The David Alliance

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com

Garth Heckman

PRESSED

 

Have you ever had a bad day?

Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận (Vietnam) was a Catholic archbishop held by the communist government for 13 years, nine of them in solitary confinement.

  -  choosing God rather than God's works.

  -  He refused to wait for release. He wrote that he would not wait, but would live each present moment and fill it with love.

 

 

 

Empathy fatigue - you just can’t care for what everyone else wants you to care about… you just run out of emotional energy.

Saving the planet

Saving the starving animals - Sara Mcgloughlin song… 

Save the starving children

Help the kids in the hospital… its just in you anymore. 

Help the elderly

Drill wells in Africa

Inner city school programs

 

burnout and isolation — absorbing grief, crisis, and pain week after week which does not fall into line with your values or gifting. 

 

 

depression centers on (Anne-HE-Donia) anhedonia (the inability to feel pleasure, a kind of flattening across the board), 

NINE INCH NAILS - HURT - I hurt myself today to see if I still feel, I focus on the pain the only thing that’s real. 

 

demoralization  - which centers on subjective incompetence — the felt sense that "I cannot cope with this, and nothing I do will change the outcome." You can be demoralized without being clinically depressed — someone can still feel things, still care, and still be capable, but have concluded that this particular fight is unwinnable, which is exactly the "give up on what's important".

THIS COULD SUM UP PAULS LIFE

 

 

Betrayal Trauma

Trauma inflicted on you by someone or a group that you built trust with.

 

*Here is what is interesting. The brain treats physical trauma and Betrayal Trauma as the same.

  -  Same intensity

  -  Same pain

  -  Same trauma

***BUT BETRAYAL TRAUMA IS WORSE BECAUSE YOU RELIVE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN. 

The David Alliance

TDAGiantSlayer@Gmail.com

Garth Heckman

What if when conquered does not follow a natural growth pattern.The pattern isn't linear, it's exponential — the breakthrough FROM WHAT IF is slow and doubted and mocked, but once it actually happens, everything after it moves faster than anyone predicted. The years of ridicule aren't proof it won't work — they're often the price of admission for something that changes everything once it finally lifts off.

 

 

YOUR FAITH WALK IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF “WHAT IFS” 

 

XNY is supposed to be hard. That causes us to be dependent on God! 

 

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." -- Christopher Reeve

**A faith walking power filled Christian is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming WHAT IF’S.

 

 

What if - is always asked in a negative lens. But what if… (see what I did there) what if we looked at it in a Godly mindset. What if God has something better for me, What if God is preparing me for something better, What if God wants me to fully realize how in control he is, What if God is keeping me from harm or pain. 

 

 

 

Scripture is full of people who had every reason to quit right before their breakthrough. 

***the obstacle MAY HAVE came from Jesus/God directly, from other people, or from circumstances.

 

• The Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28) — you already have this one. Told her miracle wasn't for "dogs," but she reframed her request instead of walking away, and Jesus called her faith “great.”

 

She does not allow her standing or her reputation keep her from pushing in.

 

• Jairus (Mark 5:21-43) — while he was leading Jesus to his dying daughter, messengers arrived saying she was already dead: "Why troublest thou the Master any further?" Jesus told him not to fear, only believe — Jairus could have stopped right there, assuming it was too late.

 

He does not let reality of the situation keep him from pushing in.

 

• The nobleman whose son was dying (John 4:46-53) — Jesus initially responds almost dismissively ("Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe"), before the man presses his request again — and his son is healed at that exact hour.

 

He did not let second guessed motives keep him from pushing in. 

 

People discouraged by the crowd

 

• Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) — the crowd told him to be quiet; he cried out louder. You've got this one too, but worth noting there's a parallel account of two blind men in Matthew 20:29-34 with the same "crowd rebuked them, they cried out more" pattern.

 

They did not let the crowd deter them from pushing in

 

 

 

• The paralytic and his four friends (Mark 2:1-12) — the house was so packed they couldn't get through the door. They could have gone home; instead they tore open the roof. Great picture of persistence on someone else's behalf.

