2 Sam 23:11-12 (GW)Next in rank to him was Shammah, the son of Agee from Harar. The Philistines had gathered at Lehi, where there was a field of ripe lentils. When the troops fled from the Philistines, 12 he stood in the middle of the field and defended it by killing Philistines. So the LORD won an impressive victory.
At times in our lives we experience fierce onslaughts and at times it feels as if life itself, just becomes too hard and certainly too much to handle. In South Africa the last few months, we have been experiencing challenging times; from street riots to unrest at universities, from racial attacks to irresponsible media reports, from crucial blunders in the government to crucial blunders on social media……and the list goes on.
These actions have caused an atmosphere of negativity to rule in our country and I tell you it can be tough to deal with. More and more white people are looking for opportunities abroad as they feel there is no future for them in South Africa and more black people feel frustrated because they feel that there has never been an opportunity for them in South Africa. Now both opinions have clear merit and if you listen to one’s story long enough, you will be convinced that their story is a true reflection of their reality.
My question to you today is this: What reality are you living in?
I am sure there are issues in your life that are consistently dragging you down, it might not be riots or race related issues, but we all face obstacles in our lives that are too much to bare at times.
When I look at the story of Shammah, one of King David’s mighty men of valor, I come to the conclusion that God has placed courage inside of us to stand firm in the face of any onslaught. The reality Shammah lived in, caused him to act differently than the rest of the army of David when the Philistines attacked. The reality Shammah lived in, caused him to stand up when nobody else wanted to stand up. The reality you are living in will cause you either to shrink away into a heap of indecision or it will cause you to stand up and face it with faith and confidence. The reality you are living in will either cause you to compromise on the spiritual principles you have been taught or cause you to stand firm on those exact same principles. This is the reason why you find that one professing child of God will act contrary to the word of God while another professing child of God, will act according to the word of God. In such a scenario you will find that their reality or their belief systems, are totally different from the other.
Does this mean that there are children of God today, that are living from a worldly perspective instead of a Godly revelation? Oh YES, and I am sometimes one of them and so are you.
I mean it is so easy to be drawn into the emotional irrational thinking of this world that we are living in. We all have experienced this in our lives before; that moment you walk away from a conversation where the dry summer weather was discussed and you realize you have just been as negative about the weather as the next guy. You didn’t display any faith nor did you acknowledge that God is control of the weather. Man, I have been that guy a thousand times.
Shammah acted differently than the Status Quo. He stood up when everybody else gave up. This made me think; Why did Shammah act differently than the rest? What made him stand out in such a manner, that David pulled him into his inner circle? What can I learn from this short story penned down in two verses? How can I change my current reality? Let me share with you what God has shown me:
1. Shammah knew who he was.
2 Sam 23:11 Next in rank to him was Shammah, the son of Agee from Harar.
It is very interesting to note that all throughout the Bible when someone is announced, there will be reference made to the generation before. This is the same for Shammah; he was the son of Agee from Harar. I believe that Shammah had no doubt of who he was. He knew he was the son of Agee, one of David’s war heroes. He knew what his dad had sacrificed on the battlefield. He also had absolutely no illusion of his calling. Shammah knew where he came from, he knew from whom he came forth and he knew what he was called for. David brought Shammah into his inner circle, not just because of his ability with the sword, but also because of who his father was. This greatly affected the reality Shammah operated from.
Let us think royalty for a moment. How many times have you read a story of the Royal Prince Harry and the mistakes he has made in his social life? I suspect a few times. Now have you ever seen Prince Harry act without confidence and faith in his position as a royal prince? I suspect not. Why is this? His confidence does not lie in his own ability, his successes or failures, but his confidence lies in who he is, the name he carries and who he represents.
a Few years back our congregation received a prophetic word from God: He is ready to build His church pillar upon a pillar. I believe this word is true for the whole church and I also believe that God has been building pillar upon pillar all throughout history. Our congregation had to receive this word for a time as this and more specifically I needed to receive this word. This word was a clear indication to me, that we have lost our identity. We have conformed to the world and we have allowed the great foundational work that has been done in previous generations, to evaporate, all for the sake of doing something new, modern and with the times. This same pattern we see in families, business, and politics today.
Have we conformed to the world? The way we raise our children, how we express our love towards our loved ones? How we go about our business? Did we compromise and in the process lost our Godly identity? Children take offense because of discipline, fathers discipline without love, wives struggle to submit to their husbands and husbands forgot how to love their wives all because we do not know who we are anymore. If you should ask a teenage boy today, if he would want to be like his father, I bet more than 90% would probably say NO! Today in Jewish culture they do not have this problem and neither did Shammah when he grew up. He knew his heritage and he was proud to be who he was and that became the foundation of the reality he operated from.
If you do not know who you are; if you are struggling with your identity; if you have issues with your earthly father and you cannot see how those issues can ever be resolved. I want to urge you to find out what God is saying about you. Find your identity in Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate example of what a son should be to his father. When we understand who we are in Christ it will definitely change the reality we are operating from. He calls you beloved, He calls you chosen, and He calls you royal. When you are born again there should be no doubt of who you are in Christ. You are a son of God.
2. Shammah did not have a Me-Mentality
When the troops fled from the Philistines, 12 he stood in the middle of the field and defended it by killing Philistines.
