Pray that you please just speak through your word and that those that are here would hear and
Understand what's preached to God and learn something that could help them grow as a Christian and be edified and in Jesus name we pray
amen
Now Psalm 18 is kind of a long trackers one of the longest Psalms
And so you know I'm not really going to go through it
Just verse by verse every single verse because you know if we were to preach each verse
Then you know I don't have like one minute per verse
And so then I wouldn't really be able to preach much that way and so I just want to hit a few of the main
highlights and explain to you what the chapters about this is basically a
Psalm where David is praising and thanking God for his victory against his enemies
Basically you know he went out to war against these heathen nations that were they were very wicked nations
And they came up against him and they wanted to destroy him he went out to battle with all of his troops and
Basically he talks about God intervening and he uses this really graphic imagery to describe God God's intervention
Basically through the weather he talked about how basically God sent a storm of
Hailstones that actually ended up destroying the enemy and and and making it a lot easier for him to win this battle because he he flat
Out says if you look at verse number 17
He said he delivered me from my strong enemy and from them which hated me for they were too strong for me now
All throughout history it's amazing if you look at how many times the weather
Played an important part in a decisive victory on one side of the other think of the Spanish of Armada being defeated by Britain
Because most of the fleet was destroyed by a storm
Okay, and obviously God is the one that's in control of the weather and so here you have a great giant navy of Spain
Versus the navy of Britain and God sends a great storm that does a ton of damage to the Spanish fleet
Which caused them to be defeated when they were stronger they would have won
You know theoretically and so there have been so many times throughout history you think of you know when Hitler
Invaded Russia in the winter time and all the snow and all the bad weather was part of what defeated him
You see the weather can play a part and God is in control of the weather
God can send the hurricane the tornado the earthquake and that's basically what God did here God stepped in and intervened and
miraculously sent this this lightning and thunder and
Hailstones and and basically helped David to defeat the enemy by causing the weather to be on his side
And he's basically thanking and praising God
But see the important thing about this chapter is that he's not trying to take the glory for himself for the credit for himself
Now he was a great warrior, I mean this is David that defeated Goliath, but even when he defeated Goliath
He said the battle is the Lord's he said you come to me with a sword and a shield
He said but I come to you in the name of the Lord God
And he said I'm gonna cut off your head, and I'm gonna feed your body to the Ravens that you'll know
That there's a God in Israel. He said it's not by my might or by power
He said but by my spirit save the Lord, it's God's power that brought down Goliath
It's God's power that defeated his enemies in this chapter. You see we need to rely upon God and not our own human strength
Because we are weak. There's only so much we can do
And by the way he talks about all throughout the chapter his enemies
And that's a term that you'll see come up all throughout the book of Psalms my enemies almost every chapter
He brings up his enemies
he had enemies and
Whenever you do, what's right? You're gonna have enemies
Anytime you're preaching the Word of God anytime you're getting people saved anytime you're doing something big for God
There's always gonna be an enemy the Bible said in 2nd Corinthians. You have to turn there
He said for a great door is opened unto me and effectual
Paul talked about the great door being open from to preach the gospel and get a ton of people saved
And all the great things are out. He said a great door is open unto me and effectual it and there are many
Adversaries he said because whenever the door is open and you're you're doing great things and seeing people safe
They're always gonna be many many adversaries. They're always going to be enemies
You see if you're not if you don't have any enemies, it's probably because you're not serving God. I
Mean if everybody just loves you and you have no enemies you're not doing anything for God
Jesus Christ had many people
That constantly were attacking him they hated him
They were plotting about how they could get him arrested without making the people upset because the people saw him as a prophet
and so he had people conniving and conspiring against him because
He was righteous and he said the disciple is not
above his master nor the servant above his Lord is enough for the disciple to be as his master and
The servant as his Lord if they called the master of the house Beelzebub how much more shall they call them of his house
Oh, he said they're gonna call you worse
He said Marvel not my brethren if the world hates you first John chapter 3
He said, you know not as Cain who was of that wicked one and slew his brother and wherefore slew him
Because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous
That's why Cain killed Abel according to first John chapter 3 and then the next verse says Marvel not my brother and if the world
hates you and
So people are gonna hate you when you do what's right whenever you do something good
