Goliath Felled Series

1 Samuel 17

Goliath Felled

Show clip from “The Bear” during break

Read 1 Samuel 17:1-54

Describe Goliath

9.5 ft tall

126 lbs of armor alone

spear like a fence post – the head alone weighed 15 lbs

modern terms – Tiananmen Square standoff

Who is your Goliath? What is it in your life that looks like it is impossible to defeat, what intimidates you morning and night? 40 mornings and 40 evenings he has come out to taunt. He mocked Israel, and he mocked God

Personal issues – addictions, behaviors, habits that you can’t get rid of?

Work related issues? – bad boss, impossible quotas, unreachable goals?

Social issues – poverty, disease, global climate change…?

Faith/church related – renewal that you would like to come. Use of your gifts – healing “big” diseases… - Cancer is a Goliath

Your Goliath is not likely a human being

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

What can we learn from David & Goliath that will help us fight our impossible battles?

Seeing with new eyes

The Men had been listening to this giant for 40 mornings and 40 evenings – and quaking in their boots. David comes along on morning 41 carrying cheese, bread and grain for his brothers. He hears the battle cry, leaves the supplies with the quarter-master and runs to the battle lines to see his brothers – “Hi, how are ya?”

That’s when Goliath shows up. The Israelite Army is terrified, but David is horrified – “how can you let this guy defy God’s people and God himself! What’s the king offering to the man who rids the world of this disgrace?”

The army saw the problem – this guy is too huge to defeat

David saw a different problem – this guy is evil and insulting

David saw the solution – take this guy out!

Often times we think that the biggest problem surrounding our Goliaths is that there is no solution. We need to ask God to help us see with new eyes and to see the problem for what it is. If your Goliath is a system that seems unchangeable, we need to take our eyes off the unchangeableness and remind ourselves of the evil of the system that God has called us to change.

We need to stop thinking about how hard it is to break an addiction and think about how the addiction is ruining our lives, and the lives of the people around us, how it ruins our relationships with people and with God!

Seeing with God’s eyes

David was able to be offended more by Goliath’s insults and blasphemy than he was terrified by his size because he saw Goliath not compared to another man, but compared to God. Compared with God, Goliath was not a giant, he was a speck of dust!

Compared with God cancer is not “the big “C”: Jesus is the big “C”!

There is no system bigger than God

There is no addiction bigger than God

There is no (insert your Goliath) bigger than God!

Nay-sayers

David wants to take Goliath out, but first he has to get past his own brothers.

Any time you try to take up an epic battle, you will have to put up with nay-sayers, and they will likely be people who are supposed to be on your side

28 Eliab, his older brother, heard David fraternizing with the men and lost his temper: "What are you doing here! Why aren’t you minding your own business, tending that scrawny flock of sheep? I know what you’re up to. You’ve come down here to see the sights, hoping for a ringside seat at a bloody battle!"

“Who do you think you are?”

There must have been some jealousy to start with – David’s big brothers were looked over to be anointed as the future king. Eliab reminds David that he is a lousy shepherd, and even questions his abilities to do that well. And then he tells him that he has impure motives for even being there.

What out – when you go up against your Goliath, you may be attacked first from where you least expect it!

All said, “who do you think you are?” is a good question to have to answer. There are times that we rush into battle with Goliaths that we were never meant to fight. David knew that this was his battle, because of his close relationship with God. If you are going to battle a Goliath, make sure that God is going with you – if he’s not, you’ll lose. David was sure that God was with him. Earlier Jonathan had entered a battle just to see if God was with him – It was a wager he was willing to take. If you’re not sure, you may want to ask yourself if you want to take the wager.