Well, tomorrow is Veterans Day, and today I want to honor those who have served our country. In 1918, it was the 11th month, the 11th day, and the 11th hour that marked the occasion of World War I hostilities ceasing. And so that day is now in honor of our veterans. So tomorrow at 11 o'clock, There will be many Veterans Day recognitions. Veterans Day, we need to be reminded, is distinguished from Memorial Day. Memorial Day is to honor, as I'm reading this, uniformed American patriots who have departed this life. Veterans Day is to honor and celebrate millions of American veterans still in our midst, those we can thank in person for their service and sacrifice, and even to thank the spouses and their families who supported them through their service to our nation. So Veterans Day tomorrow is a time we set aside to remember, to honor, and to pay respect to our nation's warriors, America's soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen who have and continue to stand in harm's way that we might live in peace. Dwight D. Eisenhower said, our president in the 1950s, let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores to preserve our heritage of freedom. You know, as I was thinking about tomorrow and what it means, it reminds me of us being Christian soldiers. I remember challenging Benjamin, we have a son in case you don't know, Benjamin who is in the special forces, and I specifically told him, Benjamin, you are first of all a soldier of Jesus Christ before you are a soldier in America. And that reminds me to remind you that there are no pacifists in the Christian life. Fighting is an attribute of a soldier And so, too, for Christian soldiers, no man that woreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. The song we sang, Onward, Christian Soldiers, has that verse right up there that says, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Many are trying to take out of their hymnals that song, Onward Christian Soldiers, because they find it offensive that you're teaching Christians to fight. Well, we're not fighting a physical battle, but we are fighting a very big spiritual battle. And we need to be reminded of that frequently. And as we're grateful for those who fought for our freedom, I want you to consider the characteristics of a warrior who's valuable. David did so in 2 Samuel chapter 23, and that's the passage, that's the chapter I would like you to turn to, 2 Samuel chapter 23. In verse 1 of this chapter, the very first thing said is this, now these be the last words of David. So 2 Samuel chapter 23 is a recording of the last words of David. What does he remember? He comes to the end of his life and David was a man of war. What does he remember? I'll tell you what he remembers in verses eight through 12, his mighty men, his mighty warriors, And what is it about them that he remembers? He remembers their fighting attributes. What made these men such good soldiers? Now I think we can take the attributes of these three fighting men that he lists as the three mightiest. And we can learn from those men. The characteristics we should also have in serving and fighting for our Lord Jesus Christ in the battles that every one of us face. What kind of battles do you face? It's not a physical battle necessarily. We are not at war with guns and swords and knives. We are at war with the Christian armor that God has given us, Ephesians chapter six. Find in my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, put on the whole armor of God. And so we each fight battles. You have fought battles this week. I have fought battles this week. And it may not be something that anybody else even understands or recognizes, but every one of us fights the flesh and the temptations of the flesh, every one of us. It is a fight. Go to Galatians chapter 5 sometime and read what the Apostle Paul wrote, how that the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. And it's this constant battle that's taking place. You need to understand that as a Christian, if that battle is not taking place, something's wrong. Are you giving into the flesh? Is that why you don't feel the battle? The flesh lusteth against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh. Was it real easy to come this morning? Sometimes it's okay, but sometimes it's a battle. I mean, does anybody else feel that at any time? I do. You think I wanna stand in front of a bunch of sleepyheads? Just kidding, a little bit. No, it's a battle. And we face the battle of our flesh with anger, with our tempers, with lusts, with all kinds of things. And so I want us to take the attributes of these three fighting men and make an application of how they fought a physical battle with how you can fight the spiritual battle. Because David said, these are my three best men. These are my three mighty men. So I want us to look at the characteristics of these three greatest warriors who served under Him. And I'm going to give you a little phrase to introduce each one, and I may not go right to the passage right away. I may start with an illustration. I'm not really one to give a lot of illustrations, but today I am, because I think it'll help us. We'll see in verse 8, The characteristic of this soldier, this warrior, he fought despite the odds against him. Follow along in verse 8 as I read, these be the names of the mighty men whom David had. The Takmanite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains, the same was Adino the Esnite." That's all that is said about his name. But now look at what little phrases mention what made him such a