Greg Laurie - Dealing with Giants (12/05/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie teaches from 1 Samuel 17 on "Dealing with Giants," using the story of David and Goliath to show how everyone faces huge, seemingly unbeatable problems like fear, addiction, sin, threats, or unsaved loved ones. David won not by his own power but by knowing "the battle belongs to the Lord," boldly attacking the giant, and finishing him off completely. The sermon calls us to recognize our giants are defeatable through God's strength, attack them practically, trust Christ's victory at the cross, and take decisive steps to "cut off their head" in our lives.
Introduction: We All Face Giants
All right. Well, grab your Bible and turn to 1 Samuel chapter 17. 1 Samuel chapter 17. And the title of the message is "Dealing with Giants." Why don't we start with prayer.
Father, we thank You for the Word of God. And we thank You for its power. We thank You for its authority. And we thank You for its relevance and practicality. It is alive. It speaks to us. It grabs hold of us. It engages us. It challenges us. And now, Lord, as we think about what the Scripture says tonight, we pray that You will speak to us in the challenges we are all facing. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
The title of this message is "Dealing with Giants." I remember years ago I came into close contact with a giant. A giant whale. We were over in Maui. And we got on one of these little Zodiac boats. You know what I am talking about. They are inflatable. And so we went out to watch whales. And there in Maui, off of the coast there of Lahaina, the whales come through and they breach. Which means they come out of the water, come crashing down in the water again. It is amazing.
And so we wanted to go get up close and personal with one of these giant whales. So we went out there in our little Zodiac. You know. And we saw one breach, you know, a distance away. And we went, okay, let's go over there. And you are not supposed to chase the whales. And I don't really know why that is. Like, "you think the whale really cares? Oh, I am so scared of four people in a raft. I could go, you are gone," you know. But so we kind of got where we thought he would breach next. And he breached still a ways off. And we went over that way and kind of keeping our distance. And we are waiting to get close.
Close Encounter with a Giant Whale
And all of a sudden we look under our boat and a whale swims under us. Now it wasn't an adult. It was a baby, a calf. Swimming huge, this thing was huge. It went under our little Zodiac. We are saying, "whoa." And then a couple of moments go by and Mom comes. Mom is the size of a submarine. I am not exaggerating. She comes under our raft. You could see the barnacles on her body. And so we threw our masks on. I don't know what we were thinking. And we decided we are going to touch the whale. And so we fall into the water. There was four of us all together. It was Mark and Mike and Ricky and myself. And we went into the water.
And that whale moved so fast that I couldn't even find her. I don't know where she went. I was looking around for her. And suddenly I looked. And there is no whale. But there is a spearfish. You know what a spearfish is? They are usually hanging on mantles, right? They have got that long. Okay. Now those are cool in mantles. They are not so cool in real life. I looked at it. It was funny because it was actually in profile. Almost like it was posing. "This is our pose." You know, the spearfish like that. You know? And I am looking and going, "whoa. That is like alive." And it starts moving. And a friend of mine swam off Ricky. And the spearfish went after him. And I was swimming back to my boat thinking, "if he sticks that into our little boat. And we are so far out. We are so dead." But nothing happened. But that was my up close and personal encounter with a giant of the ocean.
Well here before us is one of the greatest stories ever told in 1 Samuel. It is the story of David and Goliath. And I am going to use this to tell his story. But then maybe to tell your story as well. Because I think in a sense we all have giants that we face in life. And by giants I mean what seem to be insurmountable problems and issues. Giants that you have tried to bring down but have actually only grown stronger with the passing of time.
Common Giants We Face Today
For instance, maybe your issue is a giant of fear. There is something that is frightening you right now. Something you are absolutely terrified of. In fact when you think of this situation, this giant that may manifest itself in many ways, your heart is filled with fear and worry and anxiety. But for another person it might be a giant of a different kind. Like the giant of a personal sin. A certain area of your life that is weak where you are vulnerable. You seem to get victory over it for a few weeks and then you fall again in this particular area. It might be the sin of pride. The sin of gluttony. The sin of looking at pornography. But it is something that seems to have a grip on you.
For others it might be the sin of addiction. You know you are addicted to something. You are addicted to alcohol. You are addicted to some kind of drug. Now I know of course the proper verbiage today is "you have a disease." Well, you know, "you have the disease of alcoholism." You know I reject that concept by the way. If alcoholism is a disease, it is the only disease that is bottled and sold. If alcoholism is a disease it is the only disease without a germ or virus cause. It is the only disease that requires outlets to spread it. If alcoholism is a disease it is the only disease that is spread by advertising. I mean how do you get the disease of alcoholism? Walking too close to a bar? "Oh I think I caught it."
Some of you are saying, "Greg you are being very insensitive here." I am sorry. But I am not speaking from a vacuum. I have been up close and personal with this. I have lived in this world of addiction. Watching it in my mother's life. Watching it in her friend's life. For a time even having to deal with it in my own life. I have seen what happens here. My family is an interesting one. It seems like we are either notorious Christians or notorious sinners. And I had a number of my aunts and an uncle effectively die of alcoholism. So I understand one can have a propensity for this sort of thing. I understand that some people are weaker in this area than others are. So there is a degree of sympathy. But then there has to come the point where we take personal responsibility for our decisions. It stops saying it is a disease as a way to excuse ourselves from what we do.
