Introduction — It is useful to remember that David is operating in the Spirit, not in the flesh in this chapter.

A year and a half ago I shared the story that Ken Davis told when he was a guest lecturer at one of the College physics classes. After working some equations on the impact of friction and gravity on pendulum returns, he demonstrated the accuracy of the equations with a small pendulum, marking the decreasing range of the ark on each swing until the pendulum came to rest. Then he asked how many people believed the law of the pendulum was true. Everyone raised their hands, including the local teacher. So he asked the teacher if he would be willing to be part of the next experiment. He asked the teacher to climb up on a table that he had pressed against the wall, and asked the teacher to stand with the back of his head pressed tightly against the wall. Don't move; keep your head pressed tight against the wall and you will be perfectly safe. The guest teacher then brought a 250-pound pendulum that he had hung from a beam in the ceiling so that it was just a fraction of an inch away from the teacher's nose. He asked the professor: "Sir, do you believe this law is true?" The report says,

There was a long pause. Huge beads of sweat formed on his upper lip and then weakly he nodded and whispered, "Yes." I released the pendulum. It made a swishing sound as it arced across the room. At the far end of its swing, it paused momentarily and started back. I never saw a man move so fast in my life. He literally dived from the table. Deftly stepping around the still-swinging pendulum, I asked the class, "Does he believe in the law of the pendulum?" The students unanimously answered, "NO!"¹

And I think we would have to say, "There is a difference between academic belief in something and real-life faith." I'm sure many of the Israelites at this battle would have said that they believed God could deliver them from the Philistines. But Goliath made them metaphorically dive off that table. Verse 24 says, "…they fled from him and were dreadfully afraid." Now, before you criticize the Israelites for their fear, I think we need to admit that what they did is more natural than what David did. We have our times when we too retreat from duty because of lack of faith. If you were faced with a guy who was 9'11'' tall, you would freak out too. Too many sermons want us to face unrealistic odds simply because David did. They don't ground the call to faith in the Scripture.

So even before we start looking at this passage, I want to explain how David could have the five forms of faith in your outline. We cannot produce faith simply by willing it. There is a big difference between faith and presumption. Faith is a gift of God that comes as we lay hold of the promises and commands of Scripture. And in this passage we see that David exhibits, not little faith, but giant faith. Look at verse 37: "Moreover David said, ‘The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.' How could David be so certain? Lot's of righteous people have been killed; Hebrews 11 is quite clear on that. Yet David had a total faith that he would make it through this crisis. Why? There are two reasons:

David certainty flowed from revelation, not pride (v. 37; see Exodus 15:14; 23:31-33; 34:15; Numb 33:52,53,55; Deut 7:2; Josh 13:2-3; Psalm 144, which was composed on this day)

First of all, Scripture is the foundation for faith, and I believe that David was founding his faith on God's sure, prophetic revelation. There was information that God had already given that made David quite confident that he could not die on this battlefield.

First, God had promised in chapter 16 that David was going to be the king over Israel. He would indeed replace Saul. If David dies, that inspired revelation would not be true. Now you don't have that promise that you will survive this day. You have a lot of other promises you can bank on, and so the principles we will be looking at still apply to us. But it is important that we not overapply this passage. David had a promise that guaranteed that he could not die on that day.

When you combine that fact with three other revelations that God had already given, it gives David a great deal of confidence to move forward. For example, in your outline, I have given you several Scriptures that commanded Israel to rid the land of Canaan of all its inhabitants, including the Philistines. So it is a command to be followed. You don't have that specific command for you. But any time God gives you a command that applies to you, you can have faith that it is OK to follow it. When you know you are doing God's will, you don't worry as much about the results. But God followed those commands up with promises that they would be successful if they would trust Him. Third, those same passages said that making a covenant with the Philistines and submitting to their rule was not an option. So that is plenty of Scriptural evidence for David to go on.

