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Second Samuel, Chapter 23. 
I have a feeling some are not 

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here tonight because they come 
from a long way and they're 

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planning to be there tomorrow. 
But Bible study must go on. 

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Amen. 
And we've been getting, let me 

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just say this, we've been 
getting so many encouraging 

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emails of people finding out 
about this ministry by doing one

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simple thing. 
They go on YouTube, they search 

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up a chapter and first or Second
Samuel, and we show up and and 

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we get encouraging messages from
people across the world. 

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And so we are blessed to be here
together in person, and we are 

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blessed by those who watch every
single week, tuning in live and 

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watching later. 
We hope you're blessed tonight 

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as we come to verse eight of 
this chapter, verse eight in 

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this chapter. 
And today you and I are coming 

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to a very invigorating portion 
of this chapter because a brief 

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glance at it will show that in 
the last 32 verses of this 

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chapter, God, the Holy Spirit 
consecrated it to give us a 

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catalog of God's mighty men 
assigned to David David's mighty

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men. 
And as we look at these texts, 

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we might think and be tempted 
that there's not much value in 

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these verses with names that 
we've never heard before and and

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the exploits of some of these 
men. 

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I mean, what does that have to 
do with you and I? 

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But anytime you come to, and I 
hope you know this by now, 

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anytime you come to any portion 
of Scripture and that thought 

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arises, shoot it down. 
Disregarded completely, no 

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matter how obscure or difficult 
a verse or verses may be. 

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God has given us this for our 
instruction. 

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And the Holy Spirit had in mind 
the sanctification of the Saints

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when He gave us this historical 
report thousands of years ago. 

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And I believe the best way to 
approach the theme of the 

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exhortations and the 
encouragements found in the set 

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of verses is to see how this 
present text connects with the 

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preceding one. 
What did we study last time we 

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were together? 
Well, look at back the first 

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verse of of chapter 23. 
Now these are the last words of 

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David and the 1st 7 verses are 
technically a Psalm, the last 

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Psalm of David. 
And so right from the beginning 

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we understand what we are 
entering into. 

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The Holy Spirit at the end of 
this book is wanting us to 

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contemplate the last things 
pertaining to David's life and 

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David's reign. 
The last things, some debate. 

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If this is the last words of 
David, we know it's not the last

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words, but it's the last Psalm 
song Public addressed that David

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gave through a hymn. 
And is it coincidental that with

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the last words of David, the 
meditation of the final 

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concluding moments of his 
Kingdom, we are introduced to a 

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review of the services of his 
servants? 

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It's not an accident. 
It's actually a nudge. 

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It's actually kind of a 
foreshadowing. 

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It's a reminder, you and I, if 
you want an overarching theme 

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for what this chapter is about, 
at least in this part, is that 

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in the same way that the end of 
this church age, the end of 

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Christ, work through his people 
on the earth, we too can expect 

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an evaluation and commendation 
from our king. 

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Every battle that you have 
fought, every trial that you 

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have endured will one day be 
surfaced before the throne of 

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Christ and will be highlighted 
by the King himself. 

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It will be tested with fire. 
And so there is a day coming for

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every single blood bot Christian
who wears the uniform of grace 

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and the righteousness of Christ 
to stand before their commander.

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And this commander will look at 
your gifts, your context, your 

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opportunities, and through your 
faithfulness or lack of 

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faithfulness, it will determine 
the reward that we will enjoy 

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and the life to come. 
And so this, this portion, this,

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these passages are perfectly 
aligned with the idea of our 

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meditation on David as king and 
the last things pertaining to 

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him. 
Because at the end of it all, 

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when all is said and done, there
will be your name called, my 

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name called, and Christ will 
review what we've done on this 

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earth for His name and for us. 
That's exciting, I hope. 

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For others, that's terrifying. 
But I hope that what you will 

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hear today will inspire you to 
fight. 

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The good fight will inspire you 
to remain faithful until the 

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end, will inspire you to 
remember that this brief 

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existence of yours, it all of us
is leading to one thing. 

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All roads lead to the judgment 
seat of Christ. 

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The judgment seat of Christ is 
not the judgment for 

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unbelievers. 
That's the great White throne 

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judgment. 
I hope you don't show up to that

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one. 
The judgment seat of Christ is 

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for Christians, and we'll not 
determine whether we have 

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eternal life that's been 
determined at the cross. 

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It will determine our reward 
that we will enjoy when Christ 

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rules and reigns on the earth. 
How do we divide this? 

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I I won't read through the rest 
of the chapter, especially with 

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these tongue twisting names. 
Okay, I know you might enjoy 

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that, but I will not be able to 
do that today. 

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But I believe the best way to 
approach it is to look at it the

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way the author divides it. 
It seems as though with this 

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list of 30 something men you 
have a division of ranks. 

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You have a first rank, you have 
a second rank and you have a 

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third rank. 
You have these different 

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classes. 
The first rank makes up of three

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men. 
The three they're called. 

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The second class can arguably be
about two men who were chief 

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among the 30 but were closely 
associated with the top three. 

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And the last class of men deal 
with a series of names. 

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And we don't necessarily have 
their a personal conquest 

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ascribed to each, but they still
make up of the the 30 men of the

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final class. 
Mighty men still, but of a 

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different caliber. 
And so that's what we're going 

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to do. 
Let's look at each of these 

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ranks. 
And here's the goal that you and

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I want to accomplish. 
What is it about these men that 

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qualify them to be mighty? 
What is it about these men that 

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gave them the honor to be 
crowned with such monumental 

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praise and acknowledgement? 
Because the physical realities 

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of these soldiers and this army 
parallels with the reality that 

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you and I endure in this life as
soldiers of Christ. 

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So that's what we're going to 
draw from these actual soldiers 

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in the flesh. 
What do they have to teach us 

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about us being good soldiers in 
the Spirit? 

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And so we read in verse 8. 
These are the names of the 

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mighty of the mighty man whom 
David had. 

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Joseph Bass. 
Hebeth he Takimonite, he was 

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chief of the three. 
He wielded his spear against 

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800, whom he killed at one time,
and next to him among the three 

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mighty man, was Eliezer, the son
of Dodo, son of Aho. 

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High he was with David when they
defied the Philistines, who were

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gathered there for battle, and 
the men of Israel withdrew. 

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He rose and struck down the 
Philistines until his hand was 

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weary, and his hand clung to the
sword. 

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And the Lord brought about a 
great victory that day, and the 

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men returned after him, only to 
strip the slain. 

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And next to him was Shama the 
son of Ahi, the Hara, right? 

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The Philistines gathered 
together at Lehigh or some 

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translation, say as a troop 
where there was a plot of ground

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full of lentils and the men fled
from the Philistines. 

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But he took his stand in the 
midst of the plot and defended 

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it and struck down the 
Philistines, and the Lord worked

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a great victory. 
I'm curious to know, based on 

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that simple reading, what stands
out to you from these three 

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chief men, the top three. 
Any ideas? 

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And I'll do my best to repeat so
help me a little bit by not 

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making your answer too long, 
because people tend to say, hey,

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we didn't hear the answers of 
the people at the study. 

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Can you can you be more clear? 
So if you want to give a concise

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answer that helps me repeat it, 
yes. 

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What stands out? 
Oh, very, very, very good. 

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They stood alone in their 
battles. 

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Yes. 
Anything else? 

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The Lord worked through these 
men? 

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Absolutely. 
He brought about a great victory

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through the faithfulness of 
these men. 

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Yes. 
Anything else? 

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Go ahead. 
So there was many of their 

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adversaries, yet they still 
stood and they saw God come 

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through. 
Despite the challenging 

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opposition, their faith 
remained. 

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Yes. 
Anything else of these three? 

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Mighty. 
The first three? 

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Yes. 
Very similar to David? 

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Absolutely. 
In what sense? 

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Yes. 
Amen. 

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Isn't that a wonderful report 
concerning the followers of 

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David? 
They imitated their king, and we

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learned that last time we were 
together, that David's 

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faithfulness rubbed off on 
others. 

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It was contagious, and he 
inspired others to walk in the 

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same level of courage that he 
did. 

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That's what your faithfulness 
can do when you're willing to do

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something like David and stand 
alone for God? 

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Absolutely. 
Well, why don't we explore this 

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in greater detail? 
Shall we not? 

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Let's look at our first man, 
mighty man. 

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We are told here about this man 
that he is the chief of the 

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three, the chief of the three. 
So he's not just among the first

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three, he is the chief of the 
three. 

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It is believed that he must have
been an advisor for the military

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as a whole. 
He was an expert. 

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He was extremely wise and 
discerning. 

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He was somebody that can be 
counted on, not just with his 

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mind, but with his skill. 
And one of the things that are 

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highlighted concerning his 
ability is the fact that at one 

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time, in one specific event, he 
wielded his spear against not 

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eight. 
One against eight is super 

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impressive. 
One against 800. 

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Unusual. 
Supernatural, to say the least. 

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And so you look at this man and 
you see something that is pretty

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difficult to match. 
Pretty difficult to replicate. 

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Something that is unique even 
among the mighty and the 

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faithful. 
And I think what we can take 

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from this is to understand. 
And even in the Kingdom of God 

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today, there are certain 
servants of God who have been 

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gifted by God to to do certain 
things that are very difficult 

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to repeat, very difficult to 
follow in. 

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I mean, you look at this man and
you realize that he does the 

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work of 1000 men. 
And when you look at the Kingdom

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of God throughout history, the 
church throughout the ages, you 

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know this very well. 
That God and every generation 

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chooses and raises up certain 
men to touch many people at the 

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same time to do work that some, 
if they live 10 lives, will not 

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even do a fraction in 
comparison. 

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And that is not to say that 
these men and these women 

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throughout history were more 
loved by God. 

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It is all to say that God and 
his sovereignty and desiring to 

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expand his glory, will expand 
the ability and the gifting of 1

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particular person to do a great 
and mighty work on the earth. 

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That's what you see here with 
this first fella. 

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He he is a mighty man, but he is
an exceptional mighty man. 

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He is a different kind of mighty
man, one in the generation kind 

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of guy. 
And we know those people. 

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And some of you can even name 
those people. 

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And when you when you understand
that, you have to not be 

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discouraged, but understand that
the Lord knows what He's doing 

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in ascribing to you the gifts 
that you have and ascribing to 

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others the gifts that they have.
And I've personally learned this

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even in this past week. 
I was meditating on that truth 

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this morning. 
And this past week was an 

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unusual week for me in terms of 
my schedule of preaching. 

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There was almost something 
happening every day where there 

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was online or in person, and and
yesterday I was just laying a 

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bad thing to myself because my 
throat is sore even now. 

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So be gracious to me if I'm not 
as loud as I usually him. 

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I thought to myself, how, how 
did these men of old do it? 

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If you know a little about 
church history, if you've read 

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into George Whitfield and 
Wesley, you see that these men 

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preached twice a day, every day 
for months without stop and no 

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microphone, no amplification, 
and they had thousands of people

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before them. 
Here I am and I did A2 extra 

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meetings and my throat is, is is
acting all soft. 

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And I'm thinking to myself how 
And I wasn't discouraged. 

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I just thought to myself, well, 
just like this man here, God has

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enabled certain people to do 
things that I might not be able 

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to do, that you might not be 
able to do, and that shouldn't 

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squash you. 
That should just cause you to 

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rejoice that God in his wisdom 
knows what to give to whom. 

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And in the end, God's getting 
the glory anyway. 

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That's the whole point. 
It's not to be in competition 

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with other preachers or 
missionaries. 

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It's to see what the Lord has 
done, to see what the Lord can 

233
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do, and to rejoice in that. 
We rejoice in this testimony. 

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00:13:59,050 --> 00:14:02,130
And there is a verse that Paul 
gives that confirms this, this 

235
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idea that I'm conveying to you. 
I want you to see it. 

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00:14:04,290 --> 00:14:07,290
In 2nd Corinthians 10. 
He speaks to the Corinthians and

237
00:14:07,290 --> 00:14:10,620
he is challenging how they are 
being influenced by these false 

238
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apostles, these false teachers 
that are boasting themselves and

239
00:14:13,380 --> 00:14:17,980
then boasting themselves, trying
to disqualify Paul and notice 

240
00:14:17,980 --> 00:14:21,740
what he says. 
Notice what he says here in 

241
00:14:21,740 --> 00:14:27,700
verse 13, he says in 2nd 
Corinthians 1013. 

