Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000009S
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01:17 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
01:18 Father in heaven, we thank You so much for the privilege 01:23 of coming to Your house of worship. 01:25 We ask that You will pour out Your Holy Spirit upon this place 01:31 as we open Your Holy Word, particularly of the study 01:36 of the marvels from the book of Genesis. 01:37 And we thank You for hearing our prayer for we ask it in 01:41 Jesus' name, Amen. 01:47 I'd like to begin our study today by turning to that very 01:53 central and important verse, Genesis 3:15, Genesis 3:15. 02:03 This verse is central to everything that we're studying 02:08 in this seminar. Here God is speaking to the 02:12 serpent and He says this: 02:21 That is the serpent and the woman. 02:29 That is the Seed of the woman. 02:38 Now you'll notice here that the Seed of the woman, 02:41 according to this prophecy, was going to bruise the head 02:48 of the serpent. Now in our study today we're going to analyze 02:52 the story where there is a death blow given to the head. 02:58 It's not a story in the book of Genesis. 03:01 It's actually found in 1 Samuel chapter 17. 03:05 It's the famous story of David and Goliath, 03:11 which probably we've heard since we were children, 03:14 if we're adults. It's a spectacular story. 03:17 A story where David, against all odds, overcomes and defeats 03:24 this, supposedly, invincible giant. 03:28 Now I'd like to just go through this story. 03:32 I'm not going to read all of the verses, because we don't 03:34 have the time to read all of the verses. 03:36 You can read 1 Samuel 17 at your leisure. 03:40 But there are certain points in this chapter that I want to 03:45 underline, because they're important for what we're going 03:47 to talk about in the second half of our study together. 03:51 First of all, I would like to mention that when this story 03:56 takes place, Saul was the king of Israel. 04:00 However, if you read 1 Samuel 15:26 you're going to discover 04:08 that Saul, because of his disobedience, God had already 04:13 told him that he was going to be deposed as king. 04:17 In other words, Saul was no longer going to be the king 04:21 of Israel, because of his disobedience. 04:25 Now, in this context we find that because of Saul's 04:28 disobedience, you can read 1 Samuel 15 and 16, 04:32 Israel suffered one defeat after another at the hands of the 04:37 Philistines, their arch enemies. 04:40 In fact almost in every single battle that Israel was involved 04:44 with, with the Philistines, they lost ground, 04:48 and they lost battles; all because of the disobedience 04:54 of Saul. Israel, in other words, needed someone to recover 04:59 the kingship, which had been lost by Saul. 05:03 Israel needed a champion to recover that which had been 05:08 lost, because they had been defeated so severely in all 05:13 of their battles in recent times. 05:16 In this context Israel was found in a certain valley. 05:23 The Israelite armies on one side of the valley, 05:26 and the Philistine armies on the other side of the valley. 05:30 And they were preparing for battle. 05:33 And as Israel was preparing for battle, the Bible tells us that 05:39 from the army of the Philistines came forth a warrior 05:44 such as they had never seen in all of their experience. 05:49 This warrior is described in 1 Samuel 17:4-7, 05:56 1 Samuel 17:4-7. We find the following words there: 06:17 That's equivalent to almost ten feet. 06:20 Step aside Shaquille O'Neal! 06:22 You would be a midget next to this man. 06:27 Imagine, almost 10 feet tall! Verse 5: 06:49 In other words, his armor weighed 157 pounds! 06:55 There are people who don't weigh 157 pounds. 07:01 Notice what it continues saying in verse 6: 07:15 That means the tip of his spear. 07:26 By the way, 600 shekels is the equivalent of 17 pounds. 07:33 In other words, the tip of his spear weighted 17 pounds. 07:38 That's like throwing a shot put in the Olympics. 07:41 And so you have this giant, almost 10 feet tall. 07:46 His armor 157 pounds. 07:50 The tip of his spear 17 pounds. 07:53 He has a shield bearer before him, and he comes out 07:59 and he roars at Israel saying, Send someone to fight with me. 08:09 Now if you read this description, 08:11 it certainly appears like the giant Goliath was invincible. 08:17 In fact, I'd like to read a statement from one of my 08:21 favorite books on Old Testament history, the book 08:24 Patriarchs and Prophets, page 646, we find these words: 08:29 The coat, that is his armor. 08:41 And that's not surprising because you know the god of the 08:45 Philistines was Dagon, the fish god. 08:47 And so the author says: 09:02 Now as we read on in the story we discover that David arrives 09:07 at the battlefield, and the giant sees David, this is later 09:11 on in the story, and the giant can't believe what he's seeing, 09:16 because he's described, David is described, as being ruddy, 09:21 and young, and cute, and beautiful. 09:26 In other words, David had no experience in warfare. 09:29 In fact, king Saul said to David, when he was willing to 09:33 go fight the giant, he says, listen, you don't know anything 09:37 about warfare. This man has been experienced in warfare 09:41 since the days of his youth. 09:43 So not only do you have this formidable armor, but you also 09:48 have a warrior who had been involved in many battles. 09:51 Now there's something that we need to understand about this 09:55 story. This story is not really about two armies fighting 10:01 each other. The story in 1 Samuel 17 is about two 10:07 champions fighting each other. 10:10 And whichever of the champions wins the battle, 10:15 the army wins along with him. 10:18 In other words, Goliath says, Send a man to fight me. 10:22 If I defeat him you will be our slaves. 10:25 If he defeats me we will be your slaves. 10:28 In other words, the battle is not primarily a battle between 10:32 the Philistines and Israel, it is a battle between the champion 10:37 of the Philistines, and the champion of Israel. 10:40 And whichever of the champions wins, the people win 10:44 along with him. Now if you read 1 Samuel 17 you'll discover 10:49 that the armies of Israel were terrified. 10:52 In fact, I like the way the King James puts it: 10:55 They were sore afraid. 10:58 Do you like that? They were sore afraid. 11:01 That means that they were trembling. 11:03 They were shaking when this giant came out 11:06 to defy the armies of Israel. 11:10 Now in this context of the giant coming out and defying 11:16 the armies of Israel, we find in the city of Bethlehem, 11:21 a young boy whose name is David. 11:25 He's the youngest in the family. 11:28 And David's father...(I want you to notice these details because 11:32 we're going to come back to them again.) 11:34 David's father sends him to his brothers at the battlefield. 11:42 Now isn't that interesting? 11:46 The father sending his son to his brothers in the battlefield. 11:53 And when David arrives in the battlefield, how do his brothers 11:58 receive him? Have you read the story of 1 Samuel 17? 12:04 His oldest brother says to him, Oh, I know why you've come here. 12:09 You've come here to watch the battle. 12:12 Little did his brothers know and realize that David had not 12:19 come to watch the battle, but David had actually come 12:24 to deliver them in this battle by fighting the giant 12:28 of the Philistines. 12:29 In other words, he's sent by his father to the battlefield, 12:34 to his brothers, and he's totally misunderstood 12:38 by his brothers. Now, do you know who should have really 12:42 fought against this giant? 12:44 If you read the story, you'll discover that the individual who 12:48 should have fought this giant was Saul, 12:50 because Saul was the king of Israel. 12:53 He was the legitimate sovereign of Israel. 12:56 Of course, because of Saul's disobedience, he had lost 13:00 battle after battle. 13:02 He knew that he could not prevail over this giant. 13:06 And so it was necessary for someone to take the place 13:11 of Saul, who should have fought this battle, 13:14 and fight the battle in the place of the king. 13:18 And this individual who was to fight the battle that Saul lost 13:23 was none less than David. 13:25 As you read this story, you find that David was consumed 13:29 with the zeal for God. 13:31 In fact, he was indignant when the giant defied the armies of 13:37 Israel in the name of his gods. 13:39 He says, Who is this uncircumcised Philistine 13:42 that he should defy the armies of the living God? 13:46 In other words, the zeal for the cause of God consumed David. 13:51 As the story develops, Saul hears that this young 13:55 boy has said, Who is this giant that he should defy 13:59 the armies of Israel? 14:01 So Saul calls him into his tent and he says, What's this I hear 14:05 about you talking about this giant? 14:08 And David says, Oh, I'll go and I'll fight that giant. 14:13 I'll defeat that giant. 14:15 And Saul looks at him from head to toe, and he says, 14:18 You go fight the giant? 14:20 That's funny! You're just a youth. 14:25 You're not even growing whiskers yet, is the impression 14:28 you get by the expressions that are used. 14:30 David says, I will go, and I will fight with him, 14:33 and I will defeat him. 14:35 And so what does Saul do? 14:38 Saul takes his armor, his human armor, and he places his human 14:44 armor on David. And what happened when he did that? 14:51 You can imagine this boy, who had never been involved 14:54 in a war, never been involved in a battle, wearing this heavy 14:59 armor that covered his whole body. 15:02 He looks at king Saul, and he says, I can't wear this human 15:07 armor. I've never done it before. 15:09 I would lose the battle in an instant. 15:12 And so we're told in the story that David took off the human 15:18 armor, and he went to face the giant with an armor, 15:24 which is not described in the story, but which David writes 15:29 about in many of the Psalms. 15:31 Notice Psalm 18 just as an example. 15:34 Psalm 18: 2, 3, Psalm 18:2, 3. 15:39 We're going to find what the armor of David was. 15:43 And, of course, Goliath didn't see the armor. 15:45 That's why he under estimated him, we're going to find. 15:47 Psalm 18:2, 3, Psalm 18:2, 3. Here David says: 16:28 What was David's armor? 