I'd like everybody to turn in their Bibles with me this morning. If you go in your Bibles with me to 1st Samuel chapter 17, I would appreciate that. Dr. Beal, thank you for letting me speak chapel today. And we're gonna try to be done in the next hour or how about 20 minutes, amen? And as you turn in your Bibles, we're gonna talk about the subject, thy servant will go. And I know you students are at the end of your school year, I know we're scattered around the U.S., very unusual times. The other night I had the honor to speak at Lakewood Baptist Church with Pastor Ronnie Gilbert, and we had a couple of ambassador graduates there, the Gilberts, and we had the Yules and different people, and it was a virtual missions conference, and we had over over 480 people come in that watch that the missions conference there at the night. And what a blessing to see. And we were preaching and trying to get the point across, God needs servants. And training there at Ambassador Baptist College, I hope and pray that this thought this morning will encourage you as you prepare in ministry, whether it's church planning, working in a Christian school or going into missions. The Bible tells me as we get in our message today, I'll catch up with you in just a moment there in 1st Samuel chapter 17. But my Bible tells me in Romans chapter 15 verse four, for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. And I want to encourage you this morning as you look at 1st Samuel 17 with me, that this phrase in Romans is used 13 times in scripture. I hope this day as we look at this thought about David taking down Goliath, we'll get a little different look at it, but it's a challenge to the college students, a challenge to the people preparing for the ministry, challenge for pastors. I dealt with a missionary last week that is thinking about quitting the ministry, and he's only been on deputation for a year, and he just needed some encouragement. And I told him, there was reasons why David took on Goliath and his brothers didn't. There's reasons why he stood up for God and the army didn't. And God used him in a great way. So I'm gonna give you two thoughts this morning, and here's the first one, and I'll read the text to you in just a moment. reasons why they did not answer the call of recruitment, and I'll explain that to you. The second thought this morning is this, reasons why David did answer the call of recruitment. There in your devices, in your Bibles, your homes, in the chapel there at Ambassador, would you look with me in the Bible in verse 29 of 1 Samuel 17. The Bible says this, and David said, what have I now done? Is there not a cause? His brothers had got after him. He'd rode into the army to bring food and money for his brothers as they've been having a looking at Goliath for the last 40 days and Goliath's been calling out all the Israeli soldiers and they all been hiding behind the weeds, the bushes and the brush, the trees. Even Saul won't even go out to take him on or any of his mighty men. The Bible says this, David said, is there not a cause? Verse 30 says, and he turned from him toward another. He spake after the same manner and the people answered him again after the former manner. And when the words were heard, which David spake, they rehearsed them in verse 31 before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him, that's like Goliath, thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against this Philistine or to fight him, but for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said to Saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him and smote him and delivered it up out of his mouth. And when he rose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. And thy servant slew both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defiled the armies." Now notice, David's the only one in this chapter to do this. Defy the armies of the living God. David said, moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. Folks, that's faith. Amen. And Saul said unto David, go and the Lord be with thee. And Saul armed David with his arm and put on his helmet, a brass upon his head. And also he armed him with his coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armor and he say to go for he had not proved it. David said to Saul, I cannot go with these. for I have not proved them. David put them off. He took his staff in his hand and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in a shepherd's bag, which he had even in the scripture. And his sling was in his hand and he drew near to the Philistine. You know, when I read this story, it's a great story. One of the most popular stories in the Bible, we'd say, give me the three most old, the best Old Testament stories that you can think of in your Bible. Well, one would be parting the Red Sea, probably. And one would probably be Daniel's in the lion's den. And the other would be David taking down Goliath. And today, what I'm going to look at is this and set the tone for you and you understand what's happening here. David's brothers and Saul's army had been facing Goliath and the Philistine for 40 days. And they were shuddering around in fear, putting it all. And when I read this chapter, I come up with two thoughts. Why did not Saul and his army or the army answer Saul's recruitment Saul wanted anybody to go take this giant on. If anybody in my army go take this giant on, you get to marry my daughter. Then your family and clan never have to pay taxes the rest of their life. And you're going to get this other perk that, hey, you can, you know, you, you're going to be the king. You get that king signet, man. You can double park. You don't have to pay tickets there, or double park your chariot, or you got credit everywhere in town. I mean, just think of that. And Saul went around trying to recruit somebody for 39, 40 days to take on that giant. And not one of them stepped up. So I look at that and I go, wonder why they did not. Number one, reasons. why these soldiers did not answer the call recruitment. You understand too in missions and church planning. Years ago, we had a lot more people going into missions. Dr. Ron Comfort will tell you that. I've heard him preach how that number's drooled down over the years. And I want you to understand why do not people answer the call to recruitment to do what God puts in their heart to do? Number one is this, the reason why they did not answer the call recruitment, they spent too much time in an enemy assessment. They spent too much time in counting, can I say, the cost. Would you look here at verse 33, it says here, and Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. Oh, he's a giant, he's a big time MAA fighter, he's a big time Marine, he's a big time Black Hawk. Hey, this guy is the champion of the world. There's no way you can face him. You see, Saul had spent a lot of time in enemy assessment, and he grew, he didn't have a whole lot of faith, did he? You look in that same chapter, drop with me down to verse four, I'll show you how much time they spent in enemy assessment. It's chapter 17, it says, and there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines. He named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. Man, he's a tall boy, man. taller than Shaquille O'Neal. He's way up there. And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail. The weight of the coat, 5,000 shekels of brass. Oh, man, he's got to be big to carry all that brass around. He is a monster. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs and a target of brass between his shoulders. I mean, this guy's a giant. And the staff of his spear, it's just not a stick. It's not the normal spear. It was the size of a weaver's beam. And his spear's head weighed 600 shekels of iron, and one bearing a shield went before him. I mean, this guy is unbelievable. You know why they did not answer the call to recruitment? They spent too much time looking at the enemy. and trying to count the cost without God in it, without any faith. Can I tell you, number one, they spent too much time looking at the enemy. And a lot of people today, they'll do God's will if they can manipulate God's will. They'll go where God wants them to go if they don't have to learn a language, or they don't have to learn a foreign culture, or they've got air conditioning, or a Walmart, or a Kmart there, or a Kmart, man, that's old, amen, or a Dollar General. Hey, we gotta have our comforts, don't we, American missionaries and church planners? Number two, I see the second thing, because they did not answer the call of recruitment, all these soldiers, because Saul had told them down earlier in the chapter, hey, if you go out and fight this giant, if you go out there and take care of him, if you go out there and knock him off his block, hey, if you go out there and win this thing, I will tell you what, if any man does this, I'm gonna give you my daughter in marriage, and I'm gonna, your family never has to pay taxes again, and I'm gonna load up your bank account, you're gonna get the credit card. This is all yours, but not one person. would answer the call to recruitment. Number two, they did not answer the call recruitment because they thought they were already involved. What do you mean by that, Brother DeLong? Look at chapter 17 and look at verse two. The Bible says this, and Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together and pitched by the Valley of Elah and set the battle in array against the Philistines. That means they had arranged the battle. They had got her set, they're ready to charge. Now that's verse two. Well, let's let time go by and go down to verse 19. Let's see what's happened in those 17 verses of time. It says this, now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines. Oh, were they? they may have looked like they were, they may have lined up, but to my knowledge, not one person had taken Goliath on yet. Every morning he would come out and every night he would come out and call the Israelis out. As I study my Bible here, I understand that they never, they were looking like they were fighting, but they were not really involved at all. You know, there's three types of people at every church. Those that make it happen, those that watch it happen, and those that have no idea what's happening, amen. And I want you to understand God in a good church and God in a church that wants God's power in their life, they will preach God's will, they will preach God's way, and they'll preach that from God's word. And God will call people into the ministry, call people into service. And I want to tell you, a lot of people today, they're not going into service because, you know, they just love, man, I'm telling you what, brother DeLong, that I'm already involved. No, if you're not careful, you're gonna be just like those people in Numbers chapter 13 and verse three, when it was going to 12, 12 spies went to Canaan now, 10 were bad and two were good. Those 10 and everybody else in the Israeli camp at that time, they had what they called grasshopper vision. If you read with me, it says in Numbers 13, 33, and that we saw the giants, the son of Anak, that's Goliath's bunch, which come and other giants, And we were in our own eyes as grasshoppers, so we were in their sight. Now, how did they know what they looked like in the eyes of the giants? I want you to understand, Israel still had the same problem today. And they did not answer the call to recruitment because they thought they were already involved. Can I give you the second, the third thought, and that is this, is they did not answer the call to recruitment because they were objects of low motivation. You know, serving God's not about money and things and not about prestige. It says in this chapter 17, it says in verse 25, would you look at me, please? It says, and the men of Israel said, have you seen this man that has come up? They're talking to David. Surely to defy Israel, he's come up. It shall be that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel. That free in Israel means they don't have to pay taxes. That means he gets the daughter in marriage and gets all the perks with that. And then all the riches, all the credit cards, it's all his. They did not answer the call to recruitment because they were objects of low motivation. You see, they carnally were being approached. And no one up to this point until David shows up ever mentioned the God of heaven. And I want to encourage you today, don't ever get caught up. in the low motivation, what are you going to get out of this? If I take this job, what kind of check am I going to get? What kind of insurance? If I go into missions, what's my perks? And because you think you may be already involved, but I want to encourage you, hey, to step out for the Lord is not to talk about it, not to set it in the church, but actually step out and be a ministry for the Lord. Now, let me give you the last thought on that is this. Reasons why David answered the call recruitment. Can I give it to you? Number one, David realized the issue was not Goliath, but God. You see, all the Israeli soldiers thought David, he thought he was too big to miss in the fight. The Bible tells me in chapter 17, verse 45, then said David to the Philistine, thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled. This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand. I want you to understand, David realized the real issue was God, and his faith and trust in God was the most important. It tells us in verse 26 down here in chapter 17, and David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth his Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? But