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Moedalys
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Joined: 2009/4/15
Posts: 2


 The Giant Killer

The Giant Killer
On Sunday January 11, 2009, I was listening to a song by worship artist Jason Upton, entitled Stones. I believe the Lord began to impress upon my heart some words of exhortation related to this song. For those who are unfamiliar with this melody, Jason Upton is singing about the Stone, which is Christ, being the giant killer. He is the Stone that the builders rejected outlined in Matthew 21:42. Jason exhorts us to pick up the Stone and choose the way of the Lord. While listening, I heard these words come to me: "I set before you this day Life and death. Choose Life." As I heard these words, I pictured a road or path, which forked left and right. One path led to Life, while the other led to death. It was then that the Lord began to reveal what I believe to be a word for us in this season, regarding slaying giants.

This came to me in the midst of contemplating my own struggle with a giant in my life. The Lord began to remind me that if I chose the right path, which led to Life, I could access the Stone, which would slay my giant. I was then reminded of how everyone in the Body of Christ has giants that they are faced with. These giants have been keeping God's people from obtaining the full measure of what He has for us.

In order to understand how to slay our giants we must first understand the nature of our enemy. What is a giant? In simple terms, giants are extraordinarily large. In Biblical days, it is believed that they numbered from 9-13 feet in height. It is possible that there were three races of giants: Nephillim, Anakim, and Rephaim. It is not my intention to go into too much detail about this, but these three races of giants were notoriously violent, oppressive, and insolent. They were known for preying on men and subjecting them to their reign of terror. Goliath, who is said to have descended from the Rephaim, was defiant towards the Lord "(1 Samuel 17:10). According to 1 Samuel 17:11 “When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid,” Goliath paralyzed the armies of Israel with fear, keeping them from the Lord. Faith brings us to the Lord, while fear is the antithesis; it causes us to draw back like the children of Israel did at Mount Sinai in Exodus 20:20-21. Figuratively speaking, our giants could be some sickness or disease, financial problem, persecution, fleshly struggle, or a direct demonic assault by the enemy. No matter what the giant is, they all tend to dismay us and strike fear into our minds. For most of us, it is the fear of no deliverance or the fear of defeat. Our giants are situations or issues, which appear too monumental for us to solve. They intimidate us because we cannot seem to conquer them. We have explored so many different options, and implemented various strategies and tactics, only to keep facing the same Goliaths. The odds seem to be against us. I am specifically talking about issues and situations that originate from Satan's camp. Every problem is not demonically instigated (some are self-induced), but there are enough situations that are; and as Christians we need to be discerning enough to know where our problem or attack is coming from. The giants sent by Satan serve to ultimately distract and keep us from the Lord.

The Art of Spiritual War

After identifying the giant in our lives we must look at how to slay it. David sets a pattern for slaying giants, because he knew how to defeat Goliath. When we look at Deuteronomy 30:19, which is what the Lord spoke to me, God gives His people two options- Life and death. In verse 20, Jehovah tells them unequivocally, that He is their Life. Just as the road forked in two different directions, offering an individual two different options, David had two options to battle Goliath. The first was to use Saul's armor, which represents the flesh. We will never prevail against the giant (enemy) through our flesh. This is why the prophet declares in Zechariah 4:6“… not by (your) power or by (your) might but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.” The Apostle Paul states in 2Corinthians 10:4, “…the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing (giants) that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” Saul's armor symbolizes man's endeavors and conventional methods of warfare. Had David taken Saul's armor into battle against Goliath, who was a “high thing” exalting himself against the knowledge of God, he would have undoubtedly lost. The shepherd boy would have gone down the wrong path, which would have resulted in death.

Are You Pro- Life?

