SEEKING GOD FAITHFULLY-
A LOOK AT THE LIFE OF DAVID
Message #3
Lessons To Help You Fight Giants
1 Samuel 17
INTRODUCTION
It was February of 1980. A group of 12 American amateur hockey players took the ice in Lake Placid NY to face the toughest and best hockey team in the world, the USSR national team. It was the Olympic games and two weeks prior to this game, the young American team were beat by the mighty Russians 12-2 in Madison Square Garden. But we all know what happened that night. The USA defeated the USSR 4-2 in one of the most stunning upsets in all of sports history. Most of us have seen the clip of the end of the game when as the clock winds down, the USA players begin their on ice celebration, and Al Michaels, the announcer who called the game for ABC yells- Do you believe in miracles. I remember watching that game in the lounge of my dorm at KCC. It was a proud day to be an American. David had defeated Goliath.
In 1 Samuel 17, we read the story of the ultimate bully. It’s the story of Goliath, who was described as the champion of the Philistine army. He was a very large man- somewhere between 7 and 9 feet tall. In Guinesse’s world book of records the tallest man on record was guy named Robert Wadlow....he died in 1940 and he was 8’ 11" tall.
I remember walking out of a bathroom in the St Louis airport and standing in front of me was Shequille O’Neil. He is one big fellow. Goliath was at least Shequille’s size, probably bigger. Do you remember the wrestler, Andre the Giant? He was a big dude.
The Israelites were at war with the Philistines, and each nation had established a battle line, similar to the opening scene in Gladiator. But in this scene, Goliath, the champion of the Philistine army, issued a challenge to the Israelite army.
1 Samuel 17:8-10
No one is Israel dared to accept the challenge. The scripture says that Saul and the rest of the Israelites were gripped by fear. For 40 days this challenged was posed.
Goliath was the ultimate bully. Staring down at people half his size, challenging them to a fight.
Sometime during this 40 day period David’s father, Jesse, asked David, to bring some food to his three brothers who were serving in Saul’s army and were on the battle line.
David was startled when he arrived on the scene. He saw Goliath shout out his challenge to Israel. David’s heart stirred immediately.
How could anyone have the gall to defy Israel and defame the name of God. David asks, "Who is this man that he should challenge the army of the living God?"
To the amazement and chagrin of his fellow Israelites, David volunteered to accept the giants bold invitation. He stood ready to defend the name of the Lord.
Saul tried to convince David he wouldn’t have a chance against Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:33
David was pretty insistent on accepting Goliath’s challenge so finally, Saul agrees, "Go, and may the Lord be with you."
In the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan as the soldiers race to the shores of Normandy, you know these guys are headed to sure death, they are walking into a suicide mission. That’s what Saul and everyone else figured David was doing. No chance. He is committing suicide by agreeing to this battle.
Maybe right now you are struggling with problems so huge that you think you can’t over come them. Or your giant may be people who frighten you- a demanding boss, a cynical professor, a domineering mother in law, a defiant child. Or maybe there are challenges and promotions that are giants for you.....challenge to do a ministry here at church, challenge to take a new job.....and they seem so big that you run from them..... That debt you can’t repay, or disease for which there is no cure, an addiction that you are struggling to overcome, a disability that you can’t erase. Much of life is spent in battle with personal giants.
At a nursing home in Florida, a resident group was discussing ailments: "My arms are so weak I can hardly lift this cup of coffee," said one. "Yes, I know, my cataracts are so bad I can’t even see my coffee," replied another. "I can’t turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck," said a third, at
which several others nodded weakly. "My blood pressure pills make me very dizzy," another went on. "I guess that’s the price we pay for getting old," winced an old man. There was general agreement and a short moment of silence ensued. "Well, it’s not that bad," said one woman cheerfully. "Thank God we can all still drive!"
Today is Mother’s Day. Wow, talk about sometimes feeling like your facing a giant. Raising kids in today’s world is a giant undertaking. Trying to protect them from the ungodly influences that invade their minds every day is a monumental task. Parenting can be a giant battle.
Have you heard about the next planned "Survivor" show? 6 men will be dropped on an island with 1 van and 4 kids each, for 6 weeks. Each kid plays two sports and either takes music or dance classes. There is no access to fast food. Each man must take care of his 4 kids, keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, etc. The men only have access to television when the kids are
asleep and all chores are done. There is only one TV between them and there is no remote. The men must shave their legs and wear makeup daily, which they must apply themselves either while driving or while making four lunches. They
must attend weekly PTA meetings; clean up after their sick children at 3:00 a.m; make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla and one marker; and get a 4 year old to eat a serving of peas. The kids vote them off based on performance. The winner gets to go back to
his job.
