THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE BLESSING OF THE LORD !

THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE BLESSING OF THE LORD ! Goliath said, am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves ? . . . Come to me, and I will give thy flesh and to the fowls of the air, and to the beast of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, thou comes to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of THE LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled. This day will THE LORD delivered thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcass of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that THE LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is THE LORD'S and he will give you into our hands (verses 43-47). Do you see what David was doing ? Can you catch the spirit of what he was saying ? He was talking about THE BLESSING that was on him. He was declaring his God-given dominion. He even said, "News of this BLESSING is going worldwide !" He was right, too. His victory over Goliath turned out to be one of the most often told stories of all time. What I like most about this story is the way it ended. After David felled the giant with his slingshot, he clammed up on the Giants chest and cut his head off. Then, he grabbed the Giants head by the hair and started running, swinging it as he went. What to know where he ran ? Two Goliath's home town ! Can you imagine it ? David and the Israelite army chased the entire Philistine army back to the birthplace of their defeated champion. When it was all over, David took Goliath's armor and hung it up in his room. That's what the Bible says (verse 54), and it proves he was just like every other 17 year old boy who puts his trophies on his bedroom wall. He was a typical teenager in every way but one: His faith was not in himself but in THE BLESSING that was on him. He believed in the power of THE BLESSING of Abraham, which was THE BLESSING of Adam, which is THE BLESSING of God. THE TITHING CONNECTION : Amazing as it may seem, when Abraham and his servants whipped Ched's army, he didn't yet have a full revelation of everything THE BLESSING included. He understood that it caused him to prosper financially because wherever he went, the area flourished and he became richer. He also knew that THE BLESSING empowered him to triumph over his foes (and over the foes of his relatives, which was a good thing for Lot). Every time anyone came against him, His covenant word from God was enforce-- "I will BLESS them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee" (Genesis 12:3) ! Abraham didn't know the full magnitude of THE BLESSING, however, until he brought Lot and his family home after the slaughter of Chedorlaomer. On that day, the King of Salem went out to meet him: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he BLESSED him, and said, BLESSED be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And BLESSED be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him . tithes of all (Genesis 14:18-20). Underlying this verse in your Bible . Draw stars around them. Do whatever you have to do to signify this is vital information ! Why is it so important ? Because through Melchizedek, God revealed to Abraham the stunning, good news that THE BLESSING has made him possessor of heaven and earth. Through this one-of-a-kind, Old Testament priest, God made it clear to Abraham and that he'd become heir of Adam's BLESSING. He'd been given dominion over everything ! The Bible calls that revelation THE GOSPEL. How could that be the gospel ? Jesus hadn't even been born when Melchizedek said those things. That's true, but even so, the New testament says that "the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be BLESSED."