Faith that Conquers Giants

The Battle Is Won Before It Begins

Some of you may have heard of the Alaskan bull moose — a unique creature with massive antlers. During the autumn breeding season, the males battle each other for dominance, ramming those enormous antlers together until some crack and break off. The males with the strongest antlers win the right to breed.

Here's the fascinating part: although these battles happen in the autumn, they are actually won in the summer. Summer is when the moose eat. If they don't eat enough, or don't eat correctly, their antlers never grow strong enough. So when autumn comes and they need strength for battle, they don't have it — and the antlers snap off.

The moral is simple: if you do not get ready for battle before the battle comes, you could be defeated because you're unprepared.

Spiritual battles will take place. Giants are coming against us. We must feed on God's word now — not wait for the hour of trial to build our faith. We want to be able to say, "We saw you coming. We knew we were ready for you, because we have the reserves and the bulk. We've prepared ourselves to face the enemy."

Faith That Conquers Giants

I've entitled the message today "Faith That Conquers Giants." We're going to look at the story of David and Goliath — probably one of the most well-known stories in the Bible.

What's interesting about David's battle with Goliath is that it was won before that moment. David didn't get ready in that moment; he got ready beforehand. And there is much we can learn from this story, because it mirrors what we face today in our culture.

The Background

The background is war with the Philistines. They had invaded Israel's territory — they had no right to be there. They were locked in battle with the Israelites and were beating them. It came to the point where Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days — over a month — and no one was able to rise up.

Israel was filled with unbelief. They'd lost sight of who they were. They'd forgotten they were in covenant with God.

David is drawn to the battle because his aged father sends him to check on his three older brothers, who had volunteered — remember, it was a volunteer army; they weren't paid. There were no cell phones, so David, a teenager, travels to the battle to supply his brothers and find out how they're doing.

When he arrives, he discovers a deadlock. These Philistines — heathen who served Dagon and Ashtaroth (Ashtaroth being a god of sex) — were taunting Israel. David is shocked. He cannot understand how this giant can taunt the nation of Israel.

No one has faith — but a teenage boy does. It should put us to shame when a teenager has more faith than the adults.

The Scripture: 1 Samuel 17

Let's read from 1 Samuel 17. We'll look at a few chunks and unpack them:

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah.

Notice that place. This is not a fictional story — it's a historical place, an actual event.

Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up a battle line to meet the Philistines.

There's a valley with a brook in the middle — that's where David got his stones — and the two armies camped on either side.

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span [about 3 metres]. 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.

Just pause for a moment. His armor weighed around 60 kilograms. His spear shaft was about 6 centimetres in diameter, and the iron point alone weighed 7 kilos — imagine that on the end of a pole. This giant was enormous, and he was not fictional. This is not a children's church story. This is a real story.

Why do I emphasize the giant? Because we are facing cultural giants, and they mean business in taking us out.

Two Cultures at War

Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us." Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other."

Our culture is defying us. Don't try to make friends with them. They are defying the living God. They talk tolerance, but they don't want tolerance — they want domination.

On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

This story has often been preached as though your giants are lust, materialism, or addictions. But that's not what the Bible is showing here. Here are two cultures at war with one another:

• One is heathen — Philistine, sex-driven, focused on false gods and many religions.
• The other is in covenant with the living God, living by His plan, His purpose, His design, and His laws.

One is taunting and defying the other. And God is asking, "Is there not one person to stand up? Are you all afraid? Does it take a teenager?"

Faith conquers giants. Feelings conquer us.

The Valley of Elah

Ephes Dammim means "the boundary of blood." The blood of Jesus is over us — don't cross that boundary and step out to agree with the Philistines. Stay inside the boundary of blood.

The Valley of Elah carries several meanings. I'll draw out four.

1. A Place of Intimidation

We are living in the Valley of Elah today. The enemy has taken ground and is threatening us. It's not so much personal giants we're dealing with — it's cultural giants. Goliath comes against us through the media, through social media, and through the opinions of people.

Goliath has disdain for us. Do you think the world has sympathy for you? No. It looks down on you with arrogance and pity and thinks you're a fool. And we can't just shout back — that's not enough. We have to defeat the giant.

2. A Place of Confrontation

This is where we face the enemy.

David reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.

It's no good just to shout — you must fight. Israel spent 40 days shouting at Goliath and hearing him shout back. But God was saying, "Give me one person who will do something."

Sometimes we come to church, sing songs, and are full of faith — but then we go into the world with nothing to say. People argue on social media and we say, "No, no, that's not good enough." God doesn't want us just to shout; He wants us to use our faith.

3. A Place of Faith Versus Fear

This encounter happens in the world today. It's a place where you either choose faith or fear.

Israel trembled at Goliath's voice — they allowed themselves to become emotional in a place of intimidation and confrontation. We have to be able to say, "No, I choose faith, not fear."

4. A Place Where Preparation Meets Opportunity

David was prepared before, just like the bull moose was ready when autumn came. He didn't arrive and fight the giant off the cuff — he prepared. And how did he prepare? Mostly through faithfulness: faithfully listening to his father, tending the sheep, not abandoning them.

Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, and then he went down to the battle.

He didn't say, "Here's my opportunity — I've been waiting to preach!" No, he was faithful, and opportunity came. God is looking for people in the church who are faithful, so He can thrust them into the culture and use them for His glory.

Notice too that when David picked up five smooth stones, he was prepared. He didn't say, "Any old stone will do because the battle is the Lord's." He chose smooth stones because he knew they'd fly straight from a sling.

Four Truths About Faith That Conquers Giants

1. Faith Is Not Intimidated by Giants

Israel was filled with unbelief. They had lost sight of their covenant, forgotten who they were and who God was. But faith believes in God and is not intimidated by the giant.

