Participants: Ezequiel Vasquez
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000771
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01:00 Today, we're go over a story that's
01:02 very familiar to a lot of us. 01:04 We've probably grown up with stories like this. 01:06 So we're gonna talk about the story of David and Goliath. 01:12 Now, let us all pray that God may bless us 01:15 as we open up His word. 01:20 Father in Heaven, Lord, I just ask you to please be with us 01:24 and send your spirit to give us understanding, Lord. 01:29 Unlock the simple messages in your story 01:33 and help us understand you more 01:34 and help this challenges to have 01:36 a greater relationship with You, Father. 01:39 I pray all this in the blessed name of Jesus, amen. 01:46 Reading the stories of the Bible growing up, 01:49 greatly enriched my life. 01:52 They're amazing, the lessons that they teach 01:56 topics like action, drama, love, sorrow, all vary 02:04 but they all have a straight message. 02:07 A God that loves his people, 02:09 a God that's still in with the rebellious people 02:12 and a God that's trying to redeem His name, 02:15 He's trying to show His people that He is a "God of Love." 02:19 Now the Bible is considered to be one of the most 02:22 influential pieces of literature in history. 02:27 A word to bring every Bible known to man 02:31 we could go to the library and we produce the same Bible, 02:34 just from quotations, this is one of most influential books 02:39 that history has ever known. 02:41 Now I don't think the Bible is just inspiring, 02:46 I truly believe in my heart that the Bible is inspired, 02:50 is the Word of God to my soul. 02:54 Now the interesting thing is that the Bible uses stories 02:58 of historical events of historical figures 03:01 in order to be blessing to our life. 03:05 Now today we're gonna take one of those stories, 03:07 the story of David and Goliath. 03:11 A story we're all very well familiar with, 03:15 we've heard it growing up, we heard about David 03:17 the young boy, "Goliath the Giant." 03:20 But we're gonna look at it, we're gonna try to dissect it 03:24 and find a blessing from it, we're gonna try to see what 03:27 God was trying to communicate through His people 03:28 by using this story to be in His inspired book. 03:35 So now we're gonna start with 03:37 our story in First Samuel Chapter 17. 03:42 First Samuel Chapter 17, we're gonna read verses 1 through 3. 03:48 We're gonna start in verse 1. 03:50 "Now the Philistines gathered their armies 03:52 together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, 03:55 which belongs to Judah, they encamped between 03:57 Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 04:00 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, 04:03 and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, 04:05 and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 04:07 The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side, 04:10 and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, 04:12 with a valley in between them." 04:16 Now, I want to take an imaginative trip, 04:19 through the Atlantic Ocean, through the Mediterranean Sea, 04:25 to the Land of Israel, the desert Land of Israel. 04:30 Now, imagine the dry plains, the dry plains of Israel, 04:36 the sandy terrain, the rocks, the shrubs, 04:41 a very harsh environment, a very harsh environment. 04:45 Now these two armies gathered for war, 04:49 with the philistines on one mountain 04:51 and the Israelites on another mountain. 04:55 Now something very interesting is that 04:59 if we look into the historical context 05:01 of who the philistines were? 05:02 They were more advanced in weaponry and military skills. 05:07 Although Israel was able to defeat them, 05:10 philistines were more sophisticated, 05:14 they had chariots, which Israelites didn't, 05:18 they had brass armor, which Israelites could 05:23 have had but they didn't have till the extend 05:24 that the philistines did. 05:27 And they also had advanced weaponry 05:30 for their offensive purposes. 05:33 For example, they had this sword 05:37 it was called the "Sickle Sword" 05:39 because it resembled the sickle. 05:41 It was a one sided blade with a curve 05:46 and it was mostly made out of brass 05:49 and these swords are really hard to make 05:52 because the way that the, the blacksmiths use iron, 05:58 use iron, use brass was very, very primitive. 06:02 So it was hard for them to make swords like this 06:03 but they had plenty to go around. 06:05 Now the sickle sword with one strong swipe 06:09 could chop right through someone's bone, 06:11 so they were very advanced. 06:13 Now the Israelites had just regrouped from a time 06:18 where they were just led by God, now they had a king, 06:21 they were grouped, they were organized as an army 06:23 and they were strong soldiers, they were strong soldiers 06:26 but they were soldiers that fought on mountains. 06:29 But the philistines made a smart strategic move, 06:32 if you notice, they go on one mountain 06:36 and they wait while Israel stands on the other mountain. 06:39 And then they try to draw Israel to the valley 06:43 because the Israelites didn't have chariots, 06:46 they did not have this type of sophisticated weaponry 06:49 that would help their speed and they would be slaughtered 06:51 if they went down there and tried to 06:53 challenge them in this open plains 06:58 but the philistines were great fighters 06:59 they were great fighters amongst the hills. 