WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.320 If you would turn with me to the book of 2 Samuel, we are looking at chapter 21 tonight. 00:00:13.740 --> 00:00:19.219 Starting in verse 15. Do you know the difference between an appendix and an epilogue in a book? 00:00:19.940 --> 00:00:24.219 So an appendix is where an author will just jam all sorts of stuff that he didn't know where to 00:00:24.219 --> 00:00:28.760 put in the rest of the book. Or that's where like all the charts and the graphs will go that are 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:34.439 sort of, you know, didn't quite fit in the other pages. That's an appendix. An epilogue, 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:41.719 an epilogue is a place for the author to take a step back, to assess all the ground that he or she 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:49.640 has covered, and then to draw the threads together and try to make a big point. Or to sort of drive 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:55.180 home what it is they're trying to say. And in many ways, as we kind of come to the end of our series 00:00:55.179 --> 00:01:03.259 in the book of 1 and 2 Samuel, chapters 21 and 22 and 23 and 24, these last four chapters are really 00:01:03.259 --> 00:01:09.340 that. They're an epilogue where the author, the compiler, the narrator is sort of drawing all his 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:14.939 threads together. So for the next few weeks, we're sort of marching through this epilogue, 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:19.920 taking stock of the book, and sort of learning from what these last few chapters have to teach us 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:27.740 today. So if you're looking in a pew Bible, that's page 274. And we are going to look at verses 15 00:01:27.740 --> 00:01:36.500 through 22 of chapter 21. Let me read this for us if you're there. There was war again between the 00:01:36.500 --> 00:01:41.900 Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the 00:01:41.900 --> 00:01:50.800 Philistines. And David grew weary. And Ishbi-ben-ob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear 00:01:50.800 --> 00:01:57.680 weighed 300 shekels of bronze, and he was armed with a new sword thought to kill David. But Abishai, 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:03.480 the son of Zeruiah, came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:08.400 to him, you shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:16.300 After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibikai, the Hushethite, 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:21.420 struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. And there was again war with the 00:02:21.420 --> 00:02:28.159 Philistines at Gob. And El-Hanan, the son of Jare-Oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath, 00:02:28.200 --> 00:02:34.140 the Gittite, with a shaft of whose sphere was like a weaver's beam. And there was again war at Gath, 00:02:34.139 --> 00:02:39.899 where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:46.699 24 in number. And he also was descended from the giants. And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan, 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:53.060 the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. These four were descended from the giants in 00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:59.399 Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. Let's pray together. 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:07.000 Lord, we pray for the light of your spirit to be shining in our hearts and upon your word 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:11.780 tonight that we might understand and apply rightly this text before us. We thank you that 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:17.980 you give us your word to do your work and your continuing work of presence in the world. Lord, 00:03:18.060 --> 00:03:22.740 so thank you that we get to gather around it tonight. Lord, we ask that you would do your work 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:31.120 as you see fit. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay. Well, have you ever noticed that sometimes 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:42.200 great athletes make not so great coaches? Great players like Wayne Gretzky in hockey or Isaiah Thomas 00:03:42.200 --> 00:03:48.520 and Magic Johnson in basketball. These guys all have sterling careers as players, right? They are all 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:52.660 stars, they're MVPs, they have lots of championships. But you know, each one of them has a not so bright 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:59.659 track record as a coach, as a leader of a team. I don't really follow hockey, but I saw this the 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:06.200 other day that Wayne Gretzky, when Wayne Gretzky, the so-called great one in hockey, left as the head 00:04:06.200 --> 00:04:12.900 coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, they had failed to make the playoffs four seasons in a row. And when he 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:18.019 left, the team was just completely mired in bankruptcy and investors didn't want to touch it. 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:25.500 Uh, he kind of drove that place into the ground. Uh, even Michael Jordan, right? Arguably still the 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:30.939 best player in NBA history, hasn't had the greatest track record. Uh, now true, he's never actually sort 00:04:30.939 --> 00:04:36.219 of taken on the role of a head coach per se. He's been more involved in sort of owning and managing and 00:04:36.219 --> 00:04:41.199 sort of orchestrating things behind the scenes. But even so, his teams have also been pretty mediocre. 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:52.259 Um, and in, in 2012, his team went, uh, a whopping seven and 59. Seven, seven wins in the whole season. 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:57.339 Uh, that by the way, it was the worst record in NBA history. Uh, this year, the Charlotte Hornets are 00:04:57.339 --> 00:05:04.039 just over 500. Uh, they might make the playoffs, so we'll see if they can turn it around. But, uh, 00:05:04.180 --> 00:05:10.879 but great players rarely make great coaches. They can rarely reproduce in others the greatness that 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:17.300 they themselves embody and that comes so easily to them. Uh, now, as we come to these final chapters 00:05:17.300 --> 00:05:21.959 of second Samuel, as I said, we've come to this sort of carefully crafted epilogue that draws 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:26.920 together some of the important threads of David's life and kingship. Um, and if you look, if you sort 00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:31.819 of take a, just a span of the whole chunk, you see this sort of chiastic, this pattern that goes 00:05:31.819 --> 00:05:37.120 basically David cleaning up, uh, Saul's mess. And then you've got this little episode about David's 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:41.660 mighty men. And then you have a song and then you have a song and then you've got an episode about 00:05:41.660 --> 00:05:45.720 David's mighty men. And then you have David cleaning up a mess that actually he made. Uh, 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:50.180 so there's this beautiful sort of literary pattern that signals to us that this is kind of the grand 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:55.579 summary of the book. And here in this little section, you know, as you look back over David's 00:05:55.579 --> 00:05:59.660 life, as we're sort of drawing these threads together, what's one of the themes that you see in 00:05:59.660 --> 00:06:07.439 his life? Well, one of those themes is, is that David was a great warrior. He was a military hero. 00:06:08.660 --> 00:06:16.260 Um, one of the number one hits on Jerusalem pop radio in the 11th century BC went like this. 