PARTNERING WITH GOD TO DO HIS WORK IN OUR WORLD Learning from Israel s First 3 Kings Saul: A Promising Beginning & A Tragic End I Samuel 8-31 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Matthew 9:35-38 I want to hone in on the statement, When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless. I typically use the NIV translation because it s one of the most accurate translations and it uses language similar to what we use today, but sometimes I like to look at other translations to get a more comprehensive understanding. Here s how some other translations interpret that verse He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn t know where to go for help. New Living Translation As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were worried and helpless. Good News Bible And what pity he felt for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn t know what to do or where to go for help. The Living Bible When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were. The MESSAGE Paraphrase Harassed and helpless; worried, confused and aimless; great problems and not knowing what to do or where to go for help. That s a pretty bleak picture. Do you know anyone that fits that description? We all do. We interact with people every day of our lives who fit that description. My question for us is this, As Jesus looks at these people today, how does He respond? The same way He responded then. He s moved with compassion; He has deep pity for them; and, his heart breaks. Two weeks ago Susan Vigliano shared a quote from Lou Engle, Follow your tears. They will lead you to your destiny. Jesus cried over people and He said that his mission was, To seek and save the lost. Jesus response to his heart breaking over what He saw was to ask his Father to send out workers into the harvest field. So, what s our response to 1
this reality of hurting people we see all around us? Do we understand that we can be the answer to Jesus prayer? I m convinced that Jesus statement, Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field encapsulates his heart for his Church and for our local church family here in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. As followers of Jesus you and I are equipped by God his Holy Spirit lives in us to partner with Him in doing his work in our world. I believe this so passionately that I preach on this subject 2x each year in January as we begin our New Year and in September as we start our new ministry year (15% of our 52 Sundays are devoted to this theme). John King calls these messages my stump speech. I want each of us to understand that regardless of age, life stage or our job situation whether we re 10 years old, 25 years old, 50 or 95; whether we re a student, a stay-at-home-parent, working in the marketplace or retired we are missionaries whom God has planted in a mission field with people all around us who desperately need an encounter with the Jesus, who has saved us and is in the process of transforming our lives. Every follower of Jesus Christ is on mission with Him. One of the ways I like to teach us truth about partnering with God in our world is by looking closely at the lives of characters in the Scriptures particularly Old Testament characters. Contrary to what we might think, the Bible doesn t clean up its heroes. In fact, when we look at these people their warts and blemishes are very prominent. So much so that people sometimes think the warts and blemishes diminish these saints. But that s now how I see it. I think God s intent in using flawed people as examples is that we would be encouraged understanding that just as God used broken and messed up people who we read about in his Word, He still uses broken people like you and me today. God has given us his Word and the examples of people in his Word for us to learn from. Listen to the Apostle Paul s words to his disciple Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 & 17, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. As you and I read and meditate on the lives of these Biblical characters we re reading the words of God. We re being taught, trained, guided and corrected so that we are equipped for everything God has for us. Over the next 4 weeks we re going to study the lives of the first 3 kings of Israel: Saul, 2
David and Solomon. These guys are powerful examples for us because they so clearly illustrate how to live and how not live as we journey through life. Their lives are very different, but each of them illustrate something that we talk a lot about here at McBIC the connection between intimacy with Jesus and mission. When these men walked closely with God drawing their strength from Him and remembering their rightful place they saw God work in and through them in significant ways, but when their connection with Him weakened when they became enamored with material things or when they forget their need of depending on God things didn t go well for them. As we study the lives of these kings it s important for us to understand that God s design for his people was not for them to have kings. God s plan was that Israel would be a theocracy that s a fancy word meaning that God was Israel s ruler and not just in name alone. God s plan was that his people would be led by Him through his judges and prophets people like Gideon, Deborah, Samson, Eli and Samuel, who was the last of the ruling prophets. But eventually God s people tired of the prophets and when Samuel s sons clearly weren t following God, the people rebelled and demanded a king. We first read about the demands of the people in 1 Samuel chapter 8 verses 4 & 5: So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have. I Samuel 8:4 & 5 And then after Samuel tried to dissuade them they became even more adamant: But the people refused to listen to Samuel. No! they said. We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles. 1 Samuel 8:19 & 20 God instructed his prophet Samuel to give in to the people s request for a king, but he told him to warn them about the unpleasant realities that would come with a king: forced labor for their sons and daughters, taxes and recruiting a standing army from among their sons, to name a few. And in Samuel s words of warning to the people we see foreshadowing of many of the problems that the kings brought upon Israel when they lost sight of God and began to view themselves as sovereign. King Saul s story is found in chapters 8-31 of 1 Samuel that s 24 chapters, a lot of territory to cover. It would take months of preaching to cover those chapters adequately, but 3
