Judas betrayed him, and the greatest event in the history of mankind took place on a Wednesday, not on a Friday. Three days later, the greatest event for Christians took place. The greatest event for mankind, the opportunity because of the blood of Jesus Christ to be saved. greatest event for Christians, the resurrection, because that makes the salvation sure. Our salvation is in a risen Savior, not in a dead one. And once you get saved, you know what you realize? You realize if He came up, I'm coming up too. You're coming up. So it's a good week for you to be thinking about those things. Good week for you. It's early this year for some reason. I told Drina, I said, man, is this not early? She says, earlier than I ever remember it being. I said, why do you think that is? She said, because Jesus is coming. I said, do you know something I don't know? And she just, you know, I was like, if you'll tell me, I'll preach it. 1 Chronicles 29, glad to have you here. Robert, glad you made it in, son. Glad you're here. Appreciate y'all being here. Sis, I'm glad you're here. What a blessing. Good to see y'all this morning. 1 Chronicles 29, glad all of you are here. Appreciate your faithfulness. Appreciate you being here. Appreciate you being a part of this. I like the soldiers for Christ. I like that cadence that they call that Brother Mann and Brother Eddie taught them. I think that's a blessing. That's probably the greatest troops he ever trained. Between those two, that's probably the greatest troops they ever had right there. Gentlemen, you had impact on these kids. They'll never forget. I appreciate you investing your time, your wives doing without you while you could spend some time teaching these kids what you were taught. But they'll never forget that. That fingerprint of your investment in them will magnify the Lord to them. That's a great investment. Great investment. I appreciate it. I like men to teach others. I like it, man. Nothing better, man. I like it. You say, what do you need? You need Christian men. Ladies, I love you. I do love you. But you're not the problem. You're not the problem. We men, we've dropped the ball. You're married to a squishy, ishy, pink-blooded, I don't even know if you call them men anymore, males. If you're married to a good Christian man who loves the Lord and believes the book, you've got a good one. You better hold on to him and help him be what God wants him to be. Alright, the Bible says this in 1 Chronicles chapter number 20, Furthermore, David the king said unto all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender. The work is great, for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God. Now I have prepared, watch it, with all my might for the house of my God, the gold, the things made of gold, the silver, the things of silver, brass, the things of brass, iron, the things of iron, wood, the things of wood, onyx stones, the stones to be set, glistering stones in diverse colors, and all manner of precious stones and marble stones in abundance. Because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have my own proper good of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house." In other words, David said, I'm not just getting it for everybody else, I'm investing in it too. Even 3,000 talents of gold, the gold of Ophir, 7,000 talents of refined silver overlay the walls of the houses withal. The gold of all things gold, the silver for things of silver, and all manner of work can be made by the hands of the participers. Watch it. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord? All the stuff has no impact if it doesn't have people to apply the stuff. In other words, you can consecrate all your materials, but if you don't consecrate your heart, it doesn't do any good because nothing gets done with it. David is trying to make a point here, and he's trying to apply a principle that I'll show you with God's help this morning, that he's applied since he was a little boy. Father, we pray now that You might bless Your Word. We pray, God, You might bless the preaching of Your Word. Thank You, God, for the singing. Thank, God, that we've been redeemed. Thank, God, that we've been pardoned. I appreciate, Lord, so much what You've done for us here at this church. And, God, I pray You might anoint now the preaching with the Holy Ghost of God that You might allow us to say that which would touch the hearts of Your people and stir us up and get us ready for what's soon to come. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. I thank you. While you're being seated, if you'll turn all the way back to 1 Samuel chapter number 17, a very familiar story. David says in 1 Chronicles chapter number 29, he says, the work is great. And I want you to understand that David lays beside all the things that are necessary. We'll talk more about that in just a minute. But one of the things that David does here is he says, listen, we can have all the gold for things of gold, all the silver for things of silver, all the wood, all the iron for the things made out of that, all the precious stones. I mean, we got everything, the makings of a beautiful building, but If people are not consecrated to do something with it, nothing's gonna get done. All it does is just sit in the bank. All it does is just us something to look at, but unless it's put to use, it's of no good. You remember over in Matthew chapter number 25, when the Lord comes down there and He talks to three individuals, or He gives a parable as He's talking to these individuals. He uses three individuals. He said, well, one individual I gave five talents, one individual I gave two talents, and another individual I gave one talent. And the individual with five came back at the end of a short period of time, he said, Lord, with thy five, I've made five. With his five. He realized it wasn't his, it belonged to the Lord. He said, Lord, with your five, I made five. And the Lord said, well done, enter the joy of the Lord. And then the man with two said, Lord, with the two you gave me. And the Bible says when he gave that out, I want you to notice in the passage, if you look at it, it's given everyone according to his several ability. What that means is, is everybody's not given the same thing because everybody doesn't have the same ability. So God may give an individual more, but then he's accountable for more. And so don't look at what somebody else can do and say, well, you know, he's more talented or whatever. God gave maybe, gave him more ability, but that means he's accountable for more. Just be accountable for the one or the two or whatever he manages to give you. Well, the guy with the two says, Lord, I went out and got the two, and I did with the two what you told me to do, and I made you two more. And the guy with the one said, Lord, I took it and buried it in the ground. The Bible says He buried it in the earth. In other words, I took what you gave me, your money, and the Lord said to him, you took my money and buried it in the ground. And then you know what he does? He says, Thou wicked and slothful servant. And then he goes on down there and he says, Weeping and gnashing of