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A Heart After God's Own Heart
Contributed by Rev Silvester David on Jul 2, 2025 (message contributor)
Summary: In this sermon we are going to explore the factors that made King David as the man after God's own heart.
Last week we saw that God searches our hearts. Defilement starts in every heart and eventually manifest in our actions. Defilement will be a stumbling block for us to progress in the plans and purposes that God has for all of us. So, we need to check our hearts and examine them in the light of God’s Word. The Psalmist has also written in Ps. 119:11 “I have stored up your Words in my heart that I may not sin against you”. We need the Lord and live in humble submission to His word in order to keep our hearts in proper check and balance and ultimately pleasing God.
Now, the Apostle Paul writes in Acts 13:22 (cf. 1 Samuel 13:14). This verse refers to king David.
To understand why David was a man after God’s own heart, we need to see what characteristics he had to qualify for such an exalted description. In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul speaks of God’s feelings about King David: “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’” (Acts 13:22). The answer to why David was considered a man after God’s own heart is found right in the verse: David did whatever God wanted him to do. An obvious question is how could God still call David a man after His own heart when David committed such terrible sins, including adultery and murder? But what made David a cut above the rest was that his heart was pointed toward God. He had a deep desire to follow God’s will and do “everything” God wanted him to do. He was a man after God’s own heart. Let’s look at some characteristics of David’s life to discover what that entails:
1. Part of why David is called a man after God’s own heart is that he had absolute faith in God. Nowhere in Scripture is this point better illustrated than in 1 Samuel 17 where David as a young shepherd boy fearlessly slew the Philistine, Goliath. Shortly before the encounter, we see direct evidence of David’s faith when David says, “‘The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ 1 Samuel 17:37 And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the LORD be with you!’” (verse 37). David was fully aware that God was in control of his life, and he had faith that God would deliver him from impending danger.
1 Samuel 17: 45-46 – The faith and confidence that David had in the Lord – translated in his courage to face the giant
David knew early on in life that God was to be trusted and obeyed. As we see in Scripture, David’s faith pleased God, and God rewards David for his faith. Hebrews 11:6
2. Another reason David was a man after God’s own heart is that he absolutely loved God’s Law. Of the 150 psalms in the Bible, David is credited for writing over half of them. Writing at various and often troubling times in his life, David repeatedly mentioned how much he loved God’s perfect Word. We find a beautiful example of this in Psalm 119:47–48: “For I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.” It is not hard to see his complete adoration for God’s Word. Also notice how David “meditates” on God’s statutes. God granted David understanding and wisdom through daily meditation. We would do well to not only read God’s Word but also think about it throughout the day, for God loves us to think about Him. “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways” (Psalm 119:2–3). Meditating upon God’s word was David’s priority and obeying it was his primarily goal in life.
3 . Another reason why David pleased God was – he was a man full of thankfulness and mouth full of praise. “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds” (Psalm 26:6–7). David’s life was marked by seasons of great peace and prosperity as well as times of fear and despair. But through all of the seasons in his life, he never forgot to thank the Lord for everything that he had. It is truly one of David’s finest characteristics. Even when he faced all kind of dangers and threats in life, David never failed to praise and worship God by acknowledging His sovereignty over his life – Psalm 121 (song of ascent) – explain the danger when ascent the hills to Jerusalem in the wilderness.