God's Own Heart - Part 10: God's One Desire

​So today, I plan to conclude our series on “God’s Own Heart”—not that we have exhausted the subject in the least, but it seems good that we find a good landing spot this week.
 
In this series, we have learned some tremendous things about God’s nature and what He had on His heart by looking at the life of the one who was called a man after God’s own heart.  
 
Most recently, we learned that like David’s heart, God is not just a “Good Shepherd” or a “Kind King”; the Lord is also a “Militant Warrior”—that is, while the Lord is certainly full of mercy and gracious, He also has zero tolerance for the kingdom of darkness. And we saw this in David’s life—that just as much as all of the kind, loving things that David did were certainly a reflection of God’s own heart, likewise the absolute intolerance for the wicked and the militant attitude he possessed was also another side of God’s heart that we can see in his life.  
 
But the point we were making last week was this—God desires us to also have that heart of a warrior that David possessed and be completely devoted to destroying all of the works of the devil and seeing those in captivity set free. As we have been learning, His heart is certainly for us individually; but we also need to be aware that He loves and cares for other people just like He does us. Therefore, His heart is for us to deliver the same freedom into other people’s lives that we are coming to see that we possess in Him ourselves. You see, people are what are important to God, and we are what are on His heart. But we need to think outside the box of our own lives and begin to bring God’s salvation, deliverance and healing into other’s lives just as He has brought it into our lives. 
 
We then looked at some of the things that David wrote in his Psalms that express this different side of his heart and saw a lot about God’s heart-cry through the things David petitioned the Lord for. Most notably, we saw in Psalm 35:17-18 that when David said, “Lord, how long will You look on?” that this is God’s question for us—how long will we just observe the afflictions around us and not be His hands and feet. Saints, the Lord’s heart is that we do not keep silent concerning the injustices we see! He wants us to be near His heart, and to stir ourselves up and awake to His vindication and cause! It’s high time we wake up, church, and stir ourselves up to deliver, vindicate, and minister to God by doing this for those He has created in His image and likeness. Amen? The Lord is waiting on us to make His enemies His footstool—that is, put the devil and his cohorts under our feet! 
 
David’s big moral failure of taking Bathsheba and having Uriah killed came when he forgot this for a time. He had won many battles, but at this time “when the kings went to war,” he had stayed home. He had lost the fire and zeal. Fighting against darkness was not his focus, and it opened a foothold in his life for the devil. If we don’t continually have a total disdain for the things of darkness, we allow the devil a place in our lives.
 
We concluded last week by looking at the example of David & Goliath: We learned that since David was a type and shadow of Jesus here, then the church is found in this story as the smooth stone that was used by the Lord to slay the giant. Yes, church, I believe that we are the stone that David hurled into the forehead of Goliath—the rock of the confession of Jesus’ Lordship that Peter made is what Jesus said He would build His church upon. This is what the Son of David would use and the gates of hell shall not prevail against this rock! Amen! 
 
Yes, church—you and I are being fashioned into the living stones whom the Lord Jesus Christ will use to knock the giant off of his feet and make the Lord’s enemies His footstool. This is our heritage, church—and this honor have all the saints! Amen! 
 
 
OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE AND CALLING
 
So, as I mentioned earlier, I believe we will be concluding our teaching on God’s Own Heart today. And we will do so by looking at what I consider to be the most important message that we can hear in the Christian faith—His “One Desire.” So, you could say that I’ve saved the best for last😊
 
If you recall, in our first teaching of this series, we began seeing God’s heart in inviting all of us—from the least to the greatest—to seek and know Him. And this is what I would like to conclude this series of messages with—the grand invitation that we all have to have rich fellowship with our Lord and God.
 
If you have been coming to this church for at least a couple of years, you’ve probably heard the message you are about to hear today. And if you continue to come here for several more years, you will likely hear this message a couple more times. Do you know why? It is because this is again the most important message a believer can hear and also because most believers are not doing it.
 
