Why is it So
Hard to Humble Ourselves?
1 Samuel 15
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
DATE: 23 Nov, 2008 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig,
I.
Introduction (1Peter 5:6)
A.
I hope, as we have
studied this entire year about humbling ourselves, that you have discovered
just how HARD that command is
B.
I know people who are
religious, and pray, and do good things, but when push comes to shove, they
have a hard time saying “I’m sorrow” “Please forgive me” and “I was wrong!”
C.
This world is
absolutely FULL of people who have one HUGE besetting sin, that outshines
almost all others – the sin of stubbornness and rebellion.
D.
These are not small
sins either.
E.
The whole Bible is
about bringing the human heart down from its throne, so Jesus can save it
and restore it to the design that He had for it from the beginning.
F.
But most of the world
lives and dies away from God, and separated from His blessing simply because
we find it hard to “come down”!
G.
Let’s take a look at a
famous kin, who also found it hard to humble himself, and maybe his reasons
are YOUR same reasons.
H.
By looking at them,
maybe the Lord will soften your heart, and you will see the need more than
ever to humble yourself under the mighty arm of God
II.
Background (1Samuel 15:1-12)
A.
1.
Handsome young man
2.
The people were
enthralled,
3.
They could now hold
their heads up high because they had a king just like every other kingdom
around
B.
It was time to judge
the nearby nation of Amalek (1Sam 15:1-3)
1.
Being King, or Dad or
Boss has its responsibilities, and Saul had his first appointment on his
calendar – destroy the enemy nation of the Amalekites
2.
Like going after a
criminal that had eluded justice
3.
Just before they came
to Mount Sinai, the Amalekites fell upon the rear of them, and smote the
feeble, and faint, and weary, see Ex 17:8 De 25:17-19
4.
a.
The
b.
The Philistines
c.
The Amalekites
5.
The people of Amalek
had fought
6.
They needed to be
judged
C.
God carefully and
clearly instructs king Saul to UTTERLY destroy the entire nation of
the Amalekites (1Sam 15:3)
1.
These people only
hated the Jews and had a culture that sought only to kill them – taught
their children to hate the Jews - to want to kill them
2.
Utterly means
completely – leaving nothing behind
a.
Destroy the cities
b.
Destroy the crops
c.
Destroy the cattle
d.
AND destroy the
people, young and old, men and women
3.
The word is repeated
over and over
4.
No ambiguity about
God’s command. There is no confusion about the Ten Commandments either
5.
This was not a human
desire – it was God’s will
6.
This was not unusual
a.
God had commanded
b.
And He Himself had
utterly destroyed
D.
BUT… king Saul thought
he knew better (1Sam 15:4-12)
1.
Kept alive the king of
the Amalekites – Agag.
a.
His descendants would
later almost wipe out
b.
Probably as a prize
possession to show off in chains to all the visiting dignitaries to show how
powerful he was!
2.
Kept alive all the
GOOD cattle, and the good gold and silver, and possessions
3.
Saul did not
completely obey the Lord – only partial obedience (that’s us, isn’t it?)
4.
Partial Obedience -
Saul only obeys “so far” as it makes sense to him
a.
Something small is
left undone – left the king alive
b.
Not everything was
destroyed
E.
So God send the
prophet Samuel back to speak to king Saul – to rebuke him, to get him to
repent and humble himself before God (15:10-12)
F.
But Saul won’t humble
himself. It’s not that he CAN’T, but that he won’t.
G.
His reasons are no
different than any of our reasons for not
H.
It is always amazing
to me just how HARD it is for me to soften when I am proven wrong!!! Is it
the same with any of you? I thought so!
III.
Message
A.
We, Like Saul, Believe We Have
Done Right (1Sam 15:13)
1.
We see two kinds of
sins in our lives
a.
Mortal or very bad
sins – people who murder and commit physical adultery, well, they are
SINNERS
b.
Venial – light sins
c.
The awful sins are
those sins which others practice, while we tend to look upon our own sins,
such as lying, as “little white lies.”
d.
God just sees sin!
e.
Do you know what a sin
is? It is not when we “hurt somebody” – it is when we disobey God – period!
2.
Rarely do we take a
look at ourselves from God’s viewpoint
a.
King Saul thinks he
has done a great job for the Lord – proud of himself
b.
People may see us as
great, good workers, husbands, mothers, children
c.
But the Lord sees our
murmuring hearts, and sees our idle words, and our lustful eyes, and our
wicked imaginations
3.
King Saul’s heart
already is at him – he is already throwing up defences knowing that Samuel
is going to find a fault with him
a.
It’s amazing that we
KNOW we have not done right, even though we convince ourselves that we HAVE
done right
1)
Lying to the boss
about what we have done for the day
2)
Lying to the Garda
about our speed
3)
WE KNOW we are lying,
but we BELIEVE we have not done anything really wrong!
4.
Partial obedience is
still disobedience!
5.
Saul would not confess
his wrong doing. Didn’t think he had done anything wrong!
B.
We Blame Others for Our
Failures (1Sam 15:14,15)
1.
Samuel is real cute
here – he turns his head around and acts surprised to hear the bleating of
sheep, and the lowing of oxen
2.
Immediately, king Saul
beings to point the finger
a.
THEY have brought
them…
b.
THE PEOPLE spared…
c.
But WE (now including
himself) have obeyed God!
3.
Once Saul finds out
that his “obedience” is unacceptable to God, Saul suddenly seeks to lay the
blame on all the other people of
4.
This “Blame-Game” is
an age-old problem we ALL have
a.
Do you remember when
this problem first occurred? It was found in the garden of Eden.
b.
In Genesis 3 the
serpent tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit - she did and gave also to
Adam
c.
As a result their eyes
were open to their nakedness, and they hid from God
d.
Notice what happened
in Genesis 3:9-13
1)
Adam blamed Eve and
God
2)
Eve blamed the serpent
e.
How do people “pass
the buck” today? By always passing responsibility on to someone else
1)
Blame others for their
laziness
2)
Blame others for their
hatred and bitterness
3)
Blame others for not
coming to church, etc.
4)
Blame others for what
is not being done, when they themselves are doing little or nothing
f.
Remember, when you
point the finger, there are three more pointing right back at you.
g.
In the day of judgment
there will be no “passing of the buck” (John 12:48; 2 Corinthians 5:10)
5.
The lie that keeps us
most bound in our sin is that we think we have someone else to blame for why
we sin
a.
We drink because we
lost our job
b.
We quit work because
our boss was not kind
c.
We won’t talk to
so-and-so because they hurt us
d.
We ignore someone
because they ignore us
e.
We stopped praying
because God didn’t answer one time
f.
We smoke because of
the pressures of work
g.
We take pills because
my parents beat me
h.
AND SO WE STAY IN
BONDAGE!
6.
Saul still didn’t not
confess his wrong doing. He thought others had done worse than himself!
C.
We Benefit from Our Own Ways of
Doing Things (1Sam 15:16-19)
1.
Samuel reminds Saul of
some things:
a.
Of what God had done
for him
1)
Taking him from being
a nobody, and making him king over the greatest people and kingdom in the
world
2)
Giving him honour and
power and blessing upon blessing
3)
Saul had had none of
that before
b.
Samuel then reminds
Saul of the responsibility that he now had as king
1)
Clearly instructed to
utterly destroy this enemy of
2)
It was not complex,
hard, confusing
2.
Samuel then reveals
the WHY Saul had only partially obeyed – because there was a lot to gain
from keeping some of the spoils of war, instead of destroying it all – it
would have been in Saul’s mind, such a “waste!”
a.
King Saul, and all the
people did “fly upon the spoil”
1)
Couldn’t wait to TAKE
from those people of their possessions
2)
It is like when people
break into shops during hurricanes
3)
It is like when people
take advantage of people in tragedies
b.
King Saul and all the
people utterly destroyed the vile and refuse
c.
But they kept the good
and worthwhile
1)
But God said destroy
all of it
2)
It is easy to give up
the sins that we don’t like
a)
I could give up
smoking in no time at all – because I hate it
b)
I could give up
drinking no problem – because I hate it
3)
It is much harder to
give up the sins that we think are GOOD
a)
It is much harder to
give up Sky Movies… hmmmm?
b)
It is much harder to
give up time with the boys when we have so much “fun”
c)
It is very hard to
give up thieving and lying when we get so much out of it
3.
Saul still would not
confess his wrong doing.
4.
Saul’s way seemed like
the better way, but only because HE would be the beneficiary, not God!
D.
We Belittle Our Sins – Make
Them Small (1Sam 15:20-23)
1.
Saul Repeats himself…
a.
I “HAVE” obeyed, I
HAVE utterly destroyed Amalek
b.
He is really trying to
prove his point only by repeating himself
c.
The facts say
otherwise!
2.
Tries the blame game
one more time
3.
Tries to blame GOD now
- God shouldn’t have wanted everything destroyed
4.
BUT, then, adds,…
everything we did
was all for GOD!
a.
We took their cattle
to have a big sacrifice to God
b.
LIAR! They were going
to have a free feast!
c.
To sacrifice any of
the Amalekite flocks would have meant that they could have given to God what
didn’t cost them anything… it would have enabled them to keep all their own
flocks
d.
It is easy to give to
God money that you didn’t earn – that you find on the street
e.
It is much harder to
give from your own work, isn’t it?
5.
Samuel slams the
Religious Reasons for Disobedience
in a heartbeat
a.
God does not want
sacrifices, and offerings, and money
b.
Simply worshipping God
is not enough!!! And yet that what people think
1)
Go to church
2)
Say my prayers
3)
Thank the “man
upstairs” everyday
4)
BUT, don’t ask me to
obey HIM!!!!
c.
God wants obedience, a
soft heart, a hearing and interested ear
d.
To obey is better than
all the money in the world
e.
Faith is my choice to
obey God, even when it doesn’t always make sense (Heb 11:6)
1)
Faith is not just what
we believe
2)
Faith is what we do,
and how we act because of WHO we believe and WHO we are obeying
3)
Faith is NOT obeying
my flesh
4)
Faith is obeying the
clear instructions in God’s word
6.
Saul thought his sins
were nothing compared to what he was offering to God, but Samuel says his
“little disobedience” was
a.
Rebellion – setting up
OUR WILLS in competition against God’s will
b.
Stubbornness –
resisting the pressure to admit wrong
c.
Rejection of the word
of God – it was not going to govern his life
d.
Disastrous – Saul blew
it and was headed for ruin!
7.
Listen to how bad
Saul’s sin was
a.
As witchcraft
1)
Witchcraft is when you
worship satanic and demonic powers, and seek THOSE powers instead of God’s
power
2)
It is real folks, and
very alluring
3)
Christians hate such
things, but are just as bad as those that love witchcraft when we disobey
God
b.
As idolatry
1)
Worshipping our selves
is an awful sin.
2)
You may not have
statues all over your home, but your pride and arrogance and boastings could
fill a warehouse!
8.
Going through the
motions of religious rituals is as damning as worshipping the devil
himself!!!
9.
So Saul still would
not confess his wrong doing. Didn’t think he had done anything wrong!
E.
It is Beneath Us to be Seen as
a Failure (1Sam 15:24-31)
1.
Saul tries to verbally
admit wrong, but not heartily. This was the difference between king Saul,
and king David (Psalm 51:1-4)
2.
Backs away from
blaming the people, to FEARING the people!!! For goodness sake, Saul was
KING! The people were just doing what Saul was doing – not the other way
around!
a.
This is one of the
reason there is so much error in the world today - because man fears man
instead of God
b.
Saul blamed his error
on fearing the people - what about today?
1)
Afraid of losing
friends, or not being popular
2)
Afraid of losing
social status
3)
Afraid of losing a
promotion
4)
Notice what Jesus said
… Matthew 10:28
5)
Proverbs 29:25
6)
“Fear God and give him
glory …” (Rev. 14:7)
3.
So, Saul Asks for
Samuel to pray for him – strange, why not pray himself?
a.
Tries to sidestep
God’s correction – didn’t like thinking about humbling himself – THIS IS THE
MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE MESSAGE
b.
Saul is saying
something like: “O.K., O.K., so I messed up. I admit it. Now, can we get on
with my life. I want you to stay with me and worship with me, so that my
image is not tarnished before the people.”
c.
In effect now, as in
the sin of partial obedience, Saul is more concerned with the people’s
opinion of him than of God’s opinion of him. Saul wants to put his sin
behind him without hating it, without putting it away from him. That’s what
repentance is!
d.
Saul does not have a
deep conviction concerning the vileness of his sin. He only fears that
he will look bad
if this situation is not handled properly. And so he pleads for Samuel to go
back and worship with him, thus giving the appearance that all is well.
4.
But
5.
No matter what Samuel
said or Did, Saul just found it TOO HARD to humble himself!
IV.
Application
A.
The Results of NOT
Humbling Ourselves
1.
Bitterness – Saul
became only full of hate and bitterness towards people, including his won
son Jonathan, and later David
2.
Bad attitudes – where
you are not full of God’s Holy Spirit, you will end up filled with every
unclean and unholy spirit – bad attitudes
3.
Broken life – not
doing what you were designed to be or do
4.
Bondage
B.
The Blessings of
Humbling Ourselves
1.
Salvation from God’s
Punishment for our sins – repentance allows you to receive the free gift of
eternal life and forgiveness
2.
New life in Jesus
Christ – only for the meek and humble
3.
Closeness to God (Isa
57:15)
4.
Blessings from God
V.
Conclusion
A.
It is indeed sad to
read about Saul’s disobedience.
B.
But sadder still is
reading the account of Saul’s response to Samuel’s rebuke.
1.
Saul starts by
claiming to have obeyed God’s command.
2.
Then, when his sin is
exposed, he admits to his failure to fully execute the command, but tries to
sanctify his disobedience by claiming it was only to better worship God.
3.
When Samuel casts
aside this weak excuse, Saul finally confesses that he has sinned, but he
lays the blame on the people. He claims that he feared the people and thus
gave in to the pressure they applied on him.
4.
His concern is not
that he has sinned against a righteous God, but that his public image will
be damaged if Samuel openly severs his relationship with him. He does not
have a deep conviction concerning the vileness of his sin. He only fears
that he will look bad if this situation is not handled properly. And so he
pleads for Samuel to go back and worship with him, thus giving the
appearance that all is well.
C.
May we never fall into
the trap of Saul where he:
1.
Blamed the people for
his sin
2.
Neglected the portion
of God’s law he did not want to do
3.
Thought is was alright
to change God ’s law because he was doing it to worship God
4.
Feared the people more
than God
D.
His reasons are no
different than any of our reasons for not breaking, and humbling ourselves
before God, and accepting blame, and repenting, and getting right
E.
It is always amazing
to me just how HARD it is for me to soften when I am proven wrong!!! Is it
the same with any of you? I thought so!
1.
We, Like Saul, Believe We Have
Done Right (1Sam 15:13)
2.
We Blame Others for Our
Failures (1Sam 15:14,15)
3.
We Benefit from Our Own Ways of
Doing Things (1Sam 15:16-19)
4.
We Belittle Our Sins – Make
Them Small (1Sam 15:20-23)
5.
It is Beneath Us to be Seen as
a Failure (1Sam 15:24-31)