Introduction: Last Sunday we talked about the fact that the reason God chose David to be the next King of Israel was not his outward appearance or his physical abilities. Instead God chose David because he was a humble man, who was passionate about his relationship with God, and trusted Him with his whole heart. We mentioned the fact that even though he had been anointed as the next King of Israel that it didn’t immediately change his life. In fact he continued to shepherd his father’s sheep just as he had before. This morning, I want us to look at the next incident that took place in the life of David, and see what we can learn from David about handling the giants in our lives. Turn with me if you will to 1 Samuel 17 as we read verses 1-11.
The valley of Elah was not a narrow ravine. It was more like a vast canyon. In fact it was over a mile wide in places. The canyon was separated by a creek, and on both sides of the creek the ground sloped up for at least a half mile. The Philistine army was camped on one hillside and the Israelites were camped on the other hillside. They were prepared for battle, but the only war that had been waged during the last 40 days was a psychological war.
The fourth verse introduces us to a Philistine by the name of Goliath who was over 9 ½ feet tall. Goliath would have made Shaqelle O’neal look like Travis Ford. According to our text Goliath was not only a big man, but he also had a big mouth. Every morning and every evening Goliath walked out into the valley where everyone could see him and he taunted the Israelites. He challenged them to send someone over to fight him and settle the battle once and for all. This had gone on for 40 days, and Saul and all of his soldiers were scared stiff, including David’s 3 older brothers.
David’s father Jesse was concerned about his 3 oldest sons who were in Saul’s army, so he decided to send David to check on them. Jesse gave David some fresh food to take to his brothers and told him to hurry back so he would know his sons were all okay.
When David arrived at the Valley of Elah where the Israelites were it looked as if they were preparing to go into battle. So he rushed to find his brothers and greeted them. As he was talking with them, Goliath walked out from among the Philistines and started to taunt the Israelites again. David heard what he was saying and turned to some of the men around him and said, “Who does this guy think he is? Doesn’t He know who he’s dealing with? Doesn’t he know that he is insulting the army of the Living God? Then David looked at the men standing around him and asked, “What will the King do for the man who kills this jerk and removes this disgrace from the nation of Israel?
You see even though Saul stood head and shoulders above all of his men, he was a coward and refused to fight Goliath. So he devised an incentive plan to try and entice someone else to do it. The incentive package included money, but King Saul also promised to give his own daughter as a bride to the man who killed Goliath. In addition Saul also promised to exempt the man’s father from paying taxes. After hearing what the men said, David went to the King and told him that He was willing to fight Goliath.
Can you imagine what Saul’s reaction was? He probably laughed out loud. Remember David was only a teenager, and I can guarantee you that he didn’t look like Labron James. He was probably 5’5” and may have weighted 180 pounds soaking wet. I can picture Saul walking over to David and saying, ‘son I appreciate your bravery but let’s be realistic, you’re just a boy and this guy is a professional soldier… you wouldn’t stand a chance against him.’
But that didn’t discourage David, he told Saul how he had fought and killed both lions and bears that had attacked his sheep. David assured Saul that God would deliver him from the hand of this Philistine just as he had from the paws of those wild animals. Saul was impressed with David’s courage and decided to let David fight Goliath. He even tried to give David His own armor and sword. But, it was so big and so heavy that David could barely move, so he decided not to wear it. Instead he chose to go into battle with the weapons that he was most familiar with, his Shepherd’s staff and his slingshot.
As David made his way toward Goliath, he stopped at the creek and picked up 5 smooth stones and placed them in his bag. Then he made his way across the creek, and walked cautiously but deliberately toward Goliath. At the same time according to the Scripture Goliath and his shield bearer were making their way toward David. When they got close enough to David to get a really good look at him Goliath scoffed and said, ‘you’re just a boy, and that stick you have in your hand might protect you against a dog, but it’s not going to do you any good against me.’ He continued to ridicule and make fun of David by saying, ‘come here and I’ll kill you and the birds of the air and the wild beasts will devour your flesh.’
But I want you to notice how David reacted. He didn’t tuck tail and run, or cowl down like a whipped puppy. Instead, He responded by saying, “You have come into battle today with a sword and shield, but I have come against you in the Name of the Lord Almighty, The God of the armies of Israel that you have defiled. He continued by saying, “and today, He is going to deliver you into my hands, and I will cut off your head, and not only will I feed your body, but the bodies of all the Philistines that are with you to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.’ Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.”
