Slaying Goliath | Fight or Flight | Part 3
Amen. All right, we’re there in 1 Samuel 17, and we’ve been going through a series on Sunday mornings on the subject, or called Entitled: Slaying Goliath. If you remember, we started … This is now our third week. We’ve been a couple of weeks in this series, and the first week we talked about Identifying the Goliaths in Your Life, identifying the Goliaths in your life. Basically, we asked this question, how do you identify Goliath? What makes you dismayed and afraid? What makes you dismayed and afraid?
Look down at verse number 11 there, 1 Samuel 17:11. The Bible says, “When Saul, and all Israel, heard these words of a Philistine, …” that’s Goliath, of course, ” … they were dismayed, …” The word dismayed is a result of a hopeless situation. It’s when you look at a situation and you say, This situation is hopeless. There is no hope. It cannot be won. There’s nothing good that will come out of it. The Bible says, “… and greatly afraid.” When we are afraid as a result of a hurtful situation, we feel like this situation is not going to end up well, in my favor. I will be hurt as a result.
We talked about the Goliaths in your life, and the Goliaths in my life, because not all of us, of course, like David are facing a physical giant, but there are giants in our lives, it may be a relationship, it may be a financial problem, it may be a health problem, but we have to fight these Goliaths in our lives. You identify Goliath by asking yourself this question, “What makes me dismayed, and what makes me afraid?” Because, the Children of Israel were paralyzed by fear. They were dismayed and afraid.
Here’s what you need to understand about fear. We have the tendency to flee. We have the tendency to run when we do not feel that we can fight. When fear overgrips us, and we do not feel like this is a battle we can win, the human tendency is to flee, to run away. Notice what the Children of Israel did, verse 23. This is all review, we’ve seen it, but look at it again. Verse 23, “And as he talked with them behold there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words, and David heard them, and all the men of Israel, when they saw the man …”
They have to make a decision at this point. Studies have been done on this, and I’ll read to you a quote from an article here in a minute, but there is what’s called the fight or flight response. Whenever a danger occurs, we as human beings are wired to either choose at that moment whether we will fight or choose at that moment whether we will flight, whether we will flee, whether we will run. It’s usually based on how brave and courageous we are and how much we feel, or have confidence, that we can take on that battle.
When you are out soul winning, and you forget to maybe jiggle the gate a little bit and you walk into that yard, if a angry, ravening chihuahua comes at you, your reaction may be different than a rottweiler. At that moment there is a decision that has to be made. Am I going to flee or am I going to fight? Am I going to flee or am I going to … Can I take on this adversary? That’s what happens, and I’m not advocating you kick people’s dogs, okay. Please don’t do that.
An article entitled, How the Flight and Fight Response Works, by a psychologist group. Let me read for you just real quickly from this article. It says this. “The fight or flight response, also known as the Acute Stress Response, refers to a physiological reaction that occurs in the presence of something that is terrifying, either mentally or physically. The response is triggered by the release of hormones that prepare your body to either stay and deal with a threat, or to run away to safety.” The article goes on to say this. “In either case, the physiological and psychological response to stress prepares the body to react to the danger. The fight or flight response was first described in the 1920s by American psychologist, Walter Cannon. Cannon realized that a chain of rapidly-occurring reactions inside the body helped to mobilize the body’s resources to deal with threatening circumstances.”
We have this reaction. You’ve felt it. We’ve all felt it from time-to-time when we have to make a decision, will we fight, or will we fly, will we flee? I want you to note that the Children of Israel made this decision. Verse 24, the Bible says this. “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man …” Notice what it says, “… fled from him.” Goliath shows up, the champion shows up, and he makes his challenge. He challenges them, and he embarrasses them, and he defies them, and he shames them. At that moment they had to decide, “Will we fight or will we fly?” The Bible says they chose to flee. “They fled from him, and were sore afraid.”
I want you to notice that there was a young one man who was confronted with this idea of fight or flight, chose to fight. Look at verse 32, 1 Samuel 17, and verse 32. “And David said to Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fail because of him, …'” speaking about Goliath. Note what he says, “Thy servant will go and fight with the Philistine.” See, David was able to overcome the fear that paralyzed the rest. David was able to overcome the fear, and the instinct to flee.
This morning what I’d like to do is just kind of dissect the story and show you three things. We’re going to learn how to overcome fear in our lives. We’re going to learn how to face our fears, because that Goliath is what makes you dismayed and afraid. That Goliath is what paralyzes you with fear, and we’re going to learn how it is that we can face that fear from David this morning. Here’s what you need to ask yourself. Here’s what you need to wonder. The human response to conflict that seems overwhelming is to run away, it’s to run away. You got to ask yourself this question. What am I running away from, or what am I tempted to run away from? Often we want to run from problems. Often we want to … You know, the reason that the divorce rate is so high in America is because people choose to run away from problems instead of facing them head on. People will quit church, and they’ll quit jobs, and they’ll quit all sorts of things.
