WEBVTT 00:00:03.839 --> 00:00:06.719 Welcome to the Enduring Grace Sermons Podcast. 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:10.400 This is the home for the weekly teaching and ministry of Pastor Ben Hill. 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:15.199 Our mission is to share the timeless truth of God's Word with a world in need of hope. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:21.359 For more resources, articles, and updates, visit us online at enduringgrace.com. 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:24.559 And now, here is this week's message. 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:31.199 If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to 1 Samuel. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:39.039 We're going to be in 1 Samuel 17 as we continue our study on the man after God's own heart, the life of David. 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:51.200 And last week what we saw was that he was anointed the next king, that he was God's chosen anointed king of Israel, and how Saul was no longer the anointed one. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:54.880 And this week we're going to be talking beyond the sling. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:02.000 Now, I picked that title because oftentimes when we get to the story of David and Goliath, you know what happens? 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:06.400 We focus on David defeating Goliath. 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:13.439 But did you know David did not see that as the primary focus of what was transpiring? 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:17.680 In culture, David and Goliath is a very popular term. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:19.920 We see it demonstrated everywhere. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:26.239 You have your favorite sports team that is an underdog against a giant powerhouse college. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:27.200 You know what happens? 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:30.480 And that was my life, by the way, because I'm a University of Memphis fan. 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:32.239 We're a nobody in football. 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:35.439 Everybody's a top dog compared to us. 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:45.920 And so every time we faced a SEC team or a Big Ten team or a Big 12 team, the conversation was when we won, David beats Goliath. 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:49.680 Because that's the language we use. 00:01:50.000 --> 00:02:02.400 In fact, one of the best-selling authors, uh, Malcolm Gladwell, wrote a book called David and Goliath, Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:11.520 David and Goliath is headlined when the impossible happens when a mom and pop shop defeats a corporate operation. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:22.240 David and Goliath is oftentimes so focused on David and what he did that it takes away the glory from God. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:27.120 David did not see it that way. 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:34.639 In fact, David saw it as it was God's fight, as we will see here in just a moment from our text. 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:46.000 So the question for us as Christians, even the non-Christian, is first, who fights the battle in your life? 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:49.520 Who fights the battle in your life? 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:58.479 Which has a follow-up question is ultimately who fights the battle for your life is who gets the glory. 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:02.080 So who gets the glory in your life? 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:05.439 Is it you or is it the Lord? 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:16.800 That's really what we're talking about this morning is giving God the rightful place in the story, the events of David and Goliath. 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:23.199 So if you found your place in 1 Samuel 17, we're going to be looking at verse 46 and 47. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:24.159 Would you say word? 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:28.879 And I'm going to ask you to stand one more time for the reading of God's word. 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:55.039 Verse 46 says, This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down, and cut off your head, and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves, not with sword and spear. 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:59.599 For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:01.360 You may be seated. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:17.120 David, right from the get-go, when he gets face to face with Goliath, as he's standing on the battlefield, he preaches a sermon, a two-verse sermon, that is focused on the Lord. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:23.759 It is focused on where God fits in the battle in this valley. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:29.600 That the focus is not on anyone other than the Lord versus Goliath. 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:36.800 Oftentimes when we talk about the underdog story, we say David is the underdog and Goliath is the top dog. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:39.279 David understood it totally different. 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:49.839 David saw it as Goliath was the lowly dog, the underdog, because he, God, was fighting the battle for him, that God is the top dog. 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:55.439 David and Goliath is not a story to read as an underdog versus a top dog. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:00.639 It is the top dog showing the underdog that he is the underdog. 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:04.720 Because God reigns supreme. 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:11.279 It is about the Lord being the one who is sovereign in the battle. 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:13.439 Because God delivers. 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:15.040 God delivers. 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:20.959 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:32.879 David understood that Goliath had no authority, that he would not be the one who would walk away with his head hanging high. 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:37.680 Because he understood that the Lord was the one who would deliver. 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:42.160 Now, this word deliver is important because it really means to enclose. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:53.519 What that means is that David is telling Goliath on the battlefield, my God has already trapped you in his trap. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:56.639 You are not going anywhere. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:00.079 God will deliver you to my hand. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:05.680 You will not, under any circumstance, find victory this day. 