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Sermon, Sunday March 14, 2021 – Do You See Jesus?

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Mark 8:1-10

Do you ever look at something and not see what’s really there?

There is a phenomenon in the world of art called a stereogram. You can often find them in museums, shopping malls, or art stores. These are three-dimensional pictures hidden inside a two-dimensional picture with a repeating pattern. But a lot of people, like me, cannot see the hidden image.

Not seeing what’s there not only happens in the art world, it also happens in the spiritual world. It happens with Jesus. At first glance when we look at Jesus, we don’t see all that’s there. And if we don’t look long enough, if we don’t look at him in a different way, we’ll have a limited view that will prevent us from seeing how incredible, how powerful, how compassionate, how glorious he is, and will miss out on experiencing the life he offers us. What image do you have of Jesus?

As we skim through Marks Gospel, we are looking at Mark 6:30 to 9:32.Up to this point in the ministry of Jesus, he’s been extremely popular. The things he’s said and done have impacted the entire region. However, this is about to change as he begins to reveal his true mission, one that will culminate on a cruel Roman cross.

Throughout this Gospel, you may have noticed that Jesus uses every moment to reveal himself more fully to his disciples, because like us, they don’t always see things clearly.

One of these moments is found in Mark 8:1-10 as Jesus miraculously feeds four-thousand people with a few loaves and fish.

Jesus isn’t just a powerful teacher and miracle worker; he is a shepherd. He cares about people. His emotion moves him to action, and he wants to feed the people. Jesus has the crowd sit down and blesses the food as he begins to perform a miracle of multiplication that fed the multitude. The disciples saw a crowd that needed to be sent away because the task was impossible. Jesus saw people who needed to be fed and an opportunity to teach.

We might see someone who has made a wreck of their lives and someone who takes up our time, when Jesus sees them as a person who deserves a second chance. Jesus sees the person whom he created in the image of God.

Later, when Jesus is alone with his disciples, he knows that they are struggling to grasp who he really is (Mark 8:18). They were looking at him with the wrong expectation and focus.

We aren’t much different. No matter how many times the Lord has answered our prayers in the past, we still struggle to grasp his power and trust him fully in the present. When we are going through various trials, we need Jesus to help us to see him, see him for who he really is.

In Mark 8:27-30, Jesus reveals who he really is. Jesus wanted his disciples to see his true identity. Jesus posed this question, “Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27)

This is the essential question that we all must answer. What image do you have of Jesus?

If we’re unclear about Jesus, if we have a view of him that comes from our culture, books, or movies, then we could be going in a direction that leads us away from God.

Peter answered with a clear declaration of Jesus’ true identity. “You are the Christ.” (Mark 8:29b). Jesus affirms Peter’s declaration but instructs them not to tell anyone. But then he begins to tell them about the suffering he is about to undergo (Mark 8:31-38). This idea of suffering and death was not the picture they had of their messiah.

Peter boldly takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him, getting Jesus back in line with Peter’s vision. But Jesus seizes the moment and in the presence of all the disciples, rebukes Peter (Mark 8:33). Satan didn’t want Jesus to go to the cross and he tried to use a friend of Jesus to derail his mission plan.  Satan has, and always will try to obscure and lie about the true identity of Jesus. He doesn’t want us to see Jesus for who he really is.

Satan is okay with us believing that Jesus was a good man, a moral teacher, a prophet, or a miracle worker. But he is more!  He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God who came to seek and save the lost, to set people free. Jesus suffered and died to pay for our sins and rose from the grave to authenticate that his death was a sufficient payment. And now he is alive and inviting whoever will see him for who he is, to accept his offer of eternal life!

Ever since the time of Jesus, men have argued about who this man named Jesus from Galilee really was.  The Pharisees and Sadducees were very curious about Jesus and often followed him around to catch him in a lie, or they simply rejected him.  Two thousand years later, many people continue to trivialize the life and teaching of Jesus. Some will even go as far as calling Jesus a great moral teacher but not the Lord over all creation.

Jesus Christ was the most influential person to ever walk this planet!  He changed the timeline of history forever. 

Colossians 3:4 says, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Is he your life? Or an add on?

The Bible is clear that the only way to avoid spending an eternity in Hell is through a personal relationship with this Jesus Christ. And that happens by making him Lord of your life. We can never make a true decision about Jesus by taking a poll of what other people think. You need to encounter him and see him in a personal way.  

