Warrior - wk4 - The Inspired Warrior
Notes
Transcript
The Inspired Warrior
The Inspired Warrior
Today we are wrapping up the “Warrior” series. Throughout this series we have talked about the warrior in all of us. As a follower of Christ, you are a warrior. God Himself is described in scripture as a warrior. He chose you and, through Christ, gave you His strength, the strength of a warrior. God gives every warrior someone to protect, a kingdom to advance, and a battle to win.
For the last two weeks we have been talking about different types of warriors. First we discussed the hesitant warrior. Often, the hesitant warrior doesn’t believe in himself or herself as a warrior. When it’s time to stand up and fight, doubts and fears will cause them to hesitate. Even though they may not believe in themselves, God does. He sees far more in them than they see in themselves.
We studied Gideon’s story and found that the hesitant warrior must learn to fight that inner fear of failure. They must also realize that, in Christ, they have everything they need to fight. Not just fight, though, but fight and WIN. And finally, not every battle comes up aces on the first try. Often times with God, the way forward begins with a step backward.
Then last week we talked about the vulnerable warrior. The part of us that leaves us open to attack from the enemy. That part of you that you want to keep hidden, so you bury it deep and hope nobody finds out about it. We looked at one of king David’s darkest secrets. Or at least, the thing he TRIED to keep secret. We studied the story of David and Bathsheba, and how that destructive vulnerability hurt a lot of people.
From his story, we found that a warrior can quickly become vulnerable when they are overly confident and feel entitled. Like vulnerabilities often do, they caused David to be somewhere he shouldn’t have been, see something he shouldn’t have seen, do something he shouldn’t have done, and cost people something they shouldn’t have lost.
This week we are going to wrap up by discussing two more types of warrior. They are contrasting examples that will, hopefully, inspire all of us. We will be looking at two “Warrior and Son” stories in scripture. One is heartbreaking, the other heartwarming. One is about a wounded warrior, the other about an inspired warrior.
Last week we briefly mentioned the wounded warrior. The goal of the enemy is to attack you where you are vulnerable in order to inflict wounds. Much like animals in the wild, wounds can make a prey an easy target as they get too weak to fight, to slow to run, and too confused to make wise decisions.
Instead of fighting the battles that should be fought, in fear a wounded warrior might lash out at anyone, even people who are trying to help. Instead of protecting, advancing, and winning, a wounded warrior will be distracted by a new battle. The battle within his mind, and the battle to protect his wound.
If you would say that you are wounded, it’s important to remember that the wound is not a description of who you are. Your wound does not define you. You are not the only person who has been wounded and you don’t have to give up and let the wound take control of your life.
Each and every one of us have been wounded by the enemy at some point in our lives. We’ve all had wounds. In fact, in his book, “Wild at Heart,” John Eldredge said…
“Every man carries a wound. I have never met a man without one. No matter how good your life may have seemed to you, you live in a broken world full of broken people.” -John Eldredge
Your wounds don’t have to define you. If you have your bibles, go ahead and turn to Second Samuel. We are going to look at another story in David’s life. It’s a story about a wounded warrior who let his wounds define him and control his life. David was a great warrior. At a young age he bravely fought battles no one else would attempt. When traveled through towns after winning battles, women would run out to meet him and sing and dance.
He was a famous warrior, but at this point in his life David finds himself in a battle he didn’t want to fight. It wasn’t a battle of kingdom vs kingdom, or nation vs nation. It was father against son! David and his son Absalom allowed wounds to divide and destroy their relationship and even tear apart Israel.
If you aren’t familiar with this story, here is what you need to know. David’s son, Absalom was very handsome. Scripture says that he was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. Flawless from head to toe. He also had long hair. He only cut it once a year and that was because it would get so heavy.
Absalom had a sister named Tamar, and a half brother named Amnon. Tamar was very beautiful and Amnon was obsessed with her. He was so obsessed that he made himself sick about it. Finally, one day he decided to trick her in order to get her alone and then he raped her.
So what did dad do? All this crazy, disgusting stuff going on with his kids, so what is the warrior, David, going to do about it? Scripture says that he got very angry! He was SO angry that he ALMOST counted to THREE! This close. He didn’t do anything! This made Absalom mad at his dad.
This wound ate at Absalom for two years! For two years he let anger and disappointment control him. He ends up planning a big party where he invites all of the king’s sons. He let’s Amnon get drunk then has his men kill his half brother. Then Absalom runs for his life. He fled to his grandfather and stayed there for three years.
All of this sounds like a crazy soap opera, doesn’t it? At the very least, it makes my problems seem so simple.
Finally, after three years, David allows Absalom to return to Jerusalem. In my opinion, this story shows some of the worst possible outcomes of wounds and how destructive living as a wounded warrior can be. This story could easily have ended right here with David and Absalom apologizing to each other, crying together, and reconciling. I wish I could say that’s what happened, but believe it or not, it gets worse. Much worse.
