Build What Outlives You Pt. 2 | Chris Gross | Radiant Life Church

Well, come on. God is good and uh it's

it's great. We are so excited to be

back. Uh we have been in Utah uh almost

for three weeks and three Sundays we

were gone and it was a great time of

refreshing and we just laid around and

I'm just kidding. We hiked and hiked and

hiked and hiked. In fact, if you were on

Mother's Day, you heard some of our kids

were a little bit like we can't do it.

11 mile hikes and seven. And so we're

going to talk a little bit about that

maybe today as well as in the future.

But it was amazing. I just want to say

and we want to say thank you so much. We

love getting to lead this church and

those vacations, those recharge moments

are a big part of that. And uh so we're

just thankful. Uh but we are also we're

so thankful to be back. I'm like, man, I

I hate missing church one week, let

alone a few in a row. And uh so it is

great great to be back to be in the

house and uh to be able to worship with

our RAD fam. It is not the same online.

It is not the same as when we're in each

other's company right here in the room.

Uh but it is it is great to be home. Uh

but as I was thinking about and as we're

diving in in a legacy sermon series like

Lord, how do we prepare ourselves? How

do we get where we want to be? Uh I

mentioned this trip. Uh this trip was

absolutely amazing. We went to the five

national parks in Utah and southern

Utah. Uh so Arches, Canyon Lands,

Capitol Reef, uh Bryce Canyon, and Zion

National Park. Like it was amazing. We

went spent a couple of days uh at each

one or or at least one day at each one,

some multiple. Uh we hiked and hiked and

hiked and in fact uh on the way home,

it's about 25 26 hours home from where

we were. We're driving. We were in our

sevenseater car, not our big expedition

cuz we just weren't sure if it was going

to make it. And so we had a seven-seater

car. It was tight. It was packed, but

our kids, our family, it was awesome. We

just had a great time. But Chandler,

just this side of Dayton, says, "Hey, we

hiked on this vacation as far as we have

left to go in this car ride." And I'm

like, "No way. That's impossible." And I

I looked. I'm like, "57 miles. We did.

We hiked 57 miles, all trails, like on

the app, logged in, up and down

mountains, all over the place." And so

you could just imagine these hikes all

the way from Dayton to our house to

basically to here, 57 miles. That's what

we did on this trip. We went up hikes

that were 1,800 ft up, which is

basically a cliff, a mountain that

you're climbing. We did switchbacks back

and forth and back and forth, just

burning of legs, like absolutely

amazing. Our longest hike was 11 miles.

That is not for the faint of heart. I

think that one was a 1500 feet

elevation. So we went 11 miles and

climbed a mountain in the process. It

was amazing. But I'll tell you what, at

the end of it, you are exhausted. You

are tired. Your legs start to cramp. I

think by the end of that one, I started

to walk a little stiff cuz if I bent my

legs, then my ar my my legs would start

to cramp up. And I was like, that's not

good. I mean, it was everything you'd

want if you love hiking and if you love

climbing and if you love going up and if

you love walking in rivers and doing all

of the things. And this morning, we're

going to talk about battles. We're going

to talk about the battle specifically of

David before he was King David, but

David, the shepherd boy who went and

fought Goliath.

And so, we're going to be in 1st Samuel

17. But before we get there, I want us

just to talk just for a minute about a

couple of the specific hikes, one

specifically that we went on. Now, this

hike was called the subway. Uh it was in

Zion National Park. Anybody in the room

by chance ever hiked the subway? I'm

just wondering. My daughter, yeah, my

family. Okay, I think Oh, I see. Maybe

hand back there. Like this hike, you can

only hike it. There's only 80 people per

day that get to hike this hike. You have

to have a permit to do it. You actually

have to pay uh I I don't know why we

would do this, but we paid $70 to go on

this hike and only 80 people got to do

it. We won the the like the the the

permit process and so we were able to do

it. But as we began to look at this, we

began to realize this is going to be

very difficult. How this hike goes is

the first half mile is flat. I like

flat. Anybody? That's my kind of hiking.

It's it's wonderful. Then you go down

500 feet, which is a lot. It's like

going from the top of a canyon wall to

the bottom of a canyon wall. And that

was only in about four or 510 of a mile,

which means it's pretty much straight

down. That is a steep incline. Uh I

forget the name that they used, but they

had a name for it. Uh it was it was

basically it was rough. It was saying

this is going to be bad for you, and

that's exactly what it was. But then

when you get to the bottom, you have

three miles to hike to get to the

subway. It is relatively flat, but

you're going uphill the whole way

because you are literally walking in a

river. They don't want you walking on

the sides of the river. If it's not fl

in the flood plane, you need to be in

the river. And so we actually ran into a

wonderful park ranger and they made it

very clear we would be in the water the

whole time which meant we had three

miles to walk in this stream river up

river to get to the subway. So we could

turn around and come back three miles

which is six miles in the water. And I

want to remind you we're going up and

out and over mountains and hills and

whatever. Uh and in this river we are

walking and it's fairly level. It's a

river, but it's all boulders and rocks

and you're climbing and you're you're

lifting yourself up. To go three miles

or to go the four uh miles one way, it

took us three hours just to get there.

