God's Heart, God's Man, God's Ways, Part 1

On the inside Shepherd on the community and all it was was a kid not even 20 years old. He was picked out of the field from following the sheep, and God said what I'm looking for. Boy, and you know tell you I am deeply encouraged to know that guy like David could be seen with qualities used of God. The imagination of Bible quite like David was only a shepherd boy but one day this unlikely young man became Israel's celebrated today on inside promoter Chuck Swindoll invites us to explore David's surprising ascent into prominence. It's a story that reads like a novel twists and turns in the plot, including poor choices that reflected his humanity, but in the end of this flawed character will restore our confidence in the providence and grace of God Chuck title, series, David, a man of passion and just extraordinary life of David beginning the dusty sheep hands of Judah. It ended with the completion of a 40 year reign as the greatest king in Israel's history.

Think of in between. The man killed the giant Goliath ran as a fugitive from Saul composed so many of the majestic Psalms and expanded the borders of Israel.

Remarkable achievements, but none of this would've happened without the work God did behind the scenes as he prepared the kingship for the one Samuel said was a man after God's own heart. I chose a passage from first Samuel eight to begin the study of David because I want you to see how God works to prepare a place for us long before we have any inkling of what he's doing. He always has our best interests in mind. So with that in mind turn with me in your Bibles to first Samuel eight as we read of the Israelites who asked God's prophet Samuel to anoint them a king.

Verses one through five and it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel know the name of his firstborn was Joel in the name of the second abide your they were judging in Beersheba. His sons however did not walk in his ways turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and they said to him, behold, you have grown old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations. God then directed Samuel how to answer the request. We read in verse nine now then listen to their voice.

However, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.

But the people insisted on their own way.

Despite Samuel's warning brought down to verse 19 through verse 22 we read.

Nevertheless, the people refuse to listen to the voice of Samuel.

And they said no but there shall be a king over us, but we also may be like all the nations that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. However, Samuel had heard all the words of the people he repeated them in the Lord.

The Lord said to Samuel, listen to their voice and appoint the McCain so Samuel said to the men of Israel go every man to his side for live deeper into today's topic go to insight.org and now, let's continue Chuck Swindoll's message titled God's heart God's man, God's ways. This evening we began a new series of studies which are biographical in nature and they have to do with the study of the life of David.

Other a lot of very well-known characters in Scripture, it may surprise you to know that more is written about David than any other biblical character Abraham has some 14 chapters dedicated to his life and so does Joseph. Jacob has 11 Elijah has 10 have any idea how many are dedicated to David. 66. If my accounting is correct, not counting 59 references in the New Testament to his life.

Think of that while a lot of material is revealed in Scripture about this man of God and you would expect that because he is called in the Bible on two occasions.

A man after God's own heart that when you hear those things about how much is said regarding David and the fact that he was a man after God's heart.

You could get the feeling that he is some sort of super phenomenal person in his in his flesh, but just to set the record straight.

I want to begin the series not in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament passage of first Corinthians chapter 1 because I don't want you to have the idea that he was sort of some kind of special person who had in himself certain qualities that God just had to use because it was so great, he became the king. As a matter of fact, quite the contrary. In first Corinthians chapter 1 the context has to do with the way different people view Paul or better than that, the gospel, some who were readers of Paul's letter were Jewish and they were looking for a miracle for a sign that proved the mandibles of God.

Some of his readers were Greeks and the Greeks according to verse 22 were inserts for wisdom to understand the Greek mind. The Greeks of that day were very impressed with the surface impressions. The Greeks look for brains and or drawn and they were impressed with what they saw. What are your inner life was of value really meant little to the Greek what was important is that you were bright or you were strong, very athletic.

You look good, and then they were impressed. Paul's whole thrust in the first chapter is I'm not coming to you with wisdom in the flesh brilliance, nor am I coming to you with any kind of impressionable physique.

I come in the power of God.

And there's a reason read with me now as I look at verse 26 and following of chapter 1. Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, that's a little bit of a slam. By the way, Paul says look around. Corinthians. You won't find many who are very impressionable or that is those that will impress others next verse, God's chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise God's chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God's chosen the things that are not that he might nullify the things that are the reason that no man should boast before God, and that is a principle we always forget because were a lot like the Greeks.

