The King and the Kingdom

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an honor and privilege to share the Word of God with the saints of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church this morning.

A young boy and his dad were playing together when the boy said: “Dad, I’ve decided to get married.”

Surprised, the dad answered: “Well that’s wonderful! What makes you think it’s time?”

The boy said, “I’ve found someone worth marrying!”

The father says, “What makes you think that?

The boy said, “Well, she loves me, she the best cook, she tells me the best stories, she takes care of me. I know she’s not going to hurt me.”

The father says, “Well that’s great son, but who are you talking about?

The boy goes “It’s grandma! She said she loves me and I love her too!”

The dad answered: “That’s nice, but we have a small problem there.”

“What problem?!” asked the boy with worry.

“Well, she happens to be my mother. You can’t marry my mother!”

The boy thought for second then looked his father in the eye and said answered: “Why not?! You married mine!”

Happy mother’s day to all the mothers and motherly figures amongst us today. Whenever these types of days arrive I do want to be sensitive to the fact that not everyone has the best relationship with their mother. It is a sad reality that in the fallen condition of man not all mothers live up to the calling of motherhood. For others, the weakness of the flesh has made biological motherhood an impossibility. To you I want it to be known that you are still loved, valued, and cherished. By the grace of God and the healthy functioning of the local church, all women have the opportunity to be a maternal influence on the next generation and honestly you have the command and calling to do so. Know that God is GOOD and seek to live a life worthy of the calling He has given to you.

I brought up that joke earlier, not just because it had a funny connection to Mother’s Day, but because in the joke the boy is recognizing something interesting and pertinent to our look through 1 Samuel. Although the boy was misguided in choosing his grandmother as a wife, he did show some wisdom in seeing the worthiness of love and care as connected to finding a wife.

When there is a role to be filled in our lives, it is natural and appropriate to find the most worthy candidate to fill that role. Whether we realize it or not, we are constantly asking ourselves the question, “Is this person worthy?” Is this person worth of my affection? Is this person worthy to give me advice, do I see them as a valid source of instruction? We make these sort of judgments all the time.

But the problem is often we are terrible at making these types of judgments! We listen to the wrong voices. We give our affections to people who hurt us. In most of the teen focused movies of the 90s and the early aughts they told the story of a girl pining after a boy who was dating the evil cheer captain, while the protagonist is on the bleachers. One wears high heals, the other wears sneakers. And at the end of the movie the boy wakes up and finds that what he’s been looking for was here the whole time.

Those types of tales are relatable for many people and told time and time again. We can use that concept as a springboard to a greater realty. The reality is that all of us our knowingly or unknowningly are looking for someone or something worthy to be our Savior. And we look in all sorts of places; we look to Nature, we look to science, we look to another person or a romantic relationship, we look deep within ourselves. We look all over the place trying to find the thing worthy of our hope and giving us satisfaction. The problem is, though we may not see it, those things will never suffice. You see the deep dissatisfaction we all seek to rectify comes from our separation from the Holy God caused by our sin. When we seek to rectify that dissatisfaction with other sinful things, we will never be satisfied! Such things are unworthy of such a role! But there is one thing, one man, who can satisfy. There is one man worthy of being our Savior. Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 2:5 ESV

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Christ Jesus is worthy and able to do so because He lived a perfectly righteous life, never once sinning, never once falling short of the glory of God, and from a place of perfect righteousness, He gave Himself as a ransom. He paid the debt owed by whosoever would ever believe in Him when He shed His blood on the cross! When He gave up HIs life the iniquities of all who would believe in Him were laid upon. He died a death that would be our substitute. Taken the punishment earned for our sins upon Himself! Then, by the glory of the Father, on the third day up from the grave He arose and His resurrection assures us, those who believe in Him will also walk in newness of life. His death gives us justification. His resurrections gives us the hope and truth of glorification what more could you ask for in a Savior!? Who could be more worthy?! There is no one.

With that in mind, turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel. Today we are going to be finishing out chapter 11. The beautiful thing about the Old Testament, is that God allows us to see His hand in working throughout history to accomplish His plan of salvation. He also provides us with categories that help us better understand His plan of Salvation. For instance, the Kings of Israel we read about give us a glimpse of the forthcoming King Jesus.

