ON ROUTE TO CONQUER GOLIATH

ON ROUTE TO CONQUER GOLIATH

MEMORY VERSE: And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 1 Samuel 17:33

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 7-12

Goliath represents different things to different people. For example to the armies of Israel, Goliath represents a roaring lion. All they heard was his voice and everyone began to shake. 1 Samuel 17:11 says, “When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.” When they saw him, all hell broke loose. Everyone including the king ran for cover. 1 Samuel 17:24 says, “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.” To king Saul, Goliath represents an unbeatable champion. When David sought his consent to take on Goliath, he told him “he a man of war from his youth.” In other words, he is an unbeatable and undefeated champion. However, to David, Goliath represents an opportunity. This was why he asked that question – “What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel (1 Samuel 17:25)?” He saw Goliath as an opportunity to move closer to God’s plan for his life. He also saw him as an opportunity to become the king’s in-law and his father’s house exempted from payment of tax for life (1 Samuel 17:25). Actually, it was the coming of Goliath to Israel that suddenly propelled David to limelight. Prior to this, no one knew David! If not for Goliath, David would have remained a shepherd boy despite the anointing of God upon his life. That challenge you are currently facing could be God’s own way of bringing you to limelight. 

Today, we will look at Goliath as a big mountain standing on David’s path to the fulfillment of God’s plan for his life. In 1 Samuel 16, David was anointed as the king of Israel. Out of nowhere in 1 Samuel 17, Goliath turned up and demanded a man to fight him. If he kills the man, the kingdom of Israel (David’s throne) will go to the Philistines, but if the man kills him - which is impossible - the Philistines will become slaves to Israel. On route to conquering Goliath, David encountered a lot of things. On your route to conquering Goliath (the big mountain standing on your path to fulfilling destiny), you can expect some of what David encountered. The armies of Israel tried to weaken David’s faith. They knew David was a civilian because he was dressed as a civilian, yet they deliberately began to speak about how difficult it was to conquer Goliath. Even before David could think of taking on Goliath, they had already given him enough reasons why he wouldn’t be able to conquer Goliath. On your route to fulfilling destiny, you can expect people to tell you about how difficult it will be to become who God created you to be. You can expect them to tell you about how impossible it is to do something that no one has ever done before and succeed. Whilst planning to sit for a professional exam, the enemy will bring people who will speak about how difficult it is to pass that particular professional exam you want to sit for. They will remind you of people who have tried and failed. They will talk about the high failure rate and low pass rate. They will say all sorts of things. They will speak about those who passed the exam but couldn't get a job. The enemy will throw everything at you just to weaken your faith, just to make you turn back. He will throw everything at you to ensure that you don’t even think of going forward.

NOTE: David did not listen to what people had to say about Goliath. He only listened to what God had to say about Goliath. He sensed in his spirit that God was leading him to take on Goliath and he obeyed. Is God leading you on a project? Don’t look back. Don’t look at the failure rate. Don’t look at the number of people who had done it and failed. You are different. If He is leading you to take on Goliath, it means He has already conquered Goliath. 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

Victory Devourer

Sunday 22 July                             Bible in one year: 1 Samuel 25-28

Memorise: whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.Romans 13:2

Read : Judges 14:1-3

It is one thing to be victorious and it is another thing to retain victory. Victory not retained turns the victor into a victim. In order to keep your victory and walk in it,it is very crucial to learn from those who lost their victory, the reasons why their victory was lost. May your retain your victory in Jesus name.

One bible character who got victory over his enemies was Samson. He knew what it meant to be victorious because of the mighty presence of the Holy Spirit upon him,yet he died in the prison of his enemies.What rubbished his victory? In judges 14:1-3 , Samson failed to listen to his parents. He felt they were old fashioned in their views. He could not be under the control or authority of anyone.The elders may not be as educated as you are , but there is something they know that has kept them victorious which you may not know with all your education. Anyone who cannot submit to authority will most likely lose the victory he or she has received. There are some wives who cannot submit to the authority of their husbands because they have a better job or earn better income than them. Sorry, you may not be able to retain your victory! When the Lord says you should submit, He did not exclude your position or income. A minister who cannot be controlled, instructed or corrected by his or her pastor will surely lose his or her victory.

Another reason why Samson lose his victory was because he was unequally yoked together with a philistine in marriage. Brother , of all the sisters in the Kingdom, you could not find one to marry except a lady of another faith? By that marriage , you have automatically become a loser, a big time loser. Are you unequally yoked with an unbeliever in business? Separate today! Are you heading for the altar to wed an unbeliever? Break that relationship now before you end up in your enemy’s prison. In addition, Samson was not circumspect enough to know who to tell what. He opened his mouth and revealed his secrets to his enemy and they enslaved him. What are you telling people about yourself? Do you know who your enemies are? Samson was impatient and self-willed , not caring about God’s will and he was very unthankful. In whatever form any of these is seen in your life,prayerfully expunge them today so that your victory will not be eaten up.

PRAYER POINT: Father , today by your mercy , uproot every victory devourer in my life.

Open Heavens By Pastor E.A Adeboye