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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!

HIDING AMONG THE STUFF

Introduction

All of the people of Israel were gathered together. This was an important occasion. They had demanded that God set a king over them. And on this day their king would be chosen from their midst. Many probably wondered, “Whose tribe would he be from? Whose family?” Some may even have wondered if they were going to be the one chosen.

And so Samuel, the prophet and priest of God brings forth the tribes. The tribe of Benjamin is chosen. He brings forth the clans, one by one. The clan of Matri is chosen. He brings forth the families within this clan and the family of Kish is chosen. And then from the family of Kish, Saul is chosen as king of Israel.

Samuel wants to present their first king to the people. But there is a problem. Saul is missing, he is nowhere to be found. The Lord knows where Saul is. And He tells the people "Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff."

Saul knew that he had been chosen by God to be king, but he was reluctant to be what God wanted him to be. He hid hoping that he could avoid this task that God had given him.

Today I have a question that each one of us must answer, to God and to ourselves.

Are we willing to do what God wants us to do or are we hiding among the stuff?

I.         LOOK AT SAUL’S QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE TASK GOD GAVE HIM.

            God is the one who qualified Saul for the task.

            A.        God’s Construction Of Saul. (1 Samuel 9:1-2)

                        1.         It Was God Who Placed Saul In His Family. (Vs 1)

                        2.         It Was God Who Provided Saul His Features. (Vs 2)

                                    a.         Saul had a kingly stature, but it was God who gave him his stature.

                                    b.         He stood out above all the other children of Israel.

            B.        God’s Choosing Of Saul. (1 Samuel 9:15-17)

            C.        God’s Consecration Of Saul. (1 Samuel 10:1)

He was anointed into this position but he was also empowered by God to carry out the task God gave him.

            D.        God’s Changing Of Saul. (1 Samuel 10:6, 9)

God changed Saul. He changed his heart so that Saul was receptive to God's Spirit working within him, to hearing God speak to him.

He joined a group of prophets as they were prophesying. Those who knew him could see that he was different.

                        Saul had been chosen and empowered by God to lead His people.

                        But when this was to be made public he hid among the stuff.

II.       LOOK AT THE CHILD OF GOD’S QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE TASK GIVEN HIM.

We have all been tempted some time to say as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:16–“And who is sufficient for these things?”

But we must realize as Paul did in 2 Corinthians 3:5–“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”

            A.        We Have Also Been Constructed By God.

                        Every one of us is a work of God.

Psalm 139:13-14–“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.” I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

Psalm 71:5–“By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.”

                        1.         Moses said “I am not eloquent,” but God said, “Who hath made man’s mouth?” and God also said, “. . .go, and I will be with thy mouth. . .”

                        2.         Jeremiah 1:5– God told the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

            B.        We Have Also Been Chosen By God.

1 Peter 2:9–“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

Psalm 33:12–“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

            C.        We Have Also Been Consecrated By God.

                        We have been set apart for God’s special purposes for our lives.

            D.        We Have Also Been Changed By God.

God gave Saul another heart and praise God when we get saved he gives makes us new creatures.

2 Corinthians 5:17–“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Each one of us has been chosen by God to be His disciple and to make known to others what He has done. We have been anointed with the Holy Spirit and given gifts to serve Him within the Church and to proclaim His name and salvation to this lost and dying world.

The question is, are we doing this? Do people know that you are God's child and are you showing His word and love to others? Or are you hiding among the stuff?

III.      WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “HIDE AMONG THE STUFF?”

The word for “stuff” in Hebrew means a number of things. It includes implements, weapons, clothing, carriages, furniture. It includes the things we carry around with us on when we travel or move, the things we possess. We could call it baggage.

            It is not easy to carry our stuff or “baggage” around with us. (Example)

The stuff I want to talk about today is not this kind of stuff. Yes, Saul hid among literal stuff or baggage, but he also hid among some other stuff too that he carried around with him. Stuff that would make him hesitate to take accept the task God had given him and which would hinder him from effectively carrying out his task.

            What is included in this stuff?

            A.        Saul Failed To Trust In God As He Should.

Instead he trusted in his own strength and power. When he first heard that he was to be king, look at what he said in 1 Samuel 9:21.

