A Zombie in Elah

Based on a message at http://www.intouch.org/intouch/     by Charles Stanley    

When you are fighting with the power of God it  makes no difference what the force against you may be – it is God who gives the victory and never yourself.
In the written Chinese word, the sign for crisis combines the words danger and opportunity.  What an accurate depiction.  
In a crisis we are faced with both crisis and opportunity.

When we as followers of the Christ have problems or crises, we need to visualise those problems as Goliaths.  As we take onboard the lessons from David’s encounter with the Philistine soldier called Goliath we can face the future with security in the knowledge that a loving God is with us.
Let us first look at the historical situation.  It was not long ago that the Philistines were soundly beaten by Israel but here we have them eager to battle with Israel again!  They made their descent upon the Israelites country and it would appear they possessed some part of it since they were camped in a place that belonged to Judah.  
It is probable they had heard that Samuel had fallen out with Saul and forsaken him, and that Saul had grown unwell due to the evil spirit inflicted on him.  However the spirit had left Saul due to David’s harp playing and since then David had returned to tend his sheep.   

We are looking today at Conquering Faith.
The  first critical point from this example of history is that: 

1.	Conquering faith recalls past victories.  
David's confidence level was based not on what he had done but what God had done for him, through him and in him, in the past.

When he saw Goliath, David recalled facing a bear and a lion whilst watching his sheep, and he said,  if God delivers me from bear and lion he will surely save me from this Philistine.  
The scripture says, 
	King Saul sent for David.
32“Don’t worry about a thing,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight this Philistine!”
33“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There is no way you can go against this Philistine. You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!”
34But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37The Lord who saved me from the claws of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”
Here we see that David is concerned about the enemy who has challenged and taunted the armies of the living God.
He says, in effect, Your servant is here to see to that Philistine.

David recalled victories from the past when speaking with Saul. Saul disdained the shepherd boy because of the physical conditions obvious to all.   But the basis of David's faith was what God had already done with him, through him and in him, in the past

Look at it this way, when we have problems we do well to look over the events of the past.  When we have problems and don’t know which way to turn or respond,  we do well to remember what God has worked in our life and that of others, over and over again.

Good advice often given is to keep a spiritual diary.  To write down what God is doing in our life.  To write down the challenges we have faced  so we can easily recall what God has done in the past.

2	Conquering faith re-examines and reaffirms the proper motivation for going into battle against our crises.
David’s ultimate motivation was his love for God
He said, “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
Who is this uncircumcised Philistine who is taunting the armies of the living God?
David’s focus is on an aspect beyond that which is immediately apparent.  He is concerned with the reputation of God, and of his people.  His reward, it seems, will be the retention of that reputation.  The riches and wife which King Saul offers as a reward for whoever kills Goliath is but the icing on cake for David
His concern is to defend the name and nation of God.
We do well to face our challenges with faith, recalling the achievements of God and keeping our purpose pure.

3	Conquering faith rejects the discouraging words of others.

If David had listened to others – to the authority of the king and criticism of his own brother  - where would he have been?  
“You’ve no business being here”  he was told.  “You can’t do it”

We must be very careful who we listen to when challenged in faith.  We must not be influenced by those who are wobbling around in the Christian life.   A Christian can’t face life that way!  We can’t pay attention to people whose faith is wandering here and there.
The most important thing in our life is our relationship with God through the Messiah Jesus - when we live out life by walking in spirit of God - in an intimate relationship with him.  

We won’t panic then when troubles come to us.

We do well to reject the words of those who are negative and instead pursue the words of living God.  To allow the voice of God to speak louder in spirit and in our example.

4	Conquering faith recognises the true nature of the battle.

Once you have been born again and become a child of God every single incident, every single incident, becomes a spiritual matter.

Saul and the soldiers looked at the Philistines and thought the battle was between Israel and the Philistines!  Can you believe it!!!  Wherever did they get that idea from?

Let me share some insight into this.  Saul and his men, they thought like this,
	“Yes, we understand and believe that God performed wonderful and mighty acts for Israel in the days of Moses.  But,” Saul thought, “this is the modern world, and things like that don’t happen any more!”
Well of course they don’t if you have that attitude!

Saul and his men discounted the wider bigger picture and saw it as a physical battle which they were undertaking on their own strength.

David saw it as a spiritual battle.  He saw it as a battle between our God, YHWH and the false gods Dagon, Ashtoreth and Baal.
Yes and God likes it that way – outnumbered 3 to 1.  

Both Saul and David saw the battle as unequal.  Saul saw this huge tower of a man against his men of average height of only five feet. 
David saw the almighty God, creator of the universe, against a mere, tall, mortal.

Where were the odds stacked. I ask you?

