Hello, and welcome to the Westside churches special Monday Morning Coffee podcast on this podcast, our preacher Mark Roberts will help you get your week started right. With look back at yesterday's sermon so that we can think through it further and better work the applications into our daily lives . Mark will then look forward into this week's Bible reading so that we can know what to expect and watch for. And, he may have some extra bonus thoughts from time to time. So grab a cup of coffee as we start the week together on Monday Morning Coffee with Mark.

Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to the Monday Morning Coffee podcast for Monday, January the 13th. I'm Mark, and I've got my Bible open to the book of Samuel. I'm holding some coffee, feels really nice holding coffee on a cold morning, doesn't it? And I am ready to talk with you about yesterday's sermon, which plugs directly into daily Bible reading. We want to start the week with a sharp spiritual focus. So pour that cup of coffee, get ready, get set. Let's go. Yesterday's sermon was designed to encourage you to be about daily Bible reading. Talked a lot about what happens when you do that. I'm just gonna give you one extra thought here. If you do daily Bible reading, what ? What's gonna happen? What's gonna happen? You will experience God's glorious providence. Think about the famous story of the Ethiopian eunuch and his conversion. Acts chapter eight tells us he's going down the road here he is reading arguably the most famous messianic prophecy in all of the Old Testament. And on the next corner, they're standing a gospel preacher who's ready to help him understand that prophecy and become a Christian. How did that happen? It happened because God wanted it to happen and because God made it happen Last week, we read in the Book of Ruth, she just happens to be in Boaz's field who just happens to be a near redeemer, who happens to be single, who happens to be looking for a woman of Godly character. No, none of those things happen to happen. They happen because God made them happen. That's called providence. God works all things together. God causes and moves and is active and alive in this world to bring men and women to him and to bring men and women closer to him. Maybe you've had that experience of feeling like the preacher's been hiding behind your sofa all week, listening to everything going on in your home. Well, I'm not hiding behind your sofa. That's not it. That's not it at all. The preacher does not live in your house, but God in his providence arranges for the sermon to be talking about just what we need and we feel the power of God's word in our lives. But that doesn't just happen in preaching. You read the Bible on a regular and consistent daily basis, you will find that God is saying just what you need to hear today through His word. You'll find that someone you meet at work is doing exactly what you just read about or a situation will crop up where you will need the courage that you just read about over and over again. Daily Bible reading will equip you to live life today because God in his providence is using God's word to equip you, to serve him and honor him and glorify him. We saw that in the Book of Ruth. And guess what we're gonna see in Samuel in our reading this week. It's about providence and it's about letting God into our lives so that he can do those things. And daily Bible reading is one of the great ways that we do that. Speaking of daily Bible reading, let's do some of that. Get your Bible over to one Samuel chapter eight. Let's read the Bible together. It is Monday and our reading for Monday is all of one Samuel chapter eight. This is not a long chapter, and again, when you're reading story, when you're reading narrative, it's not difficult to stay in the reading. And this is an enormously important chapter. There are a couple places in the Bible where the ground just changes massively. That's just a a landmark shift. And this is one of those places because we're transitioning from judgeship to kingship. We are ending the time of Samuel. He's the last judge, and we're beginning the kings with the rise of Saul. And one of the things to see here is why we're transitioning out of judges into kings. And the answer to that is we'll see that in our reading today is the people aren't happy with God, they're not happy with the way God is doing things. And that contributes to our understanding of why God is so unhappy with what they ask for. So let's work on this a little bit. You'll notice here that Samuel is old verse one, and he appointed or made, it's the same word as in verse five, A appoint for us a king. He appointed his son's judges over Israel and they're terrible judges. They are terrible judges. I don't know what it is about great men in the Bible. So many great men in the Bible have terrible children in Samuel. Samuel is like David and a bunch of other great leaders who just don't take care of their own family. And so part of the problem here is the sons verse five, don't walk in your ways. And so bad leadership is causing problems. But I think more than anything, the problem here is foreign armies and the need to have a permanent military leader who can maintain a standing army and lead that army into battle. That's what's really going on here because the people say, we