15th October, 2023
” FACING THE GIANT “
TEXT : 1 Samuel 17:45-50.
Reading: 1 Samuel 17:45-50 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.
48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hands of David.
INTRODUCTION : David was a man whom God want to honour, because of his relationship with God, David is a sinful man as you and I , but some attitude of David distinguish him from us today, David know how to ask for forgiveness of sin, without going back to the same sin, that is to say not repeating the same sin over and over and over again.
It is not surprising that God called him a man after His own heart.
We read in the previous chapter how he was anointed before becoming a king.
In 1 Samuel 17, there is an interesting story about David going into war with Goliath of Gath.
Goliath can be called in our modern day a ” Macho Man,” I would say even more than ‘ Macho man ‘
So we all one way or the other we face Gaint in our lives in which by our own power or strength we can not defeat or win over it, the only person we can rely on is God, who is almighty.
What is a Gaint in our lives today? Difficulties, Troubles, Storms of life.
Bible also called it Mountains, Matthew 17:20 “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
The gaints in some people’s lives are their marriage, husband and wife, the In-laws, children, Finances, business, how to get a job.
I don’t care who you are, Doctor, Lawyer, Pastor, Missionary, Business man, lost of loved one, Rich or poor, Educated or illiterate, Military or Police man, we all have a gaint we are facing, let us be able to say to the gaint as David said in verse 45 of first Samuel
“1 Samuel 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”
We should hope and trust in our Lord who is great in battle because the battle is of the Lord.
Let us not trust in our chariots, Psalm 20:7
” Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
Trust and believe that there is power in the mouth, David trusted and
obeyed God, he said to his mountain and his worry, in verse 46 of 1 Samuel Chapter 17, ” This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”
Will you also be able to say with confidence that, today, all my mountains and worries, God will give me victory over them, I will not do the thinking and worrying again ? I will lay everything at the feet of Christ. I would rather let Him do the worried for me.
I want to tell you this morning that worrying is sin,
Sin because been worried sometimes removed our focus from the Almighty, who is in control of every situation of our lives. In Jeremiah 33:3, ” Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
This is the promise of God. David trusted, believed, and obeyed God. He was victorious over his mountain.
What about you? Why not you do the same as David did.
Today, I want to give you three attitudes to put on if you want to defeat the gaint in your life.
(1) An attitude we need to put on in other to defeat the gaint in our lives, don’t let us focus on how big the gaint in our lives is, but rather we should focus on how big is our God.
The Israelites were facing the gaint of not able to cross the red Sea, God showed them that He is in control, they were hungry and manner was provided for them, Moses focus on God not the difficulties that they were facing. In Hebrews 12:2 ” Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I will want to encourage you not to talk about defeat in your life. If you think about defeat, you are thinking of negative, and you will experience defeat.
(2) One, I said, “Tell your gaint today I will defeat you, God has given me victory over you.
Secondly, I said, “Don’t focus on how big your gaint is but rather how big your God is.”
Lastly, the third point
Focus on the promise of God, not your gaint or mountain.
There are many promises of God in the Bible that He promised us.
Psalm 23:1, ” The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Verses 4-6 Psalms 23:4-6 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
Psalms 27:1, 9 —- 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
Psalms 46:1, 11 — 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Psalms 54:4, 7 —- 4 Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
7 For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
Psalms 91:1-4 —- 1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge, and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
CONCLUSION :.We all have our giant, that is, our troubles, trials, difficulties, problems, thanks to almighty that we have a father in heaven who is bigger than our problems. ” ” “. ” Leave it there, leave it there, take your Budden to the Lord leave it there, if you don’t doubt and believe Him, He will bring it to pass.”
David defeated Goliath not by his own might, but he put his trust in Ominipotent God. Why not you and I learn from David this morning.
Amen!!