Finding the Center of Gods Will
Finding the Center of God’s Will
1 Samuel 14:1-23
Doing God’s will is risky business, but it pays huge dividends.
An accountant received a call from a firm that offered him a salary four times what he was presently receiving with great benefits. Being a devout man, he spent much time in prayer trying to discern what God wanted him to do. One day a friend met the accountant’s young son on the street. “Do you know what your dad is going to do?” he asked. “Well,” replied the boy, “Dad’s upstairs praying, but Mom’s downstairs packing!”
I dare say that most of us operate like the mom in that story. We have certain expectations of what life would be like if we were really living out God’s will. Some feel that God will prosper them if they live in the center of God’s will. We presume that being in the center of God’s will is the safest place in the world to be, but maybe it’s not. Maybe it’s extremely dangerous from the world’s view of things.
I hope that you leave today with your notions about God’s will turned upside down. I’m confident that being in the center of God’s will is not what most of us imagine. Let’s look at what it’s really like to be in the center of God’s will. We’re look at an incident in the life of Jonathan. He was the son of the first king of Israel, Saul.
Saul began his reign as a good king. He won many battles against a violent, warring group of people collectively called the Philistines. Saul was a valiant king and warrior at first, but somewhere along the way he lost his nerve. On one occasion the Philistine army, 1000’s strong gathered in Micmash, a southern city of Israel. Saul was only able to gather about 600 men for the fight, so, he wasn’t eager to face such overwhelming odds. To make matters worse, his men were essentially weaponless. The Philistines controlled iron production in the region and only two people had swords in the entire army of Israel; King Saul and his son Jonathan. Saul was paralyzed by the situation, but, as we’ll see shortly, his son Jonathan stepped out into the will of God and saved the day. Jonathan was a man of action, but his father was a man of indecision. Why?
1. INSIGHTS ON INDECISION
One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men, among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Icabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left. 1 Samuel 14:1-3 (NIV)
Jonathan developed a plan to defeat the Philistines. It was an idea implanted in his heart by God. He decided not to let his father in on it because Jonathan knew something about the character of the king. He was wishy-washy when it came to doing God’s will. Saul would certainly have tried to stop his boy from the risky scheme he was about to embark on. Saul was a man of indecision concerning God’s will. We can learn from him because his roadblocks hold some of us up too.
There’s a reason why the author tells us Saul was camped out under a pomegranate tree. Pomegranate was a highly prized fruit in the ancient world. It was a luxury food, not a staple of the diet. This detail about Saul may be the author’s way of telling us about his lifestyle. His focus was no longer on fulfilling God’s will. Instead, he was …
A. Concentrating on comfort. Saul was just like us. He was hesitant to fight, because he was enjoying the luxuries around him. Like many of us, he was preoccupied with living the “good life.” It’s hard to do God’s will when you’re pursuing the American dream. God’s will can’t be accomplished by couch potatoes, actors, sports stars, or politicians.
He was also indecisive because he was …
B. Living by sight and not by faith. Saul di the math: 600 men against thousands; 2 swords against 2,000. He was a man who made his decision by the facts. He did not factor in faith. The odds were against him, so he made the decision to make no decision about fighting the Philistines.
Many of us make the same excuses. God has called us to a specific task, a new job, or a ministry, but it looks like things against us. We’re not smart enough. We’re not talented enough. We educated enough. Our children are too young, or too old. We’re too young, or too old. The excuses go on and on and on. The question is not whether we are up for God’s call. The question is whether we believe God is able to pull it off through us.
A final reason why Saul failed to act decisively was his …
C. Excessive reliance on signs. By appearances, Saul was a religious man. He had the priest Ahijah with him. Ahijah wore the ephod, which was an instrument, which people used to determine God’s will. They would also cast lots. It was like rolling the dice to figure out God’s will. While God clearly revealed himself in these ways, such practices neglected a real relationship with God. Saul never sought God for himself. He kept a priest around to help him figure out when to fight. He was sitting around waiting on signs to tell him to go. His connection to God was so loose that he had no clue how to accomplish his will.
