? Ethnicity
? Economics
? Intelligence
? Spirituality
? Personal appearances
? Talents and skills
? Personalities
Another thing that distinguishes us from each other is how we handle problems. We all have problems: But some folks do not have the slightest idea how to deal with them. While others do.
Some folks are very clever in how they solve their problems.
Illus: A Russian businessman walks into a Swiss bank in Geneva and asks for a $100 loan for one year. He offers his luxury Mercedes car as collateral. The collateral is too good, and the bank manager approves the loan. A year later, the Russian comes back. He repays the loan and the 10% interest and is ready to collect his car. Finally, the puzzled bank manager dares to ask him: "Excuse me, sir, could you tell me: did you really need that $100 so badly? In order to get the money, you left your luxury car with us for a whole year!" The Russian replied, "I was going to be out of the country for one year – where else in Geneva can I find such a great parking place for just $10 a year?"
It is very clever how some folks solve their problems.
? Young Larry stopped by the corner grocery store and read the following list to the clerk, “How much would it cost to buy:
-10 pounds sugar at $1.25 a pound,
-4 pounds coffee at $1.50 a pound,
-2 pounds butter at $1.10 a pound,
-2 bars soap at $.83 each?”
? The store clerk said, "Twenty-two dollars and thirty-six cents."
? Larry said, "If I gave you three ten dollar bills how much change would I get?" The clerk said "Seven dollars and sixty-four cents," Larry said, as he disappeared through the door, "I don't want to buy the items...that's our arithmetic lesson for tomorrow, and I needed some help with it."
We all have problems in life and the thing that distinguishes us from each other is how we handle these problems.
Let’s focus in on David in the Old Testament who had a problem and see how he handled that problem.
Before we get into how David handled this problem let’s look at why he had a problem with Goliath.
(1) HIS SIZE
Look at 1 Samuel 17:4. We read, “And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.”
Notice, the Hebrew text says Goliath was “six cubits and a span” tall. Since no one knows for sure exactly how long a “cubit” or a “span” was back then, scholars’ estimate Goliath to have been between 9’2” and 11’4” tall.
We are told by tall people one thing that they get tired of is people asking them:
? “How tall are you?”
? “How is the weather up there?”
David was an ordinary sized young man, so he had to deal with this disadvantage.
But also, he had to deal with the disadvantage of-
(2) STRENGTH
Illus: One day, three men were hiking and unexpectedly came upon a large raging, violent river. They needed to get to the other side, but had no idea of how to do so.
· The first man prayed, saying, "Please God, give me the strength to cross this river." Poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs, and he was able to swim across the river in about two hours, after almost drowning a couple of times.
· Seeing this, the second man prayed to God, saying, "Please God, give me the strength, and the tools to cross this river." Poof! God gave him a rowboat and he was able to row across the river in about an hour, after almost capsizing the boat a couple of times.
· The third man had seen how this worked out for the other two, so he also prayed to God saying, "Please God, give me the strength and the tools, and the intelligence to cross this river." And poof! God turned him into a woman. She looked at the map, hiked upstream a couple of hundred yards, and then walked across the bridge.
Goliath was a huge powerful man. The very weight of Goliath’s armor is an indication of how strong he was.
No one knows for sure exactly how much a “shekel” weighed back then and there were two standards:
? The Babylonian shekel (It was the lightest shekel).
? The Syrian shekel (It was the heavier shekel).
With this in mind let’s see what I Samuel 17:5-7 tells us:
· His coat of armor weighed 5000 shekels (90 to 220 lbs.)
· His spear staff was “like a weaver’s beam”—at least 2” thick.
· Even the head of his spear weighed 600 shekels (10 to 25 lbs.)
· In addition to the coat of armor and the spear, the text mentions a brass helmet, brass “greaves” (which were like shin guards), a sword, and a shield.
Goliath was a walking arsenal – he had the best equipment money could buy! Goliath was a weapon of mass destruction in STRENGTH and SIZE.
David, on the other hand, had only:
· A shepherd’s staff, (A long stick with a crook on the top).
· A sling, (Not a sling shot, but a sling).
Illus: The contrast in equipment alone could be compared to a foot soldier with a water pistol charging a tank.
He was at a tremendous disadvantage when it came:
· To Size
· To Strength
But also in-
(3) EXPERIENCE
I don’t know how old Goliath was, but he was evidently old enough to have had children already and verse 33 says that he had been a “man of war from his youth.”
? II Sam. 21 and 1 Chron. 20 seem to indicate that Goliath had 4 sons who later became powerful warriors themselves.
? David was the youngest of eight. At the time of this battle with Goliath, David is believed to have been around fifteen (15) years of age.
Illus: If Las Vegas were in existence back then, they would have given all the odds to Goliath to win this battle.
Goliath had the SIZE, STRENGTH and the EXPERIENCE in warfare to easily win this battle.
As we move on we see it is true that no matter how big the giants in our life might be, God is able to help us overcome them!
Let me share with you how David had this tremendous victory in his life, so we can have victory in our lives.
I. HE REFUSED TO BE DISCOURAGED.
Some people are easily discouraged. The devil knows that and he will send people and circumstances into their lives to discourage them. Discouragement has robbed people of more victories than any other thing on the face of this earth. Everyone has to deal with problems and these problems can cause us to be discouraged!
