A Heart with a Desire for God
Acts 13:13-22
The Bible declares in Psalm 10:4 that the unsaved do not normally think about God. They don’t give Him the time of day: there’s no room for Him in their lives or mind until trouble or tragedy strikes. Sadly, if we are honest, Christians fair only slightly better. In looking at the ancient history of Israel, there is one person who stands out by whom all the kings of Judah and Israel are compared, David. In Acts 13:22 we are told that after God raised David up to be king of Israel that He gave this testimony concerning David, “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after My heart, who will do all My will.” You and I need a heart like David, a heart with a desire for God.
I. We need a heart that desires to walk with God 24/7.
A. Psalm 53:2-3 “God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
B. Romans 3:10-12 “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understands, there is none that seek after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.’”
C. Esau in some ways typifies men's seeking for God, Hebrews 12:17 tells us that even after selling his birthright, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. The problem was that Esau desired God’s blessings, but he did not want God. He regretted what he had done, but he never truly repented of his actions.
D. Men want God’s blessings but they don’t want God. They desire God's gifts, God's comforts, God’s physical healing, God’s material blessing rather than having a desire for a personal intimate relationship with the God of Eternity.
E. In Psalm 73, David looks at the lifestyles of those who live without God. He sees them prospering and becomes envious of what appears to be their easy lifestyle. For a moment He took his eyes off the eternal and fixed them on the temporal until, as we see in verse 17, he went to church and put his eyes back on the eternal. He saw those who believed in God and walk with God in spite of their trials. He understood and weighed the eternal destiny of those who have no time for God against the God’s greatness and glory and having a relationship with him.
F. Psalm 73:25 “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.”
G. Steve Sanchez interpreted David as saying in this passage ““Wow of all the things I could have in this universe, I have God! What in the world could top that! He’s all I need. If I have him what else matters.”
H. What is your most burning desire?
I. In 1996, a young marine corporal named Joey Mora was standing on a platform of an aircraft carrier patrolling the Iranian Sea. Incredibly, he fell overboard. His absence was not known for 36 hours. A search and rescue mission began, but was given up after another 24 hours. No one could survive in the sea without even a lifejacket after 60 hours. His parents were notified that he was "missing and presumed dead." The rest of the story is one of those "truth is stranger than fiction" events. Script writers would pass it up as "not believable." Four Pakistani fishermen found Joey Mora about 72 hours after he had fallen from the aircraft carrier. He was treading water in his sleep, clinging to a makeshift floatation device made from his trousers -- a skill learned in most military survival training. He was delirious when they pulled him into their fishing boat. His tongue was dry and cracked and his throat parched. Just about two years later, as he spoke with Stone Philips of NBC Dateline, he recounted an unbelievable story of will to live and survival. Who would not give up? He said it was God who kept him struggling to survive. His discovery by the fishermen makes searching for a needle in a haystack a piece of cake. The most excruciating thing of all? Joey said that the one thought that took over his body and pounded in his brain was "Water!" [NBC Dateline: Nov. 1998] He had a thirst that motivated his every action and that he lived for.
J. David said in Psalm 42:1-2a “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
K. Psalm 24:7 “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.”
II. We need a heart that despises sin and loves holiness
A. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
B. Paul paints a picture of the last days in which we live where we have grayed the lines and have allowed the world to paganize our Christianity with compromise and indifference to sin.
C. Why would Christians choose to sin rather than choose what they know God wants them to do? Four answers are commonly given today.
1. Some would point to Romans 8:16 and explain that Christians who willfully sin have forgotten their true identity as "children of God." While it is true that Christians can forget who they are and sin as a result, Christians can also be well aware of who they are and sin anyway.
2. Some say Christians choose to sin because they have lost sight of what God has done for them. 2 Peter 1:9 indicates that Christians can be "blind or short-sighted, having forgotten [their] purification from [their] former sins."
3. Some wisely state that Christians consciously choose to sin because they have forgotten that God will severely discipline disobedient believers.
4. Some have said that Christians who consciously sin have lost their focus on the future. These Christians have forgotten that God will reward in heaven only those who have lived faithfully for Him here on earth (1 Corinthians 9:24). Christians who fail to keep eternity in mind often sin in the here and now. - J. Kirk Johnston, Why Christians Sin, Discovery House, 1992, p. 31.
D. Psalm 101:2-4 “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A devious heart will be far from me; I will not be involved with evil.” (V. 4 from the HCSB)
E. Psalm 119:104b “I hate every false way.”
F. Psalm 51:10 “0 create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
G. Psalm 119:2 “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!”
III. We need a heart that is determinately dedicated to obeying God and doing His will.
A. Psalm 119:10 “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.”
B. Psalm 119:34 “Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”
C. Psalm 40:8 “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.”
D. Bishop J.C. Ryle of Liverpool, England wrote: "Zeal is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. A zealous man is preeminently a man of one thing. He is more than earnest, hearty, uncompromising, wholehearted, and fervent in spirit. He sees only one thing, cares about one thing, lives for one thing, swallowed up in one thing, and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives or dies, has health or has sickness, whether he is rich or poor, pleases people or give offense, whether he is thought wise or foolish, gets the blame or the praise, whether he receives honor or is given shame, He burns for one thing, and that one thing is to please God. Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal. If he cannot preach, he will work and give money, he will cry and sigh and pray. If he cannot fight in the valley with Joshua, he will hold up the hands of Moses until the battle is won."
E. David instructed his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9 “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.”
F. Ephesians 5:6b “Do the will of God with all your heart.”
G. 2 Chronicles 16:9 “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”
IV. We need a heart that delights in worship and being involved in church.
A. Psalm 138:1 “I will praise thee with my whole heart…”
B. John Wesley was about 21 years of age when he went to Oxford University. He came from a Christian home, and he was gifted with a keen mind and good looks. Yet in those days he was a bit snobbish and sarcastic. One night, however, something happened that set in motion a change in Wesley's heart. While speaking with a porter, he discovered that the poor fellow had only one coat and lived in such impoverished conditions that he didn't even have a bed. Yet he was an unusually happy person, filled with gratitude to God. Wesley, being immature, thoughtlessly joked about the man's misfortunes. "And what else do you thank God for?" he said with a touch of sarcasm. The porter smiled, and in the spirit of meekness replied with joy, "I thank Him that He has given me my life and being, a heart to love Him, and above all a constant desire to serve Him!" Deeply moved, Wesley recognized that this man knew the meaning of true thankfulness. Many years later, in 1791, John Wesley lay on his deathbed at the age of 88. Those who gathered around him realized how well he had learned the lesson of praising God in every circumstance. Despite Wesley's extreme weakness, he began singing the hymn, "I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath." - copied
C. Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
D. Psalm 111:1 “Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
E. We should offer to God the best praise we have to offer. Our praise should express our adoration and love for God. Anything less is unacceptable.
F. Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
