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Let’s look at this faith thing a little closer for just a moment.
(My apologies, I can feel myself getting off track here!)

Faith is actually a pretty easy thing to have, really. If you close
your eyes, you have faith that when you open them again you
will still have sight. You may not conciously be aware of it, but
it’s there. You just take it for granted. So do I.

You have faith, when you put your feet down in the middle of
the night and it’s pitch black in your bedroom, that your feet will
find the floor, instead of the entrance to a bottomless pit. You have
faith when you go to sleep, that you will wake up again…that when
you exhale one breath, you will inhale another. That when the sun
sets this evening, it will rise again in the morning. That everyone
you went to sleep with will wake up with you…

You don’t even think about it, most of the time. You just assume
it will be because it always has been. You have faith in these things,
whether you’re aware of it or not. Having faith isn’t so hard, at all,
when you look at it…

What’s tough, is having faith in God. Wondering if He’s gonna get
you through the dark places, where the demons and boogey-men
claw at your mind, body and soul. THAT’S the tough part. At least,
it is for me…

I mean, I know He did it for David. I know He did it for Abraham.
I know He did it for Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Sampson…countless others.
But how do I know he’ll do it for me? I mean….

I know Jesus died for my sins. I know I’ve been saved by his blood.
I know that one day or one night, when I close my eyes, I’m NOT
going to wake up like I’ve always done.  Instead, I’m going to wake
up at home, where I belong. I have no doubts about that. None.

But what about the bills I don’t seem to have the money to pay? What
about the child that doesn’t seem to want to follow the path I think he
or she needs to be on? What about the job I don’t have and can’t find?
What about the job that I DO have, but can’t stand the thought of going
to? What about all the intolerable people I come across on a daily basis?
WHAT ABOUT THE PROBLEMS OF LIFE???

Maybe…just maybe…that’s why those things are there. Because I’m
trying to deal with them myself, instead of giving them over to the one
that’s equiped to deal with them….

Jesus.

Maybe…just maybe…instead of trying to carry today, tomorrow, the
next day and the day after that…for weeks or months to come…maybe
I should just trust HIM to carry those days, while I struggle with just one.

Today.

Isn’t that what he said in Matt. 6:34? Why is it so hard to believe he
will carry the future and keep my world from crashing down on my head?
Because I’m human…and I’ve been innoculated by the world to keep
me from the Word. Because I’ve seen the worlds of OTHER people come
crashing down on THEM and I don’t want it to happen to me, too…

The thing I fail to realize, sometimes, is that when I see a crashing world,
I’m seeing it from only my perspective. What I perceive as a pile of ruin,
is often just a mound of rubbish that had to be cleared away to make way
for a new foundation…a firm foundation for a glorious new building that my
simple mind just doesn’t have the foresight to imagine!

My apologies…I really thought I would be working on the stones
by now, but the Lord keeps giving me things I need to pass on to you
before we go collecting rocks! 

There’s something else, though, that I need to share with you about
the David and Goliath thing. Before David stepped out on the field to
meet Goliath, if you’ll recall, Saul put his own armor on David and
dressed him for battle. David ended up taking off because he couldn’t
move around in it…he wasn’t used to it. After David took off the armor,
that’s when he went to the stream to gather his stones.

Lesson: Don’t go against your Goliath dressed in someone else’s armor!
You won’t be able to move around in it. You won’t be used to it. You
need to use your own armor…your own talents and gifts…your own power
and dependence on Jesus. YOUR weapons are needed for YOUR Goliath!

(At the same time, it might be wise to resist the temptation to try to force
YOUR armor on someone else when THEY are in battle! Saul OFFERED
his armor…but didn’t FORCE it on David. Very distinct difference!)  

Look what happened when David took off Saul’s armor. He chose five
smooth stones from the stream. He armed himself. He didn’t face Goliath
bare-handed. He chose his weapons. Where did he get them? From the
stream! Why the stream? How come he didn’t just pick up a few rocks
from the ground? I don’t know, but I do have a theory. How about this?

