A God Greater Than Giants

1 Samuel 17:1–47 NLT

The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them. Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield. Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken. Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons. Jesse’s three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea—had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines. David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army, but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem. For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army. One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread, and carry them quickly to your brothers. And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing.” David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines. So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!” David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.” But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!” “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him. “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!” Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

Introduction: What if you were voted the “Least Likely to Succeed” in your high school yearbook? That’s what happened to the creator of Food Network, Jack Clifford. He went from a nobody to creating a multimillion-dollar network (Shandra Martinez, “Food Network Creator Funds Michigan High School Scholarship,” MLIVE.com, updated April 2, 2019, https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2016/05/the_food_network_founder_retur.html).

When it comes to serving the Lord, many people have told me. “I am not good at that, I can’t do that.” How do we over come a lack of self-confidence?

54 - We Can Lack Self-Confidence.

Saul and The Israelite Army certainly lacked Self-Confidence.

The Philistines were way bigger and Stronger.

Goliath was way bigger and Stronger. - 9 ft. 9, 125 pounds of armor, a spear with a head 30 some lbs. - This is a much bigger Shaqiel O’Neil. Shaq dominated in Basketball simply because he was much bigger and stronger than anyone else.

They had better technology than the Israelites - Archeology of the time period seems to suggest that the Philistines were had the advanced technology of bronze, where as the Israelites had to trade with the Philistines to get bronze. “Bronze Age.”

Saul was elected King, for the same qualities as the Kings of the other nations. He was tall, hansome, and strong. But he was no Goliath. He was too arrogant to do what God called him to do. Arrogance (showing an offensive attitude of superiority) vs. confidence (a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities.)

Goliath was confident - He was a Champion from Youth - Undefeated...

From a purely human perspective - The Israelites had good reason to lack self-confidence.

Invited to be the Regional Synod Strategist for the SouthWest Classis. far enough in my leadership, nor was the call at New Hope far enough along. - Part of the reason if I am honest was a lack of self-confidence.

But David Teaches us something about Fulfilling God’s Purpose.

55-We Fulfill God’s Purpose When our God Confidence is Greater than our Self-Confidence.

Ultimately this story is in the Bible to demonstrate that David is the model King, A king not like the other nations, but one after God’s own heart. His Kingship is the model which points to our need for the Son of David - Our King Jesus.

None of us here, to be sure is called to be David. None of the Israelites on that battlefield were called to be David.

To be sure God has a specific purpose for each of us. Finding this does not require a sermon, but coaching and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

However, for each of us, when we are called to our purpose, we may not face physical giants, but we will face obstacles that are giant to us. How do we rise to the challenge?

“Even the smallest person can change the course of history,” the elf queen Galadriel says to Frodo as he fears the journey ahead of him (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, directed by Peter Jackson [New Line Cinema,

56-1.David focused on Honoring God. He kept the main thing the main thing.

No one else in Israel’s ranks realized that Goliath was running God’s name through the mud in his challenge. Whatever, Purpose we have been given by God, the goal of the purpose is to bring Glory to God.

Application: Ask if the Obstacle is honoring or dishonoring God, How Can I Give Glory to God.

57-2. David Remembered How God Defeated Past Giants - He had some Holy Ghost Stories of defeating Lions and Bears.

Share the tool I use when I coach people in Life Skills

Interviewing people for Church Planting or Jobs. - Often there are candidates who have not done the job they are applying for, but you are looking for people who have done similar skills in the past - Church planter - Gathered people even if it was not for Church. - Bears and Lions

By the way how does one grow in their ability to fight of Bears and Lions - There had to be some training here.

58-3. David Remembered the Stories of God’s Power (The Gospel) - What do you do if you don’t have any recent successes perse? You do what we are doing now - We read the Bible.

When I sensed God asking me to quite my job to pursue an internship - I never did that before, but there a ton of stories in the Bible where God showed up to provide.

Finding your zone of God's Anointing. - Serving according to your Spiritual Gifts will mean you serve with confidence and competence. - Not everyone was called to be King David, but he has called you to a purpose, and even that purpose can seem too big for us, but The Lord gives you gifts to face the challenge.

There is something else happening in this story to the Army, David is...

59-Inspiring God Confidence...

Why we do celebrations at meetings and Holy Ghost Stories. The idea is to fill our motivation cup with things that remind us of God showing up, so when we come to a challenge we have that to draw from.

David’s Boldness inspired Saul to let him go through with it. David’s speech to Saul reminded him what this is all about. It is about Giving God Glory, Not how powerful he is, Saul is, the armies of Israel are, We are. That God has proven himself to show up in Powerful ways, and has anointed him to take down beasts.

David Inspired Israel’s army to defeat the Philistines by beating Goliath.

Heather and 24-7 Prayer - Her gift inspired us to pray.

Review some of the things that God has done the Celebrations of our Church recently.

Conclusion: