The Week in Review

Destined for Greatness
(Preached at Langley Avenue Church of God 2/17/08)

What’s the point: There are some vital points we want to pause for a moment and look at.

Samuel was a wise, godly man, but he did just like the others did when picking a king, he looked at the outside: This let’s us know that even those that should know better, still can look at things with physical eyes and miss the spiritual significance. Samuel looked at Jesse’s sons and thought that the bigger one had to be the choice. – For us today, this let’s us know that even those we trust as wise can miss God’s anointing on our life. Some may want to write you off because you aren’t the biggest, the brightest or the best. But God does not look at outward things he looks at the heart. So even those that may not see you are destined for greatness does not take away from the fact that God has a calling on your life and he is the final say on that matter.

It is also a caution for the older generations. It doesn’t matter if we have discernment and can interpret the mysteries of God, we still cannot see everything. If you don’t see what God wants to do in the heart of a young person, that’s okay, we still need to be what God has called us to be, an encouragement. Maybe by some chance you are using natural eyes to see and are missing the spiritual anointing that God has placed on the life of a young person. Samuel may not have seen it, but it didn’t matter he was obedient and anointed David because it was what God told him to do. Let us be obedient even if we don’t see the clear picture, let us plant into the lives of our youth or water the seed that God wants to increase because he is the only one than can bring the increase from the seed any way.

An Important point from verse: 13 – “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.” Samuel anointed David and spoke a purpose into his life. From that point forward, David went forth with God’s spirit. David received the promise, the destiny of what was to be in his life. We know this when we see David next in chapter 17. Next time we see David he is faced with a “Goliath” of a situation.

1 Samuel 17:28-32 “When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle. "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."

David’s father sends him to take some provisions to his brothers but when he shows up his brother is angry because he is there. You must remember his brother was also there and must have senses what was taking place in David’s life and he might not be too happy about it. Remember everyone will not be happy about what God wants to do in your life, but you have to determine to keep going even when others refuse to see it or are jealous because of it. So David’s brother speaks words that are mean to him and David’s response is, “I can’t say or do anything I am always being talked about”. Do you feel like that sometimes? No matter what you say or do, somebody has something negative to say about it? You are trying to do what is right and you are talked about. There are some people no matter what you do they are going to find something wrong with you. You have to do like David did. What David does is he does not allow the naysayers to stop him, if you remember in scripture he turns to someone else. What David finds out is that the Israel army with all its brave men has been running from Goliath because they are afraid of this giant of a man. David sizes up the situation and decides, I’ll fight him. Can you image what that must have looked like? Here we have this scrawny boy saying I’ll go fight this mighty warrior, when all the mighty men were hiding. If you look back in the telling of this scripture, for 40 days the warriors showed up took their positions for battle and then when Goliath came out and challenged them they ran.

Do you know that some have been coming for 40 days, 40 weeks or 40 years taking their positions on the battle field and then as soon as a “Goliath” of a situation comes we hightail it out of there. Well God is sending some David’s in to take care of the situation. He is preparing some to face the Goliath’s because they have faith in what he can do. You might ask why does David have this confidence?

Let’s read what the scripture says in Verse 34-37, it READS: But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

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