242
00:14:27,700 --> 00:14:31,500
But we will not boast beyond 
limits. 

243
00:14:32,460 --> 00:14:36,940
But we will boast only with 
regard to the area of influence 

244
00:14:36,940 --> 00:14:43,620
God assigned to us. 
To reach even to you, what a 

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00:14:43,620 --> 00:14:48,100
humble man Paul understood and 
Paul's theology, practical 

246
00:14:48,100 --> 00:14:49,700
theology. 
He understood that God 

247
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sovereignly determines how each 
of his servants will serve him 

248
00:14:53,780 --> 00:14:56,980
and to what capacity. 
There are some who have been 

249
00:14:56,980 --> 00:15:00,340
gifted by God in a way in which 
they will have a larger platform

250
00:15:00,340 --> 00:15:02,660
and a wider reach. 
And there are others who may 

251
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have a more limited reach. 
And that is not to say one is 

252
00:15:06,540 --> 00:15:10,460
more special or favored by God. 
That is merely to say that God 

253
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knows exactly what portion of 
his vineyard you should occupy. 

254
00:15:15,380 --> 00:15:18,340
And Paul here is expressing 
contentment in the extent of his

255
00:15:18,340 --> 00:15:20,180
influence. 
He's not complaining. 

256
00:15:20,860 --> 00:15:23,820
Oh, you have every right to say,
Lord, use me to touch as many 

257
00:15:23,820 --> 00:15:27,180
people as possible. 
But as you serve him, trust in 

258
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the breath that he is granting 
to you. 

259
00:15:30,620 --> 00:15:34,050
Your job is to determine the 
excellence of your ministry. 

260
00:15:35,010 --> 00:15:38,290
Your job is to determine the 
character that you should have 

261
00:15:38,290 --> 00:15:41,730
as a minister. 
Your job is to do whatever God's

262
00:15:41,730 --> 00:15:46,330
put before you with great zeal, 
passion and practice. 

263
00:15:46,970 --> 00:15:49,530
God's job is to broaden the 
influence. 

264
00:15:49,530 --> 00:15:51,250
If He wants to, that's not your 
job. 

265
00:15:51,970 --> 00:15:54,530
That's not your job. 
And that's why you can strive as

266
00:15:54,530 --> 00:15:56,130
much as you want to make it 
happen. 

267
00:15:56,130 --> 00:15:58,210
It will not happen unless he 
makes it happen. 

268
00:15:58,930 --> 00:16:02,050
That shouldn't frustrate you, 
That should put you to rest, 

269
00:16:02,690 --> 00:16:04,850
because God even knows how much 
you can handle. 

270
00:16:04,850 --> 00:16:07,330
As much as your dreams are big, 
He knows exactly how you've been

271
00:16:07,330 --> 00:16:09,530
wired. 
And there are things that you 

272
00:16:09,530 --> 00:16:13,370
will touch that even these 
mighty men, like this man here 

273
00:16:13,370 --> 00:16:17,210
in verse eight will never touch.
Yes, he was able to touch 800 

274
00:16:17,210 --> 00:16:20,810
lives in in this negative sense 
and killing them, but the rest 

275
00:16:20,810 --> 00:16:23,250
of the mighty men were able to 
do things that he could not do. 

276
00:16:24,010 --> 00:16:26,050
And so it's not a matter of you 
being lesser. 

277
00:16:26,050 --> 00:16:29,000
It's a matter of you occupying 
something that those people who 

278
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,080
might have touched millions of 
lives will not even touch. 

279
00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:35,920
And so it's all about how God 
places you and where He places 

280
00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:38,720
you and you, fitting and 
fulfilling a piece of the puzzle

281
00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,400
that even mighty men here like 
this will not touch. 

282
00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,200
So that's what we see here. 
There are certain mighty men who

283
00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:49,560
operate with a level of gifting 
and influence that that is not 

284
00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:51,240
repeated, and that shouldn't 
frustrate you. 

285
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,920
But look here at verse 9. 
At the 2nd next among the chief 

286
00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,000
3 is a man named Eliezer, the 
son of Dodo. 

287
00:16:58,670 --> 00:17:01,910
What's his story all about? 
Well, it's here in verse nine. 

288
00:17:02,390 --> 00:17:05,750
He was with David when they 
defied the Philistines, who were

289
00:17:05,750 --> 00:17:10,869
gathered there for battle, and 
the men of Israel withdrew no 

290
00:17:10,869 --> 00:17:14,710
explanation to why. 
But here's a specific battle, 

291
00:17:15,030 --> 00:17:16,630
and you have the men of Israel 
there. 

292
00:17:16,829 --> 00:17:18,550
And for whatever reason, they 
were intimidated. 

293
00:17:18,550 --> 00:17:20,230
Fearful, they turned their backs
and their run. 

294
00:17:20,230 --> 00:17:22,349
Then they run. 
And who's there on the scene? 

295
00:17:22,349 --> 00:17:28,160
Two of them, King David and 
Eliezer, the son of Dodo at 

296
00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:29,760
Liaiso. 
The son of Dodo is the one who 

297
00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,240
planted his heels in the dirt 
and said, I'm not going nowhere,

298
00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:35,160
We're going to do this together,
right? 

299
00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,480
King David and everybody else 
runs. 

300
00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:40,000
We don't give, we don't get to 
understand. 

301
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:41,960
That's not the main point of the
the passage. 

302
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:46,880
It's it's to see this man stand 
out, stand and guard his post, 

303
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,280
regardless of the fear and 
regardless of the lack of 

304
00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,040
support from those on his own 
team. 

305
00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:57,750
It's easier to serve in your 
ministry when those that you 

306
00:17:57,750 --> 00:18:00,830
like and enjoy are serving in 
that ministry. 

307
00:18:01,590 --> 00:18:05,950
It's easier to pray when other 
people are also praying. 

308
00:18:05,950 --> 00:18:09,910
It's easier to maintain a zeal 
when you're constantly feeling 

309
00:18:09,910 --> 00:18:12,950
the warmth of other burning 
hearts. 

310
00:18:15,510 --> 00:18:20,590
But what we see here about what 
makes up a mighty man is that 

311
00:18:20,590 --> 00:18:25,510
the king will commend 
faithfulness when it sparkles. 

312
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:31,680
And the backdrop of Christian 
compromise, what moves the heart

313
00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:36,400
of God is not just faithfulness,
but faithfulness that shines on 

314
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,360
the backdrop of Christian 
compromise. 

315
00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,520
This is what we see. 
We see these men who withdrew 

316
00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:49,000
and this man stands out. 
And where faith really matters, 

317
00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:53,080
I mean it matters at all times. 
Where we're really stands out is

318
00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:58,860
when other people are not 
serving him, are not worshipping

319
00:18:58,860 --> 00:19:03,140
him, are not devoted to him. 
One writer put it this way. 

320
00:19:03,140 --> 00:19:07,620
God esteems fidelity and holy 
zeal far more highly in a season

321
00:19:07,620 --> 00:19:11,660
of declension and apostasy than 
he does in a time of revival. 

322
00:19:14,220 --> 00:19:17,020
I couldn't say it any better. 
Absolutely right. 

323
00:19:18,100 --> 00:19:20,060
There's something that 
particularly touches the heart 

324
00:19:20,060 --> 00:19:24,470
of God when he sees one man, a 
few men, a few woman, who even 

325
00:19:24,470 --> 00:19:29,150
in the coldness of the spiritual
atmosphere of their day still 

326
00:19:29,150 --> 00:19:31,390
are willing to stand by. 
The king and our brother 

327
00:19:31,390 --> 00:19:33,110
mentioned and already that one 
of the things that stand out 

328
00:19:33,110 --> 00:19:35,510
about these mighty men, the 
chief 3, if there's one thing 

329
00:19:35,510 --> 00:19:37,510
that they shared despite the 
differences in their 

330
00:19:37,510 --> 00:19:39,430
testimonies, is that they stood 
alone. 

331
00:19:40,590 --> 00:19:43,550
They stood alone. 
And there are today who are 

332
00:19:43,550 --> 00:19:46,470
expressing woes, right 
disappointment about what's 

333
00:19:46,470 --> 00:19:48,470
happening today. 
And christen them seems like 

334
00:19:48,470 --> 00:19:51,630
most of Chris of them is asleep 
in a time of of great need. 

335
00:19:53,210 --> 00:19:55,450
And that's not a this is not a 
time to be discouraged. 

336
00:19:55,450 --> 00:19:58,730
You also at the same time though
you can be overcome by despair. 

337
00:19:59,010 --> 00:20:03,170
Realize the opportunity at hand 
in 2023. 

338
00:20:03,410 --> 00:20:06,730
What's that opportunity that you
have a chance to give God 

339
00:20:06,730 --> 00:20:12,010
praiseworthy devotion when it 
really matters, When it really 

340
00:20:12,010 --> 00:20:14,370
matters. 
That's how I want to see it. 

341
00:20:14,370 --> 00:20:17,370
OK, let other people compromise 
on the pulpit. 

342
00:20:17,870 --> 00:20:19,910
OK, let other people not want to
be in the church. 

343
00:20:19,910 --> 00:20:22,710
OK, let other people not want to
serve with a greater zeal. 

344
00:20:22,870 --> 00:20:24,350
Though the darkness is 
increasing. 

345
00:20:24,350 --> 00:20:26,750
Let them. 
That's not my job, to make sure 

346
00:20:26,750 --> 00:20:28,710
that everybody is doing what 
they're supposed that's between 

347
00:20:28,710 --> 00:20:31,310
them and God. 
I can exhort and encourage, but 

348
00:20:31,310 --> 00:20:35,390
if I, if I and you have to stand
and serve the Lord, then so be 

349
00:20:35,390 --> 00:20:37,590
it. 
Whether the presence of God's 

350
00:20:37,590 --> 00:20:40,510
people are there or not, whether
the majority are in for it or 

351
00:20:40,510 --> 00:20:43,350
not that that's not, that's not 
what determines anything. 

352
00:20:43,990 --> 00:20:46,560
God would look at your 
faithfulness and he'll look at 

353
00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:48,680
the lack of faithfulness around 
you and he will, He will deal 

354
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:49,920
with them and He would deal with
you. 

355
00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:52,160
And you think that this is 
different today. 

356
00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:54,440
You think what, what's happening
here with this one man, the 

357
00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:56,640
commendation that's ascribed to 
him is different in the church 

358
00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,240
age. 
No, Look at Revelation chapter 3

359
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,040
in one church. 
Look how God evaluates churches.

360
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,560
Man, it's absolutely frightening
to me because his, his 

361
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,600
measurement, his evaluation 
sheet is much different than 

362
00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:10,320
man's. 
But he comes to this church in 

363
00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:12,360
Revelation 3. 
This church called Sardis. 

364
00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:15,630
Well, at least it was in Sardis.
And this church had a reputation

365
00:21:15,630 --> 00:21:17,630
of being alive, but it was 
actually dead. 

366
00:21:17,910 --> 00:21:20,990
And they're relying on their 
reputation and and the Lord in a

367
00:21:20,990 --> 00:21:23,470
loving way scolds them. 
But he says something so 

368
00:21:23,470 --> 00:21:27,270
powerful that encourages me at 
least in chapter 3, verse three,

369
00:21:27,270 --> 00:21:29,870
is it there on the screen. 
Here's what he says. 

370
00:21:29,870 --> 00:21:32,030
Remember then what you received 
and heard. 

371
00:21:32,030 --> 00:21:34,830
Keep it and repent. 
If you will not wake up. 

372
00:21:34,830 --> 00:21:37,070
I will come like a thief and you
will know. 

373
00:21:37,230 --> 00:21:39,590
You will not know at what hour I
will come against you. 

374
00:21:39,590 --> 00:21:43,800
Look at verse 4. 
Yet you have still a few names 

375
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:48,360
in Sardis, people who have not 
soiled their garments, and they 

376
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:51,720
will walk with me in white, for 
they are worthy. 

377
00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,160
I love how the King James and 
the new King James puts it, it 

378
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:57,680
says in that translation of this
verse. 

