Greater Is He That Is in Me Than He That Is in the World #3 — What Is Your Story?

Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world is more than encouragement: it is God’s power in you so that you can do the good works He prepared for you. In this closing message of the series, Pastor Paul revisits David facing the lion, the bear and Goliath, then turns the question on his listeners: what is your story, and what step of faith is God asking you to take? It continues from Greater Is He That Is in Me Than He That Is in the World, Part 2: Joshua, Caleb and the Twelve Spies.

Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline and practical steps you can take this week.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was preached at NTC Ministries in early August 2023 and posted on August 8. Pastor Paul says it continues what he has been preaching the few times he was able to preach that summer. He opens by thanking God for His word, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).

The first part recaps David’s courage. The second part gets personal: God has divinely appointed each listener for such a time as this, and the promise of 1 John 4:4 is given so that we will act, not just feel encouraged. He closes with three questions for reflection and a prayer of commitment.

David Knew Who He Was

Pastor Paul reminds the church that we live in a fallen world, with garbage thrown at us through social media, the news, work and family pressures. That is why believers must stay in the Word and live by faith, not by feelings. The Bible’s stories, he says, are not just stories. They really happened.

David’s calling as a young boy was simply to watch sheep, and he did it to the best of his ability. When a lion and a bear came to take a lamb, David went after them (1 Samuel 17:34–36). He did not spend three weeks praying for divine intervention. He knew who God had called him to be, and something rose up inside him when the enemy tried to steal his family’s blessing.

A boy chased down a fast lion, caught it by its beard and got the lamb back. That is how much God empowers us. When you know who God has called you to be, you can run and not be weary, walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

How did David know his God? Not through family genes, Pastor Paul says. David got to know God while shepherding. He learned to worship with the harp, found God’s presence, and talked with Him the way Pastor Paul talks with the church. That relationship is what empowered him to go out in God’s strength and authority.

Jesus is honest with us: in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, He has overcome the world (John 16:33). God is a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1), and in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

We compromise, Pastor Paul says, when our priorities get out of order. We are to seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), and all God’s promises in Christ are yes (2 Corinthians 1:20), not maybe, not sort of. Church is where we are built up in faith, so that we can leave the building and be the church.

How Dare He Defy the Armies of the Living God

David’s next assignment was just as humble: his father sent him to take food to his brothers at the battle line (1 Samuel 17:17–18). He arrived to find the army of the living God, trained for battle from their youth, hiding from a giant. Pastor Paul says fear gripped them because they had learned to do things in their own strength and admired how great and strong they were.

When David asked what was going on, his oldest brother accused him of coming down to gloat (1 Samuel 17:28). A thief always thinks he is being stolen from, Pastor Paul notes. Satan is a liar and manipulator, so be people of prayer who study the Word, not just read it.

His phone devotions are often interrupted by pop-ups, so he shuts everything off, finds a quiet place and talks with his Father, discovering something new each day about how much God loves him.

David reminded the soldiers that they were the army of the living God and asked how this giant dared to defy them (1 Samuel 17:26). Brought to the king, he was offered Saul’s armor, tried it and set it aside (1 Samuel 17:38–40). He would do it the way God had taught him, with a few stones and a sling.

Goliath mocked him, but the power of God rose up inside David. The stone sank into the giant’s forehead, and since David had no sword, he took Goliath’s own and cut off his head (1 Samuel 17:49–51). Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world, Pastor Paul declares. You might be facing giants today, hoping that if you ignore them they will go away. You do not have to be afraid.

The more you know God, the less Satan can deceive you. By my God I can run against a troop and leap over a wall (Psalm 18:29). “I can lay hands on the sick and see him recover because my God says so,” he adds (Mark 16:18). If you have never seen it, he says, it is okay to admit you were wrong; he makes mistakes all the time, but they do not make him back away.

Sometimes steps of faith are blind. The church was just learning to run cameras for its online services, and one volunteer stepped in not knowing how. When faith like that rises up, God honors it, because without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).

What Is Your Story?

Here the message turns personal. There are many wonderful stories in the Bible, Pastor Paul says, but today he wants to ask what your story is. Where has God put you? Where are the Davids, and the Calebs and Joshuas who will not run from what God has asked?

