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 --> 00:00:12,720 Let's dive in. We're in First Samuel chapter 5 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,680 17. We've been in a series called 6 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,360 Heart, but we've taken 4 weeks to walk through the valley of 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,600 Elah with David and his fight with Goliath. 8 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:29,200 And so we are in this spot today. 9 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:33,280 And so if you have your Bible handy, First Samuel chapter 17 10 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:36,920 as we've joined together today, as Steve was sharing with you, 11 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:41,080 we do next steps every Sunday after church. 12 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:45,800 It will be about for 45 minutes. This topic is going through your 13 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,760 personality and your gift set and where God and how God has 14 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:54,640 wired you to serve him. And so this is a class for us to 15 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:58,560 no longer just come in as a crowd, but to get involved in 16 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,400 community and begin to contribute in our gift to the 17 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:03,760 Lord. And so join us after service, 18 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:09,400 we'll start at 12:30 to 1:15 and we'll get you out of here. 19 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,000 And so you can go have a great In-n-out burger for lunch. 20 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,560 And all God's people said, Amen. First Samuel, chapter 17. 21 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,720 As we go through this series called Heart, I just wanted to 22 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:27,240 remind you of the theme of this book in First Samuel, the theme 23 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:31,960 relating to us and bringing us to this point where Samuel was 24 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:33,920 about to anoint the king of Israel. 25 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,680 And being in that spot, he brought all the sons of Jesse 26 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:42,080 before him except David. And he's about to anoint the 27 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,440 oldest brother, Eliab. And the Lord says to Samuel, he 28 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,640 says that I'm not looking at the outward appearance. 29 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,400 Do you remember the verse? I'm not looking at the outward 30 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:57,720 appearance in this sense, he said. 31 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,840 I'm the one that looks at the heart, and the heart of the 32 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:03,680 matter has always been the matter of our heart. 33 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:07,440 So going into this valley, I don't know how many of you are 34 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:09,120 walking through a valley right now. 35 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,880 I don't know how many of us are bold enough to lift our hand or 36 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,360 there's a lot of loss going on in our church right now. 37 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,280 There's a lot of pain, there's a lot of heartache, there's been 38 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:31,200 numerous phone calls and there's a lot of valleys that people are 39 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,920 walking through right now. And I just pray that this last 40 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:39,480 four weeks has been something that we could take hold of as a 41 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:43,040 community and walk through the valley well. 42 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:46,200 And so I want to pinpoint a verse for you. 43 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:51,680 We're going to end chapter 17 today and so I want to pinpoint 44 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,840 this verse that we've been reading together in first Samuel 45 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,240 chapter 17. If you have your Bible handy and 46 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,560 that isn't found in first Samuel 17 verse 47. 47 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,240 The Bible says these words. Then all this assembly David 48 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:09,680 says to Goliath shall know that the Lord does not save with 49 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:14,320 sword and spear, for the battle is. 50 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:18,840 The Lords and he will give you into our hands. 51 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:22,000 So I want to read that again. I want to remind you of this 52 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,840 again. David says to Goliath what God 53 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,960 says to us today in the San Gabriel Valley. 54 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,240 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save 55 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,920 with sword and spear for the battle is. 56 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,080 The Lords. And he will give you into our 57 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,120 hands. I've been going through this 58 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,880 book by Max Lucado called Facing Your Giants. 59 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:50,560 And in that book, if you would write down this quote and that 60 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:56,360 quote is this How we handle our tough times stays with us a long 61 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,640 time. Once again, he said these words. 62 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:06,520 How we handle our tough times stays with us a long time. 63 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:08,080 I. Want you to look at your 64 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:11,120 neighbor around you and just say neighbor, my neighbor. 65 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:21,680 Thank God I'm out of that. Thank God I am out of that. 66 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,800 I had gone to Disneyland. It was a beautiful day. 67 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:32,640 I had met some friends there at the Magical Kingdom in Orange 68 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:37,680 County, California and I wanted to start with an easy ride to 69 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:43,280 get my senses going and so I made my way to a ride called 70 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,800 Finding Nemo. I thought it would be easy. 71 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:52,200 You actually have to hop on a submarine and you go into the 72 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,200 submarine and then you see all these amazing characters, Nemo 73 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:02,480 and Marlon and Bruce and Dory. You know the story. 74 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:07,640 And I was on the ride and it wasn't scary, but when I took my 75 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:12,520 seat, I was filled with anxiety. It was tight and I was 76 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,920 terrified. I'd found myself at a place 77 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,000 where. I was trying to be bold on 78 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,480 Finding Nemo but I couldn't catch my breath. 79 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,000 What I found on the ride was this is that I was experiencing 80 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,840 a feeling that they called claustrophobia. 81 00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:34,160 And although I was trying to catch my breath, my heart was 82 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:40,200 racing so much that I had to close my eyes the entire ride. 83 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:46,080 And I couldn't enjoy the ride because I couldn't endure the 84 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:50,360 process that I was in. And I found myself just waiting 85 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:56,240 for the ride to finally be over for the adventure to stop 86 00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:58,880 because I didn't want to find Nemo anymore. 87 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:03,840 I just wanted to find my breath. And the ride came to a close and 88 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:08,920 they opened the Hatch and I saw the light of hope and I stepped 89 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:11,800 out of the ride and into Disneyland. 90 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:15,320 And I took a deep breath and I looked my friend in the face and 91 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:20,160 I said these words. Thank God I'm out of that. 92 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,680 I don't know if you've ever found yourself in that specific 93 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:29,640 spot where you have thank God that you are no longer walking 94 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:34,520 in the place where you might even be today. 