The Cross – Your Redemption From Shame And Reproach

7 December 2008 - Video message of Pastor Prince was broadcast for all 4 services.

Noted by Yeo Choon Meng Terence from 1st service and CD

Replica of the Wilderness Tabernacle at Timna National Park in Israel

House of the Lord

Ps 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD

We are glad because in the Lord’s house there is healing, miracles, etc

Careers

Find out your calling and you will enjoy the job that comes with it. Example, for pastors, they ought to walk believing that they are eating the fruits of their ministry.

Never forget the poor

ESV, Gal 2:10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

KJV, Ps 41:11 Blessed [is] he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.

ESV Pro 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

Renewing our minds

NKJV, Eph 4:21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:

Eph 4:22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,

Eph 4:23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

Eph 4:24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Eph 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, “[Let] each one [of you] speak truth with his neighbour,” for we are members of one another.

Note that the exhortation in Eph 4:22 is to put off the “conduct” not the “old man” per se as the “old man” has already died when we received Jesus as saviour.

How do we “put off” the conduct of the old man? By renewing our mentality i.e. the spirit of our minds (Eph 4:23).

True righteousness and holiness is in the “new man” (Eph 4:24).

True holiness is not something you have to manufacture as an expression outwardly for the world to see. It is something which you are not even aware of when it manifests as you start believing that in Christ you are truly holy and righteous.

Christianity is not religion, where you do to become. In Christianity, it is a dynamic relationship with Jesus, where we have become. Now, we work out or express what we have already become.

How God wants to defeat the wrong Goliath mentality in our lives

NKJV 1 Sam 17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim.

1 Sam 17:2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.

1 Sam 17:3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

1 Sam 17:4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height [was] six cubits and a span.

1 Sam 17:5 [He had] a bronze helmet on his head, and he [was] armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat [was] five thousand shekels of bronze.

1 Sam 17:6 And [he had] bronze armour on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders.

1 Sam 17:7 Now the staff of his spear [was] like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead [weighed] six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him.

1 Sam 17:8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? [Am] I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.

1 Sam 17:9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”

1 Sam 17:10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”

1 Sam 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

1 Sam 17:12 Now David [was] the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name [was] Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced [in years], in the days of Saul.

1 Sam 17:13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle [were] Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

1 Sam 17:14 David [was] the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul.

1 Sam 17:15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

1 Sam 17:16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.

Note (1 Sam 17:2) the Philistines could not go beyond Ephes Dammin (Hebrew definition: Boundary of Blood) to attack Israel.

Ephes – Hebrew means: boundary; Dammin means: blood (in plural).

Satan cannot cross over the Boundary of Jesus’ blood attack our lives.

Devil’s modus operandi

As devil cannot cross over the bloodline to attack us. He has to deceive etc us into going over the bloodline and cross into the low place of defeat from the high place of Grace in which we are now.

The Philistines were afraid and refused to go out in full frontal attack (1 Sam 17:3-4) and chose Goliath as a champion to represent them against Israel in battle.

We can see from this incident that the devil is not all-powerful. If he were, he would have attacked immediately. The blood line of Jesus stopped them.

Goliath – stamped with the number 6

Goliath of Gath had height of 6 cubits and a span (1 Sam 17:4). The spearhead of Goliath’s spear was 600 shekels (1 Sam 17:7).

Goliath had 6 pieces of armour/weaponry: (1) bronze helmet, (2) coat of mail, (3) bronze armour on legs, (4) bronze javelin, (5) spear with iron spearhead, and (6) shield

Goliath in the Hebrew means stripped or exile.

Therefore Goliath is a picture of the enemy that Jesus has stripped (Col 2:15).

Gath in the Hebrew means winepress.

What does the winepress symbolise in bible typology?

Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Thus the winepress symbolises the wrath of God reserved for His enemies.

Putting the words together, we realise that Goliath from Gath is a stripped exile because of the wrath of God.

Goliath comes against us to make us feel naked or stripped and as if we are without our robes of righteousness. This tactic is as old as Eden (recall that God in Gen 3:11 asked Adam and Eve “Who told you that you were naked?” implying that it was the devil who put this thought in their minds).

Anytime you feel stripped, exiled, you have had a Goliath experience. Such Goliath experiences can come in the form of misguided preaching or books, etc.

The Goliath experience is the judgment mentality making us feel stripped.

This is how the devil comes against us, by making us feel naked. This is how he attacks or accuses us, by making us feel exiled, not loved, accepted, etc. The objective is to carry the children of God into exile.