People are gonna hate you praise God for it and God can deliver you from your enemies don't rely on the flesh
So don't rely upon your own strength
You see today people are
worried about the economy because the economy is bad and because many people do not have a job right now and
Then other people who do have a job or getting their hours cut or their wages reduced
And so it's a time when people are worried about money, but if you stop and think about it says in Deuteronomy chapter
I forget with Shepherdman Deuteronomy. It says that is the Lord that gives you the power to get wealth
So if you do have a job, you ought to be thanking and praising God
That you're able to go work that job and not think well I did it myself
God's the one who gave you the mind to do that job
God's want to give you the physical strength to perform that job
God is the one who allowed you to get hired at that job
You had a thank God for your job
because God is one who gave you the power to get well every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and
Coming down from the father of lights with whom is no variable
that's not a shadow of turning God is the one who gives us everything that we have and
So we ought to thank God if we don't have it
we have a look to him to give it to us and say give us this day our daily bread and
Pray to God that he'll provide for our needs and not
Try to just do it in the flesh and not worry about what God thinks if I were you in this economy
I wouldn't just be stockpiling food or gold or ammo or guns
yeah, I mean go ahead and buy the guns and ammo but
But what I'm saying is you know stop piling all this stuff
And you say oh man. I gotta be ready for this. You know what I'd rather. I'd rather go into it
Just knowing that God was blessing me
You know I mean like if you're going into like a famine or hard times or recession
I'd rather just go into it saying you know what I know that. I'm right with God
I know that I'm doing the right thing. I'm getting people saved. I'm going to church. I'm reading my Bible. I'm praying
I'm keeping his commandments to the best of my ability. You know or at least I'm trying and and I'm doing his work
I'd rather go into it with that attitude then oh, here's my stockpile
you know of dried food and
Evaporated milk and tomato sauce and I you know and I'm eyes all covered
You know God can take that away from you at any moment your food stockpile can be broken the Bible says laying out it for yourselves
Treasures upon the earth where moth and rust of corrupt and where thieves break through and steal
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust of corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal
For where your treasure is that when your heart be I don't want my heart to be at Bank of America or chase
I want my heart to be my affections
I want to set my affection on things above not on the things on the surface and so
Stockpiling money and gold and coins and and and stocks and bonds and mutual funds
That is going to have your heart in the Wall Street Journal. I'd rather have my heart in the Holy Bible
Than in some financial magazine and so therefore. I don't want treasures upon earth
I want treasures upon up in heaven and look David said this I've been oh, I've been young and
Now I'm old, but I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread so God promised
He will provide our needs and so we just need to go into this
Being the righteous, and then we won't be forsaken and then our seed won't be baking bread instead of trying to do it in the flesh
You know obviously I work as hard as I can in my job
I try to bring in the money to pay my bills
but at the end of the day it could all be taken away from me in a moment or
God could give me more in a moment
Because there are so many factors. They're just out of my control. I mean just last year
I lost a huge part of my business
But you know what the Lord gave in the Lord had taken away blessed be the name of the Lord
And he might take something else away. He might give me more
I don't know, but the point is I just want to be right with him
I want him to guide my steps and my path in the way that he wants like it says in Proverbs chapter 30
He said two things have I required of thee deny me them not before I die remove far from me vanity and lies
Give me neither poverty nor riches
Lest I be full and deny thee and say who is the Lord?
Or lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain. He said I don't want to be rich
I don't want to be poor. He said God just feed me with food convenient for me
Just give me the food that I need the clothing that I need a place to live. That's all I need
I don't want riches, but I don't want to be so poor to where I'm stealing to put food in my mouth
Said just give me the middle station. Okay, and the Bible says labor not to be rich cease from thine own wisdom
Don't worry about and stress about the economy
Stress about how much Bible you're reading
That ought to be stressing you out right now
Though am I reading enough? That's what you instead. Oh, is there enough money. Did I read the Bible enough today?
That's what I'll stress you out be work. Am I going soul-willing enough?
I don't know how I'm gonna kill my soul-willing done or my barbering. How am I gonna pray?
How am I gonna memorize about that's what you ought to worry about?
That's what I ought to consume your mind not just all day just crunching number, you know
And I you know, I deal with this cuz I have so many numbers going through my head
Sometimes just running a business and trying to take care of my family. My head is sometimes just math and numbers of just
Finances but you know what?
