Why David?

God is moving in this place, and I feel an urgency to go to the word of the Lord. So if you'll return to your seats — appreciate you worshiping God today and ushering in his presence. Acts chapter 13 is where we're going to go. As you're going there with your Bibles, and making your way to your seats, let me say again publicly how much I appreciate every one of you for keeping my family in prayer, for all your kindness, all of the cards, food, and things you guys did to bless us. We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love during my father's memorial service. So many of you done so many kind things, and just want you to know how much we love and appreciate our Centerpoint family. You guys are just the best. Thank you so much.

Acts 13, verse 21-one, says: "Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for 40 years. But God removed Saul, and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said —" everybody say, "God said." God — this is what God said about David: "I have found David's son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do." For a little while on this Sunday morning, I want to preach simply: Why David? Why David?

I believe that I could say with confidence this morning, that for many of us, David is probably high on the list of our top people that we like to read about in the scripture. His story, from beginning to end, is filled with triumph and tragedy. Yet there are so many similarities there, that quite often we can sense a kindredness there with what he has either done, or what he is going through. He was a man that was filled with passion, success, and failure. So for me — and I feel like I'm not alone in this — I begin to say to myself: how did he receive the title "a man after my own heart"? Why was it that God was so bold in his declaration, to make that powerful statement about David? He didn't say that about anyone else in scripture. Not about Abraham. Not about Moses. Not about John the Baptist. It was David who lives throughout all of history as the man who was after God's own heart.

It was many thousands of years ago that God chose David to be the king of Israel. And out of all the sons of Jesse, the favor of God landed on him. It was an interesting time. His predecessor, Saul, was disobedient, and did not fulfill all that God had asked of him. The prophet at the time, Samuel, was upset about what was transpiring and taking place. Evidently there was a close relationship, at least in Samuel's eyes, to King Saul, because we see an interaction take place there in the 24th chapter of 1 Samuel, where God begins to speak to the prophet and says, "How long are you going to cry over this? I've already moved on. I need you to go and anoint the next king." That was there, and he gave him some pretty strong language. When Samuel was beginning to evaluate the situation — and part of that is what we read in the book of Acts today, to start this sermon — he was warning the prophet: be careful that you're not caught up in what you see physically, cuz I don't look on the outside as much as I'm concerned about what's on the inside.

By God's grace, David become the greatest king in the history of the nation of Israel. He became the chief marker in the bloodline of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's listed among the great heroes of faith in Hebrews chap 11. During his life, he received great promises and remarkable blessings from the hand of God. And you and I often times turn to his writings in the book of Psalms, when we need a time of comfort, or some place to go to when life seems to overwhelm us. But the greatest of fall, in my opinion, was the title that David was given by God himself: that he was a man after God's own heart. To me, that was not David's testimony, but it was God's testimony of David. I think it's interesting there, and I think it's something for you and I to note, that God often times does not view you the way you view you. That should bring some comfort to someone today, because I'm as guilty as anybody about being caught up in my shortcomings and failures. Being caught up with the frustrations, or when things didn't go the way I know I should have went, or decisions I wish I could go and make over again. But here I see that it wasn't David's testimony of himself, but it was God's testimony of David.

So how did this happen? What was it? And there's a lot we could dissect, but I have a few points I want to try to make today. And my goal is not to keep us long. I know we have a busy day, and I want to add to an encouragement, an admonishment from Pastor: please be here this evening, to help us reach our community. Will you help me be the church today, as we have a lot of guests show up? Will you help put on a smile, and welcome them warmly to this place? Amen. Amen.

The first thing I want to point out — if you're a notetaker, I'll do my best. My wife says they don't do so good, but I'm going to try my best. I've made a lot of really big highlights here to say things. Okay, so if you're taking notes, this would be note number one: David was someone who made up his mind. He was someone who made up his mind. I think it's important to start here. This was a man who had determined that he was going to be passionate about living for God.

