The Climb

Its really weird having church in the house, but I can tell who is going to see this through. I appreciate all of you who have remained committed beyond just saying you would continue to support and be part of the church.

This past Sunday we completed a little study I called The Climb. Mainly, because that's what we are doing...climbing! Hard to believe it has been a year that we have been without a building or any sort of permanent location.

We did a study on I Samuel 17 concerning David and Goliath. In this familiar story I taught 3 points to help us climb over obstacles or to new heights. To set the stage we have Goliath defying the armies of Israel and their God. He has dared any of them to come and fight him but none has taken the challenge....Why? Because of intimidation...and the stakes were really high.

Most people won't face their giants because of the extreme intimidation they face in their challenges. Whether trying to quit smoking or starting a new business...its intimidating. In my prep I saw three characteristics that David displayed that can help us conquer our giants and climb to new heights.

1. Self-confidence. Nothing wrong with being confident as long as you can do it without being cocky. Arrogance is idolatry according to scripture. But, recognizing that God has given you certain abilities is okay. David approached Saul about fighting Goliath by presenting his resume...killed a lion...killed a bear...and he trusted God! David had the confidence that he could defeat the giant.

2. God-confidence. David knew that God was with him and that was enough. He was willing to step out on stupid faith. He knew his ability came from God almighty. The young warrior was willing to go into battle with full assurance that God would help him conquer the giant. This is where we have learned to go into our battles in the name of the Lord.

3. Confidence to Complete. I have a problem of starting strong and losing momentum at times. The loss of momentum is discouraging, but we must have the confidence to complete the task. That's where self-confidence and God-confindence mix together like your favorite dressing. You see God always works through people...I'm not into the false humility that says its all God ... I didn't do anything....sure you did...you sang, you preached, you stepped out, and God got all over it. It was you using the ability that God gave you to complete the task. David let his giant know that he was about to be defeated...he was confident that he could complete the climb with God's help.

You can complete the climb! Lou Holtz says "if you don't have confidence in yourself you will never succeed." The balance of that is the simple quote by Rick Warren, "that its not about you." Its all about God, but God wants to use you. How awesome is that? When you and God get on the same page there is not a giant that exists that you cannot conquer in His name!