95 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:39,640 Where there was pressure on all sides of you, there was problems 96 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:44,560 on the outside of you, and it caused so much panic on the 97 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:48,040 inside of you. You were you. 98 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:52,720 You knew you were called into this, but you couldn't wait to 99 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:58,600 get out of this and you had found yourself at this spot in 100 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:00,640 your life. And I want you to hear these 101 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,120 words today if you were there. And that is this. 102 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:09,840 It is just as important how you leave the valley as you have 103 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:13,720 entered into the valley. Once again, it's just as 104 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:18,040 important as you leave the valley as as much as how you 105 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:20,840 entered the valley. Now I want to give you a 106 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,960 definition of the word valley because David is fighting 107 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:30,640 Goliath in a valley called Elah. The definition of the word 108 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,480 valley. If you're taking note, the word 109 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:39,400 means this. A valley is a long, narrow 110 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:46,760 region of lowland between ranges of high mountains, hills, or 111 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:53,800 other high areas. Once again, a valley is a long 112 00:07:54,360 --> 00:08:02,800 Anyone there a long, narrow region of lowland tucked between 113 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:08,400 the ranges of mountains, hills, or other high areas, and the 114 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,200 tendency in the valley is often three folds. 115 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,040 If you're taking note, write this down because this is 116 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:19,240 important and that is this. The tendency in the valley is 117 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,760 threefold. Letter A Some of us when we are 118 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,960 going through the valley, because it's so long, we just 119 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:30,000 live in the valley. Now we choose to live in the 120 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,400 valley and that is because of apathy. 121 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,480 We choose to live in the valley. We're we no longer want to 122 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:39,960 fight. We'll just pitch our tent there. 123 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:44,039 We'll build a structure there. We've become a victim to what 124 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:48,080 has happened in our lives and that's because of that, we now 125 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,880 choose to live in the valley. The second thing or letter B if 126 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,240 you're taking note, is what happens in the valley is this is 127 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:59,080 we try to quickly climb out of the valley. 128 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,880 We try to quickly come out and climb out of that valley. 129 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:07,320 And that's normally from anxiety, not apathy, but 130 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:10,160 anxiety. And because it feels like 131 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,760 everything closing in all around me. 132 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:16,080 I just want to climb out of it as quickly as I can. 133 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,600 The third thing that we can often do in the valley or letter 134 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:27,160 C is we can walk through the valley actively, slowly, 135 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:32,520 thankfully, and obediently. And the way that we find 136 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:36,200 ourselves walking through the valley is this. 137 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:40,720 We know it is the same God who brought us into the valley. 138 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:44,920 It is the same God who met us in the middle of the valley, and it 139 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:47,880 will be the same God who brings me out. 140 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,400 Of the Valley. Did you see there's all types of 141 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:56,200 valleys in the scripture? People are known in the Bible 142 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:02,280 for going in to the valley. The first valley that was ever 143 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:07,400 mentioned in the Bible was when Abraham would meet the high 144 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:12,440 priest Melchizedek after his battle with Sodom and Gomorrah. 145 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,680 That valley was called the Kidron Valley. 146 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:21,680 It's in Joshua's life that Joshua fought the Amalekites in 147 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:25,240 the Riffidim Valley. It's Moses. 148 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,080 Moses found himself in the Ish Call Valley. 149 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,880 Did you know, ladies, Deborah found herself in a valley that 150 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:37,040 was called the Kishon Valley. Also, Elijah found himself in a 151 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:38,880 valley. It was called the Jezreel 152 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:41,800 Valley. Listen, the Bible says in Psalm 153 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,520 23 that God meets us in the valley of death. 154 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:46,920 That God meets us in the Valley of Baca. 155 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,240 He meets us in the Valley of Decision. 156 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,600 The Bible says that God meets us in the Valley of Barack and he 157 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:56,400 meets David in the Valley of Elah, and he meets you today in 158 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:00,840 the San Gabriel Valley. Listen, it is here in this spot 159 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:05,160 that we might be in all of our valleys might have a different 160 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:07,960 name right now. They might have a different size 161 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,200 right now. The mountain ranges might look 162 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:11,960 different for every single one of us. 163 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:14,960 But I could be certain beyond the shadow of a doubt in this 164 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:18,280 place that all of us at some point in time and of our life 165 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,720 have walked through a valley. We're in a valley. 166 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:23,520 We're in the middle of the valley. 167 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:25,200 We're towards the end of the valley. 168 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,320 We're walking out of the valley and it's important that every 169 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,080 single one of us know. Some of you right now you're in 170 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,200 a marriage valley. Some of you right now you're in 171 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:39,840 a single valley, you're lonely. Some of you right now, you were 172 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:44,640 in a school year valley. Some of us are in a mental 173 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:47,480 health valley. Some of us are in a financial 174 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:50,640 valley. Our valleys have different 175 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:56,640 names, but we can still meet the same God, Jesus Christ, who the 176 00:11:56,640 --> 00:12:02,240 Bible says walked through the Kidron Valley to go to the cross 177 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,480 and conquer death and defeat the grave. 178 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,440 Did you know it Jesus when he walked through the Kidron 179 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,080 Valley? The word Kidron literally means 180 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,920 murky in dark waters. When Jesus found himself walking 181 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,880 through the Kidron Valley, it was at the time where the High 182 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:24,160 Priest was sacrificing the Lamb as a celebrated Passover, and 183 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:28,320 the blood of the Lamb would exit its way out of the temple, 184 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,440 through the drain and into the Kidron Valley. 185 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:36,640 Jesus in the valley had to step over the blood of the Lamb. 186 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,880 Oh, come on. He had to step over the blood of 187 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:46,360 the Lamb to go give His blood as the Lamb of God on the cross, 188 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:49,840 that he would suffer for us. I just want to tell you this 189 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:52,840 today. The shepherd is always sent to 190 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:56,680 the valley, and it is no different today in the life that 191 00:12:56,680 --> 00:13:01,880 we are living in that God brought David the shepherd to 192 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:03,800 the valley. So I want to remind you what 193 00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:06,360 we've been saying every week as we're walking through the 194 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,320 valley, and that is this. I am here. 195 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:14,520 We say I am here. We'll say it again, I am here by 196 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:19,960 God's appointment. I am here in his keeping. 