Bible Recap Week 15

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everyone, and welcome to the Water's Edge Bible Recap Podcast. This is Pastor Eric, and I'm really glad you're listening. This podcast is one of the tools that we're using this year as we read through the Bible together. It's a chance for us to think about last week's reading, what's standing out to you, what's confusing, what might God be saying to us along the way? One of the things that we are focused on in the reading is what does our reading say about God? We call them God shots. How is it helping you trust God? I believe relationships move at the speed of trust. So the more you build your relationship with God, the more you know God and the more you trust him. My hope is that along with this podcast and other tools that you're using, you're gonna grow in confidence. God is a missionary guy, which means He sends us out to live and to love like Jesus. So see this time as a workout, a workout that builds muscle so you can live like Jesus, love like Jesus. I love spending time in the Word with you like this, so let's get started. This is a little tough podcast this week because um we have covered so much ground, beginning uh with the reading um of Ruth and then moving through several chapters in 1 Samuel. Um I I like the reading, it's it's exciting, it moves pretty quickly. However, there is a whole lot um of uh ground to cover. I'm gonna leave the story of Ruth alone in the podcast because I'm gonna shift that to uh some messages in the coming weeks um at Water's Edge. So I want to pick up with the reading this week um with Hannah, uh Eli and his sons, Samuel, uh, touch a little bit on leadership and King Saul, and I'm gonna do my best to keep it to a time similar to the other podcasts. Uh the reason for these weekly podcasts is not only to recapture um what we have read, but to encourage you to keep on reading. You're not alone in this process. Um, can you believe this is uh day 100 already? Uh it's the 15th episode or 15th podcast. Um and so if you are if you are uh up to date with the reading, uh you have probably just uh recently uh passed through day 100, which is just awesome, good for you. Um and if you're behind, this is not meant, this is not a guilty thing, just uh catch up or jump where jump in where you are. Um 1 Samuel is a great place to start. Um so where do we begin today? Well, what happens when people want what God hasn't yet provided? That's kind of the big question that I had in the reading this week. Because um we have four individuals that were uh that were missing something that only God could provide. Uh we start with Hannah uh wanting a baby. Um then it moves to Eli, who um who had a house that was horribly corrupt um with his two sons. Eli himself um was uh that had some flaws, but but a but a good man. And uh I think he needed boldness and strength. Um Eli kind of reminds me of a parent who wants to be friends with his kids instead of being a parent to the kids and letting the kids get by with what just ridiculous, uh sinful things, and uh and lets it go. And then we also have Samuel, who in the beginning starts off as, of course, a little baby, and then Hannah dedicates Samuel to uh to the temple as was promised, if if God would allow her to have a son. And uh Samuel has this amazing awakening uh through God, whose voice has actually been kind of silent for a while. And uh Samuel uh gains purpose. We have this the famous line, you know, speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. And then um, and then finally in our reading this week, we uh we were introduced to Saul. And Saul um it comes into this whole different political setup because the people uh were not happy without having a king. They wanted a king. And uh so that's what we're gonna talk about today. So if we start with Hannah, uh just quickly, I'm I am deeply moved as I read this first chapter of Samuel of the raw prayer of Hannah. Her desire is so powerful. She even says, if you give me what my heart desires, I will surrender this child to you, God. Um I also love the relationship that Hannah has with her uh husband El Kanah. Um, his love for her is just so genuine. I I think it's a uh it it has, although it doesn't talk a little bit about the romance, um, it it you can just sense it. His love for her is genuine. He puts zero pressure on her to have a child, even though that was so important in those days. Um at one point he he even seems to say to her, uh, hey, babe, I have everything from you I want. You are perfect to me. I mean, El Kana loved Hannah so much. Um, but Hannah wanted a baby. And uh and she talks to Eli, and then as you were reading, you get God answers Hannah's prayer, and uh she does exactly what she said she would do after she weans Samuel. Uh she presents him to the priest in a dedication to live in the temple. One of the things I've I have noticed as we have read through the hundred days of scripture was the importance of the birth of children. Um how the relationships between parents and how the children were born and how they were named and how they were treated. Um it's been very intriguing to me. It hit me this week. It was such the birth of a child, this particularly a male, was such an incredible event. I think if if I were to write my own biography, autobiography, um a highlight in that autobiography would be the birth of my children, would be the birth of my grandchildren. Um it would take up a lot of space. Um as you're living life, though, you tend to forget those monumental moments in life. Not you don't remember them, but life becomes so busy you you forget about how precious those moments are of birth and uh precious weddings are. And like I could go a long time without thinking about my wedding day. Um, but yet it was one of the most precious events in my entire life uh to see Lisa appear at the back of the sanctuary uh and as she begins to uh come, my bride uh begins to come down the aisle. Uh I think of graduations that have mattered and uh births of uh grandchildren and nieces and nephews and all of those things. Scripture captures some of those beautiful moments, and I love that. It makes me want to remember those beautiful moments in uh in my life as well. Well, Hannah praised this consecrated desire for a child, and she tells Eli the priest that she will dedicate Samuel to the Lord to live out his