full

Samuel Anoints David

Discover the importance of character in your walk with God as we study Samuel anointing David. This message unpacks why God values what is unseen, how humility and integrity are tested in ordinary days, and how your reactions in disappointment reveal your true heart. 

Get inspired to defend others, seek daily renewal in Christ, and let your actions in private align with your public witness.

Scriptures Referenced

1 Samuel 16:1-13; Proverbs 19:17; Isaiah 5:2-3; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Romans 5:3; Galatians 5:22-23

Key Insights

  • Character is who you really are.
  • Sometimes position and title are the genesis of a downfall.
  • Your actions and reactions are your responsibility.
  • How you leave a season is probably more important than how you start it.
  • God’s plan is bigger than our greatest disappointments.
  • God prioritizes relationship over resume.
  • The most important season is the waiting.
  • Enjoy the gift of ordinary days.
  • What we cultivate in private will eventually manifest itself in public.

Prayer Targets

Please join us in prayer for:

  • A hunger for the Word.
  • Tears for the lost.
  • Testimonies to share.

Get sermons delivered automatically: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pocket Casts | YouTube | Your Favorite Podcast App

We would love it if you would consider joining us in person for one of our Sunday gatherings.

Gathering Times

  • Sundays, 9:00 AM
  • Sundays, 11:00 AM
  • Thursdays, 6:00 PM

Contact Info

Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167

615-459-3421

Additional Resources

CCLI License 2070006

Transcript
Speaker:

Well, good morning Spring House, and good morning to those joining

Speaker:

us online. We're glad that you're joining us. You know I was saying in

Speaker:

the early gathering, I'm so grateful for a church who

Speaker:

does, consider those in need. It's so wonderful

Speaker:

and supernatural really to see how the Lord blesses and uses

Speaker:

the dollars for a need, people in need and how he stretches

Speaker:

those funds for people who really are indeed in

Speaker:

need. And so I just wanna thank you guys for your generosity, your

Speaker:

intentionality in remembering that. The word

Speaker:

tells us that when we give to the poor, we lend

Speaker:

to the Lord, and I believe God

Speaker:

is, He just so knows how to use

Speaker:

the resources coming in in such a powerful way, in a way better than we

Speaker:

could even imagine. And so thank you guys for, being

Speaker:

intentional with that. Before we get going here, just

Speaker:

a couple of things. We are in summer, believe it or

Speaker:

not. It's here. And, and so we are not going

Speaker:

to have midweek gatherings in the summer. We typically take

Speaker:

the summer off in our traditional, scheduling on

Speaker:

Thursday night, so in the month of June and July we will not have our

Speaker:

traditional midweek gathering, but I do encourage you to continue to be

Speaker:

plugged in to the ministries at the church. Pursuit's got

Speaker:

a homeroom derby coming up, Bloom is gonna continue to meet,

Speaker:

the youth and the young adult groups are also meeting throughout the

Speaker:

summer, Evergreen, Everlast. So get on the, app and

Speaker:

find out their regimen schedule and plug in that way, but

Speaker:

we will not have our regular Thursday night gatherings until

Speaker:

August. Okay? And so, no midweek, gatherings, and that starts this

Speaker:

week. Okay? So welcome, Summer, and, we're still

Speaker:

gonna be plugged into the family, amen? Alright, today we

Speaker:

are going to talk about the story where Samuel anoints

Speaker:

David in First Samuel chapter 16, and we are gonna

Speaker:

read the entire story. So would you

Speaker:

stand with me this morning?

Speaker:

And we're gonna read it with some gusto. Are we are we ready?

Speaker:

Kelsey, you ready to read? Alright. Here we go. I'm glad

Speaker:

you're here today. The Lord said to

Speaker:

Samuel, how long will you mourn for Saul

Speaker:

since I have rejected him as king over Israel?

Speaker:

Fill your horn with oil and be on your way. I

Speaker:

am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have

Speaker:

chosen one of his sons to be king. But

Speaker:

Samuel said, how can I go? If Saul hears

Speaker:

about it, he will kill me. The Lord said, take a

Speaker:

heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice

Speaker:

to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice

Speaker:

and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint

Speaker:

for me the one I indicate. Samuel did

Speaker:

what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the

Speaker:

elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked,

Speaker:

do you come in peace? Samuel replied, yes

Speaker:

in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.

Speaker:

Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.

Speaker:

Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to

Speaker:

the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw

Speaker:

Eliab and thought, surely the Lord's anointed stands

Speaker:

here before the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel,

Speaker:

do not consider his appearance or his height, for I

Speaker:

have rejected him.

Speaker:

Heart. Then Jesse called the Benedab and had him

Speaker:

pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, the Lord

Speaker:

has not chosen this one either. Jesse had

Speaker:

Shema pass by and Samuel said, nor has the Lord

Speaker:

chosen this one. Jesse had seven of his sons

Speaker:

pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, the Lord

Speaker:

has not chosen these. So he asked Jesse, are

Speaker:

these all the sons you have? There is still the youngest,

Speaker:

Jesse answered. He is tending the sheep. Samuel

Speaker:

said, send for him, we will not sit down until he

Speaker:

arrives. So he sent for them and had him brought

Speaker:

in. He was glowing with health and had fine appearance

Speaker:

and handsome features. Then the Lord said, rise

Speaker:

and anoint him. This is the one. So Samuel took

Speaker:

the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his

Speaker:

brothers. And from that day, the spirit of the Lord

Speaker:

came powerfully upon David. Father, I thank you for your word and it's

Speaker:

transformed to truth. I pray Lord that you would anoint us today to

Speaker:

be recipients of your truth and transform us for eternity

Speaker:

today. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated.

