Let's pray. Father, we are grateful to You for the joy we have in how You inspire us and how You receive our praises. And we're grateful to You for songs like the one we just sang that remind us the beauty of Your Word and the promises You make. and that You are our Ebenezer. So Lord God, now help us as we study Your Word together, that You would remove that which would keep us from focusing on the beauty of Your Word and would keep us from hearing Your Word and through Your Spirit ministering to our lives. Father, we need you, and we love you. We ask this humbly, in Jesus' name, God's people said. Please be seated. And Kids Church means if you're in K-5, not if you wish you're in K-5, okay, if you are in K-5. All right, they are, they leave this part of the building, they go next door to the fellowship hall, you sign them in. But just as important as it is to sign them in, you know what's even more important? Sign them out, they're your little angels. Okay, I don't want to send them, you know, UPS or something to you guys. All right, and once you, whether it's preschool or kids church, please remember when you pick them up, just thank those who are serving us by serving them. For the rest of us, we turn in our Bible or our Bible app, 1 Samuel chapter 7. We're working our way through 1 Samuel. We'll be here for a while. You know that we're coming to an end when I say, open your Bibles to 1 Samuel 31. We're only in 7. So just perseverance is a Christian virtue. 1 Samuel chapter 7, beginning in verse 3 through the end, which is verse 17. 1 Samuel 7, 3 through 17. I'm reading from the English Standard Version and I'll read and you follow along. And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, If you're returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods of the Ashtoreth from among you, and direct your heart to the Lord, and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreth, and they served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, Gather all Israel at Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you. So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the people of Israel said to Samuel, Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He might save us from the hand of the Philistines. So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them as far as below as Bethkar. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer. For he said, Till now the Lord has helped us. So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. Then he would return to Ramah, for his home was there. And there also he judged Israel, and he built there an altar to the Lord. This morning we reconnect with Samuel. For the last few chapters, from chapters 4 through 6, they have been Samuel-less. Okay? We're reconnecting. The last time we know about Samuel, it happens in chapter 3. And in chapter 3, this young boy hears the voice of the Lord God of Yahweh and he submits to it. And then he is established as a prophet to Israel. Chapter 4, verse 1 says that the Word of the Lord came to Samuel. And that's what we have seen and that's where we leave it. He goes blank, he goes missing, M-I-A, from chapter 4 through now, chapter 7, in verse 3. Samuel's appearance in chapter 3 is refreshing. It reminds the reader, but it reminded the people of Israel that a fresh, gift of grace was being sent by the Lord God because leading up to chapter 3, leadership, spiritual leadership in Israel was pathetic. We read about it in chapter 4 and following. And now in chapter 7, the reemergence of Samuel is yet another grace gift, new mercies from the Lord God to the people of Israel. So you see Samuel now is going to start taking some of the center stage. In fact, we trace the Lord God's mercy through Samuel's ministry. And again, his coming onto the scene was important because of the desperate need of leadership. You have it on the screen there. Ever since the people had arrived in the Promised Land, they were guilty of consistently forsaking God and going after the false gods of the neighboring nations. And that's been a plague that not only Israel suffers, but you and me today. that we want to be so relevant, we want to be so well-liked by those who don't care about the Lord, don't care about Christ, that in the name of relevance we become biblically impotent. We sacrifice on the altar of expediency the reality that the distinctiveness of the Christian faith. We're different. We should be known for what we are different. Again, we don't want to be jerks. It's not like, oh, we look up here and we wag our fingers at these sinners. No. But we don't cater our sense of identity to what the world would say. We find our sense of identity in our relationship with the Lord God. They suffered. Israel suffered the consequences of their foolish choices. Remember, Samuel comes onto the scene while we're still technically in the era of the judges. Judges were political as well as spiritual leaders. If you read the book of Judges, which is one of the most depressing books of the Old Testament because everyone at the end says everyone was doing whatever they wanted, whatever they saw fit in their own eyes. There was no God, there was no knowledge of God, and they just, hey, we're just playing it, playing it however we want. Well, the cycle in Judges is the people of God would go after the false gods of the neighboring nations. They would be enslaved as a consequence because God doesn't take lightly our rebellion. And