The Beginning of the End of Saul | Life of David Part 1

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I'm honored to be able to share God's word with you this morning as we kick

off a brand new sermon series that we're going to be working our way through

this summer called The Life of David, Shepherd, Warrior, and King.

And there's no doubt that David is going to take the lead role over the next several weeks.

However, his story is filled with a supporting cast that we just cannot overlook.

And one such character is the man who holds the title of Israel's very first king.

And so you might have noticed we've got some different frames set up.

These spin around, and these are going to be visual aids as we kind of journey

through the timeline of David's story.

And so there's got icons on the back of each of these picture frames.

So we're going to hit the pause button on David's story, and we're going to

rewind, okay, all the way back to about 1020 BC at around a time when David

was likely just a twinkle in his daddy's eye. Okay.

So 1020 BC to set the stage for you, Israel at this point in history is a theocracy

in that God was their King and they were ruled by judges.

But Israel, as we were all prone to do, grew discontent and they saw the other

nations around them and how they had these regal rulers and these people that

you could look to. And they said, we want a king too.

So they went to the prophet Samuel and they said, make us a king.

We want someone that we could see, someone that we can celebrate,

someone that we can build a big fancy throne for and give a crown to.

Make us a king. Now you have to understand this was not God's best for Israel.

Yet God still allowed them to have a king. In fact, God even selected the man.

God chose Saul, son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.

Saul was one of those guys that just seemed to have everything going for him.

You know one of those guys, right? The Bible tells us that he was head and shoulders

taller than anyone else in all of Israel. He's the tallest in all of Israel.

In addition to that, scriptures tell us that he was the most handsome man in

all of Israel. Tough lot in life, right?

Like who wrote this description as mother? Give me a break.

So he's the tallest, most handsome man in all of Israel. But not only that,

more importantly, Saul was also a man of good character.

He was chosen by God. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit. He was humble. He was wise.

He was capable. He was influential.

This guy had the entire package.

And you got to understand, Saul really was the best possible candidate for the job.

And he began very well. He started delivering Israel from all of her enemies.

But something happened. And eventually God's plan for this man's life began to derail.

And what we'll come to see in Saul's story is this.

Disobedience doesn't diminish God's love for you, but it can derail your story.

I'm going to say that again. Disobedience does not diminish God's love for you.

He's going to love you no matter what, but it can derail your story.

Saul's disobedience led him to be filled with fear and angst and jealousy and

rage, and he became deceitful, he became conniving, and in the end, he took his own life.

Things went horribly wrong for someone who had all of the promise and all of

the potential in the world.

And what we're going to do this morning is we're going to look at four specific

areas where Saul's disobedience caused his heart to drift farther and farther from God.

But before we dive in, I want you to hear something.

I want you to hear that the good plans that God has for your life,

they don't need to be derailed. They don't need to be delayed.

And if you and I will make the necessary heart adjustments along the way,

if we will respond in obedience and in faith, then we can stay on track.

Or for those of us who have yet to master the art of perfection,

we can get back on track to the good things that God has for us.

So with that in mind, you guys ready?

Three people over here and two over here. I love it. Okay, here we go.

First lesson that we can learn from the life of Saul is this, we must remain patient.

Everybody's favorite fruit of the spirit, right? Kind of reminds me of that

pastor who was very verbose, shall we say.

He was known for giving long, slow sermons. His name was Nathan.

And anyway, Nathan, he got up to preach one Sunday and he was just going and

going and going and going.

And the congregation kept looking at their watch and it's football season.

They want to get back call him for kickoff.

And eventually a gentleman in the back just stood up and started walking toward the exit.

And the pastor looked at him somewhat incredulously and said,

where are you going? And the man said, I'm going to get a haircut.

And the pastor said, well, why didn't you do that before the service?

To which the man responded, pastor, I didn't need one before the service.

No haircuts necessary today. Maybe just a light trim.

Okay. I say remain patient because Because Saul was very patient,

but he didn't remain that way and it cost him dearly.

