 praise be to the name of the living God. As the Apostle Paul would say it, grace and peace to you from God, the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We want to welcome you all who are joining us in this worship service. We are grateful to those who have joined via KBC and also those who are joining us online. We are glad that we can be able to worship together as we worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness. Thank you so much, our senior pastor Nyaga, for the kind words of introduction and for your welcome so that I may fellowship with you on this blessed Sabbath day. I bring to you warm greetings from Kindu Adventist Hostel where I serve and there we believe in compassionate care and healing hearts. We believe that it's not just about physical healing but we also do holistic healing of the body of Christ, of God's sons and daughters who come to visit with us. Today we want to reflect on our theme, outliers for mission, outliers for mission. In this book, outliers, Malcolm Gladwell explains the dictionary meaning of the word outliers and he says this is something that is situated away from or classified differently from the main or related body. It is something that is situated away from or classified differently from the main or related body. He also calls it a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from others of the same sample. Please underscore the word markedly different in value and this is the word that we are reflecting on outliers. I have seen them all the time. I have heard about them all the time. I have read about them all the time they are outliers all over in different areas, in different fields, in different walks of life. Wilkinson in his book The Prayer of Jabez calls them Gimpa for God and as he addresses the word Gimpa he says this is someone who is not satisfied with mediocrity, someone who always wants to take whatever is taking a notch higher, someone who wants to give it the extra touch someone who is not satisfied by mean achievements but wants to take it a notch higher. So these outliers these gimpas are men and women who do things out of the ordinary they go beyond expectation. We see them in sports we hear of the names like Tiger Woods all the footballers basket bowlers tennis players rally drivers they are outliers out there who outstand every other person in the field and excel beyond expectation. In wealth creation we know outliers like Bill Gates and the wealthiest people that are around the world they are not satisfied and always want to create more and more wealth and when they have created enough they still want to create a little more wealth because they are not satisfied even in health we've heard of the blue zones whether it's in Japan or whether it's in Loma Linda, California these blue zones where people have emphasized on good health and experience longevity more than any others. Malcolm in his books talks about the Rosetto family in southern Italy who also live much longer than anyone else because they are outliers and so this morning as we reflect on outliers for mission we are asking ourselves could we possibly have some outliers for mission could we possibly have some outliers here for the work of God for the word of God for the sake of God could it be possible that there would be some people right here at Narobi Central Church those who are worshiping online those who are worshiping by other forms of media could it be possible that we would have outliers not just in sports not just in wealth creation not just in any aspect of life not even just in academics could we possibly have outliers for mission i see them all the time in my bible i see David stand out as an outlier goes against all odds and faces Goliath who is taunting and challenging the Israelites i see Esther standing out at a great personal risk to save the Jews from an impending genocide that's an outlier i see the slave girl come up front and save Naman the leper that's an outlier who is willing to take the risk and do something that nobody else within her sphere or ranks who do i see noa stand out and becomes a roshish man in a pervaded generation and God looks at noa and finds favor with noa an outlier in the field of God i see samson son of manoa come up as an outlier and takes the philistines systematically and sweeps populations of them one after another one after another empowered by the spirit of the living god he destroys them again and again as an outlier but today brothers and sisters our focus is on first Samuel chapter 14 our focus is on two outliers who are bent on an exploit for mission and they go beyond the ordinary against all odds and prove themselves to be outliers for mission the bible records that there is a detachment of philistines and come at mikmash depending on how your bible is my bible would begin this perikop this passage of scripture from first Samuel chapter 13 verse 23 and continues to first Samuel chapter 14 verse 1 and i read in your hearing now at detachment of philistines had gone out to the past at mikmash one day jonathan son of soul said to the young man bearing his armor come let's go over to the philistine outpost on the other side but he did not tell his father now you know that jonathan is son of soul the king of israel and here in our story the bible records that there is a detachment a platoon of soldiers from philistine who are camping at mikmash what are they doing at mikmash why are the philistines camping at mikmash now let me give you the geography mikmash is way up in the north and down in the south we have geba why are the philistines camping at mikmash because the isolites are down here at geba what are the philistines doing at mikmash way up in the north when the isolites are down south at geba now you need to go a few lines before that in first Samuel chapter 13 and get the history verse 17 of first Samuel chapter 13 says raiding parties went out from the philistine camp in three detachments one turned towards opera in the vicinity of shawl another toans berth oron and the third toans the border overlooking the valley of zibium facing the desert why are these philistine detachments camped in these strategic places they just want to go and finish the isolites they want to go and rot them and annihilate them completely they want to tear them down and now in our story they are camped strategically at mikmash in the north waiting to raid the camp of isol now if you go a little deeper into the story a scheme had been planned in such a way that at this point in time isol was disamad Bible says there was not a single gold smith in israel they would take their plowshares to be beaten for them by the philistines so they depended on the