Saul's Testing

1 Samuel 13:5-14

Saul’s Testing

Purpose Statement: To encourage the congregation to walk in obedience.

Background: Samuel doesn’t arrive at Gilgal when Saul expects him. The

men are terrified of a terrific army in front of them. Saul and the men are

filled with fear. Fear leads Saul to be disobedient to Samuel’s command and

he takes the offering himself and offers them. At the heart of his action is

fear. There is a tremendous fear of failure here. Fear can make people act

rashly and illogical at times. Faith quenches fear.

Why did Samuel wait? Samuel never offers us an explanation. Why

does God wait sometimes to answer prayers? I want you to see a couple of

things from this passage. First

I. The Purpose of Saul’s testing vs.6-9

1. To build up faith We are not to trust only in our own understanding. We

need to trust in the Lord and lean on His understanding Prov 3:5-6 Tell the

story about Bro.Vic moving into new church building. God desires for you to

let you of your security blankets and to trust Him. He wants to take you to

that place where your actions glorify Him and you can walk in faith without

seeing all the answers. Saul acted by sight vs.11 he said “I saw”. He didn’t

act in faith.

2. to purify- The waiting period may cause me to ask “Is there any sin in my

life which is hindering this prayer being answered?” Saul may have had a

problem with trust or a sin issue like pride that God wanted to deal with.

Saul may have been too self-sufficient for God to use during this time and

God was trying to get him to lean on Him. God wanted to give him a new

perspective on his problem. Jonathen, Saul’s son had this perspective. (1

Samuel 14:6)

3. To prune- those who seek to obey God will go through times of

pruning,so that we will grow more like Him. I must submit myself to God

knowing that He has perfect knowledge and knows what is best for me.

God is attempting to build within you some faith and a testimony. It is a

pruning process.

II. The Consequences of Saul’s disobedience vs.13-14 God can take away

the guilt of all our sins, but there may still be consequences to pay.

Saul’s pride, impatience, disobedience and deception were all seen and

judged by the Lord. Saul tried to blame his circumstances, but God saw His

heart.

1. He missed out on God’s perfect will. He short circuited what God desired

to do in his life. As a result of this sin, the throne is inherited by David

instead of Saul’s son Jonathan. God wanted to bless Saul, but wouldn’t

ignore Saul’s disobedience. Read Is 48:18-19. God’s desire is to give peace

like a river and righteousness and a heritage.

2. His descendants were destroyed. Saul’s son Jonathen, who should have

taken the throne after his father is destroyed with the sword. Here we see the

destructive power of doubt and fear.

From the events of the past few months, it seems out world is growing more

anxiety, troubled, violent and sick in sin everyday. Violence is increasing and

Jerusalem is in turmoil. People talk about peace, but there is none. It appears

likely that Jesus will be returning soon. All the signs point to that. Will you

be found faithful if he does come back? Are you walking in obedience?