Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
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Anger
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Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Agreeableness
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Tone of specific sentences

Tones
Emotion
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Joy
Sadness
Language
Analytical
Confident
Tentative
Social Tendencies
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Emotional Range
Anger
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Mike Kollin was linebacker for the Miami Dolphins when his former college coach, Shug Jordan, asked him to do some recruiting.
Mike says, "What kind of player are you looking for?"
The coach says, "Well, Mike, you know there's that fellow, you knock him down, he just stays down?" Mike says, "We don't want him, do we, coach?" "No, that's right.
Then there's that fellow, you knock him down and he gets up, but you knock him down again and he stays down."
Mike answers, "We don't want him either, do we, coach?"
Coach says, "No, but Mike, there's a fellow, you knock him down, he gets up.
Knock him down, he gets up.
Knock him down, he gets up."
Mike said, "That's the guy we want, isn't it, coach?"
The coach answers, "No, we don't want him either.
We want the guy who's knocking everybody down!"[i]
            They’re called scouts—people who visit high school and college games, looking on the basketball court for the next Michael Jordan, on the football field for the next Peyton Manning, on the tennis court for the next Venus or Serena Williams.
Most players will be only average, but they’re on the lookout for shining exceptions: the extraordinary boy or girl who has the potential to be a champion.
\\             The Bible says God is doing some scouting of His own, not for people with great ability, but for those with a heart after God’s own heart.
*2 Ch 16:9* For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…”
            God’s looking for people He can make champions of faith, men and women and boys and girls who aren’t satisfied with an average religion—their hearts burn with a deep love for more of God.
*1 Samuel 16* begins the story of a young boy whom God describes as /a man after His own heart.
/God sees something in him that He’s looking for in each of us.
Read with me in
*1 Samuel 16:1-2* and let’s discover what kind of person God’s looking for.
*PRAYER*
*2 Ch 16:9* /For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose *heart* is loyal to Him…”/
*            *God’s not looking for people with extraordinary talents or abilities.
Passing a football or dribbling a basketball or singing songs or even public speaking are all nice gifts, but that’s not what makes you a spiritual champion.
It takes a certain kind of /heart /to make this team.
In this chapter, we get a good look not only at what God is looking for, but at some things God is /not /looking for, beginning with this one:
*I.
GOD IS NOT LOOKING FOR HARD-HEADED, HARD HEARTED PEOPLE.
(v.
1-2a)*
 I read there’re about 1600 members of the Flat Earth Research Society of America.
They refuse to believe the earth is round, but insist it’s flat.
Their president, Charles K. Johnson, explains his view this way: “I’ve been a flat-earther all my life.
When I saw the globe in grade school, I didn’t accept it.
It was illogical.”
This is a good example of a hard-headed person.
They know the facts, but the facts don’t matter.
They stubbornly cling to their illusions and reject reality.
Israel’s first king was a hard-headed, hardhearted  man named Saul.
For most of its early history, Israel was ruled directly by God Himself through prophets and judges.
But in 1 Samuel, they ask for a king like all the other nations.
So Saul becomes king.
At first, Saul does all right, but soon he has some problems doing things his own way instead of God’s way.
His disobedience leads God to reject him as King.
Saul still sits on the throne, still give the orders, but he no longer has God’s blessing.
He’s hard-headed.
This is the situation in  *1 Sam.
16:1-2a*.
Samuel, God’s prophet, is sad and sorry.
Samuel has been Saul’s friend, his biggest supporter before his fall from grace.
He’s moping around, feeling sorry for himself and for Saul, when God says /How long are you going to pout?
I’ve got other plans.
I’ve rejected Saul as King.
It’s time to move on.
Go to Jesse’s house because I’ve found the man I’m looking for there.
/
Samuel loses his blues and gets nervous.
/How can I go?
If Saul hears it, he will kill me!/
Samuel knows Saul will never give up his throne.
He’ll do whatever is necessary to hold on to power—even if it means killing God’s prophet, his own friend Samuel.
Saul’s not only hard-headed—he’s also hard hearted.
Now here it’d be easy to look at Saul and say /what a loser!
He’s so stubborn he thinks he can get away with defying God! He’s so cold he’s willing to kill people who love him to get what he wants?
/Before we point the finger at Saul, let’s be sure we understand the same thing can happen to you or I.
            Most of us have a stubborn streak that shows up when things don’t go our way.
We adults are just as prone to pouting as babies, even when we’re wrong.
Forgive me if it sound harsh, but many church people I’ve known (including myself) seem /especially /prone to stubbornness.
Think about it.
Most of our problems are not over truly important things.
They are really over the fact we don’t get our way—even when our way is not God’s way.
We tend to be a little hardheaded sometimes.
This hardheadedness often leads to hardheartedness.
We hold grudges against even our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We say we forgive, but refuse to forget, and nurse those grudges until they become hatred—what Jesus calls /murder in the heart/ in *Matt.
5:21-22*.
Saul is a good example of not a champion, but a loser.
It’s not that God doesn’t love Saul or love us when we’re hardheaded and hardhearted.
It’s that our stubborn pride alienates us from the God Who loves us.
God isn’t looking for hardheaded hardhearted people, because their hearts are not right with Him.
This chapter goes on to show that  
*II.
GOD IS NOT JUST LOOKING FOR HANDSOME HUNKS (v.
2b-10)*
*            *Our culture is in love with appearances.
Only the prettiest faces show up on magazines, only the most photogenic show up on TV or movies.
We airbrush the pictures, inject the Botox, try to make men and women look younger, more attractive, more appealing.
We make plastic surgeons millionaires.
We love appearances, but not beauty.
They say beauty is only skin deep, which means beautiful people are no different from ugly people except for their appearance.
Samuel learns a lesson we all must learn in *vs.
7*: /…the Lord does not see as man sees; for man //// looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the //// ////heart.
/
God offers his fearful prophet a plan to get him to Bethlehem, and Samuel saddles up the donkey and heads out.
Everybody gets a little nervous when they see Samuel ride into town.
They know Saul and Samuel aren’t getting along well, but Samuel reassures them: /Relax guys.
I’m here to hold a revival./
/Get yourselves ready to worship the Lord, and be sure Jesse and his family are invited!
/ After the services are over, Samuel calls Jesse & sons to him.
The first son Jesse proudly struts out is Eliab, who makes a big impression on Samuel.
He’s probably tall, muscular, with the strong chiseled features of an imposing ruler.
/Look at those biceps!
Those hands could really wield a sword!
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