David a Man After God's Own Heart: 1 Samuel 16 · Join the Journey

David: A Man After God’s Heart

1 Samuel 16

Have you ever noticed that nobody posts the ugly parts of their life?

We post the family picture—but not the argument we had getting everybody dressed.

We post the vacation—but not the credit-card bill.

We post the anniversary picture—but not the difficult season in the marriage.

We post the accomplishment—but not the failures that came before it.

We have become incredibly good at showing people what we want them to see.

We spend so much of our lives managing what people see on the outside while God is looking at what's happening on the inside. But what if the thing we're most concerned about hiding from other people is the very thing God is most concerned about changing?

Last week we witnessed Saul’s downfall. Saul rejected God’s commands and so God rejected Saul’s kingship. Saul thought partial obedience was good enough. But partial obedience is still disobedience. God was going to choose a new king for Israel. A man after His own heart. David.

Today we are going to see what matters most in not what appears on the outside to be going well. But God looks at our hearts. God isn't looking for people who simply look like they belong to Him. He's looking for hearts that belong to Him.

God had rejected Saul as king but Saul still sat on the throne. But God still sends Samuel to anoint the next king, even though Samuel was still upset over Saul’s downfall.

If you have your bibles turn with me to 1 Samuel 16. 1 Samuel comes right after Judges and Ruth and right before 2 Samuel.

1 Samuel 16:1-3

1 Samuel 16:1–3

Samuel was still mourning Saul’s downfall, probably more then Saul was. But God sends Samuel to Bethlehem to the house of Jesse. One of Jesse’s sons will be the next king of Israel. Jesse is the grandson of Ruth and Boaz. But Samuel has some concerns.

Is Saul finds out Samuel has anointed another king while he still sits on the throne, Saul would kill Samuel. God tells Samuel to take a heifer and go to Bethlehem and offer a sacrifice. This wasn’t deceptive, but rather to combine the anointing with the business of sacrificing. While Samuel was there God would show him who was to be anointed the next king.

Samuel does as God instructs him to do. But as he is coming into town the elders are scared. Why was Samuel there? was he bringing bad news? Judgment? Samuel assure them that he comes in peace, and to comes to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and that they wall would join him.

Everyone from the town shows up including Jesse and his sons. At least most of them. David his youngest of 8 was left tending the sheep.

1 Samuel 16:6-7

1 Samuel 16:6–7

One by one Jesse’s sons were eliminated from being the one. Samuel must have thought surely the oldest of Jesse’s sons would be the one. But God reminds Samuel that He does not look at outward appearances but at the heart. God was seeking a man that would seek after Him. Remember this was Saul’s downfall. Even though Saul looked the part of king he didn’t have the most important thing. He didn’t seek after God.

Samuel had to think is this it? So he asks Jesse if this is all your sons? Jesse says, well no there is still the youngest. But we left him tending the sheep. Saul looked like a king. David had the heart of a king.

1 Samuel 16:12

David comes in and he looked good. Glowing with health, handsome. But more importantly he was chosen by God. This is the one.

Samuel anoints David in front of his brothers and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon David powerfully.

Max Lucado said in his book Facing your Giants, “God called David a “man after his own heart.” One might read his story and wonder what God saw in him. He fell as often as he stood. He stared down Goliath, yet ogled at Bathsheba. He could lead armies but couldn’t manage a family. Raging David. Weeping David. Bloodthirsty. God-hungry. Eight wives. One God. A man after God’s own heart? That God saw him as such gives hope to us all… Giants. We must face them, yet we need not face them alone. Focus on God. The times David did, giants fell. The days he didn’t, David did.”

Saul looked like a king, but David had the heart of a king. God wasn't looking at the outside; He was looking at the heart. The difference between Saul and David wasn't simply what they looked like on the outside. It was what was happening in their hearts.

1. Stop letting appearances determine your value

1 Samuel 16:7

“People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

We live in a culture obsessed with appearances.

We judge ourselves by:

• How successful we look

• What we drive

• What we own

• How many followers we have

• How our family looks

• How we compare to other people

• How we look physically

• What people think of us

But Samuel was looking at Jesse's sons thinking, “Surely this is the guy.”

God says, “No. You're looking at the wrong thing.”

Who are you trying to impress?

Because the person whose approval matters most isn't looking at your résumé, your bank account, your appearance, or your accomplishments. God looks at your heart.

Maybe you've spent your entire life trying to make yourself look impressive to everybody else, while neglecting the one thing God cares most about—what's happening inside your heart.

Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

We may judge by outward appearances. But God looks at you heart. Guard your hearts for everything you do flows from it. Stop letting appearances determine your value.

And this isn't just about how you see yourself. It's also about how you see other people. We can write people off because of how they dress, where they live, what they drive, their past, their education, their job, their mistakes, or what we think we know about them.

We see the outside. God sees the heart.

