SERMON NOTES By Pastor John Paul Miller David A Man After God s Own Heart Character Studies on the Life of David

Transcription

1 SERMON NOTES By Pastor John Paul Miller David A Man After God s Own Heart Character Studies on the Life of David 1 Samuel 16: "God Chooses a New King" INTRODUCTION: 1 Samuel 16:1-13, And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. 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 brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. Where do you begin, when you start a sermon series on the life of someone as great as David? The Shepherd boy who would be King? His name means: Beloved or Beloved of the Lord he is the first person to bear that name in the Bible. He s also the only person in the Bible given the title of A Man after God s Heart [1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22] 1

2 Ask the average person what they know about David and they will most likely recall his great victory over the giant Goliath. And his tragic failure, in his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. David has been called, the golden hero whose light shone through the tarnish. F.B. Meyer From whatever side we view the life of David, it is remarkable. It may be that Abraham excelled him in faith, and Moses in the power of concentrated fellowship with God, and Elijah in the fiery force of his enthusiasm. But none of these was so many-sided as the richly gifted son of Jesse. [1 Sam 16:18] A Shepherd A Singer A Soldier (a giant slayer) A Statesman A Sinner A Saint 1. His Place in History: 2. His Promise: 3. His Purpose: Acts 13:16-22, Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. 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 13:23, Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: Acts 13:36, For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: There is so much for us to learn. 2

3 I The responsibility for choosing a new King is God s Our story opens with the rejection of King Saul, who was the people s choice, and the election of David, God s choice. 1 Samuel 16:1-3, And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. Lessons: 1. Saul s disobedience 2. God provided David [1 Sam. 13:14] God provides leaders for dark times God is looking for men and women to use 2 Chronicles 16:9, For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. The point is this, the responsibility for choosing a new King is Gods! Let God do the choosing. II. What are the requirements for the new King? or, what is the basis of God s choice? 1 Samuel 16:4-12, And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful 3

4 countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. In verse 7, we see the basis of God s choice - the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. What is it that God is looking at? The heart! What s the heart? In the Old and New Testaments, the word heart refers to the center of an individual s mental, emotional, and spiritual life. It s the innermost part of man. The heart reflects the real person. As the mental center, the heart knows, understands, reflects, considers, and remembers. As the emotional center, it is the seat of joy, courage, pain, anxiety, despair, sorrow, and fear. As the moral center, God tries the heart, sees the heart. refines the heart, and searches the heart. God s choice of a man is contrary to human reason. Notice the contrast: 1. The world is looking for strong men God is looking for spiritual men a man after His own heart What does that mean? A man after God s own heart is a man that wants what God wants! He loves what God loves, and hates what God hates. 2. The world is looking to be served God is looking for a servant! it s a heart that is God s completely it s a heart of humility it s a heart of integrity [Ps. 78:72] 4

5 A man after God s own heart is a man with a servants heart! Psalms 89:20, I have found David my servant; Illustration: Jesus said, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. (Mark 9:35) How it should be in the church Charles Swindoll When you have a servant s heart, you re humble. You do as you re told. You don t rebel. You respect those in charge. You serve faithfully and quietly. That s David. God looked at David, out in the fields in the foothills surrounding Bethlehem, keeping his father s sheep, faithfully doing his father s bidding, and God passed His approval on the lad. It should also be noted that a servant doesn t care who gets the glory. Remember that. A servant has one great goal, and that is to make the person he serves look better, to make that person even more successful. A servant does not want the person he serves to fail. A servant doesn t care who gets the glory, just so that the job gets done. So while David s brothers were off in the army making rank and fighting big, impressive battles, David was all alone keeping the sheep. He possessed a servant s heart. Do you have a heart of a servant? 3. The world is looking for status God is looking for seekers! David had a heart that sought after God Psalms 42:1-2, As the hart 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? Even David s pain pushed him into the arms of God and caused him to praise. Illustration: David at Ziklag [1 Chron. 12] I believe God is still looking for a man or woman after His own heart that He can chose to use. A heart that is completely His A heart that is a shepherds heart 5

6 Where does God find this kind of a person? What is the training ground where God s servant hearted shepherds are found? Charles Swindoll 1. Obscurity God trains His best personnel in obscurity. Men and women of God, servant-leaders in the making, are first unknown, unseen, unappreciated, and unapplauded. In the relentless demands of obscurity, character is built. Strange as it may seem, those who first accept the silence of obscurity are best qualified to handle the applause of popularity. 2. Monotony That s being faithful in the menial, insignificant, routine, regular, unexciting, uneventful, daily tasks of life. Life without a break... without the wine and roses. Just dull, plain L-I-F-E. Actually, it s a lot like flying. I have a friend who s been a commercial pilot for over thirty years. He says, Flying is nothing more than hours and hours of monotony, punctuated by a few seconds of sheer panic. with nobody else around, when nobody else notices, when nobody else even cares. That s how we learn to king it. 3. Reality What did David do out in the wilderness with the sheep? He protected them [1 Sam. 17:34-35] The responsibility for choosing a new King was God s! The requirement for the new King was a heart after God s III. The results of God s Choice (vs. 13) 1 Samuel 16:13, Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 1. The anointing of the Holy Spirit 2. The conflict with Saul What did David do after his anointing? He was: 1. running after sheep 2. running from Saul 6

7 Lessons: 1. God is doing His work when we are not aware of it. 2. When God develops our inner qualities, He s never in a hurry. Alan Redpath The conversion of a soul is the miracle of a moment; the manufacture of a saint, is the task of a lifetime. 3. Don t be discouraged, God is in the business of changing human hearts. Copyright Calvary Chapel San Bernardino 7