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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at BibleStudyHeadquarters.com. This morning

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Speaker 1: we're continuing our look at the book of 1 Samuel.

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Speaker 1: We've been studying this book together. We've been looking at

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Speaker 1: a variety of things that the Lord reveals to us

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Speaker 1: in it. And here in 1 Samuel today, we're going

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Speaker 1: to be looking at, we're going to start at 1

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Speaker 1: Samuel 8, and then we're going to segue toward chapter

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Speaker 1: 10 and into chapter 10. So if you would take

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Speaker 1: your Bibles and turn with me to 1 Samuel 8,

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Speaker 1: and you're going to notice that in this portion of Scripture,

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Speaker 1: you're going to see Israel demanding a king. We're going

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Speaker 1: to see that Saul is chosen as that king, and

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Speaker 1: we're going to see some of the things that result

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Speaker 1: from that, at least in the initial stages. So 1

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Speaker 1: Samuel 8, and I'm going to actually read for us

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Speaker 1: verses 4 through 9 of 1 Samuel 8, but then

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Speaker 1: we're going to visit some other Scriptures along the way.

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Speaker 1: So we'll start here. 1 Samuel 8, starting with verse 4,

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Speaker 1: says this. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together

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Speaker 1: and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, Behold,

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Speaker 1: you are old, and your sons do not walk in

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Speaker 1: your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge

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Speaker 1: us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel

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Speaker 1: when they said, Give us a king to judge us.

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Speaker 1: And Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said

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Speaker 1: to Samuel, Obey the voice of the people in all

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Speaker 1: that they say to you, for they have not rejected you,

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Speaker 1: but they have rejected me from being king over them.

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Speaker 1: According to all the deeds that they have done from

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Speaker 1: the day I brought them up out of Egypt, even

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Speaker 1: to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so

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Speaker 1: they are also doing to you. Now then, obey their voice,

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Speaker 1: only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the

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Speaker 1: ways of the king who shall reign over them. Let's

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Speaker 1: pray together. Father, thank you so much for giving us

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Speaker 1: access to your word and allowing us to see the

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Speaker 1: things that we're able to see in the portion of

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Speaker 1: scripture that we're looking at together today. We pray that

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Speaker 1: you would reveal to us things regarding your nature and

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Speaker 1: your will. your plan for humanity, but also, Lord, our

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Speaker 1: response to you. We know, Lord, that it's easy to

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Speaker 1: go our own way and it's easy to focus on

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Speaker 1: things that in our own minds seem to make sense

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Speaker 1: to us. And then we look at a portion of

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Speaker 1: scripture like this and we realize that the hearts of humanity,

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Speaker 1: the hearts of men can easily go in a direction

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Speaker 1: that is not of you. So, Father, as we look

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Speaker 1: at this portion of your word together today, we pray

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Speaker 1: that you give us your guidance and your direction by

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Speaker 1: the power of your Holy Spirit. We thank you for

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Speaker 1: all these things in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Speaker 1: So here in 1 Samuel, specifically chapters 8 through 10,

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Speaker 1: what we're going to notice is that it records the

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Speaker 1: transition from the leadership of the judges. So we have

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Speaker 1: that era of the judges leading Israel, and now it's

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Speaker 1: going to segue into the establishment of a monarchy. The

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Speaker 1: people here, and I'm just giving you a little bit

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Speaker 1: of an overview here, and then we'll take the details later,

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Speaker 1: one at a time, but the people asked Samuel to

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Speaker 1: appoint a king. God warned them about the consequences of

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Speaker 1: doing that, but they made the request just the same,

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Speaker 1: and then Saul was eventually chosen and publicly presented. We'll

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Speaker 1: see that particularly as we get to chapter 10, that presentation.

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Speaker 1: But one of the things you'll notice in these chapters

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Speaker 1: is that these chapters expose Israel's misplaced desire for security,

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Speaker 1: and that's something that I'll say right at the outset.

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Speaker 1: You and I, all of us have a desire for security.

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Speaker 1: We like things to be predictable. We like things to

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Speaker 1: be secure. Even if you're someone who in general likes surprises,

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Speaker 1: and I kind of go back and forth on that.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes I like surprises. Sometimes I hate surprises. It all

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Speaker 1: depends on the category. If I'm watching a movie, I

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Speaker 1: like surprises. When things show up in my life that

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Speaker 1: are not according to my plan or my schedule, I

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Speaker 1: can't stand them. Here, you have Israel saying, we want security.

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Speaker 1: but the security that they wanted wasn't really the right

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Speaker 1: kind of security. It was a misplaced desire for security.

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Speaker 1: But even as they try and seek that out, one

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Speaker 1: of the things you'll also notice is God's sovereign hand

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Speaker 1: still at work, even among his rebellious children. They wanted

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Speaker 1: a king who would make them like the surrounding nations,

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Speaker 1: but God was actually advancing a plan to give them

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Speaker 1: the king they truly needed. Specifically, Jesus Christ. And as

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Speaker 1: we work our way through this book, we're going to

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Speaker 1: notice that. Now, let's come back to Samuel here. In

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Speaker 1: the previous weeks here, as we've been looking at these passages,

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Speaker 1: the scriptures had a lot about Samuel to teach us,

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Speaker 1: and a lot about Samuel that it's given us the

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Speaker 1: opportunity to know. And at this point, Samuel had been

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Speaker 1: serving Israel faithfully for many years. He had a prophetic gift.

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Speaker 1: He's serving them as their judge. And as he grew

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Speaker 1: older and He looked at his boys, he looked at

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Speaker 1: his sons, Joel and Abijah, and he appointed them to

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Speaker 1: be judges in Beersheba. But then you look at what

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Speaker 1: scripture tells us, and it reveals to us that they

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Speaker 1: did not follow his example. And that's one of those

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Speaker 1: things that could be a really challenging thing. You can

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Speaker 1: encourage people to go in the right direction, but it's

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Speaker 1: not a guarantee that they will. And when you look

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Speaker 1: at verse three, it tells us, yet his sons did

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Speaker 1: not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain,

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Speaker 1: meaning they wanted the things of this world, It says

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Speaker 1: they took bribes and they perverted justice. So Samuel's sons

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Speaker 1: used their positions for personal benefit. Instead of using those

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Speaker 1: positions to glorify God and serve the people, they used

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Speaker 1: these positions for personal benefit. They took bribes, they were

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Speaker 1: interested in unjust gain, and they corrupted justice. It was

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Speaker 1: their job as judges to uphold justice, but they were

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Speaker 1: corrupting justice. Now, you can imagine that would frustrate people.

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Speaker 1: That's the type of thing that drives people crazy. And

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Speaker 1: so the scripture tells us that Israel's elders actually had

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Speaker 1: something to say about it. We're told that Israel's elders,

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Speaker 1: you know, as they're concerned, legitimate concern about Israel's future,

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Speaker 1: about the nation's future, they propose a solution to Samuel,

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Speaker 1: but their solution reveals a deeper problem that's going on.

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Speaker 1: When you look at verses four and five, it says,

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Speaker 1: then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came

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Speaker 1: to Samuel at Ramon, said to him, behold, You are old,

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Speaker 1: and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now

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Speaker 1: appoint for us a king to judge us like all

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Speaker 1: the nations. Now, I have children, and you know what

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Speaker 1: they often remind me? They'll look at me and they'll say, Dad,

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Speaker 1: you are old. And I guess you've got to be

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Speaker 1: like real old if the elders come up to you

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Speaker 1: and say, you are old. But the bigger problem is,

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Speaker 1: was the fact that Samuel's children were not following his examples.

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Speaker 1: And so the elders, as they come to Samuel, they

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Speaker 1: don't just ask for responsible leadership after Samuel's death. That

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Speaker 1: would be a reasonable request in some respects, but that's

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Speaker 1: not what they asked for. They said they wanted a king,

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Speaker 1: and notice how they phrase it, like all the nations.

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Speaker 1: They want a king like all the nations. Now, We're

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Speaker 1: talking about Israel here. And if you've read the scriptures

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Speaker 1: leading up to this, you realize that Israel was God's

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Speaker 1: covenant people. And as God's covenant people, they were called

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Speaker 1: to be holy. They were called to be distinct. They

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Speaker 1: were called to be very different from the nations around them.

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Speaker 1: But the people looked at the nations around them and

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Speaker 1: they thought, you know what? We kind of want to

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Speaker 1: be like them. We want to imitate their political structure.

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Speaker 1: We want to do some of the things that they do.

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Speaker 1: And so they said, we want to be like the nations.

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Speaker 1: Give us a king so we could be like the

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Speaker 1: other nations around us. And as you can imagine, Samuel,

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Speaker 1: who has been called to lead Israel as their judge,

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Speaker 1: obviously he's displeased and he prays about it. And I

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Speaker 1: have to say, I don't know what your first instinct

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Speaker 1: is when you're going through a season that discourages you

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Speaker 1: or if you get bad news or if you hear

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Speaker 1: something that really troubles your heart. But one of the

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Speaker 1: things I appreciate about Samuel is that when something like

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Speaker 1: that struck him, and he did have an emotional response

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Speaker 1: to it, he's discouraged by it, he's bothered by it,

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Speaker 1: he prays. He prays. Have you ever noticed sometimes it

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Speaker 1: takes you a while to get to the spot of prayer?

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Speaker 1: And then afterward you think, why did it take me

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Speaker 1: so long to get there? Why didn't I start there?

