Making a King — G.W. North

Samuel’s Calling and God’s Purpose

Shall we take our scriptures together beloved and I want to spend a time with you tonight. In the first book of Samuel you will know that Samuel was the great pocket of God. Was raised up of God as you will remember specially given of God.

How the tenor his mother Sought this child and God gave her this child and He came into this world and he had a special thing to do from God. I would like It to be true of every one of us. That we all knew that we'd come into this world to do something specially for God.

The devil would like to think that you came in to do something specially for him. But it would be lovely if tonight every one of us Got it firmly fixed in our hearts That this is why we're in this world.

That God has something special for each one of us to do now I know that you can go to extremes along this line and You can gaze an exalted idea of yourself. I Think that Some of you at least must have heard me say at some time or another That if there's one thing that makes my heart sink into my boots More than anything else is to meet a fine young man Who sort of rushes up to me and says I feel that God's called me to be an evangelist all around the world.

My heart nearly always sinks into my boots. Except that I don't wear them. I only wear shoes, but you know what I mean. How Wrong this whole approach is. We're not to get an overloaded idea and a weight on our shoulders.

What that we call a head? What we are to do beloved is rather to know that we're in this world and that God has spoken to us and he's called us and We can see in some of the great men of Scripture Something of the loveliness of the heart of God.

And I think really that's all I want to talk to you about tonight, and I think also To throughout the whole of the length of this time together. Really, that's all I want you to see the loveliness of Jesus and the the greatness and the glory of the Lord.

But if we go home more in love with him. And if our littleness has been expanded a little more. And if God is so much more Glorious to us. I think we should have accomplished a lot, but you know in this man Samuel the Lord Displayed himself in a wonderful way.

Samuel in a Time Without Open Vision

Because he was One of the great transitional figures of Scripture. In that by the time Samuel was born There was no open visual vision in Israel at all the open vision of God had gone and God moved in this man, and it's always like this that things always move on in Stages like this and I think probably We can all take Encouragement from this that you know when the times of blackest and We may think we're in a pretty black time of history.

You know things are spreading we all thought it was not too bad if they kept bombs in Ireland. But when it came to England we also well now what in the world is everything coming to? Because we're a sort of a special people the poor old Irish didn't matter about them, but when it came to England Oh dear.

Oh dear. What's coming next you see which shows rarely our concern is a very selfish one. But however black we may think the times are and perhaps they are It's the wonder of the Lord that it's in these times.

He's preparing Something more there's a great big change coming and that so When everything was dull and dark and when there was no vision and when there was no real Prophet speaking from God and no real word of God on the earth no speaking.

Well, of course they had the written word Mind you that was all kept rolled up nicely on scrolls and read once a week On Saturdays, and they had the Word of God who said they hadn't got the Word of God, but there was nobody speaking it and everything was going well.

The Lord brought in Samuel and it's always in these times of moral and spiritual declension that people's hearts Start reaching out for something other and always something less Than what God really Wants for them and yet in his grace and in his mercy God has always made provision.

This is very lovely. That the time was coming when The children of Israel were going to be discontented with their lot and they were going to ask for a king and they wanted to be led by a visible head just like all the other nations and Forgetting that God wanted them to be different from everybody else on the face of the earth.

They wanted to be like everybody else a fatal way to look at anything I Mean if the children of God today think that they ought not to be different from anybody else. But they like ought to be like everybody else and they conform to how everybody else behaves or what everybody else buys.

Or what everybody else dresses in what everybody else possesses? And Do all sorts of strange things to themselves to sort of get down to these what might be considered outsiders then beloved as Certain as anything something's going radically wrong but nevertheless God Had made provision in his mind for these people and You can never tell either really when things go wrong in your life, and when accidents happen and Speaking about sheep and cows and you mustn't give them lollipops or anything like that Sort of recalls The the background of this whole thing that I wants to look at in a moment or two.

Saul’s Search for the Lost Donkeys

We'll read about it. There was a man named Kish. He got some silly asses and they'd gone and lost themselves. That's right they were silly asses and they lost themselves and And he sent his son Saul out to find them with a servant and he couldn't find them and At last when they'd exhausted every trick they knew or followed every trail down which a silly ass may go and Never found the asses they at last went to Samuel the Servant told Saul that there was a prophet a seer a Servant of God who lived close hand and this was Samuel.

