1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,000 Good morning everyone. Yes, the coffee is working 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:09,680 awesome. For those of you that are new, 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:13,680 my name is Sulemani Megadi. I'm one of the pastors here at 4 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:19,960 Church of the Resurrection. When I was in high school, I 5 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:25,360 think this was 2002, just before I graduated, there was a crisis 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:29,800 in our city in Jos. Nigeria has been on the news for 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,840 a while, for a few weeks now, highlighting something that's 8 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,200 been going on for a very, very, very long time. 9 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,160 But there was a crisis in Josh and there was fighting that 10 00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:40,720 broke out. And two of my school mates, they 11 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:47,400 were in grades lower than mine, went into town on Saturday and 12 00:00:47,400 --> 00:00:50,800 they were in the middle of the fighting when it broke out. 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,560 And these two girls were scared, of course. 14 00:00:55,840 --> 00:01:02,640 And thankfully, a Muslim man took pity on them, compassion on 15 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:07,600 them and hid them in his house for several days. 16 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,880 And they were there scared, afraid. 17 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:16,720 I mean, every knock on the door was like, you know, is this the 18 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,000 time when they come and find us and drag us out and kill us? 19 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,320 Can we actually trust this man that we don't know? 20 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:28,480 We have no idea who this guy is, you know, and I remember them 21 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,120 thinking that there's there was just no way for us nothing for 22 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,160 us to do. We're afraid they were crippled 23 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:38,920 with fear. Today we continue our journey 24 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:44,280 through for Samuel and so far here's what we have seen that 25 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,840 primarily because they wanted to be like the nations. 26 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:53,400 Israel asked God for a king, and it was always in his plan to 27 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:55,840 give them a king. But their request came from a 28 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,720 place of fear. They were afraid and ultimately 29 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:06,440 that request rejected the Lord. But God did grant their request 30 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:11,440 and gave them Saul, a man that looks like the kind of king that 31 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,320 they wanted. But Saul wasn't a fool. 32 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:17,200 He wasn't a tyrant. In fact, he was courageous. 33 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:21,000 He was a hero. It's clear that God wanted Saul 34 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,680 to succeed because at one point the Spirit of God came upon him. 35 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:31,200 He prophesied, and he went out in victory against the 36 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,840 Ammonites. And there's a passage in chapter 37 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:39,600 10, verse 6 and 9 that says that God actually made him a new man 38 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:45,480 by giving him a new heart. So God wanted Saul to succeed, 39 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,920 and then by the time Samuel says his farewell address is a smooth 40 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:54,240 transition between Samuel the judge and Saul the king. 41 00:02:55,120 --> 00:03:00,680 So far, so good. Everything is fine until first 42 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,560 Samuel 13. That passage is found on page 43 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,400 220 of the ESV Bible and the Pews if you want to follow 44 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,680 along. And here's how the story begins. 45 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:16,640 It opens up in the hills of Benjamin, north of Jerusalem. 46 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:22,600 So Saul is with his son. They've divided their 3000 men, 47 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:27,400 small army between two of them. Saul is stationed up at Mickmash 48 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:32,600 with 2000 people somewhere up here down in Gibeah is Jonathan 49 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:35,080 with 1000 men somewhere over here. 50 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:39,320 And then Gebba is somewhere here, about a mile away from 51 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:42,680 Seoul. So this is the the sort of 52 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,400 geographical locations of these places, these towns, these three 53 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:50,480 towns, they form a strategic corridor that controlled 54 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,680 movement and trade and safety in the region. 55 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,040 They were very, very, very important locations. 56 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:58,760 And at this point the Philistines controlled these 57 00:03:58,760 --> 00:03:59,960 towns. In fact, they controlled 58 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:04,960 everything, everything. They had military outposts in 59 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,560 various towns and cities of Israel, and these were meant to 60 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,640 keep the people in check, to enforce tribute. 61 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,200 They monitored Israel's movement and they kept Israel from 62 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,320 producing weapons. So towards the end of the 63 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:24,960 passage for today versus 19 to 22 of of first time, all 13, 64 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:28,080 we're told that there's no blacks blacksmith to be found 65 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,720 throughout all the land, not even 1 for the Philistines said, 66 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,520 lest the Hebrews make swords or Spears. 