Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Silence the Voice Holding You Back

Episode Date: March 16, 2025

We all have an inner critic—but it doesn’t have to be in control. Learn powerful truths to help you quiet the noise and live with more peace and certainty.NEXT STEPSHave you made the decision to follow Jesus? You might be wondering what’s next for you. We want to help! Check out these resources to ​​discover what saying yes to Jesus means: https://www.life.church/yesGET TO KNOW YOU—NEW!You get to hear our voices—now we want to hear yours! Check out this special survey for podcast listeners. It’ll allow us to get to know you better and hear how we can support you. Find the survey at: https://www.life.church/podcastconnectABOUT THIS MESSAGEWhat you say to yourself matters. It's time to turn from negative self-talk toward the truth that'll help you face life with confidence.Ready to break free from fear? This 3-day Bible Plan is designed to help you fight fear and find peace: https://www.go2.lc/fearplanABOUT LIFE.CHURCHWherever you are in life, you have a purpose. Life.Church wants to help you find your next step. Our hope is that your journey will include joining us at a Life.Church location throughout the United States or globally online at https://www.live.life.churchFind locations, videos, and more info about us at https://www.life.church or download the Life.Church app at https://www.life.church/appFIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/life.churchInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/life.churchTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifechurchYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@life.churchCONNECT WITH PASTOR CRAIG GROESCHELYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/craiggroeschelFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/craiggroeschelInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/craiggroeschelTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@craiggroeschel#lifechurch #robertmadu Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, before I really jump into this message today, I want to do something that I have never done at Life Church. Never done it. Don't be nervous. This is Pastor Craig approved. I want to do something. I want to bring somebody out here just to share with you just for a little bit before I really jump into this message. And the reason I want this person to share something with you is because I had no clue they would be here today. And this person, in my opinion, is one of the most influential communicators of our generation. And so this is a surprise across every location. They're about to come out. As soon as they come out, you're going to know who they are. Don't freak out. I actually want you to welcome them. But I just want them to share just before I give them the message. Is that okay? Come on across

every life church location. Can we just give God some praise as they come out? Oh, come on. Oh, come on. Y'all can't see you? Oh, that was too good. Some of you are like, you play too much. I thought somebody was really coming out. Oh, but please don't let the comedy mitigate the weight of what I said in my faith introduction. I said, I want you to welcome one of the most influential speakers and communicators of our generation. Then I brought out a mirror and said, can you see you? So I want to ask you, who talks to you more than you? who influences you more than you?

Who decides where you'll go or you won't go? What you'll eat or you won't eat. What you post or what you will not post more than you. Hear me, you are an influential communicator. You are a powerful communicator. As a matter of fact, you're not just the greatest communicator that you've ever heard. You are the greatest communicator that you are always hearing. You are always hearing a voice on the inside speaking to you about you.

Ooh, who you're talking too. I'm fully aware that even as I'm preaching today across every location that although I'm doing everything in my power to preach today's word with clarity and precision, I am fully aware of the fact that what's most important is not just what I'm saying to you, is what you are saying to you about what I'm saying to you. That voice is what is critical. That voice is what is important, because I can be saying to you, who God's going to open up a door for you? And you could be saying, well, he should have done it last year,

because it's too late now. I could be saying that God is going to use your suffering and that suffering and the pain that you're going through. He is using it to form you into the image of Christ. And you can be saying to you, well, I shouldn't be going through this anyway. I'm telling you, it is the inner narrative that will always navigate the direction and the trajectory. of your life. And I want to know today, who are you talking to? How are you talking to you?

