Facing Your Giants
Part #1
1 Samuel 17:40–51 (NIV84) — 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” 45 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. 46 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. 47 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.” 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
I. One of my favorite authors is Max Lucado.
A. Max Lucado is a best-selling author and writer and preacher at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas
1. In his book, “Facing Your Giants”, he points us to God’s answers for our real life giant struggles.
2. This will be our focus for the next few weeks, dealing with our real life struggles and how we can be victorious
3. Throughout the scriptures we read stories of simple men and women just like you and me who faced incredible problems and overcame them through God solutions.
4. It wasn’t their wit, and wisdom; nor the skill and prowess on the battle fields which allowed them to celebrate victories; there was something more.
5. Many of our bible hero’s were just as flawed as you and me, some of them even more flawed than any of us here today.
6. …And yet God did great things through them.
7. So, it wasn’t their holiness and purity or spiritual perfection which made them overcomers.
B. We read in the bible the promises and admonitions which call for us to be “more than conquerors” and over-comers.
1. From the beginning of creation we are called to take dominion and there is the promise that we will rule and reign with Him one day.
2. And yet we find ourselves often facing giants in our lives; obstacles which seem insurmountable; problems which are persistent and just won’t go away.
3. I’m talking about real life struggles that everyone faces.
4. Some folks may hide it more than others; but truth be told there is always something that all of us face in life which gets us down; holds us down; and sometimes keeps us down.
5. Instead of playing ostrich and sticking our proverbial heads in the sand hoping the giants will go away by themselves;
6. Or cowering in fear never attempting to gain victory in our lives living defeated and ashamed
7. Or worse yet, running from our problems hoping we can run far enough and fast enough to escape them…
8. I’m here today to tell you there is a better way.
9. This is our focus for the next few weeks and the theme of Max Lucado’s book, “Facing Your Giants.”
C. Actually, the title is half of the battle…
II. We must face the giant.
1. No hiding, no running away, no cowering in fear.
B. The obvious Biblical starting point is the story of a boy and his battle with the giant.
1. It is one of the bible stories that is well known even among those who have never cracked open a bible… it’s the story of David and Goliath.
C. Allow me to point out the obvious in this story and if you will listen closely you will see these same truths in your story as well…
I. The Odds Are Against You.
A. The slender, beardless boy kneels by the brook.
1. Mud moistens his knee.
2. Bubbling water cools his hand.
3. He is searching for rocks… Stones.
4. Smooth stones.
5. The kind that stack neatly in a shepherd’s pouch, rest flush against a shepherd’s sling.
6. 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.
7. He is young, and has no experience on a battle field among warriors
8. What he has learned he has gleaned in the fields caring for and protecting his father’s sheep.
B. Goliath towers above them all:
1. nine feet, nine inches tall in his stocking feet,
2. wearing 125 pounds of armor,
3. and snarling like the main contender at a World Wide Wrestling Federation championship fight.
4. He wears a size 20 collar, a 10 1/2 hat, and a 56-inch belt.
5. His biceps burst, thigh muscles ripple, and his boasts belch through the canyon.
6. “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.
C. What odds did David have against his giant?
D. Better odds perhaps than you give yourself against your giant.
1. Your Goliath doesn’t carry sword or shield;
2. he brandishes blades of unemployment, abandonment, sexual abuse, or depression.
3. Your giant doesn’t parade up and down the hills of Elah;
4. he prances through your office, your bedroom, your classroom.
5. He brings bills you can’t pay,
6. grades you can’t make,
7. people you can’t please,
8. whiskey or weed you can’t resist,
9. pornography you can’t refuse,
10. a career you can’t escape,
11. a past you can’t shake, and a future you can’t face.
E. How long has he stalked you?
1. Goliath’s family was an ancient foe of the Israelites.
2. Joshua drove them out of the Promised Land three hundred years earlier.
3. Saul’s soldiers saw Goliath and mumbled, “Not again. My dad fought his dad. My granddad fought his granddad.”
F. You’ve groaned similar words.
1. “I’m becoming a workaholic, just like my father.”
