♪♪♪ <i> male announcer:
Are you feeling powerless,</i> <i> powerless to control
your destiny?</i> <i>The fate of our nation,
your career, financial security,</i> <i> and even your daily life?</i> <i> We are in a spiritual battle
for our hearts and minds,</i> <i> sometimes with little strength
to be victorious.</i> ♪♪♪ <i>announcer: What if I told you
there is one who can empower you</i> <i> to prevail over the emotional,
physical,</i> <i> and spiritual chaos
in your life,</i> <i> one who can give you the power
to be more than a conqueror,</i> <i> more than a winner,
more than a victor,</i> <i> but an overcomer?</i> <i> As an overcomer,
you are no longer defined</i> <i> by your trials
but by your victories.</i> <i> As an overcomer,
you put on God-given armor</i> <i> that both protects you
from the enemy</i> <i> and empowers you to conquer
your greatest obstacles.</i> Dr. David Jeremiah:
We're called to be overcomers, men and women. We're called to walk in victory,
and strength, and peace, and love. Sometimes I hear people say
when I ask them how they're doing, "I'm doing okay
down under the circumstances." But we don't belong
under the circumstances, we belong above
the circumstances. We're not undercomers,
we're overcomers, amen? <i> announcer: Live a life
of unstoppable strength,</i> <i> unmovable faith,
and unbelievable power.</i> <i> Discover how you
can be an overcomer.</i> <i> male announcer:
Unstoppable strength,</i> <i> unmovable faith,
unbelievable power,</i> <i> these are the qualities
of an overcomer.</i> <i> Discover the eight steps
to unlocking God's power</i> <i>in your life in David Jeremiah's
book, "Overcomer."</i> <i> Feeling powerless,
hopeless, anxious, tempted?</i> <i> The message in "Overcomer"</i> <i> can help you
start living victoriously.</i> <i> Request "Overcomer" today
when you give a gift</i> <i> of any amount in support
of this program.</i> <i>And if you give a generous gift
to the ministry of $75 or more,</i> <i>you'll receive the comprehensive
"Overcomer" study set,</i> <i> which contains
the "Overcomer" book,</i> <i> Dr. Jeremiah's complete
teaching series on DVD,</i> <i> including his interview
hosted by Sheila Walsh,</i> <i> a correlating study guide,</i> <i> and the Warrior's Prayer
bookmark.</i> <i>Plus, with any order
of the "Overcomer" book or set,</i> <i>you will receive the super eight
overcomer cards,</i> <i> stunning cards highlighting</i> <i> the God-given powers
of an overcomer.</i> <i> Be defined by your victories,</i> <i> be strong in the power
of God's might.</i> <i> Be an overcomer.</i> <i> Order Dr. Jeremiah's
book "Overcomer"</i> <i>or the complete study set today.</i> <i> female announcer: Thank you
for watching "Overcomer"</i> <i> here on "Turning Point."</i> <i> In appreciation
of your viewership,</i> <i> Dr. Jeremiah would like
to send you</i> <i> the warrior's prayer bookmark
absolutely free.</i> <i> Contact "Turning Point" today.</i> <i> And now, here is Dr. Jeremiah
with his message, "Overcomer."</i> Dr. David Jeremiah:
Desmond Doss, the real life subject
of the 2016 film "Hacksaw Ridge"
was born in Virginia in 1919 to working-class parents,
volunteered for the army in World War II but because he was
a deeply religious man, he believed God had called him
never to carry a weapon. So, he trained as a medic
and was assigned to a rifle company. Imagine, refusing to carry
a weapon and being determined
to go to war. I mean, his convictions
earned him ridicule, and abuse, and contempt
from all of his fellow soldiers. He got disdained
from his superiors, but he never wavered. Terry Benedict, who filmed
the documentary about Doss in 2014 said he just didn't fit
into the army's model of what a good soldier would be, but all that changed
in April of 1945 when Doss's company
fought the battle of Okinawa, the bloodiest battle
in the Pacific War. The key to winning Okinawa
was gaining a Japanese stronghold
atop of 400-foot sheer cliff, which the Americans
called Hacksaw Ridge, a bloody battle raged, but the Japanese
held their ground and finally, Doss's battalion
was ordered to retreat. But Doss could see
American bodies strewn all across the field and he knew there were wounded
among them so he stayed behind and with machine gun
and artillery fire bursting all around him,
he ran repeatedly into the kill zone
carrying wounded GIs to the edge of the cliff and
