An Unlikely King

1 Samuel 16:1-13

 

God Sees Us Differently (1 Sam. 16:7) verse 7 describes the heart transformation that God requires of each person to be His born again child. Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God…” How is this done? Jesus Christ is the only one who can transform our heart. Romans 10:10 “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

a. Man recognizes status, success, and skill.
b. God requires surrender, selflessness, and sacrifice.

I want you to see the difference between two kings. One who looked like a king and one who didn’t.

Saul in 1 Sam. 9:2 “And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. Form his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” David in 1 Sam. 16:12 “…now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome…” This is not the description of a warrior but of a cute child. What if I were to go up to some Navy Seals and say, “ya’ll are so precious looking”?

According to 1 Samuel 16:7, What God sees and what man sees are totally different. We work so hard on our appearance, aptitude, and our athletic ability, when we should be striving to alter our hearts for more affection for Christ, for more of an appetite for prayer and God’s Word, and an attitude of love and humility for God’s creation.  “Are we more concerned with the approval of others than the approval of God?”

Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

God Specializes in Using the Ordinary to Do the Extraordinary (1 Sam. 16:11-12) Our theme verse for VBS this year is Genesis 18:14 “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Jesus answers this question in Luke 18:27 “But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” When it comes to making a lasting impact in God’s kingdom, no one has what it takes, no matter how talented. That’s why we truly rely on God.

David was ordinary, very unlikely to be a king. Here are some reasons.

a. David was a shepherd. Keeping the sheep was a position requiring little skill and was usually given to slaves and social rejects. The thing about a shepherd though is that sheep are only concerned about the patch of grass in front of them. They can easily be picked off by a predator. A shepherd is critical for protection. Think about David pinning Psalm 23, the Lord is my Shepherd. This is reference to Christ being our great protector, provider, and our promised Savior!
b. David was the youngest son. The Hebrew word is haqqaton. This word literally means “tiniest.” He was a runt. The words used to describe David weren’t that he was a desirable warrior, but a cute child.

You don’t have to be perfect to point people to Jesus! “It’s the direction of your life, not the perfection.” John MacArthur

God’s Spirit Gives Us the Ability to do Great Things (1 Sam. 16:13)

David was anointed by the Spirit of God to do great things, but he spent the next 15 years suffering before he was King. Saul was still on the throne. Just because we have God’s Spirit, doesn’t mean we won’t suffer.

Anointing with oil began in Ex. 30:22-25 and it represented cleansing, being set apart. Oil was used on sheep to clean off harmful parasites, oil is symbolic of God’s cleansing/transforming  Spirit.

Zechariah said it best. Zech. 4:6 “Not by strength or by might, but by My Spirit.” 

Joseph was abandoned, left as a criminal, through God’s Spirit became 2nd in command of the world. (Gen 41).

Through God’s Spirit, Moses led the exodus of Israel from Egypt.

Through God’s Spirit, Gideon took 300 men and defeated an army of 100,000. (Judges 7)

Through God’s Spirit, we see the ordinary stand against the Roman Empire, testifying boldly about Jesus. (Acts)

The list continues…

Through God’s Spirit, we have seen and will see Oak Hill Baptist Church do amazing things for God’s Kingdom and glory!