They Might Be Giants - 9. The Beguiling Giant: Deception

What does beguiling mean?
Enticing, charming, mesmeric, fascinating, captivating, enthralling, appealing, attractive, mesmerizing

What does this giant look like?
Powerful and Cruel Giant
He can strike in an instant
Devastation to ourselves and others around us
He doesn’t carry weapons of wood or iron.

“Our WORDS have untold power to BLESS, but they can do equally untold harm when we don’t speak truthfully.”
Lives…..DESTROYED (Deceptive words)
Reputations…..Ruined (Well placed lies)
Dreams…..Dashed (misled)

Psalm 38:11-12
New King James Version (NKJV)
11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.

Matthew 24:10-12
New King James Version (NKJV)
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

Matthew 24:23-25
New King James Version (NKJV)
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.

Life and death is in the tongue

Proverbs 18:19-21
New King James Version (NKJV)
19 A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city,
And contentions are like the bars of a castle.
20 A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth;
From the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Commandment #9

Exodus 23:1-3
New King James Version (NKJV)
Justice for All
23 “You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. 2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 3 You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.

“Neither my words nor my actions contained even a hint of deception”

Matthew 24:4-5
New King James Version (NKJV)
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.


4 types of Deception
Outright lies
Twisted Truth
Malicious Gossip
Flattery (inaccurate picture of the truth)

Many times it involves CHEATING OTHERS.

Proverbs 26:18-19
New King James Version (NKJV)
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,
19 Is the man who deceives his neighbor,
And says, “I was only joking!”

Jeremiah 9:3-6
New King James Version (NKJV)
3 “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know Me,” says the Lord.
4 “Everyone take heed to his neighbor,
And do not trust any brother;
For every brother will utterly supplant,
And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.
5 Everyone will deceive his neighbor,
And will not speak the truth;
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6 Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the Lord.

Scramble to remember our latest FABRICATION so as to “KEEP OUR STORY STRAIGHT”

Adam & Eve
Serpent Deceived Eve by blurring the distinction between DIVINE ORDER and A FRIENDLY PIECE OF ADVISE.
Moses and the 10 suggestions
Eve misled husband
The two attempted to deceive their maker

Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent, and the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on!

Genesis 3:12-14
New King James Version (NKJV)
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent:
“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.

YOU CANNOT DECEIVE GOD

LIE TO ME (television show)
Inspired by a real-life behavioral scientist, this FOX drama tells the tale of a deception expert who helps uncover the truth for the FBI, local police, law firms, corporations, and individuals. Dr. Cal Lightman and his team are effectively human polygraph machines, and no truth can be concealed from them.

Our faces reveal multitudes about what we are thinking, feeling, intending.
A slack jaw hints that we’ve been surprised,
flared nostrils suggest hostility.
Drooping eyelids indicate sadness or perhaps just … exhaustion.
This is to say nothing of the powerful messages communicated by the face in the embarrassed downward glance,
the flirtatious “look away,” or the piercing stare.

10,000 expressions – 43 muscles in the face
7 basic emotions: fear, happiness, sadness, anger, contempt, disgust and surprise

TEN SIGNS OF DECEPTION



1. Lack of self-reference

Truthful people make frequent use of the pronoun "I" to describe their actions: "I arrived home at 6:30. The phone was ringing as I unlocked the front door, so I walked straight to the kitchen to answer it. I talked to my mother for 10 minutes before noticing that my TV and computer were missing from the living room." This brief statement contains the pronoun "I" four times in three sentences. 

Deceptive people often use language that minimizes references to themselves. One way to reduce self-references is to describe events in the passive voice.

"The safe was left unlocked" rather than "I left the safe unlocked."
"The shipment was authorized" rather than "I authorized the shipment."
Another way to reduce self-references is to substitute the pronoun "you" for "I."
Question: "Can you tell me about reconciling the bank statement?"

Answer: "You know, you try to identify all the outstanding checks and deposits in transit, but sometimes when you're really busy you just post the differences to the suspense account."

