Saul Selected

[00:00:00] Let's pray. [00:00:02] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that you give us these opportunities to survey your mercies. [00:00:09] And mercies they are, because there is nothing that we deserve in and of ourselves that is good from your hand. And yet you pour out on us day after day, so many things. Our daily bread, the fruits of righteousness, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, hope and assurance, comfort, fellowship with the saints. And more and more and more we see your presence in our lives in times of sickness and sorrow, in moments of temptation and sin. [00:00:44] And after these moments as well, we consider those who have passed on before us. And we rejoice, knowing that the hope that they hoped, hoped in was not a vain hope. [00:00:58] Lord, our confidence is in you, our great King, who is so merciful to us. We pray for our own souls this morning as we hear your word read and preached, and we ask that you would bless us. We also pray for those who are not able to be with us this morning and those in particular who are sick and not well or shut up at home. We ask that you would watch over them. We also pray, Lord, that the word that is being preached here, the good news of the Gospel, would be preached in many places, all over the world. We ask that your saints would shine as a bright light in many places and that many would come to know the goodness of your grace, that they would be rescued out of the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of your beloved Son. We pray this all in his name. Amen. [00:01:55] Please remain standing if you're able. And let's turn to First Samuel, chapter 10. [00:02:13] This morning I'm going to read the end of the chapter, so verses 17 through 27. [00:02:28] Last time we heard about how Saul was privately anointed. [00:02:33] Here the work of the Lord becomes public. [00:02:38] We'll see how Saul reacts. [00:02:42] First Samuel, chapter 10, verse 17. Let's give our attention to God's word Now. Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah, and he said to the people of Israel, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you. [00:03:04] But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses. And you have said to him, set a king over us. [00:03:14] Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands. [00:03:20] Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by Lot. He brought the tribe of Benjamin nearby its Clans. And the clan of the Matrites was taken by Lot. And Saul, the son of Kish, was taken by Lot. [00:03:35] But when they sought him, he could not be found. So they inquired again of the Lord. Is there a man still to come? And the Lord said, behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage. [00:03:48] Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. [00:03:57] And Samuel said to all the people, do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people. And all the people shouted, long live the king. [00:04:09] Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his own home. Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. And with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. But some worthless fellow said, how can this man save us? And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace. [00:04:36] You may be seated. [00:05:00] My goal this morning is to encourage you today. Because sometimes God calls us to do things that are difficult, and we struggle to find the courage to do what needs to be done. [00:05:14] There's a lot of reasons why we struggle to act when God calls. And lots and lots of examples in the Scriptures of people we can commiserate with, so to speak, or feel similar to Saul's. Certainly one of them. Hiding among the baggage when the Lord calls him. Or Adam and Eve hiding in the garden when the Lord calls to them. [00:05:38] Many other examples when God calls us to do the things that we're supposed to do, why do we not do them? It's God, after all, telling us to do them. [00:05:54] We're supposed to obey him. He created us. He's mighty. He's the rule giver. [00:06:02] There's all kinds of reasons. We tell ourselves various things that the flesh says to us or that the world says to us. [00:06:10] I'm tired of trying, or I'm scared of the consequences if I do that. Then what about this other thing? [00:06:23] Sometimes God calls us to do difficult things and we just don't feel very prepared. I'm not strong enough to do that. I don't have the finances to do that. I don't have the time to do that or the resources. There are people that would be better at doing that than me. [00:06:40] Or perhaps embarrassment. Embarrassment over those limits. Embarrassment over our past, Embarrassment over the things that go on inside of us. We don't want to be in these positions. [00:06:53] When God calls us to act and we don't have the courage to act, there's a spectrum of responses. [00:07:00] On the one hand, at the far end, I suppose you have rebelliousness or you just say no. You know, kind of a Jonah move. You might say, God says, go this way and you run the other way. We know how that worked out for him. [00:07:18] But if we're not rebellious, we can also be reticent, half hearted, kind of doing it, sort of doing the things that we're supposed to do enough to kind of appease our