Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / Facing Your Giant - Minister Max Lucado
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: What a week, huh? Schools aren't meeting, conferences are not convening,
- 0:08Speaker 1: players aren't playing, and congregations are not gathering. I don't
- 0:14Speaker 1: know when we've seen a week quite like this. What
- 0:18Speaker 1: do you think God is saying to us? What is
- 0:23Speaker 1: God saying to us? A couple of answers come to
- 0:30Speaker 1: my mind as I've thought about that question. I believe
- 0:35Speaker 1: that God is talking to the world. And I believe
- 0:41Speaker 1: he's testing the church. He's talking to the world. He's saying,
- 0:47Speaker 1: come to me. Depend on me. Your life on earth
- 0:53Speaker 1: is fragile and brief. I believe God is telling this
- 0:59Speaker 1: to the world. He's reminding us that he and he
- 1:02Speaker 1: alone is the source of comfort, fulfillment, and meaning. And
- 1:08Speaker 1: all those times we thought we could trust the economy.
- 1:12Speaker 1: And all those times we thought that real fulfillment would
- 1:15Speaker 1: come with the right cruise or the right trip. He's
- 1:18Speaker 1: reminding us. He's talking to us. And he's testing the church.
- 1:26Speaker 1: He's testing to see if we will be the people
- 1:28Speaker 1: he wants us to be. Will we be people of faith?
- 1:32Speaker 1: Will we be people of generosity? This is a unique window.
- 1:37Speaker 1: This is a unique window in this generation of the church.
- 1:41Speaker 1: He's testing us. He's testing us to see if we
- 1:45Speaker 1: will be people of faith, if we will lean into him,
- 1:49Speaker 1: if we will trust him. if we will believe in him,
- 1:52Speaker 1: that all those words that many of us have said
- 1:55Speaker 1: all of our lives, if we'll truly believe that he
- 1:58Speaker 1: is in control, that we will believe that God is
- 2:01Speaker 1: never sometimes sovereign, but that he is always sovereign. It's
- 2:05Speaker 1: a test. And also I think he's testing, he's testing
- 2:09Speaker 1: our generosity. While everybody else isolates, hoards, gets defensive and protective,
- 2:17Speaker 1: will we be the people who reach out who share
- 2:21Speaker 1: just today while stopping to get a cup of coffee
- 2:24Speaker 1: at a favorite spot. I noticed that on the entrance
- 2:28Speaker 1: to the men's room was a note that had been
- 2:31Speaker 1: taped to the door and said, if you are in
- 2:34Speaker 1: need of toilet paper, come and talk to us. I
- 2:36Speaker 1: went and asked the lady, I said, what's going on?
- 2:38Speaker 1: She said, well, people come in and they're stealing toilet paper.
- 2:42Speaker 1: I don't get the deal with toilet paper. And I
- 2:46Speaker 1: really don't get the deal with stealing toilet paper. When
- 2:50Speaker 1: the world is under stress, many people go underground. It's
- 2:54Speaker 1: time for the church to go out. To be that
- 2:57Speaker 1: voice of encouragement. To be that one who remembers the
- 3:01Speaker 1: elderly who live down the street. Who makes a call
- 3:05Speaker 1: to the person who may be all by themselves. Will
- 3:09Speaker 1: we be generous? Will we be generous and continue to
- 3:14Speaker 1: give our resources? The homeless needs are going to go up.
- 3:18Speaker 1: People may get sicker. There may be some people who
- 3:22Speaker 1: need somebody just to be spontaneously, anonymously kind to them. Churches,
- 3:27Speaker 1: they're going to continue. We've got to keep giving to
- 3:30Speaker 1: our churches, keep blessing one another. So I think God
- 3:34Speaker 1: is talking to the world. I think God is testing
- 3:38Speaker 1: the church. And I believe that he is absolutely in control.
