Battling Giants

"Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul....." I Samuel 17:8

I have been sharing some "giant-sized" lessons we can take from the story of David and Goliath.

Yesterday I talked about why and when we should fight giants. 

Perhaps you are facing some sort of giant in your life today.

Today I want to talk about an attitude that brought Goliath down. You could call it overconfidence or you could call it arrogance and you would be right either way.

Of course, Goliath had good reason to be overconfident, he was nine feet tall and had never lost in battle. He was tall and he was strong and he was fierce and he was experienced and he had protected all his vital spots with heavy armor. Since no one in their right mind dared to challenge him, it seemed as though his undefeated streak was safe.

There was no doubt about it Goliath was a rock star! And - he knew it.

So, there he stood taunting the army of God. Another day, another humiliation of the enemy. If they sent someone out to face him, he would slaughter them and be victorious. If they refused to send someone out to challenge him then he won by default through intimidation. There was not a man anywhere who could handle him.

But, there was a boy. There was a godly boy. There was a godly boy who had never heard about Goliath but who was very familiar with God. When that godly boy showed up and heard the taunts and curses of this Philistine, he took it personally. No one fooled with his God! This big guy needed a lesson in respect! It was time for him to go!

Goliath had faced a lot of men. He had never faced a boy. He had faced people who were strong and confident, but none of them had proven to be as strong or confident as him. But there was something different about this boy - different or crazy. This is the first time Goliath had faced an opponent who was not coming in his own strength but in the strength of God. As he was soon to find out, not even the strongest most confident man is a match for God.

David entered the battle with faith in God while Goliath was trusting his own strength. Therein is the lesson.

Anything you do in your own strength will fail. A giant-sized ego is no match for a gigantic God. Strength is nice, but no substitute for God's power. Confidence is helpful, but humility is better. Experience is a benefit, but faith is superior.

If you are going to battle giants - or little guys, for that matter, trust in God's power and go in His strength. Not to do so would be a huge mistake.

April 21, 2016

"David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” I Samuel 17:45-47

Not only did David know how to fight a giant, he knew why to fight a giant.

Fighting giants is a big job so you better know why and when to do it! As I continue with thoughts about David and Goliath over the next week or so I want to share some giant lessons.

Lesson one: why fight a giant?

David fought the giant to defend God's glory. This defiant giant was impugning God and the armies of God. Not only did he disrespect God but he was causing God's people to despair and to doubt God. Because David was zealous for God and jealous of His honor, this giant had to go! David knew he had to fight the giant to defend the reputation of his God.

Never fight a giant for your own reputation or to make a name for yourself. That is not a good enough cause.

David fought the giant to deliver God's people. Goliath had the army of Israel trapped in fear and despair. His threats and taunts had immobilized the troops. That was putting them at risk as well as the nation they defended. God called His people to be free. We are not designed for fear. When David recognized that God's people needed to be delivered he knew he had to fight the giant.

Never fight a giant to impress. Only fight a giant if you or others are oppressed. Freedom is a reason to fight giants.

David fought the giant to demonstrate God's power. This mammoth hulk of a man was making God's warriors look weak. The giant was causing people to lose their fear of Jehovah and to embolden the enemies bent on destroying them. Not only were the Philistines beginning to believe they could defeat Israel, other enemies were watching closely. When an army marched in those days they carried the banner of their gods, they carried the banners of their tribes, and they carried the flag of their nation. So, in a very real and visible way the army of a nation represented all that nation represented. When an army looked weak, the entire nation and its culture and its religion looked weak. David demonstrated that God's power through a boy is far stronger than the enemies' strongest weapon.

Never fight a giant to demonstrate your strength or power. Only confront a giant to demonstrate that His strength is made perfect in your weakness.

There are reasons for fighting giants. I have given you three of them. David fought Goliath for the right reasons and God honored him with victory.

Experience a Giant, Expect a Power

^"David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior 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 uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”  I Samuel 17:32-37

When confronted with a giant you can expect your gigantic God to demonstrate His power to deliver you!

David did and He did! Goliath didn't.

But that is not where the expectations ceased. 

David expected more from God. He expected that had God confronted him with a giant to raise up the giant that was within him.

