Lessons from David: How to Be a Giant Killer (9 page)

If we have an entire series of messages, of course we suggest a donation. However, we give it to people regardless of what they can send. If it’s something like twenty or thirty messages in a set, we’ll make the tapes or CDs available to people one at a time, if they will get them that way. We don’t want to hand out tens of thousands of tapes to people who aren’t giving anything, but I try to make my messages available as much as I can. This has worked for me. I have faith for it.

Yet, I’ve had well known, international ministers come to me and say, “You’re wrong! You need to sell your tapes. You could make a lot more money!” I’m not against other people selling their messages. They can do whatever they want. I don’t think someone isn’t trusting God or that they’re a bad minister if they don’t give their materials away. I’m just saying that this is what has worked for me—and I’m sticking with what works!

David’s Strength

You need to become secure in the Lord and hear from Him. You need to have God tell you some things. Then, when He tells you something, don’t let other people talk you out of it. Don’t reason it away by saying, “Well, here’s what God says, but it doesn’t make sense. So I think I’ll go ahead and do it this other way.” You’re getting off onto thin ice when you start doing something like that. You need to follow God and do what He says. That’s where your strength lies.

David’s strength wasn’t in armor or a sword. It was in trusting God. When Goliath saw him walk out toward him with just a slingshot, he laughed at him. The giant disdained and even cursed him for coming out against him with sticks and stones. Goliath didn’t recognize the power of God.

And he [David] 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.

And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

1 Samuel 17:40-47; brackets mine

This is tremendous! Goliath began to rail on and ridicule David. He pointed out his physical weakness, comparatively small size, and lack of a sword. Then he cursed David by his gods. However, neither Goliath, nor Saul, nor the rest of the army knew that David wasn’t just a youth. He was an anointed king. He had the power and anointing of Almighty God on the inside of him.

You’re the Winner!

You can’t always see that just by looking at someone. But the truth is that if you’re born again, you have a covenant with God, and you’re the winner. You’re the one who is an anointed priest and king (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). Don’t just approach your giant and listen to the railing diatribe they hurl against you. Instead, listen to what God has to say about you. “You’re the winner. You’re the one with authority. You’re an anointed king!”

David was a king. Goliath didn’t know it. Saul didn’t know it. But David knew it. He knew he was anointed. So instead of responding to this curse and being intimidated, he came right back saying, “Your confidence is in your physical size, your sword, and your shield. But my confidence is in the name of the Lord. It’s God who is going to fight for me. It’s His battle today, and I’m going to take your head off of you!” David didn’t even have a sword, yet he prophesied that he would behead Goliath.

David had thought this thing through. He didn’t just see himself going out there and killing Goliath with a sling. He saw himself using a sword to cut his head off. David declared, “I’m going to lift your head off of you today and give the carcasses of all the Philistines to the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field!” Then he ran at Goliath.

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. 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.

David may have been a perfect marksman with his sling, or perhaps he may have just been good or even average. It’s possible that he just went out there and slung that stone and God supernaturally directed it and caused it to hit its mark.

Little Is Much

I don’t always do things perfectly, yet God takes those things and makes them work. I do what I can, and God adds His power and anointing to it.

Little is much when God is in it. Remember the story about the little boy who only had five loaves and two fish? (Matthew 14:16-18.) He barely had enough for his own lunch, let alone enough to feed the multitude. Yet when he gave it to Jesus, it multiplied, fed the multitude, and they had more left over after they were all full than when they began. That’s what happens when you give God the little bit you have—He takes it and multiplies it to abundantly meet the need!

I believe that’s what happened with David. He may have been good or even average with his sling, but it wasn’t his marksmanship that killed Goliath. It was his trust in God. David went out there and slung that stone in faith. The Lord took what he had—a stone—and made it hit the mark! Notice that the Word says he…

Slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

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.

David didn’t stop once Goliath was down. He got on top of him, took his own sword out, cut off his head, and then held it up for everyone to see. Once the Philistines saw that Goliath was dead, they fled.

The Philistines didn’t flee when they saw Goliath fall. They wondered if perhaps he was just wounded and could have gotten back into the fight. They thought that Goliath still might overcome and defeat David. Maybe they thought Goliath just fell, after all, big people sometimes have trouble lifting their feet or even trip over them. The Philistines who were watching this weren’t sure that Goliath was dead. But once David stood on top of him, took Goliath’s own sword out, cut off his head, and held it up, nobody doubted any longer whether Goliath would get up and fight again. This proved he was dead.

David didn’t just fight his enemy and knock him down. He completely conquered and totally vanquished him! David made sure there was no way Goliath would ever get up and fight again. And once he held Goliath’s head up, all the Philistines fled. That’s when deliverance came. That’s when the Israelites began to chase the Philistines and win this battle!

