1 Samuel 14 (Part 1) Bible Study (Jonathan Defeats the Philistines) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

And as we're opening our text, let's pray one more time. Father, we thank you for the word. Thank you that this is your voice. We pray, Lord, tonight you would speak loud and clear. And we know, Lord, that according to your word, so much can be accomplished.

Speak life, speak light, speak hope and peace, speak conviction. Lord, we pray that there would be an unusual sense of your presence in this moment. We long to be captivated by your glory. We long to be swimming in the depths of your revelation of wisdom and love. We pray, Lord, that there would be tangible victory, measurable success in our spiritual condition.

Lord, unless your holy spirit comes, nothing will be done. We acknowledge that only you can bring salvation in this place, and we trust that you will bring it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. First Samuel chapter 14.

Do you realize how long this chapter is? Have you seen it yet? It is a lengthy chapter. So we're gonna be here till midnight tonight. I'm sure some of you wouldn't mind that.

Right? No. No. Because it is a lengthy chapter, we're gonna have to split this up in two. And that's okay because we're not in a rush here with our study of the word of God.

If there's a way that we can define what this chapter is about, really it's a continuation of our study of the downfall of this king named Saul. But this time, through this chapter, we're not just going to see it through his own behavior. We're not just gonna see it through his failures. We're going to see it by way of comparison. There's gonna be a juxtaposition here in this chapter.

We're gonna see two subjects standing side by side and we're gonna see just how much Saul is in fact in trouble with his walk with the Lord. And the contrast, the comparison is gonna be made between him and his son Jonathan. Because Jonathan is going to be a case study that will will show how faith and humility and wisdom radiates from a man, whereas Saul will unfortunately be a showcase of what it looks like to be operating under pride, and fear, and foolishness. And as we compare, we're going to see that it's possible for our own lives to reflect either or. And so without further ado, let's just read the text and let's see what the Holy Spirit will lead us into.

Let's read from verse one. One day, Jonathan, the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, come. Let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side. But he did not tell his father. Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave or some translation under the pomegranate tree and Migrun.

The people who were with them were about 600 men, including Ahiha, the son of Ahitab, Ichabod's brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. Last week, we realized that Jonathan already defeated a a military post that belonged to the Philistines. And after that, we we kinda have this anticipation that his father, king Saul, will now work with the authority and the calling that he has been given to take charge and lead the people further into greater victory. But instead of that, you and I come to this text and we realize that Jonathan again is the one who is strategizing another attack against the enemy.

And that is concerning, especially when you and I have just read what Saul, his father, is doing in comparison While Saul is sitting under a tree or in a cave, his son is the one who is plotting the next attack. And we'll get to that in a moment, but you probably realize something that's important for practical reasons. In verse one at the end, notice that when he told his armor bearer, let's go up and let's see what this garrison is all about, it says here, but he did not tell his father. Here's my question for us at bible study tonight. Why do you think Jonathan did not tell his dad, the leader, the captain, the king of this army that he was going to do this?

Any ideas? Any ideas why Jonathan wouldn't say anything? Lack of trust in his own father, perhaps. Perhaps his father would not approve of the suggestion to go about this. Great answers.

Any other ideas? Lack of trust, not believing he would approve. Maybe his dad would have taken credit for it. Very good observations. Anyone's before we move on?

Something happened in the last chapter, and that is exactly the indication that we need to know why he would go about it this way. Here's the first possibility. The last time that we read of Jonathan and his father, Saul, in the context of this war was what? Jonathan himself was the one who took care of one of the Gerasenes. Right?

And then what happens? Look at chapter 13 verse four. And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the Gerasenes of the Philistines. So we we took that to realize something about Saul that he had some insecurity, that he wanted to take the credit for this victory, and it would just be the infant stages of what he was going to show later on in his in his rule and his reign. Could it be that Jonathan realized something about his father?

That perhaps he realized that he was intimidated by him to a certain degree, and therefore, he distances himself from his own dad. If that is the case, then that proves what we learned about jealousy last week that if it is undealt with in the heart, it will eventually push people away from you or you will pull yourself away from people. Why? Because jealousy is an intolerable attitude. It's something that cannot be managed in the context of healthy and flourishing relationships.

In other words, let me let me speak plain speech here. It's impossible to have a normal relationship with somebody who is riddled with jealousy, even if it's your own dad. Because jealousy, like many other sins of the spirit, which are sins that are not necessarily out there in the flesh, they are more hidden, they're internal, like pride and other things of the such. Jealousy, though it is internal, will eventually manifest itself one way or another, and that can happen in many ways. For some people, they they cannot help because they are so energized by this thing.

They cannot help but even use their words to make comments to shame or embarrass others that they are envious of. It can also show in ways where they show excitement and even happiness at the failure or the shortcomings of others. And if that thing gets a hold of you like it did Saul later on in his reign with David, you will actually have the ambition to recruit other people in your campaign of hate to just go on a series of slanderous attacks until that person is overcome by your deception, which makes the point here that Jonathan perhaps was sensing something from his father. And because of that, he did not have the connection with his dad that anyone would love to have because that is the nature of sin. It ultimately destroys even if it's a feeling like jealousy that is not ruled by the Holy Spirit.

