Problems into Possiblities: Focusing

Pastor Burcham’s Sermon

 Sunday, January 28, 2007

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

On the other end of the line was my friend, Jeff. Jeff said he needed to see me right away. I don’t know if it was the tone of his voice or the fact he said “right away,” but I became concerned. Something wasn’t right. It wasn’t long after that, Jeff and I were sitting across from each other and Jeff was telling me he had just got done at the doctor’s office. That didn’t seem too unusual to me. He’d been having some back problems. He didn’t know if he had something out of place or maybe he had muscle spasms or something along those lines, so I wasn’t too surprised he came from the doctor’s office except the doctor said it wasn’t any of that. They spotted something on his lung. Jeff was facing the challenge of a lifetime. Jeff was facing the biggest problem he ever had to come face to face with. Jeff had cancer.

Have you been there? Oh, maybe not the doctor telling you that you have cancer. Maybe it’s the doctor telling you something about your spouse or maybe the doctor is telling you that after that last fall, your mother will never walk again. Or maybe it’s the police officer on the other end of the line talking about your son or your daughter or maybe it’s the fact your retirement has been wiped out or your job has been lost. Have you been there when you heard catastrophic news? If you haven’t yet, more than likely you will be. I don’t want to be a pessimist about it but living this side of heaven, we have to deal with problems. We live in a sinful world. And a result of living in that sinful world means we have to do battle with all kinds of situations and sometimes bad things happen to us. Problems arise. And there are those occasions when those problems are of such a magnitude they seem like a giant looming over us. They seem insurmountable to us. It seems like there’s no way we can face them, there’s no way we can overcome them.

This morning, we want to continue on of our series of messages of how God turns problems into possibilities. And specifically, we want to learn from God’s Word this morning when we’re looking at those catastrophic problems, when we’re looking at the giants in our life, the big ones, how is it God has for us to get past that? How is we can see how God turns that problem into a possibility?

We turn to the pages of the Old Testament once again and we read about a problem the Israelites had. It was read just a few moments ago about the Israelites having to do battle with Goliath. Picture the scene with me, if you will. The Israelites and the Philistines had been going at it tooth and nail for several years. They keep having skirmishes. They keep having battles. One wins and then the other one wins, back and forth it goes. So it seems like another typical day on the battle field. Over on this hill, we have the Israelite army all lined up ready to go. Over on this hill, we have the Philistine army. They’re all lined up ready to go. Pretty soon, both armies are going to rush into the valley below. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed and, in the end, one’s going to come out the victor. That’s what everyone is expecting on that morning. All of the soldiers on both sides are waiting for the command to rush down into the valley and then, all of a sudden, the Israelites hear what sounds like thunder coming from the Philistine camp. And almost like the Red Sea parting, the army sort of divides in the middle and out walks from the middle of this army a giant of a man. He’s over nine feet tall. Battle scars all over him. The guy is ripped. He has muscles pulsating from every inch of his body. Scripture tells us the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s rod. That’s about the diameter of my arm, Folks. It said the end of the spear weighed over 15 pounds. I couldn’t even throw it. This guy was twirling it around like a baton.

We have a giant of a man standing facing the Israelite army, mocking them, mocking their God, saying, “Listen, let’s save a lot of time, Folks. You send out one guy. We’ll go mono-a-mono. Whoever wins the fight wins the battle. If per chance your guy wins, we’ll be subjects to the Israelites. But if I win, the Israelites are subjects of the Philistines.”

The Israelites have a problem. They literally have a giant of a problem. Every soldier in the Israelite army trembles with fear, including Saul, the king. They try to act as if he’s not there. They try to pretend the problem doesn’t exist.

Problems don’t go away, even if you pretend they’re not there. Even if you try to tell yourself if you just wait long enough, if you ignore them, sooner or later the problem will sort of disappear and you can get back to life as normal, but they don’t go away. Neither did Goliath. For 40 days, 40 days every morning and every night, Goliath came out and issued his challenge to the Israelite army. “Send me a man,” he says. “Let’s go at it.” Goliath isn’t going away. And every soldier of Israel wouldn’t step foot on the battlefield. The only one who would face the problem, the only one who would face the giant was a shepherd boy who had come to bring lunch for his brothers. David says, “I’ll face the giant. I’ll face the problem.”

This morning, I want us to learn from David how did David face that problem? How did David face that giant and how does that translate for us when we have to face the giant problems that are going to come along in our lives? The first thing we learn that David did is he focused on the possibilities, not on the problem itself. And we didn’t read all of Chapter 17. As it was, you probably thought Pastor Phillips’ was never going to end reading that lesson, so I cut out some verses in between. But there are a couple that are important in there. What you missed in that whole thing was is David was out keeping care of his flock when his father called him in and said, “Listen, Dave, I want you to go down to the battle line and take lunch to your brothers.” I’m sure that was not his favorite activity in the world to do. But David, lunch box in hand, heads down to the battlefield. He hears all the men talking about Goliath. He hears Goliath and Goliath making his challenge to the people. And then David says this talking to the men around the battle line, “What will be done for the man who kills the Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?” Now that’s his first question. David has just found out about this nine foot tall, ripped giant that wants to do battle with someone from the Israelite army and his first question is not, “So how big is this guy?” His first question is not, “How many other men has he killed? Have you all heard about that?” His first question isn’t, “Well, he must have a weakness so what’s his weakness in his battle plan out there?” His first question and his only question is, “So what do you think the king will do for the guy who defeats the giant?”