This is the hang up that many Christians have today. We sit around waiting for signs. We have to feel led before we’ll do anything. You can get by with an uncommitted life, be completely unreliable, fail to keep your word, say that you didn’t feel led and still be considered spiritual by some people.
Don’t sit around looking for signs or funny feelings. God’s will calls you to take action even in the absence of these things. Jonathan had no signs. His relationship with God was such that he walked out of his tent and did God’s will. Let’s examine …
2. THE WAY OF GOD’S WILL
1 Samuel 14:4-5 On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez, and the other Seneh. One cliff stood to the north toward Micmash, the other to the South toward Geba. (NIV)
The situation was; Saul’s army of 600 hundred was stationed on one cliff. The Philistine armies were on another cliff. The land in between was a deep ravine that Jonathan would have to cross the face the enemy. He was willing to do that. This reveals his character and the kind of attitude that’s a must in accomplishing God’s will:
A. He had a willingness to endure difficulties. In the nearly 31 years that I’ve been following Jesus I’ve found a truth that applies without exception. The Christian life is often inconvenient. It’s not beyond our reach to do God’s will, but it’s challenging. G.K. Chesterton used to say that “the Christian life is not so much tried and left wanting as found difficult and left untried.”
The next verse says, “Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf.” 1 Samuel 14:6a (NIV) Did you notice the word “PERHAPS?”
Come on Jonathan. Can’t you do a little better than “perhaps?” Keep in mind that this was a man who sought God. He was right at the center of God’s will, but the best he could do was “perhaps.” Jonathan was not completely sure that he was doing the right thing. Either God was going to act or he was on a suicide mission. He couldn’t offer any assurances to his armor bearer, but he was committed to acting on what he believed to be God’s will anyway. Jonathan had …
B. An understanding that there are no guarantees. Many of us never know or do God’s will because we’re waiting to be absolutely convinced of every single step that we’re supposed to take. Not so with Jonathan. There was a recklessness to his faith. It’s an approach to following God that we can apply to our own lives. We’re way too hesitant when it comes to matters of faith. The pattern that I see in the lives of people who are used by God to do significant things is risk. They take a chance on what they perceive God is calling them to do although there may not be 100% confidence.
Here’s a truth about God’s will: he doesn’t call us to success. He calls us to faithfulness. Just because you sense God’s will to do this or that doesn’t mean that you’ll even accomplish it. A case in point is the prophet Ezekiel. Look how successful he was going to be. Then He said to me: "Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. …But the house of Israel will not listen to you … Ezekiel 3:4, 7
In other words, go and preach to them, but no matter how well you prepare or how eloquent your words or how powerfully the Holy Spirit flows through your message, they’re not going to listen. Ezekiel’s ministry would be considered a failure by the standards of the world and the church today. He followed God’s will, not because he needed success, but simply because he wanted to be faithful.
There are no guarantees of success even when you’re in the center of God’s will. Maybe you’ve heard the story of Shardrach, Mechach and Abednego They were commanded by Nebuchadnezzer, King of Babylon to bow down and worship his idol on pain of death in a fiery furnace. Here’s their reply: “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 4:17-18
They knew God could deliver them from death, but they did not presume that it was going to happen. They did not expect success. They simply displayed faithfulness.
Look at 1 Peter 4:19 “So if you are suffering according to God’s will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you. (NLT)
Jonathan wasn’t guaranteed success, but he did know a thing or two about God. “Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” 1 Samuel 14:6b (NIV) Jonathan knew his scriptures. He’d heard and read the stories of how God used small numbers of people to do big things. He remembered how God brought a ragtag bunch of slaves out of bondage in Egypt and destroyed the most powerful army in the world. He knew that the God of Israel used 300 men and a fearful leader named Gideon to defeat the oppressing Midianite nation. God could do a lot with a little.
