2 Samuel 8, A Review Of The Good Fight Of Faith
1. Faith Fights To Obtain God’s Promises (v1-2)
2. Faith Fights To Maintain Past Victories (v3-8)
3. Faith’s Fights Serve People And God (v9-12)
4. Faith Fights To Preserve Order (v13-18)
2 Samuel 8, A Review Of The Good Fight Of Faith
Did you enjoy this teaching?
Let others know!
VIEW TRANSCRIPT
Well, as we look at Second Samuel Chapter 8 this evening, I've titled The Message, a review of the Good Fight of faith.
A review of the good fight of faith.
Second Samuel Chapter 8 is really a review.
It happens in the text that Chapter 8 falls after Chapter 7, right?
That's the way the chapters work.
But the details of Chapter 8 aren't. It's not chronological any longer. It's not Chapter 7 happened in David's life and then chapter 8 happened in David's life and then Chapter 9 happened in David's life.
Chapter 8 is kind of a step back from the timeline and to look at kind of an overview of David's.
40 years as king of his.
And so it's a review. It's obviously written later on. It's not written, you know, as David's life is happening, these things aren't being written, but but it's written afterwards, and so the author, the Holy Spirit, writing through the author, decided to interject in the narrative in the accounts here, this.
Overall review of the battles that David fought and the administration that David had as King of Israel.
Some of these battles that are mentioned here in Chapter 8 happened before what we read about in Chapter 7 and then some of these battles also happen later on.
And we'll actually get to as we continue on here in second Samuel.
And so this is a review.
It's an overview of all of the battles that kind of general.
Victories that David accomplished for the Nation of Israel.
And so it's a review of David fights.
It's a review of what he accomplished and the victories that he had done for the nation of Israel.
And as you think about this review of David's life, the the review of David's reign as king, I would ask you to consider this evening. If your life was the focus.
Of second Samuel Chapter 8 what would this review look like?
Right now you're living it out as it's happening in real time, right from Chapter 7 to Chapter 8, Chapter 9.
It's happening chronologically your life, but.
Later on, there's going to be an opportunity for somebody.
To look back at your life and to perhaps write a review and and what would that look like?
What would that be filled with?
What would that contain if your life was a review like Chapter 8 is a review of David's life and reign as king.
It caused me to think about the apostle Paul.
You might remember you ladies will come to it in a couple weeks.
First Timothy Chapter 6 Paul encourages Timothy Timothy to fight the good fight of faith.
But then in second Samuel, at the end of.
I'm sorry, not second Samuel, second Timothy at the end of the book, in Second Timothy Chapter 4, Paul at the end of his life uses those same words, but in regards to himself previously he was encouraging Timothy, but now of himself.
He's saying at the end of his life, second Timothy Chapter 4.
For seven and eight.
Paul says I have fought the good fight.
I have finished the race.
I have kept the faith.
And finally, there is laid up for me, the Crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Paul, doing a review of his own life as he gets to the end there in second Timothy four he looks back and he says I fought the good fight.
He looks back in the review of his life and he says.
There's a lot of battles that I thought it was the good fight.
It was the right fight.
I kept the faith even though it was a fight, a battle, a struggle to do so.
And he rejoices in the fact that because he did that, that there was a reward for him.
There was a reward that God had promised the Crown of righteousness.
That the Lord had promised to give him, but notice he says, and not to me only.
But to all who have loved his appearing.
It was the loving of his appearing that Paul is putting here as the motivation for him fighting the good fight, finishing the race, keeping the faith, he's setting it before us.
When you love the appearing of Jesus Christ, and when you're longing for the return of Jesus Christ and being in the presence of the Lord, it will motivate you and spur you on to fight the good fight.
To finish the race, having kept the faith.
And so will that be.
The review that is.
Accurate for your life.
Second Samuel chapter eight or Second Timothy Chapter 4 will these reviews be accurate for us?
You know it's a struggle sometimes because we look at things that are happening around us.
And it's easy for us to kind of look at the finished product.
And we.
Are discouraged because we're looking at the finished product in somebody else's life. We're looking at the finished product at in Paul. As he says, I fought the good fight.
And and we're discouraged because we see the end result in him and he's able to see that.
But as we're living it in the moment we're so aware of how much of a fight and a struggle it is.
To get there.
You know, it's interesting as you look through these battles of David in.
Second Samuel chapter 8.
You could think, wow, all David ever had was victory.
He never suffered any kind of defeat.
He never really had to work real hard in the midst of the battle.
He just went fought that guy.
Anyone he went fought that guy.
Anyone he wouldn't fight that guy anyone?
He wouldn't fight that guy.
Anyone right like it?
It kind.
Of gives the impression if we just look.
At the end.
Result that there was no struggle.
There was no fight there.
