Heart of Understanding

We need to have a heart to understand God and his ways!

1 Samuel 14:36-46

INTRODUCTION

As we continue through Samuel and our study of Becoming God’s Person, I hope you have been enjoying this. We started

with having a heart of repentance, submission, confidence, caution and now this week Having a Heart of Understanding.

Please open to 1 Samuel Ch 14. As you open I have a joke for you.

A fourth grader celebrated his birthday on crutches, so he couldn’t carry the cupcakes into school without help. His Mother

asked her sixth-grader to help his brother carry them in. “I could,” he said, “but I’d prefer not to.” Spotting a teaching

moment she asked older son, “What would Jesus do?” her older son answered, “Jesus would heal him so he could carry his

own cupcakes.”

BIBLE VERSE

1 Samuel 14:36-46 (ESV)

36 Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.”

37 And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day.

And Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today.

For as the Lord lives who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him.

40 Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”

41 Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped.

Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.

Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.”

44 And Saul said, “God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan.”

45 Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed

Jonathan, so that he did not die.

46 Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

1. Blessings Not Curses

EXPLANATION

As we know from last week Saul cursed anyone who ate before evening. We also know that Jonathan ate the honey in the forest. And this week we see how Sauls plans play out. But if Saul had a heart of understanding, he would have known that God desires to give blessings not Curse. Had Saul had a heart for God he would have given a blessing to his troops to do well not a curse.

ILLUSTRATION

D L Moody was once asked why he urged Christians to be filled constantly with the Holy Spirit. “Well,” he said, “I need a continual infilling because I leak!” He pointed to a water tank which had sprung a leak. “I’m like that!” he said. It’s a fact that living in this sinful world we do need to be replenished by the Spirit. A friend of mine, an evangelist, was asked if he believed in the “second blessing”. “Of course I do,” he replied, “and in the 3rd, 4th, 5th blessing, and so on.”

APPLICATION

I know in our current time littoral curses are not a big thing. But I think we can still apply this to our life. I believe we still

wish bad and harm on those who have hurt us.

As a parent i have to be careful. I am more apt at times to curse my kids then bless them. Let me explain I’m more apt to

give them punishment and not praise like I should. Many of us I believe can be like this. We search out the negative in

people. We judge people. We start with a wall so people cant hurt us. Look how little boys flirt with little girls. They’re

mean to them. We nit pic each other. We think good humor is roasting someone.

We as Christians need to start looking how to bless people in this world and not focus on how they might try to curse us.

We need to start with forgiveness not Judgement. We need to be open, venerable, even knowing people can hurt us. We

need to give up on getting even with or head of people.

Look how this curse turned out for Saul. It didn’t go well. This is the life of personal curses. Now we also have to

understand God has cursed people and used people to curse others also. We have to have a complete understanding of

God, but we also have to allow God to lead in this. Saul here took the wheel. Saul decided. When God leads everything

that comes from that is righteous. But when we lead is sin.

Even though God both blesses and curses if you look at the word of God you will find his desire is to bless you, it is only

because of sin that curses come about. The curse of sin is still on man and will be till we are reunited with God in heaven.

Richard Foster once said

Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need

today is not for a great number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.”- Richard Foster

2. Patience Not Impatience

EXPLANATION

Saul didn’t desire to even ask God, he wanted to head after the fleeing army. They had already lost time with dinner and that sin. Saul was ready to leave when he was encouraged to draw near to God by the priest.

ILLUSTRATION

A man was walking through a supermarket with a screaming baby in the shopping cart. A woman nearby noticed that time and again the man would calmly say: “Keep calm, Albert. Keep calm, Albert. Finally, in admiration for the man’s patience as the child continued to wail, the woman walked up to him and said: “Sir, I must commend you for your patience with baby Albert.” To which the man replied, “Madam, I am Albert!”

