 But today we're in 1 Samuel chapter 9 and we're going to be looking at this chapter together as Saul becomes the king of Israel. He's about to become king. They're demanding a king and God is going to allow them to have Saul. I'm going to read verses 1 and 2 and then we're going to get into our study and we'll pick up at verse 1 and then move on and ultimately conclude the chapter. But beginning at verse 1, verses 1 and 2, there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Billy Bob, no, Zoroor, the son of Bekorot, the son of Afia, a Benjaminite, a mighty man of power and he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people and so what we have here is an introduction of a man by the name of Saul, but let's remember what has taken place here. After this time the nation of Israel has been led by judges and prophets and Samuel is the last judge. Samuel is now grown older. We read last time that he had become old. He probably was around 60 years of age. He had a couple of boys, a couple of sons, Joel and Abiya, and the nation of Israel have rejected them and the reason that the nation of Israel has rejected them is because they were just dishonest men. They went after bribes and they perverted justice and they had been judging in an area called Beersheba and the elders of Israel gathered together to reject these sons. You see God had anticipated a request like this because in the rejection of the sons as judges they also were making a demand for a king, something that was not a surprise to God because God had anticipated that in the Old Testament. I mean when you read the Bible you have the first five books of the Bible, the fifth book of the Bible is the book of Deuteronomy and there in that book in chapter 17 verses 18 and 19 God begins to give the behavior of the king and he says the king is to have a scroll of the law that he writes, he copies, and he's supposed to judge the people according to that law. He was to read it, he was to love it, he was to know it, and he was to judge righteously according to it. They were to have, he was to have a fear of God and it was the fear of God that would keep him a righteous judge. It was to have the fear of God and a love for and a knowledge of his word that would make him possible, make it possible for him to rule well. Everybody knows that when good men and good women occupy positions of authority things can go a lot better. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 29 verse 2 when the righteous are in authority the people rejoice but when a wicked man rules the people groan and so when you have a good person in authority things are going well and we'll go out for the nation but when somebody who is evil is ruling and things don't go so well and people get depressed. Solomon wrote books of the Bible and he wrote songs, he also wrote Psalms and in Psalm 72 verses 1 and 2 which is a Psalm of Solomon he said give the king your judgments, oh God, and your righteousness to the king's son, he will judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice and so a righteous ruler is going to cause the people to be in a place to be blessed by God an unrighteous ruler causes them to groan. Well Samuel is displeased, he's displeased when the people come and approach him and say we don't want your sons to rule over us and he takes it personally but he takes the prayer request to the Lord and he speaks to God about it and God makes it very clear to him that they are not rejecting you Samuel, in effect they really are rejecting me because the people wanted to have a king who would rule over them. We saw then chapter 8 when it said in verses 19 and 20 we will have a king over us that we also may be like all the nations and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles and so in reality what they were saying is they're saying we don't want to be under the law, we don't want to be under the law of Moses because we know that the king to rule righteously is one who would be under his law and in effect what you're seeing here is them saying something like we want a separation of church and state that's basically what they're saying we don't want God to rule over us we want a separation between God and ourselves. Now they wanted a centralized form of government because the Philistines actually had five main cities that had five rulers who worked as a composite in the rulership over the people of Philistia. They want to have a centralized government and they believe that a king can be the person who's the answer to that problem and so that's what it's all about right now and they're wanting to have a king appointed and so we're introduced to this king here in chapter 9. Now notice with me in chapter 9 verse 1 first we have the identity of this particular person his name is Kish and he's from the tribe of Benjamin. When you read your Old Testament you discover that God had divided the nation of Israel into twelve tribes. Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob from which the twelve tribes originate and Benjamin was his favorite son he loved his son Benjamin. Benjamin is a small tribe but Benjamin as a tribe had great influence and so you're seeing a man who's from the tribe of Benjamin a man by the name of Kish and notice with me in verses 1 and 2 how it says he was a mighty man of power he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul there was not a more handsome person than he among all the children of Israel from his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people so what we have here is we have a man who has a tremendous amount of unearned qualities as you look at Saul and you're introduced to him notice that this man here has unearned qualities several of them this is a guy who could win the people's choice award this is a person that they really liked and there were reasons why one verse one says that that Kish was a mighty man of power that's another way of saying that his father was a man of influence and wealth he had influence and wealth