Playing the Fool-Part A

You might want to look at this as King Saul's excited utterance, words he probably wouldn't say otherwise or admit to anyone. But here he says, indeed, I have played the fool and erred exceedingly. It's a tragic admission. It's a banner statement of anyone who would squander the call of God on that person's life. I could have been used powerfully by God, but I wasn't.

It's the admission of a leader who went wrong. Headstones are usually engraved with two dates, a date of arrival and a date of departure. The dash between those dates is the journey of a lifetime.

What will you do with your dash? Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Skip shares how you can take hold of the gifts and opportunities God has given you. Then, at the end of today's program, Skip and his wife Lenya share more about how you can live intentionally for the Lord. When you talk about living your life before God, you always do.

You may not be aware of it, but you always do. Microphone's always on, camera's always on, God sees it, God hears it all. Remember the New Testament, how Jesus knew people, what they were thinking, and knowing their thoughts he said to them?

Well, things haven't changed. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. If he could read their thoughts, he knows your thoughts.

Thank you, Skip and Lenya. If you want to hear more, please stay tuned after the teaching. Now we want to tell you about an encouraging resource that can help you become more familiar with the Holy Spirit and how he helps you live in victory. The Holy Spirit is mysterious.

In the Bible, Jesus even said, he moves like the wind. Even so, Christians are instructed to know and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and his help, counsel, and comfort, as Skip Heitzig reminds us. You can't neglect the Holy Spirit since the Scripture is full of the Holy Spirit from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation. Not only is the Bible full of the Holy Spirit, you can be too. The Holy Spirit is a divine person who helps us. How many of you think you need all the help you can get to live your Christian life?

Yeah, I'm with you. We need help. Discover who the Holy Spirit is with Pastor Skip's DVD study, Expound Holy Spirit. And for a limited time, you can also get a copy of Lenya Heitzig's booklet called Empower, Discover Your Spiritual Gifts. Both resources are our thanks for your gift of $25 or more to help expand this Bible teaching outreach.

To give online securely, visit connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. Okay, we're in 1 Samuel chapter 26 as Skip Heitzig starts today's study. Every year on April 1 is a thing called April Fool's Day. And I don't know if you know how that began, but in the 1500s, 1582, the French decided to change the calendar back to celebrating New Year's on January 1.

Yep, up till that time. New Year's was the end of March. They celebrated it on the vernal equinox. So they decided let's make it back to January 1.

That'll be the New Year's Day. Well, not everyone wanted to do that. They didn't agree to do it, they didn't hear about it, or they just stubbornly refused to celebrate it, so they were called foolish. And jokes were played on them as they would celebrate the New Year at the end of March, beginning of April. So just every year, practical jokes were done to those people who stubbornly refused to adhere to the calendar. It was April Fool's Day. Through the years, people have been very creative on April Fool's Day, self-included, and playing jokes on folks.

But some are more famous than others. For example, in 2005, the media announced that NASA discovered water on Mars. And they told people they have even photographs to prove it. So when you would go to the website, NASA's website, they showed a picture of a glass of water on a Mars candy bar. That was their April Fool's joke.

We've discovered water on Mars. Of course, to call someone a fool is serious business. Jesus warned against that in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, whoever says, you fool, will be in danger of hell fire. But it's quite another matter when someone refers to himself or herself that way.

Such is the case here. We have King Saul in 1 Samuel chapter 26 in verse 21. Saul said, now this is his admission to David, I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Listen to this last sentence.

Indeed, I have played the fool and erred exceedingly. Nine words in that final sentence of the verse. Nine words that form an autobiographical statement. Words that were said, perhaps off the cuff. In a moment of truth, I have a friend who as an attorney told me there's this thing called an excited utterance. That is a statement made in an unusual time or a stressful situation.

For example, look out, we're going to crash. Or, I think he's crazy. Those kind of statements that may be made under duress or under stress, but they betray a person's true impressions. You might want to look at this as King Saul's excited utterance. Words he probably wouldn't say otherwise or admit to anyone. But here he says, indeed, I have played the fool and erred exceedingly. It's a tragic admission. It's a banner statement of anyone who would squander the call of God on that person's life. It's the admission of a person who would have said, I could have been used powerfully by God, but I wasn't.

