WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.980 Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. Amen. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:18.960 So, king, kingship, kingdom is one of the major themes of the Bible. The question that is asked, 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:26.740 who is the king that we need? Think about that question personally. We are faced with any number 00:00:26.739 --> 00:00:35.859 of problems, brokenness. Is there anyone that we can trust to find the solution? 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:40.839 Ties in with what's happening in our nation this week with the general election. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:49.200 Which leader or party will we trust? Faced with economic challenges, who's going to keep our 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:55.500 schools and hospitals running? Who's going to provide homes, deal with unemployment, face the 00:00:55.500 --> 00:01:04.180 challenges of social breakdown? Is there someone who can fix it? Actually, since the Garden of Eden, 00:01:04.260 --> 00:01:09.920 the very beginning of the story of the Bible, the question of kingship has been important. 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:19.460 Who is it who will sit on the throne of our lives? Adam and Eve, when they were made, 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:26.679 the first people they were made to live under the rule of God the king. But we read Genesis 3, 00:01:26.759 --> 00:01:33.419 that they rebelled against the king. They wanted to be independent of God, to be in charge by themselves. 00:01:34.639 --> 00:01:42.479 Why do we see so much chaos, so much breakdown and confusion? Why is there sin? It's because 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:49.939 people wanted to be on the throne rather than God. On Sunday evenings, we've been in the book of Exodus, 00:01:49.939 --> 00:01:56.320 and the story of kingship has been all over that text as well. There's been the bad king, the false 00:01:56.320 --> 00:02:03.800 king, Pharaoh, who makes people slaves. And then there is the true king, the good king, the Lord God, 00:02:03.960 --> 00:02:09.340 who gives freedom. So today, we're going to follow the Bible story in the search for the true king, 00:02:09.340 --> 00:02:15.700 and we're going to focus our attention on David. But to set the scene for us, 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:24.199 we need to recognize that the people need a king. To understand what's happening with David and 00:02:24.199 --> 00:02:29.939 Goliath, we actually need to go back one book in the Bible to the book of Judges. Boys and girls, 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:35.580 I know in junior church, you looked at some of the judges. By the time you get to the end of the book 00:02:35.580 --> 00:02:45.460 of Judges, there's a particular focus. Each chapter, from chapter 17 to 21, looks at a different problem 00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:53.980 in society in that day. There were religious problems, and political problems, and moral problems, 00:02:54.240 --> 00:03:00.500 and social problems that seem to get worse and worse and worse, and there's a phrase that keeps 00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:11.099 repeating. And it's this, the people had no king. So the book of Judges sets us up. The answer to the 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:22.000 problems that we face is finding the right king. Now that brings us to the book of Samuel. The first king 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:34.539 of Israel is a man called Saul. The people's choice. By chapter 15, he is someone who we see rejects God's 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:43.659 words, so God rejects him as king. And then in 1 Samuel 16, the chapter just before the one we've read, 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:52.539 Samuel the prophet is sent to go and anoint a future king, to find the man after God's own heart. 00:03:53.400 --> 00:04:03.460 And we understand that David is God's choice of king for his people. Just a teenager, just a shepherd boy, 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:13.639 the son overlooked by his family, but seen and loved and chosen by God. And so now we come to chapter 17. 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:25.959 Chapter 17, perhaps the most famous battle scene in the Bible. Part of Israel's history, no doubt, 00:04:26.339 --> 00:04:34.779 this story would be told and retold. It would be a way for them to praise God and to remember God's 00:04:34.779 --> 00:04:41.339 goodness to them. At the beginning of the chapter, we find the Philistines have gathered their forces for 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:52.379 war on one side of a valley. The Philistines were the vicious enemies of God, of the people of God. 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:59.259 And you've got the giant Goliath on one side of the valley issuing his challenges, 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:06.120 and on the other side of the valley, you've got Saul and the forces of Israel, 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:13.959 and they're paralyzed with fear. And so the question is, who's going to win this battle? 