I Want What God Wants 2.11.24

I Want What God Wants (series title slide-same as last week) You Decide (this week's title slide) February 11, 2024 WHAT IF WHAT GOD WANTS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE? • God wants me to forgive someone who hurt me deeply. • God wants me to change careers. • God wants me to admit my secret sin. • God wants me to begin tithing. • God wants me to break up with my girlfriend or boyfriend that I have been with for years. • God wants me to not quit on my marriage so he can heal it. • God wants me to share my faith with a good friend. It's easy to assume obedience is voluntary when what God wants seems almost impossible. God loves us too much to let us stay comfortable...he knows * on the other side of obedience is always a blessing * a way of knowing God that we will never experience any other way. But YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE! Theology is the study of God. Through the years, there have been a collection theologies by which man has sought to know and understand God. Out of them have come the many religions, churches that exist today. Some are good and some not, some accurate-and others are deceptive. Our Christian faith is primarily based on a WESLEYAN HOLINESS tradition which basically says that the moment a person believes, that individual is saved; and by believing they receive an inward witness of having been delivered from the bondage to sin and eternal damnation to a freedom from sin and eternal life or we might say this is SALVATION BY FAITH. Another popular tradition is called CALVINISM OR REFORMED THEOLOGY (named after John Calvin) and it emphasizes the role God plays in the process of salvation. Calvin theorized that believers were predestined to salvation. This means that before God even created the world, he chose which people would be beneficiaries of his gift of salvation and that no matter what a person does, they will go to Heaven or Hell based on that determination. Another popular theology followed by some is ARMINIANISM. This theology holds that our salvation is based on God's foreknowledge of those who would believe in Him through faith-in other words God chooses those that choose Him. This theology rejects the sovereignty of God and places salvation in the hands of human beings. In Arminianism, men may frustrate God's plan, resist the Holy Spirit, and reject God even if God comes to them to change their heart by His grace. What all of these have in common is... * You choose what you believe * You choose who you will obey. While one suggests that you don't have a real choice because your life is pre-determined, the others believe that we choose our path in life. We choose to obey or disobey. We choose to follow Jesus or not. It's our choice to make. The reason I raise the point is that the man I want you to meet is such a powerful lesson to us that every one of our choices/decisions has consequence. It may be good or bad depending on how you choose. I want you to meet Saul of Kish. He was Israel's first king. Our first introduction is impressive...and you immediately notice 2 things about Saul. Sincere humility Genuine Anointing Both from God. Prior to our reading, Saul and his companions are searching for the lost donkeys that have wandered off from his father's land. They are having no success so they decide to find a prophet and ask him for help...they happen upon the prophet Samuel whom God has commissioned to anoint Israel's first king. (1 Samuel 9:18-21) Just then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and asked, Can you please tell me where the seer's house is? I am the seer! Samuel replied. Go up to the place of worship ahead of me. We will eat there together, and in the morning I'll tell you what you want to know and send you on your way. And don't worry about those donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have been found. And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel's hopes. Saul replied, But I'm only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me? However the end of his life is tragic... (1 Samuel 31:1-6) Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons-Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely. Saul groaned to his armor bearer, Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to run me through and taunt and torture me. But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king. So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day. Saul went from a humble, anointed king-to-be to a anxious, jealous, disobedient and arrogant and shameful man. This decline came in forty short years. How does a person start out so strong for the Lord and reach a point where God will not help you anymore? How do you lose your spiritual edge with God? When I study, read and think about this man, it occurs to me that he got into trouble when two things happened in his heart... HE FORGOT WHO HE WAS * When God first put his hand upon him there was a genuine humility about the way he saw himself. He is completely caught off-guard by the prophets words... (1 Samuel 9:21) But I'm only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me? * Who me? I'm at the back of line of all the people you should be looking for? * When Saul first met Samuel and he told him "And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel's hopes." There is a significance that should be lost. o God found him. o We do not find God-He finds us. o When God needs to anoint a king-He finds him because He knows right where He is. o You may think God doesn't see your life, doesn't appreciate your life of dedication but He does. When the moment comes that God chooses to use your life for His purposes-He knows where you to find you! It was the