SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Life Family Church Sermon Podcast.
SPEAKER_00: If this is your first time listening, you can check us out on our website at lifefamily.church or on Facebook at LFTearch.
SPEAKER_00: Now let's get right to the message.
SPEAKER_01: This morning uh we're going to talk just a little bit about being prepared for the battle.
SPEAKER_01: Uh the songs that Jimmy sang were just absolutely spot on.
SPEAKER_01: Holy Ghost was definitely leading that.
SPEAKER_01: So but today, uh just a little example.
SPEAKER_01: Um, David.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody knows about David and Goliath.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, David was an example, I believe one of the greatest examples in the Bible of how faith works.
SPEAKER_01: David was a man of faith.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm so thankful that he followed through and he did what he was called to do.
SPEAKER_01: One of the greatest examples of faith in Scripture is found in the story of David and Goliath.
SPEAKER_01: Many people look at David and think the victory happened the moment he stepped on that battlefield.
SPEAKER_01: That's not where the victory took place.
SPEAKER_01: David's victory was not developed in front of the giant, it was developed in the secret place with God.
SPEAKER_01: His faith was built through fellowship.
SPEAKER_01: He spent time developing his relationship with God.
SPEAKER_01: Way before the fight.
SPEAKER_01: Our faith is strengthened through knowing God.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody say, know God.
SPEAKER_01: Knowing God is the most important aspect of your life.
SPEAKER_01: There is no greater thing than knowing God.
SPEAKER_01: None.
SPEAKER_01: We need to know our God.
SPEAKER_01: We need to know in whom we believe.
SPEAKER_01: Daniel 11, 32 says that those who know their God shall be strong.
SPEAKER_01: You know your God, then you'll become strong.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.
SPEAKER_01: So those that know, I'm not talking about a, oh, I know who God is.
SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about an intimate knowing that goes far deeper than just reading it off a page.
SPEAKER_01: It's spending time knowing who your father is.
SPEAKER_01: Knowing who God is will give you power.
SPEAKER_01: And when you get that power, then and only then are you able to do exploits.
SPEAKER_01: So he said, those that know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
SPEAKER_01: Don't get it backwards.
SPEAKER_01: It's no be do.
SPEAKER_01: That almost sounds like a Star Wars character, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01: Don't get it backwards.
SPEAKER_01: Those that know their God shall be strong and do exploits.
SPEAKER_01: David spent time developing and fostering a relationship with the Father.
SPEAKER_01: He spent a lot of time with God doing what he was supposed to be doing, which was tending to the sheep, watching over his father's supply, watching over his father's possession.
SPEAKER_01: He was a steward of what his father gave him to do.
SPEAKER_01: And as he was doing what he was supposed to do, he developed a relationship with the Father.
SPEAKER_01: And in that there was a tax that came.
SPEAKER_01: Now, our faith is strengthened through knowing God.
SPEAKER_01: Faith grows when we experience his faithfulness in everyday moments.
SPEAKER_01: You need to recognize every day the goodness of God.
SPEAKER_01: You need to make sure every day that you say thank you, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: When there's an opportunity to give him thanks, give him thanks.
SPEAKER_01: Recognize the faithfulness of your God.
SPEAKER_01: Always put his faithfulness in front of you.
SPEAKER_01: David was not a stranger to God's power.
SPEAKER_01: Before he ever faced Goliath, he had already seen God deliver him.
SPEAKER_01: Now, David said in Samuel, 1 Samuel 17, 34 through 37, I'm going to read this.
SPEAKER_01: But David said to Saul, Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth.
SPEAKER_01: And when it arose against me, I caught it by the beard and struck it and killed it.
SPEAKER_01: Your servant has killed both a lion and a bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defiled the armies of the living God.
SPEAKER_01: Moreover, David said, The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion, and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.
SPEAKER_01: You see how important it was for David to be prepared for the battle.
SPEAKER_01: David didn't step into the arena concerned whether or not he was going to win this fight.
SPEAKER_01: He was prepared for the battle.
SPEAKER_01: You see, when you go into an area of your life where faith is required of you, which is pretty much every day, you need to be prepared for the fight.
SPEAKER_01: You don't need to start playing catch up.
SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, you know, oh my goodness, I better hurry up and get some word in me so I can handle this sickness that's trying to attack my body.
SPEAKER_01: No, you need to be prepared, be prepared beforehand.
SPEAKER_01: You need to have your eyes on him fixed on God at all times.
SPEAKER_01: Consumed in his presence, staying fixed in him.
SPEAKER_01: And I know that seems like a goal that's unattainable.
SPEAKER_01: But let me ask you a question.
SPEAKER_01: Can you keep your mind stayed on the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: Let me ask you another question.
SPEAKER_01: Is it possible that you can worry all day long?
SPEAKER_01: So is it possible that you can worship all day long?
SPEAKER_01: You know, worry wants to take the place of worship.
SPEAKER_01: It's easy all day long.
SPEAKER_01: You can be concerned about some issue in your life.
SPEAKER_01: How much better would it be to be concerned about how good our God is and how faithful our God is, and how much we're prepared for this fight because we know our God and we're going to be strong and we're going to do this thing.
SPEAKER_01: That's where it lies.
SPEAKER_01: It lies in having a revelation of who our Father is.
SPEAKER_01: David had that.
SPEAKER_01: David's confidence was not based on his own ability.
SPEAKER_01: His confidence was based on his covenant relationship.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody say covenant?
SPEAKER_01: Covenant relationship with God the Father.
SPEAKER_01: The lion and the bear prepared him for the giant.
SPEAKER_01: I want to say it like this that headache, that sinus infection will prepare you for cancer.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Don't neglect the small things.
SPEAKER_01: You need to hate any form of sickness and disease that attacks your body.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because God shed his blood through a covenant partnership with you that says, by his stripes, you are healed.
SPEAKER_01: You need to hate what God hates.
SPEAKER_01: God hates sickness and disease.
SPEAKER_01: He hates it.
SPEAKER_01: So anything that attacks your body, you need to take it as if a bear was coming to steal something from you.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: It's that serious.
SPEAKER_01: So that when the giants come, the big things, you're ready.
SPEAKER_01: You're ready for this fight.
SPEAKER_01: And you're strong in the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: The victories nobody saw prepare.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to say it again.
SPEAKER_01: The victories nobody saw prepared him for the victories everyone would see.
SPEAKER_01: You see, the small things in your life are going to be behind the scenes.
SPEAKER_01: Those moments where you're praying at home in your closet.
SPEAKER_01: Those moments when nobody's watching you pray, nobody's watching you intercede.
SPEAKER_01: Nobody's watching you quote scripture.
SPEAKER_01: You're doing that in your own personal time.
SPEAKER_01: You're spending time with the Lord on your own.
SPEAKER_01: You're not doing it to be a show.
SPEAKER_01: You're doing it because you love your Father.
SPEAKER_01: You're going behind the scenes and doing the things of God right.
SPEAKER_01: So that when the time comes and you're out in the open, everybody will see the faithfulness of your God.
SPEAKER_01: Don't ever neglect the small things.
SPEAKER_01: Be faithful in the small things.
SPEAKER_01: That is what being a steward of God's promises are.
SPEAKER_01: Before David was ever a warrior, he was a shepherd.
SPEAKER_01: He was faithful for what with what his father has placed in his hands.
SPEAKER_01: He protected the sheep even with his life.
SPEAKER_01: Now I want you to get a hold of this.
SPEAKER_01: It would have been easier for David to say, okay, oh man, that bear just got that sheep.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I hate that.
SPEAKER_01: Well, we'll live another day.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't do that.
SPEAKER_01: He was protecting what his father put in his hands.
SPEAKER_01: His dad said, I want you to tend to these sheep.
SPEAKER_01: He gave his life to that mission.
SPEAKER_01: He was not an old guy that was, you know, he wasn't a strong adult.
SPEAKER_01: He was a kid.
SPEAKER_01: A child that was really consumed in being a good steward of what his father, his earthly father, had asked him to do.
SPEAKER_01: He took it serious.
SPEAKER_01: I think it's important for all of us to take serious the gifts that God placed in your care.
SPEAKER_01: Be a good steward of the things that God has placed in your care.
SPEAKER_01: Has he given you gifts?
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Has he given you talents and abilities?
SPEAKER_01: Has he given you financial provision?
SPEAKER_01: Has he given you time and abilities?
SPEAKER_01: Yes, he has.
SPEAKER_01: Be faithful over those things.
SPEAKER_01: Know this.
SPEAKER_01: Psalm says this the earth is the Lord's.
SPEAKER_01: This is Psalms 24, 1.
SPEAKER_01: The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.
SPEAKER_01: Everything that we have, the breath in our lungs, our ears, how we can hear, everything belong to God.
SPEAKER_01: Be a good steward over it.
SPEAKER_01: Be a good steward of what comes out of your mouth.
SPEAKER_01: Be a good steward of how you appropriate yourself in life.
SPEAKER_01: Be a good steward of the gifts and the talents that you have.
SPEAKER_01: Give it back to God.
SPEAKER_01: That is how we make him Lord, we recognize him by honoring him, declaring him as the Lord over our lives.
SPEAKER_01: We become good stewards over what he has given us.
SPEAKER_01: Now, he watched over what belonged to another.
SPEAKER_01: He learned responsibility.
SPEAKER_01: This is David.
SPEAKER_01: He learned patience.
SPEAKER_01: He learned dependence on God.
SPEAKER_01: Often, or God often prepares us in places where nobody else is watching.
SPEAKER_01: I can't stress how important that is.
SPEAKER_01: Do you pray?
SPEAKER_01: Do you study?
