 What we're going to do is we're going to look at the first 15 verses today in 1 Samuel chapter 14. And what we're looking at is the subject of ventures in faith. They're actually going to have an opportunity to see how faith acts and how it acts out in the face of obstacles. And so we're going to be looking today at ventures of faith. Let's begin reading at verse 1 in 1 Samuel chapter 14. I'll read to verse 7 and we'll get into our study. Now it happened one day that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who bore his armor, come let us go over to the Philistines garrison that is on the other side. But he did not tell his father. And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Megron. The people who were with him were about 600 men. Ahidja, the son of Ahitah, Ikebod's brother, the son of Phineas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. Between the passes by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozes, the name of the other, Sinai. The front of the one faced northward opposite Micmash, the other southward opposite Gibeah. Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, come let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised that may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing restraints the Lord from saving by many or by few. So as armor bearer said to him, do all that is in your heart. Go then, here I am with you according to your heart. Now as we saw last time, the Philistines have gathered an enormous army that they might attack the nation of Israel. Jonathan, who is the son of Saul, had attacked an outpost of Philistine soldiers. And as a result, he had stirred up a hornet's nest and thousands of Philistines have come and they are preparing to attack the nation of Israel. As the thousands have been assembled, Saul could only muster some 600. Now Israel's army was made up of militia, a militia of farmers. None of them had any swords. We're told that only Saul and Jonathan had swords. And the Philistines were so confident that they simply assembled their troops to attack. And they dispatched a garrison, garrison numbering somewhere perhaps around 50 soldiers to the pass of Micmash and there they're waiting. And that's what we're looking at right here in verse one. That's what we're going to be seeing in chapter 14. We're seeing as this is about to take place, as a battle is about to be engaged. In verse one it says it happened one day that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who bore his armor, come let us go over to the Philistine garrison that is on the other side. He didn't tell his father. And so what happens within two or three days of all this action taking place? Jonathan has made a decision to see what the enemy is up to. So he crosses a pass that separated his position from the Philistines there in southern Israel. But notice in verse one how it says he doesn't tell his father Saul. Now there's a reason why he didn't inform his father of the plans. It could be a variety of reasons really, but at least three reasons that he didn't let his father know what he was going to do. One, his father would probably have told him you can't do that. He would have forbidden him from doing that. Or second, such a plan requires complete secrecy. But third, it may simply be that the Lord has placed it on his heart to do so. And so as the Lord is laid it on his heart to go and check out what the Philistines are up to, he simply decides to do that. And he's about to go across and see that. It says in verse two Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migran. The people who were with them were about 600 men. And so as he's about to go he's going to go there with his armor bearer and he's going to check it out. It's interesting how he chose to enter into this operation accompanied only by an armor bearer. An armor bearer is a trusted assistant. It's the one who carries the commander's weapons. He would carry the large shield. He would carry other weapons of war in order that he might free up the commander. An armor bearer was one who was courageous, who was fierce, a man of good character. He was well trained. He was a man who was loyal to the death. All great warriors had personal armor bearers, which gives to us insight into the fact that Jonathan was a great warrior. But there he goes. Now his father is there in the outskirts of Gibeah, which is just a few miles north of Jerusalem. Migran is just north of the area and Saul's sitting under a well-known tree. Migran is a common word for the word cliff. So the area around there is mountainous and that's where he is. Now verse 3 says, Ahia, the son of Ahitub. Well actually Ahitub was a very heavy man. His name was really Ahitub. No, it's not. I'm just saying that. He was a tub. No. What we're looking at is that he is the great grandson of the former priest Eli, and so Ahia is the son of, or great grandson of Eli. But the point is he's wearing the ephod. Now when it says that he was wearing an ephod, he's not wearing a normal priestly robe. He's actually wearing the robe of a high priest. And so it's pointing out here in simple fashion that he was enacting the role of the high priest. And so this is what's taking place. Now as this is going on, notice verses 4 and 5. This is a geographic marker. It speaks of bozez, which means shining. It speaks of senna, which is the acacia. And so they face one another. There are actually two cliffs that face one another north and