 

These four friends have a “what if” moment. In the greek this is specifically speaking of the friends and not the paralytic. So it was completely up to the friends to push through the what if moment. 

 

Having friends who do not give up pushing through… doing whatever it takes. Literally pushing through the roof.

AND - The friend letting them - not worried about being disappointed~

 

• Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) — too short to see over the crowd. Could have given up and gone home; instead he climbed a tree, and Jesus called him down by name.

 

He did not let his own physical limitations keep him from pushing through. 

 

 

People discouraged by their own circumstances

 

• The woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34) — twelve years of bleeding, spent everything on physicians, and "grew worse" instead of better. Statistically, faith should have run out. She pressed through a crowd anyway to touch His hem.

 

A lack of results did not keep her from pushing through.

Having to break the law

Embarrassment did not stop her

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com

Garth Heckman

YOUR FAITH WALK IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF “WHAT IFS” 

 

XNY is supposed to be hard. That causes us to be dependent on God! 

 

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." -- Christopher Reeve

**A faith walking power filled Christian is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming WHAT IF’S.

 

 

What if - is always asked in a negative lens. But what if… (see what I did there) what if we looked at it in a Godly mindset. What if God has something better for me, What if God is preparing me for something better, What if God wants me to fully realize how in control he is, What if God is keeping me from harm or pain. 

 

 

 

Scripture is full of people who had every reason to quit right before their breakthrough. 

***the obstacle MAY HAVE came from Jesus/God directly, from other people, or from circumstances.

 

• The Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28) — you already have this one. Told her miracle wasn't for "dogs," but she reframed her request instead of walking away, and Jesus called her faith “great.”

 

She does not allow her standing or her reputation keep her from pushing in.

 

• Jairus (Mark 5:21-43) — while he was leading Jesus to his dying daughter, messengers arrived saying she was already dead: "Why troublest thou the Master any further?" Jesus told him not to fear, only believe — Jairus could have stopped right there, assuming it was too late.

 

He does not let reality of the situation keep him from pushing in.

 

• The nobleman whose son was dying (John 4:46-53) — Jesus initially responds almost dismissively ("Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe"), before the man presses his request again — and his son is healed at that exact hour.

 

He did not let second guessed motives keep him from pushing in. 

 

People discouraged by the crowd

 

• Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) — the crowd told him to be quiet; he cried out louder. You've got this one too, but worth noting there's a parallel account of two blind men in Matthew 20:29-34 with the same "crowd rebuked them, they cried out more" pattern.

 

They did not let the crowd deter them from pushing in

 

 

 

 

 

 

The David Alliance

TDAGiantSlayer@Gmail.com

Garth Heckman

What if when conquered does not follow a natural growth pattern.The pattern isn't linear, it's exponential — the breakthrough FROM WHAT IF is slow and doubted and mocked, but once it actually happens, everything after it moves faster than anyone predicted. The years of ridicule aren't proof it won't work — they're often the price of admission for something that changes everything once it finally lifts off.

 

 

YOUR FAITH WALK IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF “WHAT IFS” 

 

XNY is supposed to be hard. That causes us to be dependent on God! 

 

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." -- Christopher Reeve

**A faith walking power filled Christian is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming WHAT IF’S.

 

 

What if - is always asked in a negative lens. But what if… (see what I did there) what if we looked at it in a Godly mindset. What if God has something better for me, What if God is preparing me for something better, What if God wants me to fully realize how in control he is, What if God is keeping me from harm or pain. 

 

 

 

Scripture is full of people who had every reason to quit right before their breakthrough. 

***the obstacle MAY HAVE came from Jesus/God directly, from other people, or from circumstances.

 

• The Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28) — you already have this one. Told her miracle wasn't for "dogs," but she reframed her request instead of walking away, and Jesus called her faith “great.”

 

She does not allow her standing or her reputation keep her from pushing in.

 

• Jairus (Mark 5:21-43) — while he was leading Jesus to his dying daughter, messengers arrived saying she was already dead: "Why troublest thou the Master any further?" Jesus told him not to fear, only believe — Jairus could have stopped right there, assuming it was too late.

