Well, I appreciate you guys putting up with me with the last couple of sermons I was able to preach. They all kind of have a familiar thread running through all of them, and it seems to be the call for the Church of God, the people of God to rise up. in these last days, and to proclaim the Gospel in all of life. Not just out on the street, in the street corner somewhere, proclaiming the Gospel. Not just behind the pulpit, but our whole lives being consumed with God. And I really feel pressed. God has kept me... Both of these sermons today come out of 1 Samuel. And I really feel that the Lord is trying to speak to us through His Word here. trying to arouse us to the reality of what it is that He wants us to be as the Church of the Living God, and how He wants us to be equipped for the battle at large, because let's face it, Sometimes our lives can be overshadowed with many things going on. Even church things and programs and things that occupy our time that are worthy, are good things. But sometimes we can become so preoccupied, even in our church world, that we can almost neglect to see what's going on in the world at large. And I think the Lord is really trying to awaken us to the reality that we need to be the people of God. And our country is suffering dearly because we're not being the people of God. Yes, not everybody has forsaken God. Not everybody's back slender fallen away. There are people all over our nation who love God, who are fiery servants of the Most High. But in general, the majority, we are in a state of crisis as far as the church is concerned in our nation. And I really feel pressured to really, to do something. in these last days. I mean, we're growing old. We're not promised tomorrow. We're one breath away from eternity. No one's promised the next breath, the next second. We are just on the verge of eternity, any minute, any moment. And God just really says that He really wants to use us in a mighty way, as the people of God have used from the beginning of time, through Genesis, all the way to the book of Revelation. We see God doing mighty works through His people. He receives all the glory for what He does through our lives. lives. And this is the main thrust of these messages from 1 Samuel. I really think God is trying to communicate to his body here at Covenant Baptist what it is that he wants to do in our lives. And it's exciting and some of these messages almost seem a little bit overly confrontational in some points, but in reality we need a wake-up call. We need to be revived and awakened. We need the fire of God. We need to be pushed out of our comfort zone. Myself, I speak it to myself, I need to be pushed out of my comfort zone. I know that. There's a lot of apathy that sets in. And I pray that Lord God, He would kindle a fire in our hearts, in this family of God here at Covenant Baptist. And I am so privileged and honored to fight beside. And I pray that God would use us to glorify His name in these last days. With that being said, the title of my message tonight is called The Forgotten Fire. If we would, please turn your Bibles to 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel 13. 1 Samuel 13, starting in verse 19. Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel. For the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears. But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share, and his colt, and his axe, and his matock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. So it came to pass in the day of battle that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan. But with Saul and with Jonathan, his son were there found." Let us pray. Father God, I just thank You today for the opportunity to proclaim Your Word. And Lord, I thank You today that You have qualified me to stand here by the blood of Jesus Christ. And I thank You, Lord, that we as a body of believers are accepted in the Beloved. I pray, Lord God, that you would do a work on our hearts, Lord. Would you help us, Holy Spirit? Would you enable us to love you more passionately? Would you help us to draw closer to you? Would you show us what it's like? to be in communion with the Most High. Help us, Lord Jesus, to abide in You. And we ask You, Lord, that You would equip us from on high with gospel power in these last days. That You would use us, Lord. to worship You, to go and preach the glory of God amongst the heathen, that You would use us, Lord, that it would please You, Lord God, to pour Your favor out upon this people, Lord. We ask You, God, to have mercy upon us and use us for Your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen. Reading out of 1 Samuel 13, verse 1, Saul reigned one year, and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him 3,000 men of Israel, where of 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in Mount Bethel, and 1,000 were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin, and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba. And the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land saying, let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines. And that Israel also had an abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel. 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they camped up and pitched and mick-mashed eastward from Beth-Avon. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. The Bible says that they followed Saul around trembling. At this time in history of Israel, Israel was under the control of the Philistines. The enemy was occupying the land of Israel because of the spiritual condition of the people. The Bible goes on to say that there was no blacksmiths in the land of Israel in those days. The Philistines wouldn't allow them for fear that they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews. So whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, picks and axes and sickles, they had to take them to a Philistine blacksmith. 1 Samuel 13.22 it says, So on the day of battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan. But Saul and Jonathan, his son, had them. A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from iron or steel by forging the metal by using tools to hammer, bend, cut, and otherwise shape in its non-liquid form. The metal is heated until it glows red or orange as part of the forging process. With this great intense heat, the blacksmith would fire up the forge to an intense heat. And with this intense heat, the blacksmith would form weapons of like swords and spears. The fire was needed, for without it, the people of God would have no way of supplying themselves with needed weapons for battle. Without the fire, they could not be properly equipped for war. It was said that only two people had swords in the entire company. Okay, you got an army as big as the sands of the sea, and only two guys on the entire team have the right equipment. I mean, how would that make you feel? While the rest of the team is standing there looking at the Philistine army with all their weapons, what were they supposed to do? Put yourself in that situation. Jonathan starts trouble, provokes the army to come out and fight him. They end up coming out and there they are. The Bible says the multitude of the sands of the sea that there was obviously what the Bible is trying to show us that it was a huge army. Here they're all standing there, most of them deserted. But the ones that were standing there had no weapons except for two of them. You stand and look at this huge army, but you're weaponless. And how would you think? I mean, many of us today could sit in our pews and say, well, they just had faith in God to deliver them. But in reality, put yourself in their situation. If you were standing there that day and you didn't have a sword, what were you going to use, a stick? You know, what are you going to do? You stand in there and you see this huge army and you've got nothing to fight with. You rake? You know what I'm saying? So these guys were trembling, the Bible says. They hid. They ran for cover. They did just the opposite instead of fight. The Philistines not only prevented the people of Israel from making weapons of war, but also forced them to depend upon their enemies as well. They were dependent upon the enemy for their tools, for crops and gardening, as well as for spears and swords. As if it's not bad enough having many weapons or tools, you don't have very many in the first place. But the ones you do have need to go over to the enemy to have them sharpened. And on top of it, pay taxes for it. It's pretty bad. I can just see them saying, hey guys, hold on a minute, as this army stands before them. I have to go over to the enemy's camp real quick and sharpen my rake, since I don't have a sword. And can you loan me a few bucks? I need to pay them for their fine services. There was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land. The fire was taken from the people of God. And it's no different today. with the people of God. We can glean from these stories. They show us so much truth, even as it pertains today with the body of Christ. The enemy will always try to remove the fire from God's people, getting us tangled up. and so many other things and so many other areas in life, instead of where it is where God wants us to focus. He will try to remove that fire that causes the people of God to be equipped to move forward. in the equipping of God to do what God has called them to do. One well-known commentator writes, now there was no Smith found throughout Israel. The country was in its lowest state of depression and degradation. The Philistines, after the great victory over the sons of Eli, had become the virtual masters of the land. Their policy in disarming the natives has been often followed in the East. We see this in 2 Kings 24-14. Nebuchadnezzar, he carried away all of Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people in the land. Also in Judges, Israel when they chose new gods, war came to the city gates and not a shield or spear was seen among 40,000 in Israel. The blacksmiths are responsible for their ability to make weapons to equip the people of God for combat and keeping their tools prepared for building, farming, and battle. Weapons are needed to defend their lands and their families and tools to produce food for living and building a life. Without the smith, there would be no fire. And without the fire, there was no power against their enemies. And we see this today. We see a lack of power in the modern church today. We see impotency everywhere. All around us we see a people that