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Welcome to the Bridge Church VB Podcast, your weekly source for uplifting and transformative Sunday messages! Each episode features insightful, practical teachings rooted in Scripture, designed to inspire and guide you on your spiritual journey. Led by our passionate Lead Pastors, Archie and Tangie Callahan, we strive to create a welcoming environment that encourages individuals from all walks of life to connect with the person, power, and purpose of Jesus Christ.
In this podcast, we delve into relevant themes and timeless biblical truths that speak to the challenges and joys of everyday living. Whether you’re commuting, exercising, or simply seeking encouragement, our messages aim to empower you to grow in faith and discover your unique purpose.
Join our vibrant community of believers as we explore how to apply God’s Word in practical ways, fostering a deeper connection with Him and one another. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to enrich your life through these dynamic teachings. Connect with us and find out more at www.bridgechurch.tv!
Good morning.
It is so good to see you again.
We have a very special guest speaker in the house today, Dr. Courtney McBeth.
He is a...
Staple in this community is a transformational leader, 35 years of leading Calvary Revival Church.
He's the founding pastor that handed it off to his son-in-law and daughter, and they are taking it to a whole nother level.
He currently serves as the president of Virginia Christian College.
He also is the CEO of Courtney Macbeth Leadership, which he uses that organization to train leaders here.
Globally, just touching the world with his ministry, and we appreciate Dr. Courtney McBath.
He graduated from MIT, so he's got a little bit of smarts.
He's got a little bit of smarts.
Also, Regent University and Oxford University.
And he's been married to his wife over 40 years.
That says a lot about the man, doesn't it?
Come on.
That says a lot about the man.
He has five children and many grandchildren.
grandchildren.
And he did not retire.
He just refired.
He just let me know that he's doing more work today than ever before in his life.
He continues to spread the gospel around the world, training leaders, preaching the gospel, serving the community.
And I want you to stand to your feet if you would.
And we want to welcome Dr. Courtney McBath to the platform here at Bridge Church.
Good morning, everybody.
Well, listen, would y'all stand for just another second?
Y'all don't mind?
You're all right?
Good.
Man, I tell you, this is amazing.
You all really praise God when you come to church, don't you?
This is really good.
The brothers even worship too.
I'm like, man, the men were singing in here.
I heard them.
This is a good place to be in church, isn't it?
Bridge Church is an amazing church, and I am so grateful for this church.
Amen.
I'm so grateful for your pastors.
The Calhouns have just changed our region, and I'm just so thankful for them.
Aren't you thankful for your pastors?
They're just, man, they're the best.
28 years of serving faithfully with integrity, setting example.
for families, for marriages, for ministry.
Listen, it doesn't get much better than that.
God has really been good to Bridge Church.
And every now and then, we just need to let them know.
I know October is Pastoral Appreciation Month.
Let me know when you really love somebody, you just appreciate them all the time.
And so we are grateful, Pastor.
Thank you for your example all these years.
And thank God for all of you who are here this morning.
If you're here and you were expected to hear the pastor, I'm not in.
But he will be back.
So don't be too disappointed.
We'll try to make sure that you leave feeling blessed this morning.
But you all were clapping when I stood up here.
And listen, I don't even have words for that.
That's not something that I would do for me.
But I know somebody who is worthy of all of that.
I want to give you 30 seconds to give Jesus the best you got.
Thank you, Lord.
Come on.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me.
Let's exalt his name together.
For the Lord is good and his mercy endures to a thousand generations.
Lord, we bless you this morning.
We honor you and give you glory for you're worthy of our praise.
worthy of the honor.
You're worthy of our applause.
You're worthy of our shout.
You're worthy of our tears.
You're worthy of our songs.
You're worthy of our worship.
And we bless you, Lord.
Thank you for loving us the way you do, so unconditionally.
Thank you, Lord.
You loved us when we didn't love you.
You loved us when we weren't thinking about you, but you loved us anyway.
We thank you for your son, Jesus.
We thank you for his death on the cross.
We thank you, Lord, for his resurrection.
And we thank you that he lives in us even now.
And we give you honor for that as well.
Lord, thank you for another Sunday morning.
Your word says this is the day the Lord has made.
I'll rejoice and be glad in it.
So we thank you for this day.
And we ask, Lord, that our words, thoughts, all of our interactions today will honor you in Jesus' name.
And everybody said amen.
