Standing as a Man of God Against Today's Enemies

28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. 31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. 38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. 55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 56 And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. 57 And 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 art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite. 1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

The story of David facing Goliath is most likely one of the most known stories of the Bible. It is important story full of great spiritual truth and application. For our study, as men of God, there is much we can learn from it. In doing so, my prayer is that each of us will rise up to the challenge of facing the enemy knowing that we have God our side.

Goliath! What a man! He was huge, a giant among men. Note the Holy Spirit’s accurate description of him in verse 4-6.

1 Samuel 17:4–6 KJV 1900

4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.

Six cubits and a span means he stood over nine feet tall. The tallest man I have ever met was no more than 6’ 5”. Goliath beat this guy by 2 and half more feet. Not only was he a giant of a man, he walks out with his head, shoulders, chest, and legs all covered in brass armor. The man seemed massive and invulnerable. Verse 7-8 give us weapons of choice.

1 Samuel 17:7–8 KJV 1900

7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

He was massive. He was experience. He seemed invulnerable. He was arrogant. Day after day he strutted out challenging God’s people to battle.

1 Samuel 17:9 KJV 1900

9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.

Goliath set the terms of the battle. Each nation would choose their champion. The two champions would fight to the death. Whichever champion won, the other’s nation would agree to serve the winner’s nation. Goliath was their champion. He stood tall. He stood prepared. He stood with confidence. He was ready and sure that he would win.

However, on the other side, it was a pathetic scene.

On the opposite hill from the Philistine army is God’s army. However, the scene is not good. Here is God’s people in which He has a covenant relationship. A relationship through which God promised He would protect His people. The place of the battle is on Israeli soil. It is territory belonging to the tribe of Judah. So what was God’s people doing?

1 Samuel 17:2 KJV 1900

2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

They were acting as if they were going to fight. Essentially, they were organizing and delaying. However, each time Goliath took the field, the scene became more pathetic.

1 Samuel 17:24 KJV 1900

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

Now wait just a minute! Who was Israel again? They were God’s people. People in a covenant relationship with the God of the universe. The same true and living God who had on multiple occasions fought for them defending them. He made the sun stand still for them. He leveled Jericho before their eyes. I could go about the things He had done for them proving His faithfulness to them. Now, what do we see of Israel? They are running from the battlefield and from one man. Yes, he was a giant of man. However, in God’s eyes, this Philistine was nothing.

This scene laid out before bears a close resemblance to spiritual battles we face even today. There is Goliath with his great stature and his impressive armaments. Does he not remind you of Satan? Satan may not strut around with great arrogance, but he portends to be impressive and surely, compared to us, a powerful being. Satan often stands in our minds are a colossal giant which is far too strong to attack. Indeed he possess great power. Note his power as stated by the Holy Spirit in 2 Corinthians 4:4

2 Corinthians 4:4 KJV 1900

4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

He is powerful enough to influence men so that the cannot see and know the gospel of Christ. He utilizes the entertainment of this world, the immorality of men, and the man’s own self reliance to his advantage. He continually wages war every day against those who stand for God.

On the others side is God’s people. There stands people who also are in a covenant relationship with God established upon the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. There stands people who have His Spirit indwelling them knowing that they belong to Him. Yet, just like the Israeli army that day, too many believers, especially men, cower in fear thinking that all is lost and they are helpless to do anything about it.

Yes, it is a shameful admonition. Yet, we must be honest with ourselves. There is war raging. The battle is set. Everything is planned. Now, we face the enemy and instead of charging into the fray, we sit on the sidelines praying that someone else will fight Goliath.

One last thing to note about this battle in recorded in 1 Samuel 17. Who was the leader of the Israeli army? Did they not have king already? He was there. His name was Saul. There is one troubling thing about Saul though. He had lost his muster. In other words, his disobedience to God resulted in him forfeiting the Holy Spirit’s anointing. You might say that he was leader who lost contact with his source of spiritual authority. Consequently, he was also sitting in his tent helpless and quaking with fear.

That fact is was need leaders who have not lost their contact with God and who recognize they have His power and defense at their disposal. The battle is real.

