You know how sometimes when you watch or you listen to a podcast or you watch a YouTube, you know, TED Talk or something like that, you go and you can put it, you can speed up the audio. Instead of listening at one speed, you can put 125 or 1.5. Have you ever done that? And you just start talking like this a little bit more like that? Okay? So I'm looking at the time, I'm looking at my message, I go, you better put it on 1.25, brother. Alright? Because they still want to get out. They love all that Daniel 9 and all that prayer. But come noon, let's go, buddy. You're going to turn into a pumpkin. Alright? So, let's get going and let's see how quickly I can get through this thing here. I begin with a story. On November 8, 1895, a German physics professor named Wilhelm Rottgen stumbled on a new kind of electromagnetic radiation. As he experimented with cathode rays, he noticed that a fluorescent screen that had been painted with a chemical coating was lighting up with a faint glow, even though the radiation emitter was several feet away and wrapped in black cardboard. As he continued to explore this effect, he found these rays could also pass through books and papers on his desk. It wasn't long after this initial discovery that Rakjan discovered something else about this radiation. After his wife had assisted him in the lab by holding a photographic plate that was exposed to these rays, Rotjen noticed something remarkable. The developed photograph clearly revealed not simply her hand on the edge of the plate, but what was inside of his wife's hand. The picture showed the bones under her skin. Since Rotjen did not know what type of radiation this was, he simply labeled them with an X. So Wilhelm Rotjen became the first person to ever see inside the human body using X-rays. Now if we simply stop and think about all of the broken bones and internal injuries that have been diagnosed and treated through the use of x-rays over the last 100 plus years, I think our appreciation deepens for just how important this discovery was. Of course, today advanced x-ray, CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging or MRIs and ultrasound technology have given us an unprecedented ability to do something unthinkable several centuries ago. To look inside the human body without even the smallest of incision. And that is remarkable. But what we're going to find in today's study is something even more remarkable. Because when it comes to seeing inside, the Word of God reminds us that no one does it better than the Lord God Himself. And that's what we have. We'll launch in a few moments 1 Samuel 16, but before we read those, let me give you the sermon summary. It will be on the screen there. Alright? When Saul's disobedience prompted the Lord's rejection of his kingship, Samuel was sent to anoint a new king over Israel. This time, God, not the people, chose the king. Paraded before Samuel, Jesse's older sons were impressive to the human eye. Yet God rejected them in favor of the youngest, David. Although we see with the eyes, God sees according to his sovereign will and purposes. We begin chapter 16 tonight, or today, I'm sorry. It might feel like a tonight. We've gone through the first eight chapters looking at the life of Samuel. Chapters 9 through 15, we saw the rise and fall of Saul. And now in chapters 16-31, we're introduced to David and Saul. This is the longest of the three sections and filled with one of the most interesting stories in the Bible. We're introduced this morning to none other than David, the young shepherd that would be king. And it wouldn't surprise you if you've been around church lately, or for a long time, a lot of ink is spilled and used to talk about King David, or David. Yet the Bible remains clear, presenting to us David, warts and all. On the screen there, one person writes, the Bible never flatters its heroes. It tells us the truth about each of them in order that we might ultimately magnify the grace of God. It's like looking into a mirror. We're humiliated by the reminder of how many times we have failed. Great has been our stubbornness, but greater still is God's faithfulness. And that's what we're going to start seeing here. See, God will not cover up the worst of David. And He will not exaggerate the best of David. Let me tell you this, child of God. This is how you and I should live. Openly. So we do not cover the worst of our lives. But at the same time, we don't exaggerate the best of our lives. Because let me tell you, the latter is harder than the former. Because everyone likes to toot their horn. Everyone likes to one-up everything. Don't be the first guy to tell a joke in a group of guys. Because all you do is to invite the next 17 guys to one-up you. So, we will see in the life of David that God will not cover up His worst. Oh, but equally as