1 Samuel 8 Bible Study (Israel Demands a King/Samuel Warns/The Lord Grants) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

I feel like a child every Friday from the morning till the night because I I just I look forward to discovering what God has to say, and then when I discover it, I can't wait to share it. And I hope you feel the same way when you read your word or when you hear something from the word that you can't wait to relish in it, worship God because of it, and share it with someone else. Sometimes I have trouble sleeping on Saturday night if you wanted to know, and I think I figured it out. It's for that very reason. I can't wait for Sunday morning.

First Samuel chapter eight. First Samuel chapter eight. As you're turning there, quick question to freshen our memories. Who are the two men that we, looked into that, stood in God's light as mighty intercessors in the old covenant? Samuel.

Samuel and Moses. Correct. And Samuel and Moses had a lot in common because of their love and devotion to God in the place of prayer, but also in their love and devotion to a people that were not as faithful to God. They stood in the gap often throughout their ministries as they shepherded over God's people in their generations. They were men of prayer.

They knew how to seek God for those that were backslidden and rebellious and ungrateful. But as we come to this chapter, we're gonna see a difference between Samuel and Moses at least in one part. Yes, they're unique in different ways, but we're gonna see how in one particular instance, one was in the right where another one lacked the wisdom that he needed in this moment. Let's read these few verses together in chapter eight verse one. When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba, yet his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. Now that is interesting. Bible study tonight.

So here's my other question. How many children did Moses have? He had two. Correct. How many did Samuel have?

According to these verses, he had two. Now turn to Numbers chapter 27 because this is the main difference between Moses and Samuel in their prayer lives. They both were faithful in praying for their nation, the same nation, different generations, but one was faithful in seeking God's for Israel's future leadership whereas the other one was not. Numbers chapter 27 verse 15. Look at Moses realizing that he is not entering into the promised land.

Here is his cry before God. Moses spoke to the Lord saying, let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be a sheep that have no shepherd. Moses sought the Lord for Israel's future leader, whereas Samuel assumed that his sons would be the future leaders of Israel. There's the difference. He had two sons.

Samuel had two sons. And to be fair, we don't know why Samuel decided for his sons to become judges. There's no reason given. Some might say that he thought that they were faithful men and they were up for the job. Others might believe that he was getting old and he wanted to rush the decision because his time was was coming to an end, so he just picked his sons.

Or maybe he thought to himself that he wanted his sons to follow in his footsteps, so he he challenged them with these positions even though he did not consider their lack of character for the job. We don't know why he made this choice. We don't know his motives, but one thing is for certain. The moment that power was given to Joel and Abijah, they became corrupt. They became corrupt.

Their true character was manifested because that's what authority can do to people. Authority can reveal much about man. And it's amazing because we see throughout the bible what we're seeing today in our politics, what we see in many ministries even, what we see in so many spheres of life. When a man or a woman is given a position of power but lacks the fear of God, there will be no hesitation to pervert justice. There will be no second thought to in institute evil laws or to even manipulate the masses for personal gain.

See, if you fear God, that's almost hard to believe because you have such a frame of mind where you tell yourself, I would never do such a thing. I would never make such a decision. I would never be so deceiving. But because you think that way, don't think for a moment that other people think the way you do. So you have many people today that find it hard to believe that there are individuals and places of power that are possibly in the work of deception, that are in the place of wanting to pretend to serve when in reality, they are trying to benefit themselves and even to the point where they will deceive, deceive a nation, deceive the world.

If you have any doubt in your mind that there are people today that are in those positions of power that are not capable of that, realize that from Genesis to Revelation in different moments of history, God has proven that there are kings and there are leaders that have an agenda that is operated by the Antichrist spirit. Just because you love God and fear God doesn't mean the president does, doesn't mean judges do today, doesn't mean that the future of our world is gonna operate under that kind of understanding. In fact, it's going to turn around into a different direction. There's a quote that I'm sure you've heard, power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If you give an unsanctified man or woman that kind of power, they become perverse, And that's why in the church, the institution that is governed by God listen.

When you look at the qualifications in first Timothy three and Titus one, what what covers the basis for the resume? Character. More than ability, more than resources, more than charisma, the main thing is your character. Because even if you have the gifting, even if you have the personality, if you don't have the character, the calling won't last long, and you'll damage others because of it. So God looks for character, and for some reason here, Samuel missed it.

He missed it. There are no recorded incidences where Samuel sinned grievously. None. But I look at a verse like this, and I'm sure you would agree that he did make a mistake. This was a shortcoming.

He did not seek God, it seems. You know why that's important to realize? Because though it's it's hard to believe because you witnessed this man, we've read up to this point, he was sensitive to the spirit of God. He walked in the presence of God, but for some reason at this point, he missed it. I'm gonna shock you today.

It might shock you to the core. You ready? Men and women of God aren't perfect. I'm sorry. They're not gonna get it every time.

