Sermon.986
See Sermon # 538
"Four Bible Saints”
I John 1:5-10
Moses, David, Samson, Peter
The word "Saint" is defined as one who has led a good life and
accumulated many good deeds, then years after that person’s death
the church hierarchy elects that person a "Saint."
In the Old Testament a "Saint" was a person who had trusted God
and who was looking forward in faith to the coming of the Messiah.
In the New Testament, a "Saint" is anyone who has trusted Christ
as his or her Savior and Lord. Paul refers to his fellow
Christians as "Saints."
Let us look at some men of the bible who belonged to
God, and who are called "saints", but who are guilty of sin.
Moses was certainly a man called and set apart for God.
He is perhaps the greatest man in the Old Testiment.
He could have been a rich ruler of Egypt, but he gave his life
for the liberation of God’s people from Egyptian bondage.
What did he do? He turned his back upon wealth and chose to
suffer the affliction with the people of God.
Moses felt that serving God was much more important to him that all the riches of
Egypt.
Yes, Moses was God’s right hand man! God laid his hand on mosses and
used him to lead nearly three million people out of Egypt right to
the edge of the Promise Land.
For forty years mosses looked forward to going into the land of Canaan.
Why then, did he die just outside of the Promised Land? It
was because of his personal sin against God.
Moses often became angry with the people he was leading.
For 40 years these people blamed Moses for everything that went wrong.
Suddenly Moses lost his temper!
Here is what happened!
The people needed water, so God told Moses to hold his rod up before the people.
The rod of Moses represented the supreme authority of God.
Moses was to speak to the rock and the water would gush out of the rock.
But when Moses stood before the people he forgot about God.
In anger Moses shouted, "Must we bring water out of this rock for you, you rebel?"
Then mosses struck the rock instead of speaking to the rock as God had commanded.
Water did gush out of the rock; for God knew the physical need of the people, and He provided for them like He always provides for us today.
Later, God took Moses aside and said to him, "You didn’t glorify me at the rock. You took all the credit for yourself. You directly disobeyed me, so you will not be allowed to journey into the promise land."
When Moses cooled off his temper he realized what he had lost.
For the past 40 years of his life he had dreamed of going into God’s Promise Land with his people.
Now because of his temper, all of his dreams were shattered.
Anger weakens a person and causes that person to play right into the hands of the Satan.
The pity about anger and a hot temper is that we often use them on the people we love the most.
A man went to the doctor for a check-up. The doctor said, "You are the most robust man for your age that I have ever seen. What’s your secret of your strength and good health?"
The man replied: "I have been compelled to live an out-door life. When my wife and I were married years ago we agreed that when I lost my temper she would keep quiet, and when she lost her temper I would go out-doors.”
During our married life, my wife has lost her temper so often, that I’ve spent most of my life out doors in the fresh air, and that sir is the reason for my good health."
Moses was a good man, a great man, and a Godly saint, but when he lost his temper he lost much more. He lost the Promised Land.
How many of us have lost many wonderful blessings because we’ve lost our temper?
Our second Bible Saint we’re looking at is David.
David was certainly a man of God.
God called him, "a man after my own heart."
God anointed David and blessed him in a wonderful way.
David wrote the finest tributes to God ever published, but David was one of the greatest sinners in the Bible?
One day he was idling around on the rooftop of his palace doing nothing.
Even back in David’s time an idle brain was the devil’s workshop.
David looked over his rooftop to the house next-door and he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath.
So since David was the king with all the authority to do as he pleased, he had her brought over to his palace.
But this was not the full extent of David’s sin.
Since David wanted Bathsheba totally for himself, he planned a way to murder her
Husband, Uriah the Hittite.
David sent Uriah into the front line of battle where he knew he would be killed.
Then when David learned of Uriah’s death, he took Bathsheba for his wife.
Remember, David Is the "man after God’s own heart"?
This is the man who wrote "The lord is my shepherd" in the 23rd Psalm.
David is the man who said: "God is my refuge and my strength."
Yes, this is God’s man of the hour, the Bible says!
What then is the lesson for us here in the life story of King David?
No matter how good you have been in the past, no matter how active you have been for God, every Christian is subject to temptation and sin.
Later, we find that David got back into a right fellowship with God.
But it was only after David’s pastor, Nathan rebuked him that David rejoiced and sang a new song of joy. He cried out in Psalm 51 "restore unto me the joy of thy salvation."
