The Lord Prepares His Servants

Intro:

Where is the Lord calling you and growing you to serve him? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:11–12 “11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;”

As one of your pastors, my role is to equip you to serve the body of Christ. That could be in a myriad of ways. That could be a future elder, a future deacon. It could be to lead bible studies, or do one on one discipleship with others. Whatever it is…our human nature has a position of fear and restraint when thinking about such things.

We get a Moses complex and say:

New American Standard Bible (1995) Chapter 3

Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

The point of the Lord calling people to service is that He equips us by His power to do what he has called us to accomplish for his glory. The point is always our weakness in contrast to what the Lord can do through His empowerment.

Review and Aim:

Last week: Saul providentially led to meet Samuel for his coronation as king.

Today: As Saul is prepared by the Lord in a supernatural way to be Israel’s first king, so the church can see how the Lord prepares his people supernaturally to be transformed servants for his Kingdom

I. The Promise of God’s Transforming Word

A. Declaration (1)

Chosen

Samuel now declares to Saul the message from the Lord….You are chosen to be Israel’s king. To be chosen is to be set apart and sovereignly selected from all people to be used by the Lord.

This act from the Lord was already confirmed to Samuel in

1 Samuel 9:16 “16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me.””

Samuel was instructed by the Lord to set apart Saul from the people and anoint him as King. This of course was unknown to Saul as he was just an ordinary Jew. But the Lord chose him, the Lord would call him, and the Lord would transform him to accomplish the duty as King of Israel.

Election determines our salvation and our special function for the church. Neither of these special graces by the Lord are known to us until we receive them. Both are given sovereignty by the Lord alone and will not be desired nor achieved in our humanness.

Calling

In chapter 10: 1, the Lord’s servant Samuel is faithful to accomplish his role as prophet and to carry out the mission spoke through HIs word. Samuel then anoints the head of Saul in a private setting and relays the message from the Lord

1 Samuel 10:1 “1 Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?”

The word anointed is a special and holy word of the Scriptures. It was an act of taking a special oil, mixed with a special recipe of Exodus 30 and to use it for anointing. The oil with a olive oil base included, myrrh, cinannamon, cane and cassia to add fragrance and this oil was used for God’s holy purposes. It was to set apart people and things for holy use. The Lord instructed that preists were to be anointed, instruments in the tabernacle were to be anointed and now kings were to be anointed. The oil signified a cleansing and a special call to service.

The term “anointed” grew in significance so that the word became a title, especially for the earthly king over Israel. The “Lord’s anointed” was affixed to the kings of Israel. The term would grow even more to be the title for the ruler of the heavenly kingdom. The word “Messiah” comes from the HB term for anointed, MSH or MASAH meaning the Anointed One.

Jesus declared in the gospels that He was anointed by the Spirit to accomplish the work of the Kingdom. It is the Lord Jesus whom the Holy Spirit comes upon him and who accomplishes the purposes the Father sent him to accomplish.

Luke 4:18–21 “18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” 20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.””

Jesus is not merely saying, I have been set apart of heavenly purpose, for being anointed was related to kings, priests and prophets. He would fulfill all three.

B. Affirmation (2-8)

Saul is then given 4 different signs that will be fulfilled on that day to affirm for him the special calling that the Lord had on his life.

In v. 2-8, those promises are relayed to Saul and he is to trust God’s promises as we watches the powerful work of God’s providence in his life.

Sign 1: At Zelzah(territory of Benjamin), two men will tell him that his donkeys are safe and that his fathered is concerned of his wellbeing.

Sign 2: Near Bethel, three men will encounter Saul and offer him food which should be taken as a gift

Sign 3: The third sign will be near the Phillistine garrison which was most likely at Gibeah, where Saul lived. Saul will told he will encounter prophets and the Spirit of God will come upon Saul and he will start prophesying along with the prophets.

What exactly is meant by prophesying, it is hard to understand. This does not seem to be some pagan act of ecstatic and mysterious trance-like utterances as some seem to interpret it. We must be consistent with the whole of Scripture and understand prophesy with some declaration of the word of God. Prophets prophesy the word and so when the promise of the third sign occurs, Samuel will do supernatural things that are not a power within himself, so that people will ask, “ IS SAUL ALSO AMONG THE PROPHETS.”