Although they are called to make decisions prayerfully so that they can avoid blunders, it doesn't mean that at some point in their life, they might make a mistake. It's possible. You see it right here. It's very humbling to read this, but it's also comforting to know that that is a reality. And you heard it last Sunday that Paul, when he wrote to the pastors in the New Testament, his introduction, what did he include on top of grace and peace?

Mercy. Because leaders need mercy. Because they're human, just like you. And oftentimes, people expect mercy from spiritual leaders, but when spiritual leaders might have a shortcoming, they don't get the same mercy from the people they serve. But here's a man of God who prophesied every word that he spoke, God would honor, and at this point for some reason, he didn't get it right.

I would say it's a mistake. But what happens when a man of God makes a mistake? What happens when a woman of God doesn't get it right, that didn't have the wisdom to make a decision that might not just have hurt themselves, but in this case, even hurt others? Well, first, he humbles himself, and then if it's in his power, he tries to make it right. Who does this remind you of right now, Samuel with his two sons?

Does that ring a bell? Just a few chapters. Another spiritual leader, Eli with his two sons. Were his two sons corrupt as well? Yes.

But does Samuel do the same thing that Eli does? I'm seeing some heads saying, no, he didn't. How do you know? People who are shaking their heads. How do you know that Samuel did it differently than Eli did?

Any indication? Those who love first Samuel, I know many people here love first Samuel. It's coming up, but we can go there and peek. Would you like to know what Samuel did to his sons? Well, I'm gonna show you anyway.

First Samuel chapter 12. Look at the first two verses, and I want you to see what Samuel did. Verse one. And Samuel said to all Israel, behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walks before you, and I am old and gray.

And behold, look at this phrase, my sons are with you. I've walked before you from my youth until this day. What do you believe that phrase my sons are with you implies? Any idea? Is it pretty straightforward?

I've realized the lack of character of my sons. You're gonna read here in chapter eight that the people complained just like how they complained about Eli's sons. And what did Samuel do? He removed them from their position of leadership and placed them among the assembly. My sons are now with you.

They're not above you in authority anymore. They're now on the same level as you all. And I believe Samuel was operating by the motivation of what he had witnessed in Eli's life. He did not wanna be under the same indictment as that high priest because Samuel saw firsthand. I mean, he delivered the message of what happens when a man chooses anybody, including his own kindred, above the honor of God.

And so when he realized that his sons were were walking in the same way as Eli's sons, he knew what happened to Eli and his sons and his descendants, and he says, no way. I love you boys, but I love God more. You're fired. You're out of here. I love this man because he feared God.

Eli was tender and nice and he seemed humble and he didn't seem like he was the aggressive type, but he was not a man of God in this sense because he did not honor God above his sons. This man did. You're removed from your place of leadership, and you're gonna be among the people, and God honored that. There was no judgment against Samuel even though he made a mistake initially. There's no judgment upon his descendants.

And so we learned that this man learned from the mistake of others because wisdom is more than just you learning about your own mistakes. It's learning from the mistakes of others. It's you being so observant in life that you take into account the successes and the failures of others and you apply them to your own life. That's wisdom. Wisdom watches people and observes people and takes warnings from the lives of other people, and we're gonna realize that to the Israelites that didn't mean much.

Now this is amazing because I read this and I think to myself, but how how is a man like Samuel who is so godly and honored in the nation, How is it that he had sons, both his sons, all of his sons as rebellious as this? I'm sure we have different speculations and reasons, but I do argue this tonight that when you read something like this, it should provoke a balanced judgment. A balanced judgment and understanding how influence in the home works. Because when you read this, you have to realize that Samuel was a man of God. Look what it says here in verse three, yet his sons did not walk in what?

His ways. His being Samuel's, meaning that Samuel was walking honorably and in dignity and in the fear of the Lord. And some would say, well, Samuel was a a traveling minister, so maybe he didn't have the time to sit with his kids and and disciple them and train them. Well, you could say that, but we see here that he walked right. So what's the equation?

Very simple one. His sons had a will. They had a will, and their will and their choice was this. Dad feared God, but I don't wanna fear God. I'm gonna choose the path of sin regardless of the example that has been set before me my whole life.

That's possible, you know. That is possible. And I would argue that it should be a rare occasion because there is a strong power with godly influence within the home, but it's still possible. And that's what we see here. Children choosing to walk in their own ways regardless of a man of God that was a prophet of the nation that raised them up.

But notice also that it's equally possible for a son or a daughter to be under the unfortunate supervision of a hypocritical parent who claims to be one thing but is another at home and still be godlier than the hypocritical parent. That's also possible too. Notice the name of one of the sons, Joel. Now, this is why you can't skip genealogies because when you go to first Chronicles, and I want you to see it, you're gonna see something that will hopefully encourage you. You go to first Chronicles chapter six, and you're gonna see something encouraging about Samuel's descendants.

Was Joel a man of God? Absolutely not. His ministry was a scandal. He was a failure as a leader. And if he was a failure as a man of God in the place of a judge, surely that's a reflection of what he was like at home.

