Samuel Confronts Saul

Amen. 1 Samuel chapter 13. 1 Samuel chapter 13, verses 1 to 14 is what we're going to cover this evening as Samuel confronts Saul. Now, this is the life and ministry of Samuel. We told John. Sunday, that this is what he does. He confronts people on their sin. Early on, after his mother dropped him off at Eli's place in the tabernacle, when he was three. And when he was a teenage boy, and God spoke to him in the middle of the night, God gave him a message. And that message set the tone for the rest of his ministry.

And that message was to confront Eli the priest and his boys on the fact that they weren't honoring the Lord. And that Eli had honored his boys above the Lord, and that God was going to kill his boys and him. Now, I'm sure that there was much trepidation in his life when he had to do that. But that began the ministry of Samuel. Because he had to deal with sin in the life of the priest. And as you go through his life, Samuel's life, that is exactly what he does. Israel goes to battle in 1 Samuel 7 against the Philistines, but in order for them to do that, Samuel must confront them on their sin because they're living in idolatry.

And so he brings them together and confronts them on the sin and tells them that they're involved in wickedness and they must repent. They do. They go to war and they win because they needed a spiritual revival. Well, as the story goes, you realize that Israel now wants a king. So Samuel confronts the evil in Israel on the fact that their attitude is such that they've rejected the true king in order to have an earthly king. And he confronts them on their abomination and their wickedness. And he does so at the coronation of Saul.

In fact, he confronts them twice. He tells them about all the bad things that are going to happen to them if they want an earthly king. God tells them, give him a king, so he does. And at the coronation of Saul at Gilgal, what he does is he rebukes them again. The whole life of Samuel was one where he rebuked those people who li in sin. And maybe that's the reason people don't like to study the life of Samuel. Because it really calls us into account on what we're doing with our lives. Because you have to realize that what he did is that he never dragged his feet.

When God said you got to do it, he did it. He didn't sit back and say, well, you know, Lord, maybe I should wait a little while, or maybe I should pray about it a little bit. No, he never dragged his feet. He confronted people when they lived in sin. Have you ever noticed that we tend to drag our feet when it comes to confrontation? And we, like we said last week, we tipt around people engaged in sin, hoping it goes away. But, like we said last week, tiptoe is a no-no when it comes to sin. And Samuel never did that.

In fact, he counted it a great privilege to be used by God to do so. Think about it this way. I don't know what your situation is. I don't think about your family. I don't even think about your friends. I don't know anything about what's happening in your immediate family or the life of those around you. But you know, If there are people who are living in sin that need to be dealt with, it's your job, it's your ministry to confront that. And to deal with it. And to look at it as a privilege that God has allowed you to understand and be in that situation so that you have the privilege to fulfill your biblical responsibility to do so.

That's a great thing. Instead of looking at it as an obligation, which it is, we look at it as a privilege.

To be able to be used by God to help another brother, another sister, another family member move toward maturity and live a pure and holy life. Samuel, if he teaches us anything, teaches us how to do that. You know, if you're going to define leadership, you define leadership with three words. Great leaders are initiators, motivators, and cultivators. Leaders always initiate. They do. That's why they're called leaders. Because they're in front. They're taking the initiative. They don't have to wait to be told what to do.

They know what to do because they know what God's Word says. And so because they know what God's Word says, they are willing to take the initiative when it comes to dealing with issues, when it comes to leading the way, Because that's what leaders do. They take the initiative. Leadership is never defined by passivity. You can't be passive and be a leader. You just can't. You can't be passive and lead your family. Can't. Because inevitably, things that need to be dealt with won't be dealt with, and sin will only perpetuate.

No, leaders, initiators, they're motivators. They know how to motivate people by instilling courage in them, moving them from place to place, and they're cultivators. That is, they cultivate spiritual growth in people's lives. The fact that they're able to help them grow spiritually. They know how to till the ground of the people they're leading. That's one thing Saul never did. He was bad when it came to initiating anything. He could not motivate anyone, and he certainly did not cultivate growth in anybody's life, which made him a horrible leader.