Our third Bible Saint is also in the hall of fame in Hebrews Chapter. 11.
Samson was a certainly a man of God just like Moses and David.
When we think of Samson we always think of Samson as a man of tremendous strength.
He could have defeated all the modern day heavy-weight fighters of our world with one hand tied behind his back.
On one occasion Samson killed a lion single-handed.
On another occasion, Samson killed 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.
There was only one thing that stopped Samson, and that was his personal sin.
He became infatuated with an evil woman named Delilah.
The rulers of the Philistines went to Delilah one day and said: "If you will get Samson to tell you his secret of his great strength each one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver” (Judges 16:5).
That was a small fortune in that day.
You know the story! The next time Samson went to see Delilah, she kept teasing him until he finally told her that his strength was in his long hair.
So when Samson went to sleep, Delilah called for the Philistine rulers to come in and cut off Samson’s hair.
Then she said: "Wake up Samson, the Philistines are here".
But when Samson woke up, he was weak and helpless.
He could do nothing because his great strength was gone.
Samson’s great strength didn’t lie primarily in his hair, but in the fact that the great and mighty power of God was with him.
Samson’s long hair was a part of his vow as a Nazerite.
When Samson’s vow to God was broken his great strength left him.
And that is the way it is with us.
When we neglect our prayer life, and our daily Christian duties, and compromise our
Christian convictions we begin to loose our spiritual powers.
Without God as the central ruler of his life, Samson was nothing.
The first thing the Philistine rulers did to Samson was put out his eyes with a red hot iron.
They bound him with chains of brass and placed him in a prison cell.
The once great and mighty Samson was forced to grind around and around at a grinding mill like a common slave.
Samson had fallen to the lowest depths.
We are living in an age where morals are lower than ever before.
How can you avoid the same kind of sin that ruined Samson’s life?
Take the name of Jesus with you and when temptations round you gather; breathe that holy name in prayer.
Simon Peter is our 4th Bible Saint we’re looking at tonight.
Peter was gloriously saved when his brother Andrew introduced him to Christ.
Peter traveled 3 years with the greatest man who ever touched the world, the God-Man, Jesus Christ.
Peter heard the greatest sermons ever preached.
He was one of Jesus’ most trusted Disciples.
One day Jesus said to His disciples, "I am going up to Jerusalem where wicked men will arrest me and kill me."
Then lovable Peter blurted out, "Oh no, master, they won’t do that. They’ll have to kill me before they touch you."
Jesus looked at Peter, recognizing Peter’s weakness and said, "Peter, before the cock crows you will deny me three times."
Again peter said he would die before he would allow anyone to harm his Lord.
Later that night Jesus took his disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.
As they came from the place of prayer Jesus was arrested and hurried by his captors to an unlawful midnight trial.
Where was Peter?
Suddenly a little servant maid came up and said to Peter, "Aren’t you a friend of Jesus? Weren’t you with him?"
Peter replied, "Jesus? Jesus who? I don’t know what you are talking about."
Then another person said, "I saw this fellow with Jesus of Nazareth."
And peter said, "I don’t know the man."
Then someone said to Peter, "You surely are one of His followers, your speech betrays you."
Peter was so angry by this time that he began to curse, saying, "I know not the man."
Is this the same Simon Peter who declared that Jesus was "the
Christ, the son of the living God?"
Is this the same man who swore he would die for Jesus?
Yes, this is the man, but he is also the man who sinned against the One who loved him more than anyone else on earth loved him.
Just as soon as Peter denied Jesus he heard a cock crowing, and he remembered the words of Jesus.
Then as Jesus was led out of the council chamber he looked into the weeping eyes of peter with love, compassion, mercy and forgiveness.
That look broke Peter’s heart and he went outside, leaned against the wall and cried like a baby.
Is that the end of the story?
No.
Christ went to Calvary to die for peter and for you and for I.
He let Peter know that he had been forgiven and He gave peter a new commission.
When your life does not reflect the Light of Jesus Christ, you are denying Him and not serving Him to your full capacity.
Let me urge you to make a personal covenant relationship with Jesus.
If some situation in your life has tripped you up in the past, then take it to the Lord Jesus in prayer and ask Him forgive you and help you to change.
I am glad we have Jesus to represent us personally at the throne of God in heaven.
Right now Jesus is ready to give you His love and forgiveness.
He said, "Come now, let us reason together, though your sins are like
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as
crimson, they shall be like wool" (Isaiah 1:18).
