May 27, 2007 message by Pastor Rich Doebler
When I was a second-grade kid, I was pretty scrawny. Pretty puny. Come to think of it, most second-graders really aren't that big. But for some reason, despite my scrawniness, Ernie Mathews, and I got along great. Ernie was the toughest kid in class. He certainly was no angel, but whenever I was with Ernie, I had protection. I didn't have to worry about bullies. I didn't have to worry about the third or fourth graders picking on me. When Ernie Mathews was with me, I had power. I had influence. I had no worries. Of course, when Ernie wasn't with me, then I was just a puny, scrawny, easily intimidated second-grade kid.
One time Ernie and I walked home from school together—about 8 or 9 blocks. But then I turned on my street and Ernie kept going straight. When I'd gone about half a block, I was jumped by four third- and fourth-grade hoodlums. They surrounded me menacingly. They were going to beat me up. I'm not sure why. I had never done anything to them. But I was weak and they were strong; I was alone and they were a gang—and I guess those are reasons enough to beat somebody up. And I remember one of them taunting me: You're not so tough when Ernie's not around. And you know what? He was right.
Since then, I've discovered something else out in life: I'm not so tough without God. In fact, without God, I'm a 90-pound, spiritual weakling. Without God, my faith is anemic. Without God, my confidence is going to take a beating. Without God, I'm not so tough.
Today we start a series of messages on "Standing Strong." These are about God's promises for strength and victory in everyday situations. If you've ever faced a day feeling spiritually exhausted because you ran out of strength to carry on, or if you've ever fallen short of God's best simply because you lacked the energy to persist, then I want these messages to give you hope.
A few days ago, our car ran out of gas. So it sat there by the side of the road immobilized. Without the fuel to go on it couldn't go anywhere. It was a mere 3 blocks from a gas station, but that didn't help. I couldn't urge it on—Come on! You can do it! It's only 3 blocks to the station. No, it didn't need encouragement. It needed gas in its tank.
Some of you may be like my car. The resources you need are nearby, but you don't have them inside where it will do you good. But I want you to know God can come to where you are! Your tank may be running on empty, but you can be refilled! You may be out of fuel, but you can be restored.
We don't have to settle for feeble faith; we don't have to be weak-willed! Isaiah, the OT prophet, gave a promise to people who were discouraged and at the end of themselves. He said:
29 [The LORD] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope [or wait] in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31)
God gives us what it takes to be strong so we can face and win the battles of life. God gives
- Power to overcome temptation—we don't have to live in defeat;
- Courage to swim against the culture—we don't have to give in to society's pressures;
- Will-power to remain pure and holy—we don't have to compromise;
- Strength to lead—we don't have to follow the crowd.
Today: God gives us Strength To Win Life's Battles ("Battles" are troubles, set-backs, disappointments.)
4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels [that is, about 125 pounds]; 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 [or about 15 pounds]. 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 ranks 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... 24 When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear. (1 Samuel 17:4-11,24)
When you read the story of David and Goliath, you may ask yourself: What is the giant in my life? What "giant" causes dismay for me? What do I fear? What do I want to run from?
Maybe it's a financial giant lumbering through your bank account...or maxing out your credit card. Some people face a huge debt—a giant that stands bellowing before them every day. Some live under the large shadow of financial ruin. This financial giant keeps them trembling in constant fear; he's so big, they can't see themselves fighting him. And they can't see themselves regaining control over their finances.
Maybe it's a relationship giant who takes up all the space in your head. The relationship giant can be one of the biggest! He specializes in building walls of misunderstanding between people. He's so big, he makes you think small so you're stuck in narrow-minded thinking and self-centered behavior. This giant loves to drive people apart through careless words and hurt feelings.
Maybe it's an emotional giant dominating your landscape. He stands in your valley, taunting you, mocking you, filling your ears with fears and suspicion and hopelessness. His goal is to stress you out, to give you all sorts of worry and anxiety. This giant wants you to bully you with intimidation, discouragement, and depression. The emotional giant wants your life ruled by fear instead of faith.
Maybe it's a giant of lust who controls you. This giant fans the flames of strong desire [that's what lust means—it's not just about sex]. This is the giant who weighs you down with heavy addictions and wraps you in chains of habits. The more desires he puts on you, the bigger and stronger this giant of lust becomes. And the stronger he grows, the weaker you grow.
Maybe it's the giant of disease who threatens you. This massive monster ruins people's health and fills their hearts with fear. This giant of disease can undermine your attitude and erode your confidence. This Goliath stomps into the valley and brings all kinds of grief: physical illness, pain, injury, suffering, and discouragement.
Whatever the giant might be in your life—financial, disease, relational, emotional, lust—whatever terrifies and intimidates you, whatever walks into the valley and stands between you and victory, you can overcome him.
The problem with giants? Giants (no matter what kind they are) love to:
1. Intimidate. Giants want to stir up fear, undermine your faith.
On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified... 24 When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear. (1 Sam 17:11,24)
2. Insult. Giants want to undermine, trash-talk, erode your confidence.
23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance... 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 only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. (1 Sam 17:23,41-42)
3. Belittle. Giants want to raise doubts, fan fears, question God, attack truth.
43 ...the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" 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. (1 Sam 17:43-45)
4. Bully. Giants don't go away; day after day they hang around; they're a big nuisance; they wear you down; they fatigue you.
For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. (1 Sam 17:16)
But despite everything that giants try to do, when God is on your side, you can defeat the giants!
