Transcription
We ask you not only to show up but to show yourself strong. Remind us, oh God, that we are never forsaken. We are never abandoned. Someone today needs to be reminded that you are still with them in this thing. And that if God be for us, who can be against us? Speak now, Lord, for your servants are listening. In the name of Jesus Christ, our savior, we pray. Amen. Amen.
Family, I want to lay a foundation in the holy word of God that I believe prepares us for what God needs to speak in this season in which we live. I want to read this morning, and you're hearing a passage of scripture that may be unfamiliar to you. And I pray that your devotional time this week, you'll take a moment to reread it. It comes to us at the end of the book of 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel 21. And it is our custom to ask those who are physically able to please stand as we reverence the reading, the hearing of the holy word of God from 2 Samuel chapter 21, beginning in verse number 15. This morning, I'd like to read out the amplified translation of God's holy word. And it reads as follows: The Philistines had war again with Israel. And David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David became faint. Ishbi-benob, who was one of the sons of the giants, the weight of whose spear was 300 shekels of bronze, was girded with a new sword, and he thought to kill David. But Abishai, son of Zeruiah, came to David's aid and smote and killed the Philistine. Then David's men charged him, "You shall no more go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel." After this, there was war again with the Philistines at Gath. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, who was a descendant of the giant. There was war again at Gath with the Philistines. And Elhanan, son of Jair, a Bethlehemite, slew Goliath the Gittite, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's beam. And again there was war at Gath. Where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, 24 in number, he also was a descendant of the giants. And when he defied Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, brother of David, slew him. These four were descendants from the giant and Gath, and they fell by the hands of David and his servant. This is the word of the Lord for the people of the Lord. Thanks be unto God. You may be seated.
Here we go again. Here we go again. Y'all, we should not know the name Nolan Xavier Wells. In a perfect and peaceful world, Nolan Xavier Wells would be an unknown, about to be 19-year-old, on his way into his sophomore year at Southwest Mississippi State Community College, where he was a star receiver on the football team. But sadly and painfully, the reason we know his name today is because on the 4th of July, this young black boy went out to a party on Horn Island in the Gulf Coast off of Mississippi, never to return. And three days later, his dead body was found. When I heard of his death, I not only cried, but I prayed for his parents. And selfishly, I was frightened because I thought to myself, how very easily this could have happened to my own children. And I was filled with sorrow. But as I kept listening to the report of his death, yes, if I can be honest with you, my sorrow became something else. Hearing how he was the sole black boy in what he thought was the safe company of some southern white boys. Hearing the report that all of them got home safely with his cell phone in their possession. But when questioned by the police, they couldn't remember what happened. And when word came out that one of their stepmothers was a judge in that same county, I'm sorry, y'all, but my sorrow turned into anger and a disbelief in justice. And all I could say was, "Damn, here we go again." We've seen this time and time and time and time again. As much as I want to be hopeful and believe that there will be justice for Nolan Xavier Wells, Mike Brown, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Kendrick Jackson, Cyrus Belton, Carmelo Anthony, and Emmett Till have all historically conditioned me to know that this will not end with a definition of justice that is pleasing or palatable for many of us. Here we go again. That mixture of agony and anger, of sorrow and disgust, of frustration, wondering how we could still be doing this in 2026. That place of anger and frustration is exactly where King David is in 2 Samuel 21 that I just read in your hearing.