07:01 And they try to draw the philistines up to them. 07:07 So now we see these two armies trying to use their strengths 07:14 to take advantage of the others weaknesses 07:17 but neither are budging, but then something happens, 07:20 we get introduced to the character, 07:23 the arch nemesis of our story, the famous Goliath. 07:29 We're gonna start in verse 4, 07:34 "And a champion went out from the camp 07:36 of the Philistines, named Goliath from Gath, 07:40 whose height was six cubits and a span." 07:43 Now, Israel was above where Gath was, 07:49 Gath was closer to the Mediterranean,South of Israel 07:53 And they attack from the South part of the Israel 07:56 going towards the west side. 07:58 Now Goliath, is said to be six cubits 08:03 and a span, what does this mean? 08:06 Six cubits, 1 cubit equals 18 inches. So we do the math, 08:13 we have 18 inches plus 18 is 36, 54, 72, 90, 08:21 and 108 plus 9 inches that's a 117 inches. 08:26 If we turned that into feet that's 9½ feet, 08:30 he was 9½ feet tall, 08:33 his very size was intimidating, his very size. 08:37 I worked at this restaurant back home, 08:39 it's called Harris Ranch and I was a busser, 08:43 and I remember cleaning the tables and looking over 08:46 and someone telling me, look that's the Sacramento Kings, 08:49 they're the basketball players, they're 08:51 the Sacramento Kings,And I thought oh, wow! They're here, 08:52 well, that's pretty interesting. 08:56 What really shocked me is that I was the tallest person 08:59 in this restaurant, I'm about 6' 3" 09:01 but when I see these guys stand up, I was blown away, 09:07 they had to duck so they wouldn't 09:10 hit their heads to the door ways. 09:12 And the door ways were huge, they were tall, 09:15 but these guys would just walk around 09:17 and the very presence was intimidating, 09:20 was very intimidating. 09:21 Now Goliath was not 7 feet tall 09:24 like most of the basketball players. 09:25 Goliath was 9½ feet tall, 9½ feet tall. 09:31 He was two feet taller 09:32 than most of these basketball players, 09:34 and these basketball players were intimidating 09:35 and can you imagine being in the very presence of Goliath. 09:39 Now that's not the only thing 09:40 that was intimidating about Goliath, 09:41 let's keep on reading in verse, 09:48 we're gonna pickup in verse 5. 09:49 "He had a bronze helmet on his head, 09:53 and he, and he was armed with a coat of mail, 09:56 and the weight of the coat of mail 09:57 was five thousand shekels of bronze." 10:00 So now five thousand shekels of bronze, 10:02 a shekel is the way they would, 10:05 they would use currency as a coin, 10:06 the weight of a coin, now five thousand shekels, 10:09 a shekel is like about an ounce, 10:11 an ounce and a half around there. 10:13 So we do the math correctly 10:15 five thousand shekels equals a 125 pounds, 10:20 125 pounds, I weigh 220 that's, 10:26 that's more than half of my weight. 10:30 Now, when I'm in school I carry a bag pack, 10:34 full books that weighs about 20 pounds 10:36 and when I come home, 10:38 I have a sore back with just 20 pounds, 10:40 now this guy Goliath walks around with armor 10:43 that weighs a 125 pounds, can you imagine his strength? 10:53 Now we're gonna look at his weaponry. 10:57 What kind of weapons did Goliath have? 11:01 We're going back to Samuel, First Samuel 17, 11:10 and we're gonna read verse 6. 11:11 "And he had bronze armor on his legs 11:15 and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 11:18 Now the staff of his spear was like the weaver's beam, 11:22 and was iron spearhead weighed about 11:24 six hundred shekels, 11:26 and a shield-bearer went before him." 11:30 Now he had this huge staff 11:33 and on the head of the staff was the spearhead, 11:38 this spearhead weighed 15 pounds, 11:44 someone within a couple of feet 11:47 could be pierced through one, one javelin, 11:53 one throw of this spear would appear him right through. 11:58 This, a 15 pound spearhead is no joke, 12:04 this could really do some damage. 12:08 Now I'm, let's see what's, 12:12 what Goliath did as soon as he came. 12:16 Now we got to remember that the, 12:18 that the Israelites were on one hill 12:20 and the philistines were on another hill, 12:22 so there was a valley in between them. 12:24 The Philistine army could very well 12:27 see the whole terrain from the top of the hill 12:29 that was in the valley. 12:30 Now the Israelite army can look down 12:32 and they could do the same. 12:34 Now the Bible says 12:36 in First Samuel 17 verses 8 and 10. 12:44 "Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, 12:47 he said to them, why have you come out 12:50 to line up for battle? 12:51 Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? 12:54 Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me." 13:00 Now more than likely Goliath went down 13:03 to this valley where everybody could see him, 13:06 he was challenging everybody to bring one man 13:12 from the Israelite army. 13:17 Now notice, he even goes as far to say this, 13:22 "I defy the armies of Israel this day, 13:24 give me a man that we may fight together." 13:28 Now he was to find the very armies of Israel. 