CBFC Worship Service 5/10/2026

Good morning, good morning, good morning.

Am I on?

I think I'm on.

I think I'm on.

Uh my name is Jared Hanstein.

I am blessed to be one of the elders here at CBFC.

And delivering a message out of 1 Samuel chapter 16, finishing up chapter 16.

1 Samuel 16 · chapter mention

We're actually going to skip back one verse, verse 13 through 23.

And uh going to start differently.

Normally we would stand when I read scripture or we read scripture.

Kind of gotta be all over the place today.

So I'm gonna start by praying and then let you sit through this whole thing, moms.

It's Mother's Day, so you relax.

Take it easy.

Let's pray.

Father God, you are an awesome God.

We set this time aside for you to hear from you.

Holy Spirit, we pray that you would guide us into all truth.

We pray that your word would, we know your word is alive and sharper than a double-edged sword, Lord.

Let it pierce our hearts today.

I come against all distractions in the name of Jesus and pray that your word would speak so clearly to our hearts and that we would be changed.

In the name of Jesus.

Amen.

So I'm titling the sermon Service with a smile.

Service with a smile.

Before we get into the actual text of 1 Samuel 16, I want to look at a verse in Philippians.

Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

And I want it to be a lens that we use to look at 1 Samuel chapter 16.

1 Samuel 16 · chapter mention

We're going to look through that lens.

So Philippians chapter 2, if you want to turn there, we will get we will get to 1 Samuel, but this is the lens we're going to look through.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

If you don't want to turn there, I'm going to read it.

We're going to do verses 3 through 8.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

We're going to stop there.

That's the lens we're going to use to look at first Samuel 16.

And when you think about the words that they used, count others more significant than yourself.

Have this mind among yourself.

I think it's speaking of a mindset and an attitude of service, establishing that it's not only what we do in serving, that's important, but also how we do it.

That's important.

So when we look at 1 Samuel 16, I want us to remember that.

And that's our anchor verse there, the Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

We gotta just be we gotta be just like Christ.

So I have two stories that's gonna kind of start everything out.

The first one is I recently moved, helped somebody move from Philadelphia to Boston.

So I picked up a U-Haul, loaded the U-Haul, drove to Boston, unloaded the U-Haul, and then I had to hap on, hop on a train.

I almost had a Boston accent there.

Hop on a train and come all the way back to Philly and then drive home.

It was a miserable experience, all right?

Boston, they are not nice people.

If you're from Boston, I apologize.

But that was my experience based off of one person who was supposed to be a servant, alright?

I pull in to deliver the U-Haul.

There are yellow lines everywhere.

I pull this U-Haul in, and the guy, the attendant, he's waving at me, he goes, Hey, moron! He actually called me a moron.

Hey moron, pack the cotton the yellow lines.

I wish I could tell you that I started to pray and say, Peace be unto you.

I said, dude, there are yellow lines everywhere.

He's like, These ones, these ones.

So with a great attitude, I pull into the yellow lines, and there's a giant billboard that says, Remain in the cabin of the truck.

So I'm getting all my stuff organized.

I'm not gonna get out because clearly this guy, I don't know what he would say.

So I'm sitting there, and before I know it, the guy's standing right next to the window, and he's like, hey buddy, are we ever gonna get out today?

Huh?

Huh?

Huh?

So I get out and I realized it's not just how you serve, or sorry, it's not just what you do when you serve, it's how you do it.

That's really, really important.

If we could put the picture up, I want to show you a positive example.

So in my school, we're about a 10-minute walk from a high-end nursing home.

It's a really cool nursing home.

And every Memorial Day, we have a tradition.

They throw a Memorial Day picnic, they serve hot dogs and chicken fingers, and then we give the, we give a hundred fifth graders etiquette lessons on how to serve.

We teach them British accents.

We actually teach them manners, please and thank you.

You know, draping the cloth over the arm.

We say, you're going to serve these people with a smile.

You're gonna ask them what they want to drink.

You're gonna pull chairs out, you're gonna push them in, you're gonna cut their chicken fingers and hot.

They're like, What?

Yes, you're gonna wash your hands before and you're gonna cut their food for them.

You're gonna get them drinks.

And the kids are so skeptical, but something amazing happens when we do it every single year.

The kids are awesome.

And the older residents are just in love with these kids, except this guy.

His name is Mr.

Don.

And I'm I'm like trying to herd cats, get make sure nobody's doing something stupid, right?

