My topic will be : Top choice is second runner up. I will be looking at the life of David, as recorded in first and second Samuel, then looking at the things that happened to him, and applying those principles to our own lives. I really believe that this is critical. That it is important to do, because the scriptures make it clear that that is why these things were recorded for us. If you study the word, you will find out that the Word of God depicts people like Moses, Abraham, David, Elijah or any of the people who are the main characters of the bible, and they not only tell their good points, but they tell their bad points. They tell about why they were able to seek God, and move in their life. They tell about why they failed. How it was that these things happened. The scripture makes it clear that this is for our examples, so that we could benefit from it. This process is the primary method of teaching in higher educational institutions like Harvard. They will tell you what this business did in this situation and what that business did in that situation, and how you can learn from it. This is known as case studies. Even the world recognizes this as a formidable method of teaching and learning. Before we get to 1 Samuel let us first read a few verses from first Corinthians chapter 10. First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 6 to 11 is talking about the Old Testament characters. Now, I will be moving back and forth through these and other verses before asking you to turn. Let us turn to 1st Corinthians 10:6 . ,/,/,/ -Here begineth the reading of God's Holy word. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Now if you go down to verse 11 it says. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition... - Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word. So this makes it clear that the Old Testament examples were written for us so that we can learn from them. Look at what you can learn. In verse 6 it says: so that we can learn not to lust after evil things as they also lusted. You know lust, not only sexual lust, but just a craving, a desire for things, being dissatisfied, always wanting more, is a major problem in our society today. The scripture is saying that if we were to look at Old Testament examples, it would teach us not to lust. We could look at, say like the children of Israel, came from of the land of Egypt. Even though they had experienced great things from God, they were constantly wanting more. They were not satisfied. They said want to God that we had died. They forgot all of the good things. They forgot how blessed they had it. They forgot that freedom from slavery was superior. The scripture says that if we were to look at that, we could learn not to lust. In the 7th verse here in 1st Corinthians, it says: - Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. You know, overt idolatry, where we actually put up a demon God and worship it, is not real prevalent in western society. Nevertheless, the scripture says in Colossians 3:5, we are not going to turn there, but what it says is, covetousness is idolatry. If you look at that, we do have idols. People worship what they have, what their money can get, their power, their prestige, fame and whatever. If you look at it, you can go back to Old Testament examples and learn not to lust after things like that. Not to commit idolatry and put anything ahead of the true and living God. Verse 8 here in 1st Corinthians 10 says: - Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. This is a very clear example of the sexual sins. One of the reasons why our morals have degenerated and gone down so much today is because people have forsaken the bible. They do not really keep it in front of them. We are not teaching it to our kids. They learn situational ethics. Many people do not see anything wrong with having sex with a person before you get married. It is because the Word of God has been undermined. We need to go back and learn these things. In verse 9 here, it says: - Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Man this is happening all the time today. In verse 10 it says: - Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. I tell you murmuring is just rampant. Our society loves to look at the negative side of everything and gripe and complain. The scriptures teach against that. I have had my share of experiences. Nevertheless, some people think that if you have never been out in the world and experienced many negative things, you cannot know anything because they believe that the only way that you can learn is by hard knocks. You have to be there. You have to experience. I am telling you that the scripture says that God wrote all of these things down in scripture about people, their good and bad points, so that you do not have to learn by hard knocks. That through them you can learn, through their experiences. I tell you, this is the best way to learn. Learn at somebody else's expense, rather than you having all of these problems. Let other people make the mistakes and learn. It has been said, that an intelligent man learns by his mistakes. But, a wise man learns by other people's mistakes. I add to that, a wise man also learns by other people's success. So, whether you are just starting out, or whether you have already made a lot of mistakes. If you are in the mists of a mess and feel like there is no way that you can learn anything or do not know how to prevent it. It does not matter you can benefit from this, if nothing else how to humble yourself, how to come out of it. In this series we are going to talk about Saul and David. We will talk about how one of them became totally rejected by God and found no repentance, and the other one also did terrible things. As a matter of fact, did you know that David, the one who was actually loved by God, and succeeded and prospered. The one we are still