You Are Not David: Finding Your True Champion in the Story of Goliath

[00:00:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Thank you.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
I've searched and I've searched Couldn't find anything better Nothing more pure and holy Holy You are holy You're holy

[00:00:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Holy, you are holy There is no one like you, there is no one else beside you You are holy, yes you are
[00:01:25] God is with you.
[00:01:58] of the Holy Spirit
[00:02:44] Thank you!

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Be what you've always been, a fire
[00:04:06] If the altar's where you need us Take me there, take me there If what you need is just an offering It's right here, my life is here And I'll be your living sacrifice
[00:04:42] I want to be consumed
[00:05:06] If your glory wants to come, let it fall.

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
We want it all.
[00:05:26] Your fire is consuming.
[00:05:30] Fill this place, set it ablaze.
[00:05:39] I want to be dry by fire Purified You take whatever you desire Lord is my life

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
God is my life.

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
So clean my hands.
[00:06:27] Purify my heart.
[00:06:30] I wanna burn for you.
[00:06:35] Only for you.
[00:06:39] Save my life.
[00:06:42] As a sacrifice, I wanna burn for you, yeah, only for you, oh

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
As a sacrifice I want to burn for you Only for you Clean my head Purify my heart I want to burn for you Only for you Save my life
[00:07:44] and Revice.
[00:08:16] and Sacrifice.
[00:08:23] I want to burn for you.

[00:08:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Hold me for you.
[00:08:28] You're a fire, a refiner.

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
I want to be consumed.
[00:08:37] Say that again.
[00:08:40] You're a fire, a refiner.

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I want to be consumed.

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
Say it one more time.

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I want to be tried, purified I want to be tried, purified I want to be tried, purified I want to be tried, purified
[00:09:18] Take whatever you desire Oh Lord So clean my hands Purify my heart I wanna cry for you Only for you Take my life

[00:09:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
As a living sacrifice, I want to burn only, clean my head, please purify me.

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Thank you, Jesus.
[00:10:25] Thank you, Jesus.

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Okay hey good morning everybody I want to get us started just with a few announcements you probably all know if you've made it to this room already by this moment good job it means you
[00:11:33] We're a good planner of getting food into the fellowship hall and all that stuff.
[00:11:37] But we do have a meal today after the service.
[00:11:39] We'd love for you to join us for that.
[00:11:42] And if you didn't bring any food, that is totally fine.
[00:11:44] We still would love for you to hang out and be a part of that together.
[00:11:49] Also, this is our final week.
[00:11:51] We have collected these boxes to send around the world to give gifts to the children through Samaritan's Purse.
[00:12:00] And I wanted to invite Nancy Wilson up to pray for them.
[00:12:05] So Nancy, if you would grab that microphone over there as well.
[00:12:11] We're really grateful for all the work that you've done to provide these, and she can tell you a little bit more about that.

[00:12:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning.
[00:12:20] Is that working?
[00:12:22] I just wanted to tell you how very appreciative I am of all the help and work that folks have done.
[00:12:30] Here at Center, we were kind of a last-minute add-on, and because I had done it before, they said, can't you do it this year?
[00:12:39] We just kind of added on, and look what you've done, and if you are over in the fellowship hall, you'll notice that we've had generous donations.
[00:12:50] and lots of boxes.
[00:12:52] We set a goal of 600.
[00:12:55] Well, we're at 541 and we haven't even added ours yet.
[00:13:00] So I'm really very, very proud of all of you and all the help.
[00:13:08] Folks here volunteered, came every day, helped me.
[00:13:13] It was just, it's been a joy to do this.
[00:13:16] And if you would come ahead, please.
[00:13:20] If you would pray with me, please.
[00:13:25] Our dear Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for these wonderful gifts that are going to children around the world.
[00:13:34] We pray that as these boxes are received, that each child will have a time where they
[00:13:41] May come to know you.
[00:13:43] And as they follow up with Operation Christmas Child, they will have further study and opportunities.
[00:13:52] But this box has given them the opportunity to know you and to love you through all of their life.
[00:14:00] In thy name we pray.
[00:14:02] Amen.

[00:14:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, again, I want to welcome you.
[00:14:05] In your bulletin, there is one of these cards.
[00:14:08] We use these to pray for each person here in the room on Tuesday mornings at 9 a.m. And I would love it if you might take a chance to fill this out.
[00:14:15] You can throw it in the offering plate as it comes around a little later in the service.
[00:14:20] Next week begins Advent, and so I hope you'll join us for that.
[00:14:23] We have some special events planned.
[00:14:25] We have a Lessons in Carols service that will be on the 21st of December, as well as our normal Christmas Eve service.
[00:14:33] And we would love for you to join us on the 25th
[00:14:35] At 10 a.m. to help us decorate.
[00:14:37] If you've been here on Christmas, you know we have lots of really great decorations, and it's always beautiful to see the way that we set up the room and get us ready for the Christmas season.
[00:14:48] All right, well, now as we head into worship, I want us to just take a moment and pause.
[00:14:55] This is just, I know that everybody's life is crazy, it's hectic, and coming into a space like this can be jarring.
[00:15:05] So I want to invite you to just take a deep breath.
[00:15:11] How are you coming into this space today?
[00:15:18] What are the joys?
[00:15:19] What are the sorrows?
[00:15:24] What are the excitements and the anxieties?
[00:15:32] Whatever it is, I want you
[00:15:34] to know that the Lord sees you in that place and he invites each of us to worship him today to trust him with those things we're bringing in to lay them before him and for this brief moment to hear him speak today our theme for this service is that Jesus is the king
[00:16:02] So I want to invite you to stand with me and join me in this call to worship from Psalm 27.
[00:16:19] It says, The Lord is my light and my salvation.
[00:16:23] Whom shall I fear?
[00:16:26] The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
[00:16:29] Of whom shall I be afraid?
[00:16:32] Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear.
[00:16:35] Though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
[00:16:42] My heart says of you, seek his face.
[00:16:46] Your face, Lord, we will seek.
[00:16:49] I remain confident of this.
[00:16:52] I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
[00:16:56] Wait for the Lord.
[00:16:58] Be strong.
[00:16:59] Take heart.
[00:17:01] and wait for the Lord.
[00:17:03] Father, as we come into this place, we ask you to bless us.
[00:17:07] We pray that you would draw us into your heart.
[00:17:12] Show us who you are.
[00:17:14] Make the words of these songs the song of our hearts.
[00:17:19] And would none of us leave here unchanged.
[00:17:21] We pray this in Christ's name, amen.