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Speaker 1: Why did I have to go through this step and

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Speaker 1: this step and this step? And then finally this light

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Speaker 1: goes on in my mind where I'm like, you know

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Speaker 1: what I could do? I could pray about this. Sometimes

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Speaker 1: I look at my own life, it's like, why did

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Speaker 1: it take me that many hours today before I got

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Speaker 1: to that spot? And here Samuel's displeased, so he prays.

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Speaker 1: And I love how the Lord answers him. The Lord

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Speaker 1: directly responds to him, and he also, in responding to him,

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Speaker 1: he identifies the real nature of Israel's request. When you

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Speaker 1: look at verse 7, we're told this. The Lord tells Samuel,

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Speaker 1: he says, Obey the voice of the people in all

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Speaker 1: that they say to you, for they have not rejected you,

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Speaker 1: but they have rejected me. from being king over them.

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Speaker 1: So he's trying to help him see, like, this is

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Speaker 1: the real problem. I know it feels personal to you.

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Speaker 1: And by the way, a lot of times, some of

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Speaker 1: the critique that you've received in life, some of the

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Speaker 1: rebellion you've received, do you ever realize, like, it's actually

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Speaker 1: not always about you? And in this context here, the

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Speaker 1: Lord actually reminds Samuel, it's not about you. You think

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Speaker 1: it's about you. It feels personal. It says more about

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Speaker 1: what's going on in your critic's heart. And so this

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Speaker 1: is something here. that the Lord reveals to him. Now,

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Speaker 1: one other thing I should say about this. Israel's desire

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Speaker 1: for a king wasn't automatically sinful. And I'll explain what

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Speaker 1: I mean by that. When you look back in the

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Speaker 1: book of Deuteronomy, when you look back in Deuteronomy 17 specifically,

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Speaker 1: God's law actually anticipated the fact that there would be

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Speaker 1: a day when Israel would indeed have a king. So

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Speaker 1: the desire for a king wasn't automatically sinful. And there

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Speaker 1: were specific instructions that were given for the monarchy that

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Speaker 1: were supposed to be followed in Deuteronomy 17. There's no

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Speaker 1: evidence that any of the monarchs actually fully followed that.

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Speaker 1: But there were some instructions that were given there But

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Speaker 1: the problem here that's illustrated for us is the reason

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Speaker 1: why they wanted a king. They didn't say, we would

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Speaker 1: like a king because we would like to honor the

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Speaker 1: words that were spoken to us in Deuteronomy 17, and

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Speaker 1: we would like godly leadership to rule and reign in

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Speaker 1: the land. That's not their reason. Their reason was they

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Speaker 1: wanted a king that would just provide them visible security,

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Speaker 1: something they could see, military strength that they could perceive.

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Speaker 1: National respectability so that they looked good in front of

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Speaker 1: their neighbors. That's what they wanted. They just wanted to

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Speaker 1: look good. Basically, what they're saying is we want a

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Speaker 1: king because we're tired of living by faith. Now, I

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Speaker 1: don't know if you have in your mind or in

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Speaker 1: your heart that you would like to please God. But

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Speaker 1: I suspect that many of you would like to please God.

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Speaker 1: Knowing you, I'm certain that most of you would like

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Speaker 1: to be able to say, my life pleased God. You

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Speaker 1: know how your life can please God? Scripture is actually

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Speaker 1: very clear about it. Scripture tells us it is impossible

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Speaker 1: to please God without faith. It is impossible to please

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Speaker 1: God without faith. That's what Scripture teaches us. And what

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Speaker 1: did the children of Israel want? Sight. And do you

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Speaker 1: ever identify, when you pick your prayers apart, how often

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Speaker 1: you're really saying to God, Lord, please stop stretching my faith.

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Speaker 1: Please stop asking me to walk by faith. I would

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Speaker 1: prefer sight for a little while. Now, I don't like

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Speaker 1: to admit this, but I think a lot of times

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Speaker 1: that's what I'm kind of praying, and then the Lord

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Speaker 1: reminds me through scriptures like this, hey, how about you

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Speaker 1: just trust me? You don't know the timetable how this

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Speaker 1: detail is going to work out, so just trust me.

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Speaker 1: You don't know the ways in which I'm going to

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Speaker 1: orchestrate these circumstances. So just trust me. Maybe it's something

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Speaker 1: I let you see quickly. Maybe it's something I make

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Speaker 1: you wait decades for. Whatever it is, trust me. Israel's saying,

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Speaker 1: we just want a visible king and a visible military.

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Speaker 1: And we want to be respected by the other nations.

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Speaker 1: We want to look good basically in our own eyes

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Speaker 1: and in their eyes. And the Lord reminds us time

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Speaker 1: and time again in scripture, it is impossible to please

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Speaker 1: him without faith. They were saying, we are tired of

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Speaker 1: living by faith. And that's kind of what it was

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Speaker 1: like when they were living under the judges, because they

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Speaker 1: would wait for the Lord to raise somebody up as

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Speaker 1: a judge. Other nations would threaten them. The Lord would

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Speaker 1: empower the judges through his spirit to do sometimes very

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Speaker 1: miraculous things. And the people of Israel would benefit from that.

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Speaker 1: But basically, they were living in a theocracy. They were

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Speaker 1: living under the Lord's sovereign control. And they're saying to

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Speaker 1: the Lord, we don't want a theocracy. We want a monarchy.

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Speaker 1: We would like a human king instead of the divine

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Speaker 1: creator calling the shots. That's basically saying we're tired of

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Speaker 1: living by faith. We don't want to live by faith. Well,

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Speaker 1: I don't know if you've ever grown tired of living

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Speaker 1: by faith, but I would encourage you and myself to

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Speaker 1: revisit that. If you ever get to a spot where

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Speaker 1: you discover yourself praying, Lord, I just want to see,

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Speaker 1: I just want to see, I just want to see.

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Speaker 1: Ask the Lord to just place within your heart the

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Speaker 1: desire to trust him even without seeing. Because that's the

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Speaker 1: essence of faith. When you look at Hebrews 11, it

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Speaker 1: tells us that basically, when you can trust the Lord

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Speaker 1: for things you can't see, you're experiencing what it looks

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Speaker 1: like to walk in faith. Israel did not want that.

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Speaker 1: And that has all kinds of implications. And in fact,

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Speaker 1: their request here, it continues a pattern that goes right

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Speaker 1: back to the book of Exodus. Now in Exodus, they

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Speaker 1: had visibly seen many miracles and many visible forms of

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Speaker 1: evidence that God was present with them. But here, God

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Speaker 1: reminded Samuel that the people repeatedly forsook him in that

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Speaker 1: generation and in the generations afterward. And as they forsook

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Speaker 1: the true and living God, they worshipped other gods like

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Speaker 1: the nations around them that they seemed to admire so much.

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Speaker 1: So their demand for a king was just another expression

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Speaker 1: of that same unbelief. They just wanted to persist in unbelief.

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Speaker 1: They wanted someone they could see. They wanted to be

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Speaker 1: able to evaluate leadership by human standards. They wanted to

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Speaker 1: be like the other nations. And so God told Samuel...

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Speaker 1: He said, we're going to grant their request. I'm going

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Speaker 1: to grant their request. But I want you to tell them.

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Speaker 1: I want you to tell them exactly what it's going

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Speaker 1: to be like, even as I grant it. So God

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Speaker 1: tells Samuel to warn them about how earthly kings exercise power.

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Speaker 1: A king would take their sons for his chariots and

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Speaker 1: for his army. Their sons. He's going to take your

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Speaker 1: sons for this. And he will also take your daughters

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Speaker 1: to be perfumers and cooks. And bakers, he's going to

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Speaker 1: take them from you. He's going to look at your

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Speaker 1: fields and he's going to say, I think I need

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Speaker 1: those fields. He's going to look at your vineyards and say,

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Speaker 1: I need those vineyards. He's going to look at the

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Speaker 1: people who work for you and say, I need them

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Speaker 1: to work for me. Oh, nice livestock you got there.

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Speaker 1: Also mine. And so Samuel concluded the warning. He gives

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Speaker 1: the warning to the people. And in verse 18, he

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Speaker 1: says this as he concludes the warning. He says, and

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Speaker 1: in that day you will cry out because of your

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Speaker 1: king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord

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Speaker 1: will not answer you in that day. So he tells

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Speaker 1: them the negative thing. He tells them the negative stuff

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Speaker 1: and then he gives them this detail in particular. Now,

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Speaker 1: have you ever been in a spot where you had

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Speaker 1: to hear something or you overheard something you didn't want

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Speaker 1: to hear? Like maybe you're happy about something. So some

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Speaker 1: of you know that last night I went and saw

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Speaker 1: my favorite band in concert. Um, it's a band called Striper.

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Speaker 1: They just released a new album. If you don't own it,

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Speaker 1: shame on you. Came out a week and two days ago,

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Speaker 1: nine days, it's nine days old and you don't own it.

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Speaker 1: What's going on? Have I not led you well? Um,

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Speaker 1: but I found out that they had a concert in Harrisburg.

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Speaker 1: Now Harrisburg is like two hours away. And I was like,

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Speaker 1: what time's the concert? Eight o'clock. Well, they didn't start

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Speaker 1: till like 835. And it's like two hours away. So

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Speaker 1: I drove out there last night. I'm like, what am

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Speaker 1: I doing? I have to preach in the morning. Ah,

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Speaker 1: I'm doing it. I'm doing it. And I even shared

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Speaker 1: a little bit about it on social media. So some

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Speaker 1: of you knew that I was doing this, or at

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Speaker 1: least you suspected. If he posted it, he's probably doing it.