conscience and sort of get on to the next day. [00:07:35] That reticence is not good either. A half heartedness towards good is a half heartedness towards evil. [00:07:43] You know, Peter, we were talking about Galatians in the most recent adult Sunday School, Paul talks about confronting Peter in this moment of half heartedness where Peter on the one hand is supposed to be for the gospel, which is going out to Jews and Gentiles. But then he starts showing partiality of being afraid of the Judaizers who are around. He decides he's sitting with the Gentiles, but then when they show up, he backs away. He's being half hearted about his commitment to the gospel. And Paul addresses that, well, if Peter can struggle and Saul can struggle, certainly you and I can struggle. And we do. We are rebellious, to be really clear about it. And we are reticent, half hearted, shirking not to use alliteration, rock, ribbed and strong in the things that we're supposed to do for the Lord. [00:08:47] Now what we're supposed to do for the Lord is a whole other sermon, right? And we have lots of things in Scripture which gives us instructions on how to do that. We're not going to think about that in particular this morning, but I think a lot of us, we can focus on the things that we are clear about. We can save the things we're not sure what we're supposed to do for another time. This morning I'd like you to think about those things which, you know, what you're supposed to do. Not the edge cases which are kind of hard again, for another time. But what about the things that God is calling you to do and, and you're sure of it, you know, of it, for example, do not bear false witness. A really clear example of his will. And there are many, many other things. [00:09:37] Well, what do we do when we lack the courage and we bump up against these various obstacles to do the things we're called to do? When we feel ourselves tempted to hide in the baggage, even when we're supposed to be available and ready to serve. [00:09:53] What do we do when we see Saul's reactions in ourselves? [00:09:58] I think the thing that we can do, the thing that the scriptures point us to, is to consider God's actions both in this moment and throughout history and in our lives. [00:10:08] In Saul's reactions, we can see ourselves and in our sinfulness. But in what God is doing here, we can find a lot of courage and strength. We'll think about that this morning. [00:10:21] Saul is Israel's first king, Jesus as Israel's last king, whom we'll consider this morning the final king. An eternal king is a king who did not shirk his duties. [00:10:35] He did not hide or run away. [00:10:39] And this is really, really good news for us, which we'll think about. [00:10:43] Let's begin by thinking about this story a little bit, a cringe story of Israel's first king. [00:10:52] And it begins with the Lord calling his people together through Samuel, right, the great prophet. He calls the people together and he says to them, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. Whenever you hear something like that, right, Time to pay attention. [00:11:08] God is speaking. [00:11:11] And he begins here with a kind of a. [00:11:15] A way of speaking that is very similar to the way that he makes covenants. And we have kind of a covenantal ceremony going on here. There's this preamble, basically, where he's reciting the historical things that ground his right to do things for them and with them and over them. Well, what does God say? Well, he reminds them of who he is. He says, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you. [00:11:49] So this establishes in one way, and there are many other ways, but this establishes God's sovereignty over them, his right to rule over them and to decide things for them. He is their rescuer. He conquered the Egyptians, he brought them out. They belong to him. [00:12:08] But then we hear of their actions in verse 19. Today you have rejected your God, the same God who saves you from all your calamities and your distress. And you have said to him, set a king over this. [00:12:22] So this is the accusation that God is making. He's bringing a charge against his people. He has done this, and they have acted faithlessly. [00:12:33] And then we come to the end of verse 19, and he says, now, therefore, present yourself before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands. [00:12:43] So at this moment in time, in time of the story, this is a moment of fear, right? This Sounds to me like a moment of judgment. Right? God has established his right to rule. He has told us what we have done wrong, told Israel what they have done wrong, and now he says, stand before me. [00:13:08] We expect a kind of judgment. [00:13:11] But something interesting happens. [00:13:14] Instead of a clear judgment, they're given a king, which gives us some ways to think about the kingship of Saul. [00:13:26] On the one hand, it is a judgment of the Lord. He is saying, because of these things you're doing, because of these things you're acting. Here. I give you this king. And he's not a great king. He's certainly not King David, whom they end up making a covenant with, and other things. But at the same time, the Lord uses this moment as a blessing as well, to fulfill the kingship in Saul and to promise and to deliver things