Have you ever been around someone who couldn't make their mind up? And is that not frustrating? Is there anybody — is there any husband in this room today? Guys are nervous. Guys are nervous. You see this, right? They're already sweating, like, "What's Pastor going to do? Going to get me in trouble." Any husband in the room today who maybe, at least one time in your marriage, been remotely frustrated when you ask the question, "What do you want to eat?" Few brave souls. Thank you, Joey. I know you're not close to your wife. She's way back there, and your way up here. So I'm sorry, I may have ratted you out. She probably didn't even see zakus up here. That's biblically funny. I love you, Joey. Yeah, it's frustrating. Like, you know, "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know." It can be something that can drive you mad, when you're around someone who can't make their mind up. But that wasn't David. Not when it come to God. He had determined in his heart and in his mind that he was going to serve God. He was not a perfect man. Everybody say that with me. Say, "David wasn't perfect." But he was a man who made his mind up.

Something powerful about having your mind set. When I think about David, I think about Psalms 1 and one: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sin, nor sth in his seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law do he meditate day and night. he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in this season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." No one really knows who pined Psalms 1, but it seems like something that David would say, from the life that he lived, in his dedication of God. He was like that tree planted by the water. He was determined that he was going to live after God. There's just something about making your mind up, you're going to serve God. It doesn't mean that everything's going to go according to plan. But there's something about being determined, you're going to live for God. You're going to face some adversity. You're going to face some things that are not going to go your way. But there's something about saying, "I'm going to live for God." Even if you fall, maybe you can take the stance that we read right in scriptures: "Rejoice not against me, oh my enemy" — I may fall, but I'm going to get back up, because my mind is determined that I'm going to live for God. I may not do it perfectly, but even in my worst of times, my mind is set. That's how David lived. He was someone who was passionate about living for God. I wish there was more people like David, who would be consumed with being in the presence of God. Who would come to an understanding of where you get your strength for times of adversity. You know, there's something about being in the presence of God. Does anybody besides me like being in the presence of God? Do you long for our times when we come into this sanctuary, and we begin to worship, and his presence feels this place? Anybody, anybody besides me, like being in the presence of God? There's nothing quite like that. David picked up on it early. And there hasn't even been an outpouring of the Holy Ghost during those times. But he understood: if I can just get into the presence of the Almighty, I get strength and encouragement from being there.

How do I know that? How do I know, Pastor Kevin, how do you know that? Well, just read the words that David pinned. Psalms 42 and one: "As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, Oh God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and a beer before him?" He understood the importance, that sometimes I'm going to struggle with stuff. Sometimes it's not going to go according to how I thought it was going to go. But in my times of discouragement, in my times of disappoint — even in my times of failure — if I can somehow make it into the presence of God, things are different in his presence. He said in Psalms 18:1: "I will love thee, Oh Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, in my half tower." When things aren't going the way I want them to, he is my God. He is my strength. He is my salvation. And nothing against you, but I'm talking about me. I need him in my life, because of my situations and my circumstances. And he's a right-now, on-time God. He had his mind made up.

David was diligent in his approach to God. The Apostle Paul knew a bit about this, when he pinned these words in Hebrews 11: "But without faith it's impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently ." Not just happen stance, not just a casual thing, but somebody who was desperate to be in the presence of God. Desperate. Somebody was hungry. I go back to what David said. He said, "My soul thirsteth after thee" — like a deer who's been panting and running, and finds a brck of water. That's what David was attaching himself to. That's how much he longed to be in the presence of his God. If there's a reward for those who diligently seek, it stands to reason there's a lack of reward for those who are not diligent. Not that God doesn't love — because we know God loves us all — but he rewards those who are diligent. I feel like this is what David had picked up on. I don't know where, I don't know when it happened. We don't have the luxury of knowing that. But I do have the blessing and benefit from reading his words in Psalms. And I personally believe that somewhere along the way, when he was a young man out by himself in the back pasture, watching over his dad's sheep — somewhere along the way, he had developed a relationship with his God. Somewhere along the way, in a desperate time, and maybe a moment of discouragement, he learned to talk to God. And what he found and discovered is that when he cried out, God was there. He felt him near and close to him. And somewhere along the way, he began to associate that: if I'll talk to him, he'll talk back to me. If I need him and cry out, he will meet me in my circumstances, in my situation, that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

