I Samuel 16:14 - I Samuel 17

“Accompanying Signs Of Authority”  11.13.07  Autonomy, Authority And The Man Of God, Session ^#10

Intro.

- David has been privately annointed by Samuel in the sight of the Lord, but it will be years before he takes the throne publicly. In the meantime, things go from bad to worse for King Saul.

- The Bible tells us that the Spirit of God had come upon David and simultaneously left Saul.

- And as that happens, Saul is oppressed by a “distressing Spirit.”

- It seems from the text that this was not a continual state and that it could be assuaged by the presence of a minstrel.

* I Samuel 16:16 : “Then one of the servants answered and said, ‘Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.’”

- David came in, received the favor of Saul, and Saul loved David so much, that he made him his armorbearer, fully unaware that he is employing his own successor!

- Whenever David would play, the King would become calm. But nothing could calm Saul on the battlefield.

- Chapter 17 sets us into the most famous battle of Saul’s career. It is the battle between two armies who are to be represented by two champions.

- Goliath is the Philistine champion, standing roughly 9 feet tall, with full armor.

- And on the Israelite side? Well, the only people who had armor were the royal family, and the only true champion was the King himself. But the Bible presents the battle as a standstill.

* I Samuel 17:11 : “When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”

- For 40 days and nights, Goliath taunted the armies of Israel with blasphemies and curses.

- In the midst of this, David, who we learn is only a employed part time by Saul, comes down to learn about what has happened with his brothers, who were servicemen.

- He finds out about Goliath and is incensed that nothing has been done about him and his blasphemous words against God. Then, with great confidence, David speaks out.

• I Samuel 17:26 : “Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?’”

- These words brought David before King Saul. They stood out because David was the only one talking like this!

- When it came time, David did not shrink back, but instead ran right after the Philistine champion, defeating Him with one sling-shot to the head.

- Again, this chapter has spawned a million sermons. We could talk about facing giants, walking in the Lord’s victory or proper perspectives for battle.

- What I see here though are signs that accompany the call of God upon the life of a man. These characteristics are common among men who are called of God and annointed to special places of service. We see

I. Power To Minister (16:23)

II. Prepared For Battle (17:34-37)

III. Preoccupied With God’s Glory (v.45-47)

Text

I. Power To Minister (16:23)

• I Samuel 16:23 : “And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.” : This is a peculiar section of scripture. A distressing spirit came upon Saul and the author attributes it’s presence to God’s will.

- The word “distressing” can mean malignant or troublesome. It is said to have come from the Lord, which leaves us with a problem.

- Can God send things or spirits upon us that are distressing in nature?

- Let us remind ourselves that one of God’s attributes is Holiness and Righteousness.

- As a result God can not actively bring evil to pass upon a person.

• James 1:13 : “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”

- God does not tempt anyone toward evil. But God can and does remove His hand and influence upon a person. In this way, God is passively allowing the evil that must be a consequence to the behavior of the ungodly.

- By removing His Spirit, as we see in verse 14, Saul becomes susceptible to evil influence.

- This is often called “passive judgment” in that God does nothing to protect those who have refused Him from the consequences that come from a lifestyle that excludes Him.

- We see this in other places in the Bible, where God gives people up to uncleanness and confirms decisions that had been previously arrived at.

- Saul is in this condition. David however, is filled with God’s Spirit. And whenever this distressing spirit came upon Saul, David was called in to play music in order to calm Saul.

- When David came in, his playing was effective and useful to God to touch the soul of Saul.

- David played his harp, and the result was that Saul would become “refreshed and well.”

- The word “refreshed” literally means “to breathe easily.” It speaks of relief of soul.

- The word “well” is also picturesque, as it refers to a pleasant mood.

- David was annointed to minister, to serve a person in that condition, with the gifts that he had been given. It was not David, but God’s Spirit ministering through David, that brought this about.

- Do you realize that there are a lot of Saul’s in this world?

- Do you understand that God wants to “refresh” people around you and make them “well?”

- You don’t have to be a musician, but you can use the giftings that God gives you to bring this about. Jesus wants to minister comfort and counsel through you to a distressed world around you.

- God avails His power to those who are annointed, giving them power to minister.

II. Prepared For Battle (17:34-37)

• I Samuel 17:34-37 : “But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.’ Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’” : The ones that God picks are the ones that are prepared.

