Mighty men

2 Samuel, chapter 23, please. 2 Samuel, chapter 23, and verse number 8. 2 Samuel 23, and verse number 8. These be the names of the mighty men which whom David, that the Tachamite, who David had, the Tachamonite, that sat in the seat chief among the captains. The same was Adino the Esenite, he lift up his spear against 800, whom he slew at one time.

Now over please to verse number 14. And David was then in a hold in the garrison of the Philistines, and was then in Bethlehem. David longed and said, O that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate.

And the three mighty men break through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, brought it to David. Nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord. And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this.

For is not this the blood of men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men. And then we come down to the end of the chapter, and as mentioned, verse 39, Uriah the Hittite, 30 and 7 in all.

Now over for a second reading to Daniel chapter 2. Daniel in chapter 2. Daniel chapter 2 and verse number 49. Daniel 2 and verse number 49. Then Daniel requested the king, and he sent Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon.

But Daniel sat in the gate of the king, Matthew's Gospel chapter 17. Verse 1, After six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as light. 1st Corinthians please chapter 16.

1st Corinthians in chapter 16. And verse number 17. 1st Corinthians 16 verse 17.

Paul uses this expression, I am glad. Maybe I should go back to verse 15 and give you the connection here. I beseech you brethren, you know the house is Stephanus, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the Saints, that they that ye submit yourselves unto such to every one that helpeth with us and laboreth.

Now verse 17. I am glad of the coming of Stephanus, and Fortunatus, and Achaus, for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied, for they have refreshed my spirit in yours. Therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.

Finally in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 20 to a very familiar passage. Matthew 18 and verse number 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

I want to make reference to speak just now this part of the meeting relative to mighty men that God used. Mighty men. I would call them the some of the threes and there's others that you could go to in your Bible.

Some of the threes of the mighty men that were found to us in Scripture. Interesting 2nd Samuel chapter 23 never ceases to amaze me. Very very interesting chapter in our Bible.

These men that associated themselves with David. Mighty man. It is very interesting to notice who who heads the list.

Who actually has the list. It's a man with a the name of Idino or Idino, whatever you want to pronounce it. There's a knight, a Tacmanite.

And before it tells you what he did, it is telling you what he is doing. You know what he's doing? Keeping his seat. That's what you see.

That's what we read there. That he was chief among them. And it says that he sat in the seat.

That tells me something. That here is a man. It's interesting that he is mentioned first.

Why would not the Spirit of God leave a man like this to the end of the list? So to speak. I show you now here's a victorious man. Here's a man that's a veteran in these things and his service is over.

He is slaying these men and now he's gonna sit down. Could I suggest to you something I think is very practical yet very important. He is setting up a precedence for those to follow.

And it is this. That you will not always be able to defend that field of lentils. You will not always be able to wield that sword.

That there is a time too when you are going to have to take your seat. Brethren, it takes a good man to know when to take his seat. It takes a better man to keep it.

Sometimes you know we get into our minds and this can creep into preachers anybody that we are indispensable. This thing can't go on without me. If I'm not there at the door in my cane and sitting on my stool on Sunday morning and welcoming the station nobody else could do it.

What kind of a message does that send to others that are following? You know the message it actually sends? I'll never be needed here. Not as long as he's there. That's a wrong message.

This man sent a good message. Now our meeting commenced this afternoon. I've appreciated the ministry of all of our brethren even all the whole conference.

We read we were hearing about the necessity of clean feet. The necessity of clean feet. There was one necessity, one requirement for the men that were going to be part of David's mighty men it was this that they had to have controlled feet.

More than that they had to have conditioned feet. I mean you couldn't wield a sword and and defend a field if you're lame on your feet. You couldn't do that if you're a man like Asa that was diseased in his feet.

You had to have conditioned feet. But the first man that we read about was a man like old Jacob. I love that passage there in Genesis chapter 49.

Yes the latter part of 49 where it says when he finished commanding his sons he gathered his feet up into his bed. What it tells me that he had control over his feet until the end of life itself. I don't know a doctor not by the any stretch of the imagination but you know I only know what I've read and it is this that a quarter of the bones of my body are actually my feet okay and that those feet are actually controlled by muscles and ligaments that are actually going down to the control of those feet.

