After God’s Heart

0:00 Go ahead and turn this evening to Psalm 63. Psalm 63. We're going to be in the book of Psalms tonight. And we are going to be in Psalm 63. We're going to read in just a moment. I'll have you stand and read with me. We're going to read verses 1 through 8. Now, if you're taking notes, I'd encourage you to write down the title of the message, which is simply After God's Heart. And we're going to talk about what that looks like and what it means and how David in Psalm 63 is going to give us an outline of what it looks like for you and I as Christians, as followers of Christ, and as believers in God to have a life after God's heart. That's the goal. I trust that if you're a believer here tonight that that is the ultimate goal of your life and if you've come in today and maybe you were invited by a friend or a neighbor and you're here well then today you're gonna find out what it's like to have a life with God and I trust that it would give you a holy jealousy to the point that you too would want Christ in your life. So with that, will you guys stand with me as we read Psalm 63 together? I'll begin in verse 1. I'll have you guys pick it up in verse 2, and we're going to read all the way down to verse 8, and then we're going to dive right in and cover as much ground as we can. So I'll begin in verse 1 if you'll pick

2:30 Let's pray. Father, this evening, God, I come and Lord, in desperation, I ask on my behalf, and behalf of my brothers and sisters in Christ tonight, that your Holy Spirit would teach us. That there was something unique about the life of David, in which you referred to him as a man after your own heart. Well, Lord, we're a room full of people tonight that desire the same. Your word says that we have not because we ask not. And so tonight we're asking. Tonight we're asking that we would be able to leave here knowing what it looks like to be men and women who pursue you with all of our hearts. And Father, that it wouldn't just be talk. That it wouldn't just be words. That this would not be just another Bible study. but God that this would be a roadmap for how we ought to live our lives. Father help us give us understanding because apart from you we can do nothing and so Lord we're gratefully and entirely dependent on you tonight. Lead us, guide us, teach us we pray in Jesus name. Amen. You guys can take your seats. As we come to this psalm tonight as I mentioned you must recognize that it is a psalm of David. Now this is important because immediately knowing that this is a Psalm of David, there should be a certain amount of familiarity we feel with David. If you guys are anything like me, if you've read through your Bible at least a half a time, you will know David. David takes a large portion of 1 and 2 Samuel, and he follows into 1 Kings and even part of 2 Kings, if my mind serves me correctly. He wrote just about half, if not more, of the Psalms. I think the reason that we should feel familiar with David is because David was relatable. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it that when we look at David's life, we see that he was a relatable man. He was relatable in many ways. And when you read the Psalms, especially you try to figure out in your mind, how this man who lived so long ago can write

4:41 down what you're feeling, how he can write down what you're thinking better than you can communicate what you're feeling and what you're thinking. In that way, when David penned the Psalms, he put down, as it were, our hearts on the parchment, and we get to read them even today. He captured the emotions of our heart, the highs for sure, but even more so, I think, the lows. that if there's any of you in here today that are suffering in any form or capacity, you know that if you go to the Psalms, you'll find a home in the Psalms and you'll find someone who you can relate with. We know that David was a man acquainted with great success, killing Goliath, capturing Zion, uniting a nation. But we also know that he was a man of great failure. His infamous sin with Bathsheba, Uriah, not to mention his numbering, the people of Israel, his soldiers, which incurred judgment.

5:48 And yet, despite his failures, the Old Testament records in 1 Samuel 13, 14, that David was a man after God's own heart. Now in 1 Samuel 13, this takes place while David is still a teenager. Saul is at a point in his life where he has now disobeyed God. He tried getting out ahead of God. He offered a sacrifice when he was supposed to wait for Samuel, if you remember the account. And it got so bad for Saul that ultimately Samuel came to notify Saul that his kingdom was being taken from him. and so Samuel tells Saul, God has chosen a man after his own heart. Now, you and I can look at that and say, oh, that's what God said about David before his failures. That's what God said about David before he messed up, before he totally blew it, but let me show you in the book of Acts where this same truth is repeated. Acts 13 verse 22. It says, and when he had, that is, God had removed him, that is Saul, he raised up for them David as king, to whom he gave the testimony and said, so listen, this is God's testimony of David. He says, to whom he gave the testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, God says, who will do all my will.

7:17 Now I want to pause here for just a moment, and I promise you we will get to Psalm 63. I want to discuss for just a moment what God meant when he referred to David as a man after his own heart. Because depending on how you read that phrase, you may come to one of two conclusions. First, you may come to the conclusion that you're reading it from the perspective of God. And there's nothing wrong with that. And you would think that, okay, the man after God's heart is that God placed into David's heart a heart like his own. That when it came to God's thoughts, when it came to God's desires, his perspectives, ultimately God's will, that he put those things into David. And so God says, that's a man after my own heart. And the argument would be from God's perspective, God would say, I made him that way.

8:14 Okay, so that's one perspective. And I do think that's correct, as you'll see in a moment. But on the other hand, we might read it from David's perspective, where we would conclude that God sought a man who had modeled his life after the heart of God. See how this is a little different. And so that God seeking David is that David was the one who sought to live his life for God. and doing that, he lived his life after God's thoughts, desires, perspectives, and ultimately God's will. Meaning that God found a man living his life modeled after his word and says, that's a man after my own heart. Do you guys follow me so far? Okay, good. At least some of you do. Let me put it another way and maybe a term that you might be more familiar with. A man after God's own heart is similar in phraseology to what we would say as the pursuit of God, like A.W. Tozer's famous book. When I say pursuit of God, there are some of you who immediately think in your mind of God's pursuit of man.

9:14 That is, God is pursuing man. And Tozer makes that very clear in his book. That ultimately it's God who pursues man. That God is always previous, Tozer says. And that is true. But there's others of you, when I say pursuit of God, you think immediately of man's pursuit of God. Now the question I have tonight is, which is it and which was it for David? and I would say both. It's the easy way out, right?

9:43 Both. This is where we see the divine sovereign hand of God and the responsibility of man working hand in hand to bring about God's will in David's life. David had his failures just like any man, but he received the title, a man after God's own heart, from the Lord himself. John MacArthur put it this way. He said, a man after God's heart, however, is not a perfect man. You and I should say amen. He is a man who sees his sin for what it is and repents of it. David may justly be termed a man after God's own heart because unlike Saul, his greatest desire came to be doing, to be the doing of God's will. That ultimately David desired God's will above all else. And so here's the question I have first and foremost for myself is, does that describe me? Can I honestly say that I am a man that my highest desire is to do God's will? If I could say yes, then I would be a man after God's own heart. And so that's me. So now here's my question for you. Is that how God would describe you? Would God be able to look at you and say, this is my daughter, and she is a woman after my own heart?

11:05 would he be able to look at you and say this is my son and he's a man after my own heart However that question may be answered in your life today, we're going to look at this psalm as an outline for how you and I can become men and women who are genuinely living as men and women after God's own heart, just like David was. And so this is where we come back to Psalm 63. And in this psalm, we're going to see four characteristics of a life after God's heart. If you're taking notes, I'd encourage you to write that down. four characteristics of a life after God's heart. Now these four things are going to serve us in two ways tonight. The first thing they're going to do is they're going to serve as a test for your current walk with God, my current walk with God. But not only are they going to serve as a test for us to examine ourselves, it's also going to serve as a roadmap for you and I becoming men and women who live our lives for God.

12:08 And so let's look at the first one here tonight. The first characteristic we find is in verses one and two, and it's simply this, it's a seeking soul, a seeking soul. The first characteristic we find is that David was a man who ultimately sought God. He sought God. Now let me show you how God's sovereign hand and David's human will was at work in one place. Look at Psalm 27 verse 8. Psalm 27 verse 8 is also a psalm of David. And look at what David does. He says, when you said, speaking of God, he says, when you said, seek my face, my heart said to you, your face, Lord, I will seek. And you see that, so you see that David is saying that God said, hey, seek me. And let me just share with you tonight. God is saying that to each and every one of you here tonight God is saying to you seek my face, seek me the question is are we going to answer like David your face Lord I will seek now you may ask the question what does it look like to seek god what does it look like to seek his face well in verse one he teaches us that it begins with god look at verse one in your bibles he says oh god you are my god just pause there for just a moment he has a declaration of allegiance ownership worship he declares that god is his god out of the multitudes of gods lowercase g David says I belong to you that's where it starts you must belong to him but he also says you are my God in that sense God belongs to David as well but he says oh God you are my God early I will seek you I want to pause there for just a moment where it says early I will seek that's one word in the Hebrew and this is what it means it'll be on the screen for you it means dawn meaning the beginning of the day. It means to be dim, dark, but practically speaking,

14:18 it means to be up early with any task. It means to search for, to look early, to look diligently for, or to seek with longing. And the idea that's being communicated with this word is someone who has woken up early to get after something, to pursue it. but it's not only that the idea is also not only that he sought God early in the morning the idea is also that he made it a priority to seek God it was a priority in David's life to seek God and so I want to hash out both of these ideas with you first about seeking God early in the morning second about making it a priority to seek God in your life let's look at the first one because there's something about spending your morning with God.

15:05 Before the day has started, taking the best part of your day to seek him. I think God actually built this in to the children wandering through the desert, the children of Israel. You guys remember that when the manna was there, it was available in the morning. At some point between the sun going down and the sun rising between the dawn and the dusk, manna was spread out for the children of Israel to collect. But do you guys remember what it did when the sun got warm? It disappeared. It began to evaporate or it rotted before their very eyes. I think that's a good picture of what David is saying here, is that he's not going to wait for the day to get started. He's going to seek God first thing. And this is actually what he says in Psalm chapter 5, verse 3. Look at Psalm 5, verse 3. Again, another Psalm of David. He says this, Speaking to God, he says, My voice you shall hear in the morning, O Lord. In the morning I will direct it to you and I will look up.