important, He will not exaggerate His best. Child of God, take that into your work day tomorrow. Don't be the exaggerator. Don't think that life, or that office, or wherever you do, or wherever you live, can't live without you. We're all expendable in the big machine. If you don't think so, you might find out one day. At the same time, let's keep in mind that God is not interested in writing a tabloid. He's not going to take us as we study 1 Samuel, and if we went into 2 Samuel, He's not going to take us into David's sinful failures too deeply. There's more to David than Bathsheba and Uriah. David is a forerunner, a picture, a type of Christ. Like Jesus, he was born in Bethlehem. Like Jesus, he delivered his people from the enemy. Like Jesus, he was anointed by God and the Holy Spirit. He's such a forerunner of Christ that when you get into the New Testament, one of the titles that's ascribed to Jesus is what? The son of... David, it's Messianic, 2 Samuel chapter 7, because of the Davidic covenant. But such is the importance of David. So let's dig in. In your Bible, 1 Samuel chapter 16. 1 Samuel 16. The Lord looks at the heart. That's verse 7. Not the outward appearance. And this is what we see illustrated in the anointing of David. You and I love to gauge on the outward appearance. The resume. The portfolio. And God says, nah, not really impressed. Not really impressed. We are easily impressed by the wrong things. But what's on the inside, that's what really matters. It's the why behind the what. Why are you here this morning? Why am I here? Because I need to insure a paycheck? Why are you serving what you're serving in this church? The why matters as much if not more than the what. Why are you singing up here? So let's take a look at it. Let's work ourselves through the 13 verses here. We're not going to read them. I'll read them along the way. So at least I can cut some time off. All right. So let's start with Samuel's heart for God. Samuel's heart for God. First five verses. The Lord said to Samuel, how long will you grieve over Saul since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons. 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. And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you. Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him, trembling, and said, Do you come peaceably? And he said, Peaceably I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. Stop there. Samuel's heart. What can we learn from these opening five verses? Three things. Number one, Samuel's heart is seen in that one, he mourns He mourns for sin, or the mourning for sin. 16.1, Samuel said, the Lord addressed Samuel, how long will you grieve over Saul? Stop there. How long will you grieve? One of the commentators I turned to this week, preparing for this, reminds us what was at stake. Again, you and I grieve over such silly stuff sometimes. We do. But this guy, right to right, he goes, he was not upset over a lousy bowling score, or because someone side-swiped his Chevy, or because he had only three bedroom house. Rather, he was distressed over the spiritual disaster of a promising instrument of God, over the welfare of God's people, over their condition and security. Do we ever mourn over such matters? Do we mourn or gossip over the sins of others? Do we ever sorrow over the unbelief in the churches and among the professional ministry? Do we ever grieve over the biblical and ethical ignorance among professing believers? Does anything ever move us aside from our own comfort and security? There's something commendable and instructive in Samuel's distress. He's right on. He was mourning. He was mourning. See, Samuel was there when he anointed him. Samuel was there when they publicly made him king. Samuel saw, he had high hopes for Saul. And Saul started out so well, but ended so badly. Now God has rejected Saul as king. And all Saul has done is hardened his heart. He is now dangerous. He's now dangerous and that's what he's there. Remember, at the end of chapter 15, verse 35, it says, And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death. But Samuel grieved over Saul. Grieving, grieving. Samuel's rightly mourning, mourning Saul's sin. Mourning solves disobedience the loss of potential and if there's something that grieves my heart is when you look out into God's people and you see the loss of Potential what could be God has taken each one of us and marvelously saved us rescued us He has placed himself inside of us through his through his spirit and enabled us to serve him in Magnificent ways and yet you and I find ways to short-circuit that the loss of potential Frustrating. Frustrating. That God would grant you and me time and talents and gifts, and we don't use them wisely. Do you mourn for sin? What was the last time that your sinful choice, that sinful