The Stuff
1 Samuel 10:22 Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.
God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land. For many years they were led by God’s judges. Israel complained to Samuel that they wanted a king over them. They wanted to be like the other nations around them. It was not enough for them to have God’s appointed leader, they wanted a king.
1 Samuel 8:4-5
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, [5] And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
• You don’t have to be like everyone else. We are to be a “different” people.
1 Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
They had God to fight their battles but they wanted a man! If we refuse to hear God sometimes, he will give us what we want, or will let us have it our way for a while, but in the end you will find Gods way is always better.
Samuel was very upset and cried unto God. God told Samuel they were not rejecting him (Samuel) but they were rejecting Him (God) as their leader. Still God said he would let them have their king. God then told Samuel that a man would be coming to him and that he was to anoint him to be king over his people.
A young man by the name of Saul was out searching for his father’s lost donkeys. When he did not find them, he decided to go see the prophet Samuel for help. He was hoping Samuel would direct him to the donkeys.
Saul was following his father’s instruction and looking for the donkeys. We must learn to follow God’s instruction.
• Sometimes you may feel like you are out chasing donkeys but you may be right in the perfect will of God.
• God had a plan for Saul but first he had to get him to where he needed him to be.
• You may feel like you are chasing a lost dream and it just isn’t working.
• You may feel like God has given up on you but if you are being obedient and keep following God’s instruction, God will come through for you.
• We don’t always see what God sees. You may be in the mountain or you may be in the desert and feel like you are chasing lost donkeys but know that God has a plan for your life. Just because you don’t see it coming to pass right now don’t mean that God is not in it.
1 Samuel 9:4
And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
• Saul was looking in all the wrong places. If things are not coming to together for you then take note of how you are pursuing your call and make sure you are in Gods will.
1 Samuel 9:5
And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.
• At this point, Saul almost give up. He almost missed what God had for him.
• Never give up. (Winston Churchill gave one of the shortest yet most moving graduation speeches ever. All he said was NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER GIVE UP!)
1 Samuel 9:6
And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.
• When Saul could not find the donkeys on his own, he decided to go see the prophet of God.
• After doing all he knew to do, THEN he turned to God for help.
• Far too often we try to do it our way before we give in and try it Gods way.
• Let’s commit ourselves to try it God’s way first. We need to turn to God first.
When Saul came to Samuel, not only did Samuel tell him the donkeys were found and okay but he also took Saul in private and spoke to him the word of the Lord. He anointed him and gave him instructions on what was about to take place and what Saul was to do.
1 Samuel 9:27
And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.
• Know that sometimes God has to separate us so we can hear what he has to say to us.
1 Samuel 10:1
Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?
God chose Saul, and Samuel anointed Saul, but it was not yet God’s time for Saul to be identified as the king.
• Saul was given the promise but did not yet possess it.
• We have to be willing to wait on God and God’s timing.
Initially Saul was probably excited about the prospects of being king. He began to walk in the favor and anointing of the Lord. The scripture says the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. He was even seen prophesying with the prophets. People that saw him were amazed.
Then the day arrived that God was to fulfill the promise to Saul. Saul was to receive his public appointment as king. Samuel gathered all the people together and they drew lots to determine who was to be chosen as king.
1 Samuel 10:21-22 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.
• The lot fell to Saul but they could not find him.
• Just when God was about to move, Saul was out of position.
• Don’t allow yourself to get out of position with God. Stay where God can use you.
How many times have we felt a call from God, or had a burden to do something, or maybe are waiting on the fulfillment of a promise from God, and get ourselves out of position or we’re not where God wants us to be, doing what he wants us to do.
We get the promise and we get pumped up and excited about what God’s going to do, and then right when God is about to move, we get all caught up in our feelings, our surroundings, our situation, or our past. Sometimes we just give up on seeing God move, or we began to doubt, or we fear what others will think, and we miss God.
There are two ways we can delay possessing our promise and fulfilling our destiny.
1. We try to hide from God by running from our calling or ignoring him
2. We get buried or bogged down in stuff
1 – Hiding (or running) From God
Saul tried, but he found out he could not hide from God. The scripture says the LORD answered and told them where Saul was hiding. YOU CANNOT RUN FROM GOD!
You may avoid or hide from your calling or you may be buried in the “stuff”, but you can’t hide from God. You may not see God but He still sees you.
