We've been in missions, my wife and I, since 2001. We met in 97, we're married in 99, and this is all we've known. We graduated college, went straight into missions. The Lord has allowed us to serve in Athens, Greece, and in Queens, New York, before moving to East Tennessee. I took my kids out of Queens, New York, and we landed in the country in East Tennessee. And to say there was culture shock would be, I would be lying if I said they didn't suffer any and still don't have some issues with culture shock there. But we're excited for what God is doing in missions, and I'm excited about what God is doing around the world because as we, if we were gonna look at Acts 17, we see that the world was turned upside down. We would actually say it was turned right side up. But the same spirit of God that used them then is the same Spirit of God that wants to use us today. And I'm not a defeatist when it comes to worldwide missions. I understand we have a problem and that problem is a lack of laborers. But we serve a God who can overcome that. We serve a God who wants to see every person saved. It is His will that everybody is saved. That doesn't mean everybody will be saved, but it is possible for everyone to be saved if the good news makes it on time. It's not good news if it's not there on time. And we need to be busy about what God wants from us and for us this morning. And we need to take it serious. It's a serious call. I know you know it's serious because you're actually paying an institution to live here and get the training that you're getting. I understand you understand the seriousness of that call. But there is a lack of labor. We are not seeing the applications for missionaries to replace the ones who are coming home due to retirement and health. We need more laborers. And I'm just not a defeatist. I don't believe God loses. I just don't believe it. I believe that God wants more people to go into ministry. He wants more missionaries to be sent out. And the question really ultimately comes down to, are we willing? Are we ready to say, yes, here I am? And again, I understand the audience this morning. I understand you're here at a college and you're studying ministry, whether it's Bible ministry or local church ministry. school, education, or even in missions. I understand to whom I'm speaking this morning, but we never get to a point where we need to kind of relax on preaching and thinking about missions. You know the word missionary comes from a Latin word which literally means to send. I don't know about you, but I really enjoy reading some of the great missionary biographies. If you can ever pick up one that's written about John Getty, I would encourage you to do that. It's said of him when he did his missions work in what is now known as Vanuatu. It said when he landed in 1848, there were no Christians. And when he left in 1872, there were no heathen. That'd be a great biography for you to read. I was reading a story about David Livingston. When he was working in Africa, some friends wrote him and said, we would like to send other men to work with you. Have you found a good road into your area yet? Livingston wrote back, if you have men who only want to come if they know if there's a good road, I don't want them. I want men who'll come even if there's no road at all. Many missionaries have gone to places and they've labored and they've labored under very difficult physical situations with no steady electricity, perhaps no running water, no way of having some of the nice comforts that we even have, no air conditioning inside their church buildings, no air conditioning where they sleep. Their air conditioning is they open the windows up. in their homes. They roll down, like literally roll down, you used to have to do that, roll down the windows in your car, different things like that. And they've labored and they're faithful. And it's exciting when we get a chance to communicate. That's one of the Benefits of our position that Brandi and I have now is we get to go and visit missionaries on the mission field. Since we were here for Missionary Missions Week, we had the chance to go to Japan and take a survey trip with one of our missionary families going there. And then we had a chance to go to both Romania and North Macedonia and visit with some families. And though they may not have all the great big buildings and they don't have maybe all the niceties that we have here in the US, it's exciting to watch how God is continuing to use men and women who just said, here I am. I'm not anything special. There's nothing proprietary about my life except for I own it and I'm giving it to you. And this morning, let me just challenge you. If you've never struggled with the potential of being a missionary, struggle today. At least offer yourself. It doesn't mean that God's going to call you 100% to go into missions. But take a trip, not a vacation. I'm saying a missions trip. We have opportunities at Beacon, and I know there are tons of other agencies that have great opportunities for you to go visit a missionary, but let me encourage you, go and visit one. Paint, work, lift, do what you need to do while on the field for 10 days, and go with an open heart and seek God's will. He may not want you to be a full-time missionary, but He may call you, gentlemen, He