16:30 David's armor was nothing more or less than the Lord Himself 16:36 coming to the giant in the name of the Lord. 16:40 And so David takes off the human armor, knowing that it would do 16:45 no good in fighting this giant, and he puts on 16:48 his divine armor. 16:50 And then he goes down to the brook and he picks up 16:55 his formidable armor, his formidable weapons. 16:59 He picks up five stones. 17:02 Do you know that all that David had were a sling, five stones, 17:08 a shepherd's bag, and a staff? 17:14 That's the reason why the giant said, What do you think I am, 17:18 a dog that you come at me with sticks? 17:20 Because he had his staff in his hand. 17:23 Now imagine the comparison between David and Goliath. 17:26 It didn't look like David had any chance of winning. 17:29 I mean this giant was tall, covered from head to foot. 17:35 He had a shield bearer before him. he had a huge spear 17:38 He had a huge spear; 17 pounds the tip of the spear. 17:41 I mean, he was invincible. 17:44 And here comes little David: young, inexperienced in warfare, 17:50 with a sling and five stones. 17:52 Some people wonder about the five stones. 17:54 We know that the Philistines had five cities. 17:59 They were known as the pentapolis. 18:00 They're in the Gaza strip today, by the way. 18:03 And perhaps what David was symbolizing was that all of the 18:08 Philistines were going to eventually be defeated. 18:11 And that's the reason why he picked up five stones. 18:15 And so David comes to the giant to fight the battle that Saul 18:23 should have fought, that the armies of Israel should have 18:27 fought, but David now comes and he's going to fight 18:30 his battle. Now there's a few things that we need 18:33 to understand about David. 18:35 First of all 1 Samuel 17:15 tells us that David 18:42 was the model shepherd. 18:43 He was a shepherd of his father's sheep. 18:46 That's a very important detail. 18:48 He's sent by his father, but he was the shepherd 18:51 of his father's sheep. 18:52 Not only that, we find that David was willing to give his 18:57 life to protect his sheep. 19:00 When he came before Saul, Saul said, you can't fight 19:03 against this Philistine. 19:04 David says, what do you mean I can't? 19:06 He says, when I was taking care of my father's sheep, 19:09 a lion would come out of the brush, and he'd want to eat up 19:13 one of my father's sheep. 19:14 And I would go after him. 19:16 I would grab him by the jaw. 19:18 I would break his jaw, and I would deliver the lamb 19:21 from his jaws. He said, at other times a bear would come out. 19:26 And I would go after the bear, and I would fight the bear. 19:29 And I would deliver the lamb from his mouth. 19:31 And he says this uncircumcised Philistine 19:34 is going to be just like them. 19:35 So David was a very courageous shepherd. 19:42 He cared for his father's sheep. 19:45 He was sent by his father to the battlefield to fight this 19:49 giant to gain the victory. 19:52 There are other interesting things about David. 19:55 David was also, at this point, anointed to be king. 19:59 Do you know that he was anointed before he actually 20:03 fought Goliath? In other words, the first king had been deposed; 20:08 Saul, because of his disobedience. 20:10 And David now had been anointed the king of Israel, 20:14 to fight the battles of Israel. 20:16 He was the model king. 20:19 He was the model shepherd. 20:21 In fact, we find that David was born in Bethlehem Ephrata. 20:27 That's significant! 20:30 That name is significant. 20:31 He was born in Bethlehem Ephrata. 20:34 Furthermore, as you read the story in 1 Samuel 17, 20:38 you'll discover that this giant came forth, 20:43 and he defied the armies of Israel with his boasts, 20:47 and his threats for how long? 20:50 For 40 days and 40 nights. 20:54 That's interesting! 20:56 Are you starting to catch an interesting 20:58 picture in this story? 20:59 You have the father sending his son. 21:04 His son is the shepherd of his sheep. 21:08 He's the model shepherd. 21:10 He's willing to give his life for his sheep. 21:14 In fighting against this formidable enemy, 21:18 he's going to deliver his people. 21:20 And the boasts and threats of Goliath take place for 40 days. 21:27 And he was born in Bethlehem Ephrata. 21:33 Are you starting to catch an interesting picture here? 21:35 Whom does Goliath really represent? 21:39 He is the serpent of Genesis 3. 21:44 Whom does David represent? 21:48 David represents Jesus Christ. 21:52 And so for 40 days the giant would come out, and he would 21:55 defy the armies of Israel. 21:59 And we find David coming down to the bottom of the valley 22:03 with his sling, and his 5 stones, and with his staff. 22:09 And the giant looks at him, and he says, be real! 22:18 Doesn't Israel have any men who know how to fight 22:22 that Saul sends me his children? 22:27 You know, the greatest tactical mistake that an army can commit 22:31 is to underestimate the enemy. 22:38 You see, the giant felt that David was easy pickings. 