Our Solution Prefigured: Kings and Giants

So now we are hundreds of years have passed and we are entered into the land and the land is occupied.

God's land is occupied but not perfectly because the people have disobeyed.

And if you were reading along in your Bible you would come to this book called Judges.

And what we saw in this book of Judges is that God fills men and women with his spirit.

And they come into God's family and they rescue a stubborn people, us, from our sin and from our enemies.

The motto of the book of Judges was everyone does what is right in their own eyes.

And it seems like kind of that's the motto for today.

But again and again and again we see that God pursues us, that God comes after us, God follows us, his children.

The passage we read today was written by a prophet named Samuel.

Samuel is the last judge.

He's the last judge because the people basically rebelled.

They said they don't want judges anymore and they don't want God anymore.

They want a king.

We want a king who will go before us, who will fight our battles.

And Samuel is really upset about this but God says go ahead and give them what they want.

And so Samuel anoints this man named Saul.

He's the first king of Israel.

It's in 1 Samuel 10.

And we're told that Saul has chosen the king of Israel because he is head and shoulders above all the rest.

He's the tallest guy.

He's the best looking guy.

He's the strongest guy.

And God's people say that must be our leader because he has his act together.

But when you read the book of Judges and Samuel, you'll see that Saul fails.

He has character flaws that come out really quickly.

And so God leaves Saul and he moves to this young boy named David.

And David's about 12 years old when the prophet comes to him and anoints him.

And the passage today is all about these two kings meeting a giant and how they react to this giant.

So I have to ask you a question.

You ever met a giant?

I've met giants.

I've met a lot of giants.

You know, when Christina and I got married, we had our life planned out.

We had everything worked out.

We had this is what we're going to do here.

This is where we're going to be now.

This is what's going to happen then.

And this is when we're going to have kids.

And this is how many kids we're going to have.

And in 10 years, this is where we're going to be.

And we're going to do all these things.

And then one day I heard the words that all husbands love.

The three words.

Let's make a baby.

Four words.

Five words.

Let us.

Because let's is a conjunction, right?

So let us make a baby.

Those are the five words that all husbands love to hear.

Because you know what's going to be happening for the next couple weeks.

And for some reason, God just blessed us.

And God gave us Rachel, our firstborn.

And it was amazing.

When it came time to do number two, we just said, okay, we're going to do the same thing we've done before.

It's time to make a baby.

Let's do all these things.

But we realized it didn't work the way it worked the first time.

I mean, we lost a baby.

And then we lost another baby.

I can remember leading a worship service for Christmas in my house in China with all these new believers.

And it's supposed to be this joyous, amazing time when we're worshiping the Lord that has come to Christ.

And in the back of our bedroom, my wife is having a miscarriage on the phone to doctors in Philadelphia.

And they're talking her through this situation.

And I felt like I was entering into this valley.

And I felt like there was giants all around us.

Well, I prayed and I fasted.

And Christina got pregnant and it turned into an ectopic pregnancy.

And she almost died.

We came ten minutes from losing her as she bled out at a retreat in Thailand.

And we wondered, should we just give up this dream of what God is doing in our life and our plans that we had planned out so perfectly weren't working out so well.

And then one day we got pregnant again.

And we were like, wow, okay, so we're going to pray and we're going to fast and God's going to honor this.

God's going to bless this.

And we took this train from Shanghai.

We were living in Nanjing.

So we took the train from Nanjing to Shanghai.

And we went to see the doctor.

And we were sure everything was going to be perfect.

And we walked into the doctor's office.

The doctor did a sonogram, did a test.

He said, yeah, you're pregnant.

But you know what?

It's 100% miscarriage.

And he showed us the picture.

He showed us this picture and he said, it's 100%.

There's no way that this child is going to be viable.

You're going to lose another kid.

And I got to tell you, I was just so discouraged.

I was full of doubt, fear.

I think we cried all the way back on the train back to Nanjing.

I felt totally hopeless and helpless.