You see, the great question of mankind is: What is the meaning of life? People have been asking this question for centuries, and the truth is that the only way to find the answer is to find God. Faith in God is the only thing that will unveil to us the answer to our purpose. 
 
Let’s look at a couple of Scriptures that teach us why we are here: Revelation 4:11 says, “You are worthy, O Lord to receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
 
Now, first of all, notice that what is being declared in heaven is that He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power (from His creation). Why? Because He created us, and therefore, we owe all that we have to Him. As the Apostle Paul said in Acts 17:28, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Our next breath, our next heartbeat, all of this comes from Him. Therefore, He is worthy to receive this praise, adoration and worship back from His creation. 
 
Now the word “will” here describes one’s desire (i.e. what they wanted). So, we can see that we exist and were created because God wanted us here. He wanted you! He wanted me! He desired us to be here! And He didn’t do this for selfish reasons. He didn’t do it because He felt some responsibility as His Creator. 
 
Now that is something that we need to reflect on because there are many people on this planet—even believers—who have not understood the fact that God actually created them just the way they are because He likes them this way. So, if this is you—if you are one of those who looks at yourself in the mirror and despises the way you look, the way you act or simply the way you are, look again! God created you because He wanted you here, just the way you are! You are valuable to His purpose and you are a part of His plan! So no longer blaspheme by looking at yourself and calling yourself “fat, stupid, or weak.” Rather, look at yourself and say, “I exist and was created for His pleasure! God wanted me here! I have a purpose! God has a good plan for me!” Amen!   
 
Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”
 
So not only were we created because God wanted to create us, we were created for Him. This means that we were created totally for Him—that is, we are here for His purpose and His plan.
 
So, the simple answer to the question: “Why are we here? (And) What is the meaning of life?” is we are here because He wanted us here and our purpose is for Him.
 
But I want us to begin by talking specifically about this because while most Christians would agree with what I just said, the confusion is in what our “purpose” looks like. Most think that His purpose for us is just simply to serve Him, but that is not completely true. Yes, serving Him and doing things for Him is important, but it’s not the main thing we were created for.
 
Yes, what we do for God is not the most needful part of our calling. Our relationship with Him is the most important part of our calling. Contrary to popular opinion in many circles of Christendom, we were not primarily created so that we can evangelize the world. Someone might argue, “How can you say that? Winning the lost is our primary objective as children of God!” I can say that because when God created mankind in the beginning, there was no evangelism necessary. In other words, there were no lost people that Adam & Eve needed to win for the Lord. Therefore, I can assure you that God’s intention for creating us to begin with was not for the purpose of personal evangelism.
 
Now I am not downplaying the importance of witnessing, missions, and personal evangelism. These are important responsibilities we have as ambassadors for Christ, but what I want you to understand is that there is something more important than these services you perform for Him—and that something is personal relationship with Him.
 
Saints, this is why God created us in the beginning! We were created so that we could intimately know the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! And now our role is to, first of all, have a personal relationship with God ourselves and then to introduce others into this same relationship with God.
 
You see, God created Adam & Eve because He wanted a family that He could have a personal relationship with. He wanted children created in His likeness and image to walk and talk with in the cool of the day. This is all He originally wanted of man—to have a personal relationship with Him. And if that was the original reason man was created, then we can be sure that this is God’s perfect will for us today.  
 
Therefore, winning the lost is not the primary purpose of our salvation. But somebody else might say, “What about our individual callings? To fulfill what He has called us to do has to be God’s primary purpose for us, right?”
 
Well, did you know that God has called each and every one of us into the same calling? Sure, we all have specific gifts, talents and abilities given to us that are unique and specific, but we all are ultimately called into the same thing, and that general calling is to come into fellowship with Jesus Christ, our Lord!
 
The Apostle Paul makes this clear in 1 Corinthians 1:9 when he says. “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
 
What this verse is saying is that God Himself has called each of us for one specific and primary purpose, and that is to come into fellowship with Jesus. This means that above everything else God has called each of us to do to promote and expand His kingdom, He has called every one of us to fulfill this general calling first. This is important to understand lest we identify what we do for the Lord as being our relationship with Him.
 
