All right. And the rest of us can open up our Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 17. We've been on this story for a long time. If you would have told me we're gonna take five or six lessons to get through the story of David and Goliath, I probably wouldn't have believed you, but that's okay. And I'm sure that we're taking it at the pace God wants us to take it at. And I've really enjoyed just kind of breaking apart the story, looking at the different aspects I assume everybody here knows the term underdog. Okay, underdog, a competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or a contest. And I think it's probably true that most of us love underdog stories. We get inspiration from it. We look at that and think, oh, look what they did. And if they did that, boy, I can do that, too, because we feel a lot of times like the underdog going into a situation. And so we get a bit of inspiration from that. Got me a book for Christmas last year, and it's a good read. I'll say this, it does have some profanity in it. It's a book about soldiers, their accounts of the Six Day War. There's not a lot of profanity in it, but it does have a little bit in it. But it's an interesting book. It's not a... It's not a documentary-type book or a true history. It's just firsthand accounts, people that were in the battle, what they saw, what they experienced, what they thought, and some of the key players in that battle in Israel called the Six-Day War. That took place on 10th of June, 1967, and then for about a week, obviously, after that. It's an amazing story. Israel at that point is only about 20 years old, just a infant nation. The people that were fighting are civilian soldiers. They got their day job and then they've got their military job as well. And if they were all in the battle, and they couldn't all be in the battle because they were critical positions that they held within civilization, but if everybody got there, it was 264,000 that they could muster for about however long until they had to get back to their day jobs. And online it says this about that, Israel's army was gravely outnumbered. Poised for assault were 80,000 Egyptian troops, 60,000 Jordanian troops, 50,000 Syrian troops, and a total of more than 850 tanks and 600 combat aircraft. And it goes on to say the Six-Day War began with a preemptive Israeli air assault. And it's an amazing story. They're looking at it thinking, what are we going to do? They're getting ready to come in. They're going to attack us. And amazing story how they planned this assault that would take place right as the changing of the guard there. I think it was about eight o'clock, 745, when the guys were switching over to get breakfast. And I mean, they just, and the, For some reason, the radar was down at that time as well, and they were able just to sneak in and basically obliterate the Egyptian air corps on the ground there. And they took out 338 Egyptian aircraft. 100 pilots were killed, and the Egyptians disputed that. But the fact is, based on what you know about the rest of the war, that's probably true, because they did not muster any air assault back into Israel. And 20,000 Arab troops would die in those six days. Israel would lose 1,000. I remember when I was reading the book, they had these training pilots that, I mean, they hadn't been training long at all, and they had their practice training aircraft that they retrofitted with bombs and things and sent these guys, 19, 20 years old, flying combat missions to take out these Israeli tanks. I think six of the 24 in that group died. But again, just kind of an amazing, amazing story. And you know, having a love for Israel as we do, and knowing that that's God's plan, that Israel's back in the land, and knowing that the peace of Jerusalem is important, because the Bible says in Psalm 122.6, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee. We look at that and most people I think that understand that they were under attack would say, wow, that is an amazing story and incredible, kind of like our story today. And if you were to meet an unbeliever, somebody that has no biblical knowledge, they still might say something like this about that story, that's like David and Goliath. Why? Because the all time greatest underdog story ever is a story that we have in the Bible, David and Goliath. And we're gonna look at that and we're actually not gonna quite make it into the battle. We're gonna get to the preliminaries today. But let's pray and then we'll take a look at this great story, all right? Father, we praise you for the grace that you give, praise you for the power that you possess. Thank you that you are God. And Father, we ought to get some encouragement from this story. Father, we are not Goliaths. We may not even be Davids, but we're certainly the underdog. Father, as a church, we're not a Goliath. We're, again, maybe not even a David, but we're an underdog. And Father, I pray that we look at this story correctly and understand that what David said, the battles of the lords. And so, Father, may we rightly be encouraged in our hearts today as we consider this truth. It's in Christ's name I pray, amen. Okay, so the first thing, the enemy was offended. Okay, Goliath was offended at who Israel put out against him. It says in verse 41, and the Philistine came on and drew near unto David, and the man that bear the shield went before him. Okay, so you got Goliath, the impressive warrior, the giant that's coming out there, armor bearer out in front of him. If you've ever watched a boxing match, it's not something I do a lot of times, but I know from watching some old films and stuff, you got the