The Person God is Looking For 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Transcription

1 1 The Person God is Looking For 1 Samuel 16:1-13 When Mike Kollin, a graduate of Auburn University, was linebacker for the Miami Dolphins his former college coach, Shug Jordan, asked him if he would do some recruiting for him. Mike said, "Sure, coach. What kind of player are you looking for?" The coach said, "Well, Mike, you know there s that fellow, you knock him down, he just stays down?" Mike said, "We don t want him, do we, coach?" "No, that s right. Then there s that fellow, you knock him down and he gets up, but you knock him down again and he stays down." Mike answered, "We don t want him either, do we, coach?" Coach said, "No, but Mike, there s a fellow, you knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up." Mike said, "That s the guy we want, isn t it, coach?" The coach answered, "No, we don t want him either. I want you to find that guy who s knocking everybody down. That s the guy we want!" In all sports, scouts from major colleges will scour high school games in search of the next star player for their teams. Most of the players they watch will be average, or below average, but there will be some shining exceptions. Who knows how many Peyton Mannings, or Michael Jordans, or Venus or Serena Williams are waiting to become stars? God is doing some scouting of His own today. God is looking for people that He can make champions on His team: men and women of faith who will one day make a difference in this world. He may even be looking for someone like you! But what kind of person is God looking for? One of the clearest pictures you will find of the kind of person God is looking for in 1 Samuel 16, where God announces His choice of a unlikely young man to be one of the greatest kings in all of human history. In these verses, God shows us what kind of person He is- and is not- looking for to be His champion. I. GOD IS NOT LOOKING FOR HARD-HEADED, HARD HEARTED PEOPLE. (v. 1-2a) For most of its early history, Israel was not ruled by a king, but directly by God Himself. Moses led them out of Egypt, Joshua led them into the Promised Land, a group of men known as Judges were in charge for awhile, until the beginning of the book of 1 Samuel, when the people asked him to give them a king. When all was said and done, Saul became the first king of Israel. At first, Saul seems to do all right, but later it becomes clear he has some problems which are so serious that God rejects Saul as King of Israel. The problem is that Saul has no plans to give up his throne, and that brings us to 1 Sam. 16:1-2a. This chapter opens with Samuel, God s prophet, sad and sorry about Saul s failure. He s moping around, feeling sorry for himself and for Saul, when God says How long are you going to pout about this loser? I ve got other plans. I have rejected Saul as King. Why does God reject Saul? It is not just because Saul made a mistake. Saul has developed two sinful attitudes that make him a failure: he is hardheaded and hardhearted, two qualities God is definitely

2 2 not looking for. You can see his hardheadedness in the previous chapter. God told Saul to do something, and Saul did not obey. When he was confronted, he denied his sin, and tries to convince Samuel that he was obeying the Lord, even though the evidence is in plain sight! Samuel finally has to be blunt with Saul, and he tells him: (read 1 Sam. 15:22-23). Saul is so hardheaded that he really never admits his wrongdoing. That is why God rejects Saul as King. But Saul goes even farther, and becomes hardhearted. Notice in vs. 2a what Samuel says: Saul will kill me if he suspects I am going to find another king. And he would have done it, too. Saul was perfectly willing to defy God, and kill Samuel, God s prophet, a man who loved him. Saul was willing to do whatever it took to hold on to his power. He has become cold and calculating, a hardhearted, hardheaded man that God cannot use. According to recent statistics, there are about 1600 people in the US who are members of the Flat Earth Research Society of America. These are, of course, folks who refuse to believe that the earth is round, but insist that it is flat. Their president, Charles k. Johnson, explains his view this way: I ve been a flat-earther all my life. When I saw the globe in grade school, I didn t accept it. It was illogical. Yes, I know what you re thinking: what a bunch of hardheaded people! But my friends it is just as hardheaded to deliberately disobey the Lord! God is not looking for hardheaded, hardhearted people. First of all, He wouldn t have to look too hard- there are plenty to be found everywhere- sometimes even in the church. That s why you have people who claim to be on their way to heaven, but never seem to get the hang of this obedience thing. They kind of halfway obey God, doing a few things He says, and feeling so good about half-hearted obedience. Or they put up a good front, externally doing a lot of religious things but inside they are full of lust, or greed, or bitterness. God knows have good intentions- isn t that enough? That is being hardheaded, and even though God loves people like that, He has no use for that kind of attitude. The worse thing about becoming hardheaded is that you tend to become hardhearted in the process. When you continuously fail to fully obey God, after awhile disobedience doesn t bother you as much. Disobey long enough, and you will find yourself excusing your disobedience in other areas. You will find your standards keep falling, and eventually, if you continue to disobey God, you will eventually find you lose interest in the Lord altogether. This is the surest path to becoming a spiritual loser. You ve got to be careful, or you will become just like Saul- hardheaded, and hardhearted, and rejected by God. Do you see any symptoms in your life? God is not looking for hardheaded, hardhearted people. But also II. GOD IS NOT JUST LOOKING FOR HANDSOME HUNKS (v. 2b-10) Samuel is still faced with a dilemma: how can he go and anoint the new King God has chosen without getting in trouble with King Saul? But God already has that figured out. He doesn t command Samuel to lie, but to do a little multi-tasking here. Since there is no Temple yet, Samuel holds worship services in different places- kind of like a circuit riding preacher. God tells him to go to Bethlehem and hold a revival, and then the Lord will show him the man He is looking for among the sons of a man named

