Music
You
Song four three seven in the blues send the light song four three seven. Let's see it together on the first
There's a call comes ringing or the restless waves send the line
send the line
There are souls to rescue there are souls to save send the line
send the line
Send the line
Blessed gospel light let it shine from shore to shore
Send the line the blessed gospel light let it shine
forevermore
We have heard the
Macedonian call today send the line
send the line
And a golden offering at the cross we lay send the line
send the line
Send the line the blessed gospel light let it shine
from shore to shore
Send the light the blessed gospel light let it shine
forevermore
Let us pray that grace may everywhere abound send the light
Send the light and a Christ like spirit everywhere be found send the light
send the line
Send the light the blessed gospel light let it shine
from shore to shore
Send the light the blessed gospel light let it shine
forevermore
Let us not grow weary in the work of love send the line
send the line
For a crown above send the light send the light
send the light
the blessed gospel light let it shine
from shore to shore
Send the light the blessed gospel light let it shine
forevermore
Amen good scene brother Alex. Could you open up with a prayer?
Bless our soldiers tonight and give us ears to hear the sermon in Jesus' name. Amen.
And then our second song we song number 19. Jesus is the joy of living
Song number 19. Jesus is the joy of living
Song number one nine, let's sing it together on the first I have found a wondrous Savior
Jesus Christ the souls delight
Every blessing of his favor fills my heart with hope so bright
Jesus is the joy of living
He's the king of life to me
Unto him my all I'm giving
His forevermore to be
I will do what he commands
me
Anywhere he leads I'll go
Jesus is the joy of living
He's the dearest friend I know
Life is growing rich with beauty
Toil has lost its weary strain
Now a halo crowns each duty
And I sing a glad refrain
Jesus is the joy of living
He's the king of life to me
Unto him my all I'm giving
His forevermore to be
I will do what he commands me
Anywhere he leads I'll go
Jesus is the joy of living
He's the dearest friend I know
Heavenly wisdom he provides me grace to keep my spirit free
In his own sweet way he guides me
When the path I cannot see
Jesus is the joy of living
He's the king of life to me
Unto him my all I'm giving
His forevermore to be
I will do what he commands me
Anywhere he leads I'll go
Jesus is the joy of living
He's the dearest friend I know
Oh what splendor oh what glory
Oh what matchless power divine
Is the Christ of gospel story
Christ the Savior who is mine
Jesus is the joy of living
He's the king of life to me
Unto him my all I'm giving
His forevermore to be
I will do what he commands me
Anywhere he leads I'll go
Jesus is the joy of living
He's the dearest friend I know
Amen. Good singing with this. We'll have our announcements.
All right. Good evening, everybody. Welcome to Church Foundation Baptist Church for our midweek service.
Our midweek and one day after the midweek service, I guess.
All right, let's take our bulletins and go through some announcements.
If you need a bulletin, just slip up your hand. One of the ushers will bring you a bulletin.
Just lift your hand nice and high and one of the ushers will bring you one.
While they're handing those out, I'll just start off with our verse of the week.
On the front page there it says,
The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Psalm chapter 12 verse 6, great scripture there on the preservation of scripture.
Our inside page there shows our service time, Sunday morning service, 10 30 a.m.
We'll be back in our series this week on the New Believer series in the morning.
And then Sunday evening service, we'll be back in Joshua. We'll be in Joshua chapter 2.
And then Thursday Bible studies, we're in 1 Chronicles and we'll be in 1 Chronicles 11 again tonight.
And we'll be preaching about David's mighty men.
Our so many times are listed below. We had so many tonight.
Did we have any salvations? One salvation. Anybody else get one?
All right. Well, praise God for that one salvation and for your faithfulness.
And thanks to everybody that helped Tony move.
I'm sure he really appreciated that.
Sounds like you guys got it done.
I didn't even know they were moving.
So until yesterday, I guess I think Sean put it in the group.
Can everybody help Tony move? I was like, all right, cool.
I'm glad people helped. So I appreciate I'm sure they appreciate that.
And let's see the Praise Report. You can see the salvations and baptisms.
Rylan, that's plus nine.
If you're listening, so for the bulletin.
In Indianapolis, I just want to brag on our church plants over there.
They had 69 in church on Sunday morning and they had 61 in the evening.
They had nine baptisms in between services.
And they had seven salvations for a short soul wanting that they had there.
So that's pretty receptive over there, in case you were wondering.
So, yeah, church is doing great there.
They actually had a pastor from up north.
He's a, you know, kind of old IFBE pastor, but he came down to the baptisms.
He was ordained and he's been friendly to us.
We did a Sony marathon at their church.
And so he came down and preached one service for us down there and did the baptisms.
So it was really nice of him to do that.
And so we are friendly.
You know, our churches are friendly.
And he was friendly to us, so we really appreciate that.
And so we had a great high day there.
It's the highest day we've had there for a long time, so it's good.
We are averaging about 50 in attendance on Sunday mornings there.
So the church plant there is doing really well.
Anyway, I just want to mention that really quickly.
And we had Dr. Phil Stringer here preaching for us.
He preached a sermon on Calvinism that I thought was really good.
He had some really good one verses.
If you didn't get a chance to listen to it, it's on our YouTube page.
And then he preached a sermon.
It was basically against the accusations of King James being a homosexual.
And it was really more of a history lesson, but he's really knowledgeable.
You can really tell he's a sharp guy.
And it was great having him here and being a part of our services.
I really appreciated him being here.
If you guys liked him being here, he's going to be here again in December.
He's going to preach.
He's going to preach about his trip to Egypt.
So I'm actually interested in hearing that.
So it would be nice to go to Egypt sometime and preach.
So right at the pyramids or something.
Anyway, they probably wouldn't let me there.
Anyway, so he's coming back in December for us.
October 27th, we're going to have our super soul-winning Saturday.
That will be 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
We'll have a dinner afterwards.
October 31st is our chili and cornbread potluck before church at 4 p.m.
You may come early and just bring any kind of chili you want.
Fillers are fine.
And Cincinnati chili, spaghetti's fine, whatever you want.
No, I'm just kidding.
But yeah, bring chili, bring cornbread, whatever.
You can bring dessert, whatever you want to do.
Just make sure you don't fall asleep during the service.
They'll just start throwing stuff at you.
I'll throw the dry cornbread at you during the service.
How about that?
I'm just kidding.
And then, let's see, November 6th or 10th is the FWBC missions conference.
If you're planning on going to that.
And then November 26th is the pi social.
There's also something in between those dates.
There's the homeschool field trip, I believe it's November 14th.
Is that right?
November 14th, it's at the jump zone or some kind of jumping thing.
Sky zone.
Alright, sky zone, jump zone, jump a lot, whatever.
It's one of those things, but you can sign up in the homeschool group.
If you're not in the homeschool group, just ask my wife and she'll get you in there.
Anyway, we're family integrated.
That means the children and infants are welcome during the church services.
Please use the mother baby room or the dad baby room.
Observe the rules and regulations listed below there.
