Avoid King Saul’s Mistakes: 4 Keys to a Life of Faith – Life is a Journey, part 9

Do you wish you had more faith? This message illustrates mistakes to avoid, steps to increase faith, and how to achieve a deeper relationship with God.

It’s easy to get caught up in life, and that includes good things like Bible study. But how often do we take a step back and evaluate how healthy our own walk with God really is? Are you on track with God? Today, we learn how Saul’s rise and fall can teach us what not to do, and what really matters to God.

Through this series, you’ll learn how to live well & enjoy God's promises. You are loved by God; He knows your name. He has a plan for your life. Get helpful advice, encouragement, and hope for a life well lived in 2021 and beyond.

Are you walking in faith and victory? Set your eyes on the promises of God. You only have one life journey; say yes to Jesus. Like the parables of the buried treasure and the valuable pearl, stop at nothing to gain your entry into the kingdom of heaven.


Are you living a balanced life?

Is your faith really in God, or something else?

We all make mistakes. We’ve all sinned along life’s journey, but that does not need to be the end of the story. Every day, every choice in life is an opportunity along life’s journey to focus on God and walk by faith in Christ. When we lack faith in God, choose to ignore God, and live according to our selfish desires and prideful nature, we act spiritually foolish.

All along life’s journey, it is God’s desire for you to learn to walk by faith and humbly seek the Lord with all your heart.

If we stray and choose to disregard the Lord, he will allow it. But I believe he will also bring someone alongside us to rebuke us and awaken us to our sin. However, it is still up to you and me as individuals to believe, repent, and turn back to the Lord. We must choose to seek the Lord with all our hearts. God promises that we will find him if we do (Deuteronomy 4:29). We are also instructed to trust God, not our own understanding. In doing so, we’re promised that God will guide us (Proverbs 3:5-6).

In other words, when you seek and trust the Lord with all your heart, you will travel the correct path in life.

The opposite is also true. When we attempt to live according to our selfish and prideful desires, we will find that we are headed away from God and opposite of his desire for our lives. Each day we must evaluate our hearts desire and in whom we place our faith.

Is your faith in God, or in something or someone else? Each day, look to see which way you are headed along life’s journey. Are you facing the Lord and growing closer to him, or is your back towards him and walking away from him?

Decide today to walk humbly before the Lord in obedience and faith. Choose to seek his face. When you do, your journey in life will be one of blessing and glorifying God. Set pride aside and walk in faith and victory.

God is looking for a heart of faith, not perfection.

We are continuing our Life is a Journey series, as we look at King Saul, a man who allowed his heart to be filled with pride, jealousy, fear, and anger revealing his lack of faith in God almighty. Saul’s actions reveal to us that he did not have a keen understanding of God or what faith in God looked like. His pride, lack of faith, and disobedience towards God is what blinded him spiritually. It’s what allowed Saul to journey through life on the road that led away from the blessing of God and towards a life of anger, fear, regret, and great loss in his life.

Saul’s actions were in stark contrast to a humble and faithful heart of faith in God, as seen in David’s life (1 Samuel 16 - 2 Samuel 24). The difference is crystal clear as for who and what each of them focused on:

  • Saul’s heart was focused on himself and how others viewed him.

  • David’s heart was focused on God and how he would serve and honor God and others around him.

Neither Saul nor David was perfect. No one is. What matters to God is the heart, and the obedience that comes from faith in God. What matters is how we respond in our hearts and faith in God. In the end, it is how you finish life’s journey that truly matters.

It doesn’t matter how you start. It matters how you finish.

In the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Ben Johnson of Canada won the 100-meter dash, setting a new Olympic record and a new world record. Our American contender, Carl Lewis, came in second Most people were shocked that he hadn’t won the gold. After the race, the judges learned that Johnson had an illegal substance in his body.

Ben Johnson ran the race illegally, so the judges took away his medal. Though he ran faster and made an unforgettable impression, he did not deserve the reward.

Then, over in a different race and hours behind the runner in front of him, the last marathoner finally entered the Olympic stadium. By that time, the drama of the day’s events was almost over and most of the spectators had gone home. This athlete’s story, however, was still being played out.

Limping into the arena, the Tanzanian runner grimaced with every step, his knee bleeding and bandaged from an earlier fall. His ragged appearance immediately caught the attention of the remaining crowd, who cheered him on to the finish line.

Why did he stay in the race? What made him endure his injuries to the end? When asked these questions, he replied, “My country did not send me 7,000 miles away to start the race. They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it.”