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:21.580 Saul has killed his thousands, but David, his 10,000s. That's what all the kids were bumping 00:06:21.580 --> 00:06:26.320 on their stereo in downtown Jerusalem. That was the literally, that's the song that you, not literally, 00:06:26.319 --> 00:06:30.920 that's the song they used to sing in the streets when the army would come home. Saul has killed his 00:06:30.920 --> 00:06:37.300 thousands and David has killed his 10,000s. Um, and of course, as we look back over David's life as a 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:44.159 warrior, what is the one story that we all remember? What's the sort of, uh, just quintessential 00:06:44.159 --> 00:06:54.939 moment in David's life as David and Goliath, right? That's the one David was Israel's great giant slayer. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:02.839 Uh, now of course there had been other giant slayers actually before David in Israel's history. 00:07:03.159 --> 00:07:08.300 Uh, Moses being the primary one, actually, uh, not only did God sort of take down Egypt 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:13.639 under Moses's kind of leadership, uh, but Moses in the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan in the 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.639 book of numbers as a sort of ending their time in the wilderness and coming to sort of on the brink 00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:24.199 of the promised land, we're told that Israel, uh, that Moses led Israel to defeat Og, the king of 00:07:24.199 --> 00:07:31.699 Bashan, who apparently slept in a 13 foot bed. So here was a giant that Moses took down. 00:07:33.699 --> 00:07:40.319 But you know, it's really David, isn't it? Who sort of stands out as the great feller of giants. 00:07:41.779 --> 00:07:46.139 Uh, and by the way, I should mention here sort of as a side note, when the old Testament talks about 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:54.180 giants, uh, don't think sort of Jack and the beanstalk giants, um, you know, 40 foot high, 00:07:54.900 --> 00:07:59.579 mythological legendary creatures that don't really ever exist. Don't think about that. Think more like 00:07:59.579 --> 00:08:04.040 Shaquille O'Neal. I'm going to use a lot of athletic metaphors tonight. Think Shaquille O'Neal. If Shaquille 00:08:04.040 --> 00:08:07.460 O'Neal were to walk in here, now I'm six one. That's kind of average height for a guy. How tall is 00:08:07.460 --> 00:08:12.759 Shaquille O'Neal? He's like 7 million something, right? I mean, he would dwarf me. We would literally 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:17.759 think that he was a giant. And if we lived in the ancient near East and we had to sort of do hand to 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:23.340 hand combat to see who got to live somewhere, we would be frightened of him. This is what the, this is really 00:08:23.339 --> 00:08:25.560 what the Bible is talking about when they're talking about giants. They're talking about real 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:30.739 humans who were uncharacteristically big. In fact, the word giant in this text, uh, here in the Hebrew 00:08:30.739 --> 00:08:37.500 text actually just translates a word wrath, uh, which is probably the name of a tribe or an ancestor 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:43.339 from which these guys all came from. They were probably part of a tribe that was just uncharacteristically 00:08:43.339 --> 00:08:49.679 big. Uh, just last month, actually, CNN ran a story on, uh, Polynesian high school football 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:55.939 players. Uh, some people have called this the Polynesian pipeline because some of these kids 00:08:55.939 --> 00:09:02.259 are just so big that they dominate high school football and many, many, many of them go to the 00:09:02.259 --> 00:09:07.299 pros. So even though in the United States, there's only something like 300,000 Samoans and Tongas who 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:13.519 sort of make up these sort of Polynesian people groups, they're just an unstoppable force in high 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:19.299 school athletics. And of course, again, in the ancient near East, a whole group of guys like that would be 00:09:19.299 --> 00:09:24.259 utterly terrifying. They would be a force to be reckoned with. So this is sort of giants that we're 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:32.120 talking about here. And again, David, Israel's great King was known as the one who could bring them down. 00:09:34.459 --> 00:09:40.939 And so you would expect that as the compiler of the book of Samuel brings his story to a close in 00:09:40.939 --> 00:09:49.159 this climactic epilogue, that we'd want to get one more really good gripping story of David's military 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:55.019 prowess, right? Or maybe he could give us sort of a highlight reel of some of David's greatest hits 00:09:55.019 --> 00:10:03.860 to sort of just put the cherry on the top of the Sunday. But surprisingly, that's actually not what 00:10:03.860 --> 00:10:11.480 we get. Instead, we get a story, not about some great victory that David had, but we get a story 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:18.000 about David's very last time on the battlefield. And we don't know exactly when this particular battle 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:23.100 came in David's life. It's probably sometime after David's major victories over the Philistines in 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:28.379 chapter five and chapter eight. You can go back and read those. But whether it happened, say, before or 00:10:28.379 --> 00:10:32.779 after Absalom's rebellion, for instance, we don't quite know. We don't know sort of when chronologically 00:10:32.779 --> 00:10:40.360 this happened. But the important thing to see is this, that in this last battle, it's not David 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:48.220 who hits the game winner, right? It's not David who makes the amazing play so that they can all go home 00:10:48.220 --> 00:10:54.620 happy and glad and sing their songs of victory. We don't get a romping story about David's strength. 00:10:54.620 --> 00:11:02.919 Instead, we get a story where David grows weary. And David, the great rescuer of Israel, needs himself 00:11:02.919 --> 00:11:14.059 to be rescued. Isn't that interesting? And it's not David, but it's Abishai, one of David's men, who brings down 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:23.179 the giant. And in verse 17, afterwards, all the soldiers are thinking, whoa, that was a close one. In fact, that was 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:29.120 too close. And they all make a pact that David, from that point forward, is never ever going to go out with them 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:33.860 again into battle. Because he is too important to the life of the people and the life of the nation 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:39.120 to make that mistake again. And so from this point forward, David stays home. 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:51.279 But then, in the following verses, verses 18 through 21, the narrator sort of shows us an important point. 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:58.500 And it's actually a point, it's a truth, that will extend all the way into the New Testament 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:02.240 and comes down right to the church today, to you and me. 00:12:04.379 --> 00:12:12.399 You see, if we were to read just verses 15 through 17, we might think that Abishai got lucky, right? 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:18.500 That, you know, we might think that the army of Israel, and David too, for that matter, just dodged a 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:23.019 huge bullet on this one. Abishai got lucky, he brought down the giant in just the nick of time, 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:26.000 and they can all go home and sort of retrench their strategy. 