This is Part 2 of “The King And His Army” series preached by Ern Baxter at the Lakes Bible Week in the UK in 1975.

Speaking of this powerful prophetic series and it’s significance for the modern Church, Ern declared: “There are four representative men in the Bible that I want to make reference to.  Adam, Abraham, David and our Lord Jesus.  To Adam we relate racially.  To Abraham we relate redemptively. To David we relate royally and our Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of all three men.  Adam was a type of Christ as Christ entered the whole human race.  Abraham through his seed speaks of the redemption of those who are saved through Christ the seed.  As for David, someone said once how they find things in the Bible that have been there all the time.  For years I didn’t find David.  I found Adam and I found Abraham but David, well he was the shepherd boy who killed the giant.  That was about the extent of my placing him in the whole picture.  Now I am seeing that in this present moving of the Holy Spirit David is the prominent figure. Adam is not, neither is Abraham.  We are in the period of the Davidic emphasis.  Why?  David speaks of reigning.  Abraham speaks of redemption.  But redeemed to do what?  Here is the crunch in our theology.  What have we been redeemed to do?  Someone said well we have been redeemed to go to church.  Or we have been redeemed to stop this or stop that.  Has it ever dawned on you that we have been redeemed for a higher calling to fulfill the Davidic type?  That Jesus was not only of the seed of Abraham, but he was of the seed of David to reign, and we are also not only of the seed of Abraham, but through Jesus Christ we are of the seed of David.  And as the seed of David we reign in life by one Christ Jesus! This is an emphasis that has been lost to the church for years.  All we heard was that we get saved to go to heaven.  One of the easy ways out was that there was a bus coming that would get us out of the whole nasty business and so we get up hopefully every morning and say, “Maybe the bus will come today. “

There is a dimension and as we go along in these nights from my point of view I hope to send you back to wherever you come from with a new sense of meaning.  I want you to go from this conference adjusting your crown, pulling your purple toga a little tighter around you, squaring your shoulders and standing ten feet tall to go home to change your community and plant the flag of Jesus Christ on top of City Hall!

The Decline and Death of the Head and Shoulders Man
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The King and His Army Series - Lakes Bible Week 1975

We’re breaking in at chapter 11 now of 1st Samuel.  Remember God gave Saul every chance.  That’s like God.  And listen - don’t misunderstand God’s concessions.  Just because God concedes something to us, let’s not think that He has changed the Bible to accommodate us.  God has a very gracious way of saying, “Alright Bill - if that’s the way you want it then go ahead”.  Somebody said, “Well if Bill is going the wrong direction, then God will leave him”.  Listen, if that were true then how many of us would have God with us at all tonight?  How many in this tent have taken a wrong turn since you’ve been a Christian?  Question number 2 - when you took the wrong direction did God leave you?  No.  He stayed with you.  Now that’s what we’re saying.  The people said, “Give us a king”.  God said, “Alright - here’s a king and you’re never ever going to be able to say that I didn’t give your king a chance”.  So He gave Saul a new heart and He gave him the Holy Spirit.  Saul prophesied and He gave him a confirmation of His kingship in chapter 11.  He gave him a victory and He rested him with authority

Now let’s look at chapter 11: 

"Now Nahash the Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh-gilead and all the men of Jabesh came to Nahash and said, ‘Make a covenant with us and we will serve you’.  But Nahash said, ‘I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you thus I will make a reproach on ...’”. 

Whom?  Talk to me - whom?  Israel.  How much of Israel?  All.  Ah but it was only Jabesh Gilead that was being besieged.  That was enough to bring reproach on all Israel because all Israel didn’t have enough life and energy to come to the defence of their fellow countrymen.  Brothers and sisters tonight we stand in the shameful position of being unable to withstand the incursion of the powers of darkness in the raids of the Philistines or come to the rescue of our brethren.  The scandal of our divisions!  The shame of our corporate powerlessness should have driven us to our knees and to God’s Word and to renewed commitment that God will restore the glory of His People in the earth and vindicate the honour and the Name of His Son.  Now verse 3:

"And the elders of Jabesh said to him, ‘Let us alone for seven days that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel then if there is no-one to deliver us, then we will come to you’.  Then the messengers came to Gibeah and Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people and all the people lifted up their voices and wept.  Now behold Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen and he said, ‘What’s the matter with the people as they weep?’”

So they related to him the words of Jabesh (v6).  "Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily and when he heard these words and he became very angry’”. There is a place for anger.  The Bible says, “Be angry and sin not”.  He took a yoke of oxen and he cut them into pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers saying, ‘Whoever does not come after Saul and after Samuel” (Saul knew where to plug in.  He was yet recognising God)”.  Alright.  “Saul and after Samuel so shall it be done to his oxen.  Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people and they came out as one man”.  Hallelujah!  It looks good.

“And he numbered them.  Then he sent the messengers and said, ‘Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead that we’re coming to help them”.  What was the result?  (v11) “And it came to happen the next morning that Saul put the people in three companies and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day and it came about that those of them who were left were scattered so that no two of them were left together.  Then the people said to Samuel, ‘Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’.  Bring the men here that we may put them to death’.  But Saul said, ‘Not a man shall be put to death this day for today the Lord has accomplished deliverance in Israel’”.  Now in his first contest as king he won the day by yielding to the Spirit of God.  You say, “Ah that’s great.  He’s a Head and Shoulders man but he’s yielded to the Spirit of God”.  Now this is the area of danger that a Head and Shoulders Man will yield to the Spirit of God but in times of crisis, his wilfullness will come through and he is disqualified.  Saul was a charismatic king and he had a first great victory and so we have him now invested. 

