Big problem? Bigger solution!
Posted on July 13, 2010
What do you do when you face a big problem?
You throw a bigger solution at the problem!!
Before you do, you must identify your target:
The Crisis – 1 Samuel 17
The Israelites were at war with the Philistines.
They had come to a standoff, and now Goliath was challenging the Israelites to fight him.
The Israelite army was in the midst of a crisis.
They were facing a challenge that they did not believe they could win.
The crisis was larger than life.
(v. 4) A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze
javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.
Talk about indestructible! As far as the Israelite soldiers were concerned, Goliath was too big to be defeated.
That is what we think about the "giants" that we face.
Maybe the giant is cancer, or a failing marriage, or financial problems--whatever it is, it seems bigger than we are.
The crisis defies our power.
(v. 8) Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me.
If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us!" Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give
me a man and let us fight each other."
On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
This is what giants do to us.
We try to make our lives as smooth as possible.
We try to be in control of every detail, and then a crisis comes along and reminds us how completely helpless we are.
The crisis will not go away.
(v. 16) For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
The problem with a crisis is that it won't disappear.
If you don't deal with it, it deals with you.
Don’t complain about what you tolerate.
David was not willing to tolerate it any more.
David's Response to the Crisis....
So, in the midst of the crisis, David arrives at the scene. He sees Goliath make his challenge and he sees the Israelite army overcome with fear. And what is David's response?
Listen to what he says... (v. 26) "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
David was able to put the crisis into proper perspective. We can learn from his example.
The best response to a crisis is God is bigger than any problem I will ever face.
Secondly, notice...
The Critics
If you aspire to do anything worthwhile in life you will have to learn to endure criticism. If David had adopted the fearful attitude of the Israelite soldiers—-if
he had been willing to do nothing about the crisis—he would have been left alone. But as soon as he began to talk about the possibility of defeating the giant, he was met with a barrage of criticism.
David is not the only dreamer in the Bible who was criticized for wanting to do God's will.
Noah, Moses, Joseph, Nehemiah, Paul, Peter, (and, of course, Jesus) were all criticized for attempting to do something greater then themselves for God's glory.
Criticism should not come as a surprise to anyone who wants to accomplish something worthwhile, but that doesn't change the fact that criticism is painful to endure. It's a little easier to endure if you recognize some characteristics of critical people. First of all...
Critics are obsessed with the trivial.
(v. 28) When Eliab, David's oldest brother heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep.
David's brother Eliab is typical of most critics. David is about to destroy a major threat to Israel's national security, and his brother is worried about the sheep. Critics have an amazing ability to focus on the trivial and neglect the crucial.
Critics believe the worst about people.
(v. 28) "...I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."
The criticism of others serves as a smoke-screen to make it less obvious that those who criticize aren't accomplishing anything with their own lives.
Francis Asbury, an 18th century bishop in the Methodist movement, was once criticized by a woman for being unsophisticated in his method of evangelism.
Asbury politely asked the lady how many she had led to Christ in her life. The lady answered that she had not personally led anyone to faith in Christ.
Asbury's response was, "Ma'am, I like my way doing it better than your way of not doing it."
David's Response to the Critics...
David refused to be swayed by criticism. He recognized that the critics didn't know what they were talking about, and so he chose to disregard the criticism, but he wouldn't give up his dream of defeating Goliath.
You can be sure that if you try to accomplish anything great for God, you will be criticized by those who are doing nothing. The best response is to disregard the critics, but don't disregard your dream.
The Contest
Until David stepped on the battle field, he could be regarded as just a little kid with big ideas. But once he lined up against Goliath, it became obvious that he was a man to be taken seriously. Even if he lost the battle, David proved
that he had more character, integrity and faith than any soldier in the king's army--or even the king himself. David won the contest just by his willingness to enter the contest.
(v. 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.
Notice that Goliath was forced to fight David on David's terms--not with a sword and spear, but with five smooth stones. Even the king tried to get David to wear cumbersome battle armor, but David refused. He knew the only way to meet this challenge was by doing what he did best.
David refused to be intimidated.
(v. 44) "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
(v. 45) "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, who you have defied. 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. 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."
Think about the challenges in your life.
How do you speak to your giants?
What is your attitude toward the contest? Are you intimidated, or do you dare speak to the giant with words such as "I'm going to cut off your head!"
The big secret:
1 Sam 18:47 "...for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
An old kids song that I love goes like this:
I’ve got a giant of a God in me, stronger then the trouble in front of me.
Even 9 feet tall
Starts looking pretty small
Next to the giant of a God in me!!
Bow big problem, to the bigger solution inside of me!!
