June 2, 2025 • 44 mins
Discover the importance of character in your walk with God as we study Samuel anointing David. This message unpacks why God values what is unseen, how humility and integrity are tested in ordinary days, and how your reactions in disappointment reveal your true heart.
Get inspired to defend others, seek daily renewal in Christ, and let your actions in private align with your public witness.
Scriptures Referenced
1 Samuel 16:1-13; Proverbs 19:17; Isaiah 5:2-3; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Romans 5:3; Galatians 5:22-23
Key Insights
- Character is who you really are.
- Sometimes position and title are the genesis of a downfall.
- Your actions and reactions are your responsibility.
- How you leave a season is probably more important than how you start it.
- God’s plan is bigger than our greatest disappointments.
- God prioritizes relationship over resume.
- The most important season is the waiting.
- Enjoy the gift of ordinary days.
- What we cultivate in private will eventually manifest itself in public.
Prayer Targets
Please join us in prayer for:
- A hunger for the Word.
- Tears for the lost.
- Testimonies to share.
Get sermons delivered automatically: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pocket Casts | YouTube | Your Favorite Podcast App
We would love it if you would consider joining us in person for one of our Sunday gatherings.
Gathering Times
- Sundays, 9:00 AM
- Sundays, 11:00 AM
- Thursdays, 6:00 PM
Contact Info
Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167
Additional Resources
- Connect online: Download our app
- Visit our website at SpringhouseSmryna.com.
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Giving: Online tithes and offerings
- Join us online: Livestream
- Learn what we believe.
- Find out what ministries we support.
- Discover Springhouse Theatre Company
CCLI License 2070006
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Well, good morning Spring House, and good morning to those joining
us online. We're glad that you're joining us. You know I was saying in
the early gathering, I'm so grateful for a church who
does, consider those in need. It's so wonderful
and supernatural really to see how the Lord blesses and uses
the dollars for a need, people in need and how he stretches
(00:30):
those funds for people who really are indeed in
need. And so I just wanna thank you guys for your generosity, your
intentionality in remembering that. The word
tells us that when we give to the poor, we lend
to the Lord, and I believe God
is, He just so knows how to use
(00:52):
the resources coming in in such a powerful way, in a way better than we
could even imagine. And so thank you guys for, being
intentional with that. Before we get going here, just
a couple of things. We are in summer, believe it or
not. It's here. And, and so we are not going
to have midweek gatherings in the summer. We typically take
(01:15):
the summer off in our traditional, scheduling on
Thursday night, so in the month of June and July we will not have our
traditional midweek gathering, but I do encourage you to continue to be
plugged in to the ministries at the church. Pursuit's got
a homeroom derby coming up, Bloom is gonna continue to meet,
the youth and the young adult groups are also meeting throughout the
(01:37):
summer, Evergreen, Everlast. So get on the, app and
find out their regimen schedule and plug in that way, but
we will not have our regular Thursday night gatherings until
August. Okay? And so, no midweek, gatherings, and that starts this
week. Okay? So welcome, Summer, and, we're still
gonna be plugged into the family, amen? Alright, today we
(01:59):
are going to talk about the story where Samuel anoints
David in First Samuel chapter 16, and we are gonna
read the entire story. So would you
stand with me this morning?
And we're gonna read it with some gusto. Are we are we ready?
(02:21):
Kelsey, you ready to read? Alright. Here we go. I'm glad
you're here today. 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
(02:43):
chosen one of his sons to be king. But
Samuel said, how can I go? If Saul hears
about it, he will kill me. The Lord said, take a
heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice
to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice
and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint
(03:06):
for me the one I indicate. Samuel did
what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the
elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked,
do you come in peace? Samuel replied, yes
in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.
Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.
(03:28):
Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to
the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw
Eliab and thought, surely the Lord's anointed stands
here before the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel,
do not consider his appearance or his height, for I
have rejected him.
(03:55):
Heart. Then Jesse called the Benedab and had him
pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, the Lord
has not chosen this one either. Jesse had
Shema pass by and Samuel said, nor has the Lord
chosen this one. Jesse had seven of his sons
pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, the Lord
(04:17):
has not chosen these. So he asked Jesse, are
these all the sons you have? There is still the youngest,
Jesse answered. He is tending the sheep. Samuel
said, send for him, we will not sit down until he
arrives. So he sent for them and had him brought
in. He was glowing with health and had fine appearance
(04:40):
and handsome features. Then the Lord said, rise
and anoint him. This is the one. So Samuel took
the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his
brothers. And from that day, the spirit of the Lord
came powerfully upon David. Father, I thank you for your word and it's
transformed to truth. I pray Lord that you would anoint us today to
(05:02):
be recipients of your truth and transform us for eternity
today. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated.
Have you ever purchased something online on the
internet and what you thought you were getting
on the screen didn't quite pan out or look like
what arrived on your porch? Has that ever
(05:25):
angered anybody? Anybody suffered any frustration?
I get sucked in sometimes to these schemes, especially when I'm scrolling
through social media, Justin, that say, hey, buy this for $9. And
it comes in and it's a medium, you know, and I thought it was a
large or extra large and, you know, and you know,
sometimes when we're we're looking at things on the outside, it doesn't
(05:47):
necessarily match what's on the inside. You know, sometimes you might go to the store
and buy a can of Pringles hoping to pop till you can't stop
and, you open them up looking to enjoy a Pringle,
but whenever you dig in, all of a sudden you got a lucky charms.
And you're like, what is this? Lucky charms? Lucky charm. Now
Ruby would be very excited about this.
(06:10):
Sometimes what's happening on the outside
isn't indicative of what reality is on the inside.
And we blindly go through life often
making sacrifices, purchases, giving ourselves
to people, things, entities, what be it, that has
(06:32):
an
marketed or cracked up to be. Is that true? Is that
true? We're talking about the greatest
stories ever told. And part of the part of the the
greatest story ever told as we are a part of the greatest story ever told
(06:52):
is that we have this human element in us, within
us that says, hey we are growing from the
inside out. But also often especially for
those who struggle with any type of pride or anything like that we
like to try to manifest on the outside things that don't really
aren't really happening on the inside. See here's the thing, what we see on
(07:15):
the outside should match what's on the inside. What
we see on the outside should match what's on the inside and if we're honest
with ourselves sometimes what we portray on the outside isn't
what's really happening on the inside. Perhaps you've met met
someone, gotten in connection or relationship with someone and
if you're really close to someone you get a chance to really see
(07:37):
who they are. Today, this morning, we're gonna talk about something real
important. It's we're gonna talk about character this morning. Character.
I like to portray different characters
from the stage. Anybody ever been in a show before?
Okay. Been in a theater or a show or a play? You know one of
the neat things about that is you get to take on the persona of a
(08:00):
character that's not you And you get to display
attributes, you get to study the character, you get to pretend
as if you are somebody that you're not. But here's the problem,
many times we take up characters and we use those characters
and manifest those characters in our everyday life. And we
think that we're fooling the people around us, but we ain't really
(08:22):
fooling anybody. I love that the
Lord gives us examples of figures in scripture who
are human. Can you imagine if scripture was full of
perfection? It was here is one person after the other
doing the right thing all of the time. Boy, I think
a lot of us would probably run, wouldn't want anything to do with Jesus because
(08:44):
we just couldn't measure up. Well the truth of the matter is we can't measure
up. We can't measure up nor could any of these predominant figures
in scripture. They couldn't measure up either. They needed a
sovereign God. We need a Jesus in his blood. We need a
Jesus in his blood. We're gonna work with this simple definition of character. Character
is who you really are.
(09:08):
Character is who you really
really are. The closer you get to people, the more you
see who they really are. The people people closest
to you should be able to defend your
character. I think probably for most of us in the room the
closest relationship we have is that one with our spouse. And
(09:30):
maybe, maybe, just maybe, the person that walked down the aisle and
gave you their vows, you found out some things about them in the first few
weeks. Like they left their their cap off of the toothpaste or they
weren't as clean as you thought they were gonna be or they handle situations
because it's different whenever you're spending chosen time with somebody as opposed
to spending all your time with somebody. They get to see the good,
(09:52):
bad, and the ugly. When you're in that courtship relationship, you're bringing out the best.
