Good morning. We're moving along in this book called 1 Samuel. So I'd hope that you'd open your Bible right now to the book of 1 Samuel and open it to chapter 10. We're at chapter 10. And this is a really, really interesting passage of Scripture. So let's pray as we're starting out this morning and allow the Lord to be the one who teaches us. Father, thank you for your word, your faithfulness, your goodness, and As we're looking at this passage, we're moving through these lives, these people. Wow, Lord, what it would be like if you were still writing the book that generations later would be reading. Grateful that you aren't because we know, we see these guys like Eli and Samuel and Saul. And more often than not, we see the bad parts that we really can relate to. We're thankful that we're not alone in that, but we ask you, God, that you, as our hero, would show up. You, as the true king, the king that we can look to, would show up and rule and reign. So help us right now. Help us as we're looking at the Word, as we're dissecting it, as we're trying to understand the culture that it was written to, and then the bridge that needs to go on to application. Father, you'd help us with that this morning. So thank you for that, and we're asking just for a great time together, in Jesus' name, amen. Well, in a moment here, we're gonna see some signs that are used to direct Saul to the proper place that he should be. And it made me think of how we depend on signs. We depend on signs as we're going through the, down the road. And so some of these are so obvious that when you read them, if you can read, you can see that and go, okay, I know what that means. And so when I was taking my rules of the road test back in the day in Chicago, Illinois, and I had to, get that passed so that I could get my license which for me literally was on the day I turned 16. I was down there at the headquarters there on Elston Avenue in Chicago and I took the test and was able to pass it and just to have that license was everything. But I had to know what the signs meant. That was just part of the thing. So look at that. That's a no-brainer. Stop. Okay? Slow. Do not enter. Okay? Those are basic signs that you and I would look at and go, if I know how to read, I know, okay, what I need to do there is I need to stop. or I need to be slow on the road there, or not to enter. But take a look at this sign. And for those of you listening, we've got a sign that's directing arrows and having us make a decision on what lane we need to be in. And only by being in that lane can I turn the proper way that I need to turn. And if I were to come upon that or see that, we're talking five lanes there. And so I better be in the right lane, correct lane, to make the proper decision. That could be very confusing. And so we've got signs that are understandable. Just, oh, okay, yeah, I need to stop here. I should not enter this. I need to slow down. But you see a sign like that, arrows all over the place, that can be confusing. Or look at this one. I thought that was kind of funny. This is, again, a yellow triangle, I'm sorry, diamond. And it's got all of these arrows to point you in whatever direction you need to be going. And underneath it, it says, good luck. because you're gonna need it going by this sign. And yet, if you were to come to that intersection, if you were to come to that area there, it would make sense to you being the person trying to put the sign together so that the people would be able to understand, how am I gonna communicate this to these people so that ultimately they can make the proper decision? And then lastly, the sign that I think would help us extensively, and that is coming up to a place where there are falling cows. So that's important. That's important. So the cow won't land on your car. Well, so as we think about the whole idea of signs, the Bible talks a lot about signs. And we see in the scripture, when Jesus is on the earth, He does these signs or miracles and it's showing that he is God. I mean, who can create food out of a little bit of food to feed thousands of people? Who can walk on water? Who can stop a storm? Who can raise the dead? And so these signs are done to validate his power, to validate who he is, to set a precedent and that you and I would understand, wow, this person is more than just a regular man. This is the God man. Then we come into the church age and early on in the church age, we see the apostles able to do certain things. And we see that in the transitional book of Acts. We see things that are taking place that give validity to the words they say. So the works of Jesus give validity to his words. The works of the apostles give validity to their words. And then ultimately we get past the transitional time there and we move into the time of the church, and we have the epistles, and you see less and less the idea of needing signs to prove something. We see changed lives. We see obedience to the word. Every now and then, God is going to do this miraculous thing, but he doesn't say, and this is going to keep happening all the time. But when we come to this section of scripture today in 1 Samuel 10, a new thing is starting, a new thing of the monarchy. Now, is it in God's timing? No, we will see that. But he's giving them what they want. And God is so gracious that there are times that he will give us what we want. and even do a work sometimes in our life in the midst of us being disobedient, not going the route he wanted to go, but I'm going to give you what you want. And then he still finds a way to bless and he's teaching us in the midst of it. And so we would hope that as we look in the word, that we're going with his timing, that we would follow him and not be looking always for a sign to make myself feel better. Jesus even confronted the Jews about that. The Jews, you're always looking for a sign. Greeks are looking for wisdom, okay? But He wanted them to want Him for Him. Even later, after He had done the miracle of feeding the 5,000, and people were showing up for more food, it was like, don't you want Me for Me? Not what I can do for you. And He does so much, but just for Me. and then allow me to do a work of changing your life. So, we come to this passage of scripture today, and I want you to, point number one, if you're taking notes, is notice the proof. Notice the proof. Look at verse 1 of chapter 10 of 1 Samuel. Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and that being Saul, and kissed him and said, Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? So remember what happened last chapter. He had all of these steps that he was taking. Saul and his servant were out looking for lost donkeys. And then these things start to transpire. Things are happening and it's like, what is going on here? and this seer, this man of God, is talking to them about the fact that this is more than just you looking for lost donkeys. In the providence of God, something has happened. So Saul has this big meal with them. He stays on the roof that night, sleeps on the roof that night, and then Samuel comes later and says, okay, get up. Oh, and send your servant ahead And I've got something special to share with you." And he starts sharing with him about the Word of God. Isn't it interesting that a leader is set up and that's the first thing that God would want a leader, a godly leader, to want to know is the Word of God. And so we have here Samuel now taking this flask of oil and anointing him. All the way up to this point, the only people that are anointed are priests, but now we have a king that is going, a prince that is going to be anointed. And he says, has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people, Israel? And so here we see the anointing of Saul as king of Israel. It goes on and says here in the word, and you shall reign over the people of the Lord, and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage." So the idea of anointing a king was not unique to Israel. The nations around Israel also anointed their kings and leaders, but they used animal fat. and they use that to anoint the king because they believe that by pouring on the fat of a bull or an ox and rubbing it into a man's head, somehow that individual would be infused with the strength and power of the bull or ox. God's people, the people of Israel, used olive oil And God's anointing wasn't to make men like animals, but to show that they were to be rooted and grounded in the things of God in order to bear fruit to the glory of God. And then this kiss with the anointing was a sign of extreme honor and homage to the one being anointed. Let's keep going here. Verse 2, When you depart from me today, I want you to listen to these signs as we work through them together. You will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelza, and they will say to you, The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, What shall I do about my son? And so, Instead of being bound by worries, Saul has picked the better option. He may have missed out on a blessing that the Lord had for him if he was worried still about these donkeys, worried still about what was happening with them. And I love the fact that God cares about him enough to give him some peace, to give him an understanding that this is taken care of. So the thing that was on your mind there, that God's taking care of that. And so he's going to come and he's going to meet two men specifically, not three, not four, two men. And it's going to be in a specific place. And what I love too is that God is orchestrating this, that those two men are making their way and the timing will be such that they were sent by the Lord at a certain time so that when Saul leaves Samuel, they come in contact with one another and sharing that information. That's all God's timing. Let's keep going. Verse 3, Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. And I love that this fact too is, God is calling us to move. God is calling us not to, there's times where we need to be still, but there's also times that we need to move and be obedient in that way. So after that is done with those two men there, then you move on. Go to the Oak of Tabor. Three men, going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One carrying three young goats." Think about that. I don't know how little these are. I mean, it's one thing to carry two young goats, but specifically, out of the three men there, there's going to be one carrying three goats, whatever that looks like, okay? Another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. So isn't that interesting, that idea that there's three guys, one's got three goats, one's got bread, one's got wine, and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. So there's all of these specifics going on. that Saul knows ahead of time because of what Samuel has said, these are signs that make sense in the area of this is what's going to happen. And if it doesn't happen this way, then is Samuel the prophet of God that he claims to be or people say that he is? So this is what's happening here. After that, you shall go to Gibeath Elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines And there, as soon as you come to the city, you'll meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them prophesying." So, boy, these three instances of this happening, two men, then three men, then these prophets, musicians coming down, and it's almost like a minstrel set of people. I love how music is tied to this. I love musicals, so the idea of this happening, what this must have, would look like for Saul, and all of this is being directed by the Lord. Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and be turned into another man." Now, we know what that means. We know that that literally doesn't change his face. He doesn't become somebody. And you used to be Saul. Now you're going to be Charlie. It's, oh, that person's a new man. And he's a new man because the Spirit of God is upon him. And so you'll see that what I'm telling you is true, Samuel is saying to Saul, because you're going to meet a group of men who will tell you your father is concerned about you. So we see that with the first group. Then you'll see another group who will offer you bread and wine. And then another group will be prophets who will play music, speak the things of God. And then the Spirit of the Lord is going to come upon you and you'll prophesy right along with them. God is showing Saul, if I have called you, I will provide for you. And that's a lesson that you and I need to understand. If I've called you, I'm going to be providing for you. And so we must understand that our father loves us to be freed to do ministry. God is the one who moves in power wherever he wants. And so it's the Spirit of God that comes on this individual, and that's what changes. And that's what changes our lives. That's what changes our hearts. That's what changes our kids' lives. That's what changes our spouse's life. The Spirit of God coming upon them, making that person a new person. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things become new. Verse seven. Now, when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. Then go down before me to Gilgal, and behold, I am coming down to you to offer burn offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait until I come to you and show you what you shall do. And when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. Isn't that beautiful? And all these signs came to pass that day. So God prepared Saul for the kingship by having the Holy Spirit come upon him. God gave him the heart to be a king. Let's keep going. Point number two, notice the proverb. Notice the proverb. Look at verse 10. When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. Isn't this a God thing? You see somebody that this wasn't the case. Remember last time we were talking about him? Saul was more secular. His servant was the spiritual one. But Saul, and you would think that the servant could have been, I mean, anybody could have been king. We look at Joseph and he was a prisoner, but God chooses who he wants to choose. And the servant could have walked away. I'm the one that knew about Saul being in this town. I'm the one who should, that's not the one who's called into that position. God has his hand on Saul. and he's the one that is chosen for this position. And so that's what we see there. And then verse 11, and when all who knew him previously, so now he's coming back to an area where people know him as Saul, the tall, handsome guy, and they saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, what has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? And a man of the place answered, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? So concerning something incredible or outrageous, we say that's going to happen when pigs fly or will wonders never cease. And so this statement is being made, is Saul among the prophets? It became a similar statement of unlikelihood. It's the idea of, can anything good come out of Nazareth? These are proverbs that were said over and over and over and then became something. And so because these people knew these guys, whoever they were, they knew what Saul was like. Saul may have been a very carnal man. He may have been very quiet. He may have been very whatever he may have been. Now he's prophesying with legitimacy and it doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense to the guys that are watching this. They just, what is going on here? Who's this? And so that's, As if something was said about me, Mark Myers is going to be in the next Olympics and he's going to be in weightlifting. Is Saul among the prophets? It just doesn't, it doesn't work. It doesn't fit. And thus it became a proverb. And you would hope That, like, does anything good come out of Nazareth? That it would later be, well, something good did come out of Nazareth, and that was Jesus. But as we'll watch the life of Saul, it is more unlikely, as the time goes on, that we see it's gotten worse. Like some people, when they come into power, they think they deserve it right away. And as time goes by, life beats them up and they become humbled as time goes by. And there's other people that start out really humble. And then as they're in that office, as they're in that position, they become cockier, they become proud, they become arrogant. And so the best place to be is in a place of humility. Saul should have each and every day been, I can't believe that I'm in this position. I cannot believe that I'm blessed in such a way. And I need the help of God each step of the way. That's the way we need to be. That when we're handed a position of responsibility, we're just so blessed by the fact that we've got that responsibility. And I want to do the best that I possibly, instead of, you know, I deserve this. Very, very, very dangerous ground to be on. Well, let's keep going. Point number three, notice the placating. Notice the placating. Look at verse 13. When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place. Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, where'd you go? And he said, to seek the donkeys. And when he saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel. And Samuel's uncle said, And Saul said to his uncle, Now, this is interesting. Saul didn't tell his uncle that he would one day be king. Instead, kind of like Mary in the Christmas story, He simply heard the word and he pondered it in his heart. And I think there's some wisdom here. I don't know what Saul's uncle was like, but I think there's a lot of times in our lives we're in a big hurry to talk about these deep things and to, instead of taking it in and saying, I need to chew on this a little while. I need to meditate on it. we should ponder more in our hearts. We sometimes speak right away what we've heard, but maybe it would be better to ponder it more. And deep, deep people take the time to practice that discipline, because that's a discipline. And Saul is starting out well. He's starting out well. Just wish he'd stuck with that. Point number four, Notice the presentation. Notice the presentation. Look at verse 17. Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. Verse 18, and he said to the people of Israel, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you. But today you have rejected your God who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to Him, set a king over us. Now, therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands." And so you wanted a king, you're going to get a king. And Samuel told the people this. They gather at Mizpah, again, it's a time for this congregational meeting, and now Samuel is functioning as a prophet, and these people traveled far to be together, but the message was direct and what they needed, and he tells it like it is. And I want you to notice, throughout these stories here, there's kind of an up and down going on, that to you and I, it'd almost be confusing, because you're like, okay, Samuel, I know you were upset about the fact that they asked for a king. But God says, do what they say. Then you tell them what it looks like for them to have a king. And they say, no, we still want a king. And so the steps are taken for this guy Saul to be in that place. And it seems like sometimes you're into it, Samuel, and sometimes you're not. But it just seems to be this rollercoaster ride that if I was Saul, I would be like, you told me you want me to be king or that God wants me to be king, but I'm not getting this. And that I would think would be kind of confusing to Saul. But this is what God wants done. And this is kind of life when you think about it. The ups and downs of decisions made and the ramifications of decisions. We want to have hope, but we got to be honest about things. There's just that balance that is going on here. And as we watch this going on, it's just interesting to see the story, the narrative work the way it is. Let's keep going, verse 20. Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by Lot. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clan, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by Lot. And Saul, the son of Kish, was taken by Lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. So they inquired again of the Lord, Is there a man still to come? And the Lord said, Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage. Stop and think about what we've worked through over the years as we've worked through the scriptures here, as we're chronologically working through it. And we come to the book of Joshua. And a story that kind of is recognizable that mirrors this is a decision is made where we've got to narrow it down to come to one person. And the last time a decision was made by Lot, this wasn't good. Remember Achan? Israel had conquered Jericho. Achan had taken some things that he shouldn't have. The nation loses the next battle against someone that was way weaker than Jericho, Ai. And they're like, how did this happen? And nobody's fessing up to why that's the case. Somebody sinned, but nobody's fessing up. And so Joshua does this thing by lot and ultimately gets down to Achan. And then they have to kill him, him and his family. And so Samuel's making these decisions based on how we get to King. And he's showing the people that we're doing it by lot here. It isn't just my decision, but I'm trusting God. And we get down from tribes to Benjamin, then we move down, we get to a certain clan there, and then we get down to Saul. Saul might've been thinking a few different things. Last time I heard about this story, this wasn't good. Somebody died. Could Samuel be, this is the person that you guys picked, we're going to put him to death to show you, don't do, don't you think you can pick the king? I'll pick the king. Whatever is going through his mind, he's scared. Maybe he's just shy. Maybe the ramifications are starting to hit him of what a king looks like. He begins well and rather in tooting his own horn, he's hiding. He's not looking for this job, but God gave him this job. The verses 23 and 24. Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among them, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people. And all the people shouted, Long live the king. His physical stature is impressive. Being head and shoulders above the rest, it gave him this kingly presence. And the people yell, Long live the king. Point number five, notice the parchment. Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his own home." So he's reminding the people of the regulations governing the conduct of kings according to Deuteronomy 17, 14 through 20. Listen to these. written by Moses from God. When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it, and then say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me, you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose, one from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you who is not your brother. Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, you shall never return that way again. And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law approved by the Levitical priests. and it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. So, I don't want him multiplying horses, resting in that power. I don't want him multiplying wives, that could take his heart away. And I don't want him multiplying to himself money. But I do want him to be a man that would take those first five books, the Torah, the law, the Pentateuch, And each day you are to write out the law so you don't forget. And you wonder, is that going to be something that's going to be a practice of Saul? I get the vibe that's not the case. Just by how his life went, he forgot. He forgot his foundations. He forgot the standard that was set up for him. So don't worry about horses, don't worry about military stuff, don't worry about more women, don't worry about more money, but be concerned about your time in the Word. These are just good words for each of us today, that we would have that kind of thinking. Point number six, notice the position. What's the position? Verse 26, Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. So Saul has been anointed king, he's been revealed to the people as the one God has chosen, yet he makes his way home again to the farm. And God surrounded him with his own secret service. You see that. Look at verses 27. But you see that where these men of valor are around him. But then you see the first part of verse 27, But some worthless fellow said, And they despised him and brought him no present, but he held his peace. Worthless fellow also means foolish. Saul is just a boy, how can he save us? And in bringing him no presence, they rejected him in that culture. It's hashtag not my king. And when God places a leader over you, we see four years ago, hashtag not my president. And then now we have a new president and there's people on the other side doing that again. And God is saying to us, we follow who he puts into place. We trust him and we see his hand and we obey him. We don't have to agree with policies. We don't have to agree with positions. We stand where we need to stand and we don't compromise on things that are scriptural. But when it comes to a person put in leadership, you think back to Paul in Romans 13, stressing about being obedient to leadership. And the emperor over Paul was Nero. And it's just telling. last point here, but he held his peace. Again, we see Saul acting with great wisdom here. Rather than giving these worthless fellows a piece of his mind, he held his peace, hopefully understanding that God will vindicate and trusting him in that. The question that I keep asking as we go through the week is, who is your king? Who is your king? It's a gentleman by the name of S.M. Lockridge, Baptist pastor, that has a famous message talking about my king. This black gentleman, his name is S.M. Lockridge, Shadrach, Meshach, Lockridge. Take a look as he gives honor and he says, my king, and he describes him. Take a listen. The Bible says my king is the king of the Jews, he's the king of Israel, he's the king of righteousness, he's the king of the ages, he's the king of heaven, he's the king of glory, he's the king of kings, and he's the lord of lords. That's my king. I wonder do you know him? My king is a sovereign king. No means of measure can define his limitless love. He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immortally graceful. He's empirically powerful. He's impartially merciful. Do you know Him? He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God's Son. He's the center's Savior. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. He is the loftiest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology. He's the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient savior. I wonder if you know him today. He supplies Strength for the weak, He's available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He strengthens and sustains. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharges debtors. He delivers the captive. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent. And He beautifies the meek. I wonder if you know Him. He's the key to knowledge. He's the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway of deliverance. He's the pathway of peace. He's the roadway of righteousness. He's the highway of holiness. He's the gateway of glory. Do you know him? Well, his life is matchless, his goodness is limitless, his mercy is everlasting, his love never changes, his word is enough, his race is sufficient, his reign is righteous, and his yoke is easy, and his burden is lighter. I wish I could describe him, for yet he's indescribable. He's incomprehensible. He's invincible. He's irresistible. Well, you can't get him out of your mind. You see, you can't get him off of your head. You can't outlive him, and you can't live without him. Well, the Pharisees couldn't stand him, but they found out they couldn't stop him. Pilots couldn't find any fault in him. Terrorists couldn't kill him. Deaths couldn't hang him. That's a King that we can follow. Let's allow the Lord to do a work in our hearts and trust that King. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your son, Jesus. Thank you that he's King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And while we're here, I'd ask you that we'd follow the signs that your word has set up. We'd be obedient to that, the direction that you give there. and trust you each step of the way in these very interesting days that we would be people that trust that King, that true King, named Jesus. And we pray it in King Jesus's name, amen.