It's the admission of a leader who went wrong, a king who went wrong, a dad who went wrong, a father-in-law who went wrong, a man who went wrong. All of those were Saul. Now, being the first king of Israel, King Saul occupies a lot of the Bible. Twenty-three chapters in this book are devoted to King Saul, his reign, his mistakes. Twenty-three chapters.

One chapter in the next book, 2 Samuel 1, is devoted to Saul as well. Because so much of it is there about this one man, I'm just going to give you highlights. I'm going to greatly condense this and we're going to get an overview.

Our anchor text is the one we just read. 1 Samuel 26, verse 21. What I want to do with you, though, is kind of go through his life in this crash and burn segment. I want to talk about how he began, then what went wrong, then how he should have changed. So we're going to begin where he begins. I'm going to read to you.

You don't need to turn there. I'm going to need you, though, to have ready in your Bibles 1 Samuel chapter 13 in just a moment. Let me tell you how he began. He started out so well because he had such advantages at his disposal, both naturally as well as supernaturally. He had natural advantages afforded any leader. Now, if you have natural advantages for leadership as well as supernatural advantages, it's a winning combo.

You could have one or the other and they're great, but when you have them both together, it's amazing. So what did he have? Well, first of all, he had family. He had a good family. 1 Samuel chapter 9 tells us he is the son of Kish, a Benjamite, a mighty man, or a man of power. So Kish was from a notable family, making Saul from good stock, from a good tribe, a small tribe, but a very notable tribe. The tribe of Benjamin, named after the favored son of Jacob, born by Rachel.

So mark that in the advantage list. He had family. Also, in the natural advantages, he had physique. The guy looked good. He looked royal. This is 1 Samuel chapter 9, verse 2, describes him as choice, handsome. There was not a more handsome person than he among all the children of Israel.

The girl swooned when he came. It even says that from his shoulders upwards, he was taller than any of the people. Now, in the east, height and beauty were greatly admired. And it was thought, if we can have a king that looks good, makes us look good.

This is why Samuel, when looking for the second king, and he comes to Jesse's house, before he picks David, he notices Eliab, the eldest. And he notices him because he's tall, and he's handsome. And that's why God says, I've rejected him.

Man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart. But he noticed the height of his stature. So, Saul had that. Saul had family, he had physique, both going for him.

He had something else in the natural advantage list. Not only family, not only physique, but focus. He was focused on the right thing. He was not focused on himself, he was focused on the task given to him.

Let me tell you the task. His dad lost some donkeys. Solution, I'm going to send Saul out to find the donkeys. And this kid was focused on that task. He was a donkey chaser.

And he was happy to be one. He's out finding his dad's donkeys when suddenly the prophet Samuel comes up to him. This is all in chapter 9. And says, you're the one that all of Israel is looking to as the next king. Listen to Saul's response. Am I not a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel?

And my family least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? What does that tell us? It tells us he was humble. He was not focused on himself, he was focused on the task. And when someone suggested you're a leader, he kind of bowed low. He was humble because of it. Very next chapter, chapter 10, it's coronation day.

He's going to be coronated king. They can't find him. And they finally find him hidden behind the equipment. And he didn't even want to show up on coronation day. So he had a low view of himself. He has family, he has physique, and he has focus. And yet he says, I played the fool and I have erred exceedingly.

I have played the fool and erred exceedingly. Now, that's not all that he had going for him. He had those natural advantages, but now just think for a moment the supernatural advantages. What did he have supernaturally? Well, he had God's power. God promised this next king all of the spiritual power needed to execute the office of being king of his people. This is 1 Samuel chapter 10, verse 6. Then the spirit of the Lord will come upon you, the prophet says, and you will be turned into another man.

How's that for a promise? I'm going to make you a different person. And it goes on to say he had a new heart. He was given a whole new heart, so the Holy Spirit is all over this guy. He has God's power. He also has God's presence in the very next verse of chapter 10.

