Abounding Grace

Pastor Ed Taylor: Four words you never want to have spoken over your life. Next. We'll find a phrase, and this is what I've titled our message for the chapter today. We'll find a phrase that's very chilling. It's this phrase, "The Lord would have."

I don't want to find out what that would mean in my life. I don't want to find out, "Ed, if you just would have, the Lord would have." And that's what Saul's going to learn. King Saul, the Lord would have, but He didn't because of your behavior. I'll point it out to you when we get there.

Guest (Male): Don't you hate it when someone takes credit for something they really didn't do? Whether it's on the job, in the church, or in the home, it leaves a bad taste in our mouth. God doesn't look highly on that sort of behavior either. Today on Abounding Grace, that's exactly what King Saul is about to do.

We've reached chapter 13 in our verse-by-verse study of 1st Samuel as Saul is about to take credit for something his son actually did. Pastor Ed Taylor will encourage us to cultivate humility in our lives.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Take your Bibles and open them to 1st Samuel chapter 13, to where we are in our study. In 1st Samuel 13, as we move on into this new chapter, the focus is primarily on King Saul's early reign.

As we follow him, we'll learn more about his character, more about who he is as a man on the inside. Remember what reveals character more than a test or a trial. The trials of life do not create what's in us; the trials of life reveal what's in us.

We find many tests in the life of King Saul and how he had great potential. It's all wasted, though, in compromise and in sin. May that not be our testimony in life. May we not go down as having so much potential and yet wasting it, throwing it away.

We'll find a phrase, and this is what I've titled our message for the chapter today. We'll find a phrase that's very chilling. It's this phrase, "The Lord would have."

I don't want to find out what that would mean in my life. I don't want to find out, "Ed, if you just would have, the Lord would have." And that's what Saul's going to learn. King Saul, the Lord would have, but He didn't because of your behavior. I'll point it out to you when we get there.

Verse one of chapter 13. Saul reigned one year, and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel. 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent. Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard it.

Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear." Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines, and the people were called together to Saul in Gilgal.

Out of the 300,000 men that we know were with Saul back in chapter 11, verse eight, they all volunteered to fight. Saul picks just 3,000 of them, half with him and half with his son Jonathan, to attack the Philistines in this area of Geba. We learn here that his valiant son Jonathan goes out to fight and is victorious. Did you notice Jonathan fought the fight and won the victory, but who blew the horn?

Saul blew the horn. Jonathan did all the work and the fighting, but it was Saul that blew the trumpet of victory. That's a problem. That's a big problem we see right here in the first two years of King Saul's reign. We see him taking glory for another man's work. We see him taking the credit for another man's work.

There are two words that come to mind that we would call that, two things that are inside a person that would take the glory for the work that someone else did. There might be other words, but I believe focusing on these two are very important for our text today. If you want to write them down in verses one through four, I see in Saul the active working of pride and deceit. Pride and deceit.

King Saul, a man who started out so humble and yet so quickly succumbs to prideful ambition. Hold your places in 1st Samuel and turn over to Proverbs chapter six with me. Pride and deceit reveal themselves in the life of King Saul.

In Proverbs chapter six, I want to draw your attention now to verse 16, insight into what the Lord hates. The Bible speaks of God hating six things, no seven are an abomination to Him, verse 16 says. Notice the list. The very first thing on the list is pride, a proud look.

What is number two? A lying tongue, deceit. Already, in the first two years of King Saul's reign, he's already hit the top two of the things that God hates: lying and deceitfulness. He also hates hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift to running to evil, a false witness that speaks lies, and one who sows discord among the brethren.

The Bible has much to say about these sins. In Psalm 101, verse five, it says, "Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy. The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure." In Proverbs chapter 16, verse 18, it says: "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall."

It's so different than what God would have for us. When we come to the New Testament, we see revealed to us as Paul writes to the church in Philippi in Philippians chapter two, verse two: "Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also the interests of others."

Instead of pride and instead of selfishness, God would encourage us to walk in humility. To be humble. Pride and humility are extreme opposites. The Bible tells us that pride is the one sin that will set God against you and me. Consider again James chapter four, verse six. "He gives more grace," James writes. "Therefore he says, 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'"

Exodus chapter 10, verse three. So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and said to him, "Thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go that they may serve me.'" Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse two: "And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these 40 years in the wilderness to humble you and to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not."

