Dharius Daniels - Ghosted For a Glow Up

1st Samuel 16, beginning at verse 10. I’m going to be reading from the English Standard Version this morning, and this is what it says: «And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, 'The Lord has not chosen these.' 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.' My God! Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.' And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ready and had beautiful eyes and was handsome, and the Lord said, 'Arise, anoint him, for this is he.' 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.»

I want to stop the reading of the scripture there and talk from this subject in our time together. I want to see if 11:30 is talking back to me today: «Ghosted for a Glow Up.» For those who may need some additional clarification or for those who may need me to engage in some elucidation, the term «glow up» is simply a contemporary cultural colloquialism that refers to someone who has experienced a radical, revolutionary, undeniable, indisputable shift from one state to another. And although the term «glow up» has become popularized in contemporary culture, the concept originated in the Kingdom because God orchestrates the greatest glow-ups. God is the God of the glow-up!

If I were to turn this room into a courtroom, I could go throughout the pages of scripture and call different characters to the witness stand, and they would testify that God orchestrates the greatest glow-ups. I could call Abraham to the witness stand; he would testify. Isaac would testify. Jacob would testify. But I don’t even have to go that far back in scripture to get witnesses to corroborate my claim. I can go right down your row, and there are some people who will testify that if you had known me in previous seasons, you wouldn’t be able to recognize me in my current season. My transformation was so radical and revolutionary that not only are people who knew me surprised by who I am, but I’m surprised by who I am! PD, I’m actually surprised I’m willing to sit in traffic to get into a church.

God orchestrates the greatest glow-ups because cultural glow-ups work from the outside in, but Kingdom glow-ups work from the inside out. Cultural glow-ups are limited and regulated to somewhere, but Kingdom glow-ups show up everywhere. It means that when God orchestrates an evolution for me spiritually, what happens with me spiritually affects me emotionally, relationally, and professionally. And I want to know, am I talking to anybody who’s got an appetite for God to do it everywhere? No, not just somewhere. Do it everywhere! Do it in my mind; do it in my home; do it in my relationships; do it in my resources. God is the God that orchestrates the greatest glow-ups, and our text here in 1 Samuel is evidence of what I’m attempting to articulate. This particular passage reveals not just a reality for David; it is a picture of possibility for you and for me.

The text exposes us to an individual named David. Watch this. I don’t just want you to see David in the text; I want you to see yourself in David. Did you hear what I’m saying? When you’re interpreting the Bible, you do more than read the Bible; the Bible starts reading you. You start seeing yourself in the stories of the characters in the text. Come on, and don’t you shout, 11:30! Don’t shout! But the text shows us a man who’s getting ready to go from last to first. Okay, maybe you don’t see yourself there. A man who’s getting ready to go from the back to the front. Okay, maybe you don’t see yourself yet. A man who’s getting ready to go from the pasture to the palace. Okay, maybe you don’t see yourself yet. A man who is getting ready to go from a shepherd to a king. It’s right here in the text. Contextually, this is what’s happening here: God is transitioning kings. That’s what’s happening. This is the context of this passage: God is transitioning kings. He’s moving on from a king named Saul. Everybody say Saul. Come on, say it again: Saul! He’s moving on from a king named Saul. This is scary because he’s fired Saul but hadn’t notified him. This is scary because God will fire you in the present, and you won’t realize it until the future. He didn’t fire Saul by removing him from his position; he fired Saul by removing his presence from Saul. And he has to fire him because Saul has demonstrated behavior that makes him unreliable and untrustworthy. He becomes infected with an emotionally insidious disease called arrogance. His arrogance and pride lead him to build a statue and monument unto himself, rendering him unpredictable and unreliable. Come here! Are you here, 11:30? Because God can use people who aren’t perfect, but he’s limited in his ability to use people he can’t trust. The issue with Saul is that he is untrustworthy. Are you hearing me?

So what God does is he speaks to a kingmaker named Samuel. Everybody say Samuel. Come on, say it again: Samuel! He speaks to a kingmaker named Samuel, a civil and religious leader, a judge…