197 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:28,280 I am here under his training. I am here for his time. 198 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:35,440 This will not last forever, but what we learn from it could last 199 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:38,240 forever. And so I'm learning to say a 200 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:41,760 brand new sentence today and that is this. 201 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,280 Not just thank God I'm out of that valley, but thank God I've 202 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:50,240 learned from that valley. Do you see? 203 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:54,760 Because the, the, the truth is this, the truth is this is that 204 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,480 what happens in the valley never stays in the valley. 205 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,000 It always moves into the deserts. 206 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:04,360 It always moves up into the mountains. 207 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:07,840 It always crosses back into the river, which delivers itself 208 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:10,960 into the vast oceans of our lives. 209 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:16,000 Finding in themselves that the battle for David was something 210 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:21,240 that he would meet the Lord in a more more profound, deeper way, 211 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:26,360 ever before realizing that the Lord does not save by spear. 212 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:33,400 The Lord does not save by sword. He saves by his own hand. 213 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:39,000 And what God wants us to know today is that you might say, 214 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:43,600 thank God I am out of that. But what I also want you to 215 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:48,000 realize today that David would know beyond a shadow of a doubt 216 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:53,400 that he was one man facing one giant in one valley who had one 217 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:56,960 God who would meet his one need, who would give him this one 218 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,760 victory that would be for multiple generations. 219 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:03,240 If you stop now, what is the victory that your kids are going 220 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:05,880 to experience? If we stop now, what is the 221 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:07,960 victory that our marriages will experience? 222 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,880 If we stop now, what is what are our relatives going to be 223 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,840 experiencing? David's victory meant that 224 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:18,560 generations would experience the power of God lived and 225 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:22,680 exemplified through the life of a man who was willing to come 226 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:28,080 simply and say I'm available. And so the Lord too has brought 227 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:33,200 us to a place now in this valley that David's walking through. 228 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:35,320 But how do we walk through our valley? 229 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,440 Well, like David, how do we come to this spot? 230 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:42,440 I love Chuck Swindoll in his book entitled David all about 231 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:46,000 the life of David. He said these words in context 232 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:47,680 about what we're about to enter into. 233 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:51,920 When was the last time you thanked the Lord for not showing 234 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,240 you the future? He writes these words. 235 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,080 I'm convinced that one of the best things God does for us is 236 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,760 to keep us from knowing what will happen beyond today. 237 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,640 Just think of all the stuff you didn't have to worry about just 238 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:07,920 because you never knew it was coming your way. 239 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:13,480 How gracious of God to give David one day at a time. 240 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:17,120 I wonder how many people think that David, after he killed the 241 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:21,160 giant, within a matter of just a few days, took the throne and 242 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:23,720 became the youngest king in the history of Israel. 243 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:29,000 Well, he writes, in case you were one who thought that, you 244 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,120 need to know, it didn't happen that way. 245 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:35,240 As a matter of fact, the aftermath of the giant killing 246 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:40,960 LED David into one of the deepest, longest and darkest 247 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,000 valleys of his entire. Life. 248 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:49,320 Listen, this young man who had proved himself faithful among 249 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:53,320 the sheep and on the battlefield went from the highest pinnacle 250 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,960 of popularity to the lowest depression of despair. 251 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,800 God was good not to tell David all that was coming his way. 252 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:07,800 And God is good. God is good and all the time. 253 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,400 So how can I learn from what David did? 254 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:15,920 Because some of you are walking out of a valley right now and 255 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,800 you find yourself wondering, what can I actually take from 256 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:24,839 this valley that I am in? And understand, 1 valley doesn't 257 00:17:24,839 --> 00:17:27,359 mean that that's the end of all valleys in your life. 258 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:30,840 And we have to come to a spot in our lives where we're willing to 259 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:34,440 say to the Lord, this is training and bringing into my 260 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,280 life something I desperately need for what's coming next. 261 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:40,080 So I want to give you some things. 262 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,800 Can I do that? This morning, I got a few more 263 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:45,720 minutes to spend with you. Is that all right? 264 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,080 Here we go. If I'm going to learn something 265 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:50,680 walking out of the valley, I'm going to have to make a 266 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:51,920 decision. Can you just write that down? 267 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,240 I'm going to have to make a decision. 268 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:54,800 I'm going to have to make a decision. 269 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:56,520 The decision is this. Write this down. 270 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:00,080 I will face my giant. Write that down. 271 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:04,440 I will face my giant. I will face my giants. 272 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,400 I will face my giant. No Notice the Bible says about 273 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:13,080 David in verse 48. And it was so and it was so, and 274 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,280 it is so in your life right now, that when the Philistine arose 275 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:20,720 and came and drew near to meet David, the soldiers gathered up 276 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:26,680 this man who they say was 9 feet 6 inches tall to 11 feet tall, a 277 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:30,200 man by the name of Goliath. And the soldier, his shield 278 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:33,560 bearer, would walk Goliath into the valley. 279 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:38,720 And there Goliath is standing. And you remember he is taunting 280 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:45,440 Israel, terrorizing Israel for 40 days, 40 days. 281 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:52,200 And here the Bible says that the giant came near to meet David. 282 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:55,360 The giant came near to meet David. 283 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:56,760 But this is what I want you to get. 284 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:02,920 David ran to meet his giant. The Bible says these words that 285 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:07,640 David hastened and he ran toward the army to beat the Philistine. 286 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:12,360 Now we're not often using the word hasten in the city of 287 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:14,880 Glendora. We're not going through our 288 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,280 homes going hasten to clean your room to your children. 