WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.660 The scripture reading comes from 1 Samuel chapter 8, 28. 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:10.880 Please follow along on the screen in your bulletin or your own Bible. 00:00:11.740 --> 00:00:15.120 In chapter 28, verse 1, we read, 00:00:15.939 --> 00:00:21.719 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war to fight against Israel. 00:00:23.080 --> 00:00:24.699 Then in verse 3, 00:00:24.699 --> 00:00:31.219 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. 00:00:31.919 --> 00:00:35.840 And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. 00:00:36.740 --> 00:00:41.060 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Sunim. 00:00:41.939 --> 00:00:45.939 And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 00:00:46.579 --> 00:00:54.399 When Saul saw the army of Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 00:00:55.480 --> 00:01:03.580 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by prophets. 00:01:04.579 --> 00:01:06.340 Then Saul said to his servants, 00:01:07.460 --> 00:01:13.180 Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:18.840 And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a medium at Endor. 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:26.299 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. 00:01:27.100 --> 00:01:29.659 And they came to the woman by night. 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:37.159 And he said, Divine for me by spirit, and bring up for me whoever I shall name to you. 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:46.439 The woman said to him, Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. 00:01:47.060 --> 00:01:50.959 Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death? 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:54.559 But Saul swore to her by the Lord. 00:01:55.559 --> 00:01:59.179 As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. 00:02:00.259 --> 00:02:03.659 Then the woman said, Who shall I bring up for you? 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:07.919 He said, Bring up Samuel for me. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:14.180 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. 00:02:14.479 --> 00:02:19.939 And the woman said to Saul, Why have you deceived me? You are Saul. 00:02:20.340 --> 00:02:24.500 The king said to her, Do not be afraid. What do you see? 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:30.379 And the woman said to Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth. 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.560 He said to her, What is his appearance? 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:39.599 And she said, An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe. 00:02:40.539 --> 00:02:46.900 And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with face to the ground and paid homage. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:53.240 Then Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? 00:02:53.980 --> 00:03:00.400 Saul answered, I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:07.360 and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:11.219 Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do. 00:03:12.700 --> 00:03:20.920 And Samuel said, Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:31.199 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 00:03:31.839 --> 00:03:38.019 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek. 00:03:38.619 --> 00:03:41.619 Therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:47.180 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, 00:03:47.259 --> 00:03:51.140 and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. 00:03:51.920 --> 00:03:56.319 The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines. 00:03:57.580 --> 00:04:04.460 Then Saul found the ones who lay on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. 00:04:04.460 --> 00:04:11.000 And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. 00:04:11.640 --> 00:04:17.379 And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:20.460 Behold, your servant has obeyed you. 00:04:20.939 --> 00:04:25.540 I have taken my life in my hand, and have listened to what you have said to me. 00:04:26.180 --> 00:04:28.360 Now therefore you also obey your servant. 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:34.019 Let me set a morsel of bread before you, and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way. 00:04:34.019 --> 00:04:38.479 He refused and said, I will not eat. 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:43.620 But his servants together with the women urged him, and he listened to their words. 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:47.159 So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:52.039 Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, 00:04:52.339 --> 00:04:56.079 and she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread of it. 00:04:56.539 --> 00:04:59.620 And she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. 00:05:00.419 --> 00:05:03.139 Then they arose and went away that night. 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:04.139 And she said, I will not eat. 00:05:04.139 --> 00:05:04.860 This is the word of God. 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:09.000 Great. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:10.899 Thank you, Justin and Annabelle. 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:12.620 And good morning, Watermark. 00:05:12.699 --> 00:05:16.079 It is so good to be back with you this morning. 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:21.560 And it is such an honor and a privilege to be able to bring God's word to us, 00:05:21.599 --> 00:05:23.919 and for us to look at the scripture together. 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:31.300 I really want to just thank Chris and the staff for doing such a great job while I was away. 00:05:31.520 --> 00:05:36.500 And especially I want to thank Nathaniel and Mowuli, who we heard from a few weeks ago. 00:05:37.020 --> 00:05:39.140 I listened to your guys' messages. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:41.580 Nate, when I was in South Africa, I listened to you. 00:05:41.580 --> 00:05:42.700 Mowuli, we were in quarantine. 00:05:42.699 --> 00:05:46.879 And it was so wonderful to hear you guys opening up God's word. 00:05:46.979 --> 00:05:48.139 You did a wonderful job. 00:05:48.819 --> 00:05:53.339 And we as a church look forward to hearing from you more in the months and years to come, 00:05:53.420 --> 00:05:55.920 as well as a bunch of other new preachers. 00:05:56.039 --> 00:05:58.579 So I just want to say it is great to be back with you, 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:03.339 and a real privilege and an honor to be able to look at God's word together this morning. 00:06:03.339 --> 00:06:07.359 One other thing I wanted to say from a pastoral perspective, 00:06:07.779 --> 00:06:09.779 and I say this on behalf of us elders, 00:06:10.459 --> 00:06:12.799 is that I know this time with COVID, 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:18.339 there are many of us in the church that maybe have had colleagues or family members that have got sick. 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:21.439 Maybe some of us are even feeling sick at the moment. 00:06:22.059 --> 00:06:26.500 And especially if you are alone, you're staying by yourself and you're not feeling well, 00:06:26.599 --> 00:06:28.879 I want to encourage you to reach out. 00:06:29.620 --> 00:06:31.399 Please don't handle this on your own. 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:34.599 I know that sometimes we may feel like we just want to keep it quiet. 00:06:34.719 --> 00:06:35.719 We don't want others to know. 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:39.019 But really, we do want to be community to you at this time. 00:06:39.179 --> 00:06:40.339 You can reach out to elders. 00:06:40.479 --> 00:06:42.879 You can email us elders at watermarkchurch.hk. 00:06:43.179 --> 00:06:46.979 You can text me or any of the other staff or the leaders. 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:49.519 But really, we want to be community at this time. 00:06:49.779 --> 00:06:52.120 Don't let's go through this alone. 00:06:53.179 --> 00:06:54.719 Well, why don't we pray briefly, 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:59.219 and then we're going to dive into this very interesting passage in 1 Samuel 28. 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:00.419 So let's pray together. 00:07:00.420 --> 00:07:07.100 Heavenly Father, great and glorious God, tender and kind Savior. 00:07:07.259 --> 00:07:10.699 We come before you this morning as we look at this passage. 00:07:11.280 --> 00:07:15.680 God, it's so easy for us to look at Saul and to mock him from a distance. 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:18.620 And yet, God, I think you want to speak to us today. 