Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.
Enjoy the message.
I know we were singing it, but I want to know, do you really believe it? Do you believe that God can make away?
Here's what I love about God.
If he didn't have to give you a preview or a blues clue that he's about to make away, he can just do it. For those of you who are saying, I tell it doesn't look like he's about to make away, it doesn't have to look like. When God wants to make away, he will split a red seat, he will bring a wall down, whatever it is, He's able to do it. And I got a feeling he's gonna do
something incredible today. Do you believe that? On across every location, would you give somebody a high five next to you and tell them I'm glad I'm next to you today.
Come on, make sure they got some faith. High five Somebody.
Say I'm glad I'm next to you today. Hey man, Amen, Hey remain standing. I want to do something. I want to do something. As was mentioned, I am not a guest here at Elevation. I'm a part of the family, but doctor myself in bring your greetings from the great country of Texas with my wife and I passed an amazing church social Dallas. And I don't take it lightly and I don't take it for granted, the opportunity to
be here today. And I know what some of y'all are thinking, like, that's Stephen look different now I'm not. I'm not Pastor Stephen. I know some of y'all are disappointed. And I tried. I did extra bench press today just to come in and U Pastor Steven or the team are out Elevation Nights. God is doing incredible things, incredible things literally around the world. And here's what I'm hoping.
First of all, I hope you're praying for the team as they're out ministering, that God would use them mightily, that they're gonna come back refresh. But not only that, I pray you never take for granted the gift that God has given you. If you needed any evidence, Elevation Nights, so let you know Pastor Steven and the team, they could go anywhere. Come on, somebody anywhere. So I pray you never take for granted that gift God has given you in Pastor Stephen, in Pastor Holly, and I always
want to give honor to them. They have been a blessing to my life, to our church. I know they've been a blessing to you and the Capital C Church. So come on, can we let them know, just in case they're watching, we love you. Come on, y'all can do better than that. What. Thank you for your leadership, thank you for your sacrifice, thank you for your yes. So we don't have fun today? Are you all ready for the Wordma? Stayding and I'm gonna jump straight into it.
I hope you feel like hearing it like I feel like preaching it. Come on, if you got a Bible, would you wave it in the air?
I could just do.
Care how many about a paper Bible? I see paper bibles? Okay, it's for real, save people. Come all, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Even if your Bible is glowing you good. I want you to go with me to a familiar passage of scripture. Can we thank God for this worship team. Y'all are amazing, so good. Thank you so much for meeting us into God's presence. We're gonna jump into a familiar passage of scripture. If this text was an eighteen episode Netflix series, we're
jumping straight into episode seventeen. We're skipping all the other ones, and you're gonna see why in a moment. But first, Samuel, chapter number seventeen, and I want to look at versus forty one through forty seven. When you're ready to read it, say yeah, if you need some time to find it, say hold up. I heard them hold up, So I'm wait for you, wait for somebody on you fan waiting to find it. First Samuel, up to number seventeen. You're
gonna start in verse number forty one. Thank you so much, And it says, meanwhile, the Philistine Meanwhile, it was a mean while, because for forty days, this giant has been verbally assaulting and attacking the children of Israel. He hadn't thrown a punch yet, but the threat of what he was about to do had them paralyzed in fear. Sometimes the enemy doesn't even do anything, but the threat of what could happen can lead many of us stuck in fear,
he says. Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. You looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. That bless me. So he's a hater. But he's still got to admit, Yo, you healthy and you hanswer. I don't like you like I admit you look good, he says to David. Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks? The Philistine cursed David by his gods.
Come here, he said, and I'll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals. David said to the Philistine, you come against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day, somebody say, this day, this day, the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I'll
strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know there is a God in Israel.
All those gathered here will know it is not by.
Sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands. Can you say a man? Can you say a man? If that don't make a shout, I don't know what else. Really, look at what David is saying before he starts fighting. I'm gonna preach today, not long, probably about three and a half hours, using this as a title.
Who you talking to?
Who you now? Who are you talking to? Who you talking to? You gotta help me pre this. Look at the person next to you one last time, say neighbor, I got a question? Who are you talking to? Come on, find another neighbor. Find another neighbor, because that neighborhood stuck up.