In 2 Samuel 21, we are in an area called Shephelah, which is a hill country on the outskirts of Judah. And the year is 975 BC. And when we get here in 2 Samuel 21, you don't find a young and vigorous David. This is not the David who praised the Lord until his clothes fell off. This is not the David who put pen to paper and said, "I will make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands." This is not the David who learned to encourage himself when nobody else was by his side. This is not the David who stood in the Valley of Elah, young and excited, waving his hand, saying, "Let me go fight Goliath." No, this is a different David, an older, mature David who the Bible says in verse 15 has become faint. One translation says he's grown weary. Another translation says he's exhausted. The original Hebrew word there is this word "oof." Everyone say "oof." And "oof" literally means to fly away. So here is the warrior king of Israel who defeated Goliath at 17, who wrote more psalms than anyone else, who praised the Lord all the time, and he's ready to "oof." He's ready to fly away. He's ready to give up. He's had enough. He's tired. You ever been so tired that you had to take the "R" out? He's tired. And David is ready to give up on the battle. And I had to ask the question, what would push this warrior king to a place of "oof"? Yes. What would make David want to give up fighting? Well, you got to remember when we first met David in his first battle against Goliath, it was 40 years ago when he was 17. And for four decades, he's continued to have battle after battle after battle after battle with the same enemy. The same folk with the same issue, trying to take the same thing. For 40 years, he's had to fight the same battle with the same folk over the same issue. Can you imagine how he would feel after 40 years of the same fight with the same folk over the same issue? Can you imagine how many funerals for his own people he had to stand at? Can you imagine how many nights he stayed awake wondering, "God, when is this going to end?" Can you imagine how many times he prayed and asked God, "Can this please stop?" 40 years, the same vote, the same issue, and the same battle. And I can tell you what pushed David to "oof." I can tell you what made him want to give up. It's one singular word. One word made David want to quit. It's right here. It shows up repeatedly in the scripture I read. Let me see if you can find it. Verse 15: "Now the Philistines were at war again with Israel." Verse 18: "After this there was war again with the Philistines." Have you caught it yet? If you're a little slow, it's there in verse 19: "There was war with the Philistines again." Verse 20: "There was war at Gath again." Did you catch the word "again"?
"Again, again, again" will infuriate you. "Again" can discourage you. "Again" can make you want to throw up both your hands and walk away. "We doing this again." "We got to deal with this again." "This is happening to us again." Have you ever had "again"? "Again" can wear you out. "Again" can make you not enjoy a peaceful moment 'cause you know it ain't going to last long. "Again" will have you skeptical about progress 'cause you know for every one step you take forward, they're going to push you two steps back. "Again" leaves you feeling like you can never catch a break. "Again" makes you feel like there's always another, 'cause "again" implies another. Have you ever felt like DJ Khaled was talking about your life and "another one"? Another battle, another heartbreak, another setback, another rejection, another failure, another lost election, another untrustworthy friend, another bad relationship. Another midnight crazy tweet from the White House. Another disappointing Supreme Court ruling. Another dead black body. "Again" can wear you out. Yes. And that's why the enemy is relentless on his attack against the people of God because the enemy is counting on the fact that sooner or later, after enough, you will want to "oof." That after enough "agains," you'll say, "Ain't no point in voting 'cause ain't nothing changing." After enough "agains," you'll be tired of taking the high road, trying to be a bigger and a better person when you're dealing with someone who likes to stay in the gutter. After enough, you're going to stop biting your tongue and you will let them know how you really feel 'cause you didn't got me twisted and you think that you can just talk to me any way you want. I need someone who knows you got one more time to talk to me out the side of your neck and you going to find out I ain't as saved as you think and I ain't as delivered as I ought to be. I'll cuss you out and come to church 'cause altar call is for something. If I can't repent, ain't no point in coming. I'm going to come. You got one more time. "Again" will make you stop praying 'cause you think God ain't answering. "Again" will make you not come to church 'cause ain't nothing ever changing. "Again" will push you into the dark space of believing nothing ever changes. 'Cause here we go again.
Can I push it? Let me tell you why this "again" is so discouraging to David. You got to go back to 1st Samuel 17 when he fought his first battle. You remember that David and Goliath act like you went to Vacation Bible School. When David and Goliath go to fight, remember the terms of the battle. The terms of the battle went like this: David said, "If Goliath beats me, we will be your servants, and that's the end of it. But if I beat Goliath, the Philistines will be our servants, and that's the end of it." The battle with Goliath was supposed to settle the matter. David beat Goliath. And the Philistines kept coming and coming and coming. And David learned one of the most difficult lessons about walking with God. And that is that your past victory does not prevent a future battle. Let me say that again: Your past victory will not guarantee that you don't have a future battle. I come by and tell the truth, someone today. You ain't going to like me, but I got to tell you, your last battle wasn't your last battle. Your last enemy is not your last enemy. Your last struggle was not your last struggle. Your last problem was not your last problem. Your last storm was not your last storm. Just 'cause God brought you through that doesn't mean you won't have something else you've got to go through. And that's why someone on your pew is real frustrated right now 'cause you thought when you came through that, you'd never have to deal with that again. You thought when it went in remission, it was going to stay there. You thought after you got them right last time, they would act right next time. You thought after you proved they were lying on you last time, they would stop lying on you next time, only to find out that battles keep coming. And even though you dealt with it yesterday, there's no guarantee from God you won't have to deal with it tomorrow. Because your past victory does not prevent you from having a future battle.
