Sermon for November 24, 2014

1 Samuel 8:4-20, 11:14-15

4So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

6But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.”

10Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day. ”

19But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

Give Us A King

1. America's Longing for a King
   • Kennedys and Camelot, Elvis, Michael Jackson, Disney Princesses
   • Film: King Arthur, Lord of the Rings, and Thor: The Dark World
2. But What Exactly is a King?
   • Hebrew – מֶ֫לֶךְ (Melek) comes from Molok, name of an ancient Ammonite Deity to whom children were sacrificed (mentioned specifically in Deut. as idolatry).
   • Greek - βασιλεως (Basileos). Cheiftan, more like a prince, sometimes democratically elected.
   • English –comes from O.E. Cyning “little kin” or “descendant/product of the nation”
   • Modern Kings (Basileos): Politicans, CEOs, Celebrities, Pastors, Bosses, Parents
3. Bad Kings and Good Kings
   • Thor and Loki; Saul and David; Herod/Caesar and Jesus
   • Principles:
     • Bad kings use people. Good kings serve people.
     • Bad kings are paranoid. Good kings are confident.
     • Bad kings are myopic. Good kings see the big picture.
     • Bad kings divide. Good kings unite.
     • Bad kings enslave. Good kings liberate.
     • Bad kings demand allegiance. Good kings earn allegiance.
4. Reasons why we want a King (1 Samuel 11:14-15):
   • To make us like all the other nations (Everyone else is doing it, I want to fit in)
   • To fight our battles (It's too hard, I don't want to do it)
5. Christ as King of Kings
   • Calls us to be distinct and set apart from the nations.
     • Romans 12:2. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
     • 1st Peter 2:9. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
   • Calls us fight our own battles as well as the battles of others.
     • Ephesians 6:13. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
     • Matthew 16:24. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
     • Matthew 25:45. “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” John 21:17. (to Peter) If you love me...feed my sheep.
6. Let us pray: (The king we want...the king we deserve...the king we have already been given...the king of kings).