FBCWest 736 | Favor with God and People
Recorded On: 11/01/2026
Bulletin
Hymn # 487 “Since Jesus Came into My Heart”
SCRIPTURE READING – Psalms 111:1 - 8
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate
Praise and Worship
“Resurrection Power”
“Endless Light”
“Praise You Anywhere”
Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Favor with God and People”
PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“This Is Amazing Grace”
Acknowledgements and Announcements
Sermon Notes
1 Samuel 16:14 The Spirit of the Lord departs Saul and an evil spirit is sent to terrorize him
1 Samuel 16:15 – 17 Servant thinks music will help Saul to be well
1 Samuel 16:18 A young man tell them I know a guy, It’s David
1 Samuel 16:19 Saul sends for David
1 Samuel 16:20 David’s father sends David and gifts for Saul
1 Samuel 16:21 & 22 David, the new king, attends to Saul the current king. Saul loves David and makes him his armor bearer
1 Samuel 16:23 David does a great job
Scritpures
Transcript of Service
If not all of us want to be popular. We hope that the people around us, the people we come in contact with us want to be around us. They want to think that we're special.
We even do that online. Do things we'll put filters on and do other things to make people want to like us so that we are again popular on social media. The problem with being popular is it only lasts for a short time.
They may erect staff and then a little while later tear them down. But God has something better for us and that's what we're going to discuss today. There are times when people who say they know the old things about God will tell us that God is not involved in human affairs. One form of that although it's not exclusive people call it providence.
That God created the world but he just kind of lets it on his own. The scripture seemed to dispute that. The Bible God's word tells us to pray. Why would we pray if God is not going to get involved? And so today we're going to take a look at God being involved with someone which also means if he's in the life of him, he will be in the life of us. So if you have your Bibles and you should, turn to 1 Samuel chapter 16 and we're going to start with verse 14. Now verse 13 when we concluded basically said that after David had been king by Samuel that the power of God, the spirit of God, fell mightfully upon David.
And so now we're going to this next verse is going to have a contrast of that. This is now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. God had a powerful experience for David and that the spirit rested upon David and changed David's life. The spirit had been on Saul changing his life but because he did not follow the word of the Lord, God, King and withdrew his spirit but God also not only withdrew his spirit but he then sent other spirits to terrorized Saul. And so this shows us that God is sovereign. The devil and his angels are not equivalent in power to God. The demons are afraid of Jesus. The demons do what Jesus commands and God here commands a spirit to terrorize Saul.
Has a purpose in doing that more than just to terrorize Saul. And Saul then said to him, behold now an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. They're knowing who that spirit is coming from. They're not just saying, well, they're just terrible spirit.
We know where it's coming from and it's apparently obvious to all. Let our Lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is skillful player on the heart. And then he'll come about that when the evil spirit from God is on you, that the heart with his hand and you will be well. So this is kind of the idea we get that the charms of music can sue the savage beast. So they make a determination and say, well, plain music may have some good consequence and it may calm the spirit and no longer terrorize you.
So we are not unsympathetic to your problem. We want to see how we can ameliorate that problem. So we suggest you find somebody who can play music well. So Saul said to his servants, provide for me, now can play well and bring him to me. So he says, that's really a good idea. I agree with it. I'm giving you authority to find that guy. Then one of the young men said, behold, I've seen the son of Jesse the Bethelmite who is a skillful musician.
A valor, a warrior one crud in his speech, and a handsome man and the Lord is with him. Now I want you to notice something. Saul lives in a town approximately 12 and a half miles from Bethlehem. It's not as if David was playing at concert in the park. It's not as if David sold out crowds of his musician.
Basically, all we've been told about David up to this point is that he's a shepherd and even his own family just makes him be a shepherd. I whose about 12 and a half miles away has heard about a guy who plays music really well, but he's not just simply a great musician. He's also a mighty man of valor.
How does he know a warrior one crud in his speech, when to say what he needs to say and remain silent when he should? He's handsome and the most specific and greatest quality the Lord is with him. So when the demon terrorizes you, a man of God will be here to play skillfully and he won't be afraid when you are in your midst of terror because he's a valiant man. It's a man of valor. So he goes, here are all the qualities, but again, it shows how God, how is it that a guy 12 and a half miles away is so well known?
Because God made him so. God caused the terror to come upon Saul so that God can move David from Bethlehem to the kings of both. So Saul sent messages to Jesse and said, send me your son David who is with the flock.
So apparently the word is out. He may be a great musician. He may be a great man of valor. He may even be handsome. He's with the sheep. So when you go to Jesse's house, you're not going to find him in the house. You're going to find him out, tending the sheep.
