Stop Trying to Be the Hero: Understanding Representative Warfare

We spend our whole lives trying to be David—trying to be the hero of our own stories. But after 50 years of ministry and a battle with Stage 4 cancer, Austin Gardner has realized that the pressure is off.

In this episode of the DNA of Grace series, we look at 1 Samuel 17 and Romans 5 to see that Jesus is the real David who fought the battle we couldn't win. Learn why "Together" is the most important word in your Bible and how to finally rest in a victory that is already yours.

Key Takeaway: You don't have to measure up because He already did.

Resources mentioned:

• Visit the Hub: waustingardner.com
• Part 1-7 of the DNA of Grace series is available on the website.

Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Transcript

A Different Reading Of Giants

Austin Gardner 0:27

Most people read David and Goliath's story, and they say, this is a story about how I defeat my giants. But the question is, what if that's not the real story? The Bible is not primarily about you and what you do for God. I need to repeat that. The Bible is not primarily about you and what you do for God, it's about what's been done for you in another. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1.30, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Now here's the lesson: you did not place yourself into Christ. God placed you there. So what if we have just totally misunderstood and distorted the story of David and Goliath? I really believe we live in a very man-centered theology, man-centered idea of God. We're like, God wants me to do this, and God is watching me, and God is judging me, and God is checking on me. When the truth of the matter is, God wants us to realize all that He has done for us. David and Goliath's story. I've been meditating on that, spending quite a bit of time with it, and I'm just excited about it. It's representative warfare. It is representative warfare. That's what the Bible actually teaches. And it says this in 1 Samuel 17, 8 through 9. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel and said to them, Why are you come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine and you are servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me and to kill me, then will we be then be your servants? But if I prevail against him and kill him, then shall you be our servants and serve us. Now, do you understand? Did you pay attention? I know you've heard the story, and I know you know that. This is nothing new. But I spent many years thinking about, boy, I want to be David. And it was really not about me being David. It was about me realizing David represented Jesus. Here's a lesson that we get. One man represents all. One man represents all. The outcome of one will equal the outcome of many. One. If Goliath wins, the Philistines win. If David wins, the Israelites win. Now we, I don't want you to feel like that's weird because we're going somewhere with this. But you need to realize that when you're a college football fan, your team wins, we win. When our army goes out and maybe only 1% of our whole population is on the battlefield, we win. And so we are more accustomed to the idea of a representative than we might admit. And so what I would like to challenge you to do is just go with me and think through this for the fun of it today. See, one man represents all. The outcome of one will be the outcome of many. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 17, 11, when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistines, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. Now, it's been going on for weeks. I mean, like, what is it, six, nearly six weeks, morning and night, they're being tormented and tortured. And here's what we have: Israel does not fight. They stand there cowering and afraid. They know they can't win. They see the great giant. Then David steps forward. And David alone fights. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 17, 50, so David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and he smote the Philistine and slew him, but there was no sword in the hand of David. You see, he goes out, and that's the victory moment. He kills him. The whole nation is quivering. Saul is in his tent, terrified, and they win. And you know what happened? 1 Samuel 1752. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines. David defeats Goliath, and all of a sudden the men are excited and they jump up and they run. They did not win the battle, but they shared in the victory. Hang on, we're going somewhere. They didn't win the battle, but they shared in the victory. So the idea is in Scripture, identity is shared, not isolated. You are never just you in the Bible. You're always in someone. You're always in someone. An example would be Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 1: for every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men and the things pertaining to God. That means one man represented all of them. And we know that when we read when we read our Bible and we read about what's going on in the temple and the tabernacle, we understand that. And here's where we pause just a minute for you to think with me. You know this. I know you know it. I'm just trying to emphasize something the Lord's teaching me. You see, in Adam all die, and every human being is in Adam. We were born into Adam. We have his characteristics. We're sinful, we're we want our own way, but we're rebellious. We're going to die. We are in Adam. But the truth is that when you get born again, you get born into Adam, you get born again into Christ. When you get born again into Christ, now we are different. I want you to realize that David and Goliath is an introductory to being in Christ and not in Adam, or being in Adam and not in Christ. The Bible says in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Now, isn't that an interesting way that the Holy Spirit put that? One man, Adam, sinned, and sin entered into the world, and then death came by sin, and now all men die, and all men have sinned. You see, in Adam, in Adam, we pick up Adam's characteristics. Adam is our federal head, some of us call it. Bible people call it. He's our representative. We were in Adam. Then Romans chapter 5 and verse 19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. And if one man disobeyed, this is Romans 519. One man, Adam, disobeyed, and many were made sinners. Catch