Pastor Duane Siemens
You throw a bigger solution at the problem!!
Before you do, you must identify your target:
The Crisis – 1 Samuel 17
The Israelites were at war with the Philistines.
They had come to a standoff, and now Goliath was challenging the Israelites to fight him.
The Israelite army was in the midst of a crisis.
They were facing a challenge that they did not believe they could win.
The crisis was larger than life.
(v. 4) A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze
javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.
Talk about indestructible! As far as the Israelite soldiers were concerned, Goliath was too big to be defeated.
That is what we think about the "giants" that we face.
Maybe the giant is cancer, or a failing marriage, or financial problems--whatever it is, it seems bigger than we are.
The crisis defies our power.
(v. 8) Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me.
If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us!" Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give
me a man and let us fight each other."
On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
This is what giants do to us.
We try to make our lives as smooth as possible.
We try to be in control of every detail, and then a crisis comes along and reminds us how completely helpless we are.
The crisis will not go away.
(v. 16) For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
The problem with a crisis is that it won't disappear.
If you don't deal with it, it deals with you.
Don’t complain about what you tolerate.
David was not willing to tolerate it any more.
David's Response to the Crisis....
So, in the midst of the crisis, David arrives at the scene. He sees Goliath make his challenge and he sees the Israelite army overcome with fear. And what is David's response?
Listen to what he says... (v. 26) "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
David was able to put the crisis into proper perspective. We can learn from his example.
The best response to a crisis is God is bigger than any problem I will ever face.
Secondly, notice...
The Critics
If you aspire to do anything worthwhile in life you will have to learn to endure criticism. If David had adopted the fearful attitude of the Israelite soldiers—-if
he had been willing to do nothing about the crisis—he would have been left alone. But as soon as he began to talk about the possibility of defeating the giant, he was met with a barrage of criticism.
David is not the only dreamer in the Bible who was criticized for wanting to do God's will.
Noah, Moses, Joseph, Nehemiah, Paul, Peter, (and, of course, Jesus) were all criticized for attempting to do something greater then themselves for God's glory.
Criticism should not come as a surprise to anyone who wants to accomplish something worthwhile, but that doesn't change the fact that criticism is painful to endure. It's a little easier to endure if you recognize some characteristics of critical people. First of all...
Critics are obsessed with the trivial.
(v. 28) When Eliab, David's oldest brother heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep.
David's brother Eliab is typical of most critics. David is about to destroy a major threat to Israel's national security, and his brother is worried about the sheep. Critics have an amazing ability to focus on the trivial and neglect the crucial.
Critics believe the worst about people.
(v. 28) "...I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."
The criticism of others serves as a smoke-screen to make it less obvious that those who criticize aren't accomplishing anything with their own lives.
Francis Asbury, an 18th century bishop in the Methodist movement, was once criticized by a woman for being unsophisticated in his method of evangelism.
Asbury politely asked the lady how many she had led to Christ in her life. The lady answered that she had not personally led anyone to faith in Christ.
Asbury's response was, "Ma'am, I like my way doing it better than your way of not doing it."
David's Response to the Critics...
David refused to be swayed by criticism. He recognized that the critics didn't know what they were talking about, and so he chose to disregard the criticism, but he wouldn't give up his dream of defeating Goliath.
You can be sure that if you try to accomplish anything great for God, you will be criticized by those who are doing nothing. The best response is to disregard the critics, but don't disregard your dream.
The Contest
Until David stepped on the battle field, he could be regarded as just a little kid with big ideas. But once he lined up against Goliath, it became obvious that he was a man to be taken seriously. Even if he lost the battle, David proved
that he had more character, integrity and faith than any soldier in the king's army--or even the king himself. David won the contest just by his willingness to enter the contest.
(v. 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.
Notice that Goliath was forced to fight David on David's terms--not with a sword and spear, but with five smooth stones. Even the king tried to get David to wear cumbersome battle armor, but David refused. He knew the only way to meet this challenge was by doing what he did best.
David refused to be intimidated.
(v. 44) "Come here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
(v. 45) "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, who you have defied. 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. 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."
Think about the challenges in your life.
How do you speak to your giants?
What is your attitude toward the contest? Are you intimidated, or do you dare speak to the giant with words such as "I'm going to cut off your head!"
The big secret:
1 Sam 18:47 "...for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
An old kids song that I love goes like this:
I’ve got a giant of a God in me, stronger then the trouble in front of me.
Even 9 feet tall
Starts looking pretty small
Next to the giant of a God in me!!
Bow big problem, to the bigger solution inside of me!!
Pastor Duane Siemens