is living in a consistent state of fear, a consistent state of hiding, running away from the battle in fear, the fear of man, instead of standing up and dealing with the enemy as God would command us to do. First question we must ask ourselves is this. How did Israel get in this state? And how does this apply to us today? In Judges 21-25 it gives us kind of a sneak peek here of what had happened. It says in those days there was no king in Israel. before Saul. And every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Autonomous man, doing what he wants to do. And anytime you have a nation that will not come under God's authority, it does not matter how great that nation or people believes itself to be, cannot stand. unless it is obedient to the laws of God. When a country forsakes God and His law, they soon too will fall into all sorts of idolatrous behavior. This is clear from the Bible, church history, and from the deterioration of our own country, and from every other country that wants to do what is right in their own eyes. Having spent time in Scotland preaching the gospel, I noticed that this particular nation, which at one time was known for its great gospel preachers and its missionary power to the world, now is in a state of absolute anarchy and rebellion. Dark. You know, skoshe actually means dark in Greek. Dark land. It's definitely a dark land over there. But it wasn't usually spiritual dark. In the past it was a bright and shining star. It was the missionary hub sending missionaries all over the world proclaiming the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. The Scots were intense. They're theologians. We still glean from them. Some of the greatest theologians out there come from Scotland and Edinburgh and all these different areas. Scotland used to be a powerful nation in the hands of all mighty God. I noticed that this country was given over to all sorts of different things, different ways of violence. It was noted in one of their leading newspapers, a policeman himself was quoted as saying, we, the police, have given up on the streets. One headline read, no more Scott land, we are now called gang land. It's known that Glasgow, the city of Glasgow, is the knife crime capital. of Europe. There's the most knife crime in all of Europe is in the city of Glasgow. I mean, it's gangland. It is right. When they say gangland, it is gangland. My wife can testify to that. I mean, there were people getting killed around our homes. The newspaper headlines were guys fighting in the streets with samurai swords. I mean, it was just crazy stuff. The samurai killer. I mean, these guys were just wild. And all of the police, of course, the police didn't have guns. You know, they were against all forms of arms, so they had a little bottle of mace and a flashlight. What's that gonna do? It certainly didn't stop the crime that was out there. I remember being out on the streets many times just preaching the gospel and just seeing the angry mobs of people and seeing the police out there with their bright raincoats on and their flashlights and their little thing of mace. And it really did nothing. There was no fear in the eyes of the criminals. They were just violent all over the place. And you could just feel the spiritual oppression that came upon this land. And it would break your heart. When you realize that these were the people of the book. They had one slogan, one motto that said, let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of his word and by the praising of his name. That was the motto of Scotland. Now it reads, it's still up there, but they removed half of it. They removed the part about preaching his word and the praising of his name. Now it just reads, let Glasgow flourish. Done. And it's flourishing. Alright. It is definitely flourishing. Drunkenness, adultery, violence, murder, chaos. It's flourishing in sin, and rebellion, and anarchy, and wickedness toward God. It's a dark and fallen nation. Go try to find a church there, a biblical church. There. It's very hard to find. There are very few in the UK or in Western Europe. Most of the beautiful churches and cathedrals that you see have been turned into nightclubs or gaming places. changing to pool halls and all sorts of crazy stuff. And I used to look at these doors on these big old churches, reaching into the heavens, and I would just, my heart would just break. And my wife would just immediately begin just to break out in prayer for some of these places and the people that God would return to this land, this mighty land that was used by an almighty God at one time, that God would bring these people back to himself, that God would bend these people back and bring gospel power upon this nation once. Again, my heart is in the UK. I've traveled to the UK, back and forth still, and bring the gospel there because I believe that the gospel, obviously, even though it's a re-evangelization of a nation, the gospel is their only hope. And America is not too far behind. We can see the way things are going right now. The compromise and the different ways that we respond to things that are out there. We see the issues in our nation. We see some of these things that dominate our nation like feminism, homosexuality, abortion, Islam, human trafficking, which is modern