LIFE is not a Game - Faith
LIFE is not a Game
Law of Love
- Love God
- Love Others
Law of Integrity
- Image vs. Integrity
Law of Faith
- Who do you trust?
- Do you trust God
- Do you trust yourself
I want to revisit the story of Saul from last week in order to show the foolishness of trusting in your self and the wisdom of trusting in God.
Saul
1 Sam 13:1 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.
1 Sam 13:2 Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.
1 Sam 13:3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, "Let the Hebrews hear!"
1 Sam 13:4 So all Israel heard the news: "Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines." And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
1 Sam 13:5 The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.
1 Sam 13:6 When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.
1 Sam 13:7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.
1 Sam 13:8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter.
1 Sam 13:9 So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings. " And Saul offered up the burnt offering.
1 Sam 13:10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
1 Sam 13:11 "What have you done?" asked Samuel. Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash,
1 Sam 13:12 I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."
1 Sam 13:13 "You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
1 Sam 13:14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command."
The Army Panics
Saul had recently been anointed as king
He sets up an army
2000 with him
1000 with his son Jonathan
Saul’s son Jonathan and his army destroy the outpost of the Philistines
Saul calls for war.
The Philistines heard and assembled a huge army to fight Israel.
- 3000 chariots
- Six thousand charioteers
- Soldiers as numerous as sand on the seashore
- When the Isrealites saw the army amassed against them they fled
- They hid in caves and thickets
- Among the rocks
- Pits and cisterns
- Those that did remain were quaking with fear
As this was going on Saul was waiting.
He was told to wait 7 days until Samuel could come and offer a sacrifice before the battle.
As more and more time passed. Things were getting worse instead of better.
Saul Panics
1 Sam 13:9 So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings. " And Saul offered up the burnt offering.
1 Sam 13:10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
- Saul trusted himself instead of God
- He had assumed a role that wasn’t his
- He offered up the sacrifice
- In direct disobedience to God
Saul was a man of action
It was the waiting that killed him
Saul is Punished
1 Sam 13:11 "What have you done?" asked Samuel. Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash,
1 Sam 13:12 I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."
1 Sam 13:13 "You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
1 Sam 13:14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command."
God was testing Saul’s faith as a leader.
- He was a great warrior.
- He was a man of action.
- But He trusted himself more than God.
- What he did was foolish – Foolish is a strong term – lacking a sense of God
- What Saul refused to realize was that God is the true leader of Israel
- Saul’s act was a rebellion against THE KING.
- Saul thought He was the king. – he trusted in himself
What are the lessons of faith we can learn from this story
1. Faith grows stronger under pressure
- The same boiling water that hardens the egg will soften the carrot
· The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials. - George Mueller
· The roots grow deep when the winds are strong. Charles R. Swindoll (1934– )
2. Never panic
One of the ways that our faith expresses itself is by our ability to be still, to be present, and not to panic or lose perspective. God still does his best work in the most difficult of circumstances.
Tim Hansel
- If we panic we will make bad decisions
- Our decisions will effect and bring down other people
- Panic will keep you from thinking clearly
- If you let fear dominate your thoughts – faith will be shut out and panic will set in
3. Waiting is part of the process
- God rarely answers immediately
- There are lessons he wants to teach us while we wait
- Waiting is the time to quiet your spirit and listen for the voice of God
- He will give direction
4. Obey God
This is the question
Who do you trust
- If you trust yourself – you will do what you want to do – what you think is best.
- I’m just following my heart -
- If you trust in God – you will do what he wants you to do.
If you want to win at life you must keep the Law of Faith
- Don’t trust in yourself
- Trust in God
- Have you trusted him for your salvation?
- Don’t trust yourself – I am a good person -
- Have you trusted him in life’s situations?
Do you trust him in the things you can’t control?
To Win at LIFE you must have FAITH
The parable is told of an old dog that fell into a farmer's well. After assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the dog but decided that neither the dog nor the well were worth the trouble of saving. Instead he planned to bury the old dog in the well and put him out of his misery.
When the farmer began shoveling, initially the old dog was hysterical. But as the farmer continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It dawned on the dog that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back he should shake it off and step up. This he did blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up!” he repeated to encourage himself.
No matter how painful the blows or how distressing the situation seemed, the old dog fought panic and just kept shaking it off and stepping up! It was not long before the dog, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed as though it would bury him actually benefited him—all because of the way he handled his adversity.
If we face our problems and respond to them positively, refusing to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to bless us! Forgiveness, faith, prayer, praise, and hope are some of the biblical ways to shake it off and step up out of the wells in which we find ourselves.
—Bruce Shelley, from “To Illustrate Plus,” Leadership, Vol 20, No. 4.