FBCWest 728 | God Changes Hearts
Recorded On: 09/06/2026
Bulletin
Hymn # 435 “He Keeps Me Signing”
SCRIPTURE READING – Psalms 100
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“Resurrecting”
“Battle Belongs”
“Good Grace”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“God Changes Hearts”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“Behold the Lamb”
Acknowledgements and Announcements
Sermon Notes
1 Samuel 10:1 Samuel anoints Saul
1 Samuel 10:2 – 8 Samuel prophesizes to Saul what is going to happen soon
1 Samuel 10:9 God changes Saul’s heart
1 Samuel 10 – 13 Saul himself prophesizes with other prophets
1 Samuel 10:14 – 16 Saul tells his uncle about the search for the donkeys, but not being king
1 Samuel 10:17 – 27 Saul selected king while hiding
Psalms 51:1 – 13 God forgives and creates clean hearts
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
That's how he does good things for us. As we will see that even when he is rejected as King and he allows the people to have what they want as King, instead of wiping his hands, they'll say, okay, you've got one, whatever. We're going to say that he is going to unliked Saul.
He is going to appoint Saul and he's going to allow the people to recognize Saul as King. So even in their hardheartedness God is still working so that they might accomplish what it is they want. And so if you have your Bibles and you should, where we're at now is in 1 Samuel chapter 10, starting with the first verse. This is the Samuel took the flask of oil, ordered on his head, Saul saw, kissed him and said, has not the Lord anointed you a ruler over his inheritance. So he's acknowledging and God is saying, I'm anointed you.
So there is one area that Saul should have confidence in his leadership is because God is anointed him to do it. But to be a ruler over not false people, God's people, God's inheritance. So God is reminding him that while you may be a leader, they're not your people, they're my people.
And when you go from me today, then you will find two men close to Rachel's tomb, which is very near to Bethlehem. And the territory of Benjamin at Zilvah, and they will say to you, the donkeys which you went to look for have been found. Now, behold, your father has ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you saying, what shall I do about my son? So again, God is going to tell him through these men and he's announcing all of these prophecies that are very short term to again give Saul confidence that God's involved. And so your initial concern was, your father's initial concern was about the donkeys. They've been found and just as you had been concerned and wanted to give up the search and go home, your dad is in fact concerned about you. So you're going to run into these people. So you're going to know that it happens before it happens.
Then you'll go on further from there and you will come as far as the Oak of Tebore and their three men going up to God at Bethlehem will meet you one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread and another carrying a jug of wine. So again, he said, I'm going to prophesy tell you what's going to happen. So when these things happen, you know that God's involved. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread which you will accept from their hand. So just telling them, this is what's going to happen. Don't play the, oh, well, thanks, but nothing.
No, you take the two blows of bread which would be interesting. They're offering him probably what's there going to be offering to the Lord, acknowledging him as a leader of God's people. And afterwards, you will come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, fruit and a liar before them and they will be prophesying. So they're going to have all these musical instruments because they've just been for God is to be worship and worshiping and they're going to also in addition to that, they're going to be speaking God's word. Then the spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily. When God does something, he doesn't do it. Stangily.
So he says, I'm going to give the spirit of the Lord, but he's going to come upon him mightily and you shall prophesy with him and be changed into another man. So God's saying, here's the three events and God is going to come upon you and you are also going to be like a prophet, even though you have been anointed a king so that you might know that God's power is rested on you to do the job that you've been called to do, not in your might but by the power of the Lord. So he's giving all of these events notifications to Saul so that it might steal a false reserve and knowing that God has called him to be king. And that's going to be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires for God is with you. God's going to tell you what to do when you're there and do what you think is right in that situation because God is with you. We can, if you will, as believers do great things when we are convinced God is with us. All the time we try to be with God.
Well, God is on our side. You know, be on God's side. So it's God is with you. God is on your side. So do these things and you should go down before me to Gilgal.
