OPEN: With Super Bowl Sunday just a week away, I thought I’d share one of my favorite football stories:
The coach at Auburn University - Shug Jordan - had asked his former Linebacker Mike Kollin if he would help his alma mater do some recruiting.
Mike said, “Sure, coach. What kind of player are you looking for?”
The coach said, “Well Mike, you know there’s that fellow, you knock him down, he just stays down?”
Mike said, “We don’t want him, do we, coach?”
“No, that’s right. Then there’s that fellow, you knock him down and he gets up, you knock him down again and he stays down.”
Mike said, “We don’t want him either do we coach?”
Coach said, “No, but Mike, there’s a fellow, you knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up.”
Mike said, “That’s the guy we want isn’t it, coach?”
The coach answered, “No, Mike, we don’t want him either. I want you to find the guy who’s knocking everybody down. That’s the guy we want.”
APPLY: Thru out Scripture we find God selecting men and women for His service would not have been obvious choices:
Moses stuttered.
Jacob lied.
Timothy had ulcers.
Abraham was too old.
Naomi was a widow.
John was self-righteous.
Peter was a braggart
Jonah ran from God.
Miriam was a bigot and a gossip.
Thomas doubted.
Martha was a worrywart.
THESE were not the kind of people you and I would have expected God to pick for His purposes. But, then, Scripture tells us that God does that alot … and He did it deliberately.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 tells us
“…God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things— and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
God deliberately chooses people that you and I might overlook.
I. And here in I Samuel 16 we find God doing it again.
You see, God had a problem… He needed to find a replacement for King Saul.
BUT, why replace Saul? I mean Saul didn’t seem like such a bad person to have as King. He was handsome, athletic, tall (taller than anyone else in Israel), and initially Saul showed a fair amount of wisdom and humility as the ruler of Israel.
And he was very popular… even Samuel liked him
“The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? …’” 1 Samuel 16:1
Everybody seemed to like Saul. Everybody was impressed with him. Everyone, except God. God had a problem with Saul.
God’s problem with Saul problem was that when Saul was faced with tough decisions, when he was faced with hard choices - and HE KNEW what God’s will was, HE KNEW what God wanted him to do - Saul simply didn’t do what God what wanted done.
For example: turn to I Samuel 13:5-14
The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.
When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear.
He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." And Saul offered up the burnt offering.
Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
"What have you done?" asked Samuel.
Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."
"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command."
When Saul had to make hard decisions and he was faced with whether to follow God’s instructions or follow an easier course of action - Saul made his choices based on his fear.
o Fear of failure
o Fear that his enemies would destroy him
o Fear that his own soldiers would abandon him
o In fact, Saul seemed to fear everything EXCEPT God
So, when times got tough - Saul focused on everything except pleasing God. And, as a result God rejected Saul as His king and God went looking for someone who would be somebody after His own heart.
(repeat) God went looking for someone after His own heart…
II. So what would a “man/ woman after God’s own heart” look like?
Obviously they weren’t going to look like Saul. Saul was NOT the type of man who pleased God. But then, David didn’t seem to be all that impressive either.
David’s father Jesse didn’t even think he was that impressive. When Samuel came to town, and Jesse had the opportunity to parade his sons before this great prophet… Jesse didn’t even bother bringing David in from the fields. David was insignificant, the runt of the litter. Not worth a second thought when it came to impressing powerful men.
And David’s older brother Eliab wasn’t much impressed by him either. 1 Samuel 17:28 tells us that “when Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard (David) speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, ‘Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.’”
So neither his father nor older brother considered David all that significant.
And, of course, Goliath wasn’t impressed by David either. 1 Samuel 17:42 informs us that when “Goliath looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome… he despised him.”
David apparently was not the first choice of anybody who met him. I mean, he wasn’t even Samuel’s first choice. Samuel was FAR MORE impressed with David’s older brothers. “When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.’” Eliab was Samuel’s first choice (I Samuel 16:6)
“But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’” 1 Samuel 16:7
The Lord looks at the heart…
· God isn’t impressed by how handsome/ pretty we are
· He’s not impressed by our wealth
· Or our accomplishments in life
· Or our college degrees/ educational background
III. What God looks at… is the heart
2 Chronicles 16:9 “… the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. …."
God is looking into the home of every individual upon the earth – He’s looking into your home and into my home and into the homes of your neighbors – seeking anyone that is willing to be totally committed to His cause, His purposes, His goals for the world around us.
ILLUS: The story’s told of 3 military recruiters who showed up to address high school seniors. Each recruiter - representing the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps - was to have fifteen minutes. The Army and Navy recruiters got carried away, so when it came time for the Marine to speak, he had just two minutes.
He walked up and stood utterly silent for a full sixty seconds, half of his time. Then he said this: "I doubt whether there are two or three of you in this room who could even cut it in the Marine Corps. But I want to see those two or three immediately in the dining hall when we are dismissed."
He turned smartly and sat down. When he arrived in the dining hall, those students interested in the Marines were a mob.
