Real People – Real Problems
A study of 1 Samuel
Part 12
“Can’t or Won’t”
In the John Wayne movie the “Cowboys”
Asa Watts also known as the “man with the long hair” played by Bruce Dern
And his rag tag band of outlaws
Show up at
The Andersen ranch looking for work
Wil Andersen played by John Wayne
Askes Asa where all he has worked and quickly catches him in a lie
As admits to the lie and also admits that he has spent the last several years in jail
Wil says sorry
I can’t use you
Asa says what do you mean you can’t use us
To which Wil answers
I won’t use you
Many times, in our lives we use the words
Can’t
When what we really mean is won’t
Can’t means we don’t have the ability
Won’t means we are unwilling
As we continue our study of 1Ssamuel
We come to the story of someone who would
Let me quickly recap
Samuel had stepped aside
Saul had taken his place as King
And then he quickly forgot about the fact that it was God who appointed him
And he started doing things his own way
He refused to wait on God
He stepped into the role of priest and he was forever punished for his disobedience
To tie into today’s topic
He could have waited on Samuel
He could have waited on God
But he chose instead to do it his own way
As a result
The Philistine army was growing bolder
The Israelite army was growing smaller
And the Nation was in a bad spot
They were already the underdog in the fight
The Philistines had many chariots and more warriors than the grains of the sand
The Israelites only two swords
The rest were armed only with farming tools
Rakes
Shovels and such
And the small force of men that had showed up to fight
Were quickly leaving and hiding
All hope seemed to be lost
But Saul and the nation of Israel were not counting on the power of 1
You see
When God is involved
1 person becomes a mighty army
Let’s read about Saul’s brave son Jonathan
This morning
Please turn to 1 Samuel chapter 14
I will begin in verse 1
As you are turning there
Let me tell you
This is our first official introduction to Saul’s son Jonathan
We will study much more about him when we begin our series on the life of David some time later
But for today
I want you to see him as someone who would
Reading from 1 Samuel 1:14
Beginning in verse 1-15
14 One day Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come on, let’s go over to where the Philistines have their outpost.” But Jonathan did not tell his father what he was doing.
2 Meanwhile, Saul and his 600 men were camped on the outskirts of Gibeah, around the pomegranate tree[a] at Migron. 3 Among Saul’s men was Ahijah the priest, who was wearing the ephod, the priestly vest. Ahijah was the son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD who had served at Shiloh.
No one realized that Jonathan had left the Israelite camp. 4 To reach the Philistine outpost, Jonathan had to go down between two rocky cliffs that were called Bozez and Seneh. 5 The cliff on the north was in front of Micmash, and the one on the south was in front of Geba. 6 “Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the LORD will help us, for nothing can hinder the LORD. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!”
7 “Do what you think is best,” the armor bearer replied. “I’m with you completely, whatever you decide.”
8 “All right, then,” Jonathan told him. “We will cross over and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, ‘Stay where you are or we’ll kill you,’ then we will stop and not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come on up and fight,’ then we will go up. That will be the LORD’s sign that he will help us defeat them.”
11 When the Philistines saw them coming, they shouted, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes!” 12 Then the men from the outpost shouted to Jonathan, “Come on up here, and we’ll teach you a lesson!”
“Come on, climb right behind me,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “for the LORD will help us defeat them!”
13 So they climbed up using both hands and feet, and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer killed those who came behind them. 14 They killed some twenty men in all, and their bodies were scattered over about half an acre.[b]
15 Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified.
Let me paint the picture for you
The Tiny Israelite army was on one side of a canyon
The giant Philistine army on the other
Saul is wringing his hands with no idea how to get out of this mess
His army armed only with hand tools is leaving or hiding
And on the other side
The Philistines
Are getting really pumped up for the massacre that is about to happen
Everyone on Saul’s side
Was saying I can’t
I can’t
What they meant was I won’t
I won’t
Except for one and his loyal armor bearer
Jonathan saw the army and said
I can, and I will
Actually, what he said is God can and he will
Look again at verse 6
6 “Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the LORD will help us, for nothing can hinder the LORD. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!”
He went on a maybe
Perhaps the Lord will help us
But then he said
Nothing can stop the Lord
He can win a battle with a few or with a lot
He is able
I love this part
Jonathan
And his armor bearer trusted God to do the fighting
Jonathan knew it was not him
Jonathan knew that it was not His friend
Jonathan knew that it was not all the soldiers in the army that would win the battle
Jonathan knew that it was God almighty who would win
And he trusted fully in Gods’ ability to do just that
So he laid out a quick plan
Grabbed one of the only two swards in the army of Israel and
Bravely climbed the cliff to face the enemy
Look at verses 8-12 again
8 “All right, then,” Jonathan told him. “We will cross over and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, ‘Stay where you are or we’ll kill you,’ then we will stop and not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come on up and fight,’ then we will go up. That will be the LORD’s sign that he will help us defeat them.”
11 When the Philistines saw them coming, they shouted, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes!” 12 Then the men from the outpost shouted to Jonathan, “Come on up here, and we’ll teach you a lesson!”
“Come on, climb right behind me,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “for the LORD will help us defeat them!”
Notice with me again Jonathan says
The Lord will
Not I will
Not we will
But
He will
Verses 13-15
13 So they climbed up using both hands and feet, and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer killed those who came behind them. 14 They killed some twenty men in all, and their bodies were scattered over about half an acre.[b]
15 Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified.
