Today on real life radio. And so the scripture says in Jeremiah 3:15, he says, I will give you shepherds. That's the word pastor. according to my heart, and they will feed you with knowledge and understanding. This is God's will for his people, that they be fed.
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That's real life devotions at jackhibbs.com. On today's edition of Real Life Radio. Pastor Jack continues his series called 1 Samuel and a message titled When God Comes Upon a Man, Part 1. Samuel of the Old Testament was the last judge of Israel and the first of its prophets.
So here in chapter 16, we'll learn how King Saul is so full of pride and his spirit becomes so dark that Samuel anoints a new king whose name is David. You see, all along, God was supposed to be the ruler over Israel and God's will for the people was for them to prosper. But when Saul was anointed king, he only partially obeys the Lord, and it leads to bitter consequences.
So today Pastor Jack teaches us that Saul was the people's choice for king. But David was God's choice, and it troubled Saul to the point of jealousy, a jealousy that turned into rage.
Now, with his message called, When God Comes Upon a Man, Part 1, Here's pastor and Bible teacher, Jack Hibbs. Turn if you would. to 1 Samuel chapter 16. 1 Samuel 16, and we're jumping. Ahead to 1 Samuel 16, just a little brief overview of chapter 15.
En route to chapter 16 tonight. In chapter 15, we saw where God had definitely had enough with Saul. And if you remember, and you do remember, I'm certain that you do, that Saul. was The people's choice for a king. And If you remember, Samuel was trying to fight and to promote.
the position of God to be the king of Israel. Remember, Israel was supposed to be under... Theocratic rule. God was to be the president, the king. The leader of Israel.
He wants to have Israel. In such a light that it would be different from all the other nations of the world. That's what the Bible talked about: God dealing with Israel. Israel, to be governed by God. And yet Israel said, the people said, to Samuel, we want a king like all the other nations.
And remember what Is the driving buffoonery of the people. We want this king to be in front of us. We want to be able to talk to him and we want to have him go out before us to fight our battles. That's key. Because God has engineered in our lives that we should go out into the battle.
Listen, we should go out into the battle. Only because it is God who has won the war. Always in Scripture, the Bible teaches us that the Lord has gone before us. Jesus is resurrected from the dead, and he says, Go tell my disciples that I go to Galilee. and I go before them.
Everything that God does in our lives, He always, if we let Him, goes before us. Christian, be encouraged. What situation are you in right now? God has gone before you on. But In chapter 15, Saul showed partial obedience to God.
Remember. How God said, Go. To the Amalekites and kill them all, slaughter them all, destroy them. And some of you have asked the question: if we serve a God of love, how could he say destroy everything, even the donkeys, even the little babies, everything? It's true.
God said, eradicate them.
Now, listen, you say, well, that's a hard thing to swallow. It is, but listen, understand the nature of God. The nature of God is love. And life. Is it not true that in Scripture, even a wicked nation like Nineveh?
Massive group of people. Barbaric. Yeah. When they repented, didn't God spare them? He did spare them.
God is in the business of exercising grace and mercy, even in the Old Testament. But when a people will not turn and seek him, They reap of what they have sown.
Now listen. But you say, Jack, little children, donkeys in chapter 15. The donkeys were killed? Yeah, listen, most Hebrew scholars believe this. Interesting insight, I believe, that when God in Scripture, without.
Fail on this topic. When God says to the Israelites, go and eradicate that tribal group of people. When archaeology Shows that that certain group of people were into bizarre, twisted, sexual, animalistic. Ritualistic Practices Bestiality You know what I mean? Do I need to elaborate?
Uh Homosexual acts where there's disease being spread. Where there's a generation of people that are so polluted within their bloodline. That it kills people and it will kill. The world. When God said eradicated people back then, he was talking about something, and it shows forth in archaeological study where these idols have been resurrected from these various areas, where they've got idols and all kinds of strange sexual acts.
And if you know anything about the ancient world, you would erect your idol. And then you would perform that act in front of the idol. That's how you worshipped.
