1 Sam 16:1-13 WALKING WITH GOD ES 20 Mar 16 1724
Look at these bananas. Appetising? Someone passed them to me on Tuesday. They are local produce (from our church ground).
• Looks good? Feels like grabbing one and eat it? Not really. In fact, you don’t feel like even trying.
• Want to look inside? This is what you get. It’s beautiful and it tastes great!
• You see, you cannot judge a banana by its skin. I was surprised, and so were the few who ate them. They were really very nice.
You cannot judge a banana by its skin. You cannot judge a book by its cover. You cannot judge a man by his appearance.
• Man goes by what he see. You cannot fault him because that comes naturally.
• But we have to remind ourselves always, that it is not the full picture. In fact, very often, it is not the correct picture. There is more to what we can see.
• We cannot depend only on what we see, because sight can be deceiving. Magicians will tell you that. They are expect in this.
It is the same in our relationship with God. We need to lean on Him because we don’t have the full picture.
• Today we are going to step into Samuel’s shoes and learn to see things in a different perspective.
• Samuel learnt it first hand in this encounter with Jesse’s children.
• Let’s read what God asked him to do in 1 Samuel 16:1-13.
1 Sam 16:1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."
LET GO of the Past When God Has Spoken
Samuel was still grieving over Saul’s disobedience. It was unfortunate, but God has already spoken. God has rejected Saul and chosen someone else to take his place.
God has spoken His will through him. Samuel tells Saul in
• 13:14 “But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command.”
• 15:23 “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.”
Please understand this, God did not reject Saul because of one or two wrong moves.
• It is Saul’s continued, repeated, and prolonged rejection of God’s Word… his persistent disobedience to God that brings about his downfall.
• God has found someone – a man after His own heart – to lead his people Israel.
God has spoken. God has already spoken. Samuel knows it. God asks, “How long will you mourn for Saul?”
• It’s understandable that Samuel grieves. He was the one who anoints Saul (1 Sam 9) and he has high hopes of him.
• God himself grieved over Saul (15:11 “I am grieved that I have made Saul king…”). It is alright to grieve.
• But when God has spoken, there must come a time when you LET GO and MOVE ON with God. You cannot live in the past.
God wants Samuel to move on and prepare the new King.
• Has God spoken to you over some things that you are hanging on to? It is not God’s will but you find it hard to let go.
• When God speaks, it is always FINAL. When God speaks, it is the truth. If you are not sure you heard Him right, ask Him again.
• When He has spoken, LET GO of the past and MOVE ON. Do what God wants you to do. God will show you what to do.
Samuel was tasked to look for Jesse’s family in Bethlehem. God wants him to anoint a new King for Israel.
• This King is not going to be enthroned immediately. He is just a shepherd boy, probably 15 years old, still tending to sheep.
• But God is making preparation. He will mould and prepare David for the throne. And that’s not 3 or 4 years we are talking about, but 15 years.
• David is enthroned as King only at 30 years old (and that’s over JUDAH). He rules over the entire Israel some 7 years later.
God sets in motion His plan for the new King more than 20 years ahead of time. God sees very far.
• We don’t live by what we can see. We live by what only God can see. We trust His Word and His promise. We trust His way and His time.
Samuel just need to submit to God and do that immediate thing – anoint the boy.
MOVE ON by Trusting God to Guide
Samuel was afraid. How can I be anointing a king when Saul is still around? That’s treason.
• God guides him. 16:3 “Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
• If this is what God wants you to do, He will show you. If that’s where God wants you to go, He will guide you.
• 16:4 “Samuel did what the Lord said.” Can we do the same?
When Samuel got to Jesse’s place in Bethlehem, it wasn’t that straight-forward.
• God says, “You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” (16:3) God didn’t tell him everything. I prefer to have God telling me exactly what to expect.
• “Oh, just to let you know, Jesse has 8 children. Just in case you are confused, my choice is the youngest one and his name is David. And BTW he is not at home when you arrive. He’s out tending sheep.”
• This is very often how God deals with us, right? He doesn’t tell us everything.
God says to Samuel, “I will show you who he is.” So Samuel was led through a process. He saw all of Jesse’s older sons.
• How many times must God tell him, “This is not the one!”? SEVEN TIMES. God led him through 7 NO’s.
• Can you imagine this? If I know everything, I’m wasting time doing this. You might as well says, “Get the 8th son, he’s out in the fields. Call him back!” and finish the job.
God is educating Samuel. At least TWO things Samuel learns from this encounter.
(1) Stop looking at outward appearance. Don’t look at his height or built or looks.
• “I look at the heart,” the Lord says. And that’s what Samuel cannot do. He needs to depend completely on God.
• The Lord sees what we cannot see – the hidden and the future. We SEEK Him and LEAN on Him because He can see what we cannot!
(2) God leads us a Step at a Time.
• Samuel learns to trust God a step at a time, a son at a time, because God promised He will indicate him to him.
• It is really amazing how Samuel trusted God. If I’m Samuel and seeing the 7th son coming out – the last in the house – I will be very tempted to pick him.
• “He must be the one. That’s all the children in the house. If all previous 6 are out, the last one must be him.” (He doesn’t know Jesse has 8 sons.)
• That’s what happens if we go by sight. If you live only by sight, and not by faith in God, we are going to miss His choice.
The Lord’s choice is the UNSEEN ONE. The unseen one that is out in the fields and not in the house.
• If we are not going to LEAN on God’s prompting, we are going to miss it.
• Samuel was led to ask, ‘So, is this all?’ “Are these all the sons you have?” (16:11)
You see how marvellous God’s leading is. He says, “I will show you what to do.” (16:3) and that’s exactly what He did.
FOLLOW GOD’S LEADING a Step at a Time
• Seek God and LISTEN well, because GOD WILL SHOW YOU WHAT TO DO.
• Even if David is not at home, we will get him home! Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” (16:11) (or not gather around…)
(I think “don’t gather around” seems more appropriate, because when David steps in, the Lord says, “RISE and anoint him…”)
David, the youngest, finally comes home. The only thing this 15 year old boy is good at (at this time) is tending sheep.
• And maybe throwing stones; he killed Goliath with one.
• From the human point of view, he doesn’t fit the criteria. Of course, that’s going by SIGHT again. The Lord sees the heart. The Lord sees what we cannot see.
Samuel got to this point because he obeyed the voice of God, one step at a time.
We’ll get there, no doubt about it, if we listen to His voice and obey Him each time. God leads us a step at a time.
• Psalm 37:23 “The STEPS of a man are established by the LORD…”
• Psalm 119:105 “Your Word is a LAMP to my feet and a light for my path.”
• It shines enough for us to take a step. God shows us enough for us to take the step.
The mistake people often make is to want to see the whole picture. We treat God like a fortune-teller. We want to see the whole map.
How do I get to this place? What route should I take? Is this the shortest way? Which one is the quickest?... We want to know everything, it feels good.
And then the Lord’s voice says, “Turn right!” Your next step is to turn right.
And we are not listening! We are so preoccupied by the BIG MAP we missed God’s simple instruction – turn right!
WALKING WITH GOD
• LET GO of the Past When God Has Spoken
• MOVE ON by Trusting God to Guide
• FOLLOW GOD’S LEADING a Step at a Time
Listen well. When the time comes, God will tell you. Trust Him.
• It’s a NEED TO KNOW basis. Let Him take you a step at a time.
• We can trust Him, because He sees what we cannot see.
