This is a study I am doing in class at church for the battle of the Giants that are in our lives. I have copied just the data/outline information from my outline so you will have to fill in the gaps. There will be 10 giants that we discuss through out the class. I will present each one of the outlines as I complete the study.Background information as we set up the methodology of studying and defeating the giants.
Setting the tone
What this class is not:
It is not a sermon or a lecture…it is meant to be interactive.
We just finished up in Hebrews looking at the Faith scriptures and the race. I really like the scriptures that talk about “our” race. The neat thing about racing (at least for me) is that you don’t have to compete with everyone else. It is about finishing the race. The only person you complete with is yourself.
· When you train for a run, you beat yourself into submission.
· You tell yourself in the morning that you need to get up and go run (even though you are so tired).
· You stop eating junk food (even though that cheese burger and fries smells so good).
· You overcome the pain in your knee so you can meet the challenge.
Each of these little obstacles are called “trials”. And even though (a few weeks ago at the communion table) I talked about “Who likes a good challenge?” but “Who likes a good challenge?” doesn’t sound so appetizing. James talks a lot about the trials we are supposed to face and rejoice in. In sports, we always called it “No Pain No Gain”. Powerlifting was a great example because we would press our bodies, our muscle into use and by lifting break them down (you actually tear them). And then you allow for the recovery to make them grow.
Recognizable goal. A measureable goal. Do we have something like that where we can measure our growth as easily? Is there a graph that we can follow to see our performance? Not really. In running I have the Run Keeper APP. There is an app for that! You can see how long I ran each day, how much time, how much distance. There is even a calorie count. There are even enough details that tell me how fast I was running each minute.
· Can you see faith?
· Can you see the wind?
· We cannot see these things but we can see their effects on us and/or the surroundings.
· During our “workouts” do we or will we encounter setbacks to our training? Of course. In sports, we call it hitting a wall. An imaginary barrier that stops us and prevents us from obtaining our goal.
· For our purposes of this class we are going to call OUR WALL…..OUR GIANTS.
o We face invisible giants everyday and they are all different. The giants are our enemy and they seek out the weakness in our armor to attack us. If one weakness does work, then another is sought out until it is something that found that impedes our progress.
o We cannot see these giants, but we can see their effects on us.
o Probably need to define a Giant.
§ Initially we are going to look at 10 different GIANTS
§ There maybe many more relatives of these giants that we can also touch on if desired.
§ We will look at how these giants are depicted within the bible examples.
§ We will look at these same giants within our own battles.
§ Then we will look at biblical scriptures of how we are to face and challenge these giants.
o In order to better understand these invisible giants we need to maybe first study an actual giant.
1 Samuel 17
New King James Version (NKJV)
David and Goliath
We are going to review the story of David and Goliath and understand the components of that story so we can utilize and develop an outline to compare and analyze the other giants that we will face in our lives. It isn’t likely that we will encounter a 10 foot tall giant but it is more than likely that we will face larger spiritual giants regularly in our life. Regularly: Seemed like every spring Israel was at battle. They prepared themselves for battle, therefore we must also prepare ourselves for battle and to know our enemy.
THE SITUATION:
Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
This is a physical battle with the opponent facing us. The Israelites could see and count the enemy. The Philistines drew together in a line….hence battle array. They could weigh the costs of this battle. Did they want to go to battle? What was the point of battle for the Philistines? What was the point of the battle for the Israelites? They were told by God to destroy all but didn’t. DUET 20:16-18 16 “But of the cities of these peoples which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, 17 but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, 18 lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God.”
Joshua 23 talks about the consequences of not following through with God’s command of removing all the other people. Judges 1:27-36, Judges 2:1-3,
Samuel was the last judge. Saul was the first king. Did that have anything to do with the situation?
What is our situation? Are we faced with battle lines drawn in front of us? Readying ourselves for war? Do we constantly fight? Why? Is it just inevitable? Did we not drive out the enemy entirely? There are obstacles that we read about in Job that are the consequences in life. They are trials for us to face. We do invite the enemy in at times because we sin. God will fight for us but if we leave stuff in ourselves, then it is our fault.
THE OPPONANT: (opposition)
4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (9 feet 9 inches) 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. (about 125 pounds); 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; (about 15 pounds) and a shield-bearer went before him.
Compare possibly Saul at 2/3rds the size. 6’-6”? Still pretty big. We were told that he was a head and shoulders above all others. 85 pounds of armor. Why did the Giant wear all the heavy armor? I am going to guess that the giant couldn’t necessarily move real quick. I am pretty sure that the leg armor was because most of his opponents were lower to the ground to begin with. Why bronze? He was their champion.
Our opponents are all different and attack differently. They attack our different weaknesses. We will need to examine each of them separately to fully understand them and learn how to defend against them.
THE CHALLENGE: (antagonize)
8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
What was the challenge? One man fight all win or loose. Would this appeal to a king? Would the looser truly submit to the winner? Was this really ever done? Successfully? What was the giant’s strategy? FEAR. Do you think he ever fought much? Probably didn’t need to……people would just give up. Right? Why would we try to combat such an obvious opponent that would surly win? What does fear do to a man? Freeze, immobilize, reduces his self confidence, his faith.
Are we froze with fear? Fear can be crippling. Do we have a giant yelling at us? Challenging us? Do we just surrender?
FEAR has a few aspects of it: 1. We fear, 2. what others fear, 3. who fear us
Webster definition:
Pronunciation: fērd
n.
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1.
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1.