it's interesting to me how that even today people will are more are more taken by those who have influence and wealth we have a tendency of that that's just the way it is even though Saul had nothing to do with the father's influence and wealth I remember a long time ago I was reading something about a man who was a very successful man he's a very wealthy man a businessman and he was being interviewed he was being interviewed by somebody who asked him how did you come to have all your wealth and the man said well when I was around 10 years of age I used to get up early in the morning and I would get my shoe box on Saturdays and Sundays and I would go out to the store and I would be there in front of the store and people who would walk in I would ask them if I could shine their shoes and I would charge them a nickel and so I did that for a long time and every nickel that I made I put in a little bag and I took the bag eventually put it in the bank and I invested it as I got older I started going to school I graduated from high school I went to college I majored in business I got my masters of economics and and I started businesses and so the man interviewing him said to him so that's how you became wealthy and he says oh no no that's not how I became wealthy I became wealthy when my father who was a millionaire died and left all of his money to me and that's kind of how it works you know we have a tendency of thinking well that person's wealthy well in the case of of sol he did nothing to gain that wealth my kids when they were little would say to me oh I have a friend who's his dad and my my kids would actually say this my friends have are very rich and I'd say your friends are rich yeah I have a friend dad who's really rich and I said where'd he get the money from he said well from his dad I said then your friends not rich his dad is you know and that's kind of how it works you know a lot of times kids think that they're rich because whatever dad has belongs to them well in the case of sol sol was from an influential wealthy lineage his dad was a mighty man his dad was a well-respected influential man but sol had nothing to do with that had nothing to do with that and secondly he's described as being choice and handsome the word choice there in the Hebrew carries with it the connotation of being young it's not that he was like 20 or 25 years of age is that he was probably 40 or so in his life and he was still younger at the prime of his age not only did he have youth on his side but he was also a very handsome man and beyond that he was tall this guy had it all this guy was from a wealthy background this man was as handsome as they as they came he was he was he was fairly young and this man was so tall he was just everything that the average person would admire the thing is about this as you look at this is not a single one of these qualities were the result of anything he had done but it's the combination of these qualities that are exactly what people use to determine whom they like because people have a tendency of listening to the young tall handsome and wealthy that's the way it is that's why nobody listens to me I mean they will listen to those who are young and handsome and tall and wealthy and that's the bottom line we have that listen that's not something that took place just back in the time of Samuel I mean that takes place now as I was preparing this Bible study my daughter Corinne came into my office and and said dad did you know that Brad Pitt addressed Congress and I said really Brad Pitt addressed Congress she said yeah this week and I said are you kidding me really and she said yeah so I wanted to see what he had to say so I googled you know Brad Pitt and Congress and I discovered indeed on on the fifth of this month um he went to Congress to exhort them concerning disaster relief and green collar jobs and he met national leaders including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and this is what Nancy Pelosi said this is a quote it really is an honor to have him here and I know for some of my staff and for bragging rights to my children and my grandchildren a real treat for me as well and I'm thinking do you mind if I'm honest with you for just a moment I'm thinking how dumb is that how excuse me if that sounds cruel to some in here how dumb is that I mean that that is I mean come on you're a grandma and you're looking at this honk okay he's a handsome guy but please I mean you know could grow anywhere I could go with this I won't man just I couldn't believe it I'm thinking are you kidding me that's high school that's junior high school I mean that's the that's the 12 year old girl seeing the high school senior walk by going oh I'm so excited I mean come on this is Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House but this is way now why because Brad Pitt is a very handsome man that's why because he's an actor that some people really think is a good actor that's why what did he have to qualify himself to stand in front of Congress what degrees does he have what does he have to bring up so he can say look at I've got all of this experience outside of the fact that he's got a beautiful wife or girlfriend I guess I don't think he's married to her what is there to commend him no I'm not knocking Brad Pitt I bet he's a real nice guy I just find it interesting to note that we still are that way as a nation we will bring the Hollywood stars and the good-looking people and Bono and all the rest to come up and lecture us concerning how we ought to run our government and things we ought to do people who really haven't shown us anything in terms of the things that they have done over a lifetime to achieve the credibility that demonstrates the character that causes a person like me to say I can line up behind you because you have what it takes but the nation that we live in is a nation like Israel I think it's just a human quality I wonder how many of you guys have ever heard of a man by the name of Jay Vernon