WEBVTT 00:00:00.260 --> 00:00:14.620 And as I read our sermon passage today, I do it trusting that it's God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient word for you and me, his people, and that as God through his spirit ministers his word, he works with power. 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:20.660 If you receive it that way and ask that of him, please say thanks be to God at the end. 00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:23.839 First Samuel chapter 16. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:37.460 Now the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing that I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. 00:00:38.120 --> 00:00:46.859 I am sending you to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have provided myself a king among his sons. 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:51.640 And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:55.060 But the Lord said, Take a heifer with you. 00:00:55.780 --> 00:00:57.920 Children, that's a young female cow. 00:00:58.700 --> 00:01:01.560 And say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:07.239 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:10.420 You shall anoint for me the one I named to you. 00:01:11.099 --> 00:01:13.760 So Samuel did what the Lord said and went to Bethlehem. 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:19.460 And the elders of the town trembled at his coming and said, Do you come peaceably? 00:01:19.459 --> 00:01:22.140 And he said, Peaceably. 00:01:22.679 --> 00:01:25.439 I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. 00:01:26.219 --> 00:01:29.000 Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. 00:01:29.759 --> 00:01:34.479 Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 00:01:35.339 --> 00:01:39.060 So it was when they came that he looked at Eliab. 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:44.480 And he said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:53.240 But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:02:00.099 The Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:04.719 So Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:09.500 And he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. 00:02:10.259 --> 00:02:15.719 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by, and he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:20.400 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass by before Samuel. 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:25.159 And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these. 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:29.740 And Samuel said to Jesse, Are all the young men here? 00:02:29.740 --> 00:02:34.900 And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and there he is keeping the sheep. 00:02:35.580 --> 00:02:42.960 And Samuel said to Jesse, Send me him, bring him here, for we will not sit down till he comes here. 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:50.320 So he went and brought him in, and he was ruddy with bright eyes and good looking. 00:02:50.760 --> 00:02:54.960 And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is the one. 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:59.740 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:04.620 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.460 So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:10.219 Verse 14. 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:16.460 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:23.280 And Saul's servants said to him, Surely a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:31.180 Let your master now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful, playing the harp. 00:03:31.659 --> 00:03:37.939 And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well. 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:44.420 So the Lord said to his servants, Provide me now a man who can play well and bring him to me. 00:03:44.419 --> 00:03:57.579 Then one of the servants answered and said, Look, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, who is skillful and playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person. 00:03:57.779 --> 00:03:59.179 And the Lord is with him. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:06.319 Therefore, Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, Send me your son David, who is with the sheep. 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:15.180 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by his son David to Saul. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:21.319 So David came to Saul and stood before him, and he loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:29.180 Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight. 00:04:29.180 --> 00:04:36.939 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:43.120 Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him. 00:04:43.900 --> 00:04:45.879 The word of God for the people of God. 00:04:46.420 --> 00:04:47.360 Thanks be to God. 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:48.300 Please be seated. 00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:59.199 Let's pray. 00:05:01.840 --> 00:05:06.360 Lord, we thank you that as our creator, you have not been silent. 00:05:07.060 --> 00:05:11.220 You have acted in the broken history of man. 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:18.139 You have acted with power, with faithfulness, and everything you've done, you've revealed through your word. 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:25.000 We thank you for how your word shows us not only your actions, but it instructs us on who you are. 00:05:25.520 --> 00:05:31.639 We pray, Lord, that your Holy Spirit now will minister every truth that you put into your word, 00:05:31.840 --> 00:05:37.980 that you want to press home in our minds and our hearts so that we can behold you more rightly today. 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:39.800 I ask for your help, Lord. 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:45.180 I ask that you will help us as a congregation to put ourselves under Christ, 00:05:45.180 --> 00:05:49.980 and that we will behold Christ in every chapter of the Bible. 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:51.600 We ask this for your glory. 00:05:52.019 --> 00:05:52.240 Amen. 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:52.340 Amen. 00:05:52.339 --> 00:06:03.399 I learned this week about a town named Columbia in the state of South Carolina. 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:08.399 And it's a town about the same size as Fort Collins here in Colorado. 00:06:09.659 --> 00:06:15.759 It's the town where Dale Ralph Davis, a wonderful Bible commentator, ministered for many years. 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:22.519 And in the year 1865, you remember what was going on in American history that year? 00:06:22.939 --> 00:06:25.259 That's exactly 160 years ago. 00:06:25.259 --> 00:06:32.539 At the end of the Civil War, the city of Columbia, South Carolina, was burned to the ground. 00:06:33.620 --> 00:06:39.839 There were these corn bins that were set on fire, and very quickly the fire grew and spread and destroyed 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:48.159 all the wooden structures so that over 2,000 acres in the town of Columbia were charred. 