In Case You Forgot

Text: 1 Samuel 10:4-13

4  And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?

5  And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.

6  And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him.

7  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

8  Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

9  Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

10  Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.

11  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

12  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

·         Though he didn't look great, or always act great, David was good because he was able to get God's attention.

o    David didn't look like much from the outside. He wasn't a great scholar, or some military geniuus.

o 1 Samuel 17:15-30

15  But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

16  And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

17  And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;

18  And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

19  Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20  And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.

For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.

22  And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

23  And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

24  And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.

25  And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.

26  And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

27  And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.

28  And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.

29  And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?

30  And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.

31  And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.

·         David's real greatness was about to take center stage.

o    The very thing that seemed to make David a failure, was about to make him a success

·         What do you do when you come against something that is bigger than you? What do you do when you come against a situation that challenges you down to your core?

o    There ater two kinds of people, those that are facing some giants, or those that are preparing to face giants. Sometimes the giant comes unexpectedly.

o    When David went down to where his brethren were, he was already ready to face this giant.

11.       You must allow your past.

o    There are things that happened in our past that continually hurt us. If we're not careful, the things that happened yesterday can rob us of the joy of today.

o    The Bible Philippians 3:15 - forgetting the things that are behind.

·         To forget literally means to starve. Anything you starve ceases to grow.

·         The problem isn't that our past robs us, but that we continue to feed the past so that it grows. When you stop feeding it, it will die because anything you neglect cannot grow.

1 Samuel 17:31

31  And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.

32  And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.

33  And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.

34  And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

35  And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

36  Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

37  David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

                     i.         Don't ever let anybody tell you what you can and cannot do.

                   ii.         This is the problem with the Saul syndrome. Saul didn't understand the God that we serve. God is ABLE and will give us the victory!

  f.            As a Christian you are already victorious. Don't let any situation come that takes you away from that victory.

 g.            It's time for Christians to stop acting like you are conquered, and start acting like a conqueror in Christ.

h.            When someone says you cannot do something, respond, "But God."

 k.            David said, if God delivered me from the bear and the lion, he can deliver me from this Philistine.

   l.            When the trials come into your life, you have to allow them to become a testimony of where you came from in your life. Never forget where you came from.

m.            God provided for this church, He fought for us, and for us to ever get to a place where we forgot where we came from, it's almost like spitting in His face.

n.            The greatness of David is that he never forgot where he came from. He told Saul, after all that I've gone through, after all that I've seen.

o.            You aren't talking to somebody that hasn't seen anything. David said if I can kill a bear and a lion, what makes you think I'm gonna be scared of a Philistine?

p.            David's true greatness was about to take center stage. Many of the trials we have gone through have been a result of God drawing out of us what God has put inside of you.

q.            You have to have the courage to do what it is that God wants for you to do.

  r.            “When God called me (Pastor) to preach, I thought he was calling the wrong one. Me? No, not me! Huh? Then I found out that it's always the ones that don't want to do it that God calls."

 s.            We need ministers in church, where one can say Hey I can relate to that, because I'm not perfect, because I don't do everything right. I need to be in a church where people are just like me, where people can be honest about WHERE they are, instead of looking down on others.

                     i.            We ALL are sinners, saved by grace.

22.       You must allow your past to be a foundation for the present.

1 Samuel 17:38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.

b.            Many people will tell you that you need to minister a certain way. But you HAVE to do it the way GOD TOLD YOU TO DO IT.

 c.            Don't change to keep somebody in your life, because if they truly love you, they won't need for you to change.

 e.            It doesn't matter what church you go to, WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD? ARE YOU WALKING WITH THE KING?

  f.            Never make apologies for being who you are.

 g.            The closer you get to God the more you understand that there is nothing wrong with you.

33.       David was armored with the faith that God could do anything but fail.

 a.            If God be for you then who could be against you?

b.            You are indeed what the Bible says you are. You are to incorporate whet the Word of God says about you, and what the Word of God says you have.

 c.            If involves more than believing and receiving. You can believe but not receive. You have to be able to persist and move forward in the Will of God for your life.

d.            Your persistence must continue even when it seems like everything is falling apart!

e.            Stop whining; learn to stand up under pressure. Keep moving, full speed ahead, with the love of god burning in your hearts.

   i.            The path to TRUE success is decreasing you and increasing God, that's when you begin to see the blessing, and the blessing is not always physical.

  j.            What you are seeing is a person who is blessed not just because of what he owns. I have learned that you don't need to own a home to be blessed. You are blessed when you can lay your head down at night, and have the peace of God in your heart.

   l.            The going has always been rough, so we might as well set our minds to get tough.

m.            We have to be able to say, we've been here before. I've been lonely before, cried before, and I'm not afraid of it anymore. Anything that doesn't kill me will make me a better person.

o.            Sometimes you have to stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord.

p.            The problem is, when stuff starts going wrong, a lot of times we will start making plans to change. That's not the time to change. It's the time to stand still and wait on God.

44.       Let the past and the present be your bridge to your future.

 a.            David let his past, the lion and the bear, and his present, meeting with Saul, be his bridge to his future.

b.            His faith in God was being cultivated in the fields of his father, and grown in the face of a giant, and activated in his role as king.

e.            While David was attending to his sheep, he had nobody patting him on the back, telling him how faithful he was, and we have times like that ourselves. But David attended anyway, because he didn't seek acclimation from man.

  f.            When David's father sent his sons, David was an afterthought. Dad didn't think there was anything special about his son.

 g.            He was ostracized mistaken and misunderstood.

55.       There is a root that produces an embalming agent called myrrh. Myrrh is one of the biggest ingredients used by priests to anoint people

 a.            On the surface, there is nothing spectacular about it. It is a root-like shrub that is very bitter to taste. But if you throw it on the ground and crush it underfoot, it exudes a wonderfully pleasant smell.

b.            God said to his servants; if I'm gonna use you for my glory, then I will have to crush you to bring the anointing out of you.

 c.            Anointing doesn't come from prosperity; it comes from being broken and bruised. Then eventually you will walk into a room, and people will say there is something different about you. You can then say, “I am BLESSED.”

d.            Your crushing will create an anointing, a fragrance sweeter than honey, and the more you are afflicted, the more anointed you will become.

 g.            When Judas went up to Jesus to kiss him? Jesus said, “Wherefore art thou friend?” Why would he call him friend? Because Judas was ushering Him into His purpose. Recognize those that seem like enemies for the friends they really are, because they also will usher YOU into your own purpose.