BRING YOUR GIANTS TO THEIR KNEES

1^st Samuel 17:42-47

 

Introduction: Let’s look at the background for our text.  Verses 1-3 show that the devil doesn’t mind coming into God’s territory.  In this chapter you find intimidation.  He knows what the your weaknesses are and he will throw all that he has to defeat you.  He will camp out at your doorstep and intimidate you just by being there.  Think about how verse four shows how large of a giant can really be.  Goliath was nine foot and nine inches tall.  He had been a warrior since his childhood (Verse thirty-seven).  His height alone would be intimidating.

      In this chapter you also see insults.  The reason why Goliath came out every day was trying to get some to fight him.  He would throw out insults and blasphemies against the Lord trying to taunt someone into action.

      This battle was a representative battle.  Two champions would fight and the loser would be the slave to the victor.  He had been taunting the Israelites for forty days.

      Also in this chapter we find the insecure.  Saul should have stepped up and fought the giant in the name of the Lord.  But he is insecure in his walk with the Lord.  He is a coward.  He was also out of God’s will.

      One of the greatest truths of this chapter is found in a young man who was involved so much with his walk with the Lord.   The inspiration that is found in this chapter is David’s statement is in verse 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.”)

      It is my intention to give you three thoughts about bringing your giants down to their knees.   

I.  YOU CAN KNOW YOUR GIANTS.

                                                2^nd Corinthians 2:11

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

      If you do not know who or what is a giant in your life, then it will be virtually impossible to bring them to their knees.  You may have a giant of

A. Dirty life James 4:17

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

      Sin always dirties up a life.  Our lives should be ones that are clean.  Yet at one time or another we all sin.  What kind of sin could these giants be?  They could be our besetting sin. Hebrews 12:1

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”

      Barnes tells us that this is "the sin that hangeth on us." They are such sins as the following: 

(1.) Those sins which we are particularly exposed by our natural temperament or disposition. In some this is pride, in others habitual idleness, or giddiness, or greed, or ambition, or sensuality.

(2.) Those in which we freely indulged before we became Christians.

(3.) Sins which we are exposed by our profession, by our relations to others, or by our situation in life.

(4.) Sins which we are exposed from some peculiar weakness in our character.

      They could be our bitterness sin. Bitterness destroys to the marrow of our bones.   They could be our boasting sin.  In other words, the sin of lying.

      They could be our bondage sin. 

                        Galatians 4:9

“But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”

These sins caught us before and will do so again if we do not run to the Saviour and rely upon the Holy Spirit for help.

      They could be your buried sin.  You may have buried it deep with a step program but the moment of weakness comes along and it is resurrected.  I have seen people who gave up cigarettes for a long time pick it back up in times of stress and grief.

2. It may be a giant of discouragement.

                              Numbers 21:4

“And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.” 

      You can get discouraged over the work.  Even preachers of the Gospel who done the work of God for years can discouraged over the work in right conditions and circumstances.

      You can get discouraged about the world and its influence on the church or your family.  People get down and go home and watch the news on television.  That will pick you up. Right!

      You can get discouraged about the warfare of the life.  The Christian life is a battle.  But as David told Goliath, the battle is the Lord’s.

3. It may be a giant of debt.  Many times people make foolish decisions in the area of finances and then become distressed over their debt.  Some will take their tithes to try to get themselves out of debt only to find that does not work.  They are in debt to the Lord.  No creditor is worth being cursed by God.

                                          Malachi 3:8-10

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

      No matter how great your debt is, don’t forget God.  But the giant of debt can bring you to your knees.

D. It may be the giant of duty. Luke 17:10

“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.”

      Your duty or service for Christ may become a giant when you dread doing it or your just go through the motions.  As a pastor, there have been times that I preached because it was my duty to do so but my heart was not in it.  I just did what was required of me.  My duty became as drudgery and thus it became a giant.

      These were just a few items that could be your giant.  You can look around and find your giant.   I will not be able to identify all the giants that come into our lives.  The children of Israel did not see God or the grapes when the surveyed the land.  Ten of the twelve spies saw giants and viewed themselves as grasshoppers.  They forgot the God that had brought them thus far and the grapes that so big in the land. 

II.  KNOCKING YOUR GIANTS TO THEIR KNEES

      I have three simple thoughts in bringing your giants to their knees.  You have to be convinced of a few Bible truths to help you in these days.

1. We need to be convinced of the reality of our great God.   

                        Vs. 26

“And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

1. He was convinced of the power of His great Power. 

      David was convinced in the reality of His great power.  He knew that God have exercised the power to create.  He was so thoroughly convinced of this that he penned these words. Psalm 8:3

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained”

      I can imagine that one night on the hillside while he was tending his father’s sheep, he looked up and was in awe of the work of creation.  He had no doubts that God made it all.

      David was not only convinced of the reality of God’s great power to create, he was convinced of God’s great power that convicts.  The Bible tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart.  I don’t think that David allowed sin to stay in his heart and life for long at this time.  We worry over souls that seem to never change.  God has the power to convict them with even the simple Gospel tract. 

      One day a man was walking down the street.  A young man handed him a tract.  He asked what it was.  The young man told him it was a Gospel tract.  He thanked the young man and walked down the street.  Some time later he came back the young man and said this: “I know why they call those pieces of paper a tract.  It tracked me all the way to the house, tracked through the back yard and then tracked me into the barn.  In the barn I got on my knees and asked Christ to save me.  Now I am going to give it to my wife and saw it track her too.”

      That Gospel tract was nothing less than the power of our great God convicted him of his lost condition.  That is the power of the printed page.

