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Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Music Song 504 When the Battle's Over Song 504 When the Battle's Over Let's sing it together on the first Am I a soldier of the cross, a faller of the lamp? And shall I fear to own his cause or blush to speak his name? And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown, yes we shall wear a crown, yes we shall wear a crown And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown in the new Jerusalem Wear a crown, wear a crown, wear a bright and shining crown And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown in the new Jerusalem Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas? And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown, yes we shall wear a crown, yes we shall wear a crown And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown in the new Jerusalem Wear a crown, wear a crown, wear a bright and shining crown And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown in the new Jerusalem Sure I must fight if I would reign increase my courage, Lord I'll bear the toil, endure the pain supported by thy word And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown, yes we shall wear a crown, yes we shall wear a crown And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown in the new Jerusalem Wear a crown, wear a crown, wear a bright and shining crown And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown in the new Jerusalem And when the battle's over we shall wear a crown, yes we shall wear a crown, yes we shall wear a crown, I'll bear the toil, endure the pain supported by thy word, I'll be preaching the first one tonight about David's rise to power. And then I'll be preaching another sermon about David's mighty men next week. And our sowing times are listed below. We had sowing today. Did anybody get a salvation? I know that Brother Alex said no, but was there any? Maybe perhaps? Okay. All right. Well, thanks for going out. I know we had a good group out there, so at least it was a nice day. It wasn't pouring down rain so that everybody got some exercise. You're still going to get rewards for that. And you might have got some steps on your pedometer or whatever. So that's good. All right. Our Praise Report. You see the salvation, baptisms, attendance totals from not last Sunday but the week before. And we had a good friends and family weekend. I hope everybody had a good time at the pumpkin patch and had Brother Daniel come. And he preached a great message for us. And I hope you took those things to heart. And I really liked the sermon a lot. It was really good. We had a good weekend, good attendance, and a lot of fun. So this weekend we have another guest preacher coming. It's Dr. Phil Stringer. He's going to be preaching for us both services on Sunday. So hopefully everybody shows up for church and nobody gets sick. And so, yeah, if you're just let's wash the hands, all that good stuff. Try to steer clear of people that have the plague, all right? And you're not going to want to miss the preaching. He's a very knowledgeable man when it comes to the King James Bible. He's from the King James Research Council. And he preaches with a lot of other men. And he travels the world actually. He's a very sought after speaker. He goes all over the world preaching about this subject and other subjects too. And he just happened to have a free weekend. So we snagged him before anybody else could. And so I'm glad to have him come. We saw him scheduled for December at this point and also in May. So I'm very excited to have him come. So please be here if you possibly can be here. Please be here this weekend for the services. I'd really appreciate it. And October 27th we have our Super Soul Winning Saturday. It'll be from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. And basically what that is is just a four hour block of soul winning. We're going to meet on location. And if you need to bring snacks, drinks for your kids, take a break after a couple hours, or if you just want to come at two o'clock and just go to four, I understand if you have families and you can't go for four hours straight, a lot of people can't do that anyway. But it is designed to be a four hour block of soul winning. I'm not saying don't take breaks. I think everybody's probably going to take a break at some point, right? But I completely understand if you just want to show up for the last hour, that would be fine too. But we're all going to eat together at four o'clock, we're going to be done, and we'll find a place where we can all just sit down and have a meal together, and then that'll be the end of the day. And we're still going to hit those same maps that we were going to hit last week. We'll find a place where we can all have a meal together. So that'll be October 27th on Saturday, and then October 31st, which is the Thursday following, is going to be the chili and cornbread potluck. It's not just only Texas chili, you can put fillers in it, all right? So just don't get too crazy. It could be Cincinnati chili. I like Cincinnati chili. Who's had Cincinnati chili before? All right, God bless you. It's good stuff. It's kind of like spaghetti, really, actually, but it's got chili on it, which is what Texas chili kind of is, except for they just don't put noodles in it. Anyway, I know the Texans would be mad if I said that, but it's just the truth. All right, cornbread is also part of the menu. You can bring other stuff if you want to bring some dessert or whatever, it's fine. And then, so we're going to do that starting at 4 p.m. here at the church building. And so we'll probably close down the food about 6 o'clock so we can get ready for the church service. But you are welcome to come a little bit early if you wanted to bring your board games and stuff like that. And then if you want to stay later, you're more than welcome to do that too. But a lot of people probably have to go to work the next day. So anyway, that's going to be October 31st. Please don't dress up in some Halloween or Bible character costume, okay? This is not Halloween. So anyway, I should probably not have to say that, but you just never know. And November 6th through 10th is the Faithful Word Missions Conference down in Tempe. November 26th is the Pie Social after church. So bring a good pie. We're not judging. I'm just not doing that. Not everybody gets a trophy, but it just becomes too much. So it gets too political and all that, but just bring your best pie and we'll all enjoy it together. And I just want to say this real quick, as far as whenever we have potlucks and stuff like that, you don't have to worry about bringing enough for the whole church, but just bring enough for a decent-sized family and then we all just share. That's kind of how that works. So I don't expect people to bring some crazy amount of stuff. So also, of course, you all know kind of the rules. Make sure your cell phones are silent. The tithes and offerings stuff is there. Family integrated. Make sure you utilize the mom baby rooms, dad baby room, your convenience, and all that good stuff. And Anthony's birthday was, is it today? It's actually today. So if it's actually your birthday today and we already sang your birthday on Sunday, we're still going to sing it on your birthday anyway. Right? How old are you again? 27. Did you work today? Sorry, man. When you get older, you know, you actually have to work on your birthdays, kids. Did you know that? That's what sucks. So when you're a kid, you're like, you get all your favorite meals and you get all this stuff. And when you're older, you're just like, just go to work and shut up. So enjoy your youth while you have it. We'll sing happy birthday to Anthony. All right. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, God bless you. Happy birthday to you. Three years older and he'll be an old man. 30 years old. No, I'm just kidding. All right. I'm going to go through just the quick, quickly, the prayer request. I don't know if it got completely updated, but I just saw, of course, the hurricane, as far as I know, didn't get upgraded. It wasn't a category five, it was like a three, right? Which is still pretty bad, but I don't think, I think everybody's family was safe, right? Amen. Well, prayer works, right? Let's see, Miss Ollie, you had a cousin pass away, right? Is that what it was? I'm sorry. Your what? I'm sorry. My brother-in-law's cousin. Brother-in-law's cousin. Okay. And so we're praying for the family there. Let's see. But yeah, everybody's family was safe. That's great. I'm still praying about Tony and Jazzy's house situation, Miss Sheila for Traveler's Mercies, and Brother Nick was at the emergency room, and he's sick, so I just know that he had to go there. He's not feeling real well, so you guys know who Brother Nick is. He's been coming to our church for a long time. So just pray for him, and that's all I have for, I'm just going to pray for that real quick before we move on with our service, so let's go ahead and have a word of prayer. Father, we just pray, Lord, that you would just … All right, our next song is song number 482. Let the sun shine again in my heart, song 482. Song 482, let's sing it out on the first. I remember the time when I first knew the Savior, When the sunlight of blessing so flooded my heart. Oh, the sweetness of first love with Jesus so near me, And I thought such devotion would never depart. Let the sun shine again, let the flowers bloom again, Stir the embers of love in my heart. Holy Spirit, reprove, then embrace me again, Let the sun shine again in my heart. Then how sweet were the Scriptures, they spoke to me daily, How they guided my steps, but my zeal did not last, And the sweet place of prayer where I met with my Savior, I neglected and so soon my joys were all past. Let the sun shine again, let the flowers bloom again, Stir the embers of love in my heart. Holy Spirit, reprove, then embrace me again, Let the sun shine again in my heart. Oh, I loved well to walk in the way with God's children, When we met with that heart in a fellowship suite, Full of the flesh and some worldly companions, In the paths of sin's pleasure attracted my feet. Let the sun shine again, let the flowers bloom again, Stir the embers of love in my heart. Holy Spirit, reprove, then embrace me again, Let the sun shine again in my heart. Lord, I come now again for forgiveness and blessing, As Thy penitent child I am seeking Thy peace, For the blood paid my debt and my spirit within me, Bids become to my Father my wandering to cease. Let the sun shine again, let the flowers bloom again, Stir the embers of love in my heart. Holy Spirit, reprove, then embrace me again, Let the sun shine again in my heart. Amen. Good scene. Brother Alex, would you bless the offering for us? Dear Father, thank you for our church here. We thank you for all the people that came tonight. We pray for those that are ill. We ask you to bless this offering, Father, both the gift and the giver, And put it to use to further your kingdom. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. Thank you. All right, it's good to see you this evening. And, moreover, in time past, even when Saul was king, Thou wast he that ledest out and broughtest in Israel. And the Lord thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, And thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel. Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king, to Hebron, And David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord, And they anointed David king over Israel, According to the word of the Lord by Samuel. And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, Where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless, David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, or went first up and was chief. And David dwelt in the castle, therefore they called it the city of David. And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about, And Joab repaired the rest of the city. So David waxed greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him. These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, Who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, And with all Israel to make him king, According to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had, Jashubim and Hakmonite, the chief of the captains. He lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time. And after him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo the Ahohite, Who was one of the three mighties. He was with David at Pasthamim, And there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, Where was a parcel of ground full of barley, And the people fled from before the Philistines. And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, And delivered it, and slew the Philistines, And the Lord saved them by a great deliverance. Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, Into the cave of Adullam, And the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim. And David was then in the hold, And the Philistine's garrison was then at Bethlehem. And David longed and said, O that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate. And the three break through the host of the Philistines, And drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate. And David took it and brought it to David, But David would not drink of it, But poured it out to the Lord and said, My God forbid at me that I should do this thing. Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? For with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it, Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest. And Abishai, the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three, For lifting up his spear against three hundred, He slew them and had a name among the three. Of the three he was more honorable than the two, For he was their captain, Howbeit he attained not to the first three. Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzael, Who had done many acts, He slew two lion-like men of Moab, Also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day. And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, Five cubits high, And in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's bean, And he went down to him with a staff, And plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, And slew him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, And had the name among the three mighties. Behold, he was honorable among the thirty, But attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard. Also the valiant men of the armies were Asahel, the brother of Joab, Elhanan, the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, Shamoth, the Harorite, Heles, the Pelonite, Ira, the son of Ikesh, the Tekoaite, Abiezer, the Antothite, Sibakai, the Hushathite, Eli, the Ahohite, Maharai, the Netophathite, Heled, the son of Baanah, the Netophathite, Ithai, the son of Ribai of Gibeah, That pertained to the children of Benjamin, Benaiah, the Pyrrhothite, Hurai, of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel, the Arbethite, Asmoveth, the Baharumite, Eliabah, the Shaalbonite, the sons of Hashem, the Gizanite, Jonathan, the son of Shagi, the Harorite, Ahim, the son of Sakar, the Harorite, Eliphal, the son of Ur, Hefer, the Mecharithite, Ahijah, the Pelonite, Hezro, the Carmelite, Naarai, the son of Esbaai, Joel, the brother of Nathan, Mibhar, the son of Hagari, Zelik, the Ammonite, Naharai, the Barathite, the Armorbearer of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, Ira, the Ithrite, Garib, the Ithrite, Uriah, the Hittite, Zabab, the son of Alai, Adina, the son of Shiza, the Rubinite, a captain of the Rubinite, and thirty with him, Hanan, the son of Maakah, and Josephat, the Mithnite, Uzziah, the Ashtirithite, Shammah, and Jehiel, the sons of Hothan and Arathite, Ararite, Jediel, the son of Shimri, and Joah, his brother, the Tizite, Eliel, the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Josephiah, the sons of El-Naam, and Ithma, the Moabite, Eliel, and Obed, and Jasiel, the Mesobite. Brother Sean, would you pray for us? Brother, thank you so much for this day. Thank you, Lord, that you come to your house and make some work for us. I'm so appreciative of Pastor Thompson's experience, Lord, and for having a free semester in this place. Jesus, thank you. Brother Eli, you're officially not allowed to get sick at least until next week, and I might actually have to have you stand up here with me and read while I go through the verses. And I'm sure Brother CJ's glad that he wasn't here and you were. Alright, so we're in 1 Chronicles 11 and I'm not going to go through all those names tonight because I'm not going to get to the mighty men of David. But those are some pretty interesting stories and I've got my work cut out for me next week for that study and especially reading their names. Just to quickly recap, and the title of the sermon is David's Rise to Power. So again, last week Saul was killed and it was because God had taken his hand off of Saul. He had lost the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament you could lose