Perhaps the Lord Will Act

1 Samuel 14, verse 1. 1 Samuel 15, verse 1.

Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.

Do all that you have in mind, his armor-bearer said. Go ahead, I am with you, heart and soul. Jonathan said, Come then, we will cross over toward the men. 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.

So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. Look, said the Philistines, the Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in. The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, Come up to us and we will teach you a lesson.

So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, Climb up after me. The Lord has given them into the hand of Israel. Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet with his armor-bearer right behind him.

The Philistines fell before Jonathan and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. In that first attack, Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.

Then panic struck the whole army, those in the camp and field, and those in the outpost and raiding parties. And the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God.

Saul's lookouts at Gibeah and Benjamin saw the army melting away in all directions. Then Saul said to the men who were with him, Muster the forces and see who has left us.

When they did, it was Jonathan and his armor-bearer who were not there. Saul said to Ahijah, Bring the ark of God. At that time it was with the Israelites.

While Saul was talking to the priests, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priests, Withdraw your hand. Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle.

They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and had gone up with them to their camp, went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit. So the Lord rescued Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth-Avon.

Times of great distress have often been the occasions for great faith. And here in 1 Samuel chapter 14, we find the nation of Israel in a most oppressive state.

Their perennial enemies, you know what perennial plants are, they come up every spring. Israel had her perennial enemies, the Philistines, and they kept cropping up, and they were in the land again.

They had gathered to fight against Israel with 3,000 chariots and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. You read all of this in chapter 13.

When the men of Israel saw their situation was critical and that their army was hard-pressed, they scattered. And some hid in caves and thickets.

You know what thickets are? They're hiding in thickets. Shows how desperate they are. They're hiding among the rocks, in pits, in cisterns.

And the 600 soldiers remaining with King Saul are quaking with fear. These were desperate times. On top of that, the Philistines had sent three raiding parties out throughout the land, pillaging anything they wanted.

One went north, one went west, one went southeast. The Philistines already were imposing their will upon the Israelites. They were already ruling over them and controlling some of their actions.

One thing that they did is that they banished all blacksmiths from the land in Israel. You say, why would they do that? Well, because the blacksmiths could pound a piece of metal into a weapon, which Israel could use to fight against the Philistines.

So no more blacksmiths in Israel. So you farmers, as you're plowing one day and you hit one of those big rocks that don't move and your plowshare moves and bends such that it won't work anymore.

You have no blacksmith to go to in Israel. You must go all the way up to the Philistine blacksmiths and have them straighten your implements for a price.

And so that's what they did with all their farming implements. No wonder the Philistines were meeting with no resistance as their raiding parties pillaged the land. These were people without any real weapons.

Notice chapter 13, verse 22, the last verse of the chapter. So on the day of battle, not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand.

Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them. Only two armed men in the whole army. The others stood there quaking with their pitchforks and picks and sickles looking more like a local chapter of the FFA than an army ready for battle.

They were outmanned. They were underarmed. They were fearful. And worse than all of that were their pitiful leaders.

We find King Saul, whom the people wanted so much as their king, was now a king rejected by the Lord. And why rejected?

Because he had failed to obey the word of the Lord, who is the true king of Israel. And so the Lord rejected him. And Ahijah, the priest, is there with them, as the text says.

Who's Ahijah? He's the son of Ichabod's brother. And so he too is a rejected priest of Eli's rejected line. And so you've got these rejects for leaders.

And they're sitting under this pomegranate tree and migraine, or migraine, with a migraine headache. They've got troubles that they don't know what to do with.

Saul knows he's forsaken by the Lord. He knows now that he's been rejected. You can go back and read that in chapter 13. And so he's lost all courage.

And he's paralyzed with fear and indecision. He's doing nothing but sitting and fretting. Now, discouragement and fear are so contagious that it quickly spread through the whole 600 soldiers and they're all quaking for fear.

Now, that's the situation. But into this helpless situation, a man of faith springs into action. It's Jonathan, the king's own son. And he stands out not only from his father Saul, but from the whole crowd as a man with a different spirit about him.

One day, Jonathan said the unthinkable to his young armor bearer. He said, Come, let's go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.

