So good morning. If you would,
turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. I'm glad to
report that Peggy Wooten's surgery went very well. She was able
to go home the next day. She's recovering from that surgery
pain, but she says they're all taking good care of her, which
doesn't surprise me one bit. And I texted with Brady yesterday. He says all his symptoms are
gone. He's just going stir crazy, bottled
up in that little room, but it's going well for him. So we're
thankful. All right, Acts chapter 13, we'll
begin our reading in verse 14. But when they departed from Perga,
they came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on
the Sabbath day and sat down. After the reading of the Law
and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them,
saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation
for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning
with his hand, said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. The God of this people of Israel
chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as
strangers in the land of Egypt, and with a high arm brought he
them out of it. And about the time of forty years
suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had
destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their
land to them by lot. And after that he gave unto them
judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until
Samuel the prophet. And afterward they desired a
king. And God gave unto them Saul the
son of Sis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of
forty years. And when he had removed him,
he raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also
he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse,
a man after my own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Of
this man's seed hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel
a Savior, Jesus. When John had first preached
before his coming the baptism of repentance, to all the people
of Israel. And as John fulfilled his course,
he said, whom think ye that I am? I'm not he. But behold, there
cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I'm not worthy to
lose. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and
whosoever among you feareth God, to you is this word of salvation
sent." And we'll end our reading there. Let's bow together in
prayer. our Father and our God. Oh, how thankful we are to be
able to come into your presence accepted in the person of our
Lord Jesus Christ. How we thank you for Christ,
our righteousness. How we thank you that in him
sinful men and women are made righteous and holy and accepted.
How we thank you for the forgiveness of sin that comes in the blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. It could come no other way. We
couldn't earn it, we couldn't merit it, but how we thank you
for the free, full forgiveness of sins in the blood of thy son. How we thank you for the sacrifice
of our Lord Jesus Christ. How can we ever thank you? How can the human tongue ever
praise you enough that you would sacrifice your son that your
sinful people might be redeemed. Father, we're thankful. Father,
I pray that this morning and that always that you would cause
us to be taken up with the Lord Jesus Christ, that we would always
keep an eye to him, knowing that he is our only hope. As we go through our daily activities,
the things that you have called us to do here below, Cause us
to keep an eye to that one who's coming. He is coming. Cause us to live, keeping this
world in its proper perspective. Keeping an eye to a dependence
upon our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, bless us this morning
as we've met together to worship Thee. Enable us to worship. Let this be an hour of true worship. for you would send your spirit
upon us and that you would enable each one here to see the Lord
Jesus Christ with an eye of faith and believe upon his precious
name. Father, be with me as I preach
your word to your people. Enable me to rightly divide the
word of truth. Let your people hear, Father,
not with the ear of flesh, but with an ear of faith. Who is
sufficient for these things, either to preach or to hear?
Who's sufficient for these things? None, none, except you send your
spirit upon us. Father, we're thankful for the
good report of those who have been ill and in suffering trial. Father, we pray you continue
to heal and bless. Be with your people who are in
a time of trouble and trial. You promised that your grace
would be sufficient. You promised that you'd not leave
nor forsake your people. And Father, that's what we pray,
that you'd be with your people in a special way, give grace
sufficient for the hour. Father, all these things we ask
and we give thanks in that name, which is above every name, the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. From every stormy wind that blows,
from every swelling tide of woes, there is a calm, assured retreat. It is found beneath the mercy
seat. There is a place where Jesus
sheds the oil of gladness on our heads, a place that all besides
were sweet. It is the blood-borne mercy seat. There is a scene where spirits
blend Where friendhood's fellowship with friendhood's thunder far
by day may meet, around one common mercy seat. A wither could we flee for aid,
When tempted, desolate, dismayed, Or how the host of hell defeated,
Had suffering saints no mercy seen. Ah, there on eagle wings
we soar, And sin and sense molest, No more, and panic comes down,
our souls to grieve, while glory crowns the mercy slain. I'm glad I was here to hear that.
Thank you. Let's open our Bibles again, if you would, to Acts
chapter 13. Acts chapter 13, I titled the
message this morning, A Man After God's Own Heart. God himself gave this testimony.
Paul said in verse 22, God said, I found David, the son of Jesse,
a man after mine own heart. Now, what does that mean? A man
after mine own heart? Was David some sort of super
believer? He was somehow just elevated
higher than any other believer. Could there be another person,
another believer who is a man or a woman after God's own heart?