And yet, that's the man who's leading the nation of Israel. But his leadership won't last long because in today's story, he begins to decline, and he declines rapidly. Leaders who don't take the initiative will soon find themselves on the decline, not on the rise. If you can't take the initiative, if you're not driven to honor God and to make sure that God is honored in your sphere of influence, you will be on the decline. And everything around you will begin to fall. And that's exactly what happens with Saul.

So let me show you in these first 14 verses, 1 Samuel 13. What happens with Saul and Samuel? The context for the confrontation. And then the cause of the confrontation. Because next week, we will see again where Samuel once again confronts Saul and condemns Saul. for his sinful behavior. But let's look at 1 Samuel chapter 13, verses 1 to 14.

The narrative reads as follows Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty-tw years over Israel. Can you imagine reigning 42 years over the people of God and basically accomplish nothing? That's a wasted life. But those years are important because God would always get him to repent, but he never did. God gave him many opportunities to repent, to turn things around, but he never did. In fact, the decline is so bad. that he finds himself in the home of a witch conjuring up Samuel for counsel and then dying on a battlefield on Mount Geboa.

Because he did not do what God said. He did not kill the Amalekites. And he was killed by an Amalekite. The simple story goes as follows: What you don't kill will kill you. And that's exactly what happened with Saul. But he reigned 42 years, the text says. And now Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of what 2,000 were with Saul and Mi'kmash. and in the hill country of Bethel, while one thousand were with Jonathan at Gab of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people east to his tent.

Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Gib, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. All Israel heard the news that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines. The people were then summoned to Saul at Gilgal. Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance.

And they came up and encamped in Mikmash, east of Beth-Aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, for the people were hard-pressed, Then the people hid themselves in the caves, in thickets, and cliffs, in cellars, and in pits. And also, some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gile. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. Now he waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel. By the way, that appointed time is 1 Samuel 10, verse number 8.

But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. Saul went out to meet him and greet him. And Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mi'kmash.

Therefore I said, Now the Philistines will come down. Against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord. So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering. Samuel said to Saul, You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over his people.

Because you have not kept what the Lord comm you. Samuel was a man of passion. He was a man of prayer. And because he was a man of prayer, he was a man of passion. He was a man of purpose. He was a man used by God in a powerful way. The context is very simple. Israel is going to war against the Philistines. So Saul gathers together 3,000 men. 2,000 with him, 1,000 with his son Jonathan. Jonathan is now introduced to us. This is Saul's son. And they go to war, and Jonathan's a warrior. He's a soldier.

He goes to war and he defeats the Philistines. It says in verse number three: sm the garrison of the Philistines in Gib.

Very interesting. Because the verse goes on to tell us that it was not Jonathan who blew the sho. But it was Saul who blew the sho. He was the one who blew the trumpet. You ever heard the phrase, toot your own horn? Saul was a guy who loved to toot his own horn. See, how do you get that out of this verse? Very simple. Very, very simple. Jonathan was the one who should have blown the horn because he won the victory. But you notice that when Saul blows the horn, it says, Verse 4, all Israel heard the news that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines.

That's not what happened. Jonathan did. But you see, this gives us a little hint into the life of Saul. He loves the recognition of people. He lo the affirmation of people. He loves the applause of people. He likes to be in the limelight. You say, well, wait a minute. When Samuel was going to introduce him as king, he hid behind the baggage and the luggage. So it seemed like he was humble and he was afraid to be seen. That was a false humility. He was more afraid that they wouldn't like him than they would like him.

But once he found that they did like him because he was heads and shoulders above everybody else, well, that began to appeal to him. And so you get a little insight into Saul's life because you'll recall that when David wins the victory over Goliath, because Saul was unable to go to battle because he was afraid, like everybody else was. When David wins the battle, the song is sung by the women. David has slain his ten thousands, Saul his one thousand. That didn't go very well with Saul, did it? In fact, he became so enraged, so jealous, that it began the pursuit of young David by Saul.

For the next twenty plus years, he was a man of great pride. He loved the attention. He loved to be seen. He wanted to be recognized as someone who was supreme. He wanted that. And that was the problem. Because Saul would not be able to swallow his pride. To humble himself before the living God, truly repent of his sins, and honor the Lord. This gives us just a little hint into where Saul was going in terms of his decline. Remember, there's really only one good thing he does, and that is he leads a battle.

