Title: Faith of Encounter (1 Samuel 9:1-10)
Contents
Title Faith of Encounter / Scripture 1 Samuel 9:1-10 / Space Daebok Church
*** Introduction
There are principles of life that are common to the lives of all living beings. It is 'meeting'. It is not an exaggeration to say that all living things created by God, from the process of birth to the moment of death, are made through encounters.
Abraham's old servant, who had been commanded to bring Isaac's bride, asked for God's guidance, and met Rebekah at the well of the city of Nahor. Joseph, sold as a slave at the time of his brothers, met Potiphar, the leader of the protesters of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The way was opened for Naaman, a leper general of the Syrian nation, to meet a young girl in Israel and be healed. When Paul arrived at Philippi while starting his European evangelism, he met Lydia, a merchant in the city of Thyatira, and his house became an outpost of the gospel. There was also an encounter where a young man in Seoul who had gone on a business trip to Busan prayed early in the morning at a church near the inn for a week, and then married a young woman who stayed until late to pray.
A poor girl from a poor family who lived a good life of faith at the Doumesangol Church prayed to the Lord, saying, ‘Please let me go to Seoul and work as a foster carer in a family of good faith so that I can attend night school.’ At that time, Mr. Kang from Seoul, unable to rot in his heart over the problem of childcare, prayed to the Lord, saying, 'If you send me a good, trusting country girl, I will love you like a daughter.'
Kwon Kang went to the waiting room at Seoul Station with vague expectations. I looked around involuntarily and found a girl sitting on a chair and praying while holding the bible on her lap with both hands. Master Kwon approached me and asked, ‘Are you not looking for a job?’ It was the Lord who made you meet. This girl went to night Bible school at Kwon Kang's house and lived like a family, then married a devout bachelor and became a faithful church service worker.
God provides many things through meeting people and works.
There is a meeting for everyone, not just special people. Meeting with parents, meeting with spouse, meeting with teacher, meeting with neighbors, etc. A person's life is made up of many encounters. The most important meeting among them is the meeting with God, the owner of life.
Saul, who became Paul, met the Lord on the way to Damascus to persecute Christians. Through that meeting, Saul became ‘Paul’, and it was a great turning point in his life, when he saw everything in the world as excrement.
There are encounters by the providence of God in the text of this time. The main character in the Word is “Saul,” the first king of Israel. We know that he is a failure in life. However, it can be seen that his beginning is truly beautiful and sincere. Let's go to the meeting place that God arranges through these words. And I hope that I can discover God's providence for myself in these words.
1. Let's look at the process of meeting God leads.
Chapters 9 and 10 of 1 Samuel record the process of Saul being appointed as the first king of Israel. Among them, in the text of this time, the story of Saul appearing on the stage of history is unfolding. The story begins with the trifles of a certain family.
At the request of his father, Saul and his servant set out to find the lost donkey in his house. Saul searched for the lost donkey in the hill country of Ephraim, Salishah, Shaalim, and the tribes of Benjamin, but he could not find it. In the end, we came to the land of ‘Sup’ that God intended. In the last city they reached, there was Samuel, a man of God. God arranged this trip to lead Saul to Samuel. In other words, because of the loss of the donkey, God began the great plan for the future. In this way, all things in the world, especially those that happen to God's people, have the hand of God who manages the world behind them.
Let's briefly summarize the meeting process.
1) Meeting with the servant.
Let's look at verses 6-8. The servant assisted Saul and faithfully followed him. It had been a long time since he had set out in search of a she-ass, and Saul was determined to return so as not to disturb his parents. At that moment, the servant accompanying him makes an important proposal. It was, “Let’s meet the man of God in this city.” Saul was not ready to make a decision. It was because there was no gift to give to the man of God. Even then, the servant willingly offered ¼ of the silver shekel he had so that he could meet the prophet.
For Saul, the servant was an important guide in his life. A similar story was told of Naaman, an Syrian general who was suffering from leprosy. He heard about Elisha, a man of God, from an Israeli girl who was taken captive and served as a babysitter. He was angry with Elisha who did not receive him, and when he turned away, he was eventually healed by the invitation of his attendant. As such, faithful companions for the saints have great value in their spiritual life.
