Real People – Real Problems
A study of 1 Samuel
Part 4D
“Knowing God”
After a several week break from our study of 1 Samuel
Today we will climb back on that horse
In the last few weeks we have been looking at what it means to know God
I mean really know God
We fist looked at a wrong view of God by
The Israelites
As they tried to use God and the things of God as some sort of lucky charm
We saw how their lack of knowledge of who God was and want he does
Caused them to lose the things they desired most and to also lose the intimacy with God that he desires
Next we looked at how the Philistines viewed God as simply another God in their arsenal of gods
As another power they could control;
And how their misconceptions and misunderstanding of who God was and what he does
Brought his wrath upon them
Then we moved into what we must do in order to really know God
Though the actions of Samuel
We saw how Samuel told the people
If you want to get back to God
If you want to know him
But more than that
If you want to feel his presence in your life and receive the good things he desires for you
You must get rid of your idols
Your foreign gods
Your little g gods
Theirs were Baal, Dagon and Ashtoreth as we studied
But we also saw how even though we don’t bow down to images made of wood and stone
We have little g gods in our lives as well and if we want to really know God
We must get rid of them
Knock them off their pedestal and place God in his proper place
Today we are going to see what else we must do if we are going to know God better
If we are going to know God more
If we are going to truly place God first in our lives
And like we preached on last week become --sold out ---for him
Please open your bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 7
Let me recap just a bit
The ark had been captured and returned by the Philistines
And fear had caused the Israelites to send it away
As a result the people had turned from God for 20 years
And now they desired a renewed relationship with him
So they sought out Samuel to help them and to guide them
Let me read beginning in verse 3 down through verse
But we will focus on verses 5 and 6 today
3 Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the LORD with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the LORD and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the LORD.
5 Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the LORD. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the LORD. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.)
Verses 5 and 6 give us yet another way that we can know God
Know him better
Look at verses 5 and 6 with me again
Then Samuel told them, “Gather all of Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the LORD. They also went without food all day and confessed that they had sinned against the LORD. (It was at Mizpah that Samuel became Israel’s judge.)
From today’s text
If we want to know God
If we want to know God better
We must
Verse 5a
“Gather”- Come together---
Remember the three legged stool of faith
Read- pray – fellowship
In order to know God better we must
Be around God’s people
Fellowship with God and his followers is so important
Why you may ask
Because we can both encourage and be encouraged
But more than that
We can see God working in a through the lives of those we fellowship with
We can let others see
God working in us
And as we see God’s work
And show God’s work
We know God better
Coming to church is not a requirement of being a Christian
But it is a requirement of being a growing, maturing Christian
Fellowship is important
Next Samuel say in verse 5b
Gather up -- Fellowship
“And I will pray for you”
Listen
We need prayer
Prayer is how we talk to God
Prayer is how we praise God
Make requests of God
Thank God
And how we seek his guidance and direction in our lives
If we want to know God
And know him better
Prayer is not an option
We need to pray as the bible says without ceasing- at all times – for all things
Pray for each other
Ask people to pray for you
Come together in corporate pray- that simply means praying as a church
So if we want to know God better
Know him more
We must come together as believers
And we must pray
Simple instructions
So simple that it is perplexing how often we can miss it or mess it up
Next Samuel gives some instruction that while being common in that day loses a bit in translation and time for us
And it is this point that I want to really spend time on and focus on this morning
Verse 6a
“So they gathered at Mizpah and, in a great ceremony, drew water from a well and poured it out before the LORD.”
Just a quick side note on Mizpah
Mizpah was a town in Gilead – show map
Its name means watch tower or lord watch over me
It was the place where Samuel became judge over Israel as well as the place where Saul became King
Back to knowing God
In great ceremony they drew water from a well and poured it out before the Lord
This was known as a drink offering
Remember that the Jewish religious system was full of ritual and ceremony
So while the people that day understood what that meant
It is often lost on us
If I was to pour out a bucket or bottle of water here in the church
Or in my house or one of your houses
It would likely have just the opposite meaning and reaction as it did in Samuels’s day
I can just here some voices in my mind saying
God help you if you pour that out on my carpet
So in a cowboy way it is my desire to explain what this means for us
And also show you a picture of pouring ourselves out from the New Testament
Very simply the pouring out of the water before the Lord is symbolic of repentance
Repentance is not a popular word these days
And many feel good preachers don’t even address it anymore
Repenting in real simple terms means turning from sin
Going the other way
In even simpler terms it means stop doing what you’re doing
Many people in today’s time as well as throughout the ages
Feel remorse for their wrong doings
They feel bad
They want forgiveness
But they want to keep doing what they want to do
Repenting means we stop doing what we are doing
And go the other way
This is the first thing the pouring out symbolizes
Next
In the Jewish system
Sacrifices were required
And a drink offering was often included along with animal sacrifices and burnt offering to signify repentance and a renewing of one’s loyalty
But it also signifies personal sacrifice
Think of the common terms
Pouring yourself into your work or your hobby
Most of us understand those words
When someone pours themselves into their passion
They give everything to that passion
Samuel shows us though the Israelites
What it takes to know God
We must pour ourselves out before the Lord and be sold out for him
And then we will know him better
Notice with me they poured out the water in great ceremony
Here is where it shifts gears for us
God does not want sacrifice
He wants obedience
Jesus made the last of the needed sacrifices for us when he died on the cross
And when his blood was poured out for our sins
And now he wants obedience
The Prophet Hosea says it well
Hosea 6:6
“I want you to show love,[a]
not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me[b]
more than I want burnt offerings.”