Against the Ammon and winds. That's the only good thing he does. Outside of that, He didn't do much. He's too busy chasing down David, trying to kill David for taking his, because God had appointed him as king and was going to take his throne. Thinking that if he could kill David, he could still sit on the throne. But God had taken his throne away. And this chapter is where that begins. Oh, your kingdom was to endure forever, Saul. Supposed to last. Supposed to pass it down to your boys. But you know what?

You've lost it sim because you would not obey the command of the L. And so as you begin to look at the context for the confrontation, you begin to see there's a battle with the Philistines.

And Saul wants to take credit for the victory that his son accomplished. And so the Bible goes on to tell us that the Philistines began to regroup. And they regroup in such a way that they had thirty thousand chariots, six thousand men. and soldiers that numbered the sand on the seashore. They were going to go to war with Israel. And so Saul summons everyone to Gilgal. Now we know what Gilgal is, we talked about last week. It's a place of celebration. It's a place where the Lord was worshipped when there was the coronation of Saul.

It was where they celebrated the first Passover when they crossed into the promised land. This was a special place. This was a place where Saul was supposed to go to, based on 1 Samuel 10, verse number 8. When Samuel told Saul to wait there for him seven day. Seven days. So Saul goes there and he gathers the people there. He wants them to come together. But they begin to disperse. They realize what's happening. They realize the Philistines are gathering the troops. They've doubled down on their army.

They're coming down. They're coming after Israel. And they hide in the thickets. They hide in caves. In time out, wait a minute. Didn you want a king that would lead you into battle? Isn't that what they asked for? Isn't that what they said? We need a king like all the other nations that will fight for us. Well, you got your king. He's ready to go to war with you, but you're afraid. Why are you afraid? What's your problem? You got what you asked for. The problem was that Samuel told them. In the last lesson, in 1 Samuel chapter 12, verse 24, fear the Lord, serve him.

In truth, with all your heart, for consider what great things He has done for you. All of a sudden, when they see the Philistines gathering together and they're outnumbered, they've soon forgotten all the great things that God has done for them. They begin to look horizontally instead of vertically. They no longer are fearing the Lord, they're fearing the Philistines. And Samuel told them, don't do that. You have a king, but in spite of that fact, you must always fear the Lord. You must always serve him with all of your heart.

And you must always, always, always consider the great things he's done for you. But how quickly they forget. How quickly they move away from that because they got what they asked for. But it would take their eyes off of the living God. Samuel tried to warn them: be careful, don't do that, it'll cost you. If you do wickedly, you'll be swept away, you and your king. Meaning that if you don't fear the Lord, if you don't serve him, if you don't consider what great things he's done for you, you will do wicked things.

So he warned them. And so, instead of looking to the Lord, they looked at all their enemies. And they ran from the king that they so desperately wanted to go to war for them. That's sad. But that's a lot like us today as well. We get our eyes off of the Lord and we see all the negative things around us. And we begin to think, how am I ever going to overcome this? I can't do it. And we begin to fear. But the Lord wants us to trust Him. To believe in him, to wait upon him. But they didn't do that. In fact, the Bible says in verse 7 that Israel trembled.

Trembled. In fact, if you read on 1 Samuel chapter 13, Saul is left with 600 men. Try with 3,000. Now he's just got 6 men. That's it. And you look at the Philistine army and you think, wow, how can 600 men go to war against the army of the Philistines?

Well, with God, you can do that if you trust him and believe in him. But you see, Saul was unable to instill courage in his people. Because he wasn't an initiator, he could not be a motivator. Instead of motivating people to stay and to fight and to realize the importance of the opportunity before them and to cultivate growth in their lives, They all ran, they all fled, except just for a handful, a few. And they who were left. We're trembling. And so Saul realizes that he must offer a sacrifice to the Lord.

And you think that this was a good thing because at least he recognizes that he needs the Lord. But it's more of a going through the motions. It's more. Superstitious than anything. It's kind of like people who go to church thinking that, you know, I know I have a job interview this week. I'm going to go to church on Sunday. Because I know if I go to church on Sunday, God will bless me. This is kind of like Saul. If I go and offer sacrifices to the Lord, I can win the battle against the Philistines.

