The exercise of a living faith in God is our most valuable asset, especially in these turbulent times in which we live. The Bible teaches us that the just shall live by faith, and our expectations are directly linked to our understanding and our belief in God, and the fact that He is all-powerful.
Faith in God is becoming more and more a rare commodity, for many different reasons, one of which is the fact that we are immersed in manmade devices that are subject to failure, subject to limitations, and prone to hacking, and as a result we live with a level of uncertainty that often robs us of the ability to exercise that faith in God that can withstand trial and temptations, that can overcome all hurdles, that can see the unseen, and that can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The faith in God that the Bible is referring to must be developed to the point where it can withstand hunger, thirst, and tiredness, a living faith that can prevent the advance of zoonotic and other diseases, a faith that will hold at bay the various epidemics that are going to appear across the world, a faith that cannot be detected by radar, and cannot be discovered by satellites a faith that cannot be interrupted, searched out, or destroyed by drones, a faith that can withstand bullets, and will not shrink even though it is severely tried.
This is the kind of faith that was exercised by David when he faced the prospect of defeating the giant. The children of Israel had fled before the face and threats of Goliath, who was the star of the Philistine army, and day by day he would come out to curse them to their face, and to make a mockery of The living God, while the hosts of Israel with their king Saul, cowered in fear and trembled at the sight of him. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17:2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
17:3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and [there was] a valley between them.
17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height [was] six cubits and a span.
17:5 And [he had] an helmet of brass upon his head, and he [was] armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat [was] five thousand shekels of brass.
17:6 And [he had] greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
17:7 And the staff of his spear [was] like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head [weighed] six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
17:8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set [your] battle in array? [am] not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
17:9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
17:10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
This Goliath, who was obviously on steroids, had defied the armies of Israel by making a mockery of their faith in God, and yet, throughout the vast hosts of Israel there was not one man who would stand up for Jesus, and by the grace of God, send the giant back into never-land. However, in the hills of Bethlehem of Judah, there was one young man, David by name who came forward, who showed no fear of the philistine and asked for the golden opportunity to slay the giant.
We use the phrase “Golden opportunity” in contrast with the fear and trembling that was invoked by the same dire situation in the minds and hearts of the other Israelites, for nothing had changed except that where Saul and his soldiers saw only defeat and failure, David with the eye of faith saw only success and triumph. They were both faced with a very daunting and dangerous situation, but what made all the difference in the world was their mindset, the disposition to be overwhelmed by negatives, by dwelling on all the bad things that could happen if they were to take on Goliath, while David dwelt entirely on the fact that God is able to do all things through those that exercise a living faith in Him, and it was from this perspective that he got the sturdy confidence to move forward in his purpose to slay the giant. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17:22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
17:23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard [them].
17:24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
17:25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, [that] the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
17:26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
When David observed what was taking place he became very upset for two main reasons, one, that the gun toting philistine should have the audacity to defy The living God in such a disrespectful and daring manner, and two, because the entire army, together with Saul should flee because of Goliaths threats and curses. But it is worthy of note that David did not just happen to come in possession of the faith he displayed by chance, but day by day, as difficulties and challenges presented themselves, David used them as opportunities to hone and perfect his faith in God, so that when he was faced with the giant, he had the confidence and assurance that was needed, both through knowledge and practice. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17:32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
17:33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou [art but] a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
17:34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
17:35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered [it] out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught [him] by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
17:36 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.
17:37 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 unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
It’s critically important for us to note that David knew exactly where his strength came from, for he did not depend upon the arm of flesh, but instead acknowledged the fact that it was God who delivered him in those prior instances, and therefore, because of these personal, undeniable testimonies of his, he was now able to move forward in faith, knowing that The same God who came through for him in times past, will now do it again.
But there was one problem that Saul still saw as an obstacle to complete victory, for David did not have any armor wherewith to fight, and so Saul did the best that he could do, by offering his own armor and sword to David. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17:38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
17:39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved [it]. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved [them]. And David put them off him.
This armor of Saul would have been a major hindrance to the victory God was about to give to His servant David, for it represented manmade inventions, schemes, and methods that are often used in overcoming hurdles and difficulties. Saul’s armor consisted of logic, finite reasoning, limits, common sense, and all of the other elements that we often use, that are really impediments to the exercise of living faith. So instead of taking Saul’s spear, David took the sword of the Spirit. Instead of Saul’s shield, he took the shield of faith, and instead of Saul’s helmet, David took the helmet of salvation, and with these three God-ordained pieces of spiritual armor, David pressed on in haste to meet and defeat the giant. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17:40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling [was] in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
17:41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield [went] before him.