As I said in my last post, our expectations of God arise from our experience with Him. So, the greater our experiences with Him the bigger our expectations of Him! That certainly was true of David. Is it true of you?

Once as David was tending his father's sheep a lion attacked the flock and carried off a sheep. Boldly, in the power of God, David pursued the lion, grabbed it by it's mane and killed it! Little shepherd boys don't kill lions. It just doesn't happen - but it did! When the lion confronted him it raised up an inner strength he didn't realize he had!

On another occasion his flock was attacked by a bear. Emboldened by his experience with the lion, David did not hesitate to confront the bear, reclaim the sheep, and slew the bear with his "bare" hands! His experience with the lion raised his expectation against the bear and God did as David expected. 

Shepherds 1 - Bears 0!

Just as David mentioned to King Saul, what God had raised up in him through the lion and the bear, God would also raise up against the Philistine, Goliath! It was his expectation based upon his experiences!

Here is a lesson for you: Just as God promised in I Corinthians 10:13, "He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able". In other words, you can expect that God will not allow you to be confronted by a giant until He has helped you slay a lion and/or a bear. You can expect that He will help you experience some smaller victories before he allows the giant to show up.

So, if you are staring at a giant, you can expect His giant-killing power to rise up within you! You will stand, the giant will fall and He will be glorified!

Experience Him and expect it!

April 19, 2016

"I do not call you slaves anymore. Slaves do not know their master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends. I have told you everything I learned from my Father." John 15:15

Here's a question to get your brain jump-started this morning.

"What do these people found in the Bible have in common?"

Pontius Pilate

The woman at the well

Jairus

The adulterous woman

James 

Martha

The Gadarene demoniac

Zacchaeus

The Lad with a lunch

Bartimaeus

Lazarus

Barrabas

How are you doing?

Each of the above mentioned people are known in history for one simple reason - they had an encounter with Jesus.

Seriously, would any of their names have endured through 2,000 years of history had they not crossed paths with the Savior?

The point?

Jesus gives significance to every life He touches and we all long for significance.

Back in 1943, a psychologist named Abraham Maslow categorized what he perceived to be man's most basic needs by arranging them in a pyramid he called the "Hierarchy of Needs". Atop that pyramid was what he dubbed "Self-Actualization". He apparently believed that man is capable to find satisfaction and fulfillment on his own merit.

History records that "Savior-Actualization" is where significance is realized. The list of people above are examples of those who found a measure of fame only because they happened to cross paths with the Man from Galilee!

Jesus is the only one who can satisfy your craving for meaning and significance!

Have you met Jesus?

Do you know Him as Your Savior?

Are you walking with Him?














                                                         

Giants Will Fall If God Stands Tall

"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 deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, 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.”  I Samuel 17:45-47

What should I expect of God? 

I can show you what David expected. He expected that God put a giant in front of him so he could demonstrate that He is a giant God!

The old saying. "The bigger they are the harder they fall" certainly applies to God. Some powerful enemies have opposed Him and He stands undefeated. According to what I read in the back of the Book, He will remain undefeated for ever!

How did it happen that David looked at Goliath and said, "He is too big to miss." when all the other soldiers were thinking "He is too big to fight."!

That is THE big question, isn't it?

Here are a couple of obvious answers from reading this story.

First, David spent his time focusing on God while Saul and his soldiers had been focused on Goliath. 

It matters where you fix your focus!

David, as a shepherd, spent his days watching sunrises and sunsets and full moons and constellations of stars. His constant focus was on the beauty and grandeur of God! The more you gaze at God, the better He looks!

As for the Army of Israel, they had been subjected to the sights and sounds of a seriously large and loud Philistine warrior. Seeing this imposing enemy while listening daily to his taunts and curses had taken a toll on their faith and taken their focus off God.

Is there a giant hovering over your life? 

Has it taken a toll on your faith? Have you found yourself more focused on that giant than on God?

Second, David's expectations of God came out of his personal experience with God. All the time he had spent with God in the remote areas where he tended sheep had allowed him to get to know God well. When he was lonely and called upon God, God came. When he was frightened and called upon God, strength and courage came. When a lion attacked his flock, God's power came and enabled him to slay the lion. And when a bear came after his sheep, he was given a godly strength to kill the bear.

