The Kingdom that Will Not Perish

All right, good evening.

Again.

If you want to keep the text open with me,

we'll be walking through that together.

So why don't we just pray and ask for God's help

before we come to his words.

Dear Lord, I thank you so much

just for the good news of the gospel

that Jesus Christ has died to set us free.

Pray, Lord, as we come to your word,

that you would help us to hear from you.

I know personally I'm a little bit tired this evening.

I'm sure many others are here this evening.

Just help us to concentrate.

Help us to focus.

Pray that, Lord, by the power of your spirit,

you might speak to us.

And we would say as we come out from this building,

we have met with the living God.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

So kingdoms come and go.

Governments come and go.

People come and go.

But there's one kingdom

that will never perish

and that is above all things.

And that is the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Doesn't matter what's happening in our churches.

Doesn't matter what's happening in our nation.

Doesn't matter what's happening in the world

or in our governments.

The Lord reigns.

And he's building his kingdom

as he gathers a people for himself

from every tribe,

nation, and tongue.

We see this time and time again across the world.

We've seen it in Nidri.

They just shared.

20 years ago, the church was about to die.

The building was falling apart.

There were six members left

and apparently a dog as well.

They got hammered by the community.

And they were about to close their doors.

And yet it came to our church this morning.

20 years later,

we had a building packed full

as two people were being baptized.

And we're involved now

with planting across Scotland.

Something to do with us.

That's because the Lord is building his kingdom.

Think about China.

Communism had brutalized that country

and the Christians living in it.

All missionaries were booted out.

And Mao terrorized the place.

What do we see today?

Despite the continued persecution,

thousands are being converted every week.

Mao thought,

I can destroy the church.

But God's kingdom cannot be thwarted.

Do you know where one of the fastest

growing underground church movements is

in the world today?

It's in Iran.

Iran.

People are being converted by the gospel

in a staunch Islamic place.

A Christian organization called

Heart for Iran

is getting 30 requests a day

by Muslims who want to have access to a Bible.

Sometimes we look at the news,

don't we look at the Middle East,

we look at particularly the Islamic areas

of our world,

we think darkness has squashed the gospel there.

And yet,

there are flickers of light

all over the world

as God is building his church.

We've come to the book of,

the end of the book of 1 Samuel,

we come to the end of an earthly kingdom.

And it's a tragic,

tragic chapter as we read it.

It looks like the Philistines

have got a major victory.

That God's people are obliterated

and the kingship of Israel is wiped out.

It looks like God's enemies are winning.

And it probably felt like that

if you were living in that region at the time.

But this chapter again shows us

that God is working in the background

and building his kingdom.

One kingdom is over

at the end of 1 Samuel.

And yet,

a new one is about to begin

under the kingship of King David

that will last into eternity.

So we're going to walk through the chapter

and we basically have four scenes

that I want us to look at.

We've got a loyal son,

a proud king,

a faithful God,

and a few good men.

A loyal son,

a proud king,

a faithful God,

and a few good men.

So firstly,

we have a loyal son.

The chapter opens

in dramatic fashion in verse 1

as we enter straight into the action.

The writer's not messing around

one bit

and the whole passage

is written in the Hebrew

in the present tense.

This verse in verse 1

is like a news reader bulletin at 9

who says this,

we're now entering into the live action

at Israel,

Mount Geboah,

live footage,

some of these scenes

might be disturbing.

And this chapter

is a continuation straight

from chapter 28.

If you remember there,

Saul goes to see the medium at Endor

to find out his fate.

Well, this battle

is basically

the very next day

after that encounter.

So what's been happening

in the last two chapters

in 29 and 30?

Well, the last two chapters,

exactly the same point,

about 100 miles away,

have been documenting

David's victories

in Aphek and Ziklag.

And what the writer

is doing skillfully

is he's comparing

and contrasting

the two kingdoms.

The Lord is giving

his servant David

the victory.

David is smashing things

all over the place.

Meanwhile,

Saul

and his army

are getting a battering.

29 and 30,

David smashing things.

31,

Saul is taking a battering

from Israel's enemies.

Verse 1

sums it all up.