and establish them in a way that he had set expectations for a long time ago. [00:13:57] The Lord, as he often does, is acting in majestic and mysterious ways, ways that, on the one hand, point out our sins and demonstrate the need that we have for him, but at the same time, provide for us. And we see him working in all of this. [00:14:19] How do we see him working in this? Casting of lots. [00:14:24] It's a thing that in some ways parallels what Saul said in the last chapter. Remember when he said, who am I? I'm not from an important tribe. I'm not from an important clan or an important house. Why choose me? And then the God uses these very things that he says and zeroes in on them in a way that he chooses Saul. [00:14:45] So lots are cast. The tribe of Benjamin is taken. So which is to say all the tribes of Israel say, okay, it's someone from Benjamin. [00:14:53] And then they cast lots again. And it's someone from Saul's clan, the clan of the matrites. You can wonder how his heart might be beating. Remember, he already knows what's going to happen. [00:15:06] And then finally, the Saul, the son of Kish, was taken by lot, but when they saw him, he could not be found. [00:15:16] Now, this is one of those things. This is like a bad dream moment. At least that's how it feels for me. You know, when you sort of tell one lie and then another lie, you're always like, this whole mess happens. And then you're like, what have I done? And you wake up and go, oh, it didn't happen. [00:15:30] Or maybe sometimes in life these things do happen, right? We get ourselves in a mess. Like, one thing leads to another, leads to another, leads to another. You're digging your hole deeper and deeper. The Longer he waits, the more embarrassing it is. [00:15:45] Don't wait when the Lord is calling you to act, even if you've already waited and you shouldn't, don't wait longer. It only makes things worse. [00:15:55] They don't know, is there a man still to come? And the Lord says, behold, he's hidden himself among the baggage. [00:16:03] And then in this admittedly slightly funny moment, but also cringe, worthy and embarrassing, Saul stands up trying to hide, and the baggage stands up, and he's a head taller than everyone, of course, right? He cannot hide his own body, like God has made him, in such a way that it is impossible to hide. [00:16:27] And so him hiding among the baggage makes it even worse. [00:16:31] He's doing these things that are really impossible. Not to mention. Not only has God made him this way, God has called him this way. God is pointing him to him directly in front of all of the people of Israel. [00:16:45] It makes me cringe inside if you can't tell the idea of standing up and looking around at everybody below you that you were just trying to hide from. [00:16:59] Samuel says to all the people, do you see him? [00:17:05] And of course, the answer is yes. [00:17:08] But it's a double meaning, right? It's a visual thing, but it's also here, look, this is what you've asked for. This is whom the Lord has chosen. [00:17:18] Now, I want to stop and make a quick point that I haven't made yet. But we've seen a number of places throughout these chapters so far. [00:17:25] There are these ways in which Samuel keeps saying things, which is intent. He intended to warn them, intended to wake up something in their heart. [00:17:38] But they don't see it. They don't respond in that way. [00:17:42] It happened in another place. We won't go back there. But there's these ways in which he says things. And the thing to notice is he doesn't necessarily say, this is a warning to you. [00:17:54] He doesn't necessarily say those words, but it very clearly is, and they don't take it that way. [00:18:01] The point here is that the Lord speaks to us in a variety of ways, and he doesn't always say the exact words. This is a warning. [00:18:12] Sometimes you have to pay attention. You have to know what's going on. And we have an example kind of that here. Right, Saul? Right. Is not demonstrating himself. Well, do you see him? Here's the people. The Lord has chosen this moment of kind of semi judgment. And the people all shout, long live the king. [00:18:35] There doesn't be. They seem to be almost disconnected from all the events that have just happened. Now, if we didn't have other information in the passage, we might say, well, they're just trusting the Lord, right? Here's the Lord's anointed. They're excited about the Lord's anointed, except we know their hearts. God has been telling us. Samuel's been telling us what's been going on. They're rejecting the Lord. This is not ultimate confidence in the Lord, saying, you know, whomever he has chosen, we're sure he'll be great, right? This is their own hearts and their own sinfulness, grasping at whatever they can so that, as we heard, they can be like the nations. [00:19:17] There are these things that the prophet is saying. There are these things that they're seeing that should wake their hearts up, and they're not waking up. [00:19:31] We come to the end of this account, of this history here, and we read these really important things. Samuel tells the people the rights and duties of the kingship. Another reminder of many, many, many that we've had that remind the people that the kingship is established under the authority of God. He is not to act