On To Victory #3 (Based on David vs. Goliath)

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Text: 1 Samuel 17:34-37

Your presence with us this morning is a very pleasant encouragement to us. We have been looking at the fact that God strives to tell us day in and day out of our at times strained existence on planet earth:
we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ!

Looking at the young shepherd's faith in God as he stepped onto the battlefield to face the mighty giant we have learned that the certainty of victory is not based on our strength in the flesh, but in our faith.
As hard as it is to believe that we are going to be champions in life, it is harder to believe that anything opposed to God can stand a chance. Whether it is sin, discouragement, abandonment by friends & loved ones, loss of health, doubt about the future or even death itself the God who is with us is greater than the foe we face!

We started looking last week at the keys to David's victory and we namely saw two that separated him not only from the uncircumcised Goliath but also the faithless men of Israel:
  1. he understood that with God victory is possible &
  2. he chose to keep on believing in God when all others didn't believe in him. We're going to win the fight when we can say to the naysayers like David did, "you might not think I can win, but I believe God can and I'll stick with Him."
Remember that there is a God in heaven who cares what happens in His children's lives and looks for opportunities to get involved. All He asks of us is this:
have the heart of faith and pick up five smooth stones.

Before getting into this week's let's read a few passages:
Psalms 34:7-10, Judges 6:11-16, 1 Samuel 17:34-37

The third key to David's victory is this:
He knew enough to draw on the strength of past victories and not get swallowed up by the memories of past defeats!

Now, try this quick test to see what might dominate our minds when faced with an overwhelming giant:
How long does it take to name 10 memorable defeats from your past?
How long does it take to name 10 memorable victories from your past?
For many of us it is much easier and a lot quicker for us to come up with the defeats rather than the victories.
As one man wrote, "So often, when facing our own giants, we forget what we ought to remember and remember what we ought to forget. We remember our defeats and we forget the victories. Most of us can recite the failures of our lives in vivid detail, but we're hard-pressed to name the specific, remarkable victories God has pulled off in our past."1

Soon what happens is that we become in our minds failures who are destined to fail because we always have failed.
Another man wrote, "When people fail at one thing, they try to connect the present failure with a previous failure. They then make the assumption that they are not very good at anything."2

What stands out most about the apostle Peter?
His denials of Christ, his falling into the sea, or his two great confessions of Christ & his sermon on Pentecost?

Now, you can convince yourself you are a failure because you have past failures, however if you want to be a champion, which you can be you have to do something with your past failures:
- understand that a failure is an evennt not a person!
You've got to realize the error and move on! Peter did not let his failures stop him from being a champion, and neither should we.
Listen to what happens to you when you are baptized into Christ:
2 Cor.5:17-old things have passed away
Phil.3:12-14- I forget the past and press on.
Listen, we all have met with defeat in different trials in our lives. Did the wrong thing, said the wrong word, put force where faith should have gone, walked by sight and not by faith and the list could go on and on.

Now, there is another thing we need to realize and Lagard Smith sums it up beautifully in a quote: "If I have experienced defeat, praise God, I have also known victory."3 This is the difference between Gideon & David at first call!
Gideon placed God's former victories in the past without relevance for the present, but David drew on the past victories as assurance for today!
Just as we have failed at times, there are many times we have won. If we are going to experience the victory God is calling us to we need to remember these times!

Why did David believe he was going to win?
  1. Because of two great victories in the past!
    Now, there was more to this, but to convince Saul he could do it, David recalls these amazing events!
    A lion & a bear came out and grabbed a lamb. The first thing David shows Saul is he is really fearless.
    Why fight a lion & a bear for a lamb?
    More than just fight them however; David grabs them by the chin!
    David's conclusion- vs.36- as the bear and the lion lay dead, so will this uncircumcised Philistine who has cursed the armies of the living God.
    Which would you rather fight: a 9 foot 9 man, or a lion and a bear?
    Now, there is one reason the fight against Goliath was more risky and that is because of the consequences-vs.9.
    However, David knew that if he had defeated the lion and the bear, he could also and would also defeat Goliath!
  2. Now, we might be thinking, things would be a lot easier for me if I had in my past a lion or a bear in my tracks, but I don't.
    You probably do and we'll talk about that in a minute. There was something else though David understood about his past victories.
    Vs.37- It was the Lord who delivered me from them, and it will be the Lord who shall deliver me. David didn't defeat the lion or bear because of David, but because of God.
    Understand, the reason for victory is the heart of faith not the arm of flesh. It will be the same for us. David saw something behind his past victories that allowed him to believe victory would be his again and that is the Divine hand behind them!
    Listen to what David would say in Psalms 63:6,7.
    How do we know that we are more than conquerors?
    Because it has already been proven that we are. God will not let us be defeated! Hebrews 13:5,6. Since, God doesn't change (1 Sam.15:29), and He wouldn't let opponents overcome us in the past, He won't in the future.
    David says, as He was with me then, He will be with me now. The same is true for us!
  3. Saul's response was self-condemning!
    Like Gideon at the first call, Saul had put past victories in the past with no relevance to the moment. If Saul really meant that God go with David, he should have meant it for himself. Saul had won great battles in the past! (18:7- Saul has slain his thousands) Had Saul had David's heart, this battle would have been over 40 days earlier.
  4. What about us today?
    Can we also have this key that David had?
    Can we have confidence that the God of our past victories will be with us in the current and future battles?
    Yes, we can!
    Do we have past victories to draw from?
    Yes, a thousand times over if you are a child of God you have past victories! Only by being mindful of our past victories will we have the courage to press on to greater victories!
    You say, I have had no great victories, Au contraire mon frere!
    You may have to think real hard, you may have to unlock some hidden memories, but you have known victory!
    How do I know?
    Because you are a child of God! Here's some for starters:
    You haven't always sinned when faced with temptation to. You haven't always relied on yourself but instead relied on God. You haven't always failed to stand firm. Remember those cases and give God glory that with Him you have won.
    There's others however:
    The time you finally were freed from a sinful habit, drinking, gossip, lying, swearing etc. If you defeated those with God, you can defeat others.
    The time that a friend betrayed you and you did rise above it and forgave and let nothing in your friendship diminish. The time your child was sick with a terrible illness and your faith in God never wavered and the prayer "Your will be done" was real.
    Yes, there have been defeats, but praise God there have been victories with God and we will see victory again!
    Romans 16:20- Paul in fact assures us all that the time is coming when the giant will fall down.
    How do we know we are for sure going to win?
    Because when we placed our lives in the hands of Jesus Christ, we have already won the greatest battle we could- Romans 8:31,32- no other opponent can stop us.
What a heart David had!
The heart that understood that great moments from the past were because of God and therefore battles in the name of God today will also be won because of Him!
My friends, you don't see a failure when you look in the mirror every morning, you see someone who at times has failed, but at other times has also been victorious and if you have the heart of faith, the person who has been made more than a conqueror through Him that loved us.

What about you this morning?
Do you have past moments of victory that you can draw courage from?
Can you see the invisible hand protecting your past and therefore your future as well?
Have you yet to step into the battlefield by becoming a victor over Satan?
Do so this morning, only those with Jesus will stand triumphant at last, but note those with Jesus will stand triumphant at last..let's stand and sing.


1. Charles R. Swindoll, David: a man of passion & destiny: profiles in character (Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, Inc., 1997) p.44
2. Ben Kubassek, Succeed without Burnout (Ayr, ON: Eagle Press, 1997) p.180
3. F. Lagard Smith, Meeting God in Holy Places (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1997) p.151


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