I Samuel 17:1-11, 48-51
Topic- If David can defeat Goliath, so can I
There was a rap song by Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince that came out in the early 1990's that was entitled, "I think I can beat Mike Tyson". The basis for that song was that during the 1980's up to 1990, Mike Tyson was an undefeated heavyweight champion boxer, who had won 37 fights in a row, mostly all on knockouts in the first round. Mike Tyson at the time was known to be the most feared boxer. He was so feared because he was knocking people out left and right. Mike Tyson was so feared by other boxers during his heyday that they didn't really want to fight him because he was known to hit very hard, especially in the rib cages, and he would give them injuries that would last for months. But most of the boxers fought Mike Tyson anyway because number one they was a big pay day afterwards for fighting Mike Tyson, and number two, the fight would only last less than three minutes anyway, so they would just go in there and get pummeled by Mike Tyson and go home rich and happy.
The rap song, "I think I can beat Mike Tyson", was really considered a joke because nobody in their right mind during that day and time even thought Mike Tyson could be defeated by anyone except by God himself. The song itself was such a joke that even Mike Tyson played himself in the video. Yes, the song was considered a joke until one night on Saturday February 11, 1990 in Tokyo, Japan. On that night in Tokyo, Japan, Mike Tyson was scheduled to fight this boxer a virtual unknown by the name of James Douglas. Everybody on that night just knew that Mike Tyson was going to score another knockout and win the fight. In matter of fact, the odds were against James Douglas 42-1 to even win the fight. Nobody expected James Douglas to defeat Mike Tyson except for this one person, and that was James Douglas himself. And surprisingly, and shockingly, James Douglas scored a TKO knockout over Mike Tyson in the 10th round because he didn't just think he can beat Mike Tyson, but he believed he can beat Mike Tyson. He believed if he could box Mike Tyson past the first round, past the fifth round, past the seventh round, or past the 10th round, he would have a chance in defeating Mike Tyson because he discovered that Mike Tyson was not as strong after three rounds. And after James Douglas had defeated Mike Tyson on that fateful night on Saturday February 11, 1990 in Tokyo, Japan, other boxers began to say to themselves, " If James Douglas can beat Mike Tyson, so can I."
Now in the word of God, there was a match between two individuals that brought about shocking and surprising results. And it was a match between David and Goliath.
Right now, in New Orleans, there is a chant that goes like this, "Who dat, Who dat? Who dat can beat them Saints?"
In the Word of God, there was a question that was being asked, "Who dat? Who dat? Who dat can beat Goliath?"
Now the question is who is Goliath?
Goliath was a champion, muscular Philistine giant, who stood close to 10 feet tall, who wore heavy bronze brass amour from the head to toe. He was one who carried a long and large sword, spear and a shield for protection and to till.. He was the leader of the Phillistine army, who were fierce enemies of nation Israel. To make a long story short, Goliath was a giant who was undefeated, he was a champion who never lost a battle. In matter of fact, every time the Philistines would go to war against any nation, they were confident they would win, because with Goliath on the front line for them, they would never lose a battle at war. And everybody, including the children of Israel was afraid of Goliath. And what made things worse was that Goliath would always act like a bully towards the children of Israel because he would taunt and challenge them to fight him one on one. But no man would even dare to try to fight Goliath one on one because of fear. But just like the 2008 New England Patriots undefeated winning streak came to an end at the Super Bowl, Goliath winning streak came to an end at the hands of an unlikely foe from one of the children of Israel who didn't fear him, which was a little boy named David.
Now the question is , Who was David?
David was the youngest and the eighth son of Jesse. He was from the tribe of Judah of the nation of Israel. Now compared to Goliath, he was just a little ol' skinny dude.
Now, up to this point(up to I Samuel 17), David had never fought in a war, but yet it was little ole David that defeated the giant Goliath.
Up to this point (up to I Samuel 17), David was just a little shepherd boy who just tended his father sheep, but yet it was little ole David that defeated the giant Goliath.
Up to this point (up to I Samuel 17), David was just a talented, annointed musician who could play the harp very well, but yet it was little ole David that defeated Goliath.
Up to this point (up to I Samuel 17), David was just a great songwriter who wrote most of the book of Psalms, he was the apple of God's eye, who later grew up to became a man after God's own heart. But yet it was little ole David that defeated the big bad giant named Goliath.
