Participants: David Sherwood
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000788
|
01:00 Hello, it's good to see you all here today.
01:02 My name is David Sherwood 01:04 and I work for the ARISE Institute in Troy, Michigan, 01:07 small mission training institute. 01:10 And it's a privilege for me 01:11 to be here today to share the Lord-- 01:12 the word of God with you, 01:14 and let's get started. Let's pray. 01:18 Father in Heaven, we just thank You so much 01:20 for giving us this opportunity 01:22 to open Your word together, Lord. 01:24 Lord, I pray that You would come into each one of our hearts 01:28 and speak to us and show us practical things 01:30 from Your word that we can apply directly to our lives 01:34 to enhance our relationship with You. 01:37 And thank You for hearing and answering this prayer 01:40 'cause we prayed in the name of Jesus, amen. 01:45 Question for you all today. 01:48 What is the most noble work in which man or woman can engage? 01:54 In your estimation, what is the most noble work 01:59 in which man or woman can engage? 02:04 Some of you may say soul winning, 02:05 some of you might say witnessing. 02:07 They're all very good answers. 02:11 And I believe that there is even better answer. 02:16 And we're gonna look at a quote from this book 02:20 called "Child Guidance," and it says this. 02:24 "Every act of life, however unimportant, 02:28 has its influence in forming the character." 02:32 It goes on to say, "A good character 02:35 is more precious than worldly possessions 02:38 and the work of forming it 02:40 is the noblest in which man can engage." 02:45 In another book called "Education," 02:47 the same author gives similar definition 02:53 of the most noble act that men or women can engage in. 02:58 She says that, character building 03:00 is the most important work 03:02 that has been entrusted to human beings. 03:05 This is above spreading the gospel even. 03:09 Building our own characters, 03:11 developing our character into that of a Christlike character 03:15 is the most important, the most noble thing 03:18 that we can do here as human beings. 03:22 When was the last time you spent some serious time 03:25 thinking about your character? 03:30 I remember the first time 03:31 that I really gave serious thought to my character. 03:35 It was the day that I was going to my future in-law's house 03:41 to ask them for their blessing to marry their daughter. 03:48 My character was running through my mind a lot that day. 03:51 And as you can-- as you probably would agree that 03:54 that's gonna be a stressful day probably for anyone, 03:56 but the situation that I was in was slightly different. 04:02 I became a Christian about five years ago 04:05 and through my course of study, 04:09 I came to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 04:14 I studied with many different denominations 04:16 and met very good people in all of those churches, 04:19 but they couldn't give me the answers 04:22 that I needed from the Bible. 04:25 And I ended up in this, in the Adventist Church 04:28 because it most closely taught what scripture teaches. 04:35 And my in-laws, future in-laws weren't happy 04:41 with the choice of church that that I'd chosen 04:45 because it wasn't a "mainstream" church. 04:48 And their daughter also became a Christian 04:50 about a year after I did 04:54 and started attending this church as well. 04:58 So needless to say they weren't happy with us necessarily. 05:02 I'd known Jeannie for about three years, 05:06 and we've dated about three years 05:07 before I have any thoughts about spiritual things. 05:11 And at that time, you know, her parents loved me, 05:14 you know, I was like a part of their family. 05:18 It was because of this decision that I made 05:21 to follow what the Bible was convicting me of, 05:24 that caused Jeannie and I to break up for a year. 05:29 We just were on different paths. 05:31 We broke up on good terms. 05:32 And we didn't speak for an entire year. 05:36 I went through a year of studying 05:38 and towards the end of that year, 05:39 I decided I wanted to be baptized 05:41 and I called up Jeannie on the phone 05:44 and I invited her to come to my baptism. 05:47 And to my surprise, she agreed to come. 05:51 And now what I didn't know is that 05:53 she had spent that whole year 05:54 studying and studying and studying 05:56 and asking pastor after pastor and fellow Christians, 06:00 the questions that had been raised 06:02 when we started studying together the year before 06:04 and she too could not find 06:06 any of the answers to those questions. 06:09 And she came to my baptism 06:11 and there was a powerful ceremony. 06:12 Pastor Asscherick did the message 06:17 and I gave my testimony 06:18 and my very good friend Clyde McCoy did the music 06:21 and about 150 of my family members and friends 06:24 that are non-Christians came to my baptism. 06:26 And after it was all over, 06:28 I could see Jeannie in the back of the church crying. 06:32 So I went back and we talked for an hour that day 06:35 and she agreed to come to a series of meetings 06:38 that was going to be taking place in my church 06:40 that Pastor Asscherick was going to be doing. 06:43 She came to the meetings. 06:46 She succumbed and she relented 06:48 and she finally allowed the Lord to convince her 06:51 and to bring her in to a truthful relationship with God 06:56 and she was not following, you know, the word of God. 06:59 And she was then baptized into the Adventist Church 07:04 and we were back together soon after that. 07:09 And then came the point where we knew we wanted to be married 07:12 and I had to approach her parents now. 07:16 Once Jeannie joined this church, 07:19 her parents, like I said before were not happy. 07:24 Up until that point, 07:26 Jeannie had never seen her father cry. 07:31 And they had over the course of about two months, 07:33 four or five conversations where he was sobbing. 07:38 Tears of frustration and rage. 07:43 The same with her mother, 07:45 trying to convince her that she's been crazy. 