guy going, in this corner, weighing in at, you know it's Goliath, 700 pounds, 10 feet tall, I don't know how much Goliath actually weighed. I mean, it's probably more than that, his armor. His spear and his armor was about 200 pounds. I mean this guy's massive. Look at the size of his head, his spear, his broad shoulders. He's covered by impenetrable armor. He's killed scores of men. The announcer's going on and on. The champion of the Philistines. If you're a betting person and you're looking at what's going on down there, if there's any way you could actually win a bet, it's probably even odds or something on Goliath. I don't know how betting really works, but I don't think you're gonna make much, because everyone thinks this guy's gonna pulverize his rival that's there. And as Goliath looks at David, Goliath is seeing it like we're seeing it. And he is unpleasantly surprised by his rival, verse 42. It says, when the Philistine looked about and he saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. Okay, and I've been to the Valley of Elah, where the battle took place, and it's not a huge area that's across, I would guess, if I remember correctly, maybe 500 meters from hillside to hillside, and the plain, the flat area in between, and the little river that runs through there. And, And I can just kind of imagine Goliath, he's walking out, you know, somehow he knows the battle's going to take place. Maybe he's got word across that, you know, we've got a champion that's going to come out and fight you. And he walks out and he sees this little, little guy over there and he goes, man, he's a long ways away. He looks really small, you know, or something like that. And then he's like, well, maybe that's his armor bearer, you know, but he doesn't have a shield. He doesn't, I mean, and then he thinks maybe somebody got lost. that entered into the arena and not really supposed to be in there or something like that. And then he's looking at the guy thinking, what is this, a joke? I mean, who is this that is coming out to fight against me? The Bible says that he disdained him. That means he found him contemptible. I face disdain doing flyers and I've said before that my least favorite person to meet is that little old lady that's very wealthy and very, I hate to say it, but stuck up, you know? And you try to hand her a flyer, a gospel leaflet, you know, and she sticks her nose up in the air and you just want to crawl under something because you feel like you forgot to shower or that you're unclean, and that she's gonna wash her hands as soon as she gets away. And that's the idea of disdain, disdain. He looked at him, he thought, who are you? Goliath looks down his giant nose at David and despises him. And it's kind of like Israel just said to Goliath, Goliath, we could beat you with both hands tied behind your back in shackles, right? And that's the way Goliath views that. It's insulting to him, this shepherd walking out to fight against him. And so Goliath was unpleasantly surprised by his rival, but he was also put off by David's attire. He's put off by not just who David is, but what David is holding. Verse 43, the Philistines said unto David, am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? Okay, so David's got the staff in his hand, that's the stave. And Goliath thinks David's misunderstood. Hey, little shepherd boy, you think you're out shepherding your sheep? Got a stray dog that you're gonna go out against? I mean, why would you come out like this against me? You know, sometimes unbelievers are gonna mock us, not knowing the power of our God. We look so weak, we look so powerless. I've told you my favorite door-to-door story is being down in Bonita Springs with Pastor Bill Lytell, going out to knock on doors. And Pastor Lytell's a fiery preacher that has a sign that says sermons that'll knock your socks off, that's been out in front of his church for some decades, you know. And he's the one that, you know, we met the man that came to the door that was intoxicated. He's wearing boxers, an immoral t-shirt, he's got on one scuba boot, and he's obviously drunk. And we started a conversation with him, and he goes, to me, he goes, I don't know what's dumber looking, my scuba boot or your shoes. And then the most interesting part was when he goes, well, I guess I don't need this. And he takes a Glock pistol out from under his arm and sets it down there. And the pastor goes, well, I guess I don't need this. And, you know, and I joke about it. I got these two guys packing heat and, you know, kind of interesting there, but he mocked my shoes. He mocked my shoes. You know, a lot of times unbelievers may make fun of the way we dress. And I understand it, it had nothing to do with my Christianity, it's just mocking. But there's gonna be times that they mock us because of how we look. And they're gonna disdain us and despise us. But that person that is in that position, they can either turn and obey God like us and get on God's side, or they can be destroyed by God. And you think about Goliath right here. You know what Goliath would have been wise to do as he sees David coming? Fall on his knees, beg for mercy. But instead he mocked David because he saw the weakness of David, but he didn't see the power of David's God. And see, that's really where our world is. They look and they despise, but they don't see the power behind God's servants. And so the enemy was offended at who Israel selected to battle against him. But David was not afraid to fight the biggest of God's physical enemies, okay? And I just want to ask us today, do we have any valor for God? Any courage for God? Is there anything in us