67 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,560 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to 68 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,760 sharpen each man's plowshare, his mat hawk, his axe and his 69 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:45,000 sickle. And the charge for sharpening 70 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,200 was a PIM. What's a PIM? 71 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,560 Roughly $75.00. That's how much I watched the 72 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,040 star, how much it was to sharpen one tool. 73 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,560 And so there was not a single sword amongst the Israelites 74 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,880 when the Philistines came out. It was like a technological 75 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,680 embargo designed to keep the Israelites under Philistine 76 00:05:06,840 --> 00:05:12,840 subjugation. And so this is the context of 77 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:16,800 our passage. Saul is about to face his 78 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,280 greatest challenge yet, and yet, sadly, he fails. 79 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:26,720 Chapters 1314 and 15 form a triad that chronicles the fall 80 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:29,640 of Saul. And each one is worse than the 81 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:31,560 other. The consequences of each one is 82 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:36,040 worse than the other. Chapter 13, we begin to see the 83 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:40,920 anatomy of his declines, like strike one, how a man that's 84 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:45,200 been anointed for kingship by God and empowered by the Spirit 85 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:49,880 loses his way. It serves as a cautionary tale 86 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,880 for you and I, we who are disciples of Jesus Christ, 87 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,080 ambassadors of Jesus Christ. So avoid three things to be 88 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:01,880 careful of three things, pride, fear and disobedience. 89 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:14,960 Let me pray for us. Thy word is precious to US, 90 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:20,280 Heavenly Father, and by it we see ourselves and we pray that 91 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:25,640 we will look into your word, see our reflection, remember what we 92 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:30,760 look like and obey it so that we become like your Son, Jesus 93 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:34,480 Christ. It is in his name that we pray. 94 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:37,280 Amen. Amen. 95 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:44,120 All right, so into this context of limitation and control by the 96 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:48,840 Philistines steps in Jonathan, I can hear the trumpets, Jonathan 97 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:51,600 son of Saul. We'll hear more about him in the 98 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,600 next couple of chapters. But he embodies courage, he 99 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:58,680 embodies faith and he attacks the Philistine Garrison. 100 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,000 He moves from Gibeah, goes all the way together and he attacks 101 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:06,880 the Garrison at Gebba. Now verse 4 says that when Saul 102 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:12,600 hears of what Jonathan has done, he blows the trumpet throughout 103 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:19,320 the land and declares, let the Hebrews hear and all Israel 104 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:21,240 hears the news. Here's what they hear. 105 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:26,000 The first part of verse 4. Saul has defeated the Garrison 106 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,480 of the Philistines. Well, no, not really. 107 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,200 Was it not Jonathan that defeated the Garrison of the 108 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:36,800 Philistines? Now, it's possible the verse 4 109 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:40,520 simply is simply what happens when the commanding officer gets 110 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:43,520 credit for for what someone under them has done. 111 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:47,480 I lead various teams that some of you are in and I get all the 112 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:49,680 credit for the work you guys do. Thank you very much. 113 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:52,920 But I don't think that's what's happening here. 114 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,640 I think that what happens here is that Saul actually shapes the 115 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,840 message so that all Israel hears of his victory. 116 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:06,080 And therein lies the first crack in Saul's Kingdom, his 117 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:12,760 foundation, pride. And later that pride grows. 118 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,800 We'll find him building a monument, a monument to himself 119 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,080 in First Samuel chapter 15 verse 12. 