1. THE LORD FIGHTS
YOUR BATTLE
Fri Youth Meeting 4th Oct „14

2. The Source of David‟s Success
 In fact we need to go back to ch16:13 to
discover the source of David‟s success: "the
spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David
from that day forward." As we saw with Saul,
the motivating and enabling power for
everything that David accomplishes is the
Spirit of God. Provided that David remains
faithful in following the Lord, God will bring him
success as king. God is at work as David
comes to prominence as the one who will lead
his people to finish the conquest of the land.

3. 
It‟s almost as if the evil spirit is driven away by
the Spirit of God, within David, who inspires,
not just his military success, but also his
musical gifts. Saul has lost contact with God‟s
Spirit until David comes and brings the Spirit
close again.

4. The Scene
 Now we come to one of the greatest challenges of Saul‟s reign. The
Philistines have found themselves a champion. He‟s nine foot tall
and six foot across. He‟s Arny Schwarzenegger and a half. His
armour alone weighs nearly 60kg. Now I can tell you. I‟ve lifted that
sort of weight at the gym, doing shoulder squats but there‟s no way
I‟d be walking around with it on my shoulders! But this guy wears it
like a jacket. What‟s more he‟s tough. He‟s a hardened warrior. He‟s
been fighting battles since he was a teenager.
So when he challenges the Israelites to send out their best fighter to
a one-on-one fight to see who‟s the strongest, the whole army
moves back a step in unison. No-one‟s mad enough to take up this
challenge. But at the same time they can‟t just ignore it. Their
honour as a nation is at stake.
And so the stalemate begins. Each day for a month and a half
Goliath comes and delivers his challenge. And each day the
Israelites become more and more dismayed and afraid.

5.  Then into this scene comes the young and
naive youngest son of Jesse. He‟s sent there
on an errand by his father, to take provisions to
his older brothers. They‟ve followed Saul, but
David is left behind to tend the sheep and to
go back and forth bringing supplies and
possibly playing his harp for Saul.

6. Who Should Have fought
Golliath?
 You may remember that Saul is the one who‟s
head and shoulders above the rest, so he‟s
probably the logical one to fight Goliath, but he
has no more wish to volunteer than any of his
men. Besides which, he‟s the king isn‟t he?

7. The Reality of the Situation
 David understands. On this side we have a Philistine.
Uncircumcised is a shorthand for someone who has no
relationship with the living God. Someone who relies on dumb
idols. On the other side we have the armies of the living God.
A mere mortal. The living God. A bit unbalanced wouldn‟t you
say, if it came to a fight? Forget the fact that he‟s nine foot tall
and weighs 150 kg. That‟s chicken feed compared to the
living God who made the world and everything in it; who
formed the heavens with his fingers (Ps 8:3). But why can‟t
anyone else see it? Is it just that David‟s naive? That he
hasn‟t experienced enough of this world to see that there‟s
more to the situation than that. Or is it that the army and Saul,
in particular, have forgotten, or perhaps never really realised,
the power of the God they supposedly worship.

8.  Well, David hasn‟t. He‟s lived with the living God
all his life. He‟s sat out on the hills, watching the
sheep, looking up at the sky reflecting on the
wonder of God‟s creation. He‟s sought God‟s help
time and time again when he‟s been faced with
wild animals, lions and bears, who have
threatened his sheep. And he‟s seen the way God
has protected him and given him victory over
those wild animals. So he looks across the valley
at this giant of a Philistine and he sees just
another man who opposes God and who‟ll die at
God‟s hand in the end.

9. Five Stones
 It is interesting that David chose five smooth
stones from the brook when only one was
needed. Why did David do this? There is no
reason given in Scripture.
Consequently, whatever answer would be
given would be purely conjecture.
 The important aspect is that when it came time
to fight Goliath, David took but one stone from
his shepherd‟s bag (1 Samuel 17:49).

10. Five Stones
 It is interesting that David chose five smooth
stones from the brook when only one was
needed. Why did David do this? There is no
reason given in Scripture. Consequently,
whatever answer would be given would be
purely conjecture.
 The important aspect is that when it came time
to fight Goliath, David took but one stone from
his shepherd‟s bag (1 Samuel 17:49).

11. Five Stones
 When it came time to act according to faith,
David took but one stone rather than having
several in his hand to re-load if he missed.
 As you read the story, this remarkable event
becomes an extraordinary expression of faith
because David attacked Goliath. He hurled the
stone while at a full run!
 Think of the logistics of aiming and throwing a
stone while both parties are rapidly
approaching each other.