the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament we cannot lose the Holy Spirit. But it's because of Saul's disobedience and the final straw was going to see the witch at Endor. And the Bible specifically says in 1 Chronicles 10 that the reason why he killed him the final straw was the fact that he went to go and seek a familiar spirit to inquire of it and not inquire of the Lord. So he did inquire of the Lord but he didn't. He did ask but he wasn't right with God and so he wasn't really inquiring of God because God wasn't going to answer him. And so he was going about things the wrong way and Samuel told him that he was going to die and his sons were going to die with him and that's exactly what happened. So he dies and now we see the rise of King David in this chapter who's a man after God's own heart to become the king. And so remember the chronicles are chronicling the kings of Judah and just one thing to understand about it, it's not going to really paint the kings of Judah in negative lights very often. It's going to be very positive about the kings of Judah and in the book of 1 and 2 Kings it's mainly focusing on the kings of Israel which are the ten nations that kind of break forth, the ten tribes that break forth from the rest of them and we'll see as we get further well in the book of 1 Chronicles it's about David but in 2 Chronicles it gets into Solomon and the rest and I'm sure a lot of you that have read the Bible know that but maybe if you're new to the Bible you might not understand how all that works but essentially the other tribes break off later on. So anyway let's get into the story here and we'll see David is anointed as king. Look at verse number 1 the Bible says, then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron saying behold we are thy bone and thy flesh. Because of course they are of the tribe of Judah. Moreover in time past even when Saul was king thou wast he that let us out and brought us in Israel and the Lord thy God said unto thee thou shalt feed my people Israel and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel. So when Saul was the king David was the one that was leading those armies. Remember he killed Goliath and after he killed Goliath then he started to lead the armies of course until Saul started trying to kill him and then that kind of all changed but while he was in good graces with Saul, with king Saul, David was the man when it came to the battles and defeating the Philistines and all that stuff so but he said thou shalt feed my people Israel so this is what God said to David so that's feeding them. Feeding them is not just talking about actual giving them food but also in the realm of feeding them God's word. Making sure that God's word was provided to them also and it says and shall be ruler over my people Israel. Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord and they anointed king David over Israel according to the word of the Lord by Samuel. So Samuel is the one that prophesied these things about David. Now we're getting this story when it says king over Israel here this is jumping forward in time also. So we have to understand that again this is a chronicle because David didn't become the king of Israel until later until seven and a half years after the first time he goes up to Hebron so don't be confused by that. Let's look at David's anointed three times in the Bible. So you might not realize that he's anointed by Samuel first let's look at these different anointings that David gets and let's go ahead and look at 1 Samuel 16 verse 11. 1 Samuel 16 11. So a lot of people if you look up how old was David when he was anointed by Samuel most scholars will say that he was about 15 years old. I don't know if that's true or not the Bible doesn't say but he was when he fought Goliath the Bible says he was a stripling and that a stripling is someone who is between like a teenager and becoming a man when you're kind of just coming into your man strength basically so I would say he was probably like maybe 18 to 19 or something like that when that happened but it doesn't really say how old he was when he was anointed and how much time passed between that anointing and the time that he fought Goliath so but he was Saul's armor bearer so anyway let's look at the verses here but it was probably maybe 10 to 15 years don't you're 10 to 15 years before he was anointed again after that so anyway let's look at verse 11 it says and Samuel said unto Jesse are there are here all thy children this is when Samuel is going to anoint David and it says and he said there remaineth yet the youngest and behold he keepeth the sheep and Samuel said unto Jesse send and fetch him for we will not sit down till he come hither and he sent and brought him in now he was ruddy and with all of a beautiful countenance and goodly to look at and the Lord said arise anoint him for this is he then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren which is a very interesting thing for him to say because remember all the sons came across I mean we don't have time to look at everything we've already seen this before but all the sons of Jesse came forth David's the youngest he was out with the sheep Samuel's like is there anybody else and then David comes out so they've all been refused by God David comes in this is what happens Samuel took the horn of oil anointed him in the midst of his brethren and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward so David gets the spirit of God at that moment upon him and it doesn't leave him the rest of his life that's what it says from that day forward so whereas Saul got the Holy Spirit upon him the day that Samuel anointed him also but the Holy Spirit leaves him after that so because he did not obey the voice of the Lord it says so Samuel rose up and went to Rama and it came to oh yeah let's see now let's go to 2 Samuel chapter 2 and we'll look at the second occurrence of David being anointed so what's he anointed for well to be the captain of the Israelites because remember Saul was refused because he refused to kill Agag and Samuel ended up having to do his job and chop him up into little pieces because Saul refused to do the will of God and follow the word of God look at 2 Samuel chapter 2 verse 1 the Bible says and it came to pass after this that David inquired of the Lord saying shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah and the Lord said unto him go up and David said whither shall I go up and he said unto Hebron so this is after Saul's died and he's like where should I go and he's like what cities of Judah should I go to he says unto Hebron so in our story tonight where is he going to Hebron but he's anointed twice in Hebron this is the first time he's anointed it says so David went up thither and two wives also Ahinoam the Jezrelites and Abigail, Nabal's wife the Carmelite and his men that were with him did David bring up every man with his household and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron and the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah so here he's anointed the king over the house of Judah he's not king over the whole nation of all of Israel he's just the king of Judah now when he was anointed by Samuel that was a special anointing that God gave him the Holy Spirit and he was going to be the future king but that wasn't realized until many years later and this is when he's anointed the king over the house of Judah only but there's another king which is one of Saul's sons Ish-bosheth right and it says and they told David saying that the men of Jabesh Gilead where they that buried Saul and David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh Gilead and said unto them blessed be of the Lord that you have showed this kindness unto your Lord even unto Saul and have buried him and now the Lord show kindness and truth unto you and I also will requite you this kindness because you have done this thing therefore now let your hands be strengthened and be valiant for your master Saul is dead and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them so in between chapter 3 and 4 and into so I think Ish-bosheth dies in chapter 4 he's killed by some guys come and kill him while he's sleeping in his bed at noon which so that's a good thing to not sleep into your bed at noon you know bad things happen to you I guess if you're sleeping in your bed at noon you know unless you're just like taking a power nap or something you've already been up early or something you just need a little power nap or something but like yeah probably not a good idea but anyway so David is anointed