1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:03,800 You're listening to the Bridgetown Church Podcast with 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,840 Pastor Casey Kendall, where our vision is Jesus, our mission is 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:09,760 people, and our cause is love. Thanks for tuning in. 4 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:12,600 Let's dive in. Amen. 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,400 Thank you, moms. We, we, we're thinking what 6 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,720 would, what would moms want to hear today? 7 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,400 And I was thinking, this is perfect because we're going 8 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,000 through the valley and if there's anybody who goes through 9 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,840 the valley, it's you, mom, you're probably constantly in 10 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:30,960 the valley. You juggle, you juggle being a 11 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:32,920 counsellor and the financial advisor. 12 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:37,920 You've juggled being ACEO, you've juggled being a Uber 13 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:44,680 driver and you've you've done interventions, you've done 14 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:49,320 cleanup and janitorial in your bathroom that you are constantly 15 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,280 walking through the valley. So I just wanted to continue in 16 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,280 the vision for the Valley as we talk about David. 17 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,160 And if you have your Bibles, we're in First Samuel chapter 18 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:03,440 17, First Samuel chapter 17. And this message is not just for 19 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:05,880 moms, but this is for dads, this is for singles. 20 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,960 This is for people who are younger and older, people who 21 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:12,680 find themselves in high school, people who find themselves in 22 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,240 middle school, people who find themselves in college, people 23 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:18,560 who are approaching their finals, people who are in a 24 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,240 marital rejoicing, people who are in marital strain, people 25 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,760 who are single and hunting, people who are single and 26 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:30,120 content, people who are single and find themselves rejoicing. 27 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:33,760 Whatever season you might find yourself in, someone once said 28 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,960 that you were either going into a valley, you were coming out of 29 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:39,480 a valley, or you were smack dab in the middle of a valley. 30 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,320 And so this is for everybody that's come. 31 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,560 But we do want to celebrate you moms. 32 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,000 After the service, there's going to be a gift for you. 33 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:50,120 We normally do flowers, but flowers fade. 34 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,200 We wanted to give you something that would be lasting and would 35 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:58,680 give back to you. We will give you Jesus, Amen. 36 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,200 But we're going to give you a tea towel, a spoon, and a 37 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:10,039 sourdough starter packet. You're going to do great with 38 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:12,760 it. You're going to feed it, and 39 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:14,640 it's going to grow. There's going to be instructions 40 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:17,040 for you on a QR code on how to start this. 41 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,160 And this is going to be something for you that doesn't 42 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:23,320 fade as quickly as the flowers that we gave you last year. 43 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,400 We wanted it to last because mom, your impact on us has 44 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,880 lasted for the rest of our life and we just want to thank you 45 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,360 for that. So with that being said, if you 46 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:36,280 would just look at your neighbor and say neighbor, my neighbor, 47 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:41,600 what happens in the valley doesn't stay in the valley. 48 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,760 If you would turn your attention to First Samuel chapter 17, and 49 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:50,240 if you would just look at me, not look at me, but look with me 50 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,680 at verse 47. That was kind of weird. 51 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,960 Look at me, look at the Bible. That's my goal is that you'd see 52 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:01,640 Jesus today in verse 47. Then all the assembly shall know 53 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:07,120 that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle 54 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:12,560 is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands. 55 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,240 I want to just read that again to you because we're going to 56 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,720 get you out on time for lunch because some of you are you're, 57 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:20,920 you're preparing your restaurant reservations. 58 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:23,200 Some of you are barbecuing for your moms today. 59 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,800 Some of you are celebrating these big meals. 60 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:27,280 We want to get you out of here on time. 61 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,480 I might talk a little bit faster but bear with me. 62 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,960 We got a lot to cover. The Bible says. 63 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,320 Then all the assembly David says shall know that the Lord does 64 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:45,120 not save with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's and 65 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:51,200 he will give you into our hands. As we are a church that loves to 66 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:55,440 respond. As we are a church that loves to 67 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:59,320 respond, I don't want to bother you this morning, but I do want 68 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,880 to move you a little bit into the direction of what God has 69 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,600 called us into. And that is if you would just 70 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,320 look at your neighbor one more time for me and say neighbor, my 71 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:18,399 neighbor, I can't wear these, I can't wear these. 72 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:25,400 Once again, I can't wear these. It was just two weeks ago that I 73 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:30,880 was invited to participate and pray at the Mayor's Prayer 74 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:38,000 Breakfast for Glendora, CA. It was the first time I was ever 75 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:43,640 invited to a situation like this and have this opportunity to be 76 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,240 a part of representing Bridgetown Church for the first 77 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:52,880 time ever in the city of Glendora. 78 00:04:55,560 --> 00:05:00,360 So I prepared my prayer. I pressed my shirt, I chose my 79 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,360 pants, and I cleaned my cowboy boots. 80 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:08,880 You know, there was an old head and shoulders commercial that 81 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:12,440 used to say you never have a second chance to make a first 82 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,200 impression. So I thought, I'm going to make 83 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,280 a good impression. I'm going to dress up really 84 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:19,400 nice. When I drove to the Country 85 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:23,440 Club, there was a crisis in my heart because I realized as I 86 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:28,480 pulled into the parking lot that I was underdressed for this 87 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:33,240 overwhelming opportunity. Everybody, every man had on his 88 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:40,280 best shirt and his best tie. He had on his best pants and his 89 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:43,760 best dress shoes. But not only that, they wore a 90 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:47,520 jacket that I did not have in my possession. 