It’s Time to Shake Hell

When you and I get up to fight, there's a power of hell that is going to mock the presence of God within us. A power of hell that is going to try to tell us, you're not even going to be able to climb into this place where the battle is. Six thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and as many people as the sand on the seashore.

Israel's army was just six hundred men without any swords, so they went and hid themselves in caves, thickets, rocks, and in holes and pits. The Philistines sent out raiding parties to mock Israel's cowardice, but a man named Jonathan with his armor bearer set out to fight the invading army, believing God was with them. And because of this brave act, a great trembling throughout the land was felt.

Let's join Carter now with today's message titled, It's Time to Shake Hell. Now the scene in 1 Samuel 13 and 14 is an enemy army has come in and they far outnumber the people of God, and they are threatening the testimony of God in the earth. And this has been the age old battle from the Garden of Eden and onward. God has promised to have a people in the earth that represent his glory. He's promised to make us more than we are and give us more than we could possess, and the devil is always coming at us full force to try to literally swallow our confidence in our God. Our confidence in the promises of our God and to eradicate the testimony of God in the earth.

And this is of course what we're finding happening on a huge scale in our generation. But be encouraged because people have gone before us who have had to go through these things, and God has proven himself faithful to them and will prove himself faithful to you and I. Today, just as he has in the past. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever.

We believe that. God doesn't change. Now, in this particular scenario, in 1 Samuel, let's start at chapter 13 verse 5. It says the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel. 30,000 chariots, that's a lot of chariots. 6,000 horsemen and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitudes. So this is one more time a huge army coming against the testimony of God and God's people in the earth.

An overwhelming army, just as it has been in many instances throughout history. Now in verse 6 says, when the men of Israel saw that they were in danger, for the people were distressed, then the people, these are the people of God, hidden caves, thickets, rocks, and holes in pits. So the people of God went into hiding, basically just trying to survive.

Everybody's just going to go home. It's like in our generation when the threatenings are coming against those who hold the biblical truth, for example. And a lot of people are just going to go into hiding. They'll hide in the workplace, they'll hide their Christianity in the workplace, they'll hide in their homes, they'll hide in the store, they'll just hide the light that's in them. As the scripture said, they'll take this light of Christ, put it under a bushel, and hide it under their bed. And that's the tendency when we're threatened, and we are being threatened in this generation. Make no doubt about that.

Make no mistake, it's going to get darker as the days progress. And some of the Hebrews crossed over Jordan on the land of Gad and Gilead. Some of the people just took off and started looking for a safe haven. They maybe sold their stuff and went to Tahiti, somewhere where they felt maybe that I could live up my life and not be threatened by this darkness.

And so nothing really changes in that regard. There are people who are going to hide with this overwhelming threat against the testimony of Christ. Some are going to flee and go into other places.

And now, as for Saul, the present king of that time in Israel, he was still in Gilgal and all the people followed him trembling. So everybody who's kind of left to fight this darkness is really afraid. They're trembling.

Simply because they're overwhelmed. The numbers are just overwhelming at this time. Verse 15 says, Saul numbered the people present with him. They had 600 men.

So here's the odds one more time. You've got 600 soldiers and coming against you is 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and people as numerous as descend on the seashore. Not only that, raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies and one company turned one way, another, another way, and a third one going the other way. Now the raiders were sent out to literally strike terror in the peoples of the land before the invading army came.

This is what they were sent to do. In other words, shouting at people who may be hiding behind walls. You can't hide. You can't defend yourself. We're coming for you. You're not going to be able to stop us. You don't have enough power. We're more powerful than you are. And so that's what the raiding parties, they're going out in three different directions from this massive army to let the people of the land know we're coming.

And if you think you're ever going to defeat us, you're living a pipe dream, this is never going to happen. Also, in the land of Israel, there was no blacksmith at this particular time allowed through all the land of Israel because the Philistines were the dominant peoples of that time and they didn't want the people of God making weaponry. And so it came, verse 22 says, it came about on the day of battle, there was neither a sword nor a spear found in the hand of any of the people who were Saul and Jonathan. The only people who had a sword was Saul and his son, Jonathan.

Can you imagine that? You're facing, what is it, how many chariots now? You're facing 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, the people as they stand on the seashore who are obviously armed and there's nobody even has a sword among you. There's 600 of you and you're about to go against an army and you don't even have weaponry. You might have sticks and stones.

That's all you've got to fight this thing. And here are the people following Saul. Saul is in a sense a king who's lost touch with God.