single-handedly lowering them to safety in a makeshift
rope gurney. For 12 hours,
he repeated this grueling task until he was sure
there were no more wounded Americans left
on the escarpment and by the time
he left the ridge, Desmond Doss had saved the lives
of 75 men. Days later, the Americans
took Hacksaw Ridge while Doss was wounded
in a base hospital and when his commanding officer
brought him the precious charred and soggy Bible that he lost
in the initial assault, he was told that every man
in the company, the same men who had
ridiculed him for his faith, had insisted on searching
that field until they found this Bible
for this man. For his incredible feat,
Doss was awarded the congressional
medal of honor. Years later, somebody asked
him how he found the strength to continue that night
and his answer was simple, he said, "Each time he finished lowering another wounded man
to safety down the cliff he prayed, 'Lord, just help me
get one more.'" Desmond Doss was an overcomer
and in my estimation, there are many overcomers, many of them
you find in the Bible. My favorite overcomer
in the Old Testament, and I think he may be the
best Old Testament overcomer of all time, is the man David. 'Cause you know David fought
a lot of battles in his life but his first one is the one
that we remember the best, the day he defeated
the giant Goliath. Now, the overcomer's challenge
in David's life was simply one that is classic
in it's presentation. You see, if you go
to Israel today there's a place
where there's this deep ravine and it lies in between
two hills. This is believed to be the site
where the battle between David and Goliath
took place. Over here on one hill
on the top of the hill was the army of Israel and over here on the other hill
was the army of Philistine, and down in the valley
between them was this plain, believe it or not,
it was 100 yards wide, the length of a football field and in the middle of this plain
between these two armies stood a huge man named Goliath and from the side
of the Israelites came a teenage boy
named David. The story of David and Goliath
in 1 Samuel 17 is not just a story about a boy
fighting a giant, it's the conflict of the ages. It's the story of the battle
that's raged ever since Satan first rebelled
against God, the story of good versus evil, the challenge to the living God
by the devil and his forces. So, how did these unlikely
opponents ever get there? Let me start
with the giant Goliath. How big was he? Well, in 1 Samuel 17:4,
we're told that he went out from the camp of the Philistines
from Gath and his height was six cubits
and a span. Now, most of us
don't measure things in cubits or spans, so let me translate that
for you. During a time
when the average man's height was about 5 feet tall, the measurements of Goliath
was somewhere between 9-foot 6 and 9-foot 9. In case that doesn't register
with you, in the game of basketball,
the rim is at 10 feet. He was 9-foot 9. I'm pretty sure he could dunk. And that makes him 2 feet
taller than the biggest players in professional basketball
and more than a foot taller than the tallest human being
who is alive today. This guy's name is Sultan Kosen,
he's actually 8-foot 3. But Goliath wasn't
just tall and skinny. He was a huge man. Probably weighing
in between 400 and 500 pounds. The sight of Goliath
was something you could never forget. 1 Samuel says he had
a bronze helmet on his head. He was armed
with a coat of mail. The weight of the coat
was 5,000 shekels of bronze. He had bronze armor
on his legs, a bronze javelin
between his shoulders, and the staff of his spear
was like a weaver's beam, and his iron spearhead
weighed 600 shekels and a shield bearer
went before him." And can you imagine what it
would be like to hear a 9-foot, 6-inch giant shout? I'm sure it was like that car
that came up next to you at the light the other day
with a boom box in the back. I'm sure his voice
reverberated all over. Here's what the Scripture says,
"Goliath stood and cried out to the armies of Israel
and said to them, 'Why have you come out
to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine
and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourself
and let him come down to me. If he's able to fight with me
and kill me, then we will be your servants,
but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall
be our servants and serve us.' And the Philistine said, 'I defy the armies of Israel
