Over the summer I will be preaching a series from the life of David, the shepherd boy who became the king over the nation of Israel. David’s descendents became the great line of kings who would rule over Israel and then Judah for 423 years. It was to David that God promised he would establish his throne forever, that a descendent of David’s son would rule over God’s kingdom forever (1 Chr. 17:12). We know this descendent to be Jesus, mentioned as the Son of David in the gospels. Jesus became the king of kings, who was and is exalted to the right hand of God, and who has established his kingdom in the world through us Christians, the church, and at some day would come again to rule over the whole earth.
Why focus on David? There is a couple of reasons. 1) More is written in the Bible about David than any other person except Jesus. 2) David was an ordinary person who was used by God in an extraordinary way because he was a man after God’s heart. By looking at David’s life we can learn how we, normal Christians, can be used by God in extraordinary ways.
I. God’s Measuring Stick for His Calling – the Heart
As we begin looking at the life of David let me ask you a question to get you thinking a little bit. Who does God choose to accomplish his purposes? Let me say it in another way, what kind of person does God pick to do his supernatural work in the world? Does God choose the “good” people that have got it all together? The really talented people? Smart people? The people who come from good family backgrounds? Charismatic or outgoing people? Good looking people? What does God look for when choosing people to do his work? God does not choose people by the worlds standards. God does not look at the outside packaging, rather God looks at the inside. God uses one measuring stick above all others to choose people to accomplish his plans, and it has nothing to do with anything on the list I just mentioned. The one thing God looks at is the heart. He chooses people who are sold out for God, whose motives and intentions are focused on God’s desires above their own. God is looking for people who love him and have a heart to serve God without thought to what they will receive in return. How do I know? David.
II. David the Unlikely King
David is perfect example that God is really looking at a persons heart to accomplish his purposes.
Before we get into David’s part of this story, let me give you a little background on our passage this morning. By the time we get to 1 Sam. 16, the very first king has been ruling over Israel for 20-25 year, his name was Saul. God didn’t want to give his people Israel a king, but they demanded one because they wanted to be just like the nations surrounding them. God finally conceded and chose a king they would want, God chose Saul. By all human standards Saul was a perfect candidate for king, the Bible says Saul was a head taller than anyone else, and handsome (1 Sam. 9:1-2). His family was wealthy and influential. He made a perfect king, at least by human standards.
At first Saul seemed to be a good king, he mobilized the scattered nation of Israel to win victories against the attacks of surrounding nations. However while he won victories on the battlefield, as time rolled on, it became evident that he had many flaws. He was impatient and impulsive, prone to temper tantrums, was concerned about his image and popularity (in other words he was interested in what people thought of him rather than what God thought of him), he was prone to jealousy, and worst he disobeyed God on several occasions. Although Saul was a natural choice for king by outward appearances, he failed as a king. Just before we are introduced to David, we learn in chapter 15 that God had rejected Saul because of Saul’s disobedience of God, and he sent the prophet Samuel out to anoint a new king over Israel whom God had already chosen.
We read in 1 Sam. 16:1
"God sent the prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint one of his sons to be the next king." Which son would it be? Jesse lined his sons up from oldest to youngest for Samuel’s inspection. The first was Eliab, the oldest and Samuel thought surely this was God’s chosen, he was a lot like Saul, tall, dark, handsome, strong, a soldier. But what was God’s response to Samuel?
1 Sam. 16:7 "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.’"
What is God’s measuring stick? The heart. God looks at the heart, not the outside.
So Jesse’s sons walked by Samuel one by one, oldest to youngest, but God didn’t affirm any of them as king. Samuel finally had to ask, “are these all your sons?” And Jesse replied almost as an afterthought, “there is still the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.” Almost as if to say, don’t bother with that one Samuel, surely it couldn’t be David, he’s the sheepherder. David’s own father didn’t even consider him to be a potential candidate for king.
This is certainly nothing new. How many children have felt their parents compare them to their brothers and sisters and whether it is spoken or unspoken the feeling is still the same, you’re not as good as they are. You’re not as smart they are, you’re not as talented as they are, you’re not as good looking as they are. The message is, you’re not good enough to be anyone important. Maybe you grew up with some of those negative comparisons from your parents. Did you ever felt that way growing up? Do you still feel it today? Have you ever done that to your children, whether intentionally or unintentionally?
David’s dad didn’t think too much of him, and yet who did God choose? When David walked in the door, God told Samuel, “that’s the one, he’s the one I have chose.” God wanted David to be king. David, the harp playing songwriter, shepherd boy, the eighth son of eight sons in a culture which gave preference to the oldest. David from a family without wealth or influence in their tribe (1 Sam. 16:4,5; 18:18). The most unlikely candidate to be king, but God chose David. Why? Because David was a man after God’s heart.
Aren’t you glad our heavenly Father doesn’t look at the outside package to determine who he will use? God isn’t primary interested in your looks, or your athletic ability (after golfing Friday I’m glad for that), how smart we are, or our appearance. God looks at our heart? God made you the way you are for a reason, and he loves you just the way he made you. Like David, he chooses people to according to their heart.
God works the opposite of our society. We live in a society which rewards beauty (think Hollywood, Extreme Makeover, cosmetic surgery, botox, makeup,), ability (watching the NBA finals this week reminds me how much money do these people make just for playing a sport really well), intelligence (university’s, doctoral degrees). But that is not what God rewards, God rewards those who have a heart for him, who love him, and are obedient to him. The Bible says, “This is love for God: to obey his commands (1 Jo. 5:3).” Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15).
III. Other people God chose to accomplish his work in the Bible
When we look at God’s pattern throughout the Bible, we learn that God makes a regular practice of using unlikely people to accomplish his purposes. God used: 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 Jesus’ resurrection, and 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. They are humbled knowing it wasn’t them, it was God and they are driven them back to God in worship and prayer. 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 are they able to 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.
1 Cor. 1:26 "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-- and the things that are not-- to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him."
Or as the Message says it,
“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”?
Who does God choose to use? God chooses “nobodies” by the world’s perspective, but they are people who have a heart for God, they have been with Jesus, and God has filled with his Spirit to accomplish his purposes, to do amazing things to shame the wise so they must give glory and honor to God.
We must be careful though. God doesn’t give us the big tasks right away. He invites us to join him in the small assignments first. In the small tasks God tests us and builds our character and faith. When we are faithful in the smaller projects God gives us larger and larger task. Once David was anointed by Samuel to be king, did he become king right away? No, it took 15 more years of serving under King Saul in a servant role, as military commander, and enduring Saul’s death threats before he finally became king. David grew and his character shown as gold as God gave David bigger and bigger task to accomplish.
God is still looking for people to accomplish his purposes. When God looks at your heart, and believe me he does, what does he see? Does God see a heart which is sold out and on fire for him? Or is your heart cold and indifferent to God? Or perhaps just lukewarm? Does your heart resonant with God’s? Perhaps our first prayer this morning should be for God to perform heart surgery, our heart does not beat for God, we must pray that we can all be people after God’s heart. Maybe our prayer needs to be God use me wherever you would have me serve. Whether it is a menial task like serving someone, or a big task like the king. David served God wherever God placed him because of his love for God. What is your heart condition right now?