Where we pick up this morning, King Saul has just proven himself worthy, at least for the time being, to be the king in Israel. The people of Israel are starting to see and appreciate Saul as the King God installed him to be. As we walk through the text this morning, we will see how Israel’s response to Saul as the Worthy Earthly king, relates to our response to Jesus Christ as the ultimately Worthy Heavenly King of kings. I would like us to pick up on 4 proper responses seeing the rightful King as Worthy has on the Kingdom.

Let’s begin in verse 12.

1 Samuel 11:12 ESV

Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”

The first response to seeing the rightful King as worthy is Recognizing the Folly of Rejection.

Recognizing the Folly of Rejection.

In this verse the people are blown away by the success from the battle between the evil Ammonites and Saul’s army. As we walked through the first part of this chapter last week, we saw that the Israelites in Jabesh-Gilead were up against a fearsome foe and didn’t know who to turn to. They originally didn’t even think about going to him for help. From their perspective, Saul just so happened to hear about their problem and respond. Now that they’ve seen him in action, they’re beginning to see how foolish it was to reject Saul as king.

On one side, this is a good sentiment. It was foolish to overlook the one whom God called to be the King of Israel. But now that they’ve witnessed salvation at the hands of Saul, they are willing to put all the doubters to death!

My oh my! How things have changed in the land of Israel! Between the worthless men at the end of chapter 10 and verse seven of chapter 11, the doubts swirled, but now they are no more!

While it is good for the people to now finally be on board with the leadership God has given them, in their zeal, they are forgetting that they were likely some of the people doubting Saul’s validity in the first place.

How does this relate to Christ and seeing the rightful King and His Kingdom?

I want you to notice the zeal the Israelites had for their king! When the scales fall of our eyes and we finally recognize that Jesus is the King we have been longing for, we should be excited! We should be fired up! And we should see just how ridiculous it was to deny His lordship. When we first see Christ as King it becomes so clear that in the Beginning God created the Heavens and earth. Man sinned. God loved and sent a Savior. It is so profound yet so simple. It seems should have been obvious all along and yet we denied it for so long! Scripture says that it is the fool who says “There is no God”. That is a good understanding to have.

What is not good is to take that as far as the Israelites did and many other do. The modern term for what I’m talking about here is “cage-stage Christianity.” You see the Israelites were now ready to put to death those who spoke against the king, but they’re forgetting that they weren’t showing confidence in Saul either before this moment. Cage stage Christians see the great beauty and grace of Christ their King but then allow the flesh they still live in to misuse their newfound confidence in Christ. The term "cage stage" is metaphorical, suggesting that during this phase, individuals can be argumentative, confrontational, and often lack tact or patience when engaging others. The name "cage stage" implies that individuals in this phase should be kept in a cage until they have matured in their understanding and practice.

You might say but why not, Pastor Brad? Why don’t I just go out there and burn it all down for Jesus?! Let me at ‘em!

Well my answer to that is two fold. First refer back to the sermon last week. Our weapon in this spiritual warfare is proclaiming the Word of God. We don’t have to be brash, but simply confident in the Word of God. Second, refer to this verse:

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

If I were to stop right here, you might think, THAT’S WHAT THEY ARE LET ME AT ‘EM!! ARGHHHHH from behind the cage. But then read this:

1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

As such were some of you.

That list of people that we want to tear apart, we want to put in their place, the people the Israelites were ready to put to death, Scripture reminds us, that was us! We look out at the World knowing that spiritual warfare is real, knowing that Christ is King, and also knowing that it is only by the grace of God that we have come to know such things!

Let’s look at how Israel new king reacts to their calls for violence:

1 Samuel 11:13 ESV

But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.”

The second response we have to seeing Christ as the Worthy King is resting in the work of the Lord to bring Salvation!

Saul looks at the people of Israel as says in different terms, “Hey, cool your jets!”

There are two aspects of Saul’s declaration that we need to realize as we seek to have a greater understanding of resting in the work of the Lord to bring salvation.

