There's something that happened this week that I think was groundbreaking that changed. It's gonna definitely hopefully change next year. And I'm not talking about the election. I'm talking about the Nintendo Classic Edition coming out.
Okay, and anybody else see this thing? Have you heard about this yet? Okay, Gomez, it's just a raisin' has on. Do you have one yet, buddy?
Okay, not yet. So if you've not heard about this, I'm gonna date myself here, I'm 36. But if you were of the generation that grew up the Nintendo Entertainment System, the old school 8-bit gray box, Mario Brothers Duck Hunt, they have released a box and it's not like some bootleg factory that did it. Nintendo came out with, it plugs into your TV and it has the controllers that were used to and it has 50 games preloaded into it.
It has Mario 1, 2, and 3. It doesn't have contract, I have issues. I need that original contract. But it has a site bike, which is cool.
But if you remember growing up with that, there's about a 10 year age range that Nintendo was king. Okay, I'm on the bottom end of it a little bit. My parents said I had to save up my own money for my Nintendo when I was a kid. And so I saved up 100 bucks when you're a little guy, it's really tough.
I finally saved up my 100 dollars and a week and a half later the Super Nintendo came out. Like Buzzkill, right? But Nintendo had had this button on it. It had a reset button.
And there's multiple ways that you could use that reset button. Let's think about that, okay? Like if you were about to die and you didn't want to, you didn't want to, you could just hit that button and it would send you back to the beginning of the game. It gave you a clean slate.
There's like a psychological thing going on where you knew that you weren't actually dying. You're just getting to start over again. That whole clean slate, so when your dad came in, he's like, okay, we don't have one more man left. And what's that?
One more man. Can I play to the one man? You can also hit, like, there's this idea that if you want to play the perfect game. Does y'all ever do this?
So you want to play the perfect game as quick as you can, not make any mistakes. Do everything, like, right? Like get the, I'm a Mario Brothers. I had a certain amount of coins.
I knew I could get every single coin on that first level. And the second level had to hit that Wharf level just perfect. Like they're called speed runs now. And if you do something like a couple seconds off, you hit reset so you can start back from scratch.
And so you get into that, we're playing that first level and you're hitting reset constantly. Cause you want to play that absolute perfect game. And there's also the kid that every neighborhood had one of these kids that they're playing you and you were winning and they were losing and they were sore losers. They just hit reset to start the game over.
Okay, people are not, if they know that kid, okay, we've all been that kid. We've all done that, right? Everybody has a little sister. We've all pulled that stuff.
But hit that button, hit and reset. It let you start over without consequences. It let you start over with the clean slate. It let you start over to the best of your abilities, right where you're supposed to be.
Don't you wish we had a reset button in life? To be able to hit that, to start back from square one. To do that, we're gonna talk about hitting resets this morning. What we're doing is for the next few weeks, and I promise you all that this was not planned on the calendar, this was like, okay, I really fuck, we need to talk about this.
Where do we have some open weeks before Christmas gets started? But we're gonna talk about the Old Testament for the next few weeks. We've all done all this series, Kings and Villains. Because there's a story arc in the Old Testament of the good kings, of the bad kings, of the prophets that's just so important for us.
And since June, we have been reading the Gospels almost nonstop, and there's been multiple places. Like I really wish that we could kind of talk about some of these things. And the way I can put it is if you think of the resurrection as the penultimate event in the New Testament, that in the Old Testament, I really think that that penultimate event that we judge everything by, that we look at this controlling activity is the exile. When God's people, because of hundreds of years of disobedience and breaking covenants, and of sinning, God pulled them out of the Promised Land, sent them off for another generation and a half to other places, and they got to come back.
It's very, very important. So for the next three weeks, we're going to make up the quickest pass through that story arc that we can. But today we're gonna start talking about hitting reset. We're gonna talk about a man named King David, and how God used King David to hit reset.
But our story, it doesn't both begin with David. It begins with a cry with the nation of Israel, this confederation of tribes, God's people, they have been living, and they've been governed by a king, not by any sort of a ruling class, or ruling person, but by this group of judges that served a dual role of being priests, but also helping them make the rough decisions. The people were no longer satisfied with this. They began screaming and calling out saying, we want a king, we want a king, we want a king.
So a man named Samuel, he was the last of the judges. He was a priest. Comes before God and for the people to answer this question, we find Samuel's words in the book of 1 Samuel, chapter eight, verse 19 through 21. It's been on screen behind me, but this is what scripture tells us.