Or was David, did he just have a better heart than you and I
do? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. We know that
salvation is a heart work, don't Salvation is an inward matter
of the heart. Salvation is not when we change
our outward behavior. You know, we clean up our act
and we make the better, the outside look better, you know, to other
people. That's work, isn't it? That's something we would do,
cleaning up the outside. That's not salvation. Salvation
is when God the Holy Spirit gives a sinner a brand new heart. A heart, a nature that is holy
and righteous. And that heart that God gives,
God the Holy Spirit, that heart believes on Christ. You didn't
believe before, but now you believe. And you can't not believe. Why
is that so? Because God's given you a new
nature, a different nature. He didn't clean up the outside.
He put a new heart in you. And that heart trusts Christ.
That heart loves Christ. That heart hungers and thirsts
to hear more of Christ. That heart needs Christ. needs him. Do you need Christ? I mean, do you need him? If so,
God's given you a new heart. You didn't get that heart from
your mom and daddy. And the only reason David had that heart,
the only reason God could say David's a man after my own heart
is God gave David a new nature. And God gives that same nature.
God gives that exact same heart to all of his children. Every
believer. I don't care where you find them,
every believer has the exact same heart that David had. Every
believer is a man or woman after God's own heart, just as surely
as David was, because God gives every one of his children the
same nature. Every believer is equal before
God because God has made every believer to be exactly like his
son, the Lord Jesus Christ. One believer is not better, more
holy, more righteous, closer to God than another. Every believer
has been made just like Christ. And what I want us to look at
this morning is a few scriptures that reveal something about David's
heart. What is it about David that made
David a man after God's own heart? And as we look at these characteristics
of David's heart, if God has saved you, you'll recognize something
of yourself here in David. So number one is this. A man
or woman after God's own heart often will not look like one
in the flesh. You can't tell from always looking at the outside,
especially to himself, especially to himself. Think about David. Did David look like a man who
completely trusted the Lord? That time he was there in Gath
and he got scared and he thought, I'm going to act like I'm mad.
He let the spittle run down on his beard. He started scratching
at the door and acting like a crazy man. David did that because he
was afraid of Achish, a heathen king. Could that be the man after
God's own heart that was fearful of this heathen king, didn't
trust the Lord, didn't deliver him? Did David look like a man
after God's own heart when he committed adultery with Bathsheba
and had Uriah, her husband, killed? Could that be the man after God's
own heart? Could it? Remember that time David said,
I want to number Israel. And all his men, his children
said, don't do it, don't do it. David was forbidden. The king
was forbidden to number the people, but David did it anyway. He disobeyed
God and numbered Israel. Could that be the man after God's
own heart? It didn't look like it, did it?
It didn't look like it. And those sins ended up troubling
David a great deal, great deal. The man after God's own heart
is a person who is troubled by our sins. greatly troubled by
it. See David, he's a man after God's
own heart. God had given him a new nature,
but we can all identify with this. David still had that old
man. He still had that old sinful man. So a believer does have
a new heart, a new nature, but we still have that old sinful
one too. And far too often what we see is that old nature. A
man or woman after God's own heart will often not look like
it in the flesh. And that means a man or a woman
after God's own heart will never claim self-righteousness, will
never claim salvation based upon something that I do because we
know something about that old man, that old sinful nature. And only the new man can see
the sin of that old man. So that brings me to the second
point. A man after God's own heart has union with Christ. Look here at verse 22, let's
read it again. And when he had removed him, when he had removed
Saul, he raised up unto them David to be their king. To whom
also he gave testimony and said, I found David, the son of Jesse,
a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Now, who was it that fulfilled
all of God's will? Well, it wasn't David, the son
of Jesse, was it? It was the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a
prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of David. This is Christ. He is the one who fulfilled God's
will. David didn't do it. The Lord
Jesus Christ did. Yet, this is also true. Every
believer has fulfilled all of God's will. Every believer has
obeyed God's law perfectly so that they stand before God righteous. How is that possible? How is
that possible? only through union with Christ,
only through being in Christ. Look at Psalm 22. Just like we
sin in Adam, our first representative. Nobody here, I don't think, would
claim to be sinless. We all sin in Adam, our first
representative. We can't deny it, can we? Because
we've got Adam's sinful nature. But just like we sin in Adam,
all of God's elect obey God in Christ, our second representative.
