Who Can Stand Against the Armies of the Living God?

Series: Preacher: Date: August 14, 2005 Scripture Reference: 1 Samuel 17:1-51

One of my favorite movies of all time is Sea Biscuit. I remember loving the black-and-white version that I saw way back in the olden days when I was a kid and I also enjoyed the re-make they did a couple years ago that starred Toby McGuire. I’m not going to ask for a show of hands but perhaps some of you were even around back in the 30’s and actually remember first hand the career of this famous little race horse!

To refresh your memories though, let me remind you that Sea Biscuit was indeed a SMALL horse-less than 15 hands-about the size of a big pony. He was very unlike typical race horses because back then the winning horses were big and muscular. Thoroughbreds were the “giants” of race horse-dom! But not Sea Biscuit. No-he was a little guy-and he also had obvious flaws. In fact, when his famous trainer first saw him he had a limp and a wheeze in his breathing.

One thing that frustrated his FIRST owners was the fact that even though he was small Sea Biscuit ate twice as much as other horses. Another thing-unlike his aggressive peers, Sea Biscuit was born with a gentle nature. His favorite past-time (other than eating) was to lay around dozing under the juniper trees. Because of all this his first owners dismissed him as having any real value when it came to winning races. In fact they set him up to lose races as a way of giving other horses confidence.

But this one trainer saw something in Sea Biscuit and convinced his boss to buy him. He worked with Sea Biscuit and as you know this little guy went on to win all kinds of races! It turned out that He was incredibly fast-capable of amazing bursts of speed! Do you remember Toby McGuire’s line when he was at the starting line and another jockey leaned over and commented that Sea Biscuit was a small horse? He said, “Well, he’s about to get a lot smaller from your perspective!”

There was another scene about halfway through the movie that recounted the time Sea Biscuit was pitted against a huge thoroughbred from the east named War Admiral. When both horses lined up at the starting line it seemed inevitable that Sea Biscuit would lose. But once again that little guy won. No one thought he could but he did.

Well, as Sea Biscuit’s career grew so did his fame. It seemed as if the entire nation had fallen in love with this little guy. And there’s a clip in the movie that explains why they did. You see, the 30’s were a tough time in our nation’s history. We were just coming out of the great depression and everyone in the nation felt like they were facing problems that were bigger than they were. Everyone felt like the underdog so they all rooted for this underdog of a horse. They decided that if Sea Biscuit could win against overwhelming odds then they could as well. So all over our nation people gathered around their radios to cheer him on as they listened to commentators describe Sea Biscuit’s races.

Well, in spite of what skyrocketing gas prices might make you think, we’re NOT in a depression at the moment but we all know how those people felt back then because we all face “giants” in life….giants that make us feel small…giants that we are afraid of because we think we can never win in our struggles with them.

Let me put it this way-we all have a touch of what you might call “fee-fi-phobia.” So we all root for the underdog whether it be a race horse or a prize fighter named “Rocky” or whatever. In fact, I must admit when I used to watch Road Runner cartoons I secretly rooted for Wylie Coyote because the poor guy always lost. I wanted to see that scrawny underfed guy win for once and enjoy a little “Kentucky Fried road runner!” But, all kidding aside as we begin this morning’s message let me echo the question Tom Stolle asked last Sunday, “What is the giant you are facing today? What is it that makes you feel like an underdog? What is the source of YOUR fee-fi-phobia?”

  • I mean-are you struggling with financial difficulties-a stack of bills so high that it looms above you-and makes you afraid to check the mail?
  • Do you battle with depression? Is that the “dark giant” that taunts you as you begin each day?
  • Does the “cloud” of a physical health issue hover over your life at the moment, something so serious that even modern medicine can’t offer much hope?
  • Is there a person at your workplace that makes you hate your job-someone you have to face every single day?
  • Is the “giant” in your life a marital problem or a parenting issue?
  • Perhaps your “giant” is some habitual sin that you just can’t beat.

But think-What “giant” is it that intimidates you and steals your joy…your hope…your freedom? I want you to keep your struggle with that “giant” in mind because this morning we’re looking at a text that I truly believe will help you learn how to be victorious. You see this text records the most famous underdog story of all time-the story of the time that David defeated Goliath.