But the people refuse to listen to Samuel's warning. Even so, we still want a king, they said. We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and will lead us into battle.
So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, and the Lord replied, do as they say, and give them a king. Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home. Now at first this idea of a king, it sounds right. I mean, somebody has to be in charge, right?
Like can you imagine thousands of people living as a country, as an entity without anybody in charge? It'd be chaos, wouldn't it? But they're screaming, give us a king of skin in that one line. We want to be like everybody else around us.
And just a few generations back when they're wondering in the desert, the book of Deuteronomy, it repeats multiple times over God, tells the people, he says, look at what they're doing and do the exact opposite. We've heard that phrase before, haven't we? We know where it comes from. It's like, don't be like them, don't be like them.
Look at what they do and don't even attempt to repeat it. Don't even be interested in it, don't be like them. And so here's just a couple of generations later saying we want to be like them. Will you give us a king?
But the beautiful thing, and this is where we can insert ourselves into the story, this is where we start seeing what hitting reset our own lives. It's like the beautiful thing here is even in the middle of people's unwillingness, even in the middle of our unwillingness, of our unwillingness to be God's called people, to be set apart, to live as his chosen people, to live with a different way of viewing life, even though we get hard headed and unwilling. I know I'm hard headed. Even in our unwillingness to be different people, God will work in a broken system for us to see who he is.
God will come into broken systems and he will still speak to us. That's exactly what he did for his reliance. He said, give them a king, festival you want, give them a king. I'm still here, I'm still on the throne.
So Samuel goes and anoints a man named Saul King. Now here's what I think Saul was from an important family. He was from a big tribe. He was tall.
He was good looking. He was a warrior. And so Israel now has their king. But also the idea of kings here, like we live in America.
Does anybody actually, is anybody here ever actually had a king before? When we think of kings, my wife is powering through Netflix's new show, The Crown. Who else is watching that? It's a beard noise, I think.
It's about the British monarchy and Queen Elizabeth, Winston Churchill at the 1930s to 40s and 50s. When we think king, we think British monarchy. You might have watched Down and Abbey. I did not thought it was called downtown, Abbey for years.
Very different movie. Or we think of medieval, King George and Revolution. We had these ideas of kings that we put on this. But there's nothing like what's going on.
They're saying we want a king. They're not saying we want some royal family to live in a big fancy place. Having a king back to him was about being safe. We're also talking about this is the early Iron Age.
This isn't like medieval knights and horses and all this. This is like we're going to go to war with clubs. Later on at Kings, we talked about the fact that in the nation of Israel, only two people had a sword. Saul and his son Jonathan.
Everybody else had to find something that shed to go to battle with. This was not pretty. The only purpose that king had was to provide enough safety for you to get a full growing season. I'm going to make you safe enough so you can harvest a crop.
And then typically, a lot of like, of Samuel's stuff, I say, even though they still want to king a lot of what Samuel's talking about is the fact that kings would typically levy a 50% tax on people to give them a safe growing season. Like 50% of their crops, 50% of their livestock, 50% of everything just so you can be safe for another six months. It doesn't sound like a deal anymore, does it? But God says, we're going to work through this.
But Saul quickly fails. It doesn't work out. He was the people's king. He was the people's idea of what a king should look like and act like and be like.
And God has to hit reset. Because almost as quickly as he rises to power, he begins to disappoint. Disappoints God and disappoints God's people. So our first reset we're going to look at, it's all in the life of King David.
It's when Samuel found him to go anoint another king. So Samuel, he pulls up into this town called Bethlehem. It was kind of a rinky dink out of the way place and the town elders are nervous. They meet him there at the gates because everybody knows who Samuel is and everybody knows he has beef with Saul and they're kind of scared.
He's coming to town to start some sort of civil war. This man named Jesse, one of the not very important people who's there, Samuel goes straight up to him and says, I need to see your sons. The first son comes up. He's tall.
He's handsome. He's strong looking. He looks like a warrior. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
This is what Scripture tells us. This is in 1 Samuel 16. We'll be in 16 and 17 the rest of the morning. But this is what God tells Samuel when he sees this first son.
But the Lord said to Samuel, don't judge by his appearance or his height for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance. But the Lord looks at the heart.
