The Grace to Overcome
2Co 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Ga 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,
David
Understood that God had his days written
Ps 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
Ps 139:14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
Ps 139:15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Ps 139:16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
God knew Jeremiah before He was born (Jeremiah 1:5)
1Sa 17:28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
The nay sayers / negative report
Children of Israel had to choose whose report to believe
1Sa 17:29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?”
Stay focused on the cause
Know what God has called you to do
1Sa 17:30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.
1Sa 17:31 ¶ Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.
1Sa 17:32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
1Sa 17:34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,
1Sa 17:35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.
1Sa 17:36 “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”’
Know the power of your testimony
Your past victories are to give you strength for your future battles
Your story is to strengthen someone else
1Sa 17:37 Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”
If God did it then and He will do it again
We go from faith to faith
1Sa 17:38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail.
1Sa 17:39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
Walk in what God has given you and not someone else
1Sa 17:40 ¶ Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
Know what God has anointed your hands to do
Know your gifts and callings
1Sa 17:41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him.
1Sa 17:42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.
Don’t allow people to define you by your external situation
You are more than what appears
Christ in you is the hope of glory
Greater is He who is in us…
1Sa 17:43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1Sa 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, 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 have defied.
With Jesus all things are possible