00:07:19.420 --> 00:07:21.360 Won't you help us to see our own hearts? 00:07:22.080 --> 00:07:24.540 Won't you help us, God, to not be defensive and proud? 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:32.480 God, won't you come and shine your light into our hearts and bring us grace and freedom and truth? 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:35.879 God, help us to walk in freedom and in light. 00:07:36.520 --> 00:07:39.740 And God, lead us in the path of life, we pray. 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:43.040 Come and have your way in your awesome and your tender name. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:43.920 Amen. 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:50.540 Well, for the last six weeks or so, we've been looking at this wonderful book in the Bible, 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:52.600 this Old Testament book of 1 Samuel. 00:07:52.819 --> 00:07:58.240 And we've seen this consistent theme that all that glitters is not necessarily gold. 00:07:58.920 --> 00:08:05.379 In other words, 1 Samuel paints in such dramatic picture the upside-down nature of God's kingdom. 00:08:05.379 --> 00:08:10.620 That often, in the ways of God, the things that glitter and the glamour of the world, 00:08:10.779 --> 00:08:12.920 the things that are not really all that important. 00:08:13.719 --> 00:08:17.339 And actually, it's the things that are hidden, the unseen nature of our hearts, 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:19.639 that really God is looking after. 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:25.480 In God's kingdom, those that try and grab hold of life and preserve their lives often lose it. 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:28.620 And it's those who give themselves away that actually find life. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:32.000 And we've seen this again and again throughout 1 Samuel. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.340 And today, we're coming to towards the end of the book of 1 Samuel. 00:08:36.460 --> 00:08:37.779 We'll finish next Sunday. 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:45.039 And the end of 1 Samuel corresponds with the end of the life of King Saul, Israel's first king. 00:08:45.340 --> 00:08:49.500 And one of the things that the authors wanted us to see throughout this book 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:53.759 is that the more Saul tries to preserve his life, 00:08:54.299 --> 00:08:57.340 actually, the more he facilitates his own downfall. 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:01.259 The more Saul tries to look honorable in the eyes of others, 00:09:01.259 --> 00:09:02.519 the more he looks like a fool. 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:07.419 The more Saul tries to take hold of the kingdom and hold on to the throne, 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:10.399 the more the kingdom slips through his hands. 00:09:10.620 --> 00:09:16.059 And throughout this book, as Saul has tried to preserve his life apart from God, 00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:18.120 apart from trusting God and faith in God, 00:09:18.580 --> 00:09:22.720 actually, he's facilitated, precipitated his own demise. 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:25.740 And so today, we come to chapter 28. 00:09:25.740 --> 00:09:31.899 And the point of this chapter is to show us in very stark and vivid ways 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:35.980 how Saul's self-preservation efforts end. 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:41.240 All throughout the book, we've been seeing Saul trying to hold on to his life and preserve himself. 00:09:41.820 --> 00:09:46.419 And today, we see how it comes to an end, how that story ends. 00:09:46.419 --> 00:09:52.000 And really, the more Saul has refused to trust God and obey him, 00:09:52.099 --> 00:09:54.419 the more his life has spiraled out of control. 00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:58.319 And that's the point of this passage today in chapter 28. 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:03.679 Now, today, I don't have three points for us or four points for us like we normally do. 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:06.539 Rather, I want us just to walk through the story, 00:10:06.699 --> 00:10:08.839 and we'll comment in bits and pieces here and there. 00:10:09.179 --> 00:10:13.339 But really, I want the heaviness of the story to weigh upon us. 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:17.600 And the one big idea for today, and that is this. 00:10:17.660 --> 00:10:18.480 We should have it on the screen. 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:24.600 Through the life of Saul, we see that trying to save ourselves and preserve our lives, 00:10:24.660 --> 00:10:27.360 apart from trusting God, apart from faith in God, 00:10:27.680 --> 00:10:31.280 is actually the way of darkness that ultimately leads to death. 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:34.600 That's, I think, the big idea that the author wants us to get. 00:10:34.680 --> 00:10:38.040 That through the life of Saul, we're going to see that the more we, like Saul, 00:10:38.040 --> 00:10:42.900 try to preserve our lives and build ourselves up apart from Christ and who God is, 00:10:43.340 --> 00:10:50.160 actually, we enter counterintuitively into the way of darkness and ultimately into the way of death. 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:52.320 And so let's look at what's happening here. 00:10:52.379 --> 00:10:57.720 The context is that the Philistines are attacking, have gathered their forces, 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:01.100 and they're getting ready to attack Israel once again. 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:04.259 In chapter 27, the Philistine lords have come together. 00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:09.000 They gather their forces, and they are on the border of Israel. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:10.740 And this is a familiar sight for Saul. 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:14.200 Early in Samuel, we were told that throughout Saul's reign, 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:16.580 the Philistines were constantly attacking. 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:18.019 There's nothing new about this. 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:20.460 But there's something different about this time. 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:23.539 Look at verse 3 to 5 with me. 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:25.860 The author is setting the scene where he says, verse 3, 00:11:26.419 --> 00:11:32.460 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:35.920 Now again, this isn't the first time we're hearing that Samuel's died. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:37.960 We were told that in chapter 25. 00:11:38.420 --> 00:11:40.480 But the author tells us this for two reasons. 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:45.300 One, it's important for the rest of the story that we know that Samuel really has passed away. 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:50.160 But the second reason is because, remember, Samuel is Israel's prophet. 00:11:50.700 --> 00:11:53.280 He is God's mouthpiece to the nation of Israel. 00:11:53.820 --> 00:11:59.580 Samuel is the one who brings God's word to Israel that they may stay true and faithful to God. 00:11:59.580 --> 00:12:04.440 Throughout Israel's history, whenever they honor God's word and listen to God's word, 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:05.680 they flourish, they prosper. 00:12:06.280 --> 00:12:09.900 And when they reject God's word, things go downhill. 00:12:10.740 --> 00:12:13.220 Remember in chapter 3, right at the beginning of the book, 00:12:13.740 --> 00:12:14.160 it says, 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:16.800 The word of the Lord was rare in those days, 00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:22.340 until God called Samuel to be his spokesperson, his prophet, his mouthpiece to the nation of Israel, 00:12:22.400 --> 00:12:25.780 to bring his good word to Israel that they may trust him. 00:12:26.420 --> 00:12:29.180 And the author is delivering an ominous sign. 00:12:29.179 --> 00:12:33.679 And Samuel, God's spokesperson, his prophet, has passed away. 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:36.039 And things are not looking good. 00:12:36.779 --> 00:12:38.279 But it goes on and says, 00:12:38.539 --> 00:12:42.299 And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. 00:12:42.959 --> 00:12:45.419 And mediums and necromancers were spiritualists. 00:12:45.839 --> 00:12:49.259 They were those who consulted the dead on behalf of the living. 