Because man, it's a great season. In fact, it's been a great year here at Valley Creek. And if you don't remember, or maybe you've never heard, our theme for this entire year has been pioneer. It's been our theme for the year. Everything we've done has been built around this theme of pioneer, of taking new ground, of going to new places, of increasing and advancing, of moving forward in our lives. And we said that a pioneer is somebody who simply moves into the unknown for the good of others and the glory of God, and in the process finds freedom for themselves. And that's what we've been doing all year. We've been pioneering. We've been taking ground in our families and in our lives, in our church, in our city, in our culture. We said that we were created to move mountains, walk on water, and fight giants in Jesus' name. And that's what we've been doing. It's amazing how much pioneering has taken place in our church. If I would just stop and list it all off to you right now, you'd be amazed at how much ground we've taken. But sometimes, in the midst of all that ground that we're taking, sometimes it feels like some mountains don't move, like some water is too choppy to walk on, and like some giants never seem to fall. Like, no matter how hard we try, it seems like sometimes we can't move forward, and those giants in our lives will not be defeated. They will not fall to the ground. So, what do we do with that? Well, we're going to start a new series today called Face Your Giants. And for the next few weeks, I want to talk about the giants in our lives, the things that are holding us back, the stuff that keeps us from moving forward. And in Jesus' name, we're going to figure out how to face the giants that keep us from the life that God has for us. Because let's be honest, I would bet you got some giants in your life. And those giants are nasty. They're intimidating, they roar, they growl, they drool. They're ugly, they taunt you, they intimidate you. They are ruthless, and they are relentless. And sometimes it feels like we just can't move forward because of them. So, it's time to deal with that in Jesus' name.

And so, I want to start right out of the gate and just define for you what a giant is. A giant is anything that stands in between you and the promises of God that feels impossible to overcome. That's a giant. A giant is anything that stands in between you and the promises of God that feels impossible to overcome. A giant is anything that's in between you and the life that God has for you. And the more you look at it, the more impossible it feels like that thing is to overcome. Like, no matter how hard you try, he's not going to fall to the ground. And a giant can be a whole host of things. Anxiety, depression, worry, stress, mental health issues, rejection, insecurity, bitterness, doubt, fear, finances, comfort, sickness in our body, ungodly beliefs. I mean, you name it, there is no end to the limit of the giants that can exist in our lives. And I would bet there's some of these things standing in your life, standing in between you and what God has for you. And maybe you've even gotten to this place where it feels so impossible for it to overcome, you've just come to accept it. Like it's just this giant's always going to be in my life. He's going to be my buddy, and we're going to hang out because he ain't falling no matter how hard I try. I mean, John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.” The giants of life want to steal, kill, and destroy the life that God came to give you. They don't care how they do it; they want to steal, they want to kill, they want to destroy the abundant life or the promises of God that Jesus has made to you, and they do everything they can to try to take you down. But what I want you to understand right out of the gate is you are an overcomer. You are a conqueror. You are more than victorious. You are a pioneer, and you come from a long line of giant killers. You were made in the image and likeness of God, the ultimate giant killer. You come from the line of Moses, a giant killer; Joshua, a giant killer; David, a giant killer; Jesus, a giant killer; the disciples, giant killers; the people in this room with faith are giant killers. You come from a long line of giant killers. And yes, your giant may be big, but Jesus is bigger. I am not minimizing the giant in your life. It is big, but Jesus is bigger. Jesus is bigger. And this is why Luke 18 tells us that what is impossible for people is possible with God. It may feel impossible for you to take down your giant, and you know what? You're right. By yourself, it is impossible for your giant to fall. But in Jesus' name, it's time for you to face him and move forward in life. You see, the Old Testament is full of stories of people actually fighting physical giants. And while we're not fighting physical giants today, 9-foot-tall guys with six fingers and six toes, real giant in the Bible, we have just as real giants. They're spiritual giants. And the Old Testament is physical pictures of spiritual truths that teach us how to face the giants in our lives. And so, in this series, we're kind of looking at how those guys fought the physical giants to teach us how to fight our spiritual giants. And maybe the most famous story of a giant going down is the story of David and Goliath. You know this story. It's probably the most famous story in the Bible. And we love to use it all the time. And we think it's this little fable that we tell kids or a story to encourage people. Or when your favorite team is like the ultimate underdog against another team, it's like, David's going to take down Goliath, yeah, right? Okay, but it's a real story that really happened and can teach us a whole lot of things about our lives. You see, the story of David and Goliath is set up like this. The Philistines, the