In oral statements and informal written statements, deceptive witnesses sometimes simply omit self-referencing pronouns. Consider this statement by a husband who claims his wife was killed accidently: "I picked up the gun to clean it. Moved it to the left hand to get the cleaning rod. Something bumped the trigger. The gun went off, hitting my wife." The husband acknowledges in the first sentence that he picked up the gun. But the second sentence is grammatically incomplete; "I" has been omitted from the beginning of the sentence. In the third sentence, "something" rather than "I" bumped the trigger. The statement also contains few personal possessive pronouns. The witness refers to "the" gun and "the" left hand where we might expect "my" to be used. 



2. Verb tense. 

Truthful people usually describe historical events in the past tense. Deceptive people sometimes refer to past events as if the events were occurring in the present. Describing past events using the present tense suggests that people are rehearsing the events in their mind. Investigators should pay particular attention to points in a narrative at which the speaker shifts to inappropriate present tense usage. Consider the following statement made by an employee claiming that a pouch containing $6,000 in cash was stolen before she could deposit it at the bank (I have emphasized certain words.):

"After closing the store, I put the cash pouch in my car and drove to the Olympia Bank building on Elm Street. It was raining hard so I had to drive slowly. I entered the parking lot and drove around back to the night depository slot. When I stopped the car and rolled down my window, a guy jumps out of the bushes and yells at me. I can see he has a gun. He grabs the cash pouch and runs away. The last I saw him he was headed south on Elm Street. After he was gone, I called the police on my cell phone and reported the theft."

The first three sentences describe the employee's drive to the bank in the past tense. But the next three sentences describe the alleged theft in the present tense. An alert investigator might suspect that the employee stole the day's cash receipts, then drove to the bank and called the police from the bank parking lot to report a phony theft. (See another example in "Antics with Semantics" at bottom.)



3. Answering questions with questions

Even liars prefer not to lie. Outright lies carry the risk of detection. Before answering a question with a lie, a deceptive person will usually try to avoid answering the question at all. One common method of dodging questions is to respond with a question of one's own. Investigators should be alert to responses such as:
"Why would I steal from my own brother?"
"Do I seem like the kind of person who would do something like that?"
"Don't you think somebody would have to be pretty stupid to remove cash from their own register drawer?"

4. Equivocation

The subject avoids an interviewer's questions by filling his or her statements with expressions of uncertainty, weak modifiers and vague expressions. Investigators should watch for words such as: think, guess, sort of, maybe, might, perhaps, approximately, about, could. Vague statements and expressions of uncertainty allow a deceptive person leeway to modify his or her assertions at a later date without directly contradicting the original statement. 
Noncommittal verbs are: think, believe, guess, suppose, figure, assume. Equivocating adjectives and adverbs are: sort of, almost, mainly, perhaps, maybe, about. Vague qualifiers are: you might say, more or less.



5. Oaths

Although deceptive subjects attempt to give interviewers as little useful information as possible, they try very hard to convince interviewers that what they say is true. Deceptive subjects often use mild oaths to try to make their statements sound more convincing. Deceptive people are more likely than truthful people to sprinkle their statements with expressions such as: "I swear," "on my honor," "as God is my witness," "cross my heart." Truthful witnesses are more confident that the facts will prove the veracity of their statements and feel less need to back their statements with oaths.


6. Euphemisms

Many languages offer alternative terms for almost any action or situation. Statements made by guilty parties often include mild or vague words rather than their harsher, more explicit synonyms. Euphemisms portray the subject's behavior in a more favorable light and minimize any harm the subject's actions might have caused. Investigators should look for euphemistic terms such as: "missing" instead of "stolen," "borrowed" instead of "took," "bumped" instead of "hit," and "warned" instead of "threatened."



