Summary: david and the palistines

By any earthy standard, the outcome of this battle would be "sure thing." However, when God enters the picture the entire outcome becomes quite different because of faith. It is interesting that David chose five smooth stones from the brook when only one was needed. Why did David do this? There is no reason given in Scripture. Consequently, whatever answer would be given would be purely conjecture.

The important aspect is that when it came time to fight Goliath, David took but one stone from his shepherd’s bag (1 Samuel 17:49). There in lies the true test of faith. When it came time to act according to faith, David took but one stone rather than having several in his hand to re-load if he missed. As you read the story, this remarkable event becomes an extraordinary expression of faith because David attacked Goliath. He hurled the stone while at a full run! Judges 20:16 tells us that Israel slingers were extremely accurate. Think of the logistics of aiming and throwing a stone while both parties are rapidly approaching each other. By faith, David knew one stone was all he needed for Goliath. James tells that "faith without works is dead, being alone" (2:17-18). David showed his faith by using but one stone when he had a bag full of stones. Why the other four stones? David told Goliath,

1 Sam. 17:46-47

46* "This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and 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 does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands."

David took four extra stones to either attack or defend himself while the Israelite army joined the battle. This seems more reasonable, but please understand that even this is conjecture. Thanks to David L. Baker for this material,

We have probably all grown up hearing the story of David and Goliath and how David’s faith allowed him to slay the Philistine giant but there is more to this story than meets the eye and one minor detail is often overlooked... We read in 1 Samuel 17:40 that David picked up and hand chose five smooth stones for his sling to use as ammunition to kill the giant.

Why did David need five stones? Why not just one? One cannot help but wonder, what was going through his mind as he selected those five stones. How much faith did David really have? David knew that God was going to deliver Goliath into his hand.... or, did he? Was he thinking that he might miss with his sling shot and have to try again? He only had one chance, David knew this. We all know the outcome of the story, David killed Goliath with one stone and one throw of his sling shot but there is a reason for the other four stones and why David picked five stones specifically.

Take a look at the old testament book of 2nd Samuel Chapter 21, verses 16 - 22. Here we find the armies of Israel, now under King David’s command, battling the Philistines yet again and that there are other giants involved, one of which had six fingers and six toes! In verse 19, we read that Jaareoregim slew the brother of Goliath. There are four giants mentioned in this passage and the bible lists them by name; Isbibenob (found in verse 16), Saph (in verse 18), the brother of Goliath the Gittite (verse 19), and a giant with six fingers and six toes! (verse 20). Verse 22 concludes with "these four were born to the giant in Gath and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants."

Goliath was not the only giant living in the land of the Philistines. He had four brothers. David knew that families stick together and that Goliath’s brothers would either come to Goliath’s aid to avenge him or he knew that he would have to face them in other battles, which he eventually did. Those five stones each had a name of one of those giants on it. David was ready to defeat his enemy and his whole monstrous family if need be and he had both the faith and the skill to do so.

Looking at the story of David and Goliath, let me ask you the reader to reflect upon this question..."what are the giants in your life?" What is the one problem or problems facing you that challenges you each day that may seem too big and too much for you to conguer that comes and picks a fight with you like Goliath when he challenged the Israelite army? Whatever that problem is, rest and stand still, knowing that the battle is not yours, but God’s. The victory is won already. David said it best when he told Goliath, "the battle is the Lord’s".

I can’t help but think David was witnessinng to Goliath and all of the philistine army at this point. They could have turned, repented and walked away at this point but they didn’t get the message, but you and I can! God used that giant as a huge exclamation point in history to illustrate well this very point, "The battle belongs to the Lord."

The same is true for you and your giants, problems, trials and difficulties. Do not run from your problems, stand still, hold your ground and watch the Lord fight for you and slay your giants. If you run from the giants in your life, they will defeat you. Walking in defeat is never a part of God’s plan for your life.

Put your trust in God and watch the deliverance of the Lord. There is nothing like seeing God’s deliverance. You have witnessed God’s deliverance already in your life if you have asked Him to be Lord of your life. You have seen Him rescue you from your sins and a eternal death in hell. Now stand, wait and watch Him deliver you again from life’s challenges and difficulties. In doing so, your confidence, your faith and your walk with Him will grow and you will mature in Christ so that during both good times and bad, your faith will be unwaivering, focused and consistent and the devil will no longer be able to defeat you but run from you as you claim the authority of Christ and stand in the victory that is already won.

