Awesome. Well, good morning again. And uh welcome to Church at the Grove. If you guys can head back to your seats, uh thank you guys so much for being here this morning. My name is Nathan. If I haven't had the chance to meet you, uh, we're so glad that you're spending part of your Sunday with us. And this morning we are uh kicking off a brand new series I'm excited about that will cover the entire summer. Um, and so we're gonna kind of walk through the story of David in the Bible and uh pull out the nuggets of truth that apply to our lives, and so I'm super excited and pumped about uh what this series is going to be for our church. Uh but before we jump in, um just one big thing that is coming up uh uh this week is Summerjam. Uh Summer Jam is probably the biggest event that we do for elementary school students um every single summer, and uh we still need a few more volunteers to help make this event a huge success. And so if you haven't signed up yet, um if you would just you know pull up the Church at the Grove app or tap the little tap disc on the chair in front of you and sign up, that would be great. Amanda will get in touch with you. Um if you don't do that, um then you can maybe expect a phone call from me. And it's just more less awkward if you just sign up yourself and not have somebody call you, just joking. Um but we would love for you to be a part of that. It's gonna be a great, great week, and um we will uh send out some resources about how you can be praying about that as well. Um so imagine back in the early 1990s if you were in Cedar Falls, Iowa at the High V grocery store, and you came across a gentleman that was just stocking the shelves of the grocery store. And he's just working day after day, stocking the shelves, but yet there's this God-given dream that has been put within him. He wants to play one day for the NFL, but the system doesn't necessarily see a whole lot of promise in him. Uh he was somebody that wasn't flashy, he wasn't celebrated, he was somebody that was oftentimes hidden and overlooked. But he kept showing up, he kept being faithful, and he did the right thing again and again and again. In 1994, he was undrafted, he was signed with the Packers and then released. Later, he played arena football for the Iowa Barnstormers. And then in 1998, he played in the NFL Europe in the Amsterdam Admirals, and then in 1998, he finally was signed to the Rams as the backup quarterback. Then Trent Green uh went down in the preseason, and a man named Kurt Werner uh stepped forward and became the starting quarterback for the Rams that season. And the rest of the story, if you've been around and followed football for some time, you know that name. But he led his team to the Super Bowl three different times. In 1999, he won the Super Bowl and was the Super Bowl NVP that year. He was picked uh twice to be the NFL NVP. He was on the Pro Bowl team four different times. He led the league in passing touchdowns in 1999, and he led the league in passing yards in 2001, and in 2017 he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But his story begins by being overlooked, by being someone that was dismissed by the systems of the world because they didn't think that he had what it took. And that's the kind of culture that we live in oftentimes. It's a culture that will oftentimes overlook people based on their outward appearance or based on their outward skills. Because what our world values are the things that are visible. It's the credentials, it's your personality, it's your charisma and your appearance. It's about who you know and how well you can perform. It's all about the platforms you build, the following that you have, the first impression that you can make. And oftentimes, there's people that are overlooked. They're compared to others and that they don't seem as noble or as uh uh appealing. That they might be faithful in the small things, but yet nobody notices. And over time, because this is how the world operates, it's very easy for us to become cynical. It can be thinking that, man, I don't have any value, I don't have anything of significance, I don't have a whole lot to contribute to the kingdom of God, that I don't really have a whole lot to offer. But here's the beautiful thing that we're talking about this morning is that the world judges by the wrong scoreboard. God is not impressed with outward appearance or skills or abilities, even. What he is looking for is the heart. And this morning, as we start this series on the story of David, we're gonna see that David was a man that was known as a man after God's own heart. And he was put in a position to be the second king of Israel, but yet he was not someone that looked the part. All the external circumstances pointed in a different direction for David, but the thing that set David apart was that he was a man after God's own heart. That God's not looking on the outward appearance, but he's looking at the heart. And so our big idea this morning is this is that God builds his plans with unlikely people. God builds his church with unlikely people. God builds his plans and his purposes, and he uses the most unlikely people among us because he's not looking for those that are the most talented or the ones that look the part, that are the handsomest or