IT'S WORTH FIGHTING FOR!

IT’S WORTH FIGHTING FOR!

2 Samuel 23:11–12

11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he (Shammah) stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.

Introduction:

Kia Abdullah, In her book Take it Back.

"Sometime things are worth the fight. Even if you lose, it's worth it. Even when you know you're going to lose, it's worth it... for true courage is when you know you're beaten before you even begin, but you begin anyway and see it through to the end. You don't often win, but sometimes you do."

They Great German theologian Martin Luther said, it is right to fight when the fight is right!

Have you ever felt.

· As though you just can't face another day.

· As though you couldn't bear another burden.

· As though you just can't solve another problem.

· As though you can't handle another responsibility.

It's time to fight

We live in tough times I'm fully aware.

· That working all no secular job can be tough.

· That raising children as a single parent can be tough

· That encountering financial failure can be tough.

· That Just taking care of your daily business can be tough

But it's time to fight

Many folks reject this command to fight

They say it's is unchristian to fight

Paul tell Timothy to fight the good fight of faith.

2 Timothy 2:3 “Thou therefore endure hardness, AS A GOOD SOLDIER OF JESUS CHRIST.”

Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. {13}- Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, stand firm.”

Exodus 17:8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek:

Here in our text we find a Soldier that stood his ground. Shammah, this great soldier, [one of David’s mighty men] would not give up the ground that he was given. *If you use your imagination for just a moment you can picture in your mind Shammah and his countrymen working in a field {23:11- “a piece of ground full of lentiles.”}.

In various places we read that David had a vast array of men that stood with him. The bible tells us that at one time he had 400 men and at another time he had 600 men and these men were brave soldiers.

These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: These men were vastly unknown to the reader of the bible but they were not unnoticed to the writer of the bible. The word ''mighty'' means that these men were ''strong men, brave men, valiant men, and upright men.'

There are three aspects of this story that help us see that there is a time to take a stand. There is a time to fight, even when others are running away.

(1)- The Possession Of The Land That Was Significant

(Why does Shammah want to fight for this land?)

a)- He Was Placed There

Look carefully at {v12}- "But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it."

But Shammah stood in the middle of seemingly worthless piece of land and put his life on the line to protect it. Shammah thought that this "ground" was worth fighting for and dying for.

This seems to be telling us that he was given this land. He was given the responsibility of caring for this "patch of land."

Shammah had a conviction that the land that was under attack land that God had given to him and he was not going to give it up.

This was a parcel of land that Shammah was going to dedicate his life to and defend it. His countrymen didn't think much of the land because they ran and would not stand their ground. But Shammah knew that he had a place and had been placed there"

[Every born-again man child of God has been given a portion of responsibility in the work of God.]

*Some have been given the responsibility to teach a Sunday School Class.

*Some have been given the responsibility of singing in the choir.

*There are men that have been given the responsibility of being a deacon.

*Some of you have been given the responsibility of caring for children.

*Some of you have been given the responsibility of keeping things working and running in the House of God. *Each Christian has been given the responsibility of giving to God's Work.

*Every Christian has been given the responsibility of being faithful to the House of God.

*Some of you have been a specific responsibility of interceding for the Work of God.

Every Christian has been given a "ground" to work in. It is a place fitted and given specifically 'to' you and 'for' you.

On the outside, it may not look like much. It may be a responsibility that will never be recognized. It may be a small and simple job. No one may even know that you are doing anything for the Lord. But it is 'something'; it is 'somewhere' that you know that God has given you and placed you. You can say that it is your "ground full of lentiles"; your own "pea patch."

{Listen carefully} Even though your "ground" may not look like much and your work and position may go unnoticed, you should count it an honor to serve and work where God has placed you.

You should treat your responsibility with reverence and respect. You should never treat your job or work in your "pea patch" as though it is not important. ANYWHERE GOD PLACES HIS CHILDREN IS AN IMPORTANT PLACE!

