Fighting Men

Hallelujah can we lift our hand clapping to the Lord right now and magnify his name our great God that we fear and Revere and honor and respect and have great alt or we love you Jesus we love you Lord Hallelujah someone say Amen so good to be here among this great group of men on this weekend and give honor of course to this ministry team that God has afforded me the privilege of being able to serve with for the past few years and this is a group of great guys sometimes we we speak by text especially around these conference times and if you could just be a uh someone in the conversation just to look at it it is quite humorous sometimes and I'm glad to be a part of this group of guys thank you to Pastor Carpenter and this host church and the Hammond family and the ericssons and such that opened their doors again to Ministry to be here I I retrieved my wife from the state of Tennessee that's the reason why I have orange on tonight standing up here before you I was telling the guys that came down with me were actually riding in her vehicle and as we ate today and was returning back to the car I said well it's a little peculiar whenever you have three guys walking up to a license plate that says Tennessee girl 77 on it but she she bleeds orange and we're just so glad Amen to be here years ago I learned that Ministry Conference is different than Women's Conference I remember one of the first Ministry conferences I had a young man go to he called me up and his his question was this how many outfits do I have to take I've been around my wife long enough that she'll get on the phone with some ladies talking about Women's Conference coming up she says girl I don't know how many I'm taking I'm going to take two for that night in case my mood is different I don't think we have that problem here tonight I doubt anybody called another man asked him what he was going to wear or tried it on before you came amen because we're men and brother Reinhardt he made up he made up the baskets for the speakers and when I got in my room there wasn't a basket with cellophane or anything like that on it it was a good old brown bag with my name written on it probably by a big pen that's that's manly right there that's manly that's manly if you'll turn to First Samuel chapter number 30 first Samuel chapter number 30. man didn't God just speak to us through president of ministry brother Chester love and respect him amen I appreciate the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ they have been so good to my family years ago years ago we I grew up a part of a fellowship of independent churches brother carpenter knows what I speak of oh Santa Claus Indiana camp meetings and such that's probably where I first ever heard whether Carpenter is a young young man I'm talking about myself he was too he was younger then but I grew up in that environment and and then joined the assemblies and they have been so good to me and my family over the years and I appreciate you and your love and admiration amen first Samuel chapter 30 I have just a little lengthy reading I'm taking a swath here of of Passage I want to read 10 verses just to get a good a good handle on where we are here in scripture the Bible says starting with verse 1 of that chapter and it came to pass when David and his men were come to ziklag on the third day the the amalekites or amalekites whichever you prefer had invaded the South and ziklag and smitten ziklag and burned it with fire and had taken the women captives that were therein they salute not either gray or small but carried them away and went on their way so David and his men came to the city behold it was burned with fire and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taking captives then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep and David's two wives were taken captives a hind no M the jezraelitis and Abigail the wife and the ball the Carmelite and David was greatly distressed for the people's spake of stoning him because the soul of all the people was grieved every man for his sons and for his daughters but David encouraged himself and the Lord his God and David said untobiath are the priests the himelect son I pray thee bring me hither the ephod by far brought hither the ethod to David and David inquired at the Lord saying shall I pursue after this troop shall I overtake them and he answered him pursue for Thou shalt surely overtake them and without fell recover all so David went he and the 600 men that were with him and came to the brook before were those that were left behind stayed but David pursued he and 400 men for 200 men for 200 Abode behind which were so faint that they could not go over the brook the help of the Holy Ghost here tonight I want to speak to you on fighting men but I want to just encapsulate this in a nutshell here this evening that what took place at ziklag captivity of the wives the Captivity of the sons in many regards in essence happened because David and his men was on the verge of entering a battle that they didn't need to be fighting and so with the help of the Holy Ghost tonight I want to minister with the help of the Lord of fighting men amen can we raise our voices one more time all across this place I know we've done a lot of praying father I come to you tonight Lord I am your servant God I submit to you Lord here this evening God speak