Have you ever wondered if you would stay faithful under pressure? If staying loyal to Jesus suddenly cost you something you never expected to give? Your reputation? Your job? Your friendships? Your future? Your safety? Or even the choice between life and death? Most of us aren’t afraid that we don’t love Jesus. Of course we do. We’re afraid we won’t love Him enough when it matters most. We wonder if the heat ever gets turned all the way up, how we would respond. Would our loyalty hold? Would our courage collapse? Would we stand firm… or fall apart? Those questions aren’t signs of weak faith; they’re the honest fears of people who want to be faithful. You wouldn’t ask these questions if you didn’t desire to be loyal to Jesus right? But Scripture gives us a truth far stronger than our fears: The loyalty God creates in His people is stronger than any pressure that will without a doubt come against us. Today’s story teaches us why every believer can face the future with confidence, knowing our faith will pass the test.

What do you do when you know someone, or something, is working against you, like every step forward only uncovered a new obstacle waiting for you? Doesn’t following Jesus often feel like walking through a world full of traps? Maybe it’s at work. Maybe it’s in your family. Maybe it’s physical, emotional, spiritual, maybe it’s all of it at once. Here’s the deeper question beneath all the stress and pressure: Can a trap evil has set in front of you, meant to destroy you, become something that reveals the power of God’s sovereign grace over you? Scripture is clear: We live in a world that does not love our King. And when the world rages against the King, we feel the shockwaves. But Scripture is just as clear, and far more comforting: Every trap the enemy sets ultimately becomes the stage where

God exalts His anointed King. So, if you’ve ever felt trapped, outmatched, outmaneuvered… this sermon is for you. Because today we’re going to see how evil can plot, scheme, and set traps, but evil cannot stop the King.

Have you ever wondered why it is that you love Jesus? Do you love Him because you’re smart enough to realize you should… or is there something far more miraculous going on? And since Jesus really is the King, why is it that some people light up when they hear His Name, and others stay quiet, roll their eyes, or even get angry? How can the same Jesus that fills your heart with peace, joy, and hope feel annoying or threatening to someone else in your own family? Some of you live in that tension every day. You love Christ, but people closest to you don’t. They either tolerate it, resent it, or they flat-out reject it. This chapter is more than the story of what happened in Saul’s palace. It shows us why some hearts are knit to the King while others stay hardened against Him. It also offers hope. It teaches us why the reality that we even love Jesus is some of the clearest evidence of God’s work in you. Today’s passage helps us understand the division we feel, the loyalty we have, and the miracle it is that any of us would love the King at all.

This is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Even people who aren’t Christians know about David & Goliath. But sometimes the stories we think we know best are the ones we understand the least. Most people turn this story into a motivational, moralistic, pithy slogan: “Face your giants. Be brave like David.” But if we’re honest, we cannot be David in this story. We all face enemies we have no chance of defeating on our own. Fear. Sin. Addiction. Death. You can’t sling a stone big enough to knock those down. What if the story isn’t about finding courage within you? What if it’s not about your ability to overcome? When we look at our own lives, that simple slogan doesn't feel right, does it? We need this sermon today because “David and Goliath” actually has nothing to do with finding the hero within you. This story isn’t intended to inspire us to fight, or to make us brave. It’s meant to make us worship. If you’re humble enough to admit that you aren’t the hero of your own story, that you aren’t capable of defeating the most important giant in your life. David & Goliath will never sound the same again.

Have you ever noticed how naturally we celebrate God on spiritual mountaintops, but question Him in the valley? Too many people try to measure faith by the elevation of the spiritual mountaintop. But God measures it differently. The truth is, most of life is spent in the valley. If you’re not there right now, don’t worry. Sooner or later, every person will walk into one or be pushed into one. Sometimes it can feel like the walls are closing in, like you’ll never make it out. And its ok to say it. In the valley, there’s reasons to be afraid. You’re vulnerable there. Without the gift of faith, they can be devastating. But for the children of God, the valley is where faith becomes real. It’s the place where faith is proven. The mountaintop may feel spiritual, but it’s not God’s favorite meeting place. The valley is. God doesn’t invite you to climb up to Him; He promises to meet you in the place you’d never choose. That’s why we need today’s passage. For Christians, the valley should never just be a place of fear & exhaustion. It’s the place where our faith is forged. And today, Scripture is going to show us why & how faith is made.

