Untitled Sermon

“How do you want to be remembered?”(Prop) Today, as we look march through this passage we’re gonna see in the story of Samuel and the history of Israel A life lived well - Samuel v.1-6A life lived poorly - Israel v.7-12

Samuel: A life lived well

​ ESV1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you.

Quick recap - Here we’re at an important transition in the history of the nation of Israel…the people wanted a king just like all the other Nations, So God provides them a king in Saul the son of a guy named Kush - He was wealthy, He was kinglyHe looked the part but he didn’t have the heart...never the less the Lord honored the wishes of the people and gave them a kingThe jury was split on him, until a war broke out between the ammonites lead by king Nahash and the people of Jabesh Gilled…God would empower Saul to defeat the enemy and this brought about a national swooning over King Saul and everyone recommitted themselves to his throneLook what Samuel says...

​ ESV2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day.

Samuel who had been serving the Lord since he was a boy, raised up in the house of God, here’s he’s saying “guys, I’m old, I’m gray, You have your king…my time has come...I’m passing on the torch of leadership to SaulHere we begin to see some really wonderful things about Samuel’s heartHe’s spent a good portion of his life serving God’s people - “I’ve walked before you from my youth until this day” From a young age serving in the house of the Lord to being old and gray…He’s devoted it to the people of God…what a lagacyIt’s important to remember that his ministry began with His Parents giving him to the Lord App: Parents, give your kids permission to imagine themselves in vocational ministry…Don’t let worldly pursuits quench it He was willing to let go of his position and take a back seat - Samuel didn’t try and hold on to his position, When God said it’s time to decrease, He was willing to decrease - Only a humble and trusting person will do that He was willing to do what was right for God’s people even at personal cost to him - notice he says “My sons are with you” - What did he means by this?, we’ll if you remember what happened in chapter 8

​ ESV1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

So by saying “my sons are with you” it was his way of saying “i heard your cry, and I did not put them above you…so your fears have been alleviated” What an incredible picture of the kind of person Samuel was - He was obedient to God even though it meant great loss for him and his family…but think about what would have happened if he didn’t…the whole nation would have been worse off for it App: Obedience will cost you…but disobedience will cost you even more

​ ESV3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before 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? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.”

Could you Imagine a leader on a national scale (As Samuel was) saying “hey if anyone has anything on me…come forth and make it known” that would be quite a sight to beholdWhy was he doing it? - Was he bragging? was guilty? None of those things, He was showing declaring that his hands were clean and If something goes wrong, It’s not because of anything he didApp: Do you know that you can leave a good example even if it’s in a bad situation?Maybe you work in a highly secular environment - You can be a godly exampleMaybe you have a gang of ungodly friends - You can be a godly exampleYou could have a contemptuous family - you can be a goodly exampleLook at how the people respond

​ ESVThey said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

Now it’s one for Samuel to think these things about himself…but it’s a whole weightier thing when others confirm it...“They said…you haven’t exploited or crushed us…everything you’ve done has been honorable”Samuel calls to stand 2 witnesses that will testify on his behalf - He calls the Lord…and the one whom the Lord anointed Saul…one could testify of his actions and the other could testify of the heart…and Samuel is saying “God who sees the motives of the heart, and Saul who witnessed the conduct of my life, will testify of my lifeThis is what a life thats lived well looks like - Here’s the question How did Samuel live?God’s words important to Samuel - Samuel could boldly say “here I am testify against me” (v.3) to the people because he was saying “here I am speak to me” to the Lord God’s word was important to himQuestion: How important is God’s word to you?God’s people were important to Samuel - Throughout Samuel ministry not only do we see that he has an ear for the Lord…but He also has an ear to hear the people (v.1) He says “Behold I have obeyed your voice” and Now we see him standing before saying “look at my life?” He cared about his conduct before othersQuestion: Do you think about others before act? Repentance was important to Samuel - Samuel had made some pretty big mistakes as a Dad…but at the cry of the nation who said “Your boys are scoundrels don’t make them leaders” he heard the voice of correction and never made them leadersApp: A well live life is not a perfect life, it’s a repentant life Big App: So were we see in Samuel a life that is lived well…a marked by:Character and integrity A life spoken well ofA life that is above reproach Can this be said about your life?

Israel’s Life: A life lived poorly

Now Samuel knows that this one of the few chances he has left to address the nation as a whole…and he wants to get through to them and he does what Moses did with the children of Israel and he begins with a history lesson In order to understand their own situation in relation to their covenant God, those of Saul’s generation needed to see how they had been brought to their land, and had experienced both defeat and victory, depending on their loyalty to the Lord. Even in the times of apostasy, once they turned to the Lord in repentance, he had sent deliverers.