Come on, say other neighbor. You my second option, But I gotta ask who you're talking to.
If you believe God's gonna speak today, would you give us some praise?
Father?
Have your way speak today? Amen? You can sit out, you can sit down. You talking to.
Elevation fam.
Before I really jump into this text today, I want to do something that I have never done in all my years of coming to elevation. Don't get nervous. I talked to past Steve, but we're good. Were good. But there's someone who is here today who I want to come out just for a moment and share a few words with you. And the reason I want them to come out is because this person is, in my opinion, one of the most influential and greatest communicators of our lifetime.
And I'm putting them on the spot. You're gonna know exactly who they are as soon as they come out. Okay, don't, don't pass out, But can we just welcome them before they even come out? I just want them to share. Just for them, they can welcome across every location. Come on, y'all, would you make them feel welcome?
Come on, y'all? Can you see you? Yep, ephil I'm blind and somebody can.
You'll see him. Make sure you get a good look at yourself. And some of y'all, are you played too much?
I saw some of you. It's not like who is it?
You had you have already. But please don't let the comedy mitigate the weight of what I said in my introduction, my fake introduction. I said, I want to bring out someone who is the greatest and most influential communicator.
Then I brought out a mirror and asked you, can.
You see you? Because I want to ask you, who talks to you more than you, Who influences you more than you, Who tells you where to go and where not to go, what to wear and what not to wear, what to post and what not to post more than you. You are an influential communicator. You are a powerful communicator. As a matter of fact, you are not just the greatest communicator that you have ever heard, You're the greatest
communicator that you are always hearing. There's always a voice on the inside talking to you about you, who who you talking to? I'm fully aware that as I'm preaching today, although I'm preaching the infallible, incorruptible, everlasting, eternal Word of God, and I do everything in my power to preach it with clarity and precision, however, I'm aware that the most important thing is not necessarily what I'm saying to you. It's what you are saying to you about what I'm
saying to you. That's the important voice today. What are you saying about what I'm saying? I could be saying God's gonna use you, and then that voice says who your trauma and your baggage, not you.
I could be saying things like, oh, you're suffering. It's not for nothing.
God is able to use that suffering to shape you into the image of Christ. But then you can say to you, no, I shouldn't be going through this anyway, and God, this is your fault. This suffering means nothing.
I could be saying to you that God is gonna open up a door this year.
And then you'll say to you, well, he should have done it in January. We and I'm told. But now.
I want to know what are you saying to you? Who you talking to?
Because that voice is critical. It is the internal narrative that is navigating your life right now. It is the story that you are perpetually telling yourself. Who are you talking to? Some of you would slap a person if they talk to you the way you talk to you. I want to know what is the conversation that you are having in your head right now? Who are you talking to? Because that voice is the one that matters. Is it that negative voice that wants to shoot down
everything God wants to do to you? By the way, where does that come from the devil? It's a demon maybe, But have you ever noticed, at least for me, the devil never sounds like the devil in my head. I have never in my life heard a voice saying you however, it don't sound like that. Have you ever known that the enemy always sounds like you in your head?
And that is the voice that you are.
A warrior against, that you are waging war against every day.
Who are you talking to?
For some of us, it's the voice of somebody else that planted a seed in our mind, and we have been watering that seed over the years, rehearsing it over and over and over again, and it's become a stronghold in our minds. Who are you talking to? Reminds me of a fighter. I'll never forget watching this fighter who won this fight, powerful fighter, and he won the championship and they were interviewing him after he won, and after
one he was excited about winning the fight. This sudden he looks in the camera and he says in the camera, he goes, see dad, see I'm not a loser.
I am somebody. And the interviewer was looking at him like, who are you talking too?
But he had a moment where he blacked out, and you delve into a store, you find out that he was verbally and physically abused by his father. In every fight that he had, he would put the image of his father on his opponent, and that's how he would win the fight. And he was fighting and won a victory. But the bigger fight was the internal conversation that's happening
in his head. Ladies and gentlemen, I am realizing that most of the fights have little to do with the external confrontation, but everything to do with the internal conversations that you are having with yourself. I just want to talk to you today and ask you who are you talking to. I want you to elbow somebody next to you and say, I think this is for you.
