God Chose Me

God Chose Me

God has chosen us to be His and called us to be different than the world.

1 Samuel 16:1-13  The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?

It was Samuel’s job as God’s representative to anoint this soon to be king with oil. The anointing process would involve the pouring of an olive oil on the heads of the leaders God had chosen. It was symbolic that God was with them and covers them.

Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate (Set Apart) yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.  6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.” 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.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.”


How many of you were the last to be picked when playing sports at school or in your neighborhood. Normally teams were picked according to ability or strength.  Even Samuel was looking at the stature of Eliab thinking this is the one that God had chosen. Samuel, even though he was a prophet was still thinking the way man often does according to the eyes. He was probably still thinking Saul’s replacement should resemble Saul’s stature. A man that would appear to get things done on his own strength.  It shows that even the best men are not perfect in their faith.  God had enough of Saul doing things on his own strength, He was looking for a man after God’s heart.

It should make you glad that God does not choose by the outside appearance but He looks inwardly.  The Lord is looking for a broken heart and a contrite spirit. When our hearts are broken, we are completely open to the Spirit of God. It is then that we recognize our dependence on Him for all that we have and all that we are.  Like clay in the hands of a skilled potter, the brokenhearted can be molded and shaped in the hands of the Master.  That is the kind of leader God was looking for and so far none of Jesse’s sons met this criteria.

How about you, Will God pass you up because of your heart?

Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest,[a] but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

What a crazy thing, Samuel ask Jesse if he had any more sons and he is like oh yea I have one in the field watching sheep. Oops I forgot about David.  David was not even considered by his earthly father as worthy enough to join the rest of the family as the man of God began to look for God’s anointed one.  His earthly father rejects him but His heavenly pursues him.

One of the first things that stands out is even though David experienced a sense of rejection by his earthly father, His Heavenly Father Pursues him.  We Are Chosen.  The Anointing comes at God’s choosing.

It is He that establishes kings and calls whom He will to complete His mission.
It is He who looks beyond what the eye can see and sees the heart of man.
It is He who first loved and pursued us.
It is He who calls us to something greater than living for ourselves.
It is His, plan His purpose, His choosing, His Calling.

In many ways this story is similar to that of the coming of Christ.
Christ is like Samuel who came from a distant land to sacrifice bringing his offering along with Him.  Just as the elders of the city had to accept Samuel and welcome him in, we too must accept Jesus and welcome Him to live in our hearts.  Just as Samuel told them to consecrate themselves and invited them to sacrifice, as followers of Jesus we too must consecrate ourselves (to be set apart from the world, to be made holy) and pick up our cross and follow him daily.
Everyone that is in this building has been pursued by God. He sought you out. He has a plan for your life. You may have an ordinary life just as David did, yet He beckons you to a higher calling!

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.


From this day forward David was never the same. This anointing ceremony was basically saying David was set apart.  He might have started out as Jesse’s youngest son, a shepherd, outcast but he is now destined to be a king. He found himself inwardly advanced in wisdom, and courage, and concern for the public. He was called to be different from that moment on.  He may have returned back to shepherding for a season, but eventually his brothers would be calling him king.
It says that the spirit of the Lord rushed upon him from that day forward.

God often exalts those whom men despise and gives abundant honor to those whom lack. Jesus mentions “the stone which the builders refused has become the chief cornerstone.”  David was despised of men, yet it would be through his lineage that the Messiah would come.

2 Corinthians 1:21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

God pursues us, He calls us, He anoints us, He Seals us, He sets us apart.

We do not live like we once lived. We do not live like the rest of the world.

The Bible says God rejects the proud but gives grace to the humble and out in the fields of Bethlehem there was a humble young man tending sheep whom God had his hand on.

Do you feel as if God cannot use you because you have weaknesses?

When you say God can’t do much with me, that is evidence you don’t have much faith in God.
God does not view things from our horizontal perspective, but from heaven He looks down into the heart and evaluates us from that way. He does not choose His servants the way the world chooses them.  He has His own standard.  It is important for us to know that God uses those whom He chooses.  As He calls on us to serve Him, it is not our place to put up the obstacles that we think do to our lack of ability or what we think about ourselves. We are chosen. We are set apart.

Are you fulfilling the plan He has for your life?
Have you listened to what the world says about you or the lying voices of the enemy?
Or today would you rise up to the challenge like young David and follow in your calling of a chosen one. One that is set apart. One that will be a follower after God’s heart.