Now, he'd already done that. You can read in chapter 13. He'd done it once before. And that's why the whole army of the Philistines are now in the land to destroy the Israelites. He had stirred up a peck of trouble. And now they're going out to do it again.

And they slipped away unnoticed to attack the Philistines. Then we're given a geography lesson on the place where Jonathan intended to cross over to the Philistine outpost.

And it points out the difficulty of their mission. On each side of the path that they were going to cross over on, there was a cliff rising up steeply.

The names of the cliffs were essentially slippery and thorny, as the Hebrew suggests. Now, this is anything but easygoing.

And the Philistine outpost is on the high ground of old slippery over here. And they've got to pass through this narrow pass between.

And our text for today is verse 6, where Jonathan said to his young armor bearer, Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows.

Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. That verse, I suggest, is the key to understanding both Jonathan's heart and his behavior.

So we have here in this one verse, number one, a bold activity, number two, something unsure, and number three, something sure. First of all, a bold activity.

Jonathan says to his young armor bearer, Come, let's go up. Now this stands in stark contrast with the sitting contest going on under the pomegranate tree with Saul and his forces.

Jonathan says, Let's do something. Let's attempt something for the glory of God and his kingdom in this very depressing situation.

Come on, let's go. And they're off to meet the enemy. This is courageous faith shining in the midst of dark, paralyzing unbelief all around.

Here's the shining light of faith in the midst of distress and unbelief. On 9-11, 2001, passengers on board that United 93 flight, 30, or flight 93, that was the fourth hijacked plane that was flying over Pennsylvania.

And these passengers sat there in stunned fear as these Muslim terrorists hijacked the plane, took control of the cockpit, and turned the plane around from west going back east toward Washington, D.C.

Paralyzing fear gripped them as they sat there. But then some passengers hatched a quick plan to charge the cockpit. Perhaps we can regain control of the plane.

Perhaps. And a phone operator heard Todd Beamer's final known words. Are you guys ready? Let's roll.

Let's go. Jonathan says, come, let's go, let's do something rather than just sit here in fear before the enemy.

Let's go over to the Philistine outpost. And so two men take on the entire outpost of Philistines. That's a bold activity, wouldn't you say? Now someone says, oh, this is just foolhardy youth acting impetuously without thinking.

They get a little older and wiser. They would never act like this. Oh, not on your life. Because verse 6 tells us that this bold activity was the result of clear-headed thinking and of faith in God.

So we have the bold activity. Now let's look at something unsure. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf.

Sounds like Jonathan is not real sure about that. Is he? Perhaps the Lord will act.

And yet he is willing to risk his life on this perhaps. Interesting. One of the humbling realities of the Christian life is that we don't always know what God will do.

We simply do not know what God will do. Will he bless this specific endeavor of ours with success or will he not?

Now some things he's made plain by specific commands or specific promises or prophecies and these things we can know for sure. But there are many things that he has left unrevealed and when we say perhaps in such circumstances we are simply acknowledging our own smallness our ignorance of what God will do.

His ways his thoughts are far above our ways or if I was God I would bless this endeavor but I am not God. I do not know whether he will smile on this endeavor or that one.

Perhaps he will act on our behalf. Some people talk like they know exactly what God is going to do in their lives.

As if they know exactly what God's will is. God told me to do this. God told me to do that. And they're absolutely certain that God is going to bless this decision of theirs.

and they would tell you that to say perhaps is a denial of faith. If you had strong faith brother you wouldn't say perhaps you would say it will be done.

And you would know for sure that the Lord would act on your behalf in this specific endeavor that you are undertaking. Do you know people that talk that way? And then when their plan fails they're at a loss.

What happened? What happened there? It wasn't blessed with success. But they're soon on to the next decision. And we have the word from God and we know for sure this is going to be blessed of God.

And confusion reigns in the camp of Christ's people where they claim to know what God will or will not do. Never perhaps is to be found in their mouths.

Well I'm afraid Jonathan never reached that level of spirituality. And frankly I've never got there either myself. There was more true faith in Jonathan's perhaps than in this whole faith talk business altogether.

