A Study GuideFrom Koinonia The Call Of The Heart

DavidThe Giant Slayer

1 Samuel 17: 1-10

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The word has such a multitude of meanings that no single Englishword is adequate to express its depth and richness. It is a derivativeof koinos, the word for common. Koinonia is a complex, rich, andthoroughly fascinating Greek approach to building community orteamwork.

Koinonia embraced a strong commitment to Kalos k'agathosmeaning "good and good", an inner goodness toward virtue, andan outer goodness toward social relationships. In the context ofouter goodness, translated into English, the meaning of koinoniaholds the idea of joint participation in something with someone,such as in a community, or team or an alliance or joint venture.Those who have studied the word find there is always animplication of action included in its meaning. The word is meaning-rich too, since it is used in a variety of related contexts.

Koinonos means 'a sharer' as in to share with one another in apossession held in common. It implies the spirit of generous sharingor the act of giving as contrasted with selfish getting. Whenkoinonia is present, the spirit of sharing and giving becomestangible. In most contexts, generosity is not an abstract ideal, but ademonstrable action resulting in a tangible and realistic expressionof giving.

In classical Greek, koinonein means "to have a share in a thing," aswhen two or more people hold something, or even all things, incommon. It can mean "going shares" with others, thereby having"business dealings,” such as joint ownership of a ship. It can alsoimply "sharing an opinion" with someone, and therefore agreeingwith him, or disagreeing in a congenial way. Only participation as acontributive member allows one to share in what others have. Whatis shared, received or given becomes the common ground throughwhich Koinonia becomes real.

To create a bond between comrades is the meaning of koinoniawhen people are recognized, share their joy and pains together, andare united because of their common experiences, interests andgoals. Fellowship creates a mutual bond which overrides eachindividual’s pride, vanity, and individualism, fulfilling the humanyearning with fraternity, belonging, and companionship. Thismeaning of koinonia accounts for the ease by which sharing andgenerosity flow. When combined with the spiritual implications ofkoinonia, fellowship provides a joint participation in God’s graces anddenotes that common possession of spiritual valuesFires, Apostolic Resource Centre,

Koinonia

The Philistines now mustered their armyfor battle and camped between Socoh inJudah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.Saul countered by gathering his troops

near the valley of Elah. So the Philistinesand Israelites faced each other on oppo-site hills, with the valley between them.Then Goliath, a Philistine championfrom Gath, came out of the Philistine

ranks to face the forces of Israel. He wasa giant of a man, measuring over nine

feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet and acoat of mail that weighed 125 pounds. Healso wore bronze leggings, and he slung abronze javelin over his back. The shaft of

his spear was as heavy and thick as aweaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spear-head that weighed fifteen pounds. An ar-

mor bearer walked ahead of himcarrying a huge shield.

The scene is set for a battle, but shouldthere have been a battleground. The an-swer to that is no. But that fact stands andthe past is gone. The time has come to fight,one army looking across to the other. ThePhilistines on side interestingly the wordPhilistine means “Immigrants” and thatwas precisely what they were being. And onthe other side the Israelites. The meaning ofthe word Israel is “God Prevails” The Phi-listines were beaten force not long ago, andeven now as the names say they were al-ready defeated. But they were looking at thecircumstances instead of the facts. What itneeded was a great man of faith. King Saulhad been disobedient to God and becauseof that Samuel said these words;

But Samuel replied, “I will not returnwith you! Since you have rejected theLORD'S command, he has rejected you

from being the king of Israel.”

s1 Samuel 17: 1-10

SH AMMAHJEHOVAH

JEHOVAH

GMOLAHJEHOVAH

SH ALOMJEHOVAHYAH W EH JEHOVAH

T SIDKEN UJIREH

RAPH A

JEHOVAHJIREH

JEHOVAHMACCADDESH EM

“

”

It was just like a bad dream for King Saul, a manwho had been told that he no longer would beking. Yet there stood a great army in front of Him,under his command. Things looked so normal,and yet running to and fro amongst the Israelitesarmy was a lad who only recently had beenanointed, by Samuel to be king. But that was to besome time in the future. Saul was still in commandand David was obedient to that fact, it was not histime to be King. But the anointing was so strongthat he saw right through the situation and as weshall find out. He is to become the “The GiantSlayer”. As we spend time studying this event inthe Bible. I pray that the revelation will not onlyreveal to you great steps of faith, but will alsoencourage you to step out and put into action thethings that God has revealed in your life. Maybethings that you know that he has said to you, butyou have felt that you did not have enough faithto do.