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:58.439 A town that people lived in with churches like this one, charred, burnt down to the ground. 00:06:58.600 --> 00:06:59.100 What do we do? 00:07:00.980 --> 00:07:06.780 One of the most stirring lines in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, If, is this. 00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:17.860 If you can watch the things you gave your life to broken and stoop and build them up with worn out tools. 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:25.140 It's stirring because it acknowledges the pain of great loss that hope has died. 00:07:26.700 --> 00:07:32.220 And through long suffering, we need to start all over again, humbly at the beginning. 00:07:34.440 --> 00:07:44.460 So the question we come to now in 1 Samuel 16 is, how low will God stoop to start building again? 00:07:44.459 --> 00:07:54.039 In 1 Samuel 8, verses 7-9, God tells Samuel, it's not you they have rejected, prophet. 00:07:54.719 --> 00:07:56.599 My people have rejected me. 00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:01.060 Our last chapter ended with God rejecting Saul as king. 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:05.240 And we have that scene now of these two men, Saul and Samuel. 00:08:05.460 --> 00:08:13.580 Samuel, the one who anointed King Saul, never speaking again in a nation without hope. 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:19.099 We have to ask the question as we begin chapter 16. 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:22.120 Did God reject his people? 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.779 Has the great sin of their king Saul? 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:33.000 Remember, we left with him building a monument for himself to take glory away from God's great victory. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:37.179 Has this great sin and the fact that the people were in on it worth him? 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:38.480 This idolatry. 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:44.539 Does that mean that now God's plans are burnt down to the ground? 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:55.000 Could it be that their sin was so bad that God would simply give up and walk away from his people? 00:08:56.339 --> 00:09:01.419 As we walk through the passage for today, I hope to answer this one question. 00:09:02.599 --> 00:09:07.379 What can stop God from advancing his kingdom? 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:12.279 What is it that can stop God from advancing his kingdom? 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:21.860 And I see four tests of that question, so to speak, with one great truth that illustrates the way God does it. 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:23.519 So here's the first one. 00:09:24.860 --> 00:09:31.259 The idolatry of God's people does not stop God from advancing his kingdom. 00:09:31.959 --> 00:09:37.299 The idolatry of God's people does not get in the way of him advancing his kingdom. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:39.399 Look at verse one. 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:49.480 Now the Lord said to Samuel, how long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning as king over Israel? 00:09:53.720 --> 00:09:55.220 It's a theme of rejection. 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:57.959 The people rejected God. 00:09:59.019 --> 00:10:01.559 The people rejected Samuel, the prophet of God. 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:05.199 Samuel gave the people the word, destroy everything. 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:07.119 The people rejected the word of God. 00:10:07.839 --> 00:10:11.919 And now God has rejected Saul as king over Israel. 00:10:12.059 --> 00:10:13.239 There is much to grieve. 00:10:14.539 --> 00:10:15.399 Rejection hurts. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:19.500 I'm sure you've felt that at some point in your life. 00:10:20.739 --> 00:10:25.059 Rejection hurts because it means the relationship no longer exists. 00:10:25.059 --> 00:10:30.299 What each party envisioned for the future doesn't fit. 00:10:31.619 --> 00:10:36.659 One loss often stirs up pain from previous losses. 00:10:38.559 --> 00:10:42.979 Now notice it's not wrong to mourn this loss or this rejection. 00:10:42.980 --> 00:10:51.539 But it is wrong for us to mourn our losses and even the painful rejection we feel without an end to our mourning. 00:10:52.560 --> 00:10:57.220 And God teaches his people patiently, tenderly, with fatherly love. 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:05.460 The time has come to forget those things which are behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead. 00:11:05.460 --> 00:11:08.300 As he says in Philippians 3.13. 00:11:08.900 --> 00:11:11.080 And so that's the word of God now to Samuel. 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:14.139 Samuel, fill your horn with oil. 00:11:14.940 --> 00:11:16.860 It's most likely a ram's horn. 00:11:17.379 --> 00:11:19.280 We got those big horn sheep here in Colorado. 00:11:19.280 --> 00:11:21.400 We can see and picture what that would be like. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.620 And when it's hollowed out, it's a perfect vessel. 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:28.980 You can put olive oil in there and carry it to carry out this job. 00:11:29.680 --> 00:11:32.460 Now this command, this verb to anoint. 00:11:32.460 --> 00:11:35.820 It's one of the most familiar Hebrew words. 00:11:36.060 --> 00:11:38.220 You knew Hebrew without even knowing you knew some Hebrew. 00:11:38.800 --> 00:11:40.360 And the word is Messiah. 00:11:41.040 --> 00:11:41.980 That means anointed. 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:46.460 So that's what he's doing with this olive oil and this ram's horn. 00:11:47.060 --> 00:11:47.660 He's going. 00:11:49.019 --> 00:11:51.759 The oil in scripture represents the presence of God. 00:11:52.680 --> 00:11:53.240 Ministered. 00:11:53.980 --> 00:11:54.680 Think of that. 00:11:55.340 --> 00:11:57.639 The presence of the holy creator God. 00:11:58.639 --> 00:11:59.240 Ministered. 00:11:59.560 --> 00:12:00.519 Poured out. 00:12:01.060 --> 00:12:01.960 Flowing down. 00:12:02.460 --> 00:12:08.800 Isn't it wonderful how God always brings his people a new supply. 00:12:09.740 --> 00:12:11.320 Fill the horn with oil. 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:15.280 There's always more of the Holy Spirit. 00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:21.040 God always supplies his people with a fresh refilling. 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:25.799 And this signals a new anointing. 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:28.879 A new Messiah is coming. 00:12:30.179 --> 00:12:37.079 Second Corinthians 1 20 says for all the promises of God in Jesus Christ are yes. 00:12:37.819 --> 00:12:38.819 And in him. 00:12:38.959 --> 00:12:40.819 Amen to the glory of God. 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:41.820 Through Christ. 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:43.860 Through Christ to us. 00:12:44.580 --> 00:12:49.379 Now he who established us with you in Christ has anointed us. 00:12:50.160 --> 00:12:51.180 In God. 00:12:51.180 --> 00:12:57.080 Who also has sealed us and given us the spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 00:12:57.080 --> 00:13:04.120 See the language of the New Testament is identifying the anointing of Christ as Messiah. 