The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 10: Down Goes Goliath

Episode Date: June 30, 2019

Jesus is the greater David. He stands in our place and puts to death once and for all our greatest giant, our own sin. Click the 1 Samuel Resources tab for the full study journal, summary recap videos and more.

Amen, amen, and amen. Hey, if you got your Bibles, and I hope you do, grab them. We're going to be in 1st Samuel chapter 17. It's page 50 in your journal. This is this event that we're going to talk about. David and Goliath, maybe one of the most popular Bible stories in the history of Bible stories. Like, even if you've never done Bible study, you are familiar with this one. And everybody loves a good hero story.

I mean, it seems to me like every three days or so in our culture, would they come out with a new hero movie, right? And they must do really, really well, or they wouldn't keep coming out with them. In fact, when Avengers Endgame came out, anybody see that one? Yeah, not me, but whatever. A bunch of people did, because in 20 days, it grows $2.5 billion dollars and set records of all the records that you can set. So we are into superheroes. In fact, some of you crazy people like dress up like the heroes when you go to the movies, which is great, no problem. I work out. I have hobbies, but you can dress up like Iron Man if you want.

All right. And I think because we love heroes so much, and we like to identify with one of the heroes, like if Iron Man can do it, then I can do it because he didn't have powers. He just has money, which is kind of a power, but whatever. And I think sometimes we take that mindset into this hero story, and maybe we misunderstand the most famous hero story of the Old Testament. So we're just going to go verse by verse through almost. all of chapter 17. It's at least 50 verses. That averages out to a little under a minute of

verse, so you have to listen super, super fast. Chapter 17, verse 1. Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle, and they were gathered at Soca, which belongs to Judah, and in camp between Soca and Azica in F, I don't know how, it sounds like a bad word. I'm not even going to say it in church. First two, and Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and encamped. at the valley of Eli and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. So the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side with a valley in between them, so nobody is going to attack. Because in order to attack, you would have to give up high ground, go through the valley, and if you give up high ground, you would for sure

lose. And so there they are, standing off with one another. Verse four. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines, a champion named Goliath. of gas, whose height was six cubits and a span. He's enormous. That would be over nine feet tall. And he had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was 5,000 shekels of bronze. That's like 125 pounds. That's like the equivalent of a band member. I mean, there's a lot of weight here. I kid. And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelet of bronze slung between his shoulders, the shaft of his spirit. The shaft of his spirit. was like a weaver's beam and his spear's head weighed 600 shekels of iron that's 16 pounds

and his shield bear went before him and the reason there's all this talk of bronze is because the Philistines were the group of people that were the first group of people to use bronze in battle they essentially ushered humanity into the bronze age and Israel's got nothing they got shovels so they have two swords in the whole country country, two. And this is who comes out to fight him. And he stood and he shouted to the ranks of Israel, why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourself and let him come down to me. And if he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our

servants and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel. And the philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day, give me a man that we may fight together. Now, this was kind of common in ancient warfare. It's called representative warfare. And what would happen is the winner, you see, if you were going to take over a people, then you kind of wanted all the people to still be there so that they could work for you. And so sometimes, in order to avoid so much bloodshed, then what armies would choose to do is that they would find for themselves a champion. Literally in Hebrew, this word champion means to stand in between two armies. And one side would send out their best, and the other side would send out their best.

And that representative champion would fight on your behalf. Now, if you've been a Christian for a minute, all of the lights on your dashboard should be going off right now. This is what is happening day after day after day. Verse 11, and when Saul, and all of Israel heard these words of the Philistine? There's a big fat comma right here. The reason is because, if you'll remember from weeks and weeks and weeks ago, when Samuel chooses Saul to be the king of Israel,

you will remember he's the biggest, baddest dude in Israel. The Bible says that he is literally head and shoulders above everyone else. So here comes this giant Goliath that is nine feet tall, and he's head and shoulders above all of his crew, and when he comes out and says, send me your best, then all of the nation of Israel is looking to their king and putting their hope and trust in this king. And I'm sure in their hearts, they wouldn't say it with their mouth because they might get killed for this. They are thinking, get them, Saul.

