Where Are The Blacksmiths?
Sermon Summary
In 1 Samuel 13, we see a sobering moment in Israel’s history: the Philistines, Israel’s perennial enemy, had so thoroughly suppressed God’s people that there were no blacksmiths left in the land. Without blacksmiths, Israel had no swords or spears—no means to defend themselves or advance God’s purposes.
The Philistines’ strategy was simple but devastating: if you can keep your enemy from forging weapons, you don’t have to fight them at all. This is not just a story about ancient warfare; it’s a warning for the church today. The miracle of the USS Wisconsin wasn’t just that the ship survived decades of battle, but that the knowledge of how to run it was passed from one generation to the next. In the same way, the church’s survival depends on passing on spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and discipline to the next generation.
We are called to be blacksmiths—disciple makers—who forge and sharpen the next generation for spiritual battle. Too often, the church has become a place of entertainment or passive observation, rather than a forge where lives are shaped, challenged, and equipped. When we neglect discipleship, we end up spiritually stunted, lacking the tools and maturity to face the battles ahead. Worse, we may find ourselves relying on the world’s wisdom, just as Israel had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their tools—paying their enemies for what should have been their own inheritance.
Mentorship and discipleship are not optional extras; they are essential for the church’s survival and fruitfulness. Paul’s instruction to Timothy was clear: receive the truth, teach it to others, and ensure they can pass it on as well. This is a call for every believer, not just pastors or leaders. Whether as parents, spiritual fathers and mothers, or simply as seasoned saints, we are all called to invest in others, to get our hands dirty, to be present and accountable, and to forge disciples who can stand in the day of battle. The church is not a cruise ship; it’s a boot camp. If we are not discipling, we are disobeying. Let us pick up the hammer, invest our lives, and become the blacksmiths God is seeking.
“Mentorship and discipleship are not optional extras; they are essential for the church’s survival and fruitfulness.”
Watch/Listen
Message Study Guide
Youtube chapters
[00:00] - Welcome
[01:00] - USS Wisconsin: A Lesson in Passing Down Knowledge
[03:25] - The Old Salts Return: Training the Next Generation
[05:26] - The Miracle of Transferred Wisdom
[06:28] - The Church’s Ancient Technology
[08:00] - The Strategy of Suppression: No Blacksmiths in Israel
[11:21] - The Church as a Forge, Not a Museum
[13:30] - Substituting the Relying on the Enemy
[17:54] - The Shortage of Mentors and the Call to Discipleship
[22:29] - The Cost of Failing to Train the Next Generation
[25:00] - Paul’s Pattern: Four Generations of Discipleship
[28:46] - The Church as Boot Camp: Multiplying Disciples
[32:41] - The Power of Spiritual Fathers and Teachers
[36:19] - Where Are the Blacksmiths? The Call to Invest
[37:11] - The Dirty Work of Discipleship
[38:10] - The Call to Salvation and Spiritual Influence
[41:43] - Praying for Blacksmiths: A Church That Shapes Lives
Key Takeaways
The Enemy’s Strategy is Suppression, Not Just Confrontation: The Philistines didn’t need to defeat Israel in open battle; they simply removed the blacksmiths, cutting off the means to make weapons. In our spiritual lives, the enemy often works not by direct attack, but by subtly removing the sources of strength, wisdom, and spiritual formation. If we neglect the disciplines and relationships that sharpen us, we become easy prey, powerless to advance or defend the faith. [06:28]
The Church is a Forge, Not a Museum: The church is not meant to be a place where we merely remember past victories or admire spiritual artifacts. It is a living forge, where lives are shaped, challenged, and equipped for the battles of today and tomorrow. If we treat the church as a place of passive consumption, we forfeit the very process that prepares us and the next generation for spiritual warfare. [11:21]
Relying on the World’s Tools Weakens the Church: When Israel had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their tools, they were not only dependent on their enemies, but were funding them. In the same way, when believers look to secular sources for spiritual nourishment or formation, we sacrifice our distinctiveness and power. True spiritual sharpening happens in accountable, Christ-centered relationships, not through distant influencers or worldly wisdom. [17:54]
The Absence of Mentors Leads to Spiritual Infantilism: When seasoned believers are too busy or disengaged to mentor others, the next generation remains untrained and unprepared. The result is a church full of spiritual infants—grown men in diapers, as it was said—unable to handle offense or responsibility. The call is for every believer to both receive and give discipleship, ensuring a living chain of spiritual maturity and multiplication. [22:29]
Discipleship Requires Contact, Accountability, and Sacrifice: Iron sharpens iron only through friction, heat, and contact. Discipleship is not a clean or easy process; it requires getting our hands dirty, being present, and allowing others to speak into our lives. The most lasting spiritual impact comes from those willing to invest deeply, correct lovingly, and model faithfulness—whether in the home, the church, or everyday life. [37:11]
Bible Reading
1 Samuel 13:19-20, 22- “Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, ‘Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.’ But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle... So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.”