Speaker:

Have you ever purchased something online on the

Speaker:

internet and what you thought you were getting

Speaker:

on the screen didn't quite pan out or look like

Speaker:

what arrived on your porch? Has that ever

Speaker:

angered anybody? Anybody suffered any frustration?

Speaker:

I get sucked in sometimes to these schemes, especially when I'm scrolling

Speaker:

through social media, Justin, that say, hey, buy this for $9. And

Speaker:

it comes in and it's a medium, you know, and I thought it was a

Speaker:

large or extra large and, you know, and you know,

Speaker:

sometimes when we're we're looking at things on the outside, it doesn't

Speaker:

necessarily match what's on the inside. You know, sometimes you might go to the store

Speaker:

and buy a can of Pringles hoping to pop till you can't stop

Speaker:

and, you open them up looking to enjoy a Pringle,

Speaker:

but whenever you dig in, all of a sudden you got a lucky charms.

Speaker:

And you're like, what is this? Lucky charms? Lucky charm. Now

Speaker:

Ruby would be very excited about this.

Speaker:

Sometimes what's happening on the outside

Speaker:

isn't indicative of what reality is on the inside.

Speaker:

And we blindly go through life often

Speaker:

making sacrifices, purchases, giving ourselves

Speaker:

to people, things, entities, what be it, that has

Speaker:

an

Speaker:

marketed or cracked up to be. Is that true? Is that

Speaker:

true? We're talking about the greatest

Speaker:

stories ever told. And part of the part of the the

Speaker:

greatest story ever told as we are a part of the greatest story ever told

Speaker:

is that we have this human element in us, within

Speaker:

us that says, hey we are growing from the

Speaker:

inside out. But also often especially for

Speaker:

those who struggle with any type of pride or anything like that we

Speaker:

like to try to manifest on the outside things that don't really

Speaker:

aren't really happening on the inside. See here's the thing, what we see on

Speaker:

the outside should match what's on the inside. What

Speaker:

we see on the outside should match what's on the inside and if we're honest

Speaker:

with ourselves sometimes what we portray on the outside isn't

Speaker:

what's really happening on the inside. Perhaps you've met met

Speaker:

someone, gotten in connection or relationship with someone and

Speaker:

if you're really close to someone you get a chance to really see

Speaker:

who they are. Today, this morning, we're gonna talk about something real

Speaker:

important. It's we're gonna talk about character this morning. Character.

Speaker:

I like to portray different characters

Speaker:

from the stage. Anybody ever been in a show before?

Speaker:

Okay. Been in a theater or a show or a play? You know one of

Speaker:

the neat things about that is you get to take on the persona of a

Speaker:

character that's not you And you get to display

Speaker:

attributes, you get to study the character, you get to pretend

Speaker:

as if you are somebody that you're not. But here's the problem,

Speaker:

many times we take up characters and we use those characters

Speaker:

and manifest those characters in our everyday life. And we

Speaker:

think that we're fooling the people around us, but we ain't really

Speaker:

fooling anybody. I love that the

Speaker:

Lord gives us examples of figures in scripture who

Speaker:

are human. Can you imagine if scripture was full of

Speaker:

perfection? It was here is one person after the other

Speaker:

doing the right thing all of the time. Boy, I think

Speaker:

a lot of us would probably run, wouldn't want anything to do with Jesus because

Speaker:

we just couldn't measure up. Well the truth of the matter is we can't measure

Speaker:

up. We can't measure up nor could any of these predominant figures

Speaker:

in scripture. They couldn't measure up either. They needed a

Speaker:

sovereign God. We need a Jesus in his blood. We need a

Speaker:

Jesus in his blood. We're gonna work with this simple definition of character. Character

Speaker:

is who you really are.

Speaker:

Character is who you really

Speaker:

really are. The closer you get to people, the more you

Speaker:

see who they really are. The people people closest

Speaker:

to you should be able to defend your

Speaker:

character. I think probably for most of us in the room the

Speaker:

closest relationship we have is that one with our spouse. And

Speaker:

maybe, maybe, just maybe, the person that walked down the aisle and

Speaker:

gave you their vows, you found out some things about them in the first few

Speaker:

weeks. Like they left their their cap off of the toothpaste or they

Speaker:

weren't as clean as you thought they were gonna be or they handle situations

Speaker:

because it's different whenever you're spending chosen time with somebody as opposed

Speaker:

to spending all your time with somebody. They get to see the good,

Speaker:

bad, and the ugly. When you're in that courtship relationship, you're bringing out the best.

Speaker:

You're putting on the best labels, you're putting on the best things and all of

Speaker:

that stuff, but boy when you start living with somebody you really really

Speaker:

get to get to know them. But character

Speaker:

should be something in our life that could be easily defended

Speaker:

in the in the in in the right circles. You see, sometimes we

Speaker:

get in circles of people and people get to talking and all of

Speaker:

a sudden you start to hear some things about somebody who's not present in the

Speaker:

circle, but you've got the insight and the data

Speaker:

to the care as to the character of that person. And might I suggest

Speaker:

that God has placed you in that environment to open your

Speaker:

mouth and defend the character of the person that you know.