2. “Divorce streaks through our family tree like fungus.”
3. “depression has plagued the women of our family, am I the next victim? Is this ever going to stop?”
4. When Saul and his men heard the Philistines’ challenge, they were terrified (1Sam. 17:11).
1 Samuel 17:11 (NIV84) — 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
G. But the harsh reality is simply this… giant’s don’t go away on their own.
1. You can’t out run them so don’t think you can escape them
2. Oh, you might change venue’s but you will soon find your giant with a different face or in a different place
H. The only way to deal with giants is to face them.
1. Don’t patronize them or rationalize them.
2. Don’t adopt them into your family by saying will this is just how life has to be so I have to learn to live with them.
I. No, determine that you will face your giant
J. With all the giants we must face, where is our focus?
II. Do You See God?
A. What am I telling you?
1. You know Goliath.
2. You recognize his walk and wince at his talk.
3. You’ve seen your Godzilla.
4. The question is, is he all you see?
5. You know his voice – but is it all you hear?
B. David saw and heard more.
C. David’s first discussion, although it was about Goliath, was on the Lord.
1 Samuel 17:26 (NIV84) — 26 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?”
D. David shows up discussing God.
1. The soldiers mentioned nothing about him,
2. the brothers never spoke his name,
3. but David takes one step onto the stage and raises the subject of the living God.
E. He does the same with King Saul:
1. no chitchat about the battle or questions about the odds.
2. Just a God-birthed announcement:
1 Samuel 17:37 (NIV84) — 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”
3. No one else discusses God.
4. David discusses no one else but God.
F. A subplot appears in the story.
G. More than “David versus Goliath,” this is “God-focus versus giant –focus.”
1. David sees what others don’t and refuses to see what others do.
2. All eyes, except David’s, fall on the brutal, hate-breathing hulk.
3. All compasses, except David’s, are set on the polestar of the Philistine.
4. All journals, but David’s, describe day after day in the land of the Neanderthal.
5. The people know his taunts, demands, size, and strut.
6. They have majored in Goliath.
H. David majors in God.
1. He sees the giant, mind you; he just sees God more so.
2. Look carefully at David’s battle cry:
1 Samuel 17:45 (NIV84) — 45 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.
I. David sees the armies of God.
1. And because he does, “David hurries and runs toward the army to meet the Philistine” (1Sam. 17:48).
J. All of the bible hero’s who overcame incredible odds saw something more than their problem
1. You remember the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 6;
2. The king of Aram was at war with the king of Israel.
3. He would order his army to camp at a particular place in order to trap the Israelites.
4. Elisha would tell the King of Israel where to expect the armies of Aram
5. This frustrated the king of Aram and he called all of his officers together to find out who was spying on them. He was informed that they had no spies; it was the prophet Elisha.
6. He orders his army to Dothan, to take Elisha captive.
7. His army surrounds the city of Dothan at night
8. In the morning Elisha’s servant goes out and sees the city surrounded.
2 Kings 6:15 (NIV84) — 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked.
9. In fear he cowers at what he sees… he runs back into the house to report to the prophet what is so obvious in their circumstances…We’re doomed!
10. But Elisha sees more; Elisha sees beyond the circumstances in life and declares it
2 Kings 6:16 (NIV84) - 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
11. I’m sure his servant was befuddled.
12. I’m sure the servant knew his master had gone mad
13. Even though he did not pass math class, he could certainly count to two; and he knew enough algebra to understand that two was far less than the hordes of people outside
14. His problem was simple; he only saw the circumstances around him he didn’t see God in his circumstances.
15. Elisha prayed…
2 Kings 6:17 (NIV84) — 17 And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
K. Do you see God beyond the circumstances you face?
1. Or do you only see your giant?
2. May I remind you of this biblical truth…
Romans 8:31 (NIV84) — 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:37 (NIV84) — 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
