The David Alliance

Your Looks vs. Good Looks vs. God Looks

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

 

 

 

 

ESTHER - SHE’S GOT THE LOOKS THAT KILL

*Even your good looks are for Gods purpose. Don’t hesitate to understand that your looks are God given and maybe not so much for your social media following, or landing the right husband, but for Gods purpose. 

Supermodel Cameron Russel said she won the genetic lottery… 

I believe there was a greater draw TO ESTHER beyond her beauty and virginity… there was a innocence to her.. the virgins from Persia were hardened by the lifestyle…They had a different mindset… Esther was not. 

HOW DO YOU STAND OUT FROM HUNDREDS OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN?

 -  Esthers beauty went beyond just looks. There was a purity an innocence that is by far more attractive than just looks. 

HER VIRGINITY YES

BUT ALSO No bitterness 

No fear

  No mixed motives

No World influence 

No pride/arrogance

 

But how do you stand out if you are obese, deformed, or in your words “the wrong skin color”. Well very much the same way… A beautiful woman more than once has thought “I am not going to let my good looks get in the way of what I really want and deserve”. I want this because I am qualified, and not because I am a genetic freak. I am going to believe what I believe about myself because of who I am in Christ and not who I am in the mirror… you can tweet that. I BELIEVE WHAT I BELIEVE ABOUT MYSELF BECAUSE OF WHO I AM IN CHRIST, NOT WHO I AM IN THE MIRROR. 

 

If you were obese and I called you a fat pig… you would get mad. If others heard me they would scold me, they would reprimand me and think I was a person full of hate… but the truth is that obese person gets up every morning and speaks those things over their life… and no one cares, no one gets upset… and why -simply because they say them in their head… but still because of what they see. Get your head in the Bible and out of the mirror. 

You're good... you're ok... you suck... Go to hell!

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

 

Have you ever trusted someone, only to have that person turn in to someone you don’t trust to someone you actually hate… so much so you even call them wicked… even wishing them to go to hell? Thats where were going today. 

 

Matthew 25:24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

GK: Sklay Ros

A Harsh man… A stubborn man who expects above and beyond without apology! 

It can even be emphasized to mean “violently expects things to happen”. 

But lets take a step back and look at this master… why was he so mad? Just because the servant didn’t invest? I think it goes deeper than that. The Master gave the talents according to each servants ability. 

V. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

He would not have given this wicked servant talents if he had not known that he could yield a return. He is mad not just because he did nothing, he is mad because he (the servant) in doing nothing is calling the master a liar. The master believed in him… enough to give him not just talents… but the Master gave him HIS TALENTS.

Can this thought shake you for a second.. the talents you have are not your talents. They have been given to you by God - they are actually his talents. 

Now here is where I think it gets interesting.. he says to the servant “you could have at least put them in the bank”. What does this mean to us in todays world. God is saying… yes you could have used them with my gifting entwined with your work and the talents I gave you… but even if you didn’t use those talents for me, you could have at least used them in the worlds system… but you didn’t even do that.

You didn’t use them for God, you didn’t use them for the world… YOU DID NOTHING! IT WASN’T JUST A SWING AND A MISS… NO IT WAS YOU NOT EVEN SWINGING AT ALL. That is a wicked servant. 

But it also tells me that God talents that he gave us are just as powerful in the world as in the church. Lets not waste them. 

GOD BELIEVES IN YOU. DO YOU BELIVE IN YOU? TRY HIM OUT FOR SIZE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. 

He's everywhere if you are looking for Him!

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

 

 

Ever have a moment when you don’t see it and then you see it? The classic picture of an old women or a young beautiful woman depending on what you see? 

 

Here's a more detailed look at the reasons: 

 

1. Lack of Historical Evidence:

• Missing Persian References:
  .
  Some scholars questioned the book's historical accuracy, pointing to the lack of mention of the characters and events described in Esther within Persian historical records. 
• Not Found at Qumran:
  .
  The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of Jewish texts dating back to the period when the Book of Esther was thought to have been written, did not include the Book of Esther, further fueling skepticism about its authenticity. 

