The Value of This Field
by Darren Sargent
Atlanta West Pentecostal Church (Lithia Springs, GA)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: 2 Samuel 23:11-12, Matthew 13:44, 1 Corinthians 1, Hebrews 11

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/darren-sargent--the-value-of-this-field
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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in our hearts if you'll turn with me to second Samuel 23 I know they'll have it on the screen as well II Samuel 23 verse number 11. thank you to everyone for the hospitality it's been absolutely amazing II Samuel 23 going to read two verses of scripture verse 11 and 12 then we'll go to Matthew 13 one verse of scripture there verse 44. II Samuel 23 verse 11 next to him with shama son of Aggie the eraite when the Philistines bended together at a place where there was a field full of lentils Israel's troops fled from them but shama took his stand in the middle of the field he defended it and struck the Philistines down and the Lord everyone say the Lord the Lord brought about a great Victory Matthew chapter 13 verse 44 again the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid and for Joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field with the help of the Holy Ghost this morning I simply want to preach to you the value of this field the value of this field one more time can we clap our hands and ask God to open our hearts and Minds God thank you for an opportunity to be in your presence and feel the touch of the Holy Ghost that we feel open our eyes to see our hearts to receive our minds to comprehend what you want to do in us and through us today in Jesus name amen you may be seated may the Lord richly bless you today if the last couple of years have taught us anything it has taught us that God is Sovereign that God is in control that nothing gets beyond the All-Seeing Eye of the almighty and even though we may be living in an hour of intense pressure and even though there are many uncertainties of what tomorrow may bring we also find ourselves in a unique and Powerful moment in history yes we are facing many different challenges it's evident all around us but God has not been surprised by all of this God is Not suddenly just waking up and realizing oops I I need to I need to figure out what to do here God has always had a plan God even sees where every single one of us that are here today find ourselves he sees what we have endured he sees the long nights and the fight that me many of us may be in today those even watching online but yet he knows the way that we take there's a very powerful illustration that I want to begin with this morning as we kind of go forward and express the direction I believe that God is wanting us to go together today it happened during the apex of the second world war in fact this moment was a major turning point in an already brutal conflict Germany's a massive war machine was setting its sights on the United Kingdom and under the direction of their left wave Air Command they intended to totally annihilate Britain or at least bring them to a place of surrender however what they did not truly take into account was Britain's royal Air Force Under the direction of their Commander a man by the name of Hugh doubting the Royal Air Force at first appearance did not seem as prepared they were not as equipped or trained as Germany's Air Force in fact Germany's Commander believed that the Royal Air Force he stated this we will sweep them from the skies in four short days now what is interesting to me is the fact that the Royal Air Force consisted of young ragtag not very well attained pilots who didn't seem to have a whole lot to offer but even though they were fewer in number and even though they had inferior training and even though they lacked the the technology of the planes that the German Pilots employed the story tells me that Royal Air Force held back Germany's attack and in only a few months time during the summer of 1940 they turned the tide of the war in what is now known as the Battle of Britain and while the battle raged and while Hitler set his air command to destroy Britain Winston Churchill in his address to the House of Commons during the height of the Skirmish stated this never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few what Hitler was not expecting and more than likely could never have known was the passion and the commitment that these few young ragtag undertrained Royal Air Force pilots possessed as they pushed back the onslaught of a much Superior Air Command it became a major victory for Great Britain and it also became a major turning point in the war as we begin to walk down this path today need I remind you it has always been and will always be throughout history and even scripture that God has never required a majority to accomplish his purposes very bad the Apostle Paul does his best to expound upon this thought when he begins a discourse concerning the weakness of man versus the power of God in First Corinthians chapter 118. amen we discover that God chooses the foolish of things of this world to confound the Mighty God chooses the base things the common things things that are often overlooked and despised in order to bring about his purposes upon this planet what does Paul do Paul proves the guarantee of God that we don't always understand or even at times comprehend we just surrender to the sovereignty of God and realize God your thoughts are above my thoughts and your ways are above my ways if you want to use a little widow woman Amen to sustain a prophet you can use a little widow woman God if you want to take a lunch of just two fish and five low God that's good enough because God doesn't need a majority God doesn't need somebody that has all their ducks in a row all God needs is someone that'll say Here I Am Lord take me use me do what you [Applause] want if you will spend any time at all in the word of God you will quickly discover significant moments with ordinary people who stood up against insurmountable odds and overcame because they chose to stand in the Gap and be the man or the woman that God needed during their generation Hebrews 11 invites us to meander down the hallway of the faithful as we encounter one individual after another that Rose to