that says, man, I really want to do something for God. I met a young man, I told you about him, that he's autistic, but he said to me, he said, I really want to do something with my life. I want to make a difference. This is interesting. He's like 20 years old and hey, you know what? Become a Christian. because then life has purpose, and I talked to him about that. Then he could do something for God, but there ought to be in each of our hearts a desire that says, you know what? I want to do something for God's glory. It's like the hymn writer who wrote the words, are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood? Is this vile world a friend to grace to help me unto God? Sure, I must fight if I would reign, increase my courage, Lord, I'll bear the toil, endure the pain supported by thy word. There ought to be something in us say, hey, it doesn't make sense that I not be involved. Isn't there some enemy of God's that I can go into battle against and I could fight a little bit for the Lord and seek to do something for God. So David has courage like that. He's not scared of the biggest of God's physical enemies. And Goliath had a big mouth. He had a big mouth. The Bible says in the Philistine, cursed David by his gods, by his idols. His curses were empty, why? Because there's no power behind them. An idol is nothing. 1 Corinthians 8 verse 4, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is none other God but one. Okay, so his superstition, you know, Goliath's superstition had no reality to it. It's just empty. I mean, he's cursing by his gods. I mean, his gods are nothing and have absolutely no power. It'd be like Elijah on Mount Carmel with those prophets of Baal and they're cursing him by their gods. Well, so what? I mean, he mocks the God that, you know, is your God sleeping? Has he gone on a long journey? Where is he? Nothing's happening. The God that answers by fire, let him be God and the fire of God falls. Balaam, remember that prophet that was hired by King Balak to go and curse Israel, found out that only those that God curses are cursed and those that God blesses are blessed. Numbers 23.8, he said, how shall I curse whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the Lord hath not defied? And it's basically, the only curse that you need to fear is a curse that God honors. a curse that God is behind, because that's the only curse that has power behind it. There is no power but of God. So God's servants don't have to fear the empty curses of the enemy. The enemy's nothing. God is everything. But Goliath had a big mouth. And then Goliath had big boasts. It says in verse 44, The Philistines said to David, come to me and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field. You know, you got this big giant and he's almost getting poetical. You know, he's got this kind of vivid imagery that's there. And it's not pretty, but it's poetic. Your body's going to be strewing here and the birds are going to be eating it. And your carcass is going to be decaying. If I was David, I wouldn't mind being cursed by his idols because his idols are nothing. But when he says to me, I'm going to take your body and I'm going to destroy you and the birds are going to be eating you. You know what? I'd almost believe him, why? because he's got the power to do it physically from, if God let him, if that makes sense, okay? He's restrained by God, but if God let him, I mean, the guy can do it. And so, I don't think, that wouldn't bother me, but when he says what he's gonna do to me, I'd look at that and think, well, yeah, I think you can. But let me point out this, Goliath was a big man, but he was only a man. And so the Bible says, Hebrews 13, verse six, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Proverbs 29, 25, the fear of man bringeth the snare, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be saved. Matthew 10, 28, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. And so put yourself in David's position. Could you believe God even if your life was on the line? I mean, that's, it's kind of difficult for us because we're not in Russia. We're not in North Korea. We're not in China. We're not in Afghanistan. You know, for us, I mean, are we really risking our life ever to take a stand for the Lord? And this is a difficult thing for us to consider, but would we do that for God and for God's glory? Mary Schleser did. Mary Slessor that grew up in Dundee and then was in Edinburgh for a little while before going as a missionary to the Calabar, which is right near modern-day Cameroon, just kind of north of that areas where she went. But she went as, you know, she's just a brave Scottish lass that had a desire to serve God, and went as a single missionary to serve God, and she saved the twins that were being killed by the cannibalistic people, because they thought that there was witchcraft involved with that, so they would just put twins, I think, in a pot, and get rid of them in the forest, and she rescued very many of them, but she eventually became, like the consulate, the British consulate for that area, and, you know, And she had incredible courage. She would step into these warring tribes and tell them to sit down and say, we're going to talk about this. And the story is told that at one point, Mary hears about a battle that's about to begin between two warring tribes. She drops everything. runs barefoot through the jungle, stands on a log between the two tribes with her hands raised up against both tribes. She scolds the men and refuses to back down. After a while, she convinces them to move under a tree and talk about their disagreement while she does her knitting. It's kind