Sound Doctrine

Guest (Male): Want to get closer to God? Want to really let Him be the leader of your life? Here’s a word for you: humility. Here’s Pastor Jeff.

Jeff Johnson: And we need to just say, "Lord, I want to humble myself before You because, you know what? I am getting weary. I’m faint in this battle. And I know I can’t do it myself. But with You, all things are possible."

And so I run to You knowing that You’re going to give me the victory, that this giant is coming down, this whatever I’m dealing with. And that another one is going to pop up. And then, Lord, we’re going to work on that together, and we’re going to see that one fall by the wayside.

Guest (Male): This is Sound Doctrine, an outreach of Calvary Chapel Downey and featuring the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Jeff Johnson. It’s not hard to see our world is in disarray. The situation with Iran, the sexual perversion we see being celebrated, total chaos.

But we can gain hope and encouragement from God’s word, and that’s what we hope will happen to you today as we finish our look at 2 Samuel chapter 21. It’s a time of war for Israel, and King David is getting near the end of his time as Israel’s leader. Here’s Pastor Jeff with the details.

Jeff Johnson: I thank God for brothers and sisters and for the family of God who can get together and pray together. You might not feel that strong. You might be under the whole circumstance and situation. But at least as you come to the prayer meeting, you’re there and you’re saying, "You guys, pray for me." And they’re going, "Okay, let’s pray." And there’s brothers and sisters there that have the faith to slay that giant and to agree with you to see that giant just fall. And I thank God for brothers and sisters that are there for us.

We are the body of Christ. We need each other, don't we? We need to pray together. It’s when we pray together and agree together that we’re really burning for the Lord and the giants are being slain. So God help us to get down and minister with one another. Remember what Jesus said? It’s the power of prayer that’s going to bind the strong man so you can go in and take the spoil.

David was here, they figured, too old to go out to battle anymore. I thought that was interesting. They’re saying, "David, you stay in. You’ve been out in too many battles. You just need to stay by the city because we don’t want you to go out and get hurt, and we don’t want anything to happen to you, so you stay." Remember the first mistake that David made was that he didn’t go to battle. Now they’re telling him, "You can’t go to battle." But his first mistake was that he stayed behind.

But now they’re saying you stay back at the city because you’re the lamp of Israel, and we don’t want you to be quenched or wiped out. You see, David’s existence was essential to their life, to their victory in the warfare. They needed David. For without David, they would have plunged into confusion and darkness as a nation. And they believed that.

It is interesting that David here is very unlike Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ got killed and they crucified Him, and yet His light even burned brighter. It’s interesting as you look in the scriptures over in John 5:35. Let me read it to you. John 5:35 says, "He was a burning and a shining light," speaking of Jesus Christ.

John 8:12, Jesus was speaking, "I am the light of the world. He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." And then over in Matthew's gospel chapter 5 verse 14, "You are the light of the world. The city that is set up on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick and it gives light unto all that are in the house."

You see what has happened here is that light of the Lord has been handed down. Yes, He died, but He knew that once He died, He was going to send the Comforter to us and that the Holy Spirit would come to His church and each one of us would become lights in a dark place. And I love that because you can’t put this lamp out. The gates of hell is not going to be able to prevail against His church. The light continues to burn all over the world.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom then shall I be afraid?" David cries out. David’s victories all came because of his divine source. And they said, "You’re the lamp of Israel." Light is security. Darkness is always peril. And I want you to note this too, that the light here they said can be quenched. "David, we don’t want you to be quenched. We don’t want your life to be snuffed out."

Do you know, church, that we need to be careful that we not quench the Holy Spirit of God? You can quench, you can put out the flame of God, the spark of God in your life by just continuing to live in disobedience, continuing to rebel. Don’t quench the Holy Spirit of God. David must live, but the scripture says Jesus had to die for the sins of the world. And then He rose again, and He is now our lifeline to the Lord.

And the enemy was killed. I love this part. The enemy was put out. The giants were destroyed. Over in Ephesians chapter 5, if you want to turn there with me, I’m going to read a few scriptures on just what Paul says about this light. Ephesians 5 and verse 11 where Paul says, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest is light."