Ephesians 6:13 - "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, stand". We cannot do battle against spiritual forces by using our physical strength. Remember what happened to David when he tried to put on Saul’s armor? It was too bulky and big. He knew he could not fight Goliath using the same tools Goliath was going to use. He had to wage warfare on a whole different level by letting God be His armor, his shield and his deliverer. Keep standing on God’s promises and watch the giants in your life fall and be slain by God’s power.

Written by Rick Short, February 2003, Revised February 2007.

its a story about faith in God and how He can overcome anything with seemingly nothin...it is an excellent story found in 1

Samuel 17

The father of Goliath was a giant who had five sons, all of whom fought for the Philistines. Every one of these four brothers were also giants who ultimately died in combat with the brave soldiers of David. Summarizing the story of their death in combat with David’s men, the prophet Samuel recorded: "These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants" (2 Samuel 21:22). When David picked up five smooth stones for his sling he was simply being prudent in preparing for the possibility that Goliath’s four brothers might have joined the battle when Goliath was killed. He might have needed the additional four stones to defeat the four other giants.

You see, the original story of David and Goliath is primarily a story not of David’s victory but of God’s. God won the battle on the field that day. God slew Goliath - not David. Instead, David’s great victory was over his own fear. We all look to (the original) verse 49 to find David’s victory, but David’s great victory occurred in verse 40. That is when David put his faith into action. That is when David gave his all to God; and although he clearly fell short of having the potential to accomplish the task, God made up the difference. God delivered the giant into the hands of the puny kid.

My point is this, whether or not God chose to intercede that day to defeat Goliath, whether it was Goliath or David that lay dead in the end, David won in the beginning. Although the bible doesn’t directly describe what fears David felt, be assured David was probably more afraid than he had ever been in his young life. To not experience fear in a life threatening situation is madness not bravery, so I can assure you David was certainly feeling afraid. However, David feared God more. David faced his human fears and stepped out on faith in obedience to God. He knew what was right and he attempted to do the right thing - consequences be darned. This is David’s great victory. Goliath was God’s great victory.

We get so hung up on verse 49 when we face our own Goliaths. We worry about, “Can I win,” before we decide, “Will I be obedient?” I’ll answer your first question, “No, you can’t win.” Read the second half of Romans chapter 7 if you don’t believe me. Even the Apostle Paul could not win on his own. That’s the great beauty of our human dilemma. We CANNOT win it on our own. We NEED God. That’s what Matthew 5:3 means when it says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit;” or in other words, blessed are those who realize their need for God.

Our spiritual poverty does not, however, justify a fatalistic, quitter’s attitude. Obedience is about right or wrong - not can or cannot. Can or cannot, victory or defeat is God’s business - not ours. The only way to for us to decide victory or defeat with any certainty is to accept defeat by not trying. How ludicrous it is that we fear defeat so much that we often embrace defeat to avoid taking a chance on victory. In fact, if you lay it all out there in faith and obedience, you have already won even if, like the David in my tragic tale, you are defeated. Just trying is the first and greatest victory.

You may have a Goliath facing you today. I am not so much talking about a huge decision or endeavor. Rather a giant sized challenge to be obedient to God. Realize that your giant has small feet. David was obedient to go in the beginning - in the small things. God called him to go out and fight Goliath - not to win. Anyone can GO. Even a young boy with no military experience can GO. You just need to grab up your staff, and sling, and stones - insignificant though they seem - and GO in faith and obedience.

We know exactly how David killed the giant, but we sometimes forget the why. David didn’t go out and fight the giant so he could get TV coverage and make personal appearances on all of the talk shows. He didn’t capitalize his exploit to endorse a line of stones and slingshots so that he might get rich. He didn’t slay Goliath so that people would point to him and exclaim in tones of admiration, “Look, there’s the guy who defeated Goliath in battle!”

We sometimes forget the why.

Why did David summon up every ounce of his courage to encounter Goliath in battle? He did, so, in order to prove to everyone that there was a God in Israel — a God who enabled David to triumph and Israel to triumph.

