5 Smooth Stones

1 Samuel 17:40-51 Then David took his shepherd's staff, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's pack, and with his sling in his hand approached Goliath. As the Philistine paced back and forth, his shield bearer in front of him, he noticed David. He took one look down on him and sneered—a mere youngster, apple-cheeked and peach-fuzzed.The Philistine ridiculed David. "Am I a dog that you come after me with a stick?" And he cursed him by his gods."Come on," said the Philistine. "I'll make roadkill of you for the buzzards. I'll turn you into a tasty morsel for the field mice." David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he's handing you to us on a platter!" That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.That's how David beat the Philistine—with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David! Then David ran up to the Philistine and stood over him, pulled the giant's sword from its sheath, and finished the job by cutting off his head. When the Philistines saw that their great champion was dead, they scattered, running for their lives. Pray Ok, let's digest this a bit more. What are we seeing here? 3 people share. Confidence! I wish I had the confidence that David has. We often hear how the David got it because of the Lion and the Bear attacking his sheep. In fact, in one translation, it says "I killed the Lion, I killed the bear, you'll be like one of them." What I want to talk to you about today is the 5 smooth stones. The interesting thing that David picked up 5 stones. Did you ever notice that even though he picked up 5 stones, he only ever used 1 to kill Goliath? I have always wondered why he picked up I did a quick google search on the number 5 in scripture and was given this definition: 5 is the number of divine grace. * Five kinds of animals were sacrificed under the Old Covenant: goats, sheep, cattle, pigeons, and doves [Genesis 15:9; Exodus 29:38; Leviticus 1:1-17; 3:1; 4:3, 14, 23, 28; 5:6-7]. * God changed Abram's name to Abraham by adding the letter/number 5 to his name [Genesis 17:5]. He changes Sarai's name by adding the same letter with the value of "grace" to form the name Sarah [Genesis 17:15]. Abraham and Sarah were transformed by grace to become the parents of a family from which the Messiah would be born. * The Tabernacle was measured in multiples of 5 [Exodus 25 - 27]. * 5 books of the Torah (first 5 books of the Old Testament). * Matthew's Gospel is composed of 5 "books" composed of 5 narratives and 5 discourses. * Jesus bled from 5 wounds on the altar of the Cross. * Daniel procalimed the Fifth Kingdom to be an Everlasting Kingdom [Daniel 2:37-44]. As interesting as that is, it makes me wonder still. Why smooth stones? As I began to pray about this scripture, many many thoughts came to mind. With 5 being the number of divine grace, that immediately registered the thought: God has given enough grace to defeat any enemy, overcome any obstacle, trial or temptation. Remeber: The battle we fight is not with flesh and blood, but with powers, principalities of this world.... The fact that David only used 1 stone out of the 5 tells me that while He gives us so much grace, we only need to use 1 stone's worth to slay Giants. Imagine what we could do with all 5 stones? The other thoughts that God was sharing with me was the fact that the stones were smooth. How did they get smooth? Very slowly, over the course of time, water running over the stones broke down and changed the shape and character of the stone. The stone may have thought "Why me?" or "This is so hard," or even "I am drowning!" But when it came down to it, this shaping was not punishment for being miss-shapen, but it was training for flight. David could not have flung the stone with any hope of accuracy, minus pure God intervention, to be able to deal a death blow to Goliath? What God was sharing with me was explained best by Bishop TD Jakes at a conference I went to a few years back. "You think that this is going to kill you, you think that the trials you have faced and are facing will destroy you, but I have news for you, it's not a death blow, its training.... You're in the GYM!" Or to put it in the words of James: "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." (1:2-4) In closing: I want to share this quote. I think it would help you to be encouraged and spurred on. If nothing else, it has helped me in times of frustration. "I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. I've stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sidewalking, small planning, smooth-knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, worldly-talking, cheap-giving, and dwarf goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, position, promotion, applause, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience. I am uplifted by prayer and labour by power. My face is set. My gait is fast. My goal is Heaven. My road is narrow. My way is rough. My companions are few. My God reliable. My mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of my adversaries, negotiate at the table of my enemy, or ponder at the pool of popularity. I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I've stayed up, stored up, prayed up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. " The funny thing is I have had this song in my head since we started it...