2. Theological Concerns:

• Absence of God's Name:
  .
  The most significant theological issue was the complete absence of God's name in the Book of Esther. This was seen as unusual compared to other books in the Old Testament. 
• Interpretations of Divine Providence:
  .
  While some argued that the book implicitly suggests divine providence through the actions of the characters, others felt the lack of explicit mention of God undermined its theological purpose. 

3. Jewish Canon Formation:

• Delayed Inclusion:
  The Book of Esther was not included in the earliest forms of the Jewish canon, and it was debated whether it should even be included at all. 
• Nationalistic Pride:
  Some suggest that the book's inclusion in the Jewish canon was influenced by a desire to celebrate the Jewish people's triumph over Haman and to provide a sense of national identity. 

4. Christian Canon Formation:

• Deuterocanonical Status:
  The Book of Esther was not universally accepted by Christians from the beginning. Some Christians, like Jerome, considered it canonical, while others, like Athanasius, classified it with the Apocrypha, a collection of books considered useful but not part of the official canon. 
• Influence of Jewish Canon:
  Ultimately, Christians largely adopted the Jewish canon, which included the Book of Esther, leading to its inclusion in Christian Bibles as well.

5. Additions to the Septuagint:

• Greek Version: An alternate version of the Book of Esther in Greek, which included references to God and additional passages, was also debated. The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the Septuagint version of Esther, while the Roman Catholic Church preserves the Greek additions as "Additions to Esther"

 

God is not mentioned in Esther ANYWHERE…

SO WHERE IS HE?

HE IS EVERYWHERE!

 

  - Queen Vashti won’t give it up

1. From Vashti's defiance to Mordecai's sleepless night, seemingly random occurrences contribute to the ultimate deliverance of the Jews.

 

  - Esthers beauty over 25 million women

  - Jew chosen to be queen

  - Mordecai hears about a plot

  - King can’t sleep and they read Mordecai’s story

  - Haman used like a puppet in Gods hand

  - 2 parties to set up Haman’s demise

  - Haman’s advance on queen Esther

  - The Pole set up for Mordecai used for Haman

  - The Jews enemies are identified and then killed due to the timing and they get the take of those they kill

God doesn't care what you have done for him... lately!

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

 

 

Years and years of bodybuilding and now look at you? What happened… more importantly how fast did it happen? 

 

No matter how healthy you are… and BTW Bodybuilders are some of the most unhealthy people in the world. What they eat in nutrition is destroyed by the amount of drugs they put in their system…. Don’t get me wrong, you can do steroids and other enhancers and still maintain a safe healthy physique if you are willing to cycle on and off with enough time in between - but most don’t. Anyway…. You can be in the best health possible… eat, exercise, drink plenty of water, take supplements, cardio etc… and in only 2 short months lose it all and be extremely unhealthy… I have seen it happen… You have probably seen it happen. 

 

Have you ever heard the saying… 

“what have you done for me lately” 

We usually use it in a negative way… like Man I have done so much for that guy the past 10 years… but it does not matter, its always what have you done for me lately…. 

 

BUT it is actually a biblical concept.

 

Your past will not make up for your present. 

 

A good beginning is not a guarantee of good ending. 

 

Ez. 18:23, 24

23 “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. 24 However, if righteous people turn from their righteous behavior and start doing sinful things and act like other sinners, should they be allowed to live? No, of course not! All their righteous acts will be forgotten, and they will die for their sins.

You do have a personal responsibility! 

Your past will not make up for your present. 

 

Its not about Loyalty or brownie points… or God owing you… it is about Holiness. 

 

First lets get one thing straight… God only owes us one thing… judgement and death for being a sinner. We only get what we get because of what God did, not because of what we did. 

Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-27 speak of what have you done for me lately… 

My point today is this…

We see the weakened and sinful in scripture turning around from the disciples to the apostle Paul… they all had diverse sinful backgrounds… but were all marked by getting older and bolder and not older and colder. 

What was their prescription for such a faith as this?

Very simple, in fact John G Lake spoke of it often.

4 things:

Constantly prayed

Read Gods word

Shared the gospel

Prayed in tongues and prophesied over their own lives. 