this day, give me a man
that we may fight together.'" He roared long and loud
to be heard on both sides of the plain. He didn't need a microphone
or a megaphone. He had a voice
that was the size of his body and not one man
among the Israelites could bring himself
even to answer. Single combat back then
was a very common thing because they kinda
came up with this idea, why should we wipe out
the enemy and loose all those potential servants? So the Philistines
wanted to settle the fight economically. Each side sent one man to fight. These two men would fight
to the death and the winner's nation would be declared
victorious and the looser's nation would be enslaved
and brutalized by the enemy. So, that was
the overcomers' challenge, just think about Goliath. Get a good picture in your mind
of this gigantic brutal man standing in the valley of Elah between the stands
on both sides. Now, the overcomer's character
is gonna take some kind of warrior
to face Goliath and nobody in Saul's army
was prepared to accept the job but here comes David. David was the youngest son
of Jesse. Jesse had eight sons,
as you remember, and David had been anointed
by the Prophet Samuel as the next king of Israel. He'd been anointed
but never became the king until 15 years
after he was anointed. His time for rule
had not yet come and he was still living at home
with his dad. He was taking care of the sheep. His three older brothers,
as we learn from the Scripture, had already gone to the war. They were standing
with the Israeli army over on that one hill and one day Jesse
came to his young son David and he says, "I want you
to go check on your brothers, and I want you to take them
and their captain some food, some provisions." He's a wise father. He wanted to ensure his sons
had food and he also wanted to take care
of their captain, and he wanted to make sure
that anything that they needed, they would have. So, when David's father sent him
on this errand, it must've been like thrilling
for this young boy to run off. I'm sure he always thought,
"Why don't I get to go to war? I'm out here with these sheep
and my brothers are having all the fun." And when he got there,
they were talking. Goliath strolled out
on the field below and shouted his challenge and David seemed shocked
that nobody from the side of Israel
even responded. So, he asked the men around him,
here's from the Scripture, "What shall be done for the man
who kills this Philistine and takes away
the reproach of Israel?" And the soldier said,
"Well, let's think about that for just a moment." Here's what the king said, he said he would give that man
great riches. He would give him
his daughter in marriage. And here's the best part,
he would never have to pay taxes again the rest of his life. And so, it was hard for David
to understand why nobody would step up
and take that opportunity. Saul who was--the Bible says
head and shoulders above all of his compatriots--Saul
would have nothing to do with this challenge. And so David is mystified. He has a big God; nobody
else seems to have one. So, 5-foot tall
David volunteered. Before he decided to do this,
something happened that revealed the human side
of overcoming, a side that hasn't changed
since biblical times. Listen to this, when David's
oldest brother Eliab heard David asking
about the reward, he was furious. Verse 28 says, he's speaking
to David, he said, "Why did you come down here and with whom have you left
those few sheep in the wilderness?" Sarcasm. "I know your pride. I know the insolence
for your heart for you have come down
to see the battle." And David answered his brother
this way, "What have I done?
Is there not a cause?" It's a brilliant answer. He deflected Eliab's anger
and he brought the focus back to the matter at hand. "Don't be angry at me," he says, "isn't there something
more important for us to be thinking about?" When a man or a woman,
listen to me, decides to be a champion
for God, they set themselves up
for a lot of heat and criticism, and David tells us
that we have to stand firm in our convictions even when the closest people
to us are telling us, "No, you can't." Over the years
that I've been leading and doing the things
God has called me to do, I've had so many of the people
that are close to me try to talk me out
of what God talked me into. Isn't that the truth?