when they suffered under that disciplined hand of the Lord, then they would cry out to the Lord and the Lord would send them a deliverer, a judge. Well, the only leadership we have up to this point in the book of Samuel is Eli the priest. And if you remember from chapter 2 and chapter 4, he was corrupt at best. And God judges the house of Eli. The people of Israel were still suffering here in chapter 7 and under the hand of the Philistines. Even though the ark had been returned, and we studied all that, Even though the Ark had been returned and it was in storage, the Philistines still were the ones that were, their heavy hand was still upon them. And in fact, we may ask, well, where was Samuel? I mean, from chapters four, five, and six, what's going on? Well, he's probably back home. He was probably present at Shiloh, that center, the religious center of religion. Okay, and when they got all that news that what was going on, they had lost the ark, they had lost the battle, Eli's kids had died. He probably stayed... I mean, you got to read a little bit in between, you got to read some history. Shiloh probably was ravaged and destroyed. What does he do? He's probably back at Ramah, his home. And he's probably crying out to the Lord to intervene. And that's where you leave it there in verse 2. So for 20 years, it may have taken 20 years of oppression for them to finally miss God's loving care. Remember, when you lament, it's not the same as a complaint. We said that last time. A lament is a crying out to God for God. A complaint is a crying out against God. It's a shaking of the fist. It's like, why? Why? We are good, we have PhDs in complaining. And we barely have a high school diploma in lamenting. Because we are so selfish, so self-absorbed. that we evaluate our theology as man-centered, not God-centered. We view all of what's going on in our lives from the sinful, selfish perspective of finite beings, of clay that was given life, instead of viewing it from a Godward view. From heaven's perspective, what is God at doing in my life, in the life of His people and around the world? I interpret that through that grid, not woe is me, here's my cup full of pity water and woe is me. I'm not making light of any trial or tribulation you may be facing, but be encouraged, God knows that trial and tribulation. You're not surprising Him with the trial and tribulation. When you pray to Him, you don't have to inform Him about your trial and tribulation. He knows what you and I need to do is cry out to God, lament it, and say, what was my role in this trial and tribulation? And or, what are you trying to teach me through this trial and tribulation? That's what we're after here. See, deep in their hearts, the Israelites knew that something was wrong. They're lamenting. How did we get here? Have you been there? Where the drift starts, you know, no one wakes up and runs this way far from God. We don't wake up and run here. We do wake up and start drifting little by little, small decisions that then all of a sudden, who knows, for Israel, 20 years. For us, it might be 20 weeks, 20 days. And then we get here and we wake up one day and we go, I know life stinks. Everything's falling apart. And I know I need to do something about it. I just don't know what to do. But how do I make this better? I long for something different. I long for something better. I long for something more. How do I do this? See, it's in light of that that verse 3 comes to life. And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, if you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, stop there. This is more a calling of out, not a question if you are. No, no, since, rather than remaining satisfied with regret, Samuel presses on toward repentance. Child of God, do not settle for remorse. Settle for repentance, the condition of the heart that invites God's discipline and God's restoration. Don't settle for regret. I got regrets. I got regrets, I'm not Tom's height. My man's like a tower. I said to him, I go, what's the weather up there like, you know? I'm not 6'4", sometimes I feel like 4'6", you know? But I got regrets in life. I'm sure you do. But I don't settle for the regrets. I don't let them define me. But when I sin against the Lord, I will not just regret it. I move forward and I receive the grace gift that God sends of repentance. And that's what we need to see here. Samuel is such a good leader that he doesn't allow the people of God to settle with remorse. He presses on toward repentance. And if you have any sense and any inkling and any degree of spiritual leadership, That's what you want. You will not settle. Husband, you do not settle for regret in your life, in your wife's walk with the Lord. Wife, you don't settle for regret in your husband's walk with the Lord. You both pursue repentance before the Lord. You both have that. You will not just settle, you will press on. Here's today's study in a summary. It's on the screen there. Chapter 7 commences with the ark being placed in storage so that all will know that the spiritual revival and military victory of the Israelites which follow are not the result of any magical use of the ark, but the result of Israel's repentance and faith in the Lord. That's it. I could stop here, but I got four more pages of notes. I'm not. But if you want a summary, this is what chapter 7, 3 through 17 means. There's no more rabbit foot theology here. The ark is not even going to play a role, and that's