I think this is for you.
Now elbaum, tell them they need this for you. Brings me to my text today. My text today in First Samuel chapter number seventeen. I shouldn't even read the text, let's be honest, because come on, y'all, it's David and Goliath. I think when I was reading some of y'all like, are you for real? This is what I got out of bed for First Samuel chapter seventeen. Everybody knows the story of David and Goliath. Come on, I've been raised in church, and I've heard some people jack up some
Bible stories. I mean, I've heard them jack up a lot of Bible stories. I remember one dude, he was new to the faith. He came to me, tears in his eyes. He's like, hey, Pastor, let's mess up how they did Joseph. They threw him in that pit. I was like, yeah, He's like, but he came back. I said, he sure did. He's like, yeah, he came back because he got married to Mary and then they gave birth to Jesus. I knew that. I ain't correct him. I was like, God, God can turn it around. I can
turn it out. People can Jacob John Jumps and Bible stores, but don't nobody Jacob David and Goliath.
Come on, you know that story. I don't care if you ain't been the church at a minute.
Everybody knows the story of David and Goliath, and ladies and gentlemen. Perhaps that's the problem, because it is our familiarity with this text that robs us of the revelation that is in this text. And all this week I was saying, Holy Spirit, help me see it in a different way, help me see it.
And the more I looked at it, I realized is not about the fight. It has little to.
Do with the fight in the valley against Goliath, y'all. That is the shortest part of the text. The fight is not that long. I mean, we can really put this fight in four phrases. He hit them with a rock, he fell, I'm dead, he cut up his head.
Hooray. That's the fight, right that. That is the entire fight. Why in the world, then are there fifty eight in.
Onest Samuel seventeen.
What in the world takes up all that space of fifty eight versus? Is all that?
All that talking, All these conversations are happening before the confrontation.
There are so many conversations.
Don't forget when we come up against Goliath the first time we see him, he's not fighting. He's talking for forty days. He's just showed up, just talking. It's not like he showed up for forty days cutting off heads. I can understand if you'd be scared, then no, this dude is just running his mouth and talking. And there's something about them entertaining this conversation that calls them to be paralyzed in fear. It is the conversation, not necessarily
the confrontation. Some of us are losing the fight not when we get in the valley, but before the valley, because the enemy has already convinced you that you don't have what it takes for the fight.
Who are you talking to?
Oh?
This is why I love David.
Because when David was ostracized and alienated out with those sheep, he went out there by himsel. He was out there talking to God. He was out there saying, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want he makes me lie down in Green Castris. That's why he had confidence because of who he was talking to out fair. I want to know who you're talking to. What is the conversation you are having with yourself? And so here's what I want to do today, and I'm gonna get you
the brunch. I just want us for a moment to look at five critical conversations that David had before he ever got to the fight. These five critical conversations. If David messes up in any of them, he never gets to fight his battle in the valley. If he loses the fight with these five conversations that preceded the confrontation.
Y'all good, Can we talk about him?
Yeah? The first conversation, I want to look at it. It's what I call the Uber Eats conversation. Yeah, the Uber East conversation happens between David and his father Jesse, and Jesse comes to him in First Samuel seventeen, says, Hey, Dave, I need you to go to the battlefield and bring your brother some cheeses and bring them some bread. Just make an Uber Eats delivery. This is what I need you to do, which doesn't seem like a big thing, but it is a major thing. It seems like a
small thing, but it's a big thing. I've learned in life that the small things are actually the big things. And sometimes you can't tell which small thing is actually a big thing. That's why you have to be careful how you do the small thing. It was just a small thing to go deliver the cheese and the bread. And it doesn't seem like his dad asked a big deal of him until you read First Samuel chapter sixteen, and remember what happened.
Don't forget.
David has already been anointed to be the next king and first Samuel chapter sixteen. You remember what happened to prophet Samuel. He comes into town, he's looking for the next king, and here comes Jesse with all of his sons, all seven of them lined up. He did not even deem David worthy to be brought before the prophet.
And here he is looking at all these sons saying, Nope, that ain't it.
Nope, that ain't it. Nope, that in And then it has to ask a crazy question to a father, do you.
