All right, good evening.
Again.
If you want to keep the text open with me,
we'll be walking through that together.
So why don't we just pray and ask for God's help
before we come to his words.
Dear Lord, I thank you so much
just for the good news of the gospel
that Jesus Christ has died to set us free.
Pray, Lord, as we come to your word,
that you would help us to hear from you.
I know personally I'm a little bit tired this evening.
I'm sure many others are here this evening.
Just help us to concentrate.
Help us to focus.
Pray that, Lord, by the power of your spirit,
you might speak to us.
And we would say as we come out from this building,
we have met with the living God.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
So kingdoms come and go.
Governments come and go.
People come and go.
But there's one kingdom
that will never perish
and that is above all things.
And that is the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Doesn't matter what's happening in our churches.
Doesn't matter what's happening in our nation.
Doesn't matter what's happening in the world
or in our governments.
The Lord reigns.
And he's building his kingdom
as he gathers a people for himself
from every tribe,
nation, and tongue.
We see this time and time again across the world.
We've seen it in Nidri.
They just shared.
20 years ago, the church was about to die.
The building was falling apart.
There were six members left
and apparently a dog as well.
They got hammered by the community.
And they were about to close their doors.
And yet it came to our church this morning.
20 years later,
we had a building packed full
as two people were being baptized.
And we're involved now
with planting across Scotland.
Something to do with us.
That's because the Lord is building his kingdom.
Think about China.
Communism had brutalized that country
and the Christians living in it.
All missionaries were booted out.
And Mao terrorized the place.
What do we see today?
Despite the continued persecution,
thousands are being converted every week.
Mao thought,
I can destroy the church.
But God's kingdom cannot be thwarted.
Do you know where one of the fastest
growing underground church movements is
in the world today?
It's in Iran.
Iran.
People are being converted by the gospel
in a staunch Islamic place.
A Christian organization called
Heart for Iran
is getting 30 requests a day
by Muslims who want to have access to a Bible.
Sometimes we look at the news,
don't we look at the Middle East,
we look at particularly the Islamic areas
of our world,
we think darkness has squashed the gospel there.
And yet,
there are flickers of light
all over the world
as God is building his church.
We've come to the book of,
the end of the book of 1 Samuel,
we come to the end of an earthly kingdom.
And it's a tragic,
tragic chapter as we read it.
It looks like the Philistines
have got a major victory.
That God's people are obliterated
and the kingship of Israel is wiped out.
It looks like God's enemies are winning.
And it probably felt like that
if you were living in that region at the time.
But this chapter again shows us
that God is working in the background
and building his kingdom.
One kingdom is over
at the end of 1 Samuel.
And yet,
a new one is about to begin
under the kingship of King David
that will last into eternity.
So we're going to walk through the chapter
and we basically have four scenes
that I want us to look at.
We've got a loyal son,
a proud king,
a faithful God,
and a few good men.
A loyal son,
a proud king,
a faithful God,
and a few good men.
So firstly,
we have a loyal son.
The chapter opens
in dramatic fashion in verse 1
as we enter straight into the action.
The writer's not messing around
one bit
and the whole passage
is written in the Hebrew
in the present tense.
This verse in verse 1
is like a news reader bulletin at 9
who says this,
we're now entering into the live action
at Israel,
Mount Geboah,
live footage,
some of these scenes
might be disturbing.
And this chapter
is a continuation straight
from chapter 28.
If you remember there,
Saul goes to see the medium at Endor
to find out his fate.
Well, this battle
is basically
the very next day
after that encounter.
So what's been happening
in the last two chapters
in 29 and 30?
Well, the last two chapters,
exactly the same point,
about 100 miles away,
have been documenting
David's victories
in Aphek and Ziklag.
And what the writer
is doing skillfully
is he's comparing
and contrasting
the two kingdoms.
The Lord is giving
his servant David
the victory.
David is smashing things
all over the place.
Meanwhile,
Saul
and his army
are getting a battering.
29 and 30,
David smashing things.
31,
Saul is taking a battering
from Israel's enemies.
Verse 1
sums it all up.
