King of Hearts, Part 2: The Heart Monitor
⌥ Type: Sunday Morning Service
🎬 Series: King of Hearts
⛪ Sermon: Part 1 - A Heart After God
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Tom Van Kempen
📜 Description: God testified that David was a man after His own heart — not because David was perfect, but because of the posture of his heart: humble, repentant, and hungry for God. The heart, defined as the center of our thinking, emotions, and will, is what God sees past every polished image and social media filter to examine. Just as David kept his heart in sync with God through honesty, quick repentance, and wholehearted worship, we are invited to stop managing our image and start aligning our hearts with God's.
ℹ️ Tip: The video is set to start at the beginning of the sermon, but you can scrub the playhead to any part of the service. ℹ️
Additional Info
The info below was generated by an AI from the audio recording of the sermon.
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Use the questions listed below as a launching point to discuss the sermon points together as a family. These are great for dinner table discussions and small groups.
Welcome & opening (5 min)
Greet everyone and open with a brief prayer. Ask: If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be? Now — do you think God would use the same three words?
Ice breaker (5 min)
Share a time when you — or someone you know — was seriously underestimated. What happened?
Core passage: 1 Samuel 16:1–13 (5 min)
Read the passage aloud together, then briefly recap the story for anyone unfamiliar.
Discussion questions (25 min)
Fear and vision: Samuel was afraid to obey God because of Saul. What fears most often keep you from moving forward when you sense God calling you to something new? (See 2 Timothy 1:7)
Outward vs. inward: God told Samuel, "The Lord does not see as man sees — man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). Where in your own life do you catch yourself judging — others or yourself — primarily by outward things?
The overlooked: David was left in the field — not even invited to the gathering. Have you ever felt like the person God passed over? How does David's story speak into that feeling?
The field: Four things shape a heart in the ordinary, hidden places — faithfulness in small tasks, humility in obscurity, dependency in isolation, and patience in waiting. Which of these four is God developing in you right now? Which one is hardest?
God's vision: Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no revelation from God, people wander. What does it look like practically to stay connected to what God says so that you have direction?
Bible verses referenced
1 Samuel 16:1–13
Acts 13:22
Isaiah 6
Proverbs 29:18
Romans 10:17
2 Timothy 1:7
Luke 16:10
1 Corinthians 1:26–27
Psalm 78:70–72
Action step
This week, identify one ordinary, "menial" responsibility in your life that you have been tempted to resent or overlook — and choose to do it with full faithfulness, as if God himself assigned it to you. At your next gathering, share what shifted.
Close in prayer (5 min)
Invite group members to pray for one another, especially for anyone in a season of waiting, obscurity, or fear.
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1 Samuel 16:1–13 — The anointing of David
First Samuel was written during a pivotal transition in Israelite history — the shift from a loosely governed tribal confederation, led by judges and prophets, to a centralized monarchy. The people had demanded a king "like the other nations" (1 Samuel 8:5), and God gave them Saul — who eventually proved unfaithful. By chapter 16, God has already rejected Saul and is setting a new course.
Samuel's role as prophet was unique in ancient Israel. He was not merely a religious figure — he functioned as the primary bridge between God and the nation's political leadership. His anointing of a new king without Saul's knowledge was genuinely dangerous; it was an act that could have been interpreted as treason. This explains Samuel's very real fear in verse 2.
The choice of Bethlehem is significant. It was a small, rural town in the hill country of Judah — not a power center. Jesse's household was respectable but unremarkable. The eldest son, Eliab, would have been the expected choice by ancient Near Eastern custom: in virtually every surrounding culture, the firstborn son received the inheritance, the status, and the leadership role. God's consistent pattern of bypassing the firstborn — seen also with Jacob and Esau, and with Joseph among his brothers — was a deliberate subversion of cultural expectation.
The Hebrew word used in verse 11 to describe David is often translated "youngest," but it more precisely means "smallest" or "least." This is not merely an age designation — it reflects his social standing within the family. Shepherding was considered low-status work, suited to those who could not yet be trusted with more significant responsibilities. David's placement in the field during a significant family gathering was not incidental — it reflected how his own family saw him.
God's declaration in verse 7 — "the Lord looks at the heart" — would have landed as a radical statement in a culture where honor, status, and worth were almost entirely tied to lineage, age, and physical strength. The anointing of David planted the seed of a kingship that would not be realized for years, demonstrating God's long-range perspective in contrast to human short-sightedness.
Psalm 78:70–72 — David the shepherd-king
Psalm 78 is a long historical psalm tracing God's faithfulness through Israel's repeated unfaithfulness. Its closing verses about David were written looking backward — celebrating how God chose an unknown shepherd boy and shaped him into a leader of remarkable integrity. The Hebrew word for integrity used in verse 72 (tom) carries the sense of wholeness or completeness. It describes not moral perfection, but a consistent, undivided orientation of the heart toward God — which is why even David's well-documented failures do not disqualify the description.