Here is how insensitive the Bible is. Do you know what the Bible calls a person who is what we call today an alcoholic? The Bible calls them a "drunkard." Remember that term drunk? We don't use it as much today. And it says it is a sin. 1 Corinthians 6:9. "Don't you know that those that do wrong have no share in the kingdom of God? Don't fool yourself. Drunkards, abusers, swindlers. None of these people will have a share in the kingdom of God."
So maybe this is your giant, so to speak. You don't want to be an alcoholic or drunkard. You don't want to be a drug addict. But you have found yourself under the power of one of these things. Or maybe your giant is sort of a threat that is taunting you. Someone is slandering you. You are in a lawsuit right now. And someone is suing you. Or maybe someone is actually threatening to kill you. Or it might be a different kind of giant. Maybe it is an unsaved husband. Again, an insurmountable obstacle. You can't even imagine your husband who seems so hard to the gospel ever coming to faith in Christ. Or maybe it is a giant of a prodigal son or daughter. You don't think they are ever going to come back again. This giant, so to speak, seeks to control you. It seeks to hurt you. It seeks to torment you.
How Do We Deal with Our Giants?
So here is the question. How do you deal with giants in your life? Answer? "I don't know. Good night. God bless." No. Well the answer is found right here in the story before us here in 1 Samuel 17. It is one of the most well-known stories in all of the Bible. We are talking about David and Goliath. Actually 1 Samuel 17. Excuse me.
And sort of a recap as to where David came from so we understand this story. You remember that God had placed Saul as the king over Israel at the people's request. Because they said, "we want a king like all the other nations. Why can't we have a king?" God's response was, "hey I am your king. And I will speak to you through prophets and judges." "Yeah, whatever. We want a king," you know. So the Lord said, "alright I will give you a king." And if ever there was a man after man's own heart it was the king that they were given. A guy named Saul. A kingly handsome. Head and shoulders taller than anybody else. Initially he started off well. But soon he began to self-destruct. And God said, "I am done with Saul. He is out." And I have chosen someone new. But God didn't reveal who that someone was. He said to the prophet Samuel, "go to Bethlehem and you will find him. This new king of Israel is one of the sons of Jesse."
So Samuel shows up in little old Bethlehem. A tiny little village. And people are a little concerned because he is a prophet after all. And sort of like getting in trouble. "What is going on?" "Hey guys relax. Everything is good. But I am going to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. I would like everyone in town to show up." So along comes Jesse with his seven strapping sons. Truly the magnificent seven. And you know Samuel is checking these guys out thinking one of these men is the next king of Israel. One of them was more striking than the others. His name was Eliab. I think he probably reminded Samuel a little bit of Saul. And he thought "this is the one." God actually said "he is not the one." And by the way "don't judge an outward appearance. I the Lord look on the heart." So just hang on.
So he goes to the seven sons. None of them are the one. He is thinking, "well wait. God said he would be a son of Jesse." So the prophet says, "do you have any other sons?" "Ah. Yeah. One more. David. He is out in the field hanging out with his sheep. He likes to play his little thing. His harp, guitar. I don't know what the heck it is. And writes poetry. Writes songs to God. Kind of a weird kid honestly." It is interesting. Jesse, the father of David, describes him as the youngest but in the original language that can be translated, "the least in my estimation." He was so looked down upon by his father. He wasn't even acknowledged. And by the way, if you favor one child over another they know that. A child knows if they are the one you don't favor. And they know if they are the one you do. And they will probably work on that for all it is worth. But the others are hurt. David was aware of this.
And he was summoned. And of course the Lord said, "this is the man." Saul anoints him with oil. Says this is the next king of Israel. And then leaves town. And everything just goes back to normal. This is what is amazing. So David, "okay, great. I am the next king of Israel." Well meanwhile I have a job to do. And he went back to tending his sheep and doing his part. Heady stuff for a young boy. But David bided his time and tended his sheep.
The Story of David and Goliath
Well some time passed and a conflict developed between Israel and her enemies the Philistines. And they were embanked at a place called the Valley of Elah. And on one side were the Israelites. On the other side were the Philistines. And the Philistines had this freak of a guy named Goliath. And he was gigantic. Nine feet six inches. Solid muscle. Covered in armor. And he would come out every day. And he would taunt the Israelite saying, "I will make you guys a deal. Send out someone to fight me. If he wins we will be your servants. But if I win you guys will be our servants. Any takers?" No one wanted to even go near this guy. He had been a warrior since he had been a little boy.
So meanwhile here comes David running an errand for his dad. His father said, "Go to your brothers there in the front line. Take him some bread and cheese." Effectively David was making a pizza delivery. And he shows up. And he hears Goliath bellowing from the valley. Mocking the God of Israel. Blaspheming his Lord that he loved so deeply. And listen. Though David was a musician and a poet. And a tenderhearted guy. He was tough as nails. And when there were threats against his flock he took them on. He took a lion by the beard and killed it. He killed a bear. So he was not afraid. He said, "Why isn't anybody responding to this challenge? Why isn't anybody going down there to fight Goliath?"
