Open your Bibles, if you would,
to Proverbs chapter 21. The name of the message is, The
Lord pondereth the hearts. The Lord pondereth the hearts. Proverbs 21, we'll read the first
12 verses. The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. As the rivers of water, he turneth
it, whatsoever he will. Every way of man is right in
his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the hearts. To do justice and
judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. In high
look, in a proud heart, in the plowing of the wicked is sin.
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness, but
of every one that is hasty only to want. The getting of treasures
by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that
seek death. The robbery of the wicked shall
destroy them because they refuse to do judgment. The way of a
man is forward and strange, but as for the pure, his work is
right. It is better to dwell in a corner
of a housetop than with a brawling woman in a wide house. The soul
of the wicked desireth evil. His neighbor findeth no favor
in his eyes. When the scorner is punished,
the simple is made wise, and when the wise is instructed,
he receiveth knowledge. The righteous man wisely considereth
the house of the wicked, but God overthroweth the wicked for
their wickedness. Now in verse one of this Wonderful
proverb. We see the absolute sovereignty
of God proclaimed very clearly. It's proclaimed that the heart
of the king is in the hand of the Lord. Now, kings and leaders
of countries are never absolute rulers, although they might think
they are. They aren't. They aren't. They may think that they're unanswerable
to that the answer to no one and they may think that they
rule absolutely, but they are overruled by one who is high overall, the
king of glory. The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord as the rivers of water. He turneth it whatsoever
he will. God's heart is not in the king's
hand, but the earthly king's heart is in his hand. And the king spoken of here in
verse one of Proverbs 21 is any leader, even today, even today. Their will, desires, devices,
resolutions are God's to dispose of. For his sovereignty is over
all, over all. And he turns them this way or
that way. Just as much, with as much ease
as one commentator said, as the plowman did with the plow in
the field of old. They just turned the plow. The same way. He turns the hearts
of kings and leaders like water. He turned the heart of Pharaoh
to Joseph, didn't he? And that Pharaoh was merciful
to Joseph. He turned the heart of Saul to
David. He turned the heart of Nebuchadnezzar
to Jeremiah. He turned the heart of Darius
to Daniel. And he turned the heart of Cyrus
and afterwards Alexander the Great to the Jews. So let us remember this as we
study scripture. That God's sovereignty, His absolute
sovereignty is boldly proclaimed from the scriptures. Boldly proclaimed. Now the heart is the seat of
affection and emotions. And as a man thinks in his heart,
that is what he is. The scriptures declare this in
the New Testament. Turn, if you would, to Mark chapter
7, and I'll read Luke chapter 15 from the lips of our great
Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate in the flesh. In
Luke 16, 15, he's speaking to the Pharisees who were derailing
him. And he says this, and he said unto them, ye are they which
justify yourselves before men. See, they sought the outward
affections of men and the outward pats on the back by man. But God knoweth your hearts.
For that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in
the sight of God. See, they were looked upon as,
oh, these men were the best of the best in man's eyes. Because
they followed, supposedly, and we know they didn't, all these
rules and regulations. But by them trying to justify
themselves by their works, they were an abomination in the eyes
of God. Look at Mark chapter 7, verses
20 to 23. The scriptures declare this about
the heart. And he said, that which cometh
out of a man, out of the man that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart
of man proceedeth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders,
thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil
eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within
and defile the man. And in reading that list right
there, we're all guilty. We're all guilty before God. Everyone, every human being that
comes into this world in our natural state is guilty before
God. In Proverbs 4, verse 23, it says
this, keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are
the issues of life. Guard your heart. Guard your
heart, beloved. The Jews believed that wit, courage,
understanding, grief, pleasure, love, hate, all came from the
heart. And we speak of people having
a good heart, or, oh, that's a good person, or a bad heart,
and that used to be in the older days, they'd say that, oh, that
person had a bad heart, and they were being wicked or something.
But you know what? It's just natural for man to
be that way. That's how we're born, dead in trespasses and
sins. And our hearts are desperately
wicked, desperately wicked. We cannot read hearts. We can't read someone else's
heart, can we? We can't ponder or weigh it. We can only judge
our fellow men by their outward actions. But we cannot see the
motive and the actual condition of a man's heart before God.