 

He does not let reality of the situation keep him from pushing in.

The David Alliance

TDAGiantslayer@Gmail.com

Garth Heckman

What if…they gave up

What if after succeeding but being doubted they gave up

What if after being called liars they gave up

What if? 

 

But here is the beauty of the story! 

The Acceleration

 

Here's where it gets powerful for your "how fast things take off" point:

 

• 1903: The Wright Flyer's first flight covered 120 feet in 12 seconds — a distance shorter than the wingspan of a Boeing 747.

 

• 1969 — just 66 years later: Apollo 11 landed men on the moon. Within a single human lifetime, humanity went from a 120-foot hop on a beach to walking on another world.

 

• 2026 — about 123 years later: SpaceX's Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, is in active development toward an uncrewed Mars landing attempt as early as the end of this year, with Musk targeting a self-sustaining city on Mars within about 20 years after that. Musk himself has said the flight rate will "grow exponentially" once the core technology is proven.

 

What if when conquered does not follow a natural growth pattern.The pattern isn't linear, it's exponential — the breakthrough FROM WHAT IF is slow and doubted and mocked, but once it actually happens, everything after it moves faster than anyone predicted. The years of ridicule aren't proof it won't work — they're often the price of admission for something that changes everything once it finally lifts off.

 

 

YOUR FAITH WALK IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF “WHAT IFS” 

 

XNY is supposed to be hard. That causes us to be dependent on God! 

 

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." -- Christopher Reeve

**A faith walking power filled Christian is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming WHAT IF’S.

 

 

What if - is always asked in a negative lens. But what if… (see what I did there) what if we looked at it in a Godly mindset. What if God has something better for me, What if God is preparing me for something better, What if God wants me to fully realize how in control he is, What if God is keeping me from harm or pain.

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com

Garth Heckman

What if?

 

The press called it before they even tried. On October 9, 1903 — just 69 days before the Wright Brothers and the Kitty Hawk — 

New York Times published an editorial titled "Flying Machines Which Do Not Fly," declaring that a working flying machine might be developed "by the combined and continuous efforts of mathematicians and mechanicians in from one million to ten million years." That editorial was actually a response to the very public failure of Samuel Langley, a Smithsonian scientist whose government-funded "Aerodrome" project had just crashed — twice, publicly, humiliatingly — using taxpayer money. 

The Wright Brothers weren't just fighting skepticism about flight in general; they were flying directly into the wreckage of someone else's very public, very credentialed failure.

 

69 days later…Even after they succeeded, almost nobody believed them — for years. This is the part most people don't know: the Wrights flew successfully in December 1903, but the press largely ignored or dismissed it. When they invited reporters to watch a 1904 flight, mechanical problems limited it to a short hop, and the press left more convinced than ever that the brothers were exaggerating. A local beekeeper who witnessed real flights in 1905 tried to get Scientific American — a serious, credible publication — to cover it. They turned him down. The Wrights spent roughly five years being doubted, ignored, or dismissed by the same institutions that should have celebrated them, and they didn't get real public credit until they demonstrated flights in Europe in 1908.

 

What if…they gave up

What if after succeeding but being doubted they gave up

What if after being called liars they gave up

What if? 

 

But here is the beauty of the story! 

The Acceleration

 

Here's where it gets powerful for your "how fast things take off" point:

 

• 1903: The Wright Flyer's first flight covered 120 feet in 12 seconds — a distance shorter than the wingspan of a Boeing 747.

 

• 1969 — just 66 years later: Apollo 11 landed men on the moon. Within a single human lifetime, humanity went from a 120-foot hop on a beach to walking on another world.

 

• 2026 — about 123 years later: SpaceX's Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, is in active development toward an uncrewed Mars landing attempt as early as the end of this year, with Musk targeting a self-sustaining city on Mars within about 20 years after that. Musk himself has said the flight rate will "grow exponentially" once the core technology is proven.