I actually started to worry whether Christina and I could handle it anymore.

We were kind of entering into depression because we were in this trap and in this route.

And we just saw nothing but giants everywhere.

I mean, it was not good because the giants were just so massive in our lives and we couldn't see past them.

So let me ask you, what kind of giants are you facing today?

I mean, what are the giants in your life?

Because the Bible tells us because of the brokenness and because of the darkness and because we are God's people that we are going to face giants.

I mean, I've since learned as I've grown that many of us or most of us have many, many different types of giants and that my giants are different than your giants.

And my giants might seem foolish and easy to you, but your giants are huge and they're obstacles and they're test and they're sin and they're giants.

I mean, some of us might right now be overwhelmed by guilt and shame and fear and discouragement.

And this giant comes into your life every day, twice a day, maybe more often than that, and it just taunts you.

It says things like you're worthless, you're no good.

You're nothing like your brother or your sister.

You're a failure to our family.

How come you can't be more like this?

And the giant just talks to us in our memories.

I mean, some of us are giants or lust and pornography and immorality and alcohol and addictions.

And they seem like this impossible foe that we just cannot get out of our lives.

I mean, sometimes, if we're honest or if I'm honest, I feel like this harp seal.

You know, you've seen all the documentaries in National Geographic.

The harp seal, he's caught away from the land and he's in the water and he's trying to swim as fast as he can.

And this great white shark comes up and he just kind of grabs him and flips him up in the air and he pushes him back.

And the seal keeps swimming, swimming, swimming.

And the great white shark comes in and he grabs him and flips him up in the back.

And the seal wonders if it's ever going to get to the land.

And sometimes that's how we feel when we're facing giants.

Sometimes we just cower because the giant of greed and materialism and pride and jealousy and anger and abuse and self-centeredness is just eating our lunch and we just can't get away from it.

You know, sometimes giants appear out of nowhere.

Sometimes they're a drunk driver.

Sometimes they're a lump on the neck.

Sometimes they're a gust of wind.

Sometimes they're a CT scan.

Sometimes they're a shake in our hands.

Sometimes they're a pink slip.

Sometimes they're a late night phone call.

But what I've learned in my life through these years and what I want us to learn as a church is you can't ignore the giants.

Because if you do, they're going to hold you captive.

And they're going to destroy you.

And they're going to prevent you from being who God wants you to be.

So I want to, in our remaining time today, just look at the giants in our life.

And I love this passage.

I continue to come back to this passage ever since I was a believer.

I remember hearing this story even before I came to faith, before I had to play a baseball game with this massive team.

And so what I want to look at in the passage today is just three things.

I want to look at David's passion.

I want to look at David's focus.

And I want to look at David's trust.

So passion, focus, and trust.

Are you with me?

We can do it.

Because our God is great.

Okay, so the story is this.

The Philistines, who are a long-lost enemy of God's people, they are a coastal people.

They come in from Phoenicia, and they have been invading the Promised Land.

I mean, they've already done it a couple times if you read Samuel.

They stole the Ark of the Covenant one time, which is the presence of God.

They stole the presence of God from God's people.

Can you imagine that?

And they broke this Ark into the temple of Dagon, their God.

And they laid it before their God, who is this massive statue.

And they closed the doors, and the next day they came back, and their God is laying face down.

They don't have any idea what happened.

So they put the God back up, and they worship.

And the next day they close the doors, and they come back.

And this time the God is laying face down, and his head is chopped off, and his hands are chopped off.

And they figure, okay, we need to get rid of this God of Israel.

And so they send the Ark back.

But it doesn't mean they give up on taking the land back.

And so the story you read today is basically the Philistines have come in, and they've invaded.

And Saul, the first king, is throughout the Israeli army, and they've come to this valley.

And if we had third floor, I had these amazing slides.

So just imagine it in your mind.

It's an amazing slide of a valley and a hill and a hill and a valley in between it.

And this is where this battle took place.

The Philistines were on one side.