Some of you would slap somebody if they talk to you the way you talk to you. What are you saying to yourself? What is that inner voice? That is the voice that is critical. Reminded of this boxer who one day won this championship. And as they're giving him the belt and he's celebrating and all excited. All of a sudden, he looks at the camera as they're handing him the championship belt. And he goes, you see, Dad? You see, Dad? I am somebody. I'm not a loser. And the person that handed him the belt was like, who are you talking to? All of a sudden, you find out this boxer's story, and his father was verbally abusive his entire life. And the way he would win each match was to picture the face of his father on his opponent. And then in a championship moment,

we realized the inner dialogue that was going on in his life. I am convinced that life is little about the external confrontation that you face and everything about the internal conversation that you are having with yourself. Who, who are you talking to? Breast me to my text today in 1st Samuel chapter number 17. I know some of you that when you came to church today. You're like, for real, David and Goliath, is that what I came to church for today? Because let's be honest, everybody knows this story. This is a classic story. If you were to Sunday school one time in your entire life, you know David and Goliath. And perhaps that is the problem. I think it is our familiarity with this passage that actually robs us of the revelation that is in this

passage. I want us to look at David and Goliath today, this classic iconic story. I want us to look at with fresh eyes and see, maybe there's something deeper that God wants to speak to us. And I am convinced that this passage, this fight, has a little to do with the fight and everything to do with the conversations that preceded the fight. Who they were talking to? We have made this about the fight between David and Goliath, but I think it's deeper than that. Because, I mean, come on, think about it. The fight really could be summed up in four stanzas. He hit him with a rock. He fell down dead. He cut out. his head.

Hooray. That's the whole fight right there. And four standers, that is the entire fight. Why then are there 58 verses in 1 Samuel chapter 17? It's all that talking. It's the conversations. When we run up to Goliath, we notice he's not cutting off heads of the enemies. All he is doing is talking and what he is saying has been paralyzed in fear.

So I want to talk to you about four. five critical conversations that David had before he ever got to the fight. And I think there are principles from these five conversations that you have to apply to your life. Are you ready for this today? Come on across every location. Look at somebody to say, I know this is for you. I know this is for you. Five conversations I want us to look at today. The first conversation, who I call this conversation, the Uber Eats conversation. We could call it the DoorDash dialogue. This is the first conversation. is in 1 Samuel chapter 17 verse 17 and this is when his father jesse david's father jesse comes to him and says hey i want you to go to the battlefield and take your brothers some cheese and some bread and some barley

just says go deliver some food to them that is the first conversation that he has and oh that is a critical conversation it seems like it's a little thing right just go deliver some cheese and some bread it seems like it's a small thing, but how do me know, it is a big thing. It is a massive thing. Because if David rejects this request of his father, he has never positioned for the battle that he was ordained to fight. It looks like it's a small thing, but it's actually a big thing. I have learned that generally big things are always packaged and little small requests from God. Often the big doors that everybody wants God to open generally has a little bitty doorknob, And God wants to see how can you steward the little thing? How can you steward the small thing before I ever bring you into the big thing? Imagine if David said no. He responded to an Uber Eats request from his father to go bring cheese and bread to his brothers. This was a critical conversation, especially when you consider what happened in 1st Samuel chapter 16. Oh, don't forget what happened. The prophet Samuel came to Jesse's house and said, I'm looking for the next king. Bring me all your sons.

All seven sons come out. God rejects all seven of them. And Samuel has to ask Jesse a question that you should have to ask a father. Do you have any more kids? And he's like, oh yeah, I do have another one. Oh, but yeah, David, just, yeah, I guess he's out there with the field with the stinky sheep. And I love what Samuel says. It's so gangster. He says, we're not going to sit down until he comes in.

Makes all seven of the brothers just stand in rejection. How long did they have to wait before? David made it from the field into the house. All of a sudden, David walks in, and Samuel goes, you are the one. This is God's anointed. It was a destiny moment. He anoints him as king. David knows that I'm going to be king.

And then he gets a request from his father. I wonder if he thought, oh, he's going to apologize for not inviting me to Samuel coming. He's going to say, I'm so sorry that I didn't deem you worthy to be the next king. That's not what he says. He says, hey, can you go take your book? brothers, some cheese and some bread. If that was me, I would have been like, who you're talking to? Don't you know I'm the next king of Israel? You don't see this oil that's still dripping on me? Please, you want me to deliver chakouterie? I am the next king of Israel. But David doesn't say that.

