How could God use me? Why would God use me? Who am I that God would want to use me? Those are all questions each (or most) of us have wrestled with in our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. Most of us, if we have a healthy humility factor, believe there is nothing special about us…that we have no gifts or talents…that God would use for His glory. But, we would be wrong. Each of us are called to the Kingdom and called in the Kingdom. We are called to salvation and to service. Not only are we called, but we are, believe it or not, anointed for that service.
As we continue our Called worship series this month, we look at the anointing of Israel’s second king, David. David is, to most Christians (and not a few Jews) almost superhuman. He’s a hero of the faith and perhaps the world’s most well-known religious figure apart from Jesus himself. He’s on one of those religious pedestals we put folks on, but upon which we’d never put ourselves. We tell ourselves, “I could never be a David,” but as we read this morning, no one around David thought he was anything special at the time, either. To his family and the world he was a nobody, but God takes nobodies and turns them into somebodies. God sees beyond the externals. God sees the heart of a person, and He offers His anointing to all who follow the way of Jesus. What can we learn from David’s anointing?
First, a little background: The nation of Israel had been ruled by judges for generations. Samuel (whose calling we explored two weeks ago) had become the prophet and judge of the nation. He grew old, and the people didn’t like his corrupt sons so they called for a king. “You’re getting old, Samuel. We don’t want to be led by your sons, so please give us a king like everyone else has.” The people wanted to be like everyone else. Everyone else has a king. We want a king, too. If we had not pushed pause last week, that would have been the point of our message—we want to be like everyone else. Don’t stand out from the crowd. Blend in. Keep up with the Joneses. But, God’s people are called to be special…to be different…to be distinctive…to the a holy nation…a royal priesthood. The people, however, kept clamoring for a king, so finally God relented and told Samuel, “Give them what they want.”
Samuel anointed a man named Saul as Israel’s first king. 1 Samuel tells us Saul was the best looking man in the nation, and he stood head and shoulders taller than everyone else. So, Saul was a tall, good-looking man. Just what everyone would expect, right? But, Saul turned out to be a terrible king. Judging from the outward appearance, Saul seemed to be perfect, but there was a character issue with Saul. He was disobedient to the Lord, and he liked to “spin” things a certain way…like the campaign “spin-doctors” in our world today. After all, it’s all about perspective, right? Like the casino commercials we see on TV almost every day. What we see on the commercial is flashing lights, fun, fellowship, good times and the potential for a windfall of cash. What we don’t see is broken families and addicts putting their last dollar in the slot machines hoping for the big payoff. As the old saying goes, “All that glitters is not gold.” We, too often, focus on the externals, but God sees the heart.
When Saul failed as king, God would choose another to anoint in his place—David. Verse 7 of 1 Samuel 16 was a reminder to Samuel and the nation that the Lord looks beyond those external characteristics to see what lies in a person’s heart. Even Samuel got confused by the externals. He was called to go to Bethlehem to anoint the next king. Told to go to Jesse’s house for there he would find the new king. Samuel thought Jesse’s eldest son would surely be the one. That’s who tradition said it should be. When it wasn’t the first, he thought surely the second, but no, it wasn’t. On down the line through seven of Jesse’s sons, but still no king.
“Are these all your sons?” Samuel would ask Jesse.
“No, there’s one more, but he’s out keeping the sheep,” was Jesse’s reply.
“Better go get him because we’re not going to eat until he comes.” Samuel said.
Jesse sent for his son, David. He was the one…the almost forgotten one…who would be anointed king of Israel.
There are a few lessons I learn as I reflect on this anointing today. The first lesson is we should never be fooled by the packaging. It’s not what’s on the outside that matters, but what’s on the inside.