Goliath cursed David – Which meant that there was a curse on Goliath – (Genesis 12:1-3 & 27:28-30)

Goliath used his own strength and skill – David relied on the strength and wisdom of God – (Deuteronomy 20:4)

Goliath lived under the curse – David was living under God’s covenant protection. – (Deuteronomy 28)

Goliath thought he would win – David knew he was already victorious – He had faith in God’s Word – (Deuteronomy 28:7)

Goliath was armed with a spear, sword and shield – David was armed with a sling, some rocks and the Word of God spoken from his heart. – (1 Samuel 17:45-47)

When Goliath walked onto the battlefield, fear filled the entire Israelite camp. At that very moment, they were already beaten. God had told them that they should never be afraid of any enemy. As long as they were faithful to God’s Word, nobody could beat them. Any one of those soldiers could have been Israel’s champion that day if they had simply had the faith to believe and act on God’s Word. Fortunately for Israel, there was at least one person, David, who had the faith to believe that God would give him the victory. Don’t let fear rob you of any victories. Stand on God’s Word and you will always win.

David tried to put on Saul’s armor but instead went out with his own weapons – the ones given by God

Victory Does Not Come By Resolving.

Victory Does Not Come By Renouncing.

Victory Does Not Come By Rededicating.

Victory Does Not Come By Regretting.

Victory Comes By Receiving The Victory Already Made Possible Through Jesus.

Victory is defined as The defeat of an Enemy.

We may desire Victory Over Osama Ben Ladan today.

• We may desire Victory Over Terriorism today.

• But what we need is not Victory Over but Victory In Jesus!

• According to the definition

• Victory In Jesus is Defeat of the Enemy through the Power of Jesus Christ

The writer of Chronicles tells us

1 Chron 29:11

11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory

Isaiah said

Isa 25:8

8 The Lord GOD will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces;

Paul Wrote

1 Cor 15:54-57

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Hebrew word for Savior is “victor”, “deliver”, “rescuer”

-God the Father will rescue you from the darkness of your life, deliver you from the evil of your life, and give you victory.

-The Greek word for “saved” means: to be rescued from danger, to make well, to make whole

When we look at this shepherd boy the odds looked like they were stacked up against David. Things did not look to good. In fact the situation looked mighty bad.

If we honest tonight we feel like that sometimes. Sometimes we feel like we just cant win for loosing. This giant was almost ten feet tall. Then on top of that this Giant didn’t have a problem letting everybody know how bad he was. A problem always is bigger when you let that problem convince you of how bad it is.

40 days & nights Goliath let folks know how bad he was. He let the people of Israel know that I am Goliath. If you don’t know you better ask somebody. I have never been beat before. I have crushed armies with my single hand. The Israelite army was defeated before the battle was even fought.

A lot of times we do the same thing, we let the giants in our life whoop us before the battle even starts. A lot of us young and not so young have allowed our giants to defeat us. We have allowed the giants of sex, the giants of drugs, the giants or marijuana whatever your giant is, your giant have convinced you that you aint got no power. Young people we need to realize that greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.

I know that the odds don’t look to good for us. We don’t have to look long and we don’t have to look long but the odds are against us. Drugs on the corner, guns in the school, police brutality, racial discrimination. Yeah the odds are against us but we got Jesus.

David didn’t give up when the giants came in his life. David purposed in his mind that I will bless the Lord at all times and his praise.

Max Lucado

The slender, beardless boy kneels by the brook. Mud moistens his knee. Bubbling water cools his hand. He is searching for rocks. Stones. Smooth stones. The kind that stack neatly in a shepherd’s pouch, rest flush against a shepherd’s sling. Flat rocks that balance heavy on the palm and missile with comet-crashing force into the head of a lion, a bear, or, in this case, a giant.

Goliath towers above them all: nine feet, nine inches tall in his stocking feet, wearing 125 pounds of armor, and snarling like the main contender at a World Wide Wrestling Federation championship night. He wares a size 20 collar, a 101/2 hat, and a 56-inch belt. His biceps burst, thigh muscles ripple, and boasts belch through the canyon. “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other” (1 Sam. 17:10 NIV). Who will go mano a mano conmigo? Give me your best shot.