17:42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was [but] a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
1st Samuel 17:40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling [was] in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
17:41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield [went] before him.
17:42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was [but] a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
17:46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle [is] the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands.
17:48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang [it], and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but [there was] no sword in the hand of David.
17:51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
This experience of David and Goliath, the dwarf and the giant, is fraught with instruction for us who are living in the twenty-first century, where, in the spiritual battles we face we are prone to use manmade “guns”, and “roses”, and many other humanistic inventions and schemes that are of no use to us or to God, and that’s one of the main reasons why we sometimes suffer defeat at the hands of our enemies.
Furthermore, it’s important for us to know that this incident is not a mere story, but represents on a wider stage, the battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil that were played out on the desert stage in the life and victories of Christ. As was stated over and over again in previous Bible studies, The Lord often uses incidents in the physical realm to portray great truths in the spiritual realm, and vice-versa, a system which we often refer to as the two-pronged method of interpreting the scriptures. This is confirmed by the following texts which are stacked line upon line. Let’s read:
1st Samuel17:16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
1st Samuel 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang [it], and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
That rock that smote into Goliath’s forehead represented Christ. Let’s read:
Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Daniel 2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
The same attitude that was displayed by Saul and the hosts of Israel, was formerly seen in the disposition exhibited by the Israelites, when faced with the giants in the land of Canaan. As the twelve spies returned from searching out the land, ten of them deliberately chose to dwell on the negative aspects of their adventure, instead of dwelling on the positives, and by so doing they reasoned themselves out of the hand of God, so that He was literally prevented from doing great things for them. Let’s read:
Numbers 13:26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
13:27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this [is] the fruit of it.
13:28 Nevertheless the people [be] strong that dwell in the land, and the cities [are] walled, [and] very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
13:29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
13:30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
13:31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they [are] stronger than we.
13:32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, [is] a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it [are] men of a great stature.
13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, [which come] of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Numbers 14:1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
14:2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
14:3 And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
14:4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
14:5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, [which were] of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
14:7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, [is] an exceeding good land.
14:8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
14:9 Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they [are] bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD [is] with us: fear them not.
14:10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
14:11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have showed among them?
This tendency of allowing negatives to consume our thoughts is not good, and should be resolutely put away, for it effectively stifles faith and literally ties the hands of God, so that the mighty things He intends to do for us, lay idle on the back-burner. While faith does not ignore negative possibilities, yet it is not inhibited by daunting circumstances, and is thus enabled to rise above the maze of man’s logical reasonings and limits, to soar to new heights of victories and discoveries.
Some Christians allow negative possibilities to prevent them from stepping out in faith, to do that which seems impossible to mortal eyes. For instance, some people would not move to Florida, because they are afraid of hurricanes, but they also wouldn’t move to California, for there they might meet with earthquakes. Oklahoma and the Midwest is not even given consideration by them because of tornadoes, and Chicago is too cold for comfort. And so they reason and reason and dwell continually on the negatives to the point where they end up homeless.
Others are scared to have children, because we are living in an evil world, while others put their education and personal advancement on hold because Jesus is coming soon. And many others are afraid to build or to renovate because of fear of the time of trouble, and so it is that many of us live our entire lives in a cramped spiritual cubicle, while many opportunities, adventures and possibilities pass us by daily.
I remember clearly the time when we were purchasing our home. As we sat at the closing table, the realtors seemed to be ill at ease, for the mortgage payment was pretty high, and so they watched nervously as we signed all the closing documents. I will never forget what took place right after everything was signed, for one of the realtors asked me a direct question with a cynical look on his face. He asked us how are we going to pay for the house, to which I responded, I don’t know. He then laughed it off with a half smile that savored of doubt and skepticism.
A few years later, after the great recession had hit America, he called to find out how we were doing and if we were still living in the same house to which I quickly responded that God had seen us through and we were all alive and doing well. His company had gone out of business, while those who trusted in God were doing just fine.
As Christians, we need to remember at all times and in all places, that we are not supposed to operate or live by the same standards and methods that are used by the world, and where the unbeliever only sees dark and rainy days ahead, we should see sunshine, because the God whom we serve is in control of both the sun and the rain, and He has plainly told us that all things will work together for the good of those who love God.
We therefore should consider a passage of scripture that presents both prospects of darkness and light, and the disposition we harbor will directly affect the way in which our future experiences will be handled. Let’s read:
Isaiah 21:11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
21:12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.
Our attitude will determine which of the two we will experience, either the morning experience or the night experience, it all has to do with the battles between the dwarf and the giant, as they unfold in our day to day experiences. May God help us to exercise that living faith in Him that will enable us to vanquish all external and internal foes, as we read our last passage of scripture for this afternoon. Let’s read:
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!