It ruins and rots what God longs to build and bless. It really does. And in this case, it's it's destroying a relationship with a father and a son. And if you might thinking maybe we're we're reading too much into this, go down to verse 29 of chapter 14 and realize the comment that Jonathan makes that gives an indication that he had some kind of tension with his father. This was after that Saul makes a rash vow, which will be our subject next week.

But look what Jonathan says when he realizes the vow that his dad made. Then Jonathan said, my father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. So he even makes a public comment to the other men about his disapproval of what his dad had done. You can feel the friction.

Right? You can feel like there's something off here between them, and it's not Jonathan's fault. Perhaps he shouldn't have done it this way, but out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And secondly, the possibility of him not telling his dad somebody mentioned him, it could include this understanding and this awareness of his jealousy. But we're seeing here a demonstration of faith on Jonathan's part.

A faith. He is stepping up, trusting God for greater victory in contrast. Again, remember, there's a theme here, the contrast between Saul and Jonathan. His father is most likely operating by fear. Here he is going about this with a a confidence that if he brought this to his dad, his father most likely would have said, no.

There's no way we're going about this. We're 600. There are multiple thousands. This is just not gonna happen. And And if we have, again, any doubt about that, the man is sitting down with his men doing who knows what.

He's not seeking God. He's not calling out to the Lord. He's just sitting there idly, hoping for something to happen when he's been given the call to go forward and bring victory for Israel. So Jonathan takes it upon himself. And here's the point that we wanna make here.

Faith and fear have no fellowship with each other. They can't. And that's especially true when someone or more than one person operates in either or spirit. Either the spirit of fear will consume you or the spirit of faith. And when somebody is walking in faith and he's trying to walk with somebody in fear, you're gonna move forward while they stay behind.

And that's happening right here in this place. Because those who walk in faith are not intimidated or concerned about the cost of obeying Christ, But those who are operating in fear will be paralyzed. You'll be stuck in the same place that you have been for many years, and not only that, you're even tempted to abandon the call on your life altogether. That becomes increasingly more tempting as you obey God and you feel the heat When Satan puts you on notice, is this person thinks they're gonna live for Christ in this generation without a fight? And so if you're under the influence of living for God's glory and trusting in his word, you will not find it easy to be close with those who want to be comfortable in life and who are not concerned about Christ being exalted.

And we see between a father and a son. One's moving forward, the other one is standing still. But regardless of the reason of why Jonathan didn't tell his dad, one thing is for certain, Jonathan is doing what his dad is supposed to be doing. He was called Saul was called to be the one who would go against the Philistines and lead the charge, and instead he's not. And this should be concerning for the reader.

Why? Because Saul is not showing much promise for his purpose. He's failing almost immediately while his son Jonathan is doing the work. He did it the first time, and he's now willing to do it again. And if we have any doubt that Saul is being at fault here, the Holy Spirit gives us a nudge in these verses that should cause us to fear for the man intensely.

What did we read in verse two and three? Who was among the 600 sitting with Saul? There was a priest, but the Holy Spirit doesn't just tell us there was a priest. He goes on to reveal the genealogy to show us who he is related to. What's the name that stands out from this list of names?

Even after that. Ichabod. Ichabod. That's the concern here. Does anybody remember what Ichabod means?

The glory has departed. Why is the Lord showing us that someone related to Ichabod is sitting here with Saul? I believe that the spirit of God wants us to make a connection. Remember, the name Ichabod was given by Phineas' wife when she heard the news that the ark was captured by the Philistines. She was so distraught with that news that she names her own son about the commentary of what happened to the nation, the glory, the presence of God is gone.

And that not only defined the state of Israel, that spoke about Eli and his descendants. Because the Lord removed his favor from Eli and his descendants because of their disobedience. And as a result, the ark was captured and the connection that the Lord wants to make is, what happened to Eli is about to happen to Saul. The favor that was removed from the priesthood is now ready to be removed from this monarchy. And so we read this and we think, this is troubling.

Think about this picture, while Jonathan is out there with his assistant climbing rocks and being stealth. Right? Running around and trying to get to a place of coming up with a plan, his father is sitting with Ichabod's nephew. And they're sitting there and you think, this is not good. And that's the point.

The glory has departed and the glory is gonna depart. The favor of God, the smile of God from Saul himself very soon. Now look at this though, at the end of verse three here, and the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. I like that. Don't you?

Don't you like that about Jonathan? Perhaps he was worried that one of his men would say something to Saul, so he just told his armor bearer. But if you want to expand on it more, again, there's a contrast between Jonathan and his father. When Jonathan wanted to fulfill God's purpose and see success, he did not feel it necessary to tell others of what he was endeavoring to do for the Lord. But when it came to his father, Saul, after his son Jonathan was the one who actually fulfilled the task in chapter 13, he tooted his own horn and said, I overtook this garrison.