This is what I want to meditate on day and night and not just get caught in this rat race
Which is all about just money your finances or am I gonna make it, you know
As long as God's blessing me that I'm gonna make it so I better just keep him happy
You know what? I mean? Just keep him happy and it'll be fine. And that's what David is giving God the glory here
God is the one that caused him to win the battle not some trust in horses some trust in chariots
but we will remember the name of the Lord our God he said in another psalm and
let's go down through and see some of this and
That again, I don't have time to go through the whole thing. But this part right here that basically starts in
Verse 7 all the way down through verse 16 is where he's just basically describing this vivid terms
You know God the breath of his nostrils
Causing this thundering. It's a it basically just using imagery to describe, you know
The heavens and all the different, you know, cataclysmic weather things that were going on
But one thing it's interesting easy. He brings up his word. He basically says that it was the words of his mouth
Let me let me find that part quickly
He basically talks about how it was it was his word that did it because see everything that God has ever done
Look at verse 13. It says the Lord also thundered in the heavens and the highest gave his voice
and
Then it says hailstones and coals of fire
yeah, he shot out his arrows and scattered them and he shot out lightnings and discomforted them and then talks about his rebuke and
Other places work basically God does everything with his word like when he created this world the Bible says and God said
Let there be light and there was light
God said let there be a firmament let it divide the waters which are above the firmament from the waters below the permit
he said, you know and God said let the dry land appear God created this world with his word and
If you get saved it's through God's Word if you're going to grow as a Christian
It's going to be through his word if you're going to have power in your preaching
It's going to be the power of God's Word
Everything God has ever done is doing right now and ever will do he does through his word when he defeats the
Antichrist in the end it says it's going to be with the word of his mouth in revelation 19
And so it's always God's Word, but notice. Here's another interesting thing in this chapter look if you would at verse number
25
Actually, let's start reading in verse number 23. He said I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity
Therefore hath the Lord recompense me according to my righteousness
According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight
With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful with an upright man that will show thyself upright
With the pure that will show thyself pure and then watch this and with the froward
That will show thyself
Froward now froward is not a good thing okay, and those other things are good pure right with the pure
That will show thyself pure with the with the righteous. You'll show yourself right with the merciful
You'll show yourself merciful with the upright show itself upright
But he said with the froward thou wilt show thyself forward another place in the Bible
He said with the froward thou wilt show thyself unsavory
Okay, that is the same exact quotation, but he changes the word for unsavory
God is not going to bless you if you're doing all the wrong all the wicked things all the wrong things
He will recompense you according to your works in this life
Whatsoever a man soweth that's how you also reap when it comes to heaven or hell
It's believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, but upon this earth
Whatsoever a man soweth that is shall he also reap and if you go out and do everything sinful and wicked
You will reap the consequences in this lifetime and God will show if you're going to show yourself froward to him
He'll show himself froward to you look if you and then look at verse 27 says for thou will save the afflicted people
But will bring down high looks
Look if you would it at Romans chapter 1 in the New Testament flip over to Romans chapter 1
Romans chapter number 1
It's of course talking about wicked people reprobates
Evil people talks about the homosexuals says in verse 27 men with men
Women burning in their lusts one for another you know filthy perverted
Ungodly wicked people and look what it says about them
It says in verse number 28 watch this and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge
God also gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient
So you see here the Bible talks about people who rejected God
They rejected the truth
He said because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God neither were thankful
But became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened
Professing themselves to be wise they became fools and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like a corruptible man and
four-footed beasts and creeping things
He said these people you know they knew God they
They were you know cognizant of who God was
He said because the invisible for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly safe
In his eternal power and Godhead so that they're without excuse they see all the nature
They they hear about God they hear about Jesus somebody knocks on the door and tries to give them the gospel they hear John
3 16 quoted somewhere they hear other scriptures they sit in church. They visit a church whatever and they rejected God
and
The Bible says that even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge
God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which knock me
You see if you keep on rejecting God
God will reject you if you're not saved now those that are saved of course he said I'll never leave thee nor forsake thee
He said you know I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish
but if you're not saved and
You keep hearing the gospel, and you keep on rejecting it eventually God will reject you because if you reject him
He'll reject you draw nigh to God and he'll draw nigh to you
But you see if we don't do what we're supposed to do if we don't keep his commandments like David said that he kept his
Commandments he said that he had he kept his word and retained his words and then meditated upon his word
loved God praised God
Read his Bible prayed preached the truth. That's why God answered his prayer
That's why God stepped in and helped him
But you see God's only gonna bless you if you obey him if you disobey God
You will not be blessed
And you can just say well God is gonna bless you anyway
You know God's just gonna bless all of his children, and you know go ahead drink fornicate do drugs
Watch a bunch of smutted filth on TV. God will not bless you
He won't bless you
You will reap what you sow you will not be blessed you see if you go to church
God's gonna bless you for going to church if you read your Bible
God's gonna bless you for reading your body if you pray God will bless you for praying
thy father which seeeth in secret said when thou prayest enter into thy closet and
Shut thy door and thy father which seeeth in secret shall reward thee openly if you pray if you read your Bible
If you do the right things if you go out and win souls and preach the gospel to every creature like you commanded you to
Do God's gonna bless your obedience
But if you go out and do everything that's wrong and sin you will reap what you've sown
And you will not be blessed by God, and you say well. I'm saved
Well, that's great that you're saved that you're going to heaven and nobody nobody can ever take that away from you
But do you want to go through your whole life?
