FAILED? DON’T GIVE UP!
1 Sam. 12:12-22
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Be Careful with Temptation
1. A fly was sitting on a lawn mower handle one morning watching the children going down the sidewalk on their way to school.
2. One little boy tripped and fell, spilling his lunch on the sidewalk. He picked himself up, put his lunch back in the bag and went on. But he missed a piece of baloney.
3. The fly had not eaten so he buzzed down and started eating the bologna. In fact, he ate so much that he couldn’t fly, so he waddled across the sidewalk, up the wheel of the lawn mower, up the handle, and sat there resting and watching the children.
4. There was still some baloney laying there on the sidewalk. Despite his being really stuffed, that baloney sure did look good.
5. Finally temptation got the best of him and he jumped off the handle of the lawn mower to fly over to the baloney. But alas he was too full to fly and fell straight to the ground... splat!
6. The moral of this story is simple... don't fly off the handle when you are full of baloney!
B. TEXT
12 “…you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king. 16 “Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.” [Lightning flashed & it rained] 19 The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.” 20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 22 For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.
C. THESIS
1. Verse 20 has been a balm of healing to millions who’ve made mistakes, given in to a temptation, or feel like a failure. It offers hope and a revelation of God’s grace.
2. The title of this message is “Failed? Don’t give up!”
I. THE SIN OF TRUSTING IN THE FLESH
A. THEY TRUSTED TO A MAN, NOT GOD
1. It’s not uncommon for us to trust in other things instead of the Lord. The Israelites looked around at all the other nations (even though they had a supernatural God leading them) and they said, “We need to have a human King, like everyone else!” What a mistake! If we have God, we don’t need a substitute. We should trust in the Lord, not in earthly solutions.
2. PEOPLE TRUST IN THEIR OWN STRENGTH. On Sept. 6, 1941, a report was written that an attack on Hawaii by Japan was extremely unlikely; it would only have a 1 in a million chance of success, because Hawaii was our most powerful military base in the world. On Dec. 7, 1941 (3 months later), the Japanese attacked and succeeded in destroying our Pacific fleet at Hawaii!
[“At Dawn We Slept” by Gordon Prange. Written on Sept. 6, 1941 by journalist Clarke Beach.] So much for our strength!
3. PEOPLE TRUST IN THEIR RICHES. Following the 2008-09 stock market crash there was an additional 6,566 suicides “that were a direct consequence of the rapid decline of equity values….” [9/13/2018, “Stock market crashes linked to higher rates of suicide – new research”]. This means that 6,566 people’s lives rose and fell on the stock market!
4. PEOPLE TRUST IN DOCTORS & MEDICINE. The Biblical King Asa got a disease in his feet. 2 Chron. 16:12 says that he would only consult medical doctors and refused to go to God in prayer about it, so he died of the disease. He had false security.
5. TURBULENT AIRPLANE ILLUS. A man was on a flight that went over mountains and the plane began to bounce and jerk in an alarming way. The man looked across the aisle at a boy who looked serene. “Aren’t you nervous?” he asked. The boy replied, “No, my father is the pilot. He has a perfect flying record. I know everything’s going to be alright.” We ought to be just as confident; our Father is piloting our lives!
B. SAMUEL PROPHESIES A STORM TO CONFIRM HIS WORDS
1. 3 aspects of this miracle that show it’s of supernatural origin:
a. It came at an unusual time (in wheat-harvest);
b. when there was no sign of a storm, it was a clear day;
c. It occurred at the precise moment he was speaking to them.
2. Sometimes we don’t listen to the “still small voice” of God, so God has to turn on some of His fireworks. If we won’t pay attention, God’ll have to do something radical to get our attention, something we may NOT like – like being swallowed by a whale or bitten by a snake. It’s better to listen!
C. THE FEAR OF GOD IS A POSITIVE FORCE
1. The Bible tells us that when they saw the supernatural occur – as Samuel prayed – the Israelites feared God. There are healthy fears (like fear of heights, electricity, wild animals) & unhealthy ones (fear of the dark, of things that may never happen). A fear of God is a healthy fear. He has our lives in His hands. He’s One we should honor & respect.
2. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” Ps. 111:10. “By the fear of the Lord one departs from evil” Prov. 16:6. The Bible says, "God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning"(Ex. 20:20).
D. A TYPE OF OUR SINS & DISFAVOR
1. When the people expressed their fears about their sin and relationship with God, Samuel told them not to be afraid – because God was on their side. He is a merciful God.
2. We can expect the same mercy when we come humbly to repent of our sins. Jesus paid the price for our sins!
II. TOOLS OF GOD’S DISCIPLINE
A. WHAT GOD USES TO CORRECT OUR COURSE
1. God uses many different things to correct us if we get off course. He speaks to us, removes some privileges, sends warnings, removes our peace, convicts us of sin, and then sends increasing warnings of potential judgment.
2. ILLUS. A lady visiting the Holy Land came upon a sheepfold located high on a hilltop. Her attention was drawn to one poor sheep lying by the side of the road bleating in pain. Looking more closely, she discovered that its leg was injured. She asked the shepherd how it happened. "I had to break it
myself," he answered sadly. "It was the only way I could keep that wayward one from straying into life-threatening places. It was the ‘lesser of two evils.’ From past experience I’ve found that this action will help this sheep follow me. Once I nurse her back to health, she’ll realize that I love her and she’ll come instantly when I call."