great soldier. He lift up his spear against 800 men whom he slew at one time. Now, wait a minute. One man against 800? What are the odds? One to 800. We get upset if it's one against two. Imagine one against 800. There are stories in the American military of men who fought against all odds. How many of you have ever heard of Alvin C. York? Think about the odds he was up against. He had never traveled more than 50 miles from his home in Tennessee when he was drafted in 1970. He was a conscientious objector. In fact, he wrote on his draft card, don't want to fight. But he hated war. Hating war, he knew he must fight. On October the 8th, 1918, he got behind the enemy lines to knock out some German machine guns by himself. He fired 28 times and by himself took 132 German prisoners. When they found the Germans he had fought, 28 dead, one for every bullet he fired. The official report said this, quote, "...practically unassisted, he captured 132 Germans, three of whom were officers, took about 35 machine guns, and killed no less than 25 of the enemy later found by others on the scene of New York's extraordinary exploit." Although York's statement tends to underestimate the desperate odds which he overcame, it has been decided to move forward to higher authorities the account given in his own name." Folks, here's a man in a physical body, Alvin York, who valiantly fought despite the odds. Now, the odds are against you and me in the battle that we fight. But there's another man. Audie Murphy. How many have heard the name Audie Murphy? What a soldier. He was turned down by the Marines, Brother Dave. They wouldn't let him fight. They told him he was underweight and he was too short. So he joined the Army paratroopers. In January of 1945, still recovering in the hospital, he got out of the hospital to rejoin his company before he was even healed. Near Holtzvir, France, a place my wife and I visited just a year and a half ago, we went to the very spot where this battle took place. And there's a memorial there. In Holtzvir, France, his company of 30 men were involved in fierce fighting. Two of his own tanks were soon out of action. There was a German assault of six heavy tanks and 250 infantry coming at them in white snow capes. The situation was desperate. Murphy ordered his men to fall back and began to call in artillery support with his field telephone. Their ammunition was depleted. And so Murphy decided to mount one of his own burning tanks, ready to explode at any minute. And he took to the 50 caliber machine gun that was mounted on it and began to fire upon the German infantry that was advancing upon him and his men. But the black smoke of the tank made it difficult for the Germans to see Audi on top of the tank, but it also made it difficult for him to see the Germans who were advancing. All alone. and exposed to German fire from three sides. But his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their attack to waver. Some of the Germans got as close as 10 yards, only to be mowed down by his fire for an hour on top of a burning tank about to explode. He managed to kill or wound over 50 of the enemy, forcing them to withdraw with their tanks He jumped from the burning tank, which exploded seconds later. Audie Murphy fought despite the odds. Veterans in American's war. But how many veterans do you know of in the spiritual battle who have fought despite the odds? Well, there's one mentioned right here. Adeno the Esnight, he fought despite the odds against him. And if somebody were a betting man, they would say, this guy's not gonna make it. 800 against one? The number of men he defeated is incredible and made him worthy to be first in David's list of three mighty warriors. Here he is. He is facing these men, and he looks around, and no one else is with him. And he basically had to say, if it's gonna get done, I'm gonna have to do it by myself. And he got to work, and he slew them against the odds. Folks, humanly speaking, the odds are against the believer. And this has believers, Christians, becoming weak-kneed, thinking, well, if I'm gonna get anywhere, I've gotta compromise. If I'm going to get anywhere, I'm going to have to give in a little bit. If I'm going to get anywhere, I can't be so dogmatic. Hey, you're in a war. You had better be dogmatic. You have a battle to fight. You had better be dogmatic. You're in a war. You're in a battle. You had better know what you believe. You had better have the sword of the spirit as you fight the battle. But understand something, the odds are never too great for the believer. Understand something, you are never alone in battle. Whatever you are up against, whether it's in your marriage, whether it's in your family, whether it's at work, you are never alone as a Christian. You may not see anyone else around you, but listen, you and God make a majority. If he is on your side, and you are a Christian, he is on your side, you make a majority. I think of a king in 2 Chronicles chapter 14 and verse 11. A king by the name of Asa. And Asa had a huge army, 500,000, half a million men. But the problem is, is he went up against the enemy, the Ethiopians, who had one million men. Again, the odds are one to two. And hear what he prayed. And this is a prayer you can pray as you fight the battles that you face each day. The Bible says, and Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee. And in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God. Let not man prevail against thee. What a prayer. And it's a prayer that I have at sometimes prayed when I thought there's no way