You're our God. God has anointed you. God has appointed you. And you can go down and shut this Philistine up. And when Saul and all of Israel heard the words of the Philistine, comma, they were. dismayed and greatly afraid. The whole nation of Israel is looking for the king, and the king is paralyzed. And when the king is paralyzed, everybody else is paralyzed, so they stay on the sidelines.

You see, I say this all the time, and I say it all the time, because it's really, really important. The opposite of faith doesn't doubt. The opposite of faith is fear, because fear paralyzes. You see, faith always produces action. and fear paralyzes. And the reason that they are paralyzed is because the size of their giant was greater than their understanding of their God. Now, just a note here, they are in the promised land. This is after Joshua. They are in the land of promise. In other words, God has already promised the nation of Israel, this is your land. I have passed tense, given it to you. Now you go,

and just take what is yours. And now here is one man. Okay, he's nine feet tall, he's got a big helmet on, and all of that. But essentially, what the Israelites are doing, starting with Saul, is they are taking their trust, they are taking their faith, and they are putting their faith in their circumstances. Instead of putting their faith and their trust in the sovereign king of the universe, they believe that their problem is bigger than the promises of God. One of our elders, or Dan Buckles years ago at an elder-led prayer, he said these words. It hit me like a ton of bricks. He said, I know we believe in God, but we need to believe God. Do you know the difference? Like, I know we trust Jesus for our salvation, so one day when we're dead, it'll all be okay.

But do you believe the promises of God like today? Like, do you believe that all things are possible for those who believe? Do you believe that the power of forgiveness, could put back together relationships that you think are impossible to put back together. Do you think that by faith you could overcome the fears that seem to paralyze you? You see, because what are you afraid of? And I'm not saying those things are illegitimate. Like, Goliath's legit, man. Nine feet tall.

Kills people. Got a 125-pound coat of mail on. there's plenty of reasons to be afraid of him. There's only one reason not to be. Because our God is greater than any giant we face. So is there a thing in your life right now that's intimidating to you? If you're honest, and again, if you're honest, do you know there's this thing standing before you in your life

and day after day after day you are putting your trust in those circumstances and today is the day you need to snatch that back and put your trust, your faith, your hope, in the sovereign king of the universe. By the way, this is a daily thing. This is a daily thing. Remember what Paul told Timothy. Paul tells Timothy, God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control. And as long as you take the gift of faith that God gives you and you place them in the approval of other,

or in comfort or in control or in power, as long as you do that, you will never be able to walk in the power and love and self-control that God has given you. Now, David, he's going to show up, verse 12. Now, David was the son of an Ephraithite of Bethlehem and Judah named Jesse. Anybody want to guess who Jesse's grandma and granddaddy are? Ruth and Boaz. Remember we studied them a couple years ago? It's pretty incredible that the future and the heart.

hope of all of Israel and God's blessing and redemption of all of the earth at one point in human history narrowed down to one little Gentile girl named Ruth and her faithfulness. And because of God's faithfulness in and through her, now you get Jesse, who is the dad of what will be the greatest king in the nation of Israel. So Jesse, who had eight sons in the days of Saul, the man was already old and advanced in years. The three oldest sons. sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle. And the names of his three sons who went to battle were Elieab, the firstborn, and next to him, of Benadab, and the third, Shema. David was the youngest. And the three eldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father's

sheep at Bethlehem. So David is a shepherd. And just so you know, I know through like Lifeway Christian bookstore and other places like that, When we think shepherd, we think, oh, that's awesome. Well, in the scriptures, being a shepherd was not awesome. It was like the lowest of the low of the low jobs. There was no lower job than shepherd. And that's what David gets. And for 40 days, the Philistines came forward and took his stand, morning, and evening.

Now, do you ever wonder what David may be thinking in his shepherd days? Now, nowhere in the Bible does it say that David talks this way, which is probably why he's David and I'm me. But if I'm in his situation, I think there are parts of my days where I begin to think, well, this isn't fair. Like, why do I have to sit out here

with these dumb sheep? They literally are dumb. That's why Shepherds is such a low job. Like, if you were taking care of, you know, like lions or tigers or teaching horses something or maybe dogs, do something cool, okay? The only thing lower than keeping sheep, keeping cats, but that's not in the bottom, okay?