379
00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,840
Yet you have still a few names, 
even in Sardis. 

380
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:07,320
It's a even in a spiritually 
dead, a lifeless place like 

381
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:09,880
Sardis. 
Yes, even in such a hopeless 

382
00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:14,250
environment, you have some who 
have not soiled their garments. 

383
00:22:14,290 --> 00:22:16,010
And the part that touches me is 
this. 

384
00:22:16,450 --> 00:22:20,210
And I know their names. 
He knows their names. 

385
00:22:20,210 --> 00:22:24,010
And you know what the reward 
will be for those who choose to 

386
00:22:24,010 --> 00:22:27,930
stand, Though there's soil 
garments all around them. 

387
00:22:28,290 --> 00:22:31,290
They'll walk with me. 
They'll walk with me. 

388
00:22:31,610 --> 00:22:34,410
I'm going to invite them into 
close fellowship with me. 

389
00:22:34,410 --> 00:22:40,020
Because you stood for me, and 
you served me in your church, in

390
00:22:40,020 --> 00:22:46,580
your family, in your generation,
when others chose to just be 

391
00:22:46,580 --> 00:22:49,420
content in their spiritual 
death, reminiscing on things of 

392
00:22:49,420 --> 00:22:52,540
the past and not keeping up with
their faith and their devotion 

393
00:22:52,540 --> 00:22:56,540
to me. 
That touches my heart and I and 

394
00:22:56,540 --> 00:22:59,540
I see this, and I see the 
parallel for our own lives. 

395
00:23:00,340 --> 00:23:03,300
And you see still a glorious 
description added to Eliezer. 

396
00:23:03,300 --> 00:23:07,560
Did you see it in verse 10? 
It says here that he rose and 

397
00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:11,800
struck down the Philistines 
until his hand was weary and his

398
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:17,160
hand clung to the sword. 
This guy had a grip on his sword

399
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,680
and you couldn't. 
You couldn't do anything to 

400
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:21,560
separate those fingers from that
grip. 

401
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,280
So already he had to deal with 
the challenge of the lack of 

402
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,880
support and fidelity of those 
around him. 

403
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,800
All his boys turned back and ran
the other direction. 

404
00:23:33,450 --> 00:23:35,730
Now he has another challenge. 
Perform, and that's his own 

405
00:23:35,730 --> 00:23:38,290
flesh. 
And you too have the same 

406
00:23:38,290 --> 00:23:40,210
challenge. 
You have the challenge of 

407
00:23:40,210 --> 00:23:42,850
dealing with the lack of 
examples, the temptation of 

408
00:23:42,850 --> 00:23:45,650
those around you, And then you 
got to deal with the weariness 

409
00:23:45,650 --> 00:23:47,610
of your own flesh and mind and 
soul. 

410
00:23:48,490 --> 00:23:52,770
And yet, despite the weariness, 
despite his own body trying to 

411
00:23:52,770 --> 00:23:57,930
convince him to give up, it says
here that he was not weakened. 

412
00:23:58,930 --> 00:24:02,660
He stayed the course. 
He did not let go of the sword 

413
00:24:02,660 --> 00:24:06,820
until the task was complete. 
He did not remove his hands from

414
00:24:06,820 --> 00:24:10,100
the plow until the master said 
you're done. 

415
00:24:11,820 --> 00:24:16,340
Mighty men and mighty woman of 
God endure until the end. 

416
00:24:17,220 --> 00:24:22,260
They finish what they started. 
You have to fight them to keep 

417
00:24:22,260 --> 00:24:26,100
them from not doing what they 
want to do for the Lord. 

418
00:24:27,980 --> 00:24:31,000
It's the opposite for people in 
today's generation. 

419
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,600
You have to fight them and get 
them all riled up to get to 

420
00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,400
serve the Lord and to hopefully 
stay on that course for some 

421
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:40,400
kind of length of time. 
And that's the opposite. 

422
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,280
With this fella, you couldn't do
anything to remove that sword 

423
00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:47,520
from his hand. 
He was going to do it until it 

424
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,920
was done. 
And this is something to to 

425
00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:53,800
consider for your own devotion 
in mind. 

426
00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:58,280
To not give up so easily defines
a mighty man of God. 

427
00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:02,640
Despite the lack of encouraging 
environment, he is not deterred 

428
00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:06,480
in his commitment. 
And that liaiser's story here it

429
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,320
concludes with a convicting 
summary. 

430
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:11,240
What's that convicting summary? 
Look here at the last part of 

431
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,640
verse 10. 
And the Lord brought about a 

432
00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,400
great victory that day, and the 
men returned after him only to 

433
00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:22,120
strip the slain. 
So when it came to the fight, 

434
00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:23,560
nobody was there. 
When it came to the reward, 

435
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:27,880
everybody shows up. 
Unique story. 

436
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:30,840
No human nature. 
Human nature. 

437
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,280
I looked at this and I thought 
to myself, how sad is it that 

438
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,760
the presence of many Saints is 
only made known when they 

439
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,800
recognize an immediate benefit 
to their enlistment in God's 

440
00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,480
army. 
How true is it? 

441
00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,520
For many who have enlisted in 
God's army will pause and 

442
00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,440
retreat when there's an actual 
cost to their enlistment in 

443
00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,990
Guard's army. 
But when it's prosperous and 

444
00:25:54,990 --> 00:25:57,590
when it's easy, when it's 
successful, and when there's 

445
00:25:57,590 --> 00:26:02,150
growth, and when there's fame, 
we want to be associated with 

446
00:26:02,150 --> 00:26:06,830
it, We want to partner with it. 
We want to be a part of it. 

447
00:26:08,470 --> 00:26:12,390
But when it comes to standing in
the midst of the threats of the 

448
00:26:12,390 --> 00:26:17,070
world and consistently fighting 
against the flesh, those numbers

449
00:26:17,510 --> 00:26:21,150
dwindle. 
And that kind of caliber of 

450
00:26:21,150 --> 00:26:26,520
Christianity faints. 
And so you see some who've only 

451
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:31,000
come to strip the slain. 
And it's true that even today, 

452
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,520
it's usually the faithfulness of
1 or a few. 

453
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:40,600
The other people enjoy the 
benefits of, you know, the 

454
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:43,480
statistics they say, of local 
churches, of who in those local 

455
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:47,920
churches serve actually serve 
consistently, is embarrassingly 

456
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:49,400
low. 
I think they. 

457
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:52,680
I don't want to give a wrong 
statistic, but it's below 10%, 

458
00:26:53,790 --> 00:26:58,110
below 10% of most congregations.
Do you have people who serve 

459
00:26:58,110 --> 00:27:01,550
consistently in that church and 
the rest just attend once a 

460
00:27:01,550 --> 00:27:04,390
week? 
If they can't even do that, that

461
00:27:04,390 --> 00:27:07,350
that is the difference between 
mighty men and women and the 

462
00:27:07,350 --> 00:27:11,830
feeble in the faith. 
Here's a person who he's been, 

463
00:27:11,910 --> 00:27:14,310
he's been assigned a sword. 
He's like, I'm not letting go of

464
00:27:14,310 --> 00:27:21,590
this until the job is done and 
we come to the third and final 

465
00:27:21,590 --> 00:27:27,010
of the Chief, 3, verse 11. 
And next to him was Shama, the 

466
00:27:27,010 --> 00:27:30,890
son of Aggie, the Heroright. 
The Philistines gathered 

467
00:27:30,890 --> 00:27:34,410
together at Lehigh, where there 
was a plot of ground full of 

468
00:27:34,410 --> 00:27:37,410
lentils and the Med fled from 
the Philistines. 

469
00:27:37,530 --> 00:27:40,730
We've seen this before. 
Here's another man, mighty man. 

470
00:27:40,890 --> 00:27:44,410
And what do we see about him? 
He stands when everybody else 

471
00:27:44,410 --> 00:27:48,490
flees, but there's a description
about his whereabouts, about his

472
00:27:48,770 --> 00:27:53,950
actual engagement, that is 
striking. 

473
00:27:54,350 --> 00:27:57,310
It may seem strange, but when 
you meditate on it, it's 

474
00:27:57,310 --> 00:28:00,750
actually striking. 
The description of the plot of 

475
00:28:00,750 --> 00:28:04,550
land that he was on is this, 
that it was a land of lentils. 

476
00:28:05,390 --> 00:28:09,630
It was a field. 
It was a field that farmers 

477
00:28:09,630 --> 00:28:12,230
occupied. 
Now that's important because you

478
00:28:12,230 --> 00:28:16,390
have the Philistines who show up
on the horizon and clearly they 

479
00:28:16,390 --> 00:28:20,700
want to occupy this countryside,
but it's not the citadel found 

480
00:28:20,700 --> 00:28:22,740
in Jerusalem. 
It's not a strategic city that 

481
00:28:22,740 --> 00:28:25,460
would determine the nation's 
security. 

482
00:28:26,420 --> 00:28:30,900
It's it's a land of lentils. 
That's not very important, at 

483
00:28:30,900 --> 00:28:33,420
least in my mind. 
If anything, it's on the 

484
00:28:33,420 --> 00:28:37,260
peripheral, probably. 
It's not striking at the nerve 

485
00:28:37,260 --> 00:28:41,860
of the nation. 
And so to me, it seems as though

486
00:28:41,860 --> 00:28:44,620
the people calculated very 
quickly here are the 

487
00:28:44,620 --> 00:28:46,060
Philistines. 
They want this land. 

488
00:28:46,060 --> 00:28:48,870
They want to park here. 
It's not worth risking my life 

489
00:28:48,870 --> 00:28:50,870
for. 
And so we're out of here. 

490
00:28:51,230 --> 00:28:53,430
And they dropped their 
instruments and they went into a

491
00:28:53,430 --> 00:28:56,190
different direction. 
But there's a crazy guy in the 

492
00:28:56,190 --> 00:29:00,270
field that day. 
There's an insane man, if I can 

493
00:29:00,270 --> 00:29:03,910
use that word. 
And this man Shamat looks around

494
00:29:03,910 --> 00:29:08,310
and he says, no, I'm going to 
stand right here, bring it on. 

495
00:29:11,230 --> 00:29:15,830
Why was he a man that found 
adrenaline in these kind of 

496
00:29:15,830 --> 00:29:17,980
things? 
Was he a man who was just 

497
00:29:17,980 --> 00:29:19,940
reckless and his behavior? 
No, he was a man with 

498
00:29:19,940 --> 00:29:22,740
revelation. 
Yeah. 

499
00:29:23,020 --> 00:29:26,540
To the to the crowd. 
This was a plot of lentils. 

500
00:29:27,420 --> 00:29:30,780
You know how I believe this man 
saw this land? 

501
00:29:31,140 --> 00:29:34,900
Leviticus 2325. 
You look at this passage and you

502
00:29:34,900 --> 00:29:39,340
understand the significance of 
every part of the promised land.

503
00:29:39,660 --> 00:29:41,140
Here's what the Lord says to his
people. 

504
00:29:41,140 --> 00:29:45,900
Leviticus 2325. 
It writes the land shall not be 

505
00:29:45,900 --> 00:29:49,180
sold in perpetuity, for the land
is whose. 

506
00:29:50,500 --> 00:29:53,900
The land in Leviticus 2325 is 
mine. 

507
00:29:54,380 --> 00:29:56,940
That's what the Lord says. 
The land is mine. 

508
00:29:57,980 --> 00:30:00,100
I'm giving you what belongs to 
me. 

509
00:30:00,820 --> 00:30:03,300
Though you're living on this 
land, though you'll benefit from

510
00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:05,260
this land. 
I own it. 

511
00:30:05,900 --> 00:30:08,020
It's mine. 
And I believe. 

512
00:30:08,020 --> 00:30:11,380
Shamar looked at. 
He looked at this field, and he 

513
00:30:11,380 --> 00:30:13,620
understood that it was the 
Lord's inheritance. 

514
00:30:14,540 --> 00:30:18,060
He saw this, and he realized 
that he was a steward of this 

515
00:30:18,060 --> 00:30:23,180
land, that he was responsible in
defending what God provided. 

