Called And Kept By Grace

by Rick

(Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13)

 

This morning I continue our series entitled, “Standing on a Word from God.”  This is Part 31 of the series and Part 3 of the life of David.

 

Yesterday we learned that God saw fit to call David out of the field, where he was dutifully taking care of his father’s sheep, in order to anoint him in front of his father and brothers.  Let’s take a little more time to think about what happened to David.

 

We will learn later that David spent a great deal of time with his father’s sheep.  The lessons he learned as a young shepherd boy were lessons that he would later apply as king.  Those days alone with God and his father’s sheep were days that formed David into the leader God wanted him to be.  As a young man David did not know it, but God was preparing him for his destiny while he was doing something that seemed mundane.  

 

So what does this mean to you today?  A few things:

 

1.  God is always at work in your life.

a)  God is always at work in your life, even before you acknowledge who He is.  God made plans for you before you were born and He has actively participated in your life every step of the way, even before you accepted Him as Lord.

b)  God made plans for you before the world began.  He then sent you into the world at just the right time.  God then works in your life, behind the scenes, working through people and situations, to help propel you into your destiny.  He does this by grace. It has nothing to do with our performance. It has everything to do with God’s love and His dedication to the plans He made for us before we were even born.

 

2.  God protected you for your divine assignment by His amazing GRACE!

a)  One of the greatest moments I experienced in my early walk with God was a day the Holy Spirit took me back (in my mind, as if it were a movie) over all the times He shielded and protected me for my purpose.  I accepted Jesus as Lord at 23, but I would have never made it to the age of 23 if the Lord was not actively protecting me for my purpose.  The Holy Spirit reminded me of scene after scene, both in Brooklyn and in the Dominican Republic, where He was at work to protect me from harm, to keep my alive for my divine assignment.  

b)  While David was just a young boy, out protecting his father’s sheep, he a life-and-death encounter with a lion and another with a bear.  In both cases the Lord protected David and helped him kill both animals with his bare hands. Had the Lord not been with David during those encounters (and I am sure, many others), like me, David would not have been alive to receive and fulfill his purpose.  What the Lord did for me and what He did for David was completely unmerited.  As a young man I did not acknowledge God and we don’t have any indication that David was exceptionally righteous as a young man either.  So, in the case of David, me, and I am sure you as well, the Lord helped us and protected us for our purpose, even when we did not acknowledge Him at all.  Do you know what that is called my friend?  It’s called GRACE! The grace of God is completely unmerited, undeserved, unexpected, and borderline unbelievable.  Grace is amazing! Thank God for His grace!

 

3.  God calls you by GRACE into your destiny!

a)  David did not earn or necessarily deserve the call of God on his life.  God called Him because of His goodness, not David’s. David was minding his own business, doing what he always did, when a stranger appeared in his home, equipped with oil that was symbolic of the Holy Spirit, and anointed him to be the next king of Israel.  Like David, you are called for a specific purpose. And like David, God’s anointing is ON YOU to do what He called you to do!

b)  One aspect of God’s grace is the fact that it is unmerited.  Another aspect of God’s grace is the supernatural empowerment you are endued with when you embrace what you are graced to do.  Samuel anointed David to be king. From that moment on David was graced to be the king of Israel. If you keep reading the text you see that the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and the anointing to be king was now on David.  Why is that important? It is important because you must understand that you are here for a reason and you must settle in your heart the fact that you have divine grace for your divine assignment.  The Father will never expect you to do something He has not equipped you for.  I am sure David did not fully understand the enormity of the assignment, nor the enormity of the grace of his life to fulfill it, but both the assignment and the grace were his.  Guess what?  The same can be said of you.  You have both a God-given assignment and the God-given grace to fulfill it.  No matter how big your assignment seems and now matter how unqualified you may feel, you must settle in your heart that you have been called and equipped by God’s amazing grace.  Where God leads, He feeds.  Where He guides, He provides.  Whatever He tells you to do, He graces you to do.  So enter this day with your confidence rooted and grounded in God, not you.  If your confidence is in YOU, it will fluctuate. But if your confidence is in God, it will never waiver, because God is unmovable!  

 

Closing Confession:  

Father, this is a season of expectation for me.  I expect to experience ALL You called me to do! I thank You Father for keeping and shielding me when I didn’t even know You.  You made plans for me before the foundations of the world. You protected me for my divine purpose, even before I ever acknowledged Your existence.  You were there for me before I ever called You Lord. When I think about Your love and grace toward me, I am overwhelmed. There is no way I could deserve it, and for that I will never cease to give You praise.  I enter this day knowing I have the grace to do what You called me to do. I pursue my purpose with bulldog tenacity, relying on You every step of the way! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

 

This is Today’s Word.  Apply it and prosper!

 

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