Our subject today is "A People Who Got It Wrong." Our texts are 1Samuel 4:1-11, 22 and Luke 19:39-44.

In Luke during the Triumphal Entry, Jesus was weeping for the people of Jerusalem, while they were celebrating Him. The people did not recognize the SAVIOR! Is Jesus weeping today for His people for the same reason? Are the people of God today doing our own thing, making our priorities more important than God's priorities? Things can go wrong quickly as in the case of the Israelites! But why? What did they get wrong? Didn't they call on the LORD? Why did they lose?

1. They lost because they acted on human impulse instead of divine guidance.
They made a hasty decision, they elevated Jesus as a king but...in their own image (human impulse). When a REACTION comes in our heart, we must WAIT for our mind to catch up to our heart. However, it is best to wait on the HOLY SPIRIT to tell us how to RESPOND. The Israelites did not do this.

2. They lost because they substituted the symbolical for the spiritual.
The POWER is not in the symbols, The POWER is in the person of GOD! Religiosity (appearing holy ONLY, doing the check off list instead of having an up close and personal relationship with Jesus) is not enough. Our victory is in our RELATIONSHIP with the LORD! The Israelites had lost their relationship with the LORD! They tried to appear holy by bringing the HOLY ark of the LORD onto the battlefield while living sinfully. They tried to manipulate God. This will never work!

3. They lost because they failed to realize that sin was the real reason for their defeat.
The people CHOSE to live in disobedience and Eli, the high priest, allowed their sin to go unchecked! In fact, his sons (both priests) were ring leaders in the national sin. They were living in the consequences of their actions. Is America living in the consequences of her actions today? We have allowed sin to invade our nation, our churches, and our homes. Until we realize sin is bringing us down, we may continue on a downward trajectory.

But there is good news. According to 1 Jn 1.9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The Israelites were a people who got it wrong, they tried to manipulate God by acting on human impulse instead of divine guidance. They substituted the symbolical for the spiritual. And they failed to realize that sin was the real reason for their defeat.

Join us next week to hear about a people who got it right. Amen.