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Speaker 1: So I went there. But they were supposed to come

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Speaker 1: on at 8. And so here I am. It's like 8.25,

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Speaker 1: no band, 8.30. And then I was joking. I was like,

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Speaker 1: some of us have to work tomorrow. And there was

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Speaker 1: a guy... two over next to me. I was like

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Speaker 1: five people from the stage, so if I can't hear

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Speaker 1: you today, that's why. There was a guy two over

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Speaker 1: from me, and I was there to have a nice time,

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Speaker 1: but he got all complaining, and he was like, come on,

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Speaker 1: this is ridiculous. He's saying all the things that you

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Speaker 1: expect people to say, and in my mind, I'm like,

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Speaker 1: hey man, settle down. When the best band is ready,

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Speaker 1: they will come out. And then they did at 8.35,

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Speaker 1: and it was a lovely show. But I remember in

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Speaker 1: that moment thinking, I am not letting that man's negative

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Speaker 1: attitude ruin my good time. I'm here by myself, a

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Speaker 1: grown man five feet away from the stage at this

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Speaker 1: metal concert, and I am not letting this man ruin

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Speaker 1: my good time. And then I started thinking about today's message,

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Speaker 1: and I was like, well, actually, sometimes you're supposed to

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Speaker 1: ruin the good time. And that's exactly what Samuel does

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Speaker 1: when you look at this here. He's like, fine, God's

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Speaker 1: going to give you exactly what you're asking for. You're

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Speaker 1: asking for a king, but I just want you to

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Speaker 1: know he's going to take your sons, take your daughters,

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Speaker 1: take your fields. And it's going to be not exactly

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Speaker 1: what you expect. And I hope you're prepared and you're

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Speaker 1: going to cry out and regret your decision. And the

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Speaker 1: Lord's going to say, I gave you exactly what you wanted.

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Speaker 1: Can you imagine if God gave us exactly everything we

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Speaker 1: ever prayed for? that would be terrible. If God gave

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Speaker 1: me everything that I ever prayed for, sometimes he's like,

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Speaker 1: you don't even know what you're asking, John. So my

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Speaker 1: answer is no. And someday you will thank me that

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Speaker 1: I said no. But in this context here, he says, okay,

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Speaker 1: it's been hundreds of years. It's been many generations. You

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Speaker 1: keep going in this direction. You want the king and

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Speaker 1: you want the king not to honor my word, but

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Speaker 1: you want the king so you can be like the

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Speaker 1: other nations. Fine. Here he comes. But he reminds them

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Speaker 1: that a human king wouldn't only give them something, a

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Speaker 1: human king would also take. Israel hoped that a human

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Speaker 1: king was going to protect their freedom, be a blessing

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Speaker 1: to them in so many ways. But what ends up happening,

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Speaker 1: and you can read this all throughout the book of

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Speaker 1: 1 Kings and 2 Kings, you end up seeing that

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Speaker 1: the monarchy becomes a source of oppression more often than

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Speaker 1: it becomes a source of help. They wanted someone to

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Speaker 1: exercise authority over them without fully considering what that authority

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Speaker 1: was going to cost them. They had very rosy eyes,

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Speaker 1: like rose-colored glasses. They were seeing the future through, and

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Speaker 1: the people refused to listen. Samuel gives them the warning

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Speaker 1: the Lord tells them to give, and the people refused

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Speaker 1: to listen. And you can see that refusal when you

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Speaker 1: look at verses 19 to 20. They say, no, but

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Speaker 1: there shall be a king over us, that we also

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Speaker 1: may be like all the nations, and that our king

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Speaker 1: may judge us and go up before us and fight

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Speaker 1: our battles. Well, isn't that lovely? Right? I mean, here's Samuel,

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Speaker 1: who has never lied to them, not even once, and

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Speaker 1: he's telling them exactly what God has revealed. And they're like,

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Speaker 1: that's nice. No. Which says they wanted to be their

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Speaker 1: own God, which also reveals the same problem that every

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Speaker 1: single one of us have wrestled with every time we're

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Speaker 1: trying to make a deeper level decision. We always find

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Speaker 1: ourselves in that same spot. Lord, do I listen to

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Speaker 1: you today, or do I say my wisdom supersedes yours?

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Speaker 1: If you give me something that I don't want to hear,

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Speaker 1: am I going to look at you and say no,

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Speaker 1: or am I just going to pretend like I didn't

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Speaker 1: hear it and say no that way, or will I

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Speaker 1: actually listen? People refused to obey the voice of Samuel.

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Speaker 1: They said no, There shall be a king over us.

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Speaker 1: So again, their words, it shows this misplaced confidence that

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Speaker 1: they have. Effectively, you know, you look at this. God

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Speaker 1: had been leading Israel. He already went before them. He

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Speaker 1: had been protecting them. He's the one who made them

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Speaker 1: into a nation. He had been fighting their battles for them.

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Speaker 1: He delivered them from Egypt. He brought them through the wilderness.

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Speaker 1: He gave them the promised land. He defeated their enemies

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Speaker 1: and gave them the strength in the midst of all

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Speaker 1: of those battles to But now Israel was asking for

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Speaker 1: a human king to perform the role that God already fulfilled,

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Speaker 1: and God granted their request. And by the way, as

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Speaker 1: God granted their request, this wasn't an endorsement of their motives.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes what God does is he allows people to experience

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Speaker 1: the results of what they insist on having. So Israel

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Speaker 1: would indeed receive a king, but the monarchy would then

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Speaker 1: expose both the weakness of human leadership and just how

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Speaker 1: much the nation really needed God. Now, with all of

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Speaker 1: that in mind, we jump over to chapter 9, and

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Speaker 1: in chapter 9, it introduces that king to us, a

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Speaker 1: man named Saul. He was the son of a man

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Speaker 1: named Kish. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. In

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Speaker 1: verses 1 and 2 of 1 Samuel 9, say it

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Speaker 1: this way. There was a man of Benjamin whose name

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Speaker 1: was Kish, the son of Abel, the son of Zeror,

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Speaker 1: the son of Bekarath, son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a

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Speaker 1: man of wealth. And he had a son whose name

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Speaker 1: was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a

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Speaker 1: man among the people of Israel more handsome than he.

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Speaker 1: From his shoulders upward, he was taller than any of

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Speaker 1: the people. Now, before I go into any more details

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Speaker 1: about Saul, let me just caution you. Don't pick leaders

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Speaker 1: because they're tall, okay? Ask me why I have opinions

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Speaker 1: about that. Saul looked like the king that Israel wanted.

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Speaker 1: He looked like that guy. He was young. He was handsome.

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Speaker 1: He was physically impressive. I imagine that some people, as

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Speaker 1: they looked at him, they would think, you know what,

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Speaker 1: his appearance just inspired confidence to a certain degree. You know,

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Speaker 1: people who judge leaders based on what they could see,

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Speaker 1: they thought, yeah, like, let's look at, you know, we

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Speaker 1: look at this guy, we think that he looks like

427
00:22:20,090 --> 00:22:23,590
Speaker 1: a leader. He looks like a king. But his introduction

428
00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,730
Speaker 1: doesn't take place in a palace, and it doesn't take

429
00:22:25,770 --> 00:22:28,570
Speaker 1: place on a battlefield. It actually begins, and I'll summarize

430
00:22:28,609 --> 00:22:31,389
Speaker 1: the story, but it's a story about missing donkeys. And

431
00:22:31,410 --> 00:22:33,350
Speaker 1: you're like, what is that? Well, let me just summarize this.

432
00:22:33,369 --> 00:22:36,310
Speaker 1: It tells us about this in 1 Samuel 9. Kish,

433
00:22:36,650 --> 00:22:40,310
Speaker 1: Saul's father, sends Saul and a servant to search for

434
00:22:40,330 --> 00:22:43,710
Speaker 1: a couple missing donkeys. They travel throughout several regions, and

435
00:22:43,730 --> 00:22:47,219
Speaker 1: they can't find the animals. And then Saul gets to

436
00:22:47,260 --> 00:22:48,800
Speaker 1: a spot and he's like, you know, my father's going

437
00:22:48,820 --> 00:22:50,560
Speaker 1: to start worrying about me if I don't get back.

438
00:22:50,580 --> 00:22:52,119
Speaker 1: He's not going to care about the donkeys. We've been

439
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:54,180
Speaker 1: gone so long. We got to get back. And he

440
00:22:54,220 --> 00:22:56,909
Speaker 1: considers returning home and the servant says, hey, why don't

441
00:22:56,950 --> 00:22:58,690
Speaker 1: we do this? Why don't we consult the man of

442
00:22:58,750 --> 00:23:00,830
Speaker 1: God who is in this nearby city, that man of

443
00:23:00,869 --> 00:23:04,050
Speaker 1: God being Samuel? Why don't we consult him and see

444
00:23:04,070 --> 00:23:06,510
Speaker 1: what he has to say? And Saul thought, all right, well,

445
00:23:06,530 --> 00:23:07,909
Speaker 1: if I'm going to do this, if I'm going to

446
00:23:07,950 --> 00:23:10,830
Speaker 1: consult this the man of God, Samuel, I should at

447
00:23:10,850 --> 00:23:13,090
Speaker 1: least have a gift to give him. And he realizes,

448
00:23:13,170 --> 00:23:15,810
Speaker 1: I don't really have anything suitable to give him. But

449
00:23:15,850 --> 00:23:17,910
Speaker 1: the servant had a small piece of silver. And so

450
00:23:17,950 --> 00:23:19,409
Speaker 1: he said, all right, let's go and we'll give the

451
00:23:19,869 --> 00:23:22,540
Speaker 1: silver to Samuel and we'll see what he has to say.