And that's what the Lord was telling those Pharisees. He said,
you seek approval and you're highly esteemed among men, but
that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in
the eyes of God. That's in Luke 16, 15. We cannot really estimate a man,
and we don't need to, because it's God who pondereth the hearts.
It's God who pondereth the hearts. And when the believer's under
conviction, when we're first being bought to Christ, and even
when we're under conviction in our lives for our own sin, we're
not looking at anyone else, are we? No. We're looking inward
and saying before God, just like the publican did, God, be merciful
to me, the sinner. So God can weigh a man's heart
easier than a man can weigh gold. 1 Samuel 2, 3 says this, talk no
more of exceeding proudly, let not arrogance, arrogancy come
out of your mouth for the Lord is a God of knowledge and by
him actions are weighed. By him actions are weighed. It's
very beautiful to see how the saints of old were accustomed
to find comfort in our God. Turn it there if you would, I'll
read that again. 1 Samuel 2, 3, turn there if you would, look
at this. They found comfort in the fact, the Old Testament saints
found comfort in the fact that our God is absolutely sovereign.
Just as we who are New Testament believers, right? Same body of
Christ, the elect of God, we find great comfort in God's absolute
sovereignty. And like others of God's instructed
people, Hannah here was very happy in the thought of God's
holiness. And Hannah here turns her heart to celebrate the power
of Jehovah and raptures him upon the wisdom of the Lord. And look
what she says here in. Verse three, talk no more of
exceeding proudly, let not arrogance come out of your mouth. For the
Lord is a God of knowledge. He knows everything. He knows
all things. Nothing escapes his eye. No one
teaches him anything. He's all knowing, all seeing. And look, even by him, actions
are weighed. There's nothing that happens that escapes his
sight. Nothing. Nothing. So Hannah received comfort from
the fact that God is strictly just, that he's holy. Turn if you would again back
to Proverbs chapter 21. We'll go back to our text in
verse 2, is where we'll be. In chapter 21, pondering and
considering the weighing of hearts by God. The weighing of hearts by God.
Proverbs 21, 2. Every way of man is right in
his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the hearts. Now, man always seeks
to justify himself. Always. It's what we do in our
natural state and even when we struggle with our sinful flesh,
right? And we're always quick to say, well, someone else made
me do that. No, it's our own self. It's our
own self. But the way a man is right in
his own eyes, talk to folks, ask them about, they'll tell
you they're good people. See, in their eyes, they think
they're good. And I thought that before the Lord saved me. I thought
that before the Lord revealed Himself to me. I thought, I'm
not a bad person. Was I in for a surprise? So let's consider that things
that God uses to weigh the hearts of man. It says here, every way
of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the hearts.
God has already performed this in Scripture because Acts 15-18
declares this. No one unto God are all his works
from the beginning of the world. Every man's purpose, thoughts,
words, and actions is put on God's scales at the first moment
of existence. And God is not at any moment
deceived. He knows all the intents and thoughts of man. Psalm 139.1 says, Oh Lord, turn
there if you would. Psalm 139. Psalm 139. Look at verse one. Oh Lord, thou searchest me and
knowing me. Thou has searched me and knowing
me. Verse 1 says that, and then look
at verses 12 to 15 in light of our text. And our text is, Every
way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth
the hearts. Look at 139 verses 12, and we'll read the 16. Yea,
the darkness hideth not from thee. God is absolutely sovereign. But the night shineth as the
day, and the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
For thou hast possessed my reins, thou hast covered me in my mother's
womb. I will praise thee for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made. Look at that verse, ponder that.
