Series: Never Seen Before in 2024
Thesis: We are asking God to help us see things in His Word that we have never seen before in 2024! We will be exploring the life of King David, and I pray your eyes are open to what to do and what not to do! David’s life is an example for us to learn and grow by!
Sermon - King David - A Nobody Becomes a Somebody!
Scripture: 1 Samuel 16, 17
Thesis: God takes nobodies with a right heart on the inside and makes them some-bodies. It all starts in the heart! - a heart that seeks to do the will of God no matter what!
Illustration: A group of High School students were asked recently “If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?” Do you know what they said?
Was it I wish “I had better grades?”
Was it I wish “I was healthier?”
Was it I wish “I had more money?”
Was it I wish “I had more athletic ability?”
Was it I wish “I was more popular?”
Was it I wish “I was holier?”
Was it I wish “I was more patient?”
No, it was none of the above – 90% responded in this survey with this answer “I would change my physical appearance.” This was the overwhelming response of some of today’s High School students. Pastor Erickson states this about our study, “The girls wanted to be thinner, the boys wanted to be taller, and both wanted to be free of acne” (2).
I add today we deal with an identity crisis among our young people – I blame social media, our school systems, our government and most of The devil’s scheme of deception.
This obsession with appearance though is not just a teen fad. The Pioneer Press this week noted how diet fads are causing major health problems in the U.S. People are damaging their bodies internally even to the point of death to look better on the exterior surface.
Other reports have observed that today people are spending millions on face lifts, tummy tucks, lipo suction, plastic surgery and other cosmetic surgeries so they appear better looking. You could realistically say that America is obsessed with their exterior appearance at the risk of damaging their internal organs and putting their lives at risk.
Pastor Erickson reiterates the problem, “It is not that people are merely dissatisfied with how they look, many are depressed by their appearance and obsessed with finding a way to change it. Many of us have totally forgotten that it is not the outside, but the inside, the inner character, that really counts” (2).
Recall what I Samuel 16:7b states, “…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
As we explore the life of King David remember this Bible verse: Acts 13:22 “22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”
David's whole life was about listening to God and then obeying. That's why he was a man after God's own heart, someone who would do all of God's will. In contrast, Saul did his own thing and did not take time to listen to the Lord's instructions. Even when he did receive them, he did not carry them out fully.
Saul did not fully listen to God like David did!
Texts: I Samuel 16,17:
Chapter 16
1The 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.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.”
7 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.”
10 “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.”
13 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.
14 Now, the Lord’s Spirit had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
17 Saul told his officials, “Please find me a man who can play well and bring him to me.”
23 Whenever God’s spirit came to Saul, David took the lyre and strummed a tune. Saul got relief ?from his terror? and felt better, and the evil spirit left him.
Chapter 17
1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. 4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels (125 pounds); 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. (15 pounds) His shield bearer went ahead of him.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand, he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.
Introduction:
Wow a nobody – a young teenager rises from the obscurity of the field to become 3 things:
1. David was a worshipper – He was called on to play anointed worship music for King Saul – who is tormented by an evil spirit – a spirit that God allows to torment Saul – when David plays the anointed worship music the demons run for cover and King Saul feels better! To me this reveals the heart of David! He was a worshipper of God! But it shows the power of anointed worship!
a. He was devoted to God – his worship revealed this power!
b. He was in tune to God’s voice and Word!
2. David was also a warrior – He is not afraid to take on Goliath – to David size did not matter – what mattered was your connection and relationship with God. God would fight this battle for him and with him. He says that to Goliath then takes down the giant with a stone and a sling!
3. David was a man after God’s own heart!
a. He will Do everything God wants him to do!
i. A man or woman with a heart after God will do everything God asks them to do!
There are 66 chapters that speak about David in the Old Testament. As a matter of fact, there are more references to David in the Bible than any other person. David’s name means, “beloved” and God calls this man in Acts 13:22-23:
After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him; ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’ “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.
