Victorious

Introduction: 17 years ago this past Tuesday, American lives were changed forever. Terrorist groups declared war on Americans because of the way we believe. I remember watching the plane fly into the 2nd tower, and when the 3rd flew into the Pentagon I knew we were going to war. As we all tried to fathom what was really happening, I can remember looking around at many of my fellow brothers and sisters serving with me; several from New York who had family members that worked in the towers. I remember the sadness, the fear of not knowing whether they were dead or alive. I remember the pain that I felt watching them go through the worst day of their life. But I also remember the joy and the tears of relief when some received word that their loved one was ok. We were a nation who was stunned, knocked down, and dazed. We had never faced something like this on American soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

But I also remember something else: I remember the passengers of flight 93 uniting to take down the terrorists before they could do anymore harm. This plane was headed for the white house. The people aboard knew that it meant they would not survive but they mounted up and with the infamous quote that rallied a nation said “lets roll” stormed the cockpit and saved countless American lives. Our country was rocked and millions flocked to churches. Why? because they were seeking answers, they were seeking hope and refuge from a giant they had never seen or faced before.

As we begin our study on eliminating our giants we will look at some common giants that we all face that are pretty obvious, but we will will also look at some that aren’t quite as obvious yet just as destructive. Before we can get into specific giants we first need to look at the basics and understand our role in the battle of eliminating our Giants. This is what I love about the passage of scripture that we are about to study. This is one of the most well know narratives in the Bible. A story about the underdog facing insurmountable odds and coming through victorious. We can all remember a time when or maybe you are going through it now. But there is so much more.

set the scene and tell the story

Transition: As we cheer on David and feel the excitement and energy that they felt but there is something we need to remember:

You Are Not David

Everyone in here today is facing their own giant. You can’t live free because of this giant and you want it gone

The good news is it’s not God’s plan for you to live with anything standing in the middle of your life, demoralizing you day by day by day. These giants harm you and rob God of his glory in your life. God wants you to live free.

But you can’t identify with David in this account. Why? Because Jesus is David in the story of David and Goliath!

He’s the one who picks the stones and throws it at Goliath. He’s the one who brings down the giants, not you! The Giant fell because of the work Jesus did on the cross!

We like to identify with David because it makes us feel better, like we are in control.

The problem is we aren’t in control. Trying to steer toward great outcomes is great but we can’t steer the world. In time those who try to control crack because of the reality that none of us are in control.

It’s God who is in control! It was God’s power that prompted David to do what he did.

Can you imagine being on the front line and seeing this teenage scrawny kid saying “I’ll fight him”! We all know teenagers can talk and say some pretty outrageous things.

David’s relationship with God was strong! God had been preparing him for this for quite some time. David wasn’t worried about it because of His faith in the God that Goliath was taunting. Little by little God was revealing himself to David about who he was. During the nights when David was watching the sheep, when he killed the bear and the lion, God was showing David just how mighty and powerful He was.

So it wasn’t David’s power, it was God’s power, the same power that rose Jesus from the grave. It wasn’t David’s ability, it was God’s ability!

All of Scripture points not to our ability but to Jesus Christ as savior of the world!

You may have a 9 foot giant standing in your path, but the minute we stop staring at our Giant and lock eyes with Jesus, that is when our hope shifts from us to Him.

That’s when we realize we are not David, we can’t bring down the giant, but God can!

And Jesus already has!

Giglio, Louie. Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battle Against Your Giants (p. xiv). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Transition: Your giant is already dead and defeated. You need to realize this! When Jesus rose from the grave he defeated Satan and anything or anyone who associates with Him. But there is something we need to remember.

The Enemy is Still Dangerous

Our God is bigger than our giant! I need someone bigger than my giant to set my gaze on. Otherwise, I listen needlessly to a dead Goliath when the Maker of heaven is holding me in his hands.

