The approval and praise of the master is always the hope and joy of every servant and employee. So also does every child work for and rejoice at the parents’ support and praise.
In Paul’s sermon at Antioch, in which he briefly recounts the history of Israel, he refers to the statement made by God concerning David: “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will.” Act 13:22, 1 Sam 13:13-14).
The obvious question that many have asked is how could God call David “a man after his heart” when David was such a terrible sinner, having committed adultery and murder?
Much has been written regarding the meaning of the verse and its applicable value in the books of 1st and 2nd Chronicles and 1st and 2nd kings. However, we find much of his character in the book of Psalms as he opened up his life for all to examine.
To provide the answer to the question we must point out another obvious fact, which is that David had received this honor from God long before his public life began.
A young baby of the family who, at the time he worn God’s approval, had more contact with animals than men. Therefore, I wish to inform us that becoming the man after God’s own heart had nothing to do with the
activities or in activities of David’s public life however a portrait of success and failure was, and it highlights the fact that he was far from perfect. So what does it take to be a man after God’s own heart?
Let’s look at some key characteristics of David’s life to fine out. First, David had absolute faith in God. Nowhere in scripture is this point better illustrated than in 1 Samuel
17 where David as a young shepherd boy fearlessly slew the philistine, Goliath shortly before the encounter we see direct evidence of David’s faith in verse 37 where David says, “ The LORD who delivered me from the paw
of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the LORD be with you!”” David was fully aware that God
was in control of his life, and he had faith that God will deliver him from impending danger. How else would one venture into a potentially
fatal situation with such calm and confidence? David knew early on in life that God was to be trusted and obeyed. As we see in scripture, David’s faith pleased God, and he is rewarded for it by the Lord.
secondly, David absolutely loved Gods law. Of the 150 Psalms in the Bible, David is credited foe writing over half of them. Writing at various and often troubling times in his life,
David repeatedly mentioned how much he loved God’s perfect word. We find a beautiful example of this in Psalm 119. In this Psalm, if
not written by David it certainly expresses his sentiment found elsewhere, we find one who has a great love for God’s word-119:47-48: “For I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your
commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees”. It is not hard to see his complete adoration for God’s word. But also notice how he mentions that he “meditates” On God’s statutes. God granted David understanding and wisdom through daily meditation.
This love for God’s word is due to the fact that David believes that the word of God protects him from sin- Ps 119:11, revives him in affliction- 119:5, and gives him great peace
of mind – Ps 119:165. We would do well to not only read God’s word but also think about it throughout the day for God loves when we
think about Him. “Blessed are they who keep his status and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways” (Psalm 119:2-3).
Thirdly, David was truly thankful. “I wash my hands in Innocence, and go about your alter, O LORD, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds” (psalm 26:6-7).
David’s life was marked by seasons of great peace and prosperity as well as times of fear and despair. But through all the seasons in his life, he never forgot to thank the lord for everything that he had .
It is truly one of his finest characteristics. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his court with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4,).
“Seven times a day I will praise thee”. Ps 119:164 David praise God because of his righteous judgment. He praised God because of his greatness and loving-kindness –Ps 95:1-7.
And he was determined to sing praises as long as he lived – Ps 104:33. As followers of Jesus Christ, we would do well to follow David’s lead of offering praise through thanksgiving to our lord on a daily basis.
Fourthly, David was truly repentant. “It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.
And David sent and inquired about the woman. and one said, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uria the Hittite? So David sent messengers and took
her, and she came to him, and he lay with her: (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) then she returned to her house
. and the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, I am pregnant” (2 Samuel 11:2-5). the mighty fall hard and David fall included adultery, lying and murder. he had sinned against God and he admits it in 2 Samuel
12:13: “David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. and Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”But admitting our sin and asking
for forgiveness is only half of the equation.The other half is repentance and David did all you should all do repent of our sin. Psalm 51 is David’s prayer to repentance
to God.”Have Mercy on me,oh God, according to your steadfast love; according to your aboundant mercy blot out my transgressions.wash me throughly from my iniquity,and cleanse me from sin.(psalm 51:1-2)”.
