Hawaii 9 – Giants in the Land

Sermon Study Guide

“There Will Always Be Goliaths, But There Will Also Be God”

Main Passage: 1 Samuel 17:45-47

How to Use This Study Guide

This study guide is designed to enrich your spiritual journey through personal Bible study, deepen your reflection in small group discussions, enhance Sabbath School classes, and encourage meaningful family worship times. Preached for newly baptized believers, this message follows David from his anointing to his battle with Goliath, and it speaks to every Christian who faces giants in the days after committing their life to Christ. Work through the sessions in order, look up each passage, and take time with the application questions.

Session 1: The Anointing and What Followed [1 Samuel 16:1-14; Psalm 69:8]

When Samuel anointed David, “the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13) — and almost immediately, war broke out and a giant appeared. David also came from a difficult background: his mother is nearly invisible in Scripture, and he calls himself “a stranger to my kindred, an alien to my mother’s children” (Psalm 69:8).

• Why does God look at the heart rather than outward qualifications when choosing leaders (1 Samuel 16:7)? How should this shape the way we choose leaders in the church today?
• What might David have expected life to look like after his anointing? What actually happened?
• Dr. Vine warns that Satan often attacks soon after baptism, “from left field or right field.” Why do spiritual high points so often precede spiritual attacks?
• How does David’s difficult family background encourage those of us whose family relationships are painful?

Session 2: Faithful in the Hidden Places [1 Samuel 17:34-37; Psalm 23]

David’s job was menial, lonely, and dangerous — yet he fought lions and bears for a single lamb, and in those hidden years he wrote “The LORD is my shepherd.” God revealed Himself by that name to no one else in Scripture.

• What did David’s willingness to fight for one lamb reveal about his heart? How does this point forward to Jesus, the Son of David, who seeks His lost lambs?
• David served a dangerous king who threw javelins at him, yet kept coming back to play the harp and bring peace. What does faithfulness look like under a difficult boss or in a difficult marriage?
• Where are the “hidden places” in your own life where God is watching your faithfulness right now?
• How did David’s menial skills — the sling, the shepherd’s courage — become the very tools God used on the biggest stage of his life?

Session 3: You Cannot Fight in Another Man’s Armor [1 Samuel 17:38-40]

Saul dressed David in his own armor, and David “tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them.” He laid it aside and took his sling and five smooth stones — the gifts God had already trained him to use.

• Why do we so often wish we had someone else’s gifts instead of developing our own?
• What gifts and talents has God given you? Ask those who know you well what gifts they see in you.
• What would it look like this month to intentionally nurture one gift God has given you for His glory?
• Dr. Vine quoted Winston Churchill: to each person comes “a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder” — what a tragedy if that moment finds us unprepared. How do we prepare now for our “finest hour”?

Session 4: In the Name of the Lord of Hosts [1 Samuel 17:45-47; Psalm 46; Psalm 24:7-10]

Goliath came with sword, spear, and javelin — three ways to kill. David came with a name: Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. Psalm 46 reveals Him as “a very present help in trouble”; Psalm 24 reveals Him as “the King of glory… strong and mighty, mighty in battle.”

• What do the names of God reveal about His character? Why did David choose this name for this battle?
• “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) is spoken into chaos, not calm. How can you practice that stillness when your world shakes?
• David declared the outcome before the battle began: “the battle is the LORD’s.” What battles are you still trying to win in your own strength?
• What Goliath is stalking your home, your health, your finances, or your family right now? What would it mean to face it in the name of the Lord of Hosts?

Session 5: The Covenant-Making, Covenant-Keeping God [2 Samuel 7:8-16; Joshua 1:1-9]

The Lord of Hosts took David “from the pasture, from following the sheep,” and promised him a throne and an everlasting kingdom through his descendant — Jesus. Because God’s promises to him had not yet been fulfilled, David knew he would walk off that battlefield alive. Dr. Vine shared how, at twenty-one, he claimed Joshua 1 as his own covenant with God before leaving for relief work in Azerbaijan — and how not one of God’s promises has failed.

• What was Joshua’s part of the covenant in Joshua 1:7-9, and what was God’s part?
• Have you ever claimed a specific passage of Scripture as a personal covenant with God? What passage might God be inviting you to build your life on?
• How does living inside God’s promises change the way we face uncertainty?
• Note this covenant is not a substitute for salvation by grace. How do personal covenants and God’s grace work together in the Christian life?

Session 6: They Will Fight Against You, But They Shall Not Prevail [Jeremiah 1:4-19; Psalm 124]

God told young Jeremiah plainly: “They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you… to deliver you.” God does not take us from the fight — He is with us in the fight.

• Jeremiah protested, “I am only a boy.” How does God answer our feelings of inadequacy?
• Dr. Vine described being publicly attacked and finding Psalm 124 that very morning. Why is it wiser to let God fight our battles than to answer every critic ourselves?
• What is the difference between being kept from the battle and being kept in the battle?
• For those newly baptized: what Goliath do you expect this week, and what promise will you take into it?

Closing Reflection

“Yes, there are Goliaths, but there is God — and He is greater than those Goliaths. So do not be afraid. Do not yield your faith. If God is before you, who can be against you?”