1 Samuel 14: 1-7
Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD's priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah. And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his Armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few. And his Armour bearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
RIGHT NOW PRAISE
This is a very interesting story about how God can use us if we just trust and believe. This is a story about when the odds are great, God will deliver you the victory. God is always ready to bless us right now if we just stand on His promises. In our text, Jonathan, the son of King Saul, is a Man of Action. He saw the problem of the Philistines and how they had come against the Lord and His people. Even though there was only he and his Armour bearer, he was not afraid because he knew who was on his side. So often, when we are faced with a difficult task, we tend to forget our past God-led victories. We tend to forget who has brought us this far. We tend to forget that the battle is not our, but the Lord’s. We often forget whose hand we are in and who we belong to. Christ paid it all, all to Him I owe. Jonathan was willing to face the insurmountable odds of the Philistine people who outnumbered the army of Israel 20 –one. The fact that the odds were in the favor of the Philistines did not discourage him from wanting to defeat the enemy. So often we become discouraged by life’s events. We give up too easily. We want to quit. When we come to church and there is only the faithful few, we stop coming. My friends, we cannot become discouraged. The word says that when two or three is gathered, I am in the midst. If the Lord shows up, that is enough. If the lord is providing, that is enough. We cannot wait on others to show up. We have to continue on in this battle. Our legs may get weary, we may get a little tired, the steps we take may be getting shorter and shorter, but we must not let the few stop us from praising his Holy Name.
Jonathan was not discouraged by what others were doing. He had what is called a ‘right now’ praise. His attitude was knowing that God was there on his behalf. He didn’t listen to others but was focused on God being good. A great number of the Hebrews had deserted. Saul, the King was sitting down under a pomegranate tree. There were only 600 men left of what had been an army of 3000 soldiers. Only Saul and Jonathan had a spear because the Philistine army had defeated them so badly. They could not even find a blacksmith to make swords because the Philistine army had taken them all out of the land of Israel. They only had plowshares and axes. All hope was lost. Israel was defeated and the army was hiding from the Philistines. They had given up and were not willing to fight. Their eyes were not on the Lord, but on themselves. Often we give up when the odds seem too great. We forget the rock upon whom our faith is built. That illness that won’t go away; those children who won’t mind, the choir that just won’t get it right; the ushers who get an attitude; the church folks who don’t seem to have an ounce of love in their hearts. Even if you are the only one, you have to show up for the battle. I’ll go, if I have to go by myself.
Jonathan was tired of being defeated at every turn. He was tired of the enemy getting the upper hand. My friends, some of us need to become tired of letting the enemy defeat us. We need to be tired of letting the devil steal your joy because the Joy of the Lord is our strength. You need to be tired of falling down and not getting back up. You need to be tired of being depressed because of the hand that life has dealt you. You need to be tired of always giving up and giving in. Some of us need to be tired of letting the victory go to Satan. Look at the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! Defeat was staring them right in the face. The crowd was great and all were against them. A fiery furnace was starring them right in the face. But they did not give up hope. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus and His Righteousness; On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. The boys knew that they could not be defeated. They knew that they had a coach who had prepared them for the game at hand. They knew that they had a coach that prepared them for this very moment. Because they knew that they knew, they were able to say that their God is ABLE! They knew that if God be for us, who can be against us!
Just as the Hebrew boys, we need to hold on and be faithful. We must look to Christ for our help. Even if we are the only one who is holding on to the truth put your hand in His hands. We can’t lose our faith. Because of the trials sometimes we stop going to church. We stop singing in the choir because sister Williams did not show up. We stop ushering because there isn’t a crowd of folks. We begin to find other things to do because the preacher isn’t preaching the way we want! Some give up on the Lord because the Deacons aren’t deaconing right! Put your hands in God’s Hands, even when the odds seed against you!
Then what are you talking about preacher? I am glad that you asked! We must learn to praise God right now. We can’t wait for the time to be right. We can’t wait for the moon and the stars to be lined up. We need to believe right now. We have to have some ‘right now’ praise. The moment doesn’t dictate my praise. The situation cannot be representative of my praise. I need to continue to honor the Lord with my praise. The odds may be great, but my praise has to be greater. There is an old saying that God inhabits the praise of His people. If we can learn to lean on God right now, we will walk better. Distractions will stay at a distance. We need to be like Jonathan and be willing to go into action right now. He believed that God could give him the victory in the right now. Too many of us look to our past only to find the same defeat that has been there for years. Nothing has changed. Look how defeated the Israelites were. We gotta be willing to praise God right now. Honor him right now. No matter what the odds, we must seek God. No matter what life brings our way, we must trust in the Lord. Jonathan had a made-up mind that he would not let the enemy be victorious. He had a made-up mind that if God be for us, who can be against us. Jonathan was determined to defeat the enemy. But what, you say there are only two and the Philistines had a whole army? I tell you that is how God works. If you know God, then you know that He works in a way that there will be no question that it was Him who provided for us. God told Gideon, ‘I don’t need your whole army to defeat the enemy. Take them down to the river and I will sift the men by how they drink from the river. Gideon said, “How can I defeat the enemy with only 300 men against the whole army of the Midianites”. God told Gideon, ‘Go for I am with you”! Go You are in My hands now! God is able! You got to believe that God is able. You got to know that God is able to do just what he said He would do! Because your foundation is built on the Rock, because you are the temple of God, you can do all things thru Christ who strengthens us!
The Armour bearer must have been afraid; maybe a little discouraged. Jonathan told his Armour bearer, don’t worry about the numbers. Don’t worry that it’s only the two of us. Don’t worry that we are greatly outnumbered for they are uncircumcised, and do not serve the God we serve. (You can only say that if you know that you are standing on the Rock!) Fear not, my Armour bearer for we shall do well against them, for they are not under the protection of God’s covenant as we are, they cannot say He is their God for they serve lesser gods.’’ We need not fear them for God is able to make us two victorious over their unnumbered regiments. There is no restraint in the Lord, no limitation to the holy One of Israel, to save by many or by few. So when it seems that you are alone, remember, God is faithful and will carry you through.
The Armour bear was encouraged by the faith of Jonathan. The Armour bearer looked at Jonathan and said, ‘Go ‘Head, Go ‘Head! He was ready to move for the Lord. He was ready to do the work of the Lord. The situation did not deter him nor deflate him. When you realize on whom you trust and who has your back, you can say, I’m ready to give God some right now praise! When you realize that you stand on the rock of your foundation, you are ready to give God some right now praise! When you realize that no weapon formed against you shall prosper, you are ready to give God some right now praise! God is the joy and the strength of my life, Right Now Praise! Though they slay me yet will I trust, Right Now Praise! Sickness hits my body, Right Now Praise! Discouragement comes my way, ‘Right Now Praise! Life throws us for a loop, Right Now Praise! Weeping may endure for a night, Right Now Praise! But joy comes in the morning, Right Now Praise! Money is funny and change is strange, Right Now Praise! Sad and lonely, down and depressed, ‘Go ‘Head, Go ‘Head! Happiness done left, joy is gone, ‘Right Now Praise! For my savior Lives and He is always there!
THE CROSS