516
00:30:25,220 --> 00:30:29,820
And when you understand that, 
you realize many wonderful and 

517
00:30:29,820 --> 00:30:33,260
glorious lessons. 
Here's the first glorious lesson

518
00:30:33,260 --> 00:30:35,180
that you see from Shema, and 
it's something that you and I 

519
00:30:35,180 --> 00:30:36,980
have to understand about our own
walk with the Lord. 

520
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:41,200
This person here sees, although 
he's not like the first 

521
00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,520
individual who is able to have 
vast influence over hundreds of 

522
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:46,880
people. 
He was an individual who saw the

523
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,640
value of the piece of real 
estate that he was in, that he 

524
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:54,560
was on, and he was willing to 
give his life to it, though 

525
00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:56,680
other people did not see the 
value in it. 

526
00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:00,960
And you can say the same thing 
for people in various ministries

527
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,920
today. 
I think of those who look and 

528
00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:08,210
serve in certain capacities, 
where the majority of people 

529
00:31:08,210 --> 00:31:10,930
don't see the glamour in it, 
don't see the importance of it, 

530
00:31:10,930 --> 00:31:13,890
don't see the relevance of it. 
And yet for them, they say this 

531
00:31:13,890 --> 00:31:15,850
is part of the Lord's 
inheritance. 

532
00:31:16,290 --> 00:31:18,810
And this is where God has me in 
this Providence, and this is 

533
00:31:18,810 --> 00:31:20,810
where in his Providence I will 
remain. 

534
00:31:21,810 --> 00:31:24,650
And so you think about those who
do what you think about those 

535
00:31:24,650 --> 00:31:28,090
who serve little children, 
little children, right. 

536
00:31:28,090 --> 00:31:30,090
And most people see the little 
children's ministry as a 

537
00:31:30,090 --> 00:31:32,370
babysitting ministry, just to 
give parents a chance to be 

538
00:31:32,370 --> 00:31:35,870
upstairs to hear the message. 
But no, I believe the teachers 

539
00:31:35,870 --> 00:31:38,270
of this church and many other 
churches say this is the Lord's 

540
00:31:38,270 --> 00:31:41,750
inheritance and this is 
discipleship and this is 

541
00:31:41,750 --> 00:31:44,110
investing in the next 
generation. 

542
00:31:44,110 --> 00:31:45,950
This is not just a plot of 
lentils. 

543
00:31:47,150 --> 00:31:50,550
This is what God has given us 
and we are responsible for it. 

544
00:31:52,190 --> 00:31:55,230
I think about others also who 
might be part of a local church 

545
00:31:55,230 --> 00:31:57,070
that not might not mean 
significant. 

546
00:31:57,070 --> 00:32:00,470
That might might be like a major
voice in the nation or the state

547
00:32:00,470 --> 00:32:04,210
or the city, but they see what 
God is doing in that place. 

548
00:32:04,210 --> 00:32:05,850
And they say this is where God 
has me. 

549
00:32:05,850 --> 00:32:09,250
I will plant my feet here and I 
will honor God in it. 

550
00:32:10,210 --> 00:32:15,290
And there are others who realize
the value of prayer, and they 

551
00:32:15,290 --> 00:32:18,890
have the time on Wednesday. 
So they come to pray because to 

552
00:32:18,890 --> 00:32:21,970
others prayers like a plot of 
land of lentils. 

553
00:32:23,810 --> 00:32:26,250
But for those who believe in 
what God said about prayer, they

554
00:32:26,250 --> 00:32:28,130
say no. 
This is part of God's plan in 

555
00:32:28,130 --> 00:32:31,560
advancing his work. 
And so we will plant ourselves 

556
00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,360
in prayer and we will pray. 
You see, it's all about 

557
00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,040
perspective. 
It's all about revelation. 

558
00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,880
And this man had it. 
This man had it where many men 

559
00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:42,640
lacked it. 
And I think of others also who 

560
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,000
give their time and specific 
ministries. 

561
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,680
You see that this person here 
is, is is giving us an example 

562
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:53,760
of somebody who is in one lane 
and they stay in that lane. 

563
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:57,080
And I couldn't help but think of
a variety of different 

564
00:32:57,080 --> 00:32:59,240
ministries that have unique 
deliveries. 

565
00:32:59,630 --> 00:33:02,630
And they they specify in certain
doctrines and certain 

566
00:33:02,630 --> 00:33:06,550
demographics, and that's all 
that they do. 

567
00:33:06,550 --> 00:33:09,710
They they just, they occupy 
this, this is what they do. 

568
00:33:09,990 --> 00:33:12,430
And they are still regarded as 
mighty men. 

569
00:33:12,430 --> 00:33:15,230
I think about those who deal 
with Muslim ministries, who 

570
00:33:15,230 --> 00:33:18,070
speak to them and try to prove 
the truth through the 

571
00:33:18,070 --> 00:33:19,910
scriptures. 
I think of others who teach 

572
00:33:20,510 --> 00:33:23,870
homeschooling parents how to do 
it well, through their own 

573
00:33:24,070 --> 00:33:25,950
history and through their own 
experience. 

574
00:33:27,370 --> 00:33:30,090
I think of others to evangelize,
and that's all that they do. 

575
00:33:30,090 --> 00:33:32,890
They're not expert theologians, 
but they just preach the simple 

576
00:33:32,890 --> 00:33:34,890
gospel. 
I think of intercessors, they're

577
00:33:34,890 --> 00:33:37,210
calling is just to pray and seek
the Lord. 

578
00:33:38,690 --> 00:33:40,490
And again, though, they're not 
like the first individual who 

579
00:33:40,490 --> 00:33:43,490
was able to do many things, who 
is promoted because they had 

580
00:33:43,490 --> 00:33:46,810
manifold abilities, but they 
just had one assignment and they

581
00:33:46,810 --> 00:33:49,450
did that assignment well. 
And if that is somebody, 

582
00:33:49,570 --> 00:33:52,570
something that describes you, 
realize that God can still in 

583
00:33:52,570 --> 00:33:55,970
that consider you to be a mighty
man, a mighty woman of God. 

584
00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:01,440
Oh, there's so many ways of 
applying Shema's example. 

585
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,160
Another way of applying it is 
looking at how he took this one 

586
00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:11,159
land and saw the absolute glory 
in it and did not disregard it. 

587
00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:14,679
Though at on the natural it 
seemed to be insignificant. 

588
00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:17,080
It is no different with God's 
revelation. 

589
00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:22,880
How much more should we be 
defending, cherishing, adoring, 

590
00:34:23,199 --> 00:34:27,350
loving and applying all of God's
word? 

591
00:34:27,350 --> 00:34:30,710
Not just some. 
Not just the pillars of our 

592
00:34:30,710 --> 00:34:33,590
faith, not just the major 
things, but all things, the 

593
00:34:33,590 --> 00:34:37,270
whole council of God. 
And you have many people who 

594
00:34:37,270 --> 00:34:38,949
believe otherwise. 
You have many people who are 

595
00:34:38,949 --> 00:34:41,429
campaigning for unity. 
And here's their mantra. 

596
00:34:41,790 --> 00:34:46,150
Let's just gather around the 
gospel of Jesus Christ. 

597
00:34:46,150 --> 00:34:48,590
Everything else is irrelevant. 
Well, that's not true. 

598
00:34:49,750 --> 00:34:52,510
That's not true. 
Allow me to show you one of the 

599
00:34:52,510 --> 00:34:56,270
most convicting sayings of Jesus
pertaining to how you and I 

600
00:34:56,270 --> 00:34:58,550
serve him in relation to his 
word. 

601
00:34:58,550 --> 00:35:00,790
It's on the Sermon of the Mount.
I don't know if you've ever 

602
00:35:00,790 --> 00:35:03,910
noticed this. 
It's in Matthew 519. 

603
00:35:03,910 --> 00:35:14,030
I want you to see what Jesus 
says when he gives his 

604
00:35:14,030 --> 00:35:16,390
instructions. 
Before he does, He makes this 

605
00:35:16,390 --> 00:35:18,550
statement. 
And this statement is very 

606
00:35:18,550 --> 00:35:25,870
humbling as it deals with as it 
deals with how we relate to the 

607
00:35:25,870 --> 00:35:34,870
word of God in Matthew 5/19, he 
says here in Matthew 519, 

608
00:35:37,190 --> 00:35:41,230
Therefore whoever relaxes one of
the least of these commandments 

609
00:35:41,270 --> 00:35:44,870
and teaches others to do the 
same will be called least in the

610
00:35:44,870 --> 00:35:47,310
Kingdom of heaven. 
But whoever does them and 

611
00:35:47,310 --> 00:35:50,150
teaches them will be called 
great in the Kingdom of heaven. 

612
00:35:51,430 --> 00:35:55,650
Have you ever meditated on that?
So whoever comes to the word of 

613
00:35:55,650 --> 00:35:59,570
God and looks at things that may
not seem instrumental or 

614
00:36:00,050 --> 00:36:02,930
important in our application of 
the Christian walk or church 

615
00:36:02,930 --> 00:36:06,810
governance or anything, whoever 
relaxes them and teaches others 

616
00:36:06,810 --> 00:36:09,290
to do the same. 
When it comes to his final 

617
00:36:09,290 --> 00:36:12,170
estimation and evaluation, he 
will consider such people to be 

618
00:36:12,170 --> 00:36:16,010
the least. 
But those who look at the whole 

619
00:36:16,010 --> 00:36:18,650
council of God and absorb all 
that God has to say and it 

620
00:36:18,650 --> 00:36:24,460
properly applies and dissects 
and determines how we move about

621
00:36:24,460 --> 00:36:26,940
these things will be called 
great in the Kingdom of heaven. 

622
00:36:27,460 --> 00:36:31,860
And Shama is a is a illustration
of that a plot of land of 

623
00:36:31,860 --> 00:36:34,460
lentils he was willing to fight 
for. 

624
00:36:35,340 --> 00:36:37,540
And today we're getting in a lot
of trouble because you have 

625
00:36:37,540 --> 00:36:41,620
people not fighting for 
doctrines because in their mind 

626
00:36:41,620 --> 00:36:45,940
it's secondary or it's it's it's
in the 3rd place and and we have

627
00:36:45,940 --> 00:36:48,380
little cracks in the foundation.
That's where compromise is. 

628
00:36:48,460 --> 00:36:52,200
Compromise is able to seep in. 
And so yes, Jesus did say 

629
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:55,280
Matthew 2323 that there are 
weightier matters of the law. 

630
00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:58,120
But at the same time, he says 
that does not mean you should 

631
00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:01,200
neglect those that are under 
those weightier matters. 

632
00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:03,640
So there is nowhere in the 
scripture where we are 

633
00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:08,360
encouraged to annul or delete or
ignore any part of God's Word. 

634
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:10,200
And unfortunately, Shama's 
testimony. 

635
00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,760
Yet some would say this, this is
not that important, We're going 

636
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:16,080
to walk away from it. 
And he says, no, no, no, no, no.

637
00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:18,480
I will stand for it. 
If you want to be mighty man, if

638
00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:21,660
you want to be a mighty woman of
God, you will take all of God's 

639
00:37:21,660 --> 00:37:24,300
word, and you will seek to 
understand all that he has to 

640
00:37:24,300 --> 00:37:26,940
say and apply it as as much as 
it depends on you. 

641
00:37:27,780 --> 00:37:29,020
Again, what are we talking about
here? 

642
00:37:29,500 --> 00:37:32,260
We're we're talking about the 
difference between the mighty 

643
00:37:32,260 --> 00:37:36,900
and the feeble, the strong and 
the weak, the commended, and 

644
00:37:36,900 --> 00:37:40,500
those who will be corrected by 
Christ. 

645
00:37:41,700 --> 00:37:46,820
We deal with this later, but we 
come now to the interesting 

646
00:37:46,820 --> 00:37:51,190
portion found in this verse 13. 
This is a heartwarming 

647
00:37:51,190 --> 00:37:53,710
testimony. 
When you're then verse 13, you 

648
00:37:53,710 --> 00:37:55,990
read of something that most of 
us are familiar with, the story 

649
00:37:55,990 --> 00:37:59,750
of three mighty men who who 
fetch for a glass of water for 

650
00:37:59,750 --> 00:38:02,190
their king. 
Now people debate are these the 

651
00:38:02,190 --> 00:38:04,590
same three mighty men that we 
just mentioned or three 

652
00:38:04,590 --> 00:38:06,710
different ones? 
That's not even the main point. 