289 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,360 You're not going to the store. Going. 290 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:22,560 I hastened myself to the grocery store. 291 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:27,120 You're not going on the freeway using the word I, I hastened on 292 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:29,880 the freeway. What does the word hasten mean? 293 00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:34,600 The word hasten means this. It means to move promptly and 294 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,000 quickly. David moved promptly and 295 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:43,160 quickly, but the Bible says that he ran toward the army. 296 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:47,480 He ran. The word run means to take one 297 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,680 step at a time in a specific direction. 298 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,480 David didn't crawl. David didn't walk. 299 00:19:54,800 --> 00:20:00,800 David ran, and he did this quickly and he ran. 300 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:07,160 Notice this. He ran toward the army to meet 301 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:12,520 the Philistine. Because David met with God in 302 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:16,960 private, he was able to meet with Goliath in public. 303 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:22,120 And because David found himself at this specific time, he 304 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:26,400 realized he was coming to the Bible describes A Philistine. 305 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,640 A Philistine was one who believed and worshipped the 306 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:34,600 false gods. David served the living God, the 307 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:39,840 God of the armies of Israel. And because of that, David's 308 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:44,240 first saw the face of God before he would ever see the face of a 309 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:48,280 giant. And because he would face God, 310 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,080 he found himself being able to face his giant. 311 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,120 Now that does not mean that giants are not scary. 312 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,080 It doesn't mean that giants are not overwhelming. 313 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:03,240 It doesn't mean that giants have the possibility to cause 314 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,600 taunting and terrorizing in our hearts. 315 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:11,920 But what it does mean is this is that God is greater than any 316 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,800 giant I could ever face. And I believe because because 317 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:20,040 David met with God first, the real giant wasn't Goliath. 318 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:24,560 The real giant was David. And because of that we come to 319 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:31,400 this place where now David makes a specific decision to run 320 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:36,120 towards his giant. Now I want you to remember this 321 00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:40,520 and write this down this way. David's dedication to God 322 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,440 determined his direction towards the giant. 323 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:49,640 David's dedication to God found himself in a place determining 324 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,880 his direction for the God of Israel. 325 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:58,560 Remember that David, he ran towards the giant, not away from 326 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:02,280 his giant. Look at his decision when Saul, 327 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,960 Saul would stay in his tent in comfort. 328 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:08,280 David made a decision to run towards the valley for combat. 329 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:12,160 Saul, the king of Israel, should have been standing up saying 330 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:16,360 something, but David was the one who would now find himself in 331 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,040 this spot. And I want you to remember this. 332 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,720 In the valley that you might be in today, one of the lessons as 333 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,080 you come out of it is you always have to move forward. 334 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,960 You always have to move forward. If I look at David's life, he 335 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,880 moved forward towards the army to meet the Philistine. 336 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:37,400 He did not notice this. He didn't reminisce about the 337 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,880 past because reminiscing is not always righteous. 338 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:46,080 I could post up old trophies and never gain new victories. 339 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,040 And so David moved forward and noticed this. 340 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:57,560 As he moved forward in his life, he did not hide because hiding 341 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:02,840 is not holy. He was willing to come into a 342 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:08,800 place and not bury this burden. He was willing to face this 343 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:11,760 burden. And you could be the person that 344 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,240 would reminisce about all of your past. 345 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,120 But here's what I want to challenge you to do is we have 346 00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:23,560 to take the responsibility to engage in the present place that 347 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:25,640 we are in. And I want to encourage you 348 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:29,240 beyond a shadow of a doubt. I want to encourage you to move 349 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,920 forward, have this in your life, that you're going to make a 350 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:38,400 decision to move forward. You are going to be the person 351 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:42,600 now that finds yourself on day 41. 352 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:47,440 For 40 days, Goliath taunted and terrorized Israel. 353 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,080 We know as we look through all of the Bible that the number 40 354 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:54,880 is a number of trial and testing in the Bible. 355 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:00,880 But 41 was the next day. Your 41st day is coming. 356 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:06,040 What's the word 41 or the #41 mean throughout the Scripture? 357 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:11,080 The number 41 actually means this. 358 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:17,360 The number 41 is brought to us throughout the Bible as a day of 359 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:22,240 hope and a day of a second chance and a day of a new 360 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:24,400 beginning. Oh, come on. 361 00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:29,360 This is day 41. David the Shepherd arrives on 362 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:32,680 the scene after 40 days of taunting and terrorizing. 363 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:36,400 And here on day 41, it's the second chance. 364 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:41,160 It's the new beginning. It's the dawning of a new day. 365 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:45,280 It's like on The Lord of the Rings when Gandalf comes and 366 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:49,360 behind Gandalf is the rays of the sunshine, the breaking of 367 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:52,120 the dawn into the light, into the darkness. 368 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:55,760 It it's like this moment in in David's life. 369 00:24:55,760 --> 00:25:00,000 It is just like this moment where at this point in time that 370 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:06,120 day 41 is coming. Day 41, day 40 would represent 371 00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:09,160 the trial and the testing, but David would face Goliath on day 372 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:12,120 41. And in this look it through all, 373 00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:17,440 all of the Bible, Noah's flood, the sun came out on day 41. 374 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,120 Moses was called to lead Israel on the 41st year. 375 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:23,400 Israel's wandering in the wilderness. 376 00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:27,000 After 40 years, they would enter the promised land. 377 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:31,720 Jesus began his earthly ministry on the 41st day after his 378 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,480 temptation. I want to just say this to you, 379 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,600 41 is coming. Keep on running. 380 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,640 It's coming. The 41st day in your marriage, 381 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:46,360 the 41st day of of your financial strain, that the 41st 382 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:50,200 day of this depression and anxiety and fear. 383 00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:56,920 The 41st day is coming and God brings us the shepherd. 