2021-05-30 1 Sam 16
Notes
Transcript
1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
I. Even though Israel had a king, God still ruled.
I. Even though Israel had a king, God still ruled.
2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
A. No matter the foolishness of Saul or the people, God was in control.
A. No matter the foolishness of Saul or the people, God was in control.
2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”
Take a moment and think about where the people of Israel are in this passage. God had handed them over to their foolish decision in desiring a king. God had given them exactly what they had asked for.
Remember the theme of Saul, You want it, you got it, see how empty it is.
God had handed Israel over to their own foolish decision.
But here is the truth, even though God had handed Israel over to their foolish desires, God has not absent, and had not stopped working.
God had a plan that moved forward through the broken decision of the Israelites.
Yes, God will hand you over to the foolish decisions you make, Yes, God will allow you to feel the full emptiness of those decisions.
Yet, God is still working out a plan.
Faith is trusting God is in control and working out his grand plan even as the world around you seems out of control.
As tomorrow is Memorial Day, we stop and remember those who sacrificed everything for our country.
I completely understand that many of you are deeply concerned about the state of our nation. There is certainly a feeling that we have followed in the footsteps of the Israelites and are at a you want it, you got it, see how empty it is place in our nation.
For many here today you want to scream, we need to get this nation back to God and we need to do it now.
Yet, the Bible teaches something quite unusual when it comes to the government. It teaches that we are to be subject and honor those in authority over us.
How on earth can we do that when our nation is the dumpster fire that it is. I think today’s passage speaks to it.
In the midst of God handing Israel over to their foolish desire for a king, God was still working out his grand plan and he was going to redeem their foolish desire for a greater good.
We have have to keep our eyes on God, trust that he is in control and that he is working out a plan in our nation. With that as our foundation, we can follow the difficult commands of scripture regarding the way we relation to our governing authorities.
Look at God’s call to his people while they were under the control of one of the most wicked nations to exist in history.
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,
4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.
B. Samuel was called to keep his eyes on God, not on the mess Israel had made.
B. Samuel was called to keep his eyes on God, not on the mess Israel had made.
2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”
Illus: Perhaps we fail to see God’s plan for us, or his work though us because our eyes are so fixed on the world or our troubles that we are not looking for him.
Samuel, who is generally a God centered prophet, was so worried and fixated on his fear that his eyes moved away from God and focused on his problems.
We live that way. We focus on what is wrong. We focus on what is messed up. We focus on what can harm us.
God says focus on me. In the midst of Samuel’s fears, God told him to focus on the sacrifice.
I don’t know what is consuming your life right now. It might be family issues, work issues, politics, financial stress. You know the things that consume your mind.
God’s desire for you is to not let those things eat you up. Instead place your eyes back on God. Follow him. He will handle them.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
II. Our eyes are naturally drawn to the wrong priorities.
II. Our eyes are naturally drawn to the wrong priorities.
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
A. We value what we can measure with our eyes.
A. We value what we can measure with our eyes.
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.”
Illus: Let’s be truthful, we judge people through very fleshly standards.
Let’s talk about what we value in the church.
Most of the quickest growing churches today are led by fairly young men with spray on jeans and dress to produce an image.
Sadly we have experienced a rash of pastor after pastor failing because what people look for in churches is not holiness but style.
Can we talk for a moment about our search process. When we think of the music of our church, is the depth, doctrinal integrity, and holiness of the minister the first thing we think of or do we ask whether their style and stage presence will entertain us?
We are no different looking at the outward man when scripture tells us over and over to look at the heart.
In your life, what do you spend more time on, your muscles, make up or your heart?
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
B. God measures the the heart.
B. God measures the the heart.
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
God looks at the heart. I want to challenge you. Care more for the heart than anything else.
With your kids, see success as a heart that longs for God more than academics, sports or other secondary things.
With our friends, look to the heart.
Personally, what do you spend your time cultivating? My fear is that we spend our lives building the parts of us that will be buried with us. All the while neglecting the heart.
What would it look like for you to prioritize your heart? It would mean seeking God above all, embracing sacrifice, owning humility, and allowing God to transform you.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
III. When God looks for leaders, he looks for servants.
III. When God looks for leaders, he looks for servants.
11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”
12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
A. Over and over, Scripture points to servants as the model for leadership.
A. Over and over, Scripture points to servants as the model for leadership.
Illus: Where david’s brothers were looking to be noticed, David was out serving in the field.
When I look at the leaders of our church, it is not the ones clamoring to make decisions, nor the ones who desire positions. It is the men and women who quietly serve.
In humility and service you prove what God has already done in your heart. When you say there is nothing so low that I can’t serve you display the humility of Christ who completely humiliated himself for the sake of us.
The story of salvation is the story of how God became a servant to save undeserving men and women.
When we do not take the posture of humility and the place of service, we are showing we do not want to follow in our saviors steps.
Will take the heart of God, a heart of humility, and follow after Jesus
2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.