enemies of God, and the Israelites, the people of God, are lined up for battle. And they're in this valley, and this giant by the name of Goliath steps forward from the line of the Philistines. And he comes forward, and he's like the giant of all giants. He's the Philistine champion. He's defeated all the other giants. He is the victorious one. He is the conqueror. And he steps forward, and he starts taunting the Israelites. You want to talk about the ultimate valley of the shadow of death. They're lined up against this more than 9-foot-tall guy who is shouting at them. And what he does is he comes forward, and for 40 days he steps out, and he says, hey, pick one person, come and fight me. And if you beat me, we'll be your slaves. If I beat you, you'll become our slaves. And so, in 1 Samuel 17, it says, for 40 days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion, Goliath, strutted in front of the Israelite army. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. Does that ever feel like your life? Like every day for 40 days, you have got to put it in context now, the Israelites would get dressed for battle. They would wake up in the morning, in their tent, put all their gear on, go up, line up at the front lines. And all of a sudden, every morning and evening, Goliath would step forward, and he would strut. And he would show his stuff. And he would taunt, and he would intimidate, and he would ridicule, and he would growl, and he would roar. And every time the Israelites saw it, they ran away in fright.

Doesn't that feel like your life? Feels like my life in a lot of ways. Like you wake up on some days and you're like, today's the day. Come on, today's the day. I'm moving forward today. This thing is not taking me down. You come to church like today, you get all charged up, you're ready to go. You're ready to wake up on Monday morning. You're like, today's the day, I got it. You get dressed, you go out, and all of a sudden, there's the giant strutting in front of you. And he starts intimidating and haunting. He is relentless, and he is ruthless. And we turn around, and we run. Because we're terrified of this thing that feels impossible to overcome. And I love it. And then David, this little shepherd boy, shows up. Here's what's going on. And he says, “I'll go face him.” And so, David goes into a stream, and he looks around and finds the perfect five rocks, puts them in his little pouch, takes his sling, goes out to battle. Goliath starts taunting him like, “Are you serious? You are really going to be the one to come and fight me?” And David says, “Yeah, you come at me with a sword and a spear, but I come at you in the name of the Lord.” Takes his sling, runs at his giant, hurls it, hits him in the head. Goliath falls to the ground dead. David runs up, takes Goliath's sword, cuts his head off, lifts it up, and shows the army. You're like, did we need to include that part? Yes, we did. Because we, as the people of God, need to start understanding the ultimate victory we have in Jesus' name. His head has been severed, he's been lifted up, and the army sees it, and now all of a sudden, they have courage, and they chase down the Philistines and the rest of the giants and go win this entire victory, this incredible moment, and that's what we want, isn't it? We want to face our giants and have that kind of victory, and it is available to us in Jesus' name. This is why Romans tells us that in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. In all these things, against whatever giant you're facing today, you are more than a conqueror. What does that mean? Like, isn't just being a conqueror good enough? What he's saying is that you're not just going to survive, you're going to thrive. You're not just going to have a partial victory, you're going to have a complete victory in Jesus' name. And so here's what we're going to do in this series. I'm going to give you some lessons on what it looks like to face your giant and what they're going to do is they're going to build week to week and so we're going to kind of create this manifesto, this guidebook on how do we actually face the giants in our lives and because they're going to build week to week, if you're ever not here for a week, you're going to be responsible to go online. We put it on YouTube; it's on our website every week. If you're serious about facing the giants in your life, then you're going to steward what God's speaking to us because you're going to want all those lessons in your life. And what we're going to do is we're going to look at the stories of guys who actually killed physical giants to teach us how to deal with the spiritual giants in our lives, and what you need to understand in this series, this is not a series where I'm just going to try to give you a bunch of content. Facing your giant is not like a moment in time; it's a process that we learn how to walk out, and what I'm going to try to help us all do is have the lesson so we can face whatever giant may exist in our lives, so we can experience the freedom to keep moving forward. This is about learning to have more faith in Jesus than in your giant. And what I want to say to you is your future is on the other side of the giant that you are afraid to face. So don't let your giant hide your future. Come on, just because he hasn't fallen yet doesn't mean he will not in Jesus' name. And so, we have got to start with a little bit of this faith that we're going into this series more than conquerors. You may not feel like it today, you may not believe it, it may not be in your spirit in this moment, you may have barely made it in here because your giant was strutting to you this morning. But what we have to start with is this understanding that against every giant in our life, we are already more than a conqueror in Jesus' name. Are you with me on that?

