The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
1 Samuel 17:32-51main passage read aloud by the congregation, the story of David and Goliath
32 David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”
34 David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock,
35 I went out after him, and struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him.
36 Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.”
37 David said, “Yahweh who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go! Yahweh will be with you.”
38 Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
39 David strapped his sword on his clothing, and he tried to move; for he had not tested it. David said to Saul, “I can’t go with these; for I have not tested them.” Then David took them off.
40 He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling was in his hand; and he came near to the Philistine.
41 The Philistine walked and came near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him.
42 When the Philistine looked around, and saw David, he disdained him; for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and had a good looking face.
43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” The Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the field.”
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 Yahweh of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines today to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
47 and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
48 When the Philistine arose, and walked and came near to meet David, David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 David put his hand in his bag, took a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Then David ran, stood over the Philistine, took his sword, drew it out of its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
zoomed-in focus passage on David refusing Saul's armor and taking his sling and stones
38 Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of brass on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.
39 David strapped his sword on his clothing, and he tried to move; for he had not tested it. David said to Saul, “I can’t go with these; for I have not tested them.” Then David took them off.
40 He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling was in his hand; and he came near to the Philistine.
David declares the Lord will deliver Goliath into his hand and all earth will know there is a God in Israel
46 Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines today to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
powerful God tools for tearing down barriers and smashing warped philosophies, quoted from The Message
1 Now I Paul, myself, entreat you by the humility and gentleness of Christ; I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.
2 Yes, I beg you that I may not, when present, show courage with the confidence with which I intend to be bold against some, who consider us to be walking according to the flesh.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh;
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,
5 throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;
6 and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience will be made full.
7 Do you look at things only as they appear in front of your face? If anyone trusts in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again with himself, that, even as he is Christ’s, so also we are Christ’s.
8 For though I should boast somewhat abundantly concerning our authority, (which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for casting you down) I will not be disappointed,
9 that I may not seem as if I desire to terrify you by my letters.
10 For, “His letters”, they say, “are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised.”
11 Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such are we also in deed when we are present.
12 For we are not bold to number or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But they themselves, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding.
13 But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but within the boundaries with which God appointed to us, which reach even to you.
14 For we don’t stretch ourselves too much, as though we didn’t reach to you. For we came even as far as to you with the Good News of Christ,
15 not boasting beyond proper limits in other men’s labors, but having hope that as your faith grows, we will be abundantly enlarged by you in our sphere of influence,
16 so as to preach the Good News even to the parts beyond you, not to boast in what someone else has already done.
17 But “he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
18 For it isn’t he who commends himself who is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
no one can pull me from the Lord's hand, cited in connection with whose hands we are in
1 “Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
4 Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.”
6 Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them.
7 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door.
8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.
9 I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out, and will find pasture.
10 The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them.
13 The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and doesn’t care for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own;
15 even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
17 Therefore the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.
18 No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down by myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. I received this commandment from my Father.”
19 Therefore a division arose again among the Jews because of these words.
20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane! Why do you listen to him?”
21 Others said, “These are not the sayings of one possessed by a demon. It isn’t possible for a demon to open the eyes of the blind, is it?”
22 It was the Feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem.
23 It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.
24 The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me.
26 But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Therefore Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
33 The Jews answered him, “We don’t stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy: because you, being a man, make yourself God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’
35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can’t be broken),
36 do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’
37 If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me.
38 But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
39 They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
40 He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was baptizing at first, and there he stayed.
41 Many came to him. They said, “John indeed did no sign, but everything that John said about this man is true.”
believers protected in tribulation, not removed from it
1 “And to the angel of the assembly in Sardis write: “He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars says these things: “I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2 Wake up, and keep the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God.
3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you.
4 Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that did not defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
5 He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
7 “To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:
8 “I know your works (behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one can shut), that you have a little power, and kept my word, and didn’t deny my name.
9 Behold, I give some of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
10 Because you kept my command to endure, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is to come on the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
11 I am coming quickly! Hold firmly that which you have, so that no one takes your crown.
12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.
13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.
14 “To the angel of the assembly in Laodicea write: “The Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of God’s creation, says these things:
15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot.
16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.
17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked;
18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
19 As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.
21 He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne.
22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
The sermon this past Sunday worked through the story of David and Goliath, focusing tightly on the moment David tried on Saul's armor, found it didn't fit, and walked back out to fight Goliath with a sling and five smooth stones. Brian used that picture to ask a pointed question: are you trying to fight a battle God has called you to while wearing someone else's armor? The conversation was wide open, with the whole room contributing throughout.
What was said
Brian opened the reading in 1 Samuel 17, starting at verse 32 and going through to verse 51, with the room passing the mic and reading aloud together. He then zoomed back in on verses 38 through 40, the few verses where David actually puts Saul's armor on, takes a step or two, and tells Saul plainly that he cannot go in these things because he has never worn them before. That small detail, Brian said, is where the whole morning lived.
The room spent a good while sitting with details from the text. People noted that David only needed one of the five stones, that he named the Lord specifically before he moved a step, that he ran toward Goliath rather than walking or retreating, and that the whole Israelite army charged only after David held up the severed head. Brian kept pulling those observations together around a single thread: David knew exactly whose hand his life was in, and that knowledge is what let him fight on God's terms instead of Goliath's terms.
The point about fighting on God's terms came up more than once. Brian noted that Goliath's offer of single combat was itself a tactic, designed to pull Israel into fighting the way the Philistines wanted to fight. Goliath wanted close combat because that would neutralize David entirely. David came with a sling and a stone precisely because that kept the fight at a distance, on ground where God had already trained him, first against a lion, then against a bear, before any of this ever happened. Brian put it plainly: the day of battle is not the time to train for battle.
Brian then brought the discussion home to Tribe. He described the leadership team's debrief after the Mother's Day service held at the Virginian Saloon, where the room felt the weight of whether that format or some other space should become Tribe's regular home. He said that personally, stepping back into a more conventional service format felt like putting on armor that didn't fit him the way Saul's armor didn't fit David. Amanda was quick to add that this is not a judgment on churches that run that way, pointing out that Saul's armor fit Saul just fine. The question being asked is what God has specifically called Tribe to in this season, not what is wrong with other approaches.
Someone in the room made the connection to Ephesians and the armor of God, and Brian said that was exactly the contrast being drawn. Saul's armor is man's strength, a human solution applied to a spiritual battle. The armor of God is something else entirely. He tied that back to the verse from Psalm 37 that the church had spent several weeks on in January: put your hope in the Lord, travel steadily along his path. That verse, he said, is the orientating point for wherever Tribe ends up meeting, whether it is the Virginian, another space, or the TMC.
Brian closed the main part of the message by speaking directly to anyone sitting in a season that feels ill-fitting, where they know they are supposed to be engaged but something is not quite right. He said he felt the Spirit pressing him to say that the awkwardness is not coming from the situation itself or from personal deficiency. It is coming from trying to fight a battle in someone else's armor. The invitation was simply to take the armor off and trust how God has actually trained and equipped you, even if what you are showing up with looks as thin as a loaf of bread and some cheese.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
Think about one area of your life where you have been trying to fight a battle using someone else's approach, and ask God to show you how he has specifically equipped you for it.
Before the week gets hard, spend time now building your confidence in who God is, because as Brian said, the day of battle is not the time to train.
If you are not already getting texts from Tribe about what is happening, fill out a connect card and hand it to Brian or a staff member.
Look into the Wind River Reservation VBS trip running June 25 through 28 and write your name and number on the sign-up sheet on the fridge if you want more information.
If mountain adventures are your thing, check out the Tribe Mountain Adventures schedule for this summer and find a rock climbing day that works for you.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Brian talked about David refusing Saul's armor and going to fight with what he already knew how to use. Where in your own life have you found yourself trying to fight a battle using someone else's approach, and what did that feel like?
