Slaying the Giant (1 Sam. 17)

[disciple]

David & Goliath (disciple making style)
1 Sam. 17

The battle before David came
· The army was assembled for war but doing nothing (v. 1-3)
· The giant went untouched (v. 4)
· No individual was able to defeat him (v. 8-11, 16)

The rewards of defeating the giant (v. 25-27)
· Personal enrichment (“all good things” through the Holy Spirit)
· Marriage (close relationship with God)
· Freedom

The process of defeating the giant
· Vision & hearing (23-25)
· Choosing not to be held back by the low expectations of others (v. 28-29). Sometimes the first step of faith involves stuffing your ears with cotton!
· Being willing to go to war (v. 32). A willing heart that has seen the prize can accomplish great things.
· Acknowledging dependency on God’s power (v. 34-37). David was fighting in defense of God’s kingdom and had to have God’s power to succeed.
· Realizing the weapons of Saul would not work (v. 38-39). He put off something that man had clothed him in in hopes of victory, because it was weighing him down.
· Took up something that identified him as a shepherd (v. 40) (“Personal Responsibility”)
· Chose stones that had been changed by moving water (v. 40). We are “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5), and the water is a picture of the spirit refining us for the task. Stones are chosen, not randomly or hurriedly selected.
· Walked with the stones by his side (v. 40). Jesus did not just choose His men; He took them with Him as He engaged His task.
· Confronted the giant himself (v. 43-48). God uses the enemy for the destruction of the flesh—he is God’s errand boy! David came in the Name of the Lord and the truth of His Word, with the purpose that all might know there is a God in Israel who always wins. David ran toward the giant.
· Transferred his energy & life to the stone (v. 49). Jesus transferred His entire life to these men, setting them in motion.
· Sent the stone to a strategic point on the giant (v. 49). The training becomes self-curled without the sending. David didn’t hit the giant in the foot; he was intentional about what he did.
· The stone impacts the giant (v. 49).
· The giant bows down on his face (v. 49).
· David kills the giant with his own weapon (v. 50-51).
· The army attacks (v. 52)

What is the giant?? The giant is the world (“uncircumcised Gentile”). The only way for the whole world to bow down before God and give Him the glory that He deserves is for me to take the role of a shepherd; walk with the disciples He has chosen, teaching them by modeling and life transference; and strategically send them to impact the world. The giant’s own weapon must be used against him to finish the job, which is why we must mobilize the converts in other nations to defeat the giant. This does not happen by accident; everything about this is intentional, “that all the earth may know there is a God in Israel.” Let’s get the army moving.

The result of defeating the giant: David is transformed into something totally different, from a “youth” to a “young man” (v. 33, 58)