So, know this: our God is a God of love. He's a God of mercy. But when He says, Go and destroy that people. There's a lot behind the scenes that We'll never quite understand, but we're gonna have to use our default button and go to the nature of God. You understand that?
Christian, a little bit of wisdom that took me a long time to figure out. I shouldn't say figure out, I'm just now beginning to apply it in my life. When all else fails in any doctrine in the Bible and any action in life. when all else fails, Press the default button to the nature of God. If you know the nature of God, You can be at peace in that you don't know the answer, you'll wait on the answer.
Um or You know, you've got an understanding, God's nature. If you don't understand what's God doing in my life, know this: His nature is all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, who are called according to His purposes. That's a fact. God, why are you doing this to me? I don't know.
But I know this. That God loves me. And if I believe that, Because it is true. Things are going to be okay. They really will.
So now we come to 1 Samuel 16. And this will be a two-part message. We will go from verses, oh, I don't know, one to somewhere tonight. But I want you to jot down in your note-taking: the title of the message is When God Comes Upon a Man. This is a great chapter.
This is when David gets anointed by Samuel. to take Saul's place. And you say, oh, that's a wonderful story. It's going to be a great story. And this is where all the fun begins, because this is when Saul loses a mind.
and all the fur is going to fly from here on out because he's going to go nuts over David. Saul is, I I'm gonna say this. Because Jay Vernon McGee said it.
So if you don't like it, it's his fault. Jay Vernon McGee says Saul is Satan's man. Everything Jay Vernon McGee says in this. The book of Samuel is Saul's manifestation of the flesh and of the will of Satan. Strong words.
But David is God's man. And uh if you if that You know, floats your boat, then go ahead and keep that mindset. Personally, I think Saul was an evil guy. I really do. Don't ask me later: do you think Saul is in heaven?
I don't know. I don't know if he's there. I just know he's a real weirdo. He was extremely Insecure. And he was full of pride, he was full of himself, and he always had some excuse to throw up before God about why he couldn't obey.
And he blames everybody but himself. To me it's the sign of an unredeemed man. And sounds just like me. Before I came to Christ. And just like you, though, you won't admit it.
Yeah. 1 Samuel chapter 16, when God comes upon A man. And so the scripture says, Then the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul? Seeing how I have rejected him from reigning over Israel, Fill your horn with oil And go. I'm sending you.
To the Bethlehemites, for I have Listen, provided myself a king. I would mark that in your Bible. From among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go if Saul hears it? He will kill me.
And the Lord said, Take a heifer with you. and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint for me the Son I name to you.
So Samuel did what the Lord said. And he went to the uh Bethlemite And to the elders of the town, And they were trembling. And His coming. and said to him, Do you come peaceably? And he said, Peaceably, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.
Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. Then he. Sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
So it was. when they came. that he looked at Eliabeb and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. This is Samuel speaking. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look.
At his appearance, or at the height of his stature. Because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as a man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance. Isn't that true?
How sad is that of us? But the Lord looks at the heart.
So Jesse called. Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen him. And the sons, I'm just going to skip ahead. The sons passed before, and there's a whole host of them.
But then it says, Look at verse 12.
So he sent and brought him in.
Now, Jesse is called for David.
Now he was ruddy. And they argue about what this means: either red-haired or red-faced. Sun-tanned from being a shepherd out in the fields, or he's got red hair. I think he was. Suntan.
But J. Vern McGee, who had red hair, Said David had red hair. And J. Vernon McGee also said that he had bright eyes like David. And that he was good looking like David.
And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him, for this is the one. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord, mark it, came upon David from that day forward. We dive into our study here and now. Mark it down.
The Lord loves his people. How do we know that? Because listen, the Lord will send to his people, the Bible says, shepherds after God's heart. It all begins with David. He's a shepherd.
You're listening to Real Life with Pastor Jack Hibbs. To learn more about this ministry or to catch up on some previous episodes, go to jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. And now, let's get back to today's message. Once again, here's Pastor Jack.
And the Bible says in Jeremiah 3, verse 14, Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord, for I am married to you. Oh, I would mark that. Anyone in here backslidden? God says, I'm married to you. That's why you're so miserable.