2 Timothy 2:1-2- “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”
Titus 2:1-5 (Paul instructs Titus to teach older men and women to live godly lives and to train the younger generation.)
Observation Questions
According to 1 Samuel 13, what specific strategy did the Philistines use to keep Israel weak? 06:28
In the sermon, what was the significance of the USS Wisconsin story, and how did it relate to the church? 05:26
What does Paul instruct Timothy to do in 2 Timothy 2:1-2, and how many generations of discipleship does he mention? 25:00
In Titus 2, what are older men and women specifically told to do for the next generation? 17:54
Interpretation Questions
Why do you think the Philistines chose to remove blacksmiths instead of fighting Israel directly? What does this reveal about the enemy’s tactics in our spiritual lives? 06:28
The sermon says, “The church is not a cruise ship; it’s a boot camp.” What does this mean for our perspective on the church and our role within it? 28:46
What are the dangers of relying on “the world’s tools” or secular sources for spiritual growth, as described in the sermon? 13:30
How does the absence of mentors and disciple-makers affect the spiritual maturity of the church? 22:29
Application Questions
The Philistines’ strategy was to quietly remove the blacksmiths, not to fight openly. Are there “blacksmiths” (sources of spiritual strength, discipline, or wisdom) in your life that you’ve neglected or lost? What would it look like to restore them? 06:28
The USS Wisconsin survived because knowledge was passed down. Who has passed spiritual knowledge to you, and who are you passing it on to? Is there someone you could intentionally invest in this month? 05:26
The sermon warns against treating the church as a place of entertainment or passive observation. In what ways have you been a “spectator” rather than a “blacksmith”? What is one step you can take to become more active in discipling others? 11:21
When Israel had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their tools, they became dependent on their enemies. Are there areas in your spiritual life where you are relying on “the world’s tools” instead of Christ-centered relationships? What needs to change? 13:30
Paul’s pattern in 2 Timothy 2:2 is to teach others who can teach others. Are you currently being discipled by someone, and are you discipling anyone else? If not, what is holding you back? 25:00
The sermon says, “If you’re not discipling, you’re disobeying.” Does this challenge your current approach to church and faith? What practical changes could you make this week to start investing in someone else’s spiritual growth? 28:46
Discipleship is described as “dirty work” that requires contact, accountability, and sacrifice. What is one uncomfortable or sacrificial step you could take to help someone else grow in their faith? 37:11
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First Samuel chapter 13. If you join us there tonight again, a message born out of my daily Bible reading. I want to encourage you, as always, to read your Bible. There is wisdom enough to occupy your mind, your heart, your curiosity for the rest of eternity.
So we're gonna look tonight in First Samuel chapter 13. There is a retired battleship that is parked down there in the Norfolk downtown area. It's called the USS Wisconsin. Anybody here ever taken a tour of the USS Wisconsin?
Whenever we have visiting pastors coming in to preach for us, I like to take them a few places around town, show them the area, give them a little tour. That's one of my favorite places to take people because it's history.