You see, he doesn’t focus on the problem at all. He focuses in on the possibility. “What would happen if I were to defeat the giant?” Well, he finds out there’s a lot that’s going to happen if he defeats the giant. First of all, the king has promised great wealth to whoever defeats him. He’s also promised his daughter will be given in marriage. And then, of course, maybe the most valuable thing about all of that, he says the entire family, for a lifetime, will be exempt from taxes. It’s in there. I’m not making it up. Exempt from taxes. David focuses in on the fact of, “Alright, if I defeat Goliath, this is what life will be like for me.” What good would it do for him to focus on Goliath? What good would it do for him to say, “Oh, he is big, isn’t he? Wow.” What good would it do for him to focus on his muscles, to focus on his javelin and his spear and his sword and his shield? All that would do would make him intimidated like the rest of the Israelite soldiers. He would be defeated before he ever stepped onto the battlefield. So David doesn’t focus on the problem. He focuses on the possibility.

The first thing we can learn from David is when we’re facing a giant in our life, focus on the possibility, not on the problem. Often times, don’t we focus on the problem? We have something catastrophic that happens in our life and the most natural thing for us to do is we focus in on that situation. We focus in on that problem. We think about it 24-7. We ruminate about it. We turn it over and over again in our mind and we just keep concentrating on it. It consumes us emotionally. It consumes all of our physical energy. It consumes all of our mental energy as we just think about and ruminate on that problem. And what good does that do? Was Goliath going to get any smaller if David kept focusing on him? Would he be less effective in battle if David kept focusing on him? Will your problem be any less severe? Will the situation you’re facing go away if you keep thinking about it and turning it over and over again in your mind?

Now don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying just don’t think about it, just deny there is a problem. That’s what the rest of the Israelites will do. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying focus in on what could God do to turn this around. What is the best case scenario? What are the possibilities that could happen here? How could your life be changed? How could things be different once you make it past this hurdle, once you make it past this difficulty? Do we not have God’s promise on this? In Romans 8:28, he says, “For all things work together for the good of those who love Him.” I live by that passage. I come back to the passage again and again because that’s God’s promise. Now He doesn’t say all things will turn out exactly the way you want them to but He says “all things work together for the good of those who love Him.” God is in the business of taking the worst case scenario and turning it around to be a positive in your life.

When you focus in on the possibilities, focus in on how is God going to turn this around, that gives you hope. It gives you a light at the end of the tunnel. This problem will not last forever. This catastrophe is not going to go on for an eternity. God has promised that all things will work together for my good because I love Him.

Now David didn’t stop there. David didn’t just have happy thoughts and, all of a sudden, Goliath went away. He took the next step. Then what we find David did, David focused in on his strengths, not on his weaknesses. When David is going to go up against Goliath, he comes up to King Saul, “Listen, Saul, by this evening, I’ll have this Goliath thing taken care of. Why don’t you have your daughter put on a nice dress? We’ll have a date tonight, we’ll get things all set. Make sure you adjust the tax records. I’m all set.” And Saul looks at him and says, “David, I don’t want to burst your bubble but you’re just a kid and you’re kind of scrawny, too. And I don’t think you really want to go up against Goliath. He’s an experienced warrior. Just take a look at all the scars on him. Look at the muscles from him. This isn’t a good idea.” David says, “Don’t worry about it, King.” And he gives this explanation, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off the sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I ceased 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’s defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

David focuses in on his strengths. David is not a solider. David is not a warrior. He is a shepherd and so he focuses in on the skills he has, the gifts he has. He says, “I’ve gone up against the lion. I’ve gone up against the bear. I’ve handled them.” The same tenacity David shows in defending his flock, he will use that same tenacity in defending the armies of Israel about this Philistine who has defied the living God. He will use the same skills he used in killing the lion and the bear he will use against the Philistine. The point is David is not becoming something he isn’t. He doesn’t say, “Quick, somebody teach me how to fight.” “Quick, teach me some of the battle moves I need to have.” In fact, if you read a few more passages down, Saul says, “Well, at least put on my armor.” So he outfits David with all of his armor and there’s David with all this big, heavy armor on this little kid. He walks around and says, “I can’t do this.” He says, “Take this off. I’m not a soldier. I’m not a warrior.” In the next verse, he says, “Give me my shepherd’s staff. Give me my sling and he picks up five smooth stones and he puts them in his shepherd’s pouch.” He’s going to face Goliath as a shepherd. He’s going to face the giant with the skills he has and that he knows. He’s not going to focus on what he doesn’t have and what he doesn’t know.

