This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. 1 Samuel 16, I want to give you five things tonight about how God prepared David for the ministry that he's going to have. You know that not long after this chapter, It'll be years, but not long as we go through the Bible, he's gonna be the king of Israel. He's gonna be the king of Judah. He's gonna be God's man. He's gonna be the king. I mean, when you wanna talk about the apex of the kingdom, even though Solomon will take it on to greater riches, even though Solomon will build the temple, David's the guy. And whenever you study the Old Testament, David is the guy, my hero, one of my favorite people to study after. And so I'd like to talk to you. We'll do some more of this on Sunday night. Tonight, five things about David, but I'd like to talk to you about preparing for the ministry God has for you. I've used this literally all over the world. It's a little bit adapted because it's a church situation, but would you read with me through this chapter and mark things, and I believe it'll bless you. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 16, 7, But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance or on the height of his statue, because I have refused him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. God doesn't look at what you do as much as who you are. That doesn't mean that what you do is not going to reflect who you are, but the point is, when I was a kid and I used to hear that, this verse was used when I was a kid because all the hippies wanted to have long hair. And so they said, we can wear our hair any way we want and God don't look at that. And then other people said David was ugly, but you're going to find out in the Bible, David was a real good looking guy. The Bible's gonna say he was good looking. But God's looking inside of us because the way we're gonna do ministry is what God does inside of us. What's the most important work for all of us. And this isn't just for missionaries or guys going to the mission field. This is for every one of us. All of us ought to be serving Jesus. If you agree with that, say amen. All right, so let's work our way through this chapter, if you would. Father, touch our hearts, build us, grow us, grow me. I wanna grow. I wanna do more ministry. I wanna be more used of you. I wanna be more who I ought to be because of what you've done in me. And I give you praise for all in Jesus' name, amen. As the story starts in 1 Samuel chapter 16, Samuel is a very sad guy because God didn't use Saul. I can't read the whole chapter with you. Some of these chapters are going to have lots of verses, but if you read the chapter, you'd find out he's very sad. We'll read that first verse in a second, but it appears that everything God is doing has messed up. And old Samuel's like, man, I thought we had the guy, we had Saul, God put him in place as king and the people wanted a king, we finally got a king and everything's all messed up. And Samuel's just wandering around the house, his head's down, he's dragging his feet, and he's kind of got this attitude of it just ain't working out, nothing's like it ought to be. And God's gonna say to him, I'm in control, buddy. Wake up, I've got my new man and I'm ready to put him into place. So read with me if you would, 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse one. The Lord said unto Samuel, how long you gonna whine? How long you gonna mourn for Saul? Samuel, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel. Fill up the horn with oil and go and I will send thee to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have provided me a king among his sons. Now, the way it works is God has these special men that can ordain prophets and priests and kings in the Old Testament, and they will mark them as being the man of God. It's always gotta be a very special guy, and so Saul was anointed by Samuel, and now David is about to be anointed, but I wish you'd underline in verse one, I have provided me a king. I just think it's kind of interesting if you study your Bible, sometimes y'all are gonna think things aren't working out. You ever thought that? You ever looked around and said, it just looks like everything just fell apart. It just looks like all God had planned isn't gonna work out, but God always accomplishes his purposes. And though he allowed Saul to mess up, God wasn't messed up. And you may see that not everything works out like you planned, but you can trust that God has it all under control. Samuel, stop whining about Saul and go anoint the guy I have picked out to be my king over my people to do my work. He loves Saul, he wanted Saul to be a success. Saul isn't a success and now God wants Samuel to go anoint David and Samuel is scared to death. If I go anoint this kid that's over at Jesse's house, Saul will kill me. And so I find verse two interesting. This is for missionaries, this one really is. But I think it might help you as you deal with people in our church. It's never bothering