Rainbow mentality aka no-judgment mentality

Christians ought to model themselves unto Jesus who has a rainbow or no judgment mentality towards His children.

Jesus has a rainbow crowning his head (Rev 10) and reading this with Isa 54:9, we have the assurance that God has no judgment towards those who believe in His Son.

Hebrew root word for Philistine

The Hebrew root word for English word translated as Philistine is transliterated ( Strong’s 6428 ) as palash and it means to wallow or to roll in ashes or dust.

The name for the modern-day Palestinians, who like the ancient Philistines also come against Israel, is derived from palash and Philistine.

Job in Job 42:6 said he wanted to “repent in dust and ashes” and elsewhere in the OT, individuals would put dust on their heads and wear sackcloth in times of mourning [Editor: an example is Lam 2:10].

Dust thus speaks of guilt and feeling dirty.

Thus the Philistine spirit is one which makes you feel dirty and guilty, and therefore to want to wash.

Man is humbled as he came from dust. Man became dignified when God breathed the breath of life into him and Man became a living soul (Gen 2:7). After the Fall, Man’s spirit became cut off from God and now he is dust again (Gen 3:19 “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”)

Gen 3:14 tells us that God punished the devil / snake by condemning him to eat dust.

Thus if you feel dirty or dusty, you are potential prey or food for the devil!

Don’t let any preaching or books make you feel dirty and you will avoid becoming food for the devil.

When you feel dusty or dirty, you know that you just encountered the spirit of Goliath the Philistine. Reject this!

Israel crossed Red Sea and Jordan

The Red Sea symbolises Jesus dying for us on the Cross and shedding His blood for us.

The Jordan symbolises Jesus identifying with us and crossing over the other side and into the resurrection, having paid our sin debt.

Jos 4:3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

Jos 4:8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

There was a shorter route for the Children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan. Yet God caused them to go about what appeared the more round-about route through the Red Sea and Jordan before they could enter the Promise Land. Why? God wanted the Israelites to go via the Cross (Red Sea and Jordan) to inherit the land.

Everything we desire in our own promised land must come through the Cross and not our own efforts.

All we ought to do is to thank Him and receive.

Those who are good receivers of more and more of God’s Grace are later better and better at execution, doing etc.

Christians who are good receivers are good givers, servers, achievers, husbands, fathers, wives, mothers, etc

Christianity is a life of receiving from start to finish.

Salvation, the greatest gift, came from just receiving.

Philistine “no Cross” spirit

The Philistines were originally from the islands in the Mediterranean but settled in Egypt for some period of time. The Philistines went straight from Egypt into Canaan without crossing either of the Red Sea or Jordan. The Philistine spirit can thus be identified as the spirit of bypassing the Cross or the no Cross spirit or Cross not enough spirit.

The Philistine spirit says that you must receive by your effort. It makes us feel dirty and as if we have been rolling in the dust. The Philistine spirit causes us to focus on our actions and not Jesus.

Recall that it is simply beholding Jesus that we are transformed.

2 Cr 3:19 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Bronze helmet on Goliath’s head

Bronze in the scriptures is used to symbolise judgment especially of God’s. (Example: The Brazen Altar of the Tabernacle in which the sacrifices were offered to God and upon which the fire of Heaven came to consume the sacrifice)

Goliath had a bronze helmet (1 Sam 17:5). Contrast this to Jesus (Rev 10) who has a rainbow or no judgment mentality crowning Him. We as Christians ought to have this same no judgment mentality towards our fellow human beings. Towards fellow Christians, we ought to see them as clothed in righteousness and to not judge them.

Spouses do not have judgment mentality towards each other. We ought to just love each other.

Christians, when you have read a book, or hear preaching in which you feel judged, know that you have encountered the Goliath spirit.

Coat of Mail

Goliath also wore a coat of mail which consisted of scales of bronze (1 Sam 17:5).

This means that even Goliath’s heart or bosom had no love for others as it was hemmed in by the armour of bronze or judgment mentality.

Spouses, don’t have hearts hemmed in by a judgment mentality. Example: Don’t scold your wife for not spending time in the Word or not being good at certain tasks. This is the spirit of Goliath — whereby love is not expressly freely and unconditionally.

Towards kids, there is a time for loving correction. The default mode should not be constant judgment such that kids cower in fear towards you. Express love to kids in words, actions and spend time with them.

Everything about Goliath is judgment

Goliath even had bronze armour on his legs (1 Sam 17:6) i.e. he stands on judgment.