Got any other kids?
And he's like, oh, yeah, my bad, I forgot Yeah, I do have another one, but he's out in the field.
He's out in the.
Field, and I love what Samuel does. He says, go get him. In the most gangst move, he says, we will not sit down until he comes in the room. He makes all them brothers stand in their rejection. How long? How long do they have to wait for David to get in the room, like okay, hurry up? And then here comes David. Hey, hey guys, oh hey, Samuel, did I didn't know the prophet was coming in? Is there?
So?
What's what's what's coming on? Samuel goes, you're in and anoints him in front of his brothers. This is a destiny moment. Can you imagine being David after being castigated and ostracizing. Now you've been anointed as the next king in front of your brothers. But in the next chapter, your father calls you. I wonder if David thought, Oh, I bet he gonna apologize for not invited me to the coronation. No, he's telling you go take lunch to your brothers. And David doesn't do what some of us
would have done. Gone, who you're talking to? I'm the next king?
You want me to drop charcuterie.
No, I don't know. I'm sorry. Maybe maybe you didn't see it. Y'all didn't invite me. I'm the next king.
I don't.
But he doesn't.
He doesn't do that.
He doesn't do that. He pulls a Chick fil A and says, my pleasure, my pleasure, my pleasure. If my father wants me to do something, my pleasure. If my father hasn't assiment for me, my pleasure, ifn't has to be glorious. Whatever my father asked of me, my pleasure. So he passes the test in this conversation because David is showing us a heart of humility, a heart of humility. David did not think it beneath him to go deliver
food to his brothers. You know why some of us never knocked down our goliath, because we can never knock down the giant of pride. You too special, you too wonderful to go deliver lunch to somebody else. And that's why you'll never step into the effulgence of your destiny, because pride will shut doors that God is trying to open. But when you have a heart of humility, the heavens open up over somebody that is humble enough to say.
Whatever my father wants, I'll go do it.
I know I'm the next king. But if my father has requested something of me, my pleasure, where have we seen this before? Oh Jesus, who thought it not robbery to come from heaven down to earth. And he came to the humans he created, and they rejected him, and yet with humility he came to serve. Can I tell you pride is what's blocking the door for you. You don't get the past to test because you haven't had a heart of humility. Can I fix somebody's marriage? Just real quick?
Three seconds? You're ready.
Here's the problem.
Pride. That's a problem.
Too much pride to say I'm sorry, too much pride to say I was wrong, too much pride to go to count. The pride is what blocks. But David has a heart of humility, and he gets to the battle and watch the timing, the sovereign timing of God. Just at the moment that David delivers the lunch I'm talking about, right after he takes the picture to send to him to say orders delivered. At that exact moment is when Goliath comes out and start saying what he's been saying
for forty days, what they've heard for forty days. David hears, in one moment, says, oh, hold up, what is this right here? Hold on?
No, no, not on my watch? Is there not a cause? Isn't it funny?
They heard it for forty days, But in one moment, David heard something different. What they heard had been paralyzed in fear, but it had David getting ready to move out in fave.
What they heard, they fought his opposition.
What David heard, he said, no, this is an opportunity for God to do something. He heard something different, and one moment, why did they hear it because of who he was talking to. He was talking to a God that he knew could use him to take down that chart who you're talking to.
Isn't it crazy how people can hear the same thing but have totally different I call it the frequency of faith.
Oh, when you have a frequency of faith in God, you will hear things different than people who are just walking by sight and now walking by faith, because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So when some people are walking by sight, don't get it confused when they don't understand why you're moving the way you're moving because you hear something different. We can hear the same thing but have completely different responses because
his ear was tuned into the frequency of faith. It rem reminds me of this group of people who are interviewing for a job back in the day. They're interviewing for a job and the job had them standing in line waiting for the interview. It's like three hundred people in line waiting for this interview to go in. But what they didn't know, the people who waiting in line, was that the interview was actually for somebody that knew
Morse code so here they are standing the line. While they were standing in line, over an intercom morse code was going on, and the message of the Morse code was.
If you.