may call you to be a pastor. And let me tell you, missionaries, we can't do what we do without pastors. We're supported by local churches. Go get a burden for missions. We're gonna look here in 2 Samuel chapter 23. at some men who were sent out on missions. Now I understand this is Old Testament and these are not necessarily, since we're talking about battles and David's mighty men, these were not missions in the sense of carrying a sword and let's, in other words, today we don't go and carry swords, all right? We carry the word of God, amen. But we're talking about some men who are types for us. And we can learn from David's mighty men some principles of missions, and not just missions, but life in general today as we know it in ministry. There are a few men in the Bible who attract our attention much more than David. He's mentioned more than any other man in the Bible except for Jesus. From the time that Goliath's body hits the ground until he's anointed king and then his rejection as king and he finally becomes king, what a man of God he was. In fact, we know that he's the only man in the Word of God who's called a man after God's own heart. The Bible tells us as Christians that the things in the Old Testament were written for our example. We're going to do that today. These mighty men were mighty men of valor, they were mighty in faith, and they were anointed by the power of God. And today I believe that God wants us to look at this man's life and these men's lives, these mighty men who were the special forces, they were the special ops, if you will. They were not afraid to risk and sacrifice. No joke, I got an email a couple of years ago from someone wanting to go into missions, and they were asking us what our package offered when they come on board. Now, if you don't know anything about where you start out in the missionary, when you complete your education, you complete your internship, and you make an application to an agency, we don't pay you anything. Thanks for laughing, because it's true. We don't help with getting you to your meeting. You gotta pay for that yourself. And you just depend on God. God uses love offerings, but churches that we go to, they don't owe us anything. If God allows and chooses that church to give an offering to cover expenses, praise the Lord. If not, he'll raise it up some other way. And the deputation process is a process of building faith. These men, that go into missions today are risking and sacrificing everything. Missionaries offer their lives on the altar of the king. That's what these men did in the Old Testament and today we offer our lives for Jesus. Why did these men do this? Because they love their king. Why do we serve God today in local church ministry and evangelism as pastors, youth pastors, music ministers, missionaries? Because we love Jesus. We want to please Him. These mighty men in the scriptures here demonstrate for us what a proper relationship ought to be with the Lord as His followers and as His soldiers. In those days, honor came in doing exploits for the king. And today, honor comes from serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Keith Wright said it, he said it best. He said, lost people matter to God. So they must matter to us. And we must be willing to do anything we can to reach them. These men were attracted to David's person and they were committed to his cause. And so we're going to read and this is not profound. Again, I just want to challenge you in the realm of missions. Missionaries are sent out into the world and sometimes they face mighty obstacles. Look with me if you would in 2 Samuel chapter 23 verse number 8. These be the names of the mighty men whom David had. The Takmanite that sat in the seat chief amongst the captains. The same was Adino, the Esnite. He lifted up his spear against 800 whom he slew at once. The first mighty man we're gonna look at is this guy, Adino. You can see a parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 11. We're gonna stick in 2 Samuel chapter number 23. My question is, in this day and age and in the context of scripture, how does one man with a spear defeat 800 men at one time? What kind of man was he? Well, first of all, he was a man that did not give up when he was outnumbered. we're gonna be outnumbered in the world. If you don't believe me, the next time we go to Times Square, come with us. And we'll set up a table on a public sidewalk, and we'll put out a sign that says, Jesus Christ is Lord. And we'll show you how outnumbered we are at times. In ministering in life, I know sometimes it feels like we're alone. But God is the majority. In other words, when he went into battle, and when we go into our battle that God has for us, God and us are a majority and it's not about us. He's the majority. Adeno here had a spear he slew at one time 800 men. Because he was a man who didn't give up when he was outnumbered. He was a man of courage. He didn't turn and run. His strength came from God and God alone. When a missionary goes to the field, many times getting the missionary to the field was the end result. That was the goal. Hey, let's just get them through deputation. Let's get their support raised and we get them on the field. And once they get on the field, praise the Lord, they're there. But we have to also now