Let's read a few verses here in Psalm 22, verse one. You just
think to yourself, who is it that's speaking here? My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from
helping me and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry
in the daytime, but thou hearest not. And in the night season,
and am not silent. Look down at verse six. But I
am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despised of the people.
All they that see me, laugh me to scorn. They shoot out to live. They shake their head saying
he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver
him now, seeing he delighteth in him. Let's see if the Lord
will deliver him. Verse nine, but thou art he that took me
out of the womb. Thou didst make me hope when
I was upon my mother's breast. I was cast upon thee from the
womb. Thou art my God from my mother's belly. Verse 14, I'm
poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My
heart is like wax. It's melted in the midst of my
bowels. My strength is dried up like a pot shirt and my tongue
cleaveth to my jaws and thou hast brought me into the dust
of death. Verse 16, for dogs have compassed
me. The assembly of the wicked have
enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell
all my bones. They look and stare upon me.
They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture."
Now who's that speaking? Who's speaking there in this
psalm? You know full well it's our Lord Jesus Christ. A lot
of the old writers say that the Lord Jesus quoted this entire
psalm from the cross. This is the psalm of the cross. This is our Lord Jesus Christ
speaking Only Christ could be speaking and saying these words.
Yet hundreds and hundreds of years before Christ was born,
before Christ came incarnate, David wrote the words that he
would say from the cross as he suffered and died as a sacrifice
for his people. This is Christ speaking. Yet
David wrote these words. David wrote these words. It's
Christ speaking, but it's also David speaking through union
with Christ. And that all of God's people
can say that. When the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died, all
his people did too. When the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied
the law's last demand that there must be death for sin, when Christ
died as a substitute for his people, all of God's elect died
too. We died in Christ. We satisfied
God's justice through union with Christ. And having union with
Christ, Being in Christ means that I did what He did. That's the only hope a man or
woman after God's own heart can have. That when Christ, and this
is what we confess in believers baptism, isn't it? When Christ
lived, I was in Him. When He obeyed God's law, I did
too because I was in Him. He made me righteous through
His obedience to the law. And when Christ died, I died
in Him. The law has no more demands on
me because I'm already dead. I died to the law. I died in
Christ. When Christ arose from the grave,
I arose in Him. Had new life in Him. That is
the only hope a man or woman, after God's own heart, can have.
Union with Christ. Just exactly like I was made
a sinner in Adam, I was made righteous in Christ. That's the
only claim. If you're a person, man or woman,
after God's own heart, That's the only claim we check, Christ
alone. And thirdly, look at over a few
pages, Psalm 51. A man after God's own heart is
broken hearted over our sin. You know, we know we still have
that old nature. We have a new nature that God's
given us. We still have that old nature. And the man after
God's own heart will never use that as an excuse to sin. We'll
never say, well, you know, I've got this old man, all he can
do is sin. So no point in trying to stop
it. I just, you know, sin that grace may abound. God forbid,
the apostle said. God forbid. A man or woman after
God's own heart is a sinner. And our sin troubles us. Our
sin that caused the Savior to be nailed to the tree troubles
us. Our sin that just is against God breaks our heart. Now, I
know we don't hate sin like we should. I know that. And the
reason for that is we're in the flesh. Sin is all we've ever
known. Yet God has given us some glimpse
of our sin so that we hate that sin, hate it, if God's given
us a new heart. And that's what David says here
in Psalm 51. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy loving kindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me throughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me against thee. Thee only have
I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive
me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the
hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy
face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in
me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence. Take not thy Holy Spirit from
me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with
thy free spirit. Now this is the believer. Every
believer can say here with David, I've seen it. And the problem
is not just that I've seen and I've got caught. I sinned against
thee. I sinned against thee. And that's
what breaks the believer's heart. Oh, I've sinned against thee.
And we confess our sin, don't try to hide it. We confess our
sin just like David did. And when our heart is broken,
over sin. What is it that we desperately
need? Well, it's not like, okay, I'm
going to try not to do that anymore and clean myself up. And then
I'm going to go to God in prayer and then he'll accept me. No,
no, we come to God as we are desperate, desperately needing
to be washed and be cleansed from our sin in the blood. of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only is that the only way
God will be satisfied, God can only be satisfied with the blood
of Christ, only his blood, which cleanses us from all sin. Only
God can be, the only way he can be satisfied is with Christ.
