BE A GIANT SLAYER

 

          There are two rather lengthy passages in the Bible where the Children of Israel are force to confront Giants.  One passage is recorded in Numbers 13 and 14. This passage tells of the fearful response of the Children of Israel when confronted with facing giants in order to enter the promise land.  Now none of us present today have every seen a human giant.  But we do face circumstances in our lives that appear to be giant obstacles, and like the children of Israel these seemingly insurmountable obstacles can give rise to fear and panic in our lives.  In the passages in Numbers you will see that fear and panic caused the Children of Israel to disobey God and thus delay the fulfillment of the promises and blessings of God.

          This morning I do not want to focus on our negative responses to obstacles, but rather on a positive approach to overcoming obstacles.  Thus the title of this message is BE A GIANT SLAYER.

I SAMUEL 17:1-11

          By this time the Israelites had been living in the Promised Land for some time.  God initial desire was for them to totally drive out the inhabitants of the land.  However because of their fear and disobedience they were unable to do it.  Thus they are constantly in war battling with Canaanite nations that they were unable to evict and especially the Philistines.  On this occasion, the Philistines are proposing that rather than having a full fledged confrontation, that Saul the King of Israel pick a champion to come out and fight against Goliath.  The king of the winning champion would then rule all.

I SAMUEL 17:12-27

          At this time David is believed to be a teenager.  While attending to the needs of his brothers he heard Goliath taunting Israel.  Each time the Children of Israel would try to get the battle started, Goliath would come forward and the Israelites would run.  The Israelites say themselves as mere men challenged to fight one who to them was more than a mere man.  They saw themselves as mere soldiers, servants of Saul, in the army of Israel.  To each of the fleeing men, beating Goliath was an impossible task.  He was a giant and they were just mere men.

          David on the other hand knew that Israel had a covenant with Jehovah God, The Almighty One.  Israel was the spokesperson for God.  He saw an ‘uncircumcised gentile’ standing and taunting the men.  This Philistine had no covenant with the living God.  David was offended by the fact that this gentile thought he could defy the army of God.

          David also new that through the covenant relationship with God, the Children of Israel had God’s promise of protection and deliverance.  He knew that he could count on God keeping His promises and thus he was insured victory.

I SAMUEL 17:28-37

          Here is David, a young teenager who has never been to war before, volunteering to fight a full grown man who happened to be a giant who had trained to be a soldier all his life.  But David was not afraid.  Why?

          First, we said that David remembered his covenant relationship with God.  Second though David had no previous experience as a soldier, he looked back on the experiences he had endured.  He had experienced the deliverance of God on 2 previous occasions where he was at a great disadvantage.  God had delivered him from both a lion and a bear and not only had God delivered him, He had allowed him to slay them both.  David’s relationship with God and his past experiences gave him courage to face Goliath.  This is what we all need to help us face what we deem to be insurmountable circumstances.  1 Peter 3:15 says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”  We should be able to tell others why we have hope when all is going wrong, why we can believe we will graduate on time when circumstances may say otherwise, why we can believe that we will find a good job in a dieing economy.  When we have relationship with God and experience with Him, we have the hope that all will work out well, and the faith that we will overcome our obstacles.  Because of his relationship with God and his experiences with God, David sees himself as a giant slayer. 

Let’s look at what steps David took in slaying Goliath.

I SAMUEL 17:38-40

1.     He resisted the urge to trust in flesh and to attack in a worldly fashion.  He would not take the customary weapons, but carried only what he would normally carry, that which he had used in his everyday life.  He knew that he could not trust in his ability as a warrior.  For us today, this means don’t stoop to the world’s standard of handling things.  Don’t be pressured by your peers to cheat to obtain a good grade or lie in order to obtain favor.  Don’t push forward, stepping on others as you go, fight to reach the top.  If you will have success, have it God’s way and not the way of the world.

I SAMUEL 17:41-47

2.     He trusted God to do battle for him.  He saw himself as the instrument and God as the warrior.  He knew God to be a giant slayer and because he stood to represent God, he knew God would make him to be a giant slayer also.

 I SAMUEL 17:48-51

3.     He coupled his faith with actions.  He ran towards Goliath, propelled a stone and slew the giant.  When it was time to act, David did not sit still wondering what God was going to do.  David did what he knew how to do and trusted God to do the rest.  Note that David did not stop to calculate how close he should get to Goliath before shooting the stone, or the minimum force needed to drop Goliath, etc.  He simple ran at Goliath, pull the sling and let the stone go.  Just as David expected God did the rest.

 Though today we do not face literal giants, there are many giant like experiences in our lives.

          --- Unpaid bills when finances run out.

          --- Injustices that we face daily.

          --- The threat of losing a love one.

          --- Graduating or finding a job.

          --- Passing a critical class.

Romans 15:4 says that the Old Testament scriptures were written for our learning so that we would have hope.  What can we learn from David about slaying giants in our lives?

1.     Like David we need to have and maintain a personal relationship with God.  This can only be done through faith in the finished sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.  This faith must be evidenced by a commitment to seeking and doing God’s will for our lives.  (I Peter 3:18, Matt. 7:21)

2.     We must understand, accept and have faith in God’s promises to us.  Your ability to do this is dependent on the relationship from number 1.  You cannot accept and have faith in the promises if you have not accepted and have faith in the promiser.

--- For the giant of need – Matt. 6:33 and Phil. 4:19 teach us that God will supply all of our needs.

--- For the giant of emotional and mental stress in – Is. 26:3 we are promised perfect peace if we continue to trust in God. In John 14:27 Jesus says He gives us peace, and in Phil 4:6 we are told that the peace of God will keep our hearts and minds.

--- For the giant of temptation – I Cor. 10:13 says God will not allow us to be tempted above what we are able to handle and that He will make a way of escape.

The Bible has promises for all the giants in our lives, but all these promises are conditionally based on faith and relationship with the promiser.

3.     Like David we need to remember our past experiences, deliverances and victories.  Heb. 10:32 says call to remembrance the former days when we endured great afflictions.

4.     Resist the urge to act fleshly and/or without the leading of God.  In 2 Cor. 10:3-5 we are told not to fight in a fleshly manner, but rather to walk being led by the Spirit, using our spiritual weapons to combat the enemy.

5. We must trust God to deliver us.  Remember God can cause anyone who will trust in Him to be a giant slayer.