Sermon Notes 02-22-09

February 22nd 2009 “GIANT SLAYING 101”

"Master," said David, "don't give up hope. I'm ready to go and fight this Philistine." Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced—and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born." 1st Samuel 17:32-33

Giants jump into our paths unexpectedly.
The car gets a funny sound!
The bill shows up that you didn’t know anything about!
The doctor says, “Come back in, we need to take a second look!”

Illustration: I had a heart stress test about four years ago. The doctor places you on a treadmill, places all kinds of sensors on your body and then begins to elevate the treadmill. Then they introduce a nuclear medication into your blood stream. They keep speeding up and increasing the treadmill until you reach your “Target Heart Rate!” Then they place you on a table with a x-ray machine that circles the bed. The doctor takes many pictures and tells you, “Go home and if I don’t call you in the next few minutes, because he had my cell phone number, everything will be alright.” Well they called me back within five minutes as I was driving back to my office. You can imagine the thoughts that were rushing through my mind. They did the test over and said to go home and wait for the outcome. They didn’t call that day and they didn’t call that night and my imagination was running wild by the next morning. I finally went over to the doctor’s office and said, “What’s going on?” They called the doctor, who was in the operating room at the time and he said, “Oh, I forgot to call, everything was just perfect, the testing equipment malfunction and gave a false report on the first test. You are as healthy as a horse!” Thanks doc! I had a night of fighting the “Giant of Fear of a heart problem!

I’ve Learned: “Giants and Demons”—are to be expected in our lives! Stuff happens to all of us! I’ve learned: “With all of my natural skills and tools I'll be tempted to face enemies in my own strength.”

Points to Ponder: 1st Be Read to Stand-Up!
Be ready to stand-up when other are telling you to sit down!
David was the youngest of eight brothers!
David had red hair and beautiful face! 1st Samuel 16:12
David was a Sheppard and only 20 years old! 1st Samuel 16:11

Be Ready to Stand-Up! 1st Samuel 17:32 "Master," said David, "don't give up hope. I'm ready to go and fight this Philistine." Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced”

Quote: Moody: “Contradictions will leave the unprepared confused. God will say 'yes' when history and nature say 'No'. Who will you listen to?”

Romans 8:31 “If God before us, who can be against us?” or Message: “With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen?”David gives us a set of guidelines! David gives us a set of guidelines to get young giant slayers started! Those who stand-up against the Giants in their life are in good company!
Daniel—he survived the lion’s den!
Moses—liberated his whole nation!
Noah—rode out the storm and saved his family!

Points to Ponder: 2nd Be Read to BUCK THE ODDS!
Be ready to buck the odds of those around us!
The “Can’t Do” spirit is directly opposite of the “Can Do Spirit!”

Illustration:
I met a lady that was told that she couldn’t run a company!
Her husband had just died!
She was left with a company with over 500 employs!
She had never been the CEO of anything but her family!
But she believed she could—in spite of the ODDS!
She is now running the Caterpillar Company in three different states.

1st Samuel 17:38 38Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.

Quote: “Critics will abound, Doomsday Prophets will cry out and Hand-Wringers will be in good supply. Ask Joseph and Jesus about their doubting families.” Be ready to buck the odds of those around us!

Points to Ponder: 3rd Be Ready to REPEAT HISTORY!
Remember the “L” factor! Lion: 1st Samuel 17:34 “34But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth.”

Remember the “B” factor! Bear: 1st Samuel 17:34 “34But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear”

Remember the “G” factor! “This Giant (with God's help) is dead. 1st Samuel 17:36-37 “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”Expect God to show up on time!

Points to Ponder: 4th Be Ready to REAP THE HARVEST!
1st Samuel 17:40 “40Then he picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd’s bag and, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, started across to Goliath.

41-42Goliath walked out toward David with his shield-bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this nice little red-cheeked boy!43“Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44“Come over here and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals,” Goliath yelled.45David shouted in reply, “You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of the armies of heaven and of Israel—the very God whom you have defied. 46Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head; and then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47And Israel will learn that the Lord does not depend on weapons to fulfill his plans—he works without regard to human means! He will give you to us!”48-49As Goliath approached, David ran out to meet him and, reaching into his shepherd’s bag, took out a stone, hurled it from his sling, and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and the man fell on his face to the ground. 50-51So David conquered the Philistine giant with a sling and a stone.”

David said: “Your too big to miss!”
Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too big for God?” Be Ready to REAP THE HARVEST!
What Giants do you need to defeat?
SICK’EM!

“Oh Lord, I have been under the control of______ . Please help me to defeat this Giant!”