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:21.540 And as important as that question is this, who is the king who will win the battle? 00:05:21.540 --> 00:05:31.520 Okay, so now that we've set the scene, let's look at the story, the victory of God's king. 00:05:33.060 --> 00:05:37.300 We're going to do this looking at seven different scenes. It's a really long chapter, 00:05:37.420 --> 00:05:41.740 but we can do this in seven scenes. And I want us to see, and this is a feature of 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:48.759 how the authors of the Old Testament tell their stories, that we're going to see in the details of 00:05:48.759 --> 00:05:56.920 the story some key points that will help us to recognize, in the first instance, the victory 00:05:56.920 --> 00:06:01.620 of David the king, but how it's going to point us to the victory of Jesus the greater king. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:10.480 So the first scene, the first thing to draw attention to is a scene of strength versus weakness, 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:17.719 apparent strength versus apparent weakness. Descriptions. Verse four, 00:06:17.720 --> 00:06:25.340 we read the description of Goliath. Now, I don't know if you noticed, as I was reading the text, 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:31.760 a certain thing that comes out. Let me just begin to read it again. This is Goliath. His height was 00:06:31.760 --> 00:06:37.640 six cubits and a span, so he's about three meters tall. He's massive. He had a bronze helmet, 00:06:38.640 --> 00:06:47.480 a coat of bronze. On his legs, he wore bronze. He's got a bronze javelin. The picture being presented 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:58.439 to us is Goliath. It's a massive metal man. He is a fighting machine. Boys and girls, I am sure you 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:06.660 know who Iron Man is. In my head, I'm imagining Iron Man, except way bigger and way tougher. Okay, 00:07:06.700 --> 00:07:15.160 he is a fighting machine. Now, who's he coming up against? He's coming up against David. And it's 00:07:15.160 --> 00:07:21.060 wonderful the way the description of David is saved for the battlefield. You've got this three-meter 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:29.320 iron giant looking down at David. And how does Goliath describe him? He saw that he was little 00:07:29.320 --> 00:07:37.780 more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome. Here's this handsome young lad come to fight against 00:07:37.779 --> 00:07:46.799 the iron giant. And we're supposed to think this is a total mismatch. It's the ultimate David and 00:07:46.799 --> 00:07:56.039 Goliath story. Greater power, greater size, greater skill, so that we understand the point that the 00:07:56.039 --> 00:08:06.239 victory of God comes through apparent weakness in such a way that God gets the glory. That's scene one, 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:13.160 strength versus weakness. Scene two, and this is significant as well, takes us to the principle 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:23.379 of single combat. Again, I know that some of you like epic movies with battle scenes. Some of you like 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:29.860 Star Wars. If you watch any of those sort of epic movies, you'll find there's lots of set-piece 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:34.180 battles where you look across the whole screen, and there's hundreds of people fighting at the same time. 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:43.019 The more interesting battles are those 1v1 moments, those ones where it's Luke and Darth 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:51.819 in that great lightsaber battle. Well, when we come to 1 Samuel 17, we have a really interesting 00:08:51.819 --> 00:08:58.979 battle. If you read all the other battles of the Bible, you're going to find there's armies fighting 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:04.220 with one another. There's lots of action going on. This one's different, isn't it? 00:09:05.779 --> 00:09:13.600 Did we hear the challenge of Goliath? Verse 8 and 9, he says, choose a man and let him come down to 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:19.600 fight me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we'll become your subjects, but if I overcome him and kill 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:27.039 him, you will become our subjects. So, this is a challenge of two champions, a challenge of single 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:33.159 combat as Goliath representing the Philistines, and the question becomes, who's going to represent 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:41.039 God's people? It should be Saul. Saul, after all, we're told, is a head taller than everyone else. He's 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:48.379 supposed to lead the people in battle. But verse 11, on hearing the Philistines' words, Saul and all 00:09:48.379 --> 00:09:53.519 the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. It's not going to be Saul. It's not going to be someone 00:09:53.519 --> 00:10:03.019 from Saul's army. We must wait for God's king to appear. Scene 3, which actually we didn't read, 00:10:03.079 --> 00:10:13.059 but we'll get to now, is of