Isn't that something? You would think they'd be on
your side saying, "Go for it." No, they're trying to keep you
from doing it. They don't have the guts
to do it and they don't want you
to do it either. Then David declared
that he'd fight Goliath. The Bible describes Goliath
by his size, and his sight, and his shout, but the Bible describes
David by his courage, his conviction,
and his confidence. The Bible describes Goliath
by his physical attributes, and the Bible describes David
by his spiritual attributes, very important point
to remember. Well, one of the things
that David had that Goliath didn't have
was a sling. The Bible says David headed
for the plain and on the way he stopped
at a brook and gathered five smooth stones
and put them in his pouch. And he had a sling in his hand
and he approached Goliath. When Goliath saw David,
he was insulted. Read the Scripture,
I mean it's so graphic. The Bible says
when he saw David, he said, "Am I a dog that you
come out to me with sticks?" And he cursed David
by his gods, probably using the name
of Dagon, and then he goaded the boy
even more. In verse 44 of chapter 17
he says to David, "Come to me and I will give you
and your flesh to the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field." Just imagine Goliath,
he'd been coming to this valley every day
for six weeks, twice a day,
waiting for someone to show up who's willing to fight him
and on this day, he sees this little boy
come out there, no shield, no sword, and the Bible says
he disdained David. And I looked that word up,
you know what it means? He curled his lip at him. And David replied,
"You come to me with a sword, and with a spear,
and with a javelin but I come to you in the name
of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel
whom you have defied. This day the Lord
will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you
and take your head from you. And this day I will give
the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines
to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth that all the earth may know
that there's a God in Israel. Then all this assembly
shall know that the Lord does not save with sword
and spear; for the battle is the Lord's
and he will give you into our hands." That was David's speech, amen? Now, I don't know
if you get this folks, but David had just infuriated
the biggest bully on the block and if God isn't
who David says he is, David is history. He purposely intimidated Goliath
and in doing so sets himself up
to win the battle. Notice what happens next. The Bible says at that,
Goliath moved toward David and then the Bible says
that David ran toward the giant. If you're watching
from the hill, you'd have seen this enormous
armed man start walking toward an apparently
unarmed boy and then you'd have seen
something really amazing. You'd see that boy
began to run towards this warrior. And when he was there
where he wanted to be, he stopped running, quickly took a stone
from his bag and put it in the sling, and with years of experience
and practice, the Scripture says he slung it
and struck the Philistine in this forehead so that the stone sank
into his forehead and Goliath fell on his face
to the earth. As overcomers, we fight a battle
like David fought, and I know you know this story
but you could tell I was having fun telling it
to you again. It's one of my favorite stories
in all the Bible. All of us have felt
like David on occasion with giants in our way
but because we're talking today about how we become overcomers, David was surely an overcomer,
wasn't he? He overcame a giant
that nobody would have given him a chance to overcome. And I'd like to just take
just some moments now and see if we can wrap
this story around our own lives. How do we take the principles
from this story from the Old Testament,
which we all know so well, and apply them
to our own lives? What can we learn
that will help us from watching David
do what he did by the hand of God? First thing I want to tell you,
number one, refuse to be discouraged
by your friends. I just want to tell you,
friends, when you want to do
something great for God, get ready for your brothers
and sisters to give you all the reasons
why you should fail. Often the criticism comes
from those who don't have the courage to accept the challenge
themselves. Their thinking seems to be
if they're not gonna succeed, they don't want anyone else
to succeed either. Don't let your friends talk you out of God's purpose
for your life. Number two,
it's all right to talk to God about your problems,
but sometimes you need to talk to your problems
about God. Preach the goodness of God
to them, prophecy to promises of God
to them, proclaim the victory
of the cross to them. Put your problems in perspective
and then go win the fight. Refuse to be discouraged
by your friends. Reinforce your focus on God. And then I like this one, reflect on your previous
victories. You know, all of us
have some victories in the past. If we've walked with God
for one day, we got a few. Listen to what David did. David didn't exclaim,
"I can't do this." Instead, he said that God had
been on his side in the past. He said, "Let me give you
my resume here. Let me tell you
how equipped I am to go fight this giant." And so, he gave old Saul
a victory of his past accomplishments. And men and women,
I need to tell you, we need to do the same thing. We need to understand
that God has been on our side, has he not? And if we just remember that,
it helps us. I remember reading somewhere
if you have never had a test, you can't have a testimony. You know, I might not be able
to do this if I compare it to what's going on in the world,
but I have a God. I have a great God. My God always wins. Okay, here's the fourth one,
this is one I love, run towards your problems,
not away from them. The Bible says that when Goliath