So, because the sheepers is dumb, cats are evil. But anyway, maybe he's thinking like, this isn't fair. Why am I out here just tending my dad's sheep? While my brothers get to serve the king, has God forgotten about me? Why don't I get to do important things? Like, be careful when those kind of whispers start entering into your brain, because that is not the voice of the Heavenly Father. Now, again, nowhere in the scripture does it say that David thinks this way,

but I think I would think that way, maybe if I was a good. David's spot. Verse 17, and Jesse said to David's son, take your brothers anifa of this parched grain and these ten loaves and carry them quickly to the camp of your brothers. Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand and see if your brothers are well

and bring some token from them. Listen, he's bringing cheese and crackers to his brothers. He's a pepperoni away from being a pizza delivery boy. That's what he is. And nowhere in the scriptures does David complain about. this. He just does it. His dad asks him to do it. He gets the stuff together and he takes us to his brothers. Listen to me, church. If serving is beneath you, then leadership is beyond you.

If serving is beneath you, then leadership is beyond you. In God's kingdom, the best way to get there is to be real dang faithful right here. That in God's economy, if you exalt yourself, he will humble you. But if you humble yourself, he may exalt you. And God never waste any time. He has you exactly where he wants you to be for a purpose and a reason. And David could have been thinking, he's a teenager here. And he could have been thinking, while he's sitting out there in the pasture with his sheep one day, does my life count for anything? I mean, all I've ever done with my life so far is just sit out here with these dumb sheep. And while I'm sitting out here with the sheep, I learned to play the harp. Woo.

And now they want me to play the harp for the crazy king. That's not cool. And I'm just watching these sheep. And in fact, sometimes it ain't that awesome. Because lions and bears come try to eat the sheep. So I can't even sleep good at night because they mostly hunt at night. And I'm just writing songs. I doubt anybody will ever even sing them or read them or hear them.

and yet it was in the pasture that God was preparing David to be a hero and a king. Chuck Swindall says this. He gives these three words to characterize David's time in this pasture. Obscurity, monotony, and reality. Obscurity. Before God was never going to make a name for David, he was going to make David into the man that he had called him to be. obscurity and monotony. He's just going to get up every day and do the same thing and the same thing and the same thing.

And though he might not see the cumulative effect of these things, God saw it for a really long time. And yet the reality is that little does David know that God will purpose all of these things to prepare David to be used for God's glory in ways that David could never see coming. You think his harp playing and poetry was a big deal? I could argue that the 23rd Psalm is the most famous song ever written in the history of humanity, and God has used that individual song to minister to the hearts and lives of more people than any other song on the planet. And it's David as a shepherd that writes this.

You think the battle against the predators was a big deal? You see, David had no idea that he wasn't just saving sheep when the lion and the bear came to take them, but God was preparing him to save a nation for the glory of God and to be the platform by which God's son would show up to save every single one of us. And when you're just sitting there with nothing to do in a land full of rocks, you get really good with a sling while all you're doing day after day after day is watching the sheep eat. You see, do you realize that the same? same could be true of you. Whatever you do, whether it's in your cubicle or in your classroom or in your neighborhood, or maybe you don't have the job that you think one day you'll be called to. Whatever you do, don't waste the downtime because God would not waste it on you. He was preparing David. So it says,

now Saul and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Eli fighting with the Philistines. And by fighting, it means they got dressed every day. They went up to the battle line. Goliath came out and cursed them, and they screeched and ran back into the tent. That's how they fought. And David rose early in the morning, and he left the sheep with a keeper, and he took the provisions, and he went, and as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.

And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, and he ran to the ranks and he went and greeted his brothers. And as he talked to them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard them. And if there's a soundtrack to this story, everything begins to change here. Verse 24, and all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, they fled from him and were much afraid.

Again, think about this first saying. I think sometimes we get so familiar with the scriptures, we lose sight of what's happening. For 40 days in a row, they get up, they get ready, they put on their armor or whatever they had, they get ready for war, they march out there, Goliath comes down, and when the Bible says that he curses them, don't think like Sunday school felt bored, like, you bad Israelites. I mean, think about how a giant person in the military, Terry would curse you. It would be like that. I mean, he's making up stuff that you haven't even thought of before and you're out of here, all right? And so they do this day after day after day.