 

Listen I know we all are thankful for Gods grace and his mercy… I know I need it. But I don’t want to casually assume a life based on that for entrance into heaven. I want to walk in Gods power over sin and evil. I want his grace to empower my life so that I can live above sin. 2 Cor. 12:9 God tells Paul his grace is sufficient to overcome his weakness and his suffering. That phrase there actually means more than enough. And we often forget that last sentence in that verse….  - Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 

What have I done today for Christ? I have rested in his power over my weakness. 

GOD vs. Opinions, Rejections and Doubts

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

 

Im gonna bring the Jesus Hammer! Garth Heckman Ryan

 

 

What do you put your stock in? Look if I knew back in 1983 that for every $1000 in Microsoft would end up being 3 million dollars… I would have put stock into Microsoft… but who would have believed in that years ago…

I think I learned a lesson and I did put a chunk into Bitcoin and it is doing extremely well… but here is the point - 

Some people put more stock in peoples rejection then in the affirmation of God in their life.

That doesn’t even make sense… but we do it.

WE GIVE MORE CREDIT TO PEOPLES OPINIONS AND REJECTIONS THAT WE DO IN WHAT GOD SAYS IN HIS WORD.

You know what that really is right? Its calling God a liar. You are saying… I don’t believe you God, but I do believe the media, the work place, the current of peer pressure… 

 

 

Faith comes by hearing so you if you fill your head with medical science or witch craft of whatever, then that is what you have faith in. Todays major obstacle is that we have non stop input from a thousand voices every day… every day… every day. Truly when I was a kid I had the voices of my teachers, my sisters, my parents and about 8 close friends… those were the only people I put some stock in… and not a lot of stock in my teachers as I got older.

On my phone everyone is an expert… literally by education, resume, popularity - however you qualify it… experts everywhere buy the thousands. 

I officiated a wedding 10 years ago… very wealthy couple… they had one reception for adults, with a live band that played at the Dakota club here in Twin Cities… amazing food, and beautiful decor… 

But they had another whole reception for kids. Candy bar, ice cream bar, hot dogs, cheese burgers, Fries, chicken nuggets… milk shakes, rooter fountain… And basically no supervision. Just a band for kids… it was mayhem. 

Thats what social media is like today… no supervision and nothing but crap. 

 

Romans 10:17 faith cometh by hearing and by hearing the word of God… What is the key word in this verse? Faith? Word of God? Hearing? NOPE… its cometh… meaning it is a process over time. It doesn’t just happen when you hear… you feed your mind again and again what ever you feed it… will surely come. 

 

Every choice you make is making you!

But way before that choice there was a voice.

Be careful who you listen too… for it surely will cometh! 

Good to Great in record time? How?

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

 

How do you get good at anything? You practice… that seems obvious. But how do you get really good at something… like expert level. Well you practice but you practice under duress. 

 

Doctors who came back from war were far better at their jobs having practiced under war time conditions. The Benefits of Military Medical Experience include…. 

• Trauma and Emergency Care Expertise: Military doctors, especially those who have served in combat zones, gain unparalleled experience in managing severe trauma, critical injuries, and mass casualty events under high-pressure, resource-limited conditions. This experience can be invaluable in civilian trauma centers and emergency departments.
• Adaptability and Resourcefulness: Military physicians are often trained to work in diverse and sometimes austere environments, using whatever resources are available. This fosters a high degree of adaptability, problem-solving skills, and the ability to remain calm in chaotic situations.
• Leadership and Teamwork: Military medicine emphasizes strong leadership, teamwork, and a clear chain of command. These skills are highly transferable to civilian healthcare settings, particularly in managing teams and coordinating care.
• Exposure to Diverse Patient Populations: Military physicians often change stations frequently and may be exposed to a wide variety of patient populations globally, broadening their clinical perspective.
• Focus on Pure Medicine (less administrative burden): In some military settings, doctors can focus more on patient care without the same concerns about insurance or billing that civilian doctors often face, allowing them to hone their clinical skills.
• Innovation: Many medical innovations and practices, such as triage systems and specialized surgical teams, have originated or been refined in military settings and have had a significant impact on civilian healthcare.

 

 

When you don’t let anyone in your emotions, your faith or your mind… you build your Spiritual strength or should I say your spiritual armor. 