Okay, so over the next few weeks, we're just going to go through these lessons, a manifesto, a guidebook on how to face your giant. First lesson is simply this: admit that there are giants in your life. Really simple, huh? You're like, I was expecting something more than that. I know. We have got to start by admitting that there are giants in our lives. Before you can face your giant, you have to actually acknowledge that he's there. You will not face what you're not willing to call out. You can't defeat what you will not define. You will not go and face something that you don't believe is there. So, we have to start by actually admitting that there's giants in our lives, that there's things standing in between me and the promises of God, and for whatever reason, it feels impossible to overcome. Like, you actually have got to admit, there's some things that are holding you back, that there's some things you have got to deal with, some brokenness in your own life. Like, David's not going to go fight Goliath until he actually acknowledges that there is a giant out there taunting them. That's how it starts. And if you say, well, I don't have any giants in my life, well, then I would say to you, are you actually moving forward in life? Because if there's no giants in your life, you have to question whether or not you're moving forward, because any time you move forward and push back darkness, you awaken giants who want to defeat you, taunt you, and intimidate you. So, you just have got to start by admitting, and here's what I'm trying to say. Don't do that Christian thing like, oh, I'm good. No, you're not good. You got a giant in your life, and it's time to admit it. No, I'm good, man, I'm good. No, don't do the Christian thing, admit it. Here's what I'm trying to tell you in different words. It's okay to struggle. It's not okay to lie about it. It's okay to struggle. It's not okay to lie about it. Look, it's okay to struggle. If there is a giant in your life, there is nothing wrong with you. You didn't do anything to create that giant. You didn't do anything to invite that giant. It's not there because it's your fault. You're not the only one. It is okay to struggle. It's not okay to lie about it. It's not okay to act like it's not there, like it's not holding you back. You have got to confess it. You have got to bring it out of the darkness into the light. Think about it. The giants are rooted in the kingdom of darkness, which means their power comes from darkness. So, the moment I pull them out of darkness into the light, they're already starting to be defeated. Humility is the beginning of breakthrough. You have got to just admit, I got a giant in my life. Come on, look at these verses. “When I had nothing, desperate and defeated.” Anybody feel like that today? Desperate and defeated by a giant in your life. “I cried out to the Lord, and he heard me, bringing his miracle deliverance when I needed it the most.” That's a great verse. Says, hey, I got a giant in my life. God, I need you to come and help me face this giant and bring the victory that can only come in your name. And he hears you, and he moves with miracle deliverance. Or how about the next one? It says, “Pour out all your worries and stress upon Him and leave them there for He always tenderly cares for you.” Sometimes we have got to just stop and acknowledge, God, there are some giants in my life. I'm pouring them out to You. I need your help, and God says, “I care. I care about you.” Right where you are, right where you're at. It's okay to struggle. Listen to me. Some of you, this is all you need to hear. Your giant is real. Your anxiety is real. Your depression is real. The mental health issue is real. The ungodly belief is real. The bitterness is real. The brokenness is real. The sickness in your body is real. The insecurity is real. The rejection is real. Your giant is real. And it's okay to struggle. See, this is where the church at large has missed it for years because we act like the giants aren't real. And we say, hey, you just need to have more faith. You just have to have more faith, and you could move forward, and your giant isn't real and just ignore it and get over it and move on. And it's no big deal. Your giant is real. And if anybody in the church has ever said that to you, can I just tell you, I am so sorry. For any brokenness or pain or shame that you felt from that, your giant is real. So, it's okay to admit that. It's okay to struggle. And what I want you to understand is don't let the giant of shame keep you from facing the rest of the giants in your life. Don't let the giant of shame who shows up and is like, oh, if you talk about those giants, you know how they're going to look at you, no. Don't let him keep you from moving forward and dealing with the other giants. Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I refuse to allow shame to keep me from dealing with the things that are holding me back in Jesus' name. Your giants are real, man. And so, get help. Ask for help. Confess it, bring it out of the darkness into the light. Ask people to pray for you. Go to counseling, get professional help. Go to the doctor, get in a small group. Find a plan that makes you move forward to face your giant that always includes Jesus at the center. Come on. Listen. And it's going to take some effort. David didn't just pick up the first five stones he found. He searched for the right five stones, which means you're going to have to search for the right counselor and search for the right plan and search for the right small group, but it's worth it in Jesus' name that you might find the freedom that He has for you. Come on, man. Did you ever just stop and wonder why does God let giants be in my life, anyway? So, you can be victorious. He allows enemies in your life to show up so you can be victorious and conquer and overcome. We love in church to say, I'm a conqueror. You ain't conquered nothing until a giant shows up. And then I walk in freedom in Jesus' name. And now it's not theory, it's actually who I am. God allows giants to make you desperate and dependent so you cry out for Him, and He says, “Great. Now I can show you who you are and the fullness of My power and My authority that is already at work within you.” It's okay to struggle. It's not okay to lie about it. Okay, that's for some of you.

Now, some of you, it's this side. It's okay to not be okay, but it's not okay to stay that way. It's okay to not be okay. It is not okay to stay that way. Hear me, your giant is not your friend. Don't become familiar with your giant. Don't fear your giant. Don't flee your giant. Don't act like your giant is your identity. He's going to be with you forever, like he's a backpack that you wear everywhere you go or a buddy on the back of a tandem bicycle. Your giant is not your friend. So don't start hanging out with him. Don't be okay with him. And Galatians 5:1 says it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. So, any area in your life where you're not free is a giant, and you can't be okay with that. You can't just be like, ah, it's just the way it'll always be. That's not true. Come on, did you ever see those people that like have pets that are these crazy wild animals? Like a grizzly bear, a tiger, or like a poisonous snake? You know what I'm talking about, these people? And then they like name it, and they're like, his name is Gentle Ben. And they like hang out with this animal and take pictures, and then one day the thing just turns, like rips their face off. And they're like shocked, and you're like, are you serious? Okay, that's how I think some of us treat the giants in our life. This is Gentle Ben. He ain't gentle and his name ain't Ben. He's a work of darkness, and you need to acknowledge it for what it is.

Hear me, never be okay with a giant in your life. Never be okay with something stealing, killing, and destroying the life that God brought for you. If Jesus came to destroy the works of darkness, never be okay with a giant in your life. This is why 1 John 3:8 literally says it. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. If He came to destroy them, I can't be okay with them. So, it's okay to not be okay, but it's not okay to stay that way. We have to choose to say in Jesus’ name, there's a different life, and I'm not okay with something standing on the promises of God. You can't face what you will not call out. You can't defeat what you will not define. And so, we have to start by saying, there's a giant in my life and I'm going to face it in Jesus/ name. Are you with me on that? Don't live over here, everything's always great. And don't live over here, everything's always awful. It's okay to struggle; it's not okay to lie about it. It's okay to not be okay; it's not okay to stay that way. This is what we're looking for in the life of Jesus. And so, here's my question for you. What's the giant in your life? Have you acknowledged it and admitted it and said, you know what, there's a giant in my life, and I'm not okay with that. And I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but in Jesus’ name, I'm going to face you, and I'm going to move forward. Are you with me on that? Now hear me, this is just a pause for some of you. You don't understand the giant in other people's lives, but their giant is just as real to them as yours is to you. So, we have to be okay giving grace to one another when giants are admitted and confessed. You don't have to understand their giant because it's as real to them as yours is to you.

