Searching For The Lost Donkey's

(Message Title) Searching for The Lost Donkey’s 1Samuel: 9 1-Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish 2-And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. Just to lay some ground work here before going into the message. 4-Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5-And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6-But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. 7-And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 8-According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. 9-Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. 10-And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. 11-And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12-And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13-And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14-And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15-And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16-And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 17-He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18-And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. 19-Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20-That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. 21-And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. 22-And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city. God always finds His man or woman to get the job down that is needed and when one fails Him as Saul did He finds another one. After God gave Saul another heart and the Holy Spirit, he sinned by intruding into the Priest’s office and was rejected; then God took the Holy Spirit from him, and an evil spirit came upon him instead. Thus he remained in God’s grace and favor only as long as he obeyed; when he sinned he incurred the death penalty like all other men of all ages who sin, whether under law or grace.

V1: Kish had a son, Saul, a most handsome young man. There was none finer- he literally stood head and shoulders above the crowd. (I would say he definitely stood out above all the others). 1. 2.

He was a choice young man He was a goodly man

Benjamin was not chosen of God to be the ruling tribe through whom the Messiah was to come. This right belonged to Judah. Genesis 49:10 (KJV) 10- The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Hebrews 7:14 (KJ V) 14- For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. Revelation 5:5 (KJV) 5-And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. Saul’s seed could not have fulfilled the scripture in this respect, so a change somewhere after this to the tribe of Judah was necessary. It no doubt came about sooner when Saul sinned; if he had remained true and Godly the change may not have come in his day. Now we find in verse one, Kish (Samuel’s Father) was a mighty man of power that is, a strong man physically, and this may account for the extraordinary size of his son, Saul who was, from the shoulders upward, higher than all the other men of Israel (v2). This seemed to be the outstanding thing about Saul, but mere physical goodness is never as good as high quality of character and mind. He proved to be a dwarf or midget in manliness, and character. Saul was one of the most insanely jealous persons on record and he permitted this trait to damn his soul and make him despised by men of all ages. He made one attempt after another to kill David who was his best friend. Actually if you study this you find out that Saul tried to kill David 21 times. But David was as we know God’s man and He had a hedge around him that kept him safe. V3. Some of his Donkeys got lost. Kish said to his son, Saul, take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkey’s,” (Now here is where the message really starts) Watch as we go into this, how God’s hand intervened at exact the right time, and the right place and the right moment. On time God!!! Saul obeyed as his father had said; he took one of the servants (the exact one that God wanted him to take) and went on his way to find the Donkey’s. They went into the hill them. They went over to they got to Zu-ph, Saul back. Soon my father is about us.

country of Ephraim, around Sha-lisha, but didn’t find Shaa-lim- no luck, then to Jabin and still nothing. When said to the young man with him. “Enough of this, lets go going to forget about the Donkey’s and start worrying

Sometimes in divine providence even lost things are made to work out the will of God in human lives. This was one way, and perhaps the only way Saul could have been induced to go to see Samuel, for when he was chosen King he was so timid that he hid amid the baggage. 1Sam.10:22 Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold he hath hid himself among the stuff. Answers of God consisted of more than a word, a Yes or No, whole sentences and long answers were given by God through prophecy. Here the answer was clear and complete – “He hath hid himself among the stuff. Why, because he was a very timid man at this time as already stated. Have you ever said to yourself; why am I here, what am I doing here, and where am I going? God always has a plan. Saul had no idea what was going to happen here, but God had him on a journey and God’s plan was in action! Wow! Praise God!! TMB- v6- In The servant caused Saul boldness to

this verse the servant replied to Saul,” not so fast. Wow, look here. said! Now the servant was suppose to do what Saul said do. But God had to pick this one particular servant because He knew he would have the help Saul in this situation.

The servant said to Saul,” There’s a Holy Man in this town. He carries a lot of weight around here. Look man, what he says is always on the mark!! Let’s find him, maybe he can tell us where to go. Wow! Was this not an assignment of God? One can never doubt that it wasn’t. God looking after his man, working every detail out to fit His plans!!! But that’s my God!! V10- So Saul decided to listen to his Servant; They set off for the town where the Holy Man lived. V11-13 (KJV) As they went up hill to the city, they found some young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, Is the Seer here? All Seers Seer, you Vision or sometimes

were Prophets, but all Prophets were not Seers. Before you became a had to grow in your relationship with God. A Seer is; one who saw in otherwise what he predicted, was a Seer. Where as a Prophet would speak as the Holy Spirit moved him, without seeing anything.

There’s such good timing here in this v12. God had His Prophet Samuel ready to meet His man Saul whom He had chosen to make a King of Israel (v12-14). Jehovah had already spoken to Samuel about the coming of Saul. (V15-16). Lets go back to Chapter 8:4. All the Elders of Israel concluded that a change in Government was necessary (V4) Wow!! Reminds me of the time we are living in today. The President when in his campaign spoke on “ WE need to bring a change” He has brought a change alright, but not the change the people that voted for him thought they were going to get. Just received this one day last week) Dear Fellow American,

( Read Letter from American Life League)

The Department of Death with Dignity wants you!!! Are you familiar with the Obama health care proposal, which includes the term” ADVANCE DIRECTIVE”? Do you know what that means?

Well, It’s a document that is promoted by Obama nation money! Washington DC bureaucrats want to spend “too much money” during your last year of have stated publicly that the last year of your

as a way for you to save our make sure you don’t cause them to life. Obama and other Democrats life is the most expensive.

If you have signed a “Living Will” or an “Advance Directive” there is every reason to believe such documents could be used against you. Either of them could be interpreted by the government as your agreement to save the Government Money. Their recommendation is: Just take a pill instead!! Just imagine the government creating the “ Department Of Death With Dignity”- a department dedicated to causing your quick death. Perhaps they will seek out one of your children with whom you disagree to sign off on your own death. The government could say something like this: “Your parents have lived a good life, but now is the time for them to go!! Statistically Obama has stated that Old People cost the Medicare a whole lot of money in their final years. Actually, 27% of Medicare expenditure cover medical costs during the final year of life. Denying health care to an elderly person would save the Government Health Care Program or Department Of Death With Dignity 27%. Wow! The Federal Government – The Same Group That Has Brought You The U.S. Post Office – a perpetual money loser. Medicare is almost broke! Your Social Security checks are in jeopardy, and now these same people want you to trust them with your care in your old age. Just imagine the Department Of Death With Dignity” approaching your children or other relatives with the offer of giving them $10,000.00 to 25,00.00 or more to help you die quickly. Church if you haven’t been listening to the News maybe you need to so that you will be abreast of the things that are going on in the world today. Christians need to sign theses petitions and make phone calls to your Senators and Congressman and even to your President. Stand up for your Godly rights. Don’t allow the enemy to come in and take away our Godly freedom, because that is exactly what they are doing. Obama is a smooth talker. With his eloquent words he sways his audience. Looks them straight in the eye and lies but appears to them he is telling the truth. Wow! That’s the way the devil comes in and fools people about things. He promises you the world if you will serve him, then he destroys you. Go ahead it’s alright, you won’t get caught. The Doctor that was driving drunk going 85 miles an hour in a 45mile zone never though he would get caught. But today he’s paying the penalty for his actions. They say no doubt he will lose everything he has. That’s what sin will do for you. Sometime God gives us what ask when really it’s not what we need. Because of our rebellion and distrust in Him. If you notice here both the sons of Eli and Samuel were wicked men; illustrating the truth that often the most Godly have ungodly sons, and daughters. You see church up to this time- from Abraham to Samuel, about 1400 years – the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been under a theo-cracy, a God – rule. Now they didn’t want God’s way, they desired to have a King like other nations to

judge and lead them in battle (8:5-6) The Hebrew Monarchy there began with the choosing of Saul (v6). Samuel was naturally displeased because this request was a personal rejection of God and himself, for he was at that time their recognized Judge. 1Sam.7:6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. 15-17- And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16- And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. 17- And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD. Now this is what Samuel did. He, like all men and women of God went immediately to God in prayer. (Would be good if we all were that sincere in our decision making for God). The Lord told him to do as the people had requested, saying, ”they have not rejected you, but Me, (v6-8) God recognized that these were a stubborn people determined to have what they set their hearts on, and being rejected as their King was not as bad as being forsaken by them to serve other Gods- a sin they had been committing since leaving Egypt. (v8) God furthered instructed Samuel to protest their choice and make it plain to them that this would increase their burdens, being more costly than the present theocracy which was a simply form of government requiring only faith and dependence on Jehovah (v9-18). Regardless of this, Israel was determined to have their own King. (v19-22). Chapter 9:12 He now confirmed to Samuel that this was the man. V17-And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! This same shall reign over my people. Wow! God had been working at both ends of the line. Speaking to Samuel who knew His voice, and leading Saul and even the Servant through many places looking for lost Donkeys who did not know His voice and perhaps would not have listened even if he had known Jehovah and His ways of speaking. This reminds us of the case of Paul and Ananas (acts -:10-16) and of Peter and Cornelius. (Acts 10:1-6, 9:-22) What a God!! This was one way God gave messages. He would speak with an audible voice or a whisper in the ear, so that the Prophet would hear in the same sense he would hear any other voice (v15). This is no doubt the way many Prophets received the revelation of God. ( But we must be very careful what we predict to others that we tell them God said it. Be very sure that what you are saying or predicting is definitely from God). This was definitely a faith test from God for Samuel! God gave him (3) predictions 1-Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin to anoint captain over my people Israel (v16). (Fulfilled in v18).And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.

