Becoming Mighty Men
A. Last week we talked about men who loved and served David.
They became his mighty men. Relate
again the story. Cave of Adullam. Drink from well in Bethlehem.
They go and get the water. What I
want to say is this. If we will fall in love with our Leader we
too will become mighty in His kingdom. Do
you really undstnd what it means to fall in love with a leader
as these men did? Have you ever
wondered what it means to fall in love with Jesus? Fall so deeply
in love with Him that you would,
literally, do anything for Him?
1. You must become so like Jesus that you see every thing the
way He saw it. See life through His eyes.
See the world and people, as He saw it. Thats the only you
can catch a glimpse of Who and What His
purpose in life is about. We must share our Leader's vision before
we can walk with Him or be
committed to Him. You must set your eyes on your Leader, become
like Him so that His priorities
become yours. His goals become your goals, His desire become your
desires. His heartbeat becomes
your heartbeat. So that you become one with Him. You will never
become mighty in God's Kingdom
until you become like your Leader. Phip. 2:4-5, "Each of
you should not only look out for his own
interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that
of Christ Jesus." In Rom. 12:2, he said, "Do not conform
any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind." Stop being carnal,
worldly and selfish. Stop being like the
world and become what you are supposed to be as Christians. Take
on the mind of Jesus.
a. Do you know what it means to be born again? We talk abt it
and God's Word talks about it. We seem to understand that its
the first requirement to become a Christian. We must be born anew,
born again, or as Paul describes it in Rom. 6:3-6, as, ...being
raised from waters of baptism to begin life all over again.
Not the same old life weve always lived. A life lived for
God and His kingdom and not a carnal, fleshly, selfish life lived
to satisfy our own desires. Paul states it plainly in
Eph. 4:22-24, that when you become a Christian you "You put
off your old self, which is being
corrupted by its deceitful desires; so you can be made new in
the attitude of your minds; so you can
put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness." A new you is
created in the likeness of our Lord Jesus.
(A) We just read, Rom. 12:2. But, do you know what the verse before
it says? Rom. 12:1, "...offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship."
That's what Christians do. You offer yourself lock, stock and
barrel to Jesus. You become totally consumed with Jesus. He becomes
you Lord, Master, Ruler. You have no life of your own, you belong
to Him. He becomes the sum total of your life.
(1) But, what about me? What about my life? Isnt that always
our first concern? I'll tell you
what about you. You come last and Jesus comes first. Lk. 9:23,
"Jesus said to all the
people: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily
and follow me." What about you? That says that you deny you
and Jesus comes first! You
take up your cross which is an instrument of death. You die to
you. You do not live to or for
you self. Matt.10:37-39, Jesus said, "Anyone who loves his
father or mother more than
me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more
than me is not worthy
of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is
not worthy of me. Whoever keeps his life for himself will lose
it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find
it." Your life is Christ's Life.
(2) Paul gives himself as an example. Gal. 2:20, "I have
been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me." My life and everything
attached to it belongs to
Jesus. Question? How can God make such a demand? The
answer is found in 1
Cor.6:19-20, "Do you not know that your body is a temple
of the Holy Spirit, who is in you,
whom you have received from God? You are NOT your own; for you
were bought at a
price. Therefore honor God with your body." He owns you---you
dont own you.
(B) That puts a demand, a requirement on you. The requirement
is that you stop loving the world and the things of the world
that replace your love for Jesus. It demands that you love God
more than any thing else in life, even life itself. In Mk. 12:30,
Jesus said, The first and greatest of all commandments is
to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
That is the requirement. That is our commitment.
(1) Simply stated, you have new love, a new goal in your life.
A new perspective, courage, determination in life. Did you ever
see a dress you wanted, shoes, boots, horse you wanted and you
goal was to obtain it? Every day it's on your mind. You look for
it, you plan for it, you work for it. You think about it, you
dream about it. You see it in your mind's eye. What you see in
life is largely a function of what you look for from life. And
what you get out of life is what you seek. You get out of life
what you put into it. Thats why some people are never successful.
And thats why some people will never become mighty in Gods
Kingdom.
(2) The secret to becoming mighty is to fall in love and become
committed. When they 1st came to David, 1 Sam. 22:2, says, they
were "those who were in distress or in debt or discontented."
They were anything but mighty. Downtrodden and defeated. Your
commitment to Jesus will always be determined by the degree of
your love for Him. The success of this congregation will be determined
solely by your love and commitment to Jesus.
b. Jesus made a commitment to you and to me. A commitment to give
all He had and all He was to retrieve us from the clutches of
Satan and the fires of hell. He gave us His full, last measure
of His love and devotion. He loved you that much. But, He also
wants you to love Him with the same devotion. The love of Davids
mighty men moved them to risk their lives for him. Can you love
Jesus the same way they loved David?
(A) The only thing that keeps you from such a commitment. Is the
degree of your love for Him. When you love God more than yourself
you will gladly make whatever sacrifice is necessary to honor
and glorify Him. Here am I Lord, send me! Paul reminds
us that, "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all
in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him." Col. 3:17. That requires commitment. Mighty
men are made mighty by the commitments they make. Without that
burning desire to love and please the Lord, There will be no commitment.
You need to make that commitment to Him, to yourself, to your
family and to this congregation.
(B) Make the commitment Paul talks about in Eph. 4:21-24, "Surely
you heard of Him and were taught in Him in accordance with the
truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former
way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted
by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your
minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness."
(C) Acts 20:32
Spur - 09/28/03 am
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