Battling the Giants in Your Life - Pastor David Young

David’s battle with Goliath does not end with a stone hitting a forehead. David’s victory opens up what was on the other side of the giant: a reset, a rest, a representation, and a way forward that he could not have seen while Goliath was still standing. The giant was bigger than David, but the giant was never bigger than God.

The reality of the giant is that some battles cannot be fought by Mom, Dad, friends, a church, or a school. David walked onto that battlefield without his parents beside him, and young people eventually come to places where they and God have to face the thing in front of them. Bible college, Christian school, and a good home do not remove every giant. The battle still comes.

The resistance around the giant can be just as hard as the giant itself. Eliab knew the same home, the same God, and the same truth that David knew, but Eliab did not get what David got. Wrong friends, discouraging voices, bad attitudes, and people who do not care about serving God can stop somebody long before the giant ever does. The giant in a heart may show up in secret sin, social media, bitterness, a wrong relationship, or the pride that thinks it knows more than everybody else.

Goliath also represents a real enemy that talks. The lion and bear growled, but Goliath knew what buttons to push. The devil knows what detours a life, what makes somebody mad, and what whispers will keep a person on this side of the giant. Past victories help a heart remember God, but knowing Jesus is what carries a person into the next battle.

The reset on the other side brings freedom and opens a new world for going forward. The rest on the other side gives courage to others, because one person’s obedience can help somebody else believe that victory is possible. David’s victory also gave him a representation: “I’m the son of thy servant Jesse.” God uses parents, pastors, neighbors, teachers, and faithful people to train a life for giants. Nobody serving God is self-made.

The hand reaching down from the other side pictures the work God intends to do through a victorious life. The giant never stops coming, but every giant must bow to the name of the Lord. God can help a fallen person get back up, get the scruples back together, and throw another rock.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Every giant requires personal faithfulness [07:20] The reality of spiritual conflict eventually removes every earthly security. Parents, friends, and churches can strengthen a life, but they cannot make another person obey God. The battle becomes a place where dependence on God must become personal and real. David’s courage came from going in the name of the Lord, not from having a crowd behind him. [07:20]
• 2. Resistance often comes from familiar people [10:51] Eliab’s resistance shows that shared background does not guarantee shared burden. A person can know the same truth and still discourage another person from obeying it. Wrong friendships and familiar voices can become obstacles when they pull a heart away from holiness. Faithfulness sometimes requires moving on from influences that refuse to go toward God. [10:51]
• 3. The enemy knows which buttons to push [14:48] Goliath did more than stand tall; he talked, taunted, and tried to intimidate. The devil still works through words, desires, fears, and offenses that seem tailored to a person’s weakness. Past victories are valuable because they remind a heart who God is, but they cannot substitute for present dependence. Knowing Jesus matters when the next giant starts talking. [14:48]
• 4. Victory opens a new world [20:06] The giant often stands between a life and the future God intends to give it. Freedom from secret sin, bitterness, compromise, or a wrong relationship cannot be fully explained from the other side. God’s way is better than the temporary thing that looks attractive in front of the giant. David did not know all that awaited him, but obedience moved him forward. [20:06]
• 5. Victorious lives reach back for others [39:11] God does not carry a person through giants merely for private relief. The person who has fought, fallen, risen again, and held onto God can reach down to somebody still trapped on the lower side. Some will refuse the hand, but others will grab it. A life marked by victory becomes proof that no giant is bigger than Him.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:34] - First Samuel 17 and David’s Battle
• [02:04] - The Battle Is the Lord’s
• [05:17] - On the Other Side of the Giant
• [06:41] - The Reality of Facing Giants
• [08:57] - Resistance From Family and Friends
• [13:44] - Goliath as a Real Enemy
• [17:28] - A Reset on the Other Side
• [20:32] - The Danger of Wrong Relationships
• [23:23] - Victory Gives Others Courage
• [28:59] - Remembering Those Who Helped
• [37:39] - Following God Through Personal Giants
• [39:11] - Reaching Back for Others
• [41:16] - No Giant Is Bigger Than God

Bible Reading

1 Samuel 17:45-50
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and 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. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.” When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. [02:04]

1 Samuel 17:34-36
But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” [13:58]

1 Samuel 17:58
And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.” [29:08]

Observation questions

1. What contrast did David make between Goliath’s weapons and the name of the LORD in 1 Samuel 17:45-47?
2. What did David do when Goliath came near, and what does the passage say David had in his hand when he prevailed? [02:54]
3. According to David’s words to Saul, what earlier battles had prepared him to face Goliath, and what was different about Goliath as an enemy? [14:22]
4. After David’s victory, how did he identify himself when Saul asked whose son he was? What does that answer show about David’s connection to Jesse? [29:08]

Interpretation questions

1. David said, “The battle is the LORD’s,” yet he still ran toward Goliath and used his sling. What does this show about the way faith in God and personal obedience work together? [24:00]
2. David’s lion-and-bear victories reminded him of God’s help, but Goliath brought a new kind of pressure through his words and taunts. Why can past victories strengthen a believer without replacing present dependence on Christ? [15:38]
3. Eliab had the same family background and knew the same God David knew, yet he resisted David. Why might familiar people sometimes become discouraging voices when somebody is trying to do right? [10:28]
4. David called himself the son of Jesse after the victory. How does that keep a believer from becoming proud or thinking that he or she is self-made? [31:20]

Application questions

1. What giant is presently standing in the way of obedience to God in your life? It may involve a private habit, social media, bitterness, a relationship, fear, or pride. What would it look like to face it honestly with God rather than pretending it is not there? [17:33]
2. Is there a voice around you that regularly pulls you away from doing right—through discouragement, ungodly talk, pressure, or a bad attitude? What boundary or honest conversation may be needed? [13:04]
3. The enemy often knows what makes a person angry, afraid, discouraged, or tempted. What “button” seems to get pushed most often in your life, and how can you answer that pressure in the name of the Lord? [15:11]
4. Think of a previous time when God helped you through a hard situation. How can that memory encourage you now without causing you to rely only on the past? [15:48]
5. What might be on the other side of the giant you are facing—freedom, a fresh start, a better testimony, peace, or a new opportunity to serve God? What has kept you from believing that God’s way is better? [20:06]
6. Who has helped train, correct, encourage, or pray for you in your walk with God? How could you thank that person and show that you value what God has done through them? [35:43]
7. Have you ever lost a battle with a giant and felt like giving up? What would it mean this week to let God help you get back up, put your convictions back together, and throw another rock? [28:08]
8. Who is somebody in your life that may need a hand up? What is one simple way you could encourage that person toward faithfulness instead of leaving them alone on their side of the giant? [39:11]