however he wants or do what he likes, but he is under his responsibility. He is an under shepherd of the Lord. [00:20:03] Samuel sends the people away. And then finally here we have tension and conflict developing which we'll need to pay attention to as we go forward. The Lord establishes his king, and immediately there are both people who are for him and against him. [00:20:22] Worthless fellows. A word. I'll let you look it up. That has come up a couple times before. You can tell me later how it shows up in First Samuel. But these worthless fellows, they say, how can this man save us? They despised him and brought him no present. And then, interestingly, he holds his peace, much like he did at the end of the last section when his uncles start pressing him for information and he doesn't say anything about the kingdom and the things that Samuel had spoken to him. [00:20:52] It leaves us with some questions about Saul, what kind of person he is. Is he wise? Is he patient? Is he calm? Is he afraid? Is he hiding? [00:21:05] Those last few seem to be likely answers given his actions. But you know, there's a lot of complicated things that go on in a person. And we're not told exactly what's happening here, but it's something we'll pay attention to as we go on. [00:21:19] For now, what I'd like us to do is just think about our own lives and our own moments of hiding in the baggage, so to speak. [00:21:29] Have you ever been in a moment like this where the Lord has called you to do something, to say something, to believe something. [00:21:38] And you hide or you run or you kind of do it to sort of get it over with, but it's not really what's true in your heart. [00:21:49] There are moments like these. There's moments that we all feel very weak. [00:21:54] We feel powerless. [00:21:56] Sometimes it's in things that are external to our lives, relationships and money and jobs and various things like that. Sometimes they're very internal, right? God calls us to fight against a sin, to not listen to the flesh as it tempts us and. And beguiles us. [00:22:17] And we say, I'm so tired. [00:22:20] I don't think I can do it. I don't think I'm strong enough. [00:22:24] And we hide and we say, no, I don't think so. [00:22:27] Have you ever been in these moments where you tried to hide and found that your hiding was only making things worse? Your lack of courage ends up exposing how guilty you are before the Lord and sometimes even before the world. [00:22:43] Whether it's battling sin or repairing a relationship, whether it's serving people, sometimes giving up our rights in times of love. [00:22:58] All kinds of things the Lord calls us to do. And some of them can be quite difficult for us. [00:23:04] Sometimes we think that if we can just avoid anything that seems ambitious, we might have some sort of escape here for being accountable. [00:23:13] As long as I don't try to do anything that is unmanageable for me, then I'll be okay. But the thing is, God calls us to do things that are really impossible all the time. For example, live righteously, be patient, love your enemies, pray. [00:23:33] Now you say, well, of course prayer isn't impossible. I can do that. [00:23:38] Well, can you? Do you? [00:23:43] My guess is a lot of us struggle with things that are supposed to be easy. [00:23:48] A lot of us struggle with things that you'd think are kind of obvious and easy to do, nevertheless are very difficult. [00:23:57] And when we do find success and we're really honest with ourselves, we could ask, where does our success come from? [00:24:04] Where did that joy during a time of suffering come from? How was I able to love my enemy like that? How was I able to serve even beyond the limits that I had that day? [00:24:17] Well, those of us who know the Lord and live in his strength, we know the answer to that question. It's really obvious in the Lord, in the strength of his might. [00:24:27] This morning, I'd like each of you to consider something that you know you ought to be doing but are perhaps struggling to do. [00:24:36] Think about it. [00:24:38] Think about the ways that you've been handling it on a scale from rebellious to reticent to rock ribbed. [00:24:45] Where are you on that scale? And what can be done to strengthen your boldness to act? [00:24:55] One of the things that the Scripture points us to, that we often forget when we're faced with difficult situations is that God is the one who commands these things. And it's God who is offered to be our helper in the midst of them. [00:25:10] For some reason, we disconnect the things God calls us to do from God. [00:25:17] I think that's an odd thing. [00:25:20] God calls us to do this thing, and then we feel as though we're totally on our own to do that thing, even though he's the one who did it. And he says things like this in the Scriptures, Isaiah 40:29 he gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted. But they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not be faint. [00:25:57] That's one of the things that the Scripture says about the connection between God and the commands of God and the things that he calls us to do. [00:26:07] Here's another one. Psalm 46:1 3 Thinking about the Lord God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. Though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. [00:26:35] Not