Just having God just disciplining you look at look at people in the Bible who were saved, but just kept being disciplined by God
think about Samson
You know do you want to end your life like Samson? I mean sure he's in heaven
Praise God for that, but do you want to end your life like he was?
grinding at the mill like an animal
blinded having your eyes burned out of your head and grinding a mill and
Humiliated shame mocked made fun of I don't even think his own people respect them anymore
I mean it got to a point where they were tying them up and take sending them to the Philistines
They came and said we're here to to tie you up and bind you and turn you over to the enemies
Why maybe they didn't respect him because he was with a different prostitute
You know this time the last time he's he's committing fornication. He's drinking that was the problem
God wasn't blessing him because of his sin now
Thank God God was able to still use him in some way and that and that he did do some good things
But still he could have been blessed a lot more by obeying
David committed sin with Bathsheba it ended up messing up the whole rest of his life messing up his children
Messing up all kinds of future generations because of the fact that God
Curses disobedience and blesses obedience is that simple so as a Christian you just have to decide do I want to live in God's blessing?
Or do I want to live under the curse of not keeping God's commandments? You say well? I don't believe that God would ever
you know cause any whom the Lord loveth he chaseneth and
Scourgeth every son whom he receiveth the Bible says that if you do wrong as a Christian
You will be scourged you will be chastised you will be spanked is what do you mean by that?
Just like I spanked my children because I love them whom the Lord loveth he chaseneth
And so you've got to go through you've got to go. You've got to go through God's
Commandments in order to get his blessing. I mean you can't just say well
You know God's gonna bless me anyway even though I'm living with somebody
I'm not married to and and I'm you know I go to church once in a blue moon
And when I do go to church, it's it's you know new life community
Unitarian
Love everybody community church fellowship. You know of God in Christ. You know some
You know you go to some watered-down
liberal church
And you think that God's gonna bless you you know God's gonna bless you when you go to his house
And by the way the church is the pillar and ground of the truth if the Bible that they have is not the truth
Because it's the NIV or the New King James or the New American Standard. It's not even God's house
I mean, it's a different Jesus. It's a different word. It's not even the same Bible
Okay, and so it's got to be the King James Bible
it's got to be preaching that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven by grace through faith and
Then you're in God's house then God's blessing you then you'll be on the right track
And so don't just expect things to go great for you if you're saved, and you don't want to obey his command
It doesn't work that way
Look if you would at verse number
28 for thou wilt light my candle the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness
For by thee I have run through a troop and by my God have I leaped over a wall as for God
His way is perfect the word of the Lord is tried
He is a buckler to all those that trust in him now who knows what a buckler is
Put up your hand if you know what a buckler is a buckler is a small shield that you hold in your hand
Okay, like you'll see these guys that basically have a sword in one hand and a small shield in the other hand this shield is
Called the buckler okay, and basically God's Word is a shield is what he's saying there
See that's in verse 30 if you go back to the very beginning of the chapter
He says it in verse number two the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer my God my strength
In whom I trust my buckler and the horn of my salvation in my tower
You see this is like what the bible said in Ephesians 6 where he said above all taking the shield of faith
Wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts the wicked
Proverbs 30 verse 5 & 6 the words of the Lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace of Earth
Purified seven times. I'm sorry. I'm mixing two verse together every word of actually I wasn't mixing two
I was quoting totally different verse psalm 12 6 7 proverbs. Let's try again proverbs 35 6 every word of God is pure
He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him add thou not unto his words lest he reprove me
And thou be found a liar and so God's word is a shield if you have the right word
That's every word otherwise you're a liar if you have some other word, okay?
But he said every word of God's pure so the shield of faith is faith in what faith in God's work
It's not just faith in general okay
It's faith in what God has promised and what God has said you see David knew that God was going to bless him because Dave
God had promised to bless him God had promised to take care of him, and so he knew he was living right
He knew that he had kept God's judgments and his statutes all these things they'd listen and so he said God is going to defend
me God is my shield God's word will protect me and that's exactly what happened God stepped in and kept his promise and
So he says in verse number
30 he is a buckler to all those that trust in him for who is God saved the Lord verse 31
Or who is Iraq save our God see there is no other God there is but one God and it's the Lord Jehovah
Jesus Christ all of his different various names, but there is only one God don't let the Mormons tell you that
There's some other God on some other planet, and that's what they'll tell you
They literally believe that they I talked I knocked on the door of Mormon not long ago
And he said he said that's not your will I believe in one God I?
Said really I said I said well. What's God's name?
You know he said well
It's you know Elohim, and I said well
I said do you believe that that God used to be a man he said oh he said yes
He said he said that he said God used to be a man
And he like he went through all the same stuff that we go through
Okay, and this and I said wait a minute
If he used to be a man
Wouldn't that put him on some other planet somewhere?
with some other God
So doesn't that mean that there's more than one God according to you?