"Wherefore he says, wake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ will give you light. See then that you walk carefully and not as fools, but be wise, redeeming the time, the days are evil. Wherefore, don’t be stupid." I’m paraphrasing. It says unwise, but you can say stupid. Don’t be stupid, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And what is that will? Everyone wants to know. It’s be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Be filled with God’s light. Be filled with the things of the Lord, and darkness will flee. Giants will be slain. Things are going to happen because of the work of the Lord in you and then through you. But it has really very little to do with your strength at all. It’s just God is looking for willing vessels. God is looking for channels. He’s looking for the man to fill in the gap, to fill in the hedge that He might show Himself strong.

Our respect, our regard, our loyalty, our desire for His glory will strengthen us to fight the good fight. And what I’m seeing here is that all of a sudden David’s men began to look to David and said, "We’re going to give you a hand, Lord. We’re going to get in there, David, and we’re going to fight, and we’re going to come right alongside of you." So to him that overcomes, the Bible promises. So walk as children of the light and don't let Satan blow it out. Don't let Satan blow your light out. Keep it burning. Keep in the word of the Lord. Keep walking with the Lord. Keep talking with the Lord.

Deal with sin in your life. Deal with the rebellion in your life, disobedience in your life. Bring it to the cross. Confess your sins. He is faithful and just to forgive you and wash you of all uncleanness, and the light will keep burning. Let’s get back to 2 Samuel. In verse 18 now of chapter 21, it goes on. Notice, it came to pass after this that there was again a battle in the Philistines at Gob. And Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.

Again, here we have another giant. And the lesson I think is never kill a man with a big family. They just keep coming. But here comes another one, but one more bites the dust, right? Another giant is taken out. Look at verse 19. And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines where Elhanan, son of Jaare-oregim, the Beth-lehemite, he slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

Another battle and another giant bites the dust. He had a big spear. So what? Again, magnifying what he carried. "I got a spear I’m going to run you through." And you look at the spear and you go, "My gosh." But then I found a scripture over in Isaiah 54:17. Listen, "No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment shall be condemned. This is the heritage of the saints of the Lord and their righteousness is of me, says the Lord." No weapon is going to be able to come against His church.

Verse 20, "And there was yet a battle in Gath, and there was a man of great stature that had on every hand six fingers and on every foot six toes, 24 in number. He also was born to the giant." I don’t know why they told us about his fingers and toes, but he was ugly. He was big and he was ugly. And notice he did exactly like Goliath did. And Goliath, you would think, would teach a lesson to all that would follow him.

But this giant didn’t pick up on it. Notice it says, "And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah, the brother of David, slew him." Just took him out. He didn’t learn his lesson that you cannot defy Israel without being punished. How many nations have tried to defy Israel, the apple of His eye, and look at the judgment that came upon them? Some people never learn.

So David’s nephew Jonathan takes him out. My question to you this morning is simply this: what are your giants? What are the things that you’re up against? Some people maybe they’re struggling with our city and our educational system in the city and with the various schools, and I know sometimes some parents get involved and it’s a giant to come against the public system and what they’re trying to teach our kids. It’s a giant.

Some are praying for our nation today. Some of you are just watching what’s happening and your heart is broken and you’re beginning to cry out to God. And that’s a giant, the nation. And some of you are just saying, "Hey, I’ve just got little things in my own personal life that are giants that I’m wrestling with and that I have to deal with."

You need victory. And we’ve learned that victory is number one, not with or in orthodoxy. It’s not like it’s always done before. God always does things differently. Number two, it is not in the correctness of your organization. Saul and the children of Israel were a great organization, you would say, the children of God, and yet they were frozen in their steps. No victory. It’s not in the rightness of your organization. "Well, we’re the right Republicans." Well, it’s not in your organization.

And it’s not in your technique or the rightness of your technique. Remember what Saul tried to put on David, his armor, saying, "This is what is going to win your battle for you." David looked at this armor and said, "I can’t use this stuff. Number one, it’s too heavy. It’s too big. And I don’t like it and I never proved it." And he just took it off. Give me my sling.

If we failed, now listen to me, if we have failed to deal with our giants, it is because we feel helpless due to disobedience. It’s because of sin in our lives. We have yet to repent of that sin. God’s trying to bring it to the surface and show it to us. Why? So we’d have victory over it so we can then see giants slain. And that’s exactly what Saul needed to do in Israel, and they weren’t doing it, and they felt helpless. And you feel overwhelmed. You feel afraid.

