#1065
Title: GOD,
GIVE ME SUCH A HEART!
Text: Acts
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 fulfil all my
will. -- Acts
Subject: David - A Man After God's Own
Heart
Date:
Tuesday Evening -
Introduction:
David was a remarkable man. He is one of
the most prominent figures in the history of the world. Even among the
characters of the Bible, among the great men of faith, David stands tall. He
was both an eminent type of Christ and the most prominent of our Lord's
ancestors as a man. The Lord Jesus is not called the Son of Abraham, the Son of
Isaac, the Son of Jacob, or the Son of Moses; but the Son of God, the Son of
Man is called the Son of David.
When the Prophet Samuel was sent to the
house of Jesse to anoint a king for
When the Apostle Paul described this
anointing of David in our text, being inspired by the Holy Spirit to do so, he
translated God's word's to Samuel like this - "I have found David the son
of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil
all my will." -- Acts
When God, who looks upon the heart, looked
upon David's heart he said, here is "a man after mine own heart." I
have read that statement hundreds of times. I never cease to be astonished by
it. Every time I read it, my heart cries out, "GOD, GIVE ME SUCH A
HEART!" I want to be that kind of man. I want David's heart. While I live
in this world, I want to live as a man after God's own heart. How about you?
Are you interested this subject?
GOD, GIVE ME SUCH A HEART! Page 2
In spiritual things the heart is the matter
of utmost concern. We must not neglect our outward conduct. We must not fail to
maintain good works. We must not ignore our responsibilities in outward things.
But true religion is an inward thing. We can get everything right on the
outside and yet be lost. Things have got to be made right on the inside.
"The LORD looketh on the heart!" Will we
ever learn that? God is not impressed with those things that impress men! Our
Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth
your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the
sight of God." -- Luke 16:15
God looks on the heart! God searches the
heart! God demands heart faith, heart obedience, heart worship! God requires
the heart! He says, "My son, [give me thine
heart], and let thine eyes observe my ways." -- Prov
Proposition: The heart is the matter of
primary concern.
When the Lord God looked upon David's heart
and declared him to be a man after his own heart, what did he see? What did God
see in David's heart that set him apart from other men? I have searched the Scriptures and found
seven answers to that question. When the Lord looked upon David's heart, this
is what he saw...
I. A BELIEVING HEART
Into thine hand I
commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. -- Psa 31:5
But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God.
-- Psa 31:14
We are not told when,
or where David began to believe God, only that he did. At some point in time,
when he was still a young man, David committed himself to the Lord God. Like
Abraham before him, like his father, Jesse, David believed God, and it was
imputed unto him for righteousness. To believe God is simply to trust him, to
take him at his word.
A. David trusted God for the forgiveness of
sin through Christ, the sinners'
Substitute.
Blessed is he whose transgression is
forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD GOD, GIVE
ME SUCH A HEART! Page 3
imputeth not
iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones
waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was
heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I
acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will
confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest
the iniquity of my sin. Selah. -- Psa 32:1-5
Now to him that worketh
is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But
to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for
righteousness. Even as David also describeth the
blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are
forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will
not impute sin. -- Rom 4:4-8
Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O
LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine
ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But
there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My
soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch
for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let
B. David trusted God's
rule of all
things in providence.
Not only did he acknowledge God's
sovereignty, he trusted it and rejoiced in it. It gave him great delight to
know that his times were in God's hands. He said, "My times are in thy
hand" -- Psa
31:15 Even when he had reason to be
afraid of his enemies, he sang, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in
thee" (Ps 56:4). Even when his life
appeared to be in jeopardy, he said, "Thou hast put gladness in my heart,
more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will both lay
me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest
me dwell in safety." -- Psa 4:7-8
C. David trusted God's immutable,covenant faithfulness.
When my father and my mother forsake me,
then the LORD GOD, GIVE ME SUCH A HEART! Page 4
will take me up. -- Psa 27:10
The steps of a good man are ordered by the
LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am
old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging
bread. -- Psa
37:23-25
David was a man of faith. He believed God.
And, believing God, he was a man after God's own heart, a man pleasing to God.