Let Israel know that Saul had brought about this great triumph. And I think here that in Jonathan's case, human recognition was not on his radar at all. He could care less if people knew what he was doing for God or if they did know. He was being a follower of this God in a way where he did not seek the praise of others as a source of joy, but believing that God smile over him was more than enough. If God if God knows and God sees and God helps, it doesn't matter who does know.

Like father, like son doesn't apply to Jonathan here and for good reason. And it doesn't have to be true for you either. Just because you might have grown up with parents who desperately failed to be the example of Jesus Christ in your home, doesn't mean you have to follow suit. It doesn't mean that you have to replicate it, nor does it give you permission to blame your sins for what your parents did. And so you have to understand here that you're seeing something very inspirational by this young man, who is perhaps half the age of his father at this time.

He's operating in faith, And that's a beautiful thing, because we realize even more contrast in verse six. Says here, Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, come, let us go over to the Gerasene of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few. Do you get that kind of language from Saul in chapter 13? Absolutely not.

And you can dissect the statement here made by Jonathan in at least three ways. How does he identify? How does he identify the Philistines here? What word does he use? Uncircumcised.

That's important. Do you know why? Because Jonathan in this moment is not just interpreting this war through the lens of the enemies of of Israel. No. He sees them as the enemies of God.

And he uses the word uncircumcised because circumcision at this time was the physical mark to show that you are rightly related to the right God. And so when he categorizes them as the uncircumcised, he's labeling this as a war between righteousness and wickedness. Truth and wrong. Right and evil. God versus not just enemies of Israel, but enemies of him.

And that is a wonderful thing because right there I see Jonathan as a spiritual man. He's a spiritual man. Because it's possible to over spiritualize things. Right? Like somebody messed up your order at the fast food thing and you think it's a spiritual warfare.

There are those kind of people. And then there are those people who have literally no sense of seeing the spiritual implication behind events, people, and seasons of life. There are those kind of people too. Where they they just think Christianity is about you knowing a few bible verses and attending a pew for for one day out of the week. No.

There is a war out there. We serve a God that is intricately involved in creation. There is a God, little g, of this world and he is influencing very powerful people to do very powerful things. So let me give you an example of this. How how are some people who are not spiritual?

Well, here's one. That when you endure attacks or assaults from people, you view those people as your enemies. That's not spiritual. Because the scripture says that we do not wrestle against what? Flesh and blood, but a category of spiritual realities.

The spiritual understand that. The spiritual see in the context of serving God and moving forward, when there is attacks and there's persecution and there's internal strife, the spiritual do not see those vessels as their enemies. They see that there is a spiritual influence behind it. You know how important that is for you to understand? That will change the way you do warfare.

That will teach you to be much more merciful and compassionate. That will show you how to be more forgiving and gracious, and you will know how to tap into a different kind of armory than using your fist or your words or trickery in the human sense. Or what about episodes in life? There are some people who do not include God in the equation. They think that they're in charge of life and that their Christian existence is about you doing God a favor by putting some money in a plate, and maybe talking about him once in a while.

When in reality, if you belong to him, he's in control. He owns you. You have given him the right to write your story. And because of that, you're able to interpret life through his providential care. That's how the spiritual see it.

But those who are unspiritual, profess Christ are in constant panic, constant anxiety, constant fear. Why? Because they're not viewing it the way they're supposed to view it. They're not seeing it through the spiritual lens that God has called us to see it through. Jonathan here is a spiritual man.

He's not just seeing them as the enemies of Israel, they're the enemies of God. This is God's battle. This is God's war. That will change your outlook totally. And And so he says that.

And then secondly, he says that it may be that the Lord will work for us. He has a knowledge of dependency on God. But more than that, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few. Now that is faith. That is faith.

And here's another contrast. When Saul stood before the same army and he saw men dispersing from him as he was waiting for Samuel to make the sacrifice, is that how he responded? Did he say, does it matter how many leave me? God will save us by many or by few. Is that what he said?

No. He was so pressured that he sinned against God in the process. Completely different spirit than his own son, Jonathan. He had one assistant that was supposed to just carry his sword and shield and he says, two, we're good. We can take care of this.

How? How? How can he say for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few? What was influencing him to assume such a thing? I'll tell you what I think it is.

A knowledge of the word of God. As simple as that. A knowledge of God's ways and his works from the past that helped him interpret the circumstance in the moment. I wonder if Jonathan had the series of the events of judges running through his mind. And maybe that's too soon for it to have been written down for his day, maybe.

But one thing is for certain, he had a bible in his day. God called a man named Moses to give them a book and I'm sure that he had knowledge of what God had promised in that bible and here's one of those promises in Leviticus. Let me just read it to you. Twenty six seven to eight. This is what God says to Israel, you shall chase your enemies and they shall fall before you by the sword.

Five of you shall chase a 100 and a 100 of you shall chase 10,000, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I believe Jonathan to a certain extent knew some of these promises that God had given Israel. If there's just a few of us, we can chase thousands. And again, we see contrast between Saul and his son. Someone knew more bible than the other.