Motherhood is a huge giant sometimes! We all will face giants..huge obstacles or opportunities that we fear.
We all feel like we are facing a giant with the rise in gas prices. Have you seen the email going around encouraging people to boycott Exxon and Mobil gas stations. Exxon/Mobil is the biggest oil company in the world. We’re just a bunch of David’s attempting to defeat the mighty Goliath. One gas station owner in Wisconsin understood our dilemma. Show Slide.
Would it not be wonderful if we could approach and face our giants with the confidence that David faced his giant?
We could if we apply the following lessons learned to help you fight giants.
REMEMBER THE SIZE OF YOUR GOD
The reason that the Israelites were so afraid is that they were comparing Goliath’s size against their size. From that perspective, they were terribly outclassed. But David was comparing Goliath’s size with God’s size!
Listen, the only way we will ever defeat the giants in our life is to get a good look at the size and power of our God! We’ve got to get our focus off of our problems and onto the God of heaven!
We must recognize the NT teaching that says,
"Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." (I John 4:4)
We say that but we don’t believe it. And our lack of faith defeats us. A giant killer must be a man or woman of giant faith. He or she must be one who recognizes that one person plus God is always a majority!
The apostle Paul was a giant killer- He faced quite a number of giants in his work as an evangelist. He was imprisoned for preaching the gospel, he was beaten several times severely enough that he was close to death, on at least three occasions he was traveling by boat and was part of shipwrecks, his own people, the Jews, turned against him and threatened his life. Often he went days without food and water. In addition to all of that he had to deal with the every day pressures of the churches he had help start.
What was Paul’s secret for overcoming the giants in his life- Philip. 4:11-13 I’ve learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in. [12] I know how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I’ve learned the secret of how to live when I’m full or when I’m hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little.
How was he able to do this? [13] I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.
David’s eyes weren’t on the giant. His eyes were fixed on God. With invincible confidence in God, David faced his giant with confidence.
1 Samuel 17:47 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."
There is the key and secret of David’s success over his personal giant- the battle is the Lord’s.
We face the battles and the giants in our life as if they are all our problems, so we attack them as such. We fight in our own way.
Perhaps there is an area of your life you have been trying to over come for years- impure thoughts, greed, bad spending habits, anger, depression, drinking or drug abuse, immorality.
You can’t win these battles on your own- but God can win them for you. Recognize that these battles are God’s and he will help you defeat the giant in your life. God is saying to you- You do it my way and I’ll deliver you. You do it your way and you are doomed to fail. The battle is mine.
So the first lesson we learn to help us fight giants is to focus on the size of God who will fight the battle for us and not on the size of the problem itself.
NEVER ADOPT THE ENEMIES METHOD
The thing in David favor was that he was quick, young, and mobile. The liability of Goliath was his size: big, clumsy, and immobile..
Just before engaging in battle with Goliath, King Saul decides that David needs to put on the soldier’s armor- helmet, body shield, etc.
But it was too big and bulky. David had never practiced wearing the armor so he took it off and decided to approach Goliath with five stones from the river bed and a sling shot. David knew what he was doing. On other occasions he had to kill lions and bears that tried to attack the sheep flock he tended. He was an awesome shooter with a sling and rocks. He knew that if he could kill a bear with a sling shot, Goliath was going down.
Goliath is insulted by the way David comes to fight. 1 Samuel 17:43
The bell rings, the fight is on. 1 Samuel 17:48-50
The fight was over pretty quickly. Tell the story of Michelle’s fascination with this story as a young girl.
Had David attempted to fight Goliath wearing the soldier’s armor, he would have taken away the natural assets God had given him.
There is a lesson here....Sometimes in our desire to take on the forces that are against us, we decide we need to use the same methods...their same armor. We don’t . God equips and arms us.
Paul wrote in Ephesians- Ephes. 6:10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
We need to realize that because our battles are really spiritual battles against Satan, we need to fight differently.
Paul talks about the schemes of the devil. If you are a Christian, you need to awake to the fact that Satan is scheming to destroy you. He will do anything he can to try to trip you up. Most of the giants we battle in life were placed there by a scheming devil.
Paul knew that to be true in his life- so he instructs us in this way- [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Battles against the giants in our life have to be fought with truth, righteousness, faith, prayer, and trust in God. It doesn’t matter how religious we may be. If we don’t rely day by day on God in faith and dependent prayer, we are unprepared to face the giants in our lives.
David went up against Goliath with nothing more than a sling shot and five stones. Meanwhile the giant he faced was a huge man, well equipped and protected, and very experienced in hand to hand combat.