relationship, that sinful decision, that sinful reaction caused you to say, I'm wrong. I'm grieving, not because I feel bad, because I'm grieving His heart. Because listen, once you get past grieving God's heart, you'll grieve any heart. Who am I, your pastor, when you can grieve God's heart? What? Once you've decided that this decision, this whatever it is, that's offensive to God and not His best for you. Once you've said, it doesn't matter, I'll break His heart. What does it matter to break mine? What does it matter to break your parents? What does it matter to break your cousins? What does it matter? Do you mourn for sin? Or do you justify it? Psalm 119, streams of tears flow from my eyes for your law is not obeyed. We don't know who wrote Psalm 119, but he knew what it meant to mourn over sin. Samuel is grieving, but in this context, the grieving has an expiration date. You know why? Because God says it. He says it, he says, hey Samuel, stop. And when the Lord says to stop something, I think it's wise for you and me to stop something. Right? And he gives, now, it's not that he's capricious, he's arbitrary, he's like, well, you know. No, he gives them two reasons. Number one, it's there in the verse. How long will you grieve over Saul? Again, we don't know how long it's been between chapter 15, 35 and 16.1. Don't just think it was the next 24 hours. There's another snapshot, so we don't know the time delay. So he says, how long? How long? Listen, will you grieve over Saul? Since I have rejected him from being king over Israel. He says, listen, I have rejected and I'm not changing my mind. And all you're grieving is not going to change my mind. I have made a decision and it's going to stick. So stop. How long will you grieve? Number two, not only how long, because I've made a decision. Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. I like to buy a vowel, right? E. Bethlehemite. For I have provided for myself. I have seen it to me. I have seen to make sure that I've seen to it. I have provided for myself a king among his sons. Listen, Samuel, stop grieving over what was. Get excited over what will be. God is still in control. I am still in control. I've given you an opportunity to grieve. Grieve. Now you stop. Why? You're not going to change my mind. And I already have a plan to replace it. See, that's the thing. And listen to the language. For I have provided for myself. I have. I have. I have provided for myself. So we know that the next king will not be like Saul. He says, I am going to make sure that you don't see so much the king that stands above it all. You're going to see the king that I see. That's the importance. So a heart after God mourns after sin. Number two, a heart after God trusts God in danger. Trusting God in danger, verses two and three. And Samuel said, how can I go? Last time I checked, if Saul hears it, He's going to kill me. And the Lord said, take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord and invite Jesse to the sacrifice. And I will show you what to do. And you shall anoint for me for me him whom I declare to you. Note that when Samuel hears the command of God, he's not filled with faith. He's filled with what? Fear. Are you kidding me, Lord? Are you really kidding me? Child of God. Trust in God. He says, this is the command. This is how I want you to live. This is how I want you to represent me. You're an ambassador in a godless society. But God, don't you understand what they do to people? They ridicule them. They ostracize them. I'll never get another raise. I won't move up the corporate ladder. I won't become this one or that. Listen. Listen. That's not the game anyway. You like Saul, me like Saul can be filled with fear and not faith. He knows that if he goes out and word gets back to Saul, it's not going to be well. So Samuel takes his concern to the Lord. And Samuel is told by the Lord, take a heifer, we're going to go about it this way. Now before you accuse God of being deceitful, let me read you another commentary that helped me. All right? Because if you read it plain there, you go, man, God's being deceitful. He's telling them, no, no, no. Take a cow with you, a heifer. OK? And then somebody asks you, oh, no, I'm for this. But I'm really for that. OK? In addition to his reproof, God also kindly offers Samuel a way around his difficulty. The Lord said, take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord and invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what you shall do and you shall anoint for me whom him whom I declare to you. Some readers are agitated over God's apparent deceit in urging Samuel to travel to Bethlehem under false colors. What they fail to realize is that Samuel is merely concealing his purpose, not denying an honest answer to someone with a right to the information. It would be