But even if David had not been promised that he would be a king, the commands and promises in the word could have been sufficient to stir up this faith if he would have focused on them. And the reason I can say that is that they were certainly sufficient to stir up an identical faith in Jonathan and his armor bearer in chapter 14. Those Scriptures enabled Jonathan to attempt the impossible – two of them against twenty. That's about the same odds as David against Goliath. And Jonathan didn't have any promise that he would survive that day. But Jonathan was consumed with a vision that sprung from God's commands and promises. And he told his armor bearer, "For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few." Jonathan faced his own giant as it were.

But there is one more Scripture that may have given David this faith and consuming vision. There are many who believe that Psalm 144 was revealed to David on this day. It's true that there are other scholars who place Psalm 144 toward the end of David's life because they think this Psalm quotes other Davidic Psalms. But those Psalms could just as easily have borrowed material from Psalm 144. In any case, the reason why some scholars place Psalm 144 as being composed on this day was because the ancient Hebrew Targums (those were the Jewish post-exilic commentaries on the Bible) that explicitly say that the sword that David was asking to be delivered from in verse 10 was the sword of Goliath. Also, all the ancient versions, such as the Septuagint, the Ethiopic, Arabic, and Vulgate title this Psalm, "A Psalm of David against Goliath." Now, that is not a slam-dunk argument, but the external evidence is solidly in favor of placing that psalm here. That psalm by inspiration speaks of God's ability to rescue David from the hand of the mighty and to train David's hands for battle. It is loaded with statements and promises of God that can strengthen one's faith. That Psalm has strengthened my faith.

Now here's the point. If you want to grow in faith, you need to affirm the Scriptures on your lips continually. And faith is the arms that lay hold of every other thing that God has for us. For example, if you are struggling with fear and you want God's boldness, then identify yourself with God's commands and promises about boldness. Faith is often stirred up as we make these affirmations on our lips. Tell yourself daily, "I will not fear. Cowardice is no longer my identity. That identity died on the cross with my old man. Instead I say, ‘In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?" (Psalm 56:4). That was an affirmation that David put on his lips several times in the next year or two. For example, in Psalm 56:11 he said, "*n God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" He felt afraid, but he was saying, "That's not my identity. I refuse to give into fear. Boldness is my new identity."

And David became a model to many saints in years to come. For example, Mordecai borrowed those words from David saying several centuries later, "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 118:6).

And you might think, "Well, that is fine for David to say, but how do I know that I can say the same thing?" But we are the same people, and Hebrews 13:5-6 makes that point and insists that we must say it if we are to grow in bold faith. It says, "For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we may boldly say, ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'" In other words, when we face giants in our own lives, Hebrews wants us to affirm Old Testament Scriptures like this to stir up our own faith. Faith rises within us when we identify with God's Word.

I'm not much of a fan of Joyce Meyer, but I think she is onto something in her book, The Secret Power of Speaking God's Word. In this book she lists numerous Scriptures organized by topic that we can claim as our own. For example, when you struggle with contentment, she has a bunch of Scriptures that you can affirm to identify yourself with God's will for your life. She puts Psalm 16:6 into a statement. "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance." There may be parts of you that don't totally feel that, but you affirm that this is the identity that you want for your life, and you daily think God's thoughts after Him until it changes you. When 1Corinthians 15:58 says, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord," you can turn it into an affirmation. "I will stand firm, letting nothing move me. I give myself fully to the work of the Lord, because I know that my labor in the Lord is not in vain." That is identifying yourself with your new position in Christ, and not letting your old identity in Adam to define you. Some people get nervous about making affirmations, but let me assure you that making affirmations is unavoidable. You are either making affirmations of faith or you are affirming the habitual lies of your flesh that you have been so used to saying to yourself. So all I am saying is that we should daily affirm the truth of God's Word and stop believing the old lies that make you run from Goliath. I think this personalizing of the commands and promises of Scripture is key to growing in faith for the giants that we face in life. Do you want to have a giant faith like David did? Then start affirming the Scriptures as your own statements.