The first son is not going to work. So Samuel asks to see the second son and he doesn't work. Samuel asks to see the third son and he doesn't work. Samuel asks to see the fourth son and he doesn't work.
Samuel asks to see the fifth son and he doesn't work. Samuel asks to see the sixth son and he doesn't work. Samuel asks to see the seventh son and he doesn't work. He's finally there.
He's like, man, anybody left? He's like, oh, there's a little one. He's out back with the goats. He's like, well, bring him in.
We can't make this sacrifice until I see him. And in comes this little boy. Scripture says he's ready. He's like all red-faced and kind of like dirty from like out back doing stuff.
And Samuel sees him and God said that's him. This is who he should be. Very complete, different idea from who people would want. And the writer of Samuel even begins like kind of metaphorically telling the story of like the Bethlehem's the forgotten about town and Jesse's not very powerful.
And like the eighth son, it's metaphorically telling us it's like David is the least important person in this entire kingdom. But I want him to be king because I don't judge by the appearances that you judge by. We can all breathe deeply when we hear that, can't we? God's purposes are not judged by our outward appearances.
God's purposes are not judged by our previous mistakes. God's purposes are not judged by what we think we are known for. But what about he knows we can do? Scripture says David is a man after God's own heart.
And that's what mattered to God. The second reset, and so David comes up and David begins to be, he's anointed and he begins to be this king. So we're going to read 13 and 14. See what this tells us.
So David stood there among his brothers and Samuel took a flask of olive oil he had brought an anointed David with the oil and the spirit of God came powerfully upon David from that day on and Samuel went and returned to Ramah. Now the spirit of the Lord had left Saul and the Lord had sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and with fear. What we have going on here is like two games playing at the same time. Saul's game has been going on for a while and he's pretty far out.
David's game is just starting. But that anointing changes things. And then David's game begins to catch up to Saul and David's game begins to eclipse Saul's game. The rest of the book of 1 Samuel is about Saul and David just being in constant conflict over what's going on because both of them are fully aware of it.
But this anointing, Samuel anoints David among his brothers, it's like a secret activity. So imagine keep all the big brothers and nice warriors like the little guy. It's like I'm getting in the middle so nobody can see us do this. I don't care about that or appearance.
I care about the heart. All the things that God wants to do through us, all the things that we believe we want to see God do, it all begins in our heart. It doesn't believe in our actions and activity. This anointing is this idea that this person wants anointed that their physical presence changes, that their status changes, their position changes, things are different.
In Acts chapter 1 and 2 we read an event called Pentecost where the Holy Spirit is poured out and anoints the church. To each of us because of our relationship with Jesus. Because our relationship with him is transforming and him is saving that we are anointed with the Holy Spirit. We are changed.
We are changed. We are status. We are position. We are position.
We are abilities. We are power at all changes but it has to start with the heart. That secret activity and that secret huddle we read about with these brothers begins to be public. David eclipses us all.
The last thing we learned about hitting reset. This is about David and the big guy. This is the story we are offering David and Goliath. It is that one that we all know.
There is other stuff going on that is showing us change. It is showing this power of hitting reset. Israel is locked up in a battle with the Philistines. They have been doing this for decades.
Israelites are pretty much, they came in and took over all these four to five towns in the hills. They are all right when you get them up in the terrain and then early ground. You get them down in the plains and they cannot hold a candle with Philistines. They have been going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth for years.
They are finally there. And for 40 days, anytime we see 40 days in scripture we realize that that author is telling us a story and that story is about renewal. That story is about transformation. And for 40 days this giant named Goliath has been standing in the middle and taunting the Israelites.
He is their champion. But that idea of a person that is your champion is that one who stands in the middle of that person that you trust enough to go out and do business for you. That you believe they have the power for what it takes. It is like the episode of King of the Hill.
Where David realizes that all the bug sprays have been getting to a set and they realize the experimenter is the best fire. So they have been seen him to do all the tough business nobody else wants to do. We all know what a champion is like. That friend that comes in and we are kids or grown up.
So we are in a tough situation. It is like I can take care of this. I got this. It is a champion.
He stands in the middle for you. So Saul is trying to outfit David like still a little guy. I put his armor and shields and helmets on stuff. I don't need that.
I don't need it. And he goes out to face Goliath. This is what we read in scripture. It is from 1 Samuel 17, 45, 3 47.