But notice what we read here in first Chronicles chapter six verse 31. These are the men whom David put in charge of the service of song in the house of the Lord after the ark rested there. So now we're about to get a name of people, the names of people that were worship leaders in the temple that came to that came into the house of God, and their full time job was to worship the Lord in song with instruments. And you scroll down to verse 33 and look at one of the names. These are the men who served and their sons.

Of the sons of the Kohathites, Heman the singer, the son of who? Joel the son of Samuel. Samuel was a man of God, Joel was not a man of God. Samuel's grandson was a worship leader under the ministry of David the king. Heman the singer.

So, did he allow the lack of example of his father to influence his future? No, and you shouldn't either. You shouldn't either. The failure of the influence of your father and mother should not determine the influence that you can have for God. As one put it one person put it simple as this, if you didn't come from a godly family, make sure a godly family comes through you.

You have that decision. Stop blaming generational curses, for goodness sake. Oh, this is how we've been. This is our culture. This is a this is just what our family is bound to.

We're just just a string of alcoholics. The blood of Christ crushes any curse. So don't come up with excuses tonight. Believe that when you're in Christ, you're a new creation, and through you as a new creation, you can breed new creations and new testimonies. Because here's where it gets exciting.

Heman was not just a worship leader. Oh, this is where you have to go to chapter 25. You don't just read through Chronicles and say, I wanna get to the achepards. You stick through the genealogies. Go to chapter 25 and look at this encouragement.

Verse five and six. Verse four gives us 14 names, and I'm not gonna read them. You can read them on your own, but here's a summation of it. In verse five of first Chronicles 25, all these were the sons of Heman, the king's seer, according to the promise of God to exalt him. For God had given Heman, look at this, 14 sons and three daughters.

17 kids. Now pause, don't read on. 17 kids. In your mind, based on your experience, how many of those kids would serve God and how many would serve the devil? What?

Seven serving God, seven serving Satan, seven following in the the steps of Samuel, and the rest serving in the steps of Joel. Look at verse six. They were all under the direction of their father in the music in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of the house of God. Every single one of them were a part of the worship team. Every single one of them.

All 17 of them. I mean, the man had his own personal choir. His family was his own choir, and he was the choir director. Can you imagine that sight coming to the house of God for one of the sacrifices? And there you see Heman the singer, son of Joel, what a scandalous man, son of Joel and 17 of his kids with different instruments behind him taking Haman's instructions on how to glorify God.

Believe God for that for your family. Believe God for all your children to serve the Lord. Believe that when you choose to follow the Lord, don't get scared and think, well, what happens if the world will take them? What happen if they're influenced by their friends? Believe God for all of your children to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The church needs a new revelation of faith in the area of raising families again. The Muslims learned it. Be fruitful and multiply, and they're doing it. Each of them have four wives and they're pumping out babies and then they claim that they're the fastest growing religion, not by conversion. And yet the church and I get it.

Many parents are fearful to bring children into this world because of all the corruption. But look at it a different way that there will be arrows in your hand shot out into the world for the kingdom of God. And so we see that here with Heman. And you read on about Samuel in first Chronicles six, where did Samuel come from? What person?

Korah. Read back in in first Chronicles six, you read the names and Samuel came back from Korah. Now who's Korah? What did Korah do? What was he known for?

He was infamous for rebelling against Moses and Aaron authority authority and then the earth swallowed him and his family up. And God chooses by his grace that out of that rebellious people, a prophet would arise. Samuel, God is extremely merciful and gracious. And so we see here that despite Joel's failure, there was a man of God named Haman. And despite where you came from, the pain, the hurt, the betrayal, the lack of example, the lack of upbringing from your father or mother, don't get caught up in thinking I'm so damaged, I'm no good for God.

Choose to believe God and move forward in honoring him. Now we come to verse four of first Samuel eight. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, behold, you are old. Imagine telling somebody that. Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways.

Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations. So Samuel's old age and the failing leadership of his sons provided an opportunity for the elders who represented the nation of Israel to present an idea that seems to have been brewing in their hearts for quite some time. And this was the idea, they wanted a change of government. They desired for a shift to come for the first time. Well, maybe not, but it proves that this people wanted something different.

And they use again Samuel's age as an excuse, but it's amazing here that they point to the corruption of the sons in some kind of righteous indignation, while in that pointing trying to further greater disobedience. So they're saying your sons are corrupt. Give us a human king. That's not the right request. But it's a picture of how people are willing to stand and point fingers to others while they themselves are corrupt.

They're very loud when it comes to the sins of others. They're very quick to vocalize how things are not right when they themselves are eaten up by the same corruption. Your sons are not right. So we're gonna present you another idea that's actually not right. And how would their opposition would have been righteous if they said your sons are not right?

Remove them. But no, they says your sons are not right. Give us a human king. Now you know this, who is king of Israel? God was king of Israel.

God was king of Israel. And that's important to understand because this is not the first time that Israel requested for a human king. Can you think of the first time we see that people actually requesting God for a human king? Does anybody know? Does anybody remember?