Today, that battleship is just a museum, but there is some rich history within that hull. To me, the greatest treasure is not just the metal, the fabrication, or the design of the ship. One of the greatest treasures is the people I meet when I go on that ship—battle-torn sailors who served on that ship in years past. Having some incredible conversations with them.
The last time I was on this ship for a tour, I got to talking with one of the guides. He's a volunteer, and they basically give people information about the ship as you take a tour. He told me a story I had not heard before about the USS Wisconsin, and it’s been in the back of my mind for a long time.
This ship was built in 1940, commissioned for World War II—that's a long time ago. It served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and then in the 70s, it was decommissioned, then recommissioned, and decommissioned again.
By the time the 1980s came around, President Reagan was trying to strengthen our forces. The US Navy made a surprising decision at that time—this is in the mid-80s, when global tensions were rising, conflicts emerging, and the Cold War was at its peak. They decided to recommission the USS Wisconsin again in the 1980s. We're talking about 45 years after it had been built.
It had been battle-proven, very useful in combat, but there was a problem with recommissioning this ship at that time. You know what the problem was?
They didn't know how to run it! All of the sailors at that time had been trained on newer ships, with newer technology. When they recommissioned the USS Wisconsin, you know what they had to do? They had to bring in the old dogs—the salts, as they call them.
They brought in retired sailors who knew how to operate the equipment that the younger sailors had no idea how to handle. Things like analog fire control systems, steam-powered propulsion systems. You know what that means? There are fired engines—fuel being put into steam engines that spin turbines to turn the propellers. They had no idea how to do this.
Massive 16-inch guns of the USS Wisconsin—this ship was a beast from another era, like a dinosaur. So they brought these veteran Navy men, who had served on battleships back in Korea and Vietnam. Many of them had white hair, weathered hands, beer bellies. They climbed aboard one more time—not for battle, but for training—to show these young sailors how to do what they needed to do to make the ship go and win another battle.
They remembered how it worked, and they mentored these young men—how to load powder bags, calibrate ancient radar systems, fire weapons that hadn't been used in decades.
Because of those old salts, this ship not only became combat-ready but went on to play a key role in Operation Desert Storm. I have a few photos to show you of the ship back in action.
Here you see the barrage—releasing hell on Saddam Hussein. And this is the USS Wisconsin, commissioned in 1940, firing weapons in 1991. Fifty years past its original creation date.
Next photo. There she is, leading in battle—another ship, a carrier, I forgot which one that was, but it's traveling through the Persian Gulf. And another? That's it? I only thought I had more. That's okay.
The miracle of this story is not that the ship survived. The miracle is that the knowledge was passed from an older generation to a newer generation. That’s the real miracle.
And I want to tell you, the church is not much different. How many know we have some ancient technology? We have some 2,000-year-old stories that need to be told. We have information that needs to be passed from one generation to the next.
Just like the Navy had to bring back some old warriors to prepare the next generation to operate that ship, I believe the church also needs to raise up spiritual trainers, disciple makers, who will equip, train, and prepare the next generation for battle.
This message I’ve titled: "Where are the blacksmiths?" In our scripture, we’re going to read about the time of Israel under King Saul. They are doing battle with the Philistines as usual. There is a verse that brings great discouragement to my heart—that it could be possible in our day, too.
Let's read together First Samuel chapter 13. I’ll read verses 19 and 20, and then verse 22.
It says: "There were no blacksmiths in the land of Israel those days. The Philistines would not allow them, for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews."
It goes on to tell the prices they paid to sharpen their tools. Then verse 22: "So on the day of the battle, none of the people of Israel had a sword or a spear except for Saul and Jonathan."
It’s a failure to pass on the next generation.
Let's pray for a moment.
Lord, come by the precious blood of Jesus. I’m asking You tonight, give us a vision that there are seasoned saints in this place who have the knowledge, the experience, the ability to be blacksmiths—to shape and form the weapons of the next generation.
I pray, God, that You’d give us a vision for winning souls, making disciples, and planting churches. It starts with a willingness, Lord, with a necessity of having those people who would be blacksmiths in the church. We desperately need You today. In Jesus’ mighty name, those who agree, say Amen.
