Faith Baptist Church
09/07/25 Worship Service
Psalms 18:1-3ESV
- I Sing The Mighty Power Of God
- Almighty Father
- Almighty, Unchangeable God
- Immortal Invisible God Only Wise
- Worthy Of Praise
- How many of you have ever read Pilgrim’s Progress. I would highly recommend that you read it at least once in your lifetime. Spurgeon read Pilgrim’s Progress over 100 x’s, and he recommended that others read it at least once a year.Do you remember the part of the story about Giant Despair and Doubting Castle?Do you remember how Christian and Hopeful got there? After spending sometime at pleasant river, they stray from the way. The way had become rough and difficult so they crossed over to By-path meadow. Then they get lost and finally captured by Giant Despair.And what does Giant Despair do to them? He locks them in a dungeon, starves them, and beats them to within an inch of their life.“But when he came there he found them alive; and truly, alive was all; for now, what for want of bread and water, and by reason of the wounds they received when he beat them, they could do little but breathe.”Giant Despair then tempts them to end their life and escape his torture. So, what do Christian and Hopeful do?“Well, on Saturday, about midnight they began to pray, and continued in prayer till almost break of day.Now, a little before it was day, good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out into this passionate speech: What a fool, quoth he, am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty!I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.And Christian proceeds to use the key of promise and escape the giant and the castle.This is a story about despair and misery, and yet in the darkest hour God brings deliverance.Have you ever experienced God’s deliverance? Do you know what it is like to be saved by God’s promises?In our text in I Samuel 11 we are going to see God’s mighty deliverance of His people.Our text is all about God delivering his people even though they did not deserve it.I Samuel 11 is a shocking reminder of the undeserved deliverance of God.Samuel wanted to remind the nation of Israel that her privileged position as God’s people was completely undeserved.It is spiritually healthy to frequently remind ourselves of our undeserved deliverance by God.Why do we need to be reminded of our undeserved deliverance?Three reasons:I. Because life is full of impossible circumstances (1-4)Before we get into chapter 11, we need to go back and remind ourselves how the narrative ended in chapter 10.
1 Samuel 10:25–27 ESV 25 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 home. 26 Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.Now, why is v. 27 in your Bibles? Is this some random piece of trivia? Or, is this verse central and essential to the message of chapter 11? I am going to argue that I Samuel 10:27 is key to understanding the theological message of I Samuel 11. Hang on to this seemingly random piece of the story.1 Samuel 11:1–4 ESV 1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.Circumstances (v. 1)1 Samuel 11:1 ESV 1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”Nahash- lit. “snake”Make a treaty (covenant) with us, and we will serve you? We will pay you a bunch of taxes if you let us live and go away.Then comes the impossible situation.1 Samuel 11:2 ESV 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.”What is the impossible situation? Certain death at the hands of a vastly superior army or have my right eye gouged out.Worse than that… why did Nahash want to gouge out their right eye?1, 2 Samuel (7) Saul Delivers Jabesh from the Ammonites (11:1–11)From Nahash’s standpoint, however, the removal of the most prized eye of each Jabesh Gileadite would have two advantages: it would preserve the Israelites’ capacity to perform agricultural tasks (and thus generate taxable revenue), yet it would drastically reduce their ability to wage war by taking away their depth perception and reducing their field of vision.
Certain death or right eye gouged out thus rendering me a despised and dishonored slave the rest of my days. That is the choice these men have to make. What do you choose?1 Samuel 11:3 ESV 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.”Why would Nahash agree to this condition?He must have had a vastly superior army so that he was confident that he could defeat all of Israel or that his force was so superior that no other Israelite would dare show up.He was trading seven days for the surrender of the town without a fight.News travels 40 miles south to Gibeah, the village of Saul.And what happens?1 Samuel 11:4 ESV 4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.The nation hears the predicament of the men of Jabesh-Gilead and they weep! Why?impossible circumstances - God (when God is removed from the picture) = despairThis is why we need to be reminded that God is our deliverer. Otherwise, we will quickly get into a situation that is so far beyond our control, a situation that seems and feels utterly impossible, and without God we have no option but to weep in despair.What impossible circumstance are you facing?Can I remind us of an impossible circumstance that everyone faces?Romans 2:6–11 ESV 6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.Romans 3:19–20 ESV 19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.What we need is deliverance from our sin and the penalty of our sin, eternal separation from God in hell.Impossible situation - God (Jesus’s death & resurrection) = despair. No human being will be justified in his sight! If we are left to ourselves to be good enough, to perfectly obey God’s truth, if we are left to always and only seek for glorious and honorable things, then God will give us eternal life we have no recourse but to weep.It is like Christian and Hopeful in the dungeon of doubting castle being beaten to death by giant despair. If we don’t have the key of promise we are doomed.Illustration: How many times have our missionaries in the Middle East sent prayer requests for one of our brothers or sisters in Christ who had been arrested by evil and wicked men. What is our only recourse in those situations? We pray! That’s all we can do. We depend on God. What if we took God out of the equation? All we could do is weep.What other impossible circumstances are you going through right now? Marriage, job, children, health?Remember:God alone is able to deliver you. If you don’t bear down with you full weight on God your deliverer, even worse if you remove God from the equation, all you are left with is despair. You will be like the people of Gibeah. All you can do is weep aloud.Reason #2:Why do we need to be reminded of our undeserved deliverance?II. Because God alone is able to rescue us (5-11)1 Samuel 11:5 ESV 5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh.What is odd about this verse?Where is Saul? In his hometown, out plowing the field.Why is that odd? He was just anointed and chosen by God to be king. Yet, here Saul is at home farming like nothing happened.Saul hears the people weeping and figures out what is going on. And look what