Samuel who at an early age Of whom it was said that God did let none of his words fall to the ground. And he began to speak oracularly and note That unless you have Oracular speaking forth of the inspired Word of God There will be no vision and there will be no open vision.

For it is by the spoken word. I don't mean Bible texts repeated I have reminded you that they had the written scriptures, but by The man or the woman whoever he or she may be Speaking forth the Spontaneous and the inspired Word of God God will then begin begin to reach that darkened imagination of the heart and Vision will come in the imagination of the thought of the heart not necessarily a four-dimensional Manifestation to the outward eye but a glorious Revelation of himself will come to your heart.

You try it and see. During these days that we are together God will seek to give you a vision he will speak to the imagination of the thought of your heart and there He will begin to show you something and that's very wonderful.

And it's upon these things that we act. God does not act any at any time contrary To the principles upon which he has builded his man men and women are made to be receptive to the Word of God and He will work Along the line having made man Absolutely capable of receiving the word and the work and seeing the vision of God.

And that's marvelous through this man Samuel God was moving in a very wonderful way. Well at last God had whispered into Samuel's ear that this man Saul was coming and In the provisions of the Lord this man Saul was to be the first king That Israel at this stage was to have.

And he was not the first king of Israel it is erroneously thought that he was. We're distinctly told that Moses was king in Jessurah. Moses was a king. Moses was the first king of Israel. Did you know that?

Because he typified Christ the mediator and it is Christ the great mediator Who is our king and so Moses had to be a king. He was also a priest. I know that there was a great high priest named Aaron but Moses functioned in a priestly office as you will find if you read through the appropriate books of the Bible and a prophet and a judge and I don't know what he wasn't this great man Moses, but Generally speaking.

It is thought that Saul was the first king of Israel. Mm-hmm and So God told Saul Told Samuel that Saul was going to come and that he was to make him King and I'm so I'm so thrilled at the way God does it because you see in God's Great dealings going back further in the book than Samuel into the book of Exodus with his people and Having brought them out of the land of Egypt.

We find in chapter 19 that In the third months when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt. The same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from Rephidim and were come to the desert of Sinai and it pitched in the wilderness and there Israel camped before the mountain.

Moses went up unto God and The Lord called unto him out of the mountain saying thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob and Tell the children of Israel you have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and How I bear you on eagles wings and brought you unto myself.

I don't know whether you've ever been brought on these eagles wings to the Lord. I'm not careful. I shan't get back to Samuel. That's the worst of it. If I look in the Bible, I I want to start preaching on everything that I see the God called the Passover the Red Sea and They're coming out of Egypt bearing on eagles wings.

That's what he called it. He said he bore them on eagles wings. Unto himself it entailed the blood of the lamb. It entailed eating the body and the flesh of the lamb. It entailed Becoming an immediate pilgrim.

It entailed being as it were Pictorially born again because it was the first of the month then it began a new year in their lives. It entailed Eating unleavened bread which typified the complete riddance of sin.

It entailed receiving the Holy Ghost. Typified by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. It entailed being baptized in the Holy Ghost. In the Red Sea as they crossed the Red Sea as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 it entailed resurrection.

Which took place as they went through the Red Sea that was the counterpart to Easter? Sunday if you trace these days true in your scripture. They came up on the other side of the Red Sea on Easter Day.

I wonder if you knew that. Of course. Of course it all fits in doesn't it? I mean you said yeah. Yeah, well, that's obvious. That's right of course it is and. But God called this bearing them on eagles wings to himself.

Isn't that lovely? Praise God. Yeah, that was wonderful. He said now you've seen all this he says let's head. Let's read on Charlie now therefore If you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant.

Then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people for all the earth is mine and You shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation. These are the words which thou should speak unto the children of Israel.

My word has anybody ever talked to you like that. Spiritual Israel has ever anybody talked to you like that. You know sometimes I wish people had talked a bit like this instead of keep on about body ministry body ministry body ministry.

