Between Two Rocks

1Sam 13: ¹Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, ²Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. ³And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. ⁴And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. ⁵And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven. ⁶When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. ⁷And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

⁸And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. ⁹And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. ¹¹And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; ¹²Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. ¹³And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. ¹⁴But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

“I can worship God the way I want to!”

¹⁵And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. ¹⁶And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. ¹⁷And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual: ¹⁸And another company turned the way to Bethhoron: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

Surrounded by spoilers!

¹⁹Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: ²⁰But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. ²¹Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. ²²So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. ²³And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.

·        God couldn’t use Saul’s sword – because he would not obey God!

·        He was not sensitive to God in His life.

·        He would rather do things his way than God’s way.

1Sam 14:¹Now 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.

Garrison = 1,000 men

·        against a thousand. This sounds literally insane.

·        Two

But you’ve got to remember..

·        This is the God who divided the red sea for Israel.

·        This is the God who swallowed up Pharaoh and his army.

·        This is the God who caused Jericho’s walls to fall down flat.

·        This is no ordinary God:

·        He’s the one who answers by fire.

·        He is an awesome God!

Now the Philistines are not afraid of 1 man and an armor bearer,

·        But they are terrified of the God of Israel.

 And they should be.

·        Because Israel is at this point in history God’s chosen people.

·        God has done miraculous things to preserve Israel.

·        He has done incredible things against insurmountable odds to help them.

·        He loves Israel, and He’s not about to let her be destroyed by some ungodly, sinful nation.

·        And so, over and over again, God supernaturally protects her.

Let me help you understand something today.

·        It’s not you that the devil is afraid of.

·        And it is not me.

But we have a God who Loves us.

·        And cares for us.

·        Who became flesh only to die for us.

·        And at his disposal can and will dispatch a legion of angels to aid you in your time of need.

And my Bible tells me that the devil trembles when I call on this God’s name.

·        how I love the Name of Jesus.

·        For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

·        For it is at the mention of that name that every devil in hell must surrender his power and his authority.

·        Is it any wonder that we are told in the scripture to baptize in that name?!

·        Is it any wonder that the bible tells us to pray in that name?!

·        Somebody right now needs to call upon that name of Jesus!!!

 

Jonathan was not afraid to go over to the garrison without his natural!

·        Because he had his heavenly father to fight for him.

Friend when you’ve got Jesus, you’ve got all the power in the world to defeat any spiritual wickedness.

·        You’ve got the authority to bring down spiritual darkness.

·        No incantation can touch you.

·        No spell can hold you.

·        No witchcraft can bind your happiness.

All you need is Jesus!

·        All you need is the touch of God upon your life.

·        All you need is the Holy Ghost.

·        The gift of God.

·        Just a bent knee at an alter of repentance.

·        Just a humble heart seeking help from a loving God!

How many know this afternoon…

·        If you’re going to make it in this ungodly hour it’s going to take a relationship with Jesus Christ!

Paul said “O that I may know him”

·        Don’t you want to know him today?

·        Don’t you want to experience Him in your life.

·        You’ve heard about Him from others, but  isn’t it time you let Him into your own heart?!

⁴And 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:

How many know that when you make a decision to live for God, the way is narrow, but it will lead to victory?!

·        There may be some obstacles, but God will lead the way!

·        Family may oppose your walk with God.

·        Friends may say you’ve lost your mind.

·        But if you really want the blessings of God in your life, your going to have to GO OVER!!!

You can’t let family tradition keep you from experiencing God’s best in you life.

·        You can’t let your friends and their crummy lifestyles stop you from having the holy Ghost.

·        You can’t let what people MIGHT say about you keep you from having real joy and happiness in your life!!!

Hey isn’t it time you get over all that mess?

·        Isn’t it time you get out of the pit that the devil has dug for you life and begin a relationship with the one who created you?

·        Isn’t it time you found out what it really means to be a christian?!

·        Isn’t it time to be truly happy.

·        Isn’t it time to really have peace in your life?

·        Isn’t it time to receive His spirit into your life?!!!

·        It’s the gift of God and no man can take that away from you!!!

⁶And 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. ⁷And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.

That’s the wonderful thing about belonging to such a good church as this.

·        Here you have fellow believers who will pray with you.

·        Here you have brothers and sisters who bear one another’s burdens.

·        This is the household of faith.

·        We love one another here.

·        Regardless of your background.

·        Regardless of your history.

·        Regardless of your pedigree.

·        Regardless of your faults and failures.

·        We still love you, and we’ll fight the good fight of faith together to see that you make it in the Kingdom of God.

 

This is more than just another church.

·        This is more than just another bunch of Christians gathered to sing songs on a Sunday afternoon.

This is the family of God.

·        We pray together.

·        We work together.

·        We worship together.

·        We go through the hard times together,

·        And we go through the good times together.

 

The Bible tells us that a three-fold cord is not easily broken

·        And we believe that Godly unity is the thing that will bring victory to our selves,

·        our families

·        our neighbor hoods

·        our communities

·        and our great nation.

I believe there is nothing that can stop a people who’s mind is stayed on living for God and making a difference in their world.

 ⁸Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them.

Here is the first thing every person must do if they are going to live for God.

·        You’ve got to be willing to step out from where you are at and show the world that you are not afraid to live for God.

·        The first step of every believer is the one from the pew to the altar.

Can you imagine with me that had Jonathan not been willing to take that first step…everything would have remained the same in life.

·        The bondage.

·        The fear.

·        The harassment.

·        The stress

·        The sin

Hey, nothing changes when you fail to take that first step. 

·        It only gets worse and worse.

But when you take that first step of living for God…

·        It gets better

·        and better

·        and better

·        until the day comes where we all step over the threshold of glory into that  glorious promised land called heaven.

·        I don’t know about you, but I plan to make heaven my eternal home.

⁹If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. ¹⁰But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us. ¹¹And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. ¹²And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. ¹³And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him. ¹⁴And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. ¹⁵And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.

 

·        Isn’t it time to ignore the devil and take that first step in living for God?!

·        Isn’t it time to let God fight your battles?

·        Isn’t it time to give your heart to Jesus and let the world go its own way.

·        I don’t know about you, but I want to be right with God when I leave here today.

 

¹⁶And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another. ¹⁷Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there. ¹⁸And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. ¹⁹And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. ²⁰And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. ²¹Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. ²²Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. ²³So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Bethaven.