Verse 14; “Then Samuel said to the people, ‘Come let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there’.  So all the people went to Gilgal and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal.  There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced”.  Now everything looks great and good.  But let us remember that Saul was a Head and Shoulders Man and on this occasion he is dependent on his charismatic anointing and he has won a victory.  I wonder if I can say this without being too obvious - it is possible for you and me to add the charismatic dimension to our Head and Shoulders wilfullness and get results but not permanently.  You say, “I don’t get you”.  Well let me pluck another illustration out of history.  Samson was a charismatic.  Samson was endued with a charismatic enablement to judge Israel.  Samson said, “I’ve got such power that it really doesn’t matter what I do”.  So Samson was a willful man.  He toyed with his lover and he toyed with the Philistines but he stayed too long.  On one of the last occasions to show that he had this charismatic gift and what he did was not important - he lay with a harlot all night until midnight.  Then he rose up from his bed of sin and went up and pulled up the gates of Gaza and went screaming in charismatic victory up to the top of the hill and said, “Come you Philistines and get me.  I can sleep with a harlot till midnight but still talk in tongues.”

I don’t do that just to shock you, but I hope it shocks you.  I hope it shocks you enough to realize that the message of the epistle to the Corinthians has a very solemn note in it.  The people in the Corinthian church were divided over ministers.  They were getting drunk at the Lord’s Table - there was fornication commonly talked about among them and such fornication as was not so much as named among the Gentiles.  There was incest.  A man was living with his stepmother. There was litigation among them.  There was all kinds of carnality.  Paul said, “You are carnal” yet he said in the same breath, “You come behind in no gift”.  He said, “I want to tell you something - don’t be ignorant of the face that all of our fathers were baptized into Moses in the sea and in the cloud and all did eat the same spiritual meat and drink the same spiritual drink but with the majority of them God was not well pleased and they died in the wilderness.” Because God has charismatically visited you does not mean that you can opt out of your character responsibilities.  God is a God of morality and God is a God of goodness, righteousness, holiness and talking in tongues and prophesying and beating tambourines and getting goose bumps is not a substitute for goodness, joy, peace, love and the holiness that comes to those who are the People of God. 

But you see you must understand that the gifts and callings of God are grace gifts and Samson thought he could get off with his character aberrations as long as he had the strength.  But one day he let out the secret and he lost the secret of his strength - his Nazarene hair.  When he came to this time the Philistines had bound him and he couldn’t break the cords.  He was still a young man and he died prematurely.  In the Corinthian church Paul speaking of the covenant meal - the meal of renewal - he said, “If you do not discern the body for this many sleep”.  You and I may think that because we can exercise charismatic gifts while our character is not right that God is winking at our character aberrations - no!  It’s the goodness of God leading us to repentance and you don’t talk in tongues because you are holy.  You don’t prophecy because you are entirely sanctified.  These are gifts from God.  “And if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.” There must be character with the charismata.  If you don’t have character with the gifts, it’s not long until the gifts become empty and your life starts to wither away and in the Corinthian church people were starting to die prematurely.  Everything seemed to look God for Saul, the “Head and Shoulders Man.” He had the Spirit and had the best of both worlds.  He had his first victory and defeated Nahesh and delivered all of Israel.  They renewed the kingdom.  Alright?

Now let’s move on to chapter 12.  This is one of the most poignant chapters in the whole Bible, outside of Deuteronomy, where Moses sings his swan-song.  (v1): “Then Samuel said to all Israel, ‘Behold I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I have appointed a king over you.  And now here is the king walking before you, but I am old and grey.  Behold my sons are before you and I have walked before you from my youth even to this day.  Here I am.  Bear witness against the Lord and His anointed.  Whose ox have I taken or whose donkey have I taken?  Or whom have I defrauded?  Whom have I oppressed or from whose hand have I taken a bride to blind mine eyes with it?  I will restore it to you.’ They said, ‘You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from us or taken anything from any man’s hand.’ He said to them, ‘The Lord is witness against you and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand.’ They said, ‘He is witness.’”

Now Samuel has cleared himself character-wise.  The most he could say about his delinquent boys was that they are before you.  In this there is a gesture of committing them for what they were.  He said, “Here are my boys,” and that’s all he said.  There was the protection of the parental heart.  He felt badly about his boys. He said there they are for what they are.  But as for me? Can you charge me?  Have I defrauded you?  Have I taken anything?  Is there a man in the entire congregation who will stand up and point an accusing finger at me and say, “Samuel, I remember an occasion when you did this or that.” It reminds us of our Lord when He stood before the angry mob and said, “Which of you accuses me of sin.” And not one could lift up their voice.  Nor could they with Samuel.  Now this qualified Samuel to speak.  “Then Samuel the prophet said to the people, ‘It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from Egypt, so now you stand that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and your fathers when Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord.  Then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.” Now what’s he saying?  He is saying what I said to the ministers this afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen hear me!  For Christ’s sake hear me!  For your own sake hear me! 

We need in this hour a restoration of a recognition of the divine, unalterable, independent sovereignty of Jesus Christ to establish the rules, the regulations and the dictate and purpose that are His for the functioning of His community in the earth.

What does God want?  Not what do I want?  What does He want?  He is saying, “If only you people would remember your own history.  It was God who has done everything for you up until now.” But he said, “You’re very much like your forefathers.”

Verse 9:  “They forgot the Lord their God, so He sold them into the hands of Cyna, Captain of the army of Hazor and into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of Moab and they fought against him.  They cried out unto the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and Ashtoreths but now deliver us from the hands of our enemies and we will serve Thee.’ Then the Lord sent Jerubbabel, Bedal, Jeptha and Samuel and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you live in security.  When you saw Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon come against you, you said, ‘No but a king shall reign over us,’ although the Lord your God was your king.”

Now what’s Samuel saying?  He is saying what I said to you last night.  He is saying, ‘Instead of turning to the God who has a history of delivering you, you turned to the arm of the flesh.  Now God’s going to tolerate you.’ Notice verse 13: “Now therefore here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for and behold the Lord has set a king over you.” Now isn’t that a paradoxical statement?  He says, “Here is the king that you have chosen; here is the king that you have asked for, and the Lord set him over you.” You say well, “Who is getting the blame here?” The people got what they wanted.  We dealt with that last night.  They got what they wanted.  God said, “You want it?  You sure you want it?  You’re really sure?  Dead sure?  Alright you’ve got it.”

