Courage

Use these materials to go deeper into this message on your own, or with your small group.
Series Overview
SOAP Bible Study Method
Weekly Material

9:00 Service | 10:30 Service | Sermon Audio

We are continuing our series in the life of David today. So let me remind you how the story started last week. The first king Israel ever had was named Saul, and Saul started out well, but he made some arrogant decisions that caused God to reject him. So while Saul was still king, God told Samuel the prophet to go and anoint the next king, and he directed Samuel to select a very unlikely person—a young kid named David. So David is secretly anointed as sort of the king-in-waiting, and that begins this unusual period where Saul is still the king, and David is waiting for the moment when Saul will be taken off the throne and he’ll be put on.

And that brings us to 1 Samuel chapter 17, and the famous story of David and Goliath. I promise you: you need this message. This message is all about responding to the giants in life, and you’ve got them—I don’t care who you are—there are giants in your life that are limiting you or controlling you or possibly destroying you. And this morning God wants to speak into that situation, if you have ears to hear.

So here’s the big question this passage answers: How do I respond to giants in my life? How do you respond?

Today’s passage is long. So instead of reading the whole thing up front, I’m going to unpack it as we go along. And I’m going to break the message into three parts. Here’s the first part:

The Reality of Giants. Look with me at 1 Samuel 17, the first eleven verses. Let’s hear God’s Word…

1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.

4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.

8 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. 9 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.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

Now, what Goliath the Philistine was proposing was not unheard of. We have evidence that in ancient times, there was such a thing as “representative warfare.” So instead of having your armies face off, both sides would select a champion warrior to represent them. And there would be a showdown between the two champions—and that would determine the winner of the battle. Now, we don’t have any evidence that countries actually abided by those rules. In other words, it was supposed to

minimize bloodshed. But the historical evidence shows that even when countries sent their champions to fight each other, they would still wind up pulling their armies into the battle.

Be that as it may, that was the offer from Goliath: choose a man to fight me; whoever loses, his country will become slaves to the country of the winning guy. And in response to that challenge, verse 11 says the people of Israel—including Saul the king of Israel—were dismayed and terrified.

Now: this is a historical account of an event that happened around 1,000 BC. But it’s a timeless story, because Goliath represents giants that we face in our own lives. And this passage tells us three things about giants.

First of all, giants are intimidating. It says the Israelites were “dismayed”—that’s a Hebrew word that could also be translated “shattered” or “cracked.” These trained, fighting men of Israel were shattered. Which is the opposite of feeling confident and composed, right? They were falling apart. That’s what giants do—they get inside your head. If you’re a sports fan you know all about this, right? Professional hockey players or basketball players or football players talking trash to their opponent on the field or the court or the ice. What are they trying to do? Get inside the other guy’s head. Rattle them. Because if you can make them lose them composure, you’ve won.

And Goliath was the ultimate trash talker. Not to mention being an extremely large human being. He was getting inside their heads; he was trying to make them lose their composure, and it was working. Intimidation.

Second thing about giants: they’re insulting. Did you notice Goliath insults Israel’s king; he insults Israel’s army, right? This day I defy the armies of Israel. And the implication is that he’s also insulting Israel’s God. And that’s what giants do—they insult us; they belittle us; they remove our sense of dignity.

And because they’re so intimidating and insulting—third thing—giants are paralyzing. Later in the story, we’re going to find out that this scene—Goliath coming out and taunting Israel—repeats for forty days. Can you imagine? For almost six weeks—every day—these military men wake up and take their positions, and they listen to their king and their country and their God being mocked. And you know what they do about it? Nothing. Because fear paralyzes.

Now: think about your life. What are the giants that are intimidating you, or insulting you, or paralyzing you?

Maybe there’s a Goliath-type person in your life. They’re controlling and angry, and they take up way too much space in your head.

Maybe it’s a job that you hate—you don’t like the work; you don’t like the people; it’s draining you and prematurely aging you…but you feel stuck in it. It’s become a giant.

Maybe it’s an addiction—vapes or cigarettes or alcohol or pain-killers. Or food. The Bible says we are slaves to whatever has mastered us, and you have been mastered by this thing. And whenever you’ve tried to quit, the giant laughs at you.

Maybe your giant is a personality thing—your own anger. Your fear of people.

Or maybe it’s something so personal and so embarrassing that you have never dared to tell anyone. But it’s a giant, and it’s bullying you.

Jack Handey, the comedian, said, “There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to him. Then I decided to fight back. I signed up for

karate lessons. But then the karate lesson guy said I had to start paying him for the lessons. So I just went back to paying the bully.”

