BIG IDEA: Giants are stalking the land but the church seems to be burying its head in the sand. We must get up and fight because there is a cause.
Introduction: David was the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse. Three of his brothers served in Saul’s army. There names were Eliab who was the firstborn, Abinadab and Shammah. They were the three oldest of Jesse’s son. Every now and again, David would leave his father’s sheep, which he tended and go to visit with his brothers in the military camps.
One day David’s father Jesse called his young son and dispatched him on a very important errand. David was instructed to take for his brothers, some food – an epah of dried grain and ten loaves of bread. He was also instructed to take ten cheeses to the captains of Saul’s army in return for information on how his brothers were faring. Jesse wanted to know exactly how his boys were doing! (This probably explains his oldest brother’s disdain when David started asking questions about Goliath).
Goliath was a champion of the Philistines who rose up at a time when the armies of Saul were arrayed against the armies of the Philistines to do battle. He was a huge Philistine - 9 feet 9 inches tall and he wore tremendous armor. The weight of his coat of mail alone was 5,000 shekels of bronze which works out to roughly 125 pounds if you use a common shekel. His iron spearhead was about 15 pounds in weight. In addition to that Goliath wore a bronze helmet on his head, bronze armor on his legs and carried a bronze javelin on his back. He also carried a spear, a sword and a shield bearer carried his shield.
Goliath the champion of the Philistines struck fear in the hearts of the children of Israel. Both armies were gathered at a place called Sochoh, a place that belonged to Judah. In other words the children of Israel were on their home turf. Every day for forty days, morning and evening he would stand up and defy the armies of Israel. He would challenge them to send out a champion to fight with him. He said to them, “If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” (17:10) Saul and his army knew that they did not have a man to match Goliath’s size and strength so they were “dismayed and greatly afraid.”
Now there had gone out from Saul a decree that if any man accepted the challenge and killed Goliath he would become a rich man in addition to having the king’s daughter as his wife and father’s house would be exempt from paying taxes- quite a prize for anyone brave enough to take up the Philistine’s challenge. Unfortunately no one was willing to do so.
On the day the David arrived at the camp, the children of Israel were getting ready to fight with the Philistine army. David handed over the food that he had brought, to the supply keeper and then ran over to greet his brothers. As he stood talking to them, Goliath showed up and repeated his defiant words but this time “David heard them.” David was incensed. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” He exclaimed.
Eliab, David’s oldest brother heard David’s remarks and he got angry. “Why did you come down here?” He said. “And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?” Eliab berated his little brother. “I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” David’s response was a little curt: “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?”
Is there not a cause…that is my topic today! There is no doubt there are giants stalking the land. Just like Goliath, they are waving their arms and defying the God that we serve. The problem is, not many are doing anything about it. It seems as if we are too scared because we are facing formidable odds. I would like to ask the same question that David asked his brothers on that day…are there not a cause?
Is there not a cause to stand up and fight the giants that are attacking our families? Is there not a cause to stand up for yourselves? For your children? Is there not a cause?
In the church today I see three problems. We call ourselves Christians; we say that we serve a great and powerful God but many of us really live lives of defeat and inconsequence because we are afraid of the giants that we see before us. The problems that I see in the church today are: Anemia, Lethargy and Apathy.
1. THE CHURCH SEEMS TO BE ANEMIC.
Anemia: a quantitative deficiency of the hemoglobin, often accompanied by a reduced number of red blood cells and causing pallor, weakness, and breathlessness. A lack of power, vigor, vitality, or colorfulness
a) The blood of Jesus gives power to the church
- The church stands or falls on the blood of Jesus
- We are over-comers by the “blood of the lamb.” Revelation 12:11
- The blood runs through the bible (it is the scarlet thread that flows through scripture).
- Andre Crouch gave us a beautiful song years ago
- “The blood that Jesus shed for me, way back on Calvary;
- The blood that gives me strength, from day to day;
- It shall never lose its power.
- For it reaches to the highest mountain,
-And it flows to the lowest valley:
-The blood that gives me strength, from day to day,
- It shall never lose its power!”
