The Game of Thrones- Israel’s Experience with Human Kings”
Giants in our Lives
Every Sunday School student knows this wonderful story of David and Goliath. God used a brave young man full of faith to face a nine foot tall giant of a human for God and His people, Israel. With sling in hand, he chose 5 smooth stones from a brook and yelled charge as he ran into a valley of certain death. God guided his actions and the stone right between the eyes of the giant who fell flat. Then David grabbed the sword and took the head of Goliath.
David is not the only person to come up against a giant. All believers will find themselves face to face with big challenges. On a few rare occasions you find yourself staring into the eyes of a Goliath! When a “giant” comes into your life either fear or faith will take over. Most often it is fear and an expectation that we are about to be squashed!
For 40 days the Giant Goliath threatened the army of Israel yelling obscene threats against the God of Israel. The bible tells us that King Saul and those in his army were “terrified and ran from him in great fear.” (17:11,24)
Fear or Faith… that’s the choice when facing “giant obstacles”.
Satan stands before the local church today and defies the living Savior and His church, and the people are, for the most part, huddled down and frightened. The Question: Who will stand and hurl the stones at those seeking to destroy Christian lives. In the Middle East? In our nation… as the Supreme Court discusses “same sex marriage”. Giant issues. Goliath stands waving his spear high in the air challenging someone to defend the name of God, and the church. Satan is a beligerent foe. We know that Christian lives, Christian values are under attack. Sometimes we wonder if the “giants” are too big to defeat.
Paul says in (Eph 6:12)It’s True! "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.
What are the giants in your life? Your Goliath may be an addiction, a constant bad language habit, a negative attitude, a job layoff, financial problems, marital problems, a life threatening illness.
Well, we are not the first to be afraid of “giants”.
This famous bible story is really about the continuation of God and his promises which began in the Garden of Eden. God is faithful. He promised Adam and Eve that He would send a Savior to redeem humanity from the fear of the grip of death. Fear or Faith That is what faced Adam and Eve that fateful day in the Garden of Eden. What enabled them to step out from hiding? “Faith” God made a promise…. He would send a Savior who would defeat Satan’s power by rising from death and giving every believer the power of the Holy Spirit.
I want to turn the clock of history back ……
When the Children of Israel left slavery behind in Egypt, their backpacks were full. They were given the wealth of Egypt. A song was on their lips. A bounce was in their step. Then they reached the “sea”. They saw the dust of the Egyptian army closing in. They wailed. They cried. Fear or Faith? They had just experienced great miracles in Egypt! Yet fear gripped their hearts.
God tells Moses to strike the water… The sea folds back and they cross on dry land. The Egyptian army is swallowed by the sea. The Israelites rejoice and sing again.
“I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted”
“The horse and its ride he has hurled into the sea”
“the Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my
salvation”
Well, that lasted about three days. They began to wail. They cried. The grumbled against their leader…. The water at their new stopping point was bitter. Undrinkable for man and animal.
Fear or faith? Again they chose fear. Fear comes when we live by sight, not by faith. The view of the faithless is the view limited by sight and short memories of God’s past action in one’s life.
We see obstacles as undefeatable giants because of their imposing physical character—
God tells Moses to toss in a piece of wood and the water became sweet.
God did not give up on them. He had promises to keep and generations to go before the Messiah would arrive. He made this promise:
“If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, (just a few weeks ago) for I am the Lord, who heals you.”
The children of Israel resumed their journey to the Promised land. “on the 15th day in the second month…. 45 days they complain again. They grumbled against God and Moses…. 45 days… short memory…. God sent them manna and quail. After 3 months they arrived at Mt. Sinai and they camped there for a year. Oh, there was that one small problem when they talked Aaron into making a golden calf. God still did not give up on them. God was faithful. He had a plan. His plan was based on his promise to Adam and Eve.
When the spies went into the land of Canaan 10 spies came back with a report that the land was filled with giants…. More giants!!! Two men, Joshua and Caleb gave favorable reports and asked the people to trust God.
Fear of Faith? Which would they choose? Fear comes fear comes when we live by sight, not by faith.
They saw obstacles as undefeatable giants because of their imposing physical character.
You know how gossip sets in… the 10 spies spread fear and stories. “We were like “grasshoppers among the giants.” They said. And that night what happened? They listened to gossip and then: They cried. They wailed. They grumbled. “Oh if only we had died in Egypt”…. “let’s find a different leader to take us back to Egypt.” They said. Riots were breaking out in the camp and they were preparing to stone Joshua and Caleb.
This is what the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe me? How many miracles have I shown them?” How short their memory…. God almost gave up on them but He had a promise to keep.
They chose fear. They wander in the wilderness for 40 years when they could have entered the promise land. God simply begins again with a new generation.
After 40 years of wondering they finally enter the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. Through the centuries Judges come and go. Gideon, Samson & Samuel.
How do you see your challenges? When you stand on a hillside and see a 9-foot tall giant warrior taunting you? Is he an insurmountable obstacle or an opportunity for the glory of God to be revealed?
We can’t avoid Goliath--he is necessary to our growth as Christians.
Soon, the Children of Israel cry. They weep. They grumble. They want a King. A King will solve all our problems. They ask Samuel for a King. Remember what God told Samuel? “Listen to what they are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but hey have rejected me as their king.” Samuel anoints Saul as their first king.
Why did God replace Saul as king?
Last week Pastor Hues reminded us that Saul made a number of bad choices based on fear not faith. The Lord told Saul to go defeat the Amalekites and he gave him specific instructions not to spare anyone or anything. Devote it all to destruction God said. But did he? No. He spared the Amalekite king, Agag, and he and his men took choice spoils of livestock and goods. When Samuel met up with Saul in the morning, he heard the bleating of sheep and the lowing of oxen. What did Saul say? “It is not my fault…. I was afraid of the people. Saul chose fear instead of faith in the promises of God.
Samuel then pronounces that his kingdom will end, because he disobeyed the Lord. He gave in to what his people wanted over what God wanted. When Saul tore Samuel’s robe, Samuel announced that the kingdom will be torn from him and given to a neighbor that is better than him. Saul’s kingdom will end and a new king shall rise.
But whom? And from where? The Lord sent Samuel to the house of Jessie. David was not a random choice. He had the blood and the heart that God was seeking.
I Samuel 16 begins with the statement that the Spirit of God has departed from Saul. The effect of God’s anointing moving to David from Saul. God no longer empowers Saul for the kingship. The Spirit of God is removed from Saul and is given to David. David is at most a teenager. How can he be king? How can he even learn how to be a king?
Read I Samuel 16:14-23
Saul certainly was often plunged into depression. Only music could soothe his soul. This shepherd boy who was just anointed, plays a harp. We are reminded that God is sovereign. He is in control. He is orchestrating his redemptive plan. His promise to Adam and Eve must become reality.
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. The view of faith sees obstacles as potential victories because of our God.
Now the story. (read I Samuel 17:4-11, 20-25, 32,37,40-50 ff.)
Fear or Faith? Which did David choose?
Obstacle will come into our life journey. What will you choose? that comes our way is not just a threat to ourselves, but a defiance and insult of our Living God and His abilities. David saw this. It really upset him when he saw the soldiers of the Living God cowering as if they had no Helper. Look at the attitude David displays in 17:26—
God who has answered prayers before. David might as well asked that soldier: “Who parted a sea? Who stopped the sun from setting? Who raised the dead? Who provided a ram caught in the thicket? Who has done all these things--HE IS STILL GOD!
Poof stories help us remember that our Father will come through in the clutch. He is there, He is active, and He will deliver us from Goliath. When Jesus died on the cross God’s promise to Adam and Eve was fulfilled. It was there on the cross that God placed all our sins, all our broken commandments that fill our diaries. In the tomb of Jesus these broken promises were buried. When Jesus rose from death… eternal life became a reality for all who place their faith in God. Satan was defeated. Jesus came out of the grave holding His defeated head.
The day Jesus died, what did the disciples choose? Fear or Faith. Fear. They were hiding. When Jesus appeared in the upper room He promised them the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit of God was moving from Jesus to His disciples. It changed them.
When the disciples were arrested and facing death because they healed a man on the temple steps…what did they choose? Fear or Faith? Faith. They proclaimed: “Salvation is found in no one else…for there is no other name given under heaven by which we can be saved.”
Every believer, you and I, have been given the Holy Spirit.
When giants come what will you choose?
