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David and Goliath

Rediscover the story of David and Goliath as a call to courageous faith when life’s challenges seem insurmountable. It's not just an underdog story; it's a story of how God fights our battles when we rely on Him rather than our own strength.

Scriptures Referenced

Genesis 12:3; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 17:1-54, 18:7-8

Key Insights

  • Obedience in the small things positions your life for extraordinary purposes
  • Faith is a verb that trusts God to move on your behalf, not to rely solely on your strength
  • Your relationship with God shapes every other relationship and gives you true identity, strength, and purpose
  • Success and trials both test our integrity, but our legacy is found in serving God and family first
  • God’s ultimate victory through Jesus Christ transforms every challenge we face

Prayer Targets

Please join us in prayer for:

  • A hunger for the Word.
  • Tears for the lost.
  • Testimonies to share.

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We would love it if you would consider joining us in person for one of our Sunday gatherings.

Gathering Times

  • Sundays, 9:00 AM
  • Sundays, 11:00 AM
  • Thursdays, 6:00 PM

Contact Info

Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167

615-459-3421

Additional Resources

CCLI License 2070006

Transcript
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Thank you. Thank you, Lord. Wow. What an incredible

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day it is today, guys. I can't tell

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you how much it means to me to come in to see your

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smiling faces, to see all of you.

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I missed last week and I was at a loss. I mean,

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I mean, it was great. I mean, we had a. We celebrated a

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19th year family reunion that we've been going to every year

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in Texas. And it just so happens to be

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Dana and I's 19th wedding anniversary on June 10th.

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And so we got married back in 2006, and the Lord

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has really blessed us and we had an incredible

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time. But I missed you. So I'm glad to be back in the

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house. Glad that Pastor Kevin is back in the house and thankful that he's

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feeling better this morning. And it's Father's

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Day. Come on. Father's Day.

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Oh, man. I tell you what,

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to get to preach on Father's Day is a dream come true.

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I'm thankful for it. Why don't you, if you're a

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dad in the house, why don't you go ahead and stand? We're gonna celebrate you.

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We're gonna recognize you one more time. Okay? I know we already did it.

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We prayed for you this morning, but give it up for all the

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dads in. Lot

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of dads in the house. We celebrate you

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today. I hope your day is full of fun and

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enjoyment. All right? With that being said, I want to

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encourage you one more time. Back in 2011, this

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movie came out and it spoke to me. The Lord

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used it to change something in my heart and leave a

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lasting impact on me as a young father

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and as a man, really. And so we're going to go ahead and watch a

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two minute clip of this video and I hope it has an impact

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on you.

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Courageous men of courage.

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A courageous man stands in the gap. A courageous man

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stands up and says, I will. I accept the

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responsibility. And as a dad, as a father,

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I'm here to tell you today I will.

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Okay, this is a life

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verse of mine, Joshua 24:15. As for me and my

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household, we will serve the Lord. But this is only a

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part of the verse. See, back in the time of

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Joshua, he was encouraging the people of Israel.

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And Israel has fallen to some of their gods

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of their ancestors and started worshiping some other false gods.

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And Joshua took a stand and drew a line in

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the sand, saying, as for me and my house, we

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will serve the Lord. And the people of Israel

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followed him because God was on his side.

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See, this is the stance that I want to take for my family.

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And every day,

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I will not choose the idols of my past, but instead I will

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choose the God who saves. And

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I'm really fortunate, man, to have some incredible men

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that have taught me, that have poured into me, that have given me

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courage along the way. One of those

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guys is my father in law, Kirk Whitworth. He's sitting

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right back over there. Kirk, raise your hand. Everybody say, hey, Kirk. Hey,

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Kirk. Kirk. Back in

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2005, I started working for Kirk.

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And in 2006, I married my incredible bride, Dana,

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his second. Well, middle daughter.

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Middle daughter. And Kirk has

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poured into me selflessly. And I

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remember one time he told me, before Dan and I started having kids,

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we had Noah in 2008. So I guess this was about 2007 or so.