When we’re facing those obstacles, we focus on our strengths. We focus on the way God has made us. Instead of talking about all the things we don’t have, instead of focusing about all the things that are out of our control, the things we can’t do anything about, we ask ourselves, “How has God equipped me to handle this giant? What skills, what gifts, what talents has God given to me so I can do battle with this giant in my life?” Psalm 139 says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that God formed us in our mother’s wombs, that He knit us together. In other words, each and every one of us has been made by God. He’s had a hand in your creation and He has given you special gifts and talents. He’s made you the person you are, so how is it God has shaped you and formed you? Has he made you physically strong? Has he given you a clever mind? Has he given you a sharp wit? Has he given you the ability to be persuasive and talk to other people? What is it? What are the gifts, the skills, the talents God has given you so you can do battle with the giants you’re facing in your life? Focus on the strengths, not on the weaknesses.

The last thing we learn from David is the most important. We focus on the power of God in our lives. David is not going to go up against Goliath on his own. He’s not going to go up against him with a javelin or a spear or a sword or anything of that. 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.” David is coming at Goliath in the power and the strength of his God and he’s relying on the power and strength of God. Let me ask you, do you really think it was the stone that killed Goliath? Do you really think it was the rock that flung out from his slingshot that dropped that nine foot brut flat as a pancake? What are the odds this rock would hit with just the right velocity at just the right precise point in his forehead that it would drop him? David didn’t kill Goliath. God did. God is the one who was fighting for the armies of Israel. God is the one who delivered him over and David said as much. David said, “God is the one who has given us this victory today.” It was God who was there with David. It was God who struck the Philistine in the forehead and dropped him to the ground. It was in the power and in the might of God that David faced this giant and defeated this giant.

My Friends, we have to face our problems in the power and the strength of our God, in the power and strength God has given to us. That means we believe and have a firm conviction in our hearts that God is with us, that God is on our side, and that God is fighting for us, that God has our best intentions in mind. A passage I probably quote too many times but it’s another favorite of mine from the book of Romans, it’s 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also along with Him graciously give us all things?” If God the Father was willing to send His Son into the world, if He was willing to stand by as His Son became one with His creation, if He was willing to stay silent as sinful men betrayed Him and railroaded Him through a false justice system, if He was willing not to move an inch when they nailed Him to a cross, if He was willing to turn His back as Jesus literally went through hell and paid the debt of each one of our sins, if the Father is willing to do all of that for you so one day you could stand in His presence, then you tell me what will He not do for you? He’s already done it all. How will He not also graciously give you all things?

There’s nothing our God will not do for us. It may not be exactly what we ask for. It may not turn out the way we wanted it to turn out but God has promised it will turn out the right way and the best way because God is on our side. We face problems and giants knowing God is with us and knowing, with God, nothing, nothing is impossible. God may work through people in your lives. God may work through situations. God might intervene miraculously in your life and don’t discount that. But the one thing for sure is you will never face your giant alone. You’ll never face your problems by yourself. You face them in the power and in the strength of God.

That’s how my friend, Jeff, faced the giant in his life. He faced it in the power and the strength of God. From the very beginning, Jeff focused in on the possibilities. Through all of the chemotherapy, through all of the radiation, all of the things they did to him, he always focused on the possibility, “This is what it’s going to be like once I kick this cancer. Once God sees me through this, this is what I’m going to do. These are the plans I’m going to have for that.” There were points when I thought the man was in denial. I have since come to believe he was smarter than I am and he had more faith than I did because he never, ever gave up that God would not intervene, that God would not cure the cancer, and he would go on with his life. He always focused on the possibilities. He never, ever focused on the cancer and the problem. He focused on his strengths.

If you met Jeff, you liked him. No doubt about it. Many of you here have. He had a winning personality. He could talk to anybody anywhere anytime. He used that strength. As he did that battle with cancer, he had hundreds of acquaintances and friends and they’d call and ask him about how things were going and he’d use those opportunities because I was there on several occasions. He used that as an opportunity to talk about his faith and about how God was giving him the strength each and every day, how God was with him, the confidence he had, no matter what turned out, he knew exactly what was in store for him. He gave a bold witness to the love of God in his life. He used the strengths and the skills God gave him and he always relied upon the power of God. Every day, he would say God was giving him the strength, giving him the courage to face it. He didn’t face the giant alone. He faced it with God by his side.

Well, cancer eventually took his earthly life, but it could not take his eternal life. You may think this giant won but I would wholeheartedly disagree. God won and Jeff won. God won because God says He wants all people to be saved and many of Jeff’s friends and acquaintances did not have a relationship with God, certainly not a relationship with a church. At his funeral, this place was almost overflowing and they heard the gospel message loud and clear. And they heard about how their friend was in heaven right now because of the faith he had in Jesus. And some of the people who were there are still here today. God won and Jeff won because Jeff is free from cancer and he is enjoying the splendor and the glory and the joy of heaven that one day you and I will experience also.

We do not face our giants alone. We face them in the power and the strength of God. And our giants will fall. Amen.

Copyright 2007 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church