day slavery. And I believe Pastor Anderson said the other day where in Germany when they were taking the Jews to the concentration camps, the churches sang louder so they wouldn't have to hear the church cars going by because there would be too much conviction. And it's very similar today. And the church by and large, we want to sing louder, sing more songs, more programs, more activity nights, more outings with the men, more pancake breakfasts. Sing louder so we don't have to be, we don't have the voice of our own conscience convicting us of the sin of apathy and indifference. When God calls us to be the people of God, we must answer. And we must move. Otherwise, we will become like all of these other nations who just ended up in absolute darkness and rebellion towards God. What is the answer? It's always the same answer. It's the truth of God's Word and the power of His Holy Spirit. The Church of Jesus Christ. We are the body of Christ. We are God's hands and feet. We are God's mouthpiece upon this planet until Christ returns. We are to be endowed by the Holy Spirit, moved by God, compassionately, by the pathos and the emotions of God, and going out into this world, and feel the way God feels, think the way God thinks, and respond the way God would have us to respond in a world gone mad. Fiery churches produce fiery evangelism. I'm not talking about flopping around on the floor and charismatic chaos. I'm talking about men and women who are broken and in love with the Almighty God. That abide with Christ. That know God and are known of God. Who love God passionately. So passionately that they would put away all those things that would dishonor Him in any way, shape, or form. Who would allow God to convict them to such a large measure that they would do whatever it takes to please the Lord in their lives. that they would have holy lives, not corrupt worldly lives where no one really knows if you're saved or not because nobody can quite tell because you live just like the world. But in reality we are called to be a different people. To come out ye from among them and be different. Not to be weird, but to be different. To be a holy people, used by God to get His gospel to the lost world. And see the people of God come back to the true doctrines of grace. It's an almighty God, all of grace, that we see God in His sovereignty and His providence, that we begin to understand that without His grace we are nothing but worms. And we can do nothing without God. It's only by His grace that we're able to do what God's called us to do. He saved us. The only qualification for being saved is that you're vile. And you're a sinner and you're depraved, lost and dead. The Bible says that God uses the vile things of this world. He uses the weak things of this world to confound the strong. Here's the things that the world would deem stupid and unintelligent to confound those who think they're intellectually above other people. And today I stand as proof of that. And when I read that God chose the vial, I get pretty excited about scriptures like that because that means I qualify. And I thank God for His grace and I thank God for His mercy. And I pray that the Lord would use us compassionately to reach out. It doesn't always mean that we're going to be ones that are doing specific jobs like being on a street corner. That's not it. It's an all of life message. We are to reach all of life. I always pray over my daughters. I pray that God would thrust them out into the harvest fields of the home. And that they would come and they would look to their father, to their mother, and see how things are demonstrated in the home, that the cooking and all these things are things that please God. It's the home and how a wife responds to her husband as a helper, helping me do what God has called me to do. There's nothing greater, there's nothing more powerful in the hands of God than a godly woman. and a godly family with a godly leader. This is what God always said. You know, so many people want to see revival beyond that. You know, I had a friend of mine who's on the Jeremiah Cry ministry team. His father, when he was growing up, used to go out and preach on the streets. And he used to do soup kitchens and all sorts of these things. But when he got home, all the kids would scramble because he was a tyrant. When he came home to his family, he was mean and wicked. And his kids were scared of him because he was just, he was a monster. He could go out and preach on the street, but he would come home and treat his family. But they were no good. And I think our whole concept today of the church, we're always looking at things as being more spiritual. Kind of like the Roman Catholic Church, that there are certain areas that are deemed more spiritual than others. That being out in the workforce is not spiritual. Someone that has a trade is not as spiritual as the guy behind the pulpit. Which is totally ridiculous because we know that the Reformation came when all men realized that the abilities, gifts, and tales that God had given them were ways to express their worship to God by the use of their hands. And going to work and doing these things were ways of worship to the glory of God. That God accepted all these things. That the man, the carpenter, was equally as spiritual