When we think of
war, we think of two armies of soldier meeting after a declaration
of war. In our minds, we tend to think of them as well matched
opponents fighting a war that’s fair. But most warfare is unfair.
TODAY’S WARFARE
IS NOT EVEN REMOTELY FAIR. THERE IS NOTHING HONORABLE ABOUT THE WAY
TERRORISTS (I.E. SUICIDE BOMBERS) WORK. THERE IS NOTHING FAIR ABOUT
AN ENEMY THAT HIDES BEHIND WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
In recent years,
especially since 9/11, we have seen the emergence of Asymetric
warfare. It has been manifested in terrorism.
Asymmetric warfare
is a term that describes a military situation in which two
belligerents of unequal strength interact and take
advantage of their respective strengths and weaknesses. This
interaction often involves strategies and tactics outside the bounds
of
conventional warfare.
But
asymetric warfare is not a new thing and neither is
terrorism—fighting in a way that inspires great fear in innocent
helpless people—in order to paralyze the enemy.
The most well known story of asymmetric warfare is told in the
Bible. It’s about a mere boy doing battle with a huge and powerful
bully—a giant.
Most
of us are familiar with the story of David and Goliath—at least
superficially.
David was a young man, really a boy, who looked like anything BUT a
giant slayer. He would later become king of Israel but he wasn’t a
king when he did battle against mighty warrior; he was a shepherd.
He went by himself to fight against a giant—and he won the fight.
But
there is so much to this Biblical account that we don’t see at first
glance.
FIRST: WHO WAS DAVID? He was a young man from the tribe of
Judah, the great grandson of Ruth and Boaz, whose son was Obed,
grandson Jesse, father of David.
BUT,
DAVID WAS DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHERS IN HIS FAMILY.
Did
you know that David was the youngest and smallest in his family? His bothers didn’t think very much of
him and even his father didn’t consider him to be very important. He
tended the sheep for his father.
God sent the prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse and told him that
one of Jesse’s sons was to be the next king of Israel. So Samuel
traveled to Jesse’s home and told him to call all his sons to
appear before Samuel.
1
SAMUEL 16:10
(message )Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel. Samuel was blunt
with Jesse, "God hasn't
chosen any of these." 11 Then he asked
Jesse, "Is this it? Are there no more sons?" "Well, yes, there's the
runt. But he's out tending the sheep." Samuel ordered Jesse, "Go get
him. We're not moving from this spot until he's here."
WHEN
GOD WANTS TO ANOINT YOU, IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO STANDS AGAINST YOU.
GOD WON’T MOVE FROM THE SPOT UNTIL YOU ARE ANOINTED!
Jesse
didn’t even bother calling David because no one in the family
thought that David could possibly be God’s choice. David was the smallest and thought to be unimportant. He looked
after his father’s sheep which was a job no one else wanted to do.
God looked past his size and appearance. He looked into David’s
heart and He saw a king—a man who would love God and be a mighty
warrior.
DID
PEOPLE EVER DISMISS YOU OR LABEL YOU AS BEING “NOT IMPORTANT” OR “NO
GOOD”? DID PEOPLE OVERLOOK YOUR ABILITIES AND GIFTINGS? IF SO,
YOU’RE IN GOOD COMPANY. DAVID WAS TO BE A KING AND EVERYONE—EVEN HIS
OWN FATHER—OVERLOOKED HIM. BUT GOD DIDN’T.
When
David appeared before Samuel, God said “This is the one!” David, the
“runt” was chosen by God to be the next king of Israel. And boy was
his family surprised—and jealous.
1SAMUEL 16:12
Jesse sent for him. He was brought in, the very picture of health—
bright-eyed, good-looking. God
said, "Up on your feet! Anoint him! This is the one." 13
Samuel took his flask of oil and anointed him, with his brothers
standing around watching. The Spirit of
God entered David like
a rush of wind, God vitally empowering him for the rest of his life.
Years
later David would write “thou preparest a table before me in the
presence of our enemies” His
family was against him this time. Later it would be other
enemies—but God would always prepare a place of blessing for him in
the presence of whatever enemies came against him.
David was anointed to be the next king of
Israel---but not yet. It would be years before he would actually
become king.