intentional. And we'll see when we get there, Israel could have made the same decision that they did in chapter 4, but they had learned, and they were walking with the Lord in a different way. So let's dig in. First few verses talk to us about Israel's repentance. Verses 3 through 6, and Samuel said to all the house of Israel, If you're returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the asteroth from among you. Asteroth is plural. from among you, you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve Him only and He will deliver you out of the hands of Philistine.' So the people of Israel put away the Baals, plural, many gods, different gods, false gods, and the Ashtaroth, many false gods. And they served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, Gather all Israel at Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you. So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said, There we have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah." Stop there. A couple of things I just want to highlight. Number one, the good news. I almost called it the gospel, Samuel's gospel, but I didn't want to confuse you. Okay? The good news. The good news according to Samuel. Put away and commit. Put away and commit. All right? The conditional promise, if you do this, then the Lord will deliver you out of the hand of Philistines is predicated upon two realities, and there's no half measures. You want the blessing of the Lord? You cannot do half measures with God. It's full measures or nothing. And check it out here. What does it mean for the Israelites to return to the Lord with all their hearts? There's two. There's a negative command and a positive command. The negative command is put away. I mean, in my Bible, I highlight it, put away. Do it in yours. And if you don't highlight your neighbor's Bible, make a friend. Or not. OK? Put away. Put away. Put away. This is what you and I would call in New Testament repentance. Turning from. A turning from. Repentance is priority. By the way, a reminder, let me put on the screen there, true biblical repentance begins with a change of mind that results in a change of behavior. Maybe not instantly, but inevitably and progressively. Okay? That's a turning from. Put away. Put away. And this is not put away in your garage. It's destroy. It's not just, okay, you know, put it here just in case. No, no, no. Put away. Destroy. And the Lord is showing His people that He's a jealous God. He does not tolerate rivals, especially rivals that are lifeless idols. How dare you? I'm a jealous God because I love you. I protect that. And I come against you because you are being less than faithful. See, the reality is that God has covenanted with His people much like in marriage we covenant with one another, a husband and a wife. And part of the stipulations of every marriage is that the spouse will remain faithful. I mean, when Monique and I took our vows, said our vows, and I don't even remember our vows. Do you remember your vows? I don't. I was 21, she was 20, and my dad is marrying us, and all I'm looking at this man is like, I will, she will, we definitely will, let's go, I just want to get out of here. All I had in mind was get me to the honeymoon. Dad, I love you, but save the sermon for Sunday. Okay? I don't remember. But the reality is that on that day, August 29, 1987, I made vows, and I covenanted to love my wife, and she covenanted to love me. And that's part of it. You see, when you and I feel that exclusivity is being challenged, that's where jealousy emerges in our hearts. When we know that we're not the number one in the other person's life, we feed the jealousy. See, that's the deal. The exclusivity is based on the purity of love. My love for my wife keeps me honest. And her love for me keeps her honest. And that's where we're at. In fact, when that is being challenged, you feel jealousy. And God also feels jealous, but not like you and me, which is irrational and sometimes, you know, just grounded in wrong things. God's jealousy is perfect. In fact, in his book, God's Unfaithful Wife, A Biblical Theology of Spiritual Adultery, Ray Ortland, he's the author, he defines it this way, it's on the screen there. The jealousy of Yahweh is his profoundly intense drive within to protect the interests of his own glory. In fallen man, jealousy can be selfish and irrational. In God, jealousy is pure love. And this is why when you and I turn away from the Creator and we worship the created, including us, most of our idols, we look at it when we look in the mirror. That's the largest idol we may have. The biggest one that sways us in being unfaithful to the Lord. Whenever you do that, we create what's often described as spiritual adultery. God loves His people far too much to allow them to mess around. You don't step out on God without God having a say in it. And if He doesn't have a say in it, you better be careful. You may not know Him as well as you think you know Him. See, that's the challenge of the Scriptures. You don't step out on the Lord. Oh, He may give you enough rope, and then He hangs you with it. Because He loves you too much to leave you there. He loves you too much. So that's the idea, see, this is where you and I need to take a good look in the mirror of God's Word and say, am I allowing the idols? Remember, idols need us. Idols only exist because we feed them. Idols only exist in our lives because we keep them alive. The one true and living