Illus: Discouragement - A Tool of the Devil (Author Unknown) Once upon a time it was announced that the devil was going out of business and would sell all his equipment to those who were willing to pay the price.
On the big day of the sale, all his tools were attractively displayed. There were Envy, Jealousy, Hatred, Malice, Deceit, Sensuality, Pride, Idolatry, and other implements of evil on display. Each of the tools was marked with its own price tag. Over in the corner by itself was a harmless looking, wedge-shaped tool very much worn, but still it bore a higher price than any of the others. Someone asked the devil what it was, and he answered, "That is Discouragement." The next question came quickly, "And why is it priced so high even though it is plain to see that it is worn more than these others?" Because replied the devil, "It is more useful to me than all these others. I can pry open and get into a man's heart with that when I cannot get near him with any other tool. Once I get inside, I can use him in whatever way suits me best. It is worn well because I use it on everybody I can, and few people even know it belongs to me." This tool was priced so high that no one could buy it, and to this day it has never been sold. It still belongs to the devil, and he still uses it on mankind every day. When Satan gets us discouraged he has us exactly where he wants us.
In the text, David came to the battle with a lunch for his three brothers, Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah who were a part of King Saul’s army. He arrived just in time to hear Goliath shout out his daily defiant challenge to the Israelite army. Look at 1 Samuel 17:8-10, we read, “And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”
Goliath created an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.
Look at 1 Samuel 17:11. We read, “When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.”
Illus: The Israelites were like the comic strip character, Charlie Brown, who said, “There’s no problem so big that I can’t run from it.”
Look at 1 Samuel 17:24. We read, “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.”
Even King Saul was afraid! If anyone was big enough to overcome Goliath it should have been Saul.
I Samuel 9:2 says, “…from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.”
To David’s dismay, none of his countrymen -- not even his brothers -- dared to respond. So David began to show an interest in taking up Goliath’s challenge himself.
That’s when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, exploded in anger against David. Look at 1 Samuel 17:28. We read, “And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.”
Notice, David’s family tried to discourage him. Our families can be a source of encouragement and a source of discouragement.
Discouragement comes in all forms, and some of the most damaging can come from our own friends and families.
Later on, Saul also threw a little cold water on David’s enthusiasm. Look at 1 Samuel 17:33. We read, “And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” But David didn’t allow anyone to discourage him!
Any time you are faced with a giant problem and confronted with the challenge to respond to it with faith in God, there will be people who will try to discourage you.
· Give it up; you can’t do that.
· It’s too hard.
· You’ll never make it.
· If I couldn’t do it, you can’t either.
· You’re too young.
· You’re too old.
· You’re too dumb.
· You don’t have enough talent.
Words like that can drain the will out of a person. So don’t listen to the naysayer.
Illus: I like the old Chinese proverb: “Men who say it cannot be done should not disturb a man doing it.”
Illus: Some looked at Goliath and said:
· “That guy is too big to hit!”
· But David looked at him and said, “He’s too big to miss!”
David REFUSED TO BE DISCOURAGED and -
II. HE REMEMBERED PAST TRIUMPHS.
David was confident when facing Goliath because he recalled how God helped him overcome other big problems. He was of the persuasion from past experiences when God had helped him kill a bear and a lion and if God helped with those things He could help him kill this giant.
Illus: David was like the fellow that a man told, “I bet $5.00 you cannot eat that whole watermelon.” The man excused himself, “I will be right back!” He went home and found a watermelon about the same size and ate it and once he did he came back and said, “I will take that bet!”
David was like this, if God helped him in the past to kill that bear and lion God could help him kill that giant.
Notice that this was no boastful, overconfident remark on David’s part. He gave all the credit to God. Look at 1 Samuel 17:36. We read, “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.”
Are there victories God has helped you to achieve in the past?
Remembering past victories can give us confidence to fight today’s battles.
? HE REFUSED TO BE DISCOURAGED,
? HE REMEMBERED PAST TRIUMPHS and-
III. HE REJECTED INADEQUATE SOLUTIONS.
Finally David persuaded King Saul to give him a chance. Saul agreed, with some reservation, that David could confront Goliath.
Trying to be helpful, Saul even put some of his own special battle gear on David to prepare him for combat: armor, a brass helmet and a coat of mail. Now, some have suggested that this was a rather humorous scene.
David Faust suggests that since Saul was unusually tall, Saul’s armor simply didn’t fit David -- that:
· “Saul was a size 88 long.
· David was a 34 regular.”
David objected to the use of the king’s armor, not just because they were too big for him, but also because he had never tested them. Look at verse 39. We read, “…I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.”
As Goliath drew closer to begin his attack, David placed one of the smooth stones he had chosen into his sling and slung it at Goliath’s head. It was a direct hit, and Goliath slumped to the ground.
· It wasn’t David’s skill that won the battle that day; it was God’s power.
· It wasn’t a smooth stone that made the difference; it was a strong faith!
As we close, let me make something very clear…IT WAS GOD THAT GAVE HIM THE VICTORY!
The lesson we learn from the account of the fight between David and Goliath is this; there is no GIANT in our life too big for God to handle.
Conclusion:
The reason that David defeated Goliath was because:
I. HE REFUSED TO BE DISCOURAGED.
II. HE REMEMBERED PAST TRIUMPHS.
III. HE REJECTED INADEQUATE SOLUTIONS.
There is not a doubt in my mind that when David saw that BIG GIANT he also saw his God Who was well able to defeat him.
