Many people are initially drawn to faith with the expectation that following Jesus will lead to an easier and more carefree life. But is that really true? Does being a Christian increase your chances for more blessings and prosperity? If so, you might be asking “why are there still so many struggles in my life?” In this video, we talk about the realities of living with faith, and highlight how God sees hardships and struggles differently than we do.

PLAY AUDIO ONLY

MESSAGE NOTES

[1 Samuel 16:12-13]

“So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. ANd the Lord said, “this is the one; anoint him.” So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on…”

 

God uses EVERYTHING we’ve been through to prepare us for EVERYTHING He’s planned for you!

 

 

[1 Samuel 16:14-19]

Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you’ll soon be well again.“ All right, Saul said. Find me someone who plays well and bring him here. One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that – he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine looking young man, and the Lord is with him.“ So Saul sent messengers to Jessie to say send me your Sunday with the shepherd.”

 

 

[1 Samuel 17:13-16]

“Jesse‘s three oldest sons – Eliab, Abinadab, and Shimea – had already joined Saul’s army to fight the philistines. David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army, but David went back-and-forth so he could help his father with the sheep in Bethlehem. for 40 days, every morning and evening, the Philistine champion shredded in front of the Israelite army.”

 

 

[1 Samuel 17:55-58]

“As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?“ “I really don’t know”, Abner declared. “Well, find out who he is!”,the king told him. As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. “Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said. And David replied, “His name is Jess, and we live in Bethlehem.”

 

 

[1 Samuel 18:6-9]

“When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals.  This was their song: Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!  This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with 10,000s and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.”

 

 

[1 Samuel 18:10-11]

“The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice.“

 

[1 Samuel 19:9-10]

“ but one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, Saul hurled the spear at David. But David dodged out-of-the-way, and leaving the Speer stuck in the wall, he fled in, escaped into the night.”

 

 

God isn’t looking for GREAT people, he’s looking for BROKEN people

 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Application Questions

  1. What stood out to you from this message and why?
  2. What is one thing God is telling you to START doing because of this message?
  3. What is one thing God is telling you to STOP doing because of this message?
  4. How will this message change how you act at home, at work, and in your relationships?