I'm just reading this to you again. The prophet says, God is with you. God is with you, Saul. Let me just tell you, when God is with you, you don't need anything else. You've got it all. God is with you. Jesus said to his disciples, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. It's all you need.

Go. It's all you need. So he has family, physique, focus. He's got God's power. He's got God's presence. And he has something else. He has God's people. We're told in chapter 10 again, Saul went home to Gibeah and, listen to this, valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. So besides God's power and God's presence, he has a staff of God's people, soldiers.

He has every advantage to be successful. And yet he says, I played the fool and erred exceedingly. How does a person crash and burn with those advantages, naturally and supernaturally? I was reading an article this week by the Department of Transportation that said the number one cause of accidents in America. What do you think it is? Running over a red light. And I don't know if it's texting that somebody mentioned. That could be that texting caused you to run the red light.

I wouldn't doubt that. But that's a whole other sermon. This is just. Red lights, running red lights is the highest cause of accidents in America. And you know how much time you save if you run the red light?

Average 45 to 50 seconds at the most. That's all you save. But the annual cost, the burden to our society is $7 billion a year in damages. Just from people running red lights.

Saul's whole life was running red lights. Let's look at a few. We've looked at how we began. Let's consider what went wrong. What were the snags? What would cause a man to be so remorseful at the end of his life?

I ask that because it interests me. Some people start well, but they end poorly. When I first moved to this town, I met a man who had been a minister for years. I was fresh to the ministry.

I was fresh to the area. And it was a shocking meeting because he told me he used to be in the ministry, but because of moral indiscretion, some moral failure, he was not doing that any longer. And I'll never forget his words. He said, gone. Those were his words. Gone are the opportunities I once had. Gone is the joy of serving in the capacity I once enjoyed. And he said in the skip, the thing is, it didn't have to be this way. It made an impact on me.

F.B. Meyer once said this, and I quote, This is the bitterest of all to know that suffering need not have been, that it has resulted from indiscretion and inconsistency, that it is the harvest of one's own sowing, that the vulture which feeds on the vitals is a nestling of one's own rearing. Ah me, this is pain. Close quote. Saul could have written that.

Ah me, this is pain. So what red lights did Saul run? How did he play the fool? Well, first off, he played the fool by arrogance. He was a prideful man. I want you to look at one verse in chapter 13.

Remember I said have that ready? First Samuel chapter 13, look at verse 3. Gives you insight. And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it, then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. Now that verse doesn't sound like much, but let me tell you the whole chapter.

King Saul, as the new king of the land, has a standing army of 3,000 soldiers. 2,000 he maintains, 1,000 he puts in the charge of his son Jonathan. Jonathan attacks, Jonathan gets the victory, but dad blows the trumpet. You see, he toots his own horn, literally. He takes the credit for it. And it just gives you a little bit of insight right at the beginning what kind of a man we are dealing with.

It reminds me of the woodpecker I've told you before about, who was pecking, pecking, pecking at a dead tree, and a storm was brewing and lightning came out of the sky and struck and splintered the tree, and that bird just barely got out alive and went and joined all his friends and then said, Look what I did. That was Saul. Look what I did. Well, you didn't do it.

Jonathan did. You're just taking the credit for it. Saul started out humble, but the more elevated he became, the greater he declined inwardly. And pride will do that. Pride will destroy everything. Pride destroys families, ministries, friendships, you name it. Get pride in there and there will be destruction. Pride goes before destruction, the Bible tells us.

Now in the same chapter, don't have to look at it all, we don't have the time. Same chapter, Saul builds an altar after the battle and sacrifices an animal on the altar. What's wrong with that? Only priests can do that job. But he decides, I'm the king, I can do whatever I want. He sacrifices on it. Samuel shows up and says, What do you think you're doing? That's arrogance.

That's what he's doing. Couple chapters later, chapter 15, we're told Saul built himself a monument. A monument to himself in Carmel. So he thought he was so cool that he needed a statue so people could check it out as we're going back and forth on the road. Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the person who has it.

This boy was sick. He was running red lights. He was playing the fool by arrogance. Not only by arrogance.