- 3:43Speaker 1: And we're going to get through this and we're going
- 3:45Speaker 1: to learn a few things as a result. One thing
- 3:49Speaker 1: we've learned is to be flexible when it comes to
- 3:52Speaker 1: sermon selection. We're in the book of James, and I
- 3:55Speaker 1: had intended to present a message based on the third
- 3:59Speaker 1: chapter of the book of James, and the title of
- 4:02Speaker 1: that particular message was Taming the Tongue. Well, I still
- 4:07Speaker 1: think that's a good message, but I'm going to save
- 4:09Speaker 1: that for another time. I talked to Travis, and we
- 4:12Speaker 1: decided that it would be more appropriate to have a
- 4:15Speaker 1: message that would speak directly to the fears and the
- 4:18Speaker 1: anxieties that we're facing. And so in just a moment,
- 4:21Speaker 1: I'm going to reacquaint us with one of the great
- 4:24Speaker 1: stories of the Old Testament. Speaking of Travis, he's just
- 4:29Speaker 1: coming in off of a family vacation. He's enjoyed a
- 4:33Speaker 1: week with his family at Disney World. And we're thankful
- 4:38Speaker 1: that the Lord has given him this time of rest.
- 4:41Speaker 1: And we're prayerful that all he brings back from Disney
- 4:44Speaker 1: World are some good souvenirs and memories. And he'll be
- 4:47Speaker 1: resting and catching up and be back, Lord willing, this
- 4:51Speaker 1: time next week. Lord, let your blessings be upon us
- 4:54Speaker 1: now as we open your Bible, we open your word.
- 4:58Speaker 1: May we open our hearts to receive whatever it is
- 5:02Speaker 1: that you have to say to us. Through Christ we pray. Amen.
- 5:10Speaker 1: The boy leans down and looks into the creek. Were
- 5:17Speaker 1: he to take a minute to study his own reflection,
- 5:21Speaker 1: he would see a handsome face, ruddy, sunburned from hours
- 5:29Speaker 1: in the sun, handsome enough to steal the hearts of
- 5:34Speaker 1: Hebrew maidens. But he's not looking for his reflection. He's
- 5:39Speaker 1: looking for stones. He wants five of them. Five smooth stones,
- 5:46Speaker 1: flat stones, the kind that will fit well in a
- 5:50Speaker 1: shepherd's pouch, the kind that will sit securely in the
- 5:54Speaker 1: sling of that shepherd as he swings that sling and
- 5:59Speaker 1: releases it in the direction of a bear, in the
- 6:02Speaker 1: direction of a lion, or in this case, in the
- 6:05Speaker 1: direction of a giant. Goliath can hardly keep from laughing.
- 6:12Speaker 1: As he stands on the other side of the valley.
- 6:14Speaker 1: And he looks down at that little boy in the creek.
- 6:18Speaker 1: Goliath is a big man. Oh my goodness. Nine feet
- 6:23Speaker 1: nine inches tall. Carrying 160 pounds of armor. Snarling like
- 6:31Speaker 1: the main event at a wrestling match. He wears a
- 6:34Speaker 1: size 20 collar. A size 10 and a half hat.
- 6:38Speaker 1: And a 56 inch belt. his biceps burst, his thigh
- 6:45Speaker 1: muscles rippled, and his belts throughout the valley. And here's
- 6:51Speaker 1: what he says. This day I defy the ranks of Israel.
- 6:56Speaker 1: Give me a man and let us fight each other.
- 6:59Speaker 1: He's been singing this every morning and every evening for
- 7:03Speaker 1: 40 days. In South Texas parlance, he sang this. Send
- 7:08Speaker 1: me a man and we will go mano a mano.
- 7:14Speaker 1: But nobody shows up. Nobody, that is, until today. Shepherd
- 7:23Speaker 1: boy David just showed up this morning. He clocked out
- 7:26Speaker 1: of sheep watching to deliver bread and cheese to his
- 7:29Speaker 1: brothers on the battlefront. That's where he was when he
- 7:33Speaker 1: heard Goliath defying the living God and that's when David
- 7:37Speaker 1: made this decision. Then he took his staff in his
- 7:42Speaker 1: hand and he chose for himself five smooth stones from
- 7:48Speaker 1: the brook and he put them in a shepherd's bag
- 7:51Speaker 1: in a pouch which he had and his sling in
- 7:55Speaker 1: his hand And he drew near to the Philistine. Don't
- 8:00Speaker 1: you know that Goliath scoffed at the kid as he approached?
- 8:04Speaker 1: In fact, you might say he gave him the nickname Twiggy.
