TEXT: 1Samuel 13:5–14 (14)
TITLE:The Seeking God
TOPIC:Pleasing God
THESIS:God is seeking men after his own heart.
TARGET:To encourage listeners to become men after the heart of God.
TALKER:James L. Fleming
SERIES:Becoming A Man After the Heart of God - Sermon #l

Introduction

Discuss Saul’s disobedience and the necessity of finding a leader who would truly lead God’s people as God wanted. You have heard the TV ad: “The Marines are looking for a few good men.” Well God is looking for a few good men to fill the ranks of the church. In this process of looking, please note that…

I. First, It is God that seeks.

A. “The Lord hath sought” (1 Samuel 13:14a) I have found David Ps. 89:20. God himself pitched upon him. Finding implies seeking; as if God had ransacked all the families of Israel to find a man fit for his purpose, and this was he.

B. Our root basically connotes a person’s earnest seeking of something or someone which exists or is thought to exist, which is not close at hand to the subject at the time of seeking, but is desired most earnestly and initiates the seeking. Its intention is that its object be found (ma sa ’) or acquired (Ex 4:19). Unlike da raš (q.v.) its nearest synonym the activity of ba qaš is seldom cognitive (but see Jud 6:29). Other words that are parallel (and hence, synonymous) are ra dap “to pursue,” š a ’al “to ask,” pa qad“to visit,” ba har “to choose,” etc.

C. (ill) Playing “hide and seek” with my son when he was three years old. .

D. Remember the three parables Jesus told us in Luke 15; the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. Remember how earnestly the shepherd looked for the lost sheep. And how diligently the woman searched for the lost coin. God is looking just as diligently for a man after his own heart.

E. Because it is God who is doing the seeking. He knows exactly where to look: 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

F. The implication is that there are few men who are actually trying to seek the heart of God. “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none"-Ezek 22:30.

II. Second, It is God who is seeking for Self

A. “The LORD hath sought (for) him(self) …”

B. le most nearly corresponded to the Indo-European dative case. le may indicate direction, either of physical movement (“that I may go ‘to’ my country” Gen 30:25) or of personal attention or attitudes. The dative case speaks of personal advantage. In other words, God is seeking someone for his personal advantage or personal pleasure. The “man after the heart of God” will bring great pleasure to the heart of God Himself.

C. (ill) Finding the water fountain for Gail at Cracker Barrel. I had to look in every Cracker Barrel restaurant from here to Indianapolis to find it. But on Christmas day I when my wife Gail unwrapped the water fountain, it brought a big smile to her face. She got what she wanted and she was very happy.

D. (ill) Gail and Caleb

III. Third, God is seeking a man.

A. “The LORD hath sought him a man …”

B. (ill) God sought me.

C. God is seeking

IV. Fourth, It is God who sets the standard.

“The LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart… That his character was divine: A man after my own heart, such a one as I would have, one on whom the image of God is stamped, and therefore one in whom God is well pleased and whom he approves. This character was given of him before he was first anointed, 1 Sa. 13:14. The Lord hath sought out a man after his own heart, such a one as he would have.

A. In its abstract meanings,“heart” became the richest biblical term for the totality of man’s inner or immaterial nature. In biblical literature it is the most frequently used term for man’s immaterial personality functions as well as the most inclusive term for them since, in the Bible, virtually every immaterial function of man is attributed to the “heart.”

B. This phrase “after the heart of God” could imply “one who is as the heart of God.” Which would lead us to believe that young David closely resembled His Heavenly Father in his own attitude and behavior. David’s inner life was like the “heart” God.

C. It could also mean “one who lived his life so as to capture the heart and devotion of God.” ‘This would mean that young David lived to please God. His every thought and action was precluded by the simple question, “What would please God?”

D. “The Lord is very jealous over any saint who is utterly abandoned to him. He does .not let that believer have any pleasures at all outside of himself

—Madame Jeanne Marie de La Mothe Guyon

E. “The only path to pleasure is in pleasing God.” — Richard Owen Roberts

Conclusion: It is God who blesses!

A. “… and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people …“ 1 Samuel 13:14

B. The word “captain” literally means “prince.” God was going to take a young shepherd boy and make him a prince over his people.

C. Psalm 89:19–37

19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said; “I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
21 My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.
22 No enemy will subject him to tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.
23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries.
24 My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers.
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.’
27 I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail.
29 I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30“If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging;
33 but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness— and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun;
37 it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

Part 2
The Qualities of a Man After the Heart of God

Acts 13:22
A Man After the Heart of God
Pleasing God / Doing God’s will
In order to be a man after God’s own heart, we must learn to fulfill God’s will.

Introduction

Acts 13:22“After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”

He raised up unto them David. The Lord called the young shepherd to the throne. “A man after mine own heart.” The language does not occur in this form in the Old Testament, but is implied in 1Sam. 13:14. This does not imply that David was perfect, but that…

He sought to do the Lord’s will, instead of showing stubborn disobedience, like Saul.

I. He maintained a living faith in God

A. 1 Samuel 17:34–37 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.

B. David’s faith was up to date and current. He was trusting in God to meet the present circumstances. He wasn’t resting on the laurels of a faith from 20 or 30 years ago.

C. David believed God and took Him at His word.

II. He demonstrated a deepening patience while he waited for God’s promises to become fulfilled

A. David was anointed king of Israel as a young shepherd boy.

B. No doubt, David had aspirations and dreams of “making it to the top.”

C. Yet God had to acquaint him with the life in the palace. It would be years before David would actually be acclaimed king over 12 tribes of Israel by his countrymen

D. How are you doing with patience? Are you patiently waiting for God to accomplish his Word in your life? Do you wait for the promotion? Remember that “God is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness …” But he will word will not return void!

III. He honored what God ordered

A. 1 Samuel 24:3–7 Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said,“This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a comer of Saul’s robe. 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a comer of his robe. 6 He said to his men,“The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’S anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” 7With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

B. 1 Samuel 26:7–11 So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. 8 Abishai said to David,“Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won’t strike him twice.” 9But David said to Abishai,“Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD’S anointed and be guiltless? 10As surely as the LORD lives,” he said,“the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11 But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD’S anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go”

C. Even though David knew he would be king over Israel, he resisted the opportunity to hasten the event. On these two separate occasions he had the opportunity to kill king Saul. His own soldiers encouraged him to kill Saul. Yet his reverence for God and for God’s anointed representative would not allow David to use those opportunities for his own advancement.

D. In all of David’s endeavors, he honored what God had set in place.

E. John 8:49“Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me.”

F. Are you honoring the spiritual leadership He has placed over you?

IV. He sought the welfare of the people.

A. David’s experiences began as a shepherd boy watching over his flock. He had to learn to protect the flock from the dangers of lions and bears. He also had to lead the flock to green pastures and to still waters.

B. These lessons from the Judean hillside would one day turn into principles applied to the lives of the people of Israel.

1. David would centralize the worship of God by bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.

2. David would provide protection and security for the people of Israel through the military might that God provided.

3. The people would be blessed because of David. Beginning with his reign and into the reign of Solomon, Israel would be known as a wealthy land.

C. What kind of care do you exercise over your family? Are you providing for their needs? What about the group within the church that God has given you? Are you looking out for their welfare?

V. He repented of sinful behavior

A. 2 Samuel 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.

B. Psalm 51 1ff Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

C. Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

D. Psalm 51:16–17 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

E. What do you do with you sin? Are you hiding your sins? The scriptures teach us that God sees everything we do. Nothing is hidden from Him.

F. 2 Cor 2:4“But (we) have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

Conclusion

John 5:30“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

Examine yourself according the qualities of a man “after the heart of God:”

1. Are you maintaining a living faith in God?

2. Are you demonstrating a deepening patience while waiting for God’s promises to become fulfilled in your life?

3. Are you honoring God’s representative?

4. Are you seeking the welfare of the people?

5. Are you repenting of sinful behavior?

Part 3
The Foundation of Faith

How To Develop a Victorious Christian Faith
1 Samuel 17:12–44
Faith / Christian Living
We can develop a victorious Christian faith in God.

Introduction

William Arthur Ward said,“Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records.” Which category we fall into is determined by our faith. By facing and defeating Goliath, David demonstrated the characteristics of victorious faith.

In order to develop a victorious Christian faith we need to…

I. Accumulate in the Mundane (vv. 12–24).

A. David was faithful in the small things—obeying Dad, watching the sheep, and carrying supplies. David was doing what he was supposed to do while the army of Israel was not. That’s a big reason why David rose to the top

B. Often, in this day of mediocrity, all it takes to stand out in the crowd is faithfulness in whatever God has given us to do today. Performance evaluations take place every day—not every six months or every year.

II. Build on Past Experience with God (vv. 34–37).

A. The hand of God had protected and delivered David in the past, and he drew on that experience to lift him up to face a higher level of challenge.

B. Nothing builds our faith like the actual experience of realizing victory through the power of God working in us. As we face our giants today we should remember God’s faithfulness to us in the past.

III. Confidently Deal with Opposition (v.32)

A. The army of Israel was overwhelmed by Goliath’s aggression, reputation, and intimidating appearance. He was beating up the army of Israel without even fighting. In their minds they had already resigned themselves to slavery.

B. David won the psychological battle because of his confidence. He had confidence in God and himself. Both kinds of confidence are necessary. God-confidence without self-confidence paralyzes. God doesn’t move until we step out in faith. Self-confidence without God-confidence exposes us. To depend on our own I-strength and not the Lord’s is to be vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.

C. Confidence, There is a story about an oilman from Texas who went to Heaven. Nice as it was, the Texan kept bragging about how in his state everything was even better. At last Saint Peter got weary and took the oilman to the edge of Heaven so that he could look straight down into hell.“Have you got anything like that in Texas?” The Texan said,“No, but I know some good ol’ boys in Houston who can put it out for you.”

IV. Disregard the Critics (vv. 28–44)

A. David had to deal with at least three critics.

1. Criticism from family—Eliab criticized you are and how wicked your heart is” (v. 28).

2. Criticism from leaders—Saul criticized David’s lack of experience:“You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth"(v. 33).

3. Criticism from the enemy—Goliath criticized David’s ability: He “saw that he was only a boy … and he despised him” (v. 42).

B. Critics create “solution pollution.” When striving for victories in personal growth, work, family, or church, don’t cater to the critics. They won’t like it, but we can do it anyway because God gives us permission.

V. Elevate Others to a Higher Level (vv. 48–52).

A. The men of Israel arose and shouted and charged the enemy when they saw what David had done. These were the same ones who had previously been cowering in their tents for forty days.

B. One reason it’s important for us to take on the giant and win by God’s grace is because we don’t live in a vacuum. Our successes and failures affect those around us. Dishonorable conduct drags others down. Honorable conduct lifts them up.

VI. Foresee the Possibilities (vv. 25–26)

A. Whoever killed Goliath was going to receive a lot of money, marry into the royal family, and be tax-exempt for life. When David heard that he did a double-take! Contemplating the reward, David was encouraged. Yet material gain was obviously not the only reward he considered. He knew that even greater rewards awaited those with a zeal for Jehovah. His courage overcame his fear.

B. Instead of focusing on all of the possible negative fallout effacing up to our giant, we must focus on the rewards. We already have negative fallout from living with the giant. The giant is not going away. While facing him is risky, God offers a spiritual and emotional jackpot when we trust in him.

VII. Go For the Prize

A. David ran to meet Goliath! He didn’t hesitate; but by faith went to encounter the enemy and to gain the prize!

If a task is small enough for me to do without God—it didn’t come from God!

Part 4
Consecration of the Man of God

1 Chronicles 29:1–9
A Call for Consecrated Service
Consecration / Service
To call listeners to consecrate themselves to the Lord.

Introduction

“With bowed heads and open hearts we may offer ourselves. We can do no more, and we dare do no less.”—Wescott.