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Kirk told me something that I'll never forget. He said,

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anyone can be a father. Anybody. All you

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gotta have is genetics, right? All you gotta have is the ability to.

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Anybody can do it. But it takes a man to be a

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daddy. It takes a man to be a daddy. And

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I didn't know what that meant. I didn't have any experience being a daddy before,

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but Kirk did. Kirk raised four girls, and he was a

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daddy to those four girls. And being a daddy

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means that you're there for them and the hard times and

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the easy times, that you stand for them. And I see a lot

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of daddies in this house. I see a lot of daddies who put.

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Put their trust in the Lord and do what's right for their families.

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So thank you, Kirk, for teaching me that.

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All right. Being a daddy to Noah, Judah and Elijah has been one of the

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best gifts that God has ever given to me. And we've

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got little baby Abigail on the way, due September 10th. So I get

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to be a daddy to a little girl soon.

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Yeah. So I'm really excited about that.

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Got a lot of joy in this season of life. And

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gosh, I know that you guys have been praying for us and our family,

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and I can honestly feel those prayers. I know that the Lord is

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moving and doing some incredible things and he's brought people to help

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surround us and hold our arms up and continue the pursuit

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of God in the youth group. And I'm just so thankful for everything that God

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has ordained and that he's doing. So thank you, church.

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I. I appreciate you. I hope you brought your Bibles. This morning.

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We are going to get into the word of God. If you brought your

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Bibles, go ahead and get it out. I love the sound of rice paper

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flipping over. So if you brought your

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actual Bible, then go ahead and get it out. If you brought your phone, that's

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cool too. I like doing that. I like using my phone.

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But we're going to turn to First Samuel, Chapter

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17. First Samuel, Chapter 17. If you guys have

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been following along with the greatest stories ever told, we have been in

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chapter 16 where Samuel anoints David. And

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then last week, Pastor Kevin brought a word out of 1st Samuel,

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chapter 18, about David and

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Jonathan's relationship. And so

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we're gonna go one step back. Right in the middle there, the sweet

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spot, chapter 17.

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But before we do, I want to know, you guys like an

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underdog story. Do you like an

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underdog story? You like when the person who is not supposed to win rises

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up and defeats the bigger person, the one who has

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more talent, the one who has just all the accolades and the experience?

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That's an underdog story. And this is the story of David

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and Goliath. And honestly, guys,

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if you don't come to church, right, you might have heard this

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story. This story is used in sports events. This story

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is used in business meetings and all

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kinds of motivational speeches. The story is for everybody,

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right? But I think the point of the story, and that's what I

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hope to help you understand today,

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is that the Lord is fighting

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on our side. The Lord is the reason that David

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was victorious in this story. So as

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a church, we believe that the Bible is a story about

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how God is redeeming, saving and making new his

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people by his grace, for his glory among

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all people. All people.

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This is so cool because you and I are a part of this

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story. You and I share in this

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incredible joy of the story of

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redemption. It's God's

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nature, in effect. His nature is to redeem his

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people in and through His Word.

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It's the story. All throughout the Bible in human history,

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we see all kinds of stories of redemption

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where God has moved and people have been brought to

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new life, made new in his image.

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Scripture comes to life when we realize this,

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when we realize that God is fighting for us

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and that we have hope and a future in Him.

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So what I want to do today, I want to take one of the most

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well known stories in the Bible, the story of David and Goliath. We're going to

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go through it line by line. I hope you guys read your

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Bible because we are going to be in it a lot today, line by line.

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And we're going to really hear what the

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Lord is saying today. So many

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of us are facing challenges. So many of us

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Might even be facing giant sized challenges in the room

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this morning. And it could be super easy for us to

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try and relate our challenges, our stories, to what

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David faced that day in the valley. Right?

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We could be saying, oh, that boss at work, he's my

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giant. We could be saying, that

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diagnosis is my giant.

