WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:04.460 This morning, I get to introduce the text. 00:00:05.020 --> 00:00:12.460 So if you have your Bible with you can open up to First Samuel 16, and we will be reading one 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:16.219 through 13, and I will be reading out of the NASB. 00:00:19.060 --> 00:00:21.610 Now reading. 00:00:23.520 --> 00:00:30.820 "Now, the Lord said to Samuel, 'How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being King over 00:00:30.820 --> 00:00:31.120 Israel? 00:00:32.180 --> 00:00:39.200 Fill your horn with oil and go, and I will send you to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a King for myself 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:46.340 among his sons.' But Samuel said, 'How can I go?' When Samuel hears of it, he will kill 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:54.160 me.'" "And the Lord said, 'Take a heifer with you and say, 'I've come to sacrifice to the Lord.' You 00:00:54.160 --> 00:00:56.370 shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice. 00:00:56.760 --> 00:00:58.280 I will show you what you shall do. 00:00:58.740 --> 00:01:06.040 And you shall anoint for me the one whom I designate to you.' So Samuel did what the Lord said and came 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:13.360 to Bethlehem, and the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, 'Do you come in peace?' He said, 00:01:13.640 --> 00:01:16.060 'In peace, I've come to sacrifice to the Lord. 00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:23.640 Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.'" "He also consecrated Jesse and his sons, invited them 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:24.640 to the sacrifice. 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:29.680 When they entered, he looked at Elaib." I don't know if I said that right. 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:33.180 "And thought, surely the Lord's anointed is before him. 00:01:34.340 --> 00:01:41.380 But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature because I've rejected him.' For 00:01:41.460 --> 00:01:43.100 God sees not as man sees. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:47.720 For the man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:52.500 Then Jessie called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. 00:01:53.020 --> 00:01:58.960 And he said, 'The Lord has not chosen this one, either.' Next, Jesse made Shammah pass by. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:08.100 And he said to the Lord, he said, 'The Lord has not chosen this one either.'" "Thus, 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:10.880 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:14.800 But Samuel said to Jesse, 'The Lord has not chosen these. 00:02:15.480 --> 00:02:22.520 And Samuel said to Jesse, 'Are these all the children?' And he said, 'There remains yet the youngest and behold, he is tending the 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:29.580 sheep.' Then Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send and bring him for we will not sit down until he comes here.' So 00:02:29.580 --> 00:02:30.840 he sent and brought him in. 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:34.360 Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:39.260 And the Lord said arise, anoint him for this is he. 00:02:40.180 --> 00:02:47.420 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 00:02:47.480 --> 00:02:54.640 David from that day forward and Samuel rose and went to Ramah." Dear 00:02:54.640 --> 00:02:59.360 heavenly Father, thank you so much for this time that we have to come together and listen to your word. 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:07.520 I pray that you would open our heart and our eyes to what the truth of your scriptures are, and please 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:14.620 give Nathaniel the words to say so that we can understand you more and that we can grow in our relationship with you and 00:03:14.620 --> 00:03:16.020 with each other. 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:18.000 God, you are so good to us. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.360 And we are so grateful for your goodness. 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:21.740 In Jesus' name. 00:03:22.220 --> 00:03:24.320 Amen. 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:28.140 Good morning, church, family. 00:03:28.140 --> 00:03:35.300 You just heard the passage of scripture read to us, the story, and the reason we do that in the beginning is one, so we're familiar with this story, but two, I'm going to just highlight some 00:03:35.300 --> 00:03:37.600 of the significant things that happened in the story. 00:03:37.820 --> 00:03:44.620 And when you begin at the beginning of this passage, chapter 16, verse one, you start to see a familiar attitude. 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:53.020 With what's happened in previous chapters leading up to this for the life of Samuel and Israel, and it's sort of the precedent, really not 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:57.180 sort of, it is the precedent that's been set from the book of Judges into first Samuel. 00:03:57.300 --> 00:04:04.340 If you've been following along in this series that we've been in together, what you've seen is that the time in Israel's period here is 00:04:04.340 --> 00:04:09.290 a very divided time period where their identity is no longer shaped in the Lord. 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:14.020 In fact, we could maybe even argue that they hadn't really fully shaped their identity in the Lord to begin with. 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:21.839 That when Israel left Egypt as slaves under Moses, they wandered through the wilderness for 40 years, they finally get into the promised 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:26.430 land, and when they get into the promised land, they're a very divided group of people. 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:28.620 And as you read the book of Judges, you see that. 00:04:28.820 --> 00:04:35.840 They start to war with other groups around them, but eventually Israel starts to war within themselves, and Judges ends in a very 00:04:36.320 --> 00:04:43.360 depressing way where they're no longer looking outwardly thinking about what God could do in them and through them, but now they're looking inwardly and they're 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:44.810 attacking each other. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:52.800 And the book of Samuel starts off with a prayer of Hannah, who's dedicating her child to the Lord. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:57.180 And what you find in the book of Samuel is that God unites a people in him. 