Can interpret this message, get out of line and come straight to the front door. All of a sudden, one dude who could interpret morse code gets out of the line. He was in the back and walked all the way up to the front and walked in, and everybody was looking at him like what is he doing. The reason that he walked in when everybody else stood still is because.
He could hear something that they couldn't hear.
See. People will never understand the way you moved because they don't hear it the way you hear it. See you heard they're not hiring folks. I don't have a job, I heard. God must have something else for me and another job.
You heard.
I don't want to go on a date with you, so I must be worthless, I heard, God. Thank you for not letting me waste my time on the day. You must have somebody else from me. I didn't even have to go to Cheesecake Factor to figure it out. Thank you that they rejected.
What are you hearing?
There's a frequency the faith. And so David heard something different, and watch what his action does. He goes, he talks to the soldiers. Here's another conversation. He goes, uh, what will be given to the man that defeats him? First words out of his mouth, the conversation to the soldier, Hey, what will be given to the man who defeats him? You missed it, David, here's Goliath. And then goes, what will be given to the man that defeats him? David
already sees himself winning. He already sees himself winning. The back y'all sitting up here talking about his shield and his armor. I'm trying to figure out what does the man get who knocks him out? Because I am that man. I'm about to knock him out. He said. He said, Yo, you're gonna get the king's daughter in marriage, and you don't have to pay taxes? Say less? Say less? Where's no taxi? Where's my sling shot? In other words, he doesn't just have a harder humility, He's got a vision
of victory. He can already see himself winning. While everybody else is focused or how big it is, David's like that, that's not my focus. I'm trying to figure out what do you get if you knock him down? Because I'm
about to knock him down. When you read for Samuel and you see all the imagery that is giving about Delia's armor and his shield, what the writer is doing through beautiful poetry, He's actually shown you what the soldiers are focused on, which is why they're paralyzed in fear, because whatever you focus on is what's going to grow in your life.
They're focused on the shield like.
It is that bronze. Yeah, how much do you think of ways? I don't know, but it's got to be heavy. That's that's what they are focused on, which is why they're paralyzed and fear. David was talking to somebody else. He had a vision of victory. Do you have a vision of victory? Do you see yourself winning? Do you even see the marriage be in the hell?
Do you see that.
Child coming back home? Do you see it? I know that the enemy's trying to cloud your vision, but I want to encourage you today see it.
Have a vision of victory, because if you can't see it, it's gonna be hard for you to receive it.
Can you see yourself winning? Or have you lost so much hope that you don't see it anymore. Can I just testify about the season I'm in right now? We in a crazy season. Our church is three years old. God's doing incredible things. It's exploding, and we decided in the middle of all that to homeschool our kids in this season. And only that, I'm going back to school and working on a master's degree that I didn't finish. All that's going on, I leading the church, and y'all,
it's hard. It's hard out here in these streets. Oh by the way, did I mention Our church is mobile and we've been in ten different venues in the last three years, trying to find a space. We don't have a building, and.
It's hard in these streets.
But you know what's keeping me. I got a vision I can't see. Oh, I see myself in twenty twenty six walking across the stage, my master's degree completed with that hood of I see myself. I see us having our own building where we can give God glory and put.
I see it.
I stan.
That's what's kicking from me right now? Is I got a vision?
A good do it?
What do you see?
What do you see? Yo? I see myself at eighty years old, still coming to church. I'm still gonna pull up an elevation. I probably won't be preaching at eighty eight, but I'm just gonna be in an artist, just standing up going to preach.
Now, who that crazy dude?
Oh?
He used to come back in the day and speak, do you have a vision a victory?
He saw it. He talked to the soldiers. He said, what do you get them mountain? Because I'm about to knock him out. He had a vision of victory. Right after he talks to the soldiers, somebody else shows up. Oh, and this is a critical conversation. His older brother, Eli Have comes up to him. I imagine him running up to him, what are you doing here?
Reading?
When you get to the crib, he's burning with anger translation he's big man, and he says, what are you doing here? And with whom have you left those little sheep? You know somebody's trying to get at you when they try to put a little number to your stuff. Don't nobody care about you your little job? Ah? You think I care about your little car?
You left them?
Borrow money? Can I get that little hundred dollars you care about? That or one little one you ask for anyway? With whom have you left those few sheep? I know the conceit and the arrogance that is in your heart. You come down here to see the battle. EXE was me.