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The Lord comes to fight our battles for

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us. The point of the story is not to be

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brave in the face of our giants. No. The purpose

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is to ignite us with a passion for the glory of

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the Lord. Ignite us with a passionate pursuit

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after him. A life that says, I want nothing

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else other than to follow you, Jesus.

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Because when we're standing on the word of God,

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we're trusting in the power of God and we're living for

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his glory, the glory of, of Almighty God.

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That kind of faith can defeat giants that even kings

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are afraid to face. That kind of faith

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moves us. It's a verb.

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Faith moves us out of the way

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and allows God to fight our battles for us.

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Amen. Okay, so let's get into the story,

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but let's not forget what happened. Remember chapter 16, David

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anoints Samuel, anoints David with the horn of

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oil. And the scripture says the spirit of the Lord came

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powerfully on David. This is important, okay? We

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can't go out there. David wasn't able to go out there and do it alone.

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He's doing it in operation, in the spirit.

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The spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David, therefore

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he went. Okay, so

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first Samuel, chapter 17, starting in verse one

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says, now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled

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at Soca in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Damim between

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Soca and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in

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the valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines.

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The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another

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with with the valley in between them. Okay, guys, this starts out and

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it's like a movie. A picture of this mountains,

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two mountains on each side, a valley in between them. One army

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lines up for battle and they're the Israelites. Another

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one, the Philistines. And they're set to

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take take place. Get it in, get in there. I like to read

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my Bible like it's a movie, like it's like it's coming alive.

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A champion, verse four, named Goliath, who is from Goth,

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came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall.

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Some scriptures, some translations say

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six cubits and a span. And if you're

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familiar with, you know, the ancient way of measurement, which

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I don't know if a lot of you are, but a span

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is from the tip of your middle finger to the

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tip of your thumb. Okay, so it's a span. It's usually about 9

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inches. They were a little bit smaller back then. But 9 inches is a

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span. 18 inches is double the span. It's a cubit. Okay, so

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six cubits and a span. If you're good at math, then

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that's over nine feet. That's actually nine feet, nine inches tall.

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That's a giant. Right?

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This is a depiction of what the world

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says David, or Goliath looks like. There he is in his

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armor, his shield bare in front of him. Nine feet,

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nine inches, stands head and shoulders above every man.

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Goliath, a champion. Now, champion, that's

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important to recognize there. That word is the first time

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it's used in the Old Testament. It means a man between two

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armies. Go. Goliath of Goth. He fought for the

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Philistines. All right, let's go to verse five. He

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had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale. Armor of

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bronze, weighing 5,000 shekels on his legs. He wore

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bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His

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spear shaft was like a weaver's rod and its iron point weighed

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600 shekels. His shield bearer went ahead

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of him. So this

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guy had armor on that weighed more than most

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Hebrews back then. Most of the Israelites, they probably didn't weigh

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125 pounds. But this armor that

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Goliath weighed weighed more than 125 pounds.

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Okay? His spear, just the tip of his spear, weighed 15

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pounds. And he was able to throw it right. That's

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a lot of weight. That's a ton of weight. It weighed

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more than most Israelites wore. He also had a

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sidekick with him that carried a shield, and that shield was about the size of

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a man. Guys, this is the most detailed

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description that we see in the Old Testament of a warrior

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anywhere. It helps us to get a picture of what was going

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on in the valley that day. An invincible

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character, Goliath, walks out covered in bronze armor, standing

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head and shoulders above any other man, ready to take on

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a whole army. Listen to what he says in verse 8.

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Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, why do you come

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out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine? And are you

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not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to

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me if he is able to Fight and kill me. We will become your

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subjects. But if I overcome him and kill him, you will

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become our subjects and serve us. Then the

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Philistines said, this day I defy the ranks of

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Israel. Give me a man and let us fight each other. On hearing

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the Philistines words, Saul and all the

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Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

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Goliath just issued a

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1v1amano e

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mono challenge right there in the valley. He said,

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anybody's man enough, come out and face me.

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I'll feed you to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.