The Philistines

were fighting

against Israel

and the men of Israel

fled before the Philistines

and fell slain

on Mount Geboah.

This is a dark,

sad,

tragic verse.

Think of scenes

from the First World War

when the machine gun

mowed down

hundreds of bodies

across no man's land.

This is the scene

we see here.

But there's only one winner

and that's the Philistines.

If you had been

at Mount Geboah

that day,

you would have seen

one corpse

after another

laying strewn

across that mountainside.

And it's not just

Saul's army

that gets killed as well.

It's his children.

Did you notice

in verse 2

that Saul's sons

are struck down?

Jonathan,

Abinadab,

and Malkishua.

You see,

Saul's rebellion

against the Lord

that you've been seeing

in 1 Samuel

doesn't just affect

Saul and his army,

it's affected

his family as well.

That's what sin does.

Sin doesn't just

affect one person.

You see that all

through the Bible.

Sin affects

your relationship

with God,

but it also

affects those

around you.

sin affects

everything.

Even

Jonathan is killed.

Did you notice that?

I mean,

that's a shock

if you're reading

through the book

of 1 Samuel.

I mean,

Saul,

we can understand

him dying.

He's disobeyed

the Lord

time and time again,

but Jonathan,

does he really

deserve to die?

That man

was a faithful

friend to David,

the Lord's anointed,

and at the same time

a loyal son to Saul.

He managed

through his life

to walk that

really tight,

tight rope

between honoring

his father

as God had

commanded him to

and yet being faithful

to the Lord's anointed.

Do you know how hard

that was for him?

It must have been

really difficult.

When David was

anointed to be king

and the women

were shouting

those songs of praise

about David

striking down thousands,

Jonathan didn't get jealous.

Jonathan didn't get envious.

What did Jonathan do?

Here's my cloak.

I honor you

as the anointed one

of the Lord's.

I mean,

in the end,

he could have said

goodbye to Saul

and he could have

stuck near to David

and he would have

been safe.

His life

would have been

spared.

So why does he

have to die?

Isn't it a bit of a waste,

this faithful man

of God dying?

But it's not a waste.

You see,

Jonathan died

doing what he loved,

battling

for the Lord

and for his people.

What better way to die

than in the service

of the true king?

You see,

faithful service

to the Lord,

no matter how it ends,

is never a waste

because the Lord

always remembers

what we've done for him

and doesn't forget a thing.

Dale Ralph Davis,

one of the commentators

I was reading this week,

wrote this,

he laid aside

a kingdom

he could not have

to enter

a kingdom

he could not lose.

He laid aside

that kingdom

he couldn't have

that God had given

to David

to enter

a kingdom

that couldn't

be taken away

from him.

I was reading that,

it reminded me

of Jim Elliot.

Well,

he died in Ecuador.

Do you remember

what he said?

He is no fool

who gives

what he cannot keep

to gain

what he cannot lose.

That was Jonathan.

He's not a fool.

His life

isn't wasted

because he gave

up the thing

he couldn't have

for the thing

that he could have.

An imperishable crown.

You know,

sometimes we think,

don't we,

in a Christian walk?

I don't know

about you,

but I do anyway.

Is it all worth it?

Is it all worth it?

Why am I giving

this all up

for the Lord Jesus Christ?

We have that sinful

battle, don't we?

Some days.

Maybe you're better

Christians than I am.

We have a battle,

don't we?

On that day,

when Jesus returns,

we'll get that

pat on the back

and he'll say,

well done,

good and faithful servant.

And it'll be all worth it.

All the struggles,

all the battles,

all the war scars,

all the suffering,

it'll be worth it

because we'll get to praise

the name of Jesus

for eternity.

Our job,

like Jonathan's job was,

is to be faithful,

to be loyal

to our true king,

Jesus Christ.

This world's

going to pass away.

It's all going to pass away

one day.

But God's kingdom

never went.

Jonathan dies,

the kingdom

that he believed in

continues on

forever.

That's where our confidence

is as Christians.

Not in this world

around us,

not in these things

that we have today,

but in that true kingdom

that is to come

when Jesus returns.

So what a loyal son.

Second scene we see

is a proud king.

