“Say What God Said!”
Series Title: The Sound of Faith Pastor Jim Lowe III
Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream 11/08/26 (2nd Sunday Message)
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{All scriptures are “NIV84” unless stated}
New Series:
The Sound of Faith
Message Title:
“Say What God Said!”
Opening Thought:
Faith Isn’t Simply Speaking Positively About Our Circumstances. It’s Speaking From A Confidence In The Lord.
Opening Question:
Where Does Your Confidence Come From?
Last week, we talked about faith having a voice.
We spoke about how our words reveal what we believe… our of our mouth the heart speaks.
We talked about how our words can influence others.
And how our faith must be willing to speak up in the middle of chaos.
What Gives Our Words Their Power?
Just because you’re speaking in confidence doesn’t mean you’re speaking in faith.
People Confidently Say Stuff That Isn’t True
They will make bold declarations of stuff they KNOW they can’t do. people will lie on themselves!
And people will also repeat positive stuff without any real reason to believe them. “I manifest millions.”
“I’m gonna get that job offer today.”
people will say that and they’re just words… and will say it every day…
but it doesn’t do anything
because there’s no real reason to believe them.
Saying Something Loud Doesn’t Mean It’s Said With Authority!
Yelling doesn’t mean speaking with power. volume does not equal communication.
Listen to two people argue. who has the authority?
That doesn’t build power…. that doesn’t build faith.
Believers think differently about it.
Romans 10:17
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Faith comes from hearing…
but not just hearing what you WANT to hear… not just hearing what someone else TOLD you.
but hearing the word. the word of Christ.
Hearing positive affirmations might be good… but unless they’re based on the word…
they won’t build your faith.
Hearing people talk you up might be good.
but unless they’re speaking the WORD over you. that won’t build your faith.
People might come and try and TELL you a word from the Lord… but unless it is based on the WORD.
you better NOT build your faith on that!
The Word of God Should Be The Foundation For Our Faith!
and when we believe what God has said… THAT should influence what we say!
Faith Isn’t Just Saying What You Want. It’s Believing What God Has Said!
So here’s our story:
We’re going to use another familiar story. 1 Samuel 17
Israel is in a battle with the Philistines.
One side is on one hill.
The other side is on another hill. There is a valley between them.
The Philistines have a secret weapon… that weapon is over 9 feet tall.
His name was Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:8-11
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
So Goliath is speaking… The Israelites run in fear…
David comes to the battlefield bringing his brothers some food. There is a lot of talking..
The Israelites are speaking David’s older brother speaks… David speaks (I’ll fight this guy) Saul speaks. (You are just a boy!) David speaks again.
But let’s take a quick mention of what people are saying.
Who’s Words Are Really Speaking Confidence?
Goliath is speaking to the Israelites about his own strength. Saul says David is only a boy…apparently lacking experience. David’s brother questions his motives for being there.
But David keeps bringing his words back on the Lord.
“Say What God Said!”
1 Samuel 17:8-10
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
Goliath STOOD and shouted.
The bible had already established his height.
1 Samuel 17:8
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel…
It says Goliath STOOD and shouted to the ranks of Israel.
They saw him…
they heard him.
All the disrespect he was saying.
But in verse 11:
11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
On HEARING the Philistine’s WORDS… not seeing him…
it wasn’t just how he looked. it’s what he said.
He had them scared to fight. Then comes in the boy David.
He hears the same thing everyone else hears. But he does something different.
1 Samuel 17:26
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
Just like last week with the different responses to the same thing.
Same Giant Same Threats
Different Responses
And then we read that David…standing up for the Lord… gets pushback
His brother Eliab berates him “why are you here?”
“who did you leave the sheep with?”
{who did you con into doing your job?}
I know how conceited you are…
I know how much of you think things are about you.
Then David gets before Saul.
He tells Saul he’ll go and fight Goliath.
Saul goes in on him too.
You can’t fight him… you’re a boy.
But David doesn’t let the words of others define him.
Sometimes the real challenge isn’t WHAT we’re facing… it’s what we’re HEARING about what we’re facing.
You might have people telling you that YOU can’t win. the situation is hopeless.
you won’t recover. you aren’t qualified…
you can’t change THIS situation.
Don’t Let Someone’s Words Become Your World View
Point 2:
“Say What God Said!”
This is one of the points that’s ALWAYS golden!
Saul tells David he can’t fight Goliath… he’s just a boy.
But David responds with this.
1 Samuel 17:34-37
34 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, 35 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. 36 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. 37 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.”
I call this the Lion and Bear Principle. David said that he remembers… When a lion attacked him…he killed it.
