I Am Not Qualified

It was Sunday morning early in the year of 1776 in the church where Pastor Muhlenberg preached. He was 30 years old, member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and was also a Lutheran pastor. He was asked personally by General George Washington to raise soldiers and serve as Colonel. It was a regular service for the congregation, and quite different for Muhlenberg. His text for the day was —“to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck what is planted..”. The British have marched over our city of Williamsburg..seizing our gunpower, and entering private homes. Let us pray, I am a clergyman, it is true. But I am also a patriot, and my liberty is as dear to me as any man.

At the end of his sermon, Muhlenberg told his congregation, “In the language of holy writ, there was a time for all things, a time to preach, and a time to pray, but these times have passed away” Muhlenberg declared, “There is a time to fight and that time has now come.” At that point, he proceeded to remove his robe’s revealing to the shock of his congregation, a military uniform.

He walked to the back of the church and declared, “Who among you is with me?” On that day, 300 men from his church stood up and joined him, and they eventually became the 8th Virginia Brigade fighting for liberty in the Continental Army.

Isaac was a day dreamer, Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper and denied Christ, Noah got drunk. Elisha was suicidal, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer and he was way too religious.

Isaac was a day dreamer, Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper and denied Christ, Noah got drunk. Elisha was suicidal, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer and he was way too religious.

Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Rehab was a prostitute. Isaiah preached naked for three years, John the Baptist ate bugs and had second thoughts about the very Messiah he baptized.

Jeremiah was way too emotional, Moses stuttered, Zacchaeus was too short, Abraham was old.

God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called!

“God can never use me.” That has been on the mind of many people! This has kept many people from stepping out of their boat and walking with God—they think God can not use them!

“I Am Not Qualified” can NO LONGER BE AN EXCUSE!

God is not looking for the qualified, he’s looking for people who would just avail themselves to him. When Jesus called the 12, most of them were not even educated. Yet, Jesus equipped them and they turned the world upside down.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he told them: “not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” 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 chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.

1 Corinthians 1:27 KJV 1900

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

Those whom God calls, He equips.

God Hath Chosen—vs27

“foolish”- used of persons meaning morally worthless—we get the word “moron” from this word.

“weak”- without strength, powerless, without physical ability

“base”- low, insignificant, inferior

Today, in -- we are going to look at David and Saul. God rejected Saul because of his heart, but he chose David because of his heart. One man basically lived as if there was no God. Saul acknowledged God with his mouth, but he lived like an atheist. His heart revealed that he did not believe God. The heart of David, however, was much different.

So when God rejects Saul as king, he sends the prophet Samuel to choose the next king. Actually, God does the choosing. He sends Samuel to the house of Jesse, who has eight sons. He tells Jesse to bring his sons out because one of them will be anointed the next king of Israel. This was done in secret. The young man will not immediately become king, but he will eventually.

* And so Jesse brings out Eliab—the Lord said to Samuel—“look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: of rate Lord sees not as a man sees; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (vs7). God has a point of view that is different from the human point of view. God is not limited as humans, in His point of view. He is not deceived by outward appearances—He sees the heart! God did not see Eliab in the same way that Samuel saw him.

In vs 1, God told Samuel, “I have provided me a king”. In 13:14, Samuel said, “the Lord hath sought Him a man after his own heart”- a man of God’s own choosing, a man God has set His heart on.

We can clearly see that God’s choosing is about His gracious and sovereign purposes rather than some quality or lack of quality in a man!

*Next, Jesse brings out Abinadab- not the man God hath chosen

*Shimea (Shammah)—No

*Nethanel—No

*Raddai—No

*Ozem—NO

God was looking at his core, his heart. God tells Samuel that none of these will be king.

—-So Samuel asks Jesse if he has any more sons? This could be why you are thinking that you are “NOT Qualified”!!

Samuel’s perspective: this couldn’t have been easy! Can you imagine being sent by God, to Jesse, you have interviewed all of his sons, and none of them fit the bill. That had to be somewhat awkward!

Son’s perspective: Maybe you have been turned down at one time or another in your life. Maybe you didn’t get a job, a position, an opportunity that someone else may have gotten—even someone in your own family!!

—Maybe you are a parent, you have watched your child be overlooked and ignored by teachers, coaches, friends—You just knew they would be the “pick”, but they weren’t!

I remind you that its not about your “qualifications”, but about God’s overarching plan!!

Jesse says he has one more—his youngest, David. He is out tending the sheep. Could it be that Jesse is thinking, “Samuel, I didn’t think you would want to see him—he is still a child!

And Samuel says, "I'm going to stay here until you bring him to me. I want to see if he's the one.” “Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither”-“we will not sit down to eat until he arrives”-

So they waited until he arrived and upon his arrival, note—vs12—“he was dark and handsome with beautiful eyes”

David is probably about 15-years-old, and God says to Samuel, "He is the one. I have seen his heart. He is the one I will work with. Anoint him as the next king."

It would be about 15 years before David would become king, but God set him aside.

NOTE—Jesse didn't think David mattered! why bring him in? Seriously, what about the older boys? By not inviting David there to begin with, it was as if Jesse was saying, “Why bother?” David is the runt, baby of the family! He is definitely not qualified , right?

God knows who you are and what you are capable of doing!

God chose David to lead and nobody would have expected it! He wasn’t famous, wasn’t in the right birth order—everything that could have been wrong was wrong!