But that's the only way I can be satisfied too, is by being
washed in the blood of Christ. When our heart is broken over
sin, we desperately need and desire that joy. that can only
come by being in the presence of the Lord. Here's something
that'll make your heart glad. If you trust Christ, if you know
God, this will make your heart glad and it'll melt you at the
same time. When our heart is broken over
our sin, the Savior always forgives. Always. If you come before Him
with a heart that's broken over sin, begging His forgiveness,
The Savior always forgives sin. Always. God always accepts us
for Christ's sake. Always. Doesn't that melt your stony
heart? Oh, my sin which is ever before me. I can promise I'll
never do it again. I get up in the morning determined
not to do that again. Determined not to sin. And I
always do. Yet the Lord always forgives
sin, for Christ's sake. Oh, that breaks my heart. Always.
Listen to David, Psalm 34, verse 18. The Lord is nigh unto them
that have a broken heart. Is your heart broken over sin? Are you just, just broken over
your sin? The Lord is nigh unto them that
are of a broken heart, and he saveth such as be of a contrite
spirit. Always, not sometimes, not maybe,
always. Now what's stopping you from
coming to him for forgiveness? Huh? He always is nigh unto them
that are of a broken heart, and he always saveth such as be of
a contrite spirit. Get off your high horse and down
in the dust. That's where God shows mercy.
Psalm 51 verse 17 says this, the sacrifices of God. What is
it that pleases God? What is it that makes a person
a man after God's own heart? The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. Oh God, thou wilt not
despise. Do you have a broken heart? Don't despair. God will always
accept, He'll never despise, He'll always accept the broken
and contrite heart. Isaiah 66 verse 2, but to this
man will I look. This is the man to whom God will
look. This is the man that God will accept. This is the man
that after God's own heart, the man who is of even to him that
is of a poor and contrite spirit, and tremble at my word. God always
accepts that person. Now that thrills my soul, to
know that God will accept him that's of a broken and contrite
heart. To think of the love of God for his people. He will not
despise those who have a broken heart. That love of God for his
people, how he freely forgives the sin of his people in the
blood of Christ, that also breaks my heart. Doesn't it, you hearers?
That ought to break our heart. That ought to melt our stony,
cold, dead hearts. to hear that God accepts and
forgives those whose heart is broken over their sin against
God. Oh, the man after God's own heart
has a broken heart, broken over his sin. Not just that he got
caught, but that his sin is against God. And fourthly, the man after
God's own heart will always cast himself upon the mercy of God.
Look back at 2 Samuel chapter 24. I hate for us to bounce back
and forth. I usually try to take these things
in the order that they're presented in Scripture, but I felt like
it was better to present these things kind of in a logical order. We'll turn back and forth a little
bit in the Scriptures and see them. A man after God's own heart
will always cast himself upon the mercy of God. He'll want
no other hope. He'll want no other plea but
God's mercy. Here in 2 Samuel 24 is when David
numbered the people. Joab tried to get him not to
do it, tried to talk him out of it, but David insisted, and
he disobeyed God and numbered Israel. Now you think, what's
wrong with that? I mean, countries take censuses,
you know, to find out how many people are in their country,
right, in the different districts and so forth. What was wrong
with David numbering Israel? Because Israel wasn't David's
people. They're God's people. Israel's strength, Israel's security
was not in how many mighty men of valor that they had. No, the
Lord was their strength. The Lord is their security. It
didn't matter how big their army was. Their strength was in the
arm of the Lord. And David's glory was not in
finding out how many people he ruled in his kingdom. David's
glory was this, that he belonged to the Lord. That was David's
glory. You and I would do good to remember
that. We'd do well to remember that. Our glory is not in our
strength. Our glory is not in how many
blessings that God has given us, materially or spiritual gifts,
either one. Our glory is this, that we belong
to Christ. That's our glory. And David numbered
the people. He numbered the people. And God's
going to deal with David's sin. There's always consequences for
our sin. The sin of God's people is forgiven,
but now there's consequences for our sin. Look here at 2 Samuel
24, verse 11. For when David was up in the
morning, the word of the Lord came under the prophet Gad, David's
seer, saying, go and say unto David, thus saith the Lord, I
offer thee three things. Choose thee one of them that
I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David and told
him and said unto him, shall seven years of famine come unto
thee in thy land? Or wilt thou flee three months
before thine enemies while they pursue thee? Or that or that
there be three days' pestilence in thy land. Now advise and see
what answer I shall return to him that sent me. And David said
unto Gad, I'm in a great strait. Let us fall now into the hand
of the Lord, for his mercies are great. And let me not fall
into the hand of man. David had some wisdom there,
didn't he? David didn't want anything to do with men. He didn't
want to fall into the hand of man. But you know what else?