Now on paper from the mere look or glance at David, he looked like a person who wouldn't even hurt a fly. But yet David was no joke. Yes, he looked humble and meek, but David was tough cookie. You see one day while tending his father's sheep, a bear and a lion came and stole one of the sheep out of the flock. But David rescued the sheep from the paw of the lion and from the mouth of the bear. And when both the lion and the bear rose up to try to kill David, David killed both the lion and the bear with his bare hands. In other words, before David fought Goliath, he had been in training for the fight. God had trained him for the occasion.
So when David heard how Goliath was taunting the children of Israel's army, he became furious about it, and wanted to fight Goliath himself. Not only was David was furious about how Goliath was taunting and threatening the children of Israel, but he was really upset at the fact that the Philistines and Goliath was wrecking havoc on their home turf! If you look at 1 Samuel 17:1 it says "Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle and were gathered at Shocoah, which belongs to Judah (Israel)." This is like a visiting football team going onto somebody home field talking trash about how bad they are going to beat them. When I was in high school in 1982 at Western High School, we made a pact among ourselves that no team is going to come up on Western's field and beat us, and we backed that pact up. Nobody beat us that year at home because we were determine to protect our turf. Now notice this. That the Philistines were gathered at Shocoah, which belonged to Judah, and Judah means "Praise". And notice that the Philistines were doing everything but praising the Lord. They were mocking God, taunting the armies of God, and David was going to have none of that happening on his home turf. David was mad that someone had the audacity to show up on his home turf to talk bad about God. And we ought to be like David......we ought not let nothing come on to the house of the Lord, our home turf, to stop us from praising God. Anything that mocks God, does not line up with the Word of God, or stops up from worshipping God, we need to challenge it and defeat it in the name of the Lord!
At first King Saul wanted to discourage David from fighting Goliath because Goliath had a whole lot of experience in fighting, and David didn't But David said to King Saul that if God is able to deliver him out of the mouth of the bear, and out of the paw of the lion, surely God would be able to deliver him out of the hands of Goliath. And that is what had happened. God helped David defeated Goliath with just a sling shot, and a smooth stone. He used the stone to shoot at the head of Goliath with his sling shot and when the stone hit Goliath in the head, down came Goliath the giant. He was no longer undefeated. He is now a defeated foe, a dead foe at that because, even though he came at David with a sword and spear, David came against him with faith in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. And if David can defeat Goliath, so can you and I.
And even today, just as God helped David to defeat Goliath, God is able to help you defeat your Goliath, (your giant) that you may have in your life today. Your Goliath may be some obstacle
some stumbling block,
some sin
some setback,
some personal problem,
some health issue,
some financial issue
some bad habit
some difficulties
some of troubles
some burdens
some hardship
some fear
some discouragement
some disappointments
some failure
some depression and sorrow
some peer pressure
some negative thinking
some low self esteem
some sickness
some of crisis
some term paper
some dissertation
some mid-term paper
Your giant could be some man, some woman, boy, or girl.
Your Goliath can be anything that stops your progress and growth in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your Goliath can be anything that that stops you from coming to church, anything that stops you from joining the church, anything that stops you from worshipping the Lord, anything that stops you from serving the Lord.
Your Goliath is anything that keeps you stagnant, that has you going backwards, and it will keeps you forward.
Goliath is that thing, that giant that keeps families from having peace and love to rule in their homes. It is that giant keeps husband and wives from loving each other.
It is that giant that keeps children from honoring and obeying their parents. It is that giant keeps children from doing well in school.
But you don’t have to let the Goliath, the giant in your life to keep you fearful and keep you afraid because God is bigger and stronger than any giant, and He will give you the power to be victorious over the giants that you are facing in this life.
Whenever you find yourself facing a Goliath in your life, you ought to remember these scriptures in the Word of God.
When facing your Goliath in your life, remember what Psalm 27:1-2 where it says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat my flesh, they stumbled and fell."
When facing your Goliath in your life, remember what Isaiah 54:17 where it says, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper."
W
hen facing your Goliath in your life, remember what Romans 8:37 where it says, "We are more than conquerors through Christ, who loved us."
When facing your Goliath in your life, remember what 2nd Timothy 1:7 where it says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. "
When facing your Goliath in your life, remember what I John 4:4 where it says, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."
But the thing about facing your Goliath, you do not have to face it alone. You have the Lord Jesus Christ on your side to give you the power, the strength, the knowledge, the understanding, the wisdom, the Holy Spirit to help you overcome your Goliath in your life. Because Jesus Christ has died on the cross for our sins, and he rose from the dead with all power in his hands, we have to power to defeat our Goliath.