384 00:25:57,360 --> 00:25:58,760 Did you see? Here it is. 385 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:03,920 We got to keep running and I have to make that decision 386 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:10,240 because I don't always feel like running, I don't always feel 387 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:12,920 like it. Sometimes I'll just want to 388 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,160 crawl, but I want to be like Cliff Young. 389 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:20,800 Do you remember Cliff Young? He was the Australian runner who 390 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:28,920 found himself coming to a race at a race with 573 miles and he 391 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:34,640 showed up in overalls and boots and the other runners looked at 392 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,760 him and they mocked him and they said that who is this guy? 393 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:41,600 One guy shouted in the crowd before Cliff Young would run. 394 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:43,800 They said get this guy. Off the, off the. 395 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:45,360 Race. He's a joke. 396 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:52,160 Well, Cliff Young would come in to this race and he would run 397 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:58,000 for five days and 14 hours and 4 minutes later and arrive at the 398 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:04,480 finish line at 1:25 AM. He arrived at the finish line 9 399 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:10,200 hours and 56 minutes before the 2nd place person and they asked 400 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:12,440 him this question, how did you do it? 401 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:15,240 And Cliff Young said these words. 402 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:21,720 I ran through the darkness. I ran through the darkness. 403 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,760 I ran through the struggle. I ran through when the times I 404 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,280 couldn't see. I ran through the times maybe I 405 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,240 couldn't understand. I, I ran through the times of 406 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:34,760 confusion. I ran through the times that 407 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:37,320 just seemed cloudy. I ran through the times that I 408 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:40,200 was questioning. I just would not stop. 409 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:44,520 I ran through the darkness and I just I think there's some of us 410 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,560 that need to keep running through the darkness. 411 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:50,040 Some of us are allowing the darkness to stop us and the 412 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,680 night that is approaching us has come to a place. 413 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:54,680 But. But Cliff Young would say what 414 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,520 we need to have tattooed on our hearts is that we would be 415 00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,840 willing to run through the darkness. 416 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:03,360 It doesn't always feel good. I know that you're tired. 417 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:05,720 I know that your legs might be giving out. 418 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:07,800 I know that you're bothered by blisters. 419 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,520 I know that you find yourself maybe hearing the opinions of 420 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:15,640 other people around you make a decision to run through the 421 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:20,040 darkness because the making of dawn is coming and the light is 422 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:24,600 shining and the hope is giving way to the hurt that's inside of 423 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,160 your heart. Galatians 69, the apostle Paul 424 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,680 would write, do not grow weary and well doing, for in due 425 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:35,720 season you will reap if you do not lose heart. 426 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:37,800 And these are the decisions that we're making. 427 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,520 If you're taking note and you can't write these down fast 428 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:43,080 enough, listen to the podcast this week. 429 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:47,120 These are the decisions we're making, either convenience or 430 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,240 obedience. These are the decisions that 431 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:53,480 we're making, either escape or endure. 432 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:59,000 These are the decisions that we're making, facing or hiding, 433 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:05,160 watching or wishing or participating. 434 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:12,000 Listen that there's some things that are so important that we 435 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:16,240 learn from this. Don't just be led and ruled by 436 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:20,200 your feelings. I believe we're fully human, 437 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:25,840 thus God's given us full feelings, joys and gladness, but 438 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:30,840 also sorrow, grief we face depression, we face 439 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,960 difficulties. But I'm ultimately going to be 440 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:38,160 allowed to be the person that can feel these feelings but be 441 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,680 directed by what God has declared. 442 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:43,040 Listen, can you write this down In your valley? 443 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:45,040 God doesn't need you to do big things for him. 444 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:48,400 God doesn't need you to do big things for him. 445 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,760 David wasn't coming into the valley to kill Goliath. 446 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:57,120 He was coming into the valley to deliver a lunch, essential oils, 447 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:02,680 sourdough bread, cheese, goat cheese because his brothers were 448 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,200 dairy free. I want to encourage you, God 449 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,360 doesn't need you to do big things for him in the valley. 450 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:10,280 He doesn't need you to do big things. 451 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:14,200 Can you write this down? Also, don't wander from the 452 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:18,920 flock. David ran to the battle. 453 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:22,280 I love what Max Lucado writes in his book. 454 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,760 He says, like David, you know well the presence of Goliath. 455 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:28,920 Your Goliath doesn't carry a sword or shield. 456 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:34,560 He brandishes blades of unemployment, abandonment or 457 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,640 depression. Your giant doesn't parade up and 458 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:42,160 down ancient hills in Israel. He prances through your office, 459 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:46,160 your bedroom, your classroom. He brings bills you can't pay, 460 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:51,040 addictions you can't resist, a past you can't shake and a 461 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:55,560 future you can't face. How long has your Goliath 462 00:30:55,600 --> 00:31:02,240 stalked you, invaded your first thought of the morning and last 463 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:06,440 worry of the night? David knows a little something 464 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:10,200 about facing giants. The shepherd boy seemingly had 465 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,880 little to offer against a nine foot 9 inch Goliath. 466 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:18,520 He could read his story and wonder what God saw on him. 467 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:22,440 Throughout his life, David fell as often as he stood. 468 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,080 He stumbled as often as he conquered. 469 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:29,320 But for those who know the threat of a Goliath, David gives 470 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,840 us this reminder. Focus on your giant and you will 471 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:36,040 stumble. Focus on God and your giants 472 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:41,720 will tumble. Thank God I am out of that. 473 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:43,880 We're going to have to make a decision, but not only a 474 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,800 decision, we're also going to have to have some determination. 475 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,560 We're going to have to have some determination and that's this. 476 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,880 David had some stones in his pack and he took the sword of 477 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:56,520 his enemy. Well, listen to the story. 478 00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:59,520 Then David put his hand in his bag and he took out a stone. 479 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:04,120 We know that David grabbed 5 stones. 480 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:06,640 We don't know why David grabbed 5 stones. 