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He said, you will not prosper. Look at

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me, I'm Goliath. I'm the champion.

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Pretty much draws a line in the sand saying, come on.

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What did the Israelites do? Well, it says

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they were dismayed and terrified. They shrunk back in fear

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and they mentioned Saul. Saul was with him.

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Saul, he didn't want to see Goliath on the battlefield.

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He didn't want to go hand to hand combat with him? No.

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Saul was the tallest of all the Israelites. He

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was the one that should have stepped up and said, I'll take you

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on the king. But he didn't.

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He shrunk back in fear with the rest.

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Then we get to verse 12. Now,

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okay, the scene shifts. The movie's on the battlefield.

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Now we're going to go to the meadow. Verse 12.

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Now, David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse

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who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons,

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and in Saul's time he was old and well advanced in years.

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Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war. The

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firstborn was Eliab, the second, Amminadab, and the third, Shema.

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David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul.

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But David went back and forth from Saul to tend his

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father's sheep at Bethlehem.

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Bethlehem? Who else is from Bethlehem? Do you guys remember someone who was

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born in Bethlehem? Yeah.

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David is described as a boy here. Now, we don't know how

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old he is exactly, but the scripture clearly

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describes him as a boy, the youngest of all of his brothers.

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He has the job of tending sheep and also playing

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music for Saul. So he travels back and forth.

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Verse 16. For 40 days. The Philistine came forward every morning and

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evening and took his stand. 40 days, Goliath

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stands, mocking the people of of God, mocking the

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Israelites, challenging them, insulting them,

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defying them.

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Jesse said to his son David, take this Ephah of roasted

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grain and these 10 loaves of bread for your brothers. And hurry

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to their camp. Take along these 10 cheeses to the commander of

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their unit. See how your brothers are, and bring back

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some assurance from them there with Saul and all the men of

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Israel in the Valley of Allah fighting against the Philistines.

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Okay, so, Jesse, David's dad, he asks him,

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okay, please take these provisions. Take these snacks

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to your brothers. Oh, by the way, an ephah of roasted grain is

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about 36 pounds. Okay? David's used to going back and

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forth, but, man, strap on this grain. That's

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36 pounds. Take these 10 loaves while you're at it. And these cheeses

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need to go, so go ahead and take them as well.

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Gosh, don't sign me up for that. I can walk two

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miles and be out of wind. Goodness.

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David says, okay, you know why?

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Because he was obedient. David was an obedient son.

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Obedience, even in the mundane tasks, can

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place us on the path of God's extraordinary

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purposes. He was set

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on an extraordinary task.

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Young people, don't miss this. I see you out there.

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Don't miss this. Live in obedience.

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Live obedient lives to

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the Lord, to your parents, to your teachers, and to

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yourselves. Do what you say you're gonna do.

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This is important as you grow up and you understand

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what it means to speak something

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and then live up to it. Okay?

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A lot of people say they're going to do something and don't

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learn from that. Do what you say you're going to

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do. Live in obedience.

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All right, pause for a minute. This is my

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family, just like David's family. We didn't have eight

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sons. And that's not Jesse, but this is my dad, Jeff,

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my mom, Nancy, the oldest there, Hannah, my sister.

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I am in red. The big smile. And

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my twin brother John is in blue. And Philip is the

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youngest. Now, this picture was taken in 1988.

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I was four years old. And

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there's four kids there. Hannah was born December of

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83. Philip was born October of 86. So if you do the

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math, that's less than three years, two years, 10

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months. And there's four kids there. My parents

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are in their early 20s. Okay, so that's a lot to handle.

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It's a lot to handle. Our family dynamic was different. It was

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busy. It was full. It was close. Okay.

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I'm the second oldest of four. And so, you know,

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I'm used to kind of, I guess, me and John

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fighting and, you know, my dad letting us

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duke it out kind of a thing.

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This is my dad and I. It was a couple years later My dad

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was my hero. He's always been. He was in

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my earliest of memories. And back then,

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he could do no wrong. No wrong in my eyes.