When a bear approached him…he killed it. Two things that were meant to take his life…
The Lord delivered him from.
Verse 37
“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.”
So if the Lord delivered him before.
While the “form” of the attack might change… the power of his God does not.
All it takes is for him to remember the lion and the bear?
Question:
What Have You Forgotten?
Have you forgotten the doors he’s opened for you?
Have you forgotten the prayers he’s answered? Have you forgotten the things he’s healed you from?
Have you forgotten what you’ve seen him do for you before?
David is saying he has seen the Lord do some things… and he remembers!
And THAT gave him confidence to speak
and it gives US confidence to speak today also!
Remembering What He Has Done Strengthens Your Confidence In What He Can Do!
The Lord who did it before will do it again! So what is your lion and bear?
“Say What God Said!”
So Saul allows David to go and fight Goliath. David goes on the battlefield…
Goliath looks at him.
1 Samuel 17:41-44
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
Goliath speaks…
he begins insulting him…
He curses David by his gods and says he’ll feed his flesh to the birds and wild animals then David responds
1 Samuel 17:45-47
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
He says Goliath comes at him with weapons…. but his weapon is the Lord Almighty.
Then he says that the Lord will deliver Goliath into his hands. But WHY will all this happen?
Verse 46 (b)
Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
David Wasn’t Speaking Because He Wanted To Be A Hero. It Was Always About God Being Glorified!
David was all about making sure God got the glory.
Many times people will treat confessions out of the bible to get what THEY want. as in we recite words because we want our life to be easier…
not to give glory to the Lord.
David has a confidence in the Lord…
and he believes in his power to deliver.
Verse 47:
47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
So we see we can confidently declare the things scripture teaches us about Him. God is faithful
God is able
God hears his people God gives wisdom God provides strength
God will never abandon those who belong to Him
Don’t Just Speak With Confidence. Speak From Confidence In God!
So here is an interesting point.
Goliath told David he would give his flesh to the birds and the beasts.
David told Goliah he would give the bodies of the Philistines to the birds and beasts… AND the whole world would know there is a God in Israel.
Both of them are confident.
But it comes from different places.
Goliath’s confidence comes from his belief in himself. David’s comes from the Lord’s ability.
There’s something else here too.
David wasn’t JUST speaking with confidence.
he was also a young man whom God had already chosen.
if you remember, the Lord had already confirmed something for David.
Goliath was a real threat…
but he wasn’t the one who decided David’s destiny.
We knew…and so did David… that he had a future.
Goliath Was Standing In Front Of David, But The Lord’s Promise Got There First!
We know that Samuel had anointed David to be the next king of Israel. David couldn’t later be king if Goliath killed him on that day.
And David believed it so strong…
he didn’t even need any weapons… just some smooth stones…
Goliath was armed…David was anointed.
That anointing was better than any weapon!
These things gave him even more reason to speak with confidence!
When You Speak Confidently About Yourself And Your Future, What Is That Confidence Resting On?
Is it your abilities?
Is it your resources?
Is it your connections? Is it your experience?
Or is it on your confidence in God?
Because David had very little of any of that when it came to Goliath.
What David really had was a confidence in the Lord…
brought by what he remembered the Lord having done for him.
It’s Not Just What You Say. It’s Who You’re Trusting When You Say It!
David was someone who heard a lot.
He heard Goliath’s threats.
He heard his brother criticizing him. He heard Saul doubting him.
But when he got to speak…
he didn’t respond with what was given to him.
He spoke about what he believed about God.
When things are difficult for us…
we have a choice about which voices shape our response.
Do we allow fear to shape our words?
Do we allow disappointment to shape our words?
Do we allow the opinions of others to shape our words?
Or do we allow God’s Word to shape our words?
When You Don’t Know What To Say, Start With What God Has Said!
Here are examples:
Don’t Say:
I Can’t Handle This.
Instead Say:
He’ll Help Me and Give Me Strength (2 Corinthians 12:9)
His power is made perfect in weakness.
Don’t Say:
I Don’t Know What To Do
Instead Say:
He’s Going To Give Me Wisdom For This (James 1:5)
He gives wisdom to anyone who asks.
Don’t Say:
I’m Totally Alone
Instead Say:
I’ll Never Be Alone (Deuteronomy 31:6)
He said he’d never leave us OR forsake us.
Don’t Say:
This Will Never Get Better
Instead Say:
I’ll Never Lose Hope (Romans 15:13)
May you overflow in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
{closing line}
Don’t let someone else tell you about YOURSELF.
Build your confidence around what the LORD has said about you.
Remember to say what the word says about you… put your confidence is rooted in his words
put your confidence in the promises he’s given.
