A Heart After God’s

INTRODUCTION:

We Have been on a series in the Book of Psalms

Out of the 150 Psalms, David is credited with writing 73 of them — And it’s no surprise because Psalms reflects the heart of a true worshipper

And David is known as “a man after God’s own heart” — this wasn’t a reputation that people gave him — this is what God himself said about David — God had sought out David to become king — specifically because he was a man after His own heart

Transition into objective of sermon

So as we bring our series to an end — We will look at one more Psalm of David — a Psalm that gives us a glimpse at the heart of a man that was after God’s own heart — a Psalm of personal and spiritual reflection — a Psalm filled with many theological truths expressed in intimate worship

And my prayer, as we go through this Psalm is that our own hearts will be as close to God’s the same way that David’s heart was

The title of our message today is A Heart After God’s

The Psalm we will be looking at today is Psalm 139

Let us pray — Show us how to be men and women after your heart

Psalm 139:1–6 “1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

Transition to next point: The first thing we learn from David from this Psalm is that his heart is open to God

1. A Heart Open to God

A. Open your heart to God

If you’re using the NKJV Bible — you may notice a title they added to this chapter that says, “God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man”

And indeed God is omniscient and there is nothing that he does not know about us, even our hidden thoughts and motives

But I believe David’s purpose here is more relational than it is theological — He isn’t writing a lesson about God’s omniscience — he is expressing something to God — He is marveling at how intimately God knows him, while still honoring and reverencing him as the Almighty

Illustration: Have you ever had a friend growing up that was so close to you, they knew everything about you — you would finish each other’s sentences — you could just look at each other and communicate — you knew each other so well that that you weren’t just friends, you were twins — 2 peas in a pod

Now this friend of yours, they were not all knowing, they are not mind readers — but because of your closeness — because you opened your life to them and gave them full access, they were able to know you on a deep personal level — know things and understand things about you, that perhaps no one ever will

And this is what I’m getting when i’m reading these verses from David — He is saying God you know me, you understand me, you get me, even before I say a word you know what I’m gonna say

David isn’t threatened by God’s intimate knowledge of him — He cherishes it, embracing God’s nearness as one does a loved one or a best friend

Engage:

Can you say the same about your relationship with God? Is your heart fully open to him?

A heart after God is a heart open to God — Welcoming Him to have unrestricted access — every thought, every desire, every motive — every fear, every doubt, every hurt — all laid bare before God

This is what David is expressing — He says God you know everything about me, you’re so close to me that you’re got me all wrapped up — In verse 5 he says, “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me”

B. It’s safe with God

Now for those of you who like your space, maybe this feels a little uncomfortable.

David is not saying that God is smothering him or suffocating him — he is describing the safety and security he finds in the presence of God, even in midst of his deepest vulnerabilities. — He is completely safe in God’s hands

Connect:

Because let’s be real — an open heart is a vulnerable heart

And for some of you that friendship we spoke of earlier ended in betrayal — that church you attended before you came here, it ended in hurt — Why? Because, it’s often those closest to you that can hurt you the most — because of the very fact that they know so much about you

And because of that, you build a wall — you say next time, I’m not opening up — and with every hurt, every betrayal, you become more and more closed up to the point that your heart becomes calloused and hardened

And without realizing it, you being to engage with God with same heart posture — It’s not that you don’t want to trust God — you just don’t know what an open heart looks like anymore — you don’t know what it looks like to trust — you don’t know if you can love again

David is reminding us here that — A heart open to God is safe in the hands of God

You don’t have to be afraid — You don’t have to keep coming to God with this religious version of yourself, while concealing all the pain and hurt, and the shame, the flaws and insecurities — Because he already knows — He already knows — and He still wants to be your friend

C. God knows more

David understood something very important about opening up his heart to God — that not only was his heart safe with God, but that it was actually better off in the hands of God

In verse 6 he comes to the realization that God knows him better than he knows himself — Psalm 139:6 “6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

He admits that he can never attain the level of understanding and depth of insight that God has, concerning his own heart

You would think that we would have the ability to know our own heart better — but truth is, we don’t

Illustration: Research and studies in modern psychology have shown that complete self-knowledge is impossible. Reason being that much of our mental life operates outside conscious awareness. We believe we know ourselves better than we actually do because we overestimate the accuracy of introspection.