God doesn't need anything from you and me. He is self-sufficient. Idols are not self-sufficient. They need us to feed them. They need us to show them off. They need us to say, you know, wow, I can't exist. My happiness, I can't. And boy, every idol will welcome the petting. Oh yeah, oh my gosh, that's right. But the reality is that it's a lifeless thing, whether it's our pride, whether it's a pleasure, whether it's an actual doll, whether it's a, it doesn't matter, a relationship, it does not exist without us feeding it. And here we have to understand that the Scriptures condemn people, the people of God, for chasing after false gods, and especially in the ESV. If you read the Old Testament, DSV translators made it in a way that when you read that chasing after, the prostituting, they use the W word, W-H-O-R-E. I don't even like to say it, but I'll spell it because that's exactly what we're doing. We are playing toward the idols. And it's intentional where the ESV did it because that's where the Hebrew, it's supposed to be shocking. It's supposed to be the shock and awe. I can't even say that word. That's what it means. You see, on the screen there, repentance means that we recognize the ways in which we are committing spiritual adultery and we make it our aim not to hide, but to remove and put away and kill sin. See, put away. Negative command. Put away. Be faithful. Do not cheat on the Lord. But it doesn't stop there. That's not enough. The positive command is single-minded devotion and service to the Lord. See, returning to the Lord is not just, I don't do something. Returning to the Lord is, I do something. See, the husband and wife is not considered to be faithful just because they never commit adultery. I don't have to step out of my wife and not be faithful to her. Why? Because I can stop, instead of stepping out, I stop stepping in with love, with service. I fail to keep my vows, to provide, to protect, to invest in her. See, that's the positive command. So it's not just enough to, I will not cheat on her. No, no, no, no. I will invest in her. It's not enough for Monique to say, I won't cheat on you. That's it. No more other guys. Made one mistake. I'm not done. I'm not doing this again. That was supposed to be a joke. You guys are too serious right now. All right. OK. No, no, no, I'm not going to step out on you, but I'm going to step in to you. I'm going to build this. I'm going to nurture this relationship. Why? Because if you keep your vows, your vows keep you. I say that to every couple that I marry. You keep your vows, and your vows will keep you. You keep your vows to the Lord. The Lord keeps you. You remember the vow you made the day you came to Christ? How precious He was? How ugly sin was? How great of a Savior He was in light of how great of a sinner you were? Do you remember when you made that profession of faith? How beautiful it was? The darkest night of sin was just the background where the beauty of the diamond of God's salvation in Christ shone brightly. That's what we're talking about here. You see, returning to God truly means that we're faithful to Him in every sense of the word. And true repentance is to cut off, put away, throw out, and determine to serve God alone. Now, when I'm caring for my wife the way I should be, and the way she is caring for me the way she should be, you know adultery will never happen? Because I'm too busy with what really matters. When you and I are busy serving and loving the Lord, spiritual adultery will never happen. See, it's like, you know, the Bible says when it talks about sexual sin, if you're filled, you're not hungry. Have you ever been to Publix to buy, to buy groceries when you're hungry? That's when bags of chips show up at my house. All flavors, and if they have a BOGO, oh my gosh. If I have two for one or two for, two for ten. Why? Because I'm hungry. But when I'm satisfied, I look at the chips and go, no, no, no, no, no, no. Okay? I've said this before. I got this from an actor, an actor who says he won't do naked scenes and he won't do nudity in his pictures. And he goes, why? Because why, why, why indulge in hamburger when I have steak at home? That was a good one, husband. Keep that. It's free. You don't step out and enjoy a hamburger when you got steak at home. And if you're a vegetarian, become a meat eater, all right? You know what I'm talking about. I don't care if it doesn't ring a bell. Make it happen, Captain. All right? That's the reality. That's the reality. You see, on the screen there, the road to adultery starts when we begin to serve ourselves or something else before we serve God. Even in the physical level, the minute I start playing woe is me, and she doesn't understand me, he doesn't understand me, and this and that, you're on the road to adultery. In the physical realm, when you and I play those games with God, He doesn't care for me, He doesn't love me, not because He hasn't shown it, it's because we don't feel it, or we don't want it, we don't want Him to love us the way He's loving us. That's the road to spiritual adultery. Why? Because we become the center. We dethrone God, practically speaking, and we want we to reign, and God to be our servant. And it doesn't work that way. Doesn't work that way. See, this is what's going on. There are no half measures in true repentance. We're either putting away sin and serving God, or we're flirting with sin and serving idols. And listen, and that happens. Don't think you