16:04 David does not want to waste a second. David wakes up, the first thought in his mind is, I'm going to seek my God. And so let me ask you, what is the first thing on your mind when you wake up? Now if you say coffee, that is forgivable. so long as that coffee is to be enjoyed while you spend time with the Lord.

16:30 But what is the first thing on your mind when you wake up? There's a good possibility, yeah, amen, good morning, Lord. There's a good possibility that the first thing on your mind when you wake up will occupy that place much of the rest of the day. Also, that thing, whatever it is, likely has the highest place of affection in your life, or listen, the highest place of anxiety in your life. It either has the highest place of affection, that's what's consuming your heart, that's what's consuming your mind, or it has the highest place of anxiety, it's something you're constantly worried about. And both of those things, I would say, have their place. But David says in the morning, I'm gonna direct my voice to you. So whether it's a thing of affection, maybe misplaced affection, or it's a thing of anxiety, either way, no matter how you look at it, it would be best to seek the Lord first and bring the affection under God and bring the anxiety to God.

17:27 one wise christian said and if i knew who they were i'd give them the credit but i don't know who they are so i'll call them wise if i wait till the evening to seek the lord then the devil will always be one day ahead but it wasn't just David. We actually see in the book of Mark that Jesus, I can't go so far as to say he had the same habit, but I would imagine he did based on Mark chapter one, verse 35. Mark one, 35, it says, now in the morning, notice having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place. and there he is. prayed. Jesus Christ, as the sinless, perfect Son of God, made it a priority to seek His Father in the morning. How much more should you and I make it ours? And so here's what I'm going to do.

18:35 I'm not going to lay some legalistic standard on you that says that you're somehow less of a Christian because you don't seek the Lord in the morning. I'm not going to do that because that's not what God's word says. I think that would be misapplying the truth. This is one of those areas that you and I need to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. There's no doubt. But if you don't have a habit of spending your morning with the Lord,

19:00 let me challenge you to start first thing tomorrow. And let me challenge you to set the bar low. set your alarm 15 minutes if you start with two hours you'll burn yourself out and you'll never return in the morning again set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier than usual get up pray spend time in his word and i can assure you if you don't have this habit you will never be the same and if you need any confirmation of this just go look for someone else that does spend time with the Lord in the morning and ask them what it's like.

19:39 Practical thing that you could do. Yeah, amen. Practical thing that you could do is you find a place and you make a time. Now I want you to notice, you find a place and you make a time. You don't find time. You and I will never find time. You find a place and you make the time. But as I mentioned, he's not just speaking about seeking the Lord in the morning in a strict sense, but also making, seeking the Lord the priority of his life. You guys know this verse well, but Jesus said it this way in Matthew 6, 33. Jesus said, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. In context, Jesus is speaking of the necessities of our lives. But ultimately, as we're gonna see today, the only true necessity that you and I really have is God himself. That if we have God, we have everything. If we don't have God, it doesn't matter what you have. You ain't got nothing.

20:35 Sometimes even good things can begin to crowd out the needed thing. You guys know this account so well, so I don't want to spend too much time here. But you guys know the account of Mary and Martha. And Martha's going, serving away, serving her heart out. And she gets upset with Mary. And there's that moment where she asks Jesus to intervene. But there in Luke chapter 10, verse 42, Jesus says one thing is needed. Not a few things, not a short list. Jesus says one thing is needed and Mary has, notice, chosen that good part. You and I are not going to slip on a banana peel and end up awake with a coffee and a Bible before you have to leave the house. It's just not going to happen. It's something we choose. It's something we do. but Mary chose. And I love what Jesus says.

21:26 He says, which will not be taken away from her. The time you spend with the Lord, the things the Lord teaches you will never be taken from you. So at the end of the day, you and I both will make time for what matters most to us. And so the question is, will you make time to seek him? And are you actually going to do it? I have to ask myself the same question every day. I have to ask myself the same question every night when I decide how many hours of sleep I want to get, when I set my alarm, or if I'm going to snooze it in the morning. Are you and I willing to make the pursuit of God, seeking Him the priority of our lives? I think that's what David's getting at here. If you're a believer in Christ, I trust that the desire is there, but now it's time to respond. If you look again in your Bibles at verse 1 in Psalm 63, David speaks of this desire.

22:20 they're halfway through verse 1. He says, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. Now I want you guys to look in your Bibles, look above verse 1. There should be a smaller title, if you have a New King James Version Bible, there should be a smaller title that says, a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. You may not know, but that is actually in the inspired scripture. The title above that, where my Bible says, joy in the fellowship of God is not, that's added by the publishers. But where you see there, that's an inspired portion of scripture where David writes that he wrote this Psalm while he was in the wilderness of Judah. Now for you Bible students, you might want to write down these two chapters and you can go look at it later. But this happened in one of two places in our Bibles. It either happened in 1 Samuel chapter 22, when he fled from the spear chucker Saul, or in 2 Samuel chapter 15, as he fled from Absalom's treasonous takeover of the nation. It was one of those two locations. Either way, David found himself in a literal desert. He left his necessities behind, A few people gathered to him, but all he really had were the clothes on his back and the sword on his hip.