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Big idea
God doesn't care how you look on the outside — he cares about your heart on the inside.
Key verse
"The Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." — 1 Samuel 16:7
Introduction (5 min)
Hold up two boxes or bags — one wrapped beautifully with ribbon, one plain brown paper. Ask the kids: "Which one do you think has the best thing inside?" Let them guess, then reveal that the plain one has something amazing inside (a treat, a toy, something fun) and the fancy one is empty — or has a rock in it. Say: "That's exactly what God told us — what's on the outside doesn't tell you what's on the inside!"
Scripture (5 min)
Tell the story of 1 Samuel 16 in your own words, simply:
God told the prophet Samuel to go find the next king of Israel at a man named Jesse's house. Jesse brought out all his big, strong, tall sons — and Samuel thought surely one of THEM must be the king! But God said no every time. Finally, Samuel asked, "Is there anyone else?" Jesse said, "Well... there's my youngest. He's out in the field taking care of the sheep. Nobody thought to invite him." When David walked in, God said — THAT'S MY GUY. Not because David was the biggest or the strongest. But because God could see his heart, and it was a heart that loved God.
Craft (10 min) — "My heart for God" card
Supplies: Construction paper, scissors, markers, stickers
Have kids cut out a large heart shape. On the outside they draw what people see when they look at them (hair, eyes, clothes, etc.). On the inside they write or draw things about their heart — things they love, ways they want to be kind, how they feel about God. Share and celebrate each one.
Volunteer tip: For younger kids, pre-cut the hearts. For older kids, encourage them to be specific — "I love my little sister" or "I want to be brave."
Game (10 min) — "What's on the inside?"
Fill several identical paper bags or cups with different objects — one has cotton balls (soft and light), one has pebbles (heavy), one has something that rattles, etc. Kids take turns shaking, squeezing, or listening to the bag without looking inside. They guess what's inside based on what they can sense — but NOT see. After guessing, reveal the contents. Debrief: "It's hard to know what's inside something just from looking at the outside, right? God can always tell what's really in our hearts."
Discussion questions (5 min)
Have you ever been left out of something? How did it feel? (Connect to David being left in the field.)
What does it mean to have a good heart? What does that look like every day?
If God can see your heart right now, what do you think he sees?
What's one thing you want God to see in your heart this week?
Wrap-up prayer (5 min)
Have kids repeat after you, phrase by phrase:
God, thank you that you see my heart. I want my heart to love you. Help me be kind and brave and honest — even when no one is looking. I want to be like David — someone who loves you every day. Amen.
Volunteer tip: Give each child a small heart sticker to put on their hand as a reminder this week: "God sees my heart."
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Good morning.
Welcome to our summer series. entitled King of Hearts.
As I was listening in praise and worship today, I think the overriding sense that I got is that God is holy.
Who can say amen?
I I I sensed his holiness.
I felt his holiness.
On Wednesday night, we actually declared that if you have not been transformed in some way, shape, or form, you really haven't worshipped God.
And while I was standing there, I I I sensed my humanity in that moment.
And it scared me, to be quite honest.
I felt like I was having an Isaiah chapter 6 moment when Isaiah said, Woe is me!
Because I'm a man with unclean lips.
And immediately an angel came with a coal and it touched his tongue.
Father God, would you help me in this moment, Father God?
Bring a coal from the heavens above and touch my tongue. tongue so that what I speak is anointed today I pray in Jesus holy and precious name and together everyone says amen Wow, we're having church today.
Are you guys ready?
I'm I'm kind of in enjoying it just a little bit.
Um I j just so you know, the doctor's in the house Oh, you don't know what I mean?
I'm talking about Pastor Tom.
I have my stethoscope right here.
How many of you have gone to the doctor within the last six months?
Let me see your hands.
You've been to the doctor in a lot We have an old people's church, don't we?
I I mean I I I've noticed I just turned 65.
I'm going to the doctor like every other day now Something hurts, something doesn't feel right.
And when I go to the doctor and I say I've got this back pain, I hate when he walks through the door and he pulls this thing out right here He sticks it in his ears and he puts it up on my left lung and he says, take a deep breath.
And I'm like, I came in for a backache.
I came in because I stubbed my toe this week.
But instead he's checking on what's on the inside, not what's on the outside.
What's interesting is I'm in there and and I want to make sure that I look good in the morning, you know?
And so I'm I'm doing my hair.
Robin just recently uh cut my hair and and and I'm amazed because I it won't fall down back here.
And so I'm gonna be going to the doctor in a week or two and I'm sure I'm gonna be spitting it you know, licking on my hands and trying to get that thing down.
I got a cow lick or something like that.