Today’s sermon is about fear… It’s about the right way to fear, and the wrong way to fear. Let me ask you an uncomfortable question: When was the last time fear got the best of you? What was it? You know that slogan, “Faith over Fear”? Honestly I can’t stand it. It looks great on mugs & T-shirts, but if we’re honest… real life is more complicated. I mean I get it. But If fear was something you could conquer with a slogan, why do we still lose sleep, pace the floor, or pray through anxious tears? So what do we do when fear seems like it's winning? Does that mean we are failing as Christians? What if fear isn’t a sign you’re weak, but a reminder that you’re human? What if the moment fear rises isn’t a moment of defeat, but a moment to remember you desperately need a Savior? The fact is, following Jesus was never supposed to be some kind of nonstop victory parade. I call that fantasy theology. Most of us don’t live on the mountaintop. Most of us live in the valley between fear and faith, waiting and trembling, asking God for strength. See, I don’t think fear is our problem. Misplaced fear is. Fear that has been distorted, disordered, and directed at the wrong thing, that’s the issue. That’s why this sermon matters. Because every one of us face real moments where something stands in front of us that’s bigger than we are, and totally outside our control. And it’s in those moments that God does His deepest work.

Today’s sermon is about fear… It’s about the right way to fear, and the wrong way to fear. Let me ask you an uncomfortable question: When was the last time fear got the best of you? What was it? You know that slogan, “Faith over Fear”? Honestly I can’t stand it. It looks great on mugs & T-shirts, but if we’re honest… real life is more complicated. I mean I get it. But If fear was something you could conquer with a slogan, why do we still lose sleep, pace the floor, or pray through anxious tears? So what do we do when fear seems like it's winning? Does that mean we are failing as Christians? What if fear isn’t a sign you’re weak, but a reminder that you’re human? What if the moment fear rises isn’t a moment of defeat, but a moment to remember you desperately need a Savior? The fact is, following Jesus was never supposed to be some kind of nonstop victory parade. I call that fantasy theology. Most of us don’t live on the mountaintop. Most of us live in the valley between fear and faith, waiting and trembling, asking God for strength. See, I don’t think fear is our problem. Misplaced fear is. Fear that has been distorted, disordered, and directed at the wrong thing, that’s the issue. That’s why this sermon matters. Because every one of us face real moments where something stands in front of us that’s bigger than we are, and totally outside our control. And it’s in those moments that God does His deepest work.

What do you do when your own sinfulness creates darkness & consequences in your life? Where do you turn for relief? When it comes to spiritual sickness, most people are experts at symptom management. We numb guilt w/distractions, cover shame w/excuses, and patch sin with quick fixes. We rearrange the spiritual furniture in the dark & call it progress. But here’s the problem: you can’t medicate a sinful heart. Therapy sessions can treat wounds but can’t cure depravity. That’s where many of us live. We know the darkness. We feel the depravity. But we resist the only real cure. Most of us don’t reject God outright, we just try to fix ourselves without Him. We don’t deny sin; we just downplay it. We don’t repent; we self-repair. And self-repair always fails. That’s why the sad part of the story in this passage matters. It exposes the futility of treating sin with quick fixes, and points us to the grace that alone can give us a new heart. Saul’s torment stands as a flashing red warning light. It exposes what happens when we try to manage our sin instead of repenting of it. Band-aids can’t fix a soul that’s bleeding out. Only the sheer grace of God reaches that deep.

Did you know that Mother Theresa and Princess Diane died just a few days apart. Which death got the most attention? What kind of people does the world seem to love? Is it the smartest? The most talented? The beautiful? The strongest? The most impressive on the outside? What if God chose His children the same way as the world does? If that were the case, most of us would be disqualified. We’ve all got weaknesses. If humans were in charge of God’s grace, our failures, stories, and secrets would cause people to heads and say, “No way! Definitely not that one”. Here’s the good news: God doesn’t see His chosen the way the world does, not even the way other Christians might. He isn’t impressed with appearances. He isn’t fooled by the outside. He looks at the heart. That’s why the life of David matters so much. David was not the obvious choice, not in his family, not in Israel, not to anyone watching. But he was God’s choice. And his story reminds us of something that still matters today: God delights in raising up sinners who love Him, not because they are qualified, but because His Spirit empowers them.

Did you know that Mother Theresa and Princess Diane died just a few days apart. Which death got the most attention? What kind of people does the world seem to love? Is it the smartest? The most talented? The beautiful? The strongest? The most impressive on the outside? What if God chose His children the same way as the world does? If that were the case, most of us would be disqualified. We’ve all got weaknesses. If humans were in charge of God’s grace, our failures, stories, and secrets would cause people to heads and say, “No way! Definitely not that one”. Here’s the good news: God doesn’t see His chosen the way the world does, not even the way other Christians might. He isn’t impressed with appearances. He isn’t fooled by the outside. He looks at the heart. That’s why the life of David matters so much. David was not the obvious choice, not in his family, not in Israel, not to anyone watching. But he was God’s choice. And his story reminds us of something that still matters today: God delights in raising up sinners who love Him, not because they are qualified, but because His Spirit empowers them.