22:42 He says, this is going to be a piece of cake! 22:45 Because all he sees is a young boy without any armor, 22:51 although he doesn't know what the armor really is. 22:53 David is covered from head to foot with armor, 22:56 because he's covered with the righteousness of the Lord. 23:00 So the giant sees him, and he can't believe his eyes. 23:03 And then he made his big mistake. 23:06 It says that he cursed David by his god's. 23:11 And David, of course, was totally 23:14 bent out of shape over this. 23:16 In fact the giant says, You come to me and I will give the bodies 23:23 of your armies to the birds of the air, and the beasts of the 23:26 field. And David says, you're half right. 23:30 That's what's going to happen, but it's going to happen to you, 23:33 and to your armies. 23:34 Can you imagine little David standing there? 23:38 He probably didn't come up to the giant's waist. 23:43 Because I don't think David was a super tall individual. 23:46 I mean, a person who's 6 foot tall would look kind of short 23:53 next to a 10 footer, huh? 23:55 You know, I'm 6 feet. 23:57 I would be looking at Goliath's belt buckle, probably. 24:02 And so he says, I'm going to give your bodies to the beasts 24:07 of the field, and to the birds of the air. 24:09 And David said, No way! 24:10 Now I want you to notice how David comes against the giant. 24:14 This is critical. 1 Samuel 17: 45, 1 Samuel 17:45. 24:20 This is a critically important verse for what we're going to 24:23 talk about in a few minutes. It says here: 24:47 How did David come against the giant? 24:50 He came against the giant in the name of the Lord. 24:55 Now we need to understand something about the name 24:59 in the Bible. When you use someone's name, you are really 25:04 appealing to that person's authority. 25:07 Let me give you another example from the Old Testament. 25:10 You have the story of Elisha, when the 42 children 25:14 were making fun of him. 25:15 Remember, go up thou bald head? 25:16 Do you know that it says there that Elisha turned and he 25:21 cursed them in the name of the Lord. 25:25 Was he invoking God into this now? 25:30 Did God get involved in the story when Elisha used His name? 25:35 Yes, and that's what David is doing. 25:38 By using His name, he's actually appealing to God's authority. 25:43 So he says, I come to you in the name of the Lord. 25:48 It's as if the Lord is fighting this battle. 25:50 And I want you to notice that the version of the battle is not 25:54 like the Hollywood version. 25:55 You know, where David is strategically moving backwards. 25:59 You know, from one side to the other, and backwards, you know. 26:02 No way! The story in the Bible says that he took out a stone, 26:07 and he put it in his sling, and with absolute precision 26:13 and speed, without pausing at all, he hurled the stone. 26:24 And the Bible says in 1 Samuel 17:49, listen, the stone sank 26:31 into his forehead. That's exactly the way it says. 26:36 The stone sank into his forehead, which means that the 26:40 stone stayed in his forehead. 26:42 Now who do you think guided that stone? 26:48 Lucky shot! No way! 26:53 The Lord guided that stone, because David was coming 26:58 against Goliath in God's name, or God's authority. 27:03 And the stone sank into his forehead, and Goliath plummeted 27:10 to the ground. But now, listen up, Goliath was not dead yet. 27:18 Did you know that? That the stone that sank into his 27:24 forehead did not kill him? 27:25 It gave him a death blow. 27:28 Let's go to 1 Samuel 17:51, 1 Samuel 17:51, 27:35 and you'll see what I'm saying. 27:36 It says here, in verse 51: 27:51 And what's the next couple of words? 28:00 Was he dead? No. Was he almost dead? 28:07 The death blow really did him in. 28:09 The only thing that was lacking was to what? 28:13 Was to cut off his head. 28:16 By the way, if you're going to kill a serpent, 28:18 how do you do it? 28:21 Do you run over his head? 28:23 Listen, I remember in South America sometimes I would travel 28:27 with my Dad over these jungle roads. 28:32 And a snake would come out, and my Dad would run over 28:34 the snake. And do you know what would happen? 28:37 That snake would continue going as if nothing had happened. 28:40 Because if you want to kill a snake 28:42 you have to cut off its head. 28:46 Now there's a reason why I'm emphasizing that the stone 28:49 that hit him on the forehead did not kill him at the moment. 28:51 His head had to be cut off. 28:54 Because in the symbolism that we're going to study now, 28:56 we're going to find that at the cross, Jesus gave Satan 29:01 a death blow on his head. 29:02 He bruised his head, but the devil is still alive. 29:06 But the death blow has been given. 29:09 And the scripture tells us that after the millennium 29:12 there's going to be an invitation to the birds 29:15 of the air, and the beasts of the field to have a banquet 29:18 once again. Now why did God give us this story? 29:23 Is it simply a wonderful story of a young boy who had a lot 29:27 of courage. He went and fought a huge giant, 29:30 and God gave him the victory? 29:31 Or do we have, in this story, perhaps, a prophecy of a much 29:38 greater event to take place in the future? 29:41 Well, I believe by the characteristics that I've 29:44 mentioned, that there's no doubt that this is a typological story 29:48 like other stories of the Old Testament. 