SPEAKER_01: Do you keep your eyes fixed on him when nobody else is watching?
SPEAKER_01: Or do you do things that you know you shouldn't be doing when nobody else is watching?
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
SPEAKER_01: I was at the store the other day and I was, and he's not in here, so I can say this, and nobody knows him.
SPEAKER_01: I won't say his name.
SPEAKER_01: I was at the store getting a drink, and uh, you know, people are people.
SPEAKER_01: I guy at the drink fountain was getting a drink, and uh he saw me, corner of his eyes, waiting.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, Oh, I'm sorry, so he gets out of the way, and he starts telling me all his problems.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm just so angry right now.
SPEAKER_01: I've got this heart issue, and I have to take all this medicine.
SPEAKER_01: And he started just blasting a bunch of profanities, and I'm like, Well, I understand, you know, and um, all right, thank you.
SPEAKER_01: So I get my drink, and I'm standing behind him in line, and lo and behold, he buys my drink.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, Oh, thank you.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm not gonna say his name in case you know him, because apparently everybody around here knows everybody, so or you're kin to him.
SPEAKER_01: So he was he was just a nice guy.
SPEAKER_01: He bought my drink, and um, so I thought, well, okay, all right.
SPEAKER_01: So I went out to the car real slow.
SPEAKER_01: I'm waiting for him to come back out there because I wanted to talk to him, wanted to witness to him, and to see where he was and see if you know if he ever knew Jesus or not, or if he's Christian, or anyways, he comes out and he's like, hey, I like your truck, and I'm sitting in the truck waiting, oh, thank you, how you doing?
SPEAKER_01: So we're talking, and I'm like, hey man, you go to church anywhere?
SPEAKER_01: He goes, Well, yeah, I go somewhere.
SPEAKER_01: I go over there and I won't say that either because you guys are like, you're like CIA, you'll figure it out.
SPEAKER_01: You're your minds are your gears are turning.
SPEAKER_01: Anyways, and and I he said, he goes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, I I do.
SPEAKER_01: I I I go to this church over here, and I'm like, oh, that's great, wonderful, awesome.
SPEAKER_01: Are you you a child of God, born again?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah, great.
SPEAKER_01: Well, awesome, awesome, awesome.
SPEAKER_01: And then um I said, what do you do for a living?
SPEAKER_01: He goes, Well, I'm I I can't say that either, can I?
SPEAKER_01: I know, what kind of story is this?
SPEAKER_01: This is so fabricated.
unknown: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: But, anyways, um, it was funny how fast he changed his countenance when I told him I was a pastor.
SPEAKER_01: It was like his, oh, oops.
SPEAKER_01: Shouldn't have said that.
SPEAKER_01: But I I don't, I don't, when somebody cusses or something, it don't bother me.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, people do things, whatever.
SPEAKER_01: I I just I don't I don't want to judge people based on what their actions are, I don't want to judge them based on their heart.
SPEAKER_01: His heart was the giver.
SPEAKER_01: He loved God, but he just, you know, people are struggling.
SPEAKER_01: But we have to be the same everywhere.
SPEAKER_01: I guess that's where I'm trying to come at.
SPEAKER_01: Don't just be a Sunday morning saint.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Because your witness is everywhere.
SPEAKER_01: People want to know that what you believe, you truly believe.
SPEAKER_01: So David wasn't a guy that just believed it on Sunday or just believed it on that day where he was facing the giant.
SPEAKER_01: He believed it every single day.
SPEAKER_01: The importance of having a relationship with a covenant father, father, father.
SPEAKER_01: Luke 16, 10 says, He who is faithful in what is least is faithful in much.
SPEAKER_01: So your faithfulness will set you up for the much or for the more.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew 25, verse 23 says this.
SPEAKER_01: His Lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant.
SPEAKER_01: You have been faithful over few things.
SPEAKER_01: I will make you rulers over many things.
SPEAKER_01: Enter into the joy of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: I find it very interesting that he said, Enter into the joy of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Do you notice that entering into the joy of the Lord required him to be a good steward of what his Lord or his master gave him to do?
SPEAKER_01: And when he accomplished it, his master gave him credit and said, Well done, thou good and faithful servant.
SPEAKER_01: What is it the Lord is going to say to you when you get to heaven one day?
SPEAKER_01: Well done, thou good and faithful servant.
SPEAKER_01: Enter into the joy of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: It's tied to your faithfulness.
SPEAKER_01: Joy is tied to your faithfulness as a servant, honoring God in the little things.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know you can experience joy in the little things?
SPEAKER_01: Every time that you do something right and the Lord honors you because of that, now you can go throw yourself a Holy Ghost party.
SPEAKER_01: Because you have been faithful over the small things.
SPEAKER_01: Small battles, they matter.
SPEAKER_01: The private victories, they matter.
SPEAKER_01: The time we spend with God when nobody else knows matters.
SPEAKER_01: It's building something within us.
SPEAKER_01: David spent time worshiping God.
