Kingdom and Chaos
1st Samuel 8 – Give us a King
February 3, 2018
1 Samuel 8:4-9 NIV
So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." 6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."
This was a prosperous time in Israel’s history.
We can all get bored and restless in times of prosperity.
1 Samuel 8:19-20 NIV
“But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
Serpent to Eve – You will be like God (Genesis 3:5)
Root Issue – Are we ok with the life God gives us and the God we serve?
Beware of false promises that reduce our lives to something less than God’s best.
Who do we really trust with our lives?
We must be very careful that do not choose a Christianity with Jesus as a mascot.
The earliest Christian creed “Jesus is Lord”
He’s the risen king. He’s the Christ.
Israel had a choice. They could serve the king who takes from them or the King who gives them everything they need.
For the next 500 years, Israel would get exactly what God told them they would get.
We’ve all chosen our own path.
Google Maps - Recalculate
God will not give up on us!
Acts 14:16-17 NIV
In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."
The Table:
Romans 12:1-2 MSG
So, here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.”