I'm reminded of that when I was at the Clemensville conference two weeks ago. I was trying to hide the best I could a slight limp but we have several doctors in the Maritime provinces so one of them was in the audience and he got a hold of me after meeting he said I think we should have a talk. I said I'll listen Dr. Kinney I said no he says hey what's what's on here.

I had to confess to him. I said confess to him. I said had a bit of a skiing accident.

He said what? I said a skiing accident. I says the first round went good and the next one went bad. So he went over to our travel trailer and had a little look as a doctor does and he says to me my man he says you are going to have a sore leg for a while.

I speak to someone here today and you really are want to be one of David's mighty men. One of David's mighty men. You see that's why I've often I think others have pointed it out because I'm sure I got it from others that have ministered to us that the list is 30 says 37 but you count them up there's only 36.

Who's the 37th? It's open for you brother. Open for you. Sister.

You can be that 37th person. Be one of David's mighty men. Now there's different things of course as you and I know that they were able to do for David but I just want to come to these that you would think something that was kind of insignificant.

I want to think of three men and and I read not they're carrying no no weapons. There's no gold in their hands. There's no sword in their hand but here are three men very close to David and you know what they wanted to do? They wanted to refresh David.

They wanted to refresh the heart of their great King. Now they could have easily said listen our King right now is in rejection and our King is things are against him. Things are going well in the kingdom and this maybe isn't what he needs.

That's exactly what David needed. Exactly what David needed. There's never a time dear child of God when the heart of your God doesn't need to be refreshed.

Can you do that? Must have refreshed his heart as we've been reminded by our brother Marvin our younger brethren rising on their feet and older ones as well as long as it's not too long. On Lord's Day morning and worshiping God praising him refreshes his heart. He wasted the whole of a week to hear you come together corporately with that local testimony to worship him and I'm sure that in our gathering this morning that's exactly what happened.

Now when I think of the threes I want you to notice that with David here's three mighty men. We read secondly about Daniel. Daniel had his three men.

The Lord Jesus we read Matthew chapter 17 Peter James and John. He had his three men. We read in 1st Corinthians in chapter 16 of the Apostle Paul and he had his three men.

And then we read in Matthew chapter 18 and verse number 20 you have your three. Oh you say wait a minute now. That's not right.

Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them. You say that it's his assembly. It's the Lord's assembly.

Well it is. Don't you go and come too hard and come down on somebody that speaks and says that it's our assembly. And they'll rise up and say it's not our assembly.

Oh isn't it? You sure about that? Are you telling me it's wrong to call it your assembly? Well I'll tell you what you can do. When you get to heaven you can go to the half brother of the Lord Jesus James and you can say to James, James, when you referred to it as your assembly and your epistle you were so wrong because it's not. Then you can find me and come and say what he, tell me what he said.

You know what I wished? You know what my heart's desire would be? That somehow someway we were just a little more possessive of the very testimony of which I am a part of. That functions in body like character. And I find it interesting in view of what we've read.

Not that I'm jumping ahead of myself but coming to Matthew 18 and 20 says where two or three are in heaven being gathered together. In my name there am I in the midst of them. Brethren I know that our King so to speak is in rejection.

I know that we sing about a Lord that is in rejection and he is in rejection and we'll be in a world that has rejected him and has cast him out. But my friend we do, dear believer, we do not have to kind of crawl through life kind of half embarrassed by the fact that we go to a gospel hall. Or that we, you know how it is, we have to make this up.

You're at the hospital and they say and your church. Tell them what it is. Tell them that you gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Raise the banner high. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Nothing to be ashamed about.

I hold it high today. I salute the name above every name. I count it the highest honor conferred upon a human being knowing of God's grace and salvation to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus.

Christ. Be it two or three. Go to these men that were able to refresh the heart of David and say so you ain't got him some water.

Yeah? What else did you do? That's all he needed to do. No one else did you refresh the heart of God. Because you know something brother goes further than that.

When you refresh the heart of your God you know what you do? You refresh his people. Where do you get that? 1st Corinthians chapter 16 what does Paul say? That which is like lacking on your part. That which is lacking on your part they have supplied.

So you sometimes think that these preachers are kind of self-contained individuals and if you give them any kind of a word of encouragement it will go to their head so therefore you don't say nothing. Well maybe it would go to our head. Who knows eh? But really I want to tell you I don't know a preacher yet that died of too much encouragement.