Where are the blacksmiths?
Let’s first look at the strategy of suppression. Our scripture says tonight that there is a group—an enemy—the Philistines, the perennial enemy of Israel—that would continue to battle against them time after time.
You know that the Philistines are the ones who produced the giant named Goliath. It was Goliath who challenged the people of Israel to a duel, to a battle. David, thankfully, rose up. But you know what David did not have? He didn't have a sword.
There was a reason why he was so well trained with the sling and the five smooth stones. Well, because in his day, the Philistines had technological control over blacksmithing, over the ability to create weapons. They had the advantage in that arena.
They exercised control, and they had the materials that the Israelites did not have. They had the knowledge that the Israelites did not have.
And whenever you have an edge over your enemy in warfare, this is what gives you the advantage in battle. The reason any war is won is because our weapons are better than theirs. This is what the Philistines understood.
If Israel is allowed to have the same kind of weapons, they won't remain our slaves forever. So what did they do? The Bible says they suppressed the people of Israel.
It says in our scripture that the Philistines would not allow blacksmiths in the land of Israel, for fear they would make swords and spears for the Hebrews.
It's a lot easier to stop the blacksmiths than to defeat them in battle. That’s what they figured out. The Philistines found an advantage—if they could just stop the Israelites from having weapons, they wouldn’t even have to fight.
If they hold all the swords, all the spears, then the people of Israel wouldn’t even try, wouldn’t even attempt to rise up. That was their strategy.
And can I tell you, we have an enemy too. Ever wonder why it’s so hard for you to read the Bible? To make time for prayer? Why every distraction seems to fall on you?
You got a thousand apps on your phone, but the one app you don’t have time for is the Bible app. Why is that?
Because there’s an enemy trying to suppress you. There’s an enemy trying to suppress the church. There’s an enemy seeking to remove the influence of the weapons of the Word of God.
John Piper said, "How shall we leave ourselves well-armed if the Philistines have taken all of our blacksmiths?"
In our world, the Philistines are like demonic strongholds—strategies against us. Satan is doing the same to you and to the church of Jesus Christ. He is removing the influence of blacksmiths—those who teach, disciple, and pass on spiritual weapons.
He would rather have nobody teaching anybody. He replaces blacksmiths with online influencers, pastors with Instagram, disciple makers with YouTube preachers. No wonder we end up powerless in true spiritual warfare.
Pastor Mitchell said, "Unless we leave behind workers who understand and are pursuing what God is doing, then we are gone. They’ll just be writing books about us."
There is a powerful dynamic in passing on the next generation. Listen, this is not a museum. The church is not a place to talk about all the great things that once happened. The church is supposed to be a forge.
We saw that movie called "The Forge"—a powerful depiction of disciple making. This needs to be active in every believer. Every one of us has a dimension of forging the next generation.
If you are a parent, you are a disciple maker. See those little noses you’re wiping, those little hands you’re holding? The Bible says they are arrows in the Lord’s hand—future weapons against the enemy.
If you treat them as burdens instead of blessings, if you just can’t wait for them to get out of your house, you’re giving your weapons away to the enemy.
Parents, we need to see ourselves as blacksmiths—training and forging weapons for the Lord. This is true in our homes, and it’s true in our church.
Unfortunately, the church has become a shopping mall in many places. It’s become a center for entertainment. But that was not God’s design.
We are supposed to be training one another how to do battle against hell. If you don’t smell smoke or feel heat, something’s wrong. The church is supposed to be a forge.
What we’ve done instead is substitute the source. Verse 20 says that whenever the Israelites needed to sharpen their plowshares, their picks, their axes—farming equipment—they had to go to a Philistine blacksmith.
They had to go to the enemy, begging and pleading, "Please sharpen my tools." They paid their enemies to stay alive.
Not only that, they were supplying resources to the very people they would face in battle. They were giving money to their enemies.
That’s not a good strategy. And yet, the church often does the same when we rely on secular sources for spiritual nourishment.
When we prefer to go outside the church—Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, influencers online—good information, yes, but they have nothing to do with your life. They cannot correct you, disciple you, or help you.
They are not your blacksmith.
The Israelites had to rely on the Philistine blacksmiths for their weapons. If they needed to sharpen their tools, they had to go to the enemy for strength.
They were sacrificing their own power, their ability to fight. The church is looking for a TED Talk, but what we really need is a pastor, a disciple maker, iron sharpening iron.
We need spiritual accountability. Instead, we get pop psychology and leadership books.
God help us. We don’t disciple men by massaging their shoulders.
You who are in the military—did you get better by everyone affirming you? No. We get better when we’re challenged.
They’re paying the price now for complacency.
The scripture goes on to tell us the prices they paid for sharpening each piece of equipment. And what they’re really doing is—they’re unable to move forward in the will of God for their lives.
God has already given them a mission—to expand the kingdom, to defeat the enemies of God. But instead, they are stuck. Their power has been removed, their weapons are nonexistent.
They are spiritually stunted. And I see the church often in the same place.
Lacking forward motion, lacking advancement. They reach a plateau, get comfortable with God, and then just coast—drink some lemonade, take it easy.
That’s not what God has called us to.
Here they are paying silver to sharpen their tools—that’s what it costs when we refuse to train men to fight. Later, we pay through compromise and cowardice.
Let’s look at the shortage of blacksmiths—mentors, coaches, disciple makers.
The Bible calls it making disciples for the next generation.
Titus chapter 2. Listen carefully.
"As for you, Titus, promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith, be filled with love and patience."
Similarly, Paul says to Titus, "Teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach what is good."
"These older women must train—did you see that? Train—the younger women to love their husbands and children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the Word of God."
This is not just about men. It’s about the church at large. Men and women both need discipleship.
Can you say Amen?
You need to receive discipleship and give discipleship. You need to be in the process of being trained and mentoring others.
Then taking someone else under your wing to train and mentor them as well. Men and women alike.
The church suffers when seasoned believers don’t have time. When those who’ve been through things can’t come back on the ship to train the new guys.
When you’re so busy that you don’t have time for people.
You don’t have time to train new converts, to show them how to pray.
You can’t teach someone to pray if you don’t pray.
You can’t teach the Word if you don’t know the Word.
You can’t bring someone to church if you’re not in church.
That’s why example-ship is so key. You can’t teach what you’re not doing.
That got heavy all of a sudden. What happened?
I’m not sure. We need blacksmiths. We need disciple makers to equip believers for spiritual battles.
When the older generation stops mentoring, the younger stops maturing. The church becomes a spiritual nursery—grown men in diapers, crying over every offense.
Pastor Mitchell said in his book "Passing the Baton": "The goal is not religious activity. Our goal is transferring God's purpose to the next generation."
This is not optional. It’s not just a good idea. It’s the church’s survival.
I know churches that have died. Maybe you do too.
Say, "But, Pastor, the church of Jesus Christ goes on forever." Yes, you’re right.
The global church will continue until Jesus comes back to receive His bride. But we’re talking about a local body of believers.
Did you know that during COVID, when churches shut down—when we did what all the enemies of Christ could not do—because of a virus, many churches never reopened?
Thirty percent of churches that shut down never came back. What does that tell you?
It shows they were already on the brink.
When churches stop reaching the next generation, they die.
Pretty soon, all the young people are gone, and the church is full of gray heads.
Thank God that’s not the case here. I’m not saying it’s bad to have old people. I’m saying it’s a failure to pass on the next generation if there are zero young people.
You pass by some church buildings on a Sunday morning—built for 250, only 20 people inside.
That’s what happened in times past—revivals where young people failed to receive the discipleship they needed.
This is not optional. It’s survival.
If the church of Virginia Beach, the Potter’s House, is going to continue for another 20 years, it’s only because somebody rises up—the next generation of disciples and believers.
Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you."
The priests refused to know God, and their children suffered.
God laments that His people are being destroyed due to lack of knowledge. They don’t know who God is.
Whose failure is that? That’s the failure of the priests—they didn’t teach the next generation.
Imagine stepping onto a battlefield with a powerful weapon you don’t know how to use.
You’d run the opposite way, retreat.
God is trying to save another generation.
I have hope. Sometimes, older preachers and pastors beat up on the younger generation—say they’re lazy, different from us.
But I have hope. Because it’s all we’ve got. We better invest in them.
Remind them they’re the future of the church.
They’ll be pastors, teachers—if not them, then who?
That’s why we need to train, teach, and set an example.
You can’t win spiritual warfare with fog machines.
This is not entertainment.
We’re talking about the Word of God being passed from one generation to the next.
Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1, "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."
He said, "What you have heard from me, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
Four generations of teaching—did you catch that?
Paul taught Timothy, Timothy teaches others, and they teach others.
Some of us need to receive that tonight.
I need to be reminded—I am still a disciple. I am still learning.
I am still accountable.
I have a pastor I call, I talk to, I inform him of what’s happening.
I have trusted men I can bounce ideas off.
Do you have someone like that? Or are you totally unaccountable?
That’s dangerous.
Paul said to Timothy, "Listen, I need you to hear me so you can teach others."
That’s what we need—a multiplication of disciples.
God help us if we become like Saul and Jonathan—only two with swords in the whole nation.
That’s a recipe for losing.
God does help them win, but it takes a supernatural miracle.
We need blacksmiths to equip others for spiritual battles.
The church is not a cruise ship; it’s a boot camp.
We train, we duplicate, we multiply.
Discipleship is not a side ministry; it’s part of Jesus’ mandate.
Pastor Mitchell said, "Unless you leave behind people who can carry the torch, it’s over when you’re gone."
I thank God for Pastor Mitchell. He’s not Jesus, but God used him powerfully.
Our fellowship is still multiplying—over 4,000 churches as of January, with more planted since.
Disciples are being raised up.
Thank God for a legacy of disciple making.
Tonight, I call on the sharpeners—make disciples who can make disciples.
How are you helping in that process?
It’s easy to be on the sideline, just watching.
But every believer is called to be a disciple maker.
God needs to equip us so we can equip others.
There’s a scripture—"As iron sharpens iron."
When we say that, we often think of coffee shops, casual conversations.
But sharpening iron is a grinding process—friction, metal shavings, a tough process.
Discipleship is not easy. It’s the hardest thing we’re called to do.
But it’s also the most important.
When we say "iron sharpens iron," it means I need you to hold me accountable, and I need permission to do the same for you.
We must be in contact—iron must touch iron.
You can’t just wander through the daisy fields hoping to reach Jesus someday.
Jesus gave us the church to be the place where we are sharpened.
He does the hard work of saving us from sin—thank God.
But when we come into the kingdom, we have dull edges that need sharpening.
We need blacksmiths—those who heat the fire and pound some sense into us.
It requires a culture—mentorship, coaching, discipline.
How many had a good teacher in elementary school?
Someone who poured into your life?
Thank God for good teachers.
I had a seventh-grade English teacher who changed my life—taught me a love for stories.
Another teacher in high school, a government teacher, gave me a love for civics and history.
And an English teacher who introduced me to music and poetry.
Their influence echoes into my life 30 years later.
Can I tell you? I also have a pastor.
Jesus saved me, and I recognize Him as my Savior.
But just like Paul said to Timothy, I have a spiritual father—my pastor.
He taught me things I still carry today.
I needed Pastor Campbell.
And I needed Pastor Hector Ortiz—who kicked my butt a few times, told me to write things down, to be on time.
Thank God someone was looking out for me, holding me accountable.
And I have other disciples—young men I still have relationships with.
As we close, think about this:
Israel without blacksmiths was a nation without weapons—unable to fight the battles they were called to.
And in the same way, a church without discipleship is ill-equipped to fight the battles God has for us.
Without discipleship, we just make noise—no fire, no real spiritual fight.
The bottom line: if you’re not discipling, you’re disobeying.
Where do we find blacksmiths?
Waking up their children on time, investing in their lives.
I’m so discouraged right now. I’m working with some young teenagers, and their parents are absent.