the prettiest or the tallest or the strongest. He's looking at the heart. And that's what I want us to look at this morning. So let me pray for us again and then we'll jump into the scripture today. And so, Lord Jesus, we thank you that you're a God that looks at the heart. Lord, so often in the world in which we live, everything on the external side, the outward appearance, is what we value. But Lord, we know that your ways are drastically different. And so, Lord, this morning, would you come? Would you speak to us? Would you show us where our hearts are? Would you show us maybe where we've trusted in the world's systems and neglected following what's your view and what your plan and purposes are? Lord, would you expand our view of what you're calling us to do in this season? And so, Holy Spirit, would you come now? Would you meet with us as we open up your word, Lord? Would you speak like only you can? Give us ears to hear and a heart to obey. And it's in your name we pray. Amen. So to catch everybody up in the story, if you have a Bible, you can go ahead and start turning to 1 Samuel chapter 16, which is where we'll be primarily at this morning. Um but the story of David really begins, in order for you to understand the significance of his role, begins many years before. There's a book in the Bible called The Book of Judges. And the Judges, the Book of Judges is a very uh wicked book. I mean, it is a book that is full of all kinds of wickedness and evil. It's all about these people, the Israelites, that have inherited the promised land. They've moved into the promised land, but because of their unfaithfulness, the enemy nations still plague them, and as a result, um, they begin to go through what we call the sin cycle. And I know that none of us have ever experienced the sin cycle before, but the sin cycle is simply this is that they're doing really well for a little bit, and then they're kind of drawn away because of the things of this world, and then they kind of go into utter rebellion against the Lord as they embrace the things of this world. Then God raises up a deliverer, and then the deliverer starts to preach a message and lead the people through military victories, and eventually the people's hearts turn back to the Lord, but it never stays that way. It's this cycle that keeps going. They turn to the Lord, they begin to obey, they repent, but then they go right back to their sinful ways. And the book of Judges is marked by this phrase that says, the people did what was right in their own eyes. That there was no absolute truth, there was no absolute way that they were following. They were just doing whatever seemed right to them. And what happens is wicked and evilness prevailed. And so what we move into the book of 1 Samuel, and we're coming out of the story of judges and just this wickedness, and Israel, because they're so far from the Lord, they don't want the Lord to be their king. Instead, they want a human king, they want an earthly ruler, they want to be like the other nations, and so they begin to clamor and beg for the Lord to give them a king, a human king. And so God says, okay, I'm gonna give you the desires of your heart here, even though that's not what's best for you. And so he gives them a man named Saul, and Saul looks the part. I mean, he is handsome and he is tall and he is strong, and he is somebody that definitely looks the part to be the first king of Israel. The only problem is that Saul's heart isn't turned towards the Lord. And he oftentimes fall fails to follow through in what God has called him to do. He fails to wait on the Lord, he fails to trust in the Lord's promises. He oftentimes rebels against the things that God has called him to do. And there's a story in 1 Samuel chapter 15 where Saul is still the king of Israel and he has disobeyed the Lord by not destroying this uh enemy army, and as a result, the Lord is just kind of like, I've had enough. I've given you chance after chance after chance, and so now I'm removing my hand from you, removing my spirit from you, and I'm going to give it to someone else. I'm gonna give it to someone else whose heart is towards and for me. And that's where our story picks up this morning. 1 Samuel chapter 16, starting in verse 1. It says, The Lord said to Samuel, How long are you going to mourn for Saul? Since I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, because I have selected for myself a king from his sons. So Samuel is the priest, he's the judge, he's the leader, spiritual leader of the nation at this time. He's God's chosen prophet and voice to the people. And so God comes to Samuel, and Samuel knows that Saul has disobeyed. He knows that the Spirit of God is being removed from Saul, and so now he's coming to Samuel and he's saying, Hey, how long are you going to mourn? I've got other plans and other purposes that I want you to be a part of. That God interrupts mourning with a mission here. That God interrupts mourning with a mission. He was the one, Samuel was the one that personally anointed Saul to be the king of Israel. He was the one that had walked with him in many of the battles. And yet, here he is mourning because the man that was originally chosen to be the first king of Israel is someone that has not followed the calling