WEBVTT 00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:17.859 Well, obviously, Pastor Brad is out of the country 00:00:17.859 --> 00:00:21.539 right now, and we have a very, very special treat 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:24.480 for us this morning. So it's my pleasure and 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:26.800 honor to introduce to you our guest speaker. 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:32.020 And this couple has traveled from India to Africa 00:00:32.020 --> 00:00:34.679 to Indonesia to Asia, Brazil, Europe, Central 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:38.170 and South America. And the list goes on and on. 00:00:38.390 --> 00:00:41.070 They speak three languages, English, Portuguese, 00:00:41.250 --> 00:00:43.689 and Spanish. And between those three languages 00:00:43.689 --> 00:00:46.409 and those countries, they have devoted their 00:00:46.409 --> 00:00:53.210 lives as missionary evangelists to the less fortunate. 00:00:54.189 --> 00:00:58.210 And they have given themselves and their families 00:00:58.210 --> 00:01:02.369 and they've traveled and their time. And they 00:01:02.369 --> 00:01:06.709 carry a powerful message. And through the anointing 00:01:06.709 --> 00:01:09.230 that is on this couple, they have been able to 00:01:09.230 --> 00:01:11.489 witness and experience thousands and thousands 00:01:11.489 --> 00:01:14.430 of lives come to the Lord. But not just lives, 00:01:14.489 --> 00:01:19.129 but generations. And so God has been using them 00:01:19.129 --> 00:01:22.250 to go back to these nations and to continue to 00:01:22.250 --> 00:01:24.769 pour into these nations. So they're the couple 00:01:24.769 --> 00:01:28.450 that go into all the world. You know, and they're 00:01:28.450 --> 00:01:31.400 not just... preaching the gospel, but they're 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:34.819 making disciples. And so I want to introduce 00:01:34.819 --> 00:01:38.260 to you and honor our friends, Mike and Crystal 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:40.739 Silva. They are coming here all the way. Why 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:42.620 don't you stand and welcome them this morning? 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:54.459 Come on up. Crystal, wave. Mike Silva. Amen. 00:01:55.659 --> 00:01:58.280 We've known this wonderful couple for about, 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:00.159 you can be seated, for about five years. We've 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:01.799 met them through Ministers Fellowship International, 00:02:01.920 --> 00:02:05.000 which is our local fellowship with churches. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.180 And I just believe God's put a powerful word 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:11.300 on his heart for our church. And they're very 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:14.400 good friends. And Pastor Brad felt the Lord spoke 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:17.120 to him and said that they needed to be here to 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:21.020 minister the word today. So great expectation. 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:25.159 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:28.639 you so much. Thank you so much. What a privilege 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:31.840 for us to be able to be here with you. Again, 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:34.400 we've been here for conferences and come with 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:37.740 the MFI family when they're here. But what a 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:40.539 joy for us to be able to be here. And, of course, 00:02:40.620 --> 00:02:43.840 you got to see my bride 40 years. We've been 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:50.930 married 40 years. We have four great daughters, 00:02:51.069 --> 00:02:54.930 adult daughters, three son -in -laws, eight grandbabies, 00:02:54.990 --> 00:02:58.550 and so here we are together. So sweetie, she 00:02:58.550 --> 00:03:01.629 is, by the way, she fits very well in Harrisburg. 00:03:01.689 --> 00:03:05.949 She is from Silverton, multi -generational, literally 00:03:05.949 --> 00:03:09.930 traces back to the Oregon Trail, multi -generational 00:03:09.930 --> 00:03:14.150 farm family from this valley, Crystal Roth. Would 00:03:14.150 --> 00:03:21.689 you welcome her? We're glad she's here. You know, 00:03:21.710 --> 00:03:24.840 we all face giants, don't we? I mean, all of 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.080 us have giants that we face in our life. You 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:29.620 know what giants are? Giants are anything. I 00:03:29.620 --> 00:03:31.639 was inspired this morning in the prayer time. 00:03:32.020 --> 00:03:35.699 Giants are anything that seek to keep us from 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:38.879 his presence, from his touch, from his grace. 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:42.620 Giants are anything that would become an obstacle 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:46.520 as we seek to pursue the presence of Almighty 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:49.000 God. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:52.460 Do you know what in the world a giant is? Now, 00:03:52.460 --> 00:03:55.479 giants can come in. multiple forms. Not long 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:58.159 ago, a pastor friend of mine in this valley, 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:02.979 he had his shop broken into. A lot of his tools 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:06.360 were taken. In fact, he wrote and he said, I 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:11.080 had four cordless drills taken. I mean, a giant 00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:13.659 came against me and took my battery charger, 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:19.600 my belt sander, an electric planer, and a router, 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:23.569 for goodness sakes. He said, as I began to be 00:04:23.569 --> 00:04:25.850 in my shop that day and I was working that day 00:04:25.850 --> 00:04:27.990 doing different things in my shop and every time 00:04:27.990 --> 00:04:31.310 I realized one of the tools that I needed had 00:04:31.310 --> 00:04:34.709 been stolen from me, I began to get angry. This 00:04:34.709 --> 00:04:37.910 is my pastor friend. He said, but then it came 00:04:37.910 --> 00:04:41.319 to my mind. It came to my mind that, you know, 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:43.740 Jesus said, you ought to love your enemies. You 00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:46.060 ought to pray for those who persecute you. So 00:04:46.060 --> 00:04:49.180 he wrote, and he sent it out to several of us. 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:52.579 He said, so I came under such unbelievable conviction, 00:04:52.720 --> 00:04:55.420 I began to pray for this individual, whoever 00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:58.600 it was. And he said, I began to pray prayers 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:02.839 like this. Oh God, whoever stole my stuff, I 00:05:02.839 --> 00:05:07.050 prayed that his hair would fall out. I pray, 00:05:07.089 --> 00:05:09.189 God, that his car would blow up, that his teeth 00:05:09.189 --> 00:05:11.389 would turn black, and that his neighbor's dog 00:05:11.389 --> 00:05:14.269 would bite him. And God, my last request for 00:05:14.269 --> 00:05:17.110 this individual, give them excessive diarrhea 00:05:17.110 --> 00:05:25.050 for six months. Yeah, well, some of my friends 00:05:25.050 --> 00:05:26.769 are a little rough around the edges, but they're 00:05:26.769 --> 00:05:30.060 good people. They're good people. See, the point 00:05:30.060 --> 00:05:34.959 is, church, we all face giants. Do we not? We 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:37.480 all face giants. And giants can come in many 00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:41.939 forms. Giants can come in physical forms. We 00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:45.459 pulled in yesterday and there was a very largely 00:05:45.459 --> 00:05:48.839 attended funeral happening here. I found out 00:05:48.839 --> 00:05:51.680 that cancer, the giant of cancer, had taken the 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:55.019 life of a precious woman. You see, that strikes 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:57.920 home with us because when you think about... 00:05:59.080 --> 00:06:01.779 giants and what they are and how they are and 00:06:01.779 --> 00:06:05.220 all of those things, I remember, we remember 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:09.160 our youngest daughter having a lemon -sized malignant 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:12.759 cancerous tumor in her throat. And I'm telling 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:16.620 you, that was a physical giant for us. She's 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:19.399 28 years old today, has two children, and she's 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:21.819 absolutely cured, and we praise God for that. 00:06:25.740 --> 00:06:28.480 I said that we have eight grandbabies, and we 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:32.920 did. But two of them, twin girls, full -term 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:36.399 twin girls at a hospital in Eugene, went home 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:39.899 to be with the Lord on Mother's Day. And so we 00:06:39.899 --> 00:06:43.879 have eight grandbabies. Six are with us. Two 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:49.620 are in heaven waiting. That's a physical giant 00:06:49.620 --> 00:06:53.189 for us. Many of us here this morning in a church 00:06:53.189 --> 00:06:55.930 this size, many of us have physical challenges 00:06:55.930 --> 00:06:59.250 and those are like giants. There's physical challenges, 00:06:59.389 --> 00:07:02.509 there's emotional challenges. I remember for 00:07:02.509 --> 00:07:05.850 myself, my first emotional challenge when I was 00:07:05.850 --> 00:07:08.850 six years old, my daddy was killed and I grew 00:07:08.850 --> 00:07:11.610 up in a single parent home, two older sisters. 