1 Samuel 16 David Anointed as King

Today we are in our 9th sermon in our series called a Prophet and 2 Kings.

Before we get into our story this morning I want to ask you this question...

Have you ever felt like you were forgotten?

(Not seen, not appreciated, not excepted, not good enough, rejected)

[Always picked last, left behind, an afterthought]

This morning our main focus is on someone who I am quite certain felt forgotten.

And this individual is found in 1 Samuel 16....

1 Samuel 16:1 (ESV)

1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

How many know there is a time for mourning loss?

But how many know we can’t stay there forever either?

There will be times when we taste the sting of defeat in our lives....

(loved one, broken relationships, career set backs, health issues)

And its ok to grieve and remember these kinds of loses and defeats.

But it is not ok,

to stay there and dwell on it the rest of our lives.

Many times we allow our set backs,

to stop us from going forward into our God given destiny.

(can’t go forward looking backwards)

In our text,

The Lord was telling Samuel,

you need to stop grieving over Saul, (yes he has been rejected)

in order that you can go and anoint the new king in Israel.

but there is a problem with Samuel going to carry out this mission from God...

1 Samuel 16:2–3 (ESV)

2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”

If the Lord directs us to do something,

He will always have a plan to accomplish what he directs. (joke… God “I have not thought about that”)

The reality is that this ways a dangerous mission for Samuel,

but God already worked out the details for it to be successful.

The important aspect to remember,

is that we need to be obedient to God’s plan,

(Can’t add or subtract from the Lord’s instruction)

[I like your plan Lord but…] submit...

This is how Samuel responded to the Lord’s plan...

1 Samuel 16:4–7 (ESV)

4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?”

(Remember Samuel is the judge)

5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Example…

have you had that first impression… they have it together…

but than you find out they are evil… (Joke describing my ex)

The heart can be hidden for a long time from man,

but God always can see what is going on in the heart…

God is always more concerned on what is going on in the heart....

(The heart take time to show up on the outside)

When Samuel saw Jesse’s son Eliab,

his immediate reaction was that this is the new king of Israel.

He fit the bill of what a king should look like....

But the Lord responded with he is not the one.

Samuel was seeing form the perspective of man,

but how many know that God does not see the way man see’s things?

The Lord was looking for a man after His own heart,

and though Eliab looked on the outside the part of being a king,

his heart was not what God was looking for.

Move on to the next sons of Jesse...

1 Samuel 16:8–11 (ESV)

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”

I want you to think about this....

Most influential men in your nation.. Prophet Samuel...

7-8 sons of Jesse…

How do you think David felt??? (Forgotten)

It is one thing to be forgotten by the world,

but it is a very different level of rejection to be forgotten by your own family… specifically your dad...

David’s own dad did not believe that he was good enough to be king....

(To young, to inexperienced, not qualified)

Whatever Jesse’s reason was,

David was out tending the sheep instead of being brought before the Prophet Samuel.

This passage demonstrates the unassuming nature of David the young Shepard boy.

I find it interesting in the Bible how God chooses the least likely people to be His vessels of great importance.

Think about the disciples… uneducated men but who were recognized by being with Jesus

Think about Mary the mother of Jesus who is seen to be a poor women from a town that was nothing.

“can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Esther who was said to be “born for such a time as this” (Save Israel)

The list could go on and on...

God always uses people that most of us would have discounted as insignificant

but uses their life in tremendous ways....

1 Corinthians 1:27 (ESV)

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;

God has always used people that the world has written off...

God has always used people that seem insignificant...

God has always used those who are seen as foolish in they eyes of the world...

Yet that is who God uses…

If you feel this morning that you are...

forgotten, insignificant, left behind, unqualified…

guess what?

you meet the qualifications to be used tremendously by God.

God uses people like us everyday for a specific reason....)

1 Corinthians 1:27–29 (ESV)

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; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Remember the story of Gideon.... (brought his army from 32,000 to 300)

God uses the week to shame the wise in order that man does not get the glory,

but rather God receives the glory.

(Ministers fall and lose their anointing)

David was an unassuming shepherd boy that God knew would give him glory because his heart was right.

1 Samuel 16:12–13 (ESV)

12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

Man looks on the outside,

but God looks at the heart.

The Lord saw this young faithful Shepard boy in the wilderness...

The Lord said, this is the man after my own heart…

(God rewards faithfulness)

[People may not see it but God always does]

The Lord was shaping this young man in the wilderness as David would play his harp in worship before the Lord.

Though David’s earthly father missed the the progression of his son being molded to be the future king… David’s heavily Father did not...

God see’s our season’s of what we perceives as insignificant,

and watches us to see if we are faithful or not.

Those seasons of living in obscurity,

will either shape us for what God has for us in our future

or will destroy us from walking out our calling in the future.

(shape or destroy) [testing room]

The young Shepard boy was faithful in the wilderness,

and stayed faithful in his pursuit of the Lord of heavens armies.

And God was working in this young boy to prepare him to be the future king.

And when Samuel anointed him to be king.

The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David to empower him for what lied ahead.

Which bring a transition in Israel…

1 Samuel 16:13–14 (ESV)

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.

We have this transition were David is anointed by the Spirit of the Lord,

but the Spirit of the Lord departed Saul.

And when the Spirit of the Lord departs Saul,

another harmful spirit comes and torments Saul.

When the Spirit is not with you,

you are opening up area’s in your life to the enemy’s control.

(Christians grieve the Holy Spirit… Putting things before us that are contrary to the God’s nature)

1 Samuel 16:15–18 (ESV)

15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.”

When the anointing of the Holy Spirit is in your life it marks who you are... (we have limited anointing)

Anointing of the Spirit should be in every area of our lives.

Bezalel and Oholiab (Exodus 31) anointed to work…

1 Samuel 16:19–23 (ESV)

19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

When someone is anointed by the Spirit,

they minister peace everywhere they go....

(As David ministered peace in the palace, he got his foot into the door which we will find out is important to what will happne next for David)

Close with this thought this morning...

Think about how much David’s life shifts after he is anointed by the Lord…. forgotten to being in the palace….

(may feel forgotten)

[are you faithful now]