However, we must not forget that these guides were of a low class, with no respect for opinions. In this way, we need to know that there are circumstances in which we can take lightly or ignore the encounters that God arranges for us. This testifies to the fact that God's grace comes to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5 says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Isaiah 29:19 says, “The humble will rejoice in the Lord.” Isaiah 57:15 The verse says, “He revives the spirit of the contrite and humble of heart.”
2) Meeting with good neighbors.
Let's look at 1 Samuel 9:11-13. With the encouragement of his servant, Saul went to the city where the prophet lived. Saul met a group of girls at a well at the entrance to the city. The girls gave Saul a detailed account of the prophet's current affairs.
In God's providence, even those around him receive grace. When the Jews were leaving Egypt, God had them give money to the Egyptians around them when they asked for it. This was also the case when returning home from the Babylonian captivity. God reserves grace for those who obey. Neither beast nor man or any circumstance can disobey the providence of God. Lev 26:6, “I will give peace to the land, and when you lie down, no one will make you afraid; 2 Chronicles 14:14, “The LORD terrified the people of all the cities around Gerar, and the crowds struck all the cities and plundered many things that were in them.
3) Meeting with the prophet.
Let's look at 1 Samuel 9:14. Thanks to the girls, Saul was able to meet the prophet Samuel without hesitation. Saul has now reached the final destination that God intended. God testifies that the meeting between Saul and Samuel was by no means an accident, but by God's thorough plan.
Let's look at 1 Samuel 9:15-17. One day before Saul's arrival, God had told Samuel, "Tomorrow around this time I will send a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be the leader of Israel."
For a Christian, there can be no coincidence. Therefore, we must cherish every encounter. Because there must be God's will in that meeting. Abraham worked hard to be a guest, but he unwittingly treated God and His angels.
2. Let's look at man's attitude toward God's providence.
God accomplishes His will through small things that seem ordinary in the eyes of people. There are many ways God works, but He is behind everything and provides His providence. In this way, God accomplishes His will even through events that seem like a coincidence. Therefore, it cannot be overemphasized how important it is for us to live under the providence of God.
1) You must be faithful to your current work.
Saul was asked by his father to come with him saying that he had lost the livestock. After departing from Gibeah, where he lived, Saul worked hard to find some work from far away to the surrounding area. The area where Saul was looking for a donkey was over 40km in a straight line alone. Had Saul not been able to scan his surroundings in an unfaithful manner, he would not have had the opportunity to meet Samuel.
Saul did the best he could for the task assigned to him. You can see that this is a process where God tests Saul's ability to entrust his work. God said that he entrusts many things to those who are faithful in little things. And he said that what is required of those in charge is loyalty.
- Matthew 25:21, "And his master said, Well done, good and faithful servant, since you were faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master." / 1 Corinthians 4:2, “And of those entrusted with it, fidelity is sought.” Revelation 2:10, “… Be loyal until you die. Then I will give you the crown of life.”
2) You must have an open mind.
Saul listened to the servant who accompanied him. Although they had different social status and had different views from their own, they had an open mind that could listen. In the Bible we see many closed-minded people and few open-minded people. It can be seen that mainly those who disobey God's will are those who have a closed heart.
Acts 7:57 records the actions taken by the people who were listening to Stephen's sermon after being pierced in their hearts. “We cried out with a loud voice and covered our ears, and rushed to him with all our hearts.” They have closed their minds to themselves. The same is true of the crowds who were crying out for Jesus to be crucified. In the book of Revelation, the Lord wrote to the seven churches in Asia Minor, saying, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Not only that, while teaching in parables, He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15, 13:9). This emphasizes that the word of the Lord is given to those who have an open heart.
3) You must depend on God.
God wanted to see through his servant whether Saul was relying on God. Saul had a heart to depend on God. He went to the city where the prophet Samuel lived to inquire of God.
Believers must depend on God. There are things that believers who depend on God must discern. It is to discern whether the work we are going forward now is directed to God or not. Guidance by God's providence is always for God's will and glory. God's will is the things of unity, unity, holiness, and love that reveal God's holiness. If it is seeking worldly pleasures or self-interest, or if it interferes with holiness and is contrary to holiness and love, then it is human guidance.
In this way, the Christian life consists of encounters, and every encounter has meaning. Among them, the best meeting is the meeting with the Lord, and the way to keep this meeting the best depends on our attitude in life. Today, the Lord fulfills God's will through our encounters. Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will cherish every moment of each day and do your best to achieve a beautiful life that is pleasing to God.