If we look at society today, the Me-Mentality is rampant. You don’t have to drive very far to see the Me-Mentality in operation. This mentality is probably evident in your own house at this moment. Don’t be alarmed, we all struggle with this. None the less, we have to stand up against this mentality in our own personal lives. Jesus Christ was adamant about the fact we have to die to self (John 12:25). We don’t realize that we sometimes operate within the premises of our own selfish desires. Our selfish desires are keeping us from the promises that God has in store for us. The selfish desires of our hearts are the bate satan use to distort the clear voice and truth of God.
Just think about Shammah’s story for a minute: This field Shammah was defending was probably acquired by previous generations of Jews (Pillar upon Pillar). Many Jews had worked and lived off this field for generations (History). In that present moment of battle, the field of lentils was ripe for the picking (Promise/Harvest). If Shammah had a Me-Mentality, he would’ve acted similar to the rest of the army by running away.
There is a big difference between a person with a Me-Mentality and a person with a God-Mentality:
A person with a Me-Mentality
Forgets the sacrifices of previous generations
Are so blinded by the Me that they can’t see the promise
Are not willing to defend it (promise/cause) if it means losing his/her own life
Runs away from battle in order to save his/her own life
A person with a God-Mentality
Understands the sacrifices of those who went before him/her
Sees the promise clearly and understands his/her role.
Is willing to defend it (promise/cause), even if it means losing his/her life
Stands up in the middle of battle with faith and confidence
I would urge you to examine yourself. Are you operating out of a Me-Mentality? The sad thing about this is that if you don’t check yourself constantly, you stand a great chance of falling into this trap. There are certain things that I think are my God given right, but if I truly shine the light on these issues, I realise that I am only using God’s goodness, His grace and even sometimes His Word to defend my own selfish needs.
It is a clear indication that you have left the battlefield and handed over your Godly inheritance to the Philistines (meaning: immigrants), when you are having words at work, in your family, at your church, in the street etc., and you find you are defending yourself instead of the cause. When this happens, you have to know you have left the battlefield and vacated the land. You have fallen into the trap of the Me-Mentality.
Instead of saving yourself, fall on your knees and start praying for your situation. Ask God to remove the Me from the picture and ask Him to show you what the cause/promise/harvest is. Our battles would look much different if we stop fighting people, stop defending ourselves and start laying down our lives for our fellow man. Ask God what His promise is for your teenager, your boss, your business and start defending the promise in prayer.
There are certain things that occupy our lives that do not belong (immigrants). They look good from a distance, it even looks as if they can benefit you at some point in time, but they are not of God. They have moved in and they have occupied territory in your life. Today is the day that you have to stand up in faith, even if no one is willing to stand with you and remove those things in your life. Gideon had to break down the altars mafe for foreign gods, in the house of his father. Gideon had to lay down his Me-Mentality (I am not good enough, I am weak, I am not called like all the others), He had to trust in what God said and he had to act in boldness for God’s cause. No matter who you are or in what situation you find yourself, you have to do the same. Get rid of the Me-Mentality, which you feel is your right to have and change the reality you are doing battle from.
3. Shammah’s victory was not his own.
So the LORD won an impressive victory.
What a great story; The Mighty warrior of David. Shammah, one day arose out of the dust of a lentil field, to stand in the midst of a great onslaught from the Philistines. With brute force and cunning skill he, one man alone, wielded his shining sword and with each rhythmic blow, the lives of every enemy soldier evaporated in the mist of the dawn. Sounds like Hollywood movie doesn’t it? The Hero for the day.. Shammah!!! This is also true of how we like our entertainment stories: Iron Man, Captain America, Batman, Superman and these days the likes of Daredevil and the Ant man… Who is willing to go where no man will go, who will come and save our lives, who will stand and fight evil because we are not equipped to do so ourselves.
Now I might have blown it up a bit, but the point stays the same. Our whole existence cries out for a savior. Shammah stood up that day to fight when nobody wanted to do the same, but his strength did not lie in his capabilities or in his own skill, no his strength was in the Lord.
There are three possible ways to see this:
You have no confidence/hope in yourself or in a savior, therefor you run away from every battle you face.
You have all the confidence in your own capabilities and skills, therefor you are in no need of a savior – you face your battles in your own strength and walk away either a lonely hero or a lost wounded soldier with no hope.
You know who God has made you and you have full confidence in the victorious work of your Savior – you face the battle, not trusting in your own understanding, but knowing that the battle is God’s and He will bring the victory.
Many people are fighting battles the wrong way. They are fighting for their own power, making the battle about themselves, trusting in their own understanding. God can not enter such a battle because it is not a battle for His glory.
I would like to submit to you that if God did not enter the battlefield that day when Shammah stood up, Shammah would have succumbed. It always baffles me when I read the scripture where people stand before God claiming that they healed people and cast out demons in Jesus name and the Lord says: go away I don’t know you.
You see whatever we do, or whatever we achieve in this short life, the victory is not ours. The victory belongs to God. Let me explain it like this; I have never healed anybody, our ministry never healed anybody in the name of Jesus, but God has used our ministry, when we were willing to stand up and fight, to bring healing to people. The healing however did not come from us, but from God. God is the source of the victory and He is also the reason for the victory. Shammah was the conduit of God’s power that day.
May you realize today that the victory is not yours, the victory belongs to God.
Shammah’s reality was this:
He knew who God made him to be
He knew of the sacrifices made by generations before him
He Knew the promise God had for him
He did not live for himself, but he lived for God
He did not seek approval nor did he seek accolades
He was more than a victor because God was victorious
When we die to self, find out who we are in Christ, get rid of the Me-Mentality and start to see the beauty God has left for us, as an inheritance, we will surely see how our actions change in the midst of even the toughest battles we face.
My question to you again is: What reality are you living in?
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