David was anointed with the power of the Spirit (16:13) and was not stirred up in his own fleshly strength

The second thing that gave David his giant faith was that he was filled with the Holy Spirit, the author of faith, and he was anointed by the Spirit for his calling. Chapter 16:13 says, "Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward." If you want the fruit of the Spirit, you must be in fellowship with the Spirit. He is the giver of faith. So one of the things that I would encourage you to do every day is to pray all (or at least a portion) of the prayer for the filling of the Spirit. It's the first prayer in the Spiritual Warfare booklet. I have had people tell me that their faith began to grow as they began to pray that prayer. I know that this is a long introduction, but it is important that we not take the David and Goliath story out of the context of what made it possible.

Faith Manifested in Faithfulness: God's Spirit moved David to be faithful in the small things of life (vv. 12-22 – This Protestant Work Ethic was discussed last week)

Now last week we looked at how David's faith was manifested in faithfulness. God's Spirit moved David to be faithful in even the small things of life. We won't cover that again.

Faith Manifested in Vision: God's Spirit gave David an ability to see what others could not see (vv. 23-32)

A vision reflected in Psalm 144

Instead, I want to just look at Roman numeral II. I want to show you how David's faith was manifested in vision – seeing what others could not see. When you have a Biblical worldview it gives you faith to see life differently. And because you see life differently, you react to life differently.

This Scriptural vision kept him from running away from culture wars (vv. 22-23)

For example, let's read verses 22-23:

1Samuel 17:22 "And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers."

1Samuel 17:23 "Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them."

Despite 40 days of stalemate (v. 16)

Despite impossible odds (v. 23)

Despite demoralization of Israel (v. 24)

Notice that David is attracted to the culture wars rather than running away from them. Last week we looked at six compromised approaches to culture that fail to engage Goliath. But David could hardly wait to get to the front lines of the battle. These are battles that he is convinced that Israel ought to be able to win. And he is convinced of that despite 40 days of stalemate that Israel has experienced in verse 16, and despite the impossible odds of this giant in verse 23, and despite the demoralization of the Israel in verse 24. This is the kind of vision that we should pray that the church would once again regain. If the church could regain this vision, there is no way that the enemies of our generation could stand up. I mean, Christians are in a majority still, but they have no faith. And because they have no faith that the victory is possible, they have no vision that drives them. Their vision is often to make enough compromises with the enemy that we can survive. It's the six compromises that we looked at last week that fail to engage Goliath. So this vision gave David a vision to run towards the culture wars rather than away from them.

This Scriptural vision kept him from being intimidated by Goliath (vv. 24-27)

Despite the fact that all Israel was intimidated (v. 24)

The next thing that it did was to keep David from being intimidated by Goliath. We already looked at the enormous strength of this giant two weeks ago. And verse 24 shows us the impact that this had on Israel and Saul: "And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid." It reminds me of the report that the ten spies gave in the book of Numbers. The ten spies admitted the land was every bit as wonderful as God had described it, but they said in effect – "We can't do it. We saw the giants in the land, and we are as grasshoppers in their sight." Joshua didn't deny that the giants were huge, but he said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome them." They were not intimidated because as far as Joshua and Caleb were concerned the giants were like grasshoppers in God's sight. They had turned the grasshopper theology of the Israelites upside down. And David had the same perspective.

Today we have too many people who have a grasshopper theology. They really are not convinced that the vision of the Bible is a possible vision. Without faith you can't believe it is possible. And so they grow disheartened and weary. And just like the ten spies attacked Joshua and Caleb, these Christians attack modern Puritans and other visionaries as being too visionary and "triumphalistic." David didn't buy into that. He was not intimidated by Goliath despite the fact that everyone else was.