Yes, David was noted as a man after God’s own heart. David fit the description in I Samuel 13:14 “… the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him leader of his people…”
Question: Would you say you are man or woman after God’s own heart?
In the Old Testament the term heart, implied emotions, the reason, and the will (Vine, 547). So, when God raised up David, He raised up an individual whose heart was directed by God’s emotions or we could say God’s desires and dislikes, God’s reason of right and wrong, God’s will to be done and not David’s will.
The term heart in the New Testament and Old Testament comes to mean a man’s entire mental and moral activity, both the rational and the emotional elements. Vine notes, “the heart is used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life.” (547). Ephesians 6:6 refers to those who “do the will of God from the heart.”
David sought God with his whole heart and his life reflected it. Remember, David’s epitaph as given to him by God is, “I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”
Illustration: His heart in it!
A manufacturer in Philadelphia once told a friend the story of one of his superintendents. Many years ago, a boy applied to him for work. He was employed at low wages. Two days later the awards of premiums were made to manufactories at the Centennial Exhibition. Says the manufacturer: “Passing down Chestnut Street early in the morning, I saw Bob Spring over the bulletin board in front of a newspaper office. Suddenly he pulled off his cap with a shout.”
“What is the matter?” asked one.
“We have taken a medal for sheeting’s!” he exclaimed.
“I said nothing but kept my eye on Bob. The boy who could identify himself in two days with my interests would be of use to me hereafter.”
“His work was to deliver packages. I found that he took real pride in it. His wagon must be cleaner, his horse better fed, his orders filled more promptly, than those of the men belonging to another firm. He was zealous for the house as though he had been a partner in it. I have advanced him step by step. His fortune is made, the firm has added to its capital so much energy and force.”
Central Christian Advocate
This individual’s heart was in his work, and he was proud of it. David’s heart was wrapped up with God and in God. Note what Apperley says, “The heart of a man is like a creeping plant, which withers unless it has something around which it can entwine.”
Jesus warned us in Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” David’s heart was engulfed in God! Is yours?
T.S. - David teaches us how a nobody becomes a somebody - He had three essential character traits we must have to go from a nobody to a somebody with God:
1. David first had a fully devoted heart to God (I Samuel 16).
a. To be somebody you need to have a fully devoted heart to God – it’s not an option but an essential quality God is looking for.
i. David’s heart was wrapped up in God! Rooted in God and His Word.
ii. God cares about what’s on the inside of you not the outside appearance!
b. His heart was blazing for God!
i. It burned Hot. It burned intensely. It sizzled for the Lord.
c. His heart was burning passionately for God!
i. Passion- is defined as an intense emotional drive or excitement.
1. Swindoll notes, “The first quality God saw in David was spirituality. ‘The Lord has sought out …a man after His own heart? Seems to me, it means that you are a person whose life is in harmony with the Lord. What is important to Him is important to you. What burdens Him burdens you. When he says, ‘Go to the right,’ you go to the right. When He says, ‘Stop that in your life,’ you stop it. When He says, this is wrong and I want you to change,’ you come to terms with it because you have a heart for God. That’s bottom-line Biblical Christianity” (6).
ii. Do you want to be somebody? Then let your heart burn passionately –completely for Him. He is looking for individuals who are completely sold out to Him.
d. David was so engulfed in God that his life in public and in private reflected his love for the Lord!
i. When you study David’s life you discover that he came from an isolated place where no one knew his name. But it was back on the fields where he developed a fully devoted heart to God (I Samuel 16:11-13, and 19 –after his anointing).
1. His one-on-one encounters with the Lord in the fields developed his mature heart.
2. It was in solitude where he grew spiritually. His early life encompassed private time with the Lord.
3. To become fully devoted to God happens first in your private time with the Lord.
ii. It’s amazing how the Lord trains a lot of leaders in solitude.
1. Just research this out for yourself – Just a few – Moses, David, John the Baptist, and even Paul.
iii. David worked out in the fields mostly in isolation from others but this time alone with the Lord helped Him become somebody.