00:12:49.259 --> 00:12:56.120 And Saul, in one of his previous times of heyday, when he was still trying to honor God, 00:12:56.639 --> 00:13:04.200 Saul once obeyed God and he banished all the spiritualists from out of the land that Israel may follow Yahweh, God himself. 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:05.759 And look at verse 4. 00:13:05.860 --> 00:13:06.059 It says, 00:13:06.059 --> 00:13:09.559 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shuman. 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:12.599 And Saul gathered all Israel, they encamped at Gilboa. 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:20.199 But when Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:22.500 Saul is not in a very good place. 00:13:22.699 --> 00:13:26.719 Samuel has died and the Philistines are coming to attack them. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:31.779 And what's more, in chapter 27, we hear that David is an exile in Philistine territory. 00:13:31.940 --> 00:13:35.519 For all Saul knows, David might be with the Philistines. 00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:41.240 His once loyal servant has now joined the enemy and might be on their side coming to attack him. 00:13:41.740 --> 00:13:43.779 And so Saul is in deep trouble. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:46.940 But actually, that's not Saul's greatest problem. 00:13:47.920 --> 00:13:49.300 Sure, Samuel's passed away. 00:13:49.639 --> 00:13:52.340 Sure, the Philistines are on the border ready to attack. 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:56.639 If you've been watching the news this week and the situation in Ukraine and Russia, 00:13:56.800 --> 00:13:58.620 that's exactly how Saul is feeling. 00:13:59.040 --> 00:14:00.560 The Philistines are at the border. 00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:03.240 They've amassed the soldiers any day now. 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:06.820 They can march into Israel and try and take over. 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:08.340 That's how Saul is feeling. 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:10.060 But that's not his greatest problem. 00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:11.920 Look at verse 6 with me. 00:14:13.060 --> 00:14:13.200 It says, 00:14:13.200 --> 00:14:14.120 Saul saw the army. 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:15.460 He trembled greatly. 00:14:15.460 --> 00:14:16.139 Verse 6. 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:20.700 But when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him. 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:24.980 Either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets. 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:31.120 When Saul inquired of the Lord, all he got was silence. 00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:38.360 Friends, it must be one of the most devastating verses in all of Scripture. 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:42.200 Saul comes asking God. 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:45.519 And all he gets is silence. 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:50.379 Look at how Saul says it in verse 15. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:50.759 He says, 00:14:50.759 --> 00:15:02.679 And Saul understands it wasn't just that God didn't answer him. 00:15:03.299 --> 00:15:04.439 Actually, it was worse than that. 00:15:04.439 --> 00:15:06.019 God had turned away from him. 00:15:06.220 --> 00:15:08.740 Finally, God had turned away from Saul. 00:15:08.740 --> 00:15:13.659 He who his whole life had been turning away from God. 00:15:14.899 --> 00:15:18.139 And here is Saul in one of the greatest crises of his life. 00:15:19.060 --> 00:15:21.080 And the answer he gets is silence. 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:24.039 He is without God and without hope in the world. 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:27.860 Now, we've got to reckon with Scripture here. 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:30.219 Because the book of 1 Chronicles, 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:33.399 which looks at the story of Israel, David and Saul, 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:36.139 from a different angle, a different vantage point, 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:39.199 tells us that Saul didn't inquire of God. 00:15:39.819 --> 00:15:41.219 And so what do we mean to make of that? 00:15:41.299 --> 00:15:43.179 I mean, is Scripture contradicting itself? 00:15:43.439 --> 00:15:45.079 1 Samuel says he inquired of God. 00:15:45.179 --> 00:15:47.159 Chronicles says he didn't inquire of God. 00:15:47.439 --> 00:15:48.719 Is the Bible contradictory? 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:50.279 What's going on there? 00:15:51.179 --> 00:15:55.399 Well, one of the answers is that we read the Bible in English. 00:15:55.699 --> 00:15:58.860 And the Bible is originally written in the Old Testament in Hebrew. 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:00.899 And Hebrew scholars will tell us that 00:16:00.899 --> 00:16:05.000 actually there's a different word used in Hebrew for inquiring of God there. 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:09.839 In Chronicles, it tells us that Saul never sought out God's will. 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.759 Saul never came to God in humility. 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:17.120 The word for inquire there is to try and find out God's will. 00:16:17.220 --> 00:16:18.899 To try and ascertain God. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:19.899 What is on your heart? 00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:21.379 What do you want me to do here? 00:16:22.199 --> 00:16:26.000 The word in Samuel that we look at here is to demand something. 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:27.319 To interrogate someone. 00:16:27.459 --> 00:16:28.779 To lay claim to something. 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:31.019 And Saul is coming here and he's saying, 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:32.120 God, I've got a problem. 00:16:32.299 --> 00:16:33.279 You tell me what to do. 00:16:33.379 --> 00:16:34.439 You solve my problem. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:36.679 God, the first signs are here. 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:37.899 You made me king. 00:16:37.980 --> 00:16:38.720 It's your problem. 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:40.059 You get me out of here. 00:16:41.199 --> 00:16:42.419 And you see what's going on here? 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:52.019 The Bible is issuing us a stark warning that Saul comes not to seek God's will, but to seek God's solution. 00:16:52.019 --> 00:16:55.139 All his life, he's been turning away from God. 00:16:55.139 --> 00:16:56.799 He's been rejecting God's word. 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:59.819 And now when he comes and says, God sought out my problem. 00:17:00.099 --> 00:17:02.919 The answer he gets is silence. 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:12.399 And friends, the Bible gives us a stark warning that when we consistently turn away from God and reject his good word to us, 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:19.980 it's actually possible to so harden our hearts, to so harden our hearts to God's word and to his voice, 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:28.100 that we cut ourselves off from the one thing that we need to get us out of the darkness and back into the light. 00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:37.100 It's possible to so walk away from God that actually his word becomes deaf to our hearts because our hearts are hardened to him. 00:17:37.100 --> 00:17:38.080 And that actually makes sense. 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:41.320 If you think about human relationships, it works the same, right? 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:49.859 If someone's pursuing you or trying to reach out to you and you are frustrated with them and you reject them and you rebuff them and you push them away, 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:54.700 the more that they try and reach out to you, actually the more frustrated you get. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:57.079 And the more your heart hardens to them. 00:17:57.480 --> 00:18:01.099 And eventually even their kindness becomes offensive to you. 00:18:01.779 --> 00:18:03.119 And that's what's happened to Saul. 00:18:03.259 --> 00:18:05.759 And Jesus actually speaks about the same thing in the Gospels. 00:18:05.879 --> 00:18:08.839 Do you remember that time when the Pharisees are saying to Jesus, 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:10.659 Jesus, we don't believe you are the Messiah. 