In 11 Sam. 23, we read about David's recognition and accounts of his mighty men of valor. When David first fled from Saul and took refuge in a cave, others began to join them. These were people who were depressed, discouraged, in debt and in all sorts of trouble.
After these men spent time with David in the cave, they came out as warriors; mighty men of valor; all because they spent time with the king.
We come to Jesus, just as we are, and He spends time with us and we become mighty men and women of valor. Our passion for Him causes us to do whatever needs to be done for Him.
One of the 'mighty' was a man named Benaiah.
He was a valiant man who had done many deeds.
He killed two lion-like heroes of Moab.
He went down in a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.
He also wrestled with a spectacular Egyptian man,
took his sword from him,
and used it to kill the man.
Benaiah was honored more than the thirty other men of valor,
and although he did not attain to the first three great men,
he won a name among those top three men.
David appointed Benaiah as captain over his guard.
David knew that Benaiah would be there
when he needed him.
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Being in the cave with David,
the true king of Israel,
changed the way these men thought
and the way they interacted with their world.
The Word of God does the same for us.
1) The Word of God reframes our focus.
For example, it takes the subject of persecution, trials, and death
and reframes how we perceive them.
Through the light of the scriptures,
these things become a blessing.
"Blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness sake."
"Blessed are you when men insult you...and call you evil for My sake.."
"Consider it all joy when you experience trials of every sort."
"Oh, death. Where is your sting? Where is your victory?"
"It has been granted to you on Christ's behalf, not only to believe in Him,
but to suffer to His sake."
It's as if God is saying, "I am doing you a favor by allowing you to suffer."
The frame we look through is structured with the purpose and plan of God that shows us the victory in the midst of the sorrows of life.
We overcome in life by the blood of the Lamb
which has been shed in the past,
and by the word of our testimony,
which is a present and daily opportunity.
2)-The Word of God remodels us.
When we break a bone, something called 'osteoplast'
comes to our aid in the natural.
It surrounds the bone with extra
nutrition in order to repair the bone
and make it stronger than it was before.
God's word does that.
In an area of brokenness in our life,
God comes with His divine 'osteoplast'
and remodels our brokenness
and makes us stronger in that area
than had it never been broken in the first place.
(It reminds me of that verse in Psalms 51:8-
"Make me to hear joy and gladness,
that the bones You have broken may rejoice..."
David wrote those words after Nathan the prophet
had confronted him regarding his sin with Bathsheba.)
3)-The Word of God reconditions us.
Ivan Pavlov taught us about conditional responses.
Suppose a dog is trained to expect a treat
whenever he hears a bell ring.
Thereafter, when the dog hears a bell,
it will begin to salivate,
in anticipation of the food he thinks he will receive.
The dog is conditioned to respond to the ringing of a bell in that manner.
In life, we experience failure.
Sometimes, we are conditioned to be reminded of that failure.
Sometimes, we hear a certain song,
or see someone who reminds us of another,
and our senses translate this stimuli
into a reminder of our failure or bad experiences.
Remember when Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed,
he would have denied Him three times?
From that time on,
every time a rooster crowed,
Peter would be reminded of his denial of His Lord.
Perhaps, Jesus reconditioned Peter
by meeting him on the shore that day.
Jesus asked him three times if he loved Him
and Peter reassured Him three times that he did.
Perhaps, each reassurance,
erased one painful denial of His Lord.
I wonder if the rooster's crow
from that day forward,
reminded Peter of God's grace
instead of his failure.
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"For the love of the King,
be reminded of God's grace
and not your failure."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Live a life worth telling stories about."
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Don't stay in survival mode.
Don't allow past failures to haunt you
and make you run away and weep
when the rooster crows.
Allow God to reframe, remodel, and recondition your life.
Allow Him to take the guilt away that you've been conditioned to feel
whenever the rooster's crow reminds you of your sin.
Allow God to turn the noisy crow into a joyful sound
that reminds you of His grace.
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These are the notes I took Sunday morning and my perceptions of what I heard.
(disclaimer for PF)
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I really love this sermon.
I love it more now than when I heard it the first time
because I was distracted by where I was sitting
and my schedule.
I find it especially enlightening after I heard the sermon this morning
on the Kingdom of Heaven. (recorded in the blog before this)
He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
Be careful what you hear, Jesus said.(Mark 4:24)
With the same measure you use,
(in hearing), it will be measured to you;
and to you who hear,
more will be given.
I want to hear what the King of our Kingdom is saying to all of the citizens in His country. If He is speaking, I want to hear what He has to say.
The more I hear,
the more He will give me to hear.
Oh, Jesus. Please, help us hear what You are saying to us.
It is of vital importance.
Give us a hunger and thirst for your kingdom and your righteousness.
Give us an ear to hear Your voice
above all other voices.
Let us be still and know that You are God.
Open up your Word to us
and reveal to us Your character and Your ways.
Blessing and honor,
Glory and power,
Riches and wisdom
To the Lamb that was slain.
Holy. Holy. Holy.
Holy. Holy God.
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