David didn't want to fall into his own hand. He didn't want
to depend upon the arm of the flesh. He didn't want to fall
into the hand of the enemy. But he didn't want this thing
to be in his own hand either. He didn't want to have to make
the choice. He's not able. David had one plea. He said,
I'm going to cast myself on God. I'm going to cast myself into
the hand of the Lord and let Him do what's right. Because
His mercies are great. I wish right now Right now, you
and I would cast ourselves in the hand of the Lord, because
his mercies are great. Can there be any better news
for sinners than this? Cast yourself upon the hand of
the Lord, because his mercies are great. Oh yes, our sins are
great, but his mercy is greater. His mercy is greater. Later on
in this chapter, if you read it, this is what you'll find.
God sent a plague in the land and the plague stopped on a threshing
floor of a man named Arun. The plague stopped right there.
You know why? Because that's where David made sacrifice. The
plague stopped where the sacrifice was made. You know why God's
mercies are great? You know why God cannot condemn
his people? Because the plague of sin stopped.
Christ's sacrifice was made. Where the sacrifice was made,
where the blood was shed, the plague stopped. God's mercy,
now this is significant that the plague stopped where the
sacrifice was made. You know why God's mercy is great? Not because he says I'm going
to ignore the sin of my people. God's mercy is great because
the sacrifice for sin, Christ's sacrifice for his people blotted
out the sin that made God angry. There's no more fury left in
him. All that's left now for the people of God, all that's
left for his elect, for whom Christ died, is mercy and grace
and love. There's no more anger left. There's
no more anger. The only hope a man or woman
after God's own heart has is this. God's mercy is grace. And I cast myself upon the mercy
of the court. God's mercy is grace. Now, if
you would, look at Psalm 130. Here's the fifth thing. Man after
God's own heart is a forgiven man. It's not just that we're
pious and more orthodox and sin less than others. No, sir, that's
not it at all. A man or a woman after God's
own heart is a forgiven man. Psalm 130, verse 3. If thou,
Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? Now
a believer, man or woman, after God's own heart, we confess our
sin. We know we have no hope in ourselves.
If the Lord would charge me with my sin, if the Lord would mark
me with my iniquities, I'll never stand. I have to perish. I will be damned if God gives
me what I deserve. That's why I'm a real sinner.
If God charges my sin to me, I must be damned. I see that.
That's right. That's just. of a man or woman
after God's own heart is found in verse four. But, but, there
is forgiveness. There is propitiation with thee
that thou mayest be feared. Now this is what I know. I am
all sin. The only thing I can earn from
God is condemnation. But, but, thank God there is
forgiveness with thee. There is forgiveness because
of the sacrifice of Christ. His blood is a propitiation.
His blood is a sin covering that blots out our sin. So God's people
are forgiven because Christ bore my sin on Calvary Street. God's
people are forgiven because Christ took the wrath. He bore the wrath,
the holy, the just, the burning white hot fury of God against
the sin of his people. Christ bore that for me. He died
the death that I deserve. God's elect are forgiven because
of the blood of Christ. His blood has brushed me white
as snow. And that's the only plea, the
only hope that I want. The blood of Christ alone. The
sacrifice of Christ alone. Now would you have forgiveness
for your sin? Would you? Would you have forgiveness for
your sin? Then let me tell you one more
time. Run to Christ. Run to Him. There is forgiveness. Nowhere else, but there is with
him. Now look back at Psalm 32. Here's
the sixth thing. Man or woman after God's own
heart will only claim righteousness imputed. Psalm 32 verse one. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. See, that's why his sin, his
transgression is forgiven. His sin is covered in the blood
of Christ. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not
iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Now the man
after God's own heart has been forgiven of his sin. And the
forgiveness of sin is no small matter. Sin is black. Sin is vile. Sin is offensive
to God. And it's hard to put away sin.