Isn’t that why we go to psychiatrists and therapist — so they can can help us unpack and process what’s in our minds and hearts

It’s good to be self-conscious, it’s good to be self-aware — But there are matters of the soul that can only be addressed by God — that can only be uncovered by God

And you have to let Him, because God is not going to force his way in — He’s not going to force himself on you — He knows already what’s there, but he’ll still wait for you to invite him in

That is why David prays at the end of this chapter. Psalm 139:23–24 “23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Why would David pray this if God has already searched him and known him — because God doesn’t to force himself on you — That is not His way — He is waiting for you to invite him in — Revelation 3:20 “20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” — He’ll knock, and He’s knocking at your door right now — but you have to let him in

Transition to next point: A heart after God is a heart that is open to God, a heart that does not hold back anything from God, and a heart that trusts God

2. A Heart That Trusts God

Psalm 139:7–12 “7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”

A. Omnipresent God

In the first section, David touched on the all-knowing nature of God — And now in this second section, he highlights the omnipresent nature of God.

Illustration: Each of us here has a cell-phone on us — Whether we realize it not, those cell phones are tracking our every move, and sending that data elsewhere — and how we feel about that, depends on who’s monitoring the data — The same tracking data that we use to share our location with our loved ones — so we can be there for them in case of an emergency — is the same tracking data third-party agents are using for who knows what — So if it’s my family tracking me, it’s good — but if it’s the government tracking me, not so good

So, in a similar way — how you view God, will be how you view His omnipresent nature

You can view Him as the Almighty being who is tracking and monitoring your every move — or you can view Him as your loving and caring Father who is watching over you at all times — It all depends on your relationship to God

The same way that David expressed God’s all knowing nature in a personal and intimate way — he is now describing His omnipresent nature as well

Because, when David says, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” — David is not saying that he has any intentions of running away or hiding from God — No, he is expressing a truth that he has come to love and accept — that God’s presence is always with him, watching over him

A heart after God is a heart that delights in the presence of God

In a way, these 6 verses we just read are expanding on what David said earlier about God having enclosed him (hedging him in)

David’s not saying, everywhere I go, God is in the vicinity — it’s not a distant presence he is talking about

Example: we are all present in this theater — but my proximity to the person sitting all the back is different than someone standing right next me — and it’s even more different if that person came here with me

There are different levels of proximity to the presence of God

Everywhere that David goes, God goes with him — and David is saying, where am I gonna go without you? Why would I ever want to go anywhere without you?

Engage:

Some of us come to church to be in the presence of God — next time bring His presence with you — Take His presence with you

B. Unconditional presence

And then David begins listing all these conditions:

If I go up to heavens … If I go down to the depths … If I rise with the dawn … If I settle in the far side of the sea … If I say that darkness will cover me … life is full of “if’s”

David uses all this poetic language about these different places — but he’s talking about more than geography here — he’s saying, no matter where life takes him — no matter what circumstances he finds himself in — one truth never changes, “God, You are there.”

One season we’re up on the mountaintop — the next we’re down in the valley

One moment we’re moving forward with confidence — the next we’re navigating uncertainty

Sometimes, the road ahead is clear and bright as day — other times it’s so dark we can’t even see where we are, let alone where we’re going

David says, “even the darkness is as light to you” — There is no condition, no season in your life, no direction you can take — which changes the fact that, “God is there !”

C. Even there your hand shall lead me

You see, in the middle of all these “if” statements — is a very important verse — verse 10: Psalm 139:10 “10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” — Even There

David emphasizes, that God is not just a bystander or an entity that is just accompanying him and simply observing — but that God’s presence is actively guiding him and holding him throughout it all

Illustration: I remember growing up, my dad would take us to the beach and he would try to teach me how to swim — he would stand near the shallow end and hold me up with his hands — remained beneath me to hold me if I sank and there even when I was floating — whether I was floating or sinking, my dad’s hand was always there holding me and guiding me

Engage:

Maybe you have gotten so busy trying to stay afloat on your own, trying to tread water in the midst of all the waves that you have forgotten your Father who’s there holding you and guiding you all along

A heart after God is a heart that trusts in God

For David the presence of God meant the presence of his guidance and protection, regardless of where life took him — not someone monitoring his every move

Begin transition to next point:

You see the nearness of God is at the heart of this Psalm — Throughout the passage, David keeps returning to the same truth: God is close, and he cherishes that closeness.