same story with David, the next king. * Samuel comes to the house to anoint the next king (not knowing who) and Jesse lined up his boys who deserved the honor and David wasn't even invited-but God knew where he was! * God often uses people who possess a special anointing and don't presume they deserve the recognition. (1 Samuel 16:7) But the Lord said to Samuel, Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. * Saul began to believe what others were saying and He forgot who He was-a man chosen by God. o In his early days his heart was tender and open to God and doing God's will was his highest pleasure. o Over time, surrounded by so much notoriety, he began to think he was free to choose whatever he wanted, regardless of what God said. We get into trouble when we start believing what people are saying about- You are the best preacher I've ever heard! You are the best pastor we've ever had! None of us are anything, except what we are by God's grace! (Psalms 8:4) What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? (Psalms 103:14) For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. (Philippians 2;3-4) Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. This life is not about me-it is the story of Him at work in my life. (Galatians 2:20) My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. * Obedience with God is not voluntary. (1 Samuel 10:8) Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions. * It was a simple command -wait for God's prophet at Gilgal so you can know what God wants you to do! o But Saul panicked and proceeded to offer the sacrifices himself (he was anointed to be king-he was not anointed to offer sacrifices). o He thought he was important enough he could lead without the Lord's help or direction. (1 Samuel 13:7-14) (use several slides so the font can be large) Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal, and his men were trembling with fear. Saul waited there seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him earlier, but Samuel still didn't come. Saul realized that his troops were rapidly slipping away. So he demanded, Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings! And Saul sacrificed the burnt offering himself. Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him, but Samuel said, What is this you have done? Saul replied, I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn't arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. So I said, The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven't even asked for the Lord's help! So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came. How foolish! Samuel exclaimed. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command. In chapter 15, God sent Samuel to tell Saul to go and kill all the Amalekites because of their actions against Moses and the Children of Israel. The instruction was clear... (1 Samuel 15:2-3) This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalekite nation-men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys. Instead when Samuel finds Saul after the battle, Saul's hypocrisy and lying heart are revealed... (1 Samuel 15:13-23) (Lying) When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully. May the Lord bless you, he said. I have carried out the Lord's command! (Excuses-blaming others) Then what is all the bleating of sheep and goats and the lowing of cattle I hear? Samuel demanded. It's true that the army spared the best of the sheep, goats, and cattle, Saul admitted. But they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God. We have destroyed everything else. Then Samuel said to Saul, Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night! What did he tell you? Saul asked. And Samuel told him, Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead. Why haven't you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord's sight? (Arrogance) But I did obey the Lord, Saul insisted. I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal. But Samuel replied, What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king." Listen again to the words of Samuel (1 Samuel 15:17-19) So Samuel said, When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? HE FORGOT WHO GOD WAS * God gave you a strong will to live, do and achieve and you must learn to MASTER it in order to be fully surrendered to God. (Deuteronomy 28:14) You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them. In the first commandments of God to Moses (Exodus 20:3) You must not have any other god but me. * God loves us-but He will not put up with our willful disobedience. * The enemy will look for the things that trigger you to disobey God-he knows how God feels about disobedience. * One of the most dangerous things is when we start taking God for granted. * We start expecting God to respect our decisions instead of humbling/surrendering ourselves to what God is saying. The king of Babylon was a man named Nebuchadnezzar. He has a strange thing going with God-at one point he declares "there is no God but Jehovah" and then he is filled with his own self-importance and says, (Daniel 4:28-31) Twelve months later he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. As he looked out across the city, he said, Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor. While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, 'O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. Conclusion: Our lives are about choices...will we serve and obey the Lord or will we choose to live according to our own wishes and desires? We get to choose. (Joshua 24:15) And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. God I'm a sinner I'm sorry for my sins I believe Jesus died for my sins I believe Jesus will forgive my sins I choose Jesus.