Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Okay, let's jump into it.
We are.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: You guys can take your time. We can keep going here.
[00:00:06] Speaker A: We're continuing our time in First Samuel today. And today's kind of a transitional text.
So we're ending out our short little series. We're doing in First Samuel called New Days. And then next week, we're starting a new small series within One Samuel called Earthly Kings.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: Did Jesse say last week was the last I want a new day? Did he say that? He did say that. That's probably my bad on communication. I apologize for that.
[00:00:33] Speaker A: We have one more, but it is kind of a transitional one. We're ending out a thought and starting into a new thought. And so we're gonna be picking at both of these themes today. And the whole thing is this, guys, this whole section of First Samuel. It's really interesting, and it's kind of a strange bit of text to work through. See, we've been reading this, like, a bit by bit on Sundays, and we even had a break in the middle of it. But if you sat down, like in your Bible reading plan, and you read this whole chunk of First Samuel that we've been going through, kind of chapters eight through 12, it would seem weirdly, kind of repetitive.
It seems like over and over and over, what you see in this section is some version of man. Israel really needs a king. Wanting king is sinful. Don't worry. God's providing a king named Saul. Everyone has to commit to him. And it. And it's going to be hard to do that. And it just plays out, like, on repeat. It's like they go back through these ideas several times. And the reason for that is simple, guys. This is a dramatic cultural movement for
[00:01:38] Speaker B: Israel that we're seeing in their history.
[00:01:40] Speaker A: They are transitioning from really being kind of a loosely connected confederation of tribes to being a unified nation under a single monarchy. And that's a messy transition that took a long amount of time. These several chapters take place over several years. And a lot of repetition, a lot of coming back to the same ideas over and over and over.
And as we considered, or as pastors considered, what God might have for our church in this series of texts, the idea I came back to was I saw this theme when repeating it over and over and over, was just this
[00:02:16] Speaker B: kind of, I think, universal human desire for renewal.
[00:02:21] Speaker A: I think there's this reality that every
[00:02:23] Speaker B: single one of us, like, we live
[00:02:25] Speaker A: our lives in this broken and cursed world. And whether we've had it happen or it's currently happening, the reality of the Curse leaves us, all of us at least sometimes longing for a reset, right?
Looking at your circumstances, looking at what's around you, looking at what you're facing and just going, man, I just need a new thing.
I need a new day, a new opportunity. I need a blank slate. We all, I think, end up wanting
[00:02:57] Speaker B: renewal of something in our lives.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: We want a new day. And oftentimes I think we even want
[00:03:02] Speaker B: it on a big scale in our lives, right? Things seem like they're just moving out of our control.
[00:03:08] Speaker A: I would say to encourage you guys,
[00:03:10] Speaker B: like, that's, that's really normal.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: It's normal in a sinful world affected
[00:03:15] Speaker B: by the curse, seeing and experiencing all sorts of brokenness and hurt and wrong,
[00:03:20] Speaker A: to long for renewal.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: And here's the beauty, beloved, that I
[00:03:23] Speaker A: think we've seen play out in this
[00:03:25] Speaker B: text, and I think we're going to see play out in the text today, is that our God is a God of renewal.
Our God is a God of new days.
[00:03:32] Speaker A: The Gospel, the thing we preach all the time, the gospel is a work of renewal in our hearts and in this world. And we've been driving down at that over this section of First Samuel. We are, all of us Israelites wanting our lives, our world, our people, our future to be better.
We've all experienced hardship and famine. We all want God to lead us
[00:03:59] Speaker B: into a new thing.
[00:04:01] Speaker A: And that's what we're going to talk
[00:04:02] Speaker B: about as we close out this series today.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: And I think as we're going to see, the problem is that oftentimes the new days that we actually seek, the renewal that we actually put our energy and life and soul into, is just
[00:04:19] Speaker B: simply less than God's best. And the actual renewal he has for us.
[00:04:23] Speaker A: We're going to be in 1st Samuel chapter 12 today. If you want to go ahead and turn there in your Bibles, we have house Bibles around the room.
[00:04:29] Speaker B: Just look under your seats. They're available.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: If you didn't bring one with you. We really believe in the importance of
[00:04:33] Speaker B: access to God's word here at Emmanuel Fellowship. If you don't own a physical copy of God's Word, please, please, please take one of ours or tell one of the pastors we'll get you a nicer one than one of the Pew Bibles.
[00:04:45] Speaker A: Praise be to God that our Jesus
[00:04:48] Speaker B: is faithful and gracious.
[00:04:50] Speaker A: Like, that's. That's what we're going to be reminded
[00:04:52] Speaker B: of as we work through this, that
[00:04:54] Speaker A: he is leading us to his per new day, his wonderful heavenly, his spiritual eternal, His Actual biblical renewal, that is what God is leading us toward. Even though we often are in our
[00:05:10] Speaker B: own ways, seek out lesser renewals, God has something perfect for us.
[00:05:17] Speaker A: So as we close out this section of First Samuel, my main point today is going to be this.
[00:05:22] Speaker B: The only renewal that matters in your life is renewal in Christ.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: The only one that really matters, that really lasts, that really brings you what
[00:05:31] Speaker B: you're longing for is renewal in Christ.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: I think the problem is as simple as this, guys. We just forget that that's true.
Like I think when you sit in church, when you're digging in scripture, when you're actively considering the gospel, we have these moments where we go, yeah, of course, of course, God is God. He's in charge of everything. The gospel is beautiful and impacts every facet of my life. Of course, if I want renewal, if I want restoration, if I want to be brought forward to what's better and good for my life, of course that'll be in Christ. And then you leave small group or discipleship or church and you go back to your real life. And how quickly do we just forget that? Right?
Because you're living your life out in the world and you have bills and deadlines and whiny kids and broken relationships and all the different things going on in the news and on social media and we just forget the truth.