Someone absorbed God's word to the point where God's truth melted with his faith until it provided a sense in which he could confidently face situations with a courage that comes from a truth that is unchanging. Let me put it this way. Your knowledge of the word of God will determine the quality of your life. I don't care what you say and I don't care how much money you have and I don't care how good looking you are. I don't care how popular you are.

The knowledge that you have of the word of God or lack thereof will determine the quality of life that you experience. There are many rich professing Christians, there are many healthy professing Christians, there are many successful professing Christians that are very poor, weak and sick spiritually. Because the strength of your courage, the wisdom of your decisions, the peace in your troubles all influenced by the depth of your understanding of divine revelation. And that's why you have one man with one assistant who can say, God will lead us. God is able to take over this horde.

Whereas you had another man who had a few 100 with him that says, we can't do this. What was the truth? This truth, God's truth that made the difference. A verse came to mind when reading this in Psalm eighteen twenty nine. Look what David said, for by you I can run against a troop and by my God I can leap over a wall.

You know what that means? That means you walking with Jesus Christ, you living for God does not diminish your trials, does not evaporate your obstacles. What it means is that God will give you the supernatural strength to overcome. That's what it means. And this is the truth that we see here that even though there's a troop, I individually, not we, I myself as one can run against them.

And here's a wall that cannot be climbed but with my God, I can leap over it. And you're saying, well how is this possible? Well the next verse tells us, this God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord proves true. It's the word of God.

This word has power. Get this word in you and see what will happen to your character. Get this word in you and see how you will be able to withstand and be unshaken, what would make the next person beside you who just wants to come to church and play games, be crushed by. You and I cannot afford to not know this book. You and I have been given divine truth from cover to cover, unlike any other nation in this world.

There are places in this world that are seeing mass revivals with only pieces of the Bible. You're saying how? Because they actually believe it when they read it. You and I have truth and when we get truth in us, and you practice this truth, and you rehearse this truth, and you let your mind be renewed by this truth, superhuman strength will be infused in you. And you'd be amazed to know what you can look at and interpret that would make other people think you're crazy when it's founded upon God's word.

And that's what Jonathan is doing here. He's saying we can do this, and I'm sure it's because he's being motivated by something he knows about God. It's not coming out of thin air. He knows what God's word says. You have few and there are many.

If I'm on your side, they are few and you are many. Praise the Lord. So then what happens? Look at verse seven. And his armor bearer, who's unnamed by the way, said to him, do all that is in your heart.

Do as you wish. Behold, I am with your heart and soul. We've been learning about Jonathan. We've been learning about Saul. I like this armor bearer too.

I don't know his name, will never know his name, but I learned from him in this moment. You know what I learned from him? What do you think you learned from him? I see a man who sees the faith of someone else, who sees the courage and the willingness to move forward in the things of God. And you know what he finds within himself to do?

Encourage him. Go for it. Yes. I'm with you, man. I support you.

Praise God that you have this faith. I love Christ in you. Don't stop. Keep moving forward. Don't give up.

You see, many Christians have reserved their encouragement for the struggling and not for those who are striving. We think that encouragement should only go to those who are wishy washy up and down. Yeah. Encourage them. Maybe rebuke them sometimes even in love.

But what about those who have faith? What about those who have dreams for God? What about those who have their lives completely centered around living for his glory? Those people need encouragement. Go for it, man.

You bless me, brother. You bless me, sister. I love how God is all over you. I love how you're all about God. Don't stop.

There's not many like you. Keep moving forward. I like this armor bearer. Because based on his encouragement, verse eight says then. It's like, okay.

You're with me here? You're with me? Yeah. Let's go. Let's do this together.

It's amazing how this unnamed man, you've heard it so many times before that many great men and women have been able to move forward because of unknown sources. People that nobody knows about, that don't read in books, that don't see in the history text of great men and women of God who have moved nations. I think of it in this way with this armor bearer. Heaven will testify of such people one day. And so this person says, I'm with you.

You move forward. And with the knowledge of this man's partnership, Jonathan presents a plan, and this is his plan. Verse eight. Then Jonathan said, behold. Behold.

He's like, alright. Let's do this. We will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say to us, wait until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. Okay?

Verse 10. But if they say, come up to us, then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand, and this shall be the sign to us. Another thing to learn about Jonathan here, so many things we're trying to keep up. Jonathan has an understanding of the word of God, but he also understands this, that God's ways and his timing must be sought after. That although the promises of God are clear, there must be the practice of seeking him to know when these promises will be performed and fulfilled by him.

So he's not just blindly applying things to any situation or circumstance. No. The foundation is set. He understands what God's word says, what's possible in God. He's trusting the Lord, but now he is by faith inviting God to get his counsel on how this should be implemented.

That is a very wise and that is a very exemplary way in which you and I should handle God's truths for our lives today. Where we know what God says, but we also know how to pause and ask him. The God who have written a book with many promises, that same God is also able to speak and guide you in this life right now. So he says, okay. Lord, I know what you're able to do, but I need you to show me how it's gonna be done.

What do you want me to do? Is this the day? Is tomorrow the day? Should I go with just him? Should I call the others?