The Israeli army and Saul was on the other side.

And there was this big valley of Elah in between it.

And what we're told is that every day, twice a day, for 40 days, this giant, Goliath, comes out, and he basically just challenges God's people.

He just yells and he screams.

And you can imagine it probably got worse every day, right?

I mean, the first day was probably like, okay, come on out, let's fight.

But by day 20 or day 30, and no one's even paying attention to him, he's probably pretty frustrated.

And he's probably pretty angry.

And there's probably a lot of verbiage going on there.

And people on the Israeli side are just sitting back, and it is a winner-take-all battle.

And whoever wins, the other people become their slaves for the rest of their life.

Now, this isn't the first time that God's people face giants.

Remember when you're studying that when they first came into the promised land, they got to the border, and Moses and Joshua sent out these 12 spies.

And Caleb and Joshua go out with 10 other guys, and they look through the land that God has promised them, and they come back, and they say, it's impossible.

Well, these giants there, the Nephilim.

The sons of Anak, there's no way we can do this.

Ten guys say, no way.

And two guys, Joshua and Caleb, say, well, God said it.

Let's do it.

Let's take the land.

But the people of God disobey.

And so for 40 days, they go on this journey through the, 40 years, they go on this journey through the wilderness because of this disobedience.

And what you're going to see in this passage is that 40 is an important number.

I mean, 40 is a number in the Bible that is a symbol of testing and trials.

So for 40 days, God's people hear Goliath yell and curse and challenge them and challenge their God, and they back away in fear.

The passage says that all of a sudden, this day, David comes.

Now, David is this young boy.

He's probably 16 years old.

And David comes to the battle because he's sent by his dad because three of David's brothers are fighting in this battle.

And so his dad sends David to the battle to give food to his brothers, to give food to his brothers' commanders, and to find out what's going on.

And David is there right as Goliath comes out.

And Goliath challenges the armies of God and God's people.

And David, when he hears the challenge, is furious.

I mean, he is overcome.

He's overwhelmed with anger, with passion.

And he has this passion, we're told in the Hebrew, for God's glory and the zeal for God's word, God's honor, who God is.

And he just yells out in verse 26, well, who is this uncircumcised Philistine who's taunting the armies of the living God?

And how come no one's doing anything about it?

I mean, everybody else has been there for 40 days listening to it.

And he comes in for the first time, and he hears it, and he is just indignant.

And you realize in the passage that David, he never really sees a giant.

I mean, all he's consumed with is his passion for the Lord, the passion for God's reputation.

All he sees is God, the God of the covenant, in his honor, in his name, in his righteousness, in his holiness.

All he sees is these things being run through the mud and besmirched and made fun of and belittled.

And he realizes in the passage that he just can't allow that to happen anymore.

So let me ask you a question.

How are we doing when it comes to passion and zeal and love for God's honor, for God's glory, for God's name?

I mean, is God's reputation important to us?

I mean, we're just saying about it, and we're going to sing about it, and we're talking about it for two hours.

But then you're going to go off into your workplace tomorrow, or maybe your home, or maybe your CG,

or there's going to be some place when you're going to be confronted by someone who doesn't appreciate God and his holiness,

God and his glory, God and his honor, God and his perfection.

And they're going to say some things that are really, really, really bad.

And my question for us is, does that bother you?

Does it bother you?

Does it bother you?

It bother us when it happens to our God.

I mean, David keeps asking, and finally, it's not in your bulletin, so you have to go back.

But he's asking his brothers, and his brothers go, shh, shut up.

Go back to your sheep.

Leave us alone.

And he just can't let it go because he just realizes that maintaining God's honor is what his life is all about.

And that he realized that it costs something to maintain God's honor and God's character and who he is.

So how about us, church?

Does it cost us anything?

I've been thinking about this a lot.

Maybe another way I can ask it, because this is how I've been asking myself,

why do I want the giants out of my life?

I mean, why do I want kids?

Or if I'm single, why do I want to get married?

