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South Bay SDA Church

Phil Mills

Saul’s Three Errors

You may never be president of the United States, you may never be president of the General Conference, but you will lead someone to make a choice to either eternal life or eternal death.

At some point, everyone here will set an example that someone will follow.

Because leadership is so important, God provides instruction for leaders in Scripture.

This morning, we're going to be looking at 2 leaders.

1 leader illustrates a leadership failure, and the other illustrates a leadership success.

We want to thoughtfully examine what made the difference, But before we open the Bible, let's pray.

Father in heaven, thank you for the Bible.

I pray that it may bring hope and comfort and warning and everything that you intended, that your word may not come back to you void and it will strike us with a new force and power.

I would like you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Chronicles 10, 13, and 14.

These verses serve as an obituary to the first leader and an introduction to the second.

So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance, but he did not inquire of the Lord.

And therefore he killed him and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse." These 2 verses provide the Bible summary of the life of King Saul.

On his epitaph no good deeds are recalled, there are no redeeming positives, there's no hint of praise, Saul's reign which began with such promise closed with utter and complete failure.

2 are sins of omission, and 1 is a sin of commission.

These 3 errors caused the judgment of heaven to fall on him.

These errors ruined his life and his kingdom, and he lost both this life and the life to come.

But Saul's 3 errors are among the most common errors of leaders today.

First, he failed to keep the Word of God.

Second, he sought the counsel from a spiritualist medium.

And third, he failed to inquire of the Lord.

Let's briefly examine these problems of Saul.

Moses instructed the people how to keep the Word of God.

They were to keep God's instruction before their eyes constantly.

They were to keep God's words in their ears continually.

And they were to keep God's Word on their lips.

They were to talk of it to their children and grandchildren.

They were to keep God's Word in their minds, meditating on it night and day.

The instruction in the Word of God was to regulate their going out and their coming in.

God's Word was to monitor every thought and every action.

God's word was to supervise even their choice of clothes to wear.

And the Word of God was to encompass all their life.

Moses summarized this all-encompassing instruction by saying, man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

In keeping the word of God, we call obedience.

While our daughter Ruthie was here a few weeks ago, she went to physical therapy for a back problem to keep her son, 1 and a half years old Hudson, from interfering with the therapy, she told him not to cross the line.

Hudson loves his mother and wants to be with her constantly, but notice how he kept the word of his mother.

Please disregard any music playing in the background of the PT department.

Hudson never did go across the line for the entire 30 minutes of treatment.

Now I'm not going to play it for 30 minutes.

God gave specific instruction to kings to set an example for every citizen to follow.

The king was told that regardless of where he was, he must keep the word of God with him.

And the word of God was not simply a talisman, a good luck charm which the king was to carry.

He was to read it all the days of his life.

He was not to simply be a hearer of the word, he was to be a doer of the word, for the text continues, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes.

Furthermore, the king was warned not to regard himself as being above the law, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandments to the right hand or to the left.

But Saul was not careful to follow and obey the Bible in every detail.

He did not compare his life to the Bible pattern.

King Saul did not build his life on a solid foundation.

He did not build his life on the word of God.

This problem led to every other problem in his life, and it led to his ultimate failure.

God gave Saul instruction, but where Saul's ideas, Saul's judgment differed from God's instruction, he followed his own way.

Saul did not fully surrender his plans and ideas to God.

He had confused partial obedience with complete obedience.

Saul told Samuel with a self-satisfied air after he had only partially obeyed God, I have performed the commandment of the Lord.

He illustrated the truth of Solomon's observations, all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes.

When reproved for his errors, he felt misunderstood and mistreated.

He felt his way was superior to God's way.

Saul was like the Pharisees, which said, you are those who justify yourselves before men.

Finally, in places seeking to make sure that all human praise was directed to God in his word, Saul sought to direct praise to himself.

When David received higher praise than he received, Saul became jealous and angry and actually sought to kill David.

Saul's life is to serve a warning to every leader.

God's word provides us the detailed instruction we need in order to be like Jesus in the way we live, how we do our work, how we relate to others.

Jesus lived by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Before our conversion, we lived by our own inclinations, but when we accept Christ, we become entirely new creations, And we have new standards for thoughts, words, and actions.

Adventist Tome 21, those who after receiving the truth make no change in word or deportment, in dress or surroundings, are living to themselves, not to Christ.

If we made no change, when we accepted Jesus, we didn't accept Jesus.

They have not been created anew in Christ Jesus under purification and holiness.

If the Bible is not changing us, we're not keeping the Word of God.

Many are going directly contrary to the light which God has given to his people because they do not read the books which contain the light and knowledge and cautions, reproofs and warnings.

The books are given because they're needed.

No wonder Isaiah instructs us, seek ye out the book of the Lord and read.

True education will take you to the word of God, not away from the word of God.

True education will enable you to see greater and greater value in God's word.

Deuteronomy 4, 6, keep therefore and do them for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations.

As a leader, the king was given additional instruction so that he could set the example for all of Israel.

What was registered in the books of heaven regarding Saul's life will be registered against us.

So Saul died for his unfaithfulness, which he committed against the Lord because he did not keep the word of the Lord.

It will be registered if we do what Saul did.

Saul's refusal to obey the word of the Lord was the first and foremost reason he perished.

By ignoring God's instruction, it will always lead to seeking and follow Satan's instruction.

Disobey God, we will seek and obey Satan.

The same moment we reject God's counsel is the moment we accept Satan's.

You may never go to seances, play with Ouija boards, or consult fortune tellers and palm readers, but you'll be no less certainly dabbling in sorcery.

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Saul’s Three Errors

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