Maybe you have looked at yourself and thought this about you!!—I’m not good enough—qualified enough—I didn’t graduate, or I didn’t graduate with honors, I don’t have people skills like the others, your not as pretty or handsome as the others, I’m jus not a popular person!!

REMEMBER! with God all things are possible! What if I were to tell you today that you are able right now to “believe you are the right person for the job if that’s the job God is calling you to do”.

II. That No Flesh Should glory in His presence-vs29

In , the very next chapter, we see a Philistine giant named Goliath- stood over 9 ft tall, wore a bronze helmet and his coat weighed 125 lbs. He wore leg armor and carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15lbs.

He stood and shouted, taunting the Israelites. For 40 days he taunted the Israelites and Saul and the Israelite army were terrified and shaken.

One day David was sent to deliver some sandwiches, food, to his brothers. It was that day he became a hero—yes, a scrawny, teenage shepherd boy. With a slingshot and five smooth stones, he slew Goliath. It was not his strength, but it was the power that comes from knowing God.

- “Don’t worry about this Philistine, I’ll go fight him”.

Saul told him, “no way…you are only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth”.

David told him, “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats..when a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth” “The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine”.

God has you on a training ground—there is NO “unintended” times with God. We love to read , and here is where it matters—God has not allowed those trials and tests, with NO purpose. He has been training you to be His mighty warrior!

Today, could it be that God has some Goliath’s in your path, a calling He has given to you, a challenge that is bigger than you?

GREAT!!! He has prepared you and is calling you, to step out and no longer use your age old excuses—“I’m Not Qualified!” When you think you are not qualified under the power of God, you are saying that God has failed in getting you ready!

Vs46-47—“This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, take thine head from thee, and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the cows of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a GOD in Israel!” “And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands”

Not every thing that looks like a Giant is actually a giant! Our perspectives can totally lead us in the wrong direction

If that doesn’t prime your pump, get you to your feet, charge your battery, make you want to stand and run into battle for the Lord, I don’t know what will!!!

For the next 40 plus years, David led the nation of Israel in a direction that brought about blessings and prosperity.

Now let's take a look at Saul's heart. God rejects the heart of Saul. Let me share with you the heart of a person that God will not use!

Saul lacked confidence in God. At one point, God tells Samuel to tell Saul to do something. He also tells Samuel that Saul will find some people prophesying, and God's Spirit will enable Saul to prophesy. In other words, God says he will do supernatural things in Saul, and he will speak for God. And Saul does. Saul obeys. He goes, and he prophesies. He actually speaks God's word, and supernatural things happen. God says he's going to empower Saul.

But when it comes time for him to be king, he's hiding among the suitcases. Why is he hiding, especially after God confirms that he will empower him? He's hiding because his confidence only goes as far as his own abilities.

The second problem with Saul's heart was impatience. He didn't wait on God. When the Israelite armies were surrounded by the Philistine armies, Saul was waiting for Samuel to show up because they were not going to battle until Samuel offered a sacrifice to God, to ask God to be with them in battle. Samuel said he would show up when God told him to show up. Then he would offer a sacrifice.

Saul waits for seven days, and Samuel still doesn't show up. Some of Saul's soldiers start to leave the battlefield, and he's getting nervous. So what does he do? He decides to offer the burnt offering, to take Samuel's role upon himself. And so he does. And as soon as he lights the fire, Samuel comes and says, "What have you done?" Saul replies,

The third problem with Saul's heart is that he doesn't obey God. On another occasion, God gives Saul explicit instructions not to take spoil after battle. Saul defeats his enemies and takes a good portion of their flocks and herds. He keeps them for himself, thinking it's a shame to let these go to waste. In response to Saul's disobedience, Samuel asks Saul if he obeyed God. And Saul says yes. But Samuel hears bleating sheep in the background. So Samuel confronts Saul, and Saul says, "I have sinned. I have violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people so I gave into them" ().

The fifth reason why God rejected Saul is he never repented. He never came clean in his heart. Sure, Saul said he was sorry, but his heart never changed. In , Samuel basically calls Saul a fool. "You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command of the Lord your God. If you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time." If Saul had obeyed and surrendered his heart to God, Jesus would have been born in the lineage of Saul, not in the lineage of David.

At the end of his sermon, Muhlenberg told his congregation, “In the language of holy writ, there was a time for all things, a time to preach, and a time to pray, but these times have passed away” Muhlenberg declared, “There is a time to fight and that time has now come.” At that point, he proceeded to remove his robe’s revealing to the shock of his congregation, a military uniform.

He walked to the back of the church and declared, “Who among you is with me?” On that day, 300 men from his church stood up and joined him, and they eventually became the 8th Virginia Brigade fighting for liberty in the Continental Army.

Letter to his brother—“I am a clergyman, but I am a member of society as well. My liberty is as dear to me as any man. Shall I then sit still and enjoy myself at home, when the best blood of the continent is spilling? Heaven forbid it! Would you not sooner fight like a man than die like a dog? ..The cause is just and noble. Were I a bishop, I should obey without hesitation and so far from thinking I am wrong, I am convinced it is my duty to do so, a duty I owe to God and to my country.

says, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed."

God wants your heart to be fully given to him. Is your heart fully given to God? If your heart is, God wants to strengthen you. He wants to use you. If it isn't, he can't. He can't use you.

NO MORE EXCUSES of being “Unqualified”! Today, if you will commit your heart to God, He will give you the strength!!

Will you, like Peter Muhlenberg, take off your coat, and step into the battle today?