and Minister Lord to these lips of clay God let your arrow meet its Target tonight help us O Lord to hear what the word of the Lord would say to us collectively individually Lord we're thankful for what we have already heard but I pray oh God that you could just walk us a little further Lord in a journey of challenge Lord and admonition God will not fail to thank you and praise you Lord for what you accomplish in this house God for your great and greatly to be praised Lord here tonight we honor you in the lovely name of Jesus Christ that I pray and the church say Amen can everyone say Amen you may be seated this evening in Jesus name look to your neighbor and say fighting men fighting men there is a primal itch that men feel compelled to scratch men are wired to fight it surfaces when we are even kids and it rears its head in adolescence as we turn into teenagers as young men kind of parade by a full-length mirror in the bathroom with their shirt off and they're admiring their physique and they're flexing a little bit trying to be unnoticed although they're the only one in the room Flex their biceps and their triceps and in this period of time those surging testosterone levels that happen during puberty contribute to their increased size and it increases of boys muscular structure and his capacity for upper body strength what broad shoulders are to males thick antlers are to deer and Elk they just signal the ability to fight and to defend researchers of varied Sciences agree that men are in many ways biologically and psychologically wired to fight in other words men you've got Warrior DNA inside of you 85.5 of active duty military members are men statistically men are more likely to commit and I don't necessarily call this something in our favor but more likely to commit violent crimes than women there's proof of a man's grit in his fighting Power a paper that was entitled the importance of physical strength to human males says that what makes men different than women is a male's need to fight other males therefore men must find ways to scratch this Primal itch they must fight the right battles and they must prioritize their conflicts I believe David in scripture illustrates such a man a man that had the fighter mentality we read in scripture of his exploits and we're like that's my type of guy a man that could manhandle a lion and a bear and a giant all in his teenage years we read the scripture and David is a consistent winner and a consistent Warrior David went out whether so ever the Bible says that Saul would send him and when he returned home he would return home victoriously from the slaughter of the Philistines or any enemy that he went out against so much so that the Bible says that his triumphs would prompt the women to sing and dance about the ten thousands that David had slain scripture records that he most famously killed 200 Philistines and he took the foreskins to acquire Michael's hand in marriage what of Romeo amen the steady statement of David all throughout scripture was on on this wise in first Samuel 19 and 8 and there was war again and David went out and fought with the Philistines and slew them with a great Slaughter and they fled from him David was a fighter the scripture records that David had too much blood even on his hands to build the house of God but in our text he initially lacked the same blood to save his family it appears that David and 600 men had never lost a battle in their escapades scripture records that they raided towns and they raided people all around ziglag but none could be found when fighting men were needed on that fateful day that ziklag was burned by fire the battle for his wives and the battle for those men's children demanded them the most but it was the one that they forfeited because they were not there they were not present and their focus was elsewhere in other words this same man David who had taken 200 lies for the hand in marriage of one of his wives now is non-existent for preserving his wife's safety that he has in this present moment there are admirers in his past of women that are unrelated to him that sang his Praises but all that he has in Samuel here Chapter 30 is the shuffling feet amen of the women of those that are being taken captive of disappointed because their Champion is now absent someone say Amen according to the Old Testament King David fought around eight to nine major battles and did not lose any of them we learned in Scripture that the only War David ever lost was the one that he wasn't at it's been several months ago now I was I was walking to a morning walk and I was listening to the kingdom speak podcast and there was a pastor on there that was referencing a podcast that he had heard and was kind of a podcast inside of a podcast but uh he shared a clip from a podcast he had heard and said this individual was interviewing a child molester that had gotten out of prison and he had served something like 25 years in prison for his misdeed and he was asked that what what did you look for whenever you stopped a victim or what did you look for whenever you cased a house and he said whenever I go into a neighborhood I look for a house that doesn't have a father figure he says I don't look at what is present I don't look at what is available but I look at what is absent can I tell this today men that it doesn't matter if we