THE GREAT SUSTAINER
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. —Psalms 55:22
HE SUSTAINS US THROUGH CRAZY FAITH
11 Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them.
12 But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory. —2 Samuel 23:11 – 12 (NIV)
1. Crazy faith always draws the attention of the enemy.
And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop… —2 Samuel 23:11a
Troop defined: wild beast, a company, appetite, multitude
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
—John 10:10
Be sober, be]vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. —1 Peter 5:8
2. Where there is a harvest there will always be a battle.
When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils. —2 Samuel 23:11b
You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.’ —Deuteronomy 3:22
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me,” says the Lord. —Isaiah 54:17
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. —2 Timothy 1:7
4. Crazy faith will find you in the middle of the battle for God’s harvest in your life.
But Shammah took his stand in
the middle of the field. —2 Samuel 23:12aTherefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. —Ephesians 6:13
O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. —Psalms 16:5
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. —Revelation 12:11
5. The weapons to fight for the harvest are God’s weapons, because it’s His promised harvest.
He defended it and struck the Philistines down… —2 Samuel 23:12b
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not [a]carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, —2 Corinthians 10:4-51 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.” —Psalms 91:1 - 2And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. —John 1:14
… and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. —Ephesians 6:17b
38 They shall be My people, and I will be their God;
39 then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.
40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me.
41 Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’ —Jeremiah 32:38 - 41And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation —Romans 15:20
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. —Matthew 6:6
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. —James 5:16
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you —Romans 8:11
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. —Romans 8:26
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. —Romans 10:17
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. —Hebrews 11:1
6. Crazy faith brings us to a place of surrender, which is where God gets the victory.
… and the Lord brought about a great victory —2 Samuel 23:12c
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. —Colossians 2:15
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life —John 3:16