Even though he allowed Absalom to come back to town, David refused to see him. He spoke to him through a messenger and said this…
24 But the king gave this order: “Absalom may go to his own house, but he must never come into my presence.” So Absalom did not see the king.
Same city, no contact. This whole story is one heartbreaking sentence after another. The relationship between this father and son has been completely shattered by wounds. Sadly, even though the details may be different, they are living the same life as so many families today. Broken. David loved his son, Absalom loved his father, but at this point in their lives they are completely torn apart by wounds that they are allowing to control their lives.
They are communicating by proxy, if at all. In fact, even the messenger eventually refuses to speak with Absalom. After two years, Absalom set’s the messenger’s field on fire in order to get him to send a message to David.
Instead of reconciling and healing, Absalom allows his bitterness to grow. He ends up building a large following, then he rounds up a bunch of troops to go to war against his father. David tells his troops, “For my sake, deal gently with young Absalom.” This wouldn’t happen either.
Absalom was riding through thick trees, and as you can imagine, thick trees and 5 pounds of hair don’t go well together. His hair gets caught in a tree and Absalom is helpless as he dangles from it’s limbs. While stuck in the tree, Joab, the commander of David’s army, stabbed him with 3 spears to the heart. When David heard the news, this is what he said…
33 The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to the room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! O Absalom, my son, my son.”
Sad, sad story. No happy ending. No resolution. It doesn’t have to be that way for you. That was a depressing story, who is ready for a happy one? The second story is about another father and son. The Father and The Son! The Heavenly Father & Jesus, the inspired warrior. This important, inspiring moment in Jesus’ life can be read in two verses, so let’s read all of it!
The story is in chapter 3 of Matthew and it is the moment Jesus was baptized…
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
What is it about this story that makes Jesus an inspired warrior? Even though this is an inspiring moment, I think to really get the full impact of how inspiring this moment probably was for Jesus, you really need to try to view it from His perspective.
For example, I know we have all probably seen those bumper stickers that say something like, “proud parent of an honor roll student,” or something similar. To strangers reading the bumper sticker it sounds silly. In fact, there are lot’s of bumper stickers out there that make fun of “proud parent” stickers. I saw one that said, “Proud parent of inmate #478 in central prison.” Another that said, “Proud parent of a dog who loves to run fast.”
But when your parent’s acknowledge your achievements and say they are proud of you, it is really important to you. I can remember different moments in my life when my parents told me they were proud of me and how inspiring it was. It is a real confidence booster and awakens something in you. A desire to be even better!
In the same way that you wanted to hear it from your parents, your kids need it from you. In fact, God is saying three things to Jesus that every warrior needs to hear…
3 Things Every Warrior Needs to Hear:
I believe in you.
I’m proud of you.
I’ll always love you.
No matter what.
God the Father is publicly declaring, “This is my son! See that guy coming out of the water, that’s my boy! I am pleased with Him. Jesus you are crushing it! You’ve been faithful. You’ve been obedient. You’ve been fighting a hard battle, and I’m with you. ALL THE WAY! I’m behind you. In your corner. You’ve got what it takes, I believe in you. I’m proud of you. No matter what, I’ll always love you.”
I believe in you. I’m proud of you. I’ll always love you, no matter what!
What if David or Absalom would have stopped at any moment during the years of bitterness and anger and said, “You know what dad. I know you aren’t perfect and you’ve made mistakes, but that’s okay. I still believe in you. I’m still proud of you. You are a great warrior and I will stand with you in your corner. No matter what, I will always love you.”
“Absalom, you are a passionate and caring person. I appreciate your desire to protect your family, because that is exactly what a warrior does. You are really great at getting people to stand with you. I am very proud of you. Proud to be your father. I know you are going to do great things! I will always love you, no matter what.”
How much different could that story have been. It was such a dark and depressing story! How many lives would have been different? When father and son went to war, thousands of their followers died. How many lives would have been spared?
Who needs inspiration from you today? How much better could relationships by by simply saying, “I believe in you!” People have a deep need for someone to be confident in them. Most of my confidence comes from someone else’s confidence in me.
There is something about sharing God’s word that is extremely mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting. If you have ever shared publicly, I am sure you know what I am talking about. I don’t know why. Maybe it has something to do with the time you put into connecting with God for a specific purpose, or maybe it is because of a deep desire to please God, or maybe it is just a mix of adrenaline and nerves, but when we leave church on Sundays, most of the time I am wiped smooth out.
Then you get in the car and you start to play it back in your head, “Man, I should have said this, and I definitely should NOT have said that. I hope nobody took that the wrong way!” A lot of times I will even ask Amy, “How did I do? Was it okay?” I’m really not worried that I did something wrong, but because of the exhaustion I begin to doubt. And in that moment of weakness knowing that someone believes in me can be very inspiring. To the point of regaining actual, measurable energy.