Let me explain what I mean by this: a tendency that the flesh has is to let what it does for the Lord define its relationship with Him. We have to be careful not to do this because our works are in no way an indication that we have fellowship with Christ. While certainly our service and good works will follow our relationship with God, these works can also be done apart from knowing Him. You cannot know God without serving Him, but you can serve God without knowing Him. So, although we ought to strive to live for God and serve Him, we do not need to view what we do for Him as being our most important calling. Our relationship with God is our most important calling!
 
And back to David now—I believe that this “one thing” is what provided David with his longevity in his ministry to Israel. It was that his identity was not locked up in what he did for God. Remember, his beginning was in spending time alone with God as he was keeping his father’s sheep. His foundation was laid in relationship with God, so when he was in charge of Saul’s army, slaying all of those Philistines or ruling over God’s people as Israel’s king, he was established in his God.
 
And I believe that is an important lesson for us all today: that our identity is not in what we do for God. In fact, I would say that if we are getting burned out, we're doing it wrong. We must be led in what we do and what we don't do. Our identity begins in the fact that we are sons and daughters of God and created for His pleasure. That is who we are! We keep "the gas tank filled up" by spending time with Him continually.
 
THIS ONE DESIRE
 
So, let’s begin looking at one of David’s most beloved psalms, and one which I believe beautifully describes God’s heart and this one desire that we have touched on. Let’s turn over the 27th Psalm:
 
In Psalm 27:4, David begins to say, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek…” The Hebrew word that was used for the word “One” here does not just describe a “solo” request. In other words, David was not saying, “One of the things that I have desired of the Lord…” Rather, this word “One” describes the bringing together of several different things or a uniting together of multiple things. So, what David was saying was that if he could summarize everything that he desired from the Lord—if he could bring everything together that he asked and sought the Lord for—it would be this “one thing”— “that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”
 
And notice that David did not just desire this by asking the Lord for it and hoping it would happen; no, David both “desired” it and sought after it. And there is a big difference in just desiring something and both desiring and seeking after it. Far too many Christians would like to see a change in their life and desire to experience more of God, but their desire never turns into action—that is, they never begin seeking what they say they want.
 
Now I see this summarization of David’s request as being the most perfect description of what made him a man after God’s own heart. Yes, I believe what made David a man after God’s own heart was that He simply wanted to live every day of His life in God’s “house!” 
 
So, what was David referring to when he said that his one desire was to dwell in “the house of the Lord?” Did this mean he wanted to go to church every day? No, a physical place like the Tabernacle was not what David sought after. In order to understand what David’s one desire was, we need to first understand what the “house of the Lord” represented to the Jewish mind.
 
You see, during the days of the Old Testament, the house of the Lord was symbolic of the presence of God. In their days, the Jewish people considered the Tabernacle and the Temple as the place where God dwelt. So, the terms God’s “house” and God’s “presence” were synonymous. The reason for this was because it was in God’s house that the Holy of holies resided and it was the place where the Ark of the Covenant dwelt—both of which were also symbolic of God’s presence. So, to the Jewish mind, if one wanted to be where God was, they must go to His “house” (which was first the Tabernacle and later became the Temple).
 
So, when David said that his one desire was to live in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, what he was really saying was that his one desire was to dwell in God’s presence all the days of his life. Therefore, it was not a building or a physical structure that David desired to dwell in. Living in God’s presence was what David was hungry for! Therefore, what David was saying was that if he could summarize everything that He asked the Lord and sought Him for, it would be to dwell in His presence all the days of His life. This is the one thing he wanted! And I personally believe this was the main thing that pleased God so much about David: that his heart’s sole desire was to be with His God all of the time.
 