Many times we resist the devil and fight just enough to get some relief. We knock him
down,
but we don’t knock him
out.
Therefore he rises up and fights us again another day. It’s like chasing your enemy over the hill until he is out of sight. Since you’re out of immediate danger, you don’t pursue him. You let him go. You allow him to regroup and come back to fight you again.

David didn’t do that. He didn’t just knock Goliath down. David fought his enemy until he was destroyed. He was taking no prisoners. He was literally out to destroy the enemy.

Finish the Job!

In 1991, the United States, Britain, and the coalition forces came against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. They had him on the ropes, but they backed down. Instead of just walking into Baghdad and finishing the job, they pulled out.

There appears to be strong evidence suggesting that Iraq financed terrorists. So it’s possible that if the U.S. and its allies would have finished the job in 1991, there never would have been the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. There wouldn’t have been airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, nor would that airplane that seemed to be heading for the White House have crashed in a field. There wouldn’t have been all the loss of life or the need for a second war with Iraq in 2003.

Once the United States and its allies accomplished their initial objective, the immediate pressure was relieved. They had humiliated Saddam Hussein and his people. They thought that was enough. They didn’t pursue their enemy until he was destroyed. Because of that, they had to come back twelve years later and do it again at the expense of many lives, money, resources, world opinion, and a lot of other things that could have been saved had they just taken care of finishing the enemy the first time.

Don’t just resist the devil until you get some relief. Fight him until his work is totally destroyed. If you have arthritis, don’t just pray and say, “Well, it’s decreased. I can live with it now.” No! Fight that thing until there’s not a trace of it left. Don’t just sit there and say, “Well, I was in absolute poverty. I believed God and now we’re okay. We aren’t really getting along the way we should, and I certainly can’t give the way I’d like to, but we’re okay. I think I’ll just settle here.” No! That’s not the right attitude. You need to fight poverty until you destroy it. Keep believing God until you come out on top, and truly abound so much that you can give into every good work like it says in 2 Corinthians 9:8. Don’t settle for just enough for you. Pursue the manifestation of prosperity to the point that you can become a blessing to others.

You need to pursue the blessings of God and defeat your enemy until he cannot rise again. You need to get the attitude that you are taking no prisoners and giving no quarter. You are going to fight the devil and destroy him. You need to get this attitude.

Fight Now or Fight Later

Once you cut the head off of the problem you’re fighting and hold it up for all to see, all the other demons will begin to flee. When the Philistines saw David hold up the head of their champion, Goliath, they fled. But they didn’t flee until they were certain Goliath wasn’t going to get back up again. Once the enemy sees that you have this attitude that you are going to totally vanquish him from your life, that’s when he and all the other demons will flee.

The only reason the devil fights us so hard is because he’s a coward. He knows that if he doesn’t fight you now, he’ll have to fight you later. So he’ll fight you if he thinks he can get you to back down and cower before him. But once he sees that you’re going to take it to him, he will tuck his tail and run!

David didn’t overcome Goliath because of anything natural. It wasn’t his talents, skills, looks, or charisma. In the physical realm, he was inadequate in every way. But on the inside, David was a man after God’s own heart. He trusted and believed God. He had proven the Lord’s promises before and had been faithful in the small things. David stood on what had worked for him. He wasn’t going to go with someone else’s plan. He did what God had shown him to do and pursued the devil until he literally destroyed him. If you get these attitudes and live them out over a period of time, you’ll become a giant killer too!

Chapter 10
Encourage Yourself in the Lord

David was driven from the land of Israel right before he became king because Saul was hotly pursuing him. He moved into the land of the Philistines and was living among them (1 Samuel 27:1-3). He gained favor with Achish, the Philistine king of Gath. Gath is the same place Goliath was from. Achish gave David the city of Ziklag to dwell in (1 Samuel 27:5-6), however when the Philistines were marshaling their forces to go to battle, the princes didn’t trust David to go with them so he and his men were sent home. When they returned, they saw that the city had been invaded by the Amalekites. They must have known that the city was unprotected.

So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

This was a terrible situation! Can you imagine experiencing something so tragic that you wept until you couldn’t weep anymore? I’ve done that. The Scripture also says that the Amalekites had plundered the city and taken spoils (1 Samuel 30:19). David was experiencing a devastating loss and this was on top of thirteen years of being persecuted, chased, threatened, ridiculed, falsely accused, and thought of as crazy!

Get a picture of this: David was about seventeen years old when Samuel anointed him to be king. This instance in 1 Samuel 30:1-4 takes place just a day or two shy of when he actually began his reign at the age of thirty (2 Samuel 5:4). He’d operated in integrity and faithfulness but at the same time, had experienced troubles day in and day out for about thirteen years. He’d experienced problem after problem. Things never got better, only worse. David couldn’t even go home to his people in Israel, but instead had to live among a people that had been his enemy. And on top of all that, now all of his wives and children had been taken and the city in which he lived had been burned to the ground.