you. Now listen to me, look this way a second, does that ever bother you when one of our ministries says, we're gonna go be ministries where it's illegal and we're gonna tell them we're coming in to study the language but we're really there to preach. Does that ever bother you? Does that bother some of you? You ever think that they say one thing and they're doing another thing and that's not quite ethical? Read 1 Samuel 16 in verse two. And Samuel said, how can I go? If Saul hears it, he'll kill me. And the Lord said, well, take a heifer and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. God gave Samuel a cover. He said, you're gonna go into China illegally. And you're gonna go up there and you're going to anoint David as king. You don't even know that yet. What are we gonna do? Saul will kill me. Oh, I got a cover for you. Don't worry. You can go in there and tell him you're gonna go in under a business visa, but you just go ahead and preach because I'm gonna tell you to do that. That's just an amazing thing. I think y'all ought to at least consider that. Some of our ministries may go where it's illegal. They have to provide a cover. Some Christians may ask if that's okay. I simply look here and realize God did the same thing. Now, we can't say that's a rule. We can't turn a declarative into an imperative, but it is interesting. When God sends his man on an errand, he often doesn't know what he's going to do. That's another thing that all of you need to understand. Some of you, even if you're a Sunday school teacher or discipling somebody in foundations or witnessing to people, you're like, I do it, but I just don't know every step. I don't know all I have to do. I'm not sure. Okay, I know what I could do now, but what am I going to do if this happens? And what am I going to do if that happens? What am I going to do if that happens? And you kind of, Got that attitude. Some of you, you ever had that attitude? I've heard you say it, come on. I've been doing this a long time and your whole attitude is, I would, but I don't know what comes after the first thing you're asking me to do. Samuel is told by God, just go on, I'll tell you what to do. Read with me, 1 Samuel 16, three. And call Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what you shall do. And thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. Now get the picture. Saul is wandering around his house and he's just going, I just can't believe it. I just can't believe it. I can't believe it. I thought Saul was a man. I thought Saul was a guy. God, what in the world? What are we gonna do, God? God said, hey, stop it with the whining and go anoint me the guy I picked from my king. Oh, I can't do that. If I was to do that, Saul would kill me. I got a cover for you. Get your lamb, say you're gonna go sacrifice him. Okay. So he's walking into town. The whole time he's walking into town, he said, I'm gonna sacrifice this lamb. I'm here to sacrifice a lamb. I'm really looking for a God. God wants me to anoint his king. And then he said, but who am I gonna anoint? God said, don't worry about it. You just take step after step and I'll lead you along the way. I ain't got to the message yet, but that's a real good point. That's a real good point. You don't always know what God wants you to do. You say, well, if I tithe, I don't know if that's, I don't know what's gonna happen. What about my bills? What about this and this? God never shows us the whole way. He just shows us what we're to do and then he'll take care of it after that. There's so much we can learn from David's life. God was preparing David to be king over Israel. He will be anointed but it'll be a long time before he gets to the ministry that God has for him. This is another hard thing to understand. David gets anointed to be king and you would think that as soon as you're anointed You just won American Idol and you're going to Hollywood. You just won the contest. You just got picked. You just got named and big stuff's ahead of you. And when he gets through winning the contest, David says, I appreciate you anointing me. I'll be back. I gotta take care of my sheep. And he goes back out into the same place he was and goes doing the same job he was doing. So we're gonna look at some of that here in just a minute. God is at work in your life too. And he is preparing you now for what he has for you. So learn where you are and watch what God is doing. Five things I'd like you to notice would be number one, work unnoticed. Work unnoticed. No selfies allowed. No selfies allowed. No Facebook post about this. Work unnoticed, no selfies as God prepares you. The work God does that no one sees as he prepares you. I just want you to look at this. We're gonna go through his life a little bit. But do you realize how God gets David ready to do the work? Do you realize that he gets anointed and you're going to think, well, the next thing you know, he's going to be in the castle. The next thing you know, he's going to be the king. The next thing