- 8:08Speaker 1: He said, am I a dog that you come to
- 8:11Speaker 1: me with sticks? He looked down at that skinny little
- 8:15Speaker 1: fella coming toward him. And it was a classic contrast
- 8:20Speaker 1: of power. Skinny, scrawny David, bulky, brutish Goliath. It was
- 8:25Speaker 1: the toothpick versus the tornado. What odds do you give
- 8:31Speaker 1: David against this giant? Better odds, perhaps, than you're giving
- 8:40Speaker 1: us against ours. Our Goliath entered the world not with
- 8:47Speaker 1: a boast, but as a virus. as a tiny microscopic
- 8:52Speaker 1: thief of life. A few months ago, we'd never heard
- 8:56Speaker 1: of him. At least I'd never heard of him. Now,
- 9:00Speaker 1: we can't go anywhere we don't hear about him. Fear
- 9:03Speaker 1: of him has caused events to be canceled, schools to
- 9:06Speaker 1: be closed, and the economy to take a nosedive. Now,
- 9:11Speaker 1: we know well the roar of this tiny Goliath who
- 9:14Speaker 1: has come into our world. We know the fear he
- 9:17Speaker 1: stirs and the sleep that he steals. But do we
- 9:21Speaker 1: know how to face him? Here's my message. The God
- 9:26Speaker 1: who helped David is here to help you. You face
- 9:31Speaker 1: your giants by facing God even more so. Even and
- 9:35Speaker 1: especially this giant. All you need are five stones. I've
- 9:41Speaker 1: wondered why David selected five. I wonder if the answer
- 9:45Speaker 1: is because we have five fingers. And we can use
- 9:49Speaker 1: our hands to help us remember the five essential elements
- 9:53Speaker 1: in fighting a giant. I'd like for all of us,
- 9:56Speaker 1: wherever you are, to take a moment and hold up
- 10:00Speaker 1: your hand because this is your outline. This is your outline.
- 10:04Speaker 1: And we're going to look at the five stones that
- 10:07Speaker 1: David used to bring down Goliath. Stone number one is
- 10:11Speaker 1: the stone of the past. Stone number one, the stone
- 10:18Speaker 1: of the past. You see, when everybody else saw Goliath,
- 10:23Speaker 1: they saw nothing but fear. But Goliath jogged a memory
- 10:27Speaker 1: in David, and this memory gave David courage. And while
- 10:32Speaker 1: everybody else quivered, David remembered. David said to Saul, remember
- 10:38Speaker 1: Saul was the king. He said, your servant has killed
- 10:41Speaker 1: both lion and bear and this uncircumcised Philistine will be
- 10:45Speaker 1: like one of them seeing he has defied the armies
- 10:49Speaker 1: of the living God. You see, David remembered as a
- 10:53Speaker 1: shepherd how God had brought down the lion and the bear.
- 10:57Speaker 1: And so when he saw that challenge, he thought, well,
- 10:59Speaker 1: God's already two for two. I think he can handle
- 11:03Speaker 1: another one. You see, a good memory makes a good hero.
- 11:07Speaker 1: A bad memory makes for a wimp. I wonder, are
- 11:13Speaker 1: you remembering what God has done for you? Do you remember?
- 11:18Speaker 1: God has got us through times like this before. Do
- 11:21Speaker 1: you remember 2008? Do you remember 9-11? Do you remember
- 11:24Speaker 1: Black Monday of 1987? The Bible says.
- 11:31Speaker 1: Remember his marvelous works, which he has done. Remember his
- 11:38Speaker 1: marvelous works, which he has done. Keep a list of
- 11:41Speaker 1: his world records. Has he not walked you through waters before?
- 11:46Speaker 1: Has he not proven to be faithful? Have you not
- 11:48Speaker 1: discovered his provision? Has he not made roadkill out of
- 11:53Speaker 1: other enemies? I want to encourage you to write today's
- 11:58Speaker 1: worries in sand and chisel today's yesterday's victories in stone
- 12:05Speaker 1: this is how we begin going into battle with Goliath
- 12:10Speaker 1: we remember the stone of the past pick up the
- 12:12Speaker 1: stone of the past and then number two pick up
- 12:17Speaker 1: the stone of prayer now to move if you'll notice
- 12:20Speaker 1: on your hand from this thumb to this finger you
- 12:24Speaker 1: got to go low David went low before he went
- 12:27Speaker 1: high he went to the lowest spot in the valley
- 12:31Speaker 1: before he went to the highest place of battle. As
- 12:35Speaker 1: you look at him selecting stones, you try to envision
- 12:39Speaker 1: him down there at the creek. Everybody else, everybody else
- 12:43Speaker 1: is higher than he is. Everybody. King Saul, higher. Goliath, higher.
