Facing The Giant (1Sa 17: 8-11, 26, 40-51)

 

[Title Slide] Facing The Giant (1Sa 17: 8-11, 26, 40-51)

 

Since 9/11, Americans have entered a new era which analysts call the Age of Fear. When the two towers of the World Trade Center fell, the Pentagon was hit and United 93 crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, the American psyche was indelibly altered. I remember it well. We now live in a world where suicidal terrorists fly public jet airliners into skyscrapers to achieve their goals. If making America feel afraid was the terrorists’ goal, they achieved it. It put a chink in our armor. Our overall feeling of security, stability, and well-being is threatened.

 

[Slide] According to a study by Chapman University, the top 5 things Americans fear today are,

 

[Slide] Government Corruption             60.1%

Financial collapse                                    54.7%

Russian nuclear weapons                        52.5%

Another World War                                 52.3%

People I love sick or dying                     50.6%

 

But fear is not simply the tool of terrorists. Fear sells. [Slide] Newscasters know that fear, scandal and tragedy increases clicks online, views on social media, papers and magazines sold, and advertising dollars coming in. An article from Psychology Today stated,

 

“In previous decades, the journalistic mission was to report the news as it actually happened, with fairness, balance, and integrity. However, profit motives associated with journalism have moved much of today's news toward the spectacular, the stirring, and the controversial. It's no longer a race to break the story first or get the facts right. Instead, it's to acquire good ratings in order to get advertisers, so that profits soar.”

 

Since we all know this to be the case, why on earth do we respond to fear?

 

We respond with our primal animalistic vigilance to our surroundings. Rather than think it through, we respond, almost automatically, to the fear-laden bait in the headlines. Mass media corporations know this about humans. In journalism circles they live by a code, “if it bleeds, it leads.” Politicians understand this, too. They’ll use fear to move the public to adopt new laws and government plans. Church leaders, too, have been known to use fear to motivate volunteerism, giving, and social activism. Fear is a powerful motivator, because none of us want to be at risk.

 

We all know the game is rigged, but we keep on consuming the news, even though it’s designed to sell advertising. We all know social media is harmful to mental health, but we can’t stop scrolling. We are like moths drawn to the bug zapper.

 

God invites us to turn away from fear, and toward faith. In today’s reading Israel is at war with the Philistines. And they have a giant named Goliath on their side. [Slide] Eugene Peterson’s The Message paraphrases the Bible’s description.

 

A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the Philistine line… He had a bronze helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds. (1Sa 17:4-7 MSG)

 

[Slide] The Israelite army was dismayed and greatly afraid. The original Hebrew word describes their fear as shattered or broken. Like a broken cup won’t hold water, the Israelites could not hold their courage. The sight of Goliath petrified them and broke their confidence.

 

What has you frightened such that you find yourself paralyzed and unable to hold your courage? Is it fear of America collapsing into Civil War or buckling under financial ruin from government overspending?

Is it the environmental crisis? Is it Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and other perceived enemies of this country? Is it the inevitability of death that drives you to do everything you can to escape it?

 

My biggest fear is for my children. They’ve all rejected the church and faith in Christ. It breaks my heart. I see how unhappy and troubled they are and yet there’s no room for Jesus and His church in their lives, right now. And if I’m honest, my fears are about how it makes me look. I feel ashamed. I feel like a failure as a parent. Praying for them only stirs up my frustration, fear, and shame. I suppose every parent deals with the same sorts of things.

 

God is calling us to turn away from fear that breaks us and shatters our confidence. Let’s look at how David, a young shepherd from Bethlehem, responded to fear.

 

He saw and heard Goliath challenge Israel to send out a champion to face him in battle, but rather than feel fear, he felt indignation. [Slide]

 

“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1Sa 17:26b)

 

To put it how we might say it, “Who does this uncultured swine think he is that he taunts us? We are Israel, God’s chosen! The creator of the ends of the earth is with us!”

