t we? We wonder why so few of us ever


breakout. We have to cut through our family growing up and all the messages they give us and the expectations we feel heaped upon us. We have to cut through the people in front of us who’ve got experience and authority. And then we get out there and we have Goliath in front of us! And we have Goliath inside of us because most of our Goliath’s for us are inside as well as out.

I love in this story how David steps out there and Goliath begins to curse him. I just imagine myself in David’s shoes, stepping out to face this big Goliath, Goliath says, “You’re just a stupid boy!” Goliath despised him and said to David “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks? Come here and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.”

When I read this part of the story I think of the “Cowardly Lion” in “The Wizard of Oz,” when he meets the evil witch and then runs away, crashing through the window in fear and shouting, “Let me out of here!” David is being mocked and threatened and he’s probably thinking, “Oh Lord, I must be crazy!”

David has something to teach us in this story. If we will come out and seek to be our authentic self we will have to wrestle with this feeling, so just know it going in that it’s going to come. I could die out here. This could be a disaster. Maybe I just better go back to the way I was living before and not take any chances because Goliath is utterly sure of himself. Goliath has no self-doubt. He’s killed everybody else. Maybe I will be next.

Have you’ve ever been around those kinds of people like Goliath? They are just so sure of themselves. And for Goliath, the living God of Israel is utterly irrelevant. For David that living God gives him confidence and strength. David knows his strengths so well and he knows his God so well. David, even as a young man, has this powerful combination of knowledge of himself and knowledge of God.

David takes off the armor and then takes a little staff in his hand, the one he uses to watch the sheep, and he chooses five smooth stones from the stream and placed them in his shepherd’s pouch. David’s guidance is coming from the inside out of his relationship with God. David’s story reminds us of the power living inside of us. When we receive Christ, we believe the Holy Spirit’s comes to live inside of us. We believe the Holy Spirit will counsel us and guide us in the way we should go. David’s life is not divided. David knows who he is. David has integrity and he lives true to who he is in God.

David didn’t fall into the trap of doing what everyone else was telling him


to do. He didn’t go out there and fight on Goliath’s terms, putting on armor and a javelin. That’s not who David was and truthfully he had the gift of common sense. It’s common sense not to fight Goliath with the sword, and go up against the physical strength of Goliath with his own physical strength. David would have gotten killed. He would have been squashed like a bug if he got to close, and so he doesn’t do it.

Instead, David makes it an even match. Do you know why it’s an even match? It’s an even match because David has his slingshot and he’s good at the slingshot. That’s his gift, so now it’s an even match. Goliath has his really heavy javelin and David has his slingshot.

David does not care that people might think he’s dumb for not wearing armor, or that he’s not doing this whole battle thing correctly. David’s not dependent on doing the right thing so people will love him. David’s not doing it out of guilt and sorrow for Israel. David’s not doing it to keep the peace and make everybody happy saying, “Okay, I’ll sacrifice myself. I’ll be the one who dies for everybody else.”

David’s not saying, “I must succeed so I get my name written in the history books…so I’ll finally make an impact in life and my life will be worth something.” David’s not saying, “I’m doing this so I don’t look stupid. So I can finally achieve something.”

I think too many times we throw our common sense out the window. Here’s what I think we often do as Christians. “I’m going out in the name of Jesus and I’m going to tackle him down, man.” We try to tackle Goliath because God will meet me there. When we grab his shoulders we’ll get supernatural strength from God magically running through our body so we can take this guy down. That’s what we do sometimes and it’s a mistake. We would get our head cutoff and then we’d be mad at God and we’d blame God because God didn’t show up the way we expected him to. It’s one of God’s gifts to us that God made us a certain way with a certain personality and temperament and gift mix with a unique history. There’s only one of you and only one of me.

We only have one David with a slingshot and David gets human counsel and goes against it, because they can’t see what David sees, which is the living God. David sees God and so he sees what God sees, which allows him to rely on the right part of himself. And the right part of himself knows how to deal with a slingshot and these stones. He knows what he’s doing with that equipment and


he realizes, “I’ve been given something from God to defeat this Goliath” David goes out with what God gave him, nothing more and nothing less. David realizes it’s not about machismo. It’s not a size war going on with Goliath and if he lets it become that then he will lose.

Do you realize that? It’s really about differentiation. David knows himself and he’s comfortable with himself and he’s afraid of nothing. He’s afraid of nothing in front of him. He knows that God will bring it down if he’s faithful to himself and God and he trusts in the living God. David has strengths that he’s bringing to the battle and God knows what they are. David is looking at God and he’s looking at himself, and you know what the result is? You heard the passage so you know he throws stones using the slingshot. Goliath falls dead instantly! Boom! Because David had the courage to step out and be himself and bring down Goliath, then, of course, everybody wants to follow. The armies of Israel now have courage that was not there before.

The nation then is richly blessed and God is glorified. When we are ourselves and willing to be who God created us to be, then the whole world is blessed and can know the living God. When we are ourselves and we break through the barriers then everybody gets blessed around us; our children, our family, our friends, our coworkers. But if we don’t cut through our obstacles then nobody gets blessed. Everybody remains in fear of lockdown. In the long run we hurt ourselves and we hurt other people when we’re not true to ourselves.

I love this great quote by Thomas Merton found in his book, “New Seeds of Contemplation.”

