David A Man After God's Own Heart 2

I put it out last week that in all of
Scripture only King David is ever said
to be a man after God's own heart and he
said to be a man after God's own heart
not because he was so perfect because he
wasn't but because it's some very
fundamental level he understood the
heart of God not only but he was really
committed to carrying it out and the
Apostle Paul and his first missionary
preaching in presidio in Antioch at Acts
chapter 13 22 sums that are powerfully
like this when he says concerning the
Lord after removing Saul he may david
their king he justified concerting him I
have found David son of Jesse a man
after my own heart and then this phrase
he will do everything I want him to do
David was a man after God's own heart
because God knew that he was committed
to fulfilling God's agenda in the world
so far then we have looked at one of the
ways in which david said about his heart
on God's passion and that is in his own
personal walk with God David walked
closely with God David understood
something about God's heart that even a
lot of Christians today don't understand
at least not very well and that is the
fact that God wants to hang around with
you and me he wants to impart his plan
to us and he wants us to work together
with him to accomplish his purpose as
you see that throughout Scripture in the
relationships
God establishes why is abraham called a
friend of God because God shares his
secrets with Abraham why is Moses called
a servant of God because God entrusted
him with the house of God in the Old
Testament and similarly then why is
David called him and after God's own
heart because he he he knew the heart of
god and he cultivated that relationship
through and through and obviously the
more a lesson there for you and me is
that through faith in Christ that is
what God is looking for in your life and
in my life we can accomplish the
greatest things in all of the world but
at the end of the time all that really
matters is do I know Christ and does he
know me how I lived my life in
relationship with him David Illustrated
that by his life of faith he Illustrated
that by his life of obedience he
Illustrated that by his life of
repentance and most of all of course he
Illustrated that by his life of worship
Psalm 34 I will bless the Lord at all
times his spray shall continually be in
my mouth my soul makes its boast in the
Lord let the afflicted here and be glad
Oh magnify the lord with me and let us
exalt his name together David's personal
life was intimately caught up in his
walk with God that brings us this
morning then to a second area in which
David really expresses his understanding
of God's heart and that is in David's
love and commitment to God's people is
love for and his commitment to the
people of God thing back with me for
just a moment to the scripture reading
that we did from
one samuel chapter 16 why does Samuel
anoint David with oil well it's because
God has chosen David to become the king
or in biblical language the shepherd of
his people Israel I love the way psalm
78 of the verses 7272 put it for us he
that is God chose David his servant and
took him from the sheep pens from
tending the sheep he brought him to be
the shepherd of his people Jacob of
Israel his inheritance and David
shepherded them with integrity of heart
and with skillful hands he led them lots
of things in that verse that we could be
emphasizing the one that I want to
emphasize particularly is the emphasis
on Israel as God's inheritance he
brought him to be shepherd of his people
Jacob of Israel his inheritance want you
to think that through with me for just a
little bit because that reference comes
from the Old Testament book of
Deuteronomy chapter 32 the verses 8 to 9
and these verses read is this when the
Most High gave the nation's their
inheritance when he divided all mankind
he set up boundaries for the people's
according to the number of the sons of
Israel let me stop there for just a
moment because what he is saying here is
what Paul emphasizes in Acts chapter 17
that God made of one all the nations of
the world and then he he selected times
and places for each nation to have their
habitation so God decides who lives
where and who leaves when fascinating
insight into the biblical version of
history
but then the passage goes on in verse 9
listen to this the Lord's portion is his
people Jacob is allotted inheritance now
listen carefully Jacob the Lord's
portion is his people Jacob is allotted
inheritance what is he saying what is he
saying is that God has chosen the people
of Israel out of all the nations of the
world to be his particular people which
brings us to the question why in the
world would God be so enamored with the
people of Israel in the Old Testament in
fact here you can see one of the huge
differences between secular history and
biblical history those of you you know
young enough to remember going to school
and studying history will remember that
in your history classes what did you
study well you study the rise and fall
of the great empires did you not for
some of you it's been so long you've
been to school that you don't remember
anything of what you learned but you
know try to refresh your memory or you
you learn about Egypt and you learn
about Assyria and you learn it with a
Greek Empire and you're learning about
the Roman Empire and and Western
civilization and and how the whole world
is shaved by the rise and fall of these
huge empires then you get the scripture
and you discover they're all mentioned
in Scripture but they're not the focus
of Scripture at all instead the focus in
Scripture isn't his puny little nation
that is called Israel a people that God
has said he's loved on why in the world
would he do that it wasn't because they
were so fantastic they were cantankerous
they were rebellious they gave him a lot
