Every Christian knows the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuelu 17 in the Bible and how David overcame Goliath. The army of Israel was afraid of Goliath, but not David. David wasn’t led by fear, he was courages and overcame and killed Goliath in the battle. Maybe you have faced something in your life that seemed impossible to overcome. Maybe you’re facing a Goliath in your life right now and wonder how to overcome your Goliath of fear, popole, atuatuvale, pe … (Faatumu avanoa). I LENEI TALI, e leai 5 stones but 5 steps are provided to overcome your Goliath and be victorious.
The spiritual warfare is real
As a born again Christian you are reconciled with God and entered the Kingdom of God. You no longer belong to the devil and the kingdom of darkness. Due to the spiritual transfer from the darkness into the Light, you have become an enemy of the devil and his kingdom and entered a spiritual war.
If you don’t acknowledge that you are in spiritual warfare and have a laid-back attitude, ona le umi lea, before the devil and his army will take you captive.
I le avea ai ma se atalii o le Atua (e fa'atatau i tane ma fafine), you should always have a warfare mentality.
E tatau ona e iloa, that you are victorious and an overcomer in Jesus Christ. Therefore in Christ, you can overcome everything.
Jesus Christ defeated the adversary of God; the devil and his army. Jesus took his authority by taking the keys of hell and death. (Faitau foi: Na fusifusia e Iesu le malosi malosi pe e tatau ona e fusifusia le tagata malosi?).
All powers, malo, malo, and rulers of darkness are under His feet.
Jesus entered into His rest and sits at the right hand of the Father.
I le avea ai ma se fafine Kerisiano, o lo‘o ‘outou nofo ‘iā Keriso. So if Jesus has all authority and entered into His rest, you also inherited all authority and entered into His rest, ae…
O le avatua faafetai i le Tama, Which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: O ai na laveaʻi mai ia i matou mai le mana o le pogisa, ma ua faaliliuina i tatou i le malo o lona atalii pele
Kolose 1:13
Seated in Christ and walking in dominion
You are set apart by God and appointed to have dominion on this earth. This dominion on earth doesn’t include dominion over people. Aua e te le mafai ona sili atu le fagatua ma le toto, ae faasaga i malo, (leaga) mana, malo, and every high thing that exalts itself against God.
You’re appointed to represent and establish the Kingdom of God on earth, e pei lava o Iesu.
God chose and appointed you to keep the spiritual order and do the works of God. You ought to do the works of righteousness and destroy the works of the devil. So that you establish the peace of God and prevent chaos.
Living in the Word and keeping His commandments
You do that by living in the Word and keeping Ana poloaiga. When you obey His words and keep His commandments and speak His words and don’t leave the Word, you shall overcome and be an overcomer (a victor).
The adversary of God has no legal right to enter your life and mess things up.
God gave you all authority in Jesus Christ to command the adversary to go away and never come back.
The adversary can show up in your life through sickness, (faalemafaufau) ma'i, tulaga, (marital or family) faafitauli, popole, masalosalo, popole, osofa'iga popole, faanoanoaga, atuatuvale, fefe, e te faaigoa.
I think the last one, fefe, is one that almost every Christian can relate to and has to overcome in life.
When you speak the Word of God and don’t back down or be dismayed, you will win and be an overcomer. There is no doubt about that because the Word says so. But you must persevere at all times and don’t give up!
What is the story of David and Goliath in the Bible?
I would like to encourage you with the story of David and Goliath and how David overcame Goliath. Let’s turn to 1 Samuelu 17.
Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.The Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side; the valley was between them. Now a champion went out of the camp of the Philistines; Koliata, who’s height was approximately. This giant Goliath had a helmet of brass upon his head, and was armed with a coat of mail. The weight of this coat was 5000 shekels of brass, which is approximately 125 lbs/2000 ounces/56,7 kg. He had greaves of brass upon his legs and a target of brass between his shoulders. The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed 600 shekels of iron, which is approximately 15 pounds/6,8 kg. A shield bearer went before Goliath.</em></em></em></em>
“Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me”
Then Goliath cried out to the men of Israel: “Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us”.