I don't want to go off the course too far, but hey. Are you backslidden? You're miserable. You want to know why you're miserable? Because God's married.
Or has you espoused you a son? The Bible says that the father is married to Israel and Jesus is engaged to the son. Or Jesus is engaged with the church. And if you understand it, a Jewish background, to be married or engaged is about the same power, it's about the same thing. In fact, if you were engaged, you had to write a letter of divorcement to break the engagement.
That's how engaged you are in Israel.
So the son is engaged to the church, the father is married to Israel. But just keep that in mind. If you're backslidden, you're miserable. I love when you see a back-slidden Christian. How are you doing?
I'm all right. They're miserable. It's 'cause they have the hand of God on them. He's calling them back. And so the scripture says in Jeremiah 3:15, he says, I will give you shepherds.
That's the word pastor. According to my heart, and they will feed you with knowledge and understanding. This is God's will for his people that they be fed.
Now, here's the deal. When God comes upon a man, He uses Really, anyone whose hearts are open toward him. And you say, yeah, but David was a shepherd. I mean, he was real. I mean, it's great.
Isn't that neat, Jack, how he was a shepherd? And then he's going to be kind of like the pastor over Israel.
Well, wait a minute. Before he was ever a pastor over Israel, he was a shepherd. You say, well, that's what I'm saying. Wait a minute. A shepherd in Israel was somebody refused, rejected, somebody who smelled, frankly, somebody had a very low position in the economy there.
Somebody was nobody. was a shepherd. I mean, think about it. In the spiritual genealogy, so to speak. As I'm a pastor, those who have come before me are a bunch of smelly.
Dirty. In fact, uneducated. Uh shepherds of the field. Yeah. Because shepherds were not in school.
They were on the land. They were with the animals. They had one job. And that it w that was to to tend and to feed the sheep. Saul was the people's choice for king, as we've said earlier.
David is God's choice. What's dangerous about this is Saul In my opinion, it is a perfect example of when somebody enters into ministry by assumption. Yeah. It's a very, very prevalent thing. Ministry by assumption.
Well, you know what? Golly, I haven't been able to find a job. The Lord must be calling me into the ministry. The ministry is for people who can't find a job anywhere else. That's what a lot of people think.
Well, and And I, you know what? Oh, I probably hear this seriously a couple times a month. I'll know what's going on in somebody's life. They haven't had a job in a couple of months or whatever or a year. Then they want to meet because God's calling them into the ministry.
I'm not putting that down. I'm just saying, wait a minute, what's driving this inquiry? That's not for me to know, it's for you to find out and for you to research for your own life before the Lord. But ministry by assumption? Yeah, it's very common.
It's a very dangerous thing. In John chapter 21, verse 16. Jesus set the Job descriptions of a pastor, of David Of those who would follow, he said to Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? And Jesus, or he said to Jesus, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, Tend to my sheep.
Verse 17 Jesus said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? And Peter said, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. Feeding and tending. is the work of a pastor.
You're either soul-hearted Are David-hearted in the work of the Lord? See, what do you mean by that? I think sole-hearted people. Saul-hearted people in ministry. are people who I believe are In a position, and they think that the people that attend the church are their servants.
Because remember what it said about Saul? When Samuel prophesied about Saul, he told the people: this guy that you've picked, your children are going to be servitude. To him. This king that you guys picked. He's going to take all of your money.
This king that you picked He's going to be exalted, and you're going to be. Subterranean. He's going to exalt himself at your expense. Remember. Samuel said, This king that you've picked, your children will run in front of him, announcing that the king is coming, and they'll run behind him, picking up all of his.
garbage that it leaves behind. Salm hearted. Versus David hearted. It's a big difference.
Well, how do you know? You know what? I believe this. God's sheep will know the difference. I really do.
I think that as David is introduced here and Saul from here on out, you're going to see a constant warring of Saul against David. But was Saul really attacking David? No, Saul is attacking the will of God. He's envious, he's selfish. He's going to put down David, he's going to attack him, he's going to discredit him.
