Sermon: Leading through Dependence

Tonight we're gonna look at First Chronicles

just gonna do kind of a high level view of overview of these verses. The week we were putting together this order of service and been asked if I would preach and I was doing devotions and first Chronicles and uh, it was the morning he asked me and I thought, oh, these two passages stand out to me as I think about uh, pastor Ben Faulkner and think about what he has been called to here at URC. So let's pray before we open these passages together.

Father, we thank you for the gift of your word. We pray that even this evening that you would minister to our hearts and our minds pray that you would teach us yet again

and confess that we are dull and thought. We are dull and heart. We are in need of your word continually. We need you to keep teaching us to the end of our days. So would you teach us this evening by your grace, by the power of your spirit in Christ's name, amen.

You open up here to first Chronicles chapter 10 in want to read verses 13 and 14.

So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord and that he did not keep the command of the Lord and also consulted a medium seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse. And then if you'll turn over to chapter 14,

chapter 14, starting in verse eight, when the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. David heard of it and went out against them. Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the valley of em and David inquired of, God shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand? And the Lord said to him, go up and I will give them into your hand.

And he went up to Baal Perim and David struck them down there and David said, God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a bursting flood. Therefore the name of that place is called Baal Perine And left their gods there. And David gave command and they were burned. And the Philistines yet again made a raid in the valley. And when David again inquired of God, God said to him, you shall not go up after them. Go around and come against them opposite the balam trees.

And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the BSO trees then go out to battle where God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines. And David did as God commanded him and they struck down the Philistine army from Yian de Gazer and the fame of David went out into all the lands and the Lord brought the fear of him upon all nations. The grass withers and the flower fades. Word of God is forever. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Like I said, we're just gonna do a quick flyover of these passages and then what I wanna do is consider five things that we can learn from these two little accounts. In the book of First Chronicles, we have two accounts about the first two kings of Israel and these first two kings of Israel, both of these accounts, they are facing the enemy of Israel. And in both of these accounts, these first two kings facing the enemies of Israel are facing the Philistines.

And yet in the one account you will note that soul was slain and his sons were slain and the Israelites were defeated. Whereas in the second account David lives and his sons live in Israel has victory. And I wanna think about that together. The account of soul is a kind of epitaph. At the end of that passage that we just read, he died on the battlefield. He falls upon his own sword committing suicide. Israel was defeated, his sons are killed

and Saul has ended it all. It's done. And the Chronicle, there are chronicles, the end of soul's life here. Here is soul. He is the first king of the nation of Israel. Now first kings are seldom forgotten. They're almost always celebrated even if they have a poor reputation. But the epitaph here for soul, it has no hint of celebration. There's none. There's only the report of his poor reputation.

The epitaph as he is buried here under this oak tree, the epitaph that the chronicler uses just sums it up with this. Saul died for his breach of faith. He did not operate in faith. He then defines it. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord and also consulted a medium seeking guidance. And then to underscore that fact, he repeats it yet again. He did not seek guidance from the Lord.

That's his epitaph. That's it. This is how we're gonna sum up his life. What's he referring to? He did not keep the command of the Lord. It's the same language that's used in one Samuel chapter 13. In in one Samuel chapter 13, Samuel comes and he confronts soul as he is king. And in that account the people of Israel, they are once again, they are facing this enemy of the Philistines and the Philistine army. It is gathering and as it is gathering all the people

of Israel, they begin to scatter. And Saul is waiting for Samuel to come and he once Samuel to come so that a sacrifice can be offered and they can inquire of God what is it that we are to do? But Samuel was late in coming

and so Saul takes matters into his own hands and he did what was only Samuel's responsibility. And he offers up a sacrifice himself. And Samuel says this to him, you have done foolishly, you have not kept the command of the Lord your God with which he commanded you. And the penalty Samuel tells soul right there in that passage. He says, your kingdom will not continue. In fact, none of your sons shall sit upon the throne.

It shall be given to another. It's a prophecy concerning David,

why such a severe penalty?