Anyone that has ever put the focus in their life on humility will agree that humility doesn't come easy. Just beginning to think about it can, at the very same time, stir up thoughts of pride. It's a very interesting piece of character in our lives that we have to be very careful. It was Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher, that said: "When you know you've got humility, when you've come to the understanding that you've got humility, it's at that moment that you've lost it." For example, when we declare, "I'm being humble," you're very close to losing it at that point.

Humility is not something we can create, it's not something that we can strive after, it's not something that we can just decide to be. I do believe it's something the Holy Spirit will give us. It will flow through us as the fruit of the Spirit, all related to true humility in the Lord. What is it that we can do that would help us in this area of humility? If you're taking notes, let me give you a few things to consider when it comes to the topic of humility in your life.

Number one, engage in genuine worship. Another way of saying that is to cultivate your personal relationship with the Lord. What we do when we are worshipping God, whether it's through song, in a devotional, or just having the consciousness of God, enjoying Him, looking to Him, is engaging in genuine worship.

As we sing together, just think of song for a second. Some of you don't like to sing. Singing for you really becomes an act of obedience. Singing is not high on your list. You don't sing in the shower, you don't sing in the car, you don't sing alone, and you don't sing in groups. That's just your deal.

Yet, among the family of God from the very beginning, even prior to the church being birthed, even among those followers of God, song and music was a huge way of expression of worship toward God. It is a part of expressing ourselves. It could be that song is something that God is using in your life to humble you. But you resist. You refuse and you hold on to it. It's as if, "I don't have to sing. I don't want to sing."

It would be something for you to really consider when you hold back from something that will bless you like song. Psalm 86, verse nine says, "All nations whom you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and glorify your name." Whatever you might be doing, engage in genuine worship and submit yourself to God.

Another way to cultivate humility in our lives is to be an encouragement to others. When you encourage other people, you place their needs above your own needs. Maybe you're going through a tough time right now, but the Lord really impresses upon you to send a text out to someone you haven't talked to in a while. You are putting someone else above yourself in that very moment. God blesses that.

I had the privilege of being with the teachers today in our school. We have our church staff meeting in the morning while the teachers are taking care of the kids, and then the teachers have their staff meeting in the evening with Chandel, the administrator of the school. She was out today, so I had the privilege of sitting in with them. One of the things I shared with them is I want to determine from God's heart what is it that He blesses. Whatever God blesses is what I want to be a part of. Wherever His blessing is, that's what I want to spend my time on.

Wherever you see the hand of God in a positive way, that's going to be worth my time, my energy, my sacrifice, my blood, my sweat, and my tears in the spiritual realm. What does God bless? You know, when you see the things that God blesses, there's a banner over that, a title over that, and it's something you can consider and pray through this week, and that is this: God always blesses His will.

That's always a place of His approval, His assistance, and His strength. When the Bible says, "Wait on the Lord, those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength," it's God's will that we wait. When you are in a place of waiting on the Lord, He blesses that. I don't want to be in a place, even in a gray area, where I'm not sure if God blesses. I want to spend my time, what little time I have left, in the places that God blesses.

I encourage the teachers and the pastoral team in our church the same way. We need to desire to be in a place that we are seeking the blessing of God. Not because we want some special supernatural financial blessing of some sort that's been twisted, but so that we can truly be humble people impacting a world with the love of Jesus Christ.

God resists the proud. If I can't just decide to be humble and I can't start saying I'm humble, then how can I be? These are ways to cultivate: engage in genuine worship, encourage other people, support someone other than yourself, and give. Give of yourself, your stuff, and your time. It'll cultivate humility.

Pray for God to show you someone in need and help a brother or a sister. In Isaiah chapter 41, verse five, it says, "The coastlands saw it and feared, the ends of the earth were afraid, they drew near." Verse six says, "everyone helped their neighbor and said to their brother, 'Be of good courage.'" What a great time! Everyone helped their neighbor and they encouraged one another. That's a place of humility when you are concerned for the needs of others above your own.

Thirdly, let me give you another one. This is a hard one, but let's just lay it out there. You want to cultivate humility? Experience failure. You're taking steps of faith, you're seeking to obey the Lord, and you make a mistake. When you and I experience failure, I'm not encouraging you to go look for failure on purpose, but when failure does come in your life, allow it to have its perfect work in the hands of God so you will learn how to be humble.

