Now I'd invite you to turn with me this afternoon for a few moments to 1 Samuel chapter 13. I'd like to read a section of the chapter beginning with verse 8. And with God's word open before us, let's seek the Lord in prayer and ask the Lord to speak to us through his word. Let's pray. Oh Lord, as we bow now in thy presence, we thank thee for a book we can trust, for a book that addresses issues that we would know nothing about apart from thy revelation through thy word. We ask again, Lord, that we may discover thy word to be a living word to our souls. May we rise to the challenges it presents. May we submit to it when we're convicted of sin, knowing as we do that there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. And may we be the more conformed to the image of our Savior, who is the subject of this book. So Lord, speak to us now, we pray. Make me a vessel fit for thy use. Touch my lips with that coal from the altar and give me unction from on high. And we'll give thee the thanks and the praise in Jesus' name. Amen. 1 Samuel chapter 13. We are in the context now of the early days of the reign of King Saul. He's in what could be described as a rather desperate situation. The Philistines being gathered to contend with him, basically to conquer and subdue him. And we read then beginning in verse eight in that setting, and he, that is Saul, tarried seven days according to the set time that Samuel had appointed. But Samuel came not to Gilgal, And the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, what hast thou done? And Saul said, because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash, therefore said I, the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord. I forced myself, therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, thou hast done foolishly, Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. For now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. Amen. We'll end our reading in verse 14. We know the Lord will add his blessing to the reading of his word for his name's sake. I want to call your attention to that portion in verse 14, which reads like this, the Lord has sought him a man after his own heart. The Lord has sought him a man after his own heart. Now there's no doubt about who is in view here. when we read of the Lord seeking for himself a man after his own heart. The reference is to David. It's based on this 14th verse that David has been recognized historically throughout church history as a man after God's own heart. He has gained that designation. So the apostle Paul refers to him that way in Acts 13 and verse 22, where in recounting the removal of Saul and the establishment of David, Paul says, and when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Now think about that designation for a moment. a man after God's own heart. Isn't there something rather appealing to that? Isn't that a designation that each one of us would want for the Lord to be able to assign to us? Doesn't such a designation present to us an ideal or an aim when it comes to our Christian walk? After all, God is worthy to be sought after, isn't he? The thing to note in this designation is that the reference is to God's heart, to God's own heart. The reference is not to David's heart. If you're going to follow David's example, then you won't be striving for a heart like David's heart. You'll be aiming way beyond that. You'll be seeking after God's heart. But what does that even mean? How do you seek after God's heart? Or even more than that, how can you gain such a designation as being characterized as a man or woman after God's own heart? Well, that's what I want to consider this afternoon and the moments that remain. What I'd like to do is scan over some of the most outstanding features of David's life and set them before you with this aim and view that we should be men and women after God's own heart. And the question I'll endeavor to answer will be this, what does it take to gain such a designation of being a man or woman after God's own heart? Well, consider with me, first of all, it takes the right kind of understanding. It takes the right kind of understanding. I realize that it might be tempting to oversimplify this whole matter by saying Saul forfeited the kingdom by his disobedience and David gained the kingdom by his personal obedience. There can be little doubt about the matter of Saul's disobedience. He usurped the role of a priest by offering the burnt offering. In a sense, his sin, while not excusable, was certainly understandable. Samuel had not shown up, after all, after the designated time. Notice what we read in verse 12. Therefore said I, that is Saul, the Philistines will come down now upon me to gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord. I forced myself, therefore, and offered a burnt offering. O Saul was very fearful under the circumstances, and he certainly saw the need, didn't he, of supplicating the Lord. It seems that desertions were taking place. People were abandoning Saul in large measure. Saul's forces were diminishing. A sense of urgency and perhaps near panic gripped his heart until at last he took matters into his own hands in an ill-advised way. And so we have this