McGee anybody ever here I want to know see a lot of you have never heard of Jay Vernon Jay Vernon McGee was a champion for the things of God for many years he died in his 80s a number of years ago now and when I first got saved I used to listen to Jay Vernon on the radio he was online I used to say he's on every radio station in the world I mean this man's voice was heard everywhere and he was a southerner so he spoke with that southern drawl and he's called his beloved you know my beloved you know and we're getting on the Bible bus you know and then he'd take us through a trip through the the scriptures in five years that was Jay Vernon McGee tremendous teacher of the word of God and I and I had a love and affection for this man well he for many years has been teaching through the word of God systematically and so he has a set of commentaries that are really just transcripts from messages that he has given and and I use him I like to get some of the the the wisdom that he has in his studies and all and and I just so happen to be reading him as it related to Samuel and and he said something that I found very interesting and this was printed back in 1982 and this is something that Jay Vernon McGee I said now he would never have called himself a prophet but I think he's prophetic in this because in 1982 Jay Vernon McGee wrote the most dangerous enemy we have is the television the man that will ultimately control this country is the man who has a good television appearance why because we choose men by the way they look and the way they talk rather than by their character if only we had an x-ray instead of the television that would reveal the true character of a man that is absolutely right on that is absolutely right on as long as I can remember we have had a tendency of of following the ones who are taller the ones who are better looking the ones who have wealth and influence as a nation we have done that all of my lifetime and I'm sure prior to that there has always been this pursuing people by outer appearance and not even having a clue about their character not a clue about what they actually believe and what they actually do what you know we have a tendency of liking scripted speeches we have a tendency of liking people who have an appearance in a certain way but we don't really look to their hearts we can't we can't so we have a tendency of just looking at the outer appearance I think Jay Vernon was right we need to look to a person's character Saul was wealthy Saul was handsome Saul was tall but none of these things were things he earned in life what he didn't have was character and we're going to see that because here in chapter nine following we are starting to eclipse Samuel and you're going to begin seeing more of of Saul and so we're going to be seeing this man's life in some detail now in verse three now the donkeys of kish Saul's father were lost and kish said to his son Saul please take one of the servants with you and arise go and look for the donkeys so we passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of salisha but they did not find them then they passed through the land of shana noi shalim I don't know why I say that I just think that sounds funny shalim and they were not there then he passed through the land of the benjamites but they did not find them when they had come to the land of zuf Saul said to his servant who was with him come let us return lest my father sees caring about the donkeys and become worried about us and he said to him look down there is in this city a man of God and he is an honorable man all that he says surely comes to pass so let us go there perhaps he can show us the way that we should go so as we look at this this man kish has a lot of donkeys and all and we need to understand that during that time part of the wealth would be determined by the amount of animals you had and so some of his wealth is disappearing that's the whole point he's losing some of his donkeys and it's an important task he doesn't want to send just one of his servants what he does is he chooses to entrust his son to go out and find them and so Saul takes off to go look for these donkeys to recover his father's wealth as he does so he takes one of his servants and off they go now they're going into different areas and you know these names here that we have before us shalisha and shalim we really don't know where that is but it's more than likely just a little bit north of the city of jerusalem just north of the city of ramah where uh where samuel is from us so it's in that geographic location there if you will and as he's looking around he can't find the donkeys and he's a little bit nervous and all and he's beginning to become afraid and he's concerned that that they may get lost and not only that you see a little bit of an insight into him at this point at least because he's a little concerned that his father is going to get worried about him too and so what we should do is we go in verse 6 we should go to a city the city that there is a man of god in and he speaks of him as being an honorable man now when he uses a phrase a man of god that's another way of saying there's a prophet of god there because we saw that term in chapter 2 verse 27 so he's going to go and speak to him and ask him for some direction well in verse 7 saal said to his servant but look if if we go what shall we bring the man for the bread in our vessels is all gone and there is no present to bring to the man of god what do we have and the servant answered saal again and said look i have here at hand one fourth of a shekel of silver i i will give that to the man of god to tell us our way now normally when they would come for spiritual advice and approach a man of god like saal was about to do with samuel they wouldn't come empty handed they would come with a gift and they would bring food normally but they don't have any and so he says our vessels are empty i don't have any food to give to him do you have anything and the man says yes i have i have