When I walk into the doctor's office I'm gonna look in the mirror, everything look good They're not going to ask me if my clothes are looking good.
They're not going to care about if I brush my teeth that morning.
All they care about, well, they might care.
You're right.
They might care if I brush my teeth.
What they're going to be looking at is what is going on in the inside.
Now when I said the doctor's in the house, I really meant the great physician who can say amen.
Because God is always with us.
And he's not here also like a doctor today Check what's going on on the outside.
He's here to check on your heart because God is the ultimate heart monitor.
Doctors have stethoscopes, doctors have heart monitors, you can go do a stress test or a run test, and they will monitor the physical heart.
But God monitors what's really, really important.
And so today we're going to introduce you in Scripture to where David is First mentioned.
He's first mentioned in First Samuel chapter 16.
We talked about uh Acts chapter 13 last week and that David was a man after God's own heart.
And I actually Actually had people come up to me and say, Pastor, I'm so glad you're gonna be teaching on this because I don't even like David.
And I'm like, really?
And they're like, yeah, he did this wrong, he did this wrong, he did this wrong.
How can he be a man after God's own heart?
You know what's funny is while we were in praise and worship and Pastor Ben was singing, this is my Story, this is my song, praising my savior all the day long.
I'm thinking David is everybody's story.
David is your story.
David is my story.
There's a psalm.
There's a a biographical story.
There's a moment.
There's an experience that matches almost every single person in the world.
And he still had a heart after God.
Who can say amen?
And so when we look at the first couple of verses in 1 Samuel chapter 16, it mentions Samuel.
David's story begins by confronting the prophet.
This is God.
Now the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul?
So we know from the end of chapter 15 to chapter 16 that an extended period of time has taken place.
Months, maybe even longer than that, maybe it could have been a year, maybe it could have been two years, a long period of time has transcended.
And Saul has been pouting.
Saul has been moping.
Saul has been in himself and not even looking at the ministry that God had placed upon him.
So he says, how long have you been mourning for Saul?
Seeing, say see.
See.
Say see.
This message is about seeing the same things God sees Wouldn't that be amazing if you saw what God saw?
If you knew what God knew, if if the vision that He has for your life, you could see it plain and simple, if the hearts of other people you could discern.
And not have to guess?
Well, he says, seeing, I've rejected him from reigning over Israel.
In other words, I uh this guy's yesterday's news.
And you're still pouting about the past.
Fill your horn with oil and go.
I'm sending you to Jesse, the guy from Bethlehem, for I have provided myself a king among his sons.
And Samuel said, How can I go, if Saul hears it, he will kill me.
Wow.
The truth is exposed in the very second verse.
This has nothing to do with Saul.
This has nothing to do with grief.
This has to do with Samuel fearing for his own life.
For some reason he believes that his day is over.
For some reason he believes that the Refusal of God to continue to anoint Saul means that he's no longer a prophet or anointed.
We don't know why he's thinking this, but we understand that he's paralyzed by fear.
And so our first point today is simply this.
God wants you to guard your heart against fear.
Who can say amen?
Some of us get up every morning and we rebuke the spirit of fear.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Spirit of Fear, get out of here.
And then we choose to turn on 24-hour news.
And watch it moment after moment throughout the day, and we wonder why we're a little scared Garbage in, garbage out.
Make sure you're filling yourself up with things that build your faith.
Who can say amen?
I mean, every day it's something new.
Or I shouldn't even say that.
It's really the same old, same old day after day.
And what I mean by that is how many super bugs have there been that are gonna wipe out society?
How many global calamities have happened?
I mean, first it was an ice age, then it was a uh global warming, now it's climate change.
I mean, every five years they change it, it's another calamity.
You know why?
Because Fear sells.
It has nothing to do with truth.
It has nothing to do with reality.
The devil is the father of all lies.
Who can say amen?
And we can't be afraid of his junk and his lies.
Now again, I understand natural fear and I understand, you know, taking care of the future and different things like that.
I I got online this week and I looked up what are the greatest fears that we have as Americans.
And for the last two years, the same top three have prevailed.
Number three is economic calamity.
Everyone's afraid that that the finances in this world are gonna come to nothing.
Who cares?
God's my provider, not the bank.
God's my provider, not this church.
God's my provider who can say amen.
He's gonna see us through I mean I don't know if you guys pay attention, but but sometimes when unemployment's high, like let's say it's 5% or 7%, they say how terrible that is.
And then all of a sudden the economy starts humming and unemployment starts dissipating and unemployment goes down to one or two percent and they go, oh, unemployment's too low now.
I like what because it'll spur inflation or whatever it is.
They're never happy in the news.
It's always bad.
Number two, fear that most Americans have is illness for themselves or for a family member.
Now nobody wants to get sick.
Nobody wants one of their family members to get sick, but it's a part of life, right?