And he's like well. He's like you're good. You're getting kind of deep you know
And I'm like I'm like you're the one who thinks that God used to be a man I?
Said were there other people around him. Oh, yeah
And so he was lying to me that he only believed in one God when really if you ask any Mormon that quiz I asked
Mormons this every more I talked to I asked him the same question every time I say how many gods are there?
And they'll always try to dodge it. You know they'll say like well. We only worship one
And I say wait now. That's not what I asked how many you worship
I said how many are there total you mean in all the different universes?
You know
Okay, you know I always thought there was only one. That's why I thought the word was universe
I thought kind of like a unicycle has one wheel on it. You know that's what I was thinking but
Anyway, basically they believe in multiple gods Jovis witnesses their Bible says that Jesus is a God
You know and which is basically what the New American Standard is teaching to in John 1 18 when it says that
Jesus is the only begotten God
Jesus was not begotten as a God he's always been God
Begotten means to cause to exist to cause to be to become
Generated Jesus Christ is a begotten son
Because he became the son
You see in eternity past it was the father the word and the Holy Ghost and the word became flesh the Bible says thou
Aren't my son this day have I begotten me?
Okay, but there's only one God Jesus Christ has always been God
But basically the job is what does this teach that Jesus is a
created God
They believe that Jesus is a creative being and that he is a created God
that's what the New American Standard is teaching in John 1 18 and
Don't don't bother telling the editors of the New American Standard that all over the world in all different languages
German Spanish
Romanian Latin Greek all the different languages that the Bible's in they all say the same thing
the only begotten son
It's in the bosom of the Father has declared. He has declared him John 1 18. They wanted to be a little different
In the 20th century
they decided to be different than every other Bible on the face of the earth and
Change it to this cool new the only begotten God
You know
Do you think maybe you're wrong if no other Bible in the whole world said you know they have to come up with some new
Thing for their new doc
It's just like that that the jobs was have to come up with their own new world
Translation because the real Bible blows all their doctrine out of the water even their own Bible does, but that's another story
but anyway, I
Don't know what that has to do with Psalm 18, but look if you would at verse number
31 and you'll find out what it has to do with Psalm 18 for who is God saved the Lord the answer is no one
That's what's implied there, and then it says or who is a rock save our God
Everything else is the shifting sands of this world
Remember the wise man built his house upon the rock
The rain descended and the floods came the winds blew and beat upon the house and it fell not for was found upon a rock
He said if it's if it's found upon my saves
Jesus said there's for whosoever here at these sayings of mine and do with them
He said I will liken him and do a wise man who built this house upon a rock
But he said if you don't follow God's Word. He said you're building your house on the sand
The shifting sands of this world everyone changes except God Jesus Christ the same yesterday today and forever
But he says in verse number 32 it is God that girth me with strength and make it my way perfect
He make it my feet like hinds feet and send me upon my high places now. What is a hind a?
Hind is basically like a deer okay
I am I am I right about that same way. Yeah, I believe that yeah, thank you
Can I get a witness a hind is like a deer and so basically they go very fast and so basically?
He's referring to speed here. We talks about he makes his feet like hinds feet
I talked about in other places that there were men who could run really fast like as a hell
Was like he ran like a heart which is another similar animal to the hind
But basically it says here. He make my feet like hinds feet and set me upon my high places
He teacheth my hands to war
So that a bowl of steel is broken by mine arms
That's pretty amazing that David was able to fight and with such hand-to-hand combat that he could basically with his arms
You know break the weapons of the enemy
He's basically just talking there about you know his strength in battle and the Bible says that God teaches his hands to war now
Why is it that many Christians? They think that any kind of fighting is always wrong?