Speaker:

We have often said here that love is my name protected in

Speaker:

your mouth. Well, love is being able to recognize somebody's character and

Speaker:

speak to it and defend it. Not that people are perfect.

Speaker:

Not that people are perfect, but being able to stand up and say, I

Speaker:

don't know that what you're saying or trying to say here is absolutely true. Let's

Speaker:

get that person involved. Let's get that person

Speaker:

involved in in the mix. I want to have a reputable

Speaker:

character that can be defended and that should be a desire of all of ours.

Speaker:

That we would have a character not a perfection but man, I sure do believe

Speaker:

that when he makes a mistake he admits it and he apologizes or he asks

Speaker:

for forgiveness or I have seen consistency and change in

Speaker:

his life. Whenever somebody accuses him of something he

Speaker:

actually leans in and says I want to try to dig in and figure out

Speaker:

whether or not this is true or not true or how I can grow from

Speaker:

that. That should be the story of every growing Christian

Speaker:

in the room. And I believe that this is the number one

Speaker:

reason people in leadership don't get close to people.

Speaker:

One of the things that was told of me when I was getting into this

Speaker:

role as pastor is somebody said to me you're not allowed to have any close

Speaker:

friends. And I kind of scratched my head about that

Speaker:

and getting being in it now for a while I understand why people

Speaker:

would think that, why people would get in that, that mindset

Speaker:

as as leaders because if you're a leader of any sort you sometimes,

Speaker:

especially if you're on the platform, you live in a glass house. You live where

Speaker:

everybody gets to see everything and they get to form opinions about what you're saying,

Speaker:

what you're doing, how you're living, all of the different things. But my

Speaker:

hope and my prayer for my life and for the leaders here at this church

Speaker:

and the leaders that you follow out in the world is that their character, what's

Speaker:

happening on the inside matches what's happening on the inside

Speaker:

and the outside. We we tend to judge character or what's on the

Speaker:

inside based on the packaging.

Speaker:

Or what's protected on the outside. Sometimes we'll even judge

Speaker:

the character of a person based on someone's description of the

Speaker:

outside as opposed to really getting to

Speaker:

know the person at all, inside or out. And

Speaker:

so this guy named Samuel, he didn't just

Speaker:

arrive on the scene. Pastor Ronnie talked about Samuel last week and Saul,

Speaker:

And this is the part of the story where Saul's kingdom has been taken from

Speaker:

him. Because of choices that Saul made, because of

Speaker:

his character, the Lord had to

Speaker:

remove the kingdom from Saul and

Speaker:

Samuel, we're introduced to Samuel and how we're introduced in this chapter it

Speaker:

says that Samuel is mourning. He is grieving

Speaker:

over the loss of the kingdom out of Saul's hands. He's grieving. He's

Speaker:

mourning Saul. Now this tells me something very

Speaker:

interesting. This tells me that if Samuel is mourning or

Speaker:

grieving Saul, it tells me how it ended with Saul was not how it began

Speaker:

with Saul. How it ended with Saul is not how it

Speaker:

began with Saul. God did choose Saul to be king.

Speaker:

Samuel recognized Saul as the king

Speaker:

of the Israelites, but Saul

Speaker:

began to make some other choices. You see here's the thing,

Speaker:

sometimes position and title is the genesis of a

Speaker:

downfall. Sometimes position and

Speaker:

title is the genesis of a downfall. I've seen a

Speaker:

number of people change and evolve

Speaker:

with their position and end up somebody totally different by the end

Speaker:

of their tenure. This is why it

Speaker:

is paramount in any position of leadership or anything God has given

Speaker:

you to do that you hold it like this.

Speaker:

Sometimes our fingers start to coral in just a little bit, just a little bit.

Speaker:

We start to we start to form an identity

Speaker:

around the positions and the things that we have. And all of

Speaker:

a sudden what happens, the reason our character

Speaker:

is called into question is because our identity is coming from

Speaker:

a position and a title as opposed to the one who created

Speaker:

us. And when that becomes the case, the Lord begins to say

Speaker:

it's time for you to move on. Saul, you no longer can have the kingdom.

Speaker:

You can no longer have the kingdom because what I say, says the

Speaker:

Lord, is of less importance than what you think and what you're

Speaker:

doing. And so Saul had to render

Speaker:

render the kingdom. Even when something is taken away from

Speaker:

you, have you ever been in a situation where you felt like a position or

Speaker:

a title or something you've been given was unjustly

Speaker:

taken from you? It was removed from you. Have Have you ever been

Speaker:

in a situation where you thought this situation is not just, it's

Speaker:

not right, and it makes you feel a certain sort of way.

Speaker:

Can I tell you? Even in those circumstances your

Speaker:

actions and your reactions are your responsibility.

Speaker:

Your actions and your reactions in those unjust

Speaker:

moments are your responsibility and have everything to

Speaker:

do with your character. Because see here's the thing

Speaker:

while some of us wreak havoc in the midst of

Speaker:

an unjust situation all you're doing is really

Speaker:

illuminating the fact that you shouldn't be in the position in the first place.