​ ESV6 And Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers.

I love this…Because even though Samuel is about to recap Israel’s shaky history, He does first focus the conversation on the righteous deeds of the LordNotice Samuel says to nation “Now stand still” - Twice in this chapter he tells them to stand still (7&16) this word means to “station oneself or take a stand and resist” It means to calm down, take a breath, and fight the urge - High string kids...why is he saying this? because the pressures of the moment were causing them get caught up in things that dishonored God.We’re given at lease 2 reasons Israel’s longing for a king - Pressure to conform to the culture) “we want to be like the other nations - Fear (12) tells us about the pressure of the ammonite invasion Samuel says…Stand still…or Resist the pull…and set your eyes on the righteous deeds of GodApp: Thats a good word for us…Some of us, are being driven by fear, or pressure to conform…and it’s tempting you to sin…Stand still…and remember God

​ ESV31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

So now, He’s gonna look at 3 righteous acts of Lord concerning Israel - Deliverance

​ ESVWhen Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your fathers cried out to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

So the first one we see here is deliverance from the the slavery…so He’s starting back hundreds of years from this pointHere we see the 2nd righteous act of the Lord - Discipline

​ ESVBut they forgot the Lord their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander 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.

So things calm down, the nations neediness fades…the desperations dissipates…and what happens? They forget about God…so what does God do? he disciplines them by sending King Jabin and his great commander Sisera with his 900 hundred chariot as an enemy A lot of people go – “This don’t seem like a righteous act...I don’t like that God of the Old Testament. He’s mad. I don’t like Him. I’m not happy with Him being angry” But think about it…You should be concerned if God isn’t angry at sin Think about this – The more you love somebody, the angrier you get with them when they’re doing something that hurts them. Ask any parent. When they start seeing their kids doing something that’s destructive, self-destructive, that’s going to hurt them, that’s going to ruin them, you start getting angry. The truth is – The less I love somebody, the more tolerant I am when I see them doing things that hurt them. Anger is not the opposite of love…Indifference isSo now we see the the 3rd righteous act of the Lord - Compassion

​ ESVAnd they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.

So the 3rd righteous act of the Lord is that when they cried out…He had compassion and delivered them…A few things to note about here...So who are these deliverers? Jerubbaal (Gideon) Barak (Badon) Jephthah () Samuel - It’s important to see that their were many different deliverers…none were irreplaceable…it reminds us that the true hero was God himself The fact that there were so many deliverers shows us that Israel always needed to be delivered - If a person has a lot of parking tickets that means he’s a bad driver, if a guy has a ton of ex girlfriends it means he’s a bad boyfriend This was the whole story that Samuel is laying out…Maybe you can relate?Deliverence They forget about GodThiers a discipline They Cry out…God restoresNow thats their long history…no look at their recent history

​ ESV12 And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king.

Now the cycles continuing again…God was king…pressure mounts…We want a human kingBig Point: So here in the Israelites story we see a wishy washy, fluctuating, roller coaster of a life…Always needing to be delivered…always needing to learn God’s lesson over and over again App: Is this your Life?So maybe your here today…whats your hope?

Obey God Today

​ ESV13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well.

Samuel says...”this is who you've been your past but this doesn’t need to be present…Now if you will fear the Lord and obey his voice…It will be well with you”This is an old testament picture…of Grace App: The is the beauty of Jesus’ grace…one failure won’t write you off in His eyes…doesn't mean theirs not discipline…But theirs always hope of restorationApp: How do you turn your life around? You get right with God todayUnderstand the power the “Right now” HoldsBut he wants them to be serious about repentance

​ ESV15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.

And then he really emphasizes the point

​ ESV16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.”

So, Samuel says “stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes” and what he’s gonna do is make it rain during the harvest season…why was that great? because that was their summer season...It’s like me saying in southern California the middle of July that their was gonna be a storm…that would be kind of a shocking thingNow understand that this “great thing” a sign of Judgment to show them emphatically that it was a sinful decision to pine after a king like SaulApp: Sometimes the greatest thing God can do is expose your sin

​ ESV18 So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

so this speaks to us about the Power of Samuels prayer life…But it also speaks to us of the spiritual immaturity of the nation…the fact that they wouldn't listen to God’s word though Samuel…but the responded so quickly to the miraculous working of God’God’s word had fallen on deaf ears...App: We can be like that too…His word is not enough....and so your always looking for a sign...Remember what Jesus said “A wicked and adulteress generation looks for signs”