And the giving information is down below.
Texting, text giving, offering totals that have come in so far.
We're saying happy birthday to Jacob and Zacchaeus.
Wait a second.
This is on Sunday.
Okay, so we'll sing happy birthday to him on Sunday.
Alright, yeah.
I think that's all we got for announcements.
Let's go ahead and sing another song and then we'll receive the offering.
Alright, our next song is song number 40, Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah.
Song number 40, Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah.
Song 4-0, sing it together on the first.
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim, through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty.
Hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.
Feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain, whence the healing stream doth flow.
Let the fire and cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer, be thou still my strength and shield.
Be thou still my strength and shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside.
Bear me through the swelling current, land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee.
I will ever give to thee.
Amen. Good seeing you at this time. We'll have our offering.
Brother Ramon, could you bless the offering for us?
Thank you.
Good to see you all.
Please turn with me, if you would, to First Chronicles, chapter 11.
First Chronicles, chapter 11.
As is our custom, we'll read the entire chapter starting in verse 1.
Please read along with me silently.
First Chronicles, chapter 11.
If your name is Lambert, I want to see your eyes up here, please.
First Chronicles, chapter 11, verse 1.
Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
And moreover, in time past, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that lettest out and broughtest in Israel.
And the Lord thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel.
Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king, to Hebron, and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord,
and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.
And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.
And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither.
Nevertheless, David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David.
And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain.
So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up and was chief.
And David dwelt in the castle, therefore they called it the city of David.
And he built the city round about, even from Millo round about, and Joab repaired the rest of the city.
So David waxed greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.
These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom and with all Israel to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.
And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had.
Jashabim and Hakmonite, the chief of the captains, he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time.
And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties.
He was with David at Pastamim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley and the people fled from before the Philistines.
And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel and delivered it, and slew the Philistines, and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.
Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam, and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
And David was then in the hold, and the Philistine's garrison was then at Bethlehem.
And David longed and said, O that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate.
And the three break through the host of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David.
But David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the Lord and said, My God forbid it be that I should do this thing.
Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy?
For with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it, therefore he would not drink it.
These things did these three mightiest.
And Abishai the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three, for lifting up his spear against three hundred, he slew them, and he had a name among the three.
Of the three he was more honorable than the two, for he was their captain, albeit he attained not to the first three.
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzael, who had done many acts, he slew two lion-like men of Moab.
Also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day.
And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high, and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam.
And he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.
These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among the three mighties.
Behold he was honorable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three.
And David set him over his guard.
Also the valiant men of the armies were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, Shamoth the Hororite, Heles the Pelonite,
Ira the son of Ikhesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Antothite, Sibakai the Hushathite, Eli the Ahohite,
Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ithai the son of Rebai of Gibeah that pertained to the children of Benjamin,
Benaiah the Perathenite, Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbethite, Asmoveth the Baharumite, Eliyabah the Shaalbanite,
the son of Hashem the Gizanite, Jonathan the son of Shagi the Hororite, Ahim the son of Sakar the Hororite, Eliphal the son of Ur, Hefer and the Mecharite,
Mecharithite, Ahijah the Pelonite, Hesro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Esbai, Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagary,
Zelak the Ammonite, Nahari the Barathite, the armor bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,
Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Alai, Adina the son of Sheeza the Reubenite, a captain of the Reubenites, and 30 with him,
Hanan the son of Ma'acha and Josephat the Mythknight, Uzziah the Ashteratite, Shammah and Jehiel the sons of Hothan the Arrorite,
Jediel the son of Shimri and Joah his brother the Tezite, Eliel the Mahavite and Jerabai and Josavia the sons of El-Naam and Ithma the Moabite, Eliel and Obed and Jaziel the Mesobite.
Brother Alex will you pray for us?
Well just when you think that he couldn't do it any better he goes and just nails every name in that whole chapter it just makes me sick.
Anyway I won't do as well I promise. Well done well done brother Eli.
Alright we're in I Chronicles 11. I will not have you do it again next week. I promise we'll be on a different chapter.
So I just want to recap where we're at so far in the book of I Chronicles. We're finished with the genealogies.
Nine chapters we did there and in chapter 10 we had the death of Saul and then in the last sermon I preached we talked about and saw David's rise to power.
We looked at his three anointings when he was a young man when he was anointed as the king of Judah and then when he was anointed as the king over all of Israel.
And now we're going to look at his mighty men. Look at verse 10 down in your text there it says these also are the chief of the mighty men.
So it's about the name the chief of the mighty men not just all of his mighty men because he had multiple mighty men.
But these are the chief of the mighty men whom David had who strengthened themselves with him in the kingdom and with all Israel to make him king according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.
So these are men that came to David and these men strengthened themselves with him in the kingdom and these men began to come to him before he was even king.
And of course he was already anointed at that time by Samuel but then by the time he became king they were already pretty razor sharp.
Pretty impressive in their feats but when he became king then they really started to shine forth as the mighty men of David.
And they're probably the greatest fighting force that this world has ever seen and probably the you know of course they got their might and a lot of their strength from God.
I mean no man can kill 300 men at the same time by himself and within his own power.
So when or when a man kills 800 men by himself that's not by himself the spirit of the Lord is helping him do that.
Like when Samson kills a thousand men with a jawbone of an ass he's not just doing that within his own strength and God has obviously given these men who have great skill.
I'm not saying that they don't have great skill they probably already have great talent in the battle but God is obviously giving them some extra skill here and some extra knowledge.
But these mighty men did not just appear out of osmosis or all come to him at the same time.
David amassed this army of men slowly through the years and as he followed the Lord they flocked to him and learned to trust him and mold them into that mighty fighting force under his leadership.
So David of course is that great leader of the men and throughout the Bible you just see leadership is the one is the people that are highlighted in the Bible for the most part.
The leadership is highlighted but there's a lot of great men in the Bible that aren't highlighted necessarily but like these guys get a whole almost a whole chapter in the Bible here and then also in 2 Samuel where it just lists their names.
And their names live on forever in eternity.
You know a lot of you know like the Norse religion they wanted their names to live on forever in Valhalla which is a false religion.
It's a false belief system and they thought if they just went and plundered and killed people and died in some great battle that they would go to what they think is heaven.
This place this hall where they drink beer and have beautiful women all day or whatever in this place called Valhalla.
But in reality they went to a place called hell.
So now I don't think it's a great thing to want to be some kind of bloodthirsty soldier or something.
I don't think that necessarily this is what these guys all were but they were soldiers for the Lord.
They were at a different time they were in the Old Testament and this is you know a physical nation of Israel of course with spiritual you know they were spiritual and physical at the same time.
Now in the New Testament we're not called to battle in this way so our our warfare is a spiritual warfare we're not called to take up arms against any government or against other people.
When we are overcoming the enemy we're overcoming them with the good of the gospel and we're trying to kill the old man so the new man can be born in them.
We're not we're slaying with the sword of the spirit with the gospel so they can be born again and be saved.