00:18:10.660 --> 00:18:13.500 Do some sign to show us, prove to us who you are. 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:16.759 And Jesus has done multiple signs and miracles. 00:18:17.019 --> 00:18:19.779 And at one stage he cast a demon out of a boy. 00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:23.960 And the Pharisees look and say, that's not a miraculous sign. 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:29.180 He's casting out demons by satanic power, by the prince of demons. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:36.220 And Jesus says that the only sin that is unforgivable is what he calls blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. 00:18:36.220 --> 00:18:41.440 And what Jesus is saying there is, he's not saying, listen, most sins God can forgive, 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:44.380 but there's one that if you do it, that's one too far. 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:45.480 Now you're done. 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:49.500 You've stepped over the line too far and God cannot forgive you. 00:18:49.860 --> 00:18:50.819 That's not what he's saying. 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:56.980 What he's saying is the nature of that sin is that when your heart is so hard towards God, 00:18:56.980 --> 00:19:03.299 that you cut yourself off from the one thing that you need to get you out of the darkness, 00:19:03.660 --> 00:19:05.079 which is his grace. 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:08.720 When you can't even recognize his kindness towards you, 00:19:08.819 --> 00:19:13.640 when his grace and his kindness bounces off the hardness of your heart, 00:19:13.819 --> 00:19:18.079 you're in such a desperate place that the one thing you need, his grace, 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:21.480 actually is not able to penetrate your hardness of heart. 00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:24.460 And that's exactly what's happening to Saul here. 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:28.539 Almost all of his entire life, Saul has been shouting out God's word, 00:19:28.660 --> 00:19:32.299 rejecting God's voice, hardening his heart to the one thing that he needs 00:19:32.299 --> 00:19:35.299 to be brought out of the darkness into the light. 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:40.099 And now he cannot even recognize the kindness of God to him. 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:48.319 Friends, I want to be clear that Scripture doesn't say that you can sin beyond God's ability to save you or rescue you. 00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:50.339 Sin is actually not the problem. 00:19:50.339 --> 00:19:52.959 So if sin was the problem, we'd all be in deep trouble. 00:19:53.899 --> 00:20:00.740 No, no, friends, the problem is when our hearts are so hard that we cannot bring ourself to acknowledge our need for God, 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:03.659 for repentance and for mercy, 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:07.539 when we cannot turn to Christ in faith and repentance because our hearts are so hard. 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:09.699 Do you remember Jesus says in John 6, 00:20:09.819 --> 00:20:12.839 anyone who comes to me, I will never turn away. 00:20:13.399 --> 00:20:14.659 But that's the key, isn't it? 00:20:14.659 --> 00:20:16.539 We have to come to him. 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:19.419 And that's the one thing Saul does not want to do. 00:20:19.420 --> 00:20:21.180 He does not want to come to God. 00:20:21.420 --> 00:20:23.080 Did you notice in verse 15, 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:24.200 he says, 00:20:24.300 --> 00:20:25.360 I am in great distress. 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:27.279 The Philistines are warring against me. 00:20:27.640 --> 00:20:30.480 And God, he uses the generic word for God there. 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:32.720 He doesn't even use God's name, Yahweh, 00:20:33.120 --> 00:20:33.740 the Lord. 00:20:34.980 --> 00:20:36.039 So far God, 00:20:36.100 --> 00:20:37.539 he can't even call God by name. 00:20:37.600 --> 00:20:38.759 He uses the generic God. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:39.900 The God out there, 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:40.560 your God, 00:20:40.660 --> 00:20:41.039 Samuel, 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:43.879 has turned away from me. 00:20:44.819 --> 00:20:46.359 Dale Relf Davis says this, 00:20:46.460 --> 00:20:49.259 Saul's need was not for information, 00:20:49.539 --> 00:20:51.059 but communion with God. 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:53.319 Not so much to prepare for battle, 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:55.700 but to recover God's presence, 00:20:56.159 --> 00:20:56.940 God's grace. 00:20:57.779 --> 00:20:58.440 Saul, it seems, 00:20:58.539 --> 00:21:02.779 wanted the results of God's favor more than he wanted God himself. 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:04.759 And in the darkest moment of his life, 00:21:05.079 --> 00:21:07.460 he comes to God's man, 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:07.819 and he says, 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:08.940 I need an answer. 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:11.940 And the answer he gets is silence. 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:18.019 And this leads Saul to do a very unusual thing. 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:22.180 Saul does something that he thought he would never do. 00:21:22.860 --> 00:21:23.160 In fact, 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:25.440 he does something that if you'd asked him early on in his life, 00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:27.860 he probably would have promised he would never have done. 00:21:28.819 --> 00:21:29.180 Look at, 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:30.299 do you remember in verse three, 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:30.860 it says, 00:21:31.340 --> 00:21:34.100 Saul put out the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. 00:21:34.180 --> 00:21:35.000 He banished them. 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:37.519 And now look at verse seven. 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:39.180 Saul says to one of his servants, 00:21:39.640 --> 00:21:44.960 seek out for me a medium that I may go to her and inquire of her. 00:21:45.099 --> 00:21:48.660 Now the word there inquire is actually the same word that Chronicles uses. 00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:51.480 It's that I may go and seek her will, 00:21:51.619 --> 00:21:54.500 that I may go and get guidance and direction from her. 00:21:56.180 --> 00:21:58.119 I wonder if you can relate to that. 00:21:58.200 --> 00:22:00.619 I wonder if you've ever found yourself doing something, 00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:03.839 that crossing a line that you swore you would never cross. 00:22:03.839 --> 00:22:08.339 Maybe you once allowed yourself just to dabble in a little bit of something. 00:22:08.500 --> 00:22:08.779 You thought, 00:22:08.859 --> 00:22:09.939 I've got a handle on it. 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:10.879 I can control it. 00:22:11.159 --> 00:22:12.439 I won't let it get out of hand. 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:14.199 It's just a little bit of this, 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:15.519 a little bit of substance abuse, 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:16.939 just a little bit of pornography. 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:20.439 It's just a little flirtation with someone who's not my spouse. 00:22:20.679 --> 00:22:20.759 And, 00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:22.299 and years down the road, 00:22:22.379 --> 00:22:26.599 you find yourself so far beyond those lines that you promised you'd never cross. 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:28.819 And you don't know how you ever got there. 00:22:29.919 --> 00:22:31.179 And that's what's happened to Saul. 00:22:31.259 --> 00:22:32.719 He once promised himself, 00:22:32.899 --> 00:22:35.559 we're going to get rid of the spiritualists in the land. 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:36.019 And here, 00:22:36.139 --> 00:22:37.039 just a few years later, 00:22:37.579 --> 00:22:40.379 he himself is seeking them out. 00:22:41.439 --> 00:22:42.419 And you see, 00:22:42.500 --> 00:22:45.519 the problem with hardening our hearts towards God's voice, 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:46.539 as soon as Saul, 00:22:46.740 --> 00:22:48.779 as Saul is going to soon find out, 00:22:48.779 --> 00:22:53.359 is that it always costs us more than we're willing to pay. 