91 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:52,680 As I pulled into the parking lot, the ladies had on their 92 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:55,120 best dresses. It was like I was going to a 93 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,640 formal event and I was an anti formal person. 94 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:05,720 I sat down at my table, which was numbered and organized by 95 00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:09,720 one of the churches here in Glendora and one of the pastors 96 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:14,120 looked at me, said Casey. Don't worry, he said. 97 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:19,440 Jesus was a rebel too. I don't know if you've ever been 98 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,800 in a place where you look at your life and you're wondering, 99 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:33,600 why did I wear this? You weren't really made-up for 100 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:38,120 that moment. You in your life had found 101 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:44,000 yourself at a place where your outfit really didn't fit. 102 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,600 You know what I'm saying? Don't leave me up here alone, 103 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:54,240 men and women, where you've come into a situation or an occasion 104 00:06:54,440 --> 00:07:00,080 in your life and you have come to a place where you had lost 105 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:05,040 all of your confidence walking in simply because of what you 106 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:11,400 were wearing into that place. I think sometimes in our lives 107 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:18,640 we have to understand that David found himself in the same exact 108 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,600 place in the Bible. It's in verse 39. 109 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:24,920 If you take note biblically and you want to write it down 110 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:29,160 theologically, the Bible says that David fastened his sword to 111 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:37,280 his armor and he tried to walk. He tried to walk, for he had not 112 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:43,000 tested them. And David said to Saul, I cannot 113 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:49,880 walk with these. Saul had tried to give David his 114 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:54,480 armor for the battle, but that was not what God had called 115 00:07:54,480 --> 00:08:00,240 David to wear. And David finds himself possibly 116 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:05,280 in the place that we need to find ourselves today, that in 117 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:09,720 the valley. Your vision will determine your 118 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:16,080 victory, but also your vision is not just about what you see. 119 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:21,600 Your vision is going to be about what you wear into the valley 120 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:27,480 and I think it's important that we understand what David did and 121 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:32,760 we do this ourselves in this place today and that is this the 122 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:35,640 Bible says in verse 39, the last sentence. 123 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:40,440 So David took them off. I've been hearing this a lot 124 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:45,720 from my 13 year olds this term. When she looks at me and she 125 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:49,880 goes into her clothes or closet, she'll often say these words 126 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:51,400 with a little bit of an attitude. 127 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:57,200 I I can't wear these. And I think that's something 128 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:03,920 that we need to say today. I can't wear these because I 129 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:07,600 believe some of us are wearing things into the valley that 130 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,880 we've dressed ourselves already for defeat. 131 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,080 I think some of us in the valley that we're walking into, that we 132 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:20,320 have in our own hearts and our own lives, that we have come 133 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:25,160 into that valley wearing something that's not fit for 134 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,960 war. We have come into this valley 135 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,960 allowing other people to put things on us that God never 136 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:37,040 called us to wear. We have put things on ourselves 137 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:38,840 that we were never called to carry. 138 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:43,240 And I think it's high time that we come to a place in our lives 139 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:50,080 and we say I can't wear these. You can't wear fear and move 140 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,320 forward. You cannot wear panic and not be 141 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:58,840 paralyzed. You cannot come into a place and 142 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:03,680 understand that you in your own heart and your own life, you 143 00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:07,640 cannot wear control and combat the right enemy. 144 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,000 You cannot wear hurt and not be hindered by it. 145 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:17,320 You cannot in your own life come into this place and understand 146 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,880 that you might be wearing resentment and you think that 147 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:25,360 you can still find in a place that you will still reach for 148 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:29,200 the Kingdom of God. You cannot wear comparison and 149 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:31,120 act like you're going to stay connected. 150 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:35,800 We cannot wear vindication and have victory in the valley. 151 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:42,200 Listen, you can't wear the anymore, but you can Where the 152 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:46,840 Bible says in the book of Romans I could put on the Lord Jesus 153 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,680 Christ and make no provision for my flesh, I can. 154 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:54,320 Where the Bible says I can do all things through Christ who 155 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:58,320 strengthens me, I can. Where that I understand that 156 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:02,480 that that God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of love and 157 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:09,480 power and a sound mind. I I can wear the armor, the 158 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:13,360 helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness. 159 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:15,480 I'm going to gird my loins with truth. 160 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:17,600 I'm going to take up the shield of faith. 161 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:21,560 I'm going to shod my feet with the gospel of peace. 162 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:24,560 I'm going to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of 163 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:27,360 God, and Pierce the darkness that is around me. 164 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,920 There are some things to wear, but it's sad to say that in our 165 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:37,800 lives, oftentimes we are wearing what Christ has not called us to 166 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:44,880 wear because that is not the right armor for you to have. 167 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:52,800 And I believe that it is time for us to take it off, take it 168 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:58,680 off in a way that David was not called to look like the giant, 169 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:03,960 to beat the giant. He would wear something 170 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,880 different because he served a different God. 171 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:12,840 He fought a different battle. And when we come to this story, 172 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,680 I think we have to understand that at this place, this is one 173 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:21,560 man in one valley who would serve one God and make one 174 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:24,480 decision by faith to conquer one giant. 