7. Alluding to actions

People sometimes allude to actions without saying they actually performed them. Consider the following statement from an employee who was questioned about the loss of some valuable data: "I try to back up my computer and put away my papers every night before going home. Last Tuesday, I decided to copy my files onto the network drive and started putting my papers in my desk drawer. I also needed to lock the customer list in the office safe." Did the employee back up her computer? Did she copy her files onto the network drive? Did she put her papers in the desk drawer? Did she lock the customer list in the office safe? The employee alluded to all these actions without saying definitively that she completed any of them. An attentive investigator should not assume that subjects perform every action they allude to.



8. Lack of Detail

Truthful statements usually contain specific details, some of which may not even be relevant to the question asked. This happens because truthful subjects are retrieving events from long-term memory, and our memories store dozens of facts about each experience — the new shoes we were wearing, the song that was playing in the background, the woman at the next table who reminded us of our third-grade teacher, the conversation that was interrupted when the fire alarm rang. At least some of these details will show up in a truthful subject's statement. 

Those who fabricate a story, however, tend to keep their statements simple and brief. Few liars have sufficient imagination to make up detailed descriptions of fictitious events. Plus, a deceptive person wants to minimize the risk that an investigator will discover evidence contradicting any aspect of his or her statement; the fewer facts that might be proved false, the better. Wendell Rudacille, the author of "Identifying Lies in Disguise" (Kendall/Hunt, 1994), refers to seemingly inconsequential details as "tangential verbal data" and considers their presence to be prime indicators that subjects are telling the truth. 



9. Narrative balance

A narrative consists of three parts: prologue, critical event and aftermath. The prologue contains background information and describes events that took place before the critical event. The critical event is the most important occurrence in the narrative. The aftermath describes what happened after the critical event. In a complete and truthful narrative, the balance will be approximately 20 percent to 25 percent prologue, 40 percent to 60 percent critical event and 25 percent to 35 percent aftermath. If one part of the narrative is significantly shorter than expected, important information may have been omitted. If one part of the narrative is significantly longer than expected, it may be padded with false information. The following statement, filed with an insurance claim, is suspiciously out of balance:

"I was driving east on Elm Street at about 4:00 on Tuesday. I was on my way home from the A&P supermarket. The traffic light at the intersection of Elm and Patterson was red, so I came to a complete stop. After the light turned green, I moved slowly into the intersection. All of a sudden, a car ran into me. The other driver didn't stop, so I drove home and called my insurance agent."

The subject's statement contains four sentences of prologue, only one sentence describing the critical event, and only one sentence of aftermath. The prologue contains a credible amount of detail: the day and time of the accident, the driver's destination, and the location of the accident. But the description of the critical event (i.e., the alleged accident) is suspiciously brief. The claimant did not describe the other vehicle, which direction it came from, how fast it was going, whether the driver braked to try to avoid the accident or how the two vehicles made contact. 

The aftermath is also shorter than one would expect from a complete and truthful account of a two-car accident. The claimant does not say which direction the other vehicle went after leaving the scene of the accident. He does not mention getting out of his vehicle to inspect the damage nor does he say whether he spoke to any people in the area who may have witnessed the accident. A claims adjuster receiving such a statement would be wise to investigate whether the policyholder concocted a phony hit-and-run story to collect for damages caused by the driver's negligence.



10. Mean Length of Utterance

The average number of words per sentence is called the "mean length of utterance" (MLU). The MLU equals the total number of words in a statement divided by the number of sentences:

Total number of words / Total number of sentences = MLU

Most people tend to speak in sentences of between 10 and 15 words (ACFE Self-Study CPE Course, "Analyzing Written Statements for Deception and Fraud," 2009). When people feel anxious about an issue, they tend to speak in sentences that are either significantly longer or significantly shorter than the norm. Investigators should pay particular attention to sentences whose length differs significantly from the subject's MLU.


Why does telling the truth seem so difficult when stretching the truth comes so easily?

What motivates us to speak deceitfully?
Why do we find it necessary to lie or twist the truth?
Why do we tend to present the facts in a way that is unfairly or deceitfully beneficial to us?

