I'm Mad
Pt. 3 - It's a Process
I. Introduction
We have been talking about how we communicate anger. We could say, "I'm fired up!" I'm steamed. That grinds my gears! I'm grated. I'm triffin'!" The way we say it isn't nearly as important as what we do with anger once we experience it. If we handle anger incorrectly, we destroy. If we learn the lessons of the account found in 2 Samuel 23, we discover that mad can become MAD. It is the account of David's mighty men. Remember how they were described?
TEXT: 1 Samuel 22:1-2 (NIV)
David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.
There were men who were in some kind of trouble, men who owed a lot of money, and men who were just not satisfied with life. (Bitter about life.)
Broke, busted and disgusted.
And yet these angry men learn to graduate, mature, and handle their anger until they MAD. I think we can learn from them right now.
Let's go back and read about another man that did this.
TEXT: 2 Samuel 23:18-19 (GW)
Joab’s brother Abishai, Zeruiah’s son, was the leader of the thirty. He used his spear to kill 300 men. He was as famous as the three and was honored more than they were. So he became their captain, but he didn’t become a member of the three.
As you know, if you have been here, this is my favorite account in the entire Bible. After reading what I just read to you you may ask why? It doesn't appear that this guy Abishai did that much. Sure, he was the leader of the mighty men and he was more honored than the 3 greatest, but that is all we know right?
In order to see why I love his account so much you must go deeper into other accounts and you must do some digging. It is as you dig that you also discover the lessons that will help make this transition from mad to MAD. I will reference the following passages for you, but if you will allow me, I would prefer just to tell his story.
1 Chronicles 2:13-16, 1 Samuel 26:6-9, 2 Samuel 23:18-19, 2 Samuel 16:5-10, 19:14-23, 1 Chronicles 18:12,
I can see the young man leaning over the exhausted but radiant young woman. She has given him the greatest gift you could give a man in those days - a son. He sees the continuation of his name and lineage wrapped in the new cloths they had secured for this very purpose. The baby is content to rest after the struggle of birth. The new father looks at the questioning eyes of the wife. It is almost as if, with the questioning look, she is asking if he is certain about this. With no hesitation he whispers with force - he will be called Abishai! In the moment of that utterance unseen gears begin to turn. Strings begin to be pulled. Destiny is set into motion. Abishai - what a name to hang on a little baby boy. Abishai means "The Father of a gift."
It is inevitable. The name did it. The young boy hears his name whispered at school, in the street, on the playground. He is the "Father of a gift." Maybe teachers would ask at the start of each school year - "what is your gift?" Perhaps other young men used it as a taunt. What is your gift? Tell us! Show us! And so, it is inevitable. This young man tries to show them.
We read at least 5 occasions where Abishai tries to live up to his name. The first is when David sneaks into a sleeping king's camp. Saul isn't even aware of David - his rivals’ presence. David gets so close to the slumbering king that he is able to take Saul's spear and water jug. Abishai asks David for permission to kill Saul and place the kingdom into David's hands. Let me give my gift David! The second and third accounts are similar. David has been elevated to king and now David's own son, Absalom, rebels and David, rather than going to battle against his own blood, he flees. On the way out of town and then after Absalom's death on the way back in Shimei curses and throws rocks at David. Abishai asks permission to kill this heckler. Let me give my gift David! In the account we read in 2 Samuel 23 Abishai kills 300 men by himself. And finally, in 1 Chronicles 18 we are told that Abishai leads the armies to a victory in which they strike down 18,000 enemy soldiers. In each snapshot, Abishai is attempting to live up to his name. There is a final account that I will read in a moment. But let me stop here and tell you a few things that help us today.
1. You are Abishai
I get excited about this account because I know another truth from God's Word. That truth is that God is no respecter of persons. That means what is true for Abishai is true for me and for you. Your name may not be Abishai, but you too have a gift. In fact, 1 Peter 4:10 says emphatically, "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace." It isn't if you have received a gift. It is you have received a gift. In other words, you are Abishai! And if you are Abishai, then the next logical conclusion is that you can make a difference. That means no one under the sound of my voice is exempt. No one is able to sit around on the sidelines thinking they have nothing to offer. You are Abishai. You have been given the ability to make difference somewhere. Get back in the fight. Get back in the game. Get back in the mix. Find your gift and give it.
2. Teachable is more important than talented.
I think one of the most interesting aspects of Abishai's story is that in his younger days he knew to ask before he struck. He asked before he tried to strike Saul. He asks both times he encounters Shimei. I think this shows us that if you are going to make a difference that being teachable is more important than being talented. Abishai had the talent and the ability to kill Saul and Shimei. He had the skill necessary to accomplish the task. He somehow knew that approval was more improvement. This shows us that although talented, it was more important that he was teachable.