have DNA to fight it doesn't matter how structured or wired we are to fight it doesn't matter if Nature has prepared us to protect and defend our families are vulnerable when we're pulled into needless battles that Trump the important battles and that's our families nope with the text said that as these men are returning to ziglag that they are grieving there are men that are grieving there are warriors that are crying not because they lost possessions per se not because they lost monetary Goods not necessarily because the city of ziklag was burned with fire but verse 6 says that the soul of all the people were grieved every man for his sons and for his daughters they were overwhelmed with grief because the family was missing and it's in this moment I begin to sense a little bit in David and these men that have lost their families that it goes beyond that their families are not there but I sense something here they are grieving uh unnecessary loss it could have been avoided it did not have to in this way had they been home rather than rallying around a needless battle their wives would have still been there their children would have still been there everything that they had in their possession would have still been in the palm of their head if they weren't fighting needless battles someone say Amen David has been a fugitive at this point in scripture for years and the persecution that David had faced he faced much as a fugitive as he's running here and there trying to escape the hand of Saul and no doubt that wearied him no doubt that taxed David much in his soul He-Man as he's gone from place to place he felt like at times that he might perish though the scripture says over and over again even as brother Chester alluded to that God had been proven faithful in David and his exploits and where he has fought and this constant pursuit of David in his life had driven David away so much so that the scripture says had driven him away from the inheritance of the Lord the very presence of God so that the Bible says David got in a position that he's fearful for his life he's fearful for the life of his men so he takes 600 been their wives and their children including all of his own and they all go to Goliath's hometown someone say Amen when you start doing the math that's very easy that he could have taken two thousand to three thousand people with him but the interesting thing is this this isn't the only time that David had fled to death David had fled to gath on another occasion and when he was there he was fearful for what might happen to his life when he was there the Bible says he let spittle come down on his face and he began to act as a Madman because he was looking for an exit and a way of Escape out of gath you know what he felt like I don't belong here he had already had that encounter but now you're telling me this same man that found a place of Escape before because he thought it harmful he thought that a detriment to his life for him to be there now he's going to take his wife there and now he's going to take his children there and now he's going to take 600 in and their families to the exact same location and the exact same same place can I ask you a question here tonight why would you subject your family to a place or a position that you didn't almost make it out of if David felt like he was getting out of there by the skin of his feet his teeth why would he take his wife there why would he take it someone say Amen I'm telling you tonight peace that if it was questionable for David it's questionable for his wife amen if it's risky for David it's going to be risky for his kids David's family is In Harm's Way the Bible says when David knows men went to zip lag in first Samuel 27 this is what it says David arose and he everybody say passed over passed over with the 600 men that were with him whenever David made this Choice listen to me tonight he crossed a boundary line that day he entered into the land of the Philistines he's now going to be camping out in enemy territory and David's saying I believe this is the safest place for my family until he realized it wasn't someone say Amen at ziklag David lived in the land of the Philistines but he's bordering right against Israel bordering right against the tribe of Simeon he is living on a boundary line uh between what is acceptable and what's not acceptable of what's clean and what's unclean of what's holy and what's profane David in his time in the city of ziklag and with aches the Bible says he attacked people who could be and would be also hostile people to the Philistines what's he doing he's trying to look good in that moment I'm going to fight a common enemy that we have although you and I are supposed to be an enemy as well I'm going to fight a common enemy so I can stay right here to well right here and live right here and the Bible says that David found favor in the eyes of a kiss which was a man who was supposed to be his enemy can I ask you tonight can I ask you is that something that we want to find in our world in our society favor with someone that we should be in opposition with the Bible even says that David in his approach to King Akash he says I'm your servant I took your Champion years ago we should be in Conflict at odds but I'm denoting you're the superior and I'm the servant in this relationship someone say can I tell you we've