Be After God's Own Heart
Contributed by Bios Baptist Church
Scripture: 1 Samuel 13:1-14
Tags: Service, Worship, Holiness, Penitence
Denomination: Baptist
Sunday, July 29, 2018

Introduction                                                            
 Saul had been anointed of God to be king over all Israel “when (he) was little in (his) own sight”. Now he has been rejected by the Lord because of his disobedience and his failure to be a “man after God’s own heart.” The Lord found such a man in David, son of Jesse, and made him king in Saul’s place. The Lord is still looking for men and women today who have a heart like unto His; a heart that is committed to doing the will of God; a heart that strives to please Him at all times. {13 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent. 3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal. 5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. 11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”}  The Lord sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.                                                           
I Build A Relationship With God                                                                                                            
If you are going to have a relationship with God, it begins with an understanding that He is to be revered as God and we are to humble ourselves before Him. In that setting we are in a frame of mind that He can speak to us. God wants to speak to you. He will only speak to you when you are ready to listen. When we revere, He will reveal. Because God loves us and has a plan for us, He desires to reveal His truth to us. As we humble ourselves before Him, we are now ready to receive His revealed truth. Relationship is established with Him when He reveals Himself to us because we have sought Him. Communication is the basis of every relationship, including our relationship with Jesus. When He reveals Himself to you, He is going to call you to a response because His purpose in your life is to grow you and make you more like Him.
II Come To God In penitence                                                                                                                     Penitence: the action of feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong; repentance. The Holy Spirit instills upon the believer to “turn away from old allegiances.” While some understand this in a linear format as turning away from all the “bad” stuff you did - lie, steal, cheat, and of the like – the spiritual format of repent expands the call to turn away from anything and everything that would interfere with you going after God's own heart. Through all of this is the central theme of Peter’s preaching – repent. His single motive in preaching is a call to repent. In every sermon recorded of Peter, there is the call for the hearer to repent. It is in response to the call to repent that the church grew, and continues to grow today. The understanding of the primitive church to the call to repent may have been a bit different than the understanding of the 20th century eastern church like Bios Baptist Church.                                                                                                                                                        III Serve God And Others                                                                                                                               So why don’t more people serve? Historically, the church as a whole has been part of the problem. One thing that we have done poorly is that we have focused on the wrong thing. We set the bar so low that we gave people the impression that church membership meant little. We will be speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. We have to ride the wave based on what we’ve learned from Him. We serve God without really trying. He initiates and we respond with faith and obedience. When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. This is what separates Christianity from all world religions. Our faith is not about human effort or initiative. It is a simple response to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. God raised the breaker in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Our part, by faith, is to learn to ride the wave that God raised up                                                                                                            Closing                                                                                                                                                    If we would be people “after God’s own heart”, then let us be careful to maintain the attitudes of repentance, worship, and service. This is what the Lord is looking for in all of us yes yes all of us. The Lord is still LOOKING for people who are willing to serve Him by serving their fellow man. The greater joy will be when one sees the one who died for our sins in glory.