But let's take a look at the start of Saul's story, 1 Samuel chapter 9.

1 Samuel 9 · chapter mention

By the way, we are going to be all over 1 Samuel 9 through 18,

so we're going to jump around a bunch.

I'm going to have the scriptures on the screen, but if you want to follow along,

that's where we're going to be.

So 1 Samuel 9, we read that Saul, he was out looking for his dad's lost donkeys

when he divinely crossed paths with the prophet Samuel.

This is after Israel has demanded a king and God has agreed and he said,

okay, I will give you an earthly king.

And so through a series of events, Saul actually goes to see Samuel to inquire

about these lost donkeys.

Now, while he's approaching Samuel, God reveals to Samuel, hey, this is the guy.

This is the next king of Israel. And so Samuel anoints Saul's head with oil,

symbolizing that the Holy Spirit is coming upon him to rule as Israel's new king.

And immediately after that, Samuel details this list of signs that Saul's going

to receive confirming this royal calling.

I'm not going to go into the details of this. You can read all about them in 1 Samuel chapter 10.

1 Samuel 10 · chapter mention

But there's actually 17 very specific predictions that Samuel says are going

to come to pass that are confirmation that Saul's calling is for real,

for lack of a better way to say that.

And every single one of those predictions came true, and they happened that day.

And so after sharing all of these signs with Saul, this is what Samuel says

to him in 1 Samuel 10, verse 7.

1 Samuel 10:7

He says, once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do,

for God is with you. Do whatever your hand finds to do.

Some translations say, do whatever seems best.

Another says, do whatever you choose to do. That seems pretty wide open,

does it not? Do whatever you think you should do.

Now, some people, if they would have received the prophet's declaration that

they're going to rule over God's inheritance, and they'd had the oil poured

on their heads, and they had all these amazing signs suddenly come to pass,

they would have wanted to tell some people about it, right?

They would have been out announcing their calling. They'd have been posting

an oily selfie on social media, right?

Hashtag anointed, hashtag humbled, hashtag blessed, at Samuel.

But not Saul. That's not what he does at all.

Listen to what happens right after this. He meets up with his uncle.

Okay. So he's visited Samuel. He's been anointed.

He meets up with his uncle and listen to this.

Saul's uncle said, tell me what Samuel said to you.

And Saul replied, he assured us that the donkeys had been found,

but he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship. Doesn't say a word.

Listen to me. If you have to announce to people what you are,

then A, you're not, or B, the fruits of that calling have not matured enough

in your life to be recognized.

And Saul was patient and he was wise enough to allow the fruit of his calling to speak for itself.

And he knew there wasn't any fruit yet.

So the next thing that happens is Samuel calls everyone together at a place

called Mizpah, and he puts forth Saul as God's chosen king. This is what we read in verse 24.

Samuel said to all the people, do you see the man the Lord has chosen?

There's no one like him among all the people.

And then the people shouted, long live the king, long live the king.

And Samuel goes on, because this is Israel's very first king,

to explain the behavior of royalty to the people.

And then he sends everybody home. And in verse 26, we see that Saul also went

home to Gibeah. He actually went back.

To his dad's farm. That seems a little anticlimactic, doesn't it?

We go from the nations gathered to long live the king who's going back to his dad's farm.

And when he gets there, it's not like he gets all his family together and they

throw this big celebration. You know what he does?

He goes and he grabs a couple smelly oxen and he heads out into the fields working

in the hot sun like he had so many other times.

What I want you to see, church, is that Saul was content and patient enough

to let God open the doors for him.

He trusted that his time would come, and his time did come.

Sometime later, as Saul was coming back from working in those same fields,

news comes that the Ammonites had besieged an Israelite town called Jabesh Gilead.

So in chapter 11, verse five, just then Saul was returning from the fields behind

his oxen and he asked, what's wrong with everyone? Why are they weeping?

And then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.