in Hebron by the men of Judah as just the king of Judah just of that tribe he's not the king of all of Israel but now turn to chapter 5 2 Samuel chapter 5 verse number 1 so after Ish-bosheth is killed and slain in his bed then Abner goes and then basically all of Israel comes to make him the king of all of Israel all the 12 tribes right this is 2 Samuel chapter 5 verse 1 the Bible says then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron and spake saying behold we are thy bone and thy flesh so not just the tribe of Judah it says then came all the tribes of Israel and spake saying behold we are thy bone and thy flesh also in time past when Saul was king over us thou was he that led us out and brought us in Israel see this is the same story we are seeing in our text tonight and the Lord said unto thee thou shall feed my people Israel and thou shall be a captain over Israel so this is what we are seeing the parallel of 1 Chronicles chapter 11 same story here so all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the Lord and they anointed David as king over Israel so he's anointed once by Samuel when he's a young lad then he's anointed over the house of Judah as the king of Judah then he's anointed over the whole house of Israel that's about seven and a half years after he's anointed the first time in Hebron so this is called a Bible study because this is Thursday night Bible study just in case you guys were wondering anyway verse 4 David was 30 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 40 years so how old was he he was 30 years old when he began to reign how old was Jesus when he began his earthly ministry he was 30 years old David is you know he is pictures in a lot of times he pictures the Lord Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is called the seed of David and you know David is prophesied you know many times as you know he's the son Jesus excuse me Jesus is prophesied as being the seed of David over and over in the Old Testament so verse 5 it says in Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months so that's seven and a half years right and in Jerusalem he reigned 30 and three years over all Israel and Judah so David reigned a total of 40 years and then you can smash on that six months so that's 40 years six months skip to verse 12 it says and David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel that's a pretty good perception I mean he put the crownsman put on his head he's been anointed three times that's a pretty good perception there and he had exalted his kingdom for his people for Israel's sake so David also realizes this is not just because I'm some great man or something that God's doing this for his people also and so leaders do need to understand that they're not just being exalted because they're just some great guy or something this is where you know leadership can go to people's head and they start thinking they're better than everybody else that they're leading and David doesn't have this perception necessarily maybe he does kind of get this way at times in his kingdom but David understands that the reason why his kingdom specifically is being exalted is because of the people and David you know sometimes he fails in his leadership obviously and forgets about the people but the Bible also says that David's a man after God's own heart so between his first anointing maybe 10 to 15 years to the second anointing again you know people will say if you just look it up people will say well how old was David on his first anointing people will say he was 15 I don't know where they're coming up with that number I'm not sure about that I don't know that that can be proven but when he fights Goliath Saul says find out whose son this stripling is I don't understand why he doesn't know who he is because he has him as his armor bearer I don't know if it's because Saul's beginning to lose his mind at this point maybe that's a good explanation because he's already playing songs for him at this point he's already asked his dad to have him in his court he's you know I don't know I don't get that but you know Saul is kind of going mad so he's coming in and out of stuff but I don't know that's kind of an unexplainable part to me but anyhow so then you have between his second, third and third anointing you have seven and a half years he's anointed the king and then seven and a half years later he's anointed again so 40 years total is king and he is a great king he's a bloody man though and God doesn't allow him to build the temple that's all way later on here so David's waxing greater and greater as you know after Saul dies you see David just rising to the top here and this picture is Christ increasing until his culmination as king over all of Israel and of course Jesus came lowly he didn't come as the king he already was the king from eternity past and he came as a servant and even though he is the king that's why he was born to be the king of kings and lord of lords but in his time here on earth you know he was worshipped as a child as an infant but you know and when he came into the triumphal entry of Jerusalem when they're putting all the palms on the ground but you know like 24 hours later they're nailing him to a cross and saying crucify him, crucify him so you know he didn't you know he got a robe put on him and a crown of thorns that's not exactly the kind of kingly treatment that you know most people would give a king of kings and lord of lords but he did that for us of course but David's three anointings I was just kind of thinking about it symbolically picturing the trinity the fullness of the godhead bodily Jesus Christ was the fullness of the godhead bodily and the oil obviously represents what? The Holy Spirit so when we get baptized you know Jesus got baptized and when he came up out of the water what happened? The Holy Spirit came down and rested upon him and he got the fullness of the Holy Spirit without measure and so then you have you know of course when he's anointed by the people of Judah you know that kind of pictures the son because what Judah was a son of who? Israel right? So then you have the another anointing by all of Israel which Israel is the father of Judah right? So I mean you got the picture there of the father the son the Holy Spirit I mean it's a picture okay? Nothing's ever perfect but I think it's interesting anyway so and then his anointing by Samuel is a picture of his baptism and the Holy Ghost coming upon him I mean you have that picture also of John you know pictures kind of John the Baptist that prophet you know is the one that baptized Jesus so Jesus when his earthly ministry started he didn't just jump in the water and baptize himself he got baptized by who? By John the Baptist who was a great man of God a great prophet a great preacher and Samuel was he was kind of a special born son Hannah went and prayed for him and God said hey next year at this time you're going to have a son and Samuel was kind of like you know he was a special prophet he was a judge he was a prophet and he was also a priest at the same time and so he kind of pictures the Lord Jesus Christ himself in that way but you know he's John the Baptist you know he came before Jesus Christ but you know you have Samuel coming and anointing you have him anointing David but also anointing Saul so John the Baptist when did he come? What time period did he come in? Was he under the law or was he under the New Testament? He was under the law so then you have John the Baptist dying and he had to decrease while Jesus Christ had to increase and he decreased all the way because he got his head chopped off didn't he? He died so the law had to be put away. The New Testament had to be enacted and so you know I think that the fact that John the Baptist died was a picture also that the law had to be put away that covenant had to die and the New Testament had to be brought in so and then so you have you know these great two prophets you know picturing the same thing and then you have in the passage where Samuel is anointing David the Lord is speaking straight to Samuel and he says this is the one anoint him and then Samuel does that so you have the voice of God they're telling him who to do it and then like when Jesus is baptized in the New Testament the father's voice is heard from heaven saying this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased and it's like you know Samuel is told this is the one you know when David finally comes he's like this is the one and it's and what who's it done in front of all the in the midst of his brethren is what it