I see so many talented people that could make a huge difference that never do simply because their talent has gone to their head. They are unteachable. I had a conversation several months ago with an extremely talented guy. His statements left my jaw on the floor. He literally said I don't need to learn anything else. I know everything I need to know. In that moment I knew his ability to make a difference was going to limited by his own arrogance and unwillingness to be teachable. Teachable plus talented is a world changing combination. If you are the most talented person in the room if you can also be the most teachable person in the room, then your gift can impact the masses. The lack of teachability is an indication of pride and remember what follows pride? A fall! In fact, pride results in God working against you!
3. Practice to promoted. Practice after promoted.
He continues to fine tune his craft. He is elevated. He excels. And yet he isn't satisfied. He becomes one of the mighty men, but he keeps working. Ultimately, he is elevated to commander of the mighty men. "It was by such feats that he earned a reputation equal to the Three, though he was not actually one of them. But he was the greatest of the Thirty—the top-ranking officers of the army—and was their leader."
There is this continual progression of skill. He refused to stop working. He practiced before he was promoted and after he was promoted.
If you are going to make a difference you have to practice now. You can't wait until you have an opportunity and then practice. The bear, the lion, the giant, the challenge won't wait for you to get ready. You have to be ready. I see so many people miss their opportunity to make a difference because they won't prepare beforehand or once they experience some promotion they rest on their laurels and miss a greater opportunity. An opening comes along and if you had practiced, prepared, been faithful before you would have been promoted. Now you are passed over. Opportunity lost. Or someone who was used once never improves, never develops or matures past that point. So, now another more difficult task arrives - this isn't a sleeping king moment, a shouting Shimei moment, this is a 300 enemy soldier moment but because you haven't worked past your last promotion you are passed over and unprepared.
It would be enough if Abishai's account taught us just this. However, there is the final scene that teaches us the final lesson. It is found in 2 Samuel 21:15-17.
2 Samuel 21:15-17 (TLB)
Once when the Philistines were at war with Israel, and David and his men were in the thick of the battle, David became weak and exhausted. Ishbi-benob, a giant whose spear tip weighed more than twelve pounds and who was sporting a new suit of armor, closed in on David and was about to kill him. But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, came to his rescue and killed the Philistine. After that David’s men declared, “You are not going out to battle again! Why should we risk snuffing out the light of Israel?”
David is now old. He runs after the retreating Philistines and Scripture says he grew weary. Historians say he became so tired that he actually laid down on the battlefield. It is at that vulnerable moment (if I had time I would talk to you about the fact that we are almost always the most vulnerable right after a great victory) that Ishbi-benob with his spear which weighed 12 pounds shows up. Historians are divided about who this giant is. Some say he was Goliath's younger brother. Others say he was Goliath's nephew. Either way he shows up to take revenge on the giant killer. The only problem was that he never sees what hits him. Abishai, the Father of a Gift, steps between the giant and David and rescues his king. No need to stop and ask . . . he had learned by being teachable. No need to practice. He had prepared by fighting 300 and 18,000. He gives his gift. And scripture says he saves the light of Israel. If you study further, then you discover that if David dies on the battlefield that day there two major things which are lost. First, David had not yet set it up so that Solomon would be the next king. Solomon wasn't the next in line. Think about the implications in Jesus' lineage. Second, he had not yet shared the plans for the temple with Solomon! That is a huge deal!
And it is out of this crazy ending that I have taught that your gift matters. Abishai's gift was incredibly important. So is yours. Your gift matters. Your simple act of prepared service could very well change the course of history.
But today I also want to point out this truth. From the first appearance of Abishai in Scripture until this last heroic and history changing act it is important to note that 30 years have passed.
4. Making a difference is a process.
Abishai was able to make a difference because for 30 years he remained faithful! The fruit of faithfulness is sometimes slow to grow!
There are no overnight success stories. We make the most difference when we show up week after week. We make the most difference when we serve time and time again.
Quit quitting because today's effort didn't produce what next year's effort will produce.
Too many of us quit too soon. This is a process. One day of gift giving at a time results in a difference eventually. One Sunday of ushering after another. One Sunday of singing, playing, teaching after another. And suddenly you wake up 13 years later and a difference has been made. One kind word after another. One hug after another. One bag of groceries after another. One prayer after another. The eventual outcome is making a difference. Keep giving that gift Abishai. One day you will have slain a giant and saved the world!
