New Year - New You

Opening

Happy New Year! It is the time that we are changing our greeting from Merry Christmas to Happy New Year.

“Happy” is a funny word is it not? It is kind of hollow, empty & trivial yet we hang so much on it. It is defined by favored, luck or fortune : (FORTUNATE, notably fitting, effective, or well adapted : FELICITOUS, enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment.)

Yet being “happy” is quite different than being satisfied and content. As we look at the soon coming new year and contemplate what it is that would make us satisfied and content how do we measure accuratey what it is that brings man satisfaction.

Today we will look at ancient King David as a model of contentment and satisfaction. Examine your life next to the standard of the King. If you find yourself lacking make 2008 the year you “put on” the example of David.

Opening Text

Acts 13:20-22All this took about 450 years. “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

After God had removed Saul from the kingship, He raised up David to be their king. In sharp contrast to Saul, David was obedient, so much so thatconcerning him God testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’

Some may question the designation of David as a man after God’s heart. After all, he was guilty of cowardice (1 Sam. 21:10–22:1), adultery (2 Sam. 11:1–4), and murder (2 Sam. 12:9).

To be sure he sinned and sinned grievously, and he paid dearly for his failures. But what matters especially is what he did about his sins.

A man after God’s heart, however, is not a perfect man. He is a man who sees his sin for what it is and repents of it. That David did (Pss. 32, 38, 51); divine chastening had a perfecting work.

David may justly be termed a man after God’s heart because (unlike Saul) his greatest desire came to be the doing of God’s will.

Sermon

 INTRODUCTION

 <>1.Acts 13:22‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do. (cf. 1 Sam 13:13-14)

 We begin, then, by noticing that...

 <>I.A."OH, HOW I LOVE YOUR LAW!"

Psalm 119:97 O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

 <>1.Psalm 119:47-48for I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.

 <>2.a.It protects him from sin - Psa 119:11

Psalm 119:11I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

 <>b.It revives him in affliction - Psa 119:50

Psalm 119:50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

 <>c.It gives him great peace of mind - Psa 119:165

Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

 <>B.JESUS LOVED THE WORD OF GOD...

 <>1.2.Matthew 4:4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:7Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Matthew 4:10Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

 <>C.1.Do we "hide" it in our heart?

 <>2.Do we find it to be a source of comfort in times of affliction?

 <>3.Does it give us peace of mind?

 <>4.Psalm 1:1-3Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way ofsinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

 <>a.b[We next see that...]

 <>II.DAVID LOVED TO PRAY

 <>A. Psalm 116:1-2I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

 <>1.2.Psalm 116:12-13How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.

 <>3.Psalm 145:18The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

 <>B.1.Luke 5:16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

 <>2.a.Matthew 26:36-44Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

 HOW IS OUR LOVE FOR PRAYER?

 <>1. Philippians 4:6-7Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 <>2.1 Thessalonians 5:17pray continually;

 <>3.Psalm 32:6-7Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

 [In addition to the Word of God and prayer...]

 <>III.A."SEVEN TIMES A DAY I PRAISE YOU" - Psa 119:164

Psalm 119:164Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.

 <>1.2.Psalm 95:1-7Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, <>3.Psalm 104:33I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

 <>B.1.Matthew 11:25-26At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

 <>2.Matthew 26:30When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 <>C.DO WE LOVE TO PRAISE GOD?

 <>1.Do we delight in singing praises to God in song?

 <>2.Do we take time to praise God in our prayers?

 <>3.Once again, David has words to encourage us in this activity

Psalm 147:1Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

 Thus it is becoming for those who profess to be children of God to praise their Heavenly Father!

 [We note also that...]

 <>IV.DAVID LOVED UNITYAMONG BRETHREN

Psalm 133:1A song of ascents. Of David. How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

 <>A.JESUS LOVED UNITY ALSO...

 <>B.DO WE LOVE UNITY ENOUGH TO PAY THE PRICE?

 <>1.Ephesians 4:1-3As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

 <>2.Romans 16:17I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.

 [Finally, we note that...]

 <>V.DAVID HATED EVERY FALSEWAY

 <>A. Psalm 119:104I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

 <>1.Psalm 119:104I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

 <>2.Psalm 101:3-4I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me. Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.

Psalm 101:6-7My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me. No one who practices deceit will dwell

in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.

 <>B.1.Matthew 21:12-13Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’”

<>2.C.WHAT IS OUR ATTITUDE TOWARD FALSE WAYS?

 <>1.2. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

 <>3.1.In closing, we note that it was said concerning David that he was one "...who will do all My will." - Ac 13:22

 <>a.Because he was "a man after God's own heart" and had all these attributes we have considered in this lesson...

 <>b.2.a. John 4:34“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Matthew 26:42He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

 <>b.Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Ending Illustration

 God gave both of these kings opportunities to lead Israel, but in the end they walked down different paths—Saul away from God and David toward Him. Saul’s heart was unresponsive to God’s will, while David’s was devoted to obedience. They were like two different musicians, one who sits down at a piano and plunks on it, here a little, there a little (everyone can play “chopsticks”!) and the other who sits for hours at a time, a disciplined, faithful, and dedicated student. The first creates immature irregular, discordant sounds that fade away, while the other learns, grows, excels, and lifts the hearts and souls of others as he fine-tunes himself to the Almighty. Saul’s song—his walk with the Lord—was impulsive, transitory, and undeveloped. BDavid, the sweet psalmist of Israel, offered up to God the purest of melodies of devoted love and committed obedience. Truly, his was a heart after God!