Pastor Jon Burgess
April 24, 2016 - W1617

Today we are going to be talking about choosing your battles.   Whether it be at work, with our kids, or with a salty neighbor, we all face battles; however, we have to choose which hills to fight on. Husbands, when your wife says, “Do I look fat?” Don’t say a thing, because you will die on that hill – literally.

Some of us fight all the time on any hill. Especially when people are young, they want to scrap a little bit more to let people know that they know a little bit more. This attitude ends up burning bridges, and destroying relationships.  

A while ago back in Hilo, my wife Anna was a Sunday school teacher. She had this short little Hawaiian-Filipino runt kid who picked fights with kids bigger than he was, and who made up crazy stuff about other kids just to fight them. People called him Baby Jay because he was a short little runt type of kid. Anna would always tell him, “Jay you have to stop fighting or else you will be fighting your whole life. Well, he grew up to be a mixed martial arts champion dubbed, “BJ Penn”.

Some of us think that we are like BJ- we fight our neighbor, we fight our wife, and we fight anyone we disagree with; however, not all hills are created equal.

I have a funny story to share. While a church service was progressing, a lightning bolt hit this sanctuary – Kaboom! After the smoke clears, people see the devil standing behind the pulpit. Immediately people scream and run for the door, except this one lady in her sixties who just sits there. The devil says, “Aren’t you afraid of me and aren’t you going to run? She replies, “No, I am not afraid, because I have been married to your brother for the past 35 years!”

Today we will refer to the life of David to learn some very important lessons about choosing your battles. Saul’s number one goal in life was to kill David because he was fearful and intimidated by him. In Samuel chapter 23, Saul’s forces surround David, and are about to pounce on him, until a messenger tells Saul that the Philistines are attacking his town. This forces Saul to change course and head home to fight the Philistines.

The Bible says, “After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So Saul took three- thousand able young men from all of Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild goats.” 1 Samuel 24: 1-2 “He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself.” 1 Samuel 24:3

Saul went into a cave where David and some of his men were hiding. “David and his men were far back in the cave. The men said, ‘This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” 1 Samuel 24:4

Then David crept up unnoticed, and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. The Bible says “It came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe.” So he said to his men, ‘Far be it from me…that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.’” 1 Samuel 24:5-6

This was an opportune moment for David to kill Saul, but he did not because his conscience bothered him. Have you ever misunderstood the will of God, thinking that an opportune moment equaled His will, when it did not?   We all have opportunities, and we all have consequences, but this does not mean every opportunity is from God, and not all consequences are from the Devil. God may be disciplining us.

God gives us a conscience to speak to us; therefore, keep your conscience clean and healthy.

In the ancient East, a king’s robe or garment had a special ornate fringe on it, identifying him as the king. Therefore, cutting off a piece of a king’s robe was analogous to an attack on the king.

The Bible says, “Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set.” Proverbs 22:28   Boundaries are set to tell you what you can and cannot do. For example, for those who are struggling with alcohol, you cannot even go into a bar.

1. ESTABLISH GUIDING PRINCIPLES. You have to establish guiding principles before your battles arrive, or else your emotions will rule your actions. You have to draw boundary lines, or God will set them for you.

Let me give you some of my personal guidelines that I have established.

1. The Ten Commandments are not ten suggestions. Thou shall not kill. Do not commit adultery. Don’t covet your neighbors’ goods. Honor your Father and Mother. These are boundaries I cannot violate.

 2. Give honor to those whom honor is due.   There is an old saying, “Salute the rank, not the person.” We may not agree with a particular persons decisions, but we must still show respect and honor for the office that this person holds.   Accordingly, the Bible says that David refused the revenge urging of his men and “David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul.” 2 Samuel 24:7 

3. Sexual intimacy is reserved for marriage.

4. Generosity is one of the greatest expressions of faith. We are really tested when God says to give. God keeps on pushing the spot where you are hurting, because that is a spot where you should not hurt – a spot that you need to work on.