It is written, "Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." -- Heb 11:6
We please and honor the Lord our God by
faith. We cannot honor him with our works of righteousness, for the very best
that we can produce is filthy rags in his sight (Isa
64:6). We honor him and please him wen we trust him,
when we trust...
-His
Son!
-His
-His
Faithfulness!
II. When the Lord looked on David's heart,
secondly, he saw A BROKEN AND
CONTRITE HEART.
Psalm 51 is a psalm of true repentance,
written by a man with a heart broken heart, broken because of his sin. David's
heart was not broken because he had been caught in his sin, but because he had
committed it, because he had dishonored God whom he truly loved. He saw his sin
in the light of God's holiness and in the light of God's great mercy in
forgiving sin by the redeeming blood of Christ, and his heart was broken. When
he heard those words from God's prophet, "The LORD hath put away thy
sin" (II Sam
To the chief
Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had
gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I
acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against 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 GOD, GIVE ME SUCH A HEART! Page 5
judgest. Behold, I
was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother
conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the
inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make
me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I
shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones
which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out
all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right
spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy
spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with
thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be
converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness,
O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy
righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy
praise. 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. -- Psa 51:1-17
Brokenness, humility and contrition of
heart are essential. God thinks most of the person who thinks himself least!
Thus saith the
LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the
house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of
my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have
been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth
at my word. -- Isa
66:1-2
Rowland Hill once said, "If you want
to see the height of the hill of God's love you must go down into the valley of
humility."
Humility is nothing but a just estimate of ourselves. It is simply an honest, heartfelt sense of our
utter nothingness. Humility and
contrition are the knees of the soul. Christ will never take you into his arms
until you lay yourself at his feet, broken, like David, with a sense of your
sin.
Children of God, my brothers and sisters in
Christ, let us ever seek this brokenness. Pray for a broken, contrite heart.
God uses "broken" things to accomplish his work (Acts 27:44).
Brokenness is the beginning of the life of faith. Brokenness is the root of all
true revival in the soul. It is painful and humiliating, but GOD, GIVE ME SUCH
A HEART! Page 6
we must be broken. We will never break ourselves. We must be
broken by grace. Our wills must be broken to God's will.
A. Brokenness is dying to self.
It is the response of the renewed heart to
Holy Spirit conviction. "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and
they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him,
as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." -- Zec
B. Brokenness is the spirit of Christ.
Christ, who is himself God, took upon him
the form of a servant. God became a servant! He willingly gave up everything
for us. As a servant, he had no rights of his own, no home of his own, no possessions of his own. He did not have so much as an
hour to call his own. When he was reviled, he reviled not again, but committed
himself to God. He went willingly, but with broken heart, to
Shall we, for whom he suffered and died,
esteem ourselves higher than he esteemed himself? Yet, we act more like snakes
than worms. Strike at a snake and he will lift his head, hiss at you, and
strike back. Strike at a worm and what does it do? Nothing! The worm is a
humble creature, without any inclination to defend itself or attack another. It
is totally dependent upon it Creator.
May God give us that spirit. It is the spirit
of Christ.
C. This brokenness can be found only at the
foot of the cross.
Lord, bend this proud and stiffnecked I,
Help me to bow the head and die;
Beholding Him on
Who bowed His head and died for me.
Brokenness means having no plans, no time,
no possessions, no money, no life of my own. It is a
constant yielding to God. We must seek it; but only God can give it. If we are
his, he will. He receives none but those whom he breaks.
GOD, GIVE ME SUCH A HEART! Page 7
When God looked on David's heart, he saw a
heart broken before him.
III. Thirdly, David's
heart was A SUBMISSIVE
AND OBEDIENT HEART.
Every believing heart is a submissive
heart. There are no exceptions. The
believer prays continually, with his Savior, "Not my will, thy will be
done." Believing God, David was
patient and submissive to the will of God, submissive to his providential rule.
-In
the Persecutions of Saul.
-In
the Death of His Son (II Sam
-In
the Cursing of Shemei (II Sam
NOTE: Submission to God's providence is not
a prayerless, effortless, lazy, indifferent fatalism.
It is bowing to the will of God with willingness and confidence.