philistines for any form of black smith now the philistines had done this strategically so that they may disequip the army of israel at this point in time they don't have any armory because they're depending on the philistines to sharpen their objects and obviously the philistines will only sharpen their plows but not sharpen spears javelins and arrows for them and at this time the isolite army so much disarmed and vulnerable and now the philistines are camped up in the north at mikmash the isolites are down south in geba and they're ready to be attacked at any moment at that time jonathan son of su says to the young man who was cis amabera the bible says come let's go over to the philistine outpost on the other side but he did not tell his father now that's my first take home point for you you don't have to tell everybody everything that you are planning to do in your life i have tried it a few times i have failed i once told my uncle about this farming that i wanted to do and he gave me all the stories how it was impossible to do that kind of farming let me tell you you don't have to tell everybody everything that you plan to do i remember ya as a young man going to going through my youthful days i even told a friend of mine the lady i was planning to marry and he so discouraged me from marrying this lady i never married this lady but soon after that i found him trying to hook this lady to another man well i thank god i married the lady whom i married i didn't marry that one anyway all i'm simply telling you is don't tell everybody everything that you are planning to do you know even in this day when we live in a selfie age people take post of themselves of your children of your birthdays of your celebrations and you post them out on social media you are exposing yourself too much you are telling too much about you everybody knows everything about you where you took breakfast where you took lunch where you went for swimming where you went for church everybody knows everything about you are exposing yourself too much jonathan the son of soul is going to attack the philistines but he did not tell anyone what he was going to do please that's your first take home at this point in time my bubble tells me that soul who is the king is not even in gaba where the israels isolites are camping now listen to the geography again the philistines are way up at the north at mijmash the isolites are in gaba but soul the king of israel has gone further south to gibia he is running further away from the battlefront and he is not alone he goes down down to gibia with 600 men where they needed i mean the philistines are up north the isolites are here in gaba why would the king of israel together with 600 men go further down to gibia what a shame now the interesting thing is that he is not alone the bible says he is together with aheja aheja who is aheja aheja is the man who is wearing the effort who is this who is wearing the effort he is the priest he is the man of god he is the man we expect to help out to help solve the crisis but he is hiding down there with king soul further down south in gibia what am i telling you sometimes those who expect to help will disappoint you sometimes those you expect to come through for you will never be there for you when you need the most this was not just a physical fight this was a spiritual fight this was a fight where the name of the god of israel was at stake this is where the priest was needed this is where the wisdom from the man of god was needed but the king of israel afraid going further down the priest himself who was supposed to be on duty wearing the effort has gone further down together with the king and six hundred men of israel because they cannot be outliers when they are needed so the bible says jonathan and he is amaberi the two of them went over to face the philistines and as my bible puts it he did not tell his father no one was aware that jonathan had left but we want to compound this problem even further now we need to go down to verse 4 first Samuel chapter 14 and we are now in verse 4 now the bible says on each side of the past that jonathan intended to cross to reach the philistine outpost was a cliff one was called bozes the other sene one cliff stood to the north towards mikmash and the other to the south towards geba this only makes matters complicated for jonathan he finds himself in a pass in a valley and the philistines the enemies of israel away up north and jonathan the outlier for mission has made up his mind that he's going to forget about his father's soul he's going to forget about the priest who is not being responsible he's going to forget about all the six hundred men who have gone down to geba he's going to face these enemies of the army of god and he decides that he's going to climb up north and face the challenge face the battle take up the task but the bible says there is no passage he is right in the middle of the valley but where he wants to pass there is bozes on the other side which he could pass there is also sene what would you do if you are jonathan this was not an easy task josephus the church historian says that the enemy camp that is the philistine camp was on a precipice that was surrounded by three tops it was like surrounded with mountains it was an impossible area to penetrate as josephus records it these bozes we are told was like a shining white bright that made it even difficult for them to ascend it was bright and shining and repelling as it were and the other side sene is a hebrewad meaning athoni bush so whichever way a soul attempted to go it was not an easy option whether through bozes or whether through sene there were difficulties all through his life but let me tell you my dear friends outliers are never worried about difficulties they are never worried about challenges challenges to them become opportunities hallelujah challenges to them becomes stepping stones challenges to them become the impetus that kata pulls them to great heights of success these are not just obstacles they are stepping stones to success and so jonathan decides to take the risk and when you go down to verse six he says the word of god says jonathan say to the young amabera come let's go over to the outpost of those unsakamsized fellows perhaps the lord will act on our behalf nothing nothing nothing i said can hinder the lord from saving whether by many or by few and i want you to listen to me because this is my punchline jonathan tells his amabera come let's go over to the outpost of the philistines this unsakamsized man he says perhaps the lord will act on our behalf please do know this this battle did not belong to the isolates this battle was not jonathan's battle this battle