23:50 but David knew his soul's need. His soul's greatest need in those desert places was more of God, and he describes this as thirsting and longing for God. There's no doubt tonight that some of you are with David on this one. Maybe you're not in a literal desert, though if you do live in California, you are, but maybe you're not in a literal desert, but where you find yourself tonight, the circumstances of your life, the relationships in your life, maybe it's a health crisis in your life, or financial issues, or any other type of trial that has you feeling like you're in a desert. it was in David's lowest moment that he realized that he already had his greatest need.

24:46 And I think the same would be true for you and I, that regardless of what's going on, regardless of what you're going through, that you, if you have Christ, you already have your soul's greatest need. Tonight, you might be thinking, well, if this situation changes, then I'll be satisfied. If that changes or if they change, then I'll be good. Charles Spurgeon put it this way. He said,

25:41 and how truly they can testify the only true necessity of that country is the near presence of their God. He goes on, The absence of outward comforts can be born with serenity when we walk with God, and the most lavish multiplication of them avails not when he withdraws. Spurgeon says, look, if you have Christ and you're just going through it, then you're good. You're good. You got God and he's got you. But if you have every creature comfort, what he calls the multiplication of lavish blessings. but you have not God.

26:36 He said, what does it matter? as David looked around he couldn't help but notice that the physical attributes of thirst and desire for water were very similar to his spiritual desire for fellowship with God and maybe the same is true for here for you here tonight maybe you've come in tonight and you have this thirsting and this longing in your soul and whether or not that thirst has ever been quenched let me share with you there's only one place to go there's only one place for the thirsty soul to go. I don't have seven steps to a satisfied soul. No, not at all. I have one step.

27:13 Jesus put it this way in John 7. John 7 verse 37, he says, on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

27:44 If you're here tonight and your soul is thirsty, I only have one place to send you. And that's to the Savior. Any other place to go, any other thing to do, any other accomplishment, any other fill in the blank will leave you more empty than when you started. And some of you know what that's like.

28:07 Some of you are living it right now. You've tried everything, and this is the last stop before you go into hopelessness. Well, let me share with you. I can't help you, but Christ can. We can take Jesus's words here as a pattern for every weary believer. Look at what he says. if you could put that verse back on the screen for me john 7 i want you to notice first that he recognizes his need he recognizes his need he says there if anyone thirsts he's calling out to them to recognize their need and so the first thing that the weary believer must do is recognize their need that's the first thing let's look at the second thing it's responding to his invitation responding to his invitation. Jesus doesn't only say, if anyone thirsts, he also gives an invitation. Let him come to me and drink. Now here's what I love. Look at it right there. I love that Jesus says, if anyone thirsts, it's a wide open invitation. My wife and I have five beautiful children and we love them. But whenever we get invited to a wedding, they don't say, if anyone would like to come, usually it's, I've saved a seat for you plus one. I'm like, what about plus six? Can we, can we work that in? If anyone comes. So you and I must respond to the invitation. Let him come. And then lastly, we receive the promise out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Recognize our need, respond to his invitation and receive the promise.

29:52 Now here's the thing. This is not only for the weary believer, but the entire gospel is in that verse right there. That if you're here tonight and you're without Christ, you must recognize your need. You have a great need that only Christ can help you with. And that need is the forgiveness of your sins. The Bible says the soul that sins will die. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. And so if you've come in tonight and you do not have Christ, you have a need. You may not even know it. You have a need. You need to be forgiven of your sin. Now you'd say, well, okay, I agree. I have sinned. I've blown it. What do I do? Well, you respond to his invitation. Let him come to me, Jesus would say. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for every sin you've ever committed. Now, if you're a believer here tonight, I trust that you already believe that. You trust that. But if you've come in and you do not yet know Christ, you've not given your life to him, then you need to recognize that there's something for you to respond to.

30:50 You must lay hold of him by faith. Let him come to me and drink. And then you'd receive the promise. Out of your heart will flow rivers of living water. He'll forgive every sin and every transgression. So the entire gospel is in those verses. So whether you're a weary believer or someone who's not yet believed, the entire gospel is in those verses for you. But I want you to notice that Jesus gives essentially the same invitation in Matthew chapter 11, verses 28 and 29. Look at it with me. He says, come to me. Again, a wide open invitation. All you who labor and are heavy laden, and the promise is I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. I am gentle and lowly in heart. You will find rest for your souls. This is where David is. And so in light of this desire, in light of this thirst, look at verse 2 in your Bibles. It says, so I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory.

31:51 In light of this desire, David comes running to God. He says, I looked for you in the sanctuary. This is what it means to seek God. It was his desire after God that caused his response to look for God. This is one of the reasons he was a man after God's own heart. There was a pursuit in him. Now within the tabernacle, David learned what it meant to worship God, and he knew that what was happening in the tabernacle was a picture of heaven and what God had given to Moses. the sacrifices showed that God was holy. The ordinances were types and pictures of how one was to approach God. And the scriptures that David learned in the tabernacle showed God's character and what he required of David. And so David knew that though he was in the wilderness, that these were types and pictures. They weren't the actual thing.