You're putting on the best labels, you're putting on the best things and all of
that stuff, but boy when you start living with somebody you really really
get to get to know them. But character
should be something in our life that could be easily defended
in the in the in in the right circles. You see, sometimes we
(10:14):
get in circles of people and people get to talking and all of
a sudden you start to hear some things about somebody who's not present in the
circle, but you've got the insight and the data
to the care as to the character of that person. And might I suggest
that God has placed you in that environment to open your
mouth and defend the character of the person that you know.
(10:38):
We have often said here that love is my name protected in
your mouth. Well, love is being able to recognize somebody's character and
speak to it and defend it. Not that people are perfect.
Not that people are perfect, but being able to stand up and say, I
don't know that what you're saying or trying to say here is absolutely true. Let's
get that person involved. Let's get that person
(11:01):
involved in in the mix. I want to have a reputable
character that can be defended and that should be a desire of all of ours.
That we would have a character not a perfection but man, I sure do believe
that when he makes a mistake he admits it and he apologizes or he asks
for forgiveness or I have seen consistency and change in
his life. Whenever somebody accuses him of something he
(11:23):
actually leans in and says I want to try to dig in and figure out
whether or not this is true or not true or how I can grow from
that. That should be the story of every growing Christian
in the room. And I believe that this is the number one
reason people in leadership don't get close to people.
One of the things that was told of me when I was getting into this
(11:44):
role as pastor is somebody said to me you're not allowed to have any close
friends. And I kind of scratched my head about that
and getting being in it now for a while I understand why people
would think that, why people would get in that, that mindset
as as leaders because if you're a leader of any sort you sometimes,
especially if you're on the platform, you live in a glass house. You live where
(12:07):
everybody gets to see everything and they get to form opinions about what you're saying,
what you're doing, how you're living, all of the different things. But my
hope and my prayer for my life and for the leaders here at this church
and the leaders that you follow out in the world is that their character, what's
happening on the inside matches what's happening on the inside
and the outside. We we tend to judge character or what's on the
(12:29):
inside based on the packaging.
Or what's protected on the outside. Sometimes we'll even judge
the character of a person based on someone's description of the
outside as opposed to really getting to
know the person at all, inside or out. And
so this guy named Samuel, he didn't just
(12:51):
arrive on the scene. Pastor Ronnie talked about Samuel last week and Saul,
And this is the part of the story where Saul's kingdom has been taken from
him. Because of choices that Saul made, because of
his character, the Lord had to
remove the kingdom from Saul and
Samuel, we're introduced to Samuel and how we're introduced in this chapter it
(13:12):
says that Samuel is mourning. He is grieving
over the loss of the kingdom out of Saul's hands. He's grieving. He's
mourning Saul. Now this tells me something very
interesting. This tells me that if Samuel is mourning or
grieving Saul, it tells me how it ended with Saul was not how it began
with Saul. How it ended with Saul is not how it
(13:35):
began with Saul. God did choose Saul to be king.
Samuel recognized Saul as the king
of the Israelites, but Saul
began to make some other choices. You see here's the thing,
sometimes position and title is the genesis of a
downfall. Sometimes position and
(13:58):
title is the genesis of a downfall. I've seen a
number of people change and evolve
with their position and end up somebody totally different by the end
of their tenure. This is why it
is paramount in any position of leadership or anything God has given
you to do that you hold it like this.
(14:20):
Sometimes our fingers start to coral in just a little bit, just a little bit.
We start to we start to form an identity
around the positions and the things that we have. And all of
a sudden what happens, the reason our character
is called into question is because our identity is coming from
a position and a title as opposed to the one who created
(14:43):
us. And when that becomes the case, the Lord begins to say
it's time for you to move on. Saul, you no longer can have the kingdom.
You can no longer have the kingdom because what I say, says the
Lord, is of less importance than what you think and what you're
doing. And so Saul had to render
render the kingdom. Even when something is taken away from
(15:05):
you, have you ever been in a situation where you felt like a position or
a title or something you've been given was unjustly
taken from you? It was removed from you. Have Have you ever been
in a situation where you thought this situation is not just, it's
not right, and it makes you feel a certain sort of way.
Can I tell you? Even in those circumstances your
(15:28):
actions and your reactions are your responsibility.
Your actions and your reactions in those unjust
moments are your responsibility and have everything to
do with your character. Because see here's the thing
while some of us wreak havoc in the midst of
an unjust situation all you're doing is really
(15:50):
illuminating the fact that you shouldn't be in the position in the first place.
We had a situation a little while back at our school
where we discovered something about someone, that wasn't in
keeping with our values at the school and that person had to be terminated.
And so in that termination, which is never
(16:12):
an easy thing, that termination, but that termination happened and
months later months later the leader who terminated that
person received this text message.
Good morning. I Just want to let you know that I really appreciate you
for sitting me down and talking to me. I have quit
smoking and it's forced me to deal with things that I've been avoiding for
(16:33):
years. I honestly didn't think that I would ever could
never not depend on marijuana, but I've recently decided that
I've got to give it to the most high and heal one day at a
time. I love you so much for your kindness. This
is to the person who fired her. Thank you for
your kindness. I pray that the creator blesses you so much. Thank you
(16:55):
again for not condemning me but helping me realize I had
a problem. I love you.
I love you. Can I tell you how you leave a
thing is probably more important than the way that you started the
thing? You can redefine
(17:15):
your entire whatever it is, organization, ministry,
timeline in the last few months by what you say and what you do. You
can redefine and overshadow any of the good things you do based
on how you leave, how you exit.
You want to leave the seasons God's placed you in better than
you started. It is a test of character.
(17:38):
It is a test of your pride. It is your test of laying down
the things that you want, your selfishness because the enemy wants
to cause division, the enemy wants to cause confusion, the enemy
wants you to react out of your flesh. Can I tell you the world cares
less about character? The world is a dog eat dog world
and wants you to climb a ladder and it doesn't matter who you hit on
(18:00):
the way up as long as you get there.
But in the kingdom, the kingdom will say I want you to sacrifice the
position that the world is dangling in front of you and operate with
integrity and character and then God comes in and he does something
supernatural, exceptional, extraordinary beyond your wildest dreams with
you.
(18:22):
Samuel could have lived in the state of grief. He could have
stayed there. He actually could have operated out of insecurity. Why is that?
Samuel was the mouthpiece in the face of in the face of the Lord. He
was the one that went to all of Israel and said Saul is your
king. And then Saul did what he
did and now he's not. Why do you think that made Samuel feel?
(18:46):
Man, what are they thinking about me? What is Israel thinking about?
What what are the what are the people I've gotta go back and Lord you
wanna use me? He could have lived in the place of grief but
he chose to listen to the Lord instead. Can I tell
you this? God's plan is bigger than our disappointments.
God's plan is always bigger than our greatest
(19:08):
disappointments. I remember I have been a part
of three youth transitions here at the church. And I'm one of
them, and I'm not gonna go into the story, but I'm one of the youth
transitions in this church. It was one of the greatest joys for
me to step into the youth and it also launched my deepest
pain because overnight I lost my best friend.
(19:32):
Have you ever lost a best friend? Ever suffered a
hurt, a deep hurt of somebody one day being there
and the next day it's like they're gone? There's
very few pains especially if you're actually heart connected to a person
than to lose a relationship.
And as I look back on that season many many years ago, as I look
(19:54):
back on that season and I evaluate my choices and the
decisions and why I chose, it emphatically 100%
was the Lord. But it would have been so easy
in that moment for me to lean into how I felt. It would have been
so easy for me to look at what I was losing and not pay any
attention to the God in the moment even though I couldn't see what was going
(20:15):
to be down the pike that I would gain. There was an
authority in my life, somebody that I looked at and I said to them I
trust the God inside you. Can I tell you if you are
in a confusing season, God is not the author of confusion?