      David was convinced of the power of our great God to create and convict but also the power to correct.  God can correct our attitudes, actions and so much more.  David will record these words later on about the power to correct. 

                  Psalm 141:3

“Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”

2. He was convinced of God’s great promise.

      Dwight L. Moody said this on the promises of God. "Take the promises of God.  Let a man feed for a month on the promises of God and he will not talk about how poor he is.  You hear people say "Oh my leanness"; it is their laziness.  If you would only read from Genesis to Revelation and see all the promises made by God to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to the Jews and to the Gentiles and to all His people everywhere- if you would spend one month feeding on the precious promises of God.  You would not be going about complaining how poor you are.  You would lift your head and proclaim the riches of His Grace because you could not help doing it."

      Let me give just a few promises to whet our appetites for the promises of God.

                  Jeremiah 33:3

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

                  Isaiah 41:10

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

         B. We need to be convinced of the reliability of our great God.   

                                             Verses 32-37

               “And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.”

David knew that the Lord was reliable because the Lord was his strength.

                  Psalm 18:1-2

               “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”

                                             Psalm 27:1

               “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?”

                                             2^nd Samuel 22:33

               “God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.”

                           When we try to fight the battles of life in our own strength, we fail all the times.  Our strength as Christians can only found in the Lord. 

                           David not only knew the Lord was reliable because of the Lord was his strength but he also knew the Lord was reliable because the Lord was his shield.

                                             Psalm 33:20

                     “Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.”

                                             Psalm 59:11

               “Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.”

                                             Psalm 84:9

               “Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.”

                           As you know a shield is that piece of armor that prevents arrows, darts and swords from getting to you.  Nothing happens to a child of God outside of the will of God.  God shields us from the attacks of the enemy in His will.  Yes there are times when the enemy can touch us but only in the will of God.

                           David knew the reliable of the Lord because the Lord was his strength and shield but the Lord was also his song. Psalm 118:14

                     “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.”

                                             Psalm 28:7

               “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”

                                             Psalm 69:30

               “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.”

                           Some of the greatest expressions of praise have come from hearts that were redeemed from the very hands of the enemy of our soul- Satan himself.  Some of the greatest praise comes from what this world calls great tragedies.  Alice Johnson Flint had crippling arthritis.  She was totally bedridden for most of her adult life.  She had pillows all around her so she could get any comfort.  But from this bed of affliction came these words.

HE GIVETH MORE GRACE

                        He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,

                        He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.

                        To added affliction He addeth His mercy,

                        To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

                        Chorus:

                        His love has no limit,

                        His grace has no measure.

                        His power has no boundary known unto men.

                        For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,

                        He giveth and giveth and giveth again. 

                        When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

                        When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

                        When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,

                        Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

                           Not only did David know how the Lord was reliable in that the Lord was his shield, strength, and song, the Lord showed Himself reliable in that He was David’s shepherd.     Psalm 23:1

               “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

                           Time does not permit to go further on this point.  The last time I preached on the twenty-third Psalm, I spent ten Sundays doing so. 

         C. We need to be convinced of the Resources of God.

                                                Vs. 40, 48-50

“And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.” “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. 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. 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 hand of David.”

      We have the might of God on our side.  David knew this truth. 2 Chronicles 20:6

“And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?”

                        1^st Chronicles 29:11-12

“Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.”

      With God, all impossible is possible.  He told a ragtag group who were afraid of those around them after the cross and caused the greatest evangelistic meeting to come forth.  David was so convinced of the might of the Lord that he ran to meet his giant.  He knew that God was going to bring this giant to his knees.

      We have the miracles of God on our side.  This was one of those occasions.  David picked up five stones.  I don’t know how big they were.  They could not been too big because he is going to have to use a sling to throw them.  As that stone left David’s sling, it hit in the one place that Goliath had no armor.  Some people call that a coincidence.  I call that a miracle.  But why five stones.  David was so thoroughly and completely convinced that the Lord was on his side that he was willing to throw stones until the job was done. 

      As I was typing in this section, I recall what Joe Arthur said about this victory from the Lord.  He said, “David ran up to the fallen giant and cut off his head and said ‘mount this trophy on the wall for the glory of God.’”   

III. KNOWLEDGE LEARNED FROM OUR GIANTS EXPERINCES.

                         You should learn from all of the experiences of life.  They can help you in the times ahead.

1. You should learn that you are always able to lean on the Lord for every battle. 

                              Vs. 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.”

                                                Proverbs 3:5-6

               “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

                           Why do we need to do this?  Two quick reasons can be known.

               1. Your flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

               “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

         2. It is a war out there. 2^nd Corinthians 10:4

               “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”

You can win if you will let the Lord fight your giant for you.  Yes, He wants to use you but He is the secret behind our true victories.

2. You should learn more of the Lord in each battle.

                                    Matthew 11:29

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

      Every battle should make you dig deeper in your Bible to understand and love your God in a greater and more personal way.  You can learn of his love in a greater way.  You can learn of his labor on your behalf in a greater way.

3. You can learn that all your giants can be defeated.

                                    1^st John 4:4

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

                        1^st John 5:4

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

      You have two stones at your disposal that will defeat every giant that may come in your life.  They are this blessed old Bible and the Blood of Christ. 

                        Revelation 12:11

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

      Those two stones are really sermons in themselves.  God has left us His Word that every giant will fall if we use it as our weapon of warfare.  His blood is our protection from the damnation of giants. 

Conclusion:  There will be giants come in your life.  But the same God who defeated Goliath and brought him to his knees is the Same God whom you and I serve.