I don't know of any Christian yet we had to bury because you know the saints were just encouraging him too much. Ever hear of that? Don't think so. Mighty men.

Let's just look at these men for a minute. Not only were they willing to identify themselves a rejected king which was not easy but they were men that remembered how much they owed him. And they were men that were close to him.

And they were men that knew the sighs and breathings of his heart. And they knew exactly what he wanted. You know be like the disciples.

Do you ever think about the disciples when the Lord sent them to get a colt they say wait a minute now. Three years of very intense training and we're going to get an unclean animal. Anybody can do that.

Get that kid with his lunch. Send him to get it. We're in for the big stuff.

We want to cast out some demons. Oh he's a great man a colt. I want to say this I'm not saying it because he's in the audience but I guess I got a ways to go.

People said to me well be honest with the brethren here from Manchester are very kind. They contacted me earlier. They've been inviting me to their conference.

But it is our conference in Sussex. So one of the brethren came to me and said if I know you I don't think you'd be preaching there. I said no I'm not.

I'm working in the kitchen. And that was very encouraging to see brother Orr down there who is a few years my senior down there with his apron that I have on. And now he is at the rougher end and I think you were cleaning up.

I'm in the pie making business with my wife. And then a preacher gets up on the platform at the conference last year and has asked us where we read that morning. And I had a little chat.

See come here a minute boy. I say anybody get out of bed, wash their face, comb their hair, carry their Bible platform and preach to God's people. But were you making pies this morning at six o'clock? No I said I wasn't doing that.

Well I said don't you be so hard on us even a preacher if he missed his reading. So I have to confess to you I don't think I read that morning. I prayed.

I believe I prayed. You imagine me making pies. I didn't pray nobody to eat those pies.

Banana cream pies 52 of them. Yes sir. Got to keep contact of of what goes in and everything else because I can tell you a lot of story about those pies but we just won't go there.

But there was no task for which a man is too old or a man is too big. Well the first and there are people here that have Cleveland roots. I learned a lesson from Mr. Albert Ramsey.

He pointed it out to me as a young man myself and Paul Kemper sitting with him. I learned two lessons at that conference in Cleveland Ohio. Don't want to tell you how many years ago it was.

You might think I'm old. We're downstairs and Mr. Ramsey says see that man over there in the corner in the basement? He says his sleeves rolled up and his arms into that dishwasher scrubbing pans. Dishwater scrubbing pans.

I said yeah. He said that's Mr. Art Pyle. He said he doesn't do that for a living.

He says he sits in an office here in Huff Bakery and runs one of the biggest bakeries in the city. That takes a lot of grace. The other lesson I learned at that conference might as well tell you.

Maybe it'll help you. Mr. William Williams was there. Fearless man the way he was and Paul Kemper and I were there.

I think I might have been 21. I heard and it wasn't just a tap of my shoulder. He said excuse me.

Reach ahead and tap that boy in the shoulder. Tell him quit chewing gum in here. Oh I reached ahead and I excuse me.

I said Mr. Williams why don't you quit chewing your gum. Well I tell you when Mr. Williams around today we'd need a pail to go around pick up the gum nearly. That's the thing you learn.

You see these are very small things and come on these are very these are technicalities. David didn't think so. These men knew what David did.

He didn't need a fresh pack of gum. You know what he needed? A drink of water. Drink of water.

What did the Lord Jesus teach? A cup of cold water he said that was given to my name shall not lose its reward. Can I encourage every heart here today for maybe a busy busy day you have taken out time just to go and maybe visit somebody or show them some kind of kindness or do something for them and you know why I mentioned that? It's interesting that when you're trying to do that sometimes most the most adverse things happen. You think well I'm just trying to do something Lord.

You know it's a little like the apostle in Acts is that chapter 28. He gets off that shipwreck and here's all these prisoners and all these men on this island and really these barbarians and everything else and he and he realizes these people got to be kept warm. So he does not delegate and say hey go get a few sticks.

He's out gathering sticks himself and in the process a viper comes out and bites him. Now just capture that scene for a minute. Would there not be something ah-ha ah-ha truth coming out this is no big preacher.