This is a long hike. This is a difficult

hike. This is a a a very taxing hike and

we are tired and we're not sure if we're

going to make it and we're like, "Lord,

help us uh help us get to the other

side." And in fact, in the process of

this hike, we ran into the park ranger

and we had our backpacks and obviously

our permit. So, she was asking for these

things. And we learned on this trip that

park rangers must be trained in a very

distinct way or there's only one

personality that becomes a park ranger,

I guess. I I'm not sure what it is, but

they start with a very clear thing.

They're like, "You don't have enough

water." I'm like, "Oh, yeah. We've got

plenty." She's like, "No, you don't.

you need four uh liters per person. I'm

like, well, WE'RE WE'RE GOING TO RATION

and it's going to be good. She she's

like, that's not how it works. I'm like,

it's worked for us. I I don't know. And

then we just kept going and she's like,

BE IN THE WATER AND this is difficult.

And basically saying, you might die.

That's what it felt like. Like, you

you're probably going to die if you go

on in this hike. And I'm like, well,

this is our last hike of our vacation.

So, at least we made the rest and we're

going to do it. It's going to be great.

And so, we were I was trying to be

light-hearted. She was not finding any

humor in anything. And but finally by

the end she realized we were going to go

and she started helping us just be sure

we knew what we're doing and how it was

going to go and be sure that we were

kept moving because it we didn't want to

get dark in the canyon. Uh on our

paperwork it said they would not come

rescue us. So we have to get done at the

end and if not you got to figure out how

to get out one way or the other. So I'm

like okay that sounds good. Is that

good? Like okay no help. Got it. And we

make it. We we're walking. We're working

on this battle. We're trying to make it

to where we we want to get to and it's

hard. But something that I thought about

and as we were hiking is we realized

that that hike was not the longest hike

that we had done. It wasn't the steepest

hike that we had done. It wasn't the

most dangerous hike. We weren't going to

fall off a cliff because we were in a

valley. It it wasn't the most extreme

except we were in the water. But I and

we begin to think about this. It was the

last hike. It was the last eight miles

of that 57 miles. It was the last day of

our vacation of hiking.

And in those two weeks before that, we

had gotten stronger. In those two weeks,

we had prepared and planned. In those

two weeks, the the uh ranger might not

have agreed with us, but we knew what we

needed to accomplish from water and from

snacks. We had the things. We had the

the the parts. We had our shoes. We were

ready to go. We had worked to prepare

ourselves. And we didn't even do it on

purpose, but we found out that the last

hike was by far the hardest hike. It may

not have been the most of anything, but

it was by far the most taxing, the

hardest, and it took the most amount of

time. It was the biggest battle. And we

were so thankful we didn't start there,

but we got to end there, and we got to

have other hikes. And literally my

family members, Jordan specifically, the

first picture from the first hike to the

last picture after the last hike, his

legs, he's right over there, all of a

sudden had muscles and things that we

didn't even know were there before

because he had grown in two weeks. There

was literally strength. We all had grown

in just a simp a short period of time.

The battle was severe. It was intense

and it was mighty.

And you know what?

We began that hike. We got in that water

after a mile. We had six miles there and

back to make it happen. We pushed

forward. We And in the end, we might

have a few more things in this sermon,

but we made it there and back because

there was enough preparation to get to

where we needed to be. And this morning,

we're going to look at the story of

David. And as I mentioned before, he's

king. He's just a shepherd boy. the

armies of Israel, they have have come,

the Philistines are coming against them.

Uh there there's about to be or could be

this big battle that is going to take

place. But Goliath comes before them.

And in fact, in 1st Samuel 17, before we

look at our specific text, just looking

at this story in verse three, it says,

"And the Philistines stood on the

mountain on the one side, and Israel

stood on the mountain on the other side.

They were in a standoff. the armies of

God versus the Philistines that would

come against them.

And Goliath, who was a giant, his

equipment, his armor, his his uh

weapons, all of these things are huge.

And in verse 8, it says, "He stood and

shouted to the ranks of Israel. Why have

you come out to draw up for battle? Am I

not a Philistine? And are you not

servants of Saul? Choose a man for

yourself and let him come down to me. If

he is able to fight with me and kill me,

then we will be your servants. But if I

prevail against him and kill him, then

you shall be our servants and serve us.

Then he says these words to the people

of God that should have faith and power

in the things of God. He says, I defy

the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a

man that we may fight.

And Saul and all the people, the people

of God who had seen and heard and had

the great things that God had done, it

says they were dismayed and greatly

afraid.