So let's look over at go ahead and keep your your finger or bookmark here and go to 1 Samuel chapter 22 verse 1.
We are going to be flipping back and forth a lot to 2 Samuel chapter 23 but we'll get there soon enough and I'll just have you put the bookmark then.
But go ahead and turn to 1 Samuel 22 1 and we'll see where these guys first start to come to David because David's been anointed then he goes on the run and then men just start to these men start to flock to him.
And not all these guys become the chief of the mighty men but what does that mean the chief?
Well they're the the heads of the mighty men they're the the top these are the top 30 basically of the mighty men.
Now in the list in 2 Samuel chapter 23 there's 37 mighty men mentioned and people say well that's a discrepancy in the Bible well it isn't a discrepancy in the Bible because there are no discrepancies in the Bible.
But I would I would say this that you know one of these list is probably just you know one solid list and then and then you have a list where maybe there was I'm sure there's people that died out of these mighty men.
As a matter of fact when we go through the list you probably know some jump out at you as people that died and I'm sure that people replace those people that died and so you're probably getting the extra people in the list from 2 Samuel.
I mean that's that's an explanation but you know it's not an explanation is that the Word of God has a mistake in it because there's no mistakes the words of the Lord are pure words.
So anyway 1 Samuel chapter 22 verse 1 the Bible says David therefore departed thence and escaped to the cave Adullam and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it they went down there to him.
And everyone that was in distress and everyone that was in debt and everyone that was disconnected gathered themselves unto him and he became a captain over them and there were with him about 400 men.
So he has his first flock of men that come to him and there are people that are distressed there are people that are in debt discontented and they gather themselves unto him and he becomes a captain to them.
The king Saul's the king at this time but they become they need someone to lead them so when they first come to David they're not really the mighty men yet are they?
They're discontented they're these people that just are kind of outcasts of society and he forms this group of mighty men out of these discontented people and then turns them into the greatest fighting force of all time.
Turn to 1 Samuel chapter 23 verse 13 so and then this group begins to grow and he gets more people to join up with him.
In verse 13 it says then David and his men which were about 600 arose and departed out of Keliah and went whithersoever they would go and it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keliah and he forbared to go forth.
So now just in one chapter you see that he's jumped from 400 men following him to 600 men following him.
Look at chapter 27 verse 2 chapter 27 verse 2 it says and David arose and he passed over with 600 men that were with him unto Achish the son of Moak the king of Gath.
So he still has the 600 he's not losing people he's still charging forward.
Now turn to 1 Samuel 30 verse 9 verse 30 verse 9 it says so David went he and the 600 men that were with him and came to the brook Bessor where those that were left behind stayed.
And David pursued he and 400 men for 200 above behind which were so faint they could not go over the brook Bessor.
So all throughout these chapters he still remains he doesn't lose them he still has these 600 guys that are going with him.
Which is kind of like how Jesus had his 12 and that prophecy where he said that he will lose none.
He will not lose any of his disciples and he kind of just doesn't lose any of these mighty men either which is pretty impressive that he still has 600 men.
I'm sure some probably died but like it still continues to maintain that he has 600 men first he starts out with 400 builds it up to 600 doesn't lose any.
So now in the next chapter next week when we studied chapter 12 then you have like when he becomes king you have this influx of hundreds and thousands of more people that come to him.
When all of Israel comes to him then you have those great warriors of Gad that we've already spoke about in the previous chapters and we also have some Reubenites that come.
And then he just kind of gets this big giant army of mighty men like his warriors were great warriors all of them.
So these are like I said this chapter is the mighty men of the mighty men they're like the cream of the crop they're like the navy seals or the rangers or whatever you would want to call them of our modern times.
But probably way more skilled so anyway let's look at first chronicles back to first chronicles 1111 it says and this is the number of the mighty men whom David had.
Joshua and Hachemite the chief of the captains so who's the chief of the captains Joshua he lifted up his spear against 300 slain by him at one time.
So he's got a spear and he slays 300 men at one time that's pretty impressive I mean you'd be pretty tired after that.
I don't know how he's defending himself against 300 men at one time but that's what the Bible says and I believe that the Bible is true.
Obviously God is supernaturally allowing him to do this because otherwise that would just be impossible.
So now remember who's the one that took the castle of Zion who did David he said whoever gets up the gutter remember last week.
Whosoever gets up the gutter and takes the stronghold I will make him the chief remember that who was that guy?
Joab right if you'll notice something right off the you know if you read through this if you're paying attention does Joab get mentioned in this group?
He doesn't get mentioned in this group but yet he is the chief of his army he's the general of the army and if you know anything about the story of Joab.
Joab anytime David tries to make somebody else the general Joab murders them.
So that's probably why he's not counted as one of the mighty men because he wasn't a very great man of valor.
I mean he did do some great things but he was also a murderer and you know he got paid back in the end for what he did to some really good guys.
So anyway I just wanted to kind of mention that really quickly that Joab is not mentioned in this group even though he is over he really is over the top of this guy in rank.
But this is the chief of the other you know so below Joab would be this guy right here even though Joab is not a mighty man.
Okay weird right so anyway so now it says verse 12 and after him was Eliezer the son of Dodo if you're looking for male baby names you guys have some choices here.
And Ahoah who was one of the three mighties so it's listing us these three mighties.
Okay the three mighties are the top three of the best of the best.
And the first one is Jashabim then you have Eliezer and then you have this other guy that's going to mention here in a minute.
But it says he was with David and passed Amim and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle where was a parcel of ground full of barley.
And the people fled from before the Philistines and they set themselves in the midst of the parcel and delivered it and slew the Philistines and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.
So you have that guy Eliezer the son of Dodo and then now turn now this is where I'm going to have you start turning to second Samuel and keeping a bookmark there.
But keep your bookmark here turn to second Samuel chapter 23.
Now I just kind of want to show you the parallel passages because again you have 30 that are named here, 37 that are named in second Samuel.
We're not going to go through all the names tonight there's just too much and there's not a lot written about some of these guys.
Their name is mentioned but you know I'm not going to go deep into the cracks on this sermon.
So second Samuel chapter 23 verse nine it says and after him was Eliezer the son of Dodo and Ahoyt one of the three mighty men with David and they defied the Philistines that were gathered together to battle and the men of Israel were gone away.
He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary and his hand clave unto the sword and the sword wrought a great or excuse me the Lord wrought a great victory that day.
And the Lord returned after him only or the people returned after him only to spoil so basically what do you have here is that they're defending like a field.
They're defending food and the Philistines were really just always just trying to take away there's places always trying to come back in and take over a village that Israel had taken back from them.
But you know food wasn't just found at Walmart back then you know fields of food were very important and you know it takes months for things to grow up.
And so when an army is coming to try to take over a big field of food it's important to defend it so we might think well there's some they're just trying to defend some lima beans or something it's like big deal.
But to them it was a big deal it's their food source so but this guy smote the Philistines until he was his hand was weary and his hand clave to the sword.