5. I have to be very careful of how I think because that will determine my life and future…even if my thinking is wrong. I need to work on how I define an event and how I think about things.   A person may have been abused or molested, but their thoughts can kill them, if they constantly think about that moment in their past.  One day I was talking to this girl named Arlene, who was attending my Bible College. I noticed that she had scars all over her face and body and asked how she got them. Initially she wouldn’t tell me, but after persistently bugging her, she relented. She said as a young girl she got married to an alcoholic who became extremely violent when he drank. One day he came home, high on alcohol, and attacked her with a cleaver and a knife. It took multiple surgeries, and six months of hospital care before she was able to leave. She said she was glad that her neighbor saved her life by responding to her screams. She said she was grateful for this and decided to go to Bible College to become a missionary in the hopes of saving others. Though she had suffered terribly, her thinking was that there will be people who will suffer for eternity if she did not help them.

6. Complaining and negativity will open the door to the enemy. As the Bible says, “Do not grumble as some did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.” 1 Corinthians 10:10

7. Love God. Love people. In that order.

8. Never serve God out of anger. God told Moses he would not go to the Promise Land, because he served Him out of anger.   How many husbands have washed the dishes, because their wives had not, and have shown anger while doing so? Have you ever gotten ready to go to church and then slammed the car door and exclaimed in a mad or sarcastic voice, “You wanted to go to church – didn’t you?” This is serving God out of anger. Serve God with a good heart. The Bible warns, “Because you did not serve the Lord with a joyful and glad heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore … you will serve your enemies.” Deuteronomy 28:47

9. Sometimes it is better to be kind than right. If you are arguing with someone, and you know you are right, it is probably better to be kind, than to prove that you are right.   Kindness saves the relationship. Maybe later, they will realize that you were right. 

1. Your Guiding Principles … 

• MUST BE BIBLICAL.

“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God abides forever.” Isaiah 40:8

1. DEVELOP A HEART TO SEEK HIM FIRST.

This will enable you to hear His guidance; however, make sure what you hear matches the written Word of God. David inquired of the Lord, before he went to battle, “Shall I pursue this raiding party?” Will I overtake them?” “Pursue them,” God answered, “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” 1 Samuel 30:8

You have to have an open heart to hearing God; otherwise, you will see the scene, but you will not see the scene behind the scene. You will hear people’s voices, but you will not hear God’s voice. “While we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.” 2 Corinthians 10:3

Yesterday, Anna and I were preparing the ground of our garden to plant some lettuce; however, we used the wrong tools that ended up bending and breaking. This analogy is the same as when we try to fight battles that are not according to God’s Word. If it is not God’s Word, then it is not right, and we are using the wrong weapons.

Several times the Lord has said to me, “It is not about the battle – it’s about your soul. God has said to me do not fight that battle, because I want to do something in your soul. We have to seek God and hear from Him. This is why the scripture says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I call them by name. John 10:3 “I whisper in your ear, proclaim on the housetops what I say in the dark, proclaim in the light.” Matthew 10:27

God’s Word is not reserved from you, His Word is reserved for you, for all those who seek Him.

“‘I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans not for calamity, but for your welfare, in order that you may have a future and a hope … And you will seek Me, and you will find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.’”Jeremiah 29:11, 13

God’s word is reserved for you so that He can give you direction. If we are not careful, we will hear what everyone else is hearing, instead of hearing the instructions from the Holy Spirit.

Let me give you an example, using our wonderful musicians that lead us in worship.   Sometimes when I am leading worship, I miss a verse, but these guys will change everything around and just flow with me, and make me look good. Fred, is our music director, and uses his microphone to direct this flow.   The Holy Spirit keeps us tuned in. Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, because our weapons of warfare are hearing from God. God’s word is reserved for you. For those of us who are listening and tuning in, make sure His word matches with the written and spoken Word of God. Be a people whose ears are learning to tune in. The best way to do this is through daily devotions, where God will speak to you words of life. This will give you an uncanny confidence, because God will be speaking to your heart.

Questions:

• How can you tell if it is God or the Devil who is speaking to you?

• What is the importance of your heart in hearing from God?

• Guiding principles – write down 3 that will help you grow.