Speaker:

We had a situation a little while back at our school

Speaker:

where we discovered something about someone, that wasn't in

Speaker:

keeping with our values at the school and that person had to be terminated.

Speaker:

And so in that termination, which is never

Speaker:

an easy thing, that termination, but that termination happened and

Speaker:

months later months later the leader who terminated that

Speaker:

person received this text message.

Speaker:

Good morning. I Just want to let you know that I really appreciate you

Speaker:

for sitting me down and talking to me. I have quit

Speaker:

smoking and it's forced me to deal with things that I've been avoiding for

Speaker:

years. I honestly didn't think that I would ever could

Speaker:

never not depend on marijuana, but I've recently decided that

Speaker:

I've got to give it to the most high and heal one day at a

Speaker:

time. I love you so much for your kindness. This

Speaker:

is to the person who fired her. Thank you for

Speaker:

your kindness. I pray that the creator blesses you so much. Thank you

Speaker:

again for not condemning me but helping me realize I had

Speaker:

a problem. I love you.

Speaker:

I love you. Can I tell you how you leave a

Speaker:

thing is probably more important than the way that you started the

Speaker:

thing? You can redefine

Speaker:

your entire whatever it is, organization, ministry,

Speaker:

timeline in the last few months by what you say and what you do. You

Speaker:

can redefine and overshadow any of the good things you do based

Speaker:

on how you leave, how you exit.

Speaker:

You want to leave the seasons God's placed you in better than

Speaker:

you started. It is a test of character.

Speaker:

It is a test of your pride. It is your test of laying down

Speaker:

the things that you want, your selfishness because the enemy wants

Speaker:

to cause division, the enemy wants to cause confusion, the enemy

Speaker:

wants you to react out of your flesh. Can I tell you the world cares

Speaker:

less about character? The world is a dog eat dog world

Speaker:

and wants you to climb a ladder and it doesn't matter who you hit on

Speaker:

the way up as long as you get there.

Speaker:

But in the kingdom, the kingdom will say I want you to sacrifice the

Speaker:

position that the world is dangling in front of you and operate with

Speaker:

integrity and character and then God comes in and he does something

Speaker:

supernatural, exceptional, extraordinary beyond your wildest dreams with

Speaker:

you.

Speaker:

Samuel could have lived in the state of grief. He could have

Speaker:

stayed there. He actually could have operated out of insecurity. Why is that?

Speaker:

Samuel was the mouthpiece in the face of in the face of the Lord. He

Speaker:

was the one that went to all of Israel and said Saul is your

Speaker:

king. And then Saul did what he

Speaker:

did and now he's not. Why do you think that made Samuel feel?

Speaker:

Man, what are they thinking about me? What is Israel thinking about?

Speaker:

What what are the what are the people I've gotta go back and Lord you

Speaker:

wanna use me? He could have lived in the place of grief but

Speaker:

he chose to listen to the Lord instead. Can I tell

Speaker:

you this? God's plan is bigger than our disappointments.

Speaker:

God's plan is always bigger than our greatest

Speaker:

disappointments. I remember I have been a part

Speaker:

of three youth transitions here at the church. And I'm one of

Speaker:

them, and I'm not gonna go into the story, but I'm one of the youth

Speaker:

transitions in this church. It was one of the greatest joys for

Speaker:

me to step into the youth and it also launched my deepest

Speaker:

pain because overnight I lost my best friend.

Speaker:

Have you ever lost a best friend? Ever suffered a

Speaker:

hurt, a deep hurt of somebody one day being there

Speaker:

and the next day it's like they're gone? There's

Speaker:

very few pains especially if you're actually heart connected to a person

Speaker:

than to lose a relationship.

Speaker:

And as I look back on that season many many years ago, as I look

Speaker:

back on that season and I evaluate my choices and the

Speaker:

decisions and why I chose, it emphatically 100%

Speaker:

was the Lord. But it would have been so easy

Speaker:

in that moment for me to lean into how I felt. It would have been

Speaker:

so easy for me to look at what I was losing and not pay any

Speaker:

attention to the God in the moment even though I couldn't see what was going

Speaker:

to be down the pike that I would gain. There was an

Speaker:

authority in my life, somebody that I looked at and I said to them I

Speaker:

trust the God inside you. Can I tell you if you are

Speaker:

in a confusing season, God is not the author of confusion?

Speaker:

He will bring along people in your life who hold authority in your life and

Speaker:

they may say something to you that you don't like,

Speaker:

But as they render that truth it will give you direction,

Speaker:

sound direction and I remember that moment telling the person in my

Speaker:

life that said I want you to do this transition saying I trust the

Speaker:

God inside you. And it meant me

Speaker:

sacrificing my best friend. Didn't know it at the moment, but it's what

Speaker:

happened.

Speaker:

God's plan is bigger than our disappointments. Saul goes out

Speaker:

and meets with Jesse and invites he and his sons

Speaker:

to this sacrifice and they're all there and he invites the

Speaker:

sons and here comes Eliab. Now,

Speaker:

Eliab's got that thousand watt smile. He's

Speaker:

tall, he's handsome, he's rugged, and he's I mean he's the deal. He's

Speaker:

the person that he walks in the room and goes, I'm a follow that person.

Speaker:

I don't even know their name. I'm following that guy. Right? He is I mean

Speaker:

he is all that and a bag of potato chips. He has got it going

Speaker:

on, and he walks up and he struts in there and Samuel

Speaker:

even, the the one who is hearing from the Lord, he even says

Speaker:

this surely the Lord's anointed stands here

Speaker:

before the Lord. Surely the Lord's anointed

Speaker:

stands here before the Lord. Can I tell you just because you look like

Speaker:

a king on the outside doesn't mean you carry the heart of a king on

Speaker:

the inside? And if you read the

Speaker:

story later about Eliab, you'll find out that he is arrogant

Speaker:

and does not trust the Lord. He might look the part but his

Speaker:

heart wasn't in it. It's not the one God chose.

Speaker:

See we send this We tend to see Eliabs in our life

Speaker:

and we make rushed and rash decisions based on what we see on the

Speaker:

surface. We sometimes vote this way.

Speaker:

We will follow leaders and celebrities this way. We

Speaker:

sometimes will even marry this way.

Speaker:

This must be the obvious choice. Look

Speaker:

at all the external reasons. This must be the obvious

Speaker:

choice. When the elders were gathering together to select the

Speaker:

pastor after Ronnie whenever I was in the queue or whatnot, you know, the eldership,

Speaker:

they were looking for a strong, mighty,

Speaker:

warrior, valiant person that could come in and

Speaker:

just really lead with strength and and so

Speaker:

I sent them my resume and my picture and they saw this and said

Speaker:

surely the Lord's anointed stands

Speaker:

before the Lord.

Speaker:

The minute they saw that photo, it was a shoo in yes. This is

Speaker:

our next pastor.

Speaker:

Mighty, warrior, strong. I mean, just look at that. We

Speaker:

don't need to see anything else. He's strong and mighty.

Speaker:

You don't wanna really see what's under here. The

Speaker:

Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward

Speaker:

appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

Speaker:

The Lord looks at the heart. The heart.

Speaker:

I wish I could stand before you and say my heart's so pure.

Speaker:

I wish I could stand before you and say my heart is just, it's great.

Speaker:

That's what Jeremiah tells us. The heart is deceitful

Speaker:

above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Speaker:

I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward each person according

Speaker:

to their conduct according to what their deeds deserve.

Speaker:

My goodness. I wish I

Speaker:

could say I have a heart as your pastor who's totally pure,

Speaker:

but even in my best days I'm fearful,

Speaker:

judgmental, unkind, selfish,

Speaker:

unforgiving, willing to bend the rules to get out of a

Speaker:

jam.

Speaker:

The heart is deceitful above all things. And this is

Speaker:

why we need the blood of Jesus Christ.

Speaker:

Because every single morning when we wake up, we are

Speaker:

nothing more than a filthy rag. Even

Speaker:

in our best days, a filthy rag. But

Speaker:

here's the thing, the blood of Jesus Christ

Speaker:

covers every single misstep.

Speaker:

Every single sin, every single thing that we do that's not in

Speaker:

keeping with the will of God, the blood of Jesus covers.

Speaker:

And we keep coming back over and over and over

Speaker:

and over again. And can I tell you don't let anybody fool you

Speaker:

that they're not coming back over and over and over again? The minute somebody

Speaker:

says I've been there enough, I don't gotta do that anymore is the moment that

Speaker:

they feel like the blood is not sufficient enough for them.

Speaker:

The blood of Christ is sufficient and you can go

Speaker:

daily. You must go daily. You must go daily.

Speaker:

His his blood must cover us

Speaker:

so that we can take the next step of righteousness, so that we can

Speaker:

take the next step of faith, so that we can be in good standing with

Speaker:

the Lord and so that our character is not compromised to a

Speaker:

dying world who needs to see a Jesus, who needs to see authentic

Speaker:

real Jesus living out in our life. You see here's the

Speaker:

thing, it doesn't always feel good.

Speaker:

It doesn't always feel good.

Speaker:

A heart that's being transformed is a heart that's

Speaker:

in constant connection with God. In other words, God prioritizes

Speaker:

relationship over resume. He

Speaker:

prioritizes the relationship over

Speaker:

resume. Are you connected to this king? What is your

Speaker:

relationship with the God of the universe? Let me tell you

Speaker:

some of you don't have an active relationship with God because you

Speaker:

feel like you've messed up and fouled up so much that the God of the

Speaker:

universe you can't get close to him. And so you come in here on

Speaker:

Sunday to get your temporary fix and praise on feeling worse than

Speaker:

you did when you came in because you own, you're walking in shame and guilt

Speaker:

and then you leave here and you just keep doing the same things over and

Speaker:

over and over again. Can I tell you the grace of God can meet you

Speaker:

this morning and change everything? Can I tell you that there are

Speaker:

testimonies in this house where last week I was a druggie, but this

Speaker:

week the Lord set me free? There's testimonies in this house where

Speaker:

this week we were not reconciled, but this week supernatural divine

Speaker:

forgiveness walked into the picture. The God of the universe will step

Speaker:

right into your situation and change everything. That's why he's not split the sky

Speaker:

yet. The blood of Christ is sufficient. He wants

Speaker:

to reconcile first us to him, but then us to each other. There are

Speaker:

things in our lives that we need to get cleaned up because our

Speaker:

character is at stake. Why is our character important? Because a dying

Speaker:

world's looking at us and they need to see Jesus.