Goliath also had a bronze javelin (1 Sam 17:6). [Editor: The javeline is a missile weapon which reminds me of the fiery darts of the devil (Eph 6:16).]

Bronze is something outside of God

For instance, the brazen altar is outside the Tabernacle. [Editor: Jesus was crucified outside the camp / city of Jerusalem.]

All that is inside (the furniture, etc) the Tabernacle is Gold!

The further away you are from God, you see bronze or judgment.

The closer you get to the Tabernacle / God, you see other fellow Believers covered in Gold (type of divine righteousness of God) and you see them in righteousness.

Primary weapons of devil are words spoken in defiance

1 Sam 17:8-9 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? [Am] I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.”

One could say that Goliath was saying in the above passage that he was boasting that he is a Philistine, a wallower in the dust.

Although Goliath or the devil has swords, etc, his primary weapons of choice are words spoken in defiance.

Long before the devil can execute harm, he has to get his words into our minds.

The devil imitates God. God uses words for creation, redemption, healing etc. The devil uses it for harm.

The Christian’s most powerful weapons are also words.

Defiance

1 Sam 17:10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”

The whole David versus Goliath story in 1 Sam 17 is not just about overcoming the spirit of fear.

It is actually about overcoming the spirit of defiance and reproach from the Goliath spirit.

Jesse and David

1 Sam 17:13 tells us that the 3 oldest sons of Jesse were fighting for King Saul against the Philistines. While David remained at home as the shepherd taking care of the sheep of his father (Jesse).

1 Sam 17:17-18 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.”

Jesse told David to take ten loaves and ten cheeses to his brothers. Why ten? Ten is representative of the whole. So Jesse was saying to his sons, receive these gifts as representation of everything I have.

In typology, it can be seen that the Father (Jesse) sent the shepherd Son (David) to be the Bread of Life (10 loaves of David given to his brothers) to us.

David’s primary concern

1 Sam 17:19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel [were] in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

1 Sam 17:20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took [the things] and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle.

1 Sam 17:21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army.

1 Sam 17:22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.

1 Sam 17:23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard [them].

[Commentary: David arrived to visit his brothers just in time to hear Goliath taunt Israel. ]

1 Sam 17:24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.

1 Sam 17:25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be [that] the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption [from taxes] in Israel.”

1 Sam 17:26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

Notice that David’s primary concern was the devil’s or Goliath’s reproach of Israel.

The real threat of Goliath was the words of reproach and defiance and not Goliath’s physical size or weapons. This is also how the devil comes against us.

The word translated as “reproach” in 1 Sam 17:26 is the Hebrew word transliterated as kherpa or cherpa (Strong’s 2781) and can be understood as reproach, scorn or contempt. Reproach that is resting upon condition of shame or disgrace.

The root word of kherpa is the Hebrew word transliterated as kharaf or charaf ( Strong’s 2778 ) and means to reproach, taunt, blaspheme, defy, jeopardise, rail, or upbraid. In fact, kharaf is translated as “defy” in 1 Sam 17:10 “And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”

Therefore, the whole story of 1 Sam 17, is about the devil’s reproach on the Children of God.

Deal with any secret shame by way of the Cross of Jesus

Shame is spirit brought about by devil (Goliath).

Shame causes an individual to feel guilty and to feel condemned about that particular sin in his life. This would very likely cause him to repeat the very same sin.

Guilt, shame, and condemnation empower addiction.

Addiction is a spirit or stronghold. So mere will-power is not enough to prevail over the addiction.

Deal with the shame by looking to Jesus who was stripped and shamed on the Cross for us. He took our shame.

There are testimonies of people who were addicted to tobacco. But when these people who were slaves to a mere plant realised that there is no more shame for them in Jesus; that there is no reproach in Christ even when they are smoking, they were set free from the addiction and in time manifested the freedom from tobacco as a visible outward expression.

We are made to rule over plants and not have tobacco or any other plant rule over us.

The strength of sin is the Law (1 Cr 15:56).

The words of Goliath caused Israel to cower but those same words made David angry “… For who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam 17:26)

Canada preacher

In Canada, there was a TV preacher who preached the Law and said “Shame on you …” This TV preacher was imitating the Goliath spirit!

Pastor Prince was surprised that such preachers were on TV. God then impressed on Pastor Prince’s heart that these people were on TV simply because preachers of Grace like himself were not on TV preaching Jesus. This prompted Pastor Prince to launch his TV ministry.

Zeal of my house

Jn 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

This is taken from the Messianic Psalm 69

Ps 69:9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches [Strong's 2781 kherpa] of them that reproached [Strong's 2788 kharaf ] thee are fallen upon me.