don't do it, I do it. So you have the gospel, the Samuel's words, the good word according to Samuel. What happens in verses 4 through 6? Israel's response. There's a response. It says, so the people of Israel put away, I highlighted that, the Baals and Ashtoreth, and they served, I highlighted that, the Lord only. Then Samuel said, gather all Israel in Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you. So they gathered in Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said, and I highlighted this, we have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. There's a response, and there's two actions. Number one, there's an external one. Well, they're both kind of external, but they pour out water before the Lord. What in the world is that? Huh? When I read it, when I studied it, I said, oh, I know what that means. My neighbor across the street, Senora Rafaela, okay? A legend to my kids, right? Senora Rafaela will make me Cuban coffee at any given moment. In fact, when I show up, she has a little cup just waiting for me. She made it earlier, she just puts in a cup, hi, you here for your coffee? Yeah. And by the way, we're going to have Cuban coffee later on at the fellowship. You know, Cuban coffee is the nectar of the gods. I mean, I invite you to it. Okay, so I come over and say, you know Rafael and we talked and she shared with me on the first day of the year She goes. Hey, I go. Hey, how was your New Year's Day? She goes. Hey, listen, you know, I woke up early and and I filled a bucket with water. Do you know where I'm going if you're Cuban? Especially if you're Cuban, Puerto Rican too. But in Latin America, you fill it up with water, right? And you come in at like a 1201 at the beginning of the year, right? And this water represents the old year. And what you do is you come up and you open the door, or better yet, you can open a window. And if you pour out the water and it lands on someone that did you harm, that's even better, more better. That's more better. But what you do is you're symbolically doing this. You think I was going to do that? He's a cop. Are you kidding me? Thank you. Forget a cop. He's a stinking homicide detective. I'm not playing games. All right? But it was a symbolic. And if you're Cuban, you know it. Now, if you're living in New Jersey and it's sub-zero temperatures, I don't know if you're going to be opening the front door or anything. But they did it. She goes, yep. I filled the water, and I emptied it out, and out with the old, and that's it, and on with the new. This is what's going on here. It's a symbolic act. It's representing something about the spiritual experience. In Psalm 22, Christ is depicted there prophetically, and he says, I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. 2 Samuel 14, 14, like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. So what are we talking about? Here's a Bible commentator who provides the needed insight on the screen. Clearly the water poured out as it was a symbol of heartfelt distress It was a comment on both the temporal and spiritual condition of the nation They were saying we are like this water poured out on the ground Lost to all usefulness on account of our sins and as we pour it out So we pour our hearts in recognition of our need of cleansing and restoration before you Oh God, the water was not being used as Productively as in the irrigation of crops. It was being wasted by being poured out indiscriminately Israel was saying we have wasted ourselves and our privileges as your covenant people Oh God, it was symbolic then of chastened hearts who were now ready to seek renewal by the redeeming power of God Does it make sense? I think this guy provides will be you and I need so you reading you don't want in the world They filled up some water and they just and they're doing this everywhere what well, it's symbolic. I We're pouring our lives out before you. This water is useless. The usefulness, we've become useless to you, oh God. And child of God, you in the hands of sin are useless. You're as good as water that should have us purpose, and you're just wasting it. And that's what they're saying. That's what they're saying there. And not only that, but the action of pouring out the water is followed by fasting. See, the posture there implies a seriousness. When you and I deprive ourselves, Baptists don't do fasting well. I told a fellow pastor the other day, I was meeting with him, I'm like, dude, I was fasting until I got hungry, you know what I mean? And then the fast had ended. Are you kidding me? Deprive myself of food? Well, we don't do that well. But those of you who do practice fasting, those of you who have that spiritual discipline, you know that when you withhold, whether it's liquids and or solids, what you're declaring before the Lord is a humility that says, I need you. You are the one who supplies life, not this. I need you more than I need this sustenance. That's why in verse 6 there, it says, so they gathered misbah and drew water and they went before the Lord and fasted on that day. Fasted on that day. And look, look, look, and said there, we have sinned against the Lord. Mark it in your minds. All sin is ultimately sin against the Lord. You have it right there. Ultimately, when I sin against my wife, I ultimately sin against the Lord. When my wife sins against me, ultimately she sins against the Lord. When I sin against my kids, when I sin against you, ultimately sin is against the Lord. So