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:05.580 And during this time period, this chapter of 15, 16, 17, there's a very pinnacle point in this part of scripture, because this 00:05:05.580 --> 00:05:10.530 is where we go from this transition of Israel, just walking in disobedience and division. 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:11.570 They're not a United people. 00:05:11.780 --> 00:05:14.830 They're a group of clans, to King David being anointed. 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:20.280 And now King David brings all the tribes together under one kingdom as he's used for the Lord. 00:05:20.280 --> 00:05:22.160 And so this is that transition. 00:05:22.220 --> 00:05:29.260 So going into this passage of scripture, if we're not really aware of what this passage of scripture is, and start to relate to 00:05:29.260 --> 00:05:35.160 this, I would say the people during this time period are sick of the way things have gone. 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:36.720 They want something different. 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:41.410 They want something encouraging to their lives, healing to their souls. 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:48.800 And what we find out in this story, that apart from the Lord, intervening in this circumstance, that even with that desire, even if they're tired of 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:54.050 the way things are, that unless they turn it over to the Lord, it's going to perpetuate in this same circumstance. 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:58.340 And when you look in chapter 16, verse one, this is what we begin to see. 00:05:58.980 --> 00:06:02.620 This passage for us is answering the question how do we build a godly future? 00:06:04.600 --> 00:06:12.060 And really we can title this all sorts of things, because this is really helping, not just an individual find health 00:06:12.060 --> 00:06:18.780 in their own lives, but this is a passage about a community finding health in pursuing the Lord together. 00:06:18.820 --> 00:06:21.060 So we could ask, how do you build a godly future? 00:06:21.140 --> 00:06:22.360 How do you have a hope filled future? 00:06:22.460 --> 00:06:24.060 How do you have a healing future? 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:28.340 And we find the emphasis is all found in the Lord if we would seek him. 00:06:29.180 --> 00:06:32.120 And so this encouraging part of this scripture starts off. 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:34.760 You see the tone beginning to change, right in verse one. 00:06:35.960 --> 00:06:41.500 And you see this encouragement in the life of Samuel where God's encourages him, keep seeking after me, right? 00:06:42.440 --> 00:06:48.250 Because our tendency as people, once we lose hope, we get to this place of despair. 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:51.540 And that's where Samuel is in these moments. 00:06:51.540 --> 00:06:52.140 Look in verse one. 00:06:52.140 --> 00:06:59.160 He says, "Now the Lord said to Samuel, how long will you grieve over Saul since I have rejected him from being King 00:06:59.160 --> 00:06:59.620 over Israel? 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.060 Fill your horn with oil and go. 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:10.020 I will send you to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a King for myself among his sons." And so God 00:07:10.020 --> 00:07:14.180 is encouraging Samuel not to lose hope, but to keep seeking after the Lord. 00:07:14.700 --> 00:07:21.840 I think our tendency, as people, anytime we don't have an idea of how grace can be delivered to us or justice can happen, we tend 00:07:21.840 --> 00:07:23.060 to lose hope. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:24.520 We don't know what to look... 00:07:24.520 --> 00:07:26.000 We get stuck in the past, right? 00:07:26.400 --> 00:07:30.140 We become victims rather than victors. 00:07:30.200 --> 00:07:37.710 And this is exactly what this verse is saying is look, when your trust is in the Lord, you don't have to wear the label of victim, 00:07:37.780 --> 00:07:42.420 but rather you get to wear the identity of a victor because God always wins. 00:07:42.420 --> 00:07:44.740 And when you're on his side, you win too. 00:07:44.960 --> 00:07:49.720 Now it doesn't mean we undermine things that happened to us, but we're people that always have promise. 00:07:49.820 --> 00:07:54.810 We're people that always have hope, because in the Lord, he works all things together for good. 00:07:54.940 --> 00:08:01.940 And God is helping Samuel not to be trapped in his past by the circumstances and things that happened to him, but 00:08:01.940 --> 00:08:04.860 how to learn to still move forward, despite those things. 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:11.680 And sometimes I think we as people, we can get caught up in this kind of attitude when we think things are up to us. 00:08:11.740 --> 00:08:16.210 Like we've got to manipulate the circumstance in order to achieve the goal. 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:24.600 And what typically happens when we make things totally dependent up on us and we try to force things to happen, if 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:28.060 they don't work out, we end up either depressed or angry, right? 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:34.280 And Samuel finds himself in this circumstance where he doesn't see... 00:08:34.280 --> 00:08:35.730 Here he is, he's one of the leaders. 00:08:36.220 --> 00:08:41.360 He's the last judge in Israel that we have recorded in scripture and Israel's rejected him. 00:08:41.460 --> 00:08:46.540 And they want to go with the King and God permitted a King, and the King didn't work out, and he doesn't know where else to go. 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:49.810 This was what we were hoping in. 00:08:49.940 --> 00:08:50.140 Right? 00:08:50.140 --> 00:08:54.500 And now all of a sudden it's gone and the Lord is saying, look, it's not dependent on you. 00:08:54.640 --> 00:08:56.340 It's dependent upon me. 00:08:57.340 --> 00:09:01.820 And so, as long as it's dependent upon me, there is always hope because he is Lord of Lords, King of Kings. 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:05.180 And he moves things forward in his ways. 00:09:05.220 --> 00:09:09.020 And so he says to Samuel keep trusting in him. 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:14.380 And so in this passage of scripture then God tells Samuel where to go. 00:09:14.700 --> 00:09:20.720 He sends him to the house of Jesse because God's plan is to anoint a new king in this place. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:20.840 Right? 