Several people in the room noted that David's confidence came from specific past experiences with the lion and the bear. What past experiences has God used to prepare you for something you are facing right now, even if those experiences did not seem like preparation at the time?
El mensaje principal giró en torno a la historia de David y Goliat, enfocándose en el momento en que el rey Saúl le ofreció su propia armadura a David para que peleara. David la probó, no le quedó bien, y la dejó. Salió al campo de batalla con lo que ya conocía: su honda y cinco piedras lisas. Brian usó esa imagen para hablar de algo que muchos estamos viviendo: intentar pelear nuestras batallas con herramientas, formatos o estilos que no son los nuestros, copiando cómo lo hace otra persona o cómo se ha hecho siempre, en lugar de confiar en lo que Dios ya nos dio y nos enseñó a usar.
La conversación fue abierta, con varias personas de la congregación compartiendo lo que les llamó la atención del texto. Alguien señaló que David ya conocía a Dios antes de enfrentarse al gigante, porque había aprendido a confiar en él peleando contra leones y osos. Otro apuntó que David escogió cinco piedras pero solo necesitó una, lo cual habla de la generosidad de Dios al equiparnos. También se habló de cómo Goliat quería atraer a David al combate cuerpo a cuerpo, donde él tenía ventaja, y que el enemigo siempre intenta hacernos pelear en su terreno, no en el de Dios. Brian conectó todo esto con la temporada que Tribe está viviendo como iglesia, buscando el espacio adecuado para reunirse y recordando que su esperanza no está en ningún local, sino en seguir al Señor paso a paso.
Al final del mensaje, Brian invitó a la congregación a reflexionar si hay alguna área de su vida donde siente que la armadura no le queda, ese incómodo de saber que estás en el lugar correcto pero peleando de la manera equivocada. El llamado fue a quitarse la armadura prestada y pelear como Dios te entrenó, confiando en que él va delante.
---
Pasajes bíblicos mencionados:
1 Samuel 17:32-51, con énfasis en los versículos 38-40 y 47-48
Salmos 37 (citado parcialmente: "Pon tu esperanza en el Señor, viaja con firmeza por su camino")
2 Corintios 10 (citado de El Mensaje: "usamos las herramientas poderosas de Dios")
2 Corintios 9:8
Apocalipsis (referenciado en la discusión sobre la ira del Cordero y las tribulaciones)
Ezequiel (referenciado: "¿Acaso me agrada la muerte del malvado?")
Juan (mencionado de pasada: "nadie me puede arrebatar de la mano del Señor")
Read the full transcript13,209 words
We're ir midst lives.
Right here.
Nothing nothing is as strong as your love. Declare that. Nothing is as strong as your blood. Nothing is as strong as your love. Shout your praise our hearts cry out these bones will sing
Just think about the battles that you're facing. Just picture the Lord just going before you. That all you have to do is praise, all you have to do is worship.
Yes, Lord. Because this is
how we fight our battles. We rest in you. We war in the spirit and rest in you. Oh, we could not be more thankful this morning that the battle is already won, that we stand in victory today.
Let's
sing nothing is
as love. Strong as
We just praise you for that truth today. We praise you and we thank you. Lord, we just come before you today. We just lay it down again, whatever it is that we picked up that would keep us from drawing close to you today.
We just lean into you,
we trust you, we say that your timing is perfect. Ask him to remove the distractions of your mind today. Let's worship him freely because he paid the cost for you to do that.
Confident I'm confident and as seasons change your faithfulness remain. Yes, it does. Yeah. Well, we just put our trust
and hope in you.
You go because you go. You go before me to prepare to prepare seasons change your faithfulness remain.
Yes, you do. Yes, you do, Lord. Lord, we just thank you that you are never changing in a world that is just like sometimes just we don't even know what's up and what's down. You are true, you are faithful. Lord, we thank you and we praise you for it.
Just ask him for a fresh new wind today.
We pray as we repent as we repent and turn from sin revival and the smoldering breath of God a fresh way the fragrance of heaven pour your spirit out pour your spirit out holy anointing holy anointing fragrance of heaven pour your spirit out pour your spirit out pour the anointing Fragrance of heaven pour your spirit out pour your spirit out holy anointing the power of your presence. Pour your spirit out. Pour your spirit out.
Yes, sir. We need you fresh.
Cry out in the name of Jesus Jesus today. Precious name of Jesus.
His presence is here. His presence is available to anyone who cries out to him today.
Christ my king. Think about that. What a wonderful name is the power in that name. Well, nothing compares to this. What a wonderful name it is.
The
gonna
Jesus. Oh, not even death because death could not hold you. The veil so powerful. Oh, you're so powerful, God.
Oh, how do we ever sing enough songs, Lord, to tell you how thankful we are this morning? There's no amount of songs that we could sing, but you long for our heart today. Thank you for this room full of worshipers. We ask that you would meet us in a unique way today as this group has never been gathered or assembled in this way. Just like every day you sent the manna, we ask for a fresh new revelation of who you are today whether we've been walking with you for thirty plus years or maybe we walked in these doors today unsure unsure of who you are God.
We ask that you would meet us. Meet us in this place. Remember the first prayer that I earnestly prayed was God, are you real? If you are, will you show me? Would you reveal yourself to me?
And he loves that prayer. He loves that prayer. So Lord, right now today we just say come, have your way in this service, Have your way in us. We tell you we love you in Jesus name and everybody said, Amen. I feel like this
is one of those, I could sing of your love and where do you ever stop? Forever and then you have to end it like lies.
Oh, it's so good to have you guys all with us. Last week, I will say this at the Virginian, it was wonderful to have our whole family together, but I couldn't hear you guys.
I couldn't hear you singing. I love
it when we can like touch each other. Greet somebody. Say good morning. Fill up your coffee, and then we'll have a seat. Get your bible out.
Amanda, will you see if you lower that light if it'll stop doing
Well,
good morning. That's How's everybody doing? Whoo. After a a long winter, as the valley blooms with green grass, isn't that just, like, an incredible time of year? It is, Brian.
I know. I think so too. And when I see that, we You can this hey, guys. You can talk to me. Alright?
Because I'll be talking to you a lot today.
A
long winter, and then you get those those winds that blow in March, and then the rains come, and then the sunshine comes out, and for a few magical weeks, the valley explodes with green like his shirt there. And isn't it great when the valley is full of color and it's lush and verdant and green? Yes. Okay. Alright.
Alright. Gone. Yeah.
And the
snow is The snow is gone leaving all the, like, roadkill carcasses along the highway. We just love where we live. My name is Brian Hunter. I'm the lead pastor here at Tribe. And last week, we were at the Virginian Saloon, which I think that that kinda fits for
Did anybody else go there this morning?
Yes. Sorry.
I'm so sorry. Oops. So sorry.
Oopsies. But you found us. You made it. You made it here. I wonder if there's somebody, like, sitting there at the bar this morning, I still have a beer?
Guys?
Changes my day a little bit.
Well, last week, we were at the Virginian Saloon for Mother's Day. We're we're back this week here at the TMC. It was in the middle of the of COVID where the Lord led us to buy this place, where we can we can have offices, we can have meetings, we have our services here. And with this different space comes the unique opportunity to be able to not just have one person up, like like, on the platform, if you will, a sage on the stage. But in this environment, it gives us an opportunity to have a dialogue.
And I really love that, and I welcome that. I appreciate that, and I want that. I want to hear from you. I don't want this to just be a monologue. I want it to be a dialogue.
And so as we continue with the service this morning, when we get into reading God's word and then unpacking it and discussing it, I really want it to be a discussion. I love to hear your questions, your comments, your connections. And by connections, I mean, if we're talking about a passage from the Bible and it reminds you of another verse or another story or somewhere else in the Bible and you're like, oh, this is so cool. I want to hear it. We want to hear it because collectively, in a way, collectively, time we gather, as Lissa said earlier, it's a unique and one of a kind gathering.