07:49 They said that she was destroying ther family. 07:54 Her family didn't attend the church themselves. 08:03 So this is the state that we were in 08:05 when we wanted to be married. 08:07 Her parents were vehemently against 08:09 the spiritual decisions we had made, 08:11 the convictions that we had, the church that we're attending. 08:15 But I knew that I had to approach them 08:17 and ask them if they could give me their blessing 08:19 to marry their daughter before I asked her. 08:21 So I didn't know too. 08:23 I was thinking about my character. 08:26 I called someone I admire very much Dr. Samuel Pipim 08:30 and I told him the situation. 08:33 And I said, "What do I do?" I said, "If they say no. 08:35 If they throw me out of their house 08:36 and ask me these questions. 08:38 Does that mean I can't marry her?" 08:39 And he said, "Well, I don't think that's going to happen." 08:43 And so we talked for a while 08:45 and he says, "You know, 08:46 I think they just need to spend some time with you, 08:49 so they can see your character." 08:53 He said, "Is there anytime coming up soon 08:55 where you're gonna be able to spend 08:56 some quality time with them?" 08:58 I was like, "Well, the next two weeks from now 08:59 we're gonna go on a cruise together for a week." 09:02 He said, "I think that is from the Lord." 09:05 We went on this cruise and it was phenomenal. 09:06 I had very good conversations, 09:09 just spent some very quality time. 09:11 I had some very meaningful discussions. 09:16 There's one more conversation that we had before this cruise 09:19 and I wasn't a part of it this time 09:22 instead of just my wife, for my girlfriend then 09:27 and the look in their eyes 09:28 I knew that it wasn't my in-law speaking. 09:33 Her mother looked across the table from me 09:35 with tears of rage in her eyes and pointed out me 09:39 and said, "You will never be accepted into this family." 09:44 Said, "You are stealing our daughter away from us." 09:49 And I didn't know what to say. The Lord shut my mouth. 09:53 I looked back and my wife says, 09:55 "I don't know, how you didn't 09:56 just flip the table over and walk out." 09:59 But the Lord was giving me grace 10:01 and He was letting me know, this isn't that I'm talking." 10:04 So anyway after this cruise, I went to ask them the question. 10:11 I called my good friends 10:12 and I told them to pray for me as I was going in 10:14 and I didn't know if they're gonna 10:16 throw me out of their house 10:17 or I didn't know what they're gonna do. 10:20 So I went, called them up on the phone 10:22 and I was on my way there 10:23 and said, "I was gonna come over." 10:25 And I never go over there without Jeannie. 10:26 And so they knew something was up and said, "Okay." 10:29 So I ended up going, sat down, 10:33 very awkward conversation to start. 10:35 And I said, "Well, the reason I'm here. 10:37 I said, "You know, that Jeannie and I were spending 10:38 a lot of time together again 10:41 and that's how we really love each other. 10:42 And I think, you know, I came to ask you, 10:46 if you would be willing to give your blessing." 10:49 Before I could get out to the last word, 10:51 Jeannie's mother said, "I would." 10:55 And I just-- And then she had a smile on her face. 10:59 And her dad looked at me 11:02 and he said, "Yeah, you know, Dave, 11:04 I would give my blessing, too." 11:06 He says, "We don't agree 11:08 with all of the decisions that you're making." 11:10 He said, "But we can't argue with your character." 11:14 And so it was that day that I realized how important it is 11:19 that we spent time contemplating our character, 11:24 because that's the first sermon I will ever preach. 11:29 It's with our character, with our actions. 11:35 Today we're gonna consider a familiar Bible story 11:39 about a man who is serious about forming his character. 11:45 I'm going to use the survey of the story 11:48 to evaluate our own character 11:52 and to determine what we can do 11:53 to further develop our character. 11:56 Some practical things. 11:59 We're gonna start in 1 Samuel 17 is where the story is found. 12:02 And you all know that 12:04 in 1 Samuel 17 is the story of what? 12:08 David and Goliath. 12:11 1 Samuel 17, we know that, 12:14 you know, how the story goes. 12:16 The Israelites and the Philistines, 12:19 they all drew up in all of their battle gear, 12:24 ready to fight between this Valley of Elah. 12:28 Goliath, the champion of Gath 12:29 was challenging the Israelite army. 12:33 He challenged the Israelites to send out one man 12:36 to engage in a fight with him 12:37 and it was a winner take all battle 12:39 and he was cursing the Israelites, 12:41 the Bible says by its gods, taunting them. 12:44 So that went on for 40 days. 12:47 And the Israelites were terrified. 12:52 While this is going on, Jesse, David's father, 12:54 asked him to go and get a report 12:59 of what was going on at the battlefield 13:02 and to bring some supplies to his brothers 13:05 that were there as well. 13:10 David got a lamb cider for his little flock, 13:13 made sure they were secure 13:14 before he took off for the battlefield. 13:17 When he arrived, he saw that the army 13:18 was going out from the camp to battle, 13:20 so he left his supplies with a supply keeper, 13:23 made sure the supplies were safe 13:24 then he went out to the battlefield to see 13:27 to get the information for his report to his father. 13:31 And upon catching up with the army, 13:34 he was informed by some of the soldiers 13:37 that this giant have been cursing 13:39 the army of the living God. 13:42 And the king saw it, offered up a few handsome rewards 13:47 for the man who was able to slave this giant. 13:53 So this is the scenario and let's-- 13:55 we're gonna pick up the story 13:56 and read a little bit from the word 13:58 in verse 32 of 1 Samuel 17. 14:01 1 Samuel 17:32 says this, "Then David said to Saul, 14:08 'Let no man's heart fail because of him, 14:10 your servant will go and fight with the Philistine.' 