120 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,440 And then later when David begins to rise and is is part of Saul's 121 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:31,320 army, the people sing Saul has slain his thousands and David 122 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,559 his 10s of thousands. And Saul is just, his heart 123 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:38,120 burns with jealousy and he's like they're going to give him 124 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:42,640 the Kingdom. And this is where that pride 125 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:46,440 begins. The same man who once said I am, 126 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:50,400 am I not a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribe, is now 127 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,520 taking credit where it is not due. 128 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:56,080 And we know what scripture says about that. 129 00:08:56,080 --> 00:09:00,560 James writes that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the 130 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:02,920 humble. Because pride doesn't only 131 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,960 distance us from the Lord, it actually puts us in opposition 132 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:10,680 to Him. The moment we begin to let pride 133 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:12,840 creep in, whether by taking credit for what other people 134 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,200 have accomplished or just thinking really highly of 135 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:21,000 ourselves, we start resisting the very God who has lifted up 136 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,520 and exalted us and put us into places in the 1st place. 137 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,160 And this is something that we need to hear, especially in a 138 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,360 city like DC where we're actually taught to blow our 139 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,080 trumpet. We're actually taught, yes, blow 140 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:38,280 our trumpet, let's DC here, right, to make sure everyone 141 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:41,480 knows what we've achieved, what we've LED, what we've built. 142 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:47,880 We call it networking. There are some good things about 143 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,000 networking, but remember, we are ambassadors, disciples of Jesus 144 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,320 Christ and we follow the law of humility. 145 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,960 Proverbs 27, verse 2. Let another praise you, and not 146 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:03,960 your own mouth, a stranger and not your own lips. 147 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:06,400 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you, 148 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,360 James continues. And that's the posture that God 149 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:13,800 honors, because pride always precedes a fall. 150 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:21,800 Now verse 4 continues. And Israel became odious to the 151 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:26,480 Philistines. As long as Israel was passive, 152 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:31,880 remained as quiet as a mouse, there was peace or at least the 153 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:38,000 absence of conflict. But Jonathan has awakened the 154 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,120 Philistines anger. It's very true that at the 155 00:10:42,120 --> 00:10:45,120 moment you begin to live by integrity, that you rise up in 156 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:47,920 faith and obedience where you, where you're praying and 157 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:52,080 striking at sin and refusing to blend in, where you're saying I 158 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,120 refuse to be under oppression any longer. 159 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:00,160 You become odious to your unseen enemies, the flesh, the world 160 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,600 and the Kingdom of darkness. And that should not be a 161 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,760 surprise at all. When you want to be faithful, if 162 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:09,440 you want to live a godly life, the enemy's like, no, we got to 163 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:13,880 put our sights on that one. But what do you do when the 164 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,680 enemy rallies around you? How will you respond? 165 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:26,840 The Philistines gather 30,000 Chariots, 6 1000 horsemen and 166 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:30,560 troops as numerous as the sand on the sea shores. 167 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:33,680 Now those numbers are meant for us to read and be like whoa, 168 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:39,400 that's a lot. The difference between 30,000 in 169 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:46,120 Hebrew shallow Shim elaf and 3000 shallow Shah Elaf is a 170 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,120 single syllable, so it's possible in the retelling of 171 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,000 this story, it's actually 3000, not 30,000. 172 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:57,280 The person heard 30,000, but whether it was 30 or three, the 173 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,880 meaning is the same. The Philistine army was vast, it 174 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,320 was organized, it was terrifying. 175 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:10,240 The writer is painting a picture of overwhelming force, an empire 176 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,760 that is enslaving Dada's people. In other words, the Philistines 177 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:17,520 were kind of worse than Egypt. Justice Farrah, remember, 178 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,600 Pharaoh pursued Israel to the Red Sea. 179 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,200 He only had 600 Chariots when he did that. 180 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:28,760 These guys had at least 3000, maybe 30,000 Chariots. 181 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:33,400 And they are surrounding Saul, understandably. 182 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:35,160 What do you do when that happens? 183 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:40,200 You're afraid the people hide in caves and in holes in the 184 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,320 ground. And here stands saw the man that 185 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:46,320 God chose to lead Israel's deliverance. 186 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,400 He's watching his army scatter, Where was Samuel? 