Or if I'm sick, why do I want to be healed?

Why do I want to move to a better house or a better land?

Why do I want to get a better job?

Why do I want to find favor in my boss's eyes?

Why do I want to be vindicated by my actions?

Why?

I mean, is it for my glory?

Or is it for God's glory?

I've been doing church for a long time, and I don't think I've ever heard someone tell me,

you know, I just feel like God is calling me to change jobs

or to move to a different place or to get married,

and it's all for his glory.

It has nothing to do with me.

It's just all about God.

But what David sees in his life is he has this massive passion for God's reputation.

He has a massive passion for God's honor and God's character,

and he has to do something about it.

And the question is, do we feel that same way?

Another thing that sticks out in this passage and I want us to look like is just the idea of focus.

Because this passage teaches us that when we come to face giants, it's all about focus.

We have to see things the way God sees things.

And so the question today is when you have giants in your life, when things meet you head on,

do you see them from a worldly perspective?

Or do you see them from a spiritual one?

I mean, if you look at the passage of verses 4 and 8, it's an amazing passage here.

When you read Hebrew narrative, you very rarely see so much detail about a person.

And so that's why it's so unusual about how they describe Goliath.

I mean, Goliath is described probably more than anybody else is in Hebrew narrative,

and there's a reason for that.

And when you see that, you go, okay, there's something important here.

I've got to look at what's going on here.

Now, we're told that Goliath is 9 feet 9 inches tall,

that he's equipped with the best of everything.

I mean, he has the best of everything.

He has a shield bearer to protect him against arrows and slings who goes before him to cover him up.

His armor is bronze.

It weighs 120 pounds.

I mean, he's massive.

I mean, everything about this giant makes him scream, excellent, the best.

Has his act together.

I mean, when you look at this giant, you are intimidated.

Do you know that the passage actually says when you read it,

it doesn't say that he has scale-like armor.

In Hebrew, it actually says he's covered with scales.

And so the original reader and the person watching this would be seeing this scene,

and what they would see is this little boy before this huge creature that looks like a massive snake.

And this massive snake is taunting and tempting the people of God.

Does that sound familiar?

So it happens for 40 days, over and over and over.

And everybody listening to this, they're just overwhelmed.

King Saul and Israelis, they just think and they look and they look at this thing,

and from a human perspective, they say,

It is impossible.

There's no way we can do this.

There's no way we're not going to do this.

But in verse 26, again, David steps up,

and all he sees is somebody who's uncircumcised.

All he sees is somebody who is apart from God's people.

All he sees is someone who doesn't believe in the God of the Bible,

the God of the covenant.

He doesn't see a giant.

He sees somebody outside of God's family.

So the question I have to ask us is, what do we see?

And when you look at your giants in your life, what are you seeing?

Are you seeing them as you want to see them?

Or are you seeing them as God sees them?

One of the things I continue to learn is,

if I'm going to deal with the giants in my life,

I have to see things the way God sees them.

I have to call things the way God calls them.

And I'm really quick not to want to do that.

But if I don't do that, the giant will always hold me in bondage.

So you look at guilt.

Or you look at greed.

Or you look at fear.

Or you look at shame.

Or you look at addictions.

Or you look at self-centeredness.

Or you look at control.

The question we have to ask ourselves is,

do we see these things like God sees them?

Do we see them as bad as God sees them?

Do we see them as hurtful as God sees them?

Do we see them as damaging to our relationship with God as God sees them?

What is our perspective when we see the giants in our life?

I struggle with fear and control.

Those are two of the biggest giants in my life.

I mean, in my heart, I say things like,

okay, I'm going to be prudent.

I just want to be practical.

I just want to be organized.

I just want to make sure everything gets done.

I just want to do things excellent.

I just want to make sure that I don't get caught off guard.

I just want to make sure that everything is perfect just the way I want it.

And the question is, is that for God's glory?

Or is that for my glory?

