Lessons from David: How to Be a Giant Killer (4 page)

Listen to the Lord!

If you permitted a poisonous snake to live in your house, maybe you could go for a day, a week, a month, or a year without it biting you. But if you allow that snake to stay in your home, sooner or later it could take your life or the life of one of your kids. You wouldn’t live like that—it’s not worth the risk! Well, many people do even worse by allowing rebellion and stubbornness to have a place in their life and home. We know we aren’t doing things exactly the way God has told us to. We’re aware of the fact that we are often slow to obey. God has to badger us and drive us into a corner in order to get us to do something. You might say, “But that’s the way that I am. I’m just not quick to obey!” Then you’re rebellious and stubborn and according to 1 Samuel 15:23, that’s witchcraft, iniquity, and idolatry!

This was why Saul was rejected and David was chosen. If you want to be a David instead of a Saul, quit disobeying God. Stop being rebellious and stubborn. Listen to the Lord and obey Him quickly and fully from your heart.

Chapter 4
Move On!

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

Saul finally admitted, “Alright, I’m wrong. But I’m wrong because I feared the people and they forced me into it!” He still didn’t take direct responsibility.

If you want to be a Saul, then dodge responsibility and say, “I’m this way because of my dysfunctional family, the color of my skin, my lack of education, or this bad thing that happened to me. You don’t understand. I was abused as a child!” Saul had a victim mentality. This mentality leads to destruction. If you want to be a David—someone after God’s own heart—then start accepting responsibility for your own wrongs and quit blaming everybody else.

Quit fearing people! Saul said, “I was afraid of the people. They coerced me into it!” He was the king. He was God’s appointed leader. He had the authority. But instead of doing the right thing, he let the tail wag the dog.

“Honor Me, Please!”

Saul went on to say:

Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

Then he [Saul] said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.

1 Samuel 15:25-30; brackets mine

Samuel told Saul that the Lord had rejected him. This meant that Saul would ultimately lose the kingdom. His children and family would no longer be royalty; he would lose everything. Yet he wanted Samuel to offer a sacrifice to the Lord with him, so the people would stay with him. He wasn’t as concerned about losing the Lord’s approval as he was about what the people thought. This was one of Saul’s major flaws and it is a distinguishing characteristic of pride and insecurity. The fear of man is a snare (Proverbs 29:25). David’s outlook was the opposite of this.

The last verse of this chapter says:

And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

“How Long?”

And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

Saul was God’s first choice to run the kingdom. God regretted that He had made Saul king and then had to reject him. But once that was done—once Saul made his choice—God moved on. God wasn’t living in the past, sitting there sulking, pouting, and brooding over all these things. He said, “I have provided Myself another king from among the sons of Jesse.” The Lord got up and went on with Plan B!

God is more concerned with getting His plan done than He is about mourning what could have or should have been. On the other hand, Samuel mourned for Saul constantly. Finally, the Lord asked him, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul?”

This can be a major problem today. People see a move of God and they just want to build three tabernacles and camp there (Matthew 17:4). Yet, it’s time to move on. In the wilderness, there was a cloud that hovered over the tabernacle. When the cloud moved, the Israelites had to get up and move (Exodus 40:36-38). They couldn’t stay there. They had to move on and follow God. He had a place for them to go.

God has a purpose for your life. Along the way, you’ll encounter individuals who fail and fall away from Him. They may be people you’ve loved and respected. A church leader you idolized may fall into sexual sin, misappropriate money, or otherwise fail. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen just fall apart when the person they were leaning on failed. You need to move on and continue with your life in Christ. Don’t let this stop you!

When It’s Time to Go

Samuel was beginning to fall into this trap of mourning and stagnation until God spoke to him. “How long are you going to mourn? I’ve rejected Saul. Now you reject him too!” That may sound harsh in light of the New Testament. Know that God will never totally forsake us—but He can move on to Plan B. God can say, “Alright, I’ll use you to the degree that you’re usable, that you allow Me to use you, but I’m not going to let My kingdom suffer. I’ll raise up somebody else to get the job done!” He’ll move on. If God moves on, He takes His anointing and puts it on another person. He takes His anointing from one church and puts it on another. Don’t just sit there and die along with that church. If the glory cloud has lifted, move on! Do what God has told you to do!

God told Samuel:

Fill thine horn with oil, and go.

In the Old Testament, oil symbolized the Holy Spirit. When they anointed priests and kings with oil, the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them and energized them to be used of God. So basically, the Lord was telling Samuel to quit mourning over Saul. “Forget the things that are behind and look forward to what’s next! Be full of the Holy Ghost and go do what I’ve told you to do.” That’s a powerful word for you and me today.