honoring today. David committed adultery and murder to cover up his adultery, which Saul never did. Saul actually, as far as morals, was more moral than David was. In some ways, there were things about Saul that were better than David, and yet Saul is not the one who succeeded. He lost everything. There are reasons for this. We are going to be contrasting that, and teaching you lessons. You know there are some people that live a moral life. Yet, they are as straight as a gun barrel and twice as empty. They just do not have any power in them. They may not be out doing some of the things that others are doing, but the power of God is not operating. There is more to it then just living a righteous life. There is a lot more to it. So we are going to be explaining all of these things. Therefore, regardless of where you are in your relationship, I tell you this will benefit you. You can learn and avoid problems. You can recover from problems. This will give you hope. It will build vision on the inside of you, and I think it will be a tremendous series. It will be one of those that you want to go back to again and again. So I am excited about this. Let us start the story of David. Actually, David comes on the scene in 1st Samuel chapter 16. We will turn there later. But, the life of David is woven together with the life of Saul. You cannot look at the life of David without looking at some of the things concerning Saul. Turn with me to 1st Samuel 9:2: ,/,/,/ 1st Samuel 9:2. Here begineth the reading of God's Holy word. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word. Here we are told that Saul was chosen by God and was a goodly person. It says that he was taller than any person in the nation of Israel, from the shoulders upwards. So it means from his shoulders up, he was that much taller than anybody else. The tallest man in Israel only came up to his shoulders. So he was nearly like a giant for an Israelite. He was a very humble person. We will talk about that some more later as we get into some of these things in 1st Samuel 15:17. He started off being little in his own eyes, and God picked him, selected him, put him over the nation of Israel. For the first 2 or three years, God really did some amazing deliverance through Saul. God solidified the kingdom under him. The people rallied under him, and he was established as king. Here is one of the main things I want to get across. Now this will really impact you if you can get the point in its fullness of what I am trying to say. Here in 1st Samuel, chapter 13, verses 8 to 14. Turn there with me. ,/,/,/ 1st Samuel 13:8-14. - Here begineth the reading of God's Holy Word. 8 And he, Samuel, tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgaal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. - Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word. Saul was going out, and he was fighting with his enemies, and he had assembled the troops. Samuel had told Saul to wait seven days until he, Samuel, came, and Samuel would offer a sacrifice. That way they would go out to the war with the blessing of God on them. Now Saul offered this sacrifice contrary to the instructions of God. The law prescribed that only priest could offer the sacrifices to petition God like this. Saul stepped out of his position. He was a secular government official, but he was not a priest. Even if you were a priest, you had to do it correctly. In Leviticus, chapter 10:1-2, we are not going to turn there, but, the two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, they were priests, so they were qualified to offer a sacrifice. Yet, they did not follow the proper order. They did not do it the way God prescribed. Because of that, the fire that they used for the sacrifice, literally came out and burned them up. God struck them dead because they did not follow the prescribed order. They were priest, and yet they were killed, because they did not do it properly. It was very strict. If you offered a sacrifice, not being a priest you sinned against God. Even if you were a priest, you had to do it exactly the right way. So, this was a major sin on Saul's part, and as soon as he got through offering the sacrifice, Samuel showed up. Here is what Samuel said in 1st Samuel 13, verse 11 to 12. - Here begineth the reading of God's Holy Word. 11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; 12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgaal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. - Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word. You see now here is Samuel reproving Saul for what he did, and asking why did he do it. Saul instead of saying, well I was wrong, forgive me. Instead of humbling himself, he immediately says, well the people, they were beginning to leave me. I had to have these people. I had to have them around me. I had to have their help. Here again, he was being moved by the people. Then he tried to spiritualize it. He said, well I had to offer the sacrifice. I could not go to battle without offering my sacrifice. Now, that may have been the custom, and to some degree that may have been a valid thing. Nevertheless, you know what this is. This is an excuse. Saul was not seeking God with all of his heart. You can see that very clearly by the reaction that God had. If this had just been a mistake, a miscalculation, God would not have responded to Saul the way that he did. But, God got very upset with Saul, and brought severe punishment on him. This shows that he knew exactly what he was doing. He is here trying, to explain himself away. This is a common practice that many people do. Instead of just admitting that I blew it. Forgive me. This later method is the way that David did it. David did not blame anybody else. He said that it was his fault. As a matter of fact, one time when he went out and numbered the people, and God was going to