And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul. So not only is Jesse going to send his son to be a minister to Saul, the king, he's also giving him gifts. He's acknowledging that Saul is king and he's presenting gifts so that he might find favor with the king. The love of his son and the service of the king. Then David came to Saul and attended him and Saul loved him greatly and he became his armor bearer. Now in a future message, let's go on the scene. If immediately Saul makes him an armor bearer because he loves David and he appreciates David, or because of some of the things David will come to in the future that he eventually becomes an armor bearer, but he's not going to just be a musician.
He's going to be the one who's going to make sure Saul is prepared for battle and be with Saul in battle. And Saul sent to Jesse saying, let now David stand before me or he has found favor in my side. So now, Saul doesn't, I don't want just David here.
Sometimes I want him all the time because he has found favor. David is more than just popular with Saul. He has found favor in his side. David as far as Saul is concerned because of his abilities and because of his relationship, because he's ministering to the king as opposed to serving his own interests.
And so Saul recognizes, and immediately we see, and David finding favor in Saul's again is because of the Lord's doing. So it came about whenever the evil spirit from the Lord came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand, and Saul would be refreshed and be well. And the evil spirit would depart from him. So we see that David does his job, but not only does he do his job, he does it well. He does it exceptional so much so that it does what they intended him to do. So the evil spirit to depart from him, there be terrorized. I'm missing a verse.
So I'll just tell you. There is a verse that basically says, the David finds favor with men and with God. You see, God's dealing with David was more than just popularity. David found favor with men. Why is it important for David to find favor with men? Because David has been anointed king. And the people are going to see David through David is, and when Saul is no longer king, they're going to want to find that David be their king.
So God makes it so that David finds favor with the people. Also, more importantly, David finds favor with God. All too often we want to find popularity is short. It is short because people are fickle and they change their mind. And what was popular once is no longer popular now. Even if you're popular from the day you're born until the day you'd, it was limited.
The favor with God is eternal. So I want to use an analogy, not perfect, best I got. As most of you in this room know, he achieved that. I watch their games as often as I can.
I've even gone I think three times to Kansas City to watch a game. I enjoy it. It bothers me when they lose and I'm happy when they win. But they're my team. And I'm who is a Johnny cum lately on the bandwagon because it's been successful. I've been at Kansas City Chief fan since about 1965.
So I've been a serious dedicated fan. So I watch them play my two grandsons play football as well. They play other sports than I. If football as well and I go to their games. And as I told one, if I'm not in the hospital, I'll be there. Because they have found favor in my side. So when I go to their games, I. Their team play.
I go to watch them play. So when they're on the field, I don't know what's happening with the the wide receiver going out. If if they're doing I'm watching them. Because they're my safe. Now they're not on the field. I might watch the team. I hope the team wins not because. But because they're on that team.
I want them to do well. When they're on the field, I'm hoping it's an even sometimes saying make a. Because I want everybody else to know how awesome they are. And if they make a play.
Doesn't mean that I'm more likely to go to the next game. Or they don't make a play doesn't mean I'm any less likely to. Because their success or failure is not dependent upon my favor with them. They're my favorites because of who they are because they're my grandsons.
They're mine. So it's not their results that finds favor. Here's the analogy. Well, one one other thing.
If they can't do better, there's not much I can do. I'm an old man. I can't really show them how they ought to play. I don't have they've already exceeded my knowledge of how to play that position. So there's little I can do to help them. Now God is our father. He cares about you.
He knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows you're rising up and sitting down. Just interested in you. Where I can't help my grandsons be successful, God can. The favor of God not only can extend my free with people, but my favor with God can change me from who I was to who I ought to be.
To be being Joe Davis to be in like Jesus. He can change the quality of who I am when I have found. Now just like I don't care about, well I care about the results, but my results of what the grandkids do, success or failure doesn't change my love for them. It's the same way with God. That's what grace is all about. This is all myriad of favor. God loves us and we are finding favor in him not because of our success or lack of it because of our failure, but because who God is and who God made us have to be the children of them.
So the next time you find yourself in a struggle, maybe you're not living up to what it is or you haven't got to remember God is my line. He favors you because he sent his son to die for us, to change us from being sinners to being children of the living God. And because he did that, he gives us save. Failure will not change his love. Nothing separates us from the lot of God. Nothing separates us from the love of God. Let me say it one more time in case you don't get it.
Nothing separates us from the love of God. Not because we're awesome those he loves us. Not because we're skillful in anything but because he loves and he shows us save. He was involved in the life of David. He calls him to be the king of Israel. He called you to be something even more important than that. He called you to be his child.
He called you to be his child. You think he's just going to leave you there? I think he's going to stop loving you because you don't measure up. David is going to fail a lot of times. God never stops loving him, bringing him back to him. Same way with God and you. So my analogy is poor, but it rings really true. God finds safer on you.
And as involved in your life, whether you recognize it or not, and all of God's people stand.