00:12:27.620 --> 00:12:34.720 But lest we think, lest we think that this was just a fluke, just a sort of lucky shot 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:44.820 that saved their skin, the narrator goes on to give us, not one, not two, but three more accounts 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:49.200 where David's men bring down giants. 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:57.560 The narrator, drawing together the threads of his story, is saying, yes, in David's reign, 00:12:57.980 --> 00:13:04.780 the giants fell, and his men participated in the felling. 00:13:04.779 --> 00:13:10.120 This is the point I think the narrator wants us to see. 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:19.159 That the victory of the king is advanced through the people of the king. 00:13:20.439 --> 00:13:28.059 That the great triumph of David is extended then, out and through his very people. 00:13:28.059 --> 00:13:36.319 Unlike the great athletes who make not-so-great coaches, who can't lead other people to greatness, 00:13:37.199 --> 00:13:45.919 around David, cropped up, grew a whole host of men who participated in his victory and took it forward. 00:13:48.419 --> 00:13:51.719 Sibakai takes down a giant warrior named Saf. 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:56.259 El Hanan defeats another Goliath. 00:13:56.800 --> 00:14:01.480 Which, if you look at the parallel text in 1 Chronicles 20, chapter 20, verse 5, 00:14:01.680 --> 00:14:06.980 we learn that this is actually the brother of the Goliath that David slew back in 1 Samuel 17. 00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:12.399 And lastly, Jonathan, not David's friend Jonathan here, but David's nephew, 00:14:13.040 --> 00:14:16.300 ends up defeating a man with 24 fingers and toes. 00:14:16.299 --> 00:14:23.079 Which, by the way, actually, is actually kind of a well-documented condition 00:14:23.079 --> 00:14:26.579 called polydactyly or hyperdactyly. 00:14:26.959 --> 00:14:29.079 I didn't know that until I started learning about this passage. 00:14:29.959 --> 00:14:31.359 But according to the Children's Hospital in Boston, 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:35.240 one out of every thousand births experiences some form of being born with multiple digits. 00:14:36.659 --> 00:14:39.199 Some stats actually say one in five hundred. 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:40.199 So it's actually pretty common. 00:14:40.959 --> 00:14:45.079 CBS News actually ran a story not long ago about a man from Cuba named Hernandez Garrido 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:49.280 who had, you should look it up on the internet because the pictures are stunning. 00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:53.960 He has, I kid you not, unless this was a total hoax website, which I don't think it was, 00:14:55.040 --> 00:14:57.900 twelve perfectly looking fingers and toes. 00:14:58.940 --> 00:14:59.340 Unbelievable. 00:15:00.020 --> 00:15:00.220 Anyway. 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:03.220 But, back to the story. 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:06.720 Like Goliath, back in 1 Samuel 17, 00:15:07.400 --> 00:15:10.900 this giant here, whoever he may be, with his 24 fingers and toes, 00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:13.360 also taunts Israel. 00:15:14.079 --> 00:15:17.179 And like Goliath, those taunts are silenced. 00:15:17.579 --> 00:15:18.419 And he comes down. 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:21.220 Again, not at the hand of David, 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:23.699 but at the hand of one of David's men. 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:28.779 And again, the point seems to be that the victory of the king 00:15:28.779 --> 00:15:30.939 is advanced through the people of the king. 00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:34.000 But note how the passage ends in verse 22. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:36.059 The narrator says, 00:15:36.139 --> 00:15:41.019 they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. 00:15:42.460 --> 00:15:43.659 Now that's interesting, you think. 00:15:44.179 --> 00:15:47.179 David's hand had nothing to do with these giants falling. 00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:52.759 But I think the point there is that there is a sense in which 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:57.539 this is still rightly understood as David's victory. 00:15:57.539 --> 00:16:06.459 The glory for this moment in Israel's history is still creditable to David. 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:11.319 As the king, he's the one under whose command and presence 00:16:11.319 --> 00:16:13.579 God does these amazing things. 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:17.000 And because these men are connected to David 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:19.360 by their bonds of allegiance and loyalty, 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:22.539 they participate in his triumph and they take it forward. 00:16:22.539 --> 00:16:26.899 And as I mentioned just a moment ago, 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:31.919 this pattern isn't just a feature of David's reign some 3,000 years ago. 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:36.360 But in fact, this pattern extends right into the New Testament 00:16:36.360 --> 00:16:38.360 and onward into the church today. 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:40.939 What do I mean by that? 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:46.579 What I mean is that when God took action 00:16:46.579 --> 00:16:49.199 in the book of Samuel here that we've been studying, 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:51.480 when God, you remember how the book of Samuel starts? 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:55.820 It starts with the people in massive spiritual decline. 00:16:56.259 --> 00:16:58.539 Probably one of the darkest moments in Israel's history. 00:16:58.680 --> 00:17:00.779 That's when the sort of pages of Samuel start. 00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:04.700 But when God took action through the historical events 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:06.920 recorded in this book to renew his people 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:10.440 and to raise up a king that would rescue them from their enemies, 00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:14.599 we see here that those who are connected to the king 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:17.019 are swept up into that kingdom advancing work. 00:17:17.360 --> 00:17:18.400 And in the New Testament, 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:22.800 when God took action to renew his people once and for all, 00:17:23.800 --> 00:17:27.840 and when the king came who would truly rescue us from our enemies, 00:17:28.340 --> 00:17:30.060 not just our political enemies, 00:17:30.280 --> 00:17:31.780 not physical giants, 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:33.820 but friends, our real enemies, 00:17:35.060 --> 00:17:39.460 the enemies of sin and death and condemnation. 00:17:39.460 --> 00:17:43.460 When that king came, 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:45.620 when God did that through Jesus Christ, 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:49.019 what we see in the pages of the New Testament, friends, 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:51.500 is that those who are connected to the king 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:54.380 in loyalty of heart and allegiance, 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:54.920 in other words, 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:55.980 by faith, 00:17:57.120 --> 00:17:59.600 they too are swept up into that kingdom work. 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:03.340 Where do we see that? 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:05.779 Well, we see it during the life of Jesus himself. 