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It was hard for me to see him in a negative light at all.

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And then everything changed. See, like a lot of families out there,

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we were a family of divorce. My parents ended up getting

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divorced whenever I was in the third grade. I was a little bit older than

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seven, I guess I was almost eight. And my dad

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remarried a year later to my stepmom. And

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things would never be the same. My childhood would never

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be the same as it was. This was me at my dad's

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wedding. I couldn't get the picture to where I had my tux on there.

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So you guys just get to see the top part of my tux. I was

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nine years old, handsome.

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But everything changed after that. Divorce kind of

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breaks up a family. And

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it happened to us. The next eight years were

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filled with counseling sessions.

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The next eight years were filled with court battles, were filled with

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custody issues. And it wasn't fun.

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It wasn't fun. I turned away

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from the Lord at that time. I had given my life to the Lord at

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a very young age and turned away from him and started to get into my

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own things, my own desires. And I

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tried to cope with it as best as I can, but I ran from God

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like a lot of us would. I said, you know what, God? You're

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cool and all, but I'm going to do what I want to do now,

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and then I'll come back to you one day.

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I spent several years running, and

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then in 2008, my dad decided that he wanted to

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minister the gospel to people. And this

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wasn't a new thing. He was always a man of God, and he

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wanted for us to grow up in the church. And

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he just always had bills to pay, too. And so

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he decided, okay, I'm gonna go into ministry, and then we're gonna start a church.

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So in 2008, I helped my dad start a

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church. He was already in evangelistic

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ministry, traveling and going to different nations and speaking and doing stuff

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like that. But in 2008, he

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heard a word from the Lord, said he wanted to start a church in Murfreesboro.

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So my father in law, Kirk, and I went with

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him and decided to help him build a church. Global Fire

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World Miracle center in Murfreesboro back in 2008.

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This was me in 2010. I was. It was

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actually January 20th of 2010.

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So we're coming up on 15 years being ordained in ministry

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as A minister of the gospel. And we stood there and

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I received the plaque, and then I was

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able to go out in ministry. So I went out and traveled with my dad

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for a number of years, and we saw some incredible,

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miraculous things that God did, and he moved in

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power. It was wonderful. This was at one of our trips. We

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went to Haiti, and people were just giving their lives

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to the Lord, back and forth, and it was an incredible time

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for those years in total, my

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dad traveled to 85 nations in 15 years to preach

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the gospel of Jesus Christ. 15 years.

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That means he was gone a lot, right? So there was a little bit of

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a balance issue there. I remember one time I asked him,

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I said, dad, what's the most important thing in life?

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What's the most. The one thing that you could tell me

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what's the most important thing? And he said,

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love the Lord with all your heart

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and love. Know him deeply. Know him deeply.

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Then he said, but the second is this. He said,

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have others come to know him as well? Have others

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go out and have others come to know him as well? And I thought about

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that and I was like, man, I want that. I want to

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know the Lord deeply, but I can't sacrifice my

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family for it. There has to be a balance here, Lord. There has

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to be something that's got to give. Because I saw what

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you did, dad, and you know, you sacrificed a lot to

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be on the road for 15 years of your life. You brought

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thousands of people to come to know who the person of Jesus is,

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operated in all kinds of incredible moves of God.

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But your home life was not what I want.

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So what is it that you want me to do, God?

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And the Lord said, be a disciple for your family.

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He said, your first ministry is in your family. And then everything

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else will flow out of that relationship with the Lord.

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Everything else. Trust me and I'll take care of it.

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Thousands of people came to know God because of

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my dad's obedience to the Lord.

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Dad passed away unexpectedly Tuesday.

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Just a normal Tuesday, August 9,

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2022. So we're coming up on three years.

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Not a day goes by that I don't think about Him.

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Thankful for the legacy that he has given me.

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All right, back to the story. Now that I've cried.

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All right, we are in verse.

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Wait, verse 20.

