In this season, there are key questions that must be answered: What is God doing in His church? What are the major issues the church faces today? And how is the Holy Spirit leading His church to react to these issues?
To find answers to those questions, I challenge you to read 1 Samuel 17—the famous story of David and Goliath—from a 21st-century perspective. As I read the Scripture for this column, I received a revelation on things I have never seen before. As you meditate on this story, allow the Lord to open your prophetic eyes to see how it relates to today’s church.
Goliath and the armies of the Lord were at a standoff. The children of Israel stood dismayed and afraid, helpless as Goliath mocked them and their God. David was not a member of King Saul’s army, so he traveled back and forth to tend his father’s flock. During a trip to the front lines, David overheard Goliath’s mockery and challenged him to battle. Goliath laughed at King Saul’s choice for an opponent.
But David’s strategy was simple. He knew the battle was the Lord’s. David did not come wearing Saul’s armor or wielding a sword and spear, but went forth in the name of the Lord, taking only his shepherd’s staff and five smooth stones. He confronted Goliath face to face and declared his demise by the hand of the Lord. With only one stone, David slew Goliath and cut off his head with his own sword. When the Philistines saw that their mighty champion had fallen, they fled.
First of all, take note that Goliath was killed with only one stone. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one man who caused a civil rights movement, and Martin Luther was the champion of the Reformation. It only takes one person to ignite a movement.
The people of God were in a frozen state of fear until David came on the scene. The Goliaths of the world mock Jesus continually. These enemies of the gospel boldly defy the sanctity of marriage and the value of life as God created it to be. As individual believers, we must not be afraid to stand up for our God-given rights and confront controversial issues. The power of the church is the authority of the believer. Pastors of the largest churches stand on the mountain across from Goliath in silence while certain groups boldly mock our faith. These groups openly criticize the church and people of faith with no hesitation or opposition. When are the people of the church going to stand their ground?
There is a standoff in the Spirit. The Goliaths of the world are loud, prideful and boisterous as the church is docile concerning certain issues. Goliath was a warrior from youth, but by the time he came out to confront the people of God, his agenda had been strengthened and solidified. The anti-Christ agendas that oppose the church have operated behind the scenes for some time. The Bible declares that Goliath cursed David by his gods. It is important to note that there are spirits (gods of idolatry) that operate behind every anti-Christ agenda.
The trophy from the victory between David and Goliath was that the loser had to serve the winner. Whoever lost had to become the slaves of the victors. I release a prophetic warning to my brothers and sisters in Christ: Where we do not take our victory as the church today, we will stand captive and be enslaved tomorrow. We must speak truth in love. This will dismantle darkness and behead the strongman.
We have many issues to deal with in the church, but in ground-level warfare, we must identify and disarm the strongman. Like David, we cannot wear the armor of the world; we must stand in faith and put on the whole armor of God.
Goliath vexed, tormented and taunted the armies of the Lord for 40 days. I prophesy that the church has spiritually stepped into her 40th day. David used Goliath’s own sword to kill him. There is a boomerang anointing that will cause the wiles of the devil’s kingdom to turn against him and self-destruct.
Everything sent or set against the church and God’s people will not prosper. Curses will literally turn into blessings. The latter-day rain of the church will be greater than the former. I smell the coming of the rain! There is a special grace and promotion coming upon those who have been behind the scenes tending the sheep.
As believers, we cannot be afraid to stand in the valley of Elah to meet and confront the issues that will put us into bondage if we do not deal with them first. There is a mighty showdown ahead, and victory is in the air. {eoa}
Kimberly Daniels is a former city council member in Jacksonville, Florida, and a current member of the Florida House of Representatives. A sought-after conference speaker and preacher, she is the pastor of Spoken Word Ministries and the author of several books.
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