I Samuel 16:1-11 Following God takes courage…
.
A few months ago, I preached from 1 Samuel about the prophet, Samuel and then the first king in Israel, Saul.
And Saul, he started off as a good King, full of the Holy Spirit, HUMBLE…but by ch 13, he drifted far away from God.
In ch 14-15 One of the stories we studied …
When war was eminent… Saul could not wait for the priest, Samuel to do a sacrifice for their sins and ask God to bless them.….so King Saul did it… He was fearful of the war beginning before the sacrifice…But It was blatant disobedience to God and his Laws.… But the problem was deeper….Saul could not trust God. He had to control and make all decisions. Then Samuel arrived,
1 Samuel in ch 15:22 Samuel the prophet says to King Saul…..
“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obedience to His voice?
Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice,
and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
What is it saying? obedience to God was more important than when a person offers a burnt offering or sacrifice. YOU SEE, sacrifices are IMPORTANT… God demands a blood sacrifice for sin. A lamb. But what truly delights God’s heart? When Words: The Lord DELIGHTS in what? Your obedience is more pleasing than the sacrifices or to do GOOD WORKS. Why? Obeying God is shown by your choice to follow Him instead of doing your own thing. Attentive to God (paying attention)
Then look at the next verses:
. 23….Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He has rejected you as king.”
But Saul does not get it and Samuel tells him that God has rejected him as king. THAT TAKES COURAGE>>>
Samuel left and in verse 35
35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
Why are they mourning and grieving? They know Saul’s potential, but he has chosen poorly. And will miss out on God’s blessing because of his ego. And I wanted you to also realize that when you sin or walk away from god…
God grieves over us when we sin. It is personal to Him. Have you ever grieved over someone’s poor choices? I have . And GOD GRIEVES OVER OUR SELFISH CHOICES.
This now brings us to chapter 16 verse 1
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
We don’t know the length of time between chapter 15 and 16… but it does tell us something.
A.. THE PROBLEM OF GETTING STUCK IN THE PAST/ there is a time to MOVE ON
1. There IS a season for mourning, (woe is me) but there’s also a season for MOVING on. Many people struggle with that. WALLOW>>> MUD AND MIRE>>>> We all have pain in our past – circumstances/people that wounded us - and we struggle to emotionally deal with it. Sometimes going to a counselor helps us to get it in perspective and let go.
QUOTES
“Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You must let go at some point in order to move forward.” – C.S. Lewis.
2. Lesson to learn here: Frequently we find ourselves going over the same ground: Why did this happen to me? Why did they hurt me? Why did I do this or that? We keep meditating on the past. The question is? What good will that do? We can’t change it!
THERE’S TWO CHOICES for a hurting past
1. You can keep talking about the hurt and stay in the mud. FESTER
2. Or after a time of mourning… you let it go. LET IT GO and move on. It does NOT DEFINE YOU nor does it define your tomorrows
In chapter 15 to 16= Samuel Kept mourning ….So God says, move on. Let Saul do his thing, but you move on. Ask people for forgiveness and they refuse to forgive… MOVE on. Give it to God. You do the right thing.
BUT HOW?
4. God is saying today, “Let go of the past! Put it behind you. I Give it to HIM. I have new things ahead for you, focus on those!”
For me, the best way to put away a painful event. I take out a shoe box in my mind. (I take out an actual one). I tell God all the hurts from this event. I then label it with a marker. (mine is” the piano”) And then I give it to Jesus. He takes it and he puts it in his closet. He tells me the memory now belongs to him and I need to leave it with Him and never think about it again.
So those past hurts such as: relationship, hurt, fear, past mistakes, sin, guilt, slander, anger, failures, regrets, worry, We need to let it go.
SATAN- BURDEN- heavy weight….. GOD WANTS US- FREE
Isaiah 43: 18 says Forget the former thing; do not dwell on the past, see, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up, do you not perceive it. I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
Illustration: a couple from the church. The husband represents the past. The wife is herself. The pastor is God holding money or a gift and although she is facing God with her body. Her face is mostly on her husband. And every time she tries to look at God. He jerks her hand.