Why do they do it? Because instead of facing a Goliath in their lives their instinct tells them, their instinct tells them to run, to flee, to run away. But, look, if you run from every battle you will never slay your Goliath. Goliath will always be there to taunt you, to defy you, to shame you, to embarrass you. Let’s learn together, how do we face our fears? How do we make sure that we fight and not fly? Number one, I want you to notice and look here, verse number 33. We’re going to pick up right where we left off last week. Look down at verse number 33. For those of you taking notes, I’d encourage you to take notes on the back of your course. Every week you’ve got a place there to be able to write some notes down.
Point number one this morning, remember the past victories. Remember the past victories. Look at verse 33. “And Saul said to David …” Remember Saul, who is the worldly counsel, he sought out David, and he was giving David all sorts of bad counsel. We’re going to look at some of that counsel here this morning, as well. The Bible says this, “And Saul said to David, ‘Thou art not able.'” Be aware about people who are always trying to tell you what you’re not able to do, what you can’t accomplish. These people are not for you. Obviously, there’s things that we may not be able to do, but there’s always those who want to criticize, who want to discourage, who want to tell you why it can’t be done, why you can’t do it.
Here Saul says, “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.” Look at verse 34, “And David said unto Saul, “Thy servant kept …” Notice the response from David is this, “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 him out of his mouth, and when he arose against me I caught him by his beard and smote him, and slew him.'”
I want you to understand. You say, “What was the difference between David and the rest of the army?” That David was able to face his fears while others were fleeing and running from their fears. One was that David remembered the past victories that the Lord had given him. Here David tells Saul that there was other battles that he had fought, and those battles were with a lion, and with a bear, and there’s a couple of lessons we can learn from the battles with the lion and the bear. First of all, I want you to understand that you must be … Look, if you’re going to face the Goliath in your life, and here’s what I know about you and here’s what I know about me, if you’ve not already faced a Goliath, you will face a Goliath in your life at some point.
There’s always something that is a conflict that comes to you that has the potential to paralyze you, has the potential to make you dismayed, make you afraid, and you’ve got to prepare yourself for that conflict. You’ve got to be ready for that day when you are called upon to slay the Goliath in your life, and the way you do that is by remembering past victories. Now, here’s what you need to understand about the past victories. You must be faithful in that which is least. You must be faithful in that which is least.
Look at verse number 28, 1 Samuel 17 and verse number 28. Remember when David was having a conversation with his oldest brother, Eliab, and we look there at the discourager, the naysayer. Notice verse 28, and Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spake unto the men, and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David and he said, ‘Why camest thou down hither …’ Notice what he says, ‘… and with whom has thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?'”
I want you to notice that the sheep were not impressive. The sheep were insignificant. The sheep was not something that anybody was too concerned about. Eliab asked his brother this question when he shows up to the battle. He says, “With whom has thou left those few sheep?” I want you to notice that the sheep, thou they were insignificant maybe to Eliab, and maybe to the rest of the brothers, and maybe to Jesse, and maybe to everyone else, they were very significant to David, because we are told here, and David tells us … Look down at verse 34 again, “That David said to Saul, thy servant kept his father’s sheep.” Notice, they weren’t his sheep, they were his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.
Now, listen to me, if a lion takes a lamb the tendency for most people is going to be, “Oh well.” I mean, how many of us are going to go fight a lion for a lamb? When a bear takes a lamb the tendency for some of us is, “No one will notice, and no one will care. No one will even know. It doesn’t matter. It’s insignificant.” But, you need to understand something, if God is going to use you to do great things to slay Goliath, you must first be found faithful in the least. You must first be found faithful in the insignificant. You must first be found faithful with that which people would not notice and would not care.
Go to Luke, chapter number 16. Keep your place there in 1 Samuel 17, that’s our text for this morning. Luke, chapter 16. You got Matthew, Mark, Luke in the New Testament. Luke, chapter 16. See, we develop these habits of fleeing, fleeing, fleeing, running, never conflicting, never fighting, never conquering, never going and fighting a battle, but we develop these habits of just avoiding the battles, and running from it, and they begin, they begin with the lion and the bear. See, when Goliath shows up we flee because of fear, but when the bear and the lion shows up we flee, we avoid the battle, partly because of fear but partly because we see it as insignificant. It does not matter, it’s just a lamb. Who cares, no one will notice. Luke 16:10. Are you there? Notice what the Lord said. He said, “He that is faithful in that which is lease is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
I want you to understand that the preparation, the preparation for slaying the Goliath is going to be, if you are faithful in that which is insignificant, if you are faithful … Look, you say, “How do I identify?” We use these identifying questions, right? We talked about how do you identify Goliath in your life? Here’s how you identify Goliath in your life, you just ask yourself this question. What makes me dismayed, and what makes me afraid? What situation do I look at that I consider it a hopeless situation, it’s not gonna get better? There will be no victory, or there’s going to be hurt to me. This situation is going to hurt me. It’s not gonna help me, it’s going to be painful. That’s how you identify the Goliath in your life.