None of us chose to be living here in 2023. God has divinely appointed us for such a time as this (Esther 4:14), and with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Pastor Paul testifies that the church has seen people healed time and again, including of cancer, and has seen growths and tumors leave. So we cannot be shy and timid about who God has called us to be.

That is why 1 John 4:4 says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Life is not always easy, so he does not take days off from pressing into God. When his feet hit the floor he greets his Heavenly Father, King Jesus and the Holy Spirit, thanks God for the day and asks to be used for His glory.

Then he makes the key point of the series. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world is a wonderful encouragement, and a reminder that I can do all things through Christ. But why is He greater in us? To do what He has called us to do, to act how He wants us to act, and to take the steps of faith He has been speaking about. David was ready to act when the lion came and when the giant rose up.

Are you ready? If you think you are already doing all you can, he asks whether you are really listening and pressing in, or living by your feelings. What is He asking of you today?

Created in Christ Jesus for Good Works

The church cannot become complacent and think what it is doing is good enough, Pastor Paul says. That is why NTC started a child care, a school, a radio station and a food pantry: not to keep people busy, but as steps of faith that please God, build His army and share the love of Christ with the North Woods.

Ephesians 2:10 says we are His workmanship. God spoke everything else into existence, but He handcrafted you. As the children learned at vacation Bible school that week, you are God’s masterpiece, not a mistake. Your past does not matter, and neither does what you think you cannot do, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13).

People in the Bible argued with God too: “I can’t talk, I would stutter. I can’t do this; I don’t know what I’d be doing.” God’s answer was that He had given them the strength, wisdom and anointing to go. We are created in Christ Jesus for good works. God does not need me, someone says. Yes, He does, Pastor Paul insists. We are vessels and the conduit of His love into the world.

Settling into a comfort zone, he says, robs us of the blessings God freely gives. When Satan’s lies come, take the Word, the double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), and cut off the head of that snake.

Jesus trained His disciples to do good works, and it took them a while, as it sometimes takes us. Keep taking steps of faith. If you are unsure what God is asking, the church offers places to grow, from children’s ministry to the sound equipment or simply greeting people at the door.

A Tree Planted by Flowing Streams

Reading Psalm 1:1–3 in the New English Translation, Pastor Paul highlights that the blessed person finds pleasure in obeying the Lord, is like a tree planted by flowing streams, and succeeds in everything he attempts. His takeaway: you also fail in everything you do not attempt. Refusing to try is refusing God’s blessing, and thinking you are not good enough is a lie from Satan.

God says you are highly favored, healed by the stripes of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5), and that no weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Echoing Dr. Hohman, he says the pastor is not a priest who does everything for the people; he is a teacher trying to be a Christian just like everyone else, letting God’s love flow through him.

He shares that, having grown up in the church and seen how people acted, he once wanted to run from ministry. But God told him that was exactly why He needed him there, as His hands and feet. He recalls the backlash Dr. Hohman and Pastor Pam faced for starting a church, a food pantry and free carnivals in the park, and says that is why he knows Satan is real.

The first verse of Psalm 1 also speaks about friendships. Pastor Paul says his steady diet of friends cannot be people who do not know God. He can spend time with unsaved friends and family, but if he is not influencing them, they are influencing him. Believers are to come out and be separate (2 Corinthians 6:17), so people can see Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

Pastor Paul quotes a saying of Dr. Hohman that stuck with him: “Every living thing is a growing thing.” If he is not growing, he asks, is he really living or just existing? No promise of God is without responsible action on our part. God gives instructions, and we often will not see the second step until we take the first.

Diligence and the Gathered Church

This is why church matters. Reading Hebrews 10:25 in the Amplified Bible, Pastor Paul has the church repeat “all the more”: we are not to forsake meeting together, but encourage one another all the more as we see the day of Christ’s return approaching. Satan’s plan is to keep believers from church, prayer and the Word through distractions, negativity and overwhelming feelings.

When fear recently led many churches to shut their doors, some for good, they forgot that greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world, he says, and left their first love (Revelation 2:4). NTC asked God what to do, set up cameras, and grew, now reaching viewers worldwide. Satan knows Christ is returning for a church without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27), but he is small, and we win.

God’s answers come when we put His word into action, which is why the church teaches line upon line, precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:10). You may think you are just a farmer, a factory line worker, a grocery bagger or a gas station clerk. Do not despise small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). You might be there five or ten years, but do it faithfully and wholeheartedly.