that was placed on his life. That his life was a wasted calling. That Saul had everything that he needed, but he refused to walk in obedience. And Samuel probably feels the weight of that. He feels the weight of being a part of anointing Saul to be the king of Israel. He feels the weight of Saul's failure and how it's going to cost Israel. And Samuel's just in a place where he's going, man, I wish it didn't have to be this way. That the circumstances were outside of Samuel's control, that Saul's disobedience was Saul's responsibility. But the grief that Samuel experienced is still very real. And most of us know this tension, right? We know that someone has done something, or maybe we've done something, and we just think to ourselves, man, I wish it didn't have to be this way. I wish things would have gone differently. And we can oftentimes sit in our grief. And listen, grief is good. We should be people that embrace grief and healing and that whole process that comes along with it. But sometimes we can sit in our grief and we can wallow in the stuff that's going on around us that we miss the mission and the opportunities that are in front of us. It's the moment when God is calling us forward, and grief can keep us from seeing what God wants to do next. Samuel was so wrapped up in this one individual, Saul, that he was missing that God was doing a new work. And so God comes to Samuel and says, How long are you going to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected for myself a king from his sons. So when everything felt like it was falling apart for Samuel, God was still orchestrating a bigger plan and a bigger purpose, even though he didn't see it in the moment. And I just think that's a word for some people in the room this morning. That maybe you don't see or feel that God is working. Maybe you're wallowing in some type of grief or pain. And I'm not saying to get over it, I'm not saying to just move on without dealing with the emotions that come with real hurts and pains. But maybe, just maybe, God's wanting you to look at a bigger story and see the bigger plan that He is orchestrating in your life. And so the story continues in verse 2. Samuel asked, How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me. The Lord answered, Take a young cow with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate to you. Samuel did what the Lord directed, and he went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, Do you come in peace? In peace, he replied, I've come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. So Samuel's going to be obedient, right? He's going to the little city of Bethlehem, and he's going to anoint this person that God's going to name, but yet he's terrified at this. This is Samuel going against Saul. This is not Samuel just being dramatic. What Samuel is doing here is treason. He's going against the people that are in power to anoint a new king. This is a coup in the truest of senses. This is a high-profile leader, the one that the whole nation would have looked to for their spiritual leadership. And he's showing up in the little town of Bethlehem. Bethlehem was not a city that would have had great significant leaders show up at its doorsteps. This was a place that was kind of unrecognized and unnoticed and pushed to the side. And so for a man like Samuel to show up in a little town like Bethlehem, that people would have noticed. People would have talked. Rumors would have spread. And it would have been only a matter of time before Saul would have heard that Samuel had showed up in this city. And so Samuel's terrified. Man, what's going to happen? If I start to do this, if I go against the king that is in power, what's going to happen to my life? And God does not remove the risk, but instead he gives him a wise step forward and he says, Hey, go and make a sacrifice to the Lord, which is the truth. It's what he was going to do. And so Samuel does just that. He shows up in the town and he begins to meet with Jesse, this man that lives in Bethlehem and his family, and they're going to make a sacrifice to the Lord, and one of Jesse's sons is going to be named the new king. Verse 6. When they arrived, Samuel saw Elab and said, Certainly the Lord's anointed one is here before him. But the Lord said to Samuel, this is the one you want to underline, highlight, scribble right here, circle, do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees. For humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart. So Samuel shows up, he's meeting with the family, the oldest son comes in, and he's the most obvious answer to who the new king should be. He's the oldest son. He holds the most prominence in the family. But yet God is rewriting and reworking what gets rewarded here. God reworks what gets rewarded. And so you can just imagine this scene for a second. Samuel, the most prominent leader in the nation, spiritual leader, is knocking on the door of your house. There's shock. There's disbelief. This is unreal. How could something like this happen? I mean, let's put it in modern terms for a second. Like this is like somebody showing up in the little city of Social Circle. Not to say social circle is insignificant, but it's not Atlanta, it's not D.C. It's not LA, it's not New York, it's