And we see that in what follows. it's far more honest it's far more humbling to acknowledge that in many things we simply do not know for sure what God intends to do.

So I ask you does your theology leave room for the perhaps or is your view of the Christian life more spiritual than the Bible's own view?

There is something unsure here. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Now there is something that Jonathan is very sure about and that's what follows number three.

Something sure. Tell us Jonathan what do you know for sure? And he would say to us this. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving whether by many or by few.

There's no restraint to hold the Lord back to keep him from doing what he decides to do. He's able to do it no matter what the circumstances. Job knew that much for sure didn't he?

I know that you can do all things. No plan of yours can be thwarted. Nebuchadnezzar learned the same thing. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.

He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the powers of the earth. No one can hold back his hand. Once he sets his hand, no one can pull it back.

Isaiah knew this for sure. For the Lord Almighty has purposed and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out and who can turn it back? So Jonathan puts down his name as to that's something I know for sure too.

Nothing can hinder him from saving, whether by many or by few. Sometimes God saves by many. Other times he saves just by a few. No doubt Jonathan had heard the story of Gideon in his 300.

You remember kids when the Midianites and Amalekites numbering 135,000 are come up to fight against Israel.

Gideon musters the forces of Israel and they got 32,000. They're outnumbered four to one. And God says to Gideon, you've got too many men.

Too many. Lest Israel should think that they have gotten the victory. And so they're whittled down, 32,000 down to 10,000.

And God says too many. And they come down to 300. And with the 300 that lapped, the Lord won the victory. that's being outnumbered 450 to one.

One guy against 450. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. And so Jonathan looks the scene over.

Philistines, as many as the sand of the seashores, we got 600 trembling soldiers. Or even worse perhaps, there's the Philistine outpost.

And there's just you and me, armor bearer, two against the whole outpost. But Jonathan knew that numbers are nothing when the Almighty is in the field.

So what? We're outnumbered. Two to 20. 600 to a multitude. God can save by two.

As easily as easily as by 2,000. In fact, maybe easier because he doesn't have as many to get in the way. Mess things up. God can save by many or by few.

And we look at 11 men huddled around in an upper room and Jesus is telling them he's leaving them. And then they're on the mountain with him after his death and resurrection.

he's got these 11 men and he's saying now you guys, you go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And we say what can these 11 do?

And then God acts on their behalf and the whole world was turned upside down. 11 against the world of unbelief.

it was what Jonathan knew for sure about God that caused him to venture even where he wasn't sure. He knew that nothing can stop God from saving when he wants to.

From Israel's history, he had learned that God has appeared at the very worst situations for the people of God's salvation when the worst odds are against them.

You see, our God doesn't need favorable circumstances in order to work in. He doesn't need things going his way before he gets involved and does something.

Our being outmanned and outarmed and helpless is no hindrance to him. Rather, it is just the situation he delights to work in and Jonathan knows that. It's his favorite time to act.

Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Nobody on. And we're behind. That's when God delights to act for his people.

Man's extremity is God's opportunity. And it's then. When other helpers fail and other comforts flee, help of the helpless, will abide with me.

That's when he shows himself strong. Now, that's the pasture where Jonathan's faith is feeding God's character.

He knows his God. He knows something about what he delights to do. You see, Jonathan's thinking just fine. He's thinking big thoughts about God. And that's where his faith is drawing courage and daring strength to do the unthinkable.

what he knew about God for sure led him to take bold action for God. Daniel 10 or Daniel 11 in verse 32, the people who know their God will be strong and take action.

It's the people who know their God. Jonathan knew his God and he took bold action. Dale Ralph Davis puts it this way and commenting on this passage, this verse, and he starts with what Jonathan knew for sure and works back.

Jonathan says, God can do mighty works with very small resources. We know that. God may be glad to do it in this case.

Perhaps he will act on our behalf. But how can we know, dear armor bearer, unless we place ourselves at his disposal? Come, let's go.

Let's roll. And so since God does not need favorable circumstances to act in, neither does faith, because faith does not look to the circumstances, but to God.

Perhaps he will act on our behalf. Who knows what he might be pleased to do this day for his own glory. Now, there are ever the naysayers who would respond, oh, but perhaps the Lord will not act on our behalf.

