October 9, 2022 - The Way of the Heart
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*If you guys had to pick out a theme that has run through the early part of this book of 1 Samuel...
what would you say that is?
To me it seems that - Judgment is the pretty clear winner in that regard.
We’ve seen...
The Tale of Two Families (Elkanah and Eli) = Judgment
Blessing & Judgment
The Ark of the Covenant (Judgment)
And today - we’ll see “The Progression of a Sinful Heart”
and AGAIN - in the judgment of God coming upon His people.
AGAIN - we’ll cover quite a bit of text, but it’s all in context...
…AND BECAUSE we’ll cover a lot of texts, we’ll march THROUGH it as we UNPACK it.
FIRST - let’s talk thru where we’re at currently...
If you remember - last week - the Ark of the Covenant had been taken by the Philistines...
And God ended up bringing judgment on all the cities of the Philistines!
And so they RETURN the Ark to Israel...
And ALL ALONG the WAY - God judges men.
But once the Ark returned - and Israel REPENTED....what happened?
God was now WITH Israel - and they defeated the Philistines...
And everything seemed right in the world!
So we ended last week with Israel having defeated the Philistines...
And we pick up from there...
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”
13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.
Now - don’t forget what preceded this...
The Israelites were under God’s judgment...
They lost a couple battles..
BUT THEN - they repent.
The tides TURN...
God begins to BLESS them…VICTORY comes.
NOW - we begin to see the DEPTH of God’s blessing to Israel...
It says the Philistines were subdued…and DID NOT AGAIN enter the territory of Israel!
The cities that had been CAPTURED by the Philistines - were RESTORED!
There was PEACE between Israel and the Amorites!
The people LIVED THIS OUT - AGAIN - by repentance - Blessing came...
Listen - Blessing didn’t come by them - WORKING for God
Or DOING GOOD things for God
It came - BY REPENTANCE!
And SAMUEL - being in tune to HOW God works - Here we see that he sets up a MEMORIAL to all that God had done for His people!
verse 12 said what...
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.”
He puts a STONE in between Mizpah and Shen and called it - Ebenezer - WHICH MEANS - a stone of HELP
“Till now the Lord has helped us”
And it’s INTERESTING this phrase - TILL NOW...
Because this phrase INCLUDES - what?
FOR SURE it includes the VICTORIES....
But it also includes - the losses.
That God was HELPING His people - COME BACK to HIM - in those losses!
Remember what Samuel said to Israel?
3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
If you are - RETURNING to the Lord...
Know this:
SLIDE:
Anything in our lives that brings us back to God, whether we label it a blessing or judgment, is ultimately a blessing.
Any LOSS that comes
heartache that comes
any trial that comes - that BRINGS us back to God...
Is a blessing!
And this PHRASE that Samuel uses (Till now) - is similar to the phrase that Paul used in Philippians...
12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,
This phrase - “What has happened to me” - CONTAINED some VERY heavy things!! Hard things!!
an illegal arrest
a 2 year prison stay
a plot to take his life
a ship wreck, a snake bite
a 3 month stay on an island
and a Roman imprisonment…just to name a few!
Even the “BAD” stuff - as WE would label it....IF IT SERVES to BRING GLORY to GOD - is actually - GOOD STUFF!
And Samuel KNEW this…And in knowing this - He wanted the PEOPLE to KNOW IT as well.
The people - REPENT - and they REAP the blessings of God BECAUSE of it...
13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.
Today we’re looking at The Way of the Heart...
And in READING this - we see...
SLIDE: The Way of the Heart: Tastes the Blessing of God
The Way of the Heart
The Way of the Heart
The people of God REPENTED - and then experienced - the blessing of God in their lives...
v13
13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
The Philistines DID NOT AGAIN - enter the territory of Israel...
WOW - God showed up and MERCIFULLY guarded His people...
v14
14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.
Restoration occured - things were put back into place.
PEACE came
Which means - the people - FLOURISHED under the RULE of - GOD
And so NO DOUBT - the people TASTED the Blessing of God in their lives!!
- WE can say the same for sure! can we not?
God blesses us - to live in a free republic
blesses us ETERNALLY - being His children...
BUT EVEN - unbelievers TASTE the blessing of God...
- It’s called - COMMON GRACE
The SUN rose today.... (common grace)
God could JUSTLY consume this world in a ball of fire - YET -
Sun rose
we have AIR to breathe
we have food to eat
we have shelter
Music exists
COFFEE exists!
Chili Verde exists…AND some Southwest Chicken bowl at APPLEBEES...