That should give you a hint. When was the first time we see it recorded where Israel said, we want a king? People are whispering. Think now. It's not as obvious as this but it's there.

I'm not gonna tell you. I'm gonna have you turn your Bibles there so it can be embedded in your mind. Judges chapter eight and you'll see that this is where we see the first instance where Israel required rather requested a king. Judges eight twenty two. Then the men of Israel said to who?

Gideon, rule over us. You and your son and your grandson also for you have saved us from the hand of Midian. Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you and my son will not rule over you. The Lord will rule over you. You see, the judges were not like kings.

God was king. He operated the throne and it was his government that prevailed. So then what were the judges? They were raised up by God in crisis moments. That through the judges, God will ultimately bring a miraculous deliverance so that he would receive glory anyway.

The judges were not like kings, so that's why this kind of request implies that they were requiring a king. They said, we want you to be the ruler and that your son and then his son, that's what they desired, a human government. And Gideon knew well enough that's not gonna be the case. He by his response, you're you're seeing here the offense of this kind of request. You know that God is ruling over us, so why would you ask me to do it?

And that's why when you come back here, you see how Samuel is himself disappointed in this request. This role would be passed down from one generation to another. It would actually kick God off the throne in their minds so that they can have a human king. Here's my question for you tonight. Why would they want that?

Why would they want a human king? Yes. In the general sense, they wanted to be like the other nations. Now that's what they said and that's a dangerous reason. Their motive for a king and wanting to be like the world is a terrible idea, but it's a matter of a lack of something as well.

Now go down to to to the same chapter of first Samuel eight. Look at verse nineteen and twenty. But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel and they said, no. But there shall be a king over us that we may also be like all the nations as we heard. Now look at this.

Here's an extended reason why. And that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. Wasn't God doing that? Wasn't God fighting their battles? Yes.

Here's what I believe is happening here. They wanted a king that they could see, feel, hear, observe. They wanted a tangible king. They wanted somebody that was always present and always in sight and someone that can give them a more guaranteed sense of security and protection. God was king and God would manifest his power to save his people, but oftentimes as you know, his methods are spontaneous.

And many times he required fresh faith for the people to trust him before something miraculous would take place. And here's what I believe is happening, that people are tired of living by faith. It's too hard. It's too difficult. It's too frustrating.

It demands too much. And so they look at the nations and they have a king that they can see, that they can come at any time, that is there, that he's tangible. He's observable. He doesn't it doesn't require us to believe and trust in the invisible. They want somebody that they can observe.

They want an observable hope. Ultimately, what they're saying here is that we don't really trust God and this whole faith thing is a little too demanding. Give us a king. Give us a king. Not realizing that God was king to show the world how Israel was different, how they were a people that lived by faith.

He even placed them geographically in a certain area unlike Egypt that had the Nile that would require their trust in rain being provided in specific seasons for their crops to grow. Everything about God placing them there and being invisible and not giving them a monarchy is also that he can pull faith out of his people. And the people up to this point are saying, we're fed up with this faith thing. Give us a king. Here's my question for you tonight.

Yes, the covenants have changed. Yes, many things have changed. But has the principle of God's rule over his people have changed? No. They haven't changed.

God requires just as much faith in Him today as He did back in this day. Actually, let me let me put it this way. Your very love for Christ is an expression of your faith. Your very love for Christ Actually, the very substance of your joy doesn't make sense in the natural. It doesn't connect with our senses.

It's despite your senses being interacted with. Don't believe me, first Peter one eight. What did he say? Though you have not seen him, you what? You love him.

You don't see him with your eyes. You don't hug him every morning. He doesn't appear in your room and give you instructions for the day. You don't see him. You can't observe him with your senses.

So how do you love him? How do you love somebody that you've never seen before? Oh, it goes beyond that. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. The world tells you to engage with your senses in order to tap into happiness and here's some substances to enhance your senses.

Right? Your taste, your smell, your seeing, your hearing, your feeling. And here you are a Christian, you have a joy that doesn't even have language to describe apparently, and you're believing for something that has not yet happened, your source of joy is not because you got the new model or because you got the updated furniture and because you have the new brands, your source of inexpressible joy is in a faith of a promise for something yet to come. So no, we're no different than the Israelites. But just like the Israelites, many Christians get weary of living by faith.

It's hard, and I'm I'm gonna say to you, it is hard. It's not easy. God didn't say it would be easy, but it would be worth it. And that's what I I see here. I I I see a people that don't wanna live by faith but they wanna live by sight now.

And so here's my challenge to you, because I meet a lot of Christians, a lot of Christians that are bored, that are bored. You thought I was gonna say something else. Right? Compromising and this no. Bored.

Bored in their Christianity. Distracted in their Christianity. Frustrated in their Christianity. And here's why. I believe in part, because they're trying to operate the way the world does.