Verse 14:  “If you will fear the Lord and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you, will follow the Lord your God.  But if you will not listen to the voice of the Lord your God and rebel against the command of the Lord, the Lord will be against you as He was against your fathers.”

Now look at verses 16 and 17.  “Even now take your stand and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.  Is it not the wheat harvest today?  I will call the Lord that He may send thunder and rain then you will know and see your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.  So Samuel called to the Lord and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.”

God sent a sign following Samuel’s warning.  “Then all the people said to Samuel, ‘Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, so that we may not die for what we have added to all our sins, this evil by asking for ourselves a king.’ And Samuel said to the people, ‘Do not fear.  You have committed this evil but do not turn aside from following the Lord, yet serve the Lord with all your heart.’” Isn’t that beautiful?  How God comes down sometimes to our level that He may ultimately lift us up.  Let’s not misunderstand Him when He does that.  Alright.  Verse 21:  “And you must not turn aside for then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or deliver because they are futile.  For the Lord will not abandon His people on account that they are,” all so good-looking.  And they have so much money.  And they are such special people.  Yes?  No.  “The Lord will not abandon His people on account of,” What?  “His great Name.  Because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.”

I’ve got news for you folks.  He’s going to work you over and He’s going to work you over.  And you’re going to say, “Ouch!”. “For whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth and spanks every son that He receives.  If ye be without chastening then are ye bastards and not sons.” Better you come willingly than via the woodshed!  (*laughter*) Because the Lord is not over and above administering some posterior, protoplasmic stimulation. (*laughter*) Now please stay with me.  This is not an easy assignment tonight, because I have got to talk to you about the “Decline and Death of the Head and Shoulders Man.” That’s not a happy subject!  But if you listen carefully I think that you will see what happens to a Head and Shoulders situation and I think that if you’ve got ears to hear then you will see and hear the contemporary parallel.  Alright?  Starting in at chapter 13 this Head and Shoulders Man:

1. Violated Divine Order.

Let’s break in at verse 5:  “Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel.  30, 000 chariots and 6, 000 horsemen and people were like the sand on the seashore in abundance and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of Besthaven.  When the men of Israel saw that they were in straight for the people were hard pressed, then the people hid themselves in caves, in thickets, in cliffs, in cellars and in pits.  Also some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead but as for Saul, he was in Gilgal and all the people followed him trembling.” Now that’s a mess isn’t it?  Here’s the Head and Shoulders Man, the fellow that’s taller than all the Israelites; he’s got a lot in the head and a lot in the shoulders.  He is the brains and the brawn!  But isn’t it amazing that now the Philistines are coming upon them and the people are running; they’re afraid; they are frightened and they are in hiding.  This is the state of God’s people because the Head and Shoulders Man is not able to deal with the Philistines.  The Head and Shoulders Man can’t cast out a demon.  He can’t lead a soul to Christ.  He can’t inspire hope; he can’t lead people in worship.  All the Head and Shoulders Man can do is to give you his best intellectual estimate of the situation as it is. 

I’m not interested in an intellectual estimate of our situation tonight!  Worldwide we are in economic trouble.  There is something that has come into the world economy that even the best experts that we have in that area say they cannot understand.  A friend of mine, whose an owner of a stock broking company in Kansas City, told me one day, “Ern, we have two kinds of people who give us advice on stock.  They tell us how the market is going.  Then we have a second type; these men are scientists.  They understand world trends from recorded economic history.  They built up laws and give us readings on world economy.  They came to us recently and said, “We can no longer serve you.  There is something in the world economy and we don’t know how to define it.  We can’t put our finger on it or explain it.  When the President of the USA called all the leading economists to come up with a solution to the American economy.  They came up with as many solutions as there were men.” I turned to my friend who was telling this to me, and I said to him, “Milt am I hearing you?  Are you saying what I think you’re saying.” He said, “That’s what I am saying.” I said, “You’re telling me that there is a supernatural element that has come into the economy. “ He said, “That’s right.”

I was in Duke University, the headquarters of Paris psychology trying to conduct a Bible seminar.  I repeated this little story and a young man came up to me afterwards and said, “I’m a business administration major in Harvard University.  What you’ve said tonight has been confirmed by the Professors of Economics in Harvard.” A few days later he wrote me a letter with an article out of an economics magazine which said the very same thing, “Something has come into world economy that men cannot handle with their senses,” and as I heard all of that the word of the Lord came to me, “As men cried to me, ‘Alas!  Alas!  For Babylon the great has fallen.’” Now I want to say something very specifically.  Don’t you get uptight about Babylon falling.  And for goodness sakes don’t try and put an extra bushel of potatoes in the attic, because a Gentile might shoot you to get them.  (*laughter*) When Babylon falls, if I wake up tomorrow morning and the pence and pounds are no good and what I’ve got in my pocket won’t buy a thing, I will go out and gather manna off that grass.  I believe God is bringing us into a realm of supernaturalism where we are not going to have to be dependent on the vacillating, ambivalence of an unregenerate society.  God is forming a counter culture and a new society and as surely as God rained forty train loads of manna on the desert sand every morning and gave water out of the flinty rock and made the shoes grow on the kids feet and their clothes grow on their back and brought before them a Captain of the Lord of hosts of Israel with his sword bathed in heaven’s authority, just so surely under a better covenant will God in this crisis hour come to help and aid of His people and prepare us a place in the wilderness.  The world economy be hanged. I’m still going to eat!  (*laughter and applause*)