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:56.279 I'm not sure if you remember this verse. 00:22:56.379 --> 00:22:59.059 We looked at it last year in Ephesians chapter four, 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:00.399 when we went through Romans 12. 00:23:01.139 --> 00:23:02.839 And there's this amazing verse in Ephesians four. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:04.180 The apostle Paul writes this. 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:04.480 He says, 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:05.680 I say this to you, 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:06.879 and I testify in the Lord, 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:10.180 that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do. 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:12.660 The Gentiles are those that do not know God, 00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:15.619 those that were not God's people. 00:23:15.740 --> 00:23:16.039 He says, 00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:18.680 in the futility of their minds, 00:23:19.379 --> 00:23:20.980 they are darkened in their understanding, 00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:22.920 alienated from the life of God, 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:25.119 because of the ignorance that is in them. 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:27.259 And notice what he attributes, 00:23:27.420 --> 00:23:28.759 this futility of thinking, 00:23:28.899 --> 00:23:30.099 this darkened of understanding, 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:30.920 this ignorance. 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:33.000 It's not to lack of education. 00:23:33.619 --> 00:23:36.059 It's not to the finiteness of their minds. 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:37.220 It's not that, 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:37.440 you know, 00:23:37.460 --> 00:23:38.920 their parents didn't teach them well. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:40.079 Look what he says. 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:43.440 It's that it's in them due to the hardness of their hearts. 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:45.220 You see that? 00:23:45.879 --> 00:23:47.700 The apostle Paul is saying that 00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:51.059 when we continue to harden our hearts, 00:23:51.100 --> 00:23:53.000 to reject God's word, 00:23:53.360 --> 00:23:56.039 it actually leads to us becoming illogical, 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:58.759 to kind of futility and incongruency 00:23:58.759 --> 00:23:59.900 in our thinking, 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:00.660 in our minds. 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:02.900 We find ourselves doing things 00:24:02.900 --> 00:24:04.319 that we swore we would never do. 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:06.039 We find ourselves doing things 00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:07.340 that actually we hate to do. 00:24:08.180 --> 00:24:09.059 In Romans 1, 00:24:09.120 --> 00:24:09.759 it says that, 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:11.579 while claiming to be wise, 00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:13.279 the hardness of our hearts 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:15.039 has actually made us fools. 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:18.019 We get confused about what's real and true. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:19.980 We believe things that are false 00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:21.599 and we treat them as if they are true. 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:23.359 It makes us do things 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:25.339 that we once swore we would never do. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:27.379 We become the kind of people 00:24:27.379 --> 00:24:28.779 that we swore we'd never become. 00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:31.259 And that's exactly what's happened to Saul now. 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:33.920 And one day she's getting rid of the spiritualists 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:34.379 in the land, 00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:36.920 and now he's seeking them out. 00:24:38.940 --> 00:24:39.680 And so Saul, 00:24:39.840 --> 00:24:40.760 in his desperation, 00:24:41.300 --> 00:24:42.860 does what he swore he'd never do. 00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:45.620 He puts on a cover in a disguise 00:24:45.620 --> 00:24:48.060 and he goes and he finds this medium. 00:24:49.380 --> 00:24:50.660 And he wants to know 00:24:50.660 --> 00:24:52.160 what he must do about the invading army. 00:24:52.420 --> 00:24:53.360 God is not answering. 00:24:53.540 --> 00:24:54.800 And so in his desperation, 00:24:55.040 --> 00:24:56.620 he seeks out this medium. 00:24:57.520 --> 00:24:59.320 And at night he disguises himself. 00:24:59.320 --> 00:25:01.560 He goes around the Philistine army. 00:25:01.700 --> 00:25:03.840 She is on the other side of the Philistine army 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:04.879 and he goes there 00:25:04.879 --> 00:25:06.740 and he knocks on her door 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:07.099 and he says, 00:25:07.179 --> 00:25:08.179 I've come to seek help. 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:09.779 She doesn't recognize him at first, 00:25:09.899 --> 00:25:10.919 but she is reticent 00:25:10.919 --> 00:25:12.819 because she knows that what she does 00:25:12.819 --> 00:25:14.039 is against the law of the land. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:15.480 She's also heard about 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:16.980 these government sting operations. 00:25:17.139 --> 00:25:17.559 So she says, 00:25:17.619 --> 00:25:18.079 hang on, hang on. 00:25:18.139 --> 00:25:20.379 Are you coming here to trick me? 00:25:20.879 --> 00:25:22.740 And notice the irony of verse 10. 00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:23.939 Saul says, 00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:25.319 As the Lord lives, 00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:27.679 no punishment will come upon you. 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:31.039 Saul, the one who has rejected God's word, 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:32.519 swears by the Lord 00:25:32.519 --> 00:25:34.940 that nothing will happen to her. 00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:37.460 And the irony continues 00:25:37.460 --> 00:25:38.619 because Saul, 00:25:38.740 --> 00:25:39.519 who in verse 5 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:41.059 was so afraid of the Philistines, 00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:42.920 Saul, who later we're going to be told 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:45.379 is petrified at Samuel's words to him, 00:25:46.059 --> 00:25:46.700 swears to her, 00:25:47.019 --> 00:25:47.920 do not be afraid. 00:25:48.660 --> 00:25:49.180 The irony, 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:51.500 Saul cannot even see 00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:53.839 the words that he's saying. 00:25:53.900 --> 00:25:55.119 He cannot even see his own heart. 00:25:55.200 --> 00:25:56.299 He cannot hear the words 00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:57.299 that are coming from his mouth. 00:25:57.299 --> 00:25:58.319 And so, 00:25:58.619 --> 00:26:00.039 having convinced this medium 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:01.279 to help Saul, 00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:04.139 he asks her to consult 00:26:04.139 --> 00:26:05.000 the dead prophet, 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:05.559 Samuel. 00:26:06.339 --> 00:26:08.440 And to bring Samuel up 00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:09.399 to give him guidance 00:26:09.399 --> 00:26:10.359 and direction. 00:26:11.159 --> 00:26:11.980 Now, to be honest, 00:26:12.379 --> 00:26:13.440 this passage raises 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:14.519 a lot of questions. 00:26:14.659 --> 00:26:15.480 And it's the kind of passage 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:16.659 that commentators love 00:26:16.659 --> 00:26:18.079 to write pages and pages 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:19.659 of information about. 00:26:20.180 --> 00:26:20.879 But really, 00:26:21.139 --> 00:26:23.019 it leaves us with more questions 00:26:23.019 --> 00:26:23.619 than answers. 