1. This was David’s training ground to help him to handle the future public life that was coming.
2. Jesus himself reflects the importance of solitude with God and how important it is to sustain you in public life.
a. Swindoll states, “Solitude has nurturing qualities all its own. Anyone who must have superficial sounds to survive lacks depth. If you can’t stand to be alone with yourself, you have deep, unresolved conflicts in your inner life. Solitude has a way of helping us address those issues” (9).
b. Swindoll adds, “Men and women of God, servant-leaders in the making, are first unknown, unseen, unappreciated, and unapplaud. In the relentless demands of obscurity, character is built. Strange as it may seem, those who first accept the silence of obscurity are best qualified to handle the applause of popularity” (10).
e. In the daily grind of life – God was at the center of David’s life!
i. In the lowly tasks of shepherding, he still served God – he shepherded for God, protected the sheep for God, played praise worship to God while working.
1. It’s important to realize that to be fully devoted to God in your heart means he is a part of your life in private – this is what thrusts nobodies into some-bodies.
2. David saw God in his mundane day to day tasks and he used those opportunities to become more saturated in God.
f. He did not serve God to be seen of men –he just loved God- No show! No way! No how! God was David’s central focus in his teen years.
i. Seems impossible – a teenager! But it was true!
1. David’s heart was exactly what the Lord was looking for and desiring in His people.
2. God looks for individuals who are fully devoted to Him and then he turns them into somebody.
ii. It’s important to remember- David was chosen for the character of his heart not his outward appearance- not his credentials- but his faithful heart.
iii. David’s desires aligned with God’s desires.
1. David did not live for David –no- He lived for God!
2. His heart was aligned to beat with the Fathers beat!
3. David’s heartbeat in rhythm with God’s heartbeat!
T.S.- David’s thrust into the forefront came from a heart that was saturated in God. David went from a nobody to a somebody because his heart was fully devoted to God. Because of this deep intimate relationship with the Lord, it set up his other character trait of being in tune with God.
2. David became a somebody because his heart was tuned into God (I Samuel 16:14-23).
a. His heart was so in tune with God that when he ministered in music the demons ran for the cover of darkness.
b. David was not an observer in worship standing by and watching it happen – no he entered it wholeheartedly and engulfed himself in God.
i. He knew what pure worship was all about. He worshipped the Lord in spirit and in truth.
1. It was genuine
2. It was from the heart!
a. Jesus emphasized how important this was in the Gospels.
i. Psalm 24:3,4 reflects how David approached worship to the Lord:
1. “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” Then he sheds light on his question. “He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”
ii. David learned from an early age that to approach God in true authentic passionate worship came from one with a pure heart dedicated to Him.
1. He knew that the power to overcome the enemy came from a pure heart dedicated to worshipping the Father. Pure is defined as free from defects.
a. You may ask what made David’s worship so powerful that demons ran for the cover of darkness yelling, “In Coming Praise!”?
b. If you take the time to read through the Psalms you discover that worship was one of David’s priorities in life.
i. Psalms reveals David’s heart of worship to God: David’s kind of worship was his life- He lived to worship God and he enjoyed it. Listen to what he says in Psalms 27:4, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”
ii. This verse shows his total commitment to God and his uncompromising love for the Lord.
iii. David loved to worship –Do you?
iv. David’s kind of worship was an in your face no compromising attitude – It’s for God – it’s wholehearted it’s focused on Him and Him only.
iii. His worship was wholehearted – not 80/20 it was 100% sold out to God.
1. It’s like a football fan type of worship for their team.
2. He did not care how others thought – He worshipped with intensity.
a. This is why the demon ran for darkness when he worshipped.
b. How about your worshipful attitude is it a “Sold out attitude “?
i. Or is like Steffaniak describes it “Drive thru Worship?” You enter the drive thru and you order from God “3 hymns and two choruses” and you say,” Please make that a rush order I’m very busy and in a hurry!” She challenges us to evaluate where our heart is in worship.