said in that passage right so it's not like Samuel just snuck and like pulled David he like snuck in where the sheep were and just like dumped it on his head and ran and nobody saw it everybody saw it when when Jesus was baptized did he do it in front of like was it just John and Jesus no it was Jesus doing it in front of everybody and people hearing the testimony and people seeing him baptized and you know it was a public thing now when David's brother saw it did David's brothers really like David that much no they didn't his brother when he came to the battle where Goliath is just you know punk and everybody he's like what are you doing here you know you little punk and he's just like you know he's mad that David's there but Jesus's brothers treated him exactly the same and they actually tried to get him killed in John chapter 7 if you've ever paid close attention to that so the baptism was public in the midst of his brother remember Jesus came to his own and his own received him not so you have David you have Jesus Christ having the spirit of God come upon them after that first initial day that their ministry began Samuel dumps the horn of oil on him his ministry begins Jesus Christ is baptized his earthly ministry begins right so that's how you can see those parallels right now David of course already showed a spiritual ability before he ever got the horn of oil dumped on his head and he had already had exploits of physical greatness and the ability to physically lead now he's leading animals but he's still leading and God trained many men of God to lead animals first before he let them lead people but he also protected them David has a couple stories that he's like hey I killed this I killed this bear and I killed this lion right but it just shows that he you know even that job he took so seriously that he went and tracked them down and killed both of them he killed the lion and the bear so in single combat by the way when he's just like a teenager right who's ever done that before and they didn't have guns back then by the way so how did he do that he didn't have the horn of oil poured on his head yet at that time so he was already a bad dude you know he was already a rough character he was already tougher than everybody in this room pretty much except for maybe Anthony but I'm just kidding but you know so do you understand what I'm saying so like you see the picture of the decreasing of Saul the decreasing of John the Baptist and you see the increasing of Jesus Christ the increasing of David after those characters die there's you cannot miss those parallels so let's turn back to first Samuel chapter 16 again first Samuel chapter 16 and look at verse 14 so we'll look at some of the physical and spiritual aspects of what King David kind of brought to the table here before he was even anointed the first time look at verse 14 it says the spirit from God is upon thee that he shall play with his hand and thou shalt be well and Saul said to his servants provide me now a man that can play well and bring him to me so he has Saul the spirit of the Lord so as David's anointed and he starts his rise Saul starts his decreasing right here and he is the spirit of the Lord is taken from him and an evil spirit from the Lord it's not saying necessarily a demon but it's saying that this spirit is doing evil things to him right maybe it is a demon I don't know but it's saying it's an evil spirit from the Lord so I don't think that God is just like hanging out with demons necessarily right but he is still sending something that's like just messing with Saul and it says and Saul said to his servants provide me now a man that can play well and bring him to me then answered one of the servants and said behold I have not seen excuse me I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehem mind that he is cunning and plain so what does that mean he's really good at playing music and a mighty valiant man how does he know this I don't know but he's seen him and he's already been anointed right actually yeah he's been anointed at this time I'm sorry he has been anointed at this time and he's a mighty man a valiant man a man of war and prudent in matters and a calmly person and the Lord is with him how does he know all that I mean he's keeping sheep well maybe he's heard about the bear story I don't know but how does he know he's a man of war how does he know that he's prudent in matters well I mean these aren't the only stories of David there's probably other things that people just don't know that happened in David's life but this person just happens to know somehow that this that David is all these things and so the cure to Saul's problems is actually the one that's going to replace him later on verse 19 the Bible says wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and said send me David thy son which is with the sheep so and here's the thing is that he's just with the sheep like how does it go from he's a cunning player a mighty valiant man a man of war prudent in matters a calmly person the Lord is with him but he's just hanging out with the sheep like how does he know all these things I don't know but what this teaches me here is that you can come from a very meek and lowly spot and God can rise you up just like that and so I would say this you know be happy in the station that you're in you know because you can still be all these things that he's already saying about David and you're just doing something that just seems like it's not that big of a thing but be a man of character be a man of of all these all you know do all these great things and it doesn't matter what station you're in continue to do those things and God will rise you up you don't have to you know put yourself out as some good some great thing God's gonna rise your station up he's watching he knows when the time is right we don't have to be so ambitious and say hey I think I'm qualified now or I think that I should be doing this now God let God rise you up like that maybe some person's gonna go hey that person's been doing a great job doing this this and this and I think he's a valiant man I think you know what I mean and then let God do that let God raise you up because he wasn't just gonna let David go to waste in some sheep coat he allowed David to rise up and be the man that he was meant to be so God will promote you in due time and look at verse 20 it says and Jesse took an ass laden with bread and a bottle of wine and a kid and sent them by David his son unto Saul and David came to Saul and stood before him and he loved him greatly and he became his armor bearer so this is before Goliath chapter 17 is David and Goliath this is chapter 16 so he's already his armor bearer at this time and Saul sent to Jesse saying let David I pray thee stand before me for he hath found favor in my sight and it came to pass when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul that David took a harp and played with his hand so Saul was refreshed and well and the evil spirit departed from him so David's a blessing to Saul even though Saul's not right with God but Saul is still being blessed by God through David even though he's not right with God and so David is blessing a man who is still you know at this point not totally deposed as the king he's gonna be deposed but see how David's blessing him anyway with his talents and his spiritual gifts his spiritual gift obviously part of it was writing psalms and playing music right turn to first Samuel chapter 17 verse 34 and so with his gift that God has given him of being anointed and having the Holy Spirit you know he then kills in single combat Goliath who's this ten foot tall giant verse 34 first Samuel chapter 17 says and David said unto Saul keep thy servant unto Saul thy servant kept his father sheep and there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock and I went out after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth and when he arose against me I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him so he's telling Saul hey I can kill the giant because I've done these things before and so he says thy servant slew both the lion and the bear and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God see David is the only one that was not afraid to fight him not tall necessarily probably just an average size guy but he wasn't afraid of a lion he wasn't afraid to fight a bear I would be I mean David was a fearless guy and he took on a guy that was you know was enormous Saul was my size a lot taller than David was I'm sure head and shoulders above everybody and he didn't want