Where are the few who are willing?

Jonathan was open to being used by God ()

Explanation: The Israelites were in a rough spot with the Philistines on the attack (). The Israelites were vastly outnumbered and they had taken to hiding in caves. Not only were they outnumbered, they lacked weapons for fighting. The Philistines had previously taken all of the metal workers from the country so that the Israelites would not have swords (). In the entire Israelite army, only King Saul and his son Jonathan were armed with swords ()

It was in this dire situation that Jonathan decided to set out on a mission against the Philistines. Taking only his armor-bearer, Jonathan went out to see what could be done against the enemy. This wasn’t Jonathan’s first time out, and he wasn’t just acting out of desperation. Instead, Jonathan was opening himself to being used by God.

Illustrate: July 2, 1982 Lawn Chair Larry rigged 42 helium-filled weather balloons to his lawn chair and went for a ride. He went much higher than anticipated, ascending to 16,000 feet. This put him in the inbound flight path to LAX, and caused quite a stir. He used his air pistol to shoot a few of the balloons and eventually got back to land. When asked why he did it, he replied, “a man can’t just sit around all the time.”

Argument: If lawn-chair Larry was willing to take a chance just to experience a fun flight, what are we willing to take a chance on for Kingdom purposes. Our situation, like the Israelites’, isn’t looking good either. We too are outnumbered and seemingly outgunned by the world. Many of the faithful are hunkered down, not in caves, but in our comfortable sanctuaries. God hasn’t changed, and He is still more than able to “work for us.”

Application: Sitting around and cursing the darkness is not the best Kingdom strategy. Hoping for the Rapture Ride is also not a feasible option for the Kingdom advance. Are we even open to the possibility of God using us? He is certainly able to do so! We CAN be used of God

Jonathan trusted in God, not in numbers ()

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Explanation: Not only was Jonathan willing, but he moved forward in faith. He and his armor bearer were alone, and they were facing about 20 plus Philistine in the garrison. And remember, only Jonathan had a sword. Jonathan had something the Philistines did not have - Jonathan had trust in the One True and Living God. Jonathan knew that if God was in this, the number of the Philistines was unimportant. Jonathan’ trust was in God’s power, not in his own resources

Illustrate: several years ago I was talking with one of our youth about the morality of abortion. We were discussing the polling data that demonstrated that the percentage of people who favored abortion was growing. I then asked the question, “what will happen when the percentage of people in America who accept abortion as normative climbs higher than 50%?” [Answer: God’s standard of right and wrong doesn’t change according to poll data]

Argument: God is not interested in numbers. Gideon found this out when God whittled down his army of thousands to only 300. The people of Israel discovered the consequences of trusting the 10 spies over the 2, and the Peter and John discovered God’s power over the entire council.

Application: Believers need to re-establish belief in God and in His Word alone. We do not have friends in the world system, but we don’t need them. 1 person on God’s side is a majority! (Elisha & the false prophets on Mt. Carmel)

Jonathan exercised wisdom in understanding the direction from God ()

Explanation: Jonathan was not overly rash in his plan to attack the Philistine garrison. As one commentator stated, “Jonathan was well aware, there is a fine line between faith and presumption, and one must be careful not to do things that overstep that line, and that might be characterized as tempting or testing the Lord” (Vannoy, J. R. (2009). Cornerstone Biblical Commentarya: 1-2 Samuel (Vol. 4, pp. 132–133).

Jonathan made sure that God was indeed leading in this venture. When he received confirmation from God, Jonathan moved forward in faith.

Vannoy, J. R. (2009). Cornerstone Biblical Commentarya: 1-2 Samuel (Vol. 4, pp. 132–133). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Example: Henry Blackaby: led the association to pursue a faith budget for the World’s Fair in 1986. The association’s income was 16K; the budget was set at 202K. (end of the year income was 264K)

Argument: In my opinion, this is our area of greatest struggle. How do we really know this is the direction of God’s leading? We are aware of the precept of not acting presumptuously in the Name of God ( Jesus answered Satan during the wilderness temptations by saying, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ [, {Duet 6:16}] )

This is an area we prefer to view through the lens of past actions of others. “This (whatever this was) was successful because they trusted God and look how it turned out for them! Being on this side of a closed canon, we have to rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit as we think we understand Him, and we have to ensure it lines up with the Word. This is possible because God is still at work, and He desires to use us for Kingdom work.

Application: Do YOU believe that God can speak to YOU personally through His Spirit and His Word? Do YOU believe that God is able to do things that are not answerable except by Him? And, more importantly, are YOU in a position where you can discern His voice?

Jonathan believed God had answered and then acted in faith ()

Explanation: Jonathan made his request of God for direction, and God answered him with a knowable response. Once Jonathan received the word from the Lord he went into action. He and his armor-bearer advanced on the Philistines and began to kill them. All in all, these two men killed about 20 warriors, and then God induced a panic in the whole camp of the Philistines.

Illustrate: Getting an answer from God about going to seminary. When it was clear that this was of God, we quit our jobs and moved to Wake Forest.

Argument: We are reluctant to act, even when we sense God is the One directing us. We are more prone to talk to others, asking for their opinions. There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking the advice of godly people who are walking with God. But sometimes, it seems like we try every possible way to talk ourselves out of believing that God is leading us in a particular direction.