not one of the big places that somebody of prominence shows up in the little city of Social Circle. They knock on your door and they say, Hey, I just wanted to let you know that your son is going to be the next president of the United States. What's going through your mind? One, who's this crazy man that's on my front porch, right? That's what you're probably thinking. This is unreal to think of Samuel showing up on their doorstep to say that one of his sons was going to be the next king. The plan was that the next king would be Saul's son, right? It would be Jonathan, but it's not. God's got a different plan and a different purpose, and he's reframing the entire scoreboard for Samuel. He's saying, hey, I don't look at the appearance, the outward appearance, but instead I look at what is not seen. I look at the heart. And so God is telling Samuel, let's not repeat the mistakes that Israel made with Saul. Let's not look at what the world rewards, but let's not look at the image and the impressive presence and the talent that someone brings to the table. God's looking past all of that. And God is not searching for the best image or the tallest person or the most gifted resume. God is looking straight at the heart. And this is not a one-time occurrence with the Lord. This is a constant theme all throughout Scripture. I mean, we could sit up here the rest of the morning and we could name off character after character after character in Scripture where this is the reality that God chooses the most unlikely people to accomplish his purposes and his plans. I mean, take Moses, for example. Moses was a man that was older in age. I mean, he was 80 years old when God shows up. He was somebody that had murdered another individual. He had escaped from Egypt. He had abandoned Egypt and his family there, and he had gone into the wilderness where he was living for 40 years in the wilderness by himself, caring for his father-in-law's sheep. And God shows up to him in a burning bush and says, Hey, Moses, I want you to go back to Egypt, the most powerful nation in the world, and I want you to rescue my people out of slavery. Most unlikely person. We could go on. We could talk about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Here's a teenage girl that's not even married. And yet she is someone that God comes and the Holy Spirit, you know, impregnates her and puts the savior of the world in her womb. The most unlikely person that you could imagine. She doesn't have anything to offer. She doesn't have great significance or value or worth from the world's standards, but yet God chooses her. The disciples that followed Jesus, these 12 men that gave their life to Jesus and walked with him for three years, they were people that were rejected by the world and the culture around them. All the other religious leaders had pushed them away. They were not impressive scholars and they were not religious elite, but they were ordinary people. And they were the foundation of the movement that has changed and revolutionized the world. The apostle Paul was the persecutor of the church. That he was somebody that was literally hunting down and killing Christians, followers of Jesus. And God chooses this man to become one of the greatest missionaries, pastors, and the writer of much of the New Testament. And that's just scratching the surface. We could talk about how he chose Jacob over Esau, the other older brother, that he he used Joseph instead of using Joseph's older brothers. We could talk about the man named Gideon who was leading the military advances for the Lord, and God kept whittling down his army until there was just a few left, so that God could prove that he used. Uses the most unlikely people to do the most greatest works for his kingdom. Charles Spurgeon said, God is not impressed with the glitter of man's external appearances. That God is looking at the heart. And God is in the business of using the most unlikely people. Because what he's looking for isn't polish or prestige. What he's looking at is a heart that is surrendered to him. This is God's signature move. He keeps choosing the person and the people that everyone else would have skipped, so that nobody can confuse his work with human strength. So who does God pick? He passes over Jesse's oldest son. And then in verse 8, it says, Jesse then called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. The Lord hasn't chosen this one either, Samuel said. Then Jesse presented Shema. But Samuel said, No, the Lord hasn't chosen this one either. After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, The Lord hasn't chosen any of these. Samuel asked him, Are these all the sons you have? So all the sons parade through and they see Samuel. Samuel sees them and says, Nope, none of these. Then he asks, Are there any others? Which I love that, right? This just shows you how how David was seen in the household of Jesse. That here comes the prophet of the Lord. Again, the most the the greatest spiritual leader in the nation of Israel at this time shows up at their house, and he doesn't even send to go get the younger son to bring him in from the fields. He's overlooked. He's the smallest, he's the youngest. It doesn't make sense. And he says, Oh, yeah, there is still the youngest. There is still the youngest. There we go. There is still the youngest, he answered. But right now he's tending the sheep, Samuel told Jesse. So to send for him. We won't sit down and to eat until he gets here. So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance. Then the Lord said, Anoint him, for he is the one. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brother, and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Rama. So we see that God reworks the scoreboard here, but we see that God's anointing lands on the one that everyone else had counted out. That Jesse brings in his son after Samuel has to ask if there's another son. I haven't chosen this one, I haven't chosen this one, I haven't chosen this one. Is this all that you got? William Blankley says, the world is full of idolatries, but I question any idolatry has been more extensively practiced than the idolatry of the outward appearance. It's what our world values, it's what this culture valued as well. And so David is out tending to the sheep. He's overlooked, not even invited in. And yet he's the one that's going to be chosen to be the king of Israel. He's the one that would be known as the man after God's own heart, and he would lead the people in incredible military victories that God would use him, and he is still to this day is known as the greatest king of Israel. But he was the least likely person. He was the youngest. And in that culture, that mattered. Birth order carried weight. David is not doing, he's doing necessary work, but it doesn't communicate important work. David stays with the flocks. He's kind of pushed out from even the family. When Jesse sins for him, David walks in and anoints him, and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him. And David was God's chosen instrument to lead Israel. Now here's the thing. And we'll get into more of this when it comes to later in the series. David is a mess. David blows it royally. I would even maybe argue that David's sins are greater than Saul's sins if we want to rank them in a hierarchy kind of order. But yet God still is choosing to use this man. He's imperfect, he's flawed, he's got mess ups, he's got sins that are a mile long. But that does not prevent him from being known as a man after God's own heart. So what does that mean for you and I? God is not looking for perfection. God is not looking for you to never blow it or to make a mistake. What he's looking for is a heart that is directed and turned towards his. It's a heart that is marked by humility. It's a heart that is marked by surrender. And that doesn't mean that we get it right all the time, but it does mean that we're surrendered and we're pursuing the Lord with everything that we've got. So here's three things. Three things I think takeaways that we can apply to our life today. One, stop disqualifying yourself because you don't look the part. We talked about this a little bit last week, but the real enemy is actively working against us to thwart's plans. He's trying to get you to buy into the lie that you don't have enough, that you're not good enough, that you're not spiritual enough, that you're not consistent enough, that you don't know enough, that you've got too much baggage. He's trying to get you to believe that God is not looking for people like you to accomplish his purpose and his plans. He's looking for somebody that's got it together. He's looking for somebody that's trained and educated. He's looking for somebody that's got great talents or skills or abilities. He's looking for other people that are not like you. You don't fit the bill. That could not be a bigger lie in our world and our culture and how God operates. But yet so many of us fall into that trap. We write ourselves off. We can't do it. God can't use us, that God can't move and work in and through us, that other people God can use, but God certainly can't use me. And I'll be honest with you guys that this is something that when I first became a follower of Jesus, this is something that I wrestled with and still wrestle with today, with this just deep insecurity of not feeling like I have what it takes to do the things that God has called me to do. I'm telling you, when when I was in high school, um there's Caitlin knows me from high school. I don't know if anybody else in the room would know me from high school, other than my parents, but in high school, I was uh the shyest kid that you would ever meet. And I'm still not super outgoing. I'm still pretty shy and more introverted today. But I I can remember being in senior in high school and um going to one of my English classes, and we had to give a presentation of what we wanted to be when we grew up. And I remember making this whole like poster, like this is before you had like screens and PowerPoints and all that kind of stuff. Like you actually had to do stuff, write stuff by hand and all that. I know ancient uh dark days, dark ages. But you would, I was I remember holding this poster in my hand and talking about what I wanted to do when I grew up and when I was about to graduate high school, and I remember being bright red, sweat pouring down my face, rocking back and forth because I was so nervous and I was scared that I was gonna lock my knees and pass out. And then I gave my life to Jesus