- It soothes my doubts, and it calms my fears;
-And it dries all my tears;
--The blood that gives me strength, from day to day,
- It shall never lose its power!”
b) God established a blood covenant with man in the garden of Eden
- Animal skins were used to cover man’s nakedness after his fall in the garden
- It was a picture of God’s desire to cover our nakedness (our sin) from before His eyes (something had to die).
- In Exodus 12 God established the Passover (explain)
- The death angel would pass and take out the first born of every Egyptian’s house but where the blood of the lamb was present, there would be safety
- God promised that He would make a new covenant
Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
- Jesus represents that new covenant that God has made
-Jesus became that Lamb whose blood was shed for the church
- Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
c) The blood cannot lose it’s power but we may cause it to lose it’s efficacy (capacity for producing a desired result or effect; effectiveness)
- Through our unwillingness to recognize the power of the blood
- The blood has the power to cleanse and make atonement for sins- “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
- The blood has the power to redeem - 1 Peter 1:18 - 19 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
APPLICATION: But we find that the church today is anemic in that we have lost our faith in the power of the blood of Jesus. We used to sing: There is power, power, wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb…but now it seems we are living in a different age. I say it is time for us to get back to trust and faith in the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus is what makes the church what it is and without it we are nothing!
2. THE CHURCH SEEMS TO BE LETHARGIC
Lethargy: The quality or state of being drowsy and dull, listless and unenergetic, or indifferent and lazy; an abnormal state or disorder characterized by overpowering drowsiness or sleep.
a) Too much concern with the “giants” of the land can cause lethargy
-We see the problem but there seems to be little that we can or are willing to do about it
- The children of Israel succumbed to fear brought on by a seemingly impossible situation.
b) They were ready to fight but they took to flight instead
- The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak
- We often find ourselves facing the same predicament
- We are willing but we are too weak, too lazy, too tired to make the sacrifices that are necessary to put down our giants
- So instead we run away in fear and cowardice
3. THE CHURCH SEEMS TO BE APATHETIC!
Apathy: Absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement a lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.
a) To be apathetic means to not care
- “What ever!” A youthful expression of disinterest
- An attitude that quite frankly ticks me off
- It is a reflection of this generation that does not seem to care
b) When the church or the people of God become apathetic it is time for concern
- David’s brother Eliab expected the young son of Jesse to be apathetic about the situation
- Because of his cowardice he could not fathom David’s seeming “bravado.”
- He berated his brother in front of his (Eliab’s) fellow soldiers
- He tried to use sarcasm and belittling to keep David down
- “With whom have you left those few sheep?”
-“I know the pride and insolence of your heart.”
c) David’s response: Is there not a cause
- There is a cause to want to stand up and fight
- Goliath was challenging g them on their home turf (Shocoh belonged to Judah)
- Goliath was defying the armies of Israel
- By defying the armies of Israel he was defying the God of Israel
- The children of Israel were experiencing real fear in the face of this giant (the uncircumcised Philistine).
- David emphasized Goliath’s lack of circumcision as a testament to the difference between this giant and the children of Israel
- The act of circumcision was the sign that they were God’s people (The Abrahamic covenant) Genesis 17:10-14
10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
d) Goliath had to be dealt with and someone had to do it
- David wanted the people to know that there was a cause
- You must know that there is a cause
- Giants are stalking the land and someone has to be willing to fight
- There are giants of drugs, poverty, hardship and despair before you
APPLICATION: It is not enough to see the giants and know that they exist. One must have the determination to do something about them. The giants are stalking the land and it will take people with guts and the fortitude to put them down. The giants may be huge and they may seem formidable but size does not matter when you are a child of God. Giants can be conquered, giants can be killed
STRATEGY FOR KILLING GIANTS:
1. Recognize that the giants are out to kill you and make slaves of you and your family, so there is a cause worth fighting for
9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”
2. Be determined to fight!
1 Samuel 17:32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
3. Trust in the God of the past to take care of your present and your future.
17:37 Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”
17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, 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.
CONCLUSION: Though it may seem as if the church is anemic; though it may seem as if the church is lethargic or though it may seem as if the church is apathetic it is not. The church is a powerful organism that has at its head a mighty warrior king. We can slay our giants if we recognize that He has made an unbroken covenant with us and His blood gives us the power to live victoriously.
