INTRODUCTION
Sprite soft drink slogan - ‘Image is nothing, thirst is everything’.
Our world is obsessed with image. Plastic surgery, hair and beauty products and fashion trends are evidence of this. God is not so much concerned with your image as your inside.
TEXT
"man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart".
1. SUPERFICIAL VISION
"man looketh on the outward appearance"
The average person is obsessed with their dress, hair, and face i.e their physical appearance. Fallen man thinks this is what matters most.
But the best of Christians can fall into this trap. Samuel did – twice! 1 Samuel 16:6 "he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him". The Pharisees fell into this trap – Matthew 23:5 "they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments". Jesus warned about their error - Mark 8:15 "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees". In Paul’s day there were false teachers who told the Christian converts that they needed to be circumcised in order to be justified - Galatians 6:12 "As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised".
2. SUPERNATURAL VISION
"the LORD looketh on the heart"
a) The all-important Person - "the LORD"
b) The all-important perspective - "looketh on the heart"
How can the LORD see the heart? Revelation 1:14 "his eyes were as a flame of fire". What is your heart like? The heart of every sinner is perfectly described by the Saviour in Matthew 23:27 "full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness". Christian, how’s your heart? You may look respectable on the outside but what about the inside? Is there bitterness, a critical spirit, pride, etc. Perhaps you need to pray David’s prayer in Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God".
O for a heart to praise my God,
A heart from sin set free,
A heart that always feels Thy blood
So freely shed for me.