He describes how God knows him internally — and that even externally, God is there guiding him and holding him

And now he brings it all together in this last section — it’s like this is the result of a heart that is after God — what happens when you open your heart and let him him, when you trust him with your life

Transition to next point: The result is a heart that is rooted in God

3. A Heart That is Rooted in God

Psalm 139:13–16 “13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

A. You are a masterpiece

After laying it all bare before God — after opening every part of his life to Him — his thoughts, his actions, his highs and lows — after peeling back layer after layer — David arrives at the very core of his being — the source of his very existence

“For you created my inmost being… ” — He says, “It’s you, God! You made me” — The reason you know everything about me is because you designed me — the reason you laid your upon me is because you are the one that knit me together

Think about that for a minute — David is saying that he was hand-made by God with the finest detail and precision

Illustration: The most valued artwork of all time is Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, which holds the record as the most expensive art ever sold at $450.3 million. He is also the one that painted the Mona Lisa, which sit at the Louvre museum in Paris, and although it has never been sold, many expert value it as the most valuable artwork ever made.

Isn’t it amazing how much we can value one person’s painting

Engage:

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? How do you estimate your worth?

Illustration: And we can’t bring up art without mentioning Michelangelo's sculpture of David himself — one of the most famous objects in the history of art.

When Michelangelo was commissioned to create that statue — He was offered a colossal block of marble which had been previously worked by two other artists — Both artists had abandoned their work after noticing imperfections in the marble's grain, but despite these flaws, Michelangelo chiseled that marble and created a masterpiece

Engage:

So I’m going to ask you again, When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Do you see your flaws? Do you see someone that has been rejected by others?

I tell you what David saw, he saw a masterpiece — He says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well”

David is not praising himself here — he is praising God — The reason the Mona Lisa is so valuable is not because of the canvas it was painted or the paint that was used — it’s because of the artist that painted it — the worth comes from the creator — not from what he created. — the masterpiece was always in the marble, it just needed the hands of a true master

You are a masterpiece — not because of yourself — but because of God who created you

You are a masterpiece, despite your flaws and imperfections, because God’s not done with you yet

And if you can’t see that, then you are looking at the wrong mirror

Ephesians 2:10 “10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

B. Rooted in God

And I assure you, that David is not talking about his physical appearance, or accomplishments, or status here — no he’s reaching for something much deeper

You know, as I’m reading this Psalm, it’s almost as if it belongs in the New Testament — David had such a remarkable revelation of God — Long before the cross, he understood truths that point us straight to the heart of the gospel.

What David saw was an identity within himself that was beyond himself.

To be honest, this Psalm touches on so many rich theological truths that we can spend weeks unpacking — God’s omniscience, His omnipresence, the sanctity of life, creation, and even themes like God’s foreknowledge and sovereign purpose.

But I don’t want us to lose sight of what David is actually doing — He isn’t writing a theology textbook — He is worshipping!

He’s pouring out his heart to God — and after reflecting on how intimately God knows him, how faithfully God is with him, and how wonderfully God made him, his response is simply: “I praise You!”

David may not understand everything about himself — especially not to the level that God does — but one thing he does know well is that God is the one that made him — and that, is what his identity is rooted in — “I praise You, because I am, fearfully and wonderfully made, by God”

A heart after God is a heart whose identity is rooted in God

C. Identity in Christ

David goes on to say, Psalm 139:15–16 “15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Do you hear this?

I don’t know what more mind-blowing, the fact that God thought of me before I ever came to be — or the fact that my story is written in his book

What does this mean? This is so deep, what is David talking about?

What this means is that I don’t have spend my life trying to write my own story, or create my own legacy — God already has a plan for my life — Because He made me! I don’t even have to try to discover myself — I have to discover Him!

Engage:

Listen to me — There may be things about yourself that you don’t understand — You may wrestle with questions of identity, purpose, or why God made you the way He did — Those are real questions, and they’re questions every person asks at some point in life.

But the answer to all those questions can only be found in Christ — If He is the One who formed you — if He is the One who wrote your story — and if He is the One who gave you purpose — then only He can reveal who you are created to be.

If you want to understand the design, you have to know the Designer

Transition to end: At the end of the day — a heart after God’s own heart — simply means a heart that is close to God’s heart

REVIEW: Objective and rationale

Close because we have laid it wide open for Him to fellowship with us as a best friend — a friend that knows us better than we know ourselves — that can guide us and protect us in the midst of all our vulnerabilities

Close because we long for the presence of God no matter where life takes — and trust that He will continuously draw near unto us — and be there for us when we need him

Close because our identity is no longer rooted in our own selves or what others have said about us— but rooted in the One that perfects us — who made us into a new creation in the finished work of Jesus Christ

PRAYER:

Salvation call

Dear God,

I confess that I’m a sinner,

and I ask for your forgiveness.

I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

I believe that You raised him from the dead

From this day forward,

I surrender my life,

I surrender my will

to Jesus Christ

I pray this in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

If you prayed that prayer for the first time: Text LIVING to 94000