“Becoming a king, a CEO, head of the family, a leader…
Being Chosen by God”

Transcribed from the sermon preached July 8, 2012 

The Reverend Karen Thistlethwaite, Minister of Education

Scripture Readings: 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 and Psalm 48/51

 
This morning marks the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, a time where we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and how God has chosen us to lead each other into new and deeper relationships with God. And while each of us are chosen by God, I started thinking about one of America’s favorite summer sport, baseball and how players of the top four professional teams are chosen to play on the team.

As it turns out, the draft is the most common form of new player recruitment among the top four professional sports teams and each league has their own rules for how the draft will take place, with the National Football League selecting new players in April and Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, selecting players in June. Each of these drafts have become televised events held at prestigious sports arenas and large venues like Radio City Music Hall to accommodate diehard fans.

And so following the very Biblical principle of “the last shale be first and the first shale be last,” (Matthew 20:16,), the draft order is based on the reverse order of the teams success in the previous season. Thus, the team that had the worst record in the previous season will receive the first pick of the draft. Now it is true that the NBA has a lottery process determines the first three picks of the first round of the NBA draft and the NHL also has a lottery winner which allows the winning team to move up four picks in the draft order, but the basic concept, of “the last shale be first and the first shale be last,” remains the same.

In fact this year, NFL fans were so captivated by Stanford quarterback, Andrew Luck, that they actually started a "Suck for Luck" campaign, hoping their teams would end up with the worst record in the 2011 season so they would have the chance to draft Luck.

Can you imagine, fans wanted Andrew, a Stanford student, so badly that they actually encouraged their teams to be the worst team in the NFL, just so they could have a chance to pick him. What a great feeling to be picked; to be part of something, to be part of something good. So last month, hundreds of players entered their perspective drafts hoping to be picked, hoping that their skill set would be needed by the team they most wanted to be on, or simply hoping that they would be picked at all.

Now I don’t know about you, but wanting to be picked is something I can relate to. Now I would never dream of being drafted into the big four, but when I was younger I loved being in musicals, and going for the lead role was always something I aspired to. Or, maybe your passion lies in science and you have always dreamed of becoming an astronaut, finding a cure for Alzheimer's or launching a high-tech satellite. Or perhaps, you simply wanted to be chosen as a dance partner at the dance, a conversation partner at social function or to read liturgy in church (which by the way you can still do, please see me after worship). Because when we are picked, selected, chosen, it feels as if someone is saying to us, I recognized the talents inside of you, I see what an amazing person you are and I want to be a part of that amazing-ness. I recognize the wonderful person who God made you to be and I want the world to see God inside of you as well.

So it is with this spirit of being chosen, that we see in our scripture for this morning that King David too was picked, selected, chosen, for a job especially created for him by God, to suit his specific skill set. And yes being selected brought glory and honor to David, after all he was selected to be king, but only because David fulfilling the role God chose for him, brought glory and honor to God. And we see in the words of 2 Samuel, the conclusion of not only King David’s story of chosen-ness, but also the beginning of our own story of chosen-ness.

For it is in this season of Pentecost, a season of God sending down God’s Holy Spirit upon each one of us, that we too discover that we have been picked, selected, chosen. That we too are given specific talents to serve God and lead God’s people closer to God’s self. The only question is, like King David, will we accept this chosen-ness and be led into God’s greatness, or we will cast or chosen-ness aside?

Here again the words of our scripture for this morning:
1Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, "Look, we are your bone and flesh. 2For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. (It was you who led King Saul’s army to fight against our enemies, and you who brought us back home victorious). The LORD said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel." 3So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel. 10And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him.

And so when we meet King David this morning we get a glimpse into his life at a time where he is again, chosen by God. King Saul, the first king of Israel, has passed away and seven and a half years ago David set himself up in Hebron, as king of the Judean tribes, the Southern tribes (2 Sam 2:1-4). And now at the death of Ish-bo-sheth, Saul’s son, King David is accepted by the Israelites, the Northern tribes too, uniting the tribes of Israel over which he will reign for 33 years.

Yet how did David, become selected for this position of kingship? How does one become a king, a CEO, head of the family, a leader? What was it about David that made him eligible and desirable, as a king?

And to answer these questions we must look to 1 Samuel 16, for as scripture indicates, the main qualification that David had to be king, did not come from himself, but from being chosen by God and responding to that call, as the Israelites said to David “The LORD said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel." 3.

Indeed from a young age, God choose David, the youngest son of Jesse, a Judean of Bethel to be anointed by Samuel, the last of Israel’s judges and first of the prophets, to future kingship. Hear the words of 1 Sam 16:13, “The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Yet, when Samuel arrived at Jessie’s house it was not obvious whom God had chosen, and after Samuel took note of Jesse’s older sons God said to Samuel: “7Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” So when Samuel asks Jessie if he has any other sons Jessie replies, “7There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.

So we see that in selecting a king, a leader, God looked at David’s heart, not David’s looks, height or social standing; but on the basis of his heart alone, God through Samuel, anointed David with the spirit of the Lord.

What is the status of your heart this morning? Have you come to God this morning eager to worship your creator? Is your heart filled with joy? Have you come in need of God’s grace, God’s forgiveness? Or perhaps you have come not because your heart is focused on God, but because coming to church is part of your Sunday routine, part of a family members Sunday routine. Maybe your heart is heavy with the burdens of everyday life or simply seeking a place where you can call home.