He will bring along people in your life who hold authority in your life and
they may say something to you that you don't like,
(20:40):
But as they render that truth it will give you direction,
sound direction and I remember that moment telling the person in my
life that said I want you to do this transition saying I trust the
God inside you. And it meant me
sacrificing my best friend. Didn't know it at the moment, but it's what
happened.
(21:02):
God's plan is bigger than our disappointments. Saul goes out
and meets with Jesse and invites he and his sons
to this sacrifice and they're all there and he invites the
sons and here comes Eliab. Now,
Eliab's got that thousand watt smile. He's
tall, he's handsome, he's rugged, and he's I mean he's the deal. He's
(21:25):
the person that he walks in the room and goes, I'm a follow that person.
I don't even know their name. I'm following that guy. Right? He is I mean
he is all that and a bag of potato chips. He has got it going
on, and he walks up and he struts in there and Samuel
even, the the one who is hearing from the Lord, he even says
this surely the Lord's anointed stands here
(21:45):
before the Lord. Surely the Lord's anointed
stands here before the Lord. Can I tell you just because you look like
a king on the outside doesn't mean you carry the heart of a king on
the inside? And if you read the
story later about Eliab, you'll find out that he is arrogant
and does not trust the Lord. He might look the part but his
(22:08):
heart wasn't in it. It's not the one God chose.
See we send this We tend to see Eliabs in our life
and we make rushed and rash decisions based on what we see on the
surface. We sometimes vote this way.
We will follow leaders and celebrities this way. We
sometimes will even marry this way.
(22:33):
This must be the obvious choice. Look
at all the external reasons. This must be the obvious
choice. When the elders were gathering together to select the
pastor after Ronnie whenever I was in the queue or whatnot, you know, the eldership,
they were looking for a strong, mighty,
warrior, valiant person that could come in and
(22:55):
just really lead with strength and and so
I sent them my resume and my picture and they saw this and said
surely the Lord's anointed stands
before the Lord.
The minute they saw that photo, it was a shoo in yes. This is
our next pastor.
(23:22):
Mighty, warrior, strong. I mean, just look at that. We
don't need to see anything else. He's strong and mighty.
You don't wanna really see what's under here. The
Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
(23:44):
The Lord looks at the heart. The heart.
I wish I could stand before you and say my heart's so pure.
I wish I could stand before you and say my heart is just, it's great.
That's what Jeremiah tells us. The heart is deceitful
above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
(24:05):
I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward each person according
to their conduct according to what their deeds deserve.
My goodness. I wish I
could say I have a heart as your pastor who's totally pure,
but even in my best days I'm fearful,
judgmental, unkind, selfish,
(24:27):
unforgiving, willing to bend the rules to get out of a
jam.
The heart is deceitful above all things. And this is
why we need the blood of Jesus Christ.
Because every single morning when we wake up, we are
(24:48):
nothing more than a filthy rag. Even
in our best days, a filthy rag. But
here's the thing, the blood of Jesus Christ
covers every single misstep.
Every single sin, every single thing that we do that's not in
keeping with the will of God, the blood of Jesus covers.
(25:10):
And we keep coming back over and over and over
and over again. And can I tell you don't let anybody fool you
that they're not coming back over and over and over again? The minute somebody
says I've been there enough, I don't gotta do that anymore is the moment that
they feel like the blood is not sufficient enough for them.
The blood of Christ is sufficient and you can go
(25:33):
daily. You must go daily. You must go daily.
His his blood must cover us
so that we can take the next step of righteousness, so that we can
take the next step of faith, so that we can be in good standing with
the Lord and so that our character is not compromised to a
dying world who needs to see a Jesus, who needs to see authentic
(25:56):
real Jesus living out in our life. You see here's the
thing, it doesn't always feel good.
It doesn't always feel good.
A heart that's being transformed is a heart that's
in constant connection with God. In other words, God prioritizes
(26:18):
relationship over resume. He
prioritizes the relationship over
resume. Are you connected to this king? What is your
relationship with the God of the universe? Let me tell you
some of you don't have an active relationship with God because you
feel like you've messed up and fouled up so much that the God of the
(26:39):
universe you can't get close to him. And so you come in here on
Sunday to get your temporary fix and praise on feeling worse than
you did when you came in because you own, you're walking in shame and guilt
and then you leave here and you just keep doing the same things over and
over and over again. Can I tell you the grace of God can meet you
this morning and change everything? Can I tell you that there are
(27:00):
testimonies in this house where last week I was a druggie, but this
week the Lord set me free? There's testimonies in this house where
this week we were not reconciled, but this week supernatural divine
forgiveness walked into the picture. The God of the universe will step
right into your situation and change everything. That's why he's not split the sky
yet. The blood of Christ is sufficient. He wants
(27:21):
to reconcile first us to him, but then us to each other. There are
things in our lives that we need to get cleaned up because our
character is at stake. Why is our character important? Because a dying
world's looking at us and they need to see Jesus.
They need to see Jesus and guys can I tell you the outpouring of Kevin
is not Jesus? If I can give you, I can give you about
(27:43):
this much of me and it will be kind and it will be loving, it
will be all this, but there comes a point where that line and it's got
to default into the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in my life
or you're just gonna get filthy rags. And it's gonna smell like filthy rags.
I can parade it. I can put a slap of Christian on my shirt. I
can look like it all day long, but it's not gonna be anything of Him.
(28:03):
I need the Holy Spirit. He prioritizes relationship.
How do I how am I able to render forgiveness in a
situation where I don't feel like they should be forgiven? How do I render these
types of things? I've got to be in relationship, daily constant relationship
with the Lord. With the Lord.
Yesterday's yesterday's covering isn't enough. I need a new one
(28:26):
today. Yesterday's drink, you know sometimes I wake up in the morning I'm
parched and I'm thirsty and I've got yesterday's cup of water sitting on my on
my thing and I take a drink. It just doesn't taste the same. It's not
fresh. I need a fresh touch from the Lord every day.
Well, I wait until 9PM at night to do my devotional reading. Well, I hate
to see what's going on from eight in the morning to 9PM with you. I
(28:48):
gotta wake up in the morning because I'm stubbing my toe on the way to
the bathroom and there are things that fly out of my mouth.
And I want it to be thank you Jesus.
And so Samuel asked this question. He goes through all Eliab comes,
all the other kids all the other kids come and they walk through and none
(29:11):
of them are chosen and Samuel asked this question, are these
all the sons you have? Are these all this I I think
this is a this is a funny question to me, but first before I go
to the funny, let me tell you what's happening here. Characters being
tested in Samuel and in Jesse.
Number one, Samuel. He has seven sons in front of him.
(29:32):
He's been tasked to identify the one who's gonna be king
and the op the options are the seven in front of him. It would have
been so easy for Samuel to say well, I guess I've missed it. I've gotta
pick one of these. Eliab, you must be the one. But
can I tell you, Samuel had a relationship
with the God of the universe? He knew what his voice
(29:54):
sounded like and knew that none of these seven, even though he said
it's gonna be a son of Jesse, none of these were it. And it caused
him to ask the question, are you sure all of the sons are here?
Jesse, proud dad, marches his kids, Eliab's
right out of the gate. He just said, no, I don't got
any other sons. These these are the ones you
(30:17):
need to choose from. But he said, yes. There is
one more. He's out in the field tending
sheep. I find this question to be funny
because Samuel then says, alright. You didn't bring him here the first
time. We're gonna stand until he comes. I think that that's
funny. A few weeks ago, we had a service and I don't know if you
(30:39):
noticed, it was like the aerobic service with everybody stand and sit and stand and
sit and stand and sit. Have you ever been a part of a service like
that? Yes, pastor. It happens quite frequently here. Yes, I understand.
They're standing. He said we're not gonna sit until he comes.
In other words, hasten. Let's go. Let's bring
him on.
(31:01):
And so David comes and he is anointed.
He is anointed to be king. He is told you are
the next king of Israel. He knows it. It's not something
that has to be mystically discerned. He knows.
You are it. You are God's chosen man.
(31:22):
And then the story stops.
They grabbed David and put a crown on him and row him and put him
on the seat and just start worshiping. No. The story stops. You are the
king. Now get back to the field. You are
the king. Now continue doing what you've been doing.
