2. The Odds Are Against You! 1. In this corner you have David: A.Young shepherd boy; B.A couple smooth stones; C.Set in a shepherd’s sling to become missiles that hopefully would deliver comet crashing force; 2. In this corner you have Goliath: A.Standing nine feet, nine inches tall; B.Harden warrior, 125 pounds of armor; C.Defying Israel “Give me an man to stand against ME;”

3. The Odds Are Against You! 3. Our Goliaths don’t carry swords or shields; They are the blades of unemployment, abandonment, abuse, depression, sickness and death; 4. Our Goliaths don’t attack on the plains of Elah; A.Our giants prance through our offices, our bedrooms and our classrooms; B.Our giants bring bills we can’t pay, people we can’t please, whiskey we can’t resist, pornography we can’t refuse, a career we can’t escape, a past we can’t shake and a future we think we can’t face.

4. The Odds Are Against You! 5. Goliath’s family was an ancient foe of the Israelites; A.Joshua had driven them out of the Promised Land some 300 years earlier; B.Now Saul’s soldiers probably said, “Oh no, not again? Didn’t my dad fight his dad and my granddad his granddad?” C.It is amazing how giants keep staking us;

5. The Odds Are Against You! 6. We groan similar words against our giants: A.“I’m becoming a workaholic, just like dad.” B.Divorce streaks through our family tree, condemning future generations seemingly at will. C.That particular gene predisposed my mother to breast cancer, and now I have it too. What about my daughter? 7. But with all the giants we face, we must ask this very important question…

6. Where is Our Focus? 1. Giants look so big, that sometimes, that’s all we are able to see; 2. David saw Goliath and he heard what he said; 3. And yet, David’s focus was NOT on the giant; 4. David asked, “Who is this Philistine that defies the armies of the Living God?” A.No one else talked about God; B.Only David, and God was all he talked about; C.Saul and his army majored on Goliath; D.David majored on God;

7. Where is Our Focus? Goliath related. 5. David makes only two comments that are Goliath related. God related; 6. But as I read the text, I count nine references David makes that are God related; 7. That’s a nine to two ratio! 8. When our giants threaten what do we think about? What do we say? A.Number of giant related comments _______ B.Number of God related comments ______

8. Where is Our Focus? 9. What do we see when giants invade our lives? A.Do we major on the giants? The problems? The difficulties? The pain? B.Do we major on God? Do we see an almighty God who can deliver us from the hand of our giants? C.David saw the giant, but he saw God as bigger; D.David said to the giant: “You come to me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord God of Israel.” 10. We must ask another question…

9. Whose Battle Is It Anyway? 1. When David ran out to face Goliath, what do you think everyone else did? A.David’s brothers probably covered their eyes and did not want to watch the slaughter of their little brother; B.Saul and his solider just shook their heads as young David races to what they believed to be certain death; C.We know that Goliath just laughed, and laughed…unable to believe that this little boy was coming to battle with him;

10. Whose Battle Is It Anyway? 2. And then all was deathly quiet in the valley, except for the swishing sound of a swirling sling; A.A stone torpedoes into the Goliath’s skull; B.His eyes cross and his legs buckle; C.He crumples to the ground, unconscious; D.David runs over and using Goliath’s own sword, cuts off his head; get a head of his giant. 3. You could say, “David knew how to get a head of his giant.”

11. Whose Battle Is It Anyway? 4. When was the last time you ran toward your giants? A.We tend to retreat instead, don’t we? i.We duck behind a desk at work; ii.Or crawl into a nightclub for some anesthetic; iii.Or pop some pills to help us forget; B.It works for a time, a day or even a year; but then the escape runs out, wears off and leaves us still having to facing our giants;

12. Whose Battle Is It Anyway? 5. We can run toward our giants with a God-filled spirit; A.It starts by recognizing that the Battle really belongs to the Lord; i.Giants of divorce, you are not entering my home! ii.Giants of cancer, you will not destroy me! iii.Giants of abuse, you will not get the best of me! iv.Compared to God, our giants are not so giant; B.Our God is Greater; i.Our God is Bigger; ii.We will win through our God!

13. But that was David – Not Me! 1. “I’m ME, not David.” you say A.I challenge you to read David’s story and you will begin to wonder what God saw in David? i.This fellow fell as often as he stood; ii.Stumbled as often as he conquered; iii.Yes, he stared down Goliath, but he coveted Bathsheba; iv.He could lead an army but couldn’t manage his own family; ONE B.This was David: - raging, weeping, bloodthirsty, God-hungry, eight wives, but ONE God.

14. But that was David – Not Me! 2. Acts 13:22 reminds us, “David was a man after God’s own heart.” A.Now, if we were “straight A saints,” we’d probably find David’s story pretty disappointing; NOT B.Since we are NOT “straight A saints,” David’s story is very reassuring; 3. Like David, we ride the same roller coaster; A.We alternate between swan dives and belly flops; B.Days when we are invincible and others when we are total failures;

15. IS This David IS Me! 1. When David was good, he was the best; 2. When David was bad, could anyone be worse? 3. 4. God especially loves the Davids of this world, including you and me; 5. God knows we desperately want His heart but at times we fall desperately short; YOU and ME! 6. This God who loved David, loves YOU and ME!

16. IS This David IS Me! 7. God did not choose David because he was special; 8. David was special because God choose him; 9. God did not choose you and me because we are special; 10. We are special because God choose us; “specialness” 11. All our “specialness” comes from God!

17. Conclusion 1. This whole matter about giants can be summed up in two simple statement: A.Focus on your giants – You will stumble! B.Focus on your God – Your giants will stumble! 2. Alright then, the God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make a miracle out of you!

19.  Key Events  Maps  Charts  Time Line On Sunday, April 27 th @ 7 pm

20. 