Come on.
Fist bump two or three people and tell them you were born to win.
Come on.
Say it out loud.
Say you were born to win.
Come on, even if you don't like the person sitting next to you, just tell them you were born to win.
We're going to 1 Samuel in just a moment.
We're going to talk a little bit about David and Goliath.
I think it'll help you.
It sure is helping me.
Because I don't know about you, but I've had some battles here lately.
And oftentimes in the battles that I face, I don't always feel like I'm at an advantage.
I feel like I'm at a disadvantage.
Anybody ever feel that?
Like you're at a disadvantage as you go into a battle.
But I want to remind you today that the Lord...
has been equipping you and preparing you for every conflict that you walk through.
For everything that you face, even now, no matter what it might be.
It could be an issue of provision.
It could be an issue of healing.
It could be an issue in the family.
It could be an issue of finance.
It may be any number of things, but I can tell you no matter what it is, God's already equipped you and prepared you for it.
As a matter of fact, before you ever walked into the conflict, he had already got you ready for the conflict before you got there.
He was already equipping and structuring and training and encouraging you and getting you ready.
And I want to tell you that there's more in you than you even know.
That God's deposited some things in you that even in our losses, even in our failures, even in our struggles, the Lord's been working some things into our hearts.
And today, just as your brother, I just want to stop by and just take you by the hand for a moment and say, come on, bro.
Come on, sis.
Let's walk this thing out because the enemy's not going to have the final word in this.
We're going to get the victory in Jesus' name.
Our kids are going to get the victory.
Come on, our grandkids are going to get the victory.
We're going to win this in the name of Jesus.
And we know we can't do it on our own.
And so we don't even brag on who we are because this ain't about us.
Because we're not enough, but we know somebody.
And he is enough.
And he'll bring us through.
Do you believe that this morning?
Yes.
We're born to win.
So let me read to you just a little bit of scripture from 1 Samuel 17.
I'm going to read about five verses from the New Living Translation of the Bible.
It says, as Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.
Reaching into his shepherd's bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in
So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.
Then David ran over and pulled Goliath's sword from its sheath.
And David used Goliath's own sword to kill him and cut off his head.
Father, thank you for the reading of the word.
Speak through it to our hearts, Lord, in Jesus name.
Amen.
This is an amazing story, which most of you have already heard.
And you've heard several versions of the story.
But today I want to share the story with you because I believe that you can find yourself in the story.
I believe that when you look at a disadvantaged David and a seemingly advantaged Goliath, you can see yourself in your own battles.
And oftentimes we're intimidated in the battles that we're in because we appear to be at such a disadvantage.
Our weapons don't seem to be very strong, but the Bible says that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal or man-made, but they are mighty through God.
And so sometimes that little stone called the word is greater than all the other weapons that are around us.
We stand in this world, whether you're at work or running your own business or
or even taking care of your family.
It seems sometimes, especially as believers, as we're walking in love and walking in grace and walking in peace, it can sometimes seem that everything around us is bigger, greater, stronger than we are.
But I want to remind you that the Christ that lives in you is greater than every battle that you'll ever face.
I want to remind you that the Word of God that's in your spirit and in your heart...
That word has life.
And it's just like the stone that David used.
If that word is put in the right place, it can win every battle in your life.
The word is able to do that.
Amen.
Now, I realize that many of you are not as vertically challenged as I am.
So everybody doesn't seem tall and everybody doesn't seem huge to you.
And you kind of look down on folks.
But I want to remind you that no matter how huge you are, no matter how great you are, no matter how much money you have,
that every one of us will walk into a battle one day that's bigger than we are.
And that's the moment that we need a God who is greater than every circumstance and has the ability to walk us through every battle.
Come on, tap somebody and say, God can do it, even with you.
God can do it, even with you.
He can walk us through every battle.
So about three things I want to say to you.
How many of you know that when preachers say they only have to say three things, it doesn't mean they're going to be sure?
It just means they only have three things that they're going to say.
Of course, you all are brilliant.
You came to the second service.
You already knew.
No matter how the Holy Spirit moves, he's got to stop at some point.
And so, oh, brilliant ones, I'm going to do just that.
I'm going to stop at some point.
So let's start here.
I want you to just look at somebody and say, God has been preparing you.
Now, sometimes when we walk into a battle, like David may have felt initially, we feel unprepared.