2. He will deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. (v15 Fulfilled in 14:1-52..17:1-53). 3. This man shall rule over my people (v17) 17- And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people. 10- Details of this Prophecy 1. Tomorrow- the time it will happen (v16) 2. About this time- the time of the day it will happen 3. I will – who will do the sending 4. Send – what God will do 5. Thee _ to whom He will be sent 6. A man – who will be sent 7. Out of Benjamin – from where he will come 8. He shall anoint – why he will be sent 9. He shall save Israel – purpose of his anointing 10. This same shall reign over my people Israel (v17) 19- Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; (v12-19) all the warnings of Samuel about losing their sons, daughters, servants, crops, stock, lands, and wealth to support a Kingdom did not make the slightest impression on the Israelites. All they could see now was their own way in the matter, so they ignored Samuel’s warning. Chapter 9:19 And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart.

Samuel said, ”Ye shall eat with me – The sacrifice had already been made and the parts cooked for the guests to eat by the time Saul appeared, proving that God was not only working in Ramah, but He also arranged for Saul to be there in time for the feast. (v12-19) Wow! Think about what faith Samuel had here. He knew what God had told him, and did not allow the devil to make him doubt and not be prepared for the guests. The ten Virgins took oil in their lamps, but only five of them prepared for the outcome. The foolish ones were left behind. Procrastination will cause you to lose out on many things in life. Because you get there too late. What about the Rapture, don’t put off tomorrow what you can do today. Not only did they eat with Samuel, but v19, says I will let thee go and will tell thee all that is in tine heart. Wow! You see church, Samuel knew all about Saul or at least I love this! He would know, for the Lord would speak in his ear tomorrow. I love this!! He already had the revelation from Jehovah that the Asses(Donkey’s ) were found and how long they had been lost, so as to relieve Saul of any anxiety and make it possible for him to enjoy the feast and wait for the morrow before leaving. 1Sam.9:20- And as for thine asses (Donkey’s) that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel?

Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house? We should never be surprised that God is good and merciful. In times of adversity, we need to believe God will do what He says’ He will do in His Word. God is faithful to keep us in His care, because He is faithful to Himself and His own promises.

1Sam 8:23-24 23- And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee. 24-And the cook took up before Saul. And Samuel eat: for unto this time the people. So Saul did

the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited eat with Samuel that day.

Look again at the faith of Samuel. If this had been some of us we would never have dared to tell the cook to do this unless we had absolutely proof that Saul was going to be there. But listen to what Samuel said to him. Bring the portion – Samuel had already told the cook to set by the special portion of the shoulder which was the Priest’s portion. He intended to give it to Saul as a mark of honor and distinction. Wow!! God’s puzzle is gradually coming together as we watch the hand of God work it all out. After the feast Samuel and Saul had a long conversation on the house top before retiring. (v9:25) Houses then had flat roofs on which people walked, talked, and slept because of the fresh cool air. These two likely talked about of all the past and present state of Israel and of the establishment of the Kingdom with Saul as it’s first King. They also agreed on the coming assembly of all Israel to chose officially the King and proclaim the Kingdom itself. (10:8) 8-And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do. 8:26, Up that I may send thee away. Samuel called Saul early the next morning. As they traveled to the outskirts of the city, Samuel had Saul’s servant to proceed a little ahead so he could have a private talk with Saul and anoint him King.

26-And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. 27-And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on), but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God. Samuel’s purpose of this private conversation was to show Saul the Word of the Lord. What all was said is perhaps not recorded, but certain signs were predicted to take place that day as a confirmation that Saul was divinely chosen to be King over Israel. (10:1-13)