175 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:29,200 And multitudes of generations would feel the impact of what 176 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,080 David would wear into the valley. 177 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:38,240 Mom, listen, what you wear into the valley will determine what 178 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,400 happens many times in response in our homes. 179 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:46,560 I cannot deal with the outcomes of my kids choices, but I can 180 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:51,080 determine what I will wear when my kids do make those choices. 181 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,640 I will make a choice that when I go to work, I'm wearing what 182 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:59,080 Christ has called me to wear, not just the outfit that I have 183 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,240 picked. I will find myself in a place 184 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:06,960 that I am at this valley where multitudes of people get to reap 185 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:13,320 from my victory in Jesus. Listen, I love Charles Swindoll. 186 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:17,680 He said these words he says I wear today the power of God 187 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:22,640 God's strength to comfort me, God's might to uphold me, God's 188 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:28,240 word to guide me God's he says I to look before me. 189 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:32,840 He says God's hand to take hold of me and he says God's a word 190 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:35,960 again to speak for me. And he says you're, you're, 191 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:41,200 you're arm leading me and God's way lying before me to protect 192 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:45,600 me. I can wear these, but there are 193 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:50,480 some things that you cannot wear going into the valley. 194 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,280 Can you just write them down? Can you write some of these 195 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,360 things down? As David walks into the valley 196 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,440 of Elah, the word Elah, if you're taking note, means 197 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,880 terebinth. The terebinth tree reminded the 198 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,120 children of Israel, the faithfulness of God, the strong 199 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:09,120 hand of God, the way that God fights on people's behalfs. 200 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,080 David walked into a valley that it was already named after the 201 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,320 character of God. And you might be walking into a 202 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:18,640 valley and see something radically different than what 203 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:20,800 God sees in the moment that you're in. 204 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:22,240 But I want you to write these down. 205 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:24,440 This is something that you cannot wear. 206 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:30,720 You can't wear others opinions. You have to wear God's 207 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:34,240 convictions. No, no, notice you can't wear 208 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:38,320 others opinions. You have to wear what God's 209 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,280 convictions are through the Bible, the Bible says and all 210 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:45,280 the men of Israel in verse 24, when they saw the man, they fled 211 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:47,720 from him and they were dreadfully afraid. 212 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:51,600 The children of Israel responded radically different than David 213 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,480 would. David sees Goliath and he 214 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:58,400 stands. The children of Israel see 215 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:03,160 Goliath, and they run. Now notice if you would, the 216 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:05,800 Bible says they were dreadfully afraid, meaning that they were 217 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,200 shaken and disturbed to their core. 218 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,560 And they find themselves in this place a lot like us, battling 219 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,840 528 phobias that are listed for us from Psychology Today. 220 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:22,120 And in this moment of these phobias and these fears, fear 221 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:26,200 often has, and it's given the power to give a very small 222 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,240 object, a very large perspective. 223 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:32,120 And that's what fear actually does in my life. 224 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:37,280 Fear renders powerless the Christian who has the power of 225 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:39,880 God. Did you get that? 226 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:42,560 It's important that we understand. 227 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:47,000 I think every single one of us battle this type of fear. 228 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,800 And so notice all of us might battle this. 229 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,280 I think we all find ourselves a lot like a Cheyenne. 230 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:58,680 The 8 year old who was in 3rd grade said these words. 231 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,400 My biggest fear is my future 3rd grade. 232 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:08,720 My biggest fear is my future. Now that I'm in 3rd grade, I'm 233 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:13,280 afraid of my future and it will start happening too fast. 234 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:18,000 Soon I will be getting scholarships and enrollments 235 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:25,920 into different schools. It's just happening way too 236 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:31,240 fast. They say 85% of your fears will 237 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:40,320 not happen at all. But that 15% we think will not 238 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,800 happen at all. That God will not come through 239 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,520 for us, That God will not be faithful still, that God will 240 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:50,240 not meet us in the valley. And here is David, and here's 241 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:52,000 the children of Israel where they ran. 242 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,720 David stood. And notice David gets in three 243 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:57,480 conversations before he actually goes into the battle. 244 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,000 Notice he begins to talk to the children of Israel. 245 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,920 So the men of Israel said this. Have you seen this man who has 246 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:06,280 come up? Surely he has come up to defy 247 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:08,760 Israel. And it shall be that the man who 248 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:12,160 kills him, the king will enrich with great riches. 249 00:17:12,319 --> 00:17:15,000 He will give him his daughter and give his father's house 250 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,280 exemption and all of Israel no taxes. 251 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:21,599 Look at this men marriage and money. 252 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,960 That's the offer, marriage and money. 253 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:30,120 And here is David in this place. And David spoke in verse. 254 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:35,920 The Bible says 26 to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall 255 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:39,120 be done for the man who kills the Philistines and takes away 256 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:44,120 the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised 257 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:48,880 Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 258 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:53,000 No, no, notice this, no, no, notice the, the, the difference 259 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,080 in, in, in, in opinion. Here stands Goliath. 260 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:01,600 For 40 days he's taunted and terrorized the children of 261 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:06,040 Israel. 40 days. This is the 41st day. 262 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:11,120 You remember the number 40 represents the time and season 263 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:16,000 of trial and testing. Your 41st day is coming. 