01 Jan Extraordinary God in ordinary life

1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” ² And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” ⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” ⁵ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶ When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” ¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 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.

Happy new year! It is unusual for me to be standing here and preaching at the beginning of the year as I’m usually on my Sabbatical, which will start next week. Now, I am sure many of you must have already made a list of your new year’s resolutions. So, to start off the year I want to talk about “how we can have a good year.” Maybe some of you have resolved that this year will be the year that you finally read the Bible cover to cover. Others have resolved to finally eat well, go to the gym more often, save more money, pursue that dream job, etc. Or maybe you simply hope that this year will be a better year than last year. Whatever it is, there is an innate longing inside of us to want to improve our lives. And there is nothing wrong with it. That desire to be better, and to do better, can be a means by which we can live a life that is pleasing to God.

But here is my concern. Oftentimes in our pursuit of improving our lives, we become discontent with the ordinary experiences of life. Isn’t that true? We do not like ordinariness. If you pay attention, our church even named our teenager service, ET, extraordinary teenagers. We would not name it OT, ordinary teenagers, because no one wants to be ordinary. Let me use my life as an example. All my life I have been trying to show that I am not ordinary. I’ve been trying to prove that I am distinguished from other people. In my high school days, I tried to be that sports guy who was more athletic than others. But it did not take long for me to realize that I was not that guy. So, I turned to academics. In my Bible college, I got good grades and I felt special because of it. And now as a pastor, I try to show that I am not ordinary by how well I can preach. Can you see a pattern forming? We are not content with being ordinary. But what if I tell you that God loves the ordinary? What if I tell you that God is not looking for someone extraordinary? Because here is what we must get. It is through the ordinary things about us, the ordinary experiences of our lives, that God reveals Himself as extraordinary. I know this is counterintuitive. When we talk about how to have a good year, we immediately think about the extraordinary things we must do to better ourselves. But God works very differently than us. God does His best work in the ordinary. So, if we want to have a good year, we need to learn to embrace and celebrate our ordinariness.

If you grew up in church, this story is very familiar to you. This is the story of David being anointed to be the next king of Israel. Let me give you the context first. The book of 1 Samuel is about the search for a true king. The people of Israel longed for justice. They longed for peace. They longed for welfare. And they wanted a king to lead them to a better life. And they thought they had one. His name was King Saul. And Saul was a very handsome young man. 1 Samuel 9 tells us there was no one more handsome than him among the people of Israel. And he was also taller than others. In that culture, tall did not only speak of height. Someone tall was considered someone who was physically impressive. So, Saul had the appearance of a king: handsome and physically impressive. But Saul disobeyed God and God chose David to be the next king of Israel. And in this narrative, we learn four things we must have to have a good year: God’s story; God’s eyes; God’s plan; God’s king.

God’s story

1 Samuel 16:1-5 – The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” ² And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” ⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” ⁵ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

If we read the chapters before it, we find out that God has rejected King Saul. Saul cared more about his own glory rather than God’s glory and God regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. And Samuel is grieving because of it. Think about it. When the people of Israel wanted a king, Samuel was against the idea. Samuel insisted that God Himself is the king of Israel. But Israel did not relent. They wanted a human king like other nations around them. So, God let them have Saul to be the first king of Israel. And Samuel was the one who anointed Saul to be king. Samuel was hoping for a king that would be faithful to God and God’s people. And he thought that Saul was it. Saul was God’s chosen king for the welfare of Israel. But not long after he became king, Saul disobeyed God and rebelled against God’s authority. Saul turned out to be a fraud and Samuel is grieving because of it. Imagine if you are about to get married and you find out that your fiancé is not who you think they are. He or she is a fraud. You would be shattered. That’s what happened to Samuel. Samuel had such high hopes for Saul and he is grieving because of it. And God knows Samuel is grieving. There is nothing wrong with grieving. The Bible says there is time to mourn. But you can’t mourn forever. The tragedy of Saul’s failure is real, but it is not the end of the story. So, God says to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I am done with Saul. I have rejected him. But just because Saul disappointed me, it does not mean it is the end of the story. It’s time to forget what’s behind you and move forward. Go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” The literal translation is, “I have looked at Jesse’s sons and I see a king.”