I will be using a lot of symbolization in thisexhortation of scripture. It is a way that Godspeaks to me and reveals many great mysteriesthat I would never have got to know from life. Itall started when I first became a Christian anelderly gentlemen said these words to me ”If youonly discover one thing Kevin, about being aChristian then this is my advice; search the scrip-tures and look for Jesus, He is there in everyword, line and passage”. Hence that is why nowI can say that every time I pick up my Bible, therecomes over me an excitement that has lasted forthe last 13 years. I pray that those words spokento me will touch your heart, and will lay a key infront of you to start a grand adventure.

So back to the passage that we are studying. David is about to rescue Israel from thehands of the Philistines. The Man of faith enters the scene, there in front of him was thisscene;

1 Samuel 17:4-7

Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to facethe forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall! He wore a

bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leggings,and he slung a bronze javelin over his back. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thickas a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. An armor

bearer walked ahead of him carrying a huge shield.

Goliath stood there in front of the Philistine army, looking directly across to the Israelites.He was full of arrogance and he despised them so much, he could not understand that notlong ago this army had defeated them. He wanted revenge and he was going to glory in it.Forty days he was shouting and taunting them. But they were afraid to challenge them.Why?

The Stature and armor reveal a lot about the situation. And I believe they also reveal to ustoday in situations that we still face. Let me explain; Goliath was a champion he was thebest warrior they had. So it only seemed logical that the Israelites should put up a worthycontender, someone of the same pedigree. A warrior was needed, a great warrior. Howmany times in your life have you seen this. The best sportsmen battle it out. One countryagainst another, they step into the arena to compete. That was the problem for Israel theyhad taken there eyes of God and put them on man.

Goliath stood and shouted across to the Israelites, “Do you need a whole army to settlethis? Choose someone to fight for you, and I will represent the Philistines. We will settlethis dispute in single combat! If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves.But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel! Send me a man who

will fight with me!”

I believe that we do exactly the same today, we look to mans ways of doing things and notGod’s. From this, I hope we will learn that God can and will supply an answer to all ourproblems. But we need to be obedient and take time to listen to Him. Back to Goliath Hereis a breakdown of what I believe each part means

9- 10 ft tall - The situation looks bad.Bronze helmet - Goliath’s thoughts were to make them suffer.

Bronze coat - This shows that this was a heavy burden. (125 pounds)Leg protectors - He was sure he could win.

Spear - He was capable of doing real damage.Weaver’s rod - There was real substance in his claim.

Blade - He was determined to pierce through the Israelite army.

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In our lives we face the same issues, there are not warriors standing in front of us, butsituations. They seem giants in their appearance. The situation looks bad, there seems to beno way out. But have we as did the Israelites ignored God in the situation. Let’s see howDavid, who as we shall see, looks upon the problem in an entirely different way.

David was asking questions about the battle with his brothers when Goliath made yet anotherchallenge, it is then that we see the anointing starting to work on him. He asked questions?If you want to know the situation you need to ask questions. The Israelites were afraid andasked or should I say cried out for help

.1 Samuel 17:25

“Have you seen the giant?” the men were asking. “He comes out each day to challengeIsrael. And have you heard about the huge reward the king has offered to anyone whokills him? The king will give him one of his daughters for a wife, and his whole family

will be exempted from paying taxes!”

The king was offering a great deal for the one who would stand and challenge Goliath . Yetthere had been no offer made to take the job. Why? Because they were only seeing with theireyes the physical truth. What they did not see was the spiritual truth.David responded to the statement, he not only repeated the offer, but he added to it.

1 Samuel 17:26

David talked to some others standing there to verify the report. “What will a man get forkilling this Philistine and putting an end to his abuse of Israel?” he asked them. “Who

is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”

David saw things from Gods eyes and heart, who isthis that has the right to stand against the Living God.We tend to often to allow the situation to escalate outof control. So much so that we become blinded to thetruth. And the things around us become reality. Davidbecame quite angry, about his situation. We need toshow the same kind of anger, when something isallowed to become an illegal immigrant to that whichGod intended.

There will be opposition to your statement of faith,and at times you will be surprised from where it comes.In David case it came from his brother Eliab. Eliabonly looked at David as the youngest brother. He hadalready set boundaries around his thoughts aboutwhat David could do. Most of the time the nearest aresometimes the most blind. They only see from theactions of the past, when they had authority over you,by being the oldest or by having power to decide theoutcome of your life. In life so many people want tohold the power of choice, and we get so involved inthis that we forget that it is the creator Himself thathas the final say. So if you are letting anyone have thatpower you are actually allowing them to rob you ofthe things that the creator Himself has for you. Eliabbecame angry, and that is the reaction you will get,when you stand up to those that are interfering withthe freedom that God has given you. They will becomequite verbal, they will call upon all the past recordsto hold you down. For David it was that he was theyoungest, he should be looking after the sheep. Davidanswered back and stood his ground, precisely whatwe should do. He replied a familiar saying that we usetoday. ”What have I done wrong? Can’t I even talk?”You see the brother wanted to show his authority bynot allowing David to express how he felt. How manytoday do the same?

The report about that account on the battle groundreached the ears of Saul. You will be surprised at theoutcome of your stand for God. It will give others theopportunity to see the person that God intended youto be. Don’t be surprised if people start to ask for you,it is then that you will see the wonderful purpose, Godcreated you for. From the very beginning of time. Suchfreedom and boldness, the purpose of life becomesvery clear to you. You will start to live for Him, notfor yourself or for anybody else.

Have a focused mind when God reveals to you thereason for your stand of faith. Be clear and bold.David in front of the king answered so positively;

1 Samuel 17:32

“Don’t worry about a thing,” David told Saul. “I’llgo fight this Philistine!”

Saul answered the statement immediately in the negative;

1 Samuel 17:33

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There is no way you can go against this Philistine. You areonly a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!”

Saul was looking at the circumstances instead of the facts that God is master of it all. That is precisely howsome will react, using language that counters the statement that you have said. David then replies to Saulwith an account of what he has achieved in the fields to protect his fathers sheep. He was actually sayingthat God has the power to protect his sheep. He then goes on to describe events that he encountered, thatwere of real danger not only to him, but also to the sheep. David was using this to demonstrate that therewas no real difference between the Philistine and the lion and bear. There end result would end up the samedeath and defeat.

With that statement Saul said to David; “Go, and may the Lord be with you”,. He still had doubt because heused the word “may“. He still did not fully understand the situation. It will be the same with people that arearound you, they will let you go, but will still have doubts. Because it has not come from them. They evenmay try to influence you by adding their insecurities on to you. That is precisely what Saul did to David:1 Samuel 17:38

Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail.

Again Saul and the people wanted David to look the part, they were more interested in impressing theopposition than defeating it. David humored them and showed them how ridiculous this was. David couldnot even walk, let alone fight. David could not go in the armor because it was foreign to him. We too oftentry to fight the battles that are in our lives by putting on the thoughts and even imitating their actions. It isnot about seeing and hearing only, it is about applying and understanding in your heart. It is about faith, yourfaith in what God has imparted into your life. By being who you are and not being a imitation of someoneelse.

David took the armor off and he took what he knew, He took his stick or staff, five smooth stones from thestream, and he put them into his shepherds bag. Then he grabbed his sling, and went into battle prepared tomeet the Philistine face to face. God wants us to be the same to do things by the power that he given eachone us. It’s not for others to fight it is for you to fight.

I want to list the item and for me what those items mean in the symbolic way. I believe we will seethrough this the significance of David's weapons. Compared to Goliath's that we saw earlier.

STAFF Liberating factor

5 SMOOTH STONES Gracious promises of God

STREAM Word of God

SHEPHERDS BAG Faith of the believer

SLING Vehicle of Faith

SH AMMAHJEHOVAH

JEHOVAH

GMOLAHJEHOVAH

SH ALOMJEHOVAHYAH W EH JEHOVAH

T SIDKEN UJIREH

RAPH A

JEHOVAHJIREH

JEHOVAHMACCADDESH EM

Starting with the staff, let us begin a breakdown of all thatDavid took into battle. The staff was a very important partof a shepherds life. It had a crook at the top and was pointedat the end. In those days a shepherd had to protect his sheepfrom some of the most ferocious predators. The staff actedas a javelin, when in the hands of a well trained shepherd.The predators would never confront the shepherd head tohead, he would always pick off the sheep that were furthestaway from Him. So the shepherd would use the staff as aspear , he throw it above the heads of the sheep and it wouldeither hit the predator or would scare it off. David did notchoose to use this against Goliath. The reason for that Ibelieve is because he knew that this was not a predator inthe sense of picking at the edge, this predator was the inyour face type. So David had to look towards the otherweapons that he had.