want a king to judge us like all the nations. What they want here is a military leader. Look down at verse 20 in verse 20, that we may be like all the nations and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. Growing up, I heard one Samuel eight used as the consummate text to prove that we should not be like the nations. And then the preacher would pause and say the denominations around us. And that preached really well. But the problem here isn't just that the people of Israel are looking over at the Philistines or looking over at the amite and saying, wow, it's so cool that they have a king. Why can't we be cool like them? Which has certainly been a problem I should add among God's people. Lots of times we are looking over at what our religious neighbors are doing and saying, wow, why can't we have a basketball court? Why can't we have a giant fellowship hall? Why can't we have this big family life center like they have over there? That point will hold, but that's not really what's driving one Samuel eight. What's driving one Samuel eight is that they are tired of the judge system, which works when they cry out to God in repentance because one of these nations has come and overtaken them in their idolatry and in their sin, God allowed that to happen. And then they cry out to God and God sends a deliverer enough with that, we're done with that. What we want is a permanent king who can lead us into battle and who can keep those nations off of us, whether we're doing what's right or not. So the people aren't saying, Samuel , you pray for us and see to see what God wants us to do about this. See where God is on this? The situation isn't good and we need God's help here. No, they have rejected God's solution, which is do what's right and God will defend you and you won't have the AMLO heights and the hights and the parasites and all the other, the ites , the termites all coming after you. No , what we want is a permanent leader who can lead us into battle. And so the Lord says in verse seven, obey the voice of the people for they have not rejected you. They've rejected me. You . You see where this is? It's not about we just wanna be cool, we just wanna look like the nation's around us. No, we want a permanent deliverer. And so Samuel beginning in verse 10, begins to say, this is what you want. This is what it's gonna cost. And the operative word here is the word take , which you need to underline in your Bible. And that actually becomes a theme through the rest of Samuel and through the rest of King Solomon becomes the ultimate personification of this. He just takes, takes, takes, takes, takes. You want a king, Kings cost money. Are you ready to pay the price to have this amazing leader who's just ready at any time with the army to defend you? Are you sure you want that? You have chosen verse 18, a king for yourselves? Let's see if you really like that because now verse 18, the Lord will not answer you in that day. You've worked out your own solution to the problem. Now you have rejected God's solution to the problem. And God says, obey their voice. Verse 22, maybe the terrifying thing about one Samuel eight is that it teaches us that sometimes God gives us what we want. And that's not always a good thing because sometimes, like in one Samuel eight, we don't want what God wants. That's one . Samuel chapter eight, our reading for Monday is one Samuel chapter eight. So we get down to verse 12 and notice there they are just in time. Yesterday they would've missed Samuel, but now they are just in time . And we get a little look at some of the worship practices in the Old Testament where worshipers shared in eating the peace or the fellowship offering. And so Samuel and Saul are going to meet, and I know you're gonna ask at the end of our reading here, verse 14, high places , wow, that that's really a mixed bag. Sometimes they seem okay like here, but sometimes they're used to worship idols and sometimes they're used to mix the worship of Jehovah God with idolatry and are very wrong. Maybe this says something about the times and that people spiritually aren't really where they ought to be. I'd love a king to move the needle spiritually. We'll see if Saul can do that. But our reading then our reading for today is for Samuel chapter nine, verses one to 14. See you tomorrow in Westsiders. I will see you on Zoom tonight. It is Tuesday. And our reading today is First Samuel chapter nine, verses one to 14. First Samuel nine, one to 14 is our reading today we come to the end of chapter eight yesterday, and the question is, all right , we're gonna have a king who's gonna be the first king? And the answer to that is given to us in chapter nine, but it is given to us in a unique way that demonstrates God's providence. God working through some very ordinary means, some lost donkeys to bring Saul to Samuel so that he will be anointed as the first king over Israel. And Saul is a man of Benjamin, verse one. And Benjamin has not distinguished itself. If you read about the tribe of Benjamin in the book of Judges, it is not by any means the most spiritually minded bunch of people on the planet. And then we read about Saul verse two, who is a handsome young man, but not one thing is said about him spiritually. That is a little perturbing. What ? What's the deal here? This guy doesn't seem to have much interest in God. In fact, in verse five, Saul says, we're all done here. Wait , I , I can't find these donkeys. We need to go home. He does not say, let's seek God. Let's look for the Lord. Let's see what God wants us to do. No, the servant has to say, there's a man of God and ramal that's about five miles from where Saul lived. And that's disturbing. How does Saul not know about Samuel when they live so close together? Samuel's hometown is within the circuit of Samuel's territory, or I should say Saul's hometown is within the circuit of Samuel's territory. And yet Saul seems to know nothing about Samuel at all. That is, yeah, that's troublesome, isn't it? That is troublesome. It is Wednesday. It is Wednesday. And our reading today is one Samuel chapter nine, verses 15 to 27, the rest of one Samuel chapter nine. For the first time now we begin to realize the Lord is at work because verse 15 says, now, the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel, tomorrow I will send to you a man for the land of Benjamin. So God is the one that is bringing this to pass. God is providentially working through situations and through circumstances. And I do like verse 16, I have heard their cry. That's the cycle of the judges people doing wrong, needing deliverance, repent and turn to God. Saul shall save my people for the hand of the Philistines in verse 17, he shall restrain my people. There is some emphasis there on not just being a military leader, but on helping the people get back to the Lord. And so Saul approaches Samuel in the gate. We'll talk a little bit about the gate tonight in, in , uh, Bible talk. And on Wednesday night we'll talk a little bit about some of what the gate means there. But Samuel says, it's me. I'm the seer. And this is what we're gonna do. Don't worry about your donkeys. Verse 20, by the way, the Hebrew, there is very, very difficult. Lots of different translations about this business here in verse 20 about for whom is all that is desirable, that that may be to whom will belong. Every desirable thing in Israel. You're gonna be elevated to a high place. And then Saul says, make sure you mark verse 21. I'm just a binge mite from the least of the tribes of Israel and is not my clan, the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way? This is remarkable humility and it is something that Saul possesses at this moment, but that we will see he cannot hold on to . Please remember for Samuel 9 21, at this time, Saul is little in his own eyes . Samuel will use that expression and we want to mark that down. So Samuel has made it or set apart for him a special portion of the fellowship offering that usually would belong to the priest. And they set that aside. And Saul has got to be wondering what's going on? What, what , what will happen here? Why am I being treated like I'm a VIP ? And then Samuel says, you tell your servant verse 27 to go on. 'cause I need to tell you something from God. Wow. Sitting on the edge of our seats here at the end of one Samuel, chapter nine, our reading for Wednesday, one Samuel chapter nine, verses 15 to 27 . It is Thursday. It is Thursday. Our reading today, first Samuel chapter 10, verses one to 16. And I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't already read this because it's almost impossible to stop at the end of one Samuel nine. But in chapter nine, God has providentially moved Saul to be exactly where he needs to be. All these things happen. The donkeys just happen to get lost, and then they happen to not find them. And Saul happens to get PR down and discouraged about it precisely when they're near Samuel's town . And the servant just happens to know about Samuel and the young women happen to know where Samuel will be. And it happens to be on the time when, no, it didn't just happen. God has arranged all of this. And one Samuel 10 begins the saga of King Saul. Some of this will be very good and some of this will make you wanna pull your hair out. Saul has so much promise, and I loved yesterday's reading, verse 21 of chapter nine, I'm just a humble benjamite. I'm a nobody. How can I possibly be the recipient of all these great things from God? But Samuel verse one, chapter 10 and verse one takes a flask of oil and pours it upon his head and kissed him and said, has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? You shall reign over the people of the Lord and you'll save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. So there's gonna be some weird things that happen in this chapter, but the point of the chapter is to see that God is choosing Saul. And I'm sure that Saul was thinking, what is going on and, and is this Samuel Guy losing his mind? How? How can I be sure that this is really the word from God? You know? And I know a lot of people jump up and down and say, I have a word from God. Do you ? Do you really have a word from God? Samuel? So Saul, this young man, unsure of himself, humble will be given three signs, special occurrences that would mark and show him that he is God's choice. And I do like the word prince here in verse one. He is not the king, king, God is the king. He is the under king. He's the Lieutenant King, he's the deputy king. He is in charge of God's people here on earth, but he is not free to do as he pleases. So Samuel gives him some very specific signs so that, and they