account of Saul's transgression and taking upon himself the role of a priest and offering the burnt offering. A little later in the narrative, you also have the account of Saul's incomplete obedience. So there's his ill-advised disobedience and there's his incomplete obedience. He was commanded to completely exterminate the Amalekites. But in 1 Samuel 15, verse 9 we read, But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them, but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. This leads to the Lord saying to Samuel two verses later, verse 11, So it's not difficult at all to see Saul's disobedience and the cost of that disobedience. What may be harder to see by way of contrast would be David's obedience over the span of his life. I can remember one time many years ago when I had a second shift job. I worked nights in a clothing manufacturing plant. And when I finished the work, they basically gave me the time. It was a perfect job for a student. And there was one occasion where I was able to read over the entire scope of David's life through 1 Samuel, through 2 Samuel, and I remember when I finished reading that section, I came away thinking, boy, he sure is human. He sure is a sinner, just like other sinners. David, you might recall, would lose faith in God and would flee to the land of the Philistines to take refuge there. David, you might also recall, would seek to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. That was a noble desire, but one which David would execute in a wrong way and would lead to the Lord's chastising hand. And how can we ever forget the way David looked on another man's wife with lust and then took her to himself and tried afterwards to cover up his sin in that effort. He would first make Uriah the Hittite drunk with the hope that he would go back to his wife. And when that didn't happen, he would write a letter to Joab and hand it to Uriah to deliver to Joab. That has always found me as striking. Here is Uriah with a death certificate in his own hand, written by the hand of David, given to him to present to Joab, so that Joab could enter into the conspiracy of having Uriah killed. I don't recall ever reading sins of Saul that were like that. And so we should ask ourselves the question, how is it then that David is designated a man after God's own heart? And the key to what might seem to be a dilemma must be found not so much in the relative obedience or disobedience of Saul or David. The key, rather, must be found by focusing on the heart of God. David, we're told, is a man after God's own heart. Okay, then, what do we know about the heart of God? What or who is close to the heart of God? And the answer is, of course, that Christ is the one. He's the one who's near to the heart of God. Oh, it's very true that there is a connection between the heart of God and obedience, But based on that standard, there is only one person who has ever obeyed God, and that one person is Christ. It's a point that's probably not emphasized near enough, but the next time you read through the Gospel of John, pay careful attention to the statements that indicate the love of God the Father for His Son, and the Son's love for His Father. Christ's obedience was rendered on the basis of that love, and it's mentioned time and time again. Really hard to miss, but easy to pass over. Your salvation and mine is to be found in that love bond between the Father and the Son. If you would be a man or woman after God's own heart then, you need to know something about God's heart. You need to align yourself by faith with that one who is near and dear to God's heart. This is the difference between Saul and David. David, you could argue, had gospel understanding, so much so that Paul would draw from David in order to explain the doctrine of justification by faith, in Romans chapter four. So what does it take then to be a man after God's own heart? It takes the right kind of understanding. It takes gospel understanding. It takes the kind of understanding that knows what or who is precious to God's own heart. It takes faith in Christ. But let's note next that it takes more than just understanding. to gain the designation of a man or woman after God's own heart. We see next, secondly, that it takes personal experience. It takes personal experience. That only makes sense, doesn't it? When you consider that the designation has to do with the heart of God. The Lord has sought him a man after his own heart. Our text reads, and when you're dealing with the heart, you're dealing in a realm that goes beyond theoretical knowledge. It doesn't say, does it? Some people act as if this might be the case, but it doesn't say that the Lord has sought him a man after his own book. Now, the Lord does have a book. The Lord has given us his book. And that book certainly plays an essential part in our walk with the Lord. But if all the Lord was interested in was someone who knew theology or someone who was scholarly in his knowledge of the objective truths of doctrine, then perhaps the text would reference the book. But the text references the heart of God. The Lord has sought him a man after his own heart. Now we're dealing not merely with the book, but you could argue