The Prophet, People, and King
Notes
Transcript
You know if you have a man that lives in your household you are probably familiar with the term selective hearing.
Because men are known for this feature (ask Arika )
Because we will hear someone who ask us if we want to go to the movies
But somehow we do not hear when we get asked to switch the laundry or help with something around the house.
And some people say the person just really did not want to do whatever was asked
And then others say they really might not of heard it
But regardless it gets us in trouble doesn’t it?
But you know today we are talking about a case of of selective hearing that happens in the Bible.
Where some are actively listening to God, but then others seem to be ignoring him all together.
And so we are going to be in the book 1 Samuel and we are specifically going to be jumping around chapters 1-15.
And I this is starting back up our series “The Story” that we were in before Christmas where (like I mentioned we are looking at the overarching story in the Bible)
And it has been awhile since we have been in this series so for those of you who may not remember where we left off
We have seen God create all of creation,
But despite God creating it perfectly we see time and time again humanity strays away from God deciding that they know better then God.
And because of this it causes so many issues for them.
And they get to this point where we were when we left off where they were in this period called the judges.
And basically this was a time where in the nation of Israel would turn from God and they would find themselves opressed with another nation ruling over them.
But in the middle of this they would also turn to God and God would raise up a deliver to help them.
But shortly after this they would turn from Him and find themselves in the same situation as before.
And so this continues for around 300 years
And really these 300 years lead into where we are today because the people have lived very unstable lives for a long period of time and they are striving for normalcy.
I mean I picture them being like us I mean we have been in the Covid period for 2 years and we despratley want normallacy right?
Now imagine 300 years...
But they want this sense of normalcy and out of this they begin to want a change of leadership from God to something more physical.
And I know this is a lot of background information but this leads us to where we are today and as you saw in the video we are introduced to this child named Samuel and he has been devoted to God.
And because of this he has grown up in the temple and learned under a man named Eli who was a father figure and mentor
And so we learn about Samuel and not to far into his story we hear about this event that occurs for us early on in his life when He was just a boy in Samuel 3:1-10 and this really sets our theme for us today. It says this:
1 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
And so we are in this unstable time where hearing from God is rare and Samuel is lying down probably ready to sleep when Sameul Hears God calling him
And he checks with Eli and it wasn’t him
So he lies down and it keeps happening until finally Eli tells him I think this is God.
And at the end of this portion of the passage Sammuel hears God calling him again and I love what Samuel says because He says “Speak, for your servant is listing”
And so I am telling us this because really the reason the issue that is happening is since they have not heard from God in so long they think it is more likely that Samuel is hearing voices then that he is hearing God calling him.
But you know I think in our lives we have this issue where a lot of times we do a poor job at listening for God’s voice.
And so often God’s voice is not a booming voice that says “Brendan”
But a lot of times its just a whisper of nudge where God is laying on our heart to do somthing.
But the issue is miss it because there is so much happening.
Its like how a few weeks ago I took Liam to Buchanan’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony and they had music and people speaking
And I need to clarify that I could see him the whole time but he would run around and I would call his name and either he heard me and wasn’t listing or was distracted by everything going on.
But you know I think thats how we get as Christians we get have so much happening in our life that all these loud noises like our job, our goals and all these other things end up drowning out the noise of our God.
And we end up missing how He is moving in our lives.
And whats so powerful is in this story while Samuel missed him the first few times he takes this posture where He says “God I am going to listen”
And because of this we see him grow and in chapter 3: 19-20 we are told this...
19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
Basically Samuel ends up being shaped by God into a prophet for the lord (it you are unformilure with the word “prophet” It basically means to speak truth)
He is someone that people trust because he is close to God.
I mean if we looked at our lives what are the voices that shape us?
And are they shaping us into what God is asking?
Well lets keep going because Samuel is getting older and I want us to look at this next part of the passage in 8:4-5. It says this:
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
So as I mentioned Samuel is getting older, and the people come to Samuel and they tell him that they want a king.