Notice the third line
“I want you to know me”
Let me use a verse from the New Testament
From the Apostle Paul
To give you a picture of what I mean
Romans 12
And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.[b] 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
3 Because of the privilege and authority[c] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.[d] 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection,[e] and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.[f] 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”[g]
says the LORD.
20 Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”[h]
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing well.
So how do we pour ourselves out before the Lord?
How do we get to know him and his ways better?
Let’ break down Paul’s plan and see
Romans 12:1
“And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him
Give our bodies to the Lord says Paul----Pour ourselves out before the Lord says Samuel
So how do we do that?
How do we give our bodies to the Lord?
Do we lie down on the altar?
Do we practice religious rituals and ceremonies?
Do we shave our heads; wear sack cloth---live in a monastery
No
We pour ourselves into serving God
Give it all we’ve got in real common terms
Live for him ----since he died for us
We let our obedience be our sacrifice
And he finds that very pleasing
And when we do that we grow in knowledge of God and his ways
And desire more and more to do his will instead of our own
But there is more
Romans 12:2a
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world,
What Paul says here is Act more like Jesus
Instead of acting like the Devil
If you want to know God more
Study God and then imitate him
Don’t act like the heathens you once were
Be different than the lost of this world
I need to mash just a bit here on all of us, myself included
Let me ask you
Can people tell you are a follower of Jesus by the way--
You Act
You Speak
You treat others
You Do business
You love
Or do they simply see or hear someone who claims to be a believer
Just another of those Christian hypocrites that the unbelieving world loves to use as an excuse not to follow Jesus or even come to church to hear about him
Romans 12:2b
“ but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”
You see in order to get to know God
In order to really get to know God
And in order to understand what he does and does not do
We must change the way we think
About almost everything
We make these changes only by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through our lives
You may ask
What do you mean preacher
Change the way we think
Other versions say
Be transformed by the renewing of our minds
I like change the way we think much more
You see we must change the way we think about sin
The world says
Go ahead it ain’t hurting anyone
Nobody’s looking
God and his word say
Do what is right – all the time
We must change the way we see and think about ourselves
Letting go of pride and arrogance
And admitting we are sinners in need of a savior
Changing the way we think of others
Going from what can we get from them?
To what can we do for them?
But more importantly changing the way we think about God
Stop thinking of him as a rabbit’s foot or 4 leaf clover
Or a genie in a bottle
Stop thinking of him as a power we can control
Mold into a god we like
Stop thinking of God from the perspective that he is all love and no judgment
The anything goes idea
Or just the opposite
Thinking of him as an angry gray haired old man who is just waiting to punish us for doing wrong
We change the way we think
Through education
Back to the three legged stool
Reading God’s word
Everything we need to know or want to know About God is right here in these pages
All we have to do is open it and make a commitment to read it and seek understanding
From God himself
And from people God has placed in your life that study and read his word
Changing the way we think can be hard
We must overcome
Years of misdirection
Selfish ambition
Wrong and even false teachings
And so on and so forth
But it is imperative to knowing God better
Verse 2c
Paul goes on to say that as we do that
Change the way we think
As we get to know God better
We begin to find his will for our lives
Verse 2c
“Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Paul continues with this picture of pouring ourselves out before God
Verses 3-4
3 Because of the privilege and authority[c] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.[d] 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
He says we need to take a realist look at ourselves
See our strengths and our weaknesses
See the areas where we are doing good
But also where we need improvement
We all have both
Right
And then build on the good
And then make the needed changes in the not so good changes in order to go another way
God’s way- instead of the world’s way or our own way
Paul says that each of us are important and that we each have a role to play in God’s kingdom
But that ----WE MUST
MUST
PLACE God first and make sure he always gets the glory
Skipping down to verse 9 -19a
Not because 6-8 are unimportant
They are just another message for another day
Verse 9-19
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection,[e] and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.[f] 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone?
19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God
Paul gives us a pretty clear picture of what pouring ourselves out before God looks like
Let’s go back to 1 Samuel right quick for the rest of the story and see how it applies to us
1 Samuel 7:6b
“They also went without food all day “
The topic of fasting is also another sermon for another day
I have preached on it before and will again
But for today
Think of fasting as giving up something for a period of time that stands in the way of your relationship with God and allows you to focus completely on God
It might be food or drink
It might be your job or a hobby
For many it is TV or social media
Try giving something up in order to focus on knowing God and hearing God better
You will be surprised how much you can gain in the form of blessings and understanding
Next Samuels says
In verse 6c
“and confessed that they had sinned against the LORD.”
Confession is a big key to knowing and understand God more
And a key to knowing and understanding ourselves more in the process
Pouring out our hearts and souls to God in confession
Cleanses us from all that junk we are carrying around n our hearts and minds
Frees us from guilt and shame
And so much more
It removes a weight
Maybe a small weight
Maybe a battleship from our hearts and clears the path for more and better knowledge and understanding of God
1 John 1:9
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
Close from the heart
Pray