The Sling was the one It not only was used to guide thesheep, in their way: what I mean by that, is that the shepherd,would fire a stone from the sling just in front of the feet ofthe sheep, so that sheep would not wonder off but it was inthe hands of David it was an accurate weapon, being ableto hit any object or predator that advanced towards him orhis sheep. He chose five stones from the stream, thesignificance of that I believe is that this represented thegracious promise of God and the stream of running waterrepresents the word of God, continuing to hold true. Nomuck was allowed to attach itself to the stones it was pure,as is the word of God. He put them in to his shepherds bagand that is the way in which we take the word and hold onto it, believing it and applying it at the right time.

So the scene is set David prepared, Goliath over confidentabout his victory. The battle line is set. Now comes thestatements about what will happen. So many times we hearwhat people think will happen and sometimes we allowourselves to get sucked into their ways. And that is why weget disappointed. Lets look at the statement of Goliath's first1 Samuel 17:43-44

“Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come atme with a stick?” And he cursed David by the namesof his gods. “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh

to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.

Goliath got offended that he was being compared to the wild animals in the fields. Plus thefact that there stood in front of him, what seemed to be a pitiful figure. His pride was beingviolated and that was making him angry. So he begins to shout abuse. Just the same for ustoday, when we stand for what is right, people begin to get angry. They start to attack eitherwith physical abuse or more often than not verbal, which in many ways hurts more. But theplans of God were already starting to happen. Because David returned with this statement;

1 Samuel 17:45-47

David shouted in reply, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come toyou in the name of the LORD Almighty—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you

have defied. Today 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 thewhole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone will know that theLORD does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours. The LORD

will give you to us!”

Talk about being bold and sure. This statement just took Goliath over the edge, he just lostany control that he had. Now he only had one thought and that was to get to this littleinsignificant boy and to tear him to pieces. So he charged towards David. This can seem tobe a fearful moment, the giant in full flight hitting the ground with such force that the groundshook, just like an earthquake. The natural reaction would be to run. But David was so surethat he could not be beaten. Because the Lord was with him, he did not run and he did notstay still, he grabbed hold off his sling he took out the stone from his bag and all the timehe was gathering the promise. He ran towards Goliath, it was a battle that had to have anout come. We need to learn from this that if we are sure about the promise that God has forus we should not be afraid of what comes at us

The stone was the promise the sling is the vehicle. We should take the promises of God and weshould put them in our hearts and believe them, in a sense we are the vehicle that God has chosento fulfill his promises. When we do that then the results come, Goliath as soon as David let goof the sling saw that he was in a battle that only had one outcome. The stone hit Goliath in theforehead, it buried itself deep. That is what the promises of God do they insert such power intoour situation. Goliath falls facedown in the dirt. That is what happens when you hold the wordof God in Faith.

David does not leave it there he ran to the defeated Goliath and I believe that he was willing totake on any other challengers. In the army of the Philistines at that time there was still four moreof Goliath Family amongst them, just as tall and that is why he picked up five stones. He waswilling and able to carry on to the end. But David was about to shock the Philistines by pickingup the sword of Goliath, that would have been so heavy for David in the natural but because hewas flowing in the anointing he received super strength. Then he proceeded by cutting off thehead of Goliath. That was it for the Philistine they turned and ran. Then those around Davidbegan to believe and they chased after the army. Their bodies laying along the road of retreat.

How about you and I having the faith that David had. It is possible just look towards the creatorHimself and believe. Take hold of his promises in the word and go slay your Goliath.

BE A MAN OR WOMEN OF FAITH, A GIANT SLAYER

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PSALM 107:20

Be Yourself

1. Never think or

speak negatively

about yourself, for

that puts you in

disagreement with

God.

2. Meditate on your

strengths; learn to

encourage yourself,

for most of the time

nobody else will.

3. Never compare

yourself with

anyone else. YouInvesting in Idea’s

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