as the Pope. God leveled the playing fields there, you see, that God wanted to be involved in the lives of his people. It wasn't just a street preacher out there on the corner, it was the mom at home with the kids. You know, it was all areas of life. God wanted to occupy every area of life of His children. In these, God deemed equally as spiritual than any other. The title idols, we need to repent of in our country. Always wanting a title. Always wanting to seem to be more spiritual than the other guy by having a certain title before our names. Bishop that. Bishop this. Prophet this. Prophet that. It's nuts. In reality, we're just radical, depraved sinners saved by the grace of God. There's no title before my name. I'm Jeff. Sinner saved by the almighty grace of God. And thank God that He saved me. Now, I don't have any problem against somebody called a pastor and all that. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is we've come To the point where we have trusted so much and we've just held on to those titles as a means of salvation. Which they don't, God is no respecter of men. That God will look at your title or your degrees and also raise you to a higher level than the guy out there doing what he does. When we are born again, we're brought into the covenant of Christ, into the constitution of the nation of Jesus Christ, the new Israel. Then we're all equally accepted, value-wise, in the eyes of God. This is why the enemy always goes for the fire. He will leave the dead ones alone. He wants to remove the fire so we resort to games and entertainment. We've all but forgotten about the fire that burns in the bones of God's people and instead fill in the gaps with stimulating counterfeits. The fiery evangelist Leonard Ravenhill writes, entertainment is the devil's substitute for joy. The less joy of the Lord you have, the more entertainment you need. Pastor James May writes, I look around and don't see any real spiritual warfare being won. Most Christians just cower in fear in their own little world and try to follow the leading of a man who has lost touch with God. The modern church is powerless to resist the devil, so he just walks right into the church, takes away the desire and the ability of most of God's people to pray, and steals the knowledge of the Word of God, and then leaves them with no weapons to fight the spiritual warfare. Most of the church is afraid to stand up to the devil, so they just find a place to play church. He goes on to say, Saul's army appeared to be a fighting force, but there was no fight in them. They tried to act the part of the soldiers, but they were unarmed and powerless. That's just the way that most of the church is today. The enemy has succeeded in a large part in America by removing the fire from behind today's pulpits and pews, and has formed one that looks kind of like the real one, uses the same language, sings a lot of the same songs, but missing the most important ingredient, God, the Holy Spirit. Charles Spurgeon once said, discernment is not knowing what is right and wrong, but knowing what is right and what is almost right. Church history clearly shows that when the pulpit is disgraced, the people of God suffer greatly. The nation suffers greatly. The world, in a great part, feels the pain of a compromised pulpit. During the Revolutionary War, which was won in part by the urgency and condemnation coming from the pulpits against tyranny and oppression, which set the basic ethos of the heart of the people. The Great Awakening took place throughout England and came and spread out through America. It says at one moment it was in New England, in Freehold. New England was under the ministry of Jonathan Edwards and the one in Freehold was under the ministry of a man by the name of John Tennant. And this revival exploded simultaneously at the exact same time. And Gilbert Tennant, I believe he was John's son, was a revivalist. He went out proclaiming the Word of God until the ethos of the people of God in America began to be cultivated. in a hatred towards oppression. In the pulpits, they were preaching against oppression and tyranny throughout the pulpits in America, forming an ethos that would cause them to rise up to defend themselves against tyranny. And it says that John Tenet preached right up into the Revolutionary War. And this is what created a stir in the people, because the pulpits were healthy. When the pulpits are healthy, People gather for battle. When the pulpits are healthy and fiery, the people of God are purged and ready and equipped for battle. The Christian doctrine of the sovereignty of God and the crown rights of Jesus Christ was prevalent in the minds of many patriots preceding and during the American Revolution in their struggle against King George III. The men of Marlborough, Massachusetts unanimously proclaimed in January 1773 that death is more eligible than slavery. A freeborn people are not required by the religion of Jesus Christ to submit to tyranny. We implore the ruler above the skies that he would make bare his arm in defense of his church and people and let Israel go. On April 18, 1775, John Adams and John Hancock were at the home of Reverend Jonas Clark, a Lexington pastor and militia leader. That same night, Paul Revere arrived to warn them of the approaching Redcoats. The next morning, British Major Pitt Cairns shouted to an assembled regiment of Minutemen, disperse ye villains. Lay down your arms in the name of George the Sovereign King of England. And the immediate response of Reverend Jonas Clark, or one of his company, was, King Jesus. Where are the Paul Reveres today warning the people of God to rise up against tyranny, be subject to none other than King Jesus. 