["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Father, we thank you for this day, for another opportunity to gather together and sing praises
and learn from your word. Lord, I just pray that you would be with those that received the word
this afternoon, that a seed would maybe plant and germinate, Lord, and that there would be faith
that would grow from the soul warning that was done. I pray that you would open our ears for the
message that you've laid on Brother Awes' heart this evening, and that you would also just fill
us with your spirit as we attempt to open our mouths and boldly sing praises out for your name,
Lord. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, for our next hymn, turn, if you would,
to 169, Come Thou Fount. Hymn number 169, Come Thou Fount. We'll sing there on the first.
Come thou fount of every blessing, To thine heart to sing thy praise,
Streams of mercy ever ceasing, All for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet, Some by flaming tongues above,
Praise the mount I'm fixed upon it, Mount of thy redeeming love.
Here I raise my heaven-easered, Bitter by thy help I'm come,
And I know by thy good pleasure, Safely I'll look right at home.
Jesus saw me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God,
He to rescue me from danger Interposed in his precious blood.
O to praise how great a debtor, Daily I'm constrained to be,
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, Find my wandering heart to be.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to meet the God I love.
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for thy courts above.
Good evening, everyone. Welcome to Steadfast Baptist Church. This time we'll go through
our announcements. If you don't have a bulletin, raise your hand and the usher will bring you one.
On the front is our Bible memory verse of the week, Hebrews chapter number six, verse nine.
Keep working hard on that. Our service times and soul winning times are listed there on the left.
And last Saturday I was in Texas, so I did miss the soul winning rally, but I'm really looking
forward to this Saturday, getting back to it. And I did update the preaching schedule to reflect
evangelist first moved to Texas. So if you partake of that, please make note of that
spreadsheet that I sent in our signal group. Also our nursing home ministry schedule was
recently updated as well. So if you're a preacher in that ministry, make note of that, please.
Our soul winning statistics year to date are listed there. Keep working hard at soul winning
and remember to report those numbers to the soul winning leader you go to.
Also please be in prayer for Ms. Whitney Reed for her pregnancy. And this upcoming Sunday,
just in a few days, we're really excited to have Pastor Shelley driving up from Texas to come
preach for us. It's going to be an exciting weekend. And you know, I hear there might be
a spicy sermon tonight at steadfast. So after the church, I highly recommend that you tune in. I'm
really excited to hear that sermon. October 31st, we are going to have our chili cook-off at 6 30
pm. You know, don't go out celebrating Halloween or Satan or anything like that. Okay, you know,
let's have church where we hang out with brethren and eat some good chili. Looking forward to that.
You could read that description there for some more details. And November 6th through the 10th
is the faithful word Baptist church missions conference. This time we're going to go through
our prayer list. If you have a prayer request at any time, feel free to email that to the church
or message me. I'd be happy to add that. There's a lot of additions this week. There's been just
things going on in our church and other churches. And you'll see Florida is listed there. They're
supposed to get hit with one of the worst hurricanes ever, basically. And they were just
hit with one just last week where there was lots of people that died. And so this is a very serious
thing. We should make sure to be praying for the people in Florida. So let's go to the Lord in
prayer as a church family this evening. Lord, thank you for Steadfast Baptist Church. Thank
you for the people gathered here together. I just pray that you would knit our hearts together and
knit our hearts to you, to the word of God, and to our pastor. And just pray that you would help
our church to be unified around things that are good, unified around the great commission,
and that you would just bless our church as we try to serve and to please you.
Pray that you'd give us favor. Pray that you'd give us more laborers. And just pray that you
would give us your hand of favor on our lives, all of our lives, Lord. And we want to pray for the
people in the state of Florida who are about to experience likely a very horrific storm.
Just pray that people there would take every precaution that they can. And more importantly,
Lord, that you would just reach forth your hand and protect people, that you would just
cause as little damage as possible, that you would have mercy on that state and on the
people there. And I just pray that through this difficulty that hearts would be softened in that
state and that whenever people would go through something difficult that it would perhaps make
them more receptive to the gospel and that they would have a desire to serve you, Lord.
We also want to pray for Brother Cameron's mother, for her heart to be softened as well through
her difficulty she's facing with cancer. And we do pray, Lord, that you would heal that cancer.
But more importantly, just that she would have a heart receptive to the gospel. And Lord, of course,
we pray that for many members in our church that have family members that need to get saved
or need healing. I pray that you would please heal my lungs, Lord. And just pray for Brother Theodore
who's switching jobs soon. Just pray that he would find favor at his new job and that you just bless
him, Lord. Help him to learn new skills and to advance in his career. We also pray for Ms. Shawn
Furr, for her friend, her co-worker Terry, that she'd be healed from her cancer. Ms. Remy, that
she'd be healed from her tumor. And we pray for Whitney's brother Cole, that his heart would be
softened to the gospel. And the same for Brother Zach, for his family members, for his mother and
brother. And we love you, Lord. We pray all these things in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. All right,
let's go ahead and go to our third song this evening.
All right, for our third hymn, In Your White Handouts, we'll be singing Holy, Holy, Holy.
In Your White Handout, Holy, Holy, Holy. They're on the first.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty,
Hurry in the morning, our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy, Perciful and mighty,
God in three persons, Blessed Trinity.
Holy, holy, holy, All the saints adore thee,
Casting down their golden crowns, Up around the classy sea.
Cherubim and seraphim, Falling down before thee,
Which word and art, and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy, Though the darkness hide thee,
Though the eye of simple men thy glory may not see,
Only thou art holy, There is none beside thee.
Perfect and tolerant, Love and purity.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty,
All thy works shall praise thy name, In earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy, Perciful and mighty,
God in three persons, Blessed Trinity.
Amen. As the offering plates are being passed, turn, if you would, to 1 Samuel, chapter 9.
1 Samuel, chapter 9.
2 Samuel, chapter 9.
1 Samuel, chapter 9.
The Bible reads, Now there was a man of Benjamin,
whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Ephiah,
a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul,
a choice young man, and a goodly, and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person
than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. And the asses of
Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with
thee, and arise, go seek the asses. And he passed through Mount Ephraim, and passed through the land
of Shelisha, but they found them not. Then they passed through the land of Shelim, and there they
were not. And he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. And when they
were come to the land of Zeph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come and let us return,
lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. And he said unto him, Behold
now, there is in the city a man of God, and he is an honorable man. All that he saith cometh surely
to pass. Now let us go thither, peradventure he can show us our way that we should go. Then said
Saul to his servant, But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is spent in
our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What have we? And the servant
answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver.
That will I give to the man of God to tell us our way. Before time in Israel, when a man went to
inquire of God, thus he spake, Come and let us go to the seer, for he that is now called a prophet
was before time called a seer. Then said Saul to his servant, Well said, Come, let us go. So they
went unto the city where the man of God was, and as they went up the hill to the city, they found
young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? And they answered
them and said, He is, behold, he is before you. Make haste now, for he came today to the city,
for there is a sacrifice of the people today in the high place. As soon as ye become into the
city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat. For the people will
not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice, and afterwards they eat that bebidden.
Now therefore get you up, for about this time ye shall find him. And they went up into the city,
and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to
the high place. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,
Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint
him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the
Philistines. For I have looked upon my people, because their cry is coming to me. And when
Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of. This same shall
reign over my people. Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee,
where the seers house is. And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer. Go up before me
unto the high place, for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go, and will
tell thee all that is in thine heart. And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not
thy mind on them, for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee,
and on all thy father's house? And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjaminite, of the smallest
of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribes of Benjamin?
Wherefore then speakest thou so to me? And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into
the parlor, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were
about thirty persons. And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of
which I said unto thee, set it by thee. And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon
it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left, set it before thee, and eat,
for unto this time hath it been kept for thee, since I said, I have invited the people.
So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. And when they were come down from the high place into the city,
Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house. And they arose early, and it came to pass
about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I
may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out, both of them, he and Samuel abroad. And as
they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on
before us. And he passed on, but stand thou still awhile, that I may show thee the word of God.
Dear father, thank you for the service that we have today. Thank you for first Samuel chapter
number nine. I pray that you would use brother Oz as he preaches from your word, and give us
a ten of years to understand that. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen. All right, we are in first Samuel
chapter nine. And in first Samuel chapter nine, we're actually in famous characters in the Bible.
And of course that is Saul. And we know that he was ordained the first king of Israel. And I think
he's one of the more in the Bible. And I think the reason he's preached about so often is because his
life actually starts very good. And when he's introduced in the Bible, it's pretty much all
positive. But if you've read this book, spoiler alert, you know, his life ends in a complete train
wreck. And so he's kind of interesting to people for that reason. But as we're going through this
chapter, you have to remember in your mind that at the beginning, Saul was very good. And there's
a lot of very good qualities about him that caused God to choose Saul. And so that's mainly what I
want to look at this evening is looking at some reasons why God chose Saul. Now let's get some
introduction here. Let's look at first Samuel chapter nine, verse one. It says, now there was
a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becherath,
the son of Ephiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. So it's talking about Saul's father here,
Saul's family. And you could see here, it says that he comes from a mighty man of power.
So Saul, he had a very privileged childhood, if you will. He comes from a very powerful family.
Later, we're going to learn that his father has asses. So his father had probably lots of livestock.
He probably was very rich. And really, when you think about it, Saul just had a very blessed
and pretty easy childhood, very easy life. Look at verse two, it says,
and he had a son whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly. And there was not among
the children of Israel, a goodlier person than he. From his shoulders and upward, he was higher
than any of the people. So we're introduced to the character Saul and the Bible's giving us lots of
descriptions of what he's like. And notice how the Bible's describing him saying that he was a choice
young man. Choice meaning that he was preferred above others, right? If you're getting the choice
cut of an animal, you're getting the nicest cut. And so Saul, he was choice. He was the most
preferred. Not only that, it says that there wasn't anyone who was a goodlier person. And that
simply just means that Saul was a very handsome man. So he's the most preferred. He's handsome.
Not only that, from his shoulders and upward, he was higher than any of the people. And so when
we're introduced to this man, he's pretty much a guy that just has everything going for him,
right? This is what most people in the world would desire or strive for. And, you know, people pay
money for surgeries to look better and people desire to be rich and people desire to be
privileged. And that's kind of what Saul's life was like. He was born into wealth. He was born
into a powerful family. He's taller than everyone else. He's better looking. He's the most preferred.
I mean, from a carnal viewpoint, this guy just pretty much has everything going right in his
life. And it's interesting because God chose this man and used this man who carnally speaking
had all these things going right for him. And the reason why that's interesting is because this is
actually the exception, not the rule. Usually God is not usually choosing people to do a great work
in, to exalt to positions of leadership that are just necessarily the best looking and have the
most money and grew up rich and have all these, you know, carnal benefits. It's actually the
exception to find a person like that. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter number one. 1 Corinthians chapter one.
You know, Saul is kind of like a Tom Brady here. He's kind of like a Tom Cruise here. He's got
everything going on for him in life. But notice what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter one
verse 23. The Bible says, but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews, a stumbling block,
and unto the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ,
the power of God and the wisdom of God because the foolishness of God is wiser than men
and the weakness of God is stronger than men. You see, most people when they look at the things of
God, a man of God, the word of God, in their carnal mind, they often view those things as foolish
or they often view those things as weak. In fact, there's a lot of people that think the Christian
virtue forgiveness is weak and you hear like these really like alpha dudes. They think they're
so alpha and sometimes you hear these guys talking about how it's such a weakness to forgive or it's
such a weakness to love your enemies. That is how the world views the things of God. Now, of course,
we that have, you know, a spiritual lens through this world, we know that the Bible is stronger
than the world. We know that it's wiser than the things of this world, but from their perspective,
it's foolish. From their perspective, it's weak. Look at verse 26, for ye see your calling,
brethren, how that notice not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble
are called. So notice because the world often views the things of God as weak and foolish,
God doesn't often call people that the world would look up to and think this person's strong,
this person's wise, this person's noble. Why? Because God is interested in him getting the
honor, him getting the glory. So it's very rare that he could use a person who really does have
everything going on for them, who really is. I mean, the Bible said, the narrator said
that he was the most handsome guy in the land. I mean, the narrator said that he was the tallest
guy in the land. This isn't just like someone's opinion. I mean, he just objectively was better
carnally speaking than everyone else. And that's why it's kind of interesting why Saul was used,
because that's not the normal case. Let's keep reading. It says, verse 27,
but God has chosen the foolish,
hath God chosen ye and things which are not to bring to not things that are why verse 29,
that no flesh should glory in his presence. So notice usually God will use a man that the world
would look at and say, well, this guy's foolish. This guy's base. And it's not how we use based,
meaning like, you know, you believe a lot of awesome truths. It's saying just like,
you're low. The world will view you as low. That's usually who God uses. Why? So that no
flesh will glory in his presence, right? God wants humble ministers to serve him that are
interested in God being glorified and not themselves. We'll go back to first Samuel nine.