By refusing to fight the battle with the enemies method, David had a great chance to be a witness of God’s amazing power.
1 Samuel 17:45-47
When we face our enemies using God’s methods, we are a standing testimony to the power and righteousness of God.
When you have put on God’s armor and can use the Word of God like David could use that sling, you’ll begin to see giants fall. Spend your time learning to use God’s armor and weapons, not the devil’s!
PRACTICE FAITH AND TRUST IN THE LESSER BATTLES OF LIFE
Where did David get that almost reckless confidence in God? The answer is simple. He got it from the same source we get it today. He had seen God work to vanquish lesser adversaries in his life.
Nobody just goes out without any experience and challenges a giant. Faith doesn’t work that way. But as challenges come up in the everyday affairs of life and we trust God to help us overcome them, and we see God come through, our faith grows.
The faith to fight giants is developed by everyday faithfulness to the challenges that come upon us. People flunk out in facing giants in their lives because they do not fight the lesser battles of their lives.
David knew God could be trusted on the battlefield because he had learned to trust him in the sheep field. How are you handling the sheep fields of your life? Are you striving for faithfulness there?
When many of us fail to defeat the giants we face, we don’t realize that our defeat has been predetermined by our faithlessness in little things. Jeremiah spoke to the people of his day who were failing for this same reason. He told them this:
Jeremiah 12:5 "If you have raced against others on foot, and they have tired you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in open country, how can you live in the jungle along the Jordan River? "
Too often we don’t see the need for faithfulness in the little things. So we sit around waiting for the big issues, thinking that we’ll really pour on the steam when something big comes along. But when it does, we’re out of shape spiritually, so we flop!
David didn’t have any giants to face out there in the pastures of his dad. He didn’t even have any normal soldiers. But there were lions and bears. So he took them on! There are lions and bears in your life, too - lesser challenges that develop your faith if you are faithful to them.
So many times we focus on the defeats we’ve had. "I prayed and God didn’t answer they way I wanted." "I tithed and received more bills." "I witnessed and they rejected me." Focus on the victories in the past.....giant killers build on past successes.
Would you like to do something great for God? Would you like to overcome that giant problem that has been taunting you for years. Get busy trusting God on the lesser things!
CONCLUSION
There is a temptation to run from giants in our lives. Usually the best approach is to attack quickly.... Someone said, "If you have to swallow a frog, don’t look at it too long."
Sometimes the longer you wait the bigger the giants appears in our lives.
You have a hard phone call to make...do it now You have a hard paper to write...do it early in the semester so it won’t be hovering over you all year long. You have a Christian friend who is falling away and you are concerned and afraid to confront......do it early.
Face the giant.
Psalm 119:60 I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.
I don’t know what your intimidating giant is today. It may relate to your job, your spouse, your child. Maybe it is a financial matter, maybe you are struggling to overcome a sin in your life, or a change in attitude and perspective. Maybe it is a disease.
God is saying to you right now, "All I ask of you is five smooth stones and a sling of faith. I’ll take it from there. You don’t have to wear somebody else’s armor. You just trust me. Because of your faith, I’ll give you victory. But you have to trust me to do it my way and in my time."
You don’t know what lies ahead and what giants you will have to battle. But remember this: the battle is the Lord’s.
You can defeat the giants in your life if you
Remember the size of your God
Fight the battle with Godly weapons
Practice faith and trust in the lesser battles of life.
The movie "Mighty Ducks" is a David vs Goliath type of film. Gordon Bombay, a high priced lawyer with a prestigious law firm is arrested for DWI and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service. His assignment is to coach a pee wee hockey team made up of a bunch of misfits and troubled kids from the inner city of Minneapolis. By his own admission, Gordon Bombay states, "I hate kids and I hate hockey." First game he coaches, the team has to play the best team in the league, the Hawks. The Hawks were a well coached team from the wealthy suburbs. They were big and mean and knew how to play hockey. Their coach was a win at all cost type of guy. They beat up this team of misfits 17-0.
Eventually, Gordon begins to overcome his own giants and takes a real interest in this group of misunderstood ten year old hockey players. Things begin to turn around and the eventually earn the last spot in the Minnesota State Pee Wee playoffs. They win their first two games and earn a spot in the championship game vs the Hawks, who are now 14-0. The Hawks break out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period. But the Ducks fight back and with 55 seconds left in the game tie the score at 4-4. As time runs out, a Duck player is taken down and a penalty shot is awarded to the Ducks. One on one vs the Hawks goalie. A chance for David to bring down Goliath.
Show clip.
"What matters is that we are here. Take a look around. Whoever thought we’d make it this far. I believe in you Charlie, win or lose."