And the director of the nursing home calls me over.

She says, Hey, you really have to watch this because I'm just giving you a heads up.

I think you're gonna have to step in here.

I go, what's up?

She's that's Mr.

Don.

He is the meanest man that has ever come through the doors of this nursing home in 12 years.

He is nasty, he curses, he's not a nice guy, and I'm really afraid of what he's gonna do to the kids.

I was like, Well, praise God.

That's an awesome, awesome thing.

So I walk up to Mr.

Don and he's fumbling, trying to open a popsicle.

I go, hey, Mr.

Don.

And he looked up at me, kind of scowled a little bit.

I'm like, oh, here we go.

I said, Hey, can I open that popsicle up for you?

He's like, Yeah, sure, sure.

I open it up.

I hey, do you mind sharing?

Can I have half?

He's like, Yeah.

I said, How are these two ladies treating you?

And Mr.

Don started to sob.

And he goes, I don't, I don't know what I did to deserve this.

They're so nice, and these kids, they're just loving on me, and I don't deserve this.

He kept repeating again and again how he doesn't deserve this, and to watch this grizzled old man humbled and broken because two kids served with a smile.

Wow.

That's Philippians 2.

And that's the lens we're gonna we're gonna use today to look through 1 Samuel 16.

So now we're gonna go to 1 Samuel 16.

1 Samuel 16, Daniel led us through the first part of that chapter.

We're gonna jump in.

If you remember, David was anointed.

David was anointed, and his brothers weren't selected.

David was out keeping the sheep.

Samuel anoints him.

I'm gonna start with verse 13 and take us through.

Verse 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.

Now compare the contrast here.

Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.

That's a beautiful Mother's Day sermon.

A harmful spirit of the Lord tormenting somebody.

Don't worry, we're going to do something with this.

And Saul's servant said to him, Behold, now a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you.

Let our Lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skilful in playing the liar.

And when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.

So Saul said to his servants, Provide for me a man who can play well, and bring him to me.

One of the young men answered, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse of the Bethelemite.

He is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.

Therefore Saul sent his messengers to Jesse and said, Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.

And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat, and sent them by David his son to Saul.

And David came to Saul and entered his service.

There's the word.

David entered his service.

Keep in mind, David is anointed king.

He is now entering Saul's service.

And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.

And Saul sent sent to Jesse, saying, Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.

And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand.

So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

That's our source text.

So where are we going with this?

Well, first of all, I teach my kids in fifth, I'm a fifth grade teacher, if you don't know that.

I teach predicting when we're reading.

You look for clues in the text so you can predict what's coming next.

You all do it when you watch movies, you find clues, I know it's gonna happen.

Okay?

So I read when I'm reading the Bible, verse 13, David is anointed, right?

The spirit of Lord rushes onto him.

I'm not predicting he's gonna be serving, I'm predicting he's stepping into the throne.

This is something in my mind, how it went.

This is how I thought it should go, obviously.

I'm not God.

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 Rama.

Now the Spirit of Lord departed from Saul.

And this is my version, okay?

And David gallantly stepped in to usurp the throne from the disobedient despot, courageously lead God's chosen people to prominence in annihilating God's enemies and ushering a season of grace and peace upon the land, while his while the hands of time click one step closer to the arrival of the one true Redeemer and Savior, God's only Son.

It's not there.

It's not there.

Like, David is anointed king.

The Spirit rushes on him, the Spirit of God departs from Saul, and David is called to serve.

Wow.

That's incredible.

David is brought in as a servant.

David is anointed king, but God leads him into a position of service before appointing him king at 30 years old.

David's going to be in this service, this time of limbo of just not being the appointed king for quite some time.

And God has a track record of doing this, folks.

Jesus, he started his ministry around 30 years old.

He had this time of preparation.

It didn't get better than Jesus.

And he had this time.

Moses, 40 years in the wilderness.

That's not meaningless time.

That's God working in the mundane.

God's working in the waiting.

Joseph, plug for Sunday school.

We're right in the middle of Joseph.

We're coming kind of toward the end.

Come out.

It's an amazing story.

Joseph, he, 13 to 22 years, sold into slavery, then in prison before coming to power in Egypt.

God uses these moments to prepare us.

David, 15 to 17 years.

He was anointed as a young man, waited over 15 years to take the throne at the age of 30.

Abraham, he waited around 25 years before he was given a son.

Paul, he's converted.

