Jonathan could climb a hill full of Philistines because he knew who the real King was, and that one thing changed every calculation.
Central Image
Dustin walking around the corner at the mall: when you see who actually has your back, you can breathe — and you can even laugh.
The Turn
The sermon exposed the assumption that faith is a mystical quality you either have or don't, and replaced it with something simpler and harder: faith is trust, and trust is built from knowing someone.
Outline
Jonathan Gets His Day
The sermon opens with a deliberate choice. Instead of running the Saul-Jonathan contrast point by point, Toby gives Jonathan the whole day. Jonathan is the son who was on track for a dynasty until his father wrecked it — and he shows no bitterness, no resentment toward God, no slow-burning resentment toward David when David comes along to take what would have been his. In a book where almost everyone is compromised, Jonathan is noble. He's the hero of this stretch of 1 Samuel, and the sermon is built around why.
The Plan — 1 Samuel 14:1-12
Jonathan tells his armor bearer they're going to the Philistine garrison and doesn't mention it to Saul — because he probably knew what Saul would say. Saul meanwhile is hunkered at the pomegranate cave with a priest from the failed Eli line: two men whose dynasties have already been taken away, waiting in the same frame. Jonathan's "perhaps the Lord will work for us" isn't weak faith. It's honest faith — it acknowledges God can do what he wants, that Jonathan's going regardless, and that the sign they've set up is real enough to act on. If the Philistines say come up, they go. The armor bearer says: I am with you, heart and soul.
The Fight — The Pool Noodle Demonstration
Toby brought out foam spears and volunteers to make the point physically: twenty trained soldiers in a confined space, all of them knowing Jonathan was coming, at least some armed with iron. Jonathan and his armor bearer killed twenty men in half a furrow's length, and then the whole Philistine camp fell into chaos — the word in Hebrew is melting. The sermon named it directly: this was as miraculous as any overt miracle in the Bible. The math doesn't work any other way. God was with them, and nobody knows exactly how it worked, but it worked.
Saul's Response
While Jonathan was out there, Saul counted heads, realized Jonathan was gone, and called for the ark to get a sign. He eventually abandoned the sign-seeking and moved once the Philistines were already falling apart. Toby said one thing about Saul and kept moving: it's not a good picture.
Knowing the Real King
Jonathan saved Israel because he knew who the real King was, and it wasn't Saul. Saul's whole chapter is him acting like the big man — his honor, his enemies, him. Jonathan says: maybe the Lord will, maybe he won't, we're going. The three men in the furnace said the same thing before Nebuchadnezzar threw them in: we don't know if God will save us, but either way we're not bowing to you. That posture only comes from knowing someone's character and knowing what they can do.
The Mall Story
Toby was nineteen, cornered in a mall by a guy who wanted to injure him, not just fight him. He was calculating exits — door in the back of the bookstore, cut through to the parking lot — when he saw Dustin walking around the corner. Dustin was 235 pounds, walked up like the other guy wasn't there, said "Toby, you know I handle all your light work," and they walked out. The guy melted — same word the text uses for the Philistine camp. When you see who has your back, you can breathe. You can even laugh. That's faith. Not a mystical feeling, not a religious category — trust based on knowing someone's character and what they're capable of.
The Agenda — Bible Reading Plan
Jonathan probably never held a copy of Scripture. He knew the stories, walked with God, and acted on it. We have the text. Toby's been pushing the congregation to read through the Bible together during the school year — NIV Chronological Bible, two days per day, five days a week, starting September 9th, with audio recordings for anyone who drives. He named his agenda plainly: Jonathan's courage became infectious to David, and David's culture produced a whole generation of mighty men. The church Toby wants is a church full of giant killers, and knowing God through his word is a real part of how that happens.
The Landing
Knowing who has your back changes what you'll walk toward. The invitation was to know God that way — through his story, through what he's actually done — so that when the hill looks impossible, you go up anyway.
Questions to Think About
- Toby pulled volunteers up front with pool noodles and eight-foot foam spears to show what Jonathan was actually walking into — one guy, twenty soldiers, a steep cliff, no element of surprise. When's the last time you walked toward something that lopsided and kept going anyway?
- Jonathan didn't say God told him they were going to win. He said "perhaps the Lord will work for us — nothing can hinder him from saving by many or by few." What's the difference between that and either blind optimism or waiting for a guarantee before you move?
- The armor bearer's job was to come up behind Jonathan and finish off every man Jonathan disabled — close, brutal, all-in. He said yes before he knew how it would go. Where do you see yourself in that picture: the one out front, or the one backing the play?
- Toby said Jonathan knew who the real King was, and it wasn't Saul. What are you actually treating as king right now — the thing your decisions orbit around when you're honest about it?
- Toby defined faith as trust that comes from knowing someone's character and capability. How much of your trust in God is built on actually knowing what he's done — in Israel's story, in your own life — versus something more abstract?
- Saul had the ark, the priest, and the full apparatus of religion going while his son was out taking on the Philistine garrison alone. The sermon didn't press this directly: when does religious activity become a substitute for actually trusting God?
- Toby said his agenda was a church full of giant killers — people bold enough to walk toward the impossible because they know who has their back. What would it actually take for that to describe this church, and not just describe Sundays?
- The Bible reading plan starts September 9th — two days per day, five days a week, together. Name the one thing that would keep you from doing it. Is that a good enough reason?