PURSUING YOUR GIANTS
1 Samuel 17 W. Max Alderman
INTRODUCTION: It is not enough to only “face your giants”, there are times that you must pursue your giants. There must be a sudden, non-lingering attack; we must do as did David, pursue our giants. The word “pursue” means: “to follow in order to overtake, capture, kill, or defeat.” This should certainly be our attitude towards our personal giants. Let me show some common giants that we all face and that we should pursue and destroy: 1. doubt, 2. jealousy, 3. temptation, 4. anger, 5. rejection, 6. Bitterness, 7. Guilt, 8.shame, 9.envy, 10. worry, 12. Resentment, 13. Fear.
I. BE AWARE OF YOUR PUPOSE (to kill the giants) (Vv. 1-37)
A. By Understanding the Cause (Vv. 1-29)
To his brothers, David was nothing more than a lowly shepherd, but within the scope of God’s providence, David was a giant killer… David saw a real cause or purpose in doing away with Israel’s enemy. It was with conviction, after David was rebuked by his brothers, that he said: “Is there not a cause?”
David had a real relationship with God. God was as real to him as his brothers were, or even as Goliath was. “There is no short cut to the life of faith, which is the all-vital condition of a holy and victorious life. We must have periods of lonely meditation and fellowship with God . . . Thus alone can the sense of God’s presence become the fixed possession of the soul, enabling it to say repeatedly, with the psalmist, ‘Thou art near, O God.’” (Meyer)
B. By Undergirding with Courage (Vv. 30-33)
Mark Twain is credited with saying: "It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog." There was much fight in David as he prepared for Goliath, because he had great purpose and he had the courage to back it up. When you are facing your giants, you should do so courageously, knowing that you do so with a great purpose. There was also the Great God who was with him to fight for him. He said “the battle is the Lord’s” (V. 47).
C. By Undertaking with Character (Vv. 34-37)
David knew that the same God that delivered him out of the “paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear” could deliver him out of the hand of Goliath. He put his trust absolutely in the Lord… He had the character to pursue and kill the giant, because the Lord had allowed him to go to school when he was previously delivered from his enemies. David had learned courage and character when no one was around to see it.
II. BE WISE IN YOUR PREPARATION (Vv. 38-47)
A. You Need The Right Armour When Preparing for the Giants. (Vv. 38-39)
Just as David could not wear the armour that belonged to someone else, we must put on the “whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6;13-17)
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
B. You Need the Right Approach When Preparing for the Giants. (Vv. 40-45)
David quickly told the Philistine “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”
The only way that we can pursue and destroy our giants is by doing so in the name of the Lord. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).
C. You Need the Right Attitude When Preparing for the Giants. (Vv. 46-47)
When facing the giants, you must be prepared. David took his staff and chose five smooth stones, out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag. He went against the giant with those things that were his and also those things that were familiar to him. He used those things that had already brought him victory. The same God that had blessed him before, blessed him as he went against Goliath.
III. BE WILLING AS YOU PURSUE (Vv. 48-58)
A. Go Forth Willingly With Passion (Vv. 48-49)
Passion marked David most of his life. The passion that David had during the time that he pursued after and killed Goliath is indicated by the word “ran”. In verse number 22, David “ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.” In verse number 48, “David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine” and then in verse number 51, “David ran and stood upon the philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him”.
Passion is more noticed in our youth, but when it comes to the things of God we should rekindle our passion, as we grow older, making sure that we serve God with more desire and purpose. The passionate person chooses so. He chooses willingly to pursue after his giants, just as David did.
B. Go Forth Willingly and Prevail (Vv. 50-58)
The truly passionate person does not go after his giants expecting to lose. He goes against his giants as a true conqueror. It may be something as simply as losing weight to improve your health, but if you are not determined, your giant called weight loss will conquer you rather than you conquer it. Because of a condition that involved my pancreas being damaged, I have to adjust my eating habits and lose several pounds of weight. The banana puddings that my wife cooks are like giants, but in order to conquer my giant called appetite, I must refuse it with passion in order that I might prevail over my giant. If you have a giant in your life called anger, then you must armour yourself with the resources of God and then conquer your giant. If you do not, then your giant will conquer you…