00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:25.279 One of the questions here 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:25.720 maybe, 00:26:26.139 --> 00:26:27.799 is God's Word advocating 00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:28.599 this kind of behavior? 00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:29.399 I mean, 00:26:29.539 --> 00:26:30.639 is this fine? 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:31.180 Is God saying, 00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:31.700 listen, 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:32.220 if you don't know 00:26:32.220 --> 00:26:32.940 what's going on, 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:34.000 you need some answers, 00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:35.379 just go and consult 00:26:35.379 --> 00:26:36.460 the spiritualists. 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:38.420 Maybe you've got 00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:39.359 a decision to make, 00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:40.539 you can't find the answer 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:41.420 in the Bible somewhere, 00:26:41.619 --> 00:26:42.639 your CG isn't helping, 00:26:43.099 --> 00:26:43.759 maybe you should go 00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:44.859 and consult tarot cards. 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:46.639 Or go to Yamate 00:26:46.639 --> 00:26:47.639 and consult 00:26:47.639 --> 00:26:48.539 on the palm readers. 00:26:48.660 --> 00:26:49.779 Or look at the horoscopes. 00:26:50.680 --> 00:26:51.680 And no, friends, 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:53.160 Scripture is absolutely clear. 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:54.680 You should not do that. 00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:56.039 Don't go there. 00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:58.140 God's Word is absolutely clear 00:26:58.140 --> 00:26:58.880 that His people 00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:00.519 should not go and consult 00:27:00.519 --> 00:27:01.620 the spiritualists 00:27:01.620 --> 00:27:02.900 and the darkness 00:27:02.900 --> 00:27:03.660 of this world 00:27:03.660 --> 00:27:05.400 in order to find light 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:06.660 on our path. 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:07.860 And one of the reasons 00:27:07.860 --> 00:27:08.820 that God says 00:27:08.820 --> 00:27:09.400 that His people 00:27:09.400 --> 00:27:10.299 should not do this 00:27:10.299 --> 00:27:11.460 is not just because 00:27:11.460 --> 00:27:12.460 they are futile, 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:13.560 but actually because 00:27:13.560 --> 00:27:14.240 they are pagan, 00:27:14.420 --> 00:27:15.060 because they are wicked. 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:16.680 It's not that God says 00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:17.900 that they don't necessarily 00:27:17.900 --> 00:27:19.140 work in some ways, 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:19.960 or that there's nothing 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:21.039 spiritual about them, 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:22.039 but it's because 00:27:22.039 --> 00:27:22.799 God's people 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:24.000 don't need to consult 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:24.639 the dead 00:27:24.639 --> 00:27:26.119 to find answers 00:27:26.119 --> 00:27:27.200 about life. 00:27:28.039 --> 00:27:28.759 Actually, God says 00:27:28.759 --> 00:27:29.619 that in His Word, 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:30.379 He's given us 00:27:30.379 --> 00:27:31.659 everything we need 00:27:31.659 --> 00:27:33.039 for life and godliness. 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:34.940 Between God's Word 00:27:34.940 --> 00:27:35.720 and the Holy Spirit 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:36.659 and the community 00:27:36.659 --> 00:27:37.279 of believers, 00:27:37.879 --> 00:27:38.599 God gives us 00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:39.480 what we need. 00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:40.740 And the answer 00:27:40.740 --> 00:27:41.279 is not that 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:42.200 God's Word 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:42.980 wasn't sufficient, 00:27:43.180 --> 00:27:43.819 it was that Saul 00:27:43.819 --> 00:27:44.720 had been rejecting 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:45.399 God's Word, 00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:46.839 that he didn't know 00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:47.539 where to turn, 00:27:47.639 --> 00:27:48.339 and he turned 00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:49.279 to this medium. 00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:51.139 But the other question 00:27:51.139 --> 00:27:52.000 that appears is, 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:53.659 who actually appears 00:27:53.659 --> 00:27:54.500 to Saul? 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:55.319 I mean, 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:56.720 this person that comes up 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.619 and speaks to Saul, 00:27:58.720 --> 00:27:59.759 is it really Samuel? 00:27:59.919 --> 00:28:00.079 I mean, 00:28:00.119 --> 00:28:01.139 did Samuel rise 00:28:01.139 --> 00:28:01.619 from the dead? 00:28:01.679 --> 00:28:02.179 Is this just 00:28:02.179 --> 00:28:03.399 an apparition, 00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:03.939 a picture, 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:04.500 an appearance? 00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:06.119 Is this maybe a demon 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:06.779 that's pretending 00:28:06.779 --> 00:28:07.720 to be Samuel? 00:28:07.779 --> 00:28:08.579 What's going on here? 00:28:08.699 --> 00:28:09.579 And to be honest, 00:28:09.639 --> 00:28:10.379 the Bible doesn't 00:28:10.379 --> 00:28:11.179 actually give us 00:28:11.179 --> 00:28:12.159 a lot of detail 00:28:12.159 --> 00:28:13.679 about what he looks like 00:28:13.679 --> 00:28:15.220 and what form he takes. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:16.659 But one way or another, 00:28:16.779 --> 00:28:17.500 it seems that 00:28:17.500 --> 00:28:18.519 the real Samuel 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:20.460 speaks to Saul. 00:28:20.619 --> 00:28:21.920 And Saul really hears 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:23.119 from Samuel 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:26.339 and hears his message. 00:28:27.420 --> 00:28:29.079 And Samuel doesn't 00:28:29.079 --> 00:28:30.039 tell Saul 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:31.019 what he wants to hear. 00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:32.740 Saul comes and he says, 00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:33.460 Samuel, 00:28:33.619 --> 00:28:34.559 tell me what to do. 00:28:34.980 --> 00:28:36.200 Tell me how to fight 00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:36.579 this battle. 00:28:36.740 --> 00:28:38.579 Tell me which way 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:39.160 I must go. 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:40.579 I'm demanding an answer. 00:28:40.740 --> 00:28:41.740 God is not telling me. 00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:42.440 You tell me. 00:28:42.500 --> 00:28:43.339 What must I do? 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:45.440 And Samuel doesn't 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:46.079 tell Saul 00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:47.059 what he wants to know. 00:28:47.940 --> 00:28:48.400 Rather, 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.119 Samuel gives Saul 00:28:50.119 --> 00:28:50.980 four pieces 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:52.500 of devastating news. 00:28:53.299 --> 00:28:54.319 He reminds Saul 00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:54.839 of the word 00:28:54.839 --> 00:28:55.500 that he brought him 00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:56.660 back in chapter 15. 00:28:56.819 --> 00:28:57.099 He says, 00:28:57.180 --> 00:28:57.359 Saul, 00:28:57.480 --> 00:28:58.539 this has happened to you 00:28:58.539 --> 00:28:59.619 because you've rejected 00:28:59.619 --> 00:29:00.980 God's word. 00:29:01.779 --> 00:29:02.440 He says that 00:29:02.440 --> 00:29:03.920 God has become 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:04.740 his enemy. 00:29:05.740 --> 00:29:06.660 He tells him 00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:07.920 that the kingdom 00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:09.180 is going to be handed over 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:10.599 to his arch enemy, 00:29:11.299 --> 00:29:11.599 David. 