Now you remember I told you to put something on the back burner last night?  Two things:  how many remember?  Samuel had said to Saul, “Go down to Gilgal and wait seven days. I will be down.” Verse 8: “Now Saul waited seven days according to the appointed time set for Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal and the people were scattering from him, so Saul said.” Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin.  Samuel was of the tribe of Levi.  The tribe of Benjamin had no right handling sacrifices.  Benjamin provided Saul the king, but Levi provided Samuel the priest/prophet.  Samuel said, “Wait for me at Gilgal; I will do the sacrificing and you do the reigning.” I wrote a little booklet years ago and I think it deserved a better fate than having gone through a few issues.  Maybe I will revive it.  It was called, “The Measure of Faith.” There are two kinds of faith.  There’s a faith that you can measure to yourself.  There is the faith for living: “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” You can just get all of that you can handle.  But there is a faith that is measured to everyone of us which is the faith for our place in the body of Christ.  When God measured you that faith, He gave Bryn a measure, and He gave my brother a measure, and me a measure.  That measure you can’t alter.  You can excel in that measure and you can become apt and able in that measure but you can’t alter it.  That is a measure that is measured according to the sovereign appointment of Christ.  When He ascended on high, He gave some apostles and He said, “That’s your measure.” He gave some prophets and He said, “That’s your measure.” Some evangelists and He said, “That’s your measure.” When a man does not stay in his territory and tries to go into another man’s territory, then he gets into trouble.  Find out where your measure is and excel in that but stay out of another fellow’s measure or you will get into trouble. 

Now Saul is a Head and Shoulders Man.  He is not a Word man as we’ll find out.  He is a man who thinks things out.  He said, “Man everything’s rough.  Half of my people are hiding in the rocks and caves and the pits.  Some of them have run away completely.  I’ve got 600 trembling soldiers.  I’m in a mess and divine authority hasn’t arrived yet.  Samuel hasn’t come. I need Samuel! The last time I got the gang together I said, ‘Come to Saul and Samuel’ and they all came.  But there’s no Samuel around and obviously I have lost my touch.” Buster, you never had any touch!  Head and Shoulders Men don’t have influence in a crisis.  You know a Head and Shoulders Man can’t help you.  I had a young fellow come to me in Lauderdale the other night where I was taking Bob Mumford’s Bible class during the month of May.  I was speaking that night on shepherds and when I got through, a young fellow came up to me and said, “I wonder if you would pray for me.” Now in other days, I would have said a prayer over him and got rid of him.  I didn’t know who he was but God is increasing our concern, and let’s be very honest, God is talking to me about being more and more genuine and being frank and open and honest and straight forward.  Not being professional.  If you have to deal with a thing then deal with it honestly.  Don’t opt out; don’t pretend.

So I said to the young man, “Son do you have a shepherd.” He said, “Well I go to First-So-and-so church in Miami.” I said, “I asked you, ‘do you have a shepherd.’” “Well,” he said, “We have the minister.” “What’s his name.” “Dr So-and-so.” “Do you know him,” I asked.  He said, “No.” “If you were in trouble, would you call him.” He said, “I couldn’t reach him.  The church is too big and he’s too busy.” So I said to him, “I repeat my question, do you have a shepherd.” “Well I’ve got Jesus.” “Great,” I said, “I’ll see you later.” I wasn’t really going to walk away.  But as I walked away, I looked back and I could see shock and hurt on his face.  I turned back to him and said, “You see son, Jesus is not enough.  What you’re really asking for is a Jesus with skin on his face and a Jesus with hands.  Why do you want me to put my hands on you?  Why do you want me to pray for you?  Because in the order of God, He has delegated authority to shepherds and apostles and prophets.  There is a whole order of men in the earth tonight who have delegated authority to look after God’s people.” I said to him, “You are hungry for one of God’s men to touch you.” Big tears came into his eyes and I said, “Come here.” I put my arms around him and I drew him to me and started to pray for him.  He was a big old fellow and he put his head down on my shoulder.  I prayed and said, “Oh God, all I pray for this boy tonight is that he will find what he’s looking for temporarily in me; that he will find arms to go around him in his need.  A shoulder that he can put his head on when he’s discouraged.  A voice that can speak to him when he needs counsel.  God I don’t know where he’s going when he leaves my arms, but please work a miracle; let him find a shepherd.” Ladies and gentlemen, God’s restoring spiritual authority across America tonight.  Hundreds and thousands of people are finding shepherds; they are finding men that are appointed to love them, care for them, teach them, look over them, appointed to love them and counsel them.  And this is upsetting Head and Shoulders Government!  The Head and Shoulders want to preach a sermon on Sunday morning and collect the dues then send them home.  But God is raising up shepherds that will look after you Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, the middle of the night, the middle of the morning, whenever, whatever.  It’s a new day!  Glory to God!  (*applause*)

Now the Head and Shoulders Man says, “Well spiritual authority isn’t coming, so I will do it myself.” Now he waited seven days according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel didn’t come.  Now look at verse 9: “So Saul said;” that’s the start of the trouble.  “Bring to me the burnt offerings and the peace offerings.  And he offered the burnt offerings.  It came about as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering that behold Samuel came.” Why didn’t Samuel come before?  Because God was showing that the Head and Shoulders Man didn’t have heart obedience.  Let me tell you something; if you’re going to be the Head and Shoulders Man, you will reach a point where God doesn’t show up when He should and you will do your own thing.  That proves you are a Head and Shoulders Man.  But if you are a heart man, you will wait until God comes.  Because the Bible says we are to come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need or as Bishop Westcott translates it, “In the nick of time.” How many know anything about God arriving in the nick of time?  (*laughter*)

