1 Samuel 12; The Trial

Introduction

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Some lines in movies become etched into our minds. I can hardly think of a more iconic scene than the court room scene between Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men. Cruise’s character berates Nicholson while on the witness stand. Cruise wants to know if the Colonel ordered the Code Red that lead to the death of a marine. Lieutenant Kaffee demands Colonel Jessep to tell the court what really happened. And the iconic lines are uttered. “You want answers?!” “I want the truth!” “You can’t handle the truth.”

NEED

That scene is delivered in such a way that it pierces the viewer. Today, I want to ask you, “Do you want the truth?” “Now, can you handle the truth?” Are you willing to put your life on trial for the sake of the truth?

TOPIC

Our text this morning is going to take us into God’s courtroom in search of the truth.

REFERENCE

1 Samuel 12

ORGANIZATION

In our text this morning, we will be taken into the courtroom to observe four things.

The Prophet of The Lord on Trial (vs. 1-5)

The People of The Lord on Trial (vs. 6-15)

The Power of the Lord on Trial (vs. 16-25)

Application

Sermon in a sentence:

I will put my life on trial before God.

God’s Prophet on Trial (vs. 1-5)

• Samuel reminds the people that they were the ones that wanted a king. ( “your voice” and “all that you said”

• Samuel also reminds them that he did not take anything from them. Remember, the judgement for having a king was that he would take all these things from the people.

David Payne

The New Bible Commentary 8:1–12:25 Saul Becomes King

This whole passage shows Samuel to be a prophet in every sense of the word. He analysed the past and present, he predicted the future, he reminded Israel of God’s goodness, he recalled them from idolatry, and he promised to intercede for them in prayer and teach them what was good and right.

I am not a prophet. However, as the spiritual leader of Colgate, I too desire to be blessed to ask you all these same questions.

On of the requirements of the pastor is to be above reproach. I believe that requirement is vague because there shouldn’t have to be a debate if your pastor is qualified. You should be able to look at my life and know that the Lord has called me on the this ministry.

I stand before you today with the invitation to put my life and ministry on trial. I am not perfect! There is only one man who is. Yet, I am asking for your accountability.

Now, it will be impossible for you put my life and doctrine on trial if you do not know me and my family. One of the ways that we want to put life on trial is by showing hospitality.

God’s People on Trial (vs. 6-15)

• Samuel reminds Israel about all the times God provided deliverance through leaders.

• vs 13 Samuel again reminds them that they chose a worldly king instead of their heavenly king.

Notice that Samuel doesn’t pull his punches when he reminds God’s people the seriousness of their choices. Those choices were sinful. They were a rejection of God’s Kingship and his Sovereignty.

Now I am going to put you all on trial. Have your owned up to the sins in your past? You can’t fix your past. What I am talking about is confessing the past as sin. Many people will talk about difficult circumstances or mistakes. But they will not call their sin what God calls it.

God’s Power on Trial (vs. 16-25)

Samuel is not the source of the miracle just the means God uses to demonstrate his power.

God allows his power to be put on display in order to lead his people to repentance.

Romans 2:4 tells us that “God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance”

Often times our words cannot sufficiently convey the weight of the situation. Sometimes, children will not believe their parents until they feel the pain of their decisions.

Application

Put your life on trial before God.

1 Timothy 2:5–6 “5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

If you honestly put your life on trial before a perfectly holy God, you know you will not be able to stand under his scrutiny. My plea for you is to put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you do, God will not judge your life on the basis of what you have done. Instead, he will judge your life on the basis of what his son has done for you.

Put your life on trial by living in community with your fellow brothers and sisters. One way you can do this is by opening your home and showing hospitality to your fellow members. Holly and I are committed to doing this. So we are going to model what this would look like.

Conclusion

“Young men leaving traditional churches for ‘masculine’ Orthodox Christianity in droves” - NY Times 12/3/24

A survey of Orthodox churches around the country found that parishes saw a 78% increase in converts in 2022, compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019. And while historically men and women converted in equal numbers, vastly more men have joined the church since 2020.

Men are looking for something that is real and masculine. Men are tired of having a sissified Jesus. Many of these evangelical churches don’t feel holy. They feel like concerts or social groups that provide programs for families. I would like to argue that if the American church wants to look like the first century church we must revive the hospitality of the NT. We need to live in community in a way that our lives can be on display for others to see.