29:49 It really is an illustration of the great controversy 29:53 between Christ and Satan. 29:55 Goliath represents Satan. 29:59 David represents Jesus Christ. 30:02 And the battle represents the battle in this world to deliver 30:07 human beings from bondage. 30:08 Now let me do the parallel, so that you can see the connection 30:12 between what happened in the past with Israel, 30:15 and how this story is fulfilled in Christ. 30:20 Was Adam originally created a king? 30:27 You know, you have Psalm 8: 5, 6. 30:30 I've read it so many times already in this seminar. 30:33 For you have made him a little lower than the angels. 30:36 You have crowned him with glory, and with honor, 30:38 the Bible says, speaking about Adam. 30:41 And then it says that God put everything under his feet. 30:44 In other words, the king over this realm, over this earth, 30:48 as God originally placed him, was Adam. 30:51 But what happened with Adam? 30:54 Did he disobey God? 30:56 He most certainly did disobey God. 30:59 And when he disobeyed God was he deposed from his throne? 31:04 Absolutely! That's why the devil, on the mount of 31:08 temptation could offer Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world. 31:13 He says, because they've been delivered to me, 31:15 and to who ever I wish, I give them. 31:18 So just like Saul was the king of Israel, and because of his 31:21 disobedience he was deposed; in the same way Adam was made 31:25 the king over the human race, and because of his sin 31:28 of disobedience, he was deposed from his throne. 31:32 Did all of the descendents of Adam suffer one defeat after 31:37 another in the battle against evil, 31:40 in the battle against Satan? 31:41 Did anybody remain unscathed? 31:44 No, because the book of Romans tells us that all have sinned 31:48 and come short of the glory of God. 31:51 In fact, 2 Peter 2:19 tells us that we became slaves 31:59 when we chose to serve Satan. 32:02 We became his slaves, his servants. 32:05 And so we find Adam, and all of his descendents, losing their 32:12 position of authority. 32:13 Did humanity need a champion to fight its battle? 32:21 Of course. What human being was able to defeat Satan? 32:25 Not one. There is none righteous, no not one, 32:30 according to Romans 3. 32:32 No one within the human race could defeat the devil. 32:36 He was too formidable. 32:39 In fact we're told in Hebrews 2:14, 15, 32:42 that the devil had held the human race in lifelong bondage, 32:47 like the Philistines had brought Israel into bondage. 32:51 And then, of course, Jesus Christ was born into the human 32:59 race. Have you ever stopped to think about the contrast between 33:04 Jesus and Satan? Or even the contrast between Jesus and Adam? 33:12 When Adam sinned he lived in a perfect garden. Right? 33:19 When Adam sinned he was an adult. 33:23 When Adam sinned he had a perfect body. 33:27 When Adam sinned he had a perfect mind, full of vitality. 33:35 And yet when Jesus came to this earth, he had none of those. 33:40 Jesus came to this earth to live in the realm 33:45 of Satan's dominion. 33:46 He came with a body and a mind affected by 4,000 years of sin. 33:52 He was born into this world as a baby. 33:56 And when Jesus was born, according to Revelation 12:4, 34:02 a little baby in Bethlehem, the devil was standing next to Him 34:07 to devour Him as soon as He was born. 34:10 In fact, the devil was licking his chops. 34:12 He said, listen, if I was able to defeat Adam, 34:15 in a perfect garden, with a perfect body, a perfect mind, 34:20 as an adult, this is going to be easy. 34:26 He's born in my realm, with a body and mind effected by 34:30 4,000 years of sin. This is going to be easy. 34:35 The devil actually underestimated Jesus. 34:39 Now whom was Jesus sent by to this earth? 34:45 Notice John 3:17, John 3:17. 34:51 He was sent by his Father. 34:53 It says there in John 3:17: 35:07 So here we find the Father sending His Son, 35:11 just like in the Old Testament, the father sent David 35:15 to the battlefield. 35:16 Now in whose name did Jesus go? 35:21 He came in the name of His Father; not in His own name. 35:25 Notice what we find in John 5:43, John 5:43. 35:30 We find this idea: He doesn't come in His own name; 35:33 He comes in the name of his father. 35:35 John 5:43 says this: I have come in my father's name, 35:45 and you do not receive me. 35:48 If another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 35:52 So, notice that Jesus is sent by His Father. 35:55 He doesn't come in His own name. 35:58 He comes in the name of His Father. 35:59 Was Jesus anointed to be king? 36:02 Notice the book of Luke 4. 36:08 Luke 4:16, 17, Luke 4:16, 17. 36:13 Here it speaks about the anointing of Jesus 36:16 to deliver His people. 36:17 It says there: So he came to Nazareth, 36:20 where he had been brought up. 36:21 And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue 36:24 on the Sabbath Day and stood up to read. 36:26 And he was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. 36:30 And when he had opened the book, he found the place 36:33 where it is written: 36:58 So Jesus was anointed to be king. 37:01 He was anointed to be the deliverer of Israel. 