Well that got us talking. Somehow she could tell I wasn’t from Richmond. It may have been that I didn’t speak with a strong southern accent, but more likely it was because she knew everyone else in the restaurant, so she asked me where I was from. She asked what I was doing in the area, and then she asked me what I did for a living, and I said, I am the pastor of a church.
Well, that got her fired up. Her face lit it up and she said, oh my… are you on TV? She was treating me like some kind of celebrity. I had to laugh and say, no I’m not on TV. She then asked if I would sing for her. I was kind of surprised at that - I guess pastors in her church sing. I said, well I don’t really sing. She kept pressing me to sing and I said, no, but why don’t you sing. She said that she really couldn’t because she was working. But she kept talking about church, and God, and singing, and worship, and she was animated and excited and was telling everyone that I was a pastor.
Normally, I would have been embarrassed by all of this, but her joy and excitement was so genuine that it was contagious. I thought, if I lived in Richmond, I would be back in that McDonalds every day to get a senior coffee. To me, this woman was the definition of enthusiastic. Enthusiasm means intense and eager interest and enjoyment. This woman was intense and eager and interested in everything, and she was truly enjoying life - and it was contagious.
In that moment of enthusiasm, not only was she positive but she helped me stay positive. You see, I had just come from a minute clinic at CVS because I had a horrible case of poison ivy all over my arm. I was headed on vacation and absolutely miserable, but in that moment, I was laughing. I was lifted up. I was positive. Enthusiasm not only helps us stay positive but it helps others stay positive. Paul said to the church in Corinth that their enthusiasm had stirred the hearts of others to action. True enthusiasm glorifies God and motivates others.
Do you know someone like this? Do you know someone who isn’t just happy - they are always joyful, and genuinely interested in others, and so filled with the spirit of God that is contagious? Do you know someone like this? Do you want to be someone like this? Today we are going to learn how to develop enthusiasm.
The word enthusiasm comes from two words, En - Theos, which literally means In - God. True enthusiasm isn’t getting pumped up over an event or activity we enjoy, it’s daily living in God. While we can think about enthusiasm as being filled with the spirit of God, it’s better to think about it as our living in God. There is a difference. Enthusiasm is not so much that God dwells in us but that everyday we are living in God. Acts 17:28 says, in God we live and move and have our being, and when we strive to live in God, everything we do we will be for God and because of God, and this kind of faith, and love, and passion changes the world around us - for the good.
Enthusiasm changes the world because an enthusiastic person is a thermostat not a thermometer. Nido Quebin, the chancellor of High Point University in NC said, a thermometer only reflects the temperature of its environment, adjusting to the situation. But a thermostat initiates action to change the temperature in its environment. Enthusiasm changes the environment because it motivates people. Right now, we can react to our environment and be shaped by the negativity, disappointment, challenges, uncertainty, and fear, or we can live in God and stay positive, knowing that God is at work, God is powerful, and God will see us through this challenging time and lead us to a better future.
To learn how to become more enthusiastic we are going to look at someone who was enthusiastic, and that was David. The most well known story of David has to be David and Goliath. If you remember from last week, David was the youngest in his family, and his father and brothers didn’t think he was old enough, smart enough, or strong enough to go to battle. David had to stay home and take care of the sheep, but he also worked for door dash, grub hub, and uber eats… because it was his job to run food to his brothers who were in the army and at the front lines of battle.
Once when David delivered food to his brothers, it says he left the food with the cooks and ran to the front lines. David didn’t hide in the background. David didn’t wait to be asked forward, he ran to the front lines to be part of the action, and just as he arrived, Goliath made his way from the enemy camp to the battle line. Goliath was a Philistine who stood over 9 feet tall and every day Goliath came out to taunt the soldiers in Israel. He personally challenged them to fight in a winner take all match, but no one in Israel wanted to take him on.
Young David, however, was willing to take him on. David said, I have been fighting wild animals all my life and if the Lord delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. That’s enthusiasm. That’s David living in the power and knowledge of God and making a difference. You probably know the rest of the story. David goes out into battle with a sling and a stone and reaching into his bag and taking out a stone he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead and he fell facedown. 1 Samuel 17:49
David’s enthusiasm changed everything. Goliath was dead and the enemy was defeated. This is enthusiasm. David didn’t adjust to the environment around him and give in to the fear of his brothers and the rest of the soldiers, he changed the environment. He rushed forward and trusted God to be in him during battle because he had spent all his days living in God.
David’s enthusiasm didn’t come from pride or self assurance, it came because he had spent his days living in God. His days as a shepherd taught him how to trust God daily, walk with God daily, and worship God daily, and that’s what builds enthusiasm. We know this is the kind of relationship David had with God because he tells us this in Psalm 23.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD,
Forever.