that. So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. So it was the disobedience by one that many became sinners, and it's by the obedience of one that many shall be made righteous. I didn't say that. That's straight out of the Bible. Okay. You were not physically in Eden, but you were in Adam. Because you see, we're all in the loins of our parents. That's another interesting aside when you ever look at it. Levi paid tax tithes. Levi paid tithes in Abraham because he was in Abraham's loins. That's Hebrews chapter 7. That's just an aside, but it's still the same truth. It's all through the scripture. And this is vitally important for you to relax and not be so tired and beat up in Christianity. You see, for all, as in 1 Corinthians 15, 22, for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Wow, there it is. In Adam all die, in Christ all are made alive. In Adam, in Adam, the head, all die. In Christ, they're all made alive. So just as you were in Adam, now you are in Christ. If you've trusted him, you are in him. Now, what does that mean for us to be in Christ? What does that really mean? Well, it's not about imitation. And that is something we teach so much. We need to act like Christ. What would Jesus do? That is not, it wasn't what will David do? What will Goliath do? What will Adam do? That's not it. You realize you're in David when he wins that battle. You're in Christ. So it's union with Christ. See, that's what the Bible says in Colossians 3.3. For you are dead. Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Now that's where we are. We are hid with Christ in God. That's one of the verses that just constantly comes to the front in my life. Galatians 2.20. I am crucified with Christ. I died with Christ. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. This is a wild and crazy verse and hard to understand. I spent years saying you need to crucify your old self, but that's not what's happening. His death equals your death. That's what's being said here. I'm crucified with Christ, and nevertheless I live. His life equals your life. That's what's being said here. In Ephesians 2, 5 and 6, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace are you saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You see the word together in the verse? The word together, he hath raised us up together. You were included, not excluded. We are in Christ. Now that pattern runs all through the scripture. I challenge you to study it. I'm not here to be your definitive teacher. I'm here for the Holy Spirit to share with you what he's sharing with me. Boys is great. In the Exodus chapter 12 and verse 13, and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over. That's the Passover story. We just celebrated Easter. Do you realize there was a representative? The lamb died, the people lived who were under the blood in the house with the blood on it. There was a bronze serpent in Numbers 21, 8 and 9. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass that everyone that is bitten when he looks unto it shall live. So they were bitten, they were in trouble, we're bitten, we're in trouble. They looked to the brown serpent and they live. We look to Christ and we live. And Jesus connects it to make sure we don't misunderstand. In John 3, 14 and 15, the Bible says, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. So Jesus is represented in that bronze serpent that saved people that were bitten. So here's the lesson. Salvation always comes through another. See, David is going to rescue the nation of Israel that day. They're a beaten and defeated people till David steps up. We are a beaten and defeated people till Jesus steps up. Here it comes. He's the one who wins over Satan. I know we spend all that time telling people you need to do it, but that's not what we see here. In Isaiah 63.3 it says, I have trodden the wine press alone. And of the people there was none with me. Jesus did it all, and he did it by himself. But we share in that victory. We share in that victory. The Bible says in Colossians 2.15, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. You see, we are in Christ. Well, that changes the David Goliath story, doesn't it? I want to be David, I want to fight the enemies, I want to do this, and uh God wants me to do this. No, no, no. God said, just sit on the sidelines. You can't, but I can. And Jesus steps forward. And that's why it says in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Because in Christ we become new. So you're not the hero of the story. I'm not the hero of the story. You are the one the hero came to represent. And the gospel is not that you must become like David, but that you are already in David's greater son, and because of him, the victory is already yours. So here it is. This man-centered thing is look, I should have been like David. I should have gone out there and fought the giant. No, we realize we couldn't win, we couldn't have it, but Jesus did, and in Jesus, we are victors. I hope you leave realizing you're putting too much pressure on you. You are beating yourself up because you can't beat the giant. You're beating yourself up because you don't measure up and you're not good enough. You don't know how to use your sling well enough. You've been cowering in the sidelines and you're beating yourself up and you hate yourself. Well, he wants you just to say, no, praise David. Praise Jesus who did it all. We look at it, we're like, I need to, I need to, I should. Preachers are like, you have to, you ought to. And Jesus is like, you guys can't, and you've all sinned and come short, but I can. Watch me save you. Now, I don't know. I've had fun just sharing with you. I don't know what you'll get out of it. I don't know what you'll take, but I pray you do. And I pray you share it with some other friends. And let's let people know it's about Jesus. It's about Jesus. Thank you so much for listening. If it at all has blessed you, share it with somebody. Invite somebody else to be a part of it. And I'll give you praise for, well, I'll give him praise for all he does because it is all Jesus. I think it's the first time in my life I'm really coming to realize it. Austin, you're the coward. You're not David. I wanted to be David so much. I even preached a young missionary should be like David. But we need to be looking at Jesus and saying, I couldn't do it. But Jesus could, and Jesus did. God bless you. Have a good rest of your day.