The Man After God's Heart | What God's Impressed By

Today's episode of A New Beginning is brought to you by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God.

Learn more at harvest.org. And while you're there, browse our library of free ebooks designed to help you grow in your faith. But God looks on the heart. What's going on on the inside? We see the social media posts of certain friends and marvel at how great their life is.

Lunch on the beach in Cabo, sipping a hot chocolate in a ski chalet in Aspen. Social media has become a collection of highlight reels because people want to look good. But today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out God follows you. No, not on social media, in real life.

And he's most impressed by things that would never show up in a highlight reel. Years ago when my son Christopher was a little boy, we had this tugboat. It was sort of a bath toy, and then we used it in the pool as well. It was this big tugboat that was basically unsinkable.

I would take it to the bottom of the pool and try to hold it down. And it always popped to the top. So this thing was around for a number of years. Then Christopher got older. And one day I said to him, Christopher, would you like to blow up the tugboat now? He's a boy.

So of course his answer was, yes. So we decided how are we going to sink this tugboat. So I cut a little hole in the top. And I dropped a cherry bomb in it. You know what a cherry bomb is? Okay. I don't know where I got it.

I don't know if they're completely legal. But I somehow obtained a cherry bomb. We put it in the middle of the pool.

We were very excited. I lit it. I dropped it. It went boom.

And this plastic was so thick it hardly made any sound. And then the boat just slowly sunk to the bottom. I was kind of hoping for more of an explosion. Something a little more exciting. But we effectively blew a hole in the hull.

So basically here's the takeaway truth of that. Number one, it's fun to blow stuff up. Right? Okay. Number two, if you want to sink something, especially a boat, blow a hole in the hull.

Right? Okay. So that can happen in our lives spiritually as well. It's often gradual.

Not necessarily overnight. A little compromise here. A little lowering of the guard there. An allowance for sin somewhere else.

And you effectively are blowing a hole in your hull. That's kind of a tongue twister. That one. We're starting this brand new series called the House of David. And when you think of David, obviously, two other names come to mind. David and Goliath.

And David and Bathsheba. And that sort of sums up his life. David was either sailing or sinking. He was either having one of his great moments or one of his low moments. Goliath was his greatest victory.

Bathsheba his greatest defeat. But to the credit of David he was a true believer. And even after he sinned he always turned back to the Lord again.

And that's what we should do as well. And you want to talk about ups and downs. This guy experienced it all. He rose from complete obscurity to having hit songs on the radio written about him. He was an outcast.

He became the king of Israel. The shepherd boy. The musician. The poet.

The warrior. So many different aspects of his life. In fact they still sing about David in Israel today.

There's a little folk song that you'll still hear people sing. David David Melech Israel. Which means David is the king of Israel.

He was the greatest king that Israel ever had. And in fact David is a member of the very messianic tree. You know a lot of people are studying their background and their genealogies today because they want to know who they're related to. David was a part of the most exclusive genealogy in all of the world. The genealogy of Jesus. When Jesus walked this earth he identified himself as the son of David. He could have said he was the son of Abraham or the son of Adam even. But he said he's the son of David.

When blind Bartimaeus saw Jesus walking by he cried out son of David have mercy upon me. The more verses in the Bible are written about David than any other character apart from Christ. There's 14 chapters dedicated to the life of Abraham and Joseph. Jacob has 11 chapters written about him.

Elijah has 10. In contrast there are 66 chapters of the Old Testament dedicated to the life of David. Then there are 59 references to him in the New Testament. But having said all that David was far from perfect. Not only was he a shepherd and a warrior and a great king but tragically he was also an adulterer a murderer and a liar.

And as we look at his story we see the real message. It's not the greatness of David. It's the greatness of God who called a man like David and gave him a second chance.

David is a study in contrast. In battle he was fearless. In wisdom and ruling his kingdom he was without peer. But he wasn't some macho dude. He had a tender heart toward God and was both a poet and a musician. In fact he's the only man described in the Bible as the man after God's own heart.

So how did this all happen? Well David was not the first king of Israel. He was the second.

The first was a guy named Saul. And on paper Saul looked pretty good. He was handsome. He appeared to be humble. He was tall. He stood out from other men and he started out quite well. But it was only a matter of time before you saw how thin skinned he was.

How paranoid and jealous he could be and how he self-destructed. God gave them a man after their own heart. But then the Lord said well it's not working out so well because Saul turned out to be a horrible king. In fact in 1 Samuel 13 the prophet Samuel said to Saul you've acted like a fool. You've not kept God's commandments and your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for himself a man after his own heart.

So we pick up the story now. 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 1. The Lord said to Samuel you've mourned long enough for Saul.

I've rejected him as the king of Israel. Now fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.

