MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
“If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago to define the word tsunami I would have probably given a humorous response, suggesting that it was an item on an Japanese menu or the name of a new Korean car. Today, however, there is nothing funny to be said that that awful word tsunami. This underwater earthquake that produced waves that swept across the Indian Ocean at 50 miles per hour and then slammed into the coastal areas with waves of water as tall as a 3-story building, washed away everything in its way for thousands of miles from India to Kenya and every island in between. The whole world stands in shock and sadness as we see over 150,000 people, a large percentage children, swept out to sea and then returned as bloated bodies. We have seen whole villages washed away and entire families killed as they sat together on a beach enjoying a vacation together. There is nothing funny about the word tsunami” (Marvin A. McMickle, from a sermon titled “A Few Words About Watching”).
The events of the past few weeks, the mudslides in California, the tsunami across the world, the deaths in Sanford last week, the accident on 46 in Geneva, all serve to remind us that life is fragile, time is limited, and tomorrow is not promised.
What makes the tsunami even more tragic, is that while the wave itself could not have been prevented, the death toll could have been significantly lowered if people on the shore had received even a few minutes of an early warning that might have allowed them to leave the beaches and move as far inland as possible. They were not warned.
Yesterday, I led a graveside service at Deltona Memorial Gardens. I happened to get there a little early, so I walked around the cemetery and looked at some of the headstones nearby. I was amazed at the number of young people I saw buried there. There were several teens there, and some people in there 20’s. I saw many places where children were buried. As I walked and looked I wondered, were they ever warned? Did anyone take the time to tell them to get ready?
Please open your Bibles and turn with me this morning to the book of 1 Samuel. 1 Samuel chapter 10 and verse 1.
If you had been or have been to prayer meeting on a Wednesday night recently, you would know from preceding chapters that the Israelites decided they wanted to have a king to rule over them, so God said He would give them a king.
Saul and his servant went looking for some lost donkeys one day and since they couldn’t find them, they decided to go see the prophet Samuel to see if he could tell them where the donkeys were. Before they got there, God told Samuel that Saul was coming and told him what to do. That’s where we take up this account.
- Read 1 Samuel 10:1-10, 17-24
There are several items about this encounter I would like you to notice, several similarities in this passage I see between Saul and us.
1. Chosen by God – First notice that Saul was chosen by God.
- Read 1 Samuel 9:16-17
It was not by chance that Saul happened to go to town that day. It was not an accident that caused him to arrive when Samuel was in town. God arranged it because Saul was chosen by God.
My friend, I want you to know that it was not by accident that you had the opportunity to hear the Gospel. It was not an accident nor luck of the draw that caused a person to first share the good news with you. God arranged it.
- Read Ephesians 1:3-6
Let me tell you my friend, God chose to allow you the opportunity to be saved. You were chosen by God.
Notice if you will, the 2nd similarity we share with Saul.
2. Anointed by God –
- 1 Samuel 10:1 Samuel poured oil over Saul’s head. He anointed him king. My friend, if you have invited the Lord Jesus into your heart, I want you to know that you have been anointed, you have been set apart as well.
> Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
My friend, Jesus said in Revelation 3:20 Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door I will come into him. The moment you invite Jesus to come into your heart, the minute you ask Him to be your Lord, He, through the Holy Spirit, comes to dwell in you. You are anointed. This past summer Gladys & I had the opportunity to attend our niece’s wedding. One thing that stands out from the ceremony is the closing. You know where the couple walk down the isle as they’re leaving and they play some kind of wedding march? Well, as they were leaving they played the song “Here I am baby. Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m your’s.” My friends, you too have been anointed. You too are signed, sealed, and waiting to be delivered. Another similarity I see between us and Saul is that we have been changed by God.
3. Changed by God - 1 Samuel 10:9
On that day, Saul’s heart was changed. He was a new man. My friend, the Bible says the same thing happens to you and I.
> 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
My friend, when Jesus comes to dwell in your heart, you become a new person. Your heart is changed. In the eyes of God you are new because you are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ which takes away the sin of the world.
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh my friend, if you are truly a believer, then you have been changed by God. My friend, you, like Saul were chosen by God, you were anointed by God, and you were changed by God. There is another similarity you have with Saul as well. Look there again please at chapter 10 and verse 24.
4. Unique to God – There is no one like him among all the population. (HCSB) Saul was unique and you are as well. God made you special.
- 1 Corinthians 12:7-20
My friend, you are unique. God has made you special and He has given you gifts, spiritual gifts, to be used. …
5. Commissioned by God – 1 Samuel 10:1
God gave Saul a mission, a responsibility. He was to rule God’s people. He was supposed to be king.
My friend, you and I have been commissioned by God as well. Jesus commands us, Go into all the world and make disciples. You and I are to be disciple makers. Can you imagine what it will be like when you get to heaven and someone walks up and says, “Thank you. I’m here today because of what you did. I’m here today because of what you taught. I’m here today because you told me about Jesus. I’m here today because of you.”
Oh my friend, you and I am have been commissioned.
Sadly, many of us are like Saul in another way as well.
6. Useless to God - 1 Samuel 10:21-22
God had prepared Saul to be king, but where was Saul? He was hiding among the supplies. Sadly, even after God has equipped us, many of us are hiding out, ignoring one of the primary missions God has given us. To lead other people into a saving knowledge of Him.
Some of us are hiding in busyness. Some don’t speak up because of fear. Some are blind, not realizing the importance. of our mission. We look at the recent tsunami and we recoil at the immense loss of life. Sadly, this year alone, many times that many people will die right here in the United States, the majority of them leaving for a Christless eternity, and many believers and many Christians sit unmoved and unmoving. The cry of the psalmist is still appropriate for many today.
Psalms 142:4 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. (KJV)
Every 24 hours, about 146,000 people die, and most of them without Christ. Every 24 hours, about 345,000 babies are born. Will we win these? Our denomination wins about 400,000 people to Christ a year, which is less than the number of people born January 1 & 2 each year. My friend, you and I have work to do, work far more important than much of what we spend our time doing.
Oh my friends, what if those who recently perished in that giant wave knew that those in church often spend more time praying for each other’s sicknesses than they do for lost people’s salvation?
Years ago, a farmer in Asia stood outside his hut and down the hill toward the sea. There in the distance he saw a wave that seemed to be larger than usual, headed his way. As he watched, the wave grew and grew in height. Looking around, he saw his neighbors and the rest of the villagers farming in the fields below, unable to see the wave headed their way. In just a few minutes, the wave would overtake them and they would all be lost. Thinking quickly, he grabbed a torch and set his hut on fire, with all of the rice he had already gathered for the coming winter. After lighting the fire, he began to ring the village bell and his neighbors, looking up and seeing the fire, immediately left their fields and ran up the hill to help. Only after reaching the top, did they turn and see the wave begin to crash on the fields they had just left. Their neighbor had sacrificed all he had to save their lives. My friends, God has called you and me to have new priorities in our lives as well.
Who are you taking to heaven with you? …