452
00:23:23,510 --> 00:23:24,609
Speaker 1: And you'd look at that and you're like, all right,

453
00:23:24,630 --> 00:23:26,930
Speaker 1: this is kind of a strange circumstance, but really what's

454
00:23:26,970 --> 00:23:30,450
Speaker 1: taking place here, this is what looks like an ordinary search,

455
00:23:30,490 --> 00:23:34,169
Speaker 1: but it's actually part of God's providential guidance. He's working

456
00:23:34,710 --> 00:23:37,490
Speaker 1: all kinds of details out here in ways that people

457
00:23:37,530 --> 00:23:41,129
Speaker 1: don't exactly realize. Saul thinks he's looking for livestock. He

458
00:23:41,170 --> 00:23:44,129
Speaker 1: thinks he's looking for animals, but God's actually leading him

459
00:23:44,330 --> 00:23:49,130
Speaker 1: intentionally toward Samuel. And even before Saul arrives in front

460
00:23:49,150 --> 00:23:52,550
Speaker 1: of Samuel, God told Samuel that he's about to meet

461
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,109
Speaker 1: the future king. When you look at verse 16 of

462
00:23:55,140 --> 00:23:57,670
Speaker 1: chapter 9, it says, tomorrow about this time, I will

463
00:23:57,710 --> 00:24:00,290
Speaker 1: send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and

464
00:24:00,330 --> 00:24:03,250
Speaker 1: you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel.

465
00:24:03,810 --> 00:24:07,629
Speaker 1: He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines.

466
00:24:08,330 --> 00:24:12,150
Speaker 1: So God describes Saul as the man that he's sending. Now,

467
00:24:12,369 --> 00:24:17,480
Speaker 1: Israel's request came from unbelief, but also understand that God

468
00:24:17,540 --> 00:24:21,130
Speaker 1: remained sovereign over this entire process. He knows people goof

469
00:24:21,150 --> 00:24:23,409
Speaker 1: things up and he still works things out. Things that

470
00:24:23,430 --> 00:24:25,290
Speaker 1: we intend for evil, he still has a way of

471
00:24:25,780 --> 00:24:27,920
Speaker 1: working it out for our good and for his glory.

472
00:24:28,820 --> 00:24:31,139
Speaker 1: And so he actually did use Saul to deliver the

473
00:24:31,180 --> 00:24:34,980
Speaker 1: people of Israel from the Philistines, as prophetically stated here,

474
00:24:35,420 --> 00:24:37,780
Speaker 1: even though we're also going to see that Saul proves

475
00:24:37,820 --> 00:24:41,010
Speaker 1: to be rather unfaithful later on. He gets off, it

476
00:24:41,109 --> 00:24:44,370
Speaker 1: appears to be a good start, but it doesn't last long.

477
00:24:45,570 --> 00:24:48,960
Speaker 1: But still, when Samuel sees Saul God confirmed that this

478
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,840
Speaker 1: was the man that would govern the people. Samuel assured

479
00:24:51,940 --> 00:24:54,080
Speaker 1: Saul that the missing donkeys that he'd been looking for,

480
00:24:54,420 --> 00:24:57,000
Speaker 1: they've been found, don't worry about them anymore. Then he

481
00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,500
Speaker 1: spoke about the desire of Israel being directed towards Saul

482
00:25:00,580 --> 00:25:03,230
Speaker 1: and his family. And Saul is like, wait a second, what?

483
00:25:03,330 --> 00:25:06,330
Speaker 1: I came to you trying to find missing donkeys and

484
00:25:06,350 --> 00:25:08,390
Speaker 1: you're telling me I'm about to become king of this

485
00:25:08,470 --> 00:25:11,449
Speaker 1: entire nation? Look at how it goes in verse 21.

486
00:25:11,450 --> 00:25:13,889
Speaker 1: Saul says, am I not a Benjamite from the least

487
00:25:13,930 --> 00:25:16,379
Speaker 1: of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan

488
00:25:16,420 --> 00:25:19,040
Speaker 1: the humblest of all the clans of the tribes of Benjamin?

489
00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:21,280
Speaker 1: Why then have you spoken to me in this way?

490
00:25:21,300 --> 00:25:23,580
Speaker 1: He's thinking, this is not what I anticipated when I

491
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,120
Speaker 1: came here. And you look at this and you think,

492
00:25:26,220 --> 00:25:31,670
Speaker 1: at this point, Saul appears humble. He recognized that Benjamin

493
00:25:31,730 --> 00:25:34,310
Speaker 1: was a small tribe and that his clan within the

494
00:25:34,350 --> 00:25:38,330
Speaker 1: tribe of Benjamin wasn't even prominent. But Samuel gave Saul

495
00:25:38,350 --> 00:25:40,590
Speaker 1: a place of honor at a meal that he hosts.

496
00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,959
Speaker 1: He speaks with him privately. Then it takes us to

497
00:25:44,020 --> 00:25:48,140
Speaker 1: chapter 10. And that chapter begins with Samuel anointing Saul

498
00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:50,480
Speaker 1: and recognizing the fact that the Lord had set him

499
00:25:50,540 --> 00:25:52,770
Speaker 1: apart for this task. In fact, in verse 1 of

500
00:25:52,810 --> 00:25:54,770
Speaker 1: chapter 10, it says, Then Samuel took a flask of

501
00:25:55,070 --> 00:25:58,649
Speaker 1: oil and poured it on his head and kissed him

502
00:25:58,690 --> 00:26:01,449
Speaker 1: and said, Has not the Lord anointed you to be

503
00:26:01,570 --> 00:26:06,760
Speaker 1: prince over his people Israel? Now, if you've ever noticed

504
00:26:06,780 --> 00:26:10,060
Speaker 1: this pattern in Scripture... you'll recognize what's going on here.

505
00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:11,900
Speaker 1: And if you've never noticed it, I'll tell you about

506
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:15,080
Speaker 1: it right now. When you see anointing like this in scripture,

507
00:26:15,140 --> 00:26:20,940
Speaker 1: anointing symbolized God's selection and consecration. The idea that somebody

508
00:26:20,980 --> 00:26:24,980
Speaker 1: was set apart for something in particular. Saul was not

509
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:28,600
Speaker 1: supposed to rule independently, meaning he had been set apart

510
00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:32,010
Speaker 1: by God for this task. He was appointed under God's

511
00:26:32,070 --> 00:26:35,450
Speaker 1: authority and he was responsible to obey God's word. That's

512
00:26:35,470 --> 00:26:38,280
Speaker 1: what he was supposed to do as king. So Samuel

513
00:26:38,300 --> 00:26:40,520
Speaker 1: gives Saul several signs. He says, this is how this

514
00:26:40,580 --> 00:26:42,060
Speaker 1: is going to work out. I'm going to confirm to

515
00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:44,480
Speaker 1: you that this has come to you from God, that

516
00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:47,100
Speaker 1: this isn't just me saying that you're to be king,

517
00:26:47,140 --> 00:26:49,409
Speaker 1: that God himself has set you apart for this task.

518
00:26:49,690 --> 00:26:52,649
Speaker 1: And he gives him several signs. He says, Saul, you're

519
00:26:52,670 --> 00:26:54,530
Speaker 1: going to meet men who will tell you that the

520
00:26:54,570 --> 00:26:58,750
Speaker 1: donkeys have been found. Then you're going to encounter others

521
00:26:58,790 --> 00:27:02,900
Speaker 1: who are carrying goats, bread, and wine, and specifically they're

522
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:06,240
Speaker 1: going to give you two loaves, essentially one for you

523
00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:08,190
Speaker 1: and one for your servant with you. They're going to

524
00:27:08,210 --> 00:27:10,630
Speaker 1: give you two loaves. And then you're going to meet

525
00:27:10,650 --> 00:27:12,790
Speaker 1: a group of prophets. And that's going to be the

526
00:27:12,810 --> 00:27:16,139
Speaker 1: strangest experience of all for you. And he says, and

527
00:27:16,220 --> 00:27:19,780
Speaker 1: God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is going to rush upon

528
00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:24,399
Speaker 1: you in that meeting. And then everything happened exactly as

529
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,510
Speaker 1: Samuel said. When you look at verse 9, it says this.

530
00:27:27,790 --> 00:27:30,030
Speaker 1: When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave

531
00:27:30,090 --> 00:27:33,959
Speaker 1: him another heart. And all these signs came to pass

532
00:27:34,020 --> 00:27:36,480
Speaker 1: that day. Now, I have more to say about this

533
00:27:36,500 --> 00:27:38,359
Speaker 1: in a moment, but I will say this very quickly.