00:07:12.629 --> 00:07:14.730 And I'm telling you, I feel like church that 00:07:14.730 --> 00:07:18.379 I'm recovering from that. From that incident 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:22.160 to this very day, I'm still recovering from that 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:24.680 one. You see, there's a lot of giants in our 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:26.699 lives, and there are physical giants and emotional 00:07:26.699 --> 00:07:29.899 giants. There's battles in our mind. Some of 00:07:29.899 --> 00:07:32.620 us fight with self -deprecation. Some fight with 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:35.420 worry and anxiety and loneliness and self -doubt. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.120 May I say something about our minds, church? 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:41.660 May I say something about our minds? Your mind 00:07:41.660 --> 00:07:44.660 will usually believe everything you tell it. 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:49.240 So here's a clue. Feed it faith. Feed it faith. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:52.980 Because normally our minds will believe everything 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:55.259 we tell it to. Well, there's physical giants 00:07:55.259 --> 00:07:57.399 and emotional giants. There's relational giants. 00:07:57.540 --> 00:08:03.279 Oh, my soul. Relational giants. Relationships 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:08.329 can be painful. Can they not? Someone said that 00:08:08.329 --> 00:08:10.389 there are two kinds of people in life. There 00:08:10.389 --> 00:08:13.269 are those who try to lift you higher and there 00:08:13.269 --> 00:08:16.449 are those who seek to tear you down. Has anyone 00:08:16.449 --> 00:08:22.269 met any of my relatives? Someone else said that 00:08:22.269 --> 00:08:25.370 I wrote that... Almighty God puts into our lives 00:08:25.370 --> 00:08:27.769 people that fit in generally three categories. 00:08:28.009 --> 00:08:31.189 God brings people into our lives for a reason, 00:08:31.290 --> 00:08:34.769 for a season, or for a lifetime. So when you 00:08:34.769 --> 00:08:38.509 think about your friends, which category do they 00:08:38.509 --> 00:08:44.809 fall? A reason, a season, or a lifetime? You 00:08:44.809 --> 00:08:46.970 see, there's physical giants and there's emotional 00:08:46.970 --> 00:08:49.470 giants and relational giants and spiritual giants. 00:08:49.629 --> 00:08:52.350 I think if we were honest, we would say, people 00:08:52.350 --> 00:08:54.529 would agree and say, you know, I've got some 00:08:54.529 --> 00:08:59.230 unmet spiritual expectations. I've had some disappointments 00:08:59.230 --> 00:09:02.710 in my life. There is unforgiveness in my life, 00:09:02.710 --> 00:09:06.230 maybe towards somebody else. There's also economic 00:09:06.230 --> 00:09:09.509 challenges. Loss of job, inadequate finances. 00:09:10.539 --> 00:09:13.580 So church, I'd like to speak to us today from 00:09:13.580 --> 00:09:17.580 a passage of scripture that deals with how do 00:09:17.580 --> 00:09:21.620 we overcome giants? What does the Bible teach 00:09:21.620 --> 00:09:24.980 us and instruct us about how we can conquer and 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:29.019 overcome our giants? So if you have your Bible, 00:09:29.139 --> 00:09:32.340 please get your Bible and turn to 1 Samuel 17. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:37.259 1 Samuel 17. May I just encourage us about this. 00:09:37.610 --> 00:09:41.610 Old time, wonderful biblical story. Remember? 00:09:41.750 --> 00:09:44.289 David and Goliath. But what are the principles 00:09:44.289 --> 00:09:48.190 that we can learn from through this passage about 00:09:48.190 --> 00:09:52.649 how we can overcome giants in our lives because 00:09:52.649 --> 00:09:56.190 we all face them on a regular basis. 1 Samuel 00:09:56.190 --> 00:10:01.009 17. You'll remember. First of all, that the Philistine 00:10:01.009 --> 00:10:03.789 army was facing off against the Israeli army. 00:10:03.889 --> 00:10:09.639 Do you remember that Philistia was a... It included 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:13.019 five cities. There were five cities that made 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:17.200 up Philistia. And they were called the Philistines. 00:10:17.220 --> 00:10:20.360 Well, these people were massive, massive rivals. 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:23.840 I mean, we're talking so much more than ducks 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:28.179 and beavers. We're talking major, major rivalry 00:10:28.179 --> 00:10:31.860 going on. So the story takes place with those 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:34.700 individuals. In fact, verse 2 jumps in and says, 00:10:34.779 --> 00:10:36.759 Saul, that was the king of Israel, of course, 00:10:36.840 --> 00:10:40.000 he gathered his entire Israelite troops near 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.399 the valley of Elah. Let me show you a picture 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:45.559 of the valley of Elah. This is a real place. 00:10:45.879 --> 00:10:48.500 It's still there today, and this is what the 00:10:48.500 --> 00:10:50.820 valley looked like. So the Bible says that the 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:53.779 Philistine soldiers were on one side of the valley. 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.539 probably that hillside, and the Israelites were 00:10:57.539 --> 00:11:00.440 on the other side of the valley, probably on 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:03.039 that hillside. And they were looking at each 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:05.539 other, and when the Bible says that Goliath was 00:11:05.539 --> 00:11:11.159 shouting across the valley, taunting the armies 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:13.940 of Israel, and then when the armies of Israel 00:11:13.940 --> 00:11:17.100 would say something back, they were yelling and 00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:20.840 shouting across this valley at that time. Verse 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:24.519 4 says, Goliath was the Philistine champion. 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:28.200 In fact, biblical scholars say that's what Goliath 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:32.600 literally means, is champion. He came out to 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:35.559 face the forces of Israel. It talks about how 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:38.759 tall he was. He was over nine feet tall. And 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:41.919 that he wore a bronze helmet. It talks about 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:48.220 what he wore. But just his armor was 125 pounds. 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:51.659 Not counting his spear. And it talks about his 00:11:51.659 --> 00:11:54.740 spear weighed 15 pounds. Goliath stood and he 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:57.840 shouted and he taunted the Israelites. And he 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.700 says, why are you all coming out to fight? He 00:12:00.700 --> 00:12:04.620 called, I am the Philistine champion. And you 00:12:04.620 --> 00:12:08.360 are only servants of Saul. Let me say something 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:10.320 to us, church. Here's one of the things I learn 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:12.759 about this passage. When you look down in verse 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:16.980 9, he simply says this. He says this. He said, 00:12:16.980 --> 00:12:20.039 we're going to do a winner -takes -all battle. 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:24.159 And if I win, Goliath says, if I win, then all 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:26.539 of the Philistines will be your slaves. But if 00:12:26.539 --> 00:12:29.519 you should win, I can imagine Goliath looking 00:12:29.519 --> 00:12:32.600 back at his friends back here saying, but if 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:40.279 you all should win, if you do, I'll tell you 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:43.360 what. We'll become your servants. If you win, 00:12:43.419 --> 00:12:46.519 you become our, if we win, you become our servants. 