 

Wether it is a person or a circumstance or even a physical health issue - these aren’t just proving grounds, they are paving grounds for your life. You are learning to pave your walk in life in a straight and narrow. 

When emotions, doubt, anger, bitterness… when these emotions attack you it can cause an uphill and uneven walk… with pitfalls and roadblocks… but they are of your making because you don’t choose to the right response. 

 

Silence is your Protection

Scripture is your weapon

Faith is your push back into the darkness

 

Silence protects you a few ways…

You do not give your adversary any more ammo to pull your strings or trigger you.

You keep them guessing

You ultimately make them give up

You create a sense that you know something they don’t and it makes them feel vulnerable, more likely to expose their motives and their faults.

 

Scripture is your weapon. I just had a conversation with a young man who said he does not believe in speaking in tongues and the HS gifts for today… I said show me in scripture where it says that. He started to say “well I think…

I cut him off immediately and told him he was either incredibly stupid, naive or arrogant or he was God. Because no one who serves God should care what another man thinks if it does not line up with scripture. My life is lived according to scripture… not my circumstances, not my upbringing, not what others think… even if they seem smarter than me… My life and how I view my life is totally based on scripture.

If the rest of my life I pray for people to be healed and they are not… Im still believing God heals for today because that is what Gods word says. 

 

My aikido sense was John Barr- I have talked about him a few times on my podcast. He was the best, well known, on magazine covers, fought with Steven Seagal… his wife tells a story of when they went to a restaurant that had a bar…. (Story) 

No change in emotion, no anger, no change of demeanor… just a calm statement of faith. 

John knew what he knew, he believed what he knew and he knew it was true. THATS FAITH.

When you pray a prayer of faith or live a life of faith… you don’t have to pray loud, live brash, but if you just know what you know, believe what scripture says, and live the truth. Thats faith. 

 

Authority self esteem, self control, inner strength… self respect… its a muscle. And as they say… use it or lose it! 

Elton John nails 2 Chronicles 24

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

 

[Verse 1]

What have I gotta do to make you love me?

What have I gotta do to make you care?

What do I do when lightning strikes me

And I wake to find that you're not there?

[Verse 2]

What do I do to make you want me?

What have I gotta do to be heard?

What do I say when it's all over?

And sorry seems to be the hardest word

[Chorus]

It's sad (So sad), so sad

It's a sad, sad situation

And it's gettin' more and more absurd

It's sad (So sad), so sad

Why can't we talk it over?

Oh, it seems to me

That sorry seems to be the hardest word

 

 

The life of Allan

The life of Mitch

The life of Bill

The life of Lief

The life of Connor

The life of Londa

The life of Dane

The life of Shane

The life of Chris

And finally the life of Joash in 2 Chron. 22-24

 

He was the king of crash and burn… started out right but ran off the tracks in a hurry… Let me catch you up to speed. 

 

Two kingdoms. 

Judah   and             Israel

Jehoshaphat Ahab and Jezebel

Jehoram (reigned 8 yr) Marries Athaliah 

Ahaziah - Murdered @ 1 yr

Athaliah kills her grandsons and takes the throne

 

Joash is saved by Jehosheba (Ahaziah’s sister) Wife of the priest Jehoiadah 

 

Ahab and Jezebel had a daughter Athaliah

She marries Jehoshappaht.

Jehoshaphat dies and his son (Jehoram) becomes king (Athaliahs son)

Jehoram gets killed

So his mother kills all her grandsons and assumes the throne.

BUT… one of the grandsons is spared - Joash!

 

 

 

2 Chronicles 24:Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother was Zibiah from Beersheba. 2 Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.

 

 

17 But after Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice

 

PERSAUDED HB Shaw-Maw

Using the persons appetites and weaknesses they gave him consent to do what would be easiest and best for him. 

 

A young girl or boy has appetites to be liked, to be loved, to be accepted… if you just go with the crowd, if you just give in to sexual urges or peer pressure to do what will make you liked… If you are told your parents don’t understand…

YOU CAN BE PERSUADED. 

All of us have physical appetites/fleshly appetites

Lust, sex, greed, apathy, laziness, anger, Gluttony 

 

We have emotional appetites

To be needed, feel wanted, accepted, loved, cared for. We also have emotional needs to want to hate, strike back, hurt those who hurt us, to distrust, to be and stay bitter.