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:09.020 Now spilling over from Christ onto his people by the Holy Spirit. 00:13:09.020 --> 00:13:13.379 It's the same Holy Spirit of God that anoints every true believer. 00:13:13.379 --> 00:13:20.700 And God never takes his Holy Spirit away from those who are united to him in Jesus Christ. 00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:24.420 So to answer our first test. 00:13:25.259 --> 00:13:32.060 The idolatry of God's people does not stop God from advancing his kingdom. 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:37.820 The hearts of God's people had gone after Saul as a handsome talking like all the other nations. 00:13:38.520 --> 00:13:40.500 There goes his monument to himself. 00:13:41.220 --> 00:13:42.640 They ignored the word of God. 00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:46.700 They love the idol more than the giver of life himself. 00:13:46.700 --> 00:13:52.220 And this does not stop God from bringing a new Messiah. 00:13:53.160 --> 00:13:54.800 From advancing his kingdom. 00:13:55.660 --> 00:13:57.140 Here's the second test. 00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:00.140 What about the messiness of the past? 00:14:01.060 --> 00:14:06.900 The messiness of the past does not stop God from advancing his kingdom. 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:09.000 Look at verse 1 again. 00:14:10.280 --> 00:14:12.840 Where is it that God sends Samuel? 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.180 He says, I am sending you to Jesse. 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:18.400 The Bethlehemite. 00:14:19.740 --> 00:14:22.680 Bethlehem is the smallest town maybe in the whole nation. 00:14:23.220 --> 00:14:25.000 And it's in the tribe of Judah. 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:28.320 What else do we know about Bethlehem? 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:32.560 Well, we have gone through this wonderful little book of Ruth. 00:14:33.060 --> 00:14:35.800 Remember the story of Boaz and Ruth? 00:14:36.020 --> 00:14:39.540 One of the most beautiful pictures of a marriage and love. 00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:46.879 We're told in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 1 verses 5 and 6. 00:14:47.779 --> 00:14:52.459 Boaz, who was this wealthy landowner in the city of Bethlehem. 00:14:52.460 --> 00:14:58.040 Boaz, who was born of a woman named Rahab. 00:14:58.540 --> 00:15:02.040 And Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho. 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:04.840 You see the messiness of the past? 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:10.740 From a prostitute in the city of Jericho comes this man Boaz. 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:14.019 Through Boaz now comes this man Jesse. 00:15:14.899 --> 00:15:18.980 And through Jesse comes David, the one that God is anointing. 00:15:18.980 --> 00:15:22.379 In Joshua chapter 6 verse 2, God says, 00:15:22.560 --> 00:15:25.139 I have given into your hand the mighty men. 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:27.960 Remember the great walls of Jericho? 00:15:28.420 --> 00:15:31.080 And the people trembling to come into the promised land? 00:15:31.860 --> 00:15:33.420 This word for mighty men. 00:15:34.460 --> 00:15:37.080 Describing the people of Jericho, the people of Rahab. 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:41.100 These are big, tall, scary warriors. 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:46.060 These are men who magnify themselves, who behave proudly. 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:48.740 It's also used to describe a tyrant. 00:15:49.200 --> 00:15:50.920 Someone who is audacious. 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:55.279 And in Joshua, these people are also described mighty men of valor. 00:15:56.259 --> 00:15:59.920 The word valor is literally strong, mighty, powerful, wealthy. 00:16:02.220 --> 00:16:03.720 That's the line of Rahab. 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:06.240 These are the enemies of God. 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:11.080 It's through the enemies of God that God will bring this beautiful picture. 00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:14.200 Of Boaz now marrying another foreigner. 00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:17.240 And from this line, David. 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:24.600 The past of Bethlehem and the past of David's family was very messy. 00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:29.519 Boaz then begot a son named Obed. 00:16:29.659 --> 00:16:31.800 And his wife Ruth was the Moabitess. 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:37.620 Remember the Moabites were descendants not of Isaac, the seed of the promise, but of Lot. 00:16:37.620 --> 00:16:41.379 And although Hebrews calls Lot righteous. 00:16:42.740 --> 00:16:48.200 He was a picture for us of someone who was very close to the world. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:51.299 And his wife and his family were compromising. 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:53.419 It's messy. 00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:58.600 Then Obed begot Jesse and Jesse begot David, the king. 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:04.599 And this is what God, who knows all, looks at in Bethlehem. 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:16.960 And God says in verse one, I have provided myself a king among his sons. 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:20.380 Yes, from this messy family of Jesse. 00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:25.480 I've provided myself a son who will be king. 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:31.480 When God says in verse one, I've provided myself. 00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:35.519 God literally says, I myself have seen. 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:38.660 I myself have seen a king there. 00:17:38.660 --> 00:17:47.680 And where was it that David was in Bethlehem when God looked and saw a king? 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:51.740 David was with the sheep, wasn't he? 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:56.100 Out of the pasture, as Jonathan put it, not even invited to the dinner. 00:17:57.160 --> 00:17:58.380 God saw him. 00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:11.040 God provided for himself a humble man to be his obedient servant who was with the sheep, who would know how to shepherd God's people. 00:18:14.140 --> 00:18:20.820 The messiness of our past does not stop God from advancing his kingdom. 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:23.900 You have a messy past too, don't you? 00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:25.340 I know I do. 00:18:25.339 --> 00:18:33.279 We can sometimes think that my sin, my messiness, my family, how messed up everything has been. 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:37.480 It's going to stop right here from going any better. 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:39.519 And God sees you. 00:18:40.819 --> 00:18:42.720 Small, humble, broken, messy. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:48.220 And he says, I have seen another way, another life, another soul. 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:51.259 And in that realm, my kingdom will advance. 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:55.599 I love that hymn we sing, maybe the most comforting to me. 00:18:56.259 --> 00:19:01.299 Come ye weary, heaven laden, lost and ruined by the fall. 00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:05.500 If you tarry till you're better, you will never come at all. 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:11.660 Let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream. 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:17.819 All the fitness he requireth is to feel your need of him. 00:19:17.819 --> 00:19:22.339 Has your past or your life been messy? 00:19:22.779 --> 00:19:23.859 Is it messy right now? 00:19:24.700 --> 00:19:27.799 Well, that means you are qualified to come to the Savior. 00:19:28.179 --> 00:19:30.079 That's all he needs to save you. 00:19:30.619 --> 00:19:31.460 Come as you are. 00:19:32.159 --> 00:19:37.119 The messiness of the past does not stop God from advancing his kingdom. 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:40.299 The third test is weakness. 00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:44.399 What about the weakness of God's servants? 00:19:45.159 --> 00:19:49.500 Can the weakness of God's servants stop God from advancing his kingdom? 00:19:51.139 --> 00:19:54.159 Well, the servant in this part of the story is Samuel. 00:19:54.639 --> 00:19:55.519 Look at verse 2. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:02.200 As Samuel traveled, he's leaving the mountain city where he lives, Ramah. 00:20:02.879 --> 00:20:05.799 And from there, he would go on circuits and minister all around the nation. 00:20:05.899 --> 00:20:08.399 But Ramah was identified as Samuel's home. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:14.480 Guess what was directly between Ramah and Bethlehem? 00:20:16.740 --> 00:20:25.560 Between Ramah of Samuel and Bethlehem of Jesse and Judah was Gibeah, the city of Saul and the tribe of Benjamin. 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:29.119 And in verse 2, Samuel. 00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:32.700 Samuel, remember from chapter 14. 00:20:33.419 --> 00:20:39.559 He's the one who saw the wicked King Ahag and King Saul failed to kill this man as God commanded. 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:46.099 And so even the old prophet Samuel now hacks wicked King Ahag to death. 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:52.199 That's what he just did as an instrument of God, as a picture of God's coming judgment. 00:20:53.299 --> 00:20:55.579 But look at what Samuel says in verse 2. 00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:56.980 How can I go? 00:20:58.000 --> 00:20:59.480 How can I go through Benjamin? 00:20:59.619 --> 00:21:02.039 Because if Saul hears it, he will kill me. 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:16.319 The great king commissioner, the mouthpiece of the voice of the Lord of hosts, the man before whom King Saul had thrown himself begging for forgiveness, is now gripped by fear. 00:21:17.379 --> 00:21:18.920 He's not powerful or scary. 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:20.899 He's weak. 00:21:22.099 --> 00:21:24.740 He's fearing man more than God once again. 00:21:24.740 --> 00:21:29.799 It's the same sin that Saul had just confessed to Samuel. 00:21:32.200 --> 00:21:33.160 He's weak. 00:21:34.579 --> 00:21:37.039 You and I aren't any stronger than Samuel. 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:40.700 We fear men against all reason too, don't we? 00:21:42.579 --> 00:21:44.980 Saul had just made a monument for himself. 00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:48.000 He begged not to lose his throne. 00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:53.759 And now Saul is apparently so consumed and enslaved by his idolatry. 00:21:54.740 --> 00:22:04.140 His self-worship has now bound all of Saul's thoughts and obsessions about holding on to this thing he loves more than God or anything else. 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:09.299 How wicked has King Saul now become? 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:14.420 Because if he's willing to do this to the prophet of God who anointed him king, 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:19.359 what would such a man be capable of doing to anyone else? 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:28.119 And now the Lord says, take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. 00:22:30.139 --> 00:22:32.639 God's not telling Samuel to lie. 00:22:33.679 --> 00:22:37.659 God's telling Samuel to go and minister to this family of Jesse. 00:22:37.779 --> 00:22:41.819 He's giving him a legitimate reason to travel and do this. 00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:50.220 It's God using his own providence and his own commands to protect his ultimate purpose of anointing David once he gets there. 00:22:51.139 --> 00:22:58.200 God directs Samuel to take the sacrifice along to the head of the household because it's such a small town. 00:22:58.359 --> 00:23:01.539 And he's from this family just two generations back. 00:23:01.659 --> 00:23:03.839 Boaz who owned vast land. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:09.019 And most likely Jesse was a very powerful, influential man in the city of Bethlehem. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.579 So now Jesse is coming to minister to them. 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:21.859 We also read earlier in this book that it was the ministry of Samuel to travel around judging the people to serve as the court of justice before God. 00:23:22.679 --> 00:23:29.879 So it's either to minister sacrifice, gather them to praise God and speak truth to them or to judge them and call them to account. 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:31.159 It could be either one. 00:23:31.160 --> 00:23:37.580 In verse three, then invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what you shall do. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:41.259 You shall anoint for me the one I name to you. 00:23:42.040 --> 00:23:44.440 God will show his servant what to do. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:47.340 God will name the king of his people. 00:23:48.220 --> 00:23:56.200 God will have the king over his people be Messiah marked, be anointed for himself. 00:23:56.560 --> 00:23:58.440 He will be an obedient servant. 00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:04.740 In verse four, we read, so Samuel did what the Lord said and went to Bethlehem. 00:24:05.799 --> 00:24:07.100 Yes, Samuel was weak. 00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:09.080 You are weak. 00:24:09.180 --> 00:24:09.700 I am weak. 00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:15.340 Everyone God has ever ministered through has been an earthen vessel, a weak instrument. 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:24.559 And the weakness of God's servants, you and me and Samuel, does not stop God from advancing his kingdom. 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:30.619 The fourth test is this smallness in the eyes of the world. 