So I'm here to ask you today — and I feel like it's something that a pastor has to do — are you diligently seeking after God every day in your life? Are you diligently seeking after God? Or are you only interested in him when something goes wrong? See, I feel like David was someone who made his mind up: I'm going to live for God, regardless of the highs and lows in life. I'm going to be consistent in pursuing after God. There's something about being diligent and consistent in your relationship with God. We could solve a lot of your problems today if you would learn how to be diligent and consistent in your relationship with God. It's not rocket science. It's not a hard thing to have a relationship with God. It requires you being diligent and consistent in your approach to him. Are you being diligent? He was a guy who had his mind made up.

Point two: David had his heart fixed on God. Psalms 108 And1 oh God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory." I'm going to ask you something: what's your heart fixed on today? It's important for you to discover what your heart is fixed on today. Maybe it's fixed on what you're going to eat when I stop preaching. Maybe you're focused on the activities that are going to happen later on this afternoon. Maybe, just maybe, you're fixed on what the work week is going to bring to you, because Monday is so close. I don't know. I can't answer that question for you. But I'm asking you to think for just a minute: what is your heart fixed on today?

When I see David's life — though it not perfect, though he had faults and failures, and we'll talk about bit more about that in just a couple of minutes — I see here that he was someone who made his mind up that he was going to live for God, and who fixed his heart on him. Is your heart fixed on money? Is your heart fixed on fame? Is your heart fixed on lust, or success, or pleasure, or the next high? I'm going to tell you, all those things will leave you disappointed and empty on the inside. But if you'll fix your heart on God, it'll make a difference in how your life turns out. Matthew 6:21, Jesus said: "For where your treasure is, there your heart be also." Where is your treasure at today? Is it here in this world, or is it in something yet to come? Jesus knows you and I, and he knows that we'll set up treasures in our lives, and our hearts can become fixed on that. So we must be honest and truthful ourselves in this moment. What is your heart fixed on?

We have to make God a priority, ladies and gentlemen. We have to make God a priority in our life, if we're ever going to have our heart fixed on him. God has to be a priority. Not something that's just an occasion. Not something that's just a once-a-week deal that we do because we live in the South. It can't be that way. It can't be something that's just there, as I said earlier, when you're in a time of distress and need. God needs to be a priority in your life every day. I'm curious to this — and this is meant to be convicting in this ask — but what's the first thing you think of every moment when you wake up in the morning? What's the first thing that crosses your mind? Who's the first person you talk to? What's the first thing you do, as you start your day? I'm not here to say that you have to do everything that I do. But I think there's something in scripture that lets you and I know that there's some special things that take place in your life, when one of the first things you do when your eyes pop open is you fix your mind and your heart on God. Anybody besides me understand the reality of — the pressures of life have a way of just coming right at you, right off the bat? Soon as you wake up in the morning, you're to-do list starts running, and all the things you need to do — it's there. I know that that's how my brain works. And maybe you're not that way. But I know that if I don't purposely make him a priority right off the bat — if I don't purposely make some time at the very beginning of my day — life has a way of filling in all the empty spaces in my calendar. Life has a way of just consuming all the spare time that I might have. But when I purposely carve out some time in my calendar, when I purposely put some time into my day, I found this: that my God shows up in those moments. And this is what I know: even though I still have days that aren't the way I want them to be, there's something special about the fact that I've already spoke with the one who holds my tomorrow, and he knows what I'm going to face. He's already went before me, and he's come around back behind me at the same time, and he holds me in the palm of his hand. And there's nothing that can separate me from his love, when I have that confidence and reassurance that I've made a godly connection as I've started out my day. Even though it may not go perfectly, there's some confidence that I can walk with assurity in him.