264 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:19,440 Oh, come on, that was a good spot. 265 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:25,960 Your 41st day is coming. God always brings his shepherd 266 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:31,760 into the valley and here comes David and the children of Israel 267 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:35,680 had some opinions about Goliath. And I want you to notice David's 268 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,800 conviction and the people's opinion. 269 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:46,840 Notice they called him Goliath. This man, David's conviction was 270 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:51,880 this uncircumcised Philistine. No, notice the difference. 271 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:58,000 They looked at this man as someone noticed their opinion. 272 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,560 Surely he's come up to defy Israel. 273 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:07,440 David's conviction is that he was defying the armies of the 274 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,760 living God. Notice David's conviction was 275 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:15,440 set on a living God and a dead giant. 276 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:23,120 Their opinion was set on a big giant and an absent God. 277 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,800 And what happens many times in our lives when we're walking 278 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:32,160 through the valley is that we forget that God is the living 279 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:35,240 God. We think that God is the absent 280 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:39,200 God in our lives, that God is the frustrated God of our lives, 281 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:42,000 that God is the dead God of our lives. 282 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,840 But let me just remind you, a few weeks ago, we celebrated 283 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:50,000 that Jesus is risen. And if Jesus is risen, Kyle, 284 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,520 anything is possible. And so we've come into this 285 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:57,360 place today understanding and realizing that that Jesus has 286 00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:01,320 risen, that he's the living God. What does that mean to us? 287 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:03,120 What does that mean to the children of Israel? 288 00:20:03,320 --> 00:20:07,080 That means this, if you're taking note, the living armies 289 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:12,160 of the living God, is that God was actively involved in the 290 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:18,440 affairs of humanity. God is actively involved in the 291 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,920 affairs of humanity. His thoughts towards you 292 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:25,840 outnumber the sand on the seashore. 293 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:30,840 He's actively involved in the ways of humanity. 294 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,680 God knows your thoughts before you think them. 295 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,400 God knows when you rise and when you stand and when you sit. 296 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,240 God is constantly thinking about you. 297 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:46,400 He's constantly thinking about you. 298 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,720 His heart is given over in a place where he's actively 299 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,000 involved in your life. I love what FB Meyer wrote. 300 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,560 He said these words. He said this made all the 301 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,920 difference between David and the rest of the camp. 302 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:04,120 To Saul and his soldiers, God was an absentee, a name, but 303 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:07,040 little else. That was good. 304 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:11,280 They believed that he had done great things for his people in 305 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:13,600 the past. And then it's the future time. 306 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,920 In the days of the Messiah, He might be expected to do great 307 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:21,720 things again, but no one thought of him as present keenly. 308 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:25,760 FB Meyer Wright Sensitive to the defiance of the Philistine and 309 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,120 grieved by the apathy of his people. 310 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:34,080 David, on the other hand, felt that God is alive, and he had 311 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:38,120 lived alone with him in solitude of the hills till God had become 312 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,720 one of the greatest and most real facts of his young 313 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,360 existence. And as the lad went to and fro 314 00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:48,840 among the armed warriors, he was sublimely conscious of the 315 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,360 presence of the living God amid the clang of the camp. 316 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:58,640 And here is David, and he walks into this valley and everyone's 317 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:02,040 chattering and everybody has their opinion. 318 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:07,280 And the children of Israel's opinion was Goliath is too big 319 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,280 to hit. Now he gets in a second 320 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:12,640 conversation. He doesn't just talk to the 321 00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:15,560 children of Israel. He talks to his older brother. 322 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,040 Now, if you have an older brother or older sister in here, 323 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:21,200 just say Amen. Family sometimes can get a 324 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,160 little tense. Family can get a little bit 325 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,560 intense. Notice that the tense situation 326 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,320 the Bible says in verse 27. And the people answered him in 327 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,480 the manner saying, so shall it be done for the man who kills 328 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,640 him. And now Eliab, his older 329 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:37,960 brother, heard when he spoke to the men. 330 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:46,360 You remember Eliab, don't you? He's the oldest from Jesse's 331 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,920 household. He was the first runner that 332 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:53,800 Samuel passed up in the anointing of the king of Israel. 333 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,520 Samuel's about to say, that's the guy Lord. 334 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:04,360 And then the Lord says, you're looking at the outward 335 00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:07,120 appearance, I'm looking at the heart. 336 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:11,640 He passes a lion. Now notice this. 337 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:17,040 Now Eliab, his oldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men, 338 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:21,360 and Eliab's anger was aroused. You ever seen two siblings 339 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:25,280 fight? He was aroused against David. 340 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,280 You ever hear an argument in the house? 341 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:30,640 You ever have brothers go back and forth with one another? 342 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:33,920 You ever hear someone sit in the door, get out of the bathroom, 343 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,160 get out of the shower? You ever hear these terms in the 344 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,120 house? Let's get a little practical. 345 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:42,120 Here's the older brother. Here is the youngest brother. 346 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:44,160 The youngest brother comes on the scene. 347 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:46,360 He is the smallest. He is the runt. 348 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:51,240 He is the 8th one, possibly not even from the same wife as the 349 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:54,880 other brothers. And here comes David. 350 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:59,920 And Eliab's anger is aroused. He's angry. 351 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:02,080 He's frustrated. And listen, he has some 352 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:06,080 questions for David. Why did you come down here? 353 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:13,000 What are you doing here, David? Notice the second question. 