What does he say? He pulls a chick-fil-a. He says, my pleasure. My pleasure. If my father has a request for me, my pleasure. Whatever my father wants me to do, my pleasure. I am not too prideful to deliver the cheese and bread to my brothers, even though I'm the next king of Israel. What is David teaching us in this conversation that you have to have a heart of humility? A heart of humility. And I want to know, when God requests something of you, is your response, my pleasure? Or is it, who are you talking to, God. You want me to serve in the church. They should be glad I just showed up today. Really? No wonder God can't move you into what he has for you. And some people will never step into the effulgence of their purpose, not because they can't knock down a big giant name Goliath,

but because they can't knock down a big giant name pride. David is showing us a heart of humility. And he tells his father, if this is the assignment you have for me, my pleasure. I know I'm the next king, but I'll go ahead and drop off this Uber Eads order. And look at what happens when he drops it off. He drops off the order to his brothers. And after he drops it off, right at the moment he drops off the order. I'm talking about right at the moment he's about to take the picture and send it to Jesse and say order delivered. It just so happens. That's the moment that Goliath comes out and starts taunting the children of Israel like he's been doing for 40 days. And he's just so happens. And And as soon as David hears it, he's like, wait a minute, what is going on?

This cannot happen. Isn't it interesting that he heard the same thing that the other soldiers heard, but he had a completely different response? He heard the same words from Goliath, but he had a completely different reaction. What caused them to be stuck in fear caused David to rise up to the moment. Oh, I'm telling you, when you have been talking to God, you walk into rooms differently. When you know who you are and whose you are, I'm telling you, you respond differently. David was responding because his ear was tuned in to what I call the frequency of faith.

When you are walking by faith and not by sight, you respond differently than other people. He's like, oh, no, wait a minute. Is there not a cause? There's no way. I'm going to let you talk about my God like that. He heard the same thing, but had a different reaction. When you are tuned in to what God can do, you and through you when you've been talking to your God, just like David did, when he was out there

playing the heart with those stanky sheep. He wasn't doing anything, but receiving who he was, and he knew who he was talking to. He drops off the order, and then all of a sudden he has the next conversation, and this is a critical conversation. He has it with the soldiers. I want you to hear what he says to the soldiers. He says, what will be done for the man that defeats this giant? You missed it. David, here's Goliath talking and immediately goes, what will be done for the man that defeats this giant? Y'all missed it too.

He hears Goliath talking, and his immediate response is, what is going to be done for the man that defeats him? In other words, David already sees himself defeating this giant. In other words, he doesn't just have a heart of humility. he has a vision of victory. He is not stuck in fear. He already sees himself defeating this giant. So he goes, hey, I want to know, what does the man get who defeats this giant?

Because guess what? I am that man. Oh, I don't know who this message is for today. But God told me to tell you, you got to get a vision of victory. You got to see yourself defeating that giant. He had a vision of victory. He could already see it. See, the soldiers, they were focused on something else.

In fact, the writer in 1 Samuel, he gives you great detail explaining Delia's helmet and his shield. And the reason he's going to great detail is because he's showing you what the soldiers have been focusing on. It's Hebrew poetry. He's letting you know that they're looking at his helmet and, oh, my goodness, I've never seen a shield that big. And whatever you focus on the most, that's what's going to grow in your life. David says, I don't care nothing about his shield. I don't care anything about his sword. I just know one thing that the God that I serve is able to take him down.

So I already see myself winning the battle. What does the man get for defeating that man? Because I know I'm that guy. He's got a vision of victory. Can I ask you something? Do you see yourself winning? Do you see your marriage being restored? Do you see your children coming back to God?

Do you see it? Because if you don't see it, it's going to be hard for you to step into it. You've got to have a vision of victory. God is doing a miracle in our church, Social Dallas. We've seen God do incredible things. We've been in 14 different venues since we planted our church four years ago, and our church is just growing. And there is a venue that we went in 2022, and we were out there,

and part of the venue was for sale, and the other part wasn't. And I was just out there just saying, what if this whole property went for sale? And guess what? It went for sale. And then I can see it. I could see it. And then I was like, okay, what if we put an offer?

