NO BLACKSMITHS?
1 Sam. 13:15-22
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Chess Humor
1. During the Christmas holidays, a group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. 2. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. ''But why?'' they asked, as they moved off.
3. “Because,” he said “I can't stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.”
4. One man said he had dinner with Garry Kasporov (world chess champion) and there was a checked tablecloth. “It took him 2 hours to pass me the salt!”
B. TEXT
15 Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred. 16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17 Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, 18 another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim facing the wilderness. 19 Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!” 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. 21 The price was two-thirds of a shekel for sharpening plow points and mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads. 22 So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
C. THESIS
1. Tonight we’re going to look at the effects of sin, how crafty our enemy is, and that his plan is the same today is the same as it was 3100 years ago, to make the Body of Christ powerless to fight.
2. This message is on Spiritual warfare and is entitled, “No Blacksmiths?”
I. THE EFFECTS OF SIN
A. SIN DIMINISHES YOU
1. Notice the pitiful situation. Here’s a nation with
2 ½ million people who defeated many nations. But the King can only rally 600 soldiers to fight against a potent foe.
2. It wasn’t all Saul; other men should have been standing up & joining forces! Sin weakened and brought them low.
B. SIN STEALS YOUR PROSPERITY
1. The Philistines ravaged the country. They had 3 large raiding parties that went out and pillaged the region. Any crops, cattle, items of wealth, etc., were stolen, and the people killed or enslaved.
2. When we forsake God we open ourselves to satanic attack and open every aspect of our lives to attack.
3. The enemy grows stronger, strengthened by stealing the provisions God’s people need to survive, making them destitute.
C. SIN BRINGS FEAR
1. Because of these attacks, the Israelites were both terrified and impoverished, killing their fighting spirit.
2. Fear and foreboding became their constant distraction.
D. SIN MAKES YOU HELPLESS
The Israelites that took the field with Saul were unarmed, having only slings and clubs, not a sword or spear among them, except what Saul and Jonathan themselves have.
E. SIN MAKE YOU HOPELESS, VISIONLESS
1. Notice how slothful & defeated the Israelites were, that they:
a. allowed the Philistines to get away with that &
b. had no willpower to help themselves.
2. This was a sign of how backslidden they were. From the time of the Judges – over 200 years – they were weaponless!
3. Back in 1296 B.C. it was written, “God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel” Jdg. 5:8. NIVSB says poss. “disarmed!”
F. HUMOR
1. A lot of people are like a wheel barrow—not good unless pushed.
2. Some are like canoes—they have to be paddled.
3. Some are like kites—If you don’t keep them on a string they fly away.
4. Some are like footballs—you can’t tell which way they’ll bounce next.
5. Some are like balloons—full of wind and ready to blow up.
6. Some are like trailers—they have to be pulled.
7. But Some are like a good watch—open face, pure gold, quietly busy and full of good works.
II. HOW SMART THE ENEMY IS
A. REMOVED THE SPECIALISTS OF REVIVAL
1. Notice how crafty the Philistines were. When they had gained power to do so, they removed all the blacksmith’s whose trade it was to make weapons of war.
2. Not only that, but even the power of food production (plows, goads, scythes, etc.) was brought under their control. The devil’s never content w/ part!
3. The whole art of metallurgy – the making of tough, permanent tools for advancement – became a mystery to the people of God, even though they had rich mines of both brass & iron (Deut. 8:9) in such plenty that it was said of Asher, “His shoes shall be iron and brass,” Deut. 33:25.
B. HINDERED FROM STARTING THE CRAFT
1. Not only that, but they didn’t allow any Israelite to begin the trade of blacksmithing.
2. The outcome was that the Israelites not only didn’t have any swords, but if anyone gave them some, they were completely inexperienced with how to use them.
3. So their warfare was limited to primitive and less effective means and they were more likely to lose any conflict.
C. IT’S A SHAME TO BE DISARMED
1. Synonyms of “DISARM:” subdue, cripple, debilitate, disable, incapacitate, paralyze, strip, subjugate, unarm, weaken. Needless to say, it’s a shameful thing to be helpless and disarmed.
2. WE’RE TO HAVE WEAPONS:
a. We battle “…with weapons of righteousness on the right hand and on the left” 2 Cor. 6:7.
b. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” 2 Cor. 10:4.
c. “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called…in the presence of many witnesses” 1 Tim. 6:10.
d. “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” Eph. 6:17.
e. Just as with Saul’s age, the enemy wants to disarm the people of God today!
III. REPETITION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
In our time, the enemy is trying to remove God’s blacksmiths from among the Body of Christ. What does this mean to us?
