May 15, 2010

"David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground." I Samuel 17:45-48

What have we been talking about this week? We have been proving the statement that it was the five stones in David's spirit that killed the giant as much as the stone in his sling. I believe that and I hope maybe I have convinced you.

The five stones I identified are: purpose, passion, plan, perspective and now, prayer. The key to purpose is commitment and the question is, "What am I willing to live for?" For passion the key is conviction and the question is, "What do I truly believe?" A plan is essential for anything you do, especially if you intend to face a giant. The key to a plan is competence and the question is, "How do I play to my strengths?" Stone four is perspective and the key is concentration. Here's the question, "Where do I chose to concentrate?"

This morning I want to share some thoughts on the fifth stone, prayer. With prayer the question is, "Will I live in communion with God?"

When it comes to David, communion with God was the deal! Giant-killers are built on the backside of the desert alone with God. That's where David and God got acquainted and that's where David found out what God can do. It is also where God found out what David would do.

David proves that prayer is not and act as much as it is an attitude, it is an attachment with God. There is no prayer recorded when David faced Goliath and launched the stone toward Goliath's temple.

Giant-killers live in constant communion with God. His thoughts are their thoughts. His nature is their nature. His will is their will. His strength is their strength. Giant-killers don't start praying the just never stop. They pray without ceasing.

The small smooth stone that pieced Goliath's skull was the world's first guided missile. Was David skillful with the sling? Absolutely, but he was better at trusting God. You can't tell me that David didn't launch a quick prayer the same time he launched the stone.

Prayer brings a giant-God into play against the big trials and tests of life. Got any of those? Any giants on your horizon? Live in communion with God. Don't think about starting to pray think about never stopping!

May 14, 2010

"David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” I Samuel 17:43-45

When I went to my first church as a young fellow fresh out of school I was told by the pastor whom I was succeeding, "You will never grow a church with these people."

I was well aware that I couldn't but I was sure God could - and He did!

What was the difference? Perspective!

Perspective is how you see what you see. It is how you feel about what you see. It is what you think about the way you see and feel. Perspective is the fourth stone we will talk about this week as we talk about killing giants.

So far we have considered the stones of purpose, passion and plan.

When young David showed up at the camp of the Israelites that morning bringing supplies to his brothers, he found a bunch of fearful, frustrated and intimidated soldiers. They were being challenged by a very arrogant and extremely large warrior named Goliath. From their perspective he was too big to mess with. But somehow when David heard his threats and saw his size he thought that Goliath was too big to miss!

What's the difference in these opinions? Perspective!

So, why did the soldiers see things so much differently than the shepherd boy?

I'm sure thare are many reasons but let me suggest a few:

Fresh eyes. These weary soldiers had heard the taunts and stared at the behemoth every day for weeks and hadn't responded. As they became more discouraged Goliath became more formidable.

Obstacles are like that, the longer we try to ignore them or avoid them the bigger they get! Every day we fail to act or hesitate to confront them the more power they gain over us.

That is what happened with my pastor friend while I was coming to the scene with fresh eyes.

Faith eyes. David was seeing Goliath from the perspective of faith confident that God would use him to take down the giant. However, they had become fearful in their perspective and were convinced they couldn't win.

Faithful eyes. Unlike the soldiers, David was not content to stare at the giant and listen to his smack talk, he had to do something. He took responsibility for the problem. The leader in him emerged.

Focused eyes. When he looked at Goliath he saw a bullseye painted right on the side of his head. Looking at the giant reminded him that he had been attacked by a lion and slain it. A bear had threatened his sheep and he killed it. The same God who was faithful against those enemies would not fail him this time.

Fanatic eyes. David was a fanatic! Why do we shy away from that term? We are quick to identify ourselves as a Redskins "fan", or a Hokie "fan", or a UVA "fan", but cringe at the thought of being a "religious fanatic". Do you have a problem with being a "fan" of God? Does it bother you to be a "fan" of Jesus? If so, why? It didn't bother David to be a surrendered, sold out, stand up and be counted fanatic for God! Perhaps, that reason more than any other is why he had a different perspective from the others.

The same reasons that David became a giant-killer are the same reasons he was able to become a king! He looked at life through the lens of a faith perspective. His focus was on loving and serving God and he let God worry about everything else.

How is your perspective heading into this day? Are their some giants that need to fall?