happens.1 Samuel 11:6 ESV 6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.What’s the difference? It is NOT Saul. The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul. Saul has been anointed by God with His Spirit to strengthen him and equip him to function properly as king over Israel.The people of Gibeah look on this impossible situation, with God removed from the equation and they weep.Saul, empowered with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, gets really angry. How dare Nahash, this snake, threaten God’s chosen people.Notice what Saul does:1 Samuel 11:7 ESV 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.What is so unique about this?This is the time of the judges. This is the time in Israel’s history when every man did that which is right in his own eyes. The nation of Israel didn’t function cohesively as a nation. They didn’t assemble as one army to go to the aid of their fellow countrymen.So what does Samuel do? Really strange! He cuts two oxen in pieces and sends them throughout the land as a warning. Now, would this act alone accomplish anything? If some random guy did the exact same thing, would it have produced the same results? NO WAY! The pieces of ox meat were nothing. What really mattered? “Then the dread of the LORD fell upon the people.” God was in it!Dread- the idea is quaking or shaking that results from extreme terror. God’s potential acts of judgement are considered so dreadful that Israel came out as one man. That means every able-bodied man joined the army. Saul orchestrated what is perhaps the most successful and timely military draft in history. In less that seven days God marshaled an unwilling nation to battle. This is the power of our God.1 Samuel 11:8–11 ESV 8 When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’ ” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.Example: HopeImpossible situation + God, when you bring God back into the equation and you do a 180, = HOPE!Illustration: Please pray for "K”, a brother in Christ in the Middle East. He shared with his family that he had found Life in Jesus Christ and is now a follower or Jesus. His family immediately, threw him out. Other non-believers who were deported the same time as him have begun to hunt him down. They said, "now that we are back where we can properly deal with infidels like you we will". He has had to move 6 times In 4 months as these men are hunting him down. He finds jobs working in the watermelon fields, that pay him by feeding him and letting him sleep in a shack. He shares the Gospel carefully and has found other believers. As they start gathering secretly, they are found out and persecuted again. "K” said, " I'm not complaining, but life Is not easy here. Do not worry about me, I have tasted of the Water of Life, I am a solid follower of Jesus, no one can ever take that from me. God sustains me, pray for me that I will be bold and wise. I praise God that He loves me and saved me. He was persecuted in this world and we will be too. Thank you for your prayers, in hard moments I rejoice my name is written in Heaven. I rejoice that the family of God is standing with me praying for me.Psalm 46:1–3 ESV 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. SelahImpossible situation + God = HOPEWhat impossible situation are you facing? Let’s go back to Romans 3:20 from earlier-Romans 3:20 ESV 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.Despair!Titus 3:5 ESV 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.Romans 3:23–24 ESV 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,HOPE!Do you have that kind of hope concerning your salvation? The most impossible situation you will ever face is the fact that you are a sinner. You have fallen short of the glory of God. You cannot save yourself. You cannot earn your forgiveness. But, God has entered into the equation. God has made our salvation possible, without works and without law. He has made it possible by His grace through the redemption that is only found in Christ Jesus.Have you ever received God’s gift of salvation?Do you talk about your salvation as something that I’ve done? I’ve prayed, I’ve gone to church, I’ve cleaned up my life. Or do you talk about your salvation as something you’ve received? I have received God’s gracious gift of forgiveness. By faith I have received everything that Jesus has done for me. How do you talk about your salvation?Salvation is not about what you have done, its receiving through faith in Jesus Christ, what God has already done for you.Hope!Reason #3:Why do we need to be reminded of our undeserved deliverance?III. Because grace produces fruit within us (12-15)1 Samuel 11:12–13 ESV 12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.”Do you remember the men from the end of chapter 10?1 Samuel 10:27 ESV 27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.Remember I said they would be important to understand the theological message of chapter 11?What’s going on here? God is using these worthless fellows as an object lesson of his mercy and grace.Why did the people want to put these worthless men to death? Because they despise Saul as king- they rejected him as their king. Does that sound familiar?1 Samuel 8:7 ESV 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.Yes a few worthless men rejected Saul as king, but the entire nation rejected God as king! Which offense deserves the greater judgement?Object Lesson:Israel rejected God as king over them, so what did they deserve? Judgement. They deserved to besieged by a foreign king, enslaved, and have their right eyes gorged out. But, what did they get instead? Undeserved deliverance!The worthless men rejected Saul as king over them, so what did they deserve? Judgement. They deserved to be put to death. But, what did they get instead? Undeserved deliverance!Do you think this object lesson made an impact on the nation?1 Samuel 11:14–15 ESV 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.Fruit IllustrationDeliverance/Salvation/Rescue + Grace = FRUITWhat fruit?Forgiveness- They didn’t kill the worthless men, instead they recognized the grace that God had extended to them and they forgave.Matthew 18:33 “33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’”Glad Obedience- v. 14- Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdomJohn 15:8 “8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”Worship- v. 15- So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORDRejoicing- v. 15- and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.Psalm 27:1 “1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”Psalm 103:1–5 “1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”Psalm 103:20–22 “20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!”Does your life bear the fruit of God’s undeserved deliverance? O how we need to remember the undeserved deliverance of the Lord! 1 Samuel 11:1ESV
1 Samuel 11:2ESV
1 Samuel 11:3ESV
1 Samuel 11:4ESV
Romans 2:6–11ESV
Romans 3:19–20ESV
1 Samuel 11:7ESV
Psalm 46:1–3ESV
Romans 3:20ESV
Titus 3:5ESV
Ephesians 2:8–9ESV
Romans 3:23–24ESV
1 Samuel 11:12–13ESV
1 Samuel 8:7ESV
- He Giveth More Grace
