WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.339 Lord, thank you that we can come before you, knowing that in Jesus our sins are forgiven, 00:00:07.780 --> 00:00:14.580 Lord, that you've washed our sins away, and Lord, in washing our sins away and making us your 00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:19.679 children, you've also filled us with your Spirit, and it's through the work of your Spirit that we 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:24.940 can understand your Word and hear what you're saying to us. So God, we ask that you would do 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:29.480 just that tonight, that you would work by your Spirit to take your Word and apply these things 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:36.759 to our hearts, Lord, so that we might know you and love you more and more. So visit us, we pray. Amen. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:44.500 Good. So I want to do something we don't normally do when we look at a text. I want to just jump into, 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:50.960 like, the main verse and just start right there. So go to verse 22. It's very easy in a long chapter 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:54.840 like this, and there, we'll see as we kind of go through, there's sort of a lot of thorny theological 00:00:54.840 --> 00:01:00.480 issues to kind of lose the forest for the trees. So I want to just jump right in to what I think is 00:01:00.480 --> 00:01:04.000 the main point of this whole passage, and we're going to start there, and then we'll sort of work 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:11.840 our way out. So it's verse 22. Look there at that verse. And Samuel said to Saul, has the Lord as great 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:19.960 delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:30.379 is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. To obey is better than sacrifice. That 00:01:30.379 --> 00:01:37.079 is the big idea of our text. I think that's what God wants us to see through the example of Saul, 00:01:37.199 --> 00:01:42.919 through the negative example of Saul in this chapter. And that's what God wants from us as 00:01:42.919 --> 00:01:48.560 his creatures. God created us in his image to be in relationship with him and to listen to his voice 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:56.540 in Scripture and to obey, to take his word to heart. That's why he's made us. And of course, 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:01.719 to obey is better than sacrifice, but that doesn't mean that sacrifices were necessarily bad, right? 00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:06.900 That's not Samuel's point here. God told the Israelites to make sacrifices. He told them how 00:02:06.900 --> 00:02:11.120 and when and what and even why to do that. So sacrifices aren't bad in and of themselves, 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:19.980 but they were a means toward an end. They were sort of a step towards a goal. And that goal in the Old 00:02:19.980 --> 00:02:26.840 Testament was a relationship. The sacrifices were put in place so that a holy God could dwell with a 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:32.439 sinful people in a relationship of intimacy and a relationship of obedience. And of course, 00:02:32.480 --> 00:02:37.680 they pointed forward to a greater sacrifice to come. But here's the problem, and here's where this text, 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:46.020 I think, kind of hits us. Don't we often use outward sort of religious practices as a means of 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:53.599 excusing or justifying our disobedience? Okay, here's what I mean. We take good things and we use them as a 00:02:53.599 --> 00:03:00.800 cover-up for the bad things that we do. What are some examples of that? How about the person who says, 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:08.400 well, yeah, I know it's not right to play the lotto, but if I win, I'll tithe of my winnings, right? 00:03:08.480 --> 00:03:17.800 Wouldn't that be a good thing? Tithing is giving 10% to the work of the Lord. Now, look, is tithing a 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:23.400 bad thing? No. Giving is a biblical means of growing in grace. It's a good thing. But you can't use giving 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:28.920 as an excuse to do something like gambling, which at best is just sort of a waste of time and money, 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:33.859 and at worst is this hugely sort of addictive, destructive thing, right? To obey is better than 00:03:33.859 --> 00:03:40.119 sacrifice. God actually doesn't need your money, but he wants your heart, and he wants you to listen 00:03:40.119 --> 00:03:46.560 to his voice, to listen to his word and obey. Maybe here's another example. You're sharing your 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:51.539 testimony with a friend. That is, you're sharing your story of how you became a Christian, and you bend 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:56.959 the truth just a little bit to make the story seem more interesting or more compelling or more 00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:04.860 impressive. Now, again, sharing your testimony is a good thing, right? And we grow a lot in our faith 00:04:04.860 --> 00:04:09.300 when we share sort of the story of what Christ has done in our life with non-Christians, and we 00:04:09.300 --> 00:04:15.200 encourage one another a lot by sharing those stories with one another. But, again, you can't use that 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:21.120 as an excuse for twisting the truth. To obey is better than sacrifice. 