17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51:17

The Greeks invented their gods as perfect humans who could sin – perfect in physical form but with imperfect, many times even base and wicked, souls, and of course, no spirits. This worship of man evolved over 2500 years in western culture into what we refer to today as secular humanism and is still the basic underlying religion of secular man. We see it in advertising, in ‘self-help’ seminars and books – ‘Be Your Best Self’ ‘YOU can do it!’ ‘Have YOUR best Life now!’ We see it in science and philosophy, with theories of evolution – YOU are becoming better, soon to be a ‘god’! – and infanticide and abortion – the woman, the goddess, has the power of death and life! All homosexuality is about self-worship, the worship of the guy in the mirror.

We hear and see the same ideas in churches – ‘tithing can make YOU rich!’ ‘Get YOUR personal prophecy today.’ Even in churches like the famed Sistine Chapel, Michaelangelo portrayed God the Father as a man. Secular humanism, the worship of man, is the royal road to destruction and misery, and ultimately to hell.

But our God who is Spirit, is ANALOGIZED as a royal Lion and a perfect, spotless Lamb, not as a man. Jesus came from Heaven and was born as a man but He never allowed Himself to be worshipped, beyond the cultural respect of any rabbi. Of course, all that changed after the Ascension, and in the book of Revelation the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are worshipped. “Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” Rev. 5:13KJV

9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Ps 119:9-11 KJV

Who do we worship? What do we worship? What is really at the heart of our worship, what we pronounce, what we affirm, what we say and stand for? When we allow the Lord through His Spirit and His word to transform the root of our hearts then we become like David, men and women who are after God’s own heart!

…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. Acts 13:22 KJV

David is one of the great studies in the Word. There are two separate records of his life, in Samuel and in Chronicles, and then there are the psalms that he wrote by revelation. My friend pastor Paul pointed out that David, who had several huge sins, and egregious mistakes, nevertheless never stopped worshipping the true God. What made David ‘David the King’? Why do some people get rich, powerful, successful and others who might seem, or actually be, more godly, have less or little success? EVERYONE has strengths and weaknesses. When a person’s strengths intersect with opportunity then that person has a moment that can change their lives. You see this all the time in Scripture, in history and in your life and the lives of those around you. But natural ability can only get you so far…so what transformed David?

David was ordained – anointed with oil – three times. David was probably the bastard son of Jesse, as Johnny Enlow pointed out to us this last year in the Valley of Eilah. He had incredible natural ability. Before he ever slew Goliath, before he was first anointed by Samuel, he slew a lion and a bear as a shepherd. In the Maasai tribe in southern Kenya, a young man must slay a lion as an initiation into manhood. Many of them don’t survive the encounter. David slew a lion AND a bear, and not with a 30.06 rifle, but with a sling and perhaps a sword, hand to hand combat to the death with wild animals. Talk about courage! There were no hospitals available to clean his wounds or save his life if he sustained them. Incredible…natural…ability. He had such ability that he was the LEADER of ‘mighty men’ who had incredible ability in themselves. That doesn’t ‘just happen;’ it had to be earned! Jesus described people who were thirty, sixty and hundredfold people, implying that people received according to their capabilities, which were different in each one. David had great capability; but that didn’t make him a man after God’s own heart.

Is there one incident that we can point to that lifted David to that level? I think there is, and it involved Nathan the prophet. Are you with me?

There are millions of people who have become kings, sultans, CEOs, presidents, bosses, lords and ladies over the centuries. But what test did David pass that allowed him to be referred to as THE king of Israel, a man after God’s own heart? What test qualified him to be the king of Israel even during the coming millennial reign of Christ? It wasn’t about the numbering of Israel – big mistake – or about Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah – lots of these ‘big ones’ are adulterers and murderers – but about what God did in response to that sin through Nathan the prophet, and how David responded to it.

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Matt 19:21-22 KJV

I believe that in every one of our lives at a critical point God confronts us with a challenge to go up higher, or not. At that point we are at a crossroads – we have a crucial choice: greatness or mediocrity. The price of ‘going up higher’ may be the loss of all that we hold dear, but God calls us anyways. Without going into details, I saw something on this trip that allowed the Lord to say to me, “I must continually work to protect my men from scandal.” We have a clear choice, to go up higher or to go down lower, because, as physics teaches us – the second law of thermodynamics – NOTHING ever stays ‘the same.’ David had such a crucial choice in the confrontation with Nathan. It’s a great record…

27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

12:1 And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. 2 Sam 11:27-12:1 KJV

Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Your true friends are the ones who will tell you when you are wrong. Nathan is brilliant in how he conveys the reproof to David. The humility, wisdom, boldness and love that Nathan walks in here blesses my soul, because David could have killed him. But David got transformed, and so did Nathan.

And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

5 And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:

6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.2 Sam 12:1-6 KJV

David has fallen for Nathans story, and as we Americans say, put his whole foot in his mouth. He is snared in Nathans godly snare…

 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.

David is stunned. The tension in the room goes up about one hundred degrees. Nathan raises his voice and really lays into him! Nathan is in MAN OF GOD mode…

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

8 And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 2 Sam 12:7-12 KJV

When Nathan is done, he is still silently furious. Under the anointing the man of God feels like he is ten feet tall, and nothing can touch him – and nothing can! The room is absolutely still. David’s guards, who knew everything, remain silent but watch David expectantly. Their eyes will record every detail of this scene for the rest of their lives…

The challenge to David’s pride, the gauntlet has been thrown down. How will he respond? Will he be honest and accept full responsibility or will he make excuses? Will he claim racism or blame Joab, Bathsheba or Uriah? Go up higher or crash and burn? I believe this was the crucial moment in David’s kingship.

And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. 2 Sam 12:13 KJV

Full stop! No explanation, no rationalization, no excuses. The RHEMA of God, like a fiery sword pierces through all of David’s defenses, lays his soul bare, and he responds like a champion. In the fiery heat of confrontation David decides to go up higher. Holy Spirit gives him a psalm to write about it…

1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

4 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.

5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. Psalm 51:1-19 KJV

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite spirit. David had many wounds that set him up to do the wicked things he did – his bastard upbringing, the rejection of his father, the rejection of Saul and others, and many other wounds. He rationalized the murder of Uriah, the rape of Bathsheba and conception of his child. But when David was confronted by the Holy Spirit through Nathan, truth prevailed in him and he responded like a prince of God.

Every day we are challenged, but there are times in our lives when the whole course of our history and those we influence are set on the course of what we decide in that moment. Then the question becomes, are we willing to pay the price to validate that decision? Had David chosen any other response than what he did he would not have been a man after God’s own heart. How will you and I respond when the Lord confronts us, and demands we come up higher? Will we walk away sad like the young man, a rich young ruler or will we respond like a champion like David? Your future, and the future of all you could influence, hangs in the balance. Choose wisely. Love you, dear one!

Remember dear one, we must be about our Father’s business…