Can I tell you anointing is like the
(31:44):
seed, character is the soil?
If the seeds not nurtured in good soil, it does not produce good
fruit. Let me give you another analogy. Anointing is your wedding
day. Character is your marriage.
Character is your marriage.
(32:05):
I want you to understand that what happens
next is everything. The story
stops at verse 13 but life doesn't stop.
This extraordinary moment is met following
fifteen years of a lot of ordinary moments.
Lots of ordinary days. Character development is
(32:28):
happening. Character development is happening
in David before he gets the position for fifteen
years. Guys, we can't wait thirty seconds on a cup of coffee.
And some of you are willing to throw in the towel because you feel you
you you feel you deserve a position, you feel like you deserve the title, you
feel like you're supposed to be moving in there, somebody has usurped it and you
(32:51):
go God I've been waiting for I've been waiting for three days God, I don't
understand why you're doing that. I've been waiting for three years God. I've been waiting
for thirteen years God.
Can I tell you the most important season that you will be in is
in that waiting room season? Because
when you get into the position and you have to start putting that into action
(33:12):
it needs to be the outflow of the Holy Spirit not you at all anyway.
You are wrestling with the Lord. I've I've gone to recently have had to
go to doctor's appointments. Can I tell you? I don't understand why they schedule you
at the doctor's office for 11:30, make you come in at 09:00 and sit
there two and a half hours in the waiting room looking at magazines.
It's a test of my character. I'm a tell you right now.
(33:34):
Patience. Patience. And then when somebody else comes in after you and they get
seen before you. Oh, Jesus.
The word says that the spirit of the Lord fell on David. Who else did
the spirit of the Lord fall on in the new testament? It fell on Jesus
(33:57):
and what happens immediately following? He gets tested in the
wilderness. He gets tested
Landon, you're starting a new thing. Is that what I understand? Start a new business?
Is that what you said today? Okay, guess what? You're you're being tested.
And guess what? Here's here's the thing. You said I know I was supposed to
do it. Well guess what? If God chooses not to give you the check,
(34:19):
chooses not to bless you in the next season, chooses not to do that, do
you know that you're still called? That's the test. That's the real truth.
And guess what? He's putting you all through this. Why? Because he you are
not a doubter. You call yourself a doubter. That's not what he calls you. And
the more you keep confessing that out of your life, you're gonna get to get
tested in over and over and over again. That's not who you
(34:40):
are. I know that's not who you are. You begin to own that truth as
as well. He's testing you. He's testing you. You're
in the waiting room. Get ready. And he's gonna bust the doors open. He's
gonna bust the doors open.
When Margaret Meek passed away many years ago,
(35:00):
Arwen Jones got up and she did a speech, and one of the things she
said that always stuck with me was enjoy the gift of ordinary days. And within
that week, I was mourning, I was grieving, and I went to a store and
I saw this planter here, and I had to pick it up. I thought the
Holy Spirit led me right to it, and I had it for a while in
my face every day. Enjoy the gift of ordinary days. Guys,
(35:21):
God rarely, rarely is looking to
curb your character in those extraordinary moments. It is in
that ordinary, mundane, stubbing
your toe moment, getting cut off the road moment of
your life, going into work, going to bed, eating, all of
these relationship, he is cultivating your character
(35:43):
in these ordinary moments. And in these
ordinary moments, and this is a misperception when it comes to Christianity,
in those ordinary moments there is going to be suffering.
There is going to be suffering in these ordinary moments.
For those who I'm so sorry that you were introduced to a Christ that
(36:04):
you thought went to the cross so that you can have the best life here
on earth. Guess what? He gives us the most important things
such as peace, passing, understanding. He does some things to
it for us that are excellent, but let me tell you he did not die
on the cross so that you could climb the corporate ladder and become the big
CEO.
(36:24):
We suffer for him. We rejoice in our suffering, Paul says, because we know that
suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character,
hope. I hate this phrase or
this quote that I learned from AW Tozer this week because it's so true,
but I just can't stand it. When God wants
to use someone greatly, he first hurts them deeply.
(36:48):
God, break me. Because in order for you to use me, I
gotta look like you and I don't look like you right now.
Can I tell you that what we cultivate in private will eventually manifest
itself in public? Come on out worship
team. What we cultivate in private will eventually manifest
(37:08):
itself in public. And this is why
character is so important. I went to Alabama this
week with my family. My kids love the beach. I don't really like the beach,
but I went. And, have you ever been in a car ride with your
kids and your kids are telling you how to drive?
(37:29):
Have you ever been in a car ride and your spouse is telling you how
to drive? Have you ever been frustrated
by these comments of back seat and side seat drivers?
Well, this happens, you know, I'm the I'm the world's greatest driver and this
happens quite frequently
in in my car where my people
(37:50):
are sharing their opinions about
my driving. Well,
on the way back from Alabama, I was ready to get home.
And I had a little blue light
special. I got pulled over and, I got a
(38:13):
ticket on the way home. And,
the police officer, you know, puts his head in the window and we talked for
a minute and he says, man, I would hate for something to happen to those
four precious girls back there. I go,
Yeah. I drive to the gas station right after
that, and we get to the gas station and I
(38:36):
look in the rear view mirror and I see see Adasa, and she is just
weeping. And so I say, Come here,
Adasa. And I pull her up in the front seat,
and I look at her, she's weeping, and she looks at me with her glass
eyes, and she looks at me, and I say, What's wrong? And she
says, I just don't understand why you don't have to follow the
(38:56):
rules.
And I just broke.
I don't want my kids to see something different
than what I want to manifest on the outside to everybody
else. You see, she heard loud
(39:18):
and clear the police officer say, I would hate for you to lose one of
these precious girls. And I looked at Edessa and I
said, I am so sorry.
Please forgive me for not listening to you, when you were telling me I
needed to slow down. All the times you're telling me to slow down.
(39:38):
And in that moment with humility, I believe that my child was
able to see me chip away at my pride, my
arrogance, my need to be right, and to
say, I hear you.
Because what we cultivate in private is gonna manifest itself
in public.
(40:02):
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, gentleness
and self control. These are some benchmarks of what
our life with Christ looks like if we're walking with the
Spirit. These are indicators of what our
character truly looks like. But it's not just for
the grandiose population. It's in those one
(40:24):
on one moments with your closest friends, with your spouse, with your
family. What
you're projecting on the outside isn't happening on the inside.
Jesus, can I tell you, we would have not chosen Jesus to be our King?
This is what the word says in Isaiah about Jesus. Who has
believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
(40:47):
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot and like a root out of
dry ground. He had no root out of dry
ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in
his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and
rejected by mankind. A man of suffering and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised and we held
him in low esteem. We would have not chosen Jesus to be
(41:10):
our king. But despite that
truth, he
believed. Guys we want to be like
Jesus. We wanna be like Jesus, our character
(41:31):
needs to emulate Jesus, but in order for us to look like Jesus,
you see that hand there with that nail? That's what we're supposed to look
like. Dying to our selves every single
day. Looking at people who have wronged us and saying I'm
gonna give you the upper hand. I'm gonna love you so much more
even though you're unlovable right now, I'm gonna love you so far high, much higher
(41:53):
above that. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna lay down my
life. That is looking like the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom
we say, we love. Do you look like Christ?
If you'll stand with me and we're gonna end with this poem,
and I'm gonna release you this morning.
(42:15):
In fields unseen where sheep once grazed, a heart was
shaped through simple ways. Not crowned with gold nor
clothed in quiet
night. The world may chase the grand and bright, the
dazzling stage, the fleeting light, but God, he looks
beneath the praise to hearts refined in hidden
(42:37):
ways. Character whispers when no one
sees. It holds the line with humble ease.