- 12:49Speaker 1: His brothers, higher. Everybody's at a higher elevation. The other soldiers.
- 12:55Speaker 1: But David chooses to go to the lowest point. And
- 12:59Speaker 1: that's what God calls us to do. He calls us
- 13:02Speaker 1: before we go forth in battle to come before him
- 13:06Speaker 1: in prayer. I was so grateful to read that President
- 13:11Speaker 1: Trump has designated March the 15th as a national day
- 13:15Speaker 1: of prayer. Because only God can move us through a crisis.
- 13:20Speaker 1: But he has done in the past and he will
- 13:23Speaker 1: do again. I want to ask you to join me
- 13:25Speaker 1: for just a moment in prayer. And I have brought
- 13:28Speaker 1: up with me a list of all the members. all
- 13:32Speaker 1: the members of the coronavirus advisory team. I want us
- 13:37Speaker 1: to pray for this task force and pray for our
- 13:39Speaker 1: president by name. Most heavenly father, we join our hearts
- 13:44Speaker 1: to ask a blessing upon our president, Donald Trump, upon
- 13:49Speaker 1: our vice president, Mike Pence, and upon the following members
- 13:54Speaker 1: of the task force committee. Robert O'Brien, Robert Redfield, Anthony Fauci,
- 14:03Speaker 1: Stephen Bevan, Alex Azar, Deborah Burks, Jerome Adams, Ken Cuccinelli,
- 14:11Speaker 1: Joel Zabot, Matthew Pottinger, Rob Blair, Joseph Grogan, Christopher Liddell,
- 14:21Speaker 1: Derek Kan, Robert Wilkie, and Seema Verma. Grant them wisdom
- 14:28Speaker 1: from above and strength from your spirit. Through Christ we
- 14:33Speaker 1: pray together. Amen. So you let that finger remind you
- 14:39Speaker 1: that you have to go forth in prayer. But then
- 14:42Speaker 1: let the tallest finger on your hand remind you of
- 14:46Speaker 1: this stone. And that is the stone of priority. You
- 14:51Speaker 1: see David had a different priority than everybody else in
- 14:54Speaker 1: the valley. The priority of David was God's renown. God's reputation.
- 15:01Speaker 1: God's name. In fact, he enters the story discussing God.
- 15:06Speaker 1: Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should divide the
- 15:10Speaker 1: armies of the living God? Look at the first comment
- 15:12Speaker 1: of David. Isn't that great? I mean, he walks into
- 15:16Speaker 1: the story talking about God. The soldiers never mentioned God.
- 15:22Speaker 1: King Saul never mentions God. The brothers of David never
- 15:26Speaker 1: mentioned God. But David can't talk about anyone except God.
- 15:32Speaker 1: Everything he says, every time he opens his mouth, he's
- 15:35Speaker 1: talking about God. Remember what I said earlier about what
- 15:38Speaker 1: he remembered of the past? He was talking about God.
- 15:42Speaker 1: He said the Lord. The Lord, there he is, the
- 15:46Speaker 1: Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion
- 15:48Speaker 1: and the paw of the bear, he will deliver me
- 15:50Speaker 1: from the hand of this Philistine. He's talking about the Lord.
- 15:54Speaker 1: He continues this theme, even with Goliath. Now this is
- 15:57Speaker 1: a long text, two verses, 45 through 47, but I
- 16:01Speaker 1: don't want to skip a word because look what David
- 16:04Speaker 1: says to the giant himself. He says, you come against
- 16:07Speaker 1: me with a sword and a spear and a javelin,
- 16:10Speaker 1: but I come against you in the name of the
- 16:12Speaker 1: Lord Almighty. the God of the armies of Israel, whom
- 16:18Speaker 1: you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you
- 16:22Speaker 1: over to me and I'll strike you down and I'll
- 16:25Speaker 1: cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses
- 16:28Speaker 1: of the Philistine army to the birds of the air
- 16:31Speaker 1: and the beasts of the earth and the whole world
- 16:33Speaker 1: will know that there is a God in Israel. And
- 16:37Speaker 1: those gathered here will know that it is not by
- 16:40Speaker 1: sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle
- 16:43Speaker 1: is the Lord's And he will give all of you
- 16:47Speaker 1: into our hands. No one else talks about God. David
- 16:51Speaker 1: doesn't talk about anyone else but God. If I read
- 16:55Speaker 1: this story correctly, I find only two references to Goliath.
