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It is very obvious that King David holds a very special place in scripture that no other character of the Old Testament has. The Bible is full of examples of great men and women of God whose stories have been passed to us so that we can learn about what God likes and dislikes, and what He blesses and does not bless. There is really "nothing new under the sun," and so I still believe that every question of life, and of right and wrong can be answered through careful study of the pages of the Word of God. The more I study it, the more convinced that I become of that fact. God's Word has God's opinion on every possible subject that you and I could ever face and that is why the Word of God must be precious to us!

But of all the good men and women in the Old Testament, it is obvious that David is special to God. For one thing, more space is devoted to telling about David than any other Old Testament character. Just for fun this week, I did a search on how often certain prominent people were mentioned in the entire Bible. David is mentioned in scripture 1083 times by name! That puts him far ahead of any Old Testament person and the runner ups were Solomon (281), and Abraham (230). Incidentally, there is only one person that is mentioned by name in the Bible more than David in either Testament and that, of course, is Jesus Christ (1,538). By comparison, Peter is mentioned only 158 times!

There are other reasons why King David is obviously special to God and I would like to point out two more. The first is found in our first text where Paul is preaching and refers back to David as "a man after God's own heart." Actually, God is the one who said that David is "a man after my own heart." There is only one other scripture in the Bible that uses such language about a person, and we cannot tell for sure to whom it is referring (1 Samuel 2:35), so David is the only person that we can identify of whom God felt this way. God was speaking to the Jews in language that they could understand, and to the Jew, the "heart" of a man was referring to more than just a blood-pumping organ, but to the true identity of a person: a person's inner man or who they are when no one is around and when all the masks are dropped. There was no man on earth that was sired of man that God felt like was closest to "His heart."

The second point that shows that God felt strongly about David is in what is to many scholars a series of puzzling prophecies. We read one of them as our other text in the writings of the prophet Ezekiel. The kingdom of Israel had split and they had been taken into captivity, hauled away from their promised land because of their idolatry. God speaks to Ezekiel and says to tell them that "I will bring them back to the promised land and that I will turn back to Israel again and they will be saved." Of course, that came true when the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland again, but there is a shocking statement that God made in this prophecy which lets us know that there is more to the prophecy than what happened before the birth of Christ.

Did you catch that? God said that "David shall be king over them." And He went on to say that "my servant David shall be their prince forever!" That is shocking because when God made this statement through the prophet Ezekiel, David had been dead for over 400 years! And it is not some crazy mistake of the translators or something like that because the prophecy is repeated in other passages of scripture. Listen to some of them:

That scripture in Hosea gives us clues to understanding such a startling prophecy. This will all take place "in the latter days." When God said that David will once again rule Israel, He was talking about end-time prophetic events.

It is a scriptural fact that after the Dispensation of Grace is over and the Rapture of the church has taken place and the Wrath of God has been poured out upon this earth, that God will once again return to the 1/3 of the Jewish people that survived and give them a second chance of salvation. Paul stated this fact like this:

Those of you who have been through the prophecy series understand this, but I want to point out a further point of information. Not only will God turn back and save the Jews after the "time of the Gentiles," but David -- in his glorified, resurrected body -- will rule and reign over them forever! God was so impressed with David's life that He will allow David to rule as King of Israel for as long as time lasts in the Millennial Reign and probably even beyond. The world may crown success, but God crowns faithfulness, and when God crowns faithfulness He does so for eternity!

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It is obvious, then, that we also want it to be said about us after our life, "they were a man/woman after God's own heart." Whatever David did right, you and I want to do as well! With that in mind, what then were the characteristics of David that made him a "man after God's own heart?" Whatever they are, I want to emulate them. As I look over the life of David, here are the points that stand out to me that caused him to become a "man after God's own heart:"

It was David that wrote in a song:

David's love for the Spirit of the Lord and the House of the Lord and of praise and worship started on a hillside with a harp and a few sheep and David never fell out of love with praise and worship. Even as king of all Israel, He had no problem putting his royal robes aside and dancing before the Lord and leading the worship. David understood that worship, true worship from the heart, moves God and gets God's attention. David had the attitude that it didn't matter who criticized him or made fun of him, he would not stop praising God. And no matter his condition, his health, his age, or his position, God was still worthy of the praise and the glory!

If we are to be a man/woman after God's own heart, then we had better get a revelation of true, expressionful, heart-felt worship! It still moves God and gets His attention. Can I tell you that we don't sing songs and spend times in prayer and praise just as an appetizer to the preaching. It's not to kill time until everyone that's running late gets here. But it is very important to come together and praise and worship God and it's very important that you get a revelation of it for yourself! Too many people are spectators rather than participators when it comes to worship of our God. Some people are too prideful to outwardly express their gratitude or thankfulness. Some people don't think attendance at God's House is very important, but if you want to be someone who is known as "a man or woman after God's own heart" then you better allow God to change you until you -- like David -- are "glad when they say unto you, let us go into the house of the Lord." You can tell a lot about a person's relationship with God by their response to an invitation to go to church! They either get glad or mad. They either find an excuse to come or to not come. And the difference between the two reflects how much they really think about God! He is worthy to be praise and worshipped, and nothing should ever come between your gathering together to praise and lift Him up with His people!