And ponder that in salvation, the new man, born again by the
Holy Spirit of God, fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous
are thy works, and this is speaking of God's absolute sovereignty
in the works of creation, providence, and salvation. His works are
marvelous, aren't they, to the blood-bought believer? They're
marvelous. They weren't marvelous at a time before the Lord saved
us, but now they're marvelous. And that my soul knoweth right
well. We know that to be true. My substance was not hid from
thee when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance,
yet being unperfect. And in thy look all my members
were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there
was none of them. The law which we live under every
day weighs upon the believer every day, both in public and
private. Turn, if you would, to James
1.25. We live under the law of love,
beloved, the law of liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus
our Lord. And it weighs upon the believer because the love
of Christ now constrains us from sin. We're not under the law
of God, we're under the law of liberty. We have freedom in Christ
and it was purchased by His precious blood. Look at James 1.25. But whosoever looketh into the
perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful
hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in
his deed. Now the law of liberty is Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus
Christ our Lord. Paul had a similar figure. But we all say that the apostle
with open face beholding us in the glass, the glory of the Lord,
are changed from the same image from glory to glory, even as
by the spirit of the Lord. In James 1.25, the church of
God, the true, enlightened, regenerated, born again believer, looks to Christ. And we have
what law of liberty? That's Christ. What liberty we
have in him? What liberty we have in him?
Who do we look to? Christ and him alone. Nowhere
else. Nowhere else. Our own disobedience discovers
the short weight of our nature, doesn't it? And our deceptive
heart and how We are constantly reminded how desperately we need
Christ, aren't we? In our lives. Constantly. It's
a constant reminder. That's why we need to hear the
Gospel every week. We need to be reminded about what Christ
has done for us. Trials weigh upon us. They weigh
upon our attitude and our end reaction proves that Most hearts
are not true and how we're proven through trials and tribulations
when we murmur and complain and we do. How we are taught that
we desperately need Christ. How we are taught continuously
through trials and tribulations that we need Him. We need Him. Rebellion, despair, backsliding
sometimes comes after affliction or persecution. The righteous
man fallen down before the wicked is a troubled fountain and a
corrupt spring. Prosperity, honor, ease, success
are some of the scales that we come short in. And when things
go well for a man, you can't really tell what's in a man's
heart. But have a crisis come upon us
or in one's life or in the family or the church and you'll see
what's in a person's heart. You'll see it. David said this,
A man after God's own heart. In Psalm 30, verse 6, he said,
in my prosperity, I said, I shall never be moved. Well, Christ
has come and we are found to be wanting. We are weighed and
found to be wanting. And this is why the believer
continuously needs to hear the gospel of Christ preached and
proclaimed. Why we continuously need to look to him. He's my
only hope. He's mine. Is he your only hope?
I pray he is. And if he isn't, I pray God would
make it so. Oh, if you would, the John chapter 6. John chapter
6. Truth always searches the heart.
Truth always searches the heart. John chapter 6. Verse 60 to 66. The Lord had just spoken some
things that were hard for people to hear. And in verse 60 He says,
Many therefore of His disciples, when they had heard this, said,
This is a hard saying. Who can hear it? When Jesus knew
in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, and note He knows
what's in the hearts of man. He said unto them, Doth this
offend you? What, and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up
where He was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth
the flesh profit nothing. The words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you
that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning
who they were that believed not and who should betray him. And
he said, therefore, I said unto you that no man can come unto
me except it were given unto him of the father. From that
time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with
him. He laid out the absolute sovereignty
of God and salvation. Right there in verse 65, didn't
he? Therefore I said unto you that no man can come unto me
except it were given unto him and my father. And what happened?
Those who were just professors walked away. They walked away. Then look at verses 67 to 69. Then said Jesus unto the twelve,
Will you also go away? Now he already knew the answer,
didn't he? But is this not good for our learning? This is wonderful. Then Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? I ask you, believer, to whom
shall we go? We have nowhere to go but Christ,
do we? Nowhere to go but him. And look at what Peter says,
and it's the same cry from our heart. Thou hast the words of
eternal life. Only You, Lord. Only You can
save my soul. Only You. And we believe and
we are sure. And the reason they believe and
are sure is because God has given them grace to believe and faith
to believe. It's a work of God from beginning
to end. And we believe and are sure that Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. He's revealed Himself, just as
Joseph did to his brethren. And they're sure now. They're
trusting Christ. And now we know that Peter later
on denies the Lord three times, but he's still the Lord's sheep,
isn't he? He's still one of his blood-bought saints. Hearts are weighed by he who
is the way, the truth, and the life, the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
3. Hearts are weighed by He who
is the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Lord Jesus Christ,
God incarnate in the flesh, the Word of God, the Second Person
of the Trinity. And the Word they refuse is the
very Word that condemns them. John 3, verses 18-21. He that
believeth on Him, being Christ, is not condemned. But he that
believeth not is condemned already. Because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation,
that light has come into the world, and man loved darkness
rather than light. That's the state God found us
in, eh? That's the state God found me in. I loved darkness
rather than light. That was me. Because their deeds were evil.
That's natural man, isn't it? And we read this and say, there
go I, but for the grace of God, I'm only saved by the grace of
God in Christ. Left to myself, I'd still be
there. For everyone that doeth evil, hateth the light. Now I
can remember that. Neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth, cometh
to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are
wrought in God. They're a new creature in Christ.
In this work of salvation, this work of grace is by God and God
alone. And He is the Alpha, the beginning,
and He is the Omega, the end of our salvation. And everything
in between. Everything in between. The moment
after death, the judgment time, the heart will be weighed. And
the one who those who do not trust Christ will be facing is
the Word of God Himself. The Word of God Himself. Remember
the text we looked at? 1st Samuel, talk no more so exceedingly
proud, let not arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord
is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. He who
knows all things takes nothing for granted. He is not swayed
by public opinions or influenced by what some people profess to
be. God brings everything to the scale, and like men do with
precious things or when they think the weight is wrong, or
they are afraid of being deceived. His test is perfect and exact,
and his weights are always in order and always true and always
exact. So what are the hearts which
are weighed? The natural heart, the supposed
good hearted man. They will be weighed and found
want. The double hearted man. This heart will be weighed and
also found wanting. It's undecided and double minded
and false. And Hosea says this. Their heart
is divided. Now shall they be found faulty.
He shall break down their altars. He shall spoil their images.
They speak vanity, everyone with his neighbor, with flattering
lips and with a double heart do they speak. The heartless
heart will be weighed and found wanting. The one who has no heart
for Christ or the things of Christ. The perverse heart, the rebellious
and sinful heart, will be weighed and will be found wanting. Proverbs
says this, he that walketh in his uprightness fears the Lord,
but he that is perverse in his ways despises him. The unstable
heart will be weighed and found wanting. The heart who is unstable
in all his ways, broken promises, usually a double-minded man,
as scripture proclaims. A double-minded man is unstable
in all his ways. The proud heart shall be weighed
and found wanting. The self righteous, confident,
arrogant and defiant. Proud heart. The hard heart will be weighed
and will be found wanting a heart unaffected by love or by terror,
obstinacy, resisting the Holy Spirit of God. Will be found
weighed and wanting. Job says this. His heart is as
firm as a stone. That's the natural man. That's
where I was. My heart was like a stone. Yea,
his heart is a piece of nether millstone. Scripture declares
in Job 41, 24. Turn, if you would, to Zechariah
chapter 7. The hard-hearted person has a
heart like stone, has a heart like stone. And this is our natural state,
beloved. We have a hard, calloused, hard-hearted
heart, and we can see ourselves in all those other hearts before
the Lord saves us. Zechariah 7, verses 8-14, the
Scriptures declare this, And the word of the Lord came unto
Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute
true judgment, and show mercy and compassion to every man to
his brother. and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless,
the stranger, nor the poor. And let none of you imagine evil
against his brother in your heart.' But they refused to hearken,
and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears that they
should not hear." Verse 12, "'Yea, they made their hearts as an
adamant stone.' Lest they should hear the law
and the words of the Lord, which the Lord of hosts has sent in
his spirit by the former prophets, and therefore came a great wrath
from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it is to come to pass
that as he cried and they would not hear, so they cried and I
would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts. but I scattered them
with a whirlwind among the nations whom they knew not. Thus the
land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor
returned, for they laid the present land desolate. Look at, though,
in verse 12, yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone. Another heart which will be weighed
is a deceived heart, a deceived heart. heart that thinks itself good, but it proves to be rotten. Pilgrim's Progress gives a picture
of this and the characters ignorant, talkative, and worldly wise men.
They all thought they were okay, but they were deceived. Jeremiah
says this, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart.
I try the reins even to give every man according to his ways
and according to the fruit of his doings. Now turn, if you
would, to Matthew 7. And think of this. I'll read
this again. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked. Jeremiah 17, 9. Who can know it? Now, again,
the deceived heart will be weighed and found wanting. And look what
we have here before us in Matthew 7. A very chilling portion of
Scripture. And think of the deceived heart
when the Lord proclaims this to those in Matthew. Matthew
7, verse 21 to 23. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. So this
is speaking of those who profess Christ, but are not truly regenerated,
we will see. Oh, they may have prayed a prayer
or walked an aisle. being baptized in their church,
and they're looking to that for their salvation rather than looking
to Christ. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven, many will
say to me in that day. And note the word there, it's
chillin', many. Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? We did all these things for you,
Lord. That's what they're saying to
him, aren't they? They're saying that to him. Lord, Lord. Have we not prophesied
in thy name? Have we not cast out devils in
thy name? I've done many, many wonderful works. So they're looking
to what they did for the Lord, supposedly. We don't look to
what we do for the Lord, do we? We look to he who is Lord. There's
a difference. There's a difference. We look
to the Lord of glory and we look to what he has done. We look
away from ourselves. And we look to Christ. These
folks are looking to themselves. Look what we did, Lord, we did
it all for you. And here's the chilling verse. And
then I will profess unto you unto them, I never Knew you. In the Greek, that's ginoska.
That's an intimate relationship. I never knew you. And remember
what God said? He knows his sheep, don't he?
He tells us he knows his sheep. And he tells these folks, I never
knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. The deceived heart. These are
religious folks. I look at this, and I think Catholicism.
I think of all these other religions out there. I used to be a Catholic. I was amongst them. I was deceived. Thought I was OK. I look at this,
and I think of charismatics. Oh, have we not done all these
wonderful things? We prophesize and cast out devils. Oh, my. I never knew. This is why we're to make our
election and call insurable. Even we who who profess to be
his blood, what people? Oh, my natural man's hearts will
be weighed and found wanting and the unregenerate heart is
weighed and found wanting. In Daniel, the scriptures declare
this. But Nebuchadnezzar's son, who was king, thou art weighed
in the balances and found wanting. All those outside of Christ will
be weighed in the balances and found wanting. All those who
are trusting in their own selves to get to heaven and to gain
merit and favor with God shall be weighed in the balances and
found wanting. And the believer again trusts
in Christ and Christ alone. Nowhere else. Now let us consider
hearts that are weighed and are weighed good. Weighed good. And let us always remember this.
That it is God who gives his people a new heart, right? Turn,
if you would, to Ezekiel, chapter 36. It's God who gives his people
a new heart. And we are born again by the
Spirit of God. It's a work of God. It's a mighty
work of God. It's a miracle of God. And we're
given a new heart, aren't we? And we looked at it this morning
in Sunday School. The hidden man. The hidden man. Born again by the Holy Spirit
of God. And we're given a new heart, though, as believers,
which hungers and thirsts after the things of God. Now, again,
consider your natural state before the Lord saved you, before you
were born again by the Spirit of God. Did you hunger for righteousness? Did you hunger to hear the gospel?
Did you desire to come and hear the gospel? No, we didn't want
to have nothing to do with God or the people of God or the things
of God, did we? Nothing at all. Our hearts were
hard. Our hearts were hard. But now,
We want to hear the Gospel preached. Tell me about Christ and Him
crucified. Tell me about what my great Savior did for me. Tell
me. Tell me how His blood washes
me clean from all my sins. Tell me the old, old story, and
then tell me again, and again, and again. It's what I long to
hear. This is the cry of the believer,
isn't it? And the only reason for that is because we have a
new heart. Look at Ezekiel 36 verses 24 to 28. For I will take
you from among the heathen. That's where he found me. That's
where he found me. and from among the heathen, and
gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your
own land, and historically they're speaking of Israel here, then
will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from
all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse
you. Look at this though. Verse 26, a new heart also will
I give you, and a new spirit. We are given a heart that hungers
and thirsts after righteous, and we're born again by the Spirit
of God. And look at this, will I put
within you. It's a work of God, beloved.