GOD MAY GIVE US A WORD OR A PROMISE—OR A
POSITION IN HIS KINGDOM—BUT WE MIGHT NOT SEE THE FULFILLMENT FOR A
WHILE. DELAY DOES NOT MEAN DENIAL.
David was anointed as king and then what
did he do?
He went back to shepherding his father’s sheep. After awhile, God
brought David to the palace to sing and play the harp for King Saul.
GOD WILL USE YOUR GIFTS TO BLESS PEOPLE. God used David’s gift to
bless the king—the very person he was to replace. But, even knowing
that God had chosen him to do this, David did not get “puffed up”
and he was not arrogant toward King Saul. He was humble and so he
was able to be used mightily by God.
The opportunity came for God to use His servant
David to save Israel from a great enemy. The Philistines, one of the peoples that hated Israel, gathered
up soldiers to go to war against Israel. Saul, who was the present
king of Israel prepared for war.
And, one day, Israel was threatened by the
Philistines and all of Israel was scared.
Still, King Saul gathered the troops for battle
against the Philistines..
1
Samuel 17:1-3 1-3
The Philistines drew up their troops for battle. They deployed them
at Socoh in Judah, and set up camp between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes
Dammim. Saul and the Israelites came together, camped at Oak Valley,
and spread out their troops in battle readiness for the Philistines.
The Philistines were on one hill, the Israelites on the opposing
hill, with the valley between them.
The two armies faced each other and then a
strange thing happened:
Verses
4-7 A giant nearly ten feet tall stepped out from the
Philistine line into the open, Goliath from Gath. He had a bronze
helmet on his head and was dressed in armor—126 pounds of it! He
wore bronze shin guards and carried a bronze sword. His spear was
like a fence rail—the spear tip alone weighed over fifteen pounds.
His shield bearer walked ahead of him.
A giant stepped out of the crowd. He was
huge and powerful and armed from head to toe. And he challenged all
the soldiers of Israel:
8-10 Goliath stood there and called out to the Israelite troops,
"Why bother using your whole army? Am I not Philistine enough for
you? And you're all committed to Saul, aren't you? So pick your best
fighter and pit him against me. If he gets the upper hand and kills
me, the Philistines will all become your slaves. But if I get the
upper hand and kill him, you'll all become our slaves and serve us.
I challenge the troops of Israel this day. Give me a man. Let us
fight it out together!"
WHO ‘APPOINTED’ GOLIATH THE RULER OF THE WORLD?
NO ONE!
When the armies of Israel saw him they were
shaking in their boots. In fact the scripture says: 11
When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's challenge, they were
terrified and lost all hope.
DO YOU REALIZE THAT
This didn’t even make sense? THINK ABOUT IT.
They had not hesitated to face a whole army of
Philistines—giants and all. The suddenly, this one man challenges
them and they lose hope and back down.
They weren’t as scared of the whole army as
they were of one man. And no matter how big he was, he was still one man. They
could easily have overtaken him, but that didn’t even occur to them.
WHY NOT? BECAUSE SATAN BLINDED THEM AND MADE THEM SEE THINGS IN A
LOPSIDED WAY. ASYMMETRIC WARFARE.
That’s how satan attacks us; he makes us see a
big giant that we think we can’t handle, when really we have God’s
power on our side.
Is there someone you’re afraid of? Is there a
situation in your life that seems impossible? Or a person who you’re afraid of? Is there a
bully in your life? You don’t have to be afraid if you are a child
of God.
In the past few weeks, I was attacked by fear.
Two
and a half years ago, my apartment burnt down. I literally had to
walk through fire to get out. I WASN’T AFRAID. BUT LAST WEEK A
NAMELESS FEAR CAME UPON ME. Twelve years ago, a week after major
surgery, I woke up paralyzed and was rushed to the hospital where I
was tested FOR EVERYTHING THEY COULD THINK OF. There was no
explanation. God healed me and restored me, but for a time, I was
unable to move even my hands. I WASN’T SCARED AT THAT TIME EITHER. I
knew God would be with me.
BUT, HERE I WAS RECENTLY FEELING THIS VAGUE
FEAR…OVER NOTHING!