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:27.719 Of course, there's lots of examples that we could give, but why don't we just, I mean, just take a 00:04:27.719 --> 00:04:35.620 moment tonight as we sort of just go right into it to think. I mean, do you see patterns like this in 00:04:35.620 --> 00:04:44.680 your own life? I think if you think hard enough, you'll see them. I know my own heart, and I'm prone to 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:50.000 taking some good thing and using it as a cover-up for some area of disobedience. 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:56.939 Sure, I get angry and frustrated with my roommate, but I was on my way to church, and she was making me late. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:03.399 Yeah, I shouldn't have been looking at that on the internet, but I was working really hard this week, 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:10.899 and I went to Bible study, too, so it must not be quite that bad. Or, yes, I'm holding a lot of bitterness 00:05:10.899 --> 00:05:15.219 and unforgiveness in my heart, but, you know, I spend a lot of my time in ministry, so I don't 00:05:15.219 --> 00:05:21.719 really have time to kind of deal with that stuff in the past. And isn't that the fallen human heart 00:05:21.719 --> 00:05:28.879 that we have? And right into that tendency that we all have, Samuel speaks loud and clear, to obey 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:35.060 is better than sacrifice. That's what God wants. He doesn't want our money or our witness or our time 00:05:35.060 --> 00:05:40.160 or our ministry. He's God. All those things are his gifts, but what he wants is your heart. 00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:48.420 He wants you to hear his word and obey. And actually, we've seen this theme throughout 1 Samuel. 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:53.019 I don't think we've actually sort of picked it up in any of our sermons yet, but, you know, 00:05:53.060 --> 00:05:59.060 there's a running theme in this book that what biblical spirituality is all about, and everyone in our age 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:03.340 is talking about spirituality, and we want to be spiritual, is really that. It really comes down to this, 00:06:03.339 --> 00:06:10.959 is actually listening to God's voice, trusting it, and doing what he says. 00:06:13.179 --> 00:06:19.459 That's really the sort of core part of what it means to follow God. 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:28.159 And why? Why is God so concerned that we listen to his word and that we obey? Well, first of all, 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:36.820 because he's God and he deserves it, he made us, but also because it's for our good. Because God made us, 00:06:37.340 --> 00:06:45.160 it's for our good that we obey him. He knows how life works best. So that's really the sort of drive 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:50.460 shaft in this passage. And I want to sort of back up now and sort of look at how the passage sort of 00:06:50.459 --> 00:06:56.139 unfolds. And we've been, we're sort of at, in chapter 15, the kind of nadir, that's like the low point 00:06:56.139 --> 00:07:01.079 of King Saul's life. Saul's going to be a character in the rest of this book. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:06.979 You know, he'll meet his end at the very last chapter. But really, this chapter, chapter 15, 00:07:07.159 --> 00:07:09.219 is when finally he hits rock bottom. 00:07:09.220 --> 00:07:21.160 And in chapter 15, really, Saul serves as kind of a warning to us of this tendency to put sort of 00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:27.800 religious things as a cover-up for our sinful hearts. And tragically, what we're going to find 00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:34.020 in this chapter is that the Lord finally rejects Saul as king. And through all that, we're going to 00:07:34.020 --> 00:07:38.860 see how central it is to hear God's word and obey. So as we walk through, I want to just look at this 00:07:38.860 --> 00:07:44.480 chapter under three heads. First, God's unique command to Saul. And then second, what I would 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:51.800 call Saul's successful failure. And then three, God's unchanging character. So first, let's look 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:54.960 at God's unique command to Saul. Look down at verses one through three. Let's read these together. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:00.879 And Samuel said to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel. Okay, 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:05.680 that's happened a number of chapters ago. Now, therefore, listen to the words of the Lord. 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:11.379 There's that theme. Thus says the Lord of hosts, I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:17.120 them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:23.699 all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, 00:08:23.939 --> 00:08:33.720 camel and donkey. Okay, now that is a shocking command, isn't it? 