"Be Careful What You Ask For" Rev. Marc Lavarin

3:01 be careful what you ask for. Be careful what you ask for. over the course of January we've been guided by the theme in Bible study and in preaching teach us to pray and in case you've missed one of those Bible studies or in case you missed a weekend let me help you give you the cliff note version while we've been studying how to pray one thing we've learned about prayer is that God answers prayer. God is good at answering prayers. God's so good at answering prayers, he answers prayers that have been prayed on your behalf. I know I'm the product of some praying parents. I'm talking about parents who would open the door on Saturday morning and just brush right by your bed, and they wouldn't say too much, but they'd just say Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. In some way, God knew exactly what mama was talking about. God answers prayers. God answers prayers so much that God answers prayers you didn't even pray yet. That God has a way of putting something on your heart. And before you can even put your knees on the side of the bed, someone will give you a phone call and say, you were on my heart.

4:23 God answers prayers. But I also had to come to the realization that God also answers prayers. I wish I never prayed. Now, I knew I wasn't going to get a whole lot of amens right there, but all you have to do is just go scroll through your social media profile and pick three or four people and say, Lord, I prayed for that. You could go through your resume if it's still on there, because you know sometimes we don't want our current employer to call our former employer, and say to yourself, Lord, I prayed for that. And it's interesting because every time God answers our prayers, whether in the affirmative or the negative, I've come to the conclusion that God's always teaching us a lesson. And I'd be willing to submit to you tonight that prayer is not only your way of finding out something about God, but prayer is God's way of finding out something about you.

5:24 And that's where we find ourselves here in the text. We find ourselves in the book of 1 Samuel and Israel has demanded themselves a king because Israel now thinks they know what's best for themselves. And anytime you think you know what's best for you better than God, you're in for an experience with God. And Israel demands themselves a king, but let me tell you the magnitude of Israel's requests. See, God brings the people of Israel up out of Egypt. It's God that's ready to give them the promised land, but Israel's disobedience keeps them wandering in the wilderness. Then when God is ready to bring them into the promised land, God raises up Joshua to bring them into the promised land. But when they get into the promised land, Israel repeats a cycle of sin. It goes a little bit like this. Israel gets what they want, and then they will worship other gods, and then they would be punished, and then they would cry out to God, and then God would answer their prayers and then they obey God for a little while and then they'd go right back to worship in the same God. And before you point fingers at Israel, let me just say you can redact Israel's name and put your name right there in the middle and the same would be true that every time God answers a prayer, we have a tendency of wandering out. But let me tell you how God is so good because even though they're doing the same things over and over again, every time they cry out, God answers their prayers because God is a prayer answering God.

6:56 Let me tell you, God would raise up judges in order to answer their prayers. God raises up Othniel. God raises up Ehud. God raises up Shamgar. God raises up Deborah. God raises up Gideon. God raises up Tolar. God raises up Jair. God raises up Jephthav. God raises up Ibsan. God raises up Elon. God raises up Abdon. God raises up Samson. God raises up Eli. And then God raises up Samuel to remind them that God is a prayer answering God. But when we get to 1 Samuel chapter 8, Israel puts God in a quandary. Because God is so used to answering their prayers. But now Israel has began praying for the wrong things. because God wants to teach Israel that God always answers prayers, but now Israel has started to pray for the wrong thing. God wants to teach them that he'll always answer their prayers, but he also wants to teach them how to pray for the right thing. It was not God's will for them to choose Saul as a king, but God now has to answer their prayer in order to teach them a lesson.

8:11 and you might struggle with this but sometimes God will answer your prayer and it's not in an endorsement of your prayer Now God has to answer their prayer in order to teach them a lesson. I know I can get a parent who can shout amen right there. Because sometimes when you have some kids, you make sure that you love them so much. But when they ask for something that you know that they should never have, you have to put them under some divine lessons. You have to give them what they want in order to teach them how to ask for things better in their lives. And that's what God wants to do with the children of Israel. Now, this is going to be a hard word for some people because I know you already have your vision board set up. It's going to be a hard, a hard word for some people because I know you've already told God and social media what things you're going to claim in 2020.