what I hope to do today is to give us an overview of some of the key events in Saul s life. As I do, I believe the trajectory or more accurately, the downward spiral of Saul s life will be apparent to us. As we explore King Saul s life, I encourage you to ask yourself, What can I learn from this man s life? And more specifically, What words of warning can I take to heart about the danger of relying on natural gifts and talents and losing sight of my dependence on God? Our introduction to Saul begins with him and his servant on a several day journey trying to track down some wayward donkeys belonging to Saul s father. After several days Saul decided that it was time to return home, but his servant pointed out that they were near Zuph, a town where Israel s prophet, Samuel lived. He thought the prophet might tell them where the donkeys were. Thinking they had nothing to lose, Saul went with his servant into the town and when Samuel saw them God spoke to him and told him that Saul was the one he was to anoint as Israel s king. Saul is introduced to us in 1 Samuel chapter 9 as, [the son of] a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish. An impressive young man without equal among the Israelites a head taller than any of the others. You can read the details of Saul s anointing in 1 Samuel chapters 9 & 10. We see initially that Saul is a hesitant and seemingly humble king. When Samuel hints at the fact that Saul will be Israel s next king, Saul responds, But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me? Later, after Saul is anointed Samuel prepares to introduce him to the people, but Saul is hiding among the bags of luggage. And after he s presented to the people, Saul willingly returns to his life of farming until God s Spirit stirs in him to lead his people into battle against their enemies. Saul s reign begins with the promise of him being a humble leader. But as King Saul stepped into his growing responsibilities as the King of Israel significant cracks in his foundation become obvious. It became apparent that Saul s impressive physique and the prominent platform he had as Israel s King wasn t supported by an equally strong foundation of character and spiritual maturity. Saul s 42 year reign as King of Israel was marked by growing insecurities and murderous jealousy of his successor, David. And it quickly became clear that Saul gave little priority to his relationship with God the one true ruler of Israel. 4
In 1 Samuel chapter 13 the Israelites were preparing to go to war against their arch enemies, the Philistines. Samuel instructed King Saul not to engage the enemy until Samuel had arrived to offer sacrifices. When Samuel was late in coming and Saul s warriors grew restless, King Saul made the impulsive decision to offer the burnt sacrifice on his own. Shortly after Saul offered the sacrifice, Samuel arrived and quickly condemned the king s rash decision. Later, in chapters 14 & 15 we read the story of Israel s battle with their centuries-old nemeses, the Amalekites. Samuel instructed to wipe out all of the Amalekites along with their possessions and livestock. But during the battle King Saul was enticed by the plunder and rather than killing the Amalekite King Agag, he decided to take him prisoner. Once again Samuel condemned King Saul s disobedience and announced that the kingship of Israel would be taken away from him. And throughout the account of Saul s life there are statements the author makes which point to Saul s lack of devotion to God. In chapter 14 verse 35 of 1 Samuel we read that Saul built an altar to make sacrifices on because the people were eating meat with the blood still in it an act that was prohibited in the Law. King Saul built an altar and the author notes, It was the first time he had done this. Later after Samuel communicated God s rejection of Saul as his king, Saul pleaded with Samuel to come back with him so that he could, worship the Lord your God. The longer we follow King Saul s life, the more clearly we see his spiritual shallowness. When the heat was turned up, Saul wilted because he didn t have a firm foundation. He wasn t rooted in his relationship with God. When the soldiers in his army pressured him, Saul caved, rather than standing firm and doing what God commanded. When he faced pressures in battle, rather than relying on God and placing his faith in Him, he took matters into his own hands and tried to manipulate events in his strength. And when God made it clear that David, rather than one of Saul s sons would be Israel s next king, Saul clung to his position with all his might and did what he could to destroy David spending years with his army pursuing David through the middle-eastern deserts and mountains. And we ll hear more about Saul next week as we look at the first part of Israel s 2 nd King, David s life. Saul s life is really a tragedy. This man who began with so much promise, who had seemingly everything necessary to be an effective leader, ended up falling fall short of all that he could have attained because he never sank down deep roots in his relationship with God. 5
He s most remembered for disobeying God; for having the kingdom stripped away from him and his family; and, for his petty, jealousy-fueled attempts to kill David by chucking his spear at him on several occasions and then by pursuing him with his army through the desert for years. Saul s life finally ended when he took his own life by falling on his sword in the midst of a losing battle. As I reflect on Saul s life I m reminded of something I remember my predecessor Pastor Ken Hepner pointing out on numerous occasions. We re in a dangerous and vulnerable position when there is a widening gap between the gifts and abilities and the platform God gives us and our spiritual growth and maturity and character development. I want to return to the place we began today. If you re a follower of Jesus, you re on mission with God on his mission field. He has created each of us to partner with Him in doing his work in our world. There are people you and I interact with every day who desperately need what only Jesus can provide. And we re the conduit the bridge for them to connect with Him. God has provided each of us with gifts and abilities; with passions and interests; and, with a growing platform for ministry to others. But our ability to bear fruit for Him and for his kingdom is contingent on us growing in our relationship with Him. We can never lose sight of that. If we do we ll find ourselves like King Saul succumbing to pleasing people, becoming enamored with material, rather than spiritual things and ending up self-absorbed, trying to protect our interests, rather than loving God and loving others. 15, Jesus spoke to our tendency to try to do his work in our own strength in John chapter Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:4-8 6