Worship And Healing Weekend – Show Me Your Faith

Describe a time when you found yourself stuck in pursuit of your dreams?

Our generation today is so obsessed with the future. We want to know what’s going to happen next, next year, next decade, next century. We’re preoccupied with the future. It’s amazing how people try all kinds of different things to try to forecast the future: tea leaves, fortune cookies, astrology, palm reading, queuing to see a famous city-prophet. We try many different ways to get a grasp on the future. We read books, subscribe to seminars that forecast the economic predictions. But I believe that there are times when we have uncertainties and doubts. There are times when we are just unsure and unclear on the right step to take, and the right move to make. The truth is, most of us will face more “maybe’s” than certainties in our walk with God. There will be times when we have a sense of what’s right, what God’s will is, but we will still have doubts and uncertainties.

The Bible promises that we Christians are saved and redeemed and that we mean everything to God. The reality however is we get hit with traumatic events and huge obstacles. Often, though we say we believe, we revert back to negative thinking and doubting God, especially when times are really bad. We hear words like…“It’s impossible” … “It can never happen” … “We have already tried that over and over” … “There are too many others trying for the same thing” … “I don’t even feel that I can pray for it” … “The odds are totally against it.” We become frustrated and desperate and live the rest of our lives in defeat.

Many of us are facing situations where there is no way out! You feel defeated, hopeless and frustrated. You don’t feel like you are living, you are just barely keeping your nose above the water. The challenge is too daunting, impossible. I want you to know that there is a way out!

How do we succeed  despite the odds we face? Today we look at a man in the Bible who had to overcome insurmountable obstacles to succeed. Before we read, the background of this story is important: .

In 1 Samuel 13 we find that Saul was ruling as king of Israel. We also find out that Israel was at war with the Philistines. More than that, things were not going well for Saul. At the beginning of chapter 13 we are told that Saul had 3,000 men to stand against the Philistine forces made up of 30,000 chariots, 6000 cavalry, and infantry soldiers that were as numerous as the sands of the seashore. (13:5). In verses 6 and 7 we get the Israelite’s reaction to the Philistine military buildup. “When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.”

Many in Saul’s army, when they saw what they were up against, either ran away or hid, leaving the best of the best of the Israelite army to stand “quaking with fear.” You’ll also remember that a few weeks ago saw that Saul waited for Samuel seven days in order to have him offer a sacrifice before the Lord, but as he waits, those who are quaking with fear start to disappear. Skipping over the details of Saul’s sacrificial faux pas, Saul ends up with 600 men hold up in Gibeah. Meanwhile the Philistines camp at Michmash, but the Philistines don’t just sit there. They send out three raiding parties into Israel and demoralize the people even more than they already were. Chapter 13 ends with these words: “So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.” (1 Samuel 13:22)  The Philistines had taken or killed all the blacksmiths in Israel. This meant that Israel did not have any weapons. They could not even sharpen a farming tool without the Philistines knowing about it. 1 Samuel 13:19.” This meant that there were only two swords left in Israel. This was an effective strategy of the enemy, If you can take out the blacksmiths then you can keep the Israelites  army weak and defeated. Things were not looking good for Israel. Perhaps, they armed themselves with plowshares. They were good as dead. It was just the matter of time before all of them were destroyed and annihilated. Sadly, for the Israelites, humanly speaking their mission was impossible; they had nothing to look forward to. What do you do when you are outnumbered, outgunned and overrun?  1 SAM 14:1-15

Jonathan is an unusual character in the history of Israel in that his father was the country’s first king. And though one would expect that Jonathan would inherit his father’s throne, that privilege was essentially taken from him and given to the son of a shepherd named David. It would be easy to assume that was an indictment of Jonathan. His place in History could have been nothing more that the son who could have been king. Instead ,we find that Jonathan was the farthest thing from a loser rejected by God. The annals of his life describe a noble with the courage and character that inspire others to greatness. Jonathan never resented God’s selection of David as King. Actually he became David’s greatest ally even when his father king Saul became David’s adversary.

Samuel gives us a glimpse of this unique individual who did not allow his circumstances to limit the impact of his life. I see several road blocks in the story….

There was a leadership vacuum on the part of King Saul. All the political, military and religious authority needed to act was under Saul direction. Instead he was staying in Migron under a pomegranate tree with the 600 soldiers.

No resources

The philistines had a geographical advantage. They were at a higher altitude. In any type of warfare , the side with the high ground has the advantage. If you can control the high ground, you can control the outcome.

Despite the odds against him , Jonathan decides to act but Saul sat in comfort under the shade of the pomegranate tree along with his army because of fear. Now he and his 600 men were hiding in defeat, trying to avoid the Philistine raiding parties. There are two lessons I would like us to learn from this story…

Only God can give you victory but sometimes he wants you to take the first step.

