Godchaser Podcast
Join Evan Evans on The God Chaser Podcast, a weekly exploration of faith, spirituality, and personal growth centered on Jesus Christ. Evan, a devoted believer and captivating host guides listeners through engaging conversations and thought-provoking discussions that deepen their understanding of Christ and His teachings.
We delve into topics such as Christ's teachings, the power of prayer, the role of the Holy Spirit, and the importance of community in spiritual growth. The God Chaser Podcast aims to inspire and challenge listeners, equipping them with the tools and insights needed to live a more fulfilling, Christ-centered life.
Whether you're a seasoned believer or just beginning your faith journey, The God Chaser Podcast with Evan Evans supports and nourishes your spiritual growth. Subscribe to Apple Podcasts and join us each week as we chase after the heart of Jesus, embracing the transformative power of His love and grace.
Godchaser Podcast
From Shepherd to Sovereign: Discovering Jesus in the Journey of David
Join me, Evan Evans, on a spiritual expedition as we unearth the timeless lessons from the life of David, the shepherd king, and discover how his journey parallels our own paths in 2025. Ever wondered how greatness can be found in the most hidden places? This episode promises to unveil how private preparation triumphs over public spectacle. We’ll confront our personal giants, inspired by David’s faith-first approach against Goliath and reveal why relying on God's ways rather than worldly tactics lead to true victory. Explore the poignant moments of David’s life, including his trials and rejections, and see how these resonate with the experiences of Jesus Christ, offering us guidance and assurance in our spiritual endeavors.
Prepare to rekindle your spiritual journey as we also draw compelling insights into Scripture, exploring how being a person after God’s own heart can shape our experiences and enhance our connection with the divine. David’s story isn’t just a history lesson; it’s a reflection of our own lives, filled with setbacks and triumphs that remind us of God’s unwavering purpose. As you listen, you’ll find encouragement to discover fresh perspectives on familiar Scriptures and to see Jesus’s influence in every chapter. Whether you’re feeling overlooked or stepping into new roles, this episode is your invitation to chase a deeper relationship with God and reignite your faith journey.
Keep chasing after God
Welcome to the God Chaser podcast, where we pursue the heart of God and explore the depths of His wisdom. I'm your host, evan Evans. Welcome to the God Chaser podcast and a blessed 2025 to all of you. I'm your host, evan Evans, and as we step into this new year together, I can't think of a more powerful way to begin than by diving into the story of David, the shepherd king, whose life paints one of scripture's most vivid portraits of Christ. Last week, we saw how Samuel's life pointed to Jesus as our prophet, priest and judge. Today, as many of you are setting new goals and making fresh starts, we're going to explore the life of a man who began as a forgotten shepherd boy and became Israel's greatest king.
Speaker 1:David's journey from the sheep fields to the palace, from obscurity to destiny, speaks powerfully to all of us as we begin this new year. In today's episode, we'll discover how every aspect of David's story reveals Jesus and guides our own path forward in 2025. How God sees greatness in hidden places. Why our private preparation matters more than public performance. How to face our giants with faith. What it truly means to be a person after God's heart. How worship shapes our journey through trials. Why our failures don't disqualify us from God's purpose.
Speaker 1:Whether you're starting 2025 facing your own Goliath, feeling overlooked like David in the fields, experiencing opposition like David in the wilderness, or stepping into new authority like David in Jerusalem, this story speaks directly to where you are right now. The God Chaser podcast remains committed to helping you see Jesus on every page of Scripture, growing deeper in your faith and understanding God's heart more fully. As we begin this new year together, let's discover fresh insights into how all of Scripture points to Christ and applies to our daily lives and provides practical guidance to help you become a true God Chaser.
Speaker 2:Discover the transformative power of pursuing God's presence and be inspired to reignite your spiritual journey. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts and get ready to embark on an adventure that will change your life forever. Welcome to the God Chaser Podcast. Let the chase begin.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to the God Chaser Podcast. I'm your host, evan Evans. Last week we saw how Samuel's life pointed to Jesus as our prophet, priest and judge. Today we're diving into one of scripture's most compelling figures, david the shepherd king, whose life gives us perhaps the clearest picture of Christ in the Old Testament. Let's start where God starts, with the heart. 1 Samuel 16, verse 7 records God's words to Samuel. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. This sets up everything we need to understand about David and ultimately, about Jesus.