The passage says if we're going to deal with our giants,

we have to learn to see them as God sees them.

We have to be able to call them as God calls them.

Because until we say, I have a problem with this giant,

it's always going to dominate us.

I can say I came from a broken family.

My dad left my family.

When I was in college, it greatly impacted me.

It still impacts me today.

I'm 51 years old.

And yes, it does impact me.

But ultimately, I have to make a choice.

Am I going to call my giant what it is, sin,

and allow God to deal with it?

Or am I going to hide it and call it different names

and keep it in the darkness

and allow it to dominate and destroy my life?

I mean, David understood right away

that the battle wasn't a physical battle.

David understood that it was a spiritual battle.

It's interesting if you go back later on,

you know, there's a lot of debate over this,

but I think there's two very fascinating things

about why David didn't wear Saul's armor.

I think the first reason Saul wanted David

to wear the armor was,

because if David wore Saul's armor

and then he won somehow,

then Saul could take some of the credit.

He could say, well, of course he won

because he had my armor

and my armor makes him really strong

and gave him good luck.

But David didn't do that.

But I think the second reason

that David didn't wear the armor

was because he realized

that the battle that was going to be fought

wasn't going to be fought with armor.

He realized that the battle

was going to be a spiritual battle.

And that if it was going to be won,

the only way that it was going to be won

is if God won it.

I mean, giants are only slain in our life

by God's power and in God's name.

You and I, we're going to want to rely

on programs.

We're going to want to rely on new technology.

We're going to want to rely on different things

to fix ourselves so that we can say,

yeah, you know, I had this problem,

but now I don't because I went through this program.

I read this book.

And why don't you go to this program

and read this book,

and then you'll get rid of your giants.

But that's not how God works.

Giants are only killed

when we see them as God sees them

and we allow God to fight them.

Am I making sense?

I mean, can you imagine the scene there

when you're watching it

and David is running?

I mean, I just imagine seeing the scene.

This is massive snake-like creature

sitting there.

He has a shield-bearer in front of him.

I don't even know what happens to that guy

when David throws the stone,

but something happens to him

and there's this little boy running towards him

and everybody just must have been aghast

except for David

because David knew that it wasn't his fight.

But the giant in his life

was so overwhelming

that there's no way he could fight it.

The only way he could fight it

is if God fought for him.

So David had this passion

and he had this focus

because he saw these things.

And the last thing that sticks out to me

and is challenging to me

is that David had a trust.

Do you know that David trusted the Lord?

Do you know that there was multiple chances

and opportunities in his life

that David had this track record

and day by day he laid it on the line

and day by day God came through for him.

God did what he needed.

God made it true and faithful.

And as God did that,

David's faith grew.

I mean, not only did David know God's story,

but David could look at his life

and see God's story within his life.

And he could see God's faithfulness

and he could build on God's faithfulness

and he could build on God's working in his life

and he built his trust

because he knew that no matter what happened,

God was going to be there.

I mean, if you read verses 34 through 37,

he says,

when the lion came, this happened.

When the bear came, this happened.

God did this.

God did this.

God did this.

It was never I did these things,

but God did it through me

and God enabled me to do that.

And because God enabled him to do that,

David had this huge sense of trust built up

because he could trust God.

Can I be really honest with you guys?

I'm speaking for me and for all of us.

You know, I think the problem

with our Christian faith sometimes

is that we, let's face it,

the Christian faith is pretty weak,

especially in Hong Kong.

And I think one of our problems with our faith

is that we don't have faith

because we never trust the Lord.

Because we're so practical,

we want to do everything by ourselves

and so we get our lives ordered

and get everything worked out.

But the problem comes

when this giant comes into our life

that we can't control

and then we start to pray to this God

that we've never prayed before

and so we don't have this relationship

built with him of trust

and understanding in him coming through.

And so when God doesn't come through

right when we want him to,

right at that moment,

within the next 20 minutes,

just like a text has to come back,

if God doesn't do that,

then something's wrong with God.