afraid. [00:26:37] Why? [00:26:38] Because of the very first thing that's said there. God is our refuge and our strength. A very present help in times of trouble. Not a somewhat present, a kind of present. A maybe present, a roll of the dice present. A very present help in times trouble. [00:26:56] Now the flesh is going to tell you something different. The devil is going to tell you something. He's very far. [00:27:02] You can't feel him. He doesn't know you. There's all kinds of reasons you can't rely on him. It's just not true. [00:27:10] We have to learn to distinguish the truths from the lies. And the truth is that God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in times of trouble. Even if the earth gives way. He is there. [00:27:27] Psalm 29:11 puts us in the form of a prayer or a blessing. May the Lord give strength to his people. May the Lord bless his people with peace. [00:27:38] Where do we find courage from? Where do we find boldness, confidence from to act when we need to act? Well, it's from the Lord as he blesses his people with peace, with safety, and with strength. [00:27:54] So the question for us then is, how can we belong to his people? How can we belong to this kingdom with him as our king? [00:28:04] This is very important because we're not just trusting in some kind of higher power, a sort of abstract general force that's out there that somehow we can tap into. It's much more specific than that. [00:28:20] God, the true God, the one and only living God, has revealed Himself through His Son and says that all who put their faith in him belong to Him. They're called his children. They're called citizens of his kingdom. They're given his strength, they're given his spirit, so that we might fight, act, pause, be patient, have courage, sometimes to do and sometimes to not do. [00:28:54] And the weakness of Israel's first king, I think, really helps us see the strength of Israel's final king, of course, our Lord Jesus, Right? When we compare the way that Saul, the way that Saul is charged, and his actions and reactions to all of that, to Jesus, it's night and day. [00:29:16] Jesus came into the world indeed with humility. [00:29:20] He came into the world born into a manger, born under very difficult circumstances. He was not rich. He was not a fancy man. He did not have a lot of earthly power. [00:29:36] So he was humble, right? He was humble, and this was on purpose. [00:29:40] But he was not hiding. [00:29:44] He came and obeyed the Father's will perfectly at every moment, leading all the way up to the cross. [00:29:53] Now, there were times in which he withdrew himself because it was not yet time to die, but it wasn't because he was being fearful. [00:30:05] Even in the times when he struggled and sensed the coming wrath of God that we thankfully do not have to experience, that he took on himself for us on the cross. [00:30:19] He shed drops of blood, sweated drops of blood. [00:30:26] He in some ways did not want to suffer and feel the pain. And I suppose there was maybe a kind of fear in that, but not a fear that ever made him fear those things more than God. [00:30:45] He did what he was supposed to do. What did he ultimately say? [00:30:52] Your will be done. [00:30:55] And he went to the cross. [00:30:59] Just a few verses to reflect on here. John 18:36. Jesus answering, Pilate says, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not have been delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of the world. Pilate said to him, so you are a king. Jesus answered, you say that I am a king. For this purpose, I was Born. And for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice, thinking of kingship. Here's another passage From John, John 10:14 through 18. Jesus talks about himself using this kingly image of a shepherd. Listen to these words. [00:31:48] I am the good shepherd. [00:31:50] I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me. And I know the Father. I laid down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold, extending beyond the disciples and even Israel. I must talking about you. He says, I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. [00:32:17] So there will be one flock, one shepherd. Jesus is establishing himself as the king over all, not just Israel, but Jews and Gentiles alike. He continues, he says, for this reason the Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay down of my own accord. [00:32:44] This charge I have received from my Father. [00:32:49] That's some boldness, Godly boldness, righteous boldness that hears the command of the Lord and obeys. [00:33:01] Now, of course, Jesus was the Lord himself as well. We must remember he's not just a representative human being, but he's also the Lord God who created the heavens and the earth. And so here it is not just God choosing a king over us, but God being our king as well. [00:33:23] An amazing thing that's happening here in the unity between the Father and the Son. From all time on being carried out in this particular way. [00:33:36] Jesus does not get his life taken away from him. He's not pulled out of the baggage. He gives it up willingly and of his own accord. This is your king, and I hope you can see where I'm going. Which is to say, here is the reason that we have confidence. Here's the reason we have