I'm like, what battle?
Y'all? Ain't fighting? Y'all?
Eliab is mad.
And hear me. I understand Eliab's anger. The Bible gives you a blues clue to his anger because remember in First Samdue chapter sixteen, whenever the prophet comes, when he comes to anoint the next king, guess who Samuel's first pick was. It was Eliab, y'all.
Eliab looked the part of the next king. He was Samuel's first pick. Eli App is the reason this scripture is in your Bible.
Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. Eli Ab is frustrated with the rejection. Eliab is jealous and envious of David, and he comes with that energy to him, what are you doing here? I love what David says back to him, He's like, what did I do? Now? What I do now? That means this has happened before? What did I do? Now?
Can I just talk?
And then he makes a powerful move that you have to learn to make.
Watch it.
Watch it. They're spiritual, The Bible says, he turns his back on Elab.
He watched it.
Woman talk. He turns his back on e Lab. Do you know what that turn signifies? I know my real enemy. Eliab. You are not my real enemy. I don't just have a heart of humility. I don't just have a vision of victory. I know who my real enemy is.
Eliab. You are not my enemy. You are my brother.
My real enemy is behind you, and I cannot waste energy and all my fight trying to fight you when you ain't the real enemy. Goliath is the enemy. So I gotta turn my back on you and stay focused on my assignment. I don't know who this is for, but you have been wasting energy trying to your brother or your sister in trist and they are not your enemy. We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principality. You better learned to know who the real enemy is
and it's not your brother. Who can I just speak in this crazy season where people lose their minds in political seasons and let you know your brother and.
Your sister is not your enemy. We got a bigger battle to type.
We gotta kill the enemy that's trying to destroy this nation and.
Our kids and our family. You better know where the.
Real enemy is.
Elia is not your enemy. Oh you in the common section talking to Elijah, wasted energy?
Your kids, Mimmy, can we go play?
Now?
They crazy? Let me respond to this now, I'm not the one hold on.
To kids, waste the energy fighting eli Ab when he is not your enemy.
And Goliath would love for you to pull out your sling shot on eli App and start fighting right there, all while he towers and laughs. But David had enough wisdom to know I can't fight you. You're my brother.
You're my brother. I came to bring you cheese, and you mad at me.
But guess what, I'm still not gonna I'm still not gonna fall into this trap to fight you. You are not my enemy. I'm gonna turn my back because I know where I knew my real enemy is. Some of you have been fighting your brother and your sister in Christ because you think they're the enemy, and I came to tell you they're not. You're doing like my oldest girl, Evy. I went to her room the other day and on her wall and on the door. She had no siblings on.
I didn't want her younger brother or sister in the room. I mean, beautifully color on her front door. No siblings home. I said, that's interesting, because I don't remember the last time you paid a light bill. The mortgets it's the father's house. But you're trying to pick and choose which sibling can come in or out. Not my enemy. He turns his back when Eli abed and goes right into the next conversation. Miss Saul. Saul has had the answer.
Walking to his office, David's like, letting nobody fear I'm gonna fight him. You would think you would get some encouragement. He gets discouraged by Saul. Saul says, you can't fight him.
You're just the youth. He's been killing people since his youth.
Have you ever had the voice of somebody else who is too scared to step into something, project their fear onto you, and they want to tell you what you can't do and give you a history of the enemy. He's like, you cannot fight goliaf He's killed so many people, some of you allowed the words of other people to get in your head. You can't defeat that alcoholism. It's destroyed everybody in your family. You can't beat that addiction. You can't be free. Everybody in your family is an addict.
You can't be a great father. You never saw one. Have you ever had somebody tell you the history of a giant to make you feel like there's no way I can fight? But shout out to David. He's like, you talking about the history or Goliath, but you don't know about the history I have with God. When I was out in green pastures and it was just him talking to me, he said, I was out there, soul. Just so you know, I killed a bear and I killed a lion. I am posted, but it happened. If
I had time. I wish we had the people that would just win some private battles first. And you ain't gotta tell everybody about your private battle before you get to the big battle. But anyway, that's another message.
