Defending The Pea Patch

Introduction

Good to see everyone. I’m sure that there is in each of our hearts tonight a profound gratitude to God for the wonderful opportunities that we have in this hour of worship. To be able to come together and sing praises to God, and offer prayer of thanksgiving and make a request and also study his word. And I believe that we are aware that we’ve not come here for mere pleasure or for entertainment, but that there is a consciousness of each of us that are rapidly passing to the other shore, and that we must be ready when that time comes. Christ tells us in Matthew 22, and beginning with verse 42, that watch therefore, for you know not when the hour of the Lord comes. Paul quoted Isaiah in Romans the 14th chapter, and beginning with verse 11, where he said, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess God.

So then each of us shall give an account to himself. It’s been my prayer since I received the assignment from the elders to bring the word tonight that I would teach in a manner that number one was pleasing to God and would fulfill the command as set forth by him. But that also I would teach in such a way to strengthen those who are here tonight. Our lesson text is from 2 Samuel. If you will turn with me, please to 2 Samuel, the 23rd chapter, 2 Samuel 23, and we’ll look at verse 11 and 12. 2 Samuel 23, we’ll look at verse 11 and 12. And the word reads, and after him was Shama, the son of Ajee the Herodite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils.

So the people fled from the Philistines. But he, that being Shammah, stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory. Now, before we go any further, at this congregation, I look out amongst the brethren here, and I see many young people over here on my right, and throughout the congregation in this auditorium, there’s several young people, and most of the people here are suburbanites, right? We’ve we’ve moved from the city, and we’re not really in the country, but we’re kind of on the borderline. But there are some country folks here. And by translation, country folks mean you have a little more sense than us city folks. So before we go any farther, we have to be certain that we understand what we’ve read.

And I’m going to ask the young people here do you any of you know what lentils are? Who knows? Well, him. It’s a pea. Lentils are peas. We see that Shammah stood in the middle of a pea patch. That’s where he stationed himself. And he defended the pea patch in a very deadly battle. All around him, the other children of Israel that should have been his support, had fled. And he was left alone in the middle of this pea patch for the land to defend the land that the Lord God had given the children of Israel. And we read here that the Lord brought about a great victory. Shamma defeated the Philistines through God. He noticed that this piece of land was not a place of great notoriety.

It was not a fancy place. It was not a place of honor. But it was a place of responsibility. It was a place of duty. It was a place of integrity. It was a place of testing. And when Shamma stood firm in that pea patch, defending it against the enemies of God brought about a great victory. And today, we can take a great lesson from Shaman. We can and we need to take courage and take a stand against those who are attacking the inerrant word of God. Salvation, that is, victory, is in Christ Jesus, and it is in commitment and obedience to his word. We read in Romans 6 23, and it’s been a great memory verse for many years, and probably for years to come, as long as the Lord allows this earth to exist.

The rages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We read in Matthew 7 and 21. Jesus says, not everyone that says unto me, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he tells us who will, and it’s those who abide by the will of my Father who is in heaven. We look at Mark 13 and 13, and Jesus says, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end shall be saved. Today, defending the church and its obligation to follow the one true way is our pea patch. And we need to know. Actually, we must. We must stand firm. We must stand and defend. And we must not waver from the truth and the responsibility to take that stand.

It was not popular in the days of the prophet to take a stand for the word of God. It is not popular today to take a stand for the word of God. But yet we need to get about the business of getting people into Christ, of saving souls, of teaching faithful living to God’s word and keeping God’s word. And that is the only way we will keep our soul and other souls out of hell is by being faithful to God’s word. The only way this is going to happen is for the faithful to stand firm in our pea patch and defend the church. Romans 1 and 16 tells us I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation.

For everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. That means that I will stand firm for the word as it is, not as I want it to be. The gospel of Christ is true and correct. And doing what we are commanded and remaining in submission to the commands of God is the most important aspect of our life. We cannot let the world lure us out of this and cause us to think that we are wiser than God. And sadly, in today’s society, that is the prevailing thought is that the word of God is just something to the side that some folks want to look at, but it’s not mandatory for anything in life. Young people, brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen. The most important thing in our life is obedience to Jesus Christ each and every day that we live.