- They are prepared in the most pure sense of the word, in that they are trained and given experiences necessary for the task that God has chosen them for.

- Here David reveals that he has faced giants before. He had faced BOTH a lion and a bear!

- It’s not that David is boasting here. He is not. David is reporting what he had been through that prepared him uniquely to face the fearful situation that was before Israel at this moment.

- He was built for this moment by God, for he surmises that if the Lord delivered him from these, then God could just as easily do it again.

- This is a confidence that can only come with a history of God’s deliverance.

- I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to remember what it is that God has brought you through in your Christian walk.

- How did God deliver you from that financial bear or a personality lion of a conflict?

- We need to remember because each experience of success or failure, strengthens our resolve to follow faithfully the next time.

- God often sets things up in the Old Testament, so that the people of Israel would remember.

- The people of Israel were to wear tassels on the corners of their garments. It served a purpose in their hearts personally.

• Numbers 15:37-40 : “Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners. And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined, and that you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy for your God.”

- Joshua commanded the people of Israel to take 12 stones with them across the Jordan.

- 12 men carried them, and they must have wondered what the purpose was.

• Joshua 4:6,7 : “that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.’”

- It would be a memorial to a miracle that happened for the people of Israel, but it was not just for that generation, but the generations to come that would hear about it and learn of God’s fidelity.

- For us, a function that God commands us to is the sharing of God’s works in our lives with other believers around us. When we testify to God’s work in our lives, we build ourselves up for further faithful obedience and we build up our children toward the same goal.

• Psalm 145:4-7 : “One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness.”

- In the life of the man that is annointed by God, past experiences and prior problems are preparation for present conflict! It is therefore important to note what God has done and what He has brought you through.

- Today, God is using experiences and conflicts to reveal how powerful and good He is toward you. Remember His goodness. If you are going through things now, mark what the Lord is doing, but know that you are being specifically prepared for His use.

III. Preoccupied With God’s Glory (v.45-47)

• I Samuel 17:45-47 : “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.’” : Just three verses, but no less than 6 acknowledgements of God’s presence and offense at the hands of Goliath.

- It’s clear that David is in this battle because it is the Lord’s glory and name that has been defiled and cheapened by the forty day taunt of Goliath.

- What a contrast to Saul, who at the sight of Goliath, fled into his tent and hid away, thinking that he could not win. David, knowing that his resource was heavenly, knew that he could not lose.

- David is preoccupied with God’s reputation, with that which effects the heart of God.

- Annointed men have a similar disposition.

- They are mad at what angers God. They are intolerant of sinful situations in their midst and among their sphere of influence. They are passionate about God’s concerns and agenda items.

- Jesus was a man with just such a heart, of course, He Himself being God in the flesh.

- When Jesus came into the temple, He saw a grievous sight.

- People who had come from all over the civilized world at that time, had come to meet with God, to sacrifice to and worship Him. What they were met with were opportunists who took advantage of the visiting hordes, by telling them that they could only sacrifice in the temple with temple authorized sheep.

- The catch was that they could only buy such temple authorized sheep with temple authorized money, which could be exchanged at an inflated rate.

- Upon seeing this, Jesus got busy and began to clear the house!

• John 2:15-17 : “When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!’ Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.’”

- Jesus was passionate and zealous for God’s glory and the reputation of His house.

- Are you zealous for God’s glory, His reputation, in the area of your relationships?

- Are you zealous for God’s reputation in your conversation? How about your home?

- The annointed man is preoccupied with God’s glory in every situation that He faces.

Conclusion

- Today, as we sit here, we see that these things are accompanying signs of God’s annointing.

- God’s man will have power, and be effective in ministry towards others.

- God’s man will recognize the preparation that God has endowed him with for the present.

- And God’s man will be preoccupied with protecting God’s reputation.

- Perhaps after hearing this, you feel that these things are missing in your life. You lack the power for ministry. People are not drawn to you and do not receive from you.

- You can’t or don’t add up the facts about your history and have no idea about the present!

- And more than anything, you are preoccupied with your own reputation and legacy.

- If that’s you, you are so confused and need God to touch and annoint you for His purposes today. Will you reach out and ask the Lord to do that today? Let’s not waste another minute.