1 Samuel 17:38-51 (NIV):

38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David 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. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.

When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

Today’s teaching is based on the the five stones. What are the five stones? In the passage of scripture quoted above, we see the setting for David to face Goliath.

This teaching will enable those entering a battle to understand that it is won in the spirit before it is won in the flesh.

1. Attire: The first step is to consider what are you wearing? Saul who was the King dressed David in his own tunic-this shows no matter how important that person is or whatever level of accomplishment they carry, their tunic is not for you. What worked for them will not necessarily work for you. Man’s protection is not enough to face the battles you will encounter in life. Saul gave David the best attire-his royal attire-to face a battle-so don’t put your trust in whatever form of protection no matter the quality or the quantity man gives you-our protection comes from the living God. (Psalm 118:18).Not from man. David tried walking around in the attire because he was not used to them-he tried walking-he did not even try fighting. And there was already resistance-some of us walk in the wrong garments-and as a result, we are uncomfortable. Have you ever tried on clothes that don’t quite fit? They are uncomfortable. The same way if you dress yourselves in other people’s opinions, recommendations, words-you will be uncomfortable.

So what attire do you have on-it may be your issue with this particular battle is simply based on what you have on-that makes you try but remain unsuccessful. David tried walking-are you finding it difficult to even partake in menial activities? Are you facing resistance from the most basic things/ objects? It could simply be you have on the wrong attire-our attire comes from the Word of God as believers (Ephesians 6:14-18).

David took off the attire-you need to take it off. Take off what you have on that is contrary to God’s direction-God told Moses to take off his sandals because he was on holy ground. For a battle to be won, God needs your complete obedience-so take it off.

If you don’t take it off, you won’t be able to move forward.

2. Identity: David said he was not used to Saul’s attire. So what attire are you used to? Are you used to the attire of other people’s opinions? are you insecure about your own identity? Or are you confident in who you are in Christ?

This is importance-confidence comes from God-rest in your identity in Him.

David rested in his identity-he took up his staff. Some of us run away from our identity. God has placed what you need in your hands. It could be singing, dancing, drawing, speaking, writing. It is in your hands-you don’t need royal attire ie money, adverts, attention, fame. No. it is in your hands. All that you need He has given unto you.

3. Choice: David took his staff in his hand and then he was able to choose five smooth stones.

This is the crux of today’s teaching-the five smooth stones where chosen. To choose is to set apart. You will not be able to receive revelation about your situation until you have set yourself apart in your identity as a child of God. David set himself apart before he was able to choose the stones. He refused to succumb to Saul’s authority but stood in the confidence of his identity hence he was able to receive revelation about the stones. And this was a revelation because they were smooth. This means there was ease. When you walk with God and obey His commands, there is ease. There is clarity-as the stones were chosen from the stream. God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. How else was David able to chose five smooth stones from a stream? No one advised him-it came from his identity. This is why it is important to embrace your identity in Christ.

4. Protect the revelation: David put the stones in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. This means he protected the stones-he placed them away. Have you protected the revelation you received from God? Or do you leave it exposed and unattended? This is super important. Protect the anointing. Protect the revelation-from people, back biters, places-protect it in your identity in Him-this is why David placed the stones in the shepherd’s bag. And David was a shepherd. That revelation is for you and you alone.

David then advanced-because now he has received confidence in his identity, he has received revelation and he has protected it-notice that these are all a range of actions no words. This is because faith without deeds is dead. Your faith needs to be produced in your actions. David moved with his sling in his hand as he approached the enemy.

5. Posture: David’s posture shows he was ready for battle. His posture is confident and certain-he was not afraid by the magnitude of the problem. Don’t be intimidated by that complex situation-don’t be intimidated by your Goliath-separate yourself in Christ so you can discern the voice of God speaking in that situation.

David had a posture of courage not fear-do not be afraid for I am with you.

6. Intimidation: Don’t be intimidated by the enemy-we fight from a position of victory! And you Goliath will intimidate you-that job will intimidate you; those grades, that rent will intimidate you. Your finances will intimidate you. But you should not be intimidated.

Goliath tried to intimidate David by concentrating on the flesh-notice Goliath used examples in the flesh while David responded in the spirit!

7. Distraction: The shield bearer was in front of Goliath; a shield bearer was a lightly armored soldier who protected another solider with a protective shield.

The shield bearer was a distraction. Don’t be distracted by the shield bearer in your situation-this is usually the easy way out-the idea that seems to provide a solution to the problem but does not even deal with the problem at all.

The shield bearer’s job is to protect the problem not to destroy it. You may have found an option that seems logical in dealing with your finances/rent/grades-don’t follow it. It is a distraction-it does not attend to the problem. An example is for instance you may decide it is better to cheat than to fail in that exam. How does that solve the core problem of failing to revise and being diligent in your studies? It doesn’t-soon that issue will manifest again in an even bigger way through expulsion or even when you start working and fail to meet project deadlines. or maybe you are dating someone and notice particular red flags and choose to ignore them-it will manifest even more grossly in marriage-because that is what Goliath does-it magnifies the situation-hence you need to kill Goliath.

8. Victory: There is victory in your response to your situation when you rely on the Word of God. David responded to Goliath’s fleshy threats in the spirit! He called on the name of God and declared that the battle belongs to God. He prophesied victory! Prophesy victory into your situation! Speak against defeat! David said he will strike down Goliath and cut off his head as a testimony to the strength of our God. And that is exactly what he did-when you put your trust in God-He will come through for you.

9. The Battle: Goliath moved to attack David and David in confidence ran to meet him-he was not intimidated as you shouldn’t be intimidated either. He reached into his bag-he held unto the revelation he had received-and he struck Goliath in the forehead-that is the power of the anointing. It does not make sense in the flesh but it is powerful in the spirit-and so it succeeds. A giant was struck dead with a stone. Hence it does not matter the size of your problem you have a bigger God. David did not need a sword and he went into battle-all you need is God. And you will succeed. Also this was a giant-in the logical sense you would think it would take some time before it were to succeed against him-but he was dead before the battle starts. That is how God moves. It is a supernatural response. Things don’t work according to man’s timing-hence you need to trust His Word and follow His direction in that situation. It is not our battle-it belongs to God.

10.The Sword of the Spirit: David cut off Goliath’s head. It is important to realize, after you have defeated that Goliath-cut off its head. How? We have the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God-declare the Word over that situation-David used a sword to cut off Goliath’s head-use the Word of God to cut off all contacts and connections with that giant in your life-declare the Word of God over that situation so you can eliminate any future threats from that particular angle. The Word of God is our Sword and we need to speak it for it to happen in our lives. And when your enemies see how God has moved in your life-they will run. This is why the Word says, they will gather one way and scatter in seven.