are just super specific. None of this can just be coincidence so that he will know that he has been chosen by God. And these signs then happen. I think verse six is the big sign. The spirit of the Lord will rush upon you and you'll prophesy and be turned into another man. So this is what Saul needs to be the king. He needs the spirit of God to enable and empower him. We've seen that before in the Bible. The Spirit is said, for example, to have been upon zael and a holy AB in the designing and construction of the tabernacle. And then in the book of Judges, the spirit of the Lord comes upon Gideon and Jeha and Samson. We'll see that later in Samuel. The spirit of the Lord comes upon David. And in fact, it becomes important because the spirit of the Lord will leave King Saul. And there's lots of discussion about some of this and we can talk a lot about , uh, what exactly the spirit of the Lord means. But so many people have tried to make this into some kind of ecstatic frenzy in verse 10. And he's speaking in gibberish, kind of like you see various charismatic groups try to practice today. But that's, there's nothing here to say that. There's nothing here that says it's that kind of speaking. In fact, in this day, in the Bible's time, when the spirit of God comes upon you and you prophesy, that doesn't mean you speak gibberish. It means you speak for God. It means that you are preaching in an inspired way. That's what this is all about. So there's nothing here to say that in some ways Saul has become charismatic or caught up in some sort of gibberish, frenzy sorts of things. No, he's speaking for God because the spirit of God has come upon him. He's not been with these prophets. This is completely unexpected. But he is acting like a prophet. He's doing what prophets do. He's speaking for God. That's our reading today in one Samuel one , Samuel Chapter nine, one to 16 is the reading for Thursday would really kinda like to keep going in one Samuel and think a little bit more about what's happening. Did I say one Samuel chapter nine? It's one Samuel 10 verses one to 16 would like to keep going with that, but we'll stop and give our attention to the Psalms. See you tomorrow. Our reading for Friday takes us to the Book of Psalms. I'm so excited about reading the Psalms with you this year. Love, love, love the book of Psalms and think if you're seeking God's heart, the Book of Psalms is an excellent place to begin. Our reading for Friday is Psalm four. This is widely called an evening prayer because of what is said in verse eight, in peace, I will lie down and sleep. So this is an evening prayer and one of the most important questions we can ask about a Psalm, we always ask this to start any Psalm, is what kind of psalm is it? And it is a lament, a cry for help. Answer me. Verse one, when I call, oh God of my righteousness. But more than just a lament, I think the Psalm develops a calm and quiet confidence in God. The basic message here is that God ensures our safety. I think the writer here is probably David, and he is someone who knew all kinds of trouble, particularly physical peril. Although, although most of the time in the Book of Psalms, David talks a lot about people hacking on him with their tongues, drives him crazy that people say mean things about him and try to tear him down with words, try to destroy his reputation. And I see that in verse two. How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? David hates that this may be the time of Absalom's rebellion might be the time when Saul was chasing him around, but David experiences that kind of difficulty in distress all the time. His response to that is to call upon the Lord. And as he's calling upon the Lord, he begins to put together some things that he wants to do. For example, I'm gonna be angry, verse four, and not sin. That, of course is reproduced in Ephesians chapter four and verse 26. So in the middle of this, I'm not going to do wrong things to deal with my enemies. And then what else could I do? I could worship God. Verse five, offer right sacrifices and that will help me put my trust in the Lord. I'm always a little bit bothered by people who are in a time of calamity and they can't come to church. Come to church and that will help you deal with the calamity because it will refocus you upon God. And then I like verse seven a lot, you have put more joy in my heart than when they have their grain and wine abound. God is the source of true and real joy. God, I'm looking to you to help me with this. I'm looking for you to put joy in my heart. Having said that, then in peace I can lie down and sleep for you alone. Oh Lord, make me dwell in safety accusations, make sleep impossible, but God grants security, which makes it possible for the psalmist to rest. This is a beautiful, beautiful evening prayer and it causes us to look to God for our security and to have confidence that God will answer that prayer. Thank you so much for listening to the podcast this week. If it's helping you, tell somebody about it and of course, leave us a rating and a review so more people will find the podcast. Until next week, then, when we open our Bibles together, again, I'm Mark Roberts and I wanna go to heaven, and I want you to come to I'll see you on Monday with a cup of coffee.

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