Facing Life's Foes

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, June 15. You might know the account of David and Goliath, but can you apply its principles to your situation? The study of 1 Samuel continues today, showing us how to successfully face life's foes. When I think about Goliath in this particular passage, and I want us to look at it from David's point of view and the things that went through David's mind as he faced the biggest test in his life up until this point, though he had wrestled with a bear and a lion. Here he was facing a man who was something to behold, nine feet, nine inches tall, dressed in armor, 125 pounds, a tremendous javelin, a brass javelin, and more than likely David knew how accurate he must have been because he was challenging anybody and everybody that would come and fight him and the whole army of Israel. And you see, what had been happening was the nation of Israel and the nation of Philistines had been fighting back and forth, back and forth, over and over and over again. So it's in that context that David comes upon the scene. But when I think about Goliath and think about Israel, here is Israel, the God who brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Listen, if their God could part the Red Sea, if their God could feed them from heaven for 40 years, if their God could dry up the Jordan while they walked through, if their God could break down and destroy the walls of Jericho, surely he can trip up a fellow like Goliath. But you see, when the Spirit of God is not in control of your life, you become afraid of things that you have no business being afraid of. What about that habit that you just can't break out of? What about that relationship you can't break off? What about that attitude in your life that you can't seem to get loose from? What is it in your life that is to you tonight like a Goliath? You're frightened by it. You're defeated by it. You're hung up over it.

You can't seem to be making any progress because every time you move out, there is that thing in your life that you can't seem to deal with. So I want us to look to see in the 17th chapter some things that David did, the very things that he did that will help us face anything and everything that comes into our life. And the first thing I want you to notice here is this. And this is a key to the whole battle here and all that's going to happen.

And that is, in order to face any big barrier in our life, any Goliath, whatever it might be, the first thing we have to do is to recognize the nature of the thing we're facing. And you see, what Saul and the rest of the Israelites were not facing is they didn't get the point. Now here's what they saw. They saw this giant out here challenging them.

That wasn't the issue at all. And as long as they saw Goliath challenging them, they were in trouble. But listen, in verse 26, when David came upon the scene and David spake to the men that stood by, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth his Philistine?

And take it away their approach from Israel. But who is this uncircumcised Philistine? That he should defy the armies of the living God. David is the first one on the scene who had any idea what was going on. He didn't see Goliath, simply challenging the armies of Israel. What he saw, he saw a man who was defying God. He saw a man who was challenging the God of Israel. And you see what you and I must see in our life is this.

We said all of us are in 12 by the Holy Spirit. Christ is living his life in us. When we are confronted by anything that seems to be like a Goliath in our life, we need to recognize the real issue is that that thing is challenging Christ within us. If it's our strength, we're going down in defeat.

If it is his strength, we're going to be victorious. God has a will for your life. God has a plan for your life.

God has a purpose for your life. When Satan challenges you, what is he challenging? He's challenging Almighty God in you to fulfill his purpose. When you challenge by temptation, Satan is challenging God within you, challenging God's purpose within you, challenging God's plan in your life. So the battle isn't your flesh against that flesh, our spirit against that spirit only.

It is that Satan is challenging Almighty God who's chosen to dwell your life. He's the first one there who had any idea what was going on. The second thing, he had a respect for his foe. He saw him, nine feet, nine inches, that tremendous long javelin, 17 pounds of head on it. Here he was dressed in all this armor, 125 pounds of armor covering his body. Now, when David saw that, he just had been a shepherd boy.

And I'm sure he had never seen anything like that in all of his life. Though, the third thing I want you to notice here is this, and that is that seeing his enemy, he resisted all the discouraging remarks that he heard. Verse 33 says, and Saul said to David, watch this, this sounds just like the world. You're not able to stand against this Philistine to fight with him.

You're just the youth. What does Paul say in 1 Corinthians chapter 1? What does he say? God uses the what? The weak things that confound the mighty.

He uses what? The simple things that confound the wise. So here is David, and if he'd listened to his brother, he'd have gone home.

If he'd listened to Saul, he'd say, well, Saul, you're probably right. I'll just do what my brother said and go back and tend the sheep. Now listen, whenever you and I are challenged by God to do anything worthwhile, we're going to get the negatives. We're going to hear people tell us all about the reasons we should not, reasons we cannot, reasons that it's just not for us, and you weren't made for that, and you're not equipped for that, and you don't want to embarrass yourself, and on and on and on they go.