The Philistines
were fighting
against Israel
and the men of Israel
fled before the Philistines
and fell slain
on Mount Geboah.
This is a dark,
sad,
tragic verse.
Think of scenes
from the First World War
when the machine gun
mowed down
hundreds of bodies
across no man's land.
This is the scene
we see here.
But there's only one winner
and that's the Philistines.
If you had been
at Mount Geboah
that day,
you would have seen
one corpse
after another
laying strewn
across that mountainside.
And it's not just
Saul's army
that gets killed as well.
It's his children.
Did you notice
in verse 2
that Saul's sons
are struck down?
Jonathan,
Abinadab,
and Malkishua.
You see,
Saul's rebellion
against the Lord
that you've been seeing
in 1 Samuel
doesn't just affect
Saul and his army,
it's affected
his family as well.
That's what sin does.
Sin doesn't just
affect one person.
You see that all
through the Bible.
Sin affects
your relationship
with God,
but it also
affects those
around you.
sin affects
everything.
Even
Jonathan is killed.
Did you notice that?
I mean,
that's a shock
if you're reading
through the book
of 1 Samuel.
I mean,
Saul,
we can understand
him dying.
He's disobeyed
the Lord
time and time again,
but Jonathan,
does he really
deserve to die?
That man
was a faithful
friend to David,
the Lord's anointed,
and at the same time
a loyal son to Saul.
He managed
through his life
to walk that
really tight,
tight rope
between honoring
his father
as God had
commanded him to
and yet being faithful
to the Lord's anointed.
Do you know how hard
that was for him?
It must have been
really difficult.
When David was
anointed to be king
and the women
were shouting
those songs of praise
about David
striking down thousands,
Jonathan didn't get jealous.
Jonathan didn't get envious.
What did Jonathan do?
Here's my cloak.
I honor you
as the anointed one
of the Lord's.
I mean,
in the end,
he could have said
goodbye to Saul
and he could have
stuck near to David
and he would have
been safe.
His life
would have been
spared.
So why does he
have to die?
Isn't it a bit of a waste,
this faithful man
of God dying?
But it's not a waste.
You see,
Jonathan died
doing what he loved,
battling
for the Lord
and for his people.
What better way to die
than in the service
of the true king?
You see,
faithful service
to the Lord,
no matter how it ends,
is never a waste
because the Lord
always remembers
what we've done for him
and doesn't forget a thing.
Dale Ralph Davis,
one of the commentators
I was reading this week,
wrote this,
he laid aside
a kingdom
he could not have
to enter
a kingdom
he could not lose.
He laid aside
that kingdom
he couldn't have
that God had given
to David
to enter
a kingdom
that couldn't
be taken away
from him.
I was reading that,
it reminded me
of Jim Elliot.
Well,
he died in Ecuador.
Do you remember
what he said?
He is no fool
who gives
what he cannot keep
to gain
what he cannot lose.
That was Jonathan.
He's not a fool.
His life
isn't wasted
because he gave
up the thing
he couldn't have
for the thing
that he could have.
An imperishable crown.
You know,
sometimes we think,
don't we,
in a Christian walk?
I don't know
about you,
but I do anyway.
Is it all worth it?
Why am I giving
this all up
for the Lord Jesus Christ?
We have that sinful
battle, don't we?
Some days.
Maybe you're better
Christians than I am.
We have a battle,
don't we?
On that day,
when Jesus returns,
we'll get that
pat on the back
and he'll say,
well done,
good and faithful servant.
And it'll be all worth it.
All the struggles,
all the battles,
all the war scars,
all the suffering,
it'll be worth it
because we'll get to praise
the name of Jesus
for eternity.
Our job,
like Jonathan's job was,
is to be faithful,
to be loyal
to our true king,
Jesus Christ.
This world's
going to pass away.
It's all going to pass away
one day.
But God's kingdom
never went.
Jonathan dies,
the kingdom
that he believed in
continues on
forever.
That's where our confidence
is as Christians.
Not in this world
around us,
not in these things
that we have today,
but in that true kingdom
that is to come
when Jesus returns.
So what a loyal son.
Second scene we see
is a proud king.