But, then you’ve got to ask this question, how do I identify the lion and the bear in my life? Here’s how you identify it. What conflict are you tempted to avoid? What conflict are you tempted to run from simply because it’s insignificant? What do you have the temptation to say, “No one will notice, no one will care, Oh well, it doesn’t matter.” See, what you do with the lions and the bears in your life will determine whether God finds you faithful to fight the Goliath. See, Eliab would have said, “Those few sheep, they don’t matter, they’re insignificant,” but I’m here to tell you this morning, it matters to God, because God will look down as to what you do with the least. Are you faithful with that which is least, or are you unjust with that which is least, and God is looking for those who will take those small responsibilities, those insignificant responsibilities. and treat them well and see them as something that’s worth fighting for, and worth standing up for, and that is the kind of person, and that is the kind of character that God can use.
See, God was creating, and God was preparing a man to fight Goliath when He sent the lion, and when He sent the bear. In the battles you and I tend to say, “No one will notice and no one will care. It’s okay if I quit, because it doesn’t matter.” At that moment we are deciding, and we are making the decision that we are no David, and God cannot trust us with a Goliath in our lives. See, the lessons from the lion and the bear are this, that you must be faithful in that which is least. You must be faithful in that which is insignificant. You must be faithful in that which no one would notice and no one would care.
But, there’s a second lesson in this story of the lion and the bear and it’s this. You must fight private battles before you fight public battles. You must fight private battles before you fight public battles. See, you know what we all want? You know what human nature desires of all of us? We all want to be the public hero, right? I mean, we all want verse 46. Look at it. Look at verse 46, it’s a great verse. We’ve got it quoted here on our backdrop. 1 Samuel 17:46, “This day, …” David says, “… will the Lord deliver thee into my hand and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto …” the story of David and Goliath, the entire world talks about David. He became a hero. He became a superstar. The ladies started singing songs about him and saying, “Saul has slain …”
The lions and the bears that nobody cheers you for, nobody claps you for, nobody acknowledges, nobody knows, and young creatures they look at situations like that and they say, “I can’t wait until I’m the one that’s being invited to the conferences, and I can’t wait until I’m the one that’s being featured in the documentaries. I can’t wait until I’m the one that …” Nobody notices and nobody cares. You cannot skip the lions, and you cannot skip the battles and think that God will use you with a Goliath one day. How do I get the courage to face my fears, to face the Goliath? You must first remember your victories, your past victories. See, some of you have faced Goliaths in your life. Some of you are facing a Goliath right now, and it encourages you in your heart to be able to look back at that lion and that bear.
You know what my concern is, that some of you are running away from the lion and the bear right now. You’re choosing to flee. You’re choosing right now, you’ve got to make a choice. Will I fight or will I fly, and you’re choosing to run away from the lion, and run away from the bear, and you justify it by saying, “Nobody notices, nobody cares,” but God knows. God knows. God knows whether you’re faithful with that which is least. God knows whether you’re unjust with that which is least, and to be found faithful with that which is much, you must first be faithful with that which is least. There will be no public battles.
Listen to me very carefully. There will be no public battles without some private battles under your belt. How do you face the Goliath? You must remember the past victories. You must remember the past victories. See, here’s what you need to understand, prior victories build your faith for future battles. Prior victories build your faith for future battles, 1 Samuel 17, look at verse 36. 1 Samuel 17:36, notice what David says. He says, “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defiled 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 hands of this Philistine.” See, prior victories build your faith for future battles. When you choose to ignore the lion and the bear, to run from the lion and the bear, to not fight the lion and the bear, because nobody will notice and nobody will care, you’re stealing from yourself the opportunities to fight future battles.
I told you Wednesday night about an older, elderly lady that used to come to our church. She has actually passed away now. This was a nice lady, lovely lady, but I was telling you about Wednesday night. We were doing … I thought it about it afterwards. I think I might have told the story wrong. We were raising money. I think it was our third Vision Offering. Some of you remember this. We were in our first building, which was 800 square feet, and we were raising $10,000, the most money we’d ever raised, to get into a second building, which was going to be 1600 square feet. We were doubling our use, because the church … We were too packed out in this little 800 square foot building. This older lady was saying, “It can’t be done. We won’t accomplish it. Look at this church. We can’t raise $10,000.”
I had confidence that we could do it, because before we raised $10,000 we had raised $5000, and before we had raised $5000, we had raised $3000, and now we’re raising many times that amount every year for Vision Offering. Here’s what I’m telling you, is that if you do not confront the small battles, if you run away from those small battles, you are stealing yourself the confidence to be able to fight a Goliath one day. You know why these guys were running away from Goliath, because none of them had ever taken on a lion, and none of them had ever taken on a bear. They had all decided that the lamb was insignificant, the sheep were insignificant. Nobody will notice and nobody will care. So, how do we face our fears? Number one, we must remember the past victories, but number two, look down at verse number 38, 1 Samuel 17.
