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This fall we’re talking about SANCTIFICATION = how God works to change you, a sinner, and make you more holy in your heart and in your actions.
Westminster Shorter Catechism 35: What is sanctification?
Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace,
whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God,
and are enabled more and more to die unto sin,
and live unto righteousness.
[Review] So far we’ve said sanctification is NOT: sanctification means you can’t live however you want = it’s not license. And, sanctification is not by the Law, you’re not sanctified by trying really hard to follow the rules. Last week we began to say what sanctification IS: sanctification is by the power of the Holy Spirit = your sanctification is a gracious work done by the Holy Spirit IN you.
[By Faith] BUT, that does not mean we are entirely passive in sanctification. Because sanctification is also BY FAITH.
Acts 26:18 “Open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
2 Thess 2:13 “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”
[Jonathan Intro] We’re reading a story about faith from the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 14. This is the story of the faith of Jonathan, who was the son of Israel’s first king, Saul. Saul had so much potential but turned out to be a wicked king who rejected God and instead of serving God and the nation Israel, Saul only worried about serving himself. His son, Jonathan, was the opposite - he was a man of incredible faith who was really only concerned with serving God and serving the people of Israel.
In this passage Israel is at war with the Philistines. The problem is Israel doesn’t have a real army. At this point in the fight Israel only has 600 volunteer soldiers who are just farmers. The Philistines on the other hand are professional soldiers and they’ve got 1000s of chariots and 1000s and 1000s of professional soldiers.
[1 Samuel 14] Let’s read 1 Samuel 14:1-15, 19-20, 23
When is it easy to be thankful?
[Faith that Thanks] It’s one thing to thank God when everything is going great: you’re doing well at school, the sports are fun and exciting, the school play is a smashing success, you got money to spend, you’re healthy, family is good, the weather is nice… And we should thank God when things are good because everything good we have is totally a gift from God.
But, it’s another thing to thank God when things are against you and things aren’t going so well. It’s another thing to have faith that trusts God when the numbers are against you. That’s the faith of Jonathan and his armor-bearer.
Does God work in the world with us? Or, without us?
Saul is now leading an army of 600 and Saul can’t trust God with those numbers. Saul knows a God that works with us. Saul does not know a God that works without us. Saul believed in a God that could accomplish his will with an army of 300,000 plus. Jonathan believed in the God that can accomplish his will with an army of two.
What’s so great about David vs Goliath and David’s faith?
The faith of David v Goliath is amazing. But that’s 1 v 1. Here remember - the Philistines have an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Jonathan has his armor-bearer AND GOD. How is this story not in all the children’s story book Bibles?
Why do you think God might be intentionally keeping the numbers down in Israel’s army?
Sometimes God keeps the numbers down intentionally in order to grow that faith in us that believes it’s not up to us, we don’t save ourselves, we don’t save anyone else - God does. Sometimes God does that deliberately in order to train us in the faith that TRUSTS in a God who can do it with us or without us. A faith that trusts God no matter the circumstances.
To have that kind of faith! And to have someone standing with you in this life that shares that kind of faith. Jonathan: “Come, let us go over…It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” Armor-bearer: “Do all that is in your heart…I am with you.”
[App - Encourage] How many of you encouraged someone else in their faith recently? Who should we be encouraging in the faith? What might that look like?
This is what we do here - you got to continually encourage those who are not doing well as well as encourage those who are doing well (Jonathan’s faith is strong and he needs encouragement!). Encouraging each other in the faith starts with recognizing each other as belonging to the same faith. We recognize we’re for each other and our common enemy is the devil, sin, and death. It’s communicating to each other that life is hard and then you die and you’re not crazy for struggling AND Jesus has overcome AND he’s not abandoned you; he’s with us. Encouraging each other is embracing each other with God’s love and his grace to us in Jesus. Encouraging one another is building one another up in the knowledge of what Jesus has done for us, what he’s doing in us, and what he will do for us in the future.
Is Jonathan’s faith CERTAIN that he and his armor-bearer will be successful?
[Faith that perhapses] Jonathan and the armor-bear’s faith is all the more amazing because Jonathan says to the armor-bearer: “Come let’s go over… MAYBE the Lord will work for us. PERHAPS the Lord will work for us.”
Some people hear that and think, “That’s not faith. That’s like praying, ‘Lord if it is your will’ - and what you’re really doing is giving God a way out in case your prayer isn’t answered and you can claim you still have faith… No, let’s pray the ‘name it and claim it’ thing = ‘God do this and that and I believe you will!’ Don’t suggest in your prayer it might not happen or you’ll jinx it.” WRONG! Faith that trusts and encourages is faith that “perhapses.” Recognizing the perhaps, recognizing the MAYBE is the definition of boldness.