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
You gave your life for mine Named to the cross You crucified All my sin and shame You exhorced my own mercy You are the treasure I find

[00:18:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Reasons for living, so let my life become an offering to the one who is worthy.
[00:18:20] All praise to the Lord Most High
[00:18:21] All praise to the one who saved my life All praise to Jesus Christ My King of heaven, my King forever You stormed the gates of my heart
[00:18:49] The veil in between was torn apart Now you hold the keys to the grave
[00:18:59] You bring things to life You roll stones away All praise to the Lord most high All praise to the one who set my life All praise to Jesus Christ I keep on living I keep forever All praise to the Lord most high
[00:19:29] All praise to the one who saved my life All praise to Jesus Christ High King of Heaven High King forever
[00:19:52] I lift my hands up and lay my whole life down My whole life down to you I lift my hands up and lay my whole life down
[00:20:07] I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down My whole life down before you I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down My whole life down before you I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down
[00:20:35] My whole life now before you I lift my hands up in my whole life now My whole life now is for you All praise to the Lord the sky
[00:20:56] All praise to the one who saved my life All praise to Jesus Christ High King of Heaven, High King forever All praise to the Lord, most high
[00:21:15] All praise to the one who saved my life All praise to Jesus Christ, my King of heaven I lift my hands, I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down My whole life down before you I lift my hands up, lay my whole life down
[00:21:41] I lift my hands up in my whole life down for you I lift my hands up in my whole life down for you
[00:22:09] All praise to the Lord most high.

[00:22:35] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
All praise to the one who saved my life.
[00:22:35] All praise to Jesus Christ, our King of heaven, our King forever.

[00:23:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Oh, I want Jesus.
[00:23:49] Oh, I want Him.
[00:23:49] Oh, only Jesus.
[00:23:51] Take this world and give me Him.

[00:23:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I want Jesus.
[00:24:13] Oh, I want Him.
[00:24:13] Oh, I want Jesus.

[00:24:17] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Take this world and give me Him.
[00:24:25] No more mystery.
[00:24:26] Give me the God of scripture.

[00:24:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
No substitute will ever do There's nothing more I'll ever pursue Sing oh, oh, oh

[00:25:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Holy Jesus Take this world and give me faith I surrender until my heart grows tender Here with my treasure My greatest call Your substitute

[00:25:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
I'll never do There's nothing more I'll ever pursue
[00:26:00] Oh, I want Jesus Take this world and give me Him Oh, I want Jesus Oh, I want Him
[00:26:30] In Jesus, take this world and give me in.

[00:26:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Isn't He in love?

[00:27:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Isn't He in love?
[00:27:11] Jesus is everything All that I'll ever need Isn't He in love?
[00:27:17] Isn't He in love?
[00:27:17] Jesus, my King of kings You satisfy me
[00:27:18] Is it He in love?
[00:27:29] Jesus is everything!
[00:27:34] Is it here enough?
[00:27:51] Jesus is everything.
[00:27:52] You satisfy me.
[00:27:52] You satisfy me.
[00:27:59] Holy Jesus, take this world and give me it.

[00:28:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
Take this world and give me it.
[00:28:25] Holy Jesus, Holy Jesus Oh, make us hungry for your presence, Lord

[00:28:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Jesus is everything, more than I'll ever need.
[00:29:13] Isn't He enough?
[00:29:14] Isn't He enough?
[00:29:16] Jesus, my King of kings, you satisfy me.
[00:29:41] Is it He enough?
[00:29:41] Is it He enough?
[00:29:42] Jesus is everything, all that I'll ever need.
[00:29:43] Is it He enough?

[00:29:43] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Is it He enough?

[00:29:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Jesus, my King of kings, you satisfied me.

[00:29:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Jesus is everything All that I'll ever need Isn't He enough?

[00:30:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
Isn't He enough?
[00:30:25] Jesus, my King of kings You satisfy me Amen.
[00:30:26] You can be seated.
[00:30:26] Father, we

[00:30:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Offer this to you as the song of our heart this morning, that you are everything, that you're all that we need.
[00:30:37] And as we come into this place and we say these words, Lord, we also acknowledge that, Lord, we have not lived them out perfectly this week.
[00:30:53] We recognize God in your holiness as we
[00:30:55] walk into this space God that we are not holy and that we need your mercy and your grace and so we come before you now to confess our sins I want to invite you all just to take a moment and bow your head and silently confess your sins before the Lord
[00:31:39] And let's pray this prayer of confession together.
[00:31:44] Lord, you said if you love me, you will obey what I command.
[00:31:48] Forgive us our lukewarm love and our disobedience.
[00:31:55] Lord, you said you may ask for anything in my name.
[00:32:00] Forgive us when we think we need to solve our own problems.
[00:32:05] Lord you said do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
[00:32:12] We confess that our lives are often consumed by worry and anxiety.
[00:32:19] Lord you said you must testify for you have been with me.
[00:32:24] We confess Lord that we too often have been silent.
[00:32:30] Lord you said love each other as I have loved you.
[00:32:35] in this and in so many other ways we confess our failures and our shortcomings amen now as we confess our sins we don't keep our heads bowed but we look up and we hear the promises of god that are ours through scripture in romans we read that the spirit you received does not make you slaves so that you live in fear again rather the spirit you received brought
[00:33:05] about your adoption to sonship and by him our hearts cry Abba Father the spirit testifies that we are God's children and if we're children then we are heirs heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ that means that all of us who repent and look to Jesus we've got nothing to fear because through Christ's sacrifice we've been brought safely home amen
[00:33:36] Well, today as we've received freely from God's gift of forgiveness and blessing, we have a chance to respond in faith to the Lord through our tithes and offerings.
[00:33:49] We always do this after the confession
[00:33:53] Declaration of forgiveness, because I want you to know that you can't give anything to God to bribe Him.
[00:34:00] You don't need to pay Him off.
[00:34:02] You don't need to earn your way to Him, but He's given us everything we need.
[00:34:06] And as a result, we give back to Him freely out of a sense of abundance in His provision.
[00:34:11] And so I want to invite the ushers to come and collect that now.
[00:34:16] And as we do, I want to tell you a little bit about our vision as a church.
[00:34:20] We say each week that we are making room for everyone to experience joyful, life-transforming connection to Jesus and his people.
[00:34:31] And we really want to see that take place.
[00:34:35] We want to be a church where people experience something different when they come here, where they feel like they really belong.
[00:34:43] This is not just some service on a Sunday morning, but we really are a people that know the love of Christ and that show it to each other.
[00:34:50] And so one of the ways I've been challenging us to think about that this past month is through this little list in your bulletin.
[00:34:59] It says, my list of five on the top.
[00:35:03] And I just wanted us to consider who it is that God has put in our lives.
[00:35:08] People that maybe don't know him or don't have a church community that they call home.
[00:35:15] And to recognize that God is at work.
[00:35:17] That he has not done anything by accident.
[00:35:21] That he's constantly drawing people to himself and that we are a part of that.
[00:35:26] And so I want us to write out on this list who those five people might be.
[00:35:31] There's two spots because I want you to tear off the bottom half and turn it in so I can pray with you for these people.
[00:35:37] And you just put their first names.
[00:35:39] You don't have to give me their addresses or anything like that.
[00:35:42] But know that God is at work.
[00:35:44] And this week especially, I want to offer this challenge for your list.
[00:35:48] I want you to consider over the next few weeks, the four weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas,
[00:35:55] To call these people and maybe invite them for a meal.
[00:35:59] Invite them over for coffee.
[00:36:01] Sit down and see how they're doing and maybe try to discern what God might be doing in their lives and share what God's doing in your own.
[00:36:11] So as we do that, you can turn those in at the end of the service.
[00:36:16] There'll be a little basket in the back.
[00:36:18] But I want to invite us to continue our worship and stand up for our following song.

[00:36:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]:
The Lord to Jesus I surrender all, to Him I freely give.

[00:37:01] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
and Trust in Him, His presence daily reigns.
[00:37:13] I surrender all.
[00:37:27] In my blessed Savior I surrender all All to Jesus I surrender all Thee at His feet I bow
[00:37:53] Worldly pleasures all forsaken take me Jesus take me now I surrender all I surrender all to Thee
[00:38:22] All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all All to Jesus, I surrender all Be Savior, Holy Thine Let me
[00:39:05] I surrender all I surrender all All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all
[00:39:32] All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee.
[00:39:49] Fill me with Thy love.
[00:40:00] I surrender all I surrender all All to Thee my blessed Savior I
[00:40:27] I surrender all I surrender all All to Thee, my blessed Savior I surrender all
[00:40:56] I surrender all I surrender all All to Thee, my blessed Savior I surrender all

[00:41:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, as we've received the peace that comes only from the Lord, we are reminded that it's not just a peace with God, but it's a peace with each other.
[00:41:35] And so I want to invite you now to pass the peace of Christ to your neighbor and kids.
[00:41:40] You are dismissed for Children's Church, and you can follow your leaders out this door.

[00:41:56] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
I tell her I can't right now.

[00:42:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
All right.
[00:42:45] If you would make your way back to your seat and join me as we sing the doxology.

[00:42:52] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
[00:43:05] Praise Him, all creatures, here below.