Which is funny but not funny. Because sometimes we decide it’s just easier to keep paying the bully, instead of learning how to defeat him. That’s exactly where the Israelites were. And part of the reason God put this in Bible is that He knew there would be giants in our lives. And he wanted to show us how to confront them.

Now: we’re not going to read the entire passage, because it’s so long. But we find out that three of David’s older brothers (you remember last week—the guys who got passed over for king?)—three of them are in that Israelite army. And Jesse, their father, is concerned about his sons, so he gathers some bread and cheese, and he tells David to take the food to his big brothers. David travels to the scene of the battle; he gets there just in time to see Goliath shouting his challenge across the valley. And David looks in the eyes of this fellow Israelites, and he can see that they’re shattered. Terrified and dismayed.

And that’s where we’ll re-join the story. I’ll call this next section The Heart of a Warrior. Remember I said King Saul had started out well, but then he did some dumb things that disqualified him? One of the main foolish things he had done was to offer sacrifices with his own hands. He wasn’t supposed to do that—that was the role of a priest, and Saul arrogantly took on that role for himself. And when Samuel finds out what Saul has done, look what he says—this is 1 Samuel 13:14… “But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. So God was looking for someone with a certain kind of heart—a certain kind of inner quality. And then when David was selected over all his brothers, God said “people look at the outward appearance but God looks at…(what did he say?)…at the heart.” Again, that emphasis on the heart. There was something that God saw in David’s heart that made him God’s choice. So from today’s passage, what do we learn about David’s heart? I see three things.

First, David had a Passion for God’s Fame. Pick it up in verse 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?” When David hears the way Goliath is mocking God’s people, he feels this strong sense of indignation. Righteous anger. Why? Because in Goliath’s taunting of God’s people, David takes that as an insult against God himself. David’s heart is passionate about the reputation of God.

Now—let’s jump ahead in the story. When David is actually approaching Goliath with his little sling and his bag of rocks, listen to what he says in verse 46: 46 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. 47 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.” A little trash talking by David, too—right? But do you hear his passion for God’s fame? He says, “When I slay this giant, everybody’s going to know that God did it!”

Listen: the thing that drives David—the thing that gets him excited—is that people will be impressed with God. That’s what David’s into! Which means he’s is not wrapped up in his own reputation, or his own glory; he is all about the fame of God. And I believe that’s part of what God saw in David’s heart when he chose him as king. He saw a young man who was passionate about showing the world how great God is.

Is that true of your heart? Whatever giant you face, if you allow the power of God to conquer that giant—maybe you’ve never thought of it like this!—but that can be an occasion for people to be amazed and impressed with God. God can use your life to show people how real and alive and powerful he is! We’re living at a time when more and more people crave fame. And it’s incredibly empty, because we’ve been designed to live for a glory that’s way bigger than our own. So would you allow yourself to get excited about the glory and fame of God?

Secondly, David’s heart shows a Confidence in God’s Faithfulness. Let’s go back to verse 31—this is just after David showed up and heard Goliath’s trash talking: 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 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.”

34 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, 35 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. 36 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. 37 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.”

David has deep confidence in God’s faithfulness. He looks back on those times when he took on lions and bears that had attacked his sheep, and he came out alive every time. And he says, “Let’s be serious—there’s no way I won all those battles by my own fighting ability.” It’s just not possible. I’m sure David was a tough guy, but he realizes he was the recipient of supernatural help. In other words, God has been faithful to him.

Let me ask you: can you look back on your life and see places where God has been faithful to you? I don’t mean “has everything always gone well”—I know that’s not true. But has God gotten you through hard things and dangerous things and uncertain things? He has for me. Health crises and family crises and people crises and financial crises. Take some time this week to think about the ways God has been faithful to you. And then look what David says in verse 37: 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. And apply that to whatever giant is looming in your life right now. The God who was faithful then will continue to be faithful today. Have confidence in him.

And then, third, David’s heart shows Reliance on God’s Power. Pick it up in verse 40: 40 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.

41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

45 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 looks really bad. Goliath has all the size, all the weapons, all the armor. And David sees all that—he’s not in denial! But he also has something Goliath knows nothing about. David has a huge view of God’s power.

I’ve often shared the second half of this quote by Oswald Chambers, but let me show you the whole thing: “It is the most natural thing in the world to be scared, and the clearest evidence that God’s grace is at work in our hearts is when we do not get into panics. The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.” David certainly might have had some fear for Goliath, but his fear of God completely overshadowed it. Silenced it. And that’s what drove him forward.

Just in case you didn’t know, here’s what happened next—verse 48: 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 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. 50 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.