We put an offer. I was like, ooh, what if they accepted it? But the whole time, I'm just driving, and I'm looking at it. I'm like, I can see it. I can see our church parking here. I can see it. And I'm just so happy to announce. We closed on that 90,000 square foot property a few weeks ago. But I saw it before I saw it. Look at your neighbor and say, you're a vision of victory. A victory. You have to see it. He had a vision of victory. He says, what do you get for defeating this giant? I'm about to defeat him. And right after the vision, a victory, a critical conversation. His older brother, Eliam, runs up to him. I can see him. He's steaming mad. Runs up to him. And says, hey, what are you doing here on this battlefield? And with who have you left those little bitty sheep? Ooh, you know, he's speaking bad when you're talking about how little his little sheep are. Like, oh, who cares about your little sheep? You ever had somebody just disqualify something you had? No, nobody care about your little job, your little house. Where have you left those little sheep?

He's so angry with David. He said, I know the pride in your heart, David. You just came here to see the battle. And I love what David says to him. He says, man, what have I done now? In other words, this isn't the first time Eliab has done this. And I love the Bible because the Bible gives us blues clues as to why Eliab feels this way. Don't forget that when Samuel came to anoint the next king,

guess who the first person he looked at was? Eliab, he thought he looked apart. Eliab was the first person that got rejected as the next king of Israel. Elab is the reason this verse is in your Bible, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. So can you hear the jealousy in the voice of Eliab with David? What are you doing here? I know the pride that is in your heart.

If I was David, I would have been like, who are you talking to? I came to bring you food, bro. But look at what David does. He says, what have I done now? Can I not just see the battle? And watch what he does. I love it. You got to learn this move.

He turns his back on Eliab. Ooh, that's a good move. If you're taking notes, write that down. If you can write this down, he turns. That's a good move. You know what he did? By turning his back on Eliab? He was proving that he knows his real enemy. He understands, Eliab, you are not my real enemy. There's a giant behind you that is my real enemy. And I refuse to start wasting my energy, fighting my brother when God called me to fight and defeat a giant. He turned his back because he knew his real enemy. Hear me, you got to have a heart of humility.

You've got to have a vision of victory, but you've got to know who your real enemy is. And can I tell you, your brother and your sister in Christ is not your enemy. There is a bigger devil to fight, and I wish the church would wake up and stop fighting each other, and let's put all of our energy towards fighting the enemy that's trying to kill, still, and destroy from us. Look at the brilliance of David. He turned his back. He says, I don't have time to waste energy fighting my brother, who is. It's not my enemy.

And somebody in here today needs to stop fighting your brother and know that there is a bigger enemy behind them. Oh, the devil would love for you to start fighting your brother or sister in Christ. In the comment section, just fighting Eliab. They're not your enemy. There's a bigger enemy. Can you imagine if David would have gotten mad and said, I just came to bring you food and pulled out a slingshot and started swinging it at his brother? They would have missed his destiny. He would have missed his assignment.

He knew his real enemy, and it wasn't his brother. He turned his back on him. And he's ready to fight, and he goes to Saul. He essentially says to Saul, hey, you've been looking for an answer? The answer just walked in. I'm going to defeat this giant. I'm going to knock them out. And Saul, not encouraging at all, says, you can't do it.

You cannot defeat this giant. David, he's been fighting. since he was a youth. You are a youth. Have you ever had somebody project their own fears onto you? Just because they were scared to do it. Now they want to tell you how you can't do it. He starts giving David a history of Goliath. He's been killing people since he was a youth. That's what the enemy will do. He'll start giving you a history of the giants in your family and the things that have taken other people out. You can't defeat alcoholism. Do you know how much? many people in your family is taken out? You can't be a good father. You never saw one. He starts

giving him a history of Goliath. But I love David because he knew who he had been talking to. He had a deeper history. He had a history with God. He said, well, I got a history with God. I just ain't been doing nothing. Can I tell you my history, Saul? He said, one day I was out watching some sheep and I killed a lion and I killed a bear. Can you see Saul going, really? He's like, yeah, I did it. I didn't post it, but it happened. He had history with God.