14:13 And Saul said to David, 'You are not able to go 14:16 against this Philistine to fight with him, 14:17 you are a youth, and a man of war-- 14:20 and he a man of war from his youth.' 14:22 But David and said to Saul, 14:24 'Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, 14:25 and when a lion or a bear came 14:27 and took a lamb out of the flock.' 14:28 I went out after it, and struck it, 14:30 and delivered the lamb from his mouth. 14:32 And when it rose against me, 14:33 I caught it by its beard, and struck it and killed it. 14:36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear. 14:39 And this uncircumcised Philistine 14:40 will be like one of them, 14:42 seeing he has defied the armies of the living God. 14:46 Moreover David said, 'The Lord, who delivered me 14:48 from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, 14:51 He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine.' 14:55 And Saul said to David, 'Go, and the Lord be with you.' 14:59 So Saul clothed David with his armor, 15:02 and he put a bronze helmet on his head 15:04 and he also closed him with a coat of mail. 15:06 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, 15:09 for he had not tested them. 15:11 And David said to Saul, 'I cannot walk in these, 15:13 for I have not tested them.' So David took them off. 15:17 Then he took his staff in his hand 15:19 and he chose for himself 15:20 five smooth stones from the brook, 15:22 and put them in a shepherd's bag, 15:24 in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. 15:27 And he drew near to the Philistine. 15:30 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, 15:32 and the man who bore the shield went before him. 15:35 And when the Philistine took about and saw David, 15:38 he disdained him, for he was only a youth, 15:40 ruddy and good-looking. 15:42 So the Philistine said to David, 15:43 'Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?' 15:46 And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 15:48 And the Philistine said to David, 15:50 'Come to me, and I will give your flesh 15:51 to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.' 15:54 Then David said to the Philistine, 15:55 'You come to me with a sword, 15:57 and with a spear, and with a javelin. 15:58 But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, 16:01 the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 16:04 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, 16:06 and I will strike you and take your head from you. 16:09 And this day I will give the carcasses 16:11 of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air 16:13 and the wild beasts of the earth, 16:14 that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 16:18 Then all this assembly shall know 16:20 that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, 16:22 for the battle is the Lord's, 16:24 and He will give you into our hands. 16:27 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came 16:30 and drew near to meet David, 16:31 and David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 16:34 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone, 16:37 and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, 16:40 so that the stone sank into his forehead, 16:42 and he fell on his face to the earth. 16:45 So David prevailed over the Philistine 16:47 with a sling and a stone, 16:49 and struck the Philistine and killed him. 16:51 But there was no sword in the hand of David. 16:53 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, 16:56 took his sword and drew it from its sheath and killed him, 16:59 and cut off his head with it. 17:01 And when the Philistines saw 17:02 their champion was dead, they fled. 17:04 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, 17:07 and pursued the Philistines as far as 17:08 the entrance of the valley of the gates of Ekron. 17:10 And the wounded of the Philistines 17:12 fell among the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 17:18 Then the children of Israel 17:19 returned from the chasing of the Philistines, 17:21 and they plundered their tents. 17:22 And David took the head of the Philistine 17:24 and brought it to Jerusalem, 17:26 but he put his armor in his tent." 17:29 Powerful. I didn't grew up in a church. 17:34 First time, I read that story I think I was in my '20s. 17:39 Powerful story. 17:43 Even just the story in itself is powerful on the surface. 17:47 When we dig into the meat of the story, 17:49 there is even-- this story is just packed, 17:52 the practical things about character. 17:55 That's what we're gonna look at today. 18:04 We're gonna look at five different 18:08 characteristics that David exhibits in the story. 18:12 Five aspects of Christian character 18:17 that we could aspire to, 18:19 and we're gonna look into it as how can we shape, 18:22 how can we allow God to shape us 18:24 to have these characteristics in our life? 18:29 The first characteristic that David exhibits 18:32 is that he always stood in his own God given personality. 18:37 So today we need to stand in our own God-given personality. 18:44 From the book "Ministry of Healing" 18:47 within like three pages of this book 18:49 starting, I believe in page 497, 18:52 there's a powerful commentary 18:54 on Christian character development. 18:57 Here's a quote from that book. 19:00 It says, "None should consent 19:02 to be mere machines, run by another man's mind. 19:07 Stand in your God-given-- own God-given personality." 19:13 When Saul agreed to let David fight Goliath, 19:16 he dressed him in his own armor. 19:19 The Bible says that David was unable to go forward 19:22 because he was encumbered by this big suit of armor. 19:26 He hadn't tested it. 19:27 He hadn't tried to moving in it before. 19:30 Fortunately, David realized this from the very beginning 19:33 that, huh, this isn't gonna work. 19:34 If I'm gonna go fight this guy, 19:35 I'm not gonna able to do it in this. 19:40 However, many Christians today, 19:43 they desire to do the work of the Lord, 19:45 but they insist on doing it in someone else's armor. 