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Early in the morning, David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and

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set out as Jesse had

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directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out

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to his battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and

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the Philistines were drawing up their Lines facing one another.

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David left his things with the keeper of supplies,

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ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers

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as he was talking with them. Goliath, the Philistine champion from God, and

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stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance.

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And David heard it. That's important.

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When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran

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from him in great fear. So

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David runs to his brothers on the battle

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lines that day, and he hears something he's probably never

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heard in his young life. Remember,

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his relationship with the Lord was like this. He was

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super close with God, and he

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hears this mortal man defying

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his God. I'm sure that brought all

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kinds of. I mean, he rose up and just wanted

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to take him on right at that moment. I'm sure he did.

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We should be offended when we hear the word or the name

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of the Lord taken in vain. When we should be

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offended when we hear God being defied.

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All of the other Israelites ran in fear.

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Now, the Israelites had been saying, verse 25. Do you see how

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this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel.

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The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him.

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He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt

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his father's family from taxes in

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Israel. Three rewards, right? Great

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riches. The king's daughter in marriage, and then, man, your family

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is free in Israel. You guys don't ever have to pay taxes

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ever again. Saul must have really wanted

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somebody to step up to this champion from Go,

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Right. I know some of us might say, oh, you know what? No

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taxes. Let's go. I am in. Come on.

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Great riches. I don't know about your daughter, but

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she proves to be a snare later on, if you familiar with the story.

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All right, so verse

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26. David asked the men

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standing near him, what will be done for the man who kills the Philistine and

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removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is

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this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the

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armies of the living God? They repeated to him what

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they had been saying and told him, this is what will be done for the

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man who kills him. When Eliab, David's

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oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and

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asked, why have you come down here? And with

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whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited

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you are and how wicked your heart is. You came down here

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only to watch the battle. Now what have I

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done? Said David. Can't I even speak?

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Can't I even speak? David Responded to

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them saying, who is this uncircumcised Philistine?

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Why does he think that he has the authority to speak against the

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Almighty God? See, David, his

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relationship with the Lord was so close

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that he couldn't take it. He didn't understand it. He said, why are

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all you running? Stand up and fight him.

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If I can get this to Click

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Mary, you might have to. I might have pushed

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pause or something.

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Just click it for me whenever you get a chance.

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Okay, I'll just read it. Our relationship with God is the most crucial

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one we have. It's how we navigate all other

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relationships. It's the source of our identity, strength,

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and purpose, especially when facing our

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own giants. David's relationship with God was so close

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that he was not going to have anybody speaking bad about him,

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about his God. In Eliab, David's

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older brother, he was offended at the boldness of his

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younger brother. He was probably offended because

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his younger brother stepped up whenever he said, yeah,

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I'm gonna run in fear with the rest of these guys, right? He

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was offended at the boldness of David to say, who

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is this uncircumcised Philistine? I'll take him on.

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So what did he do? He tried to discount his younger brother.

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He tried to throw insults at him. Assumptions. Who's

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taking care of the sheep? Isn't that your job? Discount him in front of

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all those people.

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All right, reading on. See if they got this working. No,

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let's go to verse 30.

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He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter.

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And the man answered him as before. What David said was

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overheard and reported to Saul. And Saul sent for

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him. So word starts to spread.

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David's wanting to take on this challenge. Saul's probably like, oh, gosh,

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finally there's a guy who's gonna step up and take on this giant.

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Thank the Lord, right? So Saul sends for

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David, and the stage is set for the present King Saul

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and the future King David to come face to face

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and us as readers to see the stark contrast

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between the two of them as they respond.

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So David says to

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Saul in verse 32, let no one lose heart on account of

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this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight for

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him. Saul replied, you are not

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able to go out against this Philistine and fight him. You're only a boy.

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And he has been fighting. He's been a fighting man from his youth.

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Notice the boldness in David as he speaks to Saul.

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He is filled with boldness. He's ready to take on the

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Challenge, he took action.

