HOW TO GET GOD'S ATTENTION - Heart Series Part 1
Over the next 3 Sundays I will take you on a short journey to discover what God looks for in people, then the key characteristic of these people and finally understanding your destiny. What would you like to be when you grow up? Were you ever asked that question as a child? I was. If you are a boy you want to be something manly, a soldier, fireman, policeman- all the symbols of power. Mostly I wanted to be like my father. He was big, worked with big trucks and had a uniform. The little man in me identified with symbols of power. When I did get older I learned that my true identity was not my uniform or my work but rather who I was and who I are identified with. I wonder what David wanted to be as he stood watch night after night over a few sheep? Is that all there is, just watching sheep? You heard about the lion and bear coming over the wall for lunch and he fought them off and killed each and every predator. Brave, by anyone’s standards. This kind of fearlessness surely would make you a great leader and warrior, or would it? In these verses we find David the shepherd boy being compared with a king, king Saul. Few people have had as much going for them as Saul did. Saul was a huge man, taller than most, quite a successful warrior and could have had a name in history. God has just rejected him, not because he is not brave or strong but because he is not obedient. Then there’s David, to small even to wear a man’s armor. His brothers were bigger, older and more impressive. David though small was strong and athletic from having lived in the hills and chasing sheep but nothing of significance. Then we come to one of the most enlightening verses in the Bible. “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart”. This brings me to this question, “How can you get God’s attention?” David did but not only David, Enock did, Joseph did, Noah did, Moses did, Elisha did, Daniel did, Job did and many more. Is God looking for someone like me? The Lord sought for a man and he found one. There seems to be criteria that God has in mind in selecting people and favoring people and it focuses entirely on the heart. Yes, it is true that God can do what he wants when he wants and where he wants and yet you have something to do with what God does in your life. Are you man after God? Are you a woman whose life is about God? Dr T’ says it, “Not because of your activity but not without it.” God definitely does not see you like anyone else does. Thank God for that. Misjudged, we often are. Misguided we are at times… but God sees through all the miscommunications and mistakes and he zeros in right on your heart. The heart mentioned here is not the physical heart mentioned here. The heart, as understood here is the center of all your spiritual activity. It is the home of your personal life, the hidden unseen real you. It is the place where motives are born, decisions are made and conscience if kept. By itself it is naturally wicked. Nice polite people can have wicked evil hearts. The Bible speaks of hard, proud, conceited and ungrateful an sinful hearts. Your heart needs God. All the negative characteristics of fallen human nature are locked in the heart. The wonderful truth is that just one sincere meeting with God can change your heart. Hearts are changed when we choose to open the door to God. We are told not to harden our hearts. We are commanded to love God with our hearts in Deut 6:5. We are encouraged to seek God with our whole heart and God promises we’ll find him. Some things have happened to David at a core heart level. David made some choices that God responded to and David’s heart was changed. God looked past David’s height, family position and job training and saw a heart that was after God himself. Some things about your heart that will catch his attention and I use one of David’s Psalms to describe these- Psalm 23;
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” I’m sure you have heard of Hebrews 11:6 If you had been there to see a teenager, without battle training face a seasoned warrior named Goliath you would have been both frightened and amazed. To see Goliath was to be afraid. He was about 9 feet tall, loaded with armor and weapons. Then to gaze across the valley and watch a rather short young man of 5 feet approaching this Giant would give you a striking contrast. You would have reason to be anxious. Somewhere out in the wilderness of Life David had decided to trust the Lord? That trust was unconditional and that Got God’s attention In Bob Sorge’s book he has a chapter called “no plan B”. God is plan “A” and we have no other. David prayed in Psalm 86:11:
David identified with righteousness in verse 3 “He guides me in paths of righteousness.” How pure was David’s heart. He wanted God’s way and would not interfere with God’s time. There was a time when David was chased by a wicked backslidden king Saul. Saul had 3000 of his best men chasing him through the hills with one agenda, “kill David”. There came a time when Saul entered a cave to relieve himself and there rested. What he did not know was that David got there first and was hiding in he recesses of the cave. David’s men said, this is your chance. Kill him now. They could even spiritualize the moment, “This is God’s blessing. He has been given to your hand”. David had the perfect opportunity to kill his enemy. Don’t you think this was reasonable to kill the one who was trying to kill you? After all, this could almost be called self-defense. David’s heart was so pure, in his most distressed moment he would not take revenge. Oh God may we have a heart like that!
How many psalms of praise did David write? (5)“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; My cup overflows.” There was a time when David committed sin with Bathsheba. God saw it as God sees every human action. God sent Nathan the Prophet to rebuke David. Other kings killed prophets that disagreed with or corrected them. Not david, After he had been rebuked, he repented and yet there were consequences, the child they had produced was judged and died. David pleaded with God for mercy but the child died. Sometimes our consequences cannot be avoided. After the child died, David was not bitter at God or life, rather he took a bath and went to the house of God and worshipped. He did not blame God for what was wrong but stayed true to God. His unshakable faith in a God who loves and cares was strong. He finished one of the most difficult days of his life in praise.
(6) “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Distractions are common in life. We can’t stay focused very well. David speaks about his life focus. Whatever happens I’ve made up my mind and I’m going on with God. I have a destination and I’m not turning back. Psalm 57:7 For most people God is nothing more than an add-on. He has a place but only when nothing else is happening. This is not focus. What you love has your focus. We are emotionally and mentally tied to our focus. As you know we have a beagle dog. Something to note about beagles, when their nose picks up a scent, it’s very hard to get their attention. They lock in on the scent and go- that’s focus. The wrong focus will bend your life in ways that could bring about great suffering. Clare Sheridan, journalist for the New York World, once interviewed Mussolini, the Italian dictator: Let your heart be a wasteland and watch what evil becomes planted there. How much better to focus on God! Psalm 122:1 If not focus your life on Him. David caught God’s attention. God saw David’s heart. God can see your heart this morning. How many of us are here today and if our heart was exposed we’d be embarrassed? How many of us are here for show today, to look good for our family or for someone else. I’ve met many a courting man who was willing to come to church to get the girl but quit as soon as they married. Are you here for business contacts? Are you here for duty or conscience? Are you here for God himself? Here’s what I read this week. In the Philippines, since the early nineties, heart disease has become the number 1 cause of death among Filipinos. Did you know what? It’s mostly preventable, that’s what most doctor’s say. The number one killer of spiritual life is heart spiritual heart disease. The wickedness of the world is allowed to enter the heart. Jesus said it, you are in the world but not of it. Don’t let the world squeeze you into it’s mould. Be determined to catch God’s attention by having a believing, pure, praising, focused heart.
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