19:50 And they wonder why they aren't having the success 19:53 the Lord wants to give them. 19:56 As I said before, I work at a mission training school 19:59 called ARISE in Troy, Michigan. 20:03 And something that we need to be very intentional about 20:08 is that people know from the get-go 20:10 that they need to fight in their own armor, 20:13 they need to fight in their own stand, 20:14 in their own spiritual, their own God-given personality. 20:19 The reason why many people, sometimes come to our school 20:22 is because they've seen people like, David Asscherick 20:25 and they see people like, Nathan Renner 20:26 who are the founders and the directors of the school 20:29 and they admire their ministry. 20:32 Something we're very intentional about 20:34 when people come to our school is to let them know that 20:36 we are not making disciples of David Asscherick. 20:39 We are not making disciples of Nathan Renner 20:40 or disciples of Matt Parra, 20:42 disciples of any of the staff members that are there 20:43 and they may have heard speak 20:45 or worked within ministry before. 20:49 We're making disciples of Jesus Christ. 20:55 It's our job to give these people the tools to use 20:59 to be able to work in their God-given personality. 21:04 Praise the Lord that he has made us all so different. 21:07 How boring would this world be is if we were all the same? 21:12 And I think the fact that He has, 21:14 God has created such a variety of different personalities 21:18 should tell us that there is someone alive, 21:24 someone waiting for you, 21:29 for your own God-given personality 21:31 to communicate the gospel. 21:34 God didn't make us all different 21:36 and give us all different personalities for no reason. 21:40 Our purpose on this earth is for the salvation of men. 21:45 God can do that through everyone's unique personality. 21:49 In fact, I believe that 21:50 there is someone waiting for each one of us, 21:53 more than one person waiting 21:54 where because our own God-given personalities 21:56 are what will best communicate the gospel to that person. 22:00 So we see the first aspect of molding our character 22:05 is to realize that Jesus Christ made us how we are, 22:11 to work through the personality that He has given us 22:15 for the salvation of those around us. 22:21 We must fight our spiritual battle in our own armor. 22:25 David's appearance probably was not as flashy as Saul's was 22:32 in all of his array of battle gear 22:34 with his helmet and his coat of mail 22:36 and sword and the shield. 22:39 I mean, David went out in shepherd's cloths. 22:42 Wasn't nearly as flashy 22:44 as Saul would have looked out in battle. 22:48 But it was affective for David. 22:53 Not all of us will be called to preach to thousands of people 22:56 in a flashy evangelistic series with lights and cameras. 23:01 But the stones that you have are more than sufficient 23:07 to win souls to Christ, 23:10 to defeat the giants in your life. 23:18 So we can't look to the pastors 23:21 and to the professional evangelists 23:23 and think that we could never do what they do 23:25 because there's good news, 23:26 God's not asking you to do what someone else is doing 23:29 in the way that they're doing it. 23:31 He is asking you to do His work 23:33 in the way that only you can do it. 23:37 We need to stand in our own God-given personality. 23:44 The second characteristic we're gonna take a look at 23:48 from this story is that 23:50 David was continually cultivating his mind. 23:58 We don't necessary see it in 1 Samuel 17, 24:03 but we know that part of the reason 24:05 why David was so bold when he busted upon the battlefield, 24:11 was that because he had been continually 24:15 cultivating his mind with the word of God. 24:20 Now, was David a diligent Bible student? 24:25 Of course, he was. Now how do we know that? 24:29 He wrote much of the Book of the Psalms. 24:39 We look in Psalm 119 and 148. 24:42 Let's go there together. Psalm 119 and 148. 24:54 Psalm 119 and 148 says this, 24:58 "My eyes are awake through the night watches 25:00 that I may meditate on Your word." 25:03 You see that David says he meditates on his word. 25:06 He stays up late 25:07 because he is meditating on the word of God. 25:09 If you go further in the chapter to verse 161 and 162, 25:19 you'll see he says something equally as powerful. 25:21 He says, "Princes persecute me without a cause, 25:24 but my heart stands in awe of Your word. 25:27 I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure." 25:31 David's communicating to us here 25:34 that he finds the word of God as a treasure. 25:39 We can easily deduce that 25:41 when David came upon this battle scene, 25:44 his life previously have been spent 25:45 meditating upon the word of God. 25:48 So the question was, 25:49 was David a diligent Bible student? 25:50 Of course, he was. 25:52 If you would to survey, even the Psalm 119, 25:55 you could see just the things 25:57 that David says about the word of God. 25:59 In verse 9, he looks to the word of God for cleansing. 26:02 In verse 11, protection from sin. 26:04 Verse 25, for revival. 26:06 Verse 28, for strength. 26:08 41, for salvation, 26:10 he says he looks to the word of God for. 26:12 Verse 43, for enlightenment. 26:14 Verse 49, for hope. 26:15 50, for comfort in life. 26:17 58, for mercy. 26:19 105, for direction. 26:21 169, for understanding, 26:23 and 170, for deliverance from sin. 26:29 We can see that David would have been very familiar 26:33 with the word of God, with scripture. 26:35 He would have been continually cultivating his mind. 26:42 David would have been very familiar 26:43 with the stories in scripture. 26:46 He would've been very aware for instance 26:49 of the covenant with-- made with Abraham. 26:51 Part of that which it read from Genesis 12:3, 26:54 it says, "And I will bless those who bless you, 26:57 and the one who curses you I will curse. 