Why that? Because of what Saul looked to for strength, Saul thought more highly of himself than he ought to have. He disobeyed God's law thinking that he was above it. He's king, he's the king of Israel, he's the king of God's people. But he forgot that in kingdom service there is always a king above all the kings.

And obedience to the king matters more than anything else. He didn't uphold the Lord. And so the Lord did not uphold him. As our passage in one chronicles ends, it ends with a a causal statement. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse. God is king in kingdom service. Any that we would yield to him kingdom service, the very first and foremost acknowledgement of all of his servants is

that you are king.

You'll notice that David's approach is vastly different. Here's the second king of Israel, a man that Samuel identified as a man after God's own heart. When he is telling Saul that one shall replace him, here's a king who's willing to follow the will of God and submit himself to God. And we see it, the Philistines come up yet again. And this time it's against David and David, though he is at the head of an army and though he is king, he does not take action.

Rather verse 10, David inquired of God shall I go up against the Philistines? Now listen, the Philistines have come up against him. He's king. It's his job to protect the people

and yet he doesn't take action. He knows that the action that must be taken first is prayer. That's the necessary action.

When David inquires of the Lord, he's told by God that God will give these Philistines into his hand. And so David goes up and indeed the Philistines are given into his hand. Then in verse 13 and following, the Philistines come up yet again. And so David inquires once again from the Lord. Now you might think, look David, you already did this last time the Philistines came and you inquired of the Lord. And the Lord said, yes, I've given them into your hand.

Why Inquire again. Take action your king, defend your people. But he knows that prayer is the necessary action. And so he inquires of the Lord once again. And fascinatingly the Lord says to him this time, you shall not go up after them. Same circumstances, same enemies, same king, same God, different direction.

His thoughts are not like our thoughts. His ways are not like our ways you. You don't presume what God is going to do or what He wills or what he wants to do. We inquire of him. He seeks out God first to know God's mind. And what's interesting is that God tells him don't go up. But then he gives him a different military strategy. He says quote, go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. Here's the plan, David.

You're going to go out with your army, but you're not gonna go out with your army until I have first as the true great king of Israel. As I go out, I will defeat the Philistines and your army will just do the mop-up plan.

'cause I'm keen if we're go to the end of one chronicles and read the epitaph of David, it reads quite different from souls. It doesn't catalog his failures. It states his years of reign over the people of God. And rather than noting his failures, it notes that he died quote full of days, riches and honor. And then it makes clear that whereas Saul's sons died, David's son reigned in his place.

Now what do we gather from a flyover of these pastors do five things. First position does not make the man position. Does not make the man. We often believe that if you give a man position, he will be a better man for it. And that's just not the case. Positions don't make a man. Now a man may grow into his position. A man may grow while he's in a position. David did. But the position itself does not make a man's soul was king.

But he was not a great man. He wasn't a kingly man. Second, no matter our position in the kingdom, it's not our kingdom. Thus it's never about us. Soul was king, but, but he seems to have forgotten that God was king of kings and soul's. Kingship was not ultimately about him. We could do this with any position that we occupy in the kingdom, whether that is of husband or wife or mother or father or brother or sister, because we are all brothers and sisters.

Or whether that is elder or deacon or whether that is pastor.

It's just not about me. It's not about you. It's kingdom service no matter our position.

Then he has called you To the pastorate and he's called you back to the pastorate here at University Reform Church as an assistant pastor, this is where you are to labor and you're to labor for his glory. Not about you. I know you know about him.

A refrain, my refrain, the refrain of everyone in this room is to be not unto us. Oh Lord, not unto us. Your name be the glory.

Third, we demonstrate that it is not ultimately about us by showing that we know that we cannot operate on our own.

Saul was facing pressure from the Philistine armies. His own people were scattering. It's desperate times.

He, he's in quite a conundrum. But he thought he could function on his own. He was king. There was subtle pride. We can never function on our own. We are not independent creatures. You and I are dependent creatures. We were made that way in creation. And we are surely that way in redemption. We are ever dependent upon our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Ever as Paul preached that theus, he said in him, we live and move

and have our being we are and can do nothing apart from him. And do you know what demonstrates that? You understand that more than any other way.