And we have been given a hint of what kind of king this person would be. 1 Samuel 13:14 – But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you. The next king of Israel will be a man whom God Himself sought. And this is the biggest difference between Saul and David. Throughout 1 Samuel, the author of the book continuously reminded us that Saul was the king the people had chosen for themselves. Israel wanted an impressive and powerful king like the other nations and God gave them Saul. Saul was the king of people’s choice. While it is true that God remained sovereign over this development, so Saul was also chosen by God, this does not lessen the emphasis that Saul was appointed because of the people’s demands. But David is different. David is the king of God’s choice. So, God says to Samuel, “Stop grieving. It’s time to move forward. I have chosen a king for myself among Jesse’s sons. Go to Bethlehem and anoint him.”

I want to pause here for a bit. Because maybe that’s where some of you are right now. You are grieving. If you look back to 2022, you have many reasons to grieve. Maybe like Saul, you did something you should not have, and you are grieving the consequences right now. You made a dumb decision in your business, in your family, in your relationship, in your parenting, and you are paying the price for it. Or maybe like Samuel, you genuinely wanted to obey God. However, the result of your obedience is not as you expected. You hoped things would get better, but it got worse. You grieve over a dream that is shattered, a hope that has been dashed, a relationship that has been broken. You obeyed God and you are grieving. And you are paralysed with fear of experiencing it all over again in this new year. If that’s you, I want you to hear God’s word for you today. Listen. How long are you going to mourn? God is not surprised at what you experienced. He is sovereign over every little thing in your life. There is time to mourn. But there is also time to move forward. You might think that your story is finished. But God’s story is not finished. Your story is not His story. Your thought is not His thought. But His story and His thought are far better than yours. What you think is the end of the story is only the beginning of God’s better story. Do not get so overwhelmed by what you experienced that you fail to see God’s hand in your life. God is not done. It’s time to move forward with God’s story over your life.

And look at what happens next. When God tells Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint a new king, Samuel says, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. God, it’s not that I want to disobey you. I want to obey you. But I don’t want to get killed.” Fair enough, right? Going to Bethlehem to anoint a new king is a recipe for disaster. Saul would not let it happen. So, one moment Samuel is filled with grief, and the next moment Samuel is filled with fear. And God tells Samuel what to do. Samuel is to go to Bethlehem and offer a ritual sacrifice. This will be the official agenda. So, he will get everyone in the city to come together and offer the sacrifice. And at the same time, Samuel has to make sure that Jesse and his sons are there so he can anoint one of his sons to be king. This is the hidden agenda. God gives wisdom to Samuel to conceal the truth from Saul. And when Samuel arrives at Bethlehem, the elders of the city are trembling. Because usually when a prophet shows up in a city with no prior notice, that’s not a good sign. He usually comes with a message of judgement. But Samuel says he comes in peace, and he tells the whole city to consecrate themselves and join him in offering sacrifice to God, including Jesse and his sons.

What’s the lesson here? For some of you, your problem is not that you are grieving. But you are afraid. You know what God is saying to you for 2023. You know you must obey God. But obedience to God is risky. And you are afraid of taking the step because of it. Listen. Grief and fear are powerful emotions. But do not let them stop you from accomplishing God’s purpose for your lives. Obedience to God is risky but obedience to God is always right. You might not know what the future hold, but God does. And what He requires of you is to obey Him for the one step in front of you. Your role is not to figure out every little detail of what God has in mind. Your role is to obey God for the one step in front of you and He will give you wisdom as you obey Him. What God requires of you is not your intelligence but your obedience. Stop trying to figure out God’s whole story over your life and start obeying him one step at a time. So, the first thing we must have to have a good year is God’s story.

God’s eyes

1 Samuel 16:6 – When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.”

The second thing we must have is God’s eyes. The way we see, and the way God sees are very different. The moment Samuel looks at Eliab, he thinks, “This is it. This must be the person God has chosen to be the next king of Israel.” Why? Because Eliab meets the human criteria for a king. First, Eliab is the eldest son. And in that culture, the eldest son is the one who carries the family’s name and reputation. If God has chosen the son of Jesse to be the next king, surely it must be the firstborn. Second, Eliab is a natural-born king. He is tall and strong. So, Eliab not only has the right resume, but he also has the right appearance. He probably looks like Chris Hemsworth. So, no matter from which angle we look at Eliab, he has the making of a king. To which some of us probably say, “Samuel, c’mon bro. You should have known better. You are about to make the same mistake as last time. This is Saul all over again. You just grieve over Saul a minute ago. And now you are about to anoint Saul 2.0 to be the next king. Are you kidding?”

