Battlefield 2

Battlefield 2

"A Bully-proof Man"

1 Samuel 17: 22-23 "And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them."

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We're talking about spiritual warfare in this series called "The Battlefield."

We tend to think that the battle between David and Goliath was purely physical, but that's not true.

It was a spiritual battle between the satanic, blasphemous and Idolatrous Philistines, and God's very own chosen people.

The Philistines desired to subdue Israel and reduce them to slavery, which would have threatened their highest purpose--the eventual appearance of Messiah through the Jewish lineage.

Everything was on the line when David appeared and heard the mocking voice of the giant.

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Now, last time we saw that we all deal with Giants....

You know you're dealing with a Goliath type giant when you are DISTRACTED from your focus on God, DETOURED from your service for God, and DRAINED of your passion for God.

Giants come into our lives to hinder us from walking in God's purposes.

They come to thwart His plan for us by distracting, detouring, and draining us of our zeal and spiritual motivation.

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We also saw that Goliath is a type of Satan...

And when we look at how he intimidated Israel's army into paralysis, we see exactly what our invisible foe seeks to do to the church!

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Goliath was the quintessential bully.

His modus operandi was to bully and intimidate God's people into total ineffectiveness in their god-given purpose.

In 1 Sam. 17 we see the sad spectacle of the entire army of Israel quivering in their tents, "dismayed and greatly afraid" of the giant.

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But God had a plan!

By His inscrutable Providence, God caused a man named Jesse to send his youngest son, David, to the battlefront to give his three brothers a sack lunch.

Young David approaches the front lines right about the time Goliath made his daily appearance.

The Bible says, "So David heard him."

When David heard Goliath's threatening words, he was totally unaffected by fear.

He didn't run, hide, shake or quake.

Goliath's words had a completely different affect on this amazing young shepherd, still a teenager at this time!

David's only response was, "Who does this guy think he is defying God's army this way!"

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Now when I read that, the first thing I want to know is, "Why was David different?

How was he so fearless?

How had he become a 'bully-proof' man?"

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Thankfully, David tells us out of his own mouth how he had developed such courage...

While watching over his father's sheep, he had experienced the attack of intimidating, frightening creatures well before Goliath.

He recounts to King Saul that as a boy watching over his father's sheep, a lion had attacked the lambs, and later a bear.

Now use your sanctified imagination a bit....

A full-grown Israeli lion has a growl that can literally shake the ground---His razor sharp teeth can tear you to shreds like a buzz saw.

And our enemy, the devil, is compared to a "lion" in the Bible--The Bible says he is "like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may eat alive."

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And a full-grown, charging Israeli bear was fully capable of instantly sending you home to Jesus with one swipe of his massive paw!

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Young David had encountered these deadly creatures in hand to hand combat when they had seized one of the lambs in their massive jaws.

David told an amazed King Saul that he had defeated the lion and bear when no one was looking but God and the angels.

"...when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it."

All that King Saul could say after this personal testimony was, "Go, and the Lord be with you!"

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Now, there are some important truths for us here regarding spiritual warfare, and the battle you may be facing right now.

First, notice that David said the lion...

Took a lamb right out of the flock...

Spiritual Warfare is always up close and personal.

Our enemy is brazen and bold...

David didn't say the lamb was 'away' from the flock....He was right in the MIDST of the flock!

The enemy attacked what was near and dear to David...

Think about it!

The devil doesn't stop at the border of your home, or your family...

He doesn't stop at the border of the church property and say, "Well, I can't go any closer than this."

No, the devil goes to church!

He attacks the flock, seeking to attack God's lambs through some offense, or a hurt, or a false teaching...

He is bold and brazen enough to try to grab a lamb right out of the midst of you!

David says here that the lion attacked while he, the shepherd, was right there in plain view...

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And this is the testimony of Scripture...

Paul told the Ephesian elders just before moving on in his travels...

"For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also....FROM AMONG YOURSELVES men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves" (Acts 20:29-30).

The seductress Jezebel destroyed many of God's men right in the midst of the church fellowship, right under the elder's noses!

Judas operated as a thief right in the midst of the other 11 disciples with Jesus at his side!

So we see that spiritual warfare is up close and personal....happening sometimes right in the sanctuary, or children's department, or youth department.....and must be watched for at all times!

No wonder Peter warned, "Be sober, be vigilant, be on guard..."

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And secondly, we see a KEY TO VICTORY in spiritual warfare...