There was no, you know, concern.
Or doubted anytime it was just victory.
But then we look at our own lives and we, like we don't see that same picture, right?
It's not like, hey, I just go everywhere I go.
I have victory and every time there's you know, some type of temptation.
I just have victory and every time there's a little bit of an argument.
I have victory and every time there's a, you know something contrary to God I have.
Victory, like we don't see that end results in.
Our lives we see man.
Oh my goodness, I just was like dealing with this thing and it was so difficult it's so challenging and we're just like overwhelmed by how.
Much of a struggle this fight is.
But later on.
The review of your life as much as you feel the struggle right now and might be overwhelmed of it later on your the review of your life.
Might just be as simple as.
Harvey had victory.
He had victory over those battles.
He had victory in those temptations.
He had victory in those struggles in.
In those steps of faith.
What will your review look like?
Will you be able to say I fought the good fight?
I finished the race, I've.
Kept the faith.
David would have been able to to see that right.
These words are not his words given by the apostle Paul, but.
Although he stumbled as Rick shared on Sunday there there was a faithfulness to the life of David.
And a good fight of faith that he fought as he walked with the Lord. And so as we look at David's review here, it encourages us.
I would pray that you would be blessed and encouraged to review your life, but also to be spurred on to understand.
We're looking at the end results of David and let that encourage you to then.
Press forward and fight the good fight.
Let the review of David's life encourage you about the review that will be in your life if you today.
Press forward to fight the good fight of faith.
And to me feel like more of a fight and a battle and a.
Defeat than a victory.
But if you fight the good fight of faith.
The end result.
Will be the review will be victory?
In the end.
And so there's four things I'd like for us to consider in this review of David's battles and victories. In this review of David's reign as King, four points to review number one found in verses one and two.
Faith fights to obtain God's promises.
Faith fights to obtain God promises verse one and two says after this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them.
And David took method comma from the hand.
Of the philistines.
Then he defeated Moab, forcing them down to the ground.
He measured them off of the line.
With two lines, he measured off those to be put to death and with one full line those to be kept alive so the Moabites became David's servants and brought tribute.
This is.
Recapping the couple battles that were Israel's closest neighbors with the Philistines with the Moabites.
And recording the victory that God provided to David in that now when David took the throne in the beginning of his reign, he was taking the baton from King Saul and King Saul.
Here's a map of his Kingdom.
King King Saul had lost a lot.
Of ground, it might not have been.
All lost in Saul's reign.
It might have also been lost in the time of judges, but if you look at a map like this and I didn't prepare one but but compare it to a map of the nation of Israel when they head into the promised land, and each portion is divided.
Amongst the tribes and given to the various tribes of Israel, you can see that there's a lot of territory here, particularly along the coast that Israel has lost.
And so under Saul's reign, around the end of his reign this is what the map would have looked like for.
Saul's Kingdom.
This is the boundaries that David would have seen and experienced as he stepped into the Kingdom, but he pushed forward in many ways and took territory back.
Took territory that God had provided, and so the end of David's reign would have looked.
More like this.
Where David pushed the boundaries back to the coast in many areas down South far up north, even what extends beyond this map?
This kind of gives you an idea that David he took territory that God had given to them, and you can think about this and the.
Promises that God had given.
Because God had promised certain boundaries to Israel. You can go back to God's speaking to Abraham. You can go back to the things that God said through Moses.
You remember that saying everywhere that the soul of your foot treads, I will give that to you within the boundaries that God had set.
He promised to give them the land that he had promised to Abraham as they took the land as they took steps of faith and conquered the territory that God had.
Given to them.
But God also.
So built into those instructions that there would be occasions beyond those boundaries where God would give them territory, and perhaps this is the case as we look at the Moabites in verse two that God gave David not just the territory within the boundaries as we understand them but but extended beyond that and gave to him the Moabites.
As well now, the Philistines.
They were definitely within the boundaries.
They were right within the.
Coast and they were perpetual enemies of Israel.
They always were working really to defeat God purposes and plans in Israel life.
And they defied Israel and the God of Israel.
You can remember the words of Goliath, of course, to reflect on that.
Moab, on the other hand, was a little bit different.
It was outside.
It was across the other side of the the Dead Sea, and so we looked at it a couple weeks ago when David took his family there to be kept safe while Saul was out to get him.
And so we don't know.
Exactly why we don't know the events that transpired ahead of this to cause this battle between Israel and Moab.
Jewish tradition says that Moab did not.
Protect David parents.
That they ended up dying or even were put to death by the Moabites.
And so this battle was the result of that.
That's a possibility.
That's tradition.
We don't have that recorded in the Scriptures, so we can't say for sure.
What we do know is this God promised the land to Israel and what David did is he fought to obtain what God had promised.