 

There will always be people who will persuade or feed those desires…

And if you listen you will cut short your blessings and maybe even your future in heaven. 

 

2 Chron. 24: 20 Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands and keep yourselves from prospering? You have abandoned the Lord, and now he has abandoned you!”

Distracti.... Look Squirrel!

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

 

Medevil times had a torture where they tied each limb of a person to a horse. So there were four horses and each one had a rope tied from the horse to one of the arms or legs. Then they would command the horses to all run as fast as they could all in opposite directions. It was truly barbaric as arms and legs were ripped off. 

What was the name of the torture called?

It was called distraction. 

 

 

Which distractions in your life have become disguised as priorities?

 

When was the last time you sat down next to someone or talking to someone at a party and asked them what they did and they said “Im a professional Bull rider”. I have never had it happen…. Now maybe if I lived in Texas, but still it would be rare! 

Being a man of God is as about as rare today as being a professional bull rider.

 

Why? I believe the main reason is because of distraction. Sin isn’t any more or less than any other time in todays world… Men didn’t just recently start noticing beautiful women. Drugs have always been around. There are no new sins… Satan has always been around… but distractions are at an all time high. 

 

 

The biggest danger in distractions is you don’t see them as distractions.

 

Let me ask you a very simple question. If you took all the time you have spent on your phone in the past 2 years… and simply practiced the piano - how good would you be? I asked AI this and here is what they said. 

You would likely reach an intermediate level much faster than 3-5 years, potentially within 6 months to a year, assuming quality, focused practice.

In 3 to 3.5 years you would be an advanced pianist. 

 

How long would it take to read the whole bible. If you read at an average pace or listened to it on an app…

In summary:

• Non-stop reading: 2-3 days
• Daily reading (typical pace): 1 year
• Daily reading (fast pace): 3 months (90 days)
• Daily listening: 2 months

Let me break it down into a realistic day to day… you would read 3.3 chapters a day. 

 

So why are you not the man of God you want to be? Its not sin… its really not. Its distractions. 

 

Being a man of God is as about as rare today as being a professional bull rider. Ride the Bull! Daily! 

What is Twuu Wuvv

Garth Heckman

The David Alliance

TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com 

 

Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam … And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva … So tweasure your wuv.

 

God loves everyone… 

True. However.

Gods unconditional love is not Gods unconditional approval.

So lets look at some scriptures that seem counterintuitive 

 

John 3:16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only son….

Romans 2:6 God will judge the world

2 Peter 3:10 God will destroy the earth and its inhabitants 

 

The problem lies within our twisted world/self centered view of what love is. Love is a feeling, it is something that always makes us happy, it always feels good and it is always in line with what we want. NO and DOUBLE NO! 

Love is discipline, love is honesty when we don’t want to hear what is right. Love is correction. Love is punishment. Love is not letting us get our own way. And thank God love is not a feeling or none of us would still have parents… im sure they would have all walked away at some point. 

 

My parents loved me better than I could have ever expected.. but they did not always approve of what I did. When I wore 8 inch kiss boots to church… my Dad was none to happy, made me sit in the front row of Church… it was kind of embarrassing… did not feel loving at all - but it was. 

 

Gods love will be responsible for all types of action on the earth… its not our job to try to figure it out or ask why. It is simply our job to trust him. There were a lot of things I did not understand as a kid that my parents did… but I understand now.

What we need to understand in todays world is

God is love. But love is not God. Do not worship love at the cost of watering down scripture, making excuses for going against his word or for excusing your behavior simply because …well… God loves us! 

 

Division brings weakness. Separation brings power. 

 

What do I mean. Well we think Love as a feeling (defined by what we want) is all inclusive. But it is actually divisive. Ever get a group of people together and tell them they all can have what ever they want? Its anarchy! It weakens humanity and our natural bond as people. 

However if I understand that sometimes love seemingly separates us from what we want… but it is God keeping us from what is evil, bad, destructive… it is actually Gods power at its best. Again Division brings weakness… we are most divided when we all thing we can all get whatever we want. 

Do not get fooled as to which is which… it will ruin your life in no time. 

Mirror Neurons and Snakes!