37:04 How did the brothers of Jesus receive him? 37:08 Notice John 7:5, John 7:5. 37:14 He's sent to the battlefield. 37:16 How do his brothers receive him? 37:18 We're told there in John 7:5 the treatment that he received. 37:24 It says there: For even his brothers did not believe in him. 37:32 Are you starting to see a parallel here between these two 37:36 stories? Sent by his father? 37:39 Not in his own name. 37:41 Coming to the battlefield of this world where the original 37:45 king has lost his position of authority. 37:48 Underestimated by Satan. 37:50 By the way, does the Bible present the idea of two Adams? 37:56 The first Adam, and the last Adam? 37:59 Does the last Adam undo what the first Adam did? 38:03 1 Corinthians 15:45 says that the original Adam was made 38:11 a living soul. The last Adam is made a life giving spirit. 38:16 In other words, Jesus came to take the place of Adam, 38:19 who lost his throne; just like David came to take the position 38:23 of Saul, who lost his throne. 38:25 Both were anointed. 38:27 And, by the way, do you know that the Bible says that Jesus 38:30 was of the house of David, the king of Israel? 38:33 In fact, there's some interesting, very, very, 38:36 interesting prophecies in the book of Ezekiel. 38:38 Let's go to a couple of those prophecies. 38:40 Go with me to Ezekiel 37:24, Ezekiel 37:24. 38:47 This is a very interesting prophecy, because this is being 38:50 written about 400 years after David. 38:54 In other words, by this time David is dead. 38:57 But there's a very interesting prophecy made about David. 39:01 It says here in Ezekiel 37:24, David... 39:08 Notice this: David, my servant, shall be king over them. 39:12 At this point David had been dead for hundreds of years. 39:18 And they shall all have one shepherd. 39:21 What was David going to be when he would rise again? 39:24 Shepherd. They shall also walk in my judgments and observe 39:32 my statutes and do them. 39:34 Notice also Ezekiel 34, Ezekiel 34:23, Ezekiel 34:23. 39:43 It says here, speaking about the time after the captivity. 39:49 And I, the Lord, will be their God. 39:53 And my servant, David, a prince among them. 40:00 I the Lord have spoken. 40:03 So you have David, the prince or the king? 40:06 David the shepherd, after his death, God is prophesying. 40:10 I'm going to put David as My king. 40:12 I'm going to David as My shepherd over My people, Israel. 40:16 Do you remember when Jesus had the conversation with Nathaniel, 40:20 one of His disciples? 40:21 The story is found in John 1:49, where Nathaniel says about 40:28 Jesus: You are the Christ, the king of Israel. 40:39 Who was the original king? Adam. 40:43 Who came to fight the battle that Adam lost? 40:48 The second Adam: Jesus, the king of Israel. 40:52 By the way, do you know that in Luke 1:69 it speaks about Jesus 40:59 fulfilling this prophecy of Ezekiel 34 and Ezekiel 37. 41:04 Jesus is the new David. 41:06 Not personally, but He's the new David to fulfill the role 41:11 of the David that we find in the Old Testament. 41:14 Let me ask you, was Jesus the good shepherd? 41:18 Have you ever read John 10:11-14? 41:23 Let's notice that: John 10:11-14. 41:29 Here Jesus is speaking about Himself, and He says this: 41:41 Does that sound like David? Most certainly! 41:45 By the way, David knew that he wasn't the shepherd, 41:47 because he says the Lord is My Shepherd. 41:50 So David knew that this was a typological story. 41:53 Notice verse 11, verse 12: 42:15 I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, 42:18 and am known by mine own. 42:22 And so you notice that Jesus is king of Israel. 42:25 Jesus is the good shepherd. 42:27 Where was Jesus born? 42:31 Of course, all of this is coincidence, do you think? 42:35 Where was Jesus born? 42:38 He was born not only in Bethlehem, but He was born 42:41 in the place that has the exact name: Bethlehem Ephrata. 42:46 Notice the book of Micah, Micah 5:2, Micah 5:2. 42:53 Very interesting that the exact name would be given. 42:57 Micah 5:2, It says: 43:21 How long did Jesus battle with the devil in the wilderness; 43:27 with that giant who was roaring, so to speak, against Christ? 43:33 How long did the battle last? 43:37 You know, don't you? 43:38 How long was Jesus in the wilderness being 43:41 tempted of the devil? 43:44 Forty days. It's an accident, right? 43:47 Notice Mark 1:13, Mark 1:13. 43:54 Here we're told by Mark the amount of time that Jesus 44:00 was there battling with the devil. It says: 44:15 How did Jesus attack the devil there in the wilderness 44:19 during those forty days? 44:21 Was He indecisive? 44:23 Did He say, let me see what kind of strategy I can develop 44:27 to defeat this enemy, this giant? 44:29 How did Jesus do it? 44:30 His response was what? Immediate. 44:35 Is that what David did when he fought against 44:37 Goliath the giant? 44:38 It was immediate. 44:39 In whose name did Jesus come against the devil? 44:43 The Lord rebuke you, He says to the devil. 44:47 He says, It is written. 44:49 His fight against the devil is not indecisive. 44:53 It is up front, direct, without any delay, without any pause. 