After God’s Own Heart

After God’s Own Heart:

There are many times I question myself to see if I am a man of God and if I really am a man after God’s own Heart.

A Man of God: a minister or priest; a prophet; any godly man

A Man after God’s own Heart: (ex. King David) one who displays faith, courage, mercy, humility obedience and love for God.

There are a few things I should consider before I judge myself in this area.

·        Do I flee from sin?

·        Do I pursue Holiness and follow after God?

·        Do I live a life of repentance and faithfulness?

·        Do I live to love and please God?

·        Do I stand firm in my Faith?

·        Do I have a biblical worldview?

·        Does my life reflect the Fruit of the Spirit? (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control)

·        Do I live a life in surrender to God?

·        Do I Worship God on a daily basis?

·        Do I obey God’s Word?

We all must face the reality of our sin nature:

Romans 3:10 NIV  
As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;

When I take to heart the above verse form Romans I am reassured that I am a man in desperate need of a Savior who will cover my sin before God. None of my works can accomplish what Jesus did on the cross. So whatever work or service I do for God has to always be in light of what Jesus did to save me from my sin and rebellion against God. Therefore, as unrighteous as I am, I can rejoice in the way I am clothed in Christ’s righteousness. My faith in Jesus opens the door to my reconciliation with God. I always get this image of God seeing me differently by the way Jesus, my lawyer, stands before the God the judge, pleading my case. Jesus’ final argument proves my sin has been paid for and I am now free from the charges that the prosecutor, the enemy, the accuser, has put upon me.

Before Christ: The Old Self - a sinner separated from God

After Christ: The New Self - a sinner turned saint, saved by grace

The God Filter: (God > Jesus > Me)

God is Holy > We are separated from God due to our sin > God loves the sinner but not the sin > God has a plan to save us > Through Christ we will be saved > God approves of Jesus work on the cross > Jesus covers my sin > God sees > me as a new creation in Christ because of my belief in Him as Lord and Savior > Because I have received His saving grace > I am free from the penalty of sin >

I am adopted into God’s family and receive the gift of eternal life.

Truth: The filter that God sees me through is Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV  
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Ephesians 2:8 NIV  
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

Romans 3:22 NIV  
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference

Here are some steps I can take to move toward being a man of God.

My relationship with Christ must be real and go beyond knowledge and must include action based on my beliefs.

James 1:22 NIV 
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

I must live and be inspired by the principles of God’s Word. God’s Word reveals truth that guides me through life in a fallen world.

Psalm 119:105 NIV

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

We must live daily filled with the Holy Spirit. We need a conscience that will provide wisdom and discernment as we face daily, tough issues and decisions. The Bible also says that the Holy Spirit will teach us the true meaning of God’s Word as well as comfort us during the most difficult of times.

John 14:26 AMP

But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

1 Corinthians 2:12-13 NIV

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

John 16:7-8 AMP

However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment:

I must choose to live for God.  There will always be tension on whether I daily choose to live for God or live for myself (Self –centered VS. God-centered).  I know that in order to live the abundant life, I must choose to live the life God has prepared for me. 

Joshua 24:15 NIV 
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

If I were to come up with one word that speaks to the quality of a man after God's own heart I would use the word obedience.

Luke 11:28 NIV 
He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

John 14:15 NIV

If you love me, you will obey what I command.

John 8:31 NIV

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

Romans 2:13 NIV 
For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is

those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.

1 John 2:5 NIV 
But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.

This is how we know we are in him:

1 John 5:3 NIV  
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,

My greatest struggle and test of faith is whether or not I am going to listen to God. Take my marriage for example. God has convicted me many times to restrain my anger. If you struggle with anger you know what I am talking about. I have said many things in my mind that I am so glad I never spoke through my mouth. This ability to hold my tongue could only be attributed to my relationship with God. My bent in the past was to display my anger for all to see. Now I know God desires me to use restraint in areas where anger crosses over into sin.