If God is teaching him how to fight with his hands in such a way that a bowl of steel is broken by his arm
Now that tells me right there that there is a time of war at a time of peace
That's what the Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 now
We should not shed the blood of war and peace the Bible says, but there is a time to fight
You know I think that we should know how to fight it as Christians personally. I believe that
You see when Jonathan died David
Commanded that throughout all Israel they would be taught the use of the bow
Because John there was a great Archer and basically he didn't want that to die with them
So they taught all the children of Israel how to how to fight with a bow God taught him how to fight here
He said God is the one who teaches my hands to war in another place
He said and my fingers to fight
I believe it's 2nd Samuel 23 where he says he teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight
You see men should be strong and should be able to fight and defend themselves now
We shouldn't be on the offense the Bible says that the pastor of the church should not be a brawler
That probably means that you shouldn't be either. Okay. It's not fair that I'm not a brawler
You know
Obviously if it's good for the goose is good for the game if God is saying well
You know you don't want to pick somebody to be the pastor
That's thus and so it's probably there's something wrong with it like being given to wine greedy of filthy lucre
Covetous being a person who's a brawler
We shouldn't go out and pick fights with people or we shouldn't be a striker just automatically just hitting
You know somebody says something we don't like you know
I mean if I hit everybody who says something I didn't like
You know my knuckles be bleeding every day because there's a lot of people who say a lot of things. I don't like
but
We should know how to fight to defend ourselves
Now hopefully we'll never have to use that knowledge, and you know thank God
I haven't had to fight anybody in a really long time
You know I think the last time I thought somebody I was probably a teenager
You know what I mean, so I'm not going around fighting and striking and brawling, but I want to be prepared
so that if someone does attack me or my family I'll be able to defend myself and fight back and
Not be a weakling
Okay, God here taught David how to fight yes
He intervened with the weather
But David still had to go do some fighting and
Thank God he was able to do you didn't just sit back and become you know just fat and lazy like King Egon
you know in the Bible and sit back and just you know whatever and
Then think he's not gonna get defeated because God's gonna protect him or something okay?
We should still know how to fight I believe and so you know if somebody attacks me
I'm ready to fight with with with guns or hand-to-hand combat
Knives whatever
You know I'm not just gonna sit there somebody breaks into my house trying to harm my family
Or you know
So that some you know so that some female police officer can show up at my house
Oh
Some female Tempe police officer what seems to be the trouble
Hey, I think I'd rather just know how to fight know how to you know right by my bed
I've got a baseball bat a metal baseball bat just in case I don't have time to load my gun
Well, I mean the clips already loaded. It's ready to go
You know
Just a few quick movements, and we can load that thing up cock it do what we need to do
But you know just in case I don't get there fast enough
I've got you know a metal baseball bat just just for just a quick action, okay?
You know and you say well, you know I don't know if that's the Christian thing to do
But look God command in the Old Testament to that they have a weapon
He commanded that they have a weapon in the Old Testament, and then in the New Testament Jesus
Didn't really give a commandment about it
But he basically just said hey if you're smart you have two coats. You don't really wear one very often trade one in for a sword
Sell it and buy a sword and his disciples that we have two swords, and he said it's enough
Okay, so two is enough
But zero is not enough
Okay, and if you study the Old Testament the children of Israel were enslaved in advantage to the Philistines
And the Philistines took away all their weapons
No one in the whole nation of Israel was allowed to have a sword. This is the only
Gun control that you find in the Bible, okay?
Basically, that's what it was it was like a government thing where you weren't allowed to have weapons can anybody think of another place in the
Bible where the government told you you can't have a weapon
The only place I can think of is back in the book of 1st Samuel
When Saul was king and Jonathan was one of his main warriors
And they were the only two men in the whole country
And I don't think they were allowed to have it
You know I mean because I don't think that I don't think that they say well these the two best warriors
They can have a sword, but not yet everybody else and the children of Israel saying okay
You know we'll turn in our sword Saul and Jonathan are like you know
Here okay
Okay, and then in the day of battle they were the only two that had a sword
And this is found in 1st. Samuel a great. It's a great story
and so I
Would recommend having a weapon
as a man
And then besides that I would recommend knowing how to fight with your hands
But see the problem is that we've become so soft in our modern technical culture. You know we're just surrounded by
Electronics kind of like I am right now. You know and got all these electronics and our gadgets and our thumbs
We have the strongest thumbs
Of any humans that have ever existed in the world
You know I guarantee you that my strong. You know my I could probably break a bowl of steel with my thumbs
From typing and doing the texting and the you know the iPod the g1 the the eye touch
You know I this I that and you know you got all this internet
And and then you got the video games, and then I grew up on Nintendo. You know I mean
And so the point is that you know we've become soft and
Most men today are soft if somebody actually had them. They would just they probably just get in the fetal position
They haven't been taught
And we're out of shape too, and it's not healthy either to sit around and be lethargic
And you know God designed man
According to Genesis chapter 3 to work by the sweat of his face all the days of his life
And so if you have a job where you're just sitting in an office
That's not really what mankind is designed to do it's to work with your hands to sweat to work hard
So if you don't have that kind of job better get out and exercise or something because it's just not healthy
To be sedentary as a man, and you know women are designed to work, too
Because they've got to carry the kid. I mean my wife's basically weightlifting all day with the baby in her arms
Okay, and so you've got to stay in shape