started toward David, David ran toward Goliath. I mean it takes a lot of guts
to run toward a 9-foot 6 giant. He ran toward them. Let me tell you
what I've learned from this, you guys. Your problems
aren't gonna go away. I mean, every morning
for six weeks and every evening for six weeks,
Goliath showed up. How many of you know
if you got problems, they show up. I keep thinking one
of these days I'm gonna pray
and God's gonna make my problems go away,
but he doesn't do that. But I want to tell you something
I've learned, problems don't go away so you might as well deal
with them as soon as they pop up. Run towards your problems,
embrace them, confront them. Don't postpone them. Don't ignore them. Don't try to work around them. Don't try to push them over
on somebody else. Deal with them, confront them
face to face, head-on, and watch God go to work
on your behalf. Problems don't go away,
but God can deal with them if we put them in his hands. When you're running towards
your problems, be sure to remember
for whom you are fighting. David said, "You came to me
with a sword, and with a spear,
and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name
of the Lord of hosts. All this assembly shall know
that the Lord does not save with sword and spear,
for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you
into our hands." What a difference it would make
if you and I faced all of our challenges
like David did, if we said, "Lord, for your honor,
and for your glory, I'm gonna do the right thing
and I'm gonna face my battles in the power
of your name, and I'm gonna trust you
to help me overcome the giants in my life." The Bible says
in Revelation 21:7, "He who overcomes
shall inherit all things." We're called to be overcomers,
men and women. We're called to walk in victory,
and strength, and peace, and love. Sometimes I hear people say
when I ask them how they're doing, "I'm doing okay down
under the circumstances." But we don't belong
under the circumstances. We belong above
the circumstances. We're not undercomers,
we're overcomers, amen? And the Bible says it this way:
"In all these things, we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us." God is not partial to David. What he did for David,
he'll do for us. I don't know what your giant is. I got a few in my life, but none
of these giants intimidate the God of heaven
and none of those giants can defeat you if you stand
in the strength of the Lord God. So, as we go through
all of these things, we're gonna see how almighty God helps us overcome our weakness
with strength, overcome our anxiety
with peace, overcome a lot of things
in our lives, and the same God who helped
David overcome Goliath is the God who's just waiting
for us to put ourselves in his hands
so we can overcome the giants in our life. Can I get an amen? Amen, thank you so much. <i> announcer: Dr. Jeremiah
will return with one more</i> <i> inspirational Word
to close today's</i> <i> "Overcomer" program
right after this.</i> <i>announcer: A new day has dawned.</i> <i> Hope is on the horizon.</i> <i> Discover eight ways
to live a life</i> <i> of unstoppable strength,
unmovable faith,</i> <i> and unbelievable power
in Dr. David Jeremiah's</i> <i> book, "Overcomer."</i> <i> In a world where we often feel
so powerless,</i> <i> applying these straightforward
spiritual truths</i> <i> will awaken the power of God
in you</i> <i> so you can conquer
life's everyday challenges</i> <i> and become an overcomer.</i> <i> You will discover
how to overcome</i> <i> falsehood with truth,
anxiety with peace,</i> <i> fear with faith, and more.</i> <i> Request "Overcomer" today
when you give a gift</i> <i> of any amount in support
of this program.</i> <i>And if you give a generous gift
to the ministry of $75 or more,</i> <i>you'll receive the comprehensive
"Overcomer" study set,</i> <i> which contains
the "Overcomer" book,</i> <i> Dr. Jeremiah's complete
teaching series on DVD,</i> <i> including his interview
hosted by Sheila Walsh,</i> <i> a correlating study guide,</i> <i> and the Warrior's Prayer
bookmark.</i> <i>Plus, with any order
of the "Overcomer" book or set,</i> <i>you will receive the super eight
overcomer cards,</i> <i> stunning cards highlighting</i> <i> the God-given powers
of an overcomer.</i> <i> Stop living in defeat.</i> <i> God created you to be
an overcomer.</i> <i> Order Dr. Jeremiah's
book "Overcomer"</i> <i>or the complete study set today.</i> <i> announcer: And now
with one last Word</i> <i> for today's program,
here is Dr. Jeremiah.</i> Dr. Jeremiah: Remember, you
were called to be an overcomer. You were called to walk
in victory, and strength,
and peace, and love. In this important series,
we're discovering exactly how to live as an overcomer but the first and most
important step of that journey is to put your faith in the ultimate overcomer
himself, Jesus Christ. Faith and close fellowship
with Christ will give you the strength
and the courage to conquer any challenge. To help you begin or to develop
a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, please allow me to send you
two free gifts from Turning Point. One is a booklet called
"Your Greatest Turning Point," and the other is our monthly
devotional magazine called, "Turning Points." We will gladly send them both
to you free of charge if you will contact us here
at Turning Point today. <i> male announcer: Next time
on "Turning Point."</i> Dr. Jeremiah: So if we're going
to change this whole issue of falsehood taking center stage
instead of truth, we have to seek the truth,
we have to speak the truth, but most of all,
we have to live the truth. We have to be who we are all
the way through to the core. <i>announcer: Join us next
time for Dr. Jeremiah's message,</i> <i> "Overcoming Falsehood
With Truth,"</i> <i> here on "Turning Point."</i>