45:00 Just like David when he fought Goliath. 45:05 We're told in 1 John 3:8 that Jesus came to destroy 45:10 the works of the devil. 45:12 In fact, when Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, 45:18 the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 was fulfilled. 45:22 Satan's head was bruised. 45:27 But is the devil still alive? 45:30 Is he still wreaking havoc? 45:33 He most certainly is. 45:35 The death blow has been given, but when will this prophecy 45:39 ultimately be fulfilled? 45:42 The handwriting is on the wall for Satan. 45:45 The death blow has been given. 45:47 The only thing that is lacking is his final what? 45:50 Is his final destruction. 45:52 And when will that take place? 45:55 Go with me to Revelation 19: 17, 18, Revelation 19:17, 18. 46:04 And, by the way, we don't have time to read it, 46:06 but you can read Ezekiel 38 and 39, where you have 46:09 this scene coming from. 46:11 Actually, this takes place before the millennium, 46:13 with the followers of Satan, and it takes place after 46:16 the millennium with Satan himself. 46:19 Revelation 19:17, 18. 46:23 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a 46:29 loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst 46:32 of heaven, Come and gather together for the supper 46:37 of the great God; That you may eat the flesh of kings, 46:42 the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of 46:46 horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all 46:49 people, free and slave, both small and great. 46:54 Is that scene in that little valley going to be repeated 46:57 again on a worldwide scale? 46:59 It most certainly is. 47:01 And the enemy, Satan, will be finally, and definitively 47:07 destroyed. Now I want to dwell on one aspect before we 47:14 draw this to a close. 47:15 You say, okay, fine Pastor. 47:18 There's a parallel between David, and Jesus, and Goliath, 47:22 and Satan. You know, Jesus fulfills every specification. 47:26 You know how he's sent by his father. 47:27 He's the good shepherd. 47:28 He's the king of Israel. 47:30 He takes the place of the first king, who lost his position 47:32 because of disobedience. 47:33 He was born in Bethlehem, Ephrata. 47:35 The battle lasted forty days. 47:37 All fine and dandy, but how does that effect me? 47:40 What difference does it make? 47:43 Well, the fact is folks, that the victory that David won over 47:49 Goliath, in the name of thee Lord; and the victory that Jesus 47:54 won over Satan in the name of His Father; is the same victory 47:59 that every single one of us can win as well, 48:03 in the name of the Lord. 48:05 Now allow me to amplify that just a little bit. 48:09 Go with me to 2 Corinthians 10: 3, 4, 2 Corinthians 10:3, 4. 48:17 Do we have weapons today that we need to fight the war with? 48:22 You notice we sang two war hymns? 48:25 Onward Christian Soldiers, that old classic, which we hardly 48:29 ever sing anymore. 48:31 I don't know why. Or Sound the Battle Cry. 48:34 You know, we're in a war, are we not? 48:36 Now notice 2 Corinthians 10: 3, 4. 48:44 Here we find these words: For though we walk in the flesh... 48:51 That is as human beings. 48:52 ...we do not war according to the flesh:... 48:56 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,... 48:59 That means that they're not human. 49:01 They're not like the armor that Saul put on David. 49:06 ...but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.) 49:11 Do we have access to mighty weapons? 49:13 What do you think? According to this, Yes. 49:16 Now what is the mightiest weapon that we have today? 49:19 It's the same weapon that David had, 49:22 and that is the name of the Lord. 49:27 Do you remember in Acts 4 when John and Peter 49:33 went to the temple and they found this paralytic, 49:39 and they healed him; they restored his legs? 49:42 The religious leaders came to them and said, By whose 49:49 authority, or in whose name have you done this? 49:53 What is the name to be identified with? 49:56 The name is to be identified with the authority. 50:02 That means that when Peter and John, or any of the apostles, 50:05 invoked the name of Jesus, immediately they have the 50:11 authority of Jesus. 50:15 Can we do that today? 50:17 How about when we're tempted with smoking, or with drugs? 50:22 How about when we're tempted to lose our temper? 50:24 Is there still power? 50:31 Do you believe so? 50:32 How? In the name of Jesus! 50:36 We can rebuke the destroyer. 50:40 We can tell the devil, weren't you the one who lost at the 50:43 cross? Well, I invoke the name of the One who defeated you. 50:48 So that His victory back there becomes my victory now. 50:54 In fact, in John 14:13, 14, Jesus says, Anything that you 50:59 ask in My name, I will do it. 51:04 What does anything mean? 51:07 Now that doesn't mean that if you ask for a brand new Cadillac 51:10 He's going to give it to you. 51:11 What it means is in your spiritual battles anything 51:18 that you ask Jesus for, in His name, He will perform it. 51:22 Because you can invoke His authority. 51:25 In other words, when I was going to school, just to give you an 51:31 example, in South America when I was in primary school. 