CAUSES: Caving into the Giant

OUR OWN FEAR
We fear the outcome of telling the truth
We lack the courage to face the consequences.
What are the consequences?

Romans 6:23
New King James Version (NKJV)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Thessalonians 2:2-4
New King James Version (NKJV)
2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ[a] had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin[b] is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God[c] in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

SIMPLE GREED FOR MATERIAL OR MONETARY GAIN
Giant DISCONTENT
Deceitfully gotten material. Wealth will never satisfy you, but will only make your lust for more stronger and stronger to the point that that is will consume you.
Your possessions will posses you.

2 Timothy 3:12-14
New King James Version (NKJV)
12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

OWN YOUR ANGER
“Get even” – False truths about others
Speaking deceptive words is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die: It may hurt your enemy, but eventually it will destroy you.

Deuteronomy 11:15-17
New King James Version (NKJV)
15 And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’ 16 “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, 17 lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

Ephesians 5:6-7
New King James Version (NKJV)
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.


SELFISH PRIDE
Pride motivates us to use deception because we feel the need to build ourselves up in the eyes of the world around us
Pride kills

Galatians 6:2-4
New King James Version (NKJV)
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.


ASK YOURSELF!

We must DISARM the Giant!

Proverbs 26:20-22
New King James Version (NKJV)
20 Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.
21 As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,
So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
22 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
And they go down into the inmost body.

Poisonous Communication

GOSSIP (Relaying Information)
What is your motivation for relaying those facts. Constructive Information or Destructive Gossip
Example: Merchant
Verbal Vandalism Destroying his or her own property.
Have you listened? “Accessory to SIN”
Why?
Gain Advantage
Meanness
Get even
Example: Guards
TWISTING
Van Alen Story
FLATTERY
Opposite of Encouragement
Speak from Pure hearts.

Colossians 2:4
New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.

OUR WEAPONS
Deception is Deception
“White Lies or Half Truths” – HALF Truth is always a WHOLE Lie
Negative
Stop and think! Who is this going to benefit?
Flattery
Consider your Motives
Count the Cost of your Words
Weight Watcher!
What can you loose?
Advantages of Truth

Proverbs 19:1
New King James Version (NKJV)
Better is the poor who walks in his integrity
Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

The only one Lying is the Giant: Deception

They Might Be Giants - 8. The Selfish Giant: Disregard

Two wealthy men. Both are have achieved exceptional wealth in their lives. They both have beautiful homes and many paid servants. Both have many acres of land, cars, boats, etc. They both have all the money they could ever use in this lifetime as well as the next. One is the picture of generosity. He pays his employees well, and gives to the poor and needy. He brings his tithes and offerings to the house of God. He gives cheerfully, because he knows

2 Corinthians 9:7
New King James Version (NKJV)
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

How can we be a cheerful giver? In your estimation what makes a cheerful giver? Are you a cheerful giver? Are you as big of a cheerful giver as you are cheerful with your big screen television purchase? Electric bill? Are you excited? We are obviously excited about spending time with our new big tv purchase....how about your excitement for your offering you give.

The other man is every bit as wealthy as the first, but anything but generous with his material blessings. He's stingy especially when it comes to the salary of his employees. He rarely helps those less fortunate than himself. He gives in the offering, but not near as cheerful as the first man. It almost pains him to drop that check into the offering. This man has been blessed with material wealth, but lives a life of disregard for anyone's needs but his own.
The second man describes the next giant we're about to discuss. The giant called “disregard.”

Proverbs 11:25
New King James Version (NKJV)
25 The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.

Proverbs 22:9
New King James Version (NKJV)
9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.

When we spoke about the giant of discontent, we said there was nothing inherently wrong with working hard to create material wealth, that it is fine to have ambition. We warned against making the acquisition of material wealth the center of your life. Not allowing yourself to fall into the trap of loving or serving money or material goods.