I have a young man I’ve been working with—won’t say his name—but his parents leave for work before he wakes up for school.
He’s called me three times in the last couple of weeks for a ride because he woke up late.
He called me first, not his parents.
I’ve known him a month. Why is he calling me?
Because his parents are absent.
I know they’re busy. I don’t know their situation.
But I know this: I’m getting a call, not them.
Why? Because they don’t value it.
Where are the blacksmiths?
They’re not on conference stages.
They’re in prayer closets.
They’re bringing new converts with them.
They’re in living rooms, prayer meetings—shaping lives.
Can you get a vision tonight to be a blacksmith?
You can’t be a blacksmith without fire.
You’ve got to heat things up.
No blacksmith stays clean—it's a dirty job.
But I tell you, there are few things in the kingdom more useful than getting your hands dirty—washing feet like Jesus, making time for prayer.
Remember: women teaching women, men teaching men.
I want to challenge you—forge a disciple.
Let’s bow our heads and close our eyes for just a moment.
If you’re here and you think, "Thank God, God has given me influence in somebody’s life," that’s amazing.
But you’re not finished.
As long as we have breath and opportunity, we are called to make disciples.
Jesus said, "I will build My church, but you go make disciples."
We need to pick up the hammer.
We need to invest our lives.
Amen.
Before we close tonight’s service, you’ve come in here and heard about the life-changing power of Jesus Christ—how He is our Savior.
He is here tonight by His Spirit to rescue someone who’s lost.
If you’re here, and you find yourself wandering, broken in sin, bound in unbelief—there is a Savior who cares about you.
He proved it when He went to the cross.
Jesus died so that your sins could be forgiven.
Before we do anything else, this is the most important issue in your life: Are you saved? Are your sins forgiven? Are you right with God?
If not, you have an opportunity right now to turn from sin and trust in the Savior—the one who shed His blood for you.
Before we do anything else, I want to give you an opportunity.
Say, "Pastor, I’m here tonight. God has led me to this moment. And if I’m honest, I’m not right with God. I’m not on my way to heaven. I need a Savior."
If that’s you, I want to pray with you. I want to believe God that He’s brought you here because He cares.
He loves you so much that He wants to speak to you again—to draw you by His Spirit.
If that’s you tonight, can I see your hand?
Somebody here, say, "Pastor, please pray for me. I’m not right with God."
Would you just lift your hand so I can see it?
I want to pray with you this evening.
God’s dealing with your heart. Is that you?
Quickly, raise your hand.
You’ve been wandering in sin, listening to the lies of hell.
Tonight, it’s time to come home.
Is that you?
Quickly, someone here.
God’s speaking to you.
Lift up a humble, necessary hand.
I am in need tonight, and I need Jesus to set me free.
That’s you—please don’t miss this opportunity.
You don’t have forever.
Respond tonight. Is that you?
Quickly, with an uplifted hand.
Thank God.
Church, I want to open this altar for prayer.
It’s a specific call tonight.
We don’t often see ourselves this way, but God has called us to make disciples.
The church has become a place of casual observation—just watching the show, getting a blessing, then leaving.
But that’s not what we’re called to do.
We’re called to be involved—either as parents training the next generation, or as spiritual fathers and mothers raising up blacksmiths.
God would raise up a generation of those who shape, mold, and encourage.
If your heart is, "Lord, I want to see Your kingdom come. I want Your will to be done," that should be your prayer tonight.
"Lord, I want to be an influence—good influence—on someone coming behind me."
Tonight, we’re going to open the altar.
We’re going to pray together.
We’re going to hear from God.
We’re going to receive His instruction.
And we’re going to believe Him to help us.
Let’s pray tonight, church.
This altar is open.
Begin to cry out to the Lord.
Say, "Lord, I want to be a blacksmith. I want to do my part. I can’t do everything, but I want to do something."
Pray, "God, give me somebody I can invest my life in."
Keep an eye on our Facebook Page for Daily Devotionals based on this message over the next five days.
Written with Love by Pastor Adam Dragoon
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