First Church of God in Harvey
Sunday Morning - August 24th, 2008
Welcome.......
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it....(repeat)
Are you glad to be in the house of God......elaborate..
Let us pray
Our theme this year is, Say It In Love. The scripture verse is, Ephesians 4 verse 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
In The Living Bible Paraphrased, this is what it says, Don't use bad language. say only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and what will give them a blessing.
Sometimes as Christians we say the right thing, at the wrong tine, and without love, so let us all be careful as to what we say, and how we say what we are saying...................
Please turn with me in your bibles to 1 Samuel 17 verses 32 through 37 from the King James version. (Later on you might want to read the entire passage 1 Samuel 17 verses 32 through 49) Right now we will be reading 1 Samuel 17 verses 32 through 37.
My to-pic for today is, Facing The Giant.
The story of David and Goliath is one of the most familiar stories of the Bible. We read about it, we talk about it, and we sing about it. You remember that little song Only A Boy Called David (Quote song......) This story is shared with little children to teach the lesson of overcoming great odds, and how they can do great things. Adults also can learn from this story of how to overcome the odds.
Let's look at the situation for awhile, let's see what is going on. The Children of Israel, God's People; and the Philistines who are their enemies are at war. A proposal or an offer is given to Israel to send their champion to fight against the Philistine's champion. In 1 Samuel 17 verses 8 and 9 we hear Goliath, the Philistine's champion speaking, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistines, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
This proposal sounds fair, it was a one and one combat, but there was only one problem, the man who was making the offer was a giant. This giant was about nine and a half feet tall. He wore a helmet of brass, and he was armed with a coat of mail weighing at least ninety pounds. The head of his spear was made of iron and weighed at least eleven pounds. Walking before him was a shield bearer. This giant was well protected, and apparently Israel did not have a man who was willing to fight against this giant.
When life seems hopeless, when it seems there is no way out, God is able to make a way out of no way. For forty days, Goliath called for a challenger, for forty days he taunted God's people, God's people were afraid, when the most unlikely thing happened when a boy called David showed .up. David was no soldier; he was just a boy. He had no helmet; he had no spear; he was just a boy, but this boy was not afraid to fight.
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My first thought is, Don't be afraid. David came to the king and said to him in verse 32 of our text, Let no man's heart fail because of him: thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. He was saying to king Saul don't worry about a thing, I will take care of that Philistine. When we are faced with our giants, you and I want to hear some good news. Saul was hearing some good news, the people were afraid, but it seems the good news was coming from the wrong source, it is coming from a boy who is not trained in warfare. David was about to do something extraordinary, but in verse 28 his eldest brother tried to stop him.
When you are about to do something for the Lord, something that might seem impossible to man, don't let anyone stop you. Oh yes, they will laugh at you, but don't let them stop you. Oh yes they will talk about you, but don't let them stop you. David might have thought, yes you are my big brother, but there is a giant to face. He might have thought that there is a battle to be won, and he will not allow anything to stand in the way. When the Lord is on your side, you don't have to be afraid, and you will be able to face the giant, and destroy the giant.
God is saying to us today, don't be afraid. What giant or giants are you faced with today. Your giant will not be Goliath, but there are giants we have to face each day. "Problems and concerns can feel like giants. Health problems, financial problems, and marital problems can feel like giants. Governmental problems, employment problems, and children problems can look like giants. These giants even have names. Names like Visa, Discover, Mortgage...Name like cancer, aging, baldness, death. Names like dishonesty, unforgiveness, unloving.. What giant or giants are you faced with today?
"Like Goliath, these giants are standing in the valley, intimidating us, scaring us, putting the spirit of fear in us. But there is some good news. the good news is that others have faced giants and walked away victorious. Others have stood toe to toe with giants and came out on top. Giants don't have to win. We can overcome the giants in our lives."
This same David who told king Saul not to worry, is the same David who writes in Psalm 27 verses 1 and 2, The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid. When the wicked even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Saints of God, don't be afraid to face the giant, because you have God on your side.
My second thought is, Don't be discouraged. Have you ever felt discouraged, and you just don't know what to do? Have you ever felt that nobody really cares? In verse 32 of our text, David had told king Saul, Don't worry he will go out and fight Goliath, and that everything would be alright. In verse 33 Saul started to give David some discouraging advice (read verse 33) David, don't' be ridiculous. How can a kid like you fight with a man like him? David, this is a man's job, and you are only a boy.
Please note very carefully, "One of the first things we must do if we are to conquer the giants in our life is to overcome discouragement." There will be people close to you, people whom you trust, who will try to convince you that you cannot beat the odds. Here is a warning to everyone, be careful as to who you are receiving your advice from. There are people who will tell you, you cannot beat the system. They will tell you that the giant is too great and you are too small. , but I am so glad that with God all things are possible. God can take those impossible things and make them possible. People might have told you, and maybe is still telling you that you will not amount to anything, but I can hear Bro. Paul saying in Philippians 4 verse 13, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me, so don't be discouraged.
What if you had listen to the negative things people might have told you? What if you had believed those discouraging remarks that was given to you? Where would you be today?
So David listened to king Saul, and I believed David might have said, Oh king live forever, there is something I must tell you. and so in verses 34 through 36 of our text David started to explain to Saul what had happened to him. (read verses 34 through 36 and explain)
King Saul, I slew a lion and a bear, and I am now ready to face this giant Goliath. King Saul, I have a testimony of how God delivered me from the lion and the bear, and this God who delivered me back then will deliver me now from this giant. King Saul. I am not discouraged, this giant have taunted God's people, this giant has defied the armies of the living God, and it is now time to fight. There comes a time in our lives when we have to face the giant, and tell that giant enough is enough. There comes a time in our lives when we have to stand up for the truth. There comes a time in our lives when we have to face that giant, and tell that giant it is fighting time. It's no more time for baby talk, it is no more time for small talk, it is now time to fight.
Saints of God, don't be discouraged, but let us all face the giant. Saints of God there might be those who are failing, but let's face the giant. Saints of God there might be those who are giving up, but let's face the giant. Saints of God, let's agree with the writer and stand up for Jesus. Listen to these words, Stand up, stand up for Jesus, Ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high his royal banner, It must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory, His army shall he lead, Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord in deed.
That's not the end, there is something more. Saint's don't be afraid; don't be discouraged, and finally Victory is yours. After Saul had listened to David telling his story of how he killed the lion and the bear. After he had listened of God's protective care of David, Saul was convinced of what God would do, and so in the latter part of verse 37, Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you.
We all know how the story end; we all know what happened to Goliath; we all know what happened to the giant who was taunting the people of God. In I Samuel 17 verse 49 we read these words, these are words of victory, these are words of confidence in God, these are words that reminds us of what will happen when we face the giant. Listen to these words, And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
Let's all say victory, say it again....victory.
As we close, what giant or giants are you facing right now?. It is said that, "all of the giants that we battle are designed to bring us closer to God. We can't go into battle to build up an impressive record of wins or go thinking that we'll fight the battle under our own strength." Today God is calling us to stand up to the giants in our lives. He is calling us to be faithful to him as we battle. David said that the battle belongs to the Lord. Have you given your battles to the Lord, or are you still fighting your giants on your own?