 

What if when conquered does not follow a natural growth pattern.The pattern isn't linear, it's exponential — the breakthrough FROM WHAT IF is slow and doubted and mocked, but once it actually happens, everything after it moves faster than anyone predicted. The years of ridicule aren't proof it won't work — they're often the price of admission for something that changes everything once it finally lifts off.

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com

Garth Heckman

Psalm 127:3-5 — "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

 

We can see this verse from two different perspectives: You as a father and you under your father. 

Let me start with the first…

 

I AM THANKFUL FOR MY FATHER

 -  Dad reading praying every day.. still does.

 

  -   My Dad at Spencer Lake youth camp

 

    -   My Dad Turing himself in to the DNR

 

I was forged in the hands of a warrior… it is now my job to forge my sons so that they may forge their sons! 

 

 

 

Young men are more lonely than ever before. 

 

 

 

So we have a divide in our country today in Gen Z.

Men are coming back to Jesus

Women are opting out

Men want marriage and families 

More women then ever do not

 

One thing I do know: Scripture says family is a priority. And that makes it a target for satan our enemy. 

Satan will attack not just the family

      **but every element of it. Kids, husbands, Wives, young women meant to be wives, young men meant to be husbands.

 

#1 Thing men need to understand about the game of women and marriage. 

 

Women love dangerous men… but wait there’s more

 

You become unbelievably attractive when you know God, his word, hear his voice and obey. 

 

 

 

 

 

SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD

Arrows in the hands of an angry God! 

 

It is in a woman’s DNA to want a man of God! 

Which is why many women do not want a man in todays world… there is a shortage of dangerous men. 

 

 

So how does a young man grow, mature and lean into being a man of God.

 

 

#1 You will hang with who you hang with

 

Shad Shack and Benny - Don’t miss the foundation to their decision: They did it together. 

 

David and his mighty men. 

 

Jesus had 1 best friend, 3 close friends, 12 solid friends, 72 like minded friends, 

Jesus sent out the disciples in 12 and 2. Again, don’t miss the point - you must have a ride or die crew for Jesus! 

 

 

One of the biggest influences in my life as a young man in High School and my first year out of high school was hanging out with some college and career guys from my church. Tim Kruse, Brian White, Steve Wetzel, Tom Alexander, Sean O’Hearan. I would go down to the UW campus and watch and listen to them preach open air to the college students walking past from classes. They would get mocked, ridiculed and they would also see a lot of kids come to Christ. This group of about 12 guys were unstoppable. 

 

 

 

#2 Understand you are an instrument of war. 

 

Psalm 127:3-5 — "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

 

Are you ready to be a man of God? A Father? A Warrior? All men must be willing to prepare to be a warrior who has children they are ready to unleash on the world for God. You may never have kids, but God will most definitely put young men in your life through out your faith walk to help launch into warfare. Are you ready to do that?

 

Notice the Psalm is written from the perspective of the father being the warrior, and his children (particularly sons, in the ancient near-eastern context) being the arrows he shoots into the future — meaning the original picture is about legacy and generational impact, 

Now lets lip the metaphor — asking "what makes a good arrow, and who has to shoot it" 

 

 

 

1. An Arrow Has No Power of Its Own — It Must Be Shaped

 

You can have a razor sharp broad head, a powerful bow… but if the arrow shaft is compromised it will never hit its target. 

 

Before an arrow is ever shot, it has to be made: straightened, weighted, fletched. A crooked arrow, however sharp its tip, flies wildly off target no matter how strong the archer is.

 

There has to be disruption, challenge, pain and time. None of those can be skipped in order to be worthy of being in the hand of warrior. 

Disruption breaks self-reliance. As long as a man's life is running smoothly on his own terms, he has little reason to depend on God. Disruption — losing a job, a relationship falling apart, a plan collapsing — tends to be what exposes how much a man was actually trusting in himself. Moses spent 40 years as a nobody shepherd in the wilderness before God called him; Joseph was sold into slavery and imprisoned unjustly before he was elevated. The disruption wasn't punishment — it was the thing that stripped away what he was leaning on so he'd have to lean on God instead.

