This blog is an excerpt of a message delivered by Rev. Dr. Samuel Olajire, under-shepherd of Antioch Baptist Church, Gomosho.
Based on 1 Samuel 17:41–51
We want to look at the book of 1 Samuel chapter 17, verses 41 to 51. From our study of the battle between Israel and Philistine, where David emerged as the hero and Goliath the victim, we can see a number of indices of love for God.
Faith in God
The first index is faith in God. You cannot say that you love God and you don’t have faith in him. Those who love God have absolute faith in his ability and knowledge. They believe that he is able to fulfill his promises. They believe in his ability to bring to pass his plan and purpose for their lives and his people. They trust him to deliver them from their enemies, and they don’t ever entertain doubt about God’s ability.
We see this clearly demonstrated by David in this story. In verse 45, 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.” And in verse 46: “This day the Lord will hand you over to me. And I will strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.”
What an expression of faith in the ability of God to deliver from the hand of the enemy. If you say you love God, that is the kind of faith you ought to have in him. That is the kind of trust you are supposed to have in him. How much faith do you have in his ability to fulfill his promise? How much do you trust in him? Our God is trustworthy. If you say that you love him, an index that you are going to manifest is faith in him. Absolute trust in him.
Seeking the Honor of God
The next index of love for God is seeking the honor of God. If you say that you love God, wherever you are, it is your duty to ensure that God is honored in your life. In every situation in which you are involved, if truly you love God, you must seek to bring honor to God.
David was jealous of the honor of the Lord. He did not want any denigration of the name of the Lord. In 1 Samuel 17:26, David asked the men standing near him: “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?” David had an understanding of the honor due to God and the people of God. He saw the insolence held against the name of God as a disgrace. He could not withstand it and was ready to remove it. And he went further: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
You see what was driving David into this battle. The honor of God. That a nation had gathered together to disgrace the armies of the living God was for him an anathema. Because he knew his God, his God was important to him. He was prepared to do everything to restore honor to God, to remove the disgrace and the reproach that had been brought upon the people of God.
That phrase, “the armies of the living God,” became almost a refrain in the speech of David at regular intervals. And in verse 46, David wanted the whole world to know the might, the greatness, the almightiness of the God of Israel. That was his reason for going into this battle. The way Goliath presented himself, it was as though the God of Israel was a powerless God. And David said no. He was ready to be an instrument of bringing honor to God, an instrument of revealing the greatness of this God to the whole world.
Men and women who claim love for God must be men and women who are prepared to defend the honor of the Lord. You claim to love God. How much are you concerned with removing disgrace from the local assembly and the body of Christ at large? Does your life not bring disgrace to this assembly and the body of Christ? How much are you seeking the manifestation of the presence and power of God for people to know that our God is alive? David sought to honor God, and God glorified himself in his life. May your life bring honor to the Lord.
Risking Your Life for the Kingdom
The third index of love for God is risking of life for the kingdom’s sake. Those who genuinely love God don’t consider it a waste to put their lives on the line for the sake of God’s kingdom.
When the king of Israel, the commander of the army, and other captains and certified men of war were not able to accept the challenge thrown to them by Goliath, David, a young man, came on the scene and accepted to fight Goliath. He was not a certified soldier like his brothers Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah. He took his life in his hand and fought the battle of Jehovah.
Look at the threats of Goliath in verses 43 and 44. Goliath said to David: “Am I a dog that you come out with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.” What a threat from a giant to a small boy like David. Because of his height, Saul, the commander of the army, the other captains, and the certified soldiers were afraid. But David gave a courageous declaration and a determination to stand for the Lord against the enemy.
He was not bothered by the appearance of Goliath. He was not terrified by the spear, by the javelin, by the weapons of war that Goliath carried, or by the armor his armor bearer carried before him. He was ready to risk his life, not minding the physical impossibility. He looked beyond the ordinary. He looked beyond the physical. He looked to the invisible strength of the Lord. And he took a risk for the Lord. And God honored that risk.
You say you love God. Have you ever taken a risk for the Lord or his kingdom? What risk have you ever taken for the Lord? You say you love God but you are not ready to accommodate any kind of inconvenience around your life for the sake of God and his kingdom. You cannot risk your life and you cannot release your time and money for the sake of the kingdom. What kind of love is that? Men and women who love God are ready to risk their lives, their time, their money for the sake of the kingdom of God.
Think about the mother of Moses. When the law went out that every male child should be killed, that woman decided to take a risk for the Lord. She kept Moses for three months until it became practically impossible to keep him any longer. And God honored the risk that she took. Think about Abraham. God told him to leave his people and his country and go to a land that he would show him. God never told him the name of the place he was going, and he took that risk. He went ahead, and today Abraham is the father of faith.
Suppose David had become afraid like every other person. Suppose he was not prepared to take a risk for the Lord. The Philistine army would have descended upon the people of Israel and destroyed them. But there was a young man who chose to take a risk, who resolved to place his life on the line. And God honored that risk.
Kingdom risk takers never have their lives wasted. Their names are registered in the hall of faith. You can also take a risk for the Lord and the Lord will honor your risk as he honored the risk of David.
We have an injunction to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. It is a possible commandment. David exemplified for us three ways of demonstrating love for God: absolute faith in God, seeking to bring honor to God, and taking a risk for God. We also can demonstrate our love for God and God will honor us in return. May we all appropriate the grace of God to reciprocate his love for us.