Okay, you with me on that? Lesson number one, admit that there's a giant in your life. Lesson number two, we're going to face our giants, just remember who you are. Admit that there's a giant in your life and then remember who you are. This is what I love about David: he never forgot who he was. He knew he was a beloved son in whom the Father was well-pleased. He knew he was an Israelite, the children of God. And so, when he shows up and sees Goliath, this Philistine enemy, taunting and strutting and doing his thing, David shows up, and he's like, “Who is this?” “I'm David, I'm a beloved son, I'm a part of the chosen people of God, who are you? You're a defeated enemy of God, that's who you are.” In fact, I love this, 1 Samuel, it says, this is David when he shows up and sees Goliath, he says, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Here's the coolest thing I think in the story for me. David never calls Goliath, Goliath. He only ever refers to him as an uncircumcised Philistine. Now, some of you, that's a little stressful, you're like, is that in the Bible? Yes, it is. And what you have to understand is, circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites, so when he calls him an uncircumcised Philistine, what he's saying is, you are already a defeated enemy of God. I'm not even going to give you the dignity of calling you Goliath. Everyone else called him Goliath. Goliath is a name of honor, of respect, of power, of authority; it's a name of a champion, it's a name to be afraid of, and David says, “No, I'm David. Who are you again?” And he kept it in perspective. You see, you are not defined by the giants you face, but by the God that you follow. And when you remember who you are, you'll always have the courage to face your giants. You are not defined by your giants; you define your giants in Jesus' name. In fact, do you remember the Israelites, when they go and take the promised land? 400 years of Egyptian slavery, God sets them free, their beloved sons and daughters, He brings them to the edge of the Jordan River, and here's the Promised Land. It's promised to them. It belongs to them; all they have got to do is go in and take it, the abundant life, the fullness of what God had for them. It's right there, but the land is full of giants that are standing on the promises of God. So, they send in 12 spies to go check it out, and when they come back, it says the land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there. Next to them, we felt like grasshoppers, and that's what they thought, too. Okay, warning, warning, warning. They go into the Promised Land, which belongs to them; they see a bunch of giants, and they come back, and based on the size of the giants, they now have changed their own view of who they are. They say, we're grasshoppers. And they allowed what they saw to have more authority than what God said. They allowed the size of their giant to dictate who they are instead of what God had already told them about who they were. And the problem with that is this: identity determines behavior. Who you are will always determine what you do. So, whatever you believe about yourself is how you're going to move forward in life, and if you've been here, you know this, and help me out. Fish? [Swim]. Dogs? [Bark]. Cows? [Moo]. Cats? [Meow]. Grasshoppers get squashed. So, if you believe you're a grasshopper, you're going to spend your life getting squashed by giants. But when you understand you're a beloved son, you'll spend your life squashing giants. This is the delineation. We have to understand who we are. You are not a grasshopper. You're a beloved son or daughter with power and authority. You can't let the giant define who you were or who you are. I mean, you see, you have got to understand, when they're going into the land, yes, there's real giants in the land, real giants, but the real giants were in here. The moment they moved forward, the giants in here all awoke. The insecurity, the doubt, the fear, the intimidation, the rejection, and all of a sudden, they started to believe the giant’s roar. They started to allow the giants' roar to dictate who they thought they were.

