When I think of all the stories of the Bible this has to be at the top of one of the coolest.
Imagine chasing a lion into a pit - that sounds pretty crazy but then Benaiah goes way off the deep end and jumps into the pit with this lion he rips this lion to shreds and kills it!
I don’t know about you but I have never imagined chasing a lion through the snow and ice, catching this thing, and then KILLING it!
This was one BAD DUDE!
LIFE PRINCIPLE: Normal people do not chase lions!
Something made this guy do something abnormal and yet something amazing!
What made Benaiah so unusual?
1.He single handedly killed two of Moab’s mightiest.
2.He chased down and killed a lion.
3.He killed an Egyptian who was armed far more than himself.
4.He commanded David’s bodyguard.
This guy became famous! He became legendary!
If there is one thing that I get from this story it is this sometimes you have to do what does not seem ordinary in order to accomplish something extraordinary for God!
This guy was a BAD DUDE but he was messed up!
After all who would willingly battle a lion?
All that Benaiah accomplished all that he did made him who he was - one of the legends!
I believe that in this room - in this ministry - you have the potential to become a LEGEND for God!
And the amazing thing you may do for God might start with something that doesn’t make sense.
It didn¡¦t make sense for Benaiah to chase the lion into a pit on a snowy day but that led to him becoming the commander of David’s bodyguard!
LISTEN FOR GOD’S VOICE AT ALL TIMES
There are a lot of voices out there.
I am sure that as Benaiah was chasing this lion - there must have been voices playing in his head, "Don’t do it. Your nuts. That lion is going to rip you to shreds."
Somehow Benaiah was able to sift through it all to do what wasn’t normal, but what was right!
It is sometimes hard to hear God’s voice - the sounds of life and people crowd out God so often.
So how do we hear God’s voice?
It is so simple, yet it is so hard to do - STOP AND LISTEN!
Listen to what Jesus said.
John 10:27-28: "My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me¨ (MSG).
The hardest thing about hearing God¡¦s voice is STOPPING TO LISTEN!
When we are truly listening we will defy what’s normal to do what is extraordinary with God!
NEVER SETTLE FOR AVERAGE
Benaiah could have stopped at the lion chase - he could have said, "The average person would not follow this lion into the pit."
And no one would have freaked out, but would Benaiah have become a LEGEND?
Benaiah went one step further than any average person.
What are some things that should not be average if you want to do great things for God?
1.Character - in a world lacking integrity we need to be people who chase the lion of integrity.
2.Conviction - in a world of low passion we need to be people who chase the lion of passion.
3.Core Values - in a world of low morals we need to be people who chase the lion of high standards.
4.Chemistry - in a world of mysticism we need to be people who chase the lion of the Holy Spirit.
5.Competence - in a world of low expectations and lack of excellence we need to be people who chase the lion of hard work.
Don’t settle for average in ANY AREA OF YOUR LIFE!
LIVE A GOD-SIZED DREAM
Mark Twain: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn¡¦t do than by the ones you did do."
IF YOU DON’T HAVE A PURPOSE BIGGER THAN YOURSELF THEN YOU BECOME YOUR OWN PURPOSE!!!
The truth is you must discover your GOD DREAM!
Jesus had a DREAM - I John 3:8 - "But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil."
Jesus had a GOD-SIZED DREAM - he sought to accomplish something BIGGER than what the average person was doing.
We need young men and women, like you, to pursue a GOD-SIZED DREAM!
What are the costs of a GOD-SIZED DREAM?
* Kingdom Team Mentality - I am doing what I do not for me, but for the team!
* Kingdom Life Personality - I am going to focus on living for Christ with the right attitude.
* Kingdom Player Equality - I am not more important - we are all equals working together.
* Kingdom Time Finality - I am sacrificing my time and plans to get a destiny’s dream!
God has a DREAM for your life! You have to discover WHY YOU ARE HERE and WHY GOD MADE YOU!
Live a God-Sized Dream!
CONCLUSION
In the book "Dumbing Down our Kids" by Charles Sykes, he wrote 10 Rules that young people who are becoming adults must learn.
RULE 1: Life is not fair; get used to it.
RULE 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
RULE 3: You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice president with a car phone, until you earn both.
RULE 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
RULE 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.
RULE 6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
RULE 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills; cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
RULE 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
RULE 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
RULE 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
RULE 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
2 Samuel 23:20-23: "There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two of Moab’s mightiest warriors. Another time he chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. Another time, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it. These are some of the deeds that made Benaiah almost as famous as the Three. He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him commander of his bodyguard" (NLT).
