Dealing With Giants: The Approach

• Paris Ragan
• Christian Living
• 0 comments
• December 01, 2017

I Samuel 17:40 says, “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.”

Last week we began the series, “Dealing with Giants,” to better examine the sin nature, the powers of darkness, and the world, the flesh, and the Devil—all of which have been dealt with by Christ and what He did for us at Calvary. In this story from I Samuel, we can learn how to approach every giant in our lives.

Early in Chapter 17, we find that Israel and the Philistines are basically having a standoff. Goliath is going out and taunting the children of Israel, and the children of Israel are terrified to go out and face him. Among their ranks, there is no one found who will go out to face the defiant Philistine giant. David was instructed to leave his father’s flock and bring food to the camp of Israel for his brothers who were members of the army of Israel. But when he arrived, he found the children of Israel in dismay due to the taunts of the Philistine giant. David is called forth to speak with Saul concerning his willingness to go out and fight with this Philistine giant.

When Saul was preparing to send David out against this giant, he put his armor on David. When all of the armor was finally on, David moved around a little bit and said that Saul’s armor was not “proved.” David was saying that He couldn’t trust the armor and the weaponry that Saul had given to him. This is a problem that we find with the majority of the modern day church: they are trying to fight the giants in their lives while wearing the world’s armor and using its weapons. As a result, they are being defeated because that armor and those weapons have never been proven to work. We need to be like David and cast off the things that have not been proven and take up what we know will work!

David grabbed his staff, which is type of the Cross of Calvary. If he was going out to battle, then he would need his staff because that had worked for him in the past—just like the Cross worked for us when we accepted what Jesus Christ did for us at Calvary! The Cross works, and that is what the church needs to return to in order to face its giants.

Next, David goes to the brook—a type of the Holy Spirit—and from the brook he draws out five smooth stones—a type of the grace of God. The Holy Spirit only works through the parameters of the finished work of Calvary, and it is at the Cross alone where we can draw grace.

David then took those stones and put them into his shepherd’s bag. The apostle Paul told us that we are to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin. The word reckon literally means “to draw this fact into your account.” We need to know what works, and we need to draw it into our accounts when we have to face the defiant giants of our lives. David drew one stone from his bag – typifying that Christ would only have to die once – and he went running at the uncircumcised Philistine giant and slung that stone smiting Goliath. The Cross is the answer for every Giant of your life!

The answer for every giant in your life is the Cross of Calvary. This is how we will have to approach every giant that we face in our lives.

Next week, we will look at the sin nature—what it is and the answer for it.

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