DAILY VIDEO DEVOTIONAL
Saul had been rejected as God’s man for leadership in Israel. He had been made king because of his humility. But now he stood rejected because of his pride. It’s God who raises up leaders, and God who reduces them to dust. He exalts those who humbly desire to follow Him, and He removes those who arrogantly think they can do their own thing.
After God told the prophet Samuel that Saul had been rejected, He told him He had chosen another for leadership. God said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king” (1 Samuel 16:1). We have a tendency to think the kingdom of God rises or falls on certain leaders. But God can raise up His man in a matter of seconds. He often has someone He is secretly preparing. Such was the situation with David.
No one expected young David was God’s chosen man. They were looking for someone who fit the mold. If it were to be one of Jesse’s sons, then surely it must be one of the oldest boys. It wouldn’t — no couldn’t — be the baby brother! But God’s ways are different than ours. He said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
The key to understanding God’s choosing was stated simply to Samuel: “but the Lord looks at the heart.” God is looking for a particular kind of heart. He wasn’t looking for the oldest or the strongest of Jesse’s boys. He was looking for the one with the right kind of heart. And what kind of heart did He find in David, the youngest son of Jesse?
When Samuel told Saul he had been rejected, he indicated the kind of man God was choosing to lead in the kingdom. He said, “But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command” (1 Samuel 13:14).
It’s always baffled me to watch men who are real scoundrels rise to prominence in God’s kingdom. I’ve asked numerous times, “God, why did you allow that person to rise in Your kingdom?” I don’t fully know the answer. But I have come to some conclusions. First, not everyone in leadership in the Christian world is necessarily God’s chosen. I’ve discovered that some have risen to leadership through manipulation and a concentrated effort to climb the ladder of religious success. Others have inherited their leadership from a family member or through organizational promotion.
But when God raises up His man, it’s someone with the right kind of heart: a heart of humility. A spiritually hungry heart. A heart that longs to know and love God. Others may rise in the kingdom of God, but they will be like flaming stars — here today and gone tomorrow. God’s man or woman will leave a lasting impact in the kingdom. David was that kind of man.
God still looks and chooses leaders with the right kind of heart. What kind of heart will He find in you?
1 Chronicles : Chapter 28
2) King David rose to his feet and said: “Listen to me, my fellow Israelites, my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. 3) But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.’ 4) “Yet the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the tribe of Judah he chose my family, and from my father’s sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 5) Of all my sons—and the Lord has given me many—he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6) He said to me: ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7) I will establish his kingdom forever if he is unswerving in carrying out my commands and laws, as is being done at this time.’ 8) “So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever. 9) “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
Book of the Month
Sammy Tippit told his fiancée, “I can’t promise we’ll be rich, but life won’t be boring.”
Sammy had no idea what an understatement that would become. Beginning in the bars of Baton Rouge and the nightclubs of Chicago, Tippit has shared the news of life-changing faith in Christ all over the world – including in the middle of a revolution in Romania, the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda, and war in Burundi and the Congo.
Sammy’s lifelong adventure has come at a great price. He’s been cursed, threatened, arrested, deported, and blacklisted. He’s also been personally broken, ravaged with illness, and devastated by grief.
Yet he continues to preach to in stadiums, in open fields, and via satellite technology to hundreds of thousands around the globe. For all other books…
About Sammy Tippit Ministries
STM has been providing inspiration and help around the world for nearly 50 years. Sammy Tippit, founder and president, is a world renowned counselor, teacher and evangelist with experience serving and helping people in over 80 countries. Sammy provides materials that help people tackle a broad array of social, societal, psychological and spiritual issues. He is particularly passionate about making materials accessible to other countries around the world. Sammy is married to Debara “Tex” Tippit, and they have two children and five grandchildren.
Sammy Tippit Ministries is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization.
Contact: info@sammytippit.org
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