Your Time Is Not Being Wasted. You Are Being Prepared

Sermon outline

God does the calling, He looks at the heart, and while you wait on Him your time is not wasted but is preparation; meanwhile learn what David learnt with the sheep, to praise God in every circumstance, because praise is a weapon.

1. God does the calling

   Samuel looked at outward stature while God had David in mind, and David was out doing an ordinary errand with his father's sheep. Every believer has a calling, first to salvation and then to service, whether in secular work or full-time ministry, because the body grows as each part does its work. It was God who called David, not the people.

   “So all of us in Christ have a calling.”

   • 1 Samuel 16:1-13
   • Ephesians 4:16

2. Do only what God has called you to do

   Some treat church as a novelty or a franchise and start one without God's calling or anointing, or chase positions God never gave them, and it only brings frustration. Striving to be an apostle when God called you a deacon robs you of the energy for your real service. God is the chief shepherd and pastors are under-shepherds, and service begins with humility.

   Illustration: When they first became Christians they swept the church and picked bubble gum off the underside of the seats, and through those menial tasks God slowly lifted them until He called them into the ministry.

   “Don't do something that God hasn't called you to do.”

3. God confirms His call and looks at the heart

   God showed Samuel whom He wanted, and He will confirm His call on you to others, especially to church leadership, because a man's gift makes room for him. God's calling is not by the world's standards. A job interview wants qualifications; God calls the foolish things to confound the wise and calls us to what we cannot do so we lean on His grace. That is not to say training does not matter.

   “He doesn't look at the outward appearance of a person. He looks at the heart of a person.”

   • Proverbs 18:16
   • 1 Corinthians 1:27
   • 1 Samuel 16:7

4. Your time is not being wasted

   God's standard for calling has not changed: whoever purifies himself becomes a vessel of honour, set apart and prepared for every good work. So do not be impatient; wait for God's preparation and perfect timing. With the call comes the ability, and since God made pastors and ministries different, do not criticise anyone for the anointing they function in. No one person has every gift, which is why we need the whole body.

   “Your time is not being wasted. As you listen to God, you listen to his word, you are being prepared for whatever he's called you to do.”

   • 2 Timothy 2:20-22

5. Saul tried to do God's work without God's power

   Saul was anointed and called, but he turned from God and opened himself to an evil spirit that tormented him; he kept the position without the anointing and did not even know God had rejected him. When we do the work of the kingdom of light we come up against the kingdom of darkness, and God has given us a powerful weapon against it: praise. David learnt it as a shepherd boy alone on the hillside.

   “Saul was trying to accomplish God's work without God's power. That is a very dangerous thing to do.”

   • Ephesians 6:12

6. Praise in every circumstance: deliverance comes by praise

   We are not told to praise only when things are good. Praise makes fear, doubt and unbelief dissipate, because the devil cannot stand God's presence. Paul and Silas praised loudly at midnight in a terrible prison and God shook it open. When you have tried prayer, fasting and meditating on the word, add praise to the mixture and thank God that it is done, because we walk by faith and not by sight. Praise is not only for church but for your private time.

   Illustration: From the course notes: a couple prayed for years for the man's alcoholic father, then were challenged to praise God despite the situation, and within weeks the father gave his heart to the Lord. And like a cake that needs many ingredients blended together, add praise to the mixture.

   “When you have tried everything, we've tried prayer, we've tried fasting, we've tried reading the word, we've tried meditating on the word. Let's add to that praise.”

   • Acts 16:25-26
   • 2 Corinthians 5:7
   • Hebrews 13:15

7. What praise does

   He gives nine points from the notes: praise brings deliverance and turns the enemy back; it is a weapon against strongholds; it brings the desires of your heart as you seek the kingdom; it protects you, your children and family; it shows trust in God and rises as a sweet aroma; it keeps your eyes on the God of the Bible; it releases God's power; it lifts you above the enemy; and it releases God's provision.

   Illustration: The devil hates praise because he once held that position and lost it through pride. He has been in meetings where, during loud praise and worship, demons began to manifest because they could not stand God's presence.

   “Please, I want you to remember that praise is a weapon.”

   • 2 Chronicles 16:9

8. Never forget that God brought you to where you are

   Ungratefulness is a stench to God and gratefulness an aroma. In years of pastoring he has seen people who had nothing lifted by God into houses and possessions, and then begin to credit their qualifications and their own doing. Those were Satan's words when he exalted himself. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble, so whatever position you reach, keep giving Him the praise.

   “You are where you are. I am where I am because of God.”

9. Face the small problems now; the battle is the Lord's

   David did not run from the animals that attacked the flock; he faced them and overcame them, and that gave him confidence for Goliath. If we keep running from small problems, how will we face tomorrow's Goliath? David trusted God, not man's way of winning. Be led by the Spirit at work and at home: sometimes you speak, sometimes you study to be quiet and overlook a fault, and only the Spirit's guidance tells you which.

   Illustration: In all his years of pastoring he never copied anybody; the Holy Ghost led them to where they are. When something provokes you, put your hand on the document and ask the Lord for wisdom before you react. David danced before the Lord as king, and when his wife mocked him for it, God dealt with her.

   “If we keep running from small problems that we are facing today, how will we face the Goliath of tomorrow?”

   • Revelation 12:11
   • 1 Samuel 17:47
   • 1 Thessalonians 4:11

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