And you feel like this thing is going to devour you. And it’s causing you to wake up at night. It’s causing you to lose sleep. It’s just overwhelming. You’re always thinking about it. And yet the Lord saying, "I’ve come to give you peace and rest," and you’re all full of anxiety and worry. You’re frozen. You’re in disobedience. We need God’s anointing as David did.

He is alive and well today, guys. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He’s here with us to give us victory. David was strengthened by God’s word, and he watched the Lord do it by His Spirit. He was strengthened by the word of the Lord, and then he stood in the power and might of the Lord and watched God bring the giant down. And that’s exactly what we must do. And if we don’t do it that way, we’re going to struggle.

Finally, verse 22, it says, "These four were born to the giant in Gath and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants." These four needed to be dealt with, and I want you to notice that they fell by David and his servants. I want to leave you with two things, two lessons that I think are important this morning.

Number one is that David experienced some giant troubles early in his life when he was a child. And when he was older, he still was fighting giants. Do you know what that is saying to us? He had giants at the beginning of his life and he had giants at the end of his life, and it’s saying to us that the Christian life is not going to get any easier. Isn’t that great news?

Giant trials all the way to the end. But I’ll tell you something, God has given us awesome faith. And through belief and through faith, every one of those giants are going to be slain and God is going to give us the victory. But He needs to teach us that most important lesson to use faith against the things that we’re up against.

The reason I’m telling you this is not to really bum you out to tell you that it’s not going to get any better. I mean, I’d love to tell you it’s going to get better and better. It’s going to get easier and easier and easier. But it’s not. And the reason I’m telling you that is because I don’t want you to be disillusioned when it doesn’t get easier. And some of you are going, "Amen. I was waiting for it to get easier. I thought when I learned the Bible it was going to get easier." And I found out, wow, He really wants to fight me then. He wants to see what I’ve learned. And it just doesn't stop.

Listen, let's just face it, we’re aliens in this place. This world is not our home. And this time that we have here is number one for to make a decision. And if you haven’t made your decision, you need to make it this morning. You have been given this life to make a most important decision, and that is to get right with God. And then this life has been given to us so we can grow and get rooted and grounded in our faith.

Thank God for giants. Thank God for trials that come our way because it gets us to either freak out and run the other way or it gets us to get ourselves grounded in the Lord and watch God take that next guy out. And we get the victory. And we go, "Wow, Lord, You’re great. You are awesome. You’re my hero. And I’m going to cling to You because You’re going to give me victory after victory from glory to glory and strength to strength as I watch You work in and through my life."

Number two, the second lesson here is that David at the end was credited for killing these giants, verse 22. It’s interesting because he didn’t ever kill any of them. In fact, he was almost killed by them, right? But he’s credited here as killing them. What does this say? Well, we get the credit when we attempt to do our best commit the rest. And we are really not called or rewarded according to our successes, but according that we have actually participated in the battle, that we’re just even there, that you showed up at the prayer meeting, you know what I mean?

That you showed up this morning here in this place. You’re credited for just being here. And yet let alone what God is going to do in and through your life, to the victories that He’s going to give to you. So David here, given the credit for killing the giants when he didn’t touch one of them. Isn’t that great? He didn’t touch one of them.

And even Goliath, when he took his sling and used that smooth stone, he didn’t hit that giant. It was the first guided missile, man. It was the first smart bomb, man. It went right in between his eyes. And God caused that to happen, and that giant came down. And David knew that. "I’m coming against you in the name of the Lord. And in the name of God you’re going to fall." And that’s what exactly what happened. He gave all the glory to the Lord. He knew it was the Lord.

This chapter really concludes David’s career as a warrior. And this is it in David’s life, it’s the end. Now, I’d like to end with a scripture in the New Testament, 2 Timothy if you’ll turn there with me, 2 Timothy chapter 4. We have another old warrior that is now saying his goodbyes, and that is the apostle Paul.

2 Timothy chapter 4, look at verse 6 as he gives he signs off as that old warrior. I love this. 2 Timothy 4:6, Paul said, "For I am now ready to be offered to be poured out like an offering. And the time of my departure is at hand." He knew that he had only days, weeks, but maybe just a few months to live. He knew that he was going to be gone at any moment.