Actually, you know what, let’s run a verse real quick. Go to Exodus, chapter 17, excuse me, Exodus, chapter 17, second book in the Bible, Genesis, Exodus. Exodus 17. Look at verse 13. Exodus 17:13, Prior victories build your future, the faith for your future battles. Prior victories build your faith for future battles. Exodus 17 and verse 33 says this, “And Joshua discomfited Amalek.” Exodus 17:13, “And Joshua discomfited Amalek.” This is a story. We won’t read the context, but this is a story where Aaron and Hur, if you remember they stayed up the hands of Moses so that this battle could be won, and his people with the edge of the sword … Notice verse 14, “And the Lord said unto Moses …” after they won the battle, “And the Lord said unto Moses, write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven.”
I want you to notice that God told Moses, “Hey this battle that has been won, make sure you don’t forget about it. Write this for a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua.” Why would He say that? Because Joshua was going to be the future leader that would take the Children of Israel into the Promised Land, and God was telling Moses, “Make sure that Joshua does remember this battle. Write this down and rehearse it in his ear. Why? Because past victories will build the faith for future battles, that’s why.
That’s why we must remind our children. That’s why we have to tell them the stories. That’s why we have to tell them about the battles in the past and the things that we have done. Let’s not live in the past, let’s press on toward the mark, but let’s also not forget the past victories that God has given us, that God has given you. Why? Because those victories, those lions and those bears will be what builds our faith to fight the future victories.
Go back to 1 Samuel 17. Look at verse 38, 1 Samuel 17:38, the Bible says this, “And Saul armed David.” And Saul armed David. Now, remember Saul has backslidden. Saul is a worldly counsel. Remember, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,” and Saul armed David with his armor, and he put … I want you to notice these four words, “An helmet of brass.” He put an helmet of brass upon his head. Also he armed him with … I want you to notice these four words, “A coat of mail.” He put an helmet of brass on his head. He armed him with a coat of mail. Look at verse 39, “And David girded …” Notice these two words, “… His sword upon his armor.” I want you to notice that David went to Saul and said, “I’m gonna fight and I’m gonna kill that giant,” and Saul said, “Well, if you’re gonna do it, then let me outfit you with some armor,” and Saul, the Bible says, “Armed David with his armor.
This was the armor that Saul was wearing, that Saul should have maybe used to go fight Goliath, but he gives it to David. I want you to notice what he gave him. He gave him an helmet of brass, he gave him a coat of mail, and he gave him his sword. Now, here’s what’s interesting about that. We learned three weeks ago that’s nine feet and a span. He was over nine feet tall. We talked about giants in the Bible. We learned all about that the first week in this series. Look at verse 5, and he had … Notice, notice, … and he had an helmet of brass.
1 Samuel 17:38, “Saul armed David with his armor and he put an helmet of brass.” What did Goliath have? An helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with … Don’t miss this … a coat of mail. According to 1 Samuel 17:38, Saul gave David a coat of mail, and Goliath had a coat of mail. Skip down to verse number 51. This is after Goliath has already been slain. Look at verse 51. “Therefore, David ran and stood upon the Philistine …” David did not have a sword but notice what David did, “… and took his sword.” Notice who did have a sword, Goliath. Goliath had an helmet of brass. Goliath had a coat of mail. Goliath had a sword. Saul, if you go back to verse 38 and verse 39, tried to give David an helmet of brass, a coat of mail, and his sword. Saul wanted David to fight Goliath like Goliath. Don’t miss that.
Saul wanted David to fight Goliath like, or in the same way, that Goliath fights. Saul wanted David to fight the world the way the world fights. Saul wanted David to go into battle against the world looking, and having the methods of the world. You say, “How do we face the giants in our life?” Well, number one we must remember the past victories, but number two, we must resolve to use biblical methods. We must resolve to use biblical methods. We must choose as believers to shun away the methods of the world.
Look down at verse number 39, 1 Samuel 17:39, “And David girded his sword upon his armor and he assayed …” The word assayed means he attempted … “… to go, for he had not proved it, and David said unto Saul,” notice what David says to Saul, “‘I cannot go with these …'” I cannot go with these. Why, David? “‘… for I have not proved them.'”
David said, “I have not tested these things. I have not become familiar with these things. I’m not sure if these things will work.” Saul would say to David, “This is what the world uses to fight. This is what the world advises to use. This is what everyone else is using. This is what Goliath is using,” but David said, “I cannot go with these for I have not proven them, …” and David, notice, “… put them off him.” He took off the helmet. He took off the coat of mail. He took off the sword. What did he do? Look at verse 40, “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 …” The word scrip there means a bag or a wallet, ” …and his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.”