And that is what he did; he finished the race.

Saul’s Rise and Fall illustrates what not to do.

Saul began his journey as a king who was doing well, but he did not finish well. Saul eventually focused on himself; on how others viewed him. His pride, jealousy, and fear displaced the faith he once had in his heart for God. Saul became spiritually hardhearted and blind to God and to his own sinful acts. Saul led the nation as king for about 42 years, but Saul did not fully obey the Lord, and thereby sinned against God. And the people followed his ungodly example.

 

Background:

In the time before Saul was king, the people of God decided they wanted to be like the other nations around them and have a king lead them. But they were not supposed to be like the other nations. They were God’s chosen people.

God is the one who:

  • Delivered them from the bondage of the Egyptians.

  • Parted the Red Sea and defeated the Egyptian army.

  • Provided food and water in the desert.

  • Dried up the Jordan river and brought the walls of Jericho down.

  • Always brought them victories in battles.

God led the Israelites, and he used people like Moses, Joshua, Judges and prophets like Samuel, and others, to accomplish his will and lead the people of God.

But in 1 Samuel, we find that the Israelites wanted a king—instead of God—to lead them. In doing so, the people were rejecting God. They wanted to be like other nations. It appeared that God was no longer good enough for them. Their faith and trust in God were taking a back seat to what they desired in their hearts.

Time and again the Israelite people sinned and ran after idols and false gods. The same is also true for many people today. Many people today know about God; others were brought up in Christian homes but have spiritually wandered from God.

The prophet Samuel warned the people of the sin they were committing by seeking a king and warned them not to follow useless idols. Samuel warned them that God would reject them for a time if they, or the king, turned their backs towards God and rebelled against God. And they would be swept away into bondage to other nations. Samuel’s warning fell on spiritually deaf ears.

It was with a warning that God allowed the people to have a king. Saul became that person.

 

Saul as King:

Outwardly, Saul looked perfect. At first, Saul acted the part. But inwardly, Saul eventually chose to act and live foolishly, apart from God.

When Saul began his rule as king, he acted properly at first, but his heart was revealed to be full of pride, jealously, fear and selfish ambition. Faith and trust in God were soon nowhere to be found. Saul became Spiritually defiant in his heart. Saul seemed to repent for his actions sometimes, but his rebellious actions revealed his prideful, faithless heart.

Saul was spiritually blind and numb, headed down life’s journey away from God. His attitude displayed a spiritual waywardness. Yes, Saul was sorry at times, but only because he was caught disobeying God. His sorrow was superficial and never brought him to repentance. Saul’s heart was never truly humbled, rather it continued to harden all the more.

‘“What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.” 13 “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”’ (1 Samuel 13:11-14, NIV).

Did you notice how Saul blamed everyone but himself? Saul blamed the men who began to scatter. He blamed Samuel accusing him of being late. He blamed the Philistines who were assembling to fight. Saul was spiritually blind to the fact that he had sinned against God. Saul’s actions revealed a lack of obedience and lack of faith in God. He displayed an arrogant attitude towards God’s authority and the command of God.

‘Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. 12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” 13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” 14 But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?” 15 Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” 16 “Enough!” Samuel said to Saul. “Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” “Tell me,” Saul replied.

17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” 20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”’ (1 Samuel 15:10-23).

Saul’s action of not waiting for Samuel and choosing to offer a sacrifice—that only a prophet was to offer to God—revealed his lack of faith and trust along with a heart of pride. But Saul also had an arrogant attitude towards the authority and commands of God.

Do you have an ongoing rleationship with God?

Saul was given specific instructions by God. But he only followed part of those instructions and ignored the rest. Many who know of God, who consider themselves to be good people, do the same. Many people today lack spiritual wisdom and faith in God. Like Saul, they view some obedience as full obedience. Pride fills their hearts as they think themselves to be good people.

You know that God’s timing is not always our timing? At times, we can become impatient like Saul, and rather than waiting upon the Lord we try to handle things our own way, in our own strength, and according to our selfish desires instead of God’s plan. Often, this is due to a lack of faith and trust in God and his ability. It is out of fear or because the situation looks like we need to act before things get any worse.

The truth is, waiting upon the Lord takes faith, trust, obedience, patience, and humility. It means knowing God in your heart and not just your head.

Faith is more than just head knowledge. Faith, trust, humility, and obedience are learned, developed, and experienced in an ongoing relationship with God.