We forget easily.
I've told this story before, but on my 29th birthday, I forgot it was
[00:06:34] Speaker B: my 29th birthday and I was convinced it was my 30th birthday.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: And so I woke up and I left and went to work and I spent the entire morning having an existential
[00:06:46] Speaker B: crisis in my head going, I'm 30 and this is what my life, it
[00:06:51] Speaker A: looks like this is all I've accomplished. And I was just joined through all the different stuff you go through of, oh my gosh, look at my life at the time. I was going through a church planning assessment and I was working like multiple part time jobs. We didn't have any money, we were in a house we didn't own, and this little kid, all this different stuff. And I called Kim with just this sorrowful, wailing voicemail. Oh, Kim, what have I done with my life? What's going on, man? I really didn't think this birthday would be that hard. And she calls me back a few minutes later and just goes, hey, you're an idiot. You're not 30, you're 29.
And I felt, I felt so much relief.
Oh my God. I have to tell you, by the way, my actual 30th birthday was so easy. I did all the morning ahead of time, and by the time I got there, I was like, this is nothing.
[00:07:38] Speaker B: I've done this before.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: This is. Actually, I can face this.
That's silly, guys, but I share that because the reality is forgetting is to wait just way too easy. We forget important things. We forget big things all the time. We forget all the times that Christ has given us the renewal we need. We forget about it. And when we're facing today's challenge, we just assume we need a different, a better A here in that earthly way to resolve our problem. And so each of us, all of us, we turn to idols.
We turn to the idols of this
[00:08:17] Speaker B: world to seek the renewal that only Christ can give us.
[00:08:21] Speaker A: Pray with me.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: We're going to jump directly into this text.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: Jesus, we.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: We just need you this morning.
We need you to be our discipler. We need you to remind us of the truths we've forgotten. We need you to challenge us with new truths of your gospel. We need you to be the conviction and the healing balm in our hearts. Lord, I pray that each and every one of us this morning would engage your word in the way our hearts need and that we would leave this space today having met with you in a way that's real, in a way that impacts us.
We love you, Jesus. We pray these things in your name. Amen.
[00:08:56] Speaker A: Okay, first Samuel, chapter 12. We're going to start in verse one. And we read this.
Then Samuel said to all Israel, I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed the king over you. Now you can see the king is leading you. As for me, I'm old and gray and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until now. Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Who have I wronged or mistreated? Who gave me a bribe to overlook something? I will return it to you. You haven't wronged us, you haven't mistreated us, and you haven't taken anything from anyone.
[00:09:36] Speaker B: They responded, and he said to them,
[00:09:38] Speaker A: the Lord is a witness against you. And his anointed is a witness today that you haven't found anything in my hand.
He is a witness, they said, okay, so if you weren't with us last week, here's what's going on here.
Israel has asked for a king. Samuel has been their judge, leading them. A spiritual leader, but also kind of a political leader. They've asked for a king. They've been told it's a sin.
[00:10:03] Speaker B: And.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: And God has worked through Samuel to anoint this King Saul. And it was kind of this messy experience where they made Saul king. Saul didn't really want to be king. Not everyone was united behind this. All this kind of stuff was going on. But last week, we saw the moment where it clicked. And there was an existential military threat against Israel. And the Holy Spirit moved through Saul, and the people united behind him as king. And he rose up an army and he overthrew the Ammonites. And it worked.
[00:10:30] Speaker B: Yay.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: We had a king. We were in trouble. God used our king to raise up the army and to free us. Praise God. That's kind of how the story goes. And so at that point, Samuel says, okay, now that you're all actually following him as king, let's kind of make him king again. Because they've already done this, but let's do it again now that you're all actually behind him. And so they get everyone together at Gilgal, they anoint Saul king again.
And now Samuel has handed off the reins, and he's giving this last closing public address to the leaders of Israel.
And I think what's so interesting about this is that Samuel begins this final speech by talking about his own integrity.
It's kind of a weird place to start, right? That might feel weird for us, but I think the reality is, you know, he's handing off the reins of power
[00:11:23] Speaker B: and wants to have a clear conscience, right?
[00:11:26] Speaker A: I haven't defrauded anyone. Integrity matters. And it matters to Samuel. And here's the thing, guys. I think Samuel just knows here that
[00:11:35] Speaker B: a messenger must be as reliable as the message.
[00:11:37] Speaker A: And he knows that even though his political leadership in Israel is landing, his ministry to Israel is not actually over. And I think he knows he's about to challenge Israel on some difficult stuff. And so even though he has some difficult things to say, he wants them to be able to kind of. Kind of have to listen to him. And so he starts with, do you have any reason to distrust me? Have I done anything to any of you? Anything to make you think I'm a bad leader, not worthy to be up here? And everyone's like, no, no, no, you're great, man. You're great. You're great. He goes, cool. Buckle up then. Cause I got some words before we're done. Read on with me starting in verse six.
Then Samuel said to the people, the Lord who had appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness.
Now present yourselves so I may confront you before the Lord about all the righteous acts he has done for you and for your ancestors. When Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord and he sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. But they forgot the Lord their God. So he handed them over to Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, to the king of Moab. Those enemies fought against him. They cried out to the Lord and said, we have sinned, for we abandoned the Lord to worship the Baals and the ashores. Now rescue us from the power of our enemies. We will serve you. And so the Lord sent Jerubbabel and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel, and he rescued you from the power of the enemies around you. And you lived securely.
But when you saw that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, was coming against you, you said to me, no, we must have a king reign over us,
[00:13:21] Speaker B: even though the Lord God is your king Wolf.
[00:13:27] Speaker A: Now we see that Samuel wanted to secure his integrity in the eyes of the leaders here so that he could speak a hard word to them. He's challenging them. He doesn't want anyone to say that his challenge here is because he's dishonest or because he's disappointed or upset that Saul is taking over some of his authority. So he puts the authority of God behind what he's doing, and he simply recounts Israel's collective testimony.