13:31 Now we had to read back in the Bible, 13:34 the armies of Israel were always led 13:36 by the "God of Abraham." 13:41 This same God that defeated the whole armies, 13:46 the whole army of Egypt, 13:48 Pharaoh's army with one swoop of the red sea, 13:54 just drowned them all in one attack. 14:00 Now he was challenging them, 14:03 but did Goliath understand who he was challenging? 14:07 Now from reading this the context shows, 14:10 no, he really didn't understand, 14:14 most people don't attribute 14:15 Goliath to be a military genius, which he was. 14:19 He was a military genius. 14:21 Goliath was a genius, he was smart, 14:24 he knew doing exactly what he was doing, 14:26 notice something very interesting. 14:29 Goliath not only was intimidating with his size, 14:34 his amour, his weaponry, 14:37 but Goliath knew something about the Israelites, 14:42 that he used to his advantage to defeat them, 14:48 to scare them, to intimidate them. 14:52 We're gonna read about 14:53 this in First Samuel 17 verse 16, 14:56 notice this, pay very close attention 14:58 to what the Bible says, 15:01 "And the Philistine junior 15:04 had presented himself forty days, 15:07 morning and evening." 15:10 There you go, do you see it? 15:13 Goliath was a military genius, 15:15 isn't that amazing? 15:16 Do you see it, maybe an explanation is in order. 15:23 Well, you have to understand 15:25 that Goliath could have intimidated them, 15:29 could have mocked them in the afternoon 15:31 and he could have slept in late. 15:34 He could have mocked them in the afternoon 15:37 and went to bed early, he could have left them 15:39 shaking in the boots but he chose to mock them 15:42 in the mornings and in the evenings. 15:47 What happens in the mornings and the evenings 15:50 in the Israelite Community? 15:54 Let's turn our Bibles to Psalms 55 verse 17, 15:59 that's Psalms 55 verse 17. 16:06 Now the psalmist says, "Evening, and morning, 16:08 and noon I pray, and I cry aloud, 16:12 and he shall hear my voice." 16:14 So the psalmist is saying that he 16:15 has his connection with God every morning and evening. 16:18 Now notice this, this is thematic 16:21 throughout the whole Bible. 16:22 Notice in the times of Hezekiah 16:26 in Second Chronicles, Second Chronicles 2, 16:33 Second Chronicles 29:20, so we're turning 16:36 Second Chronicles 29:20. 16:43 "Then Hezekiah rose up early, 16:45 gathered the rulers of the city, 16:47 and went up to the house of the Lord." 16:50 He got up early 16:51 and then went to the house of the Lord. 16:54 What do people do in the house of the Lord? 16:57 They practice religious rituals, 17:01 and they maintain the connection with God 17:03 he did this early in the morning. 17:05 Now notice from the time of Hezekiah, 17:06 all the way to the time of Jesus. 17:08 Let's go to Mark Chapter 1, 17:14 that's Mark Chapter 1, verse 35, 17:22 "Now in the morning, having risen a long 17:25 while before daylight, He went out and departed 17:28 to a solitary place and He prayed." 17:32 Now before day light, 17:34 before the sun had risen, 17:37 we see Jesus go out and spend time with God. 17:43 Now, in First Samuel 15:11, 17:49 we see Saul being rejected as King 17:53 and Samuel mourns for him all night. 17:58 Now we go to Luke 6:12, we see Jesus 18:03 pray for His disciples all night. 18:07 Now every morning and evening in the Jewish community 18:11 they maintain the relationship with God, 18:13 that's exactly what they would do, 18:15 that's exactly what Goliath was distracting them from, 18:18 they had fought the Israelite army before, 18:21 they had challenged them before. 18:23 But this time it was different, 18:25 this time they were scared. 18:27 Goliath, the military genius had pulled it off, 18:33 he had distracted the Israelite army 18:35 from the source of their strength, 18:38 the God of Israel. 18:40 They had lost their connection with God, 18:45 so they were scared. 18:47 Now notice this, Dr. Alfred Edersheim 18:53 in the sketches of the Jewish social life says this, 18:57 "Public worship commenced in ordinary 18:59 occasions with the so-called "Shema, 19:01 " which was preceded in the morning and evening 19:04 by two benedictions, 19:05 and succeeded in the morning by one, 19:07 and the evening by two benedictions, 19:10 the second being strictly, an evening prayer." 19:14 So now mornings and evenings 19:16 were vital for the connection with God. 19:21 So what Goliath did was distracting from God. 19:25 They were scared because they were distracted from God, 19:28 they were distracted from the source of their strength. 19:30 Notice now we turned to First Samuel 17 verse 11, 19:34 this is how they reacted when, 19:35 when ever Goliath mock them. 19:38 "When Saul and Israel heard 19:40 these words of the Philistine, 19:41 they were dismayed and greatly afraid." 19:45 So, they were dismayed and greatly afraid 19:48 because they had lost their connection with God. 19:51 Now we can also hear and think okay, 19:55 what is my Goliath? 19:59 What is keeping me from my connection with God 20:02 early in the morning? 20:05 What is keeping me 20:07 from my connection with God in the evening? 20:14 Now we're gonna see the importance of this, 20:20 a little bit later but I want to make one point. 20:24 There's this older man he would sit 20:27 and watch the little boys play in the street 20:31 and he'd sit in his rocking chair and look at him. 20:34 And every once in a while he would start 20:36 mocking the boys that would play cowboy. 