CONQUERING THE GIANTS IN YOUR LIFE
Study Text: 1 Sam 17: 33 - 51
And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
1Sa 17:33 And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him. For you are but a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth.
1Sa 17:34 And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.
1Sa 17:35 And I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb out of its mouth. And when it rose against me, I caught it by the beard, and struck it and killed it.
1Sa 17:36 Your servant killed both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.
1Sa 17:37 And David said, Jehovah who has delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and may Jehovah be with you.
1Sa 17:38 And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put a helmet of bronze on his head. He also armed him with scaled armor.
1Sa 17:39 And David girded his sword on his armor, and he tried to go. But he had not tested it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them. And David put them off him.
1Sa 17:40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones out of the brook for himself, and put them in a shepherd's vessel which he had, even in a bag. And his sling was in his hand. And he drew near the Philistine.
1Sa 17:41 And the Philistine came on and drew near David. And the man who bore the shield was before him.
1Sa 17:42 And the Philistine looked and saw David, and disdained him. For he was only a youth, and ruddy, with a handsome appearance.
1Sa 17:43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1Sa 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.
1Sa 17:45 And David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of Jehovah of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
1Sa 17:46 Jehovah will deliver you into my hand today, and I will strike you and take your head from you and give the bodies of the army of the Philistines to the birds of the air today, and to the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
1Sa 17:47 And all this multitude shall know that Jehovah does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is Jehovah's, and He will give you into our hands.
1Sa 17:48 And it happened when the Philistine rose and went and drew near to meet David, David hurried and ran toward the ranks to meet the Philistine.
1Sa 17:49 And David put his hand into his bag and took a stone from there, and slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead. And he fell on his face to the earth.
1Sa 17:50 And David was stronger than the Philistine with a sling and with a stone. And he struck the Philistine, and killed him. But no sword was in the hand of David.
1Sa 17:51 And David ran and stood on the Philistine, and took out his sword and drew it out of its sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and fled.
Introduction:
- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
- “Giants” are problems, pressures, pains, and persecutions we will have to face from time to time in our lives.
- “Giants” often times cause major difficulties in our life and brings with it the possibility of life threatening situations.
- A “giant” is:
1. anything that distracts us from our focus on God;
2. anything that detours us from our service for God; and
3. anything that drains us of our driving passion for God.
- Giants represent anything which is opposed to God! what are some of the “Giants” that people face:
(1)- There is the Giant of Resentment
(2)- There is the Giant of Fear
(3)- There is the Giant of Loneliness
(4)- There is the Giant of Guilt & Shame
(5)- There is the Giant of Worry
(6)- There is the Giant of Discouragement
(7)- There is the Giant of Jealousy
(8)- There is the Giant of Depression
(9)- There is the Giant of Hopelessness
(10)- There is the Giant of Bitterness
(11)- There is the Giant of Pride
(12)- There is the Giant of Selfishness
(13)- There is the Giant of Doubt
We can say that these things and many other things like these oppose God!
- “Giants” that are before us must be slain and removed. How do you see your “giant”? Do you see it as a problem or Do you see it as a Possibility?
- We shall discuss the topic under three sub-headings, using David as a case study.
1. Confronting Your Giants
2. Challenging Your Giants
3. Conquering Your Giants
- God’s people need to understand that they need to
a)- Confront Their Giants;
b)- Challenge Their Giants; and
c)- Conquer Their Giants!
1. Confronting Your Giants
- We Must Courageously Confront Our Giants
- David saw a giant, but he confronted him with great courage. Let us
notice what David saw as he looked and confronted Goliath.
a. His Appearance: 17:4
- Goliath was a gigantic man. His appearance was beyond comprehension.
b. His Armor: Goliath was decked out in brass armor. 17:5-7
- Goliath wanted to appear stronger and unbeatable. He accomplished this task because Israel was afraid of him.
c. His Allegiance: 17:43
- Goliath cursed David in the name of his gods.
- David used the phrase “uncircumcised Philistine” to expose the fact that Goliath did not belong to the Covenant people Israel.
- “Circumcision” to the people of God was one of the constant reminders of the fact that God had made a Covenant with them.
- Goliath, being called an “uncircumcised Philistine” meant that he opposed all that God stood for.
- He seemed unstoppable and presented himself as someone who would not go down.
- What kind of ‘giant’ are you facing? What seems to be stopping you dead in your tracks? Does your ‘giant’ seem unstoppable?
- Do you feel that there is no way that you can defeat something that you are facing at this moment?
- David had to confront his ‘giant’ in his mind and in his heart before he ever tried to attack him.
- Goliath was a representative of the Philistines. He was aggressive. He was persistent. Every day, twice a day, for 40 days, Goliath stood in territory that belong to Israel and demanded that someone fight him. 17:16
- The size of Goliath; the sound of Goliath; the strength of Goliath was frightening.
- The people of God were actually in the bondage of fear because of some ‘giant’ that stood against them and their God.
- What is Satan using as a ‘giant’ to stop you from becoming the Christian you ought to be?
(1)- Do you have resentment in your heart toward someone that did you wrong or something that has happened in the past?
(2)- Are you running from something that God has called you to do?
(3)- Is your family facing marital or financial difficulties?
(4)- Are you having trouble with ‘guilt’ or ‘shame’ that you feel because of something you did in the past?
(5)- Has something taken place in the past that so disappointed you that you just can’t seem to get over?
(6)- Are you finding it difficult to have a consistent and committed Christian life?
- What you are going to have to do is to courageously confront your giant and realize that you cannot go on in your Christian life until that ‘giant’ is dealt with.
- You should also recognize that they can be defeated and removed by the help of the Lord.