Down in verse 16, it says, "For 40 days,

the Philistines came forward and took

the stand, morning

and evening."

This is a rough moment in the life of

the people of Israel. They are here.

They're in battle. There's a big thing

in front of them, a big wall in front of

them. There's a big challenge that is

right before them and fear and worry and

anxiety. They didn't want to die. I

mean, that's not the worst thing. I

don't want to die either, right? But

there was these things that had come

before them and they were scared. And

the things of God had all of a sudden

faded in the background. and the things

of Goliath and what he had spoken and

his words had come forward.

It says that David was sent to go he was

sent to bring some supplies to his

brothers uh just to be a blessing. He

wasn't a soldier. He was just a kid

basically at that point. And it says and

he came to the encampment as the host

was going out to the battle line

shouting for the war cry. He was

shouting the thing uh the the group was

the the army was the things that God

would have for them. This would have

been an awesome moment if you're just

imagine yourself. You're David. You're

not a soldier yet. You're not there. But

boy, now you get to see this and all

this is happening and you're showing up.

You're like, "Yeah, that's my people.

Here we go. This is going to be

something special."

But then Goliath spoke up as he did for

40 days. And it says in verse 24, "All

the men of Israel when they saw the man

fled from him and were much afraid." Not

the first time. This has been a process.

This has been happening. But one more

DAY, THEY GET UP. WE'RE GOING TO WIN.

We're going to make it happen. And then

they see the wall, the battle, the giant

in their way. And they back up and they

shy away from who God has made them to

be, what God has given, the power of God

in their lives.

And we think about this story and we

think about this moment,

David coming to this spot, I think

sometimes we can be there. And maybe it

could be things that aren't necessarily

in the grand scheme that important like

whether we do hikes and whether they're

hard and whether we finish or stop

halfway through. I that doesn't really

matter.

But in our life, in our spiritual

journey, we're on these these paths and

these these places and we're trying to

figure out, Lord, what would you have?

Kelly, what you guys shared, even that

Mongolia part just sticks out to me.

Three months of being sick, three months

of difficulty, three months of I don't

really like this. I don't feel good. In

fact, thinking I'm going to die. Do you

stop and quit or do you keep saying,

"Lord, whatever you got, I'm here. I'm

where you want me to be. I don't know

why this is happening, but we're going

to keep pushing forward. And if you push

forward, then you get to hear about 100

people being baptized and 18 more to

come and 10 just already this year. You

get to hear about the victory. But if we

quit or like the Israelites here, we

come with a battle cry, but then we shy

away and quiet our mouth because of the

thing we see, the fear, the battle, the

sickness, that problem, whatever it may

be.

And here David comes. He sees. He tells

Saul, "I want to be the one. I want to

go. I will fight. I will do it." And

Saul's like, "No way. You are not

equipped. I could not possibly send you

out there to fight Goliath. That would

be just killing us, basically. And

definitely you."

But David remembers. And I think when we

come to these moments, we have to

remember it. We've got to remember what

Jesus has already done. We've got to

remember the things he's already taken

us from. We've got to remember the call

of God in our life. We've got to

remember that we are not our own, but we

are his and we're bloodbought, but

through him and through his goodness.

We've got to remember who's we are. And

maybe it's our own situations or our own

healings or our own things. Or maybe we

come to the word and we say, "Lord, what

you have done, I take it from myself.

The truth of your word, the power of

your word. And today, I'm not my own.

I'm not my own strength, but I walk in

your strength and your power. I've got

to remember who I am. And that's exactly

what David did.

Saul saying, "You can't do this. There's

no way." But in verse 34, 1st Samuel

17:34,

he says, "But David said, your servant

used to keep sheep for his father. And

when there came a lion or a bear and

took a lamb from the flock, I went after

him and struck him and delivered it out

of his mouth. And if he rose against me,

I caught him by his beard and struck him

and killed him. Real fast. If I'm

catching a lion or a bear by his beard,

I am way too close. He's been in the

middle of the fire. He hasn't been there

with like weapons. No, like bare hands.

He's grabbing it by its its beard. I

don't know if you've ever seen a lion in

the wild, but I can't imagine it. Or a

bear. No, thank you. But that's what

David has dealt with.

Your servant has struck down both lions

and bears, and this uncircumcised

Philistine shall be like one of them.

For he has defied the armies of the

living God. And David said, "The Lord

who delivered me from the paw of the

lion and the paw of the bear will

deliver me from the hand of the

Philistines."

And Saul said to David, "Go, and the

Lord be with you." He could remember in

the middle, not that he had ever been in

a battle versus a a giant versus

Goliath. Not that he'd ever been in a

battle of fighting like this at all, but

he knew what God had done. And he could

say, "I grabbed that lion and that bear

by their beard, and I struck them down,

and I will do the same because my God is

able. My God is powerful. My God is

strong.

