Title: David – A Man After God’s Own Heart
Theme: To show how David knew how to get close to God.
Text: 1 Samuel 16:1
Opening Scripture:
1 Samuel 16:1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons." 2 And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' 3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you." 4 So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" 5 And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him." 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
God was looking for a man who would be after his own heart. God looks at the heart and not the outside. This is what separated David and Saul. The passage below reminds us of why God did not choose Saul.
Dealing with Saul
1 Samuel 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."
1Samuel 16:8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these." 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here." 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Introduction
David is usually defined by two events in his life. If I talk about David we think about Goliath. The incredible feat of taking a stone and killing a giant. This is David’s claim to fame. This is what put him on the map. Before this he was a shepherd boy working on the backside of the desert tending sheep. Don’t get me wrong he was a good and faithful shepherd but that is all he was. Living in obscurity. Living as the least of the brothers.
Then he is asked to visit his brothers. Just at the right time that they are facing this giant. I
I will tell you that it was in the obscure moments with the Lord, they seem to be moving slow in traction but they prepared him for the bigger battles.
David Defeats Goliath
1 Samuel 17:33-37 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth." (34) But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, (35) I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. (36) Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." (37) Moreover David said, "The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you!"
In the name of the Lord
1Sa 17:45-47 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. (46) This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. (47) Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands."
David was anointed. He had confidence because he had been with God. He had courage because he had been intimate with God and knew God was on his side.
When you are anointed there is the unction (oil, ointment, balm, passion) from the Holy Spirit.
When you have been anointed then something changes.
Defined by Bathshebia – his failure
Secondly David is usually defined by his sin with Bathsheba as an adulterer and murder of her husband Urriah. This was a terrible sin.
But David had a secret. He knew where to go.
Psalms 51:1-12 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. (2) Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. (3) For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. (4) Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, [43] And blameless when You judge. (5) Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. (6) Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. (7) Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (8) Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. (9) Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. (10) Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. (11) Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. (12) Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
David failed but this should not define it. God did not let it define him.
Our failure does not have to define us. When we trust in Christ we are a “new creature”. God gives a clean slate. Have you trusted in Christ today? He will give you a new slate. He will restore unto the joy of salvation.
When we read that David was a man after God’s own heart this was not just something for the present moment but also for the future. God knew his failure but he also knew the heart of David that would return back to God.
It is one thing to trust God for the first time but it is even harder to come back. It is hard for the backslider. Pride sets in.
David was a Warrior
We learned this from his fight with bears and lions. We learn this from his fight with Goliath but we see this as he leads armies.
David’s Integrity
- With Saul, (could have killed him twice but chose to spare his life)
- With Jonathan’s son (Mephibosheth.) Brought him to the table.
David’s Worship - Gloryfest
2 Sa 6:12-23 Now it was told King David, saying, "The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. (13) And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. (14) Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. (15) So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. (16) Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. (17) So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. (18) And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. (19) Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house. (20) Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, "How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!" (21) So David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. (22) And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor." (23) Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
David had a heart of worship. He knew where to turn. It was a radical worship. David messed up but never forgot where he came from.
Spirit and Truth
Joh 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. (24) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Radical Worship
Psalms 47:1-9 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! (2) For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. (3) He will subdue the peoples under us, And the nations under our feet. (4) He will choose our inheritance for us, The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
Selah – take a few moments and meditate on this.
(5) God has gone up with a shout, The Lord with the sound of a trumpet. (6) Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! (7) For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding. (8) God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. (9) The princes of the people have gathered together, The people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; He is greatly exalted.
Conclusion
We can walk with God. We can draw close to him. Truthfully this not for the “women folk”. Men can walk next to God.
We have to:
We have to fight
We have to forgive
We have to worship.
James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