Jonathan not only knew about God, he knew him personally. He understood that the LORD God of Israel was not like the limited pagan deities of the Philistines. He’s almighty. In other words, Jonathan had …
C. Faith in a big God. He was confident in the LORD, not his own abilities or even his own judgment. His faith was so strong that he influenced his armor bearer to join him in God’s will. 1 Samuel 14:7 “Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” (NIV)
Those who seek the center of God’s will no longer live for yourself. Anybody can do that and it’s attractive to no one in particular. When you follow God’s will you have …
D. A cause that compels others to follow. It’s rightness of your cause, not likelihood of success. You can tell if you’re in the center of God’s will because others are willing to stand with you. Let’s look quickly at the results. How can you tell if your doing God’s will?
3. EVIDENCE AT THE EPICENTER
Jonathan said, “Come, then; we will cross over toward the men and let them see us. If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you; we will stay where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the LORD has given them into our hands.”
So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.” The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.” Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre. Then panic struck the whole army – those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties – and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God. 1 Samuel 14:8-15 (NIV)
A. God’s power is unleashed. Jonathan and his young armor bearer were empowered to accomplish the impossible. They had to scale a cliff and then fight with one sword. They killed 20 men unaided. Clearly, God was on their side and empowering them to win this fight.
That’s the way it works. When we get serious and go after God’s will his power is unleashed in our lives. Jesus told his followers it would be this way. Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
He promised to empower them, not to accomplish their will, but his alone. That’s a clue we can look for. If there’s no power; if no lives are being changed; we’ve got to ask ourselves whether or not we’re truly going after God’s will.
Last week I heard about a church planter in Concord who was experiencing phenomenal success. His church is growing by leaps and bounds. When asked how he accounts for this growth he says that from their beginning the church was committed to missions. 10% of their budget is dedicated to foreign missions and their people are constantly going on mission trips. God is empowering their faithfulness.
When we are in the center of God’s will God stands beside us. Look what Jesus said to his followers: Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT)
I know that we like to say God is with us, but Jesus puts a bit of a condition on it. He is with us as long as we’re making disciples of all nations. If our agenda is other than reclaiming lost souls for him we shouldn’t expect his presence and power. If it’s just church for the sake of church or worse so we can get something out of it we’ll never experience his power unleashed.
Notice what else happened. Saul’s lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the army melting away in all directions. Then Saul said to the men who were with him, “Muster the forces and see who has left us.” When they did, it was Jonathan and his armor-bearer who were not there. Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.) While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and had gone up with them to their camp went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit. 1 Samuel 14:16-22 (NIV)
When it became apparent that the Philistine army was scattering Saul went to his habit of calling the priest to roll the dice and see what he should do. Eventually the noise was so loud that he stopped the priest and went into action himself. The Israelite traitors changed allegiance and went after the Philistines. The deserters who were hiding out in caves were emboldened and crawled out for the fight. Just like Jonathan and his armor bear, when you and I stand at the center of God’s will …
B. God’s people gain confidence. Have you ever met someone whose life was so devoted to God that you admired them and wanted to be like them? Sadly, those kinds of people are hard to find these days, but they’re desperately needed. The Church of Jesus Christ needs role-models, heroes, men, women and children who will stand for God no matter what and influence the people around them.
It’s all about influence. If you’ll set your heart on doing the will of God and nothing else you’ll inspire confidence in other believers. As we, Faith Community Church collectively seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness we’ll influence unchurched people to give it all up to Christ. A final bit of evidence that we’re at the epicenter of God’s will is in the last verse. So the LORD rescued Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven. 1 Samuel 14:23 (NIV)
C. God’s purpose is accomplished. By finding God’s will Jonathan accomplished God’s purpose for that moment. He didn’t change the world, but his efforts made up a piece of the puzzle of God’s grand design. Also, God could have broken the Philistine army without the help of any human being, but he didn’t. He used the reckless faith of a man completely devoted to him.
God will do the same through each of us if and only if finding and following his will is the focus of our lives. You can sit under the pomegranate tree rolling the dice or you can get up and move to the center of God’s will. You can quake in fear at your own inadequacies failures, and life circumstances or you can walk boldly with the God who is big enough to do big things through you. You can wait for security and certainty or you can dive on in not knowing whether you will rise or fall. God’s will is risky business, but it pays huge dividends. You can play it safe. Most people do, but only those who are willing to risk it all on God, experience his power, accomplish his purpose and feel his pleasure.