Sunday, January 14, 2018, Evident Grace Fellowship looked at 1 Samuel 12:6-18.

1 Samuel 12:6 And Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness,  who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them,  then your fathers cried out to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But they forgot the Lord their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak  and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.  16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

From those verses, we asked this Big Picture Question:

How does God redeem our painful and sinful circumstances?

And we found these three answers from that Big Picture Question:

• He reminds us of His faithfulness
• He reminds us of our need
• He gives us hope

He reminds us of His faithfulness

1 Samuel 12:6 And Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers

“John the Baptist focused on Jesus so much that he was willing to be unimportant for His sake”

Samuel continues his farewell address by reminding the people of God’s faithfulness.  Before walking through some hard truths, he wants them to remember the righteous deeds that God performed for them and their fathers.  This is key for all of us as we walk through difficult and painful times.  Without reminding ourselves of God’s faithfulness and goodness, we suffer without hope.

He reminds us of our need

8 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your fathers cried out to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But they forgot the Lord their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king.

Samuel reminds them of the cycle that the people of God repent of and over.  They enjoy God’s blessing, forget God and fall into sin, God disciplines them, they repent, and they once again enjoy the blessings of God.  This is a cycle that we all fall into.  In fact, some of our difficult circumstances are due to due to our sinful choices.  Not all, but some.  Samuel wants all of the people of God to be aware of our weakness in this area. We all need people like Samuel who speak these hard truths and reminders into our lives.

He gives us hope

13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.  16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

But there is a great hope, Samuel declares.  He exhorts the people of God to have great faith in God.  Fear Him.  Obey Him.  This is our hope.  We have Jesus.  He is our hope, and we will endure our painful circumstances when we trust in Jesus like Samuel encouraged the people to trust God.

Big Picture Question:  How does God redeem our painful and sinful circumstances?

Truth:  God’s faithful meeting of our needs redeems our sinful and painful circumstances and gives us hope for present and future grace.

Application:  Live knowing that the memories of your hard times should give you hope that God will be faithful in your present need.

Action:  Proverbs 3:11 Do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, 12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father, the son in whom he delights.