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Ordinary people, extraordinary God – King Saul: I did it my way

Ordinary people, extraordinary God – King Saul: I did it my way

1 Samuel 9:1-2;
1 Samuel 10:1, 24;
1 Samuel 11:14-15;
1 Samuel 12:13-15;
1 Samuel 13:1, 13-14;
1 Samuel 14:47-48;
1 Samuel 15:10-11, 22-23

Saul’s kingship can be summarised as follows:

  1. Saul made a good start (1 Samuel 11) – Saul was God’s man and anointed leader. God was with him an equipped him spiritually and physically.
  2. Saul became a total failure (1 Samuel 14-16) – Saul became proud, arrogant, selfish, weak, confused, uncertain, pathetic and panicky. He disobeyed God, lost his faith, hardened his heart and ignored warnings from God. He lost the respect of those around him and lost his power. By chapter 16 he had lost his anointing and was just doing things his own way. The root cause of Saul’s failure was that he had lost his faith and had stopped trusting in God. People are proud today that they lived life their own way, but the song “I did it my way”, a popular song at funerals, is the signature tune of hell. Doing things our own way only ends in destruction.
  3. Saul tried his best (1 Samuel 14:47-48) – Saul tried his best, but his best was never going to be good enough compared to God’s best. God had called Saul to be king, but without God Saul could do nothing. Apart from God we can do nothing (John 15:5). Without God at the centre of our lives we will end up in a mess. We are called to do things God’s way and not our way. God doesn’t look for people who try their best, instead He looks for people who admit their total dependence on Him.
  4. God will make a way (1 Samuel 13:14) – The story of Saul is a clear example of how God works around our mistakes, failures and sins. Saul thought he was the leader and in control, but in reality God is sovereign over everything and He is in control. God worked His purposes out despite Saul. God works His purposes out no matter what.
  5. It matters how we respond to God – What we learn from the life of Saul is that it is vitally important how we respond to God when we mess up.  Saul responded with excuses rather than repentance. What would have happened if Saul had responded to God? How do you respond to God when you mess up?