I’ve been a pastor for nineteen years. In fact, August 1, 2001 was the day we opened
the church we founded in Riverside, California.
In those nineteen years, I have seen a lot, and one of the things I have
seen over and over is people who just can’t seem to break away from certain sins. It’s like they’re trapped in that thing –
They think they’ve beaten it, only to come have it come back at a later time.
The problem with this is that people begin to think that
they can’t be completely delivered; that there’s a reliance on willpower for
deliverance.
There’s a young man that attends one of our Free Talk
Sessions that is quite taken with my testimony about how I stopped drinking. He wants to do the same thing, but without
Jesus and he’s struggling with it. I
have to declare to you right now, I could not have stopped drinking without
Jesus in my life. I can state that so
positively, because I tried many times to quit drinking, unsuccessfully, before
I got saved.
Willpower cannot keep you from sin. There will be weak moments that will cause
you to do that thing you don’t want to do.
This is why twelve step programs will say that you are forever an
addict. I have news for them, I am an
ex-drunk! I’m delivered.
The real question, today is, “Why do some people go back to
the sin from which they’ve been delivered?”
That’s what I want to explore in this post – Through David’s life!
2 Samuel 21:15-17 (NKJV)
21:15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. 16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."
Goliath Had A Brother
I believe, as a Christian, that one of the biggest things we
struggle with is our old sin. It’s
supposed to be “buried with Christ in baptism.”
(Romans 6:4). “Put off the Old
man and put on the new.” (Ephesians 4:22-24). “Walk in the newness of life.” (Romans 6:4).
The problem is that some of those things are stubborn and
difficult. It’s not easy to defeat some
habits and addictions. The Bible says
that “we are slaves to sin;” they own us!
They can be giants that we face and have to fight to defeat.
I want to talk about David and his defeat of the giant, but
I want to look at it in a little different way.
We all know the story – A young shepherd faces and defeats a battle
hardened giant.
So, look at this: David has decided that he will destroy the
giant and he’s preparing for the battle:
1 Samuel 17:40 (NKJV)
17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
Why did David take five stones? Does he think he’s going to need five stones
to defeat Goliath? Is he afraid God isn’t
going to help him? The answer is that
Goliath had a brother and he had three sons.
David knew he might not have to defeat just Goliath. He knew that there might be others who came
for him. David did defeat Goliath with
just one stone.
1 Samuel 17:49-51 (NKJV)
17:49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
David destroyed the giant with one stone, then he cut off
his head. You don’t get much deader than
that! No head equals totally dead!
So, let’s think about this for a moment. Why do people get saved? People don’t come to Jesus when everything is
good. “I’m so blessed, I need Jesus!” People usually get saved when they’re sick of
the way they’re living. In my own case,
I thought I’d ruined my life! I was exhausted,
sick and depressed. I was addicted to
alcohol, a depressant, what else could I expect? I needed to defeat that giant in my life –
alcohol!
For others it may have been something different – maybe financial
debt, or sickness, or marital problems.
Whatever it was that led you to Jesus was probably a giant in your life,
and you were looking to defeat it. Some
of you may still be in the process of selecting your stone, or running out to
face it. Others have already cut off the
giant’s head. Maybe its been a
while. Maybe you’ve even testified, “I
beat my giant (whatever it was)!” Months
later, or years later it’s come back, you’re facing it again and you don’t
understand why. I’ll tell you why –
Goliath had a brother!
When David defeated Goliath, he was seventeen years
old. He hadn’t become king yet. That didn’t happen until he was thirty. So, our text takes place many years after he
killed the giant, but now he finds himself fighting with a giant once
again. The giants have come back! The original giant has been defeated – He’s
not coming back from the dead. That
original deliverance in your life wasn’t temporary. The giant in your life has been destroyed, it’s
not coming back, either, but a similar thing is rising up to destroy you. This is what’s happening in our text – Do you
think this son of Goliath isn’t gunning for the man who killed dear old dad? Of course, he is! The devil hasn’t given up on you, either – He
wants his revenge!
This Happens to Mature Christians
Look at verse 15 of our text:
2 Samuel 21:15 (NKJV)
21:15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint.
David has been engaged in the battle. He’s been fighting, and the Bible says, David
grew faint!” He’s weary. The devil above all other things is an
opportunist. He watches and waits, and
when the time is right, he comes back.
He even did that with Jesus!
Luke 4:13 (NKJV)
4:13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
When he saw that he couldn’t tempt Jesus at that time, he
departed “until an opportune time.”
Goliath’s son waited until David was weary to attack him. He waited until David wasn’t in a good
position to fight. When you’re exhausted
from battle you don’t have the energy to fight a fresh opponent. In a spiritual battle this takes place when
you’re spiritually worn down – when you’ve been facing assaults. When you’ve been pushing back against the
enemy, but he’s worn you down.
A number of years ago I had an opportunity to visit a battlefield
from the US civil war. The person I was
there with was an expert on civil war battles.
This particular battle was won by government troops, because they just
kept sending wave after wave of fresh troops until the opponents were too tired
to fight any more and were destroyed.
That’s how the devil fights – temptation after temptation,
struggle sfter struggle, with sickness.
Financial failure after financial failure – marriage problem after
marriage problem until you’re worn down and exhausted then he sends in the
giants, and this giant looks an awful lot like the last giant! Why?
Because they’re related!
Think about it. He
beat you once with pornography. That’s
his “Go-to Giant” in your life. Maybe it’s
not exactly pornography, but an affair with someone at your job. Maybe it’snot alcoholism this time, but some
other addiction instead. That’s how good
strong Christians end up failing. That’s
how they end up defeated.
“I thought God would protect me! I thought God would keep bad
things from happening! I’m just tired of
it all – I don’t want to fight anymore!
Oh, Hello, Ishbi-benob, is that a new sword?”
Guess what, this wasn’t the last one, either.
2 Samuel 21:18-20 (NKJV)
21:18 Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant. 19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 20 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant.
Three more times they came after him. Remember, the five stones? There’s the other four. The devil isn’t going to give up!
What Saved David
This is the interesting part – What saved David? You might say, “A better question is “Who
saved David?” Okay, “who saved David?” –
His fellow soldiers. The reason I asked
what saved David is because what really saved David was the fellowship he had
with those other men. There was a
camaraderie and concern among them. Abishai
was concerned for David so he fought for him.
That’s why God has structured the church the way He has. That’s why the church is a body of
believers. Christianity was never
intended to be a solo pursuit. It was always
about being of one accord, fighting and contending together against a common
enemy – You know who!
How many times in the Bible are we exhorted to be together
and encourage each other?
John 15:17 (NKJV)
15:17 These things I command you, that you love one another.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV)
10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
1 Thessalonians 4:18 (NKJV)
4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
This is God’s plan for us to defeat the giants that we
face. The Bible shows us that this is
the way to go! The Bile gives us
concrete examples.
Matthew 18:19-20 (NKJV)
18:19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
Are you struggling with something? Is there a battle to wear you down? Ask someone to pray with you – Don’t fight
alone. Find an Abishai to stand in the
gap with you!
James 5:16 (NKJV)
5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Sickness? Physical or
spiritual? Confess your sin and pray for
one another.
“I don’t want anyone to know I’m struggling!”
“People might judge me, if I confess and ask for prayer.”
Abishai saw that David was weary – If you hold back and put
on appearances, that it’s all good – there won’t be anyone to help. Don’t let your ego be your downfall. David need help with that second giant – we all
need help! That’s why God brought us
together. FOR EACH OTHER! No soldier wins a war by himself. Not even David!