So just by way of introduction, Saul's an interesting character,
because he's not fitting the mold of who God usually uses. But there's a lot of other
characteristics that Saul had that makes me understand why God used him. And number one,
the reason why is because Saul was obedient. Number one, Saul was obedient. Look at verse
three of first Samuel nine and the asses of Kish, Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul,
his son, take now one of the servants with thee and arise, go seek the asses. So what's happening
here? His dad has these asses or donkeys and he's lost his livestock. So he goes to his son and he
says, Hey, Saul, do this, do this thing I'm asking you to do. Go seek the asses. Verse four. And
notice what he did. And he passed through Mount Ephraim and passed through the land of Shelisha,
but they found them not. Then they passed through the land of Shelim and there they were not. And
he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. And here we see a great
character trait of Saul that he was obedient. His dad gave him a job to do, and he just went
and did that job. And not only that, he actually is working really hard because he's not just
immediately finding these asses. I mean, he's going through location after location after
location. He's not giving up very easily. He's just working hard on obeying what his dad said
to do. And it's interesting because Saul was a wealthy person. He was privileged. He was
well favored. And he didn't say, Hey, go have some slave take care of this. Go have some servant
take care of this. His dad just told him to do it. And he's just like, yes, sir, I will do that.
And you know, that's one of the reasons why I think God chose Saul, even though he was wealthy,
even though he was having everything going for him. You know, he was just the type of man that
when someone told him to do something that was in authority, he just said, yes, sir. And you know,
that's who God is looking to bless today. God is looking to bless men and women that get a
commandment from God and just say, yes, Lord. That's what I will do. Go to Ephesians chapter
number six, Ephesians six. You know, the idea of authority and the idea of obedience is under
attack today. It's under attack by the world. And it's even under attack by Christians.
It's even under attack by fundamentalist Christians. And, you know, we need to renew
our mind. We need to be reading the Bible and seeing what it says, seeing what God's will is
for our life and making sure that our philosophies aren't just coming from the world. Look at
Ephesians six, verse one, notice what it says. Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this
is right. Honor thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise that it may
be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth. So we see here that the Bible commands
children to obey. All a privileged man, a man who's well favored, a man who's rich,
a man who's handsome, a man who's tall. You know what? It's still a command for all of us. And God
wants today for children to obey their parents. God wants children to respect their parents
authority. Why? Because a child that respects their parents authority will respect God's
authority. And so God can look down from heaven and see Saul, a man who by every right would be
prideful. Most of the time in this world, he's given a command by his father. What does he do?
He obeys. And so what does that say about him? Well, if he's going to obey his dad,
he'll probably obey me is what God often looks down from heaven and sees in people.
Go to Ephesians five, Ephesians chapter five,
Ephesians chapter five, look at verse 22. It says, wives, submit yourselves unto your own
husbands as unto the Lord. So of course, parents are not the only ones with authority in this
world. God has also instituted that the husband would be the head of the home because what does
it mean to submit? It means to put yourself under, right? So a wife is supposed to place herself
under the authority of her husband and notice what it says in verse 23 for the husband is the
head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the savior of the body.
Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in
everything. So God wants ladies, God wants wives to obey their husbands. God wants wives to submit
to their husbands and there's a lot of churches today that are afraid of this verse, that are
afraid of this passage and there's a lot of pastors that are just no longer teaching this
doctrine. I mean, I went to a church for like three years and never heard this talked about
one single time, this old IFB church I went to, but really just reveals where the heart of that
pastor is because the Bible is equating a wife submitting to her husband like the church should
submit to Christ. So it just tells me if you have a problem with a wife submitting to her husband,
you probably have a problem with the church submitting unto Christ. And so a lot of times
you'll just notice the same type of preachers that don't preach that women should obey their husbands
are the same type of preachers that don't preach a lot of what's in the Bible because they as a
church are not submitting themselves unto Christ. So, you know, God is constantly looking in our
lives and in our hearts and he's looking down from heaven and he wants to make sure that we
have obedient hearts. You know, Pastor Shelley told me this one time and I thought it was a really
profound statement that he told me. He said, life is all about obedience, but the question is to who?
And that is a true statement. All of us in life, we should be obeying someone.
If you're at the workplace, you should be obeying the boss. You say I am the boss,
then you should be obeying the Bible. In the church, you should be obeying the pastor.
Well, I am the pastor. You should be obeying Christ. You're the wife. You should be obeying
your husband. Husbands, you should be obeying Christ, right? So there's always, you know,
and all of us should be obeying the higher powers, the government that God has established,
laws that don't contradict the Bible. Life is all about obedience. And you know what? Someone that
doesn't like obedience, someone that does not like authority is a wicked, ungodly person.
You cannot be a godly person. You can't be someone that loves the Bible, loves the truth,
but despise authority. No, rather the Bible actually describes false prophets and reprobates
as people that despise dominion. Dominion meaning authority. So why is it one of the reasons why
God really liked Saul is because he was obedient. Go to Isaiah chapter six, Isaiah chapter number six.
Because I think all of us in this room have a desire to be used by God,
have a desire to be blessed by God, have a desire to be blessed in the workplace, advance in our
careers, succeed as a father or mother, succeed as a preacher or minister. And you know what it's
going to take for God to look down and bless us? It's going to take obedience. Look at Isaiah six,
verse eight. All I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us?
Then said I, here am I, send me. And you know, Saul just was the type of person that when he
was asked to do anything, even a menial task, like chasing after the asses, he was just the
person that said, here am I, send me. And it's funny. You never see Saul put in a job application
for king of Israel. You know that he never once asked to be the king. He never applied to be the
king. Yet God looked down from heaven and saw a man that was obedient and exalted him to that
position. And so it's so important in our lives to have God on our side. Go to James chapter number
one, James chapter number one. I don't even think that if we were to look into the heart of king
Saul at this time, which this is before he was king, I don't even think he would have said of
himself, oh, of course I should be king. Oh yeah, I definitely want to be king. It probably wasn't
even something on his radar, but because he was obedient, God blessed him. James one verse 22,
but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer
of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass for he
beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso
looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continue it therein, he being not a forgetful
hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. And like I said, that's what
we all want, right? To be blessed in our deeds. But God's warning us against this mentality that's so
common to human nature to think that just because you're hearing something that you're going to be
blessed. To think that just because I'm hearing preaching or hearing the word of God that somehow
you're right with God, but the Bible's saying, hey, don't remember to be a doer of the word,
meaning you actually have to be obedient to what it says. It's not enough to just look into the
law of liberty. You must obey what the Bible tells you to do. And the Bible gives us this funny
illustration saying the person that just listens to the Bible or just looks at the words on their
page but doesn't actually do what it says. It's like a person that stands in front of a mirror,
sees that their face is messed up, that their hair is messed up, that they've got stuff in
their teeth and they're just like, yeah, no big deal. And they just leave. And wouldn't that be
just ridiculous? I mean, wouldn't you think that person is just mad and insane, but yet that's what
we are like when we read a verse in the Bible and we're like, oh, that's a cool verse. Not going to
do it though. That's insane. That's madness. That's not what God is looking for. Go back
to first Samuel chapter nine, first Samuel nine. So number one, Saul was obedient. Why else did
God choose Saul? Well, number two, Saul considered others. Saul considered others. Look at verse five.
