As we turn our attention to God's word this morning, let me invite you to take your copy of the scriptures and open up to 1 Samuel. To continue our study of 1 Samuel, considering 1 Samuel chapter seven, verses two through 17. If you do not have a copy of God's word this morning, you can find our text on page 230 in the Bible on the seat rack in front of you. By way of context, since it's been several weeks since we've been in here, we saw in chapter four the armies of the Lord defeated by the Philistines and then the Ark of the Covenant heading into the lands of the Philistines and that not going very well for them. And so now the Ark of the Lord returns to Israel. And then we hear these words beginning in verse two. For the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-Jerim, a long time passed, some 20 years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, if you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Asheroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only and he will deliver you. out of the hand of the Philistines. And so the people of Israel put away the balls and the asteroth and they served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, gather all Israel at Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you. So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, we have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. Now when the Philistines heard, that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the Lord of the Philistines, went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the people of Israel said to Samuel, do not cease to cry out to the Lord for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines. So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel. And the Lord answered him. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion. And they were defeated before Israel. And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them as far as below Bethkar. And Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shenn and called its name Ebenezer. For he said, till now the Lord has helped us. So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The city of the Philistines that had taken, the cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel from Ekron to Gath. And Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there. And there also he judged Israel, and he built there an altar to the Lord. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of our God endures forever to the praise of his glorious grace. Let us pray one more time. Father, this morning as we gather as your people, May you hear our cries for help. And may you help us. Amen. As many of you know, I like to read books, and that's what happens when you do a PhD. You end up signing up for a lot of reading of different books. And whenever you read a book, particularly a non-fiction book, you can view it as having a conversation with a friend. You're having a conversation with someone about the topic that is within the book. And if there is one type of book that I really enjoy reading, that type would be biographies. Biographies are interesting things because biographies allow us to get to know people who have had incredible lives and have lived within times that, for all intents and purposes, are considered incredible. Think about the biographies of famous generals or famous politicians, those who lived during periods when life in this world was hanging on by a thread. Biographies are interesting. And a good biography can use up a lot of time. But even as I read biographies, I eventually get to the point where I have this pit in my stomach and this feeling that comes whenever I get to the end of the book. Because in a biography, you have the privilege of walking beside someone for many periods of their lives. You see the beginning of their life, their early accomplishments as they become an adult, and then the things that their lives are known for. But eventually, as you get to the end of a biography, you have to say goodbye. Because most biographies are written of people who are no longer alive. And so at some point, The biography will say, and such and such person died. And if a biography is like a conversation with a friend, the closing of a biography can be like saying goodbye to one. Biographies can be tough to read. But not only can they be tough to read because I'm saying goodbye to someone, because biographies also reveal to us how short and how fleeting life actually is. If you can take some of the most incredible people who have ever lived and summarized their life in 200, 300 pages, it makes me at least think, what about my own life? My life, what would it cover within pages of a book. How long would it actually be? Not very long. Well, this morning as we turn to 1 Samuel, a similar feeling should hit us in this text, especially as we consider the life and the ministry of Samuel. As we are returning once more to the book of 1 Samuel, it's important for us to pay attention to something that should stick out to us at this point. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel, if you've been following along, originally one book in Hebrew, are not actually that much about Samuel. You may think that 1 and 2 Samuel are a biography of Samuel. Well rather, it's not. 1 Samuel, if you look at all the chapters, spends a lot more time considering the lives of people like Eli or David or King Saul than Samuel himself. And even in the areas where Samuel has been introduced, where he was an infant in chapter 1, the attention was a lot more upon Samuel's mother. And then even thus far we've considered things like the corruption of the house of Eli and then the ark of God being captured by the Philistines. So then we have to think about it. Why are the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel actually named 1st and 2nd Samuel? Well it's because Samuel would be the prophet, the judge. that after 400 years, the time of the judges would be the first domino to fall as God began his redemptive works once more among his people. And yet the time has finally come for us to take a closer look at the ministry of Samuel. And if you look at chapter seven, this is it. In chapter seven, we basically get the entire ministry of Samuel, a very short biography. If you're paying attention in verse two, when the chapter opens up, Samuel is still a boy at this time, when the ark of God returns to Israel. And then in verse two, we get a time jump, 20 years. After 20 years, Samuel is now an adult. And so chapter seven gives us a critical story where God begins his works through Samuel among the people of Israel. And then if you look at verse 17, it says, Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And then if you flip over to chapter eight, verse one, it says, when Samuel became old. Wow. One chapter, one life. That's it. That is the ministry of Samuel. But even though Samuel's actual ministry, the things we may wanna know about, what was it like when he was at the prime of being a judge, when he was going through the circuits? What big cases did he have? All those details that may consider us are not given attention to. And you may be a little disappointed when you look at Samuel here. We actually cannot overlook our passage this morning because our passage This text is one great reminder of something that sits at the very heart of the Christian faith, that our God is a deliverer, and that our God saves his people. If you've been around the church for any amount of time, you should know by now that at the heart of our faith is the glorious truths of the gospel, that through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, that God has done the seemingly impossible. And at the heart of the Christian faith is this idea of God delivering, God saving his people. And if this is truly at the heart of the Christian faith, it should not surprise us when that same idea leaks out. into the pages of scripture as God prepares his people with these stories after stories that shows how great of a redeemer and a deliverer our God actually is. And so this morning, we're going to consider this great act of salvation and deliverance in 1 Samuel 7. And we're gonna do so in two points. First, we're gonna look for God's deliverance. And then second, we're going to remember God's deliverance. First, look for and then remember. Now as this conversation, this discussion of this text has gone forward, it's important for us to remember in 1 Samuel chapter 7 that Israel finds itself at a particularly low spot because at this point morale in Israel is quite low. And the reason for this is a little complex. On the one hand, The nation of Israel has experienced a great national and religious tragedy that has faced and reached an unsatisfactory standstill. The nation of Israel has just experienced something traumatic within their consciousness that has not reached a good conclusion. As we said in 1 Samuel chapter four, the ark of God, the visible symbol of God's presence among his people was captured by the enemies of God, by the Philistines. And so even as we saw in chapters five through six that our God can fight his own battles, now the ark has returned to Israel and no one knows what to do with it. No one knows where it should go. No one knows what the next step is. And then the tensions even heightened, for as we saw in chapter six, several people were actually killed because they despised the holiness of God and looked into the ark. At the end of chapter six, in the beginning of verse one of chapter seven. That is why we see in verse two this unsettledness, this what do we do with the ark ends in lament. We see in verse two, Israel lamenting after the Lord for 20 years. God's people do not know what to do with the ark, and so they lament. But here's the other thing that you need to remember. Why was the ark of God captured in the first place? Well, as the story goes, the ark was captured because of the sin of God's people. For even as we see, looking down at verses three and four, That for all of the lamenting and the grief for 20 years, the people of Israel are still ensnared and they're pagan in sinful ways. For Samuel has to call people to abandon, to forsake their foreign gods, which shows us that they're still worshiping pagan idols, the Asheroth and the Baals. And I won't be too explicit, but if you know the names of these gods and you also know that these were not just idolatrous practices, they were also immoral, for Ashtaroth was a fertility goddess. And so Israel's in a difficult spot. They know that they're experiencing God's judgment and