It stands in truth, it loves through pain. It
bears the cross and shuns the game. Oh Lord, may
I in every place enjoy the gift of ordinary
days. For there you mold and there you
(42:59):
mend. In simple tasks, your truth
descends. A heart that waits and walks by grace
that trust your hand through every space. For crowns will fade and
fain depart, but character remains the heart. So
build me strong in quiet ways through
unseen nights and waiting days. Let Christ
(43:21):
be formed in every part. A life that beats
with your own heart. May we be a
people who look like Christ, not in our
shirts and what we manifest on the outside. But may our
hearts and our presence and our character
be reflective of Jesus Christ in those intimate
(43:43):
moments when nobody else is looking. So that when the
dying world is looking at us, they get a true picture
of Jesus, the hope of the world. Raise
your hand, let me give you a blessing. May the God of
the universe, the God who breathes stars continue
to help us grow in character that is becoming
(44:07):
of the kingdom. Whether we are serving in a
season we're serving in or we're in that waiting room.
And may it all be to glorify him and that we would look
more like Jesus. In Christ's name we
pray, Amen. Be blessed Spring House. I love you today.
Well, good morning Spring House, and good morning to those joining
us online. We're glad that you're joining us. You know I was saying in
the early gathering, I'm so grateful for a church who
does, consider those in need. It's so wonderful
and supernatural really to see how the Lord blesses and uses
the dollars for a need, people in need and how he stretches
(00:30):
those funds for people who really are indeed in
need. And so I just wanna thank you guys for your generosity, your
intentionality in remembering that. The word
tells us that when we give to the poor, we lend
to the Lord, and I believe God
is, He just so knows how to use
(00:52):
the resources coming in in such a powerful way, in a way better than we
could even imagine. And so thank you guys for, being
intentional with that. Before we get going here, just
a couple of things. We are in summer, believe it or
not. It's here. And, and so we are not going
to have midweek gatherings in the summer. We typically take
(01:15):
the summer off in our traditional, scheduling on
Thursday night, so in the month of June and July we will not have our
traditional midweek gathering, but I do encourage you to continue to be
plugged in to the ministries at the church. Pursuit's got
a homeroom derby coming up, Bloom is gonna continue to meet,
the youth and the young adult groups are also meeting throughout the
(01:37):
summer, Evergreen, Everlast. So get on the, app and
find out their regimen schedule and plug in that way, but
we will not have our regular Thursday night gatherings until
August. Okay? And so, no midweek, gatherings, and that starts this
week. Okay? So welcome, Summer, and, we're still
gonna be plugged into the family, amen? Alright, today we
(01:59):
are going to talk about the story where Samuel anoints
David in First Samuel chapter 16, and we are gonna
read the entire story. So would you
stand with me this morning?
And we're gonna read it with some gusto. Are we are we ready?
(02:21):
Kelsey, you ready to read? Alright. Here we go. I'm glad
you're here today. 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
(02:43):
chosen one of his sons to be king. But
Samuel said, how can I go? If Saul hears
about it, he will kill me. The Lord said, take a
heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice
to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice
and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint
(03:06):
for me the one I indicate. Samuel did
what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the
elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked,
do you come in peace? Samuel replied, yes
in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.
Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.
(03:28):
Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to
the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw
Eliab and thought, surely the Lord's anointed stands
here before the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel,
do not consider his appearance or his height, for I
have rejected him.
(03:55):
Heart. Then Jesse called the Benedab and had him
pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, the Lord
has not chosen this one either. Jesse had
Shema pass by and Samuel said, nor has the Lord
chosen this one. Jesse had seven of his sons
pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, the Lord
(04:17):
has not chosen these. So he asked Jesse, are
these all the sons you have? There is still the youngest,
Jesse answered. He is tending the sheep. Samuel
said, send for him, we will not sit down until he
arrives. So he sent for them and had him brought
in. He was glowing with health and had fine appearance
(04:40):
and handsome features. Then the Lord said, rise
and anoint him. This is the one. So Samuel took
the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his
brothers. And from that day, the spirit of the Lord
came powerfully upon David. Father, I thank you for your word and it's
transformed to truth. I pray Lord that you would anoint us today to
(05:02):
be recipients of your truth and transform us for eternity
today. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated.
Have you ever purchased something online on the
internet and what you thought you were getting
on the screen didn't quite pan out or look like
what arrived on your porch? Has that ever
(05:25):
angered anybody? Anybody suffered any frustration?
I get sucked in sometimes to these schemes, especially when I'm scrolling
through social media, Justin, that say, hey, buy this for $9. And
it comes in and it's a medium, you know, and I thought it was a
large or extra large and, you know, and you know,
sometimes when we're we're looking at things on the outside, it doesn't
(05:47):
necessarily match what's on the inside. You know, sometimes you might go to the store
and buy a can of Pringles hoping to pop till you can't stop
and, you open them up looking to enjoy a Pringle,
but whenever you dig in, all of a sudden you got a lucky charms.
And you're like, what is this? Lucky charms? Lucky charm. Now
Ruby would be very excited about this.
(06:10):
Sometimes what's happening on the outside
isn't indicative of what reality is on the inside.
And we blindly go through life often
making sacrifices, purchases, giving ourselves
to people, things, entities, what be it, that has
(06:32):
an
marketed or cracked up to be. Is that true? Is that
true? We're talking about the greatest
stories ever told. And part of the part of the the
greatest story ever told as we are a part of the greatest story ever told
(06:52):
is that we have this human element in us, within
us that says, hey we are growing from the
inside out. But also often especially for
those who struggle with any type of pride or anything like that we
like to try to manifest on the outside things that don't really
aren't really happening on the inside. See here's the thing, what we see on
(07:15):
the outside should match what's on the inside. What
we see on the outside should match what's on the inside and if we're honest
with ourselves sometimes what we portray on the outside isn't
what's really happening on the inside. Perhaps you've met met
someone, gotten in connection or relationship with someone and
if you're really close to someone you get a chance to really see
(07:37):
who they are. Today, this morning, we're gonna talk about something real
important. It's we're gonna talk about character this morning. Character.
I like to portray different characters
from the stage. Anybody ever been in a show before?
Okay. Been in a theater or a show or a play? You know one of
the neat things about that is you get to take on the persona of a
(08:00):
character that's not you And you get to display
attributes, you get to study the character, you get to pretend
as if you are somebody that you're not. But here's the problem,
many times we take up characters and we use those characters
and manifest those characters in our everyday life. And we
think that we're fooling the people around us, but we ain't really
(08:22):
fooling anybody. I love that the
Lord gives us examples of figures in scripture who
are human. Can you imagine if scripture was full of
perfection? It was here is one person after the other
doing the right thing all of the time. Boy, I think
a lot of us would probably run, wouldn't want anything to do with Jesus because
(08:44):
we just couldn't measure up. Well the truth of the matter is we can't measure
up. We can't measure up nor could any of these predominant figures
in scripture. They couldn't measure up either. They needed a
sovereign God. We need a Jesus in his blood. We need a
Jesus in his blood. We're gonna work with this simple definition of character. Character
is who you really are.
(09:08):
Character is who you really
really are. The closer you get to people, the more you
see who they really are. The people people closest
to you should be able to defend your
character. I think probably for most of us in the room the
closest relationship we have is that one with our spouse. And
(09:30):
maybe, maybe, just maybe, the person that walked down the aisle and
gave you their vows, you found out some things about them in the first few
weeks. Like they left their their cap off of the toothpaste or they
weren't as clean as you thought they were gonna be or they handle situations
because it's different whenever you're spending chosen time with somebody as opposed
to spending all your time with somebody. They get to see the good,
(09:52):
bad, and the ugly. When you're in that courtship relationship, you're bringing out the best.
You're putting on the best labels, you're putting on the best things and all of
that stuff, but boy when you start living with somebody you really really
get to get to know them. But character
should be something in our life that could be easily defended
in the in the in in the right circles. You see, sometimes we
(10:14):
get in circles of people and people get to talking and all of
a sudden you start to hear some things about somebody who's not present in the
circle, but you've got the insight and the data
to the care as to the character of that person. And might I suggest
that God has placed you in that environment to open your
mouth and defend the character of the person that you know.
(10:38):
We have often said here that love is my name protected in
your mouth. Well, love is being able to recognize somebody's character and
speak to it and defend it. Not that people are perfect.
