Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

"I HAVE FOUND DAVID"

1. David, the youngest of the sons of Jesse, had been in comparative obscurity:
   1. Caring for his father's sheep - 1 Sam. 16:11
   2. He had no prominent place either in his father's house or in the community.
   3. When Samuel was looking for a king, Jesse brought all the other sons before Samuel, but not David.
2. God knows us and our whereabouts:
   1. Jesus saw Nathaniel without him knowing anything about the Messiah - John 1:48
   2. God saw Hagar, fleeing from her mistress - Gen. 16:6-8
   3. There is nothing hid from the eyes of the Lord - Ps. 139:1-9

1. These words have been the target of the infidels and skeptics of the Bible for years:
   1. They judge David by the mistakes he made, but they overlook his virtues.
   2. They ignore God's method of recording the life story of persons; for God does not give a one-sided report of my life, He records the dark and the light side of my life alike.
2. They overlook that:
   1. God hates sin in the life of man - EXAMPLES -
      1. He hated sin in the life of his servant Moses - Ex. 4:24
      2. And David learned from experience that God did not approve of his sins. David's remorse over his sins is recorded in the Psalms.
3. God loved David, not because of his sins, but because of David's penitent and trusting attitude in God's mercy - Ps. 32:1-9
   1. David's sorrows because of his sins are a constant reminder to all of us of what sin will do to the sinner.
   2. Thus we see that God loves sinners but not sin.

1. He was a man of strong faith in God and His providence:
   1. He demonstrated that on many occasions - EXAMPLES -
      1. In his combat with Goliath - 1 Sam. 17:45, 46
      2. He ranks with our father Abraham.
   2. He was a man of prayer. I know of no other Bible character that exceeded David in the life of prayer. The Psalms confirm my personal conviction.
2. He was a man of the hour, a great leader and a great king:
   1. God and Israel could count on him in the hour of crisis and need. This fact is so well established that we need not cite examples.
   2. When the hearts of the soldiers in Israel were faint, David saved the day for the honor of God.
3. Most important of all is the fact that he was wholeheartedly for God:
   1. The Lord knew this attachment and that is why He expressed confidence in David - "He will do all my will."
   2. Such a compliment was rare in the experience of God's people; Abraham received a similar testimony - Gen. 18:17, 18
   3. Enoch, too, received such a testimony from the Lord - Heb. 11:5
4. But our text reveals another gospel fact, overlooked by the critics, namely, that God looks at us, not what we are, but what God can make out of us:
   1. There is a vast difference between David the sinner and David the transformed son of God.
   2. Here, dear friends, is our hope: God does not look at us as what we are, but what He can make out of us.
   3. We become men and women after God's own heart when we allow the gospel of Christ to transform us into the image and likeness of His dear Son - Rom. 8:29
   4. This is the very heart of our opening text -- let us keep it in mind!