He said, I've defeated him. And I just am convinced that the same God that helped me defeat the lion and the bear is the same God that will help me defeat this giant. So Saul's like, all right, the Lord be with you. Sins the mountain. He says, oh, but real quick, how about you put on my armor? Go out there and fight.

this giant with my armor. And can you imagine being David in this moment? I mean, he's been out in the field. Now he's with the king, and the king puts his armor on David. Y'all, this is the equivalent of LeBron in the locker room taking off his jersey going, try that on real quick. Can you imagine? I bet he looked in that mirror. He said, wow, I've never seen armor, and I've never fought a giant like this. Maybe because this is a bigger battle, I need to try different armor. But then all of a sudden, David makes, to me, one of the bravest decisions. He says, I can't fight with this. And he takes off Saul's armor. This is not me. When he took off Saul's armor, do you know what he was teaching us from this conversation? You've got to work your weapon.

You've got to work what God gave you. You cannot fight your giant in somebody else's armor. You have got to be who God uniquely called and created you to be. I don't know who this message is for today, but God wants you to know you got to work your weapon. Hear me, until you take off the armor of other people, you will never grab your own weapons. Can you prove it in the text? Absolutely. Look at it.

It says, so he took them off. That's David. He took what off? Saul's armor. He took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand. Chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag, and with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

He took them off, and then he was able to grab his own weapons. I cannot grab my own weapon until I take off trying to be somebody that God did not call me to be. Can I make a confession at Life Church? I am a horrible Pastor Craig. Oh, I am a terrible Joyce Meyer. Oh, I'm not a good Stephen Ferdick, but can I tell you, I'm the best Robert Maddo the second you've ever seen in your entire life. And any time I get in a battle, I got to work my weapon.

He works his weapon. He says, I got to work with what I got. Then he goes up to Goliath. Goliath laughs at him. mock some, p. Am I a dog? Do you come at me with sticks?

What is this? I mean, the enemy loves to mock you. His native language is lying. If he had a second language, you would be mocking. And David feels the mock of the giant. Can't believe you're coming to me.

He says, you come at me with sword and spear, but I come at you in the name of the Lord God Almighty. You know the story. He throws the rock. Goliath falls down. But he says to him, this is the conversation, you come at me with sword and spear,

but I come at you in the name of the Lord God Almighty. Then he threw the rock, which got me to think, did David throw a rock, or did he throw a name? Because it makes sense to say, you come at me with sword and spear, I come at you with slingshot. He doesn't say slingshot. He said, I come at you in the name.

of the Lord God Almighty. Then he through the rock. So what did he throw? A name or a rock? Some people would say it's just the rock. And there's actually some scientists, believe it or not. There are scientists who look at scripture through a scientific lens, and many of them debate the veracity of this story. They say that it's no way that a boy could have killed a giant with a rock. And they have a whole report on how it's impossible, and I brought the report. This is what they say. They said that David, with the rock a size of a baseball and with the slingshot, the fastest that he could have released it would have been with the trajectory of about 90 miles per hour. And if you take a projectile going 90 miles per hour and use Newton's second law of motion

and take into effect the coefficient of restitution, a projectile at that size at 90 miles per hour would generate about 3,000 pounds of force as it was released. That is, if it was traveling the distance of a pitcher to the home plate, which is 60 feet and 6 inches. But since Goliath is at least twice that far, one also has to take into effect the drag of the distance of the ball that's working against the velocity of force. Therefore, since he's further away, what was generated at 3,000 pounds

has now reduced itself arguably to at least 1,000 pounds. That is, if David is throwing it straight. The problem is, Goliath is taller than David, which means the angle of the projectile from which he launched at that had to be at least 45 degrees. which means that now the balls also work against gravity, which has also reduced the force that the rock has been released. So what was 3,000 pounds of force has now been arguably reduced to about 500 pounds of force.