He knew his hands, I mean he was in the hands of the Lord, and he knew the time was ticking away. Do you know that our time is at hand? Do you guys understand that we have little time to go? Are you aware of the time that we’re living in? So Paul’s saying, "My departure is at hand." Listen, church, our departure’s at hand. Know it. Get ready. Those that were ready and watching were those that went in.

My departure, I love that word because it means like a ship that would take up its anchor. Bye-bye. I’m leaving, man. I’m out of here. And that’s what Paul’s saying. "I have," he says, "fought a good fight," and he’s talking to his troops, like a general. "I’ve fought a good," and he’s really giving them a positive look at this whole thing that he’s struggled with. Here he is in prison, and they’re going to just about ready to take his life and he knew it.

He says, "I fought the good fight. I have finished my course." I finished the work that God has given me to do. And you start thinking about it. Wow, that’s neat. Paul knew the work he was given by the Lord, and he finished the work. Oh, to be able to say that to God, that Lord You saved me. And I said this to many that I baptized yesterday. I said listen, you weren’t saved just to go to heaven, man.

You were saved to get it on for the Lord now, to find the work. What is your work? What is the work that the Lord has given to you? And you go, "I don’t know." Well, then you know what? It would behoove you to with everything that’s within you to say, "Lord, show me what my work is. Show me what You want me to do so I can be faithful to do it so I can say as Paul, I finished my work. I did it for You, Lord, and I sought to just serve You."

He said, "I finished my course. I have kept the faith." And I’ll tell you something, you say, "Well, I don’t know if I can keep the faith." Jesus is praying for you that you would, your faith would not fail. I mean, you got Jesus praying for you. He says, "I’ve kept the faith. I’ve won the battle. It’s over."

"Henceforth," he says, and he looks now forward. "There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day." I’m looking forward to the rewards that are coming. I’m looking forward to seeing the Lord face to face. I’m looking forward to going home, man. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over. It’s done. He was excited.

And then he says this: "And not only me, me only, but unto all of them also that love His appearing." Do you love His appearing? Are you looking for the Lord to come? If you are, then that means you must be in love with the Lord. Because if you’re in love with the Lord, you’re going to be looking for Him, and you’re going to be living like you’re looking for Him, and you’re going to be living every day like, "Hey, this could be our last day. So let’s live it to the fullest and let’s serve the Lord."

There’s what makes the difference between those that are religious and those that have a relationship. They’re not just thinking about it as far as this is what we believe. "We believe Jesus is coming back." But are you living like Jesus is coming back? Is that a part of your life? Are you loving His appearing? Well, then there’s a reward waiting for you, and He’s coming soon. So Paul says, "I’m looking forward to it, but also for the all those that love His appearing." God delivered David from all of his enemies and he delivered him from his giants, and He will deliver you.

Guest (Male): That’s a promise we can confidently stand on. God will deliver us from the giants in our lives. Pastor Jeff Johnson will have a closing encouragement for us in just a moment here on Sound Doctrine. Hopefully as you listen to these messages in 2 Samuel, you’ll have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying in these critical times.

God’s word is so practical, giving us direction, instruction, and wisdom to our lives. To hear this message again, simply go to sounddoctrinereadio.org or listen through the Sound Doctrine podcast app. You can also hear Sound Doctrine on oneplace.com and wherever you enjoy podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

We would very much appreciate your support. It helps us deliver Sound Doctrine on stations like this one all across the nation. And you can donate to this radio outreach at sounddoctrinereadio.org. Now to bring today’s program to a close with some final thoughts on the giants we all face, here’s Pastor Jeff.

Jeff Johnson: The first thing we must do is we need to repent of our disobedience, of our stubbornness, of our rebelliousness. And we need to just say, "Lord, I want to humble myself before You because, you know what? I am getting weary. I’m faint in this battle. And I know I can’t do it myself. But with You, all things are possible."

And so I run to You knowing that You’re going to give me the victory, that this giant is coming down, this whatever I’m dealing with. And that another one is going to pop up. And then, Lord, we’re going to work on that together, and we’re going to see that one fall by the wayside. And then we’ll just go on and on until Jesus comes, which is soon. To God be the glory.

Guest (Male): Thanks again for joining us for Sound Doctrine with Pastor Jeff. Come back next time when our study in 2 Samuel resumes. This program is brought to you by Calvary Chapel Downey.