Saul and the men of Israel were dismayed and afraid. No one wanted to go into battle with Goliath. Mo 40 aso, Goliath drew near, mornings and evenings and presented himself. David was the son of Jesse, and had 3 elder brothers who went with Saul into the battle with the Philistines. He was feeding the sheep of his father. Jesse instructed David to bring food to his brothers and to the captain of their thousands.
David had faith in God
Mo 40 aso, Saul and his army were conquered by fear. Fear got hold of them and held tem in bondage and stopped them from going. Their fear was bigger than their ability. Ia, their ability? I could rather say, that their fear was bigger than their Faatuatua i le Atua.
Saul and his army didn’t believe in God’s ability. They didn’t think that God could back up His army, when they would go up to the Philistine Goliath to overcome him.
Not one of them believed in the power of God the Almighty One.
O lea la, no one stood up and went to battle and fought against Goliath.
God had shown Himself and His power to His people so many times.
God had shown them, that He was their Fomai, their Comforter, their Provider, their Jehovah Nissi, ma isi..
Why couldn’t they have faith in God now and go out and fight in His Name?
Why didn’t they run together to Goliath to overcome him? Instead of hiding as little chickens together, being overwhelmed by fear.
Because they were led by fear, Leai se mea na tupu.
The men of Israel were afraid, except for David
While Saul and the men of Israel were fighting in the valley with the Philistines, David came and went to the battlefield. Then Goliath came out and made the same declaration as he did before and challenged the men of Israel to come and fight with him. All the men of Israel were afraid and as soon as Goliath came they hid from him. But not David, he asked the men what would happen to the one that would kill Goliath and the men of Israel answered him. Eliab, his brother, was angry that David came to them and left the sheep alone in the wilderness. Eliab accused him for being pride and that his heart was naughty.
But David was not moved by these words from his brother and did not back of. But he stayed and went to another and spoke in the same manner. When these words were heard by Saul, he sent for him and David told Saul that he wanted to fight with the Philistine.
Saul did not have faith in David and said to him what he saw David was; a shepherd, young not familiar with war. But David told Saul that he already killed a lion and a bear. David told him that as the Lord delivered him from the bear and lion, He will also deliver him out of the hand of Goliath.
How did David prepare for his fight with Goliath?
David was prepared and trained by God for his fight with Goliath. David had killed a bear and a lion! He was absolutely sure, that with the help of the Lord God, he could kill this bear and lion. Otherwise David would have run away from the bear and the lion. But David didn’t run away from the bear and the lion. David didn’t leave his sheep in the hand of these predators. Nai lo lena, David faced these enemies, who threatened his sheep. David protected his sheep by killing the bear and also the lion.
When David went to the battlefield and heard Goliath, David already imagined himself fighting and killing Goliath together with his Lord.
David knew that he could overcome and kill Goliath, because he knew his God and that God was with him. David had Faatuatua i le Atua; he trusted God completely.
In your life, you will go through all kinds of situations and face all kinds of problems. In these situations and the problems you face, God prepares and trains you, before facing a Goliath in your life.
Instead of walking away and murmuring and complaining about your problems, begin to thank God for your problem.
Don’t run away from it or hide, but run to it. Rely upon the Lord and trust in the Lord and His Word with all your heart. When you face your problems, instead of running away, God will empower your words and your actions.
David didn’t doubt. David was absolutely sure that the Lord would deliver him from the hand of Goliath. Just like God did with the lion and bear.
This must be a lesson learned, that with Jesus; le Upu, you can overcome everything.
David put off the wrong armor: Saul’s armor
Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
David was not familiar with Saul’s armor. Saul’s armor was not the right armor for David. Therefore David put off the wrong armor of Saul.