00:12:46.620 --> 00:12:49.460 If we lose, we'll become your servants. And I 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:51.779 can imagine they were all laughing and jeering 00:12:51.779 --> 00:12:54.840 and poking themselves. You know, do you know 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:57.740 that there are still giants today? I don't know 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.019 if you've ever heard the name, but if you haven't, 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:03.279 you will. Let me show you a picture of somebody 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:06.580 who used to play in the NBA. His name was Manute 00:13:06.580 --> 00:13:09.720 Boll. Does that name mean anything to anyone 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:12.659 here? It should. Do you know why? Because the 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:15.580 son, Manute Boll, played NBA basketball, the 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:19.720 tallest individual to ever play the game, seven 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:23.840 foot, seven inches tall. Do you know that his 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:27.399 son has just signed the contract to come to Eugene 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.000 to be able to play for the Ducks, but his son 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:33.100 is just, he just, it's his little son, he's only 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:38.059 seven foot two, but he'll be there this fall 00:13:38.059 --> 00:13:42.220 on campus, University of Oregon, wearing the 00:13:42.220 --> 00:13:45.639 Ducks uniform, playing basketball for the Oregon 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:49.029 Ducks, his son. Do you know that Manute, by the 00:13:49.029 --> 00:13:51.789 way, this giant, do you know that he's the only 00:13:51.789 --> 00:13:55.090 one to ever play NBA basketball who literally 00:13:55.090 --> 00:13:59.970 killed a lion? Like David, he sued knees. He 00:13:59.970 --> 00:14:04.389 killed a lion with a spear. Nobody, can you imagine 00:14:04.389 --> 00:14:11.080 Kobe Bryant killing a... When I found out this 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:13.379 fact, I thought to myself, I need to talk to 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:16.259 my son -in -laws because Manute Bull, Mr. Bull, 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:21.080 he had to pay 80 cows for his wife. And I thought, 00:14:21.179 --> 00:14:23.539 okay, three son -in -laws, eight times three 00:14:23.539 --> 00:14:26.340 is 20. Man, I could have a hurt. I could be in 00:14:26.340 --> 00:14:35.279 the beef business today. Instead, I paid them. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:41.460 That's a whole other deal. Anyway, you know what 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:44.500 I think the passage, the critical point of this 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:47.659 passage is, church? I think it's this. When King 00:14:47.659 --> 00:14:51.200 Saul and the Israelite army, when they saw Goliath 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:54.799 the giant, and they saw the masses of the Philistine 00:14:54.799 --> 00:14:58.759 army, they trembled with unbelievable fear. Well, 00:14:58.779 --> 00:15:01.179 you know, as we summarize, you know the passage. 00:15:01.580 --> 00:15:04.399 David, young David, he was out taking care of 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:07.340 his father's sheep. His father said, I want you 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:09.840 to take these barley loaves, this bread, this 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:13.779 French bread, and jerky, teriyaki I'm sure, and 00:15:13.779 --> 00:15:15.879 I want you to go take this to your three brothers 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:18.519 who are in the Israeli army, and I want you to 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:21.600 give it to them, bring them my greeting, find 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:24.000 out how they're doing, and encourage them. And 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:26.240 so that's what David did. When David comes up 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:28.799 on the scene, he's hearing, he happens to be 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:33.259 there, and he hears the giant haunting the armies 00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:35.659 of Israel. Do you know why? Because the scripture 00:15:35.659 --> 00:15:41.340 says for 40 days, 40 days, they faced each other 00:15:41.340 --> 00:15:45.980 across that valley, 40 days. And King Saul and 00:15:45.980 --> 00:15:48.559 the Israelite army tried to muster the courage 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:53.879 to take on this enemy. And it hit me. A principle 00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:58.399 of God hit me. Church, when it comes to fear, 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:01.100 I don't know about you, but I see it in this 00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:03.620 passage and I've seen it in my own life. Fear 00:16:03.620 --> 00:16:09.320 paralyzes our progress. For 40 days, they knew 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:11.120 what they should do, but they were paralyzed. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:16.500 paralyzed by fear. This is the year to say enough 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:19.519 is enough with the fear. We are going to move 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:22.080 ahead in the name of the Lord and the strength 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:24.779 of the Lord to be able to conquer and have victory 00:16:24.779 --> 00:16:29.240 over whatever giant we face. Physical, emotional, 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:33.799 spiritual, economic. We are not going to stay 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:38.620 in a standoff because of fear any longer. Man, 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:42.340 I wish somebody could hear me say that. You know 00:16:42.340 --> 00:16:44.460 the difference between David and everyone else? 00:16:45.710 --> 00:16:48.350 King Saul and the Israelite army, they looked 00:16:48.350 --> 00:16:50.990 across the valley and they saw Goliath. And they 00:16:50.990 --> 00:16:53.830 were so afraid because, church, they compared 00:16:53.830 --> 00:16:57.590 themselves with the giant. David walks up on 00:16:57.590 --> 00:17:00.470 the scene. He hears what's happening. And immediately, 00:17:00.990 --> 00:17:04.150 immediately, David says, I want to know what 00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:06.769 the problem is here, gentlemen. Because here's 00:17:06.769 --> 00:17:10.470 the deal. You all are comparing yourselves to 00:17:10.470 --> 00:17:14.390 the giant. I'm comparing the giant to my God. 00:17:15.309 --> 00:17:20.009 no comparison. Are you with me there? Whatever 00:17:20.009 --> 00:17:23.960 kind of giant you face, my friend. Whatever kind 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:27.720 of giant you are facing today, tomorrow, next 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:32.039 week, next month, I beg you, church, do not compare 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:35.900 yourself against that giant. Compare that giant 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:39.119 against Almighty God and you will have victory. 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:42.559 I'm telling you, I guarantee it. That's what 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:45.099 the scripture teaches here. So you know what 00:17:45.099 --> 00:17:47.700 happens. The story goes on down to verse 32. 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.500 Don't worry about the Philistine, David said. 00:17:50.619 --> 00:17:55.259 I'm going to go to fight him. and King Saul says, 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:59.140 don't be ridiculous, David. Can you imagine that? 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:04.480 Here's a goal for 2018. Don't be ridiculous, 00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:08.779 David. Goliath has been trained from his youth 00:18:08.779 --> 00:18:12.380 to be a man of war. You are a young man taking 00:18:12.380 --> 00:18:17.920 care of your father's sheep. Verse 34, but David 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:22.319 persisted. There are some men and women listening 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:24.720 to me here right now, and you are facing a giant, 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:26.640 and I'm here to speak a word to you, and that 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:29.960 is this. This year, it is because of your persistence, 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:34.460 you will absolutely conquer your giant that is 00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:36.839 before you. It's because of your persistence. 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:41.140 So David persisted. And David went on to say 00:18:41.140 --> 00:18:44.079 what I said to you before. David said, King, 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:47.220 but you don't understand. I have killed lions. 00:18:47.440 --> 00:18:50.740 David probably said, I killed a lion with a spear 00:18:50.740 --> 00:18:56.339 like Manute Bull. I have killed bears. I have 00:18:56.339 --> 00:19:01.220 killed lions. I have killed cougars. And just 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:03.839 like I have killed those wild beasts, I will 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:08.140 kill this individual because I'm comparing him 00:19:08.140 --> 00:19:13.059 to you, to God, not to the army or to myself. 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.059 So that's what he said, and to me, that's the 00:19:17.059 --> 00:19:20.660 game changer. The key word there is this, experience. 