Sound Doctrine

Guest (Male): When it comes to self-control and handling responsibility, man doesn't have a very good track record. Here's Pastor Jeff.

Jeff Johnson: Man cannot handle power and authority. He never could, and he never will. He has no self-control. He always corrupts and abuses his fellow man. And if you don't believe me, look at government today. It is totally out of control. Taxes? You haven't seen anything yet. The things that are coming upon this nation... the spending continues, the debt continues. It's out of control.

Guest (Male): Welcome to this edition of Sound Doctrine. Today, Pastor Jeff Johnson takes us back to 1 Samuel, where the people of Israel want to make a change. They want a king.

We might have a reaction to that like, huh, you already have God as your king. God was their king, for sure. But now they wanted man to fill those shoes. A big difference and a big mistake, to be sure. And as we know in today's world, many, many people are looking in all the wrong places for a king as well. Here's Pastor Jeff in 1 Samuel chapter 8 to show us where the people of Israel went wrong.

Jeff Johnson: So Israel, right here, is rejecting God's reign and seeking for a man to rule over them, and I thought, my gosh, that's exactly what's happening today. The whole world is looking for this man, and he's going to have answers and he's going to be able to deceive the world. In fact, over in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2, it says that even him whose coming is after the working of Satan—talking about the Antichrist—with all power, signs, and lying wonders, he's going to deceive the people.

He's going to get on world television throughout satellite, and he's going to deceive all of the world and lead them astray. We want a king. We want a man. And Samuel, listen, God says, "Let them go. Let them have their king. They've rejected me." You see, Israel has committed two evils: they have rejected the true fount of living water, which is God, and then they have dug out for themselves cisterns—places to hold water—with holes in them.

Isn't that the greatest indictment towards this nation from God? You have committed two evils: you've rejected me, and you've thought money and the things of this world will satisfy you. But they're like places to hold water that have holes in them. You're carrying around bags of money that have holes in them, and it's just dropping out. You're not getting there.

So here we see God giving into the people's demands, and this is what is scary. You see, he won't force anybody to serve him. He will not bend your arm, and he will not force you. He didn't force any of us in here. He called us. He convicted us of our sin, and we came.

But in Romans, it says a very serious note. In Romans chapter 1, verse 24, it says, "And God also gave them up." In Romans 1:26, "God gave them up." In Romans 1:28, "God gave them over." There comes a time where God says, "You want it, you got it," and he gives you up to your sin. He gives you up to the thing that you want so bad.

Now, one day he is going to rule, the Bible says, with a rod of iron, and everyone will serve him for a thousand years. But the ball's really in your court today. The ball is in everyone's own heart and own mouth to make a confession, to decide what you're going to do with Jesus Christ.

Because the Bible says, "Whosoever will, let him come." You can come today. That whosoever believes in Jesus shall not perish. That's a choice that everybody has to make. But if you want to keep what you have and you continue to demand for a lower level of life—and this is what people are doing by doing their own thing—he will back off.

But what's interesting to me is that if you will stay in that place, he'll continue to bless you there. The rain comes down, right? The sun comes up. And he'll continue to bless you at that point because he loves you. But it's a tragic thing when we seek to bring God down to our own level, and that is what's going on.

Instead of allowing the Lord to bring us up into that level of enrichment and awesomeness, to bless us. He says, "You are now seated in heavenly places." I want to put you in heavenly places. I want to raise you up. If you will just humble yourself, I'll lift you. If not, then go ahead, steady on with what you got.

Our choice is how high do we want to go or how low are we going to drag him? If we're going to let go, then he's going to take over. But we've got to let go. Listen to your heart this morning and you'll accept him. Don't listen to your mind or you'll reject him.

The enemy throws in thoughts of, "Oh no, I can do it later. I don't have to do it today. Put it off." But your heart knows better. You're the one who is sick, you're the one who knows you need a physician. He is the only one that can heal you of your terminal disease. You need him.

These have rejected God, and God tells Samuel, "Let them go." Look at verse 8. "According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day," God says, "wherewith they have forsaken me and served other gods, so they also unto thee."

Listen, Samuel, this is nothing new. What they're doing to you, they've done to me over the years. Welcome to the family of God, Samuel. That happens. People turn against your Lord, and they're going to do their own thing. Well, that's just the way it is.

Verse 9: "Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them." Look at verse 9. He says, "Samuel, let them go." Why? So they can learn important lessons. Sometimes if we're not let go, we're not going to learn the lessons.

Let them go, but give them a message. Don't leave them without a message. I want to let them know. God doesn't give up easily, does he? Okay, let them go, but I'm going to leave something with them. And that's the Hound of Heaven. It's the Spirit of the Lord. He continues. He doesn't rest. Let the people know what it's going to be like to have a man as their king.

But it's interesting. You can tell somebody, "If you do this and do this and do this, then this is going to happen and this is going to happen and this is going to happen," and they're just sitting there going, "Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh." But they're not hearing you. It's almost like they've got to experience it themselves before they're really going even find it out.