- 17:01Speaker 1: And they're both pretty much the same what he said
- 17:03Speaker 1: to Saul when he asked, who is this uncircumcised Philistine
- 17:07Speaker 1: that he should defy the armies of the living God?
- 17:11Speaker 1: He only makes two references to Goliath and neither one
- 17:14Speaker 1: are very politically correct. David doesn't ask anything about him.
- 17:18Speaker 1: David doesn't ask anything about that big spear. He doesn't
- 17:21Speaker 1: ask anything about the size of the shield. He doesn't
- 17:24Speaker 1: ask anything about why Goliath has skull and crossbones tattooed
- 17:29Speaker 1: on his bicep. David never asks anything about Goliath, but
- 17:34Speaker 1: he talks a lot about God. Here's the list if
- 17:38Speaker 1: I compiled it correctly. He talks about the armies of
- 17:42Speaker 1: the living God. He talks about, again, the armies of
- 17:47Speaker 1: the living God. He talks about the Lord of hosts,
- 17:51Speaker 1: the God of the armies of Israel. He talks about
- 17:55Speaker 1: the Lord who will deliver you from my hand and
- 17:57Speaker 1: all the earth will know that there is a God
- 17:59Speaker 1: in Israel. He talks about God all the time. The
- 18:03Speaker 1: Lord does not save with sword and spear for the
- 18:06Speaker 1: battle is the Lord's and he will give you into
- 18:10Speaker 1: our hand. If I count it up correctly, David makes
- 18:15Speaker 1: nine references, nine references to God and he only makes
- 18:20Speaker 1: two references to Goliath. In other words, David pondered God
- 18:27Speaker 1: and four times, twice as much, more than twice as much,
- 18:32Speaker 1: nine to two, four, I could get that out. He
- 18:37Speaker 1: pondered God twice as much as he thought about the giant. Now,
- 18:42Speaker 1: if somebody were to be able to read your thoughts
- 18:45Speaker 1: as we have lived with this crisis now for a
- 18:49Speaker 1: couple of weeks, and they were to balance and compare
- 18:53Speaker 1: The number of times you're thinking about God or talking
- 18:56Speaker 1: to God or praising God or worshiping God, what the
- 19:00Speaker 1: number of times you're focused on this challenge that is
- 19:04Speaker 1: facing society, what kind of thoughts, what kind of contrast
- 19:11Speaker 1: would they discover? Are you giving God more thoughts or
- 19:15Speaker 1: are you giving the Goliath more thoughts? You see, our
- 19:19Speaker 1: thoughts are important. And our challenge in a difficult season
- 19:23Speaker 1: like this is thought management. Thought management. It's real simple.
- 19:30Speaker 1: A thought is out here. It comes into our ear,
- 19:34Speaker 1: goes into our head, and if it's allowed to do so,
- 19:38Speaker 1: it goes down into our heart. Jesus said, it is
- 19:42Speaker 1: out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
- 19:45Speaker 1: So somebody's only speaking words of anxiety and fear. It
- 19:49Speaker 1: is because they're not interrupting these thoughts that come into
- 19:52Speaker 1: our ear and into our head David is known as
- 19:57Speaker 1: a man of worship he was one who thought much
- 20:01Speaker 1: about God who wrote the great psalms about God and
- 20:05Speaker 1: because of that he could face a challenge and words
- 20:09Speaker 1: came out of him that were words of hope and
- 20:11Speaker 1: faith and strength. How does his vocabulary compare with yours?
- 20:19Speaker 1: If you're in need of more strength, just look at
- 20:22Speaker 1: the battle cry of David. He said, you come to
- 20:25Speaker 1: me with the sword, with the spear, and with the javelin,
- 20:29Speaker 1: but I come to you in the name of the
- 20:32Speaker 1: Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.
- 20:36Speaker 1: Somebody needs to hear this today. Somebody whose school just
- 20:40Speaker 1: shut down. Somebody's worried about having a job. Somebody is
- 20:45Speaker 1: deathly afraid of death. Somebody needs to shift their attention
- 20:50Speaker 1: away from the problem and turn their attention toward the provider.
