God wants you to be a hero of faith. He wants you to be a man or woman of faith. Someone who accomplishes something big for God through faith. God has something great for you to accomplish with your life for Him. That’s why He created you. He’s got a great future planned for you. However, there’s a catch. Standing between you and the future that God has for you is an obstacle, a difficulty, a giant. Standing between you and God’s purpose for your life is a giant. Something that you must overcome in order to continue to move into everything that God has for you.
So, today, my message is entitled “Defeating Your Giants.” What kind of giant are you facing today in your life? What situation is standing in the way of doing the things you know that God has given you to do? It could be the giant of financial debt, the giant of worry, the giant of a troubled relationship or the giant of a job loss or slow business. Whatever your giant is today, your giant is no secret to God. In fact, God allowed this giant to come into your life. Why would God do such a thing? Why would God allow big, bad giants to torment us? God allows giants to come into our lives in order to teach us to turn to Him. God allows giants in our lives to strengthen us and to build our faith.
James 1:2-4 (NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
A giant is a trial, is it not. Giants test our faith. We can’t defeat giants in our own strength. We need God’s help. And God wants to help you defeat the giants in your life. He wants you to become mature and complete in Him. This morning, God wants every person here to know that you are destined to defeat your giants. It’s in God’s plan for your life. So be encouraged, giants are not a reason to run and hide, but to look forward to victory over them.
Today, our hero of faith, in case you haven’t already guessed, is David. The whole story we’re going to talk about this morning is found in 1 Samuel 17. I’d encourage you to read it this week and complete the study guide on the back of your message outline. God’s Word needs to be meditated over during the week, to have its full effect in our lives.
David was the youngest of 8 sons. His three older brothers had joined King Saul’s army which was at war with the Philistines. But this was unlike any war that Israel had fought before. The Philistines had a champion, a giant named Goliath. Here is what he looked like.
1 Samuel 17:4-7 (NIV) A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him.
His armor alone weighed 125 pounds and his spear point 15 pounds. He cursed and mocked the Israelite army as he challenged them to send someone to fight him in one on one combat. As our story begins, no one had stepped forward to fight Goliath.
Listen to or watch my May 27, 2012 message Defeat Your Giants.