The stones from the brook had been “polished” smooth by the stream of
“living water”…just as you and I are polished by the Holy Spirit. Maybe…
just maybe…these smooth, “polished” stones were a little more aerodynamic
that the rough, jagged rocks he might have found scattered around on the
ground. Maybe he needed that special touch from the “living water” to
defeat his Goliath? How about this? Maybe he passed up the weapons of
the world so he could use the weapons that God provided, in order to
demolish strongholds (2 Cor. 10:3-5)? Surely, Goliath was a stronhold!
Your Goliath, most likely, is too, so choose your weapons wisely…

Now, about those stones…

Did you pay attention to what David did with the stones he chose? He
put ‘em in his shepherd’s bag! Seems logical. But WHY did he put ‘em
in his shepherd’s bag? So he would have them when he needed them,
of course! When you gather your stones, KEEP THEM HANDY! If
you head into battle, reach in your pouch and realize you left your stones
on the kitchen table, you’re gonna have a long day! Put ‘em in your
shepherd’s bag, silly… (Don’t feel bad…we all forget our stones, sometimes!)

Now, David chose five stones. Though he didn’t realize it, he chose five stones
for a reason. Goliath and his four brothers, remember? When he reached
into his bag, he didn’t grab any particular stone…he just grabbed the first one
he got to. Ya know what that means? Any one of those stones could have
brought his Goliath down. Same is true of your stones. Any one of them can
be used to defeat your Goliath…but when you use all five??? WOW!

We’ll take a look at those stones one at a time…starting with the next
post….I know, I know…but this time, I promise!    (I think)

There are just a couple more things we need to look at before we
move on to the five stones. First of all, it’s important to understand
that your Goliath is your enemy. Sometimes we get so used to having
him around, he can con us into believing he’s our friend. Keep in mind
that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2 Cor. 11:14)

Secondly, to defeat him, you will need, not only to confront him, but
to fight him. You can’t defeat him in battle without facing and fighting
him. Thirdly…and this is very important for you to understand…when
Goliath was facing Saul’s army, he had one thing in mind…winning!
And he used two primary tools in seeking his victory. Intimidation
and fear.

Your battle may be scary. It may be downright terrorizing. But it’s
all smoke. The wall you see before you that reaches toward the heavens
isn’t really there! It’s nothing but a deception of the enemy, and he’s
using YOUR fear and HIS intimidation tactics to make it look real and
to make it look bigger and more formidable than it really is…

Fourthly, Goliath challenged the Israelites twice a day for forty days.
Don’t expect to go running out there and holler “boo” at him and expect
him to take off running. HE is the intimidator and the battle-hardened
warrior. YOU are the shepherd child that he thinks is an insulting joke.
The thing is, while Goliath is coming at YOU with his sword and spear,
YOU are approaching HIM in the name of the Lord Almighty…

Goliath didn’t run. He wasn’t afraid. He was defeated, but he wasn’t
scared. In fact, he was convinced that he would have an easy victory.
David had to kill him to win the battle. Goliath did NOT “just decide” to
leave the Israelites alone. He did NOT voluntarily leave the battlefield or
have a change of heart and decide to let Saul’s army off the hook. He
had to be DEFEATED…and the only way he was going to be deafeted
was to die by David’s hand! It was Goliath’s intention all along to be the
victor by killing his “unworthy” opponent.  Bottom line? Don’t underestimate
his plans for YOU! He’s out to win…and there’s only one way he can win…
and that’s by defeating YOU!

Goliath “defied” the armies of Israel for forty days. Do yourself a favor
and look up the word, “defy.” I know you probably won’t, so I’ll help you
out a little.  