It is not a Kronos moment, but it's a Kairos, God ordained moment. And there and the Lord might put something on your heart to to contribute or to share. And in a way, makes a beautiful mosaic of the love of God for us and for us encountering him. And so I love playing to the strength of this unique space where we're squeezed in here. And, John, I don't know when the last time you went to church and sat on the front row was.
But but here but here you are. You lean forward, and you're on the worship team. Welcome welcome to tribe.
Joke that we need to put someone over there that knows how to tune a guitar. Because, like, while Corey's playing, they could just tune
the tune the guitar for him. So we've got a number of families that tune in from the area and from the extended area across The United States and sometimes around the world. And in order for them to be able to hear your contribution, Clay has a mic. And if whenever we're talking with each other, if you have something that you wanna contribute, just raise your hand. Clay will get you the mic.
Your voice won't be amplified in the room through that mic, but our livestream families will be able to hear you. So that's why we pass the mic around. I think I've got everything covered. Covered. So if you have your Bible with you this morning, would you please turn to the book of first Samuel?
We're going to be in first Samuel chapter 17. And as we get into today's content, I wrote a little note here that I would love to hear some new voices today. If you if you haven't been here too often or if you're brand new, but you want to make a contribution, I am really excited to hear from from new voices today, and I'm so glad that you are here. First Samuel chapter 17, and the way that we do it here at the TMC TMC Tribe Ministry Center is whenever we get into a passage, I like to give us a long runway so that we can understand a little bit of the context. This story is probably not gonna be new to many of you, but for some of you, it might be new, which is really cool.
If you've never read this story, it is amazing. We'll start in verse 32, and why don't you read a few verses with the mic and then hand it off to somebody else, and we will read first Samuel chapter 17 verse 32 all the way through 51. So whoever wants to start in verse 32, let it rip. I love it.
And David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, you are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth. And he has been a man of war from his youth. But David said to Saul, 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.
Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them.
Hey. You know? Sorry. Quick pause. That's a really good cuss word.
If you're looking to, like, clean up your language, the Lord is, like, working on your heart because you got a potty mouth, but you're like, I still need to replace it. Just insert whatever you were using, just insert uncircumcised Philistine. It's pretty satisfying.
In traffic.
Yeah. When these As the tourists start flooding into town, and they're driving on your bike paths, and they're, like, driving the wrong way down your street, you unserved. That was a little free a little free tip. Alright. Let's let's get back into it.
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 from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, go, and the Lord be with you.
Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. And David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not yet tested them. Then David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.
So David put them off. He took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand and he approached the Philistine.
Oh. And
the Philistine moved forward and came near to David with his shield bare in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him for he was but a youth, ready and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine said said to David, am I a dog that you come at me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
Let's see where I am. Okay. And the okay. And the Philistine said to David, come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field. 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 have defied.
Love it.
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, 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.
Olivia, I just got goosebumps while you're reading. Like, you have such an anointing to read God's word.
It's good. The when the Philistines started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank onto his forehead, and he fell face down to the ground. David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone.
David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword.
David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine's sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistine saw that their hero was dead, they fled.
The Lord bless the reading of his word this morning. If you are taking notes, you can write the title of this morning's conversation at the top of your notes. Fighting in Saul's armor. That's what we're gonna talk about this morning, fighting in Saul's armor. And we will zoom in on verse 38 through 40, and I'll have it up here on the screen.
Then Saul gave David his own armor, a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. I can't go in these, he protested to Saul. I'm not used to them. So David took them off again.
He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd's bag. Then armed with only his shepherd's staff and a sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. So from the story that we just read, we're gonna primarily focus on the passage that's up here on the screen. But if we zoom out a little bit and look at the whole story that we just read, Question really quickly. For how many of you that was the first time you've ever heard that story for anybody?
Okay. Alright. Alright. You don't even have to be a Christian to know about David and Goliath. You just have to be, like, not live in a cave for the last hundred years.
Okay. So here's where this is your first opportunity for us to for us to connect with each other because I would love to hear from you As we read this story this morning, were there any details that stood out to you that you thought were interesting or noteworthy? Now you don't need to go making, like, deep spiritual connection. I mean, if you have one, like, okay. Great.
But but I would love to hear from you. What are what is a detail that stood out to you from the story that we just read that you find interesting? Like, that's interesting. I'd love to hear from you. Clay is running the mic.
Alright.
Just I had heard, somebody say this before and this just like came to mind again reading this story but when David says in verse 46, this day the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I will strike you down and cut off your head. I heard a a preacher just kind of sum it up by saying, like, David knew who was gonna conquer and who was gonna kill. And he just, yeah, kinda made the point that, like David gives glory to the Lord but he's the one that like slings the stone and ends up, you know, picking up glass sword and chopping off his head. There's like yeah, the Lord like invites us to have agency and have power. And he is also like I don't know.
He's right there with us to like deliver us. Deliver, yeah, struggles like into our hands for us to like kinda take that killing blow Mhmm. And be like, yeah, this is cut off in the name of the Lord.
It's good, Justin.
I love that. That's a great observation. Good, Justin. Cat's got something. I
just Numbers speak to me, I guess. So I just like that he picked up five smooth stones. Five smooth stones, but he only needed one, which I think shows that he'll give you more than you need.
That's good.
Hold that thought.
Clay, you're doing great.
Yeah. Get your splat points for the day.
For for some historical clarification, Goliath was the Philistines champion. Meaning that in two evenly matched armies, one person would be selected two a person from each army would be selected to battle each other to, like, saves lives, in theory. Was that Saul's duty as the king to be Israelites champion? So, was he shirking his duty in letting anyone else take that responsibility?
What do you think?
I would say, like, in a very Christian y way, it's like, the Israelites should say, God is our champion, and he would select who it is. But also, like, there's the whole, as a ruler, he's the most valuable person, but also, I don't know. Feel like it was set up for him to go and do that.
What if you get David all dressed up, but what if what if now we're reading deeply into the text. I'm gonna throw another what if question. What if there was a part of Saul's heart that we know that his ego is is inflated and at play as you look at the life and ministry of Saul? What if Saul was like, here buddy, you wear my stuff. It'll protect you.
But then, like, David goes out on the battlefield wearing Saul's armor. If David gets the victory, is there a part of Saul that was like, yeah, he looks like me, and I'll get credit, never having had to go out on the battlefield? Just throwing another wonder. We love we love to wonder. I don't think that there is enough wonder that humans that we people do about the text to just allow questions to linger, allow ourselves to wonder because when we wonder, we activate our imagination.
Now we don't wanna ever get doctrine from our wonderings and imaginations, but I think so many especially our Greek mindset of like, well, I need the answer. But there's there's a there's a beautiful space for us to wonder that we create this space when we wonder that God's holy spirit can come in and just whisper to our heart whether we get the answer from the text that we're looking for or not. Now to specifically address your question, if we look back in the story a little bit, we'll see it's Goliath that presents the offer. Hey. Instead of our armies clashing because he thinks he has the upper hand.
Instead of our armies clashing, why don't we just go mano y mano, one on one? Send out your best champion. And so it's a tactic and a ploy to try to get Israel into fighting their enemies on their enemies' terms. Don't ever fight the devil on his turf. You'll lose every time.
You got two ahead of us.
Alright. Jay's yet.
In verse 37, it says, 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 Philistine. Just like made me wonder like whose hands am I in? And I think about like the verse in John that says like no one can pull me from the Lord's hand. And it was just like a question I'd pose to everybody. Like whose hands are you in?
Who do you put your trust in?
It's good. Schuler's reaching and reaching and grabbing. I like it.