A. WHAT‘S “BEING ON THE CUTTING EDGE?”
1. If someone’s on the cutting edge, they’re pioneering, up to date, leading the pack, covering new ground. They’re the thinkers, the movers and shakers, the entrepreneurs, they make things happen!
2. In spiritual things, it means being:
a. Sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
b. Attuned to God.
c. In the center of God's will (like Philip).
d. To be about the Master's business.
e. "Understanding the times…what Israel ought to do" 1 Chron. 12:32.
3. Have you lost your cutting-edge? Have you lost the ability to cut sin from your own life or to help perform spiritual surgery on someone else that is in sin and needs help extricating their disease?
4. A dull blade isn't good for anything. If it's a razor, you can't shave with it. If it's an ax, you can't chop with it. If it's a knife, you can't cut with it.
B. THE CHURCH HAS LOST ITS EDGE
Areas where the 21st Century Church has lost its cutting-edge:
1. ANOINTED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Early Church was a group of people filled with the Spirit. Throughout the Book of Acts, they were refilled again and again (2:4; 4:8,31; 9:17; 13:9,52). Paul tells us we’re to be continually filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18, present continuous tense, Greek).
2. USE OF THE WORD OF GOD.
a. When you're full of God and speak the Word, your words will have power to convict others.
b. When Peter, on the day of Pentecost, spoke to the Israelites, they were “cut/ stung” in the heart" Acts 2:37. The Greek word means "stabbed, pierced through" (see 5:33).
c. The same thing happened when Stephen spoke to the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:54 KJV. They were "cut to the hearts." (The Greek word means “sawn in two.”)
3. THEY WERE BOLD & DIFFERENT
C. WHAT WE’RE TO BE LIKE
1. YOU’RE THE SALT/LIGHT of the world.
a. If you're no different, you're no good to God!
b. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden” Mt. 5:13-14.
2. WE’RE TO BE REBUKING SIN. Stand up for righteousness. Yes, we’re to love people, but there’s a place for speaking up. We can’t remain silent. We must be confrontational. Two opposing kingdoms cannot coexist without confrontation.
3. WE’RE NOT TO BE CONFORMED to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds! Rom. 12:2.
Do you have evidence of a sharpened edge?
4. WE’RE TO BE LIKE BLACKSMITHS, stirring up people with the heat (Word & Spirit), hammering on sin, cutting and grinding away at worthless things in their lives. Our job is to help produce valuable & permanent tools that God can use a lifetime.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Oil was discovered on some Oklahoma property belonging to an elderly Indian. All his life he had been poverty stricken, just eking out a living.
2. But the discovery of oil had suddenly made him a very wealthy man. The first thing he bought was a very big Cadillac. He wanted the longest car in the county, so he added four spare tires on the trunk.
3. He would dress up in his new clothes and everyday he would take his Cadillac into the hot dusty little town nearby. He wanted to see everyone and he wanted everyone to see him.
4. He was a friendly old soul. so when he was riding through town he would turn in all directions to wave at all the people as he rolled by. Interesting enough, he never ran into anybody nor into anything.
5. The reason for this was that directly in front of that big beautiful auto was two horses harnessed to it and pulling it.
6. There was nothing wrong with the car’s engine. It was because the old Indian had never learned to drive it. He had never learned how to insert the key into the ignition switch and turn it on.
7. Under the hood was 100 plus horsepower ready, willing, and raring to go, but the old Indian was content to use the two horsepower hooked to the front of the car.
8. The devil gets really happy (or as happy as a devil can get) when he can keep the believer chugging along on a two horse power faith level.
9. At that rate, the spiritual progress is slowed down to a crawl, and this is what the devil is after in his warfare with us. (Bill Lobbs)
B. THE CALL
1. To regain our cutting-edge, we must go back to the Great Blacksmith of heaven, whose work is to sharpen us in spiritual things.
2. If we wish to be sharpened, we must allow the Lord to apply heat and cut away what's unnecessary. 3. This means conviction, repentance, and surrendering the areas of our lives which are hindering us from fulfilling God's will for our lives.
4. Frequently, to harden the edge, the metal has to be heated and put into cold water, repeatedly. This means testing and obedience, repeatedly.
5. Next we have to go to the grinder and be buffeted. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to strip away the calluses from a hearts and get a new heart that is sensitive to the Holy Spirit because we have groaned over our sins and been sad.
6. Revelation 3 tells us that if we have lost our first love, we can regain it. The text doesn't actually say "lost" your first love, it says "left" your first love. If you lost something, you don't know where it is. If you left something, you know where it is and only need go back and get it again.
7. Let’s repent and pray for a new infilling.
[Credit: Matthew Henry played a part in section 1 & 2’s points.]
