FIVE SMOOTH STONES - The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherds Bag

FIVE SMOOTH STONES — The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherd’s Bag

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “ Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. ” 1 Samuel 16:10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep. “And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good- looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.” When it comes to ministry what is most important is what is after God's heart, not what is obvious or natural. We are fortunate if we can have those around us who see us according to God's eyes and not after the flesh, or natural abilities only. David had the anointing for his purpose from that day forward, but not the position or commission for that purpose yet. One of the important aspects of David's success is not that he immediately stepped into the role of the king of Israel, but rather after he was anointed as king, he went back to his regular duties as a shepherd boy watching his father's flock, and there he learned to use the anointing of the Lord placed on his life. Watching over flocks of sheep in a wild area with predators such as lions, bears and wolves it is acceptable that a shepherd get help against such predators. We have the parable of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” It was expected, and acceptable for the shepherd boy to get help from others when the wolf came to prey on the flock. What was not acceptable was for him to falsely “cry wolf” when there wasn't any danger. Of course, we know in the parable eventually he came to regret his attention-getting false starts.

However, David did not run for help when the predators came even though it would have been acceptable. Rather he did what the

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