B. 2 WRONG REACTIONS TO GOD’S CONVICTION
Hebrews 12:5-6 NIV says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” This verse outlines 2 wrong responses to God’s discipline:
1. UNDERESTIMATING GOD’S DISCIPLINE
Underestimating happens when we downplay our sins: “they’re not so bad,” etc. Another way we underestimate it is by denying that God will judge us for our sins, “God’s is a God of love; He wouldn’t hurt anyone,” etc.
2. OVER-REACTING GOD’S DISCIPLINE
Over-reacting is when we say to ourselves; "It’s too late;” “I’ll never measure up;” or “God is against me; so it doesn’t matter what I do.” None of those reactions are right.
C. DISCIPLINE IS PROOF OF GOD’S LOVE!
1. Message Bible, Heb. 12:5-9, “My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either. It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects. God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children.”
2. DISCIPLINE IS THE PROOF THAT GOD LOVES US. If He didn’t love us, He wouldn’t go to all the trouble to patiently work with us. Praise God He DOES love you!
III. GOD’S ENCOURAGEMENT: DON’T GIVE UP!
20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. NIV
A. WHEN YOU FAIL, DON’T DESPAIR!
1. Millions of people have read this verse (20) and been encouraged to keep walking with God! The wonderful thing is that God doesn’t just look at our sins, He’s looking at our hearts.
2. GOD IS NOT JUST KEEPING SCORE OF OUR SINS, HIS HEART IS SET ON OUR RECONCILIATION! HE doesn’t automatically throw us out of the covenant of grace the moment we sin; but He gives us a “space (of time) to repent,” (Rev. 2:21) just like we do our kids.
3. I remember times one of my kids would be doing something wrong. They’d always look at me, hoping I wasn’t paying attention. But I’d raise my eyebrows and give them “that look;” as if to say, “Yeah, you just keep going! I dare you to do that. You know what’s fixin to happen!” They’d back off.
4. John 3:17 tells us, “For God sent NOT his Son into the world TO CONDEMN the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Listen to 2 Cor. 5:19, “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, NOT COUNTING PEOPLE’S SINS against them” NIV.
5. God’s not out to get us, but to love us; He’s working all things out for our good. “You have messed up; yet don’t turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord.” Don’t let the mountain of your sins stop you from serving the Lord! Repent and you’ll be forgiven.
6. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth reaching 29,029 feet. Your sins may seem as big as Everest, but God’s grace is bigger! In the Pacific Ocean is the Mariana Trench. It’s 35,814 feet deep. You could take Mt. Everest and turn it upside down and drop it in and it would be completely swallowed up. (6,785 ft. under; 205 atmos. of 33 ft.) Praise God, SO ARE OUR SINS SWALLOWED UP! (See Mic. 7:18-19, “God….hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”)
7. Don’t despair, lay hold of the Cross of Christ and receive a new heart and a new spirit! “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” Ezek. 36:26.
B. ILLUS.: BRIDE WHO COULDN’T MAKE UP MIND
1. A wealthy group of San Francisco society gathered at St. Peter & Paul Church in San Francisco for a wedding. At the crucial moment, the dazzling bride appeared and made her way to the altar of the cathedral.
2. The priest asked, “Do you take this man for your lawfully wedded husband?” “I don’t know,” she murmured to the priest, “I just can’t make up my mind.” He waited a moment and then announced to the audience, “The wedding is off.”
3. The reception was cancelled. Thousands of dollars of food was given away. All because at the moment of decision the bride couldn’t make up her mind. (Today, you are the bride. Will you take Christ as your husband? Yes or no?)
4. This story has a good ending. A week later the bride asked for the wedding to proceed. “I was just nervous,” she said, “my mind is made up now. I DO take the groom as my husband.” [Paul Tan, Ency. Of 7,700 Illus., #3325]
5. We’re about to come to a final decision about our relationship to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Savior or Judge?
1. A young law school student was on his way to class on a cold, blustery day in January. As he was walking to class, he watched a young boy ice skating on a pond.
2. To his amazement, the ice broke and the boy fell through and was drowning before his eyes. Without hesitating, the young law student ran to his rescue. He made his way with bravery to the edge of the hole and saved the boy from certain death.
3. Years went by and the law student became a very successful lawyer and was eventually promoted to judge. One day, a dirty, long-haired man was brought before him for committing some serious crimes. Right away the judge remembered the man as the boy he saved the day at the pond.
4. The man recognized the Judge and said, “You saved me before; won’t you save me again?” But the Judge said, "Years ago I was destined to be your savior, but today I’m destined to be your Judge. Because you haven’t repented of your crimes you will have to face punishment.”
5. That’s the same with Jesus. While we live He can be our Savior, but if we die in sin, He’ll have to be our Judge!
B. THE CALL
1. How many here have wavered in making a decision for Christ but now you’re ready to completely commit? Stand up. Come stand up here with me at the front.
2. How many of you are willing to accept the correction of God in some area of your life and change it? Raise hands.
3. How many of you have felt like giving up? You’ve felt hopeless and like you could never be good enough? Raise your hands. The good news is, Jesus paid your way! Let’s pray now about these.