you know, but it's going to be chapter after chapter and day after day and week after week and month after month and years before David gets to enjoy all that God had prepared for him. And so wherever you are in your life and whatever God's doing in your life, you honestly can't see where you're going. You don't know what God is going to do. You don't know what's going to happen. But you know this, that's none of your business. Do what you're supposed to do where you are. Do what you're supposed to do where you are. No selfies. Don't be taking your picture. Do what you're supposed to do. The great man of God comes to anoint a son of Jesse King. The dad doesn't even invite David to the house. David doesn't get to take a bath. David doesn't get to change clothes. Just do what you're doing. Just do what you've been doing. I'm sure you city people don't understand this. But when I was a boy, of course we didn't have air conditioning anyway. But I mean, I usually smelled of the barnyard. I usually had it on my feet. I have been known to go to the barn and I'd have on my cowboy boots and they weren't Western where they were cowboy boots. And the manure was that deep. And I didn't want to get to the top of my boots, and so I would take off running, and I would hit it with one foot and go there. And about the third step, my boot would get left in the manure, and I'd walk the rest of them steps in that stuff. And then I'd go to the house, and I'd get in the house, and Mama would say, you got manure on your boots? No, ma'am, I don't. I left them outside. Well, what stinks? You do. And so that's where David is. He's out with the sheep. He's got to stink like a sheep. He's been out with the sheep. He's been out in the field. He's been out sweating. Can you imagine when Jesse said, Samuel wants my family to go and worship with him? I can imagine they all shaved because they combed their beards. There ain't a man in this church, maybe David Maddox, but ain't a man in this church got a real beard like old like them old boys that I had. I mean, they had them down to here. They never trimmed them, never did anything to them. Robert, I'm sorry, doesn't qualify. Trent doesn't qualify. And so they've all probably put on good clothes. They've thrown on a little perfume and they're looking pretty good. And as the story goes, he doesn't even get invited. He's keeping the sheep. He seems almost forgotten. Why didn't his dad at least bring him? to watch the proceedings. Look at 1 Samuel 16, 11. At least, if Samuel's coming to your house, could you at least ask the boy to come in and look and say, there's the man of God. I would have thought you could have done it. They had keepers of the sheep that worked with them, and I can show you that in these verses, but he doesn't do that. 1 Samuel 16, 11, Samuel said to Jesse, are these all your kids? Are here all thy children? And he said, well, there remains yet the youngest, and he's keeping the sheep. And Samuel said, well, fetch him, for we will not sit down till he come hither. And so there they are in the house. His own daddy doesn't expect anything big to happen. His own daddy doesn't call him to whatever it is that God's got going on. His own daddy doesn't call him to come see Samuel and be in the house with the great man of God. When David arrived, Samuel was told to anoint him because he's to be king. Look at 1612, 1 Samuel 1612. And he sent and brought him in. Now he was Rudy. and with all of a beautiful countenance. So don't tell me God looks on the inside means that was because he was ugly on the outside. He was beautiful on the outside, but there was something on the inside God was looking for. But look what it says, he was rudy and beautiful countenance, goodly to look at. That's two times in the same sentence God said he was good looking. Ain't nobody ever said that to me, but maybe Betty, and I think she was drunk when she did it, amen? It says, he says, he's goodly to look at. He said, arise and anoint him for that's him. This is he. David was a good looking red head, red skin, Jason Holt kind of guy. Unlike most other Israelites, not dark-haired probably. That's probably what Rudy meant. It could mean he was really healthy. Nobody really knows for sure. But Rudy is the same word that was used for Esau when it said he was red. Edom. It's the same word. David is anointed in front of his family members and that's all. I want you to picture the story. Samuel's in the house. Samuel's scared, so they're not bringing a whole bunch of people. This is a private meeting. We're not sure if there might have been a few other people, some servants maybe in the house. And they got like seven sons in the house that are already there. And Samuel says, nope, not him. Nope, not him. Nope, not him. Nope. None of these get it. None of these cut it. Bring the other one in. They bring him in and they anoint him. 1 Samuel 16 verse 13. Samuel took the horn of oil and he anointed him in the midst of his brethren. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and he went to Ramah. At that moment, God's Holy Spirit came on David. They don't live in a day and time like you live, where the Holy Spirit resides in us, where we're the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we all have that blessing. God's Holy Spirit only came on special people for special jobs and special occasions. Most of us would have never enjoyed that. The truth is, I doubt anybody in this room would have ever made that category, but if we did, maybe I'd be the only one that God would let have that privilege, and yet today, Everybody in this room's got that privilege. Can you say amen? We all are the temple of the Holy Ghost of God. And he dwells in us and lives in us and works in us, but he came on David in a very special way. And he prepares David for leadership. God is about to begin moving in old David's life. Now God knows all that's going on all along, but now he's starting his move. God is at work in David's life. And the most horrible thing in the story is that God pulled his power, his anointing, from that moment he took it away from Saul. I wonder what it must have felt like. Saul's back at his castle, his men all around him, Holy Spirit of God on him, the anointing on him, the man of God, the man God's using, and the Bible says that the Holy Spirit got on David and left Saul. By the way, it was such a leaving that it was noticeable, and you're gonna know that before the passage is over. Look at 1st Samuel 16, 14. The spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. It didn't just depart, but an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. So all of a sudden, here's old Saul over here. You know he's already messed up. You know he didn't obey God at the sacrifice. He didn't obey God. He hadn't shown the right attitude. He hadn't walked to God, and now the Holy Spirit's left him. And not only that, a deep, dark mood came on top of him. Depression. settled on top of him. God wasn't with him. An evil spirit was there making the guy miserable in his life. That's what happened that day. Saul's alone now and no help. Not only that, God has sent an evil spirit and God sent him or allowed him, that's not really important to the story here. Saul is depressed in a dark mood and he knows it's over. Satan has room for attack because of the controlling, suspicious, revengeful man Saul was. We would be wise to know that we need our shield lifted high to stop Satan's attack. Can I just say this to all of you? We can be whipped by the devil still. That's why you were told to put on the whole armor. That's why you were told to lift high the shield of faith with which you could quench the fiery darts of Satan. We'd be wise to know that we need our shield lifted high. We open the door often for Satan's attacks. I just say, I hope you don't, I hope you listen to this. The devil is out to ruin us, destroy our testimony, pull our ministry. You may say, no, no, no, we're in the New Testament. And in the New Testament, we have the Holy Spirit of God living in us. And yet David said, I buffet my body because I don't want to become a castaway. That wasn't losing his salvation. That was losing God using him. You are important in God's ministry. God wants to use you to raise a godly family, to teach a wonderful Sunday school class, to disciple somebody, to train a young man. Everybody in this room, God has a plan for you. But if you're not careful, we can allow the devil to mess us up and destroy God's work and what could be done in and through us. It's so bad that even Saul's men know he's under attack. Look at chapter 16 and verse 15. And Saul's servant said unto him, behold now an evil spirit from God troubles thee. I hate that verse, I'm going to be honest with you. Because it reminds me of Betty. She's probably watching. But sometimes when I get really cranky and irritable and I'm not being nice to her, Betty's been known to look at me and say, yeah, there's something wrong between you and God right now because the way you're acting don't sound real good. And I'm like, what do you mean? She says, well, when you're right with God, you always treat me a lot better than this. And that just helps me get in a better mood. Say amen. The evil spirit is on me, and she has now compounded that evil spirit. But I just want you to realize, can you see that? Here's the man of God, head and shoulders taller than everybody. He's already doubtful. He's already suspicious. He's already got an attitude. He already wants all the credit. And now his men are looking at him saying, Hey, Saul, looks like you got an evil spirit on you, buddy. I don't know how you see that verse. To me, it's like I'd want to punch my men when they said my evil spirit would get a lot eviler. That's not a word. Go over to 1 Samuel 16, 19. Apparently David returns to his job after being anointed. I just want you to look. I think this is really, we see God's doing the work and nobody sees it. You're not getting a certificate that says you're licensed to