And so he shows up and his brother Eliab who resented him. Probably ticked off that he was chosen to be king instead of himself. And he said, "Why have you left your few sheep in the wilderness? Did you come down to see what the big boys are doing? What are you even doing here, David? Why don't you go home to daddy?" And David is saying, "No, actually I am kind of thinking I would like to go down there and fight him." And everyone is thinking this is a joke. He can't be serious. Well it was no joke. Because David looked at things differently than everybody else. See everybody else there saw a big giant of a man and apparently a small god. David had a big god. Thus that giant wasn't as threatening as he was to the others.
So now let's see if we can discover some principles of giant killing. 1 Samuel 17 starting in verse 40. David is now going down to face Goliath. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd's bag. By the way I am reading from the New Living Translation. Then armed with only a shepherd's staff and sling he started across to fight Goliath. Goliath walked toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him sneering in contempt at the ruddy faced boy. Ruddy faced means reddish hair and complexion. He said, "Am I a dog that you come at me with a stick?" And he cursed David by the names of his gods. Goliath yelled, "Come over here and I will give your flesh to the birds and wild animals."
I love how David responds. Goliath yells. David yells, "Yeah? You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin? I come to you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the name of the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you. And I will kill you. And I will cut off your head. Then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals. And the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. And everyone will know the Lord does not need weapons to rescue His people. It is His battle, not ours. The Lord will give you to us."
As Goliath moved closer to attack, underline this, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into a shepherd's bag, taking out a stone, he hurled it from his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in. I almost said the stone stank in. Which would be interesting. The stone sank in and Goliath stumbled and fell face downward to the ground.
Now David finishes the job. 1 Samuel 17:50, David triumphed over the Philistine giant with only a stone and a sling. And since he had no sword he ran over and pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath. David used it to kill the giant and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead they turned and ran.
Now that is such a great story. Come on. I mean really what needs to be said after that? What a victory. The will of the Philistines was broken. The will of the Israelites was reinvigorated. David the Shepherd boy has cut down the giant Goliath.
Key Lessons from David and Goliath
So what do we learn from this story about facing down our own giants? We will start with an obvious one. Number one, we all have giants in life. By that I mean we all have hardships, temptations, obstacles, and challenges in life. In fact 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "Remember the temptations that come into your life are no different than what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted He will always show you a way out so you won't give in to it." We all have giants. It is true.
But remember this also. Every giant is defeatable. Again. Every giant is defeatable. Here is something to consider. Goliath was not always a giant. After all he was a man. And since he was a man that man said that he was once a baby. I don't know how little he was. What did he weigh? Like thirty pounds when he was born? I mean he must have been a beast of a baby. "Food! Now!" You know. Wow. "Don't change his diaper. He might kill you." But he was once small little baby like any other human being. And with the passing of time the baby became a toddler. I hate to see Goliath in his terrible twos. And the toddler became a child. And the child became a teen. And the teen became a man. And in time he became a giant of a man.
So you might be saying, "well, yeah, so." Well in the same way our giants usually start small. Our problems usually start small. Right? Something you always said, "I can handle this." Going back to drinking again. Most people that are alcoholics didn't say, "I want to become an alcoholic." There's probably a few people that have said that. But not many. And they said, "well, you know, I'll just, you know, have a drink here and there." Maybe if you started out as a social drinker. You know, "have one with the boys after work." Or, you know, "just a, I like a glass of wine with my Italian food." It's innocent. And, you know, and after a while it was, "well, I kind of get home from work and I'm pretty stressed out. I need a drink to kind of unwind and relax." And then it's like, "well, you know, I don't know. I find out when I get in the morning, get up. It really helps to have a drink in the morning." And then pretty soon you can't go through a day without a drink or multiple drinks. And you become a functioning alcoholic.
My mom, every night, got drunk. And it always started out the same way. She would have a few drinks with friends and they would have dinner and drink more and drink more. And she would end up passed out on the floor, sometimes behind the wheel of a car, often throwing things. And this was the pattern. Every single night and the next morning she woke up and didn't remember any of it. And you say, "well, Greg, come on. You know, relax a little bit, okay? Not everybody who drinks is an alcoholic." I understand that. But I am just telling you that people who don't plan ending up this way end up this way. It starts small and it gets big. And don't think you are so strong because you aren't. And that little area you thought you had control of now has got control of you. And that little thing that was once a pest has now become a stinking giant. Right? And you don't know how to defeat it now. You don't know how to bring it down.
How Giants Grow Over Time
Now, sort of like when Easter rolls around, you know, people buy chicks and bunnies. At least they used to. I don't know that they do it so much anymore. But back when I was a kid you would see chicks and bunnies. I don't mean girls. I am talking about literal chicks, okay? Chicks and bunnies. You would go and buy a little bunny and give it, you know, to your kid for Easter. And I even remember they would color these little chicks. They would sometimes be blue or pink. Poor little things, you know? So it seems like a good idea. "Oh, I got the little chick as a pet for Easter." And they are hopping around. "Cheep, cheap, cheap, cheap." And you got the little bunny running around. And, well, you know, a few months go by and now you have a house full of chickens and rabbits. And all of a sudden, you know, "chicken McNuggets and rabbits too are sounding better all the time." They were so cute when they were little. And now they are big and they are problematic.