Speaker 1:David's story begins in Bethlehem, the same town where Christ would be born generations later. Acts, chapter 13, verse 22, tells us God testified about David. I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do. But here's what's fascinating when Samuel comes to Jesse's house, nobody thinks to call David in from the fields. He's the forgotten son, the overlooked one. Some of you know exactly how that feels Overlooked for promotion, forgotten by family, by family, dismissed by others, underestimated and undervalued. But while everyone else saw a shepherd boy, god saw a king, just as later when everyone would see a carpenter's son. God knew he was looking at the king of kings. David was watching sheep when his destiny came calling. This wasn't coincidence. It was preparation. Psalm chapter 78, verses 70 to 71, tells us he chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens, from tending the sheep. He brought him to be the shepherd of his people, jacob.
Speaker 1:Let's look at David's first public appearance. The confrontation with Goliath, 1 Samuel, chapter 17, shows us something remarkable. While everyone else saw Goliath's size, david saw something different. In verses 45 to 46, he declares you come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands. Some of you are facing your own Goliath right now. Maybe it's a diagnosis that towers over you a debt that seems insurmountable, an addiction that appears unbeatable, a relationship that looks irreparable.
Speaker 1:But watch how David approaches this battle. He rejects Saul's armor, the world's way of fighting. Instead, he comes with what God has already proven in his life. Those private victories with the lion and bear prepared him for this public victory. This points directly to Jesus. When Satan came against him in the wilderness, jesus didn't use worldly weapons. He used what was proven the Word of God. Matthew, chapter 4, shows us Christ defeating the enemy, not with physical might, but with. It is written. But there's something deeper here. David tells Goliath in 1 Samuel, chapter 17, verse 47, all those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves. Fast forward to Zechariah, chapter 4, verse 6. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. This is exactly how Jesus would conquer not through military might, but through sacrificial love.
Speaker 1:After David's victory, something shifts. 1 Samuel, chapter 18, verses 6-9, shows us Saul's jealousy erupting when the women sing. Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands. From this point on, david enters a season of persecution and exile. This mirrors what happened after Jesus' public victories. John 11, verse 53, tells us that after raising Lazarus, from that day on they plotted to take his life.
Speaker 1:Both David and Jesus experienced rejection by authorities, betrayal by close associates, attempts on their lives, exile from their rightful place. Some of you are in your wilderness season right now, like David, in the caves of Adullam you're hiding from attacks, gathering with outcasts, learning warfare, waiting for God's timing. But watch what David does in these dark times. The Psalms written during this period reveal something profound. In Psalm chapter 57, verse 1, written in a cave, david declares have mercy on me, my God. Have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge until the disaster has passed. This points to Jesus in Gethsemane praying through his darkest hour. Both David and Jesus show us how to trust God in darkness. Worship during waiting, lead while suffering. Love our enemies.
Speaker 1:Look at how David treats Saul in 1 Samuel, chapter 24. Twice he has the chance to kill his persecutor but refuses to touch the Lord's anointed. This foreshadows Jesus saying in Luke, chapter 23, verse 34,. This foreshadows Jesus saying in Luke, chapter 23, verse 34, when David finally becomes king, we see another parallel to Christ. 2 Samuel chapter 5 tells us he first reigns in Hebron over Judah for seven years before ruling all Israel from Jerusalem. This pictures how Jesus first came to the lost sheep of Israel before his kingdom expanded to include all nations.
Speaker 1:But it's in 2 Samuel chapter 7 that we find one of scripture's most profound messianic prophecies, the Davidic covenant. God promises David in verses 12 to 13, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you and I will establish his kingdom. I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Now watch this carefully. David wants to build God a house, but God says he will build David a house, a dynasty. This points directly to Jesus, whom Gabriel describes in Luke, chapter 1, verses 32 to 33. The Lord, god, will give him the throne of his father, david, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end.
Speaker 1:Some of you need to understand this principle right now. You're trying to build something for God. Prove your worth through service, earn his favor through activity, establish your own legacy. But, like David, you need to learn that it's not about what we build for God, but what he builds in and through us. Jesus would later say in Matthew, chapter 16, verse 18, I will build my church. Look at David's response in 2 Samuel, chapter 7, verses 18 to 19. He sits before the Lord and asks who am I, sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far? This mirrors Mary's humble response to her role in God's plan. I am the Lord's servant. Luke, chapter 1, verse 38.