to fight Goliath Goliath was a soldier Goliath was a mighty man of war and had been a warrior from his youth so and then in verse 49 go ahead and skip to verse 49 it says and David put his hand in his bag and took thence a stone and slung it and smote the Philistine in his forehead and the stone sunk into his forehead and fell upon and he fell upon his face to the earth so David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone and smote the Philistine and slew him but there was no sword in the hand of David therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of the sheath thereof and slew him and cut off his head therewith and when the Philistines saw their champion was dead they fled so David you know he he's given you know the Holy Spirit he's anointed to be this powerful man of God you know and he's barely he's not even fully a man yet so this just goes to show you kids that you can still do great things for God and you know you don't have to wait you can still do great things for God now and you don't have to wait until you're older you can do it right now you can read your Bible now you can know your Bible now you can pray to God now you can learn how to win souls now you don't have to wait for these things you don't have to wait until you're a grown up your parents take you out so many right now you probably know the gospel better than most people do you probably know the gospel better than 99% of Christians that go to churches all over this city and probably all over this country there's nothing stopping you from doing great things now what was stopping David? if you're saved you have the Holy Spirit just like David did so there's nothing stopping you and the Holy Spirit cannot be taken from you so you can live a Spirit filled life you can live a Spirit filled Christian life there's nothing stopping you from doing that the only thing stopping you is yourself nothing stopped David from fighting the Philistine look there's giant battles to be fought in this world and all that's lacking is people that have the courage to fight the battles there's all kinds of giant battles that we're going to face as Christians and look there's a lot of people that are afraid to fight those battles there's churches that are afraid to put their pastors that are afraid to put their sermons online because they're afraid of the persecution they're going to get from it there's pastors that are afraid to preach sermons because they're afraid the persecution they're going to get from their own congregation there's all kinds of battles that are going on there's people that are afraid there's pastors that are afraid to preach sermons to their congregation because they're afraid they're going to lose the members that there are tithing. Because, you know, and look, the day that we lose that battle, that's the day that our church ends. In spirit, anyway. Because, look, God told me to, you know, as a preacher, I'm supposed to preach the word, in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine. That's what the Bible says. And, you know, the minute I just say, you know what, I'm not gonna preach that. That's the minute I just need to resign and find something else to do and let somebody else get up here. But, kids, teens, anybody, look, we can serve God, we can slay giants. These things are in the Bible for us to be an example unto us. And King David, hey, you wanna be a man or a woman after God's own heart? Well, David shows us how to do that. Jesus Christ shows us how to do that. But David was a man just like we are. I'm not saying that, you know, women are men, okay? I'm just saying that he's showing us the faith. Was David perfect? I mean, David's mistakes are written in the Bible to show us, hey, you can make some big mistakes, but as long as you have the right attitude and repentance towards the things that you should be repentant towards. You know, David, when he got caught doing stuff, he just admitted it. He didn't try to hide his sin. He just took it and just said, hey, God, I'm sorry. I've sinned, you're right. What did Saul do? Well, you know, I just, you know, I was just gonna sacrifice this. I was just like, but the people, he blames the people. What did David do? He said, I've sinned. And that's the difference between Saul and David. So here, you know, David is the one that fought the Philistine. Why isn't Saul fighting the Philistine? He's the one that's the anointed captain of the host of the armies of Israel. Why isn't Saul fighting him? Because the Spirit of the Lord departed from him in the last chapter, in the chapter that we were just in. So David has to do it. So you see the rise of David here up until the chapter that we're in tonight, you know, is now David is taking over. Now David is the king. Now David is being anointed for the third time. And now he's about to take over, he's about to take his own city, he's about to take his own castle, he's about to have his own army of mighty men that he's already been collecting. See, we're seeing the chronicles of the king, but all the story is in 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. So we're just seeing the chronicles, and so I'm trying to, like, put the story in here, too. So the Philistines are on the run because of David, not because of Saul. Now, then also you think about, this is what got Saul upset, is that David has slain, or Saul has slain his thousands, David has slain his 10,000s. That was the thing that flipped Saul over the edge. Because he's like, oh, I've only slain my thousands, huh? And do you think that David was slain 10,000 people? I don't know, maybe he was, but whether he was or not, he didn't like that. Because, see, David's waxing greater, and Saul's waxing weaker. Who killed Goliath? Everybody knows who killed Goliath. David killed Goliath, and it wasn't some other dude or whatever, like you see in the modern versions. But anyway, we're not talking about that now. But David did not really fully increase until Saul was dead. You see that in the story. And David didn't put his hand forth and try to make it happen early. We saw that last week. But the strength of the New Testament could not be fully enacted until the death of the testator, which was the Lord Jesus Christ, right? So the fulfillment of the law had to happen by Christ. He had to die. The death of the testator, which is Jesus, that's where the New Testament comes in. He rises from the dead. He sprinkles his blood on the mercy seat. And then, now the New Testament is in full effect after that. But the law, we're no longer under the law. The moral law, yes, we still should keep those commandments, but whether we keep those commandments or not, that does not stop us from being saved or not. So you can see how that's a picture with David and Saul. Anyway. But, of course, Jesus Christ is much different than David. Jesus Christ never sinned. And he did and doeth all things well, but specifically did great things immediately after his baptism and increased greatly. I mean, David wasn't raising people from the dead and healing lepers and healing blind people and people that were maimed and all those things. But even as a young man, well, before he, as a tween, Jesus went back to Jerusalem and he's like choppin' it up with the lawyers and the doctors of the law. And his parents went looking for him. He's like, wisty not that I must be about my father's business? You know, he didn't say it all proud like that, but they were like, me and your father have sought you worrying. And he's just like, my father's business. But wise men came and worshiped him. Nobody came and worshiped David when he was born. So, of course, Jesus Christ is a million times greater than David ever thought about being. But the Bible says that Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man, and that's at 12 years old. But, of course, you know, David was fighting bears and lions and keeping sheep the best he could. He had his carnal things that he was doing great, but he was also spiritual. You know, that guy that was witnessing, saying, hey, I saw this guy, Jesse the Bethlehemite, he was doing some pretty good stuff. And it wasn't just carnal things, it was things, and it says, and he, you know, he's blessed with the Lord or whatever it said. Now, let's go back to our text in First Chronicles chapter 11, verse four. First Chronicles 11, verse four. The Bible says, and David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, or Jebus, you can say it that way, where the Jebusites were the inhabitants of the land. And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, thou