Walking in the Shadows of Giants
As I stroll down the galleries of my memories, They resemble the streets of Madison Square Garden the day after the New Year festivities. Memories are scattered across the streets, memories littered everywhere I look. I stop and pick one up from my childhood and the print is a little blurred by the distance of time, the photos are fuzzy. Sometimes I have trouble seeing the figures in the background as I recall events in my life. I strain to recall where I was, who was with me and what was going on. But as I turn the corner in my stroll through the alleyways of my mind I suddenly look up to discover a billboard! This memory is fresh, though it has been nearly a decade. Forever emblazoned on my mind are the events of 2001.
The first Billboard I see is September 9. On that day, I was ordained as a minister of the Gospel. My first official act was to baptize my daughter who had just given her life to Christ.
And then next Billboard I see is September 11. As I stood in the den of my 1200 square foot home, the carpet was neutral, the walls two-toned with a burgundy wallpaper like the Scottish kilt of a bagpipe player separated by a belt of molding. The top half of the walls painted white. I gazed in astonishment at the 35 inch JVC television – the picture quality had long ago deteriorated. It was nestled inside a Broyhill, whitewashed, pine TV armoire. The details are still too real. First one, then two, news of a third airplane and then a fourth. Plumes of smoke barreling into the sky as the New York skyline is changed by the crumbling of those mighty buildings. And then another Billboard appears on Thanksgiving day 2001, I am activated to active duty to spend the next 9 months in foreign countries, 9 of them – most I didn’t realize existed. Those memories have not faded. They stand as shadows of giants in my mind. Some shadows of evil giants that wanted to kill you and me. Some shadows of ordinary men and women who God made into giants by virtue of their calling, some by choice, some by chance.
Every year, we pause to remember that historical, climactic event that has shaped our country as much as any in the last 100 years.
This billboard exists in our mind because we found ourselves standing in the shadow of Giants.
On September 11, 2001, this nation was rocked by a collaborative terrorist attack on multiple locations that will forever be felt by those who lived it.
On That day, you found yourselves living in the shadows of Giants. Fear, uncertainty, anxiety and anger gripped our nation! And then we responded!
As we responded, God cast His Shadow! The stories are still retold of a new generation of heroes - fearless men and women who in the midst of tragedy risked and many gave their lives in actions that saved the lives of thousands more. Who knows what would have happened, had it not been for the bravery of Todd Beamer and the passengers of Flight 93? The were walking in the Shadow of another Giant. That plane was headed for our nation’s Capital in Washington, DC. The 68 square miles of Washington, DC was home to half a million people. Thousands work in and around the capital building, not to mention the visitors that would have been present. We remember the story of John McCole who was racing to the site as the second tower fell. He describes standing on a terrace outside World Trade Center Six when another firefighter appeared beside him with the news that 12 units — a total of 72 men — had perished when one of the towers collapsed. {accessesed 9/11/2009 at
http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol35I1/page19.htm} Little did the world know that John McCole, those 72 men and the hundreds of other emergency workers that responded that day had been used by God to caste another shadow. He made some of these men and women into Giants that would inspire our generation to take on the evil Giants that threatened to take us down. Or men like now retired Lt. Commander James Philips who was one of the heads of security at the Pentagon, whose story is part of a mosaic of stories of brave men and women fighting for their lives from the smoke and rubble, and risking their lives as their mission quickly became a rescue mission.
Today gives us ample opportunity to reflect on 9-11 and those events that so radically changed our nation. But it is also an excellent opportunity to share a Biblical encouragement to those who are living in the shadows of Giants.
{Read 1 Samuel 17:3-10}
Our first reflection on Giants, leads us to discover that - There are Giants in our lives that must be destroyed!·
Goliath was a GiantOur text shows us a Giant standing in the valley between the armies of Israel and Philestine. Can you see the men shaking? They need someone to come stand before them and show them that God can slay this Giant. They need a man of faith. A man of bravery. A man who is willing to take on the Giant in the name of the Lord our God.