Now when this news reaches Saul's ears that his Israelite brothers and sisters

are in trouble, the spirit comes upon him in a powerful way.

This is his moment. And so he He calls all of the people together,

and he organizes an army, and he defeats the Ammonites.

And it's a tremendous victory. And in verse 15, we read, So all the people went

to Gilgal and made Saul king in the presence of the Lord.

There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all

of the Israelites held a great celebration.

This time, Saul is confirmed as king in front of the entire nation. And don't miss this.

He's had the patience to wait for his calling to fully substantiate.

And now he's reaping the reward of that obedience.

But if you know Saul's story, you know that something changed. Some time has passed.

Trouble is once again brewing in Israel.

Enemies are besieging them. And Samuel says to Saul, here's what we're going

to do. I want you to go to Gilgal.

I want you to wait for me there. I'm going to be there in seven days.

And then we're going to offer sacrifices to the Lord together.

1 Samuel 13, beginning in verse 8.

Saul waited seven days, the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal,

and Saul's men began to scatter.

And so he said, bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.

And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making that offering, Samuel arrived.

And Saul went out to greet him. So Samuel did actually come on the seventh day,

but he didn't come at the beginning of the day, he waited until the end of the day.

But Saul was not willing to wait. And he intruded into an office into which he did not belong.

The king is not allowed to offer the sacrifice. That's something the priest or the prophet does.

But in his impatience, he stepped over that line. And what we'll see is it'll

eventually cost Saul his kingdom. Take a look at Verse 13.

You have done a foolish thing, Samuel said.

You have not kept the command of the Lord your God. If you had,

he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.

But now your kingdom will not endure. The Lord has sought out a man after his

own heart and appointed him ruler of his people because you have not kept the Lord's command.

Remember, disobedience doesn't diminish God's love for you, but it can derail your story.

But if we pause and kind of zoom out, let me just ask this question.

How many of you feel like that seems a little harsh?

I mean, think about this just for a second. Put yourself in Saul's shoes.

Your army is losing heart. Okay. People are scattering. You have waited a full

week for Samuel to show up and he's not there. And everyone's looking at you, right?

You're the king. What are you going to do, king.

We got to make some decisions here. We got to make something happen.

What would you have done?

Kind of makes you wonder if the punishment fits the crime.

But listen, offering that sacrifice wasn't just about impatience.

It was about control for Saul.

Saul tried to take what only God was supposed to do and put it in his own hands.

And this is why this is so serious.

In that moment, Saul wasn't just breaking a rule. Saul was breaking trust.

He was saying, God, I know you set up the system. I know you say you have a

plan, but I think my way's better.

I can't trust you to show up, obviously, so I'm just going to make something

happen, even if I have to cross a line to do it, because guess what,

God? The ends justify the means.

But church, that's not just impatience. That is impatience that has rationalized rebellion.

That's a heart that's more interested in results than in relationship.

That's wanting God's blessings without any of God's boundaries.

And when we go there, when we try to force God's hand, when we try to cut in

front of him, we don't just make life harder for ourselves. We start to lose

the very thing that we were trying to get in the first place,

God's presence and his favor.

It's one thing to start out being patient like Saul did.

It's another thing entirely to remain patient when it seems like things are just taking too long.

But when we don't, we wind up intruding into areas that we don't belong and

we get ourselves into trouble.

We have to remain patient.

Second lesson that we can learn from the life of Saul is this.

We must remain small in our own eyes.

Remain small in our own eyes.

You know, Saul was actually a very reluctant leader.

When Samuel first met Saul, he said this to him in 1 Samuel 9 verse 20.

1 Samuel 9:20

He said, and to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?

And listen to Saul's response. But am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe

of Israel and is not my clan the least of all of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?

Why do you say such a thing to me?

In other words, he says, Samuel, listen, you've clearly got me mixed up with somebody else.

Like I'm a nobody. Even on the day of his inauguration, picture this,

the whole nation is gathered together, the trumpets are blaring,

and they can't find Saul anywhere.