Samuel asked how can I do that? If Saul hears about it he'll kill me. Now this just shows how wicked Saul was at this moment. He would kill a prophet of the Lord if he heard about this. The Lord replied take a heifer with you and say that you've come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you which one of his sons to anoint for me.

Now we'll stop there. So now when a man like Samuel shows up it's a big deal. I mean if Samuel's in Jerusalem that's one thing. But he's in Bethlehem. At this moment in time Bethlehem is like Podunk USA. It's like Pedally or I don't know what city. I don't want to insult anybody if you're from Pedally. But you know Barstow.

I don't know what. But you know nothing happens in Bethlehem. The only reason we know of Bethlehem is that's where Christ was born. And why was Christ born in Bethlehem? Because he was the root and offspring of David. In fact Micah said Bethlehem though you be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of you shall come forth one whose origins have been from everlasting. So when a guy like Samuel shows up in Bethlehem people freaked out a little bit. They see Samuel coming in there.

They're like hey is everything cool? Are you coming to call judgment on us? It's all good. I want to offer a sacrifice so let's all show up and especially Jesse get him out here. You know one of Jesse's boys. I wonder if Samuel ever thought I wish he was Jesse's girl.

No you wouldn't have. No. One of Jesse's boys. How many of you got that reference?

Old Rick Springfield song. I still have his poster on my wall. Never took it down.

I don't even know why I put it up. One of Jesse's boys. Here's what I find interesting. God doesn't show the prophet who the next king will be. He says just go to Bethlehem and he's from the house of Jesse.

Take away point. God leads us one step at a time. You know as I look back on my own life I wish I could tell you that oh I had it all planned. Everything that happened was just as I planned it.

No not at all. I just took one step. Then I took the next step.

Then I took the next step. I didn't have a blueprint to follow necessarily but I found that I needed to be obedient. It's like when the Lord told Philip go to the desert. He didn't tell him why he should go to the desert.

He didn't tell him who he should speak to. When he got to the desert he just said go to the desert. And to his credit Philip obeyed. And when Philip arrived in the desert there he saw the man he was to speak to.

A visiting dignitary from Ethiopia. And he took it from there. It comes down to this. God's way becomes plain when we start walking in it. Obedience to reveal truth guarantees guidance and matters unrevealed. So I recommend this. Just start where you are. Be obedient to the last thing God told you to do. Start this way. Read your Bible every day.

There's a no-brainer. Just start with the Word of God. Here's another one. Have a prayer life. Call out to the Lord. Listen to the Lord.

These are disciplines we all should maintain. So start with the obvious and the Lord will show you what to do next. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

It's encouraging to know that Pastor Greg's messages reach far and wide, even halfway across the world. So here's my story. I'd been claiming to be a Christian but I was actually living for the world. All that changed after I was arrested and sent to jail. I'd hit rock bottom thinking I'd lost everything.

I live in Australia and I was in a holding cell, cuffed and being transferred to a van to appear before a judge. I heard a voice in my head saying, you're here because you haven't surrendered. I knew it was the voice of God. As I stepped into the van I prayed, Lord if you get me through this I promise I'll serve you. In jail I spoke to a chaplain and I asked for advice on what to read in the Bible and he told me to read the book of John.

So I read John twice while also reading Matthew, Mark and Luke. Anyway after serving my time I was recently released on parole and that next Sunday I went to church and surrendered my life to Jesus. All glory to God. I then looked for a genuine Christian radio station and I found one in Springwood, Australia. Since then it's the only radio station I listen to every morning on my way to work and I love Pastor Greg Laurie's preaching.

That fuels me up and so do the worship songs. Thank you. What a great story of how God's word has touched this man's life. Do you have a story to tell? If so would you call us and share your story? Call 866-871-1144.

That's 866-871-1144. Well we're learning some important principles from this introductory study on the life of David. Pastor Greg continues now. So here comes Samuel and he wants to see the sons of Jesse. Jesse proudly parades his seven sons before the visiting prophet. These were healthy, strong, strappy boys. Especially Eliab who stood out among the others.

They were the magnificent seven. But none of them were the ones that the Lord had chosen. 1 Samuel 16 verse 7.

Read with me. When they arrived Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought surely this is the Lord's anointed. But the Lord said to Samuel don't judge by his appearance or height.

I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't make decisions the way that you do. And now this very important statement. 1 Samuel 16 7. People judge by outward appearance but the Lord looks on a person's thoughts and intentions.

Isn't that a great verse? And isn't it true? We do judge by outward appearance. We size a person up. Okay who is this person?

What do I think of this person? And we're so concerned with the way that we look. I mean think about a picture is taken. Take a picture. Let's take a photo. Let's do a selfie. And you say don't post that one.