“de·fy” – to challenge the power of; resist boldly or openly
to challenge (a person) to do something deemed impossible

Be prepared for a fight. Be prepared for a LONG fight. Maybe it will
be over for you in the time it takes to load your slingshot and hurl it toward
your Goliath…but be prepared to be intimidated and “defied” for awhile, too.
Don’t think that just because you feel lost and afraid, and you’re cowering in
the trenches TODAY that it’ll always be that way. You may, for some reason,
need to endure the “forty days” before your David comes running out of your
spirit and crushes the giant…but know this…when the time for your David
comes, your Goliath WILL fall…

Alrighty, then. We’re getting a little closer to the meat and
potatoes here. But there’s still a little more to look at in the
meeting of David and Goliath…(actually, there’s a lot more,
but we’ll save some of that for the book!)

As the story moves along, that spunky little shephard kid
stepped into the stream and chose five smooth stones. As
it turns out, those five stones would come to be pretty
significant, not just for David and the Israelites, but for you
and I, in facing our Goliath of debt!

(Some of you may know this, and some of you may not…
but I find it so totally AWESOME and FASCINATING
that it just about blows my tiny little mind!)

Now, remember, David knew nothing about Goliath until
they met on the battlefield. And all David really knew about
him, even then, was that Goliath was a loud-mouthed bully.
Was it coincidence, then, that David chose five smooth stones
from the stream? Or was it God?

Did you know…this is so cool…that Goliath had four brothers?
Did you know that David and his men killed all four of those
brothers in battle at some point during David’s life? Check out
2 Samuel 21:15-22 and 1 Chronicles 20:4-8! Amazing!!

Only God could’ve known that David was picking up one stone
for Goliath and each of his brothers! (We’ll come back to the
stones, and how they apply to us, today, in the next post).

After gathering his stones, did you notice what David did? He
ran toward Goliath! He didn’t wait for Goliath to come running
to him, he ran toward Goliath! And, he didn’t just run! If you’ll
go back and read that line again, he ran QUICKLY toward
Goliath! David was ready to get it on! And get it on, he did!

You know how the story went from there…but there’s one more
thing I’d like to point out before we move on to the five stones…
food for thought, I suppose you might call it. Just before David
took off running toward Goliath, he spoke to his opponent.
If you would, read it one more time…slowly.

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I
come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of
the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

Now, hold on to that for just a second while you take a look at
this:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have
been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am
going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so
that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” (John 14:12,13)

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go
and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name.” (John 15:16)

“In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth,
my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now
you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will
receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:23,24)

“You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.
We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man
whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and
the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing
to him, as you can all see.” (Acts 3:15,16)

Are we starting to see a common thread?  

Pretty cool, huh?

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

A roaring lion. A loud, scary cat. Intimidating. But a roaring lion
can’t hurt you. It’s all noise. Smoke and mirrors. A FEASTING
lion, you might be cautious around. An ATTACKING lion? Be
a good idea to stay away from that one, too. But a ROARING
lion is nothing but noise. Scary noise, but still just noise.

Intimidation. That’s all. If the devil can intimidate you with debt,
he will. He’ll keep you hunkered down in your trench in fear, so
you won’t be attacking him and his army. Of course, debt is not
the only scary thing he’s got in his arsenal. But we’ll get to some
of the others another time…

A roaring lion. A roaring giant. That ol’ devil doesn’t have any new
tricks. That’s why he keeps changing the faces of his old tricks.
Besides, the old ones still work, so why change em? Just like
Goliath kept the Israelite army cowering by his menacing ways,
so the lion keeps us cowering with his…

But, as Paul Harvey would say, now for the rest of the story…

A child by the name of David. Before we go too far, let’s look
again at that roaring lion.

“Your enemy the devil prowls around  like a roaring lion looking
for someone to devour.”

Now, skip down to 1 Sam. 17:35 to see what happened when
a roaring lion happened up on David:

“I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth.
When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.”

