Killing Lions And Bears (2)

When David declared that he was going to fight Goliath he had no armor or weapon on him except the testimony of what God had done in the past and the anointing of God in his life (remember he had just been anointed by Samuel). Even as King Saul was still doubting and rebuking the boy for such suicidal boldness, David began to reel out his testimonies.

Please, can we just go through that once more, 'But David persisted, 'I have been taking care of my father's sheep,' he said. 'When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 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! The LORD who saved me from the claws of the lions and the bear will save me from this Philistine!' Amen!

I have not seen this kind of faith and boldness elsewhere. Like you're already aware, the above statement was made by a little boy that was just coming out the bush where he has been looking after his father's sheep and not from one of the soldiers. He was sent to the camp to give food and word to his brothers who were at the battle front. But on getting there, he saw the humiliation of the army (people of God) and he rose up to the occasion. How do you feel when you see the people of God, others, your family, nation in distress? Even now that the church is facing one of the worst persecutions - spiritually and physically, how do you feel?

What are you going to do about it?? Or do you just want to watch as the people of God; your people are repeatedly humiliated, threatened and even killed? Now, arise, you could be that David they have been waiting for. True! You might have been born, called and prepared for this time, for this purpose. Arise, and defend them! This is you time to act. David even at that very tender age stood up for God and His people at the most critical time.

Please, before we proceed, let's just look at the objects of this boy's testimony. He said that he had killed the lions and bears in the bush; sometimes snatching their prey from their mouths. Wow! Incredible! Did you hear that? At that age and without any sophisticated weapon?? Truly, I have been brooding over this portion after writing the first of this message last week. This fit could have only been possible by a very special divine grace - a boy killing such carnivorous, voracious, ferocious beasts with almost bare hands? This is supernatural. Our God is great indeed! Though I'm sure that these two were not the only dangerous animals killed by this teenager, but let's just briefly look at the ones he personal mentioned here - the lions and the bears. This will help us to better appreciate what we are saying here:

Lions
Lion is a very powerful member of the cat family. It is not only strong, fearless, fierce and swift, but extremely carnivorous with very powerful claws and teeth. No animal stands on its way. In fact, it's well-acknowledged as the king of the animals. Some lions weigh as much as 250 kg (550 lb) and could be as long as 9.8-10.8 ft, like the Barbary lion. Even similar predators run away from it. Only its sight or roaring will always send other animals or humans scampering; the sound, which can be heard from a distance of 8 kilometers.

Bears
Bears are large doglike mammals of the Ursidae family. They have stocky legs, long snouts, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails. They are also very powerful and can weigh up to 750kg. And even with the massive weight, they can run 48 km/h. These are the kind of beasts that the boy David frequently pursued, dislodged, killed and sometimes snatched their prey from their mouths. Jesus! This was his testimony! And if God could do that in the bush in the past, then, who is this uncircumcised Philistine?? What is your testimony? Has God delivered you before? You sure need it now to face your current challenges. We will continue next week. Hope you given your life to Jesus Christ. You can't partake in all we've been saying without doing that now. Yes, now. Do that immediately and write in for counseling. God bless you!

Rev Agbo is the author of the best-selling book Power of Midnight Prayer and a minister with Assemblies of God Nigeria. Website: www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo Tel: 08037113283 E-mail: [email protected]