[00:43:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Please remain standing for the reading of God's Word.
[00:43:33] Our passage is from 1 Samuel chapter 17.
[00:43:36] And we're going to read a few selected verses.
[00:43:39] A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp.
[00:43:45] His height was six cubits and a span.
[00:43:52] For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
[00:43:59] Goliath stood and he shouted to the ranks of Israel, Why do you come out and line up for battle?
[00:44:05] Am I not a Philistine?
[00:44:07] And are you not the servants of Saul?
[00:44:10] Choose a man and have him come down to me.
[00:44:12] If he is able to fight me and kill me, we will become your subjects.
[00:44:17] But if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects.
[00:44:23] On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
[00:44:31] And then, skipping ahead to verse 40, we read,
[00:44:35] The David took his staff in his hand, and he chose five smooth stones from the stream, and put them in the pouch of the shepherd's bag, and with his sling in his hand he approached the Philistines.
[00:44:48] Meanwhile the Philistine, with his shield-bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.
[00:44:54] He looked David over and saw that he was a little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him.
[00:45:02] He said to David, Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?
[00:45:06] And the Philistine cursed David by his God.
[00:45:10] Come here, he said, and I will give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals.
[00:45:16] David said to the Philistine, You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied.
[00:45:29] This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head.
[00:45:35] This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
[00:45:45] All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, but the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands.
[00:45:56] As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
[00:46:04] Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead.
[00:46:09] The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
[00:46:14] So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone.
[00:46:17] Without a sword in his hand, he struck down the Philistine, and he killed him.
[00:46:24] This is the word of the Lord.
[00:46:26] You can be seated.
[00:46:28] Would you pray with me?
[00:46:31] Lord, as we open up your word, we are reminded that you tell us it is living and active, that we shouldn't take it lightly, that we should come with the expectation that you might actually do something.
[00:46:45] God, that you would speak to us through this old and familiar passage in a really new way.
[00:46:52] Lord, that you would make us more like Jesus.
[00:46:56] Lord as we head into this week of thanksgiving when we will gather with friends and family we also look to you in gratitude acknowledging the many ways that you have blessed us that even in times of hardship and difficulty God you have given us the basic things that we need that you know every hair on our head that you put breath in our lungs and life in our bodies
[00:47:22] And so, Lord, we pray as we head into this week that you would give us hearts of gratitude, that you would give us peace in our homes, that you would comfort us as we grieve and remember those that we've lost, and that you would bless this fellowship event, that you would be glorified and honored as we give you thanks.
[00:47:44] We pray this in Jesus' name.
[00:47:46] Amen.
[00:47:49] Well, I was listening to a podcast this week and there was a guy on the podcast lamenting about how we are all constantly distracted and we are all always sucked into our phones.
[00:48:03] He was sharing about how upset he was that nobody can handle being still anymore.
[00:48:11] Nobody can handle being quiet anymore.
[00:48:14] I know that's not really a new insight by any means but what stood out to me was after that he was reflecting on it and he said it's a shame that our culture has gotten so much less religious lately because back then when people were going to church well they were just used to being bored
[00:48:37] To this guy, the whole benefit of church, the whole benefit of faith was because basically it was practice that can teach us how to tolerate boredom.
[00:48:50] Now, you might agree with that, but I want to ask you to compare it here to this booklet that I recently came across.
[00:48:57] It came out not too long ago, and it is called How Church Could Literally Save Your Life.
[00:49:05] It's a book that was written based off of some research that came out of the Harvard School of Public Health, and they found a few interesting things.
[00:49:14] They found out that people who attend church regularly, that regular church attendance is associated with a much lower risk of what is called deaths of despair.
[00:49:24] That's deaths from suicide or drug overdose or alcohol poisoning.
[00:49:29] It said 68% lower for women, 33% for men.
[00:49:34] In fact, there is a 20 to 33% reduction in all causes of premature death.
[00:49:44] On average, she found out that those who attend religious services weekly from the age of 20, they tend to live seven years longer on average than other people.
[00:49:55] They found out that the benefits of regular church attendance was comparable to the benefits of quitting smoking.
[00:50:03] Also, things that you might expect to find in there, married couples who attend church regularly together are 30 to 50% less likely to divorce.
[00:50:13] And not only that, but people who attend church regularly are significantly more likely to give to charity, to volunteer for both secular and religious organizations alike.
[00:50:27] Okay, so my question is, who's right?
[00:50:31] Which one is it?
[00:50:32] Is faith something that could change the very outcome of our lives?
[00:50:40] Or is it just practice for boredom?
[00:50:44] Well, honestly, I think it can be either.
[00:50:48] It really depends on what your faith looks like.
[00:50:51] And today we are going to talk about what it takes to have the kind of faith that really matters.
[00:50:59] As we look at this very familiar story of David and his famous battle with Goliath, I hope that you and I today, we might have the kind of encounter with God that would be life-impacting, meaningful, even exciting, that it would show us the kind of faith that God really intends for us.
[00:51:20] And so we're going to do it.
[00:51:21] We're going to jump into this passage, and we're going to break it up under three headings.
[00:51:24] We're going to look at the battle.
[00:51:27] We're going to look at the champion's triumph.
[00:51:29] And then we're going to look at the victorious life.
[00:51:33] Okay, so we'll talk about the battle first.
[00:51:35] I imagine we probably know at least a little bit about the story of David and Goliath, but let me fill in some of the important details here at the beginning.
[00:51:46] Verse 1 of chapter 17, it tells us that the Philistines gathered their forces for war and they assembled at Succoth in Judah.
[00:51:55] They pitched camp at Ephes Daman between Succa and Azekah.
[00:51:59] And then it says, Saul and the Israelite army, that Saul was their king, they assembled and they camped in the Valley of Elah and they drew up a battle line to meet the Philistines.
[00:52:11] Here's what all those words mean.
[00:52:13] This is a diagram right here.