And maybe another area altogether. Maybe it is an unsaved husband, wife, or child. You pray. You pressure. You nag. You threaten. Nothing happens. Days turn to weeks. Weeks turn to months. Months turn to years. Soon it is decades. You give up all hope. Well, we all have giants. That is an established fact.
Okay, now, number two. David knew the battle belonged to the Lord. David knew the battle belonged to the Lord. Look at verse 47. He says to Goliath, "It is his battle, not ours. The Lord will give you to us." Listen. This is why giants defeat us again and again. Because we face them in our own strength and we lose. So no. You can't beat your giant in your own strength. That is not a bad thing. Just admit it. "I can't fix this. I can't overcome this in my own ability. I need help." Okay, good. Now we are getting somewhere. The battle belongs to the Lord.
In Ephesians 6, the topic of spiritual warfare is dealt with. We are told about the various pieces of armor we are to wear. But before a single piece of armor is applied, Paul gives us these words in Ephesians 6. "Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." So I recognize I am weak. But at the same time, I acknowledge that God is great and powerful. I need to know I cannot win in this spiritual battle in my own strength. Jesus said "apart from me you can do nothing."
But here is the deal. You need to know about your incredible resources that God has made available to you as a Christian. In the book of Ephesians, Paul prays that the believers there would discover what God had done for them. In Ephesians 1:18 he says, "I pray your hearts will be flooded with light so you can understand the wonderful future He has promised to those He has called. I want you to understand what a rich and glorious inheritance He has given to His people. I pray you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of His power for us who believe Him. This is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at God's right hand far above any ruler or authority or power or anything else in the world."
You say, "well, okay. Right. That is nice. For Jesus, He is up in heaven above all the demon powers. But I am still here on the earth." But wait. There is more, as those commercials say. Ephesians 2:4 says, "God is rich in mercy. He has loved us so much He has raised us from the dead along with Christ. And we are seated with Him in the heavenly realms because you are one with Christ." You see, you positionally share in the power that Jesus has given to you. Therefore, listen to this, "you don't fight for victory. You fight from it." Think about that.
So often people are saying, "I need to get the victory, man. I need the victory. This thing has got a hold of me. Lord, give me the victory. Oh, Lord." And the Lord would be saying, "stop with that. God, I gave you the victory. It is yours already. I bought it for you at the cross 2,000 years ago when I said, 'It is finished.'" Now start living in that power. Start living like a child of the King. You are living like a homeless person when you have a billion dollars in your bank account. Make a withdrawal instead of going through withdrawals. Start living as a child of the King. And I am not talking about literal money. I am talking about something far greater. I am talking about spiritual riches given to you by Jesus Christ.
Sometimes people, you know, they are down. You say, "how are you doing?" They will say, "well, I guess I am alright under the circumstances." And the response might be, "well, what are you doing under those? You are seated in the heavenlies with Jesus." Listen. There is no power you need to be under. No addiction that needs to control your life. No lifestyle you cannot break free from. No giant that should be overpowering you. You have everything you need in your relationship with God. Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
A Bible commentator, Alexander McLaren, said, and I quote, "He who has the Holy Spirit in his heart and the Scripture in his hands has all he needs." You have a Bible? Grab your Bible, please. Grab it. Hold it up. But you have got this, the Word of God. And you have got the Holy Spirit in your heart. You have everything you need to prevail over your giants in life. Sometimes we try to fight them in our own strength and we lose.
Look at what David says in verse 47. "Everyone will know the Lord does not need weapons to rescue His people. It is His battle, not ours." Paul said the same thing in Ephesians 6. He says, "His struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers and authorities and powers of this dark world." So you need to fight fire with fire. You say, "What are you talking about? You are in a spiritual battle so you need to use spiritual weaponry." You need to take hold of what God has given you. And you can start by praying about it. I find prayer changes everything. In prayer I am reminded of the greatness of God and thus the comparable smallness of my problems.
Now when I pray my problems don't go away. But I get perspective. Jesus taught us this prayer. We call it the Lord's Prayer. It is not called that anywhere in the Bible by the way. It would better be described as the Disciples' Prayer because Jesus never prayed it. But for a point of reference we will refer to it as the Lord's Prayer. In the Lord's Prayer Jesus was asked by His disciples, "Lord, teach us to pray." They didn't say, "Lord, teach us a killer prayer." You know, "when we keep behind glass in case of emergency, when all else fails, pray this prayer verbatim."
"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name." You know, there is nothing wrong with praying the Lord's Prayer verbatim. But the question was, "Lord, teach us to pray," not "teach us a prayer." And Jesus said, "After this manner therefore you should pray, 'Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.'"
Notice the structure. Because that is a template for prayer. Prayer. This is how our prayer should go. It doesn't say, "Our Father who art in heaven, give us this day our daily bread." Kind of like, "Hi God, how are you? Here is my grocery list." No, no, no. "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven." The idea is first contemplate the awesomeness of God. Get things in perspective. You are talking to the Creator of the universe who is in heaven. But check this out. He is "Your Father in heaven." "My Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Your name." Which means praise to Your name. Honor to Your name. Glory to Your name. Set apart as Your name. "Hallowed be Your name." "Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven." Effectively I am saying, "Lord, before I offer a single request, I want to first say, I want Your will more than my own." See how that can change your prayers. Because I don't just start off with demands. I start off with worship and praise. So I see God in His glory and thus I see my problems for what they really are. That is what David did. He knew God was greater than Goliath.