David replied to the Philistine, you come to me with sword and spear and javelin. I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven's armies. The God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you and I will kill you and I will cut off your head.
I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and the wild animals and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. Everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord's battle and he will give you to us. He is talking about all the things that Goliath thinks are powerful.
Funny enough, it is all the stuff that Saul tried to give David to. The reason that Saul had descended and that God had to hit reset is he began believing in the rules and the power of the world around him and not in God's power. So here we have David. Now comes in and says your size doesn't matter.
God is going to hit reset. Your ability does not matter. God is going to come in here and he is going to hit reset. Your armor does not matter.
God is coming in and he is hitting reset. Your experience does not matter. God is coming in and he is hitting reset. I believe in a completely different operation of power than you do.
And that is why David was a man after God's own heart. What had the ability to change? What had the ability to shift was completely different for him? What has the ability to change and shift is completely different for God.
We begin living in a world where God is not going to have to reset it. We are shifting our belief and we are powerful and who has power. Because we all need a reset. I need resets in my life right now.
If we don't need a reset we need to look inside a little bit more. But we shouldn't be embarrassed. We shouldn't be hurt. We shouldn't be nervous.
We realize we need resets because the story of God and his people is God coming in and hitting resets for us. It's who he is. It's what he does. And David's story about him allowing God to come in and reset and him to be used by God hitting reset is a combination of the holy purpose of God.
But also David's holy obedience and offering a holy heart to God to mold and to use. The holy world ready faced David out back playing with the goats. Did not yet have a heart of God. But he had to open this.
That's that heart required. This call to be holy people, to be set apart, to be a people of covenant, to be people of a different thing. It does not come out of obedience. It's not like what we are going to do.
We are going to do it. All of a sudden it doesn't come that way. It doesn't work. But it comes through imitation by simply repeating the things of God.
And what we see David do for the majority of his life is just simply imitate God. And when we see him taking those missteps he just begins to imitate other kings. And what happens is he makes some mistakes. Some bad stuff goes down later on in life.
But he's never quit being referred to as this person after God's own heart because he always realizes his status before him and what confession looks like. And what faithfulness looks like. Jesus has reset. It's not hitting a button.
It's him coming and living out our life for us, but us trusting and having the faith that he's going to direct us to the best ways we need. It's about us then being part of him hitting reset for the world, him hitting reset for other people that we become co-workers alongside of him in that. So where has a reset been hit for you? Where do you need a reset to be hit?
We're going to have those right now too. But how do these qualities enter your life? What does obedience look like for you right now? What does faithfulness look like for you right now?
Where are the places that we have been pretending? You know? Where have we been that kid in the neighborhood that hits the button and we don't like it the way things are going? What David offered God is a dirty face, a little boy.
It's way. It's thinking like goats is a left behind as a person who did not matter. What he offered to God was an open heart and that's what we have to offer. Jesus, we thank you that our openness is all it takes sometime.
That our openness can be the thing that changes everything. So help us to grow in that openness. Help us to see right now this morning the places of openness that we need. The places where we just need to let you come be in charge to trust you enough to do the things that you need to do.
Help us allow you to hit reset. That's the name we pray. Amen. So Foundry, one of the things that we have, this is one of the things that I love and we're a new church.
We meet in a gym. We don't have the ability to do a bunch of other things. But what we decided quickly on was that we wanted to link arms with other organizations to help them and what they are great at. So we have strategic ministry partners.
We work alongside the Wesley Foundation at ULM. It's one of the most diverse campus ministries I have ever seen. They do amazing evangelism work. We work alongside a project 41, something Lindsey is familiar with.
We work alongside the food bank of Starlington. We work alongside other people and we're only able to do this to empower the people who can do it better than we can. To empower people to hit reset. To let folks know the best situations, the best decisions that can be made.
We can't do that without your generosity. It's one of the things that your money that you willfully offer us to use does is help hitting resets in other places and a lot of people who know what's best to reset in those situations. So there's three ways you can give this morning at Foundry. The bucket you're about to come forward and you can drop your connection card in there alongside of that.
We are Foundry.com.com. Or you can text to give. The number is going to be on the screen behind me. But be part of how Jesus is hitting a reset.
For people we know, for people we don't know and for people that we will never know. But we're giving that privilege to walk alongside of him and that. Your Lord help us in our generosity. Help us as we are part of your healing for the nations.
We turn ourselves even more over to you. Unless your name would pray. Amen.