But the passage says

that David built this trust

over a long time

of taking steps of faith

and trusting the Lord

and putting his life before God

and saying, okay, God,

if this happens,

it's going to have to be you.

If this happens,

it has to be you.

And one of the reasons,

one of the things I pray for us

as a church and as a family

is that we would be people

who have a large trust in a big God.

that we don't look at our ability

and our wealth

and all these resources that we have,

but we do things

that we have to be able to say,

God, if you don't come through for us,

we're going to fail

because you have to do this.

When was the last time

you said that in your life?

When?

Some of us would say

we're Christians for 10 or 20 years

and that's never happened.

And all something huge

comes into our life

and we fall apart

and the reason we fall apart

isn't because God isn't big enough.

It's because our trust in him

isn't big enough

because we've never trusted him

for anything.

Because we've allowed these giants

to hold back

and keep us in bondage.

It's why we as a church

challenge you every day

to go on a journey with God.

It's why we challenge you

to get into a community group.

It's why we challenge you to tithe.

I mean, it's funny,

I know people don't like

pastors talking about tithes,

but I think money

is probably our greatest idol.

And you know,

one of the greatest steps

of faith in my life

is when I first tithed

my first $5.

I still remember

that $5 I tithed.

I didn't want to do it,

but this guy said,

why don't you trust me

because God wants to do

something amazing in your life.

And I did it.

And 40 years later,

God is still doing

amazing things in my life

because I went on

an adventure with him.

I trusted him

and he had to come through for me.

He had to do it

because if he didn't do it,

I was going to be lost.

David's life was full

of those moments.

And his challenge to us

is that we would allow our lives

to be like that too.

That we would trust him.

So I'm going to end with a question.

I know I ask questions.

This is how I think.

I have to ask myself questions.

It might bother some of you,

but you probably think

I'm schizophrenic

talking to myself.

But the question I have to ask is,

what are you trusting in today?

What are you trusting in

in the midst of your giants?

The Bible,

this passage,

the battle,

in verse 49 and 50

happens in a blink of an eye.

I mean,

you realize when you read the passage

that the Bible

isn't even the main point.

The battle isn't even

the main point

of the passage, right?

Because the battle

is so short.

I mean,

if the battle

was the most important thing,

it would have as many verses

as Goliath has.

But it only has like two verses,

so it's really not

the focus that God

wants us to focus on

even though we talk about it

all the time.

But it's the preparation

for the battle

and up to the battle.

That's where everything is seen

and that's where we have to learn.

And when you look at the battle,

it's over in a blink.

David stands up

and he rushes forward.

Everybody else

has been rushing back

and he takes one stone.

He took this stone.

This is the stone

that killed Goliath.

This is what my tour guide

told me when I bought it

in Israel.

He told me

this was the stone

that killed Goliath.

There's a little blood there

and so if you come up afterwards,

I'll show it to you.

And he took this stone

in a sling

and so what I thought

I would do,

I would do a demonstration now.

So I want to take

the hardest headed person

in our church.

So I need either

an Australian

or a South African

to stand right there.

Are there any volunteers?

Kiwis,

you're too gentle.

It's going to hurt you.

Aussies,

they can take it

and it's just going to bounce off.

Nothing's going to happen

whatsoever, right?

So you could tell

that Goliath

was not Australian

because the rock

would have just bounced off of him

and he wouldn't have died.

But seriously,

the battle is so short

and the rock hits him

so fast and so clean

instead of falling backwards

like he should have

with a punch

or anything like that,

he falls forward

and he's dead.

And David runs

and he cuts off his head

and there's this massive rout

but one stone

in the hand of God

is all it takes

to prevail.

One stone

with God

is all we need.

Look at verse 4

and we're going to end.

Verse 4,

circle that word champion.

It says,

then a champion

came out of the armies

of the Philistines

named Goliath

from Gath.

It's the only time

in the Old Testament

that that word is used.

It's the only time.

It means a person

who stands between.

