JACKSON STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES WELCOME TO THE JACKSON STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST PLEASE TURN OFF CELL PHONES

1 Samuel 13:13-14  And Samuel said to Saul, " You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14  "But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."

A MAN AFTER GODS HEART

A MAN AFTER GOD’S HEART In I Samuel 13:14, the Lord rejects Saul as king for David. The reason given is simple, God "sought a man after His own heart." In Acts 13:22, Paul quotes the verse and tells us it refers to David who would follow Saul as king. What made David a man after God's own heart? As we seek to be men and women of God, how can we have that kind of heart? Psalm 27 gives us at least six reasons why David was a man after God's own heart and how we can be that kind of servant of the Lord.

1. David BELIEVED in God Psalm 27:1-3  The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 2  When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. 3  Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war should rise against me, In this I will be confident. Notice the confidence and faith he shows in God. Even in the face of adversaries, he says he will not fear and will be confident.

1. David BELIEVED in God Belief in God is necessary if we are to have Godly hearts. Faith is necessary to please God - Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Righteousness begins with faith - Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

2. David LONGED for God Psalm 27:4-5  One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. 5  For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. David wanted to be with God.

2. David LONGED for God That should be our primary goal as well - 2 Corinthians 5:7-8 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8  We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Far better to be with the Lord - Philippians 1:21-23 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

3. David PRAISED God Psalm 27:6  And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. Notably, it was not in good situations, but in spite of his bad situation, he praised the Lord. If we have Godly hearts, we will always seek to praise God for all He has done for us

3. David PRAISED God Ephesians 1:3-6  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5  having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6  to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

3. David PRAISED God Ephesians 1:11-14  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12  that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13  In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

4. David RELIED on God Psalm 27:7-10  Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8  When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek." 9  Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10  When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me. So, he cried out to Him, sought Him, begged Him not to forget, and admitted the Lord was the most significant relationship David had.

4. David RELIED on God We rely on Jesus only also - John 6:67-68  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" 68  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. The one with a Godly heart also recognizes he or she is entirely dependent on the Lord - Acts 4:12  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

5. David LISTENED to God Psalm 27:11  Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. He realized the importance of being taught by the Lord and following Him. We are to listen to God’s Son - Matthew 17:5  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"

5. David LISTENED to God Hebrews 1:1-2  God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2  has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; His apostles taught that we must hear and obey the Lord to be His. - 1 John 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

6. David TRUSTED in God Psalm 27:12-14  Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. 13  I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. 14  Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! It is with certainty he declares his confidence in the Lord's deliverance. Those with hearts after God's own heart recognize they walk by faith (II Cor. 5:7).

6. David TRUSTED in God It is the reason why Paul and the writer of Hebrews could face the future with certainty – 2 Timothy 1:12  For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

6. David TRUSTED in God It is the reason why we can look to the future with the same confidence in Him - 1 John 5:11-13  And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

ARE YOU A PERSON AFTER GOD’S HEART David was a man after God's own heart not because he was perfect. But, because his imperfections drove him to seek God. We too can be men and women after God's own heart when we keep Him in our heart. Matthew 22:37-40  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38  This is the first and great commandment. 39  And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

HAVE A WEEK SEEKING GOD’S HEART