You know where he is? He's hiding amongst the armor.

And when they finally find him and they bring him out in front of the entire

nation and they confirm him as king, after that time, he's still not too much

of a big shot to go back and start working on his daddy's farm, serving his family.

And I'd venture to say that that's one of the main reasons that God chose Saul.

Because as my grandma Pemberton would say, he wasn't too big for his britches.

But once again, something happened in Saul's heart. Jump ahead with me to 1 Samuel chapter 15.

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

In verse 12, early in the morning, Samuel got up and went to meet Saul,

but he was told Saul has gone to Carmel.

There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.

Okay, so just to recap, we've gone from, I'm nobody, I'm from the smallest tribe

and the least clan to now he's setting up monuments in his own honor.

What is happening in Saul's heart?

Listen to what Samuel says to him following this. Samuel said,

although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel?

The Lord anointed you king over Israel.

There's an old story about a donkey, not just any donkey. I'm talking about

the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Okay. Yeah. That donkey, you know, that donkey was walking a little taller that day, right?

I mean, picture it. People are waving palm branches. They're shouting,

Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

And the donkey's like, darn right I do. Yeah, this is awesome.

Right? He's getting the VIP treatment that day. So the next morning he wakes

up and he's super excited to go out and relive this moment.

And so he struts out into the marketplace, expecting everyone to start cheering

again. After all, it's donkey, but nobody even looks at him.

So he didn't think much of it. So he goes over to the well and kind of nudges

up against some people, but they just kind of push him aside.

He says, okay, I'm going to go to the temple. I know they're going to remember

me at the temple. And he goes to the temple, but the guards just kind of shoo him away.

And he doesn't know what to think. He's dejected. His ears are drooping,

his egos bruise, and he goes back home to his mama.

He's like, mom, I don't get it. Yesterday, everybody loved me.

Today, it's like I'm completely invisible.

And his mom, shout out to all the wise mamas out there, said,

baby, you are only special because of who you were carrying.

Without him, you're just another donkey.

Why don't you look at somebody next to you and say, without Jesus,

you're just another donkey. Go ahead.

Now make sure to use donkey. I don't want you guys getting wayward.

Listen, don't let the applause fool you.

Don't let the spotlight confuse you. Your significance doesn't come from your

platform. It comes from God's presence.

The danger wasn't that Saul became king. The danger was that Saul forgot who

made him king in the first place.

Pride crept in when he no longer saw himself as small in God's own eyes.

And just like that donkey church, we're vessels of the glory.

We're not the source of the glory.

Staying humble means remembering that if God chooses to use us,

it's because of who he is. It's not because of who we are.

We have to remain small in our own eyes.

Third lesson from the life of Saul is this, be quick to admit when you're wrong

and quick to repent and change.

1 Samuel chapter 15, God had told Saul that the Amalekites, group of people

1 Samuel 15 · chapter mention

were deserving of God's judgment.

Now, we don't have time to get into the whole reason why and what led up to

this, but God basically said that they were slated for destruction.

Saul was to destroy all of them, including their king and including all of the

livestock. Do not let anything remain.

Those were the Lord's instructions.

So Saul went and to his credit, he did a great job. He defeated the Amalekites,

but he didn't kill the king.

Not only that, but he kept back the best of the livestock.

In other words, he didn't do everything that God had instructed him to do.

So shortly after the battle, Samuel shows up.

Now Saul knows that he's messed up. He knows he hasn't followed the command

of the Lord. So what does he do?

He runs out to greet Samuel and he throws his arm around him and he says,

bless you, brother, and bless the Lord for this mighty victory.

We've done everything that the Lord has asked us to do.

And Samuel says, really? Then what's this sound of livestock that I'm hearing?

And Saul's like, sure, you're not hearing things, buddy. I mean,

you're getting pretty old.

And Samuel's like, they're right there. I can see the sheep.

I can see the cattle that you've kept.

And Saul says, oh, you mean those sheep and cattle?

Yeah, well, let me tell you, the soldiers, silly rascals, they kept those ones

back. But hey, now we can offer them as a sacrifice to the Lord, your God.

In fact, why don't we do that right now? Somebody get a fire going.

Let's get a couple acoustic guitars out here. Let's start singing some worship

songs. Come on, everybody.

And Samuel's like, no. Now, I've been very loosely paraphrasing what's been

happening up to this point, but I want to read straight from the text these

words of Samuel that have become so well known.

Samuel replied, Does the Lord

delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord?

To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.

And then Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned.

I have violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the

men, and so I gave in to them.

Well, it took a lot for Saul to finally admit the wrong that he had done.

I mean, it wasn't until he was absolutely backed into a corner that he was willing to come clean.

And if you read on through Saul's story, this is actually a major theme,

a pattern that followed him to his grave. Even if he would admit a wrong,

any changes that he made, they never quite seemed to stick.

So my wife and I, we just moved to the area, right? And I try to act like I

know exactly where I'm going all the time.

But 90% of the time, I am out here fully relying on that tiny blue dot.

You guys know what I'm talking about?

Siri, Google Maps, Waze, whatever team you're on, okay?

GPS. But truth be told, I hate it. I hate that I am so glued to my GPS because

in my mind, church, in my mind, I'm John Wayne.

I'm out there with nothing but my wit and a compass and the sun and I can do anything.

I mean, you ask my wife, like, I could have no idea where I'm going,

but I will insist that I'll get us there because of my impeccable sense of direction.

There have been times, I kid you not, that she has had the GPS on secretly,

like down here next to her leg, hiding it from me just to make sure that we

don't wind up in some back alley somewhere. So picture this, though.

I'm driving somewhere new. I'm in a new place. I have submitted the inner John Wayne in me. Okay.

So the GPS is guiding me and then

I get a little distracted and something happens and boom, I miss a turn.

What happens? That voice pops up and says, recalculating, make a U-turn when

possible. How many of you have a British gal?

I don't know what it is. It's just nice. It's nice. Okay. You know what that

is right there? that voice, that's grace.

Okay. That's grace in your life. But what do I do? I'm like,

you know what? I think I got it.

I think someone told me that this is actually, this is a faster way.

I know a shortcut. I've, I've got a feeling. So I'm just going to keep driving.

And then what happens a few miles later, that voice pops back up and says,

recalculating, take the next exit.

And I'm like, you need to chill, GPS. I got this.

And what I'm forgetting is the GPS isn't emotional.

GPS has no dog in this fight. GPS doesn't care about my ego and how I feel.

It's just trying to get me to my destination.

But before I know it, I'm 20 miles off course and I'm looking around like,

where even am I right now?

And this is exactly how sin and pride work. The Holy Spirit is like that GPS.

And God speaks to us through his word, through other people in our lives,

through that feeling in our gut that says, you missed a turn.

You need to take the next exit.

But if we let pride drive, then we'll just keep ignoring it.

We'll keep thinking that we know better.

And the longer we wait, the more and more and more off course we end up,

not because God stopped speaking, but because we stopped listening.

But here's the good news. God doesn't cancel the destination just because you missed a turn.

He says, I'm still here. Let's reroute. Let's get back on track.

Repentance is not God shaming you. It's him saying, I've got a better way.

I can still get you there.

So don't waste time sitting in the wrong place because you're scared to say,

I missed it. I made a wrong turn.

The faster you admit you're off course, the faster God can get you back to the

place that he has for you.

We have to be quick to admit when we're wrong and quick to repent and change.

Fourth and final lesson from the life of Saul. You guys still with me?

Okay, this site is learn to rejoice. Learn to rejoice when others are honored.

Learn to rejoice when others are honored. This is a tough one.

We're going to jump ahead quite a ways in Saul's timeline. Israel is on one

side of the Valley of Elah.