1. “What exactly am I giving to God as I worship? When I rush through worship, I do so for one of the same reasons I visit a drive-thru at a fast-food restaurant: because it is cheap. I may believe I’m willing to focus on the Lord; but if I speed through worship, I’m probably looking for an experience that really won’t cost me much” (92).
2. This is not the type of worship that will make you somebody- this type will keep you a nobody!
3. David learned to give his heart completely to God in worship and that act thrust him into becoming somebody.
T.S. David’s second character trait that made him somebody was his heart of uncompromising worship to God. This attitude of worship was so powerful it drove demons into the darkness. This also leads us to a third character trait of David and that was fearlessness in the face of giant enemies.
3. David’s heart was fearless for God-no giant scared him off (I Samuel 17)!
a. His heart was so in tune to God that he feared nothing because he knew where his strength came from to slay any giant foe (I Samuel 17:32-37). You may be thinking, “How did he do it?”
i. You know kill bears?
ii. You know kill lions?
iii. You know kill giants?
1. Have you ever heard the phrase “Perfect love casts out fear!” NIV 1 John 4:15-18 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so, we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
2. His fearlessness really goes back to his relationship with God.
iv. He knew God-He experienced God in an intimate way-he did not doubt God’s strength or ability. He was absolutely convinced that Goliath was toast! Why because God –NOT -David was going to deal with this giant.
v. David knew and realized that Goliath was not challenging him or even Israel’s army, but he was literally challenging the Living God- The Champion.
b. He knew where his strength came from – He had a reality check as to who God is and who Goliath was (I Samuel 17:40-50)!
i. Swindoll states, “” So often, when facing our own giants, we forget what we ought to remember, and we remember what we ought to forget…Not so with David! He says, ‘You know why I can fight Goliath, Saul? Because the same God who gave me power over a lion and a bear will give me power over Goliath. It is God who will empower me…so just let me at him” (44).
ii. David said on one side of the ring is Goliath-big, tall and ugly. On the other side of the ring was God – The Great I Am! The Beginning and the End, the creator of the universe, the all-powerful one, the one who was everywhere, Jehovah, Yahweh, the one who holds the world in His hand. Not a spear but the whole world!
iii. This is going to be a slaughter – Goliath You are going down with a big thud!
iv. This is why a nobody became a somebody-He knew who he was with God as his protector and provider!
T.S. - Having a connection with God and His spirit should make us fearless and a heart that is rooted on God is what pleases God!
4. Have a heart that desires – seeks to please the heart of God!
c. Understands God's heart and is willing to obey God's commands, even when they are difficult
d. Is humble, honest, and has integrity
e. Is deeply spiritual and sensitive to spiritual things of God – seeks to know His Word.
f. Admits when they are wrong and accepts it
g. Longs to please God in their actions - is a doer of the Word of God.
h. Cares about the motivations behind their own actions and choices.
i. The phrase is used to describe David, who was chosen by God to rule over his people.
i. In the Bible, 1 Samuel 13:14 says, "the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people".
j. Some say that the phrase is a technical term that refers to divine election, meaning that David's election to kingship was not due to his own merits. Others say that the phrase means that God was choosing David as the ruler, not commenting on his character.
Conclusion:
Do you want to be somebody? Then learn David’s secrets to success. Do you want to make your mark in history? Live like David did. Act like David did.
Have the three-character traits that David had–these will be the traits that will thrust you from a nobody to a somebody. Let’s recap them:
1. Have a heart that is fully devoted to God!
2. Have a heart tuned into God’s station!
3. Have a heart that is fearless for God!
4. Have a heart that seeks to please the heart of God!
Pastor Erickson gives us a reality check today:
…maybe you looked into the mirror today and thought, “Wow! I’m 10! People are going to be impressed.” If that, or anything like that, happened, remember it is not important. Now, if you are one of those folks blessed with great natural physical beauty, you can certainly praise God for that. But if our outward beauty is a product of hours and hours of work, maybe we need to check our priorities. If we have been working more on outward appearance then on our inner character, we have forgotten and important truth. What’s on the inside is what really matters (5).
I Samuel 16:7b “…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