 

Challenge builds endurance, and endurance builds character. This is almost verbatim what James 1:2-4 says — trials test faith, and that testing produces perseverance, and perseverance, if you let it finish its work, makes you "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." Romans 5:3-5 says something similar: suffering produces patience, patience produces experience, experience produces hope. The logic isn't "pain is good" — it's that character can't be built without resistance, the same way muscle can't be built without load.

 

Pain refines. Scripture repeatedly uses the image of metal being purified by fire — the heat doesn't destroy the metal, it burns off what doesn't belong (1 Peter 1:6-7, Malachi 3:3). Pain has a way of burning off performance, image management, and comfort-seeking, and revealing what a man actually believes when the stakes are real.

 

Time is what makes it real rather than manufactured. You can't compress spiritual maturity into a weekend. David was anointed king as a boy but spent years as a fugitive before he actually sat on the throne — the anointing came first, but the readiness came from time. Even Jesus, fully God, "learned obedience by the things which he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8) — there's something about lived, tested time that a single moment of decision can't substitute for.

 

What I'd add — a few things that change the picture, not just add to it:

 

• Suffering alone doesn't guarantee godliness — the response does. Two men can go through the same disruption; one comes out bitter, hardened, and self-protective, the other comes out humble and more dependent on God. The pain isn't what transforms — how it's met is. Without humility and a willingness to actually submit to God in it, hardship just as often produces cynicism as character.

 

• It's not meant to be walked alone. "Iron sharpens iron" (Proverbs 27:17) exists for a reason — a man processing pain in isolation is far more likely to either numb out or spiral than one who has other men actually in it with him. Community isn't an accessory to the formation process, it's usually the difference between suffering that shapes and suffering that just wounds.

 

• The Word has to be the anchor, not just the pain. Scripture is what gives suffering meaning and direction instead of just being chaos a man survives. Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8 both tie a man's fruitfulness to meditating on God's word — the trials do the breaking, but the Word is what rebuilds him toward something rather than just leaving rubble.

 

• It's grace, not achievement. This is worth holding carefully — the goal isn't "suffer enough and you'll earn godly character." Galatians 5:22-23 calls maturity "fruit of the Spirit," not fruit of hardship. God does the actual transforming; the trials are the context he often works through, not a formula a man runs to produce holiness on his own effort.

 

So I'd say your instinct is right, but I'd reframe it slightly: it's not disruption, challenge, pain, and time that make a man godly — it's how he responds to those things, in community, anchored to the Word, surrendered to God, over that stretch of time. Take away any of those and the suffering can just as easily harden a man as shape him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Application: The straightening process isn't punishment; it's what makes the difference between an arrow that flies true and one that veers off no matter how hard he's "launched" into life.

 

Scripture tie-in: Proverbs 27:17 — "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." An arrow doesn't sharpen itself; it's sharpened by something harder than itself pressing against it — mentors, fathers, Scripture, correction.

 

 

2. An Arrow's Power Comes From the Bow, Not Itself

 

Alex Revells video: waiting for my gun to kill someone… LOL. 

 

Straight, precise, sharp, weighted, tested… but powerless with out the weight of the draw behind it. 

 

An arrow, no matter how well made, has zero propulsion of its own. All its force comes from tension stored in something else — the archer's drawn bow.

 

Application: A young man's strength for life doesn't originate in himself — it comes from abiding in Christ, the source of real power. Self-reliance is like an arrow trying to launch itself; it goes nowhere.

 

Scripture tie-in: John 15:5 — "Apart from me you can do nothing."

There are two parts to this… don’t miss it!

 

The garden that was given to the man… run down, falling apart, walls broken down, weeds, overgrowth, birds and animals feces… 

“You absolutely right… but just between you and me… you should have seen this place when it was just Gods”. 

 

 

3. An Arrow Must Be Aimed — Direction Matters More Than Speed

 

A powerful shot with no aim is worse than useless — it can actually cause harm. The strength of the draw means nothing if the target is wrong.