51:33 You know, the Lord never blessed me with a brother. 51:36 He blessed me with three sisters. 51:40 And, you know, sometimes some of the older kids 51:44 would come and pick on me. 51:45 I didn't have any defense against them. 51:48 But they had other kids whom they picked on 51:51 who had older brothers. 51:53 And when they picked on them, the little guy would say, 51:57 You know what? I'm too small for you. 52:01 I can't defeat you. 52:04 But if you don't leave me alone I'll tell my brother, and he'll 52:10 take care of you, because he's bigger than you are. 52:12 Do we have a brother? 52:15 Do we have a bigger brother? 52:17 So don't let yourself be intimidated by the devil, 52:21 who comes and tries to discourage you. 52:26 No! We have the name of Jesus! 52:29 And in that name of Jesus we can gain victories. 52:32 When we're tempted, at that very moment we should say, 52:36 devil, you were defeated at the cross. 52:40 I invoke the authority, in the name of Jesus, 52:43 to give me the victory. 52:44 And the Bible says that the devil must flee. 52:48 It is written that he must leave. 52:50 But we don't invoke the name of Jesus. 52:53 We don't invoke the authority of Christ. 52:56 You see, we have power of attorney. 53:06 Let me ask you, when an attorney officially represents me, 53:12 can he use my name, and it's as if I'm the person there? 53:16 Yes. In other words, when he comes before the judge 53:20 in my name, the judge doesn't say, Well, where is Steve Bohr? 53:24 The judge says, Oh, okay, you're coming representing 53:29 Steve Bohr. So he's taking my name and he has my authority. 53:33 That's the way it is with Jesus. 53:36 See, when I come before the devil, I have power of attorney. 53:41 Because I can invoke the name of Jesus, and it's as if Jesus 53:48 is there. In fact, He is there. 53:50 Not in person, but His authority is there. 53:54 Because invoking His name, I am invoking His authority. 53:58 Jesus is kind of like the great cosigner. 54:02 I remember the first time that I went to buy a stereo, 54:06 they used to call them back then. 54:07 It was a Magnavox. 54:09 Oh, have mercy, that's ancient, you say. 54:12 It was a real nice one, you know. 54:14 It had a big cabinet, you know. 54:18 The cabinet was actually more beautiful than the stereo. 54:21 But it was something like $350.00, and I kept it for 54:27 many, many years. And when I first went to the store, 54:30 you know, I told him I wanted to buy this. 54:34 He said, well, what are you going to pay with? 54:37 I said, well I want credit. 54:39 He said, okay, do you have any credit history? 54:42 I said, no, first time. 54:44 And he says, well, you know, we can't let you have this 54:49 on credit if you don't have any credit history. 54:51 I said, well, you know, if you don't have any credit history, 54:55 how do you establish a credit history? 54:56 Have you had that problem before? 54:58 I said, you know, I want to buy this stereo. 55:01 I have to start somewhere. 55:03 Why don't you just trust me? 55:07 He said, no, no, we can't do that, we can't do that. 55:10 So I said, what can I do? 55:11 He says well, there's one thing you can do. 55:13 Do you have anybody who will cosign for you? 55:17 Someone who's name has value. 55:19 He didn't say it like that, but that's what he meant. 55:23 And so I said, well, there's my father. 55:26 And I was hoping that my dad would cosign. 55:28 And so I went home and I said, Dad, you know, 55:31 they won't accept my name, because I don't have any credit 55:35 history. Would you cosign for me? 55:37 He said, Yes, I will cosign for you. 55:40 So he comes to the store, and I'm very proud because I have 55:43 my cosigner now. And I say, here, I brought my cosigner. 55:48 And they checked his history, his credit history, 55:50 and he said, Yes, this man's name counts, 55:54 because he's got a good credit history. 55:57 And so my Dad signed, and I took the stereo home. 56:01 Do you know, that's the way it works today. 56:04 Jesus is our cosigner. 56:07 Our signature is worthless. 56:10 Our facing Satan is worthless, because we have no power. 56:14 We can't say, I rebuke you. 56:16 The devil's going to say, who are you? 56:20 But if I say, when I'm tempted; it could be food, 56:24 it could be drugs, it could be alcohol, it could be cigarettes, 56:28 it could be women, or men, it could be clothing, 56:32 whatever it is. If when the devil comes to me, and he tempts 56:37 me, at that very moment I say, I have no power against you. 56:40 But He who overcame you, who defeated you, is alive and well 56:46 today, and I invoke His name. 56:50 The devil must flee. 56:53 But we don't invoke His name because we're weak, 56:56 because we don't have any willpower. 56:58 You see, the victory that Jesus won can be our victory today. 57:04 And it's only a matter of time until Jesus finishes off 57:10 the job that He started at Calvary, 57:14 because the devil is a wounded foe. 57:17 He's like a roaring lion. 57:19 He's a wounded lion. 57:21 Because he knows that his time is short. 57:23 How about if we claim the name of Jesus, 57:26 and win victory after victory? |
Revised 2023-10-07