been our knee when we need to be standing on our feet and so as I as I surveyed the life of David and I look at this as a pastor as a man as a human I just begin to scratch my head and I'm asking myself how in the world can this be how can the why how can the warrior how can the fighter how can this man that had blood on his hands that always came back that seemed victoriously how does this happen how does the fight in this man cause him to scratch so to speak the wrong itch in his life what causes this family Defender and protector to leave them at this moment in time defenseless how does this happen and there's only one way that it happened according to scripture and that is somewhere along the way that David yielded David capitulated he went from trusting God to doubting that God was still there his faith was edged out by fear the constant assault on his family the constant assault upon his men and himself he knew that all times the scripture says and the Lord was with David that gout started to enter his spirit and thinking I wonder if God's going to be with me today I know he was yesterday but I wonder if God is going to be with me today and you know what men do when they feel alone and there's nobody else around if there's something heavy to live they're going to lift it by themselves if there's something to get accomplished they'll do it all by themselves because if there's nobody there in their eyes to depend upon they're going to depend upon them so it's Amen laughs and the Bible says you can read this this is very plainly we need some fighting men that still need God in their lives can I tell you the even strong men Fearless men sometimes grow weak the Bible says in the closing verse of chapter 26 that once again that Saul had tried to get David had tried to get an upper hand on David and the Bible says that David escaped from the hand of Saul but you turn right around from that end of that chapter to the first verse of the next chapter in verse 27 the Bible says that David decides in his heart that one day he will perish at the hand of Saul he's just had Victory he's just escaped the hand like God has always been with him through everything that he's went through and now just one verse later he's thinking you know perhaps one of these days I'm going to perish at the hand of Saul and I step back as I'm reading that and I'm shouting to David from this generation and I'm saying David who told you that who started to make you think like that well what's going through your mind I tell you what's happening it's a man that's in a doubtful that's wondering if God is still going to be there tomorrow or still be there in the midst of my turmoil or still be there in the midst of my physical sickness or still be there when everything comes unglued it was doubt that came and David your action for going to zeklag you're not escaping something you're entering into a place of entrapment fightings in your DNA all his former victories the Lord was with him David will you leave the land that God has ascribed his name to will you leave that and go to the land of your opposition and the Bible says for 16 months David did what we need to realize as men in our victories in our Wars that are victorious and in our successes because men like to count success success employment success success on the golf range success and how much we can bench press we like to count our successes in all of our life our victories our successes they're really not chalked up to our manhood they're not chalked up to our manhood they're chucked up to the god of the man they're chalked up to the god of the man and so David look now David convinced akish akish I'm on your side I'm on your side Acres and whenever it came fighting day this is so much when hurricane fighting day for achish and the Philistines to fight against the Israelites akish was convinced and whenever they're going to depart for battle and please note this is the battle that Saul will lose his life in hey because you're saying David I don't want you over here on this flank over here or that flank over there I want you right around close to me I want you and your 600 men you've all been over here you've been living with us you've been fighting against the same adversaries that we have I want you all right around here I want you protecting me I want you guarding me and look at it David is in a position now that he has to choose to protect the opposition and leave his children and wives unprotected keep them away from his priority and Men you know you've been duped when Defending Your foreign alliances exceeds the obligations to your family someone say Amen the last thing David's in a peculiar position the last thing I believe that David wanted to do was fight against Israel to come against Saul he already vowed not to put his hand on Saul he had showcased that on several occasions but he's attempting to say face right here because I'm in enemy territory and as far as he knows I'm fighting adversaries that we share so I gotta say face right here see David was somewhere in that moment he was somewhere positionally he should not have been and it was about ready to demand of him to engage in something that he did not need to be a part of but I tell us tonight that there are some things in some places you cannot idly be a part of without it demanding your participation