You say, “What did David do?” David chose to stay with what had worked. He did not have a helmet, and a coat of mail, and a sword when he fought the lion. He did not have a helmet, and a sword, and a coat of mail when he fought the bear. He had a staff, and a sling, and a stone, and David said, “You know what, I’m not gonna fight Goliath the way Goliath fights. I’m not gonna fight the world the way the world fights. I’m gonna stick to what’s been proven. I’m gonna stick to what I know works. I’m gonna stick to what has worked in the past.”
Listen to me, if you and I are gonna fight the Goliaths in our life, we’re going to have to resolve to use biblical methods. You say, “Pastor Jimenez, you know I read this book by this guy and he’s telling me that the way the marriage should work, it should be 50/50, you know the husband makes half of the rules, and the wife makes half of the rules, and the husband does half of the chores, and the wife does half of the chores, and the husband, you know, goes and work and gets an income, and the wife goes and works …” Look, you go and do that if you want, but I’m telling you right now, those methods have not been proven. Why don’t you just stick to biblical methods? Why don’t you just stick to what works?
Let me tell you what works. Husbands loving their wives sacrificially and selflessly, like Ephesians 5 says that we are to love our wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it. That works. Wives reverencing their husband and submitting to their husband. That works. If you’ve got a problem in your marriage, it’s because one of you, or both of you, has failed to do those two things. When a husband loves his wife selflessly and sacrificially, and a wife submits reverently to her husband, that works. You say, “How do you know?” Because it’s in the Word of God and I’ve just seen it work.
You know what works? You know with your child, the biblical says, “Thou shalt beat him with a rod, he shall not die.” Thou shalt beat him with a rod and shall deliver his soul from hell.” You say, “Oh, I read this book that says we ought to give them times out.” You go ahead and do that, but those methods have not been proven. In fact, what we have seen is a rebellious generation. You know what works, an old-fashioned spanking, that’s what works.
You know what works is hard and direct biblical preaching. You say, “Pastor Jimenez, why?” You know, “Why are you still doing this biblical preaching where you’re having us look at all these Bibles. You’ve still got a pulpit up there. You’re still yelling. You’re crying aloud. You’re sparing not. Why are you doing that?” Because it works, that’s why. Because it’s been proven, that’s why. You say, “Oh, well, you can get rid of the pulpit and you can put a little stool up there, and you can give us a little chat, and a little and a little tug. Those methods have not been proven. We must stick to biblical methods. We must stick to what has worked. You know what works? Soul winning, door-to-door, house-to-house, preaching the gospel to every creature. You know what works? This King James Bible works. We don’t need a new Bible. We don’t need new methods. We don’t need unproven methods. We need to just work what has worked for years. Do you know what works? The old hymns. You know what works? Just old fashioned Christianity. You know what works is what’s worked for generations.
“Pastor Jimenez, do you think we’re gonna go to those small groups on Wednesday night and meet in people’s living rooms and we’re all gonna sit around and say, ‘What do you think about that?’ No, no, that method has not been proven. You know what’s been proven? Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet. We must stick to biblical methods. We must stick to what God has already showed us that works. You’ve got financial problems? Don’t go … “Well, I watched this infomercial in the middle of the night and they said that if I just gave them $99.99, they’re gonna give me this list and I’m gonna become a millionaire.” No, you’re not. They’re going to become the millionaire, off of you.
Let me just explain to you something. When it comes to finances, the same thing that works for everybody will work for you. What is it? It’s not complicated. Budget, save, get out of debt. That’s what the Bible says. Just stick to what works. You know what works is get up and work hard every day and quit being so covetous. That’s what works. That’s what the Word of God says. That’s what the Bible says. Look, you will never fight the Goliath in your life. You say, “Well, Goliath has a helmet, and Goliath has a coat of mail, and Goliath has a sword.” You go down there and he’s gonna eat you alive, because the only reason that David was able to face his fears is because he not only remembered the prior victories, but he resolved to use biblical methods, he resolved to use what was already proven, he resolved to not use the methods of the world.
Jeremiah 6:16, you don’t have to turn there. It says, “Thus sayeth the Lord God, stand ye in the way and see and ask for the old paths. Where is the good way? And, walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk therein.'” You know what, we’ve got a generation of Christians today who are looking at those old paths and saying, “We will not walk therein,” and that’s why the battle is being lost to the Goliaths today, because God will not honor your helmet of brass, and your coat of mail, and your sword. God will honor biblical methods. God will honor the methods that work, the methods that have been proven. What has been proven for generations
If you’re going to face off with Goliath you better just resolve right now, “I’m going to use biblical methods. I’m going to stick to what the Bible says. If I’ve got to make a decision of my life, if I’ve got to figure out what I’m supposed to do in any situation, I’m going to dig into the scriptures, and I’m going to figure out what God says about it and what God tells me to do about it, and what the principles in scripture are, and I’m just going to stick to what has worked, and forget the newfangled ideas, and forget the new path and just stick to the old paths.