The Philistines are on the other side. And the Philistine champion,

Goliath, comes out every day and challenges Israel saying, give me a man to fight.

And every day the Israelites tuck tail and run away, including their king, Saul.

They're all afraid. Now remember, Saul was chosen as king in part because he

was head and shoulders taller than anyone else in all of Israel.

So it makes sense that when a giant from the opposing side wants to fight,

that the rightful opponent should be the tallest person in all of Israel.

I mean, if any gladiator should fight the emperor, it should be Maximus Decimus Meridius, right?

I mean, a fearless king who does battle and wins victory for the Lord.

That's what we're talking about.

But Saul knows deep in his soul that his kingdom will not endure.

And surprisingly, a king does defeat the giant.

A king does take the ground for the Lord. A king does lead the army.

The problem is, it's not Saul.

And along comes a young shepherd boy named David.

And with his sling, he knocks down the giant and he cuts off his head.

And then he uses Goliath's own sword to do so. And then he routes the army of the Philistines.

It's an incredible victory.

And then we read this in 1 Samuel 18, beginning in verse 6.

When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine,

the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing

and with dancing and with joyful songs and timbrels and lyres.

And as they danced, they sang.

And I tried to think of a tune to sing this to, but I got nothing.

So I'm just going to read it.

Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.

Well, Saul was very angry.

This refrain displeased him greatly. They've credited David with tens of thousands,

he thought, but with me only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?

And from that time on, Saul kept a close eye on David.

Now David, he's already been anointed. Saul doesn't know he's been anointed,

but David has already been anointed king by Samuel.

He has no fear. He's covered by the Holy Spirit. Nine feet tall.

Who cares? Goliath could have been 10 feet. Could have been 12 feet.

The Philistine army could have doubled or tripled. It didn't matter.

But it's in this moment that we truly see Saul's heart.

He should have been rejoicing with and honoring David.

But instead, his jealousy grows. And from this point on, Saul is plagued by a bad spirit.

And on several occasions, he even tries to murder David.

David had won the day. David deserved the praise that he was getting.

But because of Saul's own insecurities, he took it as a threat.

Well, it's a good thing we never struggle with insecurity, right?

So when I was younger, I come from a family of preachers, missionaries,

and I always got that thing from people where they're like, you want to be a

preacher like your daddy, right?

And I always fought against it. Like I always said, I would never preach.

I would never teach, never wanted to be on stage, never wanted to be up in front

of people, never wanted to lead worship.

You can ask your senior minister, even when I was in Bible college,

he was like, man, Mark, I can get you a gig at the small country church.

You could preach horrible sermon and they'll still be like, God bless you,

brother. It was amazing.

But I fought against it. I was

like, no, that's not me. I don't want to do that. I don't want to do that.

I got asked to speak in chapel at my seminary. And I said, no,

I got asked if I'd be a part of the worship team, Bible college.

I said, no, the truth is I was just a chicken.

I was really scared of what other people thought about me. I was on the basketball team at the time.

And I was the only ministry student on the basketball team. And I was really

worried about what my basketball buddies would think if I got up in chapel and

started getting involved with things like that. But you know what I did do?

I got really good at quietly judging the people that were brave enough and courageous

enough to step up and use the gifts that God had given them to serve him.

And so over the course of a semester, I'd make snide comments.

I'd be sitting in chapel and I'd say, oof, song was out of key.

Man, that guitar, that could have used a couple tunings.

That sermon, like what was he even trying to say? What was his point?

And the better that someone was, the more my insecurity would grow.

And the thing that began to break me of this was actually when I started in full-time ministry.

I was at a church in La Haber, California, and I was the associate pastor of

youth and worship. So I oversaw all the youth and all the worship.

And I got up to lead worship for the very first time for this congregation.

And I had put the work in, right? I had memorized all the guitar chords.

I knew the songs inside and out. I knew my transitions by heart.

I was going to get up here and I was going to kill it.