 

 

Targets. White, black, blue, red, gold. 

The overall target Matt. 6:33 seek ye first the kingdom

Each circle is a greater focus in your life.

My inner circle is the gospel shared with others

 

Application: Raw ambition, drive, and talent in a young man without godly direction is dangerous, not just wasted — misdirected strength (anger, sexual drive, ambition, competitiveness) becomes destructive rather than fruitful. The question isn't just "how much power do you have," but "what target has your life been aimed at?”

 

Scripture tie-in: Proverbs 4:25-27 — "Let your eyes look straight ahead... do not turn to the right or the left." 1 Corinthians 9:26 — Paul says he doesn't run "aimlessly" or box "beating the air" — deliberate aim, not just effort, is the point.

 

 

5. Arrows Are Made For War, Not Display

 

A quiver full of unused, un-shot arrows isn't a blessing; it's wasted potential.

 

What are young men trained for today?

Gaming? Porn? Money? Partying? Status? 

 

Scripture tie-in: Ephesians 6:12 — "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against... spiritual forces of evil" — young men are being called into a real, active spiritual battle, not just personal self-improvement.

 

The question isn't whether you have potential — every arrow does. The question is: who's shaping you right now, what's your life aimed at, and are you willing to be trained for the fight you were actually made for?"

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@gmail.com

Garth Heckman

Psalm 127:3-5 — "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

 

We can see this verse from two different perspectives: You as a father and you under your father. 

Let me start with the first…

 

I AM THANKFUL FOR MY FATHER

 -  Dad reading praying every day.. still does.

 

  -   My Dad at Spencer Lake youth camp

 

    -   My Dad Turing himself in to the DNR

 

I was forged in the hands of a warrior… it is now my job to forge my sons so that they may forge their sons! 

 

 

 

Young men are more lonely than ever before. 

 

 

 

So we have a divide in our country today in Gen Z.

Men are coming back to Jesus

Women are opting out

Men want marriage and families 

More women then ever do not

 

One thing I do know: Scripture says family is a priority. And that makes it a target for satan our enemy. 

Satan will attack not just the family

      **but every element of it. Kids, husbands, Wives, young women meant to be wives, young men meant to be husbands.

 

#1 Thing men need to understand about the game of women and marriage. 

 

Women love dangerous men… but wait there’s more

 

You become unbelievably attractive when you know God, his word, hear his voice and obey. 

 

 

 

 

 

SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD

Arrows in the hands of an angry God! 

 

It is in a woman’s DNA to want a man of God! 

Which is why many women do not want a man in todays world… there is a shortage of dangerous men. 

 

 

So how does a young man grow, mature and lean into being a man of God.

 

 

#1 You will hang with who you hang with

 

Shad Shack and Benny - Don’t miss the foundation to their decision: They did it together. 

 

David and his mighty men. 

 

Jesus had 1 best friend, 3 close friends, 12 solid friends, 72 like minded friends, 

Jesus sent out the disciples in 12 and 2. Again, don’t miss the point - you must have a ride or die crew for Jesus! 

 

 

One of the biggest influences in my life as a young man in High School and my first year out of high school was hanging out with some college and career guys from my church. Tim Kruse, Brian White, Steve Wetzel, Tom Alexander, Sean O’Hearan. I would go down to the UW campus and watch and listen to them preach open air to the college students walking past from classes. They would get mocked, ridiculed and they would also see a lot of kids come to Christ. This group of about 12 guys were unstoppable. 

 

 

 

#2 Understand you are an instrument of war. 

 

Psalm 127:3-5 — "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

 

Are you ready to be a man of God? A Father? A Warrior? All men must be willing to prepare to be a warrior who has children they are ready to unleash on the world for God. You may never have kids, but God will most definitely put young men in your life through out your faith walk to help launch into warfare. Are you ready to do that?