own it, child of God. I have sinned against the Lord. The best times of restoration after my wife and I have an intense time of fellowship, what's that? And a fight, yeah, it's just a Baptist way of saying a fight, right? An intense time of fellowship, okay? And we said things to each other that we shouldn't have. The best times of restorations when I own up and I say to Monique, Monique, I sinned against the Lord by treating you this way. I sinned against you by treating you this. And we learned this from our last study, the peacemaker. If your confession has an excuse, it ain't a confession. If you're gonna tell your wife, listen honey, I did wrong, but, if you wanna have burned beans, no, if you have a but, an if, a condition, it ain't a confession. The confession is, Monique, I shouldn't have behaved this way. I did wrong, I sinned against you, I was selfish, I blamed my whatever on you, I didn't bench press what I wanted, deadlift whatever, and I fell in my squat. And then I took it out on you. Period. Full stop. Now, if she has something to say, then we talk. Let's see how we can not, you know, let's not have a repeat performance. What do I need to do? Let me tell you, husband, you try that for a little bit. And you try that when your wife says, heh, I told you. Because remember, husband, you married Ms. Wright. You're just figuring out right now that her first name is always. Okay, so live it, love it and learn it. All right. So this is what we're fasting. And they say we've sinned against the Lord. And look how Samuel's leadership is described. Before he's a prophet, now he's become a judge. It's not that he's judging them like, I'm judging you, judgmental. No, he's standing there as a spiritual leader. He's standing there as a spiritual leader. Even though the word judge implies humility. We live in a world, we live in a community, we live in a town where people don't want accountability. We don't want accountability. We want freedom. We want lawlessness. We don't want anybody's opinion. God says, here's God's man saying, listen, listen, your sin is that serious that I'm going to judge you, I'm going to stand there as one of those that from the book of Judges that did it right, that represented Christ or represented Yahweh correctly. And Samuel led the people. Now, what we need to consider is that even when you try to do things right, God honoring, you know, there are people who are not going to like it and they might even misinterpret it. Verse 7, verse 7, right? reminds us that our genuineness might not be perceived by our enemies, by those who don't know the Lord. The Philistines mistake the revival of Mizpah for a gathering of military strength. They come against it and that leads to point number two, the Lord's deliverance from verses 7 through 12. And you see it there. See, Mizpah means watchtower. Militarily, it was significant because it sat about 2,400 feet above sea level. So they could see what was going on and they can be seen. And the Philistines saying, this revival, this revival, who knows what they were doing. The last time they heard this 20 something years ago, the ark had come into the camp and they were getting ready to go to fight. So they're bent on keeping the Israelites weak and suppressed. So they marshal up their forces, they get them all together and they come against him. Again, it's been at least 20 plus years. And listen, they come up, they come up. And the last time the Philistines marched, this beautiful thing to compare chapter 7 with chapter 4. The last time the Philistines had marched on, Israel was full of herself. Because they had their lucky charm, right? The rabbit foot, the ark. And the Philistines were the ones that were afraid. Remember chapter 4? Now, in chapter 7, the Philistines come out full of themselves, and the Israelites, they're the ones who are scared. They're the ones who are scared. That's what they find out. See, but this time, look at the text. Now, when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel, verse 7, had gathered in Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard it, they called to Abinadab, who had the ark, and asked him to bring it over. Does your Bible say that? Because if it does, throw out your Bible. See, that's what they did in chapter 4. They said, get the ark out of Shiloh and bring it on to the battle. But here, they don't go to Kiriath-Jerim. They look for a minute dab and say, yo, I need the ark. Let's go. No, no, no, no. The people said to Samuel, if they would have just done that in chapter 4. They said to Samuel, do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines. You see, it is now God and God alone who can deliver us. Not the lucky charm, not the rabbit's foot, not the ark. It is Yahweh and Yahweh alone. The prophet of God, do not cease to cry out to God for us. That's the big difference. That's the big difference right there. It was now God or death at the hands of the Philistines. There was no option. And it says that, they told him, don't stop crying out for us. See, this is what Samuel had been preaching. If you want to return to the Lord, put away, put away and serve God. This is the outworking of that. You see, what we need to remember is God deals with sinners and failures. He does, He does. The history of the Israelites, like our history in Christ, is sometimes cyclical. Do you think that God is surprised when you and I are less than faithful to Him? We don't surprise. He never does