After God’s Heart (Part 13)                                                                                                       2009.04.05    Pastor Edward Cheng

Today is Palm Sunday, the day when Jesus enters Jerusalem triumphantly.  Turning to Matt. 21, notice what the people shout in v. 9: “Hosanna to the son of David!”  This statement is probably the most relevant for us this morning.  For the last several months we’ve been on a sermon series on the life of David called After God’s Heart, and today is the last sermon of this series. 

A few highlights from what we’ve learned about being after God’s heart: A person after God’s heart has to know God’s heart in order to imitate him, puts more importance on internal qualities than external qualities, is brave for the Lord, shows integrity, gives thanks, thinks about the things of God, and responds to God’s kindness by reflecting it to others. 

Everything written about David points us to Jesus Christ, coming hundreds of years later.  If you look at 1&2 Samuel as one book, then up till about chapter 40, David is a hero, and then after his sin with Bathsheba come chapters and chapters of family turmoil.  2 Samuel ends with David’s mess-up of numbering his soldiers instead of relying entirely on God’s strength in battle.  Usually if you write a story about a hero, you wouldn’t end the story on a downer, but Samuel does—to point us to someone even better to come. 

Matt. 21:9 says “Hosanna to the son of David,” because Jesus is the one we’ve been pointing to, from the beginning of our series on the life of David.  Jesus, the son of David, is the one who is after God’s heart more than anybody, and he is the example of examples of what it is to be after God’s heart. 

A few examples of this:  We said that being after God’s heart requires knowing God’s heart.   Look at John 17.  How much does Jesus know God’s heart?  He prays, “I gave them the words you gave me” (v. 8), “I have given them your word” (v. 14), “that the world may be believe that you have sent me” (v. 21), “that they may be one as we are one” (v. 22), “I know you” (v. 25).  No one knew the Lord like Jesus.  When Jesus prays for us, he prays, “Lord, let them know you as I know you.  Let them understand the words you gave me.”  We come to know the heart of God through his word, which I would say is more powerful even than experiencing God.  He tells us about himself and his character and heart more powerfully and effectively through his word than perhaps through our going to retreats, or singing, or even evangelism and prayer.  All these things are very spiritual and good, but at the end of the day, God reveals himself through his word, and we get to know him more by spending time in Scripture. 

Secondly, we said that being after God’s heart means being concerned with things of God.  How much is Jesus thinking the things of God?  Jesus prays, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (v. 4), and similarly in vv. 6, 8, 14, 23, and 26 Jesus alludes to the mission that God sent him to do.  Throughout his life he is constantly doing the work of God, not thinking of his own well-being or glory or pride but of the things that are on God’s heart.  We get easily distracted and caught up, but Jesus never loses his cool or his focus. 

Lastly, we talked about responding to God’s kindness by showing kindness.  Jesus is the embodiment of God’s kindness.  John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh…full of grace and truth.”  This word “grace” (charis) is the Greek equivalent of a word we’ve seen before in Hebrew: chesed.  In the person of Jesus is the embodiment of the tremendous love we’ve seen all through the Old Testament, the grace of God shown to David.  How many people throughout Jesus’ ministry called out, “Son of David, help me!”  How many people did Jesus bend down to and touch to show them God’s kindness?  Even to the cross, he showed us God’s kindness.  Read Genesis and make a note of how many times God says to his people, “I’m with you, I’ll never leave you.”  The world does not have or understand this love and kindness that we get to enjoy, and we’re supposed to reflect it and let other people experience it. 

 In Jesus Christ is the embodiment of what it means to be after God’s heart.  David in fact is not our hero, but his example points us to Jesus, who came into the world to show us what it is to be after God’s heart.