APPLICATION

Mamaw Wesley always said, “Never ask God for patience for he will send you trials to produce it.” well we might not want to ask God for it but we should live in patience, how many of us get angry when things take too long. I get so upset with little Caesars sometimes. Now those times are only when I order pizza from them.

But living a life of patience would allow me to bless them not want to curse them when my order isn’t ready. Ever. Saul would have had more success if he understood God better. God is infinitely patience with us. He has passed over our sin.....

3. Mercy Not Comdemnation

EXPLANATION

Saul did not have a heart of understanding. He did not understand something so important. God desires to give mercy not death. Saul here was prepared to kill Jonathan. The lots had been drawn and the truth came out. In order to get one his way and chase down the Philistines he was prepared to kill his son. His son that God use to give them the great victory.

Saul didn’t get this but God was working on a young man that would take up the Mantle of King. He was flawed and sinful but he would understand the heart of God. we can see that through his writing of Psalm 51.

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right[b] spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

David understood the Heart of God. That is why David was a man after Gods own heart.

ILLUSTRATION

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice, and justice demanded death. “But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother explained. “I plead for mercy.” “But your son does not deserve mercy,” Napoleon replied. “Sir,” the woman cried, “it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.” “Well, then,” the emperor said, “I will have mercy.” And he spared the woman’s son.

APPLICATION

How about you? or you wired to show Mercy or Condemnation. Think of the last time someone, not a child, did you wrong, stole something from you, hurt your loved one, lied to you, beat you up, threatened you, broke your heart. How did you respond? Was Mercy your first thought? Vengeance? Dismissal? Do you make pay for how they treat you/How do you treat yourself when you mess up? Do you pay a penance? Make up for your sin. Try to keep your ledger even?

Martin Luther was born on a November day in 1483. Martin’s strict, no-nonsense father soon realized his son was brilliant and began making plans for him to study to become a lawyer. Martin dutifully followed in the path his father had laid out for him, earning a bachelor’s degree in a single year and a master’s degree after that. His sharp mind enabled him to do well in his studies, but he had far more interest in religion and philosophy than he did in law. Death was a reality impossible to ignore. Plagues would sweep through Europe and decimate entire towns. One fourth of children died before the age of five. Disease was rampant. Luther, always sensitive and often moody, wondered where he stood with God. One day as he was returning to the university after a visit home, a thunderstorm arose. As the lightning and thunder crashed all around him, he feared for his life and called out in desperation to Saint Anna, vowing to become a monk if she would spare his life.

When he survived the storm, he was as good as his word and entered a monastery, fully intending to spend the rest of his days there.

Luther went to the monastery not only to fulfill his vow to Saint Anna, but also to save his soul. Like the rest of his generation, including the priests and Bishops, he knew nothing of salvation by grace or the nature of the new birth. But to his thinking, the monks, with their austere lifestyles, vows of poverty and chastity, and constant prayers and church services, represented the apex of holiness. If anyone would be allowed to enter heaven, surely the monks would make it.

Luther entered his new vocation with a passion and determined to be the monk of monks. He practiced self-denial by frequent fasting and sleeping outdoors in the winter without a blanket. He prayed constantly and beat himself with a whip to show God how sincere he was in his desire for holiness and salvation. Luther went to confession as all good monks did, but his confessions were far from ordinary. While the average monk would go over a few basic sins and get it over with, Luther would dredge up everything he could think of from the years past to the present day. He would repeat confessions of sins he had already confessed, thinking perhaps he hadn’t been sincere enough in the previous confession. Sometimes confessing four times a day, his confessions lasted for hours, until his confessors dreaded the approach of their guilt-ridden brother.

Do you like Luther keep your guilt? Luther later saw the truth in the Gospel, he saw that God wanted to have mercy and forgive not condemn. There was no need for self righteousness or self punishment, because God truly wanted to forgive him. This is what Jesus meant in John chapter 3 when he said

John 3:16-18

16 “For God so loved the world,[i] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have

eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved

through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because

he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.