Conquering the Giants

Well, we are here in the School today! It was not easy to get here, but we are!

Lots of obstacles, hurdles and plain work - many answers to prayers to get to this point!

Once a hurdle or obstacle is overcome - it does not seem like it was that bad to begin with, but when facing that hurdle head on it seems enormous.

Hurdles like:

The doctor telling you that you have cancer or another disease

Your employer calling you in to give a pink slip (layoff)

A spouse telling you they want to end the marriage

A child with a substance abuse problem or issue

A sinful behavior has you in its bondage (pornography, fornication, homosexuality, addiction, greed, anger)

These are just a few COMMON giants that we are faced with in life --- and regardless how big or small the giant is - in the moment of experiencing it - it is always insurmountable!!!

There is a common passage in Scripture about a GIANT - a giant who held back an entire nation and crippled the kingdom of a man who should not have been afraid! The real victim of this giant was SAUL - and Israel - but he would be conquered by a teenager, small in stature, but large in faith...

1 Samuel 17:1–53 NLT

1 The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. 3 So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them. 4 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! 5 He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. 6 He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. 7 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. 8 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! 9 If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! 10 I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” 11 When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken. 12 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. 13 Jesse’s three oldest sons—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea—had already joined Saul’s army to fight the Philistines. 14 David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army, 15 but David went back and forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem. 16 For forty days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion strutted in front of the Israelite army. 17 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. 18 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.” 19 David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines. 20 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. 21 Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. 23 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. 24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 “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!” 26 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?” 27 And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.” 28 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!” 29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” 30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him. 32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” 33 “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.” 34 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, 35 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. 36 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! 37 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!” 38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 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. 40 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. 41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 “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. 44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. 45 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. 46 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! 47 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!” 48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp.

WHOA — MY GOD CAN DO ANYTHING!!!!!

It does not matter the size of the giant, it does not matter the strength of the giant, it does not matter the intimidation of the giant --

What matters is the SIZE, STRENGTH AND MIGHT of OUR GOD!!!

What matters is the SIZE, STRENGTH AND MIGHT of OUR GOD!!!

1. Stop Ignoring the Giant

Let’s start with the most critical thing that hangs people up.

The enemy sends giants into our lives to make us stagnate!

To stop us in our tracks.

To keep us from progressing in our relationship with God, using our gifts and callings for God, and serving the Lord.

He has defeated us if he can stagnate us! Slow us down, make us lose headway in our lives!!! That is enough for him.

The greatest defeat for Israel was not in fighting a battle they could have lost, but being hindered from fighting the battle and at a standstill!!

This giant created one of Israel’s biggest standstills. No forward motion, no more conquering the land - just an army and a king scared out of their minds to fight this giant.

Day in and day out the giant taunted them, mocked them, and criticized their God. — and they let him!

They were frozen in their tracks!

This is what David saw that ticked him off!!

Isn’t this what happens in our lives ---

We stop moving forward with the Lord because of the giants in our lives. We allow the giant to cripple us, scare us into a corner, leave us mumbling and complaining about life, and become hopeless!

We don’t seek to be involved

We don’t seek to pursue God in a greater fashion

We don’t seek to win family, loved ones to Christ

We just become stagnate!!!

Revelation 3:15–16 NLT

15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

We could really see this passage as one addressing a stagnate life - not on fire, not chillin down the world - just there!

There are not victories in hiding!

There is no winning in doing nothing!

There is a secular saying:

If you don’t step forward - YOU’RE ALWAYS IN THE SAME PLACE

If you don’t ask - THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS NO

If you don’t go after what you want - YOU’LL NEVER HAVE IT

— Nora Roberts

Where that has a secular twist to it, the reality is - if we let the GIANTS keep us cowering - WE WILL ALWAYS BE DEFEATED!

God intends for HIS OWN PEOPLE to be a victorious people through our faith and confidence in HIM!

1 John 5:4 NLT

4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.

2. Approach the Giant with Confidence

Let me tell you, no giant is undefeatable!

We either believe God is bigger or we don’t!

1 John 5:4 NLT

4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.

We achieve victory over evil through our faith.

We achieve victory over evil

David did not cower before Goliath - he veraciously opposed Him and proclaimed the battle was His as He came in the strength of the Lord!

1 Samuel 17:45–46 NLT

45 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. 46 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!

What giant is confronting you:

Bondage to sin (sin is defeated by the blood of Jesus)

Depression is defeated by the joy of the Lord

Sickness

Financial poverty or insecurity

Relationship failure

Satan - the blood of Jesus is against you!!!

If we are not ignoring it - we are confronting it, and if we are confronting it - DO IT IN THE MIGHT OF THE LORD!

Zechariah 4:6 NLT

6 Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Psalm 24:8 NLT

8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, invincible in battle.

Joshua 4:24 NLT

24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”

The issue Saul and any member of the army of Israel did not go against Goliath is because they were measuring their strength against Goliath’s, yet when a teen of small stature saw him, he saw an opportunity for God to be great.

We have to look at the giants in our lives as opportunities for GOD TO BE GREAT! Of course in the natural we cannot win, but in the supernatural ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

Matthew 19:26 NLT

26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

We have to come in the power of the Lord — we do not have to defend the name of the Lord - HE WILL DEFEND HIS OWN NAME!!!!

3. Follow Through After the Giant Falls

The last thing I want to take note of this morning, is that David did not stop at striking down Goliath!

After the giant fell - David proceeded to cut off his head!

This act allowed the enemy army -which was also mighty in strength - to realize the Lord’s army was advancing.

They began to flee, and then the army of Israel pursued and conquered them, and pillaged their communities for the spoils of war!

God does not just want the giant to fall, but for your to advance in territory and take back what belongs to you IN HIS NAME, and make advancement (spoils of war) in your life!

The enemy robs and steals, but Jesus brings abundant life.

John 10:10 NLT

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Take hold of more than overcoming the giant, take hold of the full victory!

Don’t stop until all the obstacles are cleared out of your way.

Psalm 68:1 NLT

1 Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies. Let those who hate God run for their lives.

One of the things we often do is allow God to bring down the giant and then we go back to being stagnate --- He removed that obstacle so we can advance forward!!!! Don’t stop - press on!!

CONCLUSION

Dealing with the Giants

Don’t ignore them

Approach them with confidence

Follow through after they fall