We need more microphones. Just when you come in, everybody gets a microphone.
Get a coffee. Get your mic.
I'm I'm I'm loaded for beer.
It's interesting that if don't feel bad if God uses you to cut off the head of a Philistine. As long as you're as long as you're sure it's God doing it.
Yeah. Yes. I love My
my current my current Philistine, of course, is that guy named Putin.
Oh, okay. Let's be specific. Alright. So so we love to think of God as and his son Jesus as as, like, sweet and tender and meek and mild mannered like like like Clark Kent is. But when we look at the the whole council of scripture, especially the picture of Jesus in Revelation and as prophesied in Ezekiel and Daniel, we're going to see a very different facet of his personality that's always been there.
The the the shirt came apart a little bit when he went into the temple and overthrew the money changers and drove them out. But if you look at the god of the Bible through the Old Testament lens, we see a god that you do not want to square up against because he will he will obliterate you, and he will wipe your name from the existence of the annals of history. He'll hurt you so bad, your mama will feel
it. Jeez.
I just wanted to point to, I guess, the irony of God. I think when he promises to protect you, he does it in such a way that it's so unmistakable. Mhmm. So, know, here is a situation where nobody would believe that first of all, David could handle Goliath, but even if he could, it was highly recommended that he go out in full armor, full sword and everything and God is just like so, he's so amazing that he's just like, no, you don't need any of that. Just, you know,
head
out there sling and stone. And, you know, what would have appeared as the biggest obstacle, he shows up in such a way that it it could be nobody else. It's not it's not David's strength. It's not his skill with his sling and stone. It's only God and he does it.
He always, you know, anytime there's a situation where there's a promise, you know, he does it or he he show he shows himself as so unmistakably present.
It's good, Danielle.
So good. We're keeping it in order. Oh, now it's Schuler's I remember what I was gonna say.
Just to say what was standing out most was that David knew who it is that he was under the covering of. God Mhmm. Of Israel. Mhmm. David is with this army.
So regardless of what is coming at him and what he can see like, oh, these Philistines look at this giant and da da da da. It's like, I'm coming at you in the name of the Lord. Oh. The creator, the one. So you can bring whatever you wanna bring, but I know who it is that I represent.
I know who it is that's with me. So let's do this.
Yeah. There's something so confident and brash about like, David is David is trash talking. And or Goliath is trash talking. And David's like, oh, I'll see you one and raise you. You come at me with sword and spear, but I come at you with the name of the Lord of heaven's armies, the God of the armies of Israel who you've defied?
Like, do you you have no idea.
You have you have no idea. The the who's on my side?
In that little phrase, in the battle is the Lord's.
And the battle is the Lord's. I love that. Using who was it that was talking about that, you know, it's a sling and a stone, but the battle is really the Lord's. Mhmm. How often do we get sidetracked when we face Goliath in our life?
We look at our own resources, and we're like, instead of realizing under whose authority and shepherd ship we are in and in whose hands are we?
Mhmm.
Come on, us. Mhmm. Over here and then we'll come up here.
Yeah. Guess what stood out to me was I I had always thought David used the sling and the stone against the bears and lions, but it says here that he went after them with a club. And so then I was just curious why maybe he didn't go after Goliath with a club and thinking maybe, you know, he had to listen to God on that one, like, no, this is how you're gonna do this one. Like, the stones.
I love that. Slinging stone. We also see precedent of David asking later. He has he's got a lot of tools available to him that he can draw from. Later, when he becomes king, he's in a battle.
He's like, Lord, what do we do? And he says, attack them head on, and they win. And then shortly thereafter, they're in another battle, and he says, Lord, what do we do? Do we attack them head on? He's like, uh-uh.
Not this time. This time, circle around through the trees. And then when you hear the wind blowing in the trees, outflank them. And so we see a version of his later battle tactics here in an early form in this battle. He takes out the bear in the line with the club, but when it comes to Goliath, he uses a sling and a stone.
And there's some real we're gonna we're gonna come back to that because you don't wanna fight the enemy on his terms. Okay. Okay.
I I just wanted to say, every time I read this story, are more details that come into play that I see. But Yes. One of the biggest things I see is how small but gets big in the kingdom of God. Like the the discounted, the unseen, the and it's really a reflection of Jesus. It's it's Jesus coming into the world and overcoming the enemy.
And it's a real to me, it's a foreshadowing of what God can do just with the Lord alone. But I just love that this the small things that become the big things in the kingdom of God.
That's good. So good.
So what did what is it that David was we have to look backwards in the story and you can scan through it really quick, but it's worth mentioning. What was David's what was David sent with when he went to the battle lines? What was he given? Before he even went to the like, rewind the story a little further back, Amanda. What was he what?
Food. Yeah. Food. Some bread and some cheese. Yummy.
God in sorry. She's fasting. So God, in his foreknowledge, knew what was going to play out. God sent David into that situation through his father Jesse, who said, go check on your brothers and bring them some, what, bread and cheese. He went to the battle with bread and cheese and end up ended up coming home with a severed head and a sword.
You
know what stands out to me is just
Oh, wait for the mic.
No. I have a mic.
I'm just kidding.
I have my own personal mic. It's a little bit of the fear of the Lord when I hear this because, you know, we're all like, yeah, you go into battle with the Lord. Yeah. Like, nothing's gonna defeat you. Like, woo.
But, I mean, we just saw right before that is in '24. As soon as the Israelite army saw him they began to run away in fright. So there was like a huge difference between they were the Israelite army as well. Like what you when the enemy comes to attack you, that is not the time to know who God is. Right?
Because I think in our human nature any of us if we weren't solid in who the Lord is prior to being called into battle, we would be like, oh. Like that is not the time to to decide who the Lord is in our lives. So
so God had equipped David with challenges of the lion and the bear. Mhmm. So that David, his practical skill with a sling and a stone had improved.
But even then David knew who the Lord was because which one of us would like go head on with a lion or a bear? Like David already knew, like that's crazy. That's crazy. Yes. Like that's not human knowledge to know.
I think I could defeat like he went into even those with the faith to believe in God. Yes. So my point is like I'm thinking of myself in this and like gosh, if you know tomorrow I got a, you know, health report or whatever like am I ready prior to that to like stand on who my God is because that moment isn't the moment to determine that he's already gone before. Well, I'm asking that of myself. Like, okay, Lord, build that now.
Build that now. Build that now. Yeah.
The the day of battle is not the time to train for battle. Right.
You want me to write that down? We all wrote it down.
Okay. A few comments coming in from the livestream. Five, it's the number of grace. The stones were smooth because of water. The Holy Spirit had streamed across them.
For alright. This is what this is what we were saying. This is a great contribution. David knew God was his shield from previous experiences. He had testified to that before he fought.
That's so good. Yes. And this last comment's really good. I'm gonna I'm gonna save it for to tie it in with what Colin said a moment ago.
I know nobody in this room thought I was gonna handle this mic this long
and not say something. We're all proud of you.
I'm just saying.
We are all of
I've been reading Psalms. Psalms 90 verse two talks about before anything was created, god was. Okay? The same god of David is the same God today. He's not bigger.
He's not smaller. He just
He is. Is.
To handle any situation, and we need to understand that a lot of deception, a lot of trickery, a lot of just, for lack of a better term, putting lipstick on the pig, he's still a pig. God is able, and God is the same today as he was, and he's always been. So just so we know that.
That's good. Yeah. In the same way that he prepared and equipped David, he prepares and equips us even if it appears as though we've arrived at a battle wholly and completely insufficient for victory with basically a Lunchable. How many times do we face off against our Goliaths looking only at the resources that we brought to the battle. Instead of trusting in relying on god in whom's in whose hand we reside.
