Dynamic Character | A Shepherd’s Heart & a Warrior’s Spirit
Message Recap
In a complex world you have to fight for simplicity
What matters most to you? Priorities & Values
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[I Samuel 16:7]
…The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
[I Samuel 16:11]
So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered. "He is tending the sheep.”
“A Shepherd’s Heart”
[Philippians 2:3-9]
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name…
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Thick Skin & a Soft Heart
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“A Warrior’s Spirit”
[I Samuel 17:34]
“I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine,
[I Samuel 18:7]
“Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!”
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Character qualities can be developed or destroyed
Character isn’t something you just have. It’s something you have to fight for. It’s something that you have to keep fighting for.
[II Samuel 11:1-5]
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
[I Samuel 17:34]
“When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.
[II Samuel 12:4]
…he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it…
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How do you maintain the heart of a shepherd or the spirit of a warrior over the long haul?
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[Philippians 4:8]
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report
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Synaptic Pruning can either work for you or against you
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Circle Back to the Sheep Field
Circle Back to the Battle Field
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No matter where God takes you, never stop circling back to the field.
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Discussion Questions
What is becoming more simple or more complex in your life in this season?
What in your mind is most important to God?
What does it mean to have a shepherds heart?
What does a warrior’s spirit look like to you in 2020?
How do you maintain thick skin with a soft heart?
What field do you need to circle back to?