of interesting, the knitting part, but she has incredible courage. She risks her life. for the glory of God and for the sake of those people to say, hey, we're going to sit down. Again, we just got to ask ourself, and there's kind of a romance to that. Yeah, I'll risk my life for God, but we can measure that by what we will risk for God. I mean, will we risk our entertainment? Will we risk our pleasure? Will we risk our comfort zone? Will we risk our, you know, whatever, sleep? Will we risk anything for God? There's a great statement, God and you are the majority in any situation, right? We ought to have courage and say, God can help me face great physical giants in the will of God. And so David was not afraid to fight the biggest of God's physical enemies. And then David disdained the Philistine. Okay, the Philistine disdained him, David disdained the Philistine. Goliath only had incredible human armor only. Verse 45, then said David to the Philistine, they'll come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield. Okay, now when we read the Bible account of it, did the Bible give us the stats for that? Yes, so the Bible says 16 pound spearhead, 160 pound coat. But when David speaks to Goliath, does David emphasize that? No, David could have given the stats. You come to me with that huge, you know, but he just says, you come to me, you know, with the weapons of a warrior and a shield. I really think this, and he didn't emphasize his size, you know, he didn't go, wow, you're a really big guy or, you know, anything like that. I think the truth is that I don't think David saw Goliath as a giant. I don't think he saw him as a giant. I'm vertically challenged. Some people call that being short. And I'm not feeling bad for myself this morning. I didn't feel bad for myself until my parents asked me, does it bother you to be short? And then I was kind of like, well, not before, but now that you said that, no, I like to joke about it, but I'll tell you this, I don't really think about height. I could talk to somebody like Keith Kashner and he's like 6'6", 6'7", he's a friend of ours that is, I went to him with grade school, I tell some stories about that a little bit, but he's a foot taller than me. But if I speak to somebody like that, I'll just tell you, I view them eye to eye. I don't know that for good or bad, I feel like I'm on an equal plane. When I talk to people, I don't feel that. When I speak to somebody, maybe don't either. So we're on an equal plane. I really think that David looked at the giant on a vertical plane. I don't think he felt like he's looking at somebody that's massive and huge. I think he's looking at somebody that he felt equal to. He had an equalizing view that was shaped by the size of his God. And so if we're viewing our adversary correctly, we ought to have an equalizing view, not because of us necessarily, but because of God. But a lot of times we can make something, oh, that's so big, that's so big, that's so big, but God is bigger. And so if we have a correct view, we see that in the light of who God is and it equalizes that. And then we find that David was just an armor bearer for Goliath's real adversary. Okay, just an armor bearer for Goliath's real adversary. And so he introduces Goliath to Jehovah God. It says, but I come to thee, verse 45, in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. Whom thou hast defied. Who is Goliath mocking? Goliath was mocking Israel, Goliath was mocking David, but Goliath in reality was mocking the armies of the living God. The God of Hosts, think about that name if you want to be encouraged in your walk with God and God's strength. He's the God of Hosts. He's the God that has all these angelic beings that are incredibly powerful. We don't worship angels. We don't need to spend a lot of time focusing on angels. does speak about that story with Elisha when the man is very worried about what's gonna take place. We're surrounded by this army and he just prays and says, God opened his eyes and he opens his eyes and he sees that the armies of God are surrounding them. And so here, David's introducing Goliath to the fact that he is mocking David, he is mocking Israel, but in reality, he's mocking God. And look out, Goliath, because God is great and God is powerful. And we're certainly gonna see that in this story. There was an interesting story in the news this past week and a court case that was taking place. And the reason there was a court case was in Durham, England, some young men, I think early 20s, decided to go for a swim. They got intoxicated. There was some antisocial behavior that was taking place. Apparently, they got two flat tires and they parked in the driveway of a farmer. And if I understand the story correctly, some altercation took place between them and the farmer. The farmer asked them to move their vehicle off his property and out of his drive. And apparently some fist flew and maybe punched the farmer or something like that. Because what happened next is quite amazing if you watch the video. And that's the farmer returning with his forklift tractor, picking up the back of that vehicle, flipping it onto its roof, and then shoving it out into the road. What's interesting about that is he was not found to be criminally responsible for the damage that came to that vehicle. And in court, he made this argument, an Englishman's home is his castle. And I was defending my castle. And you know, it's kind of funny. In a way, and I'm not sure that I go, well, that's okay. You know, I don't know whose side I want to necessarily take, but I'll say this, those guys made a big mistake when they messed with a farmer from Durham. Because they didn't understand the power that was behind that guy. They looked at that guy and thought, who are you to tell us what to do? They didn't even see the tractor coming until it came, and then it took care of it. You know, and again, I look at that and think, you know, a lot of people, we'll look at maybe God's servants, and they think, who are you? But they do not begin to see the power of God. They do not begin to see that there is a God in heaven that is going to absolutely put the fear of God into their hearts and lives, able to destroy anything that they've got. And so he introduces Goliath to Jehovah God. And then he also boasts, but his boast is in God. His boast is in God. He says, first, God is going to deliver you into my hand, verse 46. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand. You know, the Bible is the greatest record book ever. And there are certain things that are recorded in this book. One thing that is recorded in this book for all eternity is that Goliath was defeated by a shepherd boy. God is going to deliver thee into my hand. You know, does God have any difficulty executing his enemies? God can use anything. God doesn't even have to use a man, as is the case with Herod in Acts chapter 12 and verse one. Now about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. He's gonna mess with God's people and he's gonna harass them and gonna kill some. He killed James, the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. And we know the story, God miraculously delivers Peter by an angel opening up those doors and that prayer meeting that was taking place and Rhoda answering the door and that is a fun story. But then verse 21, it says, upon a set day, Herod arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout saying, it's the voice of a God and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory and he was eaten of worms and gave up the ghost. But the word of God grew and multiplied. All right, the contrast, he's off the scene, God's people are prospering. Why? Because God absolutely took care of a man that was the enemy of God. You know, it's nothing for God to do. We can look at our enemies and say, oh man, we got a great enemy. Our God is a great God. Our God is able to take care of any of his enemies whenever he wants. Deuteronomy 32, 39, see now that I, even I am he, I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. When I think about that statement, neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. David's gonna get delivered out of the giant's hand. but there's no hope for the giant that's gonna stand against God's servant. And so he boasts, but he boasts in God. First, God is gonna deliver you into my hands. Secondly, you're gonna lose your head in battle. and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth." It's not just you, Goliath, but the giant is gonna be on the menu, right? For these birds that Goliath was saying, David's gonna get eaten. I mean, the birds are gonna have a buffet that's there of the giant and they're gonna have all the carcasses of all the Philistines because God is going to take care of it. and he's gonna keep that promise. You're gonna lose your head. I'm gonna take thine head from thee. Thirdly, there's a reason that God's gonna do this. It says that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Why is God gonna give such a glorious victory? And you know, as we pray, we're praying for our church, we're praying for our family, we're praying for what God desires us to do. There's a reason we ought to pray and say, God is for your glory. Let God be seen in this. And that's all right. You know, sometimes we don't want to be a David. We want to be, you know, Saul. We got greater armor or something. We always say, hey, it's all right to be a David, but God, let it be a David that would show forth your glory. Make it to be seen, God, who you are. Verse 47. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with the sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hands. You know, and again, we need to learn this truth. Victory is only dependent upon God. That's a great thing to understand that it's not by might or by power, it's by my spirit. We've had recently, we considered that text. It's not what we can do. We don't need to look around and say, look in the mirror and say, well, you know, because I see this, then I can achieve something for God. We gotta look at it and say, it doesn't matter what I've got. It doesn't matter what I've got in the bank. It doesn't matter what I've got as far as health. It doesn't matter what I've got as far as emotional strength. It doesn't matter what I've got as far as anything about me. It doesn't depend upon me. Victory is not me. Victory is God's. Romans 8.31, what shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Really? In the scope of some things we're thinking about as a family, can finances really not keep you from going to Bible college? No. Not if God's called you to Bible college. Why do we make the giants so big? We gotta look at that and say, well, if God's leading that way, God's gonna provide. God's gonna slay the giant, the financial giant that's there. Romans 8.37, nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors. Through him that loved us and gave himself for us. It's through Christ that we can look at that and say, well, that's an issue, that's a big giant. I just can't get victory over that. I can't slay that giant. That giant's gonna defeat me the rest of my life. Why? There's no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, will not suffer you to be tempted, above that you're able, but will with the