90% of the body of Christ today does not actively participate in evangelism or sharing their faith. This means that 2% of the body of Christ are actively sharing their faith. And the question would be asked, are we too hiding from the responsibility that God has commanded us as the people of God? Have we become the invisible church? Many of our problems that we face today in the church are directly linked with our disobedience to the Great Commission. We need to be people about God's business. And God's business is souls. Reaching His people. Creating, making a bride for His Son, Jesus Christ. Preparing that bride. And that is going through all the nations proclaiming the Word of God. We must be a people about evangelism and about missions. We must be mission minded as the people of God because God is mission. minded. And we too must be that way as well. If we can't go, we need to be the one, as Paul Walsher says, to hold the rope. We all need to work together to see the gospel go forward in our time and in our nation and throughout the world. One question we need to ask ourselves, what is it exactly that we're doing as the people of God? If we were to examine ourselves and the time that we spend throughout the day, how much time, I know we have jobs and we have things to do and responsibilities, but how much time is dedicated to the things of God, the Word of God, raising godly families, godly marriages, godly churches? We must ask ourselves, what are we doing? Why was the majority of our army retreated and in hiding? Many of you remember this story. Many of you may have heard of the story of Todd Lubitsch and the famous story of the boy in the plastic bubble. Anybody familiar with that story? You guys remember the boy in the bubble? Back in 1976, John Travolta played him. Well, his name was Todd Lubitsch and his famous story of the boy in the plastic bubble. Todd, who was a young boy, was born with an improperly functioning immune system. This means that contact with the unfiltered air would kill him. So Todd must live out his life in an incubator-like conditions. Todd was constricted to staying in his room all of his life, where he eats, learns, reads, and exercises while being protected from the outside world by various coverings. As Todd grows up, he wishes to see more of the outside world and meet regular people his age. He is enrolled at the local school after being equipped with suitable protective clothing similar to the style of a space suit. He falls in love with his next door neighbor, Gina Briggs, and Todd must decide between following his heart and facing near certain death or remaining in his protective bubble forever. In the end, after having a discussion with his doctor who tells him he has built up some immunities, which may possibly be enough for him to survive in the real world, he steps outside his house, unprotected, and Gene and he ride off on a horse. Now the church today has become much like the boy in the bubble. living out a constricted life while we do our eating, reading, Christian exercise, while being protected from the outside world by various coverings. remaining in a protective little bubble. We must allow our love for Christ to swallow our fear of death and the outside world and step out of the bubble and reach the real world with the almighty gospel of Jesus Christ. We must decide today that following Christ can be dangerous. It may cost you your life. But it's better than a life held captive by fear and death. We must come out of hiding. Number two, a lack of preparation always produces fear in God's people. A lack of preparation always produces fear in the people. These guys were not equipped in Saul's army. Let's just face it. Regardless of the spiritual aspect of this story, they were just not ready. How many of you guys remember test day? You guys ever have a test day in high school? I mean, I went to high school, and I was a terrible test taker. I panicked. I think I failed most of my tests because I panicked. I was one of those guys that didn't prepare to the last minute. And I was one of these guys right here. So how many of you can say you've taken a test, maybe a driving test, final exam, SAT, one of the above? Well, I have. Have you ever walked into a classroom just prior to an exam time and noticed the different expressions upon the faces of the students? Some you'll notice will be scurrying through their notes, trying to cram as much last minute information into their brain as possible. These ones are those who did not prepare. They are filled with anxiety and fear. Then you'll notice those who have prepared for the exam. They walk into the room and sit with calm, eager excitement. They actually look forward to taking the test. I never understood those kind of people. They are confident because they are properly equipped for the task at hand. Confidence was the