- 20:55Speaker 1: Listen to me. He loves you. God loves you. He
- 21:00Speaker 1: has not left you alone to face this on your own.
- 21:03Speaker 1: He is with you. Turn to him. Imitate David. Remember
- 21:09Speaker 1: David said in the scripture, I come to you in
- 21:11Speaker 1: the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of
- 21:13Speaker 1: the armies of Israel. Just a little interesting detail, armies
- 21:19Speaker 1: of Israel. I thought there was just one army of Israel.
- 21:23Speaker 1: Maybe David knew that God's armies are comprised of thousands
- 21:29Speaker 1: and thousands of unseen angels that God can solicit and
- 21:35Speaker 1: recruit the forces of the weather and the wind and
- 21:39Speaker 1: Nothing slows him down. He has all kinds of armies
- 21:42Speaker 1: around him. David saw the armies of God. And because
- 21:47Speaker 1: he did, he reacted with passion. Here's stone number four.
- 21:51Speaker 1: The stone of passion. The stone of passion. Look at
- 21:56Speaker 1: verse 48 of chapter 17. David hurried and ran toward
- 22:02Speaker 1: the army to meet the Philistines. I'm thinking that David's
- 22:07Speaker 1: brothers are closing their eyes right here. I'm thinking that
- 22:12Speaker 1: King Saul is going, oh boy, that guy's running to
- 22:14Speaker 1: an early death. I'm thinking that Goliath is laughing and
- 22:19Speaker 1: all his brood is laughing. And that there's a moment
- 22:24Speaker 1: in which Goliath throws his head back and he goes, ho, ho, ho, ho.
- 22:30Speaker 1: And when he does, his helmet shifts back just slightly.
- 22:35Speaker 1: Leaving an unprotected spot right here.
- 22:38Speaker 3: And dead-eyed David spots it.
- 22:41Speaker 1: And he reaches down and he takes one of those stones.
- 22:43Speaker 1: And he loads his sling. And he releases that stone
- 22:50Speaker 1: like a missile across the valley of Elah. And it
- 22:54Speaker 1: hits Goliath right there in the forehead. And Goliath's eyes cross.
- 23:01Speaker 1: And his knees buckle. And down he goes. And the
- 23:05Speaker 1: scripture says that David ran right up next to the
- 23:09Speaker 1: body of Goliath and he pulled Goliath's sword out of
- 23:14Speaker 1: the sheath and he decapitated Goliath. You might say that
- 23:21Speaker 1: David knew how to get ahead of his giant. I
- 23:25Speaker 1: can hear you laughing out there somewhere. Do you?
- 23:31Speaker 2: Do you?
- 23:32Speaker 1: When's the last time you ran toward your giant When's
- 23:36Speaker 1: the last time you ran toward your problem? When's the
- 23:40Speaker 1: last time you said, you know what? Goliath of anxiety,
- 23:46Speaker 1: you're not going to get me. Goliath of despair, you're
- 23:50Speaker 1: not going to get me. Goliath of the worst case scenario,
- 23:55Speaker 1: I'm not going to assume that. I'm going to trust
- 23:58Speaker 1: in the armies of the living God. And consequently, you
- 24:02Speaker 1: run in the direction with faith, with courage. Because you
- 24:06Speaker 1: have listened to the voice of God. Why don't you
- 24:10Speaker 1: take up the voice of passion? And then lastly, one
- 24:15Speaker 1: final stone. And that is the stone of persistence. You
- 24:20Speaker 1: know the real reason that David selected five stones? It
- 24:26Speaker 1: might have to do with the fact that Goliath had
- 24:30Speaker 1: four brothers. You have to do a little digging and
- 24:33Speaker 1: know where to look for this. But if you were
- 24:35Speaker 1: to turn your scripture over to 2 Samuel chapter 21,
- 24:40Speaker 1: you would read about four behemoth brothers. The names of
- 24:45Speaker 1: these guys, my goodness. Ish-be-ben-ob was a descendant of the giants.
- 24:51Speaker 1: His bronze spearhead weighed more than seven pounds. What a
- 24:57Speaker 1: big guy he must have been. Sibachai was on this list,
- 25:01Speaker 1: another descendant of the giants. Apparently he was a brother
- 25:05Speaker 1: as well. And then there was the brother of Goliath,
- 25:11Speaker 1: of Gath, whose spear was as big as a flagpole.