teeth, and I realize the tight picture of this there, but here's what I want you to understand. You can be given all the talent, all the ability, all the material possessions in the world, but if you're not consecrated to God, it'll ruin you, it'll wreck you, it'll rot you. because you'll use the things God gave you for something He didn't intend for you to use it for and that's something that brings you glory instead of bringing Him glory. Can you help me a little bit this morning? I know Sunday school was a little tough but let's shake that one off and we're going to move on because you need to get a hold of this thing today. You've got to understand that just being a part of something by putting something in a play or just being a part of something by making an investment doesn't stop there. We have to continue on. We gotta continue to put it to use. Once you become a Christian, you don't just stop at Calvary. You get up after you're forgiven. You get up after your sins have been forgiven. And you go on and do other things. Here David is out here as a little boy. He's a shepherd. He doesn't realize what God's doing in his life. And during that particular time, he is approached by a bear. He whacks him in the head and kills the bear. He never says nothing about it. The Bible doesn't record it until we get here to 1 Samuel 17. He's out there tending the sheep one day and a lion approaches him out there and he's going to grab one of the sheep and David runs out there and whops him in the head. He has no idea that in going against the bear and going against the lion that God is preparing him for a giant years down the line. He has no idea that his time alone out there fellowshipping with God is preparing him for something that will take place way down the line. He has no concept of what's going on in his life. And yet we come to a passage that we're all very familiar with where he comes up against Goliath. And what happens, and not to reiterate the entire story because everybody's heard the story of Goliath, I want you to realize that when David comes up there bringing some food to his brothers, and his brothers begin to mock and make fun of him. And the Bible says, if you will pick it up with me, I'll show you what his family thinks about him. The Bible says in verse number 28, Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spake unto the men, and Eliab's anger was kindled against David. And he said, Why camest thou down hither? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? In other words, hey, little boy, your job is to tend to a little bit of sheep. It's not to come out here and tell us big boys how to fight the battle. It's not to come out here and tell us what we're supposed to be doing. And David comes up there and somebody overhears what David says and he goes over and tells Saul. He says, Saul, there's a guy here that says he can take the giant. And Saul says, really, who is he? And he brings a little run up there, and you know what Saul says? You've got to be kidding me. That guy can't do anything like that. And David says, okay, you might be right. Maybe you think I can't do it, but I'm not doing it to my own strength. You know what he says? I'm going in unto the Lord. See, the confidence David had was not cockiness or arrogance. When David's heart was lifted up, it was not in pride. It was in confidence that the Lord had got him through the bear, had got him through the line, had brought him to this particular moment, and he said, I will be jumped. This is just my interpretation, kind of loosely. I'll be jumped if I'm going to let somebody like that blaspheme my God. I'm going to go and do something about it. Y'all want to stay in the trenches, that's fine. David never said, hey guys, let's go get him. Remember later on when David brings the ark up, David danced alone before the Lord. David was never afraid to go to battle by himself. You remember Ziklag in 1 Samuel chapter number 30. David got up and he encouraged himself in the Lord. And you know what David said? I'm going to go and I'm going to pursue and I'm going to overtake. And then the other ones decided. But David was never afraid to trust God and step out on his own. And I'm going to show you in just a minute that that's not as easy, it's easier said than done. Because sometimes things that are going on in our own past make us think that we're not worthy to grab things that are out there for us in the future. Well, so David comes up there to Goliath and goes up to Saul and Saul says, well let me tell you what we're going to do. If you're going to go out there, you're at least going to wear my football jersey. You're going to wear my number. I mean, people are going to know that I've covered you as best I possibly can. So you take the king's honor and you take the king's armor and you put that on there and that way people will know that you're going in the name of the king because you know what? If nothing else, my armor will go to battle but I sure won't be in it. See, individuals are strange when they're not wanting to go to battle. They don't mind sending you out to get your full head cut off, but they won't go themselves. They don't mind trying to encourage you to get out there, but they're going to stay in the tent and eat chicken and get fat while the Goliaths in life are continuing to curse you and belittle you and make fun of you and blaspheme God. And you know what they'll do? They'll take you right out to the edge and then they'll shove you off and they'll go back and have their dinner. David puts that stuff on and he goes, listen King, appreciate it very much, but it ain't working for me. This modern theology stuff ain't working for me. You want to change everything and turn it into a program or a pacifier for somebody? I just got to stick with the old-fashioned way. All I know is when I was by myself, only me and God out there, a bear came against me, I whooped him. A lion came against me, I whooped him. And if God can get me through a bear and get me through a lion, He can sure get me through a human being. I don't care how bad his breath is and how big he talks, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. He said, well, what are you going to use? He said, the only thing I know how to use. He said, I've spent hours and hours and hours out there in the pastures of Israel, out there in the rocks and the mountains, running around and chasing and slinging that stone and slinging that stone. And he says, you're going to get him with a stone? He said, yeah, I'm going to get him with a stone. But David knew that just the stone wasn't going to do it. Because when David faces Goliath, you know what he says? The guy says, who are you, you little pipsqueak coming out here? They sent a little bitty dog out here to do the fighting for them. Who do you think you are? He is embarrassed, he is enraged that they would send a little kid out there to fight him. And so, you know, I think David probably thinks back to something in the Bible about don't let them despise my youth or something like that. And the Lord said, that's not written yet, David. And then he said, well, I thought it was in there somewhere. And David said, I don't know. And he starts getting this thing. And you know what David says? He said, I'm going to come to you in the name of the Lord. And you know what he said? I'm going to take your sword and I'm going to cut your head off and I'm going to feed you to the birds. That's what David said, sweet little shepherd boy David. It's in the passage. You say, David said that to Goliath? Yes, David said that to Goliath. That's pretty confident. That's before he had ever slung one stone. Leave your finger right there. Let me take you over to one passage and I want to show you something because where your heart is is what matters the most. Look, if you will, in 2 Chronicles chapter 17. Leave your finger right there. Let me show you this in 2 Chronicles 17. You say, Preacher, you started off about building the temple. Yeah, but see, that's at the end of David's life. What I'm going to show you is that David is still applying the same principles he applied back in the pastures with the bear and the lion, back in the days with Goliath. He's still applying the same thing at the sunset of life when his boy is going to take over. David is preparing himself for what's going to befall him. Watch this thing in 2 Chronicles chapter 17. Verse number six, this is talking about Jehoshaphat. The Bible said, and his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. Moreover, he took away the high places and grows out of Judah. Every time usually we read about a heart being lifted up, we think immediately they're full of pride and arrogance. No. His heart, Jehoshaphat's, was lifted up in the Lord. His confidence, not cockiness, not arrogance, was in the ability of the Lord to take care of what needed to be taken care of. Can I tell you this morning, there's nothing wrong with having confidence in the Lord. There's nothing wrong with saying, listen, me and the Lord make a majority and I'm going to do what the Lord's called me to do. God told me to kill Goliath. You don't want to kill him, no problem. Don't get in my way, don't hinder me, don't hamper me. If I get killed, at least I die doing what I believe God wanted me to do. But get out of my way, I've got to go and kill the Goliath. Sometimes what we think is, well, that's stupidity. Well, I'm not done yet. David goes over there, if you'll look down in that passage, and while he's on the way to the battlefield, he stops off at a little creek. And it's interesting what David does. He bends down and he gets him a special stone for Goliath. Probably writes a big G on it. That's just for you. That's going to fit right in your head. They're going to sink it right between your eyes and knock your lights out. And the next thing you know, you're going to wake up writhing and panting. Never mind. But then he begins to think about that fellow with six toes and Ishbeth and the other four brothers that he's got there and he thinks, you know what I better do? I better be prepared when I go out there that there may be more than just Goliath to fight. I better make preparation for something other than just going out there and making one shot. I don't think David put four extra stones in there thinking I might need to reload if I miss. I think David put four stones there thinking, well, I know that if somebody killed my brother, I'd be off the bench and going in there, and I know I've heard about those four giant brothers that he has, so I need to be prepared to kill them too. He didn't think lightly about the task when he went out there. Secondly, he made preparation before he went out there. He got himself ready to go where he was told to go. But he didn't just run out there half cocked in arrogance and in anger and jump out of the hole and go running out there and saying, hey, I'm going to go do something. He stopped long enough to contemplate what it is that he was supposed to do. And I think in order for him to get down by the creek, unless it's a different creek than I've ever been around, he had to get down there on his knees. And I think as he started gathering those stones and he, the Bible says he put one in his script is what he calls it. It's interesting that because he's going to pull from the script and he's going to sling something that came out of the script at the giant to kill the giant. I'll make a comparison there for you in a second. But at any rate, he's starting to do that. And I think the Lord says, now there's four brothers. And he said, well, are they as big as Goliath? He said, every bit as big. One of them's got six fingers and six toes. He said, well, that might require a special stone. How about this one right here, Lord? What do you think? The Lord said, that'll fit him right between your eyes, just perfect. It'll fly just the right way. Man, that'll, get that one right there. Puts that in there and he says, he's got three other ones. And David's down there picking them. He gets done with that thing. He gets that bag full of stones. You don't know if there were other stones in there, but these were apparently special stones. and he loaded up that bag, knowing that when he stepped out on the battlefield, he had made every preparation he could make so that when the giant approached him, he'd be ready for whatever took place. Not only to kill Goliath, but also prepare to take on the other giants if they came. Preacher, what are you trying to say to me? You've got to understand that in a Christian life, it's not one of every day waking up and saying, you know, well, Lord, what about today? It's one of making some plans. It's one of making some preparation. Listen, if you do not aim, you can shoot well, maybe, but you never hit anything. You have to have a target that you're aiming at. You've got to have a direction that you're going. The Apostle Paul said, I look to the author and finisher of my faith. I press toward the mark and the high calling of God. I'm always keeping my eyes above, looking to Him. Now why is that? Because He's going in a certain direction. Christians fail today on the battlefield of life because they don't make any preparation and they're not prepared when another giant shows up other than just Goliath. Later on in David's life another giant shows up and he's too old to handle it and that's when Abishai jumps in there and does something about it. But that's another story. What I want you to see here in this particular passage is, is notice that he's got some bags, I mean some stones in the bag. Now let's take our Bible if you would please and turn over to 2 Samuel chapter number 7. Spiritual giants sometimes think they know the will of God for your life, like Saul. They want to try to equip you with their way of doing things. Amen? You can think while you're talking. There's always Saul's in your life. When you get ready to do something, now I want you to understand, Saul was not willing to do it himself, number one. Number two, now that somebody has stepped up and said, we'll go, Saul says, well you ought to do it this way. Let me just tell you, at some point, you've got to find God's way. At some point, you can't let somebody live vicariously. One of the worst things