So Goliath

was a champion

of the Philistines.

He's the one

who stood between.

David comes out

and David wins

and David becomes

our champion.

But in your bulletin

I printed for you

David's life map.

You see it?

It's the story of David.

Does it look like

the life map

of a champion?

Does it look like

the life map

of a champion?

It's up and down

and up and down

and up and down.

I mean it's a mess.

I mean it's the reason

why I don't go

be like David.

I mean a lot of times

you know the first time

I heard this sermon

this talk

it was right before

this massive baseball game.

And we were playing

the best team in the league.

It was for the championship.

And these guys

were superior.

They were great.

I mean they were

just awesome.

And this chaplain

came in and he gave

this talk to my team

and he said

okay now be like David

go out there

and kill your glass.

And you know what happened?

We got crushed.

I wasn't a Christian.

I'm like I hate this passage.

The passage doesn't say

be like David.

I'm not going to say

go and do one, two, three

focus, trust, belief.

I'm not going to say that

because you look at David's life

and you see that it was a mess

and you might follow David's life

and you might beat

a couple giants

but ultimately

there's going to be

this massive giant

and it's going to destroy you.

Ultimately you're going to fail.

But the Bible continues.

And it says

a thousand years later

a father sends his son

to a battlefield

and his son comes

to represent his people

and he's mocked.

He seems small.

He seems insignificant.

No one expects him

to do the things

the way he does it.

They laugh at him.

He's passionate

for God's glory and honor.

He trusts the Lord

with all his might

and he has his massive battle

with this giant

on the cross

and he crushes the head

of the serpent

forever.

I don't want you leaving here

to be like David.

I don't want you leaving here

trusting in David

as your champion.

I want you leaving here

realizing that you have

a greater champion.

His name is Christ.

He doesn't want you

to be controlled

by your giants.

He doesn't want you

to be controlled

by your demons.

He wants you

to trust him

and to give those things

to him

and allow him

to take care of them.

Amen.

The question is

will we?

Will we?

Father, we thank you

for this day.

We thank you

for your word

which is living

and active

and it never changes.

We thank you

that it gives us

the ultimate hope

which is the hope

in your son,

Jesus Christ.

Father, I pray

for my brothers

and sisters here.

I pray for the giants

that they are facing

daily in their workplace.

I pray for the giants

that they are facing

daily at home

wherever you send them

as God's people.

Lord, those giants

are intimidating

and they're huge

and they have

all the technology

and they have

their act together

and sometimes

we as God's people

seem small

and insignificant

and unable

and that's the way

you want it

because you want us

to realize

that our victory

and our success

isn't dependent

upon us

but that our victory

and our success

is dependent

upon your son.

So what I pray

for those of us

who have different

champions today,

I pray that they would

hear this message,

they would ask

the people who brought them

and they would

consider Christ

as their champion

and to realize

that he's the only one

who's finished the battle,

he's the only one

that's life mapped,

doesn't look up and down,

he's the only one

who can bring us

freedom

and deliverance

from the giants

and the ultimate

giant of death.

And what I pray

for those of us

who are already

on this journey

that we are already

the people of God

and we are like

Saul

in the Israeli army

on the mountain

and we just are

frozen

because the pornography

seems too big,

the abuse

seems too hard,

the voices

in my head

overwhelm me

when I try

to think of you

and when I pray

for us,

I pray for my brothers

and sisters

that they would realize

that they have a champion

who's come

to set them free.

Help us to call sin

as you call it.

Help us to be honest

and real with each other

especially in our community

and help us to realize

that the ultimate battle

and the victory

is not done

by all these great methods

and everything

that we've done

but it's done by you

and your power

living through us

and healing us.

So Father,

we love you

and we need you

desperately.

Help us to be passionate

for your name.

Help us to see things

as you see them

but most of all,

Lord,

help us to trust you

because you are good

and you are faithful.

Father,

we love you

and we pray these things

in your Son,

Jesus Christ,

holy name.

Amen.