south. So we have a geographic marker of what's taking place. Now as all of this is taking place, I really want to start looking at verses 6 and 7 and begin moving on into making some applications, because what we're looking at is ventures of faith. We're looking at a venture of faith here. And I want to develop this with you this morning. Notice how it says, Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, come let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised, it may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few. So as armor bearer said to him, do all that is in your heart, go then, here I am with you according to your heart. This gives us insight. This gives us insight into faith and the courage of a man by the name of Jonathan. We already saw him as a courageous man because he had a pose of flistings when he attacked their garrison. But that wasn't enough for him. He wanted to deal them an even harsher defeat. Now it's interesting how it begins or develops here. I want you to see this in verse 6. Notice how it says, Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, first come let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. Now when he says the garrison of these uncircumcised, on the one hand, the Jews would use that phrase the uncircumcised as a degrading term. It's another way of calling them pagans. And so when he says that we ought to go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised, it's a way of saying let's go and see what these pagans are up to. So that phrase is used sometimes in a disparaging way. But it's deeper than that. What he's saying is, because they're uncircumcised, they will have no help that comes from God because as uncircumcised people, they don't have a relationship with God. That's what he's actually saying. He's saying they are uncircumcised, therefore they have no relationship with God. So the uncircumcision was a right of cutting away the male foreskin as an emblem of faith in God. Now we know that circumcision is part of the Jewish religious system. You see it in Leviticus chapter 12 verse 3 where God gives a command to the nation of Israel to circumcise their sons on the eighth day. And we know that circumcision was an outward emblem, but the fact is, is though it's in the Mosaic law or the law that was given to Moses by God, it actually predates the law of Moses and goes all the way back to the time of Abraham. Abraham is spoken of in the book of Genesis. And in chapter 17 of the book of Genesis, we have an interesting thing taking place there. God is telling Abraham that his wife, Sarah, is going to conceive and have a son. And Abraham is really not able to grasp that. And so God is speaking to him about that and making it clear that this is going to take place. But prior to that, he speaks to him concerning his faith. And in Genesis 17 verse 11, he says, you shall be circumcised in the flush of your foreskins. It shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. This is going to be an emblem. This is going to be an outer symbol of a relationship that you and I have together. A relationship, Abraham, that is based on your faith in me. See it wasn't just a cutting away of the foreskin. It was really the heart. It was a heart that was right with God. It answers to baptism today in the Christian era. Circumcision was an outward demonstration of a covenantal relationship that a man had with God, whereas baptism in the New Testament is a symbol of a saving relationship a person has with God. And when they enter into that water, it demonstrates that their death buried. When they come out of that water, it represents that they're alive in Jesus Christ. But the water doesn't save you, and circumcision didn't save you in the Old Testament. When the men were circumcised or when the children would be circumcised, it was an emblem. It was an outer symbol of a covenant that they were to have with God. But what's interesting is that Abraham already had faith in God prior to him being circumcised. In the book of Romans, Paul speaks about that in chapter 4 verse 11. He said, Abraham received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also. You see, when he received circumcision, his heart was already circumcised. He already had a relationship with God. So Moses gave the right of circumcision in the law, but Abraham predated that, and it was all a symbol of a right standing with God. So when Jonathan is saying there, let's go to see what those uncircumcised people are up to. It was deeper than simply saying, these are pagans. He was saying that they are unbelievers, and because they are unbelievers, they cannot have help from God. Circumcision was an emblem of Israel's relationship to God, and as a believer in God, an improper relationship with him, Jonathan expected God to help him. He had hope in God. He had faith that God would be there. You see that in Psalm 146, verses 5 and 6, where it says, happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made the heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, who keeps truth forever. So Jonathan was saying he has a relationship with God, and God is going to be with me. These Philistines do not, and therefore they're not going to be protected by God. A second thing he says is, it may be that the Lord will work for us. Now that's not presumption, it's a simple declaration of hope and faith in God. This is one who's trusting in the God of Israel, a God who had promised