Some of you are not on Facebook, so you were not able to read about the statement I made during my last message; I just want to make sure I make this clear. I made this statement, When a person or a nation depends on God’s power, good things will happen; but when a person or a nation depends on their own wisdom and strength, failure will follow. I am not preaching what’s called “the health and wealth gospel” which states that if you do everything right for God everything will be well with you; and so if you are sick or having problems, there must be sin in your life! This is a false gospel in itself alone.
What is wrong with the health and wealth gospel? – 2 basic things: all of us still sin, therefore our own sins do get us in trouble; and even if you did everything right, we live in a world that is sinful and the world’s sin will impact us personally! The health and wealth gospel is not a gospel at all because it is half-truth; the true gospel is yes we have a savior, but we will not be completely done with sin till we are taken to heaven by Jesus Christ! Good things will happen to those who follow Jesus Christ, but no Christian is immune to bad things till Jesus returns.
But let us always remember that Christians are called to be holy! The pursuit of holiness (through obedience of God’s Word) is what God is looking for.
Today we will celebrate with Communion because it is the right to do as Christians till the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ returns to earth. 1 Corinthians 11:26 tells us, For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. We are to celebrate Communion to remember Jesus Christ as often as we can. Let us note that this is a command from God; it is a command that we need because we Christians still often forget about Jesus Christ. And what do we remember when we celebrate Communion? – that we are sinners always in need of a Savior and God!
We will actually note this similar lesson from our passage this morning from 1 Samuel 14. Now, we are to pray always and defining prayer as talking to God is good; but before talking to God, we must consider God Himself. Let me say that again and I hope you can follow what I’m trying to say.
We are to pray always and defining prayer as talking to God is good; but before talking to God, we must consider God. If we do not truly consider God when we pray, we might as well just talk to the wind (actually many people do that today, they think they are talking to God, but because they do not truly consider God and Jesus Christ, they are just talking to the wind!) Actually, this can happen to us Christians too; we pray without actually seeing God listening; many times we preach to other people when we pray.
And so, if we are to pray always and part of talking to God is considering God, we must consider God always! And communion is a reminder for us to always consider God, especially what Jesus Christ did for us. but not only during Communion, we must consider God in everything we do.
And so, before we celebrate Communion, let us look at our passage today. Even though written over 500 years before Jesus Christ, the story in 1 Samuel 14 affirms the need to always consider God. Open your Bibles to 1 Samuel 14 and read along with me v1-14…..
Looking again at v1-3, what’s the difference between Jonathan and his father Saul??
Basically, in the midst of war against the Philistines,
Jonathan was ready to take action.
Saul, even with the priest Ahijah, just lazily sat around. Saul did not even notice his son left!
In v4-10: we note Jonathan and his assistant (just the 2 of them) went to fight the Philistines!
And what do we read in v11-14? God affirmed Jonathan’s action and they defeated the Philistines!
Let us summarize the Biblical principles from this simple passage and apply them to our lives.
What was the first thing Jonathan grasped in his mind?
Jonathan understood that he and his nation had an enemy! This is also a must for us to grasp.
1. We Christians have an enemy! And who is our enemy??
The Christian’s enemy is the unholy trinity: our own flesh, the devil, and the world system!
Do we truly realize that we are in a constant battle with our own sins, the devil and his schemes, and the world system which denies God? We Christians are in a battle with the unholy trinity! Be aware! God has called us to fight the good fight of faith in Him!
What was the second thing that Jonathan did?? – right off the bat, it’s in v1.
Jonathan called on a partner!
2. We Christians should have faith partners! A faith partner is someone we can count on, for prayers, encouragement, counsel, and actual teamwork! Who would you say are your faith partners? Ask God for faith partners and commit yourself to be a faith partner to someone!
And then we note Jonathan taking action with his faith partner and mindful of God’s guidance!
3. We Christians are to take action against our enemy with our faith partners and being mindful of God’s guidance! How do we do this?
Pray! Be Biblical! Note Circumstances?
Always consider God and Pray! Always be Biblical for God speaks! Always consider God in all circumstances!
