In this pastoral teaching, the speaker describes the "season of hiddenness" that many believers experience—a period of monotony, feeling overlooked, and serving in behind‑the‑scenes roles while awaiting God’s move. He introduces the proverb "Gradually, then suddenly" to illustrate how God often works slowly before a sudden breakthrough. Using 1 Samuel 16 as the central biblical illustration, he shows how God’s choice of David defied human expectations, emphasizing that God looks at the heart, not outward appearance, and that divine appointment cannot be thwarted by human rejection. The speaker balances this truth with a reminder of the ordained structure and leadership processes within the church, cautioning against rebellion while acknowledging that people can unintentionally block or overlook God‑given callings. He shares his own ministry journey—from media and sound work to broader service—to demonstrate how God often calls through humble, servant‑hearted tasks. The talk concludes with an encouragement to remain faithful, tend the spiritual “sheep” in whatever role one currently holds, and trust that God will ultimately anoint and equip for greater purpose, even if the present season feels hidden.
Chapters
The season of hiddenness is where you feel overlooked, where you feel like you have much to offer, but not many opportunities to offer it. It's a season of monotony. It's progress without breakthrough, seemingly. It's a lull. There's a pastor friend of mine who told me something that just stuck in my head. You ever have a friend of yours or pastor that will say something to you and it just sticks in your head? And there's this saying he gave to me. He said, Gradually, then suddenly. This is how the Lord moves, gradually, then suddenly. Where things are moving slow, nothing really seems to be happening. It looks like everything's just going to stay the same. You're stuck in the rhythm of monotony. And it's gradually, gradually, gradually. Maybe that's you right now. There's a God-given dream he's placed in you. There's a divine purpose you know he has on your life. There are spiritual gifts he's put in you. There's ministry he's put in you. There's godly expression he's put in you. And it seems like you're just overlooked. There's no opportunity. There's nothing that's really happening. Really challenging you. You're just going through this season of the same old, same old every single day, but you're being faithful to where you are right now. Gradually, then suddenly. Everyone wants the suddenly, no one wants gradually. Everyone wants the trees, no one wants to plant the seeds. Everyone wants the plants to grow, no one wants to stand in the rain. 1 Samuel 16:1-13. The Lord said to Samuel, how long will you mourn for Saul since I've rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way. I'm sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king. So we understand the Lord rejects Saul, and now the Lord is instructing Samuel to go and find Saul's replacement. But Samuel said, how can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me. The Lord said, take a heifer with you and say, I've come to sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate. So not the one man indicates, not the one you think you should. I'll show you who I want to be king. Verse 4, Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, do you come in peace? Samuel replied, yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me. Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. Now watch this, verse 6. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel, do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance. But the Lord looks at the heart. Maybe some have overlooked you because of your appearance, because of the way you talk, because of the way you dress, because of where you come from. They've discounted you. They've overlooked you. They've snubbed you. They've denied you access. Why? Because they're judging from the exterior. But remember this, man's rejection can never stop God's appointment. It is not man who anoints. It is not man who chooses who gets what ministry. That's the Lord. Now the Lord will, there's an— I wanna balance this because I wanna make sure that I'm not inciting rebellion within churches. Remember that there's an order to God's church and there is a structure and there are leadership roles and there are processes by which we become approved in order to serve in leadership roles in ministry. But I'm talking just generally, God having a call on your life, God placing gifts within you. God will bring those to come about, even if people should try to stop it against God's will. Now, this doesn't mean that every time somebody is stopped, that someone's acting against God. So let's balance that. There's a process to go through. There's, of course, leadership and church structure. God ordained that. That's not a man idea. That's a God idea. But on the other hand, sometimes people try to fight God by preventing you from stepping into your calling. Or maybe even do it unintentionally. They just overlook you. They don't think much about you. And sometimes that can be hurtful because it can feel like nothing's ever gonna come to fruition in terms of your calling. It can feel like you're constantly being overlooked. You're constantly being denied opportunities. But so long as you keep your heart right, as long as you tend to what God has given to you to do in this season, so long as you keep your focus on Jesus, God is ultimately the one who appoints and anoints. Even mantles, like think about the idea of mantles. It's not man who gives a mantle and decides, I'm gonna put my mantle on you or you. It's the Lord who speaks that causes that mantle to flow. In fact, it's possible for a man to say, I want this