8/30/2009
What is your Goliath
1 Samuel chapter 17
I want to talk to you this morning about the giants in your life.
Those things that overwhelm you.
Those things that raise their ugly head and continually defeat you.
Those things that you can never seem to get past.
The Bible text this morning is a familiar passage.
I’ve preached from this passage before. It is young David against the Philistine Goliath.
Each time I look at this passage and read it, it will always bring to mind the Goliath’s that I am facing at the time I’m reading it.
Last week I was on vacation and it is always good to get away and spend time with my family. At the end of the week, there was a death in my family and a friend’s son 17 years old had a stroke. Bad things happening can take away from fun that you are having.
Those are the giants:
The things that keep us from enjoying life.
Thing that we cannot see around because they are so big and consuming, we see little else but them.
I don’t know what your Goliath is this morning.
It could be debt, all you see is the financial burden.
It could be illness, you just can’t seem to get past sickness for you or someone you love.
Your giant could be relational, someone in your family, your spouse and your marriage.
Maybe your giant is anger, and after each time you pray that you would get control.
Maybe your giant is commitment, you are not able to give 100 percent to anything, anyone, not even God. It drags you down and beat you up.
Set up the battle with Goliath:
Israel on one side of the valley- Philistines on the other side.
Neither one wants to enter the valley first because they would be the most vulnerable. They are at a stand still.
A Philistine named Goliath- a 9 foot soldier comes to the middle of the valley and makes a challenge to Israel and their God.
Over 9 feet tall, has 125 pounds of body armor, spear that weighs 15 pounds.
This is a giant- This is the terminator on steroids.
He comes with a winner takes all proposal.
1 Samuel 17:8-12 Read
The nation of Israel and King Saul were afraid. They were paralyzed.
V40- For 40 days the Philistine came forward and tormented Israel.
Listen:
Giants never completely go away by themselves. They will not go away until you face them.
Giants gather strength in your mind. The longer you let them spout out their demands.
Israel saw a 9 foot Goliath they could not defeat.
Now here comes David, who they believe to be 17-18 years old, he was too young to be in Sauls army, according to Numbers 1:3 you had to be 20 years old to fight in the army. David, sent by his Dad, to see how the battle is going and to check on his 3 older brothers. First, get’s into a argument with his older brother for being there, and then hears the challenge given by Goliath to Sauls Army.
He cannot understand why noone is standing up to this one man wrecking machine.
Max lucado has a new book out- Facing your Giants.
John Maxwell has one out- Running with the Giants.
Everyone can tell you what to do, but until you do something, it is just talk.
You must take a hard look at your giant.
Picture it in your mind:
Stop being in denial, it will not go away by itself.
Closing the door won’t help Pretending it’s gone won’t help.
Face the giant.
The Nation of Israel looked at Goliath and said we cannot kill him, he is too big
David looked at the big goliath, and said he is so big that I cannot miss getting him.
Israel’s giant is not only Goliath, they had a giant lack of faith.
God is bigger than your problem, I promise you that
Stop looking at how big the problem is and realize how big your God is.
David shows up on the scene, a fresh pair of eyes looking at the problem, hears Goliath spouting off and taunting Israel, defying the god of Israel.
I defy the army of Israel, the God of Israel, lets fight and see who is better.
You win- we serve you. I win- you serve the Philistines.
Who is this un-circumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God.
David saw God being bigger and stronger than the giant that he was facing.
Listen:
There are some things you need to keep in mind if you are going to defeat some problems in your life.
(Walk around and pick up a magazine - as I was saying, go over to the piano, look around, I’m sorry, where was I? Oh yea, if your going to defeat giants- there is something you need to do-)
I. Stay Focused
Staying on track is a problem
Selfishness is a problem.
Commitment is a problem.
Having to always be entertained is a problem.
You can watch a 3 hour movie, but you can’t sit for 30 minutes for a message.
You cannot even wait when a commercial comes on, you have to channel surf until the movie comes back on.
Your giant is debt, stop spending more than you earn.
Your giant is relational, stop blaming everyone else and see if you need to change some things in your life.
Stay focused- make it a priority, make it a determination to do all that you know to do and let God have the rest.
David saw Goliath and said my God is bigger than that But it didn’t stop there.
let me get in this game.
David saw it as an opportunity to defeat his giants. Israel saw it as overwhelming and chose to do nothing.
Fear comes when you live by sight and not by faith
Faithless people are limited by what they can see.
Faithful are not limited - they serve a big God.
Focus on God not the giants of your live.
When you do that giants fall. Praise the Lord When you don’t- you fall.
II. Trust God
David ready to fight the giant, King Saul hears about it:
discourages him because of his age.
Because Goliath was a well trained soldier.
But David convinces King Saul because of what God has done in the past. I can do this
God has helped me against the lion and the bear that tried to get the sheep I was in charge of.
God has helped me in the past, he has given me wisdom from past trials and I will put my trust in God.
Saul even tries to give him his armor and sword, but the bottom line is when you trust God, you don’t use the tools of man, you use the tools that God has given you.
Even if they are a sling shot and some stones.
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. 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 beast of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
David put his trust in God.
David made God the issue.
He did not come in the name of king Saul.
He did not come in the name of David.
He came in the name of the Lord.
Illustration
You don’t learn truth by just mentally remembering it, you learn it by experience in your life. God teaches you His word through experience. Sometimes stressful ones. What is the difference between a typewriter and a computer? Memory. You have to do everything the first time over and over again with a typewriter. But with a computer you can save it and use it later. This is how young David faced the bear, and so he will deliver me from the giant. He used his memory against his stress as a stress buster. He used his memory of past victories the Lord had given him to increase his faith for the present stressful situation. If God delivered me in the past, he will deliver me now.
Listen:
As you feel the shaking ground under you as you face your Goliath- remember what David did.
(V50)- “So David triumphed over the Philistines with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistines 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.”
Closing
God wants to give you victory over that giant this morning.
The battle is the Lord’s and he wants to use you to get the victory.
See God as being bigger than your problem.
Focus on giants- you fall. Focus on God- your giants will fall.
What are your giants this morning?
Are they going to be obstacles you get discouraged by or are they going to be opportunities for God to use you.
King Saul lack of faith, gave David opportunity to show his strong faith in God.
Joshua drove out the giants from the promised land 300 years easier. Saul said not again and David thought- once again God will be praised.
Act Boldly- watch your giants fall.
You can make a giant impact
