1 SAMUEL 12 GODS HEART ON LEADING SINFUL PEOPLE2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Samuel 12 Gods Heart On Leading Sinful People

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017. We're going to be here in 1 Samuel chapter 12 this evening.

Continuing our journey through Samuel and continuing to reflect on this theme of pursuing God's heart. And we're jumping into the life of Samuel. It's towards the end of his ministry. It's towards the end of his life. And here in chapter 12, we see him kind of passing the baton onto now King Saul.

Now, Samuel's going to stick around for a little bit. He's still going to operate as a prophet to the nation for several years to come and for several more chapters here in the book of Samuel. But as far as authority of the government and leading them as a nation, he is handing over the reins and handing over that authority now to Saul, who has been anointed king

He's had his first victory. We saw that a couple of weeks ago in chapter 11. And so now after, you know, he's had this victory, now the people are ready to really accept him as king and they crown him as king. And so here we have Samuel addressing the people as Saul is being accepted as the king and being crowned the king.

It was real the first time, but as far as the people are concerned, it's for real this time. He's our king, and they're going to be letting him lead, and they will be following him in the kingdom.

And so we're going to look at Samuel's address to the people now as Saul is taking the reins of authority of the nation. Now let's begin as we usually do, reading through some of the verses. We'll look at verses 1 through 5, and then we'll get into what God has for us this evening. 1 Samuel 12, verse 1 says, Now Samuel said to all Israel,

Indeed, I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me and have made a king over you. And now here is the king walking before you. And I am old and gray-headed. And look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. Verse 3. Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Verse 4.

He says, I will restore it to you. And they said, Verse 5.

Then he said to them, the Lord is witness against you and his anointed is witness this day that you have not found anything in my hand. And they answered, he is witness.

Here as we look at Samuel addressing the nation, as he hands over the reins of authority to King Saul, he begins here in this section by asking the people to evaluate his reign and his ministry and the life that he has lived before them up to this point. And Samuel in this continues to model for us what it looks like to be a man or a woman after God's own heart. As

As we talk about this subject of pursuing God's heart, we're coming to the point where we reach King David, which is the man specifically that God said that will be after his heart. But before there was David, the man after God's own heart, we saw God raise up

Samuel, who is a man after God's own heart. He is one who pursued the heart of God and models this for us really well. And that is true in 1 Samuel chapter 12, where we are this evening as well. And so we have a good example here of pursuing the heart of God and what that looks like, and specifically in the role of leadership. I've titled the message for this evening, God's Heart

sinful people. As

As we look at Samuel here in this chapter, what we get to see is how God wants for his leaders to operate when they're dealing with people who have sinned, when they're dealing with people who've messed up, when they're dealing with people who've made bad choices. Here, Samuel sets for us a good example of how to represent God well in the midst of that situation.

Now, as we begin to talk about this here in 1 Samuel 12, God's heart on leading sinful people, I would like to take a moment just to remind you, every single one of us is called to lead.

And you might, you know, automatically kind of count yourself out of this idea of leadership or leading. But the reality is if we are called to make disciples, and we are, if we are called to make disciples, then we're called to be leaders, right?

If we're called to make disciples, then God has placed people in our lives that he has entrusted to us. He's instructed us to have an influence, to make a difference, to teach and to show and to model his nature and his character before them. And so we have the responsibility of leadership, whether or not we have official titles or roles or responsibilities, you know, that we might typically associate with leadership. Every believer is called to be a leader. Right?

And so this is really important for us to learn God's heart on being a leader when, well, the people that God has placed in our lives and entrusted to us, what if they're messing up? What if they're out of line? What if they're making bad decisions? And how do we respond and how do we represent God well in that situation? And Samuel here sets a great example for us.

Now, again, I've been saying this is kind of Samuel's farewell address. That's how it's labeled in many Bibles. It's his goodbye address. But he is going to stick around for a while, but his role is kind of changing. And he's going to still be a spiritual authority and leader and prophet, but he's going to

But at the same time, he's handing off the reins of authority of the nation to King Saul. And I like what Dave Guzik had to say about that. He said, Samuel shows himself as a truly godly man. He is willing to pass from the scene when God raises up another leader. Samuel would not grasp onto a position when God was changing it.

And so here, again, we continue to see this godly example in Samuel in the way that he deals with the people, which is what we're really focused on. But even in this transition, we see him not holding on to his position. Now, in contrast to that, we'll see Saul in a few weeks saying,

holding on to his position, and he wants to force his kingdom when God has already decreed that his kingdom will not last. And you can see the contrast there between Samuel and Saul, and we'll see that develop. But Samuel, kind of like John the Baptist, he's saying,

He must increase, I must decrease. As he recognizes God is transferring, you know, the role and responsibility here and passing it on. And so again, we just continue to see Samuel as a great example, a great man of God and a model for us to show us what it looks like to be a man or a woman who pursues God's heart.