The Bible says he starts preaching immediately, and then when you go down into Galatians, it talks about him going to Arabia for three years.

Huh?

And then Noah.

He could have waited 120 years building this ark.

Just waiting.

Just waiting.

Man, God's doing something even in even when it seems like he's not.

So I want to go back and I want to look at what was David's position of service.

What was his position of service?

Two things.

He was an armor bearer and a musical attendant.

I was going to have Harry come up and play the lyre, but I couldn't find one, so I'll spare everybody.

Yeah.

So we're going to look at his positions of service in a little more detail, kind of drill down and see what that's about.

And then we're going to try and search for David's attitude in that service.

I don't want to just look at what he did to serve, but I want to look at how he did it.

How did he serve through that lens of Philippians chapter 2?

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Alright, so let's take care of some housekeeping, alright?

There's a really tricky verse in here.

I'm not going to skip over it, I'm going to address it.

Verse 14.

Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.

That's a little bit tricky, alright?

Is that God cooking up this evil plan and zapping Saul with an evil lightning bolt to take him out?

I don't think so.

I think Daniel hit the nail on the head when he was talking last week about how man looks at the outward appearance.

But God looks at the heart, and Daniel says suggested an interpretation.

It's not just God looking at our hearts, but it's God's looking at his sovereign plan.

God recognizing he has a sovereign plan.

So according to God's sovereign plan, God allowed a harmful spirit to torment Saul, and God used that as part of his sovereign plan to prepare David to be king.

God's in control here.

God's always in control here.

So what did David do to serve?

An armor bearer.

They might have called them squires in medieval times, but what do armor bearers do?

There's a list of armor bearers in the Bible.

All right.

We just heard from it.

I think Daniel was preaching again.

Jonathan had an armor bearer.

He was this skilled warrior and basically cleaned up the people that Jonathan wounded.

He just cleaned up the mess, maybe covered his rear.

They're skilled warriors.

Saul had armor bearers.

David was one of them.

He had others.

In 1 Samuel 31, you'll see them.

He has other armor bears.

Abimelech.

If you want a good read-aloud story for your kids at night, that's a joke.

Don't read that.

Abimelech had armor bears in Judges 9.

Pretty much there was like this big watchtower, and this lady pushed the millstone and it hit him in the head and crashed his skull open and he was almost dead.

And he was trying to beg his armor bearers to kill him and put him out of his misery.

It's a great story.

Joab.

Joab had 10 armor bearers.

They end up killing Absalom while he was in an oak tree in 2 Samuel.

So there's a history of armor bearers in the Bible.

So what do they do?

What is the service of an armor bearer?

They assist the master in fighting by carrying the extra armor and weapons and shield.

Foot soldiers would have to carry their own stuff, but the armor bearer, he's carrying everything.

He's like the pack mule, alright?

So all of Saul's armor, it's on him.

All of his weapons on David, okay?

So what is the armor?

Well, there would be a helmet, there'd be scale armor, coats of mail, a breastplate, something called greaves, which would cover the shins and maybe the kneecap, and then he had shields and swords, right?

So that's his job.

Not only is his job to carry it, but to keep it, to clean it, to sharpen it, to make sure it's battle ready.

He acted as a bodyguard using those weapons to shield and defend and protect his master.

He offered combat support, finishing off wounded enemies, and he sharpened and cleaned it.

So that's his job, right?

It wasn't like he's sitting there eating grapes.

He's serving.

His hands are getting dirty, he's sweating, he's doing the grunt work, alright?

And he's also a musical attendant.

So what did he do?

He played the lyre.

What is a lyre?

It's a hand harp.

It's a little different numbers of strings.

They were actually made out of sheep's intestines or ram's tendons.

I always see replicas of shofars.

I've never seen somebody like kill a sheep and use the intestines to make the strings.

It would be cool to have a replica.

Noah, if you want to make that instrument, that would be awesome.

So we can clearly see what did he do?

He played.

He played.

We clearly see David's position of service.

He's in service to Saul.

He's an armor bearer, he's a musical attendant, but where's his attitude?

You know, at first glance, when I read this 10 times, I'm like, well, I don't know if I really see his attitude there.

But when I really started to drill down and look, I think we have clues as to what David's attitude was.

I think we have clues that point to how he served.

Take a look at verse 18.

Verse 18.

One of the young men answered, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethelemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence.

And the Lord is with him.

