Steps to greatness I Samuel 16:1-22
1 Samuel 16
1And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
2And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.
3And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
4And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?
5And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
6And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.
7But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
8Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.
9Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.
10Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.
11And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
12And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
14But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
15And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
16Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
17And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
18Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
19Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
20And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
21And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.
22And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
Samuel was the High Priest. From an early age God had hand picked Samuel and he had served God faithfully in the temple.
In I Samuel 8 we see how Israel rejected God as their judge and began to cry for a king. Saul was the first anointed King of Israel.
My text said the Lord spoke to Samuel and said, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? He said fill thine horn with oil and go find me a new king from the house of Jesse.
The great think about David being chosen King, is that he never even knew it.
In verse 4 of my text Samuel road into Bethlehem and the elders of the town trembled at his coming and said, I pray you come in peace?
· You see sometimes Christians come to church and on the surface have the look of a Christian but they tremble in their boots to think that God may come in their mist and mess up their situation.
· Honey let me tell you something today, there’s an all-seeing eye watching you and you may think God doesn’t know what goes on behind close doors. You are wrong. God knows every move you make and there is nothing you do that he does not see.
There are several points I want to make today concerning David’s call to service. There are steps that are examples to us today and if we want to do something great for God there are things that we must realize.
1. You can’t just look anointed, you must be anointed.
· There are many who have the appearance of being anointed but are no more anointed then the man on the moon.
· Many are called but few are chosen. You may say, God called me. That’s great but an anointed person is not only called but they are chosen. Just because you’re called doesn’t mean that your life can’t be destroyed because of sin and compromise.
· We are still free-moral agents and HELL IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO WERE CALLED OF GOD BUT COMPRIMISED.
· Look at Samual 16: 6And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him,
· 7But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
2. David was a hard worker.
· We live in a Society that wants something for nothing.
· Many parents have rejected the concept of hard work and give their children anything they want, which damages them in life.
· They develop a mentality that the world owes them something and they don’t have to work for it.
· If you expect to be something for God it will take hard work. Sweat, Tears, Rejection, Sleepless nights, Pain and agony. But through the blood and tears there’s a focus that keeps you going. It’s the Old Rugged Cross.
· Success in life takes hard work. GOD DOESN’T OWE YOU ANYTHING. It is a privilege to serve God and the only thing we deserve is Hell.
3. David had a servant’s heart. He was humble, teachable.
· Notice where David was when Samuel came to anoint. & All his brothers dropped everything they were doing and stood before Samuel like a dog panting for a piece of chicken.
· David was with the sheep. Being the servant. Staying behind while others get the glory.
· Kids today are Blount. The first thing most Pastors ask is what is the salary.
· The attitude is, “What’s in it for me.” In order to be a leader you must first serve others.
· Melissa and I paid our dues to get to where we are today. There’s not a position in the church we’ve not held, besides Women’s Ministry President. We’ve scrubbed toilets, cleaned the church, mowed the grass, drove the church van, ministered to kids and youth, went to the nursing homes, taught Sunday School, sang in choirs, been in drama’s.
· Many today jump up from the alter after salvation and expect to Pastor a church of 250 within a year. I’ve done my best to instill in these young preachers in order to move up in the ranks in God’s army you must first be a servant.
· David was already anointed to be the next King of Israel. He knew he was destined for the Palace, yet he humbly knelt before the king and reverently played his harp for his king.
1 Samuel 16:14But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
17And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
22And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
23And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
· LOOK at 1 Sam. 18: 12And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.
4. David knew God personally.
I Samuel 17: 32And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
5. David was content with being himself.
· Saul gave David all the armor and gear but David said, “This isn’t me. Just give me my staff and sling.”
· Peer pressure today has changed the face of our children.
· Keeping up with the Jones. Wearing the fancy clothes and $200 Gym-Shoes.
· God knows who you are. You don’t need the fancy dress to prove yourself. God judges your heart. Others may dress finer or have more money but none of that can compare to the anointing of God.
6. David withstood the attacks of the enemy.
· 1 Samuel 19:1And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.
· David did not give up when trouble came.
· All along he knew that he was God’s and besides him there is no other.