Fifthly. DAVID LOVED TO PRAY “I WILL CALL UPON HIM AS LONG AS I LIVE” –PS. 116:1-2. His love for prayer was based upon the fact God had answered him before – Ps 116:1-2. it was based upon the fact that God
had greatly blessed him. Ps116: 12-13. It was upon the fact that prayer brought God close to him-Ps 145:18. Have we found it to be a source of peace “which surpasses all
understanding”?- phil 4:6-7 Do we “pray without ceasing”?- 1 Th 5:17. If not, then let David instruct us to depend upon prayer for our very preservation – Ps 32:6-7
Sixthly. DAVID LOVED UNITY AMONG BRETHREN.
“BEHOLD, HOW GOOD AND HOW PLEASANT IT IS….” – Ps133:1 David knew the value of good friendship and unity, as exemplified in the relationship he had with Jonathan – 1 sam18:1. He also knew the
terrible pain of division within a family (his sons, Ammon and Absalom -2 Sam. 13). Do we love unity enough to pay the prize? By
diligently displaying the proper attitudes necessary to preserve the unity, Christ has accomplished through his death? By marking and staying away from those who needlessly cause division?
Seventh. DAVID HATED EVERY FALSE WAY “ I HATE EVERY FALSE WAY” –Ps119:104. His hatred was based his understanding of God’s precepts –Ps 119:104 His hatred affected his selection of activities and friends Ps 101:3-4,6-7. What is our attitude towards
falsehood, false ways and hypocrisy? Are we soft or compromising? Oe do we realize that we are involved in a “battle” over the souls of
men, and are not to think lightly of that which is false? 2 Cor. 10:3-5. We must remember that while we are to love the sinner, we must ever hate the sin.
In conclusion, we have seen that what made David score above the rest was that his heart was pointed toward God. David demonstrated
his faith seemingly on a daily basis which pleased the Lord. As a young shepherd he discerned that the earth and the heavens were concrete evidence of a great creator God.
He was amazed when he looked at the life, beauty and design he saw in the heavens and the world around him was filled with great awe and respect for the God who created it all.
He felt so humbled in comparison and gave his life over to doing God’s will completely and trusted in the God who could do anything.
Through his life his faith would be tested on a grand scale and in the final analysis he passed most of the tests. David also loved God’s law and he sought to follow it as best he could.
He spent many days meditating on it and trying to apply it to his own life. He knew that God’s law had the power to change lives if it was followed to the letter.
Another important character trait that David exhibited was that he had attitude of gratitude and was very thankful for his life. During his life he had all sorts of trouble, but David thanked God every day no matter the circumstances.
And finally, David was truly repentant. Let us not forget that he was a man just like us who sinned on a regular basis. But, despite his sin, he always loved God and sought to repent of those sins.
He is a role model for all of us sinners who need to repent earnestly. David was indeed a man after God’s own heart. We see that the dominant characteristic that motivated God
to call him a man after his own heart was his wholehearted commitment and adoration of his creator. Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, all of your mind and all of your soul (Matthew 22:37-38).
All of one’s heart means with great depth of feeling rather than just a mild interest. All of one’s mind means it it to be an intelligent belief in God based on evidence and not just a
blind faith and all of one’s soul has to do with our life and committing our actions to doing God’s will regardless of how we feel.
Therefore When God searches the earth for potential leaders, He is not on a search for angels in the flesh. He is certainly not looking for perfect people, since there are none. He is
searching for men and women like you and me, mere people made up of flesh. But he is also looking for people who share the same qualities he found in David. God is looking for men and women “after his own heart”. What does it mean to be a person after God’s own heart?
It means that your life is in harmony with the Lord. What is important to him is important to you. What burdens him burdens you. When he says, “Go to the right”, you go to the right. When he says
“Stop that in you life”, you stop it. When he says, “This is wrong and I want you to change,” you come to terms with it because you have a heart for God. That’s the bottom-line, biblical Christianity.
When you are man after God’s heart, you are deeply sensitive to spiritual things. 2 Chronicles 16:9 explains it this way, “for the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout
the earth to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards him.”what is God looking for as he looks into our families, state and nations?
He is looking for men, Christians whose heart are his-completely. That means there are Locks closest.Nothing being sweet under the rugs.
Thatmeans that when you do wrong, you admit it and come to thanks with it.you long to please him in your actions.You care deeply about the motivation behind your actions.God is not looking for magnificent specimen of humanity.
Heis looking for deeply spiritual, genuinely humble, honest to core servents who have integrity.such are men after God’s own heart.
Shalom….
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True talk