The writer moves

from the army

to the sons,

quickly narrows it down

in verse 3

as the battle

begins to rage

around Saul.

The battle presses

hard around him.

The Philistine archers

find him.

They hit the target

and he's mortally wounded.

And so,

as he's lying there,

probably on the mountain,

he asks his

armour bearer

to thrust him

through with a sword

because he knows

that the Philistines

get him and he's still alive,

he's getting decapitated

and tortured

and all sorts of

evil things

will happen to him.

The armour bearer

refuses,

probably because

he doesn't want to

strike down the Lord's

anointed,

a little bit like

King David

earlier on

in the book of 1 Samuel.

And so Saul

finishes himself off

and his armour bearer

joins him as well.

And the scene again

is tragic,

isn't it?

Saul dies alone

with no reference

to God.

Doesn't even cry out

to God

in his last moments

in repentance.

And the suicide

just shows

the tragedy

of the situation.

The scene actually

reminds us,

and I think the writer's

being intentional here,

of Abimelech.

Do you remember

Abimelech

in Judges chapter 9?

Judges 9 · chapter mention

An awful judge,

a ruthless judge,

killing 70 of his

brothers on a stone,

rampaging against

his own city,

he's burning towers

to the ground

and then a lady

drops a stone

on his head

and he doesn't want

anyone to know

that the woman

has killed him

and so he gets

his armour bearer

to thrust a sword

through him as well.

Basically,

this is not a good

comparison.

It's like comparing

your death to Hitler's.

Wouldn't be a great

thing, would it,

in your obituary?

That's how slow

Saul has come

from being anointed

as God's king,

chosen by God's people

to be king

to having to kill

himself as the

Philistines come

against him.

Look at verse 6.

Thus Saul died

and his three sons

and his armour bearer

and all his men

on the same day

together.

The writer's making

a point, isn't he?

He's lost everything.

Everything that he

had his hands on,

he has lost,

annihilated,

wiped out.

And not only that,

the following verses

tell us the people

living in that area

see the defeat,

they basically leave

their houses behind,

collect all their

belongings and they

go off into other

parts of Israel

and the Philistines

come and live

in these houses.

Sons killed,

army gone,

king killed,

territory taken,

job done for the

Philistines.

Tragic.

Here's what we

learn from Saul's

life.

Sin never pays.

Sin never pays.

It looks good,

sometimes tastes good

in the moment,

but it always leads

to death.

That's the life of Saul.

We got arrogant.

If you remember,

he chose sacrifice

rather than obedience.

obedience.

It's led to him

being rejected by

God and God

raising up David.

This led to Saul

being envious of

David.

This led to trying

to kill God's

anointed one.

This led to him

not listening to

God's voice.

This led to him

killing a whole host

of priests.

This led to him

going to a medium

to try and discern

what God is saying.

Basically,

the decay of

Saul's kingdom

mirrors the decay

in his own

spiritual life.

The decay of

his own kingdom

mirrors the decay

of his own

spiritual life.

Here's the thing,

when we reject

the Lord in the

slightest ways,

whatever it is,

it can have

disastrous effects

in our lives

and in our

family's lives

and in our

church as well.

Sin always looks

good for the

moment,

but it always

bites us on the

backside.

It's not worth it.

In particular,

we must learn

from Saul not

to have a

proud,

proud heart.

That's where it

started for Saul.

It's the silent

killer.

Heroin is not

the biggest problem

that we struggle

with in the

schemes.

It's pride.

Pride.

We think we

know it all.

We think we

know better

than God.

We think we've

got the Christian

walk sorted.

when we think

we are something.

That is a very

dangerous place

to be in.

Very dangerous

place.

We need to

remember this

as Christians.

We are

nothing.

We are

nothing.

What is

Paul?

What is

Peter?

What is

Apollos?

What am I?

What is

Graham?

What is

any of us

but servants

of the

Master,

Jesus Christ?

If we

remember that

we are

servants of

Jesus Christ

who have

been saved

totally by

his grace,

it will keep

us humble

and walking

closely with

our

saviour.

God

the other

choice is

to have

a proud

heart

that leads

to death

and hell.

