Don't Turn Away

Introduction

A. Like most men of his generation, my grandfather, my dad’s father, retired at age 65. That was over 20 years ago. The company did the traditional retirement things. They gave him a watch, had a party, said a few words, and that was it. I wasn’t present for the ceremony, but knowing my grandfather he would have had some parting words for his fellow employees. He is not silent in such situations. My grandfather knew nothing but hard common work. He only wore a shirt and tie on Sundays. He worked with his hands and on his feet all of his life. He believed then and still believes in hard work.

B. Have you ever thought what your retirement words might be? Some of you have already experienced that. Some of us are still waiting for the privilege. But the time will come when we have to pass the baton of responsibility to others. Those who have already retired may experience a variety of emotions. Some of you may have found the final day to be sad. Some may have a sense of elation in leaving the work world behind. For some it may have been just another day with little if any emotion. For some it may have been extremely difficult to walk away from the place of employment. Whatever the emotion, the truth is that there comes a time whether we choose it or it unexpectedly happens that we quit working. What will you say? What would be your final words of encouragement to those you leave behind?

C. 1 Samuel 12 is often called Samuel’s farewell speech. It really isn’t. Samuel isn’t giving up work, but he is going to take a less visible role. Israel now has a king and he will become the focal point of military and political issues. Samuel though takes this opportunity to remind Israel of some important matters. We will look through this passage this morning being reminded of the centrality of God and his will for our lives. Let’s begin with singing.

Samuel’s Speech

A. Samuel’s speech demonstrates the awkwardness of the transition. This was not God’s will. Samuel knew it and so did the people. But God has given in to the wishes of the people. Samuel begins his speech in verses 3—5 calling on the assembly to list the sins they have against him. He places his integrity on the line and asks the people if they can show where he wasn’t a quality leader. It takes a lot of courage to open yourself up for criticism. Wouldn’t it be great at the end of life to be able to say that you were a person of integrity? The truth is the day will come when all of us will have our lives opened up to others. Funerals are those times. What will be said about you? When your life has to be summarized, what will be said? Samuel opened his life up for the testimony of all of Israel. “You are a man of integrity (v.4).”

B. Then Samuel reviews a pattern based on history. Israel ran through cycles which could be seen time and again. They forgot the Lord, then they got into trouble, then they cried out to God, and finally, God delivered them from their troubles. The point is that God has always delivered when Israel was in trouble. This time though they are not waiting on God to act. Instead they are jumping ahead of God. In fact, they don’t believe God can really deliver them from their enemies. The Ammonites began to move in on their territory and they didn’t think God would deliver. This is when they ask for a king.

C. But the presence of a king doesn’t change the covenant. God is still the king. They are still to keep his commands. Failure to keep the commands will result in severe punishment. To demonstrate how displeased God is with their lack of faith, God sends a thunderstorm during the wheat harvest. It almost never rains from May through June in Israel. This is the time of harvest. Rain during these months might damage the crop. Such a display convicted the people of their sin and of Samuel’s connection with God.

D. In great fear the people confess their sin and ask Samuel to pray for them. They understood the depth of their sin. They had dishonored God by thinking that another could deliver. They now knew that only God can deliver. As before he will use someone, but he will select that person. They had acted without seeking God’s will. Samuel’s love is seen. In verse 23, he promises never to stop praying for Israel. In fact his role is to not only pray but to teach them what God wants. He will not quit even though there is now a king. Samuel closes this speech encouraging the people to return in faith to God and to not turn away from him.

So What?

A. There are two important lessons that we need to get from this text. The first has to do with misplaced faith. Israel believed that what they really needed to solve their problems was king. They had for numerous generations been on the roller coaster of faith. Close to God and then away from him. But through it all God had brought a leader to them when they needed it. But Israel now believes that a king will solve all their problems. They begin to believe that what they really need is a godly political leader and then everything will be all right. Israel began to rely too much on the political rather than the divine.

1. Politics is a part of this world. I grew up during the time of Nixon's resignation from office. I watched as a professing Christian made poor decisions as president and the press hounded him. I watched Reagan sweep into office with the Christian voices across our country promising a resurgence of Christian principles. And oppression continued, poverty increased, and crime did not go down. Now as we watch what might be the fall of yet another man as president, the Christian voices are saying this is God's judgment.

2. The very nature of politics is counter to the God we serve. While some Christian leaders call on people to get more involved with politics, I can understand why many of the Christian leaders of 100 years ago called on Christians not to vote. I am not saying whether we should or shouldn't vote. I leave that to personal opinion. But the truth is that politics and Christianity are diametrically opposed.

3. Politics focuses on the physical world. Christianity is focusing on the spiritual world. Politics divides. Christianity unites. Politics is about power. Christianity is about service. Here's the point. When we begin to look to politics to take care of our problems then we have shifted faith from God. I keep up with the political world, but that is not where faith is.

4. As Christians we are here to make God look good. We are to reveal God's sovereignty and love. We are to demonstrate a faith that supercedes this world. We will find it extremely difficult to reveal faith in God while holding hands with this world.

B. The second lesson is found in prayer. The people realize their sin and ask Samuel to pray for them. They knew they had placed their faith in the wrong thing. They had trusted more in what a king could do than what the ruler of history was doing. They were mixing with the world. Recognizing their sin, they asked Samuel to pray for them. Samuel agreed that this along with teaching were his main responsibilities.

1. Politics is not the answer to our ills. God is the ruler of history. He is the one who has a plan working to bring about his will. As with Israel we see his power to deal with our problems. Praying for ourselves needs to include praying that our faith will be increased.

2. Prayer needs to include that the ruler of history will work in our country. God understands politics. He understands that a person who has power needs more to insure longevity. What we have to understand is that while we live in a very political world, that we have the God of creation as our king.

3. There has always been a tension for the Christian living in this world while seeking the advancement of the spiritual world. We will find it difficult at times to draw clear lines. Our prayers need to include that we can see a bit better that reality is not in politics but around God's throne. Prayer needs to be a regular part of our lives so that we do not lose our connection with God and begin sliding more toward mixing with this world.

C. On the afternoon when my grandfather retired as he was getting ready to leave, his boss asked him if he would come back the next day and work. My grandfather didn’t retire then. He kept on working long after his official retirement date. Samuel didn’t retire. He continued to pray and teach until his death. Samuel’s faith was not in a king. He trusted the one who appointed him and trusted that God would tell him when it was time to quit. Let’s pray more that God will allow us to see his plans and that we will learn to wait on him to reveal those plans to us. The truth is we don’t retire from God’s service until he is ready. In the meantime we honor him with our words and prayers.

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