I think I wish somebody had talked to us like this. Amen, I Wish they would. I wish people to see this more than they saw visions. Personally this is my. I mean you may all disagree with me, but I'm telling you what I wish and I wish people to tell me these things.

You see God intended the whole nation of Israel to be a kingdom of priests. There wasn't any need for any particular man. He wanted them all to feel their kingship. That was the whole tragedy of these people.

He wanted them all to feel that they were a complete kingdom unto God of priests. Wasn't that lovely? Well, I mean Melchizedek himself couldn't have asked for much better. Now could he you read in Genesis 15 and you remember it's connected with.

You remember it's connected with the covenant. He says you keep my covenant. I can't dive back into Abraham now. I'm giving you links. So that you can see these tremendous things. And they were all to be in this marvelous Kingdom Priesthood and the fact that God had priests was only because he had a limited Accommodation on the earth like brothers been telling us tonight limited accommodation.

Don't do this. Don't do that. He only had a little What we would call big and he couldn't get all the children of Israel running in there stampeding in and out like a lot of I won't say silly asses, but you know what?

I mean, he couldn't have that he so he selected one family only to be representative of the whole nation. You understand that I hope you do. Anyway, if you never understood that before you understand that now.

They were all to be priests all the lot of them you see. And It was a tremendous thing and their part in the priesthood was this. That they had to select the lamb you understand that don't you they had to select the lamb?

And they had to bring it and then the sort of the Levites took over and then the Levites handed to the priests and the Priests took over and the priests took it all into God, but it was only the sort of apex of a glorious mountain of truth founded at base Upon the whole nation.

What's the use of having the peak of a mountain if it hasn't got a base? Did you ever see a mountain standing on its peak? In other words, there wouldn't be a peak if there wasn't a base. What then the base is more important than the peak but the peak is necessary to the base and well, you know but that's how it all goes and God wants us to understand this they were all to regard themselves As this all right.

But they it's very significant that saw when seek seeking silly asses. Really, it is very significant. The ideas in the Bible never contradict themselves. They're always inherently correct. For the whole nation had been like stubborn asses.

They'd all Lost their vision. They they lost their cozy. There was no open vision. They'd all lost it when Samuel was born it had all gone and When people have lost the vision then they perish. And they chased out after the world and they become a lot of worldlings.

That's what they've done. Now God raises up this man's having you know He was a real man of God. I Can see I'm going to talk to you for a long time. So get comfortable and we'll kill that moth. It's not a bee.

Everybody seems to be worried about it. Now I now I've told you it hasn't got a sting in its tail. Please settle. It'll be alright. You know, I said to myself in my bedroom, please accept my apologies.

I'm sorry speak for a short while tonight. They've all been traveling all day long. I'll be ever so tired and I think it'll only be kind if I say we'll have a short message, but I can't do that. I'm sorry.

Did you say amen brother? Somebody's encouraging me. But I Rather I love this man Samuel. You see I'm Mind you he had a marvelous inheritance. He really did. He had godly parents. He'd been brought up in a home of love.

Samuel’s Godly Heritage and the Love of Parents

I want to tell you something. I want to tell you parents something because some of you heard me say this before I find that His parents as well as children at fault. He'd been brought home up in a home of love.

I tell you this man this husband and this wife they were. Well, they were just a couple of lovey-doveys and at last Hayes Samuel had been born. Into this and and then out of the heart of love. These two people gave their boy to God.

What a privilege. What a privilege this man Samuel had and you you're a dad and I know so many years. I might be rude and start pointing. You see and I charge you all before God that you before you start talking Pie talk religion and Sunday school talk to your children talk love to them naturally.

Yes, they'll never understand the supernatural. You bring them up like that. And if you don't you've already sold your child down the river. I know I'm always fishing them out of the mother or these this is one of the things that God gives me to do but anyway, they they they're there and Praise the name of the Lord this man Samuel.

It's been so wonderful with him. And you know this man's got it, right? There's nothing beloved that. Nothing that we need to know. Really about this matter of kingship because we're all to be in this great Kingdom of priesthood.

That's what we ought to be kingly priests unto God. That's what we're to be and I don't know perhaps you feel well, I'm not much of a king. I don't know whether you are in this realm and yet I'll tell you this and You know, it's right that right down in the bottom of your heart.