481 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,400 Maybe just to be prepared for whatever would come his way. 482 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:14,360 Some say that David knew that Goliath had five brothers or 483 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:15,720 four other brothers. Excuse me? 484 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:18,880 So he'd take care of Goliath and all of Goliath brothers. 485 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:23,040 Some say that David would attack Goliath with one stone. 486 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:27,040 And then if the army of the Philistines came from the north, 487 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:30,560 the South, the east, and the West, that David was prepared. 488 00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:34,800 Some tape people take this 5 stones and they take 5 489 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,160 principles out of it, but it's just 5 stones. 490 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:43,120 They're just 5 stones. The significance wasn't in the 491 00:32:43,120 --> 00:32:46,480 stone, the significance was in his God. 492 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:50,960 Do you see? This the stone, they say, was 493 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:56,800 about the size of a tennis ball, and they called what David did 494 00:32:56,800 --> 00:32:59,880 in Roman history. These were slingers. 495 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:06,400 They were greater in battle, they say, than the people with 496 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:13,760 the arrows. They could hit a target at 665 497 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:17,840 feet away from where they were. Specifically, they could take 498 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:21,520 someone's nose out. So David wasn't just pulling 499 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:26,680 back a sling at Goliath in the Valley of Elah. 500 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:33,080 He would swing it like this. Around and around, and then he 501 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:36,680 would throw it. And some scholars believe the 502 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:41,160 stone would go upwards to 100 to 150 mph. 503 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:48,320 So here's the scene. David takes out a stone and he 504 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:54,400 slung it, and the Bible says he struck the Philistine in his 505 00:33:54,400 --> 00:34:02,040 forehead so that the stone sank into his forehead and he fell on 506 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:07,600 his face to the earth. And so David prevailed over the 507 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:11,800 Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the 508 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:17,480 Philistine and he killed him. And all the people said, but 509 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:20,880 there was no sword in the hand of David. 510 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:24,719 So David, notice what he did. He didn't stun his giant, he 511 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,719 killed him. I think sometimes we're content 512 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:31,679 to stun giants, but God says you need to, you need to get rid of 513 00:34:31,679 --> 00:34:34,600 this. Therefore David ran and stood 514 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:39,320 over the Philistine and like Mortal Kombat, he said finish 515 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:42,120 him. He took his sword, Goliath 516 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:44,800 sword. He drew it out of the sheath and 517 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:49,000 he killed him and he cut his head off with it. 518 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:54,679 Do you want to get ahead in your valley? 519 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,400 That was you guys. I know it's kind of early. 520 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:02,520 We'll have glass house coffee. We'll be here next week just to 521 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:03,840 wake you guys up a little bit more. 522 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:06,160 No notice. He when when the Philistine saw 523 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:09,200 that their champion was dead, they they fled. 524 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:13,520 Look at David's determination. He's prepared with the stones. 525 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:18,440 He's trusting in God. He slung the stone. 526 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:22,000 He hits Goliath. The stone sinks into his 527 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,280 forehead. Then he runs towards the giant 528 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:31,000 and he takes Goliath's sword out of his sheath, and then he chops 529 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:34,640 his head off. This is bloody, this is gory. 530 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,720 This is messy. Listen, don't think coming out 531 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:39,720 of the valley that you're going to stay clean. 532 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,000 You could stay holy, but you might not be clean. 533 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:49,160 This is messy, this is gory. I don't think we'd even allow 534 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:50,800 some of our kids to see this scene. 535 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:55,760 It's that graphic. But sometimes fighting giants is 536 00:35:55,760 --> 00:36:00,360 graphic, and sometimes we do walk through this place. 537 00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:04,720 But David's determination came to a place in his life where he 538 00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:07,000 wasn't content just to stun Goliath. 539 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:11,640 He actually had to slay Goliath. And I think sometimes in our 540 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,680 lives we got to hear this, that we need to slay Goliath. 541 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:18,440 And, and the, the Bible says that that he, he struck the 542 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:22,520 Philistine and David would run and then he would, he would go 543 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:28,280 and he would cut his head off. But notice if you would, David's 544 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:32,040 determination was before David's action. 545 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:39,600 His action of victory did not determine his determination. 546 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:45,160 His action was based upon what he knew God could do. 547 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,120 You might be saying, well where are you taking that from? 548 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:53,200 Look at verse 46. This day, David says, the Lord 549 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:56,520 will deliver you into my. Hand He has not picked up a 550 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:59,480 stone yet. He has not slung his sling yet. 551 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:04,160 He has not killed a giant. And I will strike you, and I 552 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:10,840 will take your head from you. This is not manifestation. 553 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:14,560 David didn't speak something into existence. 554 00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:19,680 David trusted in a God who sovereignly ruled. 555 00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:25,920 In the Valley. David was determined before his 556 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:30,920 action because he knew he had a God who would act on his behalf. 557 00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:36,960 And so David comes into this valley and notice he comes in 558 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:41,360 and he cuts the head of Goliath off. 559 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:46,600 He makes the declaration before he does the deed. 560 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:52,400 So what is determination? Determination is a firm or fixed 561 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,640 intention to achieve a desired end. 562 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:58,880 What was David's end? I submit this to you this 563 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:01,400 morning. David's end was not. 564 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:05,760 The head of Goliath, David's end, was the glory of God. 565 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:14,720 Can I just say that again, David's notice this His end goal 566 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:21,480 was not the head of Goliath. His end goal was the glory of 567 00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:26,080 God. Verse 46 this day. 568 00:38:26,280 --> 00:38:29,920 The Lord will. Deliver you into my hand. 569 00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:35,720 Look at the bottom of the verse that all the earth may know that 570 00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:42,040 there is a God in Israel. Why did David risk his life? 571 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:44,640 Why did David walk through this valley? 572 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:48,160 Why did David come and face his giant? 573 00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:52,680 For the glory of God, that everyone would know that there 574 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:56,600 is a God in Israel. Did you see? 575 00:38:56,600 --> 00:39:02,680 David knew and he submitted A to the glory of God because he knew 576 00:39:02,680 --> 00:39:05,480 that the head was temporal but the glory is eternal. 577 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:10,160 He knew that the name of Goliath would fade, but the name of God 578 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:13,400 would remain. Here is the determination. 