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The Philistines were GiantsThe entire Philistine Army was laughing and jearing at the Israelites. They were claiming a false authority, they were claiming defeat over them even though the battle hadn’t been fought. They were an enemy that needed to be defeated.
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Terrorists are GiantsFast forward to today and we discover that terrorists are a threat today.
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There are other Giants in your life that need to be destroyed! Many not so obvious.
Maybe you are facing the Giant of bondage? The Giant of Addiction? The Giant of a bad relationship? Unemployment? Financial insecurity?
Let me share one Giant, in particular, that is closer to home than you may think. Hunger is a Giant!
I did a little research and asked around. According to sources in our local Department of Social Services,
18.75% of the Wilson, NC population is at or below the line of poverty as measured in 2005. We also know that in 2007 worldwide poverty increased by 70 million people and in 2008 that number increased by another 40 million people. This number is being compounded by the fact that in NC unemployment is at least 11% and the August rate of unemployment for Wilson County is 13.7%.
The giant says that some folks are just gonna have to go hungry. The truth is that
the world produces enough food today to provide a 2800 calorie diet for every person, every day.
The fact that people are hungry is unacceptable.
Something just happened and by the time you finish reading this sentence, it will have happened again – a child died from hunger. Every 6 seconds another child dies from hunger somewhere in the world.
Today, 37 million Americans are hungry!As a matter of fact, 2178 people are suffering from hunger in Wilson county today (4.4% of population). Listen to the definition used for “hunger” according to OCPP:
Hunger is the "uneasy or painful sensation caused by a lack of food; the recurrent and involuntary lack of access to food."
(accessed 9/11/2009 at http://www.ocpp.org/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=iss080116hunger )
But another 6386 are suffering from “Food insecurity”. (13.7% of population)
Food insecurity is "limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways." Some food insecure households are able to obtain enough food to avoid actually going hungry.
{accessed 9/11/2009 at http://www.ocpp.org/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=iss080116hunger}
Do you know how they get the little bit of food they eat? Thousands of Wilson residents get their food from trashcans behind restaurants, from discarded moldy breads and cheeses, and from out of date food given by well meaning donor. Others buy dog food or cat food, supplemented by occasional rice cakes and tuna. 20 % of our neighbors in Wilson County are in bad shape foodwise. And lest ye judge, some of them had decent jobs just a few months or years ago. They may have been your neighbor.
These are Giants that must be destroyed!
God is aware that there are Giants that must be destroyed, that’s why sometimes He makes Giants out of ordinary people.
{read 1 Samuel 17:12-18, 26-37. 38-58}
God makes Giants out of ordinary people!
· David Challenged the complacentNotice how God used David’s faithfulness. Here is a little boy – a simple, little, shepherd boy. He wasn’t tall in stature. He could barely stand the weight of the king’s armor. But David trusted God. God used the faithfulness of David to slay a Giant. God can use your faithfulness too. We are fortunate in our lives to have some Giants that God has raised up to take on hunger in America and across the world. They, like David, challenge the complacent. They make us uncomfortable when we see the pictures of starving children with swollen little bellies. That’s what they are supposed to do.
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David shed light on the problemNotice that david had integrity! He shed light on the real problem. In verse 29, David says, “What have I done now? I just asked a question.” His brother was angry with him. Why? Because David asked the right question. A question that shed light on the real problem.
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He didn’t let the naysayers slow him down!Read verse 34 and hear David’s reply to the King, when the King questioned his ability to take down the giant. David had killed lions and bears and he wasn’t afraid to take on a Giant. He didn’t let his brothers slow him down, he didn’t let the soldiers slow him down, he didn’t even let the king slow him down with their naysaying. David believed God for the mission.