displeasure because of their sin, and yet they're still entangled in it, and they're not quite sure of what to do. Sadly, as you think about the life of the church, this can be a situation that even Christians find themselves in. When our discipleship wanes and we allow sinful desire to take hold, how often can we find ourselves in this situation, knowing that there's something wrong in our relationship with God and yet we do not know what to do about it. Think about the person who comes back to church for the first time in a long time. or that person who knows that there's that long overdue conversation with a pastor or an elder. They come forward sheepishly. They know something's wrong, but they need direction. Brothers and sisters, if that is you this morning, if you find yourself in that spot today or in the future, then the beauty of our passage is that God tells us exactly what we must do if we ever find ourselves in that situation. Look down at verses three and four with me. And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, if you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods in the Asheroth. For among you, indirect your heart to the Lord and serve him only. He will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines. And so the people of Israel put away the balls in the Asheroth. and they served the Lord only. So if we ever, like the people of Israel here, find ourselves ensnared in sin, in idolatry, in knowing that our relationship with the Lord is not what it should be, what is the prescription here? The prescription here is for us to come home, to return. to return to the Lord fully, to put away foreign gods, to no longer be like, as the prophet Elijah would say, limping between two opinions, to no longer be hot and cold with God, to no longer flirt with sin, to have it driven from you, out of your house, out of your life, the things that lead you into temptation. To no longer be a Sunday-only Christian, to make a final break with sin and the things that are leading you astray, and to turn to God fully, and to commit to following Him fully. Friends, that's a prescription, and in this passage. Now, of course, we know as Christians that because of indwelling sin, this needs to be a daily battle, a daily dying to ourselves, a putting off the things that are displacing to the Lord in the way and setting ourselves to walk with him daily by his grace and according to the things he's given to us in his word. But there are, most likely, At least several people here that need to hear the message that today is the day. It's time. It's far too long. Has it been? You're walking between two opinions. Now is the time to return to the Lord with all your heart. And friends, if that is you today, then what conversation do you need to have before you leave? And so in our passage as we continue this morning, now Samuel calls the nation of Israel in light of this response to a corporate time of repentance. For we see in verses six, five and six, that the people gather at Mizpah and devote themselves to fasting and to praying, saying, we have sinned against the Lord. Now this is a very common example within scripture of times where God's people would come together for prayer. We see this even in the book of Nehemiah and Ezra, people coming together for prayer before the Lord, for self-examination. And it's interesting that this is a corporate fast that they have, but there's one detail that stands out to us because this fast not only includes withholding ourselves from food, but also water. And we actually see this unusual detail of God's people pouring out water before the Lord. And in this act, can we not see a glimmer of the sincerity of their repentance? For in these days, as we know, water was life, especially in areas like Israel, where they were constantly aware through the droughts and through the rains, how much they needed water. And yet for them to come together and to pour out water before the Lord was a show to everyone how they recognized their desperate need for God and their desperate need to take their sin seriously. They needed God more than water, the very thing that sustained their life. And they were committing themselves to walking with and trusting the Lord and repenting of their sins. And yet quickly this new faith and resolve would be put to the test as an old enemy makes a sudden appearance. For we see in verse seven that the Philistines got word that this corporate gathering was taking place. That there was this time when all of their enemies were in one place at one time. And the Philistines think to themselves, perfect. a great time to strike. And so the Philistines, as we see here, gather their forces and they march upon the people of Israel at Mizpah. Now we see in verse seven that it says the people of Israel were afraid. But this is more than just an, ah, I'm scared, I'm terrified. Because the emotions of the people of Israel went from humility and contrition to terror and fear, just like that. Why? Well, just consider, for example, how different military maneuvers were back then versus how they are today. It's quite incredible if you think about it. Someone can sit in the White House on an iPad and literally watch troop movements halfway around the world if they wanted to. We have so much surveillance