So last week, we were at the Virginian. Before COVID hit, we were meeting at Snow King Conference Center, and it looked a lot like what you think in the church context that you probably came from looked like. We're meeting in a conference center, but we had a lobby and we had enough bathrooms that, like, more than one person could go at a time. And there was children's ministry area, and we had, like, a stage and all the all the things. And it was great, and it was fine for for that season.
And then when when COVID happened, we were meeting in people's homes. We were meeting outside. We were meeting online for a a little while as all of us, the whole world, trying to figure this out. We bought the TMC, not quite sure what to do with it, thinking that we could get back to Snow King right away, and Snow King, the conference center, essentially closed down. It was no longer an option for us.
We were meeting outside. The the days were getting colder. The sun was dipping down. My messages had to get shorter and shorter because people were, like, shivering and their lips were turning blue. And and so it was our leadership team and our our pastor's council, which are like our elders, were like, well, why don't we just hold services here at the TMC?
Long story short, here we are for two years. God has been so good to us. Then for big events, Christmas and Easter, we do Christmas outside at the town square, and it's great and wonderful. And people's lips are blue there too from shivering in the cold. And then Easter, it's still cold here in Easter, so when we meet outside, people's lips are still blue and shivering and cold.
So this is the only place that we can meet where your lips won't be blue. But last week, we're always on the hunt for for, Lord, what could be tribe's next home? Whether it's a space that we buy, like we bought the TMC, or space that we rent and we can lease that we can set up and leave things set up, or set up tear down, whatever. Like, we're we're open. Lord, what do you have for us?
And we were meeting with some folks at the Virginian, and they said, hey. Let's let's let's just try it out. And so last week for Mother's Day, we tried it out, and it was it was great, adequate Kidman space. And there were doors, like a saloon that swing back and forth that I thought was really cool. And there were, like like, moose heads.
You know, it was like a saloon. It was like, yeah, fit tribes vibe pretty well. And then I said I said either in service or maybe through the text blast, which is one of the ways that that I get to communicate with our tribe fam, I said, hey. We're gonna take that experience, and we're gonna unpack it. We're gonna debrief it among our leadership team, and then I'll let you know where we're at and and what we're what we're thinking.
And on Monday, we had a lengthy debrief discussion on how did it feel, what were the pros and cons, we call them biffs and stomps, and what does the future look like. The Virginian would love to have us on a weekly basis. There's things that can be modified and tweaked to make it even more suitable for us. There was a lot of discussion among our leadership team about, do we go back there? Do we not?
Do we squeeze back in here? What does it look like? The conversation was spirited because there are a lot of pros and cons. When we gather as a leadership team behind closed doors, we fight for the church. We we fight for for this and for the the congregation of tribe.
When we're outside of those closed meetings and we're in settings like this, we fight for each other, and we stand for one another. We support one another. We have each other's back. But in this closed door, like just our staff meeting on Monday, you know, we we spent all of staff meeting, which Joy knows how long and fun they are, was very spirited. And towards the end of our conversation, I just felt like the Lord dropped this little piece in my heart.
As as great a service was, for me personally, stepping back into that more that kind of model of of less conversational and and less being able to make eye contact with with every single person and the interaction and engagement that we've already had. That didn't happen last Sunday. Is it possible for that to happen in in that setting? Potentially. But I walked away from last Sunday's service feeling like David in Saul's armor.
It just didn't quite fit me very well. And now if you will play as that. And then there is a a verse. Do we have second Corinthians? Did that get put in the notes?
Very good. I love this passage from the message. It says, we use our powerful God tools for tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God. And we use our powerful God tools for smashing warped philosophies and for tearing down barriers erected against the knowledge of god, and bringing every loose thought, emotion, and impulse into a life structured by Christ. That that's from the message.
So in your bible, it it won't read that same way. But I love that first part. We use our powerful god tools. Every one of us have been equipped and called into a place of battle. Mhmm.
Whether we are taking back territory that was conceded to the enemy or we are we are we find ourselves in situations that we didn't invite upon ourselves where we must defend ourselves, either offensive or defensive. God has called us and equipped us. Last Sunday, as much as I loved the teamwork aspect of getting there early and setting up, I love getting to see so many of our tribe family together. There's probably about a 100 of us that that come between the online and the two services that we have during the week to see most of us last Sunday in one spot. It was great and wonderful.
But if I'm going to be honest with you, I just felt like the service was for me personally, it felt a little bit like putting on armor that I used to wear that I haven't worn that kind of armor, that format of service for some time. And I like being able to come to church with the staff, a little shepherd's bag, and a little sling. Amanda.
I was just gonna to piggyback on what you're saying and to offer a little bit of clarification. I think you feeling like Saul's armor doesn't mean that no church should be that way. Just to clarify, we are asking, as you know, we call him senior pastor Jesus, you know, Brian's second, he's lead. Jesus is our senior pastor. So, I think to clarify, we still don't know exactly what that will look like but we feel as a leadership team so strongly in our spirit that the Lord has just a unique model that we're in this season just being obedient to.
So, you you not feeling fit for that armor doesn't mean like, so nobody should do it. You know, we're just being obedient to what God's asked us to do.
That's the Lord
can work and move in so many I grew up in a church that a mega church with lights and whatever and I feel differently now,
but Your church had lights?
Oh, my gosh. You know what I mean.
But I've never
but my faith hit
Yes, yes.
The faith I have today is because I was under the leadership of that pastor regardless of the environment. So, think I know the Lord uses all kinds of people, all kinds of gifts, all kinds of environments. So, we're just talking about tribe in this season and how we, to the best of our ability, are feeling obedient to what he's asking us to do and who we're called to lead.
On whom did that armor fit beautifully? Saul. Saul. Saul. Yeah.
Yeah.
I was gonna say this too that
Thank you.
Yes. Good clarification. We've had lots of conversations too about, you know, there's a really special unity when you live in a small town between the churches that can form. And we have been thinking and praying like about for the last, you know, year that, you know, the fivefold ministry we really feel like is represented amongst, like, kind of the five main Christian churches or, you know, more. But everyone has their own role and in that unity of, like, this is what you're really good at, like, this is what you're really good at and this is and I was joking with Ray and Carl from First Bee last week and they're
like, Ray how is the senior pastor at First Bee?
First Baptist and Carl's the worship leader and we're all really good friends. And they were like, they love like living vicariously through tribe. And we they said, I heard you guys met at the Virginian, like, that's awesome. How'd that go? And and Ray made a funny joke and I was like, I love that you can own that and we can own our place, you know.
They had celebrated their 100 birthday and Ray said I said, that is so beautiful and that church was moved onto that property from a believer a hundred and eleven years ago. And I was like, it's so rich. And Ray goes, yeah, but we're like the Titanic. Oh. To make a change, it's like a real
Not that it's sinking.
And he goes
It's just a big ship.
No. Yeah. It's not sinking. It's like a large ship. Yeah.
He said, and there's beauty in that and there's beautiful things that he goes, and then we see tribe come on a skiff and we're like, the
Lord's told us to go this way.
And he said there's beauty in both and I just loved that. I loved that they weren't like, oh, here goes tribe again. You know, like, there's like, I love what the Lord how he uses all the different churches in that way.
Other thoughts?
I'm just struck. Verse 47 is the part where he talks about that all this assembly may know that the Lord does the Lord saves not with sword and spear.
Yes.
And there's this visible absurdity, this sort of upside down kingdom part of this where this kid, he's he really is just a kid. Yeah. Goes up against this experienced beast.
And
and the way in which he goes about it makes it evident to everybody who sees her that this is a supernatural event, whether they have eyes to see it or not.
Yes. Yes. And note, we didn't cover this in the story. But notice what happens, if you're familiar with the story, what happens to the entire nation of Israel after David holds up that severed head? What happens to all of Israel?
The army. They charge.
