Samuel And Israel Series

Series: Never seen before in 2024 – I pray that the Lord will open your eyes and heart to the reality of leadership pain! I also want to say that everyone of you if your choose to lead will expereince leadership pain. We all at some point lead in our lives so we need to be prepared to lead like Samuel did and understand pain comes with leading. But with pain also comes the classroom of growth!

Sermon: Samuel – Leadership Pain

Thesis: Samuel lived an exemplary life for God and for Israel, but they rejected his leadership for a king and blamed it on his wayward sons! Samuel reveals his leadership pain in chapter 12 and reveals to them what God revealed to him that they are rejecting God not Him. But even after his message from God and the supernatural sign of God’s displeasure the people still want a king to lead them.

Introduction:

Now some of you just decided I am not a leader nor do I EVER want to be a leader – reason - because I don’t want the pain – the stress – the pressure - the lime light – or the heartache attached to it! But leadership is called influence and the truth is we either influence people positively or negatively so we need to decide to be the best godly influencer you can be.

We see throughout the Bible that many resisted a leadership position for God in the Bible: People like Moses and Saul who we studies last week – the first king of Israel.

But listen carefully – I want to say it again: Everyone of you leads another person at some time in your life – you all lead – parents lead – relatives lead other relatives – friends help lead each other – so I believe we need to determine to be a better leader when those moments in time come!

So lets lead like Samuel!

Summary of my recent messages:

If I would summarize the OT books we have explored so far such as Judges, Joshua, Ruth, and the Pentateuch (The 1st five books of the Bible):

The main lessons I have seen being communicated in these books from the OT addressing Israel the Nation and also individuals – I see a series of warning messages from God and His assigned leaders – the warnings are addressed to both a nation as a whole and to individuals:

I see three common warnings:

1. Listening to God = The Blessings of God

2. Ignoring God = Deception by the forces of Evil

3. Rebellion against God = The Judgment of God which always comes with severe consequences.

Scripture text: 1 Samuel 12 (read)

Samuel’s Farewell Speech

1 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. 2 Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. 3 Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right.” 4 “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.” 5 Samuel said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is witness,” they said. 6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. 7 Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers. 8 “After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 “But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10 They cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11 Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal,a Barak,b Jephthah and Samuel,c and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely. 12 “But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God—good! 15 But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.