Date Written: May 29, 2006
Date Preached: May 31, 2006
Where Preached: OZHBC (Wed PM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Basic Bible Studies
Sermon Title: True Obedience
Sermon Text: 1 Samuel 17:15-20
Introduction:
What is obedience? The world seems to believe obedience is simply doing what you are told…
Encarta dictionary defines obedience as… THE ACTION OR CONDITION OF OBEYING AUTHORITY
But what the dictionary or this world does not define are two things that God looks at and are 2 things that are just as important as completing the task required…
The 2 things I speak about are WHEN you act and WHY you act…
So in other words, in God’s eyes obedience is doing what you are told, when you are told and with the right attitude…
As parents we have all faced this with our own children. We require them to do something and they are semi-rebellious in that they do not comply right away or they begin to do what they are told but have a terrible attitude about what they have to do…
When you think about great men and women of the Bible, most of the time we fail to see the little details of their lives that MADE them truly open to being what we consider to be great…
Tonight I want us to look at one of the greatest men of the Bible, King David and I want us to examine just what made him great…
• David defeated predators and protected his father’s sheep…
• He defeated and killed a giant as a young boy…
• He was anointed King but had great character and would not depose the sitting king Saul…
• He would not kill Saul, although Saul was trying to kill him…
• David led Israel to greatness and to be the most powerful and influential kingdom in the known world…
• David sinned but prayed for God to forgive him and lead him in his Kingly duties…
• David passed on a great kingdom… David is probably one of the greatest Israelites to have ever lived…
But WHY… why did David become so great? Was it because of all his exploits and leadership abilities? I believe those are attributes that God emboldened David with so that he could lead, but the foundation had already been laid…
David was great because David was willing to be obedient…turn with me to 1 Samuel 17:15-20 and let’s read a short and simple story that reveals some hidden truths about David and why God enabled him to become a great leader…read passage…
“…15 but David kept going back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s flock in Bethlehem. 16 Every morning and evening for 40 days the Philistine came forward and took his stand. 17 [One day] , Jesse had told his son David, “Take this half-bushel of roasted grain along with these loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. 18 Also, take these 10 portions of cheese to the field commander. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring a confirmation from them. 19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel are in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.”20 So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him.
1 Sam 17:15-20 (HCSB)
This is obviously NOT what many people think about when they think about the ‘greatness’ of King David. But this story is about the hidden character of David that God desires and that God looks for in all of us…in fact in 16:7 Samuel had said while anointing David as King of Israel, “…man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart…”
Jesse was David’s father and he needed David to run an errand for him. It was nothing grandiose… it was nothing exciting… it was merely a simply, ordinary errand.
And I find that is when God chooses to use us the most… during the ordinary circumstances of life. Just when we think things could not be more routine or boring… God brings about a circumstance and opportunity for us to be obedient to His call…
Jesse needed David to take some food to his brothers and to get the latest news from the warfront. And we see that v.20 simply says, “…So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with someone to keep it, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him…”
And that was it… no big show… David was simply doing what he was told, when he was told and with the right attitude in his heart…
Now the interesting thing was that when David got to the army camp and saw what was happening he became infuriated and we know what happened after that… David revealed that his principles and faith in God were THE guiding factor in his life!
It shows that David’s obedience to his father and his love for God and his prepared heart allowed him to serve God at what may have seemed to be the ‘spur of the moment’ but in reality David was WELL prepared for his encounter with evil…
God had a prepared place in David’s heart and the shepherd boy who had been praising God and walking with Him in the meadows with the sheep… in the quiet places of the Judean hills… was also ready to do battle for Him in the face of the Enemy… and God was able to use David to win a great victory on that day!
But I want us all to notice what many of us miss in this story… Before the victory, came the obedience! Before the rejoicing, came the obedience!
David was willing to do what he was told, when he was told and he was willing to have the right attitude about it. God saw David’s heart and God used David in a mighty way and David’s life was blessed… not because he slew the giant, but because of his willing and faithful obedience…
We must be like David in this manner. We must be willing to do what God has called us to do… WHEN He has called us to do it and we must keep the right attitude in our hearts while we are doing it! God will reward our obedient and submissive heart!