One
simple act of risking it for the Lord as an underdog. David was a youth. He was not experienced in in armored combat with with soul with trained soldiers. But he goes out there equipped with perhaps the most potent weapon of all, confidence in the lord his god. And his that one man's confidence inspired an entire army and routed the Philistines.
Similarly, at tribe when Colleen Yes. Yeah. Repented. One of our mentors and spiritual leaders in Tribe, and they're not here this morning, but she we were doing a series and she just stood up and she repented of some sin in front of everyone and it broke something open in track. I mean, we saw from that and over the next like four weeks tons of people coming forward with repentance of sin openly.
20 over 20 people giving their lives to the Lord. Like, in a really similar way, David stepped out in faith. Feel like and I've told Colleen this, thank you for your obedience. Like, thank you for breaking that open.
I feel like maybe the Lord is is whispering to my heart right now in this moment, which is probably why we're having this big conversation, that somebody, maybe more than one person in here or on the livestream, is beginning to connect some dots about a season that you've been in that has felt awkward or uncomfortable. Like, I know I'm supposed to be here. I know I'm supposed to stay engaged in this, but, like, it's just it's just it's not fitting right. And I feel like the spirit of the Lord would say to you, it's because, dear one, right now, you're trying to fight a battle. I've called you to it, but you're wearing Saul's armor.
Lean into how I made you and the strengths and the giftings that I have uniquely equipped you with. Quit looking at so and so or how it's been done in the past or how it's traditionally done. I know that you've only got a loaf of bread and some cheese. But remember in whose hand is your life. When you reengage in this battle with what I have uniquely equipped you with, it changes everything.
In fact, there might even be some voices in your life who you are listening to. It could be in your own head or the world around you, like David's brothers, as close as a brother that is saying, why did you come out here to this battle? You don't you don't have any fighting experience. You're not a trained professional soldier like we are. Go home and tend your sheep, and so there's this perhaps maybe I don't know.
I do feel like it is the lord, like like, laying this on my heart to speak to you that that that this this this tension and this awkwardness is not coming from the situation that you're in, and it's not as a result of your own deficiencies. It's just that for some reason, somehow, some way, you think that you're besought to fight this battle in somebody else's armor. And God's like, baby girl, son of mine, just take that old armor off and let's fight how I've trained you.
That's actually pretty funny slash fitting on what I was about to say. Anyway, so I will say that that was the Lord. The scripture that would stand out to me, the whole entire service has just been verse 48, which can be an easy one just to read over and get to all the other good
Mhmm.
Parts of this scripture, of this passage. And in the CSB, it says, when the Philistines started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the bottom line to meet the Philistine. And God's word is so beautiful. And I like to think in this scripture that if the Philistine was also running, they would have said, the Philistine was running to David, and David was running to meet the Philistine. But the Philistine was probably just walking like, oh, I got this.
I'm big. I'm strong. I'm about to attack this dog because he's a little stick or whatever.
Mhmm.
And instead, David matches that with running quickly to the enemy. And for the I've been here for about a year. And I've just been feeling like I don't know what direction fully. Like, I'm listening to the Lord, but at the same time, I still find myself just very frustrated or this isn't working out this direction. This isn't working out that direction.
It was, like, 01:20 last night. And I'm, like, just sitting on my couch. I'm, like, God. Like, I can't. What is this?
Like, what's happening out here? And you're really listening to the Lord because the whole put it on Saul's armor. When you were saying that, it was like, you can't do what Ohio Lanisha did when you're moving into a new area of life. You have to do what Wyoming Lanisha would do. And like the Lord's like really trying
to like show me, okay,
now what direction does Wyoming Lanisha go to? Like does she listen to God differently here? There's no mountains in Ohio, so I wanna climb a mountain and, like, hear God at the top. I would just, like, go to a field or Kroger. But here, spoke to me so much in Kroger back home.
It's crazy. And so just being out here and having to listen to God in a different way and how in verse 48, it was like, now it's time to run quickly to towards your enemies. Like, quickly to the walls that you've had put up around your heart towards me, the walls that you've had put up in your mind towards me, and knock them down. Pick up some rocks. There's rocks everywhere in
Wyoming.
Like, pick one up. Throw it on a hike. Do whatever. And if anyone else in here, no matter where you came from or how long you've been here, if you're like, where am I going? What's happening?
Lord, something's changing. Like, run quickly in direction and knock those walls down with him. Because he is fighting our battles. He wants us to be champions. He wants us to have beautiful blessings and lessons from him.
So It's good.
That's good.
Don't be down trail when Lanisha is on a hike if she's
throwing her I'm not a fitness team. I wanna remind Yes, sir.
Yes. Have a comment.
Yeah. Come on.
When you were talking about taking off Saul's armor because it didn't fit, what came to mind for me was what are we putting what should we put on if we're taking that off? If it doesn't fit, what should we put on?
Oh, it's so And Great question.
What came to mind was putting on the armor of God instead of Saul's armor, which kinda reminded me of the flesh. Like, doing man's strength, and now we're doing it in Christ. Right? So it's the armor of God. And and so I was just thinking, like, that's that contrast.
Yeah. So
Yeah. Are you try maybe that's why it feels awkward because you're trying to do this in the flesh of Saul's armor instead of in the spirit, putting on the full armor of God. Oh.
Great connection. Mhmm.
Now this is why I love doing church in this format. I'm gonna leave here with way taking home into heart way more than I ever just shared out here. I wanna draw your attention to just a a couple of things, and then we're going to conclude service by partaking in communion together this morning. But there was a a verse that was spoken to our hearts back in January, Psalms 37. We spent several weeks talking about it, and it says this, put your hope in the Lord.
Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you by giving you the land, and you will see the wicked destroyed. How many of of you remember back in January, we spent several weeks talking about that verse? So as we were debriefing last Sunday at the Virginian Saloon and talking about it this week and I was chewing on things, this verse came bubbling back up. And I want to I want to re orient our our gaze in the direction that we're traveling.
I wanna realign us back to this verse. Put your hope in the Lord. Travel steadily along his path. And I want us to I want us to to keep that verse in mind wherever he has us. It says that that that put your hope in the Lord.
Our hope is not on some type of finagled in our in our flesh lease agreement that we have to squeeze into. Our hope is in the Lord, and we're gonna travel steadily along his path. And if he leads us back to the Virginian Saloon, great. Fine. If he leads us to some other spot, great.
Fine. But we are going to be a community of people that is led by senior pastor Jesus. I could come up with some really cool stuff for us to do and places for us to go. These two people right here can pull off some pretty epic logistics. Like, we can we can do some stuff, and it is completely worthless in the eyes of the lord if it's not directed by him.
And I'll I'll I'll just share this one thing really quickly, personally. I I thrive on vision and direction and future. What is the next big it doesn't matter if he's like, hey. I go run across the country. Okay.
Fine. Done. Whatever. It's it's not the the size of it. I just I I thrive on facing giants and climbing big mountains.
And I could I could set up in front of us a big mountain to climb or a big giant for us as a community to fight. And I can come I can cast a compelling vision. I would describe my leadership style as a visionary leader. I dream the team sweats, but I want this church to be led by senior pastor Jesus. And we are the sheep of his pasture.
We're going to do our very best to stay in step with his leadership. If he leads us back to Virginia in saloon, great. If he leads us to another place, great. If he keeps us here, continuing to to meet here in this way for the foreseeable future, I will say it is well with my soul. How about some takeaways personally for us before we go into communion?
Number one, you don't need somebody else's armor to fight your battles. And here's the thing about a great leader or somebody that is inspirational. You see the battles that they're fight fighting and it could be a similar battle that you're up against, but you see the armor that they're wearing and you're like, man, they're so good in that. I want that armor. God's like, I got something different for you.
