Video about Counting Cars before the scripture Reading: (2 nd Service only)

Transcription

1 June 8 th, 2014 R. U. Real Sermon Series: Counting Cars Theme: God looks on the inside, man looks at the outside. Spiritual Focus: Character; change from the inside out rather than the outside in. Just changing our clothes, looks and appearance won t make a lasting difference. We need to change from the inside out rather than the outside in. Biblical Text: I Samuel 16:7 Pastor Bob Biblical Focus: 1SA 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Traditional Service: Hymn of Praise: # 72 Since Jesus Came into My Heart (Wildwood) Prayer Hymn: # 139 Fill My Cup Lord (Wildwood) Hymn of Response: # 111 He s Everything To Me (Wildwood) Video about Counting Cars before the scripture Reading: (2 nd Service only) Counting Cars is a reality television series, which follows the day to day workings of an auto body shop called, Kounts Kustoms. The owner is Danny Koker and his staff restore and modify classic automobiles and motorcycles. Many times it is an emotional act of kindness as Danny and his team restore a car or truck from the younger years of a person s life time.

2 Counting Cars has a motto that goes like this: Counting Cars Trailer: (We Find em, Fix em, & Flip em.) As I thought about that motto, I immediately thought about God s plan to restore his people. God s Plan: Find em, Forgive em, & Freedom is given! 1. The Lord Finds us through previentent Grace. 2. The Lord Forgives us of all our sins and past mistakes. 3. The Lord offers us Freedom to live the wonderful Christian life. In our scripture lesson today God has a plan to find the good in a person looking at the inside character and heart of that person and not so much about the outward appearance. Today s sermon is a comparison between two different men in the Bible; King Saul and Kind David. Scripture Lesson: I Samuel 16:1-13 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king." 1SA 16:2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me." The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, `I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate." 1SA 16:4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?" 1SA 16:5 Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and 1SA invited them to the sacrifice. 16:6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."

3 1SA 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1SA 16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives." 1SA 16:12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. 1SA 16:13 Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one." So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah. David was not the son that Samuel the prophet or Jesse the father thought would be chosen and anointed as the new king of Israel. He was not the biggest or the strongest of the seven brothers. That mistake was made with the previous king Saul. He was chosen for his appearance. David was chosen for his heart and what he could become. Remember that King Saul had sinned against God many different times and the Lord tore his thrown away from him. King Saul eventually killed himself in battle, leading the way for David to become the king of Israel. 1SA 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." The key here is that God looks at our hearts when examining us.

4 The mistake was made with the previous King Saul to rely on his own strength and larger than life outward appearance rather than character, honesty, and a pure heart to follow God as the King of Israel. The Bible says that David was a man after God s own heart. (I Samuel 13:14) It appears to me that King Saul never really had a change of heart when he became King of Israel. He never became God s man. Made Man. He remained a Self Saul was one of those guys who relied on his own powers and gifts rather than the power of God. Look at some of the mistakes king Saul made because he relied upon his own independent abilities rather than upon support from God. 1. King Saul was impatient and tried to be both king and priest by sacrificing before a battle and not waiting for Samuel the priest to accomplish that task. (Samuel told him that To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice.) I Samuel 15:13-22 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions." 1SA 15:14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?" 1SA 15:15 Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest." 1SA 15:16 "Stop!" Samuel said to Saul. "Let me tell you what the 1SA LORD said to me last night." "Tell me," Saul replied. 15:17 Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, `Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until

5 you have wiped them out.' 19 Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?" 1SA 15:20 "But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal." 1SA 15:22 But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice. I believe God is asking the same of us. He wants our obedience more than our sacrifice. Keith Green s Song: To obey is better than sacrifice, I don't need your money, I want your life. To obey is better than sacrifice, I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights. Cause if you can't come to Me every day, Then don't bother coming at all. To obey is better than sacrifice, I want hearts of fire, Not your prayers of ice. And I'm coming quickly To give back to you; According to what you have done. The lyrics of this song help us understand that we can t just rely solely on God s grace for growth in discipleship in the Christian life, God s grace gives us salvation, not growth. If we want to be growing disciples through sanctification, faith must be partnered with works of service and discipline act of Christian formation. (prayer, meditation, scripture reading, acts of Christian service.)

6 More of Saul s mistakes: 2. God asked Saul to kill every living thing among the Amalekites, and Saul disobeyed the Lord, leaving some best sheep and the king alive. 3. Saul is Jealous of young David, which drives him insane. 4. Saul eventually tries kill young David, several times. 5. Saul chooses to seek advice from a fortune teller rather than from God. (This should tell us to stay away from the horoscope & fortune tellers of our day!) 6. King Saul tears the robe of Samuel, which is a sign that his kingdom is being torn from him. 7. Saul eventually kills himself in Battle. Over and over Saul chose to do things his way rather than seek the wisdom of God. If King Saul had a theme song for his life, it would have been the Frank Sinatra special: I Did It My Way. I've lived a life that's full I traveled each and every highway And more, much more than this I did it my way What about you? Would this be the theme song for your life? I did it my way? I wish they Lyrics were changed to I Did It God s Way. I've lived a life that's full I traveled each and every highway And more, much more than this I did it God s way I only changed one word in the song, but it made all the difference. Or would the theme song of your life be: Father, I adore you? Father, I adore You, I lay my life before you. How I love you.

