Lessons from David: Episode 4

Main ideas, concepts, and lessons

• David’s rise is tied to Saul’s failure

  • Saul was king before David, and David would not have become king if Saul had obeyed God.
  • Saul’s disobedience—especially in 1 Samuel 15 (refusing God’s command regarding the Amalekites)—led God to:
    • remove the kingdom from Saul, and
    • replace him.
  • Key emphasis: God may advance His purposes because someone else refuses to obey. In that way, God “gets His point done” and may raise up another person to fulfill His plan.

• Grieving over what grieves God is right—but prolonged grief can become wrong

  • The speaker cites 1 Samuel 15:34, noting that:
    • Samuel stopped visiting Saul after Saul’s continued rebellion.
    • Samuel mourned, but God’s response indicates there is a limit to how long mourning should control a person’s life.
  • Balance taught:
    • It is godly to grieve over things that grieve God.
    • It becomes unhealthy when grief dominates you—leading to depression, discouragement, inactivity, or an inability to carry out God’s assignment.
  • Support cited: 1 Peter 5—believers should cast care on the Lord, because God cares.

• God may “reject” someone—so believers shouldn’t indefinitely chase what God has ended

  • From 1 Samuel 16:1, the speaker argues God essentially asked: “How long will you mourn, since I have rejected Saul?”
  • Distinction drawn:
    • Those under God’s covenant (born again): God will not leave them or forsake them.
    • Those outside the covenant: God is patient, but judgment can come, and there are times when God’s decision is final.
  • Example given (Acts 12 reference plus Josephus):
    • Herod was judged after refusing to give God glory (the text alludes to angelic judgment and references Josephus as a historical witness).

• Moving on is necessary to continue God’s mission

  • God’s command to Samuel includes a new direction:
    • “Fill your horn with oil and go… I will send you to Jesse… for I have provided a king among his sons.”
  • Application:
    • If Samuel had kept grieving Saul indefinitely, he might have missed the anointing of David and therefore missed God’s next step.
    • Grieving can become a form of paralysis—God’s people must keep acting on what they still know God is calling them to do.

• Caution about spending ministry/care on people who mainly want attention

  • Pastoral/leadership experience shared:
    • Some people consistently create crises and demand attention.
    • Over time, the speaker realized it can consume “90% of time dealing with 10% of people.”
  • Conclusion: not everyone is seeking change. Sometimes people want attention and comfort rather than repentance and transformation.
  • Illustration:
    • The speaker’s executive assistant tried contacting such people for months, then reported she understood their intent—implying their goal wasn’t serious transformation, and it could “floodgate” complaints.

• Samuel’s anointing process shows both spiritual sensitivity and human error

  • Samuel fears Saul might kill him (1 Samuel 16:2), so God gives guidance:
    • Take an heifer, present it as a sacrifice, and proceed normally.
    • Call Jesse to the sacrifice; Samuel will be told what to do and whom to anoint.
  • Emphasis:
    • Samuel operates in a supernatural capacity (the speaker mentions word of knowledge in 1 Samuel 9).
    • Yet Samuel still makes a human, understandable judgment:
      • He assumes Eliab (the eldest/strongest) must be chosen based on appearance.
      • God corrects him: God looks at the heart, not outward appearance.

• God’s pattern: choosing the “lesser” prevents human pride

  • Linked to 1 Corinthians themes: God often chooses weak/inferior-seeming people so that no flesh can boast.
  • Fear addressed:
    • Some people fear God seeing their hypocrisy.
    • The speaker argues that for the truly born again:
      • the spirit is made new; change is real even if the soul/physical still struggles.
    • Therefore, worship and relationship with God must be spirit-to-spirit.

• Samuel’s integrity and security in God’s word

  • When God repeatedly says “not chosen,” Samuel follows through—trusting God’s guidance rather than Jesse’s presentation.
  • Highlighted traits:
    • Samuel is secure enough not to “pick the last son just to make it look consistent.”
    • He asks for the youngest (David), who is away keeping sheep.
    • Samuel refuses to proceed without David.

• Call to continue learning David’s lessons

  • The speaker promotes a “Lessons from David” teaching series and related materials (book, study guide, CDs/DVDs, USB, living commentary), emphasizing that the content should be revisited and studied over time.

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Methodology / instruction-like steps presented

1) For believers: handle grief without becoming immobilized

• Grieve appropriately
  • Allow grief to exist for things that grieve God.
• Cast care on the Lord
  • Transfer burden/care to God instead of letting it accumulate into depression or paralysis.
• Watch for the tipping point
  • Don’t let grief dominate you until it makes you inactive or unable to act on God’s call.
• When God has rejected or ended a relationship, stop forcing it
  • If God has “taken blessing off” a relationship, don’t keep trying to make it continue against His direction.

2) For leaders/pastors: manage attention and crisis overload

• Recognize patterns of behavior
  • Identify whether a person is consistently in crisis primarily to receive attention.
• Avoid endlessly consuming leadership time
  • Prevent a small minority from consuming the majority of your time and energy.
• Discern seriousness
  • Distinguish between people seeking help/transformation and those seeking reassurance/commiseration without change.

3) For obeying God despite fear or uncertainty (Samuel’s example)

• Respond to God’s instructions even when danger is present
  • Samuel feared Saul would kill him, but God’s plan gave a way forward.
• Use practical “legitimate cover” when instructed
  • Present the mission as a normal sacrifice so the plan can proceed.
• Proceed step-by-step when you don’t have full details
  • The speaker claims God often gives partial direction; you move first, and God fills in the rest.

4) For spiritual discernment: don’t judge by outward appearance

• Act on spiritual prompting, not sight-based assumptions
  • Eliab seemed likely “by nature” (age/size), but God’s choice wasn’t based on that.
• Ask God to reveal what’s true about the heart
  • Trust the “God looks at the heart” principle.

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Speakers or sources featured (identified)

• Primary speaker: Andrew Wommack (spoken introduction: “And now here’s Andrew.”)
• Scriptural sources cited/used:
  • 1 Samuel 13
  • 1 Samuel 15 (including 1 Samuel 15:34)
  • 1 Samuel 16 (including 1 Samuel 16:1–11 conceptually)
  • 1 Peter 5
  • Acts 12 (Herod example referenced)
  • 1 Corinthians 13 (partial knowledge/prophesying “in part”)
  • 1 Corinthians 1 (God choosing weak/based things)
  • John 4 (God as spirit; worship in spirit and truth)
  • Philippians 3 (mentioned regarding God revealing what to adjust)
• Historical source referenced:
  • Josephus (early first-century historian mentioned regarding Herod’s death/details).