534
00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:40,720
Speaker 1: I don't know if you've ever had an experience where

535
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:43,080
Speaker 1: you've sensed that the Lord's calling you to do something

536
00:27:43,140 --> 00:27:47,109
Speaker 1: very specific. If the Lord calls you to do something

537
00:27:47,170 --> 00:27:51,330
Speaker 1: very specific, and He convinces you, and even the people

538
00:27:51,390 --> 00:27:53,350
Speaker 1: around you, that you are to do a task, a

539
00:27:53,390 --> 00:27:57,420
Speaker 1: ministry task, a relational task, an evangelistic task, whatever it

540
00:27:57,450 --> 00:28:00,380
Speaker 1: may be, be obedient to Him, even if you tend

541
00:28:00,420 --> 00:28:03,430
Speaker 1: to doubt yourself. I've had several moments in my life

542
00:28:03,450 --> 00:28:06,100
Speaker 1: where it became very, very clear to me as the

543
00:28:06,140 --> 00:28:07,960
Speaker 1: Lord impressed upon my mind and my heart that he

544
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,920
Speaker 1: was saying, John, this is what you are to do

545
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,360
Speaker 1: during this season of your life. Now, I didn't hear

546
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:15,830
Speaker 1: an audible voice or anything like that. It was mainly

547
00:28:16,230 --> 00:28:19,570
Speaker 1: an impression placed upon my heart through circumstances that I

548
00:28:19,609 --> 00:28:23,669
Speaker 1: was seeing and confirmation that came from God's people. There

549
00:28:23,710 --> 00:28:25,710
Speaker 1: are several times I've had that happen in my life,

550
00:28:25,890 --> 00:28:29,580
Speaker 1: and it was very clear and unmistakable that that was

551
00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,160
Speaker 1: the Lord saying, this is the thing you're supposed to do.

552
00:28:32,820 --> 00:28:34,590
Speaker 1: And one of the things that I've noticed, even if

553
00:28:34,619 --> 00:28:37,550
Speaker 1: you feel like maybe you don't have the wisdom or

554
00:28:37,609 --> 00:28:40,110
Speaker 1: the strength or the experience or whatever it may be

555
00:28:40,470 --> 00:28:42,370
Speaker 1: to do the thing, if God calls you to do

556
00:28:42,410 --> 00:28:45,010
Speaker 1: the thing, understand he will also equip you to do

557
00:28:45,070 --> 00:28:48,330
Speaker 1: whatever that thing happens to be. So initially here, as

558
00:28:48,630 --> 00:28:51,520
Speaker 1: Saul is hearing all these things, yes, he's tall, yes,

559
00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:54,300
Speaker 1: he's handsome, but he's also thinking, it takes more than

560
00:28:54,340 --> 00:28:57,520
Speaker 1: that to lead a nation. So am I actually equipped

561
00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,320
Speaker 1: to do this? And what ends up happening is what

562
00:29:02,340 --> 00:29:06,150
Speaker 1: we see here. God gave him another heart. So if

563
00:29:06,180 --> 00:29:08,910
Speaker 1: God calls you to something, I promise you he will

564
00:29:09,010 --> 00:29:11,670
Speaker 1: equip you to do the thing he calls you to do.

565
00:29:12,050 --> 00:29:15,210
Speaker 1: It's not about, and it's never been about, your natural

566
00:29:15,490 --> 00:29:19,570
Speaker 1: abilities or your earthly wisdom or the metrics that most

567
00:29:19,610 --> 00:29:22,750
Speaker 1: people measure leadership by or anything like that. but be

568
00:29:22,850 --> 00:29:25,840
Speaker 1: obedient when the Lord calls you. Don't run from him,

569
00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:28,480
Speaker 1: run toward him, and then trust that he will do

570
00:29:28,540 --> 00:29:30,560
Speaker 1: whatever needs to be done in and through you to

571
00:29:30,620 --> 00:29:33,500
Speaker 1: accomplish the task he's called you to do. I've directly

572
00:29:33,540 --> 00:29:37,550
Speaker 1: experienced him opening up that kind of door, putting that

573
00:29:37,590 --> 00:29:39,750
Speaker 1: kind of thought or experience in my mind and in

574
00:29:39,790 --> 00:29:42,580
Speaker 1: my life, and then watched him do that very thing.

575
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:47,300
Speaker 1: In ways that you're like, you could just tell he's

576
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,170
Speaker 1: setting you up to succeed. I'll give you a real

577
00:29:50,230 --> 00:29:52,850
Speaker 1: strange example, but I'll give it to you exactly as

578
00:29:52,890 --> 00:29:55,590
Speaker 1: it happened. I was 21 years old when I first

579
00:29:55,630 --> 00:29:57,740
Speaker 1: became a pastor. I don't know if you consider that

580
00:29:57,780 --> 00:29:59,660
Speaker 1: to be the appropriate age, but I remember at the

581
00:29:59,700 --> 00:30:02,020
Speaker 1: time thinking, I think I'm kind of young to be

582
00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:03,740
Speaker 1: doing this, so I'm not going to tell anyone how

583
00:30:03,850 --> 00:30:07,450
Speaker 1: old I am. But I was a pastor. And when

584
00:30:07,470 --> 00:30:09,470
Speaker 1: I was 22 years old, I only served at my

585
00:30:09,510 --> 00:30:11,450
Speaker 1: first church for just one year, and then a church

586
00:30:11,490 --> 00:30:15,850
Speaker 1: in northeastern Pennsylvania requested the committee that was overseeing where

587
00:30:15,910 --> 00:30:18,270
Speaker 1: I was, they said, would you please move him here?

588
00:30:18,330 --> 00:30:20,770
Speaker 1: Our pastor's retiring. This is his home area. Would you

589
00:30:20,810 --> 00:30:22,670
Speaker 1: move him here? We would love for him to be

590
00:30:22,710 --> 00:30:24,850
Speaker 1: our next pastor. So at that point, I'm 22 years old.

591
00:30:26,380 --> 00:30:28,170
Speaker 1: And I liked the idea. I thought it was a

592
00:30:28,210 --> 00:30:30,310
Speaker 1: great idea. And I said, yeah, I'd love to do that.

593
00:30:30,370 --> 00:30:31,870
Speaker 1: If that's the Lord's will, I want to do that.

594
00:30:32,230 --> 00:30:34,610
Speaker 1: So that's what happened. So I moved there. But I

595
00:30:34,630 --> 00:30:36,270
Speaker 1: wouldn't tell anyone how old I was, or at least

596
00:30:36,310 --> 00:30:38,430
Speaker 1: I'd try not to. Some people figured it out, but

597
00:30:38,470 --> 00:30:42,070
Speaker 1: most people didn't. And I remember one day, you know,

598
00:30:42,090 --> 00:30:44,150
Speaker 1: I'm looking around at the congregation. I'm thinking, there are

599
00:30:44,170 --> 00:30:46,750
Speaker 1: probably people here wearing shirts that are older than me.

600
00:30:48,710 --> 00:30:50,620
Speaker 1: And the older I get, the more I realize as

601
00:30:50,660 --> 00:30:52,200
Speaker 1: I look at the age of some of my clothes,

602
00:30:52,260 --> 00:30:55,320
Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, they definitely were wearing shirts that were

603
00:30:56,050 --> 00:30:58,230
Speaker 1: Older than me. But I remember one day, one of

604
00:30:58,270 --> 00:31:01,850
Speaker 1: the men of the church came into the building, and

605
00:31:01,890 --> 00:31:04,190
Speaker 1: this is after an evening meeting, and he said, Pastor,

606
00:31:04,210 --> 00:31:06,410
Speaker 1: I don't know what to do. And I said, okay, well,

607
00:31:07,330 --> 00:31:10,450
Speaker 1: what do you mean? And he said, well, he said, so-and-so,

608
00:31:10,690 --> 00:31:12,690
Speaker 1: and this was a gentleman that lived right there in

609
00:31:12,730 --> 00:31:14,590
Speaker 1: the neighborhood, he said he got in my car and

610
00:31:14,610 --> 00:31:18,750
Speaker 1: he won't get out. Now, the back story here is

611
00:31:18,790 --> 00:31:24,380
Speaker 1: a little sad. The man was dealing with some some

612
00:31:24,700 --> 00:31:30,080
Speaker 1: issues mentally, some medical things. I was aware of that. And,

613
00:31:30,260 --> 00:31:32,160
Speaker 1: but nothing that this man could do could persuade the

614
00:31:32,220 --> 00:31:35,040
Speaker 1: other man from getting out of his car. And I said,

615
00:31:35,060 --> 00:31:36,200
Speaker 1: all right, well, let me go out there. And in

616
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:38,180
Speaker 1: the moment, do you ever do this? Like you're walking

617
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,160
Speaker 1: and praying at the same time. I'm like walking and praying.

618
00:31:41,180 --> 00:31:43,140
Speaker 1: I'm like, Lord, I don't, I don't know what I'm doing. Like,

619
00:31:43,180 --> 00:31:46,290
Speaker 1: I'm just like, people are act like I'm in charge here. Okay.

620
00:31:46,310 --> 00:31:48,070
Speaker 1: I'll just pretend like I'm in charge. Let's just go

621
00:31:48,130 --> 00:31:50,230
Speaker 1: out here and we'll just kind of see what's going

622
00:31:50,330 --> 00:31:53,350
Speaker 1: on here. And And so I walk outside, and I

623
00:31:53,390 --> 00:31:57,270
Speaker 1: saw the gentleman there, super friendly guy. And I just

624
00:31:57,290 --> 00:31:59,330
Speaker 1: said to him, I was like, hey, Mr. So-and-so. I said,

625
00:31:59,370 --> 00:32:01,450
Speaker 1: how you doing? He's like, oh, and he'd always say,

626
00:32:01,930 --> 00:32:03,520
Speaker 1: he's like, fit as a bunny. That's all he was,

627
00:32:03,540 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 1: he's like, fit as a bunny. Like, hopping around like

628
00:32:05,420 --> 00:32:07,260
Speaker 1: a bunny. That was always his saying. He'd say, it

629
00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,040
Speaker 1: was kind of entertaining, he'd say. I was like, excellent.