the challenge of their generation and brought about needed victory in spite of what others were doing around them in spite of what the climate of their culture appeared to be in spite who was sitting on the throne or who was in control in spite of what the economic status was hear me and hear me well God has always been very comfortable pulling from the canvas of the common those insignificant those insufficient those unqualified men and women and Young people to make a difference in their world God's never needed God will never need a majority to accomplish his purpose he has never required the mighty he's not looking for the brave or the elite to bring about his purposes upon this planet our creator is totally content with the common I'm going to work this over for just a few moments here this morning take a moment and examine the life of an insignificant Shepherd Boy by the name of David when David is plucked from the field of attending his father's sheep and placed in front of a national Spotlight to face off against the giant there was an entire nation that was just waiting almost with baited breath for someone who would lead them to Greatness and from the moment that Goliath fell until David took his final grasp of air we see a man whom the Bible says served his generation what did David do David restored a nation in fact it is said that under the leadership of David that the territory of Israel what they controlled and what they conquered expanded some ten times more than when he first stepped to the throne what did David do he placed Zion on the map David restored national pride and honor into the hearts of the ordinary people of Israel that was unrivaled by any nation in the world how was David able to do this how was David able to take the common run-of-the-mill Israelite and turned them into ambassadors of the almighty I'll tell you how David decided while I'm living while I'm here while it's my time and on my watch while I'm breathing I'm not going to waste my time I'm not going to sit there and do nothing and watch the world walk by I am going to serve my generation I'm preaching to a church today that knows exactly what I'm saying it's not time to sit down it's not time to shut up it's not time to be quiet it's time to rise up it's time to recognize our world as a need and we have the answer amen it's time to recognize Creator is he that is in you and greater is he that is in me that he that is in the world [Applause] yeah there's a very interesting moment when David was when David found himself hounded by Saul who was attempting to put an end to the threat of David becoming the next Monarch we see a very unique event began to unfold men who had found themselves distressed men that were discontented and in debt made their way to the cave of a giant killer who had this unique passion this driving fire to serve his generation men that had been cut off from his their families ridiculed by their neighbors men that had been pushed to the side journeyed to the cave where a man was being made into a king and these men began to be fashioned into what the Bible calls the Mighty Men of David and from that encounter we discover these mighty men being be informed and literally changing the course of history for the Israelites they saved the nation from becoming as the Nations around them and Time After Time After Time After Time one of these once mediocre Misfits of society would rise up in the face of insurmountable odds and secure victory for the people of God time does not permit me today to just discuss these Mighty Men of David and death as I would like but allow me just a few moments here to address two that I think are beneficial for our time together was a man by the name of banaya we've all heard a banaya and the Bible tells tells a lion that goes down into a pit on a story day if I came across a lion and it looked at me and licked its lips and went into a hole I shout hallelujah and speak in tongues I've been dancing around here like some of y'all this morning but he goes on to say that this man decided to climb down into that pit in the middle of a snowstorm and take on a lion the dudes brain dead that's an idiot it had been me like I said I had a shouted said thank God I walked down there I don't want to lose another round I like the fact that I can hold at least one microphone can't do sign language you get half the message but it's okay to laugh folks it's all right I'm securing who I am I got a lot of jokes we could be here all day hello but he says oh interesting I think I'm gonna go down and I'm going to take care of this lion in the middle of a snowstorm he recognized something that I think it's important for you and I to grasp today it was not the most opportune moment for him to tackle a lion the conditions were not the best there was no solid footing it wasn't the most Pleasant season but he understood something if I don't take care of this now while it is below the surface one day it may come up and do some damage to somebody else passing along this path so he climbed down into a pit with a lion on a snowy day and he waged war against the potential problem for somebody else I'm going to preach a little bit right now that commitment to get down into that pit of the enemy's domain during an inopportune season that gets me I gotta stop for a moment and talk about it some of us sitting here today some of you watching online we all better recognize God may be asking us to take care of something things that are under the surface of things that nobody sees things that nobody knows about it may be that lust it may be that bitterness it may be that attitude it may be that Envy but you gotta take care of it before it comes out it destroys your family and destroys your children and destroys your marriage you never know what climbing down into that pit will do in the future of your family or your ministry you never know what you are destroying that may one day rise up and take out one of our young ladies or our young men from the church we got a deal with some things underneath the surface can I just preach a little bit you got to take care of some things in your 20s so they don't come out and destroy you into 40s you got to take care of some things in your 30s so they don't unravel your marriage in your 50s can I preach to