I don't know about you, but in my walk with Jesus, it seems like I bump up against the same giants over and over and over. I've been a Christian for almost 30 years. and the same Philistines I ran into when I was 17 seem to be the same ones that come after me when I'm 45. You ever notice that? You ever notice how the enemy knows how to shut you down and make you run and hide? And the things that by God's grace and by God's power

and by God's goodness that you overcome, which Jesus did overcome that we could be overcomers, no doubt about it. But yet it seems to me I keep facing the same giants over. and over and over and over and that's what's happening here over and over and the men of israel said have you seen this man who has come up surely he has come up to defy Israel and the king will enrich the man who kills him and great riches with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel he's going to give him a tax-free house and david said to the man who stood by him

What? That's what he's saying? What shall be done for the man who kills the Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? He's like, did I hear that right? You mean the king is promising cash and prizes and no IRS? And yet look how David sees this. For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? You see, David doesn't seem to be intimidated. everybody else

everybody else sees a giant and David sees a Gentile and here's what I mean here is a man who is not living under the promises and the provision and the protection of God who is this thing you see everybody else

sees a problem there's a problem in that valley and David only sees the promise like I serve the God of the armies of Israel I stand on the shoulders of the commandments and the promises of God. David seems to see things completely differently than everybody else sees them. And so he says, what shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine? And the people answered him in the same way, so shall it be done to the man who kills him. One of the things that I find interesting

Americans is that cash and prizes were never enough to motivate. Cash and prizes were never enough to motivate. And they will not be the motivating factor in David. it's life. You see, what he is motivated by is how dare you profane the name of God. I am telling you, a call of God in your life will always supersede cash and prizes. Always. Church of 1122, may the God of the universe increase our view and understanding of the glory and the renown of his name. And may we not be a people that take it casually when his name is profane. It says, now, Iliab, his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliaab's anger was kindled against David. Anybody got a brother? You're going to see here this isn't a made-up story.

So here comes David. He's like, who is this Philistine? And then his brothers are basically like, shut up, man. What are you doing here? He says, why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? That's a total stab, right? He's like, you know what I'm, you got like eight sheep out there. That's about what you were. I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. And David said, what have I done now? Was it not but a word? See, the little brother's like, I was just asking. This is just a typical brother spat right here, okay? and he turned away from him toward another, and he spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.

So David just won't stop. He's like, who does this Philistine think he is? And he keeps talking, he keeps talking, and he keeps talking, and eventually words are going to make it to King Saul. Verse 31, and when the word that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. And you've got to think in this moment, Saul is like, oh, thank God. I mean, he's probably in his tent with, you know, like not dressed for battle. And he's probably thinking, all the people keep looking to me to be the champion, because that's what I'm supposed to be, because I'm the tallest and I'm the biggest, and I'm killed the most people, and I'm the king. And yet, I'm afraid, and then now rumor has it. There's somebody in the camp that says that they can take out this giant. And so he's probably stoked.

He goes, so go get him. Next verse. And David said to Saul. Can you imagine the disappointment on Saul's face? when he's imagining this warrior. Now, if you back up a chapter, you'll remember that Saul already knows who David is. Because Saul's going a little crazy. And when he gets, like, depressed, then David comes in and plays the harp for him.

And so Saul is expecting a warrior. And a guy that plays the harp comes walking in. And here's what he says. He's got a lot of confidence. David says, let no man's heart fail, because of him, your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, now I'm making this up, but in my mind he's patched him on the head. You are not able to go against the Philistine to fight with him. For you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.

He's essentially looking to have him going, aren't you my harp player? You are just the Old Testament version of Prozac. That's what you are. Okay? I go this way. You try to get me back up there. That is your function in the kingdom of God. You may think a little too highly of yourself. But David said to Saul, I love his part. Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. By used to, he meant like, this morning. Remember one time J.P. said, I remember when I was young, I was like, okay. Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion or a bear and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed it.