And so he fought the Philistines to take land that God had given to them land that Israel was really never able to conquer because of their lack of faith and their lack of ability to go to battle, trusting the Lord even from Joshua Day and beyond that that there is territory that they had never conquered.
Under David's reign by faith, he fought to obtain those things that God had promised.
And evidently God decided to also give Moab to David.
It was not a promise that was recorded back to Abraham or back through Moses, right?
But a personal thing that got revealed to David.
And so he went forward and he fought that battle.
As you read about this battle, you can see that it was a strong battle, a harsh battle, a fierce battle.
It tells us in verse 2 then he defeated Moab, forcing them down.
To the ground.
This idea here.
This picture really shows us that that it was a hard battle that much pressure had to be applied.
And maybe in your mind you might picture a professional, a professional wrestler or a grappler, right?
That that there's this forcing down to the ground that this great pressure had to be applied.
It it it speaks really of great effort on David's part he fought.
To obtain the thing that God had set before him.
Faith fights to obtain God's promises.
Again, as we look at this and we consider the review after the fact right David had victory.
We don't see the struggle as much, we just see the the results.
We're not living out, you know.
Verse two is just like a little verse, just a couple lines.
But but there's so much there that's not recorded, and when David was living this out, it wasn't easy.
That just you know, like he would have just said then he defeated Moab, right?
Like that's not how David experienced it when he was living it out.
That's the review.
In the midst of it, there was a great battle.
There was a great effort.
There was fierce and and and dangerous fighting.
There was uncertainty and doubt.
There was risk there was, there was steps of faith.
That were required.
And sometimes as we think about that, this in our own lives, sometimes we can think about the promises of God and really be troubled.
By this
Idea of not seeing those promises fulfilled in our lives, and there's two things to consider about that.
One of them is, well, the full accounts has not yet been written.
Right, your story isn't over yet.
Your narrative isn't over yet, and so you can look at your life and.
Say you know I.
Know God wants to give me victory over sin.
But why do I still struggle that?
And people can be really messed up and torn up and guilt ridden.
Because they still have battles, they still experience temptations.
They still experience struggles with the flash and, and they're wondering why don't I have victory?
God promised victory over sin, so why do I still have this battle?
And and part of the reason why we struggle with that is because, well, we're.
Not at the.
Review yet, so we don't have the whole picture.
Now as we continue to walk with the Lord as we.
Continue to fight.
The good fight of faith, as Paul encouraged.
Timothy to do.
Well then we will get there and at the end the review will be God gave.
Victory over sin.
But right now we're right in.
The midst of it.
And we need to be reminded right in the midst of it to have faith.
And faith fights to obtain God promises.
And so one aspect to consider is that we're in the middle of the account right now.
We're not at the end of the account in our own lives.
We're not at the review yet, and.
So there is.
Going to be, you know, some.
Things yet to be accomplished.
But the other.
Thing I would ask you to consider is this.
The idea that there must be a fight.
To obtain the promises of God.
The promise of God to Israel was that they would conquer the territory as they placed their foot in the land, that it wasn't just going to be given to them.
The enemy wasn't just going to uproot themselves and run away all by themselves, but they were going to have to advance.
They were going to have to fight and grasp hold of and obtain the very thing that God had promised to them.
And David, here in conquering the Philistines, taking territory from the Philistines, is doing just that.
He's fighting to obtain what God has promised.
And then we can consider this for our own selves and.
Understand that.
Well, it's Jesus said.
I'm going away.
But what I leave with you.
Is peace.
Not as the world gives.
But my peace I leave with you.
And we can have this promise of peace, not World Peace.
That promise will be fulfilled when Jesus returns, but but peace?
Internal peace within peace with God.
Is promised.
The review of our life will reflect that God gave us peace, but the moments of our life.
We might not see that being fulfilled just yet.
We might need to fight to obtain this promise of God.
Like the verse often quoted in second Corinthians.
Encouraging us to take every thought captive.
Right that that there is a lot of turmoil within our mind.
There is a lot of things that are mixed up and and stressed out in turbulent waters within.
Reflecting the turbulent waters in the world around us right there, there is the lack of peace many times and and what we should not expect is that we're not going to have to fight to receive that promise of peace.
Or think about another promise, right?
The the promise of of knowing God.
The promise of having relationship have gotten enjoying his presence and knowing his will.
That's not a promise that just happens without any effort.
But the reality is that there will have to be a fight for you and me to obtain.
The relationship with God that he's promised to us and made available to us.
So for example, you might have to fight to have a devotional.
Right?
You might have to fight for the time you might have to fight to make time in your schedule to put focus and attention on the Lord for a certain amount of your day.
Each day that there might have to be a great struggle, and if you're just kind of waiting for that devotional life to just spring to life on its own, through no effort.