Saul

abandoned

the Lord

and ended

with death.

Same with

anyone who

turns aside

from the

Lord and

trusts in

themselves.

The question

is are we

being faithful

to the Lord

now and

will we be

faithful to

the Lord

in the end?

It's not how

we start.

That matters.

it's how we

go on

through the

rest of our

lives to

the day

that we

die.

You see

as we grow

on in the

Christian walk

we're going to

grow in grace

aren't we?

We're going to be

sanctified and

grow in godliness

hopefully.

But we never

ever outgrow

our need of

grace.

We were

damned

sinners when

we came into

Christ saved

only by his

grace.

Do you know

what we are

now?

Damned

sinners saved

by his

grace.

It doesn't

matter if

you're day

one a

believer or

50 years a

believer.

We stay in

that same

spectrum.

We were

heading to

hell and

we would be

heading to

hell unless

Christ intervened

in our lives.

That should

humble us.

Every day we

should beat our

breast and say

have mercy on me

Lord I'm a

sinner.

But nothing

more nothing

less than that.

Saul got it

wrong didn't he?

He got

proud.

Don't make

the same

mistake.

Scene three

we have a

faithful God.

So King

Saul his

sons his

army are

dead.

Philistines

are buzzing

probably can't

believe their

luck.

We read in

verse eight

that the

next day they

strip the

dead.

They find

Saul's body

and his

sons.

Verse nine

says they

cut off his

head.

they put

his

armour in

one temple

and they

fasten his

body to

another temple.

They want

everyone to

know that

Saul is

dead.

So they

send word

around telling

people the

defeat.

It's like

putting a

status up on

Facebook.

You know we

usually put good

news up on

Facebook don't

we?

Well this is

their good

news.

Saul's

dead.

our gods

have got

the victory.

You notice

the language

in verse

nine.

In the

ESV anyway

it says

this and

he sent

messages

throughout the

land of

the Philistines

to carry

the good

news to

the house

of their

idols and

the people.

The word

behind good

news is

gospel.

Gospel.

They're

spreading the

gospel of

the defeat

of their

enemies and

the gospel

giving glory

to their

gods.

Just think

if you're a

Jew for a

moment reading

this text.

It doesn't

mean much to

us a couple

of thousand

years later.

But if you're

a Jew reading

that text you

would be

livid.

You would be

very very

angry.

You would be

gutted.

Your enemies

have the upper

hand and

have taken

some of your

territories.

It was a

total humiliation.

It's like when

Scotland beat

England at the

football rugby.

As an

Englishman it

hurts reading

that and

watching it.

But the

worst thing

about it is

when you go

to church

the next

day and

everyone

rubs your

face in

it.

That's what

it's like

here for a

Jew.

Okay,

we've got the

defeat.

We don't need

to hear about

it again,

over and

over and

over again.

But the

worst thing

for them is

that the

name of the

Lord has

been disgraced

in their

eyes.

The name of

the Lord has

been defamed.

They think the

Philistine gods

have got a

victory.

That's what the

Philistines think.

That's what

Satan rejoices in

the most,

doesn't he?

When he can

disgrace the

church, when

he can disgrace

God's people,

when he can

get a mini

victory or

what he thinks

is a mini

victory over

the Lord and

bring praise to

his own name.

But we know

from the book

of Samuel that

the Philistines

and their gods

have not got a

victory at all

here because

they're not in

control.

Just flick

back to 28,

keep you on

your toes.

Chapter 28,

verse 19.

Remember this

conversation,

the medium of

Endor?

Moreover, the

Lord will give

Israel also with

you into the

hand of the

Philistines and

tomorrow you and

your sons shall

be with me.

the Lord will

give the

army of Israel

also into the

hand of the

Philistines.

See, Samuel

leaves us with no

doubt who's in

charge here.

It's not the

Philistine gods

that are in

charge, it's

God who is

in charge.

He's in

control of this

event as 31 is

the fulfillment of

his word through

Samuel to Saul.

And here's the

thing that we

learn here.

The word of the

Lord is always

fulfilled.

It doesn't

matter if it's a

divine pronouncement

of judgment or

if it's a divine

pronouncement of

blessing.

