God Honors People Of Integrity

God Honors People of Integrity

-When God Gives You A Dream He Helps You Fulfill It-

I Samuel 16:1-13

David is an example of a person of integrity who God gave a dream and helped him fulfill the dream as David faithfully followed the Lord.

King Saul was disobedient to the Lord and was rejected as King. The Lord told the prophet Samuel that He was going to anoint a new king in Saul¡¦s place. The Lord¡¦s successor to Saul was to be found among the eight sons of Jessed from Bethlehem. Jessie was the grandson of Boaz whose wife, Ruth was from Moab. The mother of Boaz was Rahab of Jericho, the woman who helped Joshua¡¦s scouts escape from Jericho prior to the Joshua march around the city and the fall of Jericho into the hands of the children of Israel in their march into the land of Canaan.

The transition of Kingship from Saul to David was filled with trauma and took many years. Young David received a calling and dream from God and he did not give up on that dream. He did not allow adverse circumstances to shatter his dream. He remained consistent and faithful in his commitment to the Lord and followed God¡¦s guidance.

We can learn lessons from the life of David on how to be a person of integrity.

I. David Received His Calling from the Lord.

David didn¡¦t seek the office of king. He was called and anointed by God for the position. In the calling and anointing of Dave we realize that Character counts with the Lord.

Samuel traveled to the house of Jesse as instructed by the Lord and asked to see his sons. He wanted to interview them and seek God¡¦s guidance in selecting the one and only candidate to become King if Israel and replace King Saul.

Jesse called his oldest son, Eliab, and Samuel thought surely this oldest, tall, dark and handsome son was the one the Lord was looking for. ¡§But the Lord said to Samuel, ¡¥Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.¡¨ (I Samuel 16:7)

Samuel interviewed all the sons Jesse brought to him and asked: ¡§Are these all the sons you have?¡¨ Jesse answered: ¡§There is still the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.¡¨ Jesse didn¡¦t even bother to have David in the house at that time. He probably thought David was too young and he was just a shepherd and didn¡¦t have the stature of his older brothers.

Samuel said he would not leave until he talked to David. Jesse brought David into the house. The Lord spoke to Samuel, ¡§rise and anoint him; he is the one.¡¨ ¡§So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.¡¨ At that moment a dream was birthed in the life of young David. ¡§I¡¦m going to be King.¡¨

The Lord knows the thoughts and intentions of a person¡¦s heart. The Lord knew the character of David was one of integrity. David possessed the qualities needed to lead the people of Israel.

Aren¡¦t you glad that God¡¦s doesn¡¦t judge you by your outward appearance? People tend to look at the outward appearance ¡V the clothes you wear so you need to dress for success. Image is everything. You need to drive the right classy car. You need to keep in shape and bulk up. Spend all your time on the outside and neglect your character and heart. Too often you can get caught up in carrying for the outward and allow the inner part of your life gets neglected. The next time you chose an activity and neglect building your inner character remember the words of the Lord to Samuel: ¡§The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.¡¨

You true character is who you are when you know no one is looking. Your character shows when you all alone and in a place when no one knows who you are.

Young Joseph showed his true character first when he was sold by his brothers into slavery. He didn¡¦t become bitter when be became a servant in the home of the Egyptian official Potiphar. He also showed his true character when he was tempted time and time again by Potiphar¡¦s wife to commit sexual sin. Joseph refused to yield to lust and ran from the house.

Even when sent unjustly to prison Joseph remained true to the Lord. God saw Joseph¡¦s heart and in time elevated him to become second in command to Pharaoh in Egypt and save his family from years of famine.