This must have made Goliath mad, because He started moving closer to David to attack him. David didn’t back down though, in fact He started running toward Goliath, swinging that slingshot over his head, and when he got close enough he let it go, and the rock struck Goliath right between the eyes and He fell to the ground with a thud. David didn’t hesitate, he ran over to where the giant way laying, took Goliath’s own sword out of the scabbard and used it to cut his head off.
When the Philistines realized that Goliath was dead they tried to retreat, but the Israelites who had suddenly realized that God was on their side, pursued them and killed all of them.
Now this is a story that most of us have heard since we were in the preschool department. But it’s more than just a story. There are several things that we can learn from this event in David’s life that can help us in our own lives.
For Instance: One of the things we see in this story is just how intimidating giants can be.
(1) Goliath was very intimidating. He stood over 9 ½ feet tall, was a professional soldier, and probably had a booming voice. Verse 11 tells us that “When Saul and the Israelites heard Goliath issue his challenge that they were terrified and deeply shaken.” Later, in verse 24 it says that when the “Israelites saw Goliath, they all began to run away from him in fear.” So undoubtedly just the sight of him or the sound of his voice sent cold chills down their spines.
The Giants we face can be just as intimidating to us, as Goliath was to the Israelites. You see we face all kinds of giants. Some of you here this morning are facing emotional giants like worry, doubt, fear, or anxiety, Some of you are facing mental giants like, stress, insecurity, or even depression. Some of you are facing physical giants like disease, pain, or even disability. For some of you Goliath may be a bad habit, or an addiction that you just can’t seem to kick. For some of you it’s a problem at work, or a subject at school, or a financial problem that not only won’t go away, but just keeps getting bigger.
Like Goliath, the giants in our lives taunt us. Day after day we wake up hoping that they are gone, but day after day they reappear. Day after day our giants humiliate us, and do their best to make our lives miserable. A contemporary Christian group by them name of Casting crowns understands this very well. Let me remind you of the words of a song I played earlier in the service. The second verse goes like this:
“Oh what I would do to have the kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant with just a sling and a stone. Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors shaking in their armor. Wishing they’d have had the strength to stand. But the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me. Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed. The giant keeps on telling me time and time again, ‘boy you’ll never win! You’ll never win!”
But guess what? I’ve got some good news for you this morning. That Giant that is doing his best to make you feel like a loser can only succeed if you let him. That’s right, it’s up to you, you can let that giant put you down and make your life a living hell, or you can stand up and confront it just like David did. Of course you can’t defeat it all by yourself anymore than David could have defeated Goliath without God’s help. But with God all things are possible. David knew that, and he knew it didn’t matter how BIG or how BAD Goliath was, because God was on his side not Goliath’s and that was all that mattered.
Casting Crowns knows this too, and they finish up that second verse by saying,
“But the voice of truth tells me a different story. The voice of Truth says, “Do not be afraid!” And the voice of Truth says, “This is for My Glory.” Out of all the voices calling out to me I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.”
So the choice is yours you can choose to listen to the Giant and be miserable or you can choose to believe the Voice of Truth and put your faith and trust in Him, and He will defeat your Giant just as He did Golaith.
(2) A second lesson I think we can learn from the story of David & Goliath is that Giants often have accomplices.
Now I’m not talking about Goliath’s shield bearer, I’m talking about David’s own brother. Listen to what Eliab told David. Verse 28 tells us that when Eliab heard David discussing the situation with some other men he became angry. He looked at David with disgust and said, “What are you doing here anyway? What did you do with the sheep you are supposed to be watching out in the desert?”
David was just asking a question, he hadn’t even said anything about fighting Goliath yet, and his brother was already trying to put him in his place. Maybe he was jealous or maybe he just didn’t want his kid brother to do something that would embarrass him in front of his friends. But David handled the situation very well. He didn’t get into an argument with Eliab, he knew Goliath was the enemy that he needed to focus on not Eliab.
This is something we all need to learn. We need to remember who the enemy is and focus on him instead of wasting our time fighting one another. The Apostle Paul said it this way, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers of the air.” This of course was his way of saying that Satan and his followers are our real enemies, not one another.