Of your own, then you're going to be missing out because.
Faith fights to attain, God promises.
And again, sometimes we look at other people and we think wow, like they don't.
Struggle with the devotional life like.
How come it's not so easy for me?
It just comes easy to them, why doesn't?
It come easy for me.
We're all at different points in this journey of life that God is working through us.
Our story isn't over yet, but we need to understand there's still going to be struggle and faith as Paul encourages Timothy to fight the good fight of faith.
Faith fights to obtain God promises to lay hold of and claim the promises of God, and say God, you promised this.
And so I'm going to work hard.
To accomplish it now not working hard for salvation, right? Not earning salvation, not earning God's blessing. Not not talking about earning anything or making ourselves worthy or deserving of something.
But also not talking about just laying there like a lazy lump and not putting any effort towards the things that God has said.
But but there is this joining with God in the work that he wants us to do.
God wants to give you a victorious Christian life.
But don't think that that means you won't have to fight for it.
We don't fight with our own strength, but we do have to fight.
It's the working of the Holy Spirit.
But we also have to fight.
In the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul says in Romans 813, if you live according to the flesh you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the.
Body you will live.
Like notice the wording there if you live according to the flesh you will die.
If you just.
Live on your own live according to your own efforts.
Then you're going to die.
But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds in the body, notice it doesn't say the spirit will just put to death the deeds of.
The body for you.
No, it says by the spirit you put to death.
There is going to be a fight and a struggle, and so in those battles against temptation and those battles for peace and those battles for relationship with God and those battles for the promises that God has set before us, there is going to be a battle by the Holy Spirit.
Of course we love the testimonies.
Basically it ends with dot and I never struggled.
With that again.
Right, we love that testimony.
We all want that testimony.
I prayed about it. I read my Bible 35 times and then I never struggled with that issue. That's in that temptation.
Never had that argument.
Always had a blessed marriage after that and there just was happily ever after.
Never struggled again.
That that is coming.
That will be in the review at the recap at the end.
But in the meantime.
From so many things in our lives now, pretty Scott, there is something times he does that he gives us a victory in a way right now that we never struggle with a certain thing again.
And we that's never an issue in our lives again.
But there's also so many things in our lives.
That to obtain the promise that God is given, we must fight.
It's going to be a battle.
It's going to require fierceness and ferociousness against the things that are not of God.
A fierceness and a ferocious ferociousness against the things that the enemy would desire to accomplish and bring forth into our lives.
As we look at a review of David's good fight of faith.
We see the victory that he had.
He fought to obtain God promises.
May it encourage you to fight the good fight of faith.
To fight to obtain what it is that God has promised to you, don't be discouraged by your present defeats, not looking like the future victories that will be there if you will continue to walk with the Lord and fight the good fight of faith.
I I would ask you to consider does your spiritual life look more like Saul's map or David?
Map right are you losing ground?
Or are you taking ground?
Are you pressing forward and obtaining the promises of God, or are you letting go of promises and letting things go because you're not able to trust God and to fight the good fight of faith that he has called you to?
Well, that brings us to point #2. As we move on to verses 3 through 8. Here's point. #2 faith fights to maintain past victories. Similar point here.
Faith fights to obtain God's promises, but then, having obtained, then we also need to understand. Again, it's not the scene.
That, and I never struggled with that again, right?
But there's often going to be a fight to maintain that promise and maintain that victory that God has.
Given check out verse three and four, it says.
David also defeated Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, King of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the river Euphrates.
David took from him 1000 Chariots 700 horsemen and 20,000 footsoldiers.
Also, David hamstrung all the chariot horses except that he spared enough of them for 100 Chariots.
Here we see the next scene as.
The writer recounts for us the review of David's victories. He thinks about the victories in the north.
Up north, near the river Euphrates.
There was territory that had been previously conquered.
But now had a diser.
It tells us in verse three notice.
He went to recover his territory at the river Euphrates.
So this enemy of Israel had lost territory.
And now he decides you know what I want to go, get that territory back.
And so I'm going to go take that land back that I had previously lost.
This is always going to be a.
Desire of the enemy.
In our lives, we need to understand the enemy always wants to take ground back.
He never counts a victory as the final victory.
He's always looking for he, you think about Jesus when he was tempted in Luke Chapter 4 in Matthew Chapter 4.
Or experiencing walking through those temptations and then it tells us that the enemy left him until an opportune time.
So that victory wasn't once and for all, right?
It was like, OK.
I'm going to look back to try to.
Have a victory later on to look for a vulnerable point.
To take ground back.
And that's what had these are.
Does he went to reclaim his territory?
But David says no.
In verse three, it says David defeated Hadadezer.
He took from him in verse four 1000 Chariots 700 horsemen, and 20,000 footsoldiers. We're talking about a big battle here.