Something tells you you ought to be reigning. Then This is what makes people Do all sorts of things they fight against their circumstances. Something in them wants to make them get to the top and succeed at something.

Even if it's only hurting people or or Being the best drug taker you could ever find or being the best this that or the other. That there's always that in each one of us that must come to the top. It's inborn in us.

God originally made us as the crowning point of his creation and It's inborn and it's instinctive. There's one of us in this room that feels they ought to be a thoroughly Defeated dejected slave. It's natural to every one of us to want to be there not in the wrong sense at all.

But up there and reigning that's where we all feel we ought to be. Isn't that right? Well, let's have a look then after this long introduction into this section in 1st Samuel and we'll see something of the wonder of God in making a king.

God’s Word Must Be Shown Through a Living Person

All right. Isn't it lovely? Well, first of all I Want you to see beloved there God moves in a very Beautiful way at the end of the ninth chapter of 1st. Samuel when they would come down from the high place into the city.

Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house and They rose early Came to pass about the spring of the day. Hallelujah. Hey, you get all these thoughts of your heart about the spring of the day.

It was going to be a great wonderful new day for Saul. God was going to make him a king that day and Samuel calls Saul to the top of the house and he says up That I may send me away and Saul arose and they went out both of them He and Samuel abroad and as they were going down to the end of the city Samuel says to Saul Big the servant pass on before us and he passed on but Stand thou still a while Glory be to God that I may show thee the Word of God.

How do you do that? How do you show people the Word of God? Do you have? Illustrated talk Graphs, what do you do to show people the Word of God? Do you buy a cine camera or? Do you go to a show somewhere when you want to show people the Word of God?

What do you do? Well now basically beloved you've got to be able to show them yourself and If you aren't the living word The thing you have to say and do Will be utterly Contrary to to the truth of God.

This is the great tragedy of the day in which we are living. You see God is the Word always. He is what he has to say. He has to say nothing other than what he is. He has to do nothing other than what he is.

He doesn't do anything Contrary to his own being and his own states nothing. Nothing would God that every body of us had learned this tremendous thing. He says now you stand still I Am going to show you the Word of God.

Well, if you have to do that, what would you do? Good run up to the local Temple and say here it is the scroll the books of Moses. There's the Word of God one shirt. Is that what you would do. Now, let's see what Samuel did.

Samuel took a vial of oil. Poured it upon his head and kissed him praise God. That's that's oh he showed him what the Word of God was. Hallelujah, he got a vial of oil and poured it on his head. Hallelujah a Lord.

What is the Word of God love. She but God had to produce a man in order to do it. I told you and this is where some of you parents are going to miss it. That child was the child of love in the beginning.

Amen. That child Was the child of sacrificial love or they gave? That love that child was the child of love. In that he lay as a young boy Going to sleep. When the light was dim as I was taught to sing, I don't know whether it's quite true.

But it's nice to sort of be carried away in lovely language. You know hushed was the evening hymn the temple courts were dark and so on. Yeah, I know you get dates you sister. I know how old you are. Because I learned that one too when I went to Sunday school, I won't say it's all right but the whole thing is you see and The lamp was burning dim before the sacred.

And so on. Well, anyway, I don't believe the lamp was burning dim. I think that's only poetic fancy. Wesley wouldn't have taken liberties with truth in order to put out something that rhymed. Sort of hit with him.

So we'll have dim. He wouldn't have done that. Because it isn't true the lights were never allowed to go there they had to be trimmed evening and morning by By Aaron and In the first place. It was Eli's job and and and it they had to be kept burning.

Steadily, they never varied in their intensity. They never buried in their brilliance to God. There's no day nor night dark and light at both the same. It's upon this basis that that that David could write his wonderful song and it was typified to them in the ark.

In the Holy place that was. Don't set your theology or your doctrine or understanding of Scripture by all the kind of hymns or Modern songs that you do here. The the Very was and he lay there this man young man as he was and God came to him and spoke to him.

It wasn't that wonderful and you say in the in the Beginning though his young heart was perplexed. It was still loving. In the end he said speak Lord thy servant here. He only said what he was told to say and sometimes you know your seniors you young people.