It says, and when they were come to the land of Zuff, Saul said to his servant that was with him,
come and let us return lest my father leave caring for the asses and take thought for us.
So notice Saul was obedient to his father, but he also was considerate of his father's feelings
and considerate of what his dad is thinking. And he's saying, Hey, we've spent a lot of time on
this task and you know, maybe dad's going to get upset that we didn't get the task done, but we
don't want him to worry to where he's thinking we're dead out here in this field or something.
Right. And so Saul had not only obedience towards authority, but he had a genuine respect for
authority. And he had a genuine consideration of other people. You know, Saul was not someone
that was selfish. That was only thinking about himself. No, he was actually thinking,
what would my dad think about this situation? And, you know, we could apply that to our lives that
when we're out in the workplace, we should be considerate and thoughtful of how would my boss
like this job to be done? Not how would I like to do it? You know, what product am I satisfied with?
No, it's what was the, what would this boss be satisfied with? What would make him happy? What
would please him? Not just, well, I'm cool with the job. You know, that's a bad attitude.
And think about this also as a husband, right? Don't just live your life as a husband saying
like, well, you know, I think I'm doing a pretty good job. I think I'm spending enough time with
your, with my wife. No, you need to be considerate that your wife is having her needs met, that your
wife actually feels loved by you. And of course this could apply vice versa. You know, ladies,
don't just think like, yeah, you know, I'm doing everything up to my standards. So my husband
must be pleased automatically with my house cleaning and meals or whatever. No,
you should actually think, will my husband actually be pleased with this? Not just
yourself go to Hebrews chapter number 10, Hebrews 10. But look, when it's coming to who God is
looking for to bless and to advance and to even make a leader someday, God is looking for a
person that is considerate of other people. And you know, there's a way that the Bible says that
we can actually show that we have a consideration for other people. Look at Hebrews 10 verse 24,
it says this, and let us consider one another. Well, how are we going to do that? To provoke
unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner
of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
So notice, how is it that us as Christians can show that we are considerate of other people?
Well, one really big way is by going to church. And the Bible talks about how there's the manner
of some people, it's their lifestyle, it's their custom, it's their habit to just forsake the
assembling of ourselves together. And you know what those people have? They have a problem in
their heart where they are not considerate of other people. You know, a person who just decides,
yeah, I'm saved, but I'm not going to go to church. I'm going to quit going to church.
You know what that person is? That's a person that doesn't consider other people.
Because let me tell you something, every single person in this church is important.
You know, the Bible talks about us being members of a body, members of the body of Christ.
And you know, you wouldn't like it very much if tomorrow your arm got chopped off.
You wouldn't be very excited if you lost your foot tomorrow. Right? I mean,
that's pretty inconsiderate of your foot to just leave your body. That's not very cool. Right?
So you know, us as Christians, it's not all about us, we need to get this mentality into our head,
that serving God, you know, doing things for the Lord, going to church, that it's not something
that's for you necessarily. And so many people today, they go to a church where this is their
only thought, what can I get out of church? You know, you go out soul winning, you get someone
saved. And the first question they ask is, do you have a kid's ministry? Do you have a Sunday
school? Do you have free babysitters to watch my kids? Right? Their first thought is not like,
hey, do you guys preach the King James Bible? Do you guys preach doctrine? Do you guys have
a good preacher? Do you guys believe the right gospel? No, their first thought is like, hey,
can you watch my kids for free? Because people aren't considering other people. People are only
considering themselves. And you say, I want to be someone that's blessed by God. I want to be
someone that's used by the Lord. You need to consider other people. And you could just do
an automatic heart check right now to see if you're considering other people, have you forsaken the
assembling of ourselves together? Because the Bible says that when we don't forsake the assembly,
what are we doing? We're considering one another to provoke unto love and to good works.
And, you know, I've been in church for over a decade, and I just know that people come to church
oftentimes for a variety or combination of reasons. Even people that are coming for the
right reasons, they are coming for spiritual reasons, you know, for the Bible, for the Word
of God, for fellowshipping with other people. Sometimes a big reason they come is because their
friend goes to that church. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, right? But here's the
thing. When you decide to quit church, you know what you're doing? You're being inconsiderate of
other people and you're discouraging other people. When people see you quit, you are encouraging
other people to quit. And you know what? That's a shameful thing to do. That's a completely
ridiculous thing to do. And, you know, let me just say this. Let me just be very frank right now.
There's a lot of people leaving all sorts of churches over an issue that has nothing to do
with the church that they're going into. And you know what? Those people are carnal that do that.
Those people are very carnal. And quite honestly, those people are in a cult
because they're leaving over some other guy that's in a different church,
a different situation. It's like, who's got the cult-like mentality? I'm here for the Bible.
I'm here for God's people. I'm here for winning souls. I'm here for the great commission.
I didn't move here from a different state for another person. And so why do you go to church?
Do you do it to consider others or do you do it for yourself? And quite honestly,
the people that quit church, it just shows that you're not considerate of other people.
And it doesn't mean you're a terrible person. It just means you need to get that right in your
life. You need to fix your heart. Go to Philippians chapter number two. And when
we go to Philippians two, keep a place there because we're going to come back shortly to that.
But, you know, especially leaders, especially a guy like Saul, you know, he needs to be someone
that considers other people. Leaders need to be people that consider other people. Look at
Philippians two, verse three. It says, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory,
but in lowliness of mind, let us let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus. So it's, you know why God likes this mentality from Saul?