Forget the critics, forget those who don't understand, forget about whether or not you are worshipping, to be like David, to be a "man after God's own heart," I'm going to praise Jesus with everything in me! I will eagerly look forward to each time that I can join together with His people in worship!

You know the story, it's the most famous story of David's life. All of the "mighty men" of Israel are hiding in the bushes when David brings some food from his father for his brothers. The reason is this 9 and a half feet tall behemoth named Goliath is standing with hundreds of pounds of armor and a huge sword and spear and shaking his fist at the Israelites, cursing their God, and challenging any of them to come and fight him.

You see, way back in the days of Joshua, the children of Israel had been fearful of taking the promised land because of giants, and God had made them a promise that He would be with them and give them victory over those people. Now hundreds of years later, that promise of God was still true, but nobody would step out on God's Word and face the giant! But David understood that success was not in logistics and how big versus how small and all of that. He understood that victory had been promised if someone would just step out on God's Word in faith and let God work in the situation. That little rock flung from that sling couldn't have missed because it had an unseen hand guiding it and the rest is history.

You and I will probably never have a flesh and blood battle with the largest man that ever lived, but in every one of our lives, we all have our own giant. It comes when you hear the Word of the Lord and you believe it and yet it seems that in certain areas, there is a "giant" that has always kept you from victory in your life. Everyone of us have something that the devil repeatedly tells us that "you can't get victory over this." And everyday it grows bigger and bigger. Maybe your giant is a past hurt that you can't seem to forgive or let go. Maybe it is the circumstances that you were born into. Maybe it's a habit or sin that seems to keep tormenting you even after you have been serving Jesus Christ and been "anointed" of God. Whatever it is, all of us have a "giant" that it seems right when we would have complete and total victory in our life, rises up and begins to laugh at us.

Well, I'm here to tell you that it is a lie from the pits of hell that you can't kill your giant. God's Word is more powerful than any two-edged sword. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world! I don't care how big your giant seems. I don't care what it's told you in the past. I don't care how frail spiritually you think you are. Logistics really don't matter. What God is waiting on is someone who will allow Him to work! Someone who will get the spirit of David and say "If nobody else does, I refuse to live my life in fear of this giant!" The same praise and prayer and obedience that brought the small victories in your life will also be the avenue in which God will work to kill the giant. Get you eyes and ears off of what the giant in your life is telling you and trust God and step out in faith! God is just looking for an opportunity to work! There's nothing that can keep you from being what God wants you to be, IF you will step out in faith upon God's Word! You can kill the giant, and we MUST, if we are to be men/women after God's own heart!

We find in David's life that he was anointed king and yet King Saul is jealously trying to kill David and David is having to live in caves, running for his life. He didn't get bitter. But the scriptures said that he found the "losers" of the kingdom and began to train them and work with them:

This young man anointed "king" by God remembered what it was like to be the ill-favored son and brother on the backside of nowhere. He took those in trouble and began to turn them into mighty men of valor. It was this group that would one day be his most loyal warriors. It was this group -- read the rest of the life of David -- that would become giant killers themselves. They started life as losers; as debtors; as men down on their luck and yet they finished life victors because David was willing to take the time to teach them how to fight and how to trust in God.

It is a mark of a man/woman after God's own heart that they do not criticize the faults of others without first asking themselves the question "what have I done to help them overcome their faults?" It takes absolutely no effort, talent, or anointing to sit idly by and criticize the faults of others. It takes absolutely zero intelligence to point out the mistakes of those who are doing something. But it takes a Godly man or woman to become a servant to others and to labor endlessly to teach them with a right heart and a right spirit and by example how to live as God would have us to live. People who are failures are simply people who need a Godly example in their life. The kingdom of God has too many critics and not enough servants. If you notice the faults of others and you have done nothing to try to help them, then simply put: "shut your mouth!"

And the interesting point about David's life is that by teaching others, he learned how to rule as king. His pouring out of his life upon the "losers" is what made him able to be able to fulfill his anointing in the future! Can I be frank? It doesn't matter the calling or anointing that you have on your life, if you cannot humble yourselves, shut your critical mouth, and become a servant and teacher of those who are the least likely candidates, you will never be everything God has for you to be! And if we are to be a "man/woman after God's own heart," then we must be willing to see people as God sees them: not just imperfect human beings, but people with potential if they will obey God's Word and trust Him!

David picked Jonathon as his best friend, and together they served God. David agreed to forever be loyal to Jonathon's offspring.

Can I tell you that your choice of friends determines a lot about how far you will go in God?! Whether or not you realize it or not, you will eventually adopt the views and act like those whom you are around the most. And you choose who you are friends with. If you hang around people who are always doubting God's Word or are negative, then eventually you will find yourself doing the same things! That is why a church family is so important, because here you can find friends who enjoy similar things and yet are interested in what God thinks of their life. More people have walked away from God because of their friends and family's influence than for any other reason! No man can live for God by themselves, you need a friend!