They do tell you the right things to do and the right things to say. Don't write off all the people with no hair or with white hair. Don't write them all off. That's right the the advice of your elders Is good.

It you say he just did. Was he told he was told. Do you told? If you want to grow up a loving child do as you told and. And I'll tell you what will happen to you you young people if you don't do should or you old people either listen.

You will become a person who in the end will mediate wrong spirits into your family or into your church for disobedience and rebellion. These and stubbornness they are as the sin of witchcraft. And then we wonder why there are so many evil spirits knocking about in churches.

They are the I'm only quoting to you. What what what Samuel himself said to Saul? You see this man could say it to see he lived it. He said it was Samuel who said to Saul said that stubbornness. They are at the circus just as though you went and joined a witch's coven.

They are as the sin of which of witchcraft you see why evil spirits get mediated from one to another. Stunning churches. This is the tragedy. I hope you see it. You don't have to buy books on black magic and witchcraft just continuing stubbornness and rebellion and disobedience.

And you're opening the door. For the operation of evil spirits. That's the thing. But if we don't want there, let's go on with what God has to say and he he Listened to what he was told speak Lord thy servant here is and by that means he himself came into a personal Revelation of God because he listened to the advice of his elders.

I'm not lovely and gentle you must but I don't know. He could have said all that. I mean, I've heard these kinds of things. They come at me from all quarters people say oh, but that's not person. It's nothing to do with me.

I mean this Bible business and all this sort of talk you here and people who I've got to get it established. I've got to know for myself. I I I and so they go well out they go right out they get out on limbs.

They try all sorts of outlandish things under the guise of trying to find out for themselves when they won't listen to to to the advice and the instructions of their elders and. Because this young man did he came into a personal experience of God himself that lovely.

I Told you I like this man Samuel. I think he I think he's wonderful. He he's taught me a lot just as I sort of look at him. And and and it was he who said to Saul he said all right, so I just stand still.

I want to show you the Word of God. He just gets a lot of where I pause it because he has to go on tiptoe. Or I might have said duck your head because Saul was head and shoulders above everybody else.

Got up high, but higher than you Paul Saul is the oil. And he he poured the oil onto his head. And I suppose he just pulled his big head down, and he gave him a great big kiss. Hallelujah now that's the way to show people the Word of God.

Did you know that. And if you can't do that you're not qualified to preach unless a man Has the oil to our poor and the love to give and the kiss to give. He has no word to preach. Don't listen to that's my advice to you.

Don't listen to who you say is a good word. He may do. That is calculated by words and knowledge but by love. Or by ability to demonstrate the love of God or by the glorious outpouring of the blessed oil of the anointing.

He has no word to give for God first is it is what you are. Much more than what you say. And what you say? Counts for less than what you are. That's right and so Here then is the whole Key to it and and I suppose we'd better read on this we shall be longer than I intended to mean when I said I would be a long time.

He says is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain Over his inheritance. It goes on when thou art departed from me today. Then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzal.

And they will say unto thee the asses which thou wentest to seek a father. And lo thy father hath left the care of the asses and sorrow sorroweth for you. Saying what shall I do for my son? Then shalt thou go on forward from thence and I should come to the plain of Tabor and There shall meet thee three men Going up to God to Bethel one carrying three kids another carrying three loaves of bread and another carrying a bottle of wine and They will salute thee and give thee two loaves of bread.

Which thou shalt receive of their hands. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God. Where is the garrison of the Philistines? And it shall come to pass When thou come thither to the city. That thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery and a tabret and a pipe and a harp before them and they should prophesy and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee and thou shalt prophesy with them and shalt be turned into another man and Let it be when these signs are come unto thee that thou do as occasion serve thee for God is with thee.

And I shall 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 show thee what thou shalt do.

And it was so That when he had turned his back to go from Samuel God gave him another heart. And all those signs came to pass that day. Hallelujah. What a tremendous thing now if you are going to be the king Person that God intends you to be.

First of all, you must receive the Word of God. God grant that you shall receive it in the anointing and in the love and in the kiss of God to your heart. God grant it. For these are the beginnings of the great work of God.