THE TWO THINGS DAVID’S ONE DESIRE TEACHES US
 
So, if David had a heart like God’s, there are a couple of things we can learn from his one desire:
 
One is that we can look at the differences between him and other people of his day in order to see what God’s heart truly looks like. And what was the difference between David’s heart and the hearts of countless other believers? I believe Psalm 27:4 clearly portrays what made David different than others. Unlike countless other believers, David desired to be with God every chance he got!  He understood the importance of dwelling in the secret place (in the Lord’s manifest presence), where all the wisdom, protection, etc. of God are.
 
You see, David valued his fellowship times with God more than others did. This is evidenced by the myriad of psalms that he wrote because they prove that he spent a lot of time praising, worshipping, and loving His God. Therefore, David’s psalms prove that he had tremendous times of fellowship with God and they also prove that he had spent a good amount time in God’s presence. And God is looking for those who have a heart for Him like this. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” (Second Chronicles 16:9). Here, the word “perfect” means “full, entire and complete,” hinting at a desire for God being our “one thing.” Even David’s son, Solomon, understood this too: In the phrase of Proverbs 3:5-6 that says, “in all your ways acknowledge Him,” the word acknowledge should be translated “to intimately know.”
 
So, “one thing” we can learn from David’s “one thing” is what made him a man after God’s own heart. The other thing we can learn from his heart’s desire is the very thing that made David a man after God’s own heart—that He desired the one thing that God desires from all of us. He wanted to be in God’s presence as much as possible! But you might be thinking: How can being in God’s presence be God’s desire? Well, it is obviously not His own presence that God desires; so, it must be someone else’s presence. Then whose presence do you suppose God wants to be in? You guessed it! It is our “presence” that He desires!
 
My friends, God desires one thing from us above anything else! He desires for us to want to be with Him every day just as He wants to be with us all the days of our life! Just as David longed to be with God, fellowshipping with Him all the days of his life, God longs to be with us as well! This is God’s heart: to have close fellowship and an intimate relationship with His children. His heart’s desire is to spend time with us just as our heart’s desire should be to spend time with Him.
 
So, if we want to be considered a man or woman after God’s own heart, we must whole-heartedly desire this one thing—to spend time in God’s presence. This was David’s one desire; therefore, it should be our one desire as well.
 
Therefore, in essence, God’s one desire—the summarization of all that He wants, desires, and seeks after—is to dwell in our house all of the days of His life. Or it might be more accurate to say—His sole desire is to live in our presence from everlasting to everlasting.
 
He does not want to live apart from us. In fact, I believe that is why we are even here in the first place. You see, He never had to create mankind. He had the hosts of heaven already. Therefore, it wasn’t like He was alone in heaven, got bored, and so He decided to make you and I. No! We are the most unique of all His creation—for we were created in His image and likeness and have been given a free-will to love, honor and worship Him. No angel can say this, church! And do you know why He created man in His image and according to His likeness? It is because of this one desire—to have a people that He might have fellowship with.
 
THE FRUIT OF BEING PLANTED IN HIS PRESENCE
 
Now regarding Psalm 27:4, notice that David used the word “dwell.” This word denotes that God wants us to live, stay, remain, and abide in this sweet fellowship with Him all the days of our life.  You see, saints, this is where the child of God is meant to dwell—in God’s presence!
 
And this is obviously not just an occasional visit to these places; this is living in them! That is what this word “dwells” indicates, which I see as being the Old Testament counterpart to the New Testament word “abide.” Therefore, this excludes the “nod to God” crowd (i.e. those whose relationship with God consists only of attending the occasional church service or doing sporadic religious exercises). No, this is referring to the one who lives in the place of His presence, those who daily “dwell” in His house.
 
Psalm 92:12-15 teaches us that as we are planted and abiding in the Lord’s presence (i.e. His house) that we will blossom and sprout with a spiritual harvest (i.e. we will be spiritually rich with the life of God). It’s just like how a tree works. The trunk of a tree pumps sap into the branches which force the branches to produce or else they’ll drown. Likewise, as we remain plugged into Jesus, He pumps His life into us and forces us to produce His fruit.
 