perfectly legitimate for Samuel to travel to the home of Jesse with an ox, brought along for a sacrifice. And this was a convenient way to avoid trouble with Saul. We have to be wise as serpents. So he says, listen, you're freaking out? No problem. Let's do this. You're going to go over there? You're going to do this? It's not like he shows up at the heifer and goes, all right, sweetheart. And then takes out the oil. Ha ha. Made in China, you know? No, he brings the heifer. He's going to do it. And then while he's there, he then fulfills the greater purpose. So please, God's not being deceitful. Just God's granting some wisdom so he can still accomplish what he needs to accomplish in good conscience. Amen. All right. So that's why the psalmist says the Lord is with me. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? So he mourns over sin. He trusts God in danger, in a decision that that can cost him something. And lastly, he obeys God's commands. Verses 4 and 5, Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him with him trembling. Listen, listen, do you come peacefully? When a prophet came onto a city, it wasn't always like, hey, I'm representing Club Med, or Sandals nowadays. Club Med ages me, dates me. Okay, Sandals, no, no, no. If you're Jonah and you show up to Nineveh, you're not saying, hey, you're saying repent. You've got 30 days or you're out. So they see Samuel and they go, when Samuel shows up, we're 50-50 at best right now. We're 50-50. So you come peaceably? And he said peaceably, I've come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. An unexpected visit. Was not always a good thing. But in this particular case, he says hey get ready consecrate yourselves go through the motions It's time to offer a an offering to the Lord. So it's not just you just show up and go yo No, no, you got to show up. You got to consecrate you got to do certain things. Let's get ready Hey, Jesse, bring your family too because I need you to be a part of this consecration So it sets it up So you see Samuel's heart there, you see him mourning, you see him trusting, you see him obeying. Now we transition to God, verses 6-10, and we have God's rejection of David's brothers. And this is a fun scene, right? This is a fun scene to read because, here we go, verse 6, when they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, surely the Lord's anointing is before him. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees, but man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. Then Jesse called Amenadab, Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel, and said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. And then Jesse made Shammah pass by, and he said, Neither has the Lord chosen this one. And Jesse made the seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these. One by one. What a fun scene. Here we go. I'm daddy. I got boys here. Let's go. You know you're going to bring out big boy first. The best of the rest, at least in your estimation. Boom! And the next and the next. You know like the X on one of those TV programs. What can we learn from this process? Well, two things. Number one, God does not look at what man looks. Eliab was the oldest. And apparently he looks okay. He was impressive. Again, he says, he looked at him and God rebukes him and says, don't look at his stature. Last time we gazed by stature, we didn't end well. Because remember that Saul was head and shoulders above all. This commentator has a little bit of fun with it. And he says, What a crucial moment this is. In 1 Samuel so much hangs on choices. Israel chose the ark in chapter 4 and disaster followed. Israel chose in that they desired a king in chapter 8, another disaster. But now the godly Samuel is on the scene. Surely we can trust the faithful prophet of God with the fortunes of God's kingdom. No, the kingdom is safe only with Yahweh. Just as in chapter 3, Eli had to direct a young Samuel, so now God must correct a mature Samuel. One can understand Samuel's thinking. Eliab was doubtless an impressive hunk of manhood. Around 6'2", perhaps, 2'25", met people well, all man but with social grace, excellent taste in the aftershave lotion, and so on. Perhaps he started as wide receiver for Bethlehem High School football. Probably made all Judean, all-star team. Samuel was not alone in his estimate for Eliab. Many thought Future was Eliab's middle name. I love how this guy just takes some liberty. He does take some liberty. But you capture why he was impressive. You saw Eliab, you're like, yeah man, tall, dark, and handsome. Let's go! Let's go. Let's go. He goes, nope, nope. And you know why? Isaiah 55, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, declares the Lord, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. God doesn't think the way we think, and we