This is God's work. And remember those who professed,
Lord, we did all these things. Oh, they may have prayed a prayer,
they may have walked an aisle, they may have did something,
didn't they? But God didn't do a work in them. But God says
here of his people, I'm gonna do this. Salvation's of the Lord,
isn't it? It's of the Lord. I'll put within
you and I will take away the stony heart of your flesh, that
natural heart of ours, right? And I'll give you a heart of
flesh. Now we're convicted over our sins. Now we repent of our
sins. We didn't before. We drank sin
like water. I did. It was water. And I'll
put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes
and you shall keep my judgments and do them. And you shall dwell
in the land that I give to your fathers and you shall be my people.
I love this. And I'll be your God. Oh my! God says to His people, His blood-bought
people, ye shall be My people. Despite how we are in our natural
ways, eh? Despite how we shake our fist
at God, you're going to be My people. Because I'm going to
make you willing. And He did, didn't He? He made
us willing in the day of His power. And I'll be your God,
and He is our God. He's the one true God, and we
acknowledge Him as the one true God. And all these things are a work
of God. Again, it's He who gives us a new heart. So hearts that
are weighed and weighed good is a trembling heart. A trembling
heart. The regenerated heart, the born-again
believer has a trembling heart. We're afraid of sin. And we hate
it more in ourselves than anywhere else. And we tremble before our
great God, don't we? We tremble in reverence and awe
of who He is. He's revealed Himself to us.
He saved us. He's revealed who He is. an absolute
sovereign, holy, righteous over all the universe. And He's revealed
to us what we are, sinners before Him. And it's Him who we've sinned
against. It's Him who we've sinned against.
Isaiah says this, For all those things hath mine hand made, and
all those things have been, saith the Lord. But to this man will
I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and
tremble at that my word. A born-again believer. is one
who is poor in spirit, were bankrupt sinners, and contrites, were
repentant of our sin, and we tremble at his word, don't we?
And then he says, happy is the man that feareth always, but
he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. Next is the
tender heart, a sensitive affection Affectionate and forgiving heart.
Turn, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter
4. This heart is weighed and weighed
good. And remember, this is all because
of a work of God. This all stems out of a regenerated,
born again, believing heart. One who's been born again. Ephesians
chapter 4, verses 31 and 32. See, first we had to look at
the bad news, and now we look at the good news. We look at
the work which God does for the believer. Ephesians chapter 4 verses 31
and 32. Let all bitterness and wrath
and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you
with all malice and be kind one to another. Tenderhearted. forgiven one another. And look
at this. Even as God, for Christ's sake,
hath forgiven you, let us burn that into our hearts. The only
reason we're forgiven is because God has forgiven us for Christ's
sake. Isn't that wonderful? That just
fills my heart with joy. That fills my heart with joy. So the tender heart, the sensitive,
affectionate and forgiving heart is weighed and weighed good.
