Sermon Tone Analysis

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.

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.