PowerPoint

Jack Graham: God chooses those of us who don't have much to offer so that he can fill us with what he has to offer and empower us so that when great things happen, everybody knows that guy didn't do it, God did that.

Announcer: On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how your heart for the Lord will be seen clearly by others. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, A Heart for God.

Jack Graham: So, have you ever wondered why there is so much biography in the Bible? Have you noticed that these men and women that we meet in the Bible are not perfect men and women? By no means are they perfect, and yet God used them and still uses them today. Certainly that's true of David. David was such a variegated man. He was a man of many talents and many abilities. He was a singer, that is, a psalmist, and most of the Psalms that you read in your Bible were written by David, who is called the sweet singer of Israel. David was a mystic in one sense and a musician.

David was a soldier. We're all familiar with the conquests of David as he fought Goliath and went on to lead the mighty men of God of Israel and ultimately became the leader of the nation. He was anointed as king and he ascended to the heights of leadership in Israel. So not only was he a singer and a soldier, but he was a statesman. So many lessons on leadership are learned in the life of David. Of course, he was a shepherd. We know him as a shepherd boy and he was raised in the fields outside of Bethlehem, and as a result of his rural life, he was a worshiper of God.

Israel had desired a king, and God acquiesced to their desire for a king. Saul, a man by the name of Saul, was chosen as the leader of Israel, the king of Israel. And yet Saul, this man, failed in this high calling of king. He failed God because Saul was a man's man. He stood tall and strong and powerful. He was head and shoulders above most men in Israel. He was handsome. He was bright. He had so much potential. He was literally a man's man, but he wasn't God's man.

Because he was a man of personal foolish choices, he had so much potential, so much promise, and yet he did not fulfill his promise. He was physically endowed. He was mentally strong. He possessed great gifts for leadership. He was willing to serve, and yet he disobeyed God on several fronts in his life. So God chose to set him aside. Because of disobedience, because of unwillingness to know and to do the will of God, Saul was disqualified from service.

So God tells a prophet by the name of Samuel to go to Bethlehem and to find a new man to lead the nation. And that's where we want to pick up in our reading. "Now the Lord said to Samuel, 'How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse.'" Jesse was the father of David. "'I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided myself a king among his sons.'"

Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears about it..." Saul was still in power, you see. "If Saul hears about it, he will kill me." But the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint for me the one I name to you." This was to be a king of God's choice, not man's choice.

So Samuel did what the Lord said and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming and said, "Did you come peaceably?" They knew that Samuel was a great prophet. You know, the guilty flee when no man pursues. That's why when you see a police officer sitting on the side of the road just over that hill, what do you do? Slam on your brakes. You don't know if you're speeding or not, but the guilty flee when no man pursues.

That's sort of the way these guys were, these leaders of Bethlehem. They said, "What have we done? Have you come with a message of judgment or peaceably?" He said, "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord." Verse five: "Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

So it was when they came that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before him." Eliab was the first son of Jesse, and Samuel looked at him and said, "This has got to be the man. Look at this guy. He is obviously the one." Verse seven: "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see...'" And here's the key verse: "'For the Lord does not see as a man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'"

So Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by, and he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Is this it? Are all the young men here?"

Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is. There he is right over there keeping the sheep. The smelly one over there. He's been hanging out with the sheep. That's him, that's the youngest one." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send him and bring him, for we will not sit down till he comes here." So he sent and he brought him in. Now he was ruddy. That meant he was of fair complexion. He had bright eyes and was good looking.

And the Lord said, "Arise and anoint him, for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David, that is, the anointing of God's Spirit came upon him from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. What an exciting story this is. God says when you're choosing a leader, don't look at the externals, but look at the internals. Look at a man's heart.

David is described in the scripture on two occasions as a man after God's own heart. If God is going to choose you and me and use you and me, several facts will be true. Number one: God's choice is contrary to human reason. David was not the human choice. His father ignored him when Jesse's sons were paraded before the prophet.