00:24:31.619 --> 00:24:36.000 Does smallness in the eyes of the world stop God from advancing his kingdom? 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:39.359 Let's continue on in verse four. 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:41.799 The elders of the town. 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:43.039 This is Bethlehem. 00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:47.940 Tremeled at Samuel's coming and said, do you come peaceably? 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:51.160 Do you come to judge or to minister peace? 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:56.799 In verse five, Samuel says peaceably, for I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. 00:24:57.180 --> 00:24:58.079 This is not a lie. 00:24:58.160 --> 00:24:59.880 That's the very next thing they do. 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:03.460 The sacrifice is a picture that we are sinners. 00:25:04.080 --> 00:25:05.280 Our sin deserves death. 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:10.000 God is merciful and gracious and he'll accept a substitute. 00:25:10.580 --> 00:25:12.680 He'll accept a blood sacrifice. 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:22.200 And by the ministry of grace, he'll apply the blood sacrifice of an animal now to cover the sin of his people. 00:25:23.240 --> 00:25:25.700 It's a picture of the work of Jesus Christ. 00:25:26.280 --> 00:25:29.580 The sacrifice God himself provided to pay for our sin. 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:37.800 In verse five, Samuel calls Jesse and his family to consecrate themselves. 00:25:39.560 --> 00:25:42.480 When was the last time that word consecrate was used? 00:25:43.580 --> 00:25:50.100 God told King Saul to consecrate the enemies to the Lord by devoting them to destruction. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:57.440 You see how God's redemption, God's peace, God's grace is ministered through judgment. 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:05.440 They consecrate themselves by seeing something happen to this heifer, this young female cow that they deserved. 00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:10.160 And now God considers them devoted to himself. 00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:15.460 We don't practice blood sacrifices. 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.340 But we approach the Lord with reverence. 00:26:19.080 --> 00:26:23.140 And we don't presume the peace of God by our own merits. 00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:25.759 We confess our sin to God. 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:27.779 We confess he is holy. 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:28.580 We are sinners. 00:26:29.040 --> 00:26:29.920 We are unworthy. 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:33.380 We stand in Christ's perfect sacrifice. 00:26:33.380 --> 00:26:37.740 And we assure one another from his word we are pardoned in Jesus. 00:26:40.740 --> 00:26:44.180 Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. 00:26:44.560 --> 00:26:49.620 Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:55.559 In verse 6, so it was when they came that Samuel looked at Eliab. 00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:01.399 And Samuel said, picture this, Samuel saying this out loud. 00:27:01.899 --> 00:27:05.639 He said this, surely the Lord's anointed is before him. 00:27:06.619 --> 00:27:12.599 Now verse 7, the Lord said to Samuel, not an audible voice for all to hear. 00:27:12.599 --> 00:27:19.559 But while Samuel is speaking what he thinks is right, God speaks quietly to him. 00:27:20.399 --> 00:27:26.740 Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature because I have refused. 00:27:27.099 --> 00:27:29.159 Literally, I have rejected him. 00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:32.259 The same word used of King Saul. 00:27:33.439 --> 00:27:36.859 God does not judge according to the looks of a man. 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:38.859 God judge. 00:27:38.859 --> 00:27:43.039 God judges according to what God sees in the inner man. 00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:48.579 Verse 7, we have this wonderful promise. 00:27:48.899 --> 00:27:52.439 The Lord does not see as man sees. 00:27:53.639 --> 00:27:55.219 Why is that a wonderful promise? 00:27:58.279 --> 00:28:01.979 We go throughout the whole week with the world screaming lies. 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:07.099 The world sees what the world can see in darkness. 00:28:07.099 --> 00:28:10.399 And screams that as if it's truth. 00:28:12.519 --> 00:28:14.759 And if we're in Christ, we begin our week. 00:28:15.059 --> 00:28:17.259 The eighth day, the first day of the new week. 00:28:17.379 --> 00:28:21.559 We begin by resting in what God says he sees. 00:28:22.439 --> 00:28:27.000 And he sees saved sinners made righteous in Christ. 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:31.319 The Lord does not see as man sees. 00:28:31.819 --> 00:28:36.000 Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:43.259 Verse 7, man looks literally on the eyes. 00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:49.839 God looks on the heart, the thoughts, the intentions, the judgments. 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:56.099 First Peter 3, verses 3 and 4, we have this similar encouragement. 00:28:56.759 --> 00:29:03.240 Do not let your adorning be external, but let your adorning be in the hidden person of the heart. 00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:10.379 With the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 00:29:10.380 --> 00:29:17.840 And so then Jesse called each of the other brothers one by one. 00:29:19.180 --> 00:29:22.560 Did you catch in verse 10 how many brothers there are before David? 00:29:23.400 --> 00:29:24.640 Verse 10 says it, right? 00:29:24.700 --> 00:29:25.380 How many is it? 00:29:26.600 --> 00:29:27.040 Seven. 00:29:27.760 --> 00:29:29.240 But how many names are we given? 00:29:29.900 --> 00:29:31.800 The first name is given in verse 6. 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:33.299 Eliab. 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:37.419 Eliab means my God is father. 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:40.579 The next name is given in verse 8. 00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:47.519 Abinadab, which means my father is noble and God is my father. 00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:52.700 And the third name that's given, not all seven are given, but it's in verse 9. 00:29:53.359 --> 00:29:56.879 Shama, which means he hears. 00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:06.300 So this seems to be a significant decision in the way God breathed this out and was set, even as a literary narrative. 00:30:07.100 --> 00:30:08.940 Seven sons, but only three are given. 00:30:10.060 --> 00:30:12.000 And what does this convey to us? 00:30:13.740 --> 00:30:19.820 Conveys God is excited to bring forth a son from this line of Jesse. 00:30:21.100 --> 00:30:24.200 And hints about what this will mean, what we should look for. 00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:28.000 My God is my father. 00:30:28.860 --> 00:30:33.819 This is what this seed from Jesse's line is to be that you look for. 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:35.640 My God is my father. 