And listen to what God says to Samuel. 1 Samuel 16:7 – But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Before we condemn Samuel for how superficial he is, I am convinced we are making the same mistake as Samuel again and again. We live in a culture that is much more obsessed with appearance than any other culture has been. Even though we say, “You should not judge a book by its cover”, we judge a book by its cover all the time. It is very counterintuitive for us to not judge people by their appearance. I like the way Tim Keller explains it. He said that this is all about misdirection. Do you know what misdirection is? If you want to pick somebody’s pocket, you must focus all their attention on one side, so they don’t see you picking their pocket on the other side. So, the person is distracted. They are looking at the wrong thing. In other words, misdirection is paying full attention to something completely unimportant and missing out on what is truly important. We focus on what is superficial and miss what is essential. God is saying to Samuel, “Don’t let your pocket get picked. Don’t get distracted by the appearance that you miss out on what really matters. Don’t try to look with your own eyes that you fail to see with God’s eyes. Because what is essential to your eyes is not essential to God’s eyes.”

This is Samuel’s problem, and this is our problem as well. We make superficial evaluations based on our limited perspective all the time. Let me give you one example. How do we decide on our future spouse? There is an Indonesian saying for this. “Dari mata turun ke hati.” From eyes down to heart. So here is how we do it. Let’s say we have 10 candidates of the opposite sex. How do we choose one out of the ten? We immediately eliminate those who are not good-looking, not attractive, and not successful. So, we are left with those with good appearances, and we hope one of them turns out to be the one. Am I right? Our culture makes this even much easier. All we have to do is open a dating app, swipe right if we like what we see, and swipe left if we do not like what we see. Can you see what we are doing? If that’s the way we evaluate a person, then we just missed out on the person God has chosen to be the next king of Israel.

Now, I am not saying that a good appearance is bad. “How do you choose one out of the ten? Choose the ugliest and the shortest one. That person is God’s choice.” I am not saying that. The Bible is not saying that. There is nothing wrong with a good appearance. We find out later that David himself is good-looking. This is good news for all the good-looking people. Listen. Eliab is rejected not because he is too good-looking or because he is not ugly enough. This verse does not tell us, “God does not look on the outward appearance. He does not like tall, handsome people. So, try to be as ugly and as short as you possibly can. The uglier and the shorter you are, the greater the chance for God to use you.” This is not what the Bible teaches. But what the Bible does say is that good appearance is not the main indicator. And our problem is we are too easily swayed by the wrong indicator.

So, here is the question. If God does not look at outward appearance, what does God looks at? The answer is the heart. God looks on the heart. But what does it mean for God to look on the heart? This is the part that confuses me for many years. I always thought it meant, “What matters to God is not our appearances but our hearts. God rejected Eliab because he has a good appearance but a bad heart. God only wants someone with a good heart. And David is the guy with a good heart.” But when I think about David, David does not have a good heart. David himself says that he was conceived in sin. He was born with a sinful heart. And if we think David is chosen because he has a good heart, we are going to be very surprised when we read about the rest of his life. He is going to do some terrible things, even worse things than Saul. So, why did God choose David? What does it mean for God to look on the heart? If it means that we need to have a good heart to be chosen by God, who has the kind of heart that God wants? We all have sinful hearts, and we have the ability to do every bad thing anyone has ever done.

And when I read John Woodhouse’s explanation, it finally clicks for me. I finally have the answer. He gives the literal translation of that sentence. Here is the literal translation: “For the Lord sees not as man sees, for man sees according to the eyes, but the Lord sees according to his heart.” He is saying that when we see, we see with our eyes. But when God sees, God sees with His heart. So, it is not people’s hearts that God sees, but God sees people according to His heart. In other words, God is not looking for someone who meets all the qualifications for Him to use, because there is not a single person who meets all the qualifications for Him to use. But rather, God chooses someone to use according to His own heart. It is about God’s gracious and sovereign purposes rather than some quality in people. And this radically changes the meaning of “a man after God’s own heart.” Let me quote Woodhouse. “‘A man after God’s own heart’ has been taken in popular Christian jargon to mean a particularly godly man, a man with a heart like God’s. But I do not believe that the words can mean that. ‘A man after God’s own heart’ is – if I can put it like this – talking about the place the man has in God’s heart rather than the place God has in the man’s heart.”