 

David’s zeal for God and God’s chosen welled up inside of him. His courage wasn’t stripped away by the giant, but instead his faith in God moved him to action.

 

[Slide] When his words reached the ears of Saul, David was called to come before the king. When David volunteered to go out and face Goliath, Saul laughed. “You’re only a boy!” But David told Saul that in protecting his sheep, he had driven off lions and bears. He had killed such ferocious predators himself.

Saul thought, “Well, what have we got to lose? Nobody else is stepping forward to answer Goliath. God be with you, David!”

 

[Slide] David went out to face the giant, armed only with a sling and five smooth stones, and faith that God was with him.

 

Goliath saw this ruddy, handsome young man coming toward him and he despised David. “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” “Come here, and I’ll serve your carcass to the birds and wild animals.”

 

David responded with words that revealed his faith that God was with him.

 

“You come to me with sword and spear and 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 (taunted, blasphemed, reproached). This very day Jehovah will deliver you into my hand!”

 

[Slide] And with that David flew into action, slung a rock at Goliath and nailed the giant right in the forehead. The rock hit Goliath so hard it sank into his skull. Down went the giant to the ground. David wasted no time. He ran over and took Goliath’s own sword and killed him, then he cut off his head and took it back to King Saul.

 

The Philistine army fled. The army of Israel regained their courage and gave pursuit. They slew them and ran the enemy out of Israel and reclaimed their territory.

 

[Slide] God gave David and Israel a great victory over their enemy that day, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and that the battle belongs to the Lord.

 

When God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, it was by battle with the gods of Egypt. Through Pharoah’s arrogant refusal to let the Hebrews slave go, God brought glory to His name.

 

“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ex 14:4)

 

When Pharaoh’s army trapped the Hebrews at the Red Sea, God told them, [Slide] “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

 

We are here today because of the renown of the God of Israel, The Father of Jesus Christ, our Father who art in heaven. David had heard of Him and had come to trust that God was with him. Faith in God’s power and God’s choice to bind Himself to Israel gave David strength and courage to fight the giant Goliath. He would later write,

 

Some take pride in chariots and some in horses,

    but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God. (Psa 20:7)

 

[Slide] When Jesus was crossing the Sea of Galilee with his chosen apostles, a storm suddenly threatened to sink the boat. The apostles are terrified! They’re bailing water, adjusting the sails, doing everything they can think of to save themselves from drowning. But there’s Jesus, sleeping in the stern. They cry out, “Teacher, don’t you care if we die?”

 

How many times has fear caused us to question God’s love, God’s goodness? “My God! Don’t you care about me?” We think we ought to go through life without pain, struggle or suffering. But Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, be of courage, I have overcome the world. I have conquered! (John 16:33)

 

[Slide] The giants in life taunt us! The storms of life batter us and we are about to break, but Jesus stands up and commands the winds to cease and quiets the storm. God stands with us and the giant named Fear is silenced.

 

The apostle Paul reminds us that the battles we wage are spiritual in nature. Our fight is not against flesh and blood enemies, but with spiritual forces of darkness, aligned with the devil. Fear seeks to scatter us, break us down and steal our courage. Fear taunts and can cause us to freeze. But the one who knows the battle belongs to the Lord is able to stand firm,

 

David had 5 smooth stones and a sling against a 10 foot giant equipped with sword and spear. But David knew His God was with Him and God would win the day. His faith carried him with courage to face the giant.

 

And so the scriptures encourage us to put of the full armor of God.

 

[Slide] be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power; put on the whole armor of God… belt your waist with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness and lace up your sandals in preparation for the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times…

 

David faced the giant and God won the battle. The disciples called out to Jesus, and Jesus calmed the storm. The Red Sea opened for the Hebrews but swallowed up Pharaoh’s army. God will do the same for you in everything you fear. So, suit up in the full armor of your faith in God. Because, to say it in Veggie Tales way, [Slide]

 

God is bigger than the boogeyman

He’s bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV

Oh God is bigger than the boogeyman

And He’s watching out for you and me.