The reason why I am pressing and emphasizing this point is - our heritage is under attack; Satan and his demons are bombarding our "ground" that God has given us. Satan is trying to take land and possessions that don't belong to him. And if we are not careful, if we don't treat our place and position that God has given to us as a place of importance, the devil will cheat you out of it. The devil wants you to walk out of your "pea patch" and give it up so he can stake claim to it.

Not only we see,

a)- He Was Placed There

b)- He Was Prosperous

v11 There We are told that the "piece of ground was full of lentiles."

The ground prospered because Shammah and his people had to work it; they had to take care of it. The land just didn't prosper by itself. Some work had to be done; some work had to take place. Someone had to dig and hoe the ground. Someone had to take the job of watching and caring for this "pea patch" seriously in order for the land to prosper.

When the Philistines came to take the land, they wanted the place and prosperity of the land, even though they didn't work it. They wanted to take something that didn't belong to them. They wanted to take and possess territory that was rightfully someone else's. They wanted to take a "pea patch" that God had given to Shammah and his countrymen. (And Shammah wasn't going to let them have it.)

I have learned something about the Christian life. The Christian life is a life of Triumph. But it is also a life of tears and troubles.

Just because God places you in a certain position in His Work; just because He will give you success in the place and the responsibility He has given you - doesn't mean that Satan will stop attacking you. More than likely it took sweat, tears, and having to face troubles to get what you have spiritually, and I promise you that it will take sweat, tears and having to face even greater troubles to keep what spiritual ground you have.

Satan wants to take away from you what God has blessed you with. Satan will attack you and try to cheat you out of your area of responsibility. He wants to take from you what rightfully belongs to you.

There are Christians right now who are about to give up their "pea patch" to the devil because they don't think that their work and responsibility is worth fighting for. (There are people who belong to God that want to go to another "pea patch", because they think that the other "pea patch" is better and bigger than their "pea patch.")

Someone has said: "The grass may be greener in the other field; but the grass will eventually have to be mowed." If you try to compare your "pea patch" with other 'pea patches', you may get discouraged and walk away from your responsibility. IF GOD HAS PLACED YOU WHERE YOU ARE; IF HE HAS GIVEN YOU WHAT YOU HAVE - THEN IT IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR!

Not only we see,

1)- The Possession Of The Land That Was Significant!

2)- The Position Of The Laborer That Was Strong!

When you read {v11} you get the impression that Shammah was surrounded by a group of people. We are not told how many were with him. We do know that he wasn't alone. But once the Philistines attacked the land, he was left standing all by himself. Everyone else ran for their lives.

[There are 2 reasons why I believe that he stayed there and fought the Philistines instead of running away.]

a)- He Had Courage

When the Philistines came like a flood upon the land, the people fled from the presence of the enemy. But Shammah had courage. He didn't run; he didn't flee from his enemy. Something got a hold of his heart.

With his actions he was saying; "I am not going to run anymore. I am sick and tired of sowing in the Spring and then watching the Philistines come in and steal our harvest. I am tired of giving up our crop. I am tired of being at the mercy of our enemy. I'VE LEFT MY PEA PATCH FOR THE LAST TIME! I am not going to run. It is either going to be 'death' or victory; but I am not moving."

The odds so to speak were stacked against Shammah. He was outnumbered; out manned; and out classed. Looking from the outside, there was not one shred of evidence that he would win.But Shammah would not go down without a fight. He figured if he was going to die, then he was going to kill as many of the Philistines as he could.

SHAMMAH HAD UNEXPLAINABLE AND UNBELIEVABLE COURAGE!

There have been many who are in God's Army who have left their spiritual post and position where they have been placed because they didn't have what it took to fight. They left their place of service when the enemy came in to attack. They left their fighting post without asking their Commander and Chief, the Lord Jesus.