And for those who are new Christians, realize this. We only have to be faithful one day at a time. We don’t have to be faithful tomorrow until God gives us that day. So don’t get yourself beat up saying, there’s no way I can do this. There is. If you did it today, you have succeeded. Shamma defeated the Philistines on one day. It was that defeat that counted. It wasn’t the next day, and it wasn’t the day prior. Be faithful for today. That’s all God asks us for. He tells us in 1 Corinthians 1 and 25. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, and he’s inspired by the Holy Spirit. He says, God’s, the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1. He Stood Firm

That’s telling us real quick. You’re not near as smart as you think you are. And we are to rely on God. We can’t improve on that which is perfect. And the word of God is perfect. Now, we see in these two short verses that Shamma was brave. No doubt about it. Fear did not overcome him. And obviously, he was very strong in his faith towards God. And I’d like us for just a few moments to look at some of the characteristics of Shaman. He stood firm. The first thing I want us to look at is he stood firm. He did not waver at the moment of crisis. You know, God loves victory. And he hates defeat. Read with me in 1 Corinthians 15. Turn with me if you will.

1 Corinthians 15. And let’s begin with verse 55. 1 Corinthians 15, beginning with verse 55. O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be strong, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. John recorded these words in 1 John 5, verses 4 and 5. 1 John 5, verses 4 and 5. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?

Victory is through God. And that victory is the sweetest and best victory that there is that any of us can experience. This world that we live in is in a state of crisis. We realize that. And I’m sure if we talk to those who are of the generation in front of us who are in their 70s and 80s and some who are in their 90s and sitting around, that they felt the world was in a state of crisis at that time. Brothers and sisters, we cannot turn our back on the battle against Satan. He’s waiting. And he’s looking. And he’s seeking every opportunity he can find to get just one soul at a time. One at a time is all he seeks. He’s not looking for the whole group at one time.

One at a time satisfies him. When he has that one, he moves on to another one. All around us, in school, at work, in our neighborhoods, there is apathy for the Word of God. There is moral decay. There is a concern mainly for the what’s in it for me, the old whiffam syndrome, if you will. What’s in it for me? And we must, as Christians, be actively concerned about souls. We must be concerned about our children’s souls. We must be concerned about our grandchildren’s souls. We must be concerned about those souls of the many that are around us. We must draw close to God. James, in his letter to the Christians in chapter 4 and verse 8, says, draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep and let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up. Brothers and sisters, we must stand against the cancer of liberalism versus adherence to the word of God. We must hold the line. We must stand firm. And it is not, it is not from following the word of God and from faithful Christian teaching to our children in the world that has given way to the murdering of unborn babies like we’ve never seen throughout this nation and this world. It is not from adhering to the inerrant word of God and teaching, following his commands and being faithful to those commands that has led to the teaching of sex in our elementary and our junior high and senior high schools that has led to the greatest pregnancy rate of our daughters that are unmarried that we’ve ever seen.

It is not from faithful gospel teaching and strong teaching in the home to follow God’s word that has resulted in the crime of rape being committed at the rate of about 18 an hour in this country. It’s not from faithful gospel preaching. It’s not from faithful gospel teaching. It’s not from faithful parents teaching their children in this country. To follow the law of God that has resulted in sodomy and homosexuality being an accepted lifestyle and legal in the United States of America. It is not from good, solid Bible teaching and coming to service and say, Yeah, we’re going to be there. The building’s open. A lesson’s being taught. We’re going. It’s Wednesday night. It’s Monday night. It’s Tuesday night. We’ve got a gospel meeting. It’s not from hearing the word of God taught over and put in front of us over and over.

And our parents stressing to us over and over, and our grandparents begging us over and over, be faithful, follow the word of God. It is not that has led to no prayers being acceptable in school and evolution being taught us back. Brothers and sisters, it is from not standing firm for the word of God that these and other moral decay that have taken place. That we do Bible today for our children and our grandchildren, and not only them, for us as adults. We’re out in the world and it’s it’s we’re amongst it. And we’re doing that fight against it for us to stand strong. We have to be careful. We have to understand that even here in Decker Prairie, in Houston, Texas, in Magnolia and Spring, it matters not where you live, that by failing to stand strong, it has allowed this type of decay to come in and attack the church and attack Christians and attack and cause souls to be lost.