First, it should be noted that Saul, culturally, had every right to smite those people who were set against him. As the king it would have been well within his power to have their heads put on a platter. In fact if you are familiar with the story of John the Baptist, you may remember that he was imprisoned by King Herod. Now King Herod had a lower position than King Saul does in our text this morning. King Herod was given his position by the Roman Empire that ruled over the Land. King Saul was given this position by God Himself! Nonetheless, at the request of his wife through her daughter, King Herod had John the Baptist beheaded simply because he said he didn’t like their marriage! It was well within the King’s rights to take the life of a subject deemed to be in opposition. For Saul to show restraint here, would have been a great expression of grace towards the people.

The second aspect we must note in Saul’s declaration is where he assigns the credit for Salvation. He is the King that just spurred the country into action and assured their victory right??? No! The Lord has worked salvation in Israel! It was by the providence of God that Saul came in from the field with his oxen in time to see the distress of the people. It was by the providence of God that the message Saul sent out across the country was heard and received. It was by the providence of God that the Ammonites gave the Israelites in Jabesh-gilead enough time to call on their King. And it was by the providence of God that the battle was won.

Through Saul’s actions Israel is instructed to take rest in the work of the LORD to bring salvation.

Once more, how does this apply to those who rightly see Jesus as the Worthy King?

First we understand that Jesus, as the King of kings, as Lord of lords, as the one to whom and from whom all things we made, that He has every right to as the great Sovereign to punish us for our denial of Him. I am by no means opposed to living in democracy, but in some ways it has lowered our understanding of the rights and powers of the monarch. While there are abuses of power all around us and every every earthly monarch will prove themselves to fail in some way or another, Christ is the monarch who reigns forever and perfectly executes justice every single time. There is not an abuse of power when you are the ultimate source there of and are also the source of supreme justice! The entire concept of right and wrong comes from being made in the image of God, the perfect arbiter of justice.

So as that arbiter of Justice, as the very standard of righteousness, Christ has every right to destroy those who sin against Him. It’s a treasonous act to work against the King in His Kingdom! But In His great grace, Christ extends mercy where punishment would be appropriate. Even as Christ was nailed to the cross He looked at the scoffers, mocking His condition and said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do!”

Any grace and withholding of judgment we receive from the Lord, is just that grace! We are sinners in the hands of a mighty God. He has every right to do with us what He pleases. Which is what makes the second aspect of this verse all the more beautiful!

Credit for salvation goes to the Lord for it is the work of the Lord! Did any believer in this room live a perfectly righteous life? Did any believer in this room die on a cross? Did any believer in this room rise on the third day by the glory of the Father? Of course not! Salvation is a work of God given as a gift from God! None of us has room to boast or feel superior when we understand all credit, all glory, for being reconciled to God goes right back to God!

And from there, salvation continues to be a work of God! He has invited us into that work, but He is still the engine powering it all along. His Spirit grows us in knowledge and understanding of His Word. His Word is what we proclaim to lost sinners. We might plant seeds of truth, but the seed we plant is from Him, and He is the one that does all the growing of the seed! All the glory of salvation goes to God for salvation is a work of the Lord!

We rest in the work of the Lord to bring salvation! Notice though, I did not say we go comatose in the work of the Lord to bring salvation. He has invited us into this work. May we join in with vigor while peacefully knowing it is God that brings the growth.

We better move on or we wont finish! Look at verse 14

1 Samuel 11:14 ESV

Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.”

The third response to seeing the rightful King as Worthy is healthy community,

Samuel, the judge and prophet, the spiritual leader in Israel sees the passion of the people and directs them renew the Kingdom.

Renewing the Kingdom is an interesting phrase. There are some interesting thoughts on the meaning of this verse, I’ll let you look into those on your own if you’d like. I’d like to simply present you with the interpretation that best matches the context of the situation and the surrounding text.

Renewing the Kingdom is talking about the Israelites coming together with a shared understanding that this nation of Israel is ultimately ruled by God. They have seen the work of the earthly king sent to them by the heavenly king and revival, rededication, renewal, whatever you want to call it, is spreading across the country. Samuel is directing the nation to understand where it has come from, the provision of the Lord, and to publically celebrate that as a community. To do so they go to Gilgal, the place where Joshua first brought the people of Israel into the promised Land.

Once more, how does this apply to those who rightly see Jesus as the Worthy King?

When we are unified in seeing the worthiness of Christ as King, we are united as His people. When we see the worthiness of Christ to be served, and the Glory of the Father to extend to us salvation, we cannot help but be renewed!