David trusts God daily. This is a psalm of trust. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. David compares God to a shepherd and a shepherd is always there for the sheep. A shepherd doesn’t get out in front of the sheep to lead, and they don’t push from behind, and they aren’t cowboys who sit high in the saddle and look down. A shepherd is among the sheep so he can see them, and they can hear him. They follow his voice because they trust him. Where the shepherd goes the sheep go - no questions asked. This is a picture of David’s relationship with God. God was with him, always. God helped him, always. God delivered him from lions, bears, and wolves, always. David trusted God completely and daily David lived and moved and had his being in the good shepherd.
David walks with God daily. He leads me beside still waters. Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with me. God walked with David and David walked with God. These verses show us two important things. First, we need to follow God and not ask God to follow us. Too often we move forward in life and then ask God to bless what we are doing instead of being willing to follow God and allow God’s blessing to flow into our lives. Too many times in life I made my own decisions and then asked God to bless me instead of taking the time to ask God to help me see where he was going so I could follow him and be blessed. We need to stop, and pray, and walk with God.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means for us to walk with God through this global crisis and into the future. God has shown us new things about being the church. God has opened new doors for us to be in mission and ministry. God has shown us that worship doesn’t need everything to be the way it has always been. Things can be different and new and fresh. We are reaching new people, and more people, and finding new ways to share the good news of Jesus and the unique life of Faith Church. God wants us to keep walking with him into the future. Will we go where he leads us? Will we be willing to leave things behind and step into the new future God has for us?
We need to follow God and not ask God to follow us, but when we do wander away, or when we walk through difficult and painful times - God is still there. That’s the second thing we learn here. God is the good shepherd who is willing to leave some sheep behind in order to come and rescue us. God is the one whose light always shines in the midst of our darkness so we can keep walking.
To walk with God daily means we stop to see where God is going so we can follow him, and it means opening our eyes when we feel lost and alone to see that God is still with us and will lead us. And all of this is cause for us to worship God daily. David worships God daily. Psalm 23:5-6.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD,
Forever.
Too often we think about worship as just what we bring to God. While worship is a sacrifice, or an offering of our praise and thanks to God, worship is also about putting ourselves in the presence of God and allowing God’s word and power to fill us. Worship is about God anointing us with his spirit as we humble ourselves before him. It is coming to the table God sets for us and feasting on God’s goodness and mercy. It is about being in the house of the Lord, which is not the church building, but the presence of God, daily. And Forever.
David worshipped the Lord in the fields watching the sheep. He worshipped God with abandon and with passion and with his whole being. We know this because years later when David led the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem it says, David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. 2 Samuel 6:14-15
David worshipped God with great joy and power in this moment because it was how he always worshipped God. Whether he was alone with only sheep to watch him, or whether he was in the city streets with everyone watching him, David worshipped with abandon. He feasted at God’s table and allowed the anointing of God’s spirit to wash over him - daily.
David didn’t take on Goliath in his own strength or trust in his own power. He didn’t talk himself into it with positive thinking and motivational sayings. David took on Goliath because he was enthusiastic - he was living in God. He was living in God with power that day because everyday David trusted God, walked with God, and worshiped God.
Where do we need to trust God more? Wherever that is, we need to tell ourselves, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want - for anything. Where do we need to see that God is walking with us? Maybe we have wandered off and need to see that we are not too far from God, or maybe we need to see that in the midst of the confusion and chaos of our world, God is here to meet us and lead us on. And how can we worship God with more abandon? That doesn’t mean dancing, lifting your hands, or swaying to the music, it means coming into the presence of God knowing that God is ready to feed us, anoint us, and fill us up to overflowing.
Enthusiasm isn’t created in us, it is understanding that we were created in God and that truly in him we live and move and have our being. We become more enthusiastic when we trust God daily, walk with God daily, and worship God daily.
Next Steps
Read the story of David and Goliath. 1 Samuel 17.
● What allowed David to take on Goliath with such faith?
The word Enthusiasm comes from En - Theos = In - God.
● What’s the difference between being filled with God and living in God?
● What does it mean to say, in God we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)?
“A thermometer only reflects the temperature of its environment, adjusting to the situation. But a thermostat initiates action to change the temperature in its environment.” (Nido Quebin)
● Are you more comfortable being a thermometer or a thermostat?
● What risk can you take this week to change the temperature of your environment in positive ways?
Read Psalm 23 and identify ways David trusted God, walked with God, and worshipped God.
This week, identify one way you can intentionally:
● Trust God
● Walk with God
● Worship God
For Deeper Study:
David did not always remain enthusiastic. See 2 Samuel 11.
● What changed in David?
● How does comfort, complacency, and pride erode enthusiasm?
● How can we guard against these things?
● Who can help you remain enthusiastic?