II. David went after the lion...

In Verse 35 David says, “...and I went after him”

Did you catch that!

A mighty lion grabbed a lamb out of the flock and started to run away with it and David "went after him."

How many of us would have said, "Have a happy meal!"

Not David! It says David "ran TOWARD the lion and ran TOWARD the bear" which is exactly what we see him also do with GOLIATH...

The Bible records, "So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David (so Goliath attacked first), that David hurried and 'RAN TOWARD THE ARMY TO MEET THE PHILISTINE" (17:48).

It was David's way to never run from the enemy in fear in the hour of attack...he always ran TOWARD him through faith in God's name!

Think about it---There is only one place the armor of God in Ephesians 6 doesn't protect---the BACK---there is no protective piece of armor for a retreating, fleeing soldier!

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I’ve heard people say “I’ve been running from the devil all day long.”

Well maybe that’s the problem, why don’t you GO AFTER HIM!

Folks, listen: You’ll never get anywhere running from your problems, your situations, or your burdens.

You’ll never conquer anything by running away from it---

And you especially won't win in spiritual warfare if you run from the devil...

Remember that Satan, like Goliath, is a bully---and bullies never quit bullying until the person being bullied STANDS UP TO THEM!

The best thing to do is turn and face the devil down with the weapons of your warfare!

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Remember that Jesus said to Simon Peter, who had just called Him 'the Christ, the Son of the living God...

"Peter...on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18).

We have two key words here--gates and Hades....

The Gates of a city in Jesus' day were shut at night lest an invader gain entrance in the dark and overthrow it.

Once the gates were conquered, the city was as good as gone.

And the "Hades" Jesus mentions is the shadow-world of the dead, the unseen counterpart of the visible grave...

One commentator writes that, "Hades is the all-absorbing, all-destructive place...from which issue all forces that destroy.

Out from the gates of Hades, Satan spews his filth and abominations upon a godless world.

Jesus viewed His church attacking those gates, and the gates of Hades are unable to withstand it!

Jesus DID NOT mean that the church would hang on, barely surviving the assaults of an angry hell...

He meant that hell would not be able to stand against an attacking, advancing church!

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The church is not to run from Goliath, the church should advance TOWARD Goliath, slinging the following three stones into his forehead....

First, the stone of The Word of God---"The Word of God is alive and powerful..."

Second, the stone of The Name of Jesus---"In My name they shall cast out devils..." And we see that David said to Goliath, "You come to with shield and spear, but I come to you IN THE NAME of the Lord of Hosts!" (17: 45).

And third, the stone of The blood of the lamb---"They overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the lamb..."

Satan attacks brazenly, and you must face him down with your spiritual weaponry...

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And thirdly....

III. Your private battles are preparing you for public victories...

Think about it: David defeated the lion and bear when no one was looking but God and the angels...

The lion and bear were private battles he faced in the solitary setting of the Judean hillside...

Do you think David ever imagined as he fought off the lion and bear in PRIVATE that these battles had been allowed by God to prepare him for the day he would save the entire nation of Israel from catastrophe?

The lion and bear battles of life are there to train us to tackle Giants.

What David couldn't have known in his "lion and bear" days was that....

His private battles were the building blocks of giant-killing faith!

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God is always preparing you for what is NEXT...

He has you in the trenches today, faithfully fulfilling smaller tasks, fighting personal enemies, teaching you the ropes of faith and warfare.

But a greater day is coming that will require everything you're learning now!

So take small steps every day toward the person He's calling you to be.

Make small changes in your responses to adversity, and in your thinking.

Don't despise who you are, how God created you, what gifts you have or don't have.

You already have everything you need to do what God has called you to do.

Face down your lion and bear in God's strength and believe Him to give you the victory....you can do it!

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FACT----Somewhere in your christian walk your gonna meet up with an 9 foot Giant...

And unless God has brought you through some private victories, you’ll never stand before him!

David won those early battles, and that's where he got the courage to face Goliath.

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A LION head and a BEAR head hung in proud display on the wall of his soul...

When he heard Goliath belching out his arrogant threats at God's army, his mind immediately went back to those pivotal battles with the lion and bear...

He thought, "God delivered me then, He'll deliver me now. C'mere Goliath!"

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So what is your "lion and bear?"

Sexual sin, worry, fear, a habit, doubt, weariness, worry, a financial need?

You already have what you need to win, so...

Run no longer, Face that lion down, and grab what he has stolen out of his jaws!

LETS PRAY