Beforehand: Be sure to check out Pastor Ben’s message online if you were not able to catch it on Sunday morning.

Below is the outline of Pastor Ben's message.

The Deep Six Study follows.

Flinch – “Facing Your Fears”

1 – On the Run – 1 Samuel 17:48

2 – Running at Our Problems – 1 Samuel 17:48

3 – David, Goliath, Jesus – 1 Samuel 17:49-51; 1 Samuel 17:47; Colossians 2:13-14

 

Deep Six Study

Introduction

Shortly before the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, He spoke those famous words, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” The “flesh” speaks to that part of our being, body and mind, that is oriented to earthly desires and temporal involvements, while the spirit speaks to that part of our being, spirit or soul, that is oriented to heavenly things and eternal involvements. These words which Jesus spoke are only the last half of what He said. They were preceded with these words, “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation.” This statement and the setting in which it was said bring before us some very important considerations. We are told elsewhere in Scripture that Jesus came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” To accomplish this Jesus must have a showdown with the “sin of the world.” John the Baptist said, “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” This showdown will take place on a wicked and cruel cross where Jesus must die in order to conquer the “sin of the world.” Jesus calls this His “cup.” For the purpose of this series we could call it His “Giant.” In order for Him to face His “Giant,” Jesus knew that both spirit and flesh must be willing and strong. So, Jesus takes care of getting spirit and flesh properly aligned and in so doing shows us how to triumph over Giants. Jesus entered into earnest prayer which led to submission of His entire being (body, mind, and spirit or soul) to God’s will, which led to facing His Giant head on, which led to triumph. In turn the disciples did not determine to do business in this way, which led to sleeping rather than watching and praying, which led to focusing on their human predicament rather than on God’s will, which led to fleeing and denial rather than following and faithfulness, which led to defeat. Learning how to face our giants head on and actually conquer them is the focus of this week’s Deep Six Study 

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Part 1 - Corresponds to the first point of the message

 

1 Samuel 17:48 – “As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.”

1 Kings 19:1-4 – “Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.’ And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.’”

Hebrews 10:36-39 – “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.”

1 Corinthians 16:13 – “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”

Philippians 1:27 – “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”

Comment – At the last supper just before the Gethsemane experience where the disciples failed to watch and pray, Jesus said these words, “You will all fall away because of me this night for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered’ (Matthew 26:31). After Jesus’ time of prayer and the disciples’ time of sleeping in Gethsemane, He was arrested and just as He was about to be led away, we are told this, “Then all the disciples left Him and fled” (Matthew 26:56). “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” It was true when they slept instead of watching and praying and even more true when they ran away in fear. It was true for Elijah as we see in these words, “And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life.” We need to be people who stand firm and face our giants head on or like David even run toward them. Fear is debilitating and can keep us from the victorious Christian life God so desires for us. So, we must face our fears and our Giants and it all begins with prayer, where in communion with God our spirit and flesh are properly aligned, we submit to God’s will in our pursuit of living fully for His Kingdom, and we become properly prepared to fearlessly face and conquer the giants we encounter along the way. Without proper preparation through ongoing communion with God, the weakness of the flesh overcomes the willingness of the spirit. When the weakness of the flesh is prominent in us, we will always move in the direction of safety and self preservation. We are called to the adventure of living fully for God and His Kingdom, which of course includes facing and slaying giants.

Question # 1 – In our struggles with temptation we usually think of the flesh as being strong, so why do you think Jesus says the flesh is weak?

Question # 2 – Is there an area in your life where your temporal and earthly focus consistently overpowers the eternal and heavenly focus that should predominate?

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Part 2 - Corresponds to the second point of the message

1 Samuel 17:48 – “As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.”

1 Kings 21:20-29 – “Ahab said to Elijah, ‘Have you found me, O my enemy?’ And he answered, ‘I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD. Behold, I will bring evil upon you, and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel; and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you have made Israel sin. Of Jezebel also has the LORD spoken, saying, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.’ The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat, and the one who dies in the field the birds of heaven will eat. Surely there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him. He acted very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.’ It came about when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.’”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 – “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

Matthew 17:18-20 – “And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not drive it out?’ And He said to them, ‘Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’”

Mark 11:22-24 – “And Jesus answered saying to them, ‘Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.’”

Comment – When we think of Elijah being afraid and running for his life at the threat of Jezebel, it is a bit perplexing when we realize that it comes on the heels of one of the greatest showdowns in all of history between good and evil. The showdown between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel has the same powerful impact on the reader (see 1 Kings 18:20-40) as the showdown between David and Goliath. Certainly Elijah faced a huge giant on Mount Carmel and was victorious. So, why the meltdown after the showdown? It would seem that with discipline we must maintain our preparation through communion with God. We are often at our weakest after we are at our strongest. After Elijah ran from Jezebel, God ministers to him is some very powerful ways and restores Elijah in person and mission. If Elijah had turned to God in prayer with the prospect of another giant to face (Jezebel), he would have come to understand sooner that Jezebel would not be a giant that he would have to face personally as is revealed in the1 King’s passage above. As we walk in step with God with full faith and complete humility, our dependence on Him will be steady and strong and His leading will be clear and sure. We will not live in fear and torment over possible threats that loom before us. Rather, we will face our fears and even run toward the giants God calls us to do battle with and we will conquer them by faith.

Question # 3 – Is there a giant that you lived in fear of and were tormented by, that ended up not being a giant God wanted you to face?

Question # 4 – Is there a giant God has for you to face that you are learning to face properly and what has your journey been like with this?

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Part 3 – Corresponds to the third point of the message

1 Samuel 17:49-51 – “Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.”

1 Samuel 17:47 – “And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

Colossians 2:13-14 – “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.”

2 Corinthians 2:14-17 – “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.”

Luke 10:17-20 – “The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’ And He said to them, I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.’”

1 Timothy 6:12-16 – “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

Comment – David is said to be a man after God’s on heart. The Psalms reveal that David was a man that sought to stay close to God’s heart and knew God’s heart. The difference between one who walks in fear and one who walks with God is the discipline of seeking God. David was a man who sought God and it made all the difference. Truly, our foundational prayer should be, “Lord, have mercy.” Earnestly, pray day in and day out that God will in His mercy, help you to seek Him regularly and thoroughly. When we seek Him, we will be with Him; when we are with Him, we become like Him; as we become like Him, we are more and more filled with Him; as we are filled with Him, we will be used by Him to do His will; as we do His will, we will face and conquer giants on a routine basis. When we are living life like this, wrapped up in the love and will of God, there is no room for fear. David knew just what to do and he did it. David isn’t so remarkable when we realize that the story isn’t really about him, but rather it is all about God and what He can do with someone who is truly surrendered to Him.

Question # 5 – What are your thoughts about the relationship between seeking God and conquering Giants?

Question # 6 – What do you think is the central thing God is doing in your life in regard to overcoming fear and facing giants?

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Conclusion

We quoted Jesus’ words earlier where He spoke of the disciples falling away and being scattered because He, their Shepherd, would be struck down. It is quite wonderful that immediately after this, Jesus says, “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” Certainly, we can picture our lives like this. The Lord Jesus truly goes before us and there is nothing that we will face that isn’t what He allows as a part of His plan for our lives. He is out in front and when we live in the reality of that, walking by faith and not by fear, we can face and conquer whatever giants He has for us to conquer through His powerful presence.

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Under “comments” in the Deep Six section of the church website post your thoughts, applications, and questions on anything from this week’s Deep Six Study.