How do you face Goliath? How do you face your fears? Number one, remember the past victories. Number two, you resolve to use biblical methods. Number three, look down at verse number 25. Let me give you the point, if you want to write it down. Number three, recognize the battle is not yours. Recognize the battle is not yours. I want you to notice that there was a difference between the focus of the fearful, and the focus of the fearless. There was a difference between the focus of the fearful, those who are full of fear, and paralyzed. They were dismayed and afraid, and there was a difference between the focus of the fearless. David, who stared Goliath in the eye and said, “I’m gonna take your head off, Buddy.” You say, “What was a difference?” Well, I want you to notice where the focus was.
Look at verse 25, 1 Samuel 17:25. “And the men of Israel said …” These are the guys that are afraid, the army, they’re fleeing, they’re flying. “And the men of Israel said …” Notice how they reveal where their focus is. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, is what the Bible says. Notice what he says, “Have ye seen this man?” In reference to Goliath, do you know where their focus was? On Goliath. “Have you seen this man that has come up, surely to defy Israel.” Now, who is speaking? Who is speaking? Verse 25, “And the men of Israel said …” It is the men of Israel that are speaking and they said, “Have ye seen …” They tell us, they tell us where their focus is. Their focus is on Goliath. “Have you seen this man that has come up, surely to defy us,” Israel. See, their focus was on the enemy, and their focus was on themselves. Their focus was on how big Goliath was and how small they are.
Verse 26, “David spake to the man that stood by him saying, ‘What shall be done to the man that killeth the Philistine, and take away the reproach from Israel, for who is the uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy …” Do you see that word defy there? Now, we saw it in verse 25. In the middle of the verse it says, “That has come up to defy Israel,” all right. I want you to notice in verse 26 how David says it. He says that, “He should defy …” Notice what he says, “… the armies of the Living …” Don’t miss this. “… God.”
You know … and Goliath. But, David’s focus was not on himself. David’s focus was not on Goliath. David’s focus was on God, that he should defy the armies of the Living God. Verse 26, “Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them. See, he hath defiled the armies of the Living …” Don’t miss it. “… God.” Someone said, “That he should defy the armies of the Living God, and take thine head from thee, and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth… ” Notice what he says, “… that all the earth may know … About David. Is that what he said?
Let me explain something to you. Let me just tell you something. If the battle is yours, if the battle is yours, you should be afraid. If your motives, if your motives for fighting Goliath, if your motives for doing great things for God are that you would be recognized, that you would be known, that people would look at you and say, “Whoa, look at that mighty warrior then you better be scared, because God resisteth the proud and giveth grace unto the humble. When you know that your heart is right the naysayers will criticize you, the naysayers will question your motives. They’ll say, “You’re doing this … I know the naughtiness of your heart. I know the pride.” But, listen to me, when you know your heart is right, and when David knew that the battle was not for himself, and for his own glory, and he knew that he was doing this that all the Earth may know that there is a God in Israel, then you can have confidence in that God.
Verse 47, “And all this assembly shall know …” Notice, “And all this assembly shall know …” not how great David is, not how strong David is, not how fearless David is. “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.” Go to Psalm 147, right in the center of your Bible. If you open up the Bible right in the center, you’ll more than likely fall in the book of Psalm. Let me just tell you something, if in year heart, if in your heart you know the battle is for yourself, or your own pride, and for your own legacy, you better be scared, you better just run, because God will not bless that. But, When you recognize this battle is not for myself, this battle is for the Lord, I’m simply a tool that is to be used by God, then you can have confidence in that God that he will perform and that he will do.
Psalm 147, look at verse 10. Notice what the Bible says, “He …” Psalm 147:10, “He …” talking about the Lord, God, “He delighteth not in the strength of horses.” You know what their trust was in those days when it was time to fight? Their trust was in their horses. You know, if you had more horses than the other guy, if you had stronger horses than the other guy, then there was a real good chance you were gonna win.
Today, you could say this, “He delighteth not in the strength of their fighter jets, their cruise missiles.” He delighteth not in the strength of their military, their tanks. The Bible says, “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse.” Notice what he said, “He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.” You say, “Why, why would he say the legs of a man?” The reason for that is this, you find your biggest muscle in your legs, so God looks at the human body and looks at the part of the body, the leg, that has the biggest muscle on the human body and God says, “You know what, I have no pleasure in the legs of a man.” Well, God, where do you take pleasure, because you delight not in the strength of the horse, the Bible says, He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man?
Look at verse 11. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him. See, David didn’t have the biggest muscles on that field, and David did not have the greatest weapons on that field, but David did fear the Lord, and the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, and those that hope in His mercy. Go to Proverbs 21. Look at verse 31. You’re there in Psalms, it’s one book over. Proverbs 21 and verse number 31. Proverbs 21 and verse 31, notice what the Bible says. Proverbs 21:31, “The horses prepared against the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord.” The Bible says, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is. See, here’s a question I have for you, Right before you face off the Goliath, right before you face your fears, let me ask you something, what are you trusting in?