And very likely outnumbered.
By had a teaser that David as he faced this, he didn't have 1000 Chariots, he didn't have 700 horsemen.
His military was not as.
Advanced technologically.
But trusting in God.
Believing God in the promises that he had been given.
He held the line and said, no, God has given us this land.
He's given us this territory.
And I'm gonna fight to hold this ground that God has given to us.
As you go on into verse five, you see that others even came to help had it easier. Verse five says when the Syrians of Damascus came to help patties, or king of Zobah David killed 22,000 of the Syrians.
So how did these are?
That was a?
Big opponent.
But then he got help, and now there's even bigger opponents.
But David didn't just.
Walk away and surrender the land.
He stood his ground.
And he said, I don't care what the odds are, I don't care.
You know how big this battle is or how mismatched the battle might be.
The Lord gave us this land and I'm going to fight to hold that ground that.
God has given.
It tells us in verse 6, then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became David's servants and brought tribute. So the Lord preserved David wherever he went. There were these huge battles going on.
But God protected David.
As David was.
Seeking out God's plan and fulfilling the plan that God had for Israel.
Obtaining the promises that God had given to Israel this portion of land in the north.
This was land that God had promised.
To Abraham that God had promised through Moses, it was part of the territory that God said that they would hold onto.
That he would give to them.
And so David believed God at his word and said.
Alright, I'm going.
To fight for it then, and I'm going to stand my ground no matter how many enemies are coming against.
And as David trusted in God.
God preserved David wherever he went.
So that he even put garrisons in Syria of Damascus, this is far north above Israel.
That we would normally show on a map, but but way up there David established garrisons, established the nation of Israel.
Brought them to subjection to the God of Israel, and they brought tribute.
Unto the Lord.
And so here we see this victory.
This fight to maintain.
This victory that God had accomplished previously, this promise that had been fulfilled already.
But there was a.
Fight to hold on to it verse 7.
And David took the Shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadiza, and brought them to Jerusalem also from Betta, and verify cities of had it easier.
King David took a large amount of bronze this fight to maintain the victory.
Was not fruitless, but it was fruitful it was worth it.
It was valuable, and David brings back the spoils.
It brings back the reward for holding the ground that God had given.
To him.
Faith fights.
To maintain past victories again considering this for ourselves.
Considering those promises that we have to fight to obtain.
Considering those previous victories that God had given to us.
We need to be careful not to neglect those areas of our lives.
And to have them be overrun by the enemy, we need to be careful not to neglect those or facing fierce opposition in those areas to surrender those promises that God has previously fulfilled.
With those victories that got as previously given.
Again, the enemy always wants to take.
He wants to take background.
That he lost.
In your endeavor to seek the Lord and to know the Lord and to walk.
With the Lord and you.
Need to understand the picture you fight to take territory.
You fight to take ground, and so you work hard and you establish spiritual disciplines.
You establish a devotional life, you establish a relationship with God and you work hard and you fight to know God and to know his.
Willing to walk.
In a way that honors him and glorifies him.
The enemy is not going to rest then and just let you keep walking that way without any response.
He might leave for a little bit until there's an opportune time.
And you're going to need to fight to maintain that victory that has been previously accomplished.
There will be challenges.
To those victories, challenges to those things that God has done previously.
Don't just give them up, don't just surrender them.
Even though the forces may mount and then others may come to help and so the opposition is fierce.
And sometimes we can be really discouraged.
Because it's like, oh man, I thought I was done with this issue.
I thought I was finished.
With that I didn't think.
I didn't think you know husband and wife.
We would ever fight again.
I thought we had resolved all fighting in our marriage for good.
The last time we had this fight I I thought I thought we finished that conversation and that was it and it was done I I thought.
I wrestled those thoughts into captivity.
They were locked up with Jesus and I would never have those thoughts again.
I thought I would always have.
Uh, strong worship life and be able to just enter into the presence of the Lord and sing him praises.
And I fought hard to to get that, but then I thought, oh that's always going to be the case.
I'm just going to be able to walk into church and just sing out praises and worship the Lord in a beautiful and intimate way.
I I just I thought that.
Was always going to be the case.
And sometimes we can be really discouraged when we're kind of faced with reality and all of a sudden it's a struggle.
I don't I.
Don't feel the same things as I worship as I used to.
I don't experience the same relationship that I once had, or now we're fighting over these things that I didn't think we would ever fight about again, or we're having these struggles that that.
I didn't think we would struggle with again.
There's going to be those oppositions.
Don't get discouraged by it.
It's not the end of your account.
Your story is still unfolding as God is telling it, and as you continue to fight the good fight of faith, the end result will be.
That victory
But it doesn't mean that there won't be opposition.
Along the way.