FEAR FROM THE ENEMY—AND FOR NO APPARENT REASON
IS ASSYMETRIC WARFARE.
When there is fear and you don’t know why, you
are under attack. I knew that was the case and that the only remedy
was the WORD OF GOD AND PRAYER! GOD INTERCEDED AND DID A MIRACLE.
THE SITUATION IS THE SAME BUT THERE IS NO FEAR.
The first thing I did was remember that--- God
has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound
mind. The Amplified Bibles says it like this:
2
Timothy 1:7 (AMP) For God did not give us a
spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning
fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of
calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.
The next thing I remembered was that perfect loves casts out fear!
1 John 4:18 (NASB) There is no fear in
love; but perfect love castsoutfear, because
fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not
perfected in love.
The Amplified Bible says it like this:
1 John 4:18
(AMP)18There
is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete,
perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of
terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so]
he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not
yet grown into love's complete perfection].
God’s perfect love cast out the fear.
He’ll do this for all of us. When nameless fear comes upon you—go to
prayer and if you know some prayer warriors, ask them to pray for
you. But be prepared to stand alone if you need to. You won’t really
be alone. When I walked through the fire, I had God and His angels
with me. You will too.
There was only one person in the whole country
who wasn’t afraid of this giant, Goliath: David—the youngest son of
Jesse—who was still a boy—a teenager.
12-15 Enter David. He was the son of Jesse the Ephrathite from
Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse, the father of eight sons, was himself too
old to join Saul's army. Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul
to war. The names of the three sons who had joined up with Saul were
Eliab, the firstborn; next, Abinadab; and third, Shammah. David was
the youngest son. While his three oldest brothers went to war with
Saul, David went back and forth from attending to Saul to tending
his father's sheep in Bethlehem.
What an amazing young man David was. Even
though he was anointed by God and even though he sang for the king
of Israel, he wasn’t too proud to go back and take care of his
father’s sheep. He had a very strong sense of responsibility and he
was humble.
Sometimes, we want to take all the best jobs
and we get insulted if someone wants us to do something “small” or
boring, or that’s real hard work. How about you?
David was willing to take on Goliath. He wasn’t
being foolish. He already had experience fighting off creatures that
were bigger and stronger than he was.
1
Samuel 17:34-35 David said, "I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my
father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock,
I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on
me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or
bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I'll do the same to
this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive.
God, who delivered me
from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver
me from this Philistine."
You
might think that attacking a bear or a lion was pretty stupid—like
jumping off a roof. But, David knew the God of Israel. He worshipped
Him and believed in God’s power to save him. David also knew what
God had called him to be---a mighty man of God. He knew that God
would be with him while he protected the sheep.
GOD
GAVE HIM THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PROTECTING THE SHEEP AND SO HE KNEW
THAT GOD WOULD GIVE HIME THE ABILITY TO DESTROY WHATEVER THREATENED
THE SHEEP.
GOD
GIVES US THE ABILITY TO DO WHAT HE CALLS US TO DO. HE ALSO GIVES US
THE SPIRITUAL POWER AND AUTHORITY TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY WHEN THE ENEMY
COMES AGAINST US OR AGAINST OUR CALLING.
Because He knew God’s power and protection and had a very strong
sense of what was right and wrong, God was going to use David to
defeat Israel’s enemies and save his own people.
All the armies of Israel were going to stand helpless and defeated
while this boy, David faced ALONE what Israel’s army and king would
not face: ONE MAN.
11 When Saul and his troops heard the Philistine's
challenge, they were terrified and lost all hope.
But
little David never lost hope. He wanted to fight him. And, by the way little boys grow up to be men
and they’re not so little anymore. David would be a powerful soldier
when he got just a little older. But David was a powerful warrior
RIGHT NOW—while he was still a boy---because He believed in God and
in the cause he was fighting for.
32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on
account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
AND HE DID. HERE IS HOW IT HAPPENED.
33
Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine
and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man
from his youth."
DAVID EXPLAINED THAT HE WASN’T AFRAID and why.
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 delivered me from the paw
of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of
this Philistine."
SAUL SAID “go”
37Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you." 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.
