Port City Church

Is it possible to go to church, serve in your community, give money to charity, be a good person or even tell other people about God…and yet not be in relationship with God. At the end of 1 Samuel we see a series of warnings as Saul’s life comes to a close. This week we unpack 1 Samuel 28 and see that we can indeed be around God without being in relationship with God.

Why did I do that?  Every single one of us has uttered that phrase at multiple points in our life because every single one of us has a proclivity towards foolishness. In 1 Samuel 25 we see that there are two ends to the spectrum of foolishness.  On the one hand we see the outright foolishness of Nabal which illustrates for us what it’s like to build your life on something other than God.  More often there’s the hidden foolishness of trying to do life independent of the Lord.   Like David in this story, we can lose sight of God by focusing on the wrong thing.

Is it possible to waste your life? The Bible clearly warns us about this possibility. But we also see how it’s the gospel that compels us to live a life that is anything but wasted. This week we unpack Jesus’ parable from Matthew 25 to see how it is to live a life that God calls us to and to steward all the things—our time, our talent, treasures, and the gospel itself—that God has so richly blessed us with.

No one likes to wait. In fact, waiting might be one of the most difficult and frustrating things we do multiple times a day. It’s no different in our walk with Jesus. Many times throughout the Bible there are instances of those who had to wait on the Lord. In 1 Samuel 24 we find David in just such a situation. Waiting. This week we unpack the importance of the waiting period but also how it is that as followers of Jesus we can wait well.

Friendship might just be one of the most misunderstood and misapplied concepts in our culture today. We see in 1 Samuel 18 how the Bible shows us not only what true friendship looks like but how important those friendships are for our life. And it communicates to us the power that is available to us in the gospel that enables us to live into these deep meaningful relationships.

David and Goliath is probably the most well known Bible story in the entirety of Scripture.  But is this simply a good underdog story?  If that’s all 1 Samuel 17 is and if that’s the only way we’ve understood this story then we’ve really missed the magnitude of what God is trying to show us through this event.  Beyond David - God is showing us the truer and better Champion - Jesus - who won our victory over sin and death.

Chapter 16 begins with Samuel in despair and grief over God’s rejection of Saul as king. Was this kingdom over as it was just getting started? Into the uncertainty God speaks and leads Samuel to see above the despair to God’s sovereign plan–His plan to raise up His own chosen king. Upon being led to Jesse’s sons, God shows Samuel how to see beneath the outer display of appearance to the heart. In this God shows His sovereign purpose–to seek the heart of a true king. If we are to see as God sees, we need God close. Jesus Christ is the true and better David–who, as the living word of God, brought God close.

Choking under pressure, King Saul begins to show his true colours. Saul offers an unlawful sacrifice resulting in his own destruction. However, hidden in this passage is an incredible promise. Saul was a disobedient king, Jesus is the obedient King of kings. Saul provided a sacrifice with the blood of an animal, Jesus provided the sacrifice with the blood of His own body. Saul provided an unlawful sacrifice, Jesus provided the perfect sacrifice. There is a greater King to come and to Him we say “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

Martin Luther called John 3:16 “the gospel in miniature”. These two verses sum up the greatest love story that has ever existed. God loved us so much that he gave us His only Son. And this is the key that will unlock the truth that our hearts so desperately long for and need. This Easter we remember and we celebrate the greatest gift and the greatest invitation ever given – the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The same gospel that has the power to save us from our sin is the same gospel that has the ability to shape our lives. This is the truth that Paul lays out in the small but powerful book of Titus. And it’s the truth that if we miss we are – at best – misguided in our understanding of Christianity but more likely you are misunderstanding Christianity altogether. We must see how the gospel is about God coming to us, not about us working our way to God.

The gospel depends entirely upon the supremacy of Christ over all things. Knowing who Christ is and what He has done gives us great assurance as we live the Christian life. Just as Christ is Creator and Lord over all creation, He also holds supremacy over all the new creation (the church) in Himself. Knowing this powerful truth fills our lives with hope and confidence in light of the One who has saved us.

Chapter 8 is a turning point in the book of 1 Samuel because it’s in chapter 8 that Israel makes a demand for an earthly king. God was Israel's king – He was the one ruling and protecting Israel. This passage shows us that we all have to choose a king and that the king of your heart will either lead to life or it will bring death. And unless God is the one sitting, reigning, ruling on the throne of your heart it will always lead to disappointment, devastation, and destruction of your life.

Often imitated but never duplicated. That is a phrase we hear often to market everything from energy drinks to sports cars. In many ways, what we see in 1 Samuel 4 onward is this very phrase played out as it relates to the God of the universe. But before we begin to chalk up idolatry and the worship of false gods as something stuck in the Old Testament, we have to realise how easily we make idols of the heart (see Ezekiel 14:3). God desires to draw near to us but in doing so, God will reveal and eliminate the idols of our heart.

All of us want or desire a vibrant and purpose-filled life. The problem is oftentimes we are listening to other people or other things to give us the answers to the vibrant and purpose-filled questions that only God can give us. Thus, hearing God is vital to a vibrant and purpose-filled life. And what 1 Samuel 3 makes definitively clear to us is that God is not hiding. In fact He wants to be heard and in 1 Samuel 3 we see God speaking.

God’s judgment paves the way for the salvation of His people. In the judgement of Eli’s household, we see that God’s judgment reveals who He is and is directed against who He isn’t. Yet in the midst of judgment, God preserves His people by providing hope of salvation for them (through the influence of Samuel). Ultimately this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the faithful priest who provided salvation for God’s people by enduring the judgment for our sin.

We are all worshipers. We were all created to love something ultimately because to love is to be human. The thing that we love ultimately is the thing that we will (or are) worshiping. It’s what gets the allegiance of our heart and our lives (it’s essentially what is controlling us). And our hearts are gradually being pulled further and further in the direction of that which we worship. In sum: you are what you worship.

Self-worth, security, and satisfaction. We are all on a search for these three essential ingredients to life. The hard truth is that we often look for these in the wrong places. Through the hopelessness of Hannah’s situation we see that in actuality a baby was the solution for Hannah and a King was the solution for Israel – but not the one they were thinking... Jesus is the King of Kings who gives us all the self-worth, security, and all the satisfaction our hearts are searching for.

In a new year we often need to be reminded of two simple yet profound truths. One that God loves you and two that you have security in your salvation. Often the circumstances of life, the challenges and hardships we face can cause us to think otherwise – that God doesn’t care, let alone love us. This can often lead to doubt – doubt in the gospel and the saving work of Jesus. Do you ever question your eternal security as a Christian? Wonder, 'God, do you really love me?' These final verses in Romans chapter 8 bring great clarity and good news to those who are in Christ.

The New Year isn’t a magical reset button for the circumstances of your life. Most people go through life constantly disappointed, constantly frustrated, constantly angry because the difficult and painful circumstances of their life haven’t changed. So when you wake up and realise that cancer is still ravaging your body, your marriage is still broken, you’re still marginalised at work because of your faith, your child is still misbehaving, or you're still depressed… What do you do? Paul gives us the answer here in Romans 8.

How does one man’s suffering 2000 years ago on a cross have anything to do with my life today? Well, in what is said to be the greatest chapter in all the Bible, Romans 8 unpacks this question for us. Christian, there is indeed, no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus, and because there is no condemnation in Christ there’s indeed no separation from Christ. Jesus died to take away the penalty, power, and one day the presence of sin in your life. The question is, do you believe that?