They're trying to use their senses, and they are dependent on their senses rather than faith. They don't know how to be spiritual in their spiritual journey. They don't trust in the spiritual principles to know that prayer can actually be an experiential thing, that reading the word can actually produce some kind of joy and thrill, That walking out in the will of God is actually exciting. They don't believe that. They need something now to engage with my senses.

And then that's why you have so many Christians that are carnal because they don't live by faith. They live by sight. They live by sight. And so, when the flashes and the glare comes and the things pop up on their phone, it just it doesn't take much. Like a fish in the water with a worm on a hook, it just right away.

So we are required to be people to say, Lord, I wanna know what first Peter talks about here in verse eight. I wanna know that love for you even though I don't see you. And I wanna know what it's like to have in think about that. This isn't professional right now. Let's let's just talk.

Okay? Think about that. Inexpressible joy. Not expressible joy. Not joy that you can define.

If I ask you, how was your lunch last week? You told me about this wonderful place. You can describe it. The burger was on point. The meat was juicy.

The surface was wonderful. That's expressible. You can define it. And what's what's being said here? Inexpressible.

You can't even have language for it. Now where are those kind of Christians? I'll tell you where they're at. In caves on the other side of the world, hiding with one broken instrument, tapping it and singing along with it because they've tapped into a faith that doesn't require sight, that doesn't require a constitution, that doesn't require privilege. I want that.

I've heard many ministers say that when they travel abroad, they lose their taste for American Christianity. A lot of pastors, you're not pastors in this place, but I would say if you're ready to go abroad and come back, be careful because it might mess you up for the rest of your American ministry. That wasn't in my notes. So let's go back to first Samuel eight. They said here that they want a king.

And the real reason, as our brother said, they wanna be like the nations. Samuel was disturbed by this request. Look here in verse seven. And the Lord said to Samuel, obey the voice of the people and all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Why is he saying that?

Because his reaction in verse six, but the thing displeased Samuel when they said, give us a king to judge us, and Samuel prayed to the Lord. I love that. Do you see Samuel's reflection? Do you see his reflex here? They said, we don't want God to be king.

And they're actually attacking him because he was the judge. We don't want you to judge over us anymore. So this is an attack on God, an attack on the man And what's his response? He goes to God in prayer. Don't you love that?

He's displeased. He's frustrated. And this man is proving what we learned last week like Moses. He was a man of prayer. He went to God and saying, God.

He's sensitive enough to God to realize that this is this is a call against him and he's saying, God, they're rejecting you after first Samuel seven where you did a miracle and we set up an Ebenezer and this wasn't enough. And he's so frustrated and God hears his frustration and God calms this his servant and he says, do you realize that they're not really rejecting you? They're ultimately rejecting me? Here, I wanna comfort you tonight, those who are faithful in their witness for the gospel. When you are rejected, when you share the gospel, and when you share a biblical truth even with a professing Christian, and you are either ignored, despised, or scorned at, never forget that it's not you that they're rejecting, it's Christ.

Okay? Never forget that. If you're gonna experience any pain, any embarrassment, any frustration with your efforts, let it be in this that they have despised the Lord of glory, not you. Jesus said the same thing. You go out and teach and if they reject you, remember that they rejected me ultimately.

And God is saying the same thing here. But more than that, God also reminds Samuel that what Israel is doing here, they've always been doing. So look here, verse eight. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving others, so they are also doing to you. He's like, Samuel, this isn't anything new.

They've been doing this since day one. Humanity has always resisted God's rule ever since the garden. And in different dispensations, in different moments in history, you and I see example after example where God longs to be king over his people and they continually turn their backs on that desire. And this rejection of God being king is a foreshadowing of a greater rejection to come. In John nineteen fifteen, the crowds are calling for Christ to be put away.

They're asking that he would be ultimately crucified and Pilate said to them, shall I crucify your what? What did he say? Your king. And what did they say? The chief priest answered, we have no king but Caesar.

Mankind's nature is bent on making other things king rather than submitting to the King of Kings. Why? Simply because they believe that there is a better king than Jesus and that there is a better government to submit to than his kingdom. That's why. That there's more freedom, there's more provision, there's more protection, there's more success by submitting to your ideal ruler instead of the rule of God.

And obviously, there was something attractive about the nations around them for them to even bring up this idea to Samuel. There is something that pulled them. We wanna be like the nations. So this is just another dispensation, another moment from Genesis to Revelation where men say, we don't want Christ as king. And because of that, God is gonna be faithful because God will give us what we want.

Right? You've heard that so many times before but this is what he's asking Samuel to do in verse nine. He says, now then, obey their voice. Only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them. You know what he's saying?

They want a king? Fine. But I'm gonna be merciful and gracious enough to tell them the consequences of this decision with the hopes that in hearing the consequences, they would reconsider their choice of having a human king over me as their king. Now, I'm about to read these this is a lengthy warning, but I'm gonna read it out loud for the sake of you paying attention and hearing a repeated word that will be the point of application from this warning. You guys ready?

Verse 10. So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. He said, now listen, these will be the ways of the king who will reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.

