Real People – Real Problems
A study of 1 Samuel
Part 6b
“You da man are you hiding or shining?”
As we continue our study of 1 Samuel this morning
We come back to Kish’s son
Saul
Who we saw last week
God through Samuel
Dub
“Da man”
We saw how God orchestrates
Events
And
Moves people and things into position
Placing them at the right place
At the right time
In order to accomplish his plans
Sometimes his plans for us
Sometimes his plans for others
We also saw that in order to understand
And unleash God’s plans in our lives we have certain things we must do
First we must choose Jesus as savior
God’s plan as we discussed begins with salvation
And we have the ability to make a choice to accept or reject salvation
There are many misguided ideas about salvation
And just exactly what that means
Often when we ask someone if they would go to heaven when they die
The answer is
“I hope so”
Or
“I think so”
Or even sometimes a resounding –“Yes “
Only to be rattled a bit
By the next question that should always follow
“why ?” or “why do you think so?”
And there are many differing opinions on why
First off let me say
You don’t have to hope so
You don’t have to think so
God’s word gives us assurance
And if your answer to will you goes to heaven when you die is
“I hope so”
“Or think so”
Then your answer is no
Hang on
There is more
When your answer is yes
And the answer to the follow up question why
Is
I go to church
I was baptized ---
I’ve never done anything really bad
My mom-ma- daddy – was a Christian
I’ve always been a Christian
Etc...
Then your answer should also be
“No”
To the question
Do you know you will go to heaven when you die?
Listen to me
John 14:6 says
I am the way, the truth and the life
And no one comes to the Father except through me
Hoping will not save you
Thinking will not save you
Being a good person
Or going to church or being baptized will not save you
Only accepting Jesus Christ as savior and turning from your sins will save you
This is important
God loves you
And he sent Jesus to pay the price of your sins
And everyone who believes- that is places their faith and trust in Jesus
Will be saved
But
We must accept salvation
We must reach out and take it
And then
God can begin unfolding his glorious plans for your life
Samuel laid out God’s plan for Saul last week
In chapter 8
We saw God move Saul with a bunch of donkeys
And place Samuel right where he wanted him
And in verse 9:20b
Samuel gives Saul the first look at the plan
“And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel’s hopes.”
We saw in verse 21 that Saul tried to get out of Dodge about then
Verse 21
21 Saul replied, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?”
But to his credit
He stayed and listened to more of the plan
This brings us to Chapter 10 and the second part of “you da man – hiding or shining”
1 Samuel 10:1
Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “I am doing this because the LORD has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession.
God had pointed out Saul as the future King
Samuel had embraced God’s choice
And now he was going to help unfold more of the plan for Saul
So he anoints him as King
In private
Key on this
God through Samuel dealt with Saul’s heart
To let him begin seeing the plan
Later the anointing would be public
But God always begins with the heart of the person
-----Back to salvation-----
No one can tell you that you are saved
God though the Holy Spirit convicts the heart of the one he is dealing with first
He may use people or things or circumstances
Or even donkeys to get the job done
But all change begins in the heart of the one who is being dealt with
So God deals with Saul’s heart privately
Then he uses Samuel to give Saul confirmation
Samuel then tells Saul what is going to happen
Verses 2-8
2 When you leave me today, you will see two men beside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father has stopped worrying about them and is now worried about you. He is asking, ‘Have you seen my son?’
3 “When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will be carrying a wineskin full of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept.
5 “When you arrive at Gibeah of God,[b] where the garrison of the Philistines is located, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying. 6 At that time the Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. 7 After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you. 8 Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions.”
Listen – this is important to understand
God works differently in this day
In the New Covenent
Than he did in the old days – Under the Old Covenant
Today--We have his word and his word is confirmation of his plan for us
Let me remind you what the author of Hebrews teaches as we studied in our Hebrews series some time back
Hebrews 1:1-4
1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.
God spoke to Saul through Samuel
God speaks to us through his word
And through Jesus his son
Who speaks directly to our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit
Back to Saul and 1 Samuel
Verse 9
9 As Saul turned and started to leave, God gave him a new heart, and all Samuel’s signs were fulfilled that day.
God gave Saul a new heart
Key on this
We will come back here in just a second
Verse 10
10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, they saw a group of prophets coming toward them. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy.
