Have you ever pondered the legacy you'll leave behind? Join me, Pastor Brandon, as we journey through the pivotal moments of Israel's history in 1 Chronicles 10, examining the fall of Saul and his sons with a spirit of hope and God's unwavering faithfulness. This isn't just another retelling of ancient tales; it's a deep exploration of what it means to have our lives etched with integrity and the pursuit of a godly character. We'll celebrate the shift from genealogies to enriching stories, recognizing that even in times of downfall, there is a chance for redemption.
In the heart of this episode lies the profound contemplation of our personal "tombstones" – not the literal engravings, but the metaphorical imprints we leave on this world through our relationships with Jesus, our family, and our dedication to living righteously. Discover how we can pursue a life of meaning beyond our earth-bound achievements, and find comfort in the knowledge that God values the disposition of our hearts above all else. Soak up a message full of encouragement to live authentically now, not in some distant, uncertain future, and join in a prayer for a life well-lived that echoes through eternity.
SOAP Bible Study Method- https://www.brandoncannon.com/soap/
Bible reading plan- http://www.experiencerlc.com/the-bible/
Free weekly newsletter- https://www.brandoncannon.com/
Social:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/thebrandoncannon
Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandoncannon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandoncannon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theBrandonCannon
The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Have you ever pondered the legacy you'll leave behind? Join me, Pastor Brandon, as we journey through the pivotal moments of Israel's history in 1 Chronicles 10, examining the fall of Saul and his sons with a spirit of hope and God's unwavering faithfulness. This isn't just another retelling of ancient tales; it's a deep exploration of what it means to have our lives etched with integrity and the pursuit of a godly character. We'll celebrate the shift from genealogies to enriching stories, recognizing that even in times of downfall, there is a chance for redemption.
In the heart of this episode lies the profound contemplation of our personal "tombstones" – not the literal engravings, but the metaphorical imprints we leave on this world through our relationships with Jesus, our family, and our dedication to living righteously. Discover how we can pursue a life of meaning beyond our earth-bound achievements, and find comfort in the knowledge that God values the disposition of our hearts above all else. Soak up a message full of encouragement to live authentically now, not in some distant, uncertain future, and join in a prayer for a life well-lived that echoes through eternity.
SOAP Bible Study Method- https://www.brandoncannon.com/soap/
Bible reading plan- http://www.experiencerlc.com/the-bible/
Free weekly newsletter- https://www.brandoncannon.com/
Social:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/thebrandoncannon
Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandoncannon
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandoncannon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theBrandonCannon
The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, everyone, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today. 1 Chronicles 10, and today's title is what Will Be On your Tombstone? What Will Be On your Tombstone? I've got some great news for you. I'm going to share with you in just a moment. But first, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Make sure, if you are listening to the podcast, you leave us a five-star review, forever and always my favorites. Everybody else. Get over it. I'm just messing with you. And, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you go over to the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. I love the wonderful work they're doing there. I cannot wait to read those in the morning. The more we dig, the more we find. So make sure you're going there, leaving comments also on the YouTube channel. Make sure you're leaving comments, and I want you to leave a comment. I want you, matter of fact, I want you to leave the number one in our comments, if you are as excited as I am about this great news, so write in number one and hit send no names today. I mean, there's names, but we don't have to go through any more genealogies. We just finished nine chapters of genealogies. Do you know what? Praise the Lord, I am proud of you. I'm going to tell you something. I'm proud of me. We made it through ten, nine chapters of genealogies and the best I can remember right now we don't have a whole lot more of those. We have a few more because the guy who compiled this, ezra he wrote another book. He's got a lot of names in there, so we're not done with all the names ever, but I do believe that might be the longest stint of names and we made it so. Praise the Lord, so quickly.
Speaker 1:Open your Bibles with me to 1 Chronicles 10. I'm so very excited. And we finally get into the narrative of what 1 Chronicles is all about. Now, while you're getting your Bibles ready, remember the goal of this is Ezra is compiling the history of the nation.
Speaker 1:When we read through 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Samuel, it is how did we get here? How are we in the exile? And they're saying I'm going to tell you why we got here because we were unfaithful to God. So God, he finally had enough of it right, and so it's just really talking about all the negativity. Well, now, as they're getting ready to go back to the nation of Israel after the 70 years, the question is is God going to be faithful to us? Could we possibly make something out of all these ruins? And so Ezra is writing the story again. But he's saying hey, but wait a minute.
Speaker 1:When you read 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, you read about how, all the things that we did wrong. But now I want to write for you that same history. But realize that when God is with you, there's always hope. So in all of that, god was already moving. He was always moving in our lives, and I can't tell you how many times in my own life I've went through seasons where I looked at my history and I went oh man, lord, I've just messed so much stuff up and things have been so bad and I'm so sorry. But then the Holy Spirit will have a way of just saying but also, remember, watch how I was with you in this, watch how I was with you in that. And one of the great things about that is is that if God was with us before, he's going to be with us in the future. So we're gonna read this and you're gonna. If you've been reading or going through the Bible breakdown with us for a while, you're gonna be like have I read that before? Yeah, a little bit differently, but now through the lens of God being with them and don't worry, it's still going to be full of drama and full of crazy, but through the lens of a priest. So he's writing it from God's faithfulness. And as we read this together, the more we dig, the more we find you ready. Here we go. No more list of names. 1 Chronicles 10, verse 1. What will be on your tombstone? Here we go Now.
Speaker 1:The Philistines attacked Israel and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Geboa. The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons and they killed the three sons, jonathan, benadab and Malchishua. The fighting grew very fierce around Saul and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him. Saul groaned to his armor bearer take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to taunt and torture me. But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died. So Saul and his three sons died there together, bringing his dynasty to an end.
