A Heart Like His
Introduction:
In 1973, the world met a horse named Secretariat – a big, red colt with fire in his stride and thunder in his hooves. He didn’t just win races…. He rewrote history.
At the Kentucky Derby, he started in last place… but, with every quarter mile, he got faster. He ended the race with almost 2 minutes to spare finishing so fast that his record still stands…
At another race, the Preakness, Secretariat took the lead on the first turn, breaking away and leaving the pack behind. History was made again.
But, in horse racing, it is at Belmont that legends are made. At the Belmont Stakes (horse race) Secretariat didn’t just win—he dominated.
He won the Belmont Stakes by an astounding 31 lengths. No one had ever seen a race like that before. His finishing time was 2:24, the fastest 1.5 mile ever run.
It was the kind of finish that made people cry. It was majestic.
Only 13 horses in history have won the Triple Crown. Eight before Secratariat and four after him. But only one horse holds the record for all three of the triple crown races, Secratariat.
After his death, veterinarians discovered the secret to Secretariat’s success. Secretariat's heart was twice the size of a normal horse's heart. There was something in him beyond the surface of his appearance that no one could see, that was no accident... It was built within him. He was born to run and built to win.
His greatness wasn’t just in his speed—it was in his capacity. The secret was his heart.
Likewise, in God's eyes, the greatness of a person isn't in their stature, skill, or success—it's in their heart.
In 1 Samuel 13:14, the LORD, speaking through the prophet Samuel says, “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart…”
The Psalmist answers in Psalm 89:20-21, “I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him, With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him…”
In Acts, Luke records, “God once said of David: 'I have found David son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my will” (Acts 13:22, CSB).
When the LORD sent Samuel to anoint David to be king, Samuel saw the tallness of David’s brothers, their kingly physical stature looked like immediate indicators that surely the LORD’s anointed was standing there in front of the prophet, but again the LORD says, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical 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.” (1 Samuel 16:7).
The person mentioned by name most often in Scripture is David. He holds the record of about 1141 mentions. More than anyone else. God is fixated on this man. And what we read in these texts is that what God looked at MOST in David was his heart. God looked beyond the surface and saw a heart like His own, and this made him choose what seemed unlikely in the eyes of others. David had a heart after God, and so do you!
In the Bible, the heart is the center of a person’s life. This doesn’t refer to the blood-pumping organ of our modern understanding of anatomy and physiology. It refers to the inner core of a person, their soul, or spirit. The immaterial grounding of their being from which everything that they are flows. The writer of Proverbs warns us to guard our hearts, for out of them are the issues of life. Jesus said that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. Like the physical heart carries oxygen and nutrient-filled blood to the extremities of our bodies, to the tips of our fingers and toes, the spiritual heart of man carries their life, good or bad, into their actions, words, and thoughts.
Someone has said that each of us has three selves;
A public self—the one we wear out on dates, and at job interviews. Our best self.
A private self—who we are at home. The person we are when we let our hair down or when we wake up in the morning.
A secret self—the person we are at our core. Some things no one knows about us but us, and some things not even we know about ourselves; only God knows.
It is the secret self that is at the core of our being, and in our moments of greatest stress and pressure or pleasure, where our inhibitions are at their lowest, what we really are comes out.
It is said of David that he guided Israel with the integrity of his heart! An integrated self is one in which all that we are comes together in oneness! When the heat was on and it really counted--David rose to the challenge! He had a heart like God's heart, and so do you!
David is said to have a heart after God’s own heart.
Point 1: The Measure of a Man is His Heart (Not His Appearance)
1 Samuel 16:7 – "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
David was the youngest son, forgotten in the fields.
Saul looked like a king; David had a king's heart.
David was not necessarily the tallest. Not the strongest. He wasn’t even invited to the party. But what made David special wasn’t his height—it was his heart.
God is not impressed with your resume—He’s concerned with your readiness.
He’s not recruiting for popularity—He’s looking for pursuit.
You may not have the pedigree. But you’ve got the power. You’ve got the presence. You’ve got the promise.
God put something divine in you when He made you in His image. That’s your spiritual heritage! A holy seed! A royal bloodline!
When I imagine the heart of God, I imagine a heart that is infinitely large. Solomon said that the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain God. If the anthropomorphic metaphoric image of heaven as God’s throne and the earth as His footstool holds true then how big would God’s Heart be? God’s Heart is BIG. It is seen in His profound generosity. In the Genesis 1 creation account, God blesses everything and builds so much variety into His world and potential for variety because He has a BIG HEART!
David’s “heart” was large like God’s. You know God does everything big. God is generous. When he created the universe, He could have made a few stars, and it would have been sufficient, but he created stars innumerable.
The variety of flowers that are in the world. The variety...