Despite the fact that no amount of inducements had yet brought forth a champion (v. 25)

In verse 25 we see that he was not intimidated despite the fact that no amount of inducement had yet brought forth a champion in Israel. Verse 25: "So the men of Israel said, ‘Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father's house exemption from taxes in Israel." Those are great inducements to fight, but if you don't have a faith that can produce this kind of vision, no amount of inducements will be enough.

Because David was God-centered in looking at the giant (v. 26b)

David had a God-centered view when looking at this giant. The second part of verse 26 says, "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" David thinks this guy is no match for God or for any army that God backs up. When we are intimidated by anything in life, we need to keep reminding ourselves that if God is for us, who can be against us. The bigger God becomes in your mind, the bigger your faith will grow, and as a result the bigger your vision will get. In fact, your vision will get so big that you will be convinced that even if God wills for you to die, that your death cannot stop our victorious advance. That's what Romans 8 says – that we ought not to be intimidated even by the giant called death. In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

This Scriptural vision helped him see opportunities where others saw a giant (v. 26)

Opportunities for expanded influence (v. 26a)

The fourth principle I see here is that this Scriptural vision that flowed out of faith helped David to see opportunities where others saw a giant. It gave him the ability to be entrepreneurial in the spiritual realm. And verse 26 highlights two opportunities. The first one may seem mercenary. "Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, ‘What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?" David hadn't heard the offer of verse 25 yet. Nobody else seems willing to engage Goliath, so David wants to know if there will be any personal benefit. Knowing David's heart, I believe that David considers wealth, position, and prestige as all being things that can be used for God's glory. Because he has vision, he sees an opportunity. I see nothing wrong with his motives here. Some people think that being poor, and turning down offers like this is the only right thing for a Christian to do. But David sees opportunities for expanded influence for righteousness.

When you look at the discouraging landscape in America, do you see only the negative, or can you see the fabulous opportunities? I think these are incredible times that we live in. Some people look at the hostility of evolutionists, but CRI, AIG, and CRM are seeing more opportunities to advance the Creationist cause than ever. Some people are discouraged at how nothing that the Republicans or Democrats have done has been working, while Reconstructionists have been pointing out the flaws in their solutions for many years, and no one has tried the Biblical way yet. This is an opportunity to showcase God's ways on earth. What better time to get a hearing. And it is your faith and vision that will enable you to see opportunities where others see nothing but problems.

Opportunities to bless the nation (v. 26b)

One of the opportunities that David saw was the opportunity to take away the reproach of Israel. The Hebrew word for reproach (heripah) means shame. He found it shameful that Israel was still being trodden down and dominated by these Philistines. And removing that shame motivated him. He saw an opportunity with one blow to rid the nation of this reproach or shame.

What is shameful to you in our nation? Are you ashamed of Christian values because of what the world thinks, or are you ashamed of the vileness of humanistic values? If your vision springs from faith, you will be proud of the Biblical values and will want the shame of humanism removed from the landscape.

Opportunities to show the impotence of the Philistine gods and the sovereignty of the God of Israel (v. 26c)

Another opportunity that David saw was the opportunity to show the impotence of the Philistine gods and the sovereignty of the God of Israel. "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" Goliath was no match, and he knew it. Unfortunately the Israelites did not yet know it. We can pray that God would raise up enough principled Davids across our nation, and to give them success on enough fronts, that it would turn the hearts of the church to really embrace the same vision. But we need to start by strongly developing a vision of faith in our children that could see opportunities rather than obstacles.

This Scriptural vision kept David from giving up when slandered by nay-sayers (v. 28-30)

There are two more points that I want to look at before we quit. In verses 28-30 we see that David's faith and vision kept David from giving up when slandered. He didn't worry about the nay-sayers. They would shortly be proven wrong. And there is no point in spending your time arguing with them. Some people get so upset with the nay-sayers that they get discouraged from carrying out their vision. Let's read verses 28-30

1Samuel 17:28 "Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."

1Samuel 17:29 ¶ "And David said, "What have I done now? Is there not a cause?"