He's actually been told by Samuel the prophet that your reign is done, your time of ministry is finished. Now the scripture says these people are trembling that are following Saul and they're not knowing what to do and it would have been a very, very difficult moment. The scripture says one day it happened in chapter 14 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 on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is a migraine. The people who were with him were about 600 men.

Keep in mind they don't have any weapons. The Hegia, now this is even when it gets better, the Hegia, the son of Etub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh was wearing an ephod. So you've got a backslidden king and you have a priest in a sense that is Ichabod, that means the glory of God's nephew is the priest. So the glory of God is gone, in other words. His nephew is the priest.

But as refreshing as a mouthful of sand, it doesn't get any worse than this. So Jonathan is sitting there and Jonathan is the type of a guy that just says, I'm out of here. I know the history of the people of God. And I'm not going to sit here any longer and just wait for this encroaching army to come in and slaughter us. I'm going to get up and I'm going to fight back. And he tells his armor bearer, it doesn't matter to God how many people we are. If God is with us, we're a majority, so let's you and I get up and let's fight back.

Let's do something that only can be done in the strength of God. So he got up and he and the armor bearer went between the passes which Jonathan sought to go over, chapter 14 verse 4, to the garrison of the Philistines. And there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side.

The name of one was Bozez and the name of the other was Senna. Bozez means slippery place and the other rock really means thorns. So here they are, they're going into the battle, they have to go through a slippery place, a place where in a sense you're not even sure of your footing that's ahead of you. And you also have these thorns, it means the battles of the mind, similar to the thorns that were pressed into the brow of the Son of God. And he was mocked by the soldiers of that time and struck on the head with a staff saying, Hail King of the Jews.

It's the mockery. When you and I get up to fight, there's a power of hell that is going to mock the presence of God within us. A power of hell that is going to try to tell us, you're not even going to be able to climb into this place where the battle is. A power that says, who do you think you are to think you can stand up and somehow defeat this incredible army that's come against you? What do you think you are? There's only two of you and here you are coming up to challenge a garrison of the enemy army.

Now the scripture says in verse 5, the front of one faced north with a rock towards Michmash, which means a concealed place, and the other southward towards Gibeah, which means a place of past association. So you've got to walk in this slippery place, you're being bombarded in your mind, and you're being reminded of your past associations. And going into the battle and the devil just there trying to say, who do you think you are? Do you remember what you used to do?

Do you remember the people you used to hang out with? What makes you think God is going to go with you? The biggest battle we fight is in our minds. And if the devil can get you in your mind, then he's got you. But if he can't get you in your mind, you've got him because if God is moving with you, there is a victory that's about to be won that only can be won by the power of God in your life. And so behind him is a past association and before him is a hidden place. It's a difficult spot to be in because you're in a slippery place, you're being bombarded in your mind, the devil is reminding you of your past and your association, maybe reminding Jonathan your father is Max Litten.

Ichabod's nephew is your priest. You've got an army behind you of 600 men that don't even have swords. All they've got is sticks and stones in their hands. What makes you think that you're going to be able to win this battle? And behind you is all of this and ahead of you is a place that you can't see, you're moving to it by faith, but you can't see it and there's no real tangible reason in the natural why you should win this victory. And so to win a spiritual victory in a season like this, there's got to be something of God that gets into the heart, as it did with young David when he faced Goliath to say, I'm going into this battle because the armies of the living God have been challenged by this power of darkness. And it's not by might, it's not by power, it's by the Spirit of God that this battle is going to be won. So I'm going to get up from where I am and I'm not going to live among the trembling any longer. I'm going to go and I'm going to begin to fight this battle that is ahead of me.

Then Jonathan said to the young men who bore his armor, come let us go to the garrison of these Philistines. It may be the Lord will work for us, for nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few. So Jonathan had something in his heart and in his mind that his father didn't have, nor did the 600 who are with him. If God is with us, who can be against us? If God is with me, who can stop what God wants to do through my life? If God has sent me to do something, it shall be done, not in my power, but in the power of Christ within me. So his armor-bearer said to him, do all that is in your heart.

Go then, I am here with you according to your heart. I love it. It's so good to have a friend like that, isn't it? It's so good to have a friend when you say God has given me something and it's always good to have a friend that says, let's go, I'm with you.

Let's do this thing. Praise God. I get a friend like that who's online tonight. His name is Mark Gastineau and he's like that. I love the fact that Mark is willing to go in any battle anywhere and sack any devil in any place. I thank God for that with all my heart. His armor-bearer said, do what's in your heart.