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:23.280 And here's what Samuel does. 00:09:23.400 --> 00:09:29.980 He immediately reverts to his old methods and means that Israel has been dependent upon for years that hasn't worked out in their favors. 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:33.180 And God's about to teach him in this circumstance. 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:35.160 Look, we don't want to keep producing the same things. 00:09:35.180 --> 00:09:38.300 We want to learn from our past mistakes, right? 00:09:38.300 --> 00:09:45.200 And so you see how God is going to teach Samuel in this circumstance, that if you want something different, you've got to trust in something differently, right? 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:51.400 Stop depending on people, stop depending on circumstance, stop depending on you. 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:57.740 And in verse six, what we find is Samuel follows that same pattern, right? 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:05.720 It says this, contrasting really the world's standard from God's standard verse six, "When they entered, he looked 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:13.500 at Eliab and thought." So, Samuel comes into Jesse's family and God says, "I'm going to anoint one." And so Samuel comes in and sees Eliab 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:16.580 and he thought, surely the Lord's anointed is before me. 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:20.680 Why did Samuel think that? 00:10:21.660 --> 00:10:28.920 Well, it tells us in the very next verse, under this reprimand from the Lord, he says in verse seven, "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance 00:10:28.920 --> 00:10:35.980 or at his height or his stature.'" So he's telling us by addressing what Samuel should not be looking 00:10:36.020 --> 00:10:43.040 at exactly why when he walked in the room, he assumed that Eliab must be the individual that God's sought him, as sending Samuel to anoint. 00:10:43.640 --> 00:10:49.240 He walks in the room and he sees Eliab, And he says, the bod of a Greek God, this guy, he can destroy. 00:10:49.400 --> 00:10:51.180 He's like Mike Tyson, 1990. 00:10:51.180 --> 00:10:52.880 That's the kind of guy this is, right? 00:10:52.880 --> 00:10:58.190 And you think about in this time period, when you go battle, battle is hand to hand combat. 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:05.520 And so when you're going to follow anybody in a battle, it's got to be someone that gets the troops to think, look, we're not going to lose this because I can kill everybody on my own. 00:11:05.520 --> 00:11:05.640 Right? 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:09.020 And so when Samuel walks in thinking, okay, who's Israel's next King? 00:11:09.420 --> 00:11:11.340 He just picks out the biggest dude in the group. 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:14.340 And it's like, this guy has obviously got to be it. 00:11:14.340 --> 00:11:14.440 Right? 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:18.520 And so the Lord tells Samuel, "Look, this has been the problem. 00:11:20.460 --> 00:11:24.200 Is that when it comes to doing things in this world, what are we dependent upon? 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:26.440 It's the facade. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:35.680 It's the image of something that isn't really there." And so Eliab walks in this moment and he just assumes by looking at him, it's 00:11:35.740 --> 00:11:36.460 this simple to him. 00:11:36.520 --> 00:11:37.780 We have to fight hand to hand combat. 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:39.900 People are coming into us. 00:11:40.160 --> 00:11:41.740 Who's going to be the warrior that delivers us? 00:11:41.740 --> 00:11:43.480 That inspires the people and can be our King? 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:43.880 It's Eliab. 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:47.740 And then God gives this response. 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:50.840 You want to build a godly future? 00:11:53.020 --> 00:11:54.170 You want to see a difference made? 00:11:56.640 --> 00:12:01.660 God reminds Eliab here and Samuel, align your ways with God's voice. 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:02.360 And this is how it happens. 00:12:03.800 --> 00:12:04.420 Verse seven. 00:12:04.420 --> 00:12:11.560 "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature because I have rejected 00:12:11.560 --> 00:12:12.360 him. 00:12:13.260 --> 00:12:15.200 For God sees not as man sees. 00:12:16.620 --> 00:12:25.400 For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" What 00:12:25.400 --> 00:12:25.980 was Samuel doing? 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:33.100 Samuel was wrongly objectifying Saul, or excuse me, Eliab. 00:12:34.540 --> 00:12:37.960 He's wrongly objectifying Eliab based upon his appearance. 00:12:39.560 --> 00:12:40.300 And where does that lead? 00:12:41.900 --> 00:12:44.920 Well it's led to what Israel has experienced for now hundreds of years. 00:12:46.420 --> 00:12:51.920 The destruction of the society, because they're not really united in a value that makes a difference in the Lord. 00:12:53.640 --> 00:12:58.400 So it's not about depending upon your own strength or depending upon yourself. 00:12:58.540 --> 00:13:05.540 If you depend upon yourself, I mean the purpose for your existence wasn't even created by yourself and if you make it all about what you 00:13:05.540 --> 00:13:12.560 do when things don't happen the way that you want them to, then you get angry and you force people down the wrong path, like we've seen in Saul, or you get 00:13:12.560 --> 00:13:14.240 depressed and you don't move forward at all. 00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:22.010 But in this circumstance, God is showing that really it's as we depend on him. 00:13:23.640 --> 00:13:30.900 And so he says, "God looks at the inside or God looks at the heart." And you think in this moment, Samuel's objectifying Eliab 00:13:30.900 --> 00:13:34.820 and he's making it about the appearance, but in our culture today, so the we. 00:13:35.180 --> 00:13:36.380 So do we. 00:13:36.380 --> 00:13:37.540 And what does that produce? 00:13:39.900 --> 00:13:46.960 This is a beautiful passage of scripture, I think, no matter where you're at, but I think especially for young people to figure out who they want to become 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:47.500 in life. 00:13:47.500 --> 00:13:54.580 Because I think even the tendency as parents in raising young people, we want to see kids to get as strong as they can get, as healthy as 00:13:54.580 --> 00:14:01.200 they can be as intellectual as we can to help them in life and to make as much money as they can. 00:14:01.260 --> 00:14:03.400 All of the physical things of this world. 