SPEAKER_01: He wrote songs like, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
SPEAKER_01: And you know the rest of it.
SPEAKER_01: He leadeth me beside still waters.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: And all those other things he said.
SPEAKER_01: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
SPEAKER_01: This is what he wrote when he was out there tending the sheep.
SPEAKER_01: And how many of y'all know this has been quoted in funerals throughout history?
SPEAKER_01: And it's not even about death.
SPEAKER_01: Sorry to burst your bubble on that one.
SPEAKER_01: David knew God before he needed God publicly.
SPEAKER_01: Now, that is why when the giant appears to David, David did not panic.
SPEAKER_01: Now I'm getting in some of the meat of this.
SPEAKER_01: He already knew who was with him.
SPEAKER_01: David knew who was with him in this fight.
SPEAKER_01: He was sharpened, the skills were sharpened, he was ready.
SPEAKER_01: David did not pick up a sling the first time he saw the giant and say, Oh, there's a sling and there's a few rocks.
SPEAKER_01: Let's see if this works.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to see that.
SPEAKER_01: Many people in churches all over the world will enter into a fight, a fight for their life, and they haven't prepared a bit.
SPEAKER_01: And then they wonder, why did God not come through for me?
SPEAKER_01: How come God didn't help me?
SPEAKER_01: You weren't prepared.
SPEAKER_01: You weren't working towards being faithful over the small things.
SPEAKER_01: You didn't do the things that were necessary to sharpen your skills, sharpen your ability to hear from God.
SPEAKER_01: You didn't take time to know God.
SPEAKER_01: Because if you would have known God in this fight, you would have come out in a different situation.
SPEAKER_01: It would have helped you, but you weren't prepared.
SPEAKER_01: Many believers want victory in the moment of crisis, but they've neglected preparation in the season of peace.
SPEAKER_01: We sharpen our spiritual tools by spending time with God's Word, prayer, worship, and fellowship with Him.
SPEAKER_01: There's two times in your life that's always going to come up.
SPEAKER_01: Times where you go into a fight, and times when you come out of a fight.
SPEAKER_01: And then you're going back into a fight, and then you're coming out of a fight.
SPEAKER_01: This is going to happen your entire life.
SPEAKER_01: Victory, it belongs to the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And when you've established that in your life, then you go from victory to victory to victory to victory.
SPEAKER_01: We need to establish in our life a mentality of I will win every single time.
SPEAKER_01: This needs to be our mindset going into any fight.
SPEAKER_01: Ephesians 6.10 says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
SPEAKER_01: Notice it does not say in your own strength or your own ability.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Be strong in the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Our strength comes from him.
SPEAKER_01: Our abilities come from him.
SPEAKER_01: Our victories come through him.
SPEAKER_01: David recognized the true enemy.
SPEAKER_01: When David entered the battlefield, everyone else saw a giant.
SPEAKER_01: Both sides.
SPEAKER_01: All they could see was how big this dude was.
SPEAKER_01: Their eyes were fixed on his size and the size of his armor, the size of the javelin, the size of his sword, the size of his helmet.
SPEAKER_01: Even the Bible talks about how big this dude was.
SPEAKER_01: But I want you to see something the Lord revealed to me while I was praying back there before church.
SPEAKER_01: David never called this guy a giant.
SPEAKER_01: He only called him one thing.
SPEAKER_01: He was an uncircumcised Philistine.
SPEAKER_01: He was not a covenant.
SPEAKER_01: Glory to God.
SPEAKER_01: When anything attacks your body, Need to recognize it not as a giant, not as a problem that you can't handle, not something big, but something that's not a part of the covenant of God.
SPEAKER_01: This is not my covenant.
SPEAKER_01: My covenant declares that by his stripes I'm healed.
SPEAKER_01: That's my covenant.
SPEAKER_01: That's my God's personality, he's a healer.
SPEAKER_01: And he always heals.
SPEAKER_01: And if he doesn't heal, he's not God.
SPEAKER_01: Uh-oh.
SPEAKER_01: Did I take it two steps farther than I should have?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe.
SPEAKER_01: But I'm bold enough to declare that he's a good father.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't want to see his people sick.
SPEAKER_01: And we need to stand our ground and be prepared for the battle because when the battle comes, you need to be ready.
SPEAKER_01: Don't allow the enemy one inch in your life.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says, don't open the door for the devil.
SPEAKER_01: Give no place to the enemy.
SPEAKER_01: Take your rightful place as a covenant partner with God and declare that by his stripes I'm healed.
SPEAKER_01: And there's no weapon formed against me that will prosper.
SPEAKER_01: In his name, I'm blessed and I have an inheritance with the Father.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So he saw the enemy who had no covenant.
SPEAKER_01: That's exactly how we need to see the devil.
SPEAKER_01: When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against it.
SPEAKER_01: What is that standard?
SPEAKER_01: The standard of covenant.