Your servant has struck down both lions and bears. Notice the plural there. Not like this one time, but apparently this was a common occurrence, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living. God. Maybe. Maybe it's at this moment that David can look back over his shoulder and realize that God has been preparing him for his entire life for this precise moment. Maybe all of those prayers and times that he cried out or that we would cry out, why me, God? Why would you let me go through this? Why must I go through this pain. Maybe it's in this moment that it becomes crystal clear to him that what God was doing with David was not punishment. It was preparation. Whatever you do, don't waste your time in the pasture. That God is the sovereign king over all things. That it is true that God is at work in all things

for the good of those that love him that are called according to his purpose. That only the sovereign king of the universe can use our very own pain for the purposes of his glory, even and especially the self-inflicted kind. If the tomb is empty, then anything is possible, which means this, that God ain't through with you. No matter what you've been through, no matter how hard it's been, no matter if for years and years and years, you feel like you cry out to God and you hear nothing back, God is using all of that to prepare you for his.

purposes and for his glory, and in that you will find your ultimate joy. Maybe it's in this moment that he realizes it. You see, he's like, what he's not saying, he's not saying, I got this. He's saying God has always had this. He says, and David said, the Lord who delivered me. He's not saying this, man, here's our problem. oftentimes when we face challenges we think you know what I got this I'm smart enough I'm good enough don't got it people like me that is not the message of the good news of Jesus Christ what David is saying

is the Lord who delivered me not hey I got some sweet skills man I got lying killing skills I got bear killing skills and I bet those translate well into giant killing skills that's not what he's talking about here he is saying that the Lord who delivered me from the Paul of the lion from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this philistine and saul said to david go and the lord be with you now again david is not saying saul i got this david is saying i've been in the hand of god for a long time and i still trust that god's got the whole world in his hands and with that in mind by faith i'm willing to go and so what does saul do saul kind of reminds me of like a scene your pastor, then Saul clothed David with his armor. Well, this is how we've always done it. This is how

we've always done it. So here's how we're going to do it again. This is close, heavy, armored, hand-to-hand combat. So that's how we've done it. So we're going to dress you the way we've dressed all of our other soldiers, and we're going to do it the way we've always done it. Hey, yeah, but it hasn't worked. That's irrelevant. We're just going to keep doing what we've always done, and we're going to get the same results. So he put a helmet of bronze on his head and he clothed them with a coat of mail and David strapped his sword over his armor. This is one half of the swords in Israel. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. And then David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them. So David put them off. Now listen to me. When God came up with the idea of you,

He had something in mind, and it was not anybody else. The Bible tells us in Psalm 139 that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. God, your works are wonderful. I know that full well, and you are one of those works. In Ephesians chapter 2, we find out that we are not saved by works. We are saved by faith. We are saved because of the grace of God poured out on us, but we are saved two good works and you and I are God's workmanship.

That word literally in Greek means like masterpiece or work of art. The most God glorifying thing that you could do with you is be the you that God imagined when he came up with the idea that is you. And one of the most insulting things that you could do with you is try to be anybody other than you. you. Now, of course, we are mentored by people and disciples by people, and there are things in other people's life that we emulate, but imitation is really an affront against God. Nothing kills more ministry in the church than comparing yourself with other people. Again, man, we compare what we know about ourselves to what we don't know about other people. Do you realize that when we compare ourselves, that we're right in the hands of the enemy? Because it'll either lead to insecurity or

ego. An ego and insecurity are not the language of the Heavenly Father. He knows exactly what he's doing. And when he put you together, he knew exactly what he was doing. And the best thing that you can do, to walk in a manner worthy of the calling of God in your life is to dress yourself the way the Lord would have you dress yourself, to use the gifts and the abilities and the skills and the faith that God has given you. And when somebody else, try to do that. to conform you into some other model or mode, then you just remind him that you have a creator and they are not your creator and that you were created in God's image and this is how God has created you to walk this thing out. Now this takes a ton of faith, man. It takes a ton of

faith. But by faith, this is what David does. He takes these clothes off. David put them off and he took a staff at his hand and he chose five smooth stones from the brook. Underline this. Underline that. I think this is kind of the, as a New Testament believer, I think this is the sentence that helps us understand the purpose of David and Glythe. He chose five smooth stones from the brook. Put him in his shepherd's pouch, his sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine. We'll come back to the five smooth stones. And the Philistine moved forward and he came near to David with his shield bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine look and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.