187 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,960 Where was God? The fear must have been 188 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,120 crushing, just as it must have been crushing for my 2 friends 189 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:01,800 who were stuck in this man's house during and and hearing the 190 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,240 violence all around them, knowing their lives were in 191 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,000 danger. Now all of us, to varying 192 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,680 degrees, have experience with fear. 193 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,080 There was a kind of fear though that grips your chest when you 194 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:20,960 face unfamiliar overwhelming odds, Sickness, death, 195 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,640 imprisonment, persecution, abuse, abandonment. 196 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:28,480 When you see no clear way forward, you just don't know 197 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:34,400 what to do and you feel alone. What do you do with that kind of 198 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:40,080 fear? Now, I often hear people say, I 199 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:44,520 think it's there's truth in it, that fear isn't a sin, it's just 200 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:49,200 information. But Scripture presses that point 201 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:53,640 even further. It may be information and it's 202 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:58,080 not always sinful, but it is always dangerous. 203 00:13:58,080 --> 00:14:01,520 You've got to be careful if fear is in the equation. 204 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:06,760 This is why Proverb says to us the fear of man lays A snare. 205 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:11,240 Revelation 21 verse 8 says that the cowardly, those ruled by 206 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:15,400 fear are among those who reject God entirely. 207 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:20,800 God commands and encourages us. Fear not, for I am with you, 208 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:22,800 David writes. Even though I walk through the 209 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:27,280 valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because God is 210 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,800 with me. And Paul says God has not given 211 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:36,120 us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. 212 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:42,640 The crucial point here is this. It is never ever right to let 213 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:46,200 fear determine your choices. It's never right. 214 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,800 Fear can explain what you do, but it cannot excuse what you 215 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:53,280 do. Ever. 216 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,400 When fear takes control, it signals that we've actually lost 217 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:03,240 connection with the spirit of power that God gives to His 218 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,600 people. You see, faith filled men and 219 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:12,600 women may in fact will feel afraid, but they will not be led 220 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,000 by fear. They will be led by the Spirit 221 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:19,640 of God. And Saul's tragedy in this 222 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,240 moment is not that he was afraid, but that he allowed fear 223 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:25,960 to master him. So first you see pride. 224 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,160 Now fear is coming into the equation, and Saul let's it 225 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,600 master him. What does he do? 226 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:37,560 He disobeys. Now back in First Samuel chapter 227 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:42,000 10 verse 8, Samuel had already set an expectation for Saul on 228 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,920 the eve of every kind of battle. He says to them, go down before 229 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:49,880 me to Gilgal and I will come to you to offer burnt offerings. 7 230 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,960 days. You shall wait until I come to 231 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,800 you and show you what to do. That's what he says in First 232 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:58,280 Samuel chapter 10. So that's the expectation on the 233 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,280 eve of battle. You wait for Samuel to come. 234 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:05,080 Now that word wait doesn't just mean to sit around and do 235 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,720 nothing. That word wait is a posture of 236 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:12,680 expectancy, of looking eagerly to God, knowing that he's going 237 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:17,040 to appear at some point. And that often included prayer 238 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:18,800 and fasting and praise. Waiting. 239 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:24,000 So Saul waits seven days, just the Samuel instructed. 240 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:29,240 He's waiting, But as the days drag on, his army begins to 241 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:30,960 unravel. Soldiers start slipping away, 242 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,120 hiding in caves and cisterns and pits. 243 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,520 Others are fleeing across the Jordan to the lands of God and 244 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:38,920 Gilead. They're like, Nope, this is not 245 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:42,760 my problem. What began as a force of 3000 246 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:45,440 men all of a sudden shrinks to just 600 men. 247 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:49,520 And these aren't 600 men who are like, yeah, let's do this. 248 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:53,480 These are men that are quaking in their boots. 249 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,840 They're frayed. So Saul does something 250 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,400 understandable. He knows he needs God's 251 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:03,960 approval. He knows he needs something to 252 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:08,000 rally the people together. And so he offers the burnt 253 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,280 offering himself. And it seems like he does it 254 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,079 just at the end of the seven days. 255 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:18,960 Now, generally speaking, offering burnt offerings was the 256 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:24,040 role of priests, and that might be one of the big problems here. 257 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:26,760 Saul is not a priest and he offers this sacrifice. 258 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,800 But there were times when others who were non priests also 259 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:33,280 offered sacrifices. The patriarchs did it, Gideon 260 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:35,680 did it, Samuel himself, he's not a priest, but he did it. 261 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,560 David and Solomon later do it though, in the presence of other 262 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:42,120 priests. So the issue here is more than 263 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:44,960 just the fact that he actually offered the burnt offerings. 264 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:49,720 It's that he actually disobeyed the command to wait for Samuel 265 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,880 to come and offer the burnt offerings. 266 00:17:53,240 --> 00:18:00,520 Verse 12 says, look at verse 12, that he forced himself to offer 267 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,680 the sacrifice. He made himself do it. 268 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:09,120 It means that he knew that he was crossing a line, but he did 269 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:12,280 it anyway. The fact that his action was 270 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:15,000 understandable did not make it right. 271 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:18,240 And we face this temptation daily. 272 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:23,040 I know I do. We are disciples of Jesus 273 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:24,440 Christ. We are always on the 274 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:25,760 battlefield. We're always going to be 275 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:28,760 fighting something. And sometimes our fighting is 276 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,360 fierce. We feel the pressure and urgency 277 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:34,560 of the moment, the fear, the time is running out, the sense 278 00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:37,800 that if we don't act, things will fall apart. 279 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:40,520 It's on us. And that's exactly the moment 280 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,520 when obedience begins to feel like it's negotiable. 281 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,840 We tell ourselves, yes, I know what God commands me to do, but 282 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:52,800 this situation is different. And suddenly we begin to rewrite 283 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,080 the rules. Disobeying God's commands to 284 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,680 love our neighbor because the stakes feel too high. 285 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:04,200 Disobeying his call to patience and waiting because the moment 286 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,920 feels too urgent. Disobeying his command to speak 287 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:10,760 truthfully because it might cost us influence. 288 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:13,600 Disobeying His command to live with integrity because it's, 289 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:15,120 that's not practical in my field. 290 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:19,480 And you bring it home. You know, spouses can feel the 291 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,040 weight of unmet expectations or ongoing conflict and begin to 292 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,880 justify disobedience, refusing to forgive one another because 293 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,840 oh, they don't deserve it or I've tried everything. 294 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,280 They're not paying attention. You can feel that as a single 295 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:35,360 person. The unbearable weight of both 296 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:40,240 waiting and neglect, and start to think that God's timing is 297 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,440 too slow, that maybe compromising just a little would 298 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:46,920 be understandable. After all, the clock is ticking. 299 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:55,360 There so many ways that we make these justifications, but the 300 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:58,680 logic is the same. I forced myself. 301 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:07,200 It's Saul all over again. So you see, pride comes before 302 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:11,520 Saul's fall. Fear leads him into disobedience 303 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,920 and disobedience it always has consequences. 304 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:21,440 Samuel comes to him and 1st rebukes him. 305 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:27,960 You have acted foolishly and have not kept the command of the 306 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,520 Lord your God. I was reading that and I was 307 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:34,720 thinking, huh? How do you all feel if I told 308 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:40,160 you you acted foolishly? But here you have this prophet 309 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,120 saying to somebody that he loves. 310 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:45,240 You'll find in verse Psalm 15 you have acted foolishly. 311 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:49,480 Serve your heart. Search your heart. 312 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:55,480 Have you acted foolishly? Have you heard the words of 313 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,680 Jesus, the words of Scripture and not done them? 314 00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:03,320 Are you building your house on sand while convincing yourself 315 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:08,160 it's actually solid ground? Are you explaining away your 316 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,240 disobedience? Are you acting foolishly? 317 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,920 Then Second Samuel tells him of the loss. 318 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,640 Your Kingdom would have been established over Israel forever, 319 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:25,960 but now your Kingdom shall not endure. 320 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,320 That's a devastating thing for a king to hear. 321 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:32,480 It means that his sons will not be kings after him. 322 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,480 Disobedience doesn't just wound conscience. 323 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,720 That's not what it does. Not only what it does, it 324 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:43,080 creates a gap between US and God, but it also erodes what God 325 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:48,400 is building through us as well. Our homes, our ministries, our 326 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,560 friendships, our church. Things meant to be built on the 327 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:56,560 rock solid foundations of obedience to Christ's teaching. 328 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:03,560 And then Samuel says to him, you've been replaced. 329 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,080 The Lord has sought out for himself a man after his own 330 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:11,680 heart, and the Lord has appointed him ruler over his 331 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:15,960 people. Because of this, Saul loses his 332 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,000 position. His heart of pride and 333 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:23,080 disobedience was not a heart that sought the Lord. 334 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:24,680 It wasn't beating for God anymore. 335 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:30,360 So again, search yourself. Does your heart pursue the heart 336 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:35,760 of God or does it pursue personal honor, ambition, 337 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:43,480 security, whatever it might be? And what's truly shocking is 338 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:48,280 that in verse 15, we expect Saul to repent, right? 339 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,240 But he doesn't. Verse 15 says, and Saul left and 340 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:54,400 and Samuel left. He just walked away. 341 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:57,880 He let Samuel walk away without a word. 342 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:01,080 And that's the crucial difference between the the heart 343 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:05,200 that Saul had and the heart that David had. 344 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:11,120 Repentance is always available and David is always reaching for 345 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:14,320 repentance, always grasping for repentance, pursuing it because 346 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:17,120 he wants to please the Lord and Saul doesn't. 347 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:21,240 He keeps his pride and his pride keeps him. 348 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:28,160 And in one swell 1 soup, soup, one well, swoop. 349 00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:29,240 What is the word? Whatever. 350 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:30,680 Thank you. Thank you. 351 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:32,960 That one swell swoop. Thank you. 352 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,080 Saul's reign is effectively over, even though he's still 353 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:41,360 technically the king. He'll sit on the throne, but 354 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:46,440 another man is already being prepared to take his place. 355 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,160 Dear Christian, you are a disciple of Christ. 356 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:53,480 You're an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ. 357 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,560 But you are You are not indispensable. 358 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:01,440 If pride and disobedience born out of fear has taken hold of 359 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:05,280 you, please repent. Turn to the Lord like David does 360 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,680 over and over and over again, before the rain falls and the 361 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,880 floods come and the winds blow and beat your house and it 362 00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:16,680 collapses. You are not indispensable. 363 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,160 And as the story closes, things go from bad to worse. 364 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:23,720 The Philistines are basically everywhere. 365 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:27,920 They sent out Raiders to every direction. 366 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:33,160 N SE West and Sauce Army has shrunk to 600. 367 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:35,080 They're frightening. They're hiding in caves. 368 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,320 If this were a movie, this would be the point where you pull back 369 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:40,880 and the soundtrack darkened. It's the Two Towers. 370 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:42,200 Of course I'm going to use Lord of the Rings. 371 00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:45,120 It's the Two Towers when Helm's Deep is surrounded. 372 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:48,360 Or it's that point in Star Wars where you see the dead star 373 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:50,640 looming about to strike the planet. 374 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:55,000 And next week we'll see how God delivers his people, how he 375 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:00,200 does, how he does save them. What happened to my schoolmates 376 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:01,920 who were caught in the midst of that violence? 