20:39 He'd look at them and say, little boy, little boy, 20:43 don't you understand, 20:45 little boy, don't you understand? 20:48 Your horse is not carrying you, 20:50 you're carrying your horse, 20:53 little boy, don't you understand? 20:56 And that sounds very silly 20:58 but we could be just like that old man 20:59 and sit back and look at the Christians and say, 21:06 Christian, Christian, brother, sister, 21:08 don't you understand? 21:11 When you're pretending to be a Christian 21:14 and you don't have that vital connection with God. 21:16 Your Christianity isn't carrying you, 21:19 you're carrying your Christianity. 21:24 Now when you try to carry your Christianity, 21:26 you're carrying the infinite on your back. 21:30 And in case you haven't noticed 21:32 we're not infinitely strong, 21:35 you eventually be crushed or you'll give up. 21:42 You can't carry the infinite, 21:45 you need to maintain a connection with God, 21:48 you need to let your Christianity carry you 21:51 through a connection with God 21:52 and that is the only way, the only way. 21:59 Now let's introduce the hero of our story. 22:02 We're gonna introduce David, 22:04 we're going to Samuel verse 13 and 14. 22:11 "The three eldest sons of Jesse 22:14 had gone to follow Saul to battle. 22:15 The names of his three sons 22:17 who went out to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, 22:19 next one Abinadab, the third Shammah. 22:24 David was the youngest 22:25 and the three eldest followed Saul." 22:27 Now, the three eldest followed Saul, 22:29 they followed Saul because Saul was the King of Israel 22:32 and the King of Israel was at war. 22:34 So the brothers were at war with Saul, 22:37 so now David stayed behind if you read, 22:40 David stayed behind to take care of the sheep. 22:43 Now there is a reason why, 22:44 why David couldn't go out and fight with his brothers. 22:49 He wasn't old enough yet, he was just a boy, 22:53 he had to be younger than 18, 22:56 he must been like 16, 13 around there, 22:59 he wasn't old enough to fight yet, 23:01 he was just a little boy. 23:04 Now notice what his original duty was? 23:06 Notice what his father sent him to the battle lines for? 23:12 "Then Jesse said to his son David, 23:14 Take now your brothers an ephah of this dry grain 23:18 and these ten loaves and run to your brothers at camp 23:21 and carry these ten cheeses 23:22 to the captain of the, of their thousand, 23:25 and see how your brothers fare 23:27 and bring back news of them." 23:29 So now David went at first to take his brothers food 23:36 and to take cheese to the commanders. 23:40 And to talk to them and bring back news from him. 23:44 That was David's original duty 23:46 but then something happened, 23:48 something happened in verse 22 and 23. 23:54 "David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper 23:57 and ran to the army and greeted his brothers. 24:01 Then he talked with him, there was a champion, 24:06 a Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name coming up 24:10 from the armies of the Philistines 24:12 and spoke according to the same words." 24:14 So David heard. 24:17 Now notice, David came to the camp, 24:20 he was about a day's trip away from the camp, 24:22 so he came to the camp 24:23 and for the first time he hears Goliath. 24:28 Notice how the Israelites react in verse 24. 24:32 "And all the men of Israel, 24:33 when they saw the man, fled from him, 24:35 and were deadly afraid." 24:38 Now notice the difference, 24:40 solders were deadly afraid of this Intimidating Giant 24:44 with the immense strength, they were afraid of him. 24:48 But how does David react? 24:49 He was outside of the camp he wasn't 24:51 distracted every morning and evening. 24:54 So how did David react when he hadn't lost 24:58 his connection with God? 25:05 Let's turn in our Bibles 25:09 to verse 32. David is talking to Saul here. 25:21 Then David said to Saul 25:23 "Let no man's heart fail because of him, 25:27 your servant will go out and fight him." 25:31 Now this little boy is telling the, 25:33 the king of Israel, the general of Israel. 25:37 You guys don't have to be afraid, 25:38 you guys don't have to be afraid. 25:40 I'll fight this giant for you, I'll take him. 25:45 Now, of course, Saul doubted, notice Saul's reaction. 25:51 "You're not able to fight against this Philistine. 25:55 You are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth." 26:01 So now, Saul looks at this young man 26:09 and he discourages him from going out and fight 26:15 because he knew he was a young boy. 26:19 But Saul was a coward, he was scared. 26:25 We see this more as we read. 26:27 Notice what he does with David eventually. 26:35 In verse 38, "Saul clothed David with his armor 26:41 and put a bronze helmet on his head 26:44 and he also clothed him with a coat of mail." 26:48 So now Saul just said, okay. 26:52 You're a little boy, you can't fight this giant. 26:55 You can't fight this giant. 26:56 You're just a little boy. 26:59 But wait, wait, wait. 27:02 You know, I don't want to go fight this giant. 27:05 Why don't you take my armor, let's see what you could do. 27:09 So now Saul, who the Bible says, 27:11 he was a head taller than everybody else, 27:14 is sending a boy, a little boy to fight his battle 27:21 because he was scared. 