What is it that we need to do? I know his sign is specific, but the principle is is broader than that. So that's what the spiritual know how to do. The spiritual know how to seek the Lord when it comes to major decisions in life. And what's amazing here is that well, let me ask it.

Do you think that Jonathan is operating under doubt here? What was another character in the Bible where somebody asked for a very clear sign before he moved forward? Gideon. Gideon. Right?

Are we seeing another Gideon scene here? Gideon asked for a sign with the fleece before he moved forward. He's asking for a sign before who he moves forward. What's the difference? Because if they're the same, then Jonathan is not really operating by faith.

He's actually operating under doubt. Okay. So that's a great way of putting it. Gideon asked if he should go. Jonathan's asking when he should go.

And I think we can zoom out and make this point too. Did Gideon already have God's command before he asked for the sign? He did. So he was in doubt in that moment, and God was merciful to him. But Jonathan here is not running with a command.

He's seeking the command. He just knows the basic principles, but now he's saying, okay. Now, Lord, what do I do? So this is the the initial move here. So he is not he's not operating under doubt here at all.

In fact, he's operating in great faith. And here's what's beautiful. Pay attention now. Pay attention now. As he asked the Lord for what he ought to do, did he ask for the whole plan?

He asked for the next step. Please remember that as you see God's will for your life. Oftentimes, study the way God moves and directs, and you'll realize that he does so one step at a time. One step at a time. And Jonathan knew that.

Jonathan didn't know how he was gonna overtake an entire army with just one other guy that can barely fight. He can just hold stuff. He was like a walking hanger for him. That's all he was. But he just asked for the one step.

Lord, what do we do from here? Don't get frustrated when you've been praying and fasting and seeking, and you're not getting the whole blueprint for the next ten years. God isn't gonna give it to you because he wants you to learn how to trust in his character along the way. He wants you to know how to lean into him in every season. If God just gave you the whole plan right away, I'm sure we would not visit God much throughout our lives.

And so because the Lord is very jealous for our fellowship, and one of the ways in which he draws us is that he blinds you to your future. And he doesn't reveal the next twenty years or five years or even what's gonna happen next month. He's gonna reveal one step at a time. Just like how when you're driving a car in blackness and your headlights can only show you so far, That's how God leads. Certain amount.

All you have to do is keep in the same car, in the same lane as the will of God, and he'll lead you perfectly. So that's what he does. He's waiting on the Lord. And then we see here what happens. When you read on, the sign came to pass.

Jonathan and his armor bearer peeked their little heads, and his men see them, and they're like, oh, okay. You're gonna just show up like that now. Hey. Why don't you come over here? We wanna show you something.

Not knowing that they just fulfill the sign that was required for a miracle to take place. So what happens? Look at here at verse 14. Jonathan goes in. He strikes, and then we're told and that first strike with Jonathan and his armor bearer made killed about 20 men within as there were half of Pharaoh's length and an acre of land.

So Jonathan single handedly, this one man show, he kills 20 men. That's pretty impressive. But then we read on here in verse 15, and there was a panic in the camp, in the field and among all the people, the Gerasene and even the raiders trembled. Now look at this, the earth quaked and it became a very great panic. When Jonathan went in his strength provided by God, yes, he killed 20 men.

That was his own ability you can argue. Obviously guided and graced by God, but he was the vessel. But the earth quaking, that wasn't Jonathan. No. That was God.

Did God say, did God answer him from the heavens and say, or send a prophet and say, you go forward, you'll kill about 15 to 20 of them and then at the 20 person mark, I'll send an earthquake? Nothing. But the miracle still happened. You know, there is another principle in the bible, you can even see it in the new testament, that natural obedience precedes supernatural intervention. That when God tells you to do what you and I can do in our human strength, God will show up and do what he can do in his supernatural power.

Happens all over the bible. And it's happening here. Jonathan goes out with faith, he's seeing victory, God shows up and he backs up his obedience with the miraculous. It's even in the new testament concerning our call for the great commission. Does anybody remember what the last verse of the gospel of Mark is?

This is what it says in Mark sixteen twenty, and they being the disciples went out and preached everywhere. That's what you can do in the human strength that you have. That's what you and I are called to do in the natural. You go, you open your mouth, you proclaim the gospel that you know and you've studied and you have believed on. But look what it says at the latter part.

While the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. Natural obedience precedes supernatural intervention. When I step out and do what the Lord's called me to do, I can trust that I don't have to muster up some mystical practice for something powerful and otherworldly to happen. God will do that. The Lord accompanied signs.

The Lord was behind them as they move forward, and you can trust the same for your life as well. As God calls you to obey, he will do the miraculous. He'll get the glory. You just do what you know you're supposed to do. It's everywhere.

When he when he was gonna perform the miracle at the wedding, what did he do? He told servants to fill the jars with water. That's natural obedience. What happened? He turned it into wine.

He was gonna raise Lazarus from the dead. What did he do? Roll away the stone. That's natural obedience. Then he raised the man from the dead.

It's everywhere. But so many people, why isn't God doing miracles? Why isn't God moving in my life? Why am I Well, maybe because you're not doing what God called you to do. It's as simple as that.