So God's heart's on leading sinful people. We'll look at six points here in chapter 12. This is really such a rich chapter. I wish, and maybe we will spend a little bit more time in it and come back and revisit some of these things. But there's a lot of great meat and depth and some classic verses that just really resonate. And so I hope that you're encouraged and pray that these things will continue to minister to you as you reflect on them throughout the week.

But starting in verses 1 through 5, we have point number 1 this evening, and that is to walk in character and integrity. Here's where we need to begin when we talk about leading sinful people.

When we talk about being a leader with people that are entrusted to us that are messed up, making bad choices, going the wrong direction, where we need to start is in our own hearts and in our own lives, having a walk that is, well, filled with character and integrity. As you look through the scriptures at leadership, you can see over and over again, God's qualifications for leaders are

to prioritize the character of the leader far higher than talents, personality, skills, charisma, you know, whatever other thing that we might associate with leadership. As far as God is concerned, the highest priority is the character, the integrity, the heart of the people that he has called to lead. Looking again at verse 1, it says, Now Samuel said to all Israel,

Indeed, I have heeded your voice and all that you said to me and have made a king over you. And now here is the king walking before you. And I am old and gray headed. And look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. Here is Samuel kind of winds down this season of his authority over the nation in this way. He says, okay, guys,

Just kind of bringing everybody up to speed. Here is your king. I did what you've asked. You asked for a king. I've presented you a king. Here he is walking before you. And here I am. I'm old. I'm gray-headed, he says. And my sons are with you. Here what Samuel is saying is, you guys know me. We've been walking together for a long time. Ever since I was young, from my childhood to this day, I've lived together.

to serve you guys. And I've lived kind of in public and you've watched my life. You've seen me from when I was young to when I was old. You've seen my family. You've seen how I lived. You know who I am. We've walked together for a long time. And with all that in mind, in verse three, he says, here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before his anointed, a reference to King Saul.

Here, Samuel gives a really bold invitation. I mean, this is really bold. He has all of Israel gathered together. Can you imagine any other

national leader gathering together the nation and just giving the opportunity. Anybody feel like I've ever cheated them?

Anybody feel like I've ever oppressed them or made any wrong decisions or did anything bad or, you know, and just giving that invitation? Well, there would be, you know, it's like reporters scrambling to ask their question, right? It'd be like everybody pressing in, like, yes, I have an opinion about that, and I think you've wronged me this way, and I think you've done this. And, you know, what other national leader would have that boldness? But Samuel was a man of character, right?

He was genuine in his walk with God. And so he's able to have this boldness to say, here I am in front of you guys. And I just want to call you guys to be a witness before the Lord, before Saul. What have I done that's inappropriate? What have I done that is not in line with godly character and nature and leadership? It's a bold invitation. I was thinking about how

In traditional wedding ceremonies, there's that piece of the ceremony where the invitation is given. If anyone knows a reason why these two should not be wed, have you noticed that most people don't have that in their ceremony these days? Because why invite the disaster, right? Why give opportunity for some crazy weird person to stand up and say, yeah, I have a problem, you know, whether it's legitimate or not, but just, you know, like why give that invitation, I think is the mindset. Now,

why that was there to begin with. And if that should be there, that's another discussion. But you understand the point. Like, okay, yeah, do you want to give that invitation in that time, in that critical time? And here's Samuel giving this bold invitation, saying, look, have I ever cheated? Have I ever misused my authority? Have I ever taken a bribe? Have I ever participated in any of these things that are kind of the norm as far as authority is concerned? And

And he invites them. And he says at the end of verse three here, I will restore it to you. If you guys, maybe there's something I missed, Samuel's saying. If I missed something and I accidentally took something that really, you know, wasn't mine or shouldn't have been mine or I accidentally overstepped, he says, let me know. I'll fix it right now. I want to take care of this. We need to understand we're not talking about Samuel in a sense that he was perfect and flawless. He

but that he was genuine and sincere. He was a man of integrity and character that he made mistakes and then he followed what God said in responding to those mistakes. And so that's where we need to begin. When we talk about leading and as we're

called to lead those who are, well, sinful and in a sin condition and in a place of disobedience, it is vitally important that we ourselves go back to our own hearts before the Lord, that we would be men and women of character and integrity and be able to have this kind of invitation that, hey, I

If there's anything wrong, I want to fix it. If there's anything out of line, please let me know and I'll take care of it because I want to be right with God and I don't want to have misused any of my authority or any of, you know, the things that God has given to me. And so he asks, whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed?