Can I push it? I need you to see who this new battle is with. Can I teach Bible for a moment? Alex. There are four folk that are in this battle. One is a brother called Ishbi-benob. Another is a brother called Saph. A third is an enemy called Goliath. Now, don't think this is the Goliath that David fought. He's dead. According to 1 Chronicles 20, this Goliath is actually the first Goliath's brother who's now wearing his brother's name. Y'all don't miss this. It's Ishbi-benob. It's Saph. It's Goliath's brother. And then there's some dude. He ain't got a name, but he has six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. We're going to call him "24." It's Ishbi-benob. It's Saph. It's Goliath's brother. And it's 24. Don't miss this. It's Ishbi-benob. It's Saph. It's Goliath's brother. And it's 24. And the Bible tells you in verse 22 that all of them were descendants of the giant from Gath. Okay, I'll try it again. It's Ishbi-benob, it's Saph, it's Goliath's brother, and it's 24. And they are all descendants of the giant from Gath. Yeah. Now, the reason your neighbor got that "huh" look on their face is 'cause the giant from Gath was the first Goliath. So, Ishbi-benob, Saph, Goliath's brother, and 24 are all descendants of Goliath. And David has now realized that just because I beat Goliath does not mean the battle is over. 'Cause Goliath has descendants. Goliath got kinfolk. Goliath has generations that come after him that act just like him. Goliath has folk that are in his lineage that still got his spirit. Goliath has kinfolk that got the same messed-up mentality that Goliath had. And just 'cause I beat Goliath doesn't mean I don't have to fight his descendants. Um, um, I'm going to upset somebody, but I came by to tell you a real hard truth. Goliath has cousins. Matter of fact, help your neighbor get it. Look at them. Become. Goliath has cousins. Slavery had a cousin named Jim Crow. The Dred Scott decision has a cousin called the attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Those who enslaved our foremothers and forefathers have cousins called ICE agents. The lynching of black folk has a cousin called police brutality. Sharecropping has a cousin called mass incarceration. The KKK got cousins called the Patriot Front and the Proud Boys. Segregation has a cousin called redlining in the mortgage industry. Carolyn Bryant, who lied on Emmett Till, has a cousin called Karen. Uncle Tom has a cousin called Clarence. George Wallace has a cousin with orange skin in the White House. Goliath has cousins. Somebody holler. He got cousins. And the same way you had to fight Goliath, you got to learn that you got to deal with his cousins. The trick of the enemy is to make you think that once you beat Goliath, the Philistines are going to sit down. It didn't go away with the Emancipation Proclamation. It didn't stop at Brown versus Board of Education. It didn't disappear with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. It didn't just stop at the election of Barack Obama. The cousins keep coming. And before you get weary like David, let me share with you the good news that Israel wasn't defeated. Because when David got weary, some other folks stepped up. Come here. Come here. Come here. Come here. Come here. Let me show you what happens. One of the enemy, Ishbi-benob, steps up, and when he steps up, a brother called Abishai says, "I got him." And then Saph started acting a fool, and a brother named Sibbechai said, "Don't worry, I'll take him." And then Goliath's brother jumped up, and a man named Elhanan said, "I'll take care of him." And then "24" jumped up, and then Jonathan said, "I'll battle him." Because when David grew weary, God didn't give him more power. God gave him more people. I don't know who needs to hear this, but when you go weary and you're tired of all of this stuff, God says, "I got to put you around some more people who remind you that when the people of God call on the name of God and stand in the power of God." I don't know who needs to hear this, but you need some more people in your life. And let me unashamedly make a solicitation and marketing appeal. That's why you got to belong to somebody's church. You got too much hell Monday through Saturday just to think you're going to deal with this all by yourself. You need someone who reminds you that God is still good, that God is still on the throne, and He's worthy to be praised. I need about five folk that are grateful to belong to the Alpha Street Baptist Church to just thank God that He connected you with some people who help you when you grow weary. Um, that's why you ought to take a walk down that aisle and say, "Sign me up. I'm down. I'm all in. 