You see, this was David’s great desire because he knew just how wonderful time spent in the Father’s presence was! Yes, he knew its benefits!
 
Notice what he went on to say in the 27th Psalm: He said at the end of verse 4–“to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.”
 
You know, there are some things you just will not know outside of fellowshipping with God in His presence. You will not be able to behold the beauty of the Lord outside of His house. In other words, you will not be able to see how truly good and gracious He is. Yes, some things are better caught than taught. I could stand up before you Sunday after Sunday, telling you how good God is and how awesome He is, but if you do not get in His presence for yourself and behold upon Him yourself, there are some things you just will not see. No, we need to get in His “house” and gaze upon Him (i.e. beholding Him). This is when, not only will we be able to truly see Him as He is, but also, we will be changed into the same image from glory to glory! Amen!
 
Yes, saints, His temple is where we are able to truly “inquire” of the Lord and learn all about His ways. In other words, in His presence is where we get answers. Have you ever noticed that the things God speaks directly to you are the things that stick and you remember the most? That’s because the Lord Himself will always be your best teacher. 
 
So when David goes on to describe these benefits of dwelling in His presence like “beholding the beauty of the Lord” and “inquire in His temple” it is important to note that this was not just on the heels of his desire to visit God’s presence, but on “dwelling” there “all the days of his life.” In other words, it is to be understood that truly beholding God’s beauty and inquiring of Him is not a promise for those who casually spend time in His presence; these are promises for those who live there and daily make it their practice to spend time with Him. Consistency is the key, saints. It is the habitual, day in and day out things that we do that mold and shape our lives. 
 
But notice what David went on to say next in verse 5—David says, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion. In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”
 
So here, David explains another major reason why dwelling in the presence of God all the days of His life was His greatest desire: Not only did He get to experience the myriad of blessings associated with spending time in God’s presence; he also knew that this was the key to being hidden and protected in the time of trouble. Therefore, we can see that dwelling in God’s presence—just you and Him, fellowshipping and spending time with each other—is where we are sheltered from harm and trouble. It is here that we are shielded and defended from the snares of the fowler. Amen. 
 
OUR VITAL NEED
 
Now let’s skip ahead to another verse in the 27th Psalm that explains the attitude that David had regarding his desire to be with God. What we will find is that David did not seek to be with God all of the days of His life just because he wanted to; we will see that David sought to be with God because he knew how much he needed to.
 
Psalm 27:8 in the Amplified Bible reads this way: “You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].”
 
Notice, first of all, that David said God told him to seek His face and, as the Amplified Bible brings out, to require His presence as his vital need. What this tells us is that David’s desire to be with God was evidently not just initiated by David himself. No, the Lord had commanded David to seek His face and require His presence as his vital need.
 
The Lord has repeatedly told me the exact same thing in my walk with Him. Yes, throughout my walk with the Lord, I have had Him tell me time and time again just how important it is that I learn to fellowship with Him. In fact, it seems like every time I have ever approached Him with a frustration that I was having in my walk, that seeking His face was the remedy He gave me. Particularly early in my walk, in the times where I asked God for answers, invariably His response to me was something like, “Son, you just need to be spending time with Me.” 
 
But, whether we know it or not, God has told all of us how important that it is that we spend time with Him—and He has told us through Psalm 27:8. He has admonished each and every one of us through this powerful passage of Scripture to seek, inquire for, and require His presence as our vital need. None of our situations are unique. We all need to spend time with God—dwelling in His presence and feeding on His faithfulness!
 
You see, He knows that spending time with Him and seeking His face is vital to our spiritual life. This is why He commands us to do so. But the problem is not with getting God to know how much we need to spend time with Him; the problem is with getting us to realize how vital it is that we spend time with Him.
 