He's gonna lie about them. Make up stories. Why? God has called David to be the pastor of Israel, and Saul had pastor envy. It's a very sad thing.
But I believe the sheep can tell. I think one of the great things, and I say this. Extremely rarely here, but I just think it's so important. I think, in light of this chapter and the following chapters, I think we ought to pray for pastors. Pastor and Bible teacher Jack Hibbs, here on Real Life Radio, and his message called When God Comes Upon a Man, Part 1.
We're glad you took the time to be with us today. You know, this message is part of Pastor Jack's series called 1 Samuel. It's a series that highlights the prophet Samuel who was called by God during one of Israel's darkest times to bring the people back to a heart of true worship. and will continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio. I've got Pastor Jack in studio with me, which is always a thrill.
Hey, Pastor Jack, you've got a new devotional out, and it's called Watching, Waiting. Give me a little rundown of what's going on with that. Yeah, we're very excited. It's the first time ever I've put out a devotional, to be honest with you. It's just.
Didn't think about it until you look around at the world that you and I are living in. And I think everybody needs a little bit of infusion, a little bit of a booster shot when it comes to getting excited and becoming really biblically focused again. All of us are called to be watching. And to be waiting. for the Lord's coming.
And so yeah, it's a 40-day devotional. And we think people are going to like it because it's filled with hope. It's filled with encouragement. And by the way, you know what? Think about it.
The more we see the world coming undone, the more it's indicating that we're going to see Christ soon.
So what does, I mean, what does waiting look like for a believer today? Yeah, waiting for the believer. Great question, Davey. Waiting for the believer is a very active waiting. It's not like twiddling your thumbs and sitting back.
For the believer, waiting for the Lord and watching for the Lord is a very active thing, meaning that we're living out our faith. We are getting involved in the culture, no matter where we're deployed, so to speak, by Jesus, right? If it's on the construction site or in the public school system or wherever you're at, that you and I are to be living our lives actively, boldly for Jesus. And that is all, that's how we actually wait. How do we stay expectant, if you will, without getting, you know, discouraged or distracted in the meantime?
You know what? I would argue with you, Davey, that that's one of the hardest things to do as a believer. Because if you think about it. If you love someone, you can't wait to see them at the close of of Any given day, right? Or if you love someone, you can't wait to meet up with them again.
Well, if we love the Lord, we're looking for him, and we are commanded to be looking for him daily. But we've got to keep that fire burning. And to do that, we've got to stay in the word and be encouraged with Bible verses that tell us about his near return. Why would you pick 40 days? Why wouldn't you pick 35 or 30?
days.
Well, you know, listen, 40 days, Moses was on the Mount of Sinai with God for 40 days. Jesus was fasting in the wilderness, confronting Satan for 40 days. And the number 40, even though there's, you know, it's more than what days there are in a month, 40 days just seemed right.
Okay, so if somebody's doing a devotion, they might be, you know, focusing on, you know, resetting their faith, getting all fired up in the Lord. Is that kind of a close description? I think that when we. Pause long enough to consider the scriptures that reinforce that he's coming back and we're supposed to be watching for him. That really guards us and protects us.
I'd like to put it this way: it kind of galvanizes us against the. The increased rhetoric that is going to come, people are going to start mocking the return of Jesus more than ever. Even quote theologians, right, are going to start saying he's not really coming back. All these things were revealed to us in scripture in advance, anticipating that very attitude. And so this devotion is going to Really, I think, help that a lot.
I mean, it's cute. Don't get me wrong. It's a cute book. It's a handsome cover. It looks great and it's 40 days.
But don't let that disarm you. It is action-packed with biblical truth to get you and to keep you excited about the near return of Christ. Watching, waiting. It is our featured resource for this month, and it's available for a gift of any amount at jackhibbs.com/slash real radio. Jackhibbs.com/slash real radio.
This program is made possible by the generous contributions of you, our listeners. Visit us at jackhibbs.com. That's jackhibbs.com. Until next time, Pastor Jack Hibbs and all of us here at Real Life Radio wish for you solid and steady growth in Christ and in His Word. We'll see you next time here on Real Life Radio.