of trouble just like you and me
sometimes why did God love them
well because he entered into covenant
with Abraham and he planned to use the
people of Israel to accomplish his
redemptive purposes he gathered his role
out of all the nations of the world to
further his particular purpose he had a
job for them to do and that job we can
summarize in four steps there are many
more as there always are but there are
four particular things that God called
Israel to do when he called Israel out
of the nation's and he brought them
together let me backtrack for just a
moment and show you this chart because I
spent a lot of time on it and I don't
want to just skip it it's pretty hard
work don't you think I mean I'm really
proud of this even though I didn't make
these little figures i did make all the
rest just so you know but what i've got
here is a is a a picture of what god is
after in calling out the nation of
Israel this is a very quick summary of
biblical history here's Adam and Eve of
course if I can find them somewhere
anyway there you see them ah they're
looking unhappy because they ate the
forbidden fruit obviously they were
originally designed to be the people of
God through whom god would make his
purposes for the world known they were
to serve him they were to subdue the
earth they were to build a kingdom that
would reflect the plan and the purpose
of God you know the story they fell into
sin they got kicked out of the garden
and after being kicked out of the garden
what happened was that they had two sons
Kate and able k and killed Abel Abel was
replaced by Seth Seth and khaya now
become head
of two strands of people the bigger
triangle there represents the offspring
of keun it's the world the smaller
stripe in between is the offspring of
Seth as time and history went on the
sons of God entered into union with the
sons of man many different
interpretations about what that means
but the end result is that by the time
Noah appears on the scene he is the only
one left who is not corrupt and you
remember what God does the Bible says
God repented of having made men kind
because their thoughts were only evil
continually so what happens you know the
story along comes the flood and God
wipes out the whole shootin match and
Noah has three sons Shem half-fish Shem
ham and Japheth out of those three sons
the world gets repopulated the nation's
appear and from shims offspring
eventually God calls Abraham that's that
dude in the striped coat there that's
that's Abraham God enters into covenant
with Abraham and Abraham becomes the
father of Isaac and Jacob Jacob of the
twelve tribes that becomes the nucleus
of the nation of Israel and God enters
into covenant with them at Mount Sinai
that's what the Ark of the Covenant
represents under the rulership of David
and then Solomon Israel rises to its
highest point ever but remember soon
trouble enters the nation splits in 722
BC the dude on the throne up there
that's David the arrow pointing up that
is the northern ten tribes going into
exile most of those have never come back
Judah goes into exile years later in 586
BC that
Nebuchadnezzar down here they are in
captivity for 70 years God fulfills his
promise and in multiple migrations if
you will he brings them back and they
now become the nucleus of his people
once again and they rebuild the temple
now what I'm trying to show you here is
how throughout this whole process God is
holding on to a nucleus of people in a
world that is filled with rebellion and
sin and Israel's purpose and being
separated from the nation's for God's
sake is a four-fold purpose let me try
to walk you through that in the time
that remains to us the first purpose for
Israel selection is that they would keep
the testimony of God alive but they
would keep the testimony of God alive
Psalm 78 five six and seven very
pertinent to this understanding it says
concerning God he decreed statutes for
Jacob and established the law in Israel
which he commanded our forefathers to
teach their children so that the next
generation would know him even the
children yet to be born and they in turn
would tell their children and then they
would put their trust in God and would
not forget his deeds but would keep his
commands so here's the big question from
God's perspective see how do you keep
the knowledge of God alive as one
generation gives way to the next
generation think that through from God's
perspective what happens is that as
the generations go on they lose track of
who God is because they lose the
knowledge of God you can see that in our
own day and age where more and more
people don't know Bible stories more and
more people don't know what the Bible
teaches and the values of the world that
are so readily being embraced even by
people who have grown up in Christian
homes is because they have lost the
commandments and the teachings of God so
the challenge for the faith in every
generation is how do you pass on a
living faith to your children and to
your children's children and that is
where the answer lies in one generation
bearing witness to the next generation
about who God is and what God values you
and I as parents and his grandparents
have an incredible responsibility to
make sure that the knowledge of God as
it is recorded for us in the pages of
Scripture is passed on from generation
to generation lest it be lost I was so
struck two weeks ago when egbert and
Jean had their 60th anniversary
celebration their son George was
emceeing the event at one point he
called the family op first Egbert and
gene and then the children and
subsequently the children's children
until all those that were there were
lined up in front of us generation by
generation and I remember being so
struck because what an example that is
of our responsibility to pass faith to
children yet unborn and I say that
because two of the women married two
grandchildren we're both pregnant as I