Paul says in Philippians chapter 3 verse 16 to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same role.
Let us.
Be of the same mind.
Talking about the battles between believers and the different ideas about things that sometimes happen amongst believers and the struggles that happened there.
But but I like what he just kind of throws in here to the degree that we've already attained.
You've attained a certain degree of relationship with God, of knowledge of God, of your, Your, your relationship, and your understanding of God.
's plan and purposes you've attained a a certain degree of victory in your life, victory over habits and attitudes and struggles of the flesh you you've attained.
And so we.
Could get all caught up in the arguments about spiritual things and theology of different things or political things.
If you want to right but but if that takes away from and now we lose ground.
We're so caught up with, you know, making this theological point that we now lose ground in these areas of.
Our lives at once were areas of victory where we had obtained promises of God.
Lost sight of what really matters, to the degree that we've already attained, let's let's walk by that rule.
Let's let's measure up.
To those things that God has previously accomplished in our lives.
You need to understand that sometimes there is going to be.
A fight.
Sometimes it's going to.
Be a fight.
With the people around you and sometimes God is going to call you to say.
You have to battle.
There's this personal situation.
There is this confrontation that needs to happen.
Sometimes you're gonna have.
To fight to hold that ground.
Peace at all costs is not what God wants.
God wants us to maintain.
The victories?
The promises that he's given to us and again, just because God wants it for you doesn't mean you won't have to fight for it.
God wants you to hold on to those promises.
He wants you to stay in that place of victory, but that doesn't mean that you're just going to automatically stay there without any fight or.
Effort on your own.
And so again, I would ask you to consider your spiritual life.
Is it more like Saul's map or more?
Like David's map.
Saul was losing ground left and right.
The Philistines were going further and further in taking more and more territory.
He fought a lot of battles.
But they lost a lot of ground.
David had his victories also had his defeats.
But as you see, he progressed.
Here in the case of Hadadezer he held his ground and said no, I'm not surrendering the north to you.
You don't get to keep that God given us this he's promised.
It to us.
And so I'm going to hold my ground and fight.
To maintain the victory that God has given to us.
Moving on to verses 9 through 12, we get point #3 and that's faith. Fights serve people and.
God, so as we seek to walk by faith and it involves fights, it involves battles and there's real struggles and and ferociousness and fierceness and difficulty and uncertainty involved.
In all of that.
One of the things that we can take heart in and understand is that as we're endeavoring to fight the good fight of faith.
It's not just.
For our own personal benefit only.
But when we fight the good fight of faith, it serves people.
Other people are impacted and blessed.
And of course it also serves God check out verse 9 and 10.
It says when Toy King of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of had easier then Toy sent Joram his son to King David to greet him and bless him because he had fought against had easier and defeated him.
For had a diser had been at war with toy.
And Jorum brought with him articles of silver Articles of gold and articles of bronze.
Interesting account here.
David, he's fighting to maintain what God has given to them.
He doesn't set out to defend this other guy toy.
He doesn't set out to, you know, go do something nice for this guy, right?
He's fighting to hold on to what God has already given to them previously.
But as David fights that fight and maintains that ground that God had given to them.
As a side effect, as a kind of a a side thing not intended by David but.
My God.
Toy this other guy.
He is blessed.
He's ministered to, he's relieved.
Because had a diser had been causing him trouble also, and so David Victory in his own life for his own Kingdom for the Lord.
Also turns out to be a victory that impacts and blesses.
Other people.
This is really important to consider as we think about fighting, right?
Again, God doesn't always call us to avoid a fight.
Of course, he doesn't always call us to run to a fight either, but he does call us to fight when it's appropriate and it is going to be a fight to obtain.
God promises to maintain the ground that he's given to us.
There's going to be real battles in every sense of the word.
But at the same.
Time when the fight.
Is not the good fight of faith.
Then it doesn't accomplish the same things.
I was thinking about what James wrote in James Chapter one, verse 19 and 20.
He said so.
Then my beloved brethren.
Let every man be swift to hear, slow, to speak, and slow to wrath, and he explains why.
For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
The wrath of man doesn't accomplish the same things that the wrath of God accomplishes.
The wrath of God accomplishes the purposes of God, the righteousness of God.
But the wrath of man does not, and so every fight is not necessarily a good thing.
I think we all can understand that and know that, but we need to be mindful that when we fight the good fight of faith, you know what it produces.
The righteousness of God not just for ourselves, but but there's a overflow.
There's a.
There's an impact to people around us, and so totally here is like whoo, I'm so relieved.
So refresh so renewed and blessed.
Because David you fought had a dizer and it wasn't for me.
You weren't coming to my defense, but in accomplishing your own victory.
David, you accomplished a victory for me as well.
It's been shared many times.
The best thing.
That you can do.