Whom have I received bribes from? In verse 4, they respond, and they said, You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand. Then he said to them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. Here, Samuel is...

finishing well in his handling of kingdom matters, in his handling of the nation. He asked the people to testify, have I done anything out of line? They say, no, you've not cheated us. You've not oppressed us. You've not taken anything from any man's hand. And he says, okay, just so I want to be clear. So you're a witness between the Lord and

King Saul, the Lord's anointed, you're a witness that you have not found anything in my hand that I've done out of line. And they answered, he is witness. So it's confirmed and double confirmed. As he's handing over the kingdom, Samuel has finished well. He's not handing off

to Saul, Saul, I've really made a mess, you know, and really corrupted things and got all things all messed up. And so I'm giving it to you and, you know, now it's your responsibility to fix it. No, he has finished well. He's run the race. He's walked with integrity and character as a man of God before the people. And as we consider the pursuit of God's heart,

and what he would have us to do, and how he would have us to be in regards to leading sinful people, we need to understand this is where it begins. We really cannot make an impact in the lives of those that God has entrusted to us until we learn to walk in character and integrity. To represent God to his people, you have to start with a good foundation. You have to start with character. You have to start with integrity, not perfection.

But genuineness in pursuing God's heart, there has to be a real fervent desire to pursue the heart of God and to be obedient to God and his word. Again, God's qualifications for leaders always prioritize character over talents, personality, skills, whatever else you might factor in.

I would encourage you to consider what Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 3. In verse 2, he says, a bishop. Now, there's different ways to consider what a bishop is, but I usually categorize it this way. A bishop is someone who has authority or responsibility for people. The word bishop, it literally means overseer. That God has entrusted to you someone or some people. And he says, okay, you have oversight over

You're responsible. Make disciples. So he says, a bishop must then be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach, and then it goes on for a few more verses of the different qualifications. But as you go through those qualifications, you'll know and you'll recognize they are primarily concerned with your character, with your heart, and

with your relationship with God, and very little to do with how much education you've had, you know, how charismatic you are, how well and effective you're able to stand before people and deliver, you know, a perfectly crafted message, you know, it's,

has, he doesn't list any in verse two there. He says able to teach at the end, but even that one is up to, for debate. We automatically think of like this, right? It's like, okay, yeah, you have to be able to teach to be a bishop, but it's, it's in the Greek, it would allow for it to also be phrased as to be teachable, right?

And both are important, really, to be able to teach and to be teachable, whether you, you know, want to say that in English or in Greek, both are appropriate, both are important. And so even that one, able to teach, is a little bit of a question as far as, is that like the ability to deliver a message or

Or is that the ability to hear from the Lord, to receive from the Lord, to learn, to grow, and to be instructed by God and the men and women of God? And so the point is, we need to pay attention to our heart. We need to guard our hearts. We need to be men and women of integrity who are not trying to get away with things, not trying to get away with stuff that is not of God, that we know is not right, that we're just pretending to pursue God's heart and we're not actually pursuing God's heart,

We must begin with the good foundation of having character, having integrity. That's what matters most to God. If you want to be used by God, that's where you need to focus. I know that you could think about like, well, I wonder what my spiritual gifts are, or I wonder this, or I wonder that, but you can stop all the wondering and go right to what you know. What God is most intensely concerned about is your heart.

Are you a man of integrity? Are you a woman of integrity? Do you genuinely pursue the heart of God? And that's where we need to start. As I prayed in the beginning, that our hearts are deceitful. And that's why this is so important, because we can so easily convince ourselves that we're okay and right and right where we need to be and be completely lost at the same time. We need to know God's heart.

Much more than we need to feel good about what we think or what we do or the decisions that we made. We need to know God's heart. What pleases God? What's important to him? And that needs to be the anchor and foundation of how we live. Well, moving on, verses 6 through 11, we have point number two. As we talk about God's heart on leading sinful people, we start with the foundation of character and integrity. And our hearts need to be right with God.

But now as we relate to those people that God has entrusted to us, here's where we begin in that relationship. And that is, we need to remind the people of God's righteous acts. Now, please understand, the people have just made a huge mistake in demanding a king. And we walked through that, you know, starting in chapter 8 of 1 Samuel, that it's been this process of Samuel being offended and going to God and crying out to God about the situation and upset and

concerned because the people are rejecting God and replacing God with the king. And I could understand if Samuel here in chapter 12 in verse 6, you know, just starts laying into the people. You dumb idiots. You know, this is so wrong. Like, I would totally understand if that's what verse 6 says. It's not what verse 6 says though, because Samuel represents the heart of God.