00:30:35.779 --> 00:30:38.539 My father is noble and he hears. 00:30:39.519 --> 00:30:43.559 My father is the one who heard the prayer of Samuel's mom. 00:30:44.900 --> 00:30:46.799 He hears the prayers of his people. 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:53.079 You see the whispers preparing us to look for this son that's coming. 00:30:56.180 --> 00:30:58.359 I wonder, too, why this process? 00:30:58.839 --> 00:31:03.740 Remember, this chapter begins, the section begins with Samuel weak, mourning, grieving. 00:31:05.099 --> 00:31:08.980 God is ministering the truth of his kingdom to Samuel. 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:14.240 The promise is for Samuel and for all the people. 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:19.799 If Samuel needed to learn this about God, how much more you and me? 00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:30.480 We find ourselves fearing man, fearing something unexpected in the future, fearing a painful loss or another hard change. 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:40.960 Matthew Henry commented, the best men are not perfect in their faith, nor will fear be completely cast out anywhere on this side of heaven. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:46.559 And look at what God ministers to strengthen our faith in his promise. 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:52.759 Jesse says, yes, there remains yet the youngest. 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:55.880 Do you see this in verse 11? 00:31:56.860 --> 00:31:58.279 How is yours translated? 00:31:58.400 --> 00:31:59.200 The word youngest. 00:32:01.259 --> 00:32:06.420 In the Hebrew, it literally would read yet there remains the small one. 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:08.120 The small one. 00:32:08.119 --> 00:32:14.359 If someone in my family called someone else the small one, they'd be in trouble because we don't call names. 00:32:14.899 --> 00:32:15.779 The small one. 00:32:15.839 --> 00:32:16.439 This is David. 00:32:16.779 --> 00:32:18.439 This is what he was called in his family. 00:32:19.319 --> 00:32:21.539 And there he is keeping the sheep. 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:27.279 Samuel said, send and bring him for we will not sit down. 00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:36.739 Literally, we will not gather around or reconvene to proceed with my purpose in coming to your home until he, the small one, comes here. 00:32:36.740 --> 00:32:38.039 Verse 12. 00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:40.059 So he sent and brought him in. 00:32:40.519 --> 00:32:43.880 Now he was ruddy with bright eyes. 00:32:44.759 --> 00:32:48.819 Literally of lovely of eyes. 00:32:50.299 --> 00:32:57.880 In the ancient Near East, a rare eye color was considered exotic or or lovely or different. 00:32:57.880 --> 00:33:02.500 And ruddy means red. 00:33:04.940 --> 00:33:05.700 Good looking. 00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:10.520 The word good looking in connection to ruddy. 00:33:10.780 --> 00:33:12.020 Again, this this rareness. 00:33:15.880 --> 00:33:21.660 It most likely is describing simply the physical appearance of David being different. 00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:23.279 Some have read more into this. 00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:24.259 I don't think we can. 00:33:25.400 --> 00:33:30.019 I am reminded, though, of what the Bible has said of David, that he will be called a man of blood. 00:33:31.019 --> 00:33:34.680 So even at the beginning, he's small and he's red. 00:33:34.680 --> 00:33:40.400 But foreshadowing how God will use this man, a small. 00:33:41.820 --> 00:33:42.960 Anointed shepherd. 00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:45.799 To be a king. 00:33:46.940 --> 00:33:48.500 A king covered in blood. 00:33:50.640 --> 00:33:55.920 Proverbs 23, 31 reminds us, do not look at the wine when it is red. 00:33:56.160 --> 00:33:59.680 And that's the same word used described to describe David. 00:34:00.259 --> 00:34:02.140 Who else was described as red? 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:04.820 Think of Genesis 25, 25. 00:34:06.080 --> 00:34:08.160 The two sons that are born, the twins. 00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:10.099 But the first one that came out was red. 00:34:10.559 --> 00:34:11.420 And it was Esau. 00:34:12.380 --> 00:34:14.420 Not only is his past messy. 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:16.079 Prostitutes. 00:34:16.440 --> 00:34:16.960 Moabites. 00:34:17.680 --> 00:34:18.720 The enemies of God. 00:34:19.260 --> 00:34:19.860 It's Esau. 00:34:20.320 --> 00:34:21.360 It's the line of Lot. 00:34:22.820 --> 00:34:24.099 You see what's foreshadowed? 00:34:24.740 --> 00:34:27.900 He will become the enemies of God all along. 00:34:27.900 --> 00:34:36.579 He who knew no sin will make himself to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 00:34:36.579 --> 00:34:47.779 Isaiah 1, 18 says, through your, no, though your sins, God's people, were red like crimson, the same word. 00:34:48.179 --> 00:34:52.460 They shall be white as snow through this anointed one, Jesus Christ. 00:34:52.460 --> 00:34:56.360 And now God speaks to Samuel. 00:34:56.780 --> 00:35:03.940 The Lord said to him, arise, anoint him, Messiah him. 00:35:04.860 --> 00:35:07.019 For this is the one. 00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:10.519 You remember there were seven sons. 00:35:10.679 --> 00:35:11.099 Verse 10. 00:35:11.260 --> 00:35:14.179 Seven sons of Jesse before David. 00:35:14.179 --> 00:35:14.259 David. 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:18.480 So that means David is what number in the line? 00:35:19.579 --> 00:35:20.500 He's the eighth. 00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:24.440 When we hear the number seven, we think completion. 00:35:25.719 --> 00:35:26.359 Fullness. 00:35:27.059 --> 00:35:30.639 So when we hear the number eight, it's the beginning of something new. 00:35:32.359 --> 00:35:34.159 The eighth day of creation. 00:35:35.179 --> 00:35:38.119 It's pointing forward to that first day. 00:35:38.739 --> 00:35:40.559 The inauguration of the age to come. 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:44.019 The eighth son. 00:35:44.819 --> 00:35:45.739 Promised long ago. 00:35:47.419 --> 00:35:50.460 Who can say, my God is my father. 00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:55.159 So these four tests from our passage. 00:35:55.480 --> 00:35:57.419 Show that nothing can stop. 00:35:57.819 --> 00:36:00.159 God from advancing his kingdom. 00:36:01.759 --> 00:36:04.119 This last section is super hard. 00:36:04.759 --> 00:36:06.239 I don't have all the answers. 00:36:06.399 --> 00:36:09.899 So listen with low expectations the next couple of moments. 00:36:09.900 --> 00:36:14.460 But we can simply recognize what we read next this way. 00:36:15.860 --> 00:36:23.680 Nothing stops God from advancing his kingdom by the unexplainable power of his spirit. 00:36:23.679 --> 00:36:29.659 God advances his kingdom by the unexplainable power of his spirit. 00:36:30.099 --> 00:36:31.899 Let's pick up in verse 13. 00:36:32.339 --> 00:36:37.319 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, David, in the midst of his brothers. 00:36:37.320 --> 00:36:43.940 And the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. 00:36:44.380 --> 00:36:46.900 So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. 