L. Face your giant
M. Focus on God, not your giant
III. Understand the Battle Is the Lord’s
A. David’s brothers cover their eyes, both in fear and embarrassment.
1. Saul sighs as the young Hebrew races to certain death.
2. Goliath throws back his head in laughter, just enough to shift his helmet and expose a square inch of forehead flesh.
3. David spots the target and seizes the moment.
4. The sound of the swirling sling is the only sound in the valley.
5. The stone torpedoes into the skull;
6. Goliath’s eyes cross and legs buckle.
7. He crumples to the ground and dies.
8. David runs over and yanks Goliath’s sword form its sheath, shish-kebabs the Philistine, and cuts off his head.
9. You might say that David knew how to get a head of his giant.
B. When was the last time you did the same?
C. How long since you ran toward your challenge?
1. We tend to retreat, duck behind a desk of work…
2. or crawl into a nightclub of distraction…
3. … or a bed of forbidden love.
4. 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.
D. Try a different tack.
1. Rush your giant with a God-saturated soul.
E. Amplify God and minimize Goliath.
1. Download some of heaven’s unsquashable resolve.
2. Giant of Divorce you are not entering my home!
3. Giant of depression? It may take a lifetime, but you won’t conquer me.
4. Giant of alcohol, bigotry, child abuse, insecurity…you’re going down.
5. How long since you loaded your sling and took a swing at your giant? (p.6)
F. One might read David’s story and wonder what God saw in him.
1. David fell as often as he stood,…
2. … stumbled as often as he conquered.
3. He stared down Goliath, yet ogled at Bathsheba;
4. defied God mockers in the valley, yet joined them in the wilderness.
5. An Eagle Scout one day. Chumming with the Mafia the next.
6. He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family.
7. Raging David.
8. Weeping David.
9. Bloodthirsty David.
10. God-hungry David.
11. Eight wives David.
12. One God David.
G. Look with me at how God saw David; it’s recorded in Acts 13:22
Acts 13:22 (NIV84) — 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’
H. “David was a man after God’s own heart.”
1. A man after God’s own heart?
2. That God saw him as such gives hope to us all.
3. David’s life has little to offer the unstained saint.
4. Straight-A souls find David’s story disappointing.
5. The rest of us find it reassuring.
6. We ride the same roller coaster.
7. We alternate between swan dives and belly flops, soufflés and burnt toast.
8. In David’s good moments, no one was better.
9. In his bad moments, could anyone be worse?
10. The heart God loved was a checkered one.
I. We need David’s story.
1. Giants lurk in our neighborhoods.
2. Rejection.
3. Failure.
4. Revenge.
5. Remorse.
J. Giants. We must face them.
1. Yet we need not face them alone.
K. Focus first, and most, on God.
1. The times David did, giants fell.
2. The days he didn’t, David fell.
IV. Focus on God Not GIANTS
A. David made only two observations about Goliath in 1 Samuel 17.
1. One statement to Saul about Goliath (v.36).
1 Samuel 17:36 (NIV84) — 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.
2. And one to Goliath’s face:
1 Samuel 17:26 (NIV84) — 26 …Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
B. That is it.
1. Two Goliath-related comments (and tacky ones at that) and no questions.
2. No inquiries about Goliath’s skill, age, social standing, or IQ.
3. David asks nothing about the weight of the sword of the size of the spear.
4. But he gives much thought to God.
5. As we read David’s words again, I count nine references to the Lord.
6. God-thoughts outnumber Goliath-thoughts nine to two.
C. How does this ratio compare with yours?
1. Do you ponder God’s grace four times as much as you ponder your guilt?
2. Is your list of blessings four times as long as your list of complaints?
3. Is your mental file of hope four times as thick as your mental file of dread?
4. Are you four times as likely to describe the strength of God as you are the demands of your day?
D. Conclusion: The whole matter may be summed up with the following:
E. Focus on giants – you stumble.
F. Focus on God – your giants tumble. (p.9)
G. Lift your eyes, giant slayer.
1. The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you.