Why? I don't like the way I look. We want to look good. That's why we use filters and special effects and other things. We focus so much on the outside. But God looks on the inside. Can you imagine if you could actually see a person's heart and really knew what they were thinking. I'm not sure if I would want that ability.

I think I would be very disappointed. You know the person who seemed so affirming so caring you know you would see their real heart. That's what Jesus could do. And He always knew what people were thinking. He'd call out the Pharisees. Why are you thinking this in your heart? They'd think like how did He know that? Because He was God. God looks on the heart.

What's going on on the inside? But we place so much emphasis in our culture today and the way that we look. We spend 16 billion dollars a year on cosmetic surgery. And that's just Newport Beach.

Beverly Hills is even more. But all that money is spent trying to appear to be something you're not. You know there was a debate years ago. Some of you will remember if you're quite old. John F. Kennedy debated Richard Nixon. And it was on television and it was on radio. So those that heard it on radio felt Nixon won the debate.

But those that watched on television thought Kennedy won the debate. Why do you think that is? Well look at the two of them. I'm not saying one is more attractive than the other. But I think we all know that one is more attractive than the other. We make decisions based on the attractiveness of our person.

We're hardwired that way. You know studies have shown that babies as young as one day are drawn to a more attractive face. A little baby is drawn to the more attractive face. So you're going to find out how attractive you are by looking at a baby. I love babies. You know babies there's no subtlety. Baby likes you the look. They might smile. And they'll be talking to the baby.

And they have a little voice. Hello dear baby. Hi baby. Baby is like ahh. And the baby will look at you and just go turn away. It's like I'm done with you. I can't get out of this high chair so I have to look that way but please go away now. I don't like your face anymore. That baby's judging me.

Yes he is. It's not fair. Doesn't matter. They like more attractive faces. So if the babies never look at you you're unattractive. Just accept it.

It's okay though. Because God doesn't look on the outward. God looks on the inward doesn't he. And so here is all the sons of Jesse. Samuel sees Eli and say he even stood out among his brothers. He was a little taller. He said surely this is the Lord's anointed.

And it wasn't. Maybe some of you guys have seen a girl and said surely she is the Lord's anointed. Or the girl that's not the same. This is the one.

You know before I was married I always thought I was finding that right girl. This is the girl. That's the girl. Maybe this is the girl.

And here's the thing. When you are single and you're looking for that person look for a godly person. Oh yeah you want them to be attractive. I married a very attractive girl. I'm not going to lie about that.

But I'm looking for someone that's not just attractive on the outside but also attractive on the inside. So seven sons are paraded before Samuel. Lord says no. No. No. No. No. No.

Seven times no. What happened next for Samuel 16 verse 11. Then Samuel asked are these all the sons you have? Jesse replies well they're still the youngest but he's out in the field watching the sheep. Samuel said send for him at once.

We're not going to sit down to eat until he arrives. So he sent for him and brought him in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. The Lord said rise and anoint him. This is the one. So David stood there among his brothers.

Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it on David's head and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him from that day on and Samuel returned to Ramah. I'll stop there. Don't you love that? Do you have any other sons?

Yeah there's one other. He's out in the field. He's kind of weird. He's a musician. He plays his guitar. Writes these songs to God.

Watches a bunch of smelly sheep. I don't even want to acknowledge him. Seems like there was a little embarrassment there. In fact this phrase in verse 11 that remains the youngest does not mean that David was younger than the others. It means he was the least in the estimation of his father.

It means his father thought less of David than he did of the other sons. You know it's a sad thing when a parent favors one child over another. Isn't it?

And it happens all the time. We call it favoritism. And probably in any family you could say who was mom's favorite? Who was dad's favorite? They'll probably know. My grandchildren have asked me, Papa who's your favorite grandchild?

How do you answer that? In fact two of them have hijacked my phone and removed their name and replaced it with favorite grandchild. The problem two of them have done it so now I get a text from favorite grandchild and I don't know what favorite grandchild it is. But we always want to be seen as the favorite and maybe you were the one that was not the favored child. Maybe you have always been the last one picked for the team.

I remember this very clearly from my childhood when they would be putting baseball teams together. I was always the last one picked. Everyone would be picked and I'd be standing there you know.

Hey. They'd say do you want Lori? I don't want Lori. We had Lori last time. I'll take the three-legged dog.

Come on let's go. Okay Lori you can play first base. I can play first base? No you will be first base.

They're gonna slide into you and hit you with their cleats as we come in right. So maybe you were the first one picked. Maybe you were the good-looking one.

Maybe you were the one that was favored but maybe you weren't. Maybe your parents disappointed you. Maybe your parents walked out on you. They divorced when you were very young and it affected you throughout your life. Of course I grew up without a mom or a dad. I mean my mother was there but she was so distant.