He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He would take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks and you shall be his slaves.

In that day, you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day. Wow. What's the word that's repeated? You got it. He will take.

He will take. He will take. He will take. He will take. He will take.

He will take your best men for his personal service. He will take a greater tax than the taxes that you guys already have. He will take away some of your freedoms. He will take some of your finances. He will take some of your livelihood for his sake.

He will take. Why is that important? Because the people in choosing their own king think that they're gonna get what God can't give when in reality they're gonna lose more than they thought. And what God is doing here, he does throughout his word. Listen, he gives us commands and he gives us examples for warning us of what happens when we choose a path apart from him so that we would reconsider our life choices as we read these things and hear these things.

That's how gracious God is. See, this is just another example of God showing us, look at what's gonna happen. And that's what his word does. Look at what's gonna happen if you commit adultery. Look at what's gonna happen if you're greedy.

Look at what's gonna happen if you have anger. He shows us, and here he's doing it again. You want a king? This is what it's gonna look like for your life. And it could be summed up in verse 17 at the last part, you shall be his slaves.

See, they thought that we're gonna have greater freedom with a new king, but I wanna say something. There is not one person from Adam till the last man before Christ returns, there is not one person who is free. Every person is a slave to something or someone. Every person. Because that's the Bible's commentary.

No matter how free somebody declares themselves to be, no matter how autonomous they might boast they are, no man is free. Every person is a slave. Some are slaves to their boyfriends. Some are slaves to their money. Some are slaves to the opinions of men.

Some are slaves to pornography. The scriptures declare that all men are slaves. Now that might sound like a depressing thought but here's where it becomes not depressing. It just all depends on who your master is. So you might not believe me in saying that all men are slaves.

So I'll give you what the Bible says in Romans six sixteen. Just listen, you don't have to turn there. Here's what Paul says, do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey? Either of sin, which leads to death or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. Whatever you obey, that's your master.

And the Old Testament shares a thought provoking example of slavery in the old covenant. Here's one example of that. When a man owned a slave, after a certain amount of years, he was to let go of that slave to be a free man. But the instruction doesn't stop there. If that slave who has been freed so loved his master and contemplated what joy it was to be under his rule, he had the choice to return to his boss and say, I long to be your slave forever.

And then there would be some kind of a a practice there where his ears would be pierced and that he would be owned by that slave until his dying breath. Saying what kind of instruction is that? Well, yes, it's instruction, but it's also prophetic image of the goodness of Jesus Christ as master. That when you truly know his lordship and you actually understand his goodness when he becomes lord of your life, Even with the freedom that you have to go your way, you will take that freedom and give it back to him saying, I want you to be my master for the rest of my life. I want you to be my Lord.

I don't want life to be lived out by my rules and my desires. I long for you to sit in the throne of my heart, to be the commander of my ways. And so you have a choice. You're either a slave to sin or you're a slave to Christ. Pay attention to this.

Every time the gospel goes out from this pulpit week after week, there are some people who choose to get up and walk away and refuse that gospel. And as they get up, not moved by what Christ has done on the cross, not even considering the price that he paid for their souls and they walk on out here. You know what they do? They declare as they walk back into their cars, blast their music, and drive back home that there is a greater king than king Jesus. And there's not one moment knowing that people walk out with that decision, there's not one thought in my mind that thinks, are they going to something greater than Christ?

Not for a second. I know in the depths of my heart that whatever they choose to serve leaving this place is not even close to the goodness of Jesus Christ. Not even close. It doesn't matter if the whole world lives the same way. You know, sometimes from time to time, I go on YouTube and I and I look up things that go viral.

Like, I don't look up for viral things, just things that I see have millions of views and a lot of these things are vlogs. And I look at what people do in these vlogs and I watch them. And the way these young celebrities like, you're talking about kids with millions of dollars and they do all these things like $50,000 given to random, you know, things like that. And I watch and I think to myself and I watch a few of them. And I go, this is it.

This is it. This is how these people live. And then you have people that don't live like that, but they watch and they enjoy how people live. This is people's lives. This is how they're spending their youth and their energy.

And there's not one moment that I log off YouTube and I think to myself, boy, that that looks exciting. Am I missing out serving the Lord Jesus Christ? I praise God every single time that he saved me. I praise God every single moment. There's not one ounce of envy in my heart, and there shouldn't be in yours.

Because God says in his word that there is no peace for the wicked. They can have all the money and all the splurges and all the challenges, and I bought this and I sold this and I gave this away, but there's one thing that they don't have according to the word of God, peace. And no money can buy peace. That was only purchased at the cross. So they want a king.

He gives them warning. If you wanna do it your way, if you wanna be king over your life, this is what it's gonna look like. And what happens? We read here in verse 19, but the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, no. But there shall be a king over us that we also may be like the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.

Let me pause and say this too. This is a picture of when the church wants to be like the world. When they don't trust in God's word of how His church should operate and how it should be governed and how it should be led and built, and they say, that's how the world does it. Let's bring the world's methods into the church. That never ends right.