But oftentimes, there's been a preparation in us, and we didn't even know that we were being prepared for that battle.
But God has been preparing you.
First Samuel 16 and six, it says when they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, surely this is the Lord's anointing.
So what's happened is all of Jesse's sons have all gathered for the barbecue with Samuel.
So they're all at the cookout and David's not invited.
It's just the seven older ones.
So they're all at the cookout.
and Samuel's gotta pick one of them to be king.
But the Lord said to Samuel, don't judge by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.
The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them.
People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Then Samuel asked, are these all the sons you have?
And then Jesse replied, well, they're still the youngest, but he's out in the fields watching the sheep and the goats.
Send for him at once.
Samuel said, we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.
Pastor, can you help me one more time?
Because I want you all to understand that Samuel has good sense when he's trying to pick a king.
Because think about it, y'all.
You got him...
And me, I mean, who are you picking to fight the giant?
I mean, come on, y'all.
I mean, I know you might feel a little sorry for me, but I mean, think about it.
I mean, let me look at this.
You can't even see me anymore.
I just disappeared from sight.
And so this is what Samuel's doing.
He's looking at pastor and then he's looking at everybody.
He said, this has got to be the guy.
Because he looms over the other guy.
He's got to be the guy.
And then the Lord says, but Sammy, here's what I want you to remember.
God doesn't look at things the way you look at things.
Thank you, pastor, for being my tall guy.
I appreciate you, sir.
It's always good to have some tall friends in your life.
Keeps you out of a lot of fights because they can fight for you.
But I want you to think about yourself.
Oftentimes, you think this of yourself.
I'm not the right person.
Anybody here ever had imposter syndrome?
Where you think, I shouldn't be in this room.
Why am I here?
Why'd they pick me?
Why'd I get this job?
Why am I here?
Why am I on this computer?
I'm gonna touch one button.
It's gonna destroy the entire world and and you're thinking I'm not the guy I'm not the gal they picked the wrong person, but I got good news for you God picked the right person He knew you could handle it before you ever walked into the situation You didn't think you were the guy that could settle that issue there in that company, but you are the guy that's why God put you in there and
You didn't think you were the woman that could fix that situation in the school, but you are that woman that could fix the situation because God has been equipping you your entire life for the battle that you're in right now.
God's been working in you since you were a child to get you ready to walk into the season that you're walking in.
And listen, I don't know what battle you're walking into, but I can tell you this, that God has already got you ready for the battle.
He's already put in you everything you're going to need.
And he is not putting you in the fight to lose.
He's putting you in the fight to win.
And for me, for a country boy like me, the only good fight is the one I win.
You ever heard people talk about a fight?
Say, man, that was a good fight.
Man, they really, they really, they duked it out.
Man, that was such a good fight.
No, no, no, no, no.
It's only good if I win.
And so, and when David walks out of the valley of Allah with the giant's
head in his hand ain't nobody asking him who won we know exactly who won and i need to tell you today that you're getting ready to walk out of this valley with the giant's head in your hand because god's gonna make it real clear that he's giving you the victory and when victory comes you gotta make me a promise
You won't take any credit for yourself.
You won't brag or boast and post on Instagram how wonderful you are.
But you will tell the world that it was God that did it.
God worked it out.
God brought me through.
God brought the healing.
God brought the change.
It was God who worked it out.
Because God's been equipping you and preparing you the whole time.
Because oftentimes, friends, hidden things
places produce visible results.
And we'll talk about it more later, but I want you to catch the life of this 17 year old named David.
And he's working in the fields.
Now there's a reason why they didn't invite him to the cookout.
They didn't invite him because his level in the family is so menial that they don't even think of him as somebody who Samuel would even want to talk to.
They discounted him before it even starts.
Don't you dare discount yourself before the battle even starts and recognize that it's not the greatness of you, but it's the greatness of the Christ that's in you and it is your opportunity to bring glory to his name.
Because oftentimes in those places of hiding, God is preparing and equipping you for some very visible results.
David is just living so far beneath the radar that even his own his dad.
I mean, I need you all think about this.
The guy says, bring all your kids.
Now, if you've got as many kids as me, you know, you can't forget one.
But after a couple of reminders, I mean, I left Ben one time at church.
They called me and said, hey, Pastor, did you forget something?
I looked in the back of the van.
Ah, Ben, we're coming right back right now.