SPEAKER_01: I am in covenant with Almighty God.
SPEAKER_01: And his promises are to me, yes, and amen.
SPEAKER_01: And everything that he's provided for me, it belongs to me, not in my own ability, not in my own power, but because of him.
SPEAKER_01: And because he ratified it through his blood.
SPEAKER_01: This covenant has been sealed through the blood of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: You have a receipt, and that is the blood of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And every time the enemy comes in, you just hold up that receipt and say, I own something, devil.
SPEAKER_01: And that is a covenant with Almighty God.
SPEAKER_01: And I know my God, and He will always come through for me.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm going to fix my eyes on Him and know in whom I believe.
SPEAKER_01: Glory to God.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: John 10 10 says the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came to give life and life abundant.
SPEAKER_01: We must never believe that the things Jesus came to destroy are the thing God uses to harm his children.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to know what this church believes right here, right now, or at least this pastor believes this right here, right now.
SPEAKER_01: I do not believe God puts sickness or disease or causes headaches or car wrecks or heart attacks to teach people lessons.
SPEAKER_01: He's a good God, and he did not go to that whipping post to get stripes on his back so that you could suffer disease.
SPEAKER_01: It's so you could walk out victorious in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: But that takes a revelation of our covenant relationship with our Father.
SPEAKER_01: And it's more than just you coming to church on Sunday morning.
SPEAKER_01: It takes every day of your life doing the small things, staying focused on Him, keeping your eyes on the Word of God.
SPEAKER_01: Don't allow the enemy one foothold in your home.
SPEAKER_01: Don't allow things in your home that will destroy it.
SPEAKER_01: Now I'm pastoring you.
SPEAKER_01: Don't allow things the enemy wants to bring in your home to bring chaos and division.
SPEAKER_01: If the enemy can separate you and cause division, then he can bring all his power in to destroy your life.
SPEAKER_01: What you watch on TV matters.
SPEAKER_01: Come on, somebody.
SPEAKER_01: I should hear a better amen.
SPEAKER_01: What you watch on TV matters.
SPEAKER_01: What you put in your eyes matters.
SPEAKER_01: What you watch on that phone matters.
SPEAKER_01: It makes a big difference in your life.
SPEAKER_01: Now I'm not preaching legalism.
SPEAKER_01: I'm preaching realism.
SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you right now, what you consume daily will be what comes out of you in time of battle.
SPEAKER_01: You say that again.
SPEAKER_01: It sounded like I was having a hard time saying it.
SPEAKER_01: What I'm I'm hearing it faster and I'm saying it.
SPEAKER_01: But what you're consuming daily is what's going to come out of you when the battle takes place in your life.
SPEAKER_01: So you better have your feet planted on the word of God.
SPEAKER_01: Because the enemy, he doesn't give up.
SPEAKER_01: That's one thing he's good at, is he won't quit.
SPEAKER_01: I think I think that's because he's a he's he's deaf and stupid.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't realize he's defeated.
SPEAKER_01: He's deaf and dumb.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't realize it.
SPEAKER_01: We have to enforce it.
SPEAKER_01: We have to remind him daily, you're defeated, devil.
SPEAKER_01: I have a covenant with my father, you're defeated.
SPEAKER_01: I'm victorious in Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Every day.
SPEAKER_01: You have to enforce your victory every day.
SPEAKER_01: Wake up every morning and say, Hope you're ready, Mr.
SPEAKER_01: Devil, because we're going to defeat you again.
SPEAKER_01: Every day I put my feet on this ground, I'm going to see victory.
SPEAKER_01: You have to go ahead and decide in your mind and your heart right now, I'm going to be victorious from here on.
SPEAKER_01: It's time for the church to wake up and rise up and declare we're victorious all the time.
SPEAKER_01: All the time.
SPEAKER_01: Because our God is victorious all the time.
SPEAKER_01: And we are in covenant relationship with Him.
SPEAKER_01: And the covenant is based on two people.
SPEAKER_01: Unless one breaks this covenant, it's established.
SPEAKER_01: And in that established covenant, if one is victorious, guess what?
SPEAKER_01: We're all victorious.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So you might as well get on board on this victory train.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to have ourselves a Holy Ghost party and enjoy it all the way to heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: And then when we get there, we're just going to say, thank you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It's another day in your glory.
SPEAKER_01: Enter into the joy of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: We can go ahead and start shouting now.
SPEAKER_01: We don't have to wait till we get to heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because we have this covenant which is eternal, eternal, forever.
SPEAKER_01: We don't have to wait till we get to heaven to have peace.
SPEAKER_01: We don't have to wait till we get to heaven to see victory in our lives.
SPEAKER_01: We can experience that now.
SPEAKER_01: Now, now.
SPEAKER_01: Salvation is now.
SPEAKER_01: Deliverance is now.
SPEAKER_01: Preservation is now.
SPEAKER_01: Protection is now.
SPEAKER_01: Provision.
