- When the pressure is on We have a tendency to crack
- Once an egg is broken you can’t put it back together again
- Humpty Dumpty
❶ His Kingdom Established
- 11:14-15 Saul made King
- Ch 12 - Samuel reviews past
- 12:14-15 God’s promise
- 12:16-19 God’s witness
- Samuel’s Encouragement
- 13:1 - Saul Reigned Two Years
- First year Saul was learning
- Now a great fall
Read – Show Map of Ch. 13
❷ His Assignment was Clear.
13:11& 13
- Explanation of verse 8 - back to 10:8.
- Saumel’s words both urgent and explicit.
- "Seven days shall thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shall do. "
- 10:7 He was to do as occasion served him
- In crisis - He was to wait for the ministry and guidance of the man of God.
- If chosen by God – then do the will of God
- Is. 30:21 - This is the way, walk ye in it.
❸ His Faith was Tested.
- v.5 The Philistines had gathered to fight
- Israel was leaving
- He waited the prescribed time
- What a test to his faith and patience!
- A struggle in his soul;
- A conflict between faith and sight!
-(1 Peter 1. 7). ’ ’He must increase, I must decrease.’’
❹ His Failure was Great.
- v 9-10 Samuel came at the end of the offering
- Waited almost to the end
- Now he choose his own way
- Stepped out of the purpose and favour of God
-We will have our testing time.
Twigs" written by Chris Harken from Maple Grove, Minnesota USA
A female eagle has an interesting way of picking a mate. She will pick up a twig and fly high into the air and drop it. Male eagles will fly beneath her and try to catch the twig. She will do this until a male has caught the twig three times.
The reason is the female is testing the male for his ability to catch
young eagles as they are directed out of the nest for flight. When its time for the young eagle to fly on its own the mother eagle pushes her young out of the nest. She carries the young eaglets on her back up high into the air and shakes them off. It is the responsibility of the father to swoop down and catch the young eaglets until they learn to fly on their own.
Just as the female eagle is testing the male for his reliability, a
believer will be tested by God in his or her faithfulness and
dependability.
Similarly in our walk with God we often times run into difficult
situations that require us to make decisions. These decisions are
clear indications to the Father whether or not we can be trusted to
move ahead to the next level of responsibility.
As the female eagle tests the male with twigs to determine which one would be her choice for a mate. God is testing us through daily
decisions to determine which ones He can rely on to be used to build His kingdom.
❺ His Excuse was Hollow.
w. 11- 12
- Direct rebellion against the commandment of the Lord (v. 13).
- For unbelief and disobedience there can be no excuse.
- Matt. 7. 26 - He that heareth ... & doeth them not
- Building life on sand
❻ His Failure was Disastrous.
- v. 14
- Saul has turned away from the Lord
- Now the Lord seeks another
- Choosing our own way is to choose loss
❼ Excuses Excuses
- What are some excuses people give for their sin?
• I was depressed
• I had nowhere else to turn
• I couldn’t help it
• It just felt right
• The pressure was too great
- How will giving excuses for sin rather than confessing sin affect one’s service for the Lord?
• Not honored by God
• Loss of rewards
• Not empowered by God
• Can cause harm instead of good
• Loss of joy in serving
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” Proverbs 12:15
Jogger Spent Four Days ’Stuck like Glue’ in Mud.
From Jacqui Goddard, of The Times, in Miami September 5, 2006
A jogger survived four days stranded in waist-deep mud after getting lost and falling into a swamp during his lunchtime run.
Volunteers who had searched for Eddie Meadows, 62, since he disappeared from work last week found him “stuck like glue” in a bog, covered in insect bites and drinking fetid water to stay alive.
As rescuers approached, he looked up calmly and asked: “Do you have a phone? I want to call my wife.”
Police in Orlando, Florida, said that Mr Meadows had survived by sipping water from the swamp and avoided sun exposure because he was under a shady tree canopy and slathered in mud. He even managed to sleep where he stood, they said, with his feet immobilised by the thick muck.
“This stuff is like quicksand, you can’t get out,” said Corporal Jim Roop, of the University of Central Florida police department.
Mr Meadows vanished during his lunchbreak on Friday at the University of Central Florida’s research park in Orlando, where he works as a civilian contractor for the US Army.
His wife, Ardis, and two grown-up sons appeared on local television to plead for help in finding him and 50 volunteers armed with maps and compasses scoured the area. Soldiers also joined the hunt and police even used bloodhounds to try to pick up his scent, but there were no clues.
Finally, yesterday, Ron Eaglin, a volunteer, was combing woodland on a remote corner of the university campus when he heard noises. But at first he mistook the stricken jogger for a fellow searcher.
“I heard some sloshing off in the woods, it didn’t sound like a deer, so I yelled ‘Hello?’ and then I heard ‘Help, help, help, help,’” Mr Eaglin recalled.
“I said ‘Are you looking for Eddie Meadows?’, and he said ‘I AM Eddie Meadows’.” Mr Eaglin added: “I really thought we were looking for a body.”
Mr Meadows is in training for the Baltimore Marathon and leaves his desk every lunchtime to go for a jog around the campus. “He went up the path where he normally goes, then thought he’d find a different way to go around. But the woods are really, really dense and instead of turning back he went further and ended up in one of those swampy areas we call ‘muck’,” Corporal Roop said.
Mr Meadows asked his rescuers for water and chocolate, then in his delirium, insisted that he should finish his run, jogging a short distance before he was helped to a waiting ambulance. He was said to be recovering well.
“He was in good spirits but maybe a little disorientated,” Corporal Roop said.
“After four days, you start losing some of that hope but it turned out to be a great ending. He kept his cool and he was in good shape because he’s a marathon runner. His family were ecstatic.”
