I Samuel 14:1-30
VV. 25-27 - “And all
the people[g] came into the forest; and there was honey on the ground. 26 And
when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no man
put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had
not heard his father charge the people with the oath; so he put forth the tip
of the staff that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his
hand to his mouth; and his eyes became bright.”
We don’t know how long Jonathon was in this situation. We know that there were six hundred other men
in the same situation he was in. But
Jonathon decided that something wasn’t right, he decided that it was not right
for the child of God to be hiding in fear of the enemy and so Jonathon made a
decision to do something, something the others may have looked at as
insane. He decided to follow the example
that had been set by David, he decided to make a run at his enemy.
Jonathon decided to take a run at his giant. I don’t know who the Lord got me out of bed
for this morning, may be it was just for me, but I’ve got a feeling that
somebody that has been knocked down is getting up, someone’s getting ready to
fight, somebody’s getting ready to make a run at your giant. The devil has been laughing at you,
criticizing you, and harassing you and you’ve had enough. Nothing will change until you get fed up! It’s time to break out!
You may be the only one of six hundred, or six thousand, but
one is all it takes if that one believes and trusts in the name of Jesus! Moses, Elijah, Gideon, and David were all
just one man when they decided to obey and trust God, but they overcame and
defeated the enemy!
You may be in a difficult
situation like Jonathon, a bad place, a painful place, or between a rock and a
hard place. You’re being pressed on
every side, it seems like there’s no way out, but I prophesy to you, you are
coming out! You’re coming out of
financial trouble, coming out of sickness, coming out of depression and
discouragement, coming out of Marriage trouble, coming out of attacks against
your ministry, you're coming out of the pit and you’re going to the palace.
Joseph was thrown into a pit and a prison, but he didn’t
stay there, he came out and went to the palace.
The three Hebrew men were thrown into the fiery furnace, but they didn’t
burn up they came out and got promoted. Daniel
was thrown into a den of lions but he didn’t stay there he came out and became
one of the greatest men in the Kingdom of Babylon.
“Many are the
afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all.” - Psalms
34:19
Just knowing you’re coming out would be enough for most of
you. But God said to tell you that not only are you coming
out, you’re going to do some damage on your way out. You’re getting ready to put some stuff that’s
been in your face, under your feet. You’re
getting ready to step on top of the thing that’s been on top of you. God shall bruise Satan under your feet
shortly.
Shortly means quickly: the issues you been struggling with
for a long time, and battles you’ve been fighting for a long time are getting
ready to come to an end - suddenly! Suddenly
that court battle is going to turn around! Suddenly that medical condition
that’s been dragging on for years is going to clear up! Suddenly that strained relationship is going
to be healed! Suddenly that financial
burden you’ve been under is going to be lifted!
You have been praying for a son, a daughter, a husband, and
it looks like they’re farther away from God than ever before, but suddenly God
is going to put a hook in their jaw and he’s going to do in an instant what
you’ve been waiting years to see. Somebody
reading this is standing on the edge of a miracle. It’s time to take run at your enemy!
Maybe you are in a place like Jonathon was at this very
moment. No matter which way you look
there is no help in sight and it feels like the worlds closing in on you. It feels like you’re all alone, people all
around you are being blessed, but you’re going through hell. You look around
you and see other people and it seems like their life is just a great big bowl
of cherries. Then you look in your bowl
and all you see is the pits.
The pits are the left overs, the rejected parts, the hard
inedible parts, but if I look in a bowl and see cherry pits, it tells me that
there were cherries there, because no cherry tree produces only pits. And it tells me somebody else got there first
and somebody else got the sweet part. They
got the beautiful house, the new car, the best paying job, the best girl, the
best guy, the best church, the best friend, the best calling, the best talent,
the best gift and you got the pits.
I just want to tell somebody that has feels like the sweet
things in life have passed you by: if you will keep on walking, keep praying,
keep praising, keep confessing the word, keep believing God’s promises, then you
are on a collision course with some sweet stuff!
I know I’m talking to some people that have been in some
bitter places and you’ve tasted disappointment.
Some of you have experienced the bitterness of divorce in your life. Some of you are acquainted with the
bitterness of a long season of sickness.
I know there are those reading this who have watched their dreams slip
through their fingers. Some of you have
cried bitter tears as you have watched your children choose a rebellious road
and walk away from God and get tangled up in the ways of the world. And I wish this part wasn’t true but it is:
Some of you have been hurt, and it wasn’t the devil that did it, it was church
folk.
I love the church with all my heart, but there’s a
difference between being in church and being in Christ, and some of the
meanest, most critical, and self-righteous people on earth are church folks. And a lot of good people have been hurt by
mean spirited lukewarm snobby nosed church folk.
When you look at your life all you see is the pits, but God
told me to tell you, that he’s getting ready to give you sweet for your sour, beauty
for your ashes, peace for your pain, joy for your sorrow, and hope for your
despair. Weeping may endure for the
night, but Joy cometh in the morning and I see the sun rising on a brand new
day for you.
As Jonathon and his armor bearer move out in faith, God gave
them a great personal victory. Not only
that, it encouraged the rest of the army and turned the whole battle around. After a good deal of fighting and knocking
down the enemy; they come to a place where there was honey on the ground. They didn’t have to climb a tree or fight the
bees for it, all they had to do was reach out and take it.
Somebody needs to hear this today, all you have to do is reach out and take it. Jesus already climbed the tree, and let them nail him to it. Jesus already fought the bees, and spoiled principalities and powers making a show of them openly. All the blessings of God, all the provisions of God, are within your reach. All you have to do is reach out and take them. It’s time to take a run at your enemy! The battle is the Lord’s! Your enemy was defeated by Calvary and the honey is on the ground!
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