Attack and Finish Your Giants
That brings me to point number three. I like this one. Attack your giants. Attack your giants. Early in the story we read that the Israelites said, 1 Samuel 17:25, "Have you seen this man that has come up?" Talking about Goliath. In other words, it started off with Goliath on one side and the Israelites on the other. Pretty soon Goliath was down in the valley calling up to the Israelites. Now he is coming up in their turf. He is getting in their face. You see? He is coming right up into their camp. Challenging them. "Have you seen this man who has come up?" See, if you tolerate a Goliath, he will take over your territory. He will come right up on your doorstep.
So how do you deal with that? Well, you don't run from giants. You attack them. You don't negotiate with them. You don't yell at them. You kill them. It is like a rattlesnake. You know how to take out a rattlesnake? Kill it. "Don't catch it. I will catch it." No, don't. It will bite you. It will bite you and maybe kill you. Better yet, cut off his head. I have seen this done. These things are so wicked. These little rattlesnakes. You cut off their head and their little mouth is still biting. Like a severed head. "Yeah, I can still get you." You know. Cut the head off. That is how you deal with the giant.
Look at verse 48. As Goliath moved closer to attack, David ran out to meet him. As the enemy drew close, David ran at him. Now let's think about our giants for a moment. Let's say you have a problem of an addiction to drugs or alcohol or pornography. Okay. Deal with it. You say, "Well, what do you mean deal with it?" First of all, stop rationalizing it. And stop hiding it. And pull it out of the shadows of darkness where it has lurked and force it into the light of day. Say, "I have a problem and I am going to admit I have a problem."
Number four. Finish your giant off. Listen to this. Okay. David approaches Goliath. He has got his stones. He gets them in his sling. Whips it around a few times. Gets up momentum. He knows how to use this thing. He lets it fly. No doubt with a prayer. "Lord, guide that stone." Hits Goliath square in the forehead. And Goliath interestingly falls forward. Not backwards. He collapses on the ground. So we sort of think that is the end of the story and that is how David killed Goliath. No. Check it out. Goliath was still breathing. He was on the ground but he was still breathing.
Now how many times have you seen a movie or a TV show where there is a bad guy and the good guy comes and theoretically kills the bad guy. Right? Blam, blam. Or punches him or does whatever. And then the good guy thinks the bad guy is dead and the good guy is making a phone call or doing something with his back to the bad guy. You think if you just shot him he would be kind of watching him just in case he is still alive. And no. He puts his back and then of course in every movie, TV show the bad guy comes up, stands up, you know and looks around and then grabs the guy from behind him. We have seen this so many times. Right?
So David had seen those movies too. He knew how this worked. He says, "yeah, I got the stone. He is on the ground. But he is still breathing. So I have to finish him off." See, "Greg, this is a very violent message." Yes, it is. 1 Samuel 17:51 He ran over, pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath and he used it to kill the giant and cut off his head. And that was a big sword. because Goliath was a big guy. It is like... Probably had to cut a few times. Then he picks it up. Blood dripping out. David knew how to get ahead in life, didn't he? He is holding this thing up. This is hardcore. This is hardcore. You say, "that is so mean. That is so insensitive." No, that is how you take care of giants. You cut their heads off. You don't mess around. You know why? If you don't, they will come back to haunt you. And they might even be stronger next time because they are ticked off now.
Well, you say, "well, I don't, I don't believe in violence, man. So I am not going to kill my giant." Okay? Then your giant will kill you. You have a choice. Kill your giant or your giant will kill you. Kill or be killed. Verse 51, David used Goliath's sword to kill the giant and cut off his head. See, there would be no comebacks for Goliath.
Say, "alright, interesting, so how does this work in real life?" Okay, you burn your bridges. Okay, let's say you have a problem with drinking. "I really want to stop drinking. And I am just praying for the strength that God would help me to not give in to the temptation again." Yeah, where were you praying that prayer? "In the bar." In the bar. Yes. "You were at a bar?" Yeah, a sports bar. "Well, you know, we are watching the game. A lot of good, you know, plasmas and stuff." Why a sports bar? "They have really good peanuts. They have excellent peanuts." And what happened? "Well, I get tempted there. I don't know why." Yeah, that is going to happen. So what do you do? Okay, you have this drinking problem. I have a thought. Take those bottles. Pour them down the toilet. Those drugs? Throw them out. Get rid of them. "Don't sell them. I will sell them. It is good stewardship." No. Get rid of them. Get rid of them.
What about the pornography issue? Practical steps. How about confessing it to someone? "I have a problem with this." And I give you permission to check my computer out and or my phone out anytime you want. And you can go through sites I visited and I will even give you my password. My wife has all my passwords. I don't care. I have nothing to hide. You know, you give people access to that sort of stuff. And you say, "well, it is still a struggle." Well, here is a thought. If you have to, throw out your stinking computer. I mean, I know we all use computers. I certainly use one. But if this is an area of vulnerability for you, if this is an area you can overcome, you do what it takes to be free from it.