27:23 He was distracted every morning and evening 27:25 from his connection with God. 27:27 He was cut off 27:28 because he was distracted by the Philistine, 27:33 and he sents a little boy to do a man's job. 27:38 What a rebuke it must have been 27:39 to see a little boy be willing to fight a giant, 27:43 when you the king of Israel are terrified. 27:47 But now notice he sends this little boy to his death, 27:50 to his apparent death. 27:58 But how does David react? 28:02 How does David react? Was he really scared? 28:05 Notice how he responds to Goliath. 28:09 Notice how he responds to him. 28:16 It says, in verse 34, "Your servant used 28:22 to keep his father's sheep when a lion, 28:24 or a bear came and took a lamb of the flock, 28:27 I went out after it and struck it, 28:29 and delivered the lamb from it, 28:32 and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, 28:35 and struck it and killed it. 28:40 Your servant has killed both lion and bear, 28:42 and this uncircumcised 28:43 Philistine will be like one of them, 28:46 seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God." 28:52 He said, he had defied the armies of the living God. 28:56 He knew who was going to do the fighting for him. 29:00 It was a living God. 29:04 See, to the rest of the army the God of Israel 29:09 do not seem to be stronger than this Goliath, 29:13 because they didn't focus on the God of Israel, 29:15 they focused on the strength of Goliath. 29:20 Nine and half feet tall, immensely strong, 29:28 they focused on him 29:30 and they got distracted from God. 29:33 So they forgot how strong God was. 29:35 They forgot that God had saved them from Egypt, 29:38 from slavery, from bondage, 29:44 and they looked at Goliath, 29:46 a man that was stronger than them, 29:49 and they were scared. 29:50 But now notice the big difference. 29:56 David, the little boy who was not distracted, 30:04 was able to say, I will take this challenge, 30:08 I will fight this giant, I will take him down 30:14 just like I took down a lion and a bear in the past. 30:20 It's amazing. It's amazing what happens 30:23 whenever you have a connection with God, 30:24 notice a big difference. 30:27 A man, that was a trained soldier, 30:29 was scared when he lost the connection with God. 30:32 A young boy who maintained the connection with God 30:36 and was not a soldier by any means, 30:38 he was shepherd, was willing to fight, 30:43 because he understood that his God was a living God. 30:50 Now, you might think this is just one account 30:56 where someone shows their courage 30:58 because they maintain their connection with God. 31:01 But turn in your Bibles to Daniel 6. 31:06 We're going to Daniel 6 to the account of David, 31:12 I mean, Daniel in the lion's den. 31:15 It's Daniel 6, and we're gonna 31:19 read verses 8 through 12. 31:27 "Now, O king, establish the decree, 31:30 and sign the writing, so that it be not changed, 31:33 according to the law of the Medes and Persians, 31:35 which is not matter." 31:36 Now Daniel's enemies were trying 31:38 to set up a trap for him. 31:39 They just convinced the king to set up a law 31:42 where only the king could be worshiped, and no one else. 31:50 And verse 9 says, 31:51 "Therefore king signed the written decree." 31:54 So the king was convinced. He said, yeah, that's good. 31:57 I want people to worship me. 32:00 Uh! Signed his decree. 32:04 And only you could be worshiped 32:06 this period of time, this length of time, 32:10 this period of time. 32:12 So notice what Daniel does in verse 10, 32:17 "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, 32:20 he went home, and in his upper room, 32:22 with his windows open toward Jerusalem, 32:25 he knelt down on his knees three times that day 32:29 and prayed and gave thanks before his God, 32:32 as was his custom." 32:36 So now Daniel hears that this decree was signed 32:43 and it was established that you could only pray 32:46 to the king of Medes and Persians, 32:49 but he goes into his room, opens up a window, 32:53 doesn't do it in secret, and prays to God. 32:58 Now we all know what happens later on. 33:02 The king cannot rebuke the law. 33:05 So though Daniel is his beloved companion, 33:09 he throws him in the lion's den. 33:13 Now Daniel bravely takes the consequence. 33:17 And we see God rescue him from the lion's den. 33:21 He was able to face this courageously 33:24 because of his connection with God. 33:28 He had a vital connection with God. 33:30 It wasn't just David, 33:32 we see this throughout the Bible 33:33 when people keep the connection with God, 33:35 their courage supersedes that which normally 33:41 would be there because they understand 33:43 that they worship a living God. It's amazing. 33:48 So now this is the key to courage. 33:52 Have a relationship with God. 33:55 Now try to understand this, 33:56 what does this mean in our everyday lives. 34:02 If we maintain a connection with God, 34:06 we could overcome things that normally seem impossible, 34:13 whether it be a smoking habit, 34:17 whether it be a personal sin. 34:21 Where you're addicted, certain things 34:23 that are keeping you from your relationship with God. 34:27 Now, we know that the Bible says 34:30 that God is all powerful. 34:33 So if He's all powerful, He destroys any obstacle 34:37 that keeps a connection with Him 34:39 if we make the afford, 34:43 if we make the afford. 