Goal/purpose
This message is one of encouragement for our people to press into God with the difficulties of life. To receive instruction from the Word of God in being able to gain perspective on our problems. To see life from God’s point of view and not be overcome with despair when difficulties and challenges arise. What appears to be an insurmountable mountain, when view from God’s perspective, is actually an opportunity to discover God’s power in our lives!
Introduction:
This morning’s message is titled: Killing the giants in our lives!
We’re going to take the well known story of David and Goliath and apply its principles to our lives.
And isn’t it good to be in the house of God this morning. To feel safe and secure.
So - let’s open our Bibles to 1st Samuel chapter 17.
As we do, we need to be reminded that God’s Word is alive and active.
It has the ability to reveal our innermost thoughts,
to encourage us,
to convict us,
and to set us free.
It allows us to gain perspective on issues in our lives.
I’d love to get along side each one of us this morning and simply ask you:
“How’s it going – what’s troubling you today, what’s on your mind and weighing you down?’
Well, we’re going to learn to deal with those issues, to knock those giants down to size.
Once we learn to view pain and problems from God’s perspective we can learn to overcome them and triumph over them.
The amazing thing is this:
The problem might still remain, but our ability to overcome and cope with it will increase.
God can turn our scars into stars.
Our tragedy into triumph.
Our sorrow into joy.
Our mourning into dancing.
He can part those seas that threaten to engulf us.
He can remove those mountains that stand in our way.
We can learn to kill the giants in our lives.
Ten years ago I was on several antidepressants, I was suicidal, I was phobic and suffered daily from full blown panic attacks.
If the phone rang, I would literally run and hide in fear.
But God delivered me, and I learnt certain principles in overcoming the problems that this life constantly throws at you.
You see, God’s people have always experienced hard times, experienced opposition and attack from those who would try to block God’s purposes.
Just as it was in the opening verses of 1st Samuel chapter 17
Let’s read verses 1 to 3
The enemies of God, the Philistines, had come to attack God’s people.
Tens of thousands of them gathered for war.
The Israelites responded with an army equally as powerful.
So here we have a real macho display of power.
Two of the greatest armies on earth standing face to face in battle array.
So what do you think they did?
With fifty or sixty thousand warriors standing face to face – they thought to themselves:
Why waste good men in an enormous battle when we could settle it with the death of just one man.
Let’s each choose our strongest and best fighting man and let the two of them slog it out to the death. Whoever wins will be the victor of the war and the loosing side has to surrender peacefully.
Let’s pick up the story from verse 4 (Read to verse 11)
Personally, I think they had a right to be terrified.
Saul would have been especially scared as he was considered the tallest and the best fighting man in all Israel!
We all experience giant problems in our lives from time to time that we are afraid to face.
Relationship difficulties
Family issues
Unemployment or work problems
Health issues, sickness and death
Financial issues or material security
Unfortunately we put on a brave face and pretend everything’s okay.
You see, we live in a society, in a church environment even, where we don’t allow people to experience pain.
We don’t allow people to suffer loss or prolonged grief.
But I personally want Te Atatu Baptist Church to be a place where it’s okay to be in pain,
It’s okay to be sick and not have someone try to cast a devil out of you or blame it on some sin in your life!
It’s okay to have a loved on pass away and you never fully recover from it!
May I encourage you though, to join a small group and allow yourself to be loved, to be nurtured and to be cared for.
You see, even these tens of thousands of brave fighting men were putting on masks and pretending that they were okay – when really they weren’t.
Let’s read from verse 17 (read to verse 19)
They weren’t fighting against the Philistines at all – their problems were too large for them to handle.
But they pretended that they were coping with the giants in their lives.
The rest of the people thought they were coping, but they weren’t.
And so do we!
And so do we!
But then we meet the shepherd boy David.
We know that David was young, below the age of 20, because if he had been 20 or older, he would have been in the army.
Let’s read from verse 20 (Read to verse 26)
What a difference perspective can make!
Everybody else saw the eyes of a giant, but only David saw the giant through the eyes of God!
What’s the giant that you’re facing in your life this morning?
If I asked you, could you name the situation?
Let’s put it in perspective by seeing it from God’s point of view.
You see, once we see clearly, we can fight more effectively.