So, you know, if you got a lot of kids, this happens.
But he's been asked specifically to bring all of his sons to a party.
The party is happening.
The first seven have been rejected.
Jesse still doesn't remember David.
It's not that he has forgotten him.
It's that he doesn't think he's worthy to be in the conversation.
It's not so much that he doesn't know that he's got another kid.
The problem is he has already decided that this kid ain't the one.
And I just, there's about seven of you in this room that I just need to make sure you get this, that when they said you're not the one, they were wrong.
When they said you'd never be, they were wrong.
When they said God can't really use you, they were wrong.
Because oftentimes, forgotten does not mean abandoned.
People can forget you, but God always remembers you.
Listen, God's got the kind of GPS.
He never misses a turn.
He knows exactly where you are.
And you may be saying, Lord, I feel like you've forgotten me.
No, no, no, no, no.
He doesn't do that.
God has never, God, I don't think you know where I am.
He knows exactly where you are.
And when it is the right time, he will call for you.
And you got to be ready when he calls.
They came to a point where they said, okay, you got one more.
We'll wait on him.
And the moment David walked in, Samuel said, that's the guy.
We're going to anoint him to be king.
You know why?
Because sometimes timing is everything.
I want to talk to some of you who have the promotions have passed over you and the opportunities didn't come your way.
And it just looked like it wasn't it's not for you.
And and you're wondering about yourself.
Sometimes it's a matter of timing because.
If you move prematurely into a space that you're not ready for, you end up not seeing the results that God wanted to produce.
So oftentimes God will hold you.
Anybody here like me that God is slow?
You know, I mean, I grew up, they were always singing that song.
He may not come when you want him, but he's right on time.
The God I serve is the slowest person.
He's always so much later than I anticipated coming.
He's always so much later than I thought he was going to come.
He always makes me pray longer, wait longer than I really have the patience for.
I don't know what he's doing.
I guess he's trying to develop this fruit of patience or something.
But he's always got me standing and waiting on him.
But here's what I've discovered about him.
While I'm waiting on him, he's working some things in my heart that would not be there if I hadn't moved prematurely.
And so you see your boy, David, he's out here 16, 17 years old.
And you figure at some point, David was like, you know what?
Forget all this.
I'm going to put a post on Instagram.
I'm going to show him the line that I killed.
I'm going to show him the bear that I knocked out.
I'm going to show him this rug that I made out of this bear.
I'm going to hope there's no PETA people in the room.
I'm going to.
I'm going to put all that on Instagram.
I'm going to post all that stuff.
I'm going to show them I'm the man.
And look, I'm so much the man, I even got background music for it.
I'm going to put Psalm 23 as the background music.
I got my own background music.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
I'm going to play my music.
I'm going to show my line and my bear.
And I'm going to show the world that I am not somebody that you need to forget.
But I am so glad that David does not step into his role again.
prematurely, but he waits until God calls him out because God was still working some things out in his life and he couldn't get those things worked out in a hurry.
Those things take time.
I don't know about you, but I figured this out about me that it takes time, not for God to do something.
It takes time for God to get me ready for what he's going to do.
I'm the one that needs the time, not God.
He could do it in a moment, but I'm not ready for the moment.
So he gives me time, opportunity, tests.
He takes me through.
He trains me.
He teaches me.
And he does it so much slower than I want him to.
But I want to remind you that just because it's taking time doesn't mean that God's not working.
That God's at work in your life even now.
And sometimes, listen, sometimes you just got to be still.
Sometimes you got to stay put.
I know that you're the most anointed person in this church.
I know the hand of God is on you and nobody really knows.
You're a prophet.
You're a prophet.
You're a mighty man of God.
You're a mighty woman of God.
I don't know why those people at church don't see how anointed I am, but they got me back here in the children's ministry.
Well, take your anointed, empowered self to the children's ministry and stay there and let God use you where you are.
find a way to say, God, you know what?
The thing that I'm doing, I'm going to do my very best at that.
What David decided to do is rather than use being a shepherd as a stepping stone to becoming a king, he decided to be the best shepherd that there could ever be.
He decided he was the man when it came to being the shepherd.
I mean, he washed over sheep.
I
and ran out.
This guy was such an anointed shepherd.
He was so committed to his current task that he ran after the lion.
Now listen, you all, we take that like, oh yeah, he ran after a lion.
Talk to me.