Focus your faith fully on your Father. Concentrate on loving Him and serving Him and pleasing Him and let Him worry about the giants. Spend some time gazing on Him until He gives you fresh eyes - faith eyes! Suddenly the giant will change from a big threat to a big target.

My guess is the giant is beginning to shrink already!

May 13, 2010

"Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!” 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 into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine." I Samuel 17:37-40

David and Goliath is a story familiar to everyone and it is one of the most beloved stories of all-time. Not only is it a compelling story but everyone loves the underdog. There probably has never been a bigger underdog than David facing up against Goliath. For Pete's sake, Goliath's spear weighed more than David! But the giant fell and David triumphed!

This week we are looking at the "story behind the story"! We are talking about the five stones that David took to go against the giant and applying them to fighting the giants we face. The first stone was purpose and the second stone was passion. We discussed those two important concepts.

The third stone is PLAN. Along with his purpose and his passion David added a plan. That is a powerful combination - as we will see!

One thing you will discover about life if you have not yet done so is this - if you don't have a plan for your life, someone else will! Because David knew his purpose and he was in touch with his passion he was able to know a plan that would work toward the accomplishment of that purpose.

King Saul, wel-meaning though he was, tried to impose a plan on David. He wanted David to put on the king's armor before he went to face Goliath. Nice thought, but the armor didn't fit! Had David followed Saul's plan we would be reading a much different story.

David's plan was to play to his own strengths. He was going to carry out his purpose with the passion that was driving him and using the abilities God had developed in him. You, see, David knew it was not him going against the giant but it was God and him. God was going to be the giant-killer, David was just going to be the instrument. The slingshot wasn't the real weapon - David was! Having killed a lion and having slain a bear, David knew how to do it! His plan was undefeated, so why mess with it!?

With all due respect, David declined the armor and went looking for stones.

What is your plan for accomplishing God's purpose for your life? Do you know? Have you mapped it out?

How would I know that, Brad?

Several ways? What fits you? If you are a slingshot guy you can't build a plan around armor. If you are a sheep tender, you can't strategize like a king. What is your strength? What is your passion? Those are two strong clues for what your plan needs to look like!

Second, look for the carcuses! David had a dead lion and a dead bear to look back to. What victories has God given you in the past and how did you get them? The plans and the strengths you employed to get those victories will be the key to your plan for the next victory.

David had confidence in his plan because he had conquered with this plan. It fit him. It felt comfortable. God was in it. He sprinted toward the giant in strength and in confidence because his plan was a proven plan based upon his tested strengths.

Any plan that is not consistent with your purpose, fueled by your passion and inconsistent with your strengths is doomed to fail. Kindly decline the armor of well-intentioned friends and execute the God-ordained plan that fits you!

May 12, 2010

"But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you." I Samuel 17:34-37

The first stone that slays giants is purpose. David was crystal clear about his purpose. He lived to serve God and Goliath got between him and his purpose. Goliath fell to the stone of purpose.

Let's look at the second stone. What is it?

The second stone is passion. Passion sells. King Saul objected to David going to face the giant until he listened to his passionate plea and suddenly he went from banning the shepherd boy to blessing him.

We know the power of passion, but what is it? How would you define it?

I think we tend to equate passion with emotion. I'm not sure that is accurate. Passion is much more than emotion, although you can definitely hear the emotion is his plea to the King.

Let's see what we can learn from David's statement.

As I think about his statement I see something deeper than emotion, I see conviction. Emotion comes and goes but conviction lasts and grows! Emotions are often based on feelings but convictions are based on facts.

David's convictions were based on the facts that he had single-handedly, in the strength of God, killed a bear when it attacked his father's sheep. He knew that God had helped him do that and it convinced him that he could depend on God. And when a lion attacked the flock, he also killed it! He had been convinced of God's power and strength and formed his conviction on the fact he had killed two ferocious beasts with his bare hands.

So, David wasn't volunteering to face the giant based on a feeling that he might be able to handle Goliath, we was convinced of the fact of God's power. He has conviction because he had been convinced. His conviction translated into confidence because he reasoned that because God had used him in the past God would also use him against the giant.

One of the big differences between passion and emotion is that passion almost always leads to commitment. Emotion rarely does. Conviction and confidence are a much stronger foundation for success than warm fuzzy feelings. David didn't feel like he could kill the giant - he KNEW he could! He was confident because he was convicted because he was convinced! Because of David's passion Goliath was dead before David ever walked out!