Stay long enough in that place of consistent obedience and the Lord and his wisdom will know when he should show up with a sign or not. I I thank God that the pressure of miracles is not on my back. I thank God that I don't have to convert anybody. I don't have to see their hearts regenerated with my words. Yes, there is truth that needs to be proclaimed, but the Holy Spirit takes that and moves in that person's heart, and he does the miracle.

It makes obedience a lot more joyful and light and surprising at times. I'm sure Jonathan was shocked when he realized that under his feet there was an earthquake that was causing these Philistines to cry like little babies. And so we read on and we realize that somebody takes notice in verse 16, and the watchmen of Saul and Gibeah Benjamin looked and behold the multitude was dispersing here and there. So Saul is somewhere in his little hideout and he has some watchmen on the post, and the watchmen, they look out into the distance and they see Philistines running into each other and tents flipping upside down and they're like, what is going on? So they turn back, they bring the news.

In verse 17, we read, then Saul said to the people who were with him, count and see who has gone from us. So he realized, first I have to assess, is this being done by one of us? So he turns around and he calls for a quick census and they count and what do we realize? And when they had counted, behold Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. Two guys are missing.

That goes back to the point that I was making earlier about how Jonathan didn't let anybody know what he was doing. If you want to apply the truth of of serving the Lord in private and not needing to be advertised, Look at the principle that follows that. When you wanna serve God and God wants to make it successful, you don't need to tell people it's successful. God will find a way to let people know. Through this, they realized that Jonathan was the one that was in charge of what's happening here.

It's amazing how God knows how to promote you and find ways for you to be acknowledged at the right time. Leave that to the Lord. You serve him whether people pat you on the back or not. And so they find out Jonathan is not here and his armor bearer is with him. So then what happens?

Look at verse 18. This is really, really interesting. So Saul said to Ahiha, bring the ark of God here, for the ark of God went at the time with the people of Israel. Now while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistine increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, withdraw your hand.

So this is what's happening. Now we're reading something about Saul that we can finally like take a breath and say, wow, we can applaud the man for once. It's been a long time since we applauded Saul. What's happening with Saul? Saul finds it important at this time to say, we must inquire of God.

That's why I believe here he's calling for the Ark of the Covenant. I hope he's not calling for the Ark of the Covenant so that he can go into the camp like Phineas and the other one did. Now I believe that because the priest is in their midst, he's seeking the priest so that the priest can receive divine counsel of what needs to be done in this moment. And if that is what Saul is doing, Saul, good on you man. Good for you.

I wonder if Saul learned his lesson from chapter 13 when he didn't wait on the priest, namely Samuel. He didn't wait on the prophet. He didn't wait and he paid for it. I wonder if Saul said, I'm not gonna make that mistake again. So he engages with the priest here in this moment and he tries to get counsel from God.

And if so, then Saul, praise the Lord, man. You learn from your mistakes. And you're moving forward in obedience. But while he's talking with the priest, the noise in the camp is increasing. The shrieks of fear is getting louder.

The chaos is becoming more obvious and the people are in frantic panic. And Saul realizes this, it wins his attention. And as the priest is ready to seek the counsel of God, Saul does what? Stop. We loved you, Saul, for like five seconds.

We appreciated you for like half a minute. He says, withdraw your hand. Why do you think Saul canceled the call for God's guidance to be provided in this moment? Any idea why? When you realize it is an astounding thing, Disappointing, yes, but astounding nonetheless.

We have reason to believe that he was pressured by the opportunity of the chaotic state of the enemy to make a quick move before he would lose his chance to make a mark and be credit for the victory. Do you understand what I'm saying? He realized that the people are dispersing. He realized that it's intensifying, and he realized that he's not down there yet. And he's worried, if I don't take this opportunity now and get down there, I will yet again lose another opportunity to be acknowledged for doing something that I was called to do.

So he cancels waiting on God. And he says, let's move on. That is very sad. You know why? Because in two chapters, we already learned that Saul clearly doesn't work well under pressure.

In chapter 13, didn't he do the same thing? Didn't he do the same thing? He was standing there waiting, supposed to wait for Samuel for day seven to come by, and the people were leaving by the droves. And because of the people leaving him, he just put on the garment and he sacrificed the animal himself and assumed the role of a priest. It was pressure.

It was fear. It was concern. And now in the next chapter, it wasn't his own men that were leaving, it was the enemy that was vacating the place, running away, victory was almost complete, and he thought to himself, I haven't even got in there yet. I haven't gotten there and made my my mark. And so he cuts off the call to seek God and he moves on because of the pressure of perhaps a lost opportunity.

There will be many times in your life and in mine when we will feel pressures, same pressures from either people or opportunities. But I've I can offer any advice from this text. Regardless of how strong the pulls are, regardless of how much you're involved and invested emotionally, would you just bring it to the Lord? Would you just say, Lord, I'm bringing it to you? That is the safest place you can be in life where you just dedicate it to God.

Many people, even good hearted Christians, will give you advice on what to do with decisions and in life. And sometimes and oftentimes if they're spirit filled, God uses those people. But would you make it a practice to sincerely, not just as like a thing that you do because you have to do it, sincerely trusting that God can lead. Lord, I'm bringing this before you. How do you want me to go about this?

