They say every sermon needs a title.

They say the only way that you can drive a nail home, hit it again and again, is if that nail has a head.

They say that your title should be a mini sermon!

The head of the nail! That your title is your entire sermon concentrated into one sentence!

Well, here goes:

I intend to speak to you today under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and here’s our title”

“Only The Best, Fight Uphill Battles!”

I. Introduction, Text & Scripture Setting.

1 Sam 14. Reading from verse 1-23.

Let me give you a minute to find it in your Bible.

Pause....

If you brought a paper Bible to church today, would you please raise your right hand as if you were being sworn into the witness stand.

Is your hand up?

Great!!! Now take your right hand, and Pastor wants you to pat yourself on the left shoulder.

Very good!

I am so pleased to see your paper Bibles on hand in the church house, good on ya! You deserve a pat on the back!

1 Samuel 14:1–23 (KJV 1900)

Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. (Spec ops! This is a covert operation! Jonathan did not ask Saul who appeared to be frozen in fear and indecision. Saul, who is characterized by fear and doubt, probably would have vetoed a surprise attack.)

And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah. (What is being described here is a narrow gully of sorts that funnels upwards. What that means is that it is essentially the worst possible route to take in attacking a defending enemy. The Phillistines have the high ground! And the only way to reach them is through this easily defended bottleneck. When I telll you Jonathan was one baaaad hombre, trust me on that!)

And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: (Jonathan stresses the fact that they are not circumcised. This highlights the fact that the Philistines were excluded from God’s covenant with Israel.)

(Here Jonathan makes this bold statement) 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. (In contrast to his father, Jonathan gives us a model of great faith!) And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. If 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. But 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.

(Wait, not only are these fellas choosing the worst tactical route of attack, but they are willingly giving up their only natural advantage, the element of surprise! Jonathan does it on purpose, fleecing God!) And 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.

(Now this taunt really hurt! It hurt because it was true! You gotta remember, 90% of Israel’s fighting men had no sword or metal tipped spear or weapon! The Pharisees had at this point, a monopoly on iron working! Our guys had clubs and cudgels! Ranged weapons like slings and bows don’t help you in the press of a melee! And many of the men of Israel hid from the Philistines! In fact, just one chapter back describes how they hid themselves in caves and thickets and rocks and high places and in pits! It’s pitiful! Remember the shame when they pulled Saddam from his “spider hole” in the ground? The whole world saw what he had been reduced to. Pathetic! it was like that! Oh those Philistines taunted Jonathan that day!!!)

And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. And 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. And 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. And 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. (Do you notice how God stepped in as soon as someone finally committed to the battle?” Listen folks, you pray at times about insurmountable issues. We all do, be honest! “Woe is me! what am I gonna do?” And you’re waiting for God to start the fix, when all the while, he’s waiting to see if you’ll get some skin in the game! Saul and his best guys are essentially hiding! But Jonathan believes in his covenant with God! And the moment somebody is willing to trust in their covenant with God, and stand on His promises, that’s when you’ll see God bring in the big guns!!

(Ok, now this is the moment where everything changes! The paralyzing fear that has gripped God’s people disappears, the moment they see God start fighting for them!) ) And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another. Then 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. And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. And 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. And 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. Moreover 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. Likewise 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. So the Lord saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Beth-aven. Let me repeat that: “All the men of Israel which had hid themselves , when they heard that the enemy was running, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.

II. Scripture Support & Application

Describe seating arrangements at Saturday’s conference.

Describe the awesome unified worship!

Bro. Keyes said he saw a cloud of glory hanging over those men as they praised their God!

You know what it felt like? It felt like we were chasing the enemy in rout!

It felt as though the devil and his payroll were running to get away!

It felt like we were Israel chasing those philistines!!!

But instead of philistines, it was addiction, anger, lust, pride and shame!

We chased that junk right outta the church!

Friend, when I see something like that, I think of verses like these:

Matthew 11:12 KJV 1900

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

I’ve said this before: If you are truly a violent person, today in our society, they will eventually put you in a place with other violent people, who are as violent as you or worse!

And if there, you prove too violent, or brutal, they will send you to a special room with padded walls and give you a special jacket that will keep you from hurting anybody! Either that or they will drug you senseless!

Folks, I gotta say this on a side: I’m sure grateful for medicine when I have a migraine or some pain in the body.

I’m grateful for medical science and those folks who care for the ill and infirm. God bless them!

But I figure our society is just a little too quick to pump people full of drugs that can essentially turn you into walking dead!

All those strong compounds and chemicals can drive the light right out of a man’s eyes!!!

You should be thoughtful what you take into your body that can affect your state of mind!!!

I’m just gonna tell you, if you are destructive enough, some authority may well, eventually pump compliance into your bloodstream or even death, if you go too far!

But did you know that in a spiritual sense, it’s okay to be violent?

How bout that men? How about that ladies? Prayer warriors, how about that!!

When you have been born again of water and Spirit, when you are living in obedience to the Word of God,

There is a place in the spirit where you can be violent for good and right!!!

There is a place of intercessory prayer, a place of worship and praise, where you are speaking the judgments of God on evil principalities and powers!

Just walk into an Apostolic prayer meeting, and you’ll hear men and women shaking the very gates of hell in prayer and praise!!!

This time it’s not Phillistines, it’s unclean spirits now, running for cover!

