Alderwood Community Church October 25, God Looks at the Heart God s Grand Story Part 4 United Kingdom 1 Samuel 15:1-34

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1 1 Alderwood Community Church October 25, 2015 God Looks at the Heart God s Grand Story Part 4 United Kingdom 1 Samuel 15:1-34 Intro: United Kingdom (God s Grand Story Chart) 120 years: Saul- no heart, David- whole heart, Solomon- half heart Big Idea: God desires that His people love and serve Him with all their heart. Serve the Lord faithfully with all your heart (12:24) Context: At the end of the rebellious period of the judges, the elders of Israel demanded that Samuel appoint a king over them. (1 Sam. 8:4-7) This grieved both Samuel and God, and God told Samuel that this action was a rejection not of Samuel but of God as their king. God then told Samuel to grant them their request, but first warn them of what an earthly king will demand from them (8-9), so Samuel gave the warning and expectations of a king (10-18) but the people refused to listen to Samuel and demanded a king, then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and go out before us and fight our battles. (20) Samuel then anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel and reminded the people again that this very action was an insult and a rejection of God as their king. (1 Sam. 10:17-19) During Samuel s farewell speech, as he finally passes the baton of leadership of the nation from himself (as God s priest/prophet) to Saul their new king, he reminds the people a 3 rd time, that their request for a king was a rejection of God s direct rule over their lives and he told them, When you saw that Nahash king of the Amorites was moving against you, you said to me, No, we want a king to rule over us even though the Lord your God was your king. Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God Good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. (1 Samuel 12:12-15) Samuel then called on the Lord to send down thunder and rain as a sign of God s displeasure in this request, because God considered it evil. God sent the thunder and rain as Samuel requested and the people were in awe of God and confessed that their request was evil and a sin. Samuel then urges the people, You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away. (1 Samuel 12:20, 24-25) In spite of the Nation s rejection of God as their king, he graciously reaffirms them through Samuel, For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. (1 Samuel 12:22) This is like the affirmation a dad gives to His child after disciplining them. (Briefly expand on this)

2 2 This is what God says of each of us who call him our God: Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. 1 Peter 2:9-10 God is gracious and constantly affirms us by reminding us that we are His people. We belong to him and are constantly under his watchful care. But, God is looking for the undivided loyalty of his people. God desires that His people love and serve Him with all their heart. Serve the Lord faithfully with all your heart (12:24) This is what God looks for in his people and the leader (King) of his people. (theme of this section) In our text this morning we will see that: 1. Saul proved that he did not love God with all his heart. A. He disobeyed God by offering a burnt offering. (Read: *1 Sam. 10:8, 13:5-14) 1. God s command was very clear. (10:8) 2. When Samuel confronted Saul about his disobedience he made excuses, and blamed others rather than confess and repent of his sin (13:11-12) 3. This sin of disobedience revealed that he did not love God with all his heart. (13:13-14) the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people. (This referring to David) but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. 1 Kings 14:8 After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart: he will do everything I want him to do. Acts 13:22 4. There was a severe consequence as a result of this sin, his kingdom would not be for all time but rather will end and be given to someone other than his own children. (13:13-14) (Saul s kingdom would have been forever?) This is a Picture of the lost opportunities and blessings when we do not obey God with all of our heart.

3 3 *Read: 1 Samuel 15:1-35 B. He did not fully obey God by not completely destroying the Amalekites.(1 Sam. 15:1-35) 1. God s command was very clear. (15:1-3) God has gone to great lengths to reveal his will to his people. God s commands and instructions are always clear. This judgment against the Amalekites seems very harsh, but this is the fulfillment of God s judgment against this nation because of their attack on the children of Israel shortly after they left Egypt after 400 years of bondage. At that time, the Lord declared perpetual war against Amalek (Ex. 17:8 16) and Balaam prophesied Amalek s ultimate defeat (Num. 24:20). Some people find it difficult to believe that the Lord would command an entire nation to be destroyed just because of what their ancestors had done centuries before. Some of these critics may depend more on sentiment than on spiritual truth, not realizing how long-suffering the Lord had been with these nations and how unspeakably wicked they were (see 1 Sam. 15:18, 33; Gen. 15:16). God s covenant with the Jewish nation includes the promise, I will curse him who curses you (12:3), and God always keeps His Word. Nations like the Amalekites who wanted to exterminate the Jews weren t just waging war on Israel; they were opposing Almighty God and His great plan of redemption for the whole world. People are either for the Lord or against Him, and if they are against Him, they must suffer the consequences. 2. Saul s incomplete obedience was actually disobedience. (15:10b, 17-19) There is no such thing as partial obedience. Nine-five percent obedience to God is five percent short. Almost sterile is not sterile at all. Almost doesn t count. There is no such thing as a partly sterile surgical knife. It s either sterile or it s not. If there is one germ alive, it s contaminated. I remember growing up singing a song, All to Jesus I surrender. All to him I freely give. And it never once hit me, I never really appreciated that we weren t singing, Ninety-five percent to Jesus I surrender. Ninety-five percent to him I freely give. Principle #1 Incomplete obedience is disobedience. (a) Incomplete obedience is evil in the eyes of the Lord (19) (b) Incomplete obedience is rebellion (23) willful disobedience This is as serious as the sin of divination (witchcraft) which was a capital offense. (c) Incomplete obedience is arrogance (23) insubordination This sin is equivalent to idolatry. (d) Incomplete obedience is rejection of God s Word and of God Himself (23)

4 4 3. When confronted by Saul about his disobedience: (a) He made excuses, and blamed others rather than confess and repent of his sin (13-16a, 20-21, 24b) Principle #2: Partial confession is no confession at all. (b) His confession was insincere and revealed the true condition of his heart, he was a proud and arrogant king. (15:12, 24, 30) 4. There was a severe consequence as a result of this sin, God rejected Saul as King. (15:23, 26) Principle #3: There are consequences for our sin. 5. God places a higher value on wholehearted obedience than outward conformity. (22b) To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 2. Loving God with all your heart is expressed by your attitude toward God s Word and your attitude toward your sin. A. God s Word: You will desire to completely obey all of God s Word (1) Your Sexuality It is God s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 (2) Marriage Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord each of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:25,22,33

5 5 (3) Anger and Bitterness And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:30-32 B. Your sin: You will completely acknowledge (confess) your sin to God when you fail to obey. The difference between Saul and David. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and are justified when you judge. Psalm 51:3-4,10 Conclusion: 1. Confess your sin(s), your incomplete obedience to God. 2. Commit yourself to whole-hearted obedience to God and his Word.