First thing to notice is that this wasn’t just a roaring lion…this one
was a feasting lion…an attacking lion. Remember, now, that David
was just a child. He didn’t have a rifle, shotgun or pistol. He didn’t
shoot the lion from a hundred yards, or fifty yards, or even ten yards
away. Instead,  he grabbed that lion by the hair! Why? So it couldn’t
get away, of course! Looked right in it’s eyes…smelled it’s musk…
breathed in the very breath of the lion, they were so close.

We’re talking face to face, nose to nose, eyeball to eyeball and
belly-button to belly-button close. And that child slew that roaring
lion by hand…

One more time…that CHILD slew that LION by HAND!

Get it? Once more. Child. Lion. Killed by hand.

Think about that til next time, won’t ya?  

Sometimes our debts can seem a little like Goliath to us…and make us
feel the way the Israelites must have felt. A little overwhelmed. A little
nervous, if not down right afraid. But…we haven’t finished the story!

One man…Goliath…held an entire army totally captive all by himself.
And he did it without even pulling his sword from his sheath. Without
killing, or even injuring a single enemy soldier. He held the entire army
in his grip for over a month…just by using one simple weapon.

Intimidation.

He LOOKED overwhelming. He SOUNDED overwhelming. And he
convinced the Israelites he was invincible. Seems it never crossed anyone’s
mind to ask why he was standing out there in the first place. Think about
this: The entire forty days that the Israelite army was hunkered down in
the trenches hiding from Goliath, do you know what the Philistine army was
doing? Hunkering down in their own trenches waiting for the Israelites to
leave.

The question again…why was Goliath standing in the field challenging the
Israelites? If the Philistines were so sure they could win the battle, why
didn’t they simply attack Saul and his army and be done with it? That’s just
it…they weren’t sure they could win! They had taken a beating at the hands
of Jonathon (1 Sam. 14:13-23) and an Israelite army that didn’t even have
any real weapons (1 Sam. 13:16-22)!

So what did the Philistines do? They found a big, loud scary guy to step
out on the field for them….someone fierce and fierce looking to issue a
challenge to the Israelites. The plan? To lure one brave man to his death,
so the Philistines could claim the Israelites as servants, thus keeping the
Philistine army, as a whole, safe from destruction.

It’s really a little ridiculous in retrospect. The Philistine army on one side,
afraid of the Israelites…the Israelite army on the other side afraid of the
Philistines…and only one man between the two armies, with the courage
to step out on the field of battle to issue his challenge!

Intimidation.

One of the enemy’s greatest weapons is fear. If you don’t
remember anything else from the story of David and Goliath, remember
“fear.” And remember “intimidation.” And remember how fear and
intimidation confined two entire armies to their trenches for almost a
month and a half…for no obvious reason, other than fear, itself.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power,
and of love, and of a sound mind.”  (2 Timothy 1:7}

Ok….we’ve got the two armies facing each other across the valley.
What happens next is interesting. The Philistines sent out a champion.
(Goliath, of course!)

He was over 9 feet tall and his armor weighed somewhere around
125 pounds. He was a BIG man…and obviously a man of strength.
Most healthy guys can carry 125 pounds, but keep in mind, he had
to be able to move in it well enough to fight another man! The head
of his SPEAR was 15 pounds, not counting the shaft! A big, big man.
A strong guy. Probably looked rather intimidating with the sun shining
off his bronze helmet….

As Goliath stood against the sun, glimmering and shimmering in his 125
pounds of armor and brandishing his huge spear, he did something that’s
almost childish (but at the same time, cunning!)…he yelled at the Israelites!

Now, you have to understand this, so please take a moment to reflect
on it. He YELLED at the Israelites. That’s it! He didn’t throw his spear.
He didn’t raise his sword or run toward their battle lines…he just hollered
at ‘em! And, yet…”Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.”
Now, I could go on about this for awhile, but I’m trying hard to move on.
(I’ll go into more detail in the book, because there’s an awful lot of insight
here!)