Sin is hard to put away. Now all of us, every one of us
here this morning, we're sinners. We're sinners. Our sin is real
and our sin is great. Note normally. Then how is it
possible that God cannot charge us with our sin? We can't say
we can't do it, can we? How is it possible that God cannot
charge us with our sin? There's just one way. Sin's got
to be put somewhere. Sin's got to be paid for somewhere.
God does not charge His people with their sin because He imputed
their sin to Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ, by
His death as our substitute, paid that sin debt in full. That's
the only way God cannot charge us with our sin. Now again, this
is serious business. It's easy to understand. It is. It's easy to understand. God
took my sin and put it on Christ, and Christ paid for it. That
is not a difficult concept to understand. And if you don't
understand it, it's because you don't want to. That's exactly
right. This is serious, serious business.
God's not play-acting. He's not play-acting with His
people, and He wasn't play-acting with His Son on Calvary's tree.
The word imputes. imputation is an accounting term. That's what it is. It's not like
you pretend this, it's an accounting term. When the Apostle Paul talked
about, I reckon, I reckon that the sufferings of time, this
life, he's using an accounting term. This is something that
is exact. You impute something to your
account because you already put it there. The best example I've
ever come up with, when I used to work at the warehouse, There
were days I would take the, I kept track of the bank account and,
you know, all of our line of credit and so forth. There were
days, I mean, I would impute $100,000 to that account. I mean,
that's just so much money, it's just hard to fathom. $100,000 in one place. And I
would impute $100,000 to our bank account. And that would
pay down our line of credit by $100,000. But I couldn't do that every
day. That just happened about once a month, once or twice a
month. I couldn't do that every day. I could only impute to the
account what was actually deposited in the bank. Otherwise, the ledger
wouldn't balance. Let me tell you this. God's ledger,
God's books, always balance. Always. The Father, we say that
the Father imputed the sin. of His elect to Christ, He imputed
that sin to His Son. You know why? Because He already
made His Son sin for us. That's why He imputed it to Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Son of God, who never did sin,
never did, never wanted to, never committed any sin, He knew no
sin, He did no sin, was made sin. He became guilty of the
sin of God's elect. It became His, rightfully His. And only then did the father
give his son everything that sin deserved. He turned his back
on him. He gave him nothing but his pure
wrath against sin. And then he put him to death
because that's what that sin deserved. At Calvary, the father
did not put an innocent man to death. That would be unjust. God's the just judge. He didn't
put an innocent man to death. He put a guilty man to death.
because it was just and right. The only way God's justice could
be satisfied. Indeed, the father imputed the
righteousness of Christ. He imputed that to them because
they were already made the righteousness of God in him. That's a mouthful, isn't it?
That's a mouthful. The only thing you can say about
that It's that sinner, that man or woman under whom God will
not impute sin because He imputes the righteousness of His Son
to him. The only thing you can say about that person is that's
a blessed person, a blessed man, a blessed woman, blessed by God
Almighty. God does not charge me with my
sin because He put it on His Son and His Son put it away,
paid for it in full. Christ covered the sin of His
people with His precious blood and washed them White as snow. Now that's the gospel. And to
the man or woman after God's own heart, that's not dry doctrine. No, sir. That's all my hope. That's all my hope. And every
single time I hear it, every single time I say it, every single
time I read it, makes me run to Christ. Oh, makes me love
Him, makes me bow before Him in thanksgiving and worship.
None of God's people, the man or woman after God's own heart
will never, this life or the next one, will never get over
that God Almighty would do something so wonderful for somebody as
wretched as me. That fits you, your bill. God's
made you a man or woman after His own heart. Now look at Psalm
131. Man or woman, after God's own
heart, is humble. Psalm 131, verse 1. My heart is not haughty, nor
mine eyes lofty, neither do I exercise myself in great matters or in
things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted
myself as a child that is weaned of his mother. My soul is even
as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord from
henceforth and forever. A man or woman, after God's own
heart, says with David, my heart's not haughty. My eyes are not
lofty. I'm not going to exercise myself in things that are too
high for me. I've got nothing to be proud of. I've got no works,
I've got no faith, I've got nothing that I can be proud of to offer
to God and think God will accept it. The only thing I can do is
humbly bow at His feet and beg Him for mercy and stay right
there. Now, I ask you again, are you
a guilty sinner? Are you a guilty sinner who needs
mercy? Then humbly bow yourself and
beg God to give it to you. A man or woman after God's own
heart is humble. humble before God and humble
before me. Because I've got nothing to be
proud of. David, King David, the man after
God's own heart, he sat before the Ark one day and he said,
Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that you've brought
me here to do? Who am I that you'd be merciful to me? Who
am I that a king should bleed and die for? Why would God choose
me? Why would God be merciful to
me? There's no reason found in me. No reason, that reason is
found in God because God's merciful. And that's the only thing that
a man or woman after God's own heart has to boast in. It's Christ
our Redeemer. Then look back at Psalm 108.