I believe a good illustration that describes the importance of the time we spend fellowshipping with God is in the importance of periodically plugging an electronic or battery-operated device into its power source. You see, we all have battery operated devices that we have to recharge periodically and we also have some electronic devices that need to stay plugged in so that they can continue to operate. Either way, every electronic or battery-operated device has to be plugged in or recharged at some point or another. One device that can probably be understood by most of us is our mobile phone. If we do not plug in our mobile phones regularly, we are likely to have the battery die, correct? Therefore, we place a priority on charging our phone on a daily basis so that it does not run out of power. And although having our cell phone lose its power is not a serious thing, what God wants us to understand is that a failure to maintain quality fellowship with Him is indeed detrimental to our spiritual lives. No, I am not saying that we are going to die physically or spiritually if we do not spend time with God. However, what I am saying is that we will not truly live if we do not have good, quality fellowship with Him!
 
For example, Jesus said in John chapter 15, in order for the branch to truly live and be productive, it must abide in the Vine because, apart from Him (i.e. Jesus Christ), we can do nothing. If Jesus were here on the earth during the 21st Century, He might have used the same illustration that I am using here because basically what He was making the point of is that if the branches do not stay “plugged into” the Vine, they will lose their “power” to be fruitful. Therefore, just as is the case with our electronic and battery-operated devices, if we want to fulfill our mandate to be lights to the world, we must stay plugged into the source of that light. Why? It is because the quality of our spiritual life is directly tied to us having an abiding relationship with the True Vine.
 
But let me take this illustration to another level: What if you literally ran on a battery and, just as is the case with any battery-operated device, you had to recharge your battery at a certain time, say first thing in the morning? If this were the case, where would you be first thing every morning? Undoubtedly, every morning for a specific period of time, you would be plugged into that power source! It would not matter if you did not sleep well the night before, if you would rather watch television, or even if someone invited you to an all-expense paid trip to your favorite place to shop. No matter how you felt or what came up, you would be recharging your battery at all costs! And why? It is because you would understand how vital and necessary it is that you recharge your battery. And this is exactly how we should view our time spent with God! Now I believe that the reason that God has indicated that we need to be this serious and rigid about our time spent with Him is because if we do not adopt this mentality, the devil is sure to distract us.
 
Have you ever noticed that when you have decided to go to your prayer closet to spend time with God that every possible distraction will come up? Yes, invariably, the devil will send both external and internal distractions to derail our time spent in God’s presence. Some examples of these external distractions would perhaps be the phone ringing, someone knocking at the door, or the dog starts barking. But not only will these external distractions come up, even our minds will begin to be filled with distracting thoughts. For example, we might start having thoughts about all the things that need to be done around the house. Now you know good and well that if you were simply sitting in front of the television, you would not be thinking of how you need to be cleaning out the garage, would you? So where do you suppose both these external and internal distractions come from? You guessed it! It is the enemy that plants those distractions in your path to abiding in His presence! And why do you suppose he fights our time spent with God like this? Do you think it might be because he knows how vital this time we spend with God is to our spiritual lives? I guarantee you this is why he sends these distractions and obstacles! He apparently knows something that most believers do not! But no more! Lord you have said, “Seek Me and require my presence as your vital need!” So, we say to You, “Lord, one thing we desire and commit to do; we will seek to spend time with You!”    
 
But since this was David’s heart desire, we can also see the Lord’s heart in this statement: Not only has He commissioned us to seek His face, His heart says to us likewise— “You face, my son, will I seek.” Again, He does not expect more out of us than He is willing to give us Himself. So, while He certainly wants us seeking His face, He has sought our face first. And all of this is aimed at us meeting in perfect fellowship—Him knowing us and us knowing Him. Church, just as time spent in His presence is our vital need, it is His vital need as well. No, not that He is any less God than He was, is, or evermore shall be, but His heart can be hurt. Amen. 
 
HOW LONG, MY CHILDREN?
 
Regarding His heart aching for us to make personal time with Him, let’s look at God’s one desire in other Davidic psalms:
 
In Psalm 38:9-10, David says, “Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You. My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.”
 
