Amazing Grace -Pt. 2

Intro:

Game with youth of transporting water from one place to the next, with holes drilled in the bottom. You filled up the bucket with with so much area to escape, by the time you got to the end of the relay race, there was very little water left to complete the goal.

This serves such a good metaphor for the state of humanity before a Holy God. People throughout history and across the world believe that they can bring their good deeds to appease the wrath of the holiness of God. But what they should realize is that their bucket has holes in it and for the sake of the illustration, the bucket at the end has holes as well. No water, which is their own righteousness, is able to accumulate enough good deeds to please or appease a holy God.

Some may think, if I can just run faster, if I could strategize with my mind a better way. This is a heart issue not a strength or mind issue. I came across this verse in Jeremiah 2 this week that summarizes the human condition:

Jeremiah 2:13 13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.”

Commenting on Israel’s unfaithfulness, commentator Paul House writes:

1, 2 Kings (3) Samaria Resettled (17:24–41)

The Lord’s love for Israel never fades, but Israel forgets all the love the Lord has lavished upon them (17:7). Their forgetfulness leads to idolatry, their idolatry devolves into immorality, oppression, and human sacrifice, and their constant wickedness leads to their destruction. Once the basic foundation for the relationship is broken through idolatry, all other types of covenant unfaithfulness become possible.

I have a big problem with the wording here. Forgetfulness…really? Israel covenant breaking isn’t a mind problem, its a heart problem. What Israel’s shows us in the church today is that the human heart is corrupted by sin and our buckets are leaking and unfixable. We are forgetting, we are rebelling! The broken cisterns that hold no water are the false idols that are crafted continually by men that we think are a worthy substitute for the Lord. They never measure up!

What the reality of human sin does is cast a radiant and bright light on the grace of God who rescues sinners unable to save themselves. Humanity is dead in their trespasses and sins (Ep 2:1) Humanity does not seek after God it does not understand, it is not righteous, it does no spiritual good, it’s feet is swift to shed blood and there is no fear of God in their eyes (Ro 3:9-10). Admitting we are fallen is the more correct way to think. Because of that fallen, we are given the ability to see just how amazing the grace of the Lord that has been displayed. This is the beauty and purpose of our passage today.

Last week, we only made it into two verses. But we will cover much more today.

1. Renewing the Covenant 11:14-15 (review)

2. The Servant of the Covenant 12:1-5

1 Samuel 12:1–5 “1 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I have appointed a king over you. 2 “Now, here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray, and behold my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth even to this day.

In these first 5 verses we will see the end of Samuel’s ministry as a judge over Israel, which we have learned was the prime leadership position prior to the kings of Israel. In v 1-2 we see the language of a transition of power.

v 2“He is walking, I have walked.” Another way of saying this is I have lead you and now He is going to lead you. Samuel was a faithful judge in the line of judges that the Lord sent Israel’s way as a act of His faithfulness to them. He mentions his sons here in v 2 as a way to show the length of his tenure as the leader over Israel. He stands in a long line of faithful leaders that God raised up to lead the people and who endure wars, hardships, and even personal family trouble as he lead as the Lord desired.

But in the end, Samuel puts himself on trial in this conclusion and asks the people to examine His ministry.

3 “Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.””

In v 3-5, the word “witness” is used four times. In the south we might say “testify” and it all means the same thing. A witness is tasked with speaking the truth about a situation, most importantly in the presence of a judge in a court. This interaction with Samuel and the people plays out like a courtroom scene. The case is Samuel’s faithfulness as a judge over people. The Judge is the Lord and the Lord’s anointed.

Samuel stands as his own defense attorney, making his case. His argument was one of comparison: Israel had experienced the corruption from Eli the priest and judge as well as from Eli’s sons. Samuel was different and under his leadership, the Lord brought a spiritual reform to Israel. Samuel is not looking for praise here, he is simply bringing to the attention of Israel that he is finishing well with integrity. He delivers an empassioned defense, putting his trust in the Lord that he will be vindicated of any wrong doing.

What Samuel is displaying here is his faith in the Lord. He trusts the truth will be revealed because the Lord is trustworthy. “The Lord is witness” is a powerful statement. Seeing that the Lord cannot lie because truth is in Hischaracter, then Samuel knows that the Lord will see his integrity of ministry. In the same way, Samuel displays a trust in the Lord’s plan. Saul is replacing Samuel and Samuel had no power to change that. He trusts the Lord’s plan because it is out of his hands.