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:13.199 Now, I need you to understand the context of what David is doing because it's totally unique compared to the rest of Israel. 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:23.360 If you go earlier in the chapter, what you find is that Israel for 40 days have been sitting on this little mountainside, while the Philistines are sitting on the other mountainside. 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:33.519 And in the valley, here comes Goliath, day and night, coming and decrying and saying, Hey, Israel, who among you will battle me? 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:42.879 But not only is he saying that, he is defying the living God, as David will tell when he gets into camp. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:47.439 But for 40 days, that is the scene. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:54.560 Goliath insulting Israel, insulting the God of Israel on the battlefield. 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:57.360 Now Goliath is no short man. 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:02.800 As we all know, he was over nine feet tall, according to Scripture. 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:07.600 In fact, his armor is described as being over 125 pounds. 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:11.680 Could you imagine wearing 125 pounds of armor? 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:18.160 Not only that, his spearhead alone was 15 pounds. 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:33.439 So here's Goliath standing way above anybody else in Israel, with his armor, his spear, his sword on his hilt, and a shield-bearer carrying his shield. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:43.759 In Israel, you have a king named Saul who's been stripped of his anointing, who is cowering down in fear. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:52.160 Now the thing with Saul is that he is a big man by every definition of human normal standard. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:56.079 He's head and shoulder taller than Israel, any other Israeli. 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:04.800 He's a tall, kingly man, and yet he's cowered down in fear in his little tent. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:09.199 All of Israel is fearful of this Philistine giant. 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:21.360 The scene is that they do not have faith because they have allowed their circumstances to diminish their faith to nothing. 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:34.559 So here you have Goliath in the valley screaming like he normally does, and David comes into camp bringing his brothers lunch, essentially, from his dad. 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:37.519 And he hears it and he gets mad. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:42.720 He's like, Who is this Philistine, this uncircumcised Philistine? 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:51.200 That he would decry the living God and his army of Israel. 00:08:54.399 --> 00:09:00.159 The setting is one that would catch a person off guard. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:07.600 But here's the thing with David David is not just your ordinary dude, he's the anointed future king of Israel. 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:12.080 He's a man after God's own heart, as scripture describes him. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:14.159 He's a man of faith. 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:18.799 So he goes in, he finds out, and then he says, I'm willing to do it. 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:21.919 And you know what Saul and him have a conversation? 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:26.559 And Saul's like, hey, I need to know why in the world do you think you can do this? 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:28.000 No one else can. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:31.279 And you know what David's resume says? 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:40.960 I'm a shepherd boy who, when a lion took my lamb, I went after my lamb. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:47.440 And I ripped that lamb from the jaws of death in that lion's mouth. 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:51.440 And if that lion dared attack me, you know what I did? 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:54.559 I took him by his beard and killed him. 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:59.519 He had experienced the faithfulness of God. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:09.039 And because he had experienced the faithfulness of God to give him strength against a lion and a bear, he knew that Goliath had no authority. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:10.879 None. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:20.799 He knew God would deliver, because he uses this same word, deliver the giant, the giant, just like he did the lion. 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:24.559 He was a man of faith. 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:28.080 Verse 37, we see this unfold. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:34.639 He says, The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion, and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:38.480 He was a man who had faith. 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:41.519 He was not boasting. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:51.039 He was simply, humbly saying that the Lord God, who can deliver me from a lion and a bear, can deliver me from this giant. 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:53.679 He's the delivering God. 00:10:56.799 --> 00:11:02.000 He trusted the Lord because he had seen God's faithfulness before. 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:05.279 It's kind of like the captain, Arthur Rostron. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:10.480 He was the captain of the ocean liner Carpathia. 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:18.399 Carpathia was on a voyage when they got a distress signal in 1912 from the Titanic. 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:27.200 That captain, without delay, got his crew to start heading towards the Titanic's location. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:38.799 Some of his fellow shipmates were concerned that the same iceberg that had sunk the Titanic might sink their ship, but the captain showed no fear. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:52.559 When asked why he was fearless, he simply told them, I know what our ship is capable of because I have waded through these waters before, and I know how quickly this ship can turn. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:55.440 We can get there and save some people. 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:05.360 Here's the thing for us as believers, we've experienced the faithfulness of God, yet when trouble comes, all too often, do you know what we do? 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:09.519 We forget the faithfulness God has showed us. 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:12.320 And we cower in fear. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:15.360 Christian, do not cower in fear. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:24.320 Do not allow Satan to have victory in your life because God will deliver you no matter the circumstance. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:30.960 Because we serve a God who reigns in authority. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:40.559 But he's also the God who reveals himself even in the midst of facing our giants. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:44.240 Look at what David says in verse 46. 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:57.759 He tells the Philistine, starting the second part, it says, And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:12:58.720 Did you catch that? 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:05.279 He wants, God wants everyone to know there is a God who reigns in Israel. 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:11.360 The purpose of David facing Goliath is for God to demonstrate himself. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:20.240 Did you know God allows us to go through hardship sometimes so that he can demonstrate himself to others through us? 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:29.840 That how we handle adversity is a testimony to the greatness and the work of God in our own life. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:40.080 Back in verse 26, David asks a simple question: Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:47.759 It wasn't that this giant was attacking just Israel or Saul or even David. 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:50.080 He was attacking the living God. 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:56.399 And he, this loud-mouthed blasphemer, was not going to be tolerated. 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:04.720 David did not want this blasphemer to remain in his proud state. 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:20.000 God was going to use a humble shepherd boy, a teenage boy by most scholars count, to demonstrate his power and his authority to the world. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:25.600 That God is the living God that no one can stand against. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:37.919 Are you trusting God in a way that allows God to reveal himself to other people through your life? 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:51.440 If you were to truly examine your life, are you living in such a way that other people see the power of God in you because of the way you trust him? 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:56.240 Do they? 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:02.159 There was a man named Nobel Qureshi. 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:06.639 Nobel Qureshi, he was a Muslim. 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:08.639 In fact, he was a devout Muslim. 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:13.679 He was born in a Muslim family and he had no interest in Christianity at all. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:22.960 But then God stepped into the equation in college because he gave him a friend named David Wood. 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:25.279 David Wood was a simple Christian. 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:30.879 But here's the thing about David he was a man who truly trusted the Lord. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:34.240 He lived what he talked. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:43.360 As Kureshi watched him day after day, he realized that David actually practiced what he said he preached and what he said he believed. 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:48.799 And so that began to really mess up his life. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:16:00.240 He started wrestling with whether or not what he believed was true because this man was so different than anything else he had ever seen. 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:04.159 In fact, in many cases, he said it just didn't line up. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:06.639 And so it unsettled him. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:14.639 Ultimately, God used that friendship to open the door for David to share Christianity with Kuresh. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:28.639 And Quaresh would one day eventually surrender his life to the Lord and become a writer before his death in 2017 to cancer. 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:52.159 You do not know what your faith will do to change the world. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:17:06.160 But we have been called to trust the Lord, to live a life of faith before others so that God can reveal himself to others through our life. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:12.319 But here's the beauty of the Bible is that David, he faces Goliath. 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:19.759 God is going to reveal his power through David's victory over Goliath. 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:27.039 But there is even a better example of God revealing himself to the world. 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:30.880 And it points us to the cross. 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:44.000 Because Jesus came as both fully God and fully man, sent by the Father to reveal himself to the world in his love. 00:17:45.119 --> 00:18:00.640 Jesus' death on the cross is the biggest moment in history of the revealing of God's love and his fact that he's a living God that's ever taken place because he rose from the grave. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:10.319 God has revealed himself and reveals himself through the faithfulness of his servants and through the testimony of his word. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:19.759 Are you allowing God to reveal himself to others through your life when you're facing your difficulty? 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:32.079 When you're facing your trials, when you're facing hardship, when you are facing decisions you do not know how to answer, are you still able to worship the Lord in a way that points people to Jesus? 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:34.559 That, hey, that person is weird. 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:45.200 They trust this Savior they call Jesus, and their life has fallen apart, and yet they still are glorifying the Lord even in the midst of that. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:47.839 Is that your testimony? 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:51.440 That was David's testimony. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:55.039 He is facing a giant who should kill him. 00:18:55.440 --> 00:19:04.880 But he understood who was in control and that God was going to reveal himself to the whole world through the victory he was about to experience. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:08.799 Because he trusted that God would save him. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:11.440 Look at verse 47. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:21.119 And all that, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:30.240 David, you've got to remember, he's already tried on Saul's armor and rejected it, saying, I can't go out there in this armor. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:32.240 It's too heavy, it's too cumbersome. 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:34.960 Saul was probably much, much taller than him. 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:36.559 So it was jumbo size. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:38.640 It'd be like my kid putting on my suit. 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:40.720 It would look ridiculous. 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:44.240 And so he's rejected it. 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:45.759 And you know what David does? 00:19:45.920 --> 00:20:02.720 He goes to the little brook and he picks five stones, smooth stones, drops them in his little shepherd bag, takes his staff, a stick, and his sling, and goes to face Goliath. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:06.000 Goliath is absolutely insulted, by the way. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:10.079 He's like, You come at me like a dog with sticks. 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:16.480 He doesn't have what we would consider military force behind him. 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:25.119 In fact, what he's coming with him, with is just common everyday items that would be on any shepherd boy. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:39.440 And here he is standing against a fully armored, equipped with military force weaponry, ready to go to battle. 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:45.200 They're night and day. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:21:00.079 And it's not with the military might, it's not with sword and spear. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:12.079 It is a wonderful reminder of the sovereignty of God in this battle that he is going to give David victory. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:15.200 Because God is fighting the battle. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:18.240 It is not his battle. 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:26.079 Now there's something about this word saves and the phrase the Lord saves that's vitally important to note. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:29.759 The word saves is Yasha. 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:40.079 Yasha is the Hebrew word for saves or to rescue, to deliver, to bring to safety. 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:47.680 Yasha is the root for the name Yeshua. 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:52.880 Yeshua is the Lord's saves. 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:59.759 If you go to the Gospels, the name that Jesus is given. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:03.759 In Hebrew is Yeshua. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:06.880 The Lord saves. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:18.160 David, whether he knew it or not, is testifying and pointing to the future Savior that would come from his lineage. 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:24.240 He's pointing to Jesus, the cross, the one who saves. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:26.319 The Lord alone saves. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:34.640 The fact of the matter is, the Lord alone has saved the world through his blood and sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection. 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:41.599 And the only way for salvation, the only way for salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. 00:22:42.400 --> 00:22:44.240 There is no other way. 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:52.319 A recent study I saw was that they interviewed several evangelical churches. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:04.240 And over, a little over half said that they thought that there was possibly other ways to be saved other than through Jesus. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:12.400 Church, there is no one who saves except the Lord. 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:14.960 You can't do it. 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:17.599 No other religion can do it. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:21.279 There are not many directions that lead to the same God. 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:25.279 There is one way, and that is through Jesus Christ. 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:33.359 When we place our faith and trust in Jesus, he is good and faithful to save. 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:42.000 You can rest assured that you have eternity to look forward to when you trust the Lord who saves. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:49.359 And it changes the way we live when we truly believe that Jesus alone saves. 00:23:50.720 --> 00:24:01.839 One of my favorite stories and examples of this is the five missionaries from America that went down to the rainforest of Ecuador to reach a violent tribe. 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:06.079 If you know the story, you already know who I'm about to say. 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:09.359 That one of the missionaries there is Jim Elliott. 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:18.480 Jim Elliott and his team went down there carrying guns to protect themselves with one agreement. 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:25.680 That those weapons were not to be used against any tribe that they were trying to reach with the gospel. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:30.319 Essentially, it was used for only wildlife. 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:37.279 They land and the tribe kills them, spears them to death. 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:49.920 As time goes by, Jim's wife, Elizabeth Elliot, and a team would go down there bringing the same good news. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:16.480 And when they got there, the tribe received them, and many were saved. 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:22.880 When we truly believe that the Lord saves, it changes the way we live. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:24.240 We live by faith. 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:34.160 We trust that the Lord will deliver, we trust that the Lord will reveal Himself through our faith in him and that he will save us, but ultimately we believe that God wins. 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:38.000 God wins. 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:41.039 Look at what he says. 00:25:41.440 --> 00:25:48.720 He says, For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:55.680 David declares this, and when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to David, do you know what David did? 00:25:55.839 --> 00:26:02.559 He ran quickly towards him, sling in hand, rock and sling, swirling it around his head. 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:05.200 He throws the rock, and you know what happens? 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:09.680 Hits him in the forehead, it sinks in, he falls forward. 