that. No. He's had a history of humanity doing that. Old Testament people, Israel, the church in the New Testament, doesn't matter. He knows it. He knows it. Okay? But God's care, see, when they turn to Him, He's there to receive them. Why? Because God's care is not dependent on a perfect life, but on us simply asking for help. That's the covenant that we have in Christ. We can ask for help and we receive it. And again, the Christian life is not that much different. Do you actually think you go without a week, without an hour, without sinning, whether it's commission or omission? That's the reality. See, on the screen there, the truth is that God is ever ready to receive us. There is never any need to stay in despair. The core issue is not being good enough or not good enough, but being independent of God or dependent on God. That's what you see here in chapter 7, contrasted with chapter 4. That's the reality. And it's part of their worship, they take a baby lamb, they sacrifice all of it. And as no part of this animal was kept back from the Lord, they're saying symbolically, no part of ours, no area in our life, we're taking it all, we're banking on you, Lord. Verses 10 and 11. And that's what we find there. As Samuel was offering the Lord, the Philistines drew near to attack. And what does God do? He delivers. The Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion. Verse 11, and the men of Israel went from Mizpah and they pursued the Philistines and struck them as far below as Bethkar. There's the beauty. Because you're dependent on God, victory is secured and assured. And what happens in verse 12? Samuel celebrates it. He took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, for he said, Till now the Lord has helped us. Ebenezer means help, a stone commemorating God's help. Till now the Lord has helped us. And listen, if He's helped us till now, He will help us in the future. If He's been faithful in the past, He'll be faithful in the present, He'll be faithful in the future. That's the reminders, those spiritual markers that should exist and maybe exist in our lives where we've seen the good hand of the Lord, the kind hand of the Lord, the heavy hand of the Lord. He's walked with us because He loves us. See, the remembrance of what God had done before was to help them now in the future. Let me put up a graph that will remind you. This is what's going on. He called it Ebenezer. So if you look at the graph on the top part there, that's where they lose it. In chapter 4, chapter 5, at a place just outside of Aphek called Ebenezer. It tracks all the way down, they bring it over, they meet up in Mizpah, and God comes, delivers them, and Samuel calls it Ebenezer. Again, like Ichabod, Ichabod, every time everybody said that name, it was no glory. Every time everybody said Ebenezer, shame, defeat. If I'm Samuel, I get a stone, and to commemorate victory, I use the Hebrew word for victory. You know what's the Hebrew word for victory? Victory. Okay? But why Ebenezer? Why pick that name? On the screen there, the word Ebenezer no longer means shame and failure, but victory and pride. With God, failure is never final. The two encounters with the Philistines are intended to be seen in relation to each other. The two totally different outcomes are to vividly illustrate the difference God does what God makes. That's why he chose Ebenezer. Because now, from now on, Ebenezer is not shame in what we lost, the ark. Ebenezer is when God showed up because the condition in our lives was that of repentance. Let's finish the story, let's start landing this plane. The last thing is you understand Samuel's leadership, verses 13 through 17. Not only does Samuel's leadership bring about peace and protection from the Philistines, but also the other... enemies called the Amorites. The Amorites take a look at what happened. They go, we got no peace. Why be enemies when we can be friends? Why be enemies? It's okay. Let's peace treaty. Let's go. And he did it. You see, Samuel provides what is needed. Don't miss it on the screen there. The child that the childless Hannah so desperately desired became the man God's people so desperately needed. That's what's at stake there. That's what happens. So for the rest of his lifetime, he starts making a year trip around about a 50 mile. And again, this is not on a car. They don't have the bullet trains. OK, this guy is walking. And he's going around. 50 mile circuit and he's judging. He's coming into the town and just hearing out and pointing them to Yahweh and maybe addressing some of the sins and some of the failures and then calling them to repentance and restoration. And otherwise he's at home at Ramah verses 16 and 17. And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and he judged Israel in all these places. Then he would return to Ramah for his home was there and there he also judged Israel and he built there an altar to the Lord. It almost sounds like Ramah becomes that pseudo-semi-religious center. Because that's where the prophet of God is. Remember, the ark is going to stay with Amenadab and Kiriath-Jerim for long years. It's only in 2 Samuel 6 or something that David contacts Amenadab to bring the ark to Jerusalem. So the prophet, you know, does what he needs to do. And this is a beautiful end to a very difficult portion of 1 Samuel. And you would think that we just can close, you know, we can close our Bibles and quietly said, and Israel lived a happy life. And Israel