by Pastor Ricky Kurth
Did
you ever wonder how God could call David “a man after His own heart” (I Samuel
13:14)? True, He called him that before his horrific infractions
of adultery and murder. But even after his death, God said of him that he
did “keep My statutes and My commandments” (I Kings 3:14). How can this
be?
Well,
to begin with, compare how Balaam was able to say of God that “He hath not
beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in
Israel” (Numbers. 23:21). This, of course, was because the Jews could say that
“as far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our
transgressions from us” (Psalms 103:12), and Isaiah could pray with
confidence, “Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back” (Isaih 38:17).
Similarly, God was able to turn a blind eye to David’s sins, knowing that
Christ would one day pay for them.
But
there has to be more to it for God to be able to call David a man
after His own heart, and I believe there is. You see, when God said of
David that his heart was “perfect with the Lord his God,” He said that in
contrast to Solomon, whose wives “turned away his heart after other gods”
(I Kings 11:4). Despite his great sins, David never fell into idolatry. He
always had a heart for the Lord, and a burning desire to serve Him.
As
a pastor, Christians often ask me how I can think so highly of them
when, in many cases, I have counseled them through their times of sin and
failure, and so I know their deepest shame. I always explain that it is
their heart for the Lord that God looks at, and so I always try to do the
same. I don’t mean to say that those who strive to serve the Lord can do
no wrong in my eyes, but this is very close to being so.
So
it is that while we should always strive to live our lives as perfectly
as God sees us in Christ (Philippiams 3:10-14), if you are beating
yourself up about your past sins and failures, stop it. Remember that “man
looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (I Samuel
16:7), and if God doesn’t behold your iniquity, neither should you.
Finally,
if you are a judgmental Christian, why not learn to look upon others the
way God looks at you, and “receive ye one another, as Christ also
received us to the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).
(A 10 Minute Video)
How
God Saves Men
Believing
Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing
Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read
Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
(A 10 Minute Video)
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this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends
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