And we must be people that we remember

the things of the Lord.

Dave, when you just that vision, that

thought of of the foundation and the

sand being uh moved away, I'll tell you

what, sometimes we need the sand to be

moved away to remember, oh, look what

God did. Look at the strength. Look at

the foundation. He's got so much more

that he can do cuz it wasn't me, but it

was him and it was his power. And I

remember I remember the strength of my

God, David. He got it. He understood.

When the king saw, he didn't get it.

When the people couldn't get it, David

knew, "I've been there. I've done that."

In the spiritual realm, I've been there.

I've done that. I've made it through.

Yeah. Maybe not this guy, but that lion

and that bear.

I think it's important to realize we

don't build courage in the moment.

We pull it from memory. We build up and

we build up and we get strong and we get

powerful in the Lord. That when a wall

is before us, we can bust through it

because we've been there. We've done it

and we've seen God work in the past.

My boys when they were growing up when

there would be things that were fearful

or that were tough, maybe things

obviously that were safe enough but that

were difficult, you know, roller

coasters or whatever they might be. I

would literally make my sons get on the

roller coaster. I'd be like, "You're

going to get on there." Because I knew

if they got on there, the memory of the

fun, even if it was a little scary, even

if it was a little crazy, that next year

or the next time they would be all in

cuz they're like, "I've been there. I've

done that and I can do it again." And it

was fun. And all of a sudden, they got

more confident in who they were and in

doing things even that were difficult or

that were a little bit scary. Because

from memory, I was scared before. But my

dad, I could trust him. If he has me do

it, it's the best interest of me and I

had fun. And all of a sudden, I can make

this happen. And when we walk in the

things of God, church, courage just

doesn't happen, but it comes from memory

of the things of God and the power of

God and the goodness of God. And it may

be a whole new situation. It may look

different than anything you've ever been

through before. But you can say, "My God

was with me before. He did it last

time." and he's not going to leave me

here with this problem. He's good. If

you forget what God has done, you'll

fear what's in front of you. Let's not

be people that are fearful. Let's not be

people that let the things of the world

weigh us down or hold us down, but

instead step forward into who he has us

to be. You know, I think even when we

think of this story, we see that's kind

of the next step of this. Saul says,

"Okay, you can fight him, but you don't

have armor. You don't have weapons. You

don't have these things." So he says,

"You wear my armor. You wear what was

fitted to me. You wear and it is

powerful and good armor. It is the right

sword and it's the right things." And I

can just imagine the word David puts

that stuff on and all of a sudden I

think he would probably look like a

little boy in a grown man's uh outfit

and all of a sudden he is there and he's

weak and he he looks no good. And I can

just imagine because he knows what he's

going to use as a weapon. He doesn't

need the sword. He needs the slingshot.

And he's trying to whip his slingshot

around and there's armor and it's not

going to work out. And so what does

David do? He says, "Ah, I can't wear

this. This isn't mine. This hasn't been

fitted for me. I'm not prepared for

this." And in verse 38-4

says, "Then Saul clothed David with his

armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his

head and clothed him with the coat of

male. And David strapped his sword over

his armor and he tried in vain to go.

Which I I just think that is such a deep

word. He tried in vain to go. Has

anybody in the room you ever tried to do

something on someone else's or someone

else's strength or even your own? Like

I'm just going to build something. Tried

in vain to go for he had not tested

them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot

go with these for I have not tested

them." So David put them off.

Then he took his staff in his hand and

chose five smooth stones from the brook

and put them in the shepherd's pouch. He

his sling was in his hand and he

approached the Philistine. He took off

what wasn't his and he got his

shepherd's staff. And I just I love

trying to imagine or put myself in the

spot when you're reading the Bible. Can

you imagine?

Can you just imagine the Philistine, the

giant with his huge weapons? And I

didn't read it all. You can read like

massive things. And all of a sudden, a a

shepherd boy comes walking out with a

stick

and a sling.

That's the weapons he was prepared with.

And his bare hands. I mean, he said his

bare hands grabbed the the beard, right?

So, that's what he had. This boy to the

to Goliath definitely looked This boy

has a stick and a sling, and that's what

he's going into battle with. But why?

because that's what he prepared with.

That's what he was trained with. That's

what he had walked battles with the Lord

with before. And there's times when we

want to put on somebody else's or we

want other things or we want what other

people have. Or could I even say maybe

it's not even what we want all the time?

But how often do we put on

maybe what our culture would tell us to

put on? What happens if we're putting on

fear and worries and anxieties that

aren't for us to carry? What happens if

I have to number one thing protect my

children? And I'm just going to tell

you, maybe this makes me a bad or a good

parent. You can decide, but I don't

think protection is the number one thing

that I am called. I'm called to raise

godly children

that can go into the world and be

effective. And sometimes safety is that,

but sometimes it's helping them grow

into places where they might scuff their

knee or it might be difficult, but they

grow on the other side and all of a

sudden they know what to do because

they've been in the battle.