What is your image of Jesus? What obstacle is keeping you from seeing Jesus clearly?

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January 24, 2021 The Power in Weakness part II

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Psalm 146

In these days of political change and a global health crisis, what we need is a dose of realism. A focus on what is eternal and what is temporal.

God does not need a Republican government or a Democrat government to bring about His purposes. The kingdoms of this world are in place for the purposes of God.

Chuck Colson said it best, “The kingdom of God will not arrive on Air Force One, no matter who is occupying it.” 

In seasons of national change, we must take a step back and realize that we, as followers of Jesus, are part of a different kingdom, we are part of a far greater and eternal kingdom. That is where our allegiance and our faith must lie (Revelation 5:9-10).  

The author of Psalm 146 lived in a time of national change and upheaval. While we don’t know the exact time and authorship of this Psalm, some early Greek manuscripts refer to this Psalm as being of Haggai and Zechariah. Which may refer to this Psalm being penned around the time of Nehemiah when Jerusalem was being rebuilt and the remnant was returning from exile. It was a time of refocusing the nation and worshipping the one true God.

The Psalm begins and ends with the phrase, “praise the Lord”, the Hebrew word, “Hallelujah.” The Psalmist goes on in verse 2, “I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.” This worshipper was not a Sunday morning believer, he was committing every moment of every day to the worship and praise of God. So captivated by the throne of God that nothing else mattered.

It then seems that the Psalm takes an abrupt turn, obviously referring to something that was happening in the political arena at the time. “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.” (Psalm 146:3-4)

People put their trust in many different things, the stock market, the military, their family, and the most prominent form of trust is placed in leaders. And sometimes we make the mistake of not remembering that these are also broken and weak people who need a savior just as we do.

A healthy exercise is to take a step back and really think about where and in whom you are placing your trust. The frailty of humanity will always let you down.

The Psalmist goes back to praising God and says, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God” (Psalm 146:5).

Putting your trust in God is not simply a good thing to do. It has eternal rewards, and lifelong blessing. The real test was in our personal responses to the inauguration on Wednesday this past week; if you were despondent and fearful for the future, or if you were elated and excited for the future, your hope might be in the wrong person.

The Psalmist says that the one we put our trust in is the uncreated Creator and sustainer of all things. The one we put our trust in, is the one who gives President Biden breath.

God is not simply the creator who set things in motion, He is the sustainer as verse 6 says, “…who keeps faith forever”. Our God is eternally faithful and cares for His creation. You will never find a follower of Jesus who has found God to be unreliable (Psalm 37:25).

The next three verses, the Psalmist lists eight oppressed and suffering people groupings, people that the world often overlooks, but God sees and cares for.

  • The Lord executes justice for the oppressed.
  • The Lord feeds the hungry.
  • The Lord sets the prisoner free, (Possibly referring to the Exodus).
  • The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. (Possibly referring to God opening the spiritual eyes of the people to see the truth).  
  • The Lord raises up those who are bowed down, those who are weighed down by the cares and the worries of the world.
  • The Lord watches over the sojourner or the foreigner.
  • The Lord cares for the orphan and the widow.

Only God can bring lasting relief to all these categories. Our God is the Lord who cares for the weak and the helpless.

The Apostle Paul knew this, writing in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”

As we come to the end of the Psalm, it seems that the writer takes an abrupt turn, “but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin” Psalm 146:9b.

God is a god of justice. He defends the weak and He always brings the wicked to justice. God is consistent. It might not be in the timing we like, just like the relief for the downtrodden. But be sure, God will always bring justice. And that is a sobering thought.

God is not to be mocked, He is to be worshipped as the Psalm closes with a final Hallelujah in verse 10, echoing Psalm 46:6-7. What a declaration of the majesty of God!

For the Christian in America our role has not changed. The calling on your life does not change with the political winds of the nation. The mission of the church has not changed in the last month, it remains the same.

Do you trust in the faithfulness of God today? Or are you guilty of putting too much trust in man?

Joe Biden is our president, and Jesus is our King. 

There is only one King who will reign forever and only one King who will make perfect decisions and rulings. There is only one king who has the power to transform the world.

Are you trusting that King today?