630
00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,240
Speaker 1: And I said, I have it on good authority that

631
00:32:13,300 --> 00:32:15,560
Speaker 1: your wife wants me to help you get over here

632
00:32:15,780 --> 00:32:17,880
Speaker 1: this way. So here, take my arm. We're going to

633
00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,830
Speaker 1: walk over here. And he's like, okie doke. And he

634
00:32:20,870 --> 00:32:23,320
Speaker 1: grabs my arm, and so I walked him to his

635
00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:26,740
Speaker 1: house and helped him get home. And then I came

636
00:32:26,760 --> 00:32:28,780
Speaker 1: back over to the church, and that man in the

637
00:32:28,820 --> 00:32:32,960
Speaker 1: church said to me, how did you do that? How

638
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,100
Speaker 1: did you do that? He's like, I've been trying for

639
00:32:35,100 --> 00:32:36,580
Speaker 1: 15 minutes to get him out of the car, and

640
00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:37,959
Speaker 1: I didn't know where he lived. Like, how did you

641
00:32:37,980 --> 00:32:39,340
Speaker 1: get him out of the car? How did that work

642
00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:41,580
Speaker 1: for you? And in my mind, here's the honest answer.

643
00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,880
Speaker 1: I have no idea. There was no pre-plan that went

644
00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:49,420
Speaker 1: into that. I just remember leaving that experience, realizing, Lord,

645
00:32:49,460 --> 00:32:51,740
Speaker 1: you're setting me up so that I can actually lead here.

646
00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,530
Speaker 1: You're actually making it look like I know what I'm doing,

647
00:32:54,630 --> 00:32:57,130
Speaker 1: even though I'm approaching these situations. I shouldn't tell you

648
00:32:57,150 --> 00:32:59,230
Speaker 1: this because I still have to lead here, right? You're like,

649
00:32:59,370 --> 00:33:01,930
Speaker 1: I have tons of experience and wisdom now. You've got

650
00:33:01,970 --> 00:33:06,410
Speaker 1: me at this season of life. But I just remember

651
00:33:06,430 --> 00:33:07,770
Speaker 1: in that moment, I was like, Lord, I can tell

652
00:33:07,830 --> 00:33:10,600
Speaker 1: what's happening. You're calling me to something, and then you're

653
00:33:10,630 --> 00:33:14,050
Speaker 1: demonstrating that you've got my back. You're gonna make it work,

654
00:33:14,110 --> 00:33:16,610
Speaker 1: aren't you? You're gonna make it work. And that's exactly

655
00:33:16,630 --> 00:33:19,080
Speaker 1: what happened. He made it work. And so when you

656
00:33:19,100 --> 00:33:21,040
Speaker 1: look at something like this, it says God gave him

657
00:33:21,100 --> 00:33:24,400
Speaker 1: another heart. If God calls you to something, forget all

658
00:33:24,420 --> 00:33:27,540
Speaker 1: the metrics that everybody else measures everything by and just

659
00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:29,000
Speaker 1: be obedient and just say, all right, Lord, I'm just

660
00:33:29,020 --> 00:33:32,440
Speaker 1: gonna step both feet right into this and then we'll

661
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:36,440
Speaker 1: see what happens. God equipped Saul for the responsibility that

662
00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:39,420
Speaker 1: was placed before him. He made him able to do

663
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:44,430
Speaker 1: the job. The spirit enabled him to prophesy. And those

664
00:33:44,470 --> 00:33:47,950
Speaker 1: who knew him prior, they were amazed at the change

665
00:33:47,990 --> 00:33:52,160
Speaker 1: that they saw within him. Now again, this experience didn't

666
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:54,440
Speaker 1: guarantee that Saul was going to remain faithful. That's the

667
00:33:54,580 --> 00:33:58,120
Speaker 1: irony here. And in fact, Saul doesn't remain faithful. But

668
00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:00,160
Speaker 1: God gave him what he needed to serve. He set

669
00:34:00,180 --> 00:34:04,010
Speaker 1: him up for success, and yet Saul was still responsible

670
00:34:04,070 --> 00:34:06,670
Speaker 1: to obey. So keep that in mind too. God will

671
00:34:06,690 --> 00:34:09,970
Speaker 1: set you up for success, but it's still your responsibility

672
00:34:10,230 --> 00:34:13,450
Speaker 1: to have faith in him and to obey him. Because

673
00:34:13,489 --> 00:34:18,590
Speaker 1: spiritual opportunity and divine empowerment, those things don't remove the

674
00:34:18,650 --> 00:34:22,529
Speaker 1: necessity of continued trust. They don't remove the necessity of

675
00:34:22,610 --> 00:34:27,180
Speaker 1: continued submission. Then Samuel later gathers Israel at a place

676
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:30,660
Speaker 1: called Mizpah and he presents the king publicly. And before

677
00:34:30,739 --> 00:34:34,509
Speaker 1: identifying Saul, again, he reminds the people of their rejection

678
00:34:35,070 --> 00:34:37,670
Speaker 1: of God. You see in verse 19, but today you

679
00:34:37,710 --> 00:34:41,480
Speaker 1: have rejected your God. who saves you from all your

680
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:44,680
Speaker 1: calamities and your distresses. And you have said to him,

681
00:34:45,340 --> 00:34:49,300
Speaker 1: set a king over us. And the tribes and clans

682
00:34:49,340 --> 00:34:51,939
Speaker 1: were then brought forward. They were brought forward by law

683
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,880
Speaker 1: until ultimately Saul was selected. And ironically, in that moment,

684
00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:59,080
Speaker 1: when the people looked for Saul, now I don't have

685
00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,219
Speaker 1: this scripture right in front of you right now, but

686
00:35:01,260 --> 00:35:06,510
Speaker 1: when they looked for Saul, where did they find him? Well,

687
00:35:06,530 --> 00:35:08,589
Speaker 1: first they couldn't see him. And the reason they couldn't

688
00:35:08,610 --> 00:35:11,190
Speaker 1: see him is because he was hiding among the baggage,

689
00:35:11,730 --> 00:35:14,250
Speaker 1: all the baggage that the people brought. He was hiding

690
00:35:14,270 --> 00:35:15,870
Speaker 1: among the baggage. Then they brought him out and he

691
00:35:15,890 --> 00:35:19,110
Speaker 1: stood taller than everyone around him. But their first visit,

692
00:35:19,410 --> 00:35:22,630
Speaker 1: their first view of their new king is him hiding

693
00:35:23,150 --> 00:35:25,750
Speaker 1: in the baggage, trying to hide from what God had

694
00:35:25,810 --> 00:35:29,529
Speaker 1: called him to do. But Samuel announces in verse 24,

695
00:35:29,530 --> 00:35:32,910
Speaker 1: do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There

696
00:35:32,950 --> 00:35:36,060
Speaker 1: is none like him among all the people. And then

697
00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:38,820
Speaker 1: the people shout, long live the king. And you're like, hey,

698
00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:43,590
Speaker 1: this is great, finally. Saul looks impressive, but his look

699
00:35:43,710 --> 00:35:47,029
Speaker 1: doesn't reveal the condition of his heart. His actions are

700
00:35:47,050 --> 00:35:49,130
Speaker 1: going to demonstrate that. His lack of faith is going

701
00:35:49,150 --> 00:35:52,069
Speaker 1: to demonstrate that as well. Israel sees the appearance that

702
00:35:52,110 --> 00:35:54,410
Speaker 1: it wanted. Hey, we're going to look great in front

703
00:35:54,430 --> 00:35:57,009
Speaker 1: of the neighboring nations. But God knows the kind of

704
00:35:57,070 --> 00:36:01,100
Speaker 1: character that faithful leadership actually requires. We're also told though,

705
00:36:01,219 --> 00:36:04,940
Speaker 1: as God was giving Saul the opportunity to succeed, we're

706
00:36:04,980 --> 00:36:07,560
Speaker 1: told that valiant men were raised up. Like they just

707
00:36:07,580 --> 00:36:10,620
Speaker 1: felt compelled to support Saul. And so these valiant men

708
00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:13,750
Speaker 1: support Saul because God moves in their hearts. So they

709
00:36:13,810 --> 00:36:16,890
Speaker 1: come and they surround him and support him. There were

710
00:36:16,989 --> 00:36:21,290
Speaker 1: some who doubted that Saul could be the guy. And

711
00:36:21,390 --> 00:36:24,060
Speaker 1: Saul initially remained silent in the midst of all of this.

712
00:36:24,100 --> 00:36:26,239
Speaker 1: And he actually returns home. And then the story leaves

713
00:36:26,300 --> 00:36:29,020
Speaker 1: us with a king who looks promising, but his future

714
00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:33,069
Speaker 1: is uncertain. That's where this section of Scripture kind of ends,

715
00:36:33,710 --> 00:36:37,610
Speaker 1: in a way. You have Saul receiving God's calling, God's signs,

716
00:36:37,670 --> 00:36:41,410
Speaker 1: God's anointing, God's empowerment, but his success is going to

717
00:36:41,469 --> 00:36:43,430
Speaker 1: depend on whether or not he depended on the Lord

718
00:36:43,469 --> 00:36:47,380
Speaker 1: and was obedient to His Word. Now, all Scripture, it

719
00:36:47,390 --> 00:36:50,240
Speaker 1: doesn't matter where you are in the Bible, whether you're

720
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:52,219
Speaker 1: in the book of Genesis, whether you're in the book

721
00:36:52,260 --> 00:36:54,800
Speaker 1: of 1 Samuel, whether you're in the book of Revelation,

722
00:36:54,820 --> 00:36:57,260
Speaker 1: the entire Bible is attempting to point our hearts toward

723
00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,270
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. And it could be very easy to look

724
00:37:00,310 --> 00:37:02,030
Speaker 1: at this and think that this is just a story

725
00:37:02,070 --> 00:37:06,110
Speaker 1: about Samuel, and just a story about the judge's era

726
00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:09,460
Speaker 1: transitioning into the monarchy, and just a story about Saul

727
00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:11,660
Speaker 1: and those surrounding him, and just a story about the

728
00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:13,640
Speaker 1: people of Israel and their lack of faith. And I've

729
00:37:13,660 --> 00:37:16,940
Speaker 1: certainly heard people preach this passage that way, and we'd

730
00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:18,800
Speaker 1: be missing the point if that's what we did today.