David chose Life, which was the other option. He went with what he knew or more accurately, whom he knew. According to 1 Samuel 17:40, David went down to a brook, which in Hebrew is the same word used for torrent or river. The river typifies the Spirit of God according to John 7:38,39. It was through the river or the Holy Spirit that David accessed the stone, which typified Jesus Christ. He is the stone that was rejected by others, but chosen by David, the man after His heart. Centuries before Sun Tzu’s military masterpiece, (The Art of War)was written, David showed himself to be quite a military strategist by choosing the right path for battle. At the fork in the road, he discerned which road would lead to Life for him and the children of Israel. David selected the way or path of the Lord, and with that choice he was mighty through God, casting down the “high thing” in the form of Goliath. In Deuteronomy 30:19,20, we find our key: 19
"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live, That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."

The Lord gave these directives to his people before they crossed over Jordan into the promised land, which was inhabited by giants delineated in Numbers 13:25-33. They were on the verge of transitioning into a place of the fulfilled promises of God. In the past several years, many have been prophesying about the Church preparing to transition over Jordan. If this is the case, we must realize that there are giants that must be confronted and conquered. We should not be ignorant of the fact that Satan will not stand by idly while we go in and possess the promises of God. He sends giants to intercept us from our glorious inheritance in the Lord. Deuteronomy 30:20 elaborates on what we are to do in order to dwell in the land. We must love the Lord, obey His voice, which commands us to choose Life (Him), and then we must cleave to Him. This is the principle of abiding in Him. Daniel 11:32 informs us that, “…the people who know their God shall be strong and do exploits.” David intimately knew the Lord. His soul cleaved to the Lord, and his pursuit of intimacy with God would not be denied (See Psalm 27). David had no doubt that he would conquer Goliath, because he was intimately acquainted with the Stone. This shepherd boy shows us the key to accessing the Stone, which slays our giant: choosing the path of intimacy with Jesus. We must cling to Him and reject the fleshly path, leading to death. Our choice must be Life, which is Christ alone. Saul's armor (our flesh) should be denied. Choosing the path of intimacy with the Lord is the level of spiritual warfare that God is calling the Church to in this season. This is a level that many of us have not attained to. In terms of fighting our enemies, this is the proverbial “High Road” that we are to take. It’s as if I can hear the Lord of Hosts, sounding the shofar as a battle trumpet, bidding us to come up higher into the throne room, where the battle plans are drawn.While cultivating our relationship with the One who promises to vanquish our foes, we must recognize who we are in Him. David was anointed as king in 1 Samuel 16, before he slew the giant in 1 Samuel 17. Like David, we have also been anointed with a kingly anointing. We are Sons and Daughters of the Kingdom, with tremendous power and authority over any Goliath confronting us. This power and authority has been entrusted to us by the Kings of Kings! Equipped with this knowledge, we can confront our giants in full assurance instead of doubt and fear.

America, the Church, and Goliath
Listening to the media, we hear words such as “monumental, growing, obstacle, crisis” to describe the challenges our President Obama will face in our economy: two wars in the Middle- East, Israeli- Palestinian conflict, increasing posturing of Iran, etc. We should pray that he looks to God, because his intellect, charisma, and oratorical skills will not be enough to defeat the Goliaths America is facing. Many Americans voted for Obama because they felt as though he could navigate us through the tumultuous seas ahead. As the Church, we must not look to Saul (man) in order to prevail. We must turn to the Lord and choose the path which leads to Life (Jesus). Let us not continue to reject the Stone (Christ) but realize that it is in the brook (Spirit), through the power of the Stone, that Goliath will topple. Whatever giants we are facing might be monumental, but our God is bigger. From the Lord’s vantage point, our giants are as grasshoppers in His sight. We are called to sit with Him in heavenly places, so we should have the same perspective as He does. David understood this principle and was victorious. History touts him as a giant killer. Church, we must rise to the occasion and realize that we have been anointed and called to the task of slaying giants as well. When we embrace and walk in this calling, we are sure to enjoy the sweet taste of victory, like David, and experience the manifestation of that which the Lord has promised us in the land. [url=http://houseofrestorationministries.blogspot.com][email protected][/email]


_________________
Maurice A. Simmons

 2009/4/15 18:14Profile





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