1Samuel 17:30 "Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did."

Eliab is really putting David down. It's almost as if he feels insulted by David's vision. Perhaps David is exposing Eliab's lack of faith. And so Eliab goes on the attack, demeaning David's vocation, engaging in character assassination, and discounting his vision completely. It's amazing how relevant the Scripture is for today. We see this kind of thing happening to Christians all the time. It tends to especially happen on blogs and slander on the web. But it is important that we not allow such attacks to deflect us.

When God has given faith and vision to accomplish great things for the Lord, take your cues from Scripture, not from the nay-sayers of this world. There will always be plenty of people to shoot down an idea, and very few early adopters who will run with a radical vision. It's just the way it is in life. Don't think there is anything unusual about you if people are assassinating your character or are arguing vigorously against your Biblical views. It really doesn't matter. If you are right, the nay-sayers will be proven wrong. You don't have to spend hours arguing with them. Put into practice what God has put on your heart, and trust God with the outcome.

I was looking at the inventions that have revolutionized the west, and almost all of them initially had naysayers. Listen to the following things that people have said was impossible:

• The Quarterly Review, March, 1825, said, "What can be more palpably absurd than the prospect held out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as stagecoaches?"

• *British Parliamentary Committee, said this about Thomas Edison's light bulb in 1878: "*Light bulb ... good enough for our transatlantic friends ... but unworthy of the attention of practical or scientific men."

• Henry Morton, president of the Stevens Institute of Technology, said this about Edison's light bulb in 1880: "Everyone acquainted with the subject will recognize it as a conspicuous failure."

• *Here is a memo at the Western Union, from 1878 (or 1876): "*This ‘telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." That would be discouraging to have one of your biggest potential buyers say that about your invention.

• The president of the Michigan Savings Bank advised Henry Ford's lawyer not to invest in the Ford Motor Co. He told him, "The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty—a fad." He told him not to invest.

• Even good scientific minds like Lord Kelvin could be naysayers. As President of the British Royal Society, he said in 1895, "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."

• What I was really surprised by was that an open-minded man like Thomas Edison, who really was a visionary, could squelch the idea of flying. In 1895 he said, "It is apparent to me that the possibilities of the aeroplane, which two or three years ago were thought to hold the solution to the [flying machine] problem, have been exhausted, and that we must turn elsewhere." Any of us can shoot down visionaries prematurely.

• When Robert Fulton tried to sell Napoleon a steamboat, Napoleon said, "What, sir, would you make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting a bonfire under her deck? I pray you, excuse me, I have not the time to listen to such nonsense."

• Here's an interesting quote: "There will never be a bigger plane built." A Boeing engineer said that after the first flight of the 247, which was a twin engine plane that held ten people*.*

• Lord Kelvin reputedly said, "Radio has no future."

• In fact, so ridiculous did the idea of radio sound to some, that a US District Attorney prosecuted Lee DeForest for supposedly "selling stock fraudulently through the mail for his Radio Telephone Company." That was in 1913. The government office issued a statement saying, "Lee DeForest has said in many newspapers and over his signature that it would be possible to transmit the human voice across the Atlantic before many years. Based on these absurd and deliberately misleading statements, the misguided public ... has been persuaded to purchase stock in his company." We've got civic officers today who are trying to stop Christian visionaries.

• Of course, Lee DeForest had his own blindspots. He thought Television was a hopelessly flawed idea for investment. He said, "While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility, a development of which we need waste little time dreaming."

• Robert Millikan, American physicist and Nobel Prize winner, said in 1923, "There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom."

• Even Ernest Rutherford, shortly after splitting the atom for the first time, said, "The energy produced by the breaking down of the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine."

