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Unshakable | Faithful Obedience

When our life is shaken, waiting is the last thing we want to do

But to be UNSHAKABLE in our faith, we must learn the valuable lesson of :

FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE

Faithful Obedience: Obeying God even when it seems like He isn’t looking
Fact of faith

We will go through waiting seasons

The reason God allows us to go through a waiting season is that:

God’s goal isn’t to make us HAPPY, but to make us HOLY

More like Jesus

Learning:

Patience
Trust
Being less selfish

The first week, I said that in this series we will be focusing on the like of David

Was a Shephard
Who became a warrior and hero
Became king

And there is one thing that marked Davids like was that regardless of the situation, He trusted God

With his fear
With his future
With his life

Today, I want to connect two stories that maybe you haven’t seen put together before about David

David, while having many flaws consistently demonstrated FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE
We must start a the very beginning of David’s story

To understand why we meet David, we must understand the context of his story

The Israelites have begged God for a king

The prophet Samuel who spoke for God warned them it was a bad idea

The people insisted (Wanted to look like everyone else)

If God has set you apart, they don’t desire to look like everyone else

God told Samuel to anoint a king named Saul

He was tall and handsome
He LOOKED LIKE A KING
But it didn’t take long before Saul started to show his true colors

God gave him plenty of opportunities to turn the course

Because God is so merciful and forgiving
But he will cut you loose eventually

Culminated to a moment where God gave judgment to Saul

1 Samuel 13

13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have been foolish. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. It was at this time that the Lord would have permanently established your reign over Israel, 14 but now your reign will not endure. The Lord has found a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over his people, because you have not done what the Lord commanded.”

So God instructed Samuel to go and anoint a new future king

Samuel heads to a small town called Bethlehem

1 Samuel 16

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

Samuel was about to fall into the same trap as with Saul

Looking at the outward appearance

God says “Don’t look with human eyes, because those who are mine might not look impressive, but I see what others overlook”

You might feel overlooked and forgotten, but if you give your like to God in FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE, God will NEVER overlook you

So the search continues

1 Samuel 16

8 Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said. 9 Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.” 10 After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him.

12 So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance.

Then the Lord said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David from that day forward.

Now we miss the gravity of this moment because we are removed from the context

Being anointed king while another king still lives isn’t the greatest plan in you want to stay alive

But this leads us to the first thing that David’s life can teach us

1: Faithful Obedience to God’s Calling

Davids life would never be the same

He had to step into the calling that God had for him

That’s scary sometimes

It means change
It means unknown challenges

If you want to like a BORING, SAFE life

Don’t be obedient to God’s calling for your life

You won’t have to:

Change
Mature
Grow
Be challenged

You can choose to look like everyone else

But when the storms of life come, you will be a ship without a sail

Tossed by the wind and waves
you will be very SHAKABLE

David chose to be faithfully obedient to God’s calling

He stepped up and faced the giant
He became a commander in Saul’s army

That makes it sound like David had it easy

That’s what Get’s us into trouble because we think that Following God’s calling makes an easy life

But that’s not true

David’s story shows us that

While being FAITHFULLY OBEDIENT David was constantly at threat of being killed by Saul

He tried to throw a spear at him at dinner one time
Once told David that he was sorry only to try to kill him again

Over the years David had to flee from his home numerous times

had to live in caves
Even lived with his enemy (Philistines)
Pretended to be crazy

David could have walked away from it all

Made a new life somewhere else
Said, “Forget about following God’s calling!”

But he didn’t

he stuck in there trusting God

Unshakable faith is founded about Faithful Obedience to God’s Calling

When you say yes to God’s calling, You can hold him accountable for the outcomes

When things get difficult you can say…

God I am here following you, I’m trusting you to carry me through this
God I am trusting in your promise, I know you won’t forget me here
God, you have to make a way here. I’ve trusted you this far, I trust you will make a way

But this is only part of what Faithful Obedience looks like

2: Faithful Obedience to God’s Timing

So from when Samuel anoints David to when he becomes king of Israel was approx. 20 years

20 years of trusting God with His calling and purpose
20 years of running from Saul and being accepted back only to do it all over again

During one of the times David was running from Saul, he and his men were hiding and living in caves…

1 Samuel 24

2 So Saul took three thousand of Israel’s fit young men and went to look for David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 When Saul came to the sheep pens along the road, a cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself. David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave, 4 so they said to him, “Look, this is the day the Lord told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.’” Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

5 Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.[c] 6 He said to his men, “As the Lord is my witness, I would never do such a thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed. I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” 7 With these words David persuaded his men, and he did not let them rise up against Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went on his way.
It was only because David trusted God’s calling on his life that he could also trust God’s timing

Was there a moment when David probably felt like God had forgotten him?
I’m sure
But he did not let that drive his decisions

I share this with you today because this story is probably the most impactful story on my life personally

There have been so many moments in my life when i wanted to do either of two things

1: Doubt God’s calling and Goodness

Couldn’t trust his promises

Couldn’t trust that he would take care of me

2: Doubt God’s Timing and Plan

I wanted to take things into my own hand

Wanted to have control and go at MY pace
Some of you are probably right there, right now

Doubting God’s calling

Doubting God’s timing

And you have convinced yourself that you need to take control

Not satisfied with your:

Relationship status

Finacnes

Work situation

Family situation

Kid’s issues

You might say “I know there is more for me, but I don’t I can trust God with this”

I cant’ wait

I can’t do it

BUT YOU CAN AND YOU MUST

God blessed David’s legacy because of his FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE in ALL SEASONS

HOW?

Psalm 119:47–48

47 I delight in your commands, which I love.

48 I will lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and will meditate on your statutes.

49 Remember your word to your servant; you have given me hope through it.

50 This is my comfort in my affliction: Your promise has given me life.

Prayer || Closeouldn’t trust his promises

That i couldn’t trust that he would take care of me