Ephesians 6:12 KJV 1900

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Now, there is a part of this story that is good news. Remember Goliath and his challenge.

1 Samuel 17:8 KJV 1900

8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

He basically said, “Send out a man to be your champion!”

There is another act of symbolism here that is often overlooked. The battle is a battle of powers. It is not Satan against people. Satan already has them. The real battle is between Satan and God. It is Satan versus the Lord Jesus Christ. Which, by the way, is already settled. There is only one outcome and one clear winner - the Lord Jesus Christ. He already won the victory. He conquered the grave, death, and Hell. Satan’s destiny is everyone’s destiny unless they put their faith and trust in the true victorious Champion.

Now, back to the story. Goliath challenges the entire Israeli army. No one steps up to answer his challenge. I am fairly sure there were many battle seasoned warriors in the Israeli camp. There is no doubt that King Saul was a seasoned warrior. Yet, all sat in their tents and did nothing. About that time, God leads David into the camp. David becomes a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ in that he overcomes Goliath just Christ overcame Satan at Calvary. David also becomes a picture of each believer as we are one with the Lord Jesus Christ through His Spirit as follow Him in faith and obedience. Christ is a victorious and powerful champion. As He is an overcomer, so are we.

Romans 8:37 KJV 1900

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Here are some things that David understood and knew that we, as men of God, need to know and understand as well. We need to know these things so we might stand courageously before the giants of today.

True Men of God Must Be Sanctified through Christ’s Blood

1 Samuel 16:13 KJV 1900

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

Christ is also an example. There was day He humbled himself before John the Baptist as He was baptized in the river Jordan. On that day, the Spirit of God ascended upon the form of a dove representing God’s anointing. Both David and the Lord Jesus Christ were set apart (sanctified) by God.

For true men of God to stand for Him the must first know Him and be set apart by Him. This is the essence of salvation. I do not pretend to know the heart of each man here this evening for only God can see the heart. However, what I do know is this. Scripture is quite clear that we are all born sinners separated from God and under Satan’s control. From birth, we stand already condemned to the same fate as Satan at the hands of God’s mighty champions, the Lord Jesus Christ. However, God, who as great compassion and grace, sent His champion to die for us. He came. He lived a sinless life. Then, at the hands of cruel and sinful men, He laid down His life and shed His blood for us. To what purpose did He do all that? He did so that we might be saved from an awful fate of eternal damnation. Christ demonstrated His great power when arose from the dead. His resurrection proves that He is the all time, undefeated Champion of love. Now, He offers to every man who will accept an very special gift - everlasting life. All man must do is admit his sin, repent of his sinful lifestyle, turn to Christ and receive Him through complete faith in all that He has done.

Romans 10:9–10 KJV 1900

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

When a man opens his heart door to Christ, all kinds of good things happens. One of those things is sanctification. That is big word that simply means you become special to God. You are set apart for Him and by Him. You belong to Him. The seal or stamp of ownership is God placing His Spirit in you. Now, you have everything you need to stand for God against the Goliaths of this world.

David stood and face Goliath that day because God anointed David with His Spirit. David knew without a doubt he belonged to God.

Here is another thought.

True Men of God Are Strengthened by Past Experiences

When David publically proclaimed he would face Goliath, it didn’t take long for word to reach King Saul’s ears. Someone had stepped forward to challenge that despicable giant. I imagine relief came all over Saul as he realized that he wouldn’t have to do it. King Saul calls for this noble person who volunteered to sacrifice himself. I am sure that Saul felt it was just that. A fight to the death resulting most likely in an Israeli’s death. He calls for David. David comes before him and, in my own mind, I bet Saul sorta smirked and thought, “This is the guy!” We do know that Saul challenged him.

1 Samuel 17:33 KJV 1900

33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

What was David’s response?