Now here's going to be a future problem and behold, I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do. In a little while, in future messages, we are going to see this all did all the things he was supposed to do to this point. We are not to do some of the things God has told us to do. We're not to do the things that are easy, but sometimes when things seem to be not happening as quickly as we think they should, we need to wait on God. We are to do the whole plan of God, not just what's convenient for us. Yet in the world today, we like to follow what God tells us on the things that we want to do, like you're supposed to love me because God said you're supposed to love me.
God also says I'm supposed to love you. Now, but don't you understand that's hard. You didn't say whether it was easy, it's hard, you said you're supposed to do it.
We're supposed to do the whole council of God. Then it happened when it turned his back to leave stemming. God changed his heart. God changed his heart. All the time around valetimes, we have little hearts and things like that. We think about emotions.
The Bible, when it talks about the heart, does not talk about emotion. It talks about the poor of who you are. Even in our culture, we'll talk about the heart of the matter, or that you need to have heart. It's the poor of who you are.
And so God changed the poor of who the child was. Now, unfortunately, the child, like you and me, are human. And the heart can be desperately evil. And the heart can do what it wants to do.
And so we're going to come back to this at the end of the message. But I want you to notice that it is God who changed souls. God did it. It wasn't thought I said, I'm going to make a resolution that I'm going to be a different kind of man when I'm the king. Because I face it, when we want to make changes in our lives, usually we do that around new years and we do resolutions. And we try to break bad habits and try to start good habits.
Or we try to, when we talk to people about things, we try to maybe change our mind about the way we perceive things. And that can be very difficult because we don't want to admit that we were wrong before. So we don't want to change our mind. But only God can change hearts. And so he says, so from this moment, when he left to go to do what Samuel had constructed to do, God then worked. God is going to come lightly upon him, but already God has changed his heart.
And all those signs came about on that day. It didn't have to wait long. And when they came to the hill there, behold, the group of prophets met him and the spirit of God came upon him rightfully so that he prophesied among them. So he became one of the prophets. He started pronouncing the word of God along with the others who were pronouncing the word of God. Talk about the great religious meeting.
That was the worship service. I am fortunate that I get to present to you the word of God. What kind of meeting would it be after I spend my hours preaching you one of you gets up and presents the word of God and another presents the word of God and another presents the word of God. I mean, that would be an amazing meeting. And that's what's happening here. Everyone is talking about what God is saying in doing.
And it came about when all who knew him previously saw that he prophesied now with the prophets that the people said to one another, what has happened to the son of Kish? Is so also among the prophets. Wait a minute.
This isn't the guy that we know. This guy didn't necessarily always talk about the word of God. So now he's with prophets not just taking a back seat, but amongst him prophesying. This isn't the guy we know. And then there said now who is their father?
Therefore became a proverb installed also among the prophets. So now he's a king. Is he also going to be a prophet? And when he had finished prophesying, it came to the high place. He came to where the sacrifices were to be made. Now, it's all uncle said to him and his servant, where did you go? And he said, look for the donkeys.
I did what you told me to do. My dad sent me out to look for the donkeys. I went to look for the donkeys. And when we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel. So we could find them.
So we went to Samuel because Samuel was the seeker. And we were hoping that Samuel will tell us. And he told uncle said, please tell me what Samuel said to you. So he's wanted to know what went on. What did the prophet, what did the seeker say to you? So the father said to his uncle, he told us plainly that the donkeys had been found, but did not tell them about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned. He left out a big part. He left out the part about the reason he met Saul.
What should become king? Maybe because he didn't think his uncle would believe him. Or maybe because his uncle knew the type of person he was. And he said, you're tall, you're good looking. And now a leader. For some reason he didn't want to share the news with his uncle. Maybe because he wanted to share with his dad. I don't know.
A lot of times we do. I know when my first child was born, before his born, when my wife went to the doctor to find out, she was frustrated why she wasn't pregnant and the doctor told her she was. So she came home and my mother, her mother was there. And she asked what the doctor said in my wife just kind of said to them. Because he wanted me to first to know that I love this expression. We were pregnant. She was pregnant. I'm just a beneficiary of the baby to be born.
And again, so I understand that sometimes you don't want to divulge everything because you want the people who are close to you to know it first. But anyway, he doesn't tell his uncle the most important news. They're after Samuel called the people together to the Lord at this point. And he fed to the sons of Israel. I bless the Lord, begotter, of Israel. I brought Israel from up from Egypt and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.