32:45 And this is a good warning for us. is that if you and I get lost in the pictures of what worship is, that we get lost in the types of what worship is, then we replace the types and the pictures for who God is. And so David didn't make that mistake. And so David looked for God in the sanctuary, but he looked for how God was, who God was, and how to worship God in the sanctuary. And so he could worship God anywhere he was. And you guys know with that Samaritan woman that Jesus told her that very same thing. And Jesus said, look, you think you're supposed to worship here. Now, Jesus does say, salvation is of the Jews. But the day is coming, and even is now, where neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. But those who worship him in what? Spirit and truth will worship the Father. And he says he's seeking such to worship him. Now, where it says there in verse 2 that he looked for God in the sanctuary, that word looked, it'll be on the screen for you, it means to gaze at.

33:46 to perceive, to behold, to look, or even to contemplate. This was more than a quick glance. When David looked for God, he was beholding God. He was laying hold of God. Now in this, I think David's thinking of his many fond memories of meeting with the Lord in the tabernacle. At the moment, he's separated because he's in the wilderness of Judah. But he's going back in his mind to that place. And he's meditating and thinking of God. of seeking God, of worshiping God. But he comes to this conclusion that God is more than the tabernacle.

34:25 In the same way that Jesus said, what's more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? Well, what's more important, the temple or the God that sanctified the temple? And so David came to the conclusion that it was God that made the temple great. And so in Psalm chapter 27, verse four, David says this, One thing I have desired of the Lord, and that I will seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Notice, to behold. That's the same word in our passage as looked. To look for, to gaze at, to perceive the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

35:07 David was a man seeking God, looking for God. beholding God. David found God. My question for you is, have you? Have I? Have we behold God? Have we looked for, gazed upon him? Now, when I ask if you're seeking God, I don't mean if you're doing all the things. If I say, are you seeking God? Yeah, I go to church. Okay, that's part of it, but that's not the gist of it. Yeah, I read my Bible. Okay, good. that you'll find him there, but that's part of it. That's not the gist of it. David saw the types and pictures for what they were. They were a means to an end. The end was God himself. For us, when we come in, we learn of God's word to learn of God, not just to get puffed up with knowledge. That when we read our Bibles, yes, first thing in the morning, right?

36:04 We read them to learn of God. God promised for the seeking soul that we'd find him in Jeremiah 29, 13. Many of you have this verse memorized. But God said that we, that you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. Of course, the promise was to those children of Israel and Babylon, but let me just share with you, the principle applies to us today. And I believe that you and I can claim that promise because all the promises of God in Christ are yes and amen. So the first characteristic of a heart after God's is seeking him. Seeking him. This happens as you and I spend time in his word, in prayer, meditating on his works, worshiping him and seeking his face. And so that's the first thing, seeking him. Let's look at the second characteristic of a life after God's heart. It is a worshiping soul.

36:57 So not only a seeking soul, but a worshiping soul. The person who loves God and has fellowship with God cannot help but worship God. And we find this in the beginning of verse 3. Look at the beginning of verse 3 in your Bibles. He says, because your loving kindness is better than life. I want to stop there for a moment. And we'll circle back to the rest. He says, your loving kindness is better than life. The word loving kindness is the Hebrew word I practiced. You guys ready?

37:26 Chesed. You got to like, ch. This is a very difficult word to translate because it is a packed word. The word means kindness. It also means mercy. It's the word loving and the word kindness put together. It's the word merciful and the word kindness put together. It's also the word favor. But in addition to that, it carries the idea of having the freedom of the decision for the giver. Meaning this, that God is freely choosing to give mercy. He's not obligated to. He's freely choosing to give kindness. He's not obligated to. when William Tyndall started translating the Old Testament from the original Hebrew to English, he came across a few words that had no English equivalent. Now, this is pretty cool. There were words like atonement, which is literally at-one-ment, to bring two things together, atonement.

38:28 He made up that word. He also made up the word mercy seat, and he also made up the word loving kindness. You can almost see Tyndall in those dark, dingy closets, illegally translating for the first time, really an extensive work from the original Hebrew into English. So in his own words, the plow boy in the field could know the word better than the bishop in England. And so as he's translating these words, he gets to loving kindness and the word was so packed. It's so difficult for him to translate. He just makes it up. Now, another cool thing, this isn't in my notes, but it's free for you tonight, is that the first dictionary actually came out of that first English translation of William Tyndall's New Testament and Old Testament because he was literally making up words. And so he made up a word and then he defined it and put it in the back of the book. And so that's where the first English dictionary came from.

39:24 Pretty cool, right? David's point is this. It was God's love that reached out in kindness to David and motivated his soul to worship God. knowing this love is life at its best David says look at what he says he says your loving kindness is better than life itself life apart from God's loving kindness is not life at all as the Bible would describe it again I'm going to turn to Spurgeon because of his way with words he says life is dear but God's love is dearer to dwell with God is better than life at its best life at ease and a palace in health and honor and wealth and pleasure. Yea, a thousand lives are not equal to the eternal life which abides in God's smile. if you have never known this fellowship or intimacy with God, I sound nuts to you.