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:42.240 And in a sense, it should be shocking to us. It's helpful to know some of the context here. 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:50.180 The Amalekites, the people of Amalek, were an old and constant enemy of Israel. 00:08:52.560 --> 00:08:57.460 Many years before, the Amalekites had attacked Israel when Israel was on its way 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:04.100 from the Red Sea to Sinai. They had just come out of Egypt. They were tired and hungry and weary in 00:09:04.100 --> 00:09:11.220 the wilderness. And then Amalek came and sort of raided them at their weak point. And what you find 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:15.759 is that that wasn't just the only time that they attacked them. When you read the book of Judges, 00:09:15.800 --> 00:09:18.780 it's very interesting. I didn't actually see this until I was studying this passage this week, 00:09:18.779 --> 00:09:24.279 that the Amalekites come up again and again and again throughout this period of Israel's history, 00:09:24.819 --> 00:09:30.240 always there, sort of attacking them, taking advantage of them, raiding their villages, destroying 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:40.740 their crops. And so finally, here in 1 Samuel 15, God's judgment comes. In mercy, God had delayed it 00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:50.120 for hundreds of years. But now God says, enough is enough. And that should be very sobering for us. 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:59.759 That God is a God of justice. Now we should remember as we think about a command like this, 00:09:59.820 --> 00:10:05.560 that it's a unique command. At no other point in history should people read the Bible and think 00:10:05.560 --> 00:10:10.720 that God is telling them to do something like this. This was a unique thing. God only told Israel 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:15.600 to do something like this, and God only told them to do it in a few very specific number of instances. 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:20.920 So, as we think about this part of this text, it doesn't give violence, it doesn't give license, 00:10:20.980 --> 00:10:27.660 excuse me, for violence and warfare and that sort of thing today. But what does this sort of very 00:10:27.660 --> 00:10:34.000 direct picture of God's judgment show us? I think it shows us two things. One, on the one hand, 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:44.059 it shows us that God is the holy creator of all things. That God is actually the rightful judge of all peoples. 00:10:45.299 --> 00:10:50.960 And that he will not allow wickedness to go unjudged forever. That there will come a time 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:54.480 when judgment will fall, if not in this life, then in the next. 00:10:54.480 --> 00:11:02.000 But second, this, I think, few verses, this sort of instance of God saying, go and devote them to 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:08.080 total destruction, I think it also shows us the utter sinfulness of sin. The gravity of sin. 00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:14.120 That persistent rebellion against God means and will mean utter and complete ruin. 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:22.580 Everything. Everything. I'm sure you noticed that. Everything that belongs to Amalek will be destroyed 00:11:22.580 --> 00:11:31.220 because of sin. You know, we recoil at the thought that even infants are included 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:39.360 in this total judgment that God says is to come on them. And, you know, I think that we should, 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:43.779 you know, as we think, you know, as I've wrestled with that idea this week, you know, it struck me that 00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:49.259 I think we should leave the eternal state of those children in the hands of a merciful God. 00:11:50.100 --> 00:11:55.379 We don't know sort of what happens to the souls of those children who die. 00:11:57.199 --> 00:12:01.620 I think we can leave that in God's hands and trust that he'll be merciful and just. 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:08.419 But, you know, this grim picture, this picture of total awful judgment, I think it's meant to be just 00:12:08.419 --> 00:12:15.959 that. It's meant to be a sobering picture of how awful sin really is and how total judgment really is. 00:12:19.379 --> 00:12:25.099 So this is a unique but very clear command that God gives Saul to attack the Amalekites and to devote 00:12:25.099 --> 00:12:34.039 everything to destruction. And we see this in the story. Second point, Saul's successful failure. 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:38.819 And I call it successful failure because he goes in verse 4, it kind of extends through this whole 00:12:38.819 --> 00:12:42.319 middle section, verse 4 all the way to 33. You know, and if you skim down, you see what happens. 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:46.719 Here's what happens. Saul gathers an army, he goes, attacks the Amalekites, and he wins. He's very 00:12:46.719 --> 00:12:56.299 successful. But look at verse 9. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of 00:12:56.299 --> 00:13:01.419 the oxen and of the fatted calves and the lambs and all that was good and would not utterly destroy them. 00:13:01.419 --> 00:13:06.019 All that was despised and worthless, they devoted to destruction. 00:13:07.939 --> 00:13:15.179 Now, don't think that Saul is being sort of extra merciful here. It's not as if Saul's sort of being 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:20.919 really kind when God's really, really mean. Why did Saul spare King Agag? Probably, it doesn't say 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:25.519 exactly, but probably for financial or political reasons. He was probably going to sell him back to 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:30.139 some other sort of part of the Amalekite tribe, or he was just going to sort of use him as a political 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:35.759 sort of tool to express his own sort of greatness. And why does Saul keep sort of the best of the 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:40.759 animals? Well, we find out a little later in this chapter that, you know, their plan is to sort of 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:45.480 save the best animals. Oh, we'll go sacrifice those on Gilgal. That'll be a great idea. God told us to 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:49.740 sort of devote them all to him. But, you know, let's save the best and let's go up on Gilgal and let's 00:13:49.740 --> 00:13:56.299 have some sacrifices. Now, here's the thing. Again, they probably weren't going to go and offer these 00:13:56.299 --> 00:14:02.259 animals as like sin offerings or guilt offerings, which were like totally consumed and given to the 00:14:02.259 --> 00:14:06.819 Lord. They were probably going to go and offer them as peace offerings. Now, here's what you did with a 00:14:06.819 --> 00:14:12.279 peace offering. You sort of, you sacrifice some of it to God, and then the rest you barbecued and you 00:14:12.279 --> 00:14:18.219 ate. So, basically, they were going to go have a big party up on Gilgal with the best of what they just 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:27.519 had and have a big feast. In other words, they were going to basically use sacrificing the Lord as a 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:36.920 pretext for just filling their own stomachs. It would look really, really pious, but it would be super, 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:46.340 super selfish. Well, what happens next in the story? The Lord tells Samuel what happens. Samuel's very 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:52.580 upset, and then he goes and meets Saul. In Saul, look at verse 13. Presumptuously, Saul comes when 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:57.540 Samuel meets him and says, ah, blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord. 00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:02.220 And then Samuel says this, and I think it's one of the most indicting lines in all the Bible. 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:11.639 What then is this bleeding of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear? What a line. 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:17.240 And then comes the main point of the passage in verse 22. 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:22.720 To obey is better than sacrifice. What were you doing, Saul? 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:30.399 Look at what follows in verse 23. He says, for rebellion is as a sin of divination and 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:36.019 presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. He's saying, don't you see what you've been doing? You've been 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:41.579 you've been going into the worst of the worst. This tiny little, this way you've sort of tweaked the 00:15:41.579 --> 00:15:47.460 commandment of God just a little bit in your mind has actually been, you've been falling into the same 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:54.079 guilt that the Amalekites had fallen into. Idolatry, iniquity, wickedness. 00:15:56.299 --> 00:16:00.179 And then look how Samuel ends. Because you've rejected the word of the Lord, 00:16:00.179 --> 00:16:03.179 he has also rejected you from being king. 00:16:04.439 --> 00:16:07.879 And that pattern that began back in chapter 13 when Saul didn't listen to God's word, 00:16:07.959 --> 00:16:11.799 you remember back then? Pastor Greg preached a couple weeks ago. Saul sort of 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:15.979 takes matters into his own hands. And at that point Samuel says, you know what? Your line 00:16:15.979 --> 00:16:22.139 isn't going to inherit the kingship. That same sort of refusal to really listen to God's word and to 00:16:22.139 --> 00:16:27.819 obey finally comes to a head here in chapter 15. And God says, you know, it's not just that your 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:34.360 children are not going to take the throne. You're done. It's over. I'm rejecting you as king. 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:43.460 Jump down to verse 27. As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe and tore it. 00:16:44.560 --> 00:16:47.800 And Samuel said to him, the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day 00:16:47.800 --> 00:16:55.140 and has given it to a neighbor of yours who's better than you. What a bitter moment in the Bible. 