to deliver them from their enemies. Recently in 1 Samuel chapter 7 verse 3, the Bible says that Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, if you return to the Lord with all your hearts, put away the foreign gods and the asherists from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. And so he's saying, let's go and see what these people who have no relationship with God are up to. God may work for us because God has promised that he would. And then thirdly, I want you to notice this, he says in verse 6, for nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few. This is a declaration of faith, nothing restrains the Lord from saving. Jonathan knew God is the God of the possible. God can do wonders beyond what any man or woman can conceive, and God can work in a way that is tremendous, in a way that blows your mind back to the time of Abraham, when God had said that Sarah's going to conceive and have a child. It was beyond the imagination of Abraham because Abraham was almost 100 years of age, his wife was 90 years of age. She is well past the ability to have a child. I mean, what 90-year-old woman would like to be nursing at 91? I mean, think about that for a minute. And getting up with that baby crying at the age of 90, are you kidding me? And so when God had said to him that she's going to have a baby, he said, this is beyond me, but God said in Genesis 18, verse 14, is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time, I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Is anything too hard for the Lord? You've got to ask yourself that question today. We're talking about ventures of faith. You have to ask yourself, is there anything too hard for God? We're just saying that nothing's impossible with God. We're just saying that. As a church, we're out there saying, Lord, there's nothing too hard for you, and that's what the Bible teaches in Job, chapter 42, verse 2. We read, I know that you can do everything and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you. Jeremiah 32, 27. Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me? In the New Testament, Luke 137, with God, nothing will be impossible. And in Luke 18, 27, Jesus said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Jonathan had this kind of faith. He knew that nothing was impossible with the Lord. He knew that when God is on your side, you are the majority. He knew that he was more than a conqueror through God. He knew that, and because of that, he could speak from that perspective. He could say, there's nothing too hard with the Lord. There's nothing too difficult with God. Sometimes we bring our little problems to the Lord and we say, oh, this is too hard for you, the Lord would say, there's nothing too hard for me. There's nothing too difficult for me. If God could raise his son from the dead, can't he do something in our lives? I believe that he can. And Jonathan did too. Jonathan knew that God could do anything that he chose to do. And so he made that very clear. Perhaps the Lord can save us today. Nothing restrains the Lord from saving, by many or by few. God has the ability, let's see what God wants to do. That's a good way to wake up in the morning and think, by the way, what does God want to do today? What does the Lord want to do in our lives today? What new thing does God want to do in you? What does the Lord want to do in your life today that's unusual? What kind of thing does he want to do this morning with you? What does he want to work inside of you? God has the ability to do that and that's all Jonathan is saying. Nothing restrains the Lord. Well, as he says this, notice verse 7. His armor bearer said to him, do all that is in your heart. Go then, here I am with you according to your heart. When he says, do all that is in your heart, this armor bearer, a man of faith, a courageous man of fidelity says, listen, if you turn around and move, I'll follow, I'll come right behind you. If you lead, I'll follow. It's another way of saying, I've got your back. I'm going to share with you in all of your dangers. If God is moving you, this armor bearer said, then I'm going to move alongside of you. I'm going to follow along with you and I'm going to battle alongside of you because I know that God is moving you. Psalm 46-7 says, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge and this man had that understanding. Jonathan's a man willing to take a venture of faith. What's a blessing is he has an armor bearer who supports that. He didn't say anything to undermine what God might have wanted to do. He didn't say, are you kidding me? They've got thousands of soldiers. This is just one garrison representing multiple thousands. Not only do they have soldiers, they have chariots, and they also have horsemen. Are you kidding me? You want to go over there and check that out and you want to pick a fight with these guys? These guys are monsters. He didn't say that at all. His heart was in sync with Jonathan. He trusted in the same God that Jonathan trusted in. I don't know how many of you, as parents perhaps or even as kids, became acquainted with Winnie the Pooh. Very biblical character, Winnie the Pooh. I don't know how many of you were familiar with him, but do you remember Eeyore? Anybody remember Eeyore? He's one of my favorite characters. Oh, and he's always moaning, I can't do that. It's just not going to work. He's a moaner. He's an Eeyore. He is constantly saying, it can't happen. Listen, when