Of all the reasons, we can't face whatever is coming before us. And I believe that God's people today, in order to be obedient in a world that is so disobedient, you and I must learn to immediately and quickly resist the discouragement we hear. The next thing I want you to notice is this. Listen, he said, even though I'm a youth, thy servant kept his father's sheep, there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. Now what is he doing? He's remembering past victories. You see, it's one thing for David, the shepherd boy, to come out of the sheep fields, and the only thing he'd ever done is, you know, gone out to the sheep fields, watch the sheep and go back. That's one thing, but listen, had he faced Goliath, having not faced the lion and the bear, he might have had a hard time.

But he'd already been in some battles. And you see, what you and I must realize is this. Whatever we are facing, one of God's greatest gifts to us is an imagination to look back and recall past victories. I've been through something like that before. I've faced the Goliath like that before. I've faced that kind of temptation before. I've had a need larger than that before, and if God supplied it then, He'll supply it now.

So remembering past victories and sort of reliving them and visualizing what's going to happen. Now, one of the interesting things here that motivated David was in the 29th verse, because I want you to notice here that he realized there was a cause, and the cause was the cause of Jehovah God. David said to his brother Eliab, who was criticizing him, he said, what have I now done? Is there not a cause? And you see, his brother didn't even realize what the cause was. You know what the cause was? The cause was this. The cause was the nation of Israel was going into captivity and servitude to the Philistines, or the Philistines were going into servitude to the nation of Israel. And the cause wasn't just a matter of one man against another. It wasn't just another battle. It was a matter of enslavement to the Philistines who were godless, heathen pagans who were defying the God of Jehovah.

And so there's a cause. You see, if the body of Christ today would wake up and realize, listen, if I should say to you, is the name of Jesus Christ sacred to you? Oh yes, it's sacred. Is the name Jehovah God sacred to you? Yeah, it's sacred. Then let me ask you this, what is it that you and I, what is the body of Christ doing today in an effective, impressive, fruitful, progressive, victorious way to say to an unbelieving world that does not believe in our God? What are we doing about that?

Ignoring that? Does not the name of Jehovah God, is it not sacred today as it was then? Is not the name of Jesus Christ as sacred today as it was in those days? It is the name under which we walk. It is the name under which we sing. It is the name under which we worship. It is the name given among all men, the highest, the greatest, the name that has the highest implications of any name that has ever been given to mankind. Jesus Christ, Lord, Savior, King, God. And He says, no man will ever be saved apart from that name.

And you see, we have a cause, friend, and our cause is that we are to get the gospel to every man on the face of this earth, whatever the price may be. All right, the next thing I want you to notice here is he resolved to face it. He decided, I will do it, regardless of what Saul had said, regardless of what his brothers had said, regardless of all the shouts and all the stomping around and the arrogance and the egotism and all the displaying of his big, of his arm and his strength and his javelins and all the arm and the bliss things. That didn't bother him because he said in verse 33, Saul said to David, you're not able to do it.

You're just the youth. And David said to Saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep. And there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock.

I went out after him and smote him, delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said, moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

And Saul said to David, go and the Lord be with you. Now listen, he said, I'll do it. Now here's the problem sometime. When you and I are facing challenges in life and some big Goliath faces us, something that we have a hard time with, sometime, you know, we never decide what we're gonna do with it.

We skirt the issue. We say, well, one of these days I'm gonna face that, but not right now. We'll never be able to conquer the Goliath until we say, that's what it is. It is sin. I've got to face it and I will repent of it. I will take care of that.

I will settle that once and for all. As long as we don't resolve to do it and do it, Goliath will still be out there, whatever it may be. It may be a habit, maybe a relationship, maybe some, some idea, some attitude. I don't know what that Goliath may be in your life, but he'll still remain there until you deal with him.

He said, on the basis of what's happened in the past, I will kill Goliath. You know, God is in the process of teaching all of us how to deal with different circumstances of life. There's some things that you and I know how to deal with. And they're just some basic things that we know what to do about. When you're facing something in your life you don't know what to do, what is the real weapon you need?

There's just one. It's called the Word of God. Now, you see, sometimes folks say, why don't you read this book, this book, this book, this book, or this book?

Now, all the book reading is fine and I'm not against that because I read something every day. But when it all boils down, you've got to find out what does God say? And you see, getting in the Word and getting on your knees and seeking the mind of God is a proven way to deal with any Goliath that comes into your life.