So he just never let go of that sword that's why he's a mighty man and he even though the people ran the only time that they returned was to return for the spoil that that guy fought for.
I mean pretty cowardly right but he wasn't a coward that's why he's listed as a mighty man and the people that were listed they don't name their names they just said that they were the ones that ran away.
And the only reason why they came back was to get the stuff right.
Verse 11 says after him was Shammah the son of Agi the Herorite and the Philistines were gathered together into a troop and there was a piece of ground full of lentils so here's you know the beans right.
And the people fled from the Philistines so here's another fleeing and he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines and the Lord wrought a great victory.
So basically in these lists you're getting these stories here and there you're not getting every great feat that they did but you're getting just kind of a little taste of how tough and mighty these guys were.
I mean I've never fought 300 people at the same time and even in a fistfight in one these guys are killing you know troops and garrisons full of people by themselves while everybody else is running away.
That's pretty mighty.
Turn back to First Chronicles chapter 11 verse 15, First Chronicles chapter 11 verse 15.
It says now three of the 30 captains went down to the rock to David into the cave of Adullam and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
So three of the 30 captains went down to the rock with David and David was then in the hold and the Philistines garrison was then at Bethlehem.
And David longed and said oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate.
And the three break through the host of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David but David would not drink of it but poured it out to the Lord.
So you have this account of the mighty, the first three mighties that it was talking about.
The guys that are killing hundreds of people at a time by themselves and all David did is just kind of was like oh man it would be great to have a nice clean cup of water from the well of Bethlehem.
And these guys love David so much, they are so loyal to him that just his mere words inspire them to just go and break through this rank of people, these Philistine warriors and go and just say we are just going to get David a drink of water.
That is pretty impressive, I mean this is a garrison of Philistines and they were away from each other for a reason.
So it is not like these three guys could have just taken them on by themselves in normal circumstances and it is not just David and these three guys, it is David, these three guys and probably an army and they are still not just going right at them.
So I am sure this garrison was a pretty tough rowdy bunch, so probably just not an easy battle no matter how you slice it.
So they just decided to slice it anyway and just go in and try to get the water and they did it.
Now flip back, just keep your finger there again, flip back to 2 Samuel chapter 23 and it will give us a little more information here.
It says, 2 Samuel 23 verse 13, it says,
And three of the thirty chiefs went down and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam.
And the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.
And David was then in a hold and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
And David longed and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate.
And the three mighty men break through the host of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David.
Nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, but he poured it out unto the Lord.
So thus began like the pouring out for your dead homies or something, that is when that all began, I do not know.
This began that, I am sure it might have been the beginning of it, I do not know, but that is kind of what he did, right?
But it is a sacrifice, he basically sacrificed what those guys did to the Lord.
And it says, and he said, verse 17, and he said,
Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this, is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives?
Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
So if that was not a really impressive feat, then I do not think the Bible would have, this would not have been added into the Bible.
So obviously what those three men did was very impressive.
And I have always thought this, I do not know if I am the only one that has thought this before,
but I have always kind of thought, well that is kind of messed up that he did not drink it,
because they did so much to get that glass of water for them.
And like, you know, I could just imagine these guys running up, here you go David, here you go, this is what you wanted, right?
And he is just like, just torches it on the ground.
They are probably just like, what are you doing?
Do you know how hard we had to fight to get you that cup of water?
But I mean, they are just, you know, they are loyal, they are brave,
and for David to pour it out like this, I felt like this is disrespectful to his men.
But, you know, I have thought about this, and actually I was asked about this after church last week,
like what do you think this means?
And I think that there is some symbolic interpretations to this passage,
and I am sure that I probably have not figured all the symbolic interpretations out,
but I just have a few thoughts about this that I was thinking about.
So, David refused to drink because he realized the great risk that it took to do this,
and to drink water of something that he said just on a whim,
as like some selfish longing to taste a drink of water out of that well.
These great warriors could have been killed doing something that he just flippantly asked for,
something that his soul was kind of lusting after or whatever,
which I am sure he is always thirsty, right?
But, you know, as leaders we should be careful what we ask for,
and what we require of people because people are really zealous,
and people really want to help please leadership sometimes to the point where they would risk something,
even harming their finances, harming themselves in some way that they shouldn't,
based upon just trying to please someone or trying to show their loyalty to a leader,
and he probably felt really bad that these guys risked their lives to go get a glass of water for them,
because really that is what they did.
They risked their lives for a glass of water,
and David is probably just like thinking,
well man, the things that come out of my mouth are really important for me to check what I am saying,
because these guys could have lost their lives over nothing, really.
It is kind of what I was thinking.
I am sure other people have thought the same thing,
but we really do need to think about the things we say,
especially people that are in leadership,
people that are bosses at work or whatever,
and people look up to you as leaders.
I mean, parents in the home, your children look up to you,
and your children want to please you,
and kids just have this natural thing of wanting to please their parents,
and we can wound them when we say,
get out of here kid, you bother me, or whatever.
Sometimes we can be that way with our kids and not mean to be,
so when our kids are looking for our attention,
sometimes we need to put our phones down,
or put away what we are doing,
and just think about spending some time with them,
and thinking about the things that they do for us that we think,
oh, that is nice, dear.
They draw us a picture or something,
and throw it away when they walk away.
I have never done that, okay?
I am not saying I did.
Everything is hung up.
We got boxes full of stuff, okay?
But kids, I think it is really nice when kids draw you pictures.
I have kids at churches that draw me pictures sometimes,
and I think it is really cool.
I keep those things, and I think it is nice,
but people do nice things for you as leaders sometimes,
and I just think that whatever type of leader you are,
not everybody is a pastor, not everybody is a leader
in that kind of way, but just anytime someone looks up to you,
you should be aware of the things you are asking for,
and when people are super loyal,
or will just bend over backwards to help you,
you should be aware not to take advantage of that loyalty.
Be aware to not take advantage of someone
when you know that they would do anything for you,
just for something that is just some kind of entertainment
for you, or some kind of special glass of water
that you want or something,
but especially a frivolous thing like this.
I mean, literally going to risk their lives,
but David also poured out the water,
I think, to discourage any other risky missions like this,
because had he drank that water,
then what is the next group of mighties going to do?
They're going to say,
well, they went and risked their lives
getting this glass of water, well, let's go do this,
and then we can have David's adoration,
or attaboys, or commendations for upping the ante,
and I think that's another possible reason,
or a good reason why he would have done that,
but also that water might have quenched his thirst,
but it literally, what does the passage actually say?
That it was their blood that they were carrying back,
basically, not literally, but that was their death sentence
that they were carrying back.
Basically, they literally risked their lives to do it,
so it wasn't, let's go back to the passage here real quick.
What's it say there?
Well, verse 17 says,
be it far from me, Lord, that I should do this.
Is not this the blood of the men
that went in jeopardy for their lives?
Therefore, he would not drink it,
so for this reason, therefore,
is there so that you would know what it was there for, right?