Bruce Larson, in his book Believe and Belong tells of how he helped people who were struggling to defeat the giants in their lives. He writes:
"For many years, I worked in New York city and counseled at my office any number of people who were wrestling with these situations. Often I would suggest they walk with me from my office down to the RCA building on Fifth Avenue. In the entrance of that building is a gigantic statue of Atlas [atlas.jpg], a perfectly proportioned man who, with all his muscles straining, is holding the world upon his shoulders. There he is, the most powerfully built man in the world, and he can barely stand up under his burden. ‘Now that's one way you can live,' I would point out, ‘trying to carry the world on your shoulders. But now, come across the street with me.' On the other side of Fifth Avenue is St. Patrick's Cathedral, and there behind the altar is a statue of Jesus as a boy, perhaps eight or nine years old, and with no effort, he is holding the world in one hand."
The truth is, we have a choice, and we are faced with a question: Who are we relying on to defeat our giants? Who are we counting on to carry our burdens?
Take some lessons from the young shepherd boy, David:
1. Choose faith over fear. The truth? God is bigger and stronger than any giant.
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin [human, physical weapons], but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty [divine, supernatural weapon], the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. [This was not trash talk; this was faith talk.] Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, 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." (1 Sam 17:45-47)
2. Take action. David took his shepherd's staff, chose five smooth stones from the stream, and went out to meet Goliath.
Saul and the rest of the army looked at Goliath and ran in fear. They said, "He's too big to fight." David looked at Goliath and said, "He's too big to miss." Here's the lesson: The bigger your giant, the easier he is to hit!
We need faith to gather our resources (David took his shepherd's staff, picked up several stones). But we also need confidence to actually go out and face our fears—to meet our giant. You can have the resources, but if you never take action, you won't defeat your giant.
3. Find the advantage. Even the best-armed giants have a weakness, a chink in the armor.
Goliath was well-armed and well-protected. He had a bronze helmet. He had a bronze coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds. He wore bronze shin guards and carried a spear with a shaft the size of a fence post. The head of the spear was made of bronze and weighed as much as a bowling ball. Goliath had a body guard (two against one!) carrying a huge shield in front of him. Goliath was like an armored tank on legs—but he had a weak spot, a chink in his armor, one vulnerable, open spot. And David took advantage of that.
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. (1 Sam 17:49-50)
Ask God to show you where you can exploit your giant's weakness. The one area where you can aim your shot. Often we are so overwhelmed by the size of the problem we face that we just can't get our heads around any solution big enough.
We don't need a solution as big as the giant. We only need a solution as big as the weak spot. If we can hit one small thing, that can be the beginning of the end for the giant. Remove one thing, and your giant can come tumbling down like a house of cards. If it's finances, find the smallest bill and somehow get it paid. If it's an addiction, make one phone call to Teen Challenge. If it's porn on the Internet, find one person to hold you accountable and subscribe to covenanteyes.com.
You don't need a big answer. All you need is one small answer—put your stone right on target.
4. Turn the tables. You can use the giant's weapons against him.
David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. (1 Sam 17:51)
David's rock may have killed Goliath, but it's also possible that it only knocked him out. You can easily read this passage to say that after he knocked him down, David killed Goliath with his own sword, and then cut off his head.
Turn the intimidation and fear of your giant into faith and victory! Let your problems become opportunities for God to work in you.
Years ago Andrae Crouch wrote these words: ...if I never had a problem, I wouldn't know that He could solve them; I'd never know what faith in God could do. Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus; I've learned to trust in God.
Jason and Melanie Bexell recently faced a giant. You may have seen them around here. He has a short beard. She was the pregnant one. On April 30, their son, Jack, was born at Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake. What should have been a joyful occasion, turned into a very frightening ordeal. Little Jack was struggling to breathe, and he wasn't responding well. The doctors immediately sent him by helicopter to St. Mary's in Duluth. Jack had some seizures, and they wanted to stabilize him in the neonatal intensive care unit. They wanted to do neurological testing to see how the lack of oxygen might have affected him. They were also concerned that some of his other organs could be affected as well.
When a giant like this comes barging into your life, how are you going to respond?
Jason wrote these words on a blog about their ordeal: "It was a very difficult time in which there were a lot of questions. We knew that he was struggling to breathe on his own, and we knew he wasn't very responsive. It was a very scary time where all we could do was pray... In all of this I am so thankful for the love of Christ. I truly cannot imagine the fear that these last days would have been filled with if God had not blessed Mel and me with his obvious love. We love Jack like Christ loves us, with no thoughts to our limitations or flaws... It is so clear in all of this that we are not in control, but that we can be full of faith that God will provide no matter the circumstance. God would not have been any less great had we not been able to bring Jack home. We know that God will provide for us, not keep us from struggle, but provide hope and light in even the darkest hours. And it is in knowing this that it all is OK. I know no matter what happens with Jack, it will be OK."
Just a few days ago Jason wrote some good news about Jack: "...his pediatric neurologist gave him an excellent report today. She even went as far as to say he looks like a normal 2 week old baby with all his reflexes and characteristics." For pictures and the full story about Jack's Journey, click here.
We all face difficult challenges. Obstacles. Troubles. What stands between you and an overcoming, victorious Christian life? That's your giant. That's your Goliath.
The question is: What are you going to do about it? You can't fix it on your own. So will you let God fill you with his strength so you can fight these giant battles?