That's the lesson here. He couldn't wait on God. He couldn't wait on the Lord, and he moved on. And you and I, as long as we bring it before the Lord, we can trust that God will answer in his timing. And sometimes opportunities look very tempting, they look very good, they look very persuasive.

And there are many prayerless Christians that are operating in their senses instead of the spirit, instead of the word, instead of the council of godly men and women. Don't let pressure make a decision out of you that you haven't sought from the Lord yet. Again, I'm not saying that you should never make a decision in everything that you do, you should go up into a mountain fast and pray. There are certain times where there's intense prayers more than at other times. But I hope I'm making myself clear when I say, just walk in prayer.

Walk in dependence on the Lord. And trust that God will honor you as you honor him in that. Last chapter, he was pressured to disobey God's word because of people. In this place, he was pressured to not wait on God so so that he can do something that would make him look better. And so just live by the word, live in the spirit of prayer and you will know great victory.

You'll know great success. He couldn't handle it. And so he moves on. Withdraw your hand. I wonder what the Lord would have said if he had waited on him.

We'll never know. Verse 20. Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, every Philistine sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time look at this.

And who had gone up with them into the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. So we learn one thing, that there were some Hebrews within the camp of the Philistines either as prisoners or they somehow allied with them. They're like, hey, we realize you guys are stronger than us, so we're just gonna be on your side. Whatever the reason is, they now turn against the Philistines and war against them. That's good.

Verse 22, likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in battle. So you had those within the enemy's camp saying, hey, it's actually turning around for us Israelites. Let's kill these guys. And then you had those that are hidden cisterns and tombs and holes and caves that popped their head, they're like, well, we're actually winning. Alright.

And they put on their swords and shield, and they reposition themselves at their post, and they move forward, and they join Jonathan and Saul. It seems encouraging. That seems actually to be good, because it is always good that no matter what happened in the past that you find yourself back into serving God the way he called you to serve. And so this is encouraging, it is, because it's better that they did this than not come back at all. Right?

You would agree with that. Better late than never. But at the same time, I can't help but think that there's something to be learned here. It's unfortunate that these men were ready to to serve God when they knew that there was little loss and guaranteed victory. Where were they when things were hard?

Where were they when there was turbulence? Where were they when things didn't look favorably upon them? Where were they when it was dark? Where were they when it was difficult? Devotion and commitment cannot just be present when our service to God is free from trouble.

We must learn to keep our hands on the plow in every season no matter what. What does our commitment to Jesus look like when our home life is a mess? When our marriage is rocky? When the finances are not coming in the way they're supposed to be coming in? What does our involvement in the church that Jesus has called us to serve in look like when there's spiritual warfare happening?

When there's persecution, when there's clicks being made, when the people that you were once friends with and grew up in church with don't come as much anymore. They're like, whatever. Where are you? What does it look like when your prayers are not being answered for a husband or for a wife? What does your love for the Lord look like?

Do you go hide in a cave? Do you go retreat? Do you put your prayer life on pause? Do you let your Bible collect dust? Do you just barely show up to fellowship?

Do you just come and hear the sermon so that the pastor doesn't get on your back? But you have no connection to the body anymore. Where are you tonight? See, because if you're one of those that just shows up when everything is bright and sunny, you're gonna miss out on a lot. I promise you.

Because I look at a man like Jonathan and only he could really see how God can come through. Because he stuck with God even when everybody walked away from him. We all want God to answer miraculous prayers. We want God to come through, but we can barely stick with God when things get difficult. We throw in the towel and we say, I didn't sign up for this, and we tune out and we just veg out in front of a TV, and we just become normal.

And then we just wait for the very powerful conference to come up so that I can get stirred again only for you. You know yourself. You're gonna go right back into that veggie state of yours in the spirit in two weeks. Because your devotion to Christ is dependent upon your circumstance, not on Christ. And so I see these little guys, these Hebrews that show up like some Christians today that only that only get involved when when things are looking good, when the church is becoming popular and when things look favorably for them, when they can shine and they can look good, and where are you when it gets tough?

Don't give up. Don't throw in the towel. I'm telling you, you will miss out on a lot. You will miss out on a lot. People wanna see Red Sea moments, but they don't wanna stand in front of a full ocean with chariots chasing them down, ready to slaughter them in the wilderness.

You think God is gonna move in such a way without putting you in the predicament and let you feel the pressure? The greater the pressure, the greater the relief when he answers and comes through. You know, it's amazing. It's, and I've been just rehearsing this over my own heart, no notes here. Let me just speak here to you, brother to brother and sister.

We want God to mature us. We want God to do a work in us. We want God to take us deeper. We wanna see God do greater things. Not realizing that in God answering that, he's going to make sure that you experience some things that perhaps you did not connect with growth and greater answers and manifestations of his presence.