00:16:55.139 --> 00:17:02.879 Saul. And that torn robe is a sort of bitter symbol of what's happened to Saul because he didn't 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:08.220 really listen to God's word. The kingdom is going to be torn away and given to another, 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:15.379 which we'll find out next week is none other than David, who will be the sort of central figure in 00:17:15.379 --> 00:17:21.779 the rest of first Samuel and in second Samuel and really the sort of archetype of kingship in the Old 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:29.720 Testament. Let's look at the last part of the story, which is God's unchanging character. Let's 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:33.460 pick up in verse 29. Samuel just told Saul that the kingdom is going to be torn from him and given to 00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:41.480 another. And then he goes on and says this, and also the glory of Israel will not lie or have regret. 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:47.079 The glory of Israel, that's where we're referring to God. The glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:55.939 for he is not a man that he should have regret. In other words, God doesn't change. He's not going 00:17:55.939 --> 00:18:03.480 to go back on his word. Saul's time as king is over, and God isn't going to change his mind. 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:12.039 Now that might sound kind of harsh, right? I mean, doesn't Saul say that he's sorry? Look at verse 29. 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:16.439 I mean, he's sort of been saying, yes, I sinned. I'm sorry. He's been kind of saying that in this whole 00:18:16.440 --> 00:18:22.440 paragraph. But look at verse 29. Then Saul said, I've sinned, yet honor me now before the elders 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:26.580 of my people and before Israel and return with me that I may bow before the Lord your God. 00:18:28.900 --> 00:18:36.600 And I think what we see in this verse is that Saul never truly repents. I think this verse is so 00:18:36.600 --> 00:18:44.160 revealing. I mean, look, what does Saul really care about in this verse? It's the honor of the elders, 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:50.279 right? In other words, he cares more about what people think than what God thinks. 00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:56.100 He only admits his sin when it keeps him from getting what he really wants, which is the 00:18:56.100 --> 00:19:03.860 admiration and the approval of others. And then in the next verse, Samuel actually ends up going with 00:19:03.860 --> 00:19:09.740 Saul, which is interesting, probably for the sake of political stability so that the nation doesn't fall 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:17.660 apart. He carries out the sentence on Agag, which is something Saul should have done. And then the 00:19:17.660 --> 00:19:25.960 chapter ends like this. And Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah. And Samuel 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:31.980 did not see Saul again till the day of his death. But Samuel grieved over Saul, and the Lord regretted 00:19:31.980 --> 00:19:39.039 that he had made Saul king over Israel. What a tragic way for a chapter to end. 00:19:41.360 --> 00:19:45.539 And of course, it's a bit confusing too, isn't it? I mean, didn't Samuel just say that God doesn't 00:19:45.539 --> 00:19:53.140 regret in verse 29? And yet here, he does regret. What's going on? Well, you see, the word regret 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:58.940 in Hebrew has kind of a broad range of meaning. It can mean to change your mind, like in verse 29. 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:08.059 But it can also mean to feel deep sorrow. And that's what it means here in verse 35. 00:20:09.080 --> 00:20:13.460 That the Lord who doesn't change, who doesn't change in his faithfulness, who doesn't change 00:20:13.460 --> 00:20:19.799 in his mercy, who doesn't change in his goodness and his holiness, sees how far Saul has fallen, 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:27.860 and God grieves. And that should bring it back to us today. 00:20:28.940 --> 00:20:33.400 We began by saying that the main point of the passage was verse 22. To obey is better than 00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:40.039 sacrifice. But I mean, as we sort of studied the, I mean, quickly, as we just sort of walked 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:45.700 through this chapter and seen the character of Saul, I mean, isn't it true that we're all so much like 00:20:45.700 --> 00:20:52.140 him? That we try to justify and excuse our disobedience, that we refuse to listen to God's 00:20:52.140 --> 00:20:57.059 voice in Scripture. We kind of tweak the rules that kind of benefit us, thinking that our way is a bit 00:20:57.059 --> 00:21:00.919 better than God's way. And then we sort of do some outward religious actions to kind of cover up and 00:21:00.919 --> 00:21:09.460 justify what we've done. And the question is, what hope is there for us? I mean, if God sort of tore 00:21:09.460 --> 00:21:16.880 the kingdom away from Saul, what's he going to do to us? Are we all doomed like Saul to end in failure? 