Saul did not appear to have any of this. Saul was worried that the men under his leadership started to bug out and he acted in fear, not in faith. Saul was king, but it was God who brought the victory in times past, and he would have again if Saul had obeyed and acted in faith. Saul was full of pride and worried about his own image rather than trusting God and giving God the Glory.

Friends, the battle is always the Lord’s, and we should never forget that truth. Here’s a secret: when things appear impossible, God gets all the glory for turning the impossible around.

God desires those with a spirit of humility and faith in God, and in God’s ability to defeat the enemy.

If only Saul had truly repented and sought the Lord with all his heart. If only Saul had admitted his sin and developed a humble and submissive heart. Pride might not have griped his heart. Saul may not have felt the need to excuse or blame his disobedience on others. Saul may not have become jealous towards David.

Saul would have learned to trust the Lord with all his heart and not lean on his limited understanding. Saul’s faith in God would have grown deeper and wider. Saul’s faith would have become stronger and steadfast. He would have been able to withstand the attacks of the enemy and not fear, because he would have known in the deepest part of his heart that God was God, and that victory was sure.

4 Keys to a Life of Faith

Let me suggest some keys to living a life of faith along life’s journey.

1. Keep God at the center of your life.

Saul took his spiritual eyes off God and focused on himself and worried what others thought of him. He allowed pride to gain a foothold in his heart and he easily took offence.

When God is not the center of your life, life becomes imbalanced. When that occurs, sin, pride, jealously, fear, and suspicious thoughts, begin to develop roots in your heart and they will produce ungodly fruit and actions.

Choose to make God the center of your life and you will glorify God in all you do. With God at the center of your life, you will develop and display the fruit of the Spirit:  attributes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

2. Develop a personal relationship with God and draw on past experiences.

The Israelites forgot all the Lord had done for them:

  • The victorious victories of battles.

  • The provisions in the wilderness.

  • The promises and blessings of God for each day.

The instruction and warning to live and obey God no longer seemed important. When life became easy, the Israelites quickly forgot God.

The same can be said of us today. When life is good, do you forget about God? Have you developed spiritual blindness, like the Israelites?

The Israelites’ hearts changed, they wanted to be like other nations. They wanted a king to battle the enemy for them. The Israelites developed spiritual blindness and were influenced by other nations. They embraced worldly and ungodly thinking.

Saul did much the same and ignored God’s instruction and commands. God called Saul, he anointed, blessed, and instructed Saul. Yet, Saul—full of his own pride—quickly forgot that God brought every victory.

Scripture tells us what God thinks about pride:

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

3. Humbly submit to and obey God with all your heart.

Saul blamed everyone but himself for his disobedience. Don’t deflect guilt, or blame others, like Saul did. Don’t allow pride, fear, jealously or anger to grow in your heart. It will cause you to become hardhearted and disobey God, resulting in sin and spiritual death.

Understand, your heart and faith are revealed by your deeds. What do your actions reveal?

When you humbly submit to and obey God, you will be blessed, and you will display the love and grace of God to those around you. You will, by your actions, point people to God.

 

4. Trust God’s timing and direction.

Saul lost sight of God. He lacked faith, which I believe was the result of Saul having a poor view of God. Saul did not trust God and Saul’s faith and reliance on God was not personal or foundational in his heart. He did not display a faith that can move mountains or defeat the enemy; instead, he displayed a heart of fear, jealously, selfishness, and pride.

God will never leave you or forsake you; Saul did not believe that. Know this in your heart, God’s love for you began long before you were born. God’s timing is perfect. His direction and plans are sufficient for whatever you may face in life. Know in your heart that victory is assured in Christ Jesus. So, trust him.

Are you on track with God?

A train runs smooth on the tracks laid out before it and arrives safely at its intended destination when all the instructions are followed. The train can jump the tracks or have an accident if it runs ahead of schedule, or takes a turn too fast, or misses the sidetrack that it was intended to take. A train can jump the tracks or have an accident if the engineer does not pay attention.  

The same is true along life’s journey. Learn to trust the Lord. Pay attention to how you are living and do not run ahead of God. Do not ignore God or force your desire over God’s will. Stay on track with the Lord and remember the promises of God.

Remember if God is not the center of your life, you are living an imbalanced life much like Saul. So, make it a point to make Jesus the center of your life. Refuse to live an imbalanced life.

Know that life is a journey, and it is made up of many decisions. When Jesus is the center of your life, you have a heart after God. You will come to the end of life’s journey and hear the words “well done good and faithful servant.”

If Jesus is not the center of your life, make a decision today to make him the center of your life. Let faith in Jesus arise.


Suggested Praise and Worship


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