I think it's really worth noting here that Samuel in this moment believes doing nothing besides simply recounting Israel's testimony will confront them.
Do you catch that? It's pretty intense language.
Line up so I can confront you
[00:14:16] Speaker B: with how God has been faithful and wonderful to you for generations.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: That's weird, but there's some truth here. He knows that their testimony will challenge them. Why?
Well, I think it's because a look
[00:14:29] Speaker B: at any of our testimonies for those of us who are in Christ shows
[00:14:33] Speaker A: us that God has always, always, always
[00:14:36] Speaker B: been faithful to protect, provide and renew.
[00:14:40] Speaker A: Right?
Any of us, if we are in Christ. If you sit back and think about your own testimony for a moment. Your testimony is that God is faithful and sought you out and made a way for you from death to life and interceded on your behalf and chased after you while you were chasing after the things of the world and the things of.
He chased after you and bought you back from death to life by his death on the cross.
That's all of our testimonies.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: God has always been faithful, and yet
[00:15:12] Speaker B: we struggle to trust him today.
And there is a reality that when we are wrestling with our faith, when our faith is weak, our testimony can become a confrontation because it pushes us to go.
You know God's character.
You know what he has done.
Look at this. Samuel reminds Israel of their collective story.
[00:15:33] Speaker A: They were slaves in Egypt, but God worked through Moses and Aaron to bring them freedom in a land of their own. But Israel continually forgot God and followed the worthless idols of the land. So God allowed them to be harassed by their enemies and the surrounding nations. But every time this happened, Israel would eventually see their sin and confess and repent. And when they did this, God would raise up judges who would lead them back to freedom. This continued right up to their current day and Samuel's ministry to them. Samuel is the last of these judges. It's honestly a really good summary of the whole story of Exodus and Judges. This is what theologians call the Old Testament's sin cycle.
You see, God had made this covenant with Israel under Moses ministry at Sinai. He would be their God. He would live with them. He would bless them. He would grant them their own land, make them a nation, and they would live in faithfulness to him and have joy and freedom and abundance. They would reject the false idols of the nations surrounding them, and they would worship God alone. Like that's kind of the covenant. In summary, this is weird because we
[00:16:39] Speaker B: don't talk about this passage a lot,
[00:16:41] Speaker A: but Deuteronomy 28 and 29 is actually one of the most important passages in
[00:16:45] Speaker B: all of Scripture for understanding the old Testament.
[00:16:48] Speaker A: Deuteronomy 28 and 29 is the interpretive
[00:16:50] Speaker B: lens through which you can understand every other text until you get to the New Testament.
It's what the setup is for those. Those entire. That entire section of redemptive history.
[00:17:00] Speaker A: And it's basically this. It's Moses recounting the blessings and the
[00:17:05] Speaker B: curses of following covenant or breaking covenant.
[00:17:09] Speaker A: What Israel agreed to for them and
[00:17:11] Speaker B: their children and their children's children in perpetuity at Sinai was this.
[00:17:15] Speaker A: We will follow God and he will bless us.
[00:17:17] Speaker B: And the blessings will look like this, and they list them out.
And if we break covenant and we break faith and we worship false gods, then God will take every one of those blessings and turn them into curses. And it will look like this.
[00:17:29] Speaker A: And at any point, if we get tired of these curses and the way they're destroying our lives, if we turn
[00:17:34] Speaker B: back to God in repentance, God in
[00:17:36] Speaker A: his Grace and love for his namesake
[00:17:38] Speaker B: and his glory will immediately forgive us and restore the blessings of the covenant. That's what Deuteronomy 28 and 29 describes.
[00:17:45] Speaker A: And it gets.
[00:17:46] Speaker B: Goes into detail.
[00:17:48] Speaker A: The story of the rest of the Old Testament is the story of Israel
[00:17:51] Speaker B: struggling with their covenant, wrestling with their
[00:17:55] Speaker A: covenant, experiencing all the blessings of covenant, going, man, God is so good. And then something happens, something scary, something whatever, something intrusive, and they fall into some sin pattern. They forget who God is and they chased after the God, the false gods
[00:18:07] Speaker B: and religions around them, and they forget their covenant.
[00:18:10] Speaker A: And then God allows all the curses
[00:18:12] Speaker B: of the covenant to come upon them.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: And eventually it gets bad enough and they go, man, why do we want to live by this? And they turn back to God and say, we've forsaken our covenant. Please forgive us. And God says, absolutely. And he raises up leaders and he restores all the blessings. And it just goes in this cycle, generation after generation after generation after generation, until you get to where we are.
Never mind the fact that the ch. Like the whole, the whole point of this, guys, is that by time you
[00:18:38] Speaker B: get to Samuel, Israel is beginning to realize something has to change, right?
[00:18:45] Speaker A: We're going in this spiral and it's getting worse. Never mind the fact that the change they need is to simply follow God and obey the covenant. Like that's the change they need. The change they need is to stop forgetting. It's to stop running away to false gods. It's to stop forsaking their covenant. That's the change they need. But the change they sought in Samuel's day was to go, I know, how about instead of God raising up a judge, how about if we just have a king like everyone else?
Samuel is pointing out here that this is purely and simply a wild pull for Israel.
All they have to do is look
[00:19:26] Speaker B: to their own story, consider their lives, their parents, their grandparents, their great grandparents, to see how faithful God is.
[00:19:35] Speaker A: If you seek him, he'll take care of you, man. Isn't that true for us as well?
[00:19:44] Speaker B: Think back over your own life.
All of us, all of us have
[00:19:48] Speaker A: had a mixture of hardships and trials
[00:19:51] Speaker B: and pains and blessings in our life, all of us. But if you're in Christ, like we already said, a guarantee that if you consider your testimony, what you see is how God has made a way for you, even in the midst of suffering and evil and wrong and injustice. If you look at your testimony as a Christian, what you see is a story of God's provision in the midst of the Brokenness of this world.
[00:20:16] Speaker A: But that isn't how our minds work.
[00:20:21] Speaker B: That's not what we do automatically.
Like when we have issues in front of us, whatever issue is currently confront of us, whichever one is newest, it just feels the worst, doesn't it?
[00:20:35] Speaker A: Whatever new hardship this cursed and broken world hands you, it just by pure fact of its newness and its presence, it feels worse than the ones that have come before it most of the time, right?
Anybody else? Just me on that one. Look, I know God has always cared for me, but what about this?
What about this new thing?
What about this new scary big decision in front of me? What about this broken relationship? What about this anxiety, this fear, this sin pattern that has popped back up? How can I possibly get past this one? Beloved Israel saw the Ammonites and thought that a king would bring them the renewal they needed. That's what they thought.
If they had stopped for a moment and considered their story, they would have
[00:21:26] Speaker B: known the faithfulness to covenant would have brought them what they needed.
But the thing that is in front of them is the thing that seems like the biggest. And they seek for the answer that is closest to them. Samuel is calling this out as foolish and shortsighted. He. He exposes this as rejection of God's rule over them.
[00:21:43] Speaker A: The problem wasn't a lack of God's
[00:21:46] Speaker B: power working in Israel's favor.
[00:21:48] Speaker A: That's not the problem.
The problem was the lack of Israel's memory.
[00:21:52] Speaker B: The lack of Israel actually seeking their God.
[00:21:55] Speaker A: They wanted an earthly king because they had purely and simply forgot about their actual king.
[00:22:01] Speaker B: And here's the thing, guys.
It's easy to see this in Israel,
[00:22:07] Speaker A: but we have to remember that this
[00:22:08] Speaker B: is us as well.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: This is how we live. We do this every day. We look to earthly kings, to subtle idols, right?
We find ourselves as we face challenges and problems and pains in life, slowly and in small ways conforming to the patterns of the world where the small little spaces where it's just easier to live like everyone else, to buy into the way this world works apart from Christ and to seek those easy shortcuts. You know what I'm talking about.
Oh, I'm fearful of this major life change. I know what I'll do. I'll spend all the next five days researching everything online so I understand it all and I'm in control. I'm worried about this thing going on in our culture and the way things are going overall. I know I'm going to like zone in on some podcasts and books. I'm going to make sure this person gets elected. Elected to fix all of it. I'm struggling with this job in my finances. I know I'll pick up this new side hustle and work harder and rest less. I'm struggling with this same old sin pattern again. I know I'll find this new podcast, this new book, this new spiritual mentor. And guys, here's the thing.
[00:23:14] Speaker B: None of those things are inherently bad.
None of those things are inherently bad. None of them.
They have the capacity to actually help you.
[00:23:23] Speaker A: But do they have the capacity to
[00:23:25] Speaker B: fix your life and fix what's broken? No, no, no, no, no.
[00:23:30] Speaker A: The small little ways. The small little ways.
[00:23:33] Speaker B: We conform ourselves to this world.
So I think it really just brings us back to the question. I think we need to stop when we're looking at the Israelites and look at our own life for a minute and just ask, like, what Ammonite am I running away from, right?
What are the challenges in my life right now?
[00:23:51] Speaker A: What trial?
[00:23:52] Speaker B: What anxiety is causing you to look for an immediate earthly solution and to purely and simply forget that God already has you, Beloved. Jesus has you.
He has you, has you in his hand.
[00:24:07] Speaker A: He has a new day for you.
[00:24:09] Speaker B: Our God is a God of daily renewal. And, beloved, that is true for you.
We use Psalm 103 for our call to worship today. I love that text.
[00:24:19] Speaker A: It does this amazing thing, overarching. It's this big, long poem, really talking
[00:24:24] Speaker B: about similar stuff to what Samuel's talking about here. And that poem, David says, hey, let's. Let's think about how faithful and gracious God has always been.
[00:24:32] Speaker A: And let's use that to think about
[00:24:33] Speaker B: how faithful and gracious he will be going forward. And there's this part right at the beginning of the psalm. We just barely miss it in our call to worship today, where David says,
[00:24:42] Speaker A: don't forget all of God's benefits.
It's such a weird little sentence, like
[00:24:48] Speaker B: right in the middle of this poem
[00:24:50] Speaker A: about God is so gracious and he takes care of us, this and that. And he goes, don't forget all his benefits.
I love that.
[00:24:57] Speaker B: Beloved.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: The Lord benefits you.
He benefits you. He. He cares for you. He's carried you up until today.
He has brought you to where you are now. And, beloved, he will carry you beyond today.
You can remember what he has done, and you can trust him to carry
[00:25:18] Speaker B: you into your future.
[00:25:19] Speaker A: Read on with me in verse 13.
Now, here is the king you've chosen, the one you've requested. Look, this is the king the Lord has placed over you. If you Fear the Lord and worship and obey Him. And if you don't rebel against the Lord's command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. However, if you disobey the Lord and rebel against his command, the Lord's hand will be against you as it was against your ancestors. Now therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing the Lord will do before your eyes. Isn't the wheat harvest today? Well, then I will call upon the Lord and he will send thunder and rain so that you will recognize what an immense evil you committed in the Lord's sight by requesting a king for yourselves.
Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. And as a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And they pleaded with Samuel, pray to the Lord your God for your servants so we won't die, for we've added to our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.
Now Samuel does this interesting thing, and honestly, I think it's a beautiful thing.
Israel has looked to a worldly solution
[00:26:28] Speaker B: in Saul, and they have sinned in this right.
[00:26:30] Speaker A: Samuel wants them to know this is a sin, but he also wants them to know that God is so faithful that he is caring for them even in this earthly solution.
And Samuel says, look, you wanted a king, you've got a king. We're here. That's the new day. That's what it is. The king is here, but the covenant remains.
God is still with you.
And now you, as well as your
[00:27:00] Speaker B: king can turn to God in faithfulness and receive the benefits of. Of his care and his covenant blessings.
Beloved, our God is a God of faithful renewal.
[00:27:12] Speaker A: I think what we see here is
[00:27:14] Speaker B: that God doesn't give up on us,
[00:27:17] Speaker A: even when we are chasing after worldly solutions, even when we forget that he's the one with the authority, he's the one with the power. He's the one who's carrying us.
[00:27:25] Speaker B: And we look to the immediate worldly solutions around us.
[00:27:29] Speaker A: God still shows up and works for our benefit, even though through those things. Do you hear that, church?
Your God does not give up on you, even when you turn your back on him, even when you seek out worldly idols, even when you forget his faithfulness and try and solve your own problems your own way, by your own power. Even in that, your God doesn't abandon you.
Is that good?
He's that faithful.
Which I think makes it all that
[00:28:01] Speaker B: much more beautiful, all that much more alluring, all that much more attractive for us to actually just reject our idols and seek him because he's so kind.
[00:28:11] Speaker A: And then we get this interesting scene where Samuel calls upon God to send a violent storm and God sends thunder
[00:28:17] Speaker B: and rain rolling down on the wheat harvest.
[00:28:19] Speaker A: And I'm guessing the significance of this is as lost on you as it
[00:28:22] Speaker B: was on me, right?
[00:28:23] Speaker A: We kind of read this and we're
[00:28:24] Speaker B: like, dang, it rained.
[00:28:26] Speaker A: And everyone thought they were going to die.
[00:28:27] Speaker B: And we kind of just go, that's
[00:28:28] Speaker A: weird, you know, but there's actually a couple things going on under the hood
[00:28:32] Speaker B: here that make this text make a little bit more sense to us. So three things I want to talk about.
[00:28:37] Speaker A: First one is this.
[00:28:39] Speaker B: You have to understand this didn't happen in Israel.
[00:28:43] Speaker A: And here's what I mean by that. This region of Israel doesn't experience the
[00:28:47] Speaker B: seasons the same way we do. Their winters are mild and rarely drop below freezing.
[00:28:52] Speaker A: And as a result, this largery like
[00:28:55] Speaker B: agricultural culture really understood their seasons in terms of the rainy season and the dry season. And that's kind of the two categories for them.
[00:29:03] Speaker A: And by the time it's the time
[00:29:04] Speaker B: wheat harvest rolls around, it doesn't rain anymore. Rain would have been incredibly rare in this particular area during this particular month.
[00:29:13] Speaker A: And the thing you need to know is that a violent and thunderous storm, not only would it be unheard of,
[00:29:20] Speaker B: but it would actually be kind of dangerous for them.
[00:29:22] Speaker A: And so when this storm appears, it's. So it's such an unlikely thing to have happen, right?
[00:29:28] Speaker B: When Samuel prays, the people immediately know, oh, this must be from God.
[00:29:34] Speaker A: The second thing you need to know is that the primary pagan God that
[00:29:37] Speaker B: Israel tended to turn to in their
[00:29:40] Speaker A: faithlessness, the idol worship that they went
[00:29:42] Speaker B: to most often, was to worship the kind of the pantheon of gods that, generally speaking, the Philistines and the different ites around them held onto.
[00:29:51] Speaker A: And one of the primary gods there
[00:29:52] Speaker B: was a God named baal, and BAAL
[00:29:54] Speaker A: is a storm God who lives in the clouds and makes it rain and throws thunder and lightning and is in
[00:30:00] Speaker B: charge of life and death and prosperity in your crops.
[00:30:04] Speaker A: And so when God shows up in the storm and in the thunder and in the lightning, he wants to make sure that in no uncertain terms Israel knows the storms belong to me, the
[00:30:16] Speaker B: rain belongs to me, the lightning belongs to me, the life of your crops belongs to me.
Because this is the last one and this is the big one.
[00:30:26] Speaker A: The reason BAAL worship was so appealing is because in an agrarian society with lots of deserts, people lived and died by their relationship to rain, literally Lived
[00:30:39] Speaker B: and died by their relationship to rain.
[00:30:42] Speaker A: Rain at the right time means crops grow.
[00:30:44] Speaker B: Rain at the wrong time means crops die.
[00:30:47] Speaker A: A wild late storm on the day of harvest has the potential to completely destroy an entire wheat crop.
[00:30:54] Speaker B: Wheat actually has to dry in order for it to be safely storable. And so when wheat is ready to be harvested, if it gets soaking wet, has the potential to ruin it.
[00:31:04] Speaker A: And so God does this really intense thing bringing about this storm, this thunder, on a day when it should never show up, on a day when it could spell disaster, to remind them, hey, I'm God, not baal, Your flourishing is in my hands, not his.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: I think it's why it brings these people to such intense of a response.
[00:31:29] Speaker A: This is a wake up call.
[00:31:32] Speaker B: Israel realizes in this moment that no earthly king has power over their future the way God does.
[00:31:39] Speaker A: Not only is BAAL powerless to actually feed them, but Saul, this mighty king who they've raised up, who defeated their enemies, sure, he's got a sword, he can go kill an ammonite. He can't make it rain on harvest day.
And so it's put their life, it's
[00:31:55] Speaker B: put their whole society in a way different context for them.
And beloved, it is a reminder for us as well.
His renewal, the spiritual renewal we're talking about, it begins with the fear of the Lord.
We need not, we need the continual reminder that he is God and we
[00:32:14] Speaker A: are not right, that he is actually
[00:32:17] Speaker B: the one who is sovereignly in control of this world and our lives, that God is the authority and that seeking life and renewal apart from Him. It's not just foolish. It's pointless.
It's pointless.
[00:32:30] Speaker A: So this whole scene, it leads Israel
[00:32:32] Speaker B: not just to remember that God has been faithful to them in the past, but it leads them to repentance in the moment, right in this moment. They want to repent of their faithlessness. They want to turn to God right now. Guys, I believe just strongly that in a room like this, some of us need to be struck by that truth.
The Lord is the God of the storms and the rain. He is, hear this, beloved, the authority in your life.
He is the one in control of your life.
And some of us need to remember his faithfulness, remember his power, and purely and simply repent of our lack of faith.
We need to stop for a moment and say, lord, I forget about you.
I don't acknowledge that you're the one who's in charge. I don't acknowledge that you're the one who actually holds my days, forgive my faithlessness as The Father says to Samuel in Mark, I believe you, Lord, but help my unbelief.
Or the better connection. In my mind, Samuel hears the Darth Vader to Israel's Admiral Mahdi.
[00:33:43] Speaker A: And some of us need a wake up call today to remember that our
[00:33:46] Speaker B: lack of faith can be disturbing.
[00:33:50] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I had to do it.
[00:33:53] Speaker B: It doesn't actually connect to the sermon.
[00:33:55] Speaker A: I just. I saw the chance, I had to take it.
[00:33:57] Speaker B: You know what I'm saying?
[00:33:59] Speaker A: But even if that is you today, take heart.
[00:34:04] Speaker B: Take heart.
[00:34:05] Speaker A: We are not here in this text
[00:34:07] Speaker B: today to tear you down and beat you up for your faithlessness.
[00:34:09] Speaker A: That's not what we're about. That's not what God is about.
[00:34:12] Speaker B: That's not what this text is about.
No, no, no. This text is to encourage you with the beauty of the Gospel. Read on with me and let's end out this text. Verse 20.
Samuel replied, don't be afraid.
[00:34:27] Speaker A: For even though you have committed all this evil, don't turn away from following the Lord. Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart.
Don't turn away to worthless things that can't profit or rescue you. They are worthless. The Lord will not abandon his people because of his great name and because he is determined to make you his own people. As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. Instead, I will teach you the good and right way. Above all, fear the Lord and worship him faithfully with all your heart. Consider the great things he has done for you. However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away. And this, beloved, is the word of
[00:35:09] Speaker B: the Lord for us. Today, Samuel wraps this whole thing up
[00:35:13] Speaker A: not by beating Israel over the head with their failure, but by encouraging them in fighting and in the goodness of God. I love that.
I love it. Because he doesn't avoid the reality of their sin and their failure, Right? Hey, this is real. You guys did this. It's bad. It's real. It's really bad. You shouldn't do that.
[00:35:31] Speaker B: But.
[00:35:32] Speaker A: But look how good God is to you. So don't be afraid. He points them back to hope. Don't run away from God. Instead, as you remember his faithfulness and acknowledge his authority on your life, run to him.
Lean into the Lord. Lean into his renewal, because his renewal is the actual renewal your heart needs.
Beloved, can I just. Like, I know I already said this, but can we just stop here for a second? The idols we turn to in this life, they are worthless.
It is so easy, I think, as modern Western people, not even as Christians, just as modern people, to read this ancient story and to think about people who get actual idols, right, and make little statues of little guys with horse
[00:36:24] Speaker B: heads and offer sacrifices to them.
[00:36:26] Speaker A: It's easy for us to think about
[00:36:28] Speaker B: that and go, who would do that idol worship? Man, what a bunch of dum dums.
[00:36:34] Speaker A: They.
[00:36:34] Speaker B: They've seen what God's done in their life and they're going to go build those statues.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: It's easy for us to do that.
[00:36:43] Speaker B: But beloved, we build our own idols all the time.
We may not build statues for them, but I think we put shrines for them in our lives.
I think we build our schedules and our passions and our time around the things that we idolize.
And if you don't believe me, an easy way to do it is to go and look back over your last month's calendar and your last month's bank statements.
Where are you giving your time and your money that will show you what you struggle, what you structure your life around, what things you give precedence, what shrines you are building in your. In your mind, in your heart, in your life.
Because, beloved, all of us do this all the time.
[00:37:28] Speaker A: We believe the lie.
[00:37:29] Speaker B: We believe the lie that the kings of this world can give us the renewal and freedom we long for.
[00:37:36] Speaker A: Oh, the world's falling apart.
[00:37:38] Speaker B: Let's elect the right person and save the country.
Right?
[00:37:42] Speaker A: And that's not saying who that person is because we may have different opinions on that, but that's an easy lie to fall into.
We'll just get out there, get out there and like, scrape up the vote and get all my social media posts out there and all the news articles and I'm fully informed and this is
[00:37:57] Speaker B: the right person and they will fix everything.
But they won't.
I won't. I won't.
Earthly kings don't have that power. They don't have that authority.
It's just what it is.
[00:38:10] Speaker A: Oh, man, I really want comfort.
I really want success in this life.
[00:38:16] Speaker B: Okay, well, get the right education, right, That'll fix everything. If you get that cool degree that puts you above everyone else and that awesome job that makes all the money so you can buy the biggest house. It won't alone that won't give you a life of purpose and meaning.
That won't give you a life of purpose and meaning and freedom that you're thinking and freedom that you're longing for.
[00:38:38] Speaker A: Oh, well, I'm lonely.
[00:38:40] Speaker B: Longing for.
[00:38:41] Speaker A: Oh, well, I'm lonely.
[00:38:44] Speaker B: I just desperately need. I just Desperately need connection. So I'm going to seek out relationships and sexuality and those sorts of connections. So I'm going to seek out relationships and sexuality and those sorts of things.
Things.
[00:38:56] Speaker A: Oh, I'm anxious, I'm worried all the time.
[00:38:58] Speaker B: I'm going to numb out on screens on oh, I'm anxious, I'm worried all the time. I'm going to numb out on screens on substances. I could keep going, beloved. But the reality is all of us build idols out of the things think will fix what is broken in our lives.
Israel convinced themselves time and time again that a statue of a dude with a cow head that through thunder could fix what was broken in their lives.
And they destroyed their covenant with God over it. And it is easy to look down our nose at them While we worship at the altar of social media and sexual immorality and political success and wealth and comfort, we make all the same idols.
We're just not creative enough to give them statues.
We give them the same weight in our hearts.
Beloved. Here's the problem with them.
They are worthless.
They're worthless.
Baals can do nothing.
BAAL couldn't save israel, and your idol can't save you.
I think samuel kind of gives us a little bit of an example of what this actually means. So I'm going to look at a couple. Just a couple different ideas that we see in samuel's life, specifically in this text. First off is where we started.
[00:40:20] Speaker A: Walk with all the integrity you can.
I love that idea.
[00:40:25] Speaker B: I've been thinking about that idea all week.
[00:40:27] Speaker A: I love that Samuel starts by going, hey, I did my best being your judge. Did my best, did my best. I messed anyone up? Anyone got any opening grievances? Because I'll fix it right now.
I love that we know from reading
[00:40:40] Speaker B: the text up at this point, Samuel's not perfect.
[00:40:42] Speaker A: He was real bad at parenting, Right? Like, we know he's not perfect. We know he's sinful, but he did the best he could. He walked with the most integrity. He had the ability to. Beloved, we're all sinful, broken people and
[00:40:52] Speaker B: we won't live perfect lives, but we can be intentional.
We can walk with the integrity we have.
[00:40:59] Speaker A: We can put our whole selves into that work. It's a way of glorifying God, and it's a way of trusting him.
[00:41:04] Speaker B: Choosing to live with integrity literally does. It means choosing to reject the idols of this age.
It just does. If you're choosing integrity at work, choosing integrity in your relationships, choosing integrity in your family, it will inherently mean increasingly Rejecting idols.
[00:41:20] Speaker A: And then Samuel in this text reminds
[00:41:21] Speaker B: us to remember what God has done.
I said this a couple times today, but I'm so serious. Beloved, you have a testimony. You should remember it.
You should come back to your testimony often.
[00:41:32] Speaker A: You know, the primary reason that we
[00:41:35] Speaker B: make such a big deal out of baptism and communion at this church is for this reason that when we take communion, we celebrate baptism. It gives us these opportunities to remember what God has done, to stop and have some intentionality in our thought and even have these benchmark moments that we can come back to. One of the best reasons to take
[00:41:54] Speaker A: communion on a Sunday is not because
[00:41:56] Speaker B: anything magical happens here, but because at some point this week, you'll have a Thursday afternoon, right?
[00:42:02] Speaker A: And you'll be stressed and exhausted and ready to be done with the week
[00:42:06] Speaker B: and not thinking about God and struggling in your spiritual disciplines and in this place of just spiritual dryness and going,
[00:42:12] Speaker A: why is this all so hard? And why am I so bad at it? And to have a moment where you stop and go.
[00:42:17] Speaker B: And I remember five days ago, standing in line with my whole church, and we walked up and we took the elements, and all of us together said, his body broke and his blood poured out, and I ate and I drank, and they ate and drank with me, and we were proclaiming the gospel together.
[00:42:34] Speaker A: Damn, that just happened. And it's gonna happen again this weekend.
And those moments help put our feet back on the ground and go, hey, I know you're stressed. I know you're struggling, but God is still God. He's still on his throne.
Same thing. If I would make a big deal
[00:42:51] Speaker B: out of baptism, you should remember your baptism often.
That moment where you were dumped under, you couldn't breathe, and you came up and everyone was shouting and cheering and clapping because they were praising God, that another one had been brought into the family.
Those moments are powerful. They're testimonies, what the scripture calls Ebenezers. These stones of remembrance help us ground ourselves remembering what God has done.
[00:43:17] Speaker A: And then this is right at the end.
[00:43:18] Speaker B: I love this piece.
[00:43:19] Speaker A: Samuel says, I'm not going to sin
[00:43:20] Speaker B: against you by stopping praying for you.
I love that.
[00:43:25] Speaker A: Pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray.
One of the best ways we can
[00:43:30] Speaker B: actually practically seek the Lord as your provision of your source of renewal is your prayer life.
One of the best ways you can actually seek the Lord is by big
[00:43:39] Speaker A: surprise talking to him, right?
And by the way, there's nothing magical about that. When we talk about prayer, that's what we're talking about. Just talking to God, telling him what's going on in your mind, what's going on, your heart, telling him what things you want in this world.
Those of you guys who are parents
[00:43:55] Speaker B: who have kids, you know, you know why prayer is so beneficial and powerful.
[00:44:01] Speaker A: There's this amazing and terrible season of
[00:44:04] Speaker B: life that is somewhere between, like, the age of 18 months until. I don't know how old is my oldest kid? 10. I don't know if it stops.
[00:44:13] Speaker A: There's these moments where your kid just
[00:44:14] Speaker B: starts talking to you, and they're talking and they're talking and they're talking, and it's kind of nonsense, you know what I'm saying? I was watching the show the other day, and there was this, like, clamshell thing going on there. Do you know sometimes the ocean goes in, there's saltwater, and it's just going on.
[00:44:26] Speaker A: And have you ever heard of Legos?
[00:44:27] Speaker B: There's a Lego set that has Mario in it. How could Mario be in a Lego set?
[00:44:29] Speaker A: And they're going, going, going. And you have a moment where you
[00:44:31] Speaker B: go, what are they talking about right now?
[00:44:35] Speaker A: And then they stop and go, are you even listening to me? And you go, yeah, yeah, Saltwater Mario. Something in there, right? That. Right.
