David and Goliath Part 1

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Greetings and welcome once again to the Signature Word Podcast. This is for the week of Monday, May 18th, 2026. Today we embark on a news four part series entitled David and Goliath. For this episode, our scripture will be taken from the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, chapter 17 and verses forty eight and forty nine, where it says So it was when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone, and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. The story of David and Goliath is about one of the great battles in the Old Testament, not a battle between armies but between individuals. It is a story of David, a shepherd boy anointed to be the future king of Israel, and Goliath, a Philistine giant. It is a story of the courage of a young boy overcoming what the army of Israel believed was an unbeatable warrior. The Philistines were the old enemies of Israel. They were constantly fighting against God's chosen people. Israel was often the victor, but then the Philistines enlisted the services of Goliath, who lived in the Philistine city of Gath. He was over nine feet tall and struck fear in the entire army of Israel. This latest battle between these two armies was set in the valley of Elath. On each side of the slopes, the Israelites and Philistines were assembled. They had been there for forty days. For forty days Goliath challenged the Israelites to send their best warrior to engage in battle against him. He would parade up and down the valley and taunt the army of Israel. This scene went on every day with the same result. Israel did not have a warrior willing to meet this challenge. David arrived in the camp on day forty one, bringing provisions for his three brothers and some of the other troops. While in the camp David sees Goliath for the first time and hears him taunting the army of Israel. Upon seeing their response, David asks a crucial question as recorded in verse twenty six of this text. He asks, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? David wanted to know who is this heathen, this idol worshiper that he has the nerve to stand and defy not man's army but God's army. If you are a Christian, you must remember that you're in God's army, under his covenant and a member of his family. You must not become paralyzed with fear when confronted with difficult persons or situations. You must not forget who you are and most importantly who God is. Every one of us will face a moment when fear stands in front of us like a giant, loud, intimidating, and seemingly impossible to defeat. The question is not if that moment will come, but who we will be when it does. Will we shrink back or will we step forward in faith? In this series we are reminded that God specializes in using ordinary people to confront extraordinary challenges. When others see obstacles, God sees opportunities for his power to be revealed. Like David, we must remember who we are, who we belong to, and who fights on our behalf. Yes, your giants are real. They certainly are, but so is your God. Next Monday we will continue by examining three attributes that helped David in facing and defeating Goliath. These are attributes that we must have in our arsenal to successfully face off against the giants that confront us. They are courage, memory, and faith. Amen. And now our weekly signature thought good times built on bad choices don't last. May God bless you.