A. The initial act of faith, the beginning of life in Christ,
the commencement of life in the
Spirit, is Submission to Christ.
And when he had called the people unto him
with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his
life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. Mark 8:34-35
If any man come to me, and hate not his
father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
-- Luke 14:26
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and
come after me, cannot be my disciple.
-- Luke 14:27
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all
that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
-- Luke 14:33
B. The Spirit
filled life is
a life of deliberate submission to the will of God.
When Paul admonishes us to be filled with
the Spirit, he is simply telling us to yield ourselves to the rule of Christ by
his Spirit (Eph
C. Because his
heart was submissive
to the rule of GOD, GIVE ME SUCH A HEART! Page 8
Christ, David was obedient to the Word of God.
-When
Rebuked for Sin, David Submitted (Nathan).
-When
Chastened of God, David Submitted (Uzzah).
-Living
in this World, David Bowed and Gave
Obedience to the Word of God.
IV. When, the
Lord looked on David's heart, fourthly, He saw A PEACEFUL HEART.
David was a man at peace with himself, at
peace with his circumstances, and at peace with the world, because he was at
peace with God.
-The
Peace of Redemption
-The
Peace of Reconciliation
If you would find peace, you must find it
where David found it, in Christ.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. -- Mat 11:28-30
Because his heart was a believing, submissive
heart, David's heart was peaceful.
V. Fifthly, When the Lord looked on the
heart of David,
He saw A DEVOTED, LOVING HEART.
David was a man with many faults and sins.
They are plainly recorded for us to read upon the pages of Holy Scripture.
David openly acknowledged them. Yet, when all was said and done, he was a man
of genuine love and devotion to Christ. When his heart was pricked and grieved
by his sin, he wrote, "Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt
guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and
there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion
for ever." -- Psa
73:23-26 Because of his love and
devotion, he refused to offer God that which cost him nothing (II Sam 24:24). He
would not worship without sacrifice.
A. His heart was full of love, adoration, and
devotion toward his great and merciful
God.
1. He adored God.
GOD, GIVE ME SUCH A HEART! Page 9
2. He admired the works of God.
3. He loved the Word of God.
4. He cherished the worship of God.
5. He rejoiced in God's
great salvation, ascribing
it to him alone.
B. David demonstrated his love
and devotion to Christ by acts
of love and devotion to his people.
Illustrations: -Johnathan
-Mephibosheth
-The
Men Who Risked Their Lives To Bring Him A Drink
of Water
-Those
Who Stayed by the Stuff
VI. Sixthly, when the Lord looked upon David's heart, he saw A COMMITTED HEART.
Cost what it may, David was committed to
God. I admire that. Like Caleb of old, he followed the Lord fully. He was
committed to the cause of God, committed to the truth of God, committed to the
worship of God, committed to the people of God, committed to the glory of God.
Illustration:
"Is there not a cause?" (I Sam
There was nothing halfhearted about David.! He was a faithful, loyal, dedicated, dependable,
committed servant of God in his generation. His life reflected the commitment
of his heart. God declared that he would fulfill all his will,
and he did. "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will
of God, fell on sleep." -- Acts
VII. Lastly, I want
you to see
that when the Lord looked on David's heart, he saw A CONTENT
HEART.
When he lay on his deathbed and surveyed
his life's history, David was content with what God had done. Believing God, he
believed him to the end. Read his last words. "Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and
the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the
sweet psalmist of
shining after rain. Although my house be not
so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all
things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he
make it not to grow. -- 2 Sam 23:1-5
Application:
When the Lord looked on David's heart and
declared him to be a man after his own heart, this is what he saw...
A
BELIEVING HEART
A
BROKEN, CONTRITE HEART
A
SUBMISSIVE AND OBEDIENT HEART
A
PEACEFUL HEART
A
DEVOTED, LOVING HEART
A
COMMITTED HEART
A
CONTENT HEART
David was a man approved of God. He did not
have such a heart by nature. He did not develop it by discipline. Grace had
made him a new creature in Christ. Grace had given him a new heart. And grace
kept his heart renewed. Now this is my prayer, GOD, GIVE ME SUCH A HEART! May
the Lord God give you such a heart. Let us give him
our hearts, and this is what he will make of them. Amen.