12. Five Stones
 By faith, David knew one stone was all he
needed for Goliath. James tells that "faith
without works is dead, being alone" (2:17-18).
 David showed his faith by using but one stone
when he had a bag full of stones. Why the
other four stones? David told Goliath,
1 Sam. 17:46-47

13. Five Stones
 1 Sam. 17:46-47
46* "This day the LORD will deliver you up into
my hands, and I will strike you down and
remove your head from you. And I will give the
dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this
day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts
of the earth, that all the earth may know that
there is a God in Israel, 47* and that all this
assembly may know that the LORD does not
deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is
the LORD‟S and He will give you into our
hands."

14. Five Stones?
 Why did David need five stones?
 Why not just one?
 One cannot help but wonder, what was going
through his mind as he selected those five
stones. How much faith did David really have?
 David knew that God was going to deliver
Goliath into his hand.... or, did he?
 Was he thinking that he might miss with his
sling shot and have to try again?

15. Five Stones?
 He only had one chance, David knew this. We
all know the outcome of the story, David killed
Goliath with one stone and one throw of his
sling shot but there is a reason for the other
four stones and why David picked five stones
specifically.

16. Five Giants!
 Take a look at the old testament book of 2nd Samuel
Chapter 21, verses 16 - 22. Here we find the armies of
Israel, now under King David‟s command, battling the
Philistines yet again and that there are other giants
involved, one of which had six fingers and six toes!
 In verse 19, we read that Jaareoregim slew the brother
of Goliath. There are four giants mentioned in this
passage and the bible lists them by name; Isbibenob
(found in verse 16), Saph (in verse 18), the brother of
Goliath the Gittite (verse 19), and a giant with six fingers
and six toes! (verse 20).
 Verse 22 concludes with "these four were born to the
giant in Gath and fell by the hand of David and by the

17. Five Giants!
 Goliath was not the only giant living in the land of the
Philistines. He had four brothers.
 David knew that families stick together and that Goliath‟s
brothers would either come to Goliath‟s aid to avenge
him or he knew that he would have to face them in other
battles, which he eventually did.
 Those five stones each had a name of one of those
giants on it.
 David was ready to defeat his enemy and his whole
monstrous family if need be and he had both the faith
and the skill to do so.

18. What are Your Giants?
 ..."what are the giants in your life?"
 What is the one problem or problems facing you
that challenges you each day that may seem too
big and too much for you to conquer that comes
and picks a fight with you like Goliath when he
challenged the Israelite army?
 Whatever that problem is, rest and stand still,
knowing that the battle is not yours, but God‟s.
The victory is won already.
 David said it best when he told Goliath, "the battle
is the Lord‟s".

19. The Full Armour of God
 Ephesians 6:13 - "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour
of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all to stand, stand".
 We cannot do battle against spiritual forces by using our
physical strength.
 Remember what happened to David when he tried to put on
Saul‟s armor?
 It was too bulky and big. He knew he could not fight Goliath
using the same tools Goliath was going to use.
 He had to wage warfare on a whole different level by letting
God be His armor, his shield and his deliverer.
 Keep standing on God‟s promises and watch the giants in
your life fall and be slain by God‟s power.

20. What‟s the Point of the Story?
 What‟s the point of this story of David and
Goliath?
 It isn‟t that little people can do great things if only
they‟ll try.
 It isn‟t that strong people can be overcome by
weaker people who put their mind to it or who give
it their all.
 No it‟s this: "that all the earth may know that there
is a God in Israel." That the God of Israel is the
true and living God. And it‟s this: "47and that all
this assembly may know that the LORD does not
save by sword and spear; for the battle is the
LORD‟S and it‟s he who gives the victory."

21. What‟s the Point of the Story?
 Here is the hardest lesson for us to learn still. It‟s God who
gives the victory,
 not their skill with sword and spear, not our skill with word and
media presentation.
 Who is it who will help us achieve our aims as a church?
 How are we going to win hearts for Christ?
 How are we going to convince people who are quite happy,
thank you very much, that their lifestyle has a use-by date;
 that there will come a day when God will ask them to answer
for the way they‟ve responded to his Son, let alone the way
they‟ve obeyed his commandments?
 How are we going to grow a church through conversions?
 How are we going to help people grow in their faith and
knowledge of Jesus Christ?

22. Will I be Obedient?
 We get so hung up on verse 49 when we face our
own Goliaths. We worry about, “Can I win,” before we
decide, “Will I be obedient?”
 I‟ll answer your first question, “No, you can‟t win.”
 Read the second half of Romans chapter 7 if you
don‟t believe me.
 Even the Apostle Paul could not win on his own.
That‟s the great beauty of our human dilemma.
 We CANNOT win it on our own. We NEED God.
That‟s what Matthew 5:3 means when it
says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit;” or in other
words, blessed are those who realize their need for
God.