Go, I'm with you according to your heart. And Jonathan said very well, let's cross over to these men and we will show ourselves to them. And if they say to us, wait till we come to you, then we'll stand still in our place and not go up to them. But if they say, come up to us, 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 Geristines and the Philistines and the Philistines said, look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have been hiding. If you stand up to fight back against the devil, the first thing you will fight against are voices of mockery that will come against you. The men of the Geristines called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, come up to us and we'll show you something. In other words, you think you're going to beat us? Then come on up and we'll show you how the battle is won. We'll show you how foolish you are. We'll show you what's going to happen to you. Then Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, come up after me for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel. Don't you love that? Do you love that kind of faith when everything seems to be against you but you stand up and say, come with me, we're going to go into this battle.

God's given them into our hands. And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armor-bearer after him. We have this impression that when we go into the battle, it's got to involve six chariots and twelve white horses and a bunch of soldiers and banners and flags. The thought of crawling on our hands and knees up this hill is not really our viewpoint of what victory looks like. But here is Jonathan, the son of a back-sudden king, and he's climbing up this mountain on his hands and knees. And it's kind of like you and I in our Bibles, especially the students here. You're in a Bible school and you say, I should be experiencing this incredible victory, but yet I'm climbing through my Bible every morning on my hands and knees, clawing for a little piece of rock on this cliff as I go up and down this battle. I'm fighting for whatever God can give me in the way of victory.

And I want to look like I'm strong, but it's been a very, very difficult battle for me. And the scripture says he climbed up on his hands and knees with his armor-bearer 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 with about a half an acre of land. So it's not a big battle they won.

And this is a message that I have for people that are online. It's not a big battle that God needs you to win. It's only a half an acre. You know, a half an acre is 110 feet by 110 feet.

That was the whole size of this battle. It's a half an acre. But when they went up and they won this half acre, see, everybody here has a half acre that you've got to win. Your half acre might be drug addiction. Your half acre might be depression. Your half acre for some is the dysfunction in your family. Your half acre might be the unbelief that's in your own heart.

Everybody has a half acre that you have to take. And Jonathan and his armor-bearer went up and they took that half acre. And when they took that half acre, something happened. The scripture says in verse 15, there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. This is about the Philistine army now. The garrison and the raiders also trembled. And the earthquake, so that it was a very great trembling. Two men rose up.

They climbed up the hill. They took on a garrison. This is about 20 Philistine soldiers on about a half acre of land.

Not about the size of this sanctuary, roughly. And they captivated it. And when they did it, you see, because these armies that were coming against the people of God were demonically inspired. And when they came in and took on this garrison, the Philistines, the demonic powers that were behind them began to realize that something had happened. Somebody had invited God into the battle.

James said it this way. He said, you believe in God, you do well. He said, but the demons also believe and tremble. The devils know the power of God. The devils know that their day is numbered. The devils know that they're about to be judged and thrown forever into a lake of fire. They are fully familiar with the power of God. The only way they can defeat the people of God is to somehow convince you and I that God is not with us. God is not powerful.

We are somehow a substandard people in the earth. But every once in a while, somebody stands up and takes a half acre from hell. Somebody stands up and wins their battle.

Somebody stands up and, in the power of their God, wins the battle of the mind, wins the battle of their family, wins the battle against the fear that's in their own heart, wins the battle against the addictions that have gotten ahold of their bodies. They get up and simply take their half acre. Your half acre, ma'am, is right in your apartment where you are right now.

It's your 110 by 110 feet, and I want to tell you something. When you take that half acre, there's a trembling that will come into hell. Everything of darkness pitted against you and your family will begin to tremble. When you get up and you take that half acre, you might have to climb on your hands and knees to get up to the top of that hill.

You have to endure every form of mockery that will come your way. The threats of darkness will come against you, but you stand in the power of your God and suddenly there's a trembling. The whole host, the scripture says, that means all of the thousands of chariots, all of the thousands of people that are at the sand on the seashore, there's a trembling that comes into the host.

Even the raiding parties that were miles away, probably 30, 40 miles away from this main camp, there's a sudden shudder comes into them because the powers of darkness know that somebody has brought God into the battle. Hallelujah. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Glory to the name of Jesus. So let the enemies rise. Let them bring in their armies.

Let them utter their threats. We have the living Christ on our side, the God of eternity, the God who sent his son to die on a cross, took captivity captive and gives gifts unto man, has all power, has all authority, every name that is named will bow before him one day and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is with us. And when you and I stand up and take our half acre, we send a shudder into hell. Don't let the devil ever convince you that you have no part in this battle that we're fighting in this generation.

You sir are addicted. You ma'am who are depressed, you young person who don't see a reason to go forward in life, you can stand up, you climb your mountain, you take your half acre and you watch hell around you begin to shake. The demons in your neighborhood will begin to shake.