was not sol's battle this battle belonged to the lord and jonathan is able to recognize that he says the lord will act it is the lord to act all you and i need to do is to position yourself and stand still allow the lord to use you in as much as possible but let the lord himself take the battle and fight it for you and so jonathan realizes this jonathan did not depend on his armor he did not depend on his amabera he did not depend on his own strength but he did depend on the unlimited power of god to grant him victory over the philistines that's why jonathan is calling on his amabera he says come come let's go over who knows the lord will fight this battle for us and even our students who have been prayed for here please do know that the battle is the lord the lord is simply positioning you to use you to demonstrate to the world that those who depend on the lord the lord gives them victory the lord gives them victory the battle is the lord and jonathan knew this and that's why he called his amabera come come i know it is tough i know it is not easy i know in Israel there are no weapons i know it is just you and me i know the philistines that up in the north i know the terrain is rugged and difficult to traverse but i'm inviting you come come let's go over come let's go to the philistine outpost and deal with them because the lord will act on our behalf he knew that the battle belong to the lord another thing that is interesting is the last part we says nothing can hinder the lord from saving whether by many or by few hallelujah my friend sometimes it is not about numbers yes narobi central church may have the numbers but it may be just a few people coming through the programs of the church and you wonder why all these numbers of uncommitted people who do not dedicate themselves fully to the waku god why fill the benches why fill the pews and adding numbers and you're not there to show up when you're needed you're not there to show up when your presence is needed when your finances as are needed when your influence is needed you sit back on the coach and warm the bench and relax out there because after all others will do it shame on us sometimes we do that sometimes we do that but here jonathan says to his amabera yes there are 600 down there plus my father plus the priest but here we are two of us let's go who knows the lord can save by many but the lord can also save by few who have dedicated themselves and committed themselves fully to the waku god these few would be the outliers who stand out and so this is part of my punchline that nothing can the henda the lord from saving whether by many or by few when the lord decides to save he will save he is not limited by numbers one of my most beautiful songs is a song that many of you will well know the gators sing it it's about a few good men a few good men when i think about the lyrics of this song it says what this dying world could use is a willing man of god who dares to go against the grain and works without applause men will raise the shield of faith for perfectly what is pure whose life is tough and gentle men whose word is sure god does not need an orator who knows just what to say he doesn't need authority to reason him away he doesn't need an army to guarantee a win he just needs a few good men i want to say he just needs a few good men a few good women a few good men a few good women who are ready and willing who are committed to the cause to the service in gods vineyard men full of compassion who laugh and laugh and cry men who will face eternity and aren't afraid to die men who will fight for freedom honor once again he just needs a few good men today on this sabati are you among these outliers are you among these few good men that god will want to enlist in his cause in this battle that we are faced with in this battle between good and evil in this battle between light and darkness in this battle between christ and certain god needs a few good men and women are you one of them and so jonathan tells his amabera let's go let's go nothing will hinder the lord from saving whether by many or by few when god decides to save he will save even if the others run away even if the others would go further down down south when god desires to do his work he will do it because he is not limited it took david alone to handle goliath it took Esther alone to save the Jews from annihilation from an impending genocide yes it took one single slave girl to save naman the leper and when gidion came with 22,000 men god said that's too much please thin it down when he thin it down to 10,000 men god said that is too much thin it down when it came down to 300 men god said yes that's enough because god just needs a few good men just a few good men and women who are outliers who will do whatever it takes to commit themselves and dedicate themselves to the work of god and victory is assured for such people today i see these two few good men jonathan and his amabera and they are ready to take the task before them and i like what the amabera says to jonathan in verse number seven he says do all that you have in mind go ahead i am with you heart and soul in other words the amabera says to jonathan i am with you fully i am with you 100 percent i am not going to back down i'm not going to let you down your back is covered as long as i am by your side we are in it together and there is no turning back and these two are ready to face the philistines they are ready to face the enemy they are ready to face the battle they are ready to go forward by faith they are ready for the task ahead but they just a few good men and sometimes it's good to put the lord to test god says try me isn't it in tides and offerings he says try me and sometimes it's good to put the lord to test so in verse number eight what of god said jonathan said come then we will cross over towards the men and let them see us if they say to us wait there until we come to you we will stay where we are and not go up to them but if they say come up to us we will climb up because that will be our sign that the lord has given them into our hands interesting isn't it now there are two things i want us to pick here i said sometimes it is good to give the lord a sign we know gidion asked for a sign in judges chapter six and verse 39 he needed a sign sometimes we need to give god a sign sometimes we need to wait for a sign from god before we proceed but i said not always did i say not always yes when i was a young man i remember this story about this young people who wanted to get married and uh they would put a sign like tomorrow when i go to church and i find a man who is dressed in a red shirt and a black trouser i will know that that is the man that god