Remember Your Victories: Face Giants with Confident Expectation

Announcements open the service with community details and a family fun day, then move quickly into praise for the resurrection and an invocation of the Holy Spirit. The vision phrase expect · worship · here frames the morning, with expect examined as confident, active trust rather than mere wishing. The narrative of Israel’s first king unfolds: Samuel leads the people, Israel demands a king, and a humble Benjaminite named Saul searches for lost donkeys before encountering Samuel. God anoints Saul with a flask of olive oil, promises three confirming signs, and the Spirit comes upon him so that he prophesies among other prophets.

Despite tangible signs—found donkeys, prophetic encounters, and visible anointing—Saul hides, downplays God’s words to his uncle, and lacks bold testimony. The assembly casts lots and unexpectedly chooses Saul; he stands taller than the rest and receives the crown amid mixed responses. The pattern repeats: God provides clear evidence of care and calling, yet human doubt and self-deprecation turn expectation into timidity. The contrast with David’s confident testimony—“the Lord saved me from the lion and the bear”—exposes how remembering God’s past work fuels righteous courage for future battles.

The teaching pushes a pastoral imperative: cultivate testimony, speak past deliverances aloud, and allow remembrance to produce confident expectation. Waiting on God’s timing matters; authority belongs to the Lord even when human offices exist. The Spirit’s coming changes hearts, but changed hearts must act in faith. Practical application lands on the congregation: name one past miracle, share it with another, and carry that testimony into present struggles so that giants fall by the same God who delivered before. The invitation closes with a call to personal faith—calling on the Lord brings the indwelling Spirit and a transformed life—and an exhortation not to emulate Saul’s forgetful fear but to live in bold, remembered trust.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Anchor present in past miracles Remembering God’s concrete acts prevents present fear. When specific deliverances become part of speech and habit, faith gains muscle: memory shifts wishful thinking into expectant action. Recounted testimonies form spiritual evidence that God who saved before will save again. [57:45]
• 2. Act with confident expectation, not wish Expectation becomes power when paired with obedience. A confident expectation moves feet toward the promise—doing, not just desiring—because God often requires human steps alongside divine favor. Faith without follow-through remains a wish; faith that moves becomes testimony. [50:58]
• 3. Wait humbly for God's timing Divine timing preserves authority and shapes outcomes. Samuel’s instruction to wait seven days models submission to God’s process; impatience risks assuming God’s role and derailing blessing. Patience rooted in trust honors the Lord as sovereign over calling and execution. [52:53]
• 4. Share the story of deliverance Vocal testimony builds communal courage and personal clarity. Telling what God has done resists forgetfulness and seeds hope in others; testimonies circulate spiritual confidence across generations. Small, specific memories liturgically enlarge expectation for future miracles. [77:04]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [05:35] - Family Fun Day & Announcements
• [08:37] - Resurrection Praise and Prayer
• [31:31] - Vision: expect · worship · here
• [32:56] - David’s Confident Expectation (context)
• [36:37] - Samuel, Israel’s Request for a King
• [41:24] - Saul Meets Samuel
• [44:59] - Anointing and Three Signs
• [48:37] - Spirit Comes; Heart Changed
• [52:53] - Wait Seven Days: God’s Authority
• [61:30] - Crowning Saul: Lots and Surprise
• [69:45] - Main Charge: Don’t Be Like Saul
• [77:04] - Testimony, Invitation, and Response

Bible reading: 1 Samuel 10:1-24 (ESV)
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage. When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor, and three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. After that you shall come to Gibeah-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.” When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place. Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” And Saul's uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything. Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.” Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot; and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

Observation questions

1. What were the three specific signs Samuel told Saul would happen to confirm his anointing?
2. What was Saul’s initial reaction when his uncle asked him what Samuel had said? [56:38]
3. Where was Saul found when the people were looking for him to be crowned king? [01:03:54]
4. What was the immediate, visible change in Saul after the Spirit of the Lord came upon him?

Interpretation questions

1. Why do you think Saul chose to hide the full truth of his anointing from his uncle, even after experiencing such powerful confirmations from God? [57:00]
2. Samuel told Saul to wait seven days in Gilgal. What does this instruction reveal about who truly holds the authority, even when someone is given a position of leadership? [52:53]
3. The people shouted “Long live the king!” but some scoundrels despised Saul and brought him no gifts. What does this mixed reaction tell us about the challenges of stepping into a God-given calling?
4. How does Saul’s response of hiding among the supplies contrast with the confident expectation God intended for him to have after his anointing? [01:05:07]

Application questions

1. God provided Saul with multiple, tangible signs of His calling. What is one specific, past “sign” or miracle in your own life—a time God clearly provided, protected, or delivered you—that you can recall right now? [57:45]
2. Saul was reluctant to share the full story of what God was doing. Who is one person you could tell about that past miracle this week to build both their faith and yours? [01:17:04]
3. Confident expectation is described as “faith that moves” and is paired with obedience, not just a wish. [50:58] What is one “giant” you are currently facing where you need to take a step of active trust, rather than just hoping God will act?
4. Saul’s story shows how forgetting God’s past works leads to timidity. What is one practical way you can regularly “remember” God’s faithfulness to keep your expectation confident and active, rather than fearful? [58:28]
5. The Spirit changed Saul’s heart, yet he still struggled with fear. [54:36] How can you rely on the Holy Spirit living within you to move you from a place of hiding to a place of bold testimony this week?
6. The sermon charged us to “not be like Saul.” [01:09:45] In what specific area of your life do you most identify with Saul’s hesitation, and what is one step you can take this week to move from hiding to trusting?