What odds did Daniel have against his giant? Better odds perhaps than you give yourself against yours. Your Goliath doesn’t carry sword or shield; he brandishes blades of unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, or depression. Your giant doesn’t parade up and down the hills of Elah; he prances through your office, your bedroom, your classroom. He brings bills you can’t pay, grades you can’t make, people you can’t please, whiskey you can’t resist, pornography you can’t refuse, a career you can’t escape, a past you can’t shake, and a future you can’t face.

How long has he stalked you? Goliath’s family was an ancient foe of the Israelites. Joshua drove them out of the Promised Land three hundred years earlier. Saul’s soldiers saw Goliath and mumbled, “Not again. My dad fought his dad. My granddad fought his granddad.”

You’ve groaned similar words. “I’m becoming a workaholic, just like my father.” “Divorce streaks through our family tree like oak wilt.” “My mom couldn’t keep a friend either. Is this ever going to stop?” When Saul and his men heard the Philistines’ challenge, they were terrified (1Sam. 17:11).

But what am I telling you? You know Goliath. You recognize his walk and wince at his talk. You’ve seen your Godzilla. The question is, is he all you see? You know his voice – but is it all you hear? David saw and heard more. David’s first discussion, although it was about Goliath, was on the Lord. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he defy the armies of the living God?” (1Sam. 17:26) David shows up discussing God. The soldiers mentioned nothing about him, the brothers never spoke his name, but David takes one step onto the stage and raises the subject of the living God. He does the same with King Saul: no chitchat about the battle or questions about the odds. Just a God-birthed announcement: “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 the Philistine” (1 Sam 17:37).

No one else discusses God. David discusses no one else but God. A subplot appears in the story. More than “David versus Goliath,” this is “God-focus versus giant –focus.” David sees what others don’t and refuses to see what other do. All eyes, except David’s, fall on the brutal, hate-breathing hulk. All compasses, sans David’s, are set on the polestar of the Philistine. All journals, but David’s, describe day after day in the land of the Neanderthal. The people know his taunts, demands, size, and strut. They have majored in Goliath.

David majors in God. He sees the giant, mind you; he just sees God more so. Look carefully at David’s battle cry: “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” (1Sam. 17:45)

Transition: David sees the armies of God. And because he does, “David hurries and runs toward the army to meet the Philistine” (1Sam. 17:48).

III. The Battle Is The Lord’s

David’s brothers cover their eyes, both in fear and embarrassment. Saul sighs as the young Hebrew races to certain death. Goliath throws back his head in laughter, just enough to shift his helmet and expose a square inch of forehead flesh. David spots the target and seizes the moment. The sound of the swirling sling is the only sound in the valley. Sshhhww. Sshhhww. Sshhhww. The stone torpedoes into the skull; Goliath’s eyes cross and legs buckle. He crumples to the ground and dies. David runs over and yanks Goliath’s sword form its sheath, shish-kebabs the Philistine, and cuts off his head.

You might say that David knew how to get a head of his giant. When was the last time you did the same? How long since you ran toward your challenge? We tend to retreat, duck behind a desk of work or crawl into a nightclub of distraction or a bed of forbidden love. For a moment, a day, or a year, we feel safe, insulated, anesthetized, but then the work runs out, the liquor wears off, or the lover leaves, and we hear Goliath again. Booming. Bombastic.

Try a different tack. Rush your giant with a God-saturated soul. Amplify God and minimize Goliath. Download some of heaven’s unsquashable resolve. Giant of Divorce you are not entering my home! Giant of depression?

One might read David’s story and wonder what God saw in him. The fellow fell as often as he stood, stumbled as often as he conquered. He stared down Goliath, yet ogled at Bathsheba; defied God mockers in the valley, yet joined them in the wilderness. An Eagle Scout one day. Chumming with the Mafia the next. He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family. Raging David. Weeping David. Bloodthirsty. God-hungry. Eight wives. One God.