understand that there's more. There's absolutely more than just getting a missionary on the field. There's more to it. They need to be able to stay on the field. They need to be encouraged and trained. And now with FaceTime and all the technology that we have, we can be with them on the field. Because I can tell you it can be very discouraging when you feel like you're all alone. When you feel like you're the only one doing something for the Lord. Understand, we're never alone. That promise that we have, the moment that we're saved, we're dwelt with the Holy Spirit of God, we are never alone. Outnumbered, perhaps, but we're never alone. We send missionaries, we want missionaries who are not bothered. This is the first principle. They're not bothered when they're outnumbered. Not bothered. They're okay with being the little light that they are. They're okay with that. Their courage and strength, their encouragement comes from God. And of course today, as soldiers of the King, we understand that our strength comes from God. It comes from being spirit-filled, committed Christians. I enjoy playing golf sometimes. But if you play golf at all, you understand the harder you try, the worse you are. It's counterintuitive. But you understand it's the same way in the Christian life. The harder you try in your flesh, the harder it is. Because it's not about what this guy can do or what you can or cannot do. It's about what God desires to do through you. And through a sacrifice, Life through an empty life, through a life that had been completely surrendered. These men, these mighty men were completely surrendered to their king. So, Adino, the Esnai, he was not bothered when he was outnumbered, 800 to one. Again, we're battling Satan in his ranks. Never forget, people are not our enemy. People are not our enemy. Satan is our enemy. He's God's enemy. And so yeah, he uses people and sometimes he uses people to discourage us, but it's not about me having a physical enemy. I'm to see them as an opportunity for God to do a great work in their life and to try to reach them with the gospel. Number two, Look with me, if you will, in verse number nine. And after him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo, the Ahuwite, one of the three mighty men of David, when he defied the Philistines that were gathered away into battle. And the men of Israel were gone away, and he arose and smote the Philistines. And I know you've heard this story, until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword. And the Lord wrought a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil. Eliezer, he was a man with a sword. Missionaries are not bothered when they're outnumbered, but number two, they have a sword. You know, he got really good with using his sword because he used it every day. It was not something that he used three or four minutes every day and put it away and had to sometimes wipe the dust off of it. He used it quite a bit. He practiced with it. He practiced when he probably didn't wanna practice, when he didn't feel like it. He probably had other things to do at other times, but he knew to be a soldier, he always had to be prepared. Friend, our sword is this. How familiar are we with the Word of God? I ask this quite a bit when we're in churches. But I'm asking you here. Is this a textbook? I challenged you guys last night. See this as more than a textbook. This is God's living, breathing word to us. That's not living and breathing because it changes. It changes us. We don't change it. It does a great work in our lives. Missionaries are sent out with one message and that is the salvation through the blood atonement of Jesus Christ through faith alone. That's their message and they get that because they're familiar with the book. they're familiar with the sword. I've read different commentaries, I'm sure you have, about this particular passage, how even to get the sword out of his hand after using it, they perhaps maybe would have needed to have broken a finger or two just to get it out of his hand. Many times, I don't know if you've ever swung a hammer long enough, you know, probably not. Let me put it to you in another term. You know, you've got your Xbox. I hope that's not the case, but you get the hand cramps and you're like, I can't even straighten my fingers out because I've been playing something or doing something. Hey, listen, if you're going to wrap your head and wrap your hand around something, let it be the word of God. Let it be the sword of the spirit. It's quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. This is the message that we have. We send missionaries out who know their Bible, who are not fumbling through to say, well, I think the Bible says over here in one of the, we go to Sierra Leone, I've been there twice, and I really enjoy it. But there's one particular pastor, he's a leader of a church. And I wanted to test him out because he was talking about how much he loved his Bible. And I said to him, this was last May, I asked him what his favorite book of the Bible was. Took him about three minutes to come up with the Gospel of John. And so I told him, just for fun, I told him that my favorite book was the book of Hezekiah. And he's like, oh yeah, I love that book. He's a man that has no idea about a sword. Don't go into your Christian