I was going to bring people into the presence of God. And I stood up there with

my guitar, and I saw all of these watchful eyes looking back at me, and I freaked out.

I didn't strum a single guitar chord the entire set.

I literally just held it. At one point, the bassist looked over and was like,

are you going to play that?

And so I sang the songs kind of, but I got to tell you, it was truly awful church.

And I'm so glad that we were not live streaming at that point. So there's no data.

But after that incredibly humbling experience, I couldn't help but think back

to all those times, all those times that I was judging and criticizing those

times that I should have been celebrating my classmates,

that I should have been admonishing the fact that they were stepping up and

using the gifts that God had given them.

And I had to ask God to do a deep work in my heart and help me to learn to rejoice

when others are honored.

And listen, church, whether it's in your family, whether it's in your workplace,

whether it's in God's house, we have to learn how to celebrate others.

And I am convinced that God watches how we handle these moments.

In fact, I believe that stepping into greater areas of influence often starts

with how well we steward our attitude toward people who are successful.

Small-hearted people always try to pull others down to their level.

They cut down the tall tree, but God is calling us to move beyond that,

to become people who can genuinely cheer when other people win.

So what can we take away from Saul's story? Friends, Saul started out with so

much promise. He had every advantage.

He had God's calling. He had the Spirit's anointing. He had the people's support.

But somewhere along the way, somewhere along the way, his heart drifted.

And it didn't happen overnight. It was a slow erosion. It was impatience. It was pride.

It was an unrepentant spirit. And it was insecurity that took root in his heart.

But those things don't have to take root in our hearts. We can remain patient,

not just once, but time and time again. Life doesn't move at our pace, can we all agree?

But God's timing is never wrong. Whether you're 25 and you're eager to get started

or you're 80 and you're wondering what's next, patience isn't passive.

It's an active trust in a God who sees the whole road ahead.

We can remain small in our own eyes. Listen, the higher God lifts you,

the lower you should kneel.

Influence is a gift. It's not a right. And the moment that we begin to forget

who put us in this position is the moment that we begin to fall. So stay humble.

Serve well. Don't lose sight of the one whose image you carry.

And we can be quick to admit when we're wrong, and we can be quick to repent and change.

Every single one of us misses turns. But the sooner that we acknowledge the

detour, the sooner we can get back on track.

Don't wait until the damage is done. Listen for the Spirit's voice early and often.

And finally, we can learn to rejoice when others are honored.

Celebrate the wins of others as if they were your own. So when that younger

colleague gets the promotion that you've been wanting, yeah,

you better celebrate that.

When someone else's kids seem to be thriving and you're doing everything that

you can just to not murder your own, right?

Celebrate that. Parents, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Amen. It's the most enthusiasm I've got all sermon.

When another ministry bears fruit, bless them.

And don't just, hey, schmuck, like mean it.

That kind of heart opens doors in the kingdom. Because here's the truth.

Disobedience doesn't diminish God's love for you, but it can derail your story.

But we don't have to repeat Saul's story.

In fact, we can choose today to course correct wherever we've drifted because

God wants our direction. He doesn't need our perfection.

Let's be people who stay the course. Let's be people who are faithful and humble

and repentant and joyful, because that is a life that God can use.

In just a moment, Tara is going to begin playing the piano, and we're going

to prepare to gather around the table in communion.

And if you're new today, everyone's welcome around this table.

And I want to remind us of something absolutely essential as we prepare to do just that.

The good news is that we serve a king who never failed in obedience.

We serve a king who never lost sight of humility, who never once let pride or

fear get in the way of his mission because Jesus Christ is a true and better king.

Where Saul grasped for control, Jesus surrendered. And he said,

not my will, Father, but yours be done.

Where Saul made excuses, Jesus took responsibility, responsibility for sins

that he didn't even commit for sins that you and I commit on a daily basis.

And where Saul let jealousy and fear begin to corrupt his heart,

Jesus laid down his life, even for those who rejected him. And as he hung on

the cross, he yelled, Father.

Music.