00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:23.940 David knew, watch this, church, David knew that 00:19:23.940 --> 00:19:27.539 God was faithful to him yesterday, and today, 00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:30.279 that gave him the power and the confidence and 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:34.559 the courage to take on a brand new enemy in the 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:37.839 future. You see, because God has been faithful 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:41.099 to you yesterday, you can go after your enemy 00:19:41.099 --> 00:19:44.660 today. Because God was faithful to you yesterday. 00:19:45.339 --> 00:19:49.160 Yesterday. Well, you know, there's a rendition 00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:51.559 that artists have done. Did we show that one 00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:55.299 yet about Goliath? That's probably similar to 00:19:55.299 --> 00:19:57.740 what Goliath looked like. But church, when I 00:19:57.740 --> 00:19:59.640 think about this passage, here's what I think 00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:02.420 about. The question to me is this. Is the presence 00:20:02.420 --> 00:20:05.359 and power that gave David victory, is it available 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:08.500 to us today? That's what I want to know. To me, 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:11.339 that's the bottom line in this passage. Is the 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:14.019 presence and power that gave David victory, is 00:20:14.019 --> 00:20:17.160 that presence and that power available to me 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:20.079 and to you today? That's what I want to know. 00:20:21.400 --> 00:20:23.759 You know, the scripture says that when David... 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:27.259 When David said, okay, I'm going to take on this 00:20:27.259 --> 00:20:30.519 giant, the Bible says that David actually stopped 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:32.480 in a brook. Do you know that the brook is still 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:36.500 there? As David crossed from the side of the 00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:38.900 hill that he was on to be able to go into the 00:20:38.900 --> 00:20:41.400 valley, in fact, the scripture says there that 00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:43.960 when it was time for David to engage the enemy, 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:48.859 watch this, he ran to him. I love that. I always 00:20:48.859 --> 00:20:54.220 have. The Bible clearly teaches that every Israeli 00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:57.180 warrior had a sling. You see, a sling wasn't 00:20:57.180 --> 00:21:03.390 just a little boy's tool. It was a weapon of 00:21:03.390 --> 00:21:07.230 war. Now when boys received a sling, they received 00:21:07.230 --> 00:21:09.609 a sling when they were young and they used to 00:21:09.609 --> 00:21:13.329 play with it and they would put their rocks in 00:21:13.329 --> 00:21:15.769 it and you would think, what is a little sling 00:21:15.769 --> 00:21:18.109 with... Listen, if you get one of these from 00:21:18.109 --> 00:21:21.210 an early age, much like in our culture, we give... 00:21:21.769 --> 00:21:25.609 Little boys, whether it's a slingshot or whether 00:21:25.609 --> 00:21:29.490 it's a BB gun and you begin to use it proficiently, 00:21:29.490 --> 00:21:31.890 all of a sudden you get pretty good later on 00:21:31.890 --> 00:21:36.039 in life. And that's how David was. On one of 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:39.500 the strings, they would tie it around their index 00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:42.119 finger and the other one was left loose because 00:21:42.119 --> 00:21:48.039 when they began to whirl the sling and when it 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:50.500 got to the right speed and they felt like they 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:52.539 had adjusted it correctly in their aim, they 00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:55.799 would let go of the one string and the rock would 00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:58.339 fly out. Do you know that it has been measured 00:21:58.339 --> 00:22:00.519 the speed of those rocks would leave a sling 00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:04.839 of a talented individual at 80 to 90 miles an 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:07.619 hour? an hour. My friend, there is no doubt in 00:22:07.619 --> 00:22:10.220 my mind that when that rock, like the Bible says, 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:14.019 hit Goliath exactly in the forehead, that it 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:19.420 dropped that big boy down. 80 to 90 miles an 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:23.740 hour? It's not just a boy's toy, it was a weapon. 00:22:25.130 --> 00:22:27.470 And that's what he used. You remember the story, 00:22:27.690 --> 00:22:31.630 the king, King Saul said, oh, use my sword and 00:22:31.630 --> 00:22:35.670 oh, use all of my armor. But David couldn't move. 00:22:36.009 --> 00:22:39.809 He had to do what he knew he could do, what he 00:22:39.809 --> 00:22:43.430 was skilled at. And so David stops, as the scripture 00:22:43.430 --> 00:22:46.690 says, David stops in this, I thought it was so 00:22:46.690 --> 00:22:49.109 interesting how the Bible is so unbelievable. 00:22:50.039 --> 00:22:52.599 The scripture says David stops in a brook and 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:55.720 he picks up five smooth stones. Commentators 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:59.740 have argued forever, why did he pick up five 00:22:59.740 --> 00:23:02.900 smooth stones? Well, we know that one of them... 00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:04.839 One of them, and they would have been different 00:23:04.839 --> 00:23:07.779 sizes, but the Bible says they were smooth. Why 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:10.079 is it significant, church, that the stones were 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:13.079 smooth? Answer, because the stones were in the 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:17.500 bed of the stream that went by. And after tumbling 00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:20.079 years and years of tumbling, tumbling, tumbling, 00:23:20.140 --> 00:23:22.839 would the stones be rough or would the stones 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:26.880 be smooth? That's right, they were smooth. He 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:30.259 picked up those stones. Biblical scholars say 00:23:30.259 --> 00:23:34.500 one, of course, was for Goliath. We also know 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:37.759 from 2 Samuel 21 that Goliath had a brother. 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:41.380 We also know historically, biblical fact, we 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:46.440 know that Goliath's brother had three sons. All 00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:48.720 three of them were giants. In fact, one of them 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.380 says kind of a freaky giant because he had six 00:23:51.380 --> 00:23:55.779 fingers and six toes. Maybe that's why he chose 00:23:55.779 --> 00:24:00.240 five. I don't know. But I do know this, when 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.880 the Bible speaks, it is accurate, it is on the 00:24:03.880 --> 00:24:07.240 money, and it is exactly the truth. And here's 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:09.619 the principle that I want to share with you that 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:11.660 I think I learned from this passage, and that 00:24:11.660 --> 00:24:14.240 is simply this. When we think about our giants 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:16.440 this year, church, watch me. Whatever kind of 00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:21.259 giants they are, economic, financial. spiritual, 00:24:21.500 --> 00:24:24.099 physical, emotional, whatever thing. Here's what 00:24:24.099 --> 00:24:26.660 I want you to know. Every single thing you need 00:24:26.660 --> 00:24:30.359 to take on your enemy, it's in the bag. Boom. 00:24:30.859 --> 00:24:34.200 That's the game changer. Everything that you 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:37.519 need to face your enemy this year, it's already 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:41.140 in the bag. When you stoop to grab the smooth 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:43.740 stones out of the brook, then all of a sudden 00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:47.640 everything you need, it's already in the bag. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:49.819 Let me give you some observations about this 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:52.440 passage. Church, do you know that this book, 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:56.339 this book and this story specifically, but everything 00:24:56.339 --> 00:25:00.900 in this book, this story is our story. In fact, 00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:03.880 the Bible says in Romans 15 and verse 4 that 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:07.400 David's victory becomes a picture of all of the 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:09.920 future victories that we will fight from this 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:14.440 moment on. This story is our story. David's story 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:17.519 about taking on this enemy, Goliath, his story 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:21.700 is our story. And Romans 15, 4 tells us that 00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:25.220 everything recorded here has been recorded to 00:25:25.220 --> 00:25:29.220 help us, inspire us, equip us as we live our 00:25:29.220 --> 00:25:32.150 own lives. What was the difference, church, between 00:25:32.150 --> 00:25:38.710 David and everyone else? Answer? Perspective. 