That not only was he obedient, but he was actually considerate of his father's feelings
because this mentality, this mindset, this mind was also in Christ Jesus. And when you look at
our Lord and savior, you know, one of the biggest character traits of him was that he was considerate
of others. Why? Because we're sinners deserving of hell and he was perfect, sinless, never did
anything wrong, yet he died an extremely brutal, torturous death on the cross for people that don't
even deserve it. And for many millions of people who don't even accept the gift of salvation,
you know, he descended into hell for three days and three nights and suffered
in burning fire and agony for a lot of people that will never believe on him,
that will never care for him, that will never do anything for him. But, you know, that's the
mindset that Jesus Christ had. He was considerate of other people. And I think that's why God looked
down and saw Saul and liked that he was considerate of other people. Go back to first Samuel nine,
first Samuel chapter nine. So we talked about the fact that he was obedient, that he was
considerate of other people. Number three, Saul had a desire for spiritual things. Look at verse
six, it says, and he said unto him, behold now there is in this city a man of God and he is an
honorable man. All that he saith cometh surely to pass. Now let us go thither, peradventure he can
show us our way that we should go. So notice Saul, he's faced with this problem in his life. He can't
find the asses. His dad gave him a job. He can't do it on his own. He's failing at this task and
notice what Saul's immediate response is. He's like, hey, I heard in the city there's a man of
God. His first thought is to think about spiritual things. And you know what? This is an awesome
attribute in a person and especially an awesome attribute in a leader that you're faced with an
issue. And your first thought is something spiritual. You know, there'd be a lot better
homes in America today. There'd be a lot better marriages. If the man, every time their family
faced an issue, faced a problem, faced a challenge, that man thought, what does the Bible say about
this? What does God want me to do about this? Hey, maybe I should pray about this situation.
Hey, maybe I should go ask the man of God for some advice. Go to Proverbs chapter number two,
Proverbs chapter number two. You know, I think it's pretty cool that Saul's just knee jerk reaction
was to turn to something spiritual. That's a rare thing in people today. You know, most people,
they have a problem and they turn to Google, right? Most people have a problem and they turn
to a psychiatrist, you know, a therapist, or they turn to a worldly textbook. And I'm not saying
that all these things are necessarily wrong, but when we're faced with a problem in life,
you know what our first knee jerk reaction should be, is to turn to something spiritual.
Proverbs two verse six says this, for the Lord giveth wisdom. Out of his mouth cometh knowledge
and understanding. So notice what is the source in this world of wisdom, knowledge,
and understanding? It's God. And specifically it's God's words. Go to Psalm 119, Psalm 119.
And because of that, the lesson that we should draw as to how we should live our lives today
is that when we're faced with a challenge, a problem, an issue, and let me tell you,
you'll be faced with many, every single day pretty much is a challenge in the Christian life.
But where should you turn? Should you ask your college professor? Should you talk to your worldly
friends? Should you go to the therapist? No, you know what you should do first? You should read the
word of God. Look at Psalm 119 verse 97. It says, Oh, how love I thy law. It is my meditation all
the day. Thou through thy commandments has made me wiser than mine enemies for they are ever
with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers for thy testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from
every evil way that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments for thou has taught
me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste? Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through thy
precepts, I get understanding. Therefore, I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path. And you know, I love how the Bible kind of gives a picture of itself
that it's a light, that it's a lamp. And of course, we know that we're living in a world
full of darkness, full of sin, full of lies, full of false doctrine. And without the word of God,
how would we be able to navigate through this life? We wouldn't. You can't lean on your own
understanding. You can't lean on your own worldly philosophy. You know what you need? You need the
lamp. You need the light of the word of God to shine the path for your feet. You know, so many
people today, they're just trusting in their own heart. There's so many people today that are
trusting in their own worldly understanding. You say, how do you know that? Just listen to them
when they open their mouth. Because if you actually read the Bible, if you actually know
the Bible, you hear someone talk and you're thinking like, man, you are in darkness.
You are blind. They're just like, yeah, you know, I think that marriage should be 50-50.
I just think that sometimes, you know, the husband should obey the wife. You're just like,
wow, you're blind. You're walking in darkness, right? You're just like, you know, I just,
I think that the NIV is just perfect. The NIV is great. It's just like, oh, darkness, you know?
Oh yeah, salvation's by faith alone, but you have to live a good life and you have to keep doing
works to be saved. But it's by faith. It's by grace, but you have to follow the commandments.
You're like, wow, you're in darkness, right? You just hear what comes out of people's mouth and
you realize this person does not have the word of God that's guiding their feet in this life.
They're leaning on their own understanding. And so, you know, spiritual people like Saul,
when they have a problem, what do they do? They turn to something
spiritual. Go to Proverbs chapter 11, Proverbs chapter number 11.
And we saw that he turned to the man of God. And of course we should go to the Bible,
but another source, another resource that we have in this life is spiritual people in our life.
Proverbs 11 verse 14 says this, where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of
counselors, there is safety. And, you know, we would be wise in this life that when we have a
problem and issue that, yes, of course we go to the word of God, but beyond that, we also go to
spiritual people in our life to advise us. And who would be a person like that? Well, how about your
mom and dad? That'd be a good person to go to. Or ladies, how about your husband? That would be a
good person to rely upon and to trust and to follow their leadership. And how about your
pastor? You know, that's a great person to go to, to get advice from, to get counsel from.
Go back to 1 Samuel chapter number 9, 1 Samuel chapter 9.
So we saw that Saul, he immediately turned to spiritual things. Look at verse 7 of 1 Samuel
chapter number 9. It says, then said Saul to his servant, but behold, if we go, what shall we bring
the man? For the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring the man of
God. What have we? And the servant answered Saul again and said, behold, I have here at hand the
fourth part of a shekel of silver, that will I give to the man of God to tell us our way.
Before time in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake,
come and let us go to the seer. For he that is now called a prophet was before time called
a seer. Now I think this verse is pretty interesting because it kind of illustrates
the reason why I think that the King James version does not need to be updated.
And why the King James, the language of the King James, it doesn't need to be modernized or changed
or updated. Why? Because if you just read the Bible, oftentimes the context will determine and
help you understand what a word means. And sometimes the Bible will literally define itself.
This is a great example because notice what it says. It says, come and let us go to the seer.
Now, if the verse stopped right there, maybe some people would have a hard time understanding
what is a seer. I mean, that is not a word that we really use today in our modern vernacular.
And if I think of a seer, I'm thinking of like maybe a guy on a ship with some binoculars
looking at something. It's not something we really use, but notice the Bible says,
for he that is now called a prophet was before time called a seer. So notice the Bible just
helps us out, helps us understand a word that we don't really use in our modern vernacular.
