Healing "Preliminaries"

We have been looking at risk and faith from first Kings 13 and 14. We saw that God honors those who step out in faith and take a risk. We saw Jonathan take a risk based on what he knew of God's nature and character and based on the history of what God had already done for His people. He made himself and his armor bearer vulnerable to enemy attack, because he had to approach the enemy garrison before he knew precisely what God's plan was. If God did not come through for him, he would have been captured or killed. That was a big risk. Jonathan put his life on the line.

And because he took a big risk, God came through for him in a big way. God granted Jonathan and his armor bearer a victory that was humanly impossible. It turned tide in the battle with the Philistines and resulted in Israel's ultimate victory. The bible states that faith moves mountains. We can win major victories when we stand in faith.

Big faith involves big risk. But even small faith involves some risk.

Making It Personal

What about you? God has brought you this far. And God didn't bring you this far to lose. He did not bring you this far for you to be a loser. Regardless of how you see yourself, God has called you to be an overcomer, but you must be willing to risk, and you can't turn back.

Look at Luke 9:62. "Jesus said to him, 'No one after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.'" We look at what is in front of us and we think the odds are against me, it is too overwhelming, it is too consuming, it is too much. But God is greater than anything in front of you. He is greater than any issue, any problem, any habit, any hang-up, any compulsion, any problem, any relationship issue, anything that is there, God is greater than all of that. God can get you through.

God doesn't need many to accomplish His work. Just think about the effects of what Jonathan and his armor bearer did. The Israelites got an army together. They thought they were in good shape. The Philistines responded by bringing an incredibly massive army. And then Israel cowered in fear. They ran -- some got away. Some tried to escape. Some found caves to hide in. They hid from the enemy because they wanted to avoid the conflict. They ran away in fear because a large massive army assembled.

In the midst of all of that, one man with his armor bearer went up and defeated a bunch of Philistines. He killed 20 of them and was untouched. Do you see the picture here? God only needs a few. We are kind of like the Marines. God is looking for a few good men and women of faith. He is just looking for a few who would be willing to risk, to take the risk, and to get started.

What have you been putting off? The last few weeks, God has been convicting a lot of us of a lot of different things. "And God, I'll get around to it. Yes, I'll get started on that." That's why I kept saying, "What can you do today? What can you do this week?" Now think back. Have you gotten started on anything? Many of you have. Many of you haven't. It's time to get started. It's time to take the initiative. It's time to get going.

The struggle is there anyway regardless. You are going to have struggle. But you just are going to have the choice of what kind of struggle you want. To seize the assets of darkness or have darkness try to seize yours. You just get the choice what struggle you want. Risk is going to be there. But if you will just take the risk and not turn back, take the initiative, God will honor that and God will come through. God's promises are sure. God's promises are true. What God said He will do, He will do. "If My people will then I will." God is waiting to activate His power. Let's activate it. Let's get started. If you don't know where to start, start with the obvious. Read the Word. You will find plenty of obvious things in there. Read the book of James to get very specific. A lot of obvious things in there. Get started. Don't put it off.

Let's pray.

Oh Lord, we thank you that you are just waiting to release Your power in our midst. We thank you, God, that you are waiting, just waiting Lord, for us to do the things that we need to do in order to activate Your power. Lord, there is so much fear and anxiety. The enemy has lied to us and we believe those lies. We think those circumstances are too great, too overwhelming because we are looking at them in the light of what we can do not in the light of what You can do.

Give us the eyes to see that regardless of the odds that are in front of us, You're greater than those odds. There is no problem or anything. Not even the things that we have gotten ourselves into because of our own sin or our own flesh. Even the mistakes that we have gotten ourselves into, You are greater than those things as well. And Your grace is so great and so wonderful, so awesome that you will pour Yourself out, even when it is our fault. Some things come because we are just obedient. The struggle is there.

Lord, put the truth in our spirit that Your nature, Lord, is to defeat Your enemies. To bring them and defeat them and put them Lord under the feet of the Lord Jesus. And Lord, all your needing is just a few who will say, "Yes, I'll go." You are not needing a majority, because You are the majority. So Lord we surrender to You now. And, Lord, bring to our mind the obvious, the things that we need to begin to address those today. Empower us to begin taking the steps we need to, mentally in our hearts. Clean out what needs to be cleaned out. Commit to the things that we need to do—to the action steps, Lord, that we need to do.

Allow the Lord to continue to deal with your heart. Maybe it is in the area of fear. Our God is a God who is worthy of trust and can be completely trusted. Just rebuke the fear. Faith is not the absence of fear. It is facing the fear. It is being courageous enough to go past the fear.