the brothers' rejection. So, David arrives on the scene that the shepherd boy, 00:10:13.620 --> 00:10:19.439 who is sent by his dad with some food, bring some supplies to your brothers who are fighting in the 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:25.080 army, and find out how things are going. And so, David arrives, and he hears the challenge of Goliath, 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:33.740 and he sees the soldiers quaking with fear, and he's ready to fight. Now, we know at this stage, 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:43.840 chapter 16, God has chosen him. This is God's choice for king. He has been anointed. And here's 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:50.220 something else that we know. His brothers know that too, because his brothers were there when he 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:58.360 was anointed. So, listen to verse 26. This is David. David asked the men standing near him, 00:10:58.560 --> 00:11:03.180 what will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:09.800 Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? He is concerned for 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:18.919 the honor of God. Verse 28. Here's his big brother's response. When Eliab, David's eldest brother, 00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:24.099 heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, why have you come down here? 00:11:24.839 --> 00:11:29.779 And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are, 00:11:29.779 --> 00:11:38.679 and how wicked your heart is. Eliab resents David. His heart is not right. 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:42.399 He rejects the one who's chosen to be king. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:56.279 Scene four invites us to appreciate that God's choice of king is a shepherd king. So, we read in 00:11:56.279 --> 00:12:03.639 verse 31 to 40 of when David and Saul meet. So, we get Saul, the people's choice of king. He's hiding in 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:13.340 fear. He's failing in his duty. But the picture that we have of David is wonderful. David, the shepherd 00:12:13.340 --> 00:12:20.980 who trusts that the Lord will be with him. He acknowledges that when he was busy looking after 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:29.879 the sheep, God helped him to ward off bears and lions. And so, he says in verse 37, 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:37.779 the Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand 00:12:37.779 --> 00:12:45.600 of this Philistine. It's the shepherd who trusts in the Lord. But we also see this wonderful image 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:50.019 where Saul says, okay, if you're going to go and fight, you need to get dressed up in my armor. And so, 00:12:50.019 --> 00:12:56.620 he tries to make David look more like a warrior. Of course, they don't fit and he doesn't want it. 00:12:57.659 --> 00:13:05.100 He's going to step into battle as the shepherd. So, after he gets rid of the armor, verse 40, 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:11.419 what does he take instead? He takes his shepherd's staff in his hand. He chooses the five smooth stones. 00:13:11.960 --> 00:13:17.039 He puts them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag. And with a sling in his hand, approach the Philistine. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:22.059 Attention is being drawn to the fact that this is the shepherd who's chosen to be king. 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:31.799 Scene five that we can use for explaining our story, this recognition on the battlefield that 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:39.899 the battle is the Lord's. Whenever we come across in the Old Testament the story of Israel's battles, 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:48.539 there's always a spiritual dimension. And here we see with Goliath and with the Philistines, 00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:56.360 there is an attack on God's purposes. There's an attack on God's people. There's a defiance of God. 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:05.059 Who is your God? He's a nobody. Our gods are better. And as David comes to meet the challenge, 00:14:05.059 --> 00:14:10.419 it's not just a physical challenge, it's a spiritual challenge. And that's clear from his words. Verse 45, 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:19.319 you come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord 00:14:19.319 --> 00:14:28.359 Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. Or verse 47, all those gathered here 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:38.300 will know that it's not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's. The Lord is 00:14:38.300 --> 00:14:49.680 the God who saves, not by sword and spear. David is on a mission to defeat Goliath and to display 00:14:49.679 --> 00:15:01.839 to Israel and to a watching world the glory of God and His power to save. That leads us to scene six 00:15:01.839 --> 00:15:12.899 and to this moment of decisive victory. There's a guy called Gerald Walker. He did some really fun 00:15:12.899 --> 00:15:20.639 research in a paper called The Flying Circus of Physics. He was working out the speed and the 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:29.379 accuracy of a slingshot. And he worked out that that simple slingshot that David had could fly a stone 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:39.179 over 600 miles per hour and be accurate at a range of 200 meters. Two football fields worth of accuracy. 