"OVERCOMING THE LIMITATIONS OTHERS PUT ON YOU"

1 SAMUEL 16:1-13

INTRODUCTION

          Have some people tried to put limitations on what you can accomplish in life? I remember when I was in college and I wanted to take a course in World Literature and Biblical study in Greek. I had a particular Caucasian friend, who told me that I couldn’t handle them. I asked him what his reason for saying that was. He said to me, “Many have attempted and dropped those two courses because they were very difficult.” I told him that I would try anyway. By the grace of God I took the courses and got “A” in both of them. A similar thing happened to me when I came to Seminary at Southwestern in Fort Worth, here in Texas. Some of the African students who were my seniors were advising me to take survey classes in both the Old and New Testaments. I laughed at their suggestions and instead took courses in Job, Jeremiah, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 Peter. They wanted me to take the path of least resistance. In other words, they wanted me to take the easy courses. But I did not take their advice.

          These courses were part of the reason I got admission into the Ph.D. program. These courses were taught by the best and the hard professors of the Seminary. So it was easy for me to get admission into the doctoral program. What am I saying? What I am saying is that there are always people who would try to put limitations on what you can do and not do. But I challenge you to listen to the voice of God, who can enable you to do all things through Christ who strengthens you. I would like to share with you on the topic: “Overcoming the Limitations Others Put on You.”

          Let me quiz you whether you can know the identity of the individual I am going to talk about this morning. He is a man who has seen pain, grief and death and yet he does not look bitter or hard. He is a warrior. He achieved great success and made it to the top. He was the youngest of his family and as a boy did not receive affirmation from those around him. Who is this person?

WHAT POTENTIAL?

          When you think of David, you immediately think of limitations. Here is a man who achieved great success and made it to the top. He was a great warrior and the greatest of kings. Yet there were many who never saw his potential. As a young man he did not look like a warrior or a king. He was the youngest of his family, and as a boy he did not receive affirmation from those around him.

          David’s greatest battles in his early years were not against the bear or the lion he slew while protecting his father’s sheep. His greatest obstacles were created by the people who tried to put limitations on him. Look at how others saw and treated David.

I.                  His Father did not think David Had King-Potential

          Are you someone who feels the pain of having a parent not believe in you? Do you feel like no matter how you try you cannot win the confidence of your parents, your family, your friends, and your boss? David knew that pain. David’s father, Jesse, became very excited when he learned that the prophet Samuel was coming to anoint one of his sons to be Israel’s next king. He must have talked to his wife for hours, considering the fine qualities each son possessed. They probably couldn’t sleep that night for thinking about it. Which son will God choose? They wondered.

          When Samuel arrived at Jesse’s house to anoint one of the boys as the future king of Israel, Jesse lined up the ones he thought had king-potential. That was every son, except David. Jesse intentionally ignored to call for David because he presumed that David was not a king-material. Jesse, the father, even didn’t bother to call David in from the fields. At first, the prophet Samuel thought the same way Jesse did. He judged the sons on the basis of the one who looked like a king.

          Saul was tall and handsome; he was an impressive-looking man. Samuel may have been trying to find someone who looked like Saul to be Israel’s next king, but God warned him by judging by appearance alone. God had something else in mind. Read with me 1 Samuel 16:6-7.

          Jesse paraded seven sons before Samuel, yet God didn’t choose any of them. God wanted David, the one with heart. Isn’t it reassuring to know that God values us for who we truly are, even if our family doesn’t? When people judge by outward appearance, they may overlook quality individuals who lack the particular physical qualities society currently admires. Appearance doesn’t reveal what people are really like or what their true value is. This is a word of counsel for the singles and young people. Don’t choose your life partner based on the outward appearance alone. For appearance can be very deceptive. Choose your future spouse based on his or her character not on the basis of his or her outward appearance. God judges people on the basis of faith and character not on the basis of appearances. And because only God can see on the inside, only He can accurately judge people. While the prophet Samuel could only see the faces of Jesse’s sons, only God could know what each heart really looked like. That is why I pity those who always want somebody to give them a vision. Samuel was a prophet of God and yet he made his judgment sorely on physical appearance. Today, you and I have access to God direct through Jesus Christ our Lord. Why don’t you go to God with your burdens, but want someone else to give you a vision. Men and women of God make mistakes but God doesn’t.

Man looks on the outside but God looks at the heart. Hallelujah.