The broken heart is weighed, and are weighed good. The broken
heart mourns over sin. It's been humbled. It's a lowly
heart. The new heart is broken over our sins. And we realize
that our sins are against God. We realize that He's the offended
party. And we realize that Christ died
for our sins to reconcile us to God who was offended by our
sins. And His shed blood, the blood
of Christ, redeems His people on Calvary's cross. Psalm 51,
verses 17 and 18, the Scriptures declare this. The sacrifices
of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. O God,
that wilt not despise. And you see, this is all the
fruit of the Spirit. This is all God working in the
believer. We can't take credit for nothing. Nothing. This is all God's work. We have
a broken heart now over our sin. We have a contrite heart. The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite
heart. Oh God, that will not despise. The Lord is nigh unto
them that are of a broken heart and save as such as be of a contrite
spirit. Has your heart been broken over
your sin? Are you contrite for your sin? Praise God. Give him
all the glory. Give him all the glory. Then
the pure heart. Loving that which is good and right. Mourning over
sin in oneself and in others. Hungering and thirsting after
righteousness. Turn if you would to Matthew
chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. And let us read verses 2 to 8. Our Lord in the Beatitudes here
says this. And He opened His mouth and taught
them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. That means blessed is those who
are bankrupt sinners. Blessed are those who've been
shown that we're bankrupt sinners. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. And we mourn over our sin, don't
we, when the Lord shows us. But then we are so comforted
by knowing that the blood of Christ has purchased our eternal
souls and paid for all our sins. Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth, the quiet and spirit. Blessed are
they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they
shall be filled. And we are filled, aren't we?
When we come and we hear the Word of God preached and proclaimed,
it fills our hearts with joy and gives us strength and grace
for the coming week, and sometimes for our trial in a situation
that hasn't even occurred, but will, and God knows it will. Blessed are the merciful, for
they shall obtain mercy. We who have been given mercy
should always be quick to give mercy. Always. Always. Blessed are the pure
in heart, it says here, for they shall see God. Note here in verse
8, the pure in heart will see God. Now, there are no pure hearts
on earth unless the Lord has made them so. You see, all these
things that are weighed, all these hearts that are weighed
and weighed good is the work of God. It's His work in us. Again, we can't take credit for
nothing and we don't want to as believers. We give Him all
the glory and all the honor and all the praise. None shall see
God except those who have a pure heart and those who have been
purified by grace through Christ while they're here on earth.
born-again, blood-washed saints. And the believer in Christ cries
out, Lord, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit
within me, that I may behold Thee both now and forever. Turn,
if you would, to Psalm 15. The next heart is an upright
heart, true, just, and sincere. True, just, and sincere. He doesn't backbite. It's an upright heart. Psalm
15, verses one to four, Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle,
who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly and
worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that
backbites not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor,
nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor, in whose eye a
vile person is contemned, but he honoreth them that fear the
Lord, he that sweareth to his own heart and changeth not. And
in Psalm 7 says this, my defense is of God, which saveth the upright
in heart. Again, it's a work of God. The
upright heart is a work of God. A true heart, a just heart, a
sincere heart. They who are called the upright
in heart have the truth of grace in them. A work of God has been
done. They're born again. And they
have wisdom in the hidden part. They are sincere in their infections,
in their purposes and designs. They seek to glorify God. And
they have faith, hope in God and Him alone. And they love
God and they love the brethren. They love those who have been
purchased by the blood of Christ. They act from real principles
of truth and love in the integrity of their souls. To them, grace
and glory are given and no good is withheld from them. and they
are saved by God from sin, Satan, the world, death, and hell, and
every enemy within the eternal everlasting salvation which is
only found in Christ. And then the fixed heart. The
fixed heart is the last heart we'll look at. This heart has
been weighed and is weighed good in the fixed heart, is one which is resting firmly,
trusting and abiding in Christ and Christ alone. And remember,
in our natural state we will never do any of these, any of
them. But as born-again, blood-washed
believers, we trust and rest and look to Christ alone. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
108. And then in the New Testament, we'll go to Colossians 3. Psalm
108 and Colossians 3. The fixed hearts. Now think of this. Think of this
before we were saved. Our hearts were fixed upon ourselves,
weren't they? Our hearts were fixed upon whatever
we could get or whatever we could do. That's how I was anyways.
I'm testifying of myself. And we all still struggle with
selfishness and pride and self-righteousness, don't we? We still struggle with
those things. We still do. Because we looked at it in Sunday
school. The hidden man, the born-again
believer, battles with what? His flesh. This flesh right here. And it's
a constant, constant struggle, isn't it? But the inner man,
the hidden man, the born again believer, who's our eyes fixed
upon? It used to be fixed upon ourselves
in our natural state, right? Now, our eyes, we have seeing
eyes, don't we? And our eyes are fixed upon Christ
and Christ alone. Psalm 108, verses one to four.