That'll never end right. When you take a business model and apply it to the church, you're not gonna get converts. You're gonna get consumers. When you wanna bring entertainment into the church, you're not gonna get true serious followers of Christ. You're gonna get people that want to be entertained.

But when you preach the word and you declare the gospel and the theme of your ministry is the word of God, worship, prayer, fellowship with God, doing the work of the kingdom, you'll attract those who want that. And as Raven Hill said, I'd rather take 10 people who wanna do it God's way than 10,000 people who wanna play church. I don't wanna play church. These people wanna play church. They wanna be like the nations.

And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. I love that intimacy you have with God. They said it and he goes, alright. And he went back to the Lord and said, Lord, this is what they said. There's just this communion with God.

It's like moment by moment, he spoke with the Lord. He heard from the Lord. Oh, that's amazing. And the Lord said to Samuel, obey their voice and make them a king. Samuel then said to the men of Israel in dramatic fashion, go every man to a city.

And he walked away. What do we take from this? After this long winded warning that he provided the nation, they did not move an inch from their original position. We want a king. Now, this is amazing because you can preach a message on a certain subject.

You can preach a series of messages, and unfortunately, for some, it doesn't change much. They can go right back to the same ways. They can do the exact opposite of what you say, and it just shows how troubling our hearts are, and it goes even beyond that than here. Listen. It goes beyond that.

Not just hearing the warnings of what it's like if you go in the certain direction. No. They even failed to see what history has proven when you do do something in a certain way. Let me ask this question in bible study tonight. Who was the first king of Israel?

It's a little trick question. I heard Saul, so let me make it more clear. Who was the first illegitimate king in Israel? Later, it's actually in our last book that we studied. The first illegitimate king in Israel.

Yes. Gideon's son. Do you remember that story? Let's turn there in Judges chapter nine. So you remember when they said, Gideon, be the ruler over us.

And what did he say? No. No. The Lord will rule over you. Now remember that chapter?

Gideon did not become the king, but he lived like a king. He knew that the people were vulnerable and that they were at a place to receive his rule, so he he said, I won't be your king, but he started living like a king. How do we know that? Well, when you come to chapter eight before we come to verse rather chapter nine, we read here in verse 31. This is Gideon, and his concubine, who was in Shechem, also bore him his son, and he called his name Adimelech.

Right there, we know that Gideon wasn't an official king, but he lived like a king. Why? What does Abimelech mean? My father is king. Abi, my father Melech, king.

My father is king. So you realize what Gideon did? He said to the people, I will not be your king. And when he had his son through this concubine, he named him, my father, Gideon is king. And because of that identification, I believe Abimelech had the inspiration in chapter nine to do what?

Look at verse one of chapter nine. Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem, to his mother mother's relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother's family, say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, 'Which is better for you, that all 70 of the sons of Jeroboam rule over you, or that one rule over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.' Look what happened. He tells him, he names him every time he called his name as he grew up. You know what this man would hear?

Your father is king. Your father is king. Your father is king. So when he's old enough, what does he assume? If my father is king, I'll be king.

And what happens here in verse six? And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth Milo, and they went and made Abimelech king. There is your first illegitimate king in Israel. Abimelech king by the oak of the pillar at Shechem. And you know what happens in chapter nine when Abimelech becomes king.

It is a disaster. It is a mess. Slaughter, murder, civil war. And here's my point. The people didn't even consider not just Samuel's warning, but their history.

They didn't consider what it was like when they had a king to their own choosing and their own timing, and they still said, we want a king. May the Holy Spirit help us. May God help us. May God be at our aid because this this is a reflection that we can hear even from a man like Samuel the prophet who called upon God and he thundered in such a way where the Philistines bumped into each other till they died. And with their own history with Abimelech and the disaster that came about when they made him king, even with all of that saying, no.

I want it my way. I want it my way. If you feel that resistance to the word of God, to the commands of God, to God's timing, to God's ways in your life, oh, ask God to soften your heart. He's more than willing. He's more than willing, and he's more than able to do it Because we're gonna see here what Samuel said that after they wanted this, they got it.

And when they got it, they wished they'd never got it. They wished they'd never got it. And so I wanna encourage us in this place. If Christ is your king, if Christ is your king, you have nothing else that you need in this life. Nothing else in this life.

Let the nations go their way. You have all that you need. But I wanna also say this, is Christ your king? Is Jesus Christ king? I'm not asking if you believe in him.

I'm asking if he's lord of your life, if he's master of your life, if you run everything by him as a king should, if you love him and adore him, if all your decisions reflect him being glorified, is he king of your life, or is he co king? You sit on one throne and he sits on another. That doesn't exist. That's just a figment of your imaginations. Is he lord of your life, Or do you desire something else to rule over your life?

You know, when people say that they are in control of their lives, they won't say it, but they live like it. Again, remember Romans six. They're actually slaves to something else. There's not one person that's free. You're a slave to something.

