INTRO
* Cars going by 100 miles an hour looking straight ahead
* Versus being in the car looking into the person's eyes
* 2 people seeing things different
ƒ{ Saul was discouraged -- outnumbered
o Trying not to lose
ƒ{ Jonathan -- not needing to survive
o He's not the king
o Not going to be the king
ƒ{ Sports -- playing to win
o Or playing not to lose
ƒ{ The Philistines are manned to the thousands
ƒ{ The Israelites are weak, discouraged, only have two swords left
ƒ{ Saul's not wanting to go to battle
ƒ{ He's:
o under resourced
o under powered
o under manned
„X kind of like being in the ministry
ƒ{ Yet Jonathan is getting ready to show us
ƒ{ How not only to be a survivor, but a conqueror
o Saul was on the outskirts
o You never win on the outskirts
o Trying not to lose, playing it safe
ƒ{ God works in concert with us
ƒ{ Jonathan wakes up in the middle of the night and says, let's go.
ƒ{ No strategy -- planning meeting
ƒ{ And becomes the turning point
ƒ{ To me it is one of the most spiritual thing a Christian can do
o I know you think it's:
„X Prayer
„X Worship
„X Bible reading
„X Evangelizing
ƒ{ But all those are a result of choosing to take action.
ƒ{ God is going to defeat the Philistines...
o But, He is waiting for someone to choose to move.
ƒ{ I have found that most of the time in our gut...
o We know what to do
o But don't have the guts to do it.
ƒ{ We camouflage our disobedience with:
o Prayer
o Fasting
o Counsel
„X Saul was on the outskirts
„X Having a prayer meeting
„X Trying to survive
„X While Jonathan was doing something
„X And not worrying about surviving
ƒ{ Now, PH, let's not get ahead of God
ƒ{ You must think that God is really slow
ƒ{ Be careful, you might do something great for the kingdom
o And God won't be there to witness it
ƒ{ Jonathan wakes up his armor bearer and says,
o "Let's go pick a fight"
ƒ{ Why do we think we will mess up the will of God...
o By moving with initiative
o In the direction of what we already know to be the heart of God
ƒ{ If your idea doesn't work -- it doesn't work
ƒ{ Quit trying to survive
ƒ{ That's what I love about the apostle Paul
o Paul the sufferer
Philippians 4:8-9
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
o What should I think about?
„X "whatever"
o You've been reading it in the Greek, emphasis on the wrong word
o What should I do?
„X "whatever"
o And the God of peace will be with you
o Do whatever
o People waiting to be called
o You don't have to pray about:
„X Tithing
„X Evangelism
„X Ministry
„X Church attendance
o Just do whatever!
„X And the God of peace will be with you
o Take some initiative
o Feel free to fail...
„X But be creative
„X And don't fail at the same thing over and over again!
o If anyone ever knew the will of God it was Paul
o Acts 16:16
o Everyone waiting for a Macedonia call...
„X But Paul really had no idea where he was going
* Verse 6
o Let's go to Asia
o We will be the biggest church in Asia
o The Holy Spirit kept them
o So they changed their mind and went to (verse 7) Bithynia
o But the Spirit of Jesus stopped them
o The whole trinity is trying to stop Paul from going to the wrong place
o So finally, while he is asleep...
„X Paul our hero
EXAMPLE: Video Movie - Far and Away
Dead horse scene
ƒ{ Back to 1 Samuel 14:6
„X When you don't have to survive
* You can embrace uncertainty
„X PERHAPS
„X Maybe we will win
„X Maybe not
„X But let's try!
EXAMPLE: Not building at United
ƒ{ I found it's not clear first,
o It's clear after you move
ƒ{ Everyone wants the part of the verse that says:
o "Nothing can hinder the Lord"
ƒ{ But the focus I want to give is:
o Maybe God will help!
o Then the Lord will act
ƒ{ I often hear Christians say
o "God wasn't in that"
ƒ{ Why?
ƒ{ Because the battle...
o Didn't have resources
o Dead ends
o Etc.
EXAMPLE: ROC Building
I didn't have all the answers
But I would rather fail in attempting something great
Than fail without attempt
EXAMPLE: Cross country motorcycle trip
We don't have to control how we die
What we do have to control is how we live.
* God is not concerned with us dying
* He is concerned with how we live
* The world says don't be an innovator
* Be an early adopter
* Innovators eat poisonous mushrooms and die
* I've decided to be a mushroom eater...
o Somebody has to do it
* The option is to starve
* Somebody had to be first
* Imagine the first person to eat
o Snails
o Fish eggs
* Let's say you attempt something for God and "God wasn't in it"
* So you helped people while you were messing up
* Paul said, "But the gospel was preached"
* Not needing to survive strategy #1
o Verse 8 - Here's his strategy
„X You got one sword
„X Maybe a surprise attack
„X But let's go with our 1 sword
„X And let them see us!
* Jonathan -- is not playing safe
„X He's not trying to survive
„X He's at the point of no return
„X If God didn't intervene, they were dead
„X What are you doing that if God doesn't intervene you die?
EXAMPLE: Church indebtedness at ROC
I have to have God's intervention or I die
* OCD = Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
o They fear things
o Counselor says:
„X The farther you are from that fear the bigger it looks
„X The closer you get the smaller it looks
* So, if you want to get better
* You must face your fear
* Not Needing to Survive Strategy #2
o Verse 9-10
„X Come on up to us
„X If you know anything about fighting
„X You know that those who are higher win
„X Jonathan should have asked God to send them down to them
„X But they didn't need to survive.
o Verse 13
„X Jonathan is crawling up to them
* Vulnerable
o Verse 14
„X In the first attack Jonathan killed 20 men
„X And turned the battle around
CONCLUSION
ƒ{ What enemies could you destroy?
ƒ{ And what battles could you turn around?
ƒ{ If you stopped trying to gain your life and was willing to lose it?