And there's tons and tons of examples in the Bible like this, but you know what? I wouldn't
want to change this verse. I like it just how it is. The Bible defines itself. And you know,
this is not a coloring book. This is not a menu at Red Robin. Like this is the word of God here.
Okay. It doesn't need to be so simple that a three-year-old can figure everything out.
You know, I like the style of the Bible, how it's written. Look at verse 10.
Then said Saul to his servant, well said, come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the
man of God was. And as they went up to the hill of the city, they found young maidens going out
to draw water and said unto them, is the seer here? And they answered them and said, he is,
behold, he is before you make haste now for he came today to the city for there's a sacrifice
of the people today in the high place. As soon as you become into the city, you shall straightway
find him before he go up to the high place to eat. Notice this for the people will not eat until he
come because he'd have blessed the sacrifice. And afterwards they eat that be been in now,
therefore get you up for about this time you shall find him. You know, I find it kind of
interesting the foreshadowing that you sometimes see in the Bible. And you would not catch this
your first time reading through the Bible. But if you know the story of Saul, you know that later
on in his life, he gets in trouble for doing the sacrifice before Samuel shows up. And it's kind
of interesting here that he just talks to this maid and this maid saying like, oh, don't the
people are not going to come eat until he comes. The people are going to eat because he Samuel is
going to bless the sacrifice. And afterwards they eat that be bit in. It's just kind of funny
to me that the Bible throws this detail in there, this little conversation when this is the very
thing that's going to basically end his reign as a king. And so I just, I thought that was kind of
a cool thing to see, look at verse 14. And they went up into the city and when they were come
into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them for to go up to the high place. And that
word came out against it just means he stood in front of them. He presented himself to them.
Verse 15. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came saying, tomorrow,
about this time, I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin and thou shalt anoint him
to be captain over my people, Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines.
For I've looked upon my people because their cry is come unto me. Now go to Proverbs chapter number
three, Proverbs three. So I mentioned this earlier, but remember, Saul never applied to be
king. You know, he never went and filled out a job application. He never asked anyone for the
position. He was simply just a righteous man that was obedient, that was considerate of other people
that turned to spiritual things as his knee-jerk reaction. And notice God was literally speaking
in the ear of Samuel saying, hey, this is the guy that you're going to choose. And you know,
that makes me think of Proverbs three, look at Proverbs three, verse one. It says,
my son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments for length of days and long
life and peace shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee, bind them about
thy neck, write them upon the table of thine heart. So shalt thou find favor and good understanding
in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine
own understanding in all thy ways, acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. So notice
a person that obeys the commandments, a person that obeys their parents, that doesn't forsake
the way of God. The Bible says that that person is going to find favor and good understanding in
the sight of God and man. And us as Christians, we just have to realize this truth that if you
want to be blessed, if you want to advance, if you want to have more things or have more influence or
just be blessed in your career, whatever it is that you want, the blessing of God on your life
is literally your secret weapon. Because again, Saul never asked to be king. He never was seeking
this. He never asked anyone, yet this opportunity came to him. Why? Because he found favor in the
eyes of God and man. And so you know what's more important than your portfolio or your resume or
your work experience or your references or your contacts, you know what's more important than all
that is having a good relationship with God. You know what's more important than that is having
the favor of God on your life. And it's just such a foolish decision that people make oftentimes
where they'll say, well, you know, going to church on Sunday is hurting my career.
So I'm not going to go to church on Sunday because I need to advance in my career. Or, hey,
I'm going to move to this city where there's no good church because that's going to bless my
career. And it's like, hey, idiot, what's going to bless your career is God blessing you. What's
going to bless your marriage? What's going to bless your child rearing is God's hand, God's
favor on your life. Yet today we're so carnal. And sometimes we're just reviewing things through
a carnal lens. And we think that if we just work hard, if we put in the hours, if we build the
business, if we build the contacts, that we're just going to be fine. But you know what you need
to do? You need to get on your face and get right with God is what you need to do. You know what
you need to do is you need to get your butt in church. When the doors are open, what you need
to do is read the word of God. What you need to do is respect authority, obey your parents,
and you know what God's favor then will be on you. And then all those other things fall into place.
And you know, I've seen that in my life and you know, it's not because I was anyone great or
anything special whatsoever, but I think it's kind of funny. I never applied to work at steadfast
Baptist church. I never asked. I met pastor Shelley one time. He just called me. That's not
because I'm cool or special. That's because God just was favoring me. And I give him all the
honor and glory for that. And it's just interesting how I never called that pastor Shelley and asked
him to work for him. I mean, I've seen tons of emails saying like, Hey, can I be paid as
a soul winner? None of those people got chosen. Okay. Saul, he never asked anyone to be king,
but yet God was speaking in Samuel's ear saying, this is the guy to choose. Why? Because Saul was
actually a man of character. Saul was actually a godly person. Go to first Samuel chapter number
nine, first Samuel chapter number nine. Let's keep reading verse 17. It says,
and when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, behold, the man whom I spake to the of
this same shall reign over my people. Then Saul drew near Samuel in the gate and said, tell me,
I pray thee where the seers house is. And Samuel answered Saul and said, I am the seer go up before
me unto the high place for ye shall eat with me today. And tomorrow I will let thee go and will
tell the all that is in thine heart. So Samuel here is offering Saul a very huge honor saying
like, Hey, random person I've never met before. You're going to eat with me. That's a big honor.
Look at verse number 20. And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind
on them for they are found and on whom is all the desire of Israel. Is it not on thee and on all
thy father's house? So again, we see God's favor on Saul's life that the asses were found and it
wasn't, you know, anything that Saul necessarily did, but, but think about this situation and
think about Saul's estate in life. At this point, he's tall, he's handsome, he's rich,
he's favored. God's helping him with his job. He found, you know, all the asses were found.
He's being invited by Samuel to go eat with him. I mean, this guy just has everything going on
for him. And you would think that this guy has every reason to be prideful. And let's just be
honest. Most people that are in Saul's situation right here, you know what they would end up being
super prideful. I mean, I'm the tallest, I'm the most handsome. I've got the most money.
I'm hanging out with the spiritual leadership. Aren't I awesome. Aren't I great. But you want
to know one of the biggest reasons, and this is number four this evening. One of the biggest
reasons why God chose Saul is Saul's humility. Saul's humility. He had every reason to be
prideful, but look at verse number 21. And Saul answered and said, am not I a Benjamite
of the smallest of the tribes of Israel and my family the least of all the families of the tribe
of Benjamin? Wherefore then speakest thou so to me? And I don't think this is some sort of fake
humility, some sort of false humility here. Saul actually has a humble view of himself,
even though he has every carnal reason to be prideful. And you know what? That is an attitude.