one to have my mantle. And God says, you can say that, you can pray that, you can lay hands, do whatever you want, but ultimately I'm giving the mantle to this one over here. God is the one who decides that. So the mantle does not come from man, it comes through man. This is why, by the way, think about the mantle, the appointment that came on David through Saul. And I wanna talk about some deep things of the Spirit, a little bit of a tangent, but it's important for you to know. Think about how sometimes we get so paranoid in the church. Well, do you know who their spiritual father was? Look at the mantle that came from them. They have to now deny everything that God has done in their life because one man sinned. No, no, no, my friend. First of all, the Holy Spirit protects. Second of all, God uses hypocrites. Now he'll judge them. They will pay the price for their sins. There are consequences, but God can use anyone. I mean, look at Matthew chapter 7. Did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not cast out devils in your name? Did we do many mighty works? He says, yeah, but I never knew you. So he used them even if he didn't know him. And so we may say things like, well, you know, their spiritual father is this person. So surely they need to, You know, they need to get delivered and all the— no, my friend, the mantle does not come from man, it comes through man. And so you may feel like you're overlooked, but ultimately God is gonna be the one who appoints you. Verse 8, then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, the Lord has not chosen this one either. Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, nor has the Lord chosen this one. Jesse had several of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, the Lord has not chosen these. So Jesse, watch this now, is positioning the sons that he favors. He's saying, this is the son I prefer to be anointed. And I'm certain that he presented them in the order of his favor. Why? Because he had a preference. How about this one? Not that one? Okay, well, the next one I think it should be is this one. How about this one? No, not that one. So he presents them one after another. Man is presenting but God is rejecting. Man is positioning, but God is denying. Jesse had 7 of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, the Lord has not chosen these. So he asked Jesse, now watch this, he begins to seek out. He asked Jesse, are these all the sons you have? There is still the youngest, Jesse answered. And he probably was cringing because he likely did not think that David was the guy. Yeah, there's— you can hear the tone here. Yeah, there's still the youngest, but he's tending the sheep. He's out there. He's with the animals. Samuel said, send for him. We will not sit down until he arrives. So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, rise and anoint him. This is the one. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. And from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Now watch this. Jesse is placing his sons in front of the prophet. God is saying no. Then the prophet, by instruction of the Lord, seeks out whom God would anoint. So even though man wouldn't present him, even though man had rejected him, even though man did not prefer him, God sought him out. And this is what the Lord is doing with those of you who are, so to speak, in the Spirit tending the sheep. What does it mean to tend the sheep in the Spirit? it means you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. You know, when I first began in ministry, I didn't start as an evangelist. I started as a media guy. I was the song flipper, as we call them. Some of you don't know what that is, but to summarize, I was the one who made sure that the lyrics on the screen were the correct lyrics to be sung during the worship songs. And this was before we used computers to do that. And then of course, eventually I used like the PowerPoint presenter and, I would help with the sound. I would help with the microphones. I would help to set up and tear down. And this is what I did for a while because that's where I started. I tell people all the time, I didn't begin in ministry in the pulpit. It began with the projector. It began in the sound room. It began with serving where I could. And I served with my whole heart. Lord, this is what I wanna do for your glory. Lord, this is what I wanna do unto you. It was my worship unto him. And then God called me in that season where I was serving. Well, think about it. When God called David, he was tending to the sheep. When God called some of the disciples, they were fishing. When God called Elisha, he was tending to the field. Think about that. Elijah goes to seek out Elisha, and he's tending to the field. He's plowing the field. And this is something that we forget as believers. When God looks to anoint someone for ministry, for purpose, for use, he looks for someone who is busy. He looks for someone who is serving. He looks for someone who is faithful to tending the sheep. Just because you're tending the sheep now doesn't mean God doesn't have an appointment for you later. Just because you're doing the menial and the mediocre now doesn't mean that one day you won't step into a great calling. And this doesn't necessarily mean that everyone's gonna be a preacher, that everyone's gonna be a social media sensation, or that everyone's gonna be ultra wealthy, or that everyone's gonna— And you speak to, you know, world leaders. That's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that you will fulfill the divine purpose that God has placed over your life. Even if you feel overlooked, even if you feel underappreciated, even if you feel like you're not accomplishing anything, God sees where you are in the season of hiddenness.