there's some places you can't go there's some actions and events you can't be involved in without it saying join US participate your car okay you understand this dilemma if I say hey Kish no hey because not now eight because I'd rather not rakish achish I don't want to be involved in that he'll uncover some of the schemes that he's been playing while he's been living in the city of ziklag with amen if he says no amen he might be even amen In Harm's Way himself but at the same time if he says yes I'll protect you I'll fight for you here's a man that's already anointed to be Israel's King how is that going to look if he's on the opposite side of the battle fighting against the people he's been anointed to be king over someone say Amen so he's in a precarious situation I'm In Harm's Way with Acres but how am I ever going to fulfill my anointing that God's Place upon my life if I go through with where I am and I shouldn't be right now someone say Amen and whenever David and these men show up and the Philistines see them walk in who should be his opposition when they see him walk in they look at achish and they start saying why are these Hebrews here the opposition even put their finger in the air these guys really don't belong here honey let me tell you if you don't realize it yourself your opposition realizes even when you're out of place you don't need 10 chapters in the Bible to tell you you don't need a prophet to put his hand over your head and give you some type of Prophecy the opposition is even screaming you don't belong here they're saying this isn't a battle they need to be fighting send them home these men these men have marched about 60 miles from ziklag to Apec they've got their only be towed by the king and the opposition that they were supposedly joining they don't belong here this isn't their battle this is not something need to be involved in send them home the Bible says the next morning those men that have traveled 60 miles from ziklag he meant to afec guess what they're on their way home 60 miles from Apec Amen to zipline and here they go they arrive the third day the Bible says Amen in the city of ziklag and they no sooner reach their city that they see that their City that's in enemy territory by mind you that their city is burned with fire that their families have been carried away their wives have been carried captive their sons and daughters are being carried captive all of these 60 men in a moment realizing what has happened and what has taken place all of these 600 men are going to depart very soon in another March in a 16 mile Journey to the brook of the sword so much amen 600 men they're going to go now and attempt to pursue the enemy and recover all that they have including their families but the Bible records this note that at the sore 400 men were to faint not a lack of Desire not a lack of love but they're too faint why because they've traveled 60 miles from ziklad to effect only to turn around the next day and travel 60 miles from afac to ziklag only to turn around and go 16 miles to basor you know why some of those men couldn't make the journey they were exhausted with having participated in something they didn't even to begin with they were tired and wore out with other activities and events and battles they never should have been so much hey man we gotta watch ourselves in what we involve ourselves with whether it be Recreation whether it be our buddies whether it be other things if it's going to leave us depleted of any energy that dispense on our children and on our sons and on our daughters and on our wives and have friends have buddies you've probably grown up with something there's some of your best friends but when they get so much of your time that you don't have time and energy for your wife and you get beso at besore and you don't have the strength to take them out on a date when we get ourselves involved in needless battles sometimes it's things like that that's okay we just need to learn moderation but there's other things that we're involved in we never even should be involved in and that's taken us away from Mama and that's taken us away from our sons and daughters folks if anything happens to Mama I want to make sure I have some reserves strength that I can go forward without fear with she's a battle I'm worth fighting for my kids are a battle I'm worth fighting poor is there really fighting men in this house 400 go on 200. are too weak they've used their energies chasing battles that wasn't Theirs to fight and when you fight in Wars you shouldn't be fighting you'll deplete you of the strength you need to fight in the battles you should be fighting again I believe 100 that these men love their wives and children I do I believe that they did grieving was heartstricken with their absence when they returned to ziklag this isn't the story of people that did not love this is the story of men that wasted and squandered at their energies on lesser things to the point they didn't have anything to offer when it needed to be offered the desire was there but the strength wasn't brother McGee there's God doesn't get there's there's 400 men it's going Beyond basor and I say this as Ginger leaders wisely as I can say it when we come to the activities and events of our life your family dynamic might not mirror and get by with what another person's family Dynamic is wife