Man, through the years I have learned that.  I’d say, “Lord it’s Monday morning You know.  Could you give me a hint about next Sunday?  Just a hint?” (*laughter*) Nothing.  Tuesday would come, and I would still feel pretty good.  I’d say, “Well it’s Tuesday Lord, have you got any thoughts about next Sunday?” (*laughter*) Wednesday would come and I’d say, “Er Lord?  Have you got any thoughts about next Sunday?” Thursday would come, and I was busy all day getting ready for Thursday night so didn’t have much time to think about Sunday, hoping that while I was preparing for the Bible Study something would come.  So Friday morning I would wake up and say, “Lord, it’s Friday.  (*laughter*) Today Lord?” Nothing.  Saturday.  Saturday noon.  Nothing.  And now I’ve got the butterflies.  I’ve got some other physical problems too.  (*laughter*) I think I’m talking to a congregation of ministers here!  Saturday night, it’s awful.  Nothing.  It’s two in the morning and I’m drinking my 4th drink of warm milk.  (*laughter*) It’s Sunday morning, and no angel has appeared.  No voices.  I’ve been reading the Bible and going over all my old sermon notes.  I’ve been calling on the saints, burning candles, doing anything!  (*laughter*) Now I am sitting on the platform, and I’m desperate.  “Lord I’m on the platform.  Elder So-and-so is leading the hymns.  Lord?  Lord!” The choir gets into the anthem and I hope it’s an hour.  (*laughter*). Now, I know the anthem is about to end and still nothing.  The elder is announcing me.  “Lord, it’s between here and the pulpit.  Lord?  LORD!” (*laughter*)

Well that may be a bit of an exaggeration but not too much!  The Lord is wanting to teach His committed people that He will be there when He’s needed.  But Head and Shoulders Men won’t wait.  Even some of God’s heart men are sometimes a bit Head and Shoulder-ish.  See God told Abraham, “Abraham, I am going to give you and Sarah a son, the seed.” Nothing happened.  Abraham kept asking and Sarah kept saying, “No.” At last Sarah thought, “Well, I am going to have to come up with some help for the Lord.  It’s going to be hard on me to do this.  She called her husband aside and said, ‘Now Abraham I think we ought to help God out.  It’s going to grieve me greatly, but I suggest you go into my maid Hagar and she will conceive and I will have a child by proxy and God will confirm the blessing to him.’” Abraham said, “OK if that’s what you want.” So he went into Hagar, and she conceived and bore Ishmael.  You know it is an interesting thing and I don’t want to get into this too much, but Hagar, the Bible says, was an Egyptian handmaiden.  Isn’t it interesting that it identified her as an Egyptian for Egypt is a type of the world.  Up until now the world was serving Sarah the mother of the holy seed or the church if you will.  But the minute that Abraham and Sarah made use of the world to try and accomplish the will of God and Hagar knew that she was pregnant with Abraham’s child, everything changed.  Sarah called her and said, “Hagar?  Hagar!” “What do you want?” “What do I want?  I want you to get in here!  You’ve never spoken like that to me before.” “Madam, I want you to know that I am bearing your husband’s child.”

What am I saying?  The minute that you and I get under obligation to the world, it stops being a servant to us and starts to tell us what to do.  I don’t owe the world anything.  They didn’t give me my salvation or my Baptism with the Holy Spirit or my call of the ministry.  They didn’t give me the blessed Presence of the Spirit.  They didn’t give me the Word of God.  They don’t give me supernatural protection.  I don’t need them to help me out at all.  God’s going to do what He is going to do and I am going to go with God.  Now Ishmael came along and when Ishmael was a young lad, along came Isaac.  You see the problem is that, if you have an Ishmael, sooner of later Isaac is going to come and you will have both.  A lot of us have both Ishmaels and Isaacs!  Abraham said, “Lord can’t we arrange to have them both?” “No,” He said, “Ishmael has got to go.” Abraham had to send Ishmael out.  Do you know that God didn’t recognize Ishmael as far as the seed was concerned, because He asked Abraham to take Isaac up Mount Moriah and offer him and He said, “Take Isaac thine only son.” As far as God was concerned, the son He recognized in a divine continuum was Isaac.  God doesn’t need our help!  And the Head and Shoulders Man had violated divine order and he broke in and made a sacrifice.

So Samuel came on the scene verse 11 and said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mishmash, therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the Lord, so I forced myself.’” How many know anything about forced revivals?  “God you’ve got to move.  You’ve got to move Lord!  You’ve got to move.” So we use our gimmicks, soft lighting and quiet organ music.  All the theatrics.  Everything the world uses.  We’d do anything to get God to move!  God lengthens a leg a quarter of an inch and by the time we are through, its 3 feet.  (*laughter*) We exaggerate.  We use psychological methods.  We will do absolutely anything to get God to move, forced revivals.  God doesn’t need our help to force revival.  He has told us what to do for Him to move and that is to obey the principles of His Word and when we obey, then He will move.  He doesn’t need our assistance with a load of gimmickry and a whole load of suggestions from us as how to build the Kingdom of God.  He has told us how to build the Kingdom of God. If we go by His recipe, we will get it built!  If we keep on doing it our way, we will raise a race of Ishmaels and when Isaac comes, we are going to have to make a terrible adjustment.

Now the first thing the Head and Shoulders Man did was to violate divine order.  So Samuel went after him.  Look at verse 13:

“And Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have acted foolishly.  You have not kept the commandments of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.  But now your kingdom shall not endure; the Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own (here’s the first hint) heart.’”

Now we’ve got the first indication of where God’s sensitivity lies.  Not with the Head and Shoulders Man but with a man after His own heart.  “And the Lord appointed him as ruler over His people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” Are you listening?  God will use those who will obey His Word.  When you go outside of the Word of God to try and get the Kingdom of God built, God will disown you, or me, or anyone else.  Now if you’ve got ears to hear, you hear!  What is God doing across the earth?  We are in tents, homes, cottages and barns.  In New Zealand they are in public buildings and in Australia they are in warehouses.  In America they are in any kind of thing that will keep the snow and rain off the church!  God is not interested in us putting on a Head and Shoulders display.  God is interested in us obeying Him.  If He says go and stand in the corner of the tent on your head and whistle, then you go and stand on your head and whistle; if that’s what He says!  “Abraham,” “Yes Lord?” “I want you to leave Ur of the Chaldeans.” “OK, Lord.  Where am I going?” “You just leave and I will show you.” “Well, I would like to know where I am going.” “None of your business right now; just get up and leave.” (*laughter*) The Bible simply says, that Abraham got up and left and went on to become the father of the faithful. 