- 25:15Speaker 1: All these guys were big. But none of these guys
- 25:20Speaker 1: were anything compared to King Kong, brother number four. There
- 25:26Speaker 1: was a giant there, Gath, with six fingers on his
- 25:29Speaker 1: hands and six toes on his feet, 24 fingers and toes.
- 25:35Speaker 1: He was another of those descendants from Rafa. These four
- 25:39Speaker 1: were descended from Rafa in Gath. Here's what I'm wondering.
- 25:46Speaker 1: Maybe the reason that David quarried a quintet of stones
- 25:51Speaker 1: was because he knew that David, I'm sorry, he knew
- 25:55Speaker 1: that Goliath had four brothers the size of dinosaurs. And
- 25:59Speaker 1: for all he knew, when Goliath went down, those four
- 26:03Speaker 1: brothers were going to come over the hill and he
- 26:05Speaker 1: had to be ready. He was there. He was going
- 26:08Speaker 1: to be persistent. He wasn't going to give up. Listen
- 26:11Speaker 1: to me. Sometimes one prayer is not enough. Sometimes one
- 26:15Speaker 1: visit to the counselor is not enough. Sometimes one prayer
- 26:20Speaker 1: hour in the prayer room is not enough. You just
- 26:23Speaker 1: got to keep pulling out the stones. You got to
- 26:25Speaker 1: keep pulling out the stones. You got to keep loading
- 26:28Speaker 1: up your sling. You got to keep fighting back. I
- 26:30Speaker 1: don't know how long this particular challenge is going to last,
- 26:35Speaker 1: but I do know that God has given us everything
- 26:38Speaker 1: we need for facing it. We're not facing it alone
- 26:42Speaker 1: and don't get discouraged. If you get discouraged, don't beat
- 26:46Speaker 1: yourself up. If you feel beaten up, If you feel
- 26:49Speaker 1: like you're too afraid, too anxious, then just get down
- 26:52Speaker 1: on your knees and do what David did. Turn to
- 26:56Speaker 1: your heavenly father, asking for help. Remember all those times
- 27:00Speaker 1: in the past that he has helped you. Go low
- 27:03Speaker 1: before you go high. Go up onto the mountain of prayer.
- 27:07Speaker 1: Make God's name your priority. Let your mind be full
- 27:10Speaker 1: of his thoughts. Take up the stone of passion and
- 27:13Speaker 1: move forward against this challenge and then just be persistent.
- 27:18Speaker 1: I believe God is talking to us. I believe he's
- 27:21Speaker 1: talking to the whole world. And I believe he's testing
- 27:24Speaker 1: the church. And I believe that God is going to
- 27:27Speaker 1: give us everything we need to move forward. We're going
- 27:32Speaker 1: to spend a few moments in prayer now. And I'd
- 27:35Speaker 1: like to invite you to take a few moments. Maybe
- 27:39Speaker 1: you'd like to get on your knees by the couch
- 27:42Speaker 1: or get on your knees. Maybe you'd like to go
- 27:44Speaker 1: into a prayer room. Maybe you'd like to gather your
- 27:47Speaker 1: family around all sit closer together. However you want to
- 27:51Speaker 1: use this prayer time, it's, of course, entirely up to you.
- 27:55Speaker 1: But I'm going to offer a prayer and just ask
- 27:57Speaker 1: the Lord to help us, to give us strength as
- 28:00Speaker 1: we face the challenges that lie ahead. Gracious and holy
- 28:06Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, praise to your name. Praise to your name.
- 28:19Speaker 1: Praise to your name. You are high above this. You
- 28:24Speaker 1: are high above us all. But also you're right here
- 28:28Speaker 1: with us. And just as you, Lord Jesus, got into
- 28:32Speaker 1: the boat that rode into the storm with your disciples, so,
- 28:36Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, you're in the boat with us. We thank you.
- 28:41Speaker 1: We welcome your presence, O Lord, and we bless you. Father,
- 28:47Speaker 1: this challenge is greater than we are. And this challenge,
- 28:52Speaker 1: this virus is stirring fear that it seems to be
- 28:56Speaker 1: even more contagious than the virus itself. You have told
- 29:00Speaker 1: us that you have not given us a spirit of
- 29:02Speaker 1: fear and timidity. And so, Father, we know that this
- 29:06Speaker 1: fear does not come from you. We ask you, O Lord,
- 29:10Speaker 1: that you'd give us wisdom so we can be prepared,
- 29:12Speaker 1: but you'd give us courage so.