We’re told that for forty days, morning and evening, Goliath would come
out and issue his challenge to the Israelites. It’s interesting to note, that even
after forty days of the same challenge, when Goliath stepped out on the field
to yell at them, yet again, “when the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from
him in great fear.”

Now, they’ve been seeing this guy twice a day for the past forty days. Once
in the morning, and again in the evening. In all that time, he had yet to make
a move toward the Israelite army in a way that would suggest he was about
to harm them in any way. Yet, when he stepped out on the field for the
eighty-first time, they STILL ran from him in great fear…just as they had
done twice a day for the past forty days!

Why? Because he looked and sounded like a pretty scary guy…

I suspect this study is going to end up turning into a book.

As I’ve pondered it, I’ve discovered that it’s a far more in-depth study than
I first realized. At the same time, I’ve also discovered that the principles we’ll
cover in this study are not limited to debt, but can be applied to any Goliath you
may be facing…whether it’s debt, health, fear, addiction…

The brief study on “What God REALLY Said About Earning A Living” could be
looked at as an introduction of sorts to this study…”Defeating the Goliath of Debt.”
In order to understand some of the thinking behind this particular study, we need to
take a look at one of the most fascinating stories in the Bible. Fascinating, because there
is so much packed into it, that one could literally teach series after series on it, from
so many different angles that it boggles the mind!

Before we go jumping into topic of debt, we have to understand what we’re facing.
And in order to do THAT, I’m asking you to read the story of David and Goliath. I know,
I know, you’ve heard it before, and you’ve read it before…but humor me, will ya?
It’s in 1 Samuel 17 and it’s only one chapter! You don’t even have to read the whole thing!
You can stop at verse 50…

Now, since you’ve got your Bible open and the story in front of you, I’m not going to give
a tremendous amount of Scripture here (unless it’s from somewhere other than 1 Sam. 17),
simply because you already have it in front of you. And if you’re REALLY reading it like
you’re SUPPOSED to be reading it, you’ll run across it anyway in a minute or two!

Just to give you a little heads up, we’re probably going to spend a LOT of time with this
one story before we move on…

So…here we go!

The story begins by saying that the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled
at Socoh in Judea. Saul and the Israelites gathered and drew up their battle lines to meet
the Philistines. The Philistines are one one hill, the Israelites on the other. In between lies
the valley…

Take a few moments to stop right there and just close your eyes and see it in your mind
the way it might have been. Imagine the dirty, sweaty, grimy faces peering at each other
from across the valley. Some of those guys were probably feeling pretty brave, as they
lined up to fight…others were, most likely, down right afraid. It seems a bit primitive to
us, with our smart bombs and un-manned drones, but these guys were facing the best
technology of the day…sharpened steel and enough muscle to run a man clear through!

Today, we can level an entire city without ever seeing it…but back then, you had to look
a man in the eye to kill him. And it’s here, that our study begins…

It’s interesting to take notice of the fact that the enemy often tries to duplicate the things of God. This, in itself, is an entirely different study that could easily stand on its own and take a fair amount of time to cover. For the moment, if you will, simply consider this: God gave Adam dominion over the earth and everything in it. A perfect creation for a perfect creation! At the same time, God gave Adam another great gift…the gift of work. It wasn’t a tiresome thing. It wasn’t tedious or burdensome. It was a blessing.

When Adam fell, he passed on his God-given right to dominion over the earth to the devil. Whether he intended to do so or not, when Adam took the bite of the forbidden fruit, he also gave over his “birthright” to Satan, much like Esau gave over his birthright to Jacob (Gen. 25:29-34). At that point in time, a new “system” was born. We might call it the “world system”. Again, this is a tremendous study all on its own, so for the sake of keeping on the subject at hand, that’s all I’ll say about it for now! 