See what is upsetting Head and Shoulders government is that He is blessing heart people.  You say, “Well they are psychologically unstable; they are emotionally unbalanced, and they are mostly illiterate.” (*laughter*) I remember reading the British Weekly years ago, and it said that the Pentecostal people were the fanatical fringe of Protestantism.  Well, I’ve got news for you; Pentecostal people are now the controversial center of Christianity because God has sent His Spirit not to be laughed at.  God sent His Spirit not to be shoved onto the peripheries of the Christian thing.  He sent His Spirit to replace the Lord Jesus Christ at the very heart of the redeemed community.  Jesus said, “It is expedient for you that I go because I am God localized.  For when I go away, I am going to go and the Father, and I will send the Holy Spirit back, and He is going to be the Trinity universalized.  When the Holy Spirit comes, He is going to spread all over the earth, and He is going to bring men and women into the redeemed community, and He is going to establish the Kingdom of God among the sons of men. He is going to display the glory of God.” God will not allow the Holy Spirit to be shouted at, shoved, or pulled anymore.  Have you thought about the sufferings of the Holy Spirit?  We preachers dramatically point out the sufferings of Christ on the Cross.  For three and a half years He suffered and then that awful agony on Calvary.  All of which is true, but have you thought that for two thousand years the Holy Spirit has been down here being blasphemed, neglected, rejected, confounded with para-psychology and extra sensory perception, called nasty names, denied, grieved and quenched for 2, 000 years!  He’s suffered.  It’s His hour now!  It’s His hour to come into supremacy and prominence, and the Spirit is at the heart of the thing now.  He is not out there knocking to come in; He’s in here!  Directing the traffic!  (*applause*)

Let’s jump over to chapter 15 and see the second thing that the Head and Shoulders Man.  Stay with me.  He:

2. Made Provision for the Flesh.

Now before I get into this, quickly, I am going to give you the results of about forty study hours of work on the word, “Flesh.” I am going to give you a capsilated definition.  Whenever the word, “Flesh” is used in the New Testament in a moral sense you will find that this definition will fit.  If you want to write it down; you are welcome.  It’s mine, but there is no copyright on it.

The flesh morally considered is the tendency in our nature to self-gratifying behavior.  It’s not somebody else living in you; it is you behaving in a self gratifying manner.

Now anywhere the New Testament says not to walk in the flesh or uses the word, “flesh” in a moral sense, you can take that little simple definition and it will fit.  Ladies and gentlemen, if you are going to have a part in what God is doing in this hour you are going to have to dethrone once and for all any intention you have to have your own way, as opposed to His way on any issue.  Boyfriends; girlfriends; automobiles; homes; businesses; anything.  You have no right to make a self-gratifying decision.  You see we’ve preached Christ as Saviour for so long that we don’t realize that you can receive Christ as Saviour and not receive Him as Lord, and then it’s questionable whether you have received Him at all.  For every time the Bible speaks of Him as Saviour, it speaks of Him 29 times as Lord.  The ratio is 29:1.  Yet we go into evangelistic meetings and we urge people, “Won’t you please accept Christ as your Saviour?” Fiddlesticks!  That’s not what it’s about at all.  The whole tendency today is that Jesus will be your buddy; come just as you are with all your sins, and He will forgive you, and He will be your buddy, and He will give you a little card with your name on, and you will put it in your pocket next to your heart.  Then when you get up there, you will flick it out and say, “There St Peter, one night in a meeting I raised my hand and there’s my card.” That’s not what it’s about at all.  Paul says that salvation begins when you confess Jesus Christ as Lord.  Being saved means that you turn your life totally over to Jesus Christ as despot. 

There are two Greek words for “Lord.” One is “kurios” and the other is “despotes” from which we get our English word, “Despot.” Now we think of a despot in a bed sense, but think of it in a good sense for a moment.  Think of it as one who has total power to do whatever needs to be done for you under any circumstance, and if you will give your life to Him, He will do that thing for you under any given circumstance.  You can’t get a better deal than that!  Blessed despot, take my life; govern me!  Rule me!  I never could understand that old hymn, “God be in my head and in my understanding,” now however, I love it.  I was a boy soloist in the choir of 60 boys, and I remember we were singing, and I had to sing the solo part to that hymn.  I thought, “What in the world do I want God in my head for.” (*laughter*). You see I was raised as a boy on the other side, the emotional side.  “Let Jesus come into your heart.” What that was I’m blessed if I know, but it had to do with weeping and going to an altar and getting emotional and going away and doing what you jolly well please.  The Gospel of the Kingdom is the rule of God’s government over our lives, and it means that you don’t belong to yourself, and Jesus Christ has total right to your life, to govern you completely.  That’s not bad; that’s good because you haven’t made a good job of it up until now.  So let Him have it.

Now the Head and Shoulders Government does not deal with the flesh.  You know that.  But what is happening today?  I said to a group of my brothers the other day, “Brothers, are you finding God bringing extra pressures into your life?” They all looked at me as though I had been reading their private experiences.  Any man today who is trying to walk in what God is doing, God is pushing him into corners and back you come.  “Lord, you never said anything about that before.” He says, “No I didn’t have to before, but this is a special day, and while I’m talking about this, I want to talk about this.” (*laughter*) I said, “Lord take it easy!” (*laughter*). You see He cannot alter the world with a bunch of people who are not absolutely submitted to His Lordship.  So the next test of the Head and Shoulders Man is what he would do with the flesh.  Chapter 15: 

“Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people over Israel.  Now therefore listen to the word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord of hosts, I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against them on the way from Egypt.  Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has and do not spare him but put to death both man and women and child and infant and ox and sheep and camel and donkey; wipe them out!”