and so much radar that it does not take much for us to know even what the enemies of our nation are doing. Even if you go back, for example, To 2022, there was a very interesting situation that actually showed how much information is available to anyone with an iPhone. When Russia first invaded Ukraine and was assaulting the capital of Kiev, you actually could watch the battle unfold in real time on your Google Maps. If you pulled up the city, you could see the roads that were green and those were red and see, this must be where there's no traffic. Why? Because there is a war. How much information? We know. But back then, friends, the fog of war on the battlefield was much bigger around your troops. And you didn't often know that the troops were coming until they were right on top of you. And so imagine, you have literally the largest gathering of the people of Israel in some time, this gathering that included not just military-age men, but the elderly, women, and children. And somehow, in some way, the news comes up that there is an army on their doorsteps. And that's what happens when news hits a crowd, panic spreads out. And friends, not only that, just remember the last time that Israel encountered the Philistines. For three chapters ago, not very long ago, in chapter four, the people of Israel fought the Philistines twice and lost twice, oh and two. And remember, at that last battle, they lost 30,000 troops, 30,000 men, 30,000 husbands. sons, fathers of Israel. And now instead of this planned battle with the Philistines, which we had last time, the Philistines catch the people of Israel completely off guard. They're unprepared. They're scrambling to protect their young and their vulnerable. And oh yeah, God's people had just concluded a fast. You know what that means? That means that the enemies of Israel must be fought while the soldiers of Israel are going to war quickly on empty stomachs and parched mouths. Fear, dread, panic, chaos. But did you see what verse eight said? The people of Israel, doesn't happen often, but here they do the right thing, verse eight. The people said to Samuel, do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines. Samuel, do not stop praying for us, that God may deliver us. Do you ever feel like there are times when you're backed into a corner? Do you ever feel like there are times when you run out of options? Do you ever feel like there's a time where you're not sure what to do? If so, it's one thing that if you consider the scriptures, it shouldn't actually surprise us because this type of situation is very common as we see what happens to God's people in the scriptures. And it's very common to what happens to God's people all throughout history. Where people who follow the Lord find themselves between a rock and a hard place with no way of escape. Why? So that God's people would learn not to trust in themselves, but to trust in and look to the Lord for salvation and deliverance. To give up self-reliance. and go to the Lord and say, God, we need you. We need you in a desperate way, left to ourselves. We have no hope. We need you to provide a salvation, a way out. Friends, in this way, this story is a parable of the entire Christian life. Because I think if we're honest, every single person in this room in one way or another has found themselves in between a situation exactly like what's described in our passage. You were found between a rock and a hard place and you did not see a way out and you felt like you were brought to the end of yourself. As we think about the scriptures, this comes up chiefly as we think about our situation in our relationship with our sin. Because of our sin, if we consider our sin as an offense against a holy God and something that we cannot atone for on ourselves, on our own, then we are in a hopeless place. Friends, you and I are sinners. that stand under the wrath of Almighty God. And without some sort of external intervention, our fate is doom and destruction. But God, but God, but God did the impossible. For God provided a way of salvation through Christ, through His life, through His death for us. through his resurrection. For Jesus lived, friends, the life that you and I could not live. And he died the death that you and I deserve. And through his resurrection, he has defeated all of our enemies and has shown us that our salvation is secure, because that tomb will remain forever empty. And so, like Samuel, you and I are left in this situation where our only response is to cry out to God. that he would deliver us, that he would save us, to cry out to him in repentance, to make him know, make known to all how hopeless we are left to ourselves. Friends, this is the gospel. And this is incredible news. So for what happens in our text, what does God do? As a parable to the gospel, God delivers his people. As the people cry out, Samuel makes intercession. There is a sacrifice offered, a burnt offering. And the Lord answers the cries of his people. As we see in verse 10, we see the Philistines coming to attack the people of Israel. And as the Philistines are coming, the Lord thunders from heaven, sending the Philistines into confusion. And this act gives to the men of Israel, the strength and the courage to fight the Philistines and to win the battle. Friends, in other