And how many of you know, when you start to move forward in life, it's amazing how the giants awake and begin to roar. This is why a lot of us spend our lives just kind of tiptoeing around life. We would rather wander and be nomads than move forward because we don't want to awaken another giant. But listen to me, God allows giants out there to awaken the giants in here so you can find freedom in His name. He didn't want there to be any giants in here. And the giants will roar to tell you who you're not. God whispers to tell you who you are. And the quietest whisper from God has more power than the loudest giant’s roar. Come on, you are not defined by the giants you face but by the God that you follow. Listen to me, some of you, you just need to hear this. You are not your anxiety. You are not your depression. You are not that rejection. You are not your insecurity. You are not your sickness. You are not your failure. You are not your shame. You know who you are? A beloved son or daughter, fearfully and wonderfully made, made in the image and likeness of God. You are the head and not the tail. The Spirit of God is inside of you. The kingdom of heaven is inside of you. You have the keys of the kingdom. All authority on heaven and earth has been given unto you through Jesus. You are a conqueror. You are victorious. You are an overcomer. And you've been empowered by Jesus to destroy the works of the devil. That's who you are. So, you know what that means? You don't have to be afraid of your giant because your giant is terrified of you. You literally do not have to be afraid of your – your giant is terrified of you. The giants of darkness are just hoping that the people of God will never figure out who they really are. Because they know we're the only ones who can take them down. So, they will strut and roar and intimidate and be relentless and ruthless to try to trick you into thinking you're somebody else or you're something else because they know you've been empowered by God to face them and walk in victory over them. You don't have to be afraid of them because they're terrified of you. This is why the Bible says that even at the name of Jesus, the demons shudder. If Jesus is in you, you got a whole lot more than the name. Come on, you become what you behold. You will always become what you behold. In other words, whatever you look at, you'll start to become like that thing.

So, what I'm trying to tell you is the more you look at your giant, the bigger it becomes and the smaller you become. The more you look at your God, the bigger He becomes and the bolder you become. So, stop looking at God through your giant and start looking at your giant through your God. Because when I start looking at my giant through my God, I'm kind of like, where are you? Who are you? And all of a sudden, perspective begins to change. Come on, Jesus is not a picture of who you can become. He's a mirror of who you now are. This is why 1 John 4:17 says, as He is, so we are in this world. That means everything that's true of Jesus is now true of us as a follower of Him. So, because He is victorious, so am I. Because He is a conqueror, so am I. Because He is bold and courageous and strong, so am I. The more you look at Jesus, the more you discover who you are and the more you begin to walk in victory. You see, we have got to start remembering who we are. We have got to literally walk through life and say, I'm a beloved son or I'm a beloved daughter. Who are you again, giant? Oh yeah, you're an uncircumcised Philistine. You're a defeated enemy of God. So, let's be real clear about this. Anxiety, you're standing on my peace. Depression, you're standing on my hope. Brokenness, you're standing on my freedom. Temptation, you're standing on my victory. Bitterness, you're standing on my forgiveness. You know what, I know who I am. Who are you again? Because you're standing on a promise that belongs to me. And in Jesus' name, I'm starting to face you. I'm done running, I'm done fleeing. Come on, when you know who you are, no giant can tell you who you're not. So, here's my question for you. Have you forgotten who you are? Whatever giants in your life, have you forgotten who you are? Are you letting that giant's roar be louder than God's whisper? Have you forgotten? Come on, this is how Jesus faced every giant. He knew who He was. 1 John 3:8 again says, “For the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.” Identity, behavior. He knew who He was and He never forgot. So, no matter what giant showed up in His path, He knew who He was. Leprosy, muteness, deafness, blindness, a storm, sickness, shame, death, the grave. He showed up, and He said, I am the beloved Son of God. Who are you again? Oh yeah, you're standing on the promises that belong to my people. And I'm about to face you because I've had enough. That is what we have in Jesus. You don't have to defeat your giants because Jesus already came to do it for you. Okay? That's lesson one. That's lesson two. And that brings us to lesson three, which really the whole