1 Timothy 6:10
New King James Version (NKJV)
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

When you allow yourself to fall into those things, you have been defeated by the giant called discontent. As long as you are losing a battle with discontent, you can count on disregard to join in the fight too. When disregard goes to war with us, he more often than not enlists discontent as his ally.
The giant named disregard wants us to cling tightly to what we have earned--to what God has generously given us. He defeats us by getting inside our heads and telling us that we don't have enough for our own needs, that we just can't afford to give to others. He takes us down by convincing us that if we give to eternal causes, then we'll be shorted and won't be able to pay our own way in the here and now.

There is something inside all of us that makes it difficult, in some cases impossible, to part with our money for the good of others and even for God Himself. There is some part of our fallen nature that keeps us from enjoying the blessings we receive when we learn to give freely and joyfully.

Ecclesiastes 5:10
New King James Version (NKJV)
He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.

Even though one may have plenty as far as monetary things, we must not place our trust in that. One day it will be useless to us. We must use our money to do good for those around us and to further the purposes of God. When we do this we store up real and lasting treasures for ourselves.

GIVE TO THE LORD FIRST AND THE BEST

Numbers 18:12
New King James Version (NKJV)
12 “All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you.

Ezekiel 44:30
New King James Version (NKJV)
30 The best of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

Rams, Lambs, Goats
Exodus and several locations in the front of Leviticus tells us about what and how we select our offering. Unblemished without spots.

Disregard for people
EXAMPLES

Luke 10:25-36
New King James Version (NKJV)
Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”

27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’[h] and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”[i]

28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed,[j] he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”


Acts 5:1-11
New King James Version (NKJV)
Ananias & Sapphira - Lying to the Holy Spirit

5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.

7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”

She said, “Yes, for so much.”

9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. 11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.


Ephesians 5:33

New King James Version (NKJV)
Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.


Luke 20:9-18
New King James Version (NKJV)
The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.

13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’ 14 But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.”

And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”

17 Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone’?[a]
18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

Matthew 21:27, Mark 12:6
Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

In the presence of true generosity, the giant named disregard will be defeated on the spot. But how do we make use of the weapon of generosity? How do we take on an attitude, a heart condition if you will, of giving?

A mindset of generosity must begin with the realization that God has given us everything we have, our material riches, our power, our gifts, and talents--and He holds us accountable for how we use those things. It's the realization that God holds ultimate ownership over everything, and that includes all we have. Scripture says in

SELF RESPECT

1 Corinthians 6:19, 20,
"Do you not know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you are bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

Whether you admit it or not, without the blessing and generous hand of God, you and I have and are not anything. When God chooses to bless you, He expects you to use those blessings to do the things He wants done.

Does this mean we're to take vows of poverty? Does it mean we should give everything to the poor and needy and move into a cave and become a hermit? NO! It simply means that our first priority, whether or not we are wealthy is to use our resources in a way that reflects God's ultimate ownership of those things.

If we are going to conquer the giant named disregard, we must develop our "weapon" of generosity the way a good soldier develops his swordsmanship or marksmanship skills, with practice, practice, practice.
Conquering the giant called disregard means understanding that you cannot serve two masters--namely God and money. You will always be a servant to something, and if you do not serve God and regard what He has given you, you will become a servant to your money. When you place your earthly treasures at the center of your life, you will be defeated by the giants named discontent and disregard.

Abraham faced a challenge when he was asked to give up the greatest gift he had ever received--his promised child, Isaac. The Lord prompted Abraham to give up Isaac, on an altar. Abraham may not have understood why God wanted him to do such a thing, but he was nonetheless obedient. When Abraham was found faithful to God, when God knew that he would not hold back even his beloved son, Isaac was spared.

Three uses of our generosity weapon
Abraham realized what we must also realize if we are to defeat the giant name disregard. We are to serve God and God alone, and there is nothing we shouldn't be willing to surrender to Him.
Each of us must begin today, through our generosity with those less fortunate, through our giving to the work God wants done--to convert our present wealth into the currency that is going to last beyond our lifetimes. It's the surest way to leave a legacy of lasting success.