The writer moves
from the army
to the sons,
quickly narrows it down
in verse 3
as the battle
begins to rage
around Saul.
The battle presses
hard around him.
The Philistine archers
find him.
They hit the target
and he's mortally wounded.
And so,
as he's lying there,
probably on the mountain,
he asks his
armour bearer
to thrust him
through with a sword
because he knows
that the Philistines
get him and he's still alive,
he's getting decapitated
and tortured
and all sorts of
evil things
will happen to him.
The armour bearer
refuses,
probably because
he doesn't want to
strike down the Lord's
anointed,
a little bit like
King David
earlier on
in the book of 1 Samuel.
And so Saul
finishes himself off
and his armour bearer
joins him as well.
And the scene again
is tragic,
isn't it?
Saul dies alone
with no reference
to God.
Doesn't even cry out
to God
in his last moments
in repentance.
And the suicide
just shows
the tragedy
of the situation.
The scene actually
reminds us,
and I think the writer's
being intentional here,
of Abimelech.
Do you remember
Abimelech
in Judges chapter 9?
An awful judge,
a ruthless judge,
killing 70 of his
brothers on a stone,
rampaging against
his own city,
he's burning towers
to the ground
and then a lady
drops a stone
on his head
and he doesn't want
anyone to know
that the woman
has killed him
and so he gets
his armour bearer
to thrust a sword
through him as well.
Basically,
this is not a good
comparison.
It's like comparing
your death to Hitler's.
Wouldn't be a great
thing, would it,
in your obituary?
That's how slow
Saul has come
from being anointed
as God's king,
chosen by God's people
to be king
to having to kill
himself as the
Philistines come
against him.
Look at verse 6.
Thus Saul died
and his three sons
and his armour bearer
and all his men
on the same day
together.
The writer's making
a point, isn't he?
He's lost everything.
Everything that he
had his hands on,
he has lost,
annihilated,
wiped out.
And not only that,
the following verses
tell us the people
living in that area
see the defeat,
they basically leave
their houses behind,
collect all their
belongings and they
go off into other
parts of Israel
and the Philistines
come and live
in these houses.
Sons killed,
army gone,
king killed,
territory taken,
job done for the
Philistines.
Tragic.
Here's what we
learn from Saul's
life.
Sin never pays.
It looks good,
sometimes tastes good
in the moment,
but it always leads
to death.
That's the life of Saul.
We got arrogant.
If you remember,
he chose sacrifice
rather than obedience.
obedience.
It's led to him
being rejected by
God and God
raising up David.
This led to Saul
being envious of
David.
This led to trying
to kill God's
anointed one.
This led to him
not listening to
God's voice.
This led to him
killing a whole host
of priests.
This led to him
going to a medium
to try and discern
what God is saying.
Basically,
the decay of
Saul's kingdom
mirrors the decay
in his own
spiritual life.
The decay of
his own kingdom
mirrors the decay
of his own
spiritual life.
Here's the thing,
when we reject
the Lord in the
slightest ways,
whatever it is,
it can have
disastrous effects
in our lives
and in our
family's lives
and in our
church as well.
Sin always looks
good for the
moment,
but it always
bites us on the
backside.
It's not worth it.
In particular,
we must learn
from Saul not
to have a
proud,
proud heart.
That's where it
started for Saul.
It's the silent
killer.
Heroin is not
the biggest problem
that we struggle
with in the
schemes.
It's pride.
Pride.
We think we
know it all.
We think we
know better
than God.
We think we've
got the Christian
walk sorted.
when we think
we are something.
That is a very
dangerous place
to be in.
Very dangerous
place.
We need to
remember this
as Christians.
We are
nothing.
We are
nothing.
What is
Paul?
What is
Peter?
What is
Apollos?
What am I?
What is
Graham?
What is
any of us
but servants
of the
Master,
Jesus Christ?
If we
remember that
we are
servants of
Jesus Christ
who have
been saved
totally by
his grace,
it will keep
us humble
and walking
closely with
our
saviour.
God
the other
choice is
to have
a proud
heart
that leads
to death
and hell.