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:26.480 And I think the hope is found back in verse 28, that the kingdom will be given to a better king. 00:21:28.259 --> 00:21:34.100 And not merely David, because David too actually disobeyed God, as we'll find as we study the life 00:21:34.099 --> 00:21:41.339 of David. But that there'll be a better king. And there'll be a better king who's David's greater son, 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:48.139 Jesus. Let's know what Hebrews chapter 10 has to say about Jesus in the New Testament. 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:53.919 Consequently, the writer to Hebrews says, when Christ came into the world, he said, 00:21:54.819 --> 00:22:00.819 sacrifices and offerings you've not desired, but a body you've prepared for me. In burnt offerings and 00:22:00.819 --> 00:22:07.259 sin offerings you've taken no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I've come to do your will, O God, 00:22:07.619 --> 00:22:13.679 as it is written of me in the scroll of the book. And then the writer to Hebrews goes on and says this, 00:22:13.679 --> 00:22:18.379 when he said above, you've neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt 00:22:18.379 --> 00:22:24.259 offerings and sin offerings, these are offered according to the law. Then he added, behold, I've come 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:33.559 to do your will. He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will, 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:40.539 we have been sanctified to the offering of the body of Jesus once for all. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:47.279 What does the writer to Hebrews want us to see about this king, this Christ who's come? 00:22:48.220 --> 00:22:53.759 He wants to see that when Jesus came, he didn't just come to sort of offer up more sacrifices. He came 00:22:53.759 --> 00:23:01.779 to perfectly obey God's will. The writer of Hebrews here is pointing towards Jesus's active 00:23:01.779 --> 00:23:09.240 obedience, that he did everything that the law of God required, that he, as it were, built up a perfect 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:15.079 record of righteousness that is then credited or imputed to everyone who trusts in him. 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:21.339 And what we see about the obedience of Jesus is that the obedience of Jesus was an obedience unto death. 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:27.059 That Jesus didn't come to make sacrifices, but to actually be a sacrifice. 00:23:29.099 --> 00:23:34.220 To be a sacrifice so great and so perfect and so sufficient that it would put an end to all 00:23:34.220 --> 00:23:39.900 sacrifices. And it would cleanse us, Hebrews says, once and for all. 00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:48.060 And I think that means a few things for us tonight as we kind of wrap up and go to the Lord's Supper. 00:23:49.420 --> 00:23:55.180 You know, if you're here tonight and you're not a believer, maybe you've actually tried doing lots 00:23:55.180 --> 00:24:00.640 of religious sort of things. You know, maybe you've actually sort of seen your badness and you thought, 00:24:00.740 --> 00:24:06.000 well, maybe one way I can sort of make up for that is by doing sort of lots of good religious things. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:13.140 But I think what this text is saying to you tonight is that there's an invitation. 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:21.059 There's an invitation to do what Saul didn't do, which is to actually genuinely repent. 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:28.299 To admit your sin and to stop trying to run your life by your own standards and to stop trying to use 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:36.119 religious good things to cover up or justify all your bad things. To actually stop doing that, to 00:24:36.119 --> 00:24:42.539 admit you've been doing that and to turn away from that and to put your trust in Christ, 00:24:43.419 --> 00:24:47.200 who is perfectly righteous and who died for your sins. 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:57.519 And for those of us who are believers, you know, if you see these patterns in your own life, 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:02.380 these patterns of sort of excusing sin or covering it up with religious activity, then tonight, you know, 00:25:03.380 --> 00:25:10.420 the call is for us also to turn from those things, to do what the Bible says is repentance, 00:25:10.420 --> 00:25:18.100 repentance, to confess to God what you've been doing, to really see and grieve how much it honors him, 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:25.480 dishonors him, and to do it in a way that Saul didn't do. You know, Saul was really sad about sin 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:31.500 because it cost him, you know, something that he wanted. When his sin was finally exposed, he thought, 00:25:31.640 --> 00:25:33.640 uh-oh, now I'm not going to get the approval of people. 00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:43.020 But that's actually kind of a very false sort of repentance. You know, to be sad over the effects 00:25:43.020 --> 00:25:50.120 of sin in that sense isn't really grieving your sin because it dishonors God, because of what sin 00:25:50.120 --> 00:26:00.000 really is, which is a trying to sort of take God's place. So tonight, seeing that, maybe for the first 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:06.099 time, as a believer, you can sort of practice some deep heartfelt repentance for those things. 