These promises then serve Saul and all of God’s people who encountered Saul as a way to see God affirming his chosen man. The evidence was given by the word of God in a promise and the fulfillment of that word so that the people would see the power and glory of God in choosing His servants for special fuction in his Kingdom.

V 6-7 is the key verses of the promise:

1 Samuel 10:6–7 “6 “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man. 7 “It shall be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires, for God is with you.”

What we need to see here is the power of God’s transforming word upon his servants. God’s power is in his words so that an incapable man can become a capable man. The weak become strong, the insignifgant become great. All of this is for the glory of God to do what seems impossible.

What God does in Saul to change him into the man needed to lead Israel as King is about a gracious God who fulfills his promise to HIs people to do supernaturally what they cannot do themselves.

Saul’s change is different from a change of heart today. I don’t think we can interpret God’s changed Saul’s heart as a way to describe Saul’s saving faith. Saul does not seem to indicate in his life that He truly wanted to seek the Lord. But God does change him and empower him with His Spirit for a specific purpose.

Why we cannot interpret the heart of Saul we can see the power of God to make men and women into people that he needs them to be. Saul does fulfill God’s purposes as King as we will see in the upcoming chapters.

For the comfort and encouragement for NT Christians, we are reminded that God’s word promises change of heart that is different than Saul. Our heart change is guaranteed on the finished work of Christ. His death and resurrection proves and provides a death to sin’s hold on us and a new birth rooted in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. No power could hold him in the grave and therefore, there is the power displayed for the worst of sinner to find transforming grace in Jesus.

With that transformation of heart, comes a NEW PURPOSE to seek the things of heaven and not the things of the earth. It means every new birth sets a person on a trajectory to serve the Kingdom of God. You are called to serve the Lord and He will equip you to do so.

II. The Power of God’s Transforming Spirit

Now we see the promises of God fulfilled in Saul’s life.

A. Unbelievable Power (9-10)

It is an unbelievable power of God to be manifest in Saul’s life. That power is seen again as providence comes to the forefront. Every sign of confirmation of Saul’s anointing comes to fruition just as the prophet foretold. Every instances of fulfillment gives us confidence that God’s word is sure and trustworthy.

Secondly, that power is displayed with the coming of the Holy Spirit on Saul.

1 Samuel 10:9–10 “9 Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. 10 When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.”

Saul received the power of the Holy Spirit in a dynamic way and that power was gifted for Saul to accomplish his purposes as Israel’s king. Throughout the OT, we see the Spirit given to the Lord’s chosen leaders for temporary service. We see that the Spirit comes and the Spirit departs the chosen leaders of the Lord. The reason for the Spirit’s departure is related to the disobedience of that leader in conjunction with God’s word.

Samson is said to be given the Spirit of the Lord only to have the Spirit removed in his disobedience to tell Deliliah that his long hair represented his strength. The Lord departed Samson in his disobedience. We will see this same occurance happen in 1 Samuel 16 when the Lord will reject Saul as king and His Spirit will depart Saul. But for now, the Spirit comes to empower Saul for service of the Lord’s Kigndom.

B. Undeniable Proof (11-13)

With the coming of the Spirit is the undeniable proof that something has happed within Saul. The proof of the Spirit is just as much for Saul as it is for the people to see a change in Saul. All of this is confirmation that the Lord is working in Saul to accomplish his purposes as king over Israel.

The Spirit is a stamp of authentication of God’s purposes in the way that a officer at an international port, authorizes entry when proper documents are provided. The Spirit confirms that God is working through individuals in undeniable ways.

The people see Saul’s change and they begin to question what is happening.

1 Samuel 10:11 “11 It came about, when all who knew him previously saw that he prophesied now with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?””

This should rattle our memory as we think about a similar questioning of the work of Jesus on this earth. When Jesus performed miracles by the power of the Spirit, the naysayers and skeptics came around.

Matthew 13:54–57 “54 He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 “And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.””

Now the point is that while they rejected Jesus as more than just a carpenters son from a lowly town like Nazareth, they still could not deny the wisdom and the power he displayed to a lost world.

This culminates in his death and resurrection from the dead and his appearances so that those who saw him truly said, “This is the Son of God” because they could not deny the display of divine power.

In the Lord’s church, we have Jesus and therefore, He empowers us by His Spirit to be be noticeably wise in a foolish world. He also manifests his power through the church to show transforming work in the hearts of men so that people see us as truly changed. They may be skeptics as to what changed us.