Not that people are perfect, but being able to stand up and say, I
don't know that what you're saying or trying to say here is absolutely true. Let's
get that person involved. Let's get that person
(11:01):
involved in in the mix. I want to have a reputable
character that can be defended and that should be a desire of all of ours.
That we would have a character not a perfection but man, I sure do believe
that when he makes a mistake he admits it and he apologizes or he asks
for forgiveness or I have seen consistency and change in
his life. Whenever somebody accuses him of something he
(11:23):
actually leans in and says I want to try to dig in and figure out
whether or not this is true or not true or how I can grow from
that. That should be the story of every growing Christian
in the room. And I believe that this is the number one
reason people in leadership don't get close to people.
One of the things that was told of me when I was getting into this
(11:44):
role as pastor is somebody said to me you're not allowed to have any close
friends. And I kind of scratched my head about that
and getting being in it now for a while I understand why people
would think that, why people would get in that, that mindset
as as leaders because if you're a leader of any sort you sometimes,
especially if you're on the platform, you live in a glass house. You live where
(12:07):
everybody gets to see everything and they get to form opinions about what you're saying,
what you're doing, how you're living, all of the different things. But my
hope and my prayer for my life and for the leaders here at this church
and the leaders that you follow out in the world is that their character, what's
happening on the inside matches what's happening on the inside
and the outside. We we tend to judge character or what's on the
(12:29):
inside based on the packaging.
Or what's protected on the outside. Sometimes we'll even judge
the character of a person based on someone's description of the
outside as opposed to really getting to
know the person at all, inside or out. And
so this guy named Samuel, he didn't just
(12:51):
arrive on the scene. Pastor Ronnie talked about Samuel last week and Saul,
And this is the part of the story where Saul's kingdom has been taken from
him. Because of choices that Saul made, because of
his character, the Lord had to
remove the kingdom from Saul and
Samuel, we're introduced to Samuel and how we're introduced in this chapter it
(13:12):
says that Samuel is mourning. He is grieving
over the loss of the kingdom out of Saul's hands. He's grieving. He's
mourning Saul. Now this tells me something very
interesting. This tells me that if Samuel is mourning or
grieving Saul, it tells me how it ended with Saul was not how it began
with Saul. How it ended with Saul is not how it
(13:35):
began with Saul. God did choose Saul to be king.
Samuel recognized Saul as the king
of the Israelites, but Saul
began to make some other choices. You see here's the thing,
sometimes position and title is the genesis of a
downfall. Sometimes position and
(13:58):
title is the genesis of a downfall. I've seen a
number of people change and evolve
with their position and end up somebody totally different by the end
of their tenure. This is why it
is paramount in any position of leadership or anything God has given
you to do that you hold it like this.
(14:20):
Sometimes our fingers start to coral in just a little bit, just a little bit.
We start to we start to form an identity
around the positions and the things that we have. And all of
a sudden what happens, the reason our character
is called into question is because our identity is coming from
a position and a title as opposed to the one who created
(14:43):
us. And when that becomes the case, the Lord begins to say
it's time for you to move on. Saul, you no longer can have the kingdom.
You can no longer have the kingdom because what I say, says the
Lord, is of less importance than what you think and what you're
doing. And so Saul had to render
render the kingdom. Even when something is taken away from
(15:05):
you, have you ever been in a situation where you felt like a position or
a title or something you've been given was unjustly
taken from you? It was removed from you. Have Have you ever been
in a situation where you thought this situation is not just, it's
not right, and it makes you feel a certain sort of way.
Can I tell you? Even in those circumstances your
(15:28):
actions and your reactions are your responsibility.
Your actions and your reactions in those unjust
moments are your responsibility and have everything to
do with your character. Because see here's the thing
while some of us wreak havoc in the midst of
an unjust situation all you're doing is really
(15:50):
illuminating the fact that you shouldn't be in the position in the first place.
We had a situation a little while back at our school
where we discovered something about someone, that wasn't in
keeping with our values at the school and that person had to be terminated.
And so in that termination, which is never
(16:12):
an easy thing, that termination, but that termination happened and
months later months later the leader who terminated that
person received this text message.
Good morning. I Just want to let you know that I really appreciate you
for sitting me down and talking to me. I have quit
smoking and it's forced me to deal with things that I've been avoiding for
(16:33):
years. I honestly didn't think that I would ever could
never not depend on marijuana, but I've recently decided that
I've got to give it to the most high and heal one day at a
time. I love you so much for your kindness. This
is to the person who fired her. Thank you for
your kindness. I pray that the creator blesses you so much. Thank you
(16:55):
again for not condemning me but helping me realize I had
a problem. I love you.
I love you. Can I tell you how you leave a
thing is probably more important than the way that you started the
thing? You can redefine
(17:15):
your entire whatever it is, organization, ministry,
timeline in the last few months by what you say and what you do. You
can redefine and overshadow any of the good things you do based
on how you leave, how you exit.
You want to leave the seasons God's placed you in better than
you started. It is a test of character.
(17:38):
It is a test of your pride. It is your test of laying down
the things that you want, your selfishness because the enemy wants
to cause division, the enemy wants to cause confusion, the enemy
wants you to react out of your flesh. Can I tell you the world cares
less about character? The world is a dog eat dog world
and wants you to climb a ladder and it doesn't matter who you hit on
(18:00):
the way up as long as you get there.
But in the kingdom, the kingdom will say I want you to sacrifice the
position that the world is dangling in front of you and operate with
integrity and character and then God comes in and he does something
supernatural, exceptional, extraordinary beyond your wildest dreams with
you.
(18:22):
Samuel could have lived in the state of grief. He could have
stayed there. He actually could have operated out of insecurity. Why is that?
Samuel was the mouthpiece in the face of in the face of the Lord. He
was the one that went to all of Israel and said Saul is your
king. And then Saul did what he
did and now he's not. Why do you think that made Samuel feel?
(18:46):
Man, what are they thinking about me? What is Israel thinking about?
What what are the what are the people I've gotta go back and Lord you
wanna use me? He could have lived in the place of grief but
he chose to listen to the Lord instead. Can I tell
you this? God's plan is bigger than our disappointments.
God's plan is always bigger than our greatest
(19:08):
disappointments. I remember I have been a part
of three youth transitions here at the church. And I'm one of
them, and I'm not gonna go into the story, but I'm one of the youth
transitions in this church. It was one of the greatest joys for
me to step into the youth and it also launched my deepest
pain because overnight I lost my best friend.
(19:32):
Have you ever lost a best friend? Ever suffered a
hurt, a deep hurt of somebody one day being there
and the next day it's like they're gone? There's
very few pains especially if you're actually heart connected to a person
than to lose a relationship.
And as I look back on that season many many years ago, as I look
(19:54):
back on that season and I evaluate my choices and the
decisions and why I chose, it emphatically 100%
was the Lord. But it would have been so easy
in that moment for me to lean into how I felt. It would have been
so easy for me to look at what I was losing and not pay any
attention to the God in the moment even though I couldn't see what was going
(20:15):
to be down the pike that I would gain. There was an
authority in my life, somebody that I looked at and I said to them I
trust the God inside you. Can I tell you if you are
in a confusing season, God is not the author of confusion?
He will bring along people in your life who hold authority in your life and
they may say something to you that you don't like,
(20:40):
But as they render that truth it will give you direction,
sound direction and I remember that moment telling the person in my
life that said I want you to do this transition saying I trust the
God inside you. And it meant me
sacrificing my best friend. Didn't know it at the moment, but it's what
happened.
(21:02):
God's plan is bigger than our disappointments. Saul goes out
and meets with Jesse and invites he and his sons
to this sacrifice and they're all there and he invites the
sons and here comes Eliab. Now,
Eliab's got that thousand watt smile. He's
tall, he's handsome, he's rugged, and he's I mean he's the deal. He's
(21:25):
the person that he walks in the room and goes, I'm a follow that person.