00:26:07.460 --> 00:26:11.839 But don't just stop there. Actually turn and see what Jesus did for you, 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:16.339 that he obeyed to the point of death, that he rose again to give you life, 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:20.119 that he poured out his spirit into your heart so you might live in newness of life. 00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:26.740 And then see this, that the God of the universe in him loves you and accepts you. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:36.400 I wonder if one of the things that Saul didn't really get was that God had genuinely chosen him 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:41.019 and accepted him. You see a little earlier in our passage that Samuel says to him, look, 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:46.839 you're so little in your own eyes, but God's made you king. Why are you listening to other people? 00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:52.900 Why are you leading the people in righteousness? And I feel like when we really look at the cross and 00:26:52.900 --> 00:26:59.259 we see how much God loves us and how he's made us his own and how he's made us his child, how he's made 00:26:59.259 --> 00:27:07.620 us part of his kingdom, that we don't need to be enslaved to the other things that drive us, 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:13.519 like the fear of man or the honor of other people. That we can actually be free from those things, 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:21.059 knowing that we're loved in Christ, and we can be free then to obey in gratitude. 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:29.200 So in light of that, in light of reflecting on what Jesus has done, let's actually go to the table 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:34.940 together. About once a month, if you're new here to Trinity, once a month we do the Lord's Supper. 00:27:35.660 --> 00:27:39.799 And the Lord's Supper is really just the gospel sort of made visible, 00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:46.200 that there's bread that's broken, representing Jesus' broken body, and there's a cup that we share 00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:52.740 that's been poured out, which represents Jesus' blood. So Dan and Natalie, if you guys want to come up, 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:58.039 let me read some words from the Apostle Paul 00:27:58.039 --> 00:28:03.680 as we think about preparing our hearts for communion. 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:07.820 In 1 Corinthians, Paul says this, 00:28:09.340 --> 00:28:09.880 he says, 00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:39.860 And then Paul actually goes on in that same passage, 00:28:39.859 --> 00:28:43.419 to talk about some people who've been sort of treating these things lightly. 00:28:44.139 --> 00:28:44.559 And he says, 00:28:44.959 --> 00:28:45.839 Hey, remember, 00:28:46.699 --> 00:28:48.119 that this is serious business. 00:28:48.879 --> 00:28:50.000 And when you come to the table, 00:28:50.439 --> 00:28:53.219 come with hearts that are broken and repentant 00:28:53.219 --> 00:28:54.399 for sin, 00:28:54.719 --> 00:28:55.599 but also 00:28:55.599 --> 00:28:58.359 resting and trusting what Jesus has done for you. 00:28:59.379 --> 00:29:00.119 So really, 00:29:00.379 --> 00:29:01.939 you know, as we come to the table tonight, 00:29:02.099 --> 00:29:03.279 I mean, after a passage like 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:06.219 1 Samuel 15, it's good to come with humility. 00:29:06.220 --> 00:29:11.299 And it's good to come with a sense of contrite hearts. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.980 But it's also good to come knowing that what these things symbolize 00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:18.519 is that Jesus has covered your sin, 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:19.880 and that you're forgiven, 00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:22.660 and that he'll hold you to the end. 00:29:23.460 --> 00:29:24.759 So friends, tonight, if you've turned from sin, 00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:26.059 you place your trust in Christ, 00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:27.700 take these gifts 00:29:27.700 --> 00:29:29.220 as a seal 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:31.799 and assurance that Jesus died for you. 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:33.819 And if you're not a Christian, 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:36.740 then place your trust in Jesus tonight. 00:29:37.680 --> 00:29:38.500 Don't take the bread, 00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:39.259 don't take the cup, 00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:40.480 but take Christ. 00:29:41.460 --> 00:29:43.000 Turn from sin and trust in him. 00:29:44.980 --> 00:29:45.819 So with that being said, 00:29:45.879 --> 00:29:46.579 why don't we sing 00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:48.339 while we take the bread together? 00:29:50.339 --> 00:29:51.799 Jonathan, would you help me serve tonight? 00:29:59.019 --> 00:29:59.539 Thanks, brother. 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:08.680 I'll ask me you don't make sure 00:30:08.680 --> 00:30:10.799 that you...