The Heart of a Hero

Intro

Today we get to look closer at one of the most famous and most unlikely heroes of the Bible David. David was the most loved king Israel had. but before he was a hero and king. He was like Moses a shepherd. He was the 8th youngest brother. He wasn’t even a leader in his family. and God took him and used him to make the nation of Israel great, but more importantly God took him from obscurity and irrelevance and used him to bring Glory to God.

I don’t know how you walked in here today. Maybe you walked feeling forgotten, feeling unseen. I hope you see through the stories of David this morning that God sees you. He hasn’t forgotten you. Maybe you walked in frustrated because you want to move forward and you feel like there are people in your life standing in the way. Maybe you walked in and you feel like you have a giant you need to face and you are trying to figure out how to fight him. My prayer that regardless of how you walked in this morning you are going to leave confident the God who always sees you will see you through whatever challenges you are facing right now.

Set the stage.

1 Samuel 16:6–13 CSB

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said. Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.” After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.” Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance. Then the Lord said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

David wasn’t even invited to the party. He was an afterthought to his father, to his brothers. He was the very last person that anyone including Samuel expected to be anointed that day. No one saw him. But God did.

God was not ready to pick his next hero, the next leader of his people, based off of who was the first born, he wasn’t going to pick him because of how he looked,

1. Hearts Determine Heroes.

In verse 7 Samuel a very wise God fearing man. Was ready to anoint the oldest brother because he looked the part. But God made it clear he doesn’t look on the outside like we do he looks on the inside.

Hearts determine heroes. Your ability to be an unlikely hero for God like David, like Moses is not based on your charisma, its not based on your resources, Its not based on your popularity or the presence of platform. God is looking for people who have a heart like his.

Heres the reality people with bad hearts are successful by the worlds standards all the time. But thats not what we are talking about we are talking about something more and lasting. We talked about last week how heroes are sent. They are the ones that when God says go they go. Well how does God choose who he sends?

This passage makes it so clear. God chooses who to send based on their hearts. Nothing external factors in. In fact if your external circumstances or skills are considered by others to not be great. There is a higher chance that God will want to use you.

Even doing great things for God doesn’t impress him if your heart is not like his. Does that mean that you are perfect and never mess up? and if you mess up you’re disqualified. Thank God no. Or I wouldn’t be up here. David committed murder and adulterty and he was still refered to as a man after God’s own heart why? because he chased after God with everything he had. and when he realized he messed up he ran to God with his mess up instead of running from God with his mess up? does that describe you? Is your heart positioned to chase after God?

In the next chapter we get evidence that David’s heart was positioned to chase after God no matter the circumstances around him.

1 Samuel 17:3–11 CSB

The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them. Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall and wore a bronze helmet and bronze scale armor that weighed one hundred twenty-five pounds. There was bronze armor on his shins, and a bronze javelin was slung between his shoulders. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds. In addition, a shield-bearer was walking in front of him. He stood and shouted to the Israelite battle formations, “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” He asked them, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us.” Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me a man so we can fight each other!” When Saul and all Israel heard these words from the Philistine, they lost their courage and were terrified.

Israel and the Philistines were positioned each on a hill opposite each other with a valley in the middle. Whoever attacked first would be at a huge disadvantage because the other side would have the high ground. so it turns into a world war one trench warfare situation with two sides dug in and a no mans land in the middle. But every day for 40 day Goliath the giant would walk out into no mans land to taught Saul, the Israelites, and God.

a whole army was frozen and fear for 40 days. Then David. shows up he wasn’t there to fight he was there to bring food to his brothers. He was the doordash guy. What was his response to all this?

David arrives and sees them all run and fear and it doesn’t sit right with him he starts asking what the reward will be for the one that kills him and his older brother over hears him.

1 Samuel 17:28–32 CSB

David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and he became angry with him. “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart—you came down to see the battle!” “What have I done now?” protested David. “It was just a question.” Then he turned from those beside him to others in front of him and asked about the offer. The people gave him the same answer as before. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, so he had David brought to him. David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!”

In David’s response to the situation we see his heart and we see why God chose him. Everyone else in this story their response to Goliath was to be overcome by fear but not David.

David entered the situation as the least qualified and least likely person to deal with the situation at hand.

He is surrounded by people who’s job it was fight who not only were not doing what God called them to but were discouraging David from what God was calling him to do. His older brother is telling him his heart is evil. He can’t see his heart and clearly he was wrong. Then David goes before Saul. who was the tallest person in Israel, and the king. The whole reason the people begged God for a king so he could fight battles for them. but Saul had no intention of fighting. Because David was his armor bearer and he hadn’t called for him.