and surrendered my plans and purposes to him. And he says, Okay, God, okay, God, okay, Nathan, I want you to do full-time vocational ministry. And one of the things you're gonna do on a regular basis is stand up in front of people and talk. I don't think so. Like, and that's why like when I when I speak, like I know that I'm not the most eloquent speaker, I know that I messed up my words, I know that my verb formats are oftentimes misconstrued. Like, I get that, and people oftentimes correct me on that stuff. I get all that. And I want to become a better communicator. However, I am living proof that God uses unlikely people to accomplish his purposes and his plans. This past night at our prayer night, um, we're just we're just you know praying, and people are just you know praying different things over summer jam and church and all that kind of stuff. And and somebody, I don't remember who it was in the room, just started praying and just thanking the Lord for how God has used church at the Grove and the ministry here just to impact her and her family's life. And I just felt this overwhelming, this overwhelming gratitude to the Lord. Not that I'm anything special, I don't I don't have anything. But but what I do feel like I have is a heart for the Lord, and I've just said, Lord, whatever you want to do, just use me. And he has used an unlikely person to do something in the lives of other people, and I don't claim to take credit, and I'm not trying to say anything great about me. I'm just saying that the Lord is in the business of using unlikely people to accomplish his purposes and his plans. A.W. Tozer said, God is not looking for people through whom he can do the impossible. I'm sorry, God is looking for people through whom he can do the impossible. What a pity we plan only the things that we can do by ourselves. My prayer this morning was that we would have an expanded view of what the Lord wanted to do in each of our lives. Don't write them out. He's got a plan, he's got a purpose, and I guarantee you that it's bigger than what you're walking in right now. Second thing. God or give God what he's actually looking for: a surrendered heart. This is the big difference between Saul and David. Saul had the look, he had the height, he had the presence, he had the image. But Saul's heart was stubborn, it was defensive, it was image conscience, it was half obedient. But verse 7 reframes this whole idea. It says, humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart. In Scripture, heart is not a feeling, it's the real you, it's the inner life. It's what you see what is happening in your life when nobody else is watching, it's what your motivation for doing the things that you do. So the question is not, do you look the part or do you have your life altogether? The question is, is my heart yielded to the Lord? Is your heart yielded to the Lord? Here's some questions just to wrestle with. Where am I offering God partial obedience right now? Am I trying to please others or am I trying to please the Lord? Am I justifying or rationalizing or explaining away things to make myself seem to be better than I really am? See, a heart that is after the Lord is a heart that walks in the truth and says ultimately with open hands, Lord, everything I have is yours. Everything? Money? Yeah. Lord, Lord, how do you want me to spend my money? You want me to be generous? You want me to give? You want me to be, you want me to invest in the ministry of a local church, Lord? Absolutely. Where do I sign up? How much? 10%, 12%, 15%, 20%? What is it, Lord? I'm open. Lord, Lord, do you want me to be faithful with my time? You want me to have a surrendered heart when it comes to my time? Then how am I spending my time, Lord? Am I wasting it away on the things that are frivolous and empty? Or am I investing in the kingdom purposes and vision that you have for my life? You can say all day and you can believe all day that you might have a heart for the Lord, but if your actions don't reflect that, then your heart is not for the Lord. The Lord is calling for us to live surrendered to Him. And that's more than just feeling something in your heart. It's more than just feeling gratitude or love. That's part of it for sure. But it's ultimately a posture of surrender. Where we say, yes, Lord. Whatever it is, yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. We're gonna blow it, we're gonna mess up sometimes, we're gonna fail miserably, but yes, Lord, whatever it is that you're calling me to do. Third thing, change what you reward because God wants to change how you see people. This is a challenge for us. If God trains what we reward, then we have to ask, who do I naturally celebrate and who do I naturally overlook? Who do I assume that God can use, and who do I assume that God can't use? And so you've got to change how you see others and see what the Lord might be doing because he's not, again, choosing the people that are the most obvious. What he's choosing to use is the people that are faithful and teachable and humble and that are hungry for more of him. And so that might look like an individual that's that's struggling, that's that's walking in maybe maybe poverty or walking through tremendous just issues within their life that have no uh no they