Speaker 1:Now we come to one of scripture's darkest chapters David's fall with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel, chapter 11. Some of you might wonder how this could possibly point to Christ. But watch this. It's not David's sin that pictures Jesus, it's the redemption story that follows. After Nathan confronts him, david writes Psalm 51, perhaps scripture's most profound picture of true repentance. Listen to verse 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Oh God, you will not despise. Some of you are carrying the weight of past failures that haunt you, decisions that change lives, sins that seem unforgivable, shame that won't let go. But David's restoration shows us something beautiful about God's heart. Even after this terrible sin, god still uses David.
Speaker 1:The messianic line continues through Bathsheba. David remains a man after God's heart. His story becomes a testimony of grace. This points to Christ who seeks out the broken, restores the fallen, uses the imperfect, redeems the worst stories. Look at 2 Samuel 12, verse 13. The moment David says I have sinned against the Lord, nathan responds the Lord has taken away your sin.
Speaker 1:This immediate forgiveness pictures what Jesus offers us. 1 John, chapter 1, verse 9, promises if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us. But notice something crucial While forgiveness was immediate, consequences remained. David's family would face turmoil for generations. Some of you need to understand this. Christ's forgiveness is complete, but consequences may continue Immediate, but healing takes time. Total, but trust must be rebuilt Free. But restoration requires work.
Speaker 1:Even in David's later years we see Christ revealed when Absalom rebels. 2 Samuel chapter 15 shows David leaving Jerusalem, weeping as he climbs the Mount of Olives. This previews Jesus' own journey up that same mountain, weeping over Jerusalem. In Luke, chapter 19, verse 41. Watch how David responds to those who curse him during this exile. In 2 Samuel chapter 16, verses 11 to 12,. When Shimei throws stones and curses him, david says leave him alone. Maybe the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing. This pictures Christ's response to persecution. Father, forgive them. Some of you are facing your own Shema right now People throwing verbal stones, critics cursing your name, opposition to your calling, resistance to your restoration. But like David and ultimately like Jesus, your response to persecution reveals the depth of your faith, the strength of your character, the reality of your relationship with God, the authenticity of your calling.
Speaker 1:Near the end of David's life, we see him preparing for the temple Solomon would build. First Chronicles, chapter 29, verses 2 to 5, shows him giving abundantly from his own wealth. This points to how Jesus would prepare living stones for his church, investing everything he had, his very life, for his people. David's last words in 2 Samuel, chapter 23, verses 1 to 7, are prophetic, speaking of an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part. This finds its fulfillment in Christ's words at the Last Supper. This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Luke, chapter 22, verse 20. Let's pull this all together. David's life shows us the heart of true leadership Shepherd before king, servant before ruler, worshiper before warrior, like Christ, who came to serve.
Speaker 1:The pattern of divine purpose private preparation, public validation, persecution and testing. Kingdom establishment, like Christ's own journey, the reality of human weakness. Establishment like Christ's own journey, the reality of human weakness. Great victory and devastating failure. Profound worship and deep repentance. Royal power and humble dependence pointing to our need for Christ. The promise of eternal kingdom. Covenant promises, lasting impact, future hope fulfilled in Christ.
Speaker 1:Wherever you are in your journey today, if you're in your shepherd years, god sees you. If you're facing giants, god empowers you. If you're in exile, god hasn't forgotten you. If you've fallen, god can restore you. If you're building, god guides you. Next week we'll look at Solomon's life and see how even his wisdom points to Christ. But today, remember, just as David was a man after God's heart. Jesus is God's heart revealed to us. This is Evan Evans, reminding you to keep chasing God's heart Until next time. Remember, whether you're in the sheep fields or the palace facing your Goliath or your own failure, jesus is the greater David, who never fails, never falls and whose kingdom has no end. This has been the God Chaser podcast.
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Speaker 1:May you not just chase God but find him in the blessings, big and small, that he has in store for you. And there we have it, folks. Another episode of God Chaser wrapped up. We hope you've been blessed by today's discussion and we look forward to diving into more life-transforming topics with you in the future. Stay blessed and keep chasing after God.