out of this. The odds are against me. We have had to say this as a church at times when the odds were against us as a church. With a huge mortgage and such a small body of people. Lord, let not man prevail against thee. You can win this battle whether there's many or whether there's few. And God gets the glory for that. Folks, we need to fight despite the odds against us, as did Adeno the Esnite. Secondly, in verses nine to 10, we learn here that we should fight despite the weariness, despite the fact that you're tired, despite the fact that you are ready to give up. Eleazar is the man listed here. After him, verse nine says, was Eliezer the son of Dodo. Well, how would you like to be known as the son of Dodo? The son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were gathered together to battle. Look at this. And the men of Israel were gone away. He arose. and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword. And the Lord wrought a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil. Here is a man who fought despite the weariness of the flesh. He fought in spite of the fact that he was completely fatigued. And I want you to note again, he was alone in battle. It says in the last part of verse nine, the men of Israel were gone away, leaving him standing there to fight the battle. Weary. About a week and a half ago, Benjamin, I was talking to him on the phone, and he was mentioning to me a friend that he has, that he served with, who was his Sergeant Major when he joined 10th Group there in Colorado Springs at Fort Carson. And this man, his name is Sergeant Major Brian Seidel, he mentioned to me, he said, Dad, he's retired, he had to retire. He has something, and I'm sure Janet could tell what this is all about, spondyloarthritis, and it had to do with the joints. All of his joints are giving out. Arthritis in all of his joints. He is in severe pain. He's got a beautiful family. He lives in Falcon, Colorado. He was awarded the Silver Star back in 2017 for a battle he and his men fought by themselves with some of the Afghans who were on our side back in 2016. I think it was November of 2016. Their objective was to get to a place and they had to literally walk a mile through waist deep mud to get to their objective. When they got there, they were up against a large, I think it was a 10 foot steel gate. Grenades couldn't knock the gate down. They finally somehow kicked it down to get in when they found out they were completely surrounded. In the ensuing battle that lasted a long time, two of his own fellow soldiers, Green Berets, were killed. But he fought on with those left of them, rescuing, in some cases, a man who had been shot and taking him out of the battle, they were finally extracted after a lengthy battle that left them tremendously weary. There's a veteran who is now suffering due to what he fought in and how he fought. He is suffering physically. Benjamin had mentioned a way to help him out, so I went on. There's a special forces foundation that is trying to help him because he is living with his family, with his wife, and I think that's four kids. And they're having to live in an RV. But he cannot get around. And he's trying to find a way to get a house where he can be served as a handicapped man now. We're trying to help him. in gratitude for what he's done for his country. There he was, almost all alone, fighting. Here's Eliezer, all alone, and it's a good excuse to join all the other cowards. But Eliezer stands there. He knows what he needs to do. The Bible says he arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary. Notice it says his hand, not his hands. And notice that it says that he was so tired that he couldn't let go of his sword. His hand and his sword almost became one. His hand was tired, but they were still fight in his heart. I find it interesting that he fought with this sword until his hand was weary. What is it that we have in the Christian's armor that we fight with, that we do, that we hold in our hands? Obviously, it's the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Oh, that we would use it so much that our minds would become one with it, that we would cleave to it as he cleaved to that sword. Read about the men who landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6th of 1944. If you read the stories, these men coming across the rough English Channel were puking from sickness, and they had to get out of their boats as they landed, and they had to get on shore, and they were being mowed down. Weary, sick, and yet they fought. We're a weary people. And when we get weary, we want to make sure that we find some place where we can become very comfortable. In fact, we do that so much that sometimes we have nothing left to give to the Lord. I think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Matthew chapter 26, where he asked his disciples, watch with me. And then he agonized in prayer. He came back. What did he find his disciples doing? Fast asleep, sleepy, weary. And he said to Peter, could you not watch with me one hour? The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And folks, we all fight the flesh. Our flesh is weak. We say that we want to work and fight for the Lord, and we have a willing spirit, but we give in to the flesh. It's like I said earlier, sometimes it's a fight to get to church, especially if you have little kids. This is where I commend my wife, because for years, I had to be here at the church, not in this building, but at the elementary school. Get there, get everything set up, get ready. But she would get