You may so to me this morning that you just don’t feel it! I don’t feel like being a part of the church. These people around here get on my nerves! That pastor talks with his hands too much. I can’t get into the bible study with that baby making noises in the pew around me!

If you find yourself tempted to say any of those kinds of things, allow me to ask you, where are you looking? It most certainly isn’t to your King! If you are so caught up in everything around you that you look away from your King, that is a personal problem! Too often we get caught up gazing all around us, when we should all be looking to the same King giving glory to the same God! When the people of God are in one accord in their appreciation for the God who sent them their King, there is renewal in the land. There is renewal in the church house. When the people of God understand that Jesus is the King who saved them and is worthy to be served, they are not angry with their co-heirs, they bear with them! They put up with them! They forgive them! When our eyes are fixed upon our king we don’t get distracted by the nonsense of the fading flesh, we are consumed by the eternal glory!

Church, may we today have our collective gaze set upon our King and our church dedicated to giving Him glory!

Let’s look at one more response verse 15:

1 Samuel 11:15 ESV

So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

In this final verse we see the fourth response of those who see the rightful King as worthy. We rejoice.

We rejoice.

The first part of this verse is where the debate about the meaning of kingdom renewal comes from. Some take this to mean that Saul wasn’t actually made king until this moment, contradicting what we read in chapter 10. But what I believe is the key phrase to refute that is that they made Saul king here, “before the Lord.” During the coronation in chapter 10, the people shout long live the (earthly) king, but after Samuel tries to bring the Lord into the conversation, people start doubting the king. Here the glory is given to the Lord and the doubts do not follow. Instead what follows are peace offerings given to God in celebration of the victory that just occured. And then look at the last phrase. Such a sweet phrase.

“Saul and all the men of Israel rejoice.”

The consequences of sin in the Land of Israel would return later on down the road, but in this sweet phrase, at the conclusion of our story for this morning, we see people simply rejoicing for the greatness of the One True God. What a picture.

How does this relate to those who see Jesus as Worthy to be King?

When we understand that Christ is King, we may still go through hard times, but we can rejoice. We can be glad because our God has saved us. He has given us the ultimate peace!

I want to also mention something else here that we would do well to consider. Notice that the Israelites made peace offerings. There are a few different types of sacrifices in Scripture. A Sin offering was given because of the need for purification. We’ve talked throughout this morning how Christ through His life death and resurrection offered His life to make us pure. You can see in hebrews 9 that Christ is the perfect sacrifice who cleanses all who believe in Him, reconciling us to God.

The peace offering was a different kind of offering. Peace offerings weren’t done because of sin in the Israelite, but rather as an expression of thanks from the Israelite to God. This meal affirmed the relationship between the worshipper, God, and the community of believers. It’s known as a sacrifice of wellbeing.

We can’t make our own sin offering. Nothing was ever good enough in the Old testament. that’s why they did it year after year. Christ is the perfect Sin offering and gives purification to all who believe in Him. However, I do believe that we should consider the peace offering. Sacrificing our lives, not to earn purification before God, but because we have received it! Because we have seen the worthiness of Christ as King. Because we desire to honor and serve our Sovereign!

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Church, may we understand the peace God has given us, rejoice, and offer our lives to Him as a living Sacrifice!

Saul showed a lot of good qualities as King in our story today. Unfortunately for Israel, Saul was a man and wouldn’t always stay magnanimous. But as we have been relating this story to Christ’s Kingdom, we need to note that where Saul gets off Course, Christ never does. He is worthy to be King and worthy to be YOUR King. He was worthy yesterday, He is worthy today, and He will continue to be worthy tomorrow. While Saul was but a man, Christ is the God man and in His divinity He is never changing. He is ALWAYS worthy. The question this morning is do you see Him as Worthy? Do you see the foolishness of rejecting Him for so Long? Do you desire to rest in His finished Work? Do you want to be a part of His growing Kingdom? Do you rejoice in Christ the King? If so, praise be to God because He has done a mighty work on your heart through the proclamation of His Word. When we realize that Christ is worthy and desire to serve Him we are called to make that known before others. If you have never made that known before, do not wait. Obey your King. Come speak with me today. Let’s pray.