Look Beyond the Battle & Recall Past Victories – Follow Me, part 2
What battle are you facing today? Physical and spiritual battles are often connected. This message teaches us how to face and overcome fear and situations that seem impossible.
The enemy of God and your soul wants to kill, steal, and destroy all that is good. You must have a resolve, a will, a desire, a determination to follow Jesus. You are never alone when you are following Jesus, and you will never be lost.
How To Find Strength and Victory in The Battle
Today we will be looking at the story of David and Goliath. I want you to understand that unhealthy fears breed doubt and spiritual blindness. But faith in Christ is victory.
Life can be filled with ups and downs. You can feel alone if you are not careful when you find yourself wandering aimlessly in a season of wilderness. Always remember you are never alone. God is with you no matter how things may look. Some days are filled with problems or battles that seem to never go away. When battles and seemingly impossible situations arise, stop and pray, lean into the Lord, and learn to trust him in every circumstance of life. At times even a simple problem can appear impossible. Situations can look bigger than life at times. Refuse to listen to the words of the enemy. Some days you may not even want to get out of bed for fear of what the day may bring. The truth is that unhealthy fears can place your faith into bondage at times. Unhealthy fear can lead to spiritual blindness for a time. Unhealthy fear is where doubt grows wild. But fear, doubt, and bondage are not of God. Choose each day to look beyond the battle. Look beyond fear and doubt. Look past the seemingly impossible circumstance. Recall and stir up your faith in Christ by remembering past victories God has given you in life. Choose faith over fear. Allow the victories in someone else’s life to speak faith, hope, and encouragement into your heart and situation.
Believe and expect victory in the battle you are facing at this moment. How?
Refuse to allow unhealthy fears to overshadow your faith that can put you into bondage.
Refuse to let unhealthy fears cloud or overshadow the Lord’s ability to defeat whatever enemy you are facing.
Refuse to accept fear and doubt to keep you in spiritual bondage.
Choose faith over fear.
Choose victory in Christ over bondage and spiritual defeat.
The situation can look overwhelming. It can appear impossible. Shut out the cries of others that speak only of fear, doubt, or defeat. Do not listen to the voices of those who might be fearful and who lack faith for victory.
Living in fear and doubt is living in spiritual bondage. Living with fear and doubt is not living with spiritual victory and freedom in Christ. Living with fear and doubt is living under the law and not in the New Covenant of faith in Christ the Lord. Look beyond the battle, beyond fear and recall past victories in Christ.
In 1 Samuel 17 we find King Saul and the Israelite army on one side of a valley and the Philistine army on the other. The Israelite army under King Saul experienced some victories in the past but the situation in chapter 17 is much different. This battle is not like the other battles they faced.
What you are facing today might be different from anything you have ever faced before. Every battle is not the same, however, the path to victory never changes. God never changes, he is the same yesterday, today and forever. Faith in Christ the Lord brings spiritual victory no matter the battle.
Saul and the Israelite army lost sight of God. They focused on the battle rather than calling the one who brought past victory. They lacked faith for future victories. The situation the Israelites were facing was different than ever before. It was to be a one-on-one battle, and everything was on the line. It was an all or nothing battle. The losing side was to serve the victor’s side. This face-off between the two armies went on for forty days.
Maybe that is what you are facing today. Does your situation seem endless? It’s not, look to the Lord in faith.
King Saul was fearful; and the whole army was fearful. They were fear-struck and no one saw how Goliath could be defeated. The enemy appears to be larger than life. The battle appeared Impossible. The key word I’m using in this situation is appears. It appeared that way because of the lack of faith in their hearts. Their lack of faith caused fear, doubt, and defeat to cloud even the possibility of victory. Is that how you might be feeling about the situation you are facing?
As a child you may have been taught to duck and cover in an earthquake. But that is not what we are to do in seemingly impossible situations or spiritual battles. Instead, we are to look to God Almighty. Stand firm in faith. Move forward in faith and recall past victories. Know victory is ahead.
In 1 Samuel 15:28 we read how the Lord had rejected Saul as king over Israel. At this time only the prophet Samuel, Saul, and God Almighty knew that Saul was rejected by God.