I don't even know their name. I'm following that guy. Right? He is I mean
he is all that and a bag of potato chips. He has got it going
on, and he walks up and he struts in there and Samuel
even, the the one who is hearing from the Lord, he even says
this surely the Lord's anointed stands here
(21:45):
before the Lord. Surely the Lord's anointed
stands here before the Lord. Can I tell you just because you look like
a king on the outside doesn't mean you carry the heart of a king on
the inside? And if you read the
story later about Eliab, you'll find out that he is arrogant
and does not trust the Lord. He might look the part but his
(22:08):
heart wasn't in it. It's not the one God chose.
See we send this We tend to see Eliabs in our life
and we make rushed and rash decisions based on what we see on the
surface. We sometimes vote this way.
We will follow leaders and celebrities this way. We
sometimes will even marry this way.
(22:33):
This must be the obvious choice. Look
at all the external reasons. This must be the obvious
choice. When the elders were gathering together to select the
pastor after Ronnie whenever I was in the queue or whatnot, you know, the eldership,
they were looking for a strong, mighty,
warrior, valiant person that could come in and
(22:55):
just really lead with strength and and so
I sent them my resume and my picture and they saw this and said
surely the Lord's anointed stands
before the Lord.
The minute they saw that photo, it was a shoo in yes. This is
our next pastor.
(23:22):
Mighty, warrior, strong. I mean, just look at that. We
don't need to see anything else. He's strong and mighty.
You don't wanna really see what's under here. The
Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
(23:44):
The Lord looks at the heart. The heart.
I wish I could stand before you and say my heart's so pure.
I wish I could stand before you and say my heart is just, it's great.
That's what Jeremiah tells us. The heart is deceitful
above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
(24:05):
I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward each person according
to their conduct according to what their deeds deserve.
My goodness. I wish I
could say I have a heart as your pastor who's totally pure,
but even in my best days I'm fearful,
judgmental, unkind, selfish,
(24:27):
unforgiving, willing to bend the rules to get out of a
jam.
The heart is deceitful above all things. And this is
why we need the blood of Jesus Christ.
Because every single morning when we wake up, we are
(24:48):
nothing more than a filthy rag. Even
in our best days, a filthy rag. But
here's the thing, the blood of Jesus Christ
covers every single misstep.
Every single sin, every single thing that we do that's not in
keeping with the will of God, the blood of Jesus covers.
(25:10):
And we keep coming back over and over and over
and over again. And can I tell you don't let anybody fool you
that they're not coming back over and over and over again? The minute somebody
says I've been there enough, I don't gotta do that anymore is the moment that
they feel like the blood is not sufficient enough for them.
The blood of Christ is sufficient and you can go
(25:33):
daily. You must go daily. You must go daily.
His his blood must cover us
so that we can take the next step of righteousness, so that we can
take the next step of faith, so that we can be in good standing with
the Lord and so that our character is not compromised to a
dying world who needs to see a Jesus, who needs to see authentic
(25:56):
real Jesus living out in our life. You see here's the
thing, it doesn't always feel good.
It doesn't always feel good.
A heart that's being transformed is a heart that's
in constant connection with God. In other words, God prioritizes
(26:18):
relationship over resume. He
prioritizes the relationship over
resume. Are you connected to this king? What is your
relationship with the God of the universe? Let me tell you
some of you don't have an active relationship with God because you
feel like you've messed up and fouled up so much that the God of the
(26:39):
universe you can't get close to him. And so you come in here on
Sunday to get your temporary fix and praise on feeling worse than
you did when you came in because you own, you're walking in shame and guilt
and then you leave here and you just keep doing the same things over and
over and over again. Can I tell you the grace of God can meet you
this morning and change everything? Can I tell you that there are
(27:00):
testimonies in this house where last week I was a druggie, but this
week the Lord set me free? There's testimonies in this house where
this week we were not reconciled, but this week supernatural divine
forgiveness walked into the picture. The God of the universe will step
right into your situation and change everything. That's why he's not split the sky
yet. The blood of Christ is sufficient. He wants
(27:21):
to reconcile first us to him, but then us to each other. There are
things in our lives that we need to get cleaned up because our
character is at stake. Why is our character important? Because a dying
world's looking at us and they need to see Jesus.
They need to see Jesus and guys can I tell you the outpouring of Kevin
is not Jesus? If I can give you, I can give you about
(27:43):
this much of me and it will be kind and it will be loving, it
will be all this, but there comes a point where that line and it's got
to default into the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in my life
or you're just gonna get filthy rags. And it's gonna smell like filthy rags.
I can parade it. I can put a slap of Christian on my shirt. I
can look like it all day long, but it's not gonna be anything of Him.
(28:03):
I need the Holy Spirit. He prioritizes relationship.
How do I how am I able to render forgiveness in a
situation where I don't feel like they should be forgiven? How do I render these
types of things? I've got to be in relationship, daily constant relationship
with the Lord. With the Lord.
Yesterday's yesterday's covering isn't enough. I need a new one
(28:26):
today. Yesterday's drink, you know sometimes I wake up in the morning I'm
parched and I'm thirsty and I've got yesterday's cup of water sitting on my on
my thing and I take a drink. It just doesn't taste the same. It's not
fresh. I need a fresh touch from the Lord every day.
Well, I wait until 9PM at night to do my devotional reading. Well, I hate
to see what's going on from eight in the morning to 9PM with you. I
(28:48):
gotta wake up in the morning because I'm stubbing my toe on the way to
the bathroom and there are things that fly out of my mouth.
And I want it to be thank you Jesus.
And so Samuel asked this question. He goes through all Eliab comes,
all the other kids all the other kids come and they walk through and none
(29:11):
of them are chosen and Samuel asked this question, are these
all the sons you have? Are these all this I I think
this is a this is a funny question to me, but first before I go
to the funny, let me tell you what's happening here. Characters being
tested in Samuel and in Jesse.
Number one, Samuel. He has seven sons in front of him.
(29:32):
He's been tasked to identify the one who's gonna be king
and the op the options are the seven in front of him. It would have
been so easy for Samuel to say well, I guess I've missed it. I've gotta
pick one of these. Eliab, you must be the one. But
can I tell you, Samuel had a relationship
with the God of the universe? He knew what his voice
(29:54):
sounded like and knew that none of these seven, even though he said
it's gonna be a son of Jesse, none of these were it. And it caused
him to ask the question, are you sure all of the sons are here?
Jesse, proud dad, marches his kids, Eliab's
right out of the gate. He just said, no, I don't got
any other sons. These these are the ones you
(30:17):
need to choose from. But he said, yes. There is
one more. He's out in the field tending
sheep. I find this question to be funny
because Samuel then says, alright. You didn't bring him here the first
time. We're gonna stand until he comes. I think that that's
funny. A few weeks ago, we had a service and I don't know if you
(30:39):
noticed, it was like the aerobic service with everybody stand and sit and stand and
sit and stand and sit. Have you ever been a part of a service like
that? Yes, pastor. It happens quite frequently here. Yes, I understand.
They're standing. He said we're not gonna sit until he comes.
In other words, hasten. Let's go. Let's bring
him on.
(31:01):
And so David comes and he is anointed.
He is anointed to be king. He is told you are
the next king of Israel. He knows it. It's not something
that has to be mystically discerned. He knows.
You are it. You are God's chosen man.
(31:22):
And then the story stops.
They grabbed David and put a crown on him and row him and put him
on the seat and just start worshiping. No. The story stops. You are the
king. Now get back to the field. You are
the king. Now continue doing what you've been doing.
Can I tell you anointing is like the
(31:44):
seed, character is the soil?
If the seeds not nurtured in good soil, it does not produce good
fruit. Let me give you another analogy. Anointing is your wedding
day. Character is your marriage.
Character is your marriage.
(32:05):
I want you to understand that what happens
next is everything. The story
stops at verse 13 but life doesn't stop.
This extraordinary moment is met following
fifteen years of a lot of ordinary moments.
Lots of ordinary days. Character development is
(32:28):
happening. Character development is happening
in David before he gets the position for fifteen
years. Guys, we can't wait thirty seconds on a cup of coffee.