To which Jonathan would say, oh, but perhaps he will, brother. Perhaps he will. And I'm inclined to believe that he will, since he's proven himself to be that kind of God, and I'm willing on that basis to step out in faith to take the risk.

Because since ancient times, no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

Isaiah 6, 64, 64, 64, 4, excuse me. A God who acts on behalf of those who wait. Now, our unbelieving hearts would like to be 100% sure that God will act before we take the first step.

That's me anyway. I don't know if any of you are there, but we'd like to be sure that God's going to act on our behalf before we take the first step. But there are many things, as we've said, that we cannot be sure of, and that we must say, perhaps, even as we take the first step.

Even the apostles of our Savior did not bat a thousand at this point. More than once, we read that the apostles said, come, let's go to Thessalonica.

But Satan hindered us. God did not appear for us and bless that, come, let's go. And we didn't get to go. And in Acts chapter 16, 7 and 8, Paul's taking the gospel to new places as well as revisiting old ones.

Come, let's go to Bithynia. They need the gospel. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf there. And they tried to enter Bithynia, the scripture said, but the spirit of Jesus would not allow them to, so they passed by and went on.

So even the apostles must operate in this realm of perhaps, perhaps. They didn't always have the Macedonian call saying come over to this specific situation, this particular place.

Now they had a command to go into all the world and preach the gospel, but they did not know where God would act on their behalf in this situation, who's to go, where they're to go, when they're to go. For that, there was much that was left to the perhaps.

But the point is, he didn't sit around under his pomegranate tree, waiting until he heard a voice from heaven or a hand wrote on the wall, you to this place and now. But he ventured on a perhaps.

Perhaps the Lord will act, so we're off, we're going. And oh, how the Lord smiled upon such bold activity, such venturing in his name, as many Gentiles and Jews were converted under his ministry.

Now, that was the situation then with Jonathan and the Lord smiled on his bold activity and his venture of faith. His armor bearer was with him, heart and soul, so Jonathan says, we're going to cross over and let the Philistines see us.

And if they say to us, wait there and we'll come down to you, well, we'll stay where we are and prepare to give them the welcome of their life. But if they say come up to us, then we'll climb up, for that will be the sign that the Lord has given them into our hands.

And so they showed themselves to the Philistines way up there on old slippery, and they shouted, look, the Hebrews are crawling out of their holes. You hear the pride and the mockery of these uncircumcised Philistines.

Men of the world always mock a man of faith. Always looks foolish to live by faith in an invisible God. Here they're mocking. They probably didn't think that they would or could make it up old slippery.

They're very overconfident and careless Davis conjectures that they probably went right back to their poker and beer and didn't think another thing of these two guys down there. Such a steep slope, they probably couldn't see them as they clambered up on all fours, now confident that the Lord was giving them into their hands.

And so they attacked the outpost. Jonathan in the lead, cutting down the Philistines and his armor bearer following behind and finishing up. We don't even know if he had a sword, maybe he had a pitchfork.

We don't know what he was finishing up with, but in the end you had 20 less Philistines in the teaching profession. Nobody was teaching anybody any lessons at that Philistine outpost.

20 some Philistines dead, killed by two Israelite men in an area of about half an acre.

Now I know how big a half an acre is. We farmed or gardened a half an acre when we were boys. And granted the rows seemed to go on forever.

They seemed long, but it really wasn't that big of an area. Probably something like this room right here. Maybe a little bigger. I know this, that mom, it wasn't so big, but that mom could see if we were slacking off anywhere in that plot.

So here we are, two of us against 20 of you in a small area with only weapons of hand-to-hand combat. How did that happen? Well, they must have been martial arts experts.

Must have been great swordsmen. Folks, that's looking in the wrong place for the reason for the victory. The Lord appeared on their behalf. He came in for them when they were in need.

They ventured on him and he showed up. And 20 men later, the victory was theirs. And that was just the beginning of the Lord acting on their behalf because panic struck the whole army.

Those in the camp and the field and those in the outposts and raiding parties and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God. You see, he's acting on behalf of his people.