you're serving the Lord, you're going to have Eeyores around you. You will always have an Eeyore. There will be two or three. Sometimes there's a whole herd of Eeyores that are around you. It can't happen. It won't happen. It's too much. It's more than you can do. If you're set like Jonathan, nothing's too hard for the Lord. Are you kidding me? What is impossible with God? If God says, let's do it, then let's get on the same page and do it. I've had people in my ministry for years, and sometimes they will say, they're Eeyores. Sometimes they'll say, well, we can't afford it. And you know what, I've already told myself that. I already know that I can't do that. I already know that. That's not news to me. I can't. I'm not eloquent. I understand that. I'm not a man of vision and faith. I understand that. But I have a God who is capable, and that's all I really need is a God who's capable. But you have people who are Eeyores who are saying it can't happen. It won't happen. Well, Jonathan had an armor bearer who said, whatever God is putting in your heart, I want to be part of that. You need men and women like that in your life. People who have counted the costs who are aware that it is dangerous. But listen, if God is moving, on the same page with the Lord, I want to do what God is going to do. I want something new and fresh with Him. I want something vital. I want to move in the things of the Lord. And that's what he had with his armor bearer. Whatever God has placed in your heart, that's what I'll do. Do all that is in your heart. Go then, here I am with you according to your heart. Well, verse 8, Jonathan said, very well, let us cross over to these men and we will show ourselves to them. If they say thus to us, when we come to you, then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. But if they say thus, come up to us, then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand and this will be a sign to us. So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. The Philistines said, look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they've hidden. Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and said, come up to us and we will show you something. Jonathan said to his armor bearer, come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel. Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armor bearer after him and they fell before Jonathan and as he came after him, his armor bearer killed them. The first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about 20 men who also trembled and the earth quaked so that it was very great trembling. Jonathan wasn't going to tempt God. He was trusting in God and therefore asked God to reveal whether or not God was leading him or not and therefore he had a plan. If the Philistines say, we will come to you, they're showing courage. But if they said come to us and showed they were afraid to come to us according to verse 11, to the garrison of the Philistines and as they did so, the Philistines began to mock them. They thought at first that they were deserters who had come out of hiding. We had noted that when the Philistine army had shown up that people were hiding in rocks and caves and so they think they're deserters and it may be that they might want to join them and battle against Israel and so that's why they began to speak with them that way. And so the men of the garrison according to verse 12 following called to Jonathan, come on up to us. Well, Jonathan sees that God's in this and he tells his armor-bearer, let's go. With Jonathan leading the way his friend following, they began to slaughter their enemies in a small area of land. A great victory is won. They killed 20 enemy soldiers. Now as they began to flee, they may be thinking these are so ferocious that there must be more than just two and they began to leave and run away. Verse 15 says there's trembling in the camp and there was also an earthquake. So there's great fear that takes place, a terror. It even weakened their raiders which would be equivalent to special ops. On top of this there's an earthquake and it seems that God is even against them and it causes them to fear. Ventures of faith. Ventures of faith. Let's see what God wants to do today. Let's see what the Lord may want to do today. It's a principle that we've been taught that I've been taught by my pastor Chuck Smith. We pastors who pastor in Calvary Chapel Ministries have all been encouraged by our pastor Chuck Smith in this one area, take a venture of faith. When you begin to look around at ministry, when you begin to look around at the Calvary Chapel Ministries, and some of you are familiar with some of the names that I'm about to mention, you will see that God has used ventures of faith as part of what Calvary Chapel Ministry is all about. I can't help but think of men like Mike McIntosh, who's the pastor of Horizon. When he first began it was simply called Calvary Chapel San Diego, but it's now Horizon Ministries. A man with a tremendous mission heart, a man who's traveled the world around, in order that he might preach the gospel. Who happens to be somebody who's very dear to me, a man that I look up to in many ways because of his faith. It's so pure and so real. It's so strong in the things of God. Mike McIntosh. Planted many churches, Bible schools, man who's traveled and done crusades throughout the world. Mike McIntosh was 26 years old. He was doing acid. Some people took him outside, took a revolver