They have a phenomenal communication system. I don't know how it works, but I know that when somebody rises up and brings Christ into the battle, there is a shaking that happens in hell, a trembling among the powers of darkness. Not only did they tremble, they turned against one another and they began to destroy each other. And when it happened, because Jonathan and his armor bear went in and fought this battle, then people who were in hiding came out and they joined into the battle. There's a courage came into the hearts of the people of God because the victory had been already won.

Christ had been brought into the battle, may I put it that way, by just two men who decided, I'm just going to do this. I'm just up and I'm just out. I'm not sitting here with the fearful any longer or the prognosticators and the analysts who tell us all the reasons why we can't do this or we can't do that, or all the people who say the battle can't be won. I'm just not sitting here with them any longer. I'm out of here.

And the interesting thing is Jonathan didn't bother even telling his father because his father would have talked him out of it. You know, if you're going to do something that involves faith, don't talk to people that are full of unbelief. Just find a friend who says, let's go. Let's do this.

Let's do this. And Jonathan said, something's in my heart. I just believe that God is the same God as he always has been. We don't need an army to win this battle. We need God because us and God are a majority.

God. I think it's time for everyone to bring God back into the battle. Whatever your battle is, whatever your half acre is in your life, whatever it is that you need to pursue, whatever mountain you need to climb, whatever slippery place you need to go up.

If you have to go on your hands and knees, just go on your hands and knees. It doesn't look like a victorious position, but actually it really is. The battle really is won on our knees, always has been and always will be. So I'm talking to the end time army of God. I'm talking to the men and women who don't see themselves as having any power, any future.

You don't see yourself living in a present victory. And you say to me, well, pastor, what is required of me then? Get up, go forward into the battle. So I'm done with this. I'm done with the devil destroying my home, my marriage, my family, my children, my mind, my body, my neighbors. I'm done with this and I'm going to get up and in the power of God, I'm going to go into the battle. I don't care who mocks me. I don't care what I have to fight in my head. I don't care what voices come against me. I'm going into this battle and by the grace of almighty God, I believe this battle is going to be won. And I don't care who mocks me. There'll always be mockers when you set out to live by faith.

They will bear their troubles. God will see to it. But there'll always be mockers when you set out to fight and fight for God. So Father, I ask, oh God, in Jesus' name, that you would just give the people the power to walk with you. Give them the power, Lord Jesus Christ, to serve you and to live for you.

The power to believe that all things are still possible to those who believe in Christ. God almighty, help us not to live our lives trying to hide or sitting with the trembling on the mountainside. But help us to go into the battle and believe that if we take our half acre, that it can send a shudder through the ranks of darkness.

Father, I want to say thank you with all my heart. Give us the grace to believe that you are able. You say, well, pastor, how do I get into this battle?

It's really simple. Admit that you need a savior. You know you can't save yourself. So save yourself the trouble of trying to save yourself, because you can't. You give up on that and let the Son of God save you. He came to this world and he went to a cross, was brutally beaten and rejected so that you might be forgiven. So just let him forgive you. Just open your heart and say, Jesus, I can't save myself.

Forgive me. And then confess him as your Lord. Christ, you are the Lord of my life from this day forward and forever. And don't try to govern your own life anymore and then let him lead you and watch where he will lead you.

He will lead you into a place of not only victory for yourself, but your life will be used to bring victory to others all around you. So, Father, I thank you, God, with all my heart. I thank you, Lord. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, God Almighty. I'm going to ask that we all pray this prayer together.

Just say these simple words with me. Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for loving me. Thank you for coming to get me and giving your life on a cross that I might be forgiven. I open my heart and I invite you to come into my life to be my Lord and to be my Savior. From this day forward, I will live for you. I will serve you and I will love you. Thank you for loving me and giving me the promise of forgiveness, of a purpose to live an eternal life with you the day I die. From this day forward, Jesus Christ, you are the Lord of my life.

You're hearing this and you feel like Jonathan and his armor bearer. You know that it has to be God, but you're willing to go into the battle. You're willing to go into the fight. You're willing to believe God for whatever it is and wherever it is that God is leading you. And you just want to make that declaration, just come forward and say, Lord, I'm just going to go with you and I'm going to trust you, my God, for victory in my life. I'm going to trust you for whatever it is you want to do through my life, I'm just going to trust you that you give me the power to do it.

I'm going to go forward and I'm going to go into the battle and I'm going to win this battle. Thank you for joining us this week for A Call to the Nation with Carter Conlon from Times Square Church in New York City. For more information, log on to tsc.nyc. That's tsc.nyc. You can count on a powerful message each week on A Call to the Nation with Carter Conlon.