Field of Beans | Rev. Raymond Woodward
by Raymond Woodward
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: 1 Samuel 22:2, 2 Samuel 23:11-12, Leviticus 25:23, Ephesians 4:27, Ezekiel 48:35

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

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good morning maryville praise the lord everybody isn't it wonderful to be in the house of god today i'll tell you what if i lived in maryville this would be my church and that'll be my pastor right there no question not even a doubt so glad to be here with all of you uh the movement conference was magnificent such a privilege to be part of that meeting and i am so grateful today to be with this stellar first family and this spectacular church and this stupendous army that they call a choir i love it all it's amazing aren't you glad to be part of a great apostolic church there's nothing like that and i'm honored to get to share the word of the lord with you this morning i will walk my way to a text so i i won't ask you to continue standing for that but i would ask you to just lift up your hands and your voice and just honor the lord's presence one more time in this room today lord jesus we're so grateful for you we're so thankful for everything that you have done for us and god we come to this service not as a ritual or a religion but we come here in relationship with you with anticipation with excitement over what we know you are able to do touch lives change hearts alter destinies uh forever change eternities in this service and we'll give you all the praise and all the glory all the thanks and all the adoration because we pray it in jesus name everybody said amen and you may be seated scripture simply doesn't say very much about him at all his story is obscure and seemingly insignificant the crowning achievement of his entire life is recorded in just a meagre two verses tucked away in the middle of the old testament among the more dramatic adventures of the kings of israel so if you want to know anything about him you're forced to do some serious detective work just to dig up a few paltry details about his background which makes what he did all the more remarkable his family came from the lineage of the hararites they were men of the hills mountain dwellers and that word hararit is a combination of the noun mountain and the verb cursed because it was a difficult life trying to scratch out a meager existence in the hard unyielding rock of israel's desert hills to make matters far worse his father's name was aggie which means a fugitive a coward one who runs one who flees his dad had the reputation of a coward who would turn tail at the first sign of trouble which makes what this young man did all the more remarkable names in ancient israel could reflect either the qualities of the bearer of that name or sometimes names were given to children to commemorate some kind of momentous event that just happened to coincide with their birth now we don't know specifically what israel was going through when shama was born but it must have been totally disastrous because shama's name if you study it out and trace it back it has all of these meanings wasted empty desolate deserted devastated horrified appalled astonished abandoned i don't think anybody wants to name their kid any of those which makes what he did all the more remarkable this young man who was born at a time of appalling desolation he determines something we don't know what month or year of his life he determined it but determined that he did he decided that his history would not determine his destiny as shama grew he refused to be confined by that meager mountain existence and he moved lock stock and barrel to the fertile lowlands of israel but israel was in serious trouble in those days they were led by a backslidden king named saul and saul's reign was marked by the total absence of an altar and by the captivity of the ark of the covenant it was in enemy hands through basically all of saul's reigns and he never lifted a finger to go get it but there was another king in the wings and shama soon found him along with 400 other men these men didn't have much going for them but they found a hero in a young man named david first samuel 22 and 2. and everyone that was in distress and everyone that was in debt and everyone that was discontented sound like your neighbors they gathered themselves unto him and david became a captain over them and there were with him about 400 men now later david would be crowned king of israel and some of those same loyal men that had followed him when saul was trying to kill him they'd hid with him in caves and they'd run with him through valleys and they'd survived the hot scorching burning sun of the desert later those men would continue to serve him and the bravest among them would forever be referred to as the thirty but there was a trio of soldiers whose exploits elevated them even further and david called them the three mighty men one of them was adino adino killed 800 men at one time with only one spear another one was eleazar and eleazar fought until the muscles of his hand literally froze around his sword and after the battle they had to pry his fingers off of that weapon and shama became the third member of that valiant famous trio which makes what he did all the more remarkable you won't read a chapter or a book about shama there's not even huge paragraphs there's only really two verses second samuel 23 and after him was shama the son of aggi the hararite and the philistines were gathered together in a troop where was a piece of ground full of lentils and the people fled from the philistines but he stood shama stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the philistines and the lord wrought a great victory now we don't know much about the philistines today but the