                        He felt inadequate to be king because he could not trust God fully.

When we look on our own strength rather than trusting in God, we are hiding among the stuff of faithlessness.

Many today are not willing to serve God because they don’t think they can do it. They are hiding in the stuff of faithlessness.

                         They fail to trust that God’s power is sufficient to enable them to serve Him.

                        We must not look at our weakness but at God’s strength.

            B.        Saul Failed To Wait On God As He Should. 

In 1 Samuel 13:9-14, Saul was ready to do battle with the Philistines but he was to wait for Samuel to offer sacrifices before moving ahead. Saul got impatient and went ahead and made the sacrifice himself when he felt it was taking too long.

                        He wanted to start the battle before his men would grow weary of waiting.

            C.        Saul Feared What People Would Say Or Think About Him.

He was more concerned with what people thought about him than what God thought about him.

At one point, according to 1 Samuel 15, Saul is told by God to completely destroy the Amalekites and their animals. After the battle when Samuel heard the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep, he confronts Saul for not obeying God.

                        Saul gives Samuel a reason for his disobedience.

1 Samuel 15:24–“And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.”

Throughout the reign of Saul we see how he listens to what people say and often acts in response with little thought about what he is doing.

                        It was listening to the people's praise of David that led him to be jealous of David.

1 Samuel 18:7-9-“And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. 7And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? 9And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.”

                        Many of us also carry the baggage of the fear of people and what they think.

                        We are afraid to serve God at times because of what others will think.

                        If we share the word will others reject us?

                        If we pray out loud, will we sound good enough?

                        People are watching us and we are very self conscious.

This has prevented us many times from being obedient to God.

                        It has prevented us from using our God-given gifts and from being used by God.

                        We must not fear man!

Proverbs 29:25–“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”

            D.        Saul Was Inconsistent In His Heart And Actions.

God had given him a heart that would hear the Lord, but he also followed the ways of his sinful heart.

Twice when he was hunting down David, David could have killed Saul but did not do so.

Each time Saul honored David and said he would not harm him. But soon he would be after him again.

                        He even consulted a witch when God would not speak to him.

He would do whatever seemed to work for is own purposes not necessarily God’s purposes.

                        Saul, not God, was at the center of Saul’s world.

                        I believe many of us often hide among the same type of stuff.

We say we want to serve God but then we allow others things to get in the way.

We live in both God's kingdom and in the world. And the cares of this world, our jobs, our money, our possessions and our desire for pleasure oftentimes prevent us from being used by God the way God desires for us to be used.

                        We are inconsistent in our desire to serve the Lord.

            E.        Saul Was Religious But Disobedient.

                         Saul often disobeyed God. And yet he was good at making sacrifices to God.

                        He went through the motions of outer worship.

                        1.         At Gilgal, he offered a sacrifice to God but was disobedient in doing this, because, he was suppose to have waited for Samuel.

                        2.         He failed to destroy the animals of the Amalekites because he said he wanted to use them for sacrifice. Hear how God responds to Him.

1 Samuel 15:22–“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

                                    We also struggle in similar ways as Saul in this area.

We are often content to worship God with our lips on Sunday but we fail to obey His word throughout the week.

We so easily fail to remember that Christianity is suppose to be a lifestyle, a walk, a manner of living and not a just a Sunday show.

How often are we just going through the tradition of church without having a living faith that leads us to live obedient lives?

Conclusion

Are we hiding among the stuff? We have mentioned just some of the stuff we have:

The failure to trust God and wait on God, the fear of man, inconsistency in our heart and actions and being religious but disobedient.

But we may also be hiding among:

1)        The stuff of an unforgiving spirit.

2)        The stuff of failure to confess past sins.

3)        The stuff of blaming someone else for our failure to seek after God with all our hearts.

4)        The stuff of complacency and self-absorption.

5)        The stuff of failing to take a step of obedience that we know we should take.

I believe God wants to do much through us. He wants us to worship Him more with all our heart and soul. He wants us to be released from the stuff that restrains our worship.

I believe God wants us more active in our Church and community. He wants us to show people we care because God cares. But, to do this we need to get out from among the stuff.

Let’s get out from amongst the stuff and not let it hold us back any longer from doing what God wants us to do.

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!