and fired it next to his head. He thought it was some freak of nature that he didn't die because he came to believe when he was on that trip that his head had been blown off. As a matter of fact, Pastor Chuck Smith at a Bible study there in Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, and he walked up to Pastor Chuck and he said to him, do you pray for people who need prayer? And Chuck said, yes. He said, could you pray for me? He's 26 years old. And Chuck's looking in the face of this handsome young man 26 years of age and this young man says to Pastor Chuck, you need to pray for me that God will grow my head back because I only have half a head. It's been blown off. And Chuck's looking at him and he looks at this poor man who has lost his mind and he lays hands on him and he prays God restore this young man and the rest of his history. Mike McIntosh. You have Steve Mays. Steve Mays who was, you know, just a bad guy got shot, wounded, hadn't had a bath in almost a year, was running. He ended up in a gutter in front of the church. And as they were pulling out, as they were pulling out on their way to church, there's this young man 19 years of age laying in the gutter and they stopped their car and they pulled him out of the gutter there. He literally had slept in the gutter and as they lifted him up, they brought him into the house and they said, son, you need to take a bath. He hadn't had a bath in months. And then they took him to a Calvary chapel house and the young man from Calvary Chapel South Bay, one of the largest Calvary chapels in our movement. You have an angry young guy by the name of Rawl Reese wants to kill his wife and kill his kids. You know, he's going to kill them when they come home. We all know Rawl's story. And what does God do? God saves this angry young man what influence he's had in so many lives. I can go on and on. You all know the names of these guys, all of them are great men of God. God is used in tremendous ways. Men who the world had basically said, you're nothing, you're no good. Or God said, no, I can do something with them. I've told this story before how my uncle, I had an uncle named Louis, Louis Cannon, married my aunt Tilly. I adored my aunt Tilly. My uncle Louis had gotten injured when he was at work and no longer could work. But he needed to make income for the family and so he would take his little pickup truck and he'd drive through his neighborhood. This was back in the 50s and he would pull over and he would go through trash and find things in the trash. And he would take him to his little shop in the backyard there at his house and he would try and clean things up and he'd try and sell them to make some money so he could feed his kids. I used to be embarrassed of my uncle Louis because my uncle Louis was doing that. And at that time it was nearing Christmas and I had asked my dad for a bicycle. I wanted a Schwinn bicycle. It had to be red and white and it had to have certain things and I used to write notes gee I like my Schwinn bike and I'd put it in my dad's lunch and anywhere my dad would be he'd find notes from David I want a Schwinn bicycle. Well Christmas came and I didn't have a bike under that tree and I was really disappointed but my dad said you know uncle Louis is going to show up and Aunt Tilly they're coming for Christmas they have something for you. So I got kind of excited. So when they showed up my dad said why don't you go outside in the patio and there's something waiting for you and I went walking out into that patio expecting to see a brand new Schwinn and what I found was a bicycle my uncle had pulled out of the trash and by hand had painted red and white and I got mad I said I don't want this piece of junk because that's what it was he didn't even sand the rust off of it I was all bubbled up with red paint on it my dad my dad talked to me about that your uncle loves you your uncle took care of that he went out and got that for you don't be ungrateful and I was ungrateful I was so angry I wanted a Schwinn and not this piece of junk and I went to my room and I was very upset and I said I'll never ride that thing I'm never going to ride that I'm riding around the neighborhood and some kids laughed at me as I knew they would look at that piece of junk and I remember just saying to them this is a bike that was made out of love for me changed my life because the Lord taught me something the Lord taught me then and he's teaching me now that the enemy can take you and use you and dump you but Jesus is like my uncle Louis drives through neighborhoods gets into the trash pulls it out and takes that trash and makes it into a treasure that's what God does God is the God of the possible if you'd have told me forgive me for the emotion I've had at all three services if you'd have told me when I was 23 years old and I started a home Bible study in Norwalk if you'd have told me I wasn't sure that God had for me I would not have believed you would God have opened the windows of heaven could such a thing be so is how I'd have responded are you kidding me I taught a home Bible study in Norwalk a handful of people for years I taught a Bible study in Ontario a handful of people I never saw more than 15 people at a Bible study for years I taught week after week month after month year after year after year after year after year after year after year after year nine solid years I've never seen more than 15 or 20 people come to a Bible study but I did