How did David build that reputation?

By doing, by having an attitude, not just from repeated action, but his attitude.

Doing what?

What was David doing to get this incredible reputation?

Oh man.

He must have been like in the throne room.

He was tending sheep.

He was tending sheep.

I mean, if you do a quick search on sheep, they are dirty animals, they're stupid animals.

You can scare them to death.

You can literally scare a sheep so that it dies.

They fall over and they can't get up, they're filthy.

I have a really great sheep story where I had to milk a sheep.

If you want to take me to coffee, I'd be more than happy to share it, but I'm not going to share it in the sermon because it takes me off track, alright?

But David was tending sheep.

We see David's reputation and attitude from doing small and insignificant things in life.

How many times do you or I do insignificant things that we think nobody sees and it doesn't really matter?

Moms, how many times do you changing diapers up at night rocking those kids when they're crying or scolding them when they're trying to climb the banister 20 feet high?

God sees all that stuff.

It's not insignificant.

David gained that reputation from doing the insignificant things, taking care of sheep.

And he wasn't grumbling and complaining.

And that's an incredible picture to just picture.

Picture David.

He's skillful in playing.

Did you catch that line?

Who's he playing for?

He's playing for the sheep.

You pitch picture him at night under the stars, this clear sky, and he's strumming on this harp, singing, playing his best songs.

We're not talking about clinking out chopsticks.

He's rocking this complicated tune, fingers, strumming, his voice piercing the sky.

He's giving his best when nobody sees it.

He's giving his best to insignificant things.

But see, God sees it.

And God uses that attitude tremendously in a bigger setting.

Those who are faithful in the little things will be faithful in the big.

What else about his reputation?

A man of valor, a man of war, pending sheep?

Well, if you skip ahead to 1 Samuel 17, 33, we get kind of a peek at what this man of war attitude is.

I'm not gonna get, I'm not preaching on ahead.

I don't worry anybody who's in in front of me.

1 Samuel 17, verses 33.

1 Samuel 17:33

Verses 33, where are we?

33, 33.

And Saul said to David, so this is, we're skipping ahead to Goliath.

We're not even gonna talk about Goliath.

Listen to this story.

You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.

Listen to that phrase.

Saul's like, Goliath is a man of war from his youth, right?

Same phrase this guy used to talk about David.

But David said to Saul, Your servant used to keep sheep for his father, and when there came a lion or a bear, and it took of the lamb from the flock, I went after him, and I struck him and delivered it out of his mouth.

And if he rose against me, I caught him by his beard, and I struck and killed him.

Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bears.

That's called a hunting strategy.

Alright?

That's how he literally did it.

That's crazy.

That is where his reputation comes from.

It's incredible to see that attitude in everything.

And then we get into verse 21.

Going back to 1 Samuel 16, verse 21.

1 Samuel 16:21

And David came to Saul and entered his service.

And listen to this line here.

And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.

He loved him greatly.

It keeps going.

What else did he say?

He became his armor bearer, and Saul sent to Jesse, Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.

How would Saul ever say that if David's attitude didn't align to what he was doing?

I don't think David was asked to clean his armor and David let it soaking in the kitchen sink, like my kids do sometimes when they clean the dishes.

I think he put his heart and soul in it.

I think he made that armor shine.

David wasn't just sitting around binge watching Netflix and playing ping pong with King Saul.

He's serving him.

He's on his hands and his knees.

He's doing menial tasks with an awesome attitude.

He's serving with a smile.

I think when we look at this text, we see flavors and hints of David serving well with a beautiful attitude, even in a frustrating situation with an unhinged king.

Picture what it would look like when those tormenting spirits came upon Saul.

I don't think he was in a good mood.

I think things were flying across the room.

I think he was in fits of rage.

And we see David just calmly serving.

Look at his attitude.

We see flavors of it.

David wasn't thinking, how unqualified is this guy?

I could do a better job.

I'm the anointed one here.

He just kept serving with a smile.

And then in verse 23.

And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played.

He played worship songs.

I don't think he's playing sitting on the dock of the bay.

I think he's playing some of the psalms he wrote in the book of Psalms.

Psalms actually means worship songs or plucking strings or something like that.

It's in my notes somewhere, but I'm not following them.

So there you go.

You can Google that.

He played.

He played.

Have you ever tried to enter into worship with a bad attitude?

Oh, come on, we've all been there.

You're screaming at the kids to get ready.