1 Samuel 17:34–36 KJV 1900

34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

You see David had already fought some personal battles. He fought a lion and a bear. Lion and bears are not small things. In fact, some would say they were more fierce than a bellowing giant. Lion and bears have no conscience. There is only one thing they understand. There is food (a lamb) and there is an ugly human between me and it. Yet, God was with David in those battles. Battles, by the way, that no man knew about. They were battles of which David stood alone with no one around to help or assist. He fought them alone, but, in doing so, he learned a valuable lesson. God was with him and God would fight for him.

Men, there are many personal battles we face. Those battles are important. They teach us many things. We learn about ourselves. We understand the might of the enemy we are facing. Sometimes, we fail losing the battle. That is okay. Lessons learned from failure are great lessons if we learn from them. God uses all sorts of circumstances each day to help us learn that He is great and we need His help. If we can learn from those times and battles, we too can learn to face the great giants in our life. It builds strength. Faith is increased. We grow in our faith and trust of God as our strong tower and defender.

Here is another important principle learned by David’s confidence before Goliath.

True Men of God Must Be Sustained by God’s Word

1 Samuel 17:45 KJV 1900

1 Samuel 17:47 KJV 1900

47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

Here we see David relying upon the promises and truth of God’s Word. Christ also did the same. When Christ was faced with the temptation from Satan in the wilderness, His go to answer to Satan was this.

Matthew 4:4 KJV 1900

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:7 KJV 1900

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Thus the point is simple. God’s Word is the sword by which we must face the giants in our lives. Without, we will not succeed. It is why I constantly talk about spending time in God’s Word. Note these verses.

Hebrews 4:12 KJV 1900

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Ephesians 6:17 KJV 1900

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Of course, here is one of my favorite verses pertaining to the Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 KJV 1900

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Then, here is one last thing learned from David’s battle with Goliath.

True Men of God Know Success is Based Upon Faith in God

We know that David killed Goliath with a simple sling. Saul offered him a suit of armor and sword. David however rejected his offer. He knew that success over Goliath was his simple faith in God’s promises. No amount of man’s weapons would work against such a formidable foe. The essence of David’s confidence is found in words of the prophet Zechariah.

Zechariah 4:6 KJV 1900

6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, Saith the Lord of hosts.

Listen to the Holy Spirit’s description of the Lord’s victory that day.

1 Samuel 17:45–51 KJV 1900

45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

Note a few things here.

First, David never mentioned his ability to kill or defeat Goliath. Everything David said focused on this was God’s battle and God would give Goliath to David.

Second, David indicated that all would be done so that “all the earth may know that there is God in Israel.” Without a doubt, the whole earth knows and generations of people have known about this battle and how God prevailed.

Third, David spoke of how God does not use conventional means to win battles. God did not need a sword, spear, or even a sling. Instead, God simply needed a man to stand for Him. David was small, young, and “ruddy.” Yet, he determined to be God’s man or, if I may, God’s instrument. God used David to sling that stone.

Fourth, God delivered the stone that killed David. The odds of David striking Goliath smack dead in the forehead must be overwhelmingly small. Yet, it happened. God guided that small stone to just the exact location it needed to be.

We know the rest of the story. David ran and stood upon Goliath. He took Goliath’s own sword and beheaded him in front of both armies. The reactions is priceless. The Philistines fled. The hightailed it out of there. Israel rejoiced and pursued the enemy. David’s willingness to stand for God on that day cause the enemy to fell and energized God’s people.

Conclusion

We live in difficult times. There is no doubt we are in the last days. God’s enemy is growing stronger be the moment. Evil, wickedness, and sin is abounding on some many different fronts. At times, it seems that the giants are growing taller and mightier. However, may I remind you that God is still alive. We are still God’s people. He is quite capable of overthrowing any that stand in His way. What He desires is a man who will stand for Him! It is the reason I started this group called “Ironmen of Calvary.” Our church, our community, and our families need true men of God. Men who are sanctified. Men who learn through battles fought that God is their strength. Men who are dedicated to reading, studying, and leaning upon the promises of God’s Word. Men who understand that success comes only by faith and obedience to God. Such men become useful instruments for Him. Instruments by which giants are slain, enemies flee, and God’s people rally. There is no doubt that God can do great things even with this meager group of men. He can do it. He wants you. Will you answer the call and be that man for God?

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