These were all Eliabs who were mocking visionaries of their day. If you are an Eliab who likes to pour cold water on the vision of others, I would encourage you to be careful. You might be opposing a David. I believe that Eliab later repented. He became a mighty fighter under David. But initially his bitterness at being overlooked by Samuel kept him from having vision. Bitter people never have vision. But with repentance vision can flourish once again. So if you are an Eliab whose bitterness has robbed you of vision, I would encourage you to cast bitterness out and invite the vision of God back into your life. Live by faith.

This Scriptural vision was infectious in others (vv. 31-32)

It was immediately noticed and admired (v. 31)

The last thing that I want you to see is that this Scriptural vision was infectious in others. In fact, even though I won't be spending much time on this, this is one of the most encouraging points. David's vision that sprang from faith was immediately noticed and admired by some in verse 31. "Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul: and he sent for him." There is something about a faith-driven person that attracts attention and admiration. Sure you may get the Eliab's within the church opposing you, but God will cause faith and vision to catch like a fire with others. It doesn't take a huge number to tip the scales. It appears that David was the only one who had this kind of faith on that day, but his faith made a difference. It was infectious.

It moved David to encourage others (v. 32)

As he spoke the words of faith in verse 32, it set an irresistible course of events into motion. Verse 32 says, "Then David said to Saul, ‘Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." "Let no man's heart fail." A visionary faith can bring incredible encouragement to the church.

But ultimately we need visionary faith to please God. Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. That is visionary faith. And Hebrews is saying that without this visionary faith you cannot please God. We must be convinced that our labors in the Lord are not in vain.

As we go through this passage we can see a lot of tests of whether we really are living by faith. Last week we looked at faith being manifested in faithfulness; faithfulness in the small and boring details of life. In the next weeks we will see that faith can be tested by whether we have courage, patience, and a willingness to face the battle.

Faith Manifested in Courage. God's Spirit enabled David to be energized rather than deterred by adversity (vv. 33-37)

Faith Manifested in Patience: God's Spirit helped David not to run ahead of his abilities (vv. 38-39)

Faith Manifested in Battle: God's Spirit helped David to engage the enemy on God-centered terms and to God's glory (vv. 40-53)

Conclusion

But in conclusion today, let me just encourage you to be people of vision. If you have an energizing vision of what God's grace can do to help you have personal victory, it will begin to flow into the lives of your children. If you have an energizing vision of what God's grace can do in your family, it will take you through the discouraging times, and it will keep picking up your family when they get discouraged. If you have an energizing vision of what God's grace can do for our society, in eventually turning it upside down for King Jesus, as you run to the battle lines like David did, it will help others to have courage to make a difference as well.

Of course, you can't have such vision unless you have the same pre-conditions that David had. And so this brings us full circle back to the introduction. First, your faith must be grounded in Scripture. You have to be convinced that God's commands to win the nations and instruct them in His law are reasonable commands. That is theonomy, or God's law. You must be convinced that God's promises of the increase of His kingdom individually and throughout the world are reasonable promises. That is an eschatology of victory. It will energize you and sustain you. When you feel like giving up, you will remind yourself of God's personal eschatology for your life and refuse to give up. Instead you will say, "Lord, I recommit myself to sanctification because you have promised, ‘He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.' And I commit myself to walking in faith, and not discouragement" And finally, you must be convinced that a Biblical methodology that is given in Scripture is reasonable. That is worldview and apologetics. The same law, promises, and worldview that were foundational for David's faith must once again become the foundation for the church's faith.

But returning to the second point of the introduction, you must also have the power of the very Holy Spirit who gave the Biblical laws, promises, and worldview. You must make it your passion to know Him and His power in your life. Faith does not just believe something to be true intellectually. Faith is our hands stretching out and receiving the Spirit, receiving His blessings, receiving His wisdom, power, joy, anointing, and anything else you need on a moment by moment basis. The difference between David and some of these other Israelites was that David was walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. And if you do not know that power, talk to me. I long to see every person in this church driven by a Scriptural vision, and having that vision empowered and energized by the indwelling presence of God's Holy Spirit. May it be so, Lord Jesus. Amen.