What's your heart fixed on? If you don't make God a priority, you end up becoming spiritual junkies. And when you come to church, you're just looking for the next fix. And often times you never fully get to the point that God wants you to be, because you're not walking with him daily. I don't mean hurt anybody's feelings. I'm thankful that we have an altar, and I talk about this a lot. I'm so thankful that this area down here is a special area. You can come down, and you can reconnect with God. And if you got burdens, you can leave . And if you need salvation, he can meet that need right down there. If you need a healing in your body, he's here. The healer is here. He'll do what God does best. He he fixed broken things all the time.

But let me give you some advice: it's got to be more than just what happens here. Like, you can come in and you can — but I've seen so many struggle throughout the years, because they just go from one spiritual high to the next spiritual high. Ladies and gentlemen, you don't live on the mountaintop. Okay? You can't survive on the mountaintop. There's not enough oxygen on the mountain top. Stuff doesn't grow on the mountain tops. Think with me about all the peaks that we know that are here. There's no trees up there. There's nothing. Nothing lives on the mountain top. The mountaintop experien is wonderful, and I love mountaintop experiences. But have you realized — have you lived long enough to know — you don't stay there? But the growth happens in the ups and downs. The growth happens in the journey along the way. There's a lot of growth that takes place in the valley places, even though it may be dark sometimes, and even though you may struggle, there's a lot of growth that takes place there. That's why it's important you stay connected to God. You keep your mind connected to him. You keep your heart fixed on him.

David gave God such a place in his heart, that he would not come against God's anointed. Samuel 24 — Saul was after him. I think I referenced Samuel 24, but it should have been Samuel 20 last time. 1 Samuel 24: David's been on the run. Saul's been trying to kill him. David's already been anointed to be the next king. Now, you think, if you're going to be anointed to be the next king, that's a pretty amazing thing. You're going to be the king. You should just be happy about that. But I think it's interesting that David's path to the throne took him the way, in the route, of the wilderness. Yeah, it took him to Ziklag. he took him to the Island of Misfit Toys. It took him through a lot of failure and disappointments, before he ever got to the throne — even though he'd been anointed to be the king, even though God had already said and ordained that this is going to take place. Boy, there's a sermon right there: that just because there's an anointing on you doesn't mean you're automatically going to rise to the very top and set on the throne. Because I'm a firm believer that God knew David had some lessons to be learned, that you can only learn in the wilderness. That was free. That wasn't in my notes. Somebody should take that home with them. All right, there's lessons in the wilderness.

But we come up to this story. And if you're not familiar with this story — and that's okay — I would encourage you to go read 1 Samuel. It's a great book. But chapter 24 is where I'm in for this moment. He's being pursued by the present king. He's being pursued by the guy he's going to replace. Jealous, Envy, Saul's wanting to kill him. David is hiding out in a cave, when King Saul comes in. And King James language is very kind. It says he goes to relieve himself. I think I can leave that there with you guys. You know what's going on. It must have been a moment, because in that, David's men say, "Look, God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Look, this is the moment you've been waiting for. This is the moment when God has answered your prayers. It's right there in front of you." Please listen to me: not everybody that tells you God's answering your prayers is heard from God.

David begins to move forward, as Saul was doing what Saul was doing. He takes his knife, and cuts the corner off of his robe. Sneaks back, and begins to feel very guilty about what he's done. Begins to feel guilty, because God an anointed Saul to be king. It was not David's place to remove God's anointed, even though David was also anointed to be the next king. He was not the king. You guys okay? Yeah. He had already had things that were spoke over him, and God was going to do something in God's time. And David realized in that moment, this wasn't God's time. This wasn't what God wanted. He didn't have a direct word from God. He even had friends encouraging him to take matters into his own hands. And even the fact that he had cut off the corner of his robe, David wrestled with the guilt of that whole situation. See, David respected the position that Saul was in. Why? Because he had his mind on God, and he has heart fixed on God. He gave such a place to God that he would not come against God's anointed. It's a beautiful story. And there's an interaction at the end of that chapter. After King Saul goes back outside, David comes out of the cave, and says, "Hey, you know what? I could have killed you. My own men encouraged me to do this. But your God's anointed. Let this be proof to you that I'm not trying to replace you. I'm just trying to be obedient to God."

