From Process to Promise

Subtitle: The Lord Took Him From the Sheepfold

Root Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:11 KJV

“And 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.”

Praise the Lord, saints.

I want to talk from this thought: From Process to Promise.

And I want to say from the beginning: the promise of God is sure, but the process of God is necessary.

We enjoy the promise, but many times we resist the process.

It is like cake. We enjoy the finished cake. Some enjoy pound cake. Some enjoy German chocolate. Some enjoy red velvet. We enjoy it when it is finished, iced, and ready to serve.

But if someone asked you, “Do you want cake?” and then said, “Open your mouth,” and began to put flour, butter, cream cheese, sugar, and raw eggs in your mouth one by one, you would say, “I do not want it like that.”

Because the ingredients by themselves are not the cake. But when they are placed in the hands of one who knows how to bake, they work together to produce what was desired.

So it is with God.

There are some seasons we would not have chosen. There are some ingredients we did not want. There are some places we did not want to go. There are some tears we did not plan to cry.

But Romans 8:28 says, “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Not some things.

All things.

The field, the sheep, the lion, the bear, Goliath, Saul, the cave, and the waiting — all of it was working in the hand of God.

Point 1: The Sheep Days Were Ordained By God

We cannot rush David to the throne and skip the sheepfold.

Psalm 78:70–72 says:

“He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.”

The Bible says God took David from the sheepfolds.

That means the sheepfold was not an accident.

The sheepfold was part of the process.

David learned how to guide sheep before he guided Israel.

He learned how to protect sheep before he protected a nation.

He learned how to feed sheep before he fed God’s people.

He learned how to lead with integrity and skill.

The sheep days were quiet, but they were not wasted.

The sheep days were hidden, but they were holy.

The sheep days were lonely, but they were working.

David learned the heart of a shepherd in the field.

That is why later he could write, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

David knew what a shepherd did because David had been one.

He knew sheep needed leading.

He knew sheep needed restoring.

He knew sheep needed protection.

He knew sheep could not make it without a shepherd.

And while David was caring for sheep, God was teaching David how God cares for His people.

Point 2: Private Battles Prepare Public Victory

Before David ever faced Goliath, he faced the lion and the bear.

When Saul questioned David in 1 Samuel 17, David did not speak from imagination. He spoke from testimony.

1 Samuel 17:34–37 says:

“Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth… The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.”

David had history with God before he ever had an audience with man.

The lion was private.

The bear was private.

But Goliath was public.

The same God who delivered him in the field would deliver him in the valley.

The same God who kept him with sheep would keep him before the giant.

David did not need Saul’s armor because he had God’s testimony.

He said in 1 Samuel 17:45, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.”

The field gave David faith.

The sheep days gave David testimony.

The private battle gave David confidence in the living God.

Point 3: The Oil Came Before the Throne

When David came in from the field, the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.”

1 Samuel 16:13 says, “Then 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.”

But David did not sit on the throne that day.

The oil came before the throne.

The anointing came before the appointment was fully manifested.

The promise came before the palace.

David was anointed, but he still had to wait.

David was chosen, but he still had to serve.

David had oil, but he still had process.

He would face Goliath.

He would serve Saul.

He would be hated by Saul.

He would run for his life.

He would hide in caves.

He would weep.

He would wait.

But none of it canceled the oil.

The promise of God does not mean there will be no process. Many times, the promise of God brings a man into process.

James 1:4 says, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

God was not only preparing a throne for David.

God was preparing David for the throne.

Point 4 God Works the Ingredients Together

Beloved, the ingredients of David’s life did not look like kingship by themselves.

The field did not look like a throne.

The sheep did not look like a nation.

The lion did not look like promotion.

The bear did not look like preparation.

Goliath did not look like favor.

Saul did not look like development.

The cave did not look like promise.

But God was working all of it together.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

All things worked together.

The sheepfold and the battlefield.

The oil and the opposition.

The promise and the persecution.

The cave and the crown.

The waiting and the reigning.

The ingredients by themselves may not taste good, but in the hand of God, they produce what He promised.

Ramp-Up

So when we look at David, we can say:

The field was working.

The sheep were working.

The lion was working.

The bear was working.

Goliath was working.

Saul was working.

The cave was working.

The waiting was working.

It did not look like kingship, but it was working.

It did not look like the throne, but it was working.

It did not look like promise, but it was working.

The Lord was making a king before the crown ever touched his head.

And somebody can testify:

The Lord kept me in the field.

The Lord preserved me in the hidden place.

The Lord delivered me from the lion.

The Lord delivered me from the bear.

The Lord brought me through the valley.

The Lord covered me in the cave.

The Lord did not let the process destroy me.

He used it to prepare me.

The Bible says in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”

Not out of some.

Out of them all.

The process did not cancel David’s promise.

And the process will not cancel what God has spoken over His people.

Bring It Back to Jesus

Hebrews 12:2 says:

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.”

Jesus went through the process.

He was born in Bethlehem.

He was laid in a manger.

He was tempted in the wilderness.

He was despised and rejected of men.

He was wounded for our transgressions.

He was bruised for our iniquities.

He was nailed to a cross.

He died.

He was buried.

But early Sunday morning, God raised Him from the dead.

The cross did not cancel the promise.

The grave did not cancel the promise.

The process did not cancel the purpose of God.

Acts 2:36 says, “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

The suffering Savior is the risen King.

And because He lives, we can endure the process.

Because He got up, we have hope.

Because He finished His work, we can trust Him to finish what He started in us.

Close

So, saints, stay with God.

Do not despise the field.

Do not despise the sheep days.

Do not despise the hidden place.

Do not despise the waiting.

Do not despise the process.

The Lord knows what He is doing.

The Lord knows where you are.

The Lord knows what He placed in you.

The Lord knows when to call you forth.

The same God who saw David in the field sees His people today.

And when the time came, Samuel said, “Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.”

The oil waited on David.

The promise found David.

The Lord took David from the sheepfold and made him shepherd over Israel.

And if God did it for David, we know He is able.

For Philippians 1:6 says, “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

The process may not be pretty.

The process may not be desired.

But the God of the promise is faithful.

And when He is finished, the testimony will be:

The Lord took me from the sheepfold. The Lord kept me in the process. The Lord prepared me for the promise. And it was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.