What it comes down to is this…God gave us the earth…and the enemy created upon the earth, a “world system”. While God gave us WORK, the enemy gave us, as a part of his system, this thing we call “business”… which is simply the work God gave us, with a twist!

“Business” is not necessarily a bad thing by itself. God allowed it to come to pass, and even uses it to fulfill His purpose. At the same time, it is NOT the WORK He gave us! It’s a substitute…an imitation of the blessing! Look at the word, itself…BUSIness. Busy-ness. It’s meant to keep us busy. Too busy for God, too busy for family and too busy for self. If the enemy can keep us too busy to do God’s work…

Wow!

Our problem is that we make business our work, instead of making our work our business. We forget that business is just something that we do to pass time while we’re here on earth. Once we leave here, our business will be forgotten. It’s our WORK that will stand the test of time.

I realize that some of the things you’ve read in these posts might seem a little strange or new to you. It may even sound a little crazy. But consider this:

“…my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)

And even more so…

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 3:18)

You see, this is simply one aspect of “the message of the cross”, because it was on the cross that we were redeemed from the curse of Adam and set free! This is the POWER OF GOD for us who are being saved!

We have each been given gifts and talents…desires and passions…each a gift from God to use in the performance of our work! The problem is that we’ve been brought up in a world that teaches us that “business” is to be our work. That’s why we’re tired, and stressed out. That’s why we don’t have time for God, our families or ourselves! That’s why we’re not being fulfilled! Because we’re chasing our “business”, rather than doing our work!

“…for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Rom. 11:29)

His gifts and his call are IRREVOCABLE! You will NEVER be satisified or truly free until you use His gifts to follow His call on your life, whatever that may be!

Next time we’ll look at why this happens, and then we’ll move on to where this is all leading. Believe it or not, these lessons have actually been your introduction to overcoming debt in your life….   

Ok…back to the subject! As we learned in our last post, Adam was created to work. Just as a reminder, Adam was created to work BEFORE the taking the plunge with the forbidden fruit. It was a gift from God to Adam. A blessing!

Once Adam ate the forbidden fruit, it did a complete 360…it was no longer a blessing, but became a curse:

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”  (Gen. 3:19)

Together with Paul’s statement, that if one doesn’t work, one shouldn’t eat (2 Thes. 3:10), one gets the impression that we must “earn a living”. Sounds great! Just one problem. It’s not Biblical. What IS Biblical is that God will provide all our needs! It WAS Biblical for around 4000 years, but when Jesus came and died on the cross for us, he redeemed us from the curse! The WHOLE curse…not just the part about sin! Folks, we have been set free by the redeeming work of Jesus!

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” (Gal. 3:13)

Now, this isn’t to say that we aren’t to WORK. Once again, there is a GREAT difference between “working” and “earning a living”. But we no longer have to “earn a living”! If we are faithful in performing our “work”, then the Lord will see to it that we are provided for!

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

The elderly Walmart greeter I already told you about. He wasn’t earning a living…he was performing his work! Alan Jackson is a great example. I heard him on an awards ceremony once make the following statement: “I can’t believe I get paid to play music!”

I’ve heard athletes make similar statements: “I can’t believe I get paid to play football!”

If you can say that about YOUR job, you’re in the right place! If you can’t (which I would guess applies to most of us!) then you’re not doing what God put you here to do, my friend…and not only THAT, but YOU are robbing God, and you are robbing your brothers and sisters in Christ! Your “work” is a gift to you, and from you, that was meant to be a blessing to YOU, to God, and to your brothers and sisters in the Lord!

The thing is, most of us are so busy and wrapped up in “earning a living” and just getting by, that we’re too tired, too busy and too broke to do our WORK…and we end up cheating ourselves and each other out of the blessings God has intended for us! Our attitudes suck, our families suffer, we neglect God and each other…because we’re worn out from “earning a living” when we should be “creating wealth” so we’ll have the time, energy and resources to do our WORK!!