These cultural giants are just as significant as this human giant was. They tower over God's people and try to dominate us. In history, Joshua wiped the giants out — and they came again. It's the same in culture: there are seasons where the church thrives and has a voice, then it's snuffed out and wokeism takes over. And then, suddenly, a man stands up. A teenager stands up. And it's all pushed back again.

Notice something: Goliath was covered in armor. If he was 3 metres tall, most soldiers would only reach his knees and legs. But where does David aim? Not the knees or legs — the head. And what does the head signify? Thinking.

The giant is a giant in thinking. He thinks he's bigger; he thinks he can intimidate us. But we mustn't look at legs — we must aim at the head and say, "Your thinking, your authority — we will not bow to it."

And beware: when you take on cultural giants, even your own family may talk nonsense and try to sway you from taking a stand. When David arrived, his older brother Eliab accused him of bad motives — "You've probably just abandoned those sheep." But David had been faithful; he'd left them in someone's care. Discern that voice and turn away from it.

2. Faith Is Developed in Daily Life

Don't expect your faith to be developed only at church. It's developed in your daily life — in your job, as you face this economic climate, as you face the political situation in our country and the world. Every day you have an opportunity to choose faith over fear, and to choose the word over ideologies.

Don't wait for church. Once a week is not enough. You need to study the Bible.

Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

And faith is not neutral — faith expects rewards. David heard that Saul would give a life free of taxes and his daughter in marriage to whoever killed the giant. So David had faith not only to fight the giant, but faith for the rewards.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Now look at how David had developed his faith in daily life:

David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

But Saul replied with fear:

"You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man."

You are not... you are only... — that's fear talking. Let faith speak. And let older people not discourage the young. Sometimes the young have the energy and faith we need. Release them; let them take a stab at things. They may not do it the way you want, but at least they're having a go.

David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."

You grow your faith not in a service, but in daily life. "The Lord who provided a job when I was retrenched — the Lord who provided when my boss ganged up against me — that's the God who will handle this giant. Been there, done that."

Notice too: Saul offers David his armor. But why hadn't Saul used it himself? David tries it on and says, "I cannot go in these; I am not used to them." This tells me God wants each generation to have its own level of faith — not to live off the faith of the pastor, the leaders, or the elders. Each of us, in every age group, must walk by faith and use our own armor.

3. Faith Has a Particular Language

You have to speak a certain way. Fear speaks like this: "You are not... you are only..." But faith has a different voice — and you need to develop an ear for it.

Unbelief, lies, and temptation also have a particular tone. They can sound like:

• "Has God really said...?"
• "Is it really wrong if it's love?"
• "But Jesus never said anything about..."
• "God just wants me to be happy."
• "I can't get over this — this is just what I am now."

Don't listen to that. Develop a faith language.

He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

This culture curses the church by its own gods — and some of its gods are its own flesh.

"Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals."

The culture says one thing, but we have a language of faith:

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head."

You can bring a whole stack of gods; we just need our one God — He's enough.

And notice the confidence: "This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands." David knew what God would do. But he also knew his own responsibility.

Don't mix up your responsibility and God's responsibility. Don't just say, "Lord, it's up to You, the battle is Yours," and become passive. That's one of the biggest mistakes we make.

"The whole world will know that there is a God in Israel... it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

"The battle is the Lord's" doesn't mean God does all the fighting. He acts when you act. He needs something to work with. If you throw a stone, He will add momentum to it. If you speak, He will fulfil it. Some of us are waiting and waiting — but we need to speak the word of faith. I will, but also God will.

4. Personal Faith Can Turn the Tide of a Nation

The personal lives of believers who walk in victory can change the tone of a country. As Christians stand up and gather in the name of Jesus, we've seen it across the world — governments pay attention. Even negative newscasters have to take notice, because they realise something is happening.

For 40 days Israel sat while this giant taunted them. Then one man with faith conquered the giant — and suddenly everyone had courage. You can be a catalyst for change in your nation.

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

Think of how thick this giant's skull must have been — yet the stone sank in.

Stones are interesting things. Whenever a covenant was made, a pile of stones was raised — in the Jordan, Jacob set up a stone. Stone speaks of covenant. So when the enemy's thinking and defiance rise up, we take up the covenant we have with God — that His laws and words are correct — and we speak it back, until it sinks into the thinking of the cultural giants. Too many of us are passive. We can turn the tide of a nation.

He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines.

Where had they been all that time?

You need to be well equipped for the thinking coming against you. Know your covenant. Know your God. Face the giants. We don't entertain them, we don't listen to others' opinions about them, and we don't let people judge our motives. We take a stand and we defeat the giant.

Closing Thoughts

As I close, let me leave you with three thoughts:

1. God turns valleys into victories through faith. We can be in a valley — as a nation or personally — but exercise faith. Know that you belong to God, that you're in covenant with Him, and that certain rewards and blessings are yours because you're His child. He can turn our lowest place into a place where His glory is revealed.

2. The size of the giant doesn't matter when we have faith in the greatness of our God. Don't look at the cultural giants or the personal giants in your life — look at the size of your God.

3. What looked like the place of Israel's defeat became the scene of their greatest victory. It may look overwhelming, but like David, we do not fight in our own strength.

We need faith today more than ever — faith that conquers giants. But it's not developed only in church; it's developed before the battle, in your daily life. It doesn't listen to the negative voices or the voice of the enemy — it listens to the voice of God and knows it has a covenant with Him.

We're in a place of battle, and the choice is ours: faith or fear, win or lose — in Jesus' name. Amen.