in Jesus' name, amen. Good morning. Let's turn in the scriptures together. 2 Samuel chapter 21. 2 Samuel chapter 21, and we are going to pick up at verse 15, where we left off last week. So that's 2 Samuel chapter 21. If you don't have a Bible, please go pick one up over on the resource table so you can follow along with us. I think it'll be very helpful as we unpack this half of the chapter. So we're at 2 Samuel chapter 21, and we're gonna read verses 15 to 22. This is God's holy word. There was war again between the Philistines and Israel. And David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. And Ishmael, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed 300 shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. But Abishai, the son of Zeruah, came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, you shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel. After this, there was war again with the Philistines at Gab. Then Sebeki, the Hushethite, struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. And there was war again with the Philistines at Gab. And Elhaham, the son of Jarrah Oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath, the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. Let's pray and ask for God's anointing on our time. Lord, as we open up the pages of Scripture, we pray that you would help us to see that this is your Word to us, that this is revealing you, it's revealing your truth, it's revealing matters of ourselves, of humanity. And we pray, God, that we would be listening. that You would teach us, that we would hear from You this day. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, let me tell you a tale of two cities. City number one is Ramadi. In 2006, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Ramadi was one of the towns, the cities that the insurgents held control of. So it was a very important city for the U.S. military to manage to get back into control with regards to any hope of dealing with what was going on in 2006 in Iraq. When you hear stories, I was reading a book and the book centered around Ramadi and hearing the things that went on there, it was horrifying. It was scary. They never know who their enemies were. So even though you thought you could tell who the enemy was, everybody dressed in a way that you weren't sure. It's an urban area, so it's very difficult to control the dynamics. with regards to battle and war. So there was literally a threat around every corner. And even when they would be on a U.S. base, that wasn't always safe because there was enough suicide bombers that would try to get in, even through vehicles, in and penetrate the barrier of the U.S. base. And so it's this constant sense from the time they woke up until they went to bed, Always at risk, always a threat, always a sense where we are 100% at war. The Navy SEALs, at no point did they ever forget where they were and the circumstances that they found themselves. So that's tale of city number one. Tale of city number two. Growing up, one of the shows I remember watching at my grandparents was the Andy Griffith Show. Who knows what I'm talking about? And what is the name of the town in the Andy Griffith Show? Mayberry, it's actually centered around, in real life, he said it was motivated by Mount Airy, North Carolina. And if you remember anything about Mayberry, it was very safe. There wasn't a lot of violent crime in Andy Griffith's show. And on top of that, you had Andy and then you had Barney Fife keeping everybody safe. So it's this really safe environment. And I think when we compare those two cities, those two towns, Day-to-day life is going to vary, right? It's greatly dependent on how safe we feel. No danger versus very clear and present dangers. And how we respond is going to be quite different based on the setting that you find yourselves in. So as we already read the passage, I think it's easy to read this passage and actually kind of find it boring. So we read some names, There's this four, there's no real descriptions of the battles. We can go to 1 Samuel 17 and we have this epic battle between David and Goliath. This one, it just says these two people fought, person killed, boom, move on to the next. And it would be easy for us to just kind of read through this and not see how much suspense. how much drama, how much significance this passage is today. And I think there's a whole lot here because for you and I, it's a warning and an encouragement to us. It's a warning that we live in a time of ongoing dangerous spiritual war. where God's enemies are going to constantly come and go. But that's the warning. Here's the encouragement. Fear not, because the battle belongs to the Lord. Fear not, because the battle has already been won. And what we see here is just a snapshot of what Jesus was going to do, did, and has done in conquering sin and death and Satan. So if you're taking notes, we're going to begin our time by looking at the relentless opposition that we're going to see that David and his men are battling. So just this constant influx of resistance by Satan. Secondly, we're going to look at the risky odds. We're going to see if you're really paying attention, It feels like everything is hanging in the balance. If you're really understanding the risk of David being killed and the ramifications that has on God's promises on the future line of David, this is big time stuff. This is not just a battle with those pesky old Philistines. It's so much more. And then lastly, we're going to look at the reigning one. We're going to see the victory that ultimately rests in the hands of God. So let's pick up at verse 15. And as we see the relentless opposition, as we mentioned, these last four chapters of 2 Samuel are not chronological in the sense of following right after chapter 20. This is an epilogue. It's glimpses of the kingdom. We're going to have six glimpses. This is glimpse number two of the kingdom. And if you remember last week, we saw the price of covenant breaking. We saw the cost of atonement. We saw what happens when we experience the wrath of God for our sin. And this week we're going to see just the consistent war, the consistent opposition that David had to encounter, and the consistent and constant assistance of God. So as we look at the relentless opposition, I want us to notice first war for Israel. Read verse 15 with me. It says, there was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines, and David grew weary. But notice what it says, there was war again. In this passage, we're going to see that four times. And there was war again, and again there was war, again there was war, again there was war. Like we said, we don't know when, this is probably happening a little later in, the reign of David, specifically with him being tired, him not fighting as often in the battle now, because they said, hey, you're no longer going out with us. So this might even have taken place after Absalom's rebellion. So we don't know for sure. But what we do know is there is a consistent, constant opposition to David. So my one friend, He lives in Willard, Ohio, and they live out in the country. And at one point they decided they were going to raise chicken. And he's just a talented guy with building stuff. So he built a chicken coop and he got chickens and everything. And then he calls me and he says, you won't believe this. And I'm like, what? The last week and a half, it's been insane. So the first day he comes out in the morning and there are a raccoon who had killed a couple of the chickens in his chicken coop. So he relocated the raccoon. We'll just say he relocated them, all right? The next day, two raccoons, and they're not the ones he relocated, because he relocated them really well. So then the next day, there's two more. The next day, over 10 days, 20 raccoons were relocated by my friend. He's like, this is comical. It's like somebody literally is pulling up to my house, dropping off raccoons. He's like, I don't even know where they're coming from. And they keep showing up every day. He's like, he was so surprised the day that he did it, there was no raccoon. Friends, that is kind of what David's experience as king has been. Not necessarily raccoons, but enemy after enemy after enemy. It's Saul. It's his son. It's this person. It's the Philistines. It's this nation. It's this constant opposition. That was the norm. Actually, the seasons of rest and peace were the minority for David, not the norm. Lots of choppy water, lots of conflict. And the Philistines, as we've already learned, they're one of his main enemies, right? 2 Samuel 3, 18, God promised, But we need to understand. This was not limited to David though. What David was experiencing is what God's people have experienced from the fall. Remember, I mean, one of the things he said, even with work, he says, it's going to be hard. You're going to have to toil by the sweat of your brow. And that's not just limited to work. That is life. And then right after that, in the midst of all that kind of a covenant curse, because they sinned against God, he promised what? I'm going to put enmity, that's hostility to the point of bloodshed, between you and the woman. And that's what we see unfold from Genesis 3 onward, is there's this constant hostility and enmity between Satan and the seed of the woman. And that's what we see here with David, is this the resistance, the enemy, that doesn't work. This is post-fall. And that's, friends, what we are experiencing. That's why I said this passage is so relevant to you and I, because we need to be reminded, we need to be awakened that we're not in Mayberry. We're in Ramadi. That there's a real war, that there's a real enemy. Peter warns that there is a devil who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Consider Paul's words in Ephesians 6, put on the whole armor of God. Why, Paul? Because we are able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Jesus warned, if they hated me, they're gonna hate you. So I think what we need to have as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, is we need to have this awakening. We need to have our eyes open to the war that we're in. Too many of us live in this life as though we are in Mayberry. that there is no threat. We enter into things. We don't worry about the ramifications. We don't worry about the danger. Parents, you let your kids get exposed to stuff that they have no business being exposed to. You don't understand that Satan and the world and sin desires your demise, desires the demise of your child, the destruction of your marriage, the destruction of the church. There's a constant resistance, and we don't live or act in that way. We don't, we just kind of go through the motions. We're so naive. If you did that in Ramadi as a soldier, you're gonna not come home. And yet we do it often every day spiritually. Do you see, do you have unrealistic expectations this side of heaven? Do you anticipate opposition? Are you surprised by the pushback? You realize the world will despise us. I think what's troubling for us is we're starting to see our culture. We're start seeing our society push back and we're not used to it. And it's troubling. Well, friends, get used to it because it's going to get worse. Are you ready to stand up? So we see not only war for Israel. Secondly, we see weariness for David. And isn't that like, why is this being introduced in Samuel? Because I think God wants us to see David, a man after God's own heart. He's human. Notice what it says, and David grew weary. I think one of those problems you and I often have when it comes to the Bible is we can kind of esteem and elevate some of the saints of God, and we feel so distant from them. And isn't it encouraging to see people are not perfect in the Bible, to see weakness, to see a frailty? And right here, David, he's weary. I mean, he gets tired. My one son had a teacher, she no longer teaches at school, but she, one of her hobbies was ultra marathons. So I don't know what the cutoff point, but an ultra marathon is more than a marathon. I think she did a 50 mile race. And then, but like 50 mile, there's 50 mile and there's 150 mile races. And even those, these people, I mean, they've trained for it. It's not like a random athlete that said, hey, you know what? I'm going to go run a hundred miles tomorrow. But even them, if you've watched and they've done documentaries, they get tired. They get injured. They get sore. They get weary. It's because they're human. I mean, this is David who killed Goliath. He grew tired. Listen to Paul. Paul kind of sharing his struggles, 2 Corinthians 11, 28, he says, in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food and cold and exposure, and apart from other things, there's the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Paul was human. David was human. And Jesus, the God-man in his humanity. Think about it. Jesus ate. He slept. He wept. He cried. And I think what we need to come to the realization is you are human. Everybody say it. I am human. Because I think sometimes we try to act like we're not as Christians. We experience trials and tribulations and we pretend like it doesn't bother us because we want to be super spiritual. We have task at hands and we're like, you know, I got to do this for God. And we work really hard and all of those things. And all those things are good and well, but friends, you can't do things in your own strength. You're human. It is not unbiblical to at times say no. Sometimes probably the most biblical thing, the wisest thing is at times to acknowledge your humanity and say, I can't do that. I can't fit that into my schedule. I'm sorry. Because I think too many of us live in guilt and shame and do stuff because we're trying to be something that we are not. Even though we're human though, I think the one thing we need to realize in this is that we need superhuman help. Isaiah 40 verse 29, it says, He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, he increases strength. Even youth shall faint and grow weary, and young men shall fall exhausted, but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall mount and not faint. Isn't that why Jesus said to the disciples, come to me all you are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. So I think we need to own our weakness, our limited capacity, but at the same time, we need to lean in on God and his enabling power and grace. Well, are you weary today? And not because you stayed up late last night, and you woke up early. No, I'm saying like, are you weary? Because I know some of you, I know what's going on in your lives. Some of you are weary, you're tired. That trials and tribulations are weighing heavy on you and you're exhausted. That there's that part of you wants to wave the white flag, part of you just wants to throw in the towel, give up. Friends, don't give up. God's here, he's sufficient. He's adequate, he will carry you on through this time. Go to him for help. Don't rely on yourself. So we see the relentless opposition, the war for Israel, the weariness for David. Let's zoom in now on the actual threat. What is so concerning about this battle? Go to verse 16 with me. It's an apparent threat to the promises. It says, Ish-b'nab, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed 300 shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. But Abishai, the son of Zeruah, came to his aid and attacked the Philistines and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, you shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel. So it says that he thought to kill David. We don't know exactly what's going on with his weaponry. It's a new sword or a new weapon. He's got this heavy spear, not as heavy as Goliath was in 1 Samuel 17, but heavy nonetheless. And then what ends up happening in the midst of this is David is spared. going out to fight anymore because something could happen to David. We start seeing that that's an issue of the promises of God, that they're worried that if something happens to David, everything that God has covenanted with Israel and David will fall apart. It reminds me of the legend of the sword of Damocles. You know the Sword of Damocles, the story. There was a particular person, Damocles, who worked in the court of the king, Dionysus, and the king got annoyed with him. He would constantly talk in superlatives of just how great the king's life was, being the king. And the king didn't view his life to be that great because it was constantly something that was threats all around. He didn't trust people. Like it was not as good as he thought. So he invited Damocles to this particular banquet. He sat him in the seat, he's eating food. He's living the life like a king, it's great. Until Damocles looked up And right above him was a sword, a sword that was hanging by one thread. It's where we get the term hanging by a thread. He didn't enjoy being in that position of a king. with the sword directly above his head. And that's what it feels like often in the Bible. Like everything is hanging by that thread. Like everything seems to be falling apart throughout the Bible. Think about it in other times. Abraham, I'm going to bless you. All the nations of the world will be blessed through you. 24 years later, what happens? They don't have a child still. It's hanging by a thread. So then he has the kid and then God tells him to do what? I want you to kill and sacrifice your kid. Are the promises in danger? Israel coming out of Egypt, Pharaoh right behind them. What's going to happen? Are all the promises of God going to fall apart? Think of the birth of Jesus, Herod. Seeking after the child. It's just this constant thought. It feels like things are hanging by the balance. Psalm 132, 17. It says, I will make a horn to sprout for David. I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him, his crown will shine. So David and his line is like the lamp of Israel. And they're worried that the lamp is going to go out if David is killed. The stakes are too high because God made a promise and God needs to keep David alive. 2 Samuel 7, Friends, doesn't it feel like things sometimes hang by the balance right now? The persecution on the church. We have Christians being martyred daily around the world. Seems like the world is winning. It seems like Satan is thriving. Our culture is getting more wicked, and it's easy to get discouraged and feel like everything is unraveling before our eyes. Take heed to the truth that God is a promise keeper. Find comfort. Find assurance that what God has promised, God will deliver. Even though everything seems to be hanging by the balance with David right now, there is no risk on David. God numbered David's days before one came to pass. God numbered his hair of his head. Nothing was happening to David until God ordained it was going to happen to David. And the same is true for you and I. Do we see that God's promises are never at risk of being broken? But do you struggle? Are you worried today? Are you doubting? Are you filled with anxiety? Are you like the one father, I believe, but help me in my unbelief? So we see the threat to the promises. But next we see a titanic-sized problem. So we've already seen a stress, an emphasis on the size of these men, that they're all considered giants. But one specific man seems to stand out amongst all of them. Go down to verse Number 20, it says there was a war again, war at Gath. There was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand, six toes, 24 in all, and he was descended from the giants. So what we're seeing in this battle, in this war, is the odds are stacked against David and his men. Do you understand that? That's the emphasis on the giants. That on the surface, David and his men should not win these battles. That's what we should be seeing. Right now, currently, ongoing in the sports world, it's March what? March Madness, it's men's and women's college basketball tournament. And one of the things that people love about March Madness is what we call Cinderella stories. And what Cinderella stories are, are small schools from around the country knocking off the giants. Knocking off, and even in the last weekend, Fairleigh Dickinson, that's the name of a college. No idea that's college, I don't know where, what state is it at? Jersey, New Jersey? All right, I learned that today with you. Defeated number one seed, Purdue, in the first round. That should never happen. These giants should not be losing in battle to these lesser men on the surface. On the surface, the odds are against them. The first war, fairly unventful, giant gets killed. Second war, I do need to stress something a little bit. Second war, it seems problematic because the name of the giant, he's Goliath. We've heard of Goliath before. So it's very similar language to 1 Samuel 17. And then we have another problem. 1 Chronicles 20 verse 5. The shaft spear was like a beam, a weaver's beam. So there might be a textual issue, not with the original manuscripts, but with translation. So it's possible that the names are getting mixed up. Another possibility that Goliath was being used as a generic term for giant, just like we say Pharaoh. Yeah, so, but that's not the point. It's not something for us to question the inerrancy of Scripture. It's not necessarily. The point in all of it is these guys are intimidating. Who here would like to fight a giant with a guy who had six fingers, six toes, both? Yeah, right? Kind of intimidating. And that's what it is. And I think in the midst of it, we're seeing the odds stacked against them. But I think we're also being reminded that doesn't God love those kind of odds? Story of Judges, Judges chapter 7. He, in battle, it says, the people with you are far too many to give the Midianites into your hand, lest Israel boasts over me, saying, my own hand had saved me. And he trimmed it down to 300 men. So when they won, there was no question how they got the battle. It's what 2 Corinthians 12 says, that God's grace is sufficient strength and weakness. This is what happens to the proud and arrogant though. Because notice the one thing it says about this giant, It says he taunted Israel. Do you remember another giant that taunted Israel? Goliath. And what was David's response to him? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine? How dare he defy the army of the living God? And he goes, he takes him down, he cuts his head off. And that's kind of what we see happening, that those that mock, that those that oppose God, in the end will be shut up by God. Understand that. This life or the next, it's gonna happen. Psalm 211, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling, kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way for his wrath is quickly kindled. That's the key friends, that God is the victor in these battles. What insurmountable odds are you experiencing right now? Because we probably all have some of those odds, don't we? Some of you are battling cancer. Some of you are battling other physical ailments and struggles. Some of you are going through some really dark times relationally, maybe in a marriage, maybe with your children. And you're just wondering, like, I just, I feel like I'm going against the six-fingered giant, and there is no way that I'm going to win. There is no way that I'm going to experience victory. Can God overcome this? Do you have faith? Is God greater still? Because He is. So we see the relentless opposition, war for Israel, weariness for David, these risky odds. There's a threat to the promises. There's this Titanic size problem. But let's consider the recap of these battles. Notice how subtle verse 22 is. It's just so simple. These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants." Notice that this is a family project, that it's David and his men, his servants, that get the victory. Enemy came, enemy lost. And hasn't that been the pattern for most of 1 and 2 Samuel? God's enemies oppose Him. A few times they got victories. God will let them in order to discipline, in order to teach His people. But then He would normally come back and do what? Give them the victory. Isn't that the hope of us? Romans 8, 37, knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 2 Chronicles 20, 15, do not be afraid and do not be dismayed as this great horde for the battle is not yours, but God. Friends, we have victory. We have power in Christ far beyond what we give credit. I think the vast majority of us as Christians often live very defeated lives. We kind of wake up expecting to fall. We wake up expecting to sin. We wake up, now I'm not saying let's flip the pendulum and wake up expecting to be perfect tomorrow. So don't misunderstand me with what I'm saying, but there is far more victory, far more power at our disposal in Christ than most of us live in light of. We look at obstacles and we see mountains rather than something that can be overcome. We see a relationship. And I always remember this one particular guy who is teaching and preaching on prayer. And it was so convicting to me because as I was hearing him talk about prayer, he prayed and talked about prayer in such a way that he was always expecting God to answer the prayer. that when God didn't answer the prayer, he was confused because he had such faith. Like, man, it's really surprising that God didn't do this. Well, I'm gonna have to keep praying about it. Maybe he wants to do something different. Because I don't know about you. Often I pray out of formality. I pray because I'm a pastor. I should be praying. I pray because I'm desperate, which is good. But I don't know how often I pray in faith. How often I pray saying, you know what? God can do this. And if He doesn't, He's got a reason why He doesn't, but He can and He should. That's the kind of confidence we should have, that we get the victory in Christ. But not only do we have the victory in Christ, we have the victory together in Christ. Everybody look around. Everybody here is a follower of Jesus Christ. You have family. You might not look like each other. You might not be biologically related, but you're related by the blood of Jesus. And that gives you community. That gives you family. Isn't it comforting a man after God's own heart needed help? David didn't slew all four of these giants. He didn't slew any of them, of these four. It was his men that stepped in and protected and helped. That we need each other. Recently went to the movies and I stayed because we wanted to see credits. Man, is there not a lot of people involved in making a movie? And I'm imagining if I'm like a key grip. I don't even know what a key grip was. That was something that people do in movies. I can't imagine if I'm the key grip. I'm waiting. Just wait, wait. It's coming eventually. My name is going to be up there and it's like really small and key grip like or assistant to the key grip. or the assistant to the assistant of the key grip, whatever it is. Friends, here's the deal. Like God's kingdom building, it's kind of like that movie element. And you and I all get to be a part of it. Every single one of us plays a role that we need each other. Pastor Andy and I and the rest of the elders, we need you. This isn't something that we want to build covenant on the personality of two paid pastors. No, that's not. The goal is for us as a family, as a community, to serve alongside one another to impact the kingdom of God. Ecclesiastes 4.9, two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. Do you realize that you need others? Are you trying to live in community? And one of the things, this is selfish. One of the reasons we plug Life Group is we want you guys to live in community. And it's in that context that we spend time in the Word and prayer and serving alongside of each other that we get to live that out. If you're a believer, coming to church on Sunday morning alone is not enough. That is not God's design. That's not God's intent. You need each other. You need each other. My notes, I put the page in wrong. Instant panic mode. I was like, well, this sermon is getting cut a little short. There it is. So we see family project, but then secondly, we see fulfilled plans. So here's a life lesson, do not do. Do not take bagged grass inside your vehicle. Don't do it. Did it one time, regretted it for about a year and a half. Why, Joe? Did it smell like grass? Did you spill grass? No, some random black beetle bug decided to grow and live in my van. I tried everything to get rid of that and it just would persevere. I thought it was gone. My friend works for Orchid, he told me, hey, it was like in the summer, just keep the windows out, leave it in the sun, it will kill everything. I did that for days, like we're good to go. Then I go into the trunk, and it was only in the trunk of my van is where they would kind of camp out. So I got to a point where he had to come out because we had bees, an issue with bees. He sprayed my van, finally got rid of it, finally eradicated it. Friends, you see, that's kind of Satan's goal. He so desperately wants to eradicate God, eradicate his people, eradicate the plans, and he fails again and again and again. How do I know he failed in this passage? Because of Matthew 1, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of God's guest. David, the son of Abraham, and Jesse, the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah and Solomon, the father of Rehoboam. You see, what appeared to be hanging by the thread was at no risk at all. God's plans cannot be thwarted. Let's say that again. God's plans cannot be thwarted. Isaiah 14, 27. For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out. Who will turn it back? Translation, God wins. Don't be mistaken. Isaiah 54, 17, no weapon that is fashioned against you will succeed and you shall refute every tongue that arises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servant of the Lord and their vindication from me declares the Lord. We have a final victory in Jesus Christ. You can bank on that. Do you need to be reminded of that today? Are you worried by life circumstances? I don't want to numb reality to you. I understand life is difficult. This world is troubling. There's bad news daily. There's suffering. There's physical ailment. I see divorce. They do all this stuff pastorally. It's overwhelming at times. There are times where it's like, God, I don't know how long I can keep doing this as a minister of the gospel, but I'm constantly reminded that God's plans don't ever fail. You trust in that. We need not fear. We need not fear. I... I recently changed over my music subscription for our house to listen to music at a semi-reasonal, and I was going through, and an oldie but a goodie Christian artist popped up for me, and I've referenced him over the years. One of those first guys that I kind of encountered in the early 90s when I Either I came to faith in Jesus or I started walking with Him really for the first time. That's debatable. But the artist's name was Carmen. Who knows Carmen? Good old Carmen, he was very charismatic. He was very much theatrical. He was a storyteller. He had some really good songs. My favorite song of all of his songs, and it's kind of a song, kind of a story, it's called The Champion. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? So in the champion, the storytelling is he imagines this epic boxing match between God and Satan, ultimately between Jesus and Satan. So it's a bigger fight than any of these giants that we just watched fighting David's men. It goes on, it says, a chill swept through the mammoth crowd and the demons squealed with glee as assorted vulgar repulsive essence was felt. Eerily prancing, hands held high, draped in a sparkling shroud, trolled by demons, Satan ascended from hell. So he comes in in his arrogance, ready to fight, and Jesus comes in with humility, and the fight ends up going on, and Satan just cannot touch Jesus until the final round. The blow of death fell to Jesus to the ground, and the devils roared in victory. The saints shocked and perplexed as wounds appeared on his feet and hands. And Satan kicked him to his side, and blood and water flowed. And they waited for the count of defeat. Now, if you've ever watched boxing, they count in a certain way, if you've ever watched it. There's a 10 count, 10 count, you're knocked out. They always count one. two, three, but in this song, in this epic battle between Satan and Jesus, it's counted differently. He starts counting backwards, 10, nine, eight, and Satan's bothered by this. He's like, what's going on? And as the number starts going lower, the dead, the deceased, it starts moving and he starts becoming, next thing you know, what, he's alive at the count of 10. And he goes on and he says, he has won. He has won. He's alive forevermore. He is risen. He is Lord. Captivity has been set free. Salvation bought for you and me because Satan is defeated and Jesus is the champion. Friends, like I said, I think this passage today is far more in some random names that we mispronounce. That this is a warning that we live in war. Friends, know this, until Christ returns in glory, there is going to be opposition. Satan does not want you here today. Satan does not want me preaching today. Satan does not. He's going to oppose, he's gonna wreak havoc, but at the end of the day, anything that he does is ultimately because God permits it, because here's the truth, here's the reality, Jesus is the champion. The battle is over. It's been finished. It is finished, Christ says. And one day he's gonna return in glory, and it's gonna be the final, the consummation of everything. But know that. So whatever you're enduring today, understand that Jesus is the champion. If I lose my family, Jesus is the champion. If I end up dying a slow, diseased death, Jesus is the champion. Whatever, if I don't have any finances, if I lose my job, Jesus is the champion. That doesn't change, friends. Let's pray. God, we come before you right now and we acknowledge our need of Jesus. Today, we acknowledge how often we allow our circumstances to overwhelm us, to discourage us, to make us feel defeated. We thank You that we have victory in Christ. We thank You that it doesn't rest in our ability to fight. It rests in the one who conquered sin and death. So we pray in His name. Amen. Those that are helping with communion can come up. We're going to wait to pass it out. There was a miscommunication on my part last communion, if you remember, and it completely rattled me because everybody was passing out as I was talking. So we're going to wait during the song to pass out. But when the hour came, Jesus and his apostles, they reclined at the table and he said to them, I've eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat of it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, take this and divide it amongst you. For I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. He took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup saying, this cup is a new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The son of man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to the man who betrays him. I think in light of today's passage, two things I think we should be celebrating. One, that Jesus is one. He's the champion. As we eat of the bread and drink of the cup, we're reminded that yes, He did die, but He conquered death. And you and I can have newness of life in Christ. But then secondly, I think it's just an encouragement to us that we are sojourners, that we're not home. We're doing this because we're not in His eternal presence yet. So just to be mindful of that, to not get too comfortable in this world. As we've often shared at this time, Paul does warn to not participate in an unworthy manner. He says, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. So I wanna encourage you. If you're not a believer, please don't participate. Use this time to pray, to commune with God. If you are a believer and you're really kind of living in a season of willful rebellion and you just feel conviction, also don't force yourself to do it. But please don't do this. Don't think that this is for perfect people. Because if it's for perfect people, you guys can sit down, we're not passing it out. It's for people who are resting and relying in Jesus Christ, parents. Exercise caution, but your kids don't have to take a theological exam necessarily to take communion. But if they know Christ, you see fruit consistent with their repentance, they should participate with us if they're a true, genuine believer. If not, don't rush it. It's not a hurry. So let me pray for the elements. We'll sing a song, pass out communion, and we'll participate. God, we come before you. We thank you. that Lord, in the weariness of this world, you give us times of refreshment for our soul. And we know that communion is one of those times. So we pray that you would use this as a means of encouraging us, of drawing us closer and closer to Jesus. We ask this in his precious name, amen. Would you stand as we pass out the elements?