He warned the people and they made their choice as King. The Lord now gave them what they wanted and they will have to live with it. Samuel’s speech comes from a man with a clear conscience that he has done all that he can do to honor and please the Lord and the calling upon his life.

Samuel challenges me to be a servant of the Lord to be faithful and finish well. There is nothing more pure than a clear conscience when there are no bad deals, deceit, fraud, coverup to plaque your thoughts and mind.

Towards the end of this earthly life, our conscience is what will continue with us to remind us of our faithfulness or disobedience. The promise of the gospel is that Jesus cleanes the conscience from evil works. Our memories of our past are not wiped clean, but our consciences can be cleared by the work of Christ who instructs us of his grace that washes away any offenses against a holy God.

Paul writes to the Corinthian church,

2 Corinthians 1:12 “12 For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you.”

Let me encourage all of us to listen to how the Spirit instructs our conscience and respond immediately. Our Spirit driven conscience leads us to conviction of sin and the need for repentance. When you repent by faith in the Lord Jesus, you will be reminded of the faithful cleansing Jesus provides sinners by his death and resurrection.

Secondly, Samuel’s ministry teaches us to do everthing with excellence and finish well. This could be our lives, a project at work, our parenting, our sermon prep. Whatever it is, in order that our conscience is clear, let us put forth a best effort as a way to worship the Lord with the lives and strength that he has given us.

Colossians 3:23–24 “23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

Samuel’s integrity sets the stage then for the second portion of this passage….

3. The Betrayers of the Covenant 12:6-13

Samuel moves on to show the people of Israel just how glorious the grace of God is as a covenant keeping God. To make his point, he first shows them their betrayal. Some people may say that is harsh and a gut punch to the ego. But having truth spoken to us is the exact medicine the spirit of a man needs to understand his depravity so that he can see the Lord as glorious and gracious in his salvation.

Samuel first take Israel back to the past and shows them their transgression. He takes them to Egypt where the in captivity the people cried out to the Lord for deliverance. He gave them deliverance and salvation through servants Moses and Aaron but as v 9 states,

1 Samuel 12:9 “9 “But they forgot the Lord their God, so He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.”

There is that word again. Although I don’t like that word it “forgot God” it is in the bible. What is being communicated here and in other texts like Hosea 4:6, is that forgetting God is forsaking God. It is a word connected to a betrayal of the realtionship with your Lord and Savior.

Deuteronomy 9:7 “7 “Remember, do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.”

Remembering and Forgetting are contrasted. When we remember the Lord and what he has done, his people are displaying a faith in Him and honoring Him as Lord. When we forget him and his works, we are forsaking the relationship that He formed in us.

In the NT covenant, it is impossible to forget God because the Spirit that dwells within us empowers our remembrance of the Lord. It drives us to him in salvation and it drives us daily to remember all the good things He has done. Think for a moment about the capacity to remember something. Memory occurs in the mind. The mind is affected and goverened by the will or heart of a man. The Spirit transforms the heart in salvation and is renewing the mind day by day, conforming into the likeness of Christ. The Spirit leads us to remember, not forget the Lord.

But Israel forgot the Lord and forsook their relationship with him. He judged them by sending armies from Caanan, Philistia and Moab to capture and defeat them.

So with their crying aloud to the Lord and confessing their sin, the Lord sent judges to deliver and save them once again as is stated in v 11.

1 Samuel 12:11 “11 “Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.”

Samuel then turns to their current state of disobedience,

1 Samuel 12:12–13 “12 “When you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ although the Lord your God was your king. 13 “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has set a king over you.”

In both cases, the prophet Samuel fulfills his duty to speak the necessary truth about the fallen state of Israel and in this calling them to repent. He does not hold back from delivering the necessary instructions for them to return to Lord.

These warnings and proclamation by Samuel represent a grace from the Lord. Who sent Samuel to say these hard truths…the Lord did. He once again displays grace to allow his people to consider the place or rebellion. A Warning from the Lord is an opportunity for change given by His gracious hand.