There are also many other areas in my life that I must turn over to God. Through my obedience to God’s Word I now have the knowledge and desire to live a Holy Life before God. Even though this will never be done perfectly in this life, it is still my desire to please God with my obedience and desire to be Christ-like. God has given us His Holy Spirit to help us become set apart to Him in every area. His purpose is to purify us and cleanse of those things that separate us from Himself. The Holy Spirit is the change agent that continually adjusts our character and our heart.

Galatians 5:16-18 New Living Translation (NLT)

Living by the Spirit’s Power

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.  But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

2 Timothy 1:7 New International Version (NIV)

 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Philippians 2:1-5 NIV

Imitating Christ's Humility

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus

A great example of a man of God, a man after God’s own heart, is David.

The life David lived as well as the psalms David wrote reflected His relationship with God.

Let’s take a glimpse at what was written in some the psalms that reflected the author’s relationship with God and models how we too can live in greater intimacy with the creator of all things.  

We are to love God’s Word.

Psalm 119:97 NIV

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

Psalm 119:47-48 NIV

for I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands,

which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.

God’s Word is extremely important in helping to protect us from sin.

Psalm 119:11 NIV

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

God’s Word will sustain in time of suffering

Psalm 119:50 NIV

My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

God’s Word is comforting to those who love it.

Psalm 119:165 NIV

Great peace has they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

The psalmists love for prayer was based upon the fact that God listened to him and answered him.

Psalm 116:1-2 NIV

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.

Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

Prayer brings us closer to God.

Psalm 145:18 NIV

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

There is great blessing from having a close relationship with God.

Psalm 116:12-13 NIV

How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?

I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

There is great joy in the hearts of those who live a life of praise and worship to God.

Psalm 119:164 NIV

Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.

Psalm 95:1-7 NIV

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice,

Psalm 104:33 NIV

I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

There is a desire to stand against falsehood and sin.

Psalm 119:104 NIV

I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

Psalm 101:3-4 NIV

I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate;
they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with evil.

Psalm 101:6-7 NIV

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me;
he whose walk is blameless will minister to me.

No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.

We can also learn from Jesus about how we too can be a person after God’s own heart. Jesus loved God’s Word, He was a man of great prayer, and He loved to praise God and hated falsehood and sin. Jesus is our model for intimacy and community with God.

What we need to remember about Jesus is that He loves us and was willing to suffer and die to pay for our sin. By receiving His work on the cross we are saved from God’s wrath and the Holy Spirit is given to us to take charge of our lives. By letting the Holy Spirit lead we become obedient to God’s calling and desire for our lives.  This puts us in a position to be that person who seeks after God and is set apart to the desires of God’s own heart.

We need to constantly evaluate the state of our own heart. Is it set apart to God?

God is more interested in the condition of our heart than the works we do to try to please Him with.

1 Samuel 16:7 NIV

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

There is no standardized test for being a man or woman of God. God knows what is going on in the heart of each of us.  We can choose to live for God each and every day, and we can choose the level of devotion and obedience we have for Him. For me, It is easy to get distracted and avoid being a Godly man, but in my heart is still that true desire is to be a good and faithful servant. I am thankful God is forgiving and gracious

because there are many times I fail to practice what I preach.

By looking at David’s life, we have a great example of a man of God, a man after God’s own heart. (take time to read 1 Samuel 17 thru 2 Samuel, as well as the psalms of David)

David demonstrated his faith in God regularly which pleased God

David’s faith was tested throughout His life and even though he sometimes sinned against God, His confession and repentance restored Him back to God. David also loved God’s law and he desired to follow it to the best of his abilities. David meditated on God’s principles and laws and sought to apply them to his own life. He knew that God’s law was powerful and life changing if abided in. David regularly communicated thanks God no matter what the circumstance.  

 

My prayer is that we can all be a person after God’s own heart. There are many examples in the Bible like Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David just to name a few, that God had close relationships with. Each is known for their great faith and trust in God.

I love this Bible verse below because it inspires me to live a God-centered life:

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight

I hope and pray God will see me as a man after His own heart.

Just Sayin………………..Dave