00:14:06.620 --> 00:14:13.620 But the problem with that, give all to someone the possibilities of the power that can come by 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:20.820 the systems of this world, but if they lack character, that power doesn't 00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:21.560 become a blessing. 00:14:23.260 --> 00:14:30.520 It becomes a cursing, because what inevitably ends up happening when our lives aren't aligned with the Lord, is we use that strength for 00:14:30.520 --> 00:14:33.360 our own glory and to the detriment of other people. 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:39.340 Yeah, sometimes we might help some people out in some way to make ourselves feel good about ourselves, but ultimately it's driven for personal glory. 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:47.870 And the result of that we've seen repeated over and over throughout the book of Judges into this passage in Samuel now. 00:14:47.900 --> 00:14:55.080 And so what God is saying is look, the primary focus of people, if you want to build a godly path, doesn't rest in the outward things 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:56.930 of this world and the measuring of the world systems. 00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:04.280 But it starts in the internal nature of the heart and where it's aligned, because when it's aligned the right way, then it becomes a blessing to everyone else around you. 00:15:04.380 --> 00:15:11.680 And so he's making this argument that rather than focus on what the culture highlights as important, and those things certainly 00:15:11.680 --> 00:15:17.740 have a place, like God's people should never feel guilty if the Lord's blessed you in a certain way. 00:15:19.060 --> 00:15:26.280 But to understand that when we have anything, it's not by our strength, but by the grace of God and it doesn't belong to me, 00:15:26.340 --> 00:15:31.980 it belongs to the Lord and his community as we make a light or live as light for him in this world around us. 00:15:33.490 --> 00:15:40.640 And so he's identifying for Samuel, this 00:15:40.640 --> 00:15:42.720 is how it looks. 00:15:44.660 --> 00:15:51.740 Or you can even think in our society today, as something as simple as or maybe just one area I could focus on 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:52.340 is the idea of marriage. 00:15:54.800 --> 00:16:00.660 Sometimes when it comes to marriage, people think it's about attraction and maybe provision. 00:16:00.760 --> 00:16:07.920 So if I find someone that I have this draw towards, an attraction, and they have all the money in the world, or they have the 00:16:07.920 --> 00:16:09.740 wealth to provide, then everything will be okay. 00:16:11.160 --> 00:16:12.240 And that works for a day. 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:12.880 Right? 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:16.260 What do you find over time? 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:19.180 That stuff fades. 00:16:21.260 --> 00:16:23.340 Health, looks, it fades. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:26.700 And what are you left with? 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.140 The consistency of the character. 00:16:31.520 --> 00:16:33.260 And what directs that? 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:37.880 Is it for their glory or is it surrendered to something greater? 00:16:37.980 --> 00:16:39.320 Is it surrendered to the Lord? 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:49.200 Because when it's surrendered to the Lord, the impact is a blessing, but 00:16:49.220 --> 00:16:54.400 when power lacks character, the impact is a curse. 00:16:56.480 --> 00:17:03.920 Yeah, I think if I got even more particular to our day, I think I've thought 00:17:03.920 --> 00:17:08.020 about the effects that even television has had on our society. 00:17:08.020 --> 00:17:15.200 That we've become very much a marketing, image based society, that it doesn't really necessarily have to have a lot of depth to the content, 00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:17.560 as long as it gives the appearance of what we desire. 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:19.040 Right? 00:17:19.060 --> 00:17:20.510 Now you think about this in our culture. 00:17:21.040 --> 00:17:28.079 We're in a political year and you get to live with that for a few more months, and all that means for your advertisements and promotions, you get to see on 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:28.560 TV. 00:17:28.580 --> 00:17:35.820 But you think about just a couple of hundred years ago, when you didn't have television, you didn't have these images, how in the world did leaders 00:17:35.820 --> 00:17:36.590 get appointed? 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:38.610 And what led to that in a democratic society? 00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:46.920 When you didn't have that sort of marketing idea, the way that you learned about someone wasn't about the image, it was about 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:48.590 the content for which they stood. 00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:58.220 You think about over these recent generations, how marketing has become such a tool just to not even be about what 00:17:58.220 --> 00:18:00.340 really a person stands for, but just give the facade. 00:18:01.900 --> 00:18:02.270 I don't know. 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:07.730 I read a lot of books and I read a lot of theology books, and I can even tell you, there is a distinct Mark. 00:18:08.740 --> 00:18:13.720 When I read books, say pre 1950 and 1950, 60s into today. 00:18:14.820 --> 00:18:19.640 Like today, books are a little more concise, get to the point, just kind of top surface. 00:18:20.020 --> 00:18:20.800 Tend to be, anyway. 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:22.820 I don't really have a whole lot of depth. 00:18:23.140 --> 00:18:29.740 If I read anything 1950s and before I've got to mentally prepare myself, because authors tended to take more time to explain things, articulate things. 00:18:29.800 --> 00:18:31.400 We just don't have the mind for it anymore. 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:35.760 And this is what he's saying in this passage of scripture. 