life. Don't go into your ministry ignorant of the sword. Know how to use it. Know how to use it in an academic sense, but also know how to use it because there's going to be times you're going to need to find encouragement. Know how to find encouragement from the Word of God. Know how to offer hope to people, not from some philosophy, but out of the pages of the Word of God. Know the sword. Today we have it in the Word of God. Number three, look with me if you would in verse 11 and verse 12. And after him was Shema, a son of Agi, a Haraite, and the Philistines were gathered together into a troop and there was a piece of ground full of lentils and the people fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines and the Lord wrought a great victory." Not only do we see missionaries who are sent out not bothered to be outnumbered. That's number one. Number two, the familiar with the sword. But number three, missionaries are going to stand when others flee. I like reading about firemen, especially those around 9-11 who were going in when others were leaving. In a sense, it's a great picture of what ministry, not just missions, but ministry is. Hey, everybody else is trying to get out and we're trying to get in because we have a message. Everybody else is leaving, but we're going to stand and defend the ground. He risked his life for this patch of lentils. Why? He wasn't affected by what everybody else did. He stood for the truth. We often get our eyes on others and we get discouraged. Dr. Beal and I were talking about this in his office just before chapel. You're gonna see in your ministry people who stood somewhere at one time and they're going to change. And I don't mean go Apple to Android. I mean they're gonna make changes that are gonna, they're gonna break your heart. It's gonna grieve you. But we can't allow their decision to affect where we stand. We get our convictions from the Word of God. This tells us where we stand and this is where we should. Shema didn't care if he was the only one that cared. He was going to do what is right. Why did he stand and fight? Well, that patch of lentils belonged to their king. The enemy was coming to rob and plunder. The king's honor was at stake. The people needed it. So he stood. And let me just encourage you, know what you believe, know why you believe it, and stand. Put your stake down and stand where God wants you to stand. If He's called you to a ministry that is difficult and slow and challenging, and you're getting email prayer letters from some of your classmates or people that you know that you've supported and they're seeing God bless them in a great way, don't change so that you can write better prayer letters. Stand and do what God wants you to do. You'll only be judged for the race he's called you to run. You're not gonna have to answer for my race. You're gonna have to answer for your race. So stand, do what you need to do. Don't look at results and get encouraged, because results change in a heartbeat. They change. Results don't mean that God's blessing necessarily. And if we believe that we're tools in the army of God anyway, and we really have nothing to do but show up and God works, then it doesn't matter what other people say or do, or whether people are getting saved or not. We are called to be faithful. We are stewards who are called to be faithful. So stand. Missionaries are sent out and they're not bothered when they're outnumbered. They know how to use their sword. They stand and defend the king's honor even when others flee. Look with me in verse 13. and three of the 30. Many commentators believe it was the three previously mentioned. We can agree and disagree. It doesn't matter. They're not named here. It just says the three of the 30. Chief went down and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam, and the troops of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephiam. And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem. And David longed and said, One would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate." He didn't command them. He just said, I would love to have some water from my hometown. And the three mighty men break through the host of the Philistines. They drew the water out of the well of Bethlehem, risking their life that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless, he would not drink. but he poured it out unto the Lord. And he said, be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Is not this the blood of the men that went the jeopardy of their lives? Therefore, he would not drink it. And these things did these three mighty men. These three mighty men risked it all to please their king. Missionaries, they don't care to be outnumbered. They know how to use their sword and they'll stand when others flee. But don't miss the fact that missionaries put their lives often in great risk because they want to please their king. They love their king in this passage. They love David more than they love their own life. David voiced something that would be pleasurable to him and they forsook all, knowing they could have been captured and killed just because their king wanted something. When was the last time, guys, seriously, that we did something for God only because God wanted us to do it, not because we were being graded for