Therefore, he would not drink it,
so the reason why, the main reason why
is because the blood of the men
that went in jeopardy for their lives,
so he didn't, it wasn't right for him to ask for that
because they literally risked their lives.
That's what the Bible actually says,
so, I mean, there's lots of different reasons
you can read into it,
but that's what the Bible actually says,
so, and you know, it's important for us
to say what the Bible actually says, right?
So, but how about a symbolic meaning,
like a mighty man from Bethlehem one day
would actually sacrifice his blood for us
so that we could get the rivers of living water,
you know, when Jesus goes to the woman at the well,
what does he say to her?
Well, let's look at John chapter four
and we'll see what he says to her,
but I mean, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, right,
and the living water comes from Jesus Christ.
It doesn't come from Jacob's well.
It comes from Jesus Christ who's from Bethlehem,
so I mean, there's probably some symbolic meaning there,
but John chapter four, verse 10,
Jesus said to the woman at the well,
he said, Jesus answered and said unto her,
if thou knewest the gift of God
and who it is that saith unto thee,
give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked.
He would have given thee living water.
The woman saith unto him, sir,
thou hast nothing to draw with and the well is deep.
From whence then hast thou this living water?
Art thou greater than our father Jacob,
which gave us the well and drank thereof himself
and his children and his cattle?
Jesus answered and said unto her,
Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again,
but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him
shall never thirst,
but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life.
So the symbolic meaning, you know,
Jesus Christ actually did give his blood
so that we could have everlasting water
and so, I mean, I think that there is a parallel picture there
for us to observe that, you know, that water,
it was worth Jesus hazarding his life for us,
not only hazarding, but giving his life for us.
So, and then another picture
is something I was just thinking about this week,
about going to the right sources to get the good water.
Nobody wants to have a bad source of water.
In Vancouver, I keep getting these notices
where it says, like, there's these,
these additives that have gotten into water,
so I forget what they call them, PF somethings or whatever,
it's like some pla, huh?
Yeah, and it's from like, yeah, Teflon and stuff like that.
Yeah, so it's something that you can't,
I don't even think you can get it out of the water supply,
it's like in the water supply here
that we're paying all this money
to get in, especially in the outlying parts of Vancouver.
I need a drink of water from the well of Bethlehem.
Anyway, but it's kind of disheartening
to know that we have to pay all this money for water
that they've allowed to get tainted.
You know, I think we need a new supply of water.
But that's why I have a Berkey.
But anyway, I hope it gets that stuff out of there.
Uh oh, I'm getting some eyeballs here.
Do I need something different?
Somebody help me.
Am I trusting in this Berkey and I shouldn't be?
What's going on?
Somebody needs to talk to me after church.
Alright, but the Bible talks about us going to the right,
when we go to the right wells,
the Bible talks about wells a lot.
If you think about Isaac,
he has this whole showdown with Abimelech
who's what, the king of the what?
What group is he the king of?
The Philistines.
Who's David messing with throughout this whole,
even what we're talking about here,
the garrisons of the Philistines.
It seems like the Philistines are always kind of
guarding wells and trying to take wells over
from God's people.
The sources of information, you know,
if you think about it.
Because, you know, the Holy Spirit
is our source of information.
What we get, you know, who inspired the Bible?
The source of information is the Holy Spirit, right?
And so we want to go to the right Bible.
We want to go to the King James, don't we?
But, you know, the Philistines are always trying
to murk the waters up and put the NIV in people's laps
and put the RSV and the HIV and all the other, you know,
new acronyms that they want to put out, the NLT.
But we should go to the right source.
David didn't say I want to go,
oh man, I wish I could have a drink of the water
from the Philistines, from Gath.
He didn't say from Gath, he said,
I want the one from the well in Bethlehem.
Give me a drink of that water.
And I would say this, as Christians,
we need to make sure that we're going
to the right sources for our information, too.
The Bible, good Bible teachers, good preachers,
don't go to unsaved people for your information,
for your teaching.
You know, these podcasts, of course you can learn things
from unsaved people, but if they're just ungodly,
why would you listen to them and just fill your mind
with unsaved people just teaching you stuff all day long?
It's just not something that you should go,
that's not the source you should go to.
Go to a good source.
If you're going to listen to some podcast,
at least listen to somebody that's actually a Christian.
You know, at least sometimes.
But if you're doing like eight hours worth of jokes
with Joe Rogan every day, I mean,
he's going to be talking about all kinds of psychedelics
and weird drugs and blaspheming God's name
and taking drugs while he's on the show
and drinking alcohol while he's on the show.
I'll admit he does have some interesting topics sometimes,
but I would be selective on the topics
that you listen to when it comes to him.
The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 10, verse 11,
it says the mouth of a righteous man
is a well of life.
Hey, you want to get some good information,
go to a righteous man to get that information.
But violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
Proverbs 16, 22 says,
understanding is a wellspring of life
unto him that hath it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
Understanding is a wellspring of life.
Hey, when we get understanding,
that's good for us, it's a wellspring of life.
But the instruction of fools is folly.
When you go to a fool for your instruction,
it's folly to you.
Maybe some of the stuff that they're teaching you is good,
but with that good,
they're also teaching you a bunch of bad stuff
that's going to ruin your life.
The Bible says in Proverbs 20, verse five,
counsel in the heart of man is like deep water.
So we can get good counsel from the heart of a man, right?
It says, but a man of understanding will draw it out.
So, hey, be a man of understanding,
be a woman of understanding,
and make sure that you're getting
your information from good sources.
Make sure you're getting your Bible information
from a right Bible.
Make sure you're getting your Bible preaching
from a good, born again,
spirit-filled man of God
that's going to show you what the scriptures say.
And hey, you know, we have the Holy Scriptures,
we have the Holy Spirit if you're saved,
and the Holy Spirit, the Bible says the Holy Spirit
will teach us all things.
We have no need that any man should teach us.
You know, we do have enough
if we have the Holy Spirit and the Bible.
Now, the Bible says that God gave us
pastors and teachers, evangelists,
for the perfecting of the saints.
So, you know, you're given that as a gift from God
if you have a good church and a good pastor
or you have a good evangelist
or you have a good deacon
that's teaching you things
from the word of God,
that's helping perfect your Christian life.
It's not that you need it to understand the Bible,
but you do need it to be perfected
because the Bible isn't going to expound
the word of God in the way
that a man can do it through
spirit-filled preaching.
I'm not saying you can't learn it,
I'm just saying it's not going to
get up and smash the pulpit
or, you know, it's not going to
if you're just reading it in your monotone voice
in your inner monologue,
it's not going to be the same
as if someone's screaming and yelling
at you to stop drinking alcohol.
You know what I'm saying?
So, when Isaac has all these fights
with the Philistines,
notice he doesn't keep fighting with them,
he just moves on and digs another well.
And then the Philistines, they come
and then they try to take that one from them, too.
Chapter 26 in Genesis,
it's basically, you know,
just him fighting with these Philistines
over these different wells
and he comes to different wells
that his dad dug,
which his dad was Abraham, right?