354 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:19,600 He comes to David and says this. And with whom have you left 355 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,160 those few sheep in the wilderness? 356 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,080 Dig, dig, dig. Do you ever have siblings? 357 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:31,040 They have certain names for other siblings. 358 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,880 What are you doing here, David? And where are your few sheep? 359 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,200 Did you leave them in the wilderness? 360 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:50,560 Goliath wasn't just taunting David in Israel. 361 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:55,920 Eliab was terrorizing his own brother. 362 00:24:57,600 --> 00:24:59,720 Oh, listen, listen. He comes up and he says these 363 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:01,440 words. I know your pride and the 364 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,520 insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the 365 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,680 battle. I know why you're here, David. 366 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:12,280 You have a wicked heart. Oh, that hurts, doesn't it? 367 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:15,760 David was hurt, but he wasn't hindered. 368 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:19,800 Say that again. David was hurt, but he wasn't 369 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:21,760 hindered. Look at look at this. 370 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:26,560 Look at this. And David said, What have I done 371 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:30,160 now? I'm the youngest brother. 372 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:35,600 I brought you guys cheese and sourdough bread and essential 373 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:42,800 oils and a diffuser, and I brought you all of the 374 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:47,600 necessities for the battle. What have I done? 375 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:52,640 Now? Notice what happens. 376 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:59,520 Is there not a cause? Hear David's conviction. 377 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:09,640 There's a 'cause that's greater than you, Eliab, and that is the 378 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:14,400 glory of God. Notice what happens to David. 379 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:21,640 And he turned, and he gave his brother a beating No. 380 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:27,280 And he turned and he yelled in his face. 381 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:32,640 Nope. And he turned any custom out? 382 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:39,160 Nope. And he turned from him toward 383 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:47,000 another. I hear how you feel, but how you 384 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:51,800 feel is not my responsibility in how I obey. 385 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:00,800 So he turned from him toward another. 386 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,800 You guys are. I know the heat's got you down 387 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,720 today. And he said the same thing. 388 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:08,440 And those people answered him as the first ones did. 389 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:12,640 And when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported 390 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:14,920 them to Saul, and he sent for him. 391 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,720 Now notice if the children of Israel were afraid of Goliath, 392 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:21,960 it's too big to hit. David's brother Eliab attacked 393 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:27,200 his character and now he gets in another conversation. 394 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,800 Check this out. Then David said as Saul called 395 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,280 him as Saul heard about David verse 32. 396 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:37,240 If you have your Bible, then David said to Saul, let no man's 397 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,680 heart fail. Because of him your servant will 398 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:41,320 go and fight with the Philistine. 399 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:46,200 And Saul said to David, you are not able. 400 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:52,200 So the brothers, the children of Israel said Goliath is too big 401 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:55,560 to hit. Eliab, the brother said you 402 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,520 don't have the right character. Saul, the king said you don't 403 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,040 have the right conduct. Do you see their opinions of 404 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:05,880 him? Notice this if you would and 405 00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:11,280 you're taking note, you are not able to go against the 406 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:15,720 Philistine to fight with him. I love it when someone tells me 407 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,680 I can't do something. I love it when they say you're 408 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,040 not able to do that. David, you are too young, you're 409 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:27,040 too small, you're too weak, you don't have it in you. 410 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:33,200 I love it this Philistine to fight with him for you are but 411 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:39,000 notice this a youth and he is a man of war from his youth. 412 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:41,920 Why do we get down on young people? 413 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,520 Like young people don't have a fire and a passion to follow 414 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:50,040 after God. Like young people can't do great 415 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:52,880 things for the Kingdom of God. We think. 416 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:56,680 I remember one guy telling me as I was praying, I was newly 417 00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:59,760 ordained as a pastor. He was telling me as he came up 418 00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:01,760 for prayer at the church I was serving at. 419 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:05,200 He told me these words. He's all listen, I'd hair at the 420 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:08,960 time at this like cool goatee, like a triangle goatee, you 421 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:14,480 know, from the the late 90s. He's all listen, you're new. 422 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:21,640 He saw I want someone older and now I'm 50 and people say I want 423 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:27,200 someone younger like age is like some requisite for the power of 424 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:31,680 God to flow through you. What it what if just the power 425 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:35,480 of God flew was flowing through the week and and notice the 426 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:39,120 power of God came to a place where it didn't matter your age 427 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:43,120 if you were 80 or 18, but he just met you and moved through 428 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,680 you in a very powerful way. Can I just speak to the young 429 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,120 men and women in the house today? 430 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:51,640 I heard all the parents said yes, I want to hear the kids. 431 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:53,840 Can I just speak to the young men and women today? 432 00:29:54,920 --> 00:30:01,160 Dave is just a youth. You can do it by what you wear 433 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:03,520 in the power of God. Well, I'm just 20. 434 00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:05,520 I'm in my 20. You could do it in the power of 435 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:07,120 God. I'm just 16. 436 00:30:07,120 --> 00:30:08,840 You could do it in the power of God. 437 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,040 You can do it. God will always make a way. 438 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:15,080 I just met with two Romanian pastors who have planted a 439 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:18,640 church in Romania, in the southern part of Romania, 80% 440 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:21,640 unemployment rate in Romania right now in southern Romania. 