Come on, we're gonna be late for church.

Get in the car.

Come on.

You're a good, good father.

To you like it doesn't work.

It doesn't work.

I can't tell you how many times after screaming at the kids, I come in, my hands are in my pockets.

I'm like, oh, I should be praising God.

But my attitude just won't let me break through.

David is playing when chaos is going on around him.

I think that speaks powerfully to his attitude.

His attitude is tremendous.

When you look at his Psalms and what David wrote in the Psalms, we get an even clearer picture of his attitude.

We're not going to go through every single one, but I'm just going to throw it out there.

If you want a good study, look through the Psalms.

Look which ones are attributed to David.

Line it up with what he's going through and see what David is singing.

See when David is singing and see if that doesn't challenge you to the core.

Psalms 18, David is singing a song of thanksgiving when God saved David from his enemies in Saul.

Psalm 3.

That was written as a song as David fled from Absalom.

He's fleeing from his son.

Psalm 8, a song of wonder concerning creation.

Psalm 51, a song of remorse and repentance.

Psalm 57, he was sung when David hid from Saul in a cave.

Saul was going to kill him.

Psalm 63, a song longing for God, written when he was in the desert during this dry time.

Psalm 91, a song about David's protection.

David sang in every season of life.

And you can't do that if your attitude isn't surrendered.

Isn't that Philippians lens that we talked about?

We see this beautiful picture of David not just serving, but serving with a smile.

And ladies, here's your shout out.

There is no one who models that better than moms.

No one.

And I'm I'm blessed, my mom's still here.

I never recognized how much my mom loved me until I had my first kid.

And I saw what was involved.

And I remember after having my first kid, I wrote my mom a note, like a two-page note.

She still has it.

A two-page note, like just saying, I never realized.

You always said I love you.

And I never realized how much until I have had kids.

And I had 10 kids, so now I really realize.

And I see my wife.

I see what my wife does.

You gotta understand, Paul had a thorn in the flesh.

Mine is a very sensitive gag reflex.

It's my thorn, my cross the bear.

We had one of our kids, it's a true story.

Probably not appropriate for the pulpit, but hey, well.

He was sick.

Oh, I just gave away one of them.

But I have six boys, four girls, so you take your pick which one you think it is.

He was sick late at night on the toilet.

And uh yeah, yeah.

And realized something was gonna come out the other end.

So he goes to pivot, but too late.

And as he vomits, he swings, painting the walls.

True story.

I don't know.

I didn't see it because I would have been vomiting too.

Somebody comes down into our room.

Uh mom, I kind of got sick.

That's it.

That was the description.

I kind of got sick.

Kim went up and it was covering all the walls.

Oh, okay.

I tried that.

It did not go well.

Um, it did not go well.

I was this was like a month ago.

Our littlest son, I'm getting ready for school.

Our little son came in and he got sick, threw up in the toilet.

I then threw up in the toilet as I'm taking care of him.

And he's like, You're sick too, Dad?

I'm like, no, it's just a gag reflex.

It's my it's it's my thorn in the flesh, buddy.

So I didn't even tell Kim.

I didn't want to wake her up.

So I just like I took care of him.

You're good to go, buddy.

Go back to bed.

And then Kim texts me at school, are you sick too?

I'm like, no, gag reflex.

That's all I said.

And she knew.

I could tell you story after story after story.

What I'm trying to say is that nobody models what I'm trying to say better than moms.

Ladies, you are incredible.

To honor you, I wrote two poems.

One is, I'm gonna read the poem I wrote to my mom.

I wrote one poem to my mom, if I can find it.

One was kind of ironic.

I wrote when I had a lot of kids.

I wrote it from the kids' perspective.

See if you can relate to this.

Any kids in the room, teens?

This is called Dear Mom.

There's dirty dishes in the sink, the overflowing trash can stinks, the hamper's full of dirty clothes, the dog needs water, and no one knows.

When dinner will be on my plate, I'm starving here.

I just can't wait.

I'm stuck on homework number four.

And did you wash those pants I wore?

Did the mustard stain come out?

My lunch needs packing.

How about ham and turkey on whole wheat toast?

And don't forget what I love most, those cheesy things that are spicy hot.

One more thing, I almost forgot.

I'll be sleeping in.

I've had a lot to do.

Life is busy for a kid if mothers only knew.

If you that's called sarcasm, alright?

Kids, you are blind to how much your moms do, but one day you will see.