words, our passage reminds us that our God is a savior and our God is in the business of saving his people again and again and again. As we think about application for a moment, chiefly we see this salvation that is provided to everyone through faith in Christ. And yet also throughout the Christian life, that as we are experiencing life in this world, we see God regularly provide opportunities of escape, of deliverance, as God demonstrates his faithfulness to his people. they experience trials and difficulties. Just for example, you think about the Apostle Paul and all that he endured. Think about Paul being on the run from his enemies. Paul being shipwrecked. Think about Paul having to flee towns because people wanted him dead. If you look at 2 Corinthians chapter 1, the Apostle Paul talks about at one point While he was in Asia, Paul and his missionary companions were, quote, burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. If that's not a description of the lowest point you and I can reach in life, then I don't know what is. Despair of life itself without strength. Truly, Paul will say here, he feels like he received a sentence of death. And yet he continues. For he gives us the reason why God put him in this position. 1 Corinthians 1, 9 and 10. But that was to make us rely, not on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead. And then hear this, he delivered us. He delivered us. from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him, we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. Friends, our God is a savior. He has saved us. from the greatest threat anyone here faces today, arson, and yet he continues to show his faithfulness to his people as he regularly delivers us from the afflictions and trials that you and I confront in this life. And yet at this point, it has to bring up a very personal question that at least one person here is wrestling with this morning. If God is a deliverer, what about me? Why hasn't he delivered me? Why hasn't he delivered me from my trial, my suffering? To be honest, friend, I don't know. I do not know. I do not know the exact circumstances of every person in this room. I do not know the exact way that God is working in your life. While there's a lot that I do not know, there is a lot that I do know. And I know who our God is. Our God is a deliverer. Our God is a savior. And he has promised in his word to save and to sustain and to deliver his people. And if you are a Christian friend this morning, that promise is for you. That even as we look at our lives right now and we don't understand what's happening, we know who God is and we know what he is in the business of doing. And so this morning, if you feel like you are at the end of your rope, follow the pattern set forth in our text. Hold fast to him. Cry out to him. Ask brothers and sisters here to cry out with you and to trust him. Trust Him with hope, knowing that even if you and I do not fully understand everything in this life, when the pages of today are now history, and we reign with Christ in eternity, one day, we will. One day, you will, and I will. And that's what gives us hope. And that's how we keep walking in the Christian life as a community of faith. So first we see, looked for God's deliverance, but second we also see in our text, remember God's deliverance. The logic of the rest of this passage is quite simple. It is clear from this text that there is a definitive victory that God's people have over the Philistines because of this event. The Philistines thought that they had a leg up upon the people of Israel and quickly the hunter became the hunted. We see in verses 13 and verse 14 that the Philistines were subdued because of this attack. And not only that, then this begins a military intervention campaigned where Israel was able to take back lands that were taken from the Philistines. If you were to think about the time of the judges, one of the repeated cycles there is the fact that God's enemies had an upper hand upon Israel. And it seems like for the first time in a long time, God's people finally have some relief. they have some victory under the leadership of Samuel. But we also see that the victory of Israel over the Philistines has some positive implications for Israel's foreign policy. For if you look down at verse 14, this victory over the Philistines was seen by others. And so the Amorites, another one of God's enemies, the enemies of God's people, find this victory. They see it and they adopt a posture of peace. There is peace between Israel and the Amorites. And then the rest of the passage settles into the ministry of Samuel as judge, the final judge over the people of Israel. Not just one tribe, as was often the case in the judges, but over all of the people of Israel. One judge, one nation, united once more. And so the chapter ends with this account of Samuel's ministry. But the one thing I want to draw your attention to is seen in verse 12. For after Israel's victory, Samuel says this, then Samuel took a stone Many of you may know, as we just sung, come thou fount of every blessing, that that hymn was inspired by this text. That this setting up of this Ebenezer stone, here I raise my Ebenezer, was a symbol of raising up this thing that would remind us of God's help, this memorial for the Lord's