And then if you look at your own life, you go, "Well, yeah, I guess that's right in a way." We definitely don't see ourselves as sheep going astray. Man sees himself as, "I've got it together. I know what I'm doing." But when he loses it, that's when he gets scared and he tries everything but the way of the Lord. It's amazing.

Listen: man cannot handle power and authority. He never could, and he never will. He has no self-control. He always corrupts and abuses his fellow man. And if you don't believe me, look at government today. It is totally out of control. Taxes? You haven't seen anything yet.

What's coming is going to—those of you that voted are going to say, "What have I done?" The things that are coming upon this nation... the spending continues, the debt continues. It's out of control. Really, when you get right down to it, we can't afford government in this country any longer.

But such as it is. But God's government is truly fair and righteous. It's a righteous government. Our democratic system is, when you look at the world today, many say it's the best that's in the world. But when you look at the system itself, it's the worst system any people can ever have ruling them. Why? Because it robs the people.

Thank God that a new age is coming. This one's coming to an end. There's a new world coming. In fact, even Daniel said in Daniel chapter 2, verse 45, he said concerning the image that was before him, all the governments of mankind, that, "You saw the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, and it's coming to break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, the gold. The great God has made known unto you, King, what shall come to pass hereafter. The dream is certain, the interpretation thereof is sure."

And the governments of man is going to fall, and Jesus is going to set up his forever government. And what's interesting and exciting about that image is it gets down to the ten toes—the ten common market nations that are building themselves even today and coming together. And we're seeing that the end is so close. It's sure. It's coming. Jesus is coming again to set up his kingdom.

Verse 10 now, from verse 10 to 18. I'm just going to read it through. Listen to this. Listen carefully. "Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, 'This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, he will appoint them for himself, for his chariots and to his horsemen, and some shall run before his chariot. He will appoint him captains over thousands, captain over fifties, and he will set them to ear his ground and to reap the harvest and to make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots.

He will take your daughters and to be confectionaries or bakers and to be cooks and to be bakers. And he will take your fields and your vineyards and your olive yards, even the best of them, and he will give them to your servants. He will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards'"—well, I think he's going to take a little more than that, but anyhow—"'of your vineyards and give of his officers and to his servants.

He will take your men servants and your maid servants and your goodliest young men and your asses and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep and he will that ye shall be his servants or his slaves. And you shall cry out in that day because of your king which you have chosen, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.'"

And I'm thinking of this and I'm thinking, wow, what is he laying down but the price of kingship? This is what you want—a king? Okay, before you get one, let's think about this. Let's talk about it for a minute. Let me give you a few little things that this guy is going to do.

See, God wants to add to our lives. He wants to bless us. But this guy, if I'm reading it right, he will take, he will take, he will take, he will take, he will take, he will take. There's no end to his taking. You can't afford this guy.

He will take, he will take, he will take. And then it gets to "and he will even take a tenth." Well, wait a minute, isn't the tenth the Lord's? Yes, but he'll even seek to get that, and he'll get you to the point of you saying, "Well, I can't afford to give to God. The government's so taxed me and I'm so overwhelmed with this system that I can't give my money to God." And so God gets robbed then. That's his money, the tenth. And then where's the tithe go? It goes to the world.

God help us as a people. Because they sought to get out of the spiritual responsibility—see, having God ruling over their lives—they got into this finite political one of a man ruling over them. And they're going to cry out because of that. And this nation is just beginning to cry. I'm hearing the cries. It's just beginning.

Wait a few more years, if the Lord tarries. We're going to hear a cry throughout the land. But God says, "I won't hear when you cry out because that's what you asked for. You wanted it, you got it, and I'm not going to—go ahead and cry out, and I'm not going to hear you." That's heavy.

Verse 19. After this warning now, notice there's no repentance. Verse 19: "Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel and they said, 'No, but we will have a king over us.'" And so now they're demanding the king. We hear you, but they're not really hearing.

"We want a king." And listen, God sent them the King of Kings. In John's Gospel 19:15, it says, "But they cried out, 'Away with him, away with him, crucify him.' Pilate said unto them, 'Shall I crucify your king?' And the chief priests answered and said, 'We have no king but Caesar.' Take him away."

He gave them a king. This is all talking about the king that was coming, and they rejected him. They said, "We have no king but Caesar." After all of this warning. Look at this warning. It's amazing how much bondage and pain people will live under and in just so they won't have to have God ruling in and over their lives.

They're willing to put up with unbelievable stuff. Talk about stubborn. In these days, we're talking about incredible stubbornness in people's hearts. People will live out there in the streets on drugs, in filth, and you go up to tell them, "Listen, I want to tell you about the grace of God and the power of God to deliver you out of your situation," and they say, "No thanks, we'll take the streets.

We don't want your Jesus. We don't want this king. We'd rather have the streets. We don't want this love, joy, and peace stuff." As they go on their miserable way telling how bad things are, and eventually they come up and they say, "I wish I could die." That's how miserable they are. "I wish I could just die."