Unfortunately Eliab wasn’t the only accomplice Goliath had among the Israelites. King Saul also tried to discourage David. When David told the King that he was willing to fight Goliath, Saul responded by saying, “Don’t be ridiculous, there is no way you can fight this guy. You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy.” (v.33)
This is such a typical response. You can’t do it, you’re just a boy! You can’t do it you’re not big enough! You can’t do it, you’ve never been trained! You can’t do it you don’t have enough experience! You can’t do it you don’t even have a sword or a shield!
How many times have you heard someone in the church say something like this; “You know, so and so might make a good teacher but they’re awful young and they don’t have any experience. Churches our size are also notorious for our lack of faith, we say things like: That’s a great idea of how to minister to people in our community, but we can’t do it, we’re simply not big enough. Which is our way of saying we don’t have enough money to do it. We need to be careful of what we say and how we say it. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be the person responsible for God not being able to accomplish what He wants to accomplish in and through this church?
Of course we know that David didn’t let Eliab or Saul discourage Him. Like the Apostle Paul, David knew that he could do anything that God gave him the strength to do,” which leads me to the next lesson we can learn from this story.
(3). You see, David exercised faith rather than being paralyzed by Fear.
He knew what it meant to “walk by faith and not by sight.” Saul and the rest of the Israelites saw the situation through human eyes. They saw Goliath and were paralyzed with fear. David not only lived by faith, but He saw the situation through God’s eyes. He didn’t see Goliath as a threat, instead he saw him as an opportunity for God to be glorified.
A man by the name of Jonathan Falwell once said the reason “So Many Christians Never Achieve The Maximum Potential In Their Lives Is Because They Never Conquer The Thing That They Fear The Most.”
a. The Israelites feared Goliath because he seemed to be Invincible.
b. They also made the mistake of believing that their future depended solely on their own Abilities instead of trusting God to deliver them.
Courage comes when we live by faith and not by sight. Courage comes because we have confidence in God’s unlimited power, not in our own physical limitations. It is possible for a person of Faith to see things through God’s eyes, to see obstacles as opportunities or even as potential victories. After all, we know that nothing is impossible with God. That’s the kind of faith David had, and that’s why he wasn’t afraid to stand toe to toe with Goliath. Which leads to yet another lesson we can learn from this story.
(4) You see, even in the face of unbeatable odds David was confident that He would prevail.
That confidence was the result of a couple of things.
a. First, David not only knew that all things were possible with God, but he also knew that God had protected him, and enabled him to do some pretty amazing things in the past. Including killing wild animals like lions and bears that were threatening his flock. So knowing that God had done it in the past gave him the confidence he needed to take a step of faith even though it seemed like suicide to everyone else.
This is something that we need to remember. I want you to think back over the victories God has given you in the past. I want you to recall the times He has protected you and provided for you. I want you to reminisce about the times where He has delivered you from situations that seemed hopeless.
That’s what David did, and as he reminisced his confidence grew even stronger. He knew that God was going to do it again, and he couldn’t wait to get on with it. So when you come face to face with a Giant, don’t run away, don’t burry your head in the sand and hope it will go away; but remind yourself of how God has delivered you in the past, and He will give you the strength you need not only to stand up against your Giant but defeat it.
b. That’s what David did. He went into battle with Confidence because he knew that God was the source of his strength. Knowing God would empower him and give him the strength he needed to accomplish the task at hand gave David the courage he needed to fight and defeat a man twice his size and probably twice his age.
We can also have confidence that God will give us the strength and courage we need to fight and win whatever battles may come our way. David had learned this lesson, which is why he was able to defeat Goliath and write these words found in Psalm 28:7, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.” Ps 28:7
(6) The last lesson I want to mention this morning is this: The Giants we face can bring us closer to God or they can point out our spiritual weaknesses.
Many of the problems David faced in his life brought him closer and closer to God. On the other hand, it is very evident that Saul, Eliab and all the other Israelites were blinded by their circumstances and didn’t have the faith necessary to fight and win the battle.
What about you this morning?
Do you have the faith that it takes to stand up against a Giant?
Are you willing to Trust God instead of your own abilities?
Are you willing to walk by faith and not by sight?
Who are you going to listen to this morning?
Are you going to listen to the Giant that keeps telling you that “You’ll never win,”
Or are you going to “Listen to the Voice of Truth” that says, “Do not be afraid’ because this is for my Father’s glory.”
I encourage you this morning to Listen to the Voice of Truth, and stand firm in the face of that Giant today, knowing that God will give you the strength and courage to defeat Him just as He did David.