In Hebrew, ruddy can either mean red-headed or, like, disheveled. I don't know how it can mean both, but that's what it means, all right? So apparently he's a ginger, maybe, or he doesn't wash his hair much. One of those two. And the Philistine said to David, am I a dog? Like, he's insulted. That you come to me with sticks, and the Philistine cursed David by his gods. Imagine the language here.

And the Philistine said to David, come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beast of the field. And then David said to the Philistine, Listen, these are some of my favorite verses in the whole Bible. That J.P. and I memorized these verses before he would go to bed when he was, back when he was young. And David steps out. And again, man, think, Goliath. and David. Like Glyath and David. You understand? And David says, you come to me with sword,

with spear, and with javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Now imagine, if you're the Israelites, right, you're way buck up on the hill and you're looking to the binoes. You're like, what are they doing? Dude, David is is yelling at Goliath. He's got his finger all like, Dr. Gaport. Dr. Paul just like, just fussing at him. What is David thinking? You see, David has a different perspective than everybody else has. Because all Saul and all the armies of Israel, they are only focused on Goliath.

And one of the really cool things about studying the histories during this time, like 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st, 2nd Chronicles, 1st 2nd Kings, is it gives us the historical record of what's happening in the nation of Israel. And yet, at the same time, you can flip over to the book of Saul. Psalms, and it's like David's journal. So 1 Samuel is telling you what's happening, like out here, and the book of Psalms can tell you what's going on in here. And so David, Psalm chapter 8, I could have chosen 50 to see what's going on in the heart

of David. In Psalm chapter 8, here's what David says. It says, oh Lord, out of Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth, you have set your glory above the heavens out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes to steal the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him? This is the mindset of David.

You see David walks out there with a stick and a sling, and people are like, David, he's gigantic. And David's like, yeah, I know, but my God is galactic. I mean, compared to the cosmos, you can't even see Delia from the moon. And yet God put all of this in place. You see, the New Testament writers would talk about us fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and the perfector of our faith. One of the first things that you do when you come against a giant in this world is you get your eyes off of the giant and you get your eyes on our galactic God that is king over all the giants. This is what he does. So this is how he sees it.

He says, you come against me with sword and with spear and with javelin, but I come against you. And the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. And this day, the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head, and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth. This is why we still read the Old Testament, because it's awesome. And all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all that this assembly may know that the Lord saves, not with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand. In other words, David is saying, Goliath, I am.

here by God's power for God's glory, which means you're in trouble, bro. That's how he steps in. And then when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, look at this, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet the Philistine. David ran quickly. You see, here's what bold faith is. Bold Faith is not a feeling. You have all kind of feelings. I don't really care, okay? Because your feelings are not your Lord. Jesus is your Lord. bold faith is acting as if you actually believe. And David believes that his God is greater than this giant. So when it's time to go to war, he doesn't run and hide because he's not full of fear.

Now listen, you think he was nervous? He's got to be. You think he had like fearful feelings for sure. And the difference between faith and fear is what do you do with those feelings? Listen, man, you get those, you can be scared. Just don't be afraid. Because fear paralyzes. You could be scared.

Just take your scared and run at the giant full speed. And that is called courageous. That is what he does. So let me ask you this. What is God calling you to run quickly to that you have been avoiding? Is it forgiveness or generosity or missions or reconciliation or confessing with your mouth to your family? I am sorry that was my sin. What is it?

Stop making excuses and by fake, act like you actually believe. God is who he says he is and he always keeps his promises. And so he runs to it. And David put his hand at his bag and he took out a stone. And we know it's a smooth stone, right? He takes out a stone and he slung it. Now, you know, you've been around Bible study enough, hopefully to know this isn't like a toy. slingshot like this.

This is like a leather pouch with two straps on it and they would swing it around like this. Like seven rotations a second or something like that. Things going, going, going, going, going, that today people with these kinds of slingshots can be accurate at over 100 yards. Like, it's a legit weapon.

