Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

1 Samuel 16:1-13
The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." 2 And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he
will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, `I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me him whom I name to you." 4 Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The
elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" 5 And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." And he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When
they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORDS anointed is before him." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD
looks on the heart." 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to
Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he comes here." 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. 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 brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29
For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in
the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Summary and Function

Summary: God often calls the most unlikely people to accomplish the most amazing things. Moses was not a great political, social or military leader when God called him to lead His people out of Egyptian bondage. God, however, enabled Moses to become one of the greatest Hebrew leaders of all
time. The apostles were an odd assortment of zealots (revolutionaries), tax collectors and fishermen. Until the Apostle Paul came on the scene, none of them were educated. No one expected this strange mixture of people to preside over the greatest expansion of the Christian church but, with empowerment from the Holy Spirit, they did just that.

God is still using the most unlikely people to do extraordinary things. That way, people know it is God doing it. Is God calling you to do something that you don't think you can do? The fact that you don't think you can do it is an indicator it is coming from God.Take the chance and do what God is laying on your heart. If it is something God wants you to do, God will enable you to do it. God will make it happen!!

Function: To get the members of the congregation trust God to enable them to do whatever God calls them to do.

Sermon

I. Introduction: My love for 'underdog' stories. I love the stories where the weaker person

takes on a 'Goliath' and wins

A. Rocky movies: A street level fighter with no professional experience, takes on the heavy weight champion of the world and wins in the re-match

B. Erin Brockovich movie: A lowly legal secretary brings her law firm into a legal fight with a huge corporation and wins

C. Dodge ball: A True Underdog movie: This is an extremely stupid movie, but I still like it because it's an underdog story. A group of dweebs from a failing gym take on the studly athletes from a successful gym in a high-powered dodge ball game and win

D. One reason 'underdog' stories are so popular is because they are not common in the real world. Of the three examples I gave, only one is a true story. In this sinful and fallen world, the strong and cruel people are often on top. We, however, are not bound by the dictates of this sinful and fallen world.

II. We live by the dictates of the Kingdom of heaven. In this kingdom, the weak and

lowly end up on top. God uses the weak and foolish things of the world to shame

the strong and wise.

A. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29: For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

B. God uses the most unlikely people to do the most extraordinary things. That way, everyone knows it's God doing it!!!

C. Bible is full of examples of God using the most unlikely person to do extraordinary things.

· Abraham was just an average person when God told him to leave his family and country.

· Moses had no political or military leadership experience when God called him to lead His people out of Egyptian bondage

· Gideon had no political or military leadership experience when God called him to lead the Israelites to defeat the Midianites.

· The twelve apostles were a strange assortment of uneducated fishermen, tax collectors and zealots and God used them to establish the church.

· The Apostle Paul was murdering Christians when Jesus called him top take the good news to the Gentiles

· One of the most well known examples of God using the 'most unlikely person' is David

III. The anointing of King David

A. Samuel is told by God to visit Jesse to anoint one of his sons as the next king of Israel.

B. All the sons, except David, are brought in front of Samuel but the Lord doesn't choose any of them. All the boys are big, strong, intelligent and handsome, but God doesn't choose any of them.

· God doesn't look on the outside appearance but the heart

· David's older brothers were the obvious choice according to worldly standards, but God doesn't choose any of them.

· Sasmuels asked Jesse if he had any more sons. Jesse declares that the youngest son, David, was out tending sheep.

C. Jesse din't even consider because he was the youngest, inexperienced and small. He wasn't the obvious choice by worldly standards, but…

D. God doesn't judge by worldly standards but by the heart. God told Samuel to anoint David as the next King of Israel.

IV. God is still choosing the most unlikely people to do the most extraordinary things

A. The book The Hole in our Gospel, written by Richard Stearns. A multi-millionaire who sold fancy dinner ware to the riches families in the world now heads "World Vision". This is a Christian organization dedicated to eradicating poverty around the world. God used a millionare who had no experience with the poor to manage a ministry dedicated to helping the poor worldwide.

B. Keith Shipmen's uncle, David Lee, was a drunk that no one paid attention to. One day Keith noticed that Uncle David Lee would quote Scripture and give sermons while drunk. He didn't speak about God while sober but he did while intoxicated. Keith started to listen to him and learned about God. Although getting drunk is a bad thing to do, God was still able to use a drunk to teach His truth.

C. God can use us to do extraordinary things as long as we surrender to him. The Holy Spirit will empower us and God will make us successful. If God can use a millionaire to reach the poor and a drunk to teach theological truths, then he can use us. We just have to be willing.

V. Conclusion

A. Is God calling you to do something extraordinary? Are you questioning it because you're not qualified by worldly standards?

B. If so, give it a try and see what happens. If it is from God, it will be successful!!!