He's a man who pursues the heart of God and he models for us what that looks like. Check out verse six and seven. Then Samuel said to the people, it is the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. Now, therefore, stand still that I may reason with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and your fathers.

Here we have Samuel as he begins this address, his farewell address. You know, he could end it miserably and just, you know, sour and bitter. And I can't believe you guys did this. And, you know, what a wrong decision this was. And he'll get to that. But that's not where he starts. He starts with this declaration of the righteous acts of the Lord. Hey, guys, stand here for a minute. I want to tell you about how good God has been to you.

I want to tell you about the good things that God has done. I want to tell you and remind you of God's work in your life. And I think it would have been so easy for Samuel to go the other direction. I mean, I could think about Moses, right?

There in the wilderness, he's frustrated by the sin of the people and their ongoing rebellion and continually making bad choices and frustrated by the sinful people. He strikes the rock and says, must we give you water from the rock again? And God pulls him aside. Moses, you misrepresented me. This is really important for us to consider as we are called to relate to those that have messed up, those that have gone the wrong way.

First things first, first priority, Samuel says, let me remind you about the good things, the right things that God has done. Did Samuel want to yell at the people? Possibly. But did God want Samuel to yell at the people? No. God's incredibly patient. What does God want to speak to the people about?

He says, Samuel, tell them about the history of my goodness towards them. I was thinking about that in regards to what Paul said. We saw it a couple weeks ago on Sunday morning in Romans chapter 2 verse 4. Paul says, do you despise the riches of the goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Whenever we're dealing with someone and there has been sin, there has been a bad mistake, a major error,

Goodness can be real difficult for us to demonstrate and to show and to talk about. And yet we need to remember, this is the way that God works. It's his goodness that leads us to repentance. I mean, even when we're frustrated and yelling at those who've messed up, it's not so much because we hate them. I mean, it's because we want repentance, right? But it's the wrong way to go about it.

Many times. Now there is room for correction. Again, we'll get to that. But it's not necessarily the first thing on the list. The first thing on the list is, remember the goodness of God? Let's think about the mercy of God and the grace of God in your life and how good God is towards you and the ways that he's worked in your life. It's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. It's not God chasing us with a two by four that leads us to repentance. But it's his mercy in our lives and how gracious he is towards us.

that invites us to enter into his presence and come to him. Well, he now recounts some of that history of the righteous acts of God, starting in verse eight. When Jacob had gone into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron

who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. So in talking about the righteous acts of God, he begins with Egypt. And now talking about the Exodus coming out of Egypt and the deliverance that God accomplished there in Egypt. Verse nine, and when they forgot the Lord. So remember how God did the great work and the 10 plagues and then brought them out, they brought them into the land. I mean, he's kind of just real clear

high overview summary of what took place, but then reminds them, and then the people forgot the Lord and they turned away from God.

He says in verse 9, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab and they fought against them. Verse 10, then they cried out to the Lord and said, we have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and Ashtoreths, but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies and we will serve you.

You can see what Samuel's doing here. He is letting them know, look, you come from a long line of people who have forgotten about God and done the wrong thing and found themselves in a bind because they've rebelled against God and they've cried out to the Lord and he's had mercy and he's brought deliverance. Let me just remind you, you come from a long line of people who have messed up

And God has blessed them and worked in their lives anyways when they cried out to him. Let me remind you of how merciful God's been and gracious he's been to you over and over and over. Verse 11, and the Lord sent Jerubabbel, Bidan, Jephthah, and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side and you dwelt in safety. And so he gives them a few examples of

of the judges that we read as we went through the book of Judges a while back. And so he gives them examples of these different guys that God raised up as the people called out, but understanding that there was the need for these guys to be raised up because the people had rebelled against God.

And so God sends them, even though the people put themselves there by their own bad choices, still God sends a deliverer. As the people cried out to him, he sends a deliverer, and then he sends another deliverer, and then he sends another deliverer. As the cycle continues of their rebellion, and then repentance, and then rebellion, and then repentance, we see that God's patience is incredible. And he is giving people opportunity after opportunity.

Grace upon grace and mercy upon mercy. And so Samuel in demonstrating and modeling for us the heart of God when we're dealing with those who have messed up and fallen short, sinful people, it's to convey the reminder of God's grace and mercy. And his mercies are new every morning. His patience is incredible. Remember that your job is to reflect the heart of God to the people that God has entrusted to you.

