March 9, 2025
Pastor John Hering
1 Samuel 17:4–11
1 Samuel 17:4–11
4 A challenger who represented the Philistines came out from the camp of the Philistines. He was named Goliath of Gath. He was nine feet, six inches tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scaled body armor, which was made of more than one hundred pounds of bronze. 6 He had bronze greaves on his shins and a bronze spear slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spearhead was made of fifteen pounds of iron. His shield bearer went out ahead of him.
8 He would stand up and shout to the armies of Israel, “Why have you come out to line up in battle formation? I am a Philistine, and you are servants of Saul, aren’t you? Choose a man to represent you, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our servants, and you will serve us.” 10 The Philistine would say, “I defy the ranks of Israel today! Give me a man, and we will fight each other!” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.
32 David said to Saul, “Do not let anyone lose heart because of this Philistine! Your servant will go and fight him.”
33 But Saul said to David, “You cannot go against this Philistine to fight with him, because you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior since he was a youth.”
34 David said to Saul, “Your servant has been taking care of his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it and rescued the lamb out of its mouth. When the lion reared up against me, I grabbed it by its mane, struck it, and killed it. 36 Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has defied the ranks of the living God.” 37 David added, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go then! May the Lord be with you.” 38 So Saul dressed David in his own gear. He placed a bronze helmet on his head and dressed him in scaled body armor. 39 David strapped his sword over his gear. David tried to walk around in them, since he had never trained with this kind of equipment before.
David said to Saul, “I cannot go in these, because I have never trained with them.” So David took them off.
40 Then David took his staff in his hand and picked five smooth stones out of the stream bed and put them into the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. He took his sling in his hand and approached the Philistine.
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will hand you over to me. I will strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth. Then all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and all those gathered here will know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle belongs to the Lord, and he will deliver you into our hand.”
48 Then, when the Philistine started advancing to attack David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand into his bag, took a stone from it, shot it from his sling, and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground.
Dear Christians Friends, Who shot JFK? Was it Lee Harvy Oswald or the CIA? Who really attempted to assassinate President Trump? Was it Thomas Crooks? This article in the New York Post would suggest a larger conspiracy! “While friends, neighbors, and even former teachers describe Crooks as a kind and talented individual, investigators, including private detective Doug Hagmann, suggest Crooks may not have acted alone. Journalist Dana Kennedy spent a week in Butler and Bethel Park, digging deeper into Crooks’ background and the controversial events surrounding the shooting. Their investigation revealed unsettling questions, including the hasty cremation of Crooks’ body and the mysterious encrypted accounts he had overseas.” But that’s the thing with conspiracy theories. They try to explain certain events as being controlled by a group of powerful people who have a secret plot. Often their theories are hard to believe by some, and easy to believe by others. For instance, did astronauts really walk on the moon or was that Hollywood?
I’m not here today to argue about these conspiracy theories, but I would like to present a conspiracy theory of my own. “Who really killed the famous biblical giant, Goliath?” The obvious answer is, “David.” But, here’s my question, “Did David really kill Goliath?” Does the answer really matter? Yes, it does. The answer has to do with all the giants you are battling in your life. I want you to leave here today to confidently
Stand Up Against Any Giant
The Battle Isn’t Yours
So, did David really kill Goliath? Let’s look at the facts. The Israelites were at war with the Philistines and the biggest, strongest, fiercest warrior was Goliath.
“He was nine feet, six inches tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore scaled body armor, which was made of more than one hundred pounds of bronze. 6 He had bronze greaves on his shins and a bronze spear slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spearhead was made of fifteen pounds of iron. His shield bearer went out ahead of him.”
He has both offensive weapons and a defensive shield bearer. You wouldn’t want to fight a warrior like this and neither did the Israelite army.
How about David. Let’s look at the facts. He was a boy, let’s say between 16-20 years old, who had no experience in war. He had no training and had trouble even moving when King Saul put his armor on him. He did have some weapons—his shepherd’s staff, a sling and five stones. On the basis of this comparison what are the odds that David really killed Goliath?
Well let’s watch the video.
“10 The Philistine would say, “I defy the ranks of Israel today! Give me a man, and we will fight each other!” 48 Then, when the Philistine started advancing to attack David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand into his bag, took a stone from it, shot it from his sling, and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground.”
There you have it. The mighty warrior defeated by the underdog. David was victorious over Goliath. It seems straight forward doesn’t it?
But the plot thickens. Listen to what David said about this battle when he was questioned by King Saul and his abilities to do this.
“34 David said to Saul, “Your servant has been taking care of his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it and rescued the lamb out of its mouth. When the lion reared up against me, I grabbed it by its mane, struck it, and killed it.”
