From His Heart

Jeff Schreve: Now the Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles chapter 16 verse 9, "For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." God cares about the heart. And the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. God is looking for those who have a heart for Him. Do you have what God is looking for?

Larry Nobles: This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Schreve. Thank you for joining us today as we continue Pastor Jeff's new series, Leaving a Legacy: Lessons from the Life of Samuel. And today's lesson, The Heart of the Matter. Now, here's the truth that we should let sink in deeply: God looks at the heart.

In today's lesson, Pastor Jeff shows how David, a simple shepherd boy, was chosen by God not because of his appearance or position but because of his heart for the Lord. How do you think God would see your heart today? Could it use a little spiritual tune-up? Today is lesson seven in this eight-lesson series, and we'll have part one of the message today. If you missed part of it or tomorrow's part two, go to fromhisheart.org and click the Listen link. Let's begin learning about how to be people after God's own heart. Open your Bible to 1 Samuel chapter 16. Here's Pastor Jeff to address the heart of the matter.

Jeff Schreve: I believe that the greatest single act that Samuel ever did in his life, the highest point of his life, is 1 Samuel chapter 16. It's the anointing of David as king. And the reason I say that's the greatest one single event in Samuel's life is because Paul, in his sermon in Acts chapter 13, talks about David and says, "From the descendants of this man David, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus."

So, the anointing of David and the shift from the kingdom going from the house of Saul, who was a Benjamite, to the house of David, who was of the tribe of Judah, that is key because the Messiah is going to come through David. And so, this is such a key chapter. It's a chapter where we find out that David was a man after God's own heart.

If you've been in church for any time at all, you know that David is the one guy in scripture who has that moniker, the man after God's own heart. It doesn't mean that other people weren't men after God's own heart. Samuel had a heart for God for sure. But David has that special designation, and we get a glimpse of that in 1 Samuel 13 because Saul, who was the first king, ended up being such a bust of a king. He had a good start, but he didn't have a good middle and a good conclusion.

In 1 Samuel 13, Saul does something that he's not supposed to do. He assumes the office of the priest. He doesn't wait for Samuel to come to make the sacrifice. He says, "All the people are fleeing from me. I need to step up and I need to do this." You're not supposed to do that. You're not a priest; you're the king. And so, when he does it, as soon as he makes the offering, then here comes Samuel. And he says, "What are you doing?"

And in 1 Samuel chapter 13, we read these words: "Now your kingdom," Samuel says to Saul, "Now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." Now, we don't know in 1 Samuel 13 that that's David, but it's a reference to David. And at the time that it was given, David was probably an infant. He was young, young, young.

But that's how we're introduced to David. And then in 1 Samuel 15, it says in verse 28, Samuel says to Saul, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you." Who is that? That's David. So, chapter 13, we're introduced to David, although not by name. Chapter 15, the Bible talks again about this guy David, but we don't know his name. It's Saul's neighbor who's better than him. And then chapter 16, we meet him.

And so, this is such a key chapter of scripture, and it speaks about the heart. Now the Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles chapter 16 verse 9, "For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." God cares about the heart. And the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. So, here's my question for you today as we study 1 Samuel 16: Do you have what God is looking for?

Do you have what God is looking for? God is looking for those who have a heart for Him. 1 Samuel chapter 16, I'll begin reading in verse 1: "Now the Lord said to Samuel, 'How long will you grieve over Saul since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons.' But Samuel said, 'How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me.'"

Now, here's the picture. God had rejected Saul from being king. As He was talking to Samuel in chapter 15, Samuel turned to go, and Saul grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. And Samuel said, "Just as my robe tore, God has torn the kingdom from you." It was not a good meeting with Samuel the prophet and Saul the king in 1 Samuel 15. Those guys parted ways and they didn't see each other again.

Now, Saul is rejected from being king. Samuel is dejected because of the bust of Saul. But God has selected a new king. And it was always God's plan to have David. Genesis chapter 49 says that the scepter and the kingdom was going to come from the tribe of Judah, not from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul was a Benjamite.

The people got things all fouled up when they asked for a king in 1 Samuel chapter 8. And so, God gave them their desire and it was a disaster. And they lived with that disaster for 40 years. But Samuel has a good point. He's grieving; he's mourning. All this is so terrible. And the Lord says, "Hey, this is what you need to do. You need to get a horn of oil and go, and I have one of the sons of Jesse that you're going to anoint as king."

And then Samuel, and I love this relationship Samuel has with the Lord because he just talks to the Lord, and he says, "Well, Lord, how can I do that?" He said, "Saul's going to hear about it, and he will kill me." Why did he say that? Well, for Samuel the prophet to travel down to Bethlehem, he has to go right by Saul's town. Saul's going to hear about it. Samuel's got a horn of oil. He's going, "I guess what do you think he's going to do, King Saul?" And Saul would say, "Well, I know one thing he's going to do: die. You're not going to anoint another king." Because Saul is turning into a psycho in chapter 16, and he knows that the kingdom is going away from him because Samuel has told him that was going to happen.