Which he will so freely do for every one of us if we will let him do it. Amen. And of course It's wonderful to have all that God Has to give us but basically beloved if we are going to be kings and the God.

Then we've got to be turned into other men. This is what happened to King Saul. He thou shalt be turned into another man. And you know the man you've got to be turned into don't you. It's Jesus. You've got to be turned into another man.

Praise the name of the Lord. This is the whole glorious truth of God. Okay, I know we sang that hymn a little earlier beautiful words of Jesus. And I discovered that some of you really play tricks in these meetings because I asked.

How many of you beside our sister know this hymn and about four people put up their hands? And I reckon there were 40 of you that knew it. Now, why did you hide under the table? Why did you do that? If you do that, I'll be dropping on you to sing a solo.

So and I've got five days to try you in so watch it. Hallelujah. That lovely hymn I thought about my mother she was the first one I ever heard sing that. My memory goes back to all right the beginnings.

When my mother used to sing these great. You know that we used to live in the sacred songs and solos area in our hymnology in those days. I Don't know whether I've graduated from that or not, but but I Can remember her singing it and how lovely we thought we know come unto me.

Well, it's a marvelous thing to come unto me ye weary. Come I will give you rest. And it's a blessed and glorious experience and they're beautiful words that Jesus spoke. But you do realize that it isn't just sufficient to come to Jesus.

You've got to be turned into another man. You've got to be turned into a Jesus. You understand that and when you come this is what you're to understand God is seeking in your life. It isn't sufficient for us just to come to Jesus and say he's called me.

I'm weary. I'm heavy-laden. I'm burdened with my sin and he has lifted off my burden. Hallelujah. Well, that's wonderful. You might feel like John Bunyan's pilgrim who gave three leaps in the air. Because the burden rolled off his back when he came to the cross and he saw it rolled down into a deep dark pit and that was that and You might feel like jumping six times instead of three times.

But the whole glorious thing is this that that's butter preliminary. That's ridding you of the past. It's what you've got to be in the future. That's a great thing and you and I have got to be turned into another man.

The word turned is converted. Utterly converted with a fine and wonderful New Testament new conversion beloved and moved into the glory of letting the Lord Make us into this wonderful man Christ Jesus and that's what all this word Predestination is all about in your New Testament, which I don't want to examine tonight anyway.

But this is what it's all about. Beloved glory be to the name of the Lord that God in his heart Fixed it there before he called you by his grace he had fixed in the thought of the imagination of his heart a wondrous man a Glorious being you you.

What he by his grace and blood and power and spirit was going to make you? In that lovely Oh Beloved to be turned into another man. Praise God from a sinner to a saint. From someone wondering about trying to find something that you can't find to really arriving.

That's what Saul was doing. He was wondering about trying to find something That he couldn't find. I have so many people are like that, aren't they? And God just tells him you're going to be changed changed into another man.

Another man what a thrill. You're going to be Turned into this one. You and I have got to be brought into Christ in a very wonderful way. And it's got to be so tremendous when all this happens. You see it's good to be in the right company.

He's going he's going to you're going to hear first of all in verse two as we look up that. That your father say what shall I do for my son? What shall I do for my son. Praise the name of the Lord. Make a king of him make a king of him Lord.

Hallelujah, what shall I do for my son? Blessed be the name of the Lord. That might not have been quite the thought in the mind of Kish, but this is what's written in our scriptures for our instruction for our learning beloved.

Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What shall I do for my son? Oh, I Love that don't you? What if you're saying you are make me a king Lord make me a king. Make me able to reign in life. Make me able to do it father for this is what the promise of the New Testament is.

Let's go on again. It says you go forward from then. Don't stop there in verse three and you come to two three men going up to God. That's the sort of company to be King. You get with those people to go up to God.

Because you see God's gone up with a shout. You'd better get with those that go up to God beloved. Don't you get with those that go down to hell to Satan? Don't you get with those that go down into the pit.

You get with those go up to God. Hallelujah. In that a precious thing. Are you one of those people that go up to God? If you go up to God, I reckon you'll get some good solid bread to eat. That's right, I'm the bread of life says the Lord Jesus Christ.