one fourth of a shekel now right now that doesn't make sense to us but know this that silver was fairly rare during that day therefore what he's going to give to him is actually a gift that is is is financially it's a it's a good size gift to them at that time taken into consideration how much money they had and how rare silver was and so they're giving him a generous gift so that's what they would do they would go to the man of god and they would give him a gift of food in this case they're going to give him some finances and they're giving him as a gift because they don't want to take advantage of him because they're going to receive direction from him so it was a normal custom at that time to do it's funny because that particular custom continued on until the day of christ as a matter of fact that custom continues on in some in some church traditions to this very day that people expect you to give them something for any spiritual service that that you do i've had people approach me before in the past telling me that they wanted to get married in a certain place but the minister said how much are you going to give me for performing the service and and they said that just didn't feel right that didn't set right with us and and because some people think that if you do a service spiritually for them you ought to give them a gift well during the time of of of samuel they would give them a gift and it was a way of supporting them but it was also something that was prone to corruption during the time of christ you see it in mark chapter 12 verse 40 during the time of christ jesus was speaking about the religious leaders and he said they devour widow's houses and for a pretense make long prayers that was happening during the time of christ for a pretense they make long prayers listen if i were living during the time of christ i was a Pharisee you came to me for a prayer you would approach me i would expect a gift from you if you gave me a small gift you'd get a very short prayer god help them see you later but if you gave me a large gift then i would make a long prayer for you and that's what jesus is talking about for a pretense they make long prayers and so this kind of thing is prone to corruption you know to give somebody a gift for doing a spiritual service is prone to corruption and that's what took place but during the time of saul he's saying i want to do the proper thing i want to give to him a gift what do we have and he said well we have a quarter of a shekel well we can take that to him i want to give him a gift now it speaks concerning verse nine formally in israel when a man went to inquire of god he spoke thus come let us go to the seer for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer then saul said to the servant well said come let us go so they went to the city where the man of god was now here's something interesting for you notice how it says they were formally referred to as seers now the reason that they were called seers is because they could see the future so they'd call them seers they knew or could see the future problem with that word the word seer is that it also was associated with people who are in the occult so people who are what we today would call a spiritist or people who are called necromancers who would call up the spirits of the dead were also referred to as seers god didn't like that and so what you're seeing is you're seeing this is being changed from seer to prophet samuel is called a prophet because he becomes the first of an order of prophets so it's not that there is just a prophet but they are going to begin to descend after him as an order of prophets now a prophet had a ministry where he would foretell and forth tell foretell he could speak of future events forth tell he would speak forth the mind of god to people and so they would come to him and speak to him so he could tell him the future or give to them insight and direction well verse 11 as they went up the hill to the city they met some young women going out to draw water and said to them is the seer here and they answered them and said yes there he is just ahead of you hurry now for today he came to the city because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place as soon as you come into the city you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat for the people will not eat unless he comes because he must bless the sacrifice afterward those who are invited will eat now therefore go up for about this time you will find him and so he's come to make an offering to the lord the people are there waiting for him to do that they're not going to eat their meals until a prayer of thanks has been offered so they go to the city and they come to the city that there was Samuel and Samuel begins to hear from the Lord I want you to notice verse 15 here notice how it says now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came saying so this is interesting to me I want to speak to you about this for just a moment God spoke to him question does God still speak does God still speak I want you to see verse 15 the Lord had told Samuel in his ear it's obvious that this is not something that was just an internal sense this is something God audibly spoke does God still speak is the question the answer is yes of course he does how through his word when you pray you're speaking to God when you read the Bible he's speaking to you God speaks through his word that's why we read the word of God have you ever I'm sure you have have you ever been praying and saying Lord I need an answer I need an answer for this I really don't know what to do and a scripture will come to mind you'll remember a bible verse something you had read recently or maybe you'll open up the word and you'll be you'll be doing your devotions you'll be reading through passage and and you've been asking the Lord for direction and right in front of you right in front of you there it is there's your answer and you'll just say Lord thank you so much I really was desiring to