aren't they aren't of their own doing. And you can just go, man, they got so much going on. I'm just gonna overlook them. I'll pass by them. Man, they don't have anything that contribute, they don't have anything that's going to be able to benefit me out of the relationship, and so I'll overlook them. One of the fascinating things about Jesus is that he was in the business when he walked this earth to find and seek out the ones that everyone else overlooked. And who did Jesus spend his time with? The outcast, the poor, the hurting, the sick, the people that were pushed out from the rest of society. And if we're gonna follow his example, then we've got to do the same thing in our lives. Are you trying to just climb the social ladder or are you willing to get your feet and hands dirty and serve those that are even the least likely among you? And so these are the things that the Lord is calling us to do. And I don't think it's coincidence that this morning is the Sunday before we kick off from Summerjam. And I just had this thought this morning that as we talk about the next generation, oftentimes, especially when we're talking about little kids, we can oftentimes overlook the significance and the value of the kids that are among us. Those are just crazy kids that get on our nerves, right? There's a lot for us to handle. Man, sometimes we're guilty, maybe it's just me, but sometimes I'm guilty of thinking, man, they just kind of get in the way more than they are helpful. And the Lord just showed me kind of this morning as I was praying through this message. Man, what if? What if I have somebody, a kid, a student that's gonna be here this week? And I've got big plans and purpose for him or her. That I want to use him or her in a massive way that will change and shape the culture and the world in which we live. And I'm just overlooking that. What if we need to expand our horizons a little bit? What if we need to serve those that are the least likely among us because we believe that God's got a bigger vision and a bigger purpose and a bigger plan than we can possibly see or imagine? I'll end with this and then we'll pray. Psalm 8.4. Or we'll start in verse 3 actually. David is writing this. And just imagine for a second David chosen to be the king, little young child. It says, When I observe your heavens and the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place. Listen to this. What is a human being that you remember him? A son of man that you look after him. If anybody understood that, David understood that. Least likely, but God had plans and was looking over his life. What is man that you would look at us? That you would choose us, that you would use us. That should overwhelm us at that thought. And so, Lord Jesus, we thank you that you're a God that doesn't just focus on outward appearance. You don't care about how much money people have in this room. You don't care about the popularity or necessarily the reputation or the followers that people have in this room. You're not looking for the brightest or the smartest individual in the room. You're not looking for the most talented, the one that's got all the skills and abilities and just can seem to leverage. You're looking at the heart. And so, Holy Spirit, right now, Lord, would you look at our hearts? Lord, would you be the great physician that you are? And would you, would you just ever so carefully, but at the same time directly, Lord, would you would you evaluate our hearts? And Lord, just show us where are we not surrendered to you? Just ask Him. Is it with your money? Is it with your time? Is it with your calendar and just how you how you uh go about your days? Is it with your family or friends or at your workplace? Where are you not surrendered to him? Where have you maybe neglected to see the bigger plans that he has? Maybe you've written yourself off and you didn't believe that God could actually use you? Would you just ask the Lord now to change that perception? That you would help him help you to see that God uses the most unlikely people to accomplish his plans and purposes? And then who is it that maybe you've overlooked? That God's wanting to use? And so, Lord Jesus, we thank you for being a God that uses the least likely. And Lord, my prayer for myself and for every person in this room, Lord, is that you would give us a heart that is for you. A heart that is marked by surrender and sacrifice. A heart that says, hey, I'll do whatever it takes, Lord. Whatever you're calling me to do, Lord, it's a yes. Lord, give us hearts that are turned towards you. Let us be known as men and women that have hearts that are chasing after the Lord. Not that we get it perfect all the time, but that we just have a heart that is radically devoted to the Lord. And so, Lord, would you change us? Would you reveal the depths and the sin of our lives and of our hearts, Lord? Would you help us to repent? Would you help us to turn away? Would you help us to not just base our faith on words and emotions, but actually on actions as well? And so, Holy Spirit, as we just respond to you now and we just declare that we're open. We're open to whatever you have, Lord. Would you work and move like only you can? And so it's in your name we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.