should not come hither, nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. So the castle of Zion is where? It's at Jerusalem, isn't it? And it was called Jebus at that time. And who lived there? The Jebusites, who are prophesied in the Old Testament to be taken out by God's people. They're talked about in Genesis, they're talking about in Exodus, but they never conquered them yet. This is the time when this is fulfilled, is they're conquered by David himself. And it says, well not himself, with his people, but it says, this is the first place that David goes. He's like, come on Israel, let's go to Jebus. And it says in verse six, it says, and David said, whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first and was chief. So, remember, Joab is his nephew. Uncle, yeah, okay, you're right. I was gonna, for some reason, I was like, is it his uncle? Yeah, so it's his uncle. So his, yeah, so his, yeah. Huh? I think Zeruiah is his mom. Oh, is Joab's mom. Yeah, I could be wrong. I don't think it's his uncle. Is it his nephews? Because I felt like Zeruiah, anyway, I thought Zeruiah was his sister and they were his nephews, but I think, I think that's what it is. Anyway, yeah, I'm having a mind flash here, a Biden moment. Anyway, where am I? Anyway, so Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he, Zeruiah is, I believe it's the sister of David. I'm pretty sure about that. Somebody fact check me right now, well before I go on with this story. So, Remi says I'm right, the prodigy has spoken. Just kidding. Okay, I'm right. So, all right, Joab was trying to confuse me. All right, let's see, that's okay brother Joab. I confused myself at that moment too. I was like, am I wrong? So anyway, he said who's, so yeah, so that's his nephew, so Zeruiah is his sister, and so he has three nephews, and Joab is one of them. So he's like, whosoever goes up, he's the captain and the chief, so of his army. He's like the general of the army, right? Because he does this, and it says, and David dwelt in the castle, wherefore they called it the city of David. So the castle of Zion, Jerusalem, it's called what, the city of David. So look, this right here is gonna tell you, when they say it's the city of David, what is it talking about? It's talking about Jerusalem, isn't it? And when it's talking about Zion, what is it talking about? It's talking about that same spot. It's kinda giving you all the names right here of the same place, so that you know. What's Jebus? It's Jerusalem, okay? So, that should help you. This should always take you, if you wanna know what it's talking about, just go right here, it defines it for you right here. It says, and he built the city roundabout, even from Mylo roundabout, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. So David waxed greater and greater, for the Lord of Hosts was with him. So that's what the whole chapter is basically about, I mean, at least this part of the chapter is how David rises to power, he's waxing greater and greater, God's building his kingdom, and it starts with him being anointed for the third time, basically, and then he takes Jerusalem. He takes that castle, the stronghold of Zion, and this is the Lord of Hosts was with him, which means, of course, the Lord of Armies. So, now let's go to Second Samuel chapter five or six, we have a little bit more time left, but I'm almost done here. Second Samuel chapter five or six, it says, and the king, so this is kinda the rest of the story, like Paul Harvey would say, because there's some more detail here that we're not getting right here from Second Samuel chapter five. And it says, the king and his men went to Jerusalem, unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, which spake unto David, saying, except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither, thinking David cannot come in hither. What does that mean? Except thou should take away the blind or the lame, thou shalt not come in hither. Some people have different interpretations of this, I'll tell you what I think here in just a minute, but what does it say? Thinking David cannot come in hither. They're saying, there's no way David can take the castle, nobody else has been able to take it, in the time of the judges they haven't been able to take it, because God told them to go take this land and take all this stuff and to destroy the Jebusites, but they could not take them. So, a lot of people think that even, that it's saying basically that even the blind and lame could stop David from coming and taking the castle. And, you know, because that's how well defensed it is, that even blind people and people that can't walk right or are handicapped could defend the castle against them, there's no way they're getting in. That's kind of the way I looked at it, but it could be that they're using them as human shields, I mean, I think that some people have that thought about it, I'm not exactly 100% sure, but it kind of seems like that's, that he's kind of taunting them, it's kind of like schoolyard, you know, David can't come in, not even the blind people, you couldn't even get past the blind people to get in here or whatever, you know, he's just taunting, I think he's just taunting them, and it pisses David off. So, hold your finger right here, go to Judges 1.19, just hold your finger in this chapter, Judges 1.19, we're gonna come right back here, Judges 1.19, just hang with me here, I know you're tired, you're tired of turning your Bible, but just bear with me just for a couple more minutes here. Judges 1.19, and the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron, and they gave Hebron unto Caleb, so Hebron is what, the place where David got anointed, right, both times, this is a great city of Judah, and unto Caleb, Caleb was not naturally born of Judah, he was what, a Kenite that got assembled into, if you remember those sermons, Caleb was not a natural born, he's a Kenite, but anyway, as Moses said, and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak, which were giants, and the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day. So, now go back to Second Samuel chapter five. So, in the book of Judges, they still had not gotten rid of the Jebusites, they had not conquered this castle, they have not destroyed Jebus because it was just too tough for them, the Benjaminites were supposed to be there, but it's kind of like the border of Judah and Benjamin right there, it's kind of like a no man's zone at this point, and David was like, I'm gonna take this spot, nobody's claimed it, Benjamin couldn't do it, it's gonna be mine, right? And so at this point, he goes back, remember he said all of Israel went with him, like we're going to Jebus. So, now let's go back to verse seven, where I had you hold your finger, it says, nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, the same is the city of David. Now, if you're reading the First Chronicles 11, it seems like Joab is the one that took the city, but what does Second Samuel say? David took the stronghold of Zion. It's not called the city of Joab, it's called the city of David, it's because David's directing them what to do. David is the one with the plan to take the city, read on further, it says in verse eight, and David said, David said that day, whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame, and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain, wherefore they said, the blind and the lame shall not come into the house. So this kind of seems like David's hating on handicapped people, doesn't it? But that isn't really the case. It seems like they are putting handicapped people out there, they are putting blind and lame people out there, and they're taunting him with them. So he is kind of pissed off about it. And so he's saying that they're hated of David's soul. But I don't think that David just hates special needs people or something. Because think about this, who did he have sitting at his table for the rest of his life? Mephibosheth, who was lame in his feet for the rest of his life, which was the son of Jonathan. David didn't just hate people because they were lame and blind. But I do think that this is a picture, and I'll explain to you why I think that here in just a minute. But what's David's plan? Whosoever getteth up to the gutter. Everybody in this room probably knows what a gutter is, don't you? Because we live in a place where it rains. And rain goes off the roof into the gutter, and goes down to the downspout and into the other gutter, which is that thing that runs along the curb and goes into the drainage, into the sewer