Let me give you a second red light. Saul played the fool by indifference. Indifference. To explain that, I need you now to look at chapter 14 of 1 Samuel. And before you jump into it, let me tell you what is happening. In chapter 14, Jonathan, Saul's son, takes action. The enemies of the Philistines.

Listen to what Jonathan does. He had a thousand men, but he's looking at his armor bearer, just two dudes. He looks at one guy, his armor bearer, and he goes, You know what? How about we do something crazy? Let's you and I go against the garrison of the Philistines.

Just you and I. Because maybe the Lord will give us the victory. And listen to his rationale. For what restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few? I mean, if it's the Lord, he can use a thousand or two or five thousand men, but he could also just use you and me.

Armor bearer said, I'm game. They went in and God miraculously gave them the victory. What Jonathan didn't know is that his dad, Saul, had given an order to his men saying, No one can eat anything until after the war is over and I've gained the victory on my enemies. And anyone who eats anything will be killed.

Now how stupid is that? That's Skip Hyzen with a message from the series Crash and Burn. Now let's head into the studio with Skip and Lenya as they share more about how you can live intentionally for the Lord. In today's message, we saw King Saul crash and burn big time. And he did it by playing the fool. And he was foolish because of his arrogance, his indifference, his disobedience, his preeminence. He just thought he was the dude.

You know, he was the man. You mentioned that one of the things Saul should have done is live his life before God. Skip, if we want God to rule in our lives, we have to practice a conscious awareness of him.

How do we do that? Well, why don't you just begin your day. First of all, your eyes open up.

The first thing you do is talk to your father. You know, Good morning, Lord. Before I even get my feet out of bed and put them on the floor and walk around and do anything or get involved in anything. I just want you to know that I want to honor you. I want to love you.

I want you to speak through me, speak to me. I'm dedicating the day. That's even before you have quiet time, you know.

Whenever you have that, you'll have that. But just begin the day by acknowledging him. And, you know, when you talk about living your life before God, you always do.

You may not be aware of it, but you always do. Microphone's always on, camera's always on, God sees it, God hears it all. Remember the New Testament, how Jesus knew people, what they were thinking. And knowing their thoughts, he said to them, Well, things haven't changed.

He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. If he could read their thoughts, he knows your thoughts. So, you are living your life always before God.

The question is your awareness of that. So, what you want to do is kind of develop a muscle. And that muscle, let's call it your awareness muscle.

You know, you go to the gym and you develop certain, you know, posture core muscles. Part of your core muscle, spiritually speaking, is your awareness of God's presence. You know, Brother Lawrence, and some like it, some don't like it, but it's called Practicing the Presence of God.

I love the idea. Whether I like his book or not is another thing, but I love the idea that we're practicing the presence of God. And at some point in your day, you're going to have to get alone and get quiet. And you're going to have to meditate on nothing else but God and his plan. And the best place to do that is a time of prayer and in the Word. And, you know, you never get too sophisticated for that. And you should never get too busy for that. And that's not like the ABC, that's what young Christians do. That's how seasoned Christians maintain their clarity.

And how you finish well. You know that feeling when you're driving down the street and all of a sudden you feel like someone's looking at you? And sure enough, someone in the car next to you is. Or, you know. Isn't it funny how you can tell that? Yeah, or you're caught looking in the mirror and someone sees you looking in the mirror.

You know that feeling? It would just be good to develop that kind of awareness that God is watching. He is looking, he is seeing. And I love it when he surprises us and tells us. You know, you go, oh God, isn't that just like you? And you wrote a book called Holy Moments. It kind of captures the idea of God making himself known in a few different beautiful ways that are just supernatural providence. Yes, I love that aspect of God. He really is here, he's now, he's present.

So practice that. Thank you, Skip and Lenya. Our goal is to connect listeners like you to God's word so you can build your life on the strong foundation of his truth. That's why we make these teachings available on the air and online.

If these messages have impacted you in your relationship with the Lord, please consider giving a gift today to bless even more people in the same way. Just call 800-922-1888. That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. That's connectwithskip.com slash donate.

Thank you. Tune in again tomorrow as Skip Heitzig shares about the lessons you can learn from King Saul's life so you can grow in your walk with God. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast all burdens on his word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.