recall and you have that picture
of one generation passing on biblical
values to the next generation and that's
why God chose Israel as his people to
keep alive the testimony of God
particularly the revelation of God given
through scripture Paul you might recall
picks up on that in Romans chapter 3 the
verses 1 and 2 he says what advantage
then is there in being a Jew or what
value is there in circumcision the way
that we would ask that question is what
value is there in being raised in a
Christian home or what value is there in
coming out of a Christian tradition
that's really the VAT the question that
he's asking and he says much in every
way concerning the Jews he's talking
about them now he says first of all they
have been entrusted with the very words
of God and wonder if I can use this
moment to appeal to those of you who are
parents here to understand the the
seriousness of you keeping a lie for
your children and your children's
children the values of the kingdom you
are surrounded by people on every hand
who will try to impart into your
children's lives values that do not
reflect the values of God and apart from
God's grace the natural tendency for
your children is to drift away and to
embrace those values we cannot impart
faith to them we cannot stop them from
going perhaps the way where they might
want to go but we can do everything in
our power to do what we can do which is
to pray for our children which is to
make sure they know
the stories of Scripture and if I may be
so bold as to say make sure that they
are part of programs like the ones that
you heard about earlier in the service
this morning make sure that they are
part of a place where they can be
discipled in the things of God there's a
thousand and one things that they can be
involved in but i'll tell you at the end
of the day all that's going to matter is
do they know God and are they walking in
his ways am i clear in what I'm saying
you know if you talk to Sarah and others
in children's ministry they don't want
to do the work for you they want to come
alongside you as parents to his
grandparents to instill biblical values
through much prayer and hard work into
the lives of the next generation because
the tendency and I thought to belabor
this but the tendency is for subsequent
generations to lose faith and God calls
Israel out of all the nations of the
world to uphold a testimony to his name
but there's a second reason and that is
to model God's Way of life what do you
think happens when the knowledge of God
disappears in a society what happens
when people no longer know what God
stands for what happens when people no
longer believe biblical truth what
happens when people drift away from God
in terms of their belief system i'll
tell you what happens their lifestyle
follows and it follows an incredibly
short order visually we can represent it
like this one Satan ones God is ruled
out of the picture
and people no longer can turn to God for
wisdom and for direction they have to
fill the void in their lives in other
ways is that not true and so throughout
the Old Testament and the thing same
thing is true today we turn to idols and
the idols can be power they can be
relationships they can be money they can
be pleasure they can be knowledge they
can be phony forces forms of
spirituality they can be as practical a
thing as I'm going to you know exercise
till I have a body that can't possibly
ever die as if that works but the net
result then is that we end up embracing
the world's value the pride of life the
lust of the eyes the lust of the flesh
and you and I both know how prevalent
that is even in our own lives let alone
the lives of our children and our
grandchildren when we lose the knowledge
of God we lose a biblical lifestyle and
so God's function in raising up Israel
was not only that they would know the
laws of God who God is and how God wants
people to live but so they could
actually model heavens values of faith
hope and love they never did it very
well at least not most of the time but
that was God's intention that's what
Peter talks about when he says that
we're a holy nation a royal priesthood a
bearing witness to the call of God in
our own lives never underestimate if you
please how your walk with God and how
your refusal to participate in certain
things that your friends are that your
neighbors participate don't ever
underestimate the power of being salt
and light and God's purpose for Israel
was that they would model to the
nation's the reality of God's truth
Deuteronomy 46 puts it this way
serve them that is the commandments and
the statutes that God gives to Israel
observe them carefully for this will
show your wisdom and understanding to
where the nation's who will hear about
all these decrees and say surely this
great nation is a wise and understanding
people so God wants to keep his
testimony alive God wants a model of
what life in relationship with God and
structured relationally according to his
will looks like still a third reason is
to set the stage for the coming Messiah
because ever since the fall into sin God
has promised that the seed of the woman
would overcome the seed of the serpent
from the very beginning God says to
humanity somebody is going to come into
history they're going to beat the tar
out of all this satanic stuff and and
this person is going to redeem the world
and already back in the Book of Numbers
you know Balaam a soothsayer but under
the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit
looking into the future put it this way
he said I see him but not now I behold
him but not near our star will come out
of Jacob and a scepter will rise out of
Israel throughout the whole Old
Testament God held on to the nation of
Israel why because he knew that they
were necessary so that eventually in the
fullness of time the Lord Jesus could be