Your job is to demonstrate to them this is how God feels, and God's infinitely patient. God says, let me remind you of the goodness, because it's my goodness that leads you to repentance, God says. It's my goodness that invites you to come back. Now, that doesn't mean we don't deal with sin. That doesn't mean we don't address sin. That doesn't mean we don't call people out on the sin in their lives, and

We'll see that as we go forward now into verses 12 through 15. Here's point number three. God's hard on leading sinful people. Well, it's also to call the people to obey the Lord. So we start with, we need to have character and integrity. We go then into reminding the people of how God has been good, his righteous acts and the goodness and grace that he's already extended. And now it's a call to, so obey the Lord. Come to repentance.

Because of God's goodness. It's his goodness that leads you to repentance. Verse 12. And when you saw Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, come against you, you said to me, no, but a king shall reign over us when the Lord your God was king.

And so here Samuel is highlighting, even though God's been so good to you, remember all the things that God's done, and now you've asked for a king, you've kind of followed in the footsteps of your fathers who have made bad choices, done rebellious things, and gotten into trouble as a result. You've sought to replace God now, and we can see God's continued patience. Verse 13, now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired, and take note, the Lord has set a king over you. Verse 14,

So he says, look, here's your king. God's answered your request and given you a king. He set the king over you. Everybody pay attention to that. Now, it wasn't God's plan for this moment. It wasn't what God wanted to do in this instant. This wasn't by God's design. This was you forcing it. However,

If you fear the Lord and if you'll serve him and obey his voice, if you will not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then you will both continue following the Lord your God. God says, I'll still continue to work. I'll continue if you will continue. It's a call to obey the Lord, to fear the Lord, to get right with God, even though you've messed up. And he'll say that even more clearly in a few more verses. Even though you've messed up from here on out,

If you will begin to walk with the Lord and fear the Lord and obey the Lord, God says, I'll be with you. And I think it's really interesting. Verse 14, it deserves a good amount of consideration and meditation. Because notice it says, if you fear the Lord, he's talking to the people. If you fear the Lord and serve him, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. Notice what...

happening here. God's establishing a link. A lot of times we look at roles of authority and leadership and, you know, we kind of blame the authority and the leadership for the condition of the people. God turns it around and blames the people for the condition of their leaders. He says, look, if you will be faithful to follow me, then both you and your leader will follow me. But if you rebel, well, you're

your authorities will follow also. If you stop following the Lord, you're gonna get leaders that don't follow the Lord. But if you are faithful in following the Lord, God will give you leaders who follow the Lord. That's what he's establishing here. Some interesting things and concepts for us to consider.

because sometimes we do get it backwards. And the leaders definitely do have responsibility. I'm not saying leaders, it's not their fault. I'm just saying it's on us, the people, what kind of leaders we have by what kind of people we are. God gives us the leaders that we need

have deserved and earned by our own walking with God and following him. Verse 15. However, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you as it was against your fathers. So here he gives the choice. It's a call to obey, right?

But oftentimes, as you look at, again, the heart of God and the way that he operates, he gives a call to obedience and it includes a warning about what happens if you don't obey. And God likes to give his people clear choices. This is something to consider as you desire to reflect on

and portray the heart of God to the people that God has entrusted to you. God likes to give his people clear choices. You can think about Deuteronomy 28, 29, and 30, where God in three chapters goes to great length to spell out, here is all the blessings of obedience. And it's, you know, repetitive and redundant, but it's very clear.

This and this and this and this and this, all these blessings will result from your obedience. And in contrast to that, here's the curses.

Here is the ramifications, the consequences of disobedience. And he goes through very great detail. If you don't obey, here's what's going to happen. If you don't obey, here's what's going to happen. And blessings or cursings are laid out before the nation of Israel there in Deuteronomy chapter 28, 29, and 30. And then Moses in Deuteronomy 30 verse 19 says, I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing.

Therefore, choose life that both you and your descendants may live. This is a accurate representation of the heart of God in the call to obey. God wants to give people the choice, just like back in the Garden of Eden. He made it clear. Here's the choices, obedience and disobedience. He also made it clear. Here's the benefits of obedience and here's the downside of disobedience.

Make your choice. And as we have opportunity to relate to those that God has entrusted to us, and we have the opportunity to call people to obey the Lord, I would suggest we need to consider how to make a clear choice. Here's the blessings of obedience. Here's the consequences of disobedience.

If you will follow me, Samuel said to the people, or if you'll follow the Lord, then you're going to continue to follow the Lord and your king's going to follow the Lord. And so even though all of this wasn't God's plan, but you forced it, you've asked for it. So now God's doing it. God will continue to work and he'll continue to operate within this framework now that has been established here in the authority of the king. It's not over. God's still going to work. You still have that opportunity. But if you choose to disobey, well, here's the consequences for that.