result of their preparation and obedience to the required commands in achieving success. Fear and worry were the result of the lack of preparation and willingness to do what was commanded. Most people in the Western Church today are filled with fear. Paralyzed by the pervading darkness that surrounds us. Their world view is much the same as the world around us. I believe this, the root of this, one of the problems is that we're not prepared as we should be. We're not equipped as we should be. And we need to be. We need to be going out instead of hiding out. And I think equipping of the saints is one of the major things. that will alleviate this. There was test day for Israel, and they were not ready. They were in distress. They hid in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. Sin always results in hiding. Two swords in an army of 3,000, no wonder it dropped down to 600. Are you ready, people of God? Are you ready? Personally, you, talking to you individually, are you ready? Are you prepared to do what God has called you to do? Do you feel prepared? Do you feel properly equipped? If not, then we need to be. Because this is what God commands to be. And the only way you can truly be equipped is by the almighty fire of God and by His Holy Spirit. Now, if you continue to read down a few more verses, you will read about two men who were not in fear, whose understanding of God was much different in perspective. In 1 Samuel 14, 6, it says, Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, Come, let's go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us. for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few. Jonathan stripped away with his armor bearer to deal with these uncircumcised Philistines, knowing God ultimately would be the one to bring deliverance to his people. They were bold and brave, much like David in his fight against Goliath. The Bible says that David ran toward the giant with only a pocket of rocks and some strength. Now this is some guy that's full of faith. When you run towards an enemy, it says that you ran towards the armies of the Philistines. Not just towards the giant, but towards the whole opposing army. One man cooking across the green grass towards this army. With a sling and some stones. It's pretty amazing stuff. It's pretty powerful boldness. 1 Samuel 17.45 says, Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield. But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands." It was Jonathan who started the fight in the beginning of this chapter, and it was Jonathan who ended the fight. He started, he provoked him, and Jonathan, in the end, finishes it. God uses him in a mighty, powerful way. Jonathan trusted in God with no army. But did not give up his sword either. Jonathan, who is a type of Christ. Jonathan left his father. It says here at the beginning, he left his father and went over to the side of the Philistines to start battle. And he went on a secret mission with his armor bearer to deal with the enemy. As Christ, too, left the father and went on a mission to deal with the enemy and save those who were enslaved and held captive to sin. Jonathan and his armor bearer came against the Philistines in the name of the Lord their God. And God is the only one who can provide the fire, the fire that overcomes the world. Today, in the light of the contemporary church, these kind of guys are looked at as troublemakers. Anytime you trouble the norm, the way things are always going, we've got our structure, we've got the way we always do things, but you come in and you interrupt that structure at all, You look at it like a troublemaker. Similar to 1 Kings 18.17 when Ahab saw Elijah. He said, it is you, you troubler of Israel. Acts 21.31 says, all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Acts 17.6, these are they who have turned the world upside down. Matthew 11.20 says, Christ began to upbrave the cities because they would not repent, unraveling the hearts of men. Look at the lives of Joshua and Caleb. The only two out of the 12 who stood up in faith, while the others were scared and fearful. 80-year-old Caleb cries out, give me this mountain. Have we lost our spiritual stamina? Do we need to be revived and awakened from our sleepiness? In the book titled The Lost Men, the harrowing saga of Ernest Shackleton's Ross Sea Party, it was said of a man who wrote in his diary about the terrible sufferings of one dog sledding group that was taking the worst beating of a polar region snowstorm. Many of the dogs who were pulling them began to die. He wrote, we cannot expect Much more from them. It is hard. This is a cruel part of the world. He says, one by one, the dogs began to fall down. They're all lying down in our tracks. One thing they have is a painless death, for they lie down, curled up in the snow, and fall asleep, from which they never awake again. He conceded that day and called a halt. Longing to see the dogs trotting along behind, he looked back and saw dark forms lying motionless along their path. He decided to call this the Dead Dog Trail. Many of us today, in contemporary Christian America, have spotted the trail of American Christianity, with dark forms lying motionless along the path. Who found it easier just to lie down, curl up, and go to sleep, and never be awakened again. The dead dog trail of American Christianity. And we need a wake up call. We need to be a vibrant people, full of faith and enthusiasm for the things of God. We need to be like Jacob saying, give me this mountain. Or John Knox who said, give me Scotland lest I die. We need to be a people that's vibrant and full of life, moving. in the direction where God would have us to go. Not apathetic, not slow, not asleep and dead, but alive and moving in Christ. The third point, last point, our trust must be in God alone for victory. Proverbs 3.5 says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 14.12 says, There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but at the end there are the ways of death. 