You're looking at yourself thinking, well, my armor is like a loaf of cheese and bread. All I've got is like fats and carbohydrates. God's like, well, I can use that because I've uniquely called you and equipped you for a very special kind of victory. Number two, as we've touched on, God has perfectly prepared you for the battles that you fight today. Number three, it's so important to fight your battles on God's terms, not the enemy's terms.
And this goes back to what Colin said said earlier. We we just touched on this. Goliath, he wanted to engage David in this is a multiple choice. Option a, close combat or b, combat at a distance. Dave Goliath wanted to engage David in what?
Close combat or distant combat? Close combat. Why did Goliath want to engage David in close combat? He would overpower him. Like like like Obi Wan told Anakin, Goliath is so much bigger.
He had the high ground. Right? If you you find like, Goliath would love to get you in his hands because he just rips little shepherd boys to pieces like tearing a piece of paper. So the enemy would love to get you off of your footing, of your security of the Lord, and fight with you and mess with you on his terms. And Goliath, that's why do you know that's why he taunted David?
He even told him specifically, come here boy. Imagine if David had listened. Imagine the what the the armor that Saul put on David, was that armor for close combat or for distant combat? Close combat. Imagine David going into that battle wearing Saul's armor that didn't that was ill fitting and like, well, I've got this armor now, so now I'm gonna engage in close combat.
He would have been squashed like a bug. It's so important to fight your battles on God's terms and not the enemy's footing. God had equipped David with the sling and the stone. Have you ever worry have you ever wondered about the the like the what do you call it? Like the shot list if we were gonna make a movie from the script?
Look at the details. David ran to meet him. He had a a stone in a sling. We can see it in the movie. Right?
The sling gets released. The stone flies and it hits Goliath. And in the in the in the movie, like, slow motion, what was gonna happen to Goliath? Where does he fall? He gets hit.
He gets rocked in the forehead and he falls backwards to the dust. But that's not what the text says. What does the text say? He fell on his face. How do you get hit in the forehead with the stone being whipped out of a sling with your head being rocked back and then you fall forward?
It doesn't quite fit. Well, this is where it helps to be a Hebrew scholar, which I am not, but I can read those that are Hebrew scholars. And in the Hebrew, it says that he was hit right in the foreheads. Was he two headed? We know that he was a giant.
Was he two headed? No. Nope. Because David only cut off one But it is believed that the foreheads being the the center of his personhood and the center of his identity was a euphemism for getting nailed somewhere else right in his foreheads. David took that stone and nailed it right in the crotch so that he grabbed it like, can't fight.
I'm being completely serious. What's true? And how do you know this?
Okay.
Let's talk about it. Okay. Have So so my question to you would be, and I appreciate you bringing this up. Have you looked carefully at that Hebrew, that word forehead and foreheads? Okay.
So I have and in Hebrew it says foreheads plural, which is weird. And if you study Hebrew scholars and again, I'm not a Hebrew scholar, but there are Hebrew scholars that say that that was a euphemism for his testicles. They're wrong. Yeah. All of them are wrong?
Yeah. Alright. Well, how about this? We will agree to disagree. Yes.
That's good. I have one more comment too.
I don't know where the mic went. Yeah. But go ahead. Let it rip. Just let it rip.
I'll let it rip. Earlier, I had
a question actually. Go ahead.
Yes.
Yep. It's from the from the message. Loose thought Emotion and impulse. Philosophy. Yes.
Yes. So two things to respond. I appreciate this conversation. This is what this format this is what comes with this format. Some some some repartee.
Number one, we'll agree to disagree on the forehead and you're you're certainly welcome to disagree with me on that. Number one. Number two, when it comes to the wrath of God, I agree with you completely. The the theological word is propitiation. God has put to rest his relentless, unremitting, unrepenting attitude towards sin and all of its form and manifestation through the death of his son on the cross.
However, however, there is still going to be an unfolding of God's hand in on planet earth in the last days because it is Jesus who is breaking the seals that unleashes cataclysms around the world. In Revelation three, it says that we will be protected, not taken out in a way and removed from tribulation, but in the same way that a person is protected from a rainstorm when they wear a rain jacket. Not removed from, but protected in the midst of God's chastisement. And it is said, an author said one time that the judgments of God are intended to remove anything that hinders love. And with your comment, I will modify my previous statement.
You don't want to square up against God. He'll obliterate your name. How about this? You don't want the enemies of God should never square up against God because he will and does obliterate all those that oppose him. He is unopposable.
He is indomitable. And in Ezekiel, it says, do you think I like to see wicked people perish? No. I wanna see them turn from their sins and get a new heart and turn to me. And so when it comes to the issue of sin, Jesus has put he has paid in full the price of sin, but there are still consequences that are left on earth.
And as God becomes more involved and more involved in the unfolding of human events in the days to come, there it is said in the book of Revelation, hide us. People will be looking at caves and holes in the ground saying, hide us from the from the wrath of who? The wrath of the lamb is what the Bible says in the book of Revelation. So approaching the Lord with reverence and fear and trembling and yet being able to boldly approach the throne of grace where we where Jesus taught us like when you pray, say, our father. It's this it's this amazing tension to balance between fear of the Lord and running right to him.
Your victory becomes a weapon for future battles. Last thing. David went to the battle with cheese and bread. He walks away with a sword in the head of Goliath. And this is not the last time we see that sword.
We see that sword again, but I'll let you hunt for that story on the Bible on your own. Let's do this. Let's take a few moments and invite the Lord to just whisper to our heart about all that we've talked about, these points here. And then in a moment, I'm gonna invite Jay forward. Jay 's gonna help me with communion.
We'll finish up the last few parts of service, and then we'll be able to get out of here. So holy spirit, will you speak to us? Help us to unpack all of these things that we've talked about into our hearts. Whisper to us. Thank you for your goodness demonstrated towards us.
Jesus, how we love you. Thank you so much. What a great way and what a great, a beautiful picture of being equipped by the Lord when we come to the table of communion together. The Bible says that when Jesus was gathered with his disciples in the upper room, that during the meal, he took bread, he blessed it, and he broke it. He gave it to his disciples and said, take and eat.
This is my body which is given for you. And then after the meal, the Bible says that Jesus took another cup. He gave it to his disciples and he said, take and drink. And it's such an interesting detail in the Bible when it says that he took another cup. From a traditional Passover meal, there are different cups that were drinking out of at different times.
Jesus could have reached for any number of cups at the table, but the Bible says that he took another cup. And we know what cup he was drinking from because of the words that he said. Because of the words that he said, he took the cup of the wedding and marriage proposal. Because the language that he used, it doesn't make a lot of sense to us in our context. But every single person who was in that room, who was reading scriptures of the early accounts of Jesus' life knew, oh, that's that's marriage proposal talk.
And he said, take and drink. This is my life's blood which is poured out for you and it symbolizes or ratifies a new covenant that I'm making with you today as confirmed by my life's blood. And then he said, as long as you drink from this cup, you do show forth my death until I return. He said, I'll not drink again of this fruit of the vine until I drink it anew with you in my father's kingdom. Everybody at that table understood that it was a re it was it was a new way of saying what he was doing as he was going to the cross in the language that everybody understood as a marriage proposal.
Because when the young man, when he offered the marriage cup to the young woman and she drank from it, that was her acceptance of the proposal, when he would leave he would say, I'll not drink again of this fruit of the vine until I drink it anew with you on our wedding day. And then the young man, and in that moment, they there was a contract there and it was signed. Essentially, they were married. In our culture, people get engaged and it's the you know, the deal's not done until the rings go on the finger. Right?
In Jesus' day, it was the deal was as good as done when she drank from that cup. She accepted his proposal. And then he would go away and he would begin working on an addition to the family's house. So that based upon the father's approval, once he was done building that addition, he would then tell his son, hey, house looks really good. Go get your bride.