00:18:05.779 --> 00:18:07.940 In Luke chapter 10, 00:18:08.059 --> 00:18:09.299 Jesus, on the way to Jerusalem, 00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:10.579 sends out the 72, 00:18:11.539 --> 00:18:13.720 just like he had sent out the 12 before them, 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:16.740 telling them to preach in his name 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:19.720 and to do powerful works in his name. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:22.160 There was Jesus sort of extending 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:25.420 his kingdom movement through his followers. 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:27.660 And so that's what they do. 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.119 In John's gospel, chapter 14, verse 12, 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:33.219 Jesus tells the disciples that 00:18:33.219 --> 00:18:35.879 after he ascends to the Father, 00:18:36.839 --> 00:18:39.000 after the definitive victory is won 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:40.259 through his death and resurrection, 00:18:40.479 --> 00:18:43.139 that they will do even greater works 00:18:43.139 --> 00:18:45.539 than they had experienced 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:46.779 during his earthly ministry. 00:18:49.179 --> 00:18:50.399 And after his resurrection, 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:50.959 he tells them, 00:18:51.139 --> 00:18:53.639 go, make disciples of all nations. 00:18:54.919 --> 00:18:56.259 And right before his ascension, 00:18:56.399 --> 00:18:58.379 go be witnesses to the ends of the earth. 00:18:59.019 --> 00:19:00.479 My spirit's going to come upon you 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:01.660 and you'll go. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:04.860 In other words, 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.720 this once for all victory of the king, 00:19:08.299 --> 00:19:09.039 sins forgiven, 00:19:09.579 --> 00:19:10.360 death conquered, 00:19:10.700 --> 00:19:12.079 the new creation begun, 00:19:12.579 --> 00:19:14.019 the victory of King Jesus 00:19:14.019 --> 00:19:15.120 now advances 00:19:15.120 --> 00:19:18.900 through the people of the king. 00:19:21.799 --> 00:19:23.799 So we see it during Jesus' own lifetime 00:19:23.799 --> 00:19:25.599 and we see it in the life 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:26.839 of the apostles themselves. 00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:29.519 Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5, 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:31.180 the passage we start our service with, 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:33.639 that we are ambassadors of Christ, 00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:34.079 he says. 00:19:35.339 --> 00:19:36.859 We've received reconciliation. 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:38.359 God made him who knew no sin 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:39.619 to be sin for us 00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:40.839 so that in him we might become 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:41.940 the righteousness of God. 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:42.720 And now, 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:43.559 knowing that, 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:44.819 we go to others 00:19:44.819 --> 00:19:46.180 with the message of reconciliation. 00:19:46.740 --> 00:19:48.299 Be reconciled to God. 00:19:49.180 --> 00:19:50.240 Paul ends that passage. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:53.620 For we are ambassadors, 00:19:53.859 --> 00:19:54.140 friends, 00:19:54.859 --> 00:19:56.380 participants in the king's victory, 00:19:57.200 --> 00:19:58.539 agents of its advance. 00:20:01.420 --> 00:20:01.660 But you know, 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:02.039 for my money, 00:20:02.099 --> 00:20:03.420 one of the most profound statements 00:20:03.420 --> 00:20:05.480 of this reality in the New Testament 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:06.859 is found in Acts chapter 13. 00:20:08.620 --> 00:20:09.700 In Acts 13, 00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:11.640 Paul and Barnabas 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:14.620 are in the city of Pisidian Antioch, 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:15.720 a little city 00:20:15.720 --> 00:20:18.319 sort of in south central Turkey. 00:20:19.660 --> 00:20:21.220 And they've proclaimed the gospel 00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:22.539 in the synagogue of that city. 00:20:23.120 --> 00:20:24.440 They've proclaimed the good news 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:26.720 that Jesus is God's long-awaited Messiah 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:28.400 who fulfills Israel's story. 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:30.500 Jesus is the true offspring of David 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:31.440 who frees us 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:33.079 from the condemnation of the law. 00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:35.620 Jesus is the one 00:20:35.620 --> 00:20:36.860 who's born, 00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:37.579 sins, 00:20:37.819 --> 00:20:38.779 curse in our place 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:39.960 and has liberated us. 00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:43.220 And then in verse 47 00:20:43.220 --> 00:20:43.700 of that chapter, 00:20:43.819 --> 00:20:44.840 Paul and Barnabas say 00:20:44.840 --> 00:20:47.319 that they're taking this good news 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:48.819 not just to the Jews, 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:49.920 but they're taking it 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:51.180 to the Gentiles as well. 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:53.700 And then, 00:20:53.860 --> 00:20:54.860 they quote 00:20:54.860 --> 00:20:56.640 Isaiah 49, 00:20:56.840 --> 00:20:57.420 verse 6, 00:20:57.680 --> 00:20:58.420 which says this, 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:00.200 I have made you a light 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:01.000 for the Gentiles 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:02.660 that you may bring salvation 00:21:02.660 --> 00:21:03.440 to the ends of the earth. 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:05.079 Paul and Barnabas say 00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:06.120 this is what we're doing. 00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:07.340 God has made us a light 00:21:07.340 --> 00:21:08.079 for the Gentiles 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:09.160 that we may bring salvation 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:09.980 to the ends of the earth. 00:21:11.580 --> 00:21:11.980 Now, 00:21:12.779 --> 00:21:14.820 here's the amazing thing. 00:21:16.080 --> 00:21:17.140 If you go back 00:21:17.140 --> 00:21:18.140 to Isaiah 49 00:21:18.140 --> 00:21:19.920 and read that verse 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:20.740 in context, 00:21:21.620 --> 00:21:23.460 who is Isaiah talking about? 00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:26.140 Well, 00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:27.700 Isaiah 49 00:21:27.700 --> 00:21:30.200 is one of the servant songs 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:31.200 of Isaiah. 00:21:33.040 --> 00:21:34.360 And the servant songs 00:21:34.360 --> 00:21:34.880 in Isaiah, 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:35.519 which we know 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:35.880 in the light 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:36.540 of the New Testament, 00:21:37.040 --> 00:21:38.920 are about the coming Messiah. 00:21:39.580 --> 00:21:40.300 They're about Jesus. 00:21:41.040 --> 00:21:41.800 Jesus is a servant 00:21:41.800 --> 00:21:42.140 of the Lord 00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:42.740 who's doing all, 00:21:42.800 --> 00:21:43.480 who sort of brings 00:21:43.480 --> 00:21:44.140 all this great thing 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:44.960 to completion. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:47.460 Jesus is the one 00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:48.420 through his own person 00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:48.940 and work 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:49.600 will restore 00:21:49.600 --> 00:21:50.460 the people of God 00:21:50.460 --> 00:21:51.560 and be a light 00:21:51.560 --> 00:21:52.140 to the nations, 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:53.580 which is what Isaiah 49, 00:21:53.720 --> 00:21:54.300 verse 6, 00:21:54.340 --> 00:21:54.840 is all about. 00:21:57.040 --> 00:21:57.900 He's the one 00:21:57.900 --> 00:21:59.259 who's going to bring 00:21:59.259 --> 00:21:59.920 the Gentiles 00:21:59.920 --> 00:22:01.080 into the family of God. 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:01.119 God. 00:22:03.399 --> 00:22:03.879 But, 00:22:04.220 --> 00:22:05.759 Paul and Barnabas 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:07.439 in Acts chapter 13 00:22:07.439 --> 00:22:09.699 understand 00:22:09.699 --> 00:22:12.480 what Jesus taught 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:13.500 in his earthly ministry 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:15.039 and what the Old Testament 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:15.899 kingdom pattern 00:22:15.899 --> 00:22:17.039 showed all along 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:18.619 that this great victory 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:20.000 that the king had won 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:21.980 was now being advanced 00:22:21.980 --> 00:22:23.740 through his people. 00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:26.019 Paul knew that 00:22:26.019 --> 00:22:27.159 because he was united 00:22:27.159 --> 00:22:28.539 to Jesus by faith, 00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:29.980 because he had received 00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:30.539 the blessings 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:31.180 of the gospel 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:32.879 that now he had 00:22:32.879 --> 00:22:33.759 a role to play 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:35.740 and that he would be 00:22:35.740 --> 00:22:36.619 a means 00:22:36.619 --> 00:22:38.420 whereby King Jesus 00:22:38.420 --> 00:22:39.920 extended his victory 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:40.960 and light to the nations. 00:22:41.899 --> 00:22:42.700 Paul understood himself 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:43.980 as so united 00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:46.420 to Christ 00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:47.139 and to his kingdom 00:22:47.139 --> 00:22:48.639 and to his message 00:22:48.639 --> 00:22:49.480 and to his mission 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:50.359 that he could say, 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:52.500 we're going as that light 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:54.759 in the name of Jesus. 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:59.359 And friends, 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:00.220 of course today, 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:02.319 God's kingdom 00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:04.599 does not advance 00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:06.200 through swords 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:07.980 but through words. 00:23:09.900 --> 00:23:11.099 It's through the proclamation 00:23:11.099 --> 00:23:11.839 of the gospel. 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:13.319 The New Testament 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:14.879 is so clear about this 00:23:14.879 --> 00:23:18.019 that it's the word of God 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:19.379 that is the real 00:23:19.379 --> 00:23:20.119 and lasting 00:23:20.119 --> 00:23:20.940 and true sword 00:23:20.940 --> 00:23:21.480 of the spirit, 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:22.059 Paul will say 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:22.879 in Ephesians 6. 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:24.580 You see, 00:23:24.700 --> 00:23:25.820 Israel's battles 00:23:25.820 --> 00:23:27.060 all along 00:23:27.060 --> 00:23:28.200 were types, 00:23:28.320 --> 00:23:28.820 they were pictures, 00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:29.900 they were foreshadows 00:23:29.900 --> 00:23:31.820 of an even more 00:23:31.820 --> 00:23:33.180 greater kingdom advance, 00:23:33.300 --> 00:23:33.900 the kingdom advance 00:23:33.900 --> 00:23:35.000 that we live in today. 00:23:36.060 --> 00:23:37.000 Not about defeating 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:37.960 political enemies 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:39.120 or material means 00:23:39.120 --> 00:23:41.120 but about the spiritual 00:23:41.120 --> 00:23:41.920 kingdom of God 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:42.980 advancing and changing 00:23:42.980 --> 00:23:43.880 hearts and communities. 00:23:44.040 --> 00:23:45.060 So when Paul tells 00:23:45.060 --> 00:23:46.140 the church in Ephesus 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:47.000 to take up 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:48.300 the armor of God, 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:49.880 he's not telling them 00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:50.760 to take up metal 00:23:50.760 --> 00:23:51.500 and steel 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:52.180 and guns 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:52.759 and sword, 00:23:52.859 --> 00:23:53.460 he's telling them 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:54.480 to gird themselves 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:55.500 with hope 00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:56.880 and with love 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:58.400 and with justice 00:23:58.400 --> 00:23:59.740 and with truth. 00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:01.740 And he's telling them 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:02.440 to pray 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:03.579 and he's telling them 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:04.279 to proclaim 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:05.559 and he's telling them 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:06.559 to pour themselves out 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:07.920 in self-giving love. 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:11.220 And that these, 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:12.980 from the world's perspective, 00:24:13.099 --> 00:24:14.039 very paradoxical, 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:15.500 but these are the means 00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:16.599 whereby God's kingdom 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:17.900 really advances 00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:19.339 in hearts 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:20.159 and in communities. 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:23.659 And you know, 00:24:23.679 --> 00:24:24.500 the kingdom advance 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:25.839 today won't necessarily 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:27.279 mean material prosperity 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:28.220 or physical health. 00:24:29.299 --> 00:24:29.720 Again, 00:24:30.199 --> 00:24:31.419 Paul in Romans 14, 17 00:24:31.419 --> 00:24:31.639 says, 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:32.639 the kingdom of God 00:24:32.639 --> 00:24:33.299 isn't a matter 00:24:33.299 --> 00:24:34.459 of eating and drinking 00:24:34.459 --> 00:24:35.299 but of righteousness 00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:36.359 and peace 00:24:36.359 --> 00:24:37.480 and joy 00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:38.720 in the Holy Spirit. 