And so, the Lord says to him, "This is what you do." Verse 2, I'll continue: "And the Lord said, 'Take a heifer with you and say, "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord." You shall invite Jesse,'" that's David's dad, "'to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you,'" one of his sons.

"So Samuel did what the Lord said and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, 'Do you come in peace?'" They were afraid. Why? Because in chapter 15, he had hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord at Gilgal. He was a fiery prophet and judge, and they're like, "You're associated with death. We're scared. Did somebody do something? You're going to hack somebody to pieces here in Bethlehem?"

He said, "No, I come in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. A big deal when the prophet comes to town. When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him."

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either." Next, Jesse made Shammah pass by, and he said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either."

Thus, Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are these all the children?" And Jesse said, "Come to think of it, there's another one. There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep." We don't let him in the house much; he stinks. Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here."

So, he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, reddish complexion, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he." Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

Larry Nobles: And we'll continue right there when Pastor Jeff returns on From His Heart in just a moment. In the message, The Heart of the Matter. You know, God doesn't see what we see. He sees the heart: the emotions, the intentions, the compassion, the empathy and caring, or the lack thereof in our hearts. We've been learning today about David and how he, a simple shepherd boy, was chosen by God not because of his appearance or position but because of his heart for the Lord.

And you can discover what it really means to be a man or a woman after God's own heart and how you can live a life that truly pleases Him and blesses those around you. We can all look back at our lives and see how we weren't all God hoped for, but it's never too late to turn to Him completely again or maybe for you the first time.

This new series is called Leaving a Legacy: Lessons from the Life of Samuel, and it's a powerful eight-message series that is our thank-you gift for your support of any amount to From His Heart, the broadcast ministry of Pastor Jeff Schreve. And you can get a copy of all eight lessons on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or an immediate MP3 download when you make that gift today. Simply call 866-40-BIBLE, 866-402-4253, or go online to fromhisheart.org to make that gift. And allow these practical biblical truths to drench your heart today. Call 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org. And God bless you for joining this worldwide effort to share the hope of God's heart. Here again is Pastor Jeff.

Jeff Schreve: Okay, three discoveries for today concerning the heart of the matter. Do you have what God is looking for? Discovery number one: God is not concerned with the outward appearance. Outward appearances don't mean anything to God. They mean a lot to us. The Lord said to Samuel, "Man looks at the outward, but the Lord looks at the heart." The outward appearances made a big difference and meant a lot to King Saul because in chapter 15, he was begging Samuel, "Go out, walk with me before the people. I want to look good before the people. I can't look bad before the people," because he was so consumed with the fear of man. Bible says the fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted.

God doesn't see as man sees. Now, the Lord looks at the heart. Man looks at the outward appearance. That word "looks" means to consider, to take heed, to inspect. And even Samuel got caught up when Eliab came before him. He's like, "Whoa, this guy! He's tall, he's handsome. He just looks like a king. Surely the Lord's anointed is before him." He's Eliab. Eliab's name means "God is my father." And that's got to be the one. And the Lord said, "No, not that one. I've rejected him."

And Samuel's like, "Really? Okay." He was surprised at that. But God was teaching, "Hey, I'm not concerned with the outward appearance." Now, that is good news for you and for me. Why? Because a lot of the things on the outward, we can't change very much. But we have lots of control over the inside.

And God is looking at the inside. So, none of us is going to be chosen to be the king of Israel as David was chosen. But listen, God wants to choose you to do great things for Him. The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. So, what do you have to have for God to choose you? What do we learn in this story? Well, we learn this: that you can be chosen regardless of your physical attributes. Doesn't have anything to do with your physical attributes. Doesn't have anything to do with how tall you are.

You know, God could really use me if I were 6 foot 5. I always wanted to be 6-5. Maybe my glorified body I'll be 6-5, but I got to 5-10 and a half and then stopped. And so, it doesn't matter how tall you are. I would think from a preaching standpoint, man, I think if I were taller, it would be better. People tell me all the time, "You're a lot smaller in person than I see on TV." I say, "TV adds 40 pounds." And so, it's hard to tell. But it doesn't have anything to do with that. Whether you're tall, whether you're short, whether you're big, whether you're small, whether you're handsome, whether you're not, that doesn't matter.

Although it is important to note that Saul was tall, dark, and handsome, and David is said he was handsome with a handsome appearance and beautiful eyes. And God often chooses special people and pastors to be handsome guys. No, just teasing. It doesn't matter. And so, you say, "Well, when I look in the mirror, I don't really like what I see." That's not what God is looking for, how handsome or physically attractive you are.

