‘Victory Over Goliath’ - Victory Series Pt.4

So just to give a title to my message today, it is called Victory over Your Goliath. Victory over your Goliath. We've been in a skirmish series all month long, talking about victory. Been in a series of victory this entire month. Last week, we had a sermon that was titled Don't Quit.

And that was just a week where we just began to really press upon everybody that was present last week, that wherever you may be, whatever battle that you may be fighting, that you are not supposed to quit. The week before that, we talked about victory over fear that when we're fighting, we have faith in one hand and we have fear in the other hand.

But God has called us. It's okay to have faith in one hand and fear in the other hand, but God is saying, keep pressing on. And so today we're going to talk about victory over fear.

If you can't tell, oftentimes I find myself in the kids department because I love I love our babies. I love our children because I want to be able to help just champion James and Sheila and what they're the amazing job that they're doing. And she said the ministry is growing over by 25% because we're busting out at the seams in our kids move.

We have about 50 kids and on some Sundays we average about 45 kids a week. Come on now. That means ministries happen in somebody's house. Come on. Yeah, I missed that one.

So last the last time I was in the kid's ministry, Miss Sheila did this game that we both grew up with. It was hot potato, and the kids were looking at her like, What are you doing? I'm like, What are you talking about? What are you doing? Like, this is an iconic game. This is hot potato. You take it and you pass it to your friend, right?

Yeah. I got practice before Christ. Amen. Rough crowd. Rough crowd. So I'll begin to think about there. There's some things that shape my childhood that my kids. Your kids would never, ever begin to experience. Like, they. They just don't know the life we live. Back in the eighties, for some of y'all, the seventies, the nineties, you know, they just don't know how we grew up, right?

Like we grew up playing hot potato. We grew up playing Red Rover. Red Rover. Like Kisha come over right now. Remember that Red light, green light, free swag, Mother. How about duck, Duck, goose. Y'all remember that? And I love duck, duck, goose. Cause you can slide on the floor and get in your spot little bit, you know? You know, I'm talking about our kids would never have the same experiences we did growing up.

I'm gonna tell you how real it was in my hood. I'm gonna tell you. I had a tire, and this is from my Jamaican friend. We got a tire and a stick, and all we did was beat that tar down the street. That was it. We just. We spent hours doing that. We thought that was fun. That's just some.

Some just ingenuity that they don't have these days, cause they're all like this. There's some things that are tools you would never know what to do. They don't know what a track is. They don't know the engineering ability that you have to begin to take a nickel to balance on the record ahead of of a loop. So that way, the record doesn't skip.

Come on, Church. I know what I'm talking about. Y'all know what? Come on. Come on. Wade, your hand. You know what I'm talking about. You have the way the needle of the record had down, so that way doesn't skip. That's a good time back there. My children would never know what it would take to go to triple-A and get an atlas, a road map, so you can go from the East Coast to the West Coast in Jesus name.

You know what I'm talking about. We had to go to triple-A and get a map and an atlas of what was going were to really map out our journey. There wasn't no Siri. There was no Google Maps. If you got lost, you just got lost in somebody else's cornfield. That's how we grew up. And then the instructions that they would give you, you go to, you know, the corner of a street and, you know, you go you'll go down by the water tower and you make it left and then you see a big red bar.

No, there was no rerouting. None of that. My children would never know what castor oil tastes like. man. I don't know if unless they go to me, Miles and Zigzag may pull out the cabin and give you some. My children would never know what a V8 hot oil treatment is. I know what I'm talking about. My children would never know the ingenuity that it takes when you have rabbit ears on a TV to go to the kitchen, pull out the cabinet, the cupboard.

Tear off a piece of aluminum foil. You go back to the living room, take it on to the loom before you and begin to trying to get the station to be clear. Come on in church. Can I get a man just like y'all acquired over here? Because I know what I'm talking about. It's okay. It's. I'm. I'm a woman.

It's okay. It's okay. That's. That's our next. It's over. That's the next generation of our, you know, the worship leaders and all of that. It's okay. We'll school you. We all come to my house. We're going to have a TV with them before y'all. And they may. Y'all just don't know. And then what? What made me realize when I was in kids ministry a week, a week or two ago, is that I begin an exodus of what are we doing to prepare our kids for this next generation?

What are we doing to prepare our children to survive in the world that we have today? That's the question. Proverbs 1322 says that a good man leaves an inheritance for their children's children. I get that the Bible calls us to leave an inheritance for our kids, our children's children. We get that. But what are we doing to prepare our kids for right now?