Remember Adam and Eve when they sinned in the garden. They tried to hide in the stuff but God still saw them and he knew what they had done.
Ostrich’s hide their head in the sand but they are not hidden. They feel temporary comfort and feel hidden but you can still see them; they just can see you. That’s the same thing that happens when we try to hide from God, we don’t see him but he still sees us.
I was once riding with a police officer friend when we saw a drunk staggering down the sidewalk. We rode along beside him for a while and he would not look at us. He acted like he believed we could not see him if he did not look at us. He may have felt hidden because he could not see us but he still went to jail.
Hiding in stuff, hiding your head in the sand, or not answering God’s call, only keeps you from seeing God. God still sees us knows what were up to.
2 – Bogged Down in Stuff
Saul could not fulfill the call of God hiding down in the stuff. Had he stayed there, he would have never become king. He could not possibly rule the kingdom from down in the stuff. To possess his promise, he had to come up out of the stuff and when he did, he became king over Israel.
• To fulfill God’s will for your life and to possess your promise, you have to come out of the stuff.
What is “the stuff”?
Is this passage of scripture the “stuff” Saul was hiding in was their military baggage and equipment.
Stuff has many meanings. The word “stuff” has been used to describe just about everything.
Things - My stuff, your stuff, the stuff on your hair, stuff you eat, stuff you love, stuff you hate.
Our homes become crowded with stuff until we get buried in stuff. We don’t plan to get buried in stuff; it just somehow accumulates until we realize we have too much stuff.
We all gather stuff. Many of us are not satisfied with just our stuff so we begin to look at everyone else’s stuff and want their stuff too.
Eventually we make up our minds that if we are going to be able to move around in our house we are going to have to get rid of some stuff.
So… at my house, we have a yard sale. We go through our stuff and begin to pick and choose what we can part with and then we will get rid of a lot of our stuff.
But after a while, we go to other people’s sales and bring home the stuff that other people decided to get rid of.
• Be careful what you bring into your home. We need to protect our homes and our spiritual temples.
Some of us would rather die that give up any of our stuff. We will fight to keep our stuff. Even if it is something we need rid of it, you better not mess with our stuff.
Well guess what, You can’t take it with you!
Have you ever thought how we will fight to keep some of the worst stuff imaginable and yet, we will let someone take away what we should be fighting to keep without even a struggle?
We will get upset and fight to hold on to stuff like:
• Hurt feelings, Grudges, Doubt, Worry, Critical Spirits, Hidden Sins
• Things God condemns us of or asks us to lay down that are wrong
• Things that keep us from spending time with God
Yet we seem to hardly put up a struggle to hold on to stuff like:
Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering (Patience), Gentleness (Kindness), Goodness, Faithfulness, Meekness, and Temperance
1 Samuel 10:23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
God has sent this word to fetch you out of the stuff.
Also notice that once Saul was willing and came out of the stuff, the scripture says he stood higher than any of the people around him. Just because you are buried in the stuff don’t mean you have to stay there or cannot rise to the top. If you will come out of the stuff, God will bring you up higher.
Tonight some of us need to have a Holy Ghost housecleaning and get rid of some stuff. The stuff can be anything that keeps you from living close to God or keeps you from being in God’s will. Anything that can get you out of position to possess your promise.
You can come out of the stuff.
We need to do like it says in Hebrews 12:1 and “lay aside every weight, and the sin, which doth so easily beset us.”
• Maybe you feel like things are piling on and you are being buried under the stuff.
• Maybe not even your stuff but stuff other people or the devil is throwing on you.
• Maybe you are feeling tired and weary and bogged down or maybe the devil is trying to tell you to give up.
God wants me to encourage you. Keep doing right, keep pressing forward, and keep believing God. You can make it. You can rise above the stuff and you can reap your harvest.
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
There is the story of the mule that fell in the well. The farmer knew no way to get him out so he decided to bury him. As the farmer he began to throw dirt on him down in the well, the mule became determined not to die there. So, as the dirt came down, he kept shaking it off and stepping up. As time passed and the dirt came down, he got closer and closer to the top until finally he could step out of the hole to freedom.
We need to do like the donkey. When the stuff is piling up on us, shake ourselves off and just keep stepping up.
We have to know that God is a good god and if we will hold on to him and his promises, he is going to see that we receive our harvest.
