GOG - 20 - 293 - A Champion’s Principles
1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was ve thousand shekels of brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, 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. 9 If he be able to ght 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. 10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may ght together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. 43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy esh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the eld. 1 Samuel 17:1-11, 43-44 (KJV)
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The Bible didn't only call Goliath a giant, but also a champion. He couldn't have been the only giant of his day, but at a particular time, the Scripture says he was a champion who had defended so many causes and became a hero. In this article, we will be looking into the world of Goliath from a Scriptural perspective, to nd out what principles he practiced even as an unbeliever that made him a champion. Goliath was not a Christian. However, the Bible says that these things are written for our examples (1 Corinthians 10:11, Romans 15:4). So, we can learn from either the good or the bad and practice the principles they teach. There are others in the Bible who were not Christians but practiced Scriptural principles. Luke 16:8 says that the Lord commended the unjust steward because he had done wisely. This means that the unjust can be commended if he does something right. Goliath practiced certain principles, and those same principles made him a champion. Making a habit of practicing these principles will inevitably make you a champion.
Recognise The Force Of Your Appearance Our rst principle for becoming a champion is that you must recognise the force of your appearance. Verses 4 – 7 of our main text brings to mind the physical appearance of Goliath: he was fully armed. If you are going to be a champion, this is a principle you cannot afford to toil with. There is strength in your appearance. You may go into an interview with a rst-class degree, but if
your appearance is not appealing, you may not get the job. Have you heard statements like, “This guy dressed so well that his presence was intimidating”? It is simply called the force of appearance. Your appearance can either make or mar you. Do not say, “God looks inward so I will pray for three hours, read my Bible for two hours and dress anyhow”. If you do so, then you are not prepared because God does look at the inside, but guess what? You are not having the interview with God. That same portion of Scripture also says that men look at the outward appearance. Therefore, they will rst see what is on the outside before the inside. Matthew 22:10 says that of all those invited to the marriage feast: both good and bad, none were driven away, except for the one whose appearance was wrong. It is not only in the church you witness by your appearance, but everywhere you go. Correct your appearance, dress right, and walk right. God looks at your heart, but men look outward. Goliath was a champion, and he knew what principle he had been practicing. If there was anyone who needed to come gaged up, he was the one. Though he was a giant and his height and stature alone were intimidating enough, he still knew the importance of appearance.
Recognise The Force Of Your Environment Our second principle for becoming a champion is that you must recognise the force of your environment. If you are going to be and remain a champion, you must recognize the force or the strength of your environment. You must ght
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GOG - 20 - 293 - A Champion’s Principles
from the point of advantage. Goliath said to David in 1 Samuel 17:44, “Come unto me…”. He said this because for him, that was a familiar territory, and he was used to ghting in that kind of environment. Remember that Saul had said to David, “This guy has been ghting from his youth”. He had come out with certain principles or strategies and one of them was that he was conversant with his territory and therefore, ghts from that point of advantage. You are to ght and operate from the point of advantage. Recognize the force of your environment because it matters a lot. We can see another example from the story of the kings in 2 Kings 3. The allied kings wanted to go into a ght, so, they came together, and king Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet we can inquire from if we will be successful?” and Elisha was called. However, Elisha would not go, but later he said, “If not for the great respect I have for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not have come”. However, before he began to prophesy, he asked for a minstrel. He wanted to create the climate, the environment, the atmosphere from which to operate. So, once the minstrel began to play, he started prophesying. Why was it that, many times, when Jesus wanted to heal the sick, especially those who were critical, He called them out separately? He was operating from a healthy environment. You cannot evangelize in an unfamiliar territory, for example: going to evangelize in a party or a club. You cannot win because you are not ghting from the point of advantage. That is not where you should ght from. Fight from the position of advantage. You can invite him or her to church and minister to them. That is the force of the environment. Jesus always emphasized the importance of climate in everything He did, by the way He healed people, so you must take an example from that.
Recognise The Force Of The Spoken Word The third principle for becoming a champion is you must recognize the force of the spoken word. Goliath recognised the force of the spoken word (1 Samuel 17: 8-11, 43-44). The Bible says
that by your words you shall be justied and by your words you shall be condemned (Matthew 12:37). It has also been medically proven that the words you say control your nerve centre and the totality of your being. Whatever happens in your nerve centre propels you to action. Before any medical scientist ever found this out, doctor James already said it in the book of James. 3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of erce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a
When you make negative confessions, He says, “No, I don't have that in My Word, therefore, I can't carry out My priestly function”, but when you begin to say the right words, He goes to work. You must recognise the force of your words. Goliath spoke those words, and the Bible says that when they heard those words, they were greatly afraid. That means it's a principle he's been using in the past. “How do you know, Pastor?”, you may ask. He did it repeatedly, even in the war against Israel. When David said he would go against him, Goliath began to use that principle of words again. However, though he talked, David talked louder. If sickness, disease, poverty, or any other negative situation talk to you, open your mouth and talk louder.
Recognise The Force Of Jehovah
matter a little re kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a re, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it deleth the whole body, and setteth on re the course of nature; and it is set on re of hell. James 3:3-6 (KJV)
What you become or don't become is a function of how you open your mouth. Your mouth can make you a champion or a failure; a hero or a nobody; it can get you to the top or put you at the bottom of the ladder. Your mouth can dictate a lot of things. James 3:3-6 says that just like the little rudder controls the big ship and gives the governor the ability to turn it where he wishes, that is exactly what happens when you use your tongue; your little member. Nobody sees your tongue until you open your mouth; it is hidden, apparently insignicant. Open your mouth and let your tongue be seen. Speak out excellent words. Jesus is seated as the High Priest, and as the advocate of our profession, but His advocacy power is rendered null and void except through your confession.
Our last principle of becoming a champion is that you must recognise the force of Jehovah. Looking at 1 Samuel 17, you will discover that David practiced all the same principles that Goliath did. Goliath was kitted up with what he was familiar with and what his faith was on, David was also kitted up with what he was familiar with. Goliath said, “I will ght from the point of advantage, I know this territory”, David said the same thing: “A lion and a bear came against me and I tore them to pieces. You are a familiar territory, come and you will be like one of those things”. At the end, Goliath ran out of principles but David played out the last principle and that is: the force of Jehovah. There is strength in the covenant relationship you have with God. An unbeliever can have several principles, but you will have that and an extra because the God factor will take you to the height that they cannot go. A champion is not a champion until he has the God factor. Goliath, though he was a champion, wasn't the ultimate champion. What made the difference was that he had three principles to operate by, but David had an additional one. You can have the advantage, and you will laugh the last laugh when you practice these principles.
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