And just to give you some context up until now the people of God have essentially made God their king (even though they did a terrible job following Him).
They said we want Him to be the one who rules us, but because of all the unrest occuring during this time they want a more physical king who will rule over them.
And really what we see them doing is shifting their trust from God to someone they choose.
And not only that but the people are saying they want to be like all the other nations, when God had called them to be set apart.
But you know heres the thing because my fear is that Christians we know that God is the best voice to listen too, but like I mentioned earlier there are other things that tug our hearts
And my fear is that we will choose these other things over God.
And what happens when we do this is we choose these voices that lead us to places less then God has called us.
Its almost like if you went to the doctors and he mentions you really need to start eating healthier.
I mean you get fast food all the time and if you do not stop you only have a few years left.
But here is the issue because you really like fast food.
And not just that but McDonalds has some really good deals on their app and you earn points so its almost like you make money.
So instead of listening to your doctor that knows best you keep eating terribly and end up living a life that is unhealthy
You know really when we allow the other voices in our life (whether it be our job, something we want, or something else) but when we let these voices control our life rather than God we end up chasing things that are truthfully toxic in our lives.
But when we listen to God He leads us to a path that is life giving.
Well look what happens next because the story continues and we are introduced to a new person named Saul in 1 Samuel 9:1-2 and it says this:
1 Samuel 9:1–2 (NIV)
Samuel Anoints Saul
9 There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. 2 Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.
So we are introduced to this man named Saul
And what ends up happening is God gives the people over to what they desire which is a king and Saul becomes the king
And at first it seems to go well.
I mean Saul was Tall, he was handsome… I mean if you are going to have a king they have to be tall and handsome, right?
But on a serius note: he was an attractive leader
And not only that but one of the first things he does is rally the Israelites together to win a fight.
I mean things seem like they are going pretty well.
But here is the issue, because Saul is actually lacking a very important key feature for a leader of the people of God and that is he was lacking devotion to God.
Because what we see happen is Saul begins to slowly drift away from God where starts by not waiting on God’s timing, but then he begins to do more where by the end of his reign (which we will not get to today)
He is very far from God and because of it we see his rule crash.
You know sometimes in our lives we drift away from where God desires us
And it can be easy to do.
I don’t know if you have ever been driving and you look away for a second and all the sudden you are over the rumble strips and kinda on the side? (maybe just me)
But in my opinion its easy to do!
And if you do not correct it, you are setting yourself up for a crash.
And here is the thing I want you to hear.
Because somtimes in our walk with God it is easy to drift away from where God is leading you, and when we drift occasionally what will happen is we see ourselves crash (because we are living outside of the guidelines God has given us)
And can I just say if you recognize you are drifting grab the wheel and turn back to Him.
Get back on the road that God is calling you too.
I just want to close by reading this last passage because in the middle of the Israelites rebelling and Saul Rebelling there is this one thing Samuel tells them in 1 Samuel 12:20-25 and there is so much truth here for us today. It says:
20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”
You know I do not know where you are this morning.
Some of us might feel like we have drifted on the side of the road
others might feel like we drove off the road,
But what I love is that Samuel tells these people and really he tells us that “It is not too late to turn back!”
Because do not have to live a life where our past mistakes are the things that direct our life
But today is a new day and we can allow God to be the one to direct us.
And as we close maybe today is a day that you are looking at your life and realize that your current direction isn’t the best.
What would it look like to turn from where you are and turn back to God,
And we are going to be finishing with communion and beautiful thing about communion is it represents God’s grace coming into our lives.
Because really the night Jesus was betrayed he sat at a table of people that either have or would drift away from Him.
He sat with people that denied him
People that doubted him
He even sat with the very man that would betray him (Judas)
But despite all of this he is sitting around this table and is having this meal that represents this grace poured out for each person around the table
And poured out for us.
And so this morning as long as you have placed your trust in God you are welcome to recieve this meal because God is extending his grace to you this morning.
Let’s pray as we head into communion.