[Editor: Jesus has taken all our approach on the Cross. Hallelujah! ]

Ps 69:7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

Jesus was naked in Pontius Pilate’s judgment hall and thus shamed.

Ps 69:19 Thou hast known my reproach [Strong's 2781 kherpa], and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.

Ps 69:20 Reproach [Strong's 2781 kherpa] hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness [Strong's 5136 nuwsh]: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Ps 69:21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

This is definitely pointing to Jesus Christ at the Cross as he was given vinegar.

Nuwsh

The word which is transliterated as nuwsh or nush can also be understood to mean sickness.

Thus Ps 69:20 can be understood as “Reproach has broken my heart; and I am full of sickness”

When one feels shame, it breaks the heart. When the heart is broken, your body becomes sick. In other words, when you have a heavy heart brought about by shame, you are prey for sickness.

Jesus Christ broke His heart with reproach, so that we won’t have our hearts broken.

Many are sick because they fail to discern Jesus’ body broken so that ours are healed.

Some of our older brothers

1 Sam 17:27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”

1 Sam 17:28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

1 Sam 17:29 And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?”

1 Sam 17:30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

The comment by Eliab in 1 Sam 17:28 to David sounds a lot like what we receive from some of our older brothers or other relatives. This is especially hurting when it is coming from family members who have misread your heart and intentions.

But look at David’s response to such attacks from relatives! He simply answers back in one simple sentence (1 Sam 17:29) and the turns away (1 Sam 17:30).

This is the lesson for us when confronted by enemy attacks. Simply refuse to waste time and energy. Simply turn away from the reproach.

Turn away from relatives who say nasty things to you. Let Jesus be your defence.

What Eliab interpreted as pride was actually David’s faith in our Living God. True faith is a good opinion of God. That is what David demonstrated in 1 Sam 17:26.

David spoke the way he did in 1 Sam 17:26 because he understood his covenant with God. However, the rest of David’s brothers simply did not believe that God would fight their battles for them.

Circumcision of the heart

Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ

Today in the New Covenant, as believers, we have all been circumcised spiritually by Jesus Christ. (See also Deu 30:6)

[Editor Comments: Circumcision in the OT was a picture of covenant with the Lord. It was a picture of identification with God and dependence on Him because the act of circumcision made the male weak in and of himself.]

The first thing that Joshua did when he entered Canaan was to circumcise the males (Joshua 5) at Gilgal.

In the natural, this is not the best thing to do tactically as after the act of circumcision, the male was weak in and of himself, and defenceless while Israel was fresh into enemy territory.

Joshua 5:9 And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach [Strong's 2781 kherpa] of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

Gilgal means: a wheel or rolling away.

God was saying in Joshua that today, He had rolled away the reproach of Egypt in the minds of the Israelites. Hitherto, they were physically out of Egypt but they still retained a slave mentality.

When Joshua circumcised the males of Israel before attacking Jericho, he made them weak in and of themselves and so that they had to trust wholly in the Lord. God rolled away their reproach and this was the beginning of the double-portion anointing which culminates in Elijah’s story.

In other words, Israel could not previously claim their Promised Land as they still had slave mentality in them. In Gigal, God got rid of this mentality and put them on their way to the double-portion anointing seen in Elijah’s story.

Isa 54:4-5 Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; Neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth, And will not remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore. For your Maker [is] your husband, The LORD of hosts [is] His name; And your Redeemer [is] the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.

David went to battle as shepherd

1 Sam 17:31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported [them] to Saul; and he sent for him.

1 Sam 17:32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

1 Sam 17:33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you [are] a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

1 Sam 17:34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,

1 Sam 17:35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered [the lamb] from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught [it] by its beard, and struck and killed it.

1 Sam 17:36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”

1 Sam 17:37 Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”

1 Sam 17:38 So Saul clothed David with his armour, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail.

1 Sam 17:39 David fastened his sword to his armour and tried to walk, for he had not tested [them]. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested [them].” So David took them off.

1 Sam 17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.

We see in 1 Sam 17:38 that Saul wanted to clothe David with bronze armour i.e. judgment mentality. David wisely took of them off. He could not walk in them (1 Sam 17:39).

David went as a shepherd (1 Sam 17:40). You cannot fight judgment (Goliath) with judgment. You have to fight it in Jesus Christ (shepherd)!

Folks, do not meet your problems with a judgment mentality. Meet them in the heavenly shepherd’s clothes i.e in Christ.

Pastors are called to destroy the judgment mentality in people’s lives and not create one in their lives!