David stepped into a situation surrounded by people who were supposed to be doing what God wanted them to do and weren’t doing it. Ever been there? In your home, in your friend group especially in the church? We all have.

Our go to response when this happens is typically to get frustrated and point fingers. Hero’s dont point fingers. Finger pointers aren’t remembered, and finger pointers don’t do great things.

2. Stop Pointing. Start Standing.

You cant fight giants while pointing fingers. and even though David was surrounded by people who should have been doing what needed to be done. and those same people were pouring water on his enthusiasm it didn’t stop him from going and doing where and what God was leading him.

Heroes don’t point fingers they stand up and fill the roles and fight the battles that God has for them. even if there are other people who are supposed to be doing it.

Talking about a problem and the mistakes that have been made is easy. Standing up and doing something about it is hard.

At home you may feel your spouse or maybe your parents should be doing a better job discipling your family. and prioritizing being with God’s people, and you need to stand up and set that example.

There may be things as a church that you feel we have dropped the ball on. that we could be doing better. As a staff we try our best but things inevitably fall through the cracks. instead of pointing the finger at this leader or that leader. God is calling you to stop pointing the finger and step up fill the need that he has laid on your heart.

in every situation where someone drops the ball. You have two choices. point the finger and stay frustrated. or stand up and go where you are sent. Healthy Christians stand up and lead by example. Unhealthy Christian’s and unbelievers sit down and are overcome by fear and frustration. Which one are you?

Your answer to that question will show where your heart is positioned.

We got to see what happened when David decided to stand up.

1 Samuel 17:41–47 CSB

The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy and handsome. He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him. Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.”

Of course we all know what happens next David defeats the 9 foot tall giant with one hit of his sling, and the philistines run scared. David becomes a national hero. but what I want us to realize is that David was a hero in God’s eyes far before he was a hero in the nation’s eyes.

Because his heart was aligned with God’s, He obeyed by standing up when called. and lastly because he didn’t fight Goliath for the glory.

David didn’t fight Goliath to make a name for himself. He didn’t show up with a sword and say, “God, bless what I’m about to do.” He stood before Goliath and declared, “This isn’t my battle—it’s the Lord’s. and the reason he fought it was so all the world know that Israel has a God and he is great.

3. Don’t Use God — Be Used by God.

A lot of us treat God a tool to use when we want something victory, success, healing, security, influence. But that is not how David saw himself when he stood before Goliath. God wasn’t just something else that he carried into battle like the stones or his sling. He didn’t see God as a tool to get what he wanted. He saw himself as a tool to be used by God that God could use to bring glory to himself.

When David stood on that battlefield, his goal wasn’t just to defeat Goliath — it was that "all the world would know there is a God in Israel.”

That’s the heart God uses. That’s the kind of hero God raises up. Not someone who says, “God, help me win,” but someone who says, “God, use me however you want to show your greatness.”

It can be so easy to treat God like just one of the resources we go through life with. and when we have giants in our lives we can be guilty of treating him as one of the things we carry into battle. We put him on the same level as our family, our friends, our mentors, the books or podcasts we consume for encouragement or advice. all good tools to carry with us. But God is not a tool that we carry with us. He is the reason we go forward in the first place.

What caused David to stand up and fight Goliath wasn’t to chase glory or reward for himself. David stood up because he knew his primary purpose in life was to bring glory to God. and if a teenager, shepherd/doordasher could defeat Goliath God was going to get so much glory not just in Israel but through the whole world.

I want to encourage you this morning. to look at yourself and ask which attitude have you had when it comes to God. Have you been treating him as a tool to get what you want. or do you have the attitude of being used by him however he wants.

The fastest way for you to answer that question is to look at your prayers. Think back over this last week at your prayers. How many of them were you asking for things you wanted. and how many of them were you asking God to use you to get what he wants?

That is what we are called to do. When we make him our savior and our Lord that means we do what he says to bring about his purpose in the world.

David understood this and lived it out. are you living it out this morning?

Conclusion

It all starts with the heart. Do you have the heart of hero that is fixed on chasing after God with everything you have? have given him your heart so he can give you a new one? that can happen for you today.

If you have that heart. What situation in your life are you pointing fingers at when God is telling you to stand up. This church, this city, this country will never experience true revival if we are all just pointing fingers and coming up with excuses. But if we all stop pointing and start standing I believe God will do something amazing. How is God calling you to stand this morning?

Lastly if you have that heart and are ready to stand up. make sure you are doing to bring glory to God and not yourself. We don’t fight for victory we fight from the victory that jesus secured for us on the cross. Every battle you face is an opportunity to bring glory to God. What giant in your life would God get the most glory if it was defeated.?