What we have here is a man
Who knew who he was in God and knew who God was
He trusted fully in God’s ability to overcome
He trusted fully that God would
So
He said
I can, and I will
Not I can’t, and I won’t
He overcame great odds in the eyes of man to rely completely on God
And his courage
Was an example to his armor bearer---- first
One person at a time
Remember this part
Then to the army of Israel and even his Father the King
Because one man
One man
Said
I can do all thing though the power of God
Because one man
Said
Ok
God
I know you’ve got this
The outcome of the battle on that day
Was changed
1 Plus God outnumbers any army any time
Let me reference for you a scene from 2 Kings chapter 6
Elisha
Was Israel’s prophet during the rule Ahab’s son Joram
And Elisha like his predecessor Elijah was a man of integrity
He said what he meant and meant what he said
And
As a result, he became very unpopular especially with the enemies of Israel
God would speak to him about the plans of the Enemy
The Arameans in this case
And Elisha would tell the king of Israel the plans
As a result
The Aramenas could never get the upper hand
They thought they had a traitor in their midst and became an all-out attempt to find him
They soon discovered that it was Elisha the prophet of God that was spilling the beans about their plans
So they put out a bounty on his head
They found out Elisha and his servant were in the city of Dothan
And they went there with an army to take him dead or alive
Here is where I wanted to get to with this
Chapter 6 of 2 Kings
Verses 16-17
15 When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.
16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
There are more on our side than on theirs
The hills were filled with the army of God
The battle was his
All he needed was
1 Person who can
One person who will
Because one person
Just one person
With God
is mightier than the mightiest army
So you may be thinking or asking right about now
Preacher
I get this
But I am not fighting a battle
I am not in a war
I hate to bust your bubble this morning
But
We are all in a constant battle between good and evil
Satan and his army are on the attack
They are trying to kill steal and destroy all that God loves and all that he has created
And we as believers have the ability to be an army of one
One with God is greater than all of Satan and his minions combined
We have the power living inside of inside of us
To overcome evil
And to win the battles and the war
But
Instead we say
I can’t
I can’t
How so you may ask
God wants you to tell your friends and family
Your coworkers and the people you meet about the love of Jesus
He wants you to tell them of his love
And his mercy
And his grace
He wants you to tell them how he changed your life and how he can change theirs
How he cleansed you of your sins
He wants you to tell them in word and in deed
But we use the excuse
I can’t
I can’t
I don’t know enough
I am not smart enough
I am not articulate enough
I’m afraid
I’ m embarassed
I’m ------I’m ------
What we are saying is not God I can’t
What we are saying is God
I won’t
We are saying
God, I know you saved me
God, I know you cleansed me from my unrighteousness
But
God
I won’t help others to get what I’ve got
God
I won’t seek your will
God
I just want to sit back on my salvation and wait for you to do the work
I am concerned
But I am not committed
So
I can’t is my battle cry
Listen to me
Let me take some pressure off of you
You can’t save anyone!!!
I can’t save anyone!!!!
That is not our job!!!!
A person receiving salvation is up to them and God
But
If you are sitting here this morning and are a believer
Someone loved you enough to tell you about Jesus
Someone loved you enough to say I can and I will
Instead of I can’t, and I won’t
Our job is to be a vessel
A lump of clay
That is eager to be filled with the Holy Spirit
Eager to me molded into what God desires
You see
It is the power of God
The power of the Holy Spirit
It is the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus
That changes life
But it is that same power in us
That gives us the ability and courage
To say yes
I can
Yes--- I will
It gives us the courage to step out of the boat on faith
And do the impossible
Jesus said with man these things are not possible
But with God all things are [possible
He was talking about a restored relationship with God
A deliverance from the penalty of our sins
I can do all things though Christ who gives me strength
Should be our battle cry
Not I can’t, and I won’t
Listen to me
We use the I can’t excuse so often it can easily become part of us
And we can easily begin to believe it
I can’t stop gossiping
I can’t serve
I can’t give
I can’t stop drinking
I can’t stop using dope and destroying my life
I can’t control my thoughts, my actions ,my tongue my anger
I can’t – I can’t – I can’t
Stop!!! with the I can’t
Either say
I can do all thing though Christ who gives me strenght
Or say I won’t
But
Stop with the I can’t
With God
You can
Do all things
With Christ everything is possible
He has the power he is the power
That power
If you have accepted his sacrifice
Lives in you
Listen to the word of the song “same power”
By Jeremy Camp as I read them to you this morning
And say
I can and I will
I can see
Waters raging at my feet
I can feel
The breath of those surrounding me
I can hear
The sound of nations rising up
We will not be overtaken
We will not be overcome
I can walk
Down this dark and painful road
I can face
Every fear of the unknown
I can hear
All God's children singing out
We will not be overtaken
We will not be overcome
The same power that rose Jesus from the grave
The same power that commands the dead to wake
Lives in us, lives in us
The same power that moves mountains when He speaks
The same power that can calm a raging sea
Lives in us, lives in us
He lives in us, lives in us
We have hope
That His promises are true
In His strength
There is nothing we can't do
Yes, we know
There are greater things in store
We will not be overtaken
We will not be overcome
The same power that rose Jesus from the grave
The same power that commands the dead to wake
Lives in us, lives in us
The same power that moves mountains when He speaks
The same power that can calm a raging sea
Lives in us, lives in us
He lives in us, lives in us
Greater is He that is living in me
He's conquered our enemy
No power of darkness
No weapon prevails
We stand here in victory
Oh
Greater is He that is living in me
He's conquered our enemy
Oh
No power of darkness
No weapon prevails
We stand here in victory
Oh, in victory
One plus God is a mighty army
One plus God will always prevail
Close from the heart
Pray