three rambunctious little boys together. Dressed, ready for church. A fight every Sunday. When eternity comes for us, will our proportion of time spent for the Lord come with this question from him? What? Could ye not watch with me one hour? Notice in verse 10, that the Lord wrought a great victory. Eleazar wasn't out to make a name for himself. God was given the credit for the victory. God exalts those who humble themselves in this way. But notice something else it says in the last part of verse 10, and the people returned after him only to the spoil. Oh, they were there off in the distance because we read that they had gone away in verse nine, but now they come back only to get the spoil. And so it is. The people who would not help in the fight, who were gone away, will be sure to demand that they get the benefits that somebody else has fought for. And it's in every church. Pacifists don't mind benefiting from freedom. Just don't ask them to fight. That's why some people won't join a church. Well, they'll have to be accountable. Yes. And that's exactly what you need is accountability. Christianity is infected with the welfare mentality, with the pacifist mentality. Folks who are in the fight, whether anyone else fights or not, keep on fighting. And let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. You know what one of the passages was preached from the most during the Revolutionary War. I don't know if you remember this from when we went on Sunday school, we were going through the Revolutionary War, the war for independence and whether it was right biblically for us to fight that. And one of the main passages, as I was studying for this, one of the main passages that pastors would go to again and again and again, was Judges chapter 5 and verse 3. Listen to it. Let me read it to you. Curse ye Meraz, said the angel of the Lord. Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Curse them. They did not help. They let others fight the battle, just as they let Eleazar, fight by himself. Oh, they were glad to come for the spoil. And there are people today who are glad to enjoy the freedoms that we have in this country, but just don't ask me to fight. Just don't ask me to do anything. And that's a lot of Christianity. The Christian life is not for weaklings. Thou therefore endure hardness. as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. If enduring hardness makes one a good soldier of Jesus Christ, what is to be said of one who was not willing to even get tired and endure hardness? That person may be the best person at his sport. He may be the best one at his job, but he's a wimp of a Christian. Folks, we need to fight despite the weariness of the flesh, as did Eleazar. We can learn from these men. And yes, even the last one. Shammah fought despite the prevailing view. What do you mean by that, pastor, the prevailing view? Well, let's read verses 11 and 12. After him was Shammah, the son of Agi, the Herorite, and the Philistines were gathered together into a troop. Where was a piece of ground full of lentils? There's the key. There was a ground full of lentils and the people fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground and defended it. He defended this ground, a ground full of what? Lentils. And slew the Philistines and the Lord wrought a great victory. He fought despite the prevailing view of the conflict. Others fled the Philistines, it says in the last part of verse 11, and left him standing alone. Isn't it interesting? In all cases, these men were left by themselves to fight the battle. He's standing where? in the middle of a field of lentils. So he's defending a field full of what? What are lentils? Red beans. He is standing there defending a field full of red beans and the prevailing view must have been it's not worth it. It's just a field of beans for Pete's sake. It's not the tabernacle. It's just a field of beans. And that's the same prevailing view today. Some things just aren't worth the fight. Some things just aren't worth the fight. You think that would have been the attitude back in December 7th of 1941? Pearl Harbor was attacked. Just these little dinky islands out in the middle of the Pacific. What would have happened if we would have just said it's not worth it? Would we all be speaking Japanese today? Think about it. If the Philistines are willing to fight to gain it, why are we not willing to fight to defend it? If it's so important for them to have, then maybe it's important enough for us to defend it. Obviously it's important to them. There's something I call the doctrine of incrementalism. Let's just give up. This one's not worth the battle. Let's retreat just a little bit. Let's give up on this doctrine. This is really not that important. And besides, as we retreat, we'll probably come back someday and reclaim that ground. The Philistines realize That if they can just get one field of beans because it's not worth it to the Israelites, they can get another field that's not worth that much to the Israelites. And before you know it, the tabernacle is surrounded. How in the world did it take place on September 11th, 2001, that America's homeland was attacked by terrorists? How could that happen? Well, maybe it's because it was no big deal to us that an embassy in Africa was attacked and blown up. Maybe it just wasn't that big of a deal to us that the Marine barracks back in 1983 in Lebanon were attacked and 200 and some Marines were killed. And now you have to defend the homeland because we were willing to give up just a little bit. This is applicable in so