Brown's Daily Word 6-25-10

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this last Friday of June. It is gorgeous morning here in New York. Last evening Alice and I walked for almost 4 miles around the church grounds. There was still light around 9.40 PM (mostly from the stars, the moon, and the streetlights). The moon appeared to be almost full last evening. We had some torrential rains, however, in the afternoon. The breeze after the rain was very refreshing and invigorating. After a muggy and hot day the Lord turned on the air conditioning in the area. Thanks be to Jesus.
Those who live in the area, join us this evening for our weekly television out-reach this at 7 PM on Time Warner Cable Channel 4.
Our oldest daughter Janice and her husband Jeremy are celebrating their 10th wedding Anniversary today. We will have Micah and Simeon with us for about a week next week. Janice and Jeremy are going to New Hampshire for hiking and mountain climbing for a week. It is part of their 10th anniversary celebration.
The pages of the Old Testament contain some of the most amazing stories you'll ever read anywhere. Many of those revolve around a young shepherd boy who grew up to become King. David was also a warrior who was surrounded by talented soldiers. They were known as David’s Mighty Men. They, themselves, had accomplished some amazing feats. We read about them in 2 Samuel 23. The three Mighty Men that formed David’s inner circle were Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah. Obviously, it took a very special person to be one of David’s Mighty Men and yet today God wants each one of us to be mighty in His kingdom.
David's inner circle were his own Secret Service. They stood close enough to hear David’s whispered words. In 2 Samuel 23:15 we read that 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!" They were committed enough to take David’s wish as their command, and "So the three mighty men 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".
Today, God’s kingdom desperately needs Christians with that sort of commitment and zeal. Paul was an enthusiastic servant of Christ, who lived and died for the love of his Savior. As Christians the world thinks it strange that our priorities, goals, and lifestyle are different -- sometimes very different -- from theirs.
I love the spirit of the builders of the cathedral in Seville, Spain, in 1401 who said, "Let us build here a church so great that those who come after us will think us mad ever to have dreamed of it!" If we are going to build great churches (not buildings, but churches) for Jesus in our communities, we need a bit of that "mad dreaming." Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is the triumph of enthusiasm. Nothing great was ever accomplished without it!" H.W. Arnold said, "The worst bankruptcy in the world is the man who has lost his enthusiasm" (Webster, In Pursuit of Enthusiasm).
Zeal is both commanded and expected of Christ’s followers. Like Phinehas of old, God’s saint is "zealous for his God" (Numbers 25:13). The Bible says, "it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing" (Galatians 4:18). The world might call such a person a "fanatic"; we would call him/her a committed Christian.
Closeness and commitment, however, are not the only ingredients that make mighty men and women for God. These three servants of David were Mighty Men because they were courageous also. They were courageous enough to obey at any cost. "Courage is almost a contradiction in terms: it means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." - Gilbert K. Chesterton
In verse 14 we read that "the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem." Yet, "the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines." The Philistines had established a "permanent military installation" within the walled city of Bethlehem. The very fact that they had conquered the City of David in the first place, demonstrated the military power of their army. But in spite of the danger or consequences, they traveled twelve miles, broke through enemy lines, and came back with the water. David’s men were prepared to risk life and limb to please their king. They were ready to put their lives on the line in obedience to their lord.
The Bible says, "Be strong and courageous...do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you..." (1 Chronicles 28:20). J. Oswald Sanders is credited for saying, "Courage is that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger or difficulty with firmness... The highest degree of courage is seen in the person who is most fearful but refuses to give in to it". When we have the Lord with us, we too can be strong and courageous, just like David’s mighty men.
What is truly special about this story, though, is how it ends. No matter what the Lord put in David’s hand, he used it to honor God and help people, including a sling, a sword, a harp, a scepter, even a cup a of water. This was incident offered no exception. When David looked into the cup, he didn't see water; he saw the blood of the three men who had risked their lives to satisfy his desire. To drink that water would demean all his men and cheapen the brave deed of the three heroes. Instead, David turned the cave into a temple and poured the water out as a drink offering to the Lord. It was an act of dedication that symbolized a person’s life poured out in the service of the Lord.
In Christ we are more than conquerors.
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFpLzvCvR5c