[00:52:14] We have the Israelites and we have the Philistines and they are separated by this valley.
[00:52:20] They are facing off, ready for war.
[00:52:24] But instead of mounting this direct attack, just charging one another and having all that distance to get ready and watch them come, the Philistines decide to send out a champion.
[00:52:38] Instead of risking the lives of hundreds of men, they send out one man who is going to represent them.
[00:52:45] And the Hebrew word for champion in our passage is this word, Ish-haben-ayim.
[00:52:50] It literally means the man in the middle.
[00:52:55] And of course, that's what he was.
[00:52:56] The Ish-ha-ben-ayim was the man in the middle.
[00:52:59] He stood between the armies for a one-on-one fight, a fight that would decide the entire war.
[00:53:08] Whichever man won, his nation would rule the other.
[00:53:14] And of course,
[00:53:16] Goliath is a scary dude, right?
[00:53:19] He is large, first of all.
[00:53:22] We know that.
[00:53:24] There's all sorts of theories about exactly how large he was.
[00:53:27] It says that he was six cubits and a span.
[00:53:32] He had a bronze helmet on his head.
[00:53:33] He wore a coat of scale armor.
[00:53:36] He had a bronze that weighed
[00:53:37] He had 5,000 shekels and on his legs were bronze greaves and he had a bronze javelin that was hung on his back and his spear shaft was like a weaver's rod with an iron point that weighed 600 shekels.
[00:53:51] So here he is, this guy, he is huge.
[00:53:55] like I said there's all sorts of theories about exactly how tall he was but but it seems he was at least eight feet tall right the author Malcolm Gladwell he wrote a book about this he did a kind of famous TED talk about it and and he explained his theory that Goliath actually had some kind of
[00:54:13] Petuitary gland issue and so you know that's why he was so large and and that but it also of course would have made him slow and and kind of unhealthy and and of course that would explain why David could have so easily beaten him but I don't think we could assume that especially not from this text because well Goliath is not presented as slow and bumbling right he's not a pushover
[00:54:41] There is a reason why, for over a month, no single man was willing to come out and try and fight him.
[00:54:49] No, he was a physical anomaly.
[00:54:52] And he was really intimidating.
[00:54:55] You guys know Victor Wimbanyama, right?
[00:54:58] He's in the NBA right now.
[00:55:00] He's one of the best players.
[00:55:03] Victor Wimbanyama, here's some pictures around normal people.
[00:55:06] He's about 7'7".
[00:55:09] But he's also only 21 years old right now, and everybody says he's still growing.
[00:55:12] They assume he's going to make it to 8 feet if he stays healthy.
[00:55:16] And he is a heck of an athlete.
[00:55:19] See, there have been a lot of unusually tall people throughout history, and all we know is that Goliath was one of them.
[00:55:27] But not only was Goliath tall, he was also aggressive.
[00:55:33] He was also angry, and he was decked out in the most impressive battle gear of the day.
[00:55:41] The author made a point to tell us.
[00:55:42] He's got bronze armor.
[00:55:45] He has this huge missile of a javelin with a razor-sharp iron point on it.
[00:55:51] Basically, he had all the latest military technology.
[00:55:56] And so that's why when Goliath strutted out into that valley every day, daring anybody to fight him, the people were afraid.
[00:56:07] Not just afraid, but verse 11, it says they were dismayed and terrified.
[00:56:16] But of course, we know the story, right?
[00:56:18] Eventually, David, the young shepherd, he answers the challenge and he wins the battle.
[00:56:24] So the question for us this morning is, what's the point of this story?
[00:56:29] I think a lot of times we look at this passage and we kind of wrongly try to turn it into one of Aesop's fables.
[00:56:39] Just like the story of the tortoise and the hare, the moral is, slow and steady wins the race.
[00:56:47] And so we look at the story of David and Goliath and we say, well, the moral is, if you just trust God, anything is possible.
[00:56:54] right if you we look at this and we say the moral here is if you have enough faith you too can be like David and you can slay the Goliaths of your life you can face any fear and you will triumph but that's not what this story is about and and I'm just going to say we actually are not David in this story
[00:57:21] In fact, if you honestly take a look at this situation and the situation surrounding this battle, I think you start to realize that actually we usually look like everyone else besides David.
[00:57:37] When we deal with the things that scare us, honestly, I think we tend to either be more like Goliath or like the armies of Israel.
[00:57:47] Okay, maybe I need to spell that out a little bit.
[00:57:50] What do I mean that we're like Goliath?
[00:57:53] Well, think about Goliath.
[00:57:54] Take a look at him.
[00:57:56] Goliath is foolishly overconfident.
[00:58:00] He is completely self-reliant, right?
[00:58:03] He is tall, and he is strong, and he is capable.
[00:58:08] He is trusting in his physical prowess and in his armor and in his battle skill.
[00:58:13] I mean, just think about the way he taunts the crowds, right?
[00:58:17] It's like he doesn't even realize that defeat is a possibility.
[00:58:23] Why is that?
[00:58:26] Well, either he's just foolishly ignorant about what could possibly happen to him, or he's just living in denial of reality.
[00:58:39] And I think we can be like that too.
[00:58:42] When it comes to the difficult circumstances in our faces, we can take that same approach.
[00:58:50] A few years back, I found this graphic on a church Instagram account.
[00:58:58] It says, take a leap of faith.
[00:59:02] Folks, can you see the person in that picture?
[00:59:04] This is bad advice.
[00:59:08] Do not do this.
[00:59:11] It doesn't matter how much faith you have.
[00:59:14] If you take the leap of faith, it's not going to end well for you.
[00:59:20] There are some things in life it is actually wise to fear.
[00:59:25] There are some enemies out there that we cannot hope to defeat on our own.
[00:59:32] And it's foolish to march into them and act like we can.
[00:59:36] And I'm talking about things like sickness and death, injustice and hatred and racism and corruption and war and the sin in our hearts.
[00:59:49] And if we just simplify faith to believe in yourself, you can do it.
[00:59:56] If you ignore the facts, if you suppress your fears, it actually isn't going to do anything to stop the outcome.
[01:00:04] It will not prevent reality from coming to pass.
[01:00:08] It will not stop gravity.
[01:00:11] And when those conclusions occur, when that defeat actually shows up in your life, that pattern of denial, it actually isn't going to give you the tools you need
[01:00:26] to process pain and loss.
[01:00:29] And so we can be like Goliath.
[01:00:30] We can be overly confident and ignorant of our realities, but I think probably more often we tend to be like Saul and the armies of Israel.
[01:00:42] Those people that we see in the story who are just immobilized by their fear.
[01:00:50] It happens to us when we look at those challenges that we face, right?
[01:00:54] Those, you know, the proverbial Goliaths in our life.
[01:00:59] Whatever that might be, the uncertainty of our future, the challenges out in front of us.
[01:01:05] When we look at those things and we start to let our anxieties just consume us.