That Marine Corps recruit was saying… we only want people who will give us their total commitment. No one else needs to apply.
God is looking for people who are totally committed to His cause,
IV. But what does it mean for us to have hearts that are totally committed to Him?
I gave this a lot of thought over the past few days and I came up with 3 ways we can EXAMINE our hearts - make them acceptable to God.
1st – If we’re going to be a people after God’s own heart our lives need to be built around God.
David wrote: Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced Psalm 105:2-5
A man or woman after God’s own heart is one who loves being in worship.
If you’ll notice I almost NEVER harp on the number of people who AREN’T IN CHURCH. Do you know why? It’s because if you love Jesus, you’re going to be here and if you don’t love Jesus, you’re not going to be. It’s that simple.
People who have a heart for God want to be with God.
They want to be in worship
They want to gather at the communion table
They want to sing to him
To sing praises to him
To tell of all his wonderful acts
To glory in his name
A person who has a heart for God WILL NOT MISS CHURCH (except if they are physically unable to be there). They want to be with God in worship. And because of that, their lives are built AROUND GOD.
2nd - Our if we’re going to be people after God’s own heart, we need to build our lives around His Word – the Bible.
David wrote: “The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. Psalm 19:8-10
David was almost fanatical about making God’s Word part of His life
· He mediated upon God’s Law day and night
· He wrote songs that sang praises to God’s Word
· Whenever he needed counsel, he looked first to God’s Law for advice.
If WE ARE going to be people after God’s own heart the Bible has to be driving passion in our lives, because you WILL NOT understand God’s will for your life if you don’t integrate His Word into your heart. That’s why David wrote: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” Ps119:105
Lastly – if you and I are going to be people after God’s own heart, we need to build our lives around God’s people.
An expert in the Law once tried to trap Jesus with the question:
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40
If I’m going to “love the Lord with all of my heart” I need to learn to love others. I need to learn to love others the same way God loves them.
David understood this. That’s why – when he was urged to kill King Saul to save his own life he responded: Who can lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?” 1 Samuel 26:9
Well… who IS the Lord’s anointed
(go down into audience)
This woman here is the Lord’s anointed
This man here is the Lord’s anointed
This … etc.
Everyone Christian here is one of the Lord’s anointed.
If I want to be a man/woman after God’s own heart. Then I will be careful how I treat the Lord’s anointed. I don’t want to talk about them behind their backs. I don’t want to be mean to them. I don’t want to even want to look at them mean. Because God takes it personally when one of His anointed ones is attacked or misused.
Now, bear in mind, Saul was not an admirable man. He had disobeyed God in such a way that he lost his kingdom… but David still refused to touch him or misuse him. Saul was still the Lord’s anointed.
ILLUS: How many of you here – if someone else looked hard enough into your life - would have something that could be used to embarrass you, something that could be used to shame you. We’re not all that much different that Saul in that way are we? But God won’t tolerate us being used and abused like that.
I have seen churches where Christians have failed to understand this concept. They’ll sit in their pews and (at this point I sat down beside a man in the congregation) say things like: “Did you know what so and so did? Don’t look back at them, you don’t want them to know we’re talking about them.”
That’s sin… and God will not tolerate it. That’s not the behavior of a man or woman after His own heart.
Do you remember Jesus command to us if a brother OFFENDS US? You go to them and try to resolve the problem.
What if YOU’VE offended that brother? You go to them and try to resolve the problem.
Why should we do that? Because that is what a man/ woman whose heart is totally committed to God does. We are expected to build each other up… not tear each other down. Because, when we’re sold out to God in our lives, when we’re totally committed to Him in our hearts, we realize that this is what pleases God.
CLOSE: So, a man or woman who is totally committed to God in their hearts is someone who is totally sold out for God. They’ve committed themselves to building their lives around God, His Word and His people. It’s been referred to by many different terms, one of which is the word “consecration” to God.
A Christian woman once ran across the word Consecration in one of her studies and it confused her. So she went to her preacher and asked, “what does ‘consecration’ mean?”
The preacher reached over and picked up a blank sheet of paper and handed it to her. And then he said: “Consecration is when you sign your name at the bottom of this blank sheet and let God fill it in as He wills.”
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES (A Man After God’s Own Heart)
Measuring Up - 1 Samuel 16:1-16:13
Be Prepared/ Scout Sunday - 1 Samuel 17:1-17:53
A Friend After Your Own Heart - 1 Samuel 18:1-18:5
A Heart To Honor Authority - 1 Samuel 24:1-24:22
An Obedient Heart - 2 Samuel 6:1-6:15
A Heart To Worship - 2 Samuel 6:12-6:23
The Heart Of A Shepherd - Psalms 23:1-23:6
The Over-exposed Heart - 2 Samuel 11:1-11:5
The Undeserving Heart - Psalms 51:1-51:1
The Weakened Heart - 2 Samuel 3:17-3:39
The Heart Of A Father - 2 Samuel 13:1-13:39
A Heart to Build - 2 Samuel 7:1-7:17
The Dead Dog Syndrome - 2 Samuel 16:5-16:14