00:36:46.900 --> 00:36:51.900 In Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 18. 00:36:52.639 --> 00:36:55.220 God had promised to Moses this. 00:36:55.219 --> 00:37:05.259 I will raise up from them, these former slaves, these Israelites, a prophet like you from among their brethren. 00:37:05.260 --> 00:37:11.220 And I will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 00:37:12.220 --> 00:37:21.260 The spirit of God is blowing and is doing that thing God promised long ago, raising up one from among his brothers, anointing him in their presence. 00:37:21.260 --> 00:37:26.460 Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3, starting at verse 5, 00:37:26.580 --> 00:37:32.560 Unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:37.340 That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. 00:37:37.800 --> 00:37:41.300 Do not marvel that I say to you, you must be born again. 00:37:41.800 --> 00:37:49.120 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes. 00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:53.920 So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit. 00:37:55.059 --> 00:38:03.599 The spirit of God advances his kingdom by blowing like the wind in an unexplainable but undeniably powerful way. 00:38:04.299 --> 00:38:07.000 This is how God loves to advance his kingdom. 00:38:10.219 --> 00:38:14.880 We read then the contrast, the unexplainable work of the spirit of God. 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:18.980 In verse 14, the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. 00:38:21.220 --> 00:38:22.360 Here's where it gets tricky. 00:38:22.579 --> 00:38:26.480 And a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. 00:38:28.480 --> 00:38:30.900 I looked this up in several English translations. 00:38:31.140 --> 00:38:34.079 Then I went back to the Hebrew and read a bunch of commentaries. 00:38:34.079 --> 00:38:35.500 And I came to this conclusion. 00:38:37.059 --> 00:38:45.000 When we read in verse 14 that a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled Saul. 00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:50.259 It means in the Hebrew that a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled Saul. 00:38:51.219 --> 00:38:52.659 That's exactly what it means. 00:38:52.659 --> 00:39:00.279 Now notice that it's not that it's the spirit of an evil demon necessarily. 00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:06.779 But the effect of the spirit upon Saul causes distress. 00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:13.379 The same word used in the Bible can have a broader meaning as well. 00:39:13.500 --> 00:39:16.799 It can certainly mean an evil spirit, but it can also mean a few other things. 00:39:16.800 --> 00:39:21.960 And this is where we let the Holy Spirit and his word help us to the extent that we can. 00:39:22.019 --> 00:39:23.760 And we trust some things he's kept veiled. 00:39:24.180 --> 00:39:28.100 What are some of the other meanings of this word distressed or evil? 00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:33.780 That same word is also used in the Bible to describe grief. 00:39:34.300 --> 00:39:35.620 A grief spirit. 00:39:36.440 --> 00:39:36.960 Sadness. 00:39:37.380 --> 00:39:37.720 Trouble. 00:39:38.400 --> 00:39:38.960 Adversity. 00:39:39.220 --> 00:39:40.080 Or ill favor. 00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:45.900 A spirit from the Lord caused ill favor upon Saul. 00:39:45.900 --> 00:39:45.980 Saul. 00:39:47.180 --> 00:39:48.280 He was troubled. 00:39:51.559 --> 00:39:54.300 It's like the spirit of the Lord carrying out. 00:39:55.740 --> 00:39:59.300 Judgment in the Exodus upon the Egyptian slave masters. 00:40:00.099 --> 00:40:01.559 And that's all I had prepared. 00:40:01.660 --> 00:40:04.820 And in God's providence this morning, I was listening through my reading plan. 00:40:04.920 --> 00:40:06.200 The McShane reading plan. 00:40:06.880 --> 00:40:08.440 Keep a finger here because we'll come right back. 00:40:08.539 --> 00:40:10.519 But turn and look with me at 2 Samuel. 00:40:11.260 --> 00:40:13.000 So look forward a few pages. 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:16.300 2 Samuel chapter 24. 00:40:18.820 --> 00:40:21.920 You'll want to see this with your own eyes in your own copy of God's word. 00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:30.740 2 Samuel chapter 24. 00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:34.519 And as you get there, I'll remind you. 00:40:34.840 --> 00:40:36.079 Here's what I see in common. 00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:39.679 God is judging Saul, no doubt. 00:40:40.679 --> 00:40:42.460 Saul made a monument for himself. 00:40:43.099 --> 00:40:48.039 Saul wanted the praise and the affections of God's people instead of that going to God. 00:40:48.759 --> 00:40:51.179 Saul made himself the idol of the nation. 00:40:52.239 --> 00:40:54.239 And God is jealous for the hearts of his people. 00:40:54.340 --> 00:40:56.139 That's what he's after all along. 00:40:56.139 --> 00:41:01.779 In 2 Samuel chapter 24, David counts the army. 00:41:02.839 --> 00:41:08.980 And then his heart tells him, you have acted in a way that is displeasing to God. 00:41:09.059 --> 00:41:10.920 You're acting as though this is your army. 00:41:11.039 --> 00:41:12.099 You're becoming a new Saul. 00:41:13.059 --> 00:41:17.279 Look at 2 Samuel chapter 24 verses 15 and 16. 00:41:17.280 --> 00:41:25.480 So the Lord sent a flag upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time from Dan to Beersheba, the whole nation. 00:41:26.180 --> 00:41:28.840 70,000 men and people died. 00:41:29.280 --> 00:41:30.360 So the Lord did this. 00:41:30.920 --> 00:41:32.280 How did he do it in verse 16? 00:41:32.280 --> 00:41:43.620 When the angel stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the destruction and said to the angel who was destroying the people, 00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:44.940 It is enough. 00:41:45.540 --> 00:41:47.280 Now restrain your hand. 00:41:48.320 --> 00:41:55.920 And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Raunah the Jebusite. 00:41:55.920 --> 00:42:03.240 Now verse 17, then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people. 00:42:05.460 --> 00:42:06.720 Angels are spirits. 00:42:07.519 --> 00:42:20.740 And this, in the same book, 2 Samuel, it's a spirit from the Lord sent to bring judgment on a king who will take glory away from the true king of his people. 00:42:21.240 --> 00:42:23.059 Because God is a jealous God. 00:42:23.059 --> 00:42:26.079 So to me, that's the best answer. 00:42:27.239 --> 00:42:35.500 God sent this distressing spirit or angel to carry out his judgment because he so loves his people and he's jealous for his people. 00:42:39.340 --> 00:42:46.500 Now when, without the help of the spirit in this world, we read passages like this and we can see God's hand at work. 00:42:46.840 --> 00:42:52.099 But we can't rightly see the character of God unless he gives us faith to understand. 00:42:52.099 --> 00:42:56.139 Let's turn back to our sermon passage and look at verse 16. 00:42:57.920 --> 00:43:00.500 The servant now starts to speak. 00:43:00.619 --> 00:43:04.799 Not important other than it's not one of the main characters. 00:43:04.960 --> 00:43:06.739 It's another observation by these men. 00:43:07.279 --> 00:43:08.980 In verse 16 of our sermon passage, 00:43:08.980 --> 00:43:24.880 Verse 17. 