Not only did David make Godly friends, but he was loyal to His word. He promised Jonathon that he would always take care of his family, and even after Jonathon's death, we find David loyal to his son Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was a cripple and was despised in Israel as being the grandson of the God-reject Saul, but because of his friendship with Jonathon, David invited Mephibosheth to live in the palace and eat at the king's table!

True friendship is not just "hanging out" but is being loyal to your word and commitment. If a person says that they are your friend and yet turns away in adverse circumstances, then they were not really true friends. But it is a trait of men and women "after God's own heart" that they not only seek out Godly friends, but they are loyal to their friendships and keep their word. God is the friend that "sticketh closer than a brother" and who never goes against His Word. To be "after his own heart" we must be the same way!

David was not perfect. He made some stupid and horrible mistakes. To be a "man after God's own heart" does not mean that you will live perfect. God does not condone sin, but what made David special was how he responded when judgment was brought upon his life because of his sin.

His most famous sin is when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then killed her husband to cover it up. He should have been at war, but for some reason, David felt like taking "a few days off" of his spiritual duty. It was then that he saw Bathsheba bathing and began to lust after her until he called for her and committed adultery with her. Then when her husband returned home and refused to even enter the house because of his loyalty to his fellow soldiers, David had him killed so that his adultery would not become "common knowledge." He then took Bathsheba as his wife and thought that he was alright.

But God sent a man of God, the prophet Nathan, to visit David one day. Nathan said that he had come to tell of a great injustice that had been done in the kingdom. He told a story of a rich man and a poor man. The rich man had many sheep, but the poor man had only one which he had raised up and who lived with him and his family as a pet and as a member of the family. The rich man had a visitor and rather than take one of his many sheep for supper, the rich man took the poor man's one sheep and killed it for the visitor. The scripture say that when David heard this story he was greatly enraged and stood to his feet and said "the man that has done this shall surely die, and he will return the lamb four-fold." To which the prophet Nathan replied:

You can't be more direct than that! Yet, David did not get at the messenger of God but responded with repentance and admission of his guilt:

As judgment, God caused the child that had been conceived in sin to die. David fasted and prayed but then moved on once he realized that the judgment of God was inevitable.

How many times does God allow the man of God through preaching or teaching to be the one to expose sin in our lives!? The answer is, of course, often. And it is the mercy of God that He puts an anointed minister in your life who is willing to tell you the truth. But you have two responses to the truth delivered about an area of your life that needs to change: 1.) Get mad and justify your sin and resent the man of God who pointed it out. or 2.) Be like David and admit your sin and repent before God and refuse to get offended at the messenger. What made David a "man after God's own heart" was not how he acted when everything was going good, but his response to correction. Your response to correction reveals the condition of your heart! You need a man of God in your life speaking the truth, and you will never outgrow the need for an altar! To be men/women after God's own heart, we must refuse to justify our sin or point the blame at others when confronted with something we need to change. We must be willing to admit our wrong doing and ask God to forgive us!

David was anointed king as a young man and yet it was over 7 years before King Saul died and even longer than that before he was pronounced king of all Israel. Yet David never complained about the time that he spent waiting on God's promises and refused to stop being faithful to God despite living for 7 years running for his life! David did not realize it, but the time between his anointing as king until he actually stepped to the throne was the time period that taught him how to rule and reign.

God anoints men to do things before it is time to do them. He anoints men before they are even capable of doing them. And the reason for that is the same reason that God made Abraham a promise of a son and then waited a few decades before giving it to him: He wants to see if you will be faithful and trust Him, or try to make things happen on your own!

The song says "when God unfolds the rose, He always does it right." Let me add to it: when we try to unfold the will of God in our life, we always do it wrong! If God has promised you or given you a dream of something, then stay faithful to God in the trials that come and live for Him, and it will come to pass in His perfect timing! If you have to "make it happen" it isn't God and He will wait until you get frustrated enough to wait on Him, before He will work again in your life. Unfortunately, some people never learn the lesson. Worry about the present, and let God unfold the future. If He promised something, it will come to pass. Your job is to just be faithful in the things that you know to do right now. If you do so, then one day you will look back to those "years where nothing was happening" and realize that all along God was getting you ready for His promise! It is a mark of people who are "after God's own heart" that they wait patiently for the salvation and promises of God.

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We began this message by studying how that God responded to King David's life by making him a king for eternity over Israel. By comparison, the song of the redeemed church that makes it to glory will be this:

Did you catch that? The people who make into eternal life will be kings and priests of God and will "reign on the earth" forever with Him! It sounds to me like God has made the saved church the same promise that He made David! If that is so, then to be a part of the saved church, we must be men and women after "God's own heart." To do so we need to react and live as David lived! It is more than just something to bring divine favor, but our very salvation depends upon it! To live forever with Jesus Christ, we must be people "after God's own heart!"