There have been times in my life when I was just devastated. Sometimes it was a result of a tragedy, other times it was just a result of negative things that had happened. In these times, my natural tendency was to lose my motivation. I just wanted to sit there and cry, “Oh God, how could this have happened?” During those times the Lord has told me, “Get up, fill your horn with oil and go. Move forward with the vision and mission I’ve given you!” The message God has given me to share is too important for me to sit down and grieve over something bad that’s happened.

On other occasions, something has occurred that was so wonderful, I just wanted to stay there. When I first started in ministry, I pastored some small groups of people. I laid my life down for them, because I truly loved them. Even though I struggled because my calling and anointing was to be a teacher—not a pastor—I was doing it at the time because the Lord had led me to. When the time came and God was moving me on, I didn’t want to leave those people. I was willing to put the rest of the plans and goals for my life on hold so I could just stay there and be a blessing to those people. But God told me, “Fill your horn with oil and go!”

It’s not always something negative that’s holding us back. Sometimes it could be a wonderful experience that you’re afraid to leave. Either way, when the cloud of God starts moving, fill your horn with oil and go!

More Hands in Heaven

I had some friends who started out in a Presbyterian church. They began ministering to a group of college-aged kids in their home and that eventually grew into a church. However, when it was time to transition from being part of this Presbyterian church to pastoring the new church, it was challenging. Although they loved the people in the other church, they knew God was guiding them to step out and lead this new one. The husband was pretty much ready to go for it, but the wife was really struggling with leaving their old church and the people they had grown to love so much.

As they prayed about this, holding hands with friends around a kitchen table, the Lord gave the wife a word. He said, “Sometimes you have to let go of the hands you’re holding onto so that there will be more hands around My table in heaven.” In other words, sometimes you have to sacrifice certain relationships in order to go on and fulfill what God has called you to do. We need to be willing to do this. Whether it’s something negative that’s causing us to grieve or something positive that we would rather not leave, when God leads us to move on, we need to fill our horn with oil and go!

Chapter 5
A Heart for God

Samuel went to Bethlehem and found Jesse. He told him that God had sent him to anoint a king from among his sons. “Therefore, call your house together immediately!” So Jesse’s sons came before the prophet.

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

Eliab was David’s oldest brother. He was the biggest, strongest, and probably the meanest and toughest too. As a result, Samuel was looking at him and remembering Saul. Saul had been head-and-shoulders taller than anyone else in Israel. He had been the oldest son of his father. The first person that God had chosen to be king was this hunk of a man, so Samuel was just supposing that this was the way it was going to be. When he saw Eliab—the oldest, strongest, tallest, toughest-looking son of Jesse—Samuel commented, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before me!”

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.

What an awesome truth! God doesn’t look at us the way man does. David was the runt of the litter. As a matter of fact, David’s own father didn’t think that he had a chance, so he didn’t even put David’s name in the hat. Jesse had eight sons, but he only brought the eldest seven as candidates for this job of king of Israel. He thought,
David doesn’t stand a chance. Never in a million years would he be picked!
David was the youngest. He didn’t look like king material. But God doesn’t look at things the way man does.

How Do You Evaluate?

When you evaluate people or physical things, you can’t just evaluate them based on the way they look. Neither can you read a book by simply looking at its cover. (If you had, you wouldn’t be reading these words right now!) God looks on the inside and sees differently than man sees. You need to keep this in mind when you evaluate others.

This is also true for when other people evaluate you. You don’t need to buy into their evaluation because they may be merely looking on your outward appearance. If you’re born again, you are a brand-new person on the inside. You are a king and priest on the inside. You are a son of God. You’re anointed. You’re powerful. One third of you is “wall-to-wall” Holy Ghost! Don’t let other people’s opinions and evaluations of who you are in the natural realm (your education, looks, talents, voice, and abilities) limit you!

Our society puts so much emphasis on outward appearance. People are starving themselves to death because they believe that skinny is beautiful and fat is ugly. I’m not saying that I think chubby is beautiful (though some cultures do), but I am saying that we put too much attention on that. Just because you’re overweight, not too good looking, or don’t have the greatest education, doesn’t mean that God can’t use you. Remember 1 Corinthians 1:26-29? God chooses the base, weak, despised, and foolish things to confound the wise. God sees things differently than man does.

Don’t accept evaluations based on external things only. If you have a relationship with God, that qualifies you. The Lord has put all kinds of good things inside you. You just need to start seeing yourself the way God sees you.

Is Your Name in the Hat?

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

Finally, all seven of the sons present had passed before the prophet. Samuel said, “Nope! None of these are him!” As far as Samuel knew, these were all of the sons of Jesse. Yet he was sensitive enough to God to know that none of them were the right one. Since he knew that God had said that one of Jesse’s sons would be the next king and obviously none of these were him, Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

Jesse answered:

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.