3 3 Jesse. Of course, everybody in Bethlehem gets a little nervous when they see Samuel ride into town. They know that Saul and Samuel are not getting along too well, but Samuel calms them down: Relax guys. I m just here to hold a revival Get yourselves ready to worship the Lord, and by the way, be sure Jesse and his family are invited! After the services are over, Samuel was anxious for God to reveal which one of these sons would be the future king, to take the place of Saul, the failed king. So he had the sons come before him. He looked them over, listening for the voice of God to identify the chosen one. Eliab, the oldest, stepped up first. The Bible says that Samuel looked at Eliab. That s significant because like many of us, Samuel was impressed by what he could see. He looked at him, but with his physical eyes, he could only see his appearance, the externals. Surely this is the one, he thought. He just looked like king material. He was no doubt tall and impressive and an imposing physical presence. We also know that Eliab was a military man because when David later visited the front where the Israelite army facing off with Goliath, Eliab was there. But while Samuel looked at Eliab s appearance, he could not see his heart. He could not see his character, his thoughts, his attitudes. He did not see, for example, that Eliab was negative and critical. We get a glimpse of Eliab s attitude and heart later when the Israelites are battling the Philistines. Eliab the solider severely criticized David his little brother for coming out to the battlefield instead of being in the field watching the sheep. Samuel, like many of us, would have stopped at the surface, with the physical, the outward, except God made it clear to him that Eliab was not the one. That had been the problem with Saul, after all. Saul was tall and impressive, a head taller than anyone else, but the problem was deeper than eyes could see, a heart filled with self, fear, paranoia, and cunning instead of a heart after God. Jesse brings out Son # 2- Abinidab, who is not too shabby either, but God says No, not him. Then Son # 3- Shammah. Then a few more sons, all of which God tells Samuel none of these guys are who I am looking for! They are all are fine boys, as far as they appear on the outside, but they are not the one God is looking for. America s Got Talent Andrew De Leon. Entertainment Online said, Every now and again, we get a reminder that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Andrew De Leon with his dark eye makeup, kinda scary contacts and straight black hair was the epitome of that saying. The 19-year-old makeup artist shared that he was a Marilyn Manson fan growing up, so we expected him to belt out some shouty rock song onstage. But to our surprise, he did the total opposite. For the first time (ever) performing in front of anybody, De Leon sang opera. And he sang it well. Right away, all three judges' jaws dropped and the crowd was either on their feet or wiping away their tears (or both). Andrew was clearly a little shaken, which is understandable given the circumstances, but gave a stellar performance. It is human nature to judge people by externals. Too often, who or what a person is is not nearly