Because you have seen evidence of spiritual change in you, then you have the proof that God can empower you also to lead others in the church. Cast away any fear or doubt that God can use you. You have been stamped with the Spirit’s power to be used mightily for His glory.

C. Unfortunate Pause (14-16)

Sadly, Saul demonstrates a reluctancy of his calling. When asked by His uncle about the message the prophet Samuel gave to him, Saul only mentions the quest to save the donkeys. He does not mention the anointing by the prophet to be the next king of Israel, the supernatural event of him prophesying along with the prophets. He keeps quiet which seems to give evidence of a true spiritual change in him. This is not just reluctancy that needs some spiritual fervor but instead, it foreshadows a king who is have small glimmers of obedience but will mostly be typified as a king like the nations…a pagan king.

Let me ask you: are you sitting on a call to serve from the Lord? Has the Lord been leading you to do something, and you know it, but you remain silent. Friends, do not live in such disobedience but respond with bold faith that God can use you regardless. Missionaries

III. The Purpose of God’s Transforming Work

A. Correction (17-19)

In these final 10 verses, we see the Lord relentlessly pursue Saul. He would not let him remain quiet about his future. Instead, he leads Sameul to make the coronation of Saul public. Samuel is instructed to call Israel to Mizpah.

Before the coronation begins, we see that a rebuke or correction is needed. The Lord wanted Israel to see once again how their hearts were disobedient in rejecting him as King. V 19 is very tragic to the nation. He reveals their disobedient hearts but their is no opportunity to repent and avoid the calamity. Saul as King is the judgment.

1 Samuel 10:19 “19 “But you have today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.””

The “now therefore present yourselves before the Lord” is like a parent saying go to your room for your whooping. Its time to face your consequences.

B. Coronation (20-24)

In v20-24, we see God’s providence once again in the forefront as Samuel uses lots to determine the will of God. Using lots were allowing God to determine the next steps. Its been said that our equivalent to lots is dice but this is not about rolling out of chance but seeking the Lord to control the future.

They narrow down the search publically for all of Israel to see until the lot falls on Saul. But Saul is no where to be found. He is hiding in fear. In v 22 they literaly had to seize or take hold of Saul and bring him before the people. It is providential that the same HB word (LACAH) used in chapter 8 about all the ways Israel’s king would take or seize their possessions and their families under his reign is now applied to the fearful Saul who has to be taken or seized in order to be presented as King before the people.

Finally, v 24 is the presentation of Saul as King and the people accept this coward of a man to rule over them. What a contrast that while he is hiding in fear and disobedience, his stature is all that Israel needed to be confident enough to affirm Him saying “Long live the king.”

What a tragedy for us to behold that the eyes of humanity can be so deceived by appearance that we do not look at what truly matters, a person’s heart. Israel approved their earthly king because he towered over the people in appearance although his faith in the Lord was empty.

How often church can we fall into the same scenario in our leadership. Let’s choose the charming leader, the popular leader. Let’s get a guy with the most degrees on paper or the one who has the biggest social media platform.

I have a friend in the construction industry who maybe who was unknown until one day, he posted something on IG and it went viral. I checked today and he has 70k followers. He started getting invited to speak at trade shows, events, etc. Why? Because one post made him famous. The human hear t is hungry to idolize and worship ship many substitutes. Let saul be a lesson as to not allow what we see to dictate what we put our hope in.

C. Commandment (25-27)

The section concludes with an encouraging hope. V 25 is hopeful as it shows Samuel leading as the prophet before the King by establishing this new kingdom under the commandments of the Lord.

1 Samuel 10:25 “25 Then Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house.”

These ordinances were the commandments from the Lord as to how the kingdom should operate under his authority and rule. This was not Saul’s kingdom, it is the Lord’s kingdom and Saul was simply the appointed under-ruler. God was gracious, even in Israel’s rebellion to establish a way of righteousness for this new kingdom.

If we go back again to Deut 17, this was the foundation of a kingdom ruled by God and governed by kings under him.

Deuteronomy 17:14–20 “14 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. 16 “Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 “He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. 18 “Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 “It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.”

This serves as a remind of all God’s people who serve him, that the Lord is God and God alone. We serve under his Lordship, according to His word, and if we follow His word, we will honor him and be blessed in what we do.