Have you ever heard of a group called “Uglies Unlimited”? Probably not. It’s a group formed by a guy named Danny McCoy from Fort Worth, Texas. The purpose is to fight discrimination against ugly people. There’s no law on the books that prevents discrimination against ugly people, and I read somewhere that 10% of the people in America could be classified as ugly. Think about this: Since the dawn of television, the U. S. has elected Presidents Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton and Obama. Surely, there were elected for a number of reasons, but one of the reasons was they were tall and good-looking, plus they played well on television. Another fact you might be interested to know is that in the past one hundred years, the winner of the presidential election has been the taller of the candidates. Physical appearance, however, says nothing of a person’s leadership capability. While Abraham Lincoln was a tall man, he was also an ugly man. One member of his own cabinet said Lincoln looked like a baboon, but he had the inward character to lead the nation through one of the most difficult times in its history.
This plays out in every area of our lives. We do it in the church. “Oh, that person’s a banker so they’ll make a great Finance Committee chair.” Sometimes, yes, but not always because it’s the character that counts. And, in our dating and marriage relationships, too. To marry someone simply because we’re physically attracted to them is like buying a house just because we like the paint color. We didn’t do an inspection to see if the plumbing works or the roof leaks. It looks good, so…
What we do with others we often to with the person we see in the mirror. We gotta’ look good, right? It starts early, too. A group of high school students were asked: “If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?” They didn’t answer that they’d like to be wealthier or smarter, or ever more athletic or popular. 90% responded they would change something about their physical appearance. Girls wanted to be thinner and boys wanted to be taller. It’s not just teens who are unhappy with the way they look. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Americans spent over $16 billion on plastic surgery in 2016—more than ever before. Folks, it’s not what’s on the outside that counts. It’s what’s on the inside.
Another lesson I learn is that God calls the most unlikely people. David was the forgotten son. In those days, the oldest son (when he was of age) would begin working with his father on the farm as soon as his younger brother was old enough to tend the sheep. This succession would continue until the last son would ultimately become the family’s shepherd. David’s place in life was already determined. He had a job and apparently was good at that job from what we’re told later on in his life.
The fact is if we had been living in the farmhouse next door to David’s family on the Judean hillside, we probably wouldn’t have even known the name of David’s youngest son. His dad didn’t even think of including him until Samuel asked him if there were any more. Jesse rubbed his beard and said, “Oh, yeah, there’s my youngest. Almost forgot about him.”
I think about the other unlikely people God has used throughout history. I think of Abraham, a liar, Jacob a conniver, Moses a murderer with a speech impediment, Jeremiah a tenderhearted youth, Mary a pauper. When Jesus chose his 12 disciples, how many of these men would we have chosen? The three closest to Jesus (Peter, James, and John) were all fishermen. What was Jesus’ qualification to be a disciple? I think we can answer that by their response “Jesus said follow me…and immediately they left their nets and followed him.” They had one thing in common, they responded immediately to Jesus. They had a heart for God and were open to God’s prompting. Eleven of these men would go on to be the leaders of the greatest religious movement in the history of the world.
After Pentecost when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter and John had been teaching in the Temple courts about Jesus, and people took notice, even the religious leaders, in Acts 4:13 it says: “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
God chooses unlikely people to accomplish his purposes so his power can be manifest in their weakness. God uses people who will depend upon his power rather than upon their own strength and abilities. When amazing things happen God then receives the honor and glory rather than us. So people will look at us and say, “How in the world did they do that?” And the only conclusion they will be able to make is, “It must be God,” and they will recognize we have been with Jesus. God wants people to be amazed at his ability, not ours.
I love how Eugene Peterson translates 1 Corinthians 1: 26 in the Message:
“Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of ‘the brightest and the best’ among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these ‘nobodies’ to expose the hollow pretensions of the ‘somebodies’?”
There is a wonderful scene in the film The Help. The upper middle class white mother has left her challenged infant daughter to be raised by the maid hired by the family. The little girl’s life is transformed by the black maid who tenderly and lovingly takes the time every day to look the child in the eyes and say, “You is kind, you is smart and you is important.” Day after day, the maid takes the time to tell the little girl, and then she has the little girl repeat it back to her.
My friend, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, God looks at us and says, “You is important!” He’s calling us, who believe ourselves to be nobodies, and saying that through His power and presence, we are somebody. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are not called to His salvation and to His service.