God's word is

always fulfilled.

Do you remember

the beginning of

1 Samuel,

1 Samuel 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2?

Flip there with

me.

It's a summary of

the book so I

thought I'd give

you a little look

around it as well.

1 Samuel 2,

1 Samuel 2:6

verse 6.

So what Hannah

prays, the Lord

kills and brings

to life.

He brings down

to Sheol and

raises up.

The Lord's the

one who's in

control here.

Not these

Philistine gods

they've made up.

Not the

Philistines who

think they've got

a great victory

because of their

tactics and their

great war efforts.

It's because the

Lord gave Saul,

his sons and his

army into the

hands of the

Philistines.

The word of the

Lord is fulfilled

here.

That's what's

happening in

chapter 31.

And this is a

good thing that

God's word is

fulfilled because

it means this for

the Christian.

We can trust him.

A God who

breaks his word

is not trustworthy.

As Isaiah

writes, the grass

withers, the

flowers fall, but

the word of our

God will never

fail.

It stands

forever.

This chapter

helps us

remember we

can't trust our

feelings.

We can't trust

the people around

us.

We can't trust

the government

or anything.

They all come

and go.

The only person

that we can trust

in this world

is the Lord

because he is

always faithful

to his promises

and always

fulfills his

good words.

even in the

worst circumstances

of our lives,

the Lord is

working.

People think

they get a

victory of the

Lord sometimes,

don't they?

See Islamic

extremists killing

Christians and

shouting victory

to Allah.

The Lord is

lost from

heaven.

He is the

one who is

in control.

Saul might be

defeated.

That was God's

plan.

He is raising

another king

in King

David.

Again,

Dale Ralph

Davis writes

this,

In darkness

or light,

what matters

is having a

God who

speaks a

true and

faithful word.

In darkness

or light,

what matters

is having a

God who

speaks a

true and

a faithful

word.

Things might

be a mess

in our

country.

It's been a

mess,

hasn't it,

with Brexit?

A right

mess.

A right

pig's ear

of it.

Things might

be a mess

in our

lives today

or in

our family

life.

People

might have

let us

down this

week or

this year.

Our heads

might be

completely

battered with

the situations

that we're

facing in

life.

But you

can be

sure of

one thing

this evening,

whatever

you're going

through,

the word

of the

Lord never

fails.

The only

thing that

stands in

this roller

coaster of

a world

is the

word of

God.

That's what

you can

bank your

life on.

That's what

you can

trust in.

We'll

soon be

dead,

but God's

word never

dies.

It never

fails.

It always

remains.

In darkness

or light,

God is

always faithful

to his

people.

The Philistines

haven't got a

victory.

God is in

control.

in our

last scene

we see

a few

good

men

and we'll

end

with

this.

The

chapter

ends

on a

small

hideous.

Did you

notice that?

A few

good men

from

Jabesh

Gilead

hear what

the Philistines

have done

with the

body of

Saul.

They go

on a

rescue

mission

to get

the body

back.

It's like

saving

Private

Ryan.

They go on a 20-mile round trip through enemy territory

to come and get that body back.

It would have been dangerous.

It would have been tiring.

It would have been exhausting.

And yet they go for it.

Why is that?

Why do they go out of their way to help this disobedient king

who basically helped lose a whole load of soldiers?

Why the hassle?

Why do they go for it?

Well, the reason is gratitude.

Do you remember the first thing that Saul did as a king?

As you went through the series?

I don't know who preached on it, Shanks.

But it was back in 1 Samuel chapter 11.

1 Samuel 11 · chapter mention

Do you know what Saul did there?

He rescued the people of Jabesh Gilead from the Ammonites.

Remember the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon Saul.

He gathered 330,000 men and he rescued the people of this region.

These men just wanted to honour what the Lord had done through Saul at the time.

Out of respect, they wanted his body to be laid at rest.

That's what they did.

They never forgot what Saul had done for them.

Imagine if you were just at the hands of these people, the Ammonites.

I think they were about to gouge out their eyes.

And then someone comes in and rescues you.

You'd be forever thankful, wouldn't you?

Yeah.