We'll come back to that. Point number three — not six, three: David was a worshipper. In good times — isn't it fun to worship during good times? But he worshiped in bad. David worshiped because he had come to an understanding that there is power in worship. Lots of good things happen when we begin to worship God. And one of them is, when I worship, it gets my attention off of me. That's the point of worship. You know, there's some things that worship do well. Number one, it gets your mind off of you, because you can't truly worship and think about you. I'm GNA say that again. You can mouth words. You can raise your hands. You can even dance around. You can do all those things. That, in itself, is not worship. Those are actions that people take during worship. But worship is when you get lost in him. When you begin to make statements that "I am nothing, and you are everything." When you begin to truly put God in his rightful place. And you know the difference, if you've been around church any link to time at all. You know the difference between playing apart and actually worshiping. There's something that changes inside of you when you begin to really worship.

Psalms 101: "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence singing. Know you that the Lord he is God: it is he who hath made us, and not we ourselves." It is he who hath made us, and not we ourselves. It is he who hath made us, and not we ourselves. "We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."

I'm a big believer in working hard. That's the way I was raised, the way I was taught. I'm a big believer in that: you need to put effort into life. Things shouldn't just be handed to you. You should work. If you're able, you should work. You should be able to accomplish whatever you put your mind to. That's just how I was raised. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I need you to understand, I don't care how much success you've had in life. I don't care what your accomplishments are, your accolades. I don't care how many degrees you got. It doesn't matter to me. All those things, they're good, and they're right, and their own place. But don't let them turn you into something that you not really are. It is he who hath made you. And see, a lot of people lose perspective. David didn't lose perspective. David understood that any success I've had, it's because God's hand's been upon me. He didn't get lost in the eye mentality. He got very much enwrapped in the fact that it's God who did this through me, not me myself. He had his mind fixed. He had his heart fixed. He was someone who's worshiping. To me, when I look at that, and I think about how powerful is in worship, what I do is I begin to think big, deep, hard thoughts — good thoughts — about God. And if I'm thinking about God, I'm not thinking about me. See, I feel like we live in a world that is so me-centric. Everything's about us. We're so consumed with ourselves, and we've lost the sense of a, because we're not connected to something that's greater than ourselves. We're not connected to something that's transcendently good, something that's powerful, something that can command our attention, and our devotion, and our allegiance. And what we have in our day — we've reduced everything down to the smallest common denominator, that is self. We've never been more like the devil when we're consumed with self, and self-glorification, and self-worship. And that's where we are in our society. And the self is just too small a package to carry the weight of human hunger for the meaning, and the glory, of transcendence. That's why it's all for nothing. That's why so many of you in this room understand completely when I say this: that some of you in this room have been some of the most successful people I know. And you've been able to do, and accomplish, some amazing things. You've been able to acquire — and you have the ability to look back on those things in a right way. You can be proud about that. But here's the deal: those things without God are empty. Oh, there may have a moment where it feels good — you know, like, you did it. But how quickly that moment fades. How quickly that moment goes away.

I'm telling you — I'm talking about Why David. Don't miss the point of this message. I'm going to be pulling it back together here in just a few minutes. But I'm talking about Why David. And so far we've talked about that he's had his mind set on God — his mind was set — and he had his heart fixed on God. And that he was a worshiper. Because these things are important, and they build together to make David the man that was after God's own heart. That's what I'm talking about. David understood that success has come. He was a successful king. He was the greatest king Israel ever had. He's in the bloodline of Jesus Christ. He's constantly referred back to, over and over and over again. But what was it? He didn't get lost in his success, because it's emptiness. It's empty in the long run. God will bless you with some things, but he blesses you with things to see how you can handle that. And for some people, they confuse success with temptation. See, some people that I know in my life — some people that even sitting in this room today, and I'm not looking up, and I'm not pointing any fingers on purpose — but some people that are here today, you have confused the blessings in your life. When God put those there to see if you would truly continue to worship him. And for some of you in this room, you stopped, and you give no thought to God anymore, because you're a self-made man or woman. And God has shown where your allegiance really is. When you had nothing, he was everything. When you had nothing, he was everything. When you were down to nothing, you talk with him on a daily BAS Bas. When you had nothing, and he was first calling you, and he was first pouring into you, he was everything. You kept him in a special place. You walked with him, and you talked with him, on a daily basis. But you had some successes, because God loves to lavish good gifts on his kids. And it's just part of living for God. He will bless you. But the blessings, somewhere along the way, took the place of him.