I love what Martyn Lloyd-Jones once wrote. He said, "It's very difficult to be humble if you're always successful." God chastises us with failure at times in order to humble us and keep us in a state of humility. That was powerful. I remember reading that for the first time and I began to look back at my life. In that season of my life, I saw a lot of success. It came with hard work or diligence, but I just saw success in my life from the Lord.

Little would I know that over time, the storms of life come and God truly does use them. He allows us to go face-down in failure in order for us to cry out in utter dependence upon Him. It's hard to be prideful when you've failed. You certainly can be prideful. We'll see in a minute you can make excuses and things, but when you embrace the failures that God has allowed into your life, it's different.

In Psalm 85, verse six, it says, "Will you not revive us again that your people may rejoice in you?" When you're down and out, you're crying out for revival. When you've lost it all and you've failed in a real public way or in a way that has truly humbled you, your prayer life becomes, "Lord, revive me. Give me life." Though a man falls seven times, he'll rise again. I want to be that man, Lord. Get me back up, put my feet on a solid rock.

Fourthly, you want to cultivate humility in our lives? Extend your prayer time. Each time we pray, we express our need for God. Every time you're praying and thanking God, you're expressing your need for Him. Every time you're praying for a friend, you're expressing your need. Every time you're communicating with God, you're building up in your own heart the consciousness of His presence.

When you have the true consciousness of God, you recognize who He is and who you are, and there's nothing but a humble response to a glorious, sovereign, providential God. Pray and pray more. Seek Him before you seek man's wisdom. Lay before Him the needs that are before you.

In Psalm 95, verse six, it says, "O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For He is God and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand." Let's bow down and worship. Let's pray. Asking God, there's no more humble place than in our prayer lives where we just acknowledge God for who He is and our need for Him.

Number one, engage in genuine worship. Secondly, encourage others. Thirdly, experience failure. Fourthly, extend your prayer time. And number five, esteem others better than yourself. Think about it. Jonathan fought the fight, and you blew the horn? When people were saying that you had the victory, Saul, you're not going to correct them? People are declaring you to be the great leader of the army, and you're not going to correct them? That's your own boy!

You're going to be the king of Israel on behalf of God, and you won't even watch out for your own boy? You won't even instruct your own boy? You won't even cover him, protect him, and lead him in the ways of righteousness? Not only did Saul blow the trumpet, but he also took credit. He didn't even esteem his own son or his own family.

I know this isn't as easy as it sounds, especially in our society when we're taught to build self-esteem at any cost. We're told at a very young age, "Believe you're the best, believe and declare that you're something special, there's no one more important than you on the planet." I'm not advocating for looking down on ourselves, because when you look down on yourself, you're looking down on the God who saved you and redeemed you.

It's not about the opposite extreme of putting yourself down. The type of esteem that we need to cultivate is one that comes from the Lord. When it comes from God, you're going to esteem others better than yourself. That's a place of true humility.

Guest (Male): Pastor Ed Taylor on how to cultivate humility in our lives. Part of it involves esteeming others as better than ourselves. What you heard today on Abounding Grace is one part of a study in 1st Samuel. Would you like to hear this again? If so, just visit us online at aboundinggraceradio.com or oneplace.com. You can also download the Calvary Church app as well.

Today we'd like to tell you about a book from Ron Rhodes titled *The End Times in Chronological Order*. Think of it as a complete overview to understanding Bible prophecy. You've probably heard about the rapture, the great tribulation, second coming, and mark of the beast, but how do they all fit together?

This chronological tour through the Bible's most important predictions will help you connect the dots. We'll gladly send you a copy for a gift of $25 or more to Abounding Grace. Call toll-free at 877-30-GRACE or order it online at calvaryco.store. Please remember this ministry is made possible through the support of our listeners and we are grateful for whatever the Lord leads you to do.

It would be great to hear from you. Call toll-free at 877-30-GRACE. Donations can also be made online at aboundinggraceradio.com. We're glad you took time out for our study in 1st Samuel. This has been Abounding Grace with Pastor Ed. We'll look for you next time as we open the word together in search of God's abounding grace.