00:25:39.410 --> 00:25:42.589 While everyone else measured the size of the 00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:45.650 giant against themselves, David's measuring the 00:25:45.650 --> 00:25:50.430 giant against his God. And David says, no contest. 00:25:51.549 --> 00:25:55.230 Do you see how that mindset all of a sudden transforms? 00:25:55.730 --> 00:25:58.890 Bam! All of a sudden, that's the secret in our 00:25:58.890 --> 00:26:02.460 lives. You see, David knew from experience what 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:06.160 the Israeli army didn't know. David knew that 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:09.319 everything that he needed to face that giant, 00:26:09.660 --> 00:26:12.660 everything that he needed, help me church, everything 00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:17.480 he needed was, it was in the bag. See, the experience 00:26:17.480 --> 00:26:21.640 of David's past with God, the experience of David's 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:25.700 past with God, it built his confidence for the 00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:29.369 present. You see, David knew that he could trust 00:26:29.369 --> 00:26:33.869 God. Why? Experience. Let me give you a practical 00:26:33.869 --> 00:26:38.170 example. I did not inspect this chair before 00:26:38.170 --> 00:26:42.079 I sat in it. But I just want you to know that 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:45.640 I have sat, listen, like you, thousands upon 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:49.279 thousands, millions of times, we have sat on 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:53.180 chairs. And they hold us. Why? Because experience 00:26:53.180 --> 00:26:57.160 tells me that. Listen, I've seen different people 00:26:57.160 --> 00:27:00.420 sit on this chair. I knew this chair would hold 00:27:00.420 --> 00:27:03.559 me. And so I sat on the chair. I didn't have 00:27:03.559 --> 00:27:08.269 to investigate it. Because experience taught 00:27:08.269 --> 00:27:11.750 me I can trust that this chair is going to hold 00:27:11.750 --> 00:27:14.430 my weight. You see, church, if we would begin 00:27:14.430 --> 00:27:19.109 seeing God like that, bam, everything changes. 00:27:21.089 --> 00:27:25.130 I'm going to ask us today. I'm going to ask us 00:27:25.130 --> 00:27:27.809 today to be able to make a decision on this first 00:27:27.809 --> 00:27:30.750 Sunday of January to be able to say, this year 00:27:30.750 --> 00:27:34.630 I will be a different child of God this year 00:27:34.630 --> 00:27:37.849 than I was last year. In part, because I will 00:27:37.849 --> 00:27:43.250 no longer compare my giants to myself. My giants, 00:27:43.250 --> 00:27:46.450 and I will have them. My giants are going to 00:27:46.450 --> 00:27:49.470 be compared to him. And when I compare what I 00:27:49.470 --> 00:27:53.660 face that challenges me to him, Then experience 00:27:53.660 --> 00:27:58.759 and the past tells me I can trust him. Man, I 00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:03.299 wish somebody could hear me say that. I wish 00:28:03.299 --> 00:28:06.220 somebody could hear me say that. Here's another 00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:10.319 way to say it. All the experiences of God's faithfulness 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:13.740 in our yesterdays, they strengthen our resolve 00:28:13.740 --> 00:28:17.279 and faith for the giants of today. Did you catch 00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:20.049 it? I don't know who it was, but somebody said 00:28:20.049 --> 00:28:24.130 this. Fear has two meanings. You can forget everything 00:28:24.130 --> 00:28:27.369 and run, or you can face everything and rise. 00:28:27.670 --> 00:28:30.690 I want to face everything and rise. How about 00:28:30.690 --> 00:28:32.730 you? Bump the person next to you and say, I'm 00:28:32.730 --> 00:28:34.750 counting on you to do that this year. Go ahead. 00:28:34.950 --> 00:28:40.109 I'm counting on you to do that this year. You 00:28:40.109 --> 00:28:42.230 see, church, faith is not the absence of doubt. 00:28:44.049 --> 00:28:47.869 Are you with me? Faith is not the absence of 00:28:47.869 --> 00:28:52.089 doubt. It's the means to overcome it. It's the 00:28:52.089 --> 00:28:56.930 means to overcome it. Our faith is directly proportionate, 00:28:56.930 --> 00:29:01.069 watch this, to the God that we know. May I just 00:29:01.069 --> 00:29:03.109 say something here for anyone? ¿Hay alguien que 00:29:03.109 --> 00:29:05.589 hable español? ¿Hay alguien que hable español? 00:29:05.789 --> 00:29:08.309 Entonces, excelente. Entonces, excelente. Excelente. 00:29:08.309 --> 00:29:11.640 Mi familia, mucho gusto. Con placer. Con placer. 00:29:11.700 --> 00:29:14.779 Estar aquí es un gran placer. Lo siento porque 00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:18.380 realmente mi idioma es portugués, pero estoy 00:29:18.380 --> 00:29:21.559 aprendiendo su hermoso idioma. Entonces, ok. 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:23.519 Entonces, mucho gusto, querida. Mucho gusto. 00:29:23.539 --> 00:29:26.380 Mucho gusto para tocando su guitarra. What I 00:29:26.380 --> 00:29:28.900 basically said is, anybody here that didn't get 00:29:28.900 --> 00:29:31.599 a chance for coffee, Pastor Jen's going to treat 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:41.089 everybody here after. One of the things I love 00:29:41.089 --> 00:29:44.990 about Spanish is that there are two words when 00:29:44.990 --> 00:29:48.690 it comes to Spanish for the verb, two verbs that 00:29:48.690 --> 00:29:52.230 are to know. But here's the difference. One of 00:29:52.230 --> 00:29:55.069 them is saber. Saber es solamente pensamientos 00:29:55.069 --> 00:29:57.990 en tu cabeza. Saber is only to be able to have, 00:29:57.990 --> 00:30:00.930 only to have knowledge in your head. Y otro, 00:30:01.289 --> 00:30:04.970 ay mi madre me encanta este idioma. Otra palabra 00:30:04.970 --> 00:30:12.609 es conocer. Conocer. Una palabra es saber y otro 00:30:12.609 --> 00:30:16.910 es conocer. Ay, mi madre, me encanta conocer. 00:30:17.769 --> 00:30:22.130 I love that word, conocer. Saber is just to know 00:30:22.130 --> 00:30:25.930 things in your head. Pero saber, saber is to 00:30:25.930 --> 00:30:30.910 experientially know something. Listen, I can 00:30:30.910 --> 00:30:34.269 tell you, I'm almost sure that the willamette 00:30:34.269 --> 00:30:38.410 is wet, but once you jump in, and as you're floating 00:30:38.410 --> 00:30:47.930 down, I could say with reality, I told you. Do 00:30:47.930 --> 00:30:51.490 you see the difference between saber, just in 00:30:51.490 --> 00:30:53.349 your head, just to know something in your head, 00:30:53.430 --> 00:30:57.069 and conocer, to have a knowledge experientially. 00:30:57.130 --> 00:31:03.059 If I said to you, Everybody that takes the 21 00:31:03.059 --> 00:31:06.299 -day fast journal, everyone that takes that, 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:10.759 the church is going to send you all on an all 00:31:10.759 --> 00:31:13.559 -expense pay. Let's wait until it really gets 00:31:13.559 --> 00:31:16.680 rainy. Let's wait until February when we have 00:31:16.680 --> 00:31:19.759 six more months of rain. No, just kidding, just 00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:24.420 kidding. Everyone who, what if I said, everyone 00:31:24.420 --> 00:31:27.359 who takes a fasting journal, everyone who takes 00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:31.740 one, the church is going to provide an all -inclusive 00:31:31.740 --> 00:31:43.480 paid vacation round trip to Kapalua, Maui. One 00:31:43.480 --> 00:31:50.680 person's going to take the journal. And then 00:31:50.680 --> 00:31:54.720 if I said, oh, wait a minute. I just wanted you 00:31:54.720 --> 00:31:58.000 to know that the church was doing that. I didn't 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:01.940 want you to actually experience that the church 00:32:01.940 --> 00:32:07.079 was doing that. Church, do you see how powerful? 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:11.339 To know something in your head and to experience 00:32:11.339 --> 00:32:13.920 something in your life. You want to know why 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:18.420 David was so, so energized and empowered to take 00:32:18.420 --> 00:32:22.339 on the giant? Because he knew in his heart that 00:32:22.339 --> 00:32:25.759 he was comparing that giant to Almighty God and 00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:29.059 there was no comparison. David knew that because 00:32:29.059 --> 00:32:32.740 of experience. He knew with lions yesterday that 00:32:32.740 --> 00:32:35.240 God would give him victory over this giant today. 00:32:35.420 --> 00:32:38.700 He knew because of bears. In a contest with a 00:32:38.700 --> 00:32:40.759 bear, in fact, I didn't have even a chance to 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:42.720 be able to share it, but David said to Saul, 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:46.119 he said, look, I have fought bears before and 00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:50.460 lions before. I have taken my club and I have 00:32:50.460 --> 00:32:53.940 grabbed those animals and clubbed them to death 00:32:53.940 --> 00:33:01.619 like Manute Bull. And if God has given me victory 00:33:01.619 --> 00:33:05.740 yesterday over those... over those giants, God 00:33:05.740 --> 00:33:09.160 is going to give me victory today over this giant. 00:33:09.299 --> 00:33:13.000 You see the difference? David knew. He knew. 