God will work against you just like he did with your fathers because of your disobedience. And so Samuel presents the choice. He calls the people to obey the Lord, but he lays out, here's the blessings, here's the curses, here's life, here's death. And then like Moses, he says, choose life. I want to help you make that decision, but you need to understand the decision that you're making and the two things that you're choosing between. It's not just a presentation of the two choices. It's

And then, you know, I'm not going to tell you which one is the best one. You know, I'm not going to tell you which one is the right one. I'll just, you know, here's your choices. No, no. Give the choices and then give the exhortation. Choose life. Choose life. Help people make the right choice as they have a clear picture of what the choice is between life and death. Well, verses 16 through 19, now we continue on following the example of Samuel as he says,

relates to those who have rebelled against God. And as he's ministering to them here in these verses, we learn the next thing. And that is to help the people see their sin. Again, it's not that we don't deal with sin. It's just that

Even though we might be frustrated and upset and disgusted or whatever, you know, emotion we might be experiencing over their sin, that's not necessarily where we start. And we need to represent God. That's the highest priority. Not get whatever we need to off our chest. That's not the highest priority. To represent God is the highest priority. And so that begins with

the goodness of God and the reminders of what God has done. And then the clear choice with the exhortation to obey the Lord. And now he gets into, you guys need to understand really, this was a bad move. Verse 16. Now, therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes. Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the Lord and he will send thunder and rain and

that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord in asking a king for yourselves. Here, Samuel now is trying to help the people recognize how messed up their hearts really are. Again, as I quoted earlier from Jeremiah, that our hearts are deceitfully wicked and

So much so that it's impossible for us to even really know our own hearts. And when we're dealing with issues of sin, we need to understand that a lot of times there is a serious lack of recognition of the severity of that sin. Because we are so good at deceiving ourselves and justifying our sin and convincing ourselves that

There's reason and it's not wrong and so on and so forth. And even if we recognize that it's wrong, we water it down to ease our own conscience. And we're so good at that. And so one aspect of representing God and leading those who God has called us to lead, they've messed up, they've got in trouble.

part of the responsibility is to help to bring clarity. He says, I want you to perceive and see that your wickedness is great. Right now, you don't understand how great your wickedness is in asking for a king. You're missing it. You're celebrating this anointing of King Saul and you're totally missing the reality, the truth here of how big of an issue this really is. They could not see that their wickedness was,

was great. Even though Samuel has been telling them since chapter 8, this is wrong. This isn't what God wants for you. Right over their head, they just, they couldn't perceive it. They couldn't see it for the wickedness that it was. And so he says, I'm gonna ask the Lord to show you something. Today's the wheat harvest. This is not the season for rain, but I'm gonna ask God to send thunder and rain. This is not the season for thunderstorms, but there's gonna be a thunderstorm.

So that you know, this is God confirming what I'm telling you. Your wickedness is great. Verse 18. So Samuel called to the Lord and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all the people said to Samuel, pray for your servants to the Lord, your God, that we may not die. For we have added to all our sins, the evil of asking a king for ourselves. Finally, they perceive.

their great wickedness, as they have this confirmation from the Lord. He says, look, your wickedness is great, and to prove it, I'm asking God to send a thunderstorm so that you recognize God's in agreement with me. We're testifying against you. What you have done is wrong. And so Samuel prays, and God sends the thunderstorm. God does exactly what Samuel describes, and the result was the people recognize, whoa, I thought I was right.

Totally shocked that my wickedness was great. I didn't realize that my wickedness was great. But here God says, my wickedness is great. And so they, well, they turn to Samuel and they say, pray for us. We deserve to die. God deserves to judge us because we've added to all of our sins. This isn't our only sin. This is just one of the many sins. And we've added to that. We've made it much worse by now asking a king for ourselves and seeking to replace God with a king.

This is Samuel representing God well. So much so that God says, yeah, I'll send a thunderstorm. I'll confirm that. Yes. Because the people need to see the severity and the reality of their sin. And so it's not that we water down sin. It's not that we, you know, just kind of shuffle it under a rug and like nobody talk about it. Nobody address it. You know, like it's too offensive or you only talk about God's goodness and love. No, no. It's not that we water down sin.

I think the order is appropriate. The order is important. We start with the goodness of God, because it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. And so we call people to repentance. We call them to choose life as we set before them the choices. And then we help to bring clarity to the seriousness of the issue. Now, God can change up this order. And so we, you know, we need to be led by the Lord and led by the Spirit in different occasions. But

But I think we have a great example here for us in Samuel, setting for us the model, how to represent God and his heart as we're dealing with those who have fallen. Moving on to verse 20 through 22, we have point number five, and that is call the people to follow the Lord. So it's kind of a repeat of point number three in a lot of ways.