Your person of prayer,

that old statement, show me your checkbook and I'll tell you what you most value in life. Okay, I gotta do that with a credit card statement today,

maybe even more true is show me your prayer life and I'll be able to tell you how much you really believe you're dependent upon God.

The greatest sign,

how much we look to him, independence. How much we know that we are not our own. Our sinus once commented this, that prayer is as necessary for us as it is necessary for a beggar to ask alms. A beggar is by definition one who asks for alms. We are human beings created in the image of God. By very definition, we are dependent. That means we pray. We're constantly in need of his sustaining grace, constantly in need of his direction forth.

God honors prayerfulness, God honors prayerfulness. There are many who say, well, why pray? If God already knows what it is that is in our hearts. Why, why pray If he has already, uh, determined all things by the counsel of his own will? Why pray for someone's conversion? Why pray that God would heal my body? Why pray for anything? 'cause God chooses to use me

And you don't know. We don't know how He uses our prayers. He, he uses rain to make the grass grow. He uses the sun to light the world. He uses our prayers to accomplish his purposes. It's one of the most amazing and humbling realities in the universe, but it is no less true because it's amazing.

He uses your prayers.

Prayers may be the very means he uses to save our children or to provide health to the person on the prayer list or maintain unity in our local church here, James will say it this way, the prayers of a righteous man of avail this much they've great power as it is working. We have no clue this side of heaven what our prayers are accomplishing for the sake of the kingdom. Frankly, we would be overwhelmed in the present if we knew

how purposeful and how meaningful and essential God has made our prayers.

It's humbling and it's terribly exciting

finally to see that prayer is one of the marks of being a man after God's own heart. As Samuel said, David desired God's will and he knew that he had to pursue that will in prayer.

It's no mistake that Mark, for example, in his gospel that he relays to us multiple times about how Jesus would get away. He would rise early in the morning to, to get away. Do you know what he did when he got away? He prayed.

He, he was in vital living relationship with his father and he, he just wanted to be away with his father, just to be speaking with him. Just be be thinking on him, just to be meditating on him.

It's one of the great gifts that Christ has given to us. You know, even as he intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father, he, he gives us the great gift that we get to pray here. And our prayers are sanctified by him and presented to the Father whole and acceptable. And, and in the midst of that exchange, he's, he's working in us Christ as our priest is ministering to us, as we, as we pray, he's ministering to us.

Some have said that prayer is purpose is not so much that we might change God, but so that God might change us. There's much truth in that. Calvin said, we pray in Jesus' name so that there may enter our hearts. No desire and no wish at all, of which we should be ashamed to make him a witness while we learn to set all our desires before his eyes and even to pour out our whole hearts. It's in prayer, maybe in prayer more than anywhere else,

that our hearts are shaped and our affections are molded and our minds are transformed.

The prayer closet, it's the great academy of the disciple of Christ. We, like Mary, are just sitting at his feet, just delighting in him and communing with him, being shaped by him.

Ben, you're being called here hopeful lead you our C to be more prayerful.

You do that by example and by teaching

and at the risk of embarrassing you. I can't imagine a better man for

man after God's own heart, a man of prayerfulness.

And I pray that you would continue to be so in our midst, that you might continue to challenge us, that you might help us to grow into it. That we might be better men and women after God's own heart here.

And Lord, use your example even as he uses Davids, encourage us, be a man of action, a man of prayer. Let's pray together.

Our Father, we are thankful for the gift that you have given us. You've given us this means of grace, by which even now we are approaching your throne through the blood of Christ our savior. We're thankful that we have a high priest that intercedes for us at your right hand, that even sanctifies these prayers that

lack the passion and the meaning and the purpose that they should. And yet they are made a delight in your ears, our savior and our high priest, sanctifies them, hands them over to you. Thank you for such a great gift, for such a great savior, for being such a great father, for giving us a spirit that wells up these prayers within us, to your glory and prayers in Christ. Holy name we pray. Amen.