653
00:38:06,830 --> 00:38:10,430
The main point is what they did.
So whether you believe it's the 

654
00:38:10,430 --> 00:38:12,950
three that we just heard of or 
three new ones, look at the 

655
00:38:12,950 --> 00:38:16,110
point and the three. 
Verse 13 of the 30 chief men 

656
00:38:16,110 --> 00:38:19,630
went down and came about harvest
time to David at The Cave of 

657
00:38:19,630 --> 00:38:22,510
Adelam, when a band of 
Philistines were encamped in the

658
00:38:22,510 --> 00:38:25,470
valley of Rafaem. 
David was then in the 

659
00:38:25,470 --> 00:38:28,590
stronghold, and the Garrison of 
the Philistines was then at 

660
00:38:28,590 --> 00:38:31,470
Bethlehem. 
And David said, Longley, oh, 

661
00:38:31,470 --> 00:38:34,150
that someone would give me water
to drink from the well of 

662
00:38:34,150 --> 00:38:38,430
Bethlehem, that is, by the gate.
Then the three mighty men broke 

663
00:38:38,430 --> 00:38:40,790
through the camp of the 
Philistines and drew water out 

664
00:38:40,790 --> 00:38:44,010
of the well of Bethlehem that 
was by the gate, and carried and

665
00:38:44,010 --> 00:38:46,450
brought it to David. 
But he would not drink of it. 

666
00:38:46,610 --> 00:38:49,330
He poured it out to the Lord and
said, Far be it from me, oh 

667
00:38:49,330 --> 00:38:52,050
Lord, that I should do this. 
Shall I drink the blood of the 

668
00:38:52,050 --> 00:38:53,930
men who went at the risk of 
their lives. 

669
00:38:54,250 --> 00:38:57,930
Therefore he would not drink it.
These things the three mighty 

670
00:38:57,930 --> 00:39:01,130
men did so much to glean from 
this text. 

671
00:39:01,890 --> 00:39:04,570
Here's the scene. 
David is in The Cave of Adelam. 

672
00:39:05,810 --> 00:39:08,730
Most people believe it's the 
same time that he was in The 

673
00:39:08,730 --> 00:39:11,450
Cave in First Samuel 22, when he
was just the fugitive. 

674
00:39:12,140 --> 00:39:14,340
Some debate and say no. 
I was at a later time when he 

675
00:39:14,340 --> 00:39:16,380
found himself in the same cave 
at a different war. 

676
00:39:17,460 --> 00:39:21,020
If it was when he was just in 
exile, if it was when he was 

677
00:39:21,020 --> 00:39:25,500
kicked out and became Public 
Enemy number one, then this says

678
00:39:25,500 --> 00:39:26,900
something about these mighty 
men. 

679
00:39:28,380 --> 00:39:32,540
Here are these men willing to 
serve David with great sacrifice

680
00:39:32,940 --> 00:39:37,180
when there was no promise 
necessarily of his exaltation to

681
00:39:37,180 --> 00:39:39,980
the throne. 
There is no immediate reward or 

682
00:39:39,980 --> 00:39:44,690
blessing for their service where
there was no evidence of of 

683
00:39:44,770 --> 00:39:49,330
anything going their way, and 
yet still they found it within 

684
00:39:49,330 --> 00:39:53,610
themselves, a passionate desire 
to serve him at any length. 

685
00:39:54,370 --> 00:39:56,850
And David here is not making a 
command. 

686
00:39:57,210 --> 00:40:00,130
David here is not issuing some 
kind of instruction, abusing his

687
00:40:00,130 --> 00:40:02,570
power. 
He's just pacing back and forth 

688
00:40:02,570 --> 00:40:04,810
in The Cave and he's feeling a 
little nostalgic. 

689
00:40:06,170 --> 00:40:09,130
Here he is enduring a difficult 
season and he's thinking back to

690
00:40:09,130 --> 00:40:11,490
the days of innocence. 
He's thinking back to the days 

691
00:40:11,490 --> 00:40:14,890
of safety, where he was able to 
freely go perhaps with one of 

692
00:40:14,890 --> 00:40:18,210
his brothers or friends and draw
from that well in Bethlehem on a

693
00:40:18,210 --> 00:40:22,970
hot summer day and drink this 
crisp water to quench his 

694
00:40:22,970 --> 00:40:24,490
thirst. 
That's the memory that he is. 

695
00:40:24,810 --> 00:40:28,890
He is rehearsing and and so 
profoundly impactful that he's 

696
00:40:28,890 --> 00:40:31,780
actually saying out loud. 
He's just thinking out loud. 

697
00:40:32,020 --> 00:40:34,540
And you have three of these guys
that are squatting in that cave 

698
00:40:34,540 --> 00:40:36,220
and they look at each other and 
say, did you hear what David 

699
00:40:36,220 --> 00:40:39,220
said? 
You hear what the king is 

700
00:40:39,220 --> 00:40:42,140
talking about? 
You know what this means, right?

701
00:40:43,060 --> 00:40:44,180
Yeah. 
But the Phyllis things are that 

702
00:40:44,180 --> 00:40:45,860
that doesn't matter. 
He wants it. 

703
00:40:46,940 --> 00:40:50,900
They get up and they go, and the
lesson is this about being a 

704
00:40:50,900 --> 00:40:52,580
mighty man or a mighty woman of 
God. 

705
00:40:53,180 --> 00:40:55,020
What were they ultimately 
motivated by? 

706
00:40:55,220 --> 00:40:57,900
If you consider who David was in
his status at this point as a 

707
00:40:57,900 --> 00:41:00,100
king, he had nothing to give 
them. 

708
00:41:00,770 --> 00:41:03,210
It was not popular to follow 
him. 

709
00:41:03,450 --> 00:41:06,010
In fact, to be associated with 
him meant death. 

710
00:41:06,050 --> 00:41:09,970
If Saul found out so the desire 
in serving him was not 

711
00:41:09,970 --> 00:41:12,890
stimulated by anything that they
would be rewarded with. 

712
00:41:13,730 --> 00:41:17,930
All that they needed was a 
revelation of what pleased their

713
00:41:17,930 --> 00:41:22,450
king, and they went. 
The difference between a mighty 

714
00:41:22,450 --> 00:41:26,730
man and a feeble man, The 
difference between a mighty 

715
00:41:26,730 --> 00:41:31,560
woman and a weak woman, is this.
Your obedience is not determined

716
00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:34,480
even by what you would be 
blessed with, but what blesses 

717
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:35,800
God. 
That's it. 

718
00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:39,240
If this blesses God, that's all 
the motivation I need to serve 

719
00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:41,760
God. 
If it will put a smile on his 

720
00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:45,280
face, whatever frowns, I will 
inherit as a result. 

721
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:49,920
I will still do it regardless. 
So what happens with a mighty 

722
00:41:49,920 --> 00:41:51,320
man or a mighty woman? 
It's this. 

723
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:54,280
God's pleasure is your treasure.
That's what it is. 

724
00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:57,240
That's all you need, nothing 
else. 

725
00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:01,460
And these men show that they 
move along, They go ahead, they 

726
00:42:01,460 --> 00:42:05,020
break through because one thing 
they knew, one thing they 

727
00:42:05,020 --> 00:42:07,300
learned. 
This is what David delights in. 

728
00:42:07,500 --> 00:42:10,740
And if he delights in it, then 
we will give ourselves to it. 

729
00:42:12,540 --> 00:42:14,260
Come on, be honest now, be 
honest. 

730
00:42:14,260 --> 00:42:18,300
On this Friday night, how much 
of that drives our devotion? 

731
00:42:18,860 --> 00:42:22,860
What the simple delight of God. 
If God wants it, that's all I 

732
00:42:22,860 --> 00:42:25,340
need for me to do it. 
Do you see? 

733
00:42:25,460 --> 00:42:27,780
Do you see now the division? 
Do you see the line being drawn?

734
00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:34,680
What? 
What would it look? 

735
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:36,960
God said it. 
We'll be there. 

736
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:40,600
God wants us to do it. 
Count us in. 

737
00:42:41,480 --> 00:42:42,960
This is what the Lord asks of 
us. 

738
00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:45,080
Then so be it. 
That's it. 

739
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:46,920
That's what makes a mighty man a
mighty man. 

740
00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:55,400
No arm twisting, no games, no 
mechanics and no bribing. 

741
00:42:55,640 --> 00:43:00,270
God said it. 
And more than that, you see 

742
00:43:00,270 --> 00:43:03,030
something else when David 
receives this water. 

743
00:43:03,750 --> 00:43:05,550
I mean, come on. 
After all of that, what do you 

744
00:43:05,550 --> 00:43:07,790
expect the king to do? 
What do you want to see the king

745
00:43:07,790 --> 00:43:09,230
to do? 
Drink it. 

746
00:43:10,390 --> 00:43:13,710
We risked our lives for you to 
have this glass of water for a 

747
00:43:13,710 --> 00:43:18,030
few seconds of refreshment. 
We put our next on the line. 

748
00:43:18,230 --> 00:43:20,230
So if I'm one of those three, 
you know what I'm expecting? 

749
00:43:20,350 --> 00:43:26,900
I'm expecting David to say you 
are mighty, You are something 

750
00:43:26,900 --> 00:43:30,060
else. 
You, you will be positioned in 

751
00:43:30,060 --> 00:43:33,460
my mind and for the rest of 
history unlike any other. 

752
00:43:34,260 --> 00:43:37,900
He grabs that water, chugs it. 
You know what he does? 

753
00:43:38,020 --> 00:43:40,780
Takes that water. 
He looks into that glass, and he

754
00:43:40,780 --> 00:43:43,620
sees blood, and so he pours it 
onto the ground. 

755
00:43:43,740 --> 00:43:45,540
And it's an honorable thing, 
right? 

756
00:43:45,540 --> 00:43:48,820
It's an honorable thing. 
But if I'm one of those three, 

757
00:43:48,820 --> 00:43:52,420
I'm thinking you probably should
have just drank it, right? 

758
00:43:54,300 --> 00:43:58,100
No complaint, no protest, no 
sigh. 

759
00:44:00,980 --> 00:44:02,500
That's challenging and serving 
God. 

760
00:44:04,020 --> 00:44:09,660
When you when you serve him and 
you give to him what he desires 

761
00:44:10,100 --> 00:44:12,860
and what he does with that is 
not necessarily what you thought

762
00:44:12,860 --> 00:44:17,060
he would do. 
What are you going to do? 

763
00:44:19,620 --> 00:44:26,050
I thought that if I would pray 
for this long and come every 

764
00:44:26,050 --> 00:44:30,130
Wednesday and pay gas in the 
time of inflation, I thought 

765
00:44:30,130 --> 00:44:33,650
that this would happen. 
I thought that if I would preach

766
00:44:33,650 --> 00:44:37,570
faithfully that people would 
invite me and I will be ranked 

767
00:44:37,570 --> 00:44:39,370
amongst this and ranked amongst 
that. 

768
00:44:39,370 --> 00:44:42,930
And I I thought that my 
obedience would lead to this. 

769
00:44:42,930 --> 00:44:44,970
There there's nothing of the 
sort because a mighty man 

770
00:44:44,970 --> 00:44:49,650
doesn't care, because it's not 
about the reward. 

771
00:44:50,010 --> 00:44:53,770
It's simply because of the 
delight that the master enjoys. 

772
00:44:53,930 --> 00:44:56,050
And seeing your faithfulness and
your sacrifice. 

773
00:44:57,650 --> 00:45:00,490
That sounds good in theory, but 
it's not a theory for the mighty

774
00:45:00,490 --> 00:45:01,490
man. 
It's reality. 

775
00:45:01,490 --> 00:45:05,010
It's what makes their heartbeat.
If this is what pleases him, 

776
00:45:05,250 --> 00:45:07,250
that's all I need. 
That's all I need to know. 

777
00:45:07,250 --> 00:45:10,370
May God bring us there. 
May God bring us there for his 

778
00:45:10,370 --> 00:45:13,730
glory. 
Side note, David, although he's 

779
00:45:13,730 --> 00:45:17,090
a picture of Christ, provides an
example for us in what he did 

780
00:45:17,090 --> 00:45:18,930
with that water. 
You've heard this truth before. 