5 smooth stones (1 Sam 17:40)

1 Pe 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We the Church are living stones — God’s people.

The 5 stones also speak of the 5-fold ministry.

Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be (1) apostles, (2) some prophets, (3) some evangelists, and (4) some pastors and (5) teachers

David in 1 Sam 17:40 took the stones from the brook. Indeed the water of the Word made the stones (the Church) smooth so that our Heavenly David can use them to judge the enemy and his judgment mentality.

David went to meet Goliath as Pastor-Shepherd.

The water in the brook washing the stones also speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit as “living water” ( John 7:38 ).

The Battle

1 Sam 17:41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield [went] before him.

1 Sam 17:42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was [only] a youth, ruddy and good-looking.

1 Sam 17:43 So the Philistine said to David, “[Am] I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

1 Sam 17:44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

1 Sam 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

1 Sam 17:46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

1 Sam 17:47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle [is] the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

1 Sam 17:48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

1 Sam 17:49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung [it] and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.

1 Sam 17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But [there was] no sword in the hand of David.

1 Sam 17:51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

1 Sam 17:52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron.

1 Sam 17:53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents.

1 Sam 17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armour in his tent.

We see in 1 Sam 17:49 that the stone that was unleashed from David’s sling penetrated into Goliath’s head. David made sure that the Goliath / judgment mentality was destroyed to its very roots! Praise God!

Goliath then fell down as if in obeisance to the God of Israel. The judgment mentality must bow before God and His people.

Any spirit that negates Jesus Christ is the spirit of anti-Christ. In these last days, the spirit of anti-Christ is drawing to a close.

Ekron and Shaaraim

The Hebrew word translated as Ekron in 1 Sam 17:52 means: torn up by the roots i.e. uprooted ( Strong’s 6138 ).

The Hebrew word translated as Shaariam in 1 Sam 17:52 means: double gates (Strong’s 8189).

What are these double gates in typology?

The remind us of the “gates of Hell” in Matt 16:18 whereby Jesus proclaimed “… and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”

Gates speak about being in a position of defence. Indeed the Church is attacking and the devil is defending at his gates. We are winning already and the devil is in the place of defeat.

The last of the devil’s defensive weapons are his gates of “… as Gath and Ekron”

Gath as we have seen earlier means winepress or anger.

Pro 19:12 The king’s wrath is as the roaring of a lion

The devil impersonates Jesus Christ (the king) and comes as a roaring lion ( 1 Peter 5:8 ) — Gath spirit

Devil also attacks by making you have a sense of being uprooted. Examples: By making you feel that you are righteous only for today and not forever. By making you feel exiled and like a servant and not a child of God.

[Editor: Be watchful, anytime, you feel roared at, raise the banner of Jesus against the enemy and you will not be uprooted.]

The gates of Gath and Ekron are coming down in these last days.

Be watchful of any teachings that manifest Ekron and Gath. Examples: Once saved but not eternally saved.

David used Goliath’s weapons against him

We see in 1 Sam 17:51 that David used Goliath’s own sword to slay him.

This foretells how Jesus used the devil’s weapon of death to conquer death and the devil at the Cross!

Heb 2:17 “…. that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil …”

Goliath’s head buried in Jerusalem

1 Sam 17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armour in his tent.

Most likely, as some rabbis say, God showed David where to bury Goliath’s head in Jerusalem and to place it near the side of the road to Damascus. This is where Calvary or Golgotha is today. Indeed, Golgotha appears to have the etymology of Goliath of Gath.

Why? This was to fulfill the promise by God to Adam and Eve in Eden that their seed would crush the serpent’s head.

How? Jesus crucified at Calvary would literally be crushing the head of a greater Goliath — Satan himself.

JESUS, the greater son of David, will conquer a greater Goliath and crush his head in our lives.

God wants to remove shame and spirit of reproach from the Church. He wants us free from guilt, shame and reproach. Jesus shall do this in all our lives. This is His heart for us. He does not want a judgment mentality from the enemy in us or in us for others.

Judgment mentality must be judged by Jesus and be stoned and brought to an end!

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: THE ABOVE NOTES WERE DRAFTED BY, DEVELOPED, COMPILED AND ORGANISED BY YEO CHOON MENG TERENCE IN HIS PERSONAL CAPACITY ON 17 DECEMBER 2008 AND THEY ARE NOT REPRESENTATIONS OF, ATTRIBUTABLE TO OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH NEW CREATION CHURCH OR JOSEPH PRINCE MINISTRIES.