Originally posted 7/10/20
We read amazing stories of things that only God could do all throughout the Bible. When you think of powerful people in the Bible, who do you think of? Perhaps you think of Samson, who had supernatural strength, David, who defeated Goliath, or any number of other heroes of the Bible. How is it that these mighty men of God were able to do such amazing works? It is because they all had one thing in common; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
Let’s take a look at when David defeated Goliath. This is a common Bible story. Perhaps you heard this story growing up in Sunday School. Let’s look at this story through the lens of “how was David able to be bold and defeat Goliath when everyone else was terrified?” To answer this question, we need to first look at the chapter before. 1 Samuel 16 tells us how God told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse and anoint one of his sons as the next king of Israel. Samuel arrived at Jesse’s home and took a look at his oldest son, Eliab. Eliab must have been a strong, good looking man because as soon as Samuel saw him he thought to himself that this must be the guy. 1 Samuel 16:6-7 (ESV) says, “When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”” One by one each of the seven older sons passed by Samuel, and God said no to each one. Finally the youngest, David, was called to come in from taking care of the sheep, and God said, “This is they guy!”
Here’s where it got exciting! 1 Samuel 16:13 (ESV) says, “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.” “The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.” This, my friend, is when David was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was from that point onward that David was empowered to be the man that God created him to be, and do all the mighty works that he did.
David was secure in who his ultimate leader was. David respected Saul as the king of Israel, but he never lost sight of the fact that God was the utmost authority and held all the power. It seems that David was the only guy in Israel who still viewed God as the supreme leader. When Goliath comes on the scene the first time he says, “He (Goliath) stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.” 1 Samuel 17:8 (ESV) (words in parenthesis mine) Did you catch who the people of Israel served in the eyes of the Philistines? Goliath called them “servants of Saul.” People tend to react to situations just like the people they view as their leader reacts. So, if the people of Israel really do see themselves as the followers of Saul, they would react to the threat of Goliath just like Saul did. In 1 Samuel 17: 11 we see that, “When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.” Some other words that we could use instead of dismayed are: anxious, dread, or fright. So Saul and his followers were filled with anxiety, dread and fearful of what would happen if they tried to fight Goliath.
Then came David. When David arrived on the scene, he was confused as to why everyone was cowering in fear. David knew that there was nothing to fear, because God was their ultimate leader and protector. Remember David was now a man who walked filled with the Holy Spirit.
When you are living a life filled with the Holy Spirit, and have an understanding of just how powerful you are because of who lives in you, you will have resistance. Resistance may come in the form of your own insecurity and doubts, or it may come in the form of someone else trying to “protect” you by reminding you how weak you are. Here’s what you need to remember, when you accepted Jesus as your savior, you became a warrior. How do I know? Take a look at Ephesians 6:10-20. This is the passage that reminds us to put on the Armor of God. The king doesn’t give armor to the common citizen, only his warriors. This means that God sees you, his child, as one of his warriors. Remember that the next time someone tries to convince you that you are just a “sinner saved by grace.” You are so much more than that in the eyes of your Creator. You are strong and brave and one of God’s most valuable warriors.
Just like you will have resistance, so did David. David’s resistance came in the form of his oldest brother, Eliab. Remember when Samuel saw Eliab, and thought that he must be the next king because he was so big and strong? Well, this same Eliab tells David in 1 Samuel 17:28 (ESV), “Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”” He essentially tells David that David is only there to fulfill the evil desire in his heart, and David is only there to see people die. Not to mention he calls David irresponsible for leaving his sheep. Eliab knew nothing about what David did with his sheep, or the reason he was there (which was to bring Eliab and the other brothers something to eat).
How does David react to this unmerited attack? He basically says, “You don’t know what’s in my heart. I was simply asking a question.” He then turned his back on Eliab, and started to talk to someone else. This is exactly what we need to do. We don’t have to defend ourselves against people who come against us and attack us for simply being someplace and asking questions. We can address the fact that those people are wrong in their presumptions about our character, but then we need to go find someone else to talk to. Someone who will understand our heart, and support us in our obedience to God.
After talking to Saul, and getting fit with armor, only to decide he would fight better without it, David goes to the river and collects 5 smooth stones. I have wondered all my life why David picked up 5 stones, when he only needed one to defeat Goliath. I found out the answer earlier this year. It’s because there were 5 giants in the land that all needed to be defeated.
When David met up with Goliath, he announced who his leader was. “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”” 1 Samuel 17:45-47(ESV)
David knew exactly who was in charge, and declared that it was the Lord, not him, who was going to win the battle that day. Not only that, but he told Goliath exactly what was going to happen. Sure enough, David threw the stone, it hit Goliath in the head, and he took Goliath’s sword and cut off his head. Then David held up Goliath’s head in victory for all to see. I believe he wanted to make sure that all of his fellow Israelites saw that God defeated Goliath. He was not surprised by the outcome, because he announced beforehand what was going to happen.
Just like David, you are a mighty warrior. There is no battle too big for the God that lives inside you to fight. Cancer, depression, fear, loss of a job, and even a child who has gone astray is not too big for Jesus to handle. We as his children, need to simply surrender our “Goliaths” to Jesus and allow him to work through and in us to heal us. Remember last week when we talked about that sozo healing? The healing that Jesus desires to give us when we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead. (Romans 10:9) Will you accept Jesus’ sozo healing, the type of healing that heals all of our spiritual, physical, and emotional wounds?
If so pray this prayer:
Jesus, I need your healing touch. I surrender my pain and hurt to you. Would you replace that pain and hurt with your love and peace? Thank you for dying so that I can have access to your sozo healing. Help me see myself the way that you see me. I invite your Holy Spirit to fill me with your power so that I can live the empowered life you desire for me. Thank you for making me new once again.
~Amen~
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