1 Samuel 12:1-25


One of my greatest desires in life is to be able to finish well.  We don’t know when then end will be as Christ’s return is imminent or our lives could come to an end at any time.  However, apart from the rapture or death, I would love to be found faithful as I celebrate my 100th birthday.  Samuel was old and had lived a long live is service of the Lord.  He had started to sever the Lord at a very young age, he had been faithful to serve the Lord through the prime of his life and now at the end of his life he could stand before the people as a faithful servant of the Lord.  I would love to be able to follow in those footsteps.  Samuel had not had a very good role model in Eli, the people he led were a difficult people and the enemies of his people were constantly attacking; yet Samuel had remained faithful despite these difficult circumstances.  As Samuel prepares for the final stage of his ministry he stands before the people and opens his heart.

SAMUEL’S EVALUATION: It is good for all of us to be evaluated no matter how high we might climb in our leadership position.  Samuel invites the people to evaluate him and confront him with the promise of making whatever they said right with them.  Samuel had a clear conscience before the people and before the Lord, but he knew that he could have been blind to a sin or have forgotten an offense so he asks the people to confront him with any failings he might have had.  We are often blind to our failures so it is very important that we give the people around us the liberty of evaluating us and confronting us so that we can remain faithful as we correct our shortcomings.  Those who refuse to listen to others will rarely if ever finish well.

SAMUEL’S RECOLLECTION: One of the key jobs of a leader is to remind the people of what God has done in the past.  We all have a tendency to forget.  We forget God’s blessings from the past and we forget our failures of the past.  If we want to finish well, it is important for us to remember the past.  God’s blessings of the past will help to encourage us when the difficult days come.  Our failures of the past will help to keep us humble and prepare us to avoid future failures.  It is important for us as leaders to look back and remember both the blessings and the failures if we want to finish well.

SAMUEL’S CONFRONTATION: Part of Samuel’s job as a prophet was to confront the people with their sin.  This is not a fun job but it is an important one and was part of finishing well in Samuel’s ministry.  Too often leaders want to be popular so they will let things “slide;” they don’t want to “rock the boat” or “make waves” so they ignore the sins of their people and do not confront them.  This is not finishing well!  God calls us to invest in the lives of others and part of that investment is having the courage to confront.  Too many leaders fear men more than they fear God and want to please men more than they want to please God so they do not confront the sins of their people.  Samuel did not fall into this trap and was faithful to confront and discipline his people.  Many churches and pastors today completely ignore their responsibility to exercise church discipline and confront the sins of their people.  Confronting the sins of those God has called us to lead is a vital part to finishing well.

SAMUEL’S MOTIVATION: Samuel is also faithful to encourage his people and let them know who they are before the Lord.  He had not become bitter and cynical in his old age but had allowed His knowledge and experience with God to fill his heart with hope.  He strives to pass this hope and motivation on to his people so that they too can experience the joy of walking with God.  Leaders must learn to be good encouragers and motivators if they want to finish well.  The wise leader will find a balance between confrontation and motivation and Samuel was able to do just that.  If we want to finish well, we must be sensitive to the needs and feelings of others so that we can encourage and motivate them or confront and correct them as is needed.  Serving others through motivation and encouragement is an important part of finishing well.

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