2 Sam.23:11 “And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.”
2 Samuel 23:12 “…Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field and defended it…”
One of the things I’ve noticed about David is he was wise because he decided to keep his standards high. He surrounded himself with men of character, men of conviction, men who were even willing to die for certain convictions which they possessed in their heart.
Such was this man that I want to focus on this morning named Shammah.
He intrigues me, he catches my attention because the bible said that he stood in a bean patch and defended it when everybody else turned and ran.
When everybody else said this is crazy, it’s not worth shedding your blood for or dying for.
Shammah was a man who had such conviction, incredible confidence, and truckloads of passion that he stood there and he fought for a field of beans.
He was devoted and faithful to somebody and willing to die for something. That someone was David and that something was a field of beans and that is what raises the question mark this morning.
Why would he stand and fight Philistines that greatly outnumbered him and in great exhaustion fight to defend not a box of gold, not something that had great monetary value but nothing but a bean patch?
Shammah stood by himself.
When nobody else was standing when nobody else was holding the line when nobody else had a conviction about it he was willing even if nobody else took a stand Shammah said I’m going to stand right here.
I’ve given all I’m going to give up, I’ve seen him take too much already and my conviction is to stand and if I die I’ll die standing for what’s right and if I die I’ll die fighting but I won’t go down without a fight.
Beans aren’t rare or expensive and there are other bean patches so why?
“There was a spiritual principle here it wasn’t that it was precious; it’s that it was pivotal.”
He understood something and we need to get a hold of this life lesson this morning. You see we need a revival, a resurgence of the characteristics that Shammah had.
He understood that little things matter to God.
We need to protect the little convictions. The little acts of obedience, the little things that other people don’t even pay attention to but our standards ought to be higher.
Our convictions ought to be stronger, our lifestyle ought to be different, and just because everybody else says it’s not worth taking a stand for… those who know God… and who want to please their King… have to take a stand on the things that seem little and insignificant.
Do it because it’s right.
Do it because of the principle of the matter. The moment that you compromise one inch, you’ll compromise more.
Shammah understood that if he compromised the bean patch it would be easier for him to next give up the house. Then give up the family in the house.
After that give up his wife and give up the children in the house and give up the city and give up the nation.
While if at some point you don’t get some convictions about you the devil will just keep coming and he’ll keep taking more and more and before you know it you’ve lost everything you’ve ever had in God because you didn’t have a standard.
Cause you didn’t have something that you said this is my bean patch and I won’t compromise anymore I’ve got to take a stand.
There comes a time when you have to stand.
There are some things that are non-negotiable.
There are some situations that I don’t care how many other people can do them and be alright and raise their hands and sing the songs and cry. I just know that I can’t do these things because it’s my field, it’s my bean patch.
Once you compromise your personal convictions your in trouble because 1 thing will lead to 2 things and 2 things will lead to another.
This is why we encourage you to keep your standards high.
You have to have a moral bean patch that says this is an area of my life that I will not flex in. This is an area that I will not provide provision for the flesh in.
This generation is bombarded by the musical pornography and the movies and the pressure to give in to compromise and there has got to be a spirit of Shammah that comes into us and rises up within us and says I will not do that, I can not do that.
The devil tells our young men that they have to look at naked images to be cool and know what sex feels like so they can be a man and be accepted by their peers.
And the devil will tell you young lady if you want to be popular, if you want him to love you then just let him have his way.
“Love gives you a wedding, lust gives you a condom.”
**The most important thing you have in your life is your virtue, is your character, is your name, and is your integrity. Guard it!**
1 Peter 1:15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.16 For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy."
We can’t live like that and come to church and raise our hands and sing praises to God.
You’ve got to take a stand. You’ve got to say no to the devil this is my field and your not going to get it cause if he gets that he’s going to take more, and demand more, and insist on more until he destroys you.
After you’ve done what the devil tells you you’ve got to do you’ll feel dirty, you’ll feel ashamed, and you’ll cry and you’ll wish that somebody would have told you about Shammah.
The plan of hell is to get us to give up control, step by step, inch by inch, until literally you’re eaten up with guilt and until you’re eaten up with condemnation.
You know what I love and what feels great is to come into a service like this and know that I have stood in my field and when the enemy wanted me to fall into temptation I stood and I defied the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and I said no!
I know others can look at it but I can’t sit here and listen to that and look at that cause I’ve got a bean patch that is too important to me.
Cause I’m not going where everybody else is going and I’m not gonna be used like they aren’t gonna be used.
God has an anointing on you!
God has a calling on you and your standard has got to be higher.
They say and they tell me to give up on this generation but I say Devil… you can go back to hell!
You’re not gonna have our children, you’re not gonna have our teenagers, you’re not gonna have our marriages or our church.
It starts happening with one compromise, one lie, one deceitful act, one cheating, one stealing, one half truth will call for another and before you know it you’ll act just like the world.
Something is wrong when Christian standards are the same as the world.
When were not different, when we can go see the same stuff, go to the same places listen to the same garbage, hang around the same stuff, be in the clubs, be at the parties, go everywhere the world goes, something is wrong.
I’m warning you to guard your life this morning, I’m declaring to you to protect your Spirit this morning. I’m telling you to guard your FIELD this morning!
Psalm 32: 8 “The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”
Monday, July 23, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Summer Lovin'
Many students launch off to Summer Camp with the intention of having the "summer of their life" and many will find more than they ever bargained for at camp.