7 Funerals: Folks, in my years of ministry I have seen some Christians live their life in this way. They never make the transition to give God all of their life, only a part of their life. I have literally heard two times in my life, this song played at a person s funeral. (I was so taken back by a person s personal request to have this song played as the last song played, as if it was their theme song before meeting God almighty. I can just see that person standing before the Lord reflecting upon their life as they enter judgment and asked, what was the last song they had played to sum up their life? Was it the Christian hymn, Take my life and let it be, or was it, Just a Closer walk with thee, perhaps you chose as your last song, There s Within My Heart A Melody? But no, you chose, I did it my way. ) Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. The worst song I ever heard played at a funeral just before the casket was closed, was the Johnny Cash song, A Burning Ring of Fire. Chrysalis = Change A few months ago, I had the opportunity to serve on a Christian teen retreat called, Chrysalis. It is a wonderful three day Christian retreat, and as the name suggest it is about change. The three day retreat uses a simple illustration of the change that occurs between a caterpillar transforming into a beautiful butterfly. As many of you may know the name of this metamorphous change is called, Chrysalis. Chrysalis is the hard shell pupa of the butterfly that is undergoing a change from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly. This process does not occur over night but takes time, perhaps several months.

8 1. We begin as the ordinary caterpillar. Slow, sluggish, and quite limited in our ability to get around and see things. However, the caterpillar is very good at eating leaves. 2. Next the caterpillar transitions into a chrysalis / pupa, which begins the gradual process towards becoming a butterfly. 3. The change takes time and there is a hard shell casing protecting it.

9 4. In time, a beautiful butterfly emerges, ready to fly and go anywhere it wants 5. Now the beautiful butterfly can float and fly with the wind. It can go fast, high, and see the world in a way the caterpillar never could. Folks, when we make the spiritual transition from sinner to born again Christian, we begin to see things spiritually that the sinner never could. In my opinion, life becomes much more alive and exciting. God begins to work within us and we fly with Christ. However, some of us never get past the caterpillar stage. We seem to be content just being normal, going slow, and sluggishly muttering through life.

10 A Christian Artist named, Stephen Curtis Chapman has a song titled, What About The Change. What about the change What about the difference What about the grace What about forgiveness What about a life that's showing I'm undergoing the change, yeah I'm undergoing the change Has your life seen change because of being a Christian, or are you just the slow caterpillar doing things your own way? As you look at your Christian life, where are you at in the process of change? Are you still the slow caterpillar plotting along in life. You enjoy where you are in life, it s comfortable and you can certainly tell folks, well, I did it my way! Are you still in the process of change? You re not really crawling around like the caterpillar and you re not really flying around like the butterfly. You are just kind of stuck in one place, not going anywhere. You ve been there way to long and it is time to come out of your shell and do some great things for God. What is stopping you from coming out? (Emperor Moth)

11 I want you to know that over and over again God uses ordinary people like young David. God is looking for people who have a heart for God and are willing to change in their life to grow and to do great things. There is a wonderful song called Shepherd by Ray Boltz, I want you to hear this morning. Song: The Shepherd Boy by Ray Boltz: Pastor Bob will say a few words about young king David and his incredible life. Then play the video of the song Shepherd Boy by Ray Boltz. (I am going to ask Brad Peck to sing this along with the video) I believe God can do much with little. I have also heard it stated this way: Little is much when God is in it. The world always says bigger is better; smaller is not good. The ungodly believes that more is better and less is not good; there is strength in numbers and the few becomes unimportant; that the rich and famous are more important than the poor and insignificant. This is the way of the world and the philosophy of unbelievers. But spiritually speaking, such is not always the case as we have seen in today s sermon. I believe this is the case in your life. You may not think you are not much or that you can t do great things for God. But I believe differently!!!! I believe God does not call the equipped as much as he equips the called. If you want to do something great for God, then step forward and get ready to be changed. Because your equipping process will begin and

12 God will work within you to change your life to meet the goal or plan you have to bless God s people. Let s pray. Lord, create in us a clean heart and renew a fresh spirit within us. Help us to change to be more like you, rather than being more like ourselves. I believe you are the God who can find us, fix us and offer us freedom in you. If there is someone here today who wants to change, may they find change through you in their lives. Words of Wisdom: God is in control if you let him. Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday! Put your trust in God s hands, where it is safe, gentle and dangerous all at the same time. (Pastor Bob Vale) Benediction: I Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.