when he started to defend and stand up for God, you look at over verse 36 in the same chapter, thy servant slew both the lion and the bear. This uncertain size Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defiled the armies, watch it now, of the living God. David realized the issue was God, not Goliath. That's why he answered the call. And number two about David, I want you to catch this, reasons why David went, why he chose their recruitment. He went to them to battle. David had a, I want to say this, a servant's heart. I hope and pray that you have a servant's heart. You look in verse 32 in our text, it said, and David said to Saul, thy servant, let no man's heart fail because of him, thy servant will go. You look at verse 34, and David said to Saul, thy servant, Pep. You look at verse 36, David says, thy servant slew, both the lion and the bear. Do you catch it? David knew he was a servant. David knew where they were at. And David had a servant's heart. That's the difference in him and his brothers. That's the difference in him and the other soldiers. That's the difference in him and Saul. He had a servant's heart for God Almighty. Now you students listen to this. And God had worked in David's life. God was preparing him with the lion and God was preparing him with the bear. And now it was the time of the Philistine and David had a faith and a trust that was so pure. God wanted to use that. And I want to give you the third reason today why David answered the call to recruitment. He accepted the call to recruitment because of past accomplishments. Catch this with me in verse 34 of our text and verse 35. David said to Saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep. And by the way, being a shepherd in those days was the lowest of all jobs. He was the youngest child when Saul come to pick out the new king. David was the pipsqueak of the bunch, the low man on the totem pole. He's out there in the weeds with the sheep. By the older sons, the bigger boys are in the house. And you see, and it was a lowly job. And he said, I'm a servant there. And while I was watching those sheep, there came a lion and a bear that took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him and smote him and delivered him out of the mouth And when he rose up against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. David accepted the recruitment because the fact of what God had done in him in the past, what God had done through him in the past, and what God's gonna do for him in the future. You know, I bet that old bear in line when that young teenager walked up and took that lamb, hope it wasn't the same lamb, but if it was, boy, he's a lamb in trouble all the time, amen. And he took that sheep out of that, predator's mouth, and he walked away with it. He was giving that predator a chance to live. But no, that predator wanted what he thought was his. And the Spirit of God came upon David, and David slew them both. And he said, now what is that uncircumcised Philistine? Let me give you the last reason why David went into battle, why David took down Goliath. And it's very key. David went because he had the opportunity. David went because God gave him the opportunity. David stepped forward because the door was open for him. The Bible says in verse 39, and David girded his sword upon his arm and he is saved to go. For he had not proved that he's going to go, but he'd not tried this armor out. It was too big for him. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these for I've not proved them. I've never used them. David put them off. He took his staff in his hand and chose him five smooth stones. He knew what those were, those shepherd stones. His gun wasn't even loaded when he's going across the Creek of Elah, but he got to the other side. He had those stones. And Goliath's standing there cursing and swearing and yelling and screaming. And David said, you know what? I'm going to honor God. He let that sling go. He let that stone go. And that rock took Goliath right between the eyes. Goliath said he would never bow down to the God of heaven. Yet when he hit him with that stone, the Bible is very clear that he fell towards David, on his knees, face first. David's army saw that and they cheered and Goliath's army saw that and they said, oh no. And they ran for their hides. And as everybody was running, the battle was going on, David came to Goliath's body. Some pastor would say he got ahead that day, amen. And the whole key was, the whole thought is, David was honoring and glorifying God. So I want to encourage you this morning in this short chapel hours, you're getting ready to finish the school year. And as you're getting ready to prepare for ministry in the future, be a David. When it's your turn to get up to the plate and swing, when it's your turn to take down giants and lions and bears, when God gives you an opportunity to step forward, don't shriek from that. Don't shirk for that. because I guarantee you, God will give you a victory. The Bible says in verse 46 in our chapter, this day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand, and I will smite thee and take thy head from thee, and I will give thy carcass of the host of the Philistines this day unto the beast of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all the assembly shall know that the Lord saveth, not with a sword and with spear, For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give it unto you, and he'll give it into our hands. I want to encourage you this morning as students preparing for the ministry, pastors on staff and preparing your church to come out of this coronavirus thing, to understand God has called us, and may we step forward. May we not be guilty of enemy assessment. May we not be guilty of we think we're already involved May we not be guilty of, you know, well, you know, I'm just not motivated and, you know, but we need to have a faith and a trust in God that passes all human understanding. Be that David. You keep our eyes on God and not the giant. Be like David. Have a servant's heart, no matter what the situation. Be like David, understand what has God done for you in the past, in you and through you, and understand this is your opportunity to step forth and have a wonderful ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ. As we finish this thought today, I handle this invitation. I'm going to close in prayer and hand it over back to Dr. Beal. Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for the opportunity you've given us to meet. We pray we can take these simple thoughts and have a heart, whether it's church planning, missions, ministry and ambassador, ministry in our local churches. May we step forward and have a servant's heart that'll say, thy servant will go. And all God's people said, amen. Thank you very much.