David understood this. He kept his mind set. He kept his heart fixed. And he maintained his status as a worship, even when he was the king, and they're marching the ark back into Israel, because he knew the importance about having the presence of God in in in in prominent place in life. He is worshiping. He takes his crown off. He takes his robe off. Because in the presence of God, no flesh shall glory. David understood this. David understood the principles that were there. And he gets out, and he's dancing with all of his might. And he's giving everything he has, even to the point his own wife says, "Haven't you made a fool of yourself today? The very king is dancing in front of the ark, and all the maidens are there. What's wrong with you?" And I'm tell you, in that moment she became barren. Now, judges — you want how this went — I don't know so much as it was God, as it was that David never visited with her again, cuz she didn't understand that I have to worship. Because if I don't worship, I lose my perspective on where God is supposed to be in my life.

We have to be worshippers, ladies and gentlemen. We have to. There's not a choice. There's not an option. There should never be a day that you come into the sanctuary of God, and experience his presence all around you, and you simply sit, and do nothing, and refuse to even acknowledge, or raise your hand, or bow your head. That's an impossibility. If God's prominent in your life, you can't help yourself. If God's where he's supposed to be, then when he ushers in, something into you has to rise up, and begin to worship and praise. You can't sit still. K, what's wrong with you? What's wrong with you? I wouldn't embarrass him for nothing. I love our Bishop, but he's not physically able to worship anymore. But I'll see him over there, and he's sitting a little sideways, as he is right now. And I'll look over, and he's crying, and he's got his hand up, because he's worshiping God. What's wrong with you? If you're physically able to worship, and you can't worship — are you telling me that you make a conscious choice to not worship God, when God is in this place? What is wrong with you? What is wrong? You should be ashamed. You should be ashamed. You should be ashamed. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is in this place, and you will sit, and you will be quiet, and you will choose — that's not what David did. No. He's out. He's given it everything he's got, because he knows: if I don't worship, I will lift myself up. He was a man after God's own heart, because he set his mind, he fixed his heart, and he was not ashamed to worship his God.

Proverbs 23 and7: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." When I think about me, and my own little life, and my own little agenda, everything comes crashing down on me. But I was made for something bigger, and something better, and something richer than me. Yeah. Listen, I'm here for a moment. But I'm telling you, you got to get serious about this. we we got to get serious about this. We can't get stuck up on this. We've come too far. We're too close to the end. We're too close to the end right now.

I don't know why I feel, in my spirit, I can't move past this. Maybe we've got our mind set — I'm glad we do — and we got our hearts fixed. We can't miss this worshiping part. You can't get past this. you got to make some changes. You know, we live in a world where everything's got to go fast. Everything's got to be hopping. Everything's going to be going, constantly bombarded. We can't process everything that's coming our way. We never meant to. That's why most of us are dealing with so many things, is because we are overstimulated. I watched a guy going into the coffee shop the other day, and he got — Taylor, he got a quad shot. That's all he ordered, was a quad shot. If you don't know, that's basically death in a cup. The cup's only this tall. And I watched him — he just knocked it back, chunked in the trash can, walked out door. I'm just watching him as he goes outside. I'm like, "This dude's heart's going to stop. I'm going to watch him. I'm fixing to watch it."

