After God's Own Heart

Scripture: I Samuel l3:l4...'But now your kingdom shall not continue.
The Lord has sought out a man 'after His own heart'.
King David's life perplexes people. How could this man get away with
so much and still have the Lord treat him with such favor? He was a
man who was a shepherd, the writer of Psalms, a king, a liar, a
murderer, and adulterer. But, he was the only person in the whole Bible
who was called 'a man after God's own heart.'

Do you realize that every person on the planet can be like David? We
all have an opportunity to embody in our own heart and mind the same
kind of heart, emotions, and personality of our Heavenly Father.
However, most people stumble and struggle through their lives without
ever discovering God's heart and letting that heart transform their lives.
So, why did God call this man a man after God's own heart?
The answer has the power to change how you see God, your views of
yourself, and your destiny in Him. What set David apart was his
'unrelenting love and passion to search out and understand the
emotions and character of God'.

Like in the Song of Solomon, the Lord included it as an intimate
picture of the love between Christ and His Bride. This book is full of
passionate and beautiful language speaking of their life together. Song
of Solomon 3:4 in particiular describes a woman as she is searching for
whom her soul loves, that relationship between the bride and groom,
her beloved, and their intense love and affection toward one another.
This is also that special relationship that the Lord holds for us and
desire for us to hold for Him.

In time, the true bride/church worldwide will be like King David. We
will be a massive people who worship, serve, and deeply love our God
who will understand and reflect the very heart of God.

Just like David in his day, the Lord is seeking love-sick worshippers
who understand what He is feeling. In John 4:23, it says...'But the hour
is coming, and now is, when 'true worshippers' will worship the Father in
Spirit & Truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.' This type
of worship is to worship Him with a deep, deep, passionate love and in
total abandonment.

Compare that to how most churches worship Him today iin our
religious structure of external forms and religious ritual. True worship is
often not seen in our churches today. To worship, serve, and love with
passion demands more than what we just see on Sunday mornings or

Wednesday nights. True worship understands the truth about the Lord's
heart and personality. True worship is not a 20 minute set time during
church but a lifestyle of seeking God, loving God, relating to God in a
special way of loving Him as His Bride.

But, if you look at the Body of Believers today, you will see that
'religion' has burdened us down with lies about who God really is. It has
hindered us from giving God the 'love response' that we deep in our
hearts want to give Him. The Lord's affection for us flows very deeply.
And, yet, we respond with just ripples of ritual and passionless worship.
God requires us to seek that fire in God's own heart for us and to
understand His love, and to worship Him completely covered in the
same desire that He has for us. That is what a 'true worshipper' truly is.
David was such a man and our goal is to have the same heart as David
for our Lord.

We can be a people ofter God's own heart. God is raising His
believers up and giving them the heart of David.
Before we close, lelt's look again at who God truly is...In John 4:24, it
says...'God is Spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and
Truth.'

When the Bible says that 'God is Spirit', it means that God is a non-
physical, immaterial being, not bound by the limitations of the physical

world, and therefore invisible to the naked eye, essentially the Lord is a
being of pure Spirit with no physical body, possessing attributes like
infinite power, knowledge, and love, existing everywhere at once...(thus,
the baptism of the Holy Spirit that has come to dwell in those who are
that inherit salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ), thus able to interact
with the spiritual realm of humans while remaining beyond our physical
perception. The Spirit is a being that is not made of matter, so He has
no limits by physical laws. Because God is Spirit, He is still a personal
being with whom humans can have a close, personal relationship. We
shouldn't fear God in human terms but worship Him in awe as a God
who is Spirit and embrace Him.

In John 4:25, Jesus makes the connection between God being Spirit
and worshipping Him in Spirit & Truth. The idea is that, since God is
Spirit, people must worship Him accurately (in truth) and (in Spirit) with
all our soul and heart instead of continuing to rely on our traditions,
rituals, or physical location. It all boils down that true worship comes
from the Heart and not through the any preconceived false knowledge in
our head.

Closing Prayer...Thank You, Father, for what you require of us in 'True
Worship' Open our eyes to who you really are as our God.
Give us the 'heart of David. Only great love and high praise can
follow! In Jesus Holy Name....Amen.