Facing the Giants - 1 Samuel 17 (2023)

Good morning church, it is a joy and a pleasure to connect you all;

I hope you are well and taking good care of yourself. and I believe all of you have been blessed with the 1 Thessalonians "Remaining in the Faith" sermon series.

Today I would like to take you all to a very interesting story. It is one of my favorite stories from the Bible, which is the story of "David mi Goliath.” From 1 Samuel 17.

I want to title my sermon as"Facing the Giant. 1 Samuel 17 is a long passage, so I'd like to summarize the story.

One of children's favorite Bible stories is the story of David and Goliath from1 Samuel 17. Children love this story as the hero is a boy.

David arrived on the battlefield to find his brothers and the rest of the Israeli army in awe of Gath's mockery of Goliath. Goliath was thechampion of the Philistine army.

Although he was about 10 feet tall, he said words that made David angry. Goliath claimed that the God of the Israelites could not help them in battle. Goliath blasphemed David's God and David pretended to stand up for what was right.

Ignoring the potential danger, David trusted that God would help him fight Goliath. David said that he would fight the giant. He was immediately brought before King Saul.

Although he was young, he had been through enough danger in his life to know that God was in control and would protect him during the battle. David told Saul this and Saul offered David the royal armor.

David, feeling unworthy to wear Saul's armor, refused to accept Saul's kind and generous offer.

David said that the Philistine came with a sword, shield, and spear, but David came with confidence in the God of Israel.

David boldly replied that he was not afraid of Goliath and that the birds would rip his flesh from his giant body at the end of the day.

David let the stone fly in his slingshot. The stone struck the giant between the eyes and sank into his forehead.

Goliath fell forward as the two armies looked on. David then drew his giant sword and lopped off the Philistine champion's head.

This is the brief summary of David and Goliath. Church, we will look at three very important life lessons from the story of David and Goliath.

Under a theme:Facing the Giants.

We all face several giants in our life, we don't want to be defeated by the giants, no one wants to be like Goliath, but everyone wants to be like David. Let's see how David defeated the giants in his life.

If there's anything we can learn today,

Let's learn so we can all be giant slayers like David.

If you want to be a giant killer, you have to remember these 3 important principles that David used to defeat the 9-foot Goliath.

1.remember who you belong to

When you face the giant of life, remember who you belong to,

1 Samuel 17:26.

"For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, to mock (mock) the armies of the living God?"

The sad thing is that the Israelites forgot who God is. They forgot the power of God, they forgot how God protected them in Egypt, and they forgot about the God who parted the Red Sea.

"The most terrible tragedy of humanity is not remembering the Creator."

When Goliath challenges the Israelites, they flee in fear of the giant. But David remembers to whom he belongs he, and says:

Who is this uncircumcised giant who mocks the armies of the living God?

David remembered that they were the Army of God and God is with them. However, the Israelites have forgotten who they are. In our life, we will face big giants in many ways, but there are two things to remember.

Remember who you are in Christ and remember who God is.

Who are you?

1 Peter 2:9 says.

You are CHOSEN RACE, ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, HOLY NATION, PEOPLE OF GOD, so that you may announce the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His admirable light.

You are the beloved child of God; you are redeemed (God rescued you from the slavery of sin) and justified (God declared you righteous.

You are a new creation in Christ, you belong to God and He is always with you. Always remember that you are the son and daughter of the Most High God. (David knows who he is).

mi

#He is the God who protects His children from all evil and disease. (He Protected the children of Israel in Egypt from all evil and disease)

#He is the God who makes a way where there seems to be none.

It reminds me of the story of the children of Israel, they were on their way to the promised land, but in an incident, they were trapped in the Red Sea. they have nowhere to go, their hope, their dream and their life was in danger and moreover, the Egyptians were after them to kill and destroy them, but God parted the red sea and allowed the children of Israel to cross the red sea. on dry land. It makes a path where there seems to be no path. This is our God.

#He is the God who supplies all our needs according to his riches in glory.

#He is the God who feeds 5,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves.

#He is the God who raised Lazarus from the dead.

#He is the God who does impossible things in the eyes of men.

#He is the God who saves us from eternal damnation and gives us eternal life.

He is our loving heavenly Father; He is the only true and living God, the Almighty God, the Alpha and the Omega,

We are his children and we belong to him.

As we know the condition of the world, including all of us, we are going through hard times because of the covid-19 pandemic, because of the job loss, because of the pay cut, because of the economic crisis, because of all the horrible news. . due to natural calamities. .

This is the time to pray more, this is the time to turn to our living God; this is the time to remember who we belong to.

David remembers who he belongs to, and God gave him victory.

If we didn't remember who God is, we would be the most miserable people on this planet, we would live a defeated and shameful life.

You know why the children of Israel were many years in captivity in foreign lands; it is because they have not remembered who God is and they have not remembered who they belong to.

Church, if you remember who you belong to,

You will know the power of God in your life, in addition

God will take care of your life; He will be your shield

He will be your protector, and He will be your provider,

He will be your joy and blessing all the days of your life.

Always remember who you belong to.

With that, we come to the second principle.

2.Depending on God's deliverance. (1 Samuel 17:32-37)

32And David said to Saul: “Do not let anyone's heart fail because of him. Your servant will fight against this Philistine.33Then Saul said to David, "You cannot go against this Philistine to fight him, for you are a boy, and he has been a man of war from his youth."34But David said to Saul: “Your servant was a shepherd for his father. And when a lion or a bear came and took a sheep from the flock,35I went after him, hit him and threw him by the mouth. And if he rose up against me, I would grab him by the beard, beat him, and kill him.36Your servant killed lions and bears,and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.”37and david said, "The Lord who delivered me from the paws of the lion and from the paws of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Then Saul said to David: “Go, and the Lord be with you.