I mean our very own Pastor Daniel he had a procedure this week.
And uh so he was he was out the doctor and and they were gonna have to put him out for this and everything and and uh you know they put the old heart monitor on him and while he's laying there getting ready for the procedure his heart rate starts racing 75 beats, 85 beats, 95 beats.
They come on in and they say, uh, Daniel, um, if you don't get your heart rate down, you're not going to be able to have this procedure and you're going to have to come back later Now he got his heart rate down.
What he didn't tell me is did they give him drugs or not?
I'm just wondering what happened there.
The number one fear for the last two years running is corruption in the government.
That shouldn't be a fear.
It's a reality.
What are you afraid of?
It's already here.
There's nothing we're gonna do about that.
We can pray for our leaders who can say amen.
But being afraid of something that's already here sounds a little silly to me, to be quite honest.
And here's what's ironic.
It was the exact same problem with Samuel.
In verse 2, he says, you know what?
If I do what you say, God, then all of a sudden, what if Saul kills me?
What if he hears about it?
Saul was the king.
He was afraid of government.
Let me tell you something.
Nothing ever changes.
Nothing.
The same fears that they had 3,000 years ago, we're all experiencing today.
But the same God who delivered Samuel and David is our God today in Jesus' name.
Nothing to be afraid of.
God always has a word to address your fear.
Did you know that?
He always has a timely word.
Look at the second part of the question again, okay?
Seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel.
Remember, I said that the main theme of this sermon is for you to have the eyes of God.
And that's what God is showing Samuel in this moment.
He's saying, I need you to see something, Samuel.
I have already rejected him from reigning over Israel.
So, what are you wasting your time looking in the rearview mirror?
You can't drive forward if you're focused in the rear view mirror.
I want you to go this way and you are in Reverse.
Thank you.
Reverse.
He's going backwards or at the very least he's just staying in one spot.
Samuel His primary problem is vision.
He doesn't have God's 2020 vision.
He had Pastor Tom's vision from last year before my surgery.
When they told me that I was going blind in one eye.
By the way, it's a perfect vision now, just so everyone knows.
All right?
God has corrected that in Jesus' holy and precious name.
But Saul's or or Samuel's real problem wasn't even Saul.
It was himself.
He was focusing on the wrong things because he Thought God was forgetting all about him.
But God says, I want you to see exactly what it is that I see.
You cannot drive forward if your eyes are in The rear view mirror.
Now listen, verse 1 ends this way.
For I have provided myself a king among his sons.
Now, here's what I love about translations.
This translation, the King James, uses the word provide because it made the most sense.
But I need you to understand that's not the Hebrew word here.
The Hebrew word is the word for see.
So what what God is really saying to Samuel is watch this.
I see me a king.
It's not I've provided a king.
I see me a king.
In other words, David's kingship was as real before he was the king as when he became the king.
God always sees the solution to the problem.
Who can say amen?
God always has a plan even when we don't.
This is why the Proverb writer in 29:18 says this: where there's no vision, the people.
Oh, you guys know that one.
Did you know that it means where there's no revelation from God?
It's not talking about a man-made vision.
A lot of men and women have visions for their companies, their lives, their careers.
But this is talking about a vision, a revelation that literally comes from God.
And what it's saying is that you're not going to perish by dying, but nothing in life is going to go according to plan.
It's as if you're wandering in the wilderness.
It's as if you're you're going somewhere, but you can never get there.
That's because Samuel saw a problem when God saw a solution.
Samuel saw trouble while God saw transition.
Samuel saw an ending and God saw a brand new beginning.
And as Samuel started listening to God, his faith began to grow.
And his faith began to grow because Romans 10. 17 says, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
If you want your faith to grow, if you want fear to take a backseat in your life, start reading the Bible Start listening to sermons and podcasts that talk about the Word and God and all of these things.
And when you do, your faith will grow every time and overcome your fear in Jesus' name.
I remember when I was a kid and I will tell this story for the rest of my life because this is my story.
This is my song.
My story is 2 Timothy 1, verse 7.
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
For some reason I was wrapped by fear when I was a child.
I didn't know how to get out.
And God gave me this verse I recorded it on a tape player, just so you know, a little cassette tape.
And I would listen to it every single night for like three straight years.
And slowly but surely I began to realize that with God's power on my side, I cannot be defeated I began to realize that with God's love I cannot be disheartened, and with a sound mind I cannot be disturbed by fear or worrying or anxiety.
Who can say amen?
So God's encouraging Sammy with his word.
And uh the scripture tells us that he goes to Bethlehem, he does what God asked him to do.
But then he goes from making one mistake to another mistake.
Instead of listening to God, he starts assuming Eliab shows up.
You know, do you guys know the story?
Eliab the oldest son.
He well let's put it this way.
Samuel gets to Bethlehem.