00:15:39.179 --> 00:15:49.539 That's a powerful weapon in the proper hands. Verse 48, as the Philistine moved closer to attack, 00:15:50.319 --> 00:15:56.620 David ran quickly, reaching into his bag, taking out a stone. He slung it and struck the Philistine 00:15:56.620 --> 00:16:04.240 on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead and he fell face down on the ground, dead. And if that, 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:12.620 as if that wasn't comprehensive and decisive enough, verse 51, David ran and stood over him, 00:16:13.060 --> 00:16:22.240 took hold of the Philistine's sword, and after he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. There is no 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:28.139 doubt victory is here. The battle belongs to the Lord. 00:16:28.139 --> 00:16:35.620 But that's not the end of the story. Wonderfully, that's not the end of the story, because the last 00:16:35.620 --> 00:16:46.120 scene, scene seven, is a scene of shared victory. Remember those terrified troops? The other side of 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:53.439 the valley? Oh, Goliath's massive. We're certain to be defeated. They're paralyzed with fear for 40 days. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:17:03.680 Now, as they see the victory of David, they run to join the battle. And it says in verse 53, 00:17:03.800 --> 00:17:09.039 when the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp. 00:17:10.580 --> 00:17:16.799 They did nothing to earn the victory that day. They showed no courage. They showed no trust. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:22.000 They showed no concern for God's honor, so that they stood up and said, I will fight. 00:17:25.159 --> 00:17:31.339 But they shared in the victory. And they understand that David was the king they needed that day. 00:17:33.220 --> 00:17:39.700 So that's the story of the victory of God's king, okay? We're going to come back to that. 00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:46.220 But we need to keep going in the storyline of kingship in the Bible to think about the search 00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:56.799 for the true king. Picture the nation of Israel the day after this great battle. 00:17:57.860 --> 00:18:05.380 Can we imagine them gathering together, asking, is this the king that we all need? 00:18:05.380 --> 00:18:12.960 Is this the one? Is he the one who's big enough to fix all that is broken? Is he the answer to all 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:18.920 the problems we've been seeing in society? It's a question that mattered hugely for God's people. 00:18:19.820 --> 00:18:25.220 It mattered hugely in the day of the judges. It matters hugely for them as this small nation 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:30.980 surrounded by enemies. Who's going to give them security? Who's going to lead them in true worship? 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:41.980 It's a question that matters for us as well. As we are confronted by problems, political, personal, 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:53.380 spiritual, who will we trust? Where is the king that we need? Where can I find security? Is David the one? 00:18:53.380 --> 00:18:58.280 Let's follow the theme of king and kingship through the rest of the Old Testament. 00:18:59.340 --> 00:19:04.900 Because this section that we're in right now is a section both of great expectation but also 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:12.700 of failure. So the first three kings are highlighted in great detail. First, we've already seen Saul. 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:21.020 He fails morally, spiritually, and politically. Rejects God's Word, and so God rejects him. He's 00:19:21.019 --> 00:19:29.220 unable to deal with the Philistines. David, well, he has success politically for a time, success 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:35.819 spiritually for a time, but we know that the end of his reign is marked by that great moral fall, 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:43.279 and his kingdom begins to fall apart. We come to his son Solomon, begins wonderfully with great wisdom, 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:53.259 trusting in God, but he too fails spiritually, turning to idols. And so after these first three kings, 00:19:53.519 --> 00:20:01.079 the people are still waiting, and they're still longing. And as the storyline goes, as the kingdom 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:07.720 is broken up between Israel and Judah, we find this moving spotlight. The authors move from kings of Judah 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:14.900 to kings of Israel, and all the while we're asking the question, is there a true king? Is there a king? 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:23.180 And we discover even the best of kings, they fail. Even the best of renewal initiatives do not last. 00:20:23.420 --> 00:20:29.539 Even when society comes to a point of trust in God, it only is for a season. 