731
00:37:20,239 --> 00:37:23,480
Speaker 1: These chapters point us toward Jesus in a variety of ways,

732
00:37:23,540 --> 00:37:26,040
Speaker 1: but one of the ways that it points us toward Jesus...

733
00:37:26,450 --> 00:37:32,530
Speaker 1: is by exposing the limitations of every human leader. Israel

734
00:37:32,590 --> 00:37:34,950
Speaker 1: wanted a king who would lead them and judge them

735
00:37:35,290 --> 00:37:40,420
Speaker 1: and go before them and fight their battles. Saul could

736
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:45,000
Speaker 1: temporarily and in a limited way fulfill some of those responsibilities.

737
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:47,920
Speaker 1: But understand, he was a sinner and he was leading

738
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:50,680
Speaker 1: a sinful people. And his reign is ultimately going to

739
00:37:50,719 --> 00:37:53,930
Speaker 1: be damaged by fear and pride and insecurity and jealousy.

740
00:37:54,260 --> 00:37:57,299
Speaker 1: and just straight-up disobedience. You're going to see him sabotage

741
00:37:57,600 --> 00:37:59,279
Speaker 1: his entire reign as he gets to the end of

742
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:03,580
Speaker 1: his life. And then we look at Jesus, and we understand,

743
00:38:03,660 --> 00:38:06,360
Speaker 1: particularly if you know the narrative that Scripture is pointing

744
00:38:06,420 --> 00:38:11,500
Speaker 1: us toward, Jesus is the king Israel truly needed. When

745
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:14,799
Speaker 1: you look at the Scriptures referencing that ultimate king, it's

746
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,690
Speaker 1: ultimately trying to point our hearts toward Christ. And he

747
00:38:17,730 --> 00:38:21,770
Speaker 1: doesn't rule according to human ambition, and he doesn't use

748
00:38:21,850 --> 00:38:27,069
Speaker 1: people for personal gain. Jesus is perfectly righteous. He is

749
00:38:27,130 --> 00:38:31,110
Speaker 1: completely obedient to the Father. He's entirely committed to the

750
00:38:31,170 --> 00:38:33,970
Speaker 1: good of the people that he leads. You have Saul.

751
00:38:34,010 --> 00:38:35,790
Speaker 1: He's accepted as a king by many of the people

752
00:38:35,830 --> 00:38:39,210
Speaker 1: because of his outward appearance. And yet, what does Scripture

753
00:38:39,230 --> 00:38:42,029
Speaker 1: tell us about Jesus and his appearance? I referenced this

754
00:38:42,070 --> 00:38:45,100
Speaker 1: a few weeks ago in an earlier portion of 1 Samuel.

755
00:38:45,380 --> 00:38:47,319
Speaker 1: But when you look at Isaiah 53, 2, what does

756
00:38:47,380 --> 00:38:49,920
Speaker 1: it say? He had no form or majesty that we

757
00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:52,080
Speaker 1: should look at him and no beauty that we should

758
00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:54,969
Speaker 1: desire him. What the Lord was doing when he came

759
00:38:55,010 --> 00:38:57,469
Speaker 1: to this earth, he intentionally took on flesh in such

760
00:38:57,510 --> 00:39:00,180
Speaker 1: a way that he would look ordinary. So that if

761
00:39:00,219 --> 00:39:02,259
Speaker 1: people trusted in him, it wouldn't be because they were

762
00:39:02,300 --> 00:39:04,860
Speaker 1: trusting in him because they thought he looked good. Or

763
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:09,820
Speaker 1: that he looked kingly. He looked like a regular guy.

764
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:14,969
Speaker 1: Just a regular guy. He had no form or majesty

765
00:39:14,989 --> 00:39:18,190
Speaker 1: that we should look at him. No beauty that we

766
00:39:18,230 --> 00:39:21,009
Speaker 1: should desire him. And what happened when Jesus came to

767
00:39:21,050 --> 00:39:25,339
Speaker 1: this earth? People rejected him. Why? Because he didn't meet

768
00:39:25,380 --> 00:39:30,279
Speaker 1: their visible, political, military expectations. And so they rejected him. him.

769
00:39:30,969 --> 00:39:33,420
Speaker 1: Then you come back to Saul. Think of the contrast here.

770
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:37,560
Speaker 1: He's anointed with oil. He's empowered for a temporary office.

771
00:39:38,900 --> 00:39:41,779
Speaker 1: But scripture tells us that Jesus is the Christ. You

772
00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:43,580
Speaker 1: know what? When we use the phrase the Christ, you

773
00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:47,750
Speaker 1: know what we're literally saying? He is the anointed one.

774
00:39:48,130 --> 00:39:52,009
Speaker 1: That's what that means. He's the anointed one. All creation

775
00:39:52,050 --> 00:39:55,890
Speaker 1: was spoken into existence through him, scripture tells us. And

776
00:39:56,090 --> 00:39:59,060
Speaker 1: when he willingly took on human flesh, he was conceived

777
00:39:59,100 --> 00:40:02,520
Speaker 1: by the Holy Spirit, ministered in the Spirit's power, and

778
00:40:02,540 --> 00:40:05,040
Speaker 1: he reigns forever as God's promised king. These are the

779
00:40:05,100 --> 00:40:08,180
Speaker 1: things that scripture reveals to us. Then you look back

780
00:40:08,219 --> 00:40:11,260
Speaker 1: at Israel. Israel wanted a king who would fight its battles.

781
00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:14,110
Speaker 1: And then we look at Christ. And what did Christ

782
00:40:14,150 --> 00:40:17,680
Speaker 1: do for us? Jesus fought the greatest battle on behalf

783
00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:19,520
Speaker 1: of his people, and he did it at the cross.

784
00:40:20,580 --> 00:40:23,779
Speaker 1: He bore the penalty of sin. We also know that

785
00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:27,049
Speaker 1: through his resurrection, he conquered death. So he bore the

786
00:40:27,070 --> 00:40:30,350
Speaker 1: penalty of sin, and he conquered death. He defeated the

787
00:40:30,410 --> 00:40:33,990
Speaker 1: powers that enslaved us, that dominion of darkness that Scripture

788
00:40:34,030 --> 00:40:37,719
Speaker 1: reveals that we were living under. He defeated it. And

789
00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:40,540
Speaker 1: in doing so, he secured eternal salvation for every single

790
00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:43,660
Speaker 1: person who trusts in him. That's what our king has

791
00:40:43,700 --> 00:40:46,780
Speaker 1: done for us. And when you look at earthly kings,

792
00:40:46,820 --> 00:40:51,760
Speaker 1: what do they do? Earthly kings take from their people.

793
00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:58,950
Speaker 1: Earthly kings take from their people. This wasn't in our township,

794
00:40:59,739 --> 00:41:02,029
Speaker 1: but if word gets back to our township, feel free,

795
00:41:02,430 --> 00:41:04,190
Speaker 1: spread the word. I was talking to someone who lives

796
00:41:04,230 --> 00:41:07,710
Speaker 1: in another township, and I was talking to them about

797
00:41:07,730 --> 00:41:11,450
Speaker 1: their property taxes and their school taxes. Now, the person

798
00:41:11,469 --> 00:41:13,450
Speaker 1: I was talking to in another township happens to be

799
00:41:14,050 --> 00:41:17,569
Speaker 1: on the school board for that area. And I said,

800
00:41:17,590 --> 00:41:19,450
Speaker 1: do you guys ever, this is literally what I said,

801
00:41:19,469 --> 00:41:22,950
Speaker 1: do you guys ever consider reducing taxes? I said, do

802
00:41:22,969 --> 00:41:28,620
Speaker 1: you ever consider reducing taxes? And she said, oh no, no,

803
00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:31,620
Speaker 1: we can't do that. Can't do that. That's what she said.

804
00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,779
Speaker 1: Someone I know personally can't reduce taxes. I was like,

805
00:41:35,860 --> 00:41:40,440
Speaker 1: why can't you reduce taxes? I won't spend the rest

806
00:41:40,460 --> 00:41:44,350
Speaker 1: of the sermon elaborating. But I said, I think you

807
00:41:44,390 --> 00:41:48,489
Speaker 1: should reduce taxes. She said, we can't do that. Then

808
00:41:48,530 --> 00:41:50,970
Speaker 1: I look at this. Earthly kings often take from their people.

809
00:41:52,590 --> 00:42:02,150
Speaker 1: Earthly rulers, earthly leaders, they take. They're takers. Preach. But

810
00:42:02,190 --> 00:42:06,710
Speaker 1: what did Jesus do? He gave himself for his people.

811
00:42:08,130 --> 00:42:13,089
Speaker 1: He gave himself. Earthly leaders take. Jesus gave himself. Again,

812
00:42:13,110 --> 00:42:15,069
Speaker 1: I read this a couple weeks ago, but I want

813
00:42:15,090 --> 00:42:17,840
Speaker 1: to read it again. Mark 10.45 says, For even the

814
00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:21,800
Speaker 1: Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.

