David talking to son Solomon - Know the Lord, if you seek Him, He will find you.  

Loyal means being undivided or being whole.  Serve the Lord with an undivided heart and have delight in the Lord.  God called David a man after His own heart.

God wants to make us Kings.  We need to have a loyal heart.

Three Keys to Having a Loyal Heart.  

We will compare the first 2 kings of Israel - Saul and David.

I Sam 8:5 → Israel wanted a King like all other nations.

I Sam 9:1 - Saul is chosen as King.

I Sam 9:20 → He’s told Saul that he will be King.  Saul acts surprised.

I Sam 10:9 → God gave him a new heart.

I Sam 16:1-7 → David is anointed King.  The Lord looks at the heart.  Both David and Saul looked the part, but David had the heart.

I Sam. 13:5-12 → 30,000 troops were advancing on Israel. This was Saul’s first act as king.  Saul waited seven for Samuel instructed him.  

1.  A Loyal Heart Fears God 

Fear in this sense is a verb - it is reverence.  The fear acknowledges God’s goodness and make us receptive to what God wants to teach.

I Samuel 24:

David is a fugitive when Saul is after him.  David cut off a piece of Saul’s robe and David’s conscience gets to him.  David chose not to kill Saul.  David reverenced the King that was anointed.  Saul had no problem exerting himself to sacrifice instead of the priest.

Eccl. 12:13 → Have reverence for God and obey His commands because that is all He created us for.

It goes back to respect.

Prov. 1:7 
Prov. 9:10
Prov. 13:27

We recognize the wisdom that God has given.

Isa. 66:1 - The loyal heart fears God.

Do we have respect for what God teaches?

2.  A Loyal Heart Obeys God

Saul’s heart had changed.  A loyal heart obeys God.  Saul’s heart had turned away.  Have we turned back in our obedience to our Father?

I Chron. 17:

David had a great desire to build this house for God.  God said you are not the one.  How would we respond in this situatio?.  Have you ever wanted something so much and were told now.

2 Chron. 22:2

God is interested in how we obey him.

I Sam. 15:22 → What is more pleasing to the Lord, your sacrifices, or your obedience.

God is interested in our heart and how we will respond.

Rom. 6:16-19 → You can be a slave to whatever you choose to obey.  We must be slaves to righteous living.

Rom. 6:22 → No we do those things that lead to Holiness and eternal life.

We don’t do it from obligation, we do it from our heart.

3.  A Loyal Heart is Humble

I Sam. 15:12 - Saul went to set up a monument to himself.

I Sam. 15:17 

Saul’s pride and eclipsed his sense of duty.

Saul didn’t need to build a monument, God had given him the victory.  He did it to exalt himself.

What did David do?

I Chron 17:16-18 → King David went to the Lord and prayed.  That should be our first response.

There were a lot of good qualities that God gave David.  David was humble and realized that it was God who had given him everything.

Humility is based on the give way.  A humble person doesn’t focus on himself, but rather the task at hand.

 I Peter 3:3 -> Don’t be concerned with outward beauty or material things.  Clothe yourself in the beauty from within.

Phil 2:3 → Don’t be selfish and try to impress others.  We need to think of others as better than ourselves.  Don’t look out for your own interested, but other interests as well.

Duet. 17:18 → God gave instructions to the kings.  We need to be fearful, obedient, and humble.

It is circumcision of the heart, it puts out the sin and seeks purity.