Everyone's scared because they think something bad's going on, and he said, no, nothing bad's going on.
We're just gonna have a party.
We're gonna sacrifice to God.
We're gonna have this big celebration.
So everyone took a deep breath and he he asked uh Jesse to bring his sons because one of his sons had a a special calling on their life.
So Jesse brings all of his sons except for David.
He leaves David out in the field.
He brings the the other kids on in, and when Eliab shows up, he's the oldest, he's the tallest, he's the strongest.
The scripture says this.
Samuel says, Surely the Lord Lord's anointed is before him, before God.
Well, here's the translation: He's tall, dark, and handsome, and looks good in a suit, so let's make him king.
That that's really the translation.
Samuel's qualifications for leadership sound more like a dating site online Than what God chooses in our lives.
And so God says, wait, wait, wait, wait, guy, I need you to see what it is that I see.
Not just vision for your own life, but discernment in other people's hearts.
So listen to verse 7.
But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at his physical status because I have refused him.
For the Lord does not see.
Say, see.
The Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Do you know what we learn here?
That God's values are oftentimes different from man's values.
Sometimes they are so different that they are counter opposite.
God literally desires to turn the value system of the world upside down.
And I'm here to tell you, it needs to be turned upside down.
I I mean Samuel Samuel is hearing from God and God saying, you know what?
All you're looking at is the appearance.
All you're looking at is is the outside.
So I started thinking about this I got online and I asked artificial intelligence.
I said, define true beauty.
Great question, right?
Artificial intelligence says true beauty is not based on the outward appearance.
It's based on the inside heart.
Things like kindness and empathy are really what's important.
I started laughing because artificial intelligence had the right answer, but we still don't believe it.
You say, Pastor, I believe it.
Not really.
I I'm just letting you know we can't help ourselves because the flesh is attracted to what the flesh is attracted to.
And I'm here to tell you they've done studies and the more good looking you are, the more advantages you have in life.
You get hired quicker, you get cr promoted faster, you make more money.
That doesn't seem fair.
I mean I'm the lucky one.
What can I say?
Uh here's the thing.
Looks are temporary.
So no matter how good looking you are in your teens or twenties or thirties You all end up changing later on in your life.
You cannot maintain that look.
How many have heard this saying?
Pastor, Pastor, beauty's just skin deep.
I'm just waiting for it.
I'm waiting for it because every time I say it, somebody says, yeah, but Pastor Ugly's clean to the bone.
You know why people say that?
Because they really believe that beauty is the most important standard.
Look at 1 Samuel chapter 16, verse 11.
Samuel says unto Jesse, are all your children here?
And he says, there remaineth yet the youngest.
Because here's what's happened.
All of Jesse's sons have gone before Samuel.
Samuel goes, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, no.
And Samuel's like, wait a minute.
I know God sent me here.
What's going on?
So he says, is there anybody left?
And Dad says, oh no, all that's left is the youngest.
Now, that makes sense because he is the youngest, but that's really not the thrust of this Hebrew word.
The Hebrew word really means smallest.
It can be interpreted youngest, but I don't believe that's what Jesse's saying here.
Jesse's saying this.
He's saying, well, all that's left is the runt of the litter.
All that's left is is the smallest.
The guy least likely to be king.
You can't imag you can't really think that he should be here amongst all of his wonderful brothers.
One theologian actually describes David as a male Cinderella.
It makes sense, doesn't it?
Are any of you old enough to have watched Jerry Lewis and Cinder Fella?
Anybody remember that?
You remember Jerry Lewis?
If you're not old enough for that, get online, Jerry Lewis Cinderfella.
Funny, funny movie.
Studies have shown that there's also a height bias Did you know this?
For every inch taller, you make more money during the course of your life.
Whether you're a man or a woman, doesn't matter.
The taller you are, the more money you can make.
On average You can be the exception to the rule who can say amen.
So this morning, here's my question.
Did you spend more time in the mirror getting physically ready or spiritually ready for church?
Did did you spend an equivalent amount of time praying before you came to church today?
Or was it all spent doing hair?
teeth, makeup.
I I mean I'm I'm just gonna be honest.
I've never stood before the mirror and said, I wonder how my humility's looking today.
I'm concerned about if I shaved good.
I'm concerned about if the hair is in the right place.
I'm concerned if my if my sh shirt matches my socks and and and all of these outward things and and sometimes I'm I'm disappointed in myself.
Nobody gets up in the morning and says, Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Am I the least prideful of them all?
No, we're doing just the opposite.
Man also values measurables because we love competing with one another, right?
We love proving that we're smarter, so because I have a higher IQ.
We love proving that we've accomplished more.
I I have an MD or a PhD or or I'm the CEO of a company or something like that.
These things make us feel good about ourselves.
Titles are important.