And he comes and they're filled up with dirt.
It's not like the Philistines
actually want the well,
they don't care about the well,
they just don't want us to use it.
That's the thing.
And so we don't want to go
and hang out with the Philistines
or go and get our information
from the Philistines
to get to that well.
Hey, just go to a different source.
If the Philistines are muddying up our water,
just get away from them.
There's no reason to have to go to them.
We don't need to go to a YouTube channel
of some Philistine
to get our information
about the word of God.
We shouldn't be going to a Philistine's
Facebook page
and getting information
about what's going on in our churches
and just hanging off the word
of a Philistine every single day
for our daily information.
That's like going to the National Enquirer
to find out what our news,
what our daily news is.
Oh, look, Bat Boy, you know,
Bat Boy isn't real.
What I'm trying to tell you
is that, you know,
if you're going to the bad guys,
look, does anybody doubt
that the Philistines are the bad guys?
Through the Bible, they are God's enemy
through and through.
In Isaac's time,
the king, you know,
and in Abraham's time,
the king, Abimelech,
they were okay.
They had their decent moments,
but even with Isaac, he's like,
we haven't messed with you at all,
and he's just totally lying right to his face.
He's like, all right, I'll make a covenant
with you again, I guess.
But Isaac still goes and it says,
we have found water.
Isaac didn't just hang around the Philistines.
He's like, all right, I'll just leave you alone.
I'll go to a different well.
I'll undig my dad's well.
But we ought not
to be going to the Philistines
for our information.
So what do I mean by that?
Don't go to Isaac Anderson's
Facebook page for your information
about what's going on in our churches.
Do you think that he wants to help you?
Do you think that he wants to help your church?
He doesn't want to help your church.
He wants to destroy it.
He wants to destroy other people's churches.
He's a bad guy.
And if you think he's righteous
in any matter that he's doing right now,
he's not.
He's a bad guy, folks.
I'm not just saying that
because he talks bad about me all the time.
I don't care.
I don't care if he talks bad about me at all.
But what I see him doing
is really wicked.
Don't go to Tommy McMurtry's
Facebook page for your daily news.
I mean, these people hate our guts.
Don't go to Salvador Alvarez's
Facebook page or YouTube page
for your daily news.
And why am I saying this?
Well, because they like to put out
their daily rumors or their daily stuff
and it's like I got people texting me
and look, I'm not mad that people
are texting me this stuff.
I want you to come to me.
But if you're finding out the daily scuttlebutt
on somebody else's Facebook page,
it's just like why are you doing that?
Why is the first thing,
I'm not saying that you're doing this
but if you're doing this,
you know, why?
Why?
Like we need to get our eyes
back on the things of God
and just stop worrying about the Philistines.
Stop going to that well.
Those wells need to dry up.
Those wells need to be filled in
and we need to go to the right source.
And you know, look,
get in your Bibles.
Get in the word of God.
Get in prayer and let's just win
a world of Christ.
That's what we're here for.
That's not the only thing we're here for
but you know, there's been a lot
of drama lately and I realize that
and sometimes it's hard to steer away
from a train wreck, isn't it?
You know, every time there's an accident
you're like what is going on?
You're like stuck in a traffic jam
for like a half hour and it's like
some lady's like sitting on the side
of the road with a cop right in her ticket.
It's like did you really have to pull
that lady over in rush hour traffic, dummy?
Like what are you doing?
It's like the cops fault, really.
Or there's just like, you know,
a tow truck on the side of the road
and everybody's going.
You know what I'm talking about.
But we just can't help ourselves sometimes
and I'm just trying to help you
and admonish you.
Just don't go to the Philistines
for your information.
Go to the right sources.
All right, where was I at?
Let's look at chapter 11, verse 19.
Chapter 11, verse 19.
First Chronicles.
And said my God forbid me
that I should do this thing
shall I drink the blood of these men
that I have put their lives in jeopardy
for what the jeopardy of their lives
they have brought it,
therefore he would not drink.
These things did these mightiest.
And Abishai, the brother of Joab
was the chief of the three
for lifting up his spear against 300
he slew them and had a name
among the three.
So I believe Abishai is the one
that was killed by Abner.
Abner is being chased by him.
I'm pretty sure it's Abishai.
Am I right about that?
Abishai?
Yeah, he's swift as a roe
or something like that.
He's chasing him.
Abner's like, huh?
Oh, it's Asahel.
Yeah, I'm sorry, okay.
So Abishai doesn't get killed by Abner.
It's Asahel, I'm sorry.
But anyway, so he's,
this guy is one of Joab's brothers.
Thank you, brother Shawn.
Last week I was right,
this week I was wrong, okay.
All right, but this guy,
Benaniah the son of Jehoiada,
the son of a valiant man of Kabziel
who had done many acts.
He slew two lion-like men of Moab.
Also he went down and slew a lion
in a pit in a snowy day.
Now you might not think that sounds
like a big deal, but I don't know
what lion-like men of Moab means,
but it sounds like they were pretty fierce.
So probably guys that you probably
didn't want to mess with.
And then to fight a lion
in a pit on a snowy day,
you're talking close quarters,
slipping and sliding in a pit with a lion.
Yeah, that's probably a pretty tough battle there.
But it sounds like he killed him.
And it says, and, so not only that,
but and he slew an Egyptian,
a man of great stature,
five cubits high, that's seven five
or seven six or something.
In the Egyptian's hand was a spear
like a weaver's beam.
I'm assuming that that's a big long spear.
And he went down and he flew
a long spear and he went down
to him with a staff and plucked
the spear out of the Egyptian's hand
and slew him with his own spear.
So he has a staff, like a,
a staff is just like a stick.
This guy's got a weaver's beam spear
and he just like, you know,
flips it out of his hand.
It's probably like some movie
you've seen, you know, launches
it up in the air, you know,
just kills the guy.
Anyway, that's how I imagine it.
So he kills this Egyptian
with his own spear and then,
so he's, this guy's a pretty,
pretty tough guy.
I think this is the guy that
he lives on into Solomon's reign
and then like, he's the one
that has, he has him kill Joab.
He has him kill Adonijah
like when they're grabbing
the horns of the altar and he's
like, kill these guys, right?
I'm pretty sure it's the same guy.
Let's see, verse 24,
and these things did Beneniah,
the son of Jehoiada,
and did, and had the name
among the three mighties.
Behold, he was honorable among
the thirty, but attained not
to the first three, and David
set him over his guard.
Also the valiant men of these
armies were Asahel, okay,
there's Asahel, the brother of
Joab, and Elhanan, the son of
Dodo of Bethlehem.
So Asahel was one of the valiant,
the one that was killed by Abner.
And he, so Abner was pretty,
pretty mighty too until Joab
murdered him later on for
killing his brother that
wouldn't stop chasing him.
Then skip down to verse 31,
you have Ithai, the son of
Ribeye, named after the stake
of Gibeah that pertained to
the children of Benjamin,
Beneniah, and Peritha night.