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:17.500 He knew experientially. That's the key. He knew 00:33:17.500 --> 00:33:21.099 experientially. In other words, we believe him. 00:33:21.140 --> 00:33:24.640 Listen, church, we believe him only as much as 00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:32.480 we daily experience him. I love that. class that 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:34.660 is going to happen here for the next 12 weeks 00:33:34.660 --> 00:33:38.359 of studying the Bible? Can I just tell you this, 00:33:38.420 --> 00:33:41.019 church? I don't know if you have finished your 00:33:41.019 --> 00:33:44.980 2018 goals, but if you don't have a spiritual 00:33:44.980 --> 00:33:48.400 goal, let me just speak prophetically today. 00:33:48.519 --> 00:33:51.440 If you don't have a spiritual goal written down 00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:54.559 in writing, I can tell you this, I guarantee 00:33:54.559 --> 00:34:01.039 you'll accomplish it. If you want a goal, you've 00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:03.019 got to write it down. You've got to publicize 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:04.720 it. You've got to say it. You've got to commit 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:06.920 to it. You've got to look at it over and over 00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:10.380 and over. If this is your year to know him better, 00:34:10.539 --> 00:34:13.900 you have got to take action on that. That's what 00:34:13.900 --> 00:34:17.300 David did. That's what David did. You see, in 00:34:17.300 --> 00:34:19.760 other words, we believe him only as much as we 00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:23.179 experience him daily. This year I want to experience 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:27.400 him. This year I want to pursue him. This year 00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:35.619 I want. In Spanish we say, I want more. I want 00:34:35.619 --> 00:34:41.159 more. More of him. More time in his presence. 00:34:41.460 --> 00:34:45.280 More power. More victory over my enemies. I want 00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:48.579 more. How about you? You say, well, how do I 00:34:48.579 --> 00:34:51.099 know the difference between saber and conocer? 00:34:51.239 --> 00:34:54.460 To be able to just know about him, pensamientos, 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:57.639 solamente pensamientos en mi cabeza o conocer, 00:34:58.019 --> 00:35:03.760 experimentarlo a él. ¿Cómo yo puedo saber? It's 00:35:03.760 --> 00:35:06.000 answering this question. When you think about 00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:10.480 Almighty God, is he limited? The Israeli army 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:15.159 thought so. Or is he limitless? There is a massive 00:35:15.159 --> 00:35:17.570 difference. And do you know how you get from 00:35:17.570 --> 00:35:21.710 one to the other, church? Experience. Experience. 00:35:22.750 --> 00:35:26.010 With other lions and other bears on a daily basis, 00:35:26.170 --> 00:35:28.409 on a regular basis in your life, experience. 00:35:29.269 --> 00:35:31.989 Is he limited or limitless? Is he pretty strong? 00:35:32.329 --> 00:35:36.329 Or is he like the scripture says, is he the strongest 00:35:36.329 --> 00:35:41.550 strong one? Can he be trusted fully or partially? 00:35:41.929 --> 00:35:45.070 Here's the bottom line. My brothers and sisters, 00:35:45.639 --> 00:35:50.980 Do you spell his name with a little G or a big 00:35:50.980 --> 00:35:57.260 G? That's really the bottom line. Do you spell 00:35:57.260 --> 00:36:02.840 his name with a little G? Church, word. If you 00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:06.539 spell his name with a little G, I would be fearful 00:36:06.539 --> 00:36:11.039 of every single giant that taunts you if I were 00:36:11.039 --> 00:36:14.139 you. But if you spell his name with a big G, 00:36:14.179 --> 00:36:16.760 come on church, help me. If you spell his name 00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:20.539 with a big G, there is no longer any fear essential, 00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:24.199 necessary for whatever giant you face. Because 00:36:24.199 --> 00:36:28.829 my God. will overpower whatever giant or obstacle 00:36:28.829 --> 00:36:31.489 you face. You see, David did not have a supernatural, 00:36:31.929 --> 00:36:35.130 abnormal dose of faith. Did you know that, church? 00:36:36.409 --> 00:36:41.369 I am convinced that David did not have a supernatural, 00:36:41.789 --> 00:36:46.050 abnormal dose of faith. I believe it was David's 00:36:46.050 --> 00:36:50.630 everyday experiences with God that fortified 00:36:50.630 --> 00:36:55.090 tomorrow because of today. That fortified today 00:36:55.090 --> 00:36:59.429 because of yesterday. It was his faith that resulted 00:36:59.429 --> 00:37:04.349 in the actions that day. Church, I came here 00:37:04.349 --> 00:37:07.809 to Life Bible. We came here to be able to announce 00:37:07.809 --> 00:37:11.010 to the church today. Every single one of us. 00:37:11.090 --> 00:37:14.849 Every single one of us. Every single one of us. 00:37:14.849 --> 00:37:18.070 We are all capable of giant killing courageous 00:37:18.070 --> 00:37:25.769 faith. In fact. In fact. Like David, I want to 00:37:25.769 --> 00:37:29.989 be a David. Have I told you that? I want to be 00:37:29.989 --> 00:37:33.800 a David. In a few minutes, in fact, I'm going 00:37:33.800 --> 00:37:37.460 to ask whoever's here, male and female, I'm going 00:37:37.460 --> 00:37:40.619 to just ask, this is the first Sunday of 2018, 00:37:40.900 --> 00:37:44.420 and who wants to say today, by coming forward, 00:37:44.619 --> 00:37:47.360 I want my church to know, I want him to know, 00:37:47.440 --> 00:37:49.039 I want the Holy Spirit to know, I want the Heavenly 00:37:49.039 --> 00:37:51.239 Father to know, I want my Jesus to know, count 00:37:51.239 --> 00:37:54.739 on me, I want to be a David. That's coming. That's 00:37:54.739 --> 00:37:59.159 coming. I want to be a David. We're all capable 00:37:59.159 --> 00:38:01.619 of that kind of faith. And it's not how much 00:38:01.619 --> 00:38:05.039 faith David had. That wasn't the issue. How much 00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:08.019 faith David had. It was using what you've got. 00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:10.960 And I can prove that to you because the Bible 00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:13.460 said, Jesus said, in fact, it's one of the red 00:38:13.460 --> 00:38:17.940 letter zingers in Luke 17 in verse 6. Jesus said, 00:38:18.139 --> 00:38:22.000 and I quote, if you had faith the size of a mustard 00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:26.369 seed. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? My soul, 00:38:26.449 --> 00:38:31.469 they are so tiny. Why would Jesus then take something 00:38:31.469 --> 00:38:36.969 so small in size and say to his hearers, if you 00:38:36.969 --> 00:38:44.159 had faith, that's right there. You could say 00:38:44.159 --> 00:38:48.179 to this tree, be uprooted and planted in the 00:38:48.179 --> 00:38:50.860 Willamette, and it would, I'm quoting Jesus, 00:38:51.159 --> 00:38:57.760 and it would obey you. That's not faith like 00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:04.840 this. That's using the faith that you have. Church, 00:39:04.860 --> 00:39:07.880 the issue is not how much faith do you have. 00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:13.110 The issue is using what you got. Bump the person 00:39:13.110 --> 00:39:15.090 next to you, please, and say, would you just 00:39:15.090 --> 00:39:18.489 use it? Go ahead. Would you just use it? Use 00:39:18.489 --> 00:39:22.409 what you've got. Church, like one Bible teacher 00:39:22.409 --> 00:39:26.010 said, I beg you, believe that God is who he says 00:39:26.010 --> 00:39:28.510 he is. Believe that God can do what he says he 00:39:28.510 --> 00:39:31.730 can do. Imagine, men and women, imagine if we 00:39:31.730 --> 00:39:34.929 lived a life like that. What if we lived a life 00:39:34.929 --> 00:39:38.730 like that? Believing that God could do exactly 00:39:38.730 --> 00:39:42.179 what God says he can do. Can you imagine what 00:39:42.179 --> 00:39:44.840 our lives would be like this year? Can you imagine 00:39:44.840 --> 00:39:47.599 the transformation? You see, one of the most 00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:49.679 transformational studies that I've ever done 00:39:49.679 --> 00:39:52.699 in my life are the names of God. I love studying 00:39:52.699 --> 00:39:57.599 the names of God, church. I love studying the 00:39:57.599 --> 00:39:59.900 names of God because the names of God reveal 00:39:59.900 --> 00:40:04.480 the character of God. May I just share some of 00:40:04.480 --> 00:40:07.300 them with you? This is why we need to study and 00:40:07.300 --> 00:40:10.280 know the names of God. Did you know that one 00:40:10.280 --> 00:40:12.739 of the names is that God is the hope of Israel? 