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Sermon December 8, 2019 – The King is Coming

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 Malachi 4:1-6

We all love warm sunny days, and we know that the sun provides what we need to sustain life on the planet. We are so dependent on the sun for life, but the Bible speaks of another giver of life, another source of light.

In Malachi 3, we see God addressing two groups of people; those that merely go through the routine of religion and those who truly fear the Lord. We see those who fear the Lord crying out to God for justice because they see that the arrogant and the wicked are being allowed to prosper. And we see the same happening all around us in the 21st century.

In Malachi 4 verses 1 and 3 we see that a day is coming when the Lord will bring judgment on all the wicked who have rejected Him. In the Bible, whenever we read the term “the day”, we are aware this is speaking of when Jesus returns and everyone who has ever lived is judged. The arrogant, wicked and all who do not worship Jesus as Lord will be punished for eternity.

When the apostle Peter preached his sermon in Jerusalem in Acts 2, he spoke about “the day” in verses 20 and 21.

The first century church lived for that day, they spoke primarily about the resurrection of Jesus and his imminent return. The early church lived daily with an expectation of Jesus coming again. If they had that expectation, how much more should we. We must live with a preparedness, we must be about His business, working for the Kingdom of God and not building kingdoms that will soon be burnt up and the ashes scattered.

In verse 2, God addresses those who fear His name, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall”. Malachi 4:2

I love the sunrise, it is a powerful reminder that God is watching over His creation. But this sunrise that Malachi speaks about is the ending of a period of time, the ending of the reign of darkness in the world, a new day of righteousness when Jesus will come and restore all things.

The picture that Malachi paints of calves leaping in joy, would have been a familiar sight to the Israelites. During the dark cold months of winter, the young animals would be kept in stalls for protection and warmth, but after the winter as these calves were released and they would jump and leap for joy, running into the pastures. This is a picture of the joy that the followers of Jesus will experience when he comes again.

In Malachi 4:4, God reminds the children of Israel that the Law was not a set of rules to be followed out of routine or tradition, rather the Law was given to bring them into relationship with God.

You cannot separate God’s word from a relationship with God, in that case it simply becomes an academic pursuit. God gave us His word to point us to Christ and the way to salvation through him. Jesus himself said in Matthew 5:17-18 that all of God’s word is relevant for us today until he comes again. The Bible contains many prophesies that will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again, and that is what these last few verses of Malachi speak about.

God’s word is our daily bread, inspired by the Holy Spirit. We need to be a people who meditate and live by the light of God’s word daily.

Verse 5 speaks about the prophet Elijah who will come before Jesus comes again to bring judgment on the whole earth. In Matthew 17, we read about the time when Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain and there they saw Jesus with Elijah and Moses. The appearance of Jesus was transfigured, and his face shone like the sun.

Interestingly, if we read Revelation 11, we read about two witnesses who will prophecy and do mighty works on the earth before Jesus comes again. If you read the account in Revelation 11, you will see that the signs and wonders the two witnesses do are the same kinds of miraculous signs that God allowed Moses and Elijah to do when they lived on the earth.  

This forerunner will have an important role to play, in verse 6 we read, “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Malachi 4:6

This prophet would turn the hearts of the people back to the faith of their fathers. Reminding the people of the Faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is a revival! A time of great repentance. God says, repent and listen to the prophet or I will come and destroy the land.

The same applies to us, repent while you still can, turn away from your sins, turn to Jesus as Lord of your life and you will avoid the punishment that is coming for all who reject Jesus.

The Old Testament ends with a call to repent and a warning in the same way the New Testament closes with a call to repentance in Revelation 22:12-13.

The rays of the sun take about 8 minutes to reach us. If the sun was to stop shinning, life on earth would come to an end. That day is coming as we read in Joel 2:31-32. In verse 2 of Malachi 4 we read, “for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”  The Hebrew word for wings here is “כָּנָף” “kanaph”, which could mean wings of a bird or the hem of a garment. In Matthew 9, when Jesus was walking through the crowd and a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years, reached out and in faith simply touched the hem (Kanaph) of Jesus’ garment. She was instantly healed. God did this miracle to point to a time when Jesus would come again with healing in his wings for the whole earth. Jesus is the sun of righteousness, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the light of the world.

Has the light of Jesus shone in your life?