temptation make way to escape that you may be able to bear it. So therefore, no, that giant can be slain by the power of God. You know, if David had not fought Goliath, would the truth that victory is through God, would that have been made known? No. And now I don't know what God would have done. You know, it's part of God's plan. It's part of God bringing David to the front and preparing him to be a great leader for the nation of Israel. But the fact is, David had to fight the giant for the glory of God to be seen. And that's so true in our day as well. People can say, oh, they're big giants, they're big giants. You know, it's too hard these days. Internet's too damning and television and all the atheism and all the, the woke-ism and all the stuff being sexual perversion being pumped in to the kids. I mean, it's just too great. But where are the people that will step up and say, God can build a church in this day. God can save people in this day. God can work in this day. And for that to be seen, there have to be some that'll step up and say, well, let's get to work. Let's stand for God. Let's go into battle. Let's see what giants God desires to fall. He was there, David was there that the people would know that there's a God in Israel. You know, George Mueller had a stated desire to see God answer prayer so that, and he would tell it so that God's people would understand the power of God. He stated that many times that in starting the institutions and the orphanage that he started, he started it so that God's glory would be seen. And about George Mueller, he built five large orphan houses and cared for 10,024 orphans in his life. When he started in 1834, there were accommodations for 3,600 orphans in all of England, and twice that many children under eight were in prison. One of the great effects of Mueller's ministry was to inspire others so that 50 years after Mr. Mueller began his work, at least 100,000 orphans were cared for in England alone. He did all this while he was preaching three times a week from 1830 to 1898, at least 10,000 times. And when he turned 70, he fulfilled a lifelong dream of missionary work for the next 17 years until he was 87. He traveled to 42 countries, preaching on average once a day, and addressing some three million people. And you look at George Miller, I mean, we're inspired, again, there's the same idea, David and Goliath, I mean, we look at that and say, that's glorious, that's glorious. Why? Because he showed us the power of God. And again, we ought to look at our lives and who are we? And admittedly, are we a David? No, we're not a David. But you know, I'm a venture and I got other people I can name that I'm looking at and that's who we are. But we ought to say, hey, God, I am what I am by the grace of God. And I don't know fully what your plan is for me, for my life. But one thing we ought to desire is God help me to fight for you, stand for you, not make excuse, not say, you know, well, you know, I'm just a shepherd boy. I'm just, you know, this or that. And I don't have this great, whatever. And we ought to just say, okay, what I've got, I can use for God and for your glory, but God may it be for your glory. And as a church, we get on our knees, we have our prayer time, 5.15, let's get on our knees and pray, God, slay some giants. We got some giants we're praying about as a church, attendance giants. We've got the property giant that we've been praying a lot about. We've got health giants, the whole world does. I mean, there's a lot of things, but let's say, God, will you destroy these for your glory? And Father, if even just in a little bit your glory can be seen through my life, let it happen. And so let's ask God to do that. George Mueller did, David did, and when you look at the story of David, one thing you know, he's walking out into battle, he tells you why, that all the earth may know that there's a God in Israel. We still take inspiration from that. And so it's happened according to God's plan because David was faithful and he went out into that battle. Let's pray. Father, I pray that the spirit of God would just help us not to look at us. David didn't. And I really don't think David really saw that Goliath was a giant. I'm sure David understood that, but I think he had an equalizing view because of his God and really a dominating view because of his God. And Father, I pray for us as a people, Lord, we need to conquer for the glory of God. Now, if we've got sin giants in our life that are defeating us, then Father, your glory's not being seen. And Father, I pray that we fight, we stand, and we trust you for victory. And Father, that's where the victory is. The victory's in Christ. The victory's in the power of the blood. The victory's in the power of the word of God, and we are more than conquerors to him who loved us and gave himself for us. Father, we've got financial giants, we've got sickness giants, we've got relational giants. I mean, there's a lot of things that we could consider today. But Father, I pray that we'd face them in the will of God with courage. and confidence, and Father, that we know that the battle's the Lord's, and that we will look to ourselves, but Father, that we do our part. David had to go into battle, we'll look at that next week. He couldn't just make a brave statement, okay, you know, I'm gonna cut off your head, and because my God is God, and then turn and go back to his side. And so, Father, neither can we. We've got to face it. And so I pray, God, give us courage. And I pray, God, that you slay some giants to your glory. We pray that you do that individually and as a church. We say in Christ's name we pray. Amen.