But after the realization of the severity of sin, it's appropriate that now there's another call to follow the Lord. Kind of like what we talked about on Sunday, the difference between condemnation and conviction. Condemnation is the pushing away, run away. God is seriously upset with you. Conviction is draw near. Yes, you've messed up. Yes, great wickedness.

but come follow the Lord. And that is a call that needs to be given. And sometimes, a little pervertedly and sadistically, we like the opening your eyes so that you can perceive how great your wickedness is. You need to know how messed up you've been. And there's a temptation for us guys to just leave it at that. Yeah, you just wallow in that for a little bit. Feel the pain, suffer in it,

But Samuel moves from there and says, now come follow the Lord. He doesn't leave them there. Don't sit there in agony because you've messed up so bad. Come follow the Lord. Verse 20. Then Samuel said to the people, do not fear. You have done all this wickedness, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And so he says, look, do not fear. I mean, now they have a reason to fear because God has just...

broken through the heavens and spoken to them and said, your wickedness is great. They have great reason to fear. But the message from the heart of God is do not fear. It's good. You understand. You see and recognize your wickedness. That's an important part so that you can have confession, that you can agree with God about the seriousness of your sin and your issue. But now the point is not now suffer in knowing how bad you've been. He says, look, you've done all this wickedness.

Now don't turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Lean in and engage and push forward and seek to know God. Now you guys pursue the heart of God, he says to them. Verse 21, and do not turn aside for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver for they are nothing. And so here again, he's making the clear choice.

Don't fear. You have the opportunity to fear, but don't fear. Your wickedness has been great, but don't run away because what are you going to run to? Empty things. Whatever you run to away from the Lord, it's going to be something that cannot profit and cannot deliver. It's kind of like what Peter said to Jesus, right? Where else would we go? You only have the words of eternal life. In the same way, as we have opportunity to relate to, to interact with people who

who have messed up. God's entrusted them to us. How do we reflect his heart? There is the need to bring the recognition of the issue and the sin, but it's sandwiched in between the invitation to draw near to God, to call out to God, to pursue the heart of God with the clear deliverance of these are the options. You only have two options.

to draw near to God or to run after empty things. Again, God likes to give his people clear choices and let them know what they're choosing, but giving that exhortation to choose life, to choose the right path. Dave Guzik says, we need to know that one wrong turn doesn't wreck our lives before God. Instead of agonizing over the past, get right with God today. Samuel lets the people know, yes, you've messed up. You've messed up royally.

Get it? Because it's king. You've messed up big time. But that doesn't mean it's over. That doesn't mean God's given up on you. That doesn't mean God's done with you. It's time to pursue the Lord, to seek after him. Verse 22, for the Lord will not forsake his people for his great namesake because it has pleased the Lord to make you his people. It has pleased the Lord to make you his people. People need to know

God's chosen you. It was his pleasure to choose you. He picked you. He loves you. You're his child. So draw near. This is an important part of us relating to those who have messed up. It's not the message of wrath. Notice in here, there's the bringing of realization of the severity of the sin, but not through wrath. And it's sandwiched in between the call of

to obedience, to know God, to walk with God. And with the affirmation, God's pleased to make you his people. He's chosen you. He wants you. So come and draw near to him. It's all about this appeal to get right with God. And so Samuel here, as he represents God to the people, he does so very well and accurately demonstrating God's heart on, well, where these people are at and what they need.

showing us the way for how we can lead when those that God has entrusted to us have gotten caught up in paths and roads and ways that they ought not to. Finishing it up now in verse 23 through 25, we have point number six, pray for and teach the people. Here's God's heart when he puts you in a position of leading sinful people. He wants you to pray for and teach the people. Verse 23 says,

Samuel says, moreover, ask for me, for be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good and the right way. The people asked Samuel, please pray for us. We've sinned. We've added to all of our sins, this great wickedness of asking a king for ourselves. And Samuel says, you guys, you got it. Not only do you got it, I'm going to keep praying for you, but you need to understand it would be a sin against God for me to stop praying for you.

I'm not going to stop praying for you. I would be rebelling against God if I stopped praying for you because Samuel is saying, as a spiritual leader, that's my responsibility. That's priority number one. I must be praying for you. And if I stop praying for you, it's going to be in rebellion against God. It's going to be a sin. And I'm not giving up on you. He says, I will teach you the good and the right way. I'm passing on the authority to King Saul, but I'm still going to be around.

as a spiritual leader, as a prophet. And I'm going to keep on praying for you. I'm going to teach you, if you'll let me, you know, he's not forcing it, but he's saying, look, I'm still going to be here to teach you the good and the right way. I'm still here to help you. And he presents himself as one who is available to minister to the people and to help them work out the right way to go from there on out. Samuel does not sitting there saying, I disown you.