(1)- We Have Lessened Our Perception Of The Enemy. Our Enemy is not the people we go to Church with. Our enemy is not our problems that we to face. Our enemy is "the world; the flesh; and the devil." *We have allowed Satan to deceive us and distract us into focusing on the wrong thing. The Enemy before us is Satan and all the forces of hell.

(2)- Many Have Left Their Position In The Battle.

You may be wondering why so many Christians have left their "ground". You may be trying to figure out why so many, who at one time, really wanted to fulfil their position and purpose that God had given them - are now basically doing nothing for God.

*Some left their "ground" because something didn't go their way.

*Some left their "ground" because they got their feelings hurt.

*Some left their "ground" because they lost interest in what they were doing for the Lord.

*Some left their "ground" because they felt they weren't getting noticed and they didn't feel appreciated.

*Some left their "ground" because they felt that their "pea patch" wasn't as big and as great as other "pea patches."

What we need in our lives is the Courage that Shammah had when he stood his ground.

(1)- We need the Courage that God gave Moses when he stood before Pharoah.

(2)- We need the Courage that God gave Joshua I WILL NOT FAIL THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE. BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE:ONLY BE THOU STRONG AND VERY COURAGEOUS...

(3)- We need the Courage God gave David when he faced Goliath. FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU INTO OUR HANDS.

(4)- We need the Courage God gave the 3 Hebrew Boys.

(5)- We need the Courage God gave Daniel not to stop praying, even if it meant that he would have to go to the lions den.

(6)- We need the Courage God gave His Only Begotten Son to face a Cross that He didn't deserve, take on Himself the sins of the entire world as a Sinless, Spotless Lamb; die an horrible and hellish death so you and I could have eternal life.

Shammah didn't have much in his hand to fight with. But he did have something special in his heart to fight with. He had Courage and he was not going to give up his "ground".

Not only.

a)- He Had Courage

b)- He Had Confidence

Shammah knew that since God gave him the land, he had confidence that God would allow him to keep the land. This is the reason why we are told that Shammah {v:12}- "But he stood in the midst of the ground, AND DEFENDED IT."

Imagine the scene for just a moment. Shammah and his countrymen hear the alarm sounding; the trumpets blowing; the Philistines began to surround them and attack them. All the Israelites dropped their tools and began running for their lives. But one man, Shammah, had Courage and Confidence in the Lord; and he knew that God would see him through.

Shammah Had Confidence In The Presence Of God Shammah Had Confidence In The Protection Of God Shammah Had Confidence In The Power Of God Shammah Had Confidence In The Promise Of God Shammah Had Confidence In The Provision Of God Shammah Had Confidence In The Purpose Of God

Shammah Had Confidence In The Performance Of God. Shammah Had Confidence In The Prominence Of God.

Shammah didn't stand-alone because God stood with him. He faced and fought every Philistine that came against him. Shammah stood with Courage; and he stood in Confidence.

Paul made it very clear: {Romans 8:31}- "If God be for us; who can be against us. He said in {Romans 8:37}- "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."

{Isaiah 54:17}- "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord."

Not only we see,

1)- The Possession Of The Land That Was Significant!

2)- The Position Of The Laborer That Was Strong!

3)- The Power Of The Lord That Was Seen!

12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.

I want to close by giving you 2 things that you will see if you stay on your "Ground."

a)- They Saw The God Of Victory:

When the battle was fought and the battle had been won, they knew that "The Lord Wrought A Great Victory." The people that fled for their lives saw Shammah fighting the battle, but they also knew that God was working in him and through him to bring about the victory. THE PEOPLE KNEW THAT IT WAS ALL FROM GOD!

b)- They Saw The Greatness Of Victory:

We are told that Shammah "slew the Philistines." Every Philistine soldier was killed. Not one of the enemy was left standing. "The Lord Wrought A GREAT VICTORY." Shammah and his people would have never seen this Great Victory if he had run away from the battle. But Shammah stood his ground; he defended a piece of land full of peas (that wasn't worth much); and because he was faithful, he watched God do a great work.