27:01 And in all your families on the earth shall be blessed." 27:04 It says in Genesis 12:3. 27:08 This would've been ringing in David's ears, I think. 27:10 It says, "And the one who curses you, I will curse." 27:13 David knew when he saw this giant 27:15 cursing the people of God. 27:17 He knew that the Lord in Heaven 27:19 already put a curse on this giant. 27:22 He says later on it the battle-- we read in 1 Samuel 17 27:25 that David says the battle is the Lord's. 27:28 He already knew that this giant was defeated. 27:30 He just had to be willing to defeat him. 27:35 David would've been familiar with the story 27:37 from the Book of Numbers, 27:38 particularly chapters 13 and 14 27:40 which describe Israel's fear of the Canaanites. 27:43 And here resulting rebellion against God at Kadesh Barnea. 27:48 You might remember the story too. 27:49 God had just delivered Israel from the hand of fairy, 27:51 drowned the whole army in the Red Sea 27:53 and they were out in the wilderness. 27:57 They were about to enter the Promised Land 27:59 and so they sent ten spies into the Canaan land 28:02 and they saw that everything was promised was there 28:04 that the fruit trees were as magnificent, 28:06 there was a land flowing with milk and honey was perfect. 28:09 There was one problem. 28:12 Do you remember what that one problem was? 28:14 They were giants in the land. 28:16 So that they came back and they were afraid 28:19 and they were trembling because there were giants in the land 28:21 and even though the Lord had told them 28:22 to go and take the land, they weren't going. 28:28 Because of that rebellion, because that generation 28:30 didn't trust in the Lord, they died in the wilderness. 28:34 David would've been very familiar with the story. 28:38 So he happens on the scene 28:39 where he sees the cowering Israelite army 28:42 with one giant there facing them 28:45 and I had to imagine he was going out of his mind, 28:48 thinking what on earth are you guys doing, 28:50 don't you remember? 28:52 This guy, this giant, he is already defeated. 28:55 Who's gonna go? I'll go, I'll go. 29:06 Like I said, these words, these stories 29:08 must have been ringing in David's ears 29:11 when he was seeking this situation. 29:17 In verse 21 in Genesis, it says, 29:19 "See, the Lord your God has placed the land before you, 29:22 go up, take possession, as the Lord, 29:26 the Lord, God of your fathers, has spoken to you. 29:28 Do not fear or be dismayed." It's Deuteronomy 1:21. 29:33 He also would've been thinking. 29:35 David's mind would've been filled with the words. 29:36 "The Lord will cause your enemies 29:38 who rise up against you to be defeated before you, 29:41 they shall come out against you one way 29:44 and shall flee before you seven ways." 29:47 I imagine David could have gone out 29:49 text after text after text that he had read 29:52 telling him that this giant is already defeated. 29:57 That's why he was so bold. 29:59 That's why he was able to accomplish things 30:00 that he was able to accomplish 30:02 because he was continually cultivating 30:03 his mind with the word of God. 30:08 So what you is, we'll ask today? 30:11 We have giants in our lives. We have spiritual problems. 30:14 We have things in our lives that are preventing us 30:17 from advancing in our Christian walk. 30:21 We have to say the same as David did. 30:23 The battle is the Lord's. 30:25 The curse is already upon this trial. 30:27 We are able to overcome. We just have to be willing. 30:31 And that power and that boldness only comes 30:34 through cultivating our minds in the word of God. 30:38 Point number 3. 30:42 David always overcame the inclination 30:44 to seek an easy task. 30:49 A quote from the same Book "Ministry of Healing" it says, 30:52 "Remember that in whatever position 30:54 you may serve you are revealing motive, 30:57 developing character. 30:59 Whatever your work, do it with exactness, 31:01 with diligence, 31:02 overcome the inclination to seek an easy task." 31:07 Do you remember what David was 31:09 going to the battlefield for in the one first place? 31:12 His father had sent him. 31:13 And he was to go and get a report about the giant. 31:15 See what was going out at the battlefield 31:16 and he's to bring these supplies with him 31:18 to get to his brothers. 31:20 Now, would anybody have thought less of David 31:24 if when he arrived, 31:26 he dropped off the supplies and said, "Whoa, man, 31:29 I'm glad that I don't have to be here 31:31 and be involved with the situation. 31:32 I'm going back to my sheep." 31:34 Would anyone have thought less of David if he did that? 31:38 Of course, not. That's what he was called to do. 31:41 But you see David was different. 31:43 He didn't was not ever overcome for the inclination 31:47 just to do the easy task. 31:50 So many times we just do, I know in my life, 31:53 especially when I was younger, 31:56 I always did just enough to appease the people 31:59 I needed to appease. 32:01 When I was in high school, I played a lot of sports 32:04 and my parents told me that, 32:05 if you want to keep continue to play sports, 32:07 you need to have a B average. 32:09 Guess what I got in school? A B average. 32:12 They would've said you need a B+ average. 32:14 I would've got a B+ average. 32:15 If they said you need A average, I would've got an A average. 32:17 If they said you need a C average, 32:18 I would've got a C average. 32:21 And I think that's a natural human condition for many people 32:25 just seeking to do the easy task. 32:28 You know, and people get around this inclination 32:31 by saying things like, 32:32 "Oh, I just work smarter not harder." 32:36 But the truth is that God is looking for people 32:38 that work smarter and harder, 32:43 not seeking the easy task. 32:48 I think many Christians today 32:49 have the mistaken assumption that 32:51 their secular work ethic. 32:53 The work ethic that they exhibit in their secular jobs 32:56 has no impact on their spiritual work ethic. 