destroy the people, I forget how many, but it seems like there was seventy thousand, or something like that, and the death angel was ready to destroy Jerusalem. David saw this, and he came and fell down, and he said God take my life, kill me. It is my fault, but these are innocent sheep. Do not punish them. He was not trying to place the blame saying, these people made me do it. It is their fault. No! He shouldered the blame. He took responsibility. That is one of the things that made David a man after God's own heart. He did not do everything properly. David made some serious mistakes. You would be mistaken, to think that when God talks about having a pure heart, and a perfect heart, that this is talking about that you never sin. That you never make a mistake, but when you do make a mistake, how do you respond. Do you blame other people. Are you one that does not except that hey it is your fault that you are the mess you are. Are you one that always blames it on a dysfunctional family. That talks about what happened to you in the past. Are you one that has claimed that you are a victim instead of a victor. I tell you that that attitude is very popular in our society. It is an attempt to dodge responsibility and blame other people. That is an attitude of Saul. That is a person who is not going to serve, a person who is not going to be blessed, a person who will not reach their full potential. If you want to be like David, if you want to learn a lesson from David, and be a man after God's own heart, one of the first things you have to do is to start accepting responsibility when you are wrong, and not blame somebody else. Not make excuses. I pray that the Holy Spirit will quicken that truth to you. Apply it directly to your situation. If you are one of those who have not accepted your fault and your responsibility, and you are still blaming everyone else, you need to get out of that. You need to accept responsibility. Because, only when you accept your responsibility does it put you in control so that you can change things. If other people and other circumstances have made you the mess that you are, then you can never change. You cannot change other people, and you cannot change who you were born to, the color of your skin. There are a lot of things, circumstance, environmental things that you cannot change. Nevertheless, if you can accept responsibility, and say regardless of what is done to me, it is the way that I have responded to it that made me the way that I am. It is my fault. God forgive me. You can change you. You are the only one that you can change. So, for you to become a victor, instead of a victim, you have to accept responsibility for your own messes. That is a powerful truth. Look what Samuel said unto Saul in 1st Samuel, chapter 13, verses 13. - Here begineth the reading of God's Holy Word. 13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. - Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word. Now again, Saul disobeyed God. He tried to rationalize it, explain it, it was the people that made me do it, I had to do it because I did not want to go to war without asking God's favor. He had a million excuses. People can try and make it look good. But, you know what. If you disobey God, you are foolish. It is wrong. It does not matter how you justify it. It does not matter what you say, or the extenuating circumstances. There is no such thing as situational ethics. There are right and wrong things to do. You need to quit blaming somebody else, and accept that if you disobeyed God, you are foolish. This is what Samuel said to Saul. Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. What an awesome statement. This brings up a point that I could spend an hour explaining. It conflicts with a lot of theology. Many people believe that God knows the end from the beginning. I believe that, because the scripture says that he does. Nevertheless, because God is all knowing, all-powerful, they believe that God controls everything, and that whatever God wills, comes to pass. That kind of belief, therefore makes God responsible for all the evil that is in the world. Well it could not happen if God did not allow it. He knew it was going to happen. You might personally disagree with carrying the logic out that far. Nevertheless, let us look at an alternative point of view. For instance, if you apply this thinking directly to Saul, say, God knew who Saul was, and what Saul was going to do. God knew that Saul was going to fail him. So Saul was just a temporary pick by God. In God's original plan, he knew that Saul would fail him. All of this was in the plan of God. It was all sovereignly planned by God. That is the way that most people would approach anything like this. Yet, this verse is God speaking through the prophet Samuel. He told Saul, that if you had obeyed me today, and just waited one more hour. It was less than an hour after he fell into disobedience that Samuel showed up. If you would have just waited and had trusted me, and had not done your own thing. If you had responded to me today I would have established your kingdom upon Israel, forever. What this means is that David was not God's first choice. God did not choose Saul as just an interim, a temporary king over Israel, until the real person that God wanted, David, could grow up and become old enough to take over the kingdom. This is saying that God's first choice was Saul. If Saul would have cooperated with God, God would have established Saul's kingdom over the nation of Israel, and we would have never heard of David. Now, that is a little hard for people who really know the bible to comprehend, because David is just everywhere. David was so blessed, as a matter of fact, the Southern Kingdom of the nation of Israel, was preserved and lasted longer than the Northern ten tribes, because God was honoring David. He spared his descendants