Well, you need to receive Christ as your Savior. "No, I'd rather keep what I've got." And you're looking at them like, huh? You what? No, I'll keep what I got. Well, the Bible says it's time to kick the dust off your feet and go to the next person. Lord, take care of them. But you go to the next.

Because there's people that are hurting, that know they need a physician, that need to hear this news. And they will receive and they will be delivered, and their lives will be saved. But so many would rather suffer than turn their lives over to God. What about you this morning? Are you running? Are you staying in your bondage because you don't want God to rule in your life?

Think about your stubbornness. Think about what you're dealing with. Think about what you're carrying around. And you want to continue to carry that around and not give it to the Lord? That's stubborn. When you can just give it to him. He says, "You call upon me all those that are heavy laden down with burdens, and I'll give you rest to your soul."

Finally, verse 20. They said, "That we also may be like all the nations and that our king may judge us and go before us and fight our battles." We want a military type of government. We want to be strong. We want to be like other nations, to have our king go out with his great crown and his colors and the flag and the whole bit.

That's what we want. We want the show. We want the arm of flesh, not knowing that they're going to lose everything. Everything. That this nation is going to lose everything. Remember King Nebuchadnezzar?

Until you know that God and the heavens rule over all, you're going to become as an animal in the fields. This is what's going to happen to you, King, because you're stubborn, you won't wake up. And the king said, oh come on. And he went out one time after being told this and he looked at all the things that he said, "Look what I have done. Look what I have set up."

And that night his kingdom was taken from him and he lost his mind and he became as an animal in the field until he repented unto God seven years later. That you are the Lord. You rule in the heavens. And this is not me, it's all to God be the glory. I believe that Nebuchadnezzar got saved. He got humbled. Lord, bring it on this nation if that's what we need. Let it be. Bring us to our knees that we might get saved.

So after usurping God's prophet, the people now and the rule of the prophet which God set up, the people now know what's best and right for the nation. Do you hear what they're saying? We know what's best. Samuel, zip it. We got a handle on this now.

We've got it pretty well down. We've been doing it for 200 years and we got it. We got it pretty well worked out. We are the greatest. Sounds like Muhammad Ali. "I'm the greatest. Never going down." You're going for a big fall.

Finally, verse 21, and Samuel heard all the words of the people. Notice he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. I don't think he was giving him information that he didn't know about, do you? God, let me tell you what they just said. No, he already knew what they just said.

What was he doing? He was communicating with God. And that's what prayer is, isn't it? We communicate with God and he communicates with us. We talk with him to him about everything that goes on and he hears us and he gives us his counsel.

And we can't counsel the Lord, but he gives us his counsel. And so after doing this—and I want you to see that this is how Samuel faced ingratitude of the people. He faced it with prayer. When you have ingratitude surrounding you, all you can do is pray and say, refiner's fire, come down and do your work.

God says, "Give them what they want." Notice verse 22. "And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Listen to their voice, Samuel. Make them a king.' And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, 'Go ye, every man into his city.'" That's heavy. Give them what they want.

Let me share this scripture out of Hosea 13. In verse 9, he says, "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all the cities? And thy judges of whom thou saidst 'Give me king and princes'? I gave thee a king in mine anger and I took him away in my wrath."

Okay, you want a king? You want meat to eat? Okay, bring in the quails! The quails came and it was batting down, "We got meat! We got meat!" And they dove into the meat, they stuffed it in their mouths and it was coming out of their noses. They were throwing it up.

They said, "We don't want meat anymore." The worst thing that can ever happen is that God hears our prayers and answers them. And when that happens, it ends in tragedy, oppression, and failure. And this is where we're headed with the children of Israel. You want it, you got it. You got a king.

There is a psalm in Psalm 106, verse 15. Listen to this. "And he gave them their request, but he sent leanness unto their soul." He gave them their request, but he sent leanness to their soul.

Guest (Male): Again, this reminds us that we should strive not to get God on our page, but get ourselves on God's page. Pastor Jeff will be right back with a closing thought on God's will for our lives as Sound Doctrine continues. 1 Samuel is filled with practical insights for Christian living.

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Jeff Johnson: Our prayer should be this morning, Lord, your will be done. You know better than I do what needs to happen here. And we need to submit ourselves to him. Lord, be king of my life, rule over my heart, and Lord, we will follow you no matter what. You are Lord and God.

And we renounce the things of the flesh and of sin and of the power of darkness from ruling over our lives, which they are going to continue to try, right? And we're saying, "Lord, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Be Lord of my life. You're the potter, I'm the clay. Have your own way." That's your prayer, it should be.

If not, you're in trouble. You'll be like this nation. Let it be an illustration that will stay before us, ever before us on the news. We need the Lord. You need the Lord. We hope you'll join us for our next study in 1 Samuel. It's going to be a good one. That's right here on Sound Doctrine with Pastor Jeff, a presentation of Calvary Chapel Downey. Have a blessed day in the Lord.