815
00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:24,000
Speaker 1: And to give his life is a ransom for many.

816
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:25,759
Speaker 1: And if the Lord ever raises you up into a

817
00:42:25,780 --> 00:42:30,259
Speaker 1: position of leadership, that's your motto. You're not there to get.

818
00:42:30,780 --> 00:42:35,280
Speaker 1: You're not there to take. Whether it's civic leadership, political leadership,

819
00:42:35,320 --> 00:42:39,470
Speaker 1: church leadership, educational leadership, if he raises you up, don't

820
00:42:39,510 --> 00:42:43,010
Speaker 1: be a taker. be somebody who follows the model of Christ.

821
00:42:44,430 --> 00:42:48,370
Speaker 1: He didn't come to be served, but to serve and

822
00:42:48,390 --> 00:42:52,529
Speaker 1: to give his life as a ransom for many. It's

823
00:42:52,550 --> 00:42:54,370
Speaker 1: a pretty big contrast from what we're seeing in a

824
00:42:54,390 --> 00:42:58,009
Speaker 1: portion of scripture like this in 1 Samuel. Now, in

825
00:42:58,030 --> 00:43:00,250
Speaker 1: a few moments, we're going to partake in communion together,

826
00:43:00,290 --> 00:43:03,750
Speaker 1: but as we do so, recognize that we're doing so

827
00:43:03,790 --> 00:43:08,530
Speaker 1: to remember Jesus Christ and our ultimate king, our savior,

828
00:43:08,690 --> 00:43:11,170
Speaker 1: our Lord, the only one who could ultimately deliver us.

829
00:43:11,910 --> 00:43:13,890
Speaker 1: And I'll tell you this because one of the beauties

830
00:43:13,930 --> 00:43:16,910
Speaker 1: of being in the midst of a political season like

831
00:43:16,950 --> 00:43:18,830
Speaker 1: we are right now for the next month or so,

832
00:43:20,890 --> 00:43:25,239
Speaker 1: this is a season where our deepest longings and our

833
00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:29,460
Speaker 1: true hopes start to get exposed. And if you think,

834
00:43:30,380 --> 00:43:33,640
Speaker 1: now I hope, I love when Christians vote, please vote.

835
00:43:34,020 --> 00:43:38,300
Speaker 1: I think Christians should always vote. But if you think

836
00:43:38,360 --> 00:43:40,690
Speaker 1: that the people you vote for have the capacity to

837
00:43:40,750 --> 00:43:44,350
Speaker 1: lead you in the just perfect way that Jesus can,

838
00:43:45,469 --> 00:43:50,630
Speaker 1: understand you're misplacing your hope. Vote as a practicality, as

839
00:43:50,650 --> 00:43:54,900
Speaker 1: a responsibility, as a responsible citizen. Vote for those reasons.

840
00:43:55,680 --> 00:43:57,719
Speaker 1: And I like when people whose minds are guided by

841
00:43:57,739 --> 00:44:01,000
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit select leaders. So please vote for those reasons.

842
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:05,259
Speaker 1: But don't let your heart jump the line into that

843
00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:07,299
Speaker 1: spot where you think that the people that you vote

844
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:10,900
Speaker 1: for can become substitute saviors. You have a savior. You

845
00:44:10,940 --> 00:44:15,630
Speaker 1: have the real thing. In Christ, you have the leadership

846
00:44:15,650 --> 00:44:17,989
Speaker 1: that you need. Israel didn't recognize that that was the

847
00:44:18,050 --> 00:44:21,070
Speaker 1: leadership that they needed. They just didn't. The day is

848
00:44:21,110 --> 00:44:23,069
Speaker 1: going to come when they will. Scripture tells us the

849
00:44:23,110 --> 00:44:26,170
Speaker 1: day will come when they will. And while we wait

850
00:44:26,190 --> 00:44:28,450
Speaker 1: for them to catch up, let's us be caught up

851
00:44:28,530 --> 00:44:32,859
Speaker 1: right now. Jesus is the leader we need. And not

852
00:44:32,910 --> 00:44:36,010
Speaker 1: just in the macro sense, but also in the micro sense.

853
00:44:36,489 --> 00:44:39,630
Speaker 1: In our day-to-day decisions, as we walk through life, as

854
00:44:39,650 --> 00:44:42,250
Speaker 1: you make decisions about how to govern your day, or

855
00:44:42,290 --> 00:44:44,650
Speaker 1: how to interact with people, or how to use your time,

856
00:44:45,250 --> 00:44:47,649
Speaker 1: or how to deal with difficult circumstances that come into

857
00:44:47,670 --> 00:44:52,770
Speaker 1: your life that you couldn't foresee, welcome his leadership. Trust

858
00:44:52,810 --> 00:44:56,590
Speaker 1: him by faith. If he calls you to serve, serve.

859
00:44:56,810 --> 00:44:58,610
Speaker 1: He'll empower you to serve. If he calls you to

860
00:44:58,650 --> 00:45:01,049
Speaker 1: be patient, be patient. He'll give you the strength to

861
00:45:01,070 --> 00:45:05,060
Speaker 1: be patient. But trust Him no matter what happens. And

862
00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:08,899
Speaker 1: Scripture says that if you do that, understand that pleases Him.

863
00:45:10,110 --> 00:45:14,890
Speaker 1: He is pleased by that. We need Him. And this

864
00:45:14,969 --> 00:45:18,690
Speaker 1: is one of those chapters, a series of chapters, chapters 8, 9,

865
00:45:18,690 --> 00:45:22,430
Speaker 1: and 10 of 1 Samuel, that show just how much

866
00:45:22,670 --> 00:45:26,130
Speaker 1: we need Him. We need that kind of leadership. And

867
00:45:26,150 --> 00:45:29,600
Speaker 1: that's why Jesus offers Himself to us. Right now, we

868
00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:32,340
Speaker 1: trust Him by faith. But the day is actually coming

869
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:36,100
Speaker 1: when he will rule and reign on this earth with

870
00:45:36,260 --> 00:45:39,739
Speaker 1: perfect justice. And as we look forward to that day,

871
00:45:40,340 --> 00:45:42,819
Speaker 1: my encouragement to us is that we trust him with

872
00:45:42,900 --> 00:45:49,319
Speaker 1: our whole heart right now. Let's pray. Lord, thank you

873
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:55,290
Speaker 1: so much for all your blessings and for the fact

874
00:45:55,350 --> 00:45:57,850
Speaker 1: that when we look at all the different things that

875
00:45:57,870 --> 00:46:01,120
Speaker 1: we see in a portion of scripture like this, We're

876
00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:05,759
Speaker 1: seeing just the nature of human hearts and how much

877
00:46:05,820 --> 00:46:13,299
Speaker 1: we struggle with trying to over-depend on things we can see. Father,

878
00:46:13,390 --> 00:46:16,149
Speaker 1: you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to

879
00:46:16,210 --> 00:46:19,710
Speaker 1: be our King, to be our Lord, the Anointed One, Christ,

880
00:46:20,430 --> 00:46:24,830
Speaker 1: our Messiah, our Savior, the one through whom all creation

881
00:46:24,870 --> 00:46:32,500
Speaker 1: was created. Father, we're grateful for the fact that that

882
00:46:32,560 --> 00:46:35,279
Speaker 1: you open our eyes to see just how much we

883
00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:39,219
Speaker 1: need your son. Lord, we pray that that wouldn't just

884
00:46:39,260 --> 00:46:41,640
Speaker 1: be a solitary experience, but that that would be a

885
00:46:41,719 --> 00:46:45,400
Speaker 1: daily reminder, that I would wake up each day and

886
00:46:45,420 --> 00:46:48,609
Speaker 1: I would remember how much I need Jesus. That each

887
00:46:48,620 --> 00:46:50,370
Speaker 1: of us would wake up each day and have that

888
00:46:50,430 --> 00:46:55,350
Speaker 1: same memory forged in our minds. So Father, thank you

889
00:46:55,390 --> 00:46:58,170
Speaker 1: for the fact that you orchestrate these things. I'm truly grateful.

890
00:46:58,989 --> 00:47:00,630
Speaker 1: And I thank you that you are present with us

891
00:47:01,310 --> 00:47:03,630
Speaker 1: Thank you for your leadership and your guidance. And ultimately,

892
00:47:03,670 --> 00:47:07,010
Speaker 1: thank you for salvation that was provided through your son,

893
00:47:07,950 --> 00:47:10,460
Speaker 1: who died in our place after living the perfect life

894
00:47:10,540 --> 00:47:14,160
Speaker 1: we couldn't live. But then he died for us and

895
00:47:14,200 --> 00:47:18,200
Speaker 1: then rose from death, defeating sin, defeating Satan, defeating death,

896
00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:21,440
Speaker 1: and sharing the victory that he secured with all who

897
00:47:21,500 --> 00:47:24,339
Speaker 1: trust in him. So, Father, I pray that we would

898
00:47:24,380 --> 00:47:28,330
Speaker 1: walk in ultimate victory through trusting in your son, Jesus Christ,

899
00:47:29,090 --> 00:47:31,750
Speaker 1: our Lord and Savior. And we thank you, Lord, for

900
00:47:31,770 --> 00:47:33,759
Speaker 1: the privilege to do so. And we thank you for

901
00:47:33,780 --> 00:47:37,919
Speaker 1: the reminders from your word that encourage us that that's

902
00:47:37,980 --> 00:47:40,110
Speaker 1: the direction that our lives and our hearts should be going.

903
00:47:40,590 --> 00:47:44,609
Speaker 1: And we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.