40:22 But if you have, you know that there's nothing like being close to the Lord. In fact, Erwin Lutzer, Dr. Lutzer, said this. He said, I can tell you something that's worse than dying. And that is to live out of fellowship with the living God. And there may be someone here tonight that Dr. Lutzer is speaking to you. That you've gotten out of the way. And tonight, God is saying, come home. Seek my face. He's reminding you tonight that his loving kindness is better than life itself and he's inviting you home. The question is, are you going to respond? psalm 63 back to psalm 63 look at verses 3 and 4 because david says your loving kindness is better than life and then he goes on he says my lips shall praise you and thus i will bless you while i live i will lift up my hands to your name look at these three phrases he uses to declare his worship look in your bibles he says first in verse three he says my lips shall praise you Next in verse 4, he says, I will bless you.

41:42 And then in verse 4 again, he says, I will lift up my hands to you. Now in this, we see his words, I will praise you. His attitude, I will bless you. And his posture, I will lift up my hands. This is a good picture for us of what worship looks like. It looks like our words. it looks like the attitude of our heart and even, yes, the posture of our bodies.

42:14 What David thought about God could not stay inside. His love and his devotion to God was evidenced by the way he worshiped God. And so I will say the same is true for you and I. How we worship God shows what we think about God. You know, the times that I have the privilege of teaching in here in the main, one of my favorite places to be is just right around that corner back there because I can hear you guys singing and it's loud. It's loud. how we worship God shows what we think about God. You guys remember potentially that account in Luke chapter 7 where that woman who was a notorious sinner came in and began to wipe Jesus' feet with her hair. Do you guys remember?

43:05 At Simon the Pharisee's house. And Simon the Pharisee had this thought in his mind. He said if Jesus, if he knew what kind of woman that was, he would not let her touch him. He has that thought, it says in Luke chapter 7. And Jesus, proving that he's God, reads Simon's mind and says, Simon, I have something to ask you. Now I'm wondering if Simon, being a Pharisee, he was used to getting asked all these Bible questions, you know. He's probably a puffed up guy. He's like, I'll answer your question, Jesus.

43:38 He says, I have a question for you. Okay, shoot, Jesus. Gotcha. Jesus says, two guys, two debtors. One owed 50 denarii, the other owed 500 denarii. Now a denarii was a day's wage. So one owed just about two months' wages, the other owed a year and a half's wages. You can do the math on your own. He says, well, the creditor decides, I'm just gonna freely forgive both of them. Jesus says, which one will love more? And Simon's like, oh, softball, okay. The one whom he forgave more, I suppose. Jesus says, yeah, you're right. this woman, though her sins are many, she's been forgiven much and so she loves much. Listen, if we take the position that David was in the wilderness because of Absalom, this was after his sin with Bathsheba and after his sin with Uriah. The loving kindness of David, listen, remember the loving kindness, God's freely choice or desire to love David, because of that, David could not help but praise, bless, and lift up his hands to the Lord. And so when I say worship, I'm not only referring to the first 20 minutes of service, though congregational singing and worship is definitely included. I believe it would be more accurate for us to view David here as describing the words, attitudes, and posture of his daily life rather than a small confined time of worship. And so in this, we see that David's entire life was his act of worship towards God.

45:09 He had a worshiping soul. David was determined, regardless of circumstances, to have this worshiping soul. This is a decision that he had made at some point, and he stuck to it. Again, look back at Psalm chapter five. This is a Psalm of David where David says this. He says, but as for me, I will come into your house in the multitude of your mercy, and in fear, I will worship toward your holy temple. David is saying, but as for me, kind of reminiscent of Joshua, isn't it? You guys can do whatever you want, but as for me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord. Well, David says the same thing. I don't care what you do. I am gonna come into God's house and I'm gonna worship towards his temple. Tonight, like David, you may be very much in a similar situation. You may be down and out, just like David was in Psalm 63. but David offers up his worship as his sacrifice to God.

46:06 He could not deliver an animal for the altar. He could not go in to the tabernacle. No, he offers up his worship as his sacrifice. Very reminiscent of Hebrews 13, 15. Hebrews 13, 15 says, therefore by him, that is by Jesus, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. When life is less than ideal, praise becomes sacrifice. And that's what David offers. We are to praise him with our mouths, worship him with our lives. And so let me ask, do you see this characteristic in your life? I hope so. Let's move to our third one as we continue to make our way through this. Our third characteristic of being after God's heart is found in verses 5 through 7. And it's a satisfied soul. A satisfied soul.

46:58 The person who seeks God and finds him will worship him. And the person who seeks and worships God will have a satisfied soul. This is something money cannot buy. There's no amount of money that you could trade for a clean conscience or a satisfied soul. There are many people today that are chasing soul satisfaction by flesh gratification. and what it does is it results in deeper emptiness more despair and eventually hopelessness but David found his secret in a satisfied soul where did he find it look at verse 5 with me psalm 63 verse 5 he says my my soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips now when he says marrow and fatness not something that we would use in our culture. It's not so much a Western thing, but apparently, according to commentators, it was very much an Eastern thing. But it was to describe the best food imaginable.