441 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:27,120 And they told me, Casey, we have a vision to see a church thrive 442 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:31,720 in the southern part of Romania. So we hosted kids clubs on 443 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:35,200 Friday nights and we brought all the kids in. 444 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:38,200 And he said when we got the kids, the parents started 445 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:41,840 coming. And he said from that we bought 446 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:47,000 a container, a shipping container, and we hosted church 447 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:51,240 in the shipping container. Think about that when you're 448 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:56,080 complaining about your church. A shipping container in the 449 00:30:56,080 --> 00:31:02,000 winter in Romania, A shipping container in the summer in 450 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,960 Romania. Why is it so hot in here? 451 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:07,920 Why aren't these chairs more comfortable? 452 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:13,080 They're meeting in a shipping container, and they made a 453 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,400 decision in that shipping container that they're going to 454 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,480 worship Jesus no matter what. So he gets there early in the 455 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,320 winter and he starts a fire in the middle of the shipping 456 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:24,400 container so people have heat that they could worship the 457 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:29,080 Lord. And in this moment, he told me 458 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,760 we wanted not just a shipping container, we wanted the land. 459 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:35,880 So they told the guy who owned the land that the shipping 460 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:37,880 container was on that they wanted the land also. 461 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:42,280 And so they said to the guy, we'll pay this off in six 462 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,200 months. Unbeknownst to them, Cornerstone 463 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:48,520 Church up here on Glendora Ave. with Pastor Bruce, an amazing 464 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:52,520 pastor, an amazing man of God found himself and his missions 465 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,960 pastor saying without knowing the story of this Romanian 466 00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:58,960 church, we want to give $25,000 to this missionary. 467 00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:04,800 He gets the missionary looks at the the his easy tithe app and 468 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:08,280 he realizes someone just gave 20 thousand $25,000. 469 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:11,200 So he calls Cornerstone Church. He's like, hey, I think you guys 470 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:14,600 messed up on the zeros on this donation and Pastor Bruce said 471 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:16,480 we didn't mess up, this is actually for you. 472 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,920 He said this is exactly what we need to purchase the land that 473 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:24,360 this container stands upon. Listen, God will make a way. 474 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:28,440 Now they've built a building on the land that they're 475 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:33,200 purchasing. God will make a way, moms, God 476 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,000 will make a way. I know you're looking at your 477 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:37,960 kids going, I don't know if there is a way. 478 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,400 There is a way when God's at work. 479 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,200 You might be saying, I don't know if there is a way at this a 480 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:46,520 working and the things that I have to juggle as a mom and and 481 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:51,840 all of these problems that there is a way God is at work and God 482 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:54,120 is moving. Their opinion was you're just a 483 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:57,800 youth, Saul said, but David said to Saul, these words your 484 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:01,600 servant used to keep his father's sheep bad. 485 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:05,480 And when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the 486 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:09,840 flock, I went out after it, and I struck it, and I delivered the 487 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:13,040 lamb from its mouth. Conviction. 488 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:17,080 Listen. And when it arose against me, I 489 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:21,000 caught it by its beard and struck it and killed it. 490 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:26,280 Your servant has killed both lion and bear. 491 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:31,080 Oh my. And his uncircumcised Philistine 492 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:35,760 will be like one of them seen. He's defied the armies of the 493 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:40,840 living God conviction. Did you see the conviction of 494 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,760 David? Listen, moreover, David said the 495 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,600 Lord who has delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the 496 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:49,480 paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of the 497 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:52,320 Philistine. And Saul said to David, go and 498 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:56,200 the Lord be with you. There is no I'm convincing you, 499 00:33:56,200 --> 00:34:01,560 David. You are a man of conviction and 500 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:06,640 being a man of conviction, here you are at the crossroads. 501 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:09,159 Not just talking to the children of Israel, not just talking to 502 00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:12,920 your brother. Now the one king who's too 503 00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:16,440 afraid to fight the battle had opinions about David who was 504 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:23,520 willing to go into the battle. Be careful for those who buy the 505 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,120 cheapest seats of your life to have the greatest opinions of 506 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:30,120 your life. And here is David in this 507 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:37,960 moment, and King Saul comes to him and has a comment on 508 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,159 Instagram about what he's going to do. 509 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:44,679 I can kill a lion, I can kill a bear. 510 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:51,760 I can kill this giant. And Saul comes into this moment 511 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:57,040 and says you're not able. I wonder how many times you have 512 00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:59,880 stopped because of the opinions of other people rather than the 513 00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:02,520 convictions of God over your life. 514 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:06,000 I think we actually live in a cultural moment that we are more 515 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,600 directed by comments than we are conviction. 516 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:12,560 I think we live in a moment where we're scrolling through so 517 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:14,960 many screens. Can you imagine if David stayed 518 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:18,160 on his phone the whole time? Can I just speak to you young 519 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,960 men for a minute? Can you imagine if David was on 520 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,360 his phone the whole time? He would have missed Goliath. 521 00:35:25,720 --> 00:35:28,280 I think sometimes we're so much on our screen that we missed 522 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:30,160 opportunities that are right before our eyes. 523 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:33,760 I think we're addicted in an anxious generation to our cell 524 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,840 phones. I think sometimes in our lives 525 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:42,600 we allow this screen to be more important of what's happening in 526 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:47,640 a non reality basis in other people's lives than the reality 527 00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:51,840 of our own lives. And this is what I've seen a 528 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:57,080 generation that is connected to the screen is no longer able to 529 00:35:57,080 --> 00:36:00,600 connect relationally to people in their lives. 