Speaker:

They need to see Jesus and guys can I tell you the outpouring of Kevin

Speaker:

is not Jesus? If I can give you, I can give you about

Speaker:

this much of me and it will be kind and it will be loving, it

Speaker:

will be all this, but there comes a point where that line and it's got

Speaker:

to default into the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in my life

Speaker:

or you're just gonna get filthy rags. And it's gonna smell like filthy rags.

Speaker:

I can parade it. I can put a slap of Christian on my shirt. I

Speaker:

can look like it all day long, but it's not gonna be anything of Him.

Speaker:

I need the Holy Spirit. He prioritizes relationship.

Speaker:

How do I how am I able to render forgiveness in a

Speaker:

situation where I don't feel like they should be forgiven? How do I render these

Speaker:

types of things? I've got to be in relationship, daily constant relationship

Speaker:

with the Lord. With the Lord.

Speaker:

Yesterday's yesterday's covering isn't enough. I need a new one

Speaker:

today. Yesterday's drink, you know sometimes I wake up in the morning I'm

Speaker:

parched and I'm thirsty and I've got yesterday's cup of water sitting on my on

Speaker:

my thing and I take a drink. It just doesn't taste the same. It's not

Speaker:

fresh. I need a fresh touch from the Lord every day.

Speaker:

Well, I wait until 9PM at night to do my devotional reading. Well, I hate

Speaker:

to see what's going on from eight in the morning to 9PM with you. I

Speaker:

gotta wake up in the morning because I'm stubbing my toe on the way to

Speaker:

the bathroom and there are things that fly out of my mouth.

Speaker:

And I want it to be thank you Jesus.

Speaker:

And so Samuel asked this question. He goes through all Eliab comes,

Speaker:

all the other kids all the other kids come and they walk through and none

Speaker:

of them are chosen and Samuel asked this question, are these

Speaker:

all the sons you have? Are these all this I I think

Speaker:

this is a this is a funny question to me, but first before I go

Speaker:

to the funny, let me tell you what's happening here. Characters being

Speaker:

tested in Samuel and in Jesse.

Speaker:

Number one, Samuel. He has seven sons in front of him.

Speaker:

He's been tasked to identify the one who's gonna be king

Speaker:

and the op the options are the seven in front of him. It would have

Speaker:

been so easy for Samuel to say well, I guess I've missed it. I've gotta

Speaker:

pick one of these. Eliab, you must be the one. But

Speaker:

can I tell you, Samuel had a relationship

Speaker:

with the God of the universe? He knew what his voice

Speaker:

sounded like and knew that none of these seven, even though he said

Speaker:

it's gonna be a son of Jesse, none of these were it. And it caused

Speaker:

him to ask the question, are you sure all of the sons are here?

Speaker:

Jesse, proud dad, marches his kids, Eliab's

Speaker:

right out of the gate. He just said, no, I don't got

Speaker:

any other sons. These these are the ones you

Speaker:

need to choose from. But he said, yes. There is

Speaker:

one more. He's out in the field tending

Speaker:

sheep. I find this question to be funny

Speaker:

because Samuel then says, alright. You didn't bring him here the first

Speaker:

time. We're gonna stand until he comes. I think that that's

Speaker:

funny. A few weeks ago, we had a service and I don't know if you

Speaker:

noticed, it was like the aerobic service with everybody stand and sit and stand and

Speaker:

sit and stand and sit. Have you ever been a part of a service like

Speaker:

that? Yes, pastor. It happens quite frequently here. Yes, I understand.

Speaker:

They're standing. He said we're not gonna sit until he comes.

Speaker:

In other words, hasten. Let's go. Let's bring

Speaker:

him on.

Speaker:

And so David comes and he is anointed.

Speaker:

He is anointed to be king. He is told you are

Speaker:

the next king of Israel. He knows it. It's not something

Speaker:

that has to be mystically discerned. He knows.

Speaker:

You are it. You are God's chosen man.

Speaker:

And then the story stops.

Speaker:

They grabbed David and put a crown on him and row him and put him

Speaker:

on the seat and just start worshiping. No. The story stops. You are the

Speaker:

king. Now get back to the field. You are

Speaker:

the king. Now continue doing what you've been doing.

Speaker:

Can I tell you anointing is like the

Speaker:

seed, character is the soil?

Speaker:

If the seeds not nurtured in good soil, it does not produce good

Speaker:

fruit. Let me give you another analogy. Anointing is your wedding

Speaker:

day. Character is your marriage.

Speaker:

Character is your marriage.

Speaker:

I want you to understand that what happens

Speaker:

next is everything. The story

Speaker:

stops at verse 13 but life doesn't stop.

Speaker:

This extraordinary moment is met following

Speaker:

fifteen years of a lot of ordinary moments.

Speaker:

Lots of ordinary days. Character development is

Speaker:

happening. Character development is happening

Speaker:

in David before he gets the position for fifteen

Speaker:

years. Guys, we can't wait thirty seconds on a cup of coffee.