34:47 God does not encroach in our freedom of will. 34:52 We need to do our half to form 34:56 this connection with God. 34:59 We need to form a connection with God 35:02 and He will overcome for us, He will overcome for us. 35:10 I was watching Dr. Menachery, "The Conscientious Objector." 35:17 And I was really inspired by the way 35:20 Desmond Doss' peers talked about him. 35:27 When they would talk about him, 35:29 they'd recount their stories of how they remember him. 35:33 They'd cry when they remembered him. 35:37 They considered them his close companion. 35:41 But at the beginning of documentary, 35:43 this was not the case. 35:47 You see Desmond Doss was ridiculed. 35:51 He was ostracised because of his religious inclination. 36:00 He refused to do things on the Sabbath. 36:03 He refused to carry a weapon. He refused to kill. 36:10 So now everybody ostracised him. 36:14 There is even an account where they threw a boot at his head 36:16 while he was praying at night. 36:19 He had no friends in the beginning. 36:21 No one became his close companion, 36:23 his close friend, they all rejected him. 36:28 Even when they were training in the desert, 36:31 he tried his hardest to win his companions' 36:34 hearts by being their medic, 36:38 by helping them out when they had bloody feet, 36:42 by trying his hardest to make them feel comfortable and loved. 36:47 But this didn't do anything 36:49 to affect their relationship with him. 36:51 That actually made some generals bitter towards him 36:56 because of the fact that he would not follow orders. 37:01 Now something very interesting 37:03 is that the same general that tried to kick him out, 37:06 that tried to have him court-marshaled, 37:10 went out to war the same time Desmond Doss did, 37:17 and the general ran away 37:19 because he was afraid, he was scared. 37:24 This very general that tried to kick out 37:27 this man for his religious inclination ran away 37:29 scared while this religious man that took 37:32 all this ridicule stood bravely in war. 37:39 Now there's to it than this, Desmond Doss is famous 37:48 because of what he did during the war. 37:52 There is actually a time where the whole regime 37:58 wouldn't go out to war because Desmond Doss 38:01 hadn't finished reading his Bible, 38:03 because at that point he had gained the respect 38:04 already because he showed his courage. 38:09 Now, I remember something 38:12 very particular about the story. 38:18 As he sat there, his companions sat, 38:20 there were three of them, 38:21 they were sitting around the table, 38:22 they were all men, they were older men 38:26 and they started talking about Desmond Doss. 38:28 They said, Desmond Doss was a great man, 38:31 Desmond Doss did this. He saved like seventy people. 38:33 He was just a skinny guy and he would go out 38:35 when bullets were raining, and he'd saved people. 38:39 This skinny guy would save people. He was brave. 38:42 He was braver than any man I've ever known. 38:45 And then what really caught 38:47 my attention was one of his fellow soldiers, 38:52 his fellow companions, his fellow veteran said this, 38:57 you know, Desmond Doss was a great man, 39:00 he was brave, he was really brave but you know, 39:06 without his religion, he would have, 39:09 he would have, he statures 39:12 and then the guy next one finishes his sentence, 39:16 and says, he would have been just like us. 39:21 He would have been just like us, without his religion. 39:26 So now his peers understood, what made Desmond Doss brave 39:31 was his connection with God. 39:33 Do you understood, he would have been just like 39:35 them without his connection with God. 39:38 But because he maintained his connection with God, 39:44 he's gonna be remembered 39:46 as one of the bravest men in that regime 39:50 because of his connection with God. 39:55 Now there is also this other story of an unknown solider. 40:00 This happened in the Korean war. 40:03 He was also a medic. 40:06 But this soldier was actually an atheist. 40:11 This soldier was in a fox hole. 40:15 During the one of the heaviest attacks 40:21 and the person higher in command went up to him and said, 40:23 you need to go out and help the wounded. 40:27 You need to go out and help the wounded, go. 40:29 And as soon as the one higher in command 40:31 would tell him that he'd get up and be like okay. 40:33 But as soon as he would walk away, 40:34 he'd hide back in his foxhole. 40:41 The guy that was higher in command would come again 40:42 and he would like, what are you doing 40:43 hiding in your foxhole, go help them, 40:45 go help them, what are you doing? 40:47 And he'd get up again and be like, okay, okay. 40:50 As soon as the guy would turn around, 40:52 back in his foxhole. 40:56 Now once the guy that was higher in command 40:58 saw this, he got frustrated. 41:01 He was getting ready to shoot this medic, 41:03 because he was frustrated with him. 41:07 But as he was walking towards him, 41:09 the medic all of a sudden gets up and runs out there, 41:16 he runs straight to the on coming bullets, 41:21 and he goes and he brings 41:23 the wounded in with no fear, no fear. 41:29 And the guy higher in command was, he was speechless. 