Is it possible that the fear of news or

culture or or what could happen or of

this sickness or of that disease or what

happens if or maybe I'm walking through

sickness and now the fear of what

happens if it doesn't go like I want if

the Lord doesn't heal me or if the

doctors can't I we we take the fears of

world the real fears real things

is it possible that the Lord would ask

us take off those things that's not what

we have to carry we just get to say Lord

Lord, what do you have for me? What's

the next step that I have? And Lord, I

entrust my life to you. I entrust my

family to you, my marriage to you. I

entrust my job. I entrust my health. I

entrust my future. I give it all to you.

I'm taking off what I can't even carry

anyways so that I can be obedient to

your call.

And if we find ourselves in Mongolia

where it's cold and snowy and crazy, and

we find ourselves where we're sick, and

we're like, I just hope I don't die. But

we know where the Lord would have us.

We're where we should be that we say,

"Lord Jesus, would you help me? Would

you get me through? Take off everything

else. And I'm simply going to take the

next step that you would have for me.

I'm simply going to move in the

direction that you'd have me to move.

And I can't do it with Saul's armor. I

can't do it holding on to what the world

would have. I can't do it being told I

should be divisive and I should be

against others because they don't think

like me." Or, "I can't do it because No,

Lord. I give it all to you.

Borrowed faith makes the battle harder

than it has to be or maybe impossible.

We can't just borrow someone else's

faith. We get to walk with the Lord and

grow in the Lord. That's that the word

may that you gave. We can't be shallow

and hope well when it comes time I'll

ask a pastor or a leader or may she

gives word I'll ask Kurt. We have to get

into the things of God and know him and

have faith for our own that when

situations arise, we've been there.

We've done that. We've held the bear by

the beard and we've won.

Or God, he has great things for us. We

won't win the battle with someone else's

faith. You're going to win because God

uses you and he'll give you faith and

he'll build you up and he'll strengthen

you for the road ahead. He knows where

you're going. He knows the challenges.

He knows. So just say yes to him. Take

everything else off.

And maybe you feel like I'm walking with

a staff and a sling into a giant fight.

That doesn't seem like a good plan. But

if it's God's plan and if it's what God

has put you with and he set you up with,

then you're going to be victorious no

matter what anybody else thinks or what

anybody else says or what the king says

you should wear.

Take off what isn't yours. worship team,

if you'd make your way on back up here.

One last thing this morning is we have

to step forward. So God shows up.

What a crazy moment.

Goliath is before them.

Goliath is now before David. This is not

where I would want to be. Uh this does

not seem like a good thing if you like

to live and you like your future. But

David knew the call of God, the plan of

God, and the goodness of God. And in

verse 45, it says, 'Then David said to

the Philistine, "You come to me with a

sword and with a spear and with a

javelin, but I come to you in the name

of the Lord of hosts, the God of the

armies of Israel, whom you defied. And

this day the Lord will deliver you into

my hand. And I will strike you down and

cut off your head. And I will give the

dead bodies of the host of the

Philistines this day to the birds of the

air and to the wild beasts of the earth.

That all the earth may know that there

is a God in Israel.

That's some faith.

He's got a stick and a sling and some

stones.

goes on, "And that all this assembly may

know that the Lord saves, not with sword

and spear, for the battle is the Lord's,

and he will give you into our hand."

Then verse 38 or 48, when the

Philistines arose and came and drew near

to meet David, David ran quickly toward

the battle line to meet the Philistines.

When you're at that spot of I don't know

if I can do it. I'm not sure what's

going to happen. We're at that spot of

I've got a stick and a a sling and the

enem is before us. Are we like David and

we're charging it or are we questioning

and fearful like the rest of Israel?

We were on that hike the subway. We were

probably two miles in. If you're just

thinking that means we had two more

miles to go and then had to do it all in

reverse. So, we had six miles or so left

and we had a little pow-wow. I'm going

to be real. All of us were sore. Uh, we

were at the end of our vacation. We're

probably like, we're done with hiking.

We really want to see this. We paid

money, which is crazy to pay money to go

on a hike, but we did. It's amazing, but

I don't know. And we were talking and I

was like, I'm not going to be the mean

dad that makes us go six more miles if

we're done.

And so we just had a little conversation

and no one was like, "I can't make it."

But no one was excited to go. And my

daughter Kate right here, I'm just going

to be real. She had been struggling

behind.

She was struggling. Like she was in

pain. I'm pretty sure she didn't feel

the greatest. Her legs hurt. It was

like, I I don't even want to do this.

But she pipes up in this moment with six

more miles to go if we don't turn

around. I says, "Yeah, but I looked and

I looked online and I saw what it is and

it is so amazing."