And it is indeed a FAMOUS story. In fact, the truth is the very idea of “Goliath” has come to represent any force or challenge that seems to be impossible to overcome. When a mistreated employee files a lawsuit against a large corporation they say, “David’s going after Goliath.” When a small nation stands up to a large nation they say “David’s going up against Goliath.” You may remember that back in 2001 in the NBA finals, when the 76ers went up against the Lakers-Alan Iverson vs Shaquile O’Neil-it was billed as “David vs. Goliath.”

Well, the TRUE story that got all this started is recorded in 1st Samuel chapter 17. We don’t have time to read it all but open your Bible to this familiar text and keep it open. I want us to begin by looking at verses 1-3 where it says:

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.

In Charles Swindoll’s commentary on this text he points out that the Valley of Elah was not a narrow ravine but rather a vast canyon about a mile wide. At the center of this canyon was a streambed that divided the canyon into two equal halves. On each side of this streambed there was a gradual slope of about a half-mile. Bivouacked on one slope was the army of Israel and on the other the army of the Philistines. Get that setting pictured in your mind’s eye. Now look at verses 4-7:

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; On his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.”

Now-this texts helps us to understand why the name Goliath has become not just a NAME but an ADJECTIVE used to describe the giants of life because this guy was huge-about 9’9" tall! If you took his height and added to it the length of his arms when he would lift them up over his head, you can imagine what an imposing creature he must have been. The NBA would love him-Even Shaq would look UP to Goliath! But it wasn’t just his size that made him seem so formidable. You see, he also was outfitted with the best ARMOR of the day. First, like his fellow Philistines, he wore a heavy canvas-like undergarment that was interlaced with overlapping ringlets of bronze. This coat of mail went from shoulder to knee and deflected arrows and sword thrusts. The Bible says it weighed 5000 shekels which would have been between 175 and 200 lbs. And that wasn’t all-Goliath also had a bronze helmet and bronze leggings to protect his head and shins-He also carried a bronze javelin or spear slung between his shoulders. The Bible says that the head of his spear alone weighed six hundred shekels or about 20-25 pounds. Can you imagine someone strong enough to throw that in battle?! PLUS Goliath stood behind his own personal “tank” – powered by a shield bearer who walked before him carrying a shield that was the size of a full-grown man. Most Hebrew soldiers didn’t have any weaponry like this so with his size and his armor it was clear that the odds were stacked against anyone foolish enough to face Goliath in battle.

Now, look at verses 8-9 and notice what Goliath did. Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.”

What Goliath suggested here was a tactic commonly used in the Eastern world-a representative battle-a one-on-one fight. I think there was a fight like this at the beginning of the movie Troy. But here was the deal: Goliath would represent the Philistines and Israel would choose their own champion and whoever won-his army won and whoever lost-his army lost. This tactic saved both time and lives-some think we should still use that tactic in today’s wars! But please note Goliath didn’t issue this challenge one time and then leave. No-his challenge went on for 40 DAYS! Every morning and every evening for over a month he marched out there, flaunting his sized and strength and fighting gear…and dared someone to take him on.

And, isn’t that the way OUR personal “giants” are? They don’t just come once. They come every morning and evening, day after day, relentlessly trying to intimidate us.

They never stop taunting us from across the “ravines” of our soul. Well, meanwhile about ten or fifteen miles away, up in the Judean mountains in the little town of Bethlehem, a teenager named David was keeping his father’s sheep. Unlike three of his older brothers, he was too young to fight but as the weeks dragged on his dad became worried about his eldest sons. So he sent David to take them some food and check on them. Look at verses 17-19.

Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”

Well, early the next morning David obeyed his dad. He left the sheep in the care of another shepherd, gathered the bread and the cheese, and headed out. Verse 20 says that he came up over the rise he caught sight of both armies spread out on the plain below him. It must have been both exciting and frightening at the same time for this young man who had spent all of his time on lonely hillsides caring for sheep.

Well as David got near to the edge of the Israelite camp he saw the troops lining up in battle formation and he heard the war cry and he stood there to watch. Any kid would! Now look at verses 22-24:

“David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.”

Now, picture this scene. David is standing there talking to his three brothers when all of a sudden he hears this loud cry from across the ravine. He looks and sees Goliath come marching across the streambed approaching the Hebrew army-unafraid! When he did all the Israelites took several steps back leaving David standing there alone.