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He acted!David went to the stream and gathered 5 perfect stones. He put them in his satchel and he headed out to where the Giant was standing. Even when the Giant scoffed at him, he wasn’t deterred. He pulled out that smooth little rock he had retrieved from the stream, he reared back with that little sling and he let her rip. I wonder what the giant was thinking as that stone was flying through the air? Thunk! I wonder what the Giant was thinking as he begin to wobble, and as his knees begin to buckle, suddenly the sky and the sun begin to fade and his eyes shut just before his massive body hit the ground with thud that made the ground shake.
There are some Giants that need to be destroyed, and God raises up men and women that He uses to destroy those giants. But notice also that when God raises up his own Giants, he casts shadows to mobilize warriors and workers.
God uses the shadows of His Giants to mobilize warriors!
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Davids actions mobilized an army vs. 52.As soon as the Israelites saw the Giant collapse, they found some courage. David threw one little stone from a sling. He made one big stand against a Giant, but he mobilized an army. That one step against the “I can’ts” led to a massive victory. One little boy willing to believe in God’s power, empowered an entire army for God. Thank God for men and women that are brave enough to stand against the odds. Thank God for men like William Wilberforce who dedicated his entire life to stop the European slave trade. Rejection and loss were the palate of his life until his very last years. There were no decisive victories for years and years, but he kept persisting. He kept insisting and challenging and shining huge bright lights on the audacity of the trade. And God used his life to eradicate slavery from his country. The ripple soon traveled over the entire civilized world. One man mobilizing an army.
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Others came alongside David, they were inspired and fought because of him1 Samuel 17:52-58, 2 Samuel 21:15-22 (NASB95)The nation recognized God’s hand of blessing on the life of David and pretty soon, many came to his aid. Even when Saul threatened their lives for helping David, they still joined him. Eventually, God made him King over all the land. This nation now walked in the shadow of a Giant. The Israelites were now a nation that placed God first in their lives. They became a nation seeking justice.
Not everybody is called to be a giant. As a matter of fact, if you are seeking to be a giant, then you must consider your motives. David was a shocked as anybody when an old priest came to his home, sought him out and anointed him king over Israel. David’s primary concern was walking in the shadows of Saul and Jesse and his brothers. But I believe it was because of the integrity of his heart that God chose him. But there were hundreds of thousands of others that had the same value and worth in the eyes of God, but God didn’t choose to make Giants out of them. Rather God cast shadows for them to walk in.
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Don’t seek to be a Giant, rather seek to walk in the shadows of the Giants God has placed in your lives.Most of those who seek to be Giants are Goliaths. One day God will take you down. You will wind up being a bully and though you may argue your intentions are pure, they are really self centered.
Those giants that God has raised up, they must temper reality with humility or else they will become the giants that God will take down.
Everybody can’t be a Giant, most of us are called to walk in the shadows of Giants. The one that is making the shadow is exposed to the heat and the weather. If you aren’t a giant and you run out from under the shadows, then you are going to get burnt and crushed. If you don’t stay in the shadow, you are going to be left behind. In the shadows, you work, often times without being seen. The light isn’t bearing down directly on you in the shadows, but that is your place. God only called one King to lead the nation and he used that king to lead the people. Those who were walking in the shadows of this giant, were blessed. Those that didn’t were cursed.
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The New Christian Food Pantry and Feed the Children.
Elder Marvin was on visitation one day and when he came out of the home he was visiting, he noticed children eating popcorn that had been dropped on the ground. They were wearing old t-shirts big enough to cover a grown man. They were poor and hungry. Out of that experience, he begin to buy food and take it to families with children so that the children could eat. He later founded the New Christian Food Pantry and established a partnership with Feed the Children to bring food to Wilson to help the community. He and his wife Evangelist Taylor now have 11 formal partners and they have brought together as many as 35 churches to partner in blessing the community.
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God has raised up some Giants and we so that we can walk in their shadows.
We have a God who is in charge and we walk in the greatest shadow of all.
Psalm 91:1-16 (NASB95) 1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the Lord, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.
10 No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.
11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
That you do not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.”
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