and children there's choices that we make together what I'm saying is 200 got stopped to be soar and yeah there was 400 that went on but the Dynamics are not equal for every family so we can't start to think we can do and make the comparison of what that guy does in his family and extracurricular and not grow weak 16 miles from ziklag that might work for Joe but that might not work for Bill he might not be able to make it 17 miles someone say hallelujah but I do feel confident in this if we expend our energies on those things that are needless every man I don't know the mile marker but every man will have if we do this every man will have a basaur in our future it might not be at the 16 mile marker it may be at the 25. the sore well you know okay the sore is a noun but it kind of its meaning stems from it as a verb which means to bring Glad Tidings in the Hebrew this Glad Tidings that this verb means is associated with childbirth so as a result of that this verb this besore then as a noun it means this the Glad Tidings of that whenever a baby was born there's there's Glad Tidings that are given because a child has been versed something then something has been brought to fruition so much so that the noun of the sword simply means this flesh and more appropriately exposed flesh 200 men got to be soar there's glad Tiding something is birthed there and what it is isn't an exposure of the two hundreds flesh they realize in the moment we're just flesh we're just men and hopefully the light bulb is going off we can't run this thing without God I'm a man but I can't do this thing I've come to the birth and the showing forth of the Flesh in my life that's telling me I don't have the strength I don't have the strength to go on this is the story of a man David again that thought somewhere along the way he had doubts and thought if anything's going to happen if Saul's not going to take me someday I'm going to have to do something myself I'm going to have to do something if you will without God and he realized it though in his moment at ziklag everybody sees the clay cut me off brother Chester if you need to when he gets to ziklag and this is interesting look at your Bible you know that the Bible even here in Samuel is not in chronological order it's not like one chapter falling after another chapter after another chapter you read in chapter 28 they're talking about the Philistine together in the Aflac and then it goes into this little segue that's talking about Saul the night before they meet the Philistines seeking out some guidance from The Witch of Endor follow me here please real closely David and his men leave aphek they're going to travel 60 miles back to their home in zip lag if the army that he was going to be a part of the Philistines left when David left to go to the valley of Jezreel where Mount gulaboa and all of this was going to take place interestingly enough from afact to that location is about 60 miles if this is the case David's going to be arriving at ziklag about the same time that the Philistines are going to be arriving at the battle site it says in first Samuel 28 that Israel was there at the battle site too because Saul Saul the philistine over the valley and Fear Rose in his heart the Bible says he trembled it's almost the exact same word of David being greatly distressed so they're both reaching localities different localities at the same time and they're both distressed this is a contrast between Saul and David they are both distressed they are both trembling bizarre seeks out a witch with what he's facing and now for the first time in a long time David says about bring the heat on I want to talk to God about what I'm here's a man that had been a little doubtful here's a man that had been a little fearful here's a man that thought he had to do it on his own his predecessor Saul says you know what oh she got a witch but David went back to his roots he says I'm going to seek out I'm a man but I'm going to seek out God someone say Amen he's asking for the ephod not since first Samuel 26 as he asked for the Esau he fought amen not since the end we don't see much conversation that he's having with God can I tell you please listen Amen to the spirit of the lord well here that the turning point in David's life for reclaiming his family the turning point in David's life for gaining his children back is whenever David first was a man that turned back toward God and made in a mission I can't do this on my own I can't do this by myself this is a fight that I the turning point is when he first turned back to God and what is the written record then the scripture David in that 400 group of men recovered all the recover their wives they recovered their sons they recovered their daughters if you watch the verbs of scripture after this moment of David turning to God the warrior brilliantly appears again inside of David the verbs are that David smote he recovered he rescued he brought back he captured but before he did any of that he sought God can I tell you tonight isn't it amazing isn't it impressive what fighting men can achieve when they seek God and fight the battles that God has endured stand with me yo I tell the church back home I said stand with me it'll make you feel better and he'll make you think that I'm closing so David returns with all this spoil and even then some wives of these men