You follow the Lord, but don't come crawling to me. You know, none of that. That would not accurately represent the heart of God. As he represents God's heart, he says, I'm here for you. You need prayer? Come on. I would love to pray with you. You need to be taught? I would love to teach you. You need help? You need instruction? You need counsel? You need wisdom? Come.

I'm here for you. And so he says, look, this is my job. This is what God has me to do, to pray for you and to teach you the good and the right way. Verse 24, only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king. Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart. Fear the Lord.

I'm going to continue to pray for you. I'm going to continue to teach you what's right. Here's your job. Fear the Lord and serve him with all your heart. Turn to the Lord. Again, he's continuing that call to walk with God. And notice what he says. Consider the great things he has done for you. Going back to the righteous acts. It's the goodness of God that brings to repentance. Think about all the goodness that God has done for you and choose to fear him and serve him with all your heart.

But also again, clearly making the distinction, here's a clear decision you have to make. If you still do wickedly, you will be swept away, both you and your king. And so you have the choice to make. The choice is yours. I can't make it for you. Samuel doesn't try to force the choice. He doesn't try to make the choice. He doesn't try to force them to do what he wants. He clearly presents the choices with a strong and personal appeal for them to choose life that they might live, but holds himself back.

from forcing them to make the choice that he wants. He makes it clear which is the right choice. And he says, I'm here for you. I'm gonna continue to pray for you and I can teach you the right way. I'll teach you the way that you should go. This gives us a really good example for how to relate to those that God has placed in our lives, how to minister to those that God has placed in our lives that we would believe

lead in their lives in a way that accurately represents God. It needs to start, first of all, with us walking in character and integrity, that we're genuinely pursuing the heart of God, that we really do walk with God and know Him, and not that we're flawless, but that we respond as God speaks to our heart, that we respond to the things that He prompts us in, the ways that He leads us, that we genuinely are seeking after God.

And then from there, if we're not genuinely seeking after God, there's no hope. It's the blind leading the blind, the twisted leading the twisted. We need to have God's heart so that we can be effective, a lifeline for the people around us who are lost and messed up. And when we do, we can begin by reminding the people of God's righteous acts, his goodness, his work, his grace, the great things that he has done. And that's the...

launching pad to call people to obey the Lord, to call them to repentance because it is the goodness of God that brings us to repentance. It doesn't mean we don't address sin, we don't deal with sin because then we go from there into helping people see their sin. You do need to understand the severity of what you've done and the situation and the results. It's a serious thing, but that's not the first thing and it's not delivered in wrath and anger and it's not, you know, it's sandwiched in between. Follow the Lord.

Come, draw near to God. God hasn't given up on you. You've done all this wickedness, but draw near to God, but pursue God. So he calls the people to follow the Lord, setting the example for us. And then he continues to be available to the people, to pray for the people, to teach the people, to help them make the right choice. Great example for us, how we can come alongside those that God has placed in our lives.

Charles Spurgeon says in wrapping this up, he says, perhaps you will never preach, but you may pray. If you cannot climb the pulpit, you may bow before the mercy seat and be quite as great a blessing. As I talk about us being called to lead, don't think of it as this position, but recognize in many ways our greatest responsibility is to pray.

for those that God has entrusted to us. And Spurgeon says, you can be just as great a blessing in someone's life. You might not think so, but that's the reality. There's a real value that is there. There's a real responsibility, and it's a sin for us to stop praying for the people that God has entrusted to us. And so I want to invite Ronnie to come up and close us in a time of worship. And it's an opportunity for us to just begin to put this into practice. And I would encourage you to pray.

for the people that God has entrusted to you. It would be a sin not to. Let's take this time to pray. And as God prompts your heart, if you want to pray for one another, if you want to pray together or minister to one another with other things that God is stirring up on your heart, then feel free to do that. But let's take this time to pray. And I would just remind you that the scriptures instruct us and tell us that Job prayed every day for his children, every day for his children. Great example of

Again, we're all called to be leaders. And those of you who have children, you have a responsibility. God's entrusted to you the lives, the souls of your children. Pray, pray for your children. It would be a sin not to. Be available to teach them. That's reflecting and accurately picturing the heart of God, even though they might be sinful people. And so whether it be your children or others around you that God has placed in your life, we have the opportunity now

to follow the example of Samuel as he pursued the heart of God and representing God to the people. Let's worship the Lord and spend this time in prayer and ministry.