SPEAKER_01: All these things belong to us now.
SPEAKER_01: We can take it now.
SPEAKER_01: We don't have to wait till the good old Bye and Bye.
SPEAKER_01: We can have it right now.
SPEAKER_01: If we don't have it right now, we're walking in a lie.
SPEAKER_01: The devil's giving us just too many lies.
SPEAKER_01: We've bought into this lie that we're just having, we're just struggling through life.
SPEAKER_01: We're not just struggling through life.
SPEAKER_01: We have a covenant with God.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Glory to God.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Praise the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Matthew 7-11 says this.
SPEAKER_01: 7-11.
SPEAKER_01: That's the only 7-11 you need to listen to.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts.
SPEAKER_01: Say good gifts.
SPEAKER_01: Good gifts to your children.
SPEAKER_01: How much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask?
SPEAKER_01: We have good things waiting for us.
SPEAKER_01: A good father does not break his children's arms.
SPEAKER_01: Just to protect him.
SPEAKER_01: I've heard that so many times.
SPEAKER_01: Well, if it wasn't for God giving me that heart attack, I would have never just started worshiping.
SPEAKER_01: You can worship him without getting a heart attack, guys.
SPEAKER_01: I promise you.
SPEAKER_01: A loving father, he warns his children about the dangers because he wants to protect you.
SPEAKER_01: God corrects us because he loves us, but he did not, and he is not the author of destruction.
SPEAKER_01: Everyone else on the battlefield, this is going back to David, everyone else on the battlefield was controlled by fear.
SPEAKER_01: For 40 days, the army of Israel heard Goliath's threats.
SPEAKER_01: But David heard something different because David wasn't standing there for 40 days.
SPEAKER_01: David heard something totally different.
SPEAKER_01: He had been in the wilderness with Almighty God.
SPEAKER_01: He had been serving his father by tending to the sheep, writing scriptures, and worshiping our God.
SPEAKER_01: He didn't hear from a giant.
SPEAKER_01: We don't take our instructions from the devil.
SPEAKER_01: We don't decide how we live our lives based on what the devil is saying.
SPEAKER_01: The giant might be spewing his hatefulness and saying the things he was saying, but David heard something different.
SPEAKER_01: David was spending God's time with God.
SPEAKER_01: He was developing his faith.
SPEAKER_01: David didn't hear fear.
SPEAKER_01: He heard faith speak.
SPEAKER_01: Fear grows when we magnify the problem.
SPEAKER_01: Ooh, you wouldn't believe how big of a God I have.
SPEAKER_01: You see, David didn't give it any time to fester.
SPEAKER_01: He just immediately took the situation in hand and said, okay, this guy, this guy is defiled.
SPEAKER_01: The armies of the living God.
SPEAKER_01: This guy?
SPEAKER_01: Who is he?
SPEAKER_01: This uncircumcised Philistine?
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't have a covenant.
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't have a partner like we have.
SPEAKER_01: We can win this fight.
SPEAKER_01: Give me something.
SPEAKER_01: I'll fight him.
SPEAKER_01: Give me something.
SPEAKER_01: I'll fight him.
SPEAKER_01: Well, here, take my armor.
SPEAKER_01: I don't need your armor.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't fit me.
SPEAKER_01: Give me five rocks and a sling, and I'll defeat this uncircumcised Philistine.
SPEAKER_01: And faith didn't wasn't passive.
SPEAKER_01: Faith didn't just sit there.
SPEAKER_01: Faith took off running.
SPEAKER_01: He was talking and running at the same time.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to feed your carcass to the birds of the air.
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to take your head off.
SPEAKER_01: And this giant was laughing.
SPEAKER_01: Who do you think you are?
SPEAKER_01: This is the warrior you're sending out to fight me.
SPEAKER_01: You see, it was the little things that God used to make the big things look stupid.
SPEAKER_01: God will use the least.
SPEAKER_01: He will use the small things to defeat the devil.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't take much.
SPEAKER_01: God's enemy, he's nothing.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that God laughs at his enemy.
SPEAKER_01: We need to start laughing.
SPEAKER_01: We need to start laughing at our enemy.
SPEAKER_01: When something tries to attack you, just laugh at it.
SPEAKER_01: Just laugh at it.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm prepared.
SPEAKER_01: I'm prepared for this fight, I'm prepared for this battle, and no weapon formed against me shall prosper.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So David heard the voice of faith.
SPEAKER_01: Fear grows when you magnify the problem, but faith grows when we magnify the God of the Word.
SPEAKER_01: 1 John 4.18 says, There is no fear in love, but perfect love.
SPEAKER_01: Cast out all fear.
SPEAKER_01: The answer is to uh to fear is not simply trying to be brave.
SPEAKER_01: You can try to be brave over your situation, you can try to solve it in your own ability, but that won't do it.
SPEAKER_01: The answer is knowing the perfect love of God, the one you're in covenant with.