It will speak volumes to the next giant we battle and how serious you and I are when it comes to putting the needs of others high on our list of priorities--which is important, because the next giant is disregard's evil twin: division.coming next!

They Might Be Giants - 10. The Subtle Giant: Discontent

What does a giant look like?

·         Muscle

·         Armor

·         Declares war on us

·         Too big to sneak up on us – we read what Goliath looked like in 1 SAM 17

This Giant doesn’t roar

“He knows how to kill us slowly, from the inside out by feeding us one lie after another until we are robbed of energy, our joy of life, our purpose for existence.”

This Giant, Discontent mocks us. And honestly we deserve it! We are a people that live a life of discontent. We are not satisfied with our position in life. We look for more and more to add to what we already have. There is never enough money. We have crazy debt in credit cards, home loans because we need a bigger and bigger house, car loans because we always need the newest car, and it is never enough.

We think it is our right! Our right to have all of these things…even though it took our parents years to reach this status. If our parents didn’t have the money we didn’t get it. However we are impatient…..we have to have it know.  This is the delusion that the giant of Discontent gives us.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

1 Samuel 22

New King James Version (NKJV)

David’s Four Hundred Men

22 David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. ² And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.

Luke 3:7-14

New King James Version (NKJV)

John Preaches to the People

⁷ Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ⁹ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?”

¹¹ He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”

¹² Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

¹³ And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”

¹⁴ Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?”

So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

Philippians 4:10-13

New King James Version (NKJV)

Philippian Generosity

¹⁰ But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³ I can do all things through Christ^[a] who strengthens me.

1 Timothy 6:5-7

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁵ useless wranglings^[a] of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.^[b]

⁶ Now godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain^[c] we can carry nothing out. ⁸ And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

Hebrews 13

New King James Version (NKJV)

Concluding Moral Directions

13 Let brotherly love continue. ² Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. ³ Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

⁴ Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”^{[a] 6} So we may boldly say:

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?”^[b]

3 John 1:9-11

New King James Version (NKJV)

Diotrephes and Demetrius

⁹ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. ¹⁰ Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

¹¹ Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but^[a] he who does evil has not seen God.

Perspective: When I used to draw perspectives by hand….the old fashion way, I needed to have the correct vantage point. If I didn’t, the whole thing looked off. Pride becomes a big part of discontent. When pride comes ahead of us it leads to us not being content in our lives.  We need to start with the correct perspective.

Romans 12:1-3

New King James Version (NKJV)

Living Sacrifices to God

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. ³ For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

How did the Pharisees do on this?

1 John 2:15-17

New King James Version (NKJV)

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

James 4:16

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁶ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

1 Corinthians 1:31

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[a]

Luke 14:7-11

New King James Version (NKJV)

Take the Lowly Place

⁷ So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: ⁸ “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; ⁹ and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. ¹¹ For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Philippians 2:3

New King James Version (NKJV)

³ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

1 Peter 5:5-6

New King James Version (NKJV)

Submit to God, Resist the Devil

⁵ Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”^[a]

⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

1 Samuel 17: 12-15; 1 Samuel16:6-7
1. Giant-killers have a heart that longs to pursue God. They have the capacity and develop the desire to allow God to own their heart.

·         Their heart is all out for God. Psalm 63:8

·         Their heart is fully devoted to God. 1 Kings 11:4

·         Their heart is easily broken by God. Psalm 51:17

·         Their heart longs to see God. Matthew 5:8

The Story of David, and How to Be a Giant Killer
1 Samuel 17:1-26
2. Giant-killers have a giant love for God. It is their love and respect for God that motivates them to stand up to giants.

1 Samuel 17:28-31
3.Giant-killers don’t give up when others don’t believe in them; it is enough for them to know God believes in them.

1 Samuel 17:32-37
4. Giant-killers have giant faith in their giant God. They believe that God will do the impossible and come through when they take the step of faith in obedience.