48:02 You get this guy a mic, okay? David sees his soul satisfied with the love of God as being like when his appetite has been satisfied with the best meal. There's some commentators, and I agree with them, that would point to this being the part of the animal that you get to enjoy during a peace offering. So you know when you offer up offerings to God in the Old Testament, that there were some offerings that was just to be burned and entirely consumed, but there were other offerings that you were to offer it up, and then you were to go home and eat it in a sense of the fellowship with God. It was like a holy barbecue, and I say that with reverence. It was meant to be enjoyed. And I think God designed that on purpose. Well, there's a good indication here that that's what David has in mind. That word satisfied though, it means to be filled to satisfaction, to have enough to fill or be full of. Now look at what he says. He says, my soul shall be satisfied. He says, my soul is full. Is this not what the world is searching for?

49:15 Proverbs 14, 14 warns us. The backslider in heart will be filled, same Hebrew word, with his own ways. But a good man will be satisfied from above. True satisfaction of soul comes from God and God alone. the world fills itself with every pleasure of life and pursuit of the flesh but ultimately God is the only true source of satisfaction and what they don't know is that they're pursuing that satisfaction that comes from God they're just putting a square peg in a round hole when all else for David was going wrong, he could say, my soul is satisfied.

50:08 when David was abandoned by men, whether it be Saul or Absalom, he said he was satisfied by God. When he was hungry in the wilderness, he said he was satisfied by God. When he was thirsty in the desert, he was satisfied by God. When he had sleepless nights, he was satisfied by God. Again, I don't know where you're at. I don't know what you're going through, but the only true satisfaction comes from God. Psalm 107 verse 9 says, for he satisfies, same Hebrew word, the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness. To be satisfied by God in this way is to have all you desire being fulfilled by God himself. Some may search their entire lives and come up empty because they're looking in the wrong place.

51:01 But David found it. He found it in God. And let me say one more time, it's the same place you'll find it too. and for those of us who have found it you can testify that the world has lost its luster hasn't it it doesn't shine like it did before we were in christ that's what the writer of the proverbs meant when proverbs 27 verse 7 he says a satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. That when your soul and my soul is satisfied, even delicious food is like, oh, you guys ever been that full? Filled to the brim where someone brings you more, you're like, no, it's like when you go to Brazilian barbecue, you're like, I can't even look at it.

51:52 But to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. When your soul is satisfied in the love of God, every earthly pleasure pales in comparison. But if you don't have the Lord, inevitably you'll search for those bitter things. And so David's satisfaction was no accident. I wanna show you in verse six, because in verse six, he gives us a window into the midst of the severe trial and how he could remain satisfied in God in this trial. Psalm 63, verse six, you'll see it on the screen. He says, when I remember you on my bed, I meditate on you or in yeah on you in the night watches. I actually think that this is the secret to David's satisfied soul that David couldn't help but think about God. Now that word bed there if you have your Bible open you might want to circle that word bed draw a little arrow and write that it's plural. It's the plural word for bed. So he actually says when I remember you on my beds. Now remember he's running for his life in the wilderness of Judea. That he's going from place to place. And the only bed that he probably has is the dirt. And the only pillow he has is a rock.

52:59 And so he says, as he's going from place to place, he remembers God. He meditates on him. All that God had done for David caused David to meditate on God. Now this is good. And this is good application for all of us. Look at what it says there when he says, or look at the word meditate with me. The word meditate means to murmur to yourself, literally to talk to yourself about it is what it means. It means to ponder, to imagine, or to study. It's the same word you find in Psalm 1, to meditate on the Word of God day and night. I don't want to stop here for just a moment because I think biblical meditation, let me say that one more time, biblical meditation is almost certainly lost in our day. We fill our time with everything we can, and any free time we have, like a black hole sucks in what's ever closest to it.

53:52 But part of David's fullness here, part of the satisfaction of his soul was the fact that he meditated and fixed his mind on the word of God and the works of God. That David was quiet enough to hear from the Lord. Colossians chapter 3 verse 2 Paul says, set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. It's good for us to keep in mind. The highest and best thoughts we can have of God are accurate thoughts of God, personal thoughts of God. Now, let me just clarify this one thing, because I don't want you going away thinking that you cannot think about anything but God. This does not mean that every single thought is about God because you and I could not live that way. But let me share what it does mean. It does mean that there's no thought absent of God. Meaning that every thought that you think has the supreme filter of that it was filtered through the worldview that you belong to God and God belongs to you. So there's no thought absent of God. It's from him that we live and move and have our being. Matthew Henry put it this way. He said, thoughts of God must not be transient thoughts passing through the mind, but abiding thoughts dwelling in the mind. I wish I could craft just one sentence like that. And because I can't, I use Matthew Henry. He says, our thoughts about God should dwell in our mind, not pass through our mind. I think that's good. There's no doubt that the satisfaction of David's soul was directly tied to his thoughts and meditation on who God was and what God did. So that's why David says there in verse seven, because you have been my help, therefore in the shadow of your wings I will rejoice. David knew that regardless of how hard his life got whatever he was going through that every single situation of his life was filtered by God and when it didn't look good for him he just snuggled up close to his Lord