hear from you and I can see this is the direction you would have me to go now some people will pick up the bible and say I need an answer and they'll just spin it open and put the finger down they call that bibliomancy and I remember hearing of God who did that I need an answer speak to me and he opened it up and he put his hand down and he read it Judas went out and hanged himself and he said I don't really think that that's for me so he opened it up again and said Lord speak to me go out and do the same I'm sure that that is not for me I it's a very unwise practice just to open the bible up and just throw it and just let your eyes set on the first scripture but what you do is you have a habit of reading and then you've been taken that in and as you take it in God uses that to communicate to you because you'll say Lord I'm in this situation and I don't have any finances in the Lord perhaps and the Lord will say do you remember when I fed those 5000 and you go is there something you want to teach me about that well was I able to provide for them yes am I able to provide for you yes I believe you can the Lord has a way of doing that do you know what I'm talking about have you done that the word of God comes alive and speaks to your heart and and and and that that is a regular regular occurrence in in any Christian's life it's a regular occurrence in mind I'll say Lord I need your direction as I'm reading through the word of God he'll bring something out or I'll be thinking and meditating and praying and and a scripture will come to mind or he will bring somebody sometimes into my life a friend or whatever and they'll speak a word that I know is from the Lord many years ago now here in this fellowship when our church was less than a year old I had begun praying Lord I've been teaching topical studies and I really feel that you want me to teach a book study haven't done that on Sunday but I'm not sure that I should start that or not and and I remember saying to him I think you're telling me to to teach the gospel of Mark but Lord if I begin teaching Mark and I'm in chapter one and then I have a visitor who comes the next weekend where he didn't get chapter one he's going to miss the whole thing I don't know if you're really telling me to teach Mark or not I remember this vividly and I was praying and saying Lord I don't know what you would have me to do but I think you're telling me to teach the gospel of Mark and as the Lord is my witness I came to church and after church a woman approached me after the service and this is what she said I've never forgotten she said to me God is saying teach the gospel of Mark I'll never forget that I said Marie thank you so much I do appreciate that no it was a stranger I had never met her I'd never met this woman she walks up to me and she says to me God is saying teach the gospel of Mark I knew that's the Lord I've been seeking the Lord I had the sense and direction of the Lord does God do that I believe that he does I believe it's consistent with this word he never gives you something to do that's not found here but he does open up and share with you in a variety of ways especially and foremost through his word again our church was very young it was about four and a half months old we used to rent a small church building in Ontario called Church of God seventh day it's located on Vine Street right there by hold and we had our very first hallelujah party at this small church we had 20 25 kids and what we did is we showed them a little Christian cartoon we gave them candy we wanted just to get the kids off the street and give them a Bible lesson and minister to our kids that's all we wanted to do and then December came along and we decided to have a children's play and we had a small church of 60 people and so it was a real like family time and the kids were up there in the play and well the church people who owned the building got real upset and kicked us out because they said you guys are cults you're a cult because you celebrate Halloween which we didn't we had an alternative called it the hallelujah party and it was not a Halloween thing at all it was more just get the kids into the sanctuary and let's give them some candy and and Christian songs and that's what we did and and then their real problem is as you celebrate Christmas your pagans well I I didn't know this at the time I found out later on that they were a cult we didn't know that we we thought they were Christians they weren't they were a cult I found that out later on after they had started accusing us of this I began to look into their doctrines and lo and behold I discovered they denied the Trinity in a variety of other things they were a cult but at the same time we had to leave and they said your last time for us that you can use this building is going to be at the end of the at the end of the month of January I was out looking with my assistant pastor to try and find a place for us to meet we only had 60 people but I couldn't find a place that we could afford because we were only spending like $150 a month to rent this church building and and we didn't we only had 60 people and and frankly we didn't have much money coming in to take care of of those kinds of bills and all and we finally found a place that was open but it was a thousand fifty dollars a month and we just didn't have that we didn't have that kind of money 60 people didn't produce the income to be able to do that and so I remember just we were getting to the point where I was just saying Lord I don't know what we're gonna do one Wednesday night it was the middle of of January we only had a couple of weeks to go I remember it was a Wednesday night and we'd been looking for the last few weeks to try and find a place to relocate and couldn't find one I remember my wife Marie was gone with our babies and it was just me in the house prior to the Wednesday night Bible study I went into our bedroom and I and I literally fell on my face before the Lord and I began to pray and I