because of David. We talk the sure mercies of David. God made a covenant, and an oath that he would never take away a person to rule on David's throne. It was fulfilled ultimately in the Messiah, Jesus, Jesus was the son of David. There were prophecies that the Messiah would come out of the tribe of Judah. That is the tribe that David came from. But, this verse makes it clear that that was not God's first choice. If Saul had obeyed God, then we would have been talking about the sure mercies of Saul. We would have been talking about the Messiah coming out of the tribe of Benjamin where Saul came from. We would never have heard of David. There would never have been a Solomon. There might have been others who did equal or greater things. You know what, this was not God's first plan. Now as we start learning things from the life of David, to me this is one of the most important. That is that God chose David as a result of Saul's disobedience. It goes on to say in this very next verse, after Samuel had said unto Saul, "for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel, for ever.", in 1st Samuel, Chapter 13, verse 14 it says. - Here begineth the reading of God's Holy Word. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. - Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word. The Lord sought out David, after Saul had rejected him. David was not God's first choice, Saul was. Now this has a couple of lessons. It has a negative lesson in it. Even if you have stumbled upon God's will for your life, and you have begun to fulfill it. If you see the calling, the anointing and the blessing upon your life, that does not mean that you are automatically going to prosper. It does mean, that God has a plan for you to prosper. Like what he says in Jeremiah 29:11; Let us turn there. ,/,/,/ - Here begineth the reading of God's Holy Word. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. - Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word. God has a plan for every person, and it is a good plan. It is a plan that will give you an expected end, a predicted future of success, not of failure. God has a plan and a purpose for everyone. Yet, it does not automatically, sovereignly come to pass. You can fork God's plan for your life. It is evidenced here by Saul, who among us, who truly believes that the bible is truly the Word of God can truly say, God knew Saul was going to do all these things. And, Saul was just a fill-in for David. David was God's first plan. This is the one that God really wanted. No! This verse is saying Saul is the one that God really planned on. That is just what it says. So, this is a warning to all of us, that yes God has a plan for us that is by grace. It is not based on our performance. Yet, we do have to cooperate with that plan. We do not deserve it. We cannot do anything to make God do something in our life, because we do not deserve it. Nevertheless, there are things that we can do that will hinder and stop the plan for God in our life. So, the negative lesson that we can learn form this is that we need to beware. You need to take heed. You cannot just take the grace of God, and his blessing, and his calling upon your life for granted. You need to persevere. Like the apostle Paul said in 1st Corinthians 15:9 to 10; let us turn there: ,/,/,/ 1st Corinthians 15:9-10 - Here begineth the reading of God's Holy Word. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. - Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word. He is saying here that because I persecuted the church I do not deserve to be called an apostle. Yet, by God's grace I am what I am. God can give grace. God has a plan for every person's life, but you can void it. It can become in vain or invalidated. He's says it was not in vain, for I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Paul is saying that God by grace chose him. Paul was not really seeking God. Paul was persecuting and killing Christians. Paul was kicking against the bricks. That is what God said himself. So, Paul did not get chosen because of any virtue on his part. It was grace's decision. Yet, Paul is saying, he could have made it in vain, and avoided the grace of God. Yet, he did not because he sought God. He labored more abundantly than them all. So we need to recognize that God has a purpose and a plan, just like Saul, and even though Saul sinned here, God did not immediately take him out of the kingdom. Still, the gifts and the callings of God are without repentance. He remained king until the day of his death, but his kingdom, instead of being a blessing, it turned into being a burden to the nation of Israel. He oppressed people. He basically lost his mind. He did terrible things. He was tormented. He destroyed his son Jonathan's life. He certainly did not realize his full potential. So you can learn from this verse 1 Samuel 13:13-14, that God's plan for your life is by grace. Yet, you have to cooperate. You can stop God's blessing from fully materializing. The other side is that when you realize that Paul is God's first choice, and David was God's second choice, David would have never even come to the surface if Saul had not blown it. What that tells you is God does not necessarily choose the best qualified, or the best suited for something. God does not necessarily choose the silver vessel. Rather, he chooses the surrendered vessel. God is looking more for your availability, than he is your ability. That is quite encouraging. Some of you may feel like you have it all together. But you know what, many of us are just common folks. As for me, my reading ability was significantly impaired because of a stroke from a brain aneurism, from which I should have been dead after a matter of minutes of not seeing the doctor. Nevertheless, my reading quantity and comprehension multiplied significantly. In another scenario the doctor said