Defeating the Giants in Your Life 1 Sam 17: 4-51 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
This lesson on defeating the giants in your life is based upon the scriptures that record David’s fight with Goliath. This sermon is meant to encourage you in your fight against the giant or giants in your life. By studying how David won his battle against Goliath, we hope to persuade you to use the same method to defeat your giant. David defeated Goliath because:
He sized his giant up correctly – 1 Sam 17:26. Goliath indeed was a giant. He was six cubits and a span [about 9’4”]. If David was average height then Goliath was more than half again as tall as David. But David understood that Goliath was an “uncircumcised Philistine”. And he knew that he was defiant against the armies of the living God. In other words, David knew that on his own in a man-to-man fight, Goliath had the distinct advantage. But because he was an enemy of God’s people, he was, therefore, the enemy of God. And no man is a match for God. When you face a giant in your life you have to see him or it from God’s perspective, not your own. He’s bigger than you but not bigger than God.
His heart didn’t fail him – 1 Sam 17:32. David told Saul that he would go and fight with the Philistine. So often when we face a giant, we are overcome with dread. We “freeze” and refuse to fight our adversary. David properly described this gripping dread as a man’s heart failing him. He just doesn’t have the heart to fight. When you sense your heart failing you and the dread overtaking your desire to fight, you need to strengthen your heart for the fight and not succumb to the dread. Fight on!!
He recalled some prior victories – 1 Sam 17:34-36. Saul tried to convince David that he was too young and inexperienced to fight a veteran soldier like Goliath. But David recalled his deliverance from the lion and the bear. God had given David experiences in the past that were sufficient to encourage him that God would deliver him from Goliath. If you consider your past experiences with God, you will see times when the Lord got you through some things that were a bit too big for you. You have some past victories.
He trusted the Lord to fight for him – 1 Sam 17:37. David knew better than to go into this battle just relying upon his ability to kill a lion and a bear. He recognized that the fight was the Lord’s [v.47]. The Lord has never lost a battle and he never will. He triumphed over the devil at Calvary when Jesus was at his weakest point [Col 2:14-15]. So, when your battle with a giant is a fight that the Lord wants you to have, trust the Lord and he will fight for you and you will win.
He rejected carnal weapons – 1 Sam 17:38-39. Saul gave David his armor but David hadn’t proved it and so he couldn’t fight in it. He took it off and went into the battle with a sling and stones. Truly he was depending on the Lord to kill Goliath. 2 Cor 10:4 says, “the weapons of our warfare and not carnal, but mighty through God”. Forget trying to defeat your giant with man-made philosophies and carnal weapons. You are no match for a spiritual battle without the spiritual armor of God [Eph 6:10-18].
He did not fear man – 1 Sam 17:43-44. Solomon said, “the curse causeless shall not come”. David was not phased in the least by Goliath’s curse. He knew better than to fear on oath like that. He didn’t fear Goliath in any way. Goliath was big and well armed. But that was all. David knew that the fear of man bringeth a snare. And so he was not going to be ensnared by fear in this fight. When you face your giant in fear, you have essentially lost already. You must put away your fear of man and fight.
His total confidence was in the Lord – 1 Sam 17:45-47. David said, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man,” Ps 118:8. You can see the outcome of this battle and know that David was right. The Lord is absolutely trustworthy. When you put your confidence in the Lord and seek his glory in the outcome of the battle with your giant, you put the fight in his hands and get it out of yours.
Conclusion: Whatever giant you are facing in your life right now, follow these simple principles from David’s fight with Goliath. Defeating the giants is better than being stuck in stalemate with them. And you will find the same result in your battle that David found in his.