(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. He was a choice young man

2. 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 country of Ephraim, around Sha-lisha, but didn’t find
them. They went over to Shaa-lim- no luck, then to Jabin and still nothing. When
they got to Zu-ph, Saul said to the young man with him. “Enough of this, lets go
back. Soon my father is going to forget about the Donkey’s and start worrying
about us.
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 this verse the servant replied to Saul,” not so fast. Wow, look here.
The servant said! Now the servant was suppose to do what Saul said do. But God had
caused Saul to pick this one particular servant because He knew he would have the
boldness to 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 were Prophets, but all Prophets were not Seers. Before you became a
Seer, you had to grow in your relationship with God. A Seer is; one who saw in
Vision or otherwise what he predicted, was a Seer. Where as a Prophet would
sometimes 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) ( Read Letter from American Life League)
Dear Fellow American,

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 as a way for you to save our
nation money! Washington DC bureaucrats want to make sure you don’t cause them to
spend “too much money” during your last year of life. Obama and other Democrats
have stated publicly that the last year of your 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 theo-
cracy 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 the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it
before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and
eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited
the people. So Saul did 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.