00:24:41.199 --> 00:24:41.980 That's how you know 00:24:41.980 --> 00:24:42.799 the kingdom is taking 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:43.980 roots in people's hearts, 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:44.859 not because they're 00:24:44.859 --> 00:24:46.159 being materially blessed, 00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:47.099 but because there's 00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:47.939 an overflow 00:24:47.939 --> 00:24:49.179 of righteousness 00:24:49.179 --> 00:24:51.559 that leads to peace, 00:24:51.679 --> 00:24:52.859 that leads to joy, 00:24:53.719 --> 00:24:54.839 which you better believe 00:24:54.839 --> 00:24:55.819 if those three things 00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:56.959 are working in the human heart, 00:24:57.099 --> 00:24:58.359 that person is going to care 00:24:58.359 --> 00:24:58.939 about suffering 00:24:58.939 --> 00:24:59.819 and injustice in the world 00:24:59.819 --> 00:25:00.279 and they're going to work 00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:01.679 really hard to alleviate it. 00:25:01.779 --> 00:25:02.219 And yet, 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:04.299 how do we know 00:25:04.299 --> 00:25:04.939 that the kingdom's 00:25:04.939 --> 00:25:05.699 going forth 00:25:05.699 --> 00:25:07.779 when those three things 00:25:07.779 --> 00:25:09.159 are just richly dwelling 00:25:09.159 --> 00:25:10.079 in our midst? 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:15.439 And like David's mighty men 00:25:15.439 --> 00:25:16.480 here in chapter 21, 00:25:17.419 --> 00:25:18.679 any advance 00:25:18.679 --> 00:25:19.659 that we get 00:25:19.659 --> 00:25:20.699 to participate in 00:25:20.699 --> 00:25:22.559 is ultimately 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:23.960 the Lord's victory still. 00:25:25.879 --> 00:25:26.919 Just like David's men 00:25:26.919 --> 00:25:27.740 got to share 00:25:27.740 --> 00:25:28.339 in the glory 00:25:28.339 --> 00:25:29.079 of seeing God 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:30.059 grant them victory 00:25:30.059 --> 00:25:31.220 over tremendous foes, 00:25:31.539 --> 00:25:32.139 and yet at the end 00:25:32.139 --> 00:25:32.579 of the day, 00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:33.939 it was still in a sense 00:25:33.939 --> 00:25:34.779 on account of David 00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:35.359 that they fell 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:35.859 and then everybody 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:36.699 could say they fell 00:25:36.699 --> 00:25:37.419 by the hand of David 00:25:37.419 --> 00:25:38.000 and by the hand 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:38.559 of his servants. 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:41.099 Friends, even more so 00:25:41.099 --> 00:25:42.240 for us today. 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:44.879 Jesus is allowing us 00:25:44.879 --> 00:25:46.000 to share 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:47.019 in his glorious 00:25:47.019 --> 00:25:47.940 kingdom advance 00:25:47.940 --> 00:25:49.279 and at the end of the day, 00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:50.779 all praise belongs 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:51.519 to him. 00:25:53.399 --> 00:25:53.940 But, 00:25:54.619 --> 00:25:55.619 united to him, 00:25:56.559 --> 00:25:57.619 we too experience 00:25:57.619 --> 00:25:59.200 the joy and glory 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:00.200 of being participants 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:01.039 in his kingdom. 00:26:02.419 --> 00:26:03.279 So we don't get 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:03.879 to pat ourselves 00:26:03.879 --> 00:26:04.539 on the back 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:05.700 or feel so great 00:26:05.700 --> 00:26:06.319 about ourselves 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:06.819 that we're doing 00:26:06.819 --> 00:26:07.740 such great kingdom work. 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:08.900 It's God's work. 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:10.559 Jesus is advancing 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:10.960 his kingdom 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:11.500 through his spirit 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:12.220 and yet we get 00:26:12.220 --> 00:26:12.519 the joy 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:13.400 of being swept 00:26:13.400 --> 00:26:14.120 up in that. 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:19.880 But note another 00:26:19.880 --> 00:26:20.420 difference 00:26:20.420 --> 00:26:21.500 between our situation 00:26:21.500 --> 00:26:22.660 now under Christ 00:26:22.660 --> 00:26:23.440 and the situation 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:24.519 then under David. 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:26.759 David's men 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:27.299 in our passage 00:26:27.299 --> 00:26:27.880 acknowledge 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:28.620 and knew 00:26:28.620 --> 00:26:29.220 that David 00:26:29.220 --> 00:26:29.559 was, 00:26:29.640 --> 00:26:30.200 as they say here, 00:26:30.259 --> 00:26:31.000 the lamp 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:31.960 of Israel. 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:34.680 He was the one, 00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:35.259 in other words, 00:26:35.339 --> 00:26:36.059 through whom 00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:37.500 God was beginning 00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:38.440 to dispel 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:39.259 the darkness 00:26:39.259 --> 00:26:41.460 and beginning 00:26:41.460 --> 00:26:42.039 to renew 00:26:42.039 --> 00:26:42.599 the people. 00:26:43.679 --> 00:26:44.139 And this idea 00:26:44.139 --> 00:26:45.339 of the lamp 00:26:45.339 --> 00:26:45.799 of Israel 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:46.319 was actually 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:46.759 an image 00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:47.220 that was kind 00:26:47.220 --> 00:26:47.819 of borrowed 00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:50.319 from the lampstand, 00:26:51.019 --> 00:26:51.919 a lot of commentators 00:26:51.919 --> 00:26:52.179 say, 00:26:52.220 --> 00:26:52.980 in the tabernacle. 00:26:53.639 --> 00:26:53.960 If you went 00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:54.819 into the first section 00:26:54.819 --> 00:26:55.559 of the tabernacle, 00:26:55.639 --> 00:26:56.579 what would you find there? 00:26:56.659 --> 00:26:56.799 Well, 00:26:56.839 --> 00:26:57.379 there was a bread 00:26:57.379 --> 00:26:57.799 where they laid, 00:26:57.879 --> 00:26:58.480 there was a table 00:26:58.480 --> 00:26:59.000 where they laid out 00:26:59.000 --> 00:26:59.399 some bread 00:26:59.399 --> 00:27:00.179 and there was 00:27:00.179 --> 00:27:01.059 an altar of incense. 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:02.240 But then right here 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:02.879 on your left, 00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:04.059 I think your left, 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:05.379 would be a lampstand 00:27:05.379 --> 00:27:07.899 with seven lights 00:27:07.899 --> 00:27:08.359 on it, 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:09.919 perpetually shining 00:27:09.919 --> 00:27:11.319 in the tabernacle. 00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:15.359 Here was a lampstand 00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:16.679 symbolic of God's 00:27:16.679 --> 00:27:18.599 perpetual light 00:27:18.599 --> 00:27:19.980 shining forth, 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:21.440 his warmth, 00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:22.440 his grace, 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:23.519 his truth. 