00:18:35.760 --> 00:18:40.440 When it comes to a society, I don't think television is going anywhere, so I'm not just trying to say, throw out your TVs or anything like that. 00:18:40.860 --> 00:18:47.940 But what I'm trying to say is when we think about building anything of any sustenance in the life, that the place that it's got to start is with us and the people around 00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:55.500 us and the content of the character that becomes the emphasis, and the only place that can drive us is really defined where 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:59.960 character is even built, it's the one who created us for his purpose, which is the Lord. 00:19:00.560 --> 00:19:04.070 And this is what God has said to Samuel in this passage. 00:19:04.180 --> 00:19:11.180 And he started revealing this all the way back in first Samuel, chapter 13, when God told Samuel that he has rejected Saul, that 00:19:11.180 --> 00:19:13.640 he's pursuing a man after his own heart. 00:19:15.320 --> 00:19:16.980 And so this is what it says in verse 11. 00:19:18.380 --> 00:19:25.920 We find how David has been grown for really this position as King, when he's 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.000 described as off taking care of the sheep. 00:19:28.020 --> 00:19:28.840 Look in verse 11. 00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:31.420 It reminds us to nurture your heart. 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:33.370 You want to see how to build a godly future? 00:19:33.500 --> 00:19:34.860 Nurture your heart. 00:19:34.860 --> 00:19:42.040 Verse 11, this passage of scripture says, "And Samuel said to Jesse, 'Are these all the children?' And he said, 'There remains 00:19:42.040 --> 00:19:49.260 yet the youngest and behold he's tending the sheep.' Then Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send and bring him, for 00:19:49.260 --> 00:19:56.560 we will not sit down until he comes here.' So he sent and brought him in, and now he was ruddy and with beautiful eyes 00:19:56.560 --> 00:20:02.020 and a handsome appearance." Like if your text says Rudy, I'm pretty sure it literally just means like that. 00:20:02.080 --> 00:20:02.180 Right? 00:20:02.360 --> 00:20:02.780 He's little. 00:20:02.780 --> 00:20:04.940 And it's like Rudy, Rudy... 00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:05.320 no, I'm just teasing. 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:13.480 "But he has this red appearance with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance, and the Lord said, 'Arise, anoint him, for this is he.' 00:20:13.820 --> 00:20:17.140 And then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:25.160 And the spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, upon David from that day forward, and Samuel arose and went to Ramah." So 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:26.820 here's what's interesting in this text. 00:20:28.380 --> 00:20:35.440 When Samuel goes through and he anoints, or he's looking to anoint one of Jesse's sons, and he gets to the end, he's like 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:36.960 the person's not here. 00:20:39.120 --> 00:20:42.360 Then Samuel asked, Jesse, "Are these all your kids?" And this is Jessie's response. 00:20:42.420 --> 00:20:48.680 You don't really get this fully in the Hebrew, but this is Jessie's response, "I mean, there's one more kid, but he's the runt of the litter. 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:52.500 And he's got the unimportant job, so he's not that significant." That's his answer. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:21:00.990 And in King David's day, during this time period, taking care of the sheep was considered the least important role in this society. 00:21:01.020 --> 00:21:04.180 That's what you gave to everyone else after all the important jobs were handed out. 00:21:05.800 --> 00:21:13.040 And so naturally the runt, the boy that lived in the shadow of his greater brothers who were more warrior type, more leadership 00:21:13.040 --> 00:21:16.160 type, this is what Jesse's saying about David. 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:24.700 And so you look at this passage of scripture and it's also teaching us though something significant about the character 00:21:24.700 --> 00:21:25.620 of David in these moments. 00:21:27.460 --> 00:21:33.840 Because we know that leadership oftentimes, especially in scripture, and I think because of David, gets connected to shepherding. 00:21:33.840 --> 00:21:35.660 I mean, David, when he writes the famous Psalms, right? 00:21:35.660 --> 00:21:36.720 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:21:38.300 --> 00:21:45.560 And what it's saying about David, that even in what people would consider the most insignificant job, what do you find David doing while everyone else is at this party 00:21:45.560 --> 00:21:49.760 with Samuel, trying to see whether or not they're going to get the position to be the next King in line? 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:53.830 What does David remain faithful to? 00:21:57.200 --> 00:22:01.700 Taking care of the least, right? 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:03.940 David's still faithful to the small things. 00:22:07.060 --> 00:22:09.080 Demonstrating that his heart can take more. 00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:11.440 Right? 00:22:12.200 --> 00:22:18.150 And so in this passage, what you see out in these fields is David is nurturing the heart of a good king. 00:22:19.540 --> 00:22:24.180 David has content serving in the lowly positions and it communicates something about his character. 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:35.640 A typical King, as you think about David filling this position, a typical King gets money and power and wants to get more, but 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:38.620 a godly king gives money and power, and he wants to give more. 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:46.340 A typical King lifts himself above others, but a godly King uses his position to bless others. 00:22:48.060 --> 00:22:54.360 A typical ting says your life is supposed to serve me, but the godly kings says, my life is here to serve you. 00:22:55.800 --> 00:23:03.040 A typical king will use someone else's life for his own glory, to the detriment of others, but a godly king will use his own life for God's glory, 00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:04.790 to the benefit of others. 00:23:06.560 --> 00:23:09.540 David, at this age, he's showing this kind of character. 00:23:11.280 --> 00:23:17.680 While everyone else is at this important dinner, David chooses to take care of the needs of his family. 00:23:20.360 --> 00:23:22.420 David is demonstrating humility. 00:23:25.340 --> 00:23:26.720 So what makes a good leader? 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:32.940 I think that's an important question because that's what leads to change in a society. 00:23:35.440 --> 00:23:38.360 All of us are affected by leadership in some way, right? 00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:40.840 What makes a difference? 