Apparently at first Goliath would only march out as far as the streambed that served as a boundary between the territory of both armies. But as the days went and no one responded to his challenge he got bolder to the point that he actually walked right up to the Hebrew camp to issue his challenge. And that’s what happened when David arrived. He’s talking to his brothers when suddenly he finds himself standing alone at the foot of this HUGE soldier from the other side. Now, this should remind us that you can’t afford to tolerate a “Goliath.” If you do he’ll take over your territory. He’ll move into your “camp.” He’ll steal your joy. He’ll take your peace. He’ll take your thoughts-thoughts that ought to be on God, and put them on himself. This is why we can’t ignore the giants of life. No, we have to defeat them. We have to kill them.

And of course that’s exactly what David did. You know the story. Verses 40-50 give us the familiar blow-by blow. Read them with me.

[David] took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty the God of the armies of Israel, Whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’S, and He will give all of you into our hands.” As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead.

(By the way, this was the perfect spot to hit Goliath since it was the only vulnerable spot he had thanks to all his armor)

The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. (dead…defeated!) So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

Now as I said earlier, we all face “giants” in life. In fact giants always seem to show up whenever we are on the way to fulfilling God’s purpose in our lives. And unfortunately many of us never become all we can for God because we allow the “goliaths” of life to defeat us. Jonathan Falwell once put it this way, “So many Christians never achieve the maximum potential in their lives because they never conquer the thing that they fear the most.” So, it is imperative that we all need to learn how to defeat these huge foes that seem to tower over us-and David’s example shows us three things-three skills we need in order to win.

1. First, David’s example shows us that to defeat the giants of life we must have good EYESIGHT.

In other words, you and I have to be able to SEE our “goliath”- whatever it is – from the clear perspective of God’s limitless power. This perspective enables us to “see” that God is infinitely bigger than any “giant” we face. Think of it this way, to defeat the giants of life we need not self-confidence, but GOD-confidence. We need to be able to perceive reality through the “lenses” of our faith in His might…His wisdom…His love.

It’s obvious that David had this skill. This young shepherd boy had superior EYESIGHT. This is what led him to ask the question that serves as the title of this message. In verse 26 it says that David looked at this “giant” and said,”Who is this un-circumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” And-his question is really a reprimand. He was saying to all the troops in earshot, “Open your eyes! You’re soldiers in GOD’S army! What are you guys doing cowering in fear?!” We need to be able to grasp this comforting fact as well-for WE-you and me-WE are in the Lord’s army.

Well David knew this. He could see that in spite of his size and his armor Goliath was nothing compared to God. But the Israelites apparently didn’t have his superior eyesight. I mean, Goliath had been shouting his challenge for 40 days and there is no record of anyone else in the Hebrew army even mentioning God before-but this was practically David’s first thought! The rest of the soldiers-Saul included-were spiritually blind. They LOOKED at Goliath and said, “Look how much bigger he is than us.” But David looked at him and said, “You guys need glasses! Look how much smaller he is than God.” They said, “He’s too big to hit.” David said, “No…he’s too big to miss.” As I picture it, David stood there and blinked his eyes and said, “What giant? The only giant in my life is God. This Goliath guy is a dwarf!”

Well, to conquer the giants of life we need eyesight like this. We need to be able to “see” that 1John 4:4 is not a cliche but a statement of fact-that far “GREATER is He Who is in you than he who is in the world.” Our spiritual eyesight needs to be such that we can visualize our God as Isaiah 40:12 describes Him. Do you remember His perception of God? Isaiah says, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?” I’m reminded of the lyrics to a song our kids sang when they were little, “My God is SOOOO big so strong and SOOOO mighty. There’s nothing my God cannot do!”

In his book, Believe and Belong, Bruce Larson tells of how he helped people who were struggling to defeat the giants in their lives. He writes,

“For many years, I worked in New York City and counseled at my office any number of people who were wrestling with these situations. Often I would suggest they walk with me from my office down to the RCA building on Fifth Avenue. In the entrance of that building is a gigantic statue of Atlas, a perfectly proportioned man who, with all his muscles straining, is struggling holding the world upon his shoulders. There he is, the most powerfully built man in the world, and he can barely stand up under his burden. ‘Now that’s one way you can live,’ I would point out, ‘trying to carry the world on your shoulders. But now, come across the street with me.’ On the other side of Fifth Avenue is St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and there, behind the altar is a statue of Jesus as a boy, perhaps eight or nine years old, and with absolutely no effort, He is holding the world in one hand.”