What do you think the heart of David looked like as he came in from the fields that day? As the youngest son, in a time and a place where birth order mattered, he was a sheepherder, who knew he would not receive a large inheritance, and yet was content with his place in the family and his relationship with God.

Looking to 1 Samuel 16 and 17 we see that it is David’s heart for God that attracts the attention of King Saul, first as a musician and then as a warrior. 1 Samuel 16 says "now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.” So one of Saul’s servants suggest that he find someone skillful at playing the lyre, a plucked stringed instrument similar to a harp, so that when Saul is afflicted by the evil spirit, this person could play for him and help King Saul to feel better. So, Saul asks the servant if he knows anyone who would fit this description and the servant says, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him.” 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David who is with the sheep.” 23 And whenever the evil spirit came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

Then in 1 Samuel 17 we learn that David as an untrained youth defeats Goliath, the Philistine giant, and gains a victory for King Saul and the Israelites. In these passages we discover that when David hears about how Goliath had been defying the armies of God, that David is outraged at Goliath’s disrespect for God, and says 26 “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? ” and offers to fight Goliath. But “33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

And when Goliath, the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth. 45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head… so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; and there was no sword in David’s hand.

In both of these stories, we see that David’s skills, do not come from his own talent or strength alone, but are given to him by God to be used for God’s purposes. In healing Saul of his affliction by the evil spirits, we see that David’s music on the lyre curded Saul because as Saul’s servant noted, the Lord was with David. Similarly, in fighting Goliath David puts his trust in God, believing that God will protect him and then gives God the credit when he wins the battle.

But David is not alone in receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and skills from God. For each one of us in our Baptism received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and even if you have not been baptized yet, that gift is still waiting for you. So if you are interested in being baptized, please talk with pastor Max or myself after the service. Furthermore 1 Corinthians 12:17 says, “ to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 ” This means that like David, each of us have been chosen by God, baptized in the Holy Spirit, to receive special skills to use for God’s glory.

Now because I don’t think we as a culture spend enough time affirming our God given talents, I would like us to take a moment and write down three things we are good at. These don’t have to be traditionally Biblical talents, skillfully riding a motorcycle for example, certainly would not have been a talent found in the Bible, but please take a moment and write down three things you are good at.

Now pick someone next to you and trade papers with them, don’t’ worry, in doing this you are not bragging, but look down at the paper you have received and say to the person who gave it to you, “God has blessed you with the talent of… and then read that person the list they wrote…

And when you are finished affirming each other I would like you take a moment to think about these questions, have you been using these talents to honor God? And when you have been successful in using these talents, have you given the praise you received back to God?

For in both David’s talents as a musician and a warrior, it is David’s passion and devotion to God that is recognized by the king, and leads to David’s favor in the eyes of the King Saul. Thus, over the years David goes on to become the leader of Saul’s army, best friends with Saul’s son Jonathan, marry Saul’s daughter, Michal (Mi-cal) and eventually become King of Israel.

In this way, even in David’s kingship he continued to trust in God, allowing God to mold him into the type of leader God wanted him to be. And while David was a great and faithful leader, a shepherd over the people, David was not perfect.

In 2 Samuel 11 and 12 we learn about how 2 late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. 3 David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. Then after committing adultery with Uriah’s wife, David has Uriah killed, in order to hide his sins.

And so we see that this man, this king, who had been so faithful to God, also stumbled, lied, coveted, committed adultery and murder, and yet was not beyond God’s grace. For as Psalm 51 testifies, David turned his heart back to Lord crying out:


1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.

6 You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.


And as the psalm continues we see that having a heart for God is not about being perfect, but humbly coming before God in our transgressions, asking for God’s forgiveness and guidance on how to do better next time. What a moving picture of repentance. What good news for each one of us. That though we are not perfect, that we can use our talents to honor God, because serving God is not about always putting our best foot forward, but about coming to God in both our successes and our failures, and laying our lives, both the good and the bad before God.

In looking back at our scriptures for this morning, we see that through our chosen-ness, not our perfection, that we, just like Andrew Luck and King David, we are the number one draft pick in the eyes of God. We have been chosen! We have been given certain talents by the Holy Spirit to be used for God’s glory!”

So the question remains we will accept our chosen-ness? Will we take the time to recognize the talents God has given us? And will we use these talents to bring glory and honor to God?

Tim Tebow, an NFL quarterback for the for the New York Jets became known not only for his football skills but for his strong Christian faith, after writing various scriptures in the black lining under his eyes. In his own version of recognizing the talents God has given him and giving the glory back to God, Tebow wrote Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength,” John 3:16, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life,” and Mark 8:36 “for what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” in black lining under his eyes, so the world could see exactly where his talents came from. Even today after a 2010 rule banned players from writing things in their eye black Tebow can be seen getting “down on a knee and praying” on the football field, allowing his life both the good and the bad, to bring glory and honor to God.

So today I invite you to celebrate your chosen-ness! To let the examples of King David and Tim Tebow inspire you, and to take time this week, to discover or to rediscover you talents and to commit, or even recommit, to using your talents to honor God. Amen.