Alright, that’s the word of the Lord.  Verse 7:  Quickly now. 

“So Saul defeated the Amalakites from Havalak as you go to Shea which is east of Agag, and he captured Agag which is east of Egypt.  He captured Agag, the king of the Amalakites alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.  But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the takings, the lambs and all that was good, and was not willing to utterly destroy them all, but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.”

Now why didn’t Saul kill Agag?  Because Agag was too like Saul.  You see a Head and Shoulders Man reserves the right to make Head and Shoulder’s judgements.  God said kill them all!  Agag was undoubtedly a great man.  You had to be a great man to become a king, because in those days you became a king by beating up everyone else.  That was the way with tribal warfare.  You became king because no one else could beat you up in the tribes, so you would have had to have been a big fellow.  Saul looked at him and said, “I’m sure God wouldn’t want me to get rid of him.” He said, “Look at those sheep, I’m sure the Lord would love to have those sheep for some of the religious services.  Samuel would like them.  I’m sure the Lord didn’t mean all.  We’ll save the best.” The best of what?  The best of the Amalakites.  The Amalakites are the flesh!  You don’t save the best of the worst.  You don’t save the good of the bad.  Are you there?  (*laughter*) Don’t go to sleep on me now!

Now without me being too specific, think what has Head and Shoulders government in Christendom done about the flesh?  It saved some very fine things about the flesh.  Do you know what is cursing the professing community today?  We are so loaded with the best of the flesh that God can’t get a wiggle of the little finger out of the Head and Shoulders Government, and when God starts to move, they say, “But our culture Lord!” Culture be hanged; what’s culture going to do for you?  In that last day when the Lamb sits on the throne, His countenance angry in judgment; the great men and the mighty men will call for the mountains to fall on them.  “ALL!”

Verse 10: “Then the Word of the Lord came to Samuel saying, ‘I regret that I have made Saul king for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands.’ And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the Lord all night and Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul and it was told Samuel saying.”

If you go through the Bible you will find every man of God gets up early in the morning, if God wants him to do something.  Now it’s not literal.  Although, I do get up in the morning early; it’s no virtue.  What it means is that the first order of the day is not to serve yourself, but you serve Him.  If He says do something get up early and get it done.  Abraham got up early in the morning.  Isaac got up early in the morning.  Samuel got up early in the morning and went down to meet the king of Israel who was supposed to have cleaned out the Amalakites.  Saul was supposed to have done a mighty work with the flesh, to have had a great sanctification and holiness convention and got rid of the flesh.  Samuel was going down to see the results of the meeting.  He gets down there early in the morning, and says, “Where’s the king?” Someone said, “Oh he said he would be late.” “Late?  What’s he doing?” It says in the NASB, “Saul came to Carmel and behold set up a monument to himself.” Then turned and proceeded on.  What was Saul doing?  He had not obeyed the Lord by cleaning out the flesh and he celebrated his disobedience by setting up a monument to himself.  (*laughter*) The world is covered with monuments that men have set up to themselves. 

The judgment seat of Christ is going to be interesting when you see men walking up to the judgment seat, and you say, “Who’s that?” Someone says, “That’s Jack Jones!” “Who’s Jack Jones?  D L Moody I know and Billy Graham I know but who’s Jack Jones?” Jack Jones was a man whose name has never appeared in a magazine.  Jack Jones was a man who served God deeply and fervently and devotedly.  He burnt his life out unseen and unsung but up here he is a big shot.  I don’t know if any of you know of a man by the name of Baker.  He wrote some books and I knew him.  He was as rough and ordinary as an old shoe.  He was an apostle in China and he left groups of people in China that were self-contained and had elders.  When the Communists came, the Christians said to him, “Go, don’t stay.  Go and tell others what you’ve told us.  You warned us what was coming and we will survive.” He said, “I will stay and die with you.” “No,” they said, “Go!” He was already an old man.  He went over to the Chinese island of Formosa and at the age of 70 learned a whole new language.  When he came to Canada, I entertained him.  He’d come home because his wife was not well, and he thought he would bring her home.  She wasn’t getting any better, so they got together one day and she said, “Now husband, we have both given our lives to God and I know your heart is back in Formosa.  It looks like the time has come for me to go home.  Why don’t we say goodbye and you go on, and I will see you in the morning. “ He said, “Well alright.” That was the kind of commitment they had.  So they got everything ready, and he was going to go back and leave her for the Lord to take her home.  Instead of that the Lord healed her, and they both went back to Formosa.  (*laughter*) The last letter I saw from them, he was in his nineties and now I hear he’s gone to be with the Lord.  You don’t know him; how many of those people are around?

A monument?  There’s no monument to him!  You go all over the countryside and men want to leave monuments to themselves. 

The only monument I want to leave is a monument that is recorded in the book of God that says I gave myself without reserve to the work of God and the people of God; what are monuments? 

My loving brother and sister, when the world is on fire, “I want God’s bosom to be my pillow.  Hide Me over in the Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages cleft for me.” Why care about a monument?  A monument is only going to be here until the Lord cleans the world up.  I’ll take my monuments later on; praise God!  Verse 13: “Then Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him.” Oh religion is great.  Can’t you see Saul coming to him and saying?  Remember in the days of Jesus, they were always coming and saying religious things?  The flesh is always trying to be religious especially in the presence of the servants of God.  They get very religious.  You know, “God bless you.” Look at Saul. This Head and Shoulders Man who has disobeyed the Lord; look at him and look what he said. 

Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the Lord!” (*laughter*) That’s supposed to solve everything?  “I have carried out the commands of the Lord!.” You fibber!  (*laughter*)

This raises another point; when you start to vacillate and play around with the flesh, you become a rationalist and a liar.  You don’t face things for what they really are.  But Samuel said, “If you obeyed the commands of the Lord, what are these fleshly sounds that I am hearing?  What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” “Oh, said Saul, “I can tell you about that.  They brought them from the Amalakites for the people.” The people.  Here we go again.  “The people; I didn’t do it; the people did it.  The people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God.” Your God.  See he’s trying to play up to Samuel.  “But the rest we have utterly destroyed. “ “Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Wait and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’” (*laughter*) Man, I wouldn’t like to have been Saul at that point!  (*laughter*) Any of you kids know what it is like when Mum says, “Wait till Dad comes home tonight.” (*laughter*) “He said, ‘Saul.’ Saul said, ‘Speak.’” (*laughter*)

Then Samuel said, “Is it not true that though you were ill in your own eyes you were made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed you king over Israel?  And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go and destroy the sinners, the Amalakites and fight against them till they are exterminated;’ why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?  But rushed upon the spoil greedily and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” “Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I did obey the voice of the Lord and went on the mission which the Lord sent me, and I brought back Agag the king of Amalek and have utterly destroyed the Amalakites, but the people took some of the spoil, the sheep, the oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.’ And Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as obeying the voice of the Lord?  Behold to obey is better than all your fleshly sacrifices.’” Hello?  Did you hear me?  You can’t buy God.  He didn’t say, “Son, give me your violin.” He didn’t say, “Son, give me your voice.” He said, “Son, give me your heart, and if I’ve got your heart I’ve got all the rest of it.” “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed them than the fat of rams; to rebel is as the sin of divination.  Disobedience leads to deception.

This is a heavy word, and I’m running way over time, but can I just go a little longer Bryn?  Let me tell you something, and you hear it now because these are important days.  When you rebel against God, or I rebel against God, or any man who is in the professed redeemed community rebels against God, on the authority of the Word of God, he is a candidate for deception.  Remember, it is obedience or deception, because if you disobey you will walk into deception.  “Because you have rejected the Word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.” “Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed,’ and he pled with Samuel.  Samuel said, ‘No I am not even going to go back with you; you have rejected the Word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.’” Do you see the equation that keeps coming up people?  The Word = God = the Word?  You and I are only valid members of the Kingdom of God, as we respond obediently to the Word.  You can’t detour that; you can’t go over it; you can’t get under it; you can’t go through it; you have got to embrace it.  The Word is God and God is the Word and the Word is the ultimate thing and the Word is the thing that has got to be obeyed. 

Look at verse 28: “So Samuel said to the king, ‘The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.’” Why was David better than Saul?  David was better than Saul in only one area, and that was that Saul was a Head and Shoulders Man, and David was a heart man.  He believed God and obeyed His Word.  Oh, listen to him in Psalm 119: “Thy Word.” Listen to the Psalmist singing about the Word.  How he depended on God, an altogether different man.  He was a heart man.

Alright, let me finish up by saying these final things.  Fleshly rationalization over what God requires always goes with disobedience.  “I can’t go with God because He’s going to do this or that.” Don’t try and rationalize God’s Word; obey it.  The terrible price of disobedience is to lose what you are in God functionally.  I’m not unchristianizing you, but the terrible price of disobedience is to lose your place in God functionally.  The inevitable fate of the flesh, what is it?  After Samuel had dealt with Saul; look at verse 32: “Then Samuel said, ‘Bring me Agag king of the Amalakites,’ and Agag came to him cheerfully.” Or in other translations, he came mincingly.  What did he do?  He came into the presence of Samuel cheerfully!  He said, “Surely the bitterness of death is over.  The war is all finished and you are surely not going to kill me; that wouldn’t be the thing to do.” Samuel said, “You bet it’s all over.” What did he do?  You see the flesh.  It says, “Now, come on brother; don’t be such a fanatic.  Just hold it.  Don’t go destroying everything; after all we have had our little revival now.  Let’s just level off.” Level off nothing; this war is to the death.  Look what he did.  Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women, and Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.” Wack!  Pow!  There lay the flesh, splattered all over the ground.

3. What is the end of Head and Shoulders Government? 

Now, I don’t pretend to be a prophet or a son of a prophet, but you listen to me, as sure as God is God and God’s Word is God’s Word the Head and Shoulder’s government like the Head and Shoulder’s government of every other generation in the realm of the professed Kingdom of God will go into deception.  It will seek out the witch of Endor, and it will be eventually be killed by the very thing that it allowed to live.  When Saul was in the agony of his death blood, an Amalakite came by and saw that he was still alive, and Saul called him over and said, “My life is still in me; do me a favor and plunge the knife deeply into me. I don’t want to be caught by the Philistines or they will torture me.” So the Amalakite slew him, and then came running to David, and told him what he had done.  David rent his clothes and wept.  We will deal with that later.  And he said, “Fall on that Amalakite and kill him.” Now that Amalakite wouldn’t have killed Saul, if Saul had killed him.  If you don’t deal with the flesh, the flesh will deal with you.  It’s who kills whom first.

I want to finish with 1 Chronicles 10, and lets see who does the killing.  In the ultimate, verses13-14:  “So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord because of the Word of the Lord which he did not keep.” “Because of the Word of the Lord which he did not keep. And also, because he asked counsel of a medium making enquiry of it and did not enquire of the Lord, therefore, He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.” I declare to you, and we will develop this theme later, God is going to take care of the Head and Shoulders Government and establish Jesus Christ as unassailable Lord indeed.  Head and Shoulders cannot survive.  But be sure what camp you are in.  Where are you tonight?  Are you playing between Head and Shoulders and heart?  Or have you sold out completely to the Word and will of God?  “Whatever it costs I’ll go with God.” We’ll find out in the next 3 nights what it costs to go with God.  It costs an awful lot more to play the Head and Shoulders game than it does to go with God in heart.  You think it’s rough in this hour - God is hard on those of us who are trying to walk in His ways and obey His Word.  It’s nothing compared to what God is going to do with Head and Shoulders before He is finished.  I’m happy to be where I am.  How about you?