2 Corinthians 10.4 says, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. And having in her readiness a revenge, to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trusts to himself that he is Christ, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ, even so are we Christ. A question to ask ourselves. How can we get the fire back? First of all, we must realize our sin and repent. of our sins against God, whether it be apathy, indifference, whatever it may be. Whatever still lurks in your life that's an offense to God, it must go. It doesn't matter what it is. Whatever you had in your life that does not honor God must be removed. Makes no difference what it is. It's Scripture. It's the Bible. God will not share His glory with any other. The Bible says He's a jealous God. And God will accept no idolatry. He'll accept none of these things. Anything in our homes that dishonor God. Whether it be movies. Whether it be things that we listen to, music. I don't know what it is. But any of these things are not acceptable to God if they dishonor Christ. Anything in your life that dishonors God is not acceptable in the light of liberality under the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace is for those with a higher calling. God moves you to a higher level of holiness in the covenant of grace. How should we neglect such a great salvation? How shall we escape such a great salvation? Number two, take dominion over what the enemy has stolen in your lives. Take dominion. We're a dominion people. We're to take dominion. We're to go into the world. Not only see people saved from hell, as a dispensationalist would say, but we're covenant people. We're seeing the Word of God traveled. We're seeing the whole society reformed for the glory of God. We're seeing the atmosphere changed by the Gospel proclamation. We see the homes reformed. We see marriages reformed. The churches reformed. The people of God reformed. Unless the church of God repents and gets right with God and becomes reformed, we cannot expect to see a revival in our nation. It first comes to the house of God. Evangelism and any other thing is not separated from the local church. It's all from the body of Christ. It all comes and flows from the local church. And we must come and repent. We must take dominion over what the enemy has stolen. And it starts tonight. Number three, we must trust God completely. It's not in the strength of the army that we trust in. but in the greatness of God. We must see God, once again, as being great. We must ask God for the fear of the Lord. Because the fear of the Lord causes men to depart from evil. We must ask God to baptize us in the fear of the Lord. We must have a fear of God. We must look at God as being great. So great that He's much more greater than our sin. If we love God more than our sin, we will turn away from that sin. It will enable us, when we ask God, to do a great work in our lives tonight. A simple work. A work that keeps us consistent in the things of God. I don't look at a mighty move of God as just a miracle that happens. I look at a mighty move of God as someone who can be consistent with their following of Christ all the days of their life. It's a consistency. And I pray that God will give us all a consistent walk. through His Son, Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, I just thank You today, Lord. I thank You, Father, for giving me the opportunity to proclaim Your Word. And I thank You for these people, my family here. And God, I pray that You would use them mightily, Lord God. In their homes, whatever they do, God, that they would do it unto the glory of God. They do everything unto the glory of God, that they would see what they do equally. as important as any other thing done in the service of God. That they would see their jobs as important. That they would see their lives as important as mothers and fathers. They would see their children as being important. They would see, God, that you want to be involved in their lives. Oh, I pray that you would give us that revelation, that we would understand that, and that we would walk with the stride in our step, Lord Jesus. And I thank you that you would move us, Father. You would move us for your glory, that we would be the community here at Covenant Baptist, a people of God, that is obedient to your word, that would go out and fill with the compassion of Christ and reach this world, and God, to love one another. In this I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. so All right, we'll have our 30 in about five minutes.