Gaylord Diaz's Blog

OUR GOLIATHS SEEN NATURALLY

1 Samuel 17:4-11,  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.  (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.  (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.  (10)  And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.  (11)  When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.

 The Israelite army saw a giant, a champion. They saw a formidable foe against whom victory was impossible and against whom death and defeat were certain and imminent. No doubt, in the natural, all these things that they saw in Goliath were true. The circumstances that they were faced with were all real. They were not imaginary or make-believe. Goliath was very much real and the threat of death that he posed was very much real.

That’s the natural point of view. That’s what we see. And when we go by sight and appearances, when we’re governed by our present natural reality, we’ll cower in fear and defeat in our foxholes just like the Israelites because natural realities many times appear to be  invincible, unchangeable, unwinnable.

OUR GOLIATHS SEEN THRU FAITH

But that’s not how David saw Goliath. When David saw Goliath he never once saw the giant in terms of his size, strength, power, skill, armament, weapons, previous military experience and mighty, victorious feats or accomplishments.

All David saw was an uncircumcised Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:26,  And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? All David saw was another uncircumcised heathen. And do you know what? HIS VIEW OR PERSPECTIVE OF GOLIATH NEVER WAVERED OR CHANGED! 

1 Samuel 17:32,  And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

1 Samuel 17:36-37a,  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.

All David ever saw, I am saying, was just another heathen fellow. He never saw Goliath in terms of his size or strength or power.

A PICTURE OF GOD THAT WE BEQUEATH TO THE WORLD

Israel’s army looked at the giant and trembled at what the giant could do: he  could  easily  kill anyone who dared go out and fight him. But  David  looked at the giant and saw him in terms of what the giant was doing as far as his mouth was concerned: he was defying the armies of God.

Now the word ‘defy’ in verses 26 and 36 means ‘to say sharp things’. It was a Hebrew way of saying that Goliath was taunting, teasing, dishonoring, or reproaching Israel’s army. Worse yet, Goliath was reproaching or making fun of Israel’s God, verse 45. He was telling the world that the God whom the Israelites served was a powerless God. God was no match for him. In the eyes of the world, the God of Israel is the God whom Goliath beat.

Clearly, in David’s eyes, Goliath simply couldn’t talk that way about the Israelite army and God  and not be punished for it. Goliath’s mouth had to be silenced! Why? Because under no circumstance must Goliath be allowed to bring dishonor upon the Name of Israel’s God. GOLIATH SIMPLY MUSTN’T BE ALLOWED TO GIVE THE WORLD A FALSE VIEW OR IMPRESSION OF GOD!

David, you see, was zealous for God’s glory and honor. He was consumed with one, and only one thing—that everyone in the Valley would know God for who He really was—a God of power and might.

1 Samuel 17:45-47,  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.

David believed God for help and victory in the battle. Do you know why? Because, by beating Goliath, the world would come to see the real God. The real God is not the god who, in the natural circumstance and reality, seemed utterly powerless to fight and defeat Goliath. The real God is in the unseen reality. And, by faith, David wanted that unseen reality to be seen so that all the world would 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, 1 Samuel 17:46-47.

THE REAL GOD, YOU SEE, IS SEEN IN OUR FAITH AND IN OUR TRIALS AND BATTLES. Our trials are a stage, a theater, where God’s glory can be seen by all. Our battles are a battleground where the God of power and might could be seen by all.

OUR BATTLES AND TRIALS ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SHOW THE WORLD WHO THE REAL GOD REALLY IS. THEY ARE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GOD TO SHOW ALL OF US HIS POWER AND LOVE WORKING MIGHTILY ON BEHALF OF THOSE WHO TRUST AND OBEY HIM.

The only thing of it is, THE WORLD’S CONCEPT OR VIEW OF GOD IS KNOWN BY WHAT WE BELIEVE AND DO. The world doesn’t read the Bible or go to church. They don’t know the first thing about God. The only God they know is the God we tell them or the God we show them. If, like the Israelites, we cower in fear in our foxholes and refuse to fight; then the world sees a god who cannot beat the Goliaths that we face in life. A god who can’t heal cancer. A god who can’t restore broken marriages and relationships. A god who can’t save our loved ones. A god who can’t prosper His people and get them out of debt. A god who can’t inspire His people with faith, hope, and courage. A god who can’t calm the storm-tossed seas. A god who can’t do anything to help us or save us. A god who can’t help a drunkard rise above the bottle. A god who can’t set a druggie free from his drugs. A god who can’t help a porno give up the cursed addiction. A god who can’t forgive our baddest, blackest sins. A god who can’t help us get rid of our resentments and unforgiveness. A god who can’t answer prayer. A god who can’t overcome or control the forces of nature. A god who can’t work miracles today. A god who can’t whop the Devil.

Brethren, is this the god you want this world to see and know? Is this the god you have? If so, I mean no disrespect, but you’ve got the wrong god! No wonder why the world doesn’t want, or need, God. If our god is no better or stronger than men; if our god can’t beat the Devil or thwart the worst things that Satan can do to us or throw at us; then I don’t want your god! And neither should you! We need a God who’s mightier than men and demons and nature. We need us a God who knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations (2 Peter 2:9). We need a God who can do the miraculous. The unscientific. The unnatural. The impossible!

Do you, like David, want the world to know who the real God is? The God of power, might, and miracles; the God of answered prayers; can be seen by your faith and by your willingness to go out there on the battlefields of life, fight the Goliaths you’re faced with, and whop them in Jesus’ Name and for Jesus’ glory.

What concept or view of God are you willing to give and bequeath to this world? What picture of God do you want to give to your children, your family, your friends, your world? Like David, be   zealous for God’s glory and honor. Let the whole world know who the real God really is! How do you do that? Get your faith out of the natural realm of sight and appearances. Place your faith in the God of miracles and wonders. Fight your Goliaths. Beat him. And by faith, let the glory of God be seen in your battlefield of life.