I. BEING A PERSON AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART
…The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His
people… (1 Samuel 13:14)
A. David was described as being a man after God’s own heart. The life of David gives us practical insight into what
it looks like to be after God’s heart.
1. First, we must commit to obey the commands of God. Even when David failed, he would repent and recommit
himself to obey God.
a. When we sin, God wants us to stand before Him, ask for forgiveness, repent (turn from) our sin, and declare war
on it. We declare war on sin by purposing in our heart not to give ourselves to sin in any way. We may fall in an area of
sin many times; yet still declare war on it by hating it as our enemy and determining within ourselves to love God.
b. Weak love is not false love. Weak love is sincere, and God desires us to be confident in His delight over us while
we are maturing. God sees the cry of our spirit to love Him. When our heart is reaching, making determination to obey,
it moves God. The longing to obey is the beginning of victory over sin.
2. Second, we must be students of the emotions of God. The Holy Spirit described David as a man who longed to know
what was in God’s heart. He was not satisfied with only knowing what God was doing. He also sought to find out why.
a. It is important for us to know the truth about how God feels about us, particularly when we see areas of darkness in
our lives. Our hearts must be anchored in the reality of His love. The devil wants us to lose sight of God’s love because he
wants us to shrink back from God. Without confidence in God’s love for us, we will run away from Him instead of to Him in
our weakness and brokenness.
b. When we turn away from sin to God, He wants us to be confident that we stand before Him as a first-class citizen
in His family. We must take confidence in the fact that He has given us the gift of righteousness in which we can now walk.
He wants us to have the confidence that He loves us in the same way that He loves Jesus.
As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (John 15:9)
…the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. (John 16:27)
3. Third, we must contend for the full purposes of God both in our own heart and for the Church in this generation.
David proclaimed the word of God and warred against God’s enemies. We do not fight against physical enemies, but
we do war in a spiritual sense through fasting, prayer, blessing our enemies, sowing righteousness, etc.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
B. God has promised that in the generation of Jesus’ return, He will raise up shepherds with a heart like David’s; shepherds
that are after God’s own heart.
And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. (Jeremiah 3:15)
II. VICTORY OVER FEAR AND COMPROMISE
A. First Samuel 27-31, tells us of a time in David’s life when we was living in fear and compromise. David had been
anointed by the prophet Samuel as the next king of Israel about ten years prior. Now, David is 28 years old.
B. King Saul had been rejected as king by God and sought to kill David. Saul had gathered 3,000 full-time assassins
for this purpose. David fled from Saul and his assassins; but had been expressly forbidden to leave the land of Judah,
saying that the Lord had promised deliverance from Saul’s hand.
C. Eventually, David yielded to discouragement and despair. Fearing for his life, he fled into the neighboring land of
Israel’s enemies, the Philistines. He deceived the king of the Philistines, lying about his allegiance to them. The king gave
David the city of Ziklag in which David and the families of his 600 men could live. David continued to live out his lies
motivated by fear for 16 months.
D. While David and his men were away from the city of Ziklag, another group of enemies, the Amalekites, burned the
city, taking its possessions for themselves and the women and children as slaves. When David and his men returned to
Ziklag to find their city destroyed and their families stolen, they turn on David. These men where loyal to David, yet
began to speak of stoning him. Rather than continue in the fear and compromise of the previous 16 months, David
strengthened himself in the Lord, repenting and seeking Him for guidance.
Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every
man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. So David inquired of the Lord…
(1 Samuel 30:6, 8)
E. That very week, God delivered David from his enemies. The families and possessions of David and his men where
fully restored. King Saul was killed in a battle with some of Israel’s enemies, the Philistines.
F. David wrote Psalm 18 “on the day the Lord delivered him from all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.” In the
song, David tells us why the Lord delivered him. He said that it was because of God’s delight in him. David understood
that although God did not approve of David’s sin, He delighted in David as a father delights in his son. Through the Lord’s
deliverance, David saw afresh the gentle tenderness of the Father’s heart towards him.
He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. …Your right hand has held me
up, Your gentleness has made me great. (Psalm 18:19, 35)