If you're a country western uh fan of any kind you might remember Wayland Jennings album from the 1990s.
It was titled this Too dumb for New York and too ugly for LA.
Why?
Because his album was against the intellectualism of the elites and against the beauty-seeking of Hollywood.
He was saying there's more to life than these two particular things.
And and I just need to let you know that that modern technology has made things worse.
It hasn't made it easier having Facebook Scatter everything about your life online.
Where we're constantly trying to impress everybody else that that our life is perfect and going in the right direction.
I mean the lust issue has exploded because of pornography, easy access.
The first time exposure for most children nowadays is the age of eight.
Listen, listen, listen.
Women can't live up to that, and men will never find that.
They don't exist.
It's a it's make-believe.
And yet A hundred years ago there was no such thing as eating disorders.
What has happened as a result of this superficial attention given to the outward appearance?
Eating disorders.
What about older people?
We're being Challenge.
We don't even get jobs sometimes because we have three gray hairs and they want to push us aside and get us out of the way.
And so we spend $80 billion a year on anti-aging products. 80 billion.
Let me tell you, according to the Bible, it is the glory to get older, just so you know.
You should be honored and revered for every year you live on this planet.
Who can say amen?
Now listen, listen, listen.
This has seeped into our political establishment I read a book recently and it talked about the Douglas Lincoln debates in 1858.
Does anybody remember This is when Abraham Lincoln debated Douglas to become senator of Illinois in 1858.
This is what the book said.
The book said that if Abraham Lincoln walked down Main Street in most of the Illinois cities, no one would have even recognized him.
So you might ask, well, how did they make their decision as to who to vote for?
They weighed and measured the ideas.
The ideas were written down in the newspaper, and the newspaper was sent out and everyone had to read.
Which candidate should I pick?
But in 1960, everything changed.
Who remembers the Kennedy Nixon debates?
Do you know what happened?
Image became everything in politics.
Kennedy looked handsome, youthful, presidential.
Nixon looked old, a little on the uglier side, sweating like crazy, like he was nervous and anxious, and he ended up losing the election.
Why?
Because of a look.
That is what this book said anyway, and I believe it because God says man looks on the outward appearance.
We might laugh about it, but it is a reality.
God's value system is based on what takes place internally.
I need you to understand, God looks at the heart.
He's more interested in who we really are than who we appear to be.
He thinks motives are more important than results.
In our modern business world, results are more important than motives.
It doesn't matter what you do, who you are, as long as you get the job done.
That is not scriptural.
Who can say amen?
So his focus is on character development.
His focus is on us growing the fruit of the Spirit.
That's what God wants us to do from us.
Ancient cultures followed uh old rules.
Do you remember in the in the Bible um that God always chose not the firstborn?
But the firstborn was what culture always chose.
You got a double inheritance if you were the firstborn, but God chose Jacob over Esau.
God chose Joseph over Reuben.
Why?
He's turning the value system of the world upside down.
When Jesus came to this planet, he didn't arrive in a palace, he arrived in a manger.
Why?
Because he said turning the value system upside down.
He's wanting people of character.
He's wanting people who understand First Corinthians chapter 1 verse 26 and 27.
For you see your calling brethren that not many wise According to the flesh.
Not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise.
And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.
Who can say amen?
So how do we become a person with a heart after God?
Third and finally, God wants you to understand that He's the one who prepares your heart.
And he doesn't prepare a heart the way that we probably want to be prepared.
In verse 11 again, look, it says, and Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your children here?
And he says, There remaineth yet the youngest.
Now listen, listen to what Jesse says.
Behold, he keepeth the sheep.
You see, in a lot of translations it says there he is out in the field or there he is keeping the sheep, but you're missing the point.
You're missing all the scene words in this chapter.
You're missing the point that what Jesse's really saying is See, he's he's out there.
The little runt is over there.
He there's nothing kingly about him.
Let's go back to the original group.
Let's go back to Eliab.
Jesse is telling Samuel, I can't believe you mean David.
He's not really king material.
He's just out in the field doing the grunt work where he should be.
That's really what's being communicated.
Has anyone ever said that about you?
Have you ever thought about it yourself?
I'm here to tell you that God's leadership school looks different.
Than what most people understand.
Four quick things as we close.
Number one, God builds hearts so that they can learn faithfulness in menial tasks.
Have you ever thought this is beneath me?
I hope that's not you.
Because it's in the menial tasks that you start developing faithfulness Jesus says this in Luke 16, 10, he who is faithful in what is least is faithful in much The first three times we see David, he's serving, serving his father by caring for the sheep, serving for the king by by playing music for him and carrying his armor and serving his brothers by just simply bringing them lunch.
Number two, a heart learns humility in obscurity.
Why is fame so important for everybody?
I I'm telling you, I'm so sick of the title influencer.
Do you know what the qualifications of our influencer are?