377 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:07,840 What do they do? Like Paul and Silas, who are in 378 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:13,080 prison, they prayed and they fasted and they waited on the 379 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:14,600 Lord because that's all they could do. 380 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:21,360 God hurt them and when the time was right, the Muslim man safely 381 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:26,360 arranged for them to return to school in 2011. 382 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:29,760 Two 1012, I was the president of our student union government. 383 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:34,280 At the seminary where I studied in Nigeria, another crisis broke 384 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:35,520 out. Surprise, surprise. 385 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,680 And we learned that the seminary was being targeted. 386 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:43,720 So the Provost tried to rally military protection, but none 387 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:45,920 came. And I was the in charge of the 388 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,480 students when in charge of what the students did. 389 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:50,760 And I was getting all sorts of suggestions. 390 00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:52,800 Some were saying we should fight, others were saying we 391 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:54,600 shouldn't. And honestly, I had no idea what 392 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:56,040 to do. I was not trained for this. 393 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:58,920 I basically relied on other people who had experience with 394 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:02,920 this kind of thing, and in the end we decided to station 395 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,520 students throughout the campus to to keep a watch throughout 396 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:08,880 the night so that if anything should happen, they could at 397 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:14,160 least sound an alarm. But we also called for an all 398 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:18,080 night prayer meeting, time of prayer and fasting. 399 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:20,800 Some people prayed and fast fasted throughout the night in 400 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:25,160 their homes or in the Chapel. And goodness, they were singing, 401 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,000 and it wasn't just singing of laments, There was praise to 402 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,520 God, recognizing that He is the King of kings and the Lord of 403 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:33,240 Lords. There was nothing we could do 404 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,320 apart from that. I walked from station to station 405 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,440 that night. I was afraid, trembling, like I 406 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:40,640 didn't know what was going to happen. 407 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:42,920 And I was going from station to station praying with the 408 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:47,440 students who who are watching now. 409 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:53,080 We weren't attacked, and I believe that's because we prayed 410 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:55,680 and trusted the Lord. There are others who prayed and 411 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,760 trusted and were still attacked, but we survived the fear and the 412 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:03,320 helplessness through prayer, through fasting and waiting on 413 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:05,760 God. Many of us here have little 414 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:08,880 practice living by faith when the odds are overwhelming. 415 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,280 Some of us are so used to safety and comfort and control. 416 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:16,600 But when these things are stripped away, that's when real 417 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:21,200 faith is tested. Look, friends, there is no way 418 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:27,440 for God to teach you how to wait on Him when things are really, 419 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,800 really bad without leading you through the valley of the shadow 420 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:31,960 of death. There's just no way. 421 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,960 It is in that valley that we learn to count it all joy when 422 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:40,800 we meet trials of various kinds, for we know that the testing of 423 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:42,440 our faith produces steadfastness. 424 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:46,240 It's in the valley that we learn to say, even if our God does not 425 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,840 deliver us, we will not bow down and worship you. 426 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:54,600 That's what we learned, that the same gospel, the same Spirit 427 00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:57,520 that is with our brothers and sisters all around the world who 428 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:02,240 go through much worse than we do and yet stand firm and trust the 429 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:06,360 Lord, is the same gospel, the same Spirit that is ours as 430 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:10,800 well. You have the spirit of power. 431 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:13,520 That same strength is available to you. 432 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,320 So don't walk the path of pride. Don't lead. 433 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,840 Don't let fear lead you to disobedience. 434 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:27,280 I implore you, wait on the Lord. It is the most active kind of 435 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:31,920 trust that there is. Let's pray. 436 00:28:40,840 --> 00:28:44,800 Father, may our hearts learn how to trust in You and wait upon 437 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,000 You. You have said to us that we 438 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:52,160 should seek your face 'cause that we will seek your face. 439 00:28:54,360 --> 00:28:57,120 In your Son's name I pray. Amen.