33:00 Many people I've seen 33:02 and I've been guilty of even in my life in the past. 33:06 taking pride in how much work 33:10 you cannot do and still keep your job. 33:15 Looking to do the least amount and still receive the paycheck. 33:22 If we're not diligent 33:24 in the small everyday responsibilities of our lives, 33:30 how can God trust us with the salvation of His children? 33:39 David's secular job was tending his father sheep. 33:45 It would be an understatement to say that 33:47 David carried out his daily responsibilities 33:49 with exactness and diligence. 33:52 That would be a tremendous understatement. 33:54 Before he left for the battlefield, 33:56 he made sure that his flock was taken care off. 34:00 Before he went out to the battlefield, 34:01 he made sure that the supplies 34:03 would be there when he came back. 34:06 And then we find out that when he's out by himself, 34:09 out in the field somewhere, out in the pasture 34:11 with his flock that he has had bears 34:13 and lions come to attack him and take his sheep. 34:17 Would anyone have thought less of David? 34:19 If he said, well that's a bear. 34:20 You know, he is taking one of my lambs. 34:22 What do you want me to do about it? 34:24 Of course, not. 34:25 But David, no, that wasn't enough for him. 34:28 He went to this bear, 34:29 went to this lion in the power of God 34:31 and he killed the lion, and he killed the bear 34:33 and saved the lamb, one lamb. 34:36 Because he did a secular job 34:38 even with diligence and with exactness. 34:46 Luke 16:10 says, 34:48 "He was faithful in what is least 34:50 is faithful also in much." 34:56 How often do we seek to be faithful 34:58 and what is least? 35:04 How often do we seek to go above and beyond 35:06 what we're called to do? 35:11 When I first read the story 35:12 and read the quotes from this book, 35:14 it pierced me to the heart. 35:17 Not too long after that I heard someone say this 35:19 and I really liked it, 35:21 it was a-- a means to help get over 35:25 the inclination to seek the easy task 35:27 and here's what it was, it says make--he said, 35:29 "Make a list at the beginning of every week of all the things 35:32 that you should do, 35:34 but you don't necessary have to do. 35:37 Make that list in an everyday, do one of those things." 35:43 That's been a safeguard to ensure 35:45 that we're not just seeking to do the easy task. 35:51 Moving on characteristic number four, 35:55 that we see from the story 35:57 is that David shaped his circumstances 36:00 and wasn't shaped by them. 36:03 So the practical advice we can obtain from the story 36:05 is to be, is to shape circumstances, 36:07 don't be shaped by your circumstances. 36:12 Ministry of Healing, page 500, it says, 36:14 "Man can shape circumstances, 36:16 but circumstances should not be allowed to shape the man. 36:20 We should seize upon circumstances 36:22 as instruments by which to work. 36:25 We are to master them, 36:27 but should not permit them to master us." 36:31 Only when we begin to see adverse circumstances 36:36 as opportunities to mold us in the likeness of Christ, 36:42 we'll be able to avoid adverse being-- 36:45 we'll be able to avoid 36:46 being adversely affected by those circumstances. 36:51 We need to change our perspective. 36:53 We need to see the trials and the things 36:54 and the giants and the bears 36:56 and the lions that come into our life, 36:58 not as paralyzing things that cause us not to know 37:01 what to do like, the Israelite army. 37:05 We need to look at them 37:07 as opportunities for spiritual growth. 37:10 When we start to see those things that way, 37:12 we start to want to shape these circumstances 37:14 instead of being shaped by them. 37:18 We will be on our way to 37:19 developing that Christian character 37:22 that we've been talking about. 37:25 David again is a powerful example of this point. 37:30 In 1 Samuel 17:48 it says, 37:32 "So it was, when the Philistines arose 37:34 and came near and drew near to meet David, 37:36 that David hurried and ran toward the army 37:39 to meet the Philistines." 37:42 So he saw that big giant get up 37:44 and he didn't like take a step back. 37:46 He got up and he was taken on. 37:50 How are we when trials come into our life? 37:52 Do we take a step back? 37:54 Do we try not to think about them 37:56 or do we confront them head on with the Lord at our side? 38:06 When trials arise in our life, we must recognize them 38:08 as opportunities and not roadblocks. 38:14 We must say with David. 38:18 "You come to me with a sword, 38:19 and with a spear, and a javelin, 38:22 but I come to you in the name of the Lord 38:24 and the battle is the Lords." 38:30 The fifth point. 38:32 The fifth characteristic that we see 38:34 through this story of David, 38:38 the advice that we can take, 38:40 a spiritual point that we can take from the story 38:42 is to be not satisfied with a low standard. 38:49 Ministry of Healing, page 498, same book it says this, 38:53 "Many who are qualified to do excellent work 38:55 accomplish little because they attempt little. 38:59 Thousands pass through life 39:01 as if they had no great object for which to live, 39:03 no high standard to reach. 39:06 One reason for this is the low estimate 39:10 which they place upon themselves. 39:12 Christ paid an infinite price for us, 39:17 and according to the price paid 39:19 He desires us to value ourselves. 39:24 Be not satisfied with reaching a low standard." 39:31 The little shepherd boy who was only asked to bring food 39:34 for his brothers and return with report about the giant 39:38 was not satisfied with that low standard. 39:43 Instead of bringing only food to the battlefield, 39:45 he brought a sling. 39:49 And instead of returning with just report about the giant, 39:52 he brought his head. 39:55 He wasn't satisfied with the low standard. 