This is two plus God attacking the sands of the seashore Philistines. Matthew Henry says, he who made the heart knows how to make it tremble.

And they're all shaking in their army boots. And they're running. And so Saul's lookouts see the Philistine army in tumult.

And he sees them melting away in every direction. And so Saul and his men left the pomegranate tree and pursued the Philistines.

Philistines. And they found them in total confusion, even striking each other with their own swords. And the Israelites who had previously gone over to the Philistine camp turned on them and returned to the Israelites and fought against them.

And all those Israelite men who had hidden in the fields and thickets and caves saw the Philistines running and joined the pursuit. Everybody got in on the act now that the Philistines were on the run.

And in those days and in that day, one did chase a thousand, even as Joshua had predicted when the Lord acts for his people.

Verse 23 makes it very plain that it was the Lord who rescued Israel that day. We must see that. It was the Lord. All the glories laid at his door.

It was he who proved once again that nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. But what we are also to learn is that it all began. This process of victory all began by the bold activity of a man of faith who sized up the situation with faith in God and said, let's go.

Let's go. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. You know, it was just a few chapters later because it wasn't the end of the war. the battle just moved on to Beth Haven.

And a few chapters later, there will be another young, teenage, Israelite, young man. And it will be a desperate time in the fight against the Philistines.

And there will be a giant over there mocking Israel and their God. And after 40 days, this young man will arrive on the scene and he'll take bold action.

And after slaying the Goliath and carrying his head in his hand before King Saul and giving an account of himself to the king, the Bible says Jonathan saw him and his heart became one with him that day.

Why? Because he sees another man of a kindred spirit with his. That desperate times do not shut us down in fear and sitting, but make us look to our God in new ways to advance, to come, let's go, let's do something for the kingdom of our Lord.

Jonathan and David had a tight friendship all of their lives. They're men who acted courageously expecting God to act on their behalf.

And even in areas where they didn't know for sure when they took the first step what would happen. It was such a day when young William Carey wanted to take the gospel to the heathen.

Not a lot of people in England were interested and that ambitious about doing so. They were hard enough times in the churches but William Carey stepped forward and said, come, let's go.

at a meeting of the Baptist Association of Churches in Nottingham, England, May the 30th, 1792, he preached a moving sermon from Isaiah 54.

And he drove home two points. Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God. And the group of messengers of the churches that had met were moved.

the next day the business of the association was all conducted and they were about to dismiss with nothing being done to take the gospel to the heathen.

And Carey could not stand it any longer and he made a final passionate plea for action and he cried out, is there nothing again to be done?

Is there nothing again going to be done to take the gospel to the heathen? Come on, let's go. Perhaps the Lord will act for us.

He's acting for others all around the world taking the gospel to the heathen. And in the end such a heart carried the day and foreign missions was never the same.

A year later he's leaving for India and the Lord smiled on his daring adventure of faith and acted on his behalf. He's now known as the father of modern missions.

His life and example have spurred many other armor bearers to come right on in his side and say, I'm heart and soul with you, William. They went out, took the gospel, and God smiled.

Yes, he knew that God wanted the gospel to go into every nation, but God had not given specific revelation. That means you, William, Carrie. It means now.

It means India. Some of these things are still perhaps to us, aren't they? But they didn't freeze him in activity. Instead, he looked to what he knew for sure, and he took action.

Expecting great things for God, he attempted great things for God. So I ask you this morning, do you believe that nothing can hinder the Lord from saving? Do you really believe that?

Nothing can hinder the Lord from doing what he wants done. Will that conviction lead you to do anything?

To do something? Will you sit with Saul, or will you go with Jonathan? When have you last ventured out on this perhaps?

You know, I've never done that. You know, I've done that a few times, and it's kind of scary, but perhaps the Lord will act. I'm going to do it again. I'm going to try something new perhaps.

We have many more sure promises and commands than what Jonathan had to act on. We have many sure things upon which to act, but we still have these areas that we don't know.

Are we willing to act? Faith will venture far even on a perhaps. Think what people do every day on a perhaps.

A young man will actually ask a young lady out on a date. If just perhaps, she will say yes. A farmer will spend lots of money planting seeds in the spring, thinking, perhaps I'll have a good harvest this fall.