Saul
abandoned
the Lord
and ended
with death.
Same with
anyone who
turns aside
from the
Lord and
trusts in
themselves.
The question
is are we
being faithful
to the Lord
now and
will we be
faithful to
the Lord
in the end?
It's not how
we start.
That matters.
it's how we
go on
through the
rest of our
lives to
the day
that we
die.
You see
as we grow
on in the
Christian walk
we're going to
grow in grace
aren't we?
We're going to be
sanctified and
grow in godliness
hopefully.
But we never
ever outgrow
our need of
grace.
We were
damned
sinners when
we came into
Christ saved
only by his
grace.
Do you know
what we are
now?
Damned
sinners saved
by his
grace.
It doesn't
matter if
you're day
one a
believer or
50 years a
believer.
We stay in
that same
spectrum.
We were
heading to
hell and
we would be
heading to
hell unless
Christ intervened
in our lives.
That should
humble us.
Every day we
should beat our
breast and say
have mercy on me
Lord I'm a
sinner.
But nothing
more nothing
less than that.
Saul got it
wrong didn't he?
He got
proud.
Don't make
the same
mistake.
Scene three
we have a
faithful God.
So King
Saul his
sons his
army are
dead.
Philistines
are buzzing
probably can't
believe their
luck.
We read in
verse eight
that the
next day they
strip the
dead.
They find
Saul's body
and his
sons.
Verse nine
says they
cut off his
head.
they put
his
armour in
one temple
and they
fasten his
body to
another temple.
They want
everyone to
know that
Saul is
dead.
So they
send word
around telling
people the
defeat.
It's like
putting a
status up on
Facebook.
You know we
usually put good
news up on
Facebook don't
we?
Well this is
their good
news.
Saul's
dead.
our gods
have got
the victory.
You notice
the language
in verse
nine.
In the
ESV anyway
it says
this and
he sent
messages
throughout the
land of
the Philistines
to carry
the good
news to
the house
of their
idols and
the people.
The word
behind good
news is
gospel.
Gospel.
They're
spreading the
gospel of
the defeat
of their
enemies and
the gospel
giving glory
to their
gods.
Just think
if you're a
Jew for a
moment reading
this text.
It doesn't
mean much to
us a couple
of thousand
years later.
But if you're
a Jew reading
that text you
would be
livid.
You would be
very very
angry.
You would be
gutted.
Your enemies
have the upper
hand and
have taken
some of your
territories.
It was a
total humiliation.
It's like when
Scotland beat
England at the
football rugby.
As an
Englishman it
hurts reading
that and
watching it.
But the
worst thing
about it is
when you go
to church
the next
day and
everyone
rubs your
face in
it.
That's what
it's like
here for a
Jew.
Okay,
we've got the
defeat.
We don't need
to hear about
it again,
over and
over again.
But the
worst thing
for them is
that the
name of the
Lord has
been disgraced
in their
eyes.
The name of
the Lord has
been defamed.
They think the
Philistine gods
have got a
victory.
That's what the
Philistines think.
That's what
Satan rejoices in
the most,
doesn't he?
When he can
disgrace the
church, when
he can disgrace
God's people,
when he can
get a mini
victory or
what he thinks
is a mini
victory over
the Lord and
bring praise to
his own name.
But we know
from the book
of Samuel that
the Philistines
and their gods
have not got a
victory at all
here because
they're not in
control.
Just flick
back to 28,
keep you on
your toes.
Chapter 28,
verse 19.
Remember this
conversation,
the medium of
Endor?
Moreover, the
Lord will give
Israel also with
you into the
hand of the
Philistines and
tomorrow you and
your sons shall
be with me.
the Lord will
give the
army of Israel
also into the
hand of the
Philistines.
See, Samuel
leaves us with no
doubt who's in
charge here.
It's not the
Philistine gods
that are in
charge, it's
God who is
in charge.
He's in
control of this
event as 31 is
the fulfillment of
his word through
Samuel to Saul.
And here's the
thing that we
learn here.
The word of the
Lord is always
fulfilled.
It doesn't
matter if it's a
divine pronouncement
of judgment or
if it's a divine
pronouncement of
blessing.