00:27:24.899 --> 00:27:25.679 And each one 00:27:25.679 --> 00:27:26.799 of those seven lights, 00:27:27.419 --> 00:27:29.119 what does the number 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:30.240 seven make you think of? 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:31.059 Of course, 00:27:31.119 --> 00:27:31.500 it makes you think 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:31.819 of the opening 00:27:31.819 --> 00:27:32.259 of the Bible, 00:27:32.359 --> 00:27:32.740 doesn't it? 00:27:32.740 --> 00:27:34.120 those seven 00:27:34.120 --> 00:27:35.180 sort of primordial 00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:36.380 creation days. 00:27:36.819 --> 00:27:37.799 And here was a light 00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:38.599 right in the middle 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:39.539 of the people of God, 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:41.259 seven lights 00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:41.920 saying, 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:43.400 one day, 00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:46.039 I'm going to renew 00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:46.839 this creation 00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:47.920 from the inside out 00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:48.480 and I'm going to make 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:49.299 all things new. 00:27:50.019 --> 00:27:51.079 And it's going to happen 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:52.200 through the shining 00:27:52.200 --> 00:27:53.180 of my light. 00:27:55.940 --> 00:27:56.740 And David, 00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:57.980 in his own way, 00:27:59.039 --> 00:27:59.700 was the way 00:27:59.700 --> 00:28:00.559 in which that light 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:01.160 was beginning 00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:02.079 to be incarnated 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:02.699 in the world. 00:28:04.500 --> 00:28:05.000 And yet, 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:05.659 as we see here, 00:28:05.679 --> 00:28:06.740 it was a fragile light, 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:07.199 wasn't it? 00:28:08.359 --> 00:28:09.119 David's old 00:28:09.119 --> 00:28:09.859 in our passage. 00:28:10.099 --> 00:28:11.019 He's getting tired. 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:13.819 And the men, 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:14.500 in some sense, 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:15.099 are worried 00:28:15.099 --> 00:28:16.139 that the light's 00:28:16.139 --> 00:28:17.059 going to be snuffed out. 00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:19.759 And of course, 00:28:19.819 --> 00:28:20.659 by God's grace, 00:28:20.759 --> 00:28:21.419 God allows it 00:28:21.419 --> 00:28:21.939 to endure. 00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:24.359 God had made 00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:25.579 a covenant promise 00:28:25.579 --> 00:28:26.240 with David 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:28.240 that his offspring 00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:29.159 would sit on the throne 00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:29.600 forever. 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:32.800 And the greater David, 00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:33.519 Jesus Christ, 00:28:33.580 --> 00:28:34.580 would come and say, 00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:36.519 not just I'm the lamp 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:37.360 of Israel, right? 00:28:38.140 --> 00:28:39.019 But Jesus would come 00:28:39.019 --> 00:28:39.320 and say, 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:40.259 I'm the light 00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:41.820 of the whole world. 00:28:43.620 --> 00:28:44.540 And as the prologue 00:28:44.540 --> 00:28:45.440 to John's gospel says, 00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:46.160 the light shines 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:46.860 in the darkness 00:28:46.860 --> 00:28:48.140 and the darkness 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:50.000 has not overcome it. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:51.960 That the light 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:53.480 of the resurrected Jesus, 00:28:53.620 --> 00:28:54.400 the light not just 00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:54.840 of Israel, 00:28:55.040 --> 00:28:55.920 but through Israel, 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:57.120 through the whole world, 00:28:57.119 --> 00:28:59.179 will never grow dim 00:28:59.179 --> 00:29:00.979 and never be snuffed out. 00:29:02.639 --> 00:29:03.039 And you know 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:03.979 how the end of the Bible, 00:29:04.139 --> 00:29:05.259 you know how the Bible ends? 00:29:06.819 --> 00:29:07.799 There's the new heavens 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:08.479 and the new earth 00:29:08.479 --> 00:29:10.059 recreated in beauty 00:29:10.059 --> 00:29:10.559 and glory. 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:11.639 And what's in the middle 00:29:11.639 --> 00:29:12.259 of the new heavens 00:29:12.259 --> 00:29:12.879 and the new earth? 00:29:13.799 --> 00:29:14.679 Not a temple, 00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:16.539 not a lamp stand. 00:29:18.639 --> 00:29:19.919 Jesus Christ himself 00:29:19.919 --> 00:29:21.199 giving light 00:29:21.199 --> 00:29:22.059 to everyone. 00:29:22.059 --> 00:29:25.519 And friends, 00:29:26.059 --> 00:29:27.480 that fact 00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:29.740 that Jesus is 00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:30.599 the perpetual 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:31.700 new creation 00:29:31.700 --> 00:29:32.419 light of the world 00:29:32.419 --> 00:29:33.379 should give us 00:29:33.379 --> 00:29:34.879 the greatest confidence 00:29:34.879 --> 00:29:36.639 and the greatest courage 00:29:36.639 --> 00:29:38.720 to be participants 00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:39.460 in the victory 00:29:39.460 --> 00:29:40.319 that Jesus has won 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:40.960 through his own death 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:41.519 and resurrection. 00:29:43.139 --> 00:29:44.059 And it should give us 00:29:44.059 --> 00:29:45.019 great confidence 00:29:45.019 --> 00:29:46.000 and great courage 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:47.519 to extend that work 00:29:47.519 --> 00:29:48.099 into the world. 00:29:48.099 --> 00:29:50.759 And at the same time, 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:51.159 it gives us 00:29:51.159 --> 00:29:51.819 great humility, 00:29:51.959 --> 00:29:52.419 doesn't it? 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:54.699 Because it's his work. 00:29:56.259 --> 00:29:57.240 It's his Christ. 00:29:57.319 --> 00:29:58.019 It's his light. 00:29:58.059 --> 00:29:58.759 It's not ours. 00:29:59.099 --> 00:29:59.719 It's his. 00:30:02.259 --> 00:30:03.079 Let me close then 00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:03.799 with three really 00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:05.079 brief applications. 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:06.679 First, 00:30:06.740 --> 00:30:07.719 as we look at ourselves, 00:30:08.819 --> 00:30:08.980 friend, 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:09.559 realize that 00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:10.759 if you are in Christ, 00:30:11.319 --> 00:30:12.519 you have a role 00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:13.139 to play 00:30:13.139 --> 00:30:14.099 in his kingdom. 00:30:15.419 --> 00:30:16.459 Cling tightly 00:30:16.459 --> 00:30:17.039 to him 00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:17.679 in allegiance, 00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:19.539 and begin to pray 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:20.779 that he would show you 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:22.459 where you belong 00:30:22.459 --> 00:30:23.839 in his kingdom advance. 