SPEAKER_01: When God becomes bigger in your hearts than the giant standing before us, fear loses its power.
SPEAKER_01: David ran towards the battle because he knew God was with him.
SPEAKER_01: He was not alone.
SPEAKER_01: He was not fighting, and this I know this phrase has been said a lot, but it's so true.
SPEAKER_01: He was not fighting for victory, he was fighting from victory.
SPEAKER_01: Because he knew that he already had everything he needed to be victorious.
SPEAKER_01: And it was established in his heart.
SPEAKER_01: He knew that God had supplied everything he needed, and all he needed to do was assert it.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna say it like this Grace provides everything you'll ever need in your life.
SPEAKER_01: Faith takes it and applies it.
SPEAKER_01: I heard a preacher this week say this grace makes, faith takes.
SPEAKER_01: Grace made victory available to all of us.
SPEAKER_01: Our faith in God takes hold of it.
SPEAKER_01: You see, when you believe in what He has promised you, you take it and you hold on to it and you don't let it go.
SPEAKER_01: And you don't vacillate between, well, one day God will, someday God will, maybe God will.
SPEAKER_01: It's God has.
SPEAKER_01: That's the voice of victory is God has already defeated the devil.
SPEAKER_01: God has already set me free.
SPEAKER_01: God has already healed my body.
SPEAKER_01: God has already provided all things that I'll ever need in life.
SPEAKER_01: God has already done it.
SPEAKER_01: Now, by faith in who he is, in our covenant partnership, I take hold of it by faith and I receive it, and it's mine in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: It's the same way with salvation.
SPEAKER_01: He provided salvation for every one of us.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know that we are already, according to him?
SPEAKER_01: Now hear me, we're already saved, delivered, set free, born again, on our way to heaven.
SPEAKER_01: The problem is not with him.
SPEAKER_01: We have to receive what he promised.
SPEAKER_01: We have to take hold of salvation.
SPEAKER_01: We have to take it as ours and make it personal.
SPEAKER_01: That comes through believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth that he is Lord.
SPEAKER_01: If you're in here today and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you're not in covenant with him.
SPEAKER_01: So every time there's a battle, you're gonna fall short.
SPEAKER_01: Why?
SPEAKER_01: Because you're not in partnership with God.
SPEAKER_01: That's why it's so important for all of us who are Christians to walk in victory, because the world needs to see there's something different in the church than what's out there in the world.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: They need to see people walking in divine health and divine prosperity and divine blessing, divine protection, all these things that belong to us because of the covenant, they need to see it in you.
SPEAKER_01: And when they see it in your life, then they'll know that there's a difference in what they have and what you have.
SPEAKER_01: And they'll say, I want what you got.
SPEAKER_01: I need what you got.
SPEAKER_01: There needs to be a difference.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Let's all stand up this morning.
SPEAKER_01: This covenant that we have was ratified through the blood of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: The fact that Jesus went to the cross and he took upon himself the sin of the world, and he declared to the Father, it is finished.
SPEAKER_01: It is finished.
SPEAKER_01: Meaning this covenant was complete.
SPEAKER_01: There was nothing else for him to do.
SPEAKER_01: So he said, It's finished.
SPEAKER_01: Now, the only thing missing in this is he wants a partner.
SPEAKER_01: He wants someone that will believe in what he provided.
SPEAKER_01: He wants someone who has who is determined that I will believe what the word of God declares over my life.
SPEAKER_01: So if you're in here today and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you've never made a confession of your faith towards God in receiving the grace of God, I want you to slip out from where you are and to come up here to the front.
SPEAKER_01: We want to pray with you and we want to lead you to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: There is no other way to the Father except through Him.
SPEAKER_01: You cannot make it to heaven because you're a good person.
SPEAKER_01: We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
SPEAKER_01: But the Bible declares, Romans 5, 8, that God commendeth his love towards us, and yet while we were sinners, Christ died.
SPEAKER_01: So I want you to know that Jesus did everything in his power to bring you in relationship with the Father.
SPEAKER_01: All you have to do is you have to confess him as Lord of your life.
SPEAKER_01: So if that's you, if you're in here and you've never done that, you would like to, I make this invitation.
SPEAKER_01: Come forward and we'll pray with you.
SPEAKER_01: We'll lead you to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: Everybody look at me.
SPEAKER_01: Now, uh, if you're a teenager in here, uh, you're on your way to youth camp, uh, youth leaders in here, and you're on your way to youth camp.
SPEAKER_01: I want you guys to come up here.
SPEAKER_01: I want to pray with you.
SPEAKER_01: I want this church to pray for you.
SPEAKER_01: I want all of the church to Yeah, if if if there's somebody that maybe can go get Bella, okay.
SPEAKER_01: Hey buddy.
SPEAKER_01: We're sending these kids off to youth camp.
SPEAKER_01: Um they're gonna have a great time, they're gonna enjoy some stuff, but more importantly than anything, that they're gonna develop in their faith towards Jesus, and they're gonna experience God in a powerful way.