[01:01:11] And there's a lot of things that make us feel that way, right?
[01:01:14] Maybe it's something like, you know, a deadline that you're facing at work or at school.
[01:01:21] Fears about being a good parent.
[01:01:25] Concerns we have about our finances.
[01:01:28] It might be the process of just walking through aging and sickness.
[01:01:36] It could be the fears that come along with being single or the challenges of trusting God in your marriage.
[01:01:44] But if we're being honest, I think we all can admit
[01:01:51] There are a lot of things that will bring us to the edge of despair.
[01:01:55] There are challenges that can terrify us and that can leave us frozen when we think about the possible outcomes.
[01:02:03] Just like the people of Israel, we end up, rather than moving forward in faith, we end up cowering in fear, running away from our responsibilities, refusing to have those hard conversations we know we need to have.
[01:02:21] Laying awake at night battling our thoughts or running to our addictions for comfort and distraction.
[01:02:33] So I think if we're being honest, if we look at the battles that we face, we usually aren't David.
[01:02:39] In fact, we tend to do anything other than face our fears the way he did.
[01:02:46] Either we ignore them until it's too late or we obsess over them until the fear controls us, but there is hope.
[01:02:53] And that's why I want to talk to us next about the champion's triumph.
[01:03:00] If you try to imagine yourself in this scene, it pretty quickly becomes obvious just how bad things were for Israel.
[01:03:12] They had been camping out on that hillside for 40 straight days and they were living in fear and they were living in shame.
[01:03:23] Each day when none of them went forward to respond to him.
[01:03:27] Every day they watched this monster of a man come out there and challenge each and every one of them and not a single one stood up.
[01:03:38] Not only did he challenge them, but he dishonored their nation.
[01:03:41] He dishonored God.
[01:03:42] David said in verse 26 what he was doing was defying the armies of the living God and bringing disgrace on Israel.
[01:03:51] So these guys, they're humiliated, they're demoralized, and as nobody comes forward, every day that goes by they just start to learn to live in that expectation of defeat.
[01:04:08] It's only a matter of time.
[01:04:11] Can't you picture them there, like, laying out under the stars, trying just not to think about what's going to happen in a few days when Goliath conquers them, trying to enjoy their last few moments of freedom before they're put into servitude for the rest of their lives?
[01:04:28] Can't you imagine them thinking, oh, man, it's just a matter of time.
[01:04:32] We are a bunch of losers, and we are all doomed.
[01:04:39] But what a difference a day can make, right?
[01:04:43] Because all of a sudden, here comes David.
[01:04:45] And not only is he filled with this faith and confidence that everybody else lacks, but we read back in chapter 16 a few weeks ago, if you remember, that he has been anointed with the power of God and he has been chosen as the deliverer of Israel.
[01:05:03] He's supposed to lead them.
[01:05:04] He's supposed to rescue them.
[01:05:06] And so with one accurate deadly shot from his sling, everything changes, right?
[01:05:14] Without ever lifting a finger, these Israelites, they go from being cowards to becoming champions.
[01:05:25] And so here's where we find the real point.
[01:05:28] This is why we have this passage in front of us.
[01:05:31] This story, it's not here to say you should be like David.
[01:05:36] It's actually here to tell us that we all need a David.
[01:05:42] We all need a David.
[01:05:46] We need a champion who can do the things that we cannot.
[01:05:51] The enemies that we face out there, they are real and they are relentless
[01:05:58] And we do not have the strength to conquer them on our own.
[01:06:03] And so God, he meant for this moment in the history of Israel to point us towards the greatest moment in all of human history.
[01:06:12] See, Israel's battle with Goliath, it's pointing us to the ultimate battle we all face, the battle that we face with sin, the sin in our own hearts, and its consequence, death.
[01:06:27] This champion's victory, David's victory, it's pointing us to the ultimate victory that Jesus Christ, David's greater son, won for us on the cross.
[01:06:41] See, Jesus, for us, is the true Ish-ben-ayim, right?
[01:06:46] He is the true man in the middle.
[01:06:49] He is the one who stepped forward on our behalf and conquered the enemy for us.
[01:06:55] And when you understand the passage this way, it's actually just such a powerful illustration of the way the gospel is meant to work in our lives.
[01:07:07] See, on our own, we are hopelessly lost.
[01:07:10] We're no match for those enemies of Satan, sin, and death, the world, the flesh, the devil, however you want to put it.
[01:07:19] We have no hope.
[01:07:21] We're losers doomed to defeat.
[01:07:25] But Christ came and he was the one anointed by God to do the thing none of us could.
[01:07:33] And so through his perfect life, he went and he faced all the temptations that we face every day, but he never failed.
[01:07:41] And then on the cross, he defeated the last enemy.
[01:07:44] He triumphed over death itself.
[01:07:48] And in the very same way that David's victory
[01:07:53] was counted to all of Israel even though they did nothing to deserve it.
[01:07:58] That's the message of the gospel that when you come to Christ by faith, His victory is counted as yours.
[01:08:05] Amen?
[01:08:08] His victory is counted as yours.
[01:08:12] We lived in Boston for 15 years.
[01:08:14] I know I talk about it like every other Sunday, so you know.
[01:08:17] But when I was there, I looked it up with Melissa the other day.
[01:08:20] In those 15 years, the sports teams in Boston won eight championships.
[01:08:27] Now, have you ever
[01:08:28] We've seen these things before in the city when a team wins the championship.
[01:08:33] In Boston they load up these duck boats which are like bus-boat hybrids for the tourists and they fill them up with all the players and they block off the streets and they take all the players down through the city and everybody comes out and they celebrate.
[01:08:48] It's a huge party.
[01:08:51] Now in those parades, in those crowds, you need to know the people are not chanting
[01:08:58] You're number one.
[01:09:00] The people are not chanting, you are the champions, right?
[01:09:04] No, no, we're singing, we're number one.
[01:09:07] We are the champions.
[01:09:09] Yeah, yeah, they played all the games, but we get the victory.
[01:09:13] You know, that's a little glimpse of this truth of the gospel.
[01:09:18] Now, of course, it's an imperfect analogy, right?
[01:09:20] Sports titles don't really last, and they don't mean all that much.
[01:09:25] But Scripture tells us that any one of us who will admit our need, any one of us who could confess our weakness, who could recognize that we cannot defeat the enemies we face on our own, everyone who would look to Jesus and say, I need you to be my champion, well, your status has changed forever.
[01:09:50] See, the promise of the gospel is that Christ's victory truly is your victory.
[01:09:58] We get the credit for what he has done.
[01:10:01] We are counted righteous and holy and brave and beloved.
[01:10:06] We are forever welcomed before God just like Jesus is.
[01:10:13] Faithful and righteous.