1 Samuel 17:38-40
5. Giant-killers use the gifts and abilities God has given them to make a difference in their world. They do it their own special way, not the world’s way.

1 Samuel 17:41-47
6. Giant-killers don’t give in to the fear of failure or defeat. They will face any fear and overcome any difficulty to reach the objective to bring glory to God.

1 Samuel 17:48-51
7. Giant-killers finish the job, they don’t stop until they have seen the giant they are fighting dead on the ground.

It's hard to imagine such a thing as a subtle giant. Giants are supposed to look and behave like Goliath. Rude, crude, and socially unacceptable. They're supposed to be ferocious, merciless, and overwhelming. They're supposed to have muscles, thick armor, hard hearts, and they use all this to declare war on you and I. Giants are too big to sneak up on anyone. They rely on brute strength, superior weaponry, and a knowledge of warfare to overwhelm and take what they want, even our lives if they so chose to. They don't approach us with humility either. They know they will win--in a rout. They look on us with disdain as if we annoy they, and they know they won't work up a sweat in defeating us. Goliath wasn't subtle. He stood over nine foot tall and was armored from head to toe. He made fun of his enemy, the Israelites, and challenged them daily for 40 days to send just one man to fight him. Unlike Goliath, merciless killers don't always roar with such thunder. There is a subtle giant in our midst. He is big and strong, and he has all power he needs, if we give it to him to destroy us. Scripture says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). This subtle giant we're about to speak of knows how to kill us slowly, from the inside out, by feeding us lie after lie until we are robbed of our energy, our joy, and our purpose for existence. This giants name is DISCONTENT. He is subtle because he is overgrown, out of control version of what can be a wise, sound approach to life--the approach that tells us that we can be successful, even wealthy, if we work hard and honestly to attain the appropriate handle on what we have. Discontent will mock us and say that we deserve what we don't or cannot have. He makes us believe that somehow life hasn't given us what we have coming to us and we've been treated unfair. This giant overtakes us by whispering in our ear that if what we have is good, more would be better. He focuses our attention on those who have what we want but don't have. He inspires within us every form of jealousy, resentment, and selfish ambition. Discontent is a subtle giant, but he's every bit as deadly as Goliath. Discontent is at the heart of so many human problems. The insatiable desire for more and better ruins lives, destroys families, stops businesses, and sends nations to war. David had to square off with Goliath because the giant named discontent had already infected the entire Philistine army. The discontented Philistines wanted to take from the Israelites the land that had been divinely appointed to them. We have to deal with the giant named discontent with finality. He's not a giant that can be controlled or put in his place. On the contrary, if we are to live full, rich victorious lives, we must slay this giant once and for all. Don't believe the lie that if you attain great wealth that all will be okay. You may not need anything in the physical sense, but there is always the danger of becoming disconent with what you have. Remember Solomon, David's son and successor to the throne? He was the richest man alive. He had many wives and concubines. Later in his life, he drifted to some of their gods. What happened? He lost focus. No matter how much you have, it's never enough to satisfy. No matter how much money you have in the bank, no matter how many employees you have at your disposal, if your love is places with those riches, your existence is meaningless. Scripture says, "He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loves abundance with increase: this is also vanity (futile)" Eccesiastes 5:10. We're talking about being possessed by possessions, being controlled by things we are called to control. There is nothing wrong with attaining wealth, but when we become servants to wealth, we have fallen prey to the giant called discontent. Satisfication can only be measured by what is inside a person. If what lies inside is discontent, envy, jealousy, and the love of money, that person's life will be an exercise in futility. Enough will never be enough. It is futile and pure foolishness to tie our lasting happiness and peace of mind to anything that cannot possibly last. When we do, we build our lives on what is at best an unstable, untrustworthy foundation. That is because the wealth of even the richest is temporal and can be gone in a moment. "Every good and perfect gift comes from above, even the ability to produce wealth" (Deutrononomy 8:18) This is not to say we're not to seek after honest work. Also there is nothing wrong with admiring other's achievements, gifts, or abilities. It's great to admire and respect what our friends, relatives and neighbors have accomplished. When that simple admiration turns to resentment or envy, it becomes another weapon in the hands of an assasin called discontent. Goliath was a belligerent giant. For forty days, he roared and bellowed curses at the Israelites, yet no one dared challenge him. He grew bolder and bolder with each day. He was not going to go away. Discontent inflicts on us greed and envy. He'll grow more stubborn by the day if we don't face him and defeat him. The weapon of choice to defeat disconent is to have a heart full of gratitude. You need to realize that everything you have, not just your wealth, but your ability to produce wealth; not just your position but the influence your promincence affords--is a gift. When you recognize that, you can develop in your heart a deep gratitude for all you have and believe it or not, for what you don't have. What if Noah and his wife displayed the attitude that is prominent with most people today, Rather than being thankful they had been spared in a great flood, they would have gotten off the ark and said: "What a lousy cruise--it rained for the first month and half." That's how the giant named discontent operates. In his grip, he will make your entire journey through life a miserable trip. Remember, not so much as one cent of what we possess will follow us to the grave. When we die, it will not matter what we possess. We are born with nothing, and after we die we will stand before God with nothing. "As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shallhe return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carrry away in his hand" (Ecclesiastes 5:15). Work hard to accomplish things in this life, but be content with what you have. You've been given a promise that you will never be forsaken. Embrace the spirit of humble thanksgiving, and you will soundly defeat the first giant on your path to total victory. When you've done that, the good news is that you are now an official giant conqueror. The bad news is this: "now you've just made the remaining giants very angry."