9:12 But before you start asking God for some things, let me just drop some questions you ought to ask yourself before you start asking God for some things. You see, the first question you need to ask yourself before you ask God for anything is, do I want it because everyone else has it? Do I want it? Because everyone else has it. You see, when the judges, when the elders gather to request a king, they say they reject Samuel's sons, Joel and Abijah, as judges, but then they request a king. Let me see if you catch it. They reject judges, but then they ask for a king. they say we no longer want to be under the rule of a judge grant us a king now now what does israel who's never had a monarchy know about a king it seems to me like this is an easy fix if the judges are evil then request better judges if the if the judges practice injustice then pray for faithful judges. But no, they reject the judge and they ask for a king.

10:31 You see, and the text begins to determine what made them ask for a king. The Bible says that they request a king because they keep looking at the nations around them, and they realize that they're the only nation who doesn't have a king. They keep looking at what everyone else has, and then they start feeling that what they actually have isn't enough anymore. And you better be careful not to undervalue what you already have because you might not think it's enough, but it might be able to create in the midst of chaos. You might not think it's enough, but it may be everything that you need. Listen, listen, listen. They say grant us a king in order to be like the other nations. Now that's problematic right there because it was never God's will for them to be like the other nations. As a matter of fact, God's intention was for them to be distinctively different. God gives them strict laws to follow.

11:28 God tells them what article of clothing they can wear. God tells them what type of food they can eat. God tells them which festivals to follow. And it was always God's intention for them to be different. But now what makes Israel special is what they want to sacrifice. what makes them different is what they want to discard what makes Israel special is what they want to give away and Israel's willing to sacrifice something in order to fit in when they were called to stand out and you better know that it's dangerous for you to sacrifice what God put in you it's dangerous for sacrifice what makes you unique it's dangerous to sacrifice trying to fit in when God called you to stand out to begin with Especially if you've been kissed by nature's son, you ought to know that there's something different about you. You just ought to know that God made me unique all by myself. That God put this in me and I'm not giving it up.

12:24 I'm just convinced that we don't need more people who think alike, that what makes you different in one season will make you relevant in another season, that God will utilize your uniqueness, your authentic self, in order to make you unique and relevant. Can I push this envelope a little further? The Bible says they want to be like the surrounding nations around them. Now, I got to tell you, here's the problem. Is that Israel's impulse to have a king is made by the smaller countries that are around them. Now, in biblical antiquity, there are some empires. There are some big empires like the Persians and Babylon and Assyria, right? But the nations that are surrounding them where they get their vision, where they look at and they see the other kings are the smaller kingdoms. They have the Moabites, the Edomites, the Canaanites, the Jebusites, the Parasites, Mosquito Bites, every little ite you can think of.

13:29 And Israel gets to a point of reference where they say they want to look like the smaller kingdoms. and not only is Israel sacrificing what makes them unique but they have to they have to go through the preference of looking at the smaller kingdoms can I can I help somebody that in 2020 you got to stop playing small that God isn't wants you to compare yourself to smaller kingdoms there's bigger kingdoms God wants to compare yourself to that God wants to raise you up not like the smaller kingdoms around you but God wants you to look at what God is doing in you Let me help you. Let me help you on this. Let me help you make this plain.

14:09 In 11th grade, I took Algebra 2 and Trigonometry. I'm still recovering from that, y'all. And in Algebra 2 and Trig, I walked in and we had a pop quiz. We had a pop quiz one day and it'll surprise you all to think that I wasn't the best student in the world. act surprise okay act on act surprise uh but when I walked in I realized I didn't know that we had a test so I didn't study for it so I decided there was only one way I was gonna pass this test I haven't always been saved, y'all. I said to myself, I'm going to sit next to the smartest person in class. We here. We here. I'm going to sit next to the smartest person in class. And I'm in class, and I'm looking next to my friend's paper, hoping I don't get caught.

15:10 I get away with it. I get away with it for the time being. I pass in my paper to the teacher, and I leave the class. About a few weeks later, the professor had, excuse me, the teacher, she had just answered and graded all of the tests. She hands me back my test, and there's not a grade on it. I go, man, she caught me. But she says, Mark, see me after class. I knew I was in trouble, so I was on my best behavior the rest of the class. When I saw her after class, I said, well, what did I get? And she says, Mark, well, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is all of your answers are correct. Praise God. Y'all not shouting enough. She said, the bad news is you have the correct answers for the wrong test. I said, what you didn't know, Mark, was that there was four different versions on the test.