He said, Yeah, I defeated a lion, I defeated a bear.
I feel like the same God that helped me defeat the lion and the bear help me knock him down too. Song goes, all right, the Lord be with you. That's in the Bible, and he says, oh, but before you go, come here, takes his armor, puts it on David. Put yourself in David's shoes.
Y'all.
This boy has been out with sheep. He's now finds himself in the presence of a king who puts his armor on him. No, this is like being in the locker room and Lebron going, you know, put this jersey armor. Just can you imagine? And here he is a shepherd boy wearing the king's armor. I wonder if there was a mirror, and he looked. He said, wow, I've never put on armor before, and certainly not armored this nice. I think while it was on, there had to be
a temptation. Maybe I could, Maybe I could fight in this. I mean, I know I killed the lion and the bear, but this is a different This is a different battle. Maybe a different battle requires different weapons. So maybe I should go out in this armor. But then something clicks. He says, no, wait a minute, this looks nice, and so this might work for you, but it's not me. On I was praying for you this morning, and I was thinking about somebody who has on somebody else's armor.
Some of you been wearing it for years, and you're trying to convince yourself that is you, but you know internally to say you, you've been trying to be your sister. You've been trying to be your brother. You've been trying to be the person that was in the position before you got in the position. God sit me from Dallas, Texas. Tell you you.
Gotta do what David did. Work your weapon, Work your weapon. Watch this.
People think the boldest and bravest move David did was to throw that rock. I think the boldest move was to take off Saul's armor and say I cannot defeat my giant in somebody else's armor. I've gotta work my weapon. I've got to use what God has given me. Hear me, You'll never grab your weapon until you take off somebody else's armor. Can you prove it in the text?
I sure can.
First Samuel seventeen, verse thirty nine. Look at what it says. It says, so he took them off. What did you take off Saul's armor? He took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose file smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of a shepherd's back. And with his sling in his hand, a person filled a sign. He took them off. Then he took You cannot take what's yours to fight with until you first take off what is not. You work your weapon.
Can I make a confession? Oh I'm a horrible Pastor Steven, I'm a horrible Joyce Meyer.
Oh I'm not a good Matt Chandler. But guess what, I'm the best Robert Madou, you have.
Had a say in your life, and I've learned no matter the stage, it's a big stage. I gotta work my weapon. I've got to be me and you've got to be you. There's a weapon God that's given you to defeat your giant. Can y'all play real softly so I can land the plane? He had a herd of humility. Sure, I'll go take the lunch. He had a vision of victory. I know I'm gonna knock this giant. Now what do you get for knocking him out? He did what he knew his real enemy, My brother's not my enemy, Goliath is.
Then he said, I gotta work my weapon. No more comparison. God gave me a slinging a rock. I'm gonna work that and so he goes ooh to the battle. This is the final conversation. He walks out. You see him, handsome, blowing with hell, small compared to this giant. And he walks out and he's ready.
And Goliath laughs at him.
Is this a joke?
Am I a dog?
Y'all?
Come at me with sticks?
Is this for real?
Mocks him? You know it's the enemy. Whenever you are being mocked, the enemy loves to more. I mean, he's the father of all lies. If he's talking, he's lying. Lying is the native language. But he does have a second language. It's called mocking. He loves me. Really you, Oh you gonna lift up your hands and workship autter what you did last night?
Oh?
Really?
You think God can use you.
With all your issues? He loves Am I a dog? You come at me with sticks? He said, Hey, you come at me with sword and spear, But I come at you. And the name of the Lord takes the sling.
You know the story.
Takes the sling, hits Goliath in forehead, knocks him down. Now, because you've heard the story, I've heard store too. I'm curious if you know that there are scientists that actually look at scripture through the lens of science, and there are some of them that actually re few the veracity of this story, and how in the world could a rock kill a giant?
And they did the scientific research, and they did a whole report on it, and I got the report. This is the report.
They said, how is highly unlikely and improbable.
That this could happen?