41:33 He looked and he was like, what's going on. 41:38 As soon as everything was over, 41:39 they were sitting down in the tent 41:43 and the one higher in command looks at this medic and says, 41:46 "what's up with you, like what's wrong? 41:48 Why is it that every time I commanded you do something, 41:52 you didn't listen to my orders. 41:54 But then all of a sudden, 41:56 it's almost like you were waiting 41:57 for a certain time to strike before you went out there. 42:02 What's going on?" 42:03 And the medic looked at him and he'll goes, 42:05 well, sir, I'm quite embarrassed. 42:08 Actually I'm quite ashamed to say. 42:10 He goes, no, tell me, tell me, what's wrong with you? 42:13 He said, well, to be completely honestly he said, 42:19 I don't have a faith. I've always been agnostic. 42:26 I just recently got a letter from my mom. 42:29 He said, she told me that, she has been praying for me. 42:33 I was raised a Christian, and my mom said, 42:39 she would pray for me at this certain hour. 42:45 And I remember that, as I was in this foxhole. 42:49 I was scared to go out. 42:53 But as soon as I looked at my watch 42:54 and I realized that my mom was praying for me. 42:58 Something happened. I wasn't scared. 43:02 I was not scared at what could happen. 43:08 I was able to face 43:10 what I had to face without fear 43:13 but I am ashamed because, you know, 43:15 I really don't believe. 43:19 It's amazing what happens to us 43:21 whenever we maintain a connection with God. 43:23 Well, we understand that God is helping us 43:25 through the prayers of others. 43:27 It's amazing what happens. 43:33 Now I could stand here today and recount story, 43:40 after story, after story, after story, 43:43 after story, after story, 43:44 after story and show you brave men 43:49 showing their courage because they maintain 43:52 their connection with God, but what will that do? 43:58 How will that have a significant 43:59 impact in our lives? 44:03 Only if you understand, then in order for you to face 44:06 life courageously, you yourself need 44:10 to maintain a connection with God. 44:14 You yourself need to tackle these Goliaths 44:22 before they distract you from God. 44:25 Anything that's keeping you from your connection 44:28 with God in the morning and the evening, 44:32 anything that's keeping you 44:33 from your connection with God at all. 44:38 Will make you a coward eventually 44:40 whenever you have to face life's real dangers. 44:49 In order for you to face disasters, 44:53 in order to you to face life's hardships 44:56 whether you're going through a family crises, 45:01 whether you've undergone a natural disaster, 45:06 whether you lost everything just like Job. 45:11 Somehow you be able to hold it all together, 45:17 because you will understand that there is something else, 45:22 that there is another life, 45:24 that there is God, there is a Savior, 45:29 and this isn't it. This life isn't it. 45:33 This trial is just there to build your character, 45:40 to put you to that point of stress 45:41 where you have to make the right choice, 45:43 even when it doesn't feel good, 45:45 even when it goes against your very senses, 45:49 your very core, even when it goes 45:51 against who you are, 45:53 your challenge to do the right thing. 46:00 Now, you got to understand. This is what I'm not saying. 46:12 Ezequiel Vasquez has not perfected the science 46:16 and maintaining the connection with God. 46:20 I'm in a learning process. 46:23 I myself struggled to get up in the morning 46:30 and sometimes even read my Bible. I'm not perfect. 46:37 I remember sitting studying the Bible with someone, 46:40 and then he told to me, listen, Ezequiel, 46:42 I know you're holy, I know you get up 46:44 and you like oh-- you shine and, 46:50 you just could do it but I can't, 46:52 like something like I just don't 46:53 feel like reading my Bible. 46:55 I can't keep myself from falling back asleep. 47:03 I looked at him and then I said, listen LeAnn. 47:08 LeAnn is the girl I was studying the Bible with. 47:11 I get up in the morning and I'm just like you. 47:16 I struggle just like you, and I'm tired just like you. 47:21 I'm lazy just like you. 47:26 But I don't read Bible because I feel like it. 47:30 I don't read my Bible because I like to, 47:32 although I do. 47:37 I read my Bible because I have to. 47:40 I don't pray because I want you sometimes, 47:43 although I do want you. 47:49 I pray because I have to. 47:52 In order for God to carry the weight 47:56 that I can't carry, 47:58 I have to give Him the privilege, 48:01 I have to give Him the right to carry it for me. 48:12 Now we're gonna see how the story of David 48:19 and Goliath wraps up. 48:24 Let's go to First Samuel 17, 48:30 and we're gonna go to the last verses 48:32 of the Bible in Chapter 17. 48:35 And we're gonna see a dialogue between David and Goliath. 48:43 Now this is what Goliath says to David, 48:47 "Come to me, and I will give your flesh 48:49 to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field." 48:52 Now notice, this giant, 48:53 this is what he tells this little boy. 48:56 But now look at what this little boy tells this giant, 49:00 "You come to me with a sword and a spear, and with a javelin. 49:04 But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, 49:08 the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." 49:13 You Goliath, Goliath of Gath, defied the armies of Israel, 49:19 and you come at me with a sword and a spear. 