Auburn Hills Christian Center
Whose Throne is it Anyway? "Hacking Agag to Pieces" Sun AM 2/25/18
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Locations & Times
Auburn Hills Campus
2592 E Walton Blvd, Auburn Hills, MI 48326, USA
Saturday 5:00 PM
“Hacking Agag to Pieces”
1 Samuel 15:17-23, 32-33 NIV
17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.
18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.”
1 Samuel 15:17-23, 32-33 NIV
17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.
18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ 19 Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.”
1 Samuel 15:32-33 (NIV)
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agagcame to him confidently, thinking, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites.” Agagcame to him confidently, thinking, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so will your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel put Agag to death before the Lord at Gilgal.
“But Samuel said,“
“As your sword has made women childless so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces, before the Lord in Gilgal.” -1 Samuel 15:3 NKJV
“As your sword has made women childless so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces, before the Lord in Gilgal.” -1 Samuel 15:3 NKJV
“That could come back to bite you!”
King Saul’s downward spiral continues.
Saul’s pride, impatience, disobedience and deception were seen and judged by the Lord, and Samuel announced his sentence.
God wanted a king with a heart that was right toward Him.
Saul’s sin at Gilgal cost him the dynasty, his sin with the Amalekites would cost him the kingdom.
Here’s what happened…
This was ethical cleansing rather than ethnic cleansing.
This was an act of judgment by God against sin.
This was an act of judgment by God against sin.
The fate of the Amalekites is not an exception from a by-gone era, it is a pointer to the coming day of judgment.
If we are inclined to minimize divine judgment it may be that we are inclined to minimize human sin.
Saul, the Amalekites and weak excuses…
We must hack Agag to pieces!
The Holy Spirit changes our basic disposition when we are born again. He brings us into agreement with Himself.
The “old man”, our old nature, the flesh, though defeated must be dealt with ruthlessly and hacked to pieces,
•or it will revive and continue to plunder and pillage our hearts, drain our spiritual strength and steal our joy.
•or it will revive and continue to plunder and pillage our hearts, drain our spiritual strength and steal our joy.
You’ve got to hack Agag to pieces when it comes to the way you think!
Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the patterns 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.
Do not conform to the patterns 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.
To renew your mind:
•Meditate on God’s Word
•Pray all the time
•Meditate on God’s Word
•Pray all the time
You’ve got to hack Agag to pieces by refusing to accommodate the flesh!
Romans 13:14
“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
“Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
“Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts.”
-Romans 13:14b NKJV
-Romans 13:14b NKJV
Don’t provide for the flesh, starve it, by refusing to expose yourself to activities, images or conversations that actually feed wrong thinking and sinful behavior.
Learn when to stand and when to run!
You’ve got to hack Agag to pieces by refusing to play the “victim card”. Live like the “victor” the overcomer, the conqueror Christ has created you to be.
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
•Know who you are in Christ
•Pursue Christ likeness
•Pursue Christ likeness
Remember:
The flesh is subtle and deceptive.
Sin is a stalker, always lurking around.
•When Agag and his Amalekite friends want to warm up to you declaring an end to hostility,
•that’s when you grab your sword & hack them to pieces!
The flesh is subtle and deceptive.
Sin is a stalker, always lurking around.
•When Agag and his Amalekite friends want to warm up to you declaring an end to hostility,
•that’s when you grab your sword & hack them to pieces!