And you don’t HAVE TO BE CHRISTIAN to experience those things - BECAUSE they are a COMMON Grace given to all men!
9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
- Common Grace - is experienced by ALL - THEREFORE - the Way of the Heart is to = Taste the Blessing the God...
BUT - where do we go from there? Because that SOUNDS good...
Israel REPENTED and experienced the blessing of God...
NOW - what’s gonna happen is this - IN OUR TEXT TODAY....we’re going to see Israel LIVE OUT Jeremiah 2:13
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
2 evils committed here - God here is talking about Israel...
(1) They had forsaken God....AND
(2) Hewed out cisterns for themselves - broken cisterns
Back to our text…We’ll see the first evil on display
1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
So Samuel became old...
And he APPOINTED his sons to be JUDGES over Israel...
NOW what do we read here...
v3 says what - Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after GAIN....they - - TOOK BRIBES…and perverted justice!
NOW - we need to THINK here...
FOR SURE - this speaks POORLY of the two sons correct?
They didn’t walk in the ways of Samuel...
They turned aside for - GAIN...
Right so - these verses seem to paint a bad picture of the two sons right?
SOUNDS bad right? YES _
BUT - how does verse 3 finish?
It says - they TOOK BRIBES!
What’s a bribe?
THINK thru what a BRIBE is - and then think about WHAT THAT says about the people of Israel…!
These verses speak JUST AS MUCH about the PEOPLE of Israel as they do of the 2 sons!
Knowing that the people were BRIBING the judges - TELLS us that the people were ACTUALLY trying to JUDGE/RULE themselves!
Trying to RULE themselves - BY themselves! Correct?
Someone STOLE something - WELL - I don’t want to get in trouble because I STOLE THAT THING - SO - I’m going to pay the judge to get me OFF the hook!
What does THAT lead to?
End of v3
They took bribes - and - PERVERTED justice!!
Justice wasn’t being SERVED - the pockets of the sons/judges were being served!
So what does THAT tell us about - the Way of the Heart?
Think of ISRAEL...
SLIDE: The Way of the Heart: Desires to Rule Itself
The Way of the Heart
The Way of the Heart
Now our text tells us that the 2 sons did NOT walk in the ways of Samuel...
BUT in thinking about how the PEOPLE played a part IN THAT...
It was clear that the PEOPLE - WANTED to pervert Justice - BECAUSE the People didn’t WANT to be JUDGED by God’s Righteousness!!
And this points back to the FIRST EVIL mentioned in Jeremiah 2:13
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
God says - Israel has - FORSAKEN ME...
They have TURNED from God!
The PEOPLE here - in our passage -
They had FLOURISHED under the RULE of God as Samuel judged Israel...
BUT THEN Samuel’s sons begin to JUDGE...
And the people CLEARLY would RATHER they RULE THEMSELVES!!
IN the NT - it reminds me of the Rich Young Ruler...
A guy who WANTED heaven - but didn’t want to be RULED by Jesus!
He wanted Jesus as SAVIOR....but not Jesus as Lord of his life!!
Let’s read it...
16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”
17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Wanted ETERNAL LIFE - didn’t want to be RULED by Jesus...
Didn’t trust Jesus
Didn’t love Jesus
The Israelites - just like the Rich Young Ruler - had experienced God’s BLESSING in their lives...
YET - we see in both cases - the DESIRE to LEAD THEMSELVES!!
The Rich Young Ruler - walked away from Jesus
The Israelites - Bribed judges to create their own justice system!
*But don’t we find ourselves living the same way?
*I know we all will find ourselves NOT REALLY INTERESTED in showing that person GRACE - well that’s US - wanting to RULE ourselves
*I know we all find ourselves NOT REALLY INTERESTED in being discipled - that’s US - wanting to RULE ourselves
*I know we all find ourselves not really interested in initiating hard conversations - that’s US - wanting to RULE ourselves
*I know we all find ourselves at times doing exactly what Adam and Eve did in the garden - running and hiding - that’s US - wanting to rule ourselves
But guess what - That’s the Way of the Heart
That’s what the FALLEN heart does!
IN SIN - a fallen heart is SEPARATED from God - and thus - desires to RULE itself!
We have to fight this! Even as Christians...
None of us are perfect - WHICH means - at times - WE ALL desire to RULE ourselves and we make choices that PROVE that!
As Christians - I think a great way for us to examine ourselves - is to ask the CLICHE question of Christianity...
What would Jesus do?
What DID Jesus do?
Would Jesus...
respond the way I responded?
make the comment I made?
think the same way as me about that thing?
feel that way about that person?
Another question we can ask is this?
Is this comment I’m about to make - SATURATED in Grace?
