Defeating Giants in Your Life
1 Samuel 17:1-51
1 Samuel 17:1-3
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war….“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. 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.
1 Samuel 17:4
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.
Goliath's Spear
12 ft. 7 in.
33lbs. 12 oz.
1 Samuel 17:5
“He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels;
Goliath’s Coat of Armor:
His coat of armor weighed a total of - 125lbs
1 Samuel 17:5-7
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 (16.5 lbs).
That means his spear would have been
12 ft. 7 in.
33lbs. 12 oz.
1 Samuel 17:8-11
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.” Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
1 Samuel 17:16
For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
If you want to defeat the Giant in your life you must…
1. Faithfully Serve Where God Has Placed You
1 Samuel 17:17-20
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… Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed.
If you want to defeat the Giant in your life you must…
2. You Must Overcome Fear
1st Overcome the Fear of the Giant
1 Samuel 17:20b & 22-23
He (David) reached the camp … left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 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.
1 Samuel 17:24
All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.
1 Samuel 17:26
David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
2nd Overcome the Fear of Being Misunderstood
1 Samuel 17:28
When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
3rd Overcome the Fear of Being Inadequate
1 Samuel 17:29-32
“Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
1 Samuel 17:33
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.”
1 Samuel 17:38
Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he 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.
If you want to defeat the Giant in your life you must…
3. Have Confident Faith in God
1st Faith Approaches the Giant
1 Samuel 17:41-44
David… approached the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health 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 and the wild animals!”
2nd Faith Speaks to the Giant
1 Samuel 17:45-47
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.”
1 Samuel 17:48-51
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. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. 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. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.