should praise him for that. I am so glad he doesn't answer all my prayers, at least in the affirmative. Okay, at least in the affirmative. He does answer. No is an answer. My kids had to learn that. Maybe your kids still do. No is an answer. May I have this? No. That was an answer. You want me to say it in Spanish? No. Okay, I got two languages for you, big boy. All right? No. Okay, so God doesn't look at what man looks. Number two, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. The key is chapter 16, verse 7. Okay, verse 7. I highlighted it in my Bible. You can do that in yours or your neighbor's. But the Lord said to Samuel, do not look on his appearance or on his height or his stature, because I have rejected him. The criteria is not how good the outside looks. For the Lord sees not as man sees. The man looks in the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at his heart. And it's a reaction, because in verse 6, again, the prophet sees Eliab, he goes, he's in. But he goes, no, no, no, no, that's not. See, we look at the outside because that's all we can see. But 2 Chronicles 16, 9 reminds us, For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. How fully committed are you? When the Lord looks at your heart, when the Lord looks at my heart, what does he see? What does he see? Consistency? I mean, yeah, it might go like this, but just some consistency. I'm inconsistently consistent. or I'm consistently inconsistent. I don't know what. OK, but listen, I'm far from perfect, but but I'm aiming at the right thing. My my life is still telling the right story. There's still a pursuit of holiness. There's still a pursuit of righteousness. I'm still trying to bear the fruit of the Spirit. That's what can be said of me. That's what my heart's desire is. So when the Lord looks at your heart, when the Lord looks at mine, what does he see? So we see Samuel's heart for God. We see that God has some fun, let's say. Okay, and he goes, okay, bring them out, parade them out. He goes, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh. Lastly, verses 11 through 13, we're introduced to David, the man of God's choosing, the man of God's choosing. Verse 11, Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your sons here? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, you know, the runt. But behold, he's keeping the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here. And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy. I don't know what your translation says, but he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. Stop there. What can we say about David? Three things. One, David was the youngest of all his brothers. So there is another son. That's like me telling Doug, I need to see your sons. He just brings out Charlie. Is this all you got? No, I got James, but he's back there, you know. He's in the rear with the gear. No, you know, there is another son. He says, well, we'll go get him because I'll tell you what, until you don't get him, we don't eat. Motivation City. Done deal. I'll find him quicker than white on rice. All right. There's David, the youngest, probably a teenager, maybe old kid, just an older kid. Back then, teenagers didn't exist. There was this period of just years that you just worked and you worked hard. Teenage years are relevant. It's a recent phenomenon. Those are like 7 to 10 years that we just give kids free reign to not do much. Read your history. There were naval officers. at age 18 and 19. We've given our kids, we've set them up to fail. Instead of giving them, hey, listen, you can do this. So here's a kid, maybe a teenager, maybe an older kid, 12, 13, and he's out there taking care of the herds. He said, ah, but the dad's like, you know, no, he's the youngest. It's not even worth bringing. I mean, come on, come on. There's so much more potential over here. But no, no, no. It's a common theme in scripture where God often chooses a younger brother over the older, choosing Abel over Cain, Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over his brothers, Ephraim over Manasseh, and Moses over Aaron. But God, in David's case, He chose him over seven brothers. Seven. You know why? We're given that insight into the heart of God of choosing the most unlikely. Your salvation, my salvation, was most unlikely. Why? Because 1 Corinthians reminds 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. Therefore, as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. You know why God chose you and me unto salvation? So He gets the glory. He gets the glory. That's the bottom line. So do you have another son? Yes. So David was the youngest. Number two, David was ruddy with a fine appearance. Now, what does your translate? That's the ESV. Anybody reading something different or you want to go on real quick? The NIV. Somebody read