in the world I've ever seen is when a parent has a child and they're a frustrated athlete. And they didn't make the big leagues, you know what I'm saying? They didn't make the ball club, they didn't make the football team and all that kind of stuff. Or in their own mind, they're a legend. and they are going to die from the time that baby's hatched out, here's a baseball in the crib, or here's a golf ball in the crib, or here's a basketball in the crib, or all that other kind of stuff is there because we're going to make them into what we weren't. You can help me a little bit. In other words, we live our life vicariously through them and try to warp that child's brain into thinking that you've got to do it my way. I've seen preachers do that with people. I've seen preachers think that the only way you can do it is the way God had me to do it. Let me just tell you, that don't work. That dog don't hunt, as they say. That don't work anywhere. You say, why? God deals with each of you uniquely in a unique manner. And you have a free will for God to show you how He wants to do it. He called David. Differently did Elijah. Differently did Elisha. Differently did Paul. Everybody had a different way. Something similarly. But what happens is sometimes those things find ourselves resting in the bosom of our own fears. And we take that as an opportunity to say, maybe I'm not ready to face that giant and maybe I don't miss out on some things by faith. You say, what did David do? David went out there by faith. David was walking by faith, yeah. You've got to let it sink in for just a second. You say, no, are you kidding me? A big old giant's out there and he's got a rock? I mean, think about it a minute. What else do you call it but faith? I mean, I would have at least let me have a sword or something. At least I got a chance to jug him before he cuts my head off. Maybe I can cut his Achilles heel or something and make him go down going, ow, ow, ow, and then I can get him down there where I can get... He's got a rock and a rag. Can you imagine how that, you say, what, what? It's faith. You understand? Sometimes what happens is we'd rather walk by sight than by faith, and God says, this is what I want you to do, and you're like, ah. Then, you know, brother so-and-so said so-and-so, careful, watch the saws. They're trying to put their armor on you. Say, well, I think I should leave and go to school. Maybe you need to go to regular school. Maybe you need to go to correspondence school. Maybe you don't need to go to Bible school, you need to go to another school. I don't know what you need to do. Grinding on me a little bit there. Listen, there's no automatic way. You would have never thought the Apostle Paul would have ever been the Apostle Paul. When you saw him as Saul, you would have said, there ain't no way God's going to use that guy. If you looked at Peter, you'd never say, oh, Peter, he's going to be one of the apostles. I guarantee you, if you looked at Matthew, a tax collector? Are you kidding me? You'd have never thought he would have sat down with Zacchaeus and had dinner with him after Zac rolled up a tree up there, a misfit from society. You'd have never picked the ones God picked, the way God picked us. Don't miss the opportunity to kill the giant in your life because you're willing to simply follow God. I realize if you're visiting that it's a little unusual for people to shout in the church service. Now if we were in a stadium you wouldn't care if they shouted at a ball game. But we happen to get excited about the Lord around here so don't let it get you bothered. They'll calm down in a couple of hours. And some of you are thinking a couple of hours. Well that's the introduction anyway. 2 Samuel chapter number 7. You've got to make up your mind to go in the name of the Lord. A lot of Christian warfare. Listen to me now. A lot of... Turn on the air conditioner, brother. My goodness, it's hot. A lot of Christian warfare is won or lost, listen to me, in the preparation. A lot of Christian warfare is won or lost in the preparation. The mindset, I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me. I'll show you stupidity. I can do all things through Christ that strengthen me. It doesn't fit when you're standing on top of the building downtown, going to jump off and say, well, I just pray the Lord will catch me. That's stupidity. But if God calls you and says to you, hey, this is what I want you to do, don't look in the mirror and go, are you serious? Do you see what you're working with? God knows exactly what He is working with and He chooses the base things and what He will do one day is come along and knock on your door and it won't be based on your ability, it will be based on your dependability. Are you willing to lay your life down? Are you willing to lay your desires down, your direction down, what you plan for the future and to say today, God today is the day that I start walking by faith and not by sight and Lord pick me, pick me, pick me. Amen preacher. 2 Samuel chapter 7. Make up your mind to go in the name of the Lord. Now you understand He killed the bear and the lion, right? Now He's killed Goliath, right? Alright, now watch what happens. Most of us would say, this is where it starts to gel a little bit. Most of us would say that he's done everything that he's supposed to do. David has now conquered everybody around him, all of the Ites, all of the Philistines. Look at it in verse number 1. And it came to pass, the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies. Wow! I've done everything God wants me to do, it's nice and quiet now. No, that was just phase one. See, Christian, we get the attitude is, well, now that I've done this, I'm done. No, no, no, no, that's just phase one. David had gone out and conquered, but now it was time for him to construct. David had gone out and killed, but now it was time for him to make a place for the temple of God to be built. Do you understand, ladies and gentlemen, there is no retirement in Christian service. You get to retire when God retires. Say, when does He retire? He don't. Amen. Some of you think retire is that thing you do after a diet and then you go back to the buffet and then you retire. Amen. A fellow told me one time when he was asking me about some things about a diet and all that stuff and I said, well brother, I said, that's when you and the Lord, I said, just try to learn to eat the right kind of stuff and that kind of a deal. He said, well preacher, the way I look at it is it's the only thing I got that's paid for. That's pretty good. That's funny. Unless you're under conviction. Notice what happens. It's so strange. You can talk about anything, but you can't talk about fat. It's really strange. You know what's funny to me, ladies and gentlemen, is that we never stop to think that we are looking to be offended. Instead of just seeing what God's going to say, all of a sudden, it takes us sideways. It's like, why do you have to bring that up? The only reason you look the way you do is because you had cancer. I said, amen, brother, you're right. verse 2. The king said to Nathan the prophet, see now I dwell