courage. Saul is like us. Jesus is not like us, but Jesus is making us like him. [00:34:06] That's part of what he does as king. It's part of what he does as Lord. He does in some ways what the Lord calls Saul to do when he says, govern the people and keep the enemies away. [00:34:20] That's what the Lord does. And he does it so effectively. [00:34:25] He is the king. That's why we can trust him. [00:34:30] Luke 22, verse 29. And I assign to you, Jesus says to his disciples, as my Father assigned to me a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. [00:34:46] I'm giving you all this language to remind you of the kingship of Jesus, of his kingdom, and the part that we have in that one more passage here as we think about this. Jesus words to the thief on the cross. [00:35:06] The man says to Jesus, jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, truly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. [00:35:19] That's what happens when we trust King Jesus. [00:35:25] We see that contrast between him and Saul. As the Lord provides Saul as a king over Israel, you can see why it's not the end, why it's foreshadowing something more and something greater that God would do. And he does it in the incarnation of the Son of God, who at the moment he, and he's dying on a cross, says to a thief on another cross, today, you will be with me in paradise. [00:35:57] Confidence is not the right word. I don't know what the right word for that is, but that's a very bold thing to say. Who could say something like that, except for God himself, and that's our king. [00:36:13] We're just like that thief, in need of the strength of God to accomplish impossible things, to forgive our sins and make us worthy of belonging to King Jesus and his kingdom. [00:36:33] So here's what we need to do. [00:36:36] We need to rely on the grace of God in Jesus Christ, and it's sufficient. [00:36:45] Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 12:9, writes this in 2 Corinthians 12:9. [00:36:52] But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, speaking of God's words to him, my grace is sufficient to you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. [00:37:05] Now Paul's words again. [00:37:07] Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. [00:37:30] This story is about Israel's first king, and it sets us up to consider Israel's final king and our king, who has given us a kingdom that cannot be shaken. [00:37:41] In the first king, we see our weaknesses. [00:37:45] We feel those emotions of being people who hide among baggage, those who are scared, those who don't act when we're called to act. [00:37:56] But in the final king, when we put our faith in him, we see a place where we can have courage and can have strength because of the things that he has done and the things that he is doing. [00:38:09] We can be courageous and do the things that he is, the hard things he's called us to do because of who he is. [00:38:17] So one more verse, Ephesians 6:10. Paul says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. [00:38:28] Let's pray. [00:38:29] Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the strength that you give to us to act in Christ Jesus. As we think about the things that we face, the difficulties and obstacles we face, whether it's lack of wisdom, pernicious sins, disconnection, building relationships, all kinds of difficulties and things we struggle with right now, we are asking that you would give us your strength. [00:38:58] Help us to believe the truths that you have spoken in Scripture. Help us to look to the Lord Jesus Christ and the things that he has done, so that we can be bold and not afraid, so that we would enter while there is still time to enter into your rest, so that we can act while there is still time to act. [00:39:24] Lord, you tell us that we can do all things through you, who gives us strength, our flesh, the world and the devil. They tell us differently. [00:39:35] They tell us that we can do nothing. They tell us that we've done enough. They tell us that you are distant or you don't care, or that you're not strong enough, or that we're too bad in all these things. Lord, we ask that you would teach us not to listen. [00:39:53] Teach us not to listen, but to listen to you, to the truths that you've said, the ways that you have spoken, and help us to be bold, no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what the difficulties are. When you call us to act, help us to act. And to do so not out of a courage in our own hearts or confidence in ourselves, but in confidence in you, in your will, in your strength and in your grace. [00:40:21] We ask, O Lord, that you would forgive us of the ways in which we have sinned against you and others. [00:40:28] Forgive us for our timidness, forgive us for our fear. [00:40:34] Forgive us for putting our hope in things that are not of righteousness. [00:40:41] And we ask not only for your forgiveness, Lord, but also that you would remove our shame so that we could stand up even from a place of having been disobedient. And know and believe with confidence in our hearts that we are yours and we are forgiven. [00:41:00] Help us to turn aside from all false things, turn always to you, living in your light and loving, in your love. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.