David remembers how God delivered him from the hand of the lion and the bear,

And share all your testimony of life,

But even King Saul didn't trust David, he said, you can't beat him, you're just a boy and he's a well trained WARRIOR.

There will be times when your own boss, leader, or close family will not believe you. When you are about to do something for the Lord, something that may seem impossible to man,

don't let anyone stop you. Oh yes, they will laugh at you, but don't let them stop you. Oh yes, they will talk about you, but don't let them stop you. David might have thought, yes, you are my big brother, but there is a giant to deal with. He may have thought that there is a battle to be won and that he will not let anything stop him. When the Lord is on your side, you need not be afraid, and you can face the giant and destroy the giant.

let us be like David, he did not depend on the bad advice of man, he did not depend on the sword and shield of the army,

Their only trust and dependence is in the living God. The Israelite saw how big Goliath was, but David saw how big God was. A giant killer remembers that with God all things are possible.

We often tend to depend on ourselves, our abilities and our knowledge, but God wants us to depend on Him,

He knows how fragile we are in this broken world, He knows that we need him in every aspect of our lives, He knows that we will ruin our lives if we don't depend on Him. He loves us, He cares about us, He wants us to protect us.

Proverb 3:5-6 says.

trust himSeñorwith all your heart,And do not lean on your own understanding;

⁶Acknowledge him in all your ways,And He will make your paths straight.

When you depend on yourself, you are setting yourself up for destruction and defeat. When you build your life, your career, your business, your family, your future without depending on God,

The Bible says that you are like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand; the house will not withstand the storm because it was built on the wrong foundation.

May our total dependence be only on God and let us build our lives on the solid rock, which is Christ Jesus our Lord. Our part is to surrender our lives completely into the hands of Almighty God and to depend completely on his deliverance.

And God's part is to protect us and fight the battle for us and give us the victory for His glory.

always remember

“The safest place for your life is in the hands of the living God, He knows you, understands you, will keep you and will keep you.”

Isaiah 41:10 “Do not be afraid; because I am with you: do not faint; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Finally we come to the last principle.

3.Face the giant in the name of God. (Four. Five)

⁴⁵David said to the Philistine: You come against me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the squads of Israel, whom you have provoked.

46Today the Lord will deliver him into my hands, and I will kill him and cut off his head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the wild birds and animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

47All those who are here will know that it is not with sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will deliver you all into our hands.

48As the Philistine closed in to attack him, David quickly ran to the line of battle to meet him.

49Reaching into his bag and pulling out a stone, he threw it and hit the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into her forehead and she fell flat on her face.

50Thus David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone; sword not in hand, he threw the Philistine down and killed him.

51David ran and stood over him. He took the Philistine's sword and drew it from its scabbard. After killing him, he cut off his head with his sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

The giants we face today can be as intimidating to us as Goliath was to the Israelites.

You see, we're up against all kinds of giants.

Some of you may be facing emotional giants.such as worry, doubt, fear or anxiety,

Some of you face mental giantssuch as stress, insecurity or even depression.

Some of you may be facing physical giantssuch as illness, pain, or even disability.

For some of your Goliathsit could be a bad habit or an addiction.

For some of you it's a problem at work, or a financial problem that not only does not go away, but continues to grow.

We can defeat all these giants when we stand up in the name of the Lord.

Goliath is confident in himself, in his skill, experience, shield and sword.

But David came against Goliath in the name of the Living God.

He could beat Goliath because God was with him, God was fighting the battle for David.

Church let us not worry about the giants we face today, when we face any problem and challenge in life in the name of the Lord we can easily defeat the giants because the Lord is on our side.

Remember that the battle belongs to our God.

You know God was with David, God fought the battle for David so he could defeat the giant Goliath.

God will fight the battle for us,

Romans 8:31 says. If God is for us who against us.

Mateo 19:26.And, looking at them, Jesus said to them: "For men this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."

This same David who told King Saul not to worry is the same David who writes inPsalm 27, verses 1 and 2: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Who shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Who will I be afraid of? When the wicked, my enemies and my enemies, came upon me to eat my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

Do you have the faith to face a giant?

Are you willing to trust God instead of trusting your own abilities?

Are you willing to walk by faith and not by sight?

Are you willing to fight all the giants in the name of the Lord?

Always remember to face the giants in the name of the Lord.

Conclusion

We meditated together on 3 points under the theme “Facing the giants”.

Never forget who you belong to, you are the special property of God, you are the son and daughter of the living and most high God. He will make a way where there seems to be none.

Second, always depend on God's deliverance.

Remember, God is our refuge and strength, a present help in the days of trouble, He is our shield, He is our protector, He is the good shepherd, when we depend wholly on His deliverance, He will fight the battle for us and give us the victory.

Third, always stand up to giants in the name of the Lord.

Remember that there is power in the name of the Lord,

He is the God, who does the impossible,

Church, we need to face every problem and every challenge in our lives in the name of the Lord.

Let us live by faith and not by what we see, do not worry but take courage like David and defeat all the giants in our life in the name of the Lord and live a victorious life.

May God bless you and keep you. May the face of God shine upon you and give you peace.