781
00:45:18,930 --> 00:45:22,350
Let me repeat it again. 
He gives us a lesson concerning 

782
00:45:22,390 --> 00:45:26,350
a principle in the area of 
pleasure, in the area of self 

783
00:45:26,350 --> 00:45:29,510
gratification, in the area of 
pursuing your desires. 

784
00:45:29,990 --> 00:45:31,430
Here's the lesson that he 
provides. 

785
00:45:31,430 --> 00:45:36,630
When David realized that there 
are people who put their lives 

786
00:45:36,630 --> 00:45:39,910
on the line for him to enjoy 
this water, he considered it an 

787
00:45:39,950 --> 00:45:45,750
illegitimate thing to engage in.
Because anything that you and I 

788
00:45:45,830 --> 00:45:53,100
desire or want, if it will cost 
somebody else in any way, if it 

789
00:45:53,100 --> 00:45:57,300
puts them in danger in any way, 
is not legitimate. 

790
00:45:59,180 --> 00:46:01,740
The language that Paul would use
is you're not walking in love. 

791
00:46:02,740 --> 00:46:05,020
If you want something, no matter
how strong it is, no matter how 

792
00:46:05,020 --> 00:46:07,340
neutral it is, if you want 
something so badly at the 

793
00:46:07,340 --> 00:46:11,700
expense of your conscience, the 
conscience of your brother being

794
00:46:11,700 --> 00:46:16,220
violated, then it becomes 
illegitimate, It becomes 

795
00:46:16,220 --> 00:46:18,820
illegal. 
You should disqualify it and 

796
00:46:18,820 --> 00:46:21,300
cancel it as something you 
should pursue in that moment for

797
00:46:21,300 --> 00:46:23,380
the sake of your brother's 
wellbeing. 

798
00:46:23,740 --> 00:46:25,340
And so we're not just talking 
about physical danger here, 

799
00:46:25,340 --> 00:46:26,620
we're talking about spiritual 
danger. 

800
00:46:28,100 --> 00:46:31,620
And so qualify your your 
pleasure singing your pursuits 

801
00:46:31,820 --> 00:46:33,380
in this. 
There's there's many more other 

802
00:46:33,380 --> 00:46:34,780
conditions, but here's an 
important one. 

803
00:46:34,780 --> 00:46:37,580
Light this context. 
If what I want put somebody else

804
00:46:37,580 --> 00:46:39,980
at risk. 
If what I want put somebody else

805
00:46:39,980 --> 00:46:41,740
in danger. 
If what I want harms or hurts 

806
00:46:41,740 --> 00:46:43,860
somebody else. 
I don't care how strongly you 

807
00:46:43,860 --> 00:46:46,460
feel about that thing. 
You do not pursue it. 

808
00:46:47,450 --> 00:46:49,450
You do not indulge in it. 
You do not drink from it. 

809
00:46:49,610 --> 00:46:52,650
You pour it out. 
And one preacher made an amazing

810
00:46:52,650 --> 00:46:54,850
observation. 
If don't if David had only made 

811
00:46:54,850 --> 00:46:56,730
the same decision when it came 
to Bathsheba. 

812
00:47:00,330 --> 00:47:02,530
If David only realized what I 
realized in this cave. 

813
00:47:02,530 --> 00:47:06,410
How can I enjoy this knowing 
that your lives were at risk and

814
00:47:06,490 --> 00:47:09,970
and me enjoying this. 
If he only had that same idea 

815
00:47:10,290 --> 00:47:13,050
run through his mind when he 
looked at somebody else's wife 

816
00:47:13,050 --> 00:47:15,450
and said, how can I do this to 
my brother? 

817
00:47:16,750 --> 00:47:18,510
How can I do this to one of my 
mighty men? 

818
00:47:20,510 --> 00:47:23,190
And so it's very likely that 
David had these convictions 

819
00:47:23,190 --> 00:47:25,630
strong in the early part of his 
his life. 

820
00:47:27,030 --> 00:47:29,710
And it's so true that things 
that we enjoyed and and believed

821
00:47:29,710 --> 00:47:32,630
and held on too early on can 
dissipate over time if we're not

822
00:47:32,630 --> 00:47:37,030
careful to steward it. 
Let's go to the second rank. 

823
00:47:37,030 --> 00:47:39,150
We're done with these mighty men
that the first three. 

824
00:47:39,150 --> 00:47:41,990
Let's go to the second set here,
look at verse 18. 

825
00:47:42,310 --> 00:47:45,310
Now Abhishei, the brother of Joe
Abh, the son of Zuraiya, was 

826
00:47:45,310 --> 00:47:50,100
chief of the 30 and he wielded 
his spear against 300 men and 

827
00:47:50,100 --> 00:47:52,300
killed them and want a name 
beside the three. 

828
00:47:52,980 --> 00:47:55,580
He was the most renowned of the 
30 and he became their 

829
00:47:55,580 --> 00:47:59,460
commander, but he did not attain
to the three. 

830
00:47:59,700 --> 00:48:02,700
Abushai. 
I'm not getting into the details

831
00:48:02,700 --> 00:48:06,700
of what he did, but what stands 
out to you in this one verse. 

832
00:48:06,900 --> 00:48:08,860
I'm curious to know if anybody 
caught on to something. 

833
00:48:08,860 --> 00:48:10,940
If you've read this chapter 
before, you would know it. 

834
00:48:11,300 --> 00:48:14,890
If you haven't, you might not 
know it until you read the the 

835
00:48:14,890 --> 00:48:16,730
rest of it. 
But I'm wondering if anybody 

836
00:48:16,730 --> 00:48:18,970
notices something about 
Abishai's description here. 

837
00:48:34,130 --> 00:48:37,890
Abishai who? 
The Who? 

838
00:48:38,930 --> 00:48:42,170
The brother of Joe AB. 
I looked at this verse and I 

839
00:48:42,170 --> 00:48:43,930
thought to myself, the brother 
of Joe AB. 

840
00:48:43,930 --> 00:48:45,090
We're going to learn about 
Asaha. 

841
00:48:45,090 --> 00:48:46,610
Well, you'll read it. 
We won't read it tonight. 

842
00:48:46,770 --> 00:48:49,010
He's the brother of Job. 
We look down, we see even that 

843
00:48:49,010 --> 00:48:53,780
another man here in verse 37, Z,
like the Ammonite Naharay of B 

844
00:48:53,780 --> 00:48:55,380
Roth, the armor bearer of Joe 
Up. 

845
00:48:55,380 --> 00:48:59,220
So three times Joe Up is 
referenced, but not directly. 

846
00:49:00,620 --> 00:49:04,420
He's only referenced in relation
to other people who are either 

847
00:49:04,420 --> 00:49:06,020
related to him or who served 
him. 

848
00:49:07,060 --> 00:49:09,820
You read this entire list and 
you'll notice someone is 

849
00:49:09,820 --> 00:49:11,780
missing. 
Who's missing Joe Up. 

850
00:49:12,420 --> 00:49:16,320
How? 
How in the world is a man like 

851
00:49:16,320 --> 00:49:20,000
Joe AB after all that he's done?
After his fierce loyalty, after 

852
00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:22,280
the very position that he 
operated in? 

853
00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:26,120
How is a man like Joe AB not 
included among the 30 mighty 

854
00:49:26,120 --> 00:49:27,760
men? 
Job is not mentioned. 

855
00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:31,080
He's not mentioned at all except
in connection to the other 

856
00:49:31,080 --> 00:49:36,000
people, and I'll tell you why 
Job is not mentioned. 

857
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:39,440
And it deals with the principle 
of being a mighty man, a mighty 

858
00:49:39,440 --> 00:49:42,040
woman of God, who will be 
commended at the end of it all. 

859
00:49:43,060 --> 00:49:45,780
Because of Joe Abs unrepented 
sin. 

860
00:49:46,300 --> 00:49:49,660
No matter what he did, no matter
what title he possessed, 

861
00:49:50,060 --> 00:49:53,100
ultimately saw all his works 
turn into ash. 

862
00:49:55,620 --> 00:49:59,540
Because of Joe Abs unrepented 
sin, he sinned. 

863
00:49:59,580 --> 00:50:01,740
And it's not about us sinning 
that that necessarily 

864
00:50:01,740 --> 00:50:03,580
disqualifies. 
This is what happens when we do 

865
00:50:03,580 --> 00:50:06,620
sin. 
This man, listen, was playing 

866
00:50:06,620 --> 00:50:12,580
according to his own rules. 
And when you play discipleship 

867
00:50:12,580 --> 00:50:18,620
according to your own rules, you
may not be immediately flagged, 

868
00:50:19,020 --> 00:50:21,580
you may not have the red card 
put into your face. 

869
00:50:22,660 --> 00:50:25,940
But many people will have a 
shocking surprise at the end 

870
00:50:25,940 --> 00:50:29,700
when they try to justify certain
things and how they live for the

871
00:50:29,700 --> 00:50:34,260
Lord only if you met with no 
commendation at all, no crown at

872
00:50:34,260 --> 00:50:41,570
all, no trophy, no promotion. 
When I learned that, that really

873
00:50:41,570 --> 00:50:43,850
helped me understand how there 
are certain people in ministry 

874
00:50:43,850 --> 00:50:48,370
today who who, like Job, are 
holding on to two things at the 

875
00:50:48,370 --> 00:50:52,730
same time and yet seem to seem 
to be seeing results. 

876
00:50:52,730 --> 00:50:56,010
Seeing fruit, holding on to 
their ministry, holding on to 

877
00:50:56,010 --> 00:50:58,850
their position with no 
discipline, no consequence from 

878
00:50:58,850 --> 00:51:02,210
heaven. 
And then one day this verse came

879
00:51:02,210 --> 00:51:05,690
to my attention and it made 
sense of it all. 

880
00:51:06,690 --> 00:51:08,860
You want to see it? 
It's in Second Timothy 2. 

881
00:51:09,580 --> 00:51:12,100
When you go to Second Timothy 2,
you get a list of different 

882
00:51:12,100 --> 00:51:14,060
metaphors of what the Christian 
life is like. 

883
00:51:14,580 --> 00:51:17,100
One is like a soldier, the other
like an athlete who remembers 

884
00:51:17,100 --> 00:51:22,100
the third one, a farmer. 
And look at verse five of Second

885
00:51:22,100 --> 00:51:27,500
Timothy Timothy, chapter 2. 
What do you see there? 

886
00:51:29,860 --> 00:51:34,660
An athlete is not crowned unless
he competes according to the 

887
00:51:34,660 --> 00:51:40,860
rules. 
So you can run this race and 

888
00:51:40,860 --> 00:51:44,580
reach the finish line only to be
met with no crown. 

889
00:51:44,580 --> 00:51:47,140
Why? 
Because at some point or 

890
00:51:47,140 --> 00:51:49,380
throughout that race, you were 
not running according to the 

891
00:51:49,380 --> 00:51:55,500
rules Job ran. 
He was a soldier, he was a 

892
00:51:55,500 --> 00:51:59,460
general, but when it came to the
end, he was not crowned. 

893
00:52:00,460 --> 00:52:02,300
And there will be some people 
within Chris and them who will 

894
00:52:02,300 --> 00:52:07,300
have that same reality check. 
And so play according to the 

895
00:52:07,300 --> 00:52:10,220
rules. 
Don't look at sin and say, well,

896
00:52:10,220 --> 00:52:12,260
this is permissible. 
God needs me so I can have a 

897
00:52:12,260 --> 00:52:13,980
little relief in my life. 
That's how you have some people 

898
00:52:13,980 --> 00:52:18,420
thinking this is God's word, but
I'm going to help him because 

899
00:52:18,420 --> 00:52:20,380
the culture has changed. 
So let me say what I think it 

900
00:52:20,380 --> 00:52:22,660
says to to when that you're 
playing according to your own 

901
00:52:22,660 --> 00:52:25,780
rules, When you play according 
to your own rules, you are 

902
00:52:25,780 --> 00:52:29,300
throwing away your reward. 
And Joe Up did that. 

