His Mighty Man Is He!

These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time. And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the LORD brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the LORD worked a great victory.

And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, "Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!" Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the LORD and said, "Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them and won a name beside the three. He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite, Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah, Heleb the son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai of Maacah, Eliam the son of Ahithophel of Gilo, Hezro of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all. (2 Sam 23:8-37)

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The passage you just read above is a portion of the end of 2 Samuel that we concluded today under our teaching by the most amazing, humble and wise shepherd that I have ever been blessed with the opportunity to sit under (other than my husband of course.) I alone could write volumes and millions of blogs about the beautifully biblical section of Christ's body that we are apart of here in Wake Forest, North Wake Church, along with even more blogs about the priveledge we have each week to be led by such Godly elders! Words can not express how much we've learned and grown here simply by being apart of this church body, more than any seminary class could ever offer (as you know, we often joke about how we moved 12 hours away to just come to church (North Wake of course)... and everyday, this statement bares all truth!!) Never have I been taught and led in such a way that we go chapter by chapter and verse by verse through books of the Bible that prior to 4 years ago, I probably wouldn't even of known they existed much less what they had to say. Muchless to be led through them so that I understand, can tie together other aspects of the Word and all the while, having the doors of our hearts open even wider to the sovereignty and redeeming plan of the Lord before the creation of the World and until forever.

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I write all this to share with you the following that captivated my heart this morning in the Lord... a calling for our son and those boys that may follow as his siblings some day!!

The story here in 2 Sam 23 is the story of the Mighty Men of David. In the passage above it clearly defines these men by their actions (who they were in God):

Men who were valiant warriors of great exploits
Men who were remarkably devoted to their king
Men who were easily accessed vessels through God's glory is revealed
Men who risked their lives for their King to be pleased
Men who maintained an "As You Wish" mentality to their King

And the beautiful ending: God used all of these men to fulfill His purposes for His glory, His Kingdom and His Victory!!

So today as we began reading through this passage, immediately I started thanking God for these true stories that I can read to my son (that amidst all the gore, guts and bloody things that boys love) there in the BIble stands truely amazing accounts of everything boys are enthralled with and all of these heroes listed above are setting incredible examples for my son(s). It doesnt have to be found on some fictional tv show or down the toy aisle at Target for some fake super hero action figure.

And as we progressed... the pastor asked every boy/young man 19 years old and younger to stand... young men that were freshman in college to sweetly awkward middle school boys to elementary school boys who would spend all day running around the playground if they could to little ones who were being lifted up by their parents because they couldnt even stand yet or talk. As I looked around the room at all these boys of so many different ages... it clicked... my eyes welled up with tears as they are doing now!!! Larry spoke to each of the boys in our lives (yes, our son Brighton too), looking them in their eyes and told them that this is their story, their own story for their life... the one they are to live for the Lord.

Brighton Wade Sellers and every son of every family... has a calling over his life to be A MIGHTY MAN!!

They ended this portion of the text by praying over our boys:
that they will know that they are called and set apart
that they would love the Word passionately and love Him above all else
that as parents we will point them in the right direction leading a life that sets the example of Him
that the desire of our sons hearts would be to lay themselves down for the Lord

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And yeah, this was only a little portion of the amazing sermon from today. Every Sunday, just as amazing. If youre interested, all of the sermons are posted on the church's website. www.northwake.com.. go to media center and then to sermons.

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Here are some photos of Our Mighty Man from today:

Getting ready to leave so handsome in his navy peacoat blazer and cut off khakis:






Before the nap this afternoon... gotta read and spend time with Daddy before he leaves for work: