Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the guests who've joined us today. Happy Father's Day. Men, I hope you enjoyed the bacon and the sausage. I hope you got some bacon and sausage. Yep. I was wondering if I'd get an amen for the bacon. The women got flowers on Mother's Day, the men get meat. Amen. Dads, I wanna thank God for your hard work and your sacrifice to provide for and to protect your families, not just physically, but spiritually. Dads, you're like the thermostat. You set the temperature spiritually for your family. And so we thank God for your servant leadership and all of your efforts to lead your children to know and love and serve Jesus Christ. Dads, I wanna say to you that God is with you and his grace is sufficient for you. He will give you everything that you need to be the man that your family needs, the man that God calls you to be. And I hope that today you'll find encouragement in this sermon to that end. Let's pray. I'm gonna pray for the dads and pray for the sermon at the same time. Bow your heads. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the ministry of our fathers to us, and we pray this morning that you would protect dads from temptation to sin, that you would encourage us and renew our strength and help us to persevere. God, that you would give us courage and joy as we lead sacrificially. Jesus, would you help us to teach your word and to show by example what it looks like to follow you, so that we might be able to say to our kids, follow me as I follow Christ. The psalmist says, seek the Lord in his strength, seek his presence continually. And God, we do that now. We seek you. We ask that you would be with us this morning to give us understanding and to strengthen our faith through your word. We ask that in Jesus' name, amen. Turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 10. I don't see the clicker up here. If one of you could bring that to me, that'd be great. 1 Samuel chapter 10. Our text is full of encouragement for your calling as fathers, but also as, thank you very much, also as mothers, sons, and daughters, and really any calling, any good work that God has given you. gives us courage to live faithfully. And so the message for us is this, do not shrink back in fear, but fulfill your calling by faith in God. Walk by faith, not fear. We're gonna learn from Saul that courage for our calling and strength to be faithful comes from God himself, and we need to trust him in that. We're gonna see five ways that we walk by faith today, but before we dive in, let's set the context. In chapter seven, God miraculously delivers Israel Then in chapter 8, they sinfully demand a king, rejecting God as king over them. And in chapter 9, God showed Samuel, the man who was going to be king, to restrain or govern his people, chapter 9 verse 17, that is to keep them from going astray and to save them from the hand of the Philistines. The desire of all Israel is fixed on having a man like Saul as their king, chapter nine, verse 20. The nation has been looking for just such a man to go before them and to fight their battles for them. They put their hope in man rather than God. Now, we pick up the history today in the last verse of chapter nine, verse 27, look there. As we were going to the outskirts of the city, that is Samuel, Saul, and his servant, they spent the night there with Saul, he had thrown a banquet, or with Samuel, he had thrown a banquet the night before. It's the next day, they're leaving. When they get to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he's passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God. So Samuel pulls Saul aside for a private meeting. He's gonna anoint him as king and give him a word from God to encourage him to fulfill his calling. We fulfill our calling with courage in five ways. First, trust God. Find strength in God's word and spirit. We see this in verses one through 13. Look at verse one. Then Samuel took a flask of oil and he poured it on his head and kissed him and he said, has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And then Samuel says, and this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage. The sign is meant to confirm his kingship and to give him assurance that God is going to be with him. God gives him assurance through the fulfilled word and through the power of his spirit to strengthen his faith. So let's see how. Samuel predicts three very specific encounters in verses two through six. First, when you depart from me today, you're gonna meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelza, and they're gonna say to you, the donkeys that you went to seek are found. Now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys, and he's anxious about you, saying, what am I gonna do about my son? This first encounter confirms exactly what Samuel had told him the day before. Chapter 9, verse 20. Second, verses three and four, then you shall come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. This confirms that he has a new status as God's anointed one. Then third, verses five and six. After that, you shall come to Gibeah Elohim, that means hill of God, that's near Saul's house, where there's a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you're gonna meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre, prophesying. Then the spirit of the Lord will rush upon you and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. Now that expression, the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, it refers to God's Spirit coming on suddenly to someone to equip and empower them to serve God. Later, we're gonna see that the Spirit departs from Saul. In the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon certain people for a time to fulfill certain purposes. That's why in verse seven, Samuel says, now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do because God is with you. In the Old Testament, the Spirit is never said to indwell anyone like he does for Christians. As we read a moment ago, Jesus promised his disciples that God would send the Holy Spirit who dwells with you and will be in you, John 14, 17. So the Spirit is poured out on New Testament believers in a way unlike he was in the Old Testament. All disciples have the Spirit living in them permanently. While we can grieve him, we cannot lose him. And we're gonna come back to verses seven and eight, but I want you to look at verse nine. When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all these signs came to pass that day. When it says God gave him another heart, this isn't regeneration like we think of, of getting a new heart in Christ. Verse six makes it clear that this change is connected to the Spirit coming upon him, enabling him to prophesy, and he's turned into another man, it says in verse six. And that's why when he did prophesy, we see in verse 11, everybody who knew him previously, remember, he's in his home area, everyone who knew him previously were surprised, and they said to one another, what's come over the son of Kish? What's happened to this guy? Is Saul also among the prophets? So God enabled him by the Spirit to prophesy and so he was like another person. But I want you to notice all of these signs came to pass. But we're only given details on the third sign. Now there are two encouragements here that I want to point out. First, God's word is trustworthy. The fulfillment of these very specific signs proves that God's word is true and trustworthy. These are very specific predictions. These are not like the vague generalizations that you get in a fortune cookie. I happen to have a couple of fortune cookies here with me. Let's open it up. Oh, you're giving a face like, oh, what could it could say? It's not gonna say something horrible, is it? Is it gonna be terrible? All right, here's what it says. Trust him, but still keep your eyes open. And your lucky numbers are, no, I'm just kidding. What does that even mean? Trust who? I don't know. Maybe we can get a better one here. We'll try again. All right, this one says, You are never selfish with your advice or your help. Aw. That one's kind of encouraging. I think I might keep that one in my Bible. That's not a prediction. It's so generic, right? These are very specific Predictions. You see, predictive prophecy has to meet three criteria. First of all, it has to be about a future event. That's pretty obvious, right? If I said, hey, I predict Pastor Jonathan's gonna come to church today, that doesn't count because he's already here, right? Has to be about the future. Second, it has to come true, also obvious. But third, it has to be specific enough to rule out chance. So let's say yesterday I said, hey, I predict Jonathan's gonna go to church tomorrow. Yeah, big deal. And it's so generic that you can't tell whether or not that happens by chance or not. But look at this. This is very specific. Two men at a precise location with a specific message. And then three men with particular items and a specific gift. And then a group of men at a very specific time and place. And every bit of this comes to pass. All of it happens exactly as God says. And the fact that it comes to pass is meant to strengthen Saul's faith and ours. God's word is true and trustworthy. It's meant to strengthen his faith in God and us too. Everything that God says is true, is true. And everything that God says will happen, will happen. That means that every promise that God makes, you can count on him to keep. And it's just here that we find our faith is strengthened. So when God says that he will complete the work that he began in you, Philippians 1.6, he will. And when God says that no one can snatch you from his hand, John 10, they can't. And when God says he will never leave you or forsake you, Hebrews 13, he won't. And when God says he will fulfill his purpose for you, Psalm 138, he will. Every promise he makes is true. You can trust it. And every promise of God finds its yes in Jesus Christ. Because you are in Christ, the promises of God are yours. They're given to us to strengthen our faith in him. So the first practical application is for you to find and cling to the promises of God by faith. Find a promise that speaks specifically to you, that's encouraging specifically for you, and you memorize it, and you pray it, and you trust that God is gonna keep it, because He always keeps His word. That's the first encouragement for our faith. The second is that every Christian has the Holy Spirit to equip and empower you to serve and follow Christ in whatever it is that God calls you to do, in the roles and responsibilities that he's given to you. You are not alone. Jesus says, behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. That's a promise that you cling to. He's with us through the Holy Spirit, 2 Corinthians 3.18. And I want you to notice the connection that Saul, he's given the power of the Lord, but he's also to submit himself to the word of the Lord. We'll see that even more clearly as we go along. But the word and the spirit can never be separated. He's the spirit of truth. He teaches and guides us in the truth. He strengthens us to live the truth. And so the second application is for you to walk by the spirit. How? Praying. Praying for God's wisdom and strength and courage through the spirit. Listening to the voice of the spirit rather than the voice of your flesh. The spirit, oh, he equips, he empowers, he encourages, he comforts, he exhorts, he guides. His ministry is amazing. You lean on, you rely on, you trust in him by prayer. and He is always with you. So in this first point, trust God. Find strength in His Word and in His Spirit to fulfill your calling. Now this second point follows from this. You trust God first. Second, you obey God. Reject passivity and accept responsibility. Do not shrink back in fear. Walk by faith in God. You see, when we trust God's word and spirit, it leads us to obey God. We reject passivity and accept responsibility. This is woven throughout the chapter in verses seven and eight and verse 16 and verses 20 to 22. So go back to verses seven and eight. Samuel gives Saul these three signs and then he says, now when these signs meet you, that is when they've happened, do what your hand finds to do because God is with you. Now, this is not referring to Saul prophesying because that's part of the third sign. When all those signs happen, then do what your hand finds to do. So what he finds to do is something else, but what is it? We're not told, but the context suggests that he's supposed to attack the Philistine garrison. So in verse one, Samuel tells Saul, you're gonna reign over God's people and save them from the hand of their enemies. In verse five, when the very last sign happens at Gibeah Elohim, It says where there is a garrison of the Philistines. A garrison is a group of soldiers at a military post. That's when God empowers him by the Spirit and Samuel says, when you get there and that happens, do what your hand finds to do. So the context suggests that he's supposed to attack the garrison. What is clear to us is that he's supposed to do something here. So when no action takes place, It stands out, or it should stand out as odd. This is strange. Then in verse eight, Samuel tells him, then, after you do what your hand finds to do, then go down to Gilgal. And I'm gonna come down and make sacrifices. Seven days you'll wait for me there. And I'm gonna come to you and show you what you should do. In other words, after you do it, then go to Gilgal and I'll tell you what to do next. Side note here, Saul's gonna get similar instruction to this in chapter 13, but that is a different event that takes place years later, okay? So, Saul does neither of these things. He takes no action and he does not go to Gilgal. Instead, he goes home. Which is why in verse 14, after the signs, we find him talking to his uncle. Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, hey, where'd you go? He said, to seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel. And his uncle said, please tell me what Samuel said to you. And Saul said to his uncle, well, he told us plainly that the donkeys had been found, but about the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything. Why the silence? The context suggests that he's fearful. He's not acting by faith in God. Again, we see him being passive. He does not accept responsibility after everything that he's seen. I mean, Samuel's very first words to him should have grabbed his full attention. This guy knows everything about me. Chapter nine, verse 16, or 20. And then he clearly knew I was coming because he prepared an entire banquet for me before I even got there. And then Samuel, yeah, Samuel tells him everything that God has called him to do. He gives him all these signs. God fulfills it word for word. All of it came true, but Saul does not act on these things. Instead, he goes home and he hides. He does not walk by faith, but shrinks back in fear from God's calling. We see that again in verses 20 and 22. Look at verse 17. Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah 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've 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." I want you to notice the location here. This is Mizpah. This is exactly the same place that God had miraculously delivered them in chapter 7. the place where they had set up the Ebenezer, the stone of help, where they had said, thus far, that God has helped us. And so it is a sad irony that is in this place that Samuel reminds them of their sinful demand for a king and their rejection of God as king over them, what we saw in chapter 8. Now in verse 20, They go through this whole process of casting lots. First the tribe of Benjamin is taken, then the clan of the Matrites, and finally Saul, the son of Kish, is chosen as king. Now look at verse 21. But when they sought him, he could not be found. So they asked the Lord, is there a man still to come? And the Lord said, behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage. So they went and got him from there. Talk about embarrassing. Okay, everyone, it looks like Saul is king. Saul? Saul? Where's Saul? Has anyone seen Saul? Somebody go find Saul. Hey, why don't we ask the Lord? Good idea. Lord, is there supposed to be someone else? Behold, he's hiding in the baggage. He tells that to everybody. Everybody, the whole nation of Israel is there, all the important people. And God says, he's in the baggage. This is so embarrassing. And it's kind of funny a little bit too. I mean, how is this a good plan? It's like a little kid's plan. I know. I'll hide in the baggage. Maybe they'll choose someone else to be king. He knows it's gonna be him. Everything has told him, and this is his plan? I'll hide in the luggage. Some people think he's being humble. I think that the context shows he's being fearful. He is not trusting God, and so he runs from his God-given responsibility. Now we laugh because it's ridiculous, but we do it too. When we do not trust God, his word and his spirit, we do things our way. We come up with our own plans that seem great to us in the moment, but they're just as foolish and immature. When we don't trust God, we struggle with fear. We reject, we run from our God-given roles and responsibilities. We try to hide, but there is no hiding from God. Faith rather than fear must drive us. Walk by faith in God's word and God's spirit. It's by faith that we obey God, rejecting passivity and accepting responsibility. So are there parts of God's calling on your life, whatever that may be, where you're being passive? where you're shrinking back, where you're neglecting responsibility? Where is it that you need to step up and put faith into action? As a father, are you fulfilling God's calling by grace through faith? Or have you been silent and hiding, absent, nowhere to be found? Your family needs you. God will equip you by his word and his spirit. Now that same truth is true in any calling that God has given to you. So we could say, church, are we boldly sharing Christ with the world? That is our calling as disciples. Or are we shrinking back in fear, silent, hiding, Absent. First, trust God's word and spirit to fulfill your calling. Second, obey God, reject passivity, accept responsibility. Third, to fulfill your calling, character matters. Focus on developing character. We see this in verses 23 and 23. Look at verse 23. They ran and took him from there, that is from hiding in the baggage. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of them 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. Now, we've already been told that Saul is a fine-looking man, chapter 9, verse 2. In fact, it says that there was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. If there was a Mr. Israel contest, he would have won it, hands down. and we're twice told that from his shoulders upward, he was taller than any of the people. He's head and shoulders above the rest. No one is more handsome. It makes me think of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. He's handsome and huge. Let me try to illustrate this. I want to ask a few men to join me up here on stage. Rob, Jonathan, Todd, Chia, Steve, Billy, Roland, Nathan, all the guys I talked to yesterday. Come on up here. Don't be shy. Come on up. Yep. Okay, just come, yeah, you guys get right here in the middle, stand together, stand together, stand together, line up. Maybe we need two rows, I don't know. That's fine, this is fine. Look, look at these men. Every one of them, a fine specimen of manhood. Ruggedly handsome. but it says that Saul was head and shoulders above the rest. Literally, head and shoulders taller than anyone else. Just imagine with me for a moment that you're in the crowd and you see this guy who is bigger and more beautiful than anybody else. He's the biggest, most beautiful man. No one has ever seen a man as big or beautiful as him. He's the greatest, take it from me, Saul's the best. This big, beautiful man. And that, that is exactly how they make their assessment of him. That is what they're looking at. Even Samuel seems to fall into this trap. Because later on, God is gonna have to remind him with David that God does not look at the outward appearance. God looks at the heart. God looks at the inner person. You men can go sit down. None of you was Saul. Thanks for being good sports this morning. God sees the inner man, that is what matters. Character matters more than cosmetics. That is a crucial truth for both men and women in our day to day. Can you imagine that huge guy trying to hide among the baggage? That makes it even more ridiculous. It's crazy to me that this wasn't a red flag for anybody. Look at how excited they are. They're like, long live the king. Even though they find him hiding in the luggage, they make their assessment based on his looks. They're focused on his physical stature rather than his character, and that is further proof that they're looking to human strength and ability and not relying on God. To fulfill your calling, character matters, so focus on developing inner quality. While bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way. 1 Timothy 4, 8. So train yourself for godliness. Develop your character by trusting and obeying God. So you learn to think His thoughts, you learn to speak His words, you learn to love as He loves, you learn to walk in His way. See, every time you come to a fork in the road where there is a right and a wrong way. Every time you come to that fork in the road and you choose the right way, no matter how big or small that thing may be, when you choose that right way, you are building your character. It's steadfastness despite the difficulty that produces character. God's delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love, Psalm 147. Those who fear him, those who trust and obey him, those who love and honor him. D.L. Moody said, our greatest fear should not be of failure, but it's succeeding at something that doesn't really matter. Character matters. So trust God's word and spirit, obey God by faith, develop your character. Fourth, you're accountable to God. As a steward, you must be found faithful. We see this in verse 25. Look there with me. Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Saul does not get to rule in any way that he chooses, but the way that God wants. And this is explained to the people and written down in a book. And the point is, is that the king is subject to God, subject to God's law and accountable to him. He's under God's authority. This is what distinguished Israel's kingship from the nation's. Now this is a legal contract, so in some ways it's kind of like the Magna Carta that was signed in 1215 by King John, known as the Great Charter. It limited the king's power and established that the king is not above the law. His actions are limited by a written document. That's what's happening here. This book of rights and duties was a guard, a safeguard against tyranny and abuse. Saul is placed under God's law because God is ultimately the king. But I want you to notice something. This is not in any way to hinder Saul's kingship, but so that it would function properly. And the same is true for us. Saul is accountable to God, and so are we. As stewards, we are gonna give account to God for how we use his gifts, how we invest his resources, and fulfill his calling. Think about the parable of the talents. The master gives the talents and he comes back, and we wanna hear the words when Christ returns, well done my good and faithful servant. To fulfill your calling, you need to keep in mind who it is that you serve. Like Saul, we have to remember that God is the king. So it doesn't matter how big or important you get here on earth, we're his servants. And what is required of servants is that we be found faithful. But I want you to notice where verse 25 comes in the story. It's way down at the end, after Saul has been given the assurance of God's word and God's spirit to be with him. That's the crucial foundation. Because you can't be faithful to God in your own strength. But God is with you. So, trust God's word and spirit, obey God, walking by faith, develop your character, steward God's gift faithfully, and finally, build a fellowship. We all need godly support. One of the ways that God supports us is through his people. We see this in verses 26 and 27. Look there, Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. God moves people's hearts. He touches their hearts to help. Men of valor, of courage, is just what he needed. Men whose hearts God touched, to go with and support Saul. We all need people around us who will support us and who we in turn can support. So, who are the people in your circle? We need godly people, faithful and wise people, people of valor to support us. And this is especially true of leaders. And I don't just mean like pastors and that sort of leader, but men, every one of you in the room, you need this. Because as men, you're called to lead in your home. You lead as a husband, you lead as a father. Men, you lead, you need the people around you to support you. So who's in your corner? And whose corner are you in? Men need other men, women need other women in order to help them faithfully follow Christ and fulfill their calling. But I don't want you to overlook your family. So your siblings, your brothers and sisters, your parents, your spouse, they're the ones who know you the best and who love you the most. And God gave you your family to be your first and greatest support in following Christ. Look at verse 27. But some worthless fellow said, how can this man save us? And they despised him and brought him no present, but he held his peace. Notice there are always naysayers, the critics. The key here is to discern the valid points that they bring and to learn from them while not allowing them to derail you. Saul held his peace and that is often the best path. Continuing to walk with God and do what's right and just let folks say what they want. Now there is a special need for support from our spouse. So let me give a word to the wives on this Father's Day. Wives, be your husband's biggest supporter, not his greatest detractor. Be his greatest cheerleader, not his greatest critic. And this doesn't mean that you can't ever offer feedback, but for some reason when it comes to family, whether that's in marriage or in parenting, in our family relationships, For some reason, we are often restrained in our encouragement when we give it. And we're strong in delivering criticism. And it ought to be the other way around. We ought to show restraint as we give critique. And we should be strong as we give encouragement. Husbands, if your wife does give you some feedback, listen to her. God put her in your life to help you grow. So for example, if you're getting ready for an event and she asks you, is that what you're wearing? Your response is, not anymore. She's there to help, men. Do not shrink back in fear, but fulfill your calling by grace through faith. Men, every one of these points today is a principle for your leadership. Now, this sermon has been for followers of Christ, but maybe you're here today and you do not have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I mentioned earlier being accountable to God for his calling that he places on our lives. God created the world and everything and everyone in it. And the primary calling that God gives to each and every person is that you would love and honor him. With all your heart, with all that you are, but we all sin. We all fall short of this. We all fail to love and honor God as we ought to. We all think or say or do things that are wrong, that are sinful, that break God's law. And our sin separates us from God, makes us his enemy rather than his friend, keeps us from relationship with him. And that sin deserves his judgment. But God sent his son, Jesus Christ, who died. He suffered God's judgment in our place for our sin, for your sin and for mine, so that whoever confesses their sin, whoever asks for forgiveness and trusts in Jesus to save them, will be forgiven and have eternal life. And best of all, they will know God. They will have a relationship with God, peace with God. No longer his enemy, but now his friend. Not just a friend, his child with a beloved inheritance, with a great inheritance in heaven. Let me encourage you today. If you've never put your faith in Christ, let me encourage you to begin a relationship with Jesus by turning from your sin and turning to Jesus Christ in faith. Now, if you wanna learn more about how you begin a relationship with God and Jesus Christ, we would love to talk with you about that. You can talk to Pastor Jonathan. You can talk to myself. One of us will be up front. You can talk with your parents. You can talk with the person who brought you. We would love to talk with you more about that. Let's pray together as we close. Heavenly Father, we thank you for saving us and for making us your heritage, your people who you love. We thank you that you give each one of us gifts and that you've planned good works to serve you, that you've given us a calling. We thank you that you have given us your word to guide us and your spirit to empower us and we ask and pray that you would help us to walk by faith Thank you for the gift of your people to support us. We pray that you would help us to encourage one another. God, we trust the promise that your grace is sufficient so that we will be found faithful. We thank you and praise you for these things. In Jesus' name, amen.