I was talking to some educators yesterday and it was telling me it was just disheartening. Sixth graders don't know how to read in sixth grade. I don't know how to pick up a book and read. And I'm talking about green eggs and ham. Samuel Houston, we have a problem. How do we begin to equip our children to fight the battles with this generation?

How do you begin to adequately prepare our children to be more than conquerors? How do you begin to teach our children to be a house of prayer? There are some lessons that I believe that we can glean from David and Goliath. There's some lessons that we begin can take away from from the battle of David and Goliath. Truth be told, there's four conversations on my highlight really quick.

And then we're going to eat. Amen. There's four conversations that David had before he stepped into the battle with Goliath. And so just to give you just a quick overview, we understand what David and Goliath was all about. You know, David and Goliath, you know, he was supposed to fight the Philistines giant and, you know, the David fight.

You know, he he chooses a battle to go into the war with Goliath, and he goes back and so he won. And that's typically the short story of the story. But the point is this What I begin to realize is that when I look at the story in First Samuel Chapter 17, that the battle that David picks up, he wasn't even 17 years old just yet, 16 years old.

David's steps into the ring as a man to fight a battle. In all intents and purposes, another man should have all but God already preordained and predestined for David to be where he was. It's a fight, the battle that he is supposed to fight. So, kids, let me just tell you this battle in life does not discriminate against ages.

The battles that you may face in life does not discriminate in ages. It is a matter if you're 12, 21, 31, 61 or 81, that we're always going to be in some type of battle. David faces the giant in the valley, but before he does that, there's four conversations. Conversation number one is this David has a conversation with his peers.

David has a conversation with his peers. And how do you know that? I mean, let me tell you how the soldiers are talking about how big and how bad Goliath is, right? They're talking about how many battles he won. They're talking about how tall Goliath is. They're talking about, you know, that they are afraid to fight Goliath. David gets up and says, Goliath, send me a man.

Glasses. Send me a man that will fight me. And then if I win, I will rule over you. But at the man that you send towards me, beats me. You guys can rule over us. It was one and done, right. That's the story that Goliath and David's having this conversation with. And so day after day, life goes out into the river base and goes down, said, Who's willing to fight me?

All of the Philistine army sitting here, one Philistine army and the Israelites are sitting there. No one from Israel stands up and says, I will be that person to take this battle. He goes out day after day after day like taunting him. And so these are soldiers. This this is the book of Ryan. This is how I would interpret it.

Him and his boys, they sitting around talking like, yo, you go go fight this do like knob, dude. You bigger than me. You want you go fight them like look, you you've won more battles. And I was like, let me go. We talked to Peter. No, Peter, What's up, man? How you doing? Peter? You cool? You know, you got game because you like to cut people and do things, you know?

Peter, you know, happy to do. Peter You want to fight now, man? Once you get John and James like James Gentile, y'all want to go over and fight this Philistine more, you know, You know, get Jesus. Hey, man, they're going back and forth. No one in the Israelite camp is willing to take Goliath on. Verse 25 says this Now, the Israelites have been saying, Do you see how many how this man keeps coming out?

He comes out to defy Israel. The king would give great wealth to the man who kills them. He who who He will also give him his daughter in marriage. That's a bonus, right? If you beat this guy, I will give you my daughter to marry and he will be exempt his family from all taxes. Not only do you get a wife and then you don't have to pay taxes for the rest of your life.

Kimono like really sign me up?

David asked the man standing near him, verse 26. What will be done for the man who kills the Philistine and removes the disgrace from Israel, who is the uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? David shows up, tired of sitting around. David goes to the sergeant, the generals, the lieutenants and all the captains and ask him, What is it in me if I go and fight this, this giant?

What do I get? So let me put it in this context. Christians got to say there's some issues out there that you guys are not are not addressing. What are you gonna do about it? Who's going to go for me and fight this battle? Christians, there's some things that you've seen that you are aware of that you know that it goes against Scripture.

What are you going to do about it? Who? Who's going to go before me? Christians. You know what's going on in Israel? What are you going to do about Christians? You know, what's going over in the border of Texas and New Mexico and all the other borders to California? What are you gonna do before me? What are you going to do?

Christians, you know, the the, the the disparity that we have in our school systems. What are you going to do? Christians, you know, the issues that we have in this world. What are you going to do? Are you going to keep sitting down? Are you going to stand up? That's that's the conversation that they're having. Whatever your Goliath may be, God is saying, I need somebody to rise up and fight this giant.

So what are we going to do?

What separates David from everyone else is that he saw victory while others saw defeat. That's what separated him. Everyone else saw defeat. The soldiers was talking about how big Goliath was and how many battles he's won and how many people that he's conquering. And, you know, the things that all the trophies that Goliath had. The soldiers were talking about defeat.