So many students will be prepared for everything at summer camp except...how to hold on to their "NEW SUMMER LOVIN' relationship with God.
- They will plan to meet new friends, new girls/guys, new leaders, new counselors but they will not be ready to meet up to the criteria of a God relationship.
- As they leave camp students will be immediately faced with the challenge or temptaion of totally forgetting, disregarding, and burying all that they heard and learned at Summer Camp.
- Don't be a Summer Lovin' Camper!
- Go home and actually Apply the camp experience to my life.
The excitement, the buzz, and
the presence of God that was so real. The changes that I actually felt God
making in my life, camp. The students, the counselors, the directors, the
pastors, leaders and camp staff all were surrounding us. Camp is more than a
feeling or an emotion it is a life altering experience to help us begin to walk
in God’s will.
3 Reasons people lose their camp experience:
1.
They forget about
God. (reading, praying, devoting, worshipping)
2.
Peer pressure,
and thoughts of others overwhelm their thought of themselves and their
relationship with God. (Are you living your life for someone else?)
3.
I always have
next year. I always have tomorrow. I can always make my way back to God
anytime.
Colossians 2:6-8 "6And now, just as you accepted Christ
Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. 7Let your
roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in
faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives
overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. 8Don't let anyone lead you
astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human
thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ."
3 ways to never lose your camp experience:
1. Stay close
to the Son
·
How do I stay
close to the Son?
Prayer-Fasting-Listening-Reading
the Bible-Making right choices-Worshipping-Putting in the things that will grow my experience in God and not kill it.
·
Like it or not
this is the way.
Jesus said in John 14:6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."
·
Letting your life
be run by the world will destroy you!
James 1:15 “These evil
desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death.”
·
You have to make
decisions that will keep you close to Christ. You have to make decisions to
serve Christ. It’s a decision making process.
2. Stay rooted
in the Son
Parable of the sower.
Matthew 13:3 "He told many stories such as this one: "A
farmer went out to plant some seed. 4As he scattered it across his field, some
seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5Other seeds fell on
shallow soil with underlying rock. The plants sprang up quickly, 6but they soon
wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the
shallow soil. 7Other seeds fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the
tender blades. 8But some seeds fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that
was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted.
9Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"
18"Now here is the explanation of the story I
told about the farmer sowing grain: 19The seed that fell on the hard path
represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don't understand
it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts. 20The
rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy. 21But
like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. At first they
get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted
because they believe the word. 22The thorny ground represents those who hear
and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the
cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced. 23The good
soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God's message and produce
a huge harvest--thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been
planted."
You have to stay rooted in
the right place for your life to grow, flourish, and prosper.
illustrate here: Dead plants vs. Live Healthy Plants
4 essentials to nourishment: light,
CO 2 Carbon Dioxide, CO2,
is a tasteless, colorless, odorless, nonflammable, liquefied gas. Carbon
dioxide is an integral part of the basic life cycle in nature. It is exhaled by
humans and animals, then used by plants to help them grow. Plants, in turn,
release oxygen, which people depend on for survival. ,
Nutrients Sixteen chemical elements are
known to be important to a plant's growth and survival. The sixteen chemical
elements are divided into two main groups: non-mineral and mineral. and trace elements Trace element 1. An element that occurs at
very small quantities in the body but is nonetheless important for many
biological processes.
.
1.
Sunlight (Son
light)
2.
Air (Influence, inspiration through worship, serving)
3.
Water (Holy
Spirit)
4.
Food (Bible,
Faith cometh by hearing the Word, Preaching)
·
Just as plants
draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, so we draw our life giving
strength from Christ.
·
The more we draw
our strength from Him, the less we will be fooled by those who falsely claim to
have life’s answers.
3. Stay away
from deception
Sin is like shopping with a million dollar bill...
Galatians 6:7 "Don't be misled. Remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow! 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. 10Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to our Christian brothers and sisters.
When I heard about Alice Pike's arrest, two questions came to mind.
The answer to the first question is no, silly. The U.S. Treasury doesn't make a bank note with that many zeros. I don't know how high they do go, but thanks to
Most
sin doesn't make sense.
We
lie and expect good results.
We
overindulge in food or alcohol or entertainment and expect to feel better.
We
take what isn't ours and expect satisfaction.
We
refuse to resist temptation and expect peace.
We
act selfishly and expect stronger relationships.
We
ignore repentance and expect forgiveness.
We
hand over a fake and expect change.
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Proverbs 10:17 “People who
accept correction are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore it will lead
others astray.”
·
Christians who
lead others astray tick me off!
·
We work to win
people to Christ and then those students who think that they don’t have to
abide by the guidelines of God dismantle them, hurt them by their actions, and
lead them away from God as fast as they can.
·
YOU WILL BE
ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR CHOICES AS WELL AS YOURS! They are making decisions based
upon the example of person they are following. I know they shouldn’t but they
do and that makes you responsible.
·
I cannot stand
deceptive people. Deceptive people are misleading, deceiving, use illusions for
their life instead of truth, they are unreliable, not to be trusted, to be
guarded with suspicion, and totally dishonest. They live a LIE!
This year, instead of losing
everything that you gained from camp why not continue on in the depth of your
relationship with God.
DON'T DARE BE CAUGHT WITH JUST A SUMMER LOVIN' RELATIONSHIP TO GOD!
Why not grow year round and
actually be an asset to your church, home, school and youth ministry?
What do you say?
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