II.   DAVID’S BROTHERS DID NOT THINK HE HAD WARRIOR-POTENTIAL

          David experienced similar rejection from his brothers. When Israel was at war with the Philistines, three of David’s brothers became soldiers in Israel’s army. Poor David was left at home to care for his father’s flocks. And when Jesse sent David to the battle lines to take food to his brothers and to bring back news, his brothers abused him, especially when David expressed interest in doing battle with Goliath when all the soldiers were afraid of him. The Bible says his brother Eliab became angry with David and said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle” (1 Samuel 17:28). Do you see the putdown, “those few sheep in the wilderness?” Have you ever been putdown by anybody? David’s brothers saw him as nothing more than an errand boy, but he was really a man with a mission. Are you a person with a mission? Do you allow the limitations others put on you determine your life’s goals? Perhaps the brothers of David belittled him because of their own fear of Goliath. Don’t allow others to throw cold water on what God is doing in you and through you. Listen for the voice of God, for when God speaks you would know that indeed, He has spoken.

III.           KING SAUL DID NOT THINK DAVID HAD CHAMPION-POTENTIAL

          When King Saul heard that there was someone in the camp who was willing to fight Goliath, he sent for him. He was no doubt expecting a grizzled veteran to face the nine-feet-nine-inch-tall Philistine warrior. Who walked in but a shepherd boy, saying, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

          King Saul’s response reveals his skepticism. He said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:32-33). Saul thought David wasn’t champion material; that he wasn’t up for the task. To make up for what the king perceived to be David’s shortcomings, Saul tried to get David to wear his royal armor (Why not--Saul wasn’t using it for anything!) If Saul’s armor had the potential of winning the battle with Goliath why didn’t he put it on to combat Goliath himself? The armor of a tall, mature warrior like Saul, of course won’t fit a boy like David, so he took it off. David didn’t allow Saul to hinder him with his low expectations or his bulky armor. He went out to face Goliath just as he was. Some of you succumb to the low expectations others place on you when God wants to make you a champion material.

IV.           GOLIATH DID NOT THINK DAVID HAD EVEN OPPONENT-POTENTIAL

          The final insult and putdown came when Goliath saw David advancing to meet him in battle. The huge Philistine took one look at the shepherd boy and reacted negatively. Scripture says,

          So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” (1 Samuel 17:43-44)

          Goliath despised David and believed that the boy wasn’t even worthy of proper burial, and with those words, he attacked him.

          You can easily determine the caliber of a person by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage him or her. David faced great opposition. He faced opposition from his father, his brothers, King Saul, and finally opposition from Goliath, the Philistine Giant. Everyone told David he had no potential, but he was able to: first, go beyond his family (relational limitations); second, go beyond King Saul’s (leadership limitations); and finally, go beyond the “Goliaths” (skill limitations).

          David threw off all the limitations that others placed on him and he killed Goliath. And when he did, he removed the limitations from the army of Israel and they routed the Philistine army. His personal victory became the victory for the entire nation!

          DAVID’S WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

          Think about the boy that David was, and how even he, a man after God’s own heart, who grew up to be a great king had to start out with nothing but hope and potential. David’s life of a nobody who became a somebody by the grace of God should encourage you not live your life by the limitations others place on you. There are some truths I would like you to notice about the Christian life.

1. Limitations don’t limit us unless we let them. Listen to David as he speaks to us. “My father, my brothers, and my national leader all thought I had no potential. But in reality, I had the greatest potential of all; I had God-potential. When I was young I was able to keep growing in spite of the negative reactions of others because of God’s help. I never forgot the day Samuel anointed me. From that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon me in power. And I realized that God could strengthen me to rise above limitations that life and others would try to place on me. My friend, He can also do that for you!”

2. Don’t try to be someone else when others put limitations on you.

          When Saul realized I was going to fight Goliath, he tried to put his armor on me. He wanted me to attack the problem as he would. I tried the armor on because he intimidated me, but of course it didn’t fit. At that moment, I realized that God didn’t want a substitute Saul: He wanted me! God will never hold you accountable for the gifts you don’t have or responsibilities He hasn’t given you. God wants you to be yourself. The reason why many believers cannot reach their maximum potential for Christ is that they want to be someone else.

3. When you rise above your limitations you can help others do the same.                                                                   
The day I faced Goliath, I thought only of defeating him. I never

realized that my victory would become Israel’s victory. The moment Goliath

fell the army of Israel rose. Their fear and intimidation were replaced by courage and aggressiveness. That day I learned my greatest leadership lesson: people follow the example of their leader. The moment that I accomplished more than anyone thought was possible so did my people!

          Write and ponder on these questions as the Lord speaks to your heart. What limitations have others placed upon you? Are you overcoming them? If so how are you overcoming them? When you face a challenge in life do you rely on your faith in Christ or do you rely on your abilities? What breakthrough have you experienced in life that enabled you to live on a higher level? How patient are you waiting for something God has promised you?

Prayer

          Father, help us to see ourselves as you see us, not as others do, to focus on what can be accomplished with You and not what can’t be accomplished without You, and to rise above the limitations placed on us by others, so that we might help others rise above their limitations. Amen.

Happy Father's Day