2. Don't confuse being overlooked by people with being forgotten by God

Samuel comes to Jesse's house. One son after another comes before Samuel.

Eliab. Then all other seven sons of Jesse. And David isn't even invited into the room. He's out taking care of the sheep. Think about that.

David wasn't even in the room. He was out tending sheep. But while everyone else was looking at the sons in the room, God was looking at the son in the field.

Just because people don't see you doesn't mean God doesn't see you.

You may feel: overlooked, underestimated, forgotten, unimportant, passed over, like you're not as talented as somebody else.

But David's story reminds us: People may overlook you, but God sees you.

And even more importantly: Your significance doesn't come from being noticed by people. It comes from being known by God.

Matthew 10:29-31

Matthew 10:29–31

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Your significance doesn't come from being noticed by people. It comes from being known by God. Don't confuse being overlooked by people with being forgotten by God.

3. Be faithful in the field before God puts you on the platform

David didn't become a giant-killer the day he met Goliath. He had already learned faithfulness in the field. He wasn't sitting around saying: “When am I finally going to get my opportunity?”

He was doing what his father had asked him to do. Take care of the sheep.

And apparently, he had become very good at it. Later David tells Saul: “Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep.” Then he talks about fighting the lion and the bear.

The field prepared David for the battlefield.

Don't despise the ordinary, hidden seasons of your life.

You might think: “When God gives me a bigger opportunity, then I'll really serve Him.” But God often prepares us for the big moments through small acts of faithfulness.

Faithfulness in the nursery.

Faithfulness in your marriage.

Faithfulness at work.

Faithfulness with your kids.

Faithfulness with your finances.

Faithfulness when nobody is watching. And even over looking you.

What you do when nobody is watching may be preparing you for what God wants you to do when everybody is watching.

Colossians 3:23-24

Colossians 3:23–24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Be faithful in the field even if God never puts you on the platform. Faithfulness isn't valuable because it eventually gets noticed. Faithfulness is valuable because God is worthy of it.

4. Let God shape your heart, not just your behavior

This is an important distinction from Saul. Saul looked right. David's heart was right. But don't make the mistake of saying David was perfect. He absolutely wasn't. David would eventually commit terrible sins.

So when God says David is a man after His own heart, it isn't because David never sinned. It's because David's heart was oriented toward God.

What is the condition of your heart toward God?

You can come to church. You can sing songs. You can serve. You can give. You can know Scripture. You can look like a Christian. But what's happening inside?

Jesus addresses this same issue: Matthew 15:8

Matthew 15:8

“ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

Don't settle for looking like a follower of Jesus. Be one.

Don't just change your behavior. Let God change your heart.

Here at Journey Church We trust that Jesus is all we need, being transformed by who He is and what He has done.

David was the unexpected king. But David wasn't the King Israel ultimately needed. Because David had a heart after God—but David's heart wasn't perfect. David would fail. David would sin. David would fall. And that's important because maybe you're sitting here today thinking, “I need to get my life together. I need to do better. I need to become a better person. I need to get my heart right.”

But here's the good news of the gospel: You don't have to make yourself good enough for God.

Because you can't. When God looks at our hearts, He doesn't just see the good things we've done. He sees the sin, the pride, the selfishness, the things we've tried to hide from everybody else.

And if God judged us based on our hearts, none of us would stand. But God didn't leave us there. God sent us a King. Not a King who came to sit on an earthly throne. Not a King who came looking impressive by the world's standards. He sent Jesus.

Jesus came and lived the perfect life that you and I could never live. He died on the cross to pay the price for our sin. And three days later, He rose from the grave.

Jesus didn't come simply to make bad people better. He came to make dead hearts alive.

That's why God says in Ezekiel 36:26

Ezekiel 36:26

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

That's the hope of the gospel. You don't need to spend the rest of your life trying to make yourself look good on the outside. You don't need to live for everybody else's approval. You don't need to pretend that everything is okay. You need Jesus. Because Jesus is the King who can change your heart.

So the question isn't simply, “Does God see me?”

He does. The question is: “Have I surrendered my heart to the King?”

Maybe you've never made that decision.

Maybe you've spent your whole life trying to be good enough, trying to look good enough, trying to earn God's approval. Or maybe you've been around church for years. You know the songs. You know the Bible stories. You know what you're supposed to say. From the outside, you look like a Christian. But you know that your heart is far from God.

Today, you can stop trying to save yourself. You can surrender your life to Jesus. You can come to Him with all of your sin, all of your failures, all of your brokenness—and trust that what Jesus did on the cross is enough.

Jesus is the King you need.

And when you surrender your heart to Him, He doesn't just change your behavior. Jesus doesn't just want to improve your life. He wants to give you a new heart.

David was anointed with oil, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.

But through Jesus, God does something even greater.

He doesn't just anoint us for a task.

He gives us a new heart and puts His Spirit within us.