We are we are over stimulated. So much is coming out we we. We allow — I say that on purpose — we are allowing so much to occupy our minds. I'm not saying we do it always on purpose. Sometimes we're not even aware that it's happening. We're not even aware that things are going on. You're not even aware — I've seen people, they got a movie going, and they're on their phone at the same time, and then they're driving. Like, what's wrong with us? You ever heard the term, "stop and smell the roses"? My wife's got these beautiful roses on the end of her house, to garage in. She found a place, and they really do thrive. And they're beautiful. they David Austin roses — and that's all I know. But I know that part. And you know, they really are — when they flush, when they open — what's they called, blush? Both. I'm three for three. She goes out there, and she talks to them, and stuff. And from time to time, sometimes she'll — I'll be out there, and she'll like, "Look at this." And they really are pretty. I don't understand why we planted them around where you have to turn the garden hose on, but we did, and we're happy with that decision. I don't understand it, but I'm happy about it. But sometimes she'll say, "Just come. You have to smell this." And you can't quickly go smell a rose. You have to purposely get over there. But when you do, you really are captivated in a moment, of the beauty of not only what you're looking at, but what you smell. Like, it takes the senses in. They're there.

See, why am I saying this, is: I feel like too often we rush through being in the presence of God. See, we want him to fit in between when I wake up, and when I have to leave. We want to fit him in between — "uh I I got this meeting, and then I got this Zoom call, and then, Lord, I got I got about seven minutes that I can put you in, right here. And Lord, seven's your number, so it's a good time. Just come right in here. And Lord, I'm going to be there, and just fill me up today." Like, you can't fit God in like that. Well, I say it this way: if you do — and there are days in my life when I'm rushed, and I'm not the best at putting the proper amount of time to fully be present, 100%, with God. But I have learned that if I make him the priority for the time that he wants with me, the rest of my day has a way of fitting around. But if I try to fit him into the rest of my day, I found he just doesn't fit in there very well.

The last thing I have for you, point number four — and this one, you can't gloss over this one, there's no other way to do it: David knew how to repent. And see, I don't know about you, but this brings me a lot of comfort. As I've said, David wasn't perfect. In fact, if you really have read his story, it sounds more like a Hollywood script. They'd make a movie after yeah. You know, set medieval times. Because we got we got murder, and we got incest, and adultery, and a lot of just crazy stuff. Crazy stuff. But this is the life of this man. Okay? This man who's the only one who's known as a man after God's own heart. So this brings me some comfort, that he knew how to repent.

David appears in 66 chapters in the Bible. The Bible reveals to us that the rages of sin is death. You know, the Bible doesn't sugarcoat or glamorize this stuff. Hollywood would do that, but the Bible doesn't do that. See, David ignored God's will, and times. He ignored God's purpose. And there was consequences. Okay, some of you need to know this: there are consequences. God still loves you, and God will still take care of you, and God will still walk with you. But but often times we, we're dealing with the very seeds we planted. We planted them, and then when we realized it was bad, we begin to pray for crop failure. But the word of God says, what a man SWS, he will reap. See, this is what David understood, is: even though there were times in his life when he sowed bad seed, he immediately repented about it. He was a man who was repentant. And then he began to seow good seed, and knew, "I got to outlive this bad harvest." Y'all okay? "I got to outlive this bad harvest."

Ignoring God's will may be accomplished by successes in the beginning, but in time, the wages of sin become clear. David thought that he had gotten away with the sexual sin of bash Sheba. He murdered her husband, did it in a really, really, really — you know, as a way — he would he's a awful guy, right? "I'll just stick him out there on the front line. Put yah in the heat of the battle." Well, he — wow, what do you know, he died. "That's terrible. Send some flowers over there, and put a little note in there, and tells bash Sheba that, 'Come on, let me take care of you.'" And for a little while, it's like he got away with it. And maybe everybody forgot about it. But guess who didn't forget about it? God didn't forget about it. God sent a little prophet over there, put a little story together, a little bony finger up in his mou said, said: "This man had all these sheep, and he had some company coming over. He going to cook a meal. And his neighbor only had one sheep, but it was his prize sheep. He loved that sheep. That sheep was his everything. It was his whole world. he he put a quilt out on the bed, and let that sheep lay on he would he would. He would be there with it. And then the neighbor decided he was going to need to feed his guest, so he went and took that man's prize sheep, and he killed and ate him." Boy, David was there, outraged. "Are you kidding me? Are you kidding? Bring him in here. Let him stand before me. I'll tell him all that he did wrong." And the prophet put his finger in his face, and said, "You're the man. You're the man." This is the guy who's a man after God's own heart. "You're the man." David knew how to repent.