And if the church will pray like that, God is going to set the captives free!!!!

“Since the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force!

Maybe you say: Brutal? Violent? that sounds terrible for any Christian!

But please understand, this brutality I’m talking about is brutality against evil!!!

The kind of evil that damages and wounds our young ones!

The kind of evil that drives marriages, homes and lives asunder!

The kind of evil that wants only to use you and abuse you!

Listen to me church!!!!

Sonoma county needs someone to fight for them!!!!

They need someone who can get over themselves and their own obstacles and pray for lost souls!

Sonomay county needs someone who can overcome their fear to talk to strangers and invite them to Bible study and Sunday Service!

Somebody willing to put on the whole armor of God, and fight!!!

Now if you’re thinking Pastor Louw’s had one too many falls from his ladder, if you’re thinking I’ve got a screw loose, well you’re probably right! Hah! But even so, I am speaking truth to you!!!

Don’t take my word for all this! Let’s go to the book!

2 cor 10:3-5. gives us more detail here

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 KJV 1900

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

God gave us a victory anthem in San Francisco years ago.

And every time we would begin to sing this song, you could feel things cutting loose in the Spirit:

“I can’t stop praising his name, I just can’t stop praising his name, I just can’t stop praising his name, Jesus!”

“The weapons we use are not bombs and guns, worship is the way that the battle is won, this is the way that we fight: We’re praising for the victory!!!

“I can’t stop praising his name, I just can’t stop praising his name, I just can’t stop praising his name, Jesus!”

Every time, the church would sing this, something shifted in the Spirit!

A victory anthem!!! Hey, we need to find our won victory anthem!!!!

When it happens,

You can almost feel chains falling from the people!

People we’ve not even met yet, bound by addiction, bound by fear and anger and bitter loss.

God loves them!!!!

And when you praise, when you worship, you are beating the enemy back from them!!

You’re changing the atmosphere!

You’re pushing back principalities and powers!!!

And great victory comes, great revival comes when the people of God get serious enough and start praising and worshipping God!!!!

Ephesians 6:10–13 KJV 1900

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

So Friday night, I’m wathcing 500 Apostolic men praying in tongues, worshipping, praising God shouting and fighting in the spirit realm and all of the sudden I hear God ask me this question..

He dropped it right into my spirit and I knew it was both a sincere question and a challenge:

“It’s not so hard to come to a conference like this, and chase the enemy when he’s already running. But who among them are willing to climb the mountain and face the enemy alone?”

“Who is willing to fight before the enemy turns in chaos and leaves the field of battle?”

Too many Christian men and women are hiding!

Waiting for another to do the heavy lifting!

Waiting for another to do great exploits, and then we’ll sorta follow them!

If Saul and his best are frozen in fear, if men up and down the kingdom are hiding in caves and rocks and high places and spider holes in the ground, I want to know: Who will be valiant enough to stand up and say: “I will fight for the people!”

“I’ll fight for them in my worship and in my praise!!!”

And guess what? I don’t need 500 other men!

“I don’t need a thousand prayer warrior women of God!”

“All I need is a burden from God and my consecration!!!!!”

The service was awesome!!! Bass players, drummers, keyboard, guitar, singers, amazing singers!

And the congregation was going crazy in praise and worship!!

This was good and right!

But during that earthquake, wind and fire, I felt a still small voice challenge me:

“If there was no music, if there were no worship leaders, if others were not watching and participating and encouraging,

“How many of these men would be able fight like this?”

Who among them is so noble?

How many Jonathans are out there, among the crowd?

Those who can say:

“I will worship, even when I don’t feel like it!”

Barely paying the rent, barely keeping things together, but I’m willing to fight!!!

You see, It’s easy to fight when the enemy is running, when the ball is rolling, when God is sending earthquakes and panic and chaos to the enemy!

Then we can all worship and praise at the conference!

And let’s be honest, That’s when the peripheral folks finally climb out of their caves and get on board.

But who will start this thing?

Who can face the enemy, at the top of the cliff, insurmountable odds?

What if you are sick or weak in your body?

What if you are alone?

What if it’s just you and your prayer partner, your brother, your friend, your spouse?

The enemy taunts you!

Local principalities and powers, the spirits of the age, all try to stop your prayer and your praise!

What will you do about it?

Maybe you feel like all you have is a stick, in the face of a well armed enemy!

But may I remind you of the covenant?

You were baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins!

You took on his Name!!!

And now you are obligated to Him and He is obligated to you!

He has given you the right to exercise the authority of His name!

Listen, I know we are living in the end times!

The enemy is fighting a last ditch battle to keep lost souls from being saved and going in the rapture!!!!

This is a war!!!

But it is your prayer and your praise that makes the difference!!!!

If you’ll start climbing that cliff and get some skin in the game, I want you to know that God can send great deliverance!!!!!

Perhaps all He’s waiting for is a Jonathan who will take the initiative and fight!

I’m telling you: Only the best fight uphill battles!!!

The true prayer warrior doesn;t have to be at a conference!

Doesn’t have to wait for the enemy to run, to climb out of their cave!!!

You don’t even need music!!

All you need is a place to pray!!

All you need is a burden from God!

A chair to kneel, a carpet to cry into!!!

I’m done preaching if you didn’t know it!

I’m just waiting to see how many Jonathan’s we have in the building today!

“There Is no restraint to the Lord, to save, by many or by few!!!!”