 

Notice the Psalm is written from the perspective of the father being the warrior, and his children (particularly sons, in the ancient near-eastern context) being the arrows he shoots into the future — meaning the original picture is about legacy and generational impact, 

Now lets lip the metaphor — asking "what makes a good arrow, and who has to shoot it" 

 

 

 

1. An Arrow Has No Power of Its Own — It Must Be Shaped

 

You can have a razor sharp broad head, a powerful bow… but if the arrow shaft is compromised it will never hit its target. 

 

Before an arrow is ever shot, it has to be made: straightened, weighted, fletched. A crooked arrow, however sharp its tip, flies wildly off target no matter how strong the archer is.

 

There has to be disruption, challenge, pain and time. None of those can be skipped in order to be worthy of being in the hand of warrior. 

Disruption breaks self-reliance. As long as a man's life is running smoothly on his own terms, he has little reason to depend on God. Disruption — losing a job, a relationship falling apart, a plan collapsing — tends to be what exposes how much a man was actually trusting in himself. Moses spent 40 years as a nobody shepherd in the wilderness before God called him; Joseph was sold into slavery and imprisoned unjustly before he was elevated. The disruption wasn't punishment — it was the thing that stripped away what he was leaning on so he'd have to lean on God instead.

 

Challenge builds endurance, and endurance builds character. This is almost verbatim what James 1:2-4 says — trials test faith, and that testing produces perseverance, and perseverance, if you let it finish its work, makes you "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." Romans 5:3-5 says something similar: suffering produces patience, patience produces experience, experience produces hope. The logic isn't "pain is good" — it's that character can't be built without resistance, the same way muscle can't be built without load.

 

Pain refines. Scripture repeatedly uses the image of metal being purified by fire — the heat doesn't destroy the metal, it burns off what doesn't belong (1 Peter 1:6-7, Malachi 3:3). Pain has a way of burning off performance, image management, and comfort-seeking, and revealing what a man actually believes when the stakes are real.

 

Time is what makes it real rather than manufactured. You can't compress spiritual maturity into a weekend. David was anointed king as a boy but spent years as a fugitive before he actually sat on the throne — the anointing came first, but the readiness came from time. Even Jesus, fully God, "learned obedience by the things which he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8) — there's something about lived, tested time that a single moment of decision can't substitute for.

 

What I'd add — a few things that change the picture, not just add to it:

 

• Suffering alone doesn't guarantee godliness — the response does. Two men can go through the same disruption; one comes out bitter, hardened, and self-protective, the other comes out humble and more dependent on God. The pain isn't what transforms — how it's met is. Without humility and a willingness to actually submit to God in it, hardship just as often produces cynicism as character.

 

• It's not meant to be walked alone. "Iron sharpens iron" (Proverbs 27:17) exists for a reason — a man processing pain in isolation is far more likely to either numb out or spiral than one who has other men actually in it with him. Community isn't an accessory to the formation process, it's usually the difference between suffering that shapes and suffering that just wounds.

 

• The Word has to be the anchor, not just the pain. Scripture is what gives suffering meaning and direction instead of just being chaos a man survives. Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8 both tie a man's fruitfulness to meditating on God's word — the trials do the breaking, but the Word is what rebuilds him toward something rather than just leaving rubble.

 

• It's grace, not achievement. This is worth holding carefully — the goal isn't "suffer enough and you'll earn godly character." Galatians 5:22-23 calls maturity "fruit of the Spirit," not fruit of hardship. God does the actual transforming; the trials are the context he often works through, not a formula a man runs to produce holiness on his own effort.

 

So I'd say your instinct is right, but I'd reframe it slightly: it's not disruption, challenge, pain, and time that make a man godly — it's how he responds to those things, in community, anchored to the Word, surrendered to God, over that stretch of time. Take away any of those and the suffering can just as easily harden a man as shape him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Application: The straightening process isn't punishment; it's what makes the difference between an arrow that flies true and one that veers off no matter how hard he's "launched" into life.

 

Scripture tie-in: Proverbs 27:17 — "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." An arrow doesn't sharpen itself; it's sharpened by something harder than itself pressing against it — mentors, fathers, Scripture, correction.

