There's a Giant in You: Walk Away From the Dream Killers

Sermon outline

Like David, take care of your responsibilities, believe in yourself when others don't, walk away from dream killers and go out in faith, because the giant in you is greater than the giant in front of you.

1. David took care of his responsibilities

   While his older brothers followed Saul to battle, David went back and forth to feed his father's sheep. Great things begin when God puts you under a father and you serve faithfully. David took his father's instructions, and before running to the battle line he left the supplies with the keeper, never neglecting what he had been given. When you are a good steward of another man's things, God increases you.

   “As you serve the father's sheep, you get promoted.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:12-22

2. There is nothing wrong with making a profit

   David asked what would be done for the man who killed the Philistine. Christians can be in the marketplace and deal wisely to make a profit; it is not Christlike to let everyone plunder you. God has given His people the ability and power to obtain wealth so they can enrich themselves and sow into His kingdom.

   “There's nothing wrong for Christians to make a profit.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:25-27
   • Deuteronomy 8:18

3. Don't hang around people who don't believe in you

   Eliab's anger shows that even your own brother may not believe in you. There are dream killers and vision stealers in and outside the church, and if you stay around people who keep saying they don't believe in you, you will stop believing in yourself and your dreams will be born prematurely. When God called Abraham, He told him to come out from his father's house. Those who were once mistreated should not mistreat others in turn but dispense the grace that sustained them.

   Illustration: When God told him to move on, he left a comfortable church, and the following week he found himself in a garage with four garden chairs, preaching his first sermon to his wife and two sons.

   “If somebody doesn't believe in you walk away from them.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:28
   • Genesis 12:1

4. Don't sit in your setback

   Everyone has setbacks, but if you sit in one you immobilise yourself, and the devil wants you in a neutral zone, ineffective to yourself and everyone around you. God wants strong men, women and young people who move with vigour and fight the good fight of faith. When the pillar of cloud and fire moved, Israel had to move; so shake yourself from disappointment and depression and keep moving.

   Illustration: The devil chaining your feet and pegging you down so it seems you cannot move.

   “If you sit in your setback, then you will immobilize yourself.”

   • Exodus 13:21-22
   • 1 Timothy 6:12

5. Believe in yourself

   David knew the God who delivered Israel had called him and that something was inside him, even when people on the outside did not believe it. There comes a time when others won't acknowledge what God has deposited in you, and you have to believe in yourself. When the ministry first started, people drove past their small church and laughed; they are not laughing anymore.

   “There comes a time when other people don't believe in you, you've got to believe in yourself.”

   • 1 John 4:4
   • 2 Corinthians 5:7

6. Faithfulness is good, but you also need faith

   David told Saul how he killed the lion and the bear. You can be faithful at work for thirty years and retire with a gold watch without ever having the faith to start the business God showed you. When God speaks, don't confer with flesh and blood or listen to the opinions of critics, even well-meaning Christians who are jealous; God is raising up an army of people who think big. If God said it, that is enough.

   Illustration: A worker who is faithful for thirty years and is retired with a gold watch, never having stepped out on the dream God gave him.

   “You can be faithful and die not accomplishing your vision and your dreams.”

   • 1 Samuel 17:33-36
   • Galatians 1:16
   • Ephesians 6:12
   • Genesis 1:3
   • Romans 8:31
   • 2 Timothy 1:7

7. Have a fight inside you, then go

   You cannot fight effectively on the outside without a fight on the inside, because the kingdom suffers violence and the violent take it by force. David presented such a strong case that Saul told him 'Go, and the Lord be with you'. So why stay stuck in a poor job or among people who don't believe in you? Goliath could not see the giant inside David. God gives provision for the vision, often only after you take the first step; let anger at the devil and at the neutral zone push you forward, by His Spirit. David refused Saul's untested armour and went with what he was sure of.

   Illustration: David facing a seven or eight foot giant with a huge shield and spear, knowing there was a giant in him too.

   “Goliath, there's a giant in me.”

   • Matthew 11:12
   • 1 Samuel 17:37-39
   • Zechariah 4:6
   • Philippians 4:13

8. Your past cannot hinder you

   Mistakes do not disqualify you. God uses broken people, those who have been through drink, drugs, divorce or sickness, because they can feel for others, while the 'squeaky clean' self-righteous cannot. God has removed your sins as far as the east is from the west, and you are now the righteousness of God.

   “God can't use self-righteous people.”

   • Psalm 103:12
   • 2 Corinthians 5:21