that as a result of the back pain from another physical ailment, I would come begging and pleading for a back operation to avoid the increasing pain. Nevertheless, I am stronger than I have ever been in my life, which is a statement I heard the elderly boxer Hollifield make. My response was, yea, right! You are also older than you have ever been. It is interesting how the Holy Spirit brings back to our memories the things that we already know. It is interesting how necessity is the mother of invention. How God gives us ideas and inventions to raise us up, when we have fallen down. How the devil meant it for evil, but God used it for good. So, you see when God began to put in my heart, some of the things that he told me to do, I felt like I am not qualified. I am not good enough. Then I read over in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, what his qualifications were. According to apostle Paul; Turn with me there. ,/,/,/ - Here begineth the reading of God's Holy Word. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence. - Here endeth the reading of God's Holy Word. When I read this, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. I said hey, I qualify, that is me, foolish. It goes on to say that God hath chosen the week things of the world to confound the mighty. That is me again, week. It continues wise the base things of the world. That is still me, common or base. This is all me. I can apply within. God does not choose the way that man chooses. God looks at the heart. Now, Saul started out with a tender heart, so God chose him. Yet, when his heart changed, God forsook him, and God turned away from him. Now, in the New Testament, God will never forsake us, but God will not continue to promote us if we get an evil heart. He will continue to love us. He is not going to reject us, but he is not going to open doors. God is not going to promote a rotten attitude. You can stop the blessing of God, the promotion of God, from coming into your life. God will not forsake you the way that he forsook Saul. Yet, you certainly can hinder and stop and fork the blessing of God in your life. So you need to recognize that God is looking for this humble heart. He is looking for the attitude of heart. Like he said about David. He had sought out a man after his own heart, or in Jeremiah he said he would give us pastors with his heart. This is so encouraging to me. He chose David, not because he was the tallest. Saul was the tallest in the entire nation. David was the runt of the litter. Saul was a tough, masculine man. He was probably weathered by being out in the wind. He was just a mean looking guy. David it said was ruddy, beautiful complexion. He was a beautiful continence, good to look on. In other words, he was a mama's boy. Not the kind of guy you would pick to go out and fight a battle. This is what encourages me. This is one of the lessons that I have learned from David. You see, God is not concerned with my external things. It is not my skills. It is not my abilities. It is not whether I have got charisma or not. God is looking for a heart, somebody who will trust him. When I saw this, I said, God I may not have the education. I may not be polished. I may not have the looks. I may not have the strength and natural abilities that other people do. I may not have any talents. But, I do have a heart, and I can commit my heart to seeking you as much as anybody has ever has. That is my pursuit. I am not saying that I have obtained it, but I am really seeking to love God in spirit and in truth, with my whole heart. I believe that God will honor that. That God will open up doors, that God will continue to bless me. I do not have the ability in my hands to raise anybody from the dead or to heal the sick. Yet, through the faith of Jesus, which he put in me, that same faith that caused me to choose Jesus as my Lord, that same faith which raised Jesus from the dead, I have healed myself. Likewise, with that same measure of faith, I can do the works that he did. I can yield my heart to God, and God can use me, and God can use you. I have not arrived, but I have left. What I want you to get out of this is, that David was not God's first choice. Yet, look at what God was able to do with David. Look at the impact this man had. After nearly four thousand years, we a still learning and talking about what a great man David was. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Many people's lives were transformed. The nation of Israel was taken from a group of basically tribal groups and a rag tag group of people, into a nation that gained prominence. God used him to establish a nation that is still in existence today. All of this happened through a man who was not God's first choice, who did not have all the qualifications, but he yielded his heart to God, and God's plan B, was better than what I could imagine his plan A could have been. The good news is, that can work for you. You may not have it all together. You may consider yourself to be foolish, week, based and despised. Yet, according to 1 Corinthians 1:26-28, you qualify. All you have to do is yield your heart to God. Man, this is encouraging to me. I am not God's best choice, but you know what, I have chosen God. Because of that, I am persuaded that God has chosen to use me. Maybe someone else is better qualified, but nevertheless, God will continue and is using me, and I just praise him for the opportunity. That is one of the greatest things that I have learned from the life of David. That is you do not have to be perfect, you just have to be seeking God with your whole heart. If you are hungry and thirsting for God, you shall be filled. Given my allotted time I am going to end here. As we approach the time when David becomes king, I know that God will be with you till we meet again. Because he said, I will never leave you or forsake you. Amen!