in the house of Cedar, but the ark of God dwells within curtains. You know what he's going to say? He's going to tell you there's something I've got to do here. There's something I've got to change. Now I realize he doesn't let him build the temple, but you know what he does? He lets him gather the materials. Are you with me? There wasn't a retirement. He was no longer a soldier. But now it's time for him to do something different. He'll apply the same techniques that he used as a soldier to get him to get things prepared over here when it comes time for him to do something different God called him to do. 1 Chronicles chapter 22. Are you with me? 1 Chronicles 22. I have to show you this in the Bible or I'll get lost. So what God's done with me. What makes you think God's done with you? But Preacher, I've had all kind of problems, okay? Let's think about this in a minute before David got up there and got to be able to kill the giant, and then after he killed the giant, David had a few problems. I think in my mind he had Saul, he had Abner, he had Doag, he had Ziglag. That's after his anointing, right? Listen, you've got to understand that having something to do for God does not come without problems. It's learning to do for God while you're in problems. Thank you, you got it on this side, let me make sure you get it over here. It's learning to continue to do something for God while you have trouble. Trouble is going to have all of us, but you don't quit serving God and take a station break because you've got trouble. That's when you set the plow down and say, man, things are bad, things are rough, things are tough, what are we doing for God today? You don't stop paying your mortgage just because the price of food went up. You don't stop going to work because you don't feel good. But when it comes to Christian service, you know what we do? We say, well, I'm going through some trouble right now. Can I go on the bench? No! No, in spite of trouble, we still do what God wants us to do. There's no greater privilege around. You say, Preacher, you don't know nothing about trouble. Maybe not the trouble you have, but everybody has trouble. 1 Chronicles chapter number 22. I want to help you this morning. Look, if you will, please, in verse number 3. The Bible says this. David prepared iron. What does it say, verse 3? In what? I wonder where he learned that. Do you think that he did that when he was down there by that brook and he realized I need more than just one stone? I need to plan for the future. I need to make plans for what's going to happen later on. Do you think that David, when he gets down to the next verse, in verse number 4, he says he got cedar trees, how? in abundance. And then verse number 5, Solomon, my son, is yet young and tender, and a house to be built for the Lord must be magnificent, for of fame and of glory throughout the country. I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly, how close he to the end, before his death. David never got the pedal off the metal even when he was out there being warned by Abishag. Even though David's blood had gotten cold and he had gotten old. David said, I'm going to do something that I learned a long time ago. Way back there with Goliath. I'm going to be prepared. Watch it. Come down to verse number 14. Verse number 14. Now behold, there it is. Listen to me girls. Watch. Now behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord. verse number 15 look what shows up there not just materials look what shows up in verse number 15 moreover are the workmen with thee in abundance and he says all the talents that are there you know what you need to understand ladies and gentlemen that David had trouble the second time David had more trouble than the first time By the second time, David had messed up with Bathsheba and had killed Uriah the Hittite. Now, I understand that was a problem he brought on by himself. And you know what the world would say to you? Because of what you did with Bathsheba, because of what you did with Uriah, you're no longer qualified to do anything for God. But God didn't say that. The people would have said that. And David also had trouble. I wrote it down. with Absalom, Ahithophel, Joab, Abathur, Adonijah, Shimei, David numbers the people, Satan stands up against him, and in spite of all of those things, the Bible says, David, in spite of my trouble, during my trouble, while in the trouble, I still did what God told me to do, I got busy about getting this stuff ready, so that when I'm gone, God can still get the glory. What we do nowadays is we disqualify ourselves. It's not Goliath or Saul that knocks us out of the battle. It is our greatest enemy, ourselves. Anytime there's a movement, there's friction. Anytime there is movement, There's friction. Anytime there is trouble, you must remember that the trouble is not greater than the cause. In that passage in 1 Samuel 17, the Bible tells us, and we've all used it before, is there not a cause? Yes, there is a cause. And whatever trouble you're in today, whatever trouble I'm in today, that trouble does not trump the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever problem you've got, whatever difficulty you've got, Don't take the spotlight and turn it upon yourself. Keep your eyes focused on the Lord Jesus Christ and say, in spite of my trouble, I am going to do what God called me to do. Sometimes we all have a tendency to look at the waves, like Peter. Sometimes we're overwhelmed with the trouble and we think about jumping ship like the boys in Acts 27. Along there about verse 32 or so, what happens is they've made up a little deal and they've gone out there and they've set that lifeboat over to the side and they're out there and that thing's dangling around or dangling around out there in the back of the ocean and they're getting ready to crawl down the rope and jump in it. And Paul says, cut the rope or everybody's going to perish. You know what the soldier does? He cuts the rope. Sometimes we have a tendency to listen to boat anchors. Amen! Every time you get around, you know what happens? The boat anchor says, don't go! You're too quick to go. You're an anchor. Don't go. Don't go. And you're going, man, turn me loose. And the anchor's going, no, it's not safe for you. Don't go. You need to stay here. Yeah, but the Lord told me. No, no. You're going to make a mistake. You're going to mess up. You're not going to do it. Well, I might do that. How much am I going to learn? Don't go. Don't go. You know what you need to do? Cut the rope, man. Amen. Do what God told you to do. But the problem is, is our problems. The problem is, is you look at a man like David and you think, oh, well, what problems did he have? Are you kidding me? Have you ever read David's life? I mean, I'm telling you, man, it's mentioned in Chronicles and in Samuel. I mean, the Lord's like, I want y'all to learn something about David here. It's important. He's a man after my own heart. But he had troubles. And yet he continued to do what God told him to do. You know what happens with us, ladies and gentlemen? We've already made up our mind once we get in that we're looking for how soon can we get out. You know what happens is we get cattywampus with the Lord because we think, man, Lord, now that I'm saved, everything ought to be great. But I hate to tell you this, everything ain't great. 