Heart of Obedience
Theme: To show that we must have heart and will
Text: 1 Samuel 16
Introduction
In 1 Samuel 16, God sends Samuel to anoint another King. God has rejected Saul as king. Because of his disobedience because he did not listen to the word of the Lord Saul has been rejected.
At the beginning of chapter 16 Samuel is grieving. He is hurting. It must have been hard for him to see the destruction of Saul. Not only to see it but to be an instrument that God uses to prophesy judgment upon Saul and his household.
Because of Saul’s disobedience not only would he be rejected as king but also his whole household. You know that it was common pratice that the son of the king would step into the fathers place. Yet God rejected Saul and his household. Thank the Lord that in Jonathan, the son of Saul, we see a man who was more concerned with the will of God than his own gain.
So Samuel is sent to Bethelem to anoint a new king of Israel. Samuel calls on the house of Jesse. A sacrifice is prepared and the family gathers. Seven brothers are paraded before Samuel. First E-li’-ab, Samuel thinks in his heart “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before me”. Yet seven times God rejects these brothers. Why? It is explained in verse 7
“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 AV)
God’s decision to use you will not be based on brains, brawn or beauty. God doesn’t use just the best and the brightest.
• God doesn’t care about charisma, He cares about character. Man promotes talent-abilities etc. But God promotes character
• Pr 18:16 A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
Your gift may bring you before great men, but it is character that enables you to stay there.
This was how Saul was chosen. The Lord knew that Israel would reject any king except that one who stood taller than anyone in Israel. We see this in 1 Samuel 9:2. From the outside Saul was an impressive man.
Yet the problem was not his appearance but his heart. Although his outward appearance was impressive, his heart was not.
In chapter 15 we see that Saul has turned away from God and was no longer obedient to God. In fact, he has set up a monument in his own honour. He may looked impressive, but his heart was "rebellious and arrogant." (cf.15:23).
Finally there are no more brothers before him. So he asked Jesse, “Is this all your sons”. Jesse is remined, “No, I have one more. But it is just David. He is in the field tending sheep”. Who would chose little shepherd boy David to be king.
This same attitude is brought up just before David slays Golaith. His brothers got irritated at him and mocked him and told him to go home to his lowly job of tending sheep.
Oh God don’t care what kind of talents you have. He don’t care how you look as long as you are willing to be used of the Lord.
David was brought in and then Samuel knew. He was small in stature but great in heart. Acts 13:22 tells us of the Lord speaking of David “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” Or “a man after My own heart; who will do everything I want him to do”.
He was a man who had a heart for God.
On the other hand, when God looked at David - just a small boy - God saw "a man after My own heart; who will do everything I want him to do." (Acts 13:22; 1 Sam 13:14). God rejected one - and accepted another - on the basis of this. Is your heart obedient and submissive to God? Are you willing to do God’s will and seek to fulfill His purposes?
This is what I want to preach about this morning. These two things. Notice these two important characteristics that we need to have if we are going to be obedient to the Lord. First we must have the heart of God and second we must have the willingness to obey.
The heart is our motivation and the will is our work. It is not just important to have the heart, the motivation, the desire to do for the Lord. I think we need this but this is not the bottom line. I know many people who have a desire to obey God.
I hear it in their voice. Yet they don’t have the willingness to work. They know what they need to do but they are many times not willing to pay the price.
There are people in this church that the Lord has called to fulfill a certain role in his kingdom. He has called you to work. He has called to do something yet. You know it. You want to but you are not willing to make the sacrifice.
Guess what just having the heart is not any good. Making excuses to the Lord and saying, “Lord you know I really want to but . . .” dosen’t do any good.
James puts it this way, James 2:20 “Don’t you know, that faith without works is dead?” We can talk all we want but if we don’t walk it does us no good.
I know this is important in our holiness with the Lord but also in our obedience.
The Heart-our motivation
Our heart is:
God promises in Jeremiah 24:7 “a new heart”
“And I will give them an heart to know me, that I [am] the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” (Jeremiah 24:7 AV)
1. Our Character-Character is who we are on the inside. The place that no one can see.
You couln’t blame Samuel for looking on the outside. He could not see the inside. God told him to look for a man after his own heart. How can he know the heart of man? Only God and us can.
Personality is what we say about ourselves, and what we allow others to see, Character is who we are when nobody is looking.
2. Our desire
3. Our drive or motivation
4.
The Will-our action
1. Our action.
It is important to have a heart but more important to have a will. We must do the will of God.
A true event happened in the football season in the Southeast Conference between that great rivalry of Alabama and Auburn back in the days when Bear Bryant was still living and Pat Dye was the coach for the Auburn team
The first string quarterback for the Alabama team had been injured, so they were left with the second-string quarterback. They were on the opposing team’s twenty yard line. They were ahead by five points, leading Auburn. There were two minutes left in the game and it was first down Alabama. Bear Bryant yelled into the ear hole in the helmet of the second string quarterback, “Whatever you do, do not pass! Run the ball all four plays. And then if we have to hold them, our defense will get us through and we will win.
Second-string quarterback ran in full zeal, determination. First down, they were smeared. Second down, Auburn held ‘em. Third down, they gained a yard. Fourth down came. The hand-off was somehow muffled and the quarterback wound up with the ball. Running around the backfield, he looked in the end zone and he saw his split end ready to catch the ball, and he passed it. What he failed to see was the fastest man on the field, the safety for the Auburn teacm, also saw the pass coming. He came in front of the receiver, intercepted the ball, and started racing down the field. The quarterback, not very fast himself normally, raced down the field, caught the man, tackled him, and Alabama won the game.
Coach Dye said later to Bear Bryant, “I read the scouting reports, and that second-string quarterback is supposed to be slow. How is it he caught up with the fastest man on the field?” Bear Bryant replied, “It’s very simple. Your man was running for the goal line and a touchdown. May man was running for his life.