If I'm fighting a lion, I'm going to fight back if he attacks me.
But if he decides he don't want me for lunch, I ain't messing with him.
If he walks away.
even if he takes one lamb, I mean, he can get the lamb chops for the day.
I'd rather him to have lamb chops and Courtney chops.
So I'm going to let you take the lamb and you go on.
Cause I had 128.
I still got 127 left, but not David.
David.
Oh no.
I'm going to run down the lion, body slam him, rip his mouth open and take the one lamb that he took out of his mouth and say, now think
twice before you come back over here again because that's the kind of anointing that was on him instead of saying listen i better preserve myself because one day i want to be king no he said i'm gonna give myself totally to the thing that i'm doing right now i'm gonna be the very best i can be until god decides to promote me and then i'll be ready for what god wants to do
That's exactly what he did.
He was the best because he recognized that sometimes God's plan makes more sense later.
Anybody here old enough to be grateful for stuff you prayed for that you're glad you didn't get?
Okay, so you ain't never been to high school reunion yet.
Because if you get to be 66 like me and go to high school reunion, you're like, thank you, Lord.
I'm so glad.
I liked her, but she didn't like me.
Thank you, Jesus.
Anybody here glad that they did?
Just thank you.
You don't have to look at anybody.
Don't name any names.
Look at me.
Don't look around.
Look at me.
But if you're in the room and you're glad that it didn't work out the way you wanted it to work out, and now you realize now it makes more sense later.
Now I understand.
Anybody, the job that you wanted, you didn't get, and now you're glad you didn't get it, you understand why it didn't go that way.
The church that you thought you were supposed to be a part of, the Lord didn't have you to be a part of that church.
He had you be a part of this church.
Aren't you glad you're where you're supposed to be, in the right church, doing what God called you to do?
Because sometimes it makes more sense later.
That's why you don't quit too soon.
You stay with it because it'll make more sense later.
Later.
So Saul is, so David is about to fight Goliath.
He's told everybody, I'm going to whoop this guy.
I mean, he was probably, he was from East Tennessee.
I'm going to whoop this guy.
I'm going to whoop him.
So he, so they're like, you can't whoop him.
He's going to whoop you.
And that's what the king said.
King says, boy, are you kidding me?
He says, you're a kid.
He's been fighting since he was a kid.
Not to mention he's at least three and a half feet taller than you are.
His armor weighs what you weigh.
You can't fight him.
And then sometimes God's plan makes more sense later.
It hit David.
I've been taking care of my father's sheep and goats.
And when a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with the club and rescue the lamb from its mouth.
If the animal turns on me,
I catch it by the jaw.
Come on, y'all.
I mean, think about this, y'all.
This is not wide world wrestling.
This is not, this ain't no setup.
I mean, the kid is fighting a real lion.
This ain't the circus.
He's in a real battle with a real lion with teeth.
He says, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.
I have done this.
So this is not a one-time deal.
I have done this to both lions and bears.
So I've had multiple lion matches, multiple bear matches.
And obviously, since I'm still here, we know who won.
The lion didn't.
I've taken out several lions.
I've taken out several bears.
Then he thinks, I've done this to lions and bears.
It wasn't me.
It was the God in me.
And if the God in me gave me victory over that, then he's going to put this Philistine in my hands as well.
Because the enemy may have changed, but the God I serve is still the same.
The enemy might love.
And listen, you need to not just clap for what I said.
You need to praise God for showing you something.
That the enemy may have changed, but your God is still the same.
And if he did it before, somebody say it to me, he'll do it again.
If he came through before, he'll come through again.
And suddenly you start to recognize that it's starting to make more sense to me.
And then you just never underestimate your history with God.
Your history might not sound as awesome as everybody else's history, but it's your history.
Clean and sober for 90 days.
So that might not be a big deal to the rest of these church folk, but it's a really big deal when you've been an alcoholic for 10 years.
And so don't you dare.
not rejoice over your history with God because it's your history with God that gives you faith for the battle that you're in right now.
You got to take every single past lesson into this current fight.
Let me give you a few examples in case you can't think of one.
God has never let me down.
Anybody here can rejoice that God's never let me down.
Somehow I always survive.
I am better as a result of what I walk through.
Here's what I'm trying to make folks trying to get you to see.
is that you've got a testimony.
Now, there are books that you've read, you've heard pastor preach amazing messages, you've heard amazing stories from other folk, but there's a life you've lived where God just keeps showing up.