it faithfully because I knew that God wanted to do something I knew that God had a work He wanted to do I knew it beyond the shadow of a doubt I had no doubts that God was beyond me our first Bible study here in this fellowship that became this church was in May of 1981 it was a home in Pomona a handful of people and all we did was we taught the word believed that God could do more than we could ask or think we moved to Ontario started a study there we eventually occupied a small church on Vine Street we went to Central School then on to Ontario Christian Elementary eventually purchased some property on Maple Street in Ontario we rented Ontario High School we then bought this property while here we've torn down we've built up bookstores and classrooms parking lots in the sanctuary our first church services were in about 1300 square feet the whole house was 1300 square feet now we have close to 100,000 square feet if you'd have told me what the Lord wanted to do I'd have said I don't see that but I do know that my God can do anything that he wants and every step of the way one of the things we've learned to say is perhaps God will work for us maybe God wants to do something bigger than we can imagine why limit him you see if we didn't think like Jonathan we'd still be in a front room in Pomona but instead we have churches we have we're on 49 radio stations we've seen God move we've seen God move in tremendous ways over the years and for me I have a great desire and a great burden to see God continue to move I have a desire to see God move in us you see there's a Jonathan there's this heart let's see what God wants to do let's see what he wants to do today but there's also an armor bearer there's also somebody who comes alongside there's somebody else who says you see here what would have happened without armor bearers children's ministers, greeters, ushers parking lot attendants, worship team members we could never have Easter services where we reach thousands of people without that we couldn't have the men's conferences in the retreats the breakfast of small groups we couldn't have hospital visitations there's so much that takes place because you have armor bearers because you have people who say I'm willing to do it let's get out there and see what God wants to do you see Jonathan could simply live stood there alone even questioning himself but for his friend sometimes you can have all the faith in the world but so many times God brings others alongside of you because it's not something you're going to do by yourself you need somebody to work with you sometimes it's a David and Goliath situation where it's just you and God but many times it's you, God and others God calls others alongside of you to serve and they see the task along with you and they say I want to do that I want to be part of that I'm going to move forward with you I thank God for armor bearers I thank God that we have people in this church who do that who say I want to serve the Lord I want to know what God wants to do I want to have an adventure with the Lord I want to be the kind of person who just works for the Lord and serves the Lord and sees God's hand moving we have people in this church who are professionals they're professionals they're lawyers they're doctors they're professionals here in this fellowship but you know what they end up doing they end up being ushers they end up being people who are involved in missions they end up being people on worship teams they end up doing things and for them their job that is so highly regarded by the world is something they do to produce the income to pay their bills but their life is in their ministry they get joy coming to church and caring for our kids and these are people who've got what they have and yet the world could not satisfy them just taking care of the children or leading a worship team or whatever that's where their hearts really are you need to have a heart like a Jonathan or an Armourberry you need to have that where you wake up and you say God what new adventure do you have for me today what do you want to do with me today I'll be faithful whatever it is just help me to do it whatever it may be I learned to speak openly in front of a handful of people I learned to minister to just a handful of people for a year two years three years nine years just doing the faithful thing every week every week going there were times when I was working I was going to school married had children I was teaching three Bible studies a week and it was just because and that's before I was on staff it was just because I wanted to serve the Lord I don't see anything more exciting than serving Jesus Christ I really don't want to have a heart to see young people do the same to be challenged to do the same why not you why not you why can't God use you why can't he use you what's keeping him from using you what is it in front of you and the Lord that keeps you from seeing God do something mighty in your life being faithful in some small thing and watching God bless your hand some day he stands before thousands but you may be someone who leads someone to Christ who will who will be used by God in a marvelous way anybody who reads church history remembers D.L. Moody one of the greatest evangelists the United States ever had but nobody knows who led him to Christ unless you like to read church history and it was his Sunday school teacher who wanted to make sure that people in his Sunday school class who