deliverance in the past. But this morning, what are the implications of this stone for us? First, I think it's important to say that this stone is not an idolatrous stone and not an idol. Samuel is not instructing the people to set up a stone so that they would worship the stone. Rather, Samuel is setting up the stone as a memorial so that when God's people saw the stone, they would remember God's deliverance and therefore worship a God. At the heart of this passage and of this act of Samuel, I think, shows us the importance of the word remember. Remember. Remember what? Verse 12, remember that till now the Lord has helped us. Remember God's faithfulness. Remember God's salvation, his deliverance. I think if you were to summarize it, one of the chief differences between Christians and other so-called religions or approaches to life is that Christians are a remembering people. We are a people who are called to remember. And remembering is one of the main acts we do as Christians. Why? Because Christians live today in light of what God has done in the past. And if that's the case, and you and I are called to remember. As one chief example, just think about the Lord's Supper as Jesus hands to his disciples the bread and the cup. What does he say? Do this in what? In remembrance of me. Remember. Remember my body broken for you, my blood poured out for you. And so Christian, this morning we need to ask the question, how good is your memory? Is remembering, meditating and reminding yourself of what God has done in the past, in his word, and also in your life and the life of the Christian community, a regular part of your life? You could say that every time a Christian sins, he or she is having a crisis of memory. When you and I sin and we give into unbelief for a time, us as Christians are forgetting who we are. We're forgetting who God is. We're forgetting what God has done. We're forgetting God's faithfulness in the past. In the same way that when a spouse commits adultery, they are forgetting their wedding vows. A Christian, when they sin, is forgetting their God and God's covenant with us and how he has shown himself to be faithful to us. And so for this reason, you and I need Ebenezers in our lives. No, we do not need to all go out and get a friend named Ebenezer, but you and I need to find other people who can point us to Ebenezers. Like Samuel, we need things that can help us to remember God's works in the past so we can walk with God in the present. We need to read God's word. We need to hear the stories of the Bible again and again, not just from ourselves, but from others, so we can remember the wonderful works of God. More than that, we need to remember, not just I, but us. We need to remember together the ways that God has been faithful to us. We need to remember the times when God has brought healing, when God has answered prayer, When God has brought provision. When God has brought loved ones to faith. Because we are so prone to wander, aren't we? Prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. We're so prone to forget. We're so prone to forget the gospel, gospel amnesia. The fact that Christ has saved us from our sins. Has freed us from the curse of the law. We forget our new identity. We forget the fact that sin no longer has control over us. We forget our new destiny. But even on a daily basis, how often do we forget God's little acts of faithfulness every day? Our daily bread. Another day that your loved ones are safe and healthy. another time that God has proven his faithfulness, that we're all still here. And we're all still, even though life is hard, walking this life and this journey of discipleship. How many times does God answer a prayer and we do not remember, we just forget? How many times do we face a trial and God brings us through and then we don't give thanks? We don't pray, thank you God, once more. You have been faithful. Till now, God, you have helped us. Because it is possible that the trials that you and I are experiencing right now are actually more burdensome because we have forgotten God's faithfulness in the past. And so then we begin to doubt whether or not God's gonna be faithful to us today. But friends, may it never be so. Our God is a faithful God. Every word of his scriptures proved true. And yet, can we not look around and see God's faithfulness everywhere in this room? May we never be accused of forgetting the faithfulness of our God. as a church and may we remember what he has done for us in his word. Friends, our God is great. Our God is a deliverer and he is faithful. And he has promised in his word to deliver us as he brings us into his heavenly kingdom and brings us safely home. And so as we live the Christian life together as a church, may we look for God's deliverance. And may we remember God's salvation. Let's pray. Father, this morning we confess to you how quickly we forget and how prone we are to wander. Father, may it not be so among us. May you help us to every day look once more to that fountain of grace that flows from Calvary's tree. And may we be a people who are enraptured by the evidence of your faithfulness all around us. May we look for your deliverance and may we remember. Father, may you now take this word and imprint its truth upon our hearts. In Christ's name we pray, amen.