You know how Jesus said "if your right eye offends you, pluck it out? Or if your right arm offends you, cut it off?" You know that is not literal, right? Because if you plucked out your right eye you could still lust with your left eye, right? And guess what? You could even lust with no eyes. And if you cut your right arm off You can still use your left arm to sin. No. Jesus was using a phrase that was understood in that culture. In this culture the thinking was the right eye is the best eye and the right arm is the best arm. Kind of the expression of putting your best foot forward, right? So when He uses this phrase what He was saying is do whatever it takes to be free from that sin. And if that is what it takes then do that. So sometimes we need to take drastic measures to be free from a sin.
You've got to call it what it is. Excuse me. Call it a sin. It's not just a mere mistake. Let me take a sip of water. I don't want to be like Marco Rubio and like reach it. I like Marco Rubio though. Little political statement. Okay. So now don't call it a mistake or a weakness. Call it a sin. "Well it is a weakness." Yeah, yeah. But that's verbiage that we use to soften what we do. "Well you know I am human okay and I make mistakes." And yeah you know what. Guess what. We are all human and we all make mistakes. But there is a big difference between that and going out and overtly sinning.
After David committed adultery with Bathsheba. I hope you knew that was coming in the story. I guess we would call this a spoiler alert. If you haven't read the whole story he does get himself into big trouble with Bathsheba. But after his sin was exposed he admitted it and made this statement to God "against thee and thee only have I sinned." Psalm 51:4. That is important "against you and you only Lord. Have I sinned." He didn't say "Lord I am weak and I am human and I make mistakes." No. No. He said "I have sinned against you." That is what it means to confess your sin. Start by calling it a sin. We don't like that word though do we? "Well it is not a sin. I am sick." What do you mean "you are sick?" "Well it is a sickness." No. It is a sin. It is a sin and you need to call it what it is. And 1 John 1:9 says if you will confess your sin God is faithful and just to forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
You want to be forgiven of your sin? Here is what you have to do. You have to confess it. Say well what does that mean? The word confess means to agree with God. You see sin the way God sees sin. How does God feel about sin? Not well. Matter of fact He hates it. So if God hates sin I should hate sin. If God says something is wrong I say it is wrong. If God says something is right I say it is right. So call it what it is. Kill your giant. Make yourself accountable to someone. Take practical steps. Do what you need to do. And sometimes before we can get to this place of defeating our giants we have to hit rock bottom. We try everything. We try self-control. We try you know to do it in our own efforts and we fail. But sometimes we need to just be stripped down to nothing. Where we have God or nothing.
I love how David had plan A only. There was no plan B for David. He was like "you are going down. You are going to die. The birds are going to eat you and all of your guys." And he runs at Goliath. He doesn't even hold his ground. He doesn't hide behind a rock. He runs. It was like if David fails he is dead. If David succeeds man it is going to be a great success. I like the way he put it all on the line.
Earlier before he went and faced up with Goliath he came to the attention of King Saul. They brought David into Saul's royal tent and Saul sort of sizes up David and he you know Saul remember was a big guy right. Head and shoulders taller than everyone else. I mean he had a big huge armor. Big helmet. Big breastplate. Big sword. Big everything. And so here son. He says "try my armor on." And 1 Samuel 17:38 says he gave him his own armor. David strapped it on. And he says "I can't wear this." He was effectively immobilized in the armor of Saul. It is like "yeah not really helpful here. You know this sword. I think I am going to just go with the sling. And trust in God." And that is exactly what he did. And sometimes we need to do the same thing. We just don't have any armor apart from God. We are trusting in the Lord.
What the Devil Doesn't Want You to Know
Now here is something that is really important for us to recognize. Because we need to remember that our God is big and our opponent is comparatively small. I want to just tell you a couple things the devil doesn't want you to know. Who wants to know what the devil doesn't want them to know? Raise your hand if you want to know what the devil does. Okay. I am interested.
Here is something the devil doesn't want you to know. The devil doesn't want you to know that he is nowhere near to being the equal of God. See Satan would like you to think that it is sort of the yin and Yang mentality. You know it is like the force. Right? There is the good part and there is the bad part. And you choose which part of the force you will yield to. And if you are good you have got the blue lightsaber and if you are bad you have a red one. Right? And we think God is all powerful. Satan is all powerful. God lives in heaven. Satan lives in hell. Whatever God can do Satan can do. Okay. That is wrong. God is all powerful. Period. Satan is powerful. But he has clear limitations.
God is omnipotent which means all powerful. God is omniscient which means all knowing. God is omnipresent which means present everywhere. The devil does not reflect these divine attributes. The devil is not omnipotent or omniscient. He has great power but he has limitations. He has more power than any man and most angels but still he is limited. Nowhere near to being the equal of God. Listen. The devil may be insidious. The devil may be invisible. But he is not invincible. Let me repeat that. He may be insidious. He may be invisible. But he is not invincible. Nor is he omniscient. He has a powerful intellect and from experience knows many things. But he is not all knowing. Only God is. And he is not omnipresent. He can only be in one place at one time.
You know sometimes we say, "Man the devil was really hassling me the other day." That is doubtful. You say, "Well Greg what are you saying? The devil doesn't hassle people?" No. No. He does. I just doubt it was the devil himself. Unless you are some big fish that he wants to bring down. It was probably a demon. So in effect the devil was hassling you. But the devil can only be in one place at one time. If the devil is in L.A. right now he can't be in Orange County. And if he is in Orange County he can't be in Riverside. And if he is in Riverside he can't be in another place. He can only be in one place at one time. You see. But God is omnipresent. Present everywhere.