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:22.799 He dies by the hand of David, not by the stone, but by the sword that was in Goliath's sheath, with his head chopped off. 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:30.160 The Lord did not come with a sword or spear with David. 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:32.240 He provided the sword. 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:35.519 He provided the victory. 00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:47.039 He did the unthinkable through a humble shepherd boy, because God provides victory for all who trust him. 00:26:48.480 --> 00:27:09.599 It might not feel like it right now, with the trial that you're going through, with the difficulty of your circumstance, whether it's your finances or your family dynamic, it might not feel like God is going to be victorious, but let me tell you and assure you, you will experience the victory of God, whether it's this side of eternity or the next, if you trust in Him. 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:15.039 Because God fights our battles for us. 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:22.160 And the reality is the battle belongs to the Lord. 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:36.000 The sin that you're facing, the difficulty of that temptation that draws you in, God has given you victory through Jesus Christ. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:40.720 He has already won the battle. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:56.720 If I could have your attention just on this, too many Christians fight for victory rather than from victory. 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:07.839 Too many Christians fight for victory rather than from the victory they've experienced in Christ. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:24.319 If you will simply trust in the work of Jesus, and you will walk through life understanding that God has already given you victory. 00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:35.680 When the trials come, you can still hold your head high, knowing that it is for God's glory and his praise and that he is already promised victory on the other end. 00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:54.559 You do not have to go through life worried, stressed, burdened, believing that you have to do something in order for victory to occur. 00:28:55.680 --> 00:29:02.400 All you have to do is surrender to the Lord, and He will pave the way for victory. 00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:15.920 He will guide your steps, and he will guide the sling to give you victory because he has already won. 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:36.799 I think one of the best ways that we can illustrate this reality, at least in the modern age, is that we all have to some extent the ability to record our favorite sports shows. 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:40.720 Specifically our favorite sports events. 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:46.160 I can remember being that guy. 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:52.640 I had one of my teachers in college who had a DVR who was recording the big game. 00:29:53.279 --> 00:30:00.480 He couldn't be there because we were doing a mission project, so he had it recording, and here I am, I've got all the notifications on my phone. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:03.119 I'm keeping track because it's a big game. 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:05.200 And you know what I did? 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:07.680 I ruined his DVR. 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:15.359 I saw that his team won, and I screamed, hey, they won! And you know what he did? 00:30:15.519 --> 00:30:22.720 He goes, Shut up! But you know what he did also? 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:25.599 He went home and he started watching the game. 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:28.160 Because he wanted to watch his team. 00:30:28.640 --> 00:30:34.160 What I didn't tell him was that his team was down 21 points at halftime. 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:38.319 And you know what he told me? 00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:41.200 He actually used it as a Sunday school illustration. 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:43.200 It stuck all these years later. 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:50.640 Was that he said, he goes, as I was watching the game, I couldn't help but be reminded how we have victory. 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:52.319 Victory in Christ. 00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:56.240 Because when halftime came, I was still happy. 00:30:56.559 --> 00:31:00.000 If I've been watching that live, I've been a depressed old man. 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:03.599 We were down 21 points. 00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:13.440 But we won on that final drive in those last seconds. 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:18.160 And I knew it was coming, but I didn't know how. 00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:23.519 We have victory in life through Jesus because he's already won the victory. 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:27.119 Sometimes it looks like we're down 21 points in life. 00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:32.960 But the fact of the matter is, when we go to be with Christ, we win. 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:38.319 There is no greater hope and victory than that. 00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:44.960 This morning, as a child of God, are you living in the victory that God has already won for you? 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:48.960 Are you living from victory or for victory? 00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:53.279 But maybe you're not a Christian this morning. 00:31:55.119 --> 00:32:08.400 Maybe you've come in here, you've stumbled in, you're visiting your father, and you realize you are not living in the victory of the Lord that He's already provided for you, that you need to trust Christ this morning. 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:16.480 There is no greater decision for you than to trust Christ as your Lord and Savior. 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:18.559 So we're about to have a time of invitation. 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:22.880 And during that time, I'm going to ask that you come and surrender all. 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:27.680 That you would trust in Christ, in Christ alone. 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:39.279 For the Christian this morning, I'm going to encourage you to celebrate the victory God has already assured you, that He's already given you. 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:53.599 And that if you are not living in victory, that this morning you surrender whatever burden is on you this morning at the feet of the one who is already victorious. 00:32:54.160 --> 00:33:02.799 Because that will free you to worship Him, to celebrate Him, and to walk in faith. 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:05.759 With every head bowed and eye closed this morning.