55:57 and said under the shadow of your wing I will rejoice. though under the desert sky, he could say he dwelt ultimately under the wings of God, safe, secure, and satisfied. Which brings us to our fourth characteristic of a life after God's heart, which is this, a pursuing soul. This fourth characteristic is all about the pursuit. That David was a man in pursuit of God. This was the highest goal of his life. And that's why in Psalm 63, verse eight, he says this. Look in your Bibles. He says, my soul follows close behind you. Your right hand upholds me. I actually like the King James Version. He says, my soul followeth hard after thee. I like that. That word follows close, as you'll see on the screen, it means to cling to, to catch by pursuit, to follow close, to be joined together, to stick, or even to pursue hard. David, with this one phrase, is saying two things. One, that he's in pursuit of God, and two, that he's clinging to God.

57:05 He was holding tight to the one that he already had, and that's how this pursuit of God is actually born out of a paradox. The moment someone comes to faith in Christ, theologically speaking, they have all of God. There's no more for them to get, but that's what makes this a paradox. There's something in them that desires to know him more and more, and ultimately, this is true of any relationship. This same word follows close is actually used in Genesis chapter two concerning marriage. There will be no intimacy in a marriage that has no pursuit or in a marriage that has only one person pursuing the other. There must be a mutual pursuit within a marriage for the marriage to work the way God designed it. Just try it. Try it. Maybe you're here tonight and your marriage is falling apart and you're sitting next to the person that your marriage is falling apart with. So you're both hearing it.

57:59 Yes, of course, David is talking about his pursuit of God. But let me pause for just a moment and say, just try it. It might save your marriage to pursue her like you did when you were dating. It might save your marriage to pursue him like you did when you were dating. The church does offer free counseling. You can call the front office.

58:22 And we'll help you pursue one another like you did in the early days. the pursuit of God. As you look at your life, would you say God is your greatest pursuit? or is it your career, finances, relationships, comfort, status, reputation, you fill in the blank. I would submit to you tonight that the fact that God created you at all is the fact that he's pursuing you, but are you pursuing him? the apostle paul testifies to this mentality of pursuit in philippians chapter 3 these will be the last verses for us tonight at this point paul's obviously already saved he's the apostle he's writing to the philippian church he's walking with jesus potentially if we could put it this way the most successful christian who ever lived if we're judging by the fruit of his life but i want you to notice that he was not content in a good way. Paul shows us this paradox. He says, not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on. Stop there for a moment. That word press on in the Greek, it literally means to pursue after. And so Paul's saying, I'm not, I've not attained, I've not arrived, or I'm not perfected. He's saying, but I'm in pursuit. For what? That I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward, pause there for a moment, that word means to pursue, pursuing those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. That word press on means to pursue. It means to pursue. Ultimately, Paul was in pursuit of the Lord Jesus Christ and you and I should strive for the same. So tonight, as we close, we saw four characteristics of a life after God's heart. I want you to take a moment to examine yourself. I want you to take a moment to examine your own soul. Are you seeking him? Are you worshiping him? Are you satisfied by him?

1:00:34 and are you pursuing him? I think the attitude and description of this was summarized well by a man named Alexander McLaren, and we'll close with this. Alexander McLaren said, we can have as much of God as we desire, but the more we have of God, the more we long for him, and the more we long for him, the more we possess him. I think this is a good description of what David had. and Lord willing, the same would be true of you and me as we live as and become men and women after God's own heart. Let's pray.

1:01:16 Father, this evening, there's no doubt that these verses challenge us. They challenge us because we all know what it's like to fill our time with things that don't matter. We all know what it's like to pursue the things of this world and wind up empty. but father for anybody who names the name of christ they also know what it's like to belong to you and have the joy of that fellowship lord i pray tonight that if there's any tonight that the proverbs would say is backslidden in heart and they filled themselves with the ways of this world i pray that the emptiness would be enough to drive them to the cross father i pray that if there's anybody here tonight that does not yet know christ as savior that their emptiness would drive them to the cross. I pray that if there's any believer here tonight that's in the wilderness, that they, like David, would know you to the extent that the wilderness does not take away from their pursuit of you, but it only proves that they have you already.

1:02:23 Lord, and for the rest of us who may find ourselves in a different place, God, we know that you put these things into David, but we know that David responded to you. Father, we pray that you'd put them in us. That like Elijah, that we would ask for a double portion of what David had. And Lord, ultimately, we're thankful that we don't look to David as the ultimate example. We look to the son of David. We look to the Lord Jesus Christ as the ultimate example of a man who lived his life with a heart after God. Who always did those things that pleased the Father. God, may we take up our cross and follow him as our example. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.