As I read this I couldn’t help but think of another statue of Jesus. It stands in the lobby of the original Johns Hopkins Hospital. It must be 30 feet tall. The first time I saw it was when my father-in-law was there awaiting surgery for pancreatic cancer. That horrible illness was a “goliath” in our lives at that time. But standing, dwarfed by that huge statue of my Lord and Savior reminded me that He is bigger than that “goliath” or any other goliath I face. I imagine hundreds and thousands of people have stood where I stood and have “SEEN” the same thing. But the fact is you have to have this caliber of faith-fueled EYESIGHT in order to defeat the “giants” of life because giants have a way of seeming to be bigger than they really are. Evil has a way of deceiving us-much like those trick mirrors at the fair-so that when we look at the bad that is coming our way it looks bigger than it really is. This is why as Tozer says it is so important for us to have an accurate understanding of God’s nature and power.

In fact I am convinced that the way we live is a direct consequence of our perception of the size of our God. Think about it. When we wake up in the morning what happens if we believe in a “small” God?

  • Well…we live in a constant state of fear and anxiety because everything depends on us. We feel exposed and weak and vulnerable to the giants of life.
  • If we believe in a small God, then when we have an opportunity to share our faith we don’t take it because we think that our success depends on us.
  • If we believe in a small God, we won’t be generous in giving to people who need help because we believe our financial security depends on us.
  • We may try to get credit for something at work that does not belong to us because we don’t trust in a Big God Who sees in secret and will one day give reward.

John Ortberg writes, “When human beings shrink God, they offer prayer without faith, work without passion, service without joy, suffering without hope. It results in fear, retreat, loss of vision, and failure to persevere.”

Well as I said David didn’t suffer from this form of myopia. No, he had the ability to see as God always sees so Goliath didn’t intimidate him in the least. He WAS a dwarf to David. That young shepherd boy could SEE that no matter how big the giant might be, God was BIGGER. And you know, I wish more of us had his vision. Think of the difference it would make in our individual lives and in our church as a whole…if we could see clearly enough to understand how BIG God is! In fact I pray that as Paul put it in Ephesians 3:18-19 we all,”…had the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-[I pray] that you may be filled to the measure of ALL the FULLNESS-[the BIGNESS] of God.”

Remember fellow Christian, we must never look at our present circumstances and conclude that what we SEE is all there is to reality. No matter what life looks like presently, no matter how much it appears that evil is winning, humans don’t have the last word. Our almighty God does! And it is a word of hope, peace, and victory to those who love Him and who are walking in His will.

2. The second requirement for giant-killers is this. You have to be good at dealing with CRITICISM.

As David begins to act on his superior vision his elder brother Eliab confronts him. Look at verse 28 where Eliab says,”Why have you come down here [David]? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” Now, remember, Eliab was the older brother and when Samuel came to his house to anoint the next king he had been passed over. His little brother had been chosen instead. I’m sure this irritated him to no end. So instead of doing his duty by attacking Goliath, Eliab attacked his brave little brother. Let’s take a moment here to remind ourselves of some of the characteristics of critics:

a. First, they tend to be obsessed with the TRIVIAL.

David was about to attempt to destroy a major threat to Israel’s national security and his brother was worried about sheep. And isn’t that the way it is with critics? They seem to have an amazing ability to focus on the TRIVIAL and neglect the CRUCIAL. The fact is we need to choose our battles wisely. If we don’t watch it we’ll get side-tracked and spend our time arguing about sheep. Meanwhile the real enemy of our souls roams around our territory winning victory after victory.

b. And then critics also tend to ATTACK faith-fueled people in a hateful way simply because they are doing what the critics should be doing but aren’t.

George Bernard Shaw once wrote that, “Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being humiliated.” The criticism of others serves as a smoke screen to make it less obvious that those who criticize aren’t accomplishing anything with their own lives.