00:43:24.880 --> 00:43:27.260 So Saul said to his servants, provide me now. 00:43:27.660 --> 00:43:31.800 Literally, look now for me, a man who can play well and bring him to me. 00:43:31.920 --> 00:43:32.500 Verse 18. 00:43:32.599 --> 00:43:36.380 Then one of the servants answered and said, look, I have seen this. 00:43:39.740 --> 00:43:41.720 These servants are around Saul. 00:43:41.820 --> 00:43:43.660 They're watching what's happening to him. 00:43:43.659 --> 00:43:46.920 They know God's behind this, but it's a mystery to them. 00:43:47.960 --> 00:43:59.619 And then in God's providence, it reminds me of when Joseph is in the dungeon, but there's the baker and these the cupbearers that now have this opportunity to speak on his behalf and God to raise him up out of nothing and put him in the court. 00:43:59.619 --> 00:44:05.619 One servant says, I've seen a man that would be pleasing to you. 00:44:08.579 --> 00:44:09.579 What verse are we on? 00:44:09.639 --> 00:44:10.139 Can you help me? 00:44:12.279 --> 00:44:12.859 Oh, yes. 00:44:12.920 --> 00:44:13.199 Thank you. 00:44:13.259 --> 00:44:13.559 18. 00:44:13.679 --> 00:44:20.019 He is skillful in playing a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech and a handsome person. 00:44:20.019 --> 00:44:22.739 And the Lord is with him. 00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:23.699 Verse 19. 00:44:23.800 --> 00:44:30.000 Therefore, Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, send me your son, David, who is with the sheep. 00:44:31.139 --> 00:44:35.840 The future king, anointed by God, filled with the spirit. 00:44:36.139 --> 00:44:37.239 And what is he known for? 00:44:38.239 --> 00:44:39.400 He's with the sheep. 00:44:40.500 --> 00:44:43.739 He's a minister of peace to troubled souls. 00:44:43.739 --> 00:44:52.799 The spirit of God is with him and causing him to grow and finding favor in God's eyes and in the eyes of men like this servant. 00:44:53.919 --> 00:44:59.159 In verse 20, Jesse took a donkey, loaded it with bread, the skin of a wine and a young goat. 00:44:59.679 --> 00:45:03.419 This would be customary to send gifts to someone to show them honor. 00:45:03.539 --> 00:45:05.419 I know you're an important person. 00:45:05.539 --> 00:45:08.819 I want to be generous and show that we enter into your court. 00:45:09.179 --> 00:45:12.799 Grateful for this opportunity you've given the little one in our family. 00:45:13.739 --> 00:45:16.359 And he takes it to him. 00:45:16.379 --> 00:45:21.079 And we read in verse 21 that David came to Saul and stood before him. 00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:24.959 Saul loved him greatly and he became his armor bearer. 00:45:24.959 --> 00:45:30.979 And then Saul sent to Jesse saying, please let David stand before me for he has found favor in my sight. 00:45:31.239 --> 00:45:38.319 So it was whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. 00:45:38.320 --> 00:45:45.800 Then Saul would become refreshed and well and the distressing spirit would depart from him. 00:45:47.240 --> 00:45:52.519 This is also in some ways unexplainable, but yet no less powerful. 00:45:53.240 --> 00:45:55.640 Saul had all the resources of the kingdom available to him. 00:45:55.960 --> 00:45:57.559 I'm sure he had tried everything else. 00:45:57.720 --> 00:45:59.240 What is it that ministered to him? 00:45:59.239 --> 00:46:05.559 It's the presence of God through a servant, through the one God has prepared and anointed. 00:46:07.599 --> 00:46:12.939 Perhaps someone pointed out David's first step of obedience was so simple. 00:46:14.000 --> 00:46:15.859 Go and play the harp. 00:46:16.619 --> 00:46:18.239 It's a ministry of presence. 00:46:18.659 --> 00:46:19.219 Be with them. 00:46:19.939 --> 00:46:21.379 A simple step of obedience. 00:46:21.380 --> 00:46:26.960 Why would God make that his first action as the anointed forthcoming king? 00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:34.980 Maybe to show that the advancement of God's kingdom begins when his servants are faithful, even with little. 00:46:36.160 --> 00:46:44.039 And our Lord Jesus was faithful in every aspect of obeying his father from the smallest to the greatest assignment. 00:46:44.039 --> 00:46:53.340 Perhaps the new kingdom, someone pointed out, begins here because it teaches that as long as the enemy of God has a dominion, 00:46:53.340 --> 00:46:59.239 the ministry of the anointed one will be to preserve this decaying world, 00:46:59.440 --> 00:47:07.920 to keep it from being even more evil faster than it would otherwise be without the presence of God's obedient servants left in this world. 00:47:08.599 --> 00:47:13.619 Though they are not of this world, just as the kingdom of Christ is not of this world. 00:47:14.699 --> 00:47:17.000 And that's our job is salt and light. 00:47:17.519 --> 00:47:21.800 We delay the decay of the sinful world around us. 00:47:22.219 --> 00:47:24.480 We are not of the world, but we're stuck into it. 00:47:24.779 --> 00:47:26.460 We are God's preserving agents. 00:47:26.880 --> 00:47:34.179 And where his people go, we carry a peace that passes understanding, especially in our weakness, especially in our smallness. 00:47:35.179 --> 00:47:36.679 Romans 8.28 says, 00:47:36.679 --> 00:48:06.679 00:48:06.679 --> 00:48:21.859 What can stop God from advancing his kingdom? 00:48:22.419 --> 00:48:22.940 Nothing. 00:48:24.239 --> 00:48:25.679 Nothing can stop God. 00:48:25.679 --> 00:48:31.659 And he does this by the power of his spirit poured out through Jesus Christ, the Messiah. 00:48:33.460 --> 00:48:37.579 I mentioned that fire that spread through that city called Columbia, South Carolina. 00:48:37.579 --> 00:48:42.480 Pastor Dale Ralph Davis went back into the old records of their church. 00:48:43.019 --> 00:48:51.019 And the elders had kept a log of all of their decisions and discussions of all the items that made it on an agenda for that church congregation. 00:48:51.019 --> 00:48:53.019 He said, 00:48:53.019 --> 00:49:06.280 After the fire, the very first action, the very first decision that this church made together was to consider the profession of faith that this man had given them and admit that man to become a member of their church. 00:49:06.280 --> 00:49:10.740 After the entire city is destroyed and burned down with fire. 00:49:11.340 --> 00:49:15.019 Nothing can stop God from advancing his kingdom. 00:49:15.680 --> 00:49:17.600 One soul at a time. 00:49:18.180 --> 00:49:21.640 And one more was added to their numbers that day. 00:49:24.400 --> 00:49:25.860 Jesus Christ said, 00:49:26.640 --> 00:49:29.080 I will build my church. 00:49:29.640 --> 00:49:32.220 I will advance my kingdom. 00:49:32.219 --> 00:49:32.339 Amen. 00:49:33.339 --> 00:49:37.980 Neither fire nor our failures can stop him. 00:49:38.399 --> 00:49:38.719 Amen. 00:49:39.579 --> 00:49:40.599 Thanks be to God. 00:49:41.119 --> 00:49:41.759 Let's pray. 00:49:43.799 --> 00:49:45.059 Lord, we praise you. 00:49:45.679 --> 00:49:46.579 You are mighty. 00:49:48.619 --> 00:49:52.759 You display your mightiness in a way that brings you all the glory. 00:49:53.339 --> 00:49:57.599 We thank you for your word that's alive and active by the ministry of your spirit. 00:49:57.599 --> 00:50:02.679 We pray, Lord, that you will apply your truth to our lives, to our hearts for your glory. 00:50:03.159 --> 00:50:03.460 Amen. 00:50:03.460 --> 00:50:03.599 Amen. 00:50:03.599 --> 00:50:03.599 00:50:03.599 --> 00:50:03.599 00:50:03.599 --> 00:50:03.599 00:50:03.599 --> 00:50:03.599 00:50:03.599 --> 00:50:03.599