Okay, be strong. Don't be a weakling and
Obviously we're not relying upon the flesh
We're not leaning upon the flesh to save us you know even though I have an alarm guns
Menacing signs around my house a dog at the end of the day. It's got to have to be God that protects me
But at the same time. I don't want to be a softie. I
Want to say like David he teaches my hands to war my fingers to fight
You know he teaches my hands to war so the bullet steel is broken by my arms
You know and that that's that ought to be something that we think about as men are we becoming a feminine and sissy because we live
in
2010 America have we become watered down and sissified because all of our heroes on TV and in the media and in our
music are all
Queer little sissy men you know we ought to be men
Strut men and here let me give you some attributes of being men
strong
right
bold
courageous
not soft
You know
sensitive
You know it's just don't be metro
Okay, be a man
So let's let's get through this quickly, but uh
He said in verse 35 now
It's also given me the shield of thy salvation and thy right hand and holding me up and thy gentleness has made me great
Thou has enlarged thy steps under me that my feet did not see you know. Thank God for his gentleness
You know and and by the way with our children the Bible says that we should bring them up in the nurture and ammunition the Lord
We should chase in our children discipline them, but we should also be gentle with our children
You know not to we shouldn't be too rough on them is what that means the Bible says
Ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and ammunition the Lord so in our
Teaching and training of our children. Yes. There's discipline. Yes. There's the rod of correction, but we still have to be gentle
not too rough on the kids and and and
Cause them to turn away from the things of God is what he's saying there, but he says in verse number
37 I pursued mine enemies and overtaken them neither did I turn again till they were consumed
I have wounded them that they were not able to rise they are fallen under my feet
For thou has girded me with strength under the battle thou has subdued under me those that rose up with it now
Does it sound like God is against any kind of fighting any kind of warfare ever that we should never fight?
We should not know how to use a gun. We should not even know how to defend ourselves
This is pretty clear isn't it when he says he's girded me with strength unto the battle
And he's talking about here a physical battle now our battle today is a spiritual battle
You know we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against power
but yet the fact remains that God did command this to David and
God did train David in this way and David was a man after God's own heart I
Think if David were a girly man
Then he would not be a man after God's own heart because it's a sin to be effeminate according to 1st Corinthians 6 9
But look if you would a verse number
40 thou hast
Also given me the necks of mine enemies that I might destroy them that hate me they cried
But there was none to save them even unto the Lord, but he answered them not know we talked about that last week
Then did I beat them small as dust before the wind I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets
Thou has delivered me from the strivings of the people and thou has made me the head of the heathen a people whom I've not
known shall serve me as
Soon as they hear of me they shall obey me the stranger shall submit themselves unto me
the stranger shall fade away and be afraid out of their close places now look at the next statement the Lord liveth and
Blessed be my rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted. I just had somebody tell me a week ago
I sold him God's dead
Who's ever had somebody said to you somebody I you know somebody I knock on the door and said hey
Just want to invite you to church. God's dead
Yeah, if God's dead then how is this whole universe functioning
When God is the one
Controlling everything when God is the one who's causing everything that caused the earth to be on its perfect axis
They causes things to grow and for the balance of nature. It's not mother nature. It's God the Father
That's doing it all and so no God is not dead
It says the Lord liveth and blessed be my rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted
It is God that avengeth me and subdue it the people under me
He have delivered me from mine enemies yea thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me
Thou has delivered me from the violent man therefore will I give thanks unto thee O Lord among the heathen and sing praises that it
Now look we live in perilous times the Bible said in the last days this know also that in the last days
Perilous time shall come peril means danger. He said in the last days you'll be living in dangerous times and
There could be a time
When violence could come upon you because of the times that we're living in
it's not that far-fetched of an idea that those that are my age and younger and
we'll even include some that are a little bit older than me, but
people that are my age and younger
would have to go through a lot of violence and
Be attacked physically. I mean it's not uncommon at all today. We're living in a day where violence is is on the rise
and
There's a chance that you know violence can come upon us, but God said that he'll deliver us from the violent man
Part of the way, they'll do that by teaching us how to fight
Part of the way, they'll do that by stepping in and protecting us supernaturally
Those are the two ways that he describes in this chapter
How was David just to sum up the whole thing how was David able to defeat this enemy?
these violent hateful evildoers that were attacking him and
Coming after him how did he defeat them two ways number one God?
Supernatural intervention through the weather through circumstances do other things and number two
By teaching him how to fight by teaching him how to defend himself
look at verse 50 great deliverance giveth thee to the king to his king and show it mercy to his anointed and
I'm sorry show it mercy to his anointed to David and to his seed forevermore now stop for a second here
Who is the seed of David?
According to the Bible
You know Jesus Christ is the one that this is referring you because the Bible says that about Abraham went to Abraham
Where the promises made and to his seed he saith not to seeds as of many
But to his seed as of one which is Christ. It's just like the word the elect
People think like the elect is like it is like a group of people you know the Jews
But wait a minute Jesus Christ is the elect if you look at who the elect is in the Bible what the elect is talking about
Okay, several times it refers to Jesus Christ as the elect and that's why the Bible says if you be Christ's
Then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise you see to his seed forevermore?