Here we see David’s heart being poured out before the Lord. But, again, let’s look at it from the Lord’s perspective. Hear His heart here: “All My desire is before you and My heart pants for you!”
 
You know, I’m sure many of you can relate to this but ever since I have started seeing a lot of these things about God’s own heart, I have started even seeing the Lord’s heart for us in songs we sing to Him.
 
For example, a song we have sung while we have been on this series is “Lord, I Give You My Heart,” and in parts of that song, I see Him singing that to us. Yes, the Lord sings over us— “This is my desire to honor you, Son, with all my heart, I love & adore (i.e. worship) you. All I have within Me, I give you praise(s).”
 
Also, notice that older praise & worship chorus, “As the Deer”; that song likewise reflects the heart of God for us. In it, He sings over us— “As the deer panteth for the water, so My soul longs after thee. You alone are my heart’s desire, and I long to love & adore (i.e. worship) thee…”
 
But the fact is, this is God’s heart desire! He longs for us and all of His desire is before us. Can you see just how important our time and attention are to Him?
 
Psalm 16:11 is a very familiar passage of Scripture along these same lines. In it, David says that in His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. Well, did you know that this is true in Him as well? Yes, being in our presence brings the Lord fullness of joy and enduring pleasures. Yes, He gets joy out of being with us just as we get joy from being in His presence.
 
We are all familiar with Nehemiah 8:10, right—where the Holy Spirit said that the joy of the Lord is our strength? We oftentimes only equate that truth as to meaning that our own joy produces strength in us. And while that is certainly true and I don’t want to overshadow that truth, I believe that this also can refer to the joy of the Lord. In other words, the joy He derives from the fellowship we have with Him—the Lord’s joy—is what also produces strength in us. So, when we give the Lord the desire of His heart—pleasing Him and bringing Him joy—we will know it because it will produce strength in us. Amen! 
 
So, yes, He longs for us and desires for us to experience all of the pleasures that are at His right hand. But what He does not understand is why most of His children do not give Him the time of day. Sure, He know why we don’t. It is because we have this flesh and an enemy that wars against the hidden man of our heart that likewise longs for Him. But His heart just yearns for us to give Him our love and attention that He cries out for.
 
For example, in Psalm 22:1-2 we read— “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.”
 
Of course, we know that this was one of those Messianic inspired sayings of David. In other words, we know the first question in verse 1 to be the words of the Son of David as He hung on that Cross, being made all of our sin.
 
But again, let’s flip it and see God’s heart as it pertains to the fellowship He desires to have with us. His heart cry is— "My son and My daughter, Why have you forsaken Me? Why don’t you hear My heart’s cry? I am calling out to you, but you do not listen.”
 
You see, He will never leave us nor forsake us, but we can leave Him and forsake Him. And that is precisely what the problem is. He stands at the door of His church’s heart and knocks, but do we open the door? Are we receptive to His voice? 
 
So hear the Lord saying these words of David in Psalm 13:1– “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?”
 
How long, my children!?! Will You forget Me forever? I am seeking for your face, but how long will you hide your face from Me? His desire for us to show up in His presence and to be with Him?
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
And here is the wonderful truth about spending time in His presence: you will never know Him like you do when you spend time in fellowship with Him. Church, this is where we come to truly know His heart—not in a sermon or a series. Knowing God’s own heart comes as we spend time giving Him His one desire—coming daily into His presence, seeking His face and finding our place. Amen!
 
And the truth of the matter is this: If you and I do not fulfill His one heart’s desire, our hearts will never be full. In other words, if we do not fulfill our calling to be with and know Him, we will never experience the joy, peace, contentment and satisfaction that the Bible says we can have.
 
Saints, this is what made David different than others: Above all things, he loved being with God—spending time fellowshipping with Him and loving on Him. That, my friends, is God’s own heart. He wants to be with YOU—spending time fellowshipping with you and loving on you. Make time with Him a priority in your life today and become a man or woman after God’s own heart.