 

 

2. An Arrow's Power Comes From the Bow, Not Itself

 

Alex Revells video: waiting for my gun to kill someone… LOL. 

 

Straight, precise, sharp, weighted, tested… but powerless with out the weight of the draw behind it. 

 

An arrow, no matter how well made, has zero propulsion of its own. All its force comes from tension stored in something else — the archer's drawn bow.

 

Application: A young man's strength for life doesn't originate in himself — it comes from abiding in Christ, the source of real power. Self-reliance is like an arrow trying to launch itself; it goes nowhere.

 

Scripture tie-in: John 15:5 — "Apart from me you can do nothing."

There are two parts to this… don’t miss it!

 

The garden that was given to the man… run down, falling apart, walls broken down, weeds, overgrowth, birds and animals feces… 

“You absolutely right… but just between you and me… you should have seen this place when it was just Gods”.

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

Garth Heckman

Psalm 127:3-5 — "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

 

We can see this verse from two different perspectives: You as a father and you under your father. 

Let me start with the first…

 

I AM THANKFUL FOR MY FATHER

 -  Dad reading praying every day.. still does.

 

  -   My Dad at Spencer Lake youth camp

 

    -   My Dad Turing himself in to the DNR

 

I was forged in the hands of a warrior… it is now my job to forge my sons so that they may forge their sons! 

 

Young men are more lonely than ever before. 

 

So we have a divide in our country today in Gen Z.

Men are coming back to Jesus

Women are opting out

Men want marriage and families 

More women then ever do not

 

One thing I do know: Scripture says family is a priority. And that makes it a target for satan our enemy. 

Satan will attack not just the family

      **but every element of it. Kids, husbands, Wives, young women meant to be wives, young men meant to be husbands.

 

#1 Thing men need to understand about the game of women and marriage. 

 

Women love dangerous men… but wait there’s more

 

You become unbelievably attractive when you know God, his word, hear his voice and obey. 

 

SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD

Arrows in the hands of an angry God! 

 

It is in a woman’s DNA to want a man of God! 

Which is why many women do not want a man in todays world… there is a shortage of dangerous men. 

 

So how does a young man grow, mature and lean into being a man of God.

#1 You will hang with who you hang with

 

Shad Shack and Benny - Don’t miss the foundation to their decision: They did it together. 

 

David and his mighty men. 

 

Jesus had 1 best friend, 3 close friends, 12 solid friends, 72 like minded friends, 

Jesus sent out the disciples in 12 and 2. Again, don’t miss the point - you must have a ride or die crew for Jesus! 

 

One of the biggest influences in my life as a young man in High School and my first year out of high school was hanging out with some college and career guys from my church. Tim Kruse, Brian White, Steve Wetzel, Tom Alexander, Sean O’Hearan. I would go down to the UW campus and watch and listen to them preach open air to the college students walking past from classes. They would get mocked, ridiculed and they would also see a lot of kids come to Christ. This group of about 12 guys were unstoppable. 

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com

Garth Heckman

Psalm 127:3-5 — "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

 

We can see this verse from two different perspectives: You as a father and you under your father. 

Let me start with the first…

 

I AM THANKFUL FOR MY FATHER

 -  Dad reading praying every day.. still does.

 

  -   My Dad at Spencer Lake youth camp

 

    -   My Dad Turing himself in to the DNR

 

I was forged in the hands of a warrior… it is now my job to forge my sons so that they may forge their sons! 

 

 

 

Young men are more lonely than ever before. 

 

 

 

So we have a divide in our country today in Gen Z.

Men are coming back to Jesus

Women are opting out

Men want marriage and families 

More women then ever do not

 

One thing I do know: Scripture says family is a priority. And that makes it a target for satan our enemy. 

Satan will attack not just the family

      **but every element of it. Kids, husbands, Wives, young women meant to be wives, young men meant to be husbands.

 

#1 Thing men need to understand about the game of women and marriage. 

 

Women love dangerous men… but wait there’s more

 

You become unbelievably attractive when you know God, his word, hear his voice and obey.