And right there in that moment, it was

like

she's the most in pain. Like she looked

like she was going to die. I'm Kate, you

look like you were going to die and she

knows it. And she says, "But the end is

worth it. Like it's going to be worth

it." And so we decided, well, let's keep

going. So we kept going. We made it the

two miles, which meant we were halfway.

three miles in, I mean, uh, 3 hours in,

which was only four miles, they got to

swim in the the subway and there's these

pools and it was absolutely amazing.

They got to have fun and laughing, which

was then only halfway cuz then we had to

turn around and we had three more hours

and it was going to be hard.

In fact, on the way home, I'm going to

be real. I just I follow my the All

Trails app and I'm looking and it's like

we have four miles to go and there's a

little emblem. If you ever watch it,

like you can watch yourself on the trail

elevation, like watch it and then we're

going back down cuz we just went and

we're coming back. And we would walk it

felt like for a half hour and it' be

like we went one/tenth of a mile.

That's not good. So like 210 in I'm like

hey we only have 3.8 more miles. Rachel

is like, "That was not encouraging at

all."

But it's worth the fight. It's worth the

step. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm not

saying it's light. I'm not saying, "Ah,

who cares? Just do it." No. I'm saying

when we walk in the power of God, when

we remember who he is, when we take off

what's not ours, and we say, "Yeah, the

the ranger said we couldn't make it, but

we're going to make it, and we're going

to ration it out, and we're going to

figure it out. We're going to get there.

And we're not going to stop, but we're

going to te keep taking steps forward.

There's something about when we take

steps, God shows up. When we take steps,

God shows up. And David had no clue

besides faith and belief in God. When he

grabs his stick and he grabs his crazy

sling and runs into battle,

he knew in his heart what was going to

happen. But I guarantee you every

Israelite in that place that was around

that was watching and the Philistines

are like, "What in the world is

happening?" I'm sorry. I can't in any

way get my mind to a place where I'm

like, "Yeah, everyone's like, "Yeah, you

go, little dude. You got him." No, he

looked ridiculous.

His weapons look ridiculous what he had.

But he had refined those weapons in the

fire.

Him and God and a lion and a bear. Him

and God out in a field watching some

sheep. Him and God in a place where his

face was so strong. It didn't matter

what it looked like. It didn't matter

what it was. He was ready to take a step

into the things of God. No matter what

the situation

and faith is something that moves. It

moves whilst fear is still talking. And

we so often put ourselves in a place I

think we actually sometimes almost enjoy

it that we we just sit in a place of

fear because we don't have to do

anything. We don't have to get up and

act. We don't have to go make a move.

But God calls us to make a move.

And when you step out in faith, you make

room for God to move and power.

When you step out in faith, you get to

see things that you don't get to see any

other way. I'll tell you what, going to

overlooks is great. A national park's

great. In fact, if that's what you do,

awesome. But it is not the same as going

four miles down the river to the subway

to see what you can't see from the

overlook. It's not the same.

There's amazing overlooks where you can

view valleys and mountains and rocks and

all these things, but it is not the same

as when you hike to the top of that. And

I don't care if there's a road there or

not. When you've done the hike, it's not

the same. It's a different experience.

And we can't skip the steps, skip the

steps of faith and expect the the

battle, the victory. Instead, we say,

"Lord, you move. You show up. Your word

is so real in my life cuz I'm in it. I'm

growing deeper in who you are." Then

now, God, I get to see the the battle

won. And you know what? Exactly what

David said was going to happen. That is

exactly what happened because he had

faith in the God of the universe that it

wasn't him and his skill, but it was the

power of God working through him and he

can show up on your behalf this morning.

The view is on the other side of that

step. And I want to encourage you if

you've been bound by fear, get up and go

in power. Last thing before we come to

the altars and spend a few minutes just

capping this. We got home and uh I don't

know, the kids were all gone and Rachel

and I were at home and all of a sudden

there was it sounded like somebody

banged into something in our house. I

don't know. It's like stuff crashed. I

have no clue what the sound was. And it

was kind of like we looked at each other

and I was like, I guess I'm the man of

the house. I should go fight off the

intruder or figure out what's going on

or whatever it was. And I just have this

thing inside of me where it's probably

not a bad person in our home. Like

probably not. And in fact, in my life,

every time I've gone to look to see what

that was, it's never been really

anything. I don't know. I have no clue.

I can't tell you, but I'm sure you've

been in the same spot. Stuff happens and

you're like, I don't know. You have a

choice. And in fact, I was getting up.

It was just such a weird moment. I

literally thought to myself, am I going

to like grab something and be scared or

am I going to just assume that I don't

know? I have no clue what it was. And I

just can't live that way. So, I'm like,

I'm going to act like nothing happened.

So, I just walked out there. It's like

there was no person. There was no stuff.