- 29:14Speaker 2: We can be strong.
- 29:17Speaker 1: Give us faith. Help us to trust you, to know
- 29:22Speaker 1: that you are with us. Help us to remember all
- 29:25Speaker 1: the times that you have walked your people through global calamities,
- 29:30Speaker 1: whether it be with Joseph in Egypt, how you helped
- 29:33Speaker 1: them face the famine, whether it be with prophet Jeremiah
- 29:37Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, when they endured the banishment, the captivity of
- 29:43Speaker 1: the Babylonian nation. Even with our Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus,
- 29:47Speaker 1: you looked out over that crowd of 5,000 men plus
- 29:50Speaker 1: women and children. That was a calamity because they didn't
- 29:52Speaker 1: have any food. Even that day you met the needs
- 29:56Speaker 1: and you showed your strength. But most of all, You
- 29:59Speaker 1: have looked at the most ultimate, most disastrous disease of all,
- 30:03Speaker 1: the disease of sin. The most devastating virus that has
- 30:09Speaker 1: ever been. And you died on the cross for our sins.
- 30:15Speaker 1: You paid the price so we could go to heaven.
- 30:18Speaker 1: And you rose from the dead to demonstrate your power
- 30:21Speaker 1: over death. Praise to your name. Glory to your name.
- 30:25Speaker 1: Worship and honor be to the name of the king
- 30:28Speaker 1: of kings thank you thank you lord we bless you
- 30:35Speaker 1: and now we give you glory we pray that as
- 30:37Speaker 1: we move into this week we could do so with
- 30:39Speaker 1: faith and when we feel the fear that we would
- 30:43Speaker 1: hear your voice knowing that you will take care of
- 30:46Speaker 1: us through christ we pray amen.
- 30:57Speaker 4: When you move, you move our fears. You don't have
- 31:09Speaker 4: to be moving.
- 31:11Speaker 3: You don't have to stay close.
- 31:18Speaker 2: As long as you're somewhere out there, that's enough for me.
- 31:27Speaker 4: I don't need to hold you near me Don't need
- 31:31Speaker 4: promises to keep Just the thought that you are breathing
- 31:37Speaker 4: Somewhere in this world I see Even if I'm not
- 31:42Speaker 4: beside you Even if you never know There's.
- 31:48Speaker 3: A quiet kind of comfort.
- 31:50Speaker 2: Just in knowing you still glow I don't need forever
- 32:01Speaker 2: I just need.
- 32:02Speaker 3: You to exist.
- 32:06Speaker 5: You don't have to stay with me You don't.
- 32:10Speaker 3: Have to feel the same Just as long as you're
- 32:15Speaker 3: still out there.
- 32:16Speaker 5: Calling softly through my days You don't have to look
- 32:21Speaker 5: my way You don't have to be my home.
- 32:27Speaker 3: It's enough to know you're living In a world I'm
- 32:31Speaker 3: not alone I won't chase you through the.
- 32:38Speaker 5: Distance Won't disturb your chosen life I'll just keep you
- 32:44Speaker 5: in my silence Like a star.
- 32:47Speaker 3: That shines at night.
- 32:50Speaker 2: Through the dark and through the blue.
- 32:57Speaker 3: I still think of you.
- 33:05Speaker 5: You don't have to be my home It's enough to
- 33:09Speaker 5: know you're living In.
- 33:11Speaker 3: A world I'm not alone.
- 33:44Speaker 2: I don't need to be your light I don't need
- 33:48Speaker 2: to cross.
- 33:48Speaker 5: Your mind All I need is just the truth That
- 33:52Speaker 5: you're somewhere.
- 33:55Speaker 3: Still alive.
- 33:59Speaker 2: You don't have.
- 34:00Speaker 6: To stay with me You don't have to feel the
- 34:05Speaker 6: same Just as long as you're still out there Calling
- 34:10Speaker 6: softly through my days You don't have to look my
- 34:15Speaker 6: way You don't have to be my home It's enough
- 34:20Speaker 6: to know you're living
- 34:25Speaker 3: In a world I'm not alone