You've just done something really, really stupid and everyone thinks it's funny.
Now there's exceptions to the rule.
I mean I what are the Dude Perfect.
I love but Dude Perfect, okay?
They're doing these things trick basketball shots and and so you know there's some skill in that but but half of the podcasts out there so many of the TikTok reels are nothing more than than silliness They're a complete waste of our time.
And again, there's good things happening on those those mediums also.
I'm not gonna throw out the baby with the bathwater just so you know.
But but I need you to understand that obscure Obscurity is a great learning ground.
It's where God wants us.
It's where he put David out in a field with nobody else around.
Here's the problem with obscurity, is it'll cause you to doubt God's plan.
I'm nine years old.
I'm sitting right there, front seat.
And uh we have a church of about 75 people.
The church seats about 200, uh, 199 sit in the back four rows, and I sit right here.
So we have an evangelist.
He shows up in the middle of his sermon, he stops, and he he he looks at me and he says he starts prophesying.
I'm like I didn't even know what prophecy was at that time, but he told me that I was going to be a pastor someday.
And so everyone comes up to me and pats me on the back and shakes me.
Man says that's awesome, that's awesome.
And so about a year, year and a half later, another special guest speaker was in the church.
I'm sitting there, everyone's back there.
The guy prophesies a very similar prophecy.
So so everyone in the church knows Tommy's gonna be a pastor someday.
So I go to evangel And Assemblies of God College.
I graduate and I go home after graduation and everyone says, Pastor, Tommy, where are you going to be pastoring?
And I go, I got a business degree.
I mean the look of disappointment in the people in my home church, the disappointment I had in myself. because I was sure God wanted me to get a business degree and a computer science minor, but I didn't understand why.
And for the next eight years I I wrestled with the calling on my life until I became the pastor of business administration at a church one day Did God know what he was doing?
He knew exactly what he was doing.
Sometimes obscurity is what we need.
It's an opportunity to crucify our pride.
Who can say amen?
One of the reasons God allows seasons of obscurity is because obscurity exposes our true motives We discover whether we really want to serve God or whether we are simply wanting the recognition.
We discover whether we love the assignment or love the applause.
It should be the assignment every single time.
Pride says, notice me.
Humility says, use me Number three, a heart learns dependency in isolation.
Could the music the worship team come on up here?
I I I need I need a bed underneath me.
Not to sleep.
But I just need you to understand that that everyone is afraid of being alone these days.
But loneliness isn't even about being by yourself.
You can be alone and in this congregation right now.
You can be alone and have people all around you.
I I think what what God needs us to or wants us to understand is we're all gonna go through seasons of loneliness We're all going to go through seasons of isolation, and why not turn it on its head and see isolation as solitude with God?
Because when he, David, was alone out in that field, he wasn't alone.
God was with him.
Who can say amen?
And it's while he was out in the field that David learned to pray.
It was while he was out in the field that he learned to hear God's voice.
It's while he was in the field that he he learned to lift his hands and worship God for who he was and that he was the creator of the universe and all of those beautiful things.
Things.
Solitude became a huge blessing in David's life.
And finally A heart learns patience while waiting.
Probably one of the most difficult lessons in life, wouldn't you say?
Knowing what God wants and yet it's not happening.
It seems like sometimes we're actually going in the opposite direction.
God, I need a healing.
Where is it?
God, I need your direction.
I don't know where I'm going.
God, I'm running out of money.
What am I going to do?
And we just wonder, God, are you are you in all of this?
Again in a world where 30 seconds on the microwave seems like an eternity.
God is never ever in a hurry.
But here's the good news.
He's also never late.
Never in a hurry.
But he's never ever late.
Listen to Psalm chapter 78, the last three verses of that chapter.
God chose David, his servant.
And took him from the sheepfolds, from following the ewes that had young, he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people in Israel his inheritance.
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart.
That word means wholeness, completeness.
Finished product.
Isn't it interesting that God says that and yet he still sins in his life?
God still has a vision for David.
David's complete integrity even before he gets there.
He has the same vision for your life.
He wants you to be a man or a woman after his own heart.
Do you know I I love the Southern culture?
You know, I'm from South Dakota, which is not South, even though it says South Dakota, alright?
And then I lived in in California in Las Vegas for a number of years.
When I moved to the South, for the first time everyone started calling me Mr.
Tom and I'm like well that's neat Mr.
Tom one day I was studying this Hebrew word integrity and it spelt T-O-M.
So guess what?
Every time someone calls me Mr.
Tom, they're saying Mr.
Integrity.
Mr.
Integrity.
And whether I'm living it that day.
Or not, that's how God sees me, and that's how God sees you.
Would you stand with me, please?
I would love the prayer partners to come forward at this time and just stretch out across the front. here.
