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.
These are
some foundational spiritual principles to enable you defeat the enemy you are
facing.
I hope this
Word blessed you!
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Her
children had watched and kept silent as she tried to explain daddy’s situation.
She was not sure why she had allowed them to witness such a display of
affection. Her son may decide that was how love was expressed instead of lies
etched on her features. Her daughter-at this point-she smiled quietly as she
remembered her eyes goggled widely with fear and anxiety. Her daughter may be
raised into a situation where she believes men show love through fists of
affection-she could not stand by and allow those thoughts of demonic
desperation take root in her future seeds of salvation. So she kept still and
sighed-trying so hard not to cry. Trying to remember when his words where not a
lie; trying to remember the laughter she once experienced by looking into his
eyes. She struggled because she could not see past the lies-she could remember
the wedding day so clearly it brought tears to her eyes. She had seen a hint of
anger before she testified that she would love and protect him till she
died-before she took her marriage vows she knew she was walking into a path
littered with lies. But he had also sworn to protect her and she winced as she
remembered he had lied.
