What God Looks At

I Samuel 16.7

What a great comfort to know that He looks on my heart.

The Word of the LORD to Samuel and to us is
1 Samuel 16:7 “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Samuel was thinking wrongly. He saw Jesse's oldest son and reached a wrong conclusion. We need to be careful as we serve the LORD to avoid this mistake... And yet the church unfortunately continues to blunder in this area.

How taken in at times we are of a handsome, tall, charismatic individual. How impressed we are with the outward qualities. We think, "What a magnificent man!", but God is looking at his heart and saying,"I have rejected him." Time alone proves whether our assessments are correct or not. Unless we listen to God's voice.

Like Samuel we are certain in our own hearts (which can deceive us) that we know what God is thinking. We embrace what God has rejected! This is true about false teachers.

Thankfully Samuel was listening to the LORD.

We need to as well! Often we are like Samuel, looking at the outward and thinking wrongly. We assume a large church means success. One of the greatest missionaries who ever lived was from a small fellowship in England. James Hudson Taylor had a heart for China which was developed in a little independent Bible Fellowship at Hull.

This is true of houses and cars... If I just had this I would be happy when some of the happiest people I know live in little homes and drive older cars.

*The church often is mistaken. We need to seek the LORD.
*The family almost always is. Remember Jesus' words.
Matthew 13:57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” Family cannot see the anointing on a family member when it is staring them right in the face.
*Sometimes the person themselves are. Moses, Jonah

1. God chose David because he was a man after His Own Heart.

A Shepherd

Psalm 80:1-2 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock.You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken Your might; come and save us.

Psalm 78:70-72 He chose David his servantand took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought himto be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

It is sad that today with all our emphasis on leadership in the church that we have focused in on just aspect of the shepherd, who is the example God puts forth for us in His Word and in His Being. We have missed the mark. We have hit the edge of the target. We have missed the bullseye!

A Shepherd:
Loves the sheep
Watches over the flock Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
Feeds the sheep
Loses sleep for the sake of the flock.
Cares
Anoints, brings healing to wounds Psalm 23 He anoints my head with oil.
Protects the flock from wolves
Leads

Humble and Patient
Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

It takes that for a man to lead people the right way.
David made a wonderful king because of God's anointing.
He was a shepherd in vocation and heart. He was taken from the fields of Bethlehem where he was at work.
1 Samuel 16:19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
Moses was not ready to lead the nation until He took care of his father-in-law's sheep for 40 years.
Jesus is the Great Shepherd of the sheep.
Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.


2. The LORD looked at the heart of David.

He was a singer, a worshiper of God. He wrote Psalms.
He looks at our hearts today and every day. Each day we ought to be worshiping the LORD. My dad was a worshiper while he worked. He was in Brooklyn and Upstate NY. He was in his garden.

Sing and make music in your heart to the LORD!
David wrote Psalm 101:1 I will sing of your love and justice;to you, Lord, I will sing praise.

He loved His LORD.
We see this in the Psalms.
Psalm 18:1 I love you, Lord, my strength.


He depended upon Him.
Psalm 7:1 Lord my God, I take refuge in you;save and deliver me from all who pursue me,


3. David Had A Wonder Filled Prayer Life.

The nature Psalms: Psalm 8, Psalm 145
The Psalms about God's faithfulness Psalm 26, 40, 57
The National Psalms. Psalm 9, 65
He understood the nation's history and respected God, unlike Saul.

So many times in the Psalms David pours out his soul before the LORD.
Psalm 51

4. David Became a Spirit Filled Anointed Man.

The anointing oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
The power of God's Spirit came upon Him.
From that moment on he was changed, but he always respected the law of God.
Psalm 119:77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live,for your law is my delight.
When he sinned he prayed that God would not withdraw His Spirit.
Psalm 51:11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

God looks at the inner man. Man look at the outward appearance. God is concerned with developing the inner man. Man is concerned with his outer shell.
God is concerned with the eternal, the everlasting. Man is concerned with the temporal.
Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Be a person after God's own heart...
Be faithful.
Be humble.
Worship Him.
Be man or woman of prayer.
Be filled and keep on being filled withe Spirit.