He was the youngest. In a Hebrew family, the youngest was not expected to do very much. He was just a teenage boy. He was out there keeping sheep. In fact, maybe he was considered a little bit weird because he played an instrument. He wasn't an athlete. He wasn't apparently a man's man. He was young. Some considered him a mystic. He was always gazing up into heavens and contemplated things beyond himself, trying to comprehend incomprehensible things. He seemed to be a religious fanatic because he was always meditating day and night on the Lord. He found God in every little bush and in every star and in every valley and in every hillside and in every stream and in every brook. He seemed to find God in everything.

So he wasn't the chosen one in the minds of men. You see, when God wants to build a man for himself, when God wants to raise up a leader, he uses different timber. Keep your place there in 1 Samuel 16 and turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter one. Here the Apostle Paul is talking about the kind of people that God uses. Look down at verses 26 and following, chapter one of 1 Corinthians.

"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to put to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. And the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are."

So God chooses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. And why is that? He tells us in verse 29, "That no flesh should glory in his presence." In other words, God chooses those of us who don't have much to offer so that he can fill us with what he has to offer and empower us so that when great things happen, everybody knows that guy didn't do it, God did that. David was so humble and therefore he was so usable. One of the problems of Saul was his inordinate pride and selfishness and carnality. God will use us when we are humble and available to him. God's choice is contrary to human reason.

Announcer: You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, A Heart for God. July 4th, 2026, will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. 250 years of celebrating the freedoms, liberties, and rights we enjoy as Americans. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land. That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text the word CRY to 59789. Again, text CRY to 59789. Remember that your support of PowerPoint Ministries helps people encounter Jesus through clear biblical teaching. Through the support of friends like you, lives are being strengthened, faith is being renewed, and seekers are discovering the hope only found in Christ. Your partnership is so vital that when you give this month, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Life According to Jesus, as our thanks. It's a powerful journey through the Gospel of John that shares wisdom from the life of Christ to help you respond to real-world struggles. To give your gift, text APRIL to 59789. Again, text APRIL to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, A Heart for God.

Jack Graham: God's choice is contrary to human reason, but it is conditioned upon a heart response. You see, this wasn't the first time God had dealt with David, this teenage boy. The public anointing, the platforming of David, was settled long before that day when David was recognized and anointed. What happened between David and the Lord was going on for a long time. Out there in those shepherd's fields, out there in those quiet nights and those long days when nobody was looking, when nobody was watching, David was cultivating his character and his walk with God.

I don't know what those other guys might have been doing, all the stalwart sons of Jesse. But we know what David was doing, don't we? He was worshipping. He was seeking God. Just read the Psalms. And the fact that a young man would have such a great heart for God... There came a time when David looked up into a starry night and discovered the God of the galaxies. There came a time when David looked at a sunset and believed in the Sun of Righteousness. When he looked up into the heavens and he saw the glory of God. When he watched those sheep and he led those sheep and he said, "You know, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want."

This young man had grown in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and ultimately with man. God knew all about David, and David knew about God, and not just about God, he knew God. He was a worshiper of God. He was a walker with God. So he had a heart for God.

Did you know when people look at us externally, there's not a lot that can be seen? Here's what we try to do. We sometimes try to fake it to make it, don't we? We take our reputation and substitute it for character. We've got this reputation, the way people see us. Reputation is what people think about us. It's good to have a good reputation, but that's what people think about us. Character is what God knows about us. Character is what we are when no one else is looking but God.

When God was looking at David, he saw a man after his own heart. But so often we want to take something that we're not and we want to package it. We want to promote it. We want to project it. We want to pretend it. A lot of people are pretending and packaging and posturing and styling and profiling, but they don't have a heart for God. David responded in his heart. What kind of heart did David possess?

You see it in Psalm 23, very familiar. You know Psalm 23, right? The Lord is my shepherd. He had a believing heart. He said, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Not just a shepherd, he said he's my shepherd. He had a quiet heart. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." He had a pure heart. "He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." He had a courageous heart. "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." He had a grateful heart. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemy, my cup runs over." And he had a sure and settled heart. "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

That was David's heart. We're going to be looking at his heart in the days ahead. None of these things were natural. You say, "Well, David just was one of those guys who just had it from birth." No. David would admit in the Psalms, "In sin did my mother conceive me." This man was a sinner. We know that. There came a day, however, when God gave this man a new heart, and David cultivated that relationship with him and uniquely prepared him and positioned him and then anointed him by the Holy Spirit for service.