There's a life that you've lived, you've been in places and spaces that you don't even want to talk about, but God brought you out of that.
You've been in spaces and problems and challenges and they were so complex and so much nuance in the challenge.
You didn't know how to.
It was blowing your mind trying to figure it out.
But somehow God just walked in and turned that whole thing around.
Listen, you need to remember your history with God.
He loved you.
He saved you.
He freed you.
He healed you.
He provided for you.
And the good news is he's still doing all that stuff for you now.
Why does that matter, Courtney?
Because when I get in this valley with this nine and a half foot Philistine, I can't walk in there on my own merit.
I've got to walk in on the grace and the merit and the strength of God.
And so I've got to remember what God has done because as I remember it, it causes my faith to erupt.
And suddenly I believe that if he did it for me before, he will do it for me again.
I hear people, I know the economy is tough and I know we've got some struggles in the country.
And I know that we've got struggles in the world, but I hear Christians saying, what in the world are we going to do?
I tell them I'm going to do what I did last time.
I'm going to trust Jesus.
My confidence has never been in man.
My confidence is in Jesus.
I'm going to trust him every step of the way because he's never let me down.
My confidence is in God.
And you walk into the valley confident that God is going to work this out.
Confident because listen,
Let me talk for a hot second about failure.
And I said it like this.
If you fight some lions, you're going to get some scratches.
I promise you David had scars from lions and bears clawing at him.
You don't go and body slam a lion and take a lamb out of his mouth with no battle.
There's a battle.
So you've got some scratches.
You've got some scars.
Let me be plain.
You've got some failures.
You've got some times where it didn't work out.
You've got some times where you blew it miserably.
And so do I.
But I'm not spending my time reminding God of all my failures.
Since he said, I've already forgotten your sins, I put them in the sea of forgetfulness.
They're as far as the east is from the west.
So I figured it out like this.
If God ain't remembering it, why do I keep trying to bring it up?
If God says, I've forgotten, why don't you forget about it too?
And remember that you may have some scratches, some failures, some falls, some places, some sin where you didn't quite get it right.
But that's where grace comes in.
Aren't you glad for the grace of God that covers every sin and every fault?
Now, maybe some of you don't have any struggles or sins.
There's nothing for you to shout about.
But for the rest of us in the room, we're real grateful for the grace of God that takes care of us and covers us and watches over us.
And so as I walk into the Valley of Elah, I walk into the valley with some scratches, some scars, some failures, some issues.
I didn't always...
Get it right.
Always.
Because if you fight some lions, you're going to get some scratches.
I remember as a sophomore at MIT, I remember being, I remember I had, you know, the first year is pass-fail, which is a wonderful thing.
Because there's no grade on the transcript.
It's either pass or fail.
People say, well, how do you think you did?
I passed.
Don't ask me anything else, I pass.
But once you get to sophomore year, then that's over, and now it's all graded.
By the time I got through the first semester of sophomore year, I was struggling.
I mean, that nuclear physics class just totally slapped me to sleep.
And so I am, for the first time, facing academic probation.
And so my first thoughts are, you all know, I'm from East Tennessee.
I love the volunteers.
I love Tennessee.
I will go home and go to school at the University of Tennessee.
Bless the Lord.
But the Lord said, oh, no, you won't.
You're going to stay right here.
You're going to humble yourself.
You're going to walk through this academic probation, and you're going to let me turn it around.
Because the Lord said, here's what we're not doing.
We ain't making moves based on your failures.
We're making moves based upon my will.
We're not making moves based on you feeling bad or embarrassed.
That ain't how we function around here, buddy.
The way we handle it around here is you trust me.
I'll work it out, and I'll get you through this, and he did exactly that.
He got me through it.
He worked it out.
It was all him.
He gets all the glory, all the praise.
You all have heard the different levels of how people graduate.
Magna cum laude.
Anybody ever heard of that?
Summa cum laude.
I just graduated.
Thank you, Lordy.
I was just so glad to be out.
Thank you, Lord.
And so God gets the credit, not Macbeth.
God gets the glory, not Courtney.
God gets the glory.
Because I realized that there were some battles I'd have to face.
There were Goliaths that were coming.
And I had to kill those lions and bears in my younger life so I'd be ready for the Goliaths that I'd face.