But David saw victory. And so we take an oath, write this down. We fight from victory and not for victory. I want you to get that. That we fight from a position of victory, not fighting for victory. I want you to get that. So this is your battle line right here and victories over here. And this is where the battle starts.

Many of us are right here trying to fight the victory. Got to say that we've already won that. So you should be focused on your position right here because we already won. We buy from victory. We're not fighting for victory. David knew that he was going to be walking through the battle, right. That he already knew that he was going be walking through the valley of the battle with.

So, yeah, I walk through the valley of the Shadow death. I will fear no evil. I'll walk through the valley of the shadow of death. It didn't say I walked in, he said, I walked through. Many of you are walking in. That means that you stopped. We got a soldier to go. He told you to continue to press on in, stop walking in and walk through Jerusalem 23.

I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff die. Comfort me. You prepare a table for my enemies. If he's preparing a table before you enemies that he's there with you, that you're not alone like he's hosting. He's hosting a party. And my God, your God, our guy. He's a great host. Come on, now.

He turned water to wine, right? He said, Let's keep the party going. Right? He says, You know, don't be defeated. That we have to continue to walk through the valley. Moses walked through the see the truth that I need to walk through Egypt said, Right. Michele could have been to go walk through the fire. We have a God that wants you to walk through and not stay in or let me hear you.

Point number two conversation with the family. David has a conversation with the family. Verse 28 says this Iliana, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men and he burned and with anger at him and asked, Why did you come down here and whom did you have? Whom did you lead the sheep with in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is.

And you came down here only to watch the battle. His own brothers asking him, asking David, why did you come down here? Are you did you come down here just to watch the battle? Because you're not going to do anything. You're too small, right? The people closest to you would destroy your vision. The people that are the closest to you would destroy your vision.

Even your own family. David's own brother didn't even believe in him, was speaking against the vision that God gave him. You're asking questions of why? Asking you're not good enough. You know what, David? Your time is not right now. You're not just. You're not old enough just yet. You're too young. First, Timothy. You know what 412 says? Despise not your youth.

Don't look down. And because of your age, it doesn't matter. Despise, not youth, but his own family. Sound like you know what? You're not worried that you're not call. You're not good enough, you're not strong enough, you're not equipped, you're not qualified, you're not educated enough. David's about to go into battle and he is selective with his response with his brother.

Verse 29 says this Now. Now what have I done? Like, if he says, Now what I have done, he's like saying, Now what is it today? Because AB is always coming at David for whatever reason. Yet to go back and remember Chapter 16 when David was called. Right. Go back to chapter 16 when we have where they were that Samuel was looking for a king, right?

And Jason said, Bring your boys, bring your sons Eliakim No, that's not the one I've got passed over for the runt of the litter, which was David. And he remembered that and still hold on to it in the AB is now willing to do what God what David is call God to do in the ab. His oldest brother, one of his oldest brothers, is now willing to do what God called David to do, which is fight Goliath because he's down there with everybody else and all the other soldiers.

Is nothing happening in the AB doesn't realize that David is on assignment from God. How do you say that? Passive. Because if you look at verse 17, it would tell you that David's father told him to bring a lunch to his brothers. David had to receive word from his father to go, I'm sending you into battle.

David had received an assignment from his father. You have received an assignment from your father to go into battle. God has already prepared you. So not only are you walking through the battle, not only are you walking through victory, you have an assignment for victory. I want you to get there. That you're walking through victory. And then there's also you have an assignment for victory.

Third point. Third conversation. He has a conversation with leadership. He had a conversation with his family. He had a conversation with his peers. And now he's having a conversation with leadership, which is Saul. Verse 33 says, Saul, what are you doing? Saul talking to David is asking like, What are you doing? Like, why? Why are you even down here?

Like what? What do you think you can do? Like you don't you know that the Goliath had killed hundreds? He's been fighting longer than you've been born. Like this is a trained warrior. So, David, what do you think you can do? He said like you're too young. Basically, Saul is asking David, what makes you think that you can beat Goliath?

What makes you think that you can beat your Goliath? What? And how do you think you can be your Goliath? And David's response is simple. So I think David grew up on the south side of High Point. I'll tell you. Why did you here? Did you see David's response? This is the south side of high point response. If you had Thomasville, we can be South side of Thomasville, whichever way you want to go.

Greensboro, take, take, take you city. But watch this. He says you know, saw while I was out tending my father's flock, his sheep, you know what happened while I was out working the fields with Mike, with the sheep. But my father, a lion, came. Guess what happened to the lion? It took one or two sheets. And what I did, I went after it.