decides for me and there is this man who went into this room where these girls were staying and he flashed some torch you know it's back in the village and there is there are no lights it's it's dark so he flashes a bright torch and then he speaks with a deep voice like it's god speaking tomorrow when you go to church there'll be a gentleman seated in the choir with a black trouser and a red shirt that is the man that god wants you to be married to and you know this lady has been praying for god to to give her a man and i don't know whether god speaks in a deep voice or in a tena i don't know the voice of god but somehow people try to imitate the voice of god like in a deep deep double treble bass i don't know and so this same man who came last night when the girls were sleeping and flashed this torch and tried to imitate the voice of god seated there right in the choir dressed in the same attire he had described to this lady last night i said sometimes not always sometimes it's good to ask god for a sign sometimes it works be sure there is a sign from god be sure there is god speaking to you be sure there is the voice of god that you are listening to and these people think that god has spoken to them so exclusively if god speaks to me he should be able to speak to you and so our testimony from god should be able to collaborate if god speaks to you exclusively as if you own god there is a problem there is a problem some of those are the ones who want to deputize the holy ghost and they think that they can speak like they are so closer to god than anybody else if god should speak to you he should speak to someone else and so these people have set up a sign but there is another problem what jonathan is suggesting is way out of the ordinary whoever goes into battle and shows himself up to the enemy no one does that not even the most foolish fool would show himself up to the enemy but somehow jonathan says to the amabera we will go we will not hide we will show ourselves up and when they call us we will climb up but when they say stay there we will come and meet you that's not a good sign the the whole idea of showing themselves up was humanely thinking foolishness who does that you go to israel today and see what is happening in Gaza they don't show themselves up they hide and send those missiles and tornadoes from a hidden you know safe zone no one wants to expose themselves to danger but here jonathan says we will show ourselves up and that's exactly what they did they showed themselves up to the philistines in verse number 11 and true to his pledge before god the philistines told him come up come up to where we are remember i've already told you the geography there is a cliff that is impossible to penetrate but jonathan and his amabera being outliers they are not going to be deterred by anything nothing is going to stop them nothing is going to hinder them from achieving god's desire for their lives and for israel and when they listen to those words come up they know that god has granted them victory hallelujah and they decide to climb they decide to climb but the most interesting thing to me in this passage is the manner in which they were climbing these cliffs my babel tells me in verse number 13 that jonathan climbed using his hands and feet he climbed using his hands and using his feet what does that mean jonathan gave god his all he did not resolve anything for the cause of god men and women of this church a time comes such as this when god is in need of people who will climb using their hands and using their feet using their body using everything and i say everything that god has availed to them jonathan did not resolve anything there are no spare warriors it was just two of them the rest have gone down down further south jonathan and his amabera did not shrink back they shot themselves and moved forward by faith trusting in god to deliver and they made every effort to climb high up not relaxing in any way my brothers and sisters we are living in tough times we are living in difficult times resources askas economies are crumbling down it is getting more and more difficult to serve the lord and it is in these times that god is calling for few good men that god is calling for few good women few good young people who will stand true to their calling who will step up against all odds and show themselves up ready for battle the question is are you going to be counted are you going to be among the few that god will use in this difficult times are you going to be among the few who will climb using your all using your hands and using your feet are you going to be among those who will climb against all odds to reach to god's will for your life for your mission for god's glory this is what god desires of the men of this church this is what god desires of the women of this church this is what god desires of the young men in this church god is looking for a people who will be true and committed to duty as the needle to the pole those will stand for the truth though the heavens fall those will put their best foot forward in the waku god those will not shrink their hands from giving and from serving but will serve wholeheartedly for the advancement of the cause of god and as we close listen to verse 14 the bible says in that first attack Jonathan and his amabera killed some 20 men in an area of about half an acre hallelujah what great success is this given to this young man men of god against all odds the bible counts this as the first exploit of Jonathan the outlier and comes back with great success because of the level of commitment the level of dedication the level of surrender the level of giving himself to god god met him with success and i want to challenge you today that if you so commit yourself to god that if you so entrust yourself to god you too will meet with success along the way you too your efforts will be met with victory your efforts will be met with great honor your efforts will be met with great success because god himself will come your way and grant you success for his own glory my appeal today my brothers and sisters is that all of us should commit ourselves to the waku god who we live in tough times difficult times others may not do it doesn't matter a few good men is just good enough a few good women is just nothing can they hinder the lord from setting whether by many or by few nothing can hinder the lord from accomplishing the purposes that he has decided for this church for his own mission as long as we have outliers who are willing to submit themselves and surrender and to be used of god god will meet your efforts with success as he did for jonathan and his amabera for his own glory and may god bless you in jesus name