Provoked to Action
This Morning we will be preaching on this thought: of being "Provoked to Action."
We have been discussing 40 day periods in the bible, some are reading Rick Warren’s book, "The Purpose Driven Life," which takes advantage of the 40 day principle in the Bible and provides a 40 devotional/topical study to help people walk in their purpose.
The idea of a designated purpose driven spiritual emphasis comes from the bible, and may have been popularized by David and Karen Mains, out of Canada, with their 50 Day, Spiritual Adventure.
It has not been my purpose not to pick one topic for 40 days, but to go through those things which happened for 40 day periods in the Bible and expound on them.
This Morning we will be reflecting on what happened to David and the children of Israel with Goliath and how it provoked David to Action.
1 Samuel 17:1-11; 16; 20-26
You will note in this passage (v. 16) that Goliath taunted the Jews for 40 days.
Their response to that taunting is found in vs. 11, and 24. They were fearful and fled.
You have heard me say this before that TRIALS WILL BRING OUT THE BEST IN YOU OR THEY WILL BRING OUT THE WORST IN YOU. I want to say to you this morning that if you are going through a trial it is God’s purpose to use it to bring out the best in you, and the devils purpose to use it to bring out the worst in you. Who’s purpose do you want to see fulfilled in your life?
The forty day length of the provocation teaches us something about us as people. Sometimes things need to be purposefully addressed in our lives before change will come.
40 days simply can be understood as a trial that lingered. A taunting that continued. A trial that mocked. The purpose of which, is for something in you to rise up and tear down the enemies stronghold and provoke you to action.
Paul was followed around by a demon possessed girl for three days, before he finally got provoked enough to do something about it and cast the demon out.
We ask ourselves why did he put up with it for 3 days? Why do people put up with demonic harassment?
I think the reason this happened is because there is this principle in life that sometimes we accept things we shouldn’t until they come to what we call an intolerable level.
Bishop Joseph Garlington has a message on critical mass that has greatly impacted my life. In it he relates critical mass is the minimum mass of fissionable material that will support a sustainable chain reaction. He speaks of how God orchestrates things in our lives to bring us to critical mass.
Being provoked to action is our response to those times when God brings us to critical mass.
Bishop Garlington speaks of God bringing us to a place we were are desperate for God, and sometimes nothing will happen till we get to that place. I think the episode with Paul and the demon possessed girl is a microcosm of that fact.
So my message today is that if you are in a time of harassment, it is because God and the devil are trying to provoke you to explode, you can explode upward as Hannah and David and Paul did or you can explode downward and fall into fear, fleeing, and failure.
Our message in entitled, "Provoked to Action." If we were speaking about failures we might say, "Provoked to Run and Hide," "Provoked to Curse God," "Provoked to immorality," "Provoked to Fear and Worry."
But we are not speaking of failures, we are speaking of those who walked in victory when provoked.
In the OT the word provoked comes from a Hebrew word "Kaw - as" and it means -anger, provoked, grieved, indignation, sorrow, vex, wrath, and wroth. Most often it is said of God that He was "Provoked to Anger."
We can understand it as someone slapping you and observing your reaction. We read that Hannah the mother of Samuel was provoked for years by her husbands other wife. The bible says in 1 Samuel 1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
Her adversary provoked her to get this response out of her: Fretting, the Hebrew word means literally to thunder, or as we would understand it to explode.
It is interesting that the verse calls the provocateur "her adversary." The bible makes it clear that there is one called the adversary, and his name is the devil. So in this passage the adversary is provoking Hannah to action, he is attempting to make her explode. And she does, she explodes upward with prayer that was heard on high.
1 Samuel 1:10 And she [was] in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. 1 Samuel 1:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
The adversary provoked her to cause here to loose her hold in God, the exact opposite happened instead of pulling back, she surrendered more.
That is a Godly response to the adversaries provocation. It reminds me of a portion of that great hymn of the church, "Stand up for Jesus." Listen very carefully to the second stanza of that song:
"Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day,
"Ye that are men now serve Him," against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger And strength to strength oppose."
Let this phrase resonate and echo in your spirit today: "Let courage rise with danger And strength to strength oppose."
Let it attach itself to your spiritual man or woman, let it animate you, let it inspire you, let it provoke you with a holy provocation:
"Let courage rise with danger And strength to strength oppose."
If you are in the midst of a spiritual provocation, don’t receive it as a call to drop your weapon, but as an incentive to hold on stronger to your sword. To lash out more vehemently in prayer, fasting, and praising of God.
Let your provocation be to you a trumpet call to arms. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor this nation made a holy resolve, "We are not going down without a fight", better yet, "We are not going down, Japan get ready for a whopping like you ain’t never had!"
Trials and provocations can be a trumpet call to arms or a trumpet call to run and hide like the Jews did in David’s day. God is saying that if you are in the midst of a spiritual provocation, let some holy anger rise up in you, let some Holy resolve rise up in you.
"Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose!"
But you may be saying to yourself, who am I against such an opposing force? Its not who you are but "whose," you are that matters:
In a museum in Scotland, resides the sword of the famous Scotsman William Wallace, who was a hero and patriot. A visitor once said, "I do not see how it could win such victories." "Ah sir, you do not see the arm that wielded it," came the reply.
Let me give a few more examples of Holy Provocation and those who were provoked to Godly action in the bible:
Paul Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
His spirit was stirred within him so he went to the center of town and preached!
David was provoked at everyone else’s lack of faith for Goliath and got 5 smooth stones, perhaps because he was ready to whoop Goliath’s 4 brothers also.
"Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose!"
David was provoked when others discouraged him, and so he encouraged himself in the Lord! (1 Samuel 30)
Psalms 3:2 Many [there be] which say of my soul, [There is] no help for him in God. Selah.
It is a discouraging time in life when others discourage you, but the most difficult time you will have in life is when you discourage yourself! Don’t do that!!!!
In response to the discouragement of others, something rose up in David and he triumphantly sings:
Psalms 3:3 But thou, O LORD, [art] a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. {for: or, about}
Let your current circumstances be your trumpet call to cling more tightly to God. Let it be your rallying cry.
When Esther heard the Jews were scheduled for execution, she declared war, not capitulation, saying Esther 4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which [is] not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
I am not quitting I am going to ratchet up my counter attack!
Jacob grabbed a hold to God as he thought of facing his brother.
Two final examples. Please note I am spiritualizing this next text.
When Elijah saw that his nation was given over to idolatry, he was provoked to action. He prayed and shut up the heavens for 3 years. Then he had what we refer to as the contest on Mt. Carmel.
Among other things in Elijah’s preparation for the fire of God coming down:
Elijah dug a trench around the altar.
When faced with trial Elijah did more around the altar not less. He enlarged his altar, he expanded his prayer time. He did it before the fire came not after. Many people are waiting for the fire to come before they sacrifice. Elijah did it in anticipation of the fire.
Trouble provoked him to more time with God, not less
and finally...
Micah 7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD [shall be] a light unto me.
There is an aeronautical term called "Pressure Differential" It’s the pressure exerted against the force of gravity that causes an airplane or helicopter to lift off from the ground"
Trials can give you the pressure differential you need in God to lift off.
Close: Is there anyone here who has been facing something that is provoking you to thunder? Who wants prayer that they will explode with faith not fear? Who needs someone to stand with them in faith as they face a Goliath?