[01:10:17] A champion that God delights in when he sees him.
[01:10:23] A champion that he welcomes, that he celebrates, that he rejoices over.
[01:10:30] And so that's the real point of this passage that we can't miss.
[01:10:34] We all need a David, and we have one in Christ.
[01:10:40] And so that means, if that's really the point, then when we study this passage, the question we're supposed to ask is not, how can I have a faith like David had, but am I living in the victory of Christ?
[01:10:57] The question we ask is not, how can I have the kind of faith that David had, but am I living in the victory of Christ?
[01:11:06] And so I want to talk about this idea, this victorious life.
[01:11:13] Are you living in the victory of Christ?
[01:11:19] That gospel, that good news that we were just sharing, it's not just words, but it's a daily experience.
[01:11:30] It's a daily experience of Christ's victory given to us.
[01:11:37] And that experience is the difference between a dead faith that is simply boredom practice and a dynamic, life-transforming relationship to your Heavenly Father.
[01:11:52] There's a Bible verse that probably a lot of us know.
[01:11:56] It's one that gets used out of context all the time.
[01:11:59] I see it a lot on the social media profile for athletes and stuff.
[01:12:03] It's Philippians 4.13, right?
[01:12:07] It says, I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
[01:12:12] And it's a nice verse.
[01:12:15] But read just like that, it seems like it means exactly the opposite of what we've been saying today, right?
[01:12:22] If you're a Christian, well, there's nothing that can stop you.
[01:12:27] You can do anything.
[01:12:31] But that's not true, right?
[01:12:34] There are plenty of things that can stop us.
[01:12:38] If you're lucky, you might make it for a long time without meeting one of them.
[01:12:45] But eventually, eventually, well, something will.
[01:12:51] But let's put the verse back into its context a little bit.
[01:12:55] It's Paul writing, and he says to the church, I've learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
[01:13:03] I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
[01:13:08] I have learned the secret of being content in every situation whether well-fed or hungry whether living in plenty or in want I can do all this through him who gives me strength see I think we all know it's not the case that faith in Christ is always going to mean that you're living in prosperity it won't always mean that that life is easy and it certainly isn't going to magically
[01:13:38] Make your marriage perfect.
[01:13:40] And apparently, statistically speaking, it might give you a few extra years on your life.
[01:13:48] But it won't keep you from one day having to face death.
[01:13:54] We're never promised that with enough faith we can conquer every Goliath.
[01:14:00] No, Jesus actually said, In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I've overcome the world.
[01:14:09] He promises we're going to have trouble, but he says, take heart, I've overcome the world.
[01:14:14] And living in that reality is what I talk about when I'm saying the victorious life.
[01:14:23] You can't guarantee you're going to win every battle, but if Christ is your Savior, then no matter what, you will share in his victory one day.
[01:14:35] If you're in Him, then one day you will see your God face to face.
[01:14:41] You will.
[01:14:43] You're going to stand in His presence.
[01:14:46] And on that day, that final day, then there actually will be no more fear, no more crying, no more pain anymore, no more death.
[01:14:57] And so we started this service and we had this call to worship.
[01:15:01] From Psalm 27, the Lord is my light and my salvation.
[01:15:04] Whom shall I fear?
[01:15:05] The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
[01:15:07] Of whom shall I be afraid?
[01:15:09] We all got up and we read that.
[01:15:14] But I wonder, are we really able to live that?
[01:15:19] You can only live that when you're sharing in Christ's victory.
[01:15:23] You can only make that declaration honestly when you're living in the hope of the resurrection.
[01:15:31] And look, I actually don't know.
[01:15:32] I have no idea what you guys are facing right now.
[01:15:36] But I do know our normal approaches don't work.
[01:15:41] Either trusting in our own strength like Goliath did, or living controlled by our anxieties and fears like those armies did.
[01:15:52] But if we truly learn to believe, to live in Christ's victory on our behalf, then it actually can change everything.
[01:16:02] It can give us hope in the most hopeless scenarios.
[01:16:06] It can give you courage in the face of certain defeat.
[01:16:09] It can give you a peace that passes understanding.
[01:16:16] Because the resurrection, it actually means that no matter what, there is nothing that can ultimately destroy the people of God.
[01:16:26] No matter what, you cannot lose if you are in Him.
[01:16:30] The way Paul put it in Romans, he says, For I'm convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[01:16:51] See, that's the life that Jesus came to bring.
[01:16:55] The victorious life, the abundant life.
[01:16:59] And it is a life of boldness and courage.
[01:17:02] It is a life that maybe you will start to look more like David, but you'll do it in his strength and not your own.
[01:17:13] When you start to live in Christ's victory, it actually does empower you to then go out into the hard places and face the tough challenges, to do hard things like share the gospel with your neighbors,
[01:17:26] and confess your sins honestly to each other.
[01:17:33] It gives us the faith to trust God in the face of our fears, to trust him with our finances, to give generously to the poor or to be faithful in our own poverty.
[01:17:47] And so as we close right now, I just wanna invite us all to come before the Lord
[01:17:56] I want us to close our eyes and try to get a vision of Jesus standing as our champion.
[01:18:11] In the same way that I invited you to imagine feeling their despair and their fear as Goliath came out every day, I want you to take a moment and just see the reality
[01:18:28] That your champion has come.
[01:18:32] That he has stood in between you and your greatest fears.
[01:18:40] That he's fought them and won.
[01:18:45] And I want to give us a moment just to ask the Lord, where are we failing to trust in you?
[01:18:57] Where are we looking away from our realities?
[01:19:04] Denying our fears?
[01:19:08] Where are we living in our own strength?
[01:19:11] Just take a moment.
[01:19:43] As you think of Jesus standing there as your victor, as your champion, what words describe him?
[01:19:54] Holy.
[01:19:59] Good.
[01:20:04] Triumphant.
[01:20:12] The invitation that each of us has today is that if we would come to the Lord, if we would claim His as our own, then those words would describe us as well.
[01:20:25] Not in our strength, but in His.
[01:20:30] Father, I pray that You might give us a faith that really matters.
[01:20:39] that you might free us from going through the motions that you might open our eyes to see you in our ears to hear you lord that our lives would look different because you have declared we are different we're yours and i pray for those who may not know you in this room today god that they would hear your invitation especially
[01:21:06] That they would know the only thing that you require is that you see your need.
[01:21:17] Would you stand with us as we sing?

