October 15

1 Samuel 17:45-47

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”

Mission Impossible—The youthful, unequipped, unseasoned David sent out against the mighty Goliath. Yet, the mission was greater than just a personal giant. Goliath represented an age-old enemy, the Philistines, the idols of the nations, the power and desire of fertility as the god of Dagon.

Goliath represented the world in all its systems raising defiance against the Living God. And David was sent out. Mission Impossible.

The stakes were high. God’s own reputation was at stake, having set his name on his people. God’s mission was at stake, for if Israel cowered and was defeated, oppressed by the foreign gods, how could they be the glorious light that would draw all nations to God, a kingdom of priests? (Exo. 19:4-6; Mic. 4:2; Isa. 2:2-3 ). And it was Israel through whom the Messiah would come. God’s mission was at stake.

But God… “For the battle is the Lord’s” (v. 47) and David was confident of victory. The Lord of hosts, of all the angel armies, would ensure victory. Why? “That all the earth may know there is a God in Israel” and that Israel would know the saving power of God (v. 46b-47a). Like Pharaoh and Rahab, the Philistines had an opportunity in judgment and power to see the true God and respond. God’s victory revealed the impotency of their god. Goliath ended up flat on the ground and headless, just like their god Dagon had fallen before the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 5, especially vv. 1:Samuel 6:5-6).

Our Goliaths today are materialism, ISIS, dictators, prosperous apathy, animism, systems of injustice, anything that raises its head against our God and his kingdom. We are all called to be Davids and confront the Goliaths, the world systems. But our missionaries are on the front lines, where Goliaths are lifted up as the powerful. The entrenched power and evil and worldview seems impossible to overcome. Yet, we serve the Lord of Hosts and our missionaries can be confident that the battle is the Lord’s. This does not make staring down a Goliath easy, but there can be a bold confidence to spur on those weary steps.

And moreover, it is important to recognize our missionaries and we are called to be Davids not because we are great warriors or special, but because David foreshadowed the ultimate Victor, Jesus Christ. It is in him, his strength, his authority, and his presence that we are called to go out and confront the Goliaths by making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in his name, and teaching them (Mat. 28:18-20). And all the earth will see that there is a God of his Church.

Your Mission

·         Pray for our missionaries, that they may have the ability to discern the Goliaths of the world’s system in the culture in which they live and the wisdom to know how to defy these giants while loving the people. Pray for their confidence and courage to confront these Goliaths.

·         How are you confronting the Goliaths in our community and culture? Read Colossians 2:15 for encouragement!

Mission Impossible Made Possible—Field Notes

HANK & KRISTA SCOTT
When Krista and I began our role with Wycliffe Bible Translators in the year 2000, Wycliffe and their partner organizations had just begun to tackle Vision 2025: “…by the year 2025 a Bible translation project will be in progress for every people group that needs it.”  When they adopted that vision in 1999, the pace of translation was on a trajectory to begin the last Bible translation in 150 years – not in 25 years!

In 1999, accomplishing Vision 2025 seemed practically impossible.  But we know that with God all things are possible (Matt 19:26) and if the Lord wanted Vision 2025 to succeed for His glory, He would need to bring it about.  Now in 2015, we are well beyond half way to the 2025 goal.  We are now on a trajectory of starting the last translation around 2040.  When we began Vision 2025, there were over 3,000 languages with no Scripture.  Now that number is down to 1,800 languages, with active work in 2,300 more languages.  Since Vision 2025 started we have finished – not just begun –translation in over 500 languages spoken by 250 million people!  The Lord IS in this!

Bible translation is now a global movement with more partner organizations and people involved than ever before!  The global Church is recognizing that finishing Bible translation is their responsibility, with Wycliffe partner organizations coming alongside the church as a resource with the experience to provide expert consulting, enabling God’s people to complete the task.  We are literally experiencing “Mission: Impossible—Made Possible!”