It's hilarious. It's annoying sometimes.
[00:44:47] Speaker B: Beautiful. It's one of the most amazing things about parenting.
How heartbroken would you be if that never happened again?
Right?
We delight when our children talk to us about whatever's going on in their head.
And I'm going to go on a limb, and I'm going to guess for you older parents with kids who've grown up and moved out, that you never get tired of those conversations, right?
But it's a delight to have your kid just call up and go, hey,
[00:45:18] Speaker A: here's what I was thinking about, and
[00:45:20] Speaker B: just go for it, right?
God delights to hear from us. And you gotta know, probably nine out of ten words that come out of your mouth when you're praying are gibberish in an eternal perspective.
Just probably are.
And yet God delights in them. And yet they're beautiful. And yet prayer connects us to the heart of God. And lastly is this man, if you want to come back up.
Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart. Did you catch this? Did Samuel use this phrase twice? Love the Lord your God with all your heart.
He's making this connection here to one of the most famous texts in Scripture, Deuteronomy 6. It's called the Shema. It's his blessing. But I want to read this Little larger chunk here.
It's where Samuel's quoting from. But it speaks into this larger theology that Moses established for Israel.
[00:46:03] Speaker A: Says this.
[00:46:04] Speaker B: This is Deuteronomy 6, starting at verse 4. Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God. Follow your heart with all your soul and follow your strength.
[00:46:12] Speaker A: These words that I am giving you today are to be on your heart.
So repeat them.
[00:46:16] Speaker B: Repeat them to your children.
[00:46:18] Speaker A: Talk about them when you sit around in your house, when you walk along
[00:46:21] Speaker B: the road, when you lie down, and
[00:46:22] Speaker A: when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand. Let them be a symbol on your forehead.
[00:46:27] Speaker B: Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.
I love that text.
I love that text. Because Moses is speaking to Israel. This universal spiritual truth. We all forget about God.
We forget about Him.
We get busy and caught up in our lives.
And so if you want to actually seek him with your whole heart, you've got to just keep talking about Him.
It's got to be part of how you live your life, part of the rhythms of your day, part of the rhythms of your heart to think about him and talk about Him. And by the way, if that text sounded familiar, it's because Jesus references that same text when he's asked, what's the greatest commandment? How do you summarize a life of following God? Jesus, oh, greatest commandment. Easy. Love the Lord your God all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Seek after the Lord. This is what both of them are getting at, guys. Seek after the Lord. When you seek after him, when you build rhythms where you think about him, talk about him, talk to him.
You will find that he's actually carrying you along and you're actually noticing it and it's actually wonderful.
Guys, your new day, your renewal is found in Christ.
Period.
[00:47:42] Speaker A: Period.
[00:47:43] Speaker B: The renewal you are longing for, it is found in Jesus.
Jesus's accomplished work on our behalf shows the love and faithfulness of God.
Just does it. Just does.
Jesus does the work. He fulfills the greatest commandment for us. He makes way to the Father for us, so that in him we can have the new day we long for. Having renewal in your life isn't about you trying harder or finding a better solution. It's about trusting the One who already did the work.
I'll end with this thought.
[00:48:14] Speaker A: Have you guys ever bought an as
[00:48:16] Speaker B: seen on TV product?
[00:48:17] Speaker A: Anyone?
[00:48:19] Speaker B: I can say with a clear conscience, I've only ever bought one at Goodwill secondhand. The problem is I am a sucker for these Things if I see the commercial, I shouldn't see the commercial, because if I see the commercial, I go,
[00:48:32] Speaker A: you know, I have always wanted a
[00:48:35] Speaker B: specific gadget to cut zucchinis into spirals.
[00:48:38] Speaker A: I think I do in fact need that in my life. On Kim and I's honeymoon, one night
[00:48:43] Speaker B: we decided to watch a movie and we couldn't figure out how to get the TV working right. And so for about 40 minutes I'm sitting there with like cords pulled out trying to get the TV to work. So I had to watch a dvd.
[00:48:51] Speaker A: And the whole time an infomercial for
[00:48:55] Speaker B: the new wave infrared convection oven was playing.
[00:49:00] Speaker A: And this guy just kept roasting chickens over and over and over. And I'm telling you, I became convinced
[00:49:07] Speaker B: that my family needed a new wave infrared convection oven.
[00:49:10] Speaker A: Within 40 minutes of watching this, I was just like, 100% guys. Kim, think about all the chickens we would roast.
[00:49:16] Speaker B: Chicken is good for you. We should definitely get one of these.
[00:49:19] Speaker A: By God's grace, no one bought us one of those as a wedding gift and we didn't have enough money for me to buy one. And so I've never used one or bought one.
I have no idea if they actually work.
[00:49:29] Speaker B: They're probably just air fryers, right?
[00:49:31] Speaker A: But made of glass.
[00:49:33] Speaker B: That seems like a bad design.
[00:49:34] Speaker A: Anyway. Anyway, I've never had one.
[00:49:37] Speaker B: But here's the real thing.
[00:49:39] Speaker A: Here's the real thing.
You don't need that.
You don't need that.
That's not actually going to make you bake more chickens. It's not. It's not.
What you actually need is just a normal kitchen range that your house already had when you bought it.
That's what you actually need, right?
But I am easy.
[00:50:03] Speaker B: I am quick to convince myself that I need the new cool, hip, item, specific gadget.
I'm quick to think that the reality is I don't same is true of our faith, beloved.
We don't need a worldly king. We don't need a new idol. We need Jesus.
Boring, mundane, everyday faith in him, Jesus prayer in scripture reading in community. Jesus, the same Jesus that saved you when you were a kid. The same Jesus been chasing your whole life. That's what you actually need. That's where your renewal in your life is found.
[00:50:44] Speaker A: It's not fully.