it? not because someone asked us to do it, but we just wanted to do something for God out of a pure servant's heart. It might be quite a while, because I understand we're in this context, you're being graded and evaluated over almost everything in your life. But when was the last time you just went out and knocked on a couple of doors on your own? When was it the last time that you served someone on your own? You didn't do it because church had visitation that day and you just showed up or there was a work day. Hey, when was the last time you saw something that needed to be done either around here or around your church or somewhere and you just did it and nobody knows? Now, I'm not asking you to raise your hand because that defeats the purpose. Hey, let's be servants. Let's serve God. How do we serve God? By serving others. We serve God by serving others. And so let's not look to be served. Let's look for ways that we can share and be a blessing and an encouragement to others. These men were not commanded by David to get water. They were not compelled by duty to get it. They only got it because their king desired something to drink from his hometown. They loved David so much that they were willing to risk everything for just a drink of water. Let's just serve God. not expecting anything. Let's just please Him by doing something for Him without asking Him or anybody else to acknowledge what we've done. That's what God's at. He's looking for men and women who are willing to do that. Because in ministry, that's full of it. You'll go and help a family and you'll serve them. And they may not be as appreciative as what we, you may even go into a financial hole yourself. And it's okay because everything we own is God's anyway. He'll never be indebted to you. God will never be indebted to you. We will be eternally indebted to him for everything he's given to us freely. And that's why we serve him. We serve him because we love him. And we think about the greatest sacrifice today. I appreciate what you said, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. My wife and I were talking about this on our way down here yesterday. It really doesn't matter what day of the week it happened. Really, it doesn't. It wouldn't have been on Friday, but anyway, it doesn't matter. It matters that it happened. And look what Jesus gets. He gets us, which isn't much. And I'm not trying to be offensive to you this morning. But he's using the foolishness and he gets a great glory by people who are just willing to risk everything for him. Let's do that. Look with me at the next one here. We're almost finished with this passage. Verse 18 and 19. I be shy. the brother of Joab, son of Uriah, was chief amongst the three. And he lifted up his spear against 300 and slew him and had a name amongst the three. Verse 19, was he not more honorable of three? Therefore he was the captain, howbeit he attained not unto the first three. Abishai valued the king's life more than he valued his own. He lifted up his spear against 300. He was more concerned with the king's life than he was concerned with his own. And then finally verse number 6 which is verse number 20. who had done many acts. He slew two lion-like men of Moab. He went down also and slew a lion in the midst of the pit of the time of the snow. And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand and he went down to him with a staff and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and slew him with his own spear. But Niah was a loyal servant. we see that missionaries don't really care to be outnumbered. If God ever calls you to be a missionary, I'll tell you this, the day you land in the country that God has called you to go to, you will be way more excited to be there than they will be excited that you arrived. You're going to be outnumbered. You can't be discouraged by that. You got to know how to use your sword. Number three, you got to stand when others flee. Number four, you got to risk it all. Number five, you got to value what God wants more than your own agenda. Number six, loyal. Loyalty to the King. Benaiah was in charge of David's personal bodyguard. He was not an ordinary soldier. We just read that he struck down two of Moab's fiercest men. He went into the pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And this Egyptian, they believe, could have been over seven feet tall, had a spear and he had a club and he got the other guy's weapon and killed him with his own weapon. This guy knew what he was doing. He met the worst of enemies in the worst of places, under the worst of the conditions, and God won a victory through his life. No matter what the situation was, no matter where he found himself, he proved himself to be loyal. These six that we've looked at, there were a lot of other men in David's army, but what made these guys stand out? What was it that made these different than the rest? Well, they loved their king. They loved him more than their own lives. And they were willing to risk and to sacrifice. Are you satisfied this morning with where you're at in your Christian life? Or are you satisfied on a rainy April day as you can see the end of the semester in sight. I talked to several of you, you've already got your internships for the summer lined up. And as you're looking to the future of what