Sermon
“After God’s Own Heart”
Last DUB AM Madison 4/13/12

Intro: Holy Days are not only to remind us of God’s Plan for mankind, but to LIFT us from where we are to Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom beyond our meager grasp. These Days are miraculous Gifts from God, enabling us to continue less and less over time as humans and more and more like God.

       God’s Holy Days give us a window into what God-Life is, and HOW to Live it!

Benefit Statement: By us willingly rejecting that which falsely gives us more value (pictured by leaven) by being filled with air, and yet appearing much bigger …we reject self-promotion, self-protection, self-trust, self-rightness.

THEN we accept the practical ongoing need and actual accepting of God’s MIND (truthful, accurate, selfless, Godly loving, Creation supporting) and WAY. This is pictured by Unleavened (accurate and true, and not puffed up) bread.

SPS: We ask God to put HIS Mind, His purely self-less approach, His clean, centered, totally accurate Heart into us. How can you be someone After God’s Own Heart?

Body: A simple way to discover what a clean heart is like and what it does is to look at king David. This is because God said, “David is a man after My own Heart”. Meaning David had God’s Approach FROM God.

       Of course, that wasn’t true of everything David did, so how could God say that?
1)    Heart – Center of being in Hebrew and Greek.

Acts 13:22 20“After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. 21And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David£ the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart,         {heart - G2588 – Gk -καρδία kardia kar-dee'-ah Prolonged from a primary κάρ kar (Latin cor, “heart”); the heart, that is, (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (mind); also (by analogy) the middle:—(+ broken-) heart (-ed).}        who will do all My will.’£ 23From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a£ Savior—Jesus.

1 Samuel 13: 13And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever. 14But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart,     [H3824 לֵבָב lêbâb lay-bawb' From H3823; the heart (as the most interior organ); used also like H3820 [also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything]:— + bethink themselves, breast, comfortably, courage, ([faint], [tender-] heart([-ed]), midst, mind, X unawares, understanding.]        and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

God’s very center of His Being is what He will put into someone so they will react and act like God! He will raise them up above what they could imagine or comprehend, even in this life!

2)    King David – He regularly acted on what mankind could not comprehend God able to do.

David actually asked God to (Heb) -“[absolutely] create”, like a new being, a new CENTER in him.
Psalms 51: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

1 Samuel 16:1,7,11-13 Replaces Saul by God’s Hand
1 Samuel 16:19-23 David shown favor before the king
1 Samuel 17:14,15(inset showing that even in the midst of Court, David served his dependents)
1 Samuel 17:24-26,32-37,45-51 Trusted God to work out His Plan that we can’t so dream.
1 Samuel 18:14-16 God in David was clear, and attracted humanity while putting man down …
1 Samuel 24:1-20 Repented – giving example of God’s overarching Control of Life.
2 Samuel 1:9-16 David reacts to Saul’s death with great honor of God’s chosen government.
2 Samuel 6:12-16 Expressing Godly Joy at the favor of God shown to Israel.
2 Samuel 7:18-29 David’s prayer of thanks as God requests David to honor Him.
2 Samuel 12:13-23 Accepts great personal loss by God’s Plan for him and mankind.

3)    From a humble servant shepherd (keeper, protector, servant of dependents) - David changed to become a king (keeper, protector, servant of dependents) by God. Why and How? Because he trusted God to work out His Plan …including David actively participating in that Work.

God Thought and God Action – 
Isaiah 40:10-11(NKJV)
10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

THIS isn’t human attitude? THAT is Either POWER, or gentleness care – not BOTH.

God shows that with His Heart – man can be LIKE Him, not like other men.
Ezekiel 34:1-2(NKJV)
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 

23I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.
24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.

The Attitude IN David is acknowledged by God to be what the New Covenant is ABOUT!            
Isaiah 55:3-4(NKJV)
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,
A leader and commander for the people.

This is the attitude and Approach of Jesus Christ’s clean heart …
John 10:11(NKJV)
11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

The unleavened Christ in God’s Children is NOT from below …it is created ABOVE
Hebrews 13:20-21(NKJV)
20Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in £you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Humans are meant to be unleavened and reject leavened- self-centered life. This is what David learned by the Heart of God in Him. He gave himself to God’s dependents.

CONCLUSION – God’s “center” is to support, protect, keep, honor, serve, and sacrifice His very Self for His Creation.

THAT is HIS center, HIS “heart”.
Change from our self-centered life to self-less Life is conversion.

That “cleaning” of our center will lead to serving God’s Creation as HE does.

This is in all in Ps 51, which is unlike the language in Old Covenant.

CLOSE: Is there something that is expected to happen when a human being actually has a Clean Heart from God?

          Ps 51: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
          11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

The RESULT of having God’s Heart?
Living FOR God’s Creation,

As the Loving, Selfless Creator God Lives.

BE LIFTED by the Holy Day! Be raised from this leavened, self-centered small life …to

SELF – LESS pure, God unleavened, CLEAN centered Creation building LIFE.

LET God create a CLEAN center IN Y O U
and by GOD
                                                    …let us …keep the Feast!