The proven way is to start out, get on your face before God and tell him that you're willing for him to do whatever's necessary to get you in a state of neutrality so that whatever he says you're able to hear and whatever he says, you're going to be obedient to him. Now, David was absolutely and totally out of place dressed in armor. He wanted to be free. He knew how to use that sling. Five stones, somebody said, why did he pick up five? I don't know why he picked up five. I know this, David was a very smart young man. It's nothing says he was so sure that one shot would have killed him. So he had five stones, which says, you know, while we're trusting in God, we want to be very wise in what we do. So he had five stones.

He knew how to handle a sling. So he goes out to meet him. Now, listen to what Goliath said to him in verse forty four. Well, let's begin in verse forty two. When the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and a fair countenance. The Philistines said unto David, Am I a dog that you come to me with staves, with a stick? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods, that is, the gods of the Philistines. Come to me and I'll give thy flesh to the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Listen to this.

You come to me with a sword and with a spear, with a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. Now, listen, one of the very important things here, I believe David knew exactly what he was going to tell Goliath. He didn't just walk out there and think about what he was going to say. He knew exactly what he was going to tell him, because what David did, he sort of threw him off guard.

First of all, he was a little bit thrown off guard because here comes this young, strappling fellow. He doesn't even have a sword. In fact, from Goliath's point of view, he almost looks unarmed because the only thing he seems to have is a stick, a shepherd's staff. But listen to what David says. He says, You come to me with a sword and with a spear, with a shield, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

Now, let me tell you something. That word right there not only challenged Goliath, but it did something for David. I'm sure as he said it, his own courage just took one big step forward. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand. I will smite thee and take thine head from thee. I will give thy carcass to the host of the Philistines this day and to the fowls of the air, to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Listen, he says, You've come to defy the God of Israel.

And he says, What's going to happen today is that the whole world may know that what? There is a God in Israel. David's primary motivation and the motivation of his mind and heart, his whole emotional being was moved with one thing. He was representing Jehovah God. He was facing the representative of the Philistines and their gods in the name of Jehovah, the Lord of hosts, he says.

And he says to him, And all this assembly, the nation of Israel on the one side of the valley, the Philistines on the other, shall know that the Lord saves, not with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. Now, listen, sometimes when you and I are facing situations and we are facing some Goliath in our life, you know what the what the mistake is we make? We make the mistake of listening to the devil defeat us verbally. What does Satan say to you? How many times have you failed? You will never make it.

Look at your past. The devil can defeat you verbally, just like Goliath could have defeated a man who didn't know God. And that's why I keep saying to you, you've got to stay in the book. When you get out of the book, you know what happens when you close this? What do you got to listen to? The world and the devil. When you open the book, what do you have to listen to?

You have Almighty God to listen to. And it was the speech that David gave that was his declaration. You see, it was his declaration of courage. Here's what David didn't say, here's what I'm going to do to you. He says, but I come to you in the name of the Lord God. He says, God will give you into our hands. And he says, the Philistines are going to know and the nation of Israel is going to know that the God of Israel is God.

There is a God, Jehovah God is the God of the nation of Israel. And you see, the more David talked, the more angry he must have become. But what he wasn't noticing is that while David was talking, the scripture says that he came to pass when the Philistine rose and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted. You see, he couldn't take anymore. He was coming after David.

And so when he started walking toward David, David was already, while he'd been making his speech and old Goliath was getting ready, he just put one of those round stones in that sling and he started running toward Goliath, which also must have mentally got him off guard. What's he doing running toward me? I'm going to pick him up and just squeeze him apart. And before he could hardly get that out of his mouth, hit him right in the forehead.

Kill him dead on the spot. Now, here's the most important thing. When you and I are facing something in our life, the one thing I want you to notice here in the 47th verse, the last phrase says, and he, Jehovah, listen, Jehovah, the everlasting eternal almighty God, Elohim, infinite in power, absolute in faithfulness, Adonai, master and Lord. He says, our God, Jehovah, will give you into our hands. David wasn't trusting in his strength or his experience. He was trusting in almighty God. But he knew that God had taught him some very precious lessons.

He knew how to fight to win. When you and I are facing Goliaths in our life, if you and I will be willing to look at it as David saw it, here's what will happen. We'll win. But if we look at it from human eyes, we're going to be overwhelmed, full of power and go down in defeat.

And we will be defeated before we ever start the battle. Thank you for listening to today's podcast, Facing Life's Foes. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.