00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:13.159 And finally, 00:29:13.259 --> 00:29:14.099 he tells him that, 00:29:14.219 --> 00:29:14.439 Saul, 00:29:14.980 --> 00:29:15.859 you're going to die 00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:16.579 at the hands 00:29:16.579 --> 00:29:17.519 of the Philistines. 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:18.699 He says, 00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:19.359 tomorrow, 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:21.319 the Philistines 00:29:21.319 --> 00:29:22.039 are going to take 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:22.579 your life, 00:29:22.919 --> 00:29:24.019 you and your sons. 00:29:24.980 --> 00:29:26.319 And back in chapter 9, 00:29:26.419 --> 00:29:27.159 when Saul first 00:29:27.159 --> 00:29:28.000 became king, 00:29:28.679 --> 00:29:29.339 when Samuel 00:29:29.339 --> 00:29:30.179 anointed Saul, 00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:30.759 he anointed him 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:30.939 and said, 00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:31.939 you are God's 00:29:31.939 --> 00:29:32.699 anointed one, 00:29:32.819 --> 00:29:33.799 his chosen one, 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:35.480 to deliver God's people 00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:36.419 out of the hands 00:29:36.419 --> 00:29:37.199 of the Philistines. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:38.860 And here, 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:39.640 after a lifetime 00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:40.880 of rejecting God, 00:29:41.120 --> 00:29:42.299 Saul is going to be 00:29:42.299 --> 00:29:43.180 delivered into 00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:44.000 the hands 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:45.600 of the Philistines. 00:29:47.360 --> 00:29:47.920 Friends, 00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:48.640 the point of this 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:49.460 entire chapter 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:50.720 is to show us 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:52.259 the end of the road 00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:52.940 for the one 00:29:52.940 --> 00:29:54.080 who's been rejecting 00:29:54.080 --> 00:29:54.980 God's word 00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:56.120 his entire life 00:29:56.120 --> 00:29:57.460 and embracing 00:29:57.460 --> 00:29:58.640 darkness. 00:29:59.740 --> 00:30:00.680 And early 00:30:00.680 --> 00:30:01.680 in chapter 15, 00:30:01.940 --> 00:30:03.220 Samuel comes to Saul 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:03.660 and he says, 00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:03.920 Saul, 00:30:04.019 --> 00:30:04.840 don't you know 00:30:04.840 --> 00:30:05.940 that rebellion 00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:06.920 and disobedience 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:07.779 is the same thing 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:08.560 as witchcraft. 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:10.840 And what Saul 00:30:10.840 --> 00:30:11.720 was trying to tell him 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:12.720 way back there 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:13.340 is that Saul, 00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:14.720 you're sowing the seeds. 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:17.400 The darkness 00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:18.300 of your heart 00:30:18.300 --> 00:30:19.720 is an embryonic form. 00:30:20.320 --> 00:30:20.880 Take stock, 00:30:21.019 --> 00:30:21.500 take notes, 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:22.960 see what's in your heart. 00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:24.740 Samuel's trying to warn him 00:30:24.740 --> 00:30:25.560 all the way back there, 00:30:25.620 --> 00:30:26.920 but all the way back there, 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:28.279 Saul had been sowing 00:30:28.279 --> 00:30:29.620 the seeds of darkness. 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:31.220 And now, 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:32.019 the darkness 00:30:32.019 --> 00:30:33.000 that he's been following 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:34.019 and investing in, 00:30:34.080 --> 00:30:35.080 he's got his return 00:30:35.080 --> 00:30:35.660 on investment. 00:30:35.660 --> 00:30:37.400 It's finally come 00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:38.140 to fruition. 00:30:38.800 --> 00:30:39.500 And the reason 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:40.740 for the strange passage 00:30:40.740 --> 00:30:41.320 of scripture 00:30:41.320 --> 00:30:42.140 is here 00:30:42.140 --> 00:30:43.019 is because 00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:43.779 while Saul 00:30:43.779 --> 00:30:44.920 has been spiraling 00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:45.519 downhill 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:47.080 his whole life, 00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:48.600 this passage 00:30:48.600 --> 00:30:49.220 shows us 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:50.380 in dramatic fashion 00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:51.920 where Saul's 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:53.120 rejection of God 00:30:53.120 --> 00:30:53.620 and his word 00:30:53.620 --> 00:30:55.019 ultimately leads him. 00:30:55.779 --> 00:30:56.480 And where does it 00:30:56.480 --> 00:30:56.860 lead him? 00:30:57.480 --> 00:30:58.120 It leads him 00:30:58.120 --> 00:30:59.400 toying with darkness 00:30:59.400 --> 00:31:00.440 in order to find 00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:00.880 the light. 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:02.940 it leads him 00:31:02.940 --> 00:31:03.680 to consult 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:04.420 the dead 00:31:04.420 --> 00:31:05.300 in order to find 00:31:05.300 --> 00:31:06.680 a path to life. 00:31:07.640 --> 00:31:08.300 And all the while 00:31:08.300 --> 00:31:09.420 the stench of death 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:10.280 is rising 00:31:10.280 --> 00:31:11.220 and Saul's got 00:31:11.220 --> 00:31:12.740 one foot in the grave 00:31:12.740 --> 00:31:14.060 and yet he cannot 00:31:14.060 --> 00:31:14.780 smell it. 00:31:15.340 --> 00:31:16.100 All around 00:31:16.100 --> 00:31:16.980 the stench of death 00:31:16.980 --> 00:31:17.580 is rising 00:31:17.580 --> 00:31:18.220 and Saul 00:31:18.220 --> 00:31:19.060 is desperate 00:31:19.060 --> 00:31:20.420 to find a way 00:31:20.420 --> 00:31:21.380 out of the darkness 00:31:21.380 --> 00:31:22.760 and yet having 00:31:22.760 --> 00:31:23.820 shut off the light 00:31:23.820 --> 00:31:24.560 and shut off 00:31:24.560 --> 00:31:26.240 God's word to him, 00:31:26.800 --> 00:31:27.940 his last desperate 00:31:27.940 --> 00:31:28.920 means is to go 00:31:28.920 --> 00:31:30.380 and consult the dead 00:31:30.380 --> 00:31:31.500 in order to try 00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:33.160 and find life. 00:31:35.140 --> 00:31:35.500 Now friends, 00:31:35.580 --> 00:31:36.600 our passage ends 00:31:36.600 --> 00:31:38.180 with miserable Saul 00:31:38.180 --> 00:31:40.220 collapsing in devastation 00:31:40.220 --> 00:31:41.900 with his servants 00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:43.700 and this spiritualist 00:31:43.700 --> 00:31:45.200 preparing a final meal, 00:31:45.320 --> 00:31:46.259 a last supper 00:31:46.259 --> 00:31:46.900 if you will, 00:31:47.580 --> 00:31:48.600 for him to eat 00:31:48.600 --> 00:31:50.860 before he goes out 00:31:50.860 --> 00:31:52.680 into the night. 00:31:54.420 --> 00:31:55.060 Now, 00:31:55.660 --> 00:31:56.800 before we get 00:31:56.800 --> 00:31:57.580 to the light 00:31:57.580 --> 00:31:58.440 in this passage, 00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:00.560 I want to ask us 00:32:00.560 --> 00:32:01.100 just to take 00:32:01.100 --> 00:32:01.720 two minutes 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:02.820 to reflect 00:32:02.820 --> 00:32:04.320 and just to think 00:32:04.320 --> 00:32:05.000 by yourself 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:06.360 and I want us 00:32:06.360 --> 00:32:07.120 to think of 00:32:07.120 --> 00:32:08.140 these two questions 00:32:08.140 --> 00:32:08.820 and I'm literally 00:32:08.820 --> 00:32:09.360 going to give us 00:32:09.360 --> 00:32:09.920 two minutes. 