And so he slung it and he struck the Philistine on his forehead and the stone sank into his forehead which was the last thing they ever took, go through the mind of Goliath, that's the fact. And he fell on his face to the ground. So, some say that this sling used 3,000 years ago, could have a similar stopping power as that of a modern handgun, and that the stones in this area of the world are some of the densest stones on the planet.

And so David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling, and with a stone, and he struck the Philistine, and he killed him. And there was no sword in the hand of David. So then again, can you imagine? If you're looking through the Bino's, what's happening now? Down goes Goliath. And then they look, and the Bible says that David's running at him. They're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, it might be a trick.

Haven't you seen enough movies when the bad guy is down? What do you do? Just stay back. And this is why the Lord invented the long clip, man. Unload it on the bad guy. from a safe distance. What does everybody do in the movie? Say, go over there. Let me nudge the zombie man so he can eat my foot off, all right? You imagine? They're like, no, David, this is a warrior. Maybe you gave him a headache. He's going to get up. He's going to bite your head off or something

like that. And yet, David runs over there and he takes the sword, Goliath's sword, because he don't even have one, and he chops off Goliath's head. And he holds it up. And if you keep reading, he like takes it around town. I mean, it goes on a show. It's kind of weird, but whatever. Why? To tell all over the Philistines, if you come against me, this is what's going to happen to you. This is why, by the way, you know, I hunt all the time, and if I ever see a snake at our camp, some people take pictures of them and be like, is this a good snake or a bad snake? Do you not read your Bible?

It is the devil. You understand? Anything that walks without feet and has no shoulders? Shomp. I'm going First Samuel 17 on you, all right? And then what we do at our place is we take the head and the body, and we hang it up. for all his evil cousins to see, you come against me with sword and spear and jathling.

I'll cut your head off. All right. So, very, very familiar account. And most often, here's what's taught through this. Sometimes, number one is this. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. That's literally where that English phrase came from. It came from David and Glythe.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Or oftentimes, Sometimes you can overcome your obstacles, even if you're the undeaded all, you just got to try, try, try, try, try. Is that what it means? Or maybe the point is, don't bring a knife or a sword to a gun or a slain fight. Ha, no. Here's the point. You see, the whole book is about one thing. His name is Jesus. That the gospel of Jesus Christ is on every page of God's inspired word. And the real point of the story of David and Goliath is this, is that Jesus is the greater David. that Jesus is the greater David. I mean, think about it. A man who is a shepherd from Bethlehem walks out in between two armies to be the champion for a people

to do for them what they could not do for themselves. And when everybody else looked at Jesus, they did not see him as the champion of God. They only saw him as like a commoner. How could this guy do anything? And he stands and faces down the greatest giant in the history of humanity, our very own sin. Jesus is the greater David. He stands in our place and puts to death once and for all our greatest giant, which is our own sin.

And he stares it down in the Garden of Gassimony and says, Father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me. Not my will, but your will be done. And then he goes to the cross and he puts death to death. He puts sin and its grave once and for all. And when he says it is finished, then the stone from his sling hit the forehead of the enemy. And that enemy tried to bruise his heel, but he crushed his head and it is over. And on the third day, he resurrected from the grave.

So look, you and I are not David and your problems and your English test is not Goliath, and your job is not to man up. your job is not to buck up your job is to wake up your job is to look up and understand that a hero has gone before us a champion has gone before us and because the ultimate giant has been slain and he lives in us then we can overcome any obstacle that we face in our life you see this week you will face giants and you will face obstacles it could be fear and anxiety temptation unforgiveness, and we are called to fight against darkness in Jesus' name. And a part of what this lets us know and reminds us of what Christ did on the cross is that

you are not fighting against those things for victory. You are fighting against those things from victory. That Jesus has already won. Romans chapter 8 tells us that we are more than conquerors. 1 John 4 4 says this, you dear children are from God. and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. So who are we in the story? I've heard some very good friends of mine say, look, you're not David.