actually began to weep before God and I remember praying something like God we only have 60 people but you know they're the most dear people in my life I don't know what to do you're gonna have to direct us I don't know what we're gonna do we don't have any place that we can go and Lord we only have two weeks and you're aware of this but I'm bringing this before you and I remember praying and crying out to the Lord and it really was something I was greatly concerned about our church was was small and it was new and I didn't have any place to take them so I went to the Wednesday study and a young woman at that time her name was Karen approached me and she looks at me and she says Dave you look like death warmed over do you have a problem I said yeah I said I'm concerned about something can we pray for you I said after the Bible study please do gave the Bible study my assistant pastor's name was Dan Dan and I sat on chairs in the middle of the front room people surrounded us laid hands on us lifted up the request that God what do you want to do we need a place for this church I went home climbed into bed and as I was laying in bed I heard the voice of the Lord speak to my heart saying you're gonna need a place that seats 200 people on Easter Sunday now you have to understand we only had 60 people in our church at that time the thought of 200 people was just like almost well it's tripling the church there's no way that I could imagine seeing that within a month or so month and a half but I said to the voice that spoke to my heart I said that's right I remember falling asleep the next day I was studying for Sunday morning service John 12 24 unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die it abides alone but if it dies it brings forth much fruit and I remember praying saying Lord I feel like I am dead now a couple of weeks earlier I had written a letter to Pastor Chuck saying Chuck my background is Calvary Chapel I would like to be in association with Calvary Ministries so that we could be a Calvary Chapel because at that time we're calling ourselves Ontario Christian Chapel and so I was there preparing the study when the mailman walked up the front steps the voice of the Lord spoke a second time and said your letter is here I went and took the letters out that were there in the mail and turned one over it said Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa I put it on the side I read everything else I prayed over that letter father if we become Calvary that's great if we don't it's up to you I thank you for whatever it is I'm about to read I open it up it said welcome to Calvary Chapel fellowship we had a breakfast that following Saturday this was Thursday that following Saturday I announced to all who were there because the whole church used to show up for breakfast and so the church was there I said we're going to call ourselves Calvary Chapel Ontario beginning tomorrow within a couple of weeks our church began to grow Greg Laurie got up and said there's a church in Ontario if you're from Ontario you ought to go to it it's called Calvary Chapel Ontario some people began to show up our church within a very short time doubled to 120 people when it doubled to 120 people there is enough income for us to go and rent the central school there in the city of Ontario and we were there on Easter Sunday and if some of you may be old enough to remember this it was not a highlight of your 1982 but it was mine so I remember this it was pouring rain in 1982 Easter Sunday pouring rain and as it was pouring I remember going out there and looking out and to 200 people who were seated there and I said you don't know this but God placed it on my heart month and a half ago that we would need a place that seats 200 people on Easter Sunday and it is God who drew you to this place today in fulfillment of his word I do believe that God does on occasion still speak in such a way but does he always do it no wouldn't it be cool if he did yes I don't have to read anymore he'll just talk to me doesn't work that way doesn't work that way but yes he does and in this case he spoke into his ear the Lord told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came saying tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin you shall anoint him commander over my people Israel that he may save my people from the hand of the Philistines for I have looked upon my people because their cry has come to me so I'm going to send you a man you're going to anoint him he's going to become a commander when you anoint him that's going to be a symbol to all that he has been anointed for service he's going to be a commander the one who is going to be given prominence the one who is placed in front to rule and the reason I'm doing this is I have heard their cry their cry has come to me they had been crying out for deliverance from the Philistines and God says I have heard them it's like when you read the book of Exodus and God begins to speak to Moses and God when he's speaking to Moses and calling him into service to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage how that the Lord in Exodus chapter 3 verses 7 through 9 said I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt I have heard their cry because of their task masters I know their sorrows so I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from the land to a good land a large land to a land flowing with milk and honey to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites the Amorites the Parasites and the Hivites and Jebusites and Pepsilites and out of sites and Uptites and cellulites all of thoseites now therefore behold the cry of the children of Israel has come to me and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them the cry of the children of Israel has come to me listen when you cry out to God you can sometimes think he's not listening these passages tell me that he is that he is listening he may not move as quickly as you want him to he may not most often doesn't does he but he does move now sometimes there are things in my life that he has to deal with before he moves sometimes there's an issue that I have to resolve before he moves sometimes there's a sin thing in my life that the Lord says listen I want to move on your behalf and do this but let's deal with that sin issue first he does that he brings conviction and you repent you turn away from it you cry out to the Lord and he delivers listen these people here that he's delivering have been in gross idolatry and are not even really pursuing him and yet he says I hear them I will deliver them you are a person who loves the Lord you're a born-again believer in Christ what makes you think he won't deliver you he will deliver you he will take care of you he does love you he is there for you there's nothing I know more certainly than that I know that God is on my side I have no doubt about it now he doesn't always do things as I would I mean Jeremiah spoke to the Lord and said I want to speak to you about your judgments you know you do things differently you know the psalmist says I just want to ask you why do the wicked prosper I would like to ask you some questions and the psalmist said that he had those questions and others he said until I went to the house of the Lord and then I understood their end then I realized some things that I didn't know before and I realized they don't have a relationship with you but I'll tell you something you need to walk out with this God is on your side God will provide for you God will care for you God is there for you because God loves you he will not abandon you he will not forsake you he will not leave you all alone there have been times and I can tell you before the Lord it's true that I have stood at this door here and other doors and I will stand there and I remember the words of Moses and I will say to him if you do not go with me I do not want to go there are times when in my own life where I've said Lord unless you're there and I need to know for sure you're there I don't want to venture out until I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are with me and the Lord has made it very clear I will never leave you nor will I ever forsake you I am with you I will walk with you though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death you are with me I know the Lord is with me and you should know that too you should know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is there yes we're having a tough time right now in the United States but you want to know something God is still there God is going to care for us I have no doubt in my mind he will not abandon his children he will care for us and that's what's taking place here it says in verse 17 when Samuel saw Saul the Lord said to him there he is the man of whom I spoke to this one shall reign over my people then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate and said please tell me where's the seer's house and Samuel answered Saul and said I am the seer go up before me to the high place for you shall eat with me today and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart but as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago do not be anxious about them for they have been found and on whom is all the desire of Israel is it not on you and on all your father's house Saul answered and said am I not a benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin why then do you speak like this to me now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited there were about 30 persons and Samuel said to the cook bring the portion which I gave you of which I said to you set it apart so the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul and Samuel said here it is what was kept back it was set apart for you eat for until this time it has been kept for you since I said I invited the people so Saul ate with Samuel that day and when they had come down from the high place into the city Samuel spoke with Saul on the top of the house they arose early and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house saying get up that I may send you on your way Saul arose and both of them went outside he and Samuel as they were going down to the outskirts of the city Samuel said to Saul tell the servant to go on ahead of us and when he went on but you stand here a while that I may announce to you the word of God now a couple of interesting things and I'm going to wrap this up briefly isn't it interesting how the Lord speaks to Samuel and says to him that's Saul we wanted to make sure that there was no mistake made and so the Lord points that out that's Saul you go and minister to him this is the one that's going to reign over my people but notice verse 18 Saul drew near to Samuel and the gate and said please tell me where is this year's house this tells me that Samuel was an ordinary looking person he didn't glow in the dark you know he was in hovering there oh that's a very holy person he was just an average person you know sometimes we get caught up with medieval art and we see all these people saints and and all from the Old Testament and they have little halos about them as if they had halos they didn't have that holy glow about them they were average people and so he walks in and doesn't even recognize this guy for who he is but as he's speaking to him we note that that Samuel speaks to him in such a way as to give us some insight because I want you to see this in verse 20 he says to him that he is the desire of all Israel I want you to see that you are the desire of all Israel you are the focus of Israel's attention you are the desire of their heart now here's your here's your application they desire you but they have rejected God they had God as their king they had God who went before them but they didn't want God going before them anymore remember how they had said in chapter 8 we also want to be like all the nations that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles well before they had him they had God who did that Exodus 15 2 and 3 says the Lord is my strength and song he's become my salvation he is my God I will praise him my father's God I will exalt him the Lord is a man of war the Lord is his name there was this mentality that God goes before us and fights our battles but you don't want God to fight your battle you want a man to fight your battles what he's saying you don't want God to go before you you want a man who's wealthy who's tall who's handsome who's young you want a man to be the one who brings victory when in reality you have to look to your God I get a magazine called outreach magazine and it's interesting in this magazine they gave some statistics through a recent poll they said 36 percent of those polled believe in UFOs 80 percent believe in God 59 percent believe in a literal devil 24 percent believe in reincarnation and 31 percent of those polled believe in astrology and only 36 percent believe the Bible is God's word how does it happen for the nation to turn away from seeking character or seeking godliness as a nation righteousness we get away from the word of God we have a tendency as a people to do even what the Jews did during the time of Samuel we are not interested in the things of God we just don't really care what we want is we want somebody like Brad Pitt we want somebody like him to lead us that's how we are that's the way it is that's not brand new that is something that is is is well documented it's absolutely true that's what we do and as a result of that we reject the oversight of God that's what the nation of Israel did that first Saul says how come you're speaking to me like that I'm from the tribe of Benjamin it's a very small tribe there's a hint of humility there that doesn't last long because once he's given power that humility is gone and he becomes a tyrant you'll see that as we go through this so what we have is we have Samuel giving him honor he hands him a choice piece of meat because that's a picture of honoring him he says I've got things to say to you tell your servant to move on so I can speak to you things that you need to hear and he wants a minister to him so the one who had left his father's house in search of donkeys is called to be a king but it's an office he's not worthy of and he's a man that is going to cause Israel to suffer terribly we must be very careful who we ask for and what we ask for because we just might get it father I ask that you work in us I ask that you help us to keep you the center of our life lord I pray as a christian and I pray as a leader of a christian church that we believers in Jesus christ might keep our eyes firmly on you may we have eyes to see lord learning these lessons for for you inspired Paul in the book of romans to write that the things that were written before were written for our learning these these verses that we read are actually intended to train us to have discernment to know what to look for I pray that we might learn that I pray that we as a nation lord would turn to you may it begin with us individually and spread out may we have a heart for Jesus christ lord and a desire to know him in his ways so I lift up this congregation beginning with me my wife my family and I pray lord Jesus that our hearts would be yours even as our eyes are closed and our heads are bowed perhaps I have some right now we need to get right with the lord and you need prayer I want to pray for you right where you're at if you need to get right with the lord and you know it I want to pray for you right now would you raise your hand let me pray for you just raise your hand please father you see these hands you know the reason why they're being raised to you I'm asking now in Jesus name that you would reach down and touch them lord their hands are raised to you now I pray that you would reach down and touch them whatever the need may be whether it's a confessing of sin or just a request for help lord whatever it may be I pray that you touch them now lord and may the burdens be removed and may they walk out of this place today knowing that you're on their side and you're working lord on their behalf that they might have the joy of knowing they're in right relationship with you from this day forward lord and I bless you for this thank you lord you can put your hands down father I ask that you keep your hands on all of us that we as a group might learn to love and serve you in Jesus name we pray amen let's all stand well we're going to be gone God knows and God willing we'll be back and so in the meantime I'm sure that the lord is going to move tremendously here through guest speakers and music and all just keep us in prayer and we look forward to seeing you when we return we're due back in April I think April 2nd is our return date hopefully we'll see you then let's pray father I lift up right now to you lord this congregation I pray that we as a church might follow after you lord I also lift up the schools lord here in chino lord some that are being closed lord throughout this this state lord a lot of good teachers are are receiving pink slips lord and I lift them to you right now father I just pray that your hand would be on this system lord I ask that you would just bring a healing in every way that is necessary but that you would be with those right now we're concerned about their finances their jobs their situations lord I lift up the kids who are going to be the ones who are suffering in many ways through much of this too lord I just pray that you would you would guide the parents and and strengthen them in every way lord we just lift these needs to you we lift up this congregation to you I pray your hand blessing and that you would keep them secure lord in your grip as we leave and as we enjoy the joy of seeing your your the country that your eye is on lord I pray that we would come back after learning many things that will help us to walk with you and and make this church even stronger in you lord so we give you all praise we give you all glory in Jesus name amen god bless you