'Cause God wants to put you with some people who help you win this battle." Can I push it? Yes, sir. I told you who the enemy was. Let me tell you who the helpers were. Abishai, Sibbechai, Elhanan, and Jonathan. Jonathan is the son of Shimeah, who's one of David's brothers. Now, if your family tree is right, that means Jonathan is David's nephew. Goliath got cousins. And we got nieces and nephews. Here it is. So David has trained the generation after him to know when it is their turn to step out on the battlefield and fight the same fight that David had to fight. 'Cause at some point, David gets weary. At some point, MLK was assassinated. At some point, John Lewis went home to be with the Lord. At some point, Malcolm ain't no longer around. And there's got to be a generation that comes up after us who we have trained to know you are in this battle. Uh, I'm sorry. And I came by Alpha Street on this Sunday morning to let us know our assignment is to raise up some Jonathans and some Jennifers, some millennials, and some Gen Z's who understand God has brought us too far for you to sit at home and not vote on Election Day. I am begging you, Brother Millennial and Sister Gen Z, to fight this fight and get in this battle. Don't sell us out for a stimulus check. Don't let an HBCU close while you got money in your pocket. This is your time to step on this battlefield. I got to go. It's our power. Watch what happens. Bible says that Ishbi-benob, Saph, and Goliath's brother and 24. Bible says in verse 22 that they are all descendants of the giant. And watch how verse 22 ends: "And they all fell at the hand of David and his men." That the same God who brought David victory 40 years ago was the same God that gave this generation victory over Goliath's cousins. And I came by to encourage someone to remind you that the God we serve is not only the God who did it yesterday, but He's the God that'll do it today. The battle may change, the enemies may change, the tactics may change, but our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That He's God from everlasting to everlasting. Great is Thy faithfulness, O God, my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee. He's the same God.
Good. Goodbye, church. Uh, I'm going to let you out of here on time, but somebody was discouraged when I said your last battle was not your last battle. But since our God is the same, can I give you some good news? If your last battle was not your last battle, then your last victory was not your last victory. And the God who did it back then is the same God who's able to do it again. Somebody holler, "Do it again." God heal again. God deliver again. God make a way again. God fight this battle. God give us strength again. God do it. Goodbye. Uh, goodbye, church. But let me close it by telling you what happened. One day when I went home, and Cooper was about three or four years old, when I walked in the house, Cooper ran up to the door. He saw I had my bags, and when I put my bags down, I picked him up. I picked him up, I tossed him in the air. I flipped him, and I sat him down. And while I was walking away, I heard him holler, "Daddy! Do it again." So, I went over and I picked him up. I tossed him in the air. I flipped him over, and I sat him down. And while I'm walking away, I heard him holler, "Daddy, do it again." So, I picked him up. I tossed him in the air. I flipped him over, and I sat him down. And when I walked away, he had the audacity to say, "Daddy, do it again." Goodbye, church. But the next time you get weary, I want you to holler a Cooper prayer: God, do it again. Lord, do it again. Father, do it. Do it? Won't He do it again? Won't He make a way again? Won't He see you through again? Won't He fight for you again? God, do it again. God will do it again.
So God, as I stand here weary, that the enemy keeps coming, remind me, God, that Goliath has cousins. Hallelujah. And that our past victory doesn't give us immunity from a future battle. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God. God, I need You to send some folk in my life when I'm weary to remind me that You're still working things together for good. I'm so grateful for a church home, God, where You've connected me with some people who help me when I'm weary. Yes. God, I'm praying that we would leave a legacy of raising up some Jonathans and some Jennifers, some Gen Z's and millennials who are committed to fighting this fight because they believe the same God that did it in Brown versus Board, the same God that did it in the Civil Rights, the same God that did it in the election of our first black president is the same God who will carry us through this right now. So God, I simply ask You, do it again. Do it again. God, we trust that You will do it again.
Family, when I titled this sermon, "Here We Go Again," you thought I was talking about the enemy. "Here we go again" is not a declaration about our enemy. It's a statement of faith in our God. 'Cause whenever your enemy has "another," God has "again." God will do it again. Thank you, God. You may be seated, family. Thank you, God. I do it for me. Yes, sir.