You're like the scared Israelites up there. As I read it, I actually think you and I are the five smooth stones. Think about this. God had been shaping those stones for that moment for all of created history. They weren't that size. I don't think they were smooth when they started. And that over time, everything that happened to those stones were to get those stones ready for that moment, for God's purposes and his glory. I mean, every chariot wheel that rode over one and broke it in two, every storm that came along and moved it over,

the fact that it landed in a brook, and so that the constant pressure of the water would shape it, not overnight, but shape it. it over time. And of all the places in the world that those stones could be on that day, they just happened to be close enough to the shepherd board David that when he needed them and reached down, that's exactly where they were. And what if you and I are really like stones shaped by God's love and discipline for our entire life in the hands of our champion, Jesus Christ, to be used by him so that when he overcomes fear, and anxiety and worry and depression and addiction and brokenness and injustice and bitterness, how do you think he overcomes those things?

He grabs on to his body, his church, he reaches in his bag and he grabs smooth stones like me and you shaped for the purposes of God to be hurled in this world to take down the enemy schemes against his people. That's what we're here for. and it's not by might it's not by power but it's by his spirit says the Lord so listen I don't know what you're facing this week

actually I do because we all face the same thing you're facing the giant of power and you're facing the giant of control and you're facing the giant of comfort and you're facing the giant of applause and you're facing the giant of addiction and depression and you're facing the giant of can God be trusted because I don't have enough money in the bank

to pay my bills. You're facing the giant of unanswered pressure. You're facing all of these things. And how will you walk out in the battlefield? The way that we walk out in the battlefield is we walk out in the power in the name of Jesus, because he's already gone before us. He has conquered

sin and deaths. And now you and I, if you are willing, can be the smooth stones in the hands of our champion. And God uses ordinary, uneducated men and women like us to push back darkness in this world for his glory. Are you ready for that?

I want to end in a way that we don't normally end, okay? You're charismatic, you're going to love it. Baptist, just pray, that this week, as you face the schemes of the enemy, again, we've talked about this, power and control and comfort and applause, lust of the guys, lust of the flesh, the pride of life, those broken relationships, those places in your own life where you feel like you can't give yourself, I hope you understand those are dead schemes from a dead enemy and he is trying to trick you with those things. Did you know for up to three months after a rattlesnakes head has

been cut off, if you step on his fang, the poison can still get in you? We have an enemy that will steal, kill, and destroy us. And I'm telling you, 2,000 years ago, the head was cut off. But there's still some venom in those veins. So by the power of Jesus, not I got this. But because of what Christ has done for me, I want to walk into this week differently. At all of our locations, I want you to stand up right where you are, and we are going to proclaim the Word of God. This is a repeat after me. I want you in your mind right now to think about that thing that causes the most, the greatest fear, the greatest anxiety, the thing that makes you worry.

It could be financial. It could be health-related, whatever it is. And as you face it this week, I want us to be able to say, what David said to that giant. And again, not because we're powerful, but because of the powerful work of Christ on the cross. You repeat it after me this way. You come against me.

That's how I thought it would go. Okay, listen. It's like David, Goliath, this is like a thing. I need everybody. Bay Meadows, I need you to get into this. You understand? San Pablo, get into it. Baker, I'm sure you're rocking it, all right?

I wish we could all be like you. So with all of you're oomph here, okay? Like it really matters because it really does. You come against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I come against you. In the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied, this day the Lord will hand you over to me. And the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

And the whole world will know that there is a God in Jacksonville. There is a God in Jacksonville. And all of those gathered here will know that it's not by sword or spear. That the Lord saves. For the battle is the Lord's. And he will give all of you into our hands. Let me pray for you. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, I thank you that you have gone before us and fought the battles on our behalf. God, I thank you that you're not waiting on our courage, but we can lean into you, and your spirit will give us power, love, self-control, to step out in places where we are so scared, but by faith we understand greater is he who is in us than he who is in this world.

God, so often we turn this event into a kid's story, but right now at all of our campuses, it don't feel like a kid's story to the folks facing addiction or divorce or bankruptcy or whatever it is. Spirit of God, I pray that you would empower us that the same spirit that breathes a new life back into Jesus' dead body in the grave and rolled the stone away and by your power give him the ability to walk out of the grave, God, I pray because he walked out, we'll walk out too. I pray that we will walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Jesus, we thank you. We thank you that you and you alone are our ultimate champion. We prayed in Jesus' name. Amen.