Be Careful With What God Gives You

“Be Careful With What God Gives You”

By Joe Mack Cherry

I. Intro

A. God doesn’t always call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

1. Have you ever thought you were qualified for a job and found out you weren’t?

a. Me: the first time I got on a minibike. Up the side of our house, I went.

b. We’ll see in a minute that the Children of Israel did by demanding a king.

c. There are consequences for all of our decisions, good or bad.

2. Have you ever been charged with a task that you felt you were not qualified to do?

a. Most parents do at the start of parenthood.

b. For the most part, parents and their children survive and thrive.

c. How? Through a lot of prayer, study, and hard work.

3. Remember how it felt when you succeeded?

4. It happens to God’s children, also. Two examples of Him calling men for service:

a. Moses at the burning bush; tell Pharoah, “Let my people go!”

i. “Lord, I’m slow of speech”/who made your mouth?

ii. Ex. 4:12 God said, “I will be your mouth and I will teach you what to say.” We have the same assurance that God will be with us!

b. Gideon – Jud. 6:11 – 8:32

i. Jud. 6:12 – The angels says, “Go, you mighty man of valor.”

ii. My clan is the least in Manasseh and I am the least in my clan.

c. God doesn’t always call the qualified; He qualifies the called.

i. Just because He qualifies us, doesn’t mean the task will be easy.

ii. We have to use what He gives us in the way He intended.

B. King Saul Credentials

1. I Sam. 9:2

a. From an upstanding family

b. NIV labels him impressive. NKJV calls him the most handsome man in Israel.

c. He was a head taller than any of the others.

2. I Sam. 9:20 Samuel tells Saul the desires of Israel has turned to you. Read vs. 21 – sound familiar? I’m the least of the least and I am not capable of doing what God wants me to do.

3. I Sam. 11:5 – Saul’s vocation

a. He was coming in from the fields behind a pair of oxen.

b. He also had to know something about animals because Kish sent him to retrieve the runaway donkeys.

c. He was an agriculturist even after he was anointed, not a politician/ruler.

4. I Sam. 8 – Saul, as well as his predecessors, would do these things as king.

a. Take young men and make them warriors.

b. Take young ladies and make them bakers and perfumers.

c. Take slaves and servants at will.

d. Take the best land and livestock for himself.

e. Hosea years later speaks of the punishment of the Israelites, “where is your king, now?” Even if he were here, he could not save you.

II. King Saul fails in epic proportions.

A. Remember God qualifies those for duty.

1. I Sam. 10:9 – As Saul turned away from Samuel, God gave him a new heart.

2. God did not do the first physical heart transplant!

3. As we learned earlier, Saul was an agriculturist; he was not lent to governing.

4. It did not change his nature; it changed his focus. He was the same man before and after.

B. Saul didn’t keep God’s commandments in mind as he utilized what God had given him.

1. God gives us something, ultimately it is for His glory.

2. The things that Saul did

a. I Sam 11:6-11 – He threatened to kill the oxen of all those who did not turn out for battle against the Ammonites. Refer back IB4.a.

b. I Sam 13:12-14 – He took it upon himself to do the duties of a priest when Samuel arrived late for a pre battle meeting. This costs his lineage the kingship which later went to David.

c. I Sam. 15 – Saul is commanded to totally destroy the Amalekites.

i. He saves king Agag

ii. He saves cattle and sheep

iii. Samuel tells him, “It is better to obey than sacrifice…”

iv. This was the final straw, the kingdom was taken from Saul and Samuel never saw him again, even though he repents and kills king Agag.

d. Saul always tried to justify his bad decisions. Refer back IIB2b

e. Notice that Saul was not immediately removed as king.

f. His life became a living hell.

i. God sent an evil spirit to torment him. I Sam 16:4

ii. David’s life was also affected because Saul became very jealous after he defeated the Amalekites; henceforth Saul was constantly trying to kill him. I Sam. 18:10 (Another evil spirit took over Saul.)

iii. Saul’s final error was to consult the Witch of Endor. Samuel was brought up and Saul was told that he and his sons would die the next day.