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Saul responds to David as the world would. You're just a boy.

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You're not able. You're not going to do this. He saw through

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a worldly lens of this challenge,

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this 9 foot, 9 inch giant and this little boy.

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But he didn't see of the spiritual reality of

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David's relationship with God. And that God is so much bigger than

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anything that that giant had to offer.

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Let's listen to David's response in verse 34.

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But David said to Saul, your servant has been keeping

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his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and

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carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and

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rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it

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by its hair and struck it and killed it. Your servant has

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killed both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised

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Philistine will be like one of them because he has defied the

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armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the

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paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the

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hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, go,

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and the Lord be with you. Like I said,

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David is aware of the spiritual reality here. He doesn't accept

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Saul's viewpoint. He doesn't accept the words that

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Saul hurled at him. You're only a boy, and he's been a fighting man since

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his youth. David pretty much says,

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saul, you have no clue who the giant in this picture is.

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Do you not see that the Lord God Almighty

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is with me, is with us, his people, and he

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will fight our battles for us. David

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chooses to see a spiritual reality that is lost

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on Saul. How we respond

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when authority figures disappoint or oppose us reveals

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our character. It reveals who we

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are, our character. See, David's character was

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forged in the sheep fields with the Lord of hosts.

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Every day he would talk with him, pray

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with him, worship him.

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See, ultimately, it's a matter of perspective. David chose

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to see the bigness of God and Goliath

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dwarfed in comparison. My prayer for us today

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is that we would see the bigness of God in our lives,

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that we would choose not to view the challenges, the

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obstacles as these big overcoming things,

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but that we would trust God to fight on our behalf.

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Because fear is a liar.

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Fear is from the enemy. And the enemy has no chance

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against a God. And against the God of angel

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armies, no chance.

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Fear is a liar.

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Verse 38 says.

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Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor

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on him and a Bronze helmet on his head, David fastened on his

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sword over the tunic and tried walking around because he was not used to

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them. I cannot go in these, he said to Saul, because I am not used

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to them. So he took them off. David rejects

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Saul's approach to battle. He's

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not familiar with them. He hasn't been tested. His armor hasn't

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been tested. And you know what? This is also a foreshadowing to

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what's to come. See, David wasn't

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going to accept the old way of things. David wasn't going to conform

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to the world, and that was before him.

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David was going to trust on the promise and provision

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of the Lord God, who brought him through victory over the bear

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and the lion and the God of his ancestors, Abraham,

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Isaac and Jacob, trusting in the promises that he has set before

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them. This is what David depended on.

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I cannot go in these, he said. So then, verse 40. He

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took his staff in his hand. He chose five smooth

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stones from the stream. He put them in his pouch of his shepherd's

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bag. And with his sling in his hand, he approached the

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Philistine. David went to battle

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with what he knew. David was a shepherd.

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He had a sling. He had a shepherd's pouch.

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And he went and chose five stones from the

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river, put them in his pouch and said, let's go, God.

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He knew that the Lord was fighting for him.

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David went to battle in his everyday

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ordinary shepherd gear.

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Verse 41. Meanwhile, the Philistine with his shield bare in front of him,

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kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that

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he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised

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him. He said to David, am I a dog that you come at me with

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sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

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Come here, he said, and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air

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and the beasts of the field. Careful,

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Goliath. Goliath is insulted

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because this warrior from the Israelite

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army is just a boy. He came at him with not a

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sword, but some sticks. He

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said, a sling, some stones. He's feeling

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insulted and he calls him out,

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who am I? And he curses him by his

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gods. Careful. Because

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in Genesis, chapter 12, verse 3 says,

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I will curse those who curse you. I will

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bless those who bless you.

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See, this is the word of the Lord. Goliath

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cursed David. Therefore he's going to heap

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curses on his head.