00:40:12.900 --> 00:40:16.320 Now that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, 00:40:16.539 --> 00:40:19.440 may I officially, may I just say something here? 00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:22.719 Have you ever stopped to think about the nation 00:40:22.719 --> 00:40:26.280 of Israel is approximately the size of our New 00:40:26.280 --> 00:40:31.260 Jersey? Can you imagine a state like the size 00:40:31.260 --> 00:40:34.840 of New Jersey, Israel, can you imagine the size 00:40:34.840 --> 00:40:38.659 of a state like that could exist, not only take 00:40:38.659 --> 00:40:42.539 on the United States, watch me, but the entire 00:40:42.539 --> 00:40:48.380 world? How can that be? There's only one thing 00:40:48.380 --> 00:40:51.599 that I can think of. It's because God has said 00:40:51.599 --> 00:40:55.460 to that nation, here's one of my names, I am 00:40:55.460 --> 00:40:59.260 the hope. of this nation. Have you ever done 00:40:59.260 --> 00:41:02.739 the math to find out how many Arab speakers there 00:41:02.739 --> 00:41:06.420 are in the world compared to Hebrew speakers 00:41:06.420 --> 00:41:10.480 in Jerusalem and be able to say that number doesn't 00:41:10.480 --> 00:41:14.340 pencil out? Have you ever looked at the land 00:41:14.340 --> 00:41:17.920 mass in the Middle East compared to the land 00:41:17.920 --> 00:41:21.559 mass in Israel? My brothers and sisters, how 00:41:21.559 --> 00:41:26.780 does Israel survive and thrive? Answer, because 00:41:26.780 --> 00:41:31.099 the character of God is I have put my stamp of 00:41:31.099 --> 00:41:35.119 approval on that nation right there. That's a 00:41:35.119 --> 00:41:39.539 faithful God. That's a faithful God. He's a shelter 00:41:39.539 --> 00:41:41.800 from the storm, and we know that because we've 00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:45.559 all faced storms. He's a stronghold in time of 00:41:45.559 --> 00:41:47.719 troubles. We know that because we've all faced 00:41:47.719 --> 00:41:51.019 trouble. He is a defender of widows, and I know 00:41:51.019 --> 00:41:55.880 that because I grew up with one. My God is a 00:41:55.880 --> 00:41:59.780 defender of widows. He is the God of all comfort. 00:42:00.239 --> 00:42:04.599 I know from personal experience, he is my advocate. 00:42:04.719 --> 00:42:09.679 He is my confidence. I know because of my own 00:42:09.679 --> 00:42:12.340 life experience, I know that when I have been 00:42:12.340 --> 00:42:14.960 in a position where I have felt God does not 00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:18.900 know me, see me, care about me, I know that his 00:42:18.900 --> 00:42:23.639 name, his DNA, his character is this. I am the 00:42:23.639 --> 00:42:29.159 God who sees you. I'm the God who sees you. You 00:42:29.159 --> 00:42:32.659 can't hide from me, run from me. Kenny, Kenny, 00:42:32.679 --> 00:42:34.820 what's his face was right. You can't outrun, 00:42:34.840 --> 00:42:38.679 what's his name? You can't outrun the long arm 00:42:38.679 --> 00:42:46.119 of the law. Or of the Lord. Or of the Lord. I 00:42:46.119 --> 00:42:49.260 am the one who sees you. He's the one who sustains 00:42:49.260 --> 00:42:54.340 me. Watch this, church. You want to counter me 00:42:54.340 --> 00:43:00.559 on this one? My God says, I am the God. Of the 00:43:00.559 --> 00:43:06.460 fatherless. I can tell you. From experience. 00:43:07.380 --> 00:43:13.119 That it's true. I am the God of the fatherless. 00:43:13.659 --> 00:43:17.559 I am a defender of widows. How do I know that? 00:43:17.679 --> 00:43:21.960 Because experience has proved it to me. Our God 00:43:21.960 --> 00:43:25.219 is Jehovah Jireh. I've experienced his provision. 00:43:26.980 --> 00:43:30.860 That's his name. It's who he is. David didn't 00:43:30.860 --> 00:43:33.300 have to prepare for the battle. Do you see the 00:43:33.300 --> 00:43:36.559 power of this? Do you see the power of this church? 00:43:37.420 --> 00:43:40.920 You go through 21 days of getting after God. 00:43:41.139 --> 00:43:44.880 You get after that class that's going to be taught. 00:43:45.400 --> 00:43:48.519 You go after that class, that Bible class, for 00:43:48.519 --> 00:43:52.340 12 weeks. And I'm telling you, when an enemy 00:43:52.340 --> 00:43:54.760 pops up, you don't have to run away and prepare. 00:43:55.119 --> 00:44:00.460 You're already ready. I love what Stephen Furtick 00:44:00.460 --> 00:44:02.760 says. You don't have to wait for a move of God, 00:44:02.820 --> 00:44:06.340 church. You are the move of God. I love that. 00:44:07.300 --> 00:44:09.539 You don't have to wait for the move of God. You 00:44:09.539 --> 00:44:12.360 are the move of God. Believe that. Act like that. 00:44:12.440 --> 00:44:16.099 Move like that. Let's have this be the year when 00:44:16.099 --> 00:44:19.380 Life Bible says, man, I'm not waiting for a move 00:44:19.380 --> 00:44:23.940 of God. That river doesn't wait for anyone. That 00:44:23.940 --> 00:44:28.150 river moves. And this fellowship and this church 00:44:28.150 --> 00:44:31.570 moves, not only in our community, but around 00:44:31.570 --> 00:44:34.429 the world. There's experience we have of that. 00:44:34.449 --> 00:44:38.730 They're in Cambodia at this moment. David didn't 00:44:38.730 --> 00:44:40.730 have to prepare for battle, man. He showed up 00:44:40.730 --> 00:44:44.690 ready for it. Our regular disciplined time with 00:44:44.690 --> 00:44:48.969 God, it means that we show up ready. My brothers 00:44:48.969 --> 00:44:51.750 and sisters, when an enemy pops up this year, 00:44:51.869 --> 00:44:54.389 there is no need for you to step away and prepare. 00:44:54.610 --> 00:44:57.949 Just show up ready. Why? Because we stay ready. 00:44:58.090 --> 00:45:04.730 We stay ready. We stay ready. May I just share 00:45:04.730 --> 00:45:08.230 this with us? While it may look like things in 00:45:08.230 --> 00:45:11.500 your life are out of control, I'm here to say 00:45:11.500 --> 00:45:14.320 to you by experience, it may look like and feel 00:45:14.320 --> 00:45:16.280 like things in your life are out of control. 00:45:16.400 --> 00:45:19.760 May I say from experience, behind the scenes, 00:45:19.780 --> 00:45:23.239 there is a God who refuses to surrender his authority. 00:45:23.420 --> 00:45:29.360 How do I know that? Answer, daily experience. 00:45:30.500 --> 00:45:32.420 Let me give you some practical applications, 00:45:32.699 --> 00:45:35.860 just a couple, and then we're done. Here's number 00:45:35.860 --> 00:45:39.289 one. What do we need to do? If you have yet to 00:45:39.289 --> 00:45:42.329 memorize Philippians 3 .10 in this new year, 00:45:42.429 --> 00:45:45.489 I beg you to do so. I beg you that Philippians 00:45:45.489 --> 00:45:48.289 3 .10 would be your number one goal, your resolution, 00:45:48.570 --> 00:45:51.230 your passion, and your prayer this year. Philippians 00:45:51.230 --> 00:45:54.349 3 .10 says this. It's on the screen. I want to 00:45:54.349 --> 00:45:58.570 know Christ. By the way, in Spanish, they do 00:45:58.570 --> 00:46:02.010 not use the word saber. I just want to know about 00:46:02.010 --> 00:46:04.989 him. I just want to know if Jesus is kind of 00:46:04.989 --> 00:46:08.369 nice and kind of strong. No, no, no. The word 00:46:08.369 --> 00:46:10.630 they're talking about is I want to know him so 00:46:10.630 --> 00:46:13.269 intimately. I want to know that when I face my 00:46:13.269 --> 00:46:15.409 enemies, I know that I know that I know that 00:46:15.409 --> 00:46:18.630 I know. Like Paul wrote in Timothy, I know that 00:46:18.630 --> 00:46:22.760 I know that I know that I know. My God. will 00:46:22.760 --> 00:46:26.000 see me through. Imagine if we lived a life like 00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:30.639 that. I want to know Christ. Experientially, 00:46:30.639 --> 00:46:32.980 the mighty power that raised him from the dead, 00:46:33.019 --> 00:46:36.480 I want to know that. We sang that song and I 00:46:36.480 --> 00:46:38.579 thought that is so wonderful because church this 00:46:38.579 --> 00:46:42.300 year, I want my faith to show off my Savior. 00:46:43.260 --> 00:46:46.360 I want my faith to show off my Savior this year. 00:46:46.480 --> 00:46:49.380 How am I going to do that? Number one, my word 00:46:49.380 --> 00:46:52.070 time. There's nothing more important. Nothing 00:46:52.070 --> 00:46:55.469 more important than my word time. If you do not 00:46:55.469 --> 00:46:59.489 have a good fitting translation, then I've already 00:46:59.489 --> 00:47:02.530 been to your bookstore. Get a good fitting translation. 00:47:02.590 --> 00:47:05.269 You have them out there. You say, well, what's 00:47:05.269 --> 00:47:07.590 a good fitting translation? It's what, unless 00:47:07.590 --> 00:47:10.150 you speak like thou, therefore thou whoremonger, 00:47:10.230 --> 00:47:15.610 thou shalt not cast outeth from the inner sanctumeth 00:47:15.610 --> 00:47:20.250 of all of that whicheth is endureth. If that's 00:47:20.250 --> 00:47:22.769 not how you speak, then get a translation that 00:47:22.769 --> 00:47:28.010 is a good fit. Start, if you would say, I'm going 00:47:28.010 --> 00:47:31.929 to start this year with 21 days of getting after 00:47:31.929 --> 00:47:38.099 God. Pick a New Testament book. Go to your concordance 00:47:38.099 --> 00:47:40.239 and find a word that you're struggling with. 00:47:40.320 --> 00:47:45.940 Fear or hate or unforgiveness or joy or comfort 00:47:45.940 --> 00:47:49.500 or sin or whatever it is. And do a word study 00:47:49.500 --> 00:47:52.360 on a word. Just do something. Get into the book. 00:47:52.460 --> 00:47:56.340 Check out your concordance. Tap into GodQuestions 00:47:56.340 --> 00:48:02.639 .org. People ask me all the time, how do I know? 00:48:03.789 --> 00:48:06.210 How many angels can fit on the head of a pin? 00:48:06.510 --> 00:48:14.309 I don't know. Go to gotquestions .org. Ask Bible 00:48:14.309 --> 00:48:17.409 Gateway. And then here's number two. Not only 00:48:17.409 --> 00:48:20.340 your word time, but your memory time. You know, 00:48:20.360 --> 00:48:22.179 there's nothing more important than memorizing 00:48:22.179 --> 00:48:24.300 the word. I don't know about you. Now, some of 00:48:24.300 --> 00:48:26.119 you can just look at words and get it. But I'm 00:48:26.119 --> 00:48:28.800 such a visual person, so I use this little ministry. 00:48:28.880 --> 00:48:31.420 But it's called Memlock. And this is how I memorize 00:48:31.420 --> 00:48:34.280 verses. I memorize them by images. Because, you 00:48:34.280 --> 00:48:38.780 see, when I see a bee holding a coin, I know 00:48:38.780 --> 00:48:41.840 that that's Jeremiah 32, 27. And so do you. Because 00:48:41.840 --> 00:48:47.429 Jeremiah 32, verse 27 says this. Behold. I am 00:48:47.429 --> 00:48:50.210 the Lord God, creator of all the earth. Question, 00:48:50.409 --> 00:48:53.710 is there anything too hard for me? And then I 00:48:53.710 --> 00:48:56.989 see a can in my mind with a huge I in the middle. 