“A FEW GOOD MEN!”
1 Chronicles 11:15-19, Now three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam, while the army of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Rephaim. [16] And David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. [17] And David had a craving and said, "Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!" [18] So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David; nevertheless David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord; [19] and he said, "Be it far from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it." Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
PRAYER…
INTRODUCTION:
Memorial Day is a time to remember and honor…
-To remember and honor those who sacrificed their lives to keep ours free…
-To thank, if you will, those who gave in helping to secure our Country’s freedom…
Maybe even to remember and honor those who raised us…our moms and dads.
-Remembering the sacrifices they made to feed and clothe us…
-Remembering the sacrifices they made to protect and educate us…
ALL OF WHICH fall under the heading of being a “sacrifice of love.”
The sacrifices that Memorial Day commemorates, are very much a Sacrifice of Love.
ILLUSTRATION:
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.
Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5th, 1868 by General John Logan, the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.
It was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.
While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.
-It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860’s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead.
-Even Boalsburg, PA is in the running as the Birth-place of Memorial Day.
All in all, it is a day that we remember and honor those who gave themselves for us…
-Securing our freedoms…
-Defending the innocent…
-Preserving the world…
All of us would agree that those who did so are GOOD MEN!
In fact, the U.S. Military are still in search for “A Few Good Men” today…
-They are always in the market for more.
-Army – Navy – Air Force – Marines – Reserves
-You can “Be all that you can be, in the Army!”
-Uncle Sam still wants you!
Well, I want to tell you that God is in the market for “A Few Good Men” too!!!
He is looking around for those who will stand tall and strong for the Him.
-For those who are not ashamed of the Gospel…
-For those who will be a voice crying in the wilderness…
-For those who will not buckle under that weight of the cares and concerns of this age…
-For those will not get entangled in the things that so easily distract us…
Titus 2:14, “…who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
Let me tell you Church that Jesus is still looking for “A Few Good Men” this morning.
-He is always in the market for people who are willing to take up the challenge to fight the good fight of faith – and who won’t shrink back!
Jesus is looking for “A Few Good Men”…
The U.S. Military is always in need of them…
And actually, David had “a few good men” too.
In fact, he had several that were dedicated to him and were loyal to his causes.
He had TWO Groups of THREE men who stood out in a crowd of 30…
-In II Samuel 23:8-12 the first group of THREE Mighty Men are described…
Josheb-Basshebeth – killed 800 men
Eleazar – while others were retreating, he fought till his sword was “welded” to his hand
Shammah – risked his life by defending a lentil field that belonged to the Lord
-In II Samuel 23:13-17 there is a second group of THREE Mighty men…
These are who we will speak of today
-Then, in II Samuel 23:18-23, there are TWO Special Leaders mentioned…
Abishai – killed 300 men
Benaiah – killed 2 lion-like heroes of Moab, killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day & killed an Egyptian with his own spear
-Finally, the names of 30 Exceptional Leaders are brought to our attention in II Samuel 23:24-39…
Leaving us 37 men all together…
“A Few Good Men”
David had them, didn’t he?
He had men that were loyal to him, and were dedicated to protecting him from Saul…
-In fact, they were willing to give their lives for him.
That is just what God is looking for in us too…
To be willing to lay aside all that we have for allegiance and loyalty to Him and His cause!
Mark 12:30, “…and you shall LOVE THE Lord YOUR God WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.”
The disciples that Jesus called were willing to lay it all aside to follow Him…
Just as these “few good men” of David’s…
In this instance, we read in our text of THREE Captains who visited David while he was hiding from Saul’s soldiers…
-There are some interesting things we get to peak into…
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POINT ONE: DAVID DESIRED WATER FROM THE WELL IN BETHLEHEM David was Thirsty…
1 Chronicles 11:17, And David had a craving and said, "Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!"
Bethlehem was David’s hometown…
-He had tended sheep on the hillsides of the village there…
-Plus! He was anointed King there by Samuel…
No doubt, there were great memories there for him that maybe brought a bit of home-sickness to him.
-Thus, the desire for a “taste” of home again…
Memories. They are a powerful thing – they are powerful motivators.
-David remembered the water from the well there in Bethlehem.
-He longed for a taste from home.
-"Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!"
Let me ask you a few questions…
Do you long for a taste of a better time?
Do you thirst for the return of better days?
Do you hope for what you once had?
Psalm 42:1, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God.”
I believe that we all have memories of the days of the past…
We often hear of how people talk of the “good old days”…
-There really are good old days – but somewhere we got out of those days and not live the boring and the mundane.
Jesus has come to bring ABUNDANT LIFE!
Do you hope for that?
Do you long for that?
You may be pinned in, like David, and surrounded by tough circumstances…
-But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have the taste of what you knew in the Lord in the good times of your life.
-He can do it again!
What you need to do is press through and get to where you need to go…
-And, Jesus has made a way for you
-The Three Mighty Men – resemble the Trinity
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They dared to press though & so must you!
POINT TWO: DAVID’S MEN DARED TO RISK EVERYTHING TO GET HIM A DRINK David’s men Thrusted Through…
1 Chronicles 11:18, So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David; nevertheless David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord…
The only problem with David’s thirst was that what he wanted was behind enemy lines.
-Bethlehem, at this time, was occupied by David’ s enemies.
And, the truth of the matter is that what we want in the Lord is often behind enemy lines too…
-Meaning that we have to press through those lines of doubt...fear…hard-work…and faithlessness ourselves.
-Everything that we desire in the Lord…
-And, everywhere we want to go with the Lord…
-Requires that we press in and not just sit back and hope for it…
Matthew 11:12, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”
James 2:26, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
Church, if you hope for the great things you know of as being available in the Lord…
Then, you have to know that you must press through to lay hold of it!
-Unlike David, who had some Mighty Men, we can’t rely on others to get us there or to get it for us…
-We must “Submit to God” ourselves – and He will reward us.
David longed for the water from the wells in Bethlehem…which was beyond the enemy’s lines.
However, regardless of that fact, David’s “Few Good Men” set out to get him a drink.
-What they did was placed their lives in jeopardy.
-But, they broke through the lines of their enemies.
-And, they brought back the water that David soooo longed for from Bethlehem’s well.
I want to tell you something morning Church…
Someone broke through enemy lines for you and me too!
The Living Water broke through the power of our enemy to bring us Living Water that will not leave us thirsty again!!!
-The death and resurrection of Jesus provided the water of life for us!
-In essence, we have been offered the refreshing waters from Bethlehem’s well.
But, don’t misunderstand, we cannot do this on our own – we have God, the Father, who has provided us a way through Jesus Christ, to whom the Holy Spirit is always pointing the way.
-Our very own THREE MIGHTY MEN if you will.
-God has pressed through enemy lines for us and has brought us back the Living Water – Jesus Christ! -John 4:10 & 7:37
Listen Church…
Today is not only a day we remember those who defended our nation and our freedoms…
But, today is also a time that we can remember and honor Him who was sacrificed so that we might live and be free!
Just as we are indebted to those who have made sacrifices of love for us…
We are even more indebted to The One who made the ultimate sacrifice for us – He was the sacrifice of love!
-We must then, give a Sacrifice of Praise back to Him!
ILLUSTRATION:
Like that old saying goes, “He gave His life for me, so I will live mine for Him!”
That, my friends, is the appropriate response for you and me to make in regard to the sacrifice of love Jesus made for us!
-Which leads me to this next & final point…
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POINT THREE: DAVID’S DEVOTION MOVED HIM TO MAKE A SACRIFICE OF LOVE David threw it away…
1 Chronicles 11:18-19, So the three broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David; nevertheless David would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord; [19] and he said, "Be it far from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives? For at the risk of their lives they brought it." Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
What an awesome feat or dedication and love these men accomplished…
However, in light of this great sacrifice of love from David’s “few good men” – David could not drink the water that was brought to him.
-He reflected on the great cost of the retrieval of this water, and poured out the water instead of drinking it.
-The water seemed to have the price of blood on it – just too great to take personal pleasure in.
-And the sacrifice of his captains moved him to sacrifice himself…
David used the cup of water to honor the Lord…
Like he did use everything to honor the Lord or help others…
-The sling, the sword, a harp, a scepter – and not, a cup of water.
It became a drink offering, as it were…
And, in research of what a drink offering was and what it was intended to be for, I came to find out that a drink offering is intended to be accompanied with an additional sacrifice…it wasn’t to be given independently/alone.
-So, what was the additional sacrifice that was given here?
-The sacrifice was the sacrifice of these three men, who sacrificed to retrieve the water.
-They were the sacrifice…
What about now…
What about our purposes today, how does with work in our lives this morning?
Well, if we understand that Jesus is the Living Water…
And, that He was brought to us as one who was able to press through enemy lines on our behalf…
We only have one response to someone who would give of himself so willingly…
We become the sacrifice!
Romans 12:1, I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Let me ask you…
What does the memory of sacrifices of love move you to do?
How does the memory of Jesus’ sacrifice motivate you today?
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AS I CLOSE:
I shared this verse in the beginning…
Titus 2:14, “…who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
The way that we are to be motivated, is just what Jesus planned for us to do once we come to Him.
-To be His own possession!
-To be zealous for His good deeds!
You see – remembering the sacrifices of love from our soldiers for all of America’s history ought to change us.
-We ought to be grateful for the freedoms that we know and love.
-Those sacrifices of love ought to make us new, because of gratitude and appreciation.
In the same way – Christ’s sacrifice of love for our benefit should change who we are and what we are about…
-There is no question as to why the disciples responded so eagerly to the call the Jesus gave them to be “fishers of men.”
This morning, there is a call for “a few good men.”
God is searching for those who would stand to be a Mighty Man/Woman for God!
Just as we would say that we are different because we remember…
-Your life must be different because of our remembrance of what Jesus has done for us.
However, we will be different if we fail to remember…
ILLUSTRATION:
“Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”
There is no better sacrifice though…
Jesus is it!
-Live for Jesus…
In light of these things we have heard today…
Will you value your freedom more highly today?
Will you value your salvation more highly this morning?
What sacrifices of love will now appear in our lives because of the sacrifices of love offered for us?
Are you ready to be a Mighty Man for the Lord today?
ALTAR CALL:
Salvation…
Motivation for the Lord…
SONG:
We Bring The Sacrifice Of Praise
Mother Teresa, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