Psalms 51 — to me, one of the most beautiful things ever pinned. We read, as David is repenting, he says: "Purge me with hisp, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness; that the bones you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, oh God; and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Cast me away from your presence; and take away your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation; hold me by your generous Spirit. Then will teach transgresses your ways; and sinners shall be converted to you. Deliver me from the guilt of Bloodshed oh God, the God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud your righteousness. oh Lord, open my lips; and my mouth shall show forth your praise. For you do not sacrifice; else would give it: you do not in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, these oh God, you will not despise."

David knew how to repent. David asked for a renewed heart. He didn't ask to not commit adultery again, because he knew that if he had a clean heart, and the right spirit, those things wouldn't happen. His response is an indication of the sorrow and the grief he had over sin. See, his heart was being connected with God's heart. And he was loving what God loved, and he was hating what God hate. He became a man after God's own heart, because God said it from the very beginning. And it's what Luke pinned down, as he's recounting the story. It's there in Acts chapter 13, at the very beginning. Read it again — I didn't give them this — but if you go to Acts 13, verse number 22: "I have found David's son Jesse, a man after my own heart, he will." King James says, "He will fulfill my will."

As I bring this to a close, I look at David's life, begin to ask myself: how can I be — how can I change? What can I do, that God would think of me the way he thought of David? So I begin to look at the qualities that were there, and I realized that David — he set his mind on God. David, he fixed his heart on him. David learned the importance of being a worshipper, because it brings right perspective, and it keeps him in his rightful place, that "I am nothing, and you are everything." But to me, most importantly — at least in my opinion, you could disagree, maybe you're right, maybe I'm wrong — but in my opinion, I feel like one of the most important qualities that David had, is David knew how to repent. He wasn't above it. When he pinned that last psalm that I read to you, Psalms 51 — he didn't pin that as a boy, keeping sheep on the back side of the mountain. He pinned that as a king. He'd reach the status. He'd reach the accolades. He had the title. He was the king. He could do whatever he wanted, because he was the king. But then he realized, "No. Please don't take me from your presence. Please blot out my transgressions. created me a new heart. Renew a right spirit within me." Yes. God, what you desire for me, is to come to you broken, because you will accept me in my brokenness.

And as I'm ending right now — I'm ending this message. I don't know everybody's story or situation in this room. But I felt that this was the word that need to be delivered today. I don't know if anybody else in this room needs it. Maybe it was just for me. But as I think about Why David, the answer is simply this: he said his mine. He fixed his heart. He learned how to worship. And he knew how to repent. He set his mind. He fixed his heart. He knew how to worship. He knew how to repent. I don't know who needs that today. But I'm going to do this: the altar is open. I feel strongly that there are a few individuals in this place who have grown cold. You have grown cold. It's been a while since you have felt his presence. I don't know the why. I don't. But I simply say, take a look at David's life. He was not a perfect man. He was a man full of passion and zeal. He was a man that accomplished some things, but he had failures. He had brokenness. But he set his mind. He fixed his heart. He worshiped. And he repented.

Will you close your eyes of me? You can continue to come to the altar. Jesus, I've delivered my heart to your church today. I pray, God, now you would take the seed that was planted, God, you would grow it to what it needs to be, God, we could look at the example of the man who you declared was after your own heart, the life he lived, the example he set. God, I pray we would learn how to set our mind on you, how to fix our heart, how to worship, and God, how to repent. Lord, you see the brokenness that's in this room today. God, I know this about you: you specialize and taking broken things and making them beautiful. God, receive us today. Make the changes in us we need to make. Help us, God, be courageous enough to cry out to you. In Jesus' name.