He quotes Oswald Chambers, author of My Utmost for His Highest: “God does not give us overcoming life; He gives us life as we overcome.” Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men (Colossians 3:23–24). Do not go halfway.

He encourages a word study on diligence and reads three proverbs, summarized below:

When God asks something of you, go for it with every fiber of your being. You are not past your prime, he says. He closes with Ephesians 3:20–21, read together by the whole church: God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

Walking in Greater Is He This Week

Pastor Paul leaves three questions: What good works might God be leading you to do today? How can you use the gifts God has given you? And how can you make space in your life to do them? Here are practical steps drawn from the message:

• Write your story. Name where God has placed you right now, at work, at home or in retirement, and ask what He wants to do through you there.
• Take the first step. Choose one thing God has been asking of you and act on it this week, even if you cannot see the second step.
• Guard your quiet time. Turn off the phone, find a quiet place and talk with your Father before the day starts.
• Answer lies with the Word. When Satan says you are not good enough, speak 1 John 4:4 and Philippians 4:13 out loud.
• Serve somewhere. Try one opportunity at church, from greeting to helping with children, as a way to grow your faith.
• Work heartily. Do your present job, however small it feels, with diligence and excellence as to the Lord.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 Opening prayer: ready to receive the Word
• 0:44 Continuing the Greater Is He series
• 1:30 Living by faith, not feelings
• 2:18 David, the lion and the bear
• 5:06 How David got to know God
• 7:55 David brings lunch to his brothers
• 9:49 Satan the liar; studying the Word
• 10:53 How dare he defy the armies of the living God
• 11:45 David defeats Goliath
• 13:39 Steps of faith, even blind ones
• 14:56 What is your story?
• 16:09 1 John 4:4
• 17:08 Why He is greater in us
• 18:14 Ephesians 2:10: created for good works
• 24:55 What is God asking of you?
• 25:59 Psalm 1: succeeding in what you attempt
• 28:00 Wanting to run from ministry
• 30:56 Every living thing is a growing thing
• 33:05 Hebrews 10:25: all the more
• 37:42 Do not despise small beginnings
• 40:58 Three proverbs on diligence
• 44:25 Ephesians 3:20–21 and closing prayer

Greater Is He Series

This is the final message of a three-part series at NTC Ministries. Start from the beginning or go back one step:

• First message: Greater Is He That Is in Me Than He That Is in the World — Keeping Your Eyes on Your Source
• Previous: Greater Is He That Is in Me Than He That Is in the World, Part 2: Joshua, Caleb and the Twelve Spies
• You are here: Greater Is He That Is in Me Than He That Is in the World #3 — What Is Your Story?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did David refuse Saul’s armor?

According to this message, Saul offered his kingly armor because David was just a boy, perhaps thinking it would make him less intimidated. David tried it on and said it would not work; he would do it the way God had taught him. Pastor Paul ties this to David’s years with the sheep, where he learned to know God personally. His confidence came from that relationship, not from borrowed equipment.

Can I worship God outside without going to church?

Pastor Paul acknowledges that summer in the North Woods is beautiful and tempting, but he urges people to worship the Creator, not the creation, and not forsake gathering together. Believers should meet all the more as Christ’s return approaches, because church is where faith is built up so that people can go out and be the church.

What if my job feels too small to matter to God?

Pastor Paul names jobs like farming, factory line work, bagging groceries and working at a gas station, and says not to despise small beginnings. A present job may be a stepping stone to where God wants to take you, even if you are there five or ten years. Do it faithfully and wholeheartedly, as to the Lord, and ask God each morning what He has in store.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• 1 John 4:4 — greater is He who is in you
• 1 Samuel 17:34–36 — the lion and the bear
• 1 Samuel 17:49–51 — David defeats Goliath
• Ephesians 2:10 — created for good works
• Philippians 4:13 — I can do all things through Christ
• Psalm 1:1–3 — a tree planted by the water
• Hebrews 10:25 — not forsaking the assembling
• Colossians 3:23–24 — work heartily, as to the Lord
• Ephesians 3:20–21 — exceedingly abundantly above all

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

Watch More Messages

If this message stirred you to take your next step of faith, there are hundreds more teachings from NTC Ministries waiting for you. Browse the full sermon archive and keep growing in the One who is greater.