Somebody absolutely needs to hear you say that you believe in them today. “Man, you are doing great! I know you can do this! You have what it takes! I believe in you! I’m proud of you!”
My parents have always been great about telling me they believe in me and are proud of me. I will always remember racing motorcycles when I was younger. No matter how many times I raced or how well I was doing, before every race I would be sick with nerves. My dad would say, “You can do this. You will be fine. These guys are from Texas, they aren’t used to this mud. You can beat them.”
When you are doing something, especially something difficult, it is amazing how much stronger you are when you KNOW you can do it. The bicycle workouts I am doing right now are pretty difficult, but at the beginning of each one they say, “KNOW that you can do this!” Changing your mindset is one of the most important things you can do. If I dread the workout and think it will be too hard, I probably wouldn’t be able to finish. But when I KNOW I can do it, I always do.
Those workouts take your body to the point of wanting to quit and then force you to realize you can do much more than you think you can. Your mind and your body naturally tries to protect itself, so when you hit the wall your body says, “Okay, that’s enough. Time to rest.” But in truth, you are probably only at about 40% of your potential.
The inspired warrior will charge through that mental and physical ceiling and do far more than they thought possible. And all it takes is for someone to say, “I believe in you. I’m proud of you. I will always love you.”
As a warrior, it also get’s difficult to stand up when you keep getting knocked down. We talked about the way forward often starting with a step backward, but sometimes it feels like every step is a step backward. No matter what you do or how hard you fight you just can’t win. The bills just keep piling up, no matter how hard you work. Forget losing weight, you can’t stop gaining. No matter how efficient you are with your time, every year you have less and less free time. Less time for what really matters to you.
“Hey, I know you are working hard and it’s a bit of a drag, but I am proud of you.” I can’t tell you how many times I come in late because I had been working on something that had to get done. Or after riding my bike I come in the house exhausted. Most of the time I haven’t even eaten supper yet. I feel like giving up. “I’m not losing weight anyway, why ride the bike? Why did I commit to drawing this floor plan, I knew I wouldn’t have time?”
All these doubts going through my head and thoughts of quitting that thing that is stressful. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been there when Amy will say, “I’m proud of you.” It’s like a breath of fresh air. Since I am a tough guy, though, I always say, “Why?” As if to say, “It’s nothing special. It’s normal for me to do that. I don’t even know what I did.” But really, in my head, what I am saying is, “Go on… aaannd… aaannd… Earlier, when you said you were proud of me, what was that for? I can’t remember…”
People need to hear you say that you love them. These are all difficult for me, but saying “I love you” is probably the most awkward. Before I say it I look both directions like I am about to cross the street, then I drop my voice to just over a whisper… “I love you.” Then I look through the corner of my eyes to make sure nobody else heard.
That’s a difficult one for guys. Culturally, men tend to want to look tough. Often, men are discouraged from showing emotions. Don’t cry, suck it up! Have you ever seen a guy cry? Sometimes it is borderline awkward. “Whoa, dude! What are you doing?” That’s why guys say things like, “Sup bro!” What they are really saying is, “I love you like a brother.” Which is still a cop-out to avoid simply saying “I love you.” So I guess that makes it a double-cop-out.
Next time you hear a guy making fun of another guy, call him out on it. It’s his way of saying, “I love you.”… “Man, you’re ugly.” “Thanks man, I love you too!”
We are warriors. You are a warrior. As warriors, have the strength of Christ behind us. We are strong enough to fight. We have to realize that we are also strong enough to say, “I love you.” When we mess up say, “I was wrong, will you forgive me? I love you.” Strong enough to forgive.
You are a warrior! You have what it takes! You are ready! You are prepared! … In Christ. You can do ALL THINGS through Christ! He is the one who gives you strength. You can be healed of every wound, every brokenness, every addiction. You don’t have to be trapped in bitterness and hatred. Your wounds don’t define you. You don’t have to follow them down the path of David and Absalom. In Christ, you can rise up and be free!
Jesus suffered great pain so that you could be healed of yours. Put on God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm. You are strong in the Lord and mighty in His power! You are strong enough to resist the forces of darkness, and strong enough to admit it when you get it wrong.
It’s time for us to stand up as warriors and fight against forces of darkness! Fight against the sin that strips you of your spiritual strength! It’s time to tell the devil, “Don’t mess with me… my Father stands beside me! You can’t have my marriage. You can’t have my children. You can’t have my finances. You can’t have my future. And you will never take my faith!”
You have to KNOW WHO YOU ARE! You are a warrior! A warrior with someone to protect, a kingdom to advance, and a battle to win! Never surrender. Never retreat. STAND. YOUR. GROUND. With Christ, we will be victorious.