It is a great privilege to be able to do anything for God. There is not an angel in Heaven but what glories in every opportunity of service. Why should not His angels on earth do the same? David had an earnest desire to build a house unto the Lord, but this was not permitted him because he had been a “man of war” (Chap. 28:2–3). War and worship never go easily together. Although not allowed to build the temple he made great preparations for it. He gathered gold to the value of £ 547,500,000, and silver to the amount of £ 342,000,000 (Newberrry, chap. 22:14). Why should our interest in God’s work be lessened because we are not permitted to do that piece of work which we so much desire to do? Some slacken their efforts for Christ’s cause at home because their way has not been opened for going abroad. There are others who, if not asked to do some great thing, they will no nothing. Note -

I. The Work

A. “The work is great, for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God” (vs. 1). It is a great work to prepare a palace for the king of Heaven.

B. David was anxious that God should have a house worthy of His Name, and the Lord Himself greatly desired this.

C. But let us not forget that God was as great when in the bush as when in the temple. The glory does not consist in the character of the house so much as in the character of the occupant.

D. “Know ye not that your body is the temple, the palace of God, and that God dwelleth in you?” (1 Cor. 6:19). Does not He desire that you should be a house worthy of His great and glorious Name? This is a “great work.” It is the work of the Spirit of God, in union with our spirits. Ye are not you own. Like this palace ye are “not for man, but for the Lord God.”

II. The Example

A. David does not ask others to consecrate their service unto the Lord without having first set a worthy example before them.

B. He says,“I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God” (vs. 2).

C. And again,“I have set my affection to the house of my God.” EvdoKew Its usual sense is “to take pleasure or delight in,” e.g., God in his people, or in the righteous, or in an offering, but also humans in the sanctuary, or the sabbath, or the truth.

C. Moreover, I have of mine own … gold and silver given to the house of my God” (vs. 3). David’s private gift amounted in gold to £ 16,420,000, and in silver to £ 2,394,000 (vs. 4).

D. His example was one of love and liberality. He sought first the Kingdom of God. How does this example compare with that of David’s greater Lord? Did He not prepare with all His might for the new spiritual House of God? Did He not set His affection upon this great work? Did He not give of His own untold wealth of grace and suffering? Has He not left us an example that we should follow His steps?

III. The Call

A.“Who then offereth willingly to fill his hand this day unto the Lord?” (vs. 5 R.V., margin).

B. This was a call for full hands and willing hearts. There are multitudes who are ever ready to fill their hands with service for their own personal profit, but how few are willing to have full hands for God.

C. Full hands imply whole-heartedness. Half empty hands mean half empty lives. Who, then, is willing? It is a call for voluntary self-sacrificing service. D. It is also an urgent call—"This day.” The King’s business requireth haste. What thou doest, do quickly, for the day of service and holy privilege will soon be past.

IV. The Response

A. “Then the chief of the fathers,… the captains,… with the rulers, offered willingly” (vs. 6).

B. “With a perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord” (vs. 9). When the heart is perfectly yielded to the claims of God’s work, the hands will soon be filled with voluntary offerings.

C. The “perfect heart” is needed to make the service acceptable unto the Lord.“The Lord loveth a cheerful giver.”

D. The gifts were different in value, but all were needed and acceptable.“Gold, silver, iron, precious stones” (1 Cor 3:12). Iron may have been the best that some had, but they gave it. There would never be any lack in the house of God if those connected with it had this “perfect heart” toward the Lord.

E. The outstanding characteristic of the great majority of professing Christians is that they “mind earthly things.”

V. The Result

A.“Then the people rejoiced,… and David the king also rejoiced with great joy” (vs.9).

B They rejoiced because the offerings were given “willingly, with perfect heart.”

C. Joy is the fruit of the Spirit, and is the outcome of the heart made perfect toward the Lord and His cause on the earth.

D. The happiest Christian are those who willingly fill their hands for God. Joy in the Lord is power,“for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).“The Kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Romans 14:17).

[ The End ]