Will this action I’m about to perform - display Jesus to the world?
Will these words I’m about to say - shine FOR Jesus?
And this REALLY is where discipleship becomes so important!
*Working out alone (dumbbells - dangerous)
When we LIVE LIFE together - we’re more likely to GROW in how we respond to life - to where we can ANSWER those questions in a God’ honoring way...
When we live life together - we can be CHECKED
Others can help us FILTER our decisions through God’w word
When we stay SILOED - APART from others....
We’ll judge ourselves
We MIGHT even start our own VERSION of Christianity...
How do you think Mormonism started?
A man left to himself
Think of how many people - who claim Christianity - are walking around this world believing their own version of reality because they’ve remained a lone ranger… a dangerous thing
BUT WHY?
Why do we often DESIRE to RULE ourselves?
We see the answer in our text...
1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.
3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah
5 and said to him, “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.”
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord.
OK - so now the people ask for a NEW RULER over their lives...
YES - Samuel had judged them - but it was God who was RULING over the people...
next verse
7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
So the people FLOURISHED under God’s rule...
BUT - WHILE UNDER God’s rule - the people tried to RULE themselves...
HOW? - bribes
And IN THAT - we saw them live out the first evil of Jeremiah 2:13
They had Forsaken God!
They TURNED from God and His authority over them!
NOW - they ask for a KING.
And in DOING SO - They live out the 2nd Evil from Jeremiah 2:13
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
The 2nd Evil - Hewing out cisterns FOR THEMSELVES!
We don’t want God’s way....we want OUR way...
The people NOW ASK - for NEW AUTHORITY over them
And this get much deeper as we go...
God says - Give them what they want!
BUT FIRST...
9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
This is BIG...
Samuel (God) - warns the people how this decision is going to play out for them....
Let’s look at the warning...
10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him.
11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
12 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.
13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
16 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.
17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
18 And 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.”
What decision do you think the people made?
19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,
THEY HEARD the warning - YET - chose all the pain that would come from it!
WHY?
Well - what have we been looking at today?
The heart right?
We’ve seen that:
The Way of the Heart Tastes the Blessing of God
The Way of the Heart Desires to Rule Itself
And now...
SLIDE: The Way of the Heart: Prefers Darkness Over Light
The Way of the Heart
The Way of the Heart
The people of Israel - at one point - FLOURISHED under the Authority of God...
And so they experienced:
protection
cities restored
peace
What would these things had led to?
economic stability
closer community
They would have experienced all of these things…AND YET...
They CHOSE - the opposite!
Where does that come from?
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
Israel had TASTED the goodness of God - AFTER having tasted the BITTERNESS of His judgment...
EVEN SO - they chose to TURN from the Authority of God over them
And - according to Jeremiah 2:13
13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
They HEWED OUT CISTERNS for themselves...
Broken cisterns that can hold no water!
Israel had chosen their OWN WAY...
They PREFERRED the Broken Cistern
They preferred to drink the sand - than the living water of God!
The heart of man is what?
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
And so when we hear this - and embrace this reality about the heart...
About OUR hearts...
I hope the result is an urgency to engage each other - Life-on-Life...
That we might help each other become who God wants us to be!
SUMMARY
The Way of the Heart
Tastes the Blessing of God
Desires to Rule Itself
Prefers Darkness Over Light
Tastes the Blessing of God:
All of mankind experiences the goodness of God on this earth...
We ALL experience Common Grace in our lives...
And yet - MANY don’t honor God for His kindness toward us!
The Israelites had tasted God’s goodness toward them!
Samuel built a memorial to HELP the people DWELL on this reality!
BUT EVEN SO ...
The Way of the Heart is to RULE ITSELF!
The People began to BRIBE Samuel’s sons (judges)...
In order to RULE themselves!
They had FORSAKEN the authority of God in their lives...
How about you?
Where in your life have you forsaken the authority of God?
Are you living a double life…?
A life where you SHINE the OUTSIDE of the cup… (with church, and good deeds)
ONLY to DELIGHT IN the SIN which no one knows about?
The question is - are we FIGHTING the Ways of the Heart that desire to RULE ITSELF?
The Israelites - instead - were fighting to RULE THEMSELVES!
AND WERE WILLING to SUFFER under New Authority outside of God!
WHY?
The Way of the Heart is to Prefer Darkness Over Light!
Just like the Israelites - we TOO can so easily fall into playing in the darkness...
Turning from the Light - and in doing so - drinking the sand instead of the living water of Christ!
May we pursue examining OUR HEARTS - in light of God’s truth!
Let’s pray...