Power Of Sacrifice. Gabriel Agbo

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СКАЧАТЬ sword from its sheath. David used it to kill the giant and cut off his head. | ‘When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. Then the Israelites gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. Then the Israelites army returned and plundered the deserted philistine camp.”

       Dynasty of kings for you

       “But that same night the LORD said to Nathan, ‘Go and tell my servant David, This is what the LORD says... Now I will make your name famous throughout the earth... | ‘And now the Lord declares that He will build a house for you – a dynasty of kings! For when you die, I will raise up one of your descendants, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house - a temple for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will use other nations to punish him. But my unfailing love will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed before you. Your dynasty and your kingdom will continue for all time before me, and your throne will be secure forever.”

       Chapter Four | I will pay the price

       “That day Gad came to David and said to him, ‘Go and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite’, So David went to do what the LORD had commanded him. When Araunah saw the king and his men coming towards him, he came forward and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. ‘Why have you come, my lord?’ Araunah asked. And David replied, ‘I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the LORD there, so that the Lord will stop the plague’ | ‘Take it, my lord, and use it as you wish’ Araunah said to David. ‘Here are oxen for the burn offering and you can use the threshing tools and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. I will give it all to you, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice’. But the king replied to Araunah, ‘No, I insist on buying it, for I cannot present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing’. So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. David built an altar there to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the LORD answered his prayer, and the plague was stopped!!”

       David’s mighty men

       Jashobeam the Hacmonite

       Eleazar

       Shammah

       And the three broke the ranks

       “David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. David remarked longingly to his men, ‘Oh, how I would love some of that good water, from the well in Bethlehem, the one by the gate’. So the three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from there, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out before the Lord. ‘The Lord forbid that I should drink this!’ He exclaimed. This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me’. So David did not drink it. This is an example of the exploits of the three.”

       Chapter Five | Follow me! We came for you!

       Stephen Bass

       “For service as set forth in the following citation for extraordinary heroism while serving with the British Special Boat Service during combat operations in Northern Afghanistan on 25 and 26 November 2001. Chief Petty Officer Stephen Bass deployed to the area as a member of a joint American and British Special Forces Rescue Team to locate and recover two missing American citizens, one presumed to be seriously injured or dead, after hard-line al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners at the Qala-i-jangi fortress in Mazar-i-Sharif over-powered them and gained access to large quantities of arms and ammunition stored at the fortress. Once inside, Chief Petty officer Bass was engaged continuously by direct small arms fire, indirect mortar fire, and rocket propelled grenade fire. He was forced to walk through an active anti-personnel minefield in order to gain entry to the fortress. After establishing the possible location of both American citizens, under heavy fire and without concern for his own personal safety, he made two attempts to rescue the uninjured citizen by crawling towards the fortress interior to reach him. Forced to withdraw due to large volumes of fire falling on his position, he was undeterred. After reporting his efforts to the remaining members of the recue team, they left and attempted to locate the missing citizen on the outside of the fortress. As darkness began to fall, no attempt was going to be made to locate the other injured American citizen. Chief Petty Officer Bass then took matters into his own hands. Without regard for his own personal safety, he moved forward another three hundred to four hundred meters into the heart of the fortress by himself under constant enemy fire in an attempt to locate the injured citizen., running low on ammunition, he utilized weapons from deceased Afghans to continue his rescue attempt. Upon verifying the condition and location of the American citizen he withdrew from the fortress. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership; unlimited courage in the face of enemy fires and utmost devotion to duty, chief Petty officer Bass reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval service.”

       THE UNITED STATES NAVY SEAL CREED

       Chapter Six | I will preserve you

       Let there be rain!

       “Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go and enjoy a good meal! For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!’... And sure enough, the sky was soon black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel”

       Pay your dues

       Bitterness into sweetness

       “Now the leaders of the town of Jericho visited Elisha, ‘We have a problem, my lord’, they told him. ‘This town is located in beautiful natural surroundings, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unproductive’. Elisha said, ‘Bring me a new bowl with salt in it’. So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have made this water wholesome. It will no longer cause death or infertility’. And sure enough! The water has remained wholesome ever since, just as Elisha said”

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