579 00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:19,520 Dead giants will not survive when you are living for the God 580 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:24,680 of all of Israel, the God who's in Israel, and the God who is 581 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:27,560 for Israel. The Bible says that God is for 582 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:30,520 you and He's not against you. But here is the Rob. 583 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:37,040 Evacuation always kills determination, and we love to 584 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:42,720 evacuate in hard places in our lives. 585 00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:45,560 And this is the one thing that we need, the one sentence that 586 00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:48,880 would infuse the church with hope and life. 587 00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:53,240 We need wider shoulders, stronger backs, courageous 588 00:39:53,240 --> 00:39:55,880 hearts, fixed eyes, willing hands. 589 00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:00,120 We we need people who are willing to go through the dirt 590 00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:03,600 and keep on walking. We need people who will find 591 00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:08,400 themselves and not have the mindset that they are going to 592 00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:12,640 quit. Look at Moses, look at Joseph. 593 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:17,080 Look at Job. Look at Esther, Ruth, Daniel, 594 00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:23,040 Gideon, Abraham, Mary, Paul, Peter, Nehemiah. 595 00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:29,800 Look at Ron and Rachel, Alana, Daniel, Teresa, Caleb. 596 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:34,280 Look at Rudy and Michelle and Virginia and Henry and Jen, 597 00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:40,320 Maria, Sergio. That's just a few rows of our 598 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:42,960 church. Look all around you. 599 00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:48,840 Look at look at Michelle, look at Lisa, look at Emma. 600 00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:52,320 Look at Noah. Look at Summer and Rosanna. 601 00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:55,200 Look at people of Andrea and Delvin. 602 00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:59,960 Look at Rita who's not willing to stop in the hardship. 603 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:04,000 Just look around you. Look around you. 604 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:05,760 You want to see some David's in the room. 605 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:08,200 Look around you. Look, look all around you. 606 00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:10,760 And that's just the first few rows of our church. 607 00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:14,920 If we were to go back, if I were to name all of you have battled 608 00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:18,800 and fought and walked through this journey that you're not 609 00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:24,840 going to give up in what God has called you to look at this and 610 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:27,120 all that God has called you to do. 611 00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:31,160 I, I just want to I want you to know this that here are living 612 00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:34,360 examples in the room that are experiencing the presence of God 613 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:38,680 and the pain of life at the same exact time and they live with 614 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:42,960 such audacious spirits that they will not give up this. 615 00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:49,000 It's in the room because he's in the room and because his glory 616 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,480 is in the room. We're living for something 617 00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:55,040 that's greater than ourselves. Determination is not us 618 00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:59,680 mustering up this this looking in the mirror and and preaching 619 00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:02,720 to ourselves. Determination can only come from 620 00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:06,760 the Spirit of God. And if there's one principle we 621 00:42:06,760 --> 00:42:10,520 want to leave with coming out of the valley, it is determination 622 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:14,280 that we will be marked by what David was marked by, and that is 623 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:20,560 the awe of God, the awe of God. Thank God I'm out of that. 624 00:42:21,200 --> 00:42:24,760 I was reading an article just the other day that the author 625 00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:28,080 said most people don't fail, they just quit too early and 626 00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:31,200 they call it failure. We live in a culture obsessed 627 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:35,640 with instant results, overnight success, 30 day transformations, 628 00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:38,360 quick wins. And when progress doesn't come 629 00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:40,440 fast, people don't pivot. They quit. 630 00:42:41,560 --> 00:42:44,080 But quitting is not the same as failing. 631 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:48,160 Quitting is a decision. Failure is just feedback. 632 00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:51,760 Listen, you weren't out of talent, you were out of 633 00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:55,360 patience, he writes. You never know how close you 634 00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:57,880 were. And most people give up 3 feet 635 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:00,600 from gold. One more Rep, one more phone 636 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:03,720 call, one more revision. They stop not because they can't 637 00:43:03,720 --> 00:43:06,920 win, but because they got tired of waiting for visible proof 638 00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:10,080 that they could win. But progress doesn't always show 639 00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:13,760 up on the outside first. Sometimes growth is internal. 640 00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:16,760 It's grit being built, not numbers being posted. 641 00:43:16,960 --> 00:43:19,800 Just because it's not loud doesn't mean it's not working. 642 00:43:20,040 --> 00:43:25,360 Results lag behind the work. Faithful is not always linear. 643 00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:29,440 There are dry seasons, plateaus, setbacks, and long stretches 644 00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:32,640 where the grind feels thankless. That's normal. 645 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,360 But the people who stick with it tweak the process, stay in the 646 00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:40,400 room, and refuse to label the valley as the ending of their 647 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:44,640 life. These are the ones Who Will Win. 648 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:47,360 You don't need more skill. You need more stamina. 649 00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:51,880 Quitting feels safer than persistence. 650 00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:55,600 Quitting gives you an out. It gives you something to blame. 651 00:43:55,840 --> 00:43:59,840 It just wasn't the right time. The the market wasn't ready. 652 00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:02,880 I gave it a shot. But persistence, he says. 653 00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:06,960 That's vulnerable, that's risky. That's the choice to keep 654 00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:10,920 showing up without a guarantee. That's also where every 655 00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:16,240 breakthrough lives. Real failure is settling for the 656 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:21,880 almost How many times have you seen someone walk away from 657 00:44:21,880 --> 00:44:25,720 something that was starting to work because it didn't move fast 658 00:44:25,720 --> 00:44:28,520 enough? That's the tragedy. 659 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:32,280 Not that they failed, but that they gave up before they ever 660 00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:37,120 gave it their full shot. If you were going to quit, quit 661 00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:40,040 cutting corners. Quit shrinking away. 662 00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:43,240 Quit talking yourself out of what you were capable of. 663 00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:47,080 But don't quit the thing that just because it hasn't bloomed 664 00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:50,400 yet, you stop. You haven't failed until you've 665 00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:53,720 walked away from the thing you still had time to build. 666 00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:55,640 So ask yourself today, he writes. 667 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:58,560 Are you actually failing? Are you just giving up before 668 00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:02,080 the results can catch up? Determination. 669 00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:03,800 David brought that to the valley. 