God's word is
always fulfilled.
Do you remember
the beginning of
1 Samuel,
chapter 2?
Flip there with
me.
It's a summary of
the book so I
thought I'd give
you a little look
around it as well.
1 Samuel 2,
verse 6.
So what Hannah
prays, the Lord
kills and brings
to life.
He brings down
to Sheol and
raises up.
The Lord's the
one who's in
control here.
Not these
Philistine gods
they've made up.
Not the
Philistines who
think they've got
a great victory
because of their
tactics and their
great war efforts.
It's because the
Lord gave Saul,
his sons and his
army into the
hands of the
Philistines.
The word of the
Lord is fulfilled
here.
That's what's
happening in
chapter 31.
And this is a
good thing that
God's word is
fulfilled because
it means this for
the Christian.
We can trust him.
A God who
breaks his word
is not trustworthy.
As Isaiah
writes, the grass
withers, the
flowers fall, but
the word of our
God will never
fail.
It stands
forever.
This chapter
helps us
remember we
can't trust our
feelings.
We can't trust
the people around
us.
We can't trust
the government
or anything.
They all come
and go.
The only person
that we can trust
in this world
is the Lord
because he is
always faithful
to his promises
and always
fulfills his
good words.
even in the
worst circumstances
of our lives,
the Lord is
working.
People think
they get a
victory of the
Lord sometimes,
don't they?
See Islamic
extremists killing
Christians and
shouting victory
to Allah.
The Lord is
lost from
heaven.
He is the
one who is
in control.
Saul might be
defeated.
That was God's
plan.
He is raising
another king
in King
David.
Again,
Dale Ralph
Davis writes
this,
In darkness
or light,
what matters
is having a
God who
speaks a
true and
faithful word.
In darkness
or light,
what matters
is having a
God who
speaks a
true and
a faithful
word.
Things might
be a mess
in our
country.
It's been a
mess,
hasn't it,
with Brexit?
A right
mess.
A right
pig's ear
of it.
Things might
be a mess
in our
lives today
or in
our family
life.
People
might have
let us
down this
week or
this year.
Our heads
might be
completely
battered with
the situations
that we're
facing in
life.
But you
can be
sure of
one thing
this evening,
whatever
you're going
through,
the word
of the
Lord never
fails.
The only
thing that
stands in
this roller
coaster of
a world
is the
word of
God.
That's what
you can
bank your
life on.
That's what
you can
trust in.
We'll
soon be
dead,
but God's
word never
dies.
It never
fails.
It always
remains.
In darkness
or light,
God is
always faithful
to his
people.
The Philistines
haven't got a
victory.
God is in
control.
in our
last scene
we see
a few
good
men
and we'll
end
with
this.
The
chapter
ends
on a
small
hideous.
Did you
notice that?
A few
good men
from
Jabesh
Gilead
hear what
the Philistines
have done
with the
body of
Saul.
They go
on a
rescue
mission
to get
the body
back.
It's like
saving
Private
Ryan.
They go on a 20-mile round trip through enemy territory
to come and get that body back.
It would have been dangerous.
It would have been tiring.
It would have been exhausting.
And yet they go for it.
Why is that?
Why do they go out of their way to help this disobedient king
who basically helped lose a whole load of soldiers?
Why the hassle?
Why do they go for it?
Well, the reason is gratitude.
Do you remember the first thing that Saul did as a king?
As you went through the series?
I don't know who preached on it, Shanks.
But it was back in 1 Samuel chapter 11.
Do you know what Saul did there?
He rescued the people of Jabesh Gilead from the Ammonites.
Remember the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon Saul.
He gathered 330,000 men and he rescued the people of this region.
These men just wanted to honour what the Lord had done through Saul at the time.
Out of respect, they wanted his body to be laid at rest.
That's what they did.
They never forgot what Saul had done for them.
Imagine if you were just at the hands of these people, the Ammonites.
I think they were about to gouge out their eyes.
And then someone comes in and rescues you.
You'd be forever thankful, wouldn't you?
Yeah.
Gratitude is an important part of the Christian life, isn't it?
