Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 21, Issue 04 May 1, 2011
The Biblical basis is the story of a boy and his battle with the giant.
I Samuel 17:40-51
The giants we face today may be unemployment, abandonment, abuse, depression, finances, relationships, career choices or an uncertain future.
I hope to introduce you to God’s answers for our real life giant struggles. The hidden key here is that we must face the giant. No hiding, no running away, no cowering in fear.
The Odds Are Against You: Goliath towers above them all: nine feet, nine inches tall in his stocking feet, wearing 125 pounds of armour and snarling like the main contender at a WWWF championship fight. He wears a size 20 collar, a 101/2 hat, and a 56-inch belt. His biceps burst, thigh muscles ripple, and boasts belch forth. “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other”. Interesting thought regarding Goliath and the number six. The number of man. He was six cubits in height, he had six pieces of armour, and his spearhead weighed six hundred shekels.
What odds did David have against his giant? Better odds perhaps than you give yourself against yours. Your Goliath doesn’t carry sword or shield; he brandishes blades of unemployment, abuse, or depression. Your giant doesn’t challenge you from the valley...he prances through your office, your home, your work place. He brings bills you can’t pay, people you can’t please, addictions you can’t resist, offers you can’t refuse, a career you can’t escape, a past you can’t shake, and a future you can’t face.
How long has he stalked you? Goliath’s family was an ancient foe of the Israelites. Joshua drove them out of the Promised Land three hundred years earlier. Saul’s soldiers saw Goliath and mumbled, “Not again. My dad fought his dad. My granddad fought his granddad.” You’ve uttered similar words. “I’m becoming a workaholic, just like my dad.” “Divorce streaks through our family tree.” “My mom couldn’t keep a friend either”.
King Saul and his army represent the people of God under the dominion of the flesh. They face Goliath, fearful, intimidated and without anointing or strength from God. I Samuel 17:11 "When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid."
Don't be driven by emotions: fear, anger, sorrow, etc. Emotions will not allow you to do what you ought, they have an agenda of their own. With all the giants we must face, where is our focus?
Do You See God? You already know Goliath. You recognize his walk and wince at his talk. The question is, is he all you see? You know his voice – but is it all you hear? David saw and heard more. David’s first discussion, although it was about Goliath, was on the Lord. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he defies the armies of the living God?” David shows up thinking of God. The soldiers mentioned nothing about Him, the brothers never spoke His name, but David takes one step onto the stage and raises the subject of the living God. He does the same with King Saul: no chitchat about the battle or questions about the odds. Just a God-birthed announcement: “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine”.
No one else thinks of God. David thinks of no one else but God. This is deeper than “David versus Goliath,” this is “God-focus versus giant–focus.” David thinks about what others don’t and refuses to see what other do. All eyes, except David’s, fall on the brutal, hate-breathing hulk. The people know his taunts, demands, size, and strut. They’ve majored in Goliath.
David majors in God. He sees the giant, mind you; he just sees God more so.
Look carefully at David’s battle cry: “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel”.
David sees God. And because he does, “David runs to meet the Philistine”.
The Battle Is The Lord’s: David’s brothers cover their eyes, both in fear and embarrassment. Saul sighs as the young Hebrew races to certain death. Goliath throws back his head in laughter, just enough to shift his helmet and expose a square inch of forehead flesh. David spots the target and seizes the moment. The sound of the swirling sling is the only sound in the valley.
The stone torpedoes into the skull; Goliath’s eyes cross and legs buckle. He crumples to the ground and dies. David runs over, jumps up on Goliath’s chest then grabbing the giant’s sword and cuts off his head.
How long since you ran toward your challenge? We tend to retreat, duck behind a desk of work or lose ourselves in worldly distractions. For a moment, a day, or a year, we feel safe, insulated, but then the work runs out, the addictions lose their appeal, or the lover leaves, and we hear Goliath again.
Try a different tactic. God's people can have victory with what is already available and with what God gives them. We simply need to use what God has already given us. David already owned a sling and the creek provided the stones, Goliath's huge head provided a large target.
Rush your giant with a God-saturated soul. Amplify God and minimize Goliath. Download some of heaven’s un-squashable resolve.
- Giant of Divorce you are not entering my home!
- Giant of depression, you won’t conquer me.
- Giant of addiction, abuse, insecurity…you’re going down.
You read David’s story and wonder what God saw in him. This guy fell as often as he stood, stumbled as often as he conquered. He stared down Goliath, yet ogled at Bathsheba; defied God mockers in the valley, yet joined them in the wilderness. He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family.
Acts 13:22 reminds us that God said that “David was a man after God’s own heart.”
A man after God’s own heart? That God saw him as such gives hope to us all.
David’s life has little to offer the unstained saint. Straight-A souls find David’s story disappointing. The rest of us find it reassuring. We ride the same emotional and spiritual roller coaster. The heart God loved was a checkered one. People like us need David’s story, because giants lurk in our neighbourhoods. Giants of Rejection, Failure, Revenge, and Remorse. We must face them. Yet we need not face them alone.
Focus first and foremost on God. The times David did, giants fell. The days he didn’t, David fell.
Focus on God Not GIANTS: David made only two observations about Goliath in I Samuel 17, one statement to Saul about Goliath (v.36), and one to Goliath’s face: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (v.26). That is it!
No questions about Goliath’s ability, strength, power; but I count nine references to the Lord.
God-thoughts outnumber Goliath-thoughts nine to two.
How does this ratio compare with yours?
Do you ponder God’s grace four times as much as you ponder your guilt?
Is your list of blessings four times as long as your list of complaints?
Is your mental file of hope four times as thick as your mental file of dread?
Are you four times as likely to describe God’s strength as you are the demands of your day?
Conclusion: The whole matter may be summed up with the following statements:
Focus on giants – you stumble.
Focus on God – your giants tumble.
Lift your eyes, the God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make a miracle out of you.
Romans 8:31 "What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?"
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