Wow! Listen church, after the anointing comes in you’ll be a new person. But there is always a price to pay for the anointing. It doesn’t come easy. It doesn’t come without sacrificing a lot of your time with your family, and friends. Pushing things on the backburner that you like to do, because you know you must do what God has called you to do. Sometime laughed at, called a fanatic, persecuted and a lot more. But nothing you go through, or ever give up for your work in the fields that are white to harvest will be counted lost. Every soul is worth the effort to try to reach at any cost. 1Sam.10:1-9 1-THEN SAMUEL took the vial of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and said, Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over His heritage Israel? 2-When you have left me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, The donkeys you sought are found. And your father has quit caring about them and is anxious for you, asking, What shall I do about my son? 3-Then you will go on from there and you will come to the oak of Tabor, and three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin bottle of wine. 4-They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5-After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is; and when you come to the city, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6-Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you will show yourself to be a prophet with them; and you will be turned into another man. 7-When these signs meet you, do whatever you find to be done, for God is with you. 8-You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you shall do. 9-And when [Saul] had turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all these signs came to pass that day. This message was definitely a faith test for Samuel as we said earlier in the message. God was working on both sides at the same time. Now for us to see this we must realize that Samuel had to have had a lot of patience. He had to allow God to work the plans out in His own way. If he had stepped out of line and got ahead of God (like we do sometime) he no doubt would have messed things up. James says’ it well. James1:4 “Let patience have her perfect work- that ye may be mature – wanting nothing. Wow!! Impatience is a sign of immaturity. Children can’t wait for anything, they want it right now! So, are we being childish or showing maturity? God sets His watch to accomplish His purpose, not ours. And this we must learn to accept if we are to grow in our relationship with Him. Paul writes,” We know that all things work ..according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28) When we understand Gods’ purpose as Samuel did we will not permit things that are contrary to it, including hurry and worry? We’ll also know how to allocate our time, our energy and money, who we should spend our life with and who we should

not.

God says, ” I made known the end and from the beginning” Isa.46:10 (NIV) First God sets the goal, then He determines the steps that lead to it. In the message Samuel actually knew what was going on. Why, because He was a man of God and he knew what Gods’ voice sounded like. And what God told him to do, he did. And what are we supposed to do while we are waiting? We are to stand still and listen. Isaiah Says’ those that wait upon the Lord, He will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings as an Eagle, they will run and be weary, they will walk but not faint. Hab.3:17 (NIV) “God says “Though the Fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine, though the Olive crops fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, Wow!!... yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” Begin thanking God today for what He has done, and what He is going to do on your behalf, because He will – He absolutely will come through for you. Only God knows what the future holds, and one day when you need it most it’ll come back to bless you with a harvest. But be careful how you go about to get your blessings. The Israelites wanted things their way or no way. And they were willing to lose the blessings of God to have it their way. 1Sam. 12:13-15 TMB "So here's the king you wanted, the king you asked for. GOD has let you have your own way, given you a king. If you fear GOD, worship and obey him, and don't rebel against what he tells you. If both you and your king follow GOD, no problem. GOD will be sure to save you. But if you don't obey him and rebel against what he tells you, king or no king, you will fare no better than your fathers. This should tell us all today that if we are not ready and we continue in our own way, there will be consequences for our disobediences to God. As far as we know Saul died in sin against God and for the people – many times they regretted rejecting Samuel as their Judge for Saul, who became their King. Rebellion never wins, jealously never wins, we had this both in the Israelites and in King Saul. To sum this message up, we need to pray for the faith that Samuel had. To know and have that intimate relationship with our Father, that when He whispers in our ear we will know His voice. In closing I want to use this as the altar call. This is a email that I received and I believe this could happen to any of us today, if we are after God’s own heart. TO GIVE WARNING. This lady was driving down the road & saw a man walking...she felt God tell her to pick the man up & give him a ride. She didn't want to, feeling it's not safe now a days to give strangers a ride. Still she felt as it was God telling her to stop & help this man. She stopped & the man got in & she ask where he was going. The gentleman told her just to let him

off before she turns where ever she's going. She thought that was strange, but told the man OK. She decided to witness to the man & she told him she's a Christian & she believed in Jesus Christ. The man said he too is a Christian & believes in Jesus Christ. He also told the lady he was sent to tell her "THE LIPS ARE ON THE TRUMPET!" ( Chris blow Trumpet!!!) She was soaking all of this end, she turned her head...when she looked back toward the gentleman in her car...He was gone! I tell you this to warn you as well!!! There will be a great & mighty trumpet blown when Christ returns. It's in the Bible in Revelations. Christ always warns his people before something BIG happens. For some of us this will be a glorious day when Christ comes to get His Church, His Bride. For many, many others it will be the most terrible days ahead they can't even imagine. I pray your soul & heart are ready to meet the Lord. God loves you even more...He sent his only son to die for your sins. We have always heard that His coming is so near that He’s standing at the door waiting for the Father to open it and say go get them. But now it appears the saying gets even more closer, you can rest assure that when that if the “Lips Are On The Trumpet” I’ll soon be leaving!!! Wow!! Are you rapture ready? Samuel was prepared for the plans that God had in this message, he was willing to step out and believe God. If you want the plans of God to be manifested in your life then you must have that willingness that Samuel had. God here I am what ever the cost I’ve got to make it. Samuel was hurt, he felt rejected, unwanted and not appreciated. But he did not allow his circumstances to stop him from doing what God told him to do.