A man after God's own heart is committed. He's a committed man. Psalm 108. Verse one, oh God, my heart is
fixed. I will sing and give praise even
with my glory. David says his heart is fixed,
is fixed on Christ so that he would not and could not leave
Christ. Now that's the man or woman after
God's own heart. God has fixed us, fixed. He has fixed our feet upon the
Lord Jesus Christ so we cannot be moved. A man or woman after
God's own heart, they can't find any other hope. They can't find
any other place to go but Christ, so they're fixed upon Him. A
man or woman after God's own heart is fixed. They're held
safe in the hand of God so that they cannot be plucked out of
His hand. They're fixed. And you know what? They can't jump out either. No,
they're kept safe by the power of God. Now, this is a two way
street. I say we're held in God's hands
so that we can't jump out. And that's true. But this is
also true. Now, God won't let us go. But
by God's grace, the man or woman after God's own heart refuses,
just utterly refuses, to go anywhere but Christ. God holds none of
his people against their will. No, he makes us willing in the
day of his power. And we're fixed on Christ. Remember
that day the Lord finished preaching and the multitude said, this
is a hard saying, who can hear? And all but 12 of them went away.
I mean, this great multitude was whittled down to 12. And
the Lord didn't think, ooh, I better keep these 12, you know, start
building on them again. No. He said, you want to go away? You're free to go. And Peter
said, to whom shall we go? No, we're not going anywhere
else. We're fixed upon thee. There isn't another. who would
save a sinner as vile as me." Now, if you can go somewhere
else, you will. Sooner or later, you will. But
if you're a man or woman after God's own heart, you will never
leave Him because you're fixed on Christ. You want no other
hope. You want no other way of righteousness. You want no other
way of salvation. You want no other Savior. You
want no other preaching other than the preaching of Christ
because you're fixed upon Him. All right, now last. Turn with
me to Psalm 77. I don't know how long I've preached. I hope I haven't preached too
long. But now, stay with me. Stay with me. Gloria Cesar Roach
used to say, this is something you can put in your lunch bucket
and take to work with you. Take with you back out in the
world tomorrow. The man or woman, after God's
own heart, is troubled. yet trusting. Troubled, yet trusting. I've given you these eight other
descriptions from God's Word, the man after God's own heart.
And they're all blessings, aren't they? They're blessings. But
I don't want to leave you with the mistaken impression that
a man or a woman after God's own heart is going to live a
life of ease that's all blessing, that's all sunshine, all the
time. Because that's not true. That's
not true. I tell you, I try to show you
and say to you in every message, you come to Christ. You come
to Christ. I want to tell you something.
The moment you do, that's when your troubles will stop. Before you come to Christ, before
God saves you, you just got one nature. There's no fighting. There's no real fighting against
sin going on inside of you. The moment you come to Christ,
there's going to be a warfare and it's going to keep on going
inside of you until the day you lay this flesh down. Not so,
but you come to Christ. Now you come to Christ. Our Lord
promised us in this world, you're going to suffer trials and tribulation
from about and within. The man after God's own heart
is troubled. Oh, he's troubled. He's tried. He's in, he's in,
trouble and tribulation, yet he's trusted. Look what David
says here. Psalm 77 verse one. I cried unto God with my voice,
even unto God with my voice. Oh, and he gave ear unto me. You cry unto God. He hears. In
the day of my trouble, I sought the Lord. My sore ran in the
night and ceased not. My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God and was troubled.
I complained. I complained. And my spirit was
overwhelmed. Thou holdest mine eyes, waking.
I am so troubled that I cannot speak." Now that's a troubled
believer. Can you identify? Those troubles are real. I mean, they're real. They hurt.