In many ways I was the parent and the relationship because of how irresponsible she was because of her drinking and I never had a father. So when I read the story of David I think wow that that kind of reminds me a little bit of my own story. And I love the statement of David when he writes, when my father and mother forsake me the Lord will take me up. Know this those who are often rejected by parents become beloved of the Lord.

Even if you didn't have a hands-on earthly father I want you to know you have a very hands-on heavenly father who loves you and favors you. So put yourself in David's shoes for a moment. Today like any other day he's tending the sheep. And he did a good job. He was a great shepherd. Any predator comes in he took care of them in short order. And when nothing was going on he'd start singing to the Lord.

Write a song or two. We also call them psalms. And all of a sudden someone comes running to him. David they want you back in the house. David comes running in.

Bounding into that room smelling like the sheep you've been keeping company with. God says to the prophet that's my boy. Anoint him. And they pour the oil on David.

And so David was God's choice because God sees things differently than we do. Great insight today from this opening study of the life of David. Pastor Greg Laurie has so much good counsel to come from this series here on A New Beginning. We hope you'll be listening just as often as you can. And then we hope you're making plans to see Jesus Revolution.

It's in theaters now. Jesus Revolution of course refers to the Jesus movement and Pastor Greg you know that time quite well. You came to the Lord during that time.

Yes. You and Kathy fell in love during that time. The movie sort of walks us through that era. Yes a very young Greg is in this film played by Joe Courtney. Beautiful job on his part in his acting. It shows the story of young Greg with his mother Charlene played by Kimberly Williams Paisley. She did an incredible job playing my mother. This tragic figure.

This Marilyn Monroe look-alike who would hang around the bars and get picked up by men. And the sad life that we had together which sent me on a search as a young man. And it shows in a very honest and real way my search through drugs and other things trying to find meaning in my life and I eventually come to hear the gospel. It's also a love story where I meet Kathy and the actress Anna Grace Barlow plays Kathy and it's she does such an amazing job.

And so it's a love story and it's a story of how two very unlikely characters came together. Chuck Smith played by Kelsey Grammer. Again Lonnie Frisbee played by Jonathan Rumi.

It was like Nitro met glycerin in a spiritual explosion happened as a result. So hey I can't show you the film but why don't you listen for a moment. Here's a scene from the film where Chuck meets Lonnie for the first time. So Chuck said to his daughter they were watching television and all the crazy hippies and and he wanted nothing to do with them and thought they all needed to get a job and get a haircut.

But his wife Kay had a heart for reaching them. So Chuck says if God sends me a hippie I'll talk to him. So Chuck's daughter Jan runs into hippie evangelist Lonnie Frisbee and brings him home.

And so Chuck meets Lonnie for the first time and here's what happens. So uh tell me about yourself Lonnie and your uh people. My people.

I like the sound of that. You know it reminds me of the words of Jesus. To what then can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like?

I was up in San Francisco for a long time living in Haight-Ashbury on the streets all over and we did everything and every one. But that was the point. You see the drugs it's a quest. For what? For God.

How can you not see that? There is an entire generation right now searching for God. Man we thought acid was going to save the world. Thank you.

Thanks man. But that was a lie. As much of a lie as what we were rebelling against. And what brought you to that realization? I kept searching and searching.

I just finally got to the end of it. And there was still a void. And my people, well, they're a desperate bunch. And desperation. Man there's power in that word. What would it take for you Chuck Smith to be desperate? Jeannette tells me you're a pastor. Yes.

Currently. I know we must seem pretty strange. But if you look a little deeper, if you look with love, you'll see a bunch of kids that are searching for all the right things. And you'll see a bunch of kids that are searching for all the right things.

You'll see a bunch of kids that are searching for all the right things. Just in all the wrong places. So to answer your question, how do I describe my people? They're sheep without a shepherd.

Chasing hard after lies. And the trouble is your people reject them. So I ask you pastor, how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? We can only walk through doors open to us. In your church, well, that's a door that's shut. That's a scene from Jesus Revolution.

Chuck Smith, played by actor Kelsey Grammer, and Lonnie Frisbee, played by actor Jonathan Rumi. It's a movie you don't want to miss. Jesus Revolution is in theaters now.

Make plans to bring someone with you to see this film. And thanks so much for partnering with us as we share the gospel in this innovative way. You partner with us as you support the film at your local theater. And you partner with us when you send a donation to support sharing the gospel. In fact, a thank you for your generosity right now. We want to send you the book that tells the story in more depth.

It's also called Jesus Revolution. We'll send you the book to thank you for your investment. So get in touch today. Our 24-7 phone number is 1-800-821-3300.

That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org. Well, next time, more about the life and character of David, as Pastor Greg brings us more from this kickoff message in our new series. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.

Hey, everybody. Thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries, follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to harvest.org. And to find out how to know God personally, go to harvest.org and click on Know God.