We must realise, as David did, that our life, our troubles, our crises take the form of a spiritual battle.
When we go into challenges and battles in our life we have to realise          the nature of this battle.  
As children of the living God, we do well to assume more and more the spiritual reality that exists in every facet of our lives now, 
but which will envelope us in the world to come.

Notice also that Saul misses the point throughout the encounter.  Not only does he fail to see the spiritual nature of the encounter between God’s people and the ungodly, but afterward, his concern is with the reward (giving his daughter in marriage) – he asks Abner who his future father-in law was!  Surely to praise God with a sacrifice would have been a more fitting reaction to the event.

5	Conquering faith responds to the challenge with a positive confession

When we face a challenge and we listen to the taunts of an enemy we must do so against the background of the promises of God.

How did David look at this 45David shouted in reply, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord Almighty—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47And everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue his people.”

  It is his battle, not ours. The Lord will give you to us!”

Is that a positive confession or not?  That’s the way he went into battle!  He responds with positive confession – because, I would suggest, he is walking in step with the spirit of God.

We too need to affirm a positive confession, and this is a hard thing to do, especially out loud in public, and especially for people like me who are not that talkative!
The example is clearly to speak positively out loud, such as,  “Thank you God for what you are in me, what I am in you, what I have in you.  I know what you can achieve!”
We have this confidence as children of God, saved by the grace of God.  We are joint heirs with Christ, followers of Christ, secured by promises sealed in his spirit.  
All the power we need for walking in obedience to God is readily available to us. There is no need for negative confessions in the midst of our battles.    All that does is drain our faith - while positive confession energises our faith both spiritually, emotionally and physically to do whatever God wants us to do – it doesn’t matter what it is.  
In a battle of whatever kind there is a drain of energy of physical, spiritual and emotional energy but by facing situations with conquering faith we can rely on the power of God for the victory.

The key at each stage is that David always includes and involves God.
	"This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands."
(NAS)

The Lord saves – that is the motto of the entire Bible.

Here next is the vital point – hold onto your hats, its radical!

6	Conquering faith determines the victory 
It is decided in your mind, it is a settled issue, it is as good as done before the battle is begun.
When David heard Goliath shouting around saying what he was going to do, David saw him as a dead man.  
The guy was still walking around, but in David’s sober realisation, 
with the benefit of his relationship with God 

and his knowledge that the battle was in reality a spiritual battle between God and his people versus the ungodly, David 

already knew Goliath was as good as dead and this was why he could speak with such confidence!

David understood what it meant to meditate upon the Lord, to walk in oneness with God, in fellowship with him 
and therefore no matter how big the problem, bears, lions or Goliaths, it didn’t make any difference what the opposition - it is God who gives the victory and never us.

Remember folks this is the same guy who wrote the lines contained in our song The Lord’s my Sheperd.  Listen to them and consider for yourself how they reflect the relationships David had, how they fit hand in glove with David’s position of faith when facing Goliath.

The LORD is my shepherd;  there is nothing I lack.
In green pastures he lets me graze;  to safe waters he leads me; 
he restores my strength.  He guides me along the right path for his own name’s sake.  
Even if I walk through a valley of deepest darkness	I should fear no harm for he is at my side; His rod [to protect] and his staff 
[to guide] me.
He sets a table before me as my enemies watch; He welcomes me as an honoured guest and fills my cup to the brim.  I know that goodness and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the House of the LORD forever.

 The strategy of David in this encounter with Goliath was:
•	Fight the battle before the battle.
Know the will of God.  Have assurance in the battle.
Reaffirm in your spirit that evryhing that happens in your life has a spiritual reality and that each encounter and crsis is the Lord’s battle.

David named God as the source of the victory.
He could visualise what God could do for him based on his experiences.
And he waited for God’s timing.  When Goliath came out and spoke  David could have ran towards Goliath then – but what constituted God’s timing?  It was following David’s positive statement – ”Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head.”  - that is the time.   David’s foe was then angry.  

Don’t fight battles angry or you make a mistake.  Fight in the fear and reverence for God.
Goliath was angry about David’s speech.  Goliath was a dead man before David put the stone in his sling.
David did it God’s way – no sword or spear (no traditional method) it was simply one smooth stone and a slingshot that changed the course of the battle.  God’s way is usually the most  insignificant way.  He fought with confidence based on what God had done for him, through him and in him, and others in the past.  He trusted God in the battle and in the victory.

If you’ve never trusted Jesus as your saviour then you can’t know God because Jesus says “no-one comes to God but by me”. 

Once you have been born again and become a child of God every single incident in your life is a spiritual matter. You can face anything in your life knowing that it is in God’s strength, God’s wisdom and God’s power that success is won.