lived, you know, with God happily ever after. Do you know that there's very few happily ever afters? You would think that. That's why it's so shocking that right after chapter 7 comes chapter 8. And we're going to see that next time. Next time. So you would think that after God comes onto the scene, that's it. We might as well. First Samuel should end there. No. What can we take with us this morning? Let me just leave two things and let's get out of here. Number one, as Christians who are serious Christ followers, we want to influence others for Christ. See, we want to make sure that others understand that they're in the mud of sin. See, the mistake we often make is we see people trapped in the mire of sin and we stay on the sideline and we throw rocks. You know better. You got yourself in it. You know how to get out of it. You know better. You should call somebody. Claim a Bible verse. do it, and we just throw rocks. That's not what Samuel did. Samuel rolled up his sleeves and got in the mud. You don't see Samuel from Rama leading the people at Mizpah. See, another mistake you and I make is when we only go about here, but the people are neck deep in the mire of sin. You know where you need to go? Where it's neck deep. Stop throwing the rocks. They know better. They got themselves into it. Too bad, so sad. No, no, no. Roll up your sleeves. Get in it. That's how you point others to Jesus Christ. See, the enemy attacks so much that it gets confusing. Again, we meet people who are stuck in the mire of sin and they just don't know how to do it better. How did I get here? How did I get out? That's what I need help with. Child of God, you can be that. You can be that in the hands of a holy God. To help the other one, get out and point them to Christ. This is where you and I say, hey, listen, let me help you. Let me help you out of the mud onto the life that God calls you to. And this is what Samuel did. The second application is the following. There are those of us here this morning who are stuck in the mud of sin. And we don't know what to do. Some people may know we're stuck. Others people may know. But you know what we know? We're stuck. That's the reality, and it's a miserable way to live. Your soul longs for something different. I want to do different. I want to draw near. I don't want this anymore. I don't want this to define me. Failure is me. No, no, no, no, no. It can be the last part right now. See, the question is, is this the bottom for you? It can be. How miserable does life need to get? How unsatisfying or dissatisfying does life need to get? before you will finally say, I want out. What's the answer when you find yourself stuck in the mire of sin or in the mud of sin? Right there on the screen, repentance, leading to a true confession of sin, resulting in the forgiveness of sin and restoration from the Lord. When you and I, like the Israelites in chapter 7, verse 6, we say, we have sinned against the Lord. We have sin against us. I call sin by what God calls sin. I don't call it what society calls it. A mistake, this or that. No, no, no. To confess is to call it what God calls it. To say the same thing as. So if God calls it this, I call it that. And that is what I confess to the Lord. Not that I was weak. Not that I've been this. No, no, no, no, no. Lord, I agree with your assessment. I have chosen the fleeting pleasure of this sin called X over the satisfaction I have in Christ Jesus. And I own it. That's what it is. Something dramatically needs to change. And the beauty is that we have God's Word. Again, how firm a foundation. On the screen there, 1 John, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God has given any and every Christian all that he or she needs to walk in victory and to get out of the mud. He's giving you and me Himself in the presence of His Spirit and the power of His Spirit. There's no excuses, child of God. There's no excuses. See, you own up to the sin. True confession. That's what Israel did, and that's our challenge this morning. Amen? Let's close our eyes and bow our heads for just a moment, and let's pray. Just a few moments, we'll sing. We'll respond to the Lord and the study of his word. Let me challenge you to go before the Lord and ask him, Lord, what do I need to do? Help me to draw near. Help me to see the sin that separates me from you. This is why I'm not close. I'm not walking close with you. I've chosen poorly. Unwisely. But you have His promise that if you confess your sin, He forgives, He cleanses, He restores. So Lord God, we come before You, thanking You for Your Word, thanking You for the testimony of Your Word that You are a willing God, that You're willing to receive us if we repent. Help us to do what Israel did. to come to the point where we say we have sinned against the Lord. And perhaps you're calling us, O Lord, to help others get out of that sin that they're stuck in. Forgive us for throwing the rocks, for criticizing, for having conversations and text messages that do not lead anywhere but gossip. Give us a way to help those folks out. Help us to roll up our sleeves and get in there. If their life is messy, help us to be messy. Get in there and help them out and point them to Christ. Father, help us now, and we're grateful that in Christ, no, not one of your promises are no, but yes and amen. We're grateful to you, Lord. Thank you for this time. Help us now to worship you. We love you. We trust you. In Jesus' name, and God's people said.