‘One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armour-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.’ (1 Samuel 14:1)
Jonathan, Saul’s son, is a lot like David - he has a heart for God. David stood out as being willing to fight Goliath against the odds because he trusted in God. likewise, Jonathan, is willing to go to war against the Philistines whilst everyone else is startled into passivity.
Let’s go over
God has battles for you and the church to fight. It's important that we make it a habit to ask God to speak and lead us into His works. In what ways does God want you to ‘go over’? Is there a new realm of service, a friendship, a practice, an attitude... that he wants you to move toward?
Jonathan was not waiting for the crowd, he chose to ‘go over’ - to serve God - no matter what others were doing. God calls you to follow Him wholeheartedly, no matter if you go alone, or with an ‘armour bearer’. The church in this land is filled with people who will not rouse themselves to take initiative. The world is full of people who take initiative in business, sport, Youtube channels, music, fitness, education... but too often the church leaves her gifts and sacrificial service at the door. How does God want you to 'go over'?
The account in Isaiah chapter 6 illustrates the kind of attitude that Jonathan and is armour bearer had, and that we need to adopt.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!"' (Isaiah 6:8 )
Jonathan, his armour bearer, Isaiah, and many others we could mention, were surrendered to the will of God. Do we go into each day saying "Here am I send me?"
You are put on this earth to serve God in all things. Yes, all things. We must pray for wisdom on how to serve Him in all aspects of our lives. God has given you gifts to build the local church and to bring Him glory in the places and relationships in which He has put you. Jonathan saw the enemy (the Philistines) and went on the attack. Will you allow God to make you a fixer rather than just a critic? It’s easy to see the problems. It’s easy to say what others should be doing. Perhaps you need to ‘go over’ and use what God has given you for the glory of God. As Hillel wrote,
“If not now, when? If not you, who?”
RESPONSE
It’s the Holy Spirit’s empowering and leading that will cause us to ‘go over’. To this end, this week we are memorising and meditating on 2 Timothy 1:7.
TIPS ON MEMORISING SCRIPTURE
We will only do this, and persevere in doing this, if we believe that it's truly important to hide God's word in our heart. So get faith!
Don't disqualify yourself if it's hard - it is hard!
Write the text somewhere that's easy to find and use
Include the reference throughout the process
Read it slowly and carefully x 10 (Don't rush or dismiss this accurate repetition)
Recall it, without looking as much as possible x10
Do this a few times through the day
Revise regularly (and revise previously memorised verses)
Make it a habit to learn new verses - skill comes over time
USE IT! Actively use it to pray, worship, counsel, prophecy, and counter temptation and lies by quoting truth - it’s the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).
TIPS ON BIBLICAL MEDITATION
Biblical meditation is to prayerfully read, repeatedly, a section of the bible and pray, worship and respond as God leads. Here are a few tips and questions to help you when meditating:
PRAY - Ask for the Spirit to help you and to speak to you. Keep the goal in mind - having a relationship with God!
WRITING- Writing/journaling is often a great help as you answer the questions below. Remember, don't allow worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, perfection... stop you from writing - it's between you and God.
GOSPEL- What does this text say about salvation through Jesus?
UP- What does this text say about God – His worth, character, attributes, will, promises…?
IN- What does this text say about you, the church and how we are to relate?
OUT- What does this text say about non-believers and our mission?
RESPONSE – Is there anything you want to pray, worship God about, do, ask forgiveness about, ask God to help you to change…?
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