philistines they were the most fierce and enduring foe ever faced by the ancient israelites the pages of the old testament are littered with all of the battles and the accounts of theirs these bloody clashes for over 600 years the jews had a beautiful coastline on the mediterranean sea but they were largely denied access to it because the philistines had strategically placed what they called the pentopolis five cities all up and down the coast strongholds ashdod and ashkelon ekren gath gaza and it was all up and down the coast so the israelites couldn't even enjoy their own country because of the philistines and the philistines had a huge tactical advantage over israel because they alone in that ancient world at that time they alone possessed the ancient technology of iron making they could make superior swords and spears and chariot wheels and it just made everything superior so they were an entrenched foe and israel really didn't have much uh strength against them but it wasn't just that they were a fighting force it's that they were cruel and ruthless and relentless and one of the philistines favorite tactics was what we call the harvest attack they would lay low for months and they would let the israelites plant and tend their crops for an entire season they would let them toil under the blistering burning sun they would let them do all the back-breaking work and then the philistines would swoop down into those fields at the very last moment just as the crops were ripe and they would steal all the fruit of their labor they would rob israel's family of food and they would rob the nation's farmers of their livelihood nothing was more devastating than a harvest attack and it had happened time and time and time again and this year was no exception because the philistines were at it again their invading forces when they swooped into those fields they struck terror in the hearts of the people and so by now most of the israelite farmers had already fled in fear and they just left their fields at the mercy of the enemy you see those jewish farmers they were just peasants they didn't have any weapons of warfare all they had was handmade farming tools they knew they had no chance at all against an invading battalion of highly trained soldiers remaining in their fields would have meant almost certain death so in their mind it wasn't worth risking life and limb to defend insignificant plots of land and so they dropped their farming tools and they ran for their lives and that would have been the end of the story but fortunately for israel and unfortunately for the philistines there was one man in the field on that day who was not just a peasant or a farmer he was one of david's three mighty men he had the heart of a warrior beating in his chest and he single-handedly turned the tide of the enemy's invasion on that day while every one of shama's peers they fled the scene they ran away they avoided the intensity of the battle and while others abandoned totally the harvest they had worked so hard for all year long and while everybody else decided well i guess we'll just have to live with the losses one more time shaman did something unprecedented shama locked his feet and squared his shoulders and stood his ground now in the english language we have a saying when something's of little value or negligible importance we say that's not worth a hill of beans beans are small and on their own they're of little value so even a whole hill of beans wouldn't be worth very much nor would a field of beings which is exactly what shama found himself defending on that fateful day of battle just a field of beans shama had only a moment to decide whether he was going to run away like his friends or stand up to the enemy we don't know what was going through his mind as he turned to face an entire raging roaring philistine battalion all alone maybe he'd worked extra hard that year planting that field of beans and he just didn't want to carry sad news home to his family one more time maybe he was just tired and exhausted by all the raids that had left their crops in ruin and their fields barren and their children hungry and their homes depleted and their hopes defeated maybe on that day something just rose up in shama that said this far but no further not today not here not now not me maybe shaman just decided i finally had enough or maybe it wasn't a momentary decision maybe shama had given this a lot of thought while he was toiling day after day after day under that blazing sun in his insignificant field of beings no doubt he had anticipated the battle because after all the enemy returned basically every harvest season time and time again so he knew it was probable the philistines would be back and he also knew that all his peers they'd all run again because they did every year it happened every few months he knew it certainly wasn't easy to defend a field of beans because the field of beans is just a large flat field with no cover no place to hide the bean vines in israel would be almost knee-deep and your feet get tangled every time you try to move the enemy can attack from all sides at once and if you stand up you're an easy target the terrain favors the philistines the battle favors the enemy and shama was sorely outnumbered and anyone who could have helped him they'd already hightailed it for the high ground and yet shama on that day brothers and sisters he defended that field of beings as if it was a gold mine he stood his ground against the enemy uh he he just would not give them that one seemingly insignificant plot of land because here's what shaman knew that you need to know somewhere sometime you've got to stop retreating somewhere sometime you have to choose to stand up to the enemy somewhere sometime you've got to understand that the more territory you give up now the more territory you're