we are dealing with the book on fire, so to speak. We're dealing with the Word being a living Word. We're dealing with the Word of God and how that Word draws us to the God of the Word. And here's where David goes way beyond Saul. David knew the Lord. David walked with the Lord. David communed with the Lord. The book of Psalms was written mostly by David. Half of the 150 Psalms are directly attributed to David, and a number of other ones are thought to be from David's hand, though they might not be attributed to him in the titles. I raise that matter just now under this heading of experience because the book of Psalms is the book of spiritual experience. I can't think of any kind of spiritual impulse or spiritual emotion that can't find expression in the book of Psalms. The Psalms take you to the highest mountaintop experiences of praise and thanksgiving, as well as into the deepest valleys of humiliation, and even into the valley of the shadow of death. The Psalms teach you how to pray. They teach you how to worship. They teach you how to intercede. They teach you how to pray against certain things. They teach you how to express praise, and they teach you even how to complain. They teach you faith and they teach you repentance. If you can read through the Psalms and not find your heart touched and not find them to be the sure means of entering into communion with God, then you ought to be concerned about whether or not there's really an element of spiritual life in you. So David had gospel understanding. You can't possibly be a man after God's own heart without gospel understanding. But David also had the spiritual experience of God and of Christ. God and Christ, you see, are to be known personally and spiritually, not just theoretically or speculatively. And so I wonder this afternoon, are you men and women after God's own heart? If you are, then you will be men and women of the book, but you'll also be men and women of prayer. You'll do more than simply read the book. You'll do more than even memorize verses from the book or absorb the precepts of the book. You'll enter into communion with God, the God of the book. Your desire will become like David's. As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? Psalm 42, verses one and two. Same sentiment is expressed by Paul, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death, Philippians 3 and verse 10. Oh, who knew the Lord better than Paul? And yet Paul was not satisfied that he knew him well enough. He certainly recognized there is more of Christ to be known. What does it take then to gain the designation a man after God's own heart? It takes gospel understanding and it takes personal spiritual experience. Consider with me thirdly and finally, that it also takes a broad perspective. It takes a broad perspective. And what I have in mind now is that it takes a broad perspective with regard to God's kingdom and your place in that kingdom. In this respect, the differences between Saul and David become very pronounced. Recall, if you will, that throughout much of 1 Samuel, what do you find except for the account of Saul pursuing after David? Saul would pursue David the way a hunter pursues an animal. And why? Why did Saul devote such intense and unrelenting energy to pursuing the very person who was most loyal to him and who served him better than anyone? It was because Saul was a man not after God's own heart, but he was a man after his own ambitions. After his own heart, you could say. He was completely obsessed with his own dynasty. Life was all about Him. God was to be subservient to Him. Oh, how we should mourn the Saul that can be found in all our hearts. How typical this kind of attitude and obsession is. The thing that keeps us, perhaps more than anything, from being men and women after God's own heart is our desire to pursue our own ambitions and our own promotions and our own advancements. We're so vulnerable to the temptation of thinking that life is all about me. And you know, even the gospel can feed that temptation, because there's no denying that we have benefited so much from the gospel. You've gained forgiveness for your sins. You've gained the assurance of life in heaven. You've gained a place in the family of God as adjoined there with Christ. And you've gained the gift of righteousness. You've been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And that can make it tempting to think at times that this must be all about me. After all, I'm the one who has benefited so tremendously. by all these blessings. David stands in stark contrast to that kind of attitude. Listen to the words now of 2 Samuel 7, verses 1 and 2. And it came to pass when the king, that king being David now, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies, that the king said unto Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. It's as if David was saying there's something wrong with this picture. The fact that I'm in a palace, as it were, while the ark of God dwells in a tent, that conveys the wrong message. It conveys the very message I just described, the message that God must be subservient to David. And that bothered David. And in the course of expressing his desire to Nathan the