David was familiar with his staff, because David used his staff before. David took five stones to overcome Goliath.
And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, ma iloa atu Tavita, sa ia inoino ia te ia: for he was buta youth, ma mumu, and of a fair countenance.
“I come to thee in the Name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies”
Ona fai mai lea o le Filisitia ia Tavita, Am I a dog, ia e sau ia te au ma tootoo? Ua fetuu foi le Filisitia ia Tavita i ona atua And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.
Ma na oo mai e pasi, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
O a mea 5 Steps to overcome your Goliath?
O le 5 steps to overcome your Goliath are the same 5 steps of David. What did David do, before he went into the battle? David prophesied over the situation and acknowledged and glorified the Lord:
- David told Goliath, that he came in Name of the Lord of hosts
- He prophesied over the situation, by telling Goliath that the Lord would deliver him into his hands and that he would take Goliath’s head
- David ran toward Goliath and took a stone and hid him in his forehead
- David cut Goliath’s head off
- He exhalted the Lord and made God known to Goliath and the Philistines
David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, ma fasioti ia te ia; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, ma fasioti ia te ia, and cut off his head therewith.
When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, na latou sosola. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
The children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
How to overcome your Goliath fear
Let’s say you are anxious and fearful and you want to overcome your Goliath ‘fear’. Mea muamua lava, let’s have a look at what the word ‘fear’ o lona uiga?
The word fear (False Evidence that Appears Real) o lona uigaan unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger, an instance of this emotion, a state marked by this emotion, anxious concern).
O le a le 5 steps to overcome fear?
O le 5 steps to overcome fear are:
- Tell the enemy (fefe) you come in the Name of Jesus
Jesus is always with you; o loo nofo le Agaga Paia i totonu ia te oe. The One that lives in you is greater than he, who lives in the world. Know that the Igoa o Iesu has the highest authority and is above all principality, mana, atonu, pulega, ma isi. Jesus is King and He reigns!
Prophesy over the problem or situation; speak to that problem or situation, and tell it what you want it to do
Speak words of life, faataitaiga: “Fefe, you are a defiled enemy and I command you in the name of Jesus that you will leave my life and take all your fear and anxiety with you. I am bought with the blood of Jesus, God owns me, He dwells in me, therefore I am holy and there is no place for your filthiness. Therefore go, ia Iesu’ igoa!”.
Meditate on the following Bible verses and say them out loud:
I have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but I have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby I cry, Abba, Tama (Roma 8:15)
For God has not given me the spirit of fear; ae o le mana, ma le alofa, ma le mafaufau lelei (2 Timoteo 1:7).
The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me (Eperu 13:6)
E leai se fefe i le alofa; but perfect love casteth out fear: auā o le mata‘u e i ai le puapuagā. O lē mata‘u e lē ‘ato‘atoaina o ia i le alofa (1 Ioane 4:18)
One of the things you must not forget is to cut his head off
You have to know your authority and look at fear as a person, whom you fight against. When you have overcome by the blood of Jesus and by His word, you must not forget to cut off his head. So that fear won’t return (sometimes even worse than before) and take possession of your mind and life.
Ae peitai, you have a responsibility to leoleo lou mafaufau. Therefore don’t look for example at horror movies, solitulafono, or play violent games. Aua ae e te lei iloaina, fear returns in your life.
Give praise and thanks to the Lord. Make Him known and magnify Him
You can use these principles for every problem and challenge, ma i tulaga uma lava. Ioe, you can use these for every Goliath you’re facing in your life. But you must always rely on Jesus Christ and know the Word of God. So that you can trust in Him and speak the words of God to your problem and in every situation.
As long as you abide in Jesus Christ, you have the highest spiritual authority. Therefore study the Bible (le Afioga a le Atua) and pray and spend time together with the Lord. So that you know O ai Iesu Keriso o, who you are in Him, and what you have inherited in Him.
‘Ia fai ma masima o le lalolagi’