God dealt with Saul
God changed Saul’s heart
And the things Samuel said would happen ----happened
Listen
I need you to hear me on this
In the Old days
In the old covenant
The Holy Spirit came upon people and caused them to do great and wonderful things
But the Holy Spirit did not live in the hearts of men
Ne did not indwell people
As a result a person could have the Spirit leave them
We will see that this does indeed happen to Saul later as he chooses his own way instead of God’s way
His plan instead of God’s plan
But in this time in the New Covenant that Christ died to give us
The Holy Spirit indwells us
He is God’s seal of salvation on our hearts
This means he lives in us and is part of us and this also means he does not leave us
EVER
Back to our lesson
God changed Saul by his power
And
God changes us by his power as well
But
We have a responsibility to use that change
Saul had that responsibility as well
But
He initially tried to get out of it
He tried to run from it
He tried to hide from it
And this is where we come to today for our application
Verses 17-23
17 Later Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet before the LORD at Mizpah. 18 And he said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, has declared: I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were oppressing you. 19 But though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, you have rejected your God today and have said, ‘No, we want a king instead!’ Now, therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by tribes and clans.”
20 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the LORD, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. 21 Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the LORD, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally Saul son of Kish was chosen from among them. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared! 22 So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?”
And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.” 23 So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.
The people as we saw two weeks ago rejected God’s kingship in their lives
God said Ok- you won’t like it
But ok
Then God choose for them the man
God though Samuel shows Saul that Plan
And deals with him privately
Then He changes Saul by his power
People, see the change and are amazed
Then when it is time to make it all public
Saul
Hides
Verses 21b-22b
And finally Saul son of Kish was chosen from among them. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared! 22 So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?”
And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.”
This is so like us sometimes it is amazing
This is where we can begin applying this into our lives
God begins dealing with us through the Holy Spirit
One on one’
To accept his son Jesus
And he uses whatever he has to or needs to get that done
Preachers
Teachers
Friends
Family
Even people you don’t care for
He uses things and circumstances
To get us to a place in spirit
Mind or physically in a place where we hear
And believe that we are worthy because Jesus makes us worthy
And we make a choice to accept
But we often try to hide- leaving before the invitation
Changing the subject when someone tries to tell you about Jesus and how he can change your life
Receiving the gift is step one of his plan
Next he wants us to make that public
This is where we sometimes want to hide
Baptism while not a condition of salvation’
Is an important part of God’s plan
Baptism is the making public of a private heart change
But often times
We want the salvation that God offers
But we don’t want anyone to know we have it
We don’t want it to have any bearing or impart on our lives
We want to know we are saved
We want the assurance of heaven
Without all the God stuff in our lives
So we hide like Saul
God has fulfilled his promises
Just as the things Samuel told Saul came true
He says all who believe will be saved
And if you did then you are!
But then God’s plan involves making it public
Letting others see the desire to rides for him
The commitment
Jesus was baptized to show the world who he was
And to set an example for us
This is why we do it as well
To say
I have accepted Christ
And I want you to know it
So you can do it too!
There is another part of the plan
Accept- salvation
Obey- baptism is the first act of obedience
And produce fruit
Then he wants us to produce fruit
I know I’m a little nutty
And some of you are as well
But this is not the fruit that we are discussing
The fruit we are discussing is letting others receive salvation through your example
Living your life 24-7- 365 in a way that shows the love and light of Jesus
Guys
I know this can be hard
Many times the pressures of this life make us do things and say things that are anything but loving
Anything but Christian
But producing fruit means we admit our mistakes
And
Do what we can to make it right
Apologize
Ask for forgiveness from God
But just as importantly to those we have wronged
And also to grant forgiveness to those who have wronged us
This is good fruit
Sharing our testimonies
Our Jesus Stories with others so that might be changed as well
These are good fruit
Teaching- praying- loving- caring
These are great fruits
Listen to me
If no one can see the fruit in your life
Are you really producing fruit?
We as believers
Must stop hiding in the baggage
We must make our faith
And our love public
In order for God’s plans to be fulfilled
We must live in the light
“This little light of mine
I’m going to let it shine”
We are called to make disciples
As we have been made disciples
And we can’t do that in secret while we are hiding
Are you hiding or are you shining
Have you accepted Christ- if not you can do that today
If so have you told someone?
Have you stepped out in obedience and shown your salvation though baptism or are you still a secret believer
Have you let the world see the changes in you ---or do you still blend in
In word and action and deed with everyone else in the world
Jesus says come out and be different
Are you being shown the plans that God has for you?
In some form of ministry
If so are you shining or hiding
Listen
We in no way will ever stop God’s master plan
But we can stunt or stop our part of that plan
Are you hiding or shining
Close from the heart
Pray
