Real People- Real Problems
A study of 1 Samuel
Part 7
I Samuel 10:26
“Dealing with Haters”
In the movie Lonesome Dove
Dan Suggs, his brothers and Jake Spoon
Rode up on a couple of farmers plowing their fields
Dan and the boys had already killed some horse traders and stolen their stock
They were riding the ragged edge and it would soon catch up with them
But for now
Dan rode out to talk to these farmers
Who by the way
Stopped what they were doing and came out to welcome him
He immediately started shooting and kills both of them
One of the brothers turns to the others and says
“ Old Dan sure hates Sob busters
The other brother confirms this hatred and says”
“Hates their guts and livers”
These men had done no wrong
Dan simply hated them
Because of what they were
Not who they were
And it was Dan who had the problem
Not those innocent farmers
This is where we come to today
As we continue our study of 1 Samuel
Please turn to 1 Samuel
Chapter 10
As you are turning, let me recap just a bit
Israel had rejected God’s Kingship and Samuel as there Judge and had asked for a King
Like all the other nations had
And so God told Samuel
Give em’ one
Tell them what will happen
Tell them they won’t like it
But if they insist
Give them what they want
So
He did
And them God used a bunch of donkey’s to get Saul son of Kish into the place he wanted him to be
And he placed Samuel where he wanted him to be
So that they could have their king
We saw that God first dealt with Saul on a personal private level
Changing his heart
And then we saw that Saul when it was time to make it public
Hid instead
We have to give him a little credit here
He had not asked for the job of King
He had not run for office
Or even in his wildest dreams expected to be made King
So
He was extremely overwhelmed
And so he hid
Theologian Matthew Henry sates that Saul quite likely hid because
1) He felt unqualified to do the job he was being asked to do- expand on this and tie to our own insecurities
2) He felt a bit of uneasiness or even fear that this new position would place him in a place of envy from his neighbors and fellow Jews- maybe afraid of success
3) He knew that Israel had sinned by rejecting God as their King- so he may have been uneasy leading a bunch of people who had rejected God
4) Israel was in a tight spot , the Philistines , the ammonites and many other countries were constantly waging war on and taking the people as slaves as well as plundering their possessions --so maybe he was afraid
But for whatever reason --he hid
But none the less he came out of hiding
And when he did
The people accepted him
Even praised him
And he was anointed as their King
This brings us to today’s text
1 Samuel 10:24-27
24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the LORD has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is like him!”
And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people what the rights and duties of a king were. He wrote them down on a scroll and placed it before the LORD. Then Samuel sent the people home again.
26 When Saul returned to his home at Gi-be-ah,( The Hill of God)a group of men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But there were some scoundrels who complained, “How can this man save us?” And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts. But Saul ignored them.
Let’s read verse 27a again
27 But there were some scoundrels who complained, “How can this man save us?” And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts.
I want to talk about How to Handle Haters.
People who dislike you for ---what you are not ----who you are
The term haters is actually a word used mostly by teenage girls and spoiled rotten musicians and athletes
Who when critizezied for their loyalty to a certain singer, actor or team
Will call those offering that criticism haters
Regardless weather the criticism is warranted or not
The spoiled celebrities often call people who disagree with them, their lifestyles
Or their decisions haters as well
For today
Let’s think of haters as
Someone that is jealous and envious not necessarily of who we are but ---what we are--
We will have people that just don’t like us personally
Let’s get real
We all have people in our lives that we don’t like either
But the groups for today are envious and jealous of what we are
From a spiritual level
Christians
Teachers
Preachers
Leaders- Elders/Lay Pastors
Servers
From a world perspective
Bosses authority figures
Successful
Good Fathers, Mothers, husbands or wives
I am not sure who said this but I read it in a sermon written by Chuck Swindoll as I was preparing this message
“When you make your mark, you will always attract erasers. That’s why you have to be careful who you share your blessing with because some folk’s can’t handle seeing you blessed.
So how do we handle our haters so that we won’t hijack the blessings that God has for us?
How do we handle your haters so that we don’t miss the opportunities that He has planned for our lives?