903
00:52:30,140 --> 00:52:36,250
Joe Up did that instead, like 
those three mighty men that we 

904
00:52:36,250 --> 00:52:39,290
just learned, we're there in 
Second Timothy go to Philippians

905
00:52:39,290 --> 00:52:45,210
220 Look at Philippians 220 when
I told you about how a mighty 

906
00:52:45,210 --> 00:52:48,770
man is driven not by his own 
delights, not by his own 

907
00:52:48,770 --> 00:52:52,530
desires, but what is determined 
by the pleasures of God. 

908
00:52:53,010 --> 00:52:56,130
And here's what Paul says about 
one of his servants, ultimately 

909
00:52:56,130 --> 00:52:59,410
a servant of God and Philippians
220 This is an encouraging 

910
00:52:59,410 --> 00:53:02,250
scripture to me. 
He talks about the many servants

911
00:53:02,250 --> 00:53:03,970
of God that he knows, the many 
ministers that he knows. 

912
00:53:03,970 --> 00:53:07,210
And he says, for I have no one 
like him concerning Timothy. 

913
00:53:07,210 --> 00:53:10,810
I have no one like him who will 
be genuinely concerned for your 

914
00:53:10,810 --> 00:53:13,490
welfare. 
And look at this, They all seek 

915
00:53:13,490 --> 00:53:16,850
their own interest, not those of
Jesus Christ. 

916
00:53:18,930 --> 00:53:24,450
What made Timothy stand out? 
His life was orbiting around one

917
00:53:24,450 --> 00:53:26,530
thing. 
What interests the Savior? 

918
00:53:27,090 --> 00:53:30,730
Not even my own interest. 
That's what distinguished them 

919
00:53:30,730 --> 00:53:33,760
from other ministers. 
And the reason why he had a 

920
00:53:33,760 --> 00:53:36,360
genuine concern for the 
Philippians is because he had a 

921
00:53:36,840 --> 00:53:38,840
he had a connection with the 
heart of his master. 

922
00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:43,680
And so if you can just know what
the will of God is, know what 

923
00:53:43,680 --> 00:53:46,040
his heart is, knows what his 
desires is, you're on the path 

924
00:53:46,040 --> 00:53:50,160
of being crowned by him. 
But if you, like Job, want to 

925
00:53:50,160 --> 00:53:53,840
play by your own rules, which 
many people are excuses, 

926
00:53:54,320 --> 00:53:57,560
justifying certain things, 
though God's word is clear on 

927
00:53:57,560 --> 00:54:00,960
it, all right, you might enjoy 
your ministry. 

928
00:54:00,960 --> 00:54:04,520
You you might still be invited, 
you still might be tolerated at 

929
00:54:04,520 --> 00:54:06,440
people who want to use your 
gift. 

930
00:54:07,040 --> 00:54:09,840
But when it matters the most, 
you're in for a shock. 

931
00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:14,000
You're in for a shock. 
And then you have the 2nd man in

932
00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:16,520
the second rank in verse 20. 
We're wrapping up very quickly 

933
00:54:16,520 --> 00:54:23,180
here and Banaya, the son of 
Jehodia was a valiant man of of 

934
00:54:23,180 --> 00:54:26,980
Capzeal, A doer of great deeds. 
He struck down to aerials of 

935
00:54:26,980 --> 00:54:29,140
Moab. 
Aerials is a difficult Hebrew 

936
00:54:29,140 --> 00:54:34,100
word, that's why some 
translations say lion like lion 

937
00:54:34,100 --> 00:54:37,380
like men of Moab. 
He also went down and struck 

938
00:54:37,380 --> 00:54:41,860
down a lion in a pit on a day 
when snow had fallen and he 

939
00:54:41,860 --> 00:54:43,780
struck down an Egyptian, a 
handsome man. 

940
00:54:43,780 --> 00:54:47,020
The Egyptian had a spear in his 
hand but Benaya went down to him

941
00:54:47,020 --> 00:54:50,060
with his staff and snatched the 
spear out of the Egyptians hand 

942
00:54:50,260 --> 00:54:51,860
and killed them with his own 
spear. 

943
00:54:52,690 --> 00:54:56,090
These things did Benaya the son 
of Jehodia and want to name 

944
00:54:56,090 --> 00:54:58,930
beside the three mighty men. 
He was renowned among the 30, 

945
00:54:58,930 --> 00:55:01,610
but he did not attain to the 
three and David set him over his

946
00:55:01,610 --> 00:55:04,170
bodyguard. 
So many things to say about this

947
00:55:04,170 --> 00:55:05,490
one man. 
You know what stands out to me 

948
00:55:05,490 --> 00:55:08,490
though? 
He figuratively deals with these

949
00:55:08,490 --> 00:55:11,730
lion like men of Moab and he 
actually literally killed a 

950
00:55:11,730 --> 00:55:14,770
lion. 
Not just killed a lion. 

951
00:55:14,850 --> 00:55:20,610
Listen, he kills a lion in a pit
on a snowy day. 

952
00:55:22,010 --> 00:55:25,450
Disadvantage, disadvantage, 
disadvantage, right. 

953
00:55:25,450 --> 00:55:26,850
I was talking to my brother that
day. 

954
00:55:26,850 --> 00:55:29,050
He was talking about how he had 
to pull over somebody. 

955
00:55:29,330 --> 00:55:31,850
And he was telling me how he was
in the country, Country Rd. 

956
00:55:31,850 --> 00:55:33,650
And there's a ditch by the side 
of the road. 

957
00:55:33,890 --> 00:55:36,250
And so he told me he had to be 
on the side of the highway. 

958
00:55:36,410 --> 00:55:38,090
And I said, why this car zooming
by? 

959
00:55:38,090 --> 00:55:38,970
Why I'm going to go the other 
side? 

960
00:55:38,970 --> 00:55:41,330
Because they train us that if 
you're on the other side and 

961
00:55:41,330 --> 00:55:43,890
something happens, you're at a 
disadvantage if you're in that 

962
00:55:43,890 --> 00:55:46,010
pit. 
And so you want to be on the 

963
00:55:46,010 --> 00:55:48,610
same level ground as that 
potential threat. 

964
00:55:49,470 --> 00:55:51,870
So you have this man where 
everything is is going against 

965
00:55:51,870 --> 00:55:53,670
him. 
You have him in a pit with a 

966
00:55:53,670 --> 00:55:54,750
lion. 
I mean, if you just have the 

967
00:55:54,750 --> 00:55:57,070
lion, that's a bad day on its 
own. 

968
00:55:57,590 --> 00:55:59,670
Never mind the pit, never mind 
the snowy day. 

969
00:55:59,790 --> 00:56:01,590
You have a lion with the pit and
a snowy day. 

970
00:56:01,630 --> 00:56:06,390
That's a bad day in my books. 
You know what I love about it? 

971
00:56:06,830 --> 00:56:08,950
The out of all that, the snowy 
day part. 

972
00:56:12,190 --> 00:56:14,270
The snowy day part. 
Like the Holy Spirit wanted to 

973
00:56:14,270 --> 00:56:16,870
include that. 
It was a snowy day. 

974
00:56:18,620 --> 00:56:20,140
I think Christians are allergic 
to snow. 

975
00:56:21,180 --> 00:56:25,460
A lot of them are, at least. 
And rain you have. 

976
00:56:25,500 --> 00:56:29,020
You have a man who's willing to 
kill a lion on a snowy day. 

977
00:56:30,180 --> 00:56:33,140
And how many things, How many 
excuses arise when it's a snowy 

978
00:56:33,140 --> 00:56:37,740
day? 
For us, the spiritual lesson is 

979
00:56:37,740 --> 00:56:40,340
that he's serving his king in 
all seasons. 

980
00:56:42,580 --> 00:56:46,340
He's serving his master in all 
seasons. 

981
00:56:47,400 --> 00:56:51,160
When the sun is shining and when
the snow is falling, when the 

982
00:56:51,160 --> 00:56:54,360
sky is clear, when the sky is 
Gray. 

983
00:56:55,720 --> 00:57:01,040
He's still a man serving his 
master When it's easy and when 

984
00:57:01,040 --> 00:57:04,520
it's very, very difficult, 
because Christ is worthy of that

985
00:57:04,520 --> 00:57:07,960
perpetual devotion. 
The King is worthy of that 

986
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:11,160
unending, unceasing, unbroken 
fellowship. 

987
00:57:12,120 --> 00:57:15,080
When it's snowy or when it's 
sunny. 

988
00:57:15,640 --> 00:57:19,560
Whatever you ask of me, my King,
that I will do, that I will do. 

989
00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:23,400
And I love how the Lord will 
challenge us in that way. 

990
00:57:23,400 --> 00:57:26,240
In some ways, I love how 
tomorrow our outreach is on a 

991
00:57:26,240 --> 00:57:27,280
Saturday. 
You might not. 

992
00:57:27,920 --> 00:57:30,480
I love it. 
I love how it's on a Saturday 

993
00:57:30,480 --> 00:57:32,600
morning. 
Do you know why? 

994
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:35,200
Because what kind of a statement
is that going to make in 

995
00:57:35,200 --> 00:57:38,840
downtown Chicago when a group of
people who are praying for the 

996
00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:43,000
unborn chose to set apart two 
hours of their Saturday to do 

997
00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:46,320
so? 
I love it. 

998
00:57:46,320 --> 00:57:48,320
I I love how love life does it 
on a Saturday. 

999
00:57:50,160 --> 00:57:53,600
It may not be convenient, okay. 
It's his interest. 

1000
00:57:54,080 --> 00:57:58,360
It's his desires. 
In fact, I'm going to, I want to

1001
00:57:58,360 --> 00:58:01,520
continue with Benaya. 
But let me wrap it up with one 

1002
00:58:01,520 --> 00:58:04,240
verse because I want to talk 
about how Benaya was promoted. 

1003
00:58:04,240 --> 00:58:05,760
He was promoted out of this 
place. 

1004
00:58:05,760 --> 00:58:08,960
Benaya shows up in First Kings 
chapter one and First Kings 

1005
00:58:08,960 --> 00:58:11,440
Chapter one. 
We see him not just in a 

1006
00:58:11,440 --> 00:58:14,000
physical sense when it's 
spiritually freezing. 

1007
00:58:15,620 --> 00:58:17,220
Also he chose to serve his 
master. 

1008
00:58:17,220 --> 00:58:18,460
Actually, let me show it to you.
Why not? 

1009
00:58:18,940 --> 00:58:24,820
And 1st Kings chapter one. 
Notice something with me on a 

1010
00:58:24,820 --> 00:58:26,940
physically snowy day he's 
serving his king. 

1011
00:58:26,940 --> 00:58:30,740
And what happens when there is 
this chill in the air 

1012
00:58:31,580 --> 00:58:35,500
spiritually and politically? 
Add the Niger wants to become 

1013
00:58:35,500 --> 00:58:38,980
king and look here, verse seven 
of chapter one of first kings. 

1014
00:58:38,980 --> 00:58:42,140
He confer withdraw the son of 
Zaria and with Abbyathur the 

1015
00:58:42,140 --> 00:58:44,220
priest, and they followed a de 
Niger and helped him. 

1016
00:58:44,580 --> 00:58:48,340
But Zara the priest and Benaiah 
the son of Yohodia and Nathan 

1017
00:58:48,340 --> 00:58:52,020
the prophet and Shamayan Rahai 
and David's mighty man were not 

1018
00:58:52,020 --> 00:58:57,260
with Adenija. 
This confirms the point right? 

1019
00:58:57,500 --> 00:59:01,860
I'll kill a lion on a snowy day 
and when there is another 

1020
00:59:01,860 --> 00:59:06,060
potential absolute 2.0 David, 
I'm with you. 

1021
00:59:07,060 --> 00:59:09,580
I will stand with you. 
Let Joe AB go. 

1022
00:59:09,820 --> 00:59:12,740
Let the others go again. 
It's it's confirming that main 

1023
00:59:12,740 --> 00:59:15,010
point. 
Wherever the king is, no matter 

1024
00:59:15,010 --> 00:59:17,050
who goes and who stays, I'm with
the king. 

1025
00:59:18,450 --> 00:59:21,210
And then you go to chapter 2 and
look here at verse 25. 

1026
00:59:21,210 --> 00:59:24,530
What do you see? 
So King Solomon sent Banaya the 

1027
00:59:24,530 --> 00:59:26,650
son of Jehodia, and struck him 
down. 

