When you can't answer God's Call

I. How does God’s Call work?

People like David, Deborah, and Paul were supernaturally and directly called to a particular task.

David was called (1 Samuel 16)

David was empowered by the Spirit to do it

God has assigned a particular role to each believer. He does not usually lead by a supernatural zap, but by other means - let me illustrate with pastor (1 Tim 3)

desire - For hopefully good reasons, you have an enduring desire to do it (1 Tim 3:1)

ability - you have the capacity to do it well enough to benefit others. Where does this ability come from? doesn’t matter. (James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift”)

demonstrable character

Mature Christian

able to manage family

Able to teach

opportunity - you can do it, if you want.

II. He leads you to action

Saul has stopped doing his job, because he is trying to kill David. David now has an army for the first time.

Keilah is being raided during harvest, leaving the people with little food for the coming year. Somehow the word gets to David. David’s calling is to be King, which means among other things delivering Israel from their enemies. Even though he isn’t king yet, he is motivated to deliver Israel.

Apparently this is what David was doing while Nob was being slaughtered, for Abiathar goes to meet David in Keilah. So how David inquired of God without the Ephod isn’t known. The questions asked do seem to be the sort of yes or no questions you could ask of the urim and thumim, but without the ephod that wouldn’t be possible. the prophet Gad was already in David’s company, so maybe David asked him. David did sometimes have the gift of prophecy himself, so it is possible, but unlikely, that he contacted God directly. David’s prophetic gift, however, didn’t normal extend to the kind of advice here, but to composing songs. It is just possible that Abiathar was the very one who arrived at the Forest of Hereth and told David about Keilah, causing them to leave immediately.

However he did it, the men are doubtful. David double-checks, but when the reply is the same, he goes anyway.

III. His will cannot lead you farther than his arm can protect you.

The greatest asset that Abiathar brings with him is the ephod. It carries the Urim and Thummim, the only revelatory device approved by God. They were two stones that were apparently thrown down, and they had some (unknown) means of sorting chance from God’s revelation, for Saul tries to use them on two occasions, and fails (1 Samuel 14:37; 28:6).

Notice how David uses it - two yes/no questions with a prayer.

So God used a rumor and the ephod to deliver David from the betrayal of Keilah.

Why did they betray him? Nob, a city of priests had just be slaughtered without mercy. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he would do to a non-priestly city.

By this time David’s men had grown to 600.

IV. You may still need encouragement

V. Circumstance is not calling

People like David, Deborah, and Paul were supernaturally and directly called to a particular task.

God has assigned a particular role to each believer. He does not usually lead by a supernatural zap, but by other means -

desire - For hopefully good reasons, you have an enduring desire to do it

ability - you have the capacity to do it well enough to benefit others.

opportunity - you can do it, if you want.