00:20:29.539 --> 00:20:37.500 But that doesn't mean that hope dies. Rather, hope continues. And especially there's this wonderful 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:45.659 promise given to David in 2 Samuel 7, that one of his seed, one of his family, will be a king who will 00:20:45.659 --> 00:20:51.539 reign forever. And so there's great hope for the people of God tied up with a coming king who will 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:56.899 rule and reign forever. He's the one who'll be the answer to personal needs, spiritual needs, national 00:20:56.900 --> 00:21:07.200 needs, universal needs, the Messiah king. You come to the book of Psalms, and you find hope in this king. 00:21:07.340 --> 00:21:14.180 Psalm 72, this king who will rule forever, bringing peace and prosperity. You come to the prophets. 00:21:15.100 --> 00:21:24.900 Isaiah chapter 9, the seed of David, who is the mighty God. Jeremiah 23, the branch of David 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:34.440 David is the Lord our righteousness. Isaiah 53, the servant of the Lord is the arm of the Lord. So 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:40.220 there's great hope for this coming king. So we get to the end of the Old Testament, 00:21:40.820 --> 00:21:46.280 and the question remains, where is the king? There must be something, someone better than this. 00:21:46.400 --> 00:21:52.820 When will God send his Messiah king? You take a look through the whole of the Old Testament, 00:21:52.819 --> 00:22:01.079 the picture that emerges. Ultimately, only, only the creator king is big enough to fix all that is 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:07.379 broken. The religious, moral, political, social problems, they're too big for a government to fix. 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:13.799 They need the creator king. And that's what the prophets anticipate for us, that God's Messiah king, 00:22:13.939 --> 00:22:20.039 when he comes, will be none other than the Lord himself. And so it's no wonder, as the New Testament 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:29.180 begins, that joy breaks out when the angels announce, Jesus is the Lord. Jesus is the God who saves. He is 00:22:29.180 --> 00:22:36.460 the anointed one. He is the promised Messiah king. He's come to establish the kingdom of God. He is the 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:44.279 king we all need. And we're going to use David's story to see that more clearly. 00:22:44.279 --> 00:22:52.359 The question is asked, where is the king? Because there's a problem. The solution ultimately rests in 00:22:52.359 --> 00:23:03.960 Jesus, the king we all need. And we can look at the story of David and Goliath to see Jesus is the true 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:13.200 and better David. It is true that only the creator king is the solution to the great problems that we face, 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:24.720 and Jesus is our creator king. He is the true king. He is the great giant killer. Remember how I said those 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:31.840 details that we find in the Bible stories are there for a purpose? In this story, they show us the 00:23:31.840 --> 00:23:39.460 victory of David the king, but point us to the greater king. Well, just like David, Jesus comes 00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:51.140 in apparent weakness. Jesus is born of the Virgin Mary. Mary from a very poor family, from a very 00:23:51.140 --> 00:24:00.940 unimportant town. Jesus' first night on earth is spent not in a palace, but in a manger surrounded by the 00:24:00.940 --> 00:24:09.440 animals. When Jesus rides into Jerusalem to be heralded as king, he comes riding a donkey. 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:19.220 donkey and not a war horse. John's gospel tells us, just as it was with David, Jesus came to his own, 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:28.200 but his own did not receive him. And that included his brothers. The brothers of Jesus rejected his 00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:32.500 claims to be the son of God and the savior of the world. That seems crazy. 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:37.640 Until they met him risen from the dead, and then they believed. 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:54.059 And remember that Jesus' story leads towards the cross, not a throne. He comes in apparent weakness. 00:24:54.059 --> 00:25:04.059 Yet we know the storyline of the Bible in his death is the death of death itself. It looks foolish. 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:10.279 It looks weak. But it is the power of God for salvation. 00:25:10.279 --> 00:25:19.599 Just like David, we're told that Jesus is the Lord's chosen king. 00:25:20.740 --> 00:25:27.359 We already mentioned the message of the angels. He'd be called Jesus, the son of the most high God. 00:25:28.660 --> 00:25:35.319 Think about what happens when he is baptized. He is anointed with the Holy Spirit. There's a 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:40.059 declaration that this is God's man. And then there's the voice from heaven, this is my son. 00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:46.819 With him I am well pleased. This is the promised king. We have the witness of his miracles. 