setup for lesson one and two is to get you to three. And you want to know what three is? You got to come back next week, and I'll tell you what three is because, oh man, you have no idea how much I wrestled with having to split it right there, but here's what we're going to do. We're going to stop it right there. Some of you are like, yes. And some of you are like, ah, okay, next week. Yeah, like literally, it breaks a little part of my heart because I'd like to keep going. Some of you are like, no, stop. Okay, we're going to stop, don't worry. We're going to stop it right there because here's the deal. This series is not about a bunch of content. This is about you building up the courage and the confidence to face the giants in your life. So, here's what I want to challenge you to do this week. I want you to take lesson one and lesson two and actually apply them to your life. Before I give you lesson three, which is the beginning of the breakthrough, you got to start with one and two. So, here's my challenge to you this week. Admit that there is a giant in your life. Find one person in your life and just confess it. Put it out there. Say, hey, can I just share this with you? I feel like I got this giant in my life, and I've been hiding it, or I'm not dealt with it, or whatever it is, and it's this. Say it out loud. Bring it out of the darkness into the light. By doing that, you just defeated the giant of shame. So, you're starting to build up victories. You're starting to build up wins. You're starting to build up confidence that you know what, I can do this. So, find one person, confess it. I got a giant in my life, and here's what it looks like. And then start remembering who you are. Every day this week, every day this week, at least once, say, “I'm a beloved son or daughter” out loud. You’re like, that's dumb. You want your faith to grow? You want to face your giant? Some of you, here's where it is. It's okay to not be okay. It's not okay to stay that way. This is how you start finding the freedom. Because for some of you who have been buddies with your giant, this is when you start chain saying, “I'm saying out loud, I'm a beloved son or daughter, and whom God is well pleased.” You know what, when I start saying that, all of a sudden, I start, I'm not okay with you. I'm not okay with you anymore. And start acknowledging. Anxiety, you're standing on my peace. Say it out loud. Depression, you're standing on my hope. Lie, you're standing on my truth. And I'm not okay with this anymore. And something in you will start to rise. Because see, I think sometimes as the people of God, we live this defeated, woe is me, beat down life. And what's so important for me, for some of you to hear this today, in no way are we belittling the giant in your life. In fact, I hope this is one of the first environments you've been in where you hear your giant is real. But your giant is not your friend. It's a work of darkness, and we must treat it as such. And we need to start rising up as the people of God to find the freedom that He has for us. Romans 8, one last thing, and then we're done. Just look at this, because I want you to, in all these things, any and every giant in your life, we are more than conquerors, more than victorious, through what? Through Jesus and His love for us. This series is not about what you have to do; it's about what Jesus has done. Every giant in your life either has, is, or will be defeated in Jesus' name. So, it's time to face him, okay?

So, close your eyes with me real quick. Close your eyes with me, here's the question, man. What do you feel like God wants to say to you today? Jesus, the Victorious, Conquering King is here. And I think what He's saying to a lot of us today is, it's okay, I'm with you. I see that giant, too. Are you ready to face him with Me? Because I am your victory. It's okay to struggle. Let today be the day that that struggle in your life comes out of the darkness and into the light, and you just say, you know what? I've struggled with this for so long, this giant for 40 days, for 40 months, for 40 years, every day comes out and taunts me. Every day makes me turn and run, and I've had enough. It's time to acknowledge that there are some things in our lives, some dark places, that are keeping us from the freedom that Jesus offers us. And when we start admitting and acknowledging that, and then reminding and remembering who we are in Jesus, something in us begins to rise, that we become like David, facing the giants in our lives, with an expectation of victory, authority, and power in Jesus' name. So, Jesus, thank You, that You are the great giant killer. Today, we choose to focus more on You than on the giant in our lives. Would You begin stirring up our faith? If that's even my sense for you right now, I can feel like the Lord is stirring up some of your faith to say, it's time, in Jesus' name, to face my giant and deal with what's been holding me back. Jesus, we look to you as the source of all breakthrough and victory. In your name we pray, Amen.