Acts 13:22 reminds us that God said that “David was a man after God’s own heart.” A man after God’s own heart? That God saw him as such gives hope to us all. David’s life has little to offer the unstained saint. Straight-A souls find David’s story disappointing. The rest of us find it reassuring. We ride the same roller coaster. We alternate between swan dives and belly flops, soufflés and burnt toast. In David’s good moments, no one was better. In his bad moments, could one be worse? The heart God loved was a checkered one. We need David’s story. Giants lurk in our neighborhoods. Rejection. Failure. Revenge. Remorse. Giants. We must face them. Yet we need not face them alone.

Transition: Focus first, and most, on God. The times David did, giants fell. The days he didn’t, David did.

IV. Focus on God Not GIANTS

David made only two observations about Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. One statement to Saul about Goliath (v.36). And one to Goliath’s face: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (v.26). That is it. Two Goliath-related comments (and tacky ones at that) and no questions. No inquiries about Goliath’s skill, age, social standing, or IQ. David asks nothing about the weight of the sword of the size of the spear.

But he gives much thought to God. As we read David’s words again, I count nine references to the Lord. God-thoughts outnumber Goliath-thoughts nine to two. How does this ratio compare with yours? Do you ponder God’s grace four times as much as you ponder your guilt? Is your list of blessings four times as long as your list of complaints? Is your mental file of hope four times as thick as your mental file of dread? Are you four times as likely to describe the strength of God as you are the demands of your day?

Conclusion: The whole matter may be summed up with the following couplet:

Focus on giants – you stumble.

Focus on God – your giants tumble. (p.9)

Lift your eyes, giant slayer. The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you. END LUCADO

guess this would be one of the best known, if not THE best known story in the Bible. In fact it’s so well known that David has become a metaphor for the victorious underdog. He’s the archetypal cutter down of tall poppies. The one who can overcome the greatest odds to win through to victory. But of course the trouble with such an archetype is that it actually misses the essential facts of the story. As we’ll see as we go through the story it isn’t anything to do with David that brings about this victory. He’s simply a man of faith who believes intrinsically in the God he worships and trusts him to act.

Paul says in (Eph 6:12) "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." The enemy is all around us today. We are faced with Goliaths from every angle. We have been given weapons and ammo that will kill any giant that stands before us, thus, we must use what God has given us.

Attempt great things for God, and expect great things FROM God!

David was a sheep herder, but he became a giant killer.

David Knew That Victory Could Be Won. He was not fearful of the armor or the size of Goliath. He had faced giant sized enemies before. The bear and the lion.

If we want God to add to the mercy drops He’s been dropping around us, and if we want showers of blessings, then we need to prepare our fields for rain.

David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

1 Sam 17:32 (NIV)

II. THE SECOND PRINCIPLE IS, "WHEN WE RUN INTO THE GOLIATHS OF OUR LIVES WE MUST MEASURE THEM AGAINST OUR GOD NOT AND AGAINST OURSELVES."

A. David knew that his God was a lot bigger than 9 foot 9 inches.

1. Verse 26 says, "Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, ’What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?’"

2. David said, "Who does this giant think he is?"

3. David didn’t measure the chance of defeating the 9 foot 9 inch Goliath to himself, for if he had, he would have headed back to his sheep very quickly.

B. If we measure 9 foot 9 inch Goliath against us, we are going to be afraid.

There is a great assumption here, though, that you and I know how tall God is.

a. If you don’t know that God is bigger than 9 foot 9 inches then even He can’t help you.

b. We have to believe that our God is indeed bigger than any Goliath that we Encounter.

2. The reason we cannot handle adversity in life is that we do not think our God is very big.

3. This is indeed a tragedy for many because they don’t realize what God can do for them.

4. We believe we have a tiny God, so we always run when we meet up with crisis in our lives.

a. You cannot get along at home and the first thing you want to do is head to your room and slam the door, because the Goliath of your family is too big and your God is too small.

b. You run away from situations you face that you can’t handle because your God is too small.

D. The great tragedy today as God’s young people is many times we don’t have the guts to take a stand for Him and His principles because our God is too small.

THIRD PRINCIPLE: "DON’T PUT OFF DOING LATER WHAT YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO DO RIGHT NOW."

A. Even though David was young and seemingly inexperienced, he did what he knew God wanted him to do; he didn’t put it off.

1. I Samuel 17:32-33 says; "And David said to Saul, ’Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ’You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth."