00:25:49.059 --> 00:25:50.059 Every healing 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:58.279 is an announcement that the kingdom of God is breaking in. And that God's kingdom 00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:05.160 is a place of grace and of healing and of renewal. Think about Jesus' testimony. John chapter 10, 00:26:05.379 --> 00:26:14.639 I am the good shepherd. I am. He says, I'm the Lord of the Old Testament. I've come to fulfill the 00:26:14.639 --> 00:26:20.899 functions of the Lord in the Old Testament. I've come to be the good shepherd, the shepherd king. 00:26:20.900 --> 00:26:31.900 He does that by laying down his life for his sheep. The good shepherd is also the lamb of God who takes 00:26:31.900 --> 00:26:39.480 away the sins of the world. And that by his wounds we are healed. He is the shepherd who calls 00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:50.880 and his sheep hear his voice. He invites us to trust him, to know him, to receive him as king. 00:26:50.880 --> 00:27:04.680 Just like David did, Jesus wins a decisive battle in single combat. Where does Jesus' battlefields? 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:17.100 It's the cross. When the forces of evil conspire against him, when he faces down the great giants of 00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:29.159 sin and death and the devil. And in that story of spiritual combat, we are there, helpless, powerless, 00:27:29.819 --> 00:27:37.799 against enemies far too great for us. We cannot win freedom. We cannot defeat those powers. We need a 00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:44.539 hero who comes from outside of ourselves. We need Jesus to be our great champion. 00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:55.579 That's who he comes to be. That by the grace of God, he comes as our representative, as our substitute, 00:27:57.259 --> 00:28:06.920 taking our sin, taking its punishment, bearing the wrath of God, securing our forgiveness. 00:28:07.379 --> 00:28:14.399 There on the cross, the justice of God is satisfied. The love of God is poured out. There is victory. 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:25.880 In the cross of Jesus. And just as David did, King Jesus, by his grace, shares the victory with his people. 00:28:25.880 --> 00:28:33.700 When we read this story, David and Goliath, we need to avoid the temptation to make ourselves the hero. 00:28:35.700 --> 00:28:41.980 Jesus is the hero. He is the one, the only one, the creator king who has the power to deal 00:28:41.980 --> 00:28:50.880 with what's broken inside of us. Jesus, our creator king, is the only one who has the power to remake the 00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:55.880 world, to give us the world, to give us the society and the world that we all want, to destroy all that is wrong 00:28:55.880 --> 00:29:03.360 with the world because of our sin. That the victory of the cross and the resurrection is the decisive victory. 00:29:03.360 --> 00:29:11.420 Now we wait for the final victory when Jesus comes again and he makes the world new and sin and death are gone 00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:18.220 forever. This is perfect society with God at the center for all eternity. 00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:22.940 So that trusting in him, we don't need to live with fear. 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:27.940 We don't need to live with a sense of being hopeless and helpless. 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:33.019 Our sin and our guilt, they no longer define us. 00:29:33.019 --> 00:29:38.619 Because our risen champion has won the victory and we share in the spoils. 00:29:40.299 --> 00:29:41.819 His resurrection life 00:29:41.819 --> 00:29:44.480 is now our resurrection life 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:48.920 under the rule of our great king. 00:29:49.720 --> 00:29:50.400 Jesus 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:53.779 is the true king we all need. 00:29:55.240 --> 00:29:57.200 And that's true for us 00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:59.700 as we come to face 00:29:59.700 --> 00:30:01.379 our giants. 00:30:01.380 --> 00:30:05.780 Now the order is so important. First we need to understand that Jesus is the true 00:30:05.780 --> 00:30:09.540 and better David. That we are weak and he is strong. 00:30:09.540 --> 00:30:11.120 That we would be crushed 00:30:11.120 --> 00:30:13.460 by our spiritual enemies but Jesus 00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:15.420 fights for us and wins 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:17.520 for us and only then 00:30:17.520 --> 00:30:19.520 only then as we're trusting in him 00:30:19.520 --> 00:30:21.520 can we ask, how can we learn 00:30:21.520 --> 00:30:22.760 to be more like David 00:30:22.760 --> 00:30:24.680 with the giants that we face? 00:30:26.260 --> 00:30:27.920 What are the giants that you face? 00:30:28.660 --> 00:30:29.600 Perhaps they are many. 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:31.559 It could be insecurity or it could be 00:30:31.559 --> 00:30:33.919 an illness. It could be disappointment. 00:30:34.159 --> 00:30:35.319 It might be temptation. 00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:38.459 Perhaps persecution and opposition 00:30:38.459 --> 00:30:40.459 or the pool of idolatry. 