November 14, 2021

Warrior #1 King David

He was a King, prophet, poet, worshipper, and a military genius and leader.

2 Samuel 8:1-14 

• 2 Samuel 5:4 NIV David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.

David did have his faults.

Yet in all of this, David was known for having a heart after God.

• 1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22 NIV 

Unfortunately, David is not allowed to build the Temple of God.

• 1 Chron. 22:8 NIV 
• He is the designer of it (1 Chron. 28:11-19)
• His son Solomon is the one to build it
  • 1 Chron. 22:11-19

2 Samuel 8:15 NIV 

David died of natural causes in 970 BC

• 1 Kings 2:10 NIV 

David’s last words are recorded in 2 Samuel 23:1-7

He is listed in the great Hall of Fame.

• Hebrews 11:32 NIV

Warrior #2 Gideon

He was a military leader, judge, and prophet

Judges 6:12 NIV 

Thoughts:

Gideon was reluctant at first to be a warrior.

• Though the Spirit of God came on him, he still doubted

Sometimes the greatest warriors are those who at times do not believe in themselves.

Notice what happened to his army.

• Judges 7:2-8

Strength is not always found in numbers.

Often strength takes heart.

• Commitment
• Calling
• Purpose
• Fortitude

God did a work in his heart that changed him from a fear-filled man into one of the greatest warriors ever recorded in Scripture.

Even though Gideon committed a huge sin against the LORD…

• Judges 8:22-27

the LORD had used him to help guide and lead Israel.

Even the great ones can fall quickly.

A person, empowered by their faith in God, can become a powerful force for His kingdom.

Warrior #3 Moses

He was a leader (over 2 million for 40 years), a warrior who was trained by Pharoah himself, a prophet, teacher, law-giver, he walked in power through his relationship with the God of Israel, he saw God face to face.

And yet he was timid.

• Exodus 4:13 “Please send someone else…”

40 years of wandering in the desert.

• It did not look like he was a great leader
• Even his temper cost him the promise land (Deut. 32:48-52)
• Yet throughout his time with Israel, he led them into battles
• Into an intimate relationship with the Creator God.
• He designed and built the Tabernacle
• He gave them the Levitical Laws
• Taught them how to self-govern
• He pleaded their cases before the LORD 
  • Having meeting with the Shekinah glory in the tent of meetings

And at the end of his life,  Moses did all he could to prepare the people to enter into the promise land.

• Even though he knew they would forsake the LORD
• Deut. 31:29 NIV

His work was turned over to Joshua whom he had groomed for the leadership position of guiding the Israelites into the promise land.

They were driven by a passion, by a desire to do what they knew was a call of God on their lives.

Yes, they were scared, timid, and unsure of their abilities.

But they all had something in common…purpose of heart.

They heard the cry of their heart to go and lead as God directed them.

To our Veterans today I want to say, Thank you.

Thank you for your purpose of heart.

Thank you for:

• For my freedoms
• For the privilege of living in America
• For the ability to raise my family as I wish
• To go to church
• To be what God has called me to be
• For being able to teach the things of God to my grandkids
• The freedom to travel to other parts of this country
• For giving us hope

I, for one, am very proud of you.

May the LORD continue to bless this nation and continue to bless you for all you did for us.