David and Goliath (2)

When the Giant Falls

Good morning Compass Church

i am excited to be back with you this morning

My name is Clint

for those of you

who may not have been here about a month ago

i had the privilege

to come and speak to you all

so im thrilled to be back

im excited for what God has for you this morning

and i believe if you’ll pay attention

if you’ll put aside any distractions

and enguage these next few moments we are together

i believe the Lord has something for you today

Pastor Randy asked me to share

on the story of David and Goliath

I’ve titled this message

“When the Giant Falls”

would you bow your heads to pray with me

Everybody loves the story of David and Goliath

Even people who don’t know much about the Bible

or even probably believe in God

can tell you parts of the story

or atleast know the phrase

David vs Goliath

its used to descibe an underdog story

when a person is facing a huge problem

or a weaker team is facing a powerhouse

or when someone is standin against something that seems impossible

the story of Davig vs Goliath

can be an inspirational

and encouraging

but if we are not careful

we can reduce the story to only inspiration

and there is truth there

the story is inspirational

the story does motivate us

and give us goose bumps when we need an extra shot of couarge

but the story is much bigger than that

its much bigger

than a little shepherd boy

facing a giant

its bigger than one boy

delivering a nation

against all odds

the story of david and goliath

is not just about courage

its about trusting in a God who is truly able

and ultimely its a foreshadow of the one who would come

and rescue everyone who calls on His Name

So if you are ready this morning

i want to dive into this story

but i want to back up just a little bit

and talk about Saul for a second

Saul looked like the King people wanted, but he was not the king they needed

when Israel asked for a king

they wanted to be like the other nations

they wanted someone impressive

they wanted someone strong

and they wanted someone they could see

Saul looked the part

He was tall

He was impressive

He seemed like the kind of man who could lead armies

and intimidate enemies

But Sauls life shows us something important

you can look the strong publicly and be spiritually weak privately

Sauls downfall was not that he lacked talent

it was not that he lacked position

or opportunity

Sauls downfall was his disobedience

in 1 samuel 15, Saul disobeys the command of the Lord

He was told to wipe out all the enemie

and all they had

but Saul didn’t want to destroy some of the tribes

because of past run ins

and he keep the best sheep

and the oxen and other animals for himself

And Then when Samuel confonts him

Saul tries to excuse his disobedience

and disguise it as trying to honor God

so He can bring God more sacrifices

he shifts the blame

and twists the reality of his disobedience

and tries to make himself look good

Saul basically tells Samuel

“I kept the best animals so we could sacrifice them to the Lord.”

andt Samuel says

1 Samuel 15:22 “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”

That is the issue with Saul

He wanted the apperance of worship

He wanted to look like he served God

He wanted to people to think He was spiritual

but He wanted it without surrender

he wanted to be God’s annointed

but He didn’t want to obey God’s Word

and what Saul teaches us

is this

Sounding religous cannot cover rebelious hearts

Saul wanted God’s blessing but not God’s rule

He wanted God’s help but not God’s authority over him

He wanted to be king, but he did not want God to be King over him

and because of that

The bible says

God rejects Saul as king

and after Saul rejects the Word of the Lord

the Bible tells us

the Spirit of the Lord departs from Saul

and Saul is tormented

He still has the palace, but he has no peace

He still has the crown but he has no confidence

He still has the position but he lost God’s presence

all because of his disobedience

and this is what i know

you can sit on the throne and still be tormented if God is not ruling your heart

Saul become controlled by fear

insecurity

jealousy

anger

and paranoia

because when we refuse to surrender the throne of our heart

thats what happens

something else will always take over

fear will rule

pride will rule

bitterness will rule

control will rule

and the question for us this morning

is not whether your heart will have a king or not

the question is who that king is

So saul is rejected as the anointed king

and God send Samuel to annoint another

He send him to the house of Jesse

and lets read 1 samuel 16:6-7 together

1 Samuel 16:6–7 “When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.””

At this point

David isn’t even on the radar

He isn’t even in the house

He’s not even invited to be in the lineup

He is out in the field watching sheep

Overlooked by his father

underestimated buy his brothers

David is almost invisible

but He’s not hidden from God

people may overlook what is being done in the field

but God’s annointing come in the feild

you may be in a season of life

where you feel over looked

where you feel like your just going through the motions

doing what your supposed to be doing

and you may not see the purpose in it

but hear me this morning

God sees you

David wasn’t waisting time with sheep

He was being prepared

when no one was around

he learned to worship God in secret

hw learned faithfulness in that feild

He learned to be couragous

when a lion or bear would attack his herd

and he had to protect them

He learned that God would take care of Him

because he was faced with obsticles

and had to rely of God

before David ever stood infront of Goliath publically

He walked in places nobody gave him credit for

don’t despise the hidden season

some of the greatest things God does in your life

will happen in places nobody knows

i was 16 years old

when i gave my life to the Lord

at that time i was on fire for the Lord

i was prophesied over

someone told me

“God is going to use you to do big things for his kingdom”