And some of you are willing to throw in the towel because you feel you
you you feel you deserve a position, you feel like you deserve the title, you
feel like you're supposed to be moving in there, somebody has usurped it and you
(32:51):
go God I've been waiting for I've been waiting for three days God, I don't
understand why you're doing that. I've been waiting for three years God. I've been waiting
for thirteen years God.
Can I tell you the most important season that you will be in is
in that waiting room season? Because
when you get into the position and you have to start putting that into action
(33:12):
it needs to be the outflow of the Holy Spirit not you at all anyway.
You are wrestling with the Lord. I've I've gone to recently have had to
go to doctor's appointments. Can I tell you? I don't understand why they schedule you
at the doctor's office for 11:30, make you come in at 09:00 and sit
there two and a half hours in the waiting room looking at magazines.
It's a test of my character. I'm a tell you right now.
(33:34):
Patience. Patience. And then when somebody else comes in after you and they get
seen before you. Oh, Jesus.
The word says that the spirit of the Lord fell on David. Who else did
the spirit of the Lord fall on in the new testament? It fell on Jesus
(33:57):
and what happens immediately following? He gets tested in the
wilderness. He gets tested
Landon, you're starting a new thing. Is that what I understand? Start a new business?
Is that what you said today? Okay, guess what? You're you're being tested.
And guess what? Here's here's the thing. You said I know I was supposed to
do it. Well guess what? If God chooses not to give you the check,
(34:19):
chooses not to bless you in the next season, chooses not to do that, do
you know that you're still called? That's the test. That's the real truth.
And guess what? He's putting you all through this. Why? Because he you are
not a doubter. You call yourself a doubter. That's not what he calls you. And
the more you keep confessing that out of your life, you're gonna get to get
tested in over and over and over again. That's not who you
(34:40):
are. I know that's not who you are. You begin to own that truth as
as well. He's testing you. He's testing you. You're
in the waiting room. Get ready. And he's gonna bust the doors open. He's
gonna bust the doors open.
When Margaret Meek passed away many years ago,
(35:00):
Arwen Jones got up and she did a speech, and one of the things she
said that always stuck with me was enjoy the gift of ordinary days. And within
that week, I was mourning, I was grieving, and I went to a store and
I saw this planter here, and I had to pick it up. I thought the
Holy Spirit led me right to it, and I had it for a while in
my face every day. Enjoy the gift of ordinary days. Guys,
(35:21):
God rarely, rarely is looking to
curb your character in those extraordinary moments. It is in
that ordinary, mundane, stubbing
your toe moment, getting cut off the road moment of
your life, going into work, going to bed, eating, all of
these relationship, he is cultivating your character
(35:43):
in these ordinary moments. And in these
ordinary moments, and this is a misperception when it comes to Christianity,
in those ordinary moments there is going to be suffering.
There is going to be suffering in these ordinary moments.
For those who I'm so sorry that you were introduced to a Christ that
(36:04):
you thought went to the cross so that you can have the best life here
on earth. Guess what? He gives us the most important things
such as peace, passing, understanding. He does some things to
it for us that are excellent, but let me tell you he did not die
on the cross so that you could climb the corporate ladder and become the big
CEO.
(36:24):
We suffer for him. We rejoice in our suffering, Paul says, because we know that
suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character,
hope. I hate this phrase or
this quote that I learned from AW Tozer this week because it's so true,
but I just can't stand it. When God wants
to use someone greatly, he first hurts them deeply.
(36:48):
God, break me. Because in order for you to use me, I
gotta look like you and I don't look like you right now.
Can I tell you that what we cultivate in private will eventually manifest
itself in public? Come on out worship
team. What we cultivate in private will eventually manifest
(37:08):
itself in public. And this is why
character is so important. I went to Alabama this
week with my family. My kids love the beach. I don't really like the beach,
but I went. And, have you ever been in a car ride with your
kids and your kids are telling you how to drive?
(37:29):
Have you ever been in a car ride and your spouse is telling you how
to drive? Have you ever been frustrated
by these comments of back seat and side seat drivers?
Well, this happens, you know, I'm the I'm the world's greatest driver and this
happens quite frequently
in in my car where my people
(37:50):
are sharing their opinions about
my driving. Well,
on the way back from Alabama, I was ready to get home.
And I had a little blue light
special. I got pulled over and, I got a
(38:13):
ticket on the way home. And,
the police officer, you know, puts his head in the window and we talked for
a minute and he says, man, I would hate for something to happen to those
four precious girls back there. I go,
Yeah. I drive to the gas station right after
that, and we get to the gas station and I
(38:36):
look in the rear view mirror and I see see Adasa, and she is just
weeping. And so I say, Come here,
Adasa. And I pull her up in the front seat,
and I look at her, she's weeping, and she looks at me with her glass
eyes, and she looks at me, and I say, What's wrong? And she
says, I just don't understand why you don't have to follow the
(38:56):
rules.
And I just broke.
I don't want my kids to see something different
than what I want to manifest on the outside to everybody
else. You see, she heard loud
(39:18):
and clear the police officer say, I would hate for you to lose one of
these precious girls. And I looked at Edessa and I
said, I am so sorry.
Please forgive me for not listening to you, when you were telling me I
needed to slow down. All the times you're telling me to slow down.
(39:38):
And in that moment with humility, I believe that my child was
able to see me chip away at my pride, my
arrogance, my need to be right, and to
say, I hear you.
Because what we cultivate in private is gonna manifest itself
in public.
(40:02):
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, gentleness
and self control. These are some benchmarks of what
our life with Christ looks like if we're walking with the
Spirit. These are indicators of what our
character truly looks like. But it's not just for
the grandiose population. It's in those one
(40:24):
on one moments with your closest friends, with your spouse, with your
family. What
you're projecting on the outside isn't happening on the inside.
Jesus, can I tell you, we would have not chosen Jesus to be our King?
This is what the word says in Isaiah about Jesus. Who has
believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
(40:47):
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot and like a root out of
dry ground. He had no root out of dry
ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in
his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and
rejected by mankind. A man of suffering and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised and we held
him in low esteem. We would have not chosen Jesus to be
(41:10):
our king. But despite that
truth, he
believed. Guys we want to be like
Jesus. We wanna be like Jesus, our character
(41:31):
needs to emulate Jesus, but in order for us to look like Jesus,
you see that hand there with that nail? That's what we're supposed to look
like. Dying to our selves every single
day. Looking at people who have wronged us and saying I'm
gonna give you the upper hand. I'm gonna love you so much more
even though you're unlovable right now, I'm gonna love you so far high, much higher
(41:53):
above that. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna lay down my
life. That is looking like the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom
we say, we love. Do you look like Christ?
If you'll stand with me and we're gonna end with this poem,
and I'm gonna release you this morning.
(42:15):
In fields unseen where sheep once grazed, a heart was
shaped through simple ways. Not crowned with gold nor
clothed in quiet
night. The world may chase the grand and bright, the
dazzling stage, the fleeting light, but God, he looks
beneath the praise to hearts refined in hidden
(42:37):
ways. Character whispers when no one
sees. It holds the line with humble ease.
It stands in truth, it loves through pain. It
bears the cross and shuns the game. Oh Lord, may
I in every place enjoy the gift of ordinary
days. For there you mold and there you
(42:59):
mend. In simple tasks, your truth
descends. A heart that waits and walks by grace
that trust your hand through every space. For crowns will fade and
fain depart, but character remains the heart. So
build me strong in quiet ways through
unseen nights and waiting days. Let Christ
(43:21):
be formed in every part. A life that beats
with your own heart. May we be a
people who look like Christ, not in our
shirts and what we manifest on the outside. But may our
hearts and our presence and our character
be reflective of Jesus Christ in those intimate
(43:43):
moments when nobody else is looking. So that when the
dying world is looking at us, they get a true picture
of Jesus, the hope of the world. Raise
your hand, let me give you a blessing. May the God of
the universe, the God who breathes stars continue
to help us grow in character that is becoming
(44:07):
of the kingdom. Whether we are serving in a
season we're serving in or we're in that waiting room.
And may it all be to glorify him and that we would look
more like Jesus. In Christ's name we
pray, Amen. Be blessed Spring House. I love you today.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.