That is an attribute that is so rare today. It's not even funny. Where someone is actually little
in their own sight as the Bible describes him. Go to first Samuel chapter number 15. We'll actually
look at that real quick. And of course we know, unfortunately, this attitude did not last Saul's
entire life. And man, it would have been great if that would have been the case for him,
but the Bible shed some light on his earlier life. In first Samuel 15, 17, it says,
and Samuel said, when thou was little in thine own sight, was thou not made the head of the tribes
of Israel and the Lord anointed the King over Israel. So notice the Bible is shedding light
on here. Why was one of the reasons God chose Saul? Because he was little in his own sight.
But the problem is Saul's entire life, he didn't stay humble because here's the thing
about humility. Humility is not just something you do one time. Humility is not just like,
well, one day in my life, I was humble. Humility is something that you have to do every single day.
You have to constantly remind yourself of your place in this world and your status before in
a holy and mighty God. And that it doesn't matter how rich you are, how good looking you are,
how many assets you have, how many kids you have, what kind of status you have, what kind of access
to powerful people you have. You are nothing in the sight of God. And the only thing that you have
in this world, every good that you have, every good attribute about you that you have, it all
comes from the Lord. And so we need to constantly remind ourselves every single day. And here's the
thing, I want to be blessed by God. I want to be exalted. I want to have influence. I want to have
the things in this life that people desire. But if God gives me those things and then my heart
gets lifted up, then I know I'm going to be destroyed. Go to Luke chapter nine, Luke chapter
number nine, or I'm sorry, go to first Timothy three. While you're turning to first Timothy three,
I'll read for you. Luke nine, verse 23, Luke nine 23 says, and he said unto them,
if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
So we have to remember that, you know, being saved, it's a one-time event. It's one moment
in time, putting all your faith in Jesus Christ. And once you do that, you're saved for forever.
But you know, the Christian life being a disciple, walking with God is a daily thing,
taking up our cross and following Jesus Christ is something that we have to consciously purposely,
you know, endeavor to do every single day. And humility is not just something that people are
born with. No, you know what? Our, our, our flesh is prideful. The human nature is prideful. So
daily, we have to take up our cross. Go to first Timothy three, six. The Bible says in
first Timothy three, six, not a novice lest being lifted up with pride. He fall into the
condemnation of the devil. So Bible talks about here, the condemnation of the devil.
Why was the devil condemned? Why was the devil condemned by God? Because he lifted up himself
in pride and desired to be like the most high and the Bible saying here, you know, you wouldn't want
to ordain a guy. That's a novice. That's a rookie. Why? Because he's going to be in a position of
leadership. He's going to be looked to, he's going to be followed. So he's going to have the fleshly
temptation of lifting himself up with pride and thinking, man, these people are listening to me
because I'm great because I'm awesome because I have intellect because I could speak well.
But the Bible saying, make sure not to ordain a guy like that because he's going to be lifted up
with pride and he's going to be falling into the condemnation of the devil, meaning God will look
down at that person and condemn his actions in the same way that he condemned the devil's actions.
And so that's obviously going to destroy that man and it's going to destroy the ministry. And man,
you want to destroy yourself fast. The fastest way you can destroy yourself is to become
prideful, is to become arrogant. You will destroy your life very quickly. Now go to Luke 14, Luke 14.
While you're turning there, 1 Samuel 9 22 says, and Samuel took Saul and his servant
and brought them into the parlor and made them sit in the cheapest place among them that were
bidden, which were about 30 persons. So notice Saul is getting invited to eat with Samuel.
Not only is he getting invited to eat with Samuel, he's getting invited to sit in the
chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about 30 persons. So Samuel and all his
entourage is there and Saul is going to sit in the cheapest place among them. Again,
yet another reason why most people would be lifted up with pride in this situation.
But look at Luke 14 8. The Bible says, when thou art bidden of any man to a wedding,
sit not down in the highest room, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him.
And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, give this man place. And now begin with
shame to take the lowest room. You know, Jesus is saying, when you go to a wedding or banquet
or some sort of meal, you know, you don't want to be presumptuous and just put yourself at the chief
of the table because it's going to be really awkward when someone of higher status than you
comes and they're just like, Hey, get out of this guy's seat. And then you've got to walk with shame
away from that seat. You know, that's embarrassing. And Jesus is saying, don't do that. But look at
verse 10, it says, but when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room. And when he that
bathe thee cometh, he may say unto the friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have worship in
the presence of them that sit at meet with thee for whosoever exalted himself shall be abased.
And he that humblest himself shall be exalted. And I just don't think it's a coincidence that
here in first Samuel nine, Saul has a humble attitude. You know, he's invited to eat with
Samuel and he's saying, I'm, I'm lowly. My family's of the lowest tribe of Israel.
And because he humbled himself, you know what happened? God exalted him where not only was he
invited to eat, he was invited to sit at the cheapest place at the table. And I think it's
kind of cool how Jesus gives this parable, but we actually see this really happen in first Samuel
chapter number nine, where he is invited to come up higher simply because he was humble. And look,
it's just this, this verse verse 11 of Luke 14. This is just a spiritual law. That's as true as
any physical law that if you exalt yourself, you will be abased. And that is something that I just
wish people would take more carefully and take more seriously in their life. That when you decide
to promote yourself, when you decide to tell everyone else how great you are, and in your
heart, you're doing works for, to be seen of men, you're desiring the people like you and praise you
and exalt you. God's going to knock you down a notch. God will humble you. And so for your own
sake, you know what you should do? You should humble yourself because when you humble yourself,
God will exalt you in due time. Go to Philippians chapter two, Philippians two,
while you're turning there, I'll read for you. Matthew 23, 11. Jesus said, but he that is
greatest among you shall be your servant and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased.
And he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. You know, the world does not agree with Jesus
there. The world thinks the greatest among you is being served. The greatest among you is the
rich guy that has a valet and has a caddy and has a butler and has a masseuse and has all these
servants. But really, in the eyes of God, the greatest person is the person that serves other
people. And when you have a desire to serve other people, God will exalt you. I want to read this
again in Philippians two, just because it's such important and powerful verses that we're going to
read. And quite honestly, it's just very applicable to the time and age we're living in and even to
situations that have happened recently. So I really want you to pay attention to these verses.
Philippians two, verse three. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory. What is vain glory?