You know what it says. Scientist said that David, with the rock the size of a baseball, and with the sling shot, the fastest that he could have released it would have been with a trajectory of about ninety miles per hour. And if you take a projectile going ninety miles per hour, and you use Newton's second law of motion and taken to effect the coefficient of restitution, that a projectile at that size at ninety miles per hour would generate about three thousand pounds of force as it
was released. That is, if it was traveling the distance of a picture to the home plate, which is sixty feet and six inches. But since Goliath is at least twice that far, one also has to take into effect the drag of the distance of the ball that's working against the velocity of the force. Therefore, since he's further away, what was generated at three thousand pounds has now reduced itself arguably to at least one thousand pounds. That is,
if David is throwing it straight. The problem is Goliath is taller than David, which means the angle of the projectile from which he launched it had to be at least forty five degrees, which means now the ball is also working against gravity, which also has reduced the force that the rock has been released. So what was three thousand pounds of force has now been arguably reduced to
about five hundred pounds of force. But you must remember there's an armor bearer who stands in front of Goliath who would have lifted up his shield to take the projectile off of course, which would have reduced the force to at least fifty pounds and taken an off course of the direction headed towards Goliath. But if David could throw it, and if it did work against the drag, and if it could counter the weight, and if it did go against the coefficient of restitution, if it was
not off course, and still ain't that goliath head. Don't forget, Goliath is wearing a helmet and a projectaile that started with three thousand pounds of force and ended at fifty. Hitting a bronze helmet would not have been enough to Goliath. So how can a young boy with one rock, working against gravity, working against through laws of emotions, working against the coefficient of restitutions, working against the drag being deflected by an armor a hit a bronze helmet. How could
he kill a giant? And I got an answer for every science is out there. He didn't just throw a rock. He threw a name. He threw the name set is.
About every single name. I don't know how the science works, but I know how the name works.
I know that there's a name set is about every single name, And I think about somebody to day you letter throw that name?
I know the giants sid throw the name.
How do it looks greater than you?
Roll the name? Roll the name that didn't heal the fish.
Roll the name that you lave to pay roll the name that has healing and home and life, the name somebody, and give God the best phrase that you got in the place.
No, I mean praise. I'm like you know, then it's time.
That name.
Who reminder standing all locations he found, like down your living room, remain standing.
David didn't just throw a rock. She threw a name.
Listen to it. We've heard it so much we forget it. You come at me with sword and spear and javelin. It wouldn't make sense to say I come at you with sleeve shot. He didn't say that. He said, you come at me with sword and spear and javelin. But I come at you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the Armies of Israel.
Coming on That name worked for David.
It'll work for you too.
He didn't throw a rock, He threw a name. The name made all the difference. And I don't know what Jihan you're facing today, but I do know. God's calling somebody today, hear me, to let go of your pride. You need a heart of humility. It says whatever my father asked him.
Now I'll do it. He's calling somebody in here to get your hope again and get a vision of victory.
See yourself winning. Stop forecasting your failure. Get a vision of victory. Hear me, know your real enemy.
Your brother's not your enemy. That other denomination is not your enemy. That person that votes different than you is not your enemy. Your brother's not your enemy. You gotta know the real enemy. You gotta work your weapon something God has given you to do what he's called you to do.
But watch this.
That weapons not enough. You better throw the name, throw the name of Jesus. I'll tell you this, and I'm done. God is not obligated to defend your name. He's not obligated to defend your reputation.
I know you want him to.
But when his name is on the line, when his name is on the line, or fire will come down from heaven on now, Carmo, when his name is on the line, Red seas will split open when his name is on the line. Miracles, what happens.
Giants will balm when it's his name.
The name of Jesus. No matter what you're facing today, I believe that the same name that worked for David the same name that will work for you today.
I'm when to ask every head be bound.
I'll be closed across every location. Father, we're talking to you.
We're talking to you. Thank you that you're a God that we can talk to.
God. I'm praying for my brother. I'm praying for my sister who's in a real fight. But Lord, I'm praying for the power of the conversations to change the talk that they're saying internally. Let that shift today. Let us echo and repeat what you have said about us. Father, Thank you that the name that worked for David is the name that'll work for us. There's no other name by which we can be saved. In the name of Jesus.
Let that name be appropriated, and the hearts and the lives of every single person who would call on it. Today in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen, Amen, Amen, God bless you. Love you so much. Elevation thank you for joining us.
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