Ladies will venture out in the snow after Christmas to shop the malls. Perhaps I'll find a bargain or two. And people will still invest in the stock market, thinking perhaps my investments will go up.

People do all sorts of things every day without a certainty, just on a perhaps. Christian, what will you venture on the greatest perhaps of all?

Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. No matter how dark the circumstances, we're never more than a moment away from God acting on our behalf, and we're meant to encourage our faith with that consideration.

Some lost people seem beyond saving. They're not interested, they're hardened, they're not wanting what I've got to give them. Well, that's okay. Keep praying, keep sowing seed.

Perhaps the Lord will give the increase. Nothing can hinder him from saving. He doesn't need them to help him. He doesn't need them to be favorably disposed to his gospel.

It's when they are dead in sins that he makes them alive in Christ. It's when they're in a far country, far from God, that he can bring them to their senses and plant a desire in their hearts to return.

Saul of Tarsus was still breathing out slaughter against the church when the Lord laid hold of him and turned his heart. And Jerusalem sinners still had the blood wet on their hands from killing Jesus when Peter stood and preached, you killed the prince of life, but God raised him from the dead.

And 3,000 were converted that day. So don't stop praying for and witnessing to the most unlikely sinners to be converted. There are no easy saves. They're all dead when Christ brings them to life.

They're all without strength when Christ draws them to himself. It's not only bones that he can make live again, it's dry bones. So, go on praying and witnessing.

We live in a day when the enemies of God's kingdom are flexing their muscles and becoming bolder in their attacks on Christianity. It's clearly an anti-Christian spirit that's gaining ground in our land.

Some of you might have read of last Sunday, news analyst Britt Hume stated on Fox TV that Christianity has something to offer Tiger Woods that Buddhism doesn't, namely redemption and forgiveness of sins.

And so his message to Tiger, not in humor like everybody else seems to be poking fun at Tiger, his serious, compassionate message to Tiger was to turn to the Christian faith and to make a total recovery.

And all week long Hume has received the backlash of rage and venom for his intolerance. The audacity to think that the Christian religion is better than other religions.

Christians and to say so in public, on television. This is our nation, increasingly vocal in their hatred of Jesus Christ and his truth.

That's what Hume said. He says, you mentioned the two words, Jesus Christ. There are no more, no two words in the English language, more hated. You're in for a fight. So what are we to do in this nation where our Christ and his gospel are increasingly hated?

So many antagonistic voices. Do we circle the wagons in fear? Do we remain sequestered under our pomegranate tree? Do we fear and not speak and cowardly privatize our faith?

faith? I say, where are the new brave voices saying, come, let's go. Let's go over into those outposts of heathendom right here in the United States.

Let's take our Christ right into the workplace and in our conversation not be ashamed to speak of him. Let's go into our schools and then into the marketplace.

the public places, those places marked out of bounds by the politically correct Philistines of the day. Let's go there and not be cowered into silence but speak up for our Savior.

Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Who knows what he might yet do for his great namesake but let us be willing to die in the effort. So, let's take the message from heaven.

and speak it to needy sinners. And let's do so with radical acts of love. Needy times call Christians to radical acts of love.

To say to our neighbors and friends and needs, freely we have received from Jesus Christ. We can only freely give to you. God's love.

And so may God come and act on our behalf. No matter how dark our circumstances, we're just a moment away from him acting and changing things for his glory.

The unconverted one word for you and that is simply there is no perhaps about the gospel. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

There is no ifs and ands about it, no buts, no perhaps about it. Whoever believes in the son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the son will not see life for the wrath of God remains on him.

Then venture on Jesus Christ. Venture on this sure word and you will never be put to shame. Whoever comes to me I will in no wise cast out.

But it's faith. You either take him at his word or you go on living by sight. Take him at his word by faith and live. Go on living by sight and be lost forever.

Well, let's respond to the Lord in way of song. He's spoken to us from his word. I trust stirring our hearts to bold action of faith from the overhead.

God of grace and God of glory. We cry out to the Lord for grace, for courage, for wisdom in the times in which we live.