So, let's skip down to verse
37, Hezra the Carmelite,
Neiriah, the son of Esbai,
and then, so you have all these
hard names, then you've got
Joel, the brother of Nathan.
So, they're the ones with
the normal names here.
And Mibhar, the son of
Hagari, Zilek the Ammonite.
So, now some of these guys
were from different places
that had just come to the
nation of Israel and become
part of the nation.
So, and this is the thing that
people just think that everybody
was just pure Israelite blood
or something, which is not true.
It's just not true.
I mean, Zilek, he was called
the Ammonite, you know why?
Because he was an Ammonite.
So, and they were of the
children of Job, or not Job,
but Lot, right?
Ammon.
Ammon and Moab were the
children of Lot.
So, they were technically
of the children of Israel.
So, Nahira, the Barathite,
the armor bearer of Job,
the son of Zeruiah.
So, the armor bearer of Job
makes it into the list of
the mighties, but not Joab.
What a smack in the face for
all eternity to Joab that one is.
I mean, he's the one,
he didn't even, he just like
carries around the stuff,
he's like the caddy for the golf
course, you know, here's your
sword Joab, here's your shield
and stuff, and he's just like,
but he's actually way more
tough than Joab actually is,
or at least way more,
I mean, mighty, right?
He doesn't kill people when
they're not looking.
He doesn't grab people by the
beard and give them a kiss on
the cheek and then in the fifth
rib, so that is a smack in the
face right there, though, right?
I mean, his armor bearer makes
it and he doesn't.
Uriah the Hittite, verse 41,
remember who Uriah the Hittite is?
David had him murdered,
so, you know, he doesn't make
the list, obviously he has to be
replaced off the list, but
because of David, and so he
actually was one of the mighty
men, and so he had to be
withdrawn from in order to be
killed, they had to like set him
up in order to kill him the way
that he was killed, right?
Which is pretty sad.
But we'll get to that later on
as the story unfolds here.
And then let's go to
verse 46, Eliel the Mahavite,
and Jerabai and Joshua, the sons
of El-Naim, and Ithma the Moabite.
So there's a Moabite that gets
in, and again, people from
other nations were allowed to
join the nation of Israel.
Eliel and Obed, and Jaziel,
and the Mesabite.
So, now let's see.
A couple things I wanted to
talk about before I wrap up here.
Second Samuel 23, verse eight
is a parallel passage to,
it's kind of a,
there's kind of a discrepancy
issue here, I just wanted
to address real quick.
It says, these be the names
of the mighty men whom David had,
the Tachamite that sat in the
seat chief among the captains.
The same was Adino, the Esnite,
and he lift up his spear against
800 whom he slew at one time.
So, in the first account you
have him slain 300 at one time,
and then in this account you
have him slain 800 at one time.
People say, see, the Bible's
a contradiction.
But there's three explanations
for this, and one of them is
not that it's a scribal error
because I don't believe it's
a scribal error.
I'm pretty sure the scribes
and even the translators of the
King James realize that these
two are different numbers.
There's a lot of these types
of supposed discrepancies in
the Bible and they're all
very explainable, but it could
refer to two different battles.
It could refer to him having
two different times, one where
he killed 300, one where he
killed 800.
It could be the grand total,
but it says this is at one time,
so it can't be the grand total.
It could have been he killed
300, the rest has been killed
500, but I don't think that
that's really likely.
I was just looking at different
things that people thought about
it, but it could be that there
are two different battles.
It could be that it could be
just two different men, one a
father and one a son.
I'd probably say it's the first
one, but again, that's probably
the most likely answer, but I
definitely know that it's not a
contradiction.
If anybody has anything better
than that, I'd be really
interested in hearing what your
theory is on it.
Also, in verse 39, okay, so,
yeah, why are there, I already
kind of explained why there's,
why there's 30 in one chapter
and 37 in the other, and I had
some big, long explanations I
don't have time to get into, but
I just basically think that one
list, you know, is that just
telling you the 30, you know,
that there's 30 at one time
that are kind of on that list,
but the 37 is probably listing
the other ones that filled in
for those people that died in
between, because obviously some
of those people died and had to
go through some of my theory on
that.
There's other theories about it,
too, but don't have time to get
into that, and then,
so really just kind of wrap
things up.
Every leader needs good, mighty
men surrounding him, and I do
want to say I'm thankful for the
men in our church and all the
support that they give me.
As a leader, I definitely can't,
you know, lead this church by
myself.
I'm thankful for the ladies, too,
but we're talking about the mighty
men tonight, so you'll just have
your turn some other time, all
right? So I don't want to be that
guy that has to bring the ladies
into every sermon, but I love the
ladies here, too. They are a great
help, but, you know, men are
definitely needed now in this day
and age more than they ever have
before, men that dress like men,
men that cut their hair like men,
men that aren't wearing pink
t-shirts, and dressing like
sissies, and not wearing skinny
jeans, and not doing what their
wife tells them to do, but they're
telling their family what to do,
and, you know, men who lead their
families the right way, lead their
children in the right way, lead
their families in the ways of the
Lord, say, I'm going to lead them
in the right way.
I'm taking you to, we're taking
you to church, not, hey, you can
decide when you're 14 whatever
religion you want to be, and that
kind of stuff. I mean, I've heard
it all, but there's definitely a
lack of testosterone in our world
today. There's a, you know, when
men start calling themselves
feminists, we've got a real
problem, and this country is
turning into, like, what it's
talking about in the book of
Jeremiah, where the men are
becoming women, and, you know, all
these, this influx of foreign
invaders are coming in here and
changing the culture of our
country. Now, look, I'm not
talking about race, I'm talking
about culture, and if, you know,
our culture just becomes this mixed
conglomerate, which it is, I mean,
you think about the prophecy of
the ten toes, where it's clay and
iron mixed together, but they
don't really exist, and they
don't really belong to the
ten toes, where it's clay and iron
mixed together, but they don't
really adhere together very well.
You know why that is? Because
there's just really no more unity.
How can you have unity when all
these different religions and all
these different cultures are
coming, and they say that we're
one nation under God, but in
reality, which God are you talking
about? And then men are being put
down, and women are being raised
up into leadership. I mean, I
literally went to court the other
day, and every person in the
courtroom was a woman. The
lawyers were all women, the court
reporter was a woman, the judge
was a woman, and I spent ten
hours in that boring, so-called
justice center, and I could have
just saved them ten hours of
deciding whether they wanted me to
be a jury or not. They asked me,
on ten hours and fifteen minutes
in, will you convict on one
person's verbal testimony? No, I
won't. And then I was not picked.
So they give us all these speeches
and verbal jujitsu about how we
shouldn't just take our preconceived
notions in, they're innocent until
found guilty, there has to be
evidence and all this other stuff,
and then they're telling me if
some person's convincing enough by
their word that I should convict
that person, you're out of your
mind. This guy's life is on the
line, and you're telling me that if
some person just cries or
something, that I should just, oh,
I believe him. Twenty-six months,
your honor, or whatever they're
gonna charge him with, whatever
they're gonna convict him for,
that's not justice. But my point
is, it was women ruling that
courtroom. That's not justice.