And I want you to think of the sermon.

I want you to get out a pen and paper.

I don't I don't even know if it'll exist by then.

And I want you to write a letter.

And this is what I wrote to my mom.

Happy Mother's Day.

Mommy and mother one in the same.

Millions of ladies share this one common name.

So here's to you, Mama, for all that you do, for the big things we thank you and the little ones too.

For the things no one sees and the prayers that you pray, for the hugs and the kisses you give us each day.

For the care that you give when I'm sick with a cold, for the phone calls and letters when I start to grow old.

For the lunches you pack with tender loving care, for the tidbits of wisdom you're willing to share, for the diapers and dishes that get pushed off on you, for the lessons you've taught me like tying a shoe.

For the so many things you've invested in me, that's so many things that right now I don't see.

But when I have a child, I'm sure I will find that you are a mother of the rarest kind.

A mother that loves me through thick and through thin.

I've so much to thank you, but don't know where to begin.

So I'll start in my heart where you'll always stay, and say with a smile, Happy Mother's Day.

There's something real about this.

It's not how it's not just what we do in service, it's how we do it.

I started with a story and I'm almost done.

I'm gonna end with a story in a nursing home.

The church we were originally at a long time ago, I was in charge of the kids, and I thought, hey, this would be pretty awesome to do a backyard mission trip with the kids.

And we got all the families involved, and I wanted to be like more than one day.

We had a local nursing home, and it was not the greatest.

And the structure was really simple.

We were gonna go three days in a row, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

We we met at the church for breakfast.

We had some awesome moms that made breakfast.

We served the kids breakfast, we had a devotional, we prayed.

We were like God is gonna move and do great things, and we decided we're gonna do some landscaping and do their flower beds.

We're gonna then come back and play board games, we're gonna do nail polish for the ladies and do like a little spa day, and then we're going to do read alouds at night and then a Sunday service where we share the gospel.

And man, I had been praying for months.

God, do something.

Through this service of these kids, do something.

And I was like, God's gonna, God's gonna do something awesome.

And we take a group of kids there, and I will never forget it.

My daughter, who's now 21, she was 10 at the time, is there pulling weeds right next to me with one of her friends, and they were stretched on the side of the building.

And this old guy comes out in a Korean War veteran hat, shuffling.

His attendant is with him, and she goes, George, Mr.

Georgie, kids are here to help pull weeds.

He used a curse word as a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb, strung them to I have never heard somebody so profane in my life.

And my daughter looks up and goes.

And now I'm like, what am I gonna do?

What am I gonna do?

So I'm thinking quickly, I'm praying quickly.

I go right up to him.

I said, Mr.

George, you're the exact kind of guy we need.

I need a drill instructor to keep these kids are soft, Mr.

George.

You need to get in there and you need to let them have.

And usually I thought that would make the guy smile.

He starts going like this in his ear, and he looks at the nurse and he goes, I just turned off my hearing aid so I don't have to listen to this idiot.

I went like this.

Praise God.

I walked totally to the other end of the flower bed, and we served.

I mean, kids were dirty, we're sweating, but you know who was always out?

Mr.

George.

Wasn't smiling, but he was out.

Day two.

We roll up.

Guess who's out?

Mr.

George.

The kids are working, and you know what, Mr.

George?

He pulls the nurse over and he goes, Hey, I want you to dip into my supply of ice pops, and I want you to give one to every kid.

And she goes, George, are you sure?

That's a lot of kids.

He goes, make sure it happens.

And nobody heard it.

I was the only one.

And I'm like, God's working.

God's working.

At the end of the trip, we plant uh a white lilac.

And there's a story behind the white lilac.

We get this, we did a great service with the kids sharing the gospel message.

I wish I could tell you, George came to the Lord and fell on his face.

It didn't happen.

I didn't see it.

But you can't convince me God isn't, God wasn't working on his heart.

The lilac was I was pulling weeds, landscaping through college, and this customer, Mrs.

Bickert, she was 85, had this beautiful lilac, and she served us grilled cheese, made us come in and eat with her.

And I said, Mrs.

Bickert, that's an awesome lilac.

Do you care if I take a little sprig?

And she started to cry.

Like, what is going on with all these people crying?

She's like, I'd love for you to have it, but you have to hear the story.

She said, My my husband, Bud.

We uh we got married, and then he enlisted for World War II, and they were shipping them off the day after we got married.