Gratitude is an important part of the Christian life, isn't it?

As Christians, we should never forget where we've come from

and what God has done for us in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

His death on the cross rescued us from slavery to sin,

slavery to Satan, and slavery to death.

We were heading to hell.

No hope.

And yet God in Christ rescued us by the power of his Spirit.

We've got something to be thankful for.

We should never, ever lose the wonder of the cross.

When we forget the wonder of the cross, we go to two extremes.

We either take everything for granted or we get bitter about life.

A life full of gratitude helps us stick near to Christ, our Saviour.

We should be like that one leper who went back after he was healed,

again and again to Christ, saying, thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for rescuing me.

Thank you, Lord, for that work you've done in my life.

Do you ever think, do you ever sit and think, where would I be without Christ?

What would I be doing now?

Where would I be?

Christ has saved us.

So these men rescue Saul's body.

They bury him under the tamarisk tree.

Saul's reign began with his deliverance of Jabesh Gilead and ends with Jabesh's deliverance of Saul.

Saul's kingship started so strongly but ended disastrously.

So at the end of the series in 1 Samuel, in chapter 31, probably thinking, where's the hope?

Where's the hope after all that?

What a tragic chapter.

Well, the hope is this.

God has chosen another servant.

God chose another servant in David's.

1 and 2 Samuel are actually one book, so you need to keep preaching.

One book in the original.

And so you read chapter 31 and go straight into 2 Samuel, chapter 1, where David ascends the throne, unites the empires, and a golden reign begins.

2 Samuel 1 · chapter mention

But here's the thing.

He's not even the hope, is he?

Because he's going to fail.

But he's pointing forward to a greater hope, isn't he?

The everlasting covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so in these dark days, that is our hope.

Jesus Christ.

You see, like Saul, Jesus' body was brutalized on the cross.

But unlike Saul, Jesus was faithful to his heavenly Father.

He was obedient to death on the cross.

And then he rose three days from the grave, conquering death, sin, and Satan, and establishing a kingdom that will never pass away.

This is what Mary, the angel said to Mary in Luke 1.

He will be a great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David.

And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.

And of his kingdom there will be no end.

That's the kingdom we're part of.

That is the kingdom that God was pointing forward to in 1 Samuel.

And so whatever's happening in our lives, whatever's happening in our countries,

we can trust that Jesus is reigning and he's ruling and that he's building his kingdom.

It doesn't matter if secularism is on the rise.

Jesus is building his kingdom.

It doesn't matter if the laws change and we are persecuted.

Because Jesus is on the throne.

It doesn't matter if it looks like Satan is winning.

Because Jesus is on his throne.

See, as Christians in the UK, we often panic, don't we?

We get quite pessimistic about things in the UK.

You know, they're changing laws on homosexuality.

Look at how people are getting aggressive towards Christians.

But here's the thing.

It's been exactly the same since Jesus died and rose again.

I think if the empire, if the Christian kingdom survived through the Roman Empire,

I think you can survive in these times.

But here's the thing.

Our job doesn't change.

And your job at Brunsfield doesn't change.

Your job is to continue to be faithful to Jesus

and tell others of what he has done for you.

It doesn't change, does it?

Kingdoms come and go.

Our job as a church never changes.

Go into the world.

Make disciples of all the nations.

And baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And I am with you till the very end of the age.

Do you know that was said?

That was said on the mountain as well.

1 Samuel 31, Mount Geboa.

Everyone's dead.

Another mountain.

A few years later, Jesus is saying,

Go into the world.

Make disciples.

I'll build my church.

And the gates of hell will never prevail.

Amen?

Amen.

Let me just pray and then I'll hand over to whoever.

Dear Lord, I thank you so much that you are building your church

and the gates of hell will not prevail.

I pray for Brunsfield here.

They will continue to be faithful to the gospel

and they will continue to preach this glorious message to this city.

And they might continue to see men, women and children saved

as you work in this area.

I pray for our nation of Scotland that you will continue to do the same.

Would we be known once again as the land of the book

where people from all over Scotland are worshipping and praising Jesus.

Whatever happens in our lives this week,

help us to trust in him.

In his name we pray.

Amen.