it. If you're on there, scream it loud online. I'm not going to hear you. I'm sorry? Shining? Go ahead, Tanya. Everybody can hear you. N.I.V.? Says Ruddy? You got the wrong N.I.V. I think. I don't know. Go ahead. Go ahead. Doc, help us out. What version is that? N.I.V.? ? Yeah, that's the right NIV. That's the Hialeah translation back there. Forget that one, man. I should have known better. I should have known better. I set myself up to fail on that one. Alright, I believe you, Tanya. I really do. I really do. Alright. So, listen. So, the thing is, ruddy means red. It's the same word that's used to describe Esau. red. It could be reddish hair, or it could mean that his skin was reddened, bronzed, or tanned. So here comes a young boy who you know that works the field. That's what it is. But he's also a handsome kid. It isn't ironic that the Bible gives us a physical description of David right after God has said, it's not about that. But that's the deal. It doesn't mean that the guy has to be ugly. It's just we're not selecting on the basis of outside. You're not seeing what I'm seeing. And by the way, he was a good looking kid. But the emphasis there is that he's a kid. The most unlikely to be selected was this young kid full of life. That's the angle. Most unlikely. Who would have picked David? Who would have picked David? Not us. We would have gone others. So David is ruddy and has a fine appearance. And lastly, David was anointed and filled with the Spirit. Verse 13, you see it there. Let me turn to it. Then Samuel took the horn and anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David. By the way, that's the first time the word, the name David actually appears in the text, actually appears in the Bible. After that, no less than 600 times. No less than 600 times. Samuel anoints him. He has a private anointing, just like he had a private anointing for Saul. And listen, he's anointed today as the future king. You know, it would take him close to 15 years before doing it. And we should be glad because he was just a kid. It would take him close to 15. He doesn't get crowned till 2 Samuel chapter 4 or 5, about 15, almost 20 years later. But God had prepared him here. God has selected him here. And then he just prepares him. And he starts working for the Lord as early as next week when he's serving King Saul as a relief worker, bringing relief, a minister of mercy. So that's all preparation for David. See, the Spirit comes upon him. Before Pentecost, we're reminded that in the Old Testament days, the Spirit would come, enable, and then would leave. In fact, next week we'll look at that the Spirit had departed from Saul, 16-4. So the Spirit departs, descends on David. In the Old Testament, the Spirit would come, do its work, and then He would leave. In the New Testament, it's different. When you and I trust in Christ, when we are justified by faith through Jesus Christ, Romans chapter 8 says, we have then the Spirit of Christ within us. Now, can you sin against that? Of course, you can grieve the Spirit. That's why we know it's a person, not a force. You can quench the Spirit. You can resist the Spirit. You can lie to the Spirit. Not that you should. But if you hear, child of God, please know that the Spirit of God is within you and is what helps you. He's the one who helps you and equips you to do what you need to be doing. So here's a probing question on the screen there. If the Holy Spirit were to withdraw from my life, how long would it take for me to miss Him? Am I so on autopilot in my Christianity that the Spirit of God could, not that He's going to, it's impossible under the New Covenant. But let me create a scenario. Everywhere to leave. Are you so much an autopilot in your Christianity that you wouldn't figure it out until hours later, days later, weeks later, months later? Ichabod, the glory has departed. Is your life that sensitive to the prompting and the leading of the Spirit that if He decides to take a break, you go, no, no. Psalm 51, do not take your spirit from me. Do not reject me. Again, it's impossible in the new covenant, but just a probing question to maybe shock us back into the reality. Am I just on autopilot in my walk with the Lord? See, the reality is that's what we're after. If you want to be a woman, a man after God's own heart, you must be walking in daily dependence to the Holy Spirit. So let me land this plane. I'm looking at the clock and I'm like, buddy, go to 1.5 speed, 1.5 speed. What can we take with us this morning? Let me just draw your attention to one of the best names God has, El Roy, the God who saves. See, you see it there, the God who sees. And in Genesis 18 or 19, it is Hagar who coins that word. She says, it's the God who sees me. The God who sees me. The name El Roy highlights God's omniscience and omnipresence, emphasizing