9 1 Samuel 11

A War Time Mentality

There are a lot of illustrations about the Christian life.

Vine and the branches-Apart from being connected to Jesus we can do nothing.

Sheep and the shepherd-He protects us and leads us.

Bride and a Groom-Is there anything more beautiful than to be the bride

Friends of God-We actually get to be friends with God

Father-Our Father, Abba Father

No one picture can cover it all.

There is not just one that can completely of it, but one of the illustrations is a war.

We are in a spiritual Battle-

Now I know our people love cruises.

A few years ago, while attending a pastors’ conference in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to visit the “RMS Queen Mary.” For those of you unfamiliar with the Queen Mary, listen to how one author, Ralph Winter, describes it:

“The Queen Mary, lying in response in the harbor at Long Beach, California, is a fascinating museum of the past. Used both as a luxury liner in peacetime and a troop transport during the Second World War, its present status as a museum the length of three football fields affords a stunning contrast between the lifestyles appropriate in peace and war. On one side of a partition you see the dining room reconstructed to depict the peacetime table setting that was appropriate to the wealthy patrons of high culture for whom a dazzling array of knives and forks and spoons held no mysteries. On the other side of the partition the evidences of wartime austerities are in sharp contrast. One metal tray with indentations replaces fifteen plates and saucers. Bunks, not just double but eight tiers high, explain why the peace-time complement of 3,000 gave way to 15,000 people on board in wartime. How repugnant to the peacetime masters this transformation must have been! To do it took a national emergency, of course. The survival of a nation depended on it. The essence of the Great Commission today is that the survival of many millions of people depends on its fulfillment.”

We are engaged in a spiritual battle.

There are people here who have no relationship with Jesus.

There are people who are considering taking their lives.

There are people here in this city who have no hope, whose lives and families are falling apart.

there are places where their is no known churches.

Heaven and Hell literally hangs in the balance and the question today is do you have a war time mentality?

Are you engaged in the spiritual battle of following Jesus?

1. We must have a War Time Mentality because::

Our great enemy is looking to destroy and humiliate us.

An Evil Enemy (1-3)

1 Samuel 11:1 (NASB95)

Now Nahash the Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us and we will serve you.”

v. 1-God's people threw in the towel.

Nahash had besieged the city, he was in control. The Israelites were done fighting because and they had just gotten beat.

Do you ever feel beat in your Christian walk?

How many Christians have gotten to this point where they are ready to settle and are done fighting?

Are they done fighting in their spiritual disciplines?

In their marriages?

In their finances?

In their dream that God has put on their hearts?

Instead of looking to God they were looking to this man who had just conquered them. How many times is this us?

1 Samuel 11:2 (NASB95)

But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel.”

His motivation was to bring disgrace on all Israel, that is to demonstrate the total domination of Ammon and the total uselessness of Israel and, by implication, of Israel’s God.

Evans, M. J. (2004). The Message of Samuel: Personalities, Potential, Politics and Power (A. Motyer & D. Tidball, Eds.; p. 75). Inter-Varsity Press.

Isn’t this what Satan wants to do to us. There are some similarities between this man and Satan.

This is a war and he does not just want to beat us he wants to destroy us.

Aren't there some similarities between this man and Satan

He wanted to humiliate them completely-

Why the right eye? Because it showed

A. Superiority-Just like Satan wanted to be greater than God Nahash wanted to be greater.

B. He wanted to render them useless. Made shooting an arrow impossible. Doesn’t Satan want to render us useless. ACT THIS OUT.

They were utterly defeated, and they were your superior

Now, for a second, cover or close your right eye. Could you picture shooting a bow and arrow?

They tried to negotiate with this evil man, and here is what he said.

They did not just want to defeat him. They wanted to show the complete impotence of God.

They were beaten, and they were beaten badly.

DJ Fitterman-Tell how I could not beat this guy

How does Satan render us useless, he takes away our vision.

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." ~ Helen Keller

Have they lost their vision of God?

Have you lost vision for what God wants to do in your life?

As we plant this church it is easy to lose vision with the day to day-Vision of who God is and what he wants us to do our two of the greatest things we have. We have a vision to multiply life groups and churches.

Nahash could do whatever he wanted. He could kill them or he could become their master.

As bad as Nahash is and was, our enemy is so much greater.

But Nahash was PRIDEFUL-

1 Samuel 11:3 (NASB95)

The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to deliver us, we will come out to you.”

He was prideful; he thought he was invincible, and they could do nothing even to have a chance.

Take seven days.

How many times do we get ourselves in trouble when we are prideful?

Could you picture being this man's slave?

Could you picture living like a slave when you are a believer in Jesus Christ?

Who here would want to be in this situation?

1 Peter 5:8 (NASB95)

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

The man who led me to Christ, would always tell me when someone came to Christ the most important time was the next week, because Satan would want to place tons of doubt in that person’s head.

1 Samuel 11:4 (NASB95)

Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people lifted up their voices and wept.

As bad as this situation is, isn't it like God to take us to places like this so we will be reminded of how we are not looking to him? Sometimes, when we are comfortable, we rely on the wrong things.

And just isn’t it that many times the only time we will truly look to God is in those desperate times. When there is no hope.