Because David had learned to trust God in his private battles, he found it easy to trust God in this public confrontation.

Your expectations of God will reveal a lot about your experience with Him. If you are losing in your personal spiritual battles you will have difficulty ratcheting up your expectations against your giant.

Where do you need to trust Him in your personal battles? 

Where is the focus of your life?

Giants can fall in your life if God stands tall in your life. David proved it! 

Will you?

April 17, 2016

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”  Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." Matthew 4:1-11

Pride is ever lurking within the human heart ready to shut you in and shut others and God out.

Pride seeks to make you self-sufficient and independent. 

There are three words that will puff up your pride quicker than anything else. Those three words are:

1) Power

2) Prestige

3) Possessions

So, powerful are these that before He began His earthly ministry Jesus had to overcome these three temptations.

In two previous posts I referenced how Jesus stood against the temptation to misuse His power for selfish reasons and how He turned down the scheme to gain Him instant fame and prestige.

The third temptation was an offer of a prized possession. "Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” 

There is a certain irony in One Who gave up everything dear and precious to Him and yet would be tempted by the offer of gaining possessions. So, there must be more to it.

There is.

God had given Adam dominion over the kingdoms of the world but when Satan deceived him and lured Adam into disobedience Satan usurped Adam's dominion. Adam no longer held the keys to the kingdom but Satan did. The Second Adam would have to win them back.

So, therein lies the power of this temptation. Satan was in a position to hand Jesus a painless shortcut to regaining the kingdom. He could have gotten back the keys of the kingdom and avoided the cross. But in so doing He would have disqualified the Second Adam.

Jesus answered the temptation with truth. Once again He rebuked and repudiated Satan with Scripture.

This gives us clearer insight into Hebrews 4:15: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin."


Just like you, Jesus faced the temptations that come from power, prestige and possessions. But unlike you He resisted them. But because He understands how you struggle He also knows how to help you. 


If you ask Him and trust Him He will give you His power to resist the devil's power! He will give you His prestige and you can possess all that He has if you will allow Him to possess you!

April 16, 2016

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”  Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus came to kill the power of pride in the human nature. He struck at the heart of pride by releasing all claims on power, prestige or possessions. He surrendered to the sovereignty of God and became an obedient servant to both God and man.

Neither Jesus nor you are able to overcome pride without defeating the three "p's" - power, prestige and possessions. At the very beginning of His earthly ministry He was confronted by the devil with these three temptations.

In a recent post I shared how Jesus withstood the temptation to misuse His power by turning stones into bread so He could satisfy His hunger.

Because Jesus passed the temptation to abuse or misuse His power guess what? God gave Him more power!

In the verses highlighted in red above, Jesus was challenged by the temptation of prestige. Since every one of us has a strong desire to be well thought of and respected and admired the offer of instant prestige is quite powerful! And that's what Satan offered to Jesus.

All Jesus would have to do is to take a swan dive from the pinnacle of a prominent building and be caught by the angels the instant before He hits the ground. What a spectacular publicity stunt that would have been! Jesus' fame would have spread world-wide before sunset! Why die on a cross when you can dive into immediate celebrity status?

That was the enticing proposition posed to Jesus' pride as He prepared to launch His preaching ministry.

What young person beginning his career does not aspire to becoming prestigious? Who would not find it

a powerful pull on their pride to be promised instant prestige? Jesus probably did, too! At least the human part of Him!

But Jesus met the powerful proposal with the power of Scriptural perspective - ”Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

When Satan offered Jesus the temptation He met it with the truth! When Satan targeted His flesh Jesus countered with faith. When Satan tried to manipulate His feelings Jesus countered with facts and the fact was that Jesus had surrendered the prestige of Heaven and exaltation by angels so what could Satan offer Him?

Once again, Jesus killed pride before it could kill Him. He shut it out before it could shut Him in. He killed the temptation to power and He killed the temptation to prestige. And He did it to show it can be done. He did it to help you overcome the temptations of pride.

May I remind you that if you long for power and are drawn to the need for prestige, devote yourself fully to Jesus Who can offer you more power and prestige than you will ever need.