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God and the Election part 1 – November 7, 2016

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1 Samuel 8

The day before the elections and people have made the choice to skip voting altogether, because they don’t agree with the principles of any of the candidates. It seems in this nation that many people take for granted the privilege to choose and they don’t even bother to exercise that right. Sadly, history shows us that if you don’t exercise your rights, you are likely to lose them.

Over the last few decades there has been a lot of discussion about the separation of the church and the state. While a don’t believe a pastor should direct the congregation to vote for a specific candidate, I also don’t think that the church should stand idly by and allow corruption and immorality to govern our nation.

DR. Adrian Rogers once said, “the church and state should remain separate institutionally, but the church should be the conscience of the state. “

The church is supposed to be the moral compass of the nation, unfortunately the church has spent so much time arguing amongst themselves and debating between denominations, that we have abdicated our voice of morality. Churches and Christians see themselves as poor victims a weak and victimized minority. But Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world…” As Christians and as a church, we are Christs ambassadors and when we sit idly by, Satan will continue to destroy this nation.

I came across an interesting quote this week attributed to the 19th century prime minister of England, Benjamin Disraeli.

“Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.”

In 1 Samuel 8 the nation of Israel was going through a leadership transition. The great prophet Samuel was getting old and the people began asking for a King. Under Samuel’s leadership, the nation had expanded, their enemies had been subdued and the nation’s surrounding Israel were at peace. But the people were not satisfied, they wanted a king and God gave them what they desired.

The nation of Israel began looking around to the nations around them and asked for a king to be like the other nations (See 1 Samuel 8:5). The people were crying out for a savior, they thought that Samuel would give them a King and he would solve all their problems. On the surface, to ask for a king seemed like a reasonable request, it seemed like Israel was coming of age as a nation and needed to fit the mold of a successful nation. But this request upset Samuel because he realized that the nation had rejected God as their King and were looking for an earthly leader (verse 7).

The problem was not that they wanted a King, the problem was that they were turning their back on God. This nation of God’s chosen people, the people of the promise to Abraham, the same people of the covenant that God made with Moses on Mt Sinai, they wanted to settle for an earthly king to rule over them.

Sadly, in America today we are not much different, we look to a president or the leaders in Washington to solve our problems, instead of turning to the only one who can solve the problems of this nation and the world – Jesus Christ.

Israel had forgotten who they were, they had lost their moral compass. In response God tells Samuel to warn the nation that a king will require from them a heavy burden of taxes, their sons and daughters will be required to serve in his army and in his courts. The burden on the people will be heavy, but yet, they demanded a king. God gave the children of Israel what they wanted, God in his great mercy and wisdom gives nations what they ask for because ultimately God uses the leaders of nations for his purposes.

Even though the people came to Samuel and demanded a King, God chose Saul the son of Kish a Benjamite to be the first King of Israel. We read in chapter 9 and 10 of 1 Samuel, how God chose Saul, who seemed to have amazing leadership skills and potential to be a powerful King. Unfortunately, Saul became a bad king and just as God had said, the nation became his slaves. Bad leaders enslave their people, and that is what Saul did.

We need to prayerfully consider the choice of the election ballot, because as a nation God will give us the president we ask for. As believers we have a divine voting guide, it is the Word of God. Don’t be misled for one minute into thinking that the Word of God does not apply to your choice on Tuesday November 8, it has everything to do with it (see Psalm 119:105 and Proverbs 29:2).

The next president of the United States faces some incredible problems, foreign and domestic terrorism will always be a concern, our economy and national debt is spiraling out of control, the polarization of the nation between liberals and conservatives has reached a boiling point and the next president will have the opportunity to determine the judges on the Supreme court for many years to come.

But as Christians, who are we looking to? If we are placing our hope in the next president, whomever that may be, we will be disappointed. This coming Wednesday God will still be on the throne, he will still be ruling and managing the worlds affairs. God has never needed a king or a president, he raises them up and he puts them down for his purposes.

There are so many issues that we can identify in the world that need fixing, there is no human leader who can possibly solve even some of the nation’s problems Our only hope is in Jesus Christ, the King of Kings.