00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:11.000 If you're with someone else 00:32:11.000 --> 00:32:12.519 you can consult with them 00:32:12.519 --> 00:32:13.460 otherwise just think 00:32:13.460 --> 00:32:14.180 by yourself 00:32:14.180 --> 00:32:15.820 what does challenge you 00:32:15.820 --> 00:32:16.660 about this passage 00:32:16.660 --> 00:32:18.080 and do you see 00:32:18.080 --> 00:32:18.759 any hints 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:19.800 of the heart of Saul 00:32:19.800 --> 00:32:21.360 in our own life? 00:32:21.960 --> 00:32:22.840 Let's take two minutes 00:32:22.840 --> 00:32:23.740 to think about that 00:32:23.740 --> 00:32:24.920 and then we're going 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:25.600 to close off 00:32:25.600 --> 00:32:26.620 as we look at 00:32:26.620 --> 00:32:27.860 the glimmer of light 00:32:27.859 --> 00:32:28.719 in the midst 00:32:28.719 --> 00:32:29.559 of this dark passage. 00:32:57.859 --> 00:32:59.039 Let's take a look 00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:11.579 at a second 00:33:11.579 --> 00:33:13.019 and he's in the Kansas City 00:33:13.019 --> 00:33:13.419 and as we move 00:33:13.419 --> 00:33:14.740 as we go 00:33:14.740 --> 00:33:16.159 to the star 00:33:16.159 --> 00:33:16.919 with Argentina 00:33:16.919 --> 00:33:17.679 and Thomas 00:33:17.699 --> 00:33:18.959 in Grand Canyon 00:33:18.959 --> 00:33:19.939 and he's in the former 00:33:19.939 --> 00:33:20.519 he's in the crew 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:21.639 and he's in the 00:33:21.639 --> 00:33:27.019 the heart of 00:33:27.019 --> 00:33:57.000 Thank you. 00:33:57.019 --> 00:34:27.000 Thank you. 00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:29.019 Thank you. 00:34:57.019 --> 00:34:59.019 Thank you. 00:35:27.019 --> 00:35:33.820 Dale Davis says that though the story is heavy with hopelessness, there is a light that shines in the darkness. 00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:37.519 Look at the very last sentence of our chapter together. 00:35:38.519 --> 00:35:39.980 Verse 24 says, 00:35:39.980 --> 00:36:09.980 00:36:09.980 --> 00:36:25.500 That last supper, one of Jesus' disciples, someone who preached Christ, who performed miracles, who proclaimed to be a follower of God, and yet his heart was so hard to the goodness of God that he could not even recognize the grace that was before him. 00:36:25.500 --> 00:36:32.300 Listen to how John's gospel describes how Judas Iscariot leaves that last supper. 00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:33.860 John 13 says, 00:36:33.960 --> 00:36:39.820 So having received his meal, he immediately went out, and it was night. 00:36:39.820 --> 00:36:44.820 When John tells us it was night, he's not telling us what the time was. 00:36:45.400 --> 00:36:53.059 Throughout John's gospel, night is always symbolic of darkness, of God forsakenness, of hopelessness. 00:36:53.059 --> 00:36:59.820 But friends, do you know somebody else who that very next day would enter into the darkness? 00:37:00.559 --> 00:37:05.159 Do you remember how Mark describes the scene at Calvary while Jesus is on the cross? 00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:07.559 Mark 13, Mark 15 says, 00:37:07.559 --> 00:37:31.880 Friends, there's a danger that we can make in that we look at Saul, and we look at Judas, and we can think, that'll never happen to me. 00:37:32.719 --> 00:37:34.259 I'd never be that stupid. 00:37:34.460 --> 00:37:35.420 I'm better than that. 00:37:35.420 --> 00:37:37.980 Sure, I'm not perfect, but come on. 00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:40.159 I'd never go to the lengths that they go to. 00:37:40.200 --> 00:37:43.159 And of course, that would be a fatal mistake. 00:37:43.700 --> 00:37:47.619 Because never are we so blind as when we think that we can see. 00:37:48.360 --> 00:37:53.260 Never are we more like Saul when we think that that could never happen to someone like me. 00:37:53.880 --> 00:38:02.659 Friends, don't you see how Jesus Christ deliberately entered into the darkness, into the God forsakenness of Calvary on the cross, 00:38:02.659 --> 00:38:10.799 so that people like Saul, and people like Judas, and people like me, and people like you can walk into the light. 00:38:11.539 --> 00:38:15.319 Do you remember Saul laments to Samuel? 00:38:15.440 --> 00:38:17.019 He says, God has turned away from me. 00:38:17.019 --> 00:38:18.800 He answers me no more. 00:38:19.539 --> 00:38:28.079 Well, friends, don't you realize how Jesus Christ on the cross, as he cried out to God, his cries were met with silence. 00:38:28.759 --> 00:38:32.759 God turned his face away from Jesus and answered his cries no more. 00:38:32.760 --> 00:38:40.060 For not because of the rebellion and the sin of Jesus, but because of the rebellion and the sin of me, and you and us. 00:38:40.700 --> 00:38:48.820 Friends, Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, entered and endured the darkness of Calvary, and the silence of heaven, 00:38:48.920 --> 00:38:56.620 so that we might experience the answer of heaven, the welcome of heaven, and the light of grace. 00:38:56.619 --> 00:38:59.000 Friends, what about you? 00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:00.980 Where are you today? 00:39:02.039 --> 00:39:07.359 If you're not a Christian this morning, Jesus Christ went to the cross for you, 00:39:07.759 --> 00:39:14.039 so that you may walk out of the darkness and experience the welcome of heaven, and the light of his grace. 00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:18.179 Friends, don't reject his word. 00:39:18.299 --> 00:39:19.319 Don't harden your heart. 00:39:19.480 --> 00:39:21.119 Don't turn away from him another day. 00:39:21.159 --> 00:39:24.539 If you hear his voice today, respond to his voice. 00:39:24.699 --> 00:39:26.019 Christ is calling you. 00:39:26.019 --> 00:39:27.380 To follow him. 00:39:27.460 --> 00:39:28.579 To surrender to him. 00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:29.960 To hand over your life to him. 00:39:30.019 --> 00:39:30.940 To trust him. 00:39:31.480 --> 00:39:33.019 And to walk in the light of his grace. 00:39:33.880 --> 00:39:36.960 Friends, if you're a Christian this morning, what about you? 00:39:37.599 --> 00:39:41.199 If you found that in small ways you've turned and hardened your heart. 00:39:41.280 --> 00:39:43.539 In small ways rejected his word. 00:39:44.259 --> 00:39:46.059 Maybe God's been speaking to you about something. 00:39:46.159 --> 00:39:47.780 To reconcile with that person. 00:39:48.460 --> 00:39:50.840 To forgive that person. 00:39:51.639 --> 00:39:53.380 To reconcile that relationship. 00:39:53.380 --> 00:39:55.780 To turn away from that one area of your life. 00:39:56.559 --> 00:39:58.380 And it's so tempting to harden our hearts. 00:39:58.579 --> 00:39:59.880 Friends, God has called you. 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:01.599 Jesus Christ went to the cross. 00:40:01.679 --> 00:40:04.719 That we can leave the God forsakenness of the darkness behind. 00:40:05.280 --> 00:40:07.019 And enter into his light. 00:40:07.239 --> 00:40:08.199 Friends, it's not too late. 00:40:09.019 --> 00:40:11.139 Maybe you feel like I've gone so far gone. 00:40:11.519 --> 00:40:12.820 God could never forgive me. 00:40:13.300 --> 00:40:14.099 It's too late. 00:40:14.099 --> 00:40:15.679 I've crossed too many lines. 00:40:15.779 --> 00:40:16.699 I've crossed too many barriers. 00:40:16.799 --> 00:40:17.679 I'm too far gone. 00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:22.099 Friends, the fact that you're here today and that you're listening is proof that it's not too far gone. 00:40:22.799 --> 00:40:24.139 God has not forsaken you. 00:40:24.920 --> 00:40:26.759 Friends, come to him today. 00:40:27.480 --> 00:40:29.880 Come and turn to Christ, your King. 00:40:30.339 --> 00:40:33.119 Come and embrace the one who embraced the darkness for you. 00:40:33.480 --> 00:40:34.819 So that you can walk in the light. 00:40:35.319 --> 00:40:36.139 Let's pray together. 00:40:36.139 --> 00:40:43.699 Lord Jesus Christ, in this dark and hopeless passage, a light shines forth. 00:40:44.519 --> 00:40:48.059 That Saul's story does not need to be in any one of our stories. 00:40:48.199 --> 00:40:50.119 Because you, Christ, went to the cross. 00:40:50.119 --> 00:40:56.819 God, as dark as Saul's story is, it is nothing compared to the darkness that you, Jesus, endured for us. 00:40:57.420 --> 00:40:58.359 God, we praise you. 00:40:58.420 --> 00:40:59.400 We thank you for that. 00:40:59.839 --> 00:41:01.359 And that gives us such hope. 00:41:01.900 --> 00:41:04.719 That now we, God, can turn away from the darkness. 00:41:04.719 --> 00:41:06.839 Because you, Christ, have gone before us. 00:41:07.420 --> 00:41:08.719 God, I pray for each one of us. 00:41:08.799 --> 00:41:15.839 Won't you come and magnify your cross and what Jesus did on the cross in our eyes and in our hearts. 00:41:16.239 --> 00:41:17.440 That we can trust you. 00:41:17.940 --> 00:41:19.279 We pray this in your awesome name. 00:41:20.119 --> 00:41:20.380 Amen.