You will never have passion until you have conviction. You will never have conviction until you are convinced. You will never be convinced until you take time to see what God is doing or have done on your behalf. If you aren't fully aware of what God has done for you you will never be aware of what God can do for you!

Our world is full of emotion but it is woefully lacking in conviction. One reason for that is because we settle for feelings rather than searching for facts.

If you are facing a giant in your life. You will need the stone of purpose and the stone of passion. Purpose makes it clear WHY the giant must fall and passion gives you the conviction and the confidence that he WILL fall.

Today, I challenge you to take the time to look for God. See where He has moved in your life. Remember how He provided for you in the past. Remember how He delivered you. Recall how He used you before. When you begin to gather the facts of Who He has been for you you will begin to grow in the conviction that He can do it again! From that conviction will come a confidence to step out and confront the giant.

Why settle for emotion when you can live in passion? Why linger in the shallow waters of feelings when you can live in the depths of the facts? Why settle for the vagaries of emotions when you can live in the certainties of passion and purpose?

May 11, 2010

"David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." I Samuel 17:32

If there would have been a National Basketball Association back in Goliath's day, the story could have been a lot different! The guy was seriously tall! How would you like to drive to the basket against him? He could have been a shot blocker and rebounder in the mold of the great Bill Russell! Had he decided to post up in the lane who could have stopped him from scoring?

But, alas, this was about 30 centuries before Dr. Naismith nailed up the peach basket. So Goliath had to settle for a military career. Fortunately, being nearly nine-feet tall and weighing in excess of 500 pounds had some distinct advatages in an age where most battles were fought via hand-to-hand combat.

So, what was a kid half his size doing running out to face him with only a slingshot and a purpose? What was he thinking?

That is what I want to talk about in this post.

One of the five stones that David had when he confronted Goliath was the stone of purpose. And oddly enough, his purpose wasn't just to kill a giant. He had a much higher purpose and Goliath had the misfortune of stepping in between David and that purpose.

What was the purpose David lived for if it wasn't killing giants? Let's answer with him own words:

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." Psalm 42:1

"Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits" Psalm 103:1-2

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs." Psalm 100:1-2

"Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD." Psalm 150

David's purpose was to love God and to know God and to serve God and to do God's will. Goliath got in the way of that plan and dared to ridicule the people of God. So, Goliath had to go. It wasn't personal - it was purpose. David was living for something bigger than a killing a giant, he had a giant-sized purpose because he served a great and mighty God.

Are you living on purpose? Do you have a bigger-than-life reason for living? Do you have an all-consuming motive for living? Will you purpose to live for God?

It comes down to this, you will live life with a giant purpose or you will live with giant problems.

May 10, 2010

"Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine." I Samuel 17:40

There has been a lot of speculation about why David took five smooth stones in his bag when he marched out to confront Goliath, the giant.

Was he afraid he would miss with one shot?

Where there more giants who might come after him if he somehow managed to get lucky enough to take out this one? Some have suggested that Goliath had four brothers and perhaps David was making sure he was prepared if they came after him.

Was five his lucky number?

Obviously, we will never know what he was thinking but we do know what he did. He took five stones and had four of them left over (along with a dead giant).

It is no small thing to kill a giant. Goliath was not just big, he was fierce! He was not just big and fierce he was an experienced warrior. David had better know what he is doing and be sure of his aim. He probably wouldn't get a second chance!

I am not sure of what David was thinking when he took the five stones but it is obvious that he was creating a margin in his life. A margin is making sure you have more than enough to be successful in any situation. Call it a margin for error. Call it playing safe. Call it caution. Call it preparation. Having a margin is a good thing.

We know now that David didn't need the extra stones but he had them if he had needed them.

During the blog posts this weeks I am going to talk about the five stones necessary to slay a giant. And let's be real - we all have at least one giant in our lives.

The five stones I will be talking about are the stones of purpose, passion, plan, perspective and prayer.

Do you know the purpose of your life? Why are you here? What in the earth are you doing for Heaven's sake?

Are you living with passion? Are you fully engaged spiritually, emotionally, willfully, mentally, and physically? Or are you going through the motions?

Do you have a plan for successfully serving God? Do you have a strategy for taking down the giant(s) hindering your life? If you are failing to plan you are planning to fail!