There is nothing wrong with being involved in politics or voicing our frustrations with the leaders of our country, but we must view everything from an eternal perspective. As followers of Jesus Christ, this world is not our home, and we must put our trust in Jesus Christ and in no one else. We don’t need a king to be our savior we have Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we get so anxious about the temporal kingdoms here on earth that we forget about God’s eternal Kingdom. (see 1 Peter 2:9-10)

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Lessons from the life of King David Part 2; April 10, 2016

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1 Samuel 26

Saul is trying to hunt down David once again, he takes 3000 of his best warriors. This is the second time that Saul was hunting down David, he was embarrassed the first time (see 1 Samuel 24).

Saul feared David, he knew that David was God’s chosen leader to replace him, his fear drove him to try to destroy David. David on the other hand is filled with courage, he doesn’t run away, in fact in we read that David went out to engage with Saul. Just like David engaged Goliath, he had boldness to confront his enemy.

 David decides to go into the camp of Saul and he asks for a volunteer to go with him. Abishai volunteers for the mission. Abishai is actually David’s nephew, and a fearless warrior. But for all his courage, Abishai lacks self-control. He asks David if he can kill Saul. But David is not persuaded, he is listening to a higher authority.

Be careful who you listen to. Your closest friends will give you advice that seems to be right, but is that what God is telling you to do? It’s not wrong to get advice from others, but you need to check this against the Word of God.

David quickly rebukes Abishai and once again reminds him that Saul is the Lords anointed. Apart from sparing the life of the King, David was teaching Abishai the order of God’s kingdom. God puts leaders in place. (See Romans 13:1).

We wrestle with this, what if the king is mad? God says honor those He has placed in leadership over you, David shows us that you don’t have to abide by immoral decisions they make, but respect their position.

David and Abishai take the spear and the water jug from Saul and go and stand on a hill with a valley between them and the army of Saul. David taunts Abner but shows the utmost respect for Saul (v17, 18 and 19).

 After Saul and his army are humbled, it seems that Saul has a change of heart. He repents and asks David to forgive him. Note these words; “, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son.” It was so evident to Saul and to everyone else that God was with David, he could only repent. As far as we can determine from scripture, Saul resigns himself to the fact that his days are numbered, he does not try to interfere with God’s plan for the nation again.

Saul invites David to come back, but in verse 22 we read that David politely declines. David trusts the Lord, but he does not trust Saul. We must honor and respect those that God has placed in leadership over us, but we must not be gullible. After all they are still fallen people.

David declares to Saul that he trusts that God will reward him, he is not looking for the approval of man. What a lesson to us all. Who are we looking to for a reward or praise?

Saul is completely humbled and acknowledges David’s future. It is clear to Saul and to everyone who was there that day that David was a great man, anointed by God and destined for greatness.

Why did David not allow Abishai to kill Saul? Because David trusted that God was in control, he believed in the sovereignty of God.

If God is in control, we can trust Him for the future and with our lives. David showed this practically, Saul was a terrible King, but David knew that only God had the right to remove him from his position of leadership.

Anyone with an ounce of ambition would have taken matters into his own hands and killed Saul, no-one would have blamed him. But David trusted the Lord.

None of us are in the position that David was in, being anointed as King over Israel. But most of us can identify with an overbearing leader, a cruel boss, an incompetent supervisor, an overbearing parent, or an abusive husband. What do we do in those situations? Do we fight back? David didn’t, a few chapters earlier in 1 Samuel we read the account of Saul hurling a spear at David, what did David do? He ducked.

There is a bit of Saul in all of us, and if we take the situation into our own hands and try to make things right outside of the will of God, we become just like Saul. If David had killed Saul, he would have taken the throne as king by force, and he would have been no better than Saul.

Who is the Saul in your life? Who is that person that you wrestle with submitting to, that leader who has no business being in charge, but yet they have the title.

How you respond makes a huge difference. If you respond in bitterness and gossip, it will just eat you up.

If you respond in humble submission, respecting the person’s authority, you will find peace from God.

Another benefit of humble submission is that others notice, your co-workers notice, your children notice. And one day when you are in that position of authority those who noticed your response will be your biggest supporters.

Like David’s mighty men, who witnessed this event, they never questioned his authority, they chose to fight and die for David, because he honored the Lord with his patience (See James 1:2-4).

Trust God with the Saul’s in your life, God is working in you, testing your faith, producing perseverance, and maturing you. God is not distant and unaware of your pain and suffering, He is intimately involved in your life, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ.