But you have today rejected your God who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses. Yet you have said no, but said a king over us. And now therefore present yourself before the Lord by your tribes and by your plans. The Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near and the tribes of Benjamin was taken by law.
So what's happening is, is it going to work going to decide who's the king? And one of the ways we determine what God is doing is by lots. And what they do is they assemble all the tribes and they go like Judah. And they draw a lot in in Judah's knot and they go to to a simian and they go to Ephraim. And all these tribes, and they get to the last one, which is Benjamin, Benjamin's tribe is taken.
Then he brought the tribal Benjamin year by its families and with the my Detroit family was taken and saw the son of the fish was taken. But when they look for him, he could not be found. So basically what's happening is they did lots by tribes. Did they lot by families? Then they did a lot by people and it was so that was acknowledged by God's choice by lot to be the king. However, so was in there. This brave man of God is going to fight the battle for the people.
He's going to fight for the people. Why? Therefore, they required further of the Lord as the man come here. So the Lord said, behold, he's hiding himself by the baggage. Samuel, anointed him. Samuel prophesied. Saul prophesied.
God has now pointed him through law to be the king. And he's hiding now. If he got us to call you to do something instead of doing it, you're hiding now.
So the man and took him from there and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upwards. Again, he's called. He looks to the part. He's central casting. When you want to look for a king, he looks like a king. Samuel said to all the people, do you see him? The Lord has chosen. Sure there is no one like him among all the people.
So all the people shouted and said, long live the king. So the people acknowledge that is God's choice for him to be their king. Unknowing it. Confirm by the word of God. Confirm by law. Confirm by the people acceptance that he is the king. Since Daniel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom and wrote them in the book and placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, eat one to his house.
So I also went to his house, I give you. And the valiant men whose art God had touched went with him. Again, notice God's involvement. God touched the men to be there with Saul to either be counselors or warriors or whatever it was. They were valiant men.
They were to be there to assist. Even when God said, you're rejecting me. Listen to the people. He still provides all that they need that the king might be successful. But you wouldn't have a story without. The other people.
They were certainly worthless men. How can this one deliver? And they despised him and did not bring him any present.
Because God has changed him. He's no longer going to force himself as king. He's going to allow them to act this way. He's going to know exactly how God feels.
Not everyone wants you. The people of Israel rejected God as king. And now Paul understands. It's not unanimous. God may have chosen you. And the people may have acknowledged you. But they're still going to be those who are going to complain. And if you ask 95 percent of the pastors.
Is it possible today? We'll say that there's probably somebody in their congregation who does unlike them. So which is somebody else with pastor. Or he could be faster, but they're going to run the church. And hopefully that's what it is about God's people. And I want to go back to the most important part of this message. Did God change his people's hearts? David was a man after God's own heart.
See, what our who God is. David uniquely loved the world. You know, prayers in our desire is to be people like David who pursued the Lord and the Lord. And yet David.
You see, even when your heart gets changed, sometimes your mind doesn't. And you have the same bad thoughts or evil thoughts that you had which corrupts your heart. Or lack of faith. Then says, I'm not going to do what God says because it might be risky or I might fail or whatever. And so there's these temptations that come.
That's why Jesus told us to take up our cross daily. We need to crucify ourselves daily. Because unfortunately, even when our hearts get changed, we keep resurrecting ourselves. So we need to take a look at our heart every single day. The say is it committed to God or I'm a committed to something else. God acknowledges, in the scripture says, that I'm going to take my law and write them on their heart.
Because our hearts are more hearted. It's done. So I needed to write it on our hearts so that it affects the poor, the fruit we offer. So David, this man after God's own heart. And I find interesting. The reason that they wanted to king was to fight their battle. Well, how did David find out that he was in the situation that he became in?
Because when the kings went out to battle, when the kings went out to war, David stayed home. So at the point of pointing a king, so that he might fight their battles. And instead of fighting their battles, David decided to stay home. He stayed home. He found temptation. Saw a beautiful young lady take it a bath. And even though he had lots of wives and concubines, wasn't enough.
