“Are You David or Saul? How God Makes Men”

Text: 1 Samuel 17:38-40

“Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, ‘I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.’ So David put them off. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.”

Tested leaders become trustworthy leaders.

• God raises courageous leaders during crises to turn hearts back to Him.

At the root of every current crisis is a man who has abdicated his God-given responsibility.

When the father is first, there is a 93% probability everyone else in the household will follow. (https://bofbtn.org/statistics)

Three Takeaways from the Making of David

1. Learn Your Lessons:

1 Samuel 17:33-37:
“And Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.’ But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.’ And David said, ‘The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’”

Key Lessons:

• Learn to be a son before a man.

• Kill lions before giants.

• Honor a king before being a king.

• Repent before repeating sins.

2. Lead to Last

1 Samuel 16:7:
“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’”

Acts 13:22
“And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’”

• Comparison of Saul and David:

• Saul: Prideful, impulsive, insecure, lacked faith, rebellious, feared man.

• David: Humble, restrained, confident in the Lord, obedient, feared God.

• David’s Secret:

• Recognized his greatest enemy was himself.

• Ran to God every time.

3. Leave a Legacy

• Proverbs 13:22:
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.”

1 Chronicles 22:14-16:
“With great pains I have provided for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold, a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weighing, for there is so much of it; timber and stone, too, I have provided. To these you must add. You have an abundance of workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Arise and work! The Lord be with you!”

“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” – Billy Graham

Five Legacies a Father Needs to Leave

1. Strong Faith

2. Unconditional Love

3. Enduring Integrity

4. Personal Responsibility

5. Extreme Generosity