00:30:40.879 --> 00:30:43.139 When we face those giants, 00:30:43.379 --> 00:30:44.939 what do we do? 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:48.399 We look to our true king. 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:51.639 Trusting in King Jesus, 00:30:52.159 --> 00:30:53.959 we have confidence that the victory 00:30:53.960 --> 00:30:57.039 is secure in the shepherd king 00:30:57.039 --> 00:30:58.279 who fights for us 00:30:58.279 --> 00:30:59.279 and is with us. 00:30:59.840 --> 00:31:02.240 We understand that his commitment to us 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:03.420 is absolute. 00:31:03.740 --> 00:31:05.700 The king who went to the cross for us 00:31:05.700 --> 00:31:07.700 is now the king who sits on the throne 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:09.840 of the universe for us. 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:11.600 That his grace, his power, 00:31:11.819 --> 00:31:12.319 his love, 00:31:12.500 --> 00:31:13.940 they belong to us 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:14.640 as his people. 00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:17.559 We have a place 00:31:17.559 --> 00:31:19.259 in his eternal kingdom. 00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:21.160 That's our living hope. 00:31:21.160 --> 00:31:22.960 So to make progress 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:24.380 in the battles that we face 00:31:24.380 --> 00:31:26.140 with the giants that we encounter, 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:28.160 we stick close to Jesus 00:31:28.160 --> 00:31:29.860 and his gospel. 00:31:32.259 --> 00:31:33.580 And in his strength, 00:31:33.660 --> 00:31:34.660 we're invited to fight 00:31:34.660 --> 00:31:36.240 in his name. 00:31:37.600 --> 00:31:40.820 As we see all that he has done, 00:31:41.140 --> 00:31:43.660 the victory that he has achieved 00:31:43.660 --> 00:31:45.000 to save us, 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:47.259 as we recognize 00:31:47.259 --> 00:31:49.420 that he was motivated 00:31:49.420 --> 00:31:52.940 by the glory of God. 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:56.539 So we too 00:31:56.539 --> 00:31:59.380 are motivated by that concern. 00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:02.700 So we go into spiritual battle 00:32:02.700 --> 00:32:04.720 knowing the Lord of grace 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:06.460 is with us and for us. 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:08.539 And we persevere knowing 00:32:08.539 --> 00:32:11.259 we are on the winning side 00:32:11.259 --> 00:32:13.559 when we are with Jesus. 00:32:13.559 --> 00:32:15.000 Because he is the king 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:15.639 we all need. 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:18.279 It's a wonderful story. 00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:19.079 Wonderful story 00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:21.519 as we head into this summer. 00:32:22.519 --> 00:32:23.720 As we anticipate 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:24.980 the general election. 00:32:25.940 --> 00:32:27.139 As Christian people, 00:32:27.460 --> 00:32:29.119 we understand our hope 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:30.000 and our confidence 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:32.240 is in a far greater leader, 00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:34.480 in a far greater king 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:36.419 who sits on the throne 00:32:36.419 --> 00:32:37.039 of the universe. 00:32:37.159 --> 00:32:38.679 His rule is unshakable. 00:32:39.240 --> 00:32:40.259 And he is the one 00:32:40.259 --> 00:32:41.220 who will one day return 00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:42.240 to bring in the world 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:43.039 that we all want. 00:32:44.500 --> 00:32:45.680 And in the different rhythms 00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:47.039 of the holiday season, 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:49.200 wherever we find ourselves, 00:32:50.059 --> 00:32:51.779 we're invited to remember 00:32:51.779 --> 00:32:52.620 as the people of God, 00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:53.420 our shepherd king. 00:32:53.539 --> 00:32:54.120 He'll be with us 00:32:54.120 --> 00:32:54.880 and for us. 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:57.359 Inviting us to know him, 00:32:57.420 --> 00:32:58.400 to enjoy time with him 00:32:58.400 --> 00:32:59.099 and his word, 00:32:59.700 --> 00:33:00.700 to trust him 00:33:00.700 --> 00:33:02.519 as our savior king. 00:33:02.519 --> 00:33:04.200 poetry. 00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:04.240 Let's pray with him. 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:04.879 Kunden, 00:33:04.879 --> 00:33:05.059 let's pray with him. 00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:06.819 With him, 00:33:06.900 --> 00:33:06.980 let's pray with him. 00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:08.279 Let's pray with him. 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:08.400 . 00:33:08.420 --> 00:33:27.400 해 00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:27.980 Luke