2. Challenging Your Giants
- We must confidently challenge our giants
- You don’t have to be defeated by your ‘giant’. Your ‘giant’ may not be your real problem? Your real problem may be your evaluation of your ‘giant’.
- The ‘giant’ that you are facing may just be God’s means of getting you to ask Him for the blessing He has been waiting to give you all along.
- Your ‘giant’ should not be a problem; it should be an opportunity for God to perform a Miracle in your life.
- What so many Christians who are discouraged have done is that they have dropped their “shield of faith” and have failed to truly trust the Lord.
David demonstrated 2 ways to Challenge the ‘giant’ :
a)- Recall The Past Victories 17: 32-37
- While King Saul couldn’t understand why David wanted to go out and face Goliath, David couldn’t get over the fact of what God had done for him in the past. - King Saul kept talking about how big Goliath was compared to them. David began to talk about how small Goliath was compared to his God.
- King Saul began to repeat his excuses. David began to remember his experiences.
- David kept a spiritual file in his mind and heart of the things God had done for him.
- He knew that he could confront and challenge Goliath based on the fact of what God had done for him in the past.
- While David was faithfully tending his sheep, all alone, facing and defeating the bear and the lion - God was preparing him to face Goliath!
- There are 2 things that you need to understand about what God is doing in your life.
(1)- The little battles in our life are getting us ready for the big battles we are going to face!
(2)- Private Victories are preparing us for public victories.
- David could challenge Goliath because he knew that since God took care of him in the past, God could and would take care of him in the present.
b)- Renew Your Faith For Present Victories
- David’s confidence was not in his own ability; he was no match for Goliath. David’s confidence was not in his armor; David refused to wear man’s clothing.
- David understood that it “was not by his might, nor by his power; it was by God’s Spirit.”
- David’s Confidence Rested In The God That Brought Him Through The Past! (This is where the battle was won!) David knew that his God Was Bigger Than Goliath!
- If you are facing a ‘giant’ in your life, the only thing you can do is to put your faith in the God who can do all things.
- Don’t look at your ‘giant’ from an earthly point of view; look at it from Heaven’s point of view. God is bigger than any ‘giant’ that you will ever face.
3. Conquering Your Giant
- We must completely conquer our giants
- We should note that there are only two proper motives for wanting to see your giants defeated:
1. A Desire For God’s glory – 1 Cor. 10:31 – This should be the ultimate motivator for all of life! Everything we do should be passed through the filter of God’s glory!
2. A Desire For God’s plan to be fulfilled in your life – Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 4:17 – It is part of God’s plan for you to face your giant, or that giant would not be there. It may be part of God’s plan for you to defeat your giant. It may also be God’s plan for you that you live with your giant. Are you willing to accept His plan, regardless of what it is?
- If you want to see the giants in your life lying dead at your feet, then know these facts:
1. God is greater than your giants – Matt. 28:18; Eph. 3:20.
2. The God Who worked then will still work now – Mal. 3:6.
3. You don’t need new methods to defeat your giants. Tried and proven weapons like prayer, faith and the Word of God will still get the job done today, Eph. 6:12-18.
a. Communicate with headquarters about your giant. Prayer is the believer’s greatest secret weapon.
b. Assault your giant with the Word of God – Heb. 4:12. This was the Savior’s method – Matt. 4:1-11
c. Attack your giant in faith, knowing that God always gives the victory,
1Cor. 15:57. He will either give you the victory over what you face, or He
will give you victory in what you face, 2 Cor. 12:9.
4. God did not save you to let you fall at the hand of your giant – Phil. 1:6. God is not interested in your defeat. He is interested in your victory!
5. Giants are placed in our lives to grow us in the Lord – Num. 14:9. They are the original “breakfast of champions
- Now, before David conquered Goliath, he had to overcome some obstacles that were before him.
(1)- David Had To Overcome The Obstacle Of Cowardice.
- The whole army of Israel was cowards.
(2)- David Had To Overcome The Obstacle Of Criticism.
- David’s brothers criticized him for coming to their camp.
(3)- David Had To Overcome The Obstacle Of Concern.
- King Saul didn’t think that David had a chance.
(4)- David Has To Overcome The Obstacle Of A Champion!
- David was about to face the greatest challenge of his life.
a)- David Experienced The Power Of The Lord
- From an earthly stand point, David looked outclassed and outmanned. But from a Heavenly stand point, Goliath was no match for David’s God!
- David Faced Goliath In The Name Of The Lord! 17:45
- When you face your ‘giant’ take time to whisper the Name of Jesus. It will give you comfort, calmness and Courage.
- Solomon said in Proverbs 18:10- “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”
b)- David Enjoyed The Provision Of The Lord
- In 17:52,53we see that David and the army of Israel enjoyed the fruits of their victory.
- David is an example that when one life is yielded to the Lord , it will make a huge difference in many lives!
- The same thing that happened to David can happen to you. You can face, fight, and finish off your ‘giant’ if you will just trust and depend upon the Lord.
- Don’t just throw a stone at your Goliath and hit him in the forehead; go over to “your giant”, take the sword and cut its head off and completely finish it.
- Don’t give that “giant” that you are facing in your life an opportunity to live again in your life. CONQUER YOUR GIANT!
Conclusion:
- As you face your “giants” and fight your “giants” and finish your “giants”, people will begin to ask “What makes you so different?”
- It makes no difference what you are facing; it makes no difference what your ‘giant’ may be. You can defeat any ‘giant’ that comes your way. “Greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world.”
- When David defeated Goliath, others were blessed. Others are watching how you face your ‘giants’. When you allow God to give you victory over your ‘giant’, others will be encouraged and blessed.
- God Is Greater Than Your Giants
