Facing Goliaths

Please forgive me for being excited about what God is doing!

As I said in my last blog, “There is a powerful move of the Spirit of God among the sons of Ishmael (the Arab world), complementing what is happening in Israel, as Jewish believers (the sons of Isaac) are discovering that Yeshua really is their Messiah.”

Seeing first hand how Isaiah’s ancient prophecies are being fulfilled, before our very eyes, has both shaken me to the core and thrilled my soul. When extraordinary things happen that you couldn’t ever have dreamed of or planned for, you know that you are on the edge of a major move of God’s Holy Spirit. That’s exactly what it feels like this morning as I write these words.

It feels as though the armies of Heaven are being mobilised for a final great push in the battle of the ages, which began with the fall in the Garden and which will culminate when God blows the eternal referee’s whistle and draws time, as we know it, to a close with the triumphant return of Jesus.

While these are exciting days, they are also perilous days – days in which it is vital to watch the signs of the times, to hear the voice of God and to step forward in harmony with the leading of the Spirit. How else could David have been on hand to deal with Goliath?

The David Challenge

Nearly twenty years ago I issued a friendly challenge to Angie, a sculptress friend. I said I’d never seen a sculpture of David in the act of using his sling to fell Goliath! She took the vision to heart. Occasionally, down the years, I asked her about it, but there was no response.

Then, one day last year, during what was a very difficult time for us, a friend emailed me to say that I should read the story of Goliath again. She felt it was important in all that we were having to face with the forthcoming closure of the former Ellel Centre at Pierrepont. I love that story and reading it again refreshed my spirit, but I didn’t immediately appreciate its importance.

Then, later on that very day, Angie and her husband, John, made a surprise visit. it was lovely to see them. They knew nothing of the circumstances which were developing around my own life and calling – or the message I had received earlier in the day to read about David and Goliath!

Completely unbeknown to me, Angie had never laid down the vision for a sculpture of David and his sling. And the reason they were calling was to present me with the result of her sixteen year assignment – David in the very act of using his sling to slay Goliath! I could not stem the flow of tears as I lifted the sculpture out of its packing case and realised the huge spiritual significance of the day.

Notwithstanding all that we were going through, as well as the date on my birth certificate, God was still saying “get out your sling, there are giants in need of slaying”! It was with a renewed vision that I read the story of David and Goliath once more and felt the purposes of God for today begin to unfold before my spiritual eyes.

Today, David, with his sling at the ready, is a daily reminder in our kitchen that God has called us all to be Davids. There is work to do. There are giants to be slain. As I write these words the GOHI leaders in the Arab world are conducting a huge healing retreat for over 150 people in a very traumatised part of the Middle East; and my wife Fiona is leading a team in Romania teaching on how to minister to traumatised people and bring healing to the hurting and broken.

The church is not a club for complacent converts, hoping one day to populate Heaven – a sort of station waiting room, where you can be entertained while you wait for the train that will take you on your final journey! C.T.Studd, one of the great missionary pioneers at the end of the nineteenth century, wrote:

“Some want to live within the sound
Of church or chapel bell;
I want to run a rescue shop,
Within a yard of hell.

It has been well said that the Church is the only organisation on earth which exists for the sake of its non-members!

The Church – the ‘Helpmeet’ of Jesus

Eve was created out of the first Adam to be his ‘helpmeet’. The Church, as the Bride of Christ, is the ‘Helpmeet’ of the second Adam (Jesus), serving the Bridegroom and bringing the sons of the first Adam to the Saviour for healing from the curse of sin. The church is certainly a gateway to Heaven’s glory, but God also intended it to be a hospital for the hurting and the broken. It is a war machine targeting a known enemy with the slingstones of faith.

Hebrews 11 catalogues some of the faith pioneers who truly knew their God and did the ‘mighty exploits’ that Daniel talks about in Daniel 11:32. We love reading the stories described in Chapter 11, but the whole purpose of the passage is to introduce the challenge to the church which begins Chapter 12! It is a message for you and me for today:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders, and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with  perseverance the race that is marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus . . . .” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

It is only as we fix our eyes on Jesus that we will fully comprehend the purpose of the Church. As Paul tells us, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it” (Ephesians 5:25).

I am looking afresh at the statue of David, with hope and expectation that there will yet be many mighty victories. As the enemy raises up fresh ‘Goliaths’ to challenge the true church, I am praying that there will be many new ‘Davids’ who rise to the challenge!

Copyright © Peter Horrobin 2024.

Peter Horrobin is the Founder of Gates of Hope International. To find out more about the work please go to www.gatesofhopeinternational.com or, in its abbreviated ‘Go-High’ form: www.gohi.world

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