Let me put it in the simplest term I can. God did not choose people because they are special; God choose people because God is sovereign. So, the picture is not someone who is good and has a lot of God in their heart. It is rather a picture of God who has people in His heart, the people of God’s own choosing. David is not chosen because he has a special quality that none of his brothers has and that’s what makes him attractive to God. David is chosen because God has sovereignly chosen him to be the king of Israel from all eternity. It is not David who seeks God; it is God who seeks David. And knowing this truth should give us a lot of confidence to face 2023. Listen. If we can put our faith in Jesus today, if we love Jesus today, it is not because there is anything special in us. It is solely because God has chosen us to be His. It is God who chose us. Therefore, we can be sure that God will accomplish all His purposes in our lives. Because it has never been about us; It has always been about God. The second thing we must have to have a good year is God’s eyes.

God’s plan

1 Samuel 16:8-12 – ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” ¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

What happens here is the Old Testament version of Cinderella. All the brothers try to fit the glass shoe, but no one can. Then Samuel says, “Jesse, are you sure you don’t have any other son? Did you by any chance forget one of your sons?” And Jesses says, “Oh, that’s right. I have another son. He is the youngest. He is tending sheep right now.” And the word youngest comes from a Hebrew word, “haqqaton”, which carries the idea of being both young and unimportant. And I think Samuel is a bit cranky at Jesse. He replies, “Call him. And none of us will sit down until he gets here.” Now, think about David for a bit. David is such an unlikely candidate to be king that his own father did not even consider him. I mean, this is probably the most important family gathering and David is not even invited. We often talk highly of David. But we often forget that he is once not considered by people around him, not even his family. Why? Because he is a haqqaton. He is too young, too inexperienced, too insignificant, too ordinary. But now the whole family must wait for David and cannot sit until David gets there. And when David gets there, we are told that David is ruddy, has beautiful eyes and is handsome. So yes, David has a good appearance. He is cute. But in people’s eyes, he is not suitable to be king. Instead of Chris Hemsworth, what we have is Justin Bieber. No offence to all the Beliebers. But you don’t want a cute king; you want a strong king. And when Samuel sees David, God says, “He is the one. He is the man that I have in my heart to be the next king of Israel. Anoint him.” David might not have the appearance of a king, but he is God’s choice. And that’s what matters. We may often be surprised by the people God chooses to accomplish His purposes. And look at verse 13. It’s beautiful.

1 Samuel 16:13 – 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. Samuel anoints David in front of his brothers and the Spirit of God rushes upon David. From that day forward, David is filled with the Holy Spirit. Don’t miss the important lesson here. When we look at David’s life, David goes on and accomplish many great things. He defeats Goliath. He writes most of the psalms. He becomes the greatest king in Israel’s history. It is easy for us to assume that David must be an extraordinary person. But that’s not true. David does not become great because he is extraordinary. There is absolutely nothing extraordinary about David. David is as ordinary as one can be. What makes David great is not that he has special innate quality. What makes David great is the Spirit of God. David is an ordinary person who becomes an extraordinary king because of the Spirit of God. David is ordinary but he has an extraordinary God.

And the same is true about every single Christian in this place. There is nothing extraordinary about us. We are ordinary. Turn to your neighbour and say, “You are so ordinary.” Now look back at that person and say, “You are too.” We must embrace our ordinariness. Because listen. Christians are not extraordinary people; Christians are ordinary people with an extraordinary God. And the truth is, every Christian has been given the Holy Spirit. We have been anointed by God for His purposes. And the way we become great is by embracing our ordinariness so that God can be extraordinary through us. This is the pattern that we see throughout the Bible. God is not interested in people who pursue their own glory. God wants to use people for God’s own glory. God wants to use people who put their confidence in God and not in themselves. The problem is there are too many of us who try to become David by pursuing the path of Saul; We rely on our strength rather than God’s strength. And that is not going to work. God will not share His glory with another. The way to an extraordinary life is to stop trying to be extraordinary so that God’s strength can shine through our ordinariness.

But there is another lesson here that we must not miss. Do you know what happens after the Spirit of God rushes on David? Nothing. Everything goes back to normal. Samuel goes to Ramah and David goes back to tending his sheep. What an anticlimax ending. David has just been anointed to be the next king of Israel. But it will take another 15 years before David actually becomes king. God is taking His time to prepare David to be king. So, in times of preparation, we expect David to go to a special school for future kings, be interviewed by Oprah, and become an Instagram celebrity overnight. But none of that happens. Do you know how God prepare David to be king? Back to his ordinary life. Back to tending the sheep. Once again, this is very counterintuitive. But almost all throughout the Bible, every time the Spirit of God comes on people, what happens next is not a throne but a pasture. Mountain top experience followed by the monotony of life.