These people at that time in their mentality in their culture you know what they would say? They would jump right away to a conclusion. This man's like he's got an evil spirit. I mentioned that for this reason.

Dear child of God sometimes when you're trying to do the simplest little task in the name of the Lord and you come back and that's when you discover for farmers something happened in the field. Something happened in the barn. Mother goes into the house and she forgets that she had left something or whatever went right.

Just seems to go isn't it amazing just when you're trying to do that. Now I can see though I'm speaking just like that there are people who know exactly what I'm talking about. I want to speak kindly.

There's others that don't understand that. Do you know why? You've never tried to do it. You've never tried to do it.

As you sit here in the Heightsville Conference afternoon minister meeting let me ask you this. Do you know anybody in that company of yours that could do with a little refreshment from you? How long would you have to sit and think? I just say there's other believers that they hear I went to visit dear old Mrs. so and so and so they say what's he trying to do? Forget it. The only way I know to be not criticized for anything is to do nothing.

You do it. These men got by it. I mean there were there were all kinds of men there how come there's just three and they would break through the ranks of that enemy in jeopardy of their own lives.

I mean we sometimes get a picture of okay there's Bethlehem there's the wells around Bethlehem and you know it's just a straight shot through we just got to run to get it run back kind of a relay sort of thing. I want to tell you it took ability it took what I've already pointed out to you it took conditioned feet to do it. This was something that required skill and something that required haste and something can do very quickly for one reason because they loved David.

If they didn't love David if there wasn't a supreme attachment and attraction and an admiration of David they wouldn't have bothered. Who did it for Saul? Nobody. Who really had attachment to Saul? Who did it for Absalom? Really who did it for Solomon? But here's a king David.

Beautiful picture in the bible and that's exactly what he needed then because it works both ways. When God is being refreshed his people are being refreshed and when his people are being refreshed you are doing it unto him he is being refreshed. I speak not because I'm on their platform but this conference has refreshed me.

It has refreshed my soul. I say that honestly before God. There are other believers here today and they concur with that.

You know it's interesting you get a man like Shammah here you know he's concerned about the property well that's fine that's good good to have a man that are concerned about the properties the business side of it. Nobody's going to take it. It belongs to David and there are other men that were concerned about the protection of David.

I mean just go down the chapter and here's men Bishai and men like that Joab's brothers that made the list and he didn't make this but here's a here are men that were intimately intimately associated with David that were concerned about the person of David. That's what we need to be concerned about. You know the things of Jesus Christ are wonderful but there's nothing like Christ himself nothing like being able to refresh him.