But you must remember that there's an armor bearer who stands in front of Goliath who would have lifted up the shield to take the projectile off of course, which would have reduced the force to at least 50 pounds and taken it off course of the direction headed towards Goliath's head. But if David could throw it, and if it did work against the drag, and if it did counter the weight, and if it did go against the coefficient of restitution, if it was not off course and still aimed at Goliath's head, Goliath is wearing a helmet.

And a projectile that started with 3,000 pounds of force and ended at 50, hitting a bronze helmet would not have been enough to kill a giant. So how can a young boy with one rock working against gravity, working against Newton's law of motion, working against the coefficient of restitution, working against the drag, and being deflected by an armor bearer, hitting a bronze helmet, how could he kill a giant? And I came to tell the scientists, I'm with you.

He didn't just throw a rock. He also threw a name, and the power wasn't just in the rock. The power was in the name. Oh, come on, somebody, that he threw. Can I give you the last point? Whenever you're facing a giant, don't just have a heart of humility. Don't just have a vision of victory. You need to have a name that you throw, a name that is higher than every other name.

You better throw that name against fear, throw the name Jesus against worry, throw the name Jesus against anxiety. There is power in that name. He didn't just throw a rock. David threw a... And long before he had the confrontation, there were conversations that preceded the confrontation. But when it got down to it, he knew the power is not just in this rock. The power is in the name that is above every... name. If you call him that name today, no matter where you are, he's able to save you,

he's able to heal you, and he's able to deliver you. Would you bow your heads? I want to pray. Father, thank you for your word today. Thank you for the power that is in your name. And thank you that no matter what the giant is, it can fall if our hope and our trust is in your great name. Amen. Amen. Amen. God bless your life, church. Come on. Hey, can you help me tell Pastor Robert, thank you. And yet all of our churches today, I wonder how many of you recognize that nobody talks to you more than you, and you may need to adjust what you say to you. If you recognize that maybe you're not always speaking the truth of God to yourself and you want to change what you say,

so you can change how you think. Would you just lift your hands in a moment of honesty today? God, thank you for the word that you've brought. to us. We pray, God, that your word would renew our minds with your truth. God, we thank you for the name that is above every name. God, I pray you would silence the lies of the evil one, and God, fill our minds with your truth so we can honor you and all that we do. We give you praise. As you keep praying today at all of our churches, there may be some of you that you recognize you're not close to God.

Maybe you don't know him personally. And I want to tell you about the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus. Who is Jesus? Jesus is the son of God who is without sin. And the voice inside may tell you you're too bad for God. You're not good enough for God. I want to tell you what the truth is.

The truth is that God is a good God. And God loves you exactly as you are. And because of his love, he sent Jesus, who was without sin, perfect in every way. and Jesus gave his life on a cross so that we could be forgiven. The good news is he didn't stay dead. God raised him from the dead.

And scripture says, whoever calls on that name, the name that is above every name, that God would hear your prayer and forgive all of your sins and make you do. Today at all of our churches, if there's any one of you that you wonder where you stand with God,

today we're going to step away from our sins and we're going to call on the name that is above every name. Scripture says one day, every single knee will bow to that name. and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord of all. Today, if you make that confession, you surrender your life to Him, God will make you brand new. All of our churches and around the world online, if you say, I don't know where I stand with God,

but I want to be at peace with Him. I want to be made new. We're going to ask for forgiveness of our sins, and we're going to call that name today. That's you. You say, yes, I need his grace. I need his forgiveness. Today I call on Jesus to save me, to forgive me, to be the Lord of my life. today, I give my life to him. That's your prayer. Would you lift your hands high right now?

All of our churches and say, yes, God, we give our lives to you. God, thank you for people today. And all of our churches saying, yes, online, you can type in the comment section. I'm surrendering my life to Jesus. I'm surrendering to Jesus. And today would you just pray wherever you are? Pray Heavenly Father, I give my life to you. Forgive all of my sins. Jesus save me. be the Lord of my life. Thank you for new life. I give you all of mine. In Jesus' name, I pray.

Church, could you welcome those today, born into God's family? Come on, church. God, we give you praise today.