David - Heart To Do God's Will

After the people of Israel asked for a lesser king, Saul was chosen.  Saul was tall and very handsome in appearance.  On the outside, Saul had all the characteristics to be great king, but he had one very crucial weakness.  Saul did not keep the commands of God.  On one of Saul’s very first assignments as king, he disobeyed instructions given to him by Samuel by impatiently offering a sacrifice without waiting for Samuel (1 Sam. 10:8, 13:8-13).  On another occasion Saul was instructed to destroy EVERYTHING in a battle against the Amalekites, but instead Saul spared the Amalekite king Agag and the best animals (1 Sam 15:1-11).  Although Saul would reign as king in Israel for 40 years, as a result of his disobedience, he was rejected by God.  God already had another man in mind who would be king of Israel . . . King David.  What made David so special? 

READ: Acts 13:22; 1 Samuel 13:14

Both of these passages communicate something very important about David.  Something that is unobservable from the outside.  David was by no means a sinless man.  During his reign as king, David committed adultery with Bathsheba and in an attempt to cover his sin he lied and had Bathsheba’s husband Uriah killed on the frontlines in a battle.  There was something special about David’s HEART that reveals God’s favor toward him in spite of his sin.  God has graciously created us each with a HEART (no, not your physical heart), a spiritual "empty" place that governs our mental capabilities (thoughts), our moral conduct (behavior), and our emotional capacities (feelings).  Our heart is what drives us to think the thoughts we think, to speak the way we speak, and behave the way we behave.  David’s heart was filled with something very specific . . . to do ALL of God’s will!  Having a heart to do God’s will is an essential component of being the person God wants us to be.  Looking at the life of David, how can we do all of God’s will in our lives? 

1.  Doing God’s will starts deep down in the depths of our HEART (1 Sam. 16:7) – It is very easy to mess up the qualifications of being an individual God can/will use.  We often make the mistake of thinking that God is looking for the most talented, the most articulate, (and when it comes right down to it) the most “perfect” individual to accomplish His purposes.  We spend lots of time and energy perfecting skills we think God will use when we should be paying more attention to the deep intentions of our heart.  God is not looking for a polished exterior, instead He is looking for a right interior.  A look into the life of king David indicates that an interior that is right and most usable by God is one that deep down inside WANTS to do His will!  If we are going to be usable by God, we need to have a heart that wants to do what God wants us to do!  That was king David’s heart.

2.  Doing God’s will requires our heart to be IN SYNC with God’s heart (2 Samuel 2:1, 5:19, 5:23) – Synching two pieces of electronic equipment means that the information/data on each device is the SAME (identical), they are synched with one another.  A heart that is “in sync” with God’s is a heart whose is the same as God’s.  Several times in David’s life we see him synching his heart with God’s heart.  David “inquired” of the Lord.  Are you inquiring?  God does not just automatically “sync” our hearts with His.  We must inquire of God’s will through prayer and reading His Word.  Being in sync with God and discerning His will is actually the easy part, DOING His will is the hard part. 

3.  Doing God’s will is a LIFETIME of hearing God’s commands and being obedient (1 Kings 15:5) – In a sense doing God’s will is a ONE TIME commitment.  David was a man after God’s own heart, not because he was perfect, but because God knew that when He asked him to do something that David’s answer was already “yes”.  Before God ever asks us to do a thing our heart needs to be in the position to say “yes” at any moment.  A lifetime of obedience starts with a heart that has already replies “yes” even before being asked to do something.

CONCLUSION

Jesus Christ, even more that king David, was a man after God’s own heart (John 4:34; 5:19, 30; *6:38-39; 8:29; 14:31, Eph. 5:10).  Jesus was the perfect King because His heart was in perfect sync with His Father and He said “yes” to God’s will long before He was lead to do anything.  Are you a man/woman after God’s own heart?

The Heart of A King: Ways of a Lesser King

Who is the KING?  There are a few answers that may come to mind . . . Burger, Kong, Tut, Mufasa, Martin Luther, Jr. A king is the chief authority over a country or people.  There is little argument that, if God is a reality (and He is), than He is THE KING!  As the creator and sustainer of all that is, God is second to none.  As the giver of life and salvation, God is worthy of our loyalty or allegiance.  As King, God rules and reigns in the big scope of the entire universe as well as the small scope of each and every one of our personal lives.  Whether we know Him or acknowledge Him as such, He IS the one and only true King!

If our God is THE King, why do allow so many “lesser kings” to rule and reign in our lives?  We know something (or someone) is a “lesser king” when it is 1) NOT God and 2) it is given our obedience.  There are a number of “lesser kings” that we allow to substitute God’s rule and reign in our lives, let me mention a few . . . 1) money/possessions, 2) accomplishment/success, 3) entertainment/happiness, and 4) relationships. We are drawn to these “lesser kings” because we want to be like others (see what others have and desire to have it), or we feel dissatisfied (not content with ourselves).  Sadly, our attraction to any “lesser king” is more than just innocent comparison or dissatisfaction; it is a willful rejection of God’s rule and reign in our lives.

READ:  1 Samuel 8:1-22

Once we’ve rejected God and chosen our new “king”, what are some things we can expect to happen?  The Lord uses one verb to describe what a substitute or “lesser king” does when we invite them to rule over us . . . TAKE (buy = own, capture)!  ILLUSTRATION:  When I was 16 years old and younger, sports ruled and reigned my life.  Most of the choices and priorities of my life revolved around accomplishment in sports.  Sports TOOK the best of my time and energy, . . . . ultimately my life.  The blessings God had given to me to use for His glory, I used for my own selfish purposes.  What are the “ways” of “lesser king” we allow to rule/reign in our lives? 

1.  A “lesser king” takes what is ours and APPOINTS it for their own selfish purposes (vs 11-12) – God loves to bless us and give us things that we are to be stewards of and use for HIS purposes and glory.  God blesses us with life, time, talents, abilities, energy, possessions, money . . . all of which are given to us to be used according to His will.  When we allow anything other than God to rule and reign in our lives, those things which are ours, all the sudden are taken by the one we are obeying and used for its own selfish purpose.  When it comes right down to it, any king besides God is going to USE us and waste our blessings on themselves! 

2.  A “lesser king” takes what is ours and GIVES it away to others (vs 14-15) – Isn’t it nice to know that a “lesser king” is generous?  “Lesser kings” love to give.  They love to take what is ours and give it away to others!  Sounds like a good thing right?  Not when we are supposed to use what God has given to us and give it back to Him in whatever way He desires.  We are stewards of the blessings we have been given by God and we are first and foremost supposed to give them back to Him.  Our time, talent, and energy are not to be dispersed to meaningless temporal endeavors, but rather to God’s perfect and eternal plans.

3.  A “lesser king” takes what is ours and ENSLAVES us (vs 17) – Once we allow ourselves to be ruled by a “lesser king” we will eventually feel powerless to say no.  Once we’ve allowed a significant amount of our lives to be taken we are committed (obligated).  “I can’t go back/quit now, that would be a waste”.  “I’ve got too much invested”.  “I’ve spent too much time/money”.  “There’s no turning back now”.  Once we’ve become a slave we no longer have a choice.  A slave does exactly what his master says. 

CONCLUSION

The good news is that God the King is a giver and not a taker.  He does not ask anything of us before He has already given His most prized possession . . . His Son Jesus Christ.  Only after He’s given everything to us does He ask that we give our lives to Him.  The heart of God, our King, is to give of Himself so that we might have a relationship with Him.  That is a King worth allowing to rule and reign in your life!