DAVID AND GOLIATH
1 Samuel 17:1:54
I. DAVID’S GOLIATH VS. OUR GOLIATH
a. We frequently use this story metaphorically. Any time we are facing a problem bigger than us, we are “facing our Giants.”
b. David’s Goliath was tangible – a 9’9” tall man with armor weighing 125lbs. carrying an appropriately sized spear and shield.
1. Our Goliaths don’t carry swords or shields, they carry weapons of unemployment, health problems, family problems, worry, etc.
2. Our Goliath’s don’t prance and parade about the hills of Elah, they are up close and personal – they are in the office, the home, the classroom, even sometimes the church. They bring:
• Bills we can’t pay
• Grades or scores we can’t make
• People we can’t please
• Drink we can’t resist
• A past we can’t escape
• A future we can’t face
c. We know our Goliath – we see his face, we know his voice. BUT IS GOLIATH ALL WE SEE OR HEAR?
d. We can be like David and see and hear beyond.
1. David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
2. David shows up not talking trash, but talking God. Everybody else, Saul and his soldiers, have completely ignored God.
3. When David confronts his Goliath, he continues in the same vein.
4. Verses 45-47—David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
II. GOD-FOCUS VS. GIANT-FOCUS
a. David sees what others DON’T and refuses to see what others DO.
1. He focuses on God.
a. It’s not that he doesn’t see the problem.
b. He just sees God more than he sees the problem.
1. He sees God in all his glory, in all the resources behind Him.
2. David rushes TO the problem, not AWAY from it.
b. You say, but I’m not David, and I’m not like him. Aren’t you?”
c. Despite his shortcomings, David was a man after God’s heart.
1. He fell as often as he stood, stumbled as often as he conquered.
2. He stared down Goliath, yet lusted after Bathsheba.
3. He could lead armies, but couldn’t manage his family.
4. He had eight wives, but through it all, he had only one God.
III. NEVER ALONE
a. Our giants! Ultimately we have to face them or they will subdue and overcome us.
b. We don’t have to face them alone. We must focus first and foremost on God. It worked for David, it will work for us.
c. Looking back at our passage and see where David’s focus was.
1. FIRST, HOW MUCH DID HE DWELL ON GOLIATH? ONLY TWO TIMES IS GOLIATH MENTIONED, AND THEN NOT BY NAME.
a. v. 26—David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine?
b. v. 36—Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
c. No questions about Goliath’s age, capabilities, or intelligence. No concerns about Goliath’s weapons — weight of the spear, size of the shield, strength of his armor.
2. God, on the other hand, is mentioned no less than 9 times.
a. v. 26 and 36— “the armies of the living God”
b. v. 45 — “the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel”
c. v. 46 — “The Lord will deliver you into my hand…that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel”
d. v. 47 — “The Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands”
3. God focus outnumbers Goliath focus nine to two or 4.5 to one.
A. DO YOU THINK OF GOD’S GRACE FOUR TIMES AS MUCH AS YOU DO YOUR GUILT?
b. Is your list of blessings four times as long as your list of complaints?
c. David teaches a simple, but powerful concept: Focus on giants—you go down. Focus on God—your giants go down.
d. Read Isaiah 51:15-16 But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
1. The people and things we fear are only men or man-made and He is God, the all-powerful creator.
2. We will be freed to return to our “promised land” because God is our God. He is intimate with us and protects us with His hand because we belong to him in a unique relationship as His people.
IV. SUMMARY
a. Goliath can be found in many locations: lurking on the internet, hiding in a bottle, sitting in the cubicle next to yours, sleeping in the bed next to you.
b. You can conquer your Goliath, and you don’t need five stones.
c. You only need one stone, and that stone has a name—Jesus.
d. He is there to lift you up, to support you, to carry you over the quicksand, to carry you through the rushing and raging waters.