So search your heart, men. Do you know that you're saved? Do you know that God has given you a brand new heart in Jesus Christ? And then will you pray like David prayed in Psalm 139? "Search me, O God, and know my way. See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." David was a man whose heart responded to God. God looks at the heart, not the head. Does your heart love the Word of God? Does your heart seek after the will of God? Does your life reflect the obedience of God? Is your heart hot for God?

David had a humble heart. He was a shepherd boy. He knew the smell of sheep was upon him. His was a human heart. He was a man just like you and I are men, but he had a hot heart for God. And that's what set him apart. God's choice is contrary to human reason. God's choice is conditioned upon a heart response. Finally, God's choice is characterized by a heavenly recognition.

God picked him. God chose him. It's doubtful that anyone that day understood exactly what was happening. Not Jesse, not David's brothers, perhaps not even Samuel. But I believe two who knew: God knew and David knew. David knew that one day he would be king, and the oil was placed upon him as a symbol of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And the calling of God comes with the provision of God and the anointing. When God guides, he provides. And ultimately, the man who had been out there with the sheep, the man who had been tested and tempered by God in the secret places and the quiet places, rose to national and international and historical prominence for one reason: God chose him.

When God chose him, he was ready. He was prepared. God wants to use you. God wants to choose you in great ways, but he chooses and uses those people who have a heart for him. Not the most famous, not the most powerful, not the best educated, not the most handsome, but men who have a heart for him. Do you have a heart for Jesus Christ? Do you have a heart for the things of God? Is it in you?

I love those Gatorade commercials that are in black and white. These athletes sweating and training, you see them in black and white, and then they gulp the Gatorade and then they start sweating in purple and in orange and in yellow. Then the ad says, it's a good ad, "Is it in you?" Because you see, what is in you will come out of you. If God is in you, if your heart is full of him, you will profusely sweat the grace and the glory of God. What is in you will ultimately come out. If God is in you and if your heart is for him, the whole world will know to the glory of God that you are his man. Let that be our prayer. Let that be our purpose.

Announcer: You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, A Heart for God. Let me remind you that your support helps bring the life-changing truth of Jesus Christ to people across the world through PowerPoint Ministry. And this month, we'd love to send you a powerful resource as our way of saying thank you for your gift. It's Dr. Jack Graham's book, Life According to Jesus. In this transformative journey through the Gospel of John, you'll discover not just what Jesus might do, but what he actually did when facing life's hardest questions. We'll be excited to send you this resource because your generosity helps place this kind of biblical teaching into the hands of seekers and believers alike, equipping them to live according to Jesus's example every day. To give your gift, just text APRIL to 59789. Again, that's APRIL to 59789. July 4th, 2026, will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land. That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text the word CRY to 59789. Again, text CRY to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: The heart of anything is that part that makes everything else possible. When you lose the heart, you lose everything. Say a sports team. They can have the highest payroll, the greatest talent, but if the team has no heart, then they'll never be anything more than a bunch of overpaid superstars. When it comes to being a champion for Christ, it's really the same. It all starts with the heart. We're all aware of people who spend most of their time taking care of the externals: dressing in the right way, saying the right things, going to all the right places. Some may say that well, I'm just taking care of my reputation.

But you know, a reputation is what people think you are. Character, which is really the state of your heart, that's what God pays attention to, and his opinion is ultimately what matters forever, for eternity. So when God looks at you, what does he see? In times of war, you'll often hear the priority is to knock out the enemy's command and control center. Do you know what that is? It's the place where the leaders are, where the decisions are made and the orders are determined. What happens there will spell victory or defeat for the entire army.

Well, let me just say that your heart is the command and control center of your life, of your inner being. What goes on there will spell victory or defeat for you as well. When God comes looking for leaders, for those who will stand and live for him, he first looks at the heart. Listen to Psalm 119 and verse two: "Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all of their heart." Today, I want to challenge you to seek God with all of your heart. As Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart." And when you seek him and find him, then you will be able by his Spirit to be a champion for Christ.

Announcer: And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Life According to Jesus. Just text APRIL to 59789. And join us again next time when Dr. Graham brings a message about how God will give you victory after victory when you trust in him. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.