16:13 Some of y'all still slow to get this. And what I determined that day is that I was too busy looking at somebody else's test, not realizing that it was not the test that I was supposed to be taking. And you could be so busy watching what somebody else is doing that you don't realize y'all taking the different tests. You gotta be so concerned with what God is doing in your life that you don't care what someone else is doing in their life. You could be taking a different test. Tell your neighbor, keep your eyes on your own paper. You might be taking a different test. The second thing you need to ask yourself before you ask God anything is what is God doing while I don't have it? I would be willing to submit to you that what angers God the most is not that Israel requests the king.

17:18 I want you to do some homework when you get home, and I want you to read Deuteronomy 17, verses 14 to 20. And when you go to Deuteronomy 17, verses 14 to 20, you will find out that God predicts this point. that God says you're going to go into the kingdom and you're going to desire a king. And what God says, God puts stipulations on their desire. God says, when you go into the land and you desire a king, wait for the king that I choose for you. God says wait for the king that I'll choose for you. But now I'd submit to you that what Israel wants is not only to be like the other nations, but I'd submit to you they request a king because they've grown impatient with God. They've grown impatient with waiting on God, and they see everyone else have what they desire, that they say make for me a king so I can be like everybody else.

18:21 here's what Israel doesn't realize is God's choice for king shows up in chapter 16 in chapter 8 they request the king God's choice happens and shows up in chapter 16 and they don't realize that they're in the season where God is about to answer their prayers they're in the season where God is about to finally answer the prayers they've been praying on for decades but they grow so impatient that they have to go through a Saul season and ruin their David season. Now, now, now, catch this. Catch this. Catch this. What would you do if you knew God's choice for your life was only eight chapters away? I wonder what your prayer life would look like if you knew that your choice, God's choice for your life was only eight chapters away.

19:16 what would worship look like if you knew eight chapters away God was going to answer your prayers. Oh God help me. I feel like preaching because God wants to help them prepare them for David. And in order for them to prepare them for David they have to realize this season without a king is ordained by God. They have to realize that this isn't Saul's season. It's time for solitude. This isn't time for a king. It's a time to know who's the king of your heart. This isn't time for David It's the time to dream again. It's the time to dare again. It's the time to be different again They have to realize this season is ordained by God

20:02 I feel like preaching right there. I feel like preaching right there. That this time that you don't have a king doesn't make you less than anybody else. This time without a king is for God to ensure that God knows who's the king of your heart. God wants to make sure you know that the king won't take your identity.

20:24 And what, what is God doing? Or what, what is God trying to do in your life? that God wouldn't be able to do if he answered your prayers. What is God trying to do in your life that God wouldn't be able to do if he gave you a king? God wants to make sure that Israel's identity is not in the king. In order to do that, God has to withhold something from them in order to do something in them. This season without a king is ordained by God. But here, here's the last point.

21:18 The question you need to ask yourself is, is this God's best for my life? Here, what amazed me about this text, Dr. Judy, is how much the people are willing to sacrifice their well-being for the leader of their choice. I'm amazed that when they get to verse 19 and God warns them of all the things the kings will do, they say, nevertheless, at least we'll be like everybody else. God tells them that this king that you want won't mind abusing his power in order to do what he wants. and they still vote for him anyways.

22:13 God says he's going to use his office in order for personal gain, and they vote for him anyways. And isn't it interesting when you're so desperate for something, and you have your desire will quench your discernment. The stubbornness of the people quench the spirit of the people, because they so desperately want to have a king.

22:45 But here's what confused me, Elijah. They go to Samuel and say, we don't want the judges, Joel and Abijah, because they've perverted justice. And justice is the fundamental issue at stake. But when God warns them about the ways of the king, The ways of the king are the same as the judges. the judges have mistreated them, and the king will mistreat them. But they say, we don't want a judge, but I'm okay with a king. See, and I've come to the conclusion that Israel's willing to be mistreated by judges because they, and excuse me, to be mistreated by kings because they view a king as a status upgrade.

23:42 They no longer need to have a judge that will mistreat them, but at least they'll have a king who will mistreat them They view a king as a status upgrade And although my king might mistreat me, at least I have a king Though my king mistreats me, at least my king has some benefits I know my king mistreats me, but at least my king has a job and they're okay to settle for a king because Samuel's sons are acting a fool.

24:16 I don't know who this word is for, but in 2020, the word for you is that don't settle for Saul just because Samuel's sons are acting up, that God has more for your life than Saul, that God never wants you to, it's never God's will for you to be mistreated. It's never God's will for you to, someone to lay their hands on you. It's never God's will for you to settle for Saul.

24:40 It's never God's will for you to settle for Saul. But they're willing to settle for Saul because they haven't recovered from Samuel's sons. And here, I gotta go. I'm out of time and out of breath. Here. Israel is also going to have more kings who will mistreat them. David is down the road, and David is God's choice. But Israel is going to go through a season of kings that will do right and kings that will do wrong. You see, it was never about David. It was never even about Saul.

25:38 It was always about Israel's relationship with God. And so when the kings come, the kings continue to pervert justice. But the central thing God is worried about and concerned about is what will the relationship of Israel be when these things happen? See, when David gives up his throne, he gives his throne up to Solomon. He gives his throne up to Solomon, and Solomon will build the temple, but Solomon will also go off into idolatry. Solomon hands it over to Rehoboam, and Rehoboam commits pagan religious practices. King Abijah does evil. King Isaiah removes the idols, but he also has pagan religions. King Jehoshaphat trusts God, but he still has pagan religions. King Jehoram does evil. King Azahiah does evil. King Athaliah kills the Roman family. King Joash initially destroys Baal altars, but he starts going into pagan idolatry.

26:35 King Ammoniah brings idols from Edom. King Uzziah builds the kingdom, but still has pagan idols. I'm going somewhere with this. King Jotham does right, but still has pagan religion. King Ahaz sacrifices to idol. King Hezekiah finally gets it right and trusts God. King Manasseh creates altars to Baal. King Ammon does evil. King Josiah renews the covenant. King Jahaz does evil in the sight of God. I'm going somewhere. You just ain't catch it yet. King Jehoiakim does evil. King Jeholakim does evil. And King Zedekiah does evil. And the monarchy ends in the fall of Judah to Babylon.

27:18 But in 42 generations later, a new king would arise. and just like God had another king for Saul, God had another plan for Israel and the new king would arise while David's king only lasted 40 years. The Bible says his kingdom shall have no end. Can I tell you about this king? This king is Israel's Sabbath rest. This king is the Old Testament's hidden protagonist. This king is the star that led the wise men to the star. This king jumped through, jumped rope through eternity and into time. Somebody holler this king. This king is salvation's valedictorian. This king is mercy's reservoir. This king is redemption's trophy. This king is liberation's ethos. Somebody holler this king. This king is wisdom personified. This king is hell's biggest headache. This king is glory's greatest gift. This king is heaven's favorite hymn. This king is my definition of divinity. Somebody holler this king. This king is Mary's son and Savior this King is disciples rabbi and redeemer this King is Martin's dream this King is Fanny's resting place This King is Langston's poem this King's pastor Wesley sailor somebody holler this King This King is the lawyer in the courtroom. This King is a doctor in the sick room This King is a bridge over troubled water. This King is a hope for tomorrow Somebody holler this King. I wonder if you know about this King this King his name is Jesus He's the bright and morning star.

28:47 This king is the rose of Sharon. This king is the ancient of days. This king is Emmanuel. This king is the prince of peace. This king is the wonderful counselor. Somebody holler this king. This king is mama's manna. This king is daddy's dreams. This king, somebody holler this king. I wonder if you know about this king. This king's name is Jesus. This king died one Friday. But this King resumed the throne early Sunday morning. Somebody holler this King. This King is my King and your Savior. This King is why we're here. This King is the Christian's cross. This King, somebody holler this King. Oh, I would know about this King. This King is why I show up in church. This King is why I read my Bible. This King saved me when I was sinking deep in sin. Somebody holler this King. Somebody holler this King. Somebody holler this king His name is Jesus