Do you have a perspective on life? Do you see the giant like David did and as God did? While everyone else was saying Goliath was too big to challenge, David was thinking Goliath was too big to miss! Do look at the giants in your life with faith or fear?

Are you praying for God's strength to face your giants? Some might say that prayer would be the first weapon you should have. I could not argue with that. I believe, however, that you can pray more effectively once you have the other four stones in your sling. It certainly doesn't hurt to pray at every point - pray about His purpose for you - pray for Him to fill you with passion - pray for His plan to be revealed to you - pray until you have a faith perspective and pray for God to fight for you as you face your giant.

Giants are made to fall! The bigger they are the harder they fall but you must have the proper weapons and the right ammunition!

May 9, 2010

Last Spring I did a series during May entitled "Games People Play". This is the message I preached on Mother's Day.

The game I chose for this day was “Aggravation”. Why did I pick this particular game to speak about on Mother’s Day? Because this game requires the players to move four marbles around a game board from their home base to a home on the other side of the board.

That reminds me of motherhood! Mothers have a lot of marbles that there are trying to move from one home to the next – while trying not to lose their marbles in the process! What marbles am I talking about?

THE ME MARBLE - THE MARRIAGE MARBLE - THE MOTHERHOOD MARBLE AND - THE MAKING A LIVING MARBLE



How do you move those marbles, get them all home and not lose your marbles?


They will all fit if you put them in the proper order. To do that you must add one more marble – THE MASTER MARBLE



THE MASTER MARBLE – “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…



COMMIT TO HIS WILL – For You, For Marriage, For Motherhood, For Career


COMMIT TO HIS WORD – Let it be a lamp and a light


COMMIT TO HIS WAY – Live Out His Will And His Word


COMMIT TO HIS WISDOM – For Marriage, For Motherhood


THE ME MARBLE – PLAY THE MASTER MARBLE FIRST….

ELIZABETH CORCORAN shares this experience:Four – year old Sara, had asked to pray before our breakfast this morning. That is quite typical of her. I think it's more her penchant to take charge than her avid spiritual growth as of yet. But I happily obliged as it still does something to my heart to hear that little girl of mine talk to our Heavenly Father. She started off per usual. Thank You for mommy, thank You for daddy, thank You for Jack. Then she added, and thank You for me.She has yet to come across that place in life where you feel silly or full of yourself in bringing any sort of attention to who you are as a person. As adults, we'd probably be a bit taken aback to hear a fellow pray-er at our Bible study thank God for herself. But if you think about…I think the situation is less that she hasn't quite learned prayer etiquette, and more that she may know more than we as grown-ups do. Why not thank God for ourselves? He made us as much as He made the other people we thank Him for. We have as much value as those other people do. And I bet, if we began to sprinkle our prayers every now and then with a small "thank you for me," I just bet we'd start to see our value though His eyes. And that wouldn't be such a bad thing.She then moved on to the rest of her list of thanks. Sara has not yet progressed much past the thanksgiving kind of prayers. She doesn't ask God for anything. She doesn't confess much either. (That will need to come…) She just thanks Him. And today, I noticed exactly what she was thanking Him for. She went through her routine of thanking Him for breakfast and her pretty clothes, saying, "Thank You that I'm beautiful again today" (no self-esteem issues with this little girl). Now, I'm sure she wasn't hoping to teach me some huge theological lesson in that moment…but wow, did she ever. What if I stopped, just for a day even, asking God for stuff? Asking Him to fix things in my life? Asking Him to change this or that circumstance? What if--what if I just thanked Him for all of my situations as is? How might my life be different? How might I see God and my current status differently…if instead of complaining to Him or asking Him for a quick-fix, I just rested where I was at that moment…searching for His hand and for any lesson I could glean…and thanked Him for it? Maybe I'll just have to find out. – TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF

THE MARRIAGE MARBLE – Next Play The Marriage Marble

I heard of a couple who, as they were paying for groceries in the check-out line, were discussing their soon to be 50th wedding anniversary, when the young cashier interjected by saying, "I can’t imagine being married to same man for 50 years!" The wife wisely replied, teaching the young girl a lesson at the same time, "Well, Honey, don’t get married until you can."

