Giant Killers pages 3/30/05 3:31 PM Page v GIANT KILLERS CRUSHING STRONGHOLDS, SECURING FREEDOM IN YOUR LIFE JerniganDennis Giant Killers pages 3/30/05 3:31 PM Page vi GIANT KILLERS PUBLISHED BY WATERBROOK PRESS 2375 Telstar Drive, Suite 160 Colorado Springs, Colorado 80920 A division of Random House, Inc. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version. Scripture quotations marked (MSG) are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB). © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Song lyrics for “I Can’t Live Without You,” “Giant Killers,” “Mighty Man of Valor,” “I Believe,” “You Are,” “We Win,” and “J-E-S-U-S” are taken from the album Giant Killers: A Heart Like David, copyright © 2002 by Dennis Jernigan. Administered by Word Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. ISBN 1-57856-775-0 Copyright © 2005 by Dennis Jernigan Interior images: property of Jupiter Images/Photos.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. WATERBROOK and its deer design logo are registered trademarks of WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jernigan, Dennis. Giant killers : crushing strongholds, securing freedom in your life / Dennis Jernigan.—1st ed. p. cm. ISBN 1-57856-775-0 1. Christian life. 2. Liberty—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Jernigan, Dennis. 4. Homosexuality—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title. BV4509.5 .J48 2005 248.4—dc22 2004027052 Printed in the United States of America 2005—First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Giant Killers pages 3/30/05 3:31 PM Page ix Contents Acknowledgments . xiii Preface . xv PART I: GIANTS IN THE LAND 1 Believing a Lie . 3 2 Crying Out to God . 9 3 Helping Others Who Hurt . 15 4 God’s Strength in Our Weakness . 19 Interlude: I Can’t Live Without You PART II: FIVE GIANTS, FIVE STONES 5 Why Five Stones? . 27 6 Goliath: Giant of Shame . 31 7 Ishbi-Benob: Giant of Discouragement . 35 8 Saph: Giant of Fear . 39 9 Lahmi: Giant of Evil Desires . 43 10 “Six Fingers”: Giant of Enslavement to Sin . 49 Interlude: Giant Killers PART III: THE STONE OF IDENTITY IN CHRIST 11 Who Am I? . 59 12 Not in Someone Else’s Armor . 65 13 Father Knows Best . 69 14 The Uniqueness of Me . 73 Interlude: Mighty Man of Valor Giant Killers pages 3/30/05 3:31 PM Page x x CONTENTS PART IV: THE STONE OF DIVINE PERSPECTIVE 15 God’s-Eye View . 81 16 The Importance of Truth . 85 17 When We Don’t Understand . 91 18 What Will God Do Next? . 97 19 What You’ve Been Given . 101 Interlude: I Believe PART V: THE STONE OF INTIMACY WITH GOD 20 Connecting with God . 109 21 When I Can’t Hear God . 113 22 Hearing God Speak Your Name . 117 23 Ways of Hearing . 121 Interlude: You Are PART VI: THE STONE OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP 24 Relationship: The Basis of Worship . 129 25 Thank You, Lord! . 133 26 Knowing and Known . 137 27 Freely Worship . 143 Interlude: We Win PART VII: THE STONE OF DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE 28 Visions and Dreams . 153 29 A Runner Who Runs . 157 30 The Goals of My Life . 161 31 Limits and Priorities . 165 32 When Dreams Fall Apart . 169 Interlude: J-E-S-U-S Giant Killers pages 3/30/05 3:31 PM Page xi C ONTENTS xi PART VIII: HEALING FOR THE INJURED 33 The Purpose of Pain . 177 34 The Process of Healing . 181 35 Battle Scars . 185 Conclusion . 189 Appendix: My Frequently Asked Questions . 193 Giant Killers pages 3/30/05 3:31 PM Page xiii Acknowledgments Thanks to Eric Stanford who faithfully edited my words to sound like my heart. To Bruce Nygren who helped guide me through the editorial process. To Melinda—one of the best giant killers I know. Thanks for standing with me against so many giants. To Steve Farrar—for the spiritual “attaboys.” To Mom and Dad, Peggy and Robert—for helping me lead others to confront the giants of life. To Trish and Robin—for being armor bearers. To Kathy Law—for making the journey so joyful. To Tom P., Denny, Robert, Brian, Tim, and Tom H.—for being there for me. To Kevin and Pam—for helping me enjoy life. To Matt—for the shelter of your heart. Giant Killers pages 3/30/05 3:31 PM Page xv Preface avid, aiming his sling at the towering Goliath, set the pattern Dfor every one of us. Oh, you and I don’t face real giants who threaten our physical well-being. But then, giants don’t always have to be physical. • Are you overwhelmed by a craving for alcohol, drugs, or food? • Does your desire for sexual fulfillment take you places you were never meant to go? • Are you bogged down in depression and despair? • Is fear or anxiety paralyzing you? • Is anger, pride, or laziness spoiling your relationships? If in honesty you would have to answer yes to one of these ques- tions, or to a similar one, then you are facing a giant, and this book is for you. • Are you aware of a spiritual problem in your life, and do you want to fix it, if you can? • Do you feel as if you’re getting nowhere in life—and hate that fact? • Are you weary of the failures of your past dictating your present? • Do you have visions and dreams and want to see them come to pass? • Do you sense that the answer to your problem might lie out- side yourself—in God? If any of these questions resonate in your spirit, then you are ready for victory, and again, this book is for you. If you will dare to read this book, I will challenge you to apply godly principles of freedom to your own giant, whatever it might be. Why? Because the strategy for defeating the giants in our lives is always Giant Killers pages 3/30/05 3:31 PM Page xvi xvi P REFACE the same: relationship with God Almighty through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ and the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit. Does that sound thrilling to you? Or maybe a little like a letdown? Today, it seems that most people want a quick fix—a fast-track how-to guide that will let them “get on with life.” But if you’re like me, you have grown skeptical of self-help guides that promise much and deliver little. While step-by-step instruction can be helpful, it can also be misleading. How many times have you gone through all the steps, only to find yourself just as entrenched in your problem as when you began the program? Although this book will provide practical help along the way, it is primarily intended to draw you nearer to God in a devotional sense, for He must be the source of your victory. Approach the reading of this book, then, as a spiritual exercise. Don’t rush through it, but instead consider each of its brief chapters as a morsel to be mentally savored. To help you use this book for your spiritual good, each chapter ends with three spiritual exercises. The first, called “Truthstone,” offers a set of related Scripture passages that you can read in your Bible and meditate upon. The second, “A Look Inside,” provides a few questions that you can ask yourself to start applying the point of the chapter to your own life. The third, “Even in Their Sleep…” is based on Psalm 127:2, which says, “[God] gives to His beloved even in his sleep” (NASB). This section offers a thought or prayer idea that you can keep in your mind as you go to bed so that even as you are sleeping, God can be molding you into a giant killer. By the grace of God, I have slain more than one giant in my life, and you will learn much of my story in this book. But the point you need to hear now is that on each occasion my spiritual healing has come about by virtue of my having an intimate relationship with Giant Killers pages 3/30/05 3:31 PM Page xvii P REFACE xvii Jesus Christ. I want that same kind of healing for you! It will come through the same kind of relationship. The only way God can help you is if you agree that God is God and you are not. Therefore, I suggest that before you read this book, you make the commitment to place your own agenda somewhere below God’s. Lay down your own shaky conception of what is true, and stand upon the solid foundation of what your Creator calls truth, because as simple as it sounds, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).