Illustration of dead snakes wrapping their bodies around an arm; cutting the head off and buring them

We live in a time paradox- God sees everything as complete but we are still living. The end hasn’t come yet. Satan hasn’t been cast into Hell as far as our timeline

The enemy is still roaming around seeking whom he may devour

Our enemies head is like that of the snake. Satan can still wriggle and squirm and make the hairs on our necks stand up. If we step on Satan’s fangs, he can still poison us and cause serious harm. We’re not in heaven yet, and the Enemy is still prowling around on planet Earth. His body is still flailing about, and he is still dangerous.

If we listen to the Enemy, or if we follow his evil schemes, or if we mess with any of the practices he lays claim to, we will self-inject that poison into our lives.

The poison will diminish our hope and weaken the abundant reality of what our lives can be in Christ. So there are two truths to keep in mind.

One: Satan was defeated on the cross. Jesus has won the victory. End of story. And two: the snake still wriggles. The snake still has venom.

lives. The poison will diminish our hope and weaken the abundant reality of what our lives can be in Christ. So there are two truths to keep in mind. One: Satan was defeated on the cross. Jesus has won the victory. End of story. And two: the snake still

You need to quit going down the same dark path barefoot and stepping on the fangs.

Jesus didn’t die on the cross and rise again for you to continue in sin.

tells us why he came: to finish it once and for all!

1 John 3:8 NKJV

8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

But Satan is still dangerous and that is why tells us to be vigilant and sober so we can know what’s going on around us. To put it in football terms. Keep your head on a swivel.

Transition: So we are not David in this story, and Satan although he is technically dead, is still very dangerous there is still good news...

Giglio, Louie. Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battle Against Your Giants (p. 32). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Giglio, Louie. Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battle Against Your Giants (p. 32). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Giglio, Louie. Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battle Against Your Giants (p. 32). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

He can squ

Giglio, Louie. Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battle Against Your Giants (p. 24). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

We Are Not Defenseless

God would never leave us on our own. He gives us instructions

1) tells us to submit yourselves to God, Resist the devil and he will flee from you. You have to learn to resist the temptation. How do we do that?

Submitting yourself means to yield oneself to the authority or will of another: SURRENDER

Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

Temptations will come, but you have a power given to you that is much more powerful than that of the tempter if you will surrender to His control

2) Paul tells us in to put on the full armor of God. Not just a piece of it but all of it.

Our armor isn’t the old clunky armor of King Saul. That armor is man-made and only slows us down. We weren’t designed to walk around in man-made armor and still be effective giant slayers.

Our armor is God-made. It was forged in the fires of his holiness. It was handed to us by the power of his Spirit. It’s available for us to wear anytime we wish. All that’s required of us is to put it on.

3) We lean into the all sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Simply this: Jesus is enough

We need to believe everything we say we believe: That Jesus died for us, that jesus saves us and transforms our lives, therefore we need to depend on Him to take down our giant and quit trying to do it our-self.

If you truly want to change, then you need to understand your dependency on the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Your change is more about trusting and less about trying.

You say I’m really trying but I keep failing: Remember this

2 Peter 1:3 NKJV

3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,

God has given us everything we need for our spiritual life. All joy. All value. All purpose. All hope. All comfort. All power to resist temptation. All power to change. All ability to live lives of godliness. All guidance and marked pathways to live for him.

God has given us everything we need for our spiritual life. All joy. All value. All purpose. All hope. All comfort. All power to resist temptation. All power to change. All ability to live lives of godliness. All guidance and marked pathways to live for him.

All of this is for His honor and His glory not ours

Conclusion: The real giant is dead, and he knows it. He will try to take as many down with him as he can. But you have hope! You through the blood of Christ will be victorious. But what if my giant keeps taunting me? Don’t hide the severed head of your giant. Confess it to a small group of trusted friends who love you, won’t judge you and are there to help you. When your giant is concealed it finds power in the darkness. But when it is confessed, it loses that power because the light of Christ now shines on it. Stop listening to the giant and start listening to God. Victory starts with changing our minds and believing that Jesus fought once and for all, and our giant has fallen.

Giglio, Louie. Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battle Against Your Giants (p. 50). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Giglio, Louie. Goliath Must Fall: Winning the Battle Against Your Giants (p. 37). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.