If God doesn’t do the impossible for Jonathan, is God any less God? Is he any less worth believing in and trusting?
The “MAYBE”, the “PERHAPS” of Jonathan’s faith is great faith. It's bold. It’s letting God be God. It’s believing God CAN do the impossible and then recognizing God will decide whether or not to do the impossible and if he doesn’t he’s no less the God who can do the impossible.
Jonathan does not have a death wish. He’s not crazy. He qualifies his plan with a very important addition. What’s the qualification?
“We’ll cross over to them, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.”
Militarily bad idea. Theologically, brilliant. If the Philistines looking down on you hate you, mock you and dare you to come up to them for a nice reception well they are mocking and hating the God of your people. At that point it doesn’t matter if it’s an army of two. If you know your history, Israel is the special nation of God on earth, God’s kingdom on earth, his theocracy. And God has promised to protect his people as long as his people continue to follow God as their king.
Jonathan knows this God of Israel has decimated the Egyptians, and the impenetrable walls of Jericho and all the armies of the Canaanites. When Jonathan sees the 1000s and 1000s of Philistine professional soldiers he’s thinking, “You shouldn’t have come to the battlefield in the first place.”
When Jonathan tells his armorbearer the crazy plan it’s not about them and what they can do in their own might. Jonathan is not looking at himself; he’s looking at God with the eyes of faith: Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or few.
And it’s not about saving themselves. Jonathan’s faith looking at God is also concerned more with his family, friends, and God’s people. He is still concerned about the salvation of his men and believes that the LORD will do it.
[Battle Results] So what happens?
Jonathan and the armor bearer go up and the 2 overcome 20 professional Philistine soldiers. That’s the fuse that blew this thing up… This sends the rest of the army into a panic. And then fuel on the fire is God sending a well-timed earthquake.
“19 the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more… 20 And behold, every Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.”
Why does it turn out to be such a good thing the Philistines were so well armed?
It actually worked out pretty well that those Philistines were so well armed because they turn on each other. This is what God does. Takes the weapon of the enemy, and turns it on himself.
What are the greatest odds God has ever overcome? What’s the greatest way God has ever used the weapon of the enemy?
[Gospel - Enemy’s Weapon] At the cross Jesus will use the ultimate weapon of the enemy against the enemy himself. What Jonathan and his armor bearer did with an unstoppable enemy Jesus will do with Satan on the cross.
The devil’s power over us is death. Because of our sin we deserve death and hell. So Jesus takes our sin and our death and our hell for us on the cross in our place. With Jesus on the cross the devil thinks he’s won, but in reality on the cross Jesus takes death, the weapon of Satan right out of his hands and uses it against him to save us.
Why is it hard to trust in God at times?
[Illustration Trust Falls] Think about trust falls. There’s something deep down in us that KNOWS people shouldn’t trust US!! Which is part of why we don’t trust others. And part of why it’s hard for us to trust GOD. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS GOD IS NOT LIKE US!! God is trustworthy.
How do you know you can trust God? What war has God won for us?
In his life and death Jesus has won the war against the devil, our sin, and our death. Because of Jesus’ life and death for you - you will live forever no matter what happens to you. And you can trust him with this salvation because you didn’t do anything to get it. You didn’t deserve it. It’s all free, it’s all grace. You just have to trust him.
[App - Zero] Do you believe God can accomplish OUR salvation HIMSELF? Do you believe in a God who can answer your prayers himself? If not what are we praying for - just to motivate ourselves to work harder, do more, believe harder - believe what harder, believe in yourself harder? Do you believe God can accomplish his will with even zero of us?
OT scholar, Meredith M Kline, once said, “It is difficult to understand why things occur as they do and why people think or behave the way they do at an individual level. But, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in control and can be trusted, no matter what the circumstances, as difficult as that is to do; THAT is the challenge for the church. And, only the Lord's wisdom and strength can meet the challenge.”
Justification by faith - at some point you’ve got to put your trust in Jesus and believe in him and receive forgiveness for your sins and we receive Jesus’ righteousness as a gift of grace counted to you - that’s justification by faith
Sanctification by faith - what we don’t hear a whole lot is that you are also sanctified by faith. You begin the Christian life by faith AND you have to continue the Christian life by faith.
Lee Irons, a NT commentator, put it like this: “Faith is not easy. The first mistake we make with sanctification is we screw up and we think, ‘Dang I need to work on my sanctification, I see my sins, I see my ongoing struggle, and I need to change…’ and so our immediate focus is on changing and what we can do to make ourselves stop sinning and make ourselves do the right things instead. And we skip the first and all important step of exercising faith in Christ for sanctification.” Next Sunday we start to see what it looks like to be practicing this faith that sanctifies us.