The LORD Works Great Salvation

Order of Service

• Announcements
• Prelude — Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven
• Call to Worship — Hebrews 12:28-29
• Hymn — Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Nicene Creed
• Scripture Reading — Acts 5:1-16
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Sermon
• Hymn
• Benediction — Hebrews 13:20-21

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Sermon Title: The LORD Works Great Salvation

Scripture: 1 Samuel 11

I. The LORD Works Salvation from the Hand of the Enemy

A. The nature of the enemy — Nahash the Ammonite

1. Nahash (Hebrew for serpent) besieges Jabesh-gilead, demanding to gouge out the right eye of every man, bringing disgrace upon all Israel
2. His intent is to mock God's people and call into question God's ability and willingness to save — an attack on God's very character
3. This echoes Satan's tactics from the beginning: in Genesis 3, Satan twisted God's character to tempt Eve; Nahash stands as a living picture of the enemy's schemes

B. The nature of the victory

1. God has given Israel a king precisely for this purpose — to save them from surrounding enemies (cf. 1 Samuel 9–10)
2. The Spirit of God rushes upon Saul (1 Samuel 11:6), kindling righteous anger; Saul musters 330,000 warriors and routs the Ammonites
3. The victory belongs to the LORD — Saul is the instrument, but it is God who works salvation

C. Christological horizon: this victory anticipates the day when Christ will fully vanquish Satan — the seed of the woman crushing the head of the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15); Satan will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10)

II. The LORD Works Salvation Despite the Forgetfulness of the People

A. The people forget to call on the LORD

1. When Nahash besieges Jabesh-gilead, there is no prayer, no crying out to God — the people immediately seek a treaty with the enemy
2. This confirms what Samuel has repeatedly declared: Israel has rejected the LORD as their king

B. The people forget the king God has given them

1. Rather than going directly to Saul in nearby Gibeah, the messengers are sent broadly throughout Israel, as if no king existed
2. When the messengers reach Gibeah, the message is delivered to the people at large, not to Saul — he only hears of it by chance

C. Application: we too are prone to forget God

1. Like Jabesh-gilead, we often fail to call on God in trials, distress, and sin
2. We attempt to work out our own salvation — by being good enough, working hard enough, managing our own reputation
3. Yet God's grace is displayed in this: he saves his people despite their forgetfulness — not to excuse it, but to spur humble worship and remembrance

III. The LORD Works Salvation Because He Is a Covenant King

A. The covenant name of God appears three times in 1 Samuel 11:12-15 — Yahweh, the LORD — tied to his unwavering, steadfast love for his people

B. Saul's mercy on the day of battle points forward to Christ

1. Saul declares that no one shall be put to death, because the LORD has worked salvation (1 Samuel 11:13)
2. On the day Christ hangs on the cross, one man is put to death for the salvation of all God's people — what Saul does not do, the Father does to the Son
3. Christ is the true and greater covenant king; his shed blood establishes the new covenant (Hebrews 13:20)

C. The call to trust the covenant king

1. Are you trying to save yourself by your own strength and goodness, or are you trusting in the covenant king?
2. The seed of the woman has crushed the head of the seed of the serpent — for every man, woman, boy, and girl, there is forgiveness, wholeness, and salvation in Christ alone