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A painful emotion or passion excited by the expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger; apprehension; anxiety; solicitude; alarm; dread.
- Locke.
- Milton.
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2.
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(Script.) Apprehension of incurring, or solicitude to avoid, God's wrath; the trembling and awful reverence felt toward the Supreme Being.
- Jer. xxxii. 40.
- Ps. xxxiv. 11.
- Rom. xiii. 7.
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3.
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That which causes, or which is the object of, apprehension or alarm; source or occasion of terror; danger; dreadfulness.
- Ps. liii. 5.
- Shak.
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v. t.
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1.
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To feel a painful apprehension of; to be afraid of; to consider or expect with emotion of alarm or solicitude.
- Ps. xxiii. 4.
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2.
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- Milton.
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3.
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- Shak.
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4.
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- Shak.
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5.
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- Robynson (More's Utopia).
- Shak.
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v. i.
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1.
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Related words:
abulia, agitation, all-overs, angst, anticipate, anxiety hysteria, anxiety neurosis, anxious bench, anxious concern, anxious seat, anxiousness, apprehend, apprehension, apprehensiveness, attack of nerves, awe, back down, balance, be afraid, bete noire, bogey, bogy, buck fever, bugbear, cankerworm of care, care, case of nerves, chicken-liveredness, chickenheartedness, cold feet, cold sweat, concern, concernment, cowardliness, cravenness, debate, deliberate, demur, diffidence, discomposure, disquiet, disquietude, distress, disturbance, esteem, excessive irritability, expect, eye askance, faintheart, faintheartedness, faintness, falter, fearfulness, feeblemindedness, feebleness, fidgetiness, fidgets, foreboding, forebodingness, forebodings, foresee, frailty, funk, hang back, have qualms, hem and haw, henheartedness, hesitate, hesitation, hover, hum and haw, imagine, infirmity, inquietude, jib, lily-liveredness, malaise, milksopism, milksoppiness, milksoppishness, misgive, misgiving, morbid excitability, nerves, nervosity, nervous stomach, nervous strain, nervous tension, nervousness, nightmare, overanxiety, panickiness, pause, perturbation, phobia, pigeonheartedness, pins and needles, pliability, ponder, presentiment, pucker, pull back, qualms, quiver, respect, retreat, revere, reverence, scruple, second thoughts, shilly-shally, shrink from, shudder at, shy, sit upon thorns, softness, solicitude, spell of nerves, spinelessness, stage fright, stand aghast, state of nerves, stew, stick at, stickle, stop to consider, straddle the fence, strain, strain at, suspect, suspense, tension, think twice about, tic, timidity, timidness, timorousness, trepidity, trouble, twitching, unease, uneasiness, unmanfulness, unmanliness, unquietness, upset, vellication, venerate, veneration, vexation, weak will, weak-mindedness, weakheartedness, weakness, withdraw, worry, yellowness, yield, zeal
Our God can roar too. But he doesn’t have too. Other ways to show power….and fear.
1 Kings 19:11-13
New King James Version (NKJV)
God’s Revelation to Elijah
11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
John 3:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 4:24
New King James Version (NKJV)
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Acts 2
New King James Version (NKJV)
Coming of the Holy Spirit
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord[a] in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
We should have some peace over these giants we face because God tells us that he will deliver us from those that are too strong.
Psalm 18:16-17
New King James Version (NKJV)
16 He sent from above, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
He drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy,
From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
WHO WE ARE:
12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul. 15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
Son of Jesse, not really anything dramatic just a shepherd boy that happened to be somewhat small and was also the youngest of eight brothers. What made David special? Faith. Unwavering in his faith that God would protect him. He had no fear. Did being a shepherd provide him with an advantage or disadvantage? Do you think he envied his brothers? Yes, he felt left behind being the younger brother. What do you think his age was? Teenager feeling a bit over confident? Invincible?
Compare with Christian Thompson. There has always been competition with his older brothers. Eat more, better in football, grow facial hair faster….it is all about competition. I believe we need to understand exactly who we are, what we are, where we are (strong, faithful, enduring individual etc) so that we can determine our strategy for the battle. It does you no good to pretend you are someone you are not. We need to be realistic. Set realistic goals and realistic means of accomplishments.
More antagonizing
16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.
OUR WORK:
17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them.
OTHERS WORLDLY VIEW:
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”
26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” 30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.
31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him. 32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
OUR FAITH: (Our determination)
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
OUR WORLDLY WEAPONS: (false hope)
38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
OUR UNCOMMON WEAPONS: (Weapons of faith)
40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a 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. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
OUR UNCOMMON VICTORY:
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
OUR EXAMPLE:
And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley[a] and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?”And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”
56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”
57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
So David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
Footnotes:
- 1 Samuel 17:4 That is, about 9 feet 9 inches or about 3 meters
- 1 Samuel 17:5 That is, about 125 pounds or about 58 kilograms
- 1 Samuel 17:7 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
- 1 Samuel 17:17 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
- 1 Samuel 17:18 Or some token; or some pledge of spoils
- 1 Samuel 17:52 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew of a valley
GIANTS in the promised land.
Numbers 13
New King James Version (NKJV)
Spies Sent into Canaan
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”
3 So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. 4 Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea[a] the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea[b] the son of Nun, Joshua.
17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, 18 and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. 22 And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. 24 The place was called the Valley of Eshcol,[c] because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. 25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days.
26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants[d] (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
etthisibelieve
eugene thompson
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