It makes it so we can't sleep at night. You just toss and turn,
you're so troubled you cannot sleep. That's a troubled believer. But now here's our comfort. It's
trusting in the Lord. Verse 5, David says, I considered
the days of old, the years of ancient times. I called to remembrance
my song in the night. I communed with mine own heart,
and my spirit made diligent search. See, here's the heart that God
gives. It remembers God. I remember his works of old.
And this is my comfort. God hadn't changed. God hadn't
changed. I remember how he delivered his
people in the past. God hadn't changed. He's going
to deliver his people the same way again. God's comforted his
people in the past with his presence. God hadn't changed. He's still
going to comfort his people. My heart, when I remember God,
that's what makes me rejoice. My fleshly circumstances hadn't
changed. But I rejoice because now I'm
not just thinking about my troubles. I remember God and I rejoice
in him. And I rejoice in some things
that God will do. I rejoice in some things God
will not do. Look at verse seven. Will the Lord cast off forever?
Will he be favorable no more? Now I know better than that.
I know better than that. God will never cast off his people,
which he foreknew. Never. It may seem to me that
I can't see Him right now. It may seem to me He's not holding
me right now, but He is. God will never cast off His people.
Verse 8. Is His mercy clean gone forever?
Did His promise fail forevermore? Did God forget to fulfill His
promise to me? Did God forget and let His mercy
run out? No. No, I know better than that.
I know better than that. God is rich in mercy. His mercy will
never run out. And when you're in that time
of darkness, and you don't understand, and
it seems like God's mercy, it's just not comforting your body,
your soul, your trouble. You just go to God's Word and
find His promise. Just find any of them. Hang on
to it for all you're worth. God's going to keep His promise.
Beg and plead his promise. His promise is not going to fail.
In verse 9, has God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger
shut up his tender mercies? No. No, I know better than that. God will never take away his
tender mercies from his people. God will never pour out his anger
upon his people. Never. Never. Never. Because he already poured it
out in Christ our substitute. So here's the trusting heart,
the man that's after God's own heart, verse 11. I will remember
the works of the Lord. I'm not gonna plead my works,
I will remember the works of the Lord. Surely I will remember
thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy
work and talk of thy doings. Now, here's comfort. We can,
for God's people, we can talk of all God's doings, all his
wonders that he's set forth before us. But now our comfort's found
here. Our comfort's found here. Did
you notice that David said, I'll meditate also of thy work. He's not talking now about all
of God's works. His different works in providence
and those kinds of things. David here is talking about God's
greatest work. His work of the redemption of
His people. His work of redeeming and saving a sinner like me. Now that's my comfort. That's
my comfort. My comfort comes from God's work,
singular, His work of redemption. My comfort is this, and anybody
who's a person, man or woman, after God's own heart will say,
this is my comfort. It's salvation, in, by, and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe in all of God's doings,
maybe, whatever the trial is, maybe it's a sickness, Maybe
God will heal me. I know He's able. I know He's
able. Don't know if He will, because He hasn't promised that.
He hasn't promised healing from every sickness. He hasn't promised
deliverance from every trial. Fox's Book of Martyrs is full
of people that tell you about that. I know He's able. I know
He's able. But here's my comfort. It's salvation in, by, and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. Our comfort is this, I can always
come to Christ for mercy and for grace. Always. Now what's stopping you from
coming to him? What's stopping you? It's not
your sin. No, Christ came to save sinners.
It's not your sin. It's your self-righteousness.
It's you think you don't need him. It's you think there's some
hope found some other place. That's what's stopping you. Then
humble yourself. That's bad being haughty. Humble
yourself. And come to Christ begging for mercy. A man or woman after God's own
heart is going to do just that. Let's bow together in prayer. Our Father, oh, how we thank
you for your mercy and your grace to your people. How we thank
you that by the power of your mercy, the power of your grace,
through the power of the sacrifice of your son, that you've made
your people, men and women, after your own heart. What mercy and
grace. Father, we thank you. And Father,
I beg of thee that you'd bless your word as it's been preached
this morning. Father, show us your glory. Take your word and send it forth
in power to give life to dead sinners, to draw us to Christ,
to comfort the hearts of your people who are in times of great
difficulty. Father, show us your glory through
the redemption that's in our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, bless
us as we go back out into the world. Father, don't let us be
as stony ground hearers where the word preached is plucked
from us so easily by the cares of this life. But Father, let
us set our affection, let us be fixed upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. For it's in his blessed name
that we pray and give thanks. Amen. You're dismissed.