Facing Your Giants - 1 Samuel 17:28-50

Title: Facing your giants
Date: May 21, 2009
Text: 1 Samuel 17:28-50
Introduction
- In 19467 San Francisco's Potrero Hill was a real ghetto.
- That year was the year Oren was born.
- Rickets, a poverty-related disease actually caused by malnutrition, was Oren's major problem.
- His vitamin-mineral deficient diet caused his bones to soften. His legs began to bow under the weight of his growing body.
- Even though the family was too poor to afford braces, Oren's mom refused to sit back, sigh, and resign herself to the inevitable.
- She rolled up her sleeves and took charge. She rigged up a homemade contraption in hopes of correcting her son's pigeon-toed, bowlegged condition.
- How? By reversing his shoes! Right shoe, left foot; left shoe, right foot; plus an improvised metal bar across the shoe tops to keep his feet pointing straight.
- It didn't work perfectly, but it was good enough to keep the boy on his feet and ultimately able to play with his buddies.
- By the time he was about six years of age, his bones had hardened, his legs were still slightly bowed, his calves were unusually thin, and his head was disproportionately large.
- Nicknames from other kids followed him around: "Pencil-legs," "Waterhead"; but he refused to let all that hold him back.
- He compensated by acting tough. Street gangs on Potrero Hill were common: the Gladiators, Sheiks, Roman Gents, Persian Warriors.
- By age thirteen Oren had fought and won his way to being president of the Gladiators.
- For all the fighting, he was arrested only three times; that was the crowning achievement of his early youth.
- Those who don't know his background could easily think he got all the breaks. As they look at him today and see this fine and refined gentleman, they would assume he's always been wealthy.
- He lives in the exclusive Brentwood district of Los Angeles, drives a luxurious car, and has his elegant office in an elite bank building.
- He is now a busy executive with his own production company.
- He personally handles most of his own financial affairs and business negotiations.
- He has contracts with the media and various entertainment firms and agencies.
- In today's terms, Oren has it made. That plush office with the name on the door belongs to Orenthal James Simpson. Yes, none other than O.J. Simpson
- We all have obstacles to face
- Some will be large, some will be small
- But if we want to win, we will have to face them
- David had to face a giant
- 1 Sam 17:28-50
There is a time to face our giants
- Verse 28-32
- David starts this day like any other
- He gets up in the morning the same as he always does
- Little does he know that this day he is going to be facing the biggest crisis of his life
- Giants are like that, they pop up when we least expect them
- David’s brothers have been gone from home for 40 days, in Saul’s army
- Jesse sends David, the youngest son to see how they are doing, they didn’t have the 10 o’clock news back then
- David reaches his brothers and starts talking with them
- Suddenly, the giant Goliath comes out and mocks the Israelite army
- Davids day just changed
- Suddenly he is faced with a situation
- He has no idea how to deal with it
- But he knows he must act
- This moment did not come by accident
- We need to understand that giants don’t just show up; their appearance is well timed.
- From our perspective, they just appear. But, from God’s perspective, they are all part of His perfect plan for us.
- If we could ever grasp the truth that nothing comes our way apart from the will of God, it would change our attitude toward the giants of life.
- Rom. 8:28, Psa. 37:23
- Recognize that God is in control of your life
- He knows what is happening, and he either caused it, or allowed it to happen
- So we are not standing alone in this situation
There is a time to trust our God
- Verse 33-39
- When we recognize that God is in charge, we can also allow him to work the situation out
- David had experienced God’s taking care of him a number of times
- He had fought a lion and a bear and had won
- He could look back at his experience and see that God had been in control of those situations
- David knew God was backing him up and he could trust God to come through
- He did not trust in armour or all kinds of defensive manoevering
- He trusted that God was going to fight his battle
- Remember, God did not save you for some giant to destroy
- Phil 1:6
- 2 Tim 1:12
- God is able to take you through your trial, whatever it may be
- God is not going to change his mind halfway through and give up on you or leave you to your own devices
- God is a God who does not change
- Mal 3:6, Heb 13:8
- God has the power to part the Red Sea, to multiply the loaves and fishes, to raise Lazarus from the dead, to heal the blind and the lame and the epileptic
- He can also take care of your situation, however big it may seem to you
There is a time to take the giant
- verse 40-50
- There is a time when our talking needs to stop and we take action
- We may be able to quote verses from the Bible, but it is when we step out in faith and trust, that put our money where our mouth is
- We talk about God providing for us and we may quote Phil 4:19
- We talk about God be ing in control and quote Rom 8:28
- But there comes a moment when action is required
- David did this by
- Placing his trust in God
- Believing that he can do everything he has ever done
- Then he marched into the valley, faced his giant, and started slinging his rocks
- David took more than one stone
- He was determined not to give up
- If the first one did not work, the next one would
Conclusion
- God created us to be giant-killers
- Gods intention for us is that we overcome the enemy
- Jesus went before us and conquered the enemy, we too do battle with him
- And Gods purpose is that we win
- The giant may be our addiction, or our anxiety, or our depression
- Maybe our giant is our lack of trust
- Ultimately it is about going out there and doing battle, trusting that God will make up for our deficiencies
- Luke 12:32