This is like what it says in Psalm 89. We're going to close with this flip over to Psalm 89
The Bible says in the Psalm 89 it says in verse number
20 let's start up. I want to see how much of this I want to read
Let's let's just go ahead and read verse 28 my mercy will I keep for him forevermore and my covenant shall stand fast with him
His seed also will I make to endure forever?
And his throne as the days of heaven now is that talking about his physical children
No, because our David's physical children on the throne of Israel right now
Who's the who's the leader of Israel right now is it Netanyahu again?
Nobody knows Benjamin Netanyahu before that it was
What was that other guy's name a hood Barak they had their Barak before we had ours?
But they had this guy a hood Barak and before him was Benjamin Netanyahu, okay?
Those guys are not descended from David. There is no kingdom in Israel. It's a different form of government a democratic form of government
When it said that his seed would endure forever, and then someone would be on his throne forever
that's gonna be Jesus Christ sitting on that throne of David and
We shall reign forever and ever
So when the Bible says here look back at Psalm 89 where we're reading it says his seed
Also, will I make to endure forever and his throne as the days of heaven that's talking about Jesus Christ the Son of David
the seed of David and
then it says in verse number 30 if his children forsake my lawn walk not in my
Judgments if they break my statutes and keep not my commandments
Then will I visit their transgressions with the rod and their iniquity with stripes nevertheless my loving kindness
Why not utterly take from them nor suffer thy my faithfulness to fail my covenant?
Will I not break nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips once have I sworn by my holiness that I will
Not lie unto David his seed shall endure forever and is thrown as the son before me
Hey when he talks about his seed enduring forever and that if they if his children disobey
He'll punish him. He'll visit him with the rod of correction, but he says I will not take my mercy utterly from me
This is a great passage on internal security from Psalm 89
Saying that if we as his children if we as God's children and God's seed commit sin
Yes, we'll be disciplined and punished in this life, but he'll not take you set our salvation promise. We will still endure forever
We will still be saved. He'll visit us with the rod and with stripes
But he said I'll not alter the thing that has gone out of my lips. I will not break my covenant
I'm not going to break my promise when I said that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life
I'm going to honor that and
This seed here is talking to us as believers who are the true children of God?
The children of God are not a physical race of people over in the Middle East living in the land of Israel
It's believers of Jesus Christ no matter what color their skin whether they be Israelite Greek barbarian Jew Gentile
white black whatever
We are the seed if we're saved if you be Christ's then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to promise
The Bible says that the blessings of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
Through faith look if you would then with that in mind now that we see that in Psalm 89 now look at Psalm
1850 the last verse again it says great deliverance giveth he to his king and
Showed mercy to his anointed to David and to his seed forevermore
Basically what that tells me is that the way God blessed David in this chapter the way that God helped David
This chapter is not just for him
He said it's also for his seed. It's also for us today
We can look at this and say okay, Psalm 18 is not something
We just read about some distant time in the past
We can take this chapter and read it and study it and learn it and say if I keep God's commandments
Statutes if I pray and call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised so shall I be saved from my enemies
That could be the prayer of our life and say I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised
So shall I be saved from my enemies you can pray that today?
You could say that day, and you'd be speaking accurately
Because this every promise in the book is mine every chapter every verse every line
Don't let people tell you all that part of the Bible is not for you
Your part is that you know this is your part right here
The epistles of Paul, you know I mean see all this stuff down here
That's not for you
That's for Jerry Seinfeld you know that's for this for Steven Spielberg this for Jeff Goldblum
This part for you this little sliver right here
It's like well, thanks a lot
You know I don't get the part of God you know God
Protecting me and defeating my enemies and teaching me how to fight. I like that part
But don't don't get mixed up in that false doctrine
Just the Bible's for you the book of Psalms is for you claim these promises learn them
Memorize them study them live by them and let this be your prayer to God
To keep you and to bless you and to protect you in 2010
Let's borrow that word of prayer father. Please just bless us dear God and
Help us to be like David
Relying upon you trusting in you and then once we pray to you
And you help us help us to give you the glory and to thank and praise you for it there God
Thank you for stepping in and helping David and father
I pray to you step in and help us when when people attack us and God there are many adversaries
Of faithful word Baptist Church. I just pray that when enemies arise and try to physically assault us
That number one you teach us how to fight and number two you'd also step in and protect us and
That God went when other people attack and lie about us and say all meaner manner of evil against us falsely
Father just protect us keep us safe bless us help us to keep serving you and in Jesus name we pray amen
All right