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:42.120 How do you build a healthy future? 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:42.640 Is it looks? 00:23:43.140 --> 00:23:43.600 Is it power? 00:23:44.080 --> 00:23:44.670 Is it talent? 00:23:47.500 --> 00:23:52.050 What the Lord is teaching his people is not to trust in the facade of any of those things. 00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:57.480 Because just having those things, doesn't determine that it's going to be used for good. 00:23:59.800 --> 00:24:04.740 What makes a good leader, what makes a future that makes a difference, is where the heart is surrendered. 00:24:06.600 --> 00:24:08.500 Not to self, but to the Lord. 00:24:10.940 --> 00:24:13.360 Direction determines destination. 00:24:16.180 --> 00:24:23.180 And David in this young age, he's starting to pour into himself those kind of characteristics that shapes someone that 00:24:23.180 --> 00:24:25.380 can influence for the future. 00:24:25.400 --> 00:24:26.200 And that's important. 00:24:26.300 --> 00:24:32.400 This is why I say this passage is really relevant for everybody, but especially for young people, because here's what happens in life. 00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:35.560 The older you get, the more you get, typically. 00:24:36.980 --> 00:24:43.990 The more you become responsible for, and the greater those things can influence the world around you, 00:24:44.500 --> 00:24:45.500 for good, or for bad. 00:24:47.620 --> 00:24:51.240 To glorify God, bless others, or to glorify self to the harm of others. 00:24:53.040 --> 00:25:00.280 And when you learn to possess the kind of character that lives in the light of the Lord, then as you accumulate 00:25:00.280 --> 00:25:03.690 in life, it honors others. 00:25:05.700 --> 00:25:08.460 And this is the praise of God. 00:25:08.600 --> 00:25:15.700 So I say as God's people, I think more than anything, when we think about pouring into our young people and making 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:23.080 sure that they're just set right for life, that they might have the talents, they might get the education, they might possess the power 00:25:23.080 --> 00:25:30.300 that what's predominantly important is that we don't overlook the character, because the character 00:25:30.300 --> 00:25:35.200 is what leads the heart to be a blessing with those things. 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:37.390 So two ways to apply this passage. 00:25:37.660 --> 00:25:44.740 One, I want us to consider ourselves when we look at the significance of what's going on here, let me just remind you of who King David is in 00:25:44.740 --> 00:25:45.000 these moments. 00:25:45.860 --> 00:25:47.640 We know what King David becomes, right? 00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:50.020 I mean, King David is the king that unites Israel. 00:25:50.020 --> 00:25:51.160 He writes half of the Psalms. 00:25:51.300 --> 00:25:56.620 Like when Israel thinks back to their glory days, they think to King David, but who is King David right now? 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:03.020 He's just the young boy that lives in the shadow of his brothers, the forgotten child, the runt of the litter. 00:26:03.020 --> 00:26:05.540 He has no power, no fame, no money. 00:26:06.840 --> 00:26:09.400 And so what allows him to get to that position in life? 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:12.160 And it's not to say follow this, and all of us will be kings or queens. 00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:19.960 It's not saying this at all, but it's saying, look, when we allow our hearts to lean this way, the way that God calls us to and surrender to him, that certainly whatever position 00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:22.840 you hold in this world, it will be a blessing to the people around you. 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:30.740 That when they think of you, their hearts will smile because the goodness that you present in this world. 00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:39.840 David has none of those things that we often think about as it relates to him, but it starts 00:26:39.840 --> 00:26:41.100 in this story. 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:48.100 And then the second thing, when I think about King, David is you look at a store like this and you think, that's great for him, but I'm no King David, right? 00:26:48.820 --> 00:26:50.620 But when you read this story, here's, what's really interesting. 00:26:50.620 --> 00:26:52.140 I didn't even catch this until last night. 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:52.880 I didn't really think. 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:54.780 I've never thought about this in the story till last night. 00:26:55.200 --> 00:27:02.740 But when you read Samuel going into this town and he says, go to Jesse and tell him that I want to anoint 00:27:02.740 --> 00:27:06.060 one of his sons and bring him to this special meal, right? 00:27:06.060 --> 00:27:06.700 Where we're going to make a sacrifice. 00:27:07.580 --> 00:27:14.880 Well, when Samuel does that, Jesse's children are supposed to then go through this ceremonial cleansing purification period. 00:27:16.080 --> 00:27:22.730 We're going to this place of honor, we've got to dress ourselves up nice to follow the law, purify ourselves, then we can become a part of this meal. 00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:28.260 But when God calls the leader here, look what happens in this story is like, here's all your sons. 00:27:28.260 --> 00:27:29.300 They've all been prepared. 00:27:29.320 --> 00:27:32.840 They look exactly the way they're supposed to look according to the religion here. 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:40.940 And then he says, "But we're missing one, and where is he?" Well, 00:27:40.980 --> 00:27:42.810 he's got the filth of the sheep on him. 00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:46.920 David doesn't perfect himself. 00:27:49.760 --> 00:27:51.620 Not like the brothers, he doesn't have that kind of time. 00:27:51.660 --> 00:27:54.360 That they're all just waiting for David to join in. 00:27:54.360 --> 00:27:58.180 And so David joins the party, having just left the fields with the sheep. 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:05.540 And what I mean by that is look, in order to give our lives to the Lord it's not about purifying ourselves enough to then find God accepting 00:28:05.540 --> 00:28:05.640 us. 00:28:06.160 --> 00:28:08.920 It's about when God gives the call, we come right then. 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:16.820 That heart and those moments surrendering to what the Lord says. 00:28:19.180 --> 00:28:25.170 You can't change the past, and honestly, before the Lord, it's impossible anyway. 00:28:26.900 --> 00:28:34.200 In the midst of wherever you sit and whatever your life has been, that's where the call enters 00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:34.660 into us. 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:44.540 And when you think about David and the story, and I've shared this with you in Samuel, a very key word used in this book is 00:28:44.540 --> 00:28:45.540 this idea of anointing. 00:28:47.420 --> 00:28:54.600 And the very first time it's used as in chapter two in Hannah's prayer, and then it happens with the anointing of Saul, and now we're talking about the anointing of King 00:28:54.600 --> 00:28:57.020 David, and this is why it's so important. 00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:01.670 When you look in the old Testament, you see these pictures of anointing on prophets and priests and kings. 00:29:02.080 --> 00:29:09.280 But when you get to the new Testament, you find out that the God just doesn't anoint just particular people, but God anoints all of his people 00:29:09.340 --> 00:29:10.760 for the work that he calls us to. 00:29:10.760 --> 00:29:17.760 And in First John, chapter two, verse 20 and in verse 27, it talks about the anointing that all of God's people have in his spirit to live 00:29:17.760 --> 00:29:20.080 the life that God has called us to in him. 00:29:21.640 --> 00:29:28.280 And so this isn't a unique passage that isn't intended to relate to us, but to understand that we stand in a similar position before God. 00:29:28.320 --> 00:29:34.620 Maybe we don't where the earthly title of a King, but we belong to the King of Kings and that God wants us to make a difference in this world. 00:29:36.380 --> 00:29:43.460 But let me say this as well, because one of the things I don't want us to take away from this passage is this idea of trusting 00:29:43.500 --> 00:29:44.440 in people. 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:44.620 Okay? 00:29:44.620 --> 00:29:46.590 So I think it's important to have a community. 00:29:47.580 --> 00:29:54.880 And I think it's important to work in a community together to understand that the enemy can always bring adversity to us and cause disunity among his people 00:29:54.880 --> 00:29:56.600 and disrupt what God wants to do. 00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:59.100 That God works in unity among his people, right? 00:29:59.420 --> 00:30:01.940 But at some point, someone around you will disappoint you. 00:30:02.120 --> 00:30:03.320 That's going to happen, right? 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:09.040 And I know when we're looking at this passage, what we're seeing is we're seeing Samuel looking for a deliverer. 00:30:10.120 --> 00:30:12.960 Samuel is looking for someone to put his trust in these moments, right? 00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:17.880 And God delivers through himself, God delivers a King. 00:30:19.080 --> 00:30:23.070 But I don't want to walk away from this passage and say, now look to someone to be your deliverer. 00:30:24.600 --> 00:30:31.900 Because I don't think that what the Lord is doing with a passage like this, because what we see in the Old Testament is a lot of the stories becoming a 00:30:31.900 --> 00:30:38.700 shadow, or we could say the overarching theme of the old Testament is that these stories become a shadow of an ultimate deliverer for us. 00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:47.000 And when you read the book of Acts, chapter 13, verse 22 to 23 in this passage, Paul preaches his very first message 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:48.600 on his first missionary journey. 00:30:48.840 --> 00:30:55.010 And he actually takes this story of King David in verse 22 and he relates it to a bigger story of Jesus. 00:30:55.060 --> 00:30:57.900 That Jesus is the ultimate deliverer that we can trust in. 00:30:57.900 --> 00:31:05.180 And so when you think about this passage of scripture, I think while we consider ourselves where we ultimately want to end up in, is considering 00:31:05.180 --> 00:31:06.800 the Lord in all of these things. 00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:14.160 Because this heart that we're talking about in first Samuel, that the Lord looks at the heart, that heart, what makes that heart strong is 00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:15.440 what it's, depending in. 00:31:16.920 --> 00:31:17.980 Depending on self will disappoint. 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:20.220 Depending on others will disappoint. 00:31:22.840 --> 00:31:27.360 But depending on the Lord, you always have victory. 00:31:29.620 --> 00:31:33.160 I want us just to consider Jesus in these moments, right? 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:40.300 You think King David's heart, King David's given over to the Lord in this passage, but King David didn't live a perfect 00:31:40.300 --> 00:31:40.660 life. 00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:43.780 Someone else did. 00:31:46.140 --> 00:31:47.010 His name is Christ. 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:57.860 Do you know in the new Testament, there is one passage of scripture where Jesus talks about his 00:31:57.860 --> 00:31:58.140 heart. 00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:07.380 It's a passage of scripture that maybe many of us are even familiar with, but we've never looked at it probably from that angle that Jesus is talking 00:32:07.380 --> 00:32:14.790 about his heart, but there's one passage in the gospels where Jesus opens up and says to us, and Jesus was always open, 00:32:14.860 --> 00:32:17.420 but he just says to us, what is on his heart. 00:32:18.600 --> 00:32:22.120 And it's in Matthew chapter 11, in verse 28. 00:32:23.340 --> 00:32:25.100 You're probably familiar with this, but listen to this. 00:32:25.100 --> 00:32:28.280 We're going to look at it from Jesus speaking to us about what's on his heart in this passage. 00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:33.660 He says, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden." And I will give you what? 00:32:35.040 --> 00:32:35.200 Rest. 00:32:37.520 --> 00:32:42.560 "I will give you rest." Jesus in this story he's contrasting himself from other religious leaders of the day. 00:32:44.060 --> 00:32:51.640 He's recognizing other leaders during the time of Christ how they have just weighed on people and worn people out and they continue to give over 00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:52.220 to it. 00:32:52.260 --> 00:32:55.720 And they just keep finding the same thing, and they just want to be delivered from this. 00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:57.310 They want things to be different. 00:32:57.500 --> 00:32:59.160 They want a greater hope. 00:32:59.620 --> 00:33:01.260 They're tired of disappointment. 00:33:01.280 --> 00:33:07.460 And Jesus is positioning himself in this story compared to all other leaders around, and he gives that kind of statement, right? 00:33:07.500 --> 00:33:13.100 Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, especially the religious leaders, he's saying this against, and I will give you rest. 00:33:13.100 --> 00:33:14.340 And listen to this, verse 29. 00:33:14.740 --> 00:33:22.100 "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me." Look, here's what Jesus says, "For I am gentle and 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:30.980 humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." What's 00:33:31.060 --> 00:33:31.660 Jesus saying here? 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:34.930 Jesus is saying he's a wimp? 00:33:39.020 --> 00:33:40.940 I am gentle and humble of heart. 00:33:43.760 --> 00:33:46.020 Jesus, obviously he's not communicating he's a wimp. 00:33:46.180 --> 00:33:51.180 Jesus certainly stood for something to the point that he even stared down death to accomplish it. 00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:55.060 And Jesus walked away in victory in the grave. 00:33:56.340 --> 00:34:00.120 So Jesus isn't identifying himself as a wimp, as we could look at this. 00:34:00.500 --> 00:34:05.400 I mean, this isn't the kind of pep talk that you would expect before the locker room of a game. 00:34:05.500 --> 00:34:08.820 Like the Jazz playing today when they destroyed the Nuggets one more time. 00:34:09.120 --> 00:34:09.860 That's for Scott. 00:34:10.560 --> 00:34:17.830 When they do that, when that game happens today, they're not going to be in the locker room and said, guys, let's attack this with gentle and humble of heart. 00:34:18.630 --> 00:34:26.239 It's not the kind to pump you up, but in order to hold this position, that Jesus is saying, what Jesus is recognizing is there's an incredible amount 00:34:26.580 --> 00:34:32.620 of confidence in his position of where he is at because he understands who he is and what he's capable of. 00:34:32.679 --> 00:34:33.040 Right? 00:34:33.159 --> 00:34:40.219 The only reason he can talk about this is because of the identity that he has, that he is secure and for our wellbeing being 00:34:40.219 --> 00:34:44.190 King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that he is able to accomplish what he's promising. 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:52.800 And so what he's saying in this story is look, when it comes to leadership, I'm not here to domineer over you, but 00:34:52.800 --> 00:35:00.340 to help you, to deliver you, so much so that my posture 00:35:00.340 --> 00:35:03.440 is to be humble at heart. 00:35:05.220 --> 00:35:08.850 What Jesus is saying is I'm taking the position of a servant for your wellbeing. 00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:19.380 In this kind of story in Christ, what he's distinguishing for us is the difference between his rule in 00:35:19.380 --> 00:35:20.590 the world's rule. 00:35:21.900 --> 00:35:29.120 The world's rule wants to put on the facade of power, but the true power is possessed by him and he's identifying it 00:35:29.120 --> 00:35:29.420 for us. 00:35:29.420 --> 00:35:36.040 Like it's not about the outward appearance, but what lies within. 00:35:38.620 --> 00:35:45.920 And when you think about Jesus' life in scripture, the Bible tells us in First Corinthians, chapter one, 00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:53.180 verses 22, "That the Jews seek a sign of power and the Greeks search for wisdom 00:35:53.180 --> 00:35:56.540 of intellect, but we preach Christ crucified. 00:35:56.580 --> 00:36:03.620 To the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles, foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks Christ, the power of 00:36:03.660 --> 00:36:10.840 God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 00:36:12.340 --> 00:36:17.480 You ever think about the way that scripture describes the facade of who Jesus was? 00:36:20.560 --> 00:36:21.400 What was Jesus like? 00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:22.100 What did he look like? 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:28.630 What kind of attraction did he bring when he walked into the room was it Eliab there or was it the overlooked? 00:36:30.100 --> 00:36:37.100 Well, in Isaiah 52, it tells us, or 53, verse two, it tells us, it says "He had no beauty or majesty to attract 00:36:37.100 --> 00:36:38.150 us to him. 00:36:39.220 --> 00:36:41.940 Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 00:36:43.080 --> 00:36:50.220 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering and familiar with pain, like one from whom people hid their faces. 00:36:50.780 --> 00:36:53.810 He was despised and we held him in low esteem. 00:36:54.020 --> 00:37:01.160 Surely he took upon our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, 00:37:01.160 --> 00:37:04.850 stricken by him and afflicted, but he was pierced for our transgressions. 00:37:05.700 --> 00:37:07.460 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:37:08.060 --> 00:37:15.600 The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed." 00:37:19.060 --> 00:37:25.260 Jesus, the one that changes humanity. 00:37:26.420 --> 00:37:27.930 And what did he impress us with? 00:37:30.060 --> 00:37:31.770 Nothing by the world's standards. 00:37:33.240 --> 00:37:33.560 Nothing. 00:37:36.340 --> 00:37:37.180 But what did he do? 00:37:39.260 --> 00:37:40.100 He changed the world. 00:37:42.420 --> 00:37:50.000 And we'd like to say of Christ sometimes that he never held a political position, he never held a military position, 00:37:50.980 --> 00:37:56.000 he never even wrote a book, but he changed the world. 00:37:58.690 --> 00:38:06.820 And the point for all of us in this passage of scripture is to understand that the downfall of 00:38:06.820 --> 00:38:13.840 Israel was found in what they continued to trust in, what they gave 00:38:13.840 --> 00:38:14.320 their heart to. 00:38:16.940 --> 00:38:24.140 And the answer for us isn't to look to simply a person to be our deliver, because people were never intended to be or ultimate 00:38:24.240 --> 00:38:24.480 deliverer. 00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:29.170 But to look to the one who does the delivering. 00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:31.360 It's Jesus. 00:38:33.500 --> 00:38:38.310 And when our hope rests in him as people, we always have the victory. 00:38:39.340 --> 00:38:45.700 No longer do we have to live trapped in the mentality of a victim because there in Christ is always hope. 00:38:48.080 --> 00:38:49.780 And then when there's always hope, there's always a future. 00:38:51.280 --> 00:38:54.620 And we have that future because our hearts can be turned to him.