It's like the guy says, You know, I'm going to read my Bible every day this week because I know I a big test at the end of the week and I've got to get an A on it, so I'm going read my Bible every day this week. As if the Bible is like a rabbit's foot that we can rub a certain way, and all of a sudden I'm going get straight A's on all my exams. Well, the person says, you, I better get on my knees and start praying because if I don't start praying, boy, I'll tell you, things are going to get worse than they are.

So I better start praying quick. Inst of realizing that when I call upon the Lord, I'm to call upon him in truth. When I read my Bible, I'm to do it so that I might know my Lord, not so that I might get an AMI test or things might work out better for me. I go to church to worship the king, to see Christ, and to honor him, no matter what the circumstances are around me, no matter what the job is that I have before me that week. It's to honor the Lord. But we find ourselves a lot like Saul, more so than like Samuel.

By virtue of the fact that we't confront very many people in their sin. And we use God and His Word and church as a rabbit's foot to kind of get me what I need to have or get me through the week. And that was Saul. They got to offer the burnt offerings. I've got to go to war. I to have God on my side. As if God wasn't on Israel's side already. But his heart wasn't in it. It was more of a superficial, superstitious kind of offering than it was a true, heartfelt, sincere offering to the Lord. That God would do what he wanted to do.

And so Samuel tarries. Samuel doesn't show up. Samuel waits. Why? Why does Samuel wait to the last minute to show up? Answer, I have no idea. Except that it's in the providence of God. I'm not sure if Samuel is waiting around thinking, okay, I'm going wait to the very last minute to show up right before the sun goes down to see if. Saul really, truly was going to honor the command of the Lord or not. Maybe he did. I have no idea. Doesn't say he did. But he did tarry. But Saul was to wait. But Saul was an impatient man.

And don't you find yourself impatient, unwilling to wait for the Lord to do a great, mighty work? We're all this way. Every one of us, at times, decide to take matters into our own hands. Listen to what the Bible says in the book of Psalms 27, verse number 14.

Wait for the Lord, be strong, let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord. In other words, unless we learn to wait for the Lord, we cannot experience His strength and His courage. Psalm 25, verse 5 says this. Verse 4, make me know your ways, O Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation, and for you I wait all the day. Isn that good? I'll wait all day, Lord, for you to do what you're going to do. Most of us just don't like to do that.

And then the Bible says over in Psalm 37 these words: Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who carries out wicked schemes. Cease from anger, forsake wrath. Do not fret, it leads only to evild. For evild will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land. Yet a little while, and the wicked man will be no more and you will look carefully for his place, and he will not be there. But the humble will inherit the land, and will delight themselves in abund prosperity.

And then there's that great psalm, Psalm 62. It's called the only Psalm. My soul waits in silence for God only from Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation. I shall not be greatly shaken. Verse 5, my soul wait in silence for God only. For my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation. My stronghold I shall not be shaken. On God, my salvation and my glory rests. The rock of my strength, my refuge in God. Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him.

God is a refuge. For us, and then he goes on to say in verse 11: Power belongs to the Lord. Isn't that good? But you got to wait. You got to wrap yourself around the Lord and wait patiently on him. Trust him. And Saul was unwilling to wait for the man of God to come as directed by God in 1 Samuel 10, verse number 8. And we too find ourselves unwilling to wait for God to do the work for us. Only to find out that once we go ahead of God, things just don't work out very well. And that was Saul. And so he doesn't wait.

And the reason he doesn't wait is because, remember, people are leaving him. Everyone's being scattered away from him. It says in 1 Samuel chapter 13, these words, verse 8, the people were scatter from him. You see, for a person who likes to toot their own horn, they can't be without the people around them. They can't be without the applause and the affirmation and the accolades. They can't be without that. They have to have it. So, what's he going to do? He's going to take matters into his own hands because he can't.

Be without the people that somehow praise him for the things he's done. That's the way Saul is. A lot of people are like that today in the church. They just love to be affirmed. They just love to be recognized. They just love it. And the more they get, the more they have to have. They can't live without it. And people were fleeing from Saul. He was down to 600 men. For somebody who likes attention? They'll stop at nothing even to disobey the Lord to keep people around them, to keep attention coming their way.

