I Didnt Know I Substituted Who I needed For Who I Wanted

Text: 1stSamuel 8:1-22

Title:I Didn’t Know I Substituted Who I Needed for Who I Wanted.

Proposition:I thought I knew what was best for me, what was best for my life but when I look back over my life and think things over, I discovered that I only knew what was better, but God knew all along what was best.

Subject:Choosing God

Purpose:Help discern the difference in choosing God as the Head of our lives as opposed to choosing man.

Introduction:

The words of Eleanor Roosevelt ring true: One's philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.

For a moment I want to share A story hidden and tucked away in the Old Testament, about the choices that Israel would make in the beginning of their history as monarchial society.

This story God gives to us through the point view of the Judge, Priest, Prophet Samuel.

Samuel comes to us out of a Israelite society where everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

The book of Judges provides for us some detail of the spiritual climate and culture that Samuel brings to us.

Chapter 1 tells us that His mother was barren and she prayed and promised God that If He would give her a son then she would give the son back to God.

Chapter 2 tells us that as a boy Samuel was serving and ministering before the Lord.

Chapter 3 tell us of the call that God had on his life.

Chapter 4-7 tell us of Samuel’s first public assignments and gives us the narrative of the significance and dangers of mishandling the Ark of the Covenant.

Chapers 1-7 cover a large chunk of Samuel’s life, And some 30 to 40 years would pass between chapter 7 and 8 and Text says that Samuel is now old.

He has gotten his son to work in his place. Joel and Abijah will they had a different agenda than their father.

They saw serving God as way to gain in popularity and fatten their own pockets.

they bused the office of leadership. They began to take advantage of the people and the office for their own selfish gain.

This caused the people to protest they would organized a march on washinton. They came the capitol and desired of current leadership to over throw he which is now the current leader, saying we dont like who is leading. Nullify this person and give us somebody we can relate to. They want wanted to make Isael great again.

Make us like the communist country who do not have a democracy.

Neither God nor Samuel was pleased with what the people we doing and what they requested. So they came to Samuel and said in so many words that the your sons arent leading they way you lead us give us a King like the other nations so we cna call him, make appointments with him, some who will fight for us.

God tells Samuel be encouraged they have not rejected you but rejected me. So Samuel tell you what I want you to do. Grant them there request.

I. Be careful what you asked for.

A. They wanted to be like other nations. They wanted to give up a Theocracy (God kead) for a Monarchy (Man lead). They wanted man to replace God. They were jealous of other nations. Nations that God defeated for them and gave them their land they are now in. They wanted to be like people God had defeated for them.

Samuel give us a king. Give us something we don’t need faith for.

Give us someone we can see.

Give us someone we can talk to ourselves.

Gives us someone that will fight for us

God does something that He often does. He tells Samuel ok give them a king.

Not only are you to give them a king but also tell them what having a king will mean.

Tell them what its like to live under a king.

II. Be careful who you aspire to be like

They wanted be like the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, Perizzites and the rest of the termites.

They wanted to keep up with the Jones.

Translated they had no vision and no sense of self identity.

They thought they could be a better version of some one else than they could be of themselves.

They wanted to fit in

God didn’t create you with your own DNA

Your own finger print Your own gifts calling and anointing for you to want to be like somebody else.

Fact is he made everything after it own kind.

He made animals after their kind

Aquatic creation after it’s own kind

Birds and all that fly after its own kind but when it came to mankind he made us after Himself.

Come on up to the New Testament John 4:24 Luke 24:39 Rev 13:8 Gen 1:26-28 John 1:1 John 1:14

III. Be careful who you accept as authority in your life.

They wanted a king like other nations that don’t know God. They were willing to accept the flawed characteristics, personality and reputation of sinful, rebellious, indifferent human flesh.

Think about Saul first king of Israel started out ok but didn’t follow God’s command and saved people and material processions that God told him to destroy. Then to make things worse when God got upset and said you can’t handle leading my people and that I’m going to replace you he became jealous and insecure of David

Then David had his issues. Couldn’t control his impulses. He had to have a woman that belong to another man.

Rehoboam in his would split the kingdom into Judah and Israel.

God is saying its not that the idea of a king is bad. But the reasons your asking for a King is bad. You want a earthly king with sinful tendencies but I wanted to give you a divine King with a sinless nature.

In my own time I wanted to give you my own king.

In fact the way I organized your tribes points to the king I want you to have.

At the north I placed 3 tribes

At the south I placed 3 tribes

At the west I placed 3 tribes

And at the east I placed 3 tribes

Now when you look at it from your level you don’t see but when I look at you from above I see the cross.

Even in the temple that I’m going to have you to build. The items of the temple are organized to remind Me of the King I want you to have.

At the south was the brazen altar and the laver

Just inside the door to the right was the shewbread

Just inside the door to the left was the golden candle sticks

Just up from that in the center was the alter of incense

Above that behind the veil was the holly of holies and in that place was the ark of the covenant.

Inside the Ark of the Covenant was the Ten Commandments

Aarons Budded Rod

And a jar of Manna all of which pointed to Christ. Whe you come in you just may see the work of a talented interior decorator.

When God looked down on the temple and saw the items he saw the shape of a cross.

It’s this cross that would make God’s King, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

It’s the cross where my sin debts were paid

It was the cross where I was set free.

At the Cross, At Cross where I first saw the light, And the Burden of my heart roll away.

I know you want to believe you know what the right decision is for your life.

But I declared to you to open your mouth and tell the Lord to Have thine own way.

Have Thine own way Lord Have Thine own way Thou art the potter I am the clay Mold me and make me after Thy will While I am waiting yielded and still

Have Thine own way Lord Have Thine own way Search me and try me Master today Whiter than snow Lord wash me just now As in Thy presence humbly I bow

Have Thine own way Lord Have Thine own way Hold over my being absolute sway Filled with Thy spirit till all can see Christ only always living in me