Now, I think that we ought to do all we can with what we've got. And these people were coming to the feast with the prophet, and it says in verse 5, "Consecrate yourselves and come to the feast." And Jesse was to consecrate himself and his sons. That means you wash yourself and you put on fresh clothes. You look good. I think when we come before the Lord, we need to look good, smell good. I think a lot of guys, we miss it when we don't remember the words of that ZZ Top song, "Every girl's crazy about a sharp-dressed man." You don't want to look like something the cat dragged in as you come before the Lord. You're not going to a garage sale; you're coming to worship the King of kings and Lord of lords. So, that's an "if the shoe fits, wear it" type thing. I'm not saying that to anybody, but if you're a slob, it could be to you.

So, you can be chosen, good news, regardless of your physical attributes. You can be chosen, secondly, regardless of your age. David is probably about 12 years old. Why did he not get invited to the feast? Who would invite him? He sits at the kiddie table at Thanksgiving. We don't invite him. He's too young. Surely God wouldn't choose a 12-year-old. That's the thinking of his dad, Jesse.

Isn't it wonderful, especially if you're here and you're a young person, that you can be 10, 11, 12, whatever? You can be a young person and God sees you if you have a heart for Him. God's choice doesn't have anything to do with age. You say, "Well, yeah, I was 12 once, but now I'm on the backside of 30," as that song says. But you're on like the backside of 80, and you're saying, "You know, as my friend says, I'm circling the drain." You're just feeling like you're really old. "God can't use me. I'm too old."

Well, Moses was 80 when the Lord called him at the burning bush. Caleb was 80 when he said, "Hey, give me that mountain. I want to get Hebron. I'm going to go attack. I'm 80 years old. I'm as strong as I was when I was 40. Here I'm 80, I'm ready to go." Noah was 500 when he had the challenge of building the ark. So, how old are you? You're not too old. You're not too young, you're not too old. It has nothing to do with age.

And you can be chosen regardless of your social importance. Now, it's a big deal when the prophet comes to town. And Samuel is well known throughout Israel. Everybody has heard of Samuel the prophet. He's been serving; he's been pastoring, so to speak, in Israel for decades. He started when he was five, and now he's close to 90. And so, for a long, long, long time, he has been there. Everybody knows him.

And when he comes to your town, and Bethlehem is not a big place—that's why we sing at Christmas time, "O Little Town of Bethlehem." It was a little town, and it was really little back in this day and age. We're talking about in the thousands BC. And the Lord sends Samuel there. Big deal. And Samuel's family invited to the feast with the prophet Samuel. That would be like Franklin Graham comes to Texarkana and he says, "I want you to come to the luncheon, you and your family."

And you say, "Really? With Franklin Graham, the head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, the head of Samaritan's Purse? He's a big shot. God uses him in great ways. And he's invited me to come? And he's invited my family to come?" And can you imagine you don't bring all your sons? That's wild. David was that unimportant. And so, when the prophet Samuel says to Jesse, "Are these all the sons?" He said, "Well, there's one more. There remains yet the youngest."

And the word for "remains" that's used there is also translated "leftover." Well, there's a leftover son. I got the youngest son, the leftover son. You know, we're coming to the feast. We brought all the good dishes, but the three-day-old roast beef from last week, we didn't bring that. That was a leftover. We didn't want to bring the leftovers to the feast. "There remains yet the youngest," and the word "youngest" can also be translated "unimportant," "smallest," the unimportant one. Isn't that wild? That's the one God chose. And Jesse didn't even see the value of his son.

It's kind of mind-boggling, but in that environment, in that culture, the oldest was the one. You know, he was the one that received all the double blessing of the inheritance and stuff. So, you wouldn't think the eighth son would be the one God chose. That's the one God chose. And so, here's the good news. You can be chosen regardless of your physical attributes, regardless of your age, regardless of your social importance.

And the Bible reminds us in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, the Apostle Paul says, "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has 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 has chosen, the things which are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God." You say, "Well, I'm too insignificant, I'm too unimportant. Nobody notices me." Nobody noticed David except God. God is not concerned with the outward appearances. Secondly, God is singularly concerned with the heart. God sees not as man sees. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. He considers the heart. He takes heed and inspects the heart, the core of who you are.

Larry Nobles: Well, tomorrow on the broadcast, Pastor Jeff Schreve will continue right there with part two of the message, The Heart of the Matter. It's from Pastor Jeff's new eight-lesson series, Leaving a Legacy: Lessons from the Life of Samuel. Here are just four questions that people have been asking since Adam and Eve. One, can I be sure I'm going to heaven when I die? If God loves me, why doesn't He answer my prayers? If I'm saved and going to heaven, can I mess up enough to lose it? And number four, I know myself, so how could God still love me?

Four great questions that are answered in some resources on our Free Stuff page at fromhisheart.org. There are four downloadable MP3 audio messages there and three free PDF booklets that will give you real hope and answers and comfort. That's the Free Stuff link online at fromhisheart.org. Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles, reminding you that From His Heart is a listener-supported broadcast ministry from Dr. Jeff Schreve, who believes that no matter how badly you may have messed up in life, God still loves you and has a plan for your life. Go to fromhisheart.org to learn more. And join us tomorrow for part two of The Heart of the Matter, here on From His Heart.