a good church on a good Sunday amen there are some things God says you don't need to put it under a cover someplace you need to get down there and you need to fight because you never know what you're doing when you dive into the domain of darkness and defeat the spirit that's been trying to destroy your family command every mother and every father who in the Midnight Hour had to dive down into that domain and pray till hell took its hands off your children come on I commend you brother and sister Johns I commend this leadership team for the midnight hours when you prayed through amen so somebody in this congregation would experience Victory amen I'm talking to a mother I'm talking to a father here on a Sunday you never know what you're doing now I can tell you many times I stood at the door especially my son and I put my hand on the door and wanted two o'clock in the morning my wife did the same and we would pray hell you are not taking my children this is my field this is my house amen that's from me and my house we're going to serve the Lord can I preach a little bit Hallelujah we got to believe in this thing called prayer we got to believe in the power I'm speaking the name of Jesus into a situation that may seem lifeless that may seem hopeless but With God all things are possible I'm going to get down there and I'm gonna take care of this on a Sunday I'm gonna make sure [Applause] hello it may not be the most opportune season you may be facing hell in high water you may have to deal with the mess and the embarrassment of dealing with those things but hear me God's just looking for somebody someone that's not afraid to stand on the Lord's Side and declare victory in the face of defeat another mighty man comes to mind that I believe needs to be examined his name was Shama here's another Misfit turn mighty who stations himself in the middle of a field of lentils of beans and defends it and it kills the Philistines so that the Lord would bring about a great Victory oh once derelict disdained and disowned the misfit it's now planting his feet firmly in the ground willing to give his life for something that he loves so dearly I got to stop here and try to impart what I feel like God wants to speak to us about today we're not given a whole lot of information about this field we really don't know who owned it or took care of it it is assumed it belonged to shama just because of the action that he took on this fateful day but when the enemy was trying to take this small little patch of beans he stood his ground we know apparently that this field meant something to Shama hear me this morning you won't stand up for anything if it doesn't mean something to you hello you will not stand up for something if it doesn't have some sort of value I'm going to tell you right now if my family's in my house and someone's breaking in they don't have to go through me I may not look like much but they'll be quickly introduced to Thor's hammer ah I'll take them out I am not going to let someone come in or something come in that could mess up with things that are valuable well it's just a little sin brother Sergeant well it's just missing church every once in a while sorry I'm a recovering Pastor okay please forgive me hello my name is Darren Sargent and I'm a recovering Pastor amen glad to meet you if it's valuable you'll do whatever you can Amen to make sure you ain't coming here devil you ain't messing with my children you ain't messing with my family you ain't messing with my marriage I'll fight you till all that's left it's just a wiggle of my little finger if that's what it takes because I believe if it's valuable it's what that's why worship and praise and running and jumping and shouting and magnifying God is so important because it's valuable [Applause] when I look at this story that is so seemingly insignificant when it comes to the Grand scale of the history of God but yet it is so powerful in its application I see a man that made a decision to do something even though others chose not to what this field represented was more important than just the beans in the field no doubt the beans were probably destroyed in the conflict that day it wasn't the beans necessary the shama was so passionate about he could replace and replant trampled beans but it's much more difficult to replace a stolen and a captured field hear me every man every woman of a boy of a girl under the sound of my voice you have been given a field in this life every parent listening to me today amen you have been given a field it's a place of responsibility that is expanded with time it is now more valuable than it was when it was just you standing there it is now more valuable than it was when it was just you and your wife at the altar saying I do it has expanded from it just being the two of you it is now more broad it is now more valuable it is now more important than it was in your teens in your 20s hear me I'm just going to Bear my heart Amen to this good church we are living in an hour where the enemy is doing his dead level best to steal ground from God's people and I say enough is enough hello no more devil this is my son this is my daughter they may not be living for God but they're still people that God knows your prayer has the ability to your worship as the Amen to reach in and pull them out [Music] you know there are two major forces God uses that the enemy would love to destroy and rip from the landscape of society and those two forces are the family and the church God uses these two fields the family and the church to reveal his Redemptive power in the world allow me a moment here to establish a baseline the enemy sees the influence and the impact the church and the family can have on society today so what does he do he fights it the church and the family are at a crossroad in the hour of history that we're a part of it appears we have arrived at a potentially defining moment in society in which the church is losing its influence and the home is losing its heart but hear me today these fields still matter they still have value no matter what they're teaching in the University no matter what they're pumping through the media these fields still matter this is why we've come to the house today amen this is why I'm preaching the way I am we better understand the value of