‘“For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” 24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them. 25 Now I beg you, forgive my sin and come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord.”
26 But Samuel said to him, “I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!”
27 As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.”’ (1 Samuel 15:23-28, NIV).
Saul had disobeyed God’s command for the last time. Saul's rebellion of God’s command revealed his lack of commitment for God. His lack of faith, and selfish heart, is revealed and Saul blames his actions on others rather than acknowledging his own sin. Saul’s idea of obedience is partial obedience, and partial obedience is disobedience. His excuse of, “I did what I did for you Lord,” was an act of disobedience and selfish pride. Saul’s prideful heart overcame any faith in God he may have had, and he allowed his unhealthy fear to rule every decision. Scripture tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
In 1 Samuel 16 we find Samuel is about to anoint a new king to replace Saul, and Samuel looks at the sons of Jesse. To Samuel, Jesse’s older son looked like he should be anointed king. But God looked deeper than outward appearances. God’s choice was Jesse’s youngest son, David, to be anointed to be king of Israel.
‘But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”’ (1 Samuel 16:7).
Humans judge by what we see outwardly, but the Lord looks to the heart of the person, and David had a heart for God.
How did David have a heart for God?
God chooses David as a young shepherd boy.
Someone who may not look the part outwardly but someone who has a heart for God Almighty.
Someone who is full of faith.
Someone who can look past the seemingly impossible situation.
Someone who allows their faith in God to bind up fear and is able to move forward in faith and victory.
Someone who trusted God in the past and who chooses to trust God in the present even when others were bound up in fear. David did not see the battle as impossible. He viewed the battle as being won, because of his faith in God Almighty.
David looked at the situation as a spiritual battle and not solely as a physical battle, like others who viewed the same situation and were fearful.
David’s heart was full of faith.
‘David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”’ (1 Samuel 17:32-37).
David understood his past victories over the lion and bear were not his victories alone. God gave him the victories. It is God who delivered him from their paws. It is God who was with David then, and God is with him now. David allowed past battles in life to breathe faith for the present and for battles in the future.
Can you recall past battles and spiritual victories? Let them speak faith for today.
Saul allowed his pride to crowd out his faith in God, but what about the others in the army? David’s older brothers were with Saul on the battle line. They, like Saul, were living in fear when they focused on Goliath and not God Almighty. They lacked the faith and vision of God in their hearts. I believe Saul’s fear and his focus on the physical battle is what caused the others to focus on the physical rather than the spiritual. Saul's leadership and unhealthy fear greatly influenced others around him.
Your actions and words affect others around you. Church, fear can breed fear. But faith in God and the knowledge of God’s Word can break the bondage of fear and discouragement.
What happens when we don’t focus on and trust God?
Saul saw only the physical.
Saul looked at the size of Goliath.
Saul looked at the strength of Goliath.
Saul considered Goliath’s experience as a warrior.
Saul did the mental calculations of Goliath’s size, strength and his seasoned experience as a warrior against anyone in Saul's army and he saw only fear, defeat and hopelessness.
Saul’s fears and hopelessness was transferred to Israel’s army, and the entire army was in bondage to fear and they were all terrified. Everyone was shaken in fear. They were frozen with fear in their present circumstance. They could not see beyond the physical. Fear will cause a person to shrink back.
What will faith do?
David saw the Lord Almighty.
David saw victory was ahead and the battle won.
Faith in God will inspire the person to move forward, even in impossible circumstances, because the person’s faith is not in what they can do but in what God will do.
Fear will keep a person from moving forward in faith.