Francis Asbury, an 18th century bishop in the Methodist movement, was once criticized by a woman for being unsophisticated in his method of evangelism. Asbury politely asked the lady how many she had led to Christ in her life. The lady answered that she had not personally led anyone to faith in Jesus. Asbury’s response was, “Ma’am, I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.” David’s response to the criticism of his jealous, cowardly brother was to basically ignore it and turn away. David’s example shows us that many times the best way to deal with our critics is to ignore them and their faithless inaction and instead focus on the task at hand. Colonel George Washington Goethals was given the task of completing the building of the Panama Canal by President Roosevelt. And he received tremendous criticism throughout the process. An assistant had all he could take of the criticism. One day he asked the Colonel, “Aren’t you going to do anything about all this criticism?” “Yes, I am,” was the Colonel’s reply. “What?” asked the assistant. The Colonel answered, “I’m going to finish the canal.” Many times the best way to deal with critics is to turn away and focus on what God has called you to do.

So to defeat the giants of life you have to have good eyesight…you have to be good at dealing with criticism…and then there’s one more thing you need…

3. You have to have a good MEMORY.

Think of it this way. You not only have to have good SIGHT. You have to have good hindsight. I mean you have to be able to look BACK and REMEMBER all the ways that God has been faithful in the past to slay your giants. You see, HINDSIGHT gives us a lot of INSIGHT. David remembered the Giants God had enabled him to defeat in the past and this gave him the faith-the confidence-to know God could more than handle Goliath. Our text records the fact that Saul heard of David’s vow to kill Goliath and he called for him. Look at verse 33 and following. Saul shows his own poor eyesight here when he says,

“Son, you are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this un-circumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

You know, so often when facing our own giants, like Saul does here, we forget what God has done for us in the past. I know I’m that way. When ever I face a “goliath”-and let me tell you, I face several of them every week. I’ve decided that “giant-killing” is just part of every pastor’s job description. But whenever a “goliath” marches into my office-or calls me on the phone-or sends me an e-mail, at first my mind sort of overloads and the breaker switch on my memory circuit pops. And when it does I forget all the giants that God helped me to slay in the past. I go kind of numb and get afraid and don’t know what to do. For example-Experience has taught me that in order to get my sermon done each week I must have a fairly firm outline and introduction by Monday night. And every Monday I worry about this weekly “sermonic goliath” that I face. Many times God responds by patiently telling me to walk over to the closet in my office where there’s a huge filing cabinet…a filing cabinet full of three or four hundred of my sermons-each of them a “Goliath” that God helped me to defeat on a Monday in the past.

This Wednesday I had just gotten the first draft of this sermon done. It was rough but I was excited about it-this fact that in comparison to God-the Goliaths of life are nothing. Then I checked my e-mail and I had one from Jennifer Crocker. She informed me that she has several holes in children’s ministry leadership for the fall. She needs a SS teacher and Wednesday night leaders for missions and it hit me like a freight train. My memory breaker switch popped again and I thought, “What am I going to do? How am I going to solve this problem? Woe is me, I am undone!” And at that instant I almost felt as if I could hear God’s gentle laughter-because in the minute it took me to read that e-mail I had forgotten all He had taught me in my prep for this message.

Now-before you point a finger at me for this mental weakness let me put you through a brief test to see if you suffer from it as well. I will ask you a few questions and you say out loud the first answer that comes to mind.

The tree that grows from an ACORN is an…OAK. The vapor that rises from FIRE is called….SMOKE. The sound a FROG makes is called a…CROAK. The white of an EGG is called the…YOLK.

If you didn’t say “yolk” I guess you’re memory breaker switch is in better shape than mine! But seriously, to defeat the giants of life, we need a good memory. We need to discipline ourselves such that we look back regularly and see that God has been faithful to us in the past because that hindsight will help us to have the insight we need to believe that He will do the same in the future.

In C. S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian, one of the children comes upon Aslan, the Christ-figure of the Narnia stories, after a prolonged absence. She says, “Aslan, you’re bigger.” “That’s because you’re older little one.” Aslan answered. “Not because you are?” she said. “I am not.” replied Aslan, “But every year you grow, you will find me to be bigger.” It’s the same with us and God. The more experience we have with God defeating our Giants and the better we remember them…the bigger God becomes. And the more we begin to obey Deuteronomy 20:3b-4 where it says, “Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic for the Lord your God is the One Who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” LET US PRAY

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