That's exactly what he does. Everybody's leaving him. He's fearful that all are going to be gone. He's also fearful he's going to lose the battle. And so, therefore, he seeks to offer a sacrifice that was only designed to be offered by Samuel. He usurped Samuel's authority. He usurped Samuel's place of privilege. He usurped the man of God who was designed to fulfill God's purposes for Israel. He did it himself. But he was commanded by Samuel to wait seven day. It had been seven days. But the day was not over yet.

But Saul was tired of waiting. So now you have the confrontation, right? Now you have the confrontation. It says these words. So Saul, now he waited seven days according to the appointed time by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. Verse 9. So Saul said, Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings, and he offered the burnt offering And as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel shows up. Did anybody see him coming and say, hey, Samuel's coming, you better stop?

Samuel shows up. Now it would take about a half hour for the sacrifice to be complete. So the smoke was still probably ascending up into the heavens. And Samuel shows up. And now you're going to have this confrontation. Look what it says. And Saul went out to meet him and to greet him as if nothing was wrong. He went out to greet him. Saul was so self-deceived. But Samus said, What have you done? And Saul said, the people, the prophet, and the Philistines made this happen. He was a victim. He's willing to blame the people.

They're leaving, they're scattering. I saw the people were scattering in front of me. I had to do something. And then the prophet, you did not come within the appointed days. Oh, but he did. He came toward the end of the seventh day. And the Philistines. They were assembled at Dikmash. And I said, Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord. So now, what is he going to do? He's going to ask the favor of the Lord. By being disobedient to the Lord.

How does that work? How does that work? But see, when you begin that. Slow descent, that decline away from the Lord, you can rationalize anything away in your own mind. And that's what he's doing. I need the Lord. So I'm going to disobey the Lord to seek the favor of the Lord, as if that was going to help him. It did not. Samuel said, You have acted foolishly. You are a fool, Saul. Because, as the book of Proverbs says, fool mock sin. He mocked sin. He didn't see himself as sinning. He saw himself as desperate.

And he saw himself as a victim. Well, if you'd have been here, I wouldn't have done it. So it's like Adam, the woman you gave me, Lord. Why'd you give me her? I'd have been okay if she wouldn't have been here. It's your fault, Lord. See, we love to blame somebody else instead of saying, you know what, Samuel, you're right. I was wrong. Please forgive me. I usurped your authority. I disobeyed the word of the Lord. I was wrong. Please, please forgive me. See, that's not Saul's attitude. No. I'm going to blame the people because they're leaving.

I'm going to blame the prophet because he wasn't here on time, my time, although he's here on God's time. I don't blame the Philistines. Because somehow I had to do something in order to gain the favor of the Lord. And Samuel says, you are a fool. Why? Because you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God. In other words, he says, Saul, you're a moron. That's the word. You're a moron. Whenever you don't keep the commands of God, you're a moron. Did you know that? That's what the Bible says.

I didn't make it up. That's what the Bible says. And then he says, This, which he commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. Do you understand, Saul, the severity of breaking the commands of God? You had the opportunity to have a kingdom that would last forever, and you blew it because of your own ego. You blew it because of your impatience. You blew it because if you're unwilling to repent of your sin when confronted on your sin. And then he says, Now, your kingdom shall not endure, for the Lord has sought out for him a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over his people.

Because you have not kept what the Lord comm you. Wow. Think about this. S lost his kingdom because of his sin. How many people do you know are kept out of the kingdom of God because of their sin? That they won't repent of their sin and won't embrace the grace of the living God. What would have happened if Saul would have truly repented? Can you imagine the scene? What a testimony it would have been for all of Israel. But because he broke the command of God, 1 Samuel 10:8, because he didn't do What Samuel said at his coronation, fear the Lord, serve only him with all your heart, always consider the great things he's done for you, or you'll be swept away.

Didn't do that either. He didn't do anything the Lord said, except what he wanted to do. That little phrase, the Lord has sought for a man after his own heart. That just speaks volumes. It just speaks volumes. So I want you to think about that with me for a second, okay?