As Christians, we should never forget where we've come from
and what God has done for us in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
His death on the cross rescued us from slavery to sin,
slavery to Satan, and slavery to death.
We were heading to hell.
No hope.
And yet God in Christ rescued us by the power of his Spirit.
We've got something to be thankful for.
We should never, ever lose the wonder of the cross.
When we forget the wonder of the cross, we go to two extremes.
We either take everything for granted or we get bitter about life.
A life full of gratitude helps us stick near to Christ, our Saviour.
We should be like that one leper who went back after he was healed,
again and again to Christ, saying, thank you, Lord.
Thank you, Lord, for rescuing me.
Thank you, Lord, for that work you've done in my life.
Do you ever think, do you ever sit and think, where would I be without Christ?
What would I be doing now?
Where would I be?
Christ has saved us.
So these men rescue Saul's body.
They bury him under the tamarisk tree.
Saul's reign began with his deliverance of Jabesh Gilead and ends with Jabesh's deliverance of Saul.
Saul's kingship started so strongly but ended disastrously.
So at the end of the series in 1 Samuel, in chapter 31, probably thinking, where's the hope?
Where's the hope after all that?
What a tragic chapter.
Well, the hope is this.
God has chosen another servant.
God chose another servant in David's.
1 and 2 Samuel are actually one book, so you need to keep preaching.
One book in the original.
And so you read chapter 31 and go straight into 2 Samuel, chapter 1, where David ascends the throne, unites the empires, and a golden reign begins.
But here's the thing.
He's not even the hope, is he?
Because he's going to fail.
But he's pointing forward to a greater hope, isn't he?
The everlasting covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And so in these dark days, that is our hope.
Jesus Christ.
You see, like Saul, Jesus' body was brutalized on the cross.
But unlike Saul, Jesus was faithful to his heavenly Father.
He was obedient to death on the cross.
And then he rose three days from the grave, conquering death, sin, and Satan, and establishing a kingdom that will never pass away.
This is what Mary, the angel said to Mary in Luke 1.
He will be a great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.
And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
And of his kingdom there will be no end.
That's the kingdom we're part of.
That is the kingdom that God was pointing forward to in 1 Samuel.
And so whatever's happening in our lives, whatever's happening in our countries,
we can trust that Jesus is reigning and he's ruling and that he's building his kingdom.
It doesn't matter if secularism is on the rise.
Jesus is building his kingdom.
It doesn't matter if the laws change and we are persecuted.
Because Jesus is on the throne.
It doesn't matter if it looks like Satan is winning.
Because Jesus is on his throne.
See, as Christians in the UK, we often panic, don't we?
We get quite pessimistic about things in the UK.
You know, they're changing laws on homosexuality.
Look at how people are getting aggressive towards Christians.
But here's the thing.
It's been exactly the same since Jesus died and rose again.
I think if the empire, if the Christian kingdom survived through the Roman Empire,
I think you can survive in these times.
But here's the thing.
Our job doesn't change.
And your job at Brunsfield doesn't change.
Your job is to continue to be faithful to Jesus
and tell others of what he has done for you.
It doesn't change, does it?
Kingdoms come and go.
Our job as a church never changes.
Go into the world.
Make disciples of all the nations.
And baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
And I am with you till the very end of the age.
Do you know that was said?
That was said on the mountain as well.
1 Samuel 31, Mount Geboa.
Everyone's dead.
Another mountain.
A few years later, Jesus is saying,
Go into the world.
Make disciples.
I'll build my church.
And the gates of hell will never prevail.
Amen?
Amen.
Let me just pray and then I'll hand over to whoever.
Dear Lord, I thank you so much that you are building your church
and the gates of hell will not prevail.
I pray for Brunsfield here.
They will continue to be faithful to the gospel
and they will continue to preach this glorious message to this city.
And they might continue to see men, women and children saved
as you work in this area.
I pray for our nation of Scotland that you will continue to do the same.
Would we be known once again as the land of the book
where people from all over Scotland are worshipping and praising Jesus.
Whatever happens in our lives this week,
help us to trust in him.
In his name we pray.
Amen.