You know, sometimes we have a a formal altar call and sometimes it's it's just Come racing down however we do it.
Today I think while the praise and worship team plays a song and and while I pray, I just want you to feel God's embrace, God's invitation to come on down and bring whatever issue is on your heart.
So I I know some of you are are not satisfied with your walk with the Lord right now.
Some of you would like to be closer, some of you want to A a a better in synchronous with God?
Come on down.
Maybe you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Wow, what a perfect time to do it during a a sermon series on the life of David, a man after God's own heart.
What's so great is he was a big sinner and God still loved him, so you're invited to come on down.
Or if there's any other need in your life, sickness, provision, restoration, please come on down.
Would you bow your heads with me, please?
Heavenly Father, we pray in Jesus' name.
We're so grateful for your word We're so grateful for the story of David.
Because in that story, Father God, I I see myself.
I see sometimes I I can defeat the giant.
Sometimes I disobey.
You in a horrible way.
So, Father God, I know there's a chapter, a verse, a story for every single one of us here.
I pray that we would see ourselves in his story, but more than that.
That we would see ourselves in Acts chapter 13 verse 22 and and be called.
Understand that we can be a man or a woman after After God's own heart, because we do everything that God asks us to do.
I pray this today in Jesus' holy and precious name.
And together everybody says, Amen, Amen.
Come on forward if you need prayer.
Prayer.
Blog Post
What God Sees That You Don't — and Why It Changes Everything
There is a gap between the way humans evaluate life — measuring worth by appearance, achievement, and status — and the way God does. Understanding that gap may be the single most transformative insight available to anyone searching for purpose, identity, and direction.
The Problem with Looking in the Rearview Mirror
One of the most common spiritual struggles is the inability to move forward because of grief over the past. In 1 Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel was paralyzed — mourning what had been, afraid of what was coming, and unable to see what God was already doing. God's response was direct: stop looking backward. You cannot drive forward while staring in the rearview mirror. The same truth applies today. When a season ends, God has already seen the next one into existence.
Fear Is Not the Same as Faith
Samuel's hesitation to obey God was not really about grief — it was about fear. He was afraid of what the king might do. That kind of fear, left unchecked, produces paralysis. It keeps people locked in place when God is calling them forward. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing the word of God. The antidote to fear is not courage alone — it is consistent exposure to what God says. As that word fills the mind and heart, faith grows and fear loses its grip. Second Timothy 1:7 puts it plainly: God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
God Looks at the Heart
When Samuel arrived in Bethlehem to anoint the next king, he looked at the oldest son — tall, strong, impressive — and assumed the job was done. God stopped him immediately. "The Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). This is not a small correction. It is a complete reordering of values. The world rewards looks, credentials, status, and productivity. God is interested in something far more durable: the condition of the heart, the authenticity of the motive, the quality of the character being formed in private.
Why the "Least Likely" Candidate Is Often God's First Choice
David was not even invited to the gathering where the next king would be chosen — his own father left him in the field. In Hebrew, the word used to describe him means "smallest" — the runt, the least likely. And yet he was exactly whom God had in mind. Throughout Scripture, God makes a consistent pattern of choosing the overlooked: Jacob over Esau, Joseph over Reuben, and ultimately Jesus arriving not in a palace but in a manger. First Corinthians 1:26–27 speaks directly to this: God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and the weak things to put to shame the mighty. If you have ever felt overlooked, underestimated, or left out of the room, you are in very good company.
How God Builds a Heart
David did not become a man after God's own heart by accident. The field — lonely, ordinary, unglamorous — was his training ground. Four things happened there that cannot happen any other way.
Faithfulness is built in menial tasks. Jesus said in Luke 16:10 that whoever is faithful in little will also be faithful in much. David learned this caring for sheep. Every servant moment — carrying armor, bringing lunch, playing music for a troubled king — was preparation for the throne.
Humility is built in obscurity. Fame is not the same as fruitfulness. Obscurity strips away the desire for recognition and forces a person to ask the honest question: do I love the assignment, or do I love the applause? Pride says, "Notice me." Humility says, "Use me."
Dependency is built in isolation. Loneliness, reframed, becomes solitude with God. It was in the field that David learned to pray, to hear God's voice, and to worship. What looked like abandonment was actually formation.
Patience is built in waiting. God is never in a hurry, and he is never late. Psalm 78 describes how God took David from the sheepfold and eventually brought him to shepherd an entire nation — and how he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart. That kind of integrity does not develop overnight. It develops in the waiting.
The Invitation
God's vision for your life is already fully formed, even when your circumstances do not reflect it. Where there is no vision — no word from God, no revelation of his plan — people wander (Proverbs 29:18). But the alternative is available to everyone. Seek his word, develop your character, trust the process of the field, and hold on to the truth that God sees you — not as you appear today, but as the finished, whole person he is making you into.