2 Kings chapter 13. Those four brothers sometimes rise up. Now here's where I want you to get to today. What that does is it drains your plans. What it does is, is you've got in your mind's eye what you think is going to happen Second came stupid. I'm referring to myself. And you're thinking, man, this is what I'm gonna do. Now ladies, be patient with me for just a second. Your husband says, I'm gonna start school. Now I'm gonna set aside a little bit of time. And she comes along and she says, I'll take some of them stones there out of your bag, because you ain't got time to do that. Sometimes the poison spewed out of the mouth of a wife or even a husband can kill the dreams of the husband or the wife. Sometimes a so-called well-meaning brother or sister can squash you like a sprayed roach. You know how when you spray a roach, they are easy to catch then? I always recommend spraying them before you try to get them because when you try to get them, they fly back at you. If you spray them first, they are insane. They're like running around in that white foam, you know, and they're all whacked out and they're crazy and their eyes are going every which way. And then it's kind of like, yeah, man. And you're just kind of like, no, no, no, no, no. I hope all of y'all up there are watching me. They're all up there with their little gas masks on and everything. You can't get me and all that. And you're thinking, yeah, but I want to get this one. This will be an example of what I'm going to do to you if you get on here with me. Sometimes I see young people. They come back from youth camp. And they got dreams. And they're excited. You know? But see, you've been around it for years and you've seen the kids go and come back and get excited. And you know what happens? It seems as if it always just sort of washes out after a while, right? Same thing happened when we were growing up, right? But why is it we've got to hurry and bring them to the knowledge of that truth just like, yeah, well, we'll see. Or why is it we use it as the whipping stick? Well, I thought you recommitted your life to the Lord when you was at camp. You ain't acting like it. I thought you was at camp being all spiritual and everything, and now you're acting like a heathen, like Damien or something, like the Antichrist. Smash that dream. Sometimes somebody, they don't know. They say, preacher, you think I'm called a priest? I don't know. Try it on. If it fits, try it. But wouldn't you tell? No. Because called a priest has nothing to do with talent. You'd be surprised who God might call to preach. You know what? I ain't about to get in the way and say, God wouldn't have called you, because I've got to look at myself in the mirror and go, who are you talking to, buddy? You think God called you? I say, God called you. I say, praise the Lord, man. Good, good for you. Hallelujah. Good. Because I'm thinking to myself, don't ask Him why He called me. You'd be surprised who God can use. I'm not sure why it is that we're so interested in trying to squelch or sequester the excitement or the vision or the dream or the direction or the preparation somebody's trying to make. And instead of helping them keep that bag full, we're constantly doing things to discourage them and take stuff out of their bag and say, you can't do it that way. And then what happens, later on they get ready to fight the other giants. They got no stones left. Later on they face some difficulty and you're either dead and gone or gone to another church to kill somebody else. And they're laying by the wayside and going, I wonder what if I follow the Lord. You know what, maybe they'll follow the Lord and maybe they'll follow the Lord and find out, guess what, the Lord just taught me that I thought I was following Him but I really wasn't following Him. But you know what He'll do? The Bible says in the book of Philippians, the Lord will reward them according to the motive of their heart, not their method. They're doing what they believe God wants them to do. Who am I to say it ain't? I mean, unless it's something doctrinally incorrect, I can be clear on that. That's not what I'm talking about. There's nothing doctrinal about David saying, I'm going to go kill the giant. And everybody jumps in and says, hey, his family is first in there. Did you notice? Help me. A lie of his brother said, who the heck you think you are, boy? You little pipsqueak sheepherder, you. Back there were just a few little tiny sheep on the back. This is a man's job out here. You ain't gonna kill. Man, get out of here, you little rut, you. Family can take those stones right out of your bag. You say, it's not true. Oh, it's all through the Bible. Thank God if you've got a good family. I thank God that when I got ready to go, my wife didn't say, well, I don't know. I'm not sure. Well, what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do about it? What are we going to do about it? What are we going to do about it? And like, now I'm down there going and I'm running across there and I'm going, here comes Goliath, here comes Goliath. And I'm like, ahhh. I've got to go back to the creek. I'll be back in just a second. I've got something for you. I had something for you. Somebody done took it out. Somebody done killed my dream. Somebody done stomped on my faith. Somebody said when God said I can, they said there ain't no way. You go down a little bit further, even kings will doubt it. Even kings will try their best. Oh, it's not just your family. It's your friends. This is a guy that David goes and plays the harp for. This is a guy that when David plays the harp, the evil spirit departs from Saul. This is a guy that he's just a sheep herd of wild ones. Saul rained on his parade, but he did. You say, what happens? You say, those things, what they do is they take away from your preparation. Oh, you're all excited. You're all fired up. You come back from a good meeting, you're full up, and somebody goes, that was all in the flesh. I was going to bring it. I have a little black bag at home. I put stuff in. I was going to bring it and I was going to drop pebbles all over the ground, but you get the illustration. That was in the flesh. Honey, I'm going to church tonight. Well, you know, honey, I just don't understand why you got to go twice or three times on Sunday and again on Wednesday. Honey, you know them kids. Honey, God can sure take care of them. Whether they graduate high school or not, if the rapture happens, they'll be better off. Well, you know, that's the nut job up there in the pulpit, putting that foolishness in your head. You gotta have some sense. Well, honey, I do think about it. Wife comes and says, I want to sing in the ladies' choir. I ain't going back to that church at four o'clock. Taking you down there and we ain't driving two cars, gas is too high. Honey, I was just gonna sing in the choir because I felt like that's what the Lord wanted me to do. It's kind of