Mark Flattery

Seven Actions to Defeat Your Giant #7 Move Forward with God-Given Confidence (I Samuel 17:55-58)   I hope that you are enjoying our study! Here are "Seven Actions to Defeat Your Giant" from the battle of David versus Goliath as recorded in I Samuel 17: 1.      To prepare for the battle, you must look at your giant from God's perspective (v. 26). 2.      To prepare for the battle, you must remember the victories from your past (v. 33-37). 3.      To prepare for the battle, you must put on the armor of God (v. 38-40). 4.      As you fight your battle, you must declare, "The battle is the Lord's" (v. 41-37). 5.      As you fight your battle, you must do what you know to do (v. 48-50). 6.      As you fight your battle, you must complete the task (v. 51-54). 7.      Move forward in God-given confidence (v. 55-58).   Today, we will consider the seventh action and that is you are to move forward in God-given confidence (I Samuel 17:55-58). I listed all the actions

Seven Actions to Defeat Your Giant #6 As You Fight Your Battle, You Must Complete the Task (I Samuel 17:51-54)   In our first three actions, we saw how God prepared David before the battle of the ages against Goliath. In the same way, He has prepared you for your fight. In the next three actions, we applied first two ways that David battled and that was to declare that the battle was the Lord's and that you should do what you know to do. The outcome was one that stunned the audience from that day forward. David used a sling shot to defeat a giant! Unbelievable! But, even though the giant was dead, there was still work to accomplish in effort to bring complete and undeniable victory. This is our third battle action; you must complete the task!   The Historical Account We must remember the context of our story. The Israelites and the Philistines gathered at the Elah Valley. I picture that each army occupied a hill and there was the valley between them. As the combatants stood in the

Seven Actions to Defeat Your Giant #5 As You Fight Your Battle, You Must Do What You Know to Do (I Samuel 17:48-50)               In previous articles, we discussed how David was prepared by God mentally, physically, and spiritually to enter the battlefield. Then, he stood before the giant and, in the first battle action, he declared that the battle was the Lord's and victory was ensured. Now, comes the moment of truth! David must fight! The anticipated battle would indeed be short and decisive. But, the outcome was not what the spectator armies predicted. Let's look at what happened and apply our second battle action.   The Historical Account "As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 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 face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a st

Seven Actions to Defeat Your Giant #4 As You Fight Your Battle, You Must Declare, "The Battle is the Lord's" (I Samuel 17:41-47).               We can see clearly now that God prepared David mentally, physically, and spiritually to fight the giant. David looked at the giant from God's perspective (mentally). David remembered the victories of the past (physically). David put on the armor of God (spiritually).             Now, the moment of reckoning arrived. David stood before the giant and gave account of his God, his nation, his family and himself. Let's go to the text and see what happened.   The Historical Account             David approached the Philistine. Goliath looked at his opponent and saw a mere youth and "he distained him." Goliath felt disrespected that a true warrior was not his adversary and cursed David by his gods. Please note that Goliath viewed this battle as more than just a physical encounter. When he cursed by his god, it became a s

Seven Actions to Defeat Your Giant #3 To Prepare for the Battle You Must Put on the Armor of God (I Samuel 17:38-40)   The army of Israel was mocked and shamed by Goliath, the giant, for forty days. A young man named David arrived at the battle front and brought life into the Israelite camp by reminding them that God was on their side. We considered the first two actions that David took to prepare for his encounter with the Goliath: he looked at the giant from God's perspective and he remembered the victories of his past. David was empowered to move to the battle line in confidence! This was not self-confidence but confidence in the Lord Almighty. Today, we will consider the final action that prepared David for the battle and that was he was equipped by God to fight Goliath. Let's see how this unfolded and learn from his behavior.   The Historical Account             King Saul agreed to allow David to represent Israel and fight the giant. In fact, what other option did he have?

Seven Actions to Defeat Your Giant #2 To Prepare for the Battle You Must Remember the Victories From Your Past (I Samuel 17:33-37)   Welcome back to our study of, "Seven Actions to Defeat Your Giant." As we study the historical account of David battling the giant named Goliath, we see that there are seven actions he took in effort to gain victory. The first three actions deal with preparing for the battle. The second three actions deal with how you act in the battle. The final action is how you respond as you bask in victory. Today, we will consider the second of three actions to prepare for the battle: you must remember the victories from your past.      The Historical Account             David's verbal declaration was overheard and then reported to King Saul. How defeated the army must have been that when a youth brings hope, his words are reported immediately to the king! Normally, the boasts of a youth would be ignored. This is an indicator of how desperate the army o