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David, not to be outdone in pregame trash talk,

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said to the Philistine, you come against me with sword and spear and

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javelin, but I come against you. In the name of the Lord Almighty, the

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God of the angel armies whom you have defied

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this day, the Lord will hand you over to me and I will strike you

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down and cut off your head. Today I will give the

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carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the

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beasts of the earth. And the whole world will know that there is a God

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in Israel. All those gathered here will know that

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it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves. For the

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battle is the Lord's. And he will give all

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of you into our hands. Wow.

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Wow. All into

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his hands. The battle is the Lord's. This David wasn't

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set for personal glory. He wasn't out to seek fame and

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fortune for his own doing. No,

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the battle is the Lord's. He was out to give God

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all the glory. And when we live in relationship with the Lord, a

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vertical life says, I want God to get

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all the glory. My relationship with

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him says, he is worthy. He is the only one that

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deserves the glory. This is

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what our lives should say, God, you

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get all the glory above everything else.

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Later in chapter 18, King Saul kept David with

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him. His shepherding days are over. The scripture

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says that he brings him up as a high ranking

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officer in the army. And David succeeds at everything that Saul

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sends him to do.

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The victory changed everything in

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David's life. In the camp of the Israelites,

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the Philistines were no more. They chased them down for

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five miles and slew them,

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just as David said. The birds feasted

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on them.

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Saul started to get

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upset. He started to get jealous. Because when they returned home to

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Jerusalem, there was a song that

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the people were saying. And they were saying, saul has slain his

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thousands and David his ten thousands.

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He was jealous. Their relationship

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became tense with suspicion, manipulation,

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and eventually he started trying to take David's life.

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See, success can test relationships.

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Success can change things,

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especially with those in authority.

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This will test our integrity and our patience as well.

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But it shouldn't change who we are in our relationship with the Lord.

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Because if success happens in our own lives, then it shouldn't be

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for us to receive the glory. It's for him

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because we live vertical lives to please him.

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Oh. Although David was successful on the battlefield that day, and the

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nation of Israel triumphed over the Philistine army, the

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ultimate purpose of this battle is to point us to a much,

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much greater battle. One fought not in

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the middle of a valley in Israel, but one fought in the

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center of all history. See, on one side there's

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an Adversary, the devil, the enemy. He's out to

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steal, kill, and destroy all of us.

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And we've taken the bait. We

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have all fallen short of the glory. We have

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all sinned, been lured by the enemy.

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So who is going to take this adversary on? Who can?

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Who can do it?

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Not us, because we all, like the Israelites, run in fear.

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But on the other side, a humble

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servant

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from the tribe of Judah in the bloodline of David, an

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unlikely champion. He stares temptation

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in the face day after day

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and doesn't give in. Then one day, he

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chooses the cross for us. He

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goes to the grave. And it looks as if

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the adversary has won. It looks as if

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the enemy has won. Until

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three days later, he rises from the grave.

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His name is Jesus. He's the champion over

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sin and death. And all who trust in him

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will be free from sin, will be given true

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life forever with him. This is the good

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news of the gospel. Jesus

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has conquered death, has conquered sin. And

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just like David conquered Goliath that day in the valley,

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we can rely on Jesus in our lives to conquer whatever

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challenges we face. See, this

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is the ultimate story that has the power to change all

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of our stories for all of eternity.

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That's the point of 1st Samuel 17.

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That's the reason that we read this story today.

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Not so we can trust in ourselves and what we have to

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offer. No, that would be

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foolishness. It's so we can put

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all of our trust in Jesus and

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every giant that we face. He is

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faithful to go and fight for us and with

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us. The God of the angel

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armies is always on our side.

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He's calling.

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So if you're fighting a battle this morning,

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if you're going. Going through something and you feel

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like,

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Lord, you're calling us out,

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so. So I'm going to ask you to stand with me as

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we come in to worship our risen Savior, the one who

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defeated death and sin. Guys, there is

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hope. This altar space is open

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this morning. If you want to lay something,

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you have a giant that you think is too big. You can trust

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that the God of the angel armies is on your side. And

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he is with you and for you in any

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challenge that you face. Amen. Amen.

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