many other areas in the Christian life. Some of you weren't around in the 1960s. I was a little kid in the 1960s. So it dates me a little bit. But I remember what one of the big, big, big issues was. It was miniskirts. That was a big issue. And people would say, why does the pastor keep fighting and talking about miniskirts and how wrong that is? Just give it up. Then the battle in the 1970s and 80s was on homosexuality. What are you fighting? Just give it up. We've lost that battle. That's the mentality. And now what are we facing? Now look around, because we wouldn't fight. Long hair on men. And now they got man buns. How did that creep in? Because we didn't think of anything. Music was an issue in the 1970s and some people said, well, it's not worth it. Now you have to have a contemporary Christian so-called service. to salve those who want that kind of music. The inerrancy of scripture was once an issue, folks, and some said it's not worth it. And now we're debating the existence of absolutes. Because we've given in here, we've given in here, now look at what we're debating. Incrementalism, just one thing at a time. And the liberals have a lot of patience that we need. Why is it the fundamentalists are expected to give up ground but not liberals? Why is it the fundamentalists are always expected to do the compromising? Shammah fought despite the compromise of his brethren, whose prevailing view must have been that what they were fighting for just wasn't worth it. But Shammah made the Philistines compromise, and the Lord got credit for the victory. This is Veterans Day tomorrow. And we not only remember the warriors, but we remember what makes them worth remembering. And each one of these men in this passage represents one exhortation for us today. Adeno, fought in spite of the odds. Eleazar, fought in spite of the fatigue. Shammah, fought in spite of the prevailing view of the conflict. And we can learn something from these men. And I would like to add this, the fighting characteristics of each of these men was not a one-time thing. This battle is mentioned, each battle that made them outstanding is mentioned, but that doesn't mean that they didn't fight other battles. In fact, all three performed a daring feat that's given in the following verses. Follow as I read verses 13 to 17. And three of the 30 chief went down and came to David in the harvest time under the cave of Adullam, and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim. And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And 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. and brought it to David. Nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord. So risky was this that David wouldn't even drink that water. And he would say this in verse 17, be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore, he would not drink. In other words, they risked their lives. They almost shed their blood for me just to have a simple drink of water. That's how mighty these three men were. True warriors. One day, when the Lord's kingdom is established right here on this earth during the millennium, we're gonna find out who God's mighty warriors were. Did you know that? It'll be evident by the Lord's words. He himself, Jesus Christ mentions this in Luke chapter 19. He says there were 10 servants and all, each one was given a pound. And then the accounting came. He said, occupy till I come, do business till I come. And he came to the first one. He said, what did you do with the pound? And he said, Lord, I have gained 10 other pounds. Do you remember what the Lord said to him? He said, well, thou good servant, because thou has been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over 10 cities. In essence, he is saying, you will be rewarded according to your works as a believer. But he comes to the last one. And that man said, Lord, I knew that you are an austere man. And I took that pound and I hid it in my napkin that I should wipe my brow with, the sweat from my brow. I hid it in that napkin. And here, here's your pound. And the Lord condemns him because he did nothing. And I fear that's where so many believers are, saved, Yet so as by fire, it says in 1 Corinthians 3, with nothing to show. Well, I could never be one of the three mighty men of the Lord. But what abilities has he given you? What is your spiritual gift? Are you using it for him? Sure, I must fight if I would reign. Increase my courage, Lord. I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by thy word. Do those words ring a bell to you? It's a hymn we sometimes sing. Am I a soldier of the cross? Verse two goes on to say this. Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease while others fought to win the prize and sailed through bloody seas? Must I be carried to the skies? Adeno could have said. Eleazar could have said. Shammah could have said. Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease while others fought to win the prize and sail through bloody seas? No, I too will fight. I will not give in. I have only so much time. and you only have so much time to do your work for the Lord. It's time to get busy because warriors will be honored. Some of the warriors in our country have not been honored adequately. Those who fought in the Vietnam War have not been honored as they should be. But by God's word, and on the basis of the authority of God's word, every man who fights the battle and can say with the Apostle Paul, I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, will be rewarded proportionally. How are you as a soldier of Jesus Christ?