a giant in my life because I'm kind of shy and embarrassed and I'm not a man I can't preach in a pulpit and there's not really a whole lot of ways that I can do anything and this is an opportunity for me to sing. Maybe the Lord will let me sing a solo. I ain't got time for you to practice. This patch is too busy. I don't know why you've got to be doing something like... Well, honey, I'd like to, you know, work in the nursery or help out with the Sunday school or whatever. They've got plenty to do that. You don't need to put up with them little hellions in there anyway. I ain't going to listen to that whining and moaning going on in their nursery and stuff. You ain't working in... Take the stones right out of the bag. Here's a good one. I'm going to do whatever the Lord asks me to do. Here comes a brother. You've been divorced. You've been in prison. You've been in jail. You've been a drunk. You've been a drug addict. Really? So God can't use me anymore? Says who? Who just, who said that? Did God say that? How come God told me to go kill Goliath and you're telling me, no, no. You won't never kill Goliath with a stone. No, it's not the stone that killed Goliath. You understand? He went in the name of the Lord. The Lord is the one that wrought the battle. The Lord is the one that won the battle. All David did was he was just like a little pawn in there, and the Lord's got his hand, and he goes, okay, like this. And David's running toward Goliath like this, and he's going, man, my hand ain't never gone that fast in my life. He's going, man, Lord, what happened? He goes, blessed Lord, blessed Lord, blessed Lord. And he goes, wow, that's a great shot, Lord. Man, that was something else. He goes, hurry up, get over there before he wakes up and cuts his head off. David goes over there, and he grabs Goliath's sword, and he goes, Uh, excuse me, sir. Don't leave me now! Goliath's over there going, uh, uh, he's like, uh, help! He's like, oh, okay. And he strengthens David like this, and David picks that thing up like he's Samson there. He comes up there like that, raises that sword and cuts his head off. And he picks up his head like that and turns around, and the Philistines run. He must have been ugly. And the Philistines run like this, and he turns around to Israel. And when Israel sees that he conquered the giant that God wanted him to conquer, they followed him. You ever wonder why people don't follow you? Because you stop before you conquer the giant. Because somebody talked you out of it. Somebody takes the stones out of your bag and tells you you can't. And God said, I wrote you a verse in the Bible just for you. Put your name in it. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Amen. Even overcome the people in your life trying to tell you you can't do it. I don't know about you this morning. I'm not sure if you're fully committed and totally given over to the cause like David. Look at this passage right here in 1 Kings 13, and I actually will be done. 2 Kings 13, sorry. It's a passage where the old preacher is fixing to go off the scene, Elijah. Christian, let me tell you, there is no cause greater than the cause of Jesus Christ. There's no cause greater. There's no family member, there's no friend, there's no business deal, there's no amount of money in the face of this world that is worth your fellowship with Him. Amen. I said, preacher, what are you trying to get me to do? Be bold and do what God told you to do. I'll help you. If I can't go with you, I'll do all I can. But I won't try to equip you my way. I'll say, go in the name of the Lord. Trust Him by faith. Sometimes I wish missionaries would understand that. The old-time missionaries, they went whether they had the money to go or not. They said, well, that's just stupid. God provided for them. I'm not saying I'm not a missionary. I understand it takes money to live, but where God guides, He provides. What do you know about that? We ain't got time. But I can tell you God takes care of you. You can tell I ain't missed no meals. What happens, ladies and gentlemen, is a lot of times we stop just short of seeing God do supernatural things in our lives because somebody talks us into what we really wanted to believe anyway. Some of you are way too hard on yourself because of past mistakes. And you won't let yourself do anything because you've disqualified yourself. Watch this in 2 Kings 13. This has to do with Joash the king here. Joash the king of Israel came down unto him and wept over his face, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, the horsemen thereof. Elisha said unto him, Take a bow and arrows. And he took him a bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it. And Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. Now are you getting what's going on here? Here's the king. And Elisha says, Put your hand on the bow. Put your arrow in here and get ready to draw it. And Elisha comes up there and puts his hand right over his hand like that. He puts his hand right there. And they're going to shoot together. You with me? Yes. Watch. And he said, open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, shoot. And he shot. And he said, the error of the Lord's deliverance and the error of the deliverance from Syria, for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou have consumed them. The old man's ordaining him. He's teaching him. He's schooling him in a sense. He's getting him ready, putting his blessing on him. Now watch. And he said, take the arrows. And he took them. We've got a quiver full of arrows here. under the king of Israel, smite upon the ground, and he smoked thrice, three times, and he stayed. That means he stopped. And the man of God was wroth with him. What's he upset about? Thou should have smitten five or six times, then thou had smitten Syria. You know what he's saying? You shouldn't have stopped until the job was done. You shouldn't have stopped until you broke all your errors. But you kept something back. The old preacher is laying there on his deathbed. And he's giving the king a great illustration. And after he's given the king the illustration, he says, take those arrows right there. And the king stops short and says, well, I can't break them all. What will I have to shoot? Oh, well, I guess you have to trust the Lord and what he made you a promise when you fired the first one out the window. But you know what we do, Christian? We've stopped short of breaking them all. And then we expect God to do something supernatural with us. That old preacher's laying there dying. I mean, he's fixing to give up the ghost. He calls the king in there. He says to that boy, he says, I'm going to show you something now. I've done all I can to prepare you and get you ready. Now you're on your own. Now you're by yourself. Now let's see what you're made of. Let's see if you've learned anything. You know what he did? That's the sin of self-reliance. I'll break a few, but I'm not breaking all. I'll give a little, but I ain't giving all. I'll go a little ways, but I'm not going all the way. Say, where are we at? Right back where we were in Sunday school. You know where David learned