In our studies we have seen that the people wanted a king because when they looked around they saw that the other nations had a king.
They cried give us a King like all the other nations have
You see
They had been getting the snot beat out of them for years by the other nations
And
They mistakenly thought that the only way to beat the other nations were to be like them.
Bad idea
Listen
It is dangerous to try and be like somebody else
If God wanted you to be like somebody else He would have given you what he gave them.
But he did not------ he made you like he wanted you
Custom made by the master craftsman
This is why envy and jealousy just makes no since what so ever
It hobbles God and his plan in your life
Because to want what somebody else has
We are assuming that what they have is the best that God’s got.
And
We can miss something better / the good things he has planned just for us
Because we are concentrating or focusing on what somebody else has.
Granny used to say – I love this
“Be who you is”
“Cause if you is who you ain’t “
“Then you ain’t who you is.”
First off
We don’t know what people have gone through to get what they have.
If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence you can be sure that the fertilized bill is higher too!
Swindoll says - Imitation is Limitation ---I agree
God don’t care what you were
He cares who we are
---And he wants you to be you--
Back to our text
Saul goes home to Gi-be-ah and is joined by a bunch of guys who are ready to follow him
They are with him all the way
Others simply went home
Unaffected for the time being
But others
Were “haters”
The bible says all the people cheered as Saul was made King
But now
A group had got together
And decided
“He ain’t my King”
I heard several
More than several similar comments from Clinton supporters after she was whooped in the last election and Trump were inaugurated
You see
These men did not necessarily have anything against Saul- who he was
But they had a big problem with the appointment and the blessing that Saul has received- what he was
So
They refused to follow him
And
Even disrespect him by not bringing him an offering.
They felt as if he could not do what he had been appointed to do.
These ties back to us
Some people don’t like it that you can
Accept Jesus as your savior
That you come to church and enjoy it!
That you worship you Lord of Lords and King of Kings
That you sing with joy
Bless his holy name
Solos to the song
They don’t like what you are
A Child of the living God through Jesus Christ- maybe they are still lost
That you are a Bona Fide Believer- maybe they are just going through the motions
They don’t like that you are sold out because they are still for sale
They hate you because they hate him
Or they hate you because he loves you and them
Mistakenly believe he does not love them
Haters can come from our inner circle or from out side
In our text for today
Saul’s haters were not his enemies they were in the group that was supposed to be on his side.
They had cheered when he was anointed
Listen
We can handle the people out there – outside those doors
Outside of the body of Christ
When they hate us because we love Jesus
We can handle it when our haters are our enemies
But
How do we handle the haters who we least expect to have to have our guard up against.
Those who are supposed to be with us?
Saul had been given the authority to imprison these men
To exile these men
Even to execute these men
Verse 25
“Then Samuel told the people what the rights and duties of a king were. He wrote them down on a scroll and placed it before the LORD.”
But instead
Saul ignored them
Verse 27b
“But Saul ignored them.”
When they do the same to us
We need to show them that we have not surrendered their negativity
That we will not let their sourness
Steal our joy
Show then that we will serve as God directs and we will receive his blessings because of our obedience and love for him
Show them that they can just get glad in the same britches they got mad in
Cause
We ain’t listing
Talk to the hand!
Listen
The cowboy in me wants knock them into next week like Captain Call when the Old Army scout was quirting Newt- Just run down there knock them off their horse and whoop the tar out of them for their rude behavior
Instead we should ignore them
The old man-- the pre Jesus me --wants to tell them where they can go and what they can do with their hate
The new me know we should just ignore them
The old me wants to Give them a piece of my mind and my boot-
The Jesus in me says -ignore them
Listen
We don’t need to let the enemy (Old Slick)
Use them to distract you from the destiny that God has for you-
So we must ignore them
So Preacher
You say just ignore them
How do we do that?
I wish I could say it was easy’ it is not
But
I see three things that can help us
I). We Ignore those who hate what we are by understanding our purpose and being confident in our purpose
Listen
With a purpose we can focus without being distracted.
Purpose does not mean having a job.
You can have a job and still be unfulfilled.
A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be.
Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you
Your purpose is defined by God’s love for you
And your obedience to him
From a worldly perspective
We tend to try and get more stuff
More power
More authority More money
So we can get more respect
Right?
Listen
The ones who are impressed by all the stuff
Will leave as soon as it is gone – think about that for a minute or two
Your purpose is not defined by how others think about you
Or how much you have
Our purpose comes from God
If we know it’s our purpose we should not care what others think of the job I we are doing.
Listen
I have made many- many friend’s here in this church and other churches I have served in and attended
But
I don’t come to church to make friends
I come to worship that is my purpose
I don’t come to church to socialize
I love the interaction we have, and look forward to the hugs and handshakes the smiles and the conversations
But that is not my purpose for being here
I come to worship and learn and teach God’s word
That is my purpose
Filling my spiritual tank
And prayerfully helping you full yours
I have been through too much to let anyone keep me from my purpose.
Jesus died to give me my purpose
2).We Ignore those who hate --what we are--- by looking at the fruit or lack of fruit in their lives
My dad always told me when someone criticizes you
Take it from the source it came from and then and then disregard it
This does not mean we should we should disregard any and all criticism
Some forms of criticism are good for us
And can promote healthy changes in our lives
Or point out areas we need to change
What dad meant is this
We should look at the fruit in the person’s life that is trying to steal our joy
Verse 27
“27 But there were some scoundrels who complained,
Scoundrels the NLT calls the haters in Saul’s life
The KJV call them the Children of Be-li-al---proverbial term to describe worthless men
Other translations call them worthless men
So
Here is the anointed King in the company of some worthless scoundrel’s sons of Be-li-al
Who are jealous of --what he is--- the anointed King
And telling him that he can’t and they won’t
Those of you who know me well know I hate that word
Can’t – can’t do nuthin my dad loved to say
Listen
Who is it telling him he can’t do it????---- Some worthless dysfunctional men scoundrouls
Men who were doing nothing themselves and complaining about the one God called to do it
Why should we let somebody who can’t get it together ---keep us from having it together.
Before you listen to people’s criticism check out their history
Are they producing fruit?
Or just spreading fertilizer?
In order to mow the yard we must engage the blades
Have they engaged the blades or are they just driving around ?
So we ignore them by knowing and understanding our purpose
Keeping our focus
And looking at the fruit or lack of fruit in the lives of our critics
3). We Ignore those who don’t like what we are by remembering that what we have is from God and not from man
The people wanted a king.
They identified their needs
And compared their needs to what they thought Saul’s ability was.
They looked at his background, resume and his appearance
What they missed was that Saul had not asked for the job.
He had not politicked
They saw that
He was young,
Had no military experience,
Was still wet behind the ears,
Still had milk in the corner of his mouth
But what they did not realize or understand was that he had
Unmerited FAVOR
From the world’s perspective
Favor ain’t fair
God gives it to you at his prerogative so that he can get the glory
God grants his favor on those chooses
We can’t earn it
We can’t even begin to afford it
We can never get enough education to get it
It is by God’s grace that he has given us a purpose and a plan
And If God has given us a purpose and a plan- shown us favor
Why in the world
Should we let anyone or anything?
Stop or even delay that purpose or that plan
Everything we have
Everything we are
Is a gift from the God who loved us so much that he gave his Son to save us from the penalties of our sins?
So if we are forgiven by God
If we are made sons and daughter
If we are no longer orphans
Why should we care what others think about ---what we are?----
I can tell you
The bible says
That we will all have to give an account to God
For our deeds
Both good and bad
And that we will be rewarded for those deeds accordingly
But it says that we will face -----God------
Not men
Not the haters
So we obey God
Follow God
Seek his will and his plan for us
Don’t be deterred by nay sayers
Or those who oppose you
Those that don’t like you for what you are or what you stand for
Just ignore them
Pray for them
And focus on God
He has a glorious plan for you
Don’t let anyone stop you from finding it and living it
“Be who you is”
“Cause if you is who you ain’t “
“Then you ain’t who you is.”
Who is you? Who is you in Christ?
Close from the heart
---Plans----
Pray
Thanks to Chuck Swindoll for the good points from his sermon dealing with haters