How are you gonna be more like Jesus and know how to forgive like Jesus forgives, if some enemies don't come your way and hurt you? How are you gonna know the power of prayer if everything just flows in your life and every door opens the moment you step on the scene? How are you gonna know what it means to wait on God and trust in him? How are you gonna know what it's like to know the power for a holy and pure life, unless the wheat grow with the tares? And I heard a brother say the other day that, as the tares matured, so did the wheat.

And the tares are picture of the the sons of the evil one in this world. And the wheat are those who are the sons of the kingdom of God. You know, we look out into this world and we see greater corruption and greater temptation and greater persuasion to be against the Lord and to be for the flesh and for the evil agenda in this world. But you know how God is gonna use that? He's going to use that to mature and grow his church, to stretch their souls, to get them deep.

So let me remind you in closing tonight, that if we're asking God to make us more like Christ, realize what made Christ Christ. A betrayer in the midst. His closest friends abandoning him at the time where he needed them the most. People spitting on him and pulling the hairs off his face. So we say, Lord, use me, mold me, shape me, and then he allows foes in your life, and he allows doors to be shut, and he allows trials to come, and you wonder what where is God?

What is happening? Forget this. I'm pulling out. You prayed for it. I prayed for it.

So hang tight. Keep your hands on the plow even though your knuckles get white. You can't turn back now. Because if we turn back, we're not fit for the kingdom. When we said yes, our faces became like flint and we kept going and we keep going and you're gonna keep going in Jesus' name.

You're not giving up. And if you're a part of this church, you know this very well. We're not gonna let you give up too easily. You're gonna get text messages. You're gonna get meetings, not to condemn you, but to see where you're at.

And we're gonna love you and call you and support you and build you up. That's what this church is about. We're not gonna have any soldiers in this church by the grace of God, that when things get tough in the world or maybe even in this church where you find a hole with your name in it, uh-uh you're gonna be right there trusting God to come through. We're all gonna be there by the grace of God. Oh, yeah.

There was one more verse. First Samuel 14 verse 23. So the Lord saved Israel that day and the battle passed beyond Beth Haven. Yeah. As much as Jonathan had faith and he was a great example and he stood into contrast to his own father who was a terrible example in many ways, the Holy Spirit wants us to make sure at the end of this bible study, at the end of this section, it was actually the Lord.

When you give yourself to God's service with your faith, with your trust, with your knowledge of his word, with your willingness to step forward when no one else is willing to, all you're really doing is volunteering to be a witness of his wonders. All you're doing is volunteering to be a witness for his wonders. Because you and I, when we say yes to Christ, we're not saying yes to a title, we're not saying yes to a book being written about us, or for people to love us. We're saying yes to being an instrument in his hands that he can use so that you would give him glory. And if you're truly for the glory of God, that would bring joy to your heart.

And I know it does for many of you in this place. So with that being said, can we just gently and softly, you hear the rain? You can't leave so quickly. Just you're here. It's thundering.

You're stuck. Talk to the Lord. Just talk to the Lord. And just say, Lord, I've heard a lot tonight. And maybe the point that ministered to you was the point of it's getting really tough in my walk with the Lord.

Do you know why I believe too? I mean, you might disagree with me. Perhaps one of the reasons also why God doesn't reveal everything when we ask him for his will for our lives is that if he showed absolutely everything, most of us would be so terrified that we would say, no thank you. I don't know if I can endure all of that, lord. Yeah.

You can endure it at that point, but he needs to stretch you, mold you, and build you so that you will be able to. So take it one step at a time. Listen. You might be facing a troop. You might be facing a wall.

But as David said, this god, his word is true. His word is true. With him, I can run against a troop and with him, I can leap over a wall. You might feel shaken. You might feel defeated.

You might feel drained. You might feel dry. But determine tonight, Lord, I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna worship you. I'm gonna serve you.

I'm gonna love you and stand for you no matter what. Just talk to the Lord tonight as we close. Lord, you're worthy. Lord, despite what we feel in our hearts, despite how tired we are, we tell you with the strength that's left within us, we're worthy, lord. You're worthy of our worship.

You're worthy of our obedience. Lord, thank you that when you were sweating drops of blood, you did not give up. You endured because there is a joy set before you. Lord, in our nation, in our lives, in so many other situations, Lord, we feel pressures. We feel we feel like it's been so long since we've sensed the refreshing presence of the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps for some, it's been many prayers, many nights, many days where we even question if prayer even works. Lord, in this moment you're reminding us we can't give up. We can't give up. Lord, for those who feel ready to throw in the towel and say I'm done with this. I'll show up.

I'll be nice. I'll listen to a message, but I'm I'm done. I can't I can't give myself the way I used to. It's not worth it. Lord, change that.

Change that. Even if there's one in here that feels that, Lord, perhaps you have providentially led them in this place to hear these truths. That you're calling to us through this text to say, don't hide when it gets tough. Don't run away when it's not favorable. Don't get quiet on me now.

And so Lord, we sit in Your presence and we say God, help us, help us love You when we don't feel like it, help us serve You when we have no strength. And Lord, you know exactly what our needs are. And so in this moment, we just rest in your truth, trusting that you will speak to the hearts that need to be spoken to. We worship you now. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.