00:30:27.879 --> 00:30:28.279 Second, 00:30:28.839 --> 00:30:29.879 as we look at the church, 00:30:30.879 --> 00:30:31.679 as you look around, 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:32.819 what do you see? 00:30:34.279 --> 00:30:34.879 Do you see 00:30:34.879 --> 00:30:36.480 sort of a ragtag assembly, 00:30:37.059 --> 00:30:38.159 kind of a motley crew 00:30:38.159 --> 00:30:39.500 as you look at the church, 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:40.419 not just here at Trinity, 00:30:40.579 --> 00:30:41.519 but sort of citywide, 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:42.240 worldwide? 00:30:44.439 --> 00:30:45.799 Or do you see the church 00:30:45.799 --> 00:30:48.480 as it really is 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:49.460 in God's sight? 00:30:50.740 --> 00:30:51.940 As the assembly 00:30:51.940 --> 00:30:53.419 of mighty men 00:30:53.419 --> 00:30:54.019 and women 00:30:54.019 --> 00:30:55.399 through whom 00:30:55.399 --> 00:30:56.480 the victory of the king 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:57.419 is being made known 00:30:57.419 --> 00:30:58.079 in the world. 00:31:00.019 --> 00:31:00.759 The church 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:01.819 is not perfect. 00:31:02.099 --> 00:31:03.099 I grant you that. 00:31:03.539 --> 00:31:04.440 I'm in it. 00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:05.000 Therefore, 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:06.200 it is not perfect. 00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:09.460 Just like David's men 00:31:09.460 --> 00:31:09.859 of old 00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:10.659 weren't perfect, 00:31:11.139 --> 00:31:12.200 here's Abishai 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:13.079 of Zeruiah 00:31:13.079 --> 00:31:13.700 once again. 00:31:13.779 --> 00:31:14.340 Do you remember him? 00:31:14.740 --> 00:31:15.600 I think I've had to preach 00:31:15.600 --> 00:31:16.319 on all the passages 00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:16.880 about him. 00:31:18.880 --> 00:31:19.240 But, 00:31:19.360 --> 00:31:21.660 Jesus loves the church, 00:31:21.779 --> 00:31:22.000 friends. 00:31:23.900 --> 00:31:24.700 And as someone once said, 00:31:24.759 --> 00:31:25.319 I think commenting 00:31:25.319 --> 00:31:26.240 on the book of Acts, 00:31:27.299 --> 00:31:28.840 the church is God's plan A 00:31:28.840 --> 00:31:29.620 for the world. 00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:31.319 And he doesn't have 00:31:31.319 --> 00:31:31.860 a plan B. 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:33.960 Thankfully, 00:31:35.160 --> 00:31:35.819 God is faithful 00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:36.420 to his plan. 00:31:36.980 --> 00:31:37.860 And he won't let it fail. 00:31:40.440 --> 00:31:40.759 Third, 00:31:41.620 --> 00:31:42.279 as we look out 00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:42.819 at the world. 00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:44.819 Friends, 00:31:44.859 --> 00:31:45.680 it was not a fluke 00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:46.799 that David's men 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:47.920 brought down giants. 00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:50.700 They were united 00:31:50.700 --> 00:31:52.660 to God's anointed king. 00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:54.059 And friends, 00:31:54.139 --> 00:31:54.720 the world 00:31:54.720 --> 00:31:56.480 is no match 00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:58.200 for God's redemptive 00:31:58.200 --> 00:31:59.000 love in Christ. 00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:02.359 Paul once described 00:32:02.359 --> 00:32:02.859 the gospel 00:32:02.859 --> 00:32:03.839 as the power 00:32:03.839 --> 00:32:04.559 of God 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:05.339 for salvation 00:32:05.339 --> 00:32:06.460 to all who believe. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:08.460 Friends, 00:32:08.539 --> 00:32:09.119 don't fear. 00:32:10.299 --> 00:32:10.920 The gospel 00:32:10.920 --> 00:32:12.200 was power then 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:13.440 and it is still 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:14.180 so today. 00:32:14.940 --> 00:32:15.940 Even if things 00:32:15.940 --> 00:32:16.480 look dark, 00:32:17.300 --> 00:32:17.779 even if 00:32:17.779 --> 00:32:19.440 many so-called 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:20.340 giants gather 00:32:20.340 --> 00:32:21.060 on the horizon, 00:32:21.180 --> 00:32:22.220 whatever they may be, 00:32:23.380 --> 00:32:24.519 the victory 00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:25.039 of the king 00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:25.779 will ultimately 00:32:25.779 --> 00:32:26.320 prevail. 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:29.480 Let's pray. 00:32:32.800 --> 00:32:33.560 Lord Jesus, 00:32:33.640 --> 00:32:34.100 we are humbled 00:32:34.100 --> 00:32:34.759 by the fact 00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:35.500 that you would 00:32:35.500 --> 00:32:36.240 take us, 00:32:36.500 --> 00:32:37.620 sinners as we are, 00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:38.240 bring us 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:39.039 into your kingdom 00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:39.740 through the price 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:40.759 of your own blood. 00:32:41.460 --> 00:32:42.359 Make us your sons 00:32:42.359 --> 00:32:43.039 and your daughters 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:44.480 and give us a mission. 00:32:46.099 --> 00:32:46.539 Lord, 00:32:46.619 --> 00:32:47.180 help us 00:32:47.180 --> 00:32:48.099 to live this out 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:48.839 in a way 00:32:48.839 --> 00:32:49.680 that's in line 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:50.259 with the truth 00:32:50.259 --> 00:32:50.960 of your gospel, 00:32:51.680 --> 00:32:52.559 with boldness 00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:53.159 and humility, 00:32:53.619 --> 00:32:54.379 with truth 00:32:54.379 --> 00:32:55.139 and gentleness, 00:32:55.639 --> 00:32:56.399 with love 00:32:56.399 --> 00:32:57.139 and justice. 00:32:58.559 --> 00:32:58.980 Lord, 00:32:59.059 --> 00:33:00.000 make us a people 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:01.039 whose words 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:01.680 and actions 00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:02.420 are fitting 00:33:02.420 --> 00:33:04.839 to the nature 00:33:04.839 --> 00:33:05.440 of your kingdom, 00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:05.779 Jesus, 00:33:05.940 --> 00:33:06.339 and your death 00:33:06.339 --> 00:33:06.899 and resurrection. 00:33:06.900 --> 00:33:07.880 O Lord, 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:08.740 would you lead us 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:09.840 in our day 00:33:09.840 --> 00:33:12.700 to take great risks 00:33:12.700 --> 00:33:14.040 for the advance 00:33:14.040 --> 00:33:14.640 of your kingdom 00:33:14.640 --> 00:33:16.580 and to trust, 00:33:16.740 --> 00:33:16.820 Lord, 00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:17.580 that you 00:33:17.580 --> 00:33:19.280 are king 00:33:19.280 --> 00:33:20.080 and you are in control 00:33:20.080 --> 00:33:20.840 and you are the light 00:33:20.840 --> 00:33:21.380 of the world 00:33:21.380 --> 00:33:23.240 and one day 00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:23.820 that light 00:33:23.820 --> 00:33:25.019 will cover 00:33:25.019 --> 00:33:26.259 all things 00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:27.200 and make all things 00:33:27.200 --> 00:33:27.440 new. 00:33:28.440 --> 00:33:28.840 Amen. 00:33:28.840 --> 00:33:28.960 Amen. 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:29.000 Amen. 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:29.019 Amen. 00:33:29.019 --> 00:33:29.040 Amen. 00:33:29.040 --> 00:33:29.080 Amen.