For your family, the best thing that you can do for your children, the best thing that you can do for your spouse.
The best thing that you can do for the.
People that you love.
Is to be in a right relationship with God, no matter what it costs, no matter.
What it takes?
To pursue God to know God, to love God, to walk with God, to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
That's what your loved ones need the most from you.
And when you fight to walk with God in that way, when you fight to obtain that promise and they'll hold that ground.
That will accomplish the purposes of God and the righteousness of God.
Feats fights serve people.
And serve the Lord.
Check out verse 11 and 12.
It says King David also dedicated these to the Lord along with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued from Syria from Moab, from the people of Ammon from the Philistines from Amalek, from the soil of had.
These are the son of Rehob and king of Zobah.
Here it records for us.
David is storing up all of these things and a storehouse dedicated.
To the Lord.
Now that's going to become significant later on when his son Solomon rises.
To the throne.
And receives the opportunity to build the House for the Lord that David wanted to build.
That's what chapter.
Seven was about.
Right, David wants to build God a house.
But God says, that's not your place, that's not your role.
David, your son will be the.
One to build that house.
And so David says, but.
It's my dream, it's my.
I've always wanted to build, got a house OK I can't build.
Got a house?
So what I'm going to do is I'm going to fight some hard battles.
I'm going to risk my life.
I'm going to go to war.
I'm going to receive the spoils of war while we're obtaining the promises of God, and I'm going to store up all of those things.
So that Solomon has everything that he needs.
I'm going to provide for him in this way, and so David fights serve people.
It serves toy that serves Solomon and of course it serves God as these things are dedicated to the Lord, unused for the glory of God in the building of the temple later on.
The fights of faith, although they're scary and fierce and dangerous and hard and difficult.
They accomplish God's purposes.
Not just in our own lives, but in the lives of people around us as well.
Faith fights serve people and God. Well, finally point #4 will look at verses 13 through 18 point #4 is that faith fights to preserve order. Faith fights to preserve order. Verse 13 through 15 says this.
And David made himself a name when he returned from killing 18,000 Syrians in the valley of Salt.
He also put garrisons in Edam.
Throughout Alidam he put garrisons and all the Edomites became David servants, and the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
So David reigned over all Israel, and David administered judgment and justice to all his people.
David made a name for himself.
Of course, that's not his purpose in life, right?
That's not what he was out to accomplish, but he made a name for himself by trusting God by going.
2 battle by fighting the Lords battles and trusting God in the midst of it.
He developed a reputation.
A man after God's own heart.
That was the reputation of David.
As he came back from killing 18,000 Syrians in the valley of Salt, this was a huge victory. He comes back.
But the battle is not over.
The work is not done.
In verse 14, it tells us he put garrisons in Edam.
So in verse 13 were up in the north and then David comes back down having victory and he says OK, we got to work on maintaining the South.
Idem is down there in the southern part below Israel, and so he put garrisons there and maintained their presence there.
In idem that was South of Israel, and they became his servants and brought tribute, and again the Lord preserved David wherever he went.
He's taking steps.
He's establishing garrisons.
He's establishing strongholds and saying all right we're going to preserve what God has provided, and we're going to.
Preserve the order.
That God is established.
This order is continued to be discovered as we go on in the next verses, as there's all of these different officers and roles within the Kingdom of David that are outlined here.
Verse 13 says David reigned over all Israel.
He reigned over all Israel.
He he reigned.
You know Saul didn't always reign over all Israel.
I mean he was the king over all Israel, but many times he neglected his responsibilities to chase David around in the wilderness, right?
Remember the men of Kela?
They were under attack by the Philistines and David goes to rescue them at the word of the Lord, not Saul, whose job it was to protect them and to fight those battles.
Saul was busy chasing David.
He was not reigning over all Israel, but David reigned over all Israel.
He administered judgment and justice.
It's possible to administer judgment.
But not justice.
To announce a verdict to come to a decision to it, right to to give it a decision but but not to be the right decision.
It's possible to be biased and corrupt in judgment, but but David administered judgment and justice.
What was right in the sight of the Lord?
This always requires a fight.
There's always a battle for righteousness.
With authority with power with judgment.
But David fought to preserve that order to maintain the righteousness of God, justice for his people.
The next few verses go on to outline the different roles that.
Certain people had within his administration.
Verse 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army.
Jehoshaphat the son of a highlord was recorder.
Zadock, the son of high tub and the him lick the sons of Abathar were priests.
Seraiah was described Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and pillow fights and David sons were chief ministers.
Now you read through those verses and again this overview makes everything look like everyone had their perfect right place.
Everything was organized.
It was all neat.
They all knew what their responsibilities were and they all fulfilled their roles.
Amazingly, right, that's kind of like you can walk away with that impression, but.