They Might Be Giants - Background Information

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.	1.	A variant of Fere, a mate, a companion.
	1.	A painful emotion or passion excited by the expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger; apprehension; anxiety; solicitude; alarm; dread. Fear is an uneasiness of the mind, upon the thought of future evil likely to befall us. - Locke. Where no hope is left, is left no fear. - Milton.
	2.	(Script.) Apprehension of incurring, or solicitude to avoid, God's wrath; the trembling and awful reverence felt toward the Supreme Being. I will put my fear in their hearts. - Jer. xxxii. 40. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. - Ps. xxxiv. 11. Render therefore to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due . . . fear to whom fear. - Rom. xiii. 7.
	3.	That which causes, or which is the object of, apprehension or alarm; source or occasion of terror; danger; dreadfulness. There were they in great fear, where no fear was. - Ps. liii. 5. The fear of your adventure would counsel you to a more equal enterprise. - Shak. For fear in apprehension lest. - Shak.
v. t.	1.	To feel a painful apprehension of; to be afraid of; to consider or expect with emotion of alarm or solicitude. [imp. & p. p. Feared (fērd); p. pr. & vb. n. Fearing.] I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. - Ps. xxiii. 4.
	2.	To have a reverential awe of; to be solicitous to avoid the displeasure of. Leave them to God above; him serve and fear. - Milton.
	3.	To be anxious or solicitous for; now replaced by fear for. The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children, therefore . . . I fear you. - Shak.
	4.	To suspect; to doubt. Ay what else, fear you not her courage? - Shak.
	5.	To affright; to terrify; to drive away or prevent approach of by fear. Fear their people from doing evil. - Robynson (More's Utopia). Tush, tush! fear boys with bugs. - Shak.
v. i.	1.	To be in apprehension of evil; to be afraid; to feel anxiety on account of some expected evil. I exceedingly fear and quake.

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.

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. 1 Samuel 17:4 That is, about 9 feet 9 inches or about 3 meters
2. 1 Samuel 17:5 That is, about 125 pounds or about 58 kilograms
3. 1 Samuel 17:7 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
4. 1 Samuel 17:17 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
5. 1 Samuel 17:18 Or some token; or some pledge of spoils
6. 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