Speaker:

And some of you are willing to throw in the towel because you feel you

Speaker:

you you feel you deserve a position, you feel like you deserve the title, you

Speaker:

feel like you're supposed to be moving in there, somebody has usurped it and you

Speaker:

go God I've been waiting for I've been waiting for three days God, I don't

Speaker:

understand why you're doing that. I've been waiting for three years God. I've been waiting

Speaker:

for thirteen years God.

Speaker:

Can I tell you the most important season that you will be in is

Speaker:

in that waiting room season? Because

Speaker:

when you get into the position and you have to start putting that into action

Speaker:

it needs to be the outflow of the Holy Spirit not you at all anyway.

Speaker:

You are wrestling with the Lord. I've I've gone to recently have had to

Speaker:

go to doctor's appointments. Can I tell you? I don't understand why they schedule you

Speaker:

at the doctor's office for 11:30, make you come in at 09:00 and sit

Speaker:

there two and a half hours in the waiting room looking at magazines.

Speaker:

It's a test of my character. I'm a tell you right now.

Speaker:

Patience. Patience. And then when somebody else comes in after you and they get

Speaker:

seen before you. Oh, Jesus.

Speaker:

The word says that the spirit of the Lord fell on David. Who else did

Speaker:

the spirit of the Lord fall on in the new testament? It fell on Jesus

Speaker:

and what happens immediately following? He gets tested in the

Speaker:

wilderness. He gets tested

Speaker:

Landon, you're starting a new thing. Is that what I understand? Start a new business?

Speaker:

Is that what you said today? Okay, guess what? You're you're being tested.

Speaker:

And guess what? Here's here's the thing. You said I know I was supposed to

Speaker:

do it. Well guess what? If God chooses not to give you the check,

Speaker:

chooses not to bless you in the next season, chooses not to do that, do

Speaker:

you know that you're still called? That's the test. That's the real truth.

Speaker:

And guess what? He's putting you all through this. Why? Because he you are

Speaker:

not a doubter. You call yourself a doubter. That's not what he calls you. And

Speaker:

the more you keep confessing that out of your life, you're gonna get to get

Speaker:

tested in over and over and over again. That's not who you

Speaker:

are. I know that's not who you are. You begin to own that truth as

Speaker:

as well. He's testing you. He's testing you. You're

Speaker:

in the waiting room. Get ready. And he's gonna bust the doors open. He's

Speaker:

gonna bust the doors open.

Speaker:

When Margaret Meek passed away many years ago,

Speaker:

Arwen Jones got up and she did a speech, and one of the things she

Speaker:

said that always stuck with me was enjoy the gift of ordinary days. And within

Speaker:

that week, I was mourning, I was grieving, and I went to a store and

Speaker:

I saw this planter here, and I had to pick it up. I thought the

Speaker:

Holy Spirit led me right to it, and I had it for a while in

Speaker:

my face every day. Enjoy the gift of ordinary days. Guys,

Speaker:

God rarely, rarely is looking to

Speaker:

curb your character in those extraordinary moments. It is in

Speaker:

that ordinary, mundane, stubbing

Speaker:

your toe moment, getting cut off the road moment of

Speaker:

your life, going into work, going to bed, eating, all of

Speaker:

these relationship, he is cultivating your character

Speaker:

in these ordinary moments. And in these

Speaker:

ordinary moments, and this is a misperception when it comes to Christianity,

Speaker:

in those ordinary moments there is going to be suffering.

Speaker:

There is going to be suffering in these ordinary moments.

Speaker:

For those who I'm so sorry that you were introduced to a Christ that

Speaker:

you thought went to the cross so that you can have the best life here

Speaker:

on earth. Guess what? He gives us the most important things

Speaker:

such as peace, passing, understanding. He does some things to

Speaker:

it for us that are excellent, but let me tell you he did not die

Speaker:

on the cross so that you could climb the corporate ladder and become the big

Speaker:

CEO.

Speaker:

We suffer for him. We rejoice in our suffering, Paul says, because we know that

Speaker:

suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character,

Speaker:

hope. I hate this phrase or

Speaker:

this quote that I learned from AW Tozer this week because it's so true,

Speaker:

but I just can't stand it. When God wants

Speaker:

to use someone greatly, he first hurts them deeply.

Speaker:

God, break me. Because in order for you to use me, I

Speaker:

gotta look like you and I don't look like you right now.

Speaker:

Can I tell you that what we cultivate in private will eventually manifest

Speaker:

itself in public? Come on out worship

Speaker:

team. What we cultivate in private will eventually manifest

Speaker:

itself in public. And this is why

Speaker:

character is so important. I went to Alabama this

Speaker:

week with my family. My kids love the beach. I don't really like the beach,

Speaker:

but I went. And, have you ever been in a car ride with your

Speaker:

kids and your kids are telling you how to drive?

Speaker:

Have you ever been in a car ride and your spouse is telling you how

Speaker:

to drive? Have you ever been frustrated

Speaker:

by these comments of back seat and side seat drivers?

Speaker:

Well, this happens, you know, I'm the I'm the world's greatest driver and this

Speaker:

happens quite frequently

Speaker:

in in my car where my people

Speaker:

are sharing their opinions about

Speaker:

my driving. Well,

Speaker:

on the way back from Alabama, I was ready to get home.