40:01 Jesus Christ paid an infinite price 40:05 for us when He died on the cross of Calvary, 40:09 and then commissioned us as the appointed agency 40:12 for the salvation of men. 40:17 What higher value could be possibly received 40:20 and what higher calling could we have possibly been giving? 40:32 You're qualified to do powerful things 40:36 for the kingdom of God simply by the fact 40:38 that God has called you to do powerful things. 40:40 You are qualified. 40:42 You've heard the same before. 40:43 God does not call the equipped, He equips the called. 40:52 The minute you put your will 40:54 on the side of God's who were equipped 40:56 for everything that you will come into contact 40:57 as long as you're depending on His power. 41:03 So we have the power of God in our lives. 41:08 We are qualified to do whatever it is he would have us to do. 41:13 And I tell you, it is not a low standard. 41:16 It's an infinite standard. 41:26 We've talked about three points. 41:28 Three practical things that we can take away 41:30 from the story to begin to improve our Christian character, 41:38 to begin to improve the sermon that is our life. 41:45 When I read the story, when I read this book 41:48 that talks about Christian character development. 41:52 I looked back in my life 41:54 and I had sorrow in my heart for the example 41:57 that I've been leading. 42:01 I looked back in my life, 42:03 I taught in a public high school for four years 42:05 before I began working with ARISE. 42:11 And I didn't have a low standard 42:15 for the things that I was interested in. 42:17 I like teaching. I like to preparing lessons. 42:20 But there are things, you know, like 42:22 keeping track of attendance and handing in, 42:28 you know, the reports that I needed to on a weekly basis. 42:31 The bookkeeping things, 42:33 the things that I didn't find necessarily enjoyable 42:37 I had a very low standard. 42:39 But I was calling myself a Christian at the time. 42:44 The problem was there weren't many Christians 42:47 in the school I was teaching at. 42:50 And so it almost was a joke, it almost was a game. 42:54 How many attendance reports can I not turn in 42:56 before I had to be talk to by the principle 43:03 because I knew that I was a good teacher, 43:05 I was doing what I needed to do in the classroom 43:08 and so I could slack on the other things. 43:13 Well, we find here the teaching of this story that we should not 43:17 and we cannot be overcome 43:19 by the inclination to seek an easy task. 43:27 What I didn't realize at the times is that, 43:30 my life was preaching a sermon to these people 43:34 and I wasn't necessarily doing anything spectacular for them 43:37 to say, "Hmm, I wonder why he is different. 43:40 I wonder why he doesn't complain 43:42 about the monotonous bookkeeping things that we have to do. 43:45 I mean, we're just here to teach, you know. 43:49 I wish they could've said that about me, 43:50 I wish hey could have said." 43:53 Man, what-- what's up with that guy? 43:56 Nothing seems to get him down. 44:00 He doesn't mind taking care of the monotonous things. 44:04 That wasn't the example that I gave. 44:09 If I'd been continually cultivating my mind 44:12 more at that time, I would've realized. 44:18 The sermon of my life wasn't preaching 44:20 what I wanted it to preach. 44:38 God uses circumstances in our life 44:42 as opportunities for us to grow. 44:46 There are people here today that are in adverse circumstances. 44:50 You might have a giant in your life. 44:55 What is your reaction? 44:57 Is your action like that of David? 45:03 When that giant rises up, 45:04 are you running to that giant to meet it head-on? 45:10 Or are you more like the Israelites 45:12 who cowered and cried for 40 days 45:14 in the face of the trial? 45:16 Not knowing what to do, not trusting in God 45:20 that he could use them to conquer the trial. 45:29 God wants to use the trials in our lives to help us to grow. 45:35 That's His chosen tool. 45:39 That's why in James 2 it says, 45:42 "Brethren, count it all to joy 45:43 when you fall into various trials, 45:47 for the trials are there testing of your faith." 45:52 A patience have its perfect work, 45:54 that you maybe perfect lacking nothing. 46:04 And finally not being satisfied with a low standard. 46:10 You're qualified to do powerful things for the Lord. 46:15 It doesn't matter 46:18 if you have a big shiny coat of armor or five stones. 46:25 He's given you your own personality, 46:28 your own God-given personality in which to stand. 46:32 We'll just have to be willing to go forward. 46:43 There was a teacher who taught in public high school 46:49 in inner city very bad part of town. 46:54 Everyday she would sit in her second floor classroom 46:58 looking out her window at lunchtime, 47:01 and everyday she would see the same boy 47:03 sitting on the bench outside during lunch. 47:08 Just on a broken down bench, 47:10 you know, there's a chain-link fence all around the property 47:14 and he would be out there everyday 47:16 eating his lunch and reading a book. 47:19 And she always thought it was curious 47:21 because people in the school 47:22 they didn't read books on their leisure time. 47:28 So she started noticing this boy even more 47:30 throughout the school and she noticed that 47:33 he dressed differently than his classmates. 47:36 You know, his pants weren't down around here, 47:39 they were up at his waist. 47:43 And he always had his clothes iron 47:45 and they were clean and meticulously kept. 47:50 She noticed that, he called his teachers by sir and ma'am 47:57 which is unheard of in the school. 47:59 One day, they were going into the building at the same time 48:02 and this young man actually ran up ahead of her 48:05 to open the door for her, and she was flabbergasted 48:11 and didn't know what to say 48:14 'cause these kinds of thing didn't happen in the school. 48:20 She was thinking even more and she went to look 48:22 you know, in this boy's records. 48:26 She wondered how his grades were and she looked. 48:28 She is thumbing through the records 48:30 and just seeing some terrible report cards and grade reports. 