that he's always aware of our circumstances and sees everything that happens to us. Why? Why David? Because God saw something in David. Just like God sees you and me. Forget about what you did last summer. God saw what you did last night. Because He's El Roy. You can close your eyes. It doesn't mean He's still not seeing you. You may not be seeing Him. But He sees you. He sees you. See, the God who's presented to us here is a God who can see inside of us. Forget x-rays. God sees the heart. No, no, no, not the organ that pumps the blood. In the Old Testament, the heart is the very center of our inner life. It's not only the place where we feel, but also the place where we think and we will. God's choice for a king would not be on outward appearances. He said, he had announced in chapter 13 verse 14, the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. And now we normally say, oh, that's just David was godly. We missed the point. Let me remind you of the point we made then on the screen. The point is, this is about the place this man had in God's heart rather than about the place God had in this man's heart. God is saying, this guy is special because I see something in him that nobody else can see. This was God's way of saying, I'm choosing this man. That's the point of having a God seeking a man after his own heart. It's the place that David had in his heart. Not the other way around. This guy's special. I'm El Roy. I see it. I see it. See on the screen there, God chose David because by his grace, David was concerned about God's concerns. God chose David because by his grace David was committed to God's commitments. Because David was grieved by what grieved God. Because David loved what God loved. Because David's heart, that is, what he felt, what he thought, and what he decided was shaped by God's heart. God could see all of those things because he's El Roy. He saw it. He saw it. Everything is different. Everything is different because God sees me. Now, you and I, We may imagine the best life and we think, oh, we're fairly good people. We're good citizens. I haven't killed anybody, robbed a bank. Yeah, you're right. But God sees your heart. You may say, I'm all right. I pacify myself with some kind of religious assurance because I don't look like a sinner. I behave a little more like a saint. You know, I come here on Sundays. I give grace. I thank the Lord for food and maybe give him some money. But God sees your heart. We commend ourselves because our anger doesn't spill over. Stays in check. Our lust doesn't act out. Our greed is held at bay. But God knows He sees me. He sees you. Does that frighten you? And if it doesn't, why not? Is your heart that hardened that the omnipresence and the omniscience of God doesn't shake you to your core? You can't get away with it. You can fool me. You can fool the person to your right and the person to your left, the person in front of you, the person behind you. But you cannot fool the person above you. See, is there a solution? Listen, you know, we're condemned by our hearts. You know why? Because we're guilty. So is there a solution? Of course there is. Jesus Christ, the son of God, the son of David, who lives a perfect life, dies a perfect death. His active obedience fulfills the law of God. His passive obedience allows him to go to the death and death on a cross. He provides the atonement for your sin and mine. And through faith in Him and in His work, you and I are redeemed. We're set free and our hearts no longer can then accuse us. When we're right before the Lord, then Jesus would tell us, let not your hearts be troubled. Hebrews 10, drawn near with a true heart and full of assurance. 2 Corinthians, God who said, let light shine out of darkness is shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Because El Roy, because He sees me, even when I'm weak, I can be strong. Even when I'm weak, I can be strong. Even when my prayer life is next to zero, I may have loosened His grip on Him, but He doesn't loosen His grip on me. Because He sees me, He knows my heart. I'm not a stranger. So where are you this morning? Who are you this morning? Still playing games with the Lord? Are you ready to perhaps get some things right with the Lord? Because then after all, at the end of your days, you can say, listen, no matter what happened, in my bad days, He met me. And in my good days, He sustained me. But yet not I, but Christ in me. Amen? Let's pray. Fathers, we turn and we now leave your word and we sing. We ask that your word would not leave us, that you would continue to wrestle with us and impress upon us that which we need to do. Meet us now as we sing. Meet us now as we make decisions. Thank you for your patience and your long suffering. And we're grateful to you for you're the God who sees us. in Jesus name and God's people said