Are you in the spiritual battle?

Did you realize your enemy was this great?

We must have a War Time Mentality because::

2. We have unlimited access to our power source. (6-8).

1 Samuel 11:5 (NASB95)

Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

Saul had been anointed King by Samuel, but the people had not bought into him yet.

He came in and he saw a problem, what is the matter with these people.

Now is Saul a good Character or a bad character?

Today we are going to see him as a good character.

How was a man who was not even embraced by the people going to help deliver the Israelites from Nahash?

How are you going to be able to walk the Christian life?

How are you going to be able to overcome that struggle that is so big that you feel like their is no hope?

It is through the Spirit of God.

1 Samuel 11:6 (NASB95)

Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry.

What do we know about this Spirit-

a. It is powerful.

The same spirit that we have access to now, came upon Saul, notice it did not jus kind of come upon Saul, it says it came upon him mightily. This Spirit is powerful. Saul had a holy discontent he knew something was not right, he was angry. Now anger is not usually a good thing but right here it was a great thing because he was angry with the very same things God was angry with. The very people of God were about to be destroyed and rendered useless.

Are not these the things we should be angry about.

That the people of God are not being useful for the glory of God?

The reality is that since Jesus has come we actually have more access to this spirit than they did back then and it is powerful it is like dynamite.

Acts 1:8 (NASB95)

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

This same spirit gives us the power to be witnesses for Jesus wherever we go.

We are fully engaged in the battle now.

Here is what is beautiful about the spirit of God, if you believe in Jesus the Spirit of God comes into your life and is there. Now just because it is there does not mean that we access it like we should, but we can access it whenever we want to. It says we need to be filled by the Holy Spirit.

One day a preacher was preaching on this idea about being filled with the HS. And someone said why do you always talk about being filled with the HS and he said because I leak.

We need to be filled daily so we can have more and more of God’s spirit in our life.

The Spirit of God makes us urgent in the right things.

1 Samuel 11:7 (NASB95)

He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one man.

Just try to picture what is going on.

If you know your bible well you know that the people would understand this reference because something similar happened in the book of Judges.

Read judges 19-20 if you want specifics.

Why were the people of God in this predicament, they were fearing the wrong things, they had a small view of God.

Proverbs 1:7 (NASB95)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

They were fearing the wrong things.

Do you fear God?

The people of God did not have a fear of God.

How can we expect those who do not know God to fear God. The fear of God starts right here with you and me.

The Spirit of God unifies us.

1 Samuel 11:8 (NASB95)

He numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000.

This nation that was at a point of surrendering to a evil emperor and that was going to allow him to poke out their right eye was now ready for battle. The spirit brought them together.

Application:

The navy seals have this motto:

No Easy Day.

When they are training-One of their weeks is literally called HELL WEEK. They barely sleep and many quit this week.

They have a war time mentality.

If these guys can do this for a country, what can we do as believers who have access to God and his spirit.

3. We must have a War Time Mentality because:: Our great Saviour secured our ultimate victory. (5, 9-11)

The people of God were looking for a deliverer. Now they should have been looking to God for that deliverer. That is one of the struggles that they had. But it was a positive thing that they were looking for someone. And the someone here happens to be Saul. What do we know about Saul at this point, he was tall and handsome, and he was chosen to be king by God through the prophet Samuel and by divine lot.

1 Samuel 11:5 (NASB95)

Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

Saul starts strong, now he may or may not end strong we will look at that later, but he starts strong. But what I want us to see is that he was chosen king, but the people were not on board with him so we see him coming from the field. So he was working hard and at this point he was the opposite of Nahash, he was humble.

1 Samuel 11:9 (NASB95)

They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have deliverance.’ ” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.

Saul was doing what the people should have done. He was looking to God for the victory.

Had they won the victory yet: No. But he knew the victory was going to win because our God is different. Our God fights for his people.

Our God fights for his people.

Isn’t this great news, what was the people response: The new living translation says there was great joy. WHY, this tribe was about to surrender to the evil emperor and get their right eye gouged out and now they were actually going to defeat him.

Who would not have great joy in this situation.

GOSPEL-COMPARISON-

YES

1 Samuel 11:10 (NASB95)

Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.”

Remember the pride of Nahash, we have you so beat that you can take a week and try to find help, and now the Israelites are like come out tomorrow and take out our right eye.

1 Samuel 11:11 (NASB95)

The next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

Look who shows up: Saul himself.

Before tomorrow arrived the Israelites completely destroyed the Ammonites.

1 Samuel 11:12 (NASB95)

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

what is going on here, so Saul was anointed king and not everyone was in favor of him ruling, so many kings would have executed those people.

1 Samuel 11:13 (NASB95)

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

Notice he does not put them to death, but also see why Saul knows they won the battle, The Lord has accomplished this.

Notice it wasn’t Saul who gave them victory, Saul points the Israelites to where their focus should have been the whole time, it should have been on God, he is the one who brings victory.

Today I know their are a lot of different things going on in your life. But I want you to think through area in your life that your struggling in.

Take a second.

Are you looking to God for help in that area.

It could be a situation.

It could be a relationship.

Whatever that area is, God wants you to look to him for deliverance.

1 Samuel 11:14–15 (NASB95)

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

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