We must stand firm. These things come about us from not standing strong in our pea patch and our fight against sin that creeps into the church, and I fear to be the only one standing to fight against sin. I know many in here have traveled. I know Brother Steve’s traveled, it’s been in the military, and there’s others that have traveled, and I’ve been to the Middle East, and I’ve thought more than once in all the times I’ve been in the Middle East. If I had been captured and I had been told we’re going to cut your head off unless you denounce Christ. And I’m thinking, well, you know, I’m just standing here by myself. Nobody back home would know whether I denounce Christ, you know, and that’ll allow me to get back to the airplane.

Would I stand strong for Jesus Christ and say, cut my head off? Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. Or are we willing to take that stand? Shama stood in the middle of a peep hatch. A peep hatch. He’d have been in a peep hatch. For Jesus Christ. Would we take that stand? Would we be strong enough? We must unite and take responsibility for standing to God. The church of Christ is the standard. We as members of the Lord’s body are examples. We are not also rams. We set the standard because we follow the word of God. The word of God tells us, Jesus says, it’s recorded in Matthew, the fifth chapter, you are the light of the world. Hey, that’s me and you. That’s not the next person sitting on the pew.

2. How Shammah Stood: Alone, but God Was With Him

Here, oh, that’s you’re the light. I’m not the light. We are the light in the dark world. It is my responsibility to take that stand. It is our responsibility as a church to take that stand. We are the light. We are the light. It’s not someone else’s responsibility. It is our responsibility. Let’s look for a moment at how Shama stood. Very important. He stood alone in the physical sense, right? Everybody had his back. You ever heard that kid’s oh, I got your back growing up there. We can do it out there, oh boy, I got your back. You hear that all the time, right, brother? You’re an officer in the law. Oh, I got your back. Well, Shammah, everybody had his back too. Except when the fight started and they were gone.

They were gone. He was by himself. Except that in the spiritual sense, God was with him. And that was the most important. He was not conquered by fear, and we must not be conquered by fear. We must realize that God will be with us every day that we make a decision. When we wake up, if it’s mornings or evening or nights, depending on what you were, when you wake up, you make a decision. Will I obey God today or will I disobey God today? Every day we make a decision to stand or to falter. Every day we make a decision to hold the wine or to retreat. And we can stand against sin. We have the capability of standing against sin. God is with us. And we can stand against sin.

Romans 12, Paul wrote in verse 2 to the Romans church, he said, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed. Be different. Be transformed, renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. When God has spoken, the debate is over. God’s word is victorious. There was a bumper sticker years ago in kids, there used to be bumpers on the back of cars. And those of us from the 50s and 60s, we’d put stickers on there and identify our personality, right? There was a bumper sticker that says, God said it, I believe it, and that settles it. I’ve got news for you. It matters not whether you believe it, whether I believe it, or whether anyone believes it.

3. Where He Stood: In the Middle of the Field

If God said it, that settles it. It’s not up to me. It’s not up to you. It is God who is the maker and creator of all things. So we see here that not only did Shaman stand alone, and that he had a great victory because God was with him, but we see it’s pretty important as to where he stood. Look back at 2 Samuel 23. Let’s look at verse 12. Verse 12. It says here he stationed himself in the middle of the field. He defended it. And he killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory. So we see here where Shamma is standing, right? He stood conspicuously. He stood noticeably. He stood obviously. He stood so that the enemy could find him.

He stood also so that all those that should have been there standing to support him could see where he was standing, though they were gone. He stood alone in terms of a physical sense. And he stood boldly in the open. And he defended that which had been given to the children of Israel by God. I think of this standing when I read about Shamma. I think back to Taniman Square in communist China some 20 years ago. And the people were revolting against communism. Now, we can look today and we see they weren’t successful, but I want to I just want to give you an example for those of you that may have not seen that or for those who may not remember it. The tanks were coming down.

I’m talking about military tanks coming down the middle of the road, of the city street, of like being in downtown Houston. And the young people and all the folks that were pushing against communism were standing in the street and throwing rocks against the tank and throwing bottles against the tanks. Who were being driven by the army who were saying, We will crush you. And the picture that is the most vivid in my memory is that of that one person that stood still in front of the tank and would not yield the street to the tank. Brothers and sisters, do we have that courage to stand for Christ in the same manner? Would we throw bottles and rocks at Satan? Would we stand and say, you’re going to have to run me over?

Because I’ll not yield to you. That’s the courage we need as Christians. That’s the courage that we need to be convicted with. Stop and think. Christ stood alone. He hung alone. He died alone, and that was for you. And that was for me. That he did that. And whose side are we on? As we sit here tonight, we know that answer to ourselves. Whose side are we on? And does anyone know that? Do our actions demonstrate whose side we’re on? Most importantly, does the Lord know whose side we’re on by our actions? I look at Joshua and I think of his courage and his leadership that he had in leading the children of Israel. And I look out at this crowd and nine, it’s a fine group that’s here, and there’s probably 130, 140 people.

And Joshua looked out, and it was a million people he was looking at. And here are the words recorded that Joshua had to say. He said, if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will follow. Will you follow the gods which were your fathers when they served on the other side of the river? Or the gods of the Amorites in whose land that you dwell. But that isn’t the end of it. He said, But as for me, in my house, we’ll serve the Lord God. And I asked parents here tonight, fathers, mothers, and I know that we have families who have single parents. Whatever our situation is, we must be taking that stand for our children, for our spouses, for our grandchildren, and for those around us.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Do you take that stand at your house? If you do, who knows it?

It’s important that we understand that we are to be in the middle of the fight. We are to be in the thick of it. We’re to be in the fray of it. We are the land. We are the one, the church is the one that draws a line and says, This far no further. We are serving the Lord God. We must not let fear, we cannot let fear overtake us. The psalmist tells us this in Psalms 23 and verse 4. Yea, though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? He tells us, he said, for you’re with me. Your rod and your staff that comfort me. I can remember the first time I went to the Middle East.

And in the car that I was riding in, the fellow that was driving, we were going through the countryside, going to a city that I couldn’t even tell you how to get to it or how to get back. And the whole thought was, all right, if we get hijacked, I’m looking for an error to run. And while I was looking out the window, I actually saw men who were herding sheep. That was their that was their whole livelihood. And they had a stick with a hook on it. Brothers and sisters, that’s real when we talk about a staff. It’s for protection. God’s with us. His staff and his rod, it’s with us. Shaman knew that. He knew God is with me, and I am defending that which is God’s that he gave us.

4. Why He Stood: It Was God's Pea Patch

I will not yield it without a fight. It doesn’t get any better than that. We stop and think, well, why did Shoma do this? Why did he stand? What was he standing for? To protect a patch of peas so you can pick them and sell them out here at the roadside vegetable stand? No. Absolutely not. That wasn’t the goal. The goal was it was God’s land that had been given to him. That’s what made it important. And he stood in defense of that pea patch because it was God’s pea patch. We have to defend the church because it is Christ’s church. It’s not mine. It’s not yours. It belongs to Christ. We must stand it. We must realize that we have a commission to fight and not waver to defend against all attacks that come from without.

That’s the easy ones to protect against. Ask the elders, what’s the toughest ones to protect against? Those that come from within, the attack from within. And you know, in Acts, Luke records the words that Paul had said to the elders there, just as he was leaving. Turn to Acts the 20th chapter. Acts 20. Let’s look at verse 28 and following it. Because a very acute warning was given there. It says, therefore, take heed, your brothers. We’re looking at verse 28. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, which among the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. For I know this that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

And also from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. We need, and we have at this congregation, but the church universally needs strong godly elders to protect the flock. And we have them here. And what we also need is young men who are qualified and qualifying themselves to become elders. We have those here. Brothers and sisters, we must take the fight with Satan and not stand back. When we talk about taking the sword of the Spirit, is a double-edged sword, is what the word of God says. A double-edged knife is a prohibited weapon in the state of Texas.

5. I Am Doing a Great Work; I Will Not Come

You know why? Because it becomes offensive as well as defensive. And yet that is the exact description that the Word of God uses. It’s a weapon that we can take the battle to Satan. Not just offend, but be proactive. And we must do that. I read an account of a man some 50 years ago who stood firm in his leadership and in the actions. And he demonstrated as a leader before men exactly what that leadership is. It was 1965. This is a year that Brother Blaylock will be familiar with, I’m sure. It was 1965. And a group of soldiers were led into combat by Lieutenant Colonel Halmore. He led the first full-fledged, organized battle of some 450 troops in Vietnam. And it was a bloodily, bloody, deadly battle that lasted for 72 hours.

And like a true warrior, and he was true to his word. He said he’d be the first to step on. He said, he said, officers are the first to step onto the field of battle and the last to step off. And in his book, he recounts that. As the first chapter came in, he stepped off. He was the first one. Then the troops followed. And what happened after that was 72 horrific hours of fighting. Of death and destruction. And it was during those 72 hours that the upper echelon of the United States government realized that, hey, the folks back home don’t realize that we’re quite engaged in this type of war over here. Or a battle or conflict is what the government called it at least the time.