Speaker 1:When all the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley saw that their army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his sons on Mount Geboa. So they stripped off Saul's armor and cut off his head. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul's death before their idols and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. They placed his armor in the temple of their gods and they fastened his head to the temple of Dagon. But when everyone in Jabesh, gilead, heard about it, everything the Philistines had done to Saul, all their mighty warriors brought the bodies of Saul and his sons back to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones beneath the tree, the great tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days. So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He failed to obey the Lord's command and even consulted a medium instead of asking the Lord for guidance. So the Lord killed him and turned his kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse.
Speaker 1:Wow, if you've ever wondered, war is terrible, the results are horrific. And what breaks my heart so much is if you remember when we read 1 Samuel Saul has such a great start. It was amazing. If you remember, he didn't even want to be king, he wasn't angling for it. If you remember, all the way back he was going to look for some missing animals and he came across Samuel and God told Samuel anoint that guy, he's going to be the first king and you imagine how you get all these different people, groups and tribes and he brings them together. What an amazing organizer. You know we don't give Saul a lot of credit how the Holy Spirit anointed him to organize the people of Israel and develop an army and really just develop the nation. When David becomes king, who's coming up next? He inherits a kingdom that Saul laid the groundwork for. Saul was huge in getting things started.
Speaker 1:But what's on his tombstone? What is he remembered for? I don't know if you've ever done this, but you ever go through cemeteries and a lot of times you'll have just their names, but sometimes you'll have a phrase or have a thing a beloved daughter, wonderful mother or something else. We used to have a thing we would like to do is we would go through Pigeon Forge in Gatlinburg. We would go and we'd read these old tombstones and sometimes it would be just wonderful little phrases and different things and all this. But you know what's on Saul's tombstone. You know, sometimes it would be just wonderful little phrases and different things and all this, but you know what's on Saul's tombstone. You know what I mean Technically, because this right here, this chapter may be seen as what's on his tombstone is.
Speaker 1:Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord how you say. He failed to obey the Lord's command, even consulted a medium instead of asking the Lord for guidance. He was killed and his kingdom was turned over to David, the son of Jesse. That's a really big tombstone to get all those words, but that was his enduring legacy. Not that he built a wonderful kingdom, not that he was called by God to do this, but he was remembered because he so totally failed against the Lord. And that breaks my heart, because just because something starts good doesn't mean it will end well. And this is what I want to share with all of you today as we get ready to end our time together. And that is this.
Speaker 1:Sometimes the greatest act of faith is faithfulness. It doesn't always matter how great you start. What matters is what you do from there. And I say that because there are times in life and we should never compare ourselves to others, should we? But how many times do we do it anyway? And we look at our lives and we see ourselves at a particular age and particular place in life, and then we see other people and they seem to be moving much faster, much further. They seem to be ahead in life. And if we're not careful, we can look at that and we can think that it makes us look less than we look at other people who have achieved things and we go, man, that's less than you know, whatever. You know what.
Speaker 1:When it gets down to it, people aren't going to remember how fast you started. They're not going to remember how fast you ran. What they're going to remember is they're going to remember how it all ended in the end. Because just because you start fast doesn't mean you're going to end fast Just because you run fast in the middle. What matters is faithfulness, being faithful to the end, because just because you start fast doesn't mean you're going to end fast Just because you run fast in the middle. What matters is faithfulness, being faithful to the end.
Speaker 1:Can I tell you, my hope is and I don't know if I had a chance to think about this, and I'd love for you to think about this If someone could sum up your life in just one or two sentences, what would they say? Plan what you would put on your tombstone. You know, for me it would be something to the effect of he loved Jesus, he loved his family and he was faithful to the end. He loved Jesus, he loved his family and he was faithful to the end. Now, I don't know what you've chosen to do with your life. I'm a pastor. I feel like God's called me to be a pastor and that's what I hope to do the rest of my life.
Speaker 1:But when someone puts down whatever on my tombstone, I don't want them to put how big my church was. I don't want them to put how many people I had the opportunity to lead to the Lord. None of that kind of stuff. You know why? Because all of that belongs to the Lord. All of my life belongs to the Lord. What I can do is I can handle my effort and the most important thing for me is that he loved Jesus, he loved his family and he was faithful.
Speaker 1:What about you Now? Mine doesn't have to be yours, but what is it that you want to be yours? Let's think about it for a moment, because you have an opportunity to move in that direction and ultimately, the Lord decides. Ultimately, the Lord chooses how much we do accomplish quote unquote achieve in life. But I also got a feeling that God is way more interested in what we become than what we achieve in this life. What do we become? What kind of Christ follower do we become?
Speaker 1:We get to really rethink this a lot of ways, but it starts with what kind of person, when it's all over with, do you want to be remembered as? You want to be remembered as someone like Saul, who started off so very well but then turned out so very bad? Or somebody who said you know what? I didn't start fast, I didn't run fast, but you know what Faithfulness is, where it's at, because sometimes the greatest act of faith is faithfulness and if you're faithful to the end, god will always make a difference with your life. What will be on your tombstone? Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you are with us and that you ultimately write the pages of our life.
Speaker 1:God, my prayer is that everybody listening to this has got a long, happy, fulfilling life ahead of them. But, lord, what I also know is that, even though the days seem long, the years are short and time flies so quickly. Let us not wait until one day to live a life of faithfulness. Let us start today, because I know, god, if we always do our best, do the right thing for the right reason, you'll always lead us in the right direction. We trust you with our lives. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. And what God's Word says in 1 Chronicles, chapter 29,. I know, my God, that you examine our hearts and rejoice when you find integrity there. God is with you, god is leading you and God is more active in your life than you can imagine. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for 1 Chronicles.