SEVEN TIPS ON HOW TO SLAY A GIANT
I Samuel 17:45-50a
Prayer
This event took place at the valley of Elah.
The Israeli army was on one side of the valley.
And the Philistine army was on the other side.
The Israeli army wouldnít attack because it had inferior weapons.
And the Philistine army wouldnít attack because it outnumbered.
Neither side would fight.
And neither side would run.
It was a standoff.
One of the Philistines was a giant named Goliath.
He was a lot bigger than Shaquille OíNeal.
He would make Shaq look like a dwarf.
He was more than nine feet tall.
He wore a bronze helmet on his head;
Bronze leggings on his legs;
And scale armor that weighed about one hundred and twenty-five pounds to cover
his chest and stomach.
He carried a spear with a head that weighed almost twenty-five pounds.
He had a shield bearer to walk in front of him with a large shield.
Goliath went down into the valley twice a day for forty days.
He was strong and cocky.
He flaunted his size and strength.
He challenged the Jews to send out a champion to fight him.
He said, ìWe can end this standoff.î
ìIf I defeat your champion, we will declare that the Philistine army is the winner.î
ìAnd the Jews will serve the Philistines.î
ìBut if your champion defeats me, we will declare that the Jewish army is the ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
winner.î
ìAnd the Philistines will serve the Jews.î
He was saying, ìThe death of just one person can settle this war.î
This scared the living daylights out of the Jews.
They didnít think anyone could defeat Goliath.
Then, along came a boy named David.
He would eventually become one of the greatest men in the Bible.
God called him a man after my own heart.
One of his descendants would be called Jesus.
And Jesus would be called a Son of David.
David went to the battlefield to take supplies to his brothers.
He heard Goliathís challenge.
He heard Goliath cursing God and Israel.
David was a lot smaller than Goliath.
He was not even a man.
Most authorities believe he was about seventeen years old.
But David was appalled that Israelís army would put up with this;
Appalled that Israelís army had so little faith.
He asked what right does Goliath have to blaspheme God?
What right does Goliath have to terrorize Israelís army?
What will be done for the one who defeats Goliath?
He was told that King Saul would give anyone who defeated Goliath great wealth, ÝÝ
permission to marry the kingís daughter, and freedom from taxation for his family.
Thatís a pretty good deal:
Great riches, a princess for a wife, no taxes.
David talked about fighting Goliath.
But his oldest brother opposed it.
He said David was too young;
David was forsaking his job;
David should be taking care of his fatherís sheep;
Heís never done anything important;
He has the wrong motives for fighting Goliath.
None of this was true.
But it didnít matter.
Davidís brother still opposed him fighting Goliath.
And there was a second obstacle.
King Saul learned that David was talking about fighting Goliath.
He wanted a champion.
But he wasnít inclined to accept a teenager.
He sent for David.
In essence, David said, ìDonít worry about me.î
ìIíll fight Goliathî (Verse 32).
He wasnít afraid.
He had no doubts about defeating Goliath.
But King Saul doubted it.
He said, ìYou canít fight Goliathî (Verse 33).
ìYouíre just a boy.î
ìYouíve never been a soldier.î
ìGoliath has been a soldier all his life.î
ìHeís fought many battles.î
David replied, ìI know Iím just a shepherdî (Verse 34).
ìBut I want to tell you something about myself.î
ìItís my job to protect my fatherís sheep.î
ìHis sheep have been attacked by lions and bears.î
ìWhen a lion or a bear attacks the sheep, I attack the lion or bear.î
ìI kill itî (Verse 35).
ìI intend to do the same thing to Goliathî (Verse 36).
ìGod gave me the victory over lions and bears that are both fast and strong.î
ìAnd God will give me the victory over Goliathî (Verse 37).
ìGod performed miracles in the past.î
ìAnd God will perform miracles in the future.î
Saul was impressed.
ìGo, and the Lord be with youî (Verse 37).
ìBut wear my armorî (Verse 38).
Saulís heart was right.
But this was a terrible idea.
The Bible says Saul stood head and shoulders over all of Israel.
He was very tall.
But David was very short.
David was just a teenager.
He wasnít even full grown.
He tried on Saulís armour.
It didnít fit.
He took it off.
ìI canít use this.î
ìIím not use to fighting with anything like thisî (Verse 39).
He picked up his shepherdís staff and sling,
He walked toward the battlefield.
He stopped at a small stream.
He picked up five smooth stones (Verse 40).
He only needed one.
But Goliath had four brothers.
And David would fight every one of them, if he had to.
Goliath saw him coming.
He walked out to meet David
At first, it was a war of words.
Goliath ridiculed Davidís youth and appearance.
He ridiculed David for coming out there with a shepherdís staff like he was going to ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
fight off a small dog (Verse 43).
He blasphemed God.
He screamed at David.
ìCome to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
the fieldî (Verse 44).
David wasnít intimidated.
He said, ìYou come to me with many weaponsî (Verse 45).
ìBut I come to you in the name of the God that you have been blasphemingî (Verse ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
45).
ìGod has delivered you into my hands.î
ìThe birds and animals will feast on your body not mine.î
ìAnd all the world will know these four things:
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ 1) Israelís God is Godî (Verse 46).
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ 2) Israelís God saves people without swords and spears (Verse 47).
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ 3) The wars of Godís people are Godís wars, and
ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ 4) God delivers the enemy of His people into their hands (Verse 47).
ìMy God is God.î
ìMy wars are Godís wars.î
ìYouíve had it.î
This made Goliath mad.
He moved in on David.
But David didnít back up.
