Slaying Giants – Part One

Every battle we face against giants is a fight for our future. Not only just for our families and us but for others and future generations. Jesus Christ has already defeated the enemy through His death and resurrection. Therefore, we can destroy every enemy we face, i.e., fear, unbelief, financial troubles, insecurity, disappointment, etc. God can destroy all our enemies and move us to a place of victory. Jesus has made way for us to receive inner healing and deliverance so that we can walk in the victory He has obtained for us.

When we look at the battles of the Israelites, David, Gideon, etc., in the Old Testament, we can see that it makes a difference in how we see God and ourselves when we face giants before us (Judges 7). After Moses sent the 12 spies into the promised land, they came back with a report that there were giants in the land, and they saw themselves as grasshoppers (Numbers 13:26-33). Fear and unbelief engulfed them. They did not remember what God had promised them and could not enter the promised land (Hebrews 3:19).

According to 1 Samuel 17, David saw himself as the defender of the living God and believed that God would deliver Goliath into his hand. He knew that God had delivered him before and that the battle is the LORD’s (1 Samuel 17:47).

The giant of unbelief is launched against us to crush every ounce of faith in God and what He has given us. Wherever we are blind to the truth, there is the spirit of unbelief at work. There are two lies of unbelief. The first lie says God’s promise isn’t real, doesn’t exist, or is impossible. The best way to shatter that lie is to make the Word of God the final authority in your life. His Word is truth (John 17:17).

So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17

God removes our blindfolds as we spend time with Him and in His Word. We can have love encounters with God. We must love the truth and allow it to renew our minds. We set ourselves up for deception when we don’t love the truth (Romans 1:18 – 33). The truth will make us free (John 8:31-32). We need to be tender to the truth, which brings conviction (Hebrews 4:12)

Receive God’s promises by faith as you meditate and focus on what God has said rather than what the enemy or others are saying. Hearing, seeing, or reading testimonies against that lie also help, i.e., healing, provision, etc. Don’t allow people and things (idols) to trump the Word of God in your life.

We have the faith and love of God in us (Mark 11:22 – 25; Romans 5:5). Faith works by love ( Galatians 5:6), and perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). We can have love encounters with God as we dwell in His presence (Psalm 91:1).

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

The second lie says we won’t get a breakthrough, i.e., it’s not for today or it’s not for us, etc. It doesn’t matter what we are going through. God is setting us up for a breakthrough. He is the God of the breakthrough, Jehovah Perazim (2 Samuel 5:17-20).

After a breakthrough, we usually experience a battle to be tempted by the devil. The devil will always lie to us to go another way to fulfill our destiny without taking up our cross or dying to ourselves (Luke 4:1-13; Matthew 16:24). We may love His presence, but we also need to embrace His cross.

The enemy’s strategy is to keep us in a defensive posture, but we can’t win that way! The enemy brings circumstances to move us with intimidation, distraction, doubt, etc. He tries to move us from an offensive position. Fear limits our capacity and draws us to the very thing we are afraid of. People hide behind fear as a shield instead of using the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16). The shield of faith quenches all of the fiery darts of the enemy. We put on the armor of God so we can take the battle to the enemy (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Don’t let your guard down after you win a victory. Wear the armor of God at all times. The devil walks around looking for who he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).  He uses unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, anger, pride, hatred, distraction, disappointment, discouragement, strife, and offense, etc. Don’t open the door to the enemy (James 3:16).

We can’t look at the circumstances instead of the promise. It is important to agree with God to see the promise as a present-tense reality as it is in the spiritual realm. In other words, see it in the Spirit. Faith sees!

The devil sees us as we see ourselves. We are not victims but are more than conquerors (Romans 8:31-39). We need to get our breakthrough so that we can give out to people in need and build in the kingdom of God! Defeat your personal giants so you can defeat greater and public ones.

Characteristics of Giant Killers

1. Submission to authority, i.e., God, parents, a spouse, spiritual leaders, teachers, etc. (1 Timothy 2:2; Ephesians 5:21; 1 Samuel 17:17-18). One way the enemy can get into our life, family, or ministry is a lack of submission to the Lord. We must submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee (James 4:7). Freedom is our responsibility. The enemy tries to come in through our ignorance or attempts to wear us down. He also comes in through rebellion or partial obedience, which is rebellion. To understand deliverance, we must understand authority. It is never taken but given (Matthew 28:18). We must not be passive (Hebrews 13:17)
2. Assurance of faith in God (Genesis 15:1-6)
3. Disciplined in reading and meditating on the Word; prayer, and fellowship with God
4. Redefining our reality by decreeing and declaring the Word of God (Romans 4:17-21); Proverbs 18:21; Job 22:28); don’t be silent; We frame our future with our declarations. Speak life over your destiny. Re-define your reality by imagining the future God has for you fulfilled and in greater measure (Ephesians 3:20). Live and worship from this place!
5. Praise and worship the Lord; extreme gratitude and thanksgiving
6. Stewards of our calling – to the degree that we steward the calling of the Lord over our lives will be the degree that His favor is upon our lives, i.e., divine alignments, appointments, miracles, and breakthroughs. God starts to order things around us.
7. A call to character – act the same way all the time, whether in secret or public.
8. See trials as training, not trouble
9. Be yourself, not like someone else. Be determined not to give up. We don’t quit until the giants’ fall (Psalm 18)
10. Take authority over the enemy. Use what God has given you as tools of authority (Luke 10:19; Matthew 28:18 – 19)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.