2. David was willing right then to take care of Goliath, but Saul tried to convince him that he needed to wait awhile until he was older and better prepared.

3. Youth didn’t stop David from doing what he knew he needed to do right now.

B. David didn’t put off to doing later something he knew he and his God could do right then.

1. He didn’t let Saul or anything else get in his way of doing what he knew he had to do.

2. David wanted to take care of business right then.

C. The problem with many of us today is that we know what we need to do but we keep putting it off until it ever gets done.

1. Some of us are going to wait around until we die to start fixing things in our lives but it will be too late.

2. There comes a point that we need to stop waiting for the right time and make the "right time" now.

3. We must stop putting things off to later when we know we need to do them now.

D. We must never let youth or anything else stop us from doing what we know we need to do.

1. What are you allowing to keep yourself from doing what you know God wants you to do in your life?

2. I challenge you, as well as myself, to not let anyone or anything keep you from doing what God has directed you to do.

E. If God has directed, you need to go after the giant when he shows up in the valley.

You have to first let God lead you through the smaller things in life and then with him you can tackle the bigger issues.

David knew he was ready for Goliath because he had some experience with lions and bears.

4. He learned what God could do for him in the smaller things.

B. We must realize that before we can trust God with the bigger things in life, we must trust Him in the smaller things in life.

1. In order for us to deal with the giants in our lives, we need a history with God.

2. The reason many will not move with God now is that they hadn’t learned to move with God yesterday.

C. We waste so much time not walking with God that we never get around to experiencing God in our lives.

D. If we want results in our lives, we must do things God’s way not our way.

ILLUSTRATION: "NO WAY OUT"

There was a woman who was going through some very difficult and trying circumstances. She was experiencing major distress in her marriage, her job was very unfulfilling and was causing her heartache. She became so distraught over her circumstances that she felt like just giving up. She felt lonely, dejected and very isolated. She had tried everything she could to better herself, her marriage, things at work but it seemed everything turned out horrible for her. Finally she came to the point of exhaustion and felt there was no way out of her terrible circumstances and there would never be any more joy in her life.

One day she was sitting in her kitchen very frustrated and lonely. She sat there for a long time and just wept. Then she noticed a small sparrow had somehow gotten into her kitchen, so she opened the door thinking the sparrow would simply fly out the door. To her surprise the sparrow kept flying into the closed window that was just above the door. This distraught woman noticed several times that the sparrow would fly directly into the top of the window thinking it was an opening to freedom and each time colliding into glass of the window. This small sparrow after each time hitting the window would become weaker and weaker. The woman also noticed the sparrow hitting the window lower and lower each time he flew into the window until he got so weak that he couldn’t even fly, all he could to was walk. Then she noticed this little sparrow very slowly, simply walked through the door to freedom. As she observed this little bird walk through the door, the sparrow began to regain his strength

and he flew off into the air free again.

It was as though God literally opened her spiritual eyes. She realized in just about every area of her life she was behaving just like this sparrow. She was trying in her own way to get out of the confining situations she was in, each time being knocked down in defeat. In reacting harshly to her family members - knocked down! Not giving her best at work - knocked down! Paying back evil for evil done to her - knocked down! Saying and doing things she knew were wrong - knocked down!

She finally realized that all she had to do was do just like this sparrow - to very humbly walk in the power of God’s grace and mercy and allow Him to work out all her heartaches and difficulties.

Faith! F-A-I-T-H...Fortitude, Agression, Initiative, Testimony and Help from Above...Five smooth stones in the hands of a young Jewisjh boy who would one day be king. But for now and in the eyes of Goliath, he was just a runt. But it was not who David was that made the difference, it was waht he was made of...

God has already prepared you to defeat the giants in your life…lion and bear

RECONGIZED THE REAL ENEMY- (28-33)

Not David’s brothers, not Saul.

NOT YOUR FAMILY, NOT CIRCUMSTANCES, Real enemy is the Devil

Lets take a look at those who tried to discourage David-

1. Family (big brother) – Have you ever had someone in your family that you looked up to and admired? And that very same person had cast doubt into your plans?

2. Authority (Saul) - told David he was too young and inexperienced to fight the fight. Have you ever had someone who sat in a seat of position and made you feel inadequate or inferior?