I don't even know what the noise was. I

didn't even find anything that had

fallen. I mean, I have no clue what it

was. But I feel like the Lord is asking

some of us today that maybe before our

first step would have been fear and

anxiety. I've got to go get the bat.

I've got to get whatever your thing is

and I'm going to fight somebody off. I'm

just being real. If an intruder comes in

my house, he's probably killing me. So

Lord, I need your protection. Like no

intruders, right? He's good. He's great.

I don't have to fear that.

And I think the Lord is telling some

people today that maybe what you're

fearing, you can give to him. And

instead of walking into that with this

terrible thing and this is going to

happen and instead I get to walk in

power, not because of me. I it could

have been anything, but because the God

of the universe is before me and he's

going to protect and he's going to lead

and even if something doesn't go like I

want, he has not gone and he's going to

be with me. In tragedy or in pain or in

loss, he does not leave. He's with me

and he's going to go before me. And

today, church, don't let fear, don't let

someone else's armor, don't let the

thought of somebody else's faith be who

you are. But instead, you get in the

word and let him mold you and make you

and change you.

You need God. I need God so much every

day in my life. And if it's something

silly like our vacation and hiking a

mountain and making Angel's Landing and

there's all this stuff happening, guess

what? Yeah, I need God there, too. My

wife needed God a little more in that

hike, right? We all need God in those

things. But maybe it's the bigger

things, the more important things. My

family,

sending Elizabeth to college, thinking

of legacy. Last night, Avery, she led

our global prayer time in the gym. She's

17. It wasn't me that asked her. It was

our uh Emma and Pastor Matt that asked

her to do that. She did it. It was

amazing. How proud could I be? Couldn't

be any more proud. Elizabeth this

morning and summer long as Emma's in

Southeast Asia on this mission

experience. She's running our kids

ministry. She's 18 years old. I couldn't

be more proud of her. But why would we

feel comfortable? Cuz they keep being

faithful. They keep showing up. They

have their own faith. It's not me and

Rachel. In fact, we don't even know what

they're doing. They're just doing it.

It's amazing.

Church, let's let faith rise within us.

The view is worth it.

And last word, the faith you build in

private, it's revealed in the battles

you face publicly. And this morning as

we close this time, we're going to have

a few minutes and we're going to go a

few minutes longer than we normally do.

And we'll be back to normal time next

week. But I think it's worth it to say,

Lord, I need you in my private. I need

you in every part of me. I need you in

my health, in my home, in all these

areas. And if you have a place where

fear or worry or anxiety, you look way

more like the people of Israel, the army

of Israel and you want to look more like

David,

the shepherd boy, the one with the

staff. And you say, "Lord, I need to

give it to you." Then I want to

encourage. Could we let the Lord speak

to our heart today? Could we let him

overflow within us his goodness, his

faith? Give him those fears and worries,

anxieties. Give him those problems. Give

him those real things you're facing that

hurt, that are hard. Let him have him

today and watch as he does so much

better directing your life and

encouraging you and building you up than

you could do ever than any of us could

do. So right now if we could stand all

over this room at first if you say,

"I've never given my life to Jesus. I've

never made him the Lord of my life."

Today is your day. Don't wait. Don't

stop. In fact, Pastor Nate, he's right

over here and he would love to talk with

you. He would love to pray with you.

Maybe you just have a question. Maybe

you're like, I'm not I don't know if I'm

ready for that. He would love to

encourage you. Whatever it may be, he

wants to help you take that next step in

a relationship with Jesus. That's why we

are here as Radiant Life Church. That

one more would know Jesus. Don't leave

without saying, "Hey, I need to have a

conversation." And then doing it. And

then if our prayer team could come

forward and for the rest of us, we're

going to take five minutes. We're going

to close this time, but we're going to

worship. We're going to pray. And we're

going to come to the altars. And if you

say, "I have worry or fear or anxiety,

maybe I have a problem, a battle in

front of me, something that is real,

maybe it's literally a hike, maybe it's

something that's physical, like I I

don't know how this is going to work."

Let the Lord come and help you. Or maybe

it's a sickness or a loss. Maybe you

lost someone so important to you today.

Don't do it on your own. Don't do it in

your own strength or your own power. But

walk in him and his goodness and his

love and his grace and watch him build

faith in you. The faith built in private

is revealed in the battle.

So today, let's keep working on that.

Let's keep growing deeper. That word, no

more shallow. No more shallow. But we're

going to dig it up. And the Lord's going

to move that sand and he's going to

build strength and power in you. So

Lord, right now we give you praise. We

give you glory in these five minutes.

Lord, I pray you would seal this word in

our heart. You would strengthen us.

You'd build us. You would mold us. Lord,

we leave today with power, with

authority, not because of us, but

because of the God of the universe,

because of the the Lord of hosts. And

Lord, we're going to leave like David,

strong and prepared for battle. So Lord,

right now, let faith arise even as we

pray, as we close this time in worship.