It's just you wanting to get praise, just meaningless praise for you just to puff yourself
up and feel good about yourself. And the Bible says, let nothing be done through strife or vain
glory. You know, this is a bad reason to do anything to strive or to have vain glory. You
know, God doesn't want us doing things for that purpose. But how does he want us to act? But in
lowliness of mind, that's being little in your own sight, by the way, let each esteem others better
than themselves. And notice how the Bible here, it says, don't, it doesn't say treat others better
than yourself. Say that other people are better than yourself. It says to esteem others better
than yourself. You know what that means? That means that you're actually convinced in your mind
that other people are better than you. That means you're actually convinced in your mind that other
people are more important than you. That other people's needs should come before yours. That
other people's desires come before yours. That's what it means to actually esteem others better
than yourself. Not just like empty words like, oh, of course, you know, other people are better,
or of course I want to serve other people. No, it's actually something of the heart
that your heart's convinced of that. Verse four, look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others. And just ask yourself, you know, if you are
wondering right now, do I have this mentality? Well, what are you doing for other people?
Because when you're looking on the things of others, that's how you could actually know that
you're of a lowly mind. Verse five, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,
who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation. That is one of the most interesting statements in the Bible, because
Jesus Christ did not try to build himself a reputation, yet he has the best reputation
of anyone that's ever lived. And billions and billions and billions of people throughout
history all know the name of Jesus Christ. They don't know my name. They don't know your name.
No one cares about us. And rightly so. But you know who everyone knows? Jesus Christ. Why? Because
he was lowly. Why? Because he was humble. Why? Because he esteemed others better than himself.
And here's the thing that's interesting about that. No one was better than him.
He actually was the best. Yet he still esteemed others better than himself. Hey, and with Saul,
no one was taller than him. No one was more handsome than him. No one was more favored
than him. Yet he esteemed others better than himself. Is it any wonder why God chose Saul?
Verse nine, wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above
every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth
and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father. You know, because Jesus was humble, he exalted his name above every
name. He has a better name than Muhammad. He has a better name than Buddha. And all the people in
this world that worship Buddha and Muhammad and pray to Mary, they will all one day bow and
confess the name of Jesus Christ. Why? Because he was humble. And because God exalted him.
Go back to First Samuel chapter number nine. First Samuel chapter number nine.
We need to remember to have a humble view of ourselves.
First Samuel chapter number nine, verse 23. And Samuel said unto the cook, bring the portion which
I gave thee of which I said unto thee, set it by thee. And the cook took up the shoulder and that
which was upon it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, behold, that which is left, set it
before thee and eat. For unto this time have it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited
the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. And when they were come down from the high place
into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house. And they arose early. And it
came to pass about the spring of the day that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house,
saying up that I may send thee away. And Saul arose and they went out both of them, he and
Samuel abroad. Number five, why God used Saul. Number five, Saul read the word of God. Look at
the last verse of this chapter, verse 27. And as they were going down to the city, Samuel said to
Saul, bid the servant pass on before us. He passed on, but stand thou still awhile that I
may show thee the word of God. And you know, I think it's very cool that this is right before
chapter 10, where we're going to see Saul get anointed as King. But before he was put into
leadership, before he was exalted, Samuel said, hold on, stand still for a minute. And I'm going
to show you some things out of the Bible. And you know what? God is looking today to use men and
women that stand still, that take time out of our busy lives. And we're dealing with kids and we're
dealing with work and we're dealing with this world. We're dealing with problems to just stand
still and read the word of God. That's something that God's looking for today. That's something
that God values. And to me, it's just cool that even today, before we ordained someone,
you know what happens? The preacher gets up and preaches a sermon out of the word of God,
and then he ordains that man, right? And here we're going to see in chapter 10 that Saul,
he's going to get the word of God from Samuel. He's reading the word of God, and then he's going
to be anointed as the King. Go back to Saul or go to Psalm chapter one. This will be the last place
we look this evening. But look, it doesn't matter how great you are. It doesn't matter how much God
is using you. It doesn't matter how much money you have or how much wealth or how much favor,
how good looking you are. You know, you're never too good to not need the word of God.
You will always need the word of God, no matter how high God exalts you,
no matter where you are in life, you will always need to stand still and read the word of God.
And here, Saul, he's about to be exalted to the highest office in the land, but you know what he
did? He stood still and read the word of God. And you know, even in our country, before a president
takes the oath of office, he usually puts his hand on a Bible, which obviously we shouldn't swear by
heaven or anything like that. But still, at least there's some sort of respect to the Bible being
given, if only men actually believed it that were being ordained in the office. But it's just showing
that it doesn't matter how big you are, how high in power you are. We should respect and give
heed to the word of God. Psalm one, Psalm one says this, blessed is the man that walketh not
in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of
the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day
and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit
and his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. You know,
the Bible equates the man who reads his Bible, who meditates in it, who thinks about it day and night,
to a tree planted by the rivers of water. And that water is the life for that tree, right? I mean,
the tree is going to get life basically from the sun and from water. And a tree that's planted by
water is going to have deep roots, it's going to be strong, its leaf is not going to wither,
it's going to bring forth fruit. You know what that tree is? That tree is just going to be
blessed. You say, I want to be blessed in my life, I want to be exalted, I want to advance,
then you know what you need to do? You need to read the Word of God. Why did God use Saul?
Number one, because he was obedient. Number two, because he considered others. Number three,
he desired spiritual things. Number four, he was humble. And number five, he read the Word of God.
Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this chapter, and thank you for the lessons that we find there in.
I just pray that you'd help us to be people that had all these character traits that Saul had
the beginning of his life. But not that we would just have these traits, but that we would be
diligent to maintain them throughout our lives, that we wouldn't forget no matter how much you
bless us or our church or our finances or our children or anything in our lives in the future,
Lord. We do hope you do bless those things, but I pray that we would never forget that every good
thing comes from you, that every good and perfect gift comes from you. And I pray that you would
help us to continue to rely upon you and be humble. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
All right, if you'll grab your hymnals, our last hymn for this evening is number 183,
Oh How I Love Jesus.
Hymn number 183, 183, Oh How I Love Jesus. We'll sing there on the first.
Oh how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, because he first loved me.
It tells me of a Savior's love who tried to set me free.
He, it tells me of his precious one, the sinner's perfect King.
Oh how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, because he first loved me.
It tells me what my Father had in store for every day and home.
My tread of darksome path, healed summer shine all the way.
Oh how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, because he first loved me.
It tells of one who's loving heart and feel my deepest hope in each sorrow pairs apart that no one can dare behold.
Oh how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, because he first loved me.