David saw the giant through the eyes of God and he knew who it was who had already won the victory.
Verse 32 (Reading to verse 39)
David’s confidence was in God, but well meaning people began to interfere.
Saul put his own armor on David – but it didn’t fit and instead caused David to trip up and stumble.
There are two warnings here, two nuggets of truth.
When you confide in others about the issues you are facing in life, be careful about receiving the advice they give to you.
It may be good advice for them, but it may not be totally helpful to you.
If you happen to be someone who others come to for help, we need to learn the first rule of counseling.
Don’t tell others how to run their lives and solve their problems, all you’ll be doing is making them dependant upon you to run their life.
The first rule of counseling is to skillfully lead people to discover the answers to their problems for themselves.
So David took off Saul’s armor, stopped listening to the advice of this man and instead leaned on the skills, the lessons that God had been teaching him through out all his life.
David went to the stream and took out five smooth stones to use in his sling shot.
Let’s pick the story up from verse 48 (Read to verse 52)
David won the battle against the giant in his life.
He won the battle using the armor of God.
You see, there’s a lot of mention about armor in this chapter.
Saul’s armor, Goliath’s armor and finally David’s armor.
I wonder what was the most important piece of armor that David had to win the battle?
What did he trust in, where did he turn to in times of trouble?
Was it his shepherds staff?
Was it his bag?
Perhaps his shepherd’s sling?
Maybe you might think it is the five stones that he carried in his bag?
The answer is found in verse 45. (Read out)
The Name of the Lord!
I want to encourage you, if you have never received teaching on the Power of the Name of Jesus, that I will be bringing some inspired teaching on this topic over the next several weeks of the holidays.
And I invite you to continue being a part of our spiritual family and receive teaching and instruction for life and eternity straight from God’s holy Word the Bible.
So - David’s greatest weapon was his faith and trust in God.
David trusted in God with the same measure Goliath trusted in himself and in his weapons.
What tools, what weapons do we use when we encounter giants in our lives?
To where do we turn for help.
Do we talk about it to everyone we meet?
Do we turn to addictions like smoking, alcohol or eating or spending?
Do we visit the doctor and receive tranquilizers
Or do we run away and hide from our problems like the men of Israel?
Like David, we need to turn to God and face our problems head on.
That all sounds really good and nice, but how does it really work?
v We must begin in prayer, talk to God about the problems we are facing.
v Open His Word, the Bible and search for passages that address the issues you are facing.
That’s how God speaks back to us, through His Word.
So - what battles are you facing today – how will you win them?
You see, the Bible tells us that:
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against wicked rulers in the heavenly realms.
Right now, there is a battle going on for you life, for your soul, for eternity.
At the end of the day, we are either in the kingdom of God, the kingdom of light, or we are in the kingdom of satan, the kingdom of darkness.
Which side will you choose to be a part of?
Before we even attempt to fight the giants that are in our lives, we need to surrender our lives to God.
We need to lay down our armor – those things we trust in and take comfort - at the foot of the cross and say:
‘Lord, I can’t do this on my own, I need you to take control of my life, to forgive me and cleanse me of my sins.’
Right now there is a battle going on for your life.
Remember what those two opposing armies said to one another as the stood locked in battle?
The army of God verses the army of the enemy.
Why waste all this time and effort when the victory can be won by the death of just one Man!
Let’s choose someone to stand in our place and fight for us!
If He wins, the victory shall be ours!
Brothers and sisters, why waste all your time and energy battling the enemy, fighting the giants of life all by yourself, when the fight, when the victory has already been won.
Let us choose today - a man to fight for us, to win the battle over sin and death.
You see, John’s gospel asks exactly the same question that is found in the story of David and Goliath:
Isn’t it better that we choose one man to die for the sins of all the people, rather than all the people perish in their sins?
Romans tells us that through one man – Adam, sin entered the world, and with it came pain and death, but through another man, Jesus Christ, came victory and eternal life.
Let’s lift our vision higher this morning, take them off the giants in our lives and focus them on eternity, focus them on our Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ.
What appears to be an insurmountable mountain in our lives, when view from God’s higher perspective, is actually an opportunity to discover God’s power and salvation at work in our heart and situation!
Let’s pray.
