Sheryl Brady - This is a Heart Problem

On your way down to your seat, touch your neighbor and say, «This is a hard problem, not a heart, but a heart. This is a heart problem.» The first king of Israel was a man whose name was Saul; we just read about him. However, before Saul came into the picture, all the people had ever known, and all the people they had ever been led by, was the man who was a prophet, and his name was Samuel. Unlike the other nations of the earth, unlike the other people, they had never had a king, and God had always, from the very beginning, been their only King. But now they have decided they want to be like everybody else; they want to have a king that is visible, a king that they can see, a king that they possibly someday could touch. They want a king that other people could point to and say, «Oh, that’s our King.» So, the elders got together, conspired, and went to the prophet Samuel, asking him to provide them with a king. Samuel, at first, was indignant, and I think I would understand that. However, in spite of all of the indignation within him, he sought the Lord on their behalf. In doing so, the Lord spoke to him and said, «Hearken unto the voice and make them a king; hearken unto their voice and make them a king.» Following precisely the instructions of the Lord—and that really does matter; details matter when it comes to the voice of God—Samuel anointed Saul as their king. Now, Saul was a very stately man. The scripture tells us that he was head and shoulders above all the other men in Israel. It also tells us that he was a goodly man, which means he was charming; he had a way with words. He was just the perfect kind of guy, and his presence alone had a very commanding spirit. He was, by himself, a force to be reckoned with. The people feared, followed, and adored him; they gave him their loyalty, and he gave them himself. His success, I said all of that to say, should have been sealed. It should have been sealed because God had selected him, the prophet had anointed him, and the people loved and cheered loudly for him, so he should have actually lived happily ever after. But pride, egotism, and the abuse of power have led him down a staircase that would ultimately lead him into degradation and ruin. Out of all of the men we have read about or talked about, or that are even listed in the Bible, none of the men have been given more opportunities to build for themselves a successful life, and none has ever missed so many opportunities as Saul did. Saul not only missed great opportunities, but he deliberately began to abuse those opportunities over time. Because of that, his son rose in splendor, but it set in the darkness of night. In the early years, he was a very humble man; he practiced self-control, was a man of restraint, appreciative, and grateful. He should have become a great ruler, but instead, he became someone who trusted himself more than he trusted in God. Isn’t it funny how God can bring you to a place? He can anoint you for that place, talk you through what you need to do, and give you favor in the eyes of the people in that place. Somewhere along the way, if you’re not careful, something happens, and now you can no longer trust God; you put all your trust in yourself. He was born head and shoulders above all of Israel, and he died as someone who should have been pitied. Such is the dichotomy of life; you can be so high one minute and so low the next. You can be up one day and be so down the next; you can be in one minute and so out the next. His reign began triumphantly, but it ended tragically. But you know what? I’m not really surprised because that kind of stuff happens all the time. We don’t always talk about it. Thank you; we don’t always talk about it because we want to discuss the triumph, but it happens nonetheless—from pulpits to political figures to school principals. I mean, just think about it. It happens with CEOs; it happens all the time. So, someone might say, «Were they ever good people?» Probably so. But power can potentially pervert even good people. I said power has the potential to pervert even you and me. Saul was a good man; he was anointed to be king. Anyone who has ever been anointed by God—because he was anointed, he was appointed by God—therefore, anybody under the sound of my voice who has ever been appointed or anointed by God to do anything, whether it’s running a business, building a family, or raising up a church, whatever it is, we ought to consider his story.