David's Mighty Men - Part II
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““These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lifted up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, 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. And after him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.” — II Samuel 23:8-11
Last month, we left off talking about David’s mighty men, and we’re picking up with Shammah. The Bible said that Shammah, “stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.” Hallelujah to the Lamb! Shammah looked at that bunch of Philistines coming to take what rightly belonged to the people of God, and he just might well have said, “I’ve left this pea patch my last time. The devil is not going to run me off!”
God did not give prosperity to this nation for Satan to take it. He didn’t give anything of that nature that belongs to God’s people for Satan to take it.
The Lord told Israel once, “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed” (Joel 2:25-27).
It’s time for America to believe God. It’s time for America to stand on the promises. It’s time for America to say, “It’s mine, Satan, it doesn’t belong to you.” Somebody said, “Well, all of America isn’t living for God.” That’s true, but as children of the almighty God, we have the power in the name of Jesus to roll back the tides of darkness and have victory in our hearts.
God is going to take care of this situation related to these problems in America and around the world. He’s going to take charge of it. I believe that.
Not long ago in prayer, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “If my people will believe me, if they will trust me, if they will stand on the promises, if they will stand on my Word, if they will hold me up and believe me and believe my words, then I will give them back twice what they have lost in this problem related to this virus.” Glory to God!
Frances’ Faith
You have to forgive me for what I’m about to say. It may sound like it’s self-serving, but it’s the truth. My wife is a mighty woman of prayer and faith and confidence. When God told us to go on radio—our first program aired on January 1, 1969—we were on three stations in Atlanta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; and Beckley, West Virginia. We called our program The Campmeeting Hour.
About three to four months after that first program aired, we had spent every dollar we had, there was no more money. I told Frances how we were going to have to cancel, and she rose up, all five feet, four inches of her, and said, “No, we’re not either canceling. God called us to do this. God has said do it. The Spirit of God has made a way, and He will continue to make a way. We’re not going off the air. We’re not going to cancel the program.”
But in my mind, we had no choice. I went on to my next meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, and I could still hear Frances’ words ringing out, “No, we’re not going to cancel. God told us to do it.” Now this is the way that God works: I’d been in Kentucky about a week, and there had been no difference in my mind: we would have to go off radio. I set up my little portable typewriter on the side of the bed in that Holiday Inn and wrote letters to the three radio stations, telling them to cancel The Campmeeting Hour. As I typed the words, I could hardly see for the tears in my eyes. I knew I was doing wrong, but I didn’t know what else to do. I had sought God incessantly over the problem, but it was seemingly to no avail. I was simply out of money.
I found out later that when the three station managers received my letters of cancellation, all three of them took my fifteen minutes of scheduled air time and explained to the people what I had said. They stated that this program should not be cancelled, and if the people wanted it to remain, they should write me a letter and send an offering, if possible. Each of the three station managers did the same thing without any knowledge of what the others were doing. In fact, the dear brother at the station in Atlanta, Georgia, was Baptist. He told his audience, “Jimmy Swaggart and I disagree on some points of doctrine, but I do know this program is needed, and I want you to help keep it on the air.” I will always be grateful to this dear Baptist brother. As mentioned, the other two managers—Hardy Brundage in Houston (who later managed two of our stations), and the brother in Beckley—did the same thing.
The next morning at about 10 o’clock, Frances called me. I could tell by her voice that she was very excited. She said, “You won’t believe what happened! The doorbell rang, and I went to the door, and the postman was standing there, saying, ‘What do you want me to do with this?’” He was asking her what he should do with a huge mail sack that had some 900 letters in it. Yes, I said 900 letters—all from listeners encouraging us to stay on the air. Many of the letters, if not all, included offerings. I wish I could say it was my faith that did this, but as I look back, I cannot be honest and say that. It was Frances’ faith—a mighty woman. About ninety days later, The Campmeeting Hour was on 600 stations across this nation. Hallelujah! We serve a mighty God! And God is looking for mighty men and mighty women. He’s looking for them to do great and mighty things.
A Mighty Anointing
When David was anointed by Samuel, he was just a boy of sixteen or seventeen years old. But when he took the throne, all of a sudden, God infused thirty-four of those men with David, and they were called “mighty” by the Holy Spirit. Something happened in their hearts and in their lives, and God began to anoint them to do great and mighty things, powerful things.
The Scripture says of Adino the Eznite that “he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time” (II Samuel 23:8).
To slay eight at once would have been amazing. To have eighty men fall at one time would have been phenomenal. But to have 800 Philistines fall by one man’s hand at one time—that was a miracle; God anointed that man. Some might say, “That sounds cruel, God allowing and helping this man to kill that many Philistines.” But remember, these were individuals who had sworn the destruction of God’s people, saying, “We will destroy them. There will be nothing left of them. We will kill every one of them.”
You see, the Lord was raising up a nation called Israel, and through that nation would come the Messiah, the Son of the living God, the Redeemer of mankind, hallelujah. Through that nation, He would come. Through that nation, the church would ultimately come. Through that nation, the Word of God would be given to the great prophets and even the apostles of old. God was raising up a people, and the devil would try to stop it, to hinder them by slaughtering them. But the Lord would anoint His people who trusted him, and David trusted God. David’s anointing reached out to those men. All of them did not come and move as God touched them, but thirty-four of them did, and they became mighty men.
I got a letter just the other day from a dear lady. I’ve known her and her husband for several years. She sat right here in one of the camp meetings at Family Worship Center, and she prophesied that God was going to use this ministry to touch the world. That was, I guess, fifteen years ago, and I’ll never forget it.
To touch the world for Christ, this ministry needs mighty men and mighty women like that. In David’s day, the Lord was raising up a nation—Israel. Today, He’s raising up the church to touch the world. Hallelujah to the Lamb! He’s raising up the church, and it’s a glorious church without spot or wrinkle, washed in the blood of the Lamb.
I believe a mighty move of God is coming as God anoints mighty men and mighty women who will believe Him and trust Him and take this gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world. It would not surprise me if what is taking place now—this terrible problem of sickness that’s gripping this nation and other parts of the world—is Satan’s effort to stop world evangelism. I would not doubt that, but thank God, He is raising up mighty men and women, myself included, glory to God, who can slay 800 demons in one respect, by the power of almighty God.
Mighty Men Stay
“And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, 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” (II Samuel 23:9).
The Scripture doesn’t tell us why the men of Israel left, but they did. Eleazar, however, remained. He didn’t stop. The Bible says that a troop came against Eleazar, and the word troop in the Hebrew means “a multitude.” A multitude of Philistine soldiers came against Eleazar, and he killed so many of them that his hand was frozen to the sword. They had to pry his hand loose from his sword. Others left, but he stayed and fought.
I’m looking for men and women who will stay. I’m looking for men and women who won’t quit; men and women who won’t go, but who will stay and fight the good fight of faith. God will honor that kind of faith.
Beginning at Ziklag and continuing through the time that David was the king of Judah, many began to come to David, and the Scripture says, “…and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war” (I Chron. 12:1). This was a glorious time as Israel finally began to do God’s will. It began with David’s darkest days but went on to unimaginable victory.
The present need is helpers of the war, for we are engaged in a war. However, this war is one of faith, and it must be fought God’s way—with our faith exclusively in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Praise God.
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