God gave me this verse when we were forced to leave Congo because of a war. I kept thinking of the past… my house. My ministry. And God said… let it go. You are starting a new work. Let go the past. Let go of the old work and focus on the new.
But what happens if it keeps coming up in your though life? Rebuke it
Ex: I rebuke in the name of Jesus the thoughts of …………I give it to Jesus. I refuse to hold on to this. It is Jesus’s problem. Freedom.
1ST POINT. TAKE COURAGE AND LET GO OF THE PAST SO YOU CAN SEE A NEW VISION FOR THE FUTURE WITH JESUS.
1. Read I Samuel 16:1-2
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
What I found interesting is Samuel’s reaction.
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
What does Samuel fear? He fears Saul. Why? King Saul kills people who don’t agree with him. He kills at will.
What did you notice about Samuel,,,? His fear
A. Who is bigger in his eyes at this moment: Saul or God? Saul.
B. He has LOST PERSPECTIVE. God told him to go and anoint a new king… but Samuel can’t. Paralyzed. Can’t find other choices.
What do you fear? Lose perspective? This is why we read the bible daily so God can correct our viewpoint.
2. We should not fear people, but fear God. Keep your eyes on God. Why? God widens out perspective. Gives us Courage…. Help me see to see a way out….a way to do God’s will
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord said.
2nd Point So we need to give our fears to God. And ask God to widen our viewpoint..
Here’s an illustration C. ILLUS. We Can’t See Ahead
1. Eight-year-old Frank had looked forward for weeks to a particular Saturday when his father promised to take him fishing if the weather was suitable. But when Saturday dawned, it was raining and looked like it would rain all day.
2. Frank wandered around the house, grumbling; "Seems like the Lord should’ve known that it would’ve been better to have it rain yesterday than today!"
3. Then, about three o’clock, the rain stopped. They quickly loaded the gear and were off to the lake. Whatever the reason, the fish were biting hungrily and father and son returned with a full string of fine, big fish.
4. At supper, Frank’s mom asked him to say grace. Frank did--and concluded, "And, Lord, sorry I was grumpy earlier today, I COULDN’T SEE FAR ENOUGH AHEAD." How true… we keep fighting the past when we should be looking at how God is going to resolve the problem.
And God does widen his view. How? 1 Samuel 16:2-4
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord said.
1. Notice. God only gave so much information Take a heifer and invite Jesse to a sacrifice. He doesn’t overwhelm Samuel. It is doable.
What are you fearful of? What are you having a hard time letting go?
Start taking a step in the right direction. Go one step at a time.
Give it to God and then slowly ask him to deal with the fear. Ask Him what steps to go forward. Then do it. One step at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed.
You only do what I need to do today.
Samuel was able to move forward.
Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, He tell them…. He goes to Jesse’s house.
The story continues
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Samuel sees a handsome young man and thinks… here is the king….. But God says that he judges by the inward character. Lesson: We too need to see people by their character and NOT by their physical attributes. (Especially when it comes to marriage)
10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
Courage was needed by Samuel. In this culture norm: the youngest son had no power. But he was going to wait to eat a meal util David came.
3rd Point: Are we willing to obey God even if we appear foolish or uncomfortable?
12 So he (Jesse) sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health...
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.
David was anointed as a teen, but never became king until 40 years old. But what a king he was! God called him a man after His own heart.
I look at Samuel and I see the same thing. His obedience and love for God was known by the people. He had the courage to tell King Saul when he sinned… He was not afraid of going against cultural NORMS when he followed God.
Why? He loved God …with all his heart, soul, and Might.
We looked at 3 pts today
1ST POINT. Let go of the past so you can see a new vision for the future.
Quote: To heal your wound you need to stop touching it.”
Give to Jesus.
2ND point So we need to give our fears to God. And widen our view.
3rd Point: Are we willing to put ourselves out for God. (Samuel did a non-cultural act by waiting on a young teen to come for a meal.) Our we willing to obey God in whatever He asks us to do. Even if it makes you uncomfortable.