49:23 You're gonna try to come at with a sword and a spear. 49:26 You're gonna try to go up against my God. 49:31 Now notice this, this is what he eventually tells him, 49:34 he says, "This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand 49:38 and I will strike you and take your head from you. 49:42 And this day I will give the carcasses 49:46 of the camp of the Philistines 49:47 to the birds of the air 49:48 and the wild beasts of the earth, 49:51 that all the Earth may know 49:53 that there is a God in Israel." 49:58 That there is a God in Israel. 50:01 So now this is what David was trying to do. 50:04 He was trying to remind his fellow soldiers 50:06 that there was a God, 50:08 that they had lost connection with. 50:10 Now David seems very brave, he seems very bold. 50:16 He's talking the big talk 50:18 but now notice what he does. Let's keep on reading. 50:25 "So it was, when the Philistine arose 50:28 and came and drew near to meet David, 50:31 David hurried and ran toward the army 50:33 to meet the Philistine." 50:36 Now David talked and said the right things 50:40 to show people that he was brave. 50:44 But now when it came to time, when he came to that time, 50:47 where he had to show by action, 50:49 notice what he does. 50:50 The Philistine draws near to him 50:53 and David sprint towards him. 50:56 He ran towards his Philistine. 50:59 Now if David was scared, he wouldn't run towards 51:02 the Philistine, he'd run away. 51:06 But David believed what he had told this giant. 51:11 He believed that Goliath 51:17 had nothing on the God of Israel. 51:25 Now let's finish this story. 51:29 Let's go to verse 49, 51:32 "Then David put his hand in his bag 51:34 and took out a stone and he slung it 51:38 and struck the Philistine in the forehead, 51:41 so that the stone sank into the forehead, 51:43 and he fell down on his face on the Earth." 51:49 So now David, this little boy had stones 51:54 and a slingshot, he's facing a soldier with armor. 51:59 He slung this stone and aimed it at him 52:02 and hit him straight in the forehead. 52:04 Now this giant that everybody was scared of, 52:06 was defeated by a little boy, 52:09 a little boy that was not trained how to fight. 52:14 Soldiers who were trained 52:15 how to fight were scared of this giant. 52:18 But this little boy was able to defeat Goliath 52:23 because of his connection with God, 52:25 because he maintained this connection with God. 52:30 Now let's see how Saul reacts. 52:37 Therefore, Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, 52:40 "Send me your son David who is with the sheep. 52:44 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, 52:47 and a skin of wine, and a young goat, 52:50 and sent them to the son of David to Saul." 52:54 So now David knew Saul previously to this. 53:04 They had met before. 53:12 And Chapter 16 but now let's read in Chapter 17, 53:19 "David asked his general, whose son is he? 53:24 And his general goes and inquires of him." 53:25 And verse 58 says, And Saul said to him, 53:28 "whose son are you young man?" So David answered, 53:30 "I am the son of the servant Jesse, the Beth-lehemite." 53:36 Now Saul was impressed by this young boy's courage. 53:42 He was rebuked by this young boy's courage, 53:45 by his action, by what he did. 53:53 Now we need to learn the lesson 53:59 from the life of David, and the life of Saul. 54:06 If we look at this lesson, 54:09 we get to understand 54:14 what the secret key is to courage beyond measure. 54:19 We could see what the secret key is, 54:21 for a young boy to be so courageous 54:24 as to want to face a giant. 54:32 We need to understand that the key 54:34 was a vital connection with God that helps 54:40 the spiritual life stay alive. 54:44 Now today's message was entitled 54:52 "The Line between Courage and Cowardness." 54:57 We've gone over 54:59 what made this young boy courageous 55:02 and what made Saul a coward. 55:07 But now we have to think about it, 55:10 and understand how we could apply it to our lives. 55:17 What does it take to make my life, 55:24 a life that resembles 55:25 the life of David and his courage? 55:31 What will it take to maintain a stronger 55:35 connection with the God of Israel, 55:38 the God of Abraham, 55:40 the God that died on the cross for us. 55:45 The God that was willing to take reproach and shame, 55:50 to be a man of sorrows to save us. 55:59 We need to understand who this God is 56:00 by maintaining our communication with Him, 56:05 and through this comes the courage. 56:10 The Bible says in Proverbs that, 56:13 "the righteous are as bold as lions 56:17 and the wicked flee though no one pursuit." 56:21 Now, we're not righteous because we're righteous 56:24 within ourselves but because we need Jesus Christ, 56:28 the blood of the Lamb. 56:31 Today, are you willing to accept that God is God? 56:37 That God could handle the difficulties in your life. 56:41 Are you willing to accept that He could save you? 56:45 You just need to trust in Him 56:46 and understand Him through our communication with Him. 56:51 Today I want to challenge you to do anything 56:55 you can in your life to maintain this connection. 57:00 So that you won't have to suffer 57:01 the shame that Saul did. 57:08 We need to maintain the connection with God, 57:11 and that's my challenge for you today. |
Revised 2014-12-17