00:48:57.070 --> 00:48:59.550 Everybody knows that's Philippians. Everybody 00:48:59.550 --> 00:49:01.949 knows that that's the Philippians passage where 00:49:01.949 --> 00:49:08.389 Paul said himself, I can do all things through 00:49:08.389 --> 00:49:11.190 Christ who strengthens me. I'm telling you, church, 00:49:11.309 --> 00:49:13.929 the word is number one. Scripture memory is number 00:49:13.929 --> 00:49:16.050 two. And then you've got to get a prayer journal. 00:49:16.360 --> 00:49:18.539 you've got to get a prayer journal. If you don't 00:49:18.539 --> 00:49:20.840 have a prayer journal yet, I beg you to get one 00:49:20.840 --> 00:49:24.219 right here after the service. Get a journal. 00:49:24.599 --> 00:49:28.760 Men, write down men. So many men tell me, I've 00:49:28.760 --> 00:49:30.739 worked with men for so many years, so many men 00:49:30.739 --> 00:49:32.800 say, well, I'm just not good at communicating. 00:49:35.139 --> 00:49:38.420 Here's a way that you can do it. Can I tell you 00:49:38.420 --> 00:49:41.980 why this is important? I personally have seen 00:49:41.980 --> 00:49:44.360 in my life not only hundreds and hundreds, but 00:49:44.360 --> 00:49:47.199 thousands upon thousands upon thousands of prayers 00:49:47.199 --> 00:49:52.219 answered. In fact, church, I just want you to 00:49:52.219 --> 00:49:54.760 know I've never prayed a prayer that has not 00:49:54.760 --> 00:50:04.920 been answered. Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes, 00:50:05.039 --> 00:50:07.739 like if my grandsons came up to me and said, 00:50:07.780 --> 00:50:11.239 hey, Papa, that's what they call me, Papa. Hey, 00:50:11.260 --> 00:50:14.320 Papa, you want to play football in the highway? 00:50:14.719 --> 00:50:22.659 I would say, no. No. The answer is no. You asked 00:50:22.659 --> 00:50:25.719 a request, I'm giving you my response. And the 00:50:25.719 --> 00:50:28.300 response, watch me, church, whether you like 00:50:28.300 --> 00:50:35.500 it or not, the right response is no. And with 00:50:35.500 --> 00:50:37.320 our Heavenly Father, our prayers are the very 00:50:37.320 --> 00:50:38.940 same way. I've never prayed a prayer that has 00:50:38.940 --> 00:50:43.190 not been answered. You know why I love to pray 00:50:43.190 --> 00:50:46.769 prayers where I get the request and I put the 00:50:46.769 --> 00:50:49.989 date that I begin and I... pray and I put the 00:50:49.989 --> 00:50:52.809 date that it's answered and then I do the math 00:50:52.809 --> 00:50:55.070 from when I begin praying it to when it became 00:50:55.070 --> 00:50:59.289 answered and I see one week, six hours, six months, 00:50:59.389 --> 00:51:02.949 six years, 26 years, 36 years, whatever it is 00:51:02.949 --> 00:51:05.849 but I'm able to put a time frame in there when 00:51:05.849 --> 00:51:08.710 I began, when it was answered and how many days 00:51:08.710 --> 00:51:11.309 I prayed for that request. Can I tell you something 00:51:11.309 --> 00:51:15.210 church? Those of us that have lost loved ones 00:51:15.210 --> 00:51:19.309 and many if not most in here have. We all go 00:51:19.309 --> 00:51:23.210 through the same stuff. I can't tell you how 00:51:23.210 --> 00:51:27.730 long after my dad died, I can't tell you how 00:51:27.730 --> 00:51:31.389 long we had his shirts and pants hanging in the 00:51:31.389 --> 00:51:36.000 closet. I remember seeing a 31 -year -old widow 00:51:36.000 --> 00:51:39.440 grab his clothes and breathe in deep and just 00:51:39.440 --> 00:51:42.860 weep because of his fragrance on those clothes. 00:51:43.000 --> 00:51:46.559 I remember the construction silver helmet that 00:51:46.559 --> 00:51:49.900 he wore in the oil fields. I remember my mama 00:51:49.900 --> 00:51:54.059 smelling inside, smelling his fragrance in that 00:51:54.059 --> 00:51:57.099 helmet. I can't tell you how long we had his 00:51:57.099 --> 00:52:00.679 blood -stained wallet. I can't tell you how long 00:52:00.679 --> 00:52:04.159 we kept his blood -stained Boots. I can't tell 00:52:04.159 --> 00:52:07.039 you how long. And all of that stuff is now gone 00:52:07.039 --> 00:52:12.380 after all of these years except one thing. The 00:52:12.380 --> 00:52:18.460 journal. Very simple. It's just blank pages. 00:52:19.960 --> 00:52:23.000 But when he fought in the Korean conflict, he 00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:28.920 was away from my mama. He wrote prayers. If I 00:52:28.920 --> 00:52:34.440 ever get home, this is how I'll be. If God gets 00:52:34.440 --> 00:52:40.639 me through this, this is what I will do. All 00:52:40.639 --> 00:52:43.719 of his thoughts are recorded here. Everything 00:52:43.719 --> 00:52:47.300 else is gone, thrown away, except his words. 00:52:48.900 --> 00:52:56.559 When I read his words, life, life comes back 00:52:56.559 --> 00:53:02.079 to my soul. Have you ever stopped to realize? 00:53:02.750 --> 00:53:06.110 that if you do this 21 -day fast, it's not just 00:53:06.110 --> 00:53:09.510 a journal for 21 days. You are going to pass 00:53:09.510 --> 00:53:12.389 this on to the next generation. When God talks 00:53:12.389 --> 00:53:15.190 to you today, your children and your children's 00:53:15.190 --> 00:53:18.590 children will benefit from the fast and the pursuit, 00:53:18.769 --> 00:53:23.010 the pursuit of God. They will benefit. I beg 00:53:23.010 --> 00:53:27.289 you, church, to do that. Because I can tell you 00:53:27.289 --> 00:53:32.769 by experience, your prayers will... Outlast you. 00:53:33.949 --> 00:53:37.230 Why is it that we put more emphasis on physical 00:53:37.230 --> 00:53:40.369 training than on spiritual training? When the 00:53:40.369 --> 00:53:43.409 Bible says itself, physical training is good, 00:53:43.489 --> 00:53:46.349 but training for godliness is much better. Why? 00:53:46.590 --> 00:53:49.849 Because it promises benefits in this life and 00:53:49.849 --> 00:53:52.809 in the life to come. My friend, I'm telling you 00:53:52.809 --> 00:53:55.309 something. When it comes to giants, man, they're 00:53:55.309 --> 00:53:57.190 big and they're intimidating and they're real. 00:53:57.309 --> 00:54:00.320 And they're a fact of life. However, your God 00:54:00.320 --> 00:54:04.539 is bigger, and you need to know that today. David 00:54:04.539 --> 00:54:06.920 teaches every single one of us from this passage 00:54:06.920 --> 00:54:09.619 that there is no giant you cannot defeat in his 00:54:09.619 --> 00:54:13.179 name with his power. Church, help me. Every single 00:54:13.179 --> 00:54:19.239 thing you need is in the bag. So I pray for a 00:54:19.239 --> 00:54:22.150 touch of God on your life. I pray that this new 00:54:22.150 --> 00:54:24.650 year, that everything you need would be in the 00:54:24.650 --> 00:54:26.989 bag and you would be able to say with me, this 00:54:26.989 --> 00:54:29.730 year is a year that I will overcome my giants. 00:54:30.489 --> 00:54:35.050 Would you stand with me, please? And the team 00:54:35.050 --> 00:54:40.869 is going to lead us now. And as they do, then 00:54:40.869 --> 00:54:44.409 I'm just going to ask you to come. And by coming 00:54:44.409 --> 00:54:46.730 right now, as they lead us right here, I'm just 00:54:46.730 --> 00:54:48.670 going to ask you to come. And by coming, male 00:54:48.670 --> 00:54:52.230 or female, you're going to say, I want to be 00:54:52.230 --> 00:54:56.389 a David. Man, I want to get after him. You know 00:54:56.389 --> 00:55:00.469 that 21 -day pursuit? I'm in. Not just for me. 00:55:01.869 --> 00:55:06.010 I'm in for my children and my children's children's 00:55:06.010 --> 00:55:09.070 children. Because my brothers and sisters, that 00:55:09.070 --> 00:55:14.329 journal will outlive you. Experience has proven 00:55:14.329 --> 00:55:19.710 that to me. I want to pray a prayer for you right 00:55:19.710 --> 00:55:22.699 now as you come. Father, in the name of the Lord 00:55:22.699 --> 00:55:24.739 Jesus, we want you to know that we love you, 00:55:24.780 --> 00:55:27.059 we bless you, we honor you. Amen, church, men 00:55:27.059 --> 00:55:34.519 and women? There is nobody like you, Lord. We 00:55:34.519 --> 00:55:38.940 want you. More of you. We want to be Davids. 00:55:38.980 --> 00:55:42.679 Men and women, we want to be Davids. We will, 00:55:42.760 --> 00:55:48.480 from this moment, we will compare our giants, 00:55:48.539 --> 00:55:52.949 our obstacles, our challenges, We will compare 00:55:52.949 --> 00:55:58.630 them to our God and not to ourselves. Not to 00:55:58.630 --> 00:56:01.510 our resources. Not to our limited knowledge. 00:56:01.789 --> 00:56:07.829 Not to our friends. Not to circumstances. We're 00:56:07.829 --> 00:56:14.230 going to compare them to you and you alone. Almighty 00:56:14.230 --> 00:56:20.559 God, I believe that this church is going to be 00:56:20.559 --> 00:56:23.300 a lighthouse and a spark for the entire valley. 00:56:24.079 --> 00:56:26.980 It is positioned where it is positioned so that 00:56:26.980 --> 00:56:30.679 it can reach north, reach south, reach east, 00:56:30.780 --> 00:56:34.500 and reach west to change not just a community, 00:56:34.539 --> 00:56:42.059 but a state, but a nation, and a world. And we're 00:56:42.059 --> 00:56:44.119 not going to get there by comparing our giants 00:56:44.119 --> 00:56:49.989 to our resources. So we commit ourselves to you 00:56:49.989 --> 00:56:54.090 in a fresh way. Men and women, would you just 00:56:54.090 --> 00:56:56.690 say with me, and Lord, everything that I need, 00:56:56.849 --> 00:57:04.210 it's in the bag. It's in the bag. I want to be 00:57:04.210 --> 00:57:09.210 a David. This year, I get after you with a great 00:57:09.210 --> 00:57:17.090 pursuit. In the name of Jesus. Amen and amen. 00:57:32.600 --> 00:57:38.079 Or call us at 541 -995 -8282.