Jesus said that God causes rain (rain is a good thing) to fall on the just and the unjust and sends sunshine on the good and the bad. God has a generous heart!
Everything that David did was big. He was Israel’s greatest poet. He was Israel’s greatest lover. He was Jonathan’s greatest friend. When he heard that Mephibosheth was still alive and crippled, David’s heart was big enough that his table was big enough to let the young man sit as his table in his broken state as a son of the king. David had a heart that understood God’s grace. He had a big heart! The size of David’s heart also contributed to his downfall. When he fell, his fall was big! He was the biggest sinner! But he was also the biggest repenter! His prayer of repentance contain these words, “create in me a clean heart, and renew a right (willing, steadfast) spirit within me.”
He understood that his issues were heart-issues!
Like Secretariat, no one could see the size of his heart until it was put to the test. When put to the test David ran! He ran in from the fields to be anointed king. He ran towards Goliath when everyone else was trembling. He ran from Saul because he wouldn’t touch the LORD’s anointed. He ran to fight the LORD’s enemies. He ran to repentance after he had run to sin. His capacity for God was immense.
Application: Don’t underestimate what God can do with a heart that’s fully His. God is not recruiting based on your resume but your readiness.
Point 2: A Heart for God is Marked by Devotion, Not Perfection
David made tragic mistakes (2 Samuel 11) but always turned back to God (Psalm 51).
Contrast Saul: when he sinned, he justified and deflected (1 Samuel 15).
David's heart was soft, broken, and repentant.
Psalm 51:17 – "The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God."
I have come to believe that the most important aspect of our lives spiritually is our direction. Next, is our intentionality and consistency. David was serious about God. His heart led him to do things like bring home the ark, want to build a temple for it, when rejected from building it continue to collect materials for it. He saw that is was bigger than him. He had heart! I will not let my eyes find sleep until I’ve found a place for God.
Psalm 132:4-5 I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.
When your heart is like David’s, God can even take your biggest mistakes and turn them into blessings. It was from Bathsheba that Solomon was born. It was after David had numbered the people that he found the place for the temple.
God can work with a heart that is fixed on Him! You may mess up, but you haven't struck out! You may have fumbled the ball. You may have been like the young man who recovered the fumble and ran the wrong direction and scored for the other team! But, God is calling you tonight to get back on the field and run. You've got heart! The race is not over! There is no mistake that God cant redeem! Look at David!
God isn’t looking for perfection, he is looking for devotion.
Application: God isn’t looking for perfect people. He’s looking for repentant, humble, hungry hearts.
Point 3: A Heart for God Leads to Action
Acts 13:22: David "will carry out all My will."
Our actions flow from our heart. (Luke 6:45)
What David believed in his heart led him to confront Goliath, worship freely, serve Saul, and lead a nation.
Matthew 6:21 – "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
That’s what God is looking for—someone who will carry His heart into their calling.
You weren’t saved just to sit. You were saved to serve.
You weren’t filled just to feel. You were filled to fulfill.
You are a thoroughbred. Not here to trot. Not here to quit.💨 You’re here to run your race.💨 You’re here to accomplish His will.
Tell somebody: “There’s something in me!”
Application: A man after God's heart doesn't just feel God's presence—he follows God's path.
Point 4: Jesus: The Greater David, God’s Own Heart in Flesh
The Bible tells us in John 1 that the Word, the Son of God, God incarnate, came from the bosom of the Father. Jesus is the very heart of God!
David points us to Jesus, the perfect King.
John 8:29 – "I always do what pleases Him."
Jesus fulfilled every desire of the Father's heart.
Through Jesus, God gives us new hearts (Ezekiel 36:26).
Let’s bring it all home.
David was the man after God’s heart. But Jesus—the Son of David—is the very heart of God made flesh.
💡 Jesus is the perfect King. The true Shepherd. The real Worshipper. The obedient Son.💡 And guess what? That same Jesus lives in you!
Galatians 2:20 says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
That means His heart is now beating in your chest. That means you don’t just carry His name—you carry His nature. You don’t just wear the crown—you carry the cross.
🙌🏾 Jesus came to do all the will of the Father.🙌🏾 And now He calls you to do the same—by His Spirit, with His heart, and for His glory!
Application: Only Jesus can truly shape your heart to be like God's. Let Him change your heart.
Conclusion: How's Your Heart?
Secretariat won because of what was on the inside.
David was used by God because of what was on the inside.
What is the condition of your heart?
God is still searching for men and women who are "after His heart."
Will He find that in you?
Altar Call / Invitation:
Time of surrender and repentance.
Invite men to step up and ask God to give them a heart like David.
Pray: "Lord, enlarge my heart. Make me a man after Your heart."
