“THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART” (Outline)
August 13, 2023 – Pentecost 11 – 1 SAMUEL 16:1-13
INTRO.: Be thankful that our loving and gracious God looks at our hearts. Our hearts might just be the hardest material known to God. Only the Lord God of Armies is able to change our hearts. “Then I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit inside you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh” (EZEKIEL 36:26). We begin life with a heart of stone. Our heavenly Father changes our stony hearts into hearts of flesh. Makes the ungodly godly. Unholy…holy.
“THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART.” I. A heart born sinful. II. A heart made godly.
I. WE ARE BORN WITH A SINFUL HEART.
A. Verse 1. Saul was the first king of Israel. Started out good. But heart turned evil, wicked.
1. The Lord wanted Samuel to move on from Saul. Go to Bethlehem to anoint the next king.
2. Verse 2. Samuel is scared of Saul. Evil times arrived. Go to sacrifice. Acceptable. Allowed.
B. Verse 3. Samuel invited Jesse’s family to the sacrifice. Lord promised to show Samuel what to do.
1. Verse 4. Samuel went to Bethlehem. The town elders trembled with fear. Come in peace?
2. Verse 5. Samuel: Yes, in peace. Consecrated Jesse and family for the sacrifice.
C. Verses 6, 8, 9. Jesse’s sons come before Samuel. Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah – not chosen as king.
1. Verse 10. The seven sons appeared before Samuel. The Lord did choose any of them.
2. Verse 7. Do not look at outward appearances. Lord does not look at what man looks at.
a. The Lord looks at the heart. b. Heart is what matters to the Lord.
D. We can rejoice that our loving, heavenly Father does not look at us in the way the world sees us. Or judges us. The Lord God looks at our hearts. God is not biased. He sees our hearts. The Lord does not look at appearances. This is a good thing. For the Lord God wants all people to be saved. He does not judge how a person looks. What kind of past they may have had. How that person has abused their bodies. This is far different from our ways and thoughts. Each of us have our biases. We look at peoples’ appearance. We may wonder about their various hair colors. The number of their tattoos. God does not think that way. The Lord looks. Sees a soul. A soul needing salvation. Or a soul already saved. Be thankful that the Lord’s ways and plans are much higher than ours. “Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my plans are higher than your plans” (ISAIAH 55:9). The Lord God wants all people to be saved. ALL to come to a knowledge of the truth.
E. The Lord does want all people to be saved. This does not mean that he overlooks sin. Nor does the Lord excuse evil. Or wickedness. Rebellion and sin pose very serious problems in every one of our lives. None of us are exempt from being sinners. All have sinned and fall far short of the glory of God. In fact, the Lord warned Noah and his family. Still warns us today. “The LORD saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts and plans they formed in their hearts were only evil every day” (GENESIS 6:5). Evil thoughts lead to wicked words. Wicked words to sinful actions.
F. We do not start our lives on the fence waiting to fall on the good side or evil side. Our lives begin with the stony heart. We begin life as the enemies of God. Stone-cold sinners. Only the powerful grace of God is able to overcome our sinful nature. The Lord inspired King David to pen Psalm 51. A psalm of confession. Repentance. Forgiveness. “Certainly, I was guilty when I was born. I was sinful when my mother conceived me” (PSALM 51:5). Conception is when life begins. Only people who are living can sin. Sinful at conception = alive. We inherit our first parents’ sin. Original sin. Live with sinfulness.
“THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART.” By birth begin with a stony heart. Evil, wicked, sinful.
II. THE LORD GIVES US A GODLY HEART.
A. Verse 7. Man looks at outward appearances. The Lord looks at the heart.
1. Verse 11. None of the sons of Jesse presented were to be anointed as king. Anyone else?
2. Just the youngest. Shepherding sheep. Did not seem important. Samuel: Send for him.
B. Verse 12a. They sent for the youngest, seemingly insignificant, son. Brought him from the field.
1. It was David. Good looking with red hair. Was this last son to be the one anointed?
a. Red = Edom (Hebrew). b. Edomites from Esau. c. Esau = red. d. God’s connection.
2. Samuel was not to trust his eyes. His choice. The Lord promised to show him what to do.
C. Verses 12b, 13a. “Get up! Anoint him, because this is the one.” David was the Lord’s choice for king.
1. Anointing revealed to God’s people this person was God’s choice. No one to doubt.
a. Anoint was to pour oil over the person whom the Lord had chosen.
b. Three Old Testament offices the Lord anointed: King, prophet, and priest.
c. Witnesses of the Lord’s choice: Jesse, his sons, and Samuel.
2. Verse 13b. Holy Spirit rushed upon David. Needed gift of faith to rule God’s wicked nation.
D. Here is a reminder that the Holy Spirit was present during the Old Testament period. In fact, Genesis describes the Spirit of God as hovering over the waters (1:2). It is a mistaken teaching to think that the Holy Spirit was not around in the world until the day of Pentecost (50 days following Jesus’ resurrection from the dead). The gift of the Holy Spirit is faith. There were men and women of faith all through the history of the world. Adam and Eve had faith. Abraham, Sarah. Isaac, Rebecca. All had faith as a gift of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit gives us faith today. “But you are not in the sinful flesh but in the spirit, if indeed God’s Spirit lives in you. And if someone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that person does not belong to Christ” (ROMANS 8:9). Sinful stone hearts are made godly by God’s power.
E. At times doubt tries to creep into our hearts of faith. This is Satan at work. Always remember that our Lord God is far, far more powerful than the devil. Or the world. Or even our sinful nature. By faith we know God is with us. Reread again and again today’s second reading: Romans 8:28-39. “We know all things work together for our good.” “We are more than conquerors…” through God who loves us! Faith casts aside any and every doubt that assaults our souls. “The one who keeps his commands remains in God and God in him. This is how we know that he remains in us: We know it from the Spirit, whom he has given to us” (1 JOHN 3:24). Faith is God’s power that saves our souls. For time. And for eternity.
F. Well, we still have a sinful heart. We sin much every day. Again, and again. How can we drive out such sinful thoughts? Wicked words? Evil actions? The Lord encourages us to think about other things. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things” (PHILIPPIANS 4:8). All of these things oppose the doubting from the devil. The lies of this world. All these godly thoughts crowd out the evil in our stony hearts. Gives us godly / holy hearts.
CONCL.: The Lord looks at the heart. Our hearts of stone from birth. The Lord God or Armies changes our hearts with the same power used at creation. “For the God who said, ‘Light will shine out of darkness,’ is the same one who made light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ” (2 CORINTHIANS 4:6). The Lord God makes his Light shine in our hearts. The Lord’s Light scatters the darkness. “THE LORD LOOKS AT OUR HEARTS.” Our stony hearts become flesh. Godly. Holy. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
PENTECOST 11 rdgs: 1 KINGS 19:9-18; ROMANS 8:28-39; MATTHEW 14:22-33; (PSALM 73)
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