preach and you're not getting your five minutes in front of everybody and you're not getting everybody going, oh, good job, that was a good special. Oh, you're a good little boy. Oh, you're doing a good job. He got anointed and apparently he went back to the sheep. You say, what makes you think that? Look at 1 Samuel 16, 19. Wherefore, Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and said, send me David thy son. The guy that's with the sheep, what in the world is the guy who just won American Idol doing back with the sheep? What in the world is the guy who just got anointed king doing the sheep? After all of this, when Saul wants a harp player, David is back with the sheep. You would think that David would be making plans for his fame, planning how he's going to spend the lottery he just won. But apparently he's doing what he had always done, keeping the sheep. Notice David didn't go looking for a position, but was called up by the king. What kind of character did it take to humbly wait on God when David already knew who he was? That Samuel had anointed him king, but he humbly waits. Can I say this to all you missionaries? Can I say this to all you students? Boy, you are picked, man, God's picked you. He's gonna do big stuff with you. But it's a long time from now to whenever you get to enjoy some of that. And David's all alone. If we go find David, it appears that David got anointed. And after getting anointed, I think most of us would say, I am the anointed daddy. I am not keeping the sheep anymore. You can send my older brothers out there to keep the sheep, but I am the man in this family. And we all know it. The old man, the man of God himself came here and told you I'm the man. But apparently that's not what old David did. Apparently David said, man, I sure appreciate that. Wiped a little bit of oil off his face and said, daddy, I'll run back out there and work with the sheep. So y'all need me, y'all call me next time you need me. That's a fairly strong statement. You work when nobody's watching. And the real you is not what you do in a pulpit. The real you is not what you do when you're discipling people. The real you is not what you do when you're telling your family what to do. The real you is the you that's alone with God. It's that time alone reading your Bible, that time alone praying. It's that time when you're alone and you could sin if you wanted to. You could turn on the porn if you wanted to, but God's like, I'm working on you, son. Get victory over the porn. Get victory over the line. Get victory over the pride. Nobody sees this and nobody will know it, but I know it because I'm working on you. That's how God builds His men in private. Nobody looking. That's how God builds His men. Number two, 10 minutes and a whole bunch. Work hard in preparation for whatever God has for you. You got to work hard. It's in private, but you got to work hard. Another thing I think is really kind of weird about our churches. I grew up in Southern Baptist Church, but I think I believed this all along. It's kind of like we expect God to do this big thing and we're like, whoo, I got it. I'm done. Holy Spirit just came on me. Whoo. I've been anointed, I'm the man, I have arrived. And we're like, I don't need to study. In fact, when I was a kid, they used to tell a preacher, if you study, you're not a man of God. Just stand up there and let it rip. Open your mouth and God will fill it. In the old country, people said with hot air, amen? But it was like, hey, I don't have to work. But David in the story, works, and he works hard. David had worked hard developing talents that God would use that would open doors for him. Chapter 16, verse 18, he is an accomplished harp player. Harp player. Now you know, David, the boy was up here playing the guitar. I don't know what you know about that, but if you gave me that guitar, I could, it'd be kind of like Got my first guitar player in Peru. He came to me and he said, he said, we need some music in the church that I can play the guitar. I said, well, if you can play the guitar, that'd be great. So he came and he helped the hand on the neck of the thing. He just held it open and he would do this. And after about two weeks, I said, no more guitar. I know you're good, but I don't like it. It just kind of messes me up. It gets me off the, I just can't keep up with it. He didn't even know how to do any of it. That's not what happened with David. The Bible says in 1618, he was cunning and playing, practiced hard work, cunning and playing. He was known for his bravery. Look at 1618, a mighty valiant man. I kind of think the Sunday school teacher helped you think that David was like a six year old boy out killing a giant. That's really not the story I get here. Look at this verse. He was a valiant man. Man, and he was valiant. Not only that, he was a man of war. Look at that, a man of war. And then he was prudent. He kept his mouth shut. He had character, he knew how to handle it. And I love this, and the Lord is with him. The