I went after the line with the line with the sheep in his mouth. I take the sheep out of the lion's mouth, beat the lion to death, and I walked back and carried that sheep back into the fold. I get back to the sheep again. Guess what happens again? A bear comes, a bear comes. Take another sheep. And what I do because I'm thinking since I got victory over the lion, my guy's is going to give me victory over the bear.

So he goes and take the bear. The sheep out of the bear's mouth beats the bear across the head, beat him down, kills the bear and take the sheep back into the fold. And so Saul is asking David, what makes you think you're qualified? David said, Because if my God can deliver me from a lion, and if my God can deliver me from a bear, my God can deliver me from a Goliath.

Come on out. Church So I don't know what your life may be today. I don't know what your bear may be today, but you're a Goliath. You lie to your bear. Cannot beat the armies of God. I'm getting there. I'm getting there. So, my God, your God in our God can help you defeat a lion. A bear, which is a training ground that he set for you.

He knew the victory had already won because he trusted God in all his ways. So not only are we walking through victory, not only are we on assignment for victory, we have to know that God is with me in the victory, Saul tries to place his armor. And David, you know, we talk. There's plenty of times, you know, we saw is this this, this soldier, this this ruler putting his big armor on a 16 year old boy.

And Saul's like, David's like, I can't I can't fit your armor. Your armor was not designed for me. So David goes into battle with his own armor on. Don't allow people to place their armor on you. Don't allow other people to put their armor on you. Kids don't allow your parents to put their dreams and their desires of themselves on you.

You walk out your own dreams, you walk out your own desires. You walk out your own colleagues because your parents call. You may not be your calling. God has identified a calling and a desire for you specifically that's designed for you and that your parents, I must say this, don't allow the appearance of the battle to change the application for your victory.

Or that's good when you try to wear somebody, someone else's armor. We allow the appearance of the battle to change our application for our victory. Let me break this down quick so you'll see Goliath and all his might and all of his strength. And because all sees Goliath wearing this armor, he believes that the only way that David even have a chance is for him to have is to have armor on.

But David knew the appearance of what the battle looks like is that the application of God gave me God gave David a slingshot and some rocks. So the fourth conversation that David has is with Goliath. David goes down into the valley, talks to Goliath, and this is what he says. He says to David, Am I a dog? That you come at me with sticks and a philistine curse?

David, by his God, come here. He said, I'll give you give your flesh to the birds in a wild animal. David said to the Philistines, Philistine, you come against me with a sword, a spear in a javelin. Goliath carries a sword, a spear and a javelin. He carries a sword, a spear and a javelin. Now, this is Goliath, right?

He is a trained mission. You know, he he can do it right. He's a trained gladiator, but he comes to the battle to a 16 year old with a sword, a spear and a javelin who's scared, like who is really scared. David tells them. This day the Lord would deliver you to my hands and I will strike you down.

Cut your head off. All those who gather here would know that is by the sword, is not by sword or by spear. That the lower says or the battle is not ours, but is the Lord's. And I love this part. David, in verse 48 says that he walks towards the battle and many of us are walking away from the battle.

Scripture tells us that David is walking towards the Philistine giant and that walking away and many of us, when we are in a place of battle, we're retreating versus advancing. God is same. I have built you in such a way that you have have that you are supposed to have victory, that you are called from a place of victory.

He wants us to know David takes what he has in his head, a rock and a slingshot, and is one and done. He takes that slingshot, swings it around and hits David with it because David defeated Goliath, not with a rock, but with the rock. And just in case you don't know, the rock that I'm talking about worships you.

Come on up. The rock that I'm referring to is itself. Chapter 18, verse two. He says, The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. My God is my rock in whom I take refuge. My God is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my strong go. That's the rock that I'm talking about. The rock that David through was not the rock that we pick about the streets.

It's the rock of God. Deuteronomy Chapter 32 says this that, my God, he is the rock. His work is perfect. Psalm 62, verse six He is my only rock, my salvation, he is my defeat. I shall not be removed first, seventh Chapter two. No one is holy like the Lord, or there's no one besides you. Nor is there any rock like our God.

So, church Today, I want to remind you, there's four conversations that David had. He had a conversation with his peers. He had a conversation with leaders, He had a conversation with his family. Then he had a conversation with his enemy, which is Goliath. So I don't know what your life is today, but you need to put your Goliath on notice.

Tell them that, my God, your God, our God was going to give us victory. Amen. So whatever your goals may be, I don't know if it's financial problems. I know if it's marital problems. I don't know if his sickness or if his health over school or job, whatever the case your life may be, You may be walking through the valley, but don't stay in the valley.

God wants me to remind you today is this that you're walking through victory, that you're on assignment for victory, that God is with you in the victory in church, that we're called to run towards victory?