SLIDE “A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means it to be it is obeying [God]. It “consents,” so to speak, to [God's] creative love. It is expressing an idea which is in God and which is not distinct from the essence of God, and therefore a tree imitates God by being a tree”

Trees and mountains and rocks, unlike humans, they’re all their true selves. A mountain is a mountain. It doesn’t make a choice. A tree’s a tree. It doesn’t have free will. But we have a choice. God leaves us free to be whatever we want. We can be ourselves as we please. We are at liberty to be real or unreal. We may be true or false. The choice is ours, and David makes a choice.

We can make a radical transition by living faithful to our true self in Christ. We can’t just hear this idea from a pulpit. We have to really ponder it and wrestle


with it personally and in groups. We have to pay attention to our interior in silence and solitude.

SLIDE Pay attention to our interior in silence and solitude

David paid attention to himself and to God when he asked the question, “Who has God made me uniquely to be?” This takes being alone with God in silence and being with others.

SLIDE Find trusted companions

This is why we have encouraged you to be in small groups for this sermons series. We need each other. Sometimes this means moving out of our comfort zone in order for us to be with other or to be in silence. Usually we are comfortable with one or the other but not both. The truth is that we need both.

SLIDE Move out of our comfort zone

And then we pray for courage. It takes tremendous courage to step out and be faithful to God and be who God made us to be. The pressure is often so great to conform and be who everyone else wants us to be, but God has a dream for each us that is so much bigger.

David knows he has a massive resource beyond his own power, and it’s the living God. Do you know that you and I have this resource as well? This living God is operating in and through David and he longs to work through each of us.

Each of us has a choice. Here’s our choice. We have frightened Israel on one side. They’re dismayed and absolutely terrified day after day. They know God intellectually but they’re not experiencing God or the fruit of a relationship with God. Then there is David who steps out. Now the question we are meant to ask as we read this story is this, “Where am I? Am I in the trench over here with the terrified crowd or am I willing to step out in faith and slay the giants that are holding me back so I can be free to all who God wants me to be?”

Am I being true to who God has made me to be? As I read this list of false-self symptoms in the Message Notes, where do I see myself? Do I see a lot of these things inside of me because I’ve got some stuff inside that’s unresolved and inauthentic? To step out like David ultimately takes courage because it’s frightening. It’s frightening to step out from the crowd and those in authority and significant others and see Goliath cut through all of that and become free in Christ.

As I look at this list of false-self symptoms I have these three obstacles


which David cuts through because all of us must cut through them. There are no exceptions. We must cut through these to be truly who God has called us to be. We have to weigh for ourselves how important the approval of people is, over and against the death of our soul? Our soul will die up and shrivel over time if we live everybody else’s dream for our lives. We’ll just be another flat Christian who knows God, but is hiding in the trench. I want to invite you to come out of the trench and go into the middle of the field like David, and kneel down at the brook, and pick up a stone.

Don’t be hurried. Be like David who was unhurried. He’s very calm because he knows that the living God, who’s here with us today. It’s easy to lose sight of the living God who’s present in our midst and who’s present within you. Jesus gave us this great promise, “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”

In this story of David today we find a critical moment for David. It’s a critical moment for the whole country of Israel. Do you know what? This is a critical moment for many of us in this room. What am I going to do with my life? For us Christians, David points to Jesus. Jesus actually utters words of David in his life and from the cross. David’s the deliverer. David’s the warrior. David’s the anointed one. Jesus is our deliver. Jesus is a warrior that defeats sin and death, our Goliath. For that reason, Jesus is our Savior. Jesus is our Anointed One, the Messiah.

Jesus comes to Earth and conquers sin and death as he rises from the grave. Jesus fights the giants that we see standing before us and he gives us strength to stand there because we know he stands with us. In a sense, Jesus is our ultimate “smooth stone.” Jesus grants to us salvation. Jesus gives to us forgiveness. Jesus gives to us the whole God, the Spirit that lives inside of us by grace with forgiveness. And so now we, like the Israelite army, can get out of our trenches and go fight the giants in our lives because Christ has gone before us.

Because David defeated Goliath, the armies of Israel followed. Because Jesus has defeated the powers of darkness, God enables us to get up and actually defeat that which lies in front of us and become authentically who God’s called us to be. We are meant to exercise faith and courage like David and get up.

We don’t do this SO we’ll be right with God. We do it because we are right with God already because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross. It’s all by the grace of Jesus Christ that we can get up and move out.

Remember these three obstacles because we are going to run across them.


Family

Significant others with authority and experience

Goliath.

As we close today, I want us to read you some of the powerful words every written. They were written by King David. They are found in Psalm 23. As we read the text I would like you to listen to that one word or phrase that jumps out at you. You may even want to write it in your Message Notes. Will you read these words with me together?

SLIDE 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

David could not have been his authentic self without the living God. The thought of becoming who we are meant to be without God is foolish. It is in God alone that we become all that we were meant to be because God made us in the first place and crafted our life and put us here in history for a purpose. If we know we’re out of whack, and we may not even be sure why, just come to this table today. And we’re a community of God’s people here to pray for each other and help each other get set free. So please come and receive forgiveness and cleansing and power from Christ because the living God is here.

As you come forward for Communion today we invite you to grab a smooth stone and write on it with a Sharpie Psalm 23 or a word from Psalm 23 you want to take with you for Lent. Carry that stone with you into the days ahead as a reminder to take time to be silent and discover your true self that was made by God to be loved by God; find trusted companions on which to share the journey; move out of your comfort zone; and pray for courage to step out and slay your Goliath and be set free.

SLIDE Communion

Documents

THE PROBLEM OF EMOTIONALLY UNHEALTHY … · a blessing in your life to spend some time with God each ... being in introvert because of the messages you have gotten from ... Am I the