We look for things that will cause boasting we are terribly enamored of the surface.

We want the individual to be exceedingly bright, are exceedingly attractive when God says my choices aren't on that basis in fact. As I read part of it from the Berkeley Bible. It is even clearer. But on the universe there. Verse 28 God has chosen the world's low born and contemptible's and nobodies. I love that one nobodies in order to annihilate what amounts to something so that all humanity may be most less in the presence of God, that beautiful God has chosen nobodies to turn them into somebody that's the story of the life of David McGivney, the principal and I want to write it down and I want to be reminded of it all through the message tonight. Here it is God's choice of a person is contrary to human reason. Now I have of course a reason for saying that God's choice of a person is contrary to human reason reason I want to say that at the beginning because I want all the people here tonight and all that may hear this message in years to come to know that you're no different in essence than David nor he different from you. There was nothing about David on the surface that impressed God and caused God to say how that is my man God as we will see tonight.

Look for and shows an individual in this case, David, who really had nothing very impressive about him on the surface if I could do anything to change my mentality.

That's the one thing I would change I would like to be able to see as God sees.

I would like to be able to block out of my mind. The initial impression the surface and be able to immediately strike at the heart of someone so that I might know their motive would not be a threatening thing to know that someone was able to see you, like God could see. I could be able to see the motive and know what they really meant what they're saying or not. I could see beyond the façade and see that there's not really a heart for God is just a religious surface. I could know if a person happened to be dishonest when he was trying to appear honest, I could know if he was a phony. When he was trying to look authentic, I could spot the car salesman would not be a relief.

I could see the person who says I really love Christ, but he doesn't call a spade a spade. The Lord says my choices are not according to human reason that no person should boast before me now I want to give you hope tonight were not to dig right into how God began to use David this evening were going to dig into his times and were going to illustrate that one principal about David. He didn't look any different than any other Jewish boy his age at the time he was chosen that he had character. That's what God saw, you know what I think if we could have been the neighbors of Jesse living in the farmhouse next to their house on the Judean hillside. We may not have even known the name of the youngest son made his dad didn't even think of it when Samuel asked is this all your sons Jesse rubbed his beard and oh yeah, there's the baby who is out in the field, keeping those sheep and well. Samuel said go and fetch him Samuels from the South. That's why said go and fetch him and so Jesse went any god as suddenly, of all things.

This little rot. This nobody became somebody but you and I would not have even been impressed by the fellow that they brought in from the field who smell like a sheet I will show you something first Samuel 1612, a sort of hop skip and jump tonight through different sections of the Bible to show you some things about this choice that God made, but I want to land on the only verse in all the Bible tells us about his appearance.

Okay the only verse that talks about his appearance of verse 12 of chapter 16 of first Samuel, so he sat and brought him in. That's the key is Jesse and the him is David, the father sent and brought David in this is the only description and there are three things were told he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance well.

That you think of what else do you need that's not bad to start right there. You know what it means. It means he was redheaded. Most likely, ruddy, suggests red fair complexion may be bronzed from the sun. He had sparkling eyes and he was good looking of Phyllis Prokop writes in her book conversations with Giants an interesting thought David where are your press agents. I read page after page of your acts, your deeds, and David. There's only one sentence to describe your physical appearance. When you came before Saturday were described with these words. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome and was handsome. Indeed how many of us would buy a ticket to see a man of whom we have no more particulars than this. We need life-size prints these days like can you lift one jaunty eyebrow David, you may not understand my point of view. You see I live in a world where young men with certain looks about them are referenced as God's David, perhaps you should get a new agent your public knows only that you walk is a giant before God we believe and know how you code your hair. Not quite 66 chapters and all we know is he was redheaded, had bright eyes and he was good looking. What that tells me tells me that God means what he says when I look at the heart that gives hope to people that are big as a blip or you know 60 day there 12 years old and a girl's there's there's no reservation God can use any of us. You have to be straight A's in the great say amen all at once. You know what you like that you don't have to come out of the valedictorian girl in our high schools, valedictorian were pigtails and I never will forget tying her pigtails the night of the graduation to the back of the chair and so she stood up to get a thing she would do a lot of dumb things when you graduate toward the last of your class and she graduates first. You know you can get back one where the other to be valid. Victoria bus that's the beauty of this message tonight. That's the joy of the message on David, he was nothing more than a shepherd whose name wasn't even on the community and we got them revered as some kind of plastered sink with a halo and all it was was a kid not even 20 years old.

