Sunday 27 January 2019

Slaying Our Giants


Scripture: 1 Samuel 17 v 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.
 33  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.
 34  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:
 35  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.
 36  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.
 37  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."


There will come a day when the enemy sends a giant against you usually in the form of a gigantic problem that causes you and those around you to quake in their boots. This is what happened when the Philistine giant, Goliath, challenged Israel to send their best man against him to settle the battle.

For a month King Saul hid in his tent while Israel trembled as Goliath laid his daily challenge against them. One day the young shepherd, David, was sent to deliver some food to his brothers and was shocked to hear what was happening on the field. He announced that he would take on the uncircumsized Philistine himself. He was declaring that he, David, was under God's Covenant of protection while the enemy was not. 

Saul offered David his very strong and heavy armour. David tried it on but it was too big for him. He took instead something that he was adept at. His sling and five stones. 

There stood Goliath about 10 foot tall with massive armour and a huge sword. David had faith in the power of God and his sling. Simple, unshakeable faith. His first stone killed the giant, who was still mocking the slender boy in front of him.

What we know, WHO we know that is true and accurate, is Our Lord Jesus Christ, who by one sacrifice of Himself settled our enemy forever.  By His Blood He destroyed satan's power forever for those who believe. When Peter declared You are Christ the Son of God, and Jesus responded, Upon this rock will I build My Church. He had a play on names as Peter's name means small stone but the Rock is the declaration that Jesus is the Son of God.

The Rock upon which Jesus built His church, His Body, is not upon Peter as some assume, but upon what Peter declared - You are Christ, the Son of God.  That is the foundation of our Faith.  The infallible truth that has stood firm for 2000 years, and will not waver throughout eternity.

Jesus is the Rock in our sling when we by faith call upon Him in our time of need no matter how big our 'giant' is. People will counsel us to solve things by various worldly means. This would be like wearing Saul's armour - far too big and heavy for us.

David had faith that God would remove this mountain of a man and using one stone God did not fail him. When we rely on our one stone, Jesus our Rock of Ages, He will not fail us either.

God called David "A man after My own heart". Not because David was sinless but because he had a soft conscience. He always knew when he had disobeyed and was quick to repent and stay in right standing before God. This enables God to keep us safe if we too keep short accounts with Him.

So if you have a giant problem facing you then bring it to the Lord, the Rock, who will crush that giant and give you the victory.

David won the hearts of Israel that day and eventually became their king, but first God had to crush the new proud jealous giant called King Saul who stood in David's way.  The prophet Samuel even told David in prophecy that He would be the next king of Israel.  Saul found out and tried to kill David, but the Lord protects those who walk in His ways and rejects those who defy Him.

So make sure of God's constant presence and faithfulness over you and your family by trusting Him and being obedient.  Whatever giants need to be slain in your life rely on the Lord's might and strength to deliver you.  He will send you the courage and faith of David to see you through.

Prayer: Almighty God our Father, by Your word we live. You say Trust Me in all things and we do Lord. We trust You to slay our giants and give us victory in all things. In Jesus' name. Amen.