So he took her. And he tried to hide it. But poor false witness won't she became pregnant. And tried to bring somebody else like bringing the husband home. But he was an honorable man and we're not going his own house. So when that didn't work, he had him pills murder. So I really built stuff for a guy who's after God's own heart. And yet God loved David.
God loved you. But notice what David did when he was presented because when Nathan the Prophet came, he told David about a story about a guy who owned a little lamb. And this other rich man who had a bunch of sheep. And he heard that story. David said the guy out of die. And he said, you're the man.
Now, most people, we will see the religious people in Jesus' days, rather than repenting, justify themselves. But David did it in insolence chapter 51. And it's a big gracious to me. According to your loving kindness, not what I deserve it, but because you're so loving kind God. According to the greatness of your compassion brought out my friends. David had no time for us to justify himself. Because God, you are so loving.
You are so compassionate. You can do this. Even though I have committed all these sins against you. Watch me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me.
And I have been revealed and I have even though I tried to hide it, I knew it. And by me knowing it, it has been separated from you because I could not have the same relationship with you because sin keeps me from that relationship. So it's always before me. So get rid of it, God, so that's not before me. And I love this against you and only you have I sinned. He wronged the Shiba. He wronged her husband.
They sinned against God. He was evil against God. And done what is evil in your side. So that you are justified when you speak and blameless when you judge. I am guilty as charged. I'm not even going to give an insanity defense.
I'm guilty. And here comes sentence to me to the worst sentence because I deserve it. And then he goes on and says, the only one who I was brought forth in iniquity and then sinned my mother and saved me. This is just who I am. This is my heart.
I'm a sinner. You hold you desire truth and the animal is being. And in the hidden heart, you will make me no wisdom. Who I am. I want to know truth. I want to desire that in that moment.
I want to know wisdom. And he gets down to purify me with this. And I shall be clean. God, you have the authority and power to cleanse me.
Even though my sin or a scarlet, it will be white as snow. Wash me. And I shall be wider than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness. Let the bones which you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all of my iniquities. God, I want you never to think about my sin again. As the word of God says, may my sin be as far as the east is from the west.
A lot of times God, all the time when we confess our sins, God will cleanse us from our sins. However, Satan or ourselves will continue to throw up our past sins. And he says, I want you to blot out my iniquities. They're no longer readable. And now that you have friends with me, now that you have forgiven me, now that you've given me back joy, creating me a clean heart. Only God can create a clean heart. Oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
God, I want this clean heart, but I want it to stay clean. I don't want to go back to the way I was. Even though I was a man after your heart, I want you to give me a heart that is steadfast, that doesn't go back to the old me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. This is a very important phrase.
Notice David, after all those sins, did not say restore to me salvation. David never lost his salvation because his trust was in the Lord. He lost the joy of it.
No wonder there's so many miserable Christians instead of confessing our sins and having that steadfast, renewed heart. Keep on, keep it on. And we don't have that joy. And sustain me with a willing spirit, but that I might want to do what you want me to do. And again, notice he doesn't say, and I will sustain myself. It's continually restored to me, God. And sustain me.
It isn't, well, I'll do better next time, God. God, I need your intervention because I cannot do it on my own. And the truth is none of us can. Then I will teach transgressors your ways.
And sinners will be converted to you. The greatest soul winners are the people who have been forgiven of their sins. And we'll have a clean heart and have been restored to joy of their salvation because their testimony is what God has done in their life. Not that I turn from being weak to strong, but that God made me a sinner and made me a saint. That God made me one who ran from him, who won, who runs to him and never leaves his presence. The whole heart was changed by God. David understood his heart got away from God, but the only way that it would be steadfast in the Lord is that the Lord did it. And the Lord would continue to do it so that he would be steadfast in it.
We all can be great Christians for an hour or two. We made a clean heart, a steadfast heart. Our heart that is the stills the heart of God. Not for an hour, not for a day, not for a week, not for a month, but for the rest of our lives. And we can walk to them. It is only Jesus living through us that we could ever hope to do it.
And all God's people said.