this field called the church and we better understand the value of this field called the family shama what are you doing standing there wanting to lose your life for a patch of beans I'll tell you why it means something to me you know why you dance you know why you lift up holy hands you're creating the atmosphere for something to happen in the field where Miracles can come out of the ground where healing can pop up out of that tree come on somebody I'm telling you these fields still [Applause] I'm gonna speak to every parent in this house today it is your job it is your god-given privilege to take care of the enemy that tries to take your field there was men buddies of shama that ran from that field because of fear but not shama he stood there because it was valuable territory I'm going to bring this home to roost this morning but there are some things just give me a minute there are some fields that are worth defending I I grew up in the Magic Valley of Southern Idaho those spring days those late summer nights those Farmers would prep and prepare the soil the fields mattered to those Farmers they understood it takes more than just throwing seed a few days out a few days a year in order to get a crop they had to prepare the soil they had to take time working the field they had to get it ready so when the seed landed it would find fertile field fertile soil to grow in it takes more than just coming to church hello it takes more than just sitting on a Pew hearing a little bit of the word of God and then expect to reap a mighty Harvest you have to Value the field and you have to Value amen the soil and get it ready amen I watched as you worshiped I joined in as you begin to shout I walked some of you moms and dads with hands in the air you're not just worshiping it's not just exercise you're preparing the soil so your children can get the Holy Ghost on a Sunday You're preparing the soil so somebody can walk into this place on a Sunday just like today lift up their hands and God heals them and delivered them and touch them and filled them with the Holy Ghost this isn't just Pentecostal calisthenics honey this is soil preparation because God's in the business God's in the business of doing miracle science and wonders God's in the business of pouring things out like we've never seen before we got to get the soil ready so I say keep on worshiping Mama keep on praying daddy Keep On Believing son it's going to happen [Applause] this field is valuable I'm third generation Pentecost my grandfather said Sergeant Sydney Cecil sergeant that's a mouthful and his little gem of a wife Ruby Lillian sergeant they were high school sweethearts in Morton Washington a little farming lumbering community everybody knew who said Ruby Sergeant were they weren't in Pentecost they were Heroes of their high school teams my grandfather played baseball my grandmother was a basketball star Pentecostals were looked down in that little town of Morton Washington but I remember the story so well as my grandfather and Grandma related it to me my grandfather worked up in the mountains with those big saws saw in those big redwoods cutting down that Timber and God paired him with a one God tongue talking Apostolic and this one God tongue-talk and Apostolic every day brother Jerry would say Sid well I sure wish you could meet my Jesus my grandfather would spit at him and cuss him out shut up he's working my grandfather get there early so he would always his his his sawmate if you will would be on the sunny side and he would tell me because it didn't matter how hard it was Sid I really want you to come to church my grandfather would listen to this every day finally one day said okay what do you mean okay so I'll go to church with you once okay Revival service was happening a little Pentecostal Church of Martin Washington my grandfather stepped in once and he left filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost speaking in other tongues it's real it's real sister Joy I know it's real this Pentecostal blessing and I know I know don't you tell me amen the altar in a Pentecostal church it's just a place where the people that are really struggling go honey you can get your healing here you can get your salvation here you can get I don't care if you're a drug addict or an alcoholic you can't be delivered in the house why because his field still matters Sid came home walked in the door said Ruby you're not going to believe it she goes what she could see something was different she goes he goes I got the Holy Ghost I don't want to hear about this Holy Ghost come on Ruby just go to church with me one time just once no I ain't doing it this went on for weeks one day he comes home all her bags were packed everything she owned in her suitcases and I'm going bald I'll sell that spot right there for a thousand dollars you can advertise whatever you want for the building program sorry add or something squirrel I don't know Sid says Ruby what are you doing she goes I'm done I don't want anything to do with Pentecost if you're not going to change and go back to what you were take me out to my mom and dad's Farm tears in his eyes he packed her stuff up after pleading with her she wouldn't hear anything about it he pleaded with her please Ruby just go one time that's all I'm asking just go once it's real you gotta feel it I don't want anything to do with it those people are crazy that where they're heading up on top of their head point the camera I'm just kidding driving down the road my grandfather but during my postcard I drive a tears oh God silently God please God she's got to experience this it'll change her life about halfway down the road all of a sudden she said stop the car Sid he was what go stop the card turn around I'll go to church with you once and guess what happened it's real it's real that doesn't just happen that doesn't just happen honey there's some preparation in the soil there are some people that have been in some early morning prayer meetings there's a pastor and his wife that have prayed in the Midnight Hour there's a team saying we're going to make sure we got a field that is valuable for the Next Generation we got to make sure it's still real for the Next Generation we got to make sure it's still as powerful as it was on the day you came to the Lord [Applause]