Oh God, my heart is fixed. It's fixed on him. I will sing
and give praise even with my glory. Awake, psaltery and harp!
I myself will awake early. His heart is just bursting with
song to the Lord. His heart is fixed upon the Lord.
I will praise Thee, O Lord, among the nations, and I will sing
praises unto Thee among the nations. Look at this, for Thy mercy is
great. Now ponder that in your salvation,
beloved God. is not God's mercy, for we who
are His blood-bought people, is not His mercy great, and has
not His mercy been manifested in our lives? It has been, hasn't
it? And we can sing along with the
psalmist. Oh Lord, Thy mercy is great above the heavens. It's
far above the heavens. You reached down and plucked
me who is a worm, a maggot off that dunghill of life, and made
me an heir. all in and through Christ and
Christ alone. It's wonderful. His mercy is
so great, isn't it? So great. And thy truth reaches
unto the clouds. Now turn, if you would, to Colossians
chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. Again,
speaking on the fixed heart. The fixed heart. In the New Testament,
Paul tells believers to what? Set their minds and hearts to
things above. So, in the squirrel of everything
that's going on in this world, right? And we can, as believers,
we can get distracted. Our minds can be drawn away by
this thing or by that thing, right? But we're to fix our hearts
and our minds upon the Christ. When He tells us to look to Him
for salvation, the believer keeps looking, don't we? Even after
we're saved, we live a life of looking to Christ. Of looking
to Him alone. And when do we get in trouble
as believers? When we get our eyes off of Him.
That's for me. When I get my eyes on a circumstance
or something's going on in the world, the Lord always brings
me back to Him. Okay, Lord, You're in full control.
I don't need to worry about this. I'm just gonna trust You. Our
son asked Vicki and I, how can you guys be so calm amidst all
this stuff that's going on in the world? Because our hearts
are fixed on Christ. They're fixed on Him. He's in
charge. He's absolutely sovereign. in
all things, in providence and in salvation. He's the one who
we trust. He's the one who we trust. Look
at this in Colossians 3, verses 1 to 4. If ye then be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth
on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth. Very, very plainly stated there
for us. So when you see things going
on, when you see, you're thinking, oh my, you believer, just focus
on Christ. Just set your affections on Him.
Set your affections on Him. For ye are dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
oh, He's the way, the truth, and life, shall appear, then
shall ye also appear with Him in glory. So ponder this. All will be well if the Lord
Jesus Christ is enthroned in your hearts. All will be well
if the Lord Jesus Christ is enthroned in your heart. Turn, if you would,
to Ephesians chapter 3, and we're closed with this portion of Scripture. Ephesians chapter 3. Ephesians
chapter 3, verses 14 to 19. For this cause I bow my knees
unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family
in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according
to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by
His Spirit in the inner man, and we looked at that again in
Sunday School, the hidden man, that Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all saints that which is the
breath and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love
of Christ, which passes knowledge, all the love of Christ to His
people, that ye may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Now the question must come forth. What about you? Are you ready
for the weighing of your heart? Heavenly Father, we thank Thee
for Your goodness and mercy and grace. O Lord, we who are Your redeemed,
blood-bought people, we know it to be true that Thy mercy
is great. We see ourselves in all the hearts
that are weighed and found wanting. But what great mercy You have
had upon us, and what a great work that You have done in us,
in the only way that we are weighed and found good is because of
you, Lord Jesus, and the work that you do in us. It's all of
you. Salvation is all of grace from
beginning to end. And we who are your blood bought
people. Oh, we praise your mighty name. We praise your mighty name
for leaving heaven and coming to this earth and dying upon
Calvary's cross, giving your life. Those we who we who in
our hearts and minds were enemies with the and yet you knew from
eternity that we were your sheep and you purchased us with thy
precious blood. What great mercy, what great
mercy, what great love you have for your people. Praise your
mighty name, Lord, may you be glorified in the singing and
as we take communion, oh, may our hearts be drawn to remember
the great sacrifice of you who are the great substitute. In
Jesus' name we pray, amen.