What is your confidence in? “Well, Pastor, you know, I’ve got this real good plan. I’ve got it all planned out. It’s all gonna work out perfectly. I’ve got all these ideas, and I’ve got some worldly counselors, and they let me borrow a helmet, and they let me borrow a sword, and they let me borrow a coat of mail, and I’ve got it all figured out.” Listen to me, if you are trusting in anything but the Lord, you will fail. Goliath will eat you alive. Because, see, David recognized the battle was the Lord’s, that all the Earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
Here’s a question I have for you. When you face off with Goliath, and I don’t know what your Goliath is, whatever that thing is that makes you dismayed and afraid, whatever that thing is that raises an instinct in you to just run, to just flee, to just run away, you don’t want to fight, you’d rather just take flight, when you face off with that, what are you trusting in, worldly methods, your own strength, your weapons? Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is. See, David understood. David understood and he recognized the battle was not his, but the battle was the Lord’s.
Look at verse 48. 1 Samuel 17, verse 48. “And it came to pass …” 1 Samuel 17:48, “And it came to pass when the Philistines arose and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened and ran towards the army to meet the Philistines.” By the way, earlier in the story … In fact, let’s look at it just real quickly. Earlier in the story … Let’s see, where was that? Look at verse 49. I just want to point this out real quickly, verse 49. “And David put his hand in his bag and took thence a stone, …” I’m sorry, not verse 49. Goodnight, where do I want you to go? Look at verse number … Give me one second, I lost this place, but I want to point this out to you.
Verse number 40, 1 Samuel 17:40, “And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him …” I want you to notice this. “… chose him five smooth stones.” David chose five smooth stones. Now, a lot of questions have been asked as to why David chose five smooth stones. I don’t know, the Bible doesn’t tell us, but there are a couple of ways to look at this. One way to look at it, and I think it’s a legitimate way to look at it, is that … you don’t have to turn there, but in 2 Samuel 21:22, we’re actually going to look at that passage next week, 2 Samuel 21:22 tells us that there were four other giants, four other giants. When you read the passages it’s hard to tell whether they were the sons of Goliath, or the brothers of Goliath, but the Bible tells us that, aside from Goliath there was four other giants. Some people believe that David chose five smooth stones because he thought, you know what, once I kill this guy, there might be four angry giants coming my way. Maybe that’s the case.
Maybe David chose five smooth stones because he thought, you know, what if I miss? Maybe I’ll need another shot. The point is this, that we need to not be overly confident, and we need to just be ready. We talked about this already, but it’s like the children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were getting thrown into the fiery furnace they said, “Our Lord is able to deliver us, but if He does not …” See, nothing guaranteed to David that that stone was going to hit Goliath. He knew it could, but he did not grow believing that, “This will happen. If it doesn’t happen then God …” No. You know what, he was smart enough to choose five stones. He was smart enough to know. Now, he nailed on the first one but he was smart enough to choose five smooth stones.
Look at verse 48, “And it came to pass, when the Philistines arose and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened and ran towards the army to meet the Philistine, and David put his hand in his bag …” Don’t miss this. Sometimes we read these stories and we don’t really grasp it. Don’t miss this. “David ran …” verse 48 “… toward the army to meet the Philistine …” The exact opposite of what the rest of the army was doing. The other army was running in the other direction. They were fleeing, they fled. David ran to. Some people run from Goliath, some people run to Goliath. Which one are you gonna be? He ran to Goliath, and as he’s running, as he’s running, the Bible says, “David put his hand in his bag and took thence a stone, …”
The Bible tells us he had a sling. Now, you need to understand, when the Bible tells us here he had a sling, he didn’t have a sling like Dennis the Menace, all right. It wasn’t a sling like the twig with the two things and a rubber band, all right. It was probably like a pouch that had two straps, or strings, attached to them, and that rock would go into that pouch, and he would hold it by its straps, or by the strings that were attached to it, and he would begin to, you know, circle it around his head, and then he would let go of one of those straps, and as it opened it flang that stone out with the momentum that he had made.
The Bible tells us, “Young David put his hand in his bag and took thence a stone and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead.” You need to understand that that was God. Now, David, obviously, had used slings in the past, but it was God who did that. Somebody said this, “Everyone else looked at Goliath and said, ‘He’s so big, I can’t bet him.’ David looked at Goliath and said, ‘He’s so big I can’t miss him.'” It’s all about how you look at your problems. You know what, his confidence was in the Lord.
Verse 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.” Verse 50, “So David prevailed over the Philistine.” David slays Goliath, and the entire Earth knows that it can be done, that a shepherd boy can beat a giant. What you and I know is that we can face our fears. We can overcome. We can prevail that which makes us dismayed and afraid. So, David prevailed over the Philistines with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him, but there was no sword in the hand of David. Now, this is the part they skip out on in Sunday School, but you get this in church.