Lord's with him. David was already a man among men. When the day came that God needed a man to go play the harp for Saul, they were all talking in the castle and somebody said, we gotta get somebody to play the harp. And somebody said, I know a guy, his name's David. That guy's good, man. He's really good on the harp. And he's also good looking, because nobody wants an ugly guy around the king. Hey, man, he gets to pick who stands around him. He's good looking, too. He plays the guitar. And he's a mighty man of valor. He's a great guy. We ought to get him. I know a toddler that runs around in the Sunday school at Vision. I think he could do it. That's not the story here. He had already been working hard. David's gifts opened doors for him. and make a way for him, and they take him before great men. Imagine with me as Solomon tells his son from the book of Proverbs, in Proverbs 18, 16, a man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. I don't know if you have any idea of this. Maybe this is just my wild imagination, but I could hear Solomon saying, Let me tell you about your granddaddy. He was a shepherd. That's all he was. But when it was time, that boy practiced that harp, practiced that slingshot. He was a mighty man of valor. He wasn't a coward. He'd fight lions and bears. And when the time came, his gifts opened doors for him. And he got to stand in front of Saul and one day become the great king. God is working to take David forward, but David's been working hard. to get there without even knowing it. David wasn't slinging that slingshot or practicing that harp so he could be king. David is just a diligent guy. God uses diligent people. Can I get an amen there? If you're a lazy bum, he ain't never gonna use you. Work hard where you are, and God'll use that to move you to where you could do more for him. Proverbs 22, 29, the Bible says, see as thou a man diligent in his business, he will stand before kings. He won't stand before regular people, low class people, common people, men people, mean men. Notice that David already had these gifts before he was anointed. None of this came on him by some miraculous thing. Saul poured the oil on him, and when it was coming on his head, he goes, I feel the heart playing coming out of my fingers and I feel the sword of movement and the slingshot of working because I got that oil poured on my head. Nothing miraculous. He didn't speak in tongues. He worked hard. Can I get an amen right there? I want to be in the ministry. Work hard. Number three. I have five minutes. I'd like to give you all three of them because I'm already ready. Preach to you on Sunday night. The next chapter is good. Develop a good testimony. Develop a good testimony. The Bible says in Proverbs 27, two, let another man praise thee and not thine own mouth, a stranger and not thine own lips. It's God who promotes people. We don't promote ourselves. In Psalm 75, six, that's a mistake on my notes back there, Mr. Becker. Psalm 75, six says, for promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. God is the judge. He puts down one and sets up another. But David had built a testimony that will eventually get him to the king that doesn't even have this intention. David never was thinking, if I become a really good harp player, someday they're gonna need me at the castle. That's not what he was thinking. He built his testimony because he loved God and what God was doing in his life. He wasn't acting to get something. God had built something in him. Chapter 16 and verse 16. Let our Lord command thy servants which are before thee to seek out a man who is cunning, player on a harp, and it shall come to pass when the evil spirit from God is on you, he'll play with his hand and you'll be well. And Saul said to his servants, well, get me the guy. Provide me that man. Provide me now a man that can play well and bring him to me. So we work hard, we work right, we do what we ought to do, and God will get us noticed when the time comes. And David did right. who was watching him. He had a testimony. If you read David's story, it's amazing. The guy had a great testimony. In 1 Samuel 18 five, the Bible says, and David went out with a server, Saul sent him, wherever Saul sent him, and he behaved himself wisely. No matter where Saul sent him, he wasn't down at the bar drinking. He wasn't out in cahoots with the women. He did what he was supposed to, and everybody was watching him, and in 1 Samuel 18 five, he was accepted in the sight of all, and even Saul's servant said, that kid's different. We notice there's something special about David. Read the verse, 1 Samuel 18 five. And David's wise and good behavior scared Saul. Saul was like, nobody can do all this junk that boy does. I am scared to death of a guy with that kind of testimony. You say it doesn't say that. 1 Samuel 18, 15, wherefore when Saul saw that David behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. Number four, prepare before the battle. Do little things before God calls you