But you talk to the men who were taking fire and giving fire. It was a war. It was a battle for their lives. Is that right, Broglay? That’s right. It’s a battle for their life. Is that right, brother? You’ve been in battle.

So they concocted the duck.

All right, we’ve got to cover our riches here, you know. And be sure that we don’t lose a colonel in a war, in a battle, and then have tell folks back home, well, we got this wild war going on over here. There really isn’t a war, but we’re killing folks. And we’re getting killed. So they concocted a scheme, and General Westmorton had a radio transmission, sent to Colonel Moore, and says, Hey, we need you to come back. We’re sending in a chopper just for you to get on. We’re going to bring you back to a safe area here, so you can tell me about what’s going on. And this, I want to tell you something. This is where true leadership, this is where the guts meet the road.

This is where I’m going to show you that I’m part of you, not telling you what to do, but working with you. He replied via radio when he was told that you’re to report back to this command center. He says, I am in a fight. I object to this order. I will not come back. And he didn’t. He finished the battle. Great casualties. Many lives lost on the American side. But at the end of these 72 hours, the Americans were victorious. And true to his word, he was the last American to step foot off that field of battle. That was after all the live troops, the injured troops, and the dead troops had been removed. Then he left the field of battle. Now, that group of soldiers won in part because of his leadership.

Because he did not desert them. And it isn’t that part of the story that I want to focus on so much, though we needed the background of that to understand this. Because in the same words and attitude, almost verbatim. The words spoken by Colonel Moore many years before that, are identical, at least in nature, if not verbatim, when they were spoken by Nehemiah. And if you turn to Nehemiah, the sixth chapter in verse 3 and 4, we see here where he is rebuilding the wall. He is leading the reconstruction of the wall, the great wall, right? And he, beginning in verse 3, we see he’s being sent for. It says, and I sent messengers unto them saying, I’m doing a great work. I cannot come down.

Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you? He knew that the work would stop. If he is the leader was gone, the work would stop. And whose work was it? Was it his work? It was God’s work. That’s what he was doing. And he said, I’m not coming. And go ahead with me and read here in verse 4. Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort, and I answered them the same. I will not come. That’s the word of Nehemiah. Brothers and sisters, we have to be that way as Christians. I will not yield on the truth. I will not give up on the church. I will not allow Satan to take my spiritual life. I will say no to sin.

Conclusion

We look at 1 Corinthians 15 and 58. And Paul’s telling the Christians, beloved brethren, be steadfast, be immovable, always abounding in the work of the law, knowing that your labor is not in vain. With God’s help, and only with God’s help, can we bring a great victory over Satan? Can we bring a great victory that the church will grow in strength and purity? And that’s with God’s help. If you’re a Christian, and you’ve not been standing strong in that matter, as we see Shaman in the example that he gave, and Joshua in the example that he gave. And Nehemiah in the example he gave. You can become strong again. You can return to the strength that comes from God through Jesus Christ. Christ wants you as a strong soldier.

He needs you as a strong soldier. You can return through prayer and repentance. James tells us, as he wrote to the Christians in chapter 5 and verse 16, 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. We have righteous elders here who are standing and willing to pray for you and with you. We have an entire congregation of family members, brothers and sisters, who will help hold you up. No matter what the battle is, we’ll help. That’s what the family is about. We need soldiers of Christ to arise. It may be in this crowd tonight that there is someone who is not yet in the Lord’s army, who is not yet a soldier of Christ, because they’ve not joined the Lord’s army.

If you come to an understanding that Jesus Christ is a Son of God, and you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and you’re willing to confess your sins and say, I’m going to do my best today to walk away from those sins and to change my life. That’s what repentance is. I’m going to try today. I’m going to work at it today. And when tomorrow comes, I’ll give it another run because I’ve got God on my side. If you’re willing to make that repentance, if you’re willing to stand in front of mankind and say, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Then why not obey him? Be buried with him in baptism. And rise as a soldier in Christ and join the fight.

Join the fight to defeat Satan and strengthen the church. The answer lies in you and you alone. If you have need to repent or to be added to the Lord’s army by the Lord, won’t you come? Because we stand in sin.