Steven Furtick — Are You Tired Of Fighting?
When I am fighting within myself and fighting against the very things that God is trying to use in my life and slinging spears at David, the very one that God sent to fight my battles... I wonder, are you trying to kill something that God is trying to use in your life? I want to preach about David, but before I can get there... I'm not going to lie to you. I want to be David so badly. I want to be a man after God's own heart. I want to kill Goliath. I think it would be cool to kill Goliath. I want to shake tambourines. I want to be David, but sometimes I'm Saul. Sometimes I'm fighting against what I should be fighting for.
So now David has a choice to make, and so do you. You have to decide which weapons to use when. Saul, in his attempt to spear David, misses and hits the wall. I noticed a contrast. I don't know if you could put it back up for me. Where it says that Saul was sitting in his house with this hand on the spear, and David had his hand on the harp. He had his hand on the on the lyre. He had his hand on the string instrument. I was thinking that you know if this is a game of rock-paper-scissors which one do you want? Spear, javelin, or harp? You choose. Come on. Turn to your neighbor. Rock, paper, scissors. Spear. I want the spear.
When Saul misses, David has a decision, because the Bible says that his spear stuck into the wall. So here's the decision that I have to make. Do I take my hand off the harp and grab the spear and throw it back? Because if there's one thing we know about David, he doesn't miss. Ask Goliath about David's aim. If you're gonna throw a spear at David, you better lock it in, because if he throws it back, I assure you it will not end up in the wall. He will off your head. So before you throw a spirit David, take aim. You will not get a second chance. But David does what must have been the hardest thing he ever did. Nothing.
Do you know how hard it is when you have a reputation for killing Giants to not fight back when you have the opportunity? Do you know how hard it is when you have the opportunity to manipulate a situation and control a situation and to try to get people to do what you want...? "They said this about me, and I'm gonna say it back". I wish you could see some of the replies I write the people on Facebook that I never publish. They are poetic. Throw it back. I can hit you with this. I do words. I can talk. I can't fix a car, I can't bake a cake, but I can talk. David can throw, and he doesn't. He does something weird. He ducks. David ducks, because he has no other choice. Really, the harp is not a portable instrument, so he can't sidestep the spear. He's seated behind a harp.
The hand of Saul is on the spear, and the hand of David is on the harp. I want to know who has the upper hand. Who has the winning hand? Because if the hand of Saul is on the spear and the hand of David is on the harp, it seems to me that spear beats strings. I got one hand on the spear and one hand on the strings. I know Saul didn't miss David if he was at close range sitting down behind a harp, so how could the one with the spear lose to the one with the...? How could Saul have his hand on the spear and David have his hand on the harp and David get out? There must have been another hand in the room that is not mentioned in the text. How many know that the hand of God is on your life? The hand of God was on David. The hand of God grabbed the spear of Saul and said, "Not him. Not now". "No weapon formed against me shall be able..".
Keep your hand on the harp, and God will put his hand on the spear. He won't let it kill you. He will not suffer your foot to be moved. The Lord which keepeth thee, He will not slumber nor sleep, if you keep your hand on the harp. See, I thought that David had an instrument and Saul had a weapon, but maybe worship is a weapon. Maybe David knew, "If I keep my hand on the harp, if I let God fight my battles, I cannot be defeated". Are there any worshipers in the house? How about back here Any worshipers that know He'll fight my battles? "That's just emotional". No, it's survival, because if you don't learn how to duck, if you don't learn how to say, "God..". The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. I don't throw spears back. I have the winning hand, and when I clap my hands my praise confuses the enemy. When I lift my hands in worship, the hand of God is on...
David knew that the same hand that had plucked him from the sheep field and the same hand that had delivered him from lions and bears and Goliaths and the same hand that held the flask that poured the oil... "The hand of God is on my life, and Saul cannot kill what God has crowned". So the way I fight is this. I don't fight for victory. That's the way the world fights. I fight from victory. My worship is my weapon. I don't have to prove myself to people in situations. If I take this spear in my hand and throw it back... There's somebody in here who has a spear in the wall right next to your head, and you are trying to decide right now whether to do it your way or God's Way.
Can I give you a little piece of advice? Duck, David. Duck, and let God have his way. How did David keep his hand on the harp, and how do you keep your heart at peace with spears flying at your head? David knew, "If I can win the battle within my soul, God will fight my battle with Saul". That's where the real battle is. The war is within, and so are the weapons. You can't fight fear with fear. When David says, "God, you are my strength..".
I'm so glad for Psalm 59, because 1 Samuel 19 gives me the picture of what David did. With Saul spear flying at him, David was able to keep his hand on the harp. It's a picture of being able to remain in a place of trust and surrender in a time of turbulence and trial and frustration. It's a picture and it says that Saul's hand was on the spear. That's me trying to control. David's hand stayed on the harp, and he played his hand. He knew, "If I keep my hand on the harp, I cannot be defeated. If I keep my heart at peace, it will not matter what spears fly my way". He said, "God, you are my strength".
Can we read the psalm again? Look at this. Psalm 59 verse 9: "I watch for you". Now that's interesting, because David seems to be saying, "I wasn't watching Saul. I wasn't watching the spears. I was watching the one whose hand..". How many believe the hand of God is on your life? Now we know this from our side of the cross that the victory has already been won by our King, our greater David, Jesus Christ. We know that David was not the last King to come out of Bethlehem. We know that he was a king who was pointing to a King of Kings. We know that the Spirit of him who raised Christ is from the dead, and we already have the victory. We don't fight for it; we fight from it, and the hand of God is on your life.
You say, "Well, I'm not David". But you are, because David's name literally means beloved, and the same love that crowned David has crowned you. Saul cannot kill what God has already crowned, and perfect love casts out fear. So so here's what David did. He said, "I watch for you". "I've got a lot of stuff coming at my head. I've got battles and problems and brokenness. I've got 99 problems and Bathsheba is one". We'll get to that. He said, "You are my fortress, (next verse) my God on whom I can rely". But watch this. Verse 11: "Do not kill them, Lord our shield". Wait a minute. David did have a weapon. David did have a weapon, because when Saul's spears started flying, David got behind his shield".
Come on, I need you to receive this, because you have some stuff flying at you. You have some doubts in your soul, but stay behind your shield. Come on. Duck, David. Get behind your shield. Paul said it's the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall quench the fiery darts of the wicked. I have a shield. Is anybody shielded by the power of God? If I say behind my shield, Saul cannot kill what God has crowned. I got the winning hand. I might not look like much. I might just be a shepherd boy, but I have the winning hand, and God is my shield.