And he bought me this white lilac, and he said, Where I'm going, you can't take care of me, but you can take care of this.

And I want you to water it and pray for me.

And he came back and it was great, and they had a great family.

And she's crying as she's she's telling me the story, and she goes, You have to promise to tell that story anytime you take it and give it to somebody else.

So I was like, This is the perfect story for the nursing home.

So all the residents are out and I'm telling the story, and George is right there as I tell this story about Mrs.

Beckard.

Didn't say anything.

It's over, we're going to leave.

The van is packed up, and I'm driving.

Jeopardy was on, so everybody left.

Not a face in the window.

True, it's true.

It might have been Wheel of Fortune, I can't remember which one.

We're driving out.

I can still see it as clear as day.

There's a window on the door.

Do you want to know who had his face pressed against that window?

With both hands on the glass, with tears in his eyes.

Mr.

George.

It's not just what we do in serving, it's how we do it.

Verse 13.

If you look at verse 13, it said, The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

We cannot do this in our own strengths, folks.

We can't serve.

We certainly can't serve with a smile in our own strength.

It's impossible.

We need the Spirit of God.

And what's exciting is Romans 8.11 says that the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us.

Do you know what that means?

That means that we can do the impossible.

If we would just but surrender to service with a smile and embrace Christ's attitude to the world around us, not mattering, it doesn't matter what you're waiting for.

Some of you are waiting for retirement, waiting for the kids to grow up.

Myself included, I've caught myself saying, when are these kids going to leave us alone?

And God has convicted me with this sermon.

That same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us to serve the people in front of us, to serve the people in this church, to serve your family, to serve the people at work.

It's all a mission field.

It's all a ministry.

How many people in our church are hurting right now?

What have we done to reach out?

What have we done to pray?

This is such a powerful verse because David, he didn't just serve.

He was anointed king.

And he served with a smile.

So how does it hit you?

Are you looking for opportunities, small or big, to serve?

Or even harder?

Are you allowing others to serve you?

I thought often about Rob and just being laid up.

How hard it is when you're used to doing for yourself or John to let people serve you.

Wow.

Pray.

What's your attitude like while you're serving?

Has any complaining crept in?

It happens to me all the time.

Happens to me all the time.

Maybe you're serving, but you're burned out in serving because you've been operating in your own strength.

Maybe you don't serve because you don't think you're good enough or unqualified.

Folks, we're not serving in our strength.

We're serving by the power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.

Look through that Philippians 2 lens.

Let's go back to it.

It's powerful.

Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

I'm gonna read the two verses at the end that I didn't read.

I'm gonna read it again.

Philippians 2.

Do nothing out of selfless ambition or conceit.

In your humility, consider others more significant than yourselves.

Let each other of you look not only on your own interest, but also the interest of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who thought he was in the form of God but did not consider count equality with God something to be grasped.

He emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Folks, I end with this.

David was anointed king, and he was eventually appointed king, but there is only one true king.

Is he your king?

And do you serve him with a smile?

Let's pray.

Father God, I lift up.

I lift up moms, and what a thankless job that is so often to serve when nobody sees.

Father, I pray a special blessing right now on them.

I pray that you would fill them with your peace and your joy and your presence like never before.

Father, I pray that you would open up the eyes of kids, that they would see what their moms do, the sacrifices they make, break the hearts of kids, Lord God, and let them see the sacrifice that their moms have done and are doing.

Lord God, open our eyes to service.

Not just what we do, but how we do it.

Lord, I come against complaining and pray that you would have your way.

Father, I lift up Rob and John and Merle and just so many people who are down and out, Lord, used to doing for themselves but laid up.

Lord, I pray that your grace would be sufficient, that they would just humbly accept the help of others, Lord God, that it would be a blessing that would overwhelm them with the love of God.

And Father God, I pray that a spirit of service with a smile would break out at CBFC.

I pray that teachers would be filled with your spirit, showing the love of Christ as kids roll into classes on Wednesday night and Sunday mornings.

I pray for youth group, Lord, that you would fill the adults with your spirit, that the love of God would just be upon them.

I pray that we would see youth step into service here at CBFC.

Help us to see the world around us as our mission field, Lord God, where we can simply evangelize by serving you with a smile.

Lord, we can't do this in our own strength.

We are woefully inept and unqualified to do any of it.

So we rely on you now.

And we praise you, Lord.

In the name of Jesus we pray.

Amen.