Everybody knows this story; everybody loves this story. This is Rocky beating Apollo Creed. This is the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team beating the Russians. This is the New York Giants beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl, twice! This is the allied forces beating the Nazis at Normandy Beach on D-Day. It’s all that times a thousand. This is the ultimate upset victory of all time! And obviously, the moral of the story is: Be like David! Right? Be passionate for God’s fame, be confident in God’s faithfulness, rely on God’s power. Be like David! With God’s help, you can take down giants! And that’s a good message. We could end the sermon right here, and that would be fine!

But here’s the thing: if we ended it here, it would not be complete. Because the more I read the Bible, and the more I view the Bible as a unified whole, I realize there’s something deeper going on here.

And that brings us the final point: The Unexpected Hero. We’re doing to do some quick theology here—you ready? Look with me at Matthew 1:1—This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of (what does it say?)…the son David, the son of Abraham.

Now look at Romans 1:3--…regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of (whom…?) of David…

Now go the very end of the Bible—Revelation 22:16…“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of (whom?) of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

Over and over the New Testament reminds us that there’s a direct line between David and Jesus. Jesus isn’t just a descendant of David; he’s the ultimate, promised, long-awaited descendant of David. If David was a great king, Jesus is the perfect king.

Not only that, but in the book of Acts, when you hear the apostles preaching, multiple times they quote promises that were made to David in the Psalms, and they say, “Guess what? Those promises were really talking about Jesus. They were real promises to David, but their ultimate fulfillment is found in Christ.”

Are you following me? So for all those reasons and more, that’s why we say that Jesus is the true and better David. That’s why you’re going to keep hearing me say that the main reason David’s story is in the Bible is to point us forward to the ultimate David, Jesus.

And therefore, in the story of David and Goliath, David represents…whom? Not us. David represents Jesus! David is the unlikely hero, who conquers the giant, and Jesus is the unlikely hero, who goes to the cross and conquers the ultimate giant—death and Satan. Like it says in Colossians 2:15…And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. At the cross, Jesus triumphed over the most powerful giant. He won the biggest battle. The victory of David is really about the ultimate victory of Christ! Are you with me?

So…if David represents Jesus, where do we find ourselves in this story? You ready? We are…the frightened Israelite soldiers. I’m sorry to disappoint you. But it’s true! God wants us to see ourselves in those Israelite soldiers who were paralyzed with fear because of the giant. He wants us to look into their eyes and recognize our own humanness and our own limitations. We are the soldiers!

But then—this is the amazing news—God wants us to look up and see that their champion, David, went before them and slayed the giant. And he wants us to look higher and see that our champion, Jesus, has gone before us and slain the ultimate giant.

This part of the story usually isn’t read—verse 51: 51 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. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. (now look at this—here’s our part…) 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah (that’s us!) surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.

You know what the story of David and Goliath does for us? It empowers us to get in on the victory that Jesus already won. Do you see how that shifts the focus off of us, onto Christ? He’s David! He’s the hero! At the cross and the empty tomb he conquered Satan and death, and now he invites us to walk in the victory he already won. Which means that whatever giants we might face, Jesus is stronger.

During my sabbatical I had the chance to meet one of my favorite authors, John Ortberg. He’s a great storyteller. And I once heard him tell the story of walking on a beach in Southern California with two friends, and they walked past a bar. And just as they passed by, a bar fight spilled out into the street—just like in an old Western movie. Several guys were beating up on another guy, and he was bleeding from the head. So Ortberg and his friends tried to break up the fight, but he said they weren’t very intimidating: “Hey you guys, cut that out.” But then all of a sudden the guys looked at John and his friends with fear in their eyes. They stopped beating on the guy and started to back away. And Ortberg had no idea what was happening until he looked behind him. He said, “It was the biggest man I’ve ever seen. About 6 foot 7, 300 pounds, 2% body fat. Afterwards, he and his friends nicknamed the guy “Bubba,” but they never said that to his face. And Bubba just stood there—he didn’t say a word. You could tell he was hoping they’d come at him.

And Ortberg said to the guys, "You better not let us catch you coming around here again!" He said, “I was a different person…I was released from anxiety and fear. I was filled with boldness and confidence. I was ready to help somebody that needed helping…Why? Because I had Bubba with me.”

And this morning I’m telling you: you have somebody with you who’s infinitely stronger than Bubba. He says, “Do not fear, for I am with you, and I’ll never leave you or forsake you.” You don’t have to live in fear and hiding. You don’t have to be dismayed and terrified. Fix your eyes on Christ, and start facing your giants.

We started today with a question: How do I respond to the giants in my life?

And the answer is so clear: Trust in Jesus, the giant-slayer. Amen?

Let’s stand and worship together.