wives and daughters and sons even these men that were too faint and could not make it on from the sore and the Bible says that David gives spoil to every man both the strong men and the weak men and we must we must admire David because David is that man that scripture says is a man that after God's Own Heart that he's gracious enough to return what is ours and bless us with the things that are even beyond our deserving and the cry of some of the soldiers who the Bible says were the sons of Belial said hey David those guys those guys that stopped at basor he shouldn't be getting any of this stuff those guys over there that couldn't make it past mile marker 16 from zik lag going after the amlic heights they shouldn't be getting to this stuff you know what David did David made it very plain if I can say it like this David's basically telling these men you say they don't deserve it none of us including me none of us deserve it because if I remember right we all had a hand of being in a battle that we didn't belong in none of us deserve this and I'm getting there folks and the story then Bears repeating and it's true this is a battle against the amalekites right we've looked at this so many times in the scripture but in this particular instance this is a battle against the amalekites right David's predecessor Saul was to utterly destroy them didn't and so then what you failed to fight will become a battle for another day and that was even true in David's life because he wasn't home when his family needed him to fight and it became a battle for another day and you know what the mo is of the amalekites we see this with our introduction to them when Israel came out of Egypt when the first foe that they met was the amalekites the Bible says the malachites didn't fight that first line of fighting men of Israel you know what it said it went to the hinder part where the weak and the weary and the sick was you know what their MO was we want to fight where there isn't any fighting men I declare on this night not on my watch when my wife needs me I want to just be in arm's distance from my children need me how do I be out on some escapade where I've crossed the boundary where I've compromised principles I've preached too long I'm so sorry the Bible says there at ziklag that David was greatly distressed it is a verb that means he was pressed into a tight corner the relationship the analogy is drawn from the way that a Potter would press the clay into a mode in those recessed areas if you've ever poured any concrete or forms or stuff like that that vibration and that shaking of trying to get that concrete and all of those recessed areas and stuff and so over that winter the forms come off there's no void areas in the concrete David says I'm going to bring you God says I'm going to bring you David right here at sick leg and you're going to be greatly distressed so what I'm doing David is I'm trying to push you into some areas I'm trying to push you into some areas like a Potter's pushing clay into a mode so that whenever all this dust settles and this thing is all over you're going to be a man of God without any void areas in your life David their old songs about I'm going to dance like David dance and I'm going to be like David but this is one instance tonight that I implore you don't be like David don't pass over any boundaries don't carry your family into any compromised foreign territory and just step aside and don't try to carry it on your own but let the god that has been faithful continue to be faithful impress you and cast you into a mode and then stop and ask him God is this a battle I need to be involved in is this a fight that I need to take up my weapon and go you can already start coming to the alternate some have already started to come someone say hallelujah in our attempt to be Fearless Men Let us also remain faithful what would the inverse of the story be men what would the unverse of the story be if David just took up ranks with a Kish and the Philistines he would have been in a battle on the opposite side of where he should have been the day that King Saul died on Mount gilboa maybe he would have had ID it would have been without his wife's and it would have been without his children fighting men it's in our DNA it's part of our makeup but we got to be careful what battles were involving ourselves in we need to be involved in the battles that the Lord has sanctioned can we raise our hands all across this place can eyes be closed there may be a man here today there may be a man here today that just through the course of this first service they're already realizing that they've been participating at a distance far away from their home far away from where their kids are and things that have pulled them away and have depleted their energies so that they don't have anything to give they're their wife nothing to give their family man it's time to acknowledge that today and take our 60 mile Trek back to ziklag and go a further distance and get God back inside of the equation and we can recover all and we can come forth fruitful and with dominion and be Fearless men in the sight of God you're a fighting man tonight you're a fighting man tonight you're fighting in tonight God what battle do you want me in what battle is worth fighting what battle are you endorsing let's raise our voice all across this place