Lord, would you speak? Would you mold,

lead us into your truth today in your

name? Amen. Come, if you need prayer,

let's worship. Let's turn this into a

place of prayer this morning.

I'm calling on the God of Jacob,

whose love endures through generations.

I know that you will keep the covenant.

I'm calling on the God of Moses,

the one who opened up the ocean.

I need you now to do the same thing for

me.

Oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God, my

God, I need you now. How I need you now.

Oh rock, oh rock of ages, I'm standing

on your faithfulness.

I'm calling on the God of Mary

whose favor rests upon the lonely.

I know with you all things are possible.

I'm calling on the God of David

who made a shepherd boy courageous.

I've made our face Goliath

but I've got my own giants. Oh God, my

God, I need you. Oh God, my God, I need

you now. How I need you now.

Oh rock, oh rock of ages. I'm standing

on your faithfulness.

On your faithfulness.

Oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God, my

God, I need you now. How I need you now.

Now,

oh rock, oh rock of ages, I'm standing

on your faithfulness.

On your faithfulness,

on your faithfulness

standing on you.

You heard your children. Then you hear

your children. Now you are the same God.

You are the same God. You answered

prayers back then and you will answer

now. You are the same God. You are the

same God. You were providing it. You are

providing

now. You are the same God. You are the

same God. You moved in power. Let God

move in power. Now you are the same God.

You are the same God. You were a healer.

And you are a healer. Now you are the

same God. You are the same God. You are

a savior then. You are a savior now. You

are the same God. You are the same God.

Oh God my God. I need you. Oh God my

God. I need you now. How I need you now.

Oh, I go rock the pages. I'm standing on

your faithfulness.

On your faithfulness,

oh God, my God, I need you. Oh God, my

God, I need you now. How I need you now.

Oh rock of ages, I'm standing on your

faithfulness.

On your faithfulness,

>> Jesus, today we're just so thankful,

God. We're thankful that we stand on

your faithfulness, that we stand on who

you are. You freed the captives. You set

us free. You've you've done work. And

Lord, today we leave not like the army

of Israel. Lord, we don't leave in fear.

We don't leave worried about what the

enemy is doing. We don't leave worried

about the giant in front of us. But

Lord, we leave like David.

We leave with our staff. We leave with

our our slingshot and some stones. Lord,

what you've done in us, what you've

spoken in us. And Lord, let us walk in

that faith, in that power today. Lord, I

pray for those today that fear or worry

or anxiety, Lord, or a struggle. Lord, I

pray that you would give them freedom

today, even a supernatural dose, Lord,

to let you take those things. Let you

hold those things.

Lord, we're thankful for who you are.

You're so good. And Lord, I'm thankful

for this church. I'm thankful for their

heart for you. I pray that you would

just let them grow in their personal

love and relationship with you this

week, being in the word of God, and let

it transform who they are. Lord, we love

you. We thank you. And one last thing,

Jesus, thank you for speaking to us

today. Thank you for your word that you

give to us. Thank you for letting us

worship and Holy Spirit for speaking.

Lord, we don't take it lightly. So,

thank you for this opportunity, this

moment. and let us go in your power, in

your love, in your strength, in who you

have us to be today. We thank you and

praise you. You're so good, Jesus.

Come on, church. Our God is good. He's

good. Can we just give him a round of

applause? Our King, our Savior.

If you still need prayer, please.

They'll stay up here till no one is

coming for sure. But I just want to

thank you for coming to Radiant Life

Church. We went a little long today. We

don't normally do that. We'll be back to

more normal next week, but thank you for

coming and going after Jesus. And I pray

that you feel the love of Jesus. And two

quick reminders. We talked about them

earlier, but Wednesday night is our

student ministry celebration. And maybe

you don't have kids. Maybe that's maybe

you're out of that or or you're younger.

Whatever it is, would you come and

celebrate our kids? Wednesday night

7:00. We're going to be celebrating

Royal Rangers, Girls Ministries, Junior

Bible Quiz, Teen Bible Quiz, our Summit

Disciplehip Group, all of our kids

ministries. We're going to be

graduating. It's going to be a fun

celebration of our students reimagined

and we are looking forward to it.

Celebrating all of our kids and

leadership and uh the different groups.

So, come out Wednesday night, 7:00, and

then Friday night for all of our men.

Don't miss it. Talking about where we're

going, leadership, men's ministry. It's

going to be fun at my house watching

World Cup. Be sure to check those out on

Church Center. But we're thankful for

you. So, let's go in the power of Jesus

today. Love you all. Be sure to stop by

the the booth. Uh Bob and Kelly will be

out there. Uh you can get some stuff on

Taiwan and our missionary partner. But

we love you all. This week, be careful

what you watch. Be careful what you

listen to. Be careful what you talk

about. Savor the presence of Jesus. See

you again next week.