Sermons

The Chronicles of Saul [Part 4]--"How Fearful-Disobedience messed up his ministry

November 22, 2015 Pastor: Series: Audio Sermon

Topic: Sunday Morning Scripture: 1 Samuel 13:1–14

The Chronicles of Saul
“How fearful-disobedience messed up his ministry”
1 Samuel 13:1-14

1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,

2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.

3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!"

4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.

5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven.

6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits.

7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

9 So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering.

10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.

11 And Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash,

12 then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.' Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering."

13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."

Introduction:

Have you ever been afraid of Fear?
Has God ever called you to do something for him and Fear stopped you from obeying?

Fear is a horrible enemy, and it is a major dilemma in the life of the child of God! Fear not only effects the non-believer but it also cripples the believer!

Today we will examine Saul's life and what happened to his ministry when fear made him make foolish mistakes.

According to a scholar in my library, the new king had been in office for two years. Things were good in the kingdom, and ministry was going well. The time had now come for Israel to gather at Gilgal as Samuel and Saul had agreed months before (10:8).
However, in the meantime and between times, Johnathon (Saul’s Son) went down and destroyed one of the enemies’ locations of attack against Israel. This was an act of war on the part of Israel.
When the word got out in the enemies camp and in the Israelite neighborhood, Saul took the credit for his son’s victory at Gibeah in order to impress the people and get them to follow him.
The vast host of the Philistines began to assemble, and the philistine fighting machine had begun to invade the land.
Saul as King became fearful and he froze in his position of leadership and did nothing about the enemy advancing.

The longer Saul waited, the more dangerous his position became.
Because of his fearful-indecisiveness he made a serious mistake!
If he would only have struck the enemy immediately, he could’ve defeated them, but because of fear he delayed, and when he did this he only gave the-enemy opportunity to become stronger.
[Note:
In spiritual warfare you can’t delay when the enemy gets on the move. You have to be decisive in the fight and be prepared for warfare at any given moment!]
Saul’s fearful-impatience (and unbelief) led him to offer burnt-offerings without Samuel, [the prophet and high priest] and while Saul was completing the offering, the prophet appeared. This is where his failure began!
This was the beginning of the end: if God could not trust him in this little matter, how could He trust him with the kingdom? Saul’s impatience cost him the kingdom.

Because of his fearful-disobedience he messed up his ministry. Today were going to look at three of Saul’s problems and compare them to our lives.

1. The Pride Problem of Saul
2. The People Problem of Saul
3. The Positional Problem of Saul

In verse number three our text begins to reveal where Saul’s downfall first surfaces in the text.

I. Saul’s Pride Problem

3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!"

4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.

Note:
When we arrive at this portion of the text, we understand that Johnathon was the one who got victory over the philistine’s position and possessions. God gave him victory for Israel.

However, when the news reaches his daddy, Saul takes the credit for his self and immediately sounds the trumpet informing people that “He had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines.
Note:
1. Because of his pride he wanted everyone in Israel to know what he had did, even though he hadn't did anything
2. He lied to them and said that they too had become an abomination to the Philistines {trying to inflate them with pride}
3. His pride as king caused him to lift himself up in the eyes of others
4. His pride as king failed to recognize who was responsible for leading in the battle
5. His pride as king caused him to be blinded and made him believe that he was more important than the people he served.

Application:
• Can you see where Saul’s ministry got off track?
• Can you see where he began to mislead people, and get puffed up in his own ministry?
• Can you see where pride can get your ministry in trouble?
• Do you know anybody whose ministry collapsed because of pride?
• Have you ever been there, when you forgot that ministry wasn't always about you?
• Have you ever lied about your success, like Saul?
• Have you ever given a false report like Saul?
• Have you ever failed to give someone else the credit, and took the glory for yourself, like Saul?
• Could it be that your pride has caused you to think only about yourself, instead of everyone whom the ministry is about?

Saul messed up, pride got to him, and this is where his ministry got damaged!

II. Saul’s People Problem

5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven.

6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits.

7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Note:

When we arrive at this portion of the text we see where Saul’s pride problem leads to the next problem.

Saul discovers that the enemies have heard about his boasting and about the attack on their garrison (supplies, resources and place of attack) and they have now mobilized over 30,000-plus troops to position themselves for battle.
Not only did they position themselves, they began to invade the place where Saul lived. “And they came up and encamped in Michmash.”…the king lived here, it is called a place of treasure.

Saul has three problems now…his people who were following him as their king, had believed his report!

Then suddenly, the enemy came out and assembled themselves in greater numbers than Saul had!

When they saw the enemy, they began to run and hide, flee from the country, leave their fighting-post and forsake their king!

1. Saul’s problem now in the ministry is that he sees he can’t mislead the people!
2. He can’t pretend to be one thing, but really be something else in life.
3. Saul has found out that people will leave you, when the enemy shows up like a flood!
4. Saul sees that his popularity means nothing when the people’s lives are on the line.
5. Saul see’s now, who is really in his corner, when trouble rises?

As long as things were quiet, and he was bragging about himself and the people, they were willing to follow him.
But when the enemy showed up, and it was time to engage in battle, Saul had no one to count on, because the people (the crowd) left him to protect themselves.

Application:

• Have you ever had a people problem?
• Have you ever had a problem where you thought you could rely on some folks, only to find out they will leave you, when the enemy shows up?
• Have you ever been left in the midst of the battle by those who said they loved you?
• Has somebody you loved and thought would never forsake you, abandoned you, because the enemy was closing in on you?

