Flip The Script Series

Flip the Script

Genesis 50:20

Online Sermon: https://www.mckeesfamily.com/sermons/

Queen Victoria ruled over the British Empire from 1837 to 1901, marking a 63-year reign that not only set a record in Britain but also defined an era known as the Victorian Age. Shortly after ascending the throne, she fell deeply in love with Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel and, just five days after his arrival at Windsor Castle, proposed to him. On their wedding day, February 10, 1840, Queen Victoria wrote in her diary: “How can I ever be thankful enough to have a husband… to be called by names of tenderness I have never yet heard used for me – it was bliss beyond belief! Oh! This is the happiest day of my life!”

The couple shared a profound love and had nine children together. However, tragedy struck 21 years into their marriage when Albert contracted typhoid fever and passed away. Overcome with grief, Victoria turned Albert’s room into a shrine, keeping it as though he might return. She even slept with his nightshirt in her arms. Though part of her died with Albert, she seemed to stop living altogether, becoming famously known as the 'Widow of Windsor.”

His Name, Our Story

Queen Victoria’s grief became her identity, binding her to loss rather than the vibrant life she once lived. But history reminds us of others who refused to let their circumstances or even their names define them. Michael King became Martin Luther King Jr. to honor a reformer’s legacy; Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali to align with his faith; and Mozart continually reimagined himself through his name. Yet true and lasting transformation goes deeper—it requires divine intervention. In Scripture, God renamed Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, and Jacob to Israel, marking not just a change in name but in identity, purpose, and destiny. As the saying goes, “The difference between success and failure is the stories we tell ourselves.” If we allow tragedy to dictate our narrative, like Queen Victoria, we risk living in defeat and despair. But when we anchor our identity in God’s unchanging character and trust Him with our destiny, even in our trials, we experience divine comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-5), spiritual growth (James 1:2-4), and an indescribable, unspeakable joy (1 Peter 1:8). What stories are you telling yourself? Are they shaped by fear, doubt, or faith in God’s promises?

The stories we tell ourselves define not just our identity, but what we believe is possible through God’s power. The Australian sailing team serves as a powerful example of this principle, showing us what happens when determination meets faith.

Telling Yourself a Different Story

On August 22, 1851, Queen Victoria watched as Commodore John Cox Stevens and his six-man crew claimed victory in the America's Cup, beginning the New York Yacht Club's unprecedented 132-year winning streak. Imagine the challenge faced by the Australian team decades later as they prepared to face such giants. To overcome history, they needed to rewrite their story. For three years, each team member listened twice daily to a recording of a sailboat cutting through water, vividly imagining themselves winning the race—2,190 rehearsals of victory etched into their minds. On September 26, 1983, aboard Australia II, skippered by John Bertrand, they turned visualization into reality, shattering the New York Yacht Club's reign. What are the stories you are telling yourself? Are they accurate or inaccurate, helping or hurting you? Are they based on what doubters or haters of you say or like king David are you living a God-sized dream because you have given editorial and complete control of your life to the Author and Perfector of your faith? Their victory reminds us that rewriting our story requires vision, faith, and perseverance—qualities we see in David on the battlefield.

Just as the Australian sailors refused to let history dictate their fate and instead rewrote their story with vision, perseverance, and faith, David faced a similar choice on a very different battlefield. While others saw only an unbeatable giant and inevitable defeat, David saw an opportunity to trust God and change the narrative.

For forty days, the Philistine giant Goliath, a towering and fearsome warrior over nine feet tall, stepped onto the battlefield every morning and evening, taunting Israel and challenging any man to face him. Clad in armor weighing about 125 pounds, with bronze greaves on his legs, a bronze javelin slung across his back, and a spear whose tip alone weighed fifteen pounds, Goliath's imposing presence struck terror into the hearts of the Israelite army. But one day, a young shepherd boy named David arrived with food for his brothers and witnessed the Israelites fleeing in fear at the sight of the giant. To David, it was a disgrace that an "uncircumcised Philistine should defy the armies of the living God" (1 Samuel 17:26). Though he seemed the ultimate underdog, David's faith in God emboldened him to face Goliath without King Saul's armor, carrying only a staff, a sling, and five smooth stones.