AND HE TRIED TO GIVE DAVID HIS OWN ARMOUR—BUT
DAVID REFUSED IT! HE PREFERRED TO GO WITHOUT ARMOUR RATHER THAN WEAR
ANOTHER MANS ARMOUR—ARMOUR THAT WOULD NOT FIT HIM. HE KNEW IT COULD
NEVER SAVE HIM.
We
can’t wear another person’s armour into the battle.
We have to have our own way of fighting. We
have to have our own prayer life..our own authority in God. We can’t
always depend on others to fight for us and we can’t use the weapons
and armour that others use. IT WON’T FIT US AND IT WILL TRIP US UP.
ARMOUR WAS WORN TO PROTECT THE WARRIOR. MAN HAS
DEVELOPED MANY WAYS TO PROTECT HIMSELF.
People are so afraid these days that they
purchase elaborate alarm systems. There’s nothing wrong with
that—except one thing—it can’t protect them. If someone ruthless
enough wants to get in badly enough, he’s going to get in—no matter
what kind of alarm or security system you have. UNLESS GOD PROTECTS
YOU. HE IS THE ONLY INFALLEABLE SECURITY SYSTEM.
The only protection David wanted was GOD’S
protection.
"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.
SOME PEOPLE THINK DAVID USED A SLINGSHOT. HE
DIDN’T. HE USED A SLING AND TOOK FIVE STONES WITH HIM. HE ONLY
NEEDED ONE.
David was so confident in the Lord that he
didn’t wait for the giant to come get him. He approached the giant.
Goliath saw David and mocked him because he saw what the world saw:
a boy! He cursed David in the name of his false gods and boasted of
what he would do to the boy.
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 only a boy, ruddy 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 of the air and the beasts of the
field!"
DAVID WAS TOTALLY UNIMPRESSED AND UNAFRAID! He
made it clear that he was fighting in the name of the Lord God of
Israel—the only true God.
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.
AND HE LET HIM KNOW THAT HE HAD DEFIED NOT ONLY
GOD BUT GOD’S PEOPLE!!! And little David threatened big Goliath.
These were not empty threats either. David was about to do exactly
what he said he was going to do. The big and powerful man had only
seconds to live and didn’t know it.
46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike
you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of
the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the
earth, 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."
AND DAVID WASTED NO TIME. HE TOOK HIS SLING AND
PUT A STONE IN IT—SWUNG IT, SLUNG IT—AND KILLED GOLIATH!
Goliath had ONE vulnerable spot and God guided
that stone to exactly the right place. It hit him right smack in the
head and killed him on contact!
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.
TALK ABOUT ASSYMETRIC WARFARE! THIS WAS IT!
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.
WARS ARE NOT WON BY MIGHTY WEAPONS. WARS ARE
WON BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD!
Not by might or by power, but by my Spirit
sayeth the Lord!
THE BATTLE WITH GOLIATH WAS WON BY DAVID. AFTER
HE KILLED GOLIATH, HE CUT OFF HIS HEAD—AND HE TOOK HIS SWORD!
51 David ran and stood
over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and drew it from
the scabbard. 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
AND
NOW THE PHILLISTINES—GIANTS AND ALL—RAN LIKE COWARDS! They still outnumbered the Israelites. They
still had much more weapons. There were still giants
among them. But the victory of one boy who had the faith and courage
to believe and trust in the Name of the Lord—gave them all the
courage to stand up and fight.
ONE VICTORY—YOUR VICTORY—IN THE FACE OF
INSURMOUNTABLE ODDS MATTERS. IT IS NOT JUST FOR YOU. IT GIVES
COURAGE TO EVERYONE WHO SEES AND HEARS ABOUT IT!
52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged
forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of
Gath [g]
and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim
road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the
Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered
their camp. 54 David took the Philistine's
head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put the Philistine's
weapons in his own tent.
STAND UP TODAY AND BE A HERO IN GOD’S ARMY! GOD LOVES
ASSYMETRIC WARFARE AND SO SHOULD YOU, BECAUSE, THE BIGGER THE GIANT,
THE GREATER THE MIRACLE AND VICTORY AND THE GREATER THE GLORY THAT
GOES TO GOD!