1028
00:59:26,650 --> 00:59:29,130
And he died. 
Out of all the men, he chose 

1029
00:59:29,130 --> 00:59:30,490
Banaya. 
And he says go and get him. 

1030
00:59:30,650 --> 00:59:32,890
And he does, and he takes care 
of him. 

1031
00:59:33,290 --> 00:59:35,730
And then you go to verse 35 in 
the same chapter, and what do 

1032
00:59:35,730 --> 00:59:37,970
you read? 
The king put Banaya the son of 

1033
00:59:37,970 --> 00:59:42,790
Jehodia over the army in place 
of Joab, and the king puts out 

1034
00:59:42,790 --> 00:59:44,550
of the priests in the place of 
Aviatar. 

1035
00:59:46,430 --> 00:59:50,950
So in 2nd Samo. 23 David 
elevated this man to be his 

1036
00:59:50,950 --> 00:59:53,590
bodyguard. 
When King Solomon comes into the

1037
00:59:53,590 --> 00:59:56,950
place of the throne, he elevates
him as the commander of the 

1038
00:59:56,950 --> 00:59:59,710
army. 
And you can make a case that 

1039
00:59:59,710 --> 01:00:02,950
Solomon, especially with the 
Temple, is a picture of and is a

1040
01:00:02,950 --> 01:00:06,630
reminder of as a foreshadowing 
of the rule and reign of Christ 

1041
01:00:06,670 --> 01:00:09,790
in its permanence, right? 
The Tabernacle was mobile. 

1042
01:00:09,790 --> 01:00:12,230
The Tabernacle was something 
that moved along. 

1043
01:00:12,230 --> 01:00:16,230
It was not something concrete. 
And yet when the temple came, it

1044
01:00:16,230 --> 01:00:18,070
stood in one place. 
It remained. 

1045
01:00:18,070 --> 01:00:22,350
It wasn't going anywhere. 
And when Christ returns to 

1046
01:00:22,350 --> 01:00:25,070
ruling, though he is ruling and 
raining now, there's something 

1047
01:00:25,070 --> 01:00:29,870
about his coming that will be 
obvious, that will be glorious, 

1048
01:00:29,870 --> 01:00:32,910
that will be beautiful, that 
will outshine the Tabernacle 

1049
01:00:32,910 --> 01:00:35,270
era. 
And the point that I want to 

1050
01:00:35,270 --> 01:00:37,830
make is this. 
That is when Benaya was rewarded

1051
01:00:39,080 --> 01:00:41,080
as a mighty man, as a mighty 
woman of God. 

1052
01:00:41,080 --> 01:00:45,080
You may not know God's blessing 
in this life, but you will in 

1053
01:00:45,080 --> 01:00:47,960
the life to come. 
You will, when Christ returns to

1054
01:00:48,000 --> 01:00:52,080
establish his era of the 
Millennium reign, when He will 

1055
01:00:52,080 --> 01:00:55,000
reward you and where nothing 
will take it away from you. 

1056
01:00:55,000 --> 01:00:58,720
No thief can steal it. 
No kind of creature can erode 

1057
01:00:58,720 --> 01:01:02,200
it. 
Here's the verse I wanted to end

1058
01:01:02,200 --> 01:01:06,960
with. 
Second Corinthians, chapter 5, 

1059
01:01:06,960 --> 01:01:13,840
verse 15. 
Here's what Paul says about 

1060
01:01:13,840 --> 01:01:19,160
Christians. 
He says. 

1061
01:01:19,160 --> 01:01:22,800
And he died for all that those 
who live might no longer live 

1062
01:01:22,800 --> 01:01:25,320
for themselves, but for him who 
for their sake died and was 

1063
01:01:25,320 --> 01:01:30,440
raised, and he died for all. 
Why? 

1064
01:01:30,800 --> 01:01:32,880
So that when you die, you can go
to heaven. 

1065
01:01:33,400 --> 01:01:36,080
That's part of it. 
He didn't say that, though, and 

1066
01:01:36,360 --> 01:01:39,800
he died for all that. 
Those who live, you are living. 

1067
01:01:40,240 --> 01:01:44,920
I hope those who live might no 
longer live for themselves. 

1068
01:01:47,280 --> 01:01:49,000
You know how some people 
interpret the gospel, I'll tell 

1069
01:01:49,000 --> 01:01:50,320
you how. 
And they may not confess it. 

1070
01:01:50,320 --> 01:01:53,480
They prove it. 
Practically, though, they they 

1071
01:01:53,480 --> 01:01:55,200
at some point, are confronted 
with their sin. 

1072
01:01:55,200 --> 01:01:57,360
They hear the good news of God's
grace and mercy. 

1073
01:01:57,360 --> 01:01:58,640
They receive it. 
They accept it. 

1074
01:01:58,640 --> 01:02:03,460
They get emotional about it. 
They get baptized for it, and 

1075
01:02:03,460 --> 01:02:06,420
they prove their devotion to the
Lord to that extent. 

1076
01:02:07,180 --> 01:02:09,260
And here's what here's here's 
how it's lived out, though. 

1077
01:02:10,660 --> 01:02:13,660
Glad I got that out of the way. 
I was on my way to hell. 

1078
01:02:14,180 --> 01:02:17,500
I was on my way to experience 
God's wrath, but that's dealt 

1079
01:02:17,500 --> 01:02:20,420
with now. 
I'm secure forever, and they go 

1080
01:02:20,420 --> 01:02:25,500
on their merry way of life. 
That doesn't describe what Paul 

1081
01:02:25,500 --> 01:02:30,020
is talking about here. 
He died for all. 

1082
01:02:30,020 --> 01:02:32,500
So that what? 
Yeah, you would find eternal 

1083
01:02:32,500 --> 01:02:37,380
life, but that your life, your 
your little pretty life would 

1084
01:02:37,380 --> 01:02:41,860
also be crucified. 
That your plans, your dreams, 

1085
01:02:41,860 --> 01:02:44,700
your hopes, your desires would 
also be nailed on the cross, not

1086
01:02:44,700 --> 01:02:49,060
just your sins. 
And so that in pursuing the 

1087
01:02:49,060 --> 01:02:53,660
Lord, yes, in his saving work, 
but also in His Lordship over 

1088
01:02:53,660 --> 01:02:55,940
your life, you know what happens
to if you're truly Christian. 

1089
01:02:56,820 --> 01:03:01,420
I don't live for myself. 
I know this is Christian 101. 

1090
01:03:01,420 --> 01:03:05,420
I know this sounds basic, but be
reminded again, it's not about 

1091
01:03:05,420 --> 01:03:08,140
my life. 
It's not. 

1092
01:03:08,980 --> 01:03:12,220
When I'm a Christian, I 
literally reorient. 

1093
01:03:12,740 --> 01:03:16,460
I literally wash my blueprint 
away. 

1094
01:03:16,700 --> 01:03:20,140
Give God a blank canvas and say 
you write what you want. 

1095
01:03:20,940 --> 01:03:24,980
To what extent, to every extent,
to what details to the molecule 

1096
01:03:24,980 --> 01:03:28,420
details of your life? 
Think about that. 

1097
01:03:30,130 --> 01:03:33,690
Everything about my life, my 
marriage, my children, my home, 

1098
01:03:33,730 --> 01:03:37,450
where I live, where I serve, 
what I plan, what I do, where I 

1099
01:03:37,450 --> 01:03:40,250
go. 
That's all now surrendered to 

1100
01:03:40,250 --> 01:03:44,290
Christ. 
I no longer live for myself. 

1101
01:03:44,810 --> 01:03:49,650
Now I live for the one who died.
For me, that's Christianity. 

1102
01:03:50,050 --> 01:03:51,410
That's not American 
Christianity, though. 

1103
01:03:51,970 --> 01:03:54,130
American Christianity is what I 
just described to you. 

1104
01:03:54,130 --> 01:03:57,570
Wow. 
Thank God I found the gospel. 

1105
01:03:58,160 --> 01:04:00,160
I was going to be an eternal 
torment. 

1106
01:04:00,400 --> 01:04:03,640
Not anymore. 
I'll reach you when I need you. 

1107
01:04:03,880 --> 01:04:05,960
I'll serve you when you think 
you need me. 

1108
01:04:06,240 --> 01:04:09,320
I'll be back. 
That's how most people live 

1109
01:04:09,320 --> 01:04:14,840
their Christian life. 
And Paul says what that's not, 

1110
01:04:14,920 --> 01:04:17,320
that's not Holy Spirit inspired 
Christianity. 

1111
01:04:17,320 --> 01:04:19,120
That's not blood bought 
Christianity. 

1112
01:04:19,560 --> 01:04:25,080
That's Walt Disney Christianity.
And so let's conclude on this. 

1113
01:04:25,080 --> 01:04:29,440
You're here on a Friday night to
learn more of God's Word, let's 

1114
01:04:29,440 --> 01:04:32,720
recommit ourselves to saying, 
Lord, if there's any area that I

1115
01:04:32,720 --> 01:04:38,200
have reclaimed when originally I
surrendered it, if there's any 

1116
01:04:38,200 --> 01:04:41,400
area of my devotion that I said 
about, this is just a plot of 

1117
01:04:41,400 --> 01:04:42,880
lentils. 
I don't need to give myself to 

1118
01:04:42,880 --> 01:04:44,000
it. 
I don't need to be attentive to 

1119
01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:45,040
it. 
I don't need to be devoted to 

1120
01:04:45,040 --> 01:04:47,520
it. 
Make me a mighty man of God. 

1121
01:04:48,960 --> 01:04:53,840
Make me a mighty woman of God. 
Do something in me so that you 

1122
01:04:53,840 --> 01:04:57,770
would receive more glory and 
number me among those that you 

1123
01:04:57,770 --> 01:05:00,970
will commend in the end. 
Lord, we ask by your precious 

1124
01:05:00,970 --> 01:05:03,010
grace that you would bring us 
there. 

1125
01:05:03,370 --> 01:05:06,570
We thank you for this study. 
We thank you that it was perhaps

1126
01:05:06,570 --> 01:05:09,970
more exhortation than it was 
digging up inside and making 

1127
01:05:09,970 --> 01:05:12,130
references. 
Although we thank you that on 

1128
01:05:12,130 --> 01:05:16,610
this Friday we received a 
stirring that we always need a 

1129
01:05:16,610 --> 01:05:20,290
reminder of what our lives are. 
We thank you for the gospel. 

1130
01:05:20,570 --> 01:05:23,530
We thank you that you are the 
true and better David. 

1131
01:05:23,910 --> 01:05:26,190
We thank you, O Lord, that we 
have eternal life. 

1132
01:05:26,190 --> 01:05:28,110
Yes, but we have a new way of 
life today. 

1133
01:05:28,590 --> 01:05:32,390
And so we pray and we ask that 
knowing that you've died for all

1134
01:05:32,390 --> 01:05:37,150
that those who live might also 
die to self and live for you. 

1135
01:05:37,910 --> 01:05:40,230
We pray, O Lord, that you would 
show us what it is that you want

1136
01:05:40,230 --> 01:05:42,430
us to do and how we can do it 
with excellence. 

1137
01:05:42,430 --> 01:05:47,470
We pray that you protect us from
going outside of our lane or 

1138
01:05:47,470 --> 01:05:49,830
being frustrated or discouraged 
with what has been 

1139
01:05:49,830 --> 01:05:53,390
providentially provided to us. 
The way you've wired us, the way

1140
01:05:53,390 --> 01:05:56,630
you have gifted us. 
Help us, oh Lord, fight this 

1141
01:05:56,630 --> 01:05:58,470
battle. 
Help us finish well. 

1142
01:05:58,710 --> 01:06:00,910
Help us, oh God, in our 
weaknesses. 

1143
01:06:01,070 --> 01:06:04,070
And may you receive all maximum 
praise and honor that you can 

1144
01:06:04,070 --> 01:06:06,710
receive from our lives. 
In Jesus name we pray. 

1145
01:06:07,150 --> 01:06:09,350
Amen. 
Let's stand and worship. 

1146
01:06:09,350 --> 01:06:13,870
We'll sing and pray for for 
tomorrow morning and make our 

1147
01:06:13,870 --> 01:06:16,630
way home with our hearts stirred
afresh. 

1148
01:06:16,630 --> 01:06:17,850
I hope Akshay.