And he would come and he would bring his wife to be where he is so that they could be together until death do they part. When we come to the table of communion, not only are we equipped with strength in battle because we reaffirm the commitment that we have with Jesus and reaffirm the covenant that he made with us, but we look forward to a day when we'll get to spend forever with him, at the wedding supper of the lamb, and then when he reigns and rules from his, from planet Earth with the headquarters in Jerusalem. Oh, what is what is that day gonna be like? So, God, I ask right now that you would perform a miracle, that you would take these simple common elements and you would transform them into a sacrament, which which is simply a means of grace where we can touch you by faith. So that in the mystery of this meal, as we partake of this meal, we would meet with you and encounter you in a unique and wonderful way.
We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Our communion is open to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord to be saved. And the way that we partake of communion here at Tribe is in just a moment, I'm gonna hand the cup to Jay. You'll come forward.
You'll receive the bread, and then you step to one side and you dip the bread in the cup, and then you can go back to your seat. I'm gonna hand this to you. I'm gonna scoop this out of the way and then you can come forward when you're ready.
As we just stay in this attitude of worship just a couple moments longer, we're almost out of here, but every time we get together corporately, we worship him in so many different ways. We've worshiped him today with unpacking his word, looking at scripture, reading it, diving in. We've worshiped him through song, through singing, and we're gonna worship him now corporately by bringing our tithe and our offering to the Lord. And just like the song that we just sang during communion, it's better your way, that's such an understatement. Bringing well, a lot of things in Christianity kind of feels like, John, I love the term you used, an upside down kingdom.
It's like countercultural to what the world would say. Give your money away. Sometimes we like when people watch us, you know, give to charity or do whatever, But it doesn't seem like giving a portion of your hard earned finances doesn't make a whole lot of sense to a whole lot of people. And there's totally a place for generosity and philanthropy and all of that. But there's something supernatural that when you bring your tithe and your offering to the Lord through your local church, if tribe isn't your local church, you can just think about what you're gonna have for lunch and ignore me the next few minutes.
But there's something supernatural that the Lord does. When we bring our tithe and offering, it is an act of worship. It's an act of obedience. It's a way that we say, God, we trust and love you so much that whether we have a lot or a little in our bank account, that's actually irrelevant to the principle of tithing. Because we say we trust you enough and God, it's all yours anyway.
You've asked me to steward it and I'm giving a portion of my finances back to you because I love and trust you so much. When we read in second Corinthians nine eight, it says God will provide all you need and you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. And it says that God loves in the verse before a cheerful giver. And that doesn't mean like
this, like a fake smile,
uncheerfully giving. Okay. The word I wrote I wrote this note a long time ago, the word cheerful in Greek is actually a sense of readiness or being prepared to act. And I love seeing that scripture through that lens. Giving cheerfully, being prepared or ready to act.
I feel like it's just one more way bringing our tithe and offering that we can practice being ready. And we talked about it today, cult of we didn't say these words, but we talked about culting a relationship with the Holy Spirit. Being ready before it happens. The day of battle is not the time you train. What are the what is it a marines thing?
They say you fall to the lowest level of your training? That was an Amanda quote that wasn't You've in a in an intense situation, you fall to the lowest level of your training. Let us not be found so off guard in any situation in life where we're like, God, I can't give to you. I know that that's an okay place to start, but once you know the character character and the nature of the Lord, let us not be found saying, I can't give. And I know that's hard if our the numbers in our account don't don't match our heart.
But God is so faithful. He would never ask us to do anything. And then be like, oh, you're sorry. Yeah. That's because you tithed.
Life isn't going the way you hoped. That's not the character and the nature of our God. He's so gentle and he's so tender in that way like a good parent is to a child. I I love that analogy of the Lord being like a parent. So whether you're giving right now or another time, doesn't matter.
We're just gonna pray together as a tribe family. Practically speaking, you can give, we don't pass buckets or anything, but downstairs there's a little black box outside the door. You can give cash or check there. You can give online or you the easiest way is just to pull out your smartphone and start a new number to 84321. You see that on the screen and that's just a way that you type in the amount you want to give and you give that way.
So close your eyes just one more time. We'll pray together. Heavenly Father, we just say thank you for your character and your nature in all of its many facets. Thank you that you ask us to do something and we get to we get to honor you in obedience as we bring our tithe and offering. It helps us grow our faith.
It honors you because you asked and then practically, it goes out to do your work. People that are doing your work, being your hands, your feet, your mouthpiece. Thank you so much for the joy and the opportunity we have to worship you through the bringing of our tithe and then above and beyond that our offering. In Jesus' name, amen. So just a few quick things that are happening at tribe.
First of all, if you have if you don't get texts about tribe, like what's happening, where we're meeting, where we're not meeting, what we're doing, what's coming up, if you don't get those, there's a little right Justin, are there any right there? Please fill out one of those. You can just hand it to me after service. That's not membership. That's not any kind of commitment.
That's just you get a text not even once a week. Just here and there when stuff when stuff is happening. Something else that's happening, just check out our fridge. There is a Maranatha End Times Summit, and it sound that you might be like, what's a Maranatha? I want one.
But that's just a phrase. Once you learn that Jesus has come and he's coming again and come, Lord Jesus, come. Once you under the Maranatha cry, you cannot unsee it from the Bible. It's like on every page of scripture. So it's in Dallas.
This is not a tribe thing, but the tribe leadership team is going, and our tribe worship team has actually been asked to play. So I know it's a big stretch and many of you can't come, but if that really you're like, that is something I wanna do, and you have a few days off, check it out. July thirteenth through fifteenth, we're gonna be in Dallas sweating for the kingdom. And then, tribe mountain adventures is just something that we've launched recently, and my goodness, if you're gonna go on a mountain adventure, Jackson Hole, Wyoming is the place to go. And you might not know this about your pastor, but he has of mountaineering experience.
And so, Brian and others are teaming up to show people around. Beginner level, advanced level, tribe mountain adventures has all kinds of stuff. But check it out. This summer, there's a few, rock climbing, days that we're gonna have. So write those down if you're interested.
The next thing is this. If you wanna serve the Lord, whether it's easy or hard to serve kids, I really think it's a that everybody should serve kids at some point because it's amazing, and it shows how devoted you are to the Lord. Kids are wonderful and wild. But we are teaming up with the Wind River Reservation in Riverton, Wyoming and we're going to go help them with their VBS. So June twenty fifth through twenty eighth, can sign up on the fridge.
And that sign up, if you want to write your name and number to get info, you can write it in pencil if you want, not pen. You know, we can just give you information and see if you want to go. But we are gonna just jump in, roll up our sleeves literally and metaphorically, and just love these sweet babies who are coming from some of them live in boxes. It's a very different demographic. It's like a third world country, actually, and it's just three hours from Jackson.
So it's a very unique, wonderful way you can serve the Lord. Brian, I was looking for you. Will you please come up and pray for us?
Where did you go?
Thanks, Amanda. Can't wait to see what sort of adventures you get into after church today. Did you hit small groups? So we'll be doing small groups this summer. I got feedback from the surveys that you filled out, so we're putting those together, kinda coalescing different options.
We'll have that information out to you as, students are getting out for the summer. I'm so glad that you guys were all here today. It's great to see so many visitors, and, I appreciate, dude, the courage that you that it took to challenge me with what you said. And so yeah. Yeah.
I agree with the actual verse for you. Good for you. When we're done with service, I'd love to hear it. If you would stand up, if all of you would stand up, let me pray for you. And then as soon as I dismiss, I'd love to meet you and hear what you have to say.
Lord Jesus, I command a blessing over each and every person that's a part of service here today. Thank you so much for bringing us all together. Give us a great week. Give us that courage that David demonstrated as we go to fight different Goliaths this week. We pray these things in Jesus' name, the strong son of God.
And everybody said Amen. Amen. I love you guys so much. I want you to have a great week. And remember, you got this.