4 4 as important as how they appear to be. Magazine covers are graced by muscled up men, and scantily clad women who look more perfect than humanly possible. Our first impression of others is by how they look; if they don t stack up there, we rarely take the time to dig deeper. When will we learn the most important part of a person is not how they look? How you choose to dress and present yourself does say a lot about who you are, and what kind of person you are. The point here is that God is not impressed by appearances. He is not just looking for some handsome hunk or pretty princess. He is not seeking people with perfect teeth, clear complexions, or buffed up bodies. He is not looking for folks who can put up a good front for a hard heart. How you look is not as important as who you are. Jesus said it this way: Jn 7:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. God is not impressed by appearances. Isn t that good news? Other people will judge you by your looks, but not God. He sees all the way down to your heart, and the person He is looking for is a person described in 1 Sa 13:14 The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, In other words, III. GOD IS LOOKING FOR THE HUMBLE AND THE HOLY (v ) After Samuel works his way through all of Jesse s sons, I imagine there was a long silence. Samuel scratches his head, checks his notes, and tries to figure out where he went wrong. This is Bethlehem, right? They all nod. Your name is Jesse, right? Again they nod. Well I just don t understand. This is where God said to look. These are all of your sons, right? Jesse exchanges embarrassed looks with his sons. Samuel repeats the question, Jesse, these are all of your sons right? Now Jesse scratches his head sheepishly. Well there is one more. But I didn t figure he was the type of fella you were looking for. He s my youngest and we left him taking care of the sheep Samuel sighs, rubs his temples trying to stay calm as he says, Go get him! Nobody sits down to supper until he gets here! Jesse sends one of his boys to go get his youngest, after some grumbling about how bad it stinks down there in the sheep pen. In a little while, in walks this young man who will become the King of God s people. He s not what Samuel expects. First of all, he is young- probably a teenager. He doesn t look old enough to drive, much less rule a nation. He is ruddy, tanned by the sun. He is a sheep herder- not the highest spot on the totem pole of prestige. He is the youngest son, on the lowest rung of the social ladder. He is a handsome lad but not that impressive. And yet as soon as Samuel saw him, God said He is the one I m looking for! Anoint him to be King of My People. And so right there, with his dad and all of his big brothers watching, Samuel pours oil over a young man named David s head, signifying that God has chosen him to be their King. But notice how David enters the palace: as a servant. Almost simultaneously, when God s Spirit comes upon David, He leaves Saul. God sends a tormenting spirit, that is, God allows a demon to harass him. Saul s assistants suggest he find someone who can soothe his troubled mind with music, and who do they pick? David. Evidently David has a reputation as a skillful musician, as well as a brave young

5 5 man full of common sense. So Saul sends for him, and makes him one of his armor bearers, and David begins serving the king he will one day replace. David reminds us of two essential qualities for a champion of God: humility and holiness. Jas 4:6 God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Mt 23:12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. God says that the pathway to greatness is humility. Humility is not pretending that you are nothing, ignoring your abilities or strengths. Humility is being willing to serve God and serve others, no matter where you are or what you are doing. Humility is being patient, not trying to exalt yourself, but waiting for God to put you where He wants you to be. Humility is an essential aspect of love, both for God, and for other people. God is looking for people who are great enough to be humble. God is also looking for people who are holy. Being holy is not about being religious- there are a lot of religious people who are not holy. Being holy means being set apart to God, in your heart, your mind, and your behavior. Being holy means living like you belong to Jesus and wanting to please Him because you love Him. God is looking for people who love Him enough to be holy. God is looking for His church to be holy. Last Tuesday session voted to join the Fellowship of Presbyterians. This is not a change in denomination but a commitment to serve God and look to him. Next Sunday we will have a meeting after church to answer questions and you will receive a letter this week telling you about this decision. Maybe you don t see yourself ever being either humble or holy, Don t feel bad- nobody is very good at either one. Everybody I know struggles with pride at times, and holiness is not always the easiest road to walk down. But are you willing to at least admit you need to be humble and holy to become the person God is looking for? If you can get that far, you ve gotten farther than a lot of folks. Why not take the next step? Why not come to God and confess your pride, and your lack of holiness, and ask the Jesus to help you become the kind of person God is looking for? He will help you if you ask Him. One important warning! God wants us to be his people who seek to be humble and holy before him. Not more humble or more holy that someone else but humble and holy in everything we do and say. We must avoid comparison!!! There are usually two types of reactions to a message like this. Some say, yes, God is speaking to me. I need to be more humble, more holy. Others right now are thinking, I sure hope so and so is listening they need to be more humble and more holy. If that is what you are thinking then this message is for you. We must live before God as we are not in comparison to someone else so look deep inside. We often receive the message, in one way or another, from the different people in our lives, that we are inferior. Differences become yardsticks by which we are measured. We are not like a co-worker.

