WORSHIP WITH A HEART LIKE GOD
Part 2 in series, “LifeSongs*: Lives of Worship”
Rev. Todd G. Leupold Perth Bible Church Sunday January 20, 2008 AM
* Title inspired by the name of the song and album by “Casting Crowns.”
INTRODUCTION1:
A.W. Tozer: “The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.” (The Pursuit of God, pp. 17-18)
Tom Kraeuter: “We can become so interested in doing things ’right’ to get the ’right’ response from the people that miss the whole point – worshiping God.” (“Worship Is a Verb,” Psalmist, Feb.-Mar. 1192, pg. 25 as quoted on pg. 35 in Worship Evangelism by Sally Morgenthaler)
Last week, we began a new series I’ve entitled “Lifesongs: Lives of Worship.” We began with a reminder of God’s great invitation. This morning, we will look at taking the next step toward living our lives as songs of worship to the LORD by examining what it means to have and worship with a heart like God.
SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 13:13-14
PRAYER
INTRODUCTION2:
Before we look at HOW David had “a heart like God,” we need to take a step back and understand the context. At this point, Saul has been king for 40 yrs. He was the first human king of Israel. You see, when God set them apart as a holy nation and settled them in the Promised Land, the idea was that He would be their mighty King and Judge. But, as time passed, the Israelites noticed how all the nations around them were acclaimed based on the greatness of their human king. King and nation became as one identity and the greatness and reputation of a nation was most based upon that of their king – the ’face’ of the nation. Israel, by contrast, was often looked down upon as inferior and backwards because they had no king, no singular great champion. And, so, the people demanded of God that He give them a human king to rule over them and by whom they could be identified (rather than just a faceless, unseen God). And they didn’t want just any king. It had to be someone who would be imposing, look good, and charismatic. After repeated pleas from the people and rejection of God’s cautions, He gave them what they asked for in Saul.
On the outside, he was everything a people could ever want in a king. But, on the inside, he proved to be shallow, rootless, and self-obsessed. Before long, Saul rejected God’s Word and God’s leadership and focused instead on building his own claims to power, position, wealth and personal security. In the Scripture we have just read together, God declares to Saul that because he has not been faithful and obedient his rule that would have been blessed and eternal is to be miserably taken away and given to one who has what is required on the inside – that is in spirit and in heart. The young, unnoticed shepherd boy from the least tribe in Israel, David.
But didn’t David just prove to be a great sinner himself? Wasn’t he the one who lusted after another man’s wife and then abused his power and influence to commit adultery with her, murder her husband, and then marry her and pretend their child was conceived after the marriage? Wasn’t David the one who took a census of the people against God’s will, thus bringing the judgment of God against them? How is this “a man after God’s own heart”?
The important thing to realize is that David was proclaimed by God Himself as “a man according to His own heart,” not because he was perfect or without sin, but because of how he consistently and relentlessly chose to live before God and in relation to Him despite his own weakness and frailty. David made mistakes, he sinned and disobeyed God, but he recognized it, owned up to, made it up for it, learned from it, grew from it, and didn’t repeat it! David is uniquely honored by God not because of who he is, not because of his greatness, but because of the kind of heart that he had and that ultimately always brought his focus back to a life of worshiping the LORD no matter the circumstances!
This morning, I would like to guide us through a tour of David’s heart – a heart of worship. We will see this primarily through His own Spirit-inspired words and, at the same time, I pray see how any of us may choose to have a heart like a God!
I. A HEART FOR GOD’S GLORY
Psalm 22:22-23
I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the congregation. You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All you descendants of Israel, revere Him!
Psalm 103:1-5
My soul, praise the Lord, and all that is within me, praise His holy name. My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget all His benefits. He forgives all your sin; He heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the Pit; He crowns you with faithful love and compassion. He satisfies you with goodness; your youth is renewed like the eagle.
David understood at all times and in all circumstances that it is God’s glory that must be the focus of his heart, his time, his attention, and his life! He exemplified what Jesus later proclaimed: Seek first the Kingdom of God and all of these things will be given to you(Matthew 6:33).
II. A LISTENING HEART
Illustration: Two men were talking over coffee one day. One said: “I’m concerned about my wife. She talks to herself a lot these days.” The other said: “Mine does too, but she doesn’t know it. She thinks I’m listening.”
Is worship primarily about God listening to us, or us listening to God?(Randy Croft, sermoncentral.com)
Consider, again, David’s words as they express his heart in this matter:
Psalm 42:1-5
As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me,";Where is your God?"; I remember this as I pour out my heart: how I walked with many, leading the festive procession to the house of God, with joyful and thankful shouts. Why am I so depressed?
Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 89:15-18
Happy are the people who know the joyful shout; Lord, they walk in the light of Your presence. They rejoice in Your name all day long, and they are exalted by Your righteousness. For You are their magnificent strength; by Your favor our horn is exalted. Surely our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
III. A REPENTANT HEART
David’s heart was honored by God, not because it never got sullied from sin, but because anytime it did it was quickly and thoroughly scrubbed and cleansed clean! And, no matter how dirty it got or often the mud of sin splashed upon it, he never stopped keeping it clean, never got used to the dirt, never overlooked it and decided “why bother cleaning it, it’s just going to get dirty again.”
1 Samuel 12:20
Samuel replied, "Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the Lord. Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart.
Psalm 51:-1-10
Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion. Wash away my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. Against You-You alone-I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. Indeed, I was guilty [when I] was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6 Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within.
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins
and blot out all my guilt. God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Illustration: Not long ago, if you were to explore the forests of Colorado, you would have found a truly great, majestic and seemingly indestructible living monolith. A mammoth tree than had stood for over 400 years – a mere sapling when Columbus first landed in San Salvador. What is truly remarkable is the trials and changes this tree has endured and yet grown ever stronger. Over it’s 4 centuries, it has survived wars, colonization, civilization, development, and the wraths of nature. It had been struck by lightning 14 times, braved tremendous wind storms, and even defied an earthquake. So, what great and mighty force finally succeeded in destroying this towering, majestic giant? Well . . . it was some little beetles! What war, development, time and the unbridled forces of nature could not accomplish, a small colony of beetles quietly did. You see, rather than attack from the outside, these beetles managed to bore their way under the bark and into the heart of this mighty tree. Nibble by nibble, bite by bite – none of great significance by themselves, these beetles gradually began to chew away the mighty fibers at the heart of this giant. Finally, one day, with what must have been great and unexpected suddenness to any outside observer, this lordly king of the forest came thundering down!
In the same way, my friends, apparently insignificant and virtually ’harmless’ sins often make the most substantial inroads into our hearts and spiritual lives. ’Tiny’, barely noticeable and easily ignored or hidden sins that, if left unchecked, will cause our downfall as well!
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.
IV. AN UNCOMPROMISING HEART
Illustration: I wonder what would happen if we applied the same standards of loyalty to our Christian activities that we expect from other areas of our lives? If your car starts once very three tries, is it reliable? If you don’t go to work once or twice a month, are you a reliable employee? If your fridge stops working for a day or two every now and then, do you say, “Oh well, it works most of the time?” If your water heater provides an icy cold shower every now and then, is it dependable? If you skipped a couple of NIMO payments, do you think they’d mind? If you fail to worship God one or two Sundays a month, would you expect to be called a faithful Christian?
We expect loyalty and reliability from things and other people – isn’t it reasonable then that God just might expect the same from us? (Wayne Field, sermoncentral.com)
1 Kings 14:7-9
Go tell Jeroboam, ’This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I raised you up from among the people, appointed you ruler over My people Israel, tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you. But you were not like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all of his heart, doing only what is right in My eyes. You behaved more wickedly than all who were before you. In order to provoke Me, you have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and cast images, but you have flung Me behind your back.
2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His. You have been foolish in this matter
Acts 13:22-23
After removing him, He raised up David as their king, of whom He testified: ’ I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will carry out all My will.’ "From this man’s descendants, according to the promise, God brought the Savior, Jesus, to Israel.
Hebrews 13:15
Therefore, through Him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips that confess His name.
V. A WITNESSING HEART
Finally, a heart seeks to be like God’s, to be in line with God’s heart, is one that witnessed to His glory with every beat!
Psalm 9:1-2
I will thank the Lord with all my heart; I will declare all Your wonderful works. I will rejoice and boast about You; I will sing about Your name, Most High.
Psalm 40:3
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 57:9-11
I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your faithful love is as high as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. God, be exalted above the heavens; let Your glory be over the whole earth.
Jesus, put it for us this way:
Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
LIVING IT REAL:
Friends, it is one thing to consider all this and feel good. Or, even, to see it has a nice idea or even ideal. But unless we really apply and live it in our lives it means nothing! To just know how to ’act’ like one with a heart for God in this instance or that is unacceptable in the sight of Christ. We need to be it, embrace it, and live it – in reality and with every beat of our hearts!
When we do, then the Lord Jesus will anoint us and guide our ways throughout every circumstance without fail and without end!
1 Samuel 16:13
So Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
Psalm 149:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.
