Rev. David Holwick A The Life of David, #1
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
January 5, 2014
1 Samuel 16:7
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I. The Abercrombie & Fitch approach.
A. The exclusive market strategy.
A few years ago the popular clothing store Abercombie & Fitch
admitted they wanted only beautiful people.
Their stores had no clothes for fat people.
They didn't hire ugly people to be salespeople.
Their CEO Mike Jeffries told a magazine, "We go after the
attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a
lot of friends.
A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes] and they can't
belong.
Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."
#64035
Christians can fall into the same trap.
A while back, Focus on the Family received some complaints
that their publications only featured exceptionally
good-looking models from stock photographs.
Focus agreed that this wasn't in the spirit of the Christian
message and began using photographs of normal people
of all shapes and sizes and colors.
#64035
B. Who do we go after?
1) The proof copy of our new church photo directory is in
my office and I think we have a problem.
Only exceptionally good-looking people are in it!
2) This is a problem because the New Testament church drew
from the lower levels of society.
In 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 the Apostle Paul says,
"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.
Not many of you were wise by human standards;
not many were influential;
not many were of noble birth.
But God chose the foolish things of the world
to shame the wise;
God chose the weak things of the world
to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world and
the despised things
... so that no one may boast before him."
II. Image does have power.
A. Good-looking people are definitely better off.
1) A professor of economics at the University of Texas has
studied the relationship between beauty and success.
In an article in the New York Times he concluded people
who are good-looking earn 10 to 15 percent more per year.
Over a lifetime that amounts to $230,000.
Those who are not good-looking will be less successful in
every area of life.
His solution is to protect ugly people by covering them
with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
#63342
2) The Bible contains a warning, however - "Charm is deceptive
and beauty if fleeting." Prov 31:30
The first one to be deceived is US.
Researchers in the Netherlands brought in 70 couples and
took headshot photos of both people of every couple.
They had each person rate their boyfriend or girlfriend's
level of attractiveness, and rate themselves.
Then, they passed the photos around for everyone to rate.
What did they find?
Both men and women consistently rated their partner as
much hotter than strangers did.
And they also rated themselves must hotter than strangers
did.
But there is an up-side.
Studies have shown that those who are delusional about how
hot their partner is generally feel happier and more
loving in the relationship.
#63306
3) An example of how wrong our perceptions can be.
Back in 1959 playwright Gore Vidal was casting his play,
THE BEST MAN.
The lead role was a distinguished front-running
Presidential candidate.
The actor Ronald Reagan was proposed, but rejected.
It was decided that he lacked the "Presidential look."
#2203
B. God looks deeper.
1) He is interested in our heart, our motivations.
2) This principle is brought out in the accounts of Israel's
first kings, Saul and David.
3) The people chose the first one, and God the second.
III. The people's choice - King Saul. 1 Samuel 9
A. Turbulent times.
1) No national political leadership.
a) Local leadership provided by leaders called "judges"
but they were often very limited.
b) Military pressure from outsiders was increasing.
2) Moral and religious decline.
a) Country seemed to be drifting, in a malaise.
b) After Eli died, his immoral sons took over.
B. Their demand for a king. 1 Sam 8:4-5
1) Samuel was old, his sons corrupt. 1 Sam 8:3
2) Want to be like other nations. 1 Sam 8:5
a) We naturally seek out strong leaders.
1> Think about people like Gen. Patton and Schwarzkopf.
b) Even Christians seek out super-heroes and pastors.
C. Do you know what you're getting into? 1 Sam 8:10-18
1) God is being rejected. 1 Sam 8:7
"And the Lord told [Samuel]: Listen to all the people are
saying to you: it is not you they have rejected, but
they have rejected me as their king."
2) Samuel warns the people of loss of freedom. 1 Sam 8:11
a) Completely negative portrayal of politics.
b) God himself foresaw need for a king, and approved of
it, but knew a loss of freedom would result.
D. Saul is chosen.
1) Powerful and physically attractive.
a) He came from a prominent family.
b) The Bible says he was "an impressive young man without
equal among the Israelites -- a head taller than any
of the others." 1 Sam 9:2
2) Saul later went downhill.
a) His politics became paranoid - everyone became his enemy.
b) Religious swings from cruel oppression to hypocritical
embrace of paganism. (witch of Endor)
c) Emotional disintegration that we would label paranoid
schizophrenia.
d) Ultimately, he self-destructed.
IV. God's choice - King David.
A. David only got one vote - God's. 1 Sam 16:1
1) The prophet Samuel thought that Jesse's other sons
looked good enough to lead, but God didn't want them.
2) In verse 7, God says looks and height don't matter to him.
He wants what is in the heart.
a) The person he wanted wasn't even present in the home.
b) David was out tending the sheep.
3) You might argue that David still fits the mold.
As verse 12 says, "He was ruddy, with a fine appearance
and handsome features."
But God chose him apart from his looks.
After all, David was a kid in a man's world.
B. The qualities God sought:
1) Spirituality. 1 Sam 13:14
Psalm 89:26 -
"He will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God,
the Rock my Savior.'"
Psalm 89:33 -
"I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever
betray my faithfulness."
2) Humility.
a) This was best shown when David was defeated.
b) As people mocked him, he didn't lash out at them.
3) Integrity.
Psalm 78:72 says of David,
"David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them."
C. How God trained David.
1) Solitude.
a) Surrounded by smelly sheep.
2) Obscurity.
a) Nobody noticed what he did.
3) Monotony.
a) (dishes, diapers)
4) Reality.
a) He faced threats and death, lions & bears. 1 Sam 17:34
1> Less than 1% of life, but it can define who we are.
b) Rev. Chris Brown, Christian "Rambo" -
Chris Brown was in Hawaii on his honeymoon.
Drove their rental car through miles of sugar cane fields
to swim at a deserted beach on Kauai.
When they came back to the car, the windows were smashed
and everything was stolen - credit cards, money....
What Glenn Gunderson would have done is reported it to
the police.
Chris is made of different stuff.
He followed the tracks into the cane fields,
spots two of the men,
chases them down, grabs them,
and twists their arms around them for 45 minutes.
They finally told him where everything was - including
stuff from other people - and Chris recovered it all.
He's a Christian Rambo - but dumb as a brick.
Don't do that in New Jersey! #3361
V. Two truths worth accepting.
A. It is in "little things" that we prove ourselves capable of
"big things."
1) Everyday obstacles prepare us for the main task of life.
2) Jesus says if we are faithful in small things, he will
give us responsibility for big things.
B. When God develops inner qualities, he is never in a hurry.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 2203 “A New Look For a New Year,” Dynamic Preaching (www.sermons.com),
January 2, 1992.
# 3361 “Christian Rambo,” Rev. Glenn Gunderson, from his sermon “A Man
After God's Own Heart,” July 16, 1995.
#63306 “Your Partner Is Not As Hot As You Think They Are,” Ace & T.J.,
The Stupid News; http://www.acetj.com/features, August 5, 2011.
#63342 “Unattractiveness -- A Disability?” Kelly Boggs, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, September 9, 2011.
#64035 “The Fellowship of the Normal,” Brett Maragni, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, May 17, 2013.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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