If I was David, I would probably think, “But I thought I am supposed to be king. I was anointed to be king. But what happens to me now? Why am I back to this daily routine again? God, did you make a mistake?” But God does not make mistakes. It is through David’s ordinary life that God is preparing him to be king. Chuck Swindoll said there are three words that characterize David’s time in the ordinary. The first word is obscurity. No one paid any attention to David during this time. He is invisible to everyone around him. The second word is monotony. “David, what did you do today?” “I watched the sheep. They walked from here to there.” “What else?” “I worked a little with my slingshot. I can aim better now.” “Anything else?” “I got so bored, I played the acoustic guitar. I wrote a couple of songs. My favourite one is ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’ Do you want to hear?” David’s life seems ordinary and insignificant. And the third word is reality. In the ordinary, God developed David’s skill with a slingshot. It would come in handy later in his fight with Goliath. And with the acoustic guitar, David would become the most famous songwriter in the Bible. And in tending sheep, God developed David’s courage. David fights against lions and bears to protect his sheep. That’s why he can say about Goliath, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine who mocks the living God? I will strike him down like I struck down lions and bears.” David learns all of that in the ordinariness of life. If David is not sent back to the ordinary, he will never learn what he needs to bring down Goliath and rule God’s people.

And friends, this is still the way God prepares His people today. Moms, what did you do today? You changed diapers. You feed your child. Your day is filled with milk and poop. It might feel very ordinary. But God is building your character. No one might appreciate what you do but God is working in and through you. And who knows, maybe one day God will use your child to bring many people to Him? Working people, what did you do today? You worked a dead-end job. You finished your project, and your company did not appreciate you. But God is preparing you to build His eternal kingdom. Who knows what God is doing with your faithfulness? Students, what did you do? You stayed up late finishing your assessment. You spent hours studying in the library about things you might never use in real life. But God is shaping your habit to accomplish His mission for you. God is shaping your diligence for a far more important exam in the future. Can you see what happened? Ordinariness is God’s workplace for preparing our lives and shaping our hearts. Do not despise ordinariness because it is where God does His best works in us. Just like God brought his greatest work out of David’s ordinariness, God is bringing His greatest work out of our ordinariness. The third thing we must have to have a good year is God’s plan.

God’s King

The fourth thing we must have to have a good year is God’s King. And this is the most important one. Until we have God’s King in our lives, we will never be David. We will always be Saul who lives to pursue our own glory rather than God’s glory. So, who is God’s King? The answer is not King David but the Son of David. Because the story of David is simply a shadow of the Son of David. And his name is Jesus Christ. Just like David was overlooked, Jesus was overlooked. David did not have the appearance of a king. When Jesus came to earth, he was not what people were expecting. People rejected him. Just like David was anointed and filled with the Spirit of God and then sent back to the pasture, Jesus was filled with the Spirit of God and immediately brought to the wilderness. Just like David was forgotten by his father, Jesus was not only forgotten but he was forsaken by God the Father on the cross. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Nobody looked less like the chosen one of God than Jesus hanging on the cross.

Jesus the only one who is extraordinary became less than ordinary and died on the cross. The most beautiful, brilliant, gorgeous person in the universe, lost his physical attractiveness. Jesus became so ugly at the cross that no one would want to look at him. Why did he do that? Here is why. The most beautiful being in the universe became ugly so that we who are ugly can be beautiful in God’s eyes. At the cross, Jesus took the eternal justice that we deserved and paid it all. He was forsaken. He was unwanted. He was condemned. And he did it to make us his. He did it not because we deserved his love. He did it not because of some innate quality in us. He did it because he placed us in his heart. This is what changes us. We must see the most beautiful being in the universe become ugly for us. This is God’s King. If we believe it, if we are captivated by the beauty of God’s King, then and only then we can have God’s story, God’s eyes, and God’s plan. This is the way for us to have a good year. Therefore, more than any other new year resolution we make this year, let us resolve to look to God’s King constantly. Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. What struck you the most from this sermon?
2. How does grief or fear paralyse you from embracing God’s story over your life?
3. What does it mean to have God’s eyes? Give some examples.
4. God’s plan is very counterintuitive to human’s plan. How does this truth both frustrate you and encourage you?
5. Why is it extremely crucial for you to have God’s King? How can you have God’s King?
6. Take time to pray for one another in the light of the sermon and the discussion.