Is Perception Reality? - The Story Of David And Goliath // Jared Thurmon
Seventh-day Adventist Church of Adairsville - 1y 13Listen:
CHOSEN @adairsvillesda Feb 23, 2019 They say you can’t judge a book by its cover but we do. They say names will never hurt you but they do. They say perception is reality but is it? ——— She had a rocky start in life. As the daughter of a teenaged low income mother, her start was anything but glamorous. In her early years, her living conditions were rough, and she was sexually abused starting at the age of 9, by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend. At the age of 14 she got pregnant, but her son died shortly after birth. Finally the day came to pursue her dream, She was hired on to a local television station for the news, but things didn’t go well. She was fired by the producer because she was “unfit for television,” But Oprah Winfrey didn’t give up. ——— “I’ve made billions of dollars of failures,” he said at a recent conference, adding that it would be like “a root canal with no anesthesia” if he listed them. “failure and invention are inseparable twins,” Jeff Bezos, the richest man in America didn’t give up. ——— I missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times, I was trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan didn’t give up. ——— When asked by a newspaper reporter if he felt like a failure and if he should give up, after having gone through over 9,000 failed attempts, He simply stated “Why would I feel like a failure? And why would I ever give up? I now know definitely over 9,000 ways an electric lightbulb will not work. Success is almost in my grasp.” Thomas Edison didn’t give up. Is perception reality? If we looked at each of these people at various stages in life, we would likely call them failures. Whose perception is reality? How often is the majority right? In a world of social media and likes and comments and views, how do we define reality? Is it based on what you see? What they see? Or is it something else? I’d like to take you back to the land of promise… Israel was tired of being unique, they wanted to blend in, be liked and be like the majority of the nations around them They wanted a king on the throne. That first King, like many leaders today was only a leader by title, not by character. People followed him because they had to, not because they wanted to. He failed his calling and God called Samuel, the prophet in Israel to go to Jesse’s house, to find the next king READ 1 Samuel 16:6 7+ Perception is not always Reality ——————————————————————— Explain the life of a shepherd ———————————————— ————————————— 1 Samuel 16:16 23 David’s talent gets him into the court of the King. Why? To learn what to do? How to become king? NO Sometimes God leads us into situations to learn what NOT to do. ————————————— READ 1 Samuel 17:3 11 THE VALLEY THE BATTLE ARRAY Goliath 10 feet tall 200 lbs worth of armor David 16 years old, well built, tall David knew God had called him to something decisive this day! David gets audience with the king. He makes his case. 1 Sam 17:32 Don’t get caught here, this is a moment like when Oprah finally had made it through college, finally at a network only to be fired. People thought yep she’s unfit for this type of work” But was that the end of the story? No! She was finding her own armor. Jordan didn’t make the varsity team, too short, small and didn’t have what it takes. That crazy geek in the lab, failing over and over and over with all his silly lightbulb inventions. And so with David, he’s scared, he doesn’t want to fight… David realizes, I’ve prepared for this, but this isn’t how I prepared. Other people’s perceptions of what you should be doing and how you should be doing it, are hurting who you are meant to be! Fight in your own armor. You’ve been preparing for this your whole life. Stop listening to the crowd. They tell you you’re not pretty enough, not strong enough, too bossy, too wreckless….Stop listening to the crowd. The majority is never right! David has figured this out. VS. 40 David begins to walk down to the valley. He hears the whispers. Why are the soldiers afraid? They don’t know how to fight with swords and armor…1 Samuel 13:19 21 Barium Sulfate density chemical make up twice as dense of normal stone. What was his perception? What was Israels? What was Sauls? What is yours? VS 41 44 Come to me on my terms David Responds: But before I tell you what he says I should tell you about the slingers: Share accuracy 400’ and range 1300’ of slinger ( velocity stopping power of a 44 magnum handgun Who should be afraid in this moment? VS 45 47 David Responds Success is when preparation meets opportunity ! VS 48 Goliath loses his cool forgets about all his strengths armor bearer, helmet, slow etc. Faith is not feeling, not reality. Faith is the substance of what we are hoping for, the evidence of what we cannot see….yet