Parents, we understand this truth when we see our children about to do something really foolish and we say firmly, “you do not want to touch that” or “jump off that.” It is a firm warning from a loving relationship with parent and child. Friends, when the Lord corrects us, he does so out of love. It is a grace from Him to help us see our sin with an opportunity to escape.

The Lord did not open the Red Sea to Israel, only to strike them dead before they ever crossed over. He opened it as a way of escape by His grace. This grace is the bound up fully and completely in the Keeper of the Covenant…

4. The Keeper of the Covenant 12:14-25

In these final 11 verses, let us focus on the one who saves and who keeps covenant with those whom he has chosen.

In v 16-19, we see another examination but this time it is the Lord being examined. Samuel reminds the people to see all that the Lord has done in His covenant faithfulness.

A. His Fury 16-19

Now v 16-19 appeals to the human mind and senses. Thankfully God’s grace is not just words but actions so that we can hear and see God’s power and God’s grace on full display so that we can believe. Samuel wants to remind Israel that they trust a powerful God. The God whom they should FEAR his judgments against their sin and who they should FEAR Him in holy reverance and faith.

His demonstration is simple…Samuel will ask the Lord to show his power over the weather in a time that such a weather was uncommon. It was wheat harvest, a time of the year to gather the wheat crops. It was a dry time of year and such rain was not to be expected. Samuel asked the Lord to display his wondrous power and He did.

The prophet asked and the Lord displayed his might and the intended results were achieved. The people saw their wickedness in light of the powerful work of the Lord.

Notice v 14 in comparison to 18-20. In v 14, Samuel instructs the people to “fear the Lord and serve Him” and yet in v 18-20, the people feared the Lord over their wickedness and Samuel says “do not fear.” Which is correct here? Was Samuel being contradictory?

One aspect of fear is DREAD and TERROR. Should we be terrified of God’s wrath. Yes and No. God’s wrath against sin if frightening for all unbelievers. The way scripture describes God’s fury against rebels is alarming

Isaiah 33:14 “14 Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?””

Friends, heed this warning if you are without Christ. Terror is always associated with those without a relationship with God through Christ. If you do not know him and you have no desire to know him, then you should tremble because his fury will be reserved for you.

Hebrews 10:31 “31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

But Samuel tells Israel “Do not fear” because they are different. They are His covenant people and He loves them. He will discipline but not destroy. He will show patience and not annihilation. But the key is the second part of “fearing the Lord….

B. Our Faith 14, 20-21

The second aspect of faith is faith with a covenant keeping God.

Read 1 Samuel 12:14 “14 “If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God.”

1 Samuel 12:20–21 “20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 “You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile.”

1 Samuel 12:24 “24 “Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.”

Here we see Samuel call them to faith and repentance 3 times. They must respond to God’s faithful covenant keeping with a surrender of themselves and a full submission to God as Lord over their lives. This includes (v 21) turning aside from the “futile things which cannot profit or deliver.” Futile means empty wasteland and I picture in my mind the desert where nothing grows and few things can survive. It just sand and dry air and heat.

Our faith in the Lord requires us to abandon the wasteland of this world and put our trust in the springs of life that come with believing in Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 17:7–8 “7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord. 8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.”

Do you see the difference of a faith in the Lord where we serve him and follow his law. It’s a fear of the Lord that contains trust in his promise , obedience to his word and provision for the best and worst of times. The other fear is one of dread and destruction from God’s mighty hand.

C. His Fame 22

Why does the Lord do all this for His people? Its not for them. They are not the reason or the purpose for his grace dispersion. We are not the focus.

1 Samuel 12:22 “22 “For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.”

The Lord is pleased to make you His people because his power and glory is on display when we changes sinners to saints, when he makes the wicked worshippers. It pleases the Lord to see His name extolled, His works remembered, and His name proclaimed.

Isaiah 48:9–11 “9 “For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off. 10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.”

It is the very election of God for His chosen people that He is glorified in them and by them. His power chooses, calls, saves and preserves until the end. His grace is on display because His people are undeserving, his power because they are unable, his patience because they are unwilling, and his love because they are evil.

All of his glory comes to a climax in Jesus Christ when we understand that in order to accomplish the salvation of the elect, the only way forward was for the Son of God to be humbled, rejected, and murdered in order for a chosen people to be redeemed. Its the ultimate sacrifice that leads us to simply to be overwhelmed that the Father would save His people for His glory.

Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”