530 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:09,480 That was just a side note. This is often how we live under 531 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:14,120 comments determining Our Calling, and this is where we 532 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:18,320 find ourselves. Listen, I'm sure you've been 533 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:20,360 labeled different things in your life. 534 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:25,160 I'm sure it came out of their mouth, but it's still in your 535 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:33,040 heart. You're too small, you're too 536 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:36,480 weak. You're not good enough for that. 537 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:41,600 You'll never amount to anything. You're a mistake. 538 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:47,480 It's time. You have no business in this 539 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:55,000 family anymore, and we have allowed what other people have 540 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,280 labeled us, whether we're too weak or we're too skinny or 541 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:02,960 we're too heavy or you're miserable, whatever it might be, 542 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:09,560 we've allowed that to determine what we are going to enter into. 543 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:15,000 I remember sitting down with my mom at Kaiser Hospital and I got 544 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,120 there early in the morning with my mom. 545 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:20,480 She had just collapsed. They didn't know exactly all 546 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:25,520 that was going on with her. And she said, Hon, she said, 547 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:27,200 come, come a little bit closer to me. 548 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:28,720 She's having a hard time breathing. 549 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:32,040 And my mom, she told me these words. 550 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:37,080 She said, I still believe in you and I still believe in the God 551 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:40,840 that the the work that God is doing in you and through you. 552 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:48,720 I just sat there and I just thought to myself, I keep going 553 00:37:48,720 --> 00:37:53,760 back to this word. My mom had more conviction than 554 00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:59,400 I did in this moment. And this word of conviction from 555 00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:04,520 her to me was something that would infuse me with power 556 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:09,040 rather than retract me from my calling. 557 00:38:09,040 --> 00:38:13,200 Listen, if the enemy can attack your worth, you will never feel 558 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:16,960 fit for the war. And I just want to give you this 559 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:20,880 as it's going to take conviction in your life to do what God has 560 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:22,600 called you to do. So here's what I want to 561 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:26,360 encourage you to do as you're taking note, and that is this. 562 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:30,720 I want you to resist the tendency to live an isolated 563 00:38:30,720 --> 00:38:33,160 life. I want you to resist the 564 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:35,280 tendency to live an isolated life. 565 00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:38,040 Yes, you might have to live secluded for a little bit, but 566 00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:40,840 not isolated. I want you to get over #2 if 567 00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:43,320 you're taking note, I want you to get over those who have 568 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:45,800 disappointed you. That there are people than 569 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:47,920 David's story that had disappointed him. 570 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:52,120 He had to walk through these, these comments about his life, 571 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:57,240 learn how to heal and and learn how to trust and learn how to do 572 00:38:57,240 --> 00:38:59,920 what God had told him to do. Even in the disappointment. 573 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:02,920 I want you to lift up and encourage those who are 574 00:39:02,920 --> 00:39:06,400 recovering from failure. I want you to do that. 575 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:09,360 I want you to focus on this. I, I want us to be the people 576 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:12,280 that we're, we're going to let the Lord handle our critics. 577 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:15,320 We're going to let those and we're going to stay fully 578 00:39:15,320 --> 00:39:20,880 focused on the living God. I can't wear these, not just the 579 00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:23,360 opinions of other people, but notice this. 580 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:29,360 I can't wear your weapons, Saul. I can't wear your weapons. 581 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:31,960 God's given me my own weapons, David says. 582 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:35,600 So Saul clothed David with his armor and he put a bronze helmet 583 00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:38,080 on his head. He also clothed him with a coat 584 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,040 of mail. And the Bible says, and David 585 00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:43,760 fastened his sword to his armor and he tried to walk, for he had 586 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,160 not tested them. And David said to Saul, I cannot 587 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,520 walk with these, for I have not tested them. 588 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:52,640 And so David took them off. Saul clothes David. 589 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:56,960 David looks like Goliath, but that's not how David normally 590 00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:00,280 fought. He didn't fight with a bunch of 591 00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:05,840 armor on, he couldn't run in his tactic. 592 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:09,720 So he takes them off and then he says this. 593 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:14,160 Then he took off his then he took his notices his staff in 594 00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:19,160 his hand and he chose for himself 5 smooth stones. 595 00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:22,560 Why do you pick five? Why do you have 5 smooth stones? 596 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:24,960 They say because Goliath had four other brothers. 597 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:31,400 That's one commentators comment and David what's going to get 598 00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:35,120 them all. Another one was that David would 599 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:43,760 go into this ravine and pick up five smooth stones because 5 was 600 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:47,160 the number of grace and it was only by the grace of God, for 601 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:49,400 the glory of God that David would defeat Goliath. 602 00:40:50,320 --> 00:40:52,560 I don't know why David picked 5 smooth stones. 603 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:57,280 The text doesn't really say. I can come up with a lot of 604 00:40:57,280 --> 00:41:03,600 opinions but that's not my job. These smooth stones were like 605 00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:09,280 baseball size. They say that David's sling 606 00:41:09,280 --> 00:41:15,560 might have been something that he would use with his hand 607 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:18,960 running towards Goliath, but they also shepherds during this 608 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:24,880 time had a sling on top of their staff, so he would run at the 609 00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:29,520 same time he was swinging the staff with the sling on it. 610 00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:34,320 Interesting. He takes these five smooth 611 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:38,720 stones and a pouch which he had had in a sling in his hand, and 612 00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:42,200 he drew near to the Philistine. The battle's getting intense and 613 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:45,000 we're about to close this out. So the Philistines came and 614 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:46,800 began. We still got 30 minutes. 615 00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:50,520 He drug began drawing near to David, and the man who bore his 616 00:41:50,520 --> 00:41:53,320 shield went before him. And when the Philistines looked 617 00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:56,320 about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was buddy 618 00:41:56,320 --> 00:41:59,680 youth, Ruddy and good looking. GQ meeting a giant. 619 00:41:59,840 --> 00:42:02,920 So the Philistines said to David, am IA dog, that you come 620 00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:05,320 to me with sticks. And the Philistines cursed David 621 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,400 by his gods. And the Philistines said to 622 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:11,720 David, come to me and I will give you your flesh to the birds 623 00:42:11,720 --> 00:42:13,600 of the air and the beasts of the field. 624 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:21,280 Can you imagine the scene? Come to me, I will give your 625 00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:25,360 flesh to the birds. I just see that like this big 626 00:42:25,360 --> 00:42:29,600 like karate movie, this tense scene. 627 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:32,800 There was this movie I used to watch in the 80s called The Last 628 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:38,080 Dragon. Leroy fought this guy name show 629 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:45,400 enough you all remember that. I just imagine like like here's 630 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:54,560 David good looking GQ snapping insto photos in the valley of 631 00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:58,680 Elah. He sweats coming down his tan, 632 00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:05,760 ripped body. Who says to Goliath, I'll give 633 00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:11,120 your flesh to the birds? Some of you are like, that's 634 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:16,640 unkind, David. No, it was very kind because God 635 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:21,680 always deals with the giants in our lives, and it's unkind for 636 00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:24,360 God not to deal with giants in our lives. 637 00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:31,920 I'm running out of time. And the Philistine said, come to 638 00:43:31,920 --> 00:43:34,360 me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the 639 00:43:34,360 --> 00:43:35,840 beasts of the field. And David said to the 640 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:39,240 Philistine, You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with 641 00:43:39,240 --> 00:43:40,880 a javelin. But I come to you. 642 00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:44,440 Notice this in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the 643 00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:46,520 armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 644 00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:50,040 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will 645 00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:51,760 strike you and take your head from you. 646 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:54,440 And this day I'll give the carcasses of the camp of the 647 00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:57,360 Philistines, the birds of the air, and the wild beasts of the 648 00:43:57,400 --> 00:44:00,080 earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in 649 00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:02,200 Israel. Why are you doing this, David? 650 00:44:02,200 --> 00:44:04,680 Because people need to know that there's a God in Israel. 651 00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:07,360 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save 652 00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:10,480 with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lords, and He will 653 00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:13,640 give you into our hands. Listen, listen, listen, please. 654 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:16,440 We'll wrap this up right here. This is so important that you 655 00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:20,400 realize this. You have all the right weapons. 656 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:23,840 You have all the right weapons. You have the word of God, you 657 00:44:23,840 --> 00:44:27,600 have prayer, you have community, you have all the right weapons. 658 00:44:27,600 --> 00:44:31,960 David had his sling, his staff, he had the stones, he had all 659 00:44:31,960 --> 00:44:34,800 the right weapons. You can have all the right 660 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:37,480 weapons. And unless you still put the 661 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:41,000 battle in the hands of the Lord, they will not be utilized 662 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:43,680 properly. And it's important that we 663 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:46,800 realize that because we can say we have everything that we need, 664 00:44:47,440 --> 00:44:50,600 but you still don't put the battle in the hands of God. 665 00:44:51,440 --> 00:44:54,040 You still don't put the situation back in the hands of 666 00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:56,320 God. You still fight the way that you 667 00:44:56,320 --> 00:45:00,240 think you need to fight. And David shows us today what 668 00:45:00,240 --> 00:45:03,960 Goliath should have done. You should have hit me before I 669 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:05,560 called upon the name of the Lord. 670 00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:09,200 You should have taken me down before I lifted up his name. 671 00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:14,880 You should have come at me before I run to you in the name 672 00:45:14,880 --> 00:45:18,160 of the living God. Now this is impossible. 673 00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:23,040 Goliath had a helmet, he had the coat of mail, he had the shield, 674 00:45:23,040 --> 00:45:25,400 the the the he had his own javelin. 675 00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:28,360 This is impossible. David has a sling the size of a 676 00:45:28,360 --> 00:45:30,960 baseball. They they say that if David's a 677 00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:35,320 60 feet 6 inches away like a pitcher to the home plate and 678 00:45:35,320 --> 00:45:38,560 him slinging the sling and throwing the stone would be 679 00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:44,280 about 303,000 lbs of force. But we know that David was a 680 00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:47,320 little bit further and problematic. 681 00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:50,760 So if he had to be a little bit further and because of the draft 682 00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:54,280 of the wind, that would go down to 500 lbs of force. 683 00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:58,560 But if the shield bearer lifted up his shield to block Goliath, 684 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,240 that would be even more of a problem. 685 00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:08,440 That 3000 lbs ended up being 50 lbs of force, but if I have 50 686 00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:14,560 lbs of force with an almighty God, I still win the battle. 687 00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:22,120 Do you see what is impossible in the valley is possible because 688 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:26,960 the battle is the Lord's. Now why did David live like 689 00:46:26,960 --> 00:46:30,000 this? Why did David do this? 690 00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:35,440 We're told of Jesse's father. Jesse. 691 00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:39,400 He's old, we're told that he went through. 692 00:46:39,400 --> 00:46:42,920 He's left out keeping the sheep. But we're never told about 693 00:46:42,920 --> 00:46:48,880 David's mom except once in the Bible. 694 00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:54,960 I want you to read it with me. Psalm 86, verse 16. 695 00:46:56,000 --> 00:47:00,560 Read it out loud. Turn to me and have mercy on me. 696 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:03,800 Show your strength in behalf of Your servant. 697 00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:08,880 Save me because I serve you just as my mother did. 698 00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:14,280 Could it possibly be that David went to the valley and fought a 699 00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:18,200 giant because he saw his mom fight giants? 700 00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:29,120 Mom, hide this verse in your heart because the way you live 701 00:47:30,080 --> 00:47:37,240 leads to how they live. I believe David walked through 702 00:47:37,240 --> 00:47:39,960 the valley because he saw his mom walk through the valley. 703 00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:44,200 I believe David faced Goliath because he saw his mom facing 704 00:47:44,200 --> 00:47:48,280 different Goliaths. I believe David fought in this 705 00:47:48,280 --> 00:47:53,280 valley with this giant and believed in this God because his 706 00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:56,280 mother did. Now you might have come into 707 00:47:56,280 --> 00:47:58,840 this place and you might be going, well my mom ain't nothing 708 00:47:58,840 --> 00:48:04,240 like David's mom. That doesn't mean that the past 709 00:48:04,240 --> 00:48:07,520 has to define who you now are. As a mom. 710 00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:13,800 You get to choose how you break that chain and how you build 711 00:48:13,800 --> 00:48:18,640 their lives and your own for the glory and the honor of the Lord. 712 00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:23,120 We hope you enjoyed this message and we'd love for you to join us 713 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:25,240 in person every Sunday at 10:30 AM. 714 00:48:25,680 --> 00:48:27,640 For more information and updates, visit 715 00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:30,320 wearebridgetown.com. Thanks for tuning in and we'll 716 00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:31,120 see you next week.