6 6 We are not as bright or as attractive or as athletic as an older brother or sister. Perhaps Mom and Dad weren t so subtle in the way they favored one child over another. The teacher had pets and it wasn t us. They always picked someone else to be on the team instead of us and we came to believe we were not as good. We did not have as much as someone else had. We did not get ahead as quickly or as far as other people or made as much money or we weigh more or we re not as intelligent or as socially smooth. Maybe no one said it out loud, but we kept getting the message, You are not quite good enough. You should be like other people. You do not fit in. Why can t you be like so-and-so? Years ago Howard Hendricks said that comparison is the favorite indoor sport of Christians. Whether I compare my ministry, my house, or my car to someone else s, it s just endless. There s always something better than what we have. Influenza used to kill people; now we have to deal with affluenza. Comparison kills contentment. In professional sports, every year there are some superstars who think they aren t paid enough. They are dissatisfied with their salaries, even though they make more money in one year than most of us do in a lifetime. Their discontent is based on comparison. Each player considers himself the best at his position and therefore thinks he should receive the largest salary. C.S. Lewis made this observation, "We say that people are proud of being rich, or clever, or goodlooking, but they are not. They are proud of being richer, or cleverer, or better looking than others. If everyone else became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking, there would be nothing to be proud about." On the road of comparison, inner peace is always a mirage, because the truest peace comes only through growing content with how God has made us, that God sees us as we are, and though he does not leave us as we are, he loves us as we are, and starts with us where we are. It is the same for us. True success can never be measured against someone else because that standard is always faulty and inconclusive. We will always be on shaky ground if our standard is people and the standards of this broken, sinful, time-bound world. The only true standard is of God, of heaven. True success is being humble and holy in who God created you to be. It is opening your heart to God, doing what he has called you to do and to be, and doing it for his glory, whether or not it is as good as someone else, or like someone else, or less than someone else. God is looking for God-sized hearts where he can reign, through which he can work. God is looking for some people today- some of you who are sitting right here. He is looking for people of all ages- if you are a boy or girl, man or woman, whoever you are, God is looking for you. He might be looking for you like a Shepherd is looking for His lost sheep. You know you are not right with God. You know you are not one of His children, but deep down inside, you want to be. You want to be forgiven, and have peace with God. He is looking for you today. Will you come and be found by

7 7 Him? He might be looking for you the way He was looking for David. You probably won t ever be a king or queen, but He might be calling you today to be a leader among His people. He might be looking for you to do something that nobody else in the world can do for His glory but you. He IS calling you to be humble and holy. Will you hear Him calling? Will you come and let God use you to make a difference in this world? What is your net worth? Your real worth? Make an estimate of your worth according to God s value system. How do we know what that is? Two things mainly: 1) God created us in His image. No matter who you are. No matter what you look like. God made you just the way he planned, in his very own image. 2) Jesus Christ died for our sins. No matter who you are. No matter what you have done. God wants to give you the gift of a new life and live in you and help you and encourage you and walk with you--just because he loves you. Refuse to compare yourself with others. Stop looking at those around you and start looking at the Lord. God loves you--he is not through with you yet, he is working on all of us as we allow him--but he loves you and he is calling your name today to be his and do something he has chosen just for you, especially for you.