"Rules of Male-Female Relationships" 1. The Female always makes the Rules. 2. The Rules are subject to change at any time without prior notification. 3. No Male can possibly know all the Rules. 4. If the Female suspects the Male knows all the Rules, she must immediately change some or all of the Rules. 5. The Female is never wrong. 6. If the Female is wrong, it is because of a flagrant Misunderstanding, which was a direct result of something the Male did or said wrong. 7. If Rule 6 applies, the Male must apologize IMMEDIATELY for causing the Misunderstanding. 8. The Female can change her mind at any given point in time. 9. The Male must never change his mind without express written consent from the Female. 10. The Female has every right to be angry or upset at any time. 11. The Male must remain calm at all times, unless the Female wants him to be angry or upset. 12. The Female must under no circumstances let the Male know whether or not she wants him to be angry or upset. 13. Any attempt to document these Rules could result in bodily harm to the Male.

Recently, a survey was made of 200 married adults in regards to forgiveness The researchers were wondering how one’s ability to forgive others would affect their marital satisfaction and personal well-being. The results were astounding! This research suggests that there is a huge relationship between marriage satisfaction and forgiveness. In fact, it appears that as much as one third of marriage satisfaction is related to forgiveness. Not only does the ability to forgive impact the marriage relationship, it was significantly related to personal emotional distress. As forgiveness ability went up, individuals reported fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fatigue! These results are powerful and suggest that all counselors, both secular and faith-based, should be helping people develop the skill of forgiveness.

Gary Thomas commented, "I don’t believe couples fall out of love—they fall out of repentance."
The secret of successful marriage is to strive for the perfect 16 – 4 better, 4 worse, 4 richer, 4 poorer…..

MOTHERHOOD MARBLE – Best Thing To Do For You Kids Is Love Their Dad

My mother taught me RELIGION: When I spilled grape juice on the carpet, she instructed, "You better pray the stain will come out of the carpet." My mother taught me LOGIC: From her decisive words, "Because I said so, that’s why." My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident." My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep laughing, and I’ll give you something to cry about." My mother taught me about STAMINA: "You’ll sit there ’til all that spinach is finished." My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room." My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out." My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: "Stop acting like your father!"

One of my favorite columns by Erma Bombeck tells of God in the act of creating mothers. She says that on the day God created mothers He had already worked long overtime. And an angel said to Him, "Lord, you sure are spending a lot of time on this one." The Lord turned & said, "Have you read the specs on this model? She is supposed to be completely washable, but not plastic. She is to have 180 moving parts, all of them replaceable. She is to have a kiss that will heal everything from a broken leg to a broken heart. She is to have a lap that will disappear whenever she stands up. She is to be able to function on coffee & leftovers. And she is supposed to have six pairs of hands."Six pairs of hands," said the angel, "that’s impossible." "It’s not the six pairs of hands that bother me." said the Lord, "It’s the three pairs of eyes. She is supposed to have one pair that sees through closed doors so that whenever she says, `What are you kids doing in there?’ she already knows what they’re doing in there." "She has another pair in the back of her head to see all the things she is not supposed to see but must see. And then she has one pair right in front that can look at a child that just goofed & communicate love & understanding without saying a word.""That’s too much." said the angel, "You can’t put that much in one model. Why don’t you rest for a while & resume your creating tomorrow?""No, I can’t," said the Lord. "I’m close to creating someone very much like myself. I’ve already come up with a model who can heal herself when she is sick - who can feed a family of six with one pound of hamburger - & who can persuade a nine year old to take a shower.""Can she think?" asked the angel. "Not only can she think," said the Lord, "but she can reason & compromise & persuade."Then the angel looked at the model of motherhood a little more closely & said, "She’s too soft." "Oh, but she is tough," said the Lord. "You’d be surprised at how much this mother can do."Then the angel reached over & touched her cheek. "This one has a leak," he said. "I told you that you couldn’t put that much in one model." "That’s not a leak," said the Lord. "That’s a tear.""What’s a tear for?" asked the angel. "Well it’s for joy, for sadness, for sorrow, for disappointment, for pride." "You’re a genius," said the angel. And the Lord said, "Oh, but I didn’t put it there."MAKING A LIVING MARBLE Organize and Plan: Make the most of your timeDelegate: Share the load Develop a Support System: Family, Friends, Church Set Realistic Expectations: Big Rocks First!Take Care of Yourself: Sharpen The Axe!

You CAN move all your marbles and get them home - without losing your marbles! But you must know which marbles to move and the order in which to move them!