gonna have to fight to take back later somewhere somehow somebody has to engage in the battle so shama's life in just two verses begs to ask the question why not here and why not now and why not you why would you let the enemy mess up every part of your future when you have the right to fight you have the right to stand you have the right to push back hmm my my my you say but pastor raymond it's just a field of beans it's not worth a hill of but see god had declared to israel in leviticus 25 and 23 the land shall not be sold forever for the land is mine you are strangers and sojourners with me so here's what shaman knew if this land is god's land then this farm is god's farm and this field is god's field and yeah these beans are god's beings so it's not just me trying to be brave god owns this and i'm not giving it up not for love nor money nor anything i'm gonna hang on to my inheritance sometimes in life you pick your battles and sometimes your battles pick you king david had chosen shama as one of his three mighty men because on this day when the battle chose shama shama refused to run away he stood and he defended that field of beings even when it wasn't a comfortable place even when it wasn't a convenient time to fight a battle there are many people that inhabit pews in churches in the apostolic movement and we all want to dream big dreams and we all want to accomplish big things but what we miss is that is the seemingly insignificant things it's the little day-to-day battles it's that prayer not in church it's that prayer in your home it's not pastor drawing a line for the congregation it's you drawing a line for your family it's those seemingly insignificant things that really count in the end little battles can yield big results hundreds of years after shama lived and died paul wrote these words in ephesians 4 neither give place to the devil shaman knew instinctively what paul later wrote so plainly don't give the enemy even an inch don't give him even a foothold in your life shama stood and he fought that day because he knew if he gave up that seemingly insignificant field of beans he'd just have to fight the philistines later on another battlefield here's what shaman knew if they take the beans the barley will be next and if they come back for the barley they'll return for the corn and if they take the corn they'll come back for the cattle and if you give up the field the fence will be next and if they knock down the fence they'll come back for your barn and if they take your barn they'll return for the house if you give up the house the family will be next if they take your family they've taken your future all because somewhere sometime you gave up a little field of beans so the message from shama's life is don't you budge don't you get pushed aside don't you get pushed back you stand your ground you are worth it your marriage is worth it your kids are worth it your grandchildren are worth it your family is worth it your peace of mind is worth it your joy is worth it so don't let the enemy push you around stand your ground sure here's what you got to learn about the devil and this will probably be enough we don't need to learn very much about him here's what you need to know about him the enemy will attack until someone fights back every single time every single day of your life the enemy will attack until someone fights back so shama's life begs the question on this beautiful sunday in maryville tennessee what about your field of beings will you stand up to the devil and fight the little battles that nobody else sees or even knows about will you in your home in your life will you stand up and look the enemy squarely in the eye and stand your ground and plant a no trespassing sign over your mind and your marriage your home and your children your present and your future will you do it many people decide well the beans just aren't worth it it's just a field of beans they're not worth the fight many people that come to great churches even like this one they're just too lazy too exhausted too scared too busy too distracted they don't even realize that any little piece of territory surrendered to the enemy becomes his launching pad for the next assault on your life the bean patch you quit fighting for becomes the base camp for him to plan his next invasion please hear me if you give the enemy a foothold he'll turn it into a stronghold so you don't give him any quarter you don't give him any slack you don't now you've got to remember that paul said in the new testament the weapons of our warfare are not carnal you're not going to push the devil out of your mind your marriage your home your family you're not going to push him out by passing some resolutions and gritting your teeth and trying to do a little bit better on whatever you think would help you're going to beat the devil every single time the weapons of our warfare are not carnal they are mighty through god to the pulling down of strongholds there are times in life you've got to push back oh my shama stood his ground that day all alone but not for one second do i think he was actually fighting that battle all alone or that he won that victory all alone he didn't win that victory all alone any more than his mentor david defeated goliath all by himself now david was pretty cool with the slingshot and he'd had a few little victories in his personal private life but on that day please it was not a little rock that took down that giant it was a rock guided by the hand of almighty god david got it right when he said you come to me with sword and shield and spear but i come to you in the name of the lord of hosts the god of the armies of israel whom you have defied david got it exactly right and he taught shama the same thing if you'll stand up god will stand up with you if you'll stand up god will stand