He took out a stone;
Put it in his sling;
Started swinging it over his head.
He ran toward Goliath.
He had the perfect weapon.
Goliath was covered with armor.
He had a helmet and a shield.
But his forehead wasnít covered.
David let the stone fly.
It struck Goliath in the forehead.
Its been estimated that it had the force of a 45-caliber bullet.
It sunk deep into Goliathís skull.
He fell face forward to the ground.
David grabbed Goliathís sword, whacked off his head, and the birds and animals ÝÝ
had a giant feast.
This is one of the most famous stories in the Bible.
And it has several lessons for us.
We donít face ten foot tall giants with spears and swords.
But we do face problems that rise up like giants in our life: addictions, illnesses;Ý ÝÝÝÝ
depression, fears, unforeseen obstacles.
And defeating these problems seems just as hopeless to us as defeating Goliath ÝÝÝÝÝ
seemed to the Israeli army.
So, I want to use the remainder of our time today to offer seven tips onÝ HOW TO
SLAY A GIANT.
1st---Know what GOD can do.
David said God defeated the bears and lions that attacked his fatherís sheep.
God gave the victory.
There are many giants that we canít slay.
But God can.
Paul said, ìI can do all things through Christ which strengthens meî (Phil. 4:13).
ìI can do all things THROUGH CHRIST.î
My strength comes from Christ.
We can be more than conquerors.
But the power must come from Christ.
2nd---Know who YOU are.
David was a child of God.
He knew that God takes care of His children.
He believed he could do anything God wanted him to do.
We belong to God.
He loves us.
He sent Jesus to die for us.
We have a Father to help us slay the giants.
And if itís Godís will that we slay the giants, we will slay the giants.
3rd---Know that your giant could be attacking God instead of you.
David said Goliath was opposing God.
Itís not always true.
But many problems are the result of Satanís opposition to God.
He attacks God through us.
He wants to keep God from using us;
To hinder the work of the kingdom, etc.
Satan canít harm God.
But Satan can break Godís heart through us.
4th---Fight with the right kind of weapon.
The king offered David his weapons.
He had expensive armor, a spear and a sword.
But David couldnít use that stuff.
He had to fight with the right kind of weapons.
Satan is behind most of our problems.
We have to use spiritual weapons not carnal weapons (II Cor. 10:4).
Paul said, put on the whole armor of God: truth, righteousness, faith , the Word of Ý
God (Eph. 6:13).
And fight Satan in the strength of God.
An army gathered to make war against the Jews.
God told King Jehoshaphat to, ìGo to battle with the priests in front singing hymns ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
and the people dancingî (II Chron. 20).
Iíll bet that was a strange sight---people going to war singing and dancing.
But King Jehoshaphat obeyed God.
And when his army got to the battlefield they saw another strange sight.
All of the enemy soldiers were dead.
They had fought among themselves.
And killed each other.
God does unusual things like this to make us act in faith.
This is why He told Joshua to have the Hebrews march around the walls of Jericho
seven times (Joshua 6);
Why He told Naaman to dip in the Jordan river seven times (II Kings 5).
He wants us to understand that the victory comes from Him.
Many times we refuse to do these unusual thing.
We often reach the point of hopelessness before we do what God wants us to do.
But when we obey God, He gives the victory.
5th---Expect opposition.
Davidís brother opposed him.
King Saul thought he was too young and inexperienced.
Goliath ridiculed him.
Opposition is one of the first things that happens when we start using spiritual ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ
weapons against our personal giants.
Others donít understand our prayers, study and faith.
Satan uses people to distract us;
To draw us away from the weapons that work.
6th---Go on the attack.
David didnít just stand around and complain about the situation.
He took his sling and ran at Goliath.
It wonít help to just stand around and complain about our problems.
We need to pray; Study;
And believe;
David Kaiser was the field goal kicker on UCLAís football team.
UCLA was playing Michigan.
It was late in the game and the score was tied.
Coach Duffy Daugherty sent David in to kick a field goal.
He split the uprights.
And won the game.
When he ran off the field coach Daugherty said, ìNice going David.î
ìBut why didnít you watch the ball go through the uprights?î
ìYouíre right coach.î
ìI didnít watch the ball.î
ìI watched the referee.î
ìYou see, I forgot my contact lenses.î
ìI couldnít see the goal posts.î
At first, coach Daugherty was angry.
But he got over it.
He realized that David did what he was trained to do.
Kicking that ball had become an automatic thing for him.
This is the point.
Attacking the giants should be an automatic thing for Christians.
We shouldnít stand around and complain.
We should attack with prayer, study and faith.
7th---Prepare for the storms.
David needed only one stone.
But he took five just in case Goliathís brothers came out too.
A man asked a farmer for a job.
The farmer asked, ìAre you a good farmhand?î
ìI can sleep while the wind blows,î the man replied.
This confused the farmer.
But he hired the man anyway.
A few days later, a terrible storm struck in the middle of the night.
The farmer woke up the man.
ìWe have to get the animals in and tie everything down.î
The man said, ìI told you I can sleep while the wind blows.î
This confused the farmer a second time.
He decided to fire the man.
But he would take care of other things first.
He went after the animals.
They were all up.
He went to tie things down.
Everything was tied down.
Then, he understood what the farmhand meant when he said, ìI can sleep
while the wind blows.î
The man was prepared before the storm struck.
In closing, without God, David was an ordinary boy.
With God David killed a giant.
Without God, we are ordinary people.
With God we can kill giants.
But we need to prepare before the giants show up.
Then, we can sleep while the wind blows.