a year later

i fell away from the Lord

and i fell hard

i got on drugs

went to prison

i was homeless and tried to commit suicide

the Lord miraculously saved me

and literally brought me back from death

and i fully surrendered

but i say that to say this

i moved into a sober living house

ended running the sober living house

started working for a non profit helping people in recovery

i ended up basically running the non profit by myself

not knowing what i was doing

i was counciling people one on one

i was scheduling insurance meeting

handling phone calls and invoices

and payments

and i was doing all these different things

and i becamed overwhelled

i was working by my self

i felt overlooked

i felt like i was alone

i felt like i was unseen

i got so stressed out one day

i called my dad

and i said i can’t do

i told him i had no clue of what my purpose was

and thought i was waisting my time

and he talked to me

and reminded me of that prohpesy

He said son you waisted a lot of time

“but the Lord has you in the fire

and gold is refined in the fire

you may not understnad now

but the Lord is getting you ready for your next season

take everything in and learn from it

because the Lord is going to use you to do big things for his kingdom

that was that word that was spoken over me

he reminded me of what the word says

and it shifted my whole mindset

consider it pure joy..

i had to go through that hard season

through the fire

through the testing

and i what i didn’t know then

i know now

and what i know now

is tha God used that season

the season i felt hidden

the season i felt like no one saw

and prepared me for what was next

i didnt know then

my next season would be stepping into ministry

that season equiped me to walk along side people in hard seasons

to be organized

to schedule

and plan

to think and come up with solutions

if i didn’t go through that field

i wouldn’t be who i am today

i wouldnt have been prepared

for what ministry brings

so don’t despise the hidden season

no one saw me

but God was molding me

the prayer closet or quiet time matters

the quiet obedience when noone knows, it matters

the private faithfulness matters

the unseen devoted surrender to God, it matters

David was overlooked in the field

but God was preparing him

when no one was watching

God sees you

when everyone else misses it

Before David faced Goliath

God was shaping Him

before David brought down the Giant

David had to face a lion and a bear

You may be facing some lions and bears

that no one can see

but God is preparing you to face a goliath

that everyone will take notice of

now we get to 1 samuel 17

(that was all just the intro)

Saul has been rejected by God as the annointed king

he is still king but not annointed

David has been anointed as future king

not yet stepped into that role

because he is still a young boy

Israel is in a time of war

The philisitnes gathered ther armies together for battle

Saul and the men of Israel were also gathered

someone what ready for war

actually not ready at all

Saul was terrified

The philistines stood on one side of the mountain

Israel on the other side and a valley seperated the two armies

everyday for 40 days

Goliath comes out and shouts at Israel

see, it was custom at that time

for one army to send their strongest soulder

to fight the strongest soldier from the other army

and the winnder would win for their whole army

and so Goliath was a cheat code

He was a literal giant

and he would come out and taunt Israel

for 40 days

then one day

Jesse, David father

sends David to go bring his brothers some food

And David shows up on the scence

He starts talking with some of the Israel men

and Goliath walk out again like he has done everyday

for the past 40 days and shouts this

1 Samuel 17:8–12 “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!””

David hears this and respond

1 Samuel 17:26 “Who is this pagan Philistine, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?””

The David tells Saul

1 Samuel 17:32–37 ““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!””

Davids condidence deson’t come because of his talent

His confidence is because God has been faithful

he remembers the lion

he remembers the bear

he remembers what he’s learned in the field

in the hidden season

when no one was watching

He was faithful in the field

and God came through

God is the same yesterday today and forever

Davids faithfulness in the field

when noone was watching

allowed him to be faithful when everyone was wathing

he had every opportunity to be afraid

he was facing a literal giant

that everyone was teriffied of

but catch this

faith remembers what fear wants you to forget

fear says look at whats in front of you

faith says “remember who has been with you”

and this is for new believers and mature believers

for the new believer

you may not have years of stories

but you can start with the cross

if Jesus saved you from sin and death

He can walk with you through whats in front of you

and for the one who’s followed God a while now

don’t let your current battle erase your memory

of God’s past faithfulness

He was faithful then

He is faithful now

and He will be faithful again

Saul tries to give David his armor

David’s like

“i can’t wear this”

because the armor was made for Saul

not David

David was not called to be Saul

David was called to be David

and sometimes we try to walk

someone elses spirtual journey

But God has called each of us

to Himself

with our own relationship

our own connetion to Him

the bible tells us

we are in a spiritual battle

there is a war going on

you cannot win God’s battle pretending to be someone else

God didn’t need David to wear Sauls armor

God used what He had already placed in Davids hand

A staff

A sling

and a rock that he had learned to use in the field

not a sword which was typical for battle

not armor which would seem dangerous

to go without

but a staff, a rock and a sling

it was unorthodox

it didn’t seem to fit

but its what David knew

and its what God used

it looked small

but surrendered to God

it was more than enough

and i want to ask you this morning

what has God placed in your hand?

