What Do You Do?
I Samuel 16:14-23
Sermon by Pastor Benjamin Chen
Pastor Ben shared with the 1.5 Generation Congregation at EFCI on the topic of “What do you do?” Pastor Ben continued to share the story of King Saul and reminded us to use our jobs and daily lives to fulfill God’s purpose
Our Motivation: Seeking Approval From Others vs. God
Through last week’s sermon, we learned that Saul repeatedly conducted in a manner that angered God. In this story, Saul chose to make the offering on his own and kept the sheep stock because “[he] feared the people and listened to their voice”(I Samuel 15:24). Saul sought approval from others instead of God. Popularity and people’s opinions become the motivation of his work. Our daily lives and careers often share the same struggle. It seems common for us to treat other people’s opinions with more weigh than that of God’s.
The purpose of our work is to please God, not the people.
The Power of Our Work: Destruction vs. Restoration
Chapter 16 is the first instance that the bible introduces King David. This is also the period when King Saul drifted apart from the Lord. Similar to David, our lives are often in the middle of someone else’s story or we may be introduced as someone else’s problem. Some of us may feel bitterness as a result of being born in a malfunctioning family, while some may need to face the consequences caused by others. Despite the difficult situations, David happily accepted the task given by God, and brought the resolution by playing the harp to Saul with the presence of God. Today we all have Holy Spirit with us.
It could be that God placed us in the face of our problems so that we can be the solution and to bring restoration.
The Humility of Our Work: King’s Position vs. King’s Servanthood
Even though God already anointed David to be the king of Israel before David came before Saul, the first task that God gave David was to play music and to bear arms. It wasn’t until 20 years later that he actually became the king of Israel. These jobs are not something that a “king” would do, but God used this period of time to train and shape David to become the person after His own heart. There may also a period of time that we are in a position that you are unsatisfied about, but there may be meaning during this period of time, and we need to be humble and faithful in our jobs.
God is using this season of life to shape you, and prepare you to do something greater for him.
Are You Just Occupying a Position, or are You Fulfilling God’s Purpose?
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