system, and reclaims somewhere in the water system. Now, when it says get up to the gutter, up is that way, right? So I'm not sure exactly what this is talking about necessarily, but I know he's telling them to go up. So whatever the plan is, I don't know, some people think that there's some, you know, that he's asking them to go into the sewer system, and then go up that way, but that's not what it says. Whatever it is, he's telling them to go up. I don't know if he's just like, has to make this daring raid and climb up the gutter, and then get in there and just start killing all the blind and lame people or whatever that are, but that kind of seems like what he's saying for him to do. Whatever it is, David has the plan, Joab's like, I'm gonna be the first to do it, I wanna be the chief, I wanna be the captain, I'm gonna do it, but that's kind of the theories. Some people say, yeah, there was the Springs of Gihon were there, and they took this secret channel into this secret cave and got it, I don't know. Look, the Bible doesn't say that. It just says get up the gutter, and a gutter is a place where water comes down. So the Bible doesn't explain much more than that, but it does tell you a little more about the plan though, doesn't it, in here, and it does say that David took the city. He had the plan, he was the captain, he was the general, and Joab was underneath him. David's the king. Says, so David dwelt in the fort and called it the City of David, and David built roundabout from Milo and inward, and that's basically where we're gonna stop tonight, but I just wanna kind of make a couple applications here. Again, not sure about the whole blind and lame thing about David hating the handicapped, but I don't believe that he just hated blind people and people that were lame, right? I don't think that that really fits the personality of somebody that's a man after God's own heart, but again, maybe he just hated that they were being used in that fashion and trying to make them feel bad for attacking the castle. I don't know. That's kind of a theory. I'm just not 100% sure about that, but I do know that he did help Mephibosheth and took care of him all the rest of his days. He aided his table, which was in the City of David, in the same place that he lived for 40 years or whatever, 33 more years after this. So the spiritual obligation though is a lot of us had strongholds that Christ had to tear down for us to get saved too. So a way for us to spiritually apply this is that we had some hard things that we had to be torn down to. I don't know how many times someone had to come to you with some kind of gospel message or how many times you had to hear the gospel or maybe God had to send somebody special to you or maybe you had to hear certain things before you would actually hear it. There were certain things that you grew up and then there's times you could look back and say, hey, that was God working in my life. That was some Navy seal that God was sending in to climb up the gutter of my heart to try to get me to understand the gospel and believe. But I definitely know that that happened in my life. I know that God spent a lot of time and waged war against my strongholds and my heart before I would finally get saved. I was a tough one to win over. I definitely had some strongholds in my heart. And some cases are just hard cases. But I'm glad the Lord Jesus Christ that he came after me, he dug in, he set up the bulwarks, he set up the ramparts, and he sent in the Calvary and he sent in the Marines, he sent in the Rangers, he sent in the Navy Seals and the Ninjas and the Samurai and whatever else he had to send in to come and rescue my blind and lame spirit from the blindness that I had to the gospel to the lameness I had in my character to save my soul. And so if you wanna apply the lameness and the blindness, yeah, there's a lot of lame and blind people out there spiritually that need someone to come in and rescue them. And the only person that can do that is the person that David personifies. Jesus Christ has the rescue mission, he has the people, but the people need to be able to go and get it done. And everybody needs that special person in their life to bring the gospel to them. But the cool thing is that now that we're saved, we don't have that blind and lame spirit about us where we can't see these things where we're being attacked. We're never gonna have that because we have a new spirit taken up in residence in us. We have the Holy Spirit of God who's built a new stronghold. Because see, David, he's like, I've taken residence in the castle of Zion now and he's cleared out and won't let the lame and the blind reside there anymore. And so he's not gonna allow that to happen to us either as long as we're walking the path, right? But we can never lose our salvation. The devil can never take that stronghold down. There's no weapon formed against us that can hurt us. There's no way we can ever lose as Christians regardless of what happens to us we're going to heaven. And we have the Holy Spirit, we have the seed of David, we have the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the Messiah, and yeah, Sam Gipp, he's my Messiah, so I don't care what you think about that, but I know he's my Messiah. And he's my captain. And he built a stronghold and he resides in my heart and there's nothing anybody can do about that. And he's cast out that lame and blind spirit that I had before and made me a child of the king. Amen. Let's not forget how hard that some of us, how hard it was for some of us to be reached because I don't know about you, but I was a hard case. And we run into hard cases out sowing all the time. You know, and I thank God for people that don't just give up right away. I mean, sometimes we go a little too long. But I know why people do. Because we want to reach that person. We think, hey, if we gotta just give one more verse, that person will get it and they'll get saved. I get it because, you know, I was a hard case myself. So I understand. Anyway, that's all I got for tonight. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for the Bible and for the great truths that it teaches, Lord. I pray that you'd help us to strengthen our stronghold, Lord, and to make sure that we're walking the straight path and, Lord, that we're walking in the ways of the Lord, or that we wouldn't be distracted by all the drama and all the stuff that just doesn't really matter. And, Lord, we would just have our eyes focused on the things that are lovely and true and just all the things that we should be focused on and not just all the negative stuff. Pray, Lord, that you would just bless our church, help us to just be in our, Lord, be in our Bibles, be in prayer. Lord, help us to focus on the good things and help us to think about how much we love souls and pray that we would just be focused on the things that really matter and rescuing people and tearing down strongholds so that we can win them to the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, the last one, song number 445. Set My Soul Afire, song 445. Song 445. Song 445, let's sing it together on the first. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, for Thy holy Word. Burn it deep within me, let Your voice be heard. Millions grope in darkness in this day and hour. I will be Your witness, fill me with Thy power. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, set My Soul Afire. Make my life a witness of Thy saving power. Millions grope in darkness, waiting for Thy Word. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, set My Soul Afire. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, for the lost in sin. Give to me a passion as I seek to win. Help me not to falter, never let me fail. Fill me with Thy Spirit, let Thy will prevail. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, set My Soul Afire. Make my life a witness of Thy saving power. Millions grope in darkness, waiting for Thy Word. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, set My Soul Afire. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, in my daily life. Far too long I've wandered, in this day I've been. I will be Your witness as You live in me. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, set My Soul Afire. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, set My Soul Afire. Make my life a witness of Thy saving power. Millions grope in darkness, waiting for Thy Word. Set My Soul Afire, Lord, set My Soul Afire. Amen. Good singing. Brother Jeremy, would you close with a prayer? Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.