Here is another thing the devil doesn't want you to know. He can do nothing in the life of the Christian without God's permission. Now let me back up from that and say as far as a non-believer goes he can pretty much do whatever he wants to do. A non-believer has no defense against the devil. "Well I have a crucifix." Yeah. That's nice. That won't keep the devil away. "I have some holy water." Yeah. That won't work either. "I have a silver bullet." I think that works better on werewolves in fantasy. "Well I wear garlic around my neck." That will keep your friends away. But I won't keep the devil away. You think Satan is afraid of religious icons? The only thing Satan fears is the power of Jesus Christ. You see. It is the only thing he fears. So if you are not a believer you don't have any defense against the devil. And you really push it when you start dabbling in the devil's world.
Did you know that drugs are a doorway to darkness? Did you know astrology and occultism is a doorway to darkness? Mysticism. False religion. People open their hearts and their minds up to this stuff. They think it is a joke to read their astrology. Or they think it is a joke to play the Ouija board. They think it is fun and games to play around with demonic forces and ideas. No. It is no joke. But listen to this. If you are a Christian you come under divine protection and the devil can do nothing in the life of the believer without God's permission. Why does God even give him permission? Good question. It is a mystery sometimes. The classic example is the story of Job. Right? It was a day when the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord. And the Bible says, And Satan was among them. Which shows that the devil has access to God still. He can talk to God. And the Lord says, "So where have you been?" Singling out Lucifer. The devil says, "Oh man. Just hanging out. Checking out everything going on on the earth." "Really?" God said, "Well, did you check out my servant Job? Perfect and upright man. One that fears God and shuns evil." Now when I look at what happened to Job after this my thought is, "Lord if you are ever even for a fleeting moment feeling proud of me. Could you keep it to yourself? If Satan is around. Just don't say it."
"Oh yeah? You think he fears you?" Says the devil. "He fears you because you give him stuff. Skin for skin. All that a man has he will give for his life. You give me some time with Job and we will see what he is made of." And interestingly the Lord allows Satan a certain leeway in the life of Job. Which resulted in many horrible afflictions on God's servant. Including the loss of property. The loss of his health I should say. And worst of all the loss of his children. But you know the rest of the story and how Job came through all of this and how God blessed him in the end. But he was tested severely. But there were limitations. And God knows how much you can handle. Now you don't think you can make it. But if God is letting you go through whatever it is you are going through He has a reason. And He will never give you more than you can handle. Remember that.
Here is one last thing the devil doesn't want you to know. He was soundly defeated at the cross of Calvary. He was soundly defeated at the cross of Calvary. Prior to his crucifixion Jesus said in John 12:31, "Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out." Referring to that event on Calvary Jesus said the Holy Spirit would convict of judgment. And then He explained of judgment because "the prince of this world is judged." John 16:11. Through His death on the cross Jesus destroyed Him that had the power of death that is the devil. Hebrews 2:14. So we share in the victory of Jesus Christ. The Lord dealt a decisive blow against the devil and His minions at the cross. When Jesus cried out that word, "Tetelestai," translated "it is finished," it reverberated through the corridors of heaven and the hallways of hell. For heaven it was a victory shout. For hell it was a declaration of a great accomplishment of what Christ had purchased. And we share in that. Colossians 2:14 says that the cross Christ canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross. In this way God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.
So again, we don't fight for victory. We fight from it. This was also true for the Israelites. They shared in David's victory. Remember earlier on Goliath offered a deal to Israel. He was their champion for the Philistines. And he said, "Okay. I'll tell you what. Send us someone out to fight me. Am I not a Philistine? And you the servants of Saul. Choose a man for yourselves. Let him come down to me. If he is able to fight me and kill me we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him you will serve us." Guess who defeated Goliath? David. David. So what happened to Israel after Goliath fell? Because of the victory of their champion, David, they had new courage to attack. 1 Samuel 17:51 says, "When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they turned and ran." And the Israelites gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road.
In the same way we share in the victory of Jesus the greater David, if you will. Because he won. We win. Same thing.
Closing: Victory Over Your Giants
So what is your giant? Let's review and close. How do you deal with it? Number one. Recognize everyone has a giant. Everyone has an obstacle. Everyone has a challenge. Everyone has a threat. Everyone has a problem that looms large in their mind. Number two. The battle belongs to the Lord. Rest in His finished work as David did. It is a spiritual battle. It needs to be fought with spiritual weapons. Number three. Attack your giant. Force your giant into the light of day. Call on God and pray for His power. And then attack. And number four. Finish your giant off. Cut off its head. Burn your bridges. Break with the past. Draw lines. Make yourself accountable to others. Stay away from people or situations where you would be unnecessarily tempted. And don't let that giant back in your life again.
Maybe it is the giant of that unsaved mate. That child seems to get worse every year. Remember the battle belongs to the Lord. Attack. Get your Christian friends to pray with you about this. Call on the Lord every day, every hour, if necessary. Avoid the temptation. Don't look at God in the light of your giant. Look at your giant in the light of God. "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world." You can be free in Jesus Christ.