SPEAKER_01: We're waiting on one more, two more.
SPEAKER_01: There's another leader.
SPEAKER_01: Bella on her way.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, there she is.
SPEAKER_01: Alright.
SPEAKER_01: There's my middle child coming.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna embarrass her.
SPEAKER_01: This is Bella, my baby girl.
SPEAKER_01: Um, can you guys do me a favor as a church body?
SPEAKER_01: Can we lift our hands and and and reach it towards these uh teenagers and these youth leaders?
SPEAKER_01: Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, we declare protection over them.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, I thank you that as they travel they have favor.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, your angels are guarding them.
SPEAKER_01: Uh Lord, as they travel, that um no weapon formed against them will prosper.
SPEAKER_01: Lord, I thank you that you are a shield around them, and that as they're going towards the youth camp, towards Ohio, Lord, I thank you that they have favor on the roads, that everyone around them just gets out of the way, and they have supernatural time, and they just enjoy this time together as a youth group.
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, I pray, Father, that as they're at youth camp, that you will speak to their hearts, that you will confirm things to their hearts.
SPEAKER_01: These teenagers know you and they love you.
SPEAKER_01: But Lord, I thank you that some of them will be called into the into the calling that God, you've placed on their heart.
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, they will make a stronger confession and a stronger commitment to you, that they're going to walk out their faith and do what you've called them to do.
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, I just thank you for blessing this youth uh group.
SPEAKER_01: But Lord, I also pray over these youth leaders that, Lord, you will give them perfect peace.
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, I thank you that you will lead them and guide them to make the right choices and decisions and say the right words and the things that they do will give you glory and honor.
SPEAKER_01: And as they, as they're together, that they'll have the words to speak to these teenagers that will encourage, strengthen, develop, and draw them to a stronger commitment to you, Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Father, I thank you that these teenagers will be full of your power, full of your strength, full of your might, and that they most importantly will know you.
SPEAKER_01: Knowing you is so important.
SPEAKER_01: And Lord, I just thank you that this is gonna be a great week, a powerful week, and that Lord, you're gonna see them changed in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: They're gonna leave right after church, right?
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna eat and then you're gonna take off.
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
SPEAKER_01: Um, thank you guys for supporting our teenagers.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, just a quick heads up on the building process.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we're waiting on our plumber uh to give us the go.
SPEAKER_01: He's uh he's very busy, so he's trying to work out, work in some time to get out here and rough it in.
SPEAKER_01: Once the plumbing has been roughed in, it's gonna be like somebody knocked the top off of a red ant hill.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's gonna look crazy because we're gonna go to work.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna get this thing done.
SPEAKER_01: It won't be long.
SPEAKER_01: As soon as that's plumbing done, these teenagers are gonna have a home.
SPEAKER_01: It won't take long at all.
SPEAKER_01: So, and then I'm looking forward to having those fellowship meetings in there, eating that good food without having to move a bunch of chairs around.
SPEAKER_01: Glory to God.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So it's coming.
SPEAKER_01: So, you guys, thank you so much for your support and all that.
SPEAKER_01: And um, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: One more thing, and I'm done.
SPEAKER_01: It's only 1116.
SPEAKER_01: Most church, most churches are not done by 12.
SPEAKER_01: So we're still gonna beat the Presbyterians to the Mexican restaurant.
SPEAKER_01: So, but this last week has been very, very powerful for me and my wife.
SPEAKER_01: We have gotten some direction on where we're leading the church, the identity of this church and what we're doing as a church body.
SPEAKER_01: There's some things that I've been praying about, seeking the Lord about, and I want some, I want to make sure when I'm doing things, I'm doing things that the Lord's asked us to do, not just doing it because every other church does it.
SPEAKER_01: I don't, I don't know about y'all.
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to be like every other church.
SPEAKER_01: This is our church.
SPEAKER_01: This is life family church.
SPEAKER_01: This is us, two we are.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm asking God, what do you want us to fulfill on this earth?
SPEAKER_01: And I believe He has opened another chapter or another page in this book for this church.
SPEAKER_01: And um, you'll you're gonna hear more about it as days go by and as uh you know we get more and more information uh prepared for you.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm excited about that.
SPEAKER_01: I know you are excited.
SPEAKER_01: Um you're probably, man, you don't tell us names of anybody, you don't tell that's all right.
SPEAKER_01: There's a method to my madness, it's to keep you on edge, keep you coming back next week, and you'll hear the rest of the story.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So I want to tell you, thank you so much for being here.
SPEAKER_01: God bless you.
SPEAKER_01: We love you.
SPEAKER_01: Please come Wednesdays, God's speaking and changing lives on Wednesday nights.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: God bless you.
SPEAKER_01: We'll see you soon.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening.
SPEAKER_00: We hope that this message helps you draw closer to God as you walk out your faith.
SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next week.