Saul had a problem! It was first caused by pride, then exacerbated by people leaving him when he thought they loved him.

He was King, they were his subjects, but all of that meant nothing as long as the philistines were on the move in the neighborhood!

III. Saul’s Position Problem

8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

9 So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering.

10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.

Note:
When we arrive at this portion of the text, we see Saul about to develop a new problem. It’s what I call a positional-problem.

• He sees himself loosing position with the people because they have all fled.
• He sees himself loosing position with the Prophet Samuel, because he hasn't shown up at the time he said that he was going to show up and tell him what to do.
• He sees himself as loosing position with God as the king that God had called him to be.

In this season of his perceptions, he acts out of disobedience to what God had told him to do!

Note:

In-spite of everything that was going on, and everything he was perceiving, and all that was happening in his life, HE HAD NOT YET FAILED TO OBEY GOD! UNTIL THIS VERSE!

IT’S NOT UNTIL verse 9-10 that his ministry gets in real trouble with God.
He had suffered lost, he had gotten embarrassed because he was prideful and arrogant, but he had not broken the command of God!

He had bragged about what he had done, and took the credit when it wasn't his, but, he had not broken the command of God! Until verse 9.

He had people run out on him because the enemy was closing in on them, he had fair weather followers to forsake his leadership for fear of their own lives, and this was painful for him, but He had not broken the command of God!

Application:

Have you ever been there, when your ministry was in trouble, but you never disobeyed God!

Sure you may have made some dumb mistakes, but you never broke the command of God!

Have you been there where you felt like giving up, you felt like walking away from ministry, but instead you stayed still until you could see the Salvation of the Lord?

Saul does not do this…Instead he does what God told him not to do.

He disobeys the command of the Lord…he does this because of his fear of losing his position…
He does this because of his fear of losing his people…
He does this because of his fear of losing his power…
He disobeys and does what God told him not to do!

He broke the command of God when Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering.

• He was not qualified to give sacrificial offerings in the office of the priesthood! This was left for Samuel to do on behalf of the people.

• He gave an offering not as an act of worship, but in defiance of Samuel’s absence! He got impatient and assume he was good enough to do this.

• He gave an offering because he wanted a good luck charm to help against the Philistines! There was no reverence for God, his word or his sacrificial system!

• He did not worship God, but rather was doing things only for himself!

• His pride has caused him to fear the loss of people, fear the loss of possessions and fear the loss of things, and His pride has caused him to fear his enemies, whom he was never to fear!

• His pride has caused him to forsake the word of the Lord and the command of the Lord, and do what God has told him to never do.

According to 1 Samuel 10:8 Saul was told by Samuel“8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”

• Saul was aware of this word!
• Saul choose to defy this word and do things his way!
• HE was disobedient and because of this there would be consequences to his ministry.

The conclusion

In the summation of this great text, the bible says that Samuel showed up in Gilgal.

13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."

Note:

When we come to this verse we discover that Samuel told Saul that the decision he made to offer sacrifice to the Lord was “foolish.”

1. The word foolish…does not indicate a lack of intelligence, but a lack of moral and spiritual insight. [Because his flesh was out of control he couldn't see the necessity in obeying the things of God, even though he knew the command of God]
2. The word implies that the foolish person is impetuous, and he or she tends to lean toward rebellion against God, and they always insists on having or doing things their own way. [Even though they have received the command of God]

What a noun [fool] to describe a king!
What a noun to describe the child of God?
What a noun describe a person that knows or knew better?
What a way to end his ministry as king!
What a way to end your ministry!

What man ugly issue to have stored up in your heart!
For God to call you a fool is the saddest thing that the creator of all the universe could say about you!

What a tragedy to be called into a ministry for the Lord, but mess it up because you have played the part of a fool!

In Saul’s excuses he tried to put the blame on Samuel and the people.
In Summation Saul say’s it’s because of what you guys did Samuel…
The people left me, you didn't come on time, and I needed to know what the enemy was going to do next!
So I had no choice … “I forced myself to sacrifice” he told Samuel, but the prophet knew the truth.

This was the beginning of the end: if God could not trust him in this little matter, how could He trust him with the kingdom?

Saul’s impatience, and his fearful disobedience cost him the kingdom.

Observation:

Family, here is a word for us today… The word is that we must always remember that only a growing relationship with the Lord and submission to Him can free us from the foolishness that is bound up in the heart of everyone.(Prov. 22:15).

The story is told by a great writer named Carlyle. The poet once said that some men are like the Ostrich: “It is the resource of the ostrich, who, when hunted, sticks his foolish head in the ground to hide from the enemy, and forgets that his foolish body is not unseen too.”
—C. E. Macartney

Some Christians are like the Ostrich, when we are retreating from the enemy we tend to hide right out in the open, with our heads covered but our lives left open for attack.
Peter the Apostle was this way, he thought he would never fall as a disciple! Like Saul He had altogether! But when fear kicked-in, and he saw people running away from Jesus, he too became like a fool, because his flesh was out of control he couldn't see the necessity in obeying the things of God, even though he knew the command of God
He denied that he knew Jesus! Jesus was killed shortly thereafter.

They took His body down off of the cross, where he was killed for you and me.
They placed him in another man’s tomb. However he rose again early Sunday morning from the grave with all power of heaven and earth in his hands.

He sent word to Peter, the impetuous disciple, who failed him, and he restored him back to fellowship.
Maybe you’re that Saul or Peter today! Maybe your ministry has been messed up because of foolish decision.
Come unto the Lord today and let him restore you, and use you again, for honor and his glory.

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