What is your problem? "Well Greg, I have had this addiction. And addiction runs in my family." Yeah, really interesting. You do not have to be under the power of that addiction. I came from an alcoholic family. I am a poster child for someone that should have been an alcoholic and divorced. Because my mom was married and divorced seven times. And I have been married, by God's grace, for 39 years. And I don't have an addiction issue. I don't say that to brag, "aren't I? I am great, aren't I?" No, I am just saying God broke that cycle of sin in my life. And He can do it in your life as well. Whatever it is you can be free.
"Well I still have this threat." I know. But you have God. And God has you. And guess what? I don't care what someone says to you. You are not going to die one day sooner than you are supposed to die. You will live as long as God wants you to live. You are invincible until God is done with you. But when He is done with you, you are out of here. But the good news if you have trusted in Christ is you go to heaven. So you don't even have to sweat that. I am not saying you run around hoping you die. I am just saying stop worrying about it. Stop being stressed about it. You can trust in the Lord.
Or what about the thing you have been praying about? Well keep praying about it. Because the battle belongs to the Lord. And there is nothing too hard for the Lord. Yeah that is right. Christ died on that cross for you 2,000 years ago to forgive you of all of your sin. And maybe you have come here under the guilt of a sin. Maybe I have touched a nerve sort of like the dentist does. And I went to get my teeth cleaned the other day. I don't like to do that. I like my teeth cleaned but it is what they do before it. They take those weird tortured things that dentists, they are like torture instruments. And they start poking, poking. They are looking for something. A problem. "Oh." And then they will throw it. "Looks like a root canal." Psych. Not really. You are just like, they are looking for trouble. Now I appreciate what my dentist does. And last time they checked everything was good. But I am always afraid they are going to find something bad. They are poking, looking around for this stuff.
Now where was I, how did I get on that illustration? Ah, I got it right. I lost my way for just a moment. So maybe as you have come here, you know, as I have been saying certain things, maybe you hit a nerve. Everything was fine until I said pornography. Or drinking. "Oh yeah." Drugs. "Oh yeah." Hit a nerve. That is all right. That is good. We are not identifying things to make you run away in despair. We are identifying them so you can bring them out into the light of day and ask God to help you with them. So you can be free from those things. You can be. But you have to call them what they are. Call a sin a sin. "Lord, I have sinned in this area. I am sorry. I want to be forgiven. And I want to break free from it. I want to burn my bridge."
Do you need to do that tonight as we close in prayer? If so, I will give you an opportunity to make a commitment or a recommitment to Jesus Christ. Okay? Let us all bow our heads. Everyone pray. Father, we have heard your word and we all have giants and we know that. We have these things that challenge us that frighten us, that concern us, that sometimes control us. And Lord, we don't want to be defeated by our giants because you are greater than all of them. And just like David, we want to recognize this battle is yours and we want to attack them. And I pray for anyone here, anyone listening who doesn't really know that their sin is forgiven. Maybe they are living in guilt because of things they have done. And guilt is serving a purpose because it is making them aware of a wrong in their life. That needs to be corrected. Lord, would you help them to come clean and to admit their sin and find your forgiveness?
All our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are all praying. How many of you would say tonight, "Greg, would you pray for me? I need God's forgiveness. I have done something I know is wrong. I have been doing something I know is a sin. But I want to be free from it. I want to be forgiven of it. I want to make a clean break with it tonight." Would you pray for me? If that is your desire, if God has spoken to your heart, if we have touched a nerve here tonight and you need that forgiveness, raise your hand up. I am not going to ask you to come forward and do anything public but I am going to ask you to take that little step of raising your hand. This is between you and God. Don't do it if you don't mean it. But if you need to deal with it, deal with it now. This is the place. Just raise your hand up. God bless you, you that are praying, are raising your hand. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. You need God's help.
All right. While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, "I have a giant and it is really troubling me tonight. And I am really asking the Lord to help me just walk in that victory that He is purchased for me at Calvary. And I need prayer for that tonight." If that is your desire, lift your hand up. All right. God bless you.
Father, I know that you know every one of these people. And you know the whole narrative. And you know the whole story. And you know the solution. So I am praying, Lord, that you will help everyone now to find that resolution. Find that forgiveness. Find that victory you have already given to them. And while our heads are bowed, you that raise your hand, just pray this right where you are after me. If you need God's forgiveness. Just pray this out loud after me.
"Lord Jesus, I need your forgiveness tonight. I need a fresh start right now. I want to turn my back on this sin on this giant. I want to walk in the freedom you've purchased for me from this moment forward. So I accept your forgiveness now. And I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray." Amen.
God bless you that prayed that prayer. Now amen. That's right. Listen. Final thing. Now you've prayed the prayer. You've asked God to forgive you. On the authority of God's Word you are forgiven. Not because I said it. Because Christ said it. Now take practical steps. Don't go back and do those things again. Don't open yourself up to those things again. You might need a new set of friends. You might need to start going to some new places and stop going to old places. You might need to put a super duper filter system on your computer or maybe unplug it altogether. You may need to do a lot of things that would be practical steps in the right direction of cutting the head off your giant. You understand what I'm saying? So we prayed. We've received forgiveness. Now let's do the practical stuff so we don't end up doing this thing again. We'll see you next time. Bye.