Speaker:

And I had a little blue light

Speaker:

special. I got pulled over and, I got a

Speaker:

ticket on the way home. And,

Speaker:

the police officer, you know, puts his head in the window and we talked for

Speaker:

a minute and he says, man, I would hate for something to happen to those

Speaker:

four precious girls back there. I go,

Speaker:

Yeah. I drive to the gas station right after

Speaker:

that, and we get to the gas station and I

Speaker:

look in the rear view mirror and I see see Adasa, and she is just

Speaker:

weeping. And so I say, Come here,

Speaker:

Adasa. And I pull her up in the front seat,

Speaker:

and I look at her, she's weeping, and she looks at me with her glass

Speaker:

eyes, and she looks at me, and I say, What's wrong? And she

Speaker:

says, I just don't understand why you don't have to follow the

Speaker:

rules.

Speaker:

And I just broke.

Speaker:

I don't want my kids to see something different

Speaker:

than what I want to manifest on the outside to everybody

Speaker:

else. You see, she heard loud

Speaker:

and clear the police officer say, I would hate for you to lose one of

Speaker:

these precious girls. And I looked at Edessa and I

Speaker:

said, I am so sorry.

Speaker:

Please forgive me for not listening to you, when you were telling me I

Speaker:

needed to slow down. All the times you're telling me to slow down.

Speaker:

And in that moment with humility, I believe that my child was

Speaker:

able to see me chip away at my pride, my

Speaker:

arrogance, my need to be right, and to

Speaker:

say, I hear you.

Speaker:

Because what we cultivate in private is gonna manifest itself

Speaker:

in public.

Speaker:

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, gentleness

Speaker:

and self control. These are some benchmarks of what

Speaker:

our life with Christ looks like if we're walking with the

Speaker:

Spirit. These are indicators of what our

Speaker:

character truly looks like. But it's not just for

Speaker:

the grandiose population. It's in those one

Speaker:

on one moments with your closest friends, with your spouse, with your

Speaker:

family. What

Speaker:

you're projecting on the outside isn't happening on the inside.

Speaker:

Jesus, can I tell you, we would have not chosen Jesus to be our King?

Speaker:

This is what the word says in Isaiah about Jesus. Who has

Speaker:

believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Speaker:

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot and like a root out of

Speaker:

dry ground. He had no root out of dry

Speaker:

ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in

Speaker:

his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and

Speaker:

rejected by mankind. A man of suffering and familiar with pain.

Speaker:

Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised and we held

Speaker:

him in low esteem. We would have not chosen Jesus to be

Speaker:

our king. But despite that

Speaker:

truth, he

Speaker:

believed. Guys we want to be like

Speaker:

Jesus. We wanna be like Jesus, our character

Speaker:

needs to emulate Jesus, but in order for us to look like Jesus,

Speaker:

you see that hand there with that nail? That's what we're supposed to look

Speaker:

like. Dying to our selves every single

Speaker:

day. Looking at people who have wronged us and saying I'm

Speaker:

gonna give you the upper hand. I'm gonna love you so much more

Speaker:

even though you're unlovable right now, I'm gonna love you so far high, much higher

Speaker:

above that. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna lay down my

Speaker:

life. That is looking like the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom

Speaker:

we say, we love. Do you look like Christ?

Speaker:

If you'll stand with me and we're gonna end with this poem,

Speaker:

and I'm gonna release you this morning.

Speaker:

In fields unseen where sheep once grazed, a heart was

Speaker:

shaped through simple ways. Not crowned with gold nor

Speaker:

clothed in quiet

Speaker:

night. The world may chase the grand and bright, the

Speaker:

dazzling stage, the fleeting light, but God, he looks

Speaker:

beneath the praise to hearts refined in hidden

Speaker:

ways. Character whispers when no one

Speaker:

sees. It holds the line with humble ease.

Speaker:

It stands in truth, it loves through pain. It

Speaker:

bears the cross and shuns the game. Oh Lord, may

Speaker:

I in every place enjoy the gift of ordinary

Speaker:

days. For there you mold and there you

Speaker:

mend. In simple tasks, your truth

Speaker:

descends. A heart that waits and walks by grace

Speaker:

that trust your hand through every space. For crowns will fade and

Speaker:

fain depart, but character remains the heart. So

Speaker:

build me strong in quiet ways through

Speaker:

unseen nights and waiting days. Let Christ

Speaker:

be formed in every part. A life that beats

Speaker:

with your own heart. May we be a

Speaker:

people who look like Christ, not in our

Speaker:

shirts and what we manifest on the outside. But may our

Speaker:

hearts and our presence and our character

Speaker:

be reflective of Jesus Christ in those intimate

Speaker:

moments when nobody else is looking. So that when the

Speaker:

dying world is looking at us, they get a true picture

Speaker:

of Jesus, the hope of the world. Raise

Speaker:

your hand, let me give you a blessing. May the God of

Speaker:

the universe, the God who breathes stars continue

Speaker:

to help us grow in character that is becoming

Speaker:

of the kingdom. Whether we are serving in a

Speaker:

season we're serving in or we're in that waiting room.

Speaker:

And may it all be to glorify him and that we would look

Speaker:

more like Jesus. In Christ's name we

Speaker:

pray, Amen. Be blessed Spring House. I love you today.

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Springhouse Church Sermons
Springhouse Church Sermons
Life Happens Here

Listen for free