[01:21:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Cast my mind to Calvary Where Jesus bled and died for me I see His wounds, His legs in spain My Savior on that cursed tree

[01:22:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
They laid him down and drenched in tears They laid him down in Joseph's tomb The entrance seat
[01:22:43] O praise the name of the Lord our God O praise His name forevermore For endless days we will sing Your praise O Lord, O Lord our God
[01:23:13] The Lord the third had break of dawn The Son of Man then rose again O trampled death, where is your sting?
[01:23:38] The angels groan for Christ is born
[01:23:47] of the Lord our God.
[01:24:08] O praise His name forevermore.
[01:24:08] O endless days we will sing your praise.

[01:24:09] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
O Lord, O Lord,

[01:24:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Let's sing together.
[01:24:49] We shall return.
[01:24:50] We shall return
[01:24:51] The raising sun shall pierce the night And I will rise among the saints My gaze transmits on Jesus' face
[01:25:20] All praise the name of the Lord our God All praise His name
[01:25:32] For in this place we will sing our praise O Lord, O Lord our God O praise the name of the Lord our God O praise His name
[01:26:01] We will sing of grace, O Lord, O Lord our God.

[01:26:26] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
O Lord, O Lord our God.
[01:26:26] O Lord, O Lord our God.

[01:26:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
well uh we have a big meal prepared for you all next door and so i want to encourage you to just head straight on over there i want to bless our meal before we head that way i'll also remind you that on your way out you can throw these little cards in the basket if you've got prayer cards you can put them out there as well and we'll pray for you let's bless our meal lord we're so grateful for the community of the church that the place we really get to know the gospel is not just
[01:26:59] At a service on a Sunday morning, but in the lives of your people, reminding us what's true, challenging us to grow, loving one another the way that you have loved us.
[01:27:10] I pray you bless our fellowship, our meal, and the food that's been prepared.
[01:27:14] In Christ's name, amen.
[01:27:17] And now hear this benediction as you head out the door.
[01:27:19] May the Lord bless you.
[01:27:21] May the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, give you everything good.
[01:27:29] that you may do his will working in us what is pleasing in his sight through Jesus be the glory amen go in peace