are you a stay at home mom?

and you feel like its insignificant to the kingdom?

maybe its your testimony

mayben its a convorsation

maybe its a prayer

or maybe you have to ability to be generous

maybe whats in your hands right now

is the very thing God is going to use in your next season

stop waiting to feel impressive before you obey God

because it was in the field

that David was prepared for Goliath

and you may not know now

but God is using your field

to prepare you for your next season

God doesn’t need impressive. He uses surrender

David grabs 5 smooth stones

Goliath is standing on the other side of the valley

David walks out and Goliath goes to meet David

and Goliath is offended

and he says in

1 Samuel 17:43–44 ““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.”

if you could imagine that for a moment

a massive giant

conquered wars and skill in battle

David a littel shepherd boy

no battle experience at all

David responds in the next verse

1 Samuel 17:45–47 “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!””

David goal

catch this, this moring

David goal was not to make himself famous

He simply trusted God to be faithful and acted according to the character of God

He knew God intimately

and because He knew God

He knew God would deliver

not for Davids own glory

but for the glory of God

when the giant fall

God gets the glory

David was never the main character

David sought to glorify God

and God honored him

David humbled himself

under the mighty hand of God

and God gave him honor for it

God doesn’t just bring Giants down to make life easiery, He brings them down so His Name is lifted Higher.

David stood in the valley

as Israels representative

if David lost

Israel lost

If David won

Israel won

The whole nation stood on the hillside watching

because their future was wrapped up in their representative

And when David walked into that valley

he was not just fighting for himself

He was fighting for pwople who were too afraid to fight for themselves

and this is where David points to someone greater

Because years later

another King would step into the valley

the valley of sin

the valley of death

judgement

and the grave

And just like Israel stood helpless before Goliath

humanity stood helpless before sin

we could not defeat it

we could not out run it

we could not outwork it

we could not be religious enough to overcome it

we needed someone to fight for us

and Jesus stepped in to humanity

David faced Goliath as Israels representative

but Jesus faced sin and death as our representative

David went into the valley with a staff, a sling and a stone

Jesus went to the cross

with nails in His hands

thorns on His head

and love in His heart

David won a victory Israel did not earn

Jesus won a victory we could never earn

Davids victory became Israels victory

and Jesus’ victory becomes our victory when we put our faith in Him

Jesus is the greater David

and He has already defeated the giant we never could

Sin fell at the cross

death fell when Jesus said it is finished

the grave lost its say

when Jesus walked out alive

and because Jesus has already won the greatest battle

we do not fight for victory

we fight from victory

that doesn’t mean we will never face giants

it means giants don’t get the final word

fear does not get the final word

shame doesn’t get the final word

addiction doesn’t get the final word

your past

or your failures don’t get the final word

Jesus and Jesus alone gets the final Word

so the question is not “is the giant real”

the question is

“will you trust Jesus in the face of your giants” because if He has done it before

if God did it for David

He will do it again

Davig goes on to sling the rock

with one shot

killing Goliath

He walk over and chops off the head of Goliath

and Israel is delivered from their enemy

so what does this all mean for us?

i want to leave you with an action step this morning

maybe today

your action step

is surrendering to Jesus for the first time

10 sec….

or maybe your next step

is recognizing

you have been worried more about your appearance

in front of people

rather than true obedience

and you need to repent

simply means turn the other direction

and start focusing on your relationship with God

more than how people view your relationship with Him

Maybe your next step

is to stop dispising the hidden season

the season that you are in right now

is the very season of preperationg God has you in

trust that the pressure is forming you in this season

as we close this morning

i always want to glorify Jesus

David is great

But Jesus is Savior

David victory saved Israel for a moment

Jesus’ victory saves forever

David defeated one Giant

Jesus defeated sin, death, hell and the grave

and because Jesus lives

the giant does not get the final word

when the true King

steps into the valley

steps into your heart

to reign and rull

the giants will fall

would you let Him reign today?

lets pray