670 00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:06,640 But notice this. He not only brought that, but he 671 00:45:06,640 --> 00:45:10,040 brought no hesitation. No hesitation If you could take 672 00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:13,400 this away with you as you walk out of the valley that you're 673 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:18,120 in, live with no hesitation. Listen to the story the Bible 674 00:45:18,120 --> 00:45:21,880 says now when the men of Israel had Judah arose, they shouted, 675 00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:25,920 David kills Goliath. The men rise up and they're 676 00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:29,320 shouting. They're celebrating, and they 677 00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:32,000 pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley 678 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:35,360 into the gates of Ekron, and the wounded of the Philistines fell 679 00:45:35,360 --> 00:45:39,840 along the road to Shahreen, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 680 00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:45,680 The children of Israel chased the Philistines for 15 miles 681 00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:51,480 because David killed Goliath. Then the children of Israel 682 00:45:51,480 --> 00:45:54,720 returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered 683 00:45:54,720 --> 00:45:57,800 their tents and David took the head of the Philistine and he 684 00:45:57,800 --> 00:45:59,960 brought it to Jerusalem. Listen to this. 685 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:03,480 David took the head of Goliath, the one who caused Israel 686 00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:07,400 problems, and he set it in Jerusalem, which is the city of 687 00:46:07,400 --> 00:46:15,880 peace. But then David put his armor in 688 00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:19,080 his own tent, maybe like a trophy. 689 00:46:20,040 --> 00:46:22,280 I remember how he fought, but this is how I fight. 690 00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:27,720 I trust in the Lord. Now when Saul saw David going 691 00:46:27,720 --> 00:46:30,160 out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of 692 00:46:30,160 --> 00:46:32,120 the army, Abner, whose son is this youth? 693 00:46:33,480 --> 00:46:36,080 And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know. 694 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:38,480 And the king said, Inquire whose son this young man is. 695 00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:41,480 And then as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, 696 00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:45,720 Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the 697 00:46:45,720 --> 00:46:49,680 Philistine in his hand. Don't you love David? 698 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:54,520 She's gritty. And Saul said to him, Whose son 699 00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:57,000 are you, young man? And notice what David answered. 700 00:46:57,760 --> 00:47:00,280 I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. 701 00:47:01,280 --> 00:47:06,880 Listen, what happens? David comes with no hesitation. 702 00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:09,600 And the people followed his example. 703 00:47:10,240 --> 00:47:13,280 As you leave your valley and as you're walking out of your 704 00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:20,200 valley, I want to encourage you to walk out and walk into, walk 705 00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:25,000 in the middle of it with no hesitation because God is always 706 00:47:25,040 --> 00:47:29,000 faithful. So I submit this to you. 707 00:47:31,240 --> 00:47:33,640 This might be in our generation and in our time. 708 00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:37,600 Think about David in our time. The Goliath that you might be 709 00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:41,320 facing right now. David is, they believe, not even 710 00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:46,200 20 years old at this time. So listen if you would if David 711 00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:49,160 lived in our time. David wakes up slowly. 712 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:54,080 David rolls his eyes. David checks his phone. 713 00:47:56,120 --> 00:47:59,240 David post on his Instagram story the fake account, the one 714 00:47:59,240 --> 00:48:03,080 that Jesse, his father doesn't know about and doesn't follow. 715 00:48:04,440 --> 00:48:06,280 And David puts that on Instagram. 716 00:48:06,440 --> 00:48:10,480 God, my dad makes me absolutely sick. 717 00:48:11,720 --> 00:48:15,280 This is ridiculous. God, God I hate my parents. 718 00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:18,880 I hate my life. And David goes to the battle 719 00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:21,920 line. But David, he gets there 45 720 00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:25,800 minutes late. He gets there after Goliath came 721 00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:31,160 out to shout his usual defiance. He didn't know Goliath was on 722 00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:34,800 the battle line. And you don't know what day God 723 00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:37,800 wants to use you. You don't know what conversation 724 00:48:37,800 --> 00:48:40,760 is going to turn things around. You don't know what moment is 725 00:48:40,760 --> 00:48:43,120 going to be holy. You don't know when a Bush is 726 00:48:43,120 --> 00:48:46,280 going to burst out into flames and spontaneously combust with 727 00:48:46,280 --> 00:48:48,840 the presence of God in the direction for the next step of 728 00:48:48,840 --> 00:48:50,440 your life. You don't know this. 729 00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:53,240 But if you don't show up and do the ordinary with a good 730 00:48:53,240 --> 00:48:56,240 attitude, it could end a whole lot different. 731 00:48:57,200 --> 00:49:00,520 And I think one of our problems walking through the valley is we 732 00:49:00,520 --> 00:49:02,960 have a bad attitude doing the ordinary. 733 00:49:04,280 --> 00:49:06,080 We have a bad attitude doing the ordinary. 734 00:49:06,520 --> 00:49:10,080 David went into the valley and he didn't say these words. 735 00:49:10,960 --> 00:49:13,720 He didn't go to his brothers and say I'm David. 736 00:49:13,920 --> 00:49:17,160 I'm not DoorDash. What you think I am. 737 00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:20,080 Uber Eats. I'm not dropping nothing off for 738 00:49:20,080 --> 00:49:21,920 you. My name is David. 739 00:49:23,080 --> 00:49:27,600 Say my name David. King David Crown. 740 00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:31,040 David Samuel. Put the oil on my head, David. 741 00:49:31,880 --> 00:49:34,040 It could have been a whole lot different if David had tripped 742 00:49:34,040 --> 00:49:38,440 over the ordinary. So here's what I'm learning in 743 00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:40,720 this opportunity of what it presents itself. 744 00:49:42,080 --> 00:49:46,000 Do the ordinary. David didn't say I want to kill 745 00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:47,720 Goliath. He didn't say I want to 746 00:49:47,720 --> 00:49:50,240 breakthrough in my life. He just said I'll deliver the 747 00:49:50,240 --> 00:49:53,560 lunch. And it was here in this moment 748 00:49:53,560 --> 00:49:58,160 that David would meet Goliath. And I think sometimes we have 749 00:49:58,160 --> 00:50:00,200 this bad attitude towards the ordinary. 750 00:50:00,560 --> 00:50:04,680 But I think sometimes what also happens is this, this could have 751 00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:08,520 ended differently. This thing could have ended in 752 00:50:08,520 --> 00:50:10,560 so many endings. It could have ended when David 753 00:50:10,560 --> 00:50:12,880 had a bad attitude towards the ordinary. 754 00:50:13,200 --> 00:50:16,080 And it could have ended when David was fighting against who 755 00:50:16,080 --> 00:50:19,640 he was supposed to be fighting for, his brother. 756 00:50:21,840 --> 00:50:24,720 He could have got offended. He could have ended with 757 00:50:24,720 --> 00:50:26,680 ordinary. And it could have ended with a 758 00:50:26,680 --> 00:50:29,320 fence. And it could have ended with 759 00:50:29,320 --> 00:50:33,560 this last one. Only Eliab said some pretty 760 00:50:33,560 --> 00:50:38,040 hurtful things to David. And notice what David did. 761 00:50:38,040 --> 00:50:42,200 The Bible says he turned from Eliab and he turned towards 762 00:50:42,200 --> 00:50:46,600 another soldier. David didn't allow the ordinary, 763 00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:52,880 nor a fence, nor the only. And maybe you've come into this 764 00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:59,120 spot with your only. And that is in this moment. 765 00:51:00,520 --> 00:51:04,800 You hear the words that Saul said to David when David was 766 00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:07,640 telling him that he had to beat the bear and he beat the lion. 767 00:51:08,320 --> 00:51:10,560 And then Saul looked at him and said these words. 768 00:51:10,880 --> 00:51:17,280 You're only a boy. And they've already labeled you 769 00:51:17,280 --> 00:51:22,880 before you've walked in to. The valley. 770 00:51:24,280 --> 00:51:26,560 I always thought that David was the delivery boy. 771 00:51:28,040 --> 00:51:31,640 David wasn't the delivery boy. Goliath was the delivery boy. 772 00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:39,920 Goliath delivered for David a sword, and David would take that 773 00:51:39,920 --> 00:51:42,760 sword and we'll learn on in First Samuel and Second Samuel. 774 00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:47,960 There'll be a time that he goes back and grabs that sword that 775 00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:54,200 he took from the enemy. And that's what God does. 776 00:51:56,200 --> 00:52:00,840 Where the enemy thinks that he has plundered you, God prizes 777 00:52:00,840 --> 00:52:05,160 you, He possesses you, and He gives you what you need for the 778 00:52:05,160 --> 00:52:08,800 moment. So thank God I'm out of that. 779 00:52:09,800 --> 00:52:12,640 But I could come out of that and not really learn from that. 780 00:52:13,360 --> 00:52:17,960 And that is, I'm going to live with a decision, I'm going to 781 00:52:17,960 --> 00:52:21,160 live with determination, and I'm going to live with no hesitation 782 00:52:21,160 --> 00:52:24,680 towards the Lord. We hope you enjoyed this message 783 00:52:24,800 --> 00:52:27,920 and we'd love for you to join us in person every Sunday at 10:30 784 00:52:27,920 --> 00:52:29,480 AM. For more information and 785 00:52:29,480 --> 00:52:31,680 updates, visit wearebridgetown.com. 786 00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:33,960 Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next week.