his lesson? David was willing to sacrifice all he had the first time he encountered a bear, the first time he encountered a lion. He made it easier when he encountered Goliath. But the thing about David that you can't ever miss is that in spite of his trouble, he never gave up on giving all. You say, but preacher, you don't understand I've hurt people. Would you let me tell you? I can tell you all about it. I've hurt a lot of people with my stupid mouth. But there's an illustration of David in the Bible, and because of something he said, 70,000 people died. He didn't quit. Right. I've hurt a lot of people. Okay. So don't hurt anymore. Yeah, but preacher, you don't understand what I've done. Bathsheba, your eye's dead. The baby's dead. Absalom turned against him and eventually dies. His daughter's raped. kingdom taken away from him for a short period of time, all of his concubines and all that stuff takes place from him. Really? You know what David does? Oh well, I'm not going to give anything to the Lord, it didn't cost me something. Why do you think he made that statement? Because he knew it was the key. The secret was breaking all the errors, the self-reliance. The secret was David's going, listen man, I'm going to take what I got. It ain't much, it's just a talent. All I got is I can throw a rock. But if God, bless God, can use that rock. He is a sheep tender, folks. He was not a king. He was not a great warrior. He was a tender of sheep. A runty little kid. He was a no-name, a nobody. He steps onto the battlefield and there are thousands of men gathered around him and have slain hundreds of people. Blood-soaked battlefield. David stands out there as a little kid and the worst blood he's seen is from the birth of one of them sheep or from the bear or the lion that he killed. And he stands there and he said, I'm going in the name of the Lord. What do you got, David? A rock? What are you going to do with that? If I listen to you, nothing. But if God will bless it, I'm going all the way. You know what I learned on that battlefield right there? David had already given all and broken all his arrows. That's why David was a man after God's own heart. Because David was willing to give everything. I find it in Abraham. I find it in God giving His only begotten Son. I find it in Jesus Christ being willing to lay His life down. You say, why? Broke all the errors. You know what some of you are doing this morning? You're trying to do something for God. But trouble came. And it's like, well, problems came. Well, I can't do that and have trouble too. I know there's a time for a sabbatical. Don't wear it as a guilt trip, but listen to me. There's some of you looking for a reason to get out because you're listening to somebody else. Family, friends, Saul. But the majority of us, the problem is us. We're not willing to break all the arrows. Preacher, I'd like to see this church really get going and really do something for God, but you don't want me to ask nobody to come, do you? You don't want me to have, I mean, I'd love to hear the organ preacher, but that right there sounds alright to me. You don't want me to give nothing, do you? I'm not after your money. That's just a direct correlation to where your heart is. You invest in what you love. I gotta have a new four-wheeler preacher for hunting season next year. I need a new rifle preacher. Okay. No problem. This message isn't for everybody. Plains on the Grand now, we're headed for the hangar. But if you haven't broken all your arrows, don't expect to ever accomplish a whole lot for the Lord. because the Lord wants you to learn to walk by faith and not by sight. The preacher, I can't. You don't know the mess I've made. Don't worry about it. Put it under the blood and let's go. I'll never bring it up. You won't have me bring it up and cross you about it. God will give you an opportunity. Why wouldn't I? Well, so and so said, don't worry about that. Men may misjudge thy aim, think they have cause to blame. Go on thy quiet way. God is thy judge, not they. Fear not and be strong. Some of you still got a quiver full of arrows. He hadn't chucked at all. You know what happens? You get mad when you break some of your arrows and nobody else breaks them. And you see them with arrows running around, and they're the very arrows you broke. And it just irritates you. And the Lord said, well, I thought you broke that arrow. Well, I did. Well, how come you want it back? How come it bothers you when they have it? Oh, because you didn't really break it, did you? Ms. Pat's going to come play. I realize it's not a salvation message. But I want to ask you a question, Christian. How about you? Well, preacher, I, you know, the bearer of the lion, you know, go off and everything. But, you know, I can't do no more now. I was a warrior. I'm a killer. Well, there ain't no battle right now. What do we need? A builder. What do we need? Somebody that can work with our hands. What do you got to do? You got to break the arrows of your bitterness. You got to break the arrows of your anger and your jealousy, your covetousness. You got to break the arrows of your fear, your personality. You got to break those arrows and say, listen, I'm going to trust God. I've stopped relying on myself. God's going to get me through this. Like the three Hebrew children, though we all perish, Yet the Lord will save us. But preacher, everybody's turned on me. So did Hippophil. So did Shimei. So did all those other people, Absalom and David's life. You say, preacher, what do I need to do? Well, maybe you need to come down and get you some more stones this morning. Maybe you need to come down here this morning and break some arrows. Maybe you need to say, Lord, not my will but Thine be done. Lord, I'm not trying to escape what I did that was wrong to do. My Bathshebas, my Uriahs, Lord, if you can take me. broken and busted as I am. Hey, husband, maybe you should grab that wife you've been discouraging and say, honey, let's go down there and fill back up again. Wife, maybe you ought to grab your husband by the hand and say, I'm sorry I've rained on your parade. I'm sorry I've squelched you. I'm sorry. Maybe we should go down there and just ask the Lord to fill us back up. I'll try to do better. Maybe it's time to get your eye back on the prize and think long and hard. about what's important. Listen, if you're here today and you're lost, half of the message made no sense to you at all. Don't make the mistake of walking out of here and not knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Don't be put off by the volume or the antics or the shouting. Listen to the Holy Spirit of God as you understand that the Bible says that Jesus Christ died for your sins personally, and He was buried and raised again the third day according to the Scripture. That's what the Bible says because of our sin. As she plays, if you'd like to come, you come. We'll take a Bible, and if you're a lady, I'll be glad to have a lady deal with you. I'll get my wife here or one of these other ladies to deal with you. You don't have to deal with me. God's dealing with you, don't miss it. Bust them arrows. Break them.