went to where D.L. Moody was working went to a back room with D.L caught him there in the back looking for some shoes for a customer and said I just want to know whether you know Jesus Christ or not D.L. and led him to Christ I don't remember the name of the man who led D.L. Moody to Christ but I remember D.L. Moody everybody knows Billy Graham one of the greatest men of God that we'll ever see in our lifetime but who remembers Mordecai Ham the evangelist that led Billy Graham to Christ when he was 17 years of age who remembers Mordecai? God does who remembers Billy Graham? all the rest who are you and what can God do in your life if you just ask if you have an idea that God is bigger than the now that God wants to do something in you and me the word why not me I've learned to ask that question why not me Lord I want to be used by you you ought to ask the same question why not you what's keeping you from being used in a mighty way dramatic way all you need to do is say Lord perhaps you want to do something today what adventure do you have for me you see Jonathan had an armor bearer the apostle Paul had someone like an armor bearer by the name of Timothy Paul in Philippians 2 19 through 22 said I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly that I also may be encouraged when I know your state for I have no one like minded who will sincerely care for your state for all seek their own not the things which are of Christ Jesus but you know his proven character that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel like a son with a father I would sit there at Calvary Chapel pastors conferences we have national conferences where all the Calvary chapels are invited and I started going to Calvary Chapel conferences as a pastor back in 1981 and I would sit there amongst the other two three hundred men and they were pastors and assistants and I would listen to teachers of the word the encouragement that they gave and I'd come home to this church and I would put into practice the things that I was learning you can't imagine at one time I sat there listening to the pastors and now I teach the pastors now I speak at the conferences the pastors conferences nationwide, internationally you can't imagine how I feel and last year at the national pastors conference when I was teaching at the conference I turned to my pastor Chuck Smith and I said something like this Chuck at the risk of embarrassing you I said I want to be like Timothy in your life I want to be like a son to his father you see I told Chuck this personally I said God was good to me God gave me my dad Frank, my dad and I loved with all my heart and the Lord took him home and I still hurt I missed my dad God gave me a great dad but Chuck God also gave me you near my dad you've taken the place of my dad and I love you and I told him last year how much he means to me and I've told him many times over the years I want to be a Timothy to my pastor Chuck Paul had a Timothy Jonathan had an armor bear you can have all the vision in the world but if you have no one to hold your hands up or go alongside of you I was willing to say if you die I'll die alongside of you if you don't have that there's not much you can do Jonathan had an armor bear a faithful man who said I've got your back whatever God says I trust you let's see what God wants to do I have to ask how many Jonathan's do we have here today and do we have any armor bearers because if we do we can see the Lord move in some mighty ways and I'm excited to see what God is going to do our Father we ask that you would continue to work in us and I ask that you would raise up an army of men like Jonathan and his armor bearer and women who fit the same kind of criteria Lord who will be used mildly by you our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed perhaps I have some in this room right now you need to get right with the Lord before you can move another step you need to be right with him I want to pray for you if you need to get right with him right now I want to pray for you would you raise your hand and let me pray for you right where you're at Father you see these hands and work within them Lord there may be some healing areas that you need to work in some broken hearts some sadness that you need to bring the joy of salvation to cover them Lord with garments of praise the oil of joy for mourning and awaken in them Lord the joy of your spirit wash and clean and make brand new today Lord fill with your spirit these vessels that are empty anoint them empower them use them may they become mighty weapons in your hand for goodness Lord and may they have eyes to see what your spirit is leading them to see working them tremendously Lord and we receive from you now and we thank you Lord bless you you can put your hands down Jesus I ask that you keep moving in all of us to your glory I pray amen let's all stand forgive the emotion I do get emotional about the things that matter in my heart and I know it's uncomfortable for some it's embarrassing to me but it's real it's what I feel and I want you to know that I really feel that God wants to do a work in all of us and I don't see why not and I hope you have the same attitude why not me why can't God use me and if you have that watch what God's going to do Father I ask that you work in us and through us and use us for your glory again we lift up our mamas to you thank you so much bless them this day Lord Jesus in your name we pray amen God bless you