Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 1 Samuel 17:41-51 NLT
Introduction
Church, we are in the last days of the year 2023 and if the truth be told, some of us are still in a fight. A fight to actualise your dreams and I've to encourage you never to give up because you are born to win, the battle has been rigged in your favour and the stakes are too high.
Life is full of battles. My Pastor once said, you are either in a battle, just coming out of one or about to enter into one. David was on an errand to visit his brothers on a battlefield unknown to him, he was just about to enter into a battle. Regardless of where you're in life, may I remind you, you're a Victor and not a victim.
In this narrative, an entire nation was under siege. For 40 days and 40 nights, Goliath kept on challenging the entire people of Israel and no one was bold enough to stand up and represent the people of Israel against Goliath.
No one was able to stand up and fight for the future of Israel safe for a young adult called David. How is it possible that out of the entire population, no one was found worthy to stand up and fight.
A fight you must win 🏆
Friends, there is a fight that you must win. There is a Goliath whose head must come down. And until you step up and fight, the demons will continue to torment.
for some, it is the demon of fear,
for another it's the demon of lust,
for another, it is the demon of pride
for another, it is the voices in your head that
for another, it is the spirit of low self-esteem
for another, it is the demon of unforgiveness
for another, it is the spirit of anger and the list goes on and on.
Church, Goliath was a giant and David was a small boy and at the end of the fight, David won the battle. Church, it's not the size of a dog in fight but the size of the fight in the dog. David had a big fight in him, though small, he beheaded Goliath.
Friends, you can slay the demons, you can defeat the voices and it has nothing to do with your size but everything to do with the almighty God who resides in you.
"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Romans 8:11 KJV"
Why did David win the fight?
1. David won the fight because the battle had been rigged in favour of David. In 1 Sam. 16, David had been anointed by Samuel. Guess what, you and I have been anointed by God. Anointing does many things in people's lives. Allow me to share 8 things it does in a life of a believer.
The anointing breaks the yokes. Isaiah 10:27. Yokes in the bible refers to heavy burden. Anyone under evil yoke cannot prosper.
The anointing breaks curses. Everyone under a curse cannot prosper. Christ has delivered us from the curse of the law Gal. 3:13.
The anointing empowers. Act 10:38.
The anointing helps you to live a holy life. How God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Holiness.
The anointing enables you to serve God tirelessly.
The anointing enables you to prosper.
The anointing preserves you.
The anointing liberates people.
There is indeed a battle to be fought and a victory to be worn. And because the battle has been rigged in your favour, you have been declared already by God as a winner, you shall win, you shall lift off the head the Goliath assigned against your destiny.
2. David won the battle because he understood what was at stake. Yes, you can be anointed and divinely positioned like Esther but you must understand what is at stake. Esther needed to be reminded before she kicked into action.
Yes, there was a reward for anyone who killed Goliath, a wife and tax exemption (1 Sam. 17:25), David understood that the entire Kingdom was his one day. He knew that the entire Kingdom that he had been anointed to rule over, though under the leadership of another, was at stake. Do you know what's at stake? You cannot loose the fight. Whenever you lower your shoulders to take on evil yoke, the impact may be generational.
3. David won the battle because he had been prepared by God for such a time as this. How did God prepare him? God had been prepared through service. God always prepares men through service because God uses me in service. It was while he was serving his father that God was quietly preparing Him. He had been rescuing lambs by fighting wild animals.
He had fought a bear 🐻,
he had fought a lion 🦁, all in preparation for that day.
His time of solitude had brought him into intimacy with God to the point that God could not forsake him. Any fight he gets into becomes a fight of God.
But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!” 1 Samuel 17:34-37 NLT
4. David won the fight because of the great faith he had in God. When you have faith in God, you don't depend on what you have, you depend on God. What you have becomes a point of contact. It becomes a tool in the hands of God. When you have faith in God, all of a sudden, 2 fish and five loaves are surrendered to God to feed five thousand people. When you have faith in God, 5 stones are enough to go into battle with, and one stone is more than enough to bring any giant down. When you have faith in God, walking around Jericho for 7 days and a shout is enough to bring the walls down. What do you have in your hands? With faith in God, it's more than enough. Your qualification so far is more than enough for this next phase in your life. Your network is good enough for the next stage in your life.
Conclusion.
As the year is coming to an end, do not despair, keep your head up and strong, remember:
The battle has been rigged for your victory.
The stakes are too high.
God has prepared you for such a time as this. All your walk with him has not been in vain.
Your faith in God will not fail in Jesus' name.
If you believe that you will never lose a battle, I need you to:
Stand up right now and give Him praise.
Stand up now and shout for victory. Jesus.
Stand up now and do a victory lap for Jesus.