48:36 She comes to one that has almost all A's all the way down, 48:40 pulls it out, sure enough. 48:42 It is this boy's grade report. 48:46 She could not understand. 48:48 She would tell her friends about this boy 48:51 and they didn't believe her. 48:52 So maybe it's figment of your imagination, 48:56 maybe this boy isn't really real. 48:58 She said, "No, he is real." 49:00 She said, "I got a talk to this kid." 49:02 She didn't have many of her classes, 49:03 so she said, "I got make-- 49:05 I just got to find a way to talk to this kid." 49:09 So the next day, you know, 49:11 she was sitting in her classroom, 49:16 looking out the window, 49:18 sees the boy there reading again, seeding an apple. 49:23 And then he see--she sees three older boys approaching him 49:27 and they're laughing at him, pointing at him 49:31 and went up to him 49:32 and they smacked the book out of his hand, 49:36 they hit the apple out of his hand, 49:40 they kind of picked him up by his shirt 49:41 and threw him down on the ground in the dirt. 49:44 They took the rest of his lunch and just walked away laughing. 49:50 And the teacher sat up in a classroom, 49:51 it was like, Whoa, what's just happened? 49:55 The teacher thought, "Okay, now I'm gonna see, 49:57 I'm gonna see this boy's true colors. 50:00 I'm gonna see he's gonna get up 50:01 and he's gonna be mad and he's gonna go and do something, 50:04 try to do something with this guy. 50:06 I'm gonna see this boy's true colors now." 50:10 But he got up, brushed off his clothes dirt, 50:15 straightened out his shirt, picked up his book, 50:21 dusted off his apple, 50:23 sat back down on the bench, began to read again. 50:29 She couldn't believe. 50:31 The next day, the same thing happens. 50:35 The boys come over and laughing and pointing, 50:37 knocks his stuff out, pushes him down on the ground, 50:39 takes his lunch and walk away. 50:42 She couldn't believe it happened two days in a row. 50:43 Now this time she darts up, she runs down the stairs, 50:46 by the times she gets there, the older boys were gone. 50:49 He's already brushed himself off. 50:50 He's sitting down and he's reading again. 50:55 And she walked up to the boy 50:56 and she sat down and she said, "Hi." 51:01 And he sheepishly said, you know, "hello." 51:06 She said, you know, "I have my classrooms right up there 51:09 and I've been watching you, you know, 51:11 for a while now that you lunch down here everyday 51:13 and you're reading, and I noticed you in school too, 51:17 like how polite you are and you call 51:20 people by sir and ma'am just like, 51:22 you always dress so neatly and I even, 51:24 you know, I've to confess like I looked up your grades 51:26 to see like, what kind of student you are 51:28 and I saw like, you're-- you're a great student. 51:33 She said, "Look around, look around you." 51:37 And he looked around and he saw chain-link fence 51:42 with barb wire with security guards. 51:46 Loud like, bass music playing. 51:52 Lots of cussing and swearing going on in the background. 51:57 She said, "How are you so different? 52:03 How are you so different? 52:06 How are you that the way that you are 52:08 in the midst of all this?" 52:15 And the boy said, "Well." 52:18 He said, "Not many people know this, 52:20 but I only moved to this country four years ago, 52:28 and in my country, my dad, my father was a king. 52:35 And in my country, there is a military coup 52:39 and the military came and they took my father 52:44 and they took my mother and they put them in prison. 52:50 And they were there for a long time. 52:53 And finally, they let me go to see my mother and father, 52:58 one last time before they are executed. 53:08 And I went into the prison and my mother 53:11 threw her arms around me and kissed me. 53:17 And then my father threw his arms around me 53:19 and he kissed me and we were crying 53:22 and he held me by my shoulders like this 53:27 and he said, 'Son, 53:33 you have to promise me one thing. 53:37 You have to promise me one thing.' 53:40 And I said, 'What is it? You know, of course.' 53:44 'Son, you have to promise me that no matter where you go, 53:50 no matter what you do, no matter what happens to you, 53:55 you have to remember one thing. 54:00 You have to remember that you are the son of the king.' 54:10 He said, 'That's why I'm the way I am, 54:14 because I'm the son of the king.'" 54:27 All of you here today, 54:29 are sons and daughters of the king. 54:36 The first sermon of your life is your character. 54:43 The first sermon that you ever 54:45 preach to anyone is your character. 54:52 King David was only able to accomplish such amazing things 54:57 because no matter how small the detail. 55:06 He did it with the intimate knowledge 55:07 that he was the son of the king. 55:18 If you're tempted to think 55:22 that you don't have what it takes to win souls for Christ, 55:26 remember that God has purposefully 55:28 given you a unique personality 55:34 for the explicit purpose of winning souls to His kingdom. 55:38 You're the son of the king. 55:42 If you slack in your-- the continual 55:44 cultivation of your mind, the reading of God's word. 55:50 Remember, you're the son of the king. 55:56 Those are instructions from your father, the king. 56:02 If you continually overcome 56:05 with the inclination to seek the easy task, 56:09 remember you're the son of the king. 56:18 If you allow the circumstances of your life to shape you 56:22 instead of shaping them yourself, 56:27 remember you're the son of the king. 56:31 And finally, if you're satisfied 56:33 the status quo of your life, 56:36 with a low standard that you set for yourself. 56:41 Remember, that the king paid 56:43 an infinite price for you to be here. 56:49 You are the son of the king. Let's pray. 56:57 Father in Heaven, we thank You so much 57:00 for accepting us as Your sons and Your daughters 57:05 and pray that You would never let us forget, 57:07 that we are the sons and daughters of the king. |
Revised 2014-12-17