Again, I would say, hey, let's reflect on this.
This is a review right after the fact.
Looking back, here's the roles that they have.
This in reality though was a new Kingdom.
Saul had been king.
He was the first King of Israel.
In a way, they're kind of like making up what being King of Israel looks like as they go.
There's there's not the hundreds of years of history, you know, leading up to this for them to just OK.
Well, there needs to be OK.
We know that there is the role of the scribe, and so we just need to find the right guy for the role of the scribe.
Right like?
We don't even. Maybe they didn't even know that they needed the role of a scribe at the beginning of David's reign, but through the process of.
Discovery now how do you discover?
The need for roles and need for people in certain positions like this think about acts Chapter 6, right?
There was a new role for service within the church that came from disputes among people threatening, threatening to divide and issues and battles and conflicts within the church.
And what came forth from that was this new opportunity?
This new role within the church to serve?
I would suggest in David's Kingdom.
It wasn't just that everybody had their role, it was just the perfect.
Fit for them.
But that there was disputes there was threats to divide, there was conflict and battles and weaknesses and and issues that had developed and.
These leaders were raised up and set in place over time as things were happening, and again, that's why I worded it this way.
Faith fights to preserve order.
David here is is working putting people in different places.
It doesn't record it here, but we can suggest.
Well, maybe.
Jehoshaphat as recorder.
Maybe that wasn't the first position that he had.
Maybe he served in another position 1st and it didn't go so well.
But in the end, recognizing his strengths and recognizing this need over here, he's put into this role as recorder.
Now again, that doesn't see that, I'm just.
Trying to imagine real life scenarios that probably happened.
Within the administration.
Of David feet fights to preserve order.
You know Satan loves disorder confusion.
He loves to mix things up and get everybody confused so.
That they don't know.
What God has said.
They don't know what God has promised.
They don't know what God wants to do.
He wants disorder and confusion.
And if we allow him to.
He will bring about that disorder and confusion, but feet fights to preserve order.
There's going to be conflict.
There's going to be relationship personality troubles.
It's going to be, you know, issues that arise and there'll be steps that we need to take.
To address those issues.
As they.
Pop up.
Faith fights.
To preserve order.
And so tonight as we look at this recap here, in Second Samuel, Chapter 8 again we see this review.
Of the good fight of faith fought by David, he fought to obtain God, promises he fought to have maintained the victories that God had given to him.
In his fights to fulfill these things and hold on to.
These things it served God, it served.
The people around him.
He worked hard.
He fought to preserve order.
Within the Kingdom.
And establish what was necessary so that they could continue on in the plans of God, and in the purposes of God.
Again, looking at the review of Paul's life, he looks back. He says. I fought the good fight of faith, but to Timothy a little bit earlier. First Timothy Chapter 6.
He encourages him fight the good fight of faith.
And so I would encourage you this evening as you look at the review of David's life as you think about the review of.
The Apostle Paul's life.
Don't judge your current struggles and battles with their end.
Of the story.
But continue to work.
To that end, you'll have that same end.
As you engage in the battle now and fight the good fight of faith, work hard fight.
Be ferocious to obtain the promises of God.
To hold on to the peace that God promises you to hold on to the relationship with him, that he desires for you to have to hold on to the things that he has promised to you in the scriptures or perhaps to you personally.
Fight to obtain those work towards those.
It's not going to happen overnight.
Many times as Guiness God told the Nation of Israel as they step foot into the land.
They're gonna conquer territory step by step.
It was going to be a process, but in the end they would have victory in the land.
Faith fights to maintain past victories.
Are you back?
Struggling in things that God has once delivered you from.
Don't just surrender that area.
Don't give up because you're so discouraged and disappointed that this is still a struggle in your life.
No get back up.
God knows that's why he gives us grace.
He he knows it's accomplished.
It's still paid for by the cross.
So give back up, fight to maintain those past victories.
Regain that ground that is lost, hold on as the enemy comes in and tries to take that back.
Listen as you do, it's going to bless the Lord.
It's going to bless the people around you.
Fight the good fight of faith.
Let's pray loaded, prayed that you would help us.
You know each of us in our situations and what these things mean for us in our circumstances.
Lord, you desire for us to fight the good fight.
Not in a fleshly way or not, with men Ratha menzinger 'cause that doesn't accomplish your purposes.
But to fight.
With your instruments to fight with your methods.
Totally hold off.
And to expend great effort.
Towards accomplishing and receiving from you, what you have given to us.
And so, God, I pray that you would help us encourage us where the enemy wants to give us.
I reason to quit reason to give up Lord.
May we?
Not be fooled.
But may we look to you?
And trust, you, may we have faith.
To give back up to get back in the fight.
And to work hard.
For all that you want to do in US and through us, I pray this in Jesus name.