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Lessons from the life of King David Part 1; April 03, 2016

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1 Samuel 16

The world is full of many rags to riches stories. We love these stories, we make movies about the characters, and we teach our children to look at them as role models.

But the truth is that we only recognize greatness once it has been achieved in man’s eyes. The process, the humble beginnings, the hard work and the pathway of insignificance is mostly ignored by the world.

In the same way a person that God is forming for his purposes is often ignored and sometimes even ridiculed for their humble position and low standing in society. But God knows and God is working in all of us if we would just let him, to become someone that can be greatly used by Him.

This week we are starting a five part series on David, the warrior king of Israel, who was used by God to firmly establish and expand the nation. David was also the only person in the Bible who had the title; “a man after God’s own heart” as we see in Acts 13:22.

David came from humble beginnings, yet God saw him and called him to serve as King. In this narrative we have three main characters.

Saul was the king that God had given to Israel, but after Saul’s disobedience God rejected him (1 Samuel 15). Samuel is the great prophet of God and was more than simply a seer, he was regarded as a judge, highly respected and highly feared as well. And then we have David, his father Jesse was a man who lived in Bethlehem. Jesse had eight sons and David was his youngest son.

These events took place in 1024 BC, David himself was somewhere between 20 and 25 years old. The first time we see David in the story, he is described in a remarkable way (v 12). But he was the baby of the family and didn’t have much respect with his older brothers.

When Samuel went to Bethlehem, the leaders of the town trembled when they met him. They wondered if he was coming in judgment. I am sure that all the town of Bethlehem knew that the great prophet was in town and that he had chosen to invite Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. Something was up! The seven older sons of Jesse were probably eager to be in the spotlight. Samuel told them to consecrate themselves in preparation for the sacrifice. This was a ritual washing and probably putting on clean clothes. I can imagine them dressing in their Sabbath best trying to impress the great leader coming to town. But where is David the youngest son? He is still tending the sheep, he knew about the sacrifice, but he faithfully kept on doing what was required of him. This is key, David didn’t try to arrange to be in the presence of Samuel. He didn’t ask someone to do his chores for him, he didn’t try to promote himself.

After all the brothers are rejected, finally as a last resort, David is thought of. Oh, yeah… there is one more son.

As they call David in he is probably covered in dust and smells of sweat and dirty sheep. Notice that he is not consecrated, because in God’s eyes he is already consecrated. He has a pure heart and God looks on the inside, where man looks on the outside.

Samuel sees him and God tells him that David is the one. So Samuel anoints David. As Samuel anoints David, he is filled with the Holy Spirit (V13). Something supernatural happened, the Spirit of the Lord came in power as David was anointed. The ESV bible says, the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

It must have been a surprise for his father and brothers. It is unlikely that Jesse, or anyone else in the family, including David completely understood what had just happened. But the Lord was preparing David to be the leader of the nation. From a humble shepherd boy to a mighty warrior king.

David was already a man of integrity and courage, but now God added the power of His Spirit on him. David began to shine and he began to be noticed. Notice how Saul’s attendant recommends David in glowing terms in verse 18. David’s recognition quickly gets him favor and promotion in the service of King Saul. He rises to be one of the Kings Armor bearers.

Notice the progression here, from humble shepherd, to being selected, to being anointed and empowered by God, this humble shepherd is recognized and finds favor in the Kings courts. David was rejected and put down by his brothers, yet he was chosen by God. God had planned for David to be the next King even before he had been born. He was destined for this. (See Psalm 139:16)

What is remarkable in this chapter is David’s humility, not once do we read that David stood up and called attention to himself. He did not promote himself, rather he was recognized by God and man.

What a contrast to the world we live in. Our world says; “be noticeable, promote yourself, market yourself, tell the world how good you are.” But David is silently confident, trusting in the Lord.

It is much better to be promoted by God than to be recognized and promoted by man.

Too many people today try to push themselves into prominent places without first proving themselves at home in the small matters. Character that God uses is developed in the life of obscurity.

God was preparing David while he was faithfully doing his work as no one noticed. But isn’t it interesting that what we do when no one notices, becomes what everyone notices.

People notice the outward manifestation of our inward life.

Our time spent with the Lord each day prepares us for the plans that God has for us.

What is God preparing you for? As God is preparing you, remember that how you serve today is just as important as what you will be doing in the future.