And I strongly suggest and I proclaim with the authority of the word of God that the greatest master you can have is the Lord Jesus Christ. You know why? Because here, we read with Samuel that if they had a human king, he would take, he would take, he would take, he would take. When you make Jesus king, he gives. He gives.

He gives. He gives. He gives so much more than whatever you gave up to serve him. And when you make somebody else or something else king, they will take much more than you have anticipated. So make him king.

He came not to be served, but to serve. He came to give his life as a ransom for many. He came and, yes, he calls you to die, but in your death, you will live. Oh, you can't lose with Christ. You only win.

You only win because you know what it's like to live life for yourself, right? You know what it's like before you came to Christ. You know what it's like when you were Lord of your own life. I hated it. I hated it.

I was a cruel master to myself. I made some stupid decisions that harmed me and harmed those I loved. But, oh, when Christ became king, he ordained my steps and my speech. And not only did it bless me, but it blessed those around me. So you read here when the human king would come, it would affect every area of your life.

And so will be when Christ becomes king. He will affect every aspect of your life, every aspect of your life, even your health, your finances, your relationships. Everything will be touched by him when he rules over your life. See, people think if I make Jesus king, that means that I have to obey him and go to church Sunday morning. What?

He doesn't just rule your weekday, he rules your life. But see that Christianity isn't preached anymore. That Christianity is this. Come Sunday morning, give your tithe. That's how you prove Jesus is king.

Oh, really? It's just about taxes now. No. It's about him leading you and guiding you, and him getting glory of every step that you take in this day. And I'll tell you this, it's a joy.

The longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. Let's pray together. Let's declare to the Lord Jesus Christ that he is king again. Lord, we tell you in this place tonight through this Bible study, our hearts are stirred to worship you. Lord, you are king.

You are king. You're the king of all kings and the lord of all lords. Lord, you are the only master that is worthy of being served and surrendered to. Lord, as a church, we will not follow the nations. We will take your orders as they are.

Help us by your grace and mercy to trust in your ways and your methods that true fruit will come in faithfulness to your word. Lord, as individuals, help us with joy to live by faith and to believe that in living by faith, there is an inexpressible glory that we will experience on this side of heaven. And Lord, for those in here who do not know Christ as King, may they taste something of his lordship in this moment. That they may be like the slave found in Exodus who said, I want to be his servant forever. Pierce my ears and make me a slave.

Thank you, Jesus, that in the gospel, being your slave is better than being our own king, that being your servant is better than being our own master. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Unlike the Israelites in this chapter, Lord, we collectively together look to you in our hearts, and we say, be our king forever. Be our Lord for the rest of our days. Rule and reign over United Evangelical Church and every other church that is represented here tonight.

Lord, we are glad in your salvation tonight. We rejoice in the gospel tonight. We tell you that you are worthy of our praise. Lord, as our king, may you find worthy servants. Worthy servants that will love you, and cherish you, and declare your kingdom to all the nations.

We worship you now tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen. I don't know about you, but this Bible study stirred my heart. Christ is King.

And until then, we can know an inexpressible joy. If it's inexpressible now when I don't see him, what is it gonna be like when I see him? I'll tell you what it's gonna be like. You need a brand new body or else you'll blow up. That's how amazing it is.

You can't your ligaments, your organs, your mind can't even comprehend how awesome he is, that God has to do a miracle where he gives you a glorified body so that you can even withstand his presence. If it's inexpressible now, what is it gonna be like when we stand in his presence forever? I can't imagine, but I wanna know all the joy that I can get on this side of heaven. Are you downcast today? You serve a living Christ.

Are you discouraged today? Are you not where you wanna be in life today? Do you think that you would be somewhere else? You have a living Christ. Your life is beyond your relationships.

Your life is beyond your financial circumstances. Your life is beyond what you wanna do because coronavirus held you back on some things that you have planned for. Your life is more than that. Your life is more than your disappointments. Your life is more than the failures of others that have crushed you.

Your life is more than that. What do you have? On average they say that you have seventy something years to live. That's what statistics show. That's it.

And then eternity. And then eternity. You know people people get disturbed by that like, no brother. Don't be so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good. Then you wouldn't have liked the company of Jesus.

Remember the disciples? They walked around, they said, look how beautiful the temple is. Look at all the adornments. Remember? And Jesus is like, I'll tell you, it's not gonna be too long before all of these things are gonna be thrown down.

Like, woah. Because he had an eternal perspective. Jesus, look at the authority these demons cast out in your name. He goes, rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Eternal perspective our Lord had.

Even in his short thirty three years, he had an eternal perspective. We need to get back to that. We need to get back to that in our worship songs. We need to get back to that in our conversations. We need to get back to that in our counseling sessions.

K. It stings now. It hurts. Yes. But glory is coming, and it's gonna be light in comparison to the weight that's coming.

So let's worship him tonight. Let's tell him, Lord, thank you for the eternal promises that are in our disposal. It's coming. You're coming, and all of this is gonna be changed. Hallelujah.

Praise God. Praise God.