life, uh serving in the temple. And Samuel um eventually becomes the judge who he will eventually anoint King David. Um so I don't want I don't want you to miss this though. All of these events Samuel, Eli, um God speaking, a fresh message, all of those events happen. They take place because of the humble, fervent prayer of Hannah. Don't miss that. As we move through the second chapter, we see uh we're introduced to Eli's sons and we see how corrupt they are. Uh these guys dishonored their father, they dishonored God, um, they dishonored worship, and it's heartbreaking to see Eli's failure to call his sons out and to address them. I mean, I understand the love of a father, and I understand the idea of you know not seeing sometimes the uh the fault in your own children. I I see um I see parents doing that all all the time. Uh I understand and I understand that too. But um Eli never called the rebellious spirit out in his two sons. And and they had this this horrible behavior. Um we also at the same time, at the same parallel, we also have Eli, uh Samuel now living with Eli in the same house, and the scripture says that Eli, uh unlike Eli's sons, that Samuel, uh the boy Samuel, the scripture says, and Samuel grew. It it reminds me of of the only words we really know about Jesus' childhood, and uh in the scripture says, and Jesus grew with wisdom and stature. I wrote down in my Bible, thinking about uh prior primarily the this dysfunction um of Eli's family. When when you tolerate dysfunction and disrespect in your home, it becomes a decay of generations that follow. And really, we could even say from a leadership perspective, the same is true. Cultures of dysfunction and dishonor decay the culture of an organization. And it can take years to turn an organization around. It can take years for a leader to build trust and commitment within that organization because the previous uh, I'd say administration or the previous leaders tolerated or caused dysfunction and uh disrespect. And that can be true, um, that can be true in a family and in a home. I was having breakfast with a couple of men this week and we talked about um the current high school and and uh college generation that are that are coming uh up right now. And and uh you may know this, but for the first time, uh this generation is is uh desiring a relationship with the church. They're desiring a a relationship with um uh with religion um and uh and and uh uh Christ as well. And um as a matter of fact, I'm seeing now more times than than I can remember um the word revival being used. Um my alma mater, Anderson University, had a big article last week talking about this this revival that's happening within the the uh student body. Um so as we were having this breakfast, uh one of the men said that he had read that when this age group comes to find Christ, uh comes comes uh not back to the church, but into the church, sometimes for the first time, um they're this generation saying, Why why didn't our parents tell us about this? Well, you keep in mind that the parents generate that their parents' generation were the ones thinking, well, religion was pushed on me, and I was made to go to church, and I'm not gonna let my kids, you know, have to feel like they have to go to church. They can sleep in on Sunday morning. Um you don't have to go to church. That's that was kind of the generation of their parents, and it reminds me that we are always one generation away, one generation away from decay of morals and values, and uh and we see that played out in Eli's sons. Um but then thankfully, growing up in Eli's house, we have this young Samuel, and uh he hears the voice of God, and uh you're familiar with the story, and finally he says, Speak, Lord, for thy servant is hearing, uh, or the heareth, or uh the servant is listening. And uh I think I I love that phrase, first of all, but God can use anyone that says, Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears. Speak, Lord, I am listening. When we get to chapter four, um we start to see this decay starting to happen in through battles of Israel, through uh Eli's sons. And instead of serving God, um, Israel begins to say, uh, well, we we're gonna use God. And so into this battle that they had previously lost, they said, Oh, we'll take God with us, so we're gonna take him um in into battle, we're gonna carry the Ark of the Covenant like a weapon, um, and they end up losing the battle and they lose the ark. Um, and I for me, as I look at that, I think this is God saying, uh, no, no, you're not gonna manipulate me. I will not be captured, I will not be used. Um, if Israel will not defend my glory and who I am, then I will defend my own glory. And so we see this, this um uh um we see this movement of uh the the enemy begin you know pushing the ark onto all these other different groups, and they are getting sick and they get tumors and skin diseases, and they're like, get this ark away from me. Um but uh and then and then when the ark is finally returned and people realize that uh God cannot be manipulated, Samuel leads the nation in a time of repentance, and he restores this idea that God is a king, and uh we don't use him, but he uses us. Um unfortunately that that call of repentance doesn't last long, and then once again we see Israel looking at all the other nations and the people, and they say, Hey, we we want to be like them. Uh we just don't want to follow a God or a judge or a priest, but we want a king. We want to be like them. We want to be uh we don't want to be like who we are anymore. We want a king. And so they were they were crying out for a king. Um Samuel is is broken um at this time. He sees his he sees the people uh rebelling against God, calling for a king, and not allowing God to be the king. And uh even as I even as I say this during the podcast, I I see parallels today. Um people searching for a God that fits into their desire, uh, fits into their belief system. Um but those systems that that people often uh search for um or or changes in what doesn't seem to fit into their life, um oftentimes those systems are not really built on uh scripture or at least orthodox theology. And I think I think I think it's a part of man's fallen nature uh to think that we are God and God exists to serve us. Um nothing could be further from the truth. We are created to serve God, we are created to serve others, we are created to love God, obey him, live in his glory and blessings, but but man rejects God's ways and and they begin to wander. And people find what they are looking for, um, and sometimes it even appears when people are on this journey to find their own truth, it even appears that God blesses that. Um but in actuality, sometimes God grants the desires of our hearts not as a blessing. Um, but in this case in Samuel, and I think in many cases that I can think of, um it God grants the desires of certain people's hearts not as a blessing, but it it's a as a lesson to be learned. And uh I think in where we are um right now in our society and in our culture, um we're we're kind of we're kind of there now. People looking for their own truth and people wanting God to uh cooperate with their schedule and their agenda, instead of us saying, okay, God, we're gonna start with we're gonna start with what the word says. Um it's sort of like this. Have you ever been so fed up with your child that you have given in to him or her just to let that child suffer the consequence? You know, hoping that maybe they would learn from it, hoping that they would, you know, someday come back to you and say, Oh, mom, you were right, or oh dad, I won't do that again. You know, I should have listened to you the first time. Um, that's the conversation that God has with Samuel. Um, God says to Samuel, hey, uh Samuel, let them have a king. Let them have a king. It won't go well. Um, they're not gonna like it, they're not gonna like paying taxes, you know, they're not gonna like, you know, uh, this heavy-handed king. Um, but uh but let them have it. And so uh they reach, they get king, they get King Saul. And we're introduced to Saul. Saul is a very impressive man, he's insecure and in constant need of people's approval. Um and the spirit empowers Saul, King Saul, this impressive guy. And there's this rising tension that you read begin to feel in the scripture between Saul being a good leader, but he doesn't have a good foundation. Years ago, I was working with a church that was having a pretty serious conflict, and their pastor had done some very questionable and dishonorable things, and the the church board reached out to me um to come and uh to consult with them. And uh so I I went in and I sat down and I listened to the story, I listened to the things that that this pastor had uh had done, and um and right away the the board I noticed in the board that um they had a lot of respect for their pastor, even though the things that he had done were uh very disrespectful. And um but the guy was really gifted, and he was a good strong preacher. Um he was very talented, he looked the part of a pastor. Um uh he was a little older guy and and uh he just looked that part, you know. And uh but his integrity, his integrity was really low. And I was trying to help the leaders realize uh at this at this juncture where they were that the testimony of a leader, the testimony, the character of a leader is more important than the giftedness of the leader or the talent of the leader. And they said to me and and there were two others of us at the table, they said, you know, we we're just not willing to act upon this information. They knew it was true because they called us in because of it. Um and they said, if we if we um elevate the character over his position, uh we could lose the church and people would leave, and we don't know if we would last and the church could close. And I remember leaving that meeting uh discouraged. Um it I mean, I just couldn't believe that they they said talent matters more than testimony. That uh that the gifts matter more than character. And uh anyway, six months later, um I was back at the church, uh, the pastor had been fired, uh the entire the entire board resigned and walked out, and the church ended up closing. All to say, character matters, right? Um there's a couple of themes. I I wrote down four themes that we're kinda I'm I kinda land on. Um and just to sum this up real quick, God raises leaders in response to prayer. God raises up leaders in response to prayer. We tend to we tend to ask different people to become leaders, we tend to pursue them, we tend to train people, we tend to uh search and you know, hope that somebody would come uh that could, you know, do this certain thing, whether it's in the church or in our business. But but this tells me that God raises up leaders in response to prayer. I think we need to pray for workers in the harvest. The second thing is God removes leaders who dishonor him. Um not always at lightning speed, um, but leaders that dishonor. God he he removes. The third one, God's presence cannot be manipulated. That was a big one with the with the sons of Eli trying to manipulate God. You cannot manipulate God. He will not stand for it. There's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of falseness out there. And I I belong to a periodical or a like a newsletter that comes out, I think it's on Monday morning, and it's called Ministry Watch. And it's all of the stories that had happened in that previous week of ministers falling. And the ministry always looks so good. Well, behind the scenes, God's presence is not going to be to be manipulated. And God will remove leaders who who dishonor him. And then the the last the last theme, and I I close with this, God may allow what our hearts desire, even if it doesn't fit into his plan, so that the consequences are felt, but he is still calling us back to himself. When we start to wander and start to try to control or manipulate God, his voice is still calling us back, saying, Come, come back, come home, come home. Let me, you know, come back to your first love, as it would say in Revelation. Come back. And I think that's a, you know, it's that's just a really important thing to think about. The real question, you know, isn't really who who is leading us and how great they are. Um, it's whether is it's whether or not that leader or we are really listening to the heart of God. Hey, God bless you and thanks for listening. Thanks so much for listening to the Water's Edge Bible Recap. I look forward every week to walking in the Word with you. You can find more information about Water's Edge Church at www.watersedge.faith. And you can listen to our weekly message on any platform under the Water's Edge website or by downloading the Water's Edge app.