When I came to Norfolk, starting church, there were some Goliaths that I'd face.
And I realized, and I'll finish with this, you all.
That God will direct your paths.
He will.
Trust me on this.
God will direct your paths.
David gets into the valley of Elah.
And Saul says, okay, if you're going to fight him, at least put my armor on.
Saul was always trying to get over.
So Saul wanted him to wear his armor so folks would think he was the one going to fight Goliath.
So David being the good kid that he was put on the king's armor, but he couldn't walk in it.
And so he said, Saul, I can't, I can't use your armor and I cannot use your sword because they don't fit me.
If you're going to win this battle, you got to be who you are.
You can't pray like somebody else.
You can't try to do your voice like somebody else.
You got to be who you are.
You can't try to sound spiritual like, no, no.
You got to be who God has made you to be.
Then he wouldn't even use his sword.
He had these little rocks.
He had these little stones.
He gets these stones out of the river and he's got a slingshot.
I mean, it ain't really even a professional slingshot.
It's a rag with two ends on it.
And you do this and then you let one end go and the rock flies out.
Who does this with a nine and a half foot giant?
Well, I'll tell you who does it.
Someone does that when they know that it ain't really me that's fighting anyway.
It's the God I'm serving that's doing the fighting.
And so I don't have to be somebody else.
I can be who I am and use the weapons that I've perfected.
What David knew is he said, listen, I don't know how to use your sword, but I know how to use this.
And I'm going to use this.
And so he takes that weapon.
He runs into the valley.
But before he even fights him, he makes a bold declaration.
He declares boldly.
He says, listen.
So the Philistine says to him, says, you know what?
I don't know why they sent a dog like you out here to fight me.
He said, but I'm going to kill you and I'm going to feed you to the birds of the air.
And that was the moment where David started trembling.
And I'm telling you, you'll walk into the battle and the enemy will roar.
Tell you how he's going to destroy you.
You ain't going to make it.
Your family's going down.
This job's not going to work out.
Your company's going to fail.
You'll hear it all.
But at some point...
You gotta learn how to roar back and make your own bold declaration.
I love this little 17-year-old.
He's standing there and he's looking up at this guy.
This guy says, I'm gonna kill you.
I'm gonna feed you to the birds of the air.
He looks back at him.
He says, oh no, you got it twisted.
I'm gonna kill you.
And then defeat you and all your cousins too.
All of you are going down today.
Here's why.
Not because you challenged me, but you have cursed the name of the Lord our God.
And so I am not coming to you with a stick or a sword.
I come to you in the name of the Lord God and I will defeat you.
Every now and then you got to have enough faith to step up and declare, God, I thank you in advance that victory belongs to me.
I thank you in advance that my family is going to weather this storm.
I thank you in advance that we are going to survive the place that we're in.
There's got to be a bold declaration and then you make a step of faith.
And that's what David did.
He took a step of faith.
It's one thing to tell the giant, I'm going to take you down.
It's another thing to start running at him.
But he starts running at him with that sword.
He's heading in his direction because he recognizes that God will fight for me, but I got to do my part.
God will fight for me, but I got to make sure I handle my business.
God will bring him down, but I got to throw the rock.
And so he throws that rock.
I'm telling you all that rock is as much as he may have spun it.
There's not enough momentum in that rock.
I know enough physics to know that he didn't get that rock going fast enough to go one to find the only spot in the armor that was open.
And then two, to cause that thing to sink into the forehead and create an aneurysm.
He was not that strong.
But the God that he served was.
All God needed him to do.
You know what God was saying in heaven?
Boy, just give me the rock.
Just give me the rock.
Just give me the rock.
And that's what David did.
He threw an alley-oop to God.
He said, here you go, Lord.
And the Lord said, thank you very much.
Boom.
And down that giant went.
Sometimes all you got to do is give God the rock and let him do what he wants to do.
God will work it out for you.
Glory to God.
Listen, y'all, I preach all day, but y'all are the brilliant ones.
You know I can.
So would y'all stand with me?
Because we got another service coming in in just a moment.
But as you stand, I want you...
you right where you are to close your eyes for just a moment.
And I want you to start thanking God in advance for the victory that he's bringing in your life.
Would you do that?
Would you just with your own words?
It doesn't have to be loud, but I want you to say, Lord, I just want to thank you that victory belongs to me and my family.
Victory is ours.
Glory to God.