Something or maybe someone woke Jonathan out of his slumber. When everyone else around him slept, he got up and went. He called out his armor-bearer and said ‘come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the lord will act in our behalf.’’. This is what he was saying in plain English, “Let’s go and pick a fight. Maybe God will help.’’  Imagine you’re his armor-bearer for a minute…Some of us will go like “You said May be God might help us? Hey, wake me up when you know!!!” or most of us would have said “let’s go back to sleep in the shade of the pomegranate tree, am willing to set out once everything is certain!” Personally I think the armor bearer thought Jonathan had a death wish? Or maybe he had more information he’s left undisclosed.

Jonathan understood that not everything was guaranteed, that you don’t wait till all the money is in the bank. There something’s you can know and something’s you will not know. He went on to say, “Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving whether by many or by few.”

Only God can give you the victory but sometimes he wants to see your faith; he wants you make the first step, to climb on that cliff.  Do you really think that the God of the universe needed these boys out there showing themselves off to the philistines.  No, no, no, no, no, no.  God can do anything.  God can like, “smite them with fire or hail stones or open the ground to swallow the enemy.  Do you see that?  Philistines dying everywhere.”  I mean, God can do that.  He didn’t need them to do that.  But instead, it’s almost as if he was saying, “You show me your faith and I’ll show you my faithfulness.” 

Because, God loves to see our faith. All over the New Testament you’ll see it again and again.  The bible will say, “When Jesus saw their faith.”  How do you see faith?  Like if I’m praying, do you see faith?  I’m praying and you’re like, “Oh man, do you see the faith smoke rising from his brain?”  You don’t see that.  You see faith in action.  I believe there are many times when God wants to sees us participate in his miracle; it’s still his miracle but he wants us to participate.

I believe there are too many people here in Mavuno they’re like just waiting for God to show them their faithfulness but they’re not showing God any faith.  You want to quit smoking?  Maybe you just throw your cigarettes in the garbage on the way out and say, “There’s some faith.  I’m getting rid of those things.”  You want to heal a relationship that’s gone bad, you may need to forgive before someone else even asked for forgiveness or treat someone with love when all they are doing is being ugly to you.  What’s that?  You’re taking the first step.

People say, “I want more money” God gives us a ridiculous principal, yes, absolutely, completely to the human mind, totally absurd and ridiculous.  And that is if we give him our first and our best, he will bless the rest.  And those of you who are tithers, you know the supernatural power of God that 90 percent with his blessings goes further than the 100 percent without.  Only he can give you the victory but he wants you to take the first step.

Jonathan didn’t create the victory, but it also would not come without his initiative. He was stepping into a moment where God would have to come through if it were going to achieve its ultimate end. He wasn’t being presumptuous as he was only creating an opportunity for God to bring victory He had already promised. Joshua 23:10 ‘One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you.’ “You show me your faith and I’ll show you my faithfulness.” 

The second lesson is..

The Odds were irrelevant to God.

The number of the philistines, their weaponry, their strategic positioning didn’t matter to God. All that mattered to God was for someone to see beyond the obstacles and see a God of possibilities, someone to have an unwavering confidence in God’s capacity. Someone who has absolute trust in God’s character.

Jonathan moved with God and God moved with Jonathan. It may sound strange, but God joined Jonathan’s effort. It wasn’t that Jonathan changed God’s mind, but in fact that Jonathan expressed God’s heart. He did what was on God’s mind and his action created an opportunity for God to act on his behalf. The tables quickly turned from Jonathan and his armor-bearer against the philistines to Jonathan and God against the enemies of God’s purpose. Because Jonathan became a warrior for God, God became a warrior for Jonathan. The earth shock and it was a panic sent by God. Jonathan was willing to live on the edge and God had made him the epicenter .His life marked where God was moving. “You show me your faith and I’ll show you my faithfulness”

Jonathan wasn’t choosing to die but how he would live. He left the consequence of his actions in the hand of God. He chose to do what he knew was right. Again, God was doing something in history, and Jonathan gave his life to it. This realm of uncertainty is the place of miracles. Sometimes the miracle is wrapped around the boldness and the courage we express.

When you move with God, he always shows up. It’s just difficult to predict what he will do or how he will do it. If you wait for guarantees, the only thing that will be guaranteed is that you will miss a divine opportunity-that you can know for certain.

The victory that Jonathan experienced on that day began with God working through Jonathan and his sword. It is no small thing that one man with a sword can slay multitudes with endless weapons. Then God sent an earth quake, and things got really interesting. I am convinced that God longs to put His fingerprint in our lives, to act on our behalf and surprise us with his magnificence. I am equally convinced that most of the time we do not give God a context in which to do this. The mundane is not really the best context for a miracle. When we play it safe, we squeeze God out of the formula. If we go only where we know and do what we’re certain will succeed, we remove our need for God. “You show me your faith and I’ll show you my faithfulness”

When God calls his children he calls them out of status quo, maintenance lifestyle, fear-driven decisions and inactions to the Lord . We as children of God are made for the challenges, the difficulties. We are made to experience His Faithfulness. We are made to laugh and stare at the adversaries because we serve God who allows nothing to hinder him from carrying out his saving grace!

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