But not David. Not this shepherd boy. David’s focus was on God and not on Goliath or the battle. David recalled past victories. David realized what was happening and he spoke a word of encouragement to Saul and all the others. "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
The Philistine saw Israel’s army as being servants of Saul. The Philistine saw David as a little boy with some sticks. But David saw himself as a servant of God. David was not influenced by the fear of others. David spoke of hope. David viewed the situation clearly in faith, and saw the battle was against Goliath, an uncircumcised Philistine. David saw the battle as God’s battle against the enemy of God’s people. David saw the battle as a battle against God’s honor and reputation of being God Almighty. David knew in his heart that God would deliver the victory and that all he needed to do was to trust God. All he needed to do was confront the situation in faith and go up against the Philistine. God would bring about the victory; just as David had done with the lion and the bear. David recalled past victories and looked forward in faith to this victory. The past battles David recalled were physical battles. This situation was more than a physical battle, it was a spiritual battle as well.
‘David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”’ (1 Samuel 17:26).
David recognized God’s honor and reputation was being brought into question. David saw the situation was more of a spiritual battle and he realized in his heart that physical and spiritual battles and victories go hand in hand. At the cross, the enemy of God thought he had won; but three days later we know that Jesus rose from the grave and that both a physical and spiritual victory sealed the fate of the devil that day.
In verse 34 we find that David was going about his normal business of caring for his father’s sheep when the lion or bear attacked the sheep.
‘But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock”’ (1 Samuel 17:34).
David went after the lion or bear and took back the sheep. David confronted the lion or bear, and yet he knew in his heart God was with him and David gives God all the credit. David knew in his heart that he could trust God back then, and he knew he could trust God now in this situation.
In faith, David told Saul that God would deliver him from the hand of the Philistine.
Do you see God is with you in your situation? Can you recall past victories and have the faith to believe God for victory in the present? Understand that many times both physical and spiritual battles go hand-in-hand and that victory for one is victory over both battles. Recognize that as a believer, you are a servant of God. You represent God to the world and when you go forth in faith and victory, God is glorified. The verbal accusations against you and the Lord are proved wrong when you go forth in faith and victory.
Do you see the battle has already been won? Jesus is alive. The enemy defeated. Refuse to live in fear and doubt. Know victory is ahead. When David was victorious over Goliath, the army of Israel surged forward and pursued the Philistines. At the same time the Philistine army turned and ran.
“Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron” (1 Samuel 17:52).
When you stand firm in faith and the victory is ahead, others will sit up and take notice. Their faith will arise. This is why your testimonies of what the Lord has done in your life and situation are so important. Your testimony is like the bells of victory that ring loud in a town square announcing victory. David did not blindly run into the battle empty handed. Nor did David focus on the enemy. He focused on God Almighty. David listened to Saul but then David refused to be weighed down by relying on false hopes and worldly suggestions. In scripture we can read how David tried on Saul’s armor, that Saul wanted him to wear. But the armor was too bulky. It would slow David down. The armor was Saul’s armor. David was used to God’s armor.
Saul's armor was unfamiliar to David. Saul's armor might give David a false sense of security. The armor and tools of a physical battle have no effect in spiritual warfare and David recognized that. Instead, David took the weapons that he was familiar with. God was his armor and defender. David went forth in the name of the Lord. Outwardly David may have looked weak and outmatched compared to Goliath. But in his heart David was strong in the Lord and in the power of God’s might, and victory was never in doubt.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:10-12).
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:13-17).
David ran forward in faith and in defiance of all negative words, threats, and size of the enemy before him.
Hebrews 10:39 says it all:
“But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved” (Hebrews 10:39).
David's story isn't just a tale from the past, it's a lesson for our present and a hope for our future. It's a reminder that no matter how impossible the situation might appear, let faith in Christ be your focus. No matter how fierce the battle, victory is ahead, and God will deliver you.
7 Steps to Follow David’s Lead to Victory:
Focus on God and not the situation. Let faith arise in your heart.
Recall past victories and believe God will deliver you to victory.
Ignore negative words and threats that speak fear and doubt rather than faith.
Choose faith over fear.
Put on the armor of God.
Stand firm in faith.
Take up the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit.
Realizing you are a servant of God, run towards the battle in faith, knowing Jesus has defeated the enemy. Victory is ahead!
Suggested Praise and Worship
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1 Samuel 15:10-23: Do you wish you had more faith? This message illustrates mistakes to avoid, steps to increase faith, and how to achieve a deeper relationship with God.