That's women controlling our
country. And then children are
controlling our country because of
this whole don't spank thing. And
it's permeating, it's getting into
our churches, and look, it's
wicked. We need some men that'll
stand up and lead their family and
not turn to this feminist garbage
that's going on. We need some mighty
men that will stand up and just
say, hey, I don't care what you do,
but what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna
lead my family, I'm gonna be a
strong man, and I'm gonna say,
thus saith the Lord, and I'm gonna
follow what the Bible says. And
that's what this church needs going
forward, is strong men that are
willing to get in and do the work.
And look, hey, maybe you're not
gonna slay 800 men with a spear.
Maybe you're not gonna go and
fight through a garrison of
Philistines. But maybe you're
gonna get 800 people saved in your
lifetime through soul winning for
the rest of your life. And maybe,
you know, you're not gonna guard
King David and be one of his
personal, you know, bodyguards that
can kill two lion-like men and kill
a lion in the pit in wintertime.
But maybe you can guard our door
from some freak walking in and
murdering your pastor while he's
preaching. Maybe you can kill a
lion walking in and murdering your
pastor while he's preaching. Maybe
you can do that. You know, there's
a lot of great things that you can
do. Maybe you can lead your family
and teach them the ways of the Lord
and to teach them to go to church
and to love God and to love their
parents and to love their church
and to respect their pastor and to
respect authority in this world
today. You might not be the captain
of the guard, but you can be the
captain of the guard at the door.
You know, these things do translate
into the New Testament, believe it
or not, some of this stuff. Maybe
you're not gonna fight a seven-foot-five
Ethiopian, but maybe you're gonna
have somebody with a seven-foot-five
ego at the door that you need to
just tear down all their trash
beliefs, and maybe that's a hard
case at the door that you're gonna
end up getting saved. You know,
these things, like I said, they
spiritually translate because we do
have giants that we have to slay at
doors sometimes. You know, David's,
there was people that fought David's,
no, David fought Goliath and killed
him, but he had some of his mighty
men fought Goliath's brother,
Goliath's sons, guys with six
fingers and six toes, and like the
Bible's telling us those accounts for
a reason, because it wasn't just
David that slayed giants, it was his
mighty men that slayed them out of
the door. It was his mighty men
that slayed them out of the door.
It was his mighty men that slayed
them out of the door and
afterwards also. And that's just
something for us to see that, hey,
if we have faith, we can be mighty
men also. What were these guys when
they first came to David? Distressed,
in debt, you know, they were the
dregs of society, and by the time
it was all said and done, they're
the best of the best. And you know
what, when you come to Christ,
everybody is just, you know,
everybody that gets saved, you know,
they were nothing when they got
saved. We were but worms. We were
lost and on our way to hell, and
Christ raised us up out of the dung
heap, and made us sit with the
princes in high places. He put us
up in a seat and said, hey, you're
my brother. And he gave us
everlasting and eternal rewards,
the ability to earn those things.
And he loves us, and he's going to,
you know, he's going to guide our
lives if we allow him to, if we
submit to him, and he's going to
make us mighty men just like
him, and he's going to make us
mighty men just like he made these
guys mighty men, except for our
mightiness is going to be a
spiritual might, like the apostle
Paul talks about. I'm going to end
in this one last verse here. Let's
turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter 10,
and then we'll close.
2 Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 2,
it says, but I beseech you that I
may not be bold when I am present,
but that confidence wherewith I
think to be bold against some which
think of us as if we walked
according to the flesh. For though
we walk in the flesh, we do not
war after the flesh, for the
weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty through God to
the pulling down of strongholds.
See, our weapons are not carnal.
They're mighty through God.
And how do we become mighty men
of God? Well, we put on the armor
of God, and we put on his strength
and the power of his might, and
we're able to pull down strongholds.
I talked about this last week,
pulling down the strongholds,
right? Casting down imaginations
and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of
God and bringing into captivity
every thought to the obedience of
Christ and having a readiness to
revenge all disobedience and
your obedience is fulfilled. Do
you look on things after the
outward appearance? Did any man
trust to himself that he is Christ?
Let him of himself think this
again, that as he is Christ, even
so are we Christ. So, hey, we
shouldn't be looking on the outward
appearance of people, the outward
things, because this is a
spiritual battle. It's not
something that we're physically
looking at. It's a spiritual
battle. It's not something that
we're physically looking at. It's
a spiritual battle. And, look,
there's things unseen. There's
things, forces unseen that we
don't know that are happening.
Elisha showed it unto his servant
Gehazi. He said there's more with
us than there are with them, but
yet we get downtrodden. We think
we're losing. We can never lose,
folks. We can never lose. And,
hey, you know, whatever church you
go to and, you know, the men at
our church, you know, we need to
continue to stay mighty, not just
for our church, not just, you
know, to be with your pastor and
be mighty, but with your families.
Your families are counting on you,
and the families of this church
are counting on you. And, look,
I'm the pastor of the church. I'm
counting on you. I want you to
come and be in war with me,
because sometimes, you know, the
battle does get weary. The battle
does get weary, and, you know, I
know that you guys are with me,
and I appreciate it very much. So,
that's David's mighty man. Let's
pray. Lord, we thank you so much
for this great church, for all the
mighty men that we have in it.
Pray, Lord, that you give them the
strength to be mighty men. Lord,
we just have so many great men at
our church here. Thank you for
them. I thank you for those that
are rising up in the ranks here,
and pray that you just bless them,
bless their lives, bless their
families. Lord, bless all of our
families, Lord, all of the wives
and children in our church, Lord.
We thank you for your great work
here. It's very obvious. We pray
that you just continue to bless.
Take us home safely. In Jesus'
name, we pray. Amen.
Song 198, Where He Leads. I'll
follow. Let's sing it together on
the first. Sweet are the promises,
kind is the word. Dearer far than
any message man ever heard. Pure
was the mind of Christ, sinless I
see. He the great example is in
pattern for me. Where He leads I'll
follow. Where He leads I'll follow.
Where He leads I'll follow.
Where he leads, I'll follow, follow all the way.
Where he leads, I'll follow, follow Jesus every day.
Sweet is the tender love Jesus has shown, sweeter far than any love that mortals have
known. Kind to the erring one, faithful is he, he the great example is in pattern for me.
Where he leads, I'll follow, follow all the way.
Where he leads, I'll follow, follow Jesus every day.
List to his loving words, come unto me.
Weary, heavy, laden, there is rest, therefore thee.
Trust in his promises, faithful and sure.
Lean upon the Savior and thy soul is secure.
Where he leads, I'll follow, follow all the way.
Where he leads, I'll follow, follow Jesus every day.
Amen. Good to see you, Brother Brandon.
Could you close with a prayer?
Thank you, Father, for all that you have brought to us, and for all that you have brought to us.