Before hearing these words we would have big doubts about David going up against Goliath. If you were confronted by a bear, you would run the other direction as fast as you could. And that is an insight into David’s success. The Battle Wasn’t Just His. His victory wasn’t just based on his own abilities. David would agree,
“37 David added, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
So, who rescued David from the lion and the bear? It was ultimately the Lord God!
Truth: So my comment, “Did David really kill Goliath” has more to do with the Lord deliverance than David’s aim. David remembered the Lord’s faithfulness and deliverance in those past situations and trusted that the Lord God would deliver him against his battle with Goliath.
David was ready to Stand Up Against Any Giant because he believed “The Battle Isn’t Yours.” David said as much.
“You come against me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will hand you over to me. I will strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth. Then all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and all those gathered here will know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle belongs to the Lord, and he will deliver you into our hand.”
God really killed Goliath. You probably don’t have a hard time believing this because you also believe that the Lord is in control of all things. But that’s the point. God Is In Control of All Things! David trusted that he would fight a battle, but the Battle Wasn’t His. God worked through David. It was God that gave David the talent needed to aim that stone to knock out the giant. God gave David the courage to Stand Up Against Any Giant because the Battle Wasn’t His – it was the Lords! David acknowledged this truth in Psalm 124,
“2 unless it was the Lord who was for us when people rose against us, 3 they would have swallowed us alive when their anger burned against us. 6 Blessed be the Lord, who has not let us be prey for their teeth. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Who is overcoming the giants in your life? You know the challenges and obstacles in your life that may seem enormous. You know the sickness, family breakups, financial disaster, addictions and shame. And never forget the biggest giant in your life is your own sinful nature! Your sinful, disobedient lives deserve your total defeat and the fullness of God wrath. Who is Going to Slay These Giants in your life? The same Lord God who was with David is with you to Stand Up Against Any Giant because you know The Battle Isn’t Yours. It belongs to the Lord who also blesses you To Stand Up Against Any Giant because
The Victory is Yours
Satan has a conspiracy theory of his own. He wants you to believe that you have to work hard to gain the victory. It’s up to YOU to overcome all the challenges in your life and your sin before God. Satan wants you to believe his false conspiracy theory so you will give up, be misled, find false hope in your efforts and fail. Satan is working hard to tempt you to fail so that he can claim the victory. No matter how strong or weak you are, we all face temptations and should lose the battle with sin. We try to manage life according to our desires. We try to fight the temptation with our strength. Yet, as hard as one tries to manage their life, they will rarely win a battle and never achieve a perfect victory. This is the time to remember this truth: The the Victory is Won by the Lord!
Let’s visit the gospel for today for just a minute. Jesus faced full-on temptations by Satan for 40 days in the desert that ended with the three mentioned by Luke. But, that wasn’t the end of Satan’s attacks. The writer to the Hebrews says Jesus, “has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.” (Heb 4:15). Satan wanted Jesus to turn away from his Father, to fail in his mission to be the Savior who would rescue sinners from God’s anger. But, what do we hear Jesus say, “12 Jesus answered him, “It says: ‘You shall not test the Lord your God” (Luke 4:12). Jesus didn’t fail but Gained The Victory. Jesus defeated Satan’s temptations by relying on God’s promises. Then Jesus took his perfect life to the cross. By his death he crushed Satan’s power. By his death he paid the penalty of all our sins and gained the Victory For You. The Victory is Yours! Jesus destroyed the curse of sin, the power of the devil and opened the gate of heaven for all people. Believe it!
David could Stand Up Against Any Giant because he believed the Victory was His from the Lord. That’s why “Saul said to David, “Go then! May the Lord be with you.” So David left confident in the victory by the Lord to face Goliath.
“45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will hand you over to me. I will strike you down and cut off your head.”
That’s confidence in the victory. This pictures for us what Jesus has done for you. Jesus continues to fight the giants in your life and has promised that The Victory Is Yours. Jesus doesn’t send you out against the temptations and trouble in your life armed with the sword of God’s Word to fight on your own. Today he reminds us that The Holy Spirit is the powerful hand that is holding the sword of God’s Word for us. Stand Up Against Any Giant in your life with the Word made flesh (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit leading the charge because The Victory Is Yours!
When we look at the account of David and Goliath it would be easy for us to say that David was the underdog. When you face life against Satan, the World and your Sinful flesh it would also be easy to call you the underdog. There are going to be trials and battles in your life and sometimes they will hurt you. But, when you are tested by these trials remember the conspiracy theory that actually is the truth: The Battle Isn’t Yours, but the Victory Is Yours in Christ, and you’re not the underdog at all. You have God on your side and with God on your side everyone else becomes the underdog. There is no conspiracy theory to see here. Just the real truth: Stand Up Against Any Giant in Christ. Amen!