prophet, the Lord that night sends Nathan back to David with a message for David. And what that message amounted to was the Davidic covenant. Key chapter in the Old Testament, 2 Samuel chapter seven. And in that covenant, David was able to see far beyond himself and far beyond any dynasty he might have in this world. In that covenant, like all the covenants, David was able to see beyond himself and to see Christ. This is all about Christ. The man after God's own heart will always be willing and desirous to promote the cause of Christ. Like John the Baptist, he will never be able to say, he must increase and I must decrease. And you know, that really is quite a remarkable statement coming from John, especially when you consider how he knew the blessing of God upon his ministry. The crowds came to him. He had the multitudes. He preached to them with power. And then he identifies Christ and now people are going away from him. And he's able to rejoice because he had the broad perspective. He had the proper perspective of Christ's kingdom and his place in that kingdom. The strange thing is that when we manage to live by that motto of Christ increasing while we decrease, we find our greatest exaltation and our greatest joy. in that mindset, and we find our greatest exaltation because we've found now our true purpose in life. Our chief end is not to promote ourselves. Our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Salvation, you know, and this is something we do well to keep in mind. Salvation is as much salvation from self as it is salvation from sin. The greatest hindrance then to being men and women after God's own heart is self. My glory, my position, my station in life, my everything. It's all about me. That's what's driving the world today, isn't it? Hard to live in a world of demigods where each one competes for his own self-interests. And so again, I wonder this afternoon, are you a man or woman after God's own heart? Such an attainment, you know, is not so far beyond you as you might think. A study of David's life reveals him to be remarkably human. He had strengths, he had weaknesses, he had ups and downs, and he had some very serious sins. Can you relate to that? And yet he also had remarkable consistency. He sought the Lord. No doubt about that, the Psalms eloquently show us that. And yet he sinned. He sinned in ways that I hope you would never sin. But in his consistency, he treated sin the way he should. When the prophet confronted him, he said, I have sinned. And when the census number was handed to him, his heart smote him, and he confessed his sin. Here then is how our consistency must function. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1 10. So let's not have any disillusions about what it means to be a man after God's own heart. And please don't misunderstand me. I'm not about to suggest that you simply throw the struggle against sin to the wind and surrender yourself to sin. Not at all. But what I am suggesting is that you don't deceive yourself and try to make a liar out of God. Being a man or woman after God's own heart means that you recognize what is most precious to God's own heart, and Christ is precious to God's heart. Christ did obey, he obeyed perfectly, so there is a connection to obedience. But it's his obedience that ought to motivate your striving. And it's obedience unto death that ought to motivate you to treat sin the way you should when you fall into sin. I think at the end of the day, there's a marvelous, even childlike simplicity about being men and women after God's own heart. So make it your aim. It should be your aim, and it's certainly within your reach. All that's required is a heart for Christ. If Christ is precious to God's heart, and Christ has saved your soul from the hell it deserves, Then shouldn't the most precious thing to your heart be the same thing that is most precious to God's heart? Oh, may God indeed make us men and women that are after God's own heart. Let's close then in prayer. Let's all pray. Oh Lord, as we bow in thy presence now and bring this meeting to a close, We thank you for the things you've revealed about David. We thank you, Lord, that we see so many positive things about this man, things that we would want to imitate. And yet there are things about this man also, Lord, that we would hope we would never fall into. He certainly illustrates what one preacher said, that even the best of men are but men at best. And Lord, we're remarkably human. just like David, and yet he did manifest a certain consistency. And Lord, this is the consistency we want. We ask, therefore, Lord, that thou wilt help us to strive effectively against sin, but not to strive under any disillusion that we're ever going to attain sinless perfection on this side of the river. We thank Thee, Lord, that we do have a Savior who is our advocate even for the times when we do sin. May we be consistent, therefore, in seeking Him for forgiveness of our sins when we do sin and then striving out of hearts of love because of that forgiveness to be more like Christ. O Lord, grant that we may indeed, in our church family here, Be men and women after God's own heart. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.