beside you if you'll stand up god will fight for you there comes a time when you just need to say enough is enough is enough i've had this nagging doubt i've had this troubled mind i've had this depression i've had this battle in my home long enough there comes a time when the people of god need to exercise their right to fight don't let the devil push you down trample all over your family you have a right to stand your ground and push him back if he's going to push me i'm going to push him if he's going to attack me i'm going to attack him i have a right to fight sure shaman's name means appalling desolation maybe that's how you feel about some area of your life today it's just destroyed it causes you anxiety it robs you of your peace and your joy you can't even enjoy the good life you have because there's some area where the enemy is encroached maybe it's a wayward child maybe it's a troubled marriage maybe it's a a crippling addiction maybe it's some hidden thing in your life and you feel such shame and guilt and and the enemy has tried to paralyze you and he's tried to make your life a life of appalling desolation that's what shaman's name means an appalling desolation was exactly how israel felt when the philistines invaded those fields every time they were about ready to enjoy their harvest maybe you feel that way every time you're about ready to enjoy life that situation crops up again every time you get ready to say this year is going to be different this week's going to be different that situation just kind of comes up in the rearview mirror or it comes right across the front windshield of your life and you think oh here we go again and it feels like appalling desolation that's how we feel when the enemy's raging and the battle's being waged and we feel like we're losing ground and we look around and it seems like there's enemies on every side appalling desolation is exactly how israel felt when they lost their beloved temple and they went into captivity appalling desolation and the prophet ezekiel was right there in captivity with them and he wrote a powerful and beautiful book to the israelites in captivity to the jews in a time of appalling desolation but if you go all the way and ezekiel's not an easy read it's not the psalms i promise but if you read all the way through to the book of ezekiel all the way through to the end when you get toward the end ezekiel is prophesy and someday there's going to be a beautiful temple it's going to be bigger than this one grander than this one it's going to be amazing there's going to be a restored temple there's going to be a miraculous turnaround it's going to be amazing and if you read all the way to the end of the book of ezekiel you'll come to this very last verse when the temple's being measured and ezekiel writes this it was round about 18 000 measures and the name of the city from that day shall be the lord is there or in hebrew jehovah shaman god took shama's name that means appalling desolation and he puts it in the name of the restored temple and the restored city of jerusalem that's going to happen sometime in the glorious millennial reign i don't even know the whole timetable for that i just know based on everything the word of god said god is going to bring restoration to this whole world so if he's going to bring restoration to this whole world what do you think he can do in your life this morning you can have one of those moments where you look around it's appalling desolation but god said if you'll put me in the middle of that situation it becomes jehovah summer the lord is there even in the middle of appalling desolation even in the middle of all kinds of concerns and all kinds of fears the lord is there oh goodness stand with me music come on back would you lift your hands to the ceiling of this room but lift your voice far beyond the ceiling of this room somebody is in this room today and i'm preaching to you i don't even know your name but i'm preaching to you because jesus knows you're here and this is your morning to get that situation turned around how am i going to do it i'll tell you how you're going to stand your ground and you're going to allow the lord to help you push back you're going to stand your ground and you're not giving the enemy another inch today is my day pastor raymond i am going to stand up and i'm going to rely on god and i'm going to let jesus heal something oh my my my my right now jesus i pray that you would heal what only you can heal and i pray that you would fix what only you can fix and i pray that you would do what only you can do we are relying on you jehovah shama the presence of the lord is here even in the middle of appalling desolation oh my we're going to head to the altar in a second i hope you'll join us this magnificent church and we've got lots of space for everybody but right now would you just lift up your hands one more time let's see the clouds for what god wants to do in this room the power of the lord is present to heal your body the power of the lord is here to deliver your mind the power of the lord is here to restore your marriage the power of the lord is here to heal your fractured family the power of the lord is here you just don't know what could happen in an apostolic church on a sunday morning in a powerful altar service would you take a step out of where you're standing and head down to this altar as quickly as you can get here especially if i was preaching to you this morning nobody is going to check on the details of your situation we've all had grief we've all had problems we've all had issues nobody's looking for all the gory details we just know if we can get you in the presence of jesus you can be delivered you can be set free god can do in one second what we couldn't do in six months of counseling and four years of therapy jesus can do it