born and out of that then comes the sum
total of what it is that God is after by
dealing with the nation of Israel
and that is to provide salvation for the
whole world when God enters into
covenant with Abraham the Covenant is
that God would not only bless Abraham
but that through Abraham God would bless
the nations of the world and God
strategy consistently was that by
preserving the Court of Israel he would
preserve the seed that one day would
spread throughout all the earth and
would cause there to be salvation for
all the nations of the world and
diagrammatically we can show it in this
fashion picking up from where we left
off in the previous one there you have
Abraham becoming the foundation of God's
people the rule of King David the exile
then you have the return from exile and
in the fullness of time after the return
of the Exile what happens is that Jesus
is boring of Mary lives his life dies on
the cross and then gets raised on the
third day and then 40 days later out
comes the Holy Spirit on the church and
you now have the new Israel you have the
new people of God the new people of God
who now get spread all over the world
and who become the new sources of light
wherever they get planted because today
all over the world where Christians
gather together you have a new Israel of
God I know that gets into all kinds of
questions about the relationship between
the church in Israel we don't wanna get
into that now just under
and that were ever the church meets
together there you have God's people
fulfilling a 4-fold picture holding up
the testimony of God modeling the life
of God before the nations of the world
setting the stage for this second coming
of Christ by lives of holiness and
godliness and ultimately serving as
God's vehicle to call the nations to
repentance until every knee will bow and
every tongue will confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord for the glory of God the
Father David got it he got it with all
his heart he gave himself to that call
with all his heart he served them with
integrity zuv Scripture and he served
them skillfully and the question for you
and me this morning then is this how
much the you and I understand the heart
of God to what degree are we men and
women after God's own heart to what
degree do we value our walk with God and
how do we demonstrate that in what our
daily values are but more than that to
what degree do we value church and
church community because I am convinced
that what God is after in this day and
age it in this generation is to make a
people of praise and people of power our
people separated from the nations of the
world by faith in Jesus filled with the
Holy Spirit a people who can keep alive
the testimony of God a people who will
demonstrate however imperfectly in their
lifestyle the values of the
Kingdom a people who hasten the coming
again of the Lord Jesus and a people who
are passionate about recognizing that
the church is the hope of the world and
it is our task and our job to so shine
with a glory of God but the nations
cannot but see that we are the object of
his affection and that we can take
people by the hand and we could lead
them into the presence of God I don't
know about you but many many years ago
God grabbed my heart about that and like
David of old and I don't want to compare
myself to him but like David of old my
passion is the local church my fashion
is to see God do the work that needs to
be done in our life to reconcile us to
himself to reconcile us to each other to
fill us with a holy spirit so that God's
heart can be satisfied and he can look
at you and me together not only
individually but together and see that
what Jesus came to do and lived for and
died for and rose for has come to
expression so that his heart can be made
glad because when history ends you know
what happens the Bride of Christ which
is the church descends from heaven like
a bride beautifully prepared for her
husband and one man who years ago more
than 200 years ago now caught that
vision is the author of one of the
oldest North American hymns a song that
you will recognize as I love thy kingdom
Lord I'll read it to you in just a
moment his name was Timothy Dwight he
lived from 1752 to 1817 he was a
brilliant young lad
at the age of four he taught himself how
to read the Bible and his parents caught
him evangelizing the native Indians at
four years of age under an apple tree
can you mention that seven years of age
he taught himself Latin at 13 years of
age he entered Yale University then
college at 17 he graduated at 19 he
began to teach at Yale eventually became
its president he became president at a
time when religious life in the New
England colonies was majorly in decline
it is said that there were no more than
five students left on the campus that
lived by biblical faith and it so
stirred his passion that he continually
preached a series of revival messages
that ultimately brought revival to the
whole yield campus and lead up the
beginnings of the Second Great Awakening
he wrote 33 hymns in his lifetime
there's only one that has survived and
it's words go like this and the praise
team is going to come out as I read
these to you and then we're going to
respond by singing it together I love as
I read these put yourself in David's
heart in terms of the centrality of the
church I love thy kingdom Lord the house
of thine abode the church are blessed
Redeemer saved with his own Precious
Blood I love thy Church Oh God her walls
before they stand dere is the apple of
thine eye and graven on the hand for her
my tears shall fall for her my prayers I
send to her my cares and toils be given
till toils and care shall I and beyond
my highest joy I prize or heavenly ways
her sweet communion solemn vows for
hymns of love
and praise sure res they true shall last
to Zion shall be given the brightest
glories earth can yield and brighter
you