We just said my wife and I might just say that because I'm on this line now just coming on my mind here but it's delightful when you go to visit an older sister's we try to do this when I'm home and visit one and there she is you walk in the room and she doesn't know you're coming doesn't know what day you're coming there she is and she's reading the word of God. Still able to read it still able to take it in that dear soul has been through everything everything as an old lady she has fought cancer she has fought different ailments that I would know nothing about their genius reading the scriptures and enjoying them you walk in that home and past others and my life has left them now I know that believers can end up like that too brethren I understand that but what a mercy that God has left to that woman something that gives her the ability to be able to do that and have her soul refreshed but more than that tell me God looking down from heaven God looking down from heaven in that home for the age people that have lived their life without Christ without God all they can do is take his name in vain even at 80 and 90 don't even know who the children are but they know how to curse that tragic and you go to room number three there's a sister that loves the Lord she doesn't complain if the meal isn't right ready no old people get cranky you know that you cranky you get a little you get old cranky you know no no no no I get sort of remind me this is my dad now gene that's something about the spirit and that lady just something makes you admire brethren to brethren to I am today the product of men older men that I esteem highly who have gone to the reward men like LK McElwain that when I was in my 30s hardly unpacked moving to the east coast 34 years ago um would come to be the conference and say listen I'm not getting up you just go ahead and but they're his converts they were his work and he would sit up there he would he would pray he would give out a hymn and you would encourage him no no no no no he says you know that man went down with such esteem and admiration from the people of God of course my family have advised me well ahead of time that if I get beyond what they consider my ability how many will tell you they say that they're going to staple the back of my jacket to the seat and I am going nowhere and all our kindness and that kind of cute oh David's three mighties Daniel's three mighties you know we look at the Babylon the scene in Babylon and we think uh yeah okay here's Daniel he's quick he's sharp and here's these three friends of his but you know there's going to come a time when those three men we're not going to have Daniel okay Daniel is not going to be their spokesman Daniel isn't he could still pray for them but Daniel isn't going to rise to the moment and start to defend these men they are going to find themselves without Daniel and when they found themselves without Daniel and who they found themselves with Daniel's God Daniel's God there's times brethren when we find ourselves without men that we're greatly indebted to but we're not without their God and these were mighty men Babylon could change what they want change their name they could not there's a lot that they you know what they couldn't change their love for their God three mighties you know when we come to the Matthew chapter 17 the Lord had three to Peter that we've been hearing about this this afternoon lovely to think of a man like that a man that we'd say you know you would stand in that crowd and when Peter started up you know it was almost close your eyes what's coming next never mind Peter loved the Lord Peter loved his Lord I know there are things that we can point the finger at and Peter but he loved his Lord James and John these are the three that he takes up into the three that were close to him up into that Mount of Transfiguration the glory that was associated with this person what those men were able to view that day men that were so close to him you know really if you went to the Apostle Paul you would think of Timothy and John and Mark as likely three of his but I like to pick these three that we have read together about here in first Corinthians chapter 3 men like Stephanus and Fortunatus and Achaus and he says this here are these men coming to me firstfruits of the work in Achaia they never forgot it in fact if you go back to chapter 1 he'll tell you about when some of them were baptized and he says you know what they did well they started to preach to him now they just refreshed them there's just something about those men that refreshed them now I just want to stop at this juncture I want to speak to every believer here today when you arrive at any meeting in your local assembly to your sister to your brother do you bring some kind of a refreshment to them or are you bringing some kind of a drab sour attitude of a woe is me nobody's had it as tough as I've had it and it's all about me or are you someone that can come the saints and the brethren you know as they stand there on Lord's Day morning or whenever it is at the back welcoming those that are coming to the assembly and you come in through those doors they say thank God first thing is they're expecting you I expect you to miss listen you can't refresh God's people if you're not their brother okay you can't do it these men came to Paul and they refreshed them and you and I can do that today it's lovely to be able to come amongst these people and to be able to refresh them I dread the day I would dread if the day ever came that when I go home to what I would call my home assembly they go oh no here he is he wants a ministry meeting you know something might shock you I don't do ministry meetings in Sussex oh you see the brethren don't ask you they asked me because there's brethren there they have a ministry meeting once a month if I'm home with that I sit and I listen to those brethren something wrong with that you know what they've done refreshes my heart you don't think a man's heart is refreshed when someone gets up that's a son in the faith and he's encouraging God's people he's ministering to them you don't think that is encouraging you don't think that it is encouraging when God calls to the work a man for full-time service as of last week that was saved in gospel meetings we had now he and his wife are going forth to serve the Lord if you won't sit and listen to them but it's so different when you go home say hey good good to see you remember going to assembly one time and there was a full-time man that labored there and I just said the brethren I said where's brother so-and-so I said we don't know oh my oh my no I don't write home tell brethren I'm they know where I'm going I don't mind telling them one brother told me said when our local man leaves it's a big secret you don't tell nobody how can you pray for him he said that's it he just pray wherever he is Matthew 18 and 20 you're three we're two or three your work let me ask you today just as I close we're two or three where are your closest people found you heard that where are your closest people found out there in the world people that you will go places with it would never come to hear a gospel preach to hear the gospel preached those are your closest three I have to tell you something today you'll be long for the assembly people today that will be in the assembly tomorrow are people that have come into assembly testimony as lifers they're there for life they don't want to be anywhere else so it's interesting he says two or three who's he leave that to to you or me or the other person remember brethren sisters it was never big numbers whether it was David in rejection it's never a time of big numbers it isn't today okay so I'm not excusing the fact that sometimes we are smaller to me there's a reason why we're small as we are but yet God is so gracious may encourage every heart every testimony I'm looking at brethren and sisters representing various assemblies and I know it breaks your hearts when there are those that leave and you used to be 25 and now you're down to 23 you're 22 or you're 11 and you're down to 9 whatever it might be even less than that God encourage us that those three could still refresh the heart of our Heavenly Father