God wants for you to do, but are you satisfied with where you're at in your spiritual life right now? Or have you just kind of thrown it into neutral? Hey, if we're going to do something for God and make a real difference in this world, we're never going to be satisfied. We're going to be like the Apostle Paul who says, I have not arrived. I'm not apprehended. I'm not there yet. He's still dying on a daily basis. Every day, giving up his own will, giving up his own desires, giving up his own objectives. pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. See, that's the difference between a special ops soldier and a regular soldier in the army. These special ops, they're trained differently. They think differently. They've got a different vocabulary. They've got a different way. And they live and breathe. It's part of who they are. And may I say, if you're here this morning, you're not here by accident. God has something special for your life. Don't just waste the training away. Don't just take advantage of it. Do take advantage of it. Don't waste the opportunity that God has given you. Because God has something special for your life. I have no idea what that is. But God does, and He wants you to want Him more than what you want in your own life. And if we're gonna go do something for God, we're gonna empty ourselves, like these men did, of their own identity, and they're gonna serve because they love David. And this morning, we're gonna empty ourselves of our own identities. and we're gonna find our identity, our peace, our love, and our joy in the person of Jesus Christ. That's what God's asking from us this morning as we look at the application of this passage. Don't be satisfied. Get on the front row. Be a Spirit-filled believer. Be controlled by the Spirit. You've got to remember, in this passage of Scripture, this was a time of great conflict. The enemy was out to destroy, and we can say the enemy is still out to destroy. The enemy's greatest weapon was fear, but this was a time of great courage in these men's lives. But it was also a time of great victory because these men, through these men, God defeated the enemy. I know that a lot of you students don't understand this reference, but faculty and staff will. I heard a pastor recently say that 90% of our churches across the country, and this was an independent Baptist pastor who said this. He said 90% of our churches across the country require less commitment than their local HOA. Now an HOA is a homeowner's association. Thankfully I don't have a home that's in a HOA. It would just probably make me mad if I did. but there's no commitment required in churches today. It's a time for us to be the leaders in that and go out and serve and do because God, not because we're required to, but we do it out of love and out of servant. So here's the two applications. The church or the ministry needs mighty men and women. who are attracted to the person of Jesus. Why do these missionaries do it? Well, they do it partially because they love the people, but love of the people, love of the country doesn't keep a missionary on the field, but love of the person of Jesus does. This morning, let's choose to love Jesus and do things because we love him. If you've submitted yourself here and you're in classes, study and do because you love Jesus, not because you have a pride of getting a good grade or wanting to graduate with honors. Finish strong because you love Jesus. Do ministry because you love Jesus. And number two, mighty men are needed who are committed to the cause of Christ. You see, when you love Jesus, you can be committed to his cause. And then whatever he asks you to do, it's not too much. You know why it's not too much? Because the one that you love has asked you to do it. It's a test of our love. It's a way for us to put action to that. And I don't know, there may be a handful of you that ever go into full-time missions. And to that we would say, praise the Lord. But as Dr. Beals said in his office a moment ago, every one of us should be involved somehow in missions. And so let's strive to be like these mighty men this morning, who are attracted to the person of David, but we would be attracted to the person of Jesus, and we would be attracted or committed to the cause of Christ. Watching God change lives every day because someone showed up with the gospel. It doesn't make us special at all. See, Paul, he said that it was the power of God and the salvation, and he was not ashamed. I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. He didn't hide it. Let's not hide it. Let's be committed to it. I really believe the future is bright. I really believe that, guys. I'm not a defeatist. I said that. That was not just part of my introduction. I really, truly believe that if this number of students would just sell out everything and be committed to Jesus and committed to His cause, we could see great things happen. We could see the greatest things would be someone not have to go to hell because of their sin. Hey, I don't want anybody to go to hell. And it bothers me at night when I think about family and friends who've gone to hell because someone was not committed enough to humble themselves and go and share the good news with them. Let's be committed to Jesus and let's be committed to His cause.