Verse 51, “Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, …” Notice, the tables have turned, the momentum has changed. Now the Bible says, “… they fled.” They fled. You know, I want to ask the Philistines, “Wait a minute, what about the challenge from Goliath. Remember Goliath said that if you’re able to find someone that can kill me we will be your servants.” Wasn’t that the challenge? Find me a man that he may fight with me, and if he’s able to kill me we will be your servants, and if I kill him then ye shall be our servants. That’s what the challenge was, but now that their giant is dead, momentum has changed, the tables have turned, and they fled.
Verse 52, “And the men of Israel and Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued …” We’re going to talk about this next week, because all of a sudden these guys that were dismayed and afraid, all of a sudden these guys that were afraid and paralyzed by fear now arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines. Next week we’re going to talk about … Next week we’re going to talk about … You say, “Why do I have to face … Pastor Jimenez, why does it matter? I’ve already let the lion go. I’ve already let the bear go. I’m not gonna face Goliath. I don’t want to face Goliath. I’m okay with being worldly. I’m okay with being backslid. I’m okay with not being right with God. I’m okay with letting Goliath just run my life. Why does it matter?”
Here’s why it matters, because when David had the courage to fight Goliath you know what happened? He raised a new generation of giant slayers. See, before David everybody said, “You can’t beat a giant. You can’t fight a giant.” You know what’s interesting, after David, you’re seeing all sorts of giants fall. Why? Because of David, because he arose and shouted, they arose, and shouted, and pursued. Let me tell you something, people need to see you, your children, the next generation needs to see you and needs to see me fight the Goliath and slay the Goliath in our lives, and that will give them the courage to fight their Goliath, because there’s always a Goliath, there’s always a Pharaoh, there’s always an army, there’s always the enemy of God. In every generation there is a battle that has to be fought, and it will help them to watch us fight our battles.
Verse 52, “And the men of Israel and Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron, and the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way of Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.” You say, “Pastor Jimenez, how do you slay the Goliath? How do you face your fears? I’m crippled by fear and my instinct, my instinct is to flee. How do I face the fears in my life? Number one, you remember the past victories. For some of you that means you need to go back and remember the lion and the bear that God has already allowed you to beat, and take courage in that. For some of you it means you need to just face that lion and that bear, because you’re running from the lion, and you’re running from the bear, you’re being unfaithful in that which is least, and God will never use you in that which is great. You must remember the past victories.
You must resolve to use biblical methods. Forget what the world does, forget what the world says, forget what the new Evangelicals are saying, forget what the liberals are saying, forget what the emergent church is saying, forget what the world is saying, just stick to the old paths. Stick to the Word of God. Dig into the scriptures and decide, what would God have me to do? David said, “How would God want me to fight this? You know what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna stick to what has worked. The staff and the sling were good enough for the lion, they were good enough for the bear, the Lord delivered them into mine hand, and He will deliver the Philistine, as well.” So, quit changing, making the … Saying, “Well, now I got to do this.” No, just stick to what’s worked, just stick to what’s worked.
Number three, recognize the battle is not yours. Get your focus off yourself. Get your focus off Goliath and get the focus on God. It’s interesting as you study, and I’m done, but as you study the prophets … We’re getting ready to start a study in Ezekiel here in the next maybe five weeks or so. As you study all of the prophets in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, you’ll find that they all, a lot of times they come into a confrontation with God. Moses did, Joshua did, Jacob did, Ezekiel did, Isaiah did, John did on the Isle of Patmos. They all come into a confrontation with God. They see God high, holy, and lifted up. They see the Lord Jesus Christ in his glorified body appears to them.
I’m convinced that when you and I have a proper view of God it will influence the way we do ministry, the way we fight our battles, the way we live our lives. See, these people could not see God over Goliath. David saw God. His focus wasn’t on Goliath. His focus wasn’t on that which made him afraid, that which made him fearful. His focus was on God. He recognized the battle was not his own, but the battle is the Lord’s.
Let’s bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your work. Thank you for this great story in scripture, a historical account of a young man who faced his fears. He ran towards the giant when others ran from the giant. Lord, there are people in this room that have fought Goliaths in their lives, I know it. There are some in this room, maybe, this morning that are fighting a Goliath right now, but all of us will fight a Goliath in our lives, many Goliaths, many giants, many battles, and we have a tendency to put our eyes on that which makes us afraid, and it paralyzes us with fear.
I pray you would help us to learn from David, help us to remember past victories, help us to recognize the battle is the Lord’s. Help us to be resolved to use biblical methods, things that have been proven. Father, help us to prevail over the giant. Help us to slay, Lord … I pray that you would help us to slay the Goliath in our lives, whatever that Goliath is in the lives of these individuals, whatever that Goliath is in my life, Lord, I pray you’d help us to be victorious. We love you. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.