to do big things. So we do what we can do. Maybe it's pick up trash off the church floor, make sure the bathroom are clean, make sure the trash cans in the bathroom have been emptied. It's doing little stuff. In 1621, David came to Saul and stood before him, and Saul loved David greatly. And David became his armor bearer. And Saul said to Jesse, he said, let David, I pray that he stand before me. He's found favor in my sight. David was able to do that because of who David was. I will stop and just say this. Some of us weren't raised to work. So we're like bums, you know? Some people are brought up in a home where daddy taught you how to work and daddy taught you how to do stuff and daddy prepared you. But some of you weren't raised that way. So you got to work on it yourself. I was a country bumpkin. I came to town, I didn't know how to match my clothes. I'm not sure I still, I don't sure I do even now. Just marry a good woman, amen? But I'll tell you this, I read all kinds of books on child rearing and said, I've got to change this and change this and work on this in me, because I've got to develop me into the man. Because my country people, parents didn't know how to do that. Do the little things. Do the little things. David fought a lion and a bear in 1 Samuel 1734. When David fights with a Goliath, it'll be with weapons he practiced with. That's what the Bible says in 1 Samuel 1739. We like to look for big battles for our pride. We aren't willing to be diligent in small battles that God has placed in our lives. We want a pastor of the church that's got a lot of people in attendance, but we don't want to work with two people in a small Sunday school class. We want a big pulpit in a nice place, but we're not willing to knock on doors and meet in a small room and have five people in church. But David said, that's all right with me. I'll just do whatever God puts in front of me. We want big ministry and recognition. And we want to do it without practicing and without training with our weapons. Number five, and I'm finished. David learned to control his mouth, his attitude. In 1 Samuel 16, 18, the Bible says, then answer one of the servants that said, behold, I've seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite that is cunning and playing, a mighty valiant man, a man of war and prudent in matters. Prudent in matters. Do you have any idea what it was like to work with a tyrant for a boss and a king? And, you know, Saul's not just a tyrant. I mean, the guy is mean. At one time, he tries to kill David by throwing a spear at him. Wrong looks, wrong words, wrong attitudes could have spelled the end of his career. When David walks in the room, he's already got the evil spirit on him. I mean, when David walks in, he's already mad. He's already on edge. And they said, get the harp player, get the harp player. We're scared. The harp player, get the harp player. We're scared. So David's got to walk in the room and Saul's already in there. And David's got to walk in. Let me play the harp a little bit for you, calm you down. I don't know if you've got any idea. I'd be like, I ain't going in there. Let him go to sleep. Somebody shoot him with a tranquilizing gun. But he learned to work with him with that attitude. And David gained his confidence. David learned to deal with Saul when he was in his worst moods. 1 Samuel 16, 23. And it came to pass when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul that David took a harp and played with his hand. And Saul was refreshed and was well. And the evil spirit departed from him. Isn't that amazing? Can you imagine? You walk in a room, he's kicking over the trash can. knocking the dog across the room, kicking the cat. And if anybody comes to the room, he's throwing stuff at them. He's just throwing a temper tantrum and David has to walk in the room. You got to take that big old harp with him. I don't know what size harp it was. I hope it was a electric small one, amen. But he walks in the room and says, hey, Saul, let me talk to you. And he starts playing the harp. And the roaring, raging lion turns into a lamb. David had to work with that. Can you imagine how David had to control his mouth? I think sometime if I'd have been David, I'd want to say, you know you're a dingbat, buddy. I get tired of putting up with you. That wouldn't have worked. That wouldn't have worked. I mean, the guy's already mad. I would not make him madder. Can you say amen? And he has to walk in the room. Hey, you're not acting like a king. I've been anointed, by the way. I'm taking your job. He didn't do any of that. It was different. Last thing. It's amazing how good music blessed Saul and got him out of bad moods. When the evil, doubting, dark clouds of depression came over him, he listened to, and I challenge you to listen to some God-honoring, Bible-teaching, full-of-truth music that'll get you back on track spiritually. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com, where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.