Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud
of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so
easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
us. Hebrews 12:1
Last Week: NOAH -
ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Well, how much more do I need to say? It would take too
long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon and Barak and Samson and
Jephthah and David and Samuel and
all the other prophets. These people all trusted God and as a result won
battles, overthrew kingdoms, ruled their people well, and received what God had
promised them; they were kept from harm in a den of lions and in a fiery
furnace. Some, through their faith, escaped death by the sword. Some were made
strong again after they had been weak or sick. Others were given great power in
battle; they made whole armies turn and run away.
Hebrews 11:32-34 TLB
THE
ACCOUNT OF DAVID’S LIFE:
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his
appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't see things the
way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the
heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT
The
key to life with God is keeping a “PURE HEART.”
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the
course of your life. Proverbs 4:23 NLT
Keys
to a Pure Heart
1. TRUST .
Trust
in the LORD with all your heart,
And
lean not on your own understanding;
In
all your ways acknowledge Him,
And
He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJ
And when He had removed him, He raised up for
them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man
after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ Acts 13:22 NKJ
Then
David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and
with a javelin. But I come to you in the
name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have
defied. This day the Lord will deliver
you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this
day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of
the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that
there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does
not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give
you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45-47
2. REPENTANT HEART . Psalm 51
Written after Nathan the prophet had come to inform David
of God’s judgment against him because of his adultery with Bathsheba, and his
murder of Uriah, her husband.
O
loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful
stain of my transgressions. 2 Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me
be pure again. 3 For I admit my shameful deed—it haunts me day and night. 4 It
is against you and you alone I sinned and did this terrible thing. You saw it
all, and your sentence against me is just. 5 But I was born a sinner, yes, from
the moment my mother conceived me. 6 You deserve honesty from the heart; yes,
utter sincerity and truthfulness. Oh, give me this wisdom.
7
Sprinkle me with the cleansing blood and I shall be clean again. Wash me and I
shall be whiter than snow. 8 And after you have punished me, give me back my
joy again. 9 Don’t keep looking at my sins—erase them from your sight. 10
Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right
desires. 11 Don’t toss me aside, banished forever from your presence. Don’t
take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me again the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you. 13 Then I will teach your ways to other
sinners, and they—guilty like me—will repent and return to you. 14-15 Don’t
sentence me to death. O my God, you alone can rescue me. Then I will sing of
your forgiveness, for my lips will be unsealed—oh, how I will praise you.
16
You don’t want penance; if you did, how gladly I would do it! You aren’t
interested in offerings burned before you on the altar. 17 It is a broken
spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God,
you will not ignore.
18
And Lord, don’t punish Israel for my sins—help your people and protect
Jerusalem. 19 And when my heart is
right, then you will rejoice in the good that I do and in the bullocks I bring
to sacrifice upon your altar. Psalm
51 TLB
The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A
broken and a contrite heart—
These,
O God, You will not despise.
Psalm 51:17 NKJ
3. HUMILITY .
David knew that two things could overcome his heart if he
didn’t protect it: Prevent PRIDE
1.
Personal ADORATION of people
2.
Power of MONEY
Two
things David did to keep his heart pure:
Developed a heart of HUMILITY
After
the men who were carrying it had gone six paces, they stopped and waited so
that he could sacrifice an ox and a fat lamb. And David danced before the Lord with all his
might and was wearing priests’ clothing. So Israel brought home the Ark of the
Lord with much shouting and blowing of trumpets.(But as the procession came
into the city, Michal, Saul’s daughter, watched from a window and saw King
David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she was filled with contempt for
him.)
The
Ark was placed inside the tent that David had prepared for it; and he
sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. Then he blessed the
people in the name of the Lord of heaven and gave a present to everyone—men and
women alike—of a loaf of bread, some wine, and a cake of raisins. When it was
all over, and everyone had gone home, David returned to bless his family.
But
Michal came out to meet him and exclaimed in disgust, “How glorious the king of
Israel looked today! He exposed himself to the girls along the street like a
common pervert!”
David
retorted, “I was dancing before the Lord who chose me above your father and his
family and who appointed me as leader of Israel, the people of the Lord! So I
am willing to act like a fool in order to show my joy in the Lord. Yes, and I
am willing to look even more foolish than this, but I will be respected by the
girls of whom you spoke!”
2 Samuel 6:13-22 TLB
King David danced with all his heart before the LORD! Is it any wonder that he was a man after God's own heart? Are you willing to let God's glory and power into your life or are you too ashamed of the King of Glory?
King David danced with all his heart before the LORD! Is it any wonder that he was a man after God's own heart? Are you willing to let God's glory and power into your life or are you too ashamed of the King of Glory?
Developed a heart of GENEROSITY
Furthermore,
because my heart is in this, in addition to and beyond what I have gathered,
I’m turning over my personal fortune of gold and silver for making this place
of worship for my God: 3,000 talents (about 113 tons) of gold—all from Ophir,
the best—and 7,000 talents (214 tons) of silver for covering the walls of the
buildings, and for the gold and silver work by craftsmen and artisans. 1
Chronicles 29:5-6 Msg.
O
our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name, but who am I and who are
my people that we should be permitted to give anything to you? Everything we
have has come from you, and we only give you what is yours already! For we are
here for but a moment, strangers in the land as our fathers were before us; our
days on earth are like a shadow, gone so soon, without a trace. O Lord our God,
all of this material that we have gathered to build a temple for your holy name
comes from you! It all belongs to you! I
know, my God, that you test men to see if they are good; for you enjoy good
men. I have done all this with good motives, and I have watched your people
offer their gifts willingly and joyously.
“O
Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel! Make your people always
want to obey you, and see to it that their love for you never changes. Give my
son Solomon a good heart toward God, so that he will want to obey you in the
smallest detail and will look forward eagerly to finishing the building of your
Temple, for which I have made all of these preparations.” 1 Chronicles 29:13-19
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