Think about that. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 16: that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth, searching for those whose hearts Are completely his.

Completely his. God is looking for those whose hearts are his. Who want to serve the Lord, who want to fear the Lord, who want to honor the Lord. So the Bible says, book of Proverbs chapter 4, verse 23: guard your heart.

Guard your heart. For out of it flow all the issues of life. Now think about that. Guard your heart. Now remember.

God chang Saul's heart. 1 Samuel 10, verse number 9. He changed his heart. Knowing that God changed his heart, you say, wait a minute. If God changed his heart, why does now God look for a man after his heart? Indicating that Saul wasn't after God's heart anymore. I'll tell you, God changed his heart. And remember what God did? God gave him valiant men whose hearts were the Lord's. That would challenge Saul's heart. God changed his heart. God gave him men that would challenge his heart. And then God gave him Samuel that would charge his heart.

But Saul never channeled his heart after God. He never did. God had to change his heart. In order for him to be able to be used by him, why? Well, we know the Bible says the heart's deceitful, desperately wicked, no man can know it.

We know that Proverbs chapter 2 says this in verse 26: Give me your heart, my son. And let your eyes delight in my ways. Do you know that the eyes are the window to the soul? Just like we can look in the eyes of your wife and know if you fellas have her he. We can know that just by looking in the eyes of your wife. So too, we know whether or not God has your heart, because the eyes are the windows to the soul. Give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways. Those whose hearts are the Lord's.

Just delight in the ways of God. They just do. And you can see it in their eyes. And so Saul had a dec heart. That's evident in this chapter. It was on the decline. Why did Saul have a declining heart? Simply because Saul had a divided he. Now stay with me because this is really good. Okay? Saul had a divided heart. How do we know Saul had a divided heart? Well, we know that Samuel had to rebuke the entire nation because of their idolatry. They were living in sin. They had gone after the Baals. They had gone after the Asht.

And they had divided hearts. And Saul was among the people of Israel. So divided was his heart that Samuel only lived less than 20 miles from him, but Saul had no idea who Samuel was. How did that happen? So, when a servant, when they went looking for his father's donkeys, said, There's a man of God who lives here, and Samus says, Well, who's that? Well, it's a man of God. They didn know who it was. And so when they ran into Samuel, Saul had no idea who Samuel was. How could that be? When he was a judge in Israel, when he was in his upper 50s, maybe close to 60, had been operating in Israel for years.

How does Saul not know who he was? Because Saul had a divided heart. You can't serve two masters. You just can't. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 86, 11, Unite my heart to fear thy name.

That's what David said. Unite my heart to fear thy name. No distractions, no divisions, no doubts. Unite my heart. That was not Saul. He had a declining heart because he had a divided heart. He had a divided heart because he had a disobedient heart. He disobeyed the command of God in 1 Samuel chapter 13. A clear command from 1 Samuel 10:8: You wait seven days until I show up. Listen, I'd wait at least 10 days. If he wasn't there, then I'd probably begin to ask what's going on. But he didn't wait at the end of seven days because he had a disobedient heart.

Not only did he have a disobedient heart, he had a deceptive heart. He had a deceptive heart. He deceived even his own self. He deceived even his own self into thinking that, listen, I must do this. I must somehow seek the favor of the Lord by disobeying the Lord. As if that was going to help him. And if you read on in 1 Samuel chapter 15, Samuel tells them that your rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and idolatry. He had a disobedient heart. He had a deceptive heart. He had a defiant heart. And why you can't see it now?

Down in the depths of his soul, he was absolutely defiant against anything God said. When his kingdom is taken from him, he's going to fight for his kingdom. Even though God said, I've given your kingdom to another one whose heart is mine. Instead of saying, You're right, Lord. Who is it? Let him be the king. No. For the man who seeks applause and approval and affirmation, he's not going to let that happen. Will stop at nothing to make sure David's not the king and will do all they can to kill him and pursue him for over 20 years to make sure he doesn't rule.

But when God's in charge, you can't stop it. He had a defiant heart. He had a defiled heart. He would go to a witch at the end of his life to conjure up the soul of Samuel from the grave to get counsel. He had a dead heart because he was still dead in his trespasses and sin. And that's why his heart declined so rapidly once he was set as king over Israel. And God says, I got one whose heart is after mine.

What kind of heart did David have? David had a delivered heart. He had been delivered from his sin. He had been delivered from the bondage of Satan. He had a heart that was truly seeking God. And you can't seek God unless God seeks you. And if God has sought you, God has delivered you. And David had a delivered heart. Not only did he have a delivered heart, because it was a delivered heart, it was a dependent he Over in Psalm 61, David says, This, Hear my cry, O God, give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever.

Let me take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Oh, if Saul could have said that, but he didn't. He didn't. David did. Why? Because David had a delivered heart. A delivered heart is a dependent heart. That's why God says, I got a man.

Wh heart is really after me. Saul, you don't fit that category. Only dad. David had a devoted heart. That's why in Psalm 86 he said, Lord, unite my heart to fear your name. Because he was de to his God. He didn't want any distractions. He didn't want a divided heart. He wanted a devoted heart. And sure enough, David's heart was devoted to God. He was that. Sweet singer of Israel, that shepherd of Israel, that sovereign of Israel, that soldier of Israel. He was a devoted warrior. Because he was a devoted son to his father in heaven.

He had a devoted heart. He had a disciplined heart. Listen to what the Bible says in Proverbs chapter 23, verse 12.

Apply your heart to discipline. and your ears to the words of knowledge. There's nothing better than a disciplined heart. Because he had a disciplined heart, boy, I wish I could go into more detail here. He he had a diligent heart. A diligent heart. Man's most precious possession, Proverbs 12, 27, is what? Diligence. A diligent heart stems from a disciplined heart. A disciplined heart stems from a devoted heart. A devoted heart stems from a dependent heart. And a de Dependent heart stems from a delivered heart.

And that was David. He had a dutiful heart. He knew his duty. And he followed it. Listen to First Kings chapter nine, where it says.

The Lord appeared to Solomon a second time as he appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house, which you have built, by putting my name there forever. And my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually. As for you, if you will walk before me as your father did David walked in the integrity of heart and uprightness. That's a dutiful heart. Doing according to all that I have comm him.

And you will keep my statutes and my ordinances, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever. So wait a minute. Wait a minute. David walked in the integrity of his heart. With up and did all that God commanded him. That's what God said in 1 Kings chapter 9, verse number 4. And then in 1 Kings 15, he said this. Just to clarify it, he says, speaking of King Jeroboam, his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David. Wow. But for David's sake, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem.

Because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything that he did. Commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uri the Hittite. You see, we take one act of failure and maximize it. God takes one act of failure and minimizes it. See that? Did David fail? Yeah. Did David mess up? Yeah, he did. He did. But did David seek forgiveness? You bet. Did God forgive him? Absolutely. Because he wanted fellowship with his God more than anything, because his heart was after God's.

He had a dutiful he. And lastly, he had a delightful heart. Any heart delivered by God is a heart filled with delight. And David had that. Proverbs 23, or Proverbs, I'm sorry, Psalm 3. Psalm 3, verse number 4. Says, trust in the Lord, do good, dwell in the land, cultivate faithfulness, delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you. The desires of your heart. That was David. David had a delightful heart. I give that to you simply because a great Bible study would be able to compare Saul's heart to David's heart.

Saul lost his kingdom. David kept his kingdom. In fact, a greater son of David's will sit on the throne of David, his father, in the m of the kingdom. Because he had a heart after God. Saul, he was a different animal. Different human being, different person altogether. Simply because, even though God changed his heart, because he had to. Because he had to rule his people Israel. He did it for the sake of his people Israel. And God gave him the men around him to challenge his heart. God men. And he gave him a judge and a priest to charge us art.

He never channeled his heart after God. But David did. Saul loses his kingdom. David keeps his kingdom simply because David was a man after God's own heart. How about you? Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight, a chance to be in your word. Truly, your word is great, and we are a blessed people to be able to study so much. So much yet to be covered. And yet, Lord, you have graced us with an opportunity to learn about you. For that, we are grateful. Give us journeys of mercies as we go our separate ways. Bring us back again this Lord's Day to worship you as our King. In Jesus' name, amen.