He was picked out of the field from following the sheep, and God said what I'm looking for.

Boy in the anointing with oil tell you I am deeply encouraged to know that guy like David could be seen with qualities used of God.

So can every person here tonight even without a superb track record.

Well, let's go back 40 years.

Okay, let's go to chapter 8 first Samuel chapter 8, show you some background. I know that most people hate history, but you just gotta get a bite of it to appreciate where David was. I'll try to make it interesting to quote G Frederick Owen in his book Abraham to the Middle East crisis. There's one sentence that I've lifted the just describe the times the people were on a long drift from God. That was the world into which David was born the backdrop that led up to the People's choice. The judges were dead. Eli came and he did the job as the high priest and then he got old and in rickety and he died and he left two sons that hated God so they were qualified and that he had adopted a boy named Samuel who was the son of Hannah and he was a man of God, but his boys word as he grew up and had children and now Samuel was old people were on a long drift from God.

They had heard about the days in which Israel were really was really a great nation they have read the books that talked about Eli and those great early days of Samuel and the zenith of his career, but listen, they knew nothing of it. Personally, you know what they knew. They knew compromise.

They knew disobedience.

They knew the. The profile of aged Samuel in fact it says in verse one that when he was old he appointed his sons judges over Israel and you think Powell now were going to move on. Look at the sons of Samuel. It names him. In verse two and it says they didn't walk in his ways. In verse three. They turned aside after dishonest gain. They took bribes and perverted justice that's that's the legacy that Samuel left the way.

Does that haunt you.

Dad's like it does me.

You know the only legacy we have that live on that will live on as reference as reflections of our character, our kids will haunt you, my dear, it's their reflections of my investment curtain Clarice and Colleen check that that's what I provide for society to witness as the works of my hands before God that live on Monday. Samuel lived and got ready to dine here were boys just brought reproach to the name of Jehovah think so.

The people were disillusioned.

Frankly, and they had three reasons for wanting a king there given to us in verse well, let's see that they have a summit meeting at Rama verse four and they said there are three reasons Samuel. We want a king first verse five, you have grown old. Second, your sons don't walk in your ways. And third, we want to be like all the other nations. Verse five concludes appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations and people of always wanted to be like everybody else of worshiping an invisible God, but he says where's your king always in the heavens. We want to have them on earth saying we want to be like all the other nations look at the Philistines God look at their K in the Moabites and the Jebusites of all the other lights that got almost king's. Can we want to be like all the other nation. Interesting how believers want to be like everybody else, because everybody's doing it so they said, look, you're out to lunch your dying, your sons are out to lunch. We want to be like everybody else. So Samuel was brokenhearted because they didn't say we want to wait on God to provide what we need to find a man will find a man and we will put them in office. Will it broke his heart that your student of the Old Testament, you know, that's all. All willful man, tall dark handsome all the externals that you would expect, indicating that some people choose kings that man before loan became thin-skinned, hot tempered, angry, and even was given to seasons of depression and murder, and he died a suicide. That's the People's choice were getting a taste of what's in store as we venture into this biographical series Chuck Swindoll titled this hallmark study David, a man of passion and destiny to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insideworld.org if you've noticed that Chuck's voice sounds a little different in the study.

That's because his study on David was originally presented many years ago, but it speaks to the privilege we have here at Insight for living and that is an archive of in-depth sermons that numbers in the thousands to make the most of the study and David I'll remind you that inside for living is pleased to offer the Swindoll study Bible. It's a wonderful resource because Chuck is written summaries for each book in the Bible, including all the books fill reference in this study on David and the Swindoll study Bible comes in a variety of book covers giving you the opportunity to choose your favorite style to purchase the Swindoll study Bible. Call us if you're listening in the United States, call 800-772-8888 or go online to Insight.org/store and follow the simple instructions. Then as we continue to pray for the safety of the Ukrainians will remind you that inside for living has been speaking into this part of the world for many years.

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When Chuck Swindoll continues his study on the life of David Friday on insight for living in the preceding message God's heart God's man, God's ways was copyrighted in 1977, 1988, 1997 and 2009 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2009 by Charles R. Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited