1 Samuel chapter 16, please. At the end of 1 Samuel chapter
15, the last verse, verse 35, we see that Samuel came no more
to see Saul until the day of his death. And it says, nevertheless,
Samuel mourned for Saul. No doubt he had feelings for
the king. had met him when he was a younger
man and anointed him king. And the Lord repented, but it
says the Lord repented that he made Saul king over Israel. And
that verse kind of underscores the finality of God's rejection
of Saul as king. And may we always remember that
disobedience, and that's what Saul was. He was disobedient to the Lord.
It always has consequences. Disobedience always has consequences. And sometimes permanent. And
as I said, Saul repeatedly disobeyed God's commands. And though God
is long-suffering, and he is, I'm a testimony to that. Yet
his spirit will not always strive with man. That's what he said
in Genesis chapter six, right before he destroyed the whole
world. He said, my spirit will not always
strive with man in his disobedience. There came a time, there can
come a time, I'm sorry, when someone that continually defies
God's clear instruction, we were talking about that before the
sermon, causes God to enact judgment. Sometimes God has enough. And
maybe his judgment is unto salvation. Maybe it's not. We know that
it's his discretion. But the verses before us tonight,
we find that God sent Samuel to the house of Jesse for the
purpose of anointing David as the king whom he, God, had chosen. God had already foretold of David,
though he never mentioned him by name. He said, I have a king,
a man that's after my own heart. And that's what we're gonna look
at tonight. The believer's heart. Look at verse one. And the Lord
said to Samuel, how long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing that
I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? He said, fill thine
horn with oil and go. I will send thee to Jesse the
Bethlehemite, for I have provided me a king among his sons. God provides his people. God does the salvation of the
Lord. And Samuel said, how can I go?
He said, if Saul hear it, he'll kill me. And the Lord said, take
a heifer with thee and say, I'm come to sacrifice to the Lord,
in verse three, and call Jesse to the sacrifice, David's father,
and I'll show thee what thou shalt do, and thou shalt anoint
unto me him whom I name unto thee. God does the choosing,
again we see. Now here we see that Samuel fears
a retaliation from Saul. God tells Samuel in the beginning
here what to do. He said, you prepare a sacrifice,
you go into this town. But he doesn't tell Samuel everything.
He said, I'll tell you what you're to do after you do this. You
see, Samuel must trust the Lord to do what's best. And so that's
what we must do. We don't know what God's gonna
do. We'd like to know sometimes, and then I think, no, I definitely
wouldn't want to know. But we've got to trust the Lord,
and we do, because we know that as His people, He does what's
best for us. The purpose of God for us often
requires faith on our part, and it often requires courage, and
most importantly, obedience. Fear doesn't excuse disobedience. Samuel didn't say, well, I'm
sorry, Lord, I can't do it because Saul's gonna kill me. He feared
that Saul might, but he must trust God to take care of him.
And that's exactly what we see Samuel doing. Look at verse four. And Samuel did that which the
Lord spake. Oh, I hope that's, The Lord's
able to say that of me, that David did that which the Lord
spake. And he came to Bethlehem. Now
the scripture always reminds us that the best of men are men
at best. All the prophets of old, no matter
how they were used of God, were yet men. Men used of God, yes, but men
nonetheless. They were susceptible to sin,
susceptible to fear, susceptible to unbelief. They had to deal
with all the things that plague fallen men and women today, just
like we do. The only difference that God
makes between any of us is the difference that He makes. Who
maketh thee to differ from another? God does. And it's only by God's
grace that he equips us with the will, the desire, and the
faith to do his bidding. So again, verse four, and Samuel
did that which the Lord spake, and he came to Bethlehem. And
look at this, and the elders of the town trembled at his coming
and said, comest thou peaceably? Now they wanted to know if Samuel
was coming in peace. Their action was, one of godly
fear. They knew that Samuel spoke for
God. He was God's prophet. There was a respect and a reverence
for God's prophet. Samuel the prophet was God's
spokesman. They knew that. He might bring
judgment as well as blessing. And I'm sure that they'd heard
about the recent event of Samuel executing King Agag. You know,
news travels fast, especially news like that. Did you hear
what Samuel the prophet did? Well, he cut King Agag into pieces. He executed him and the execution
was brutal, whole in pieces by Samuel and Gilgal. Did you hear? In ancient Israel, a prophet
was not just a spiritual guide. They were often seen as direct
messengers from God. That's what they were. And they
came with power given by God to either bless or to curse.
Prophets were used of God to appoint kings or rebuke kings
and deliver news of judgment to whole nations. And Samuel was no exception.
He was in particular seen as such a prophet. Matter of fact,
you don't have to turn back, but in Samuel 3 verse 19 and
20, it says that none of Samuel's words fell to the ground. Do
you remember that? That just simply means that everything
that Samuel said came true. God was speaking through him. And so when he shows here, when
he shows up unannounced, carrying a sacrifice with him, the elders
of this town hoped for the best, but they feared for the worst.
And I'm confident that the news had already spread concerning
the spiritual matters or the political matters of that day.
Saul is still king, but it's God had withdrawn his favor from
him. So they don't know what's going
on. arriving in the town to make a sacrifice, suggested that Samuel
might be making this offering to God as an escape from impending
judgment. They didn't know. So they asked,
are you coming peaceably? Sacrifices called peace offerings
were often made to God to appease Him. No wonder these elders were
fearful. And they're described as trembling
elders. They sensed something bad was
up. But Samuel puts them to ease in verse 5, and look what he
says. He says, I've come peaceably. I've come to sacrifice unto the
Lord, so sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And he also sanctified Jesse
and his sons and called them to the sacrifice. God's fixing
to pick his new king. Jesse's to bring all his sons
before Samuel. All except David. He didn't call
David. Why not David? Well, Jesse thought
of all his sons, he was the least likely to be king. And to be
honest with you, he was more than likely the least in Samuel's
eyes too, as we'll see, verse 6. And it came to pass when they
were come that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed
is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel,
Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature,
because I have refused him. For the Lord seeth not, as man
seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord
Looketh on the heart. Now that's the subject tonight.
When Eliab stood before Samuel, Samuel thought to himself, surely
this is the Lord's anointing. After what he had just gone through
with Saul, King Saul, Saul was head and shoulders taller than
all the men of Israel. And Samuel assumes on the basis
again of appearance and stature that alive is God's choice and
God lets him know, no, no, you're looking on the outward appearance.
We're bad about that, aren't we? We look at things and we
go, oh my. According to 1 Samuel 9, verse
2, Head and shoulders taller than
anyone else in the nation. He was an impressive specimen
and candidate for king. But as I said, here we have a
very important lesson. I love the types and pictures
of the Old Testament, but there are some very practical lessons
in the Old Testament too. Tonight we have one of them.
People judge by appearance, but God judges by the heart. Samuel sees Eliab and he assumes
he's the one. Well, I'm sure he was handsome,
he was tall, he was kingly looking. But God said, don't consider
his appearance or his height. The Lord look on, I look on the
heart, he said. God evaluates character, not
charisma. God evaluates heart, not height. We must not be fooled by what
we see on the outside. What is clear to God is often
hid from us. When it becomes apparent that
Samuel is going to choose Israel's next king from among Jesse's
sons, Jesse didn't even call David. He's the youngest, the
least experienced, probably the least, looks the least likely
to be a king someday soon. And what a reminder that our
thoughts and our ways are not God's thoughts or ways. Not even
close. That's the sin among this world
today. They thought that God was altogether
one like themselves. Men and women still do. That's
why they preach God so low and man so high. So they start out with Eliab,
and Samuel thought he was the one, and it's then that the Lord
speaks to him and says, don't look on his countenance, don't
look on his height, his stature, because I've refused him. Did
Eliab refuse God? No, God refused him. That's what
religion still teaches. Religion still teaches that sinners
accept and reject God. someone that I'm acquainted with. He has family in this church.
And he's, every time I see him now, he says, did I tell you
I accepted Jesus? And I just start to bite my lip.
Because I'm like, no, no, you didn't accept Jesus. If you are
God's child, you are accepted in Christ the Beloved. God accepts
us, we don't accept Him, and we don't reject Him. God rejected
Eliab. That word refused, there in verse
7, is the same word used when He referred to King Saul and
said, I have rejected him. Same exact word in the original
language. The word actually means abhor. You know what abhor means. Found
him detestable, repulsive. He said, I have disdained him.
I find him contemptuous. I find him to be utterly vile. That's what the word means. I
despise him. And people say, oh, don't say
that. God loves everybody. No, He doesn't. We talked about
that Sunday. Jacob have I loved? Esau have
I hated? Did Jacob deserve to be loved?
No. No more than Esau did. That is the same word, that word
rejected there, the same word used for concerning Esau. Esau have I hated? Esau have
I detested? Esau have I rejected and refused? And that's what God said of Eliah.
And that's what God said concerning Saul. And that's what God said
concerning Esau. Now in chapter 17, we'll get
to this in a week or two, maybe longer, I don't know. But if
you remember the story, and I'm sure you do, Jesse sent David
down to deliver provisions for his brothers. David's home taking
care of the sheep. These older brothers who Samuel
rejects this day are now at war and David goes down into the
valley where they face the champion Goliath. Everybody knows the
story about David and Goliath. David questioned why Israel tolerated
this uncircumcised giant. And in verse 26 of that chapter,
David said, what shall be done to the man that killeth this
Philistine and taketh away this reproach from Israel? For who
is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies
of the living God? Well, I don't know if you've
looked, David, but he's like nine or 10 foot tall. His sword,
you couldn't pick up. And, you know, he's more we can
handle. He wasn't the David. Well, anyway,
that's another story, another time. But Eliab, the one we're
talking about, the elder brother of David, David got angry with
him. And in verse 28, he said, why
comest thou down here? And with whom hast thou left
those sheep in the wilderness? Hey, little shepherd boy, what
are you doing down here anyway? This is business of men, not
boys. And who's watching the sheep,
little shepherd boy? Hast thou left those few sheep
in the wilderness? I know your pride, I know how you are, and
the naughtiness of thine heart, For thou art come down that thou
mightest see the battle. That's the only reason you're
here. You're just nosy and you want to see what's going on. And David said, what have I now
done? Is there not a cause? Is there
not a cause? What was David's cause? You ever
thought about it? The glory of God. David had a
desire to glorify God. And Eliab said, you don't care
about the glory of God out of the naughtiness. And that word
means evil. These are strong words. He said,
you're a evil little shepherd boy. You're just down here trying
to stir up trouble. And you just came to watch the
battle. And it's in this that Eliab exposes
himself as to what he really was. But it didn't catch God
by surprise. God already knew. God had rejected
him. God said, Samuel, don't you look
on his countenance. Don't you look on his stature.
Don't you judge him on that. For the Lord, now listen, the
Lord seeth not. The Lord seeth not as man seeth.
Men look on the outside, God looks on the inside. Men look
on a man's height, God looks on a man's heart. Big difference. That's what Solomon meant when
he said in Proverbs 23, seven, for as a man thinketh in his
heart, so is he. A man is not as his mouth declares. We all exaggerate. I get tickled
sometimes when men, if the subject of a man's height comes up. We're
always about two or three inches taller than what we really are.
How tall are you? Oh, I'm six, seven. No, you're
not. So, but this also means as a
man is, so he thinks others to be. When lost men and women talk,
listen, they tell on themselves, and Eliab did hear. Eliab told
on himself. He himself was guilty of what
he accused David of being. Saul was impressive to the flesh. Eliab was impressive to the flesh. But God refused them both because
God does not see as man sees. The Lord sees. Listen, the Lord
sees things as they really are, not as how they appear to be.
I think about Genesis 6, 5, and God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the
thought of his heart was only evil continually. That's how
things really are. God says that we're wicked, that
every imagination we think is only evil and only evil continually. We don't think anything but evil
thoughts by nature. Men and women don't see themselves
that way. But God sees us how we really
are. And then let's flip that. How
glorious is it to know how God sees us in Christ? The Lord Jesus
presents us to be holy. Unblameable. Unreprovable. Above reproved. You know how
good you have to be to be above reproved? You've got to be perfect.
That's how God sees us. And listen, that's how things
really are. Isn't that good? Oh my! In His own sight and in God's
sight, we are holy, unblameable, and unreprovable, one and the
same. Both Christ and God are God. Their sight is the only sight
that matters. Don't matter how others see me.
If God sees me that way, then that's exactly how God sees His
people. David was a man after God's own
heart. His will was aligned with God's
will. It was a heart given in regeneration. It was a new heart God gave him.
Not the heart of the natural man. That's the old man. That's
that evil nature that lives within. But this is talking about a regenerated
heart. That heart that God gives us
in the new birth. That heart that was created by
God, given in the new creation. Not the heart that we're born
with. This is a newly created heart. Our old heart is deceitful above
all things. It's desperately wicked. Our
old heart is made of stone, and God has replaced it with a heart
of flesh. A soft, responsive heart. It comes from God. A new heart,
given in a new birth. How do the Scriptures describe
and reveal this heart that God gives us? What is the description
of the heart that God looks upon? You know, I thought about that,
and I thought, well, listen, I can just go through the concordance
and look every time how the word heart is used and see how it's
described. So that's what I did. And that's
what I'm going to show you in the rest of the time that we
have. I want to look quickly through
the Scriptures and see how God describes the believer's heart.
That's the title of this message, the believer's heart. God refers
to it often as the whole heart. That's the first one. A heart
divided does not trust the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable
in all his ways. We must love and trust Christ
with our whole heart, not a divided heart. David said in Psalm 91,
I will praise thee, O God, with my whole heart. He said in Psalm
119.2, blessed are those that keep his testimonies and that
seek him with the whole heart. In Psalm 119.10, it says, with
my whole heart have I sought thee. I shall keep thy law with my
whole heart, Psalm 119.34. I am treated thy favor with my
whole heart. How do we seek the Lord with
our whole heart? One that needs help will. I will keep thy precepts
with my whole heart, Psalm 119.69. And then the Scriptures talk
a great deal about a broken heart. A believer's heart is a broken
heart. A broken heart is a heart broken
over sin. It sees itself as no good. The
heart is the only thing that at its best state that's at its best state when
it's broken. You've got a broken clock, it's right twice a day,
right? But if you've got a broken heart, the Lord considers that
to be a blessing. It's the only thing that, when
it's broken, it's at its best state. Broken over sin. The new heart's the only heart
that can see sin, and it's broken at the sight of it. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, because they're foolishness unto
him. He cannot know them, because
they're spiritually discerned. His heart can't see the things
of God until God gives him an understanding heart. All the
old heart the old man can see is the bad things that he's done.
And He'll wear you out on those things. He'll remind you at every
step that you're worthless. And he's right. But in Christ,
it's not so. It's the new heart that mourns
over sin. Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. The heart is often called a willing
heart. Exodus 35, 5. This heart that
will not believe and will not come to Christ is made willing
in the day of God's power. Who made our hearts willing?
The same one that gave us a new heart, God. We didn't make ourselves
willing. We will not come to Him that
we might have lost. Our hearts are willingly made
to be saved in such a way that God gets all the glory. We're
not trying to take any credit for our work. A believer won't.
He'll be the first to tell you, hey, no, no, I'm saved by grace
through faith. It's not of myself, it's a gift
of God, not by works. I have nothing to boast about.
Paul wrote, to will is present with me, but how to perform that
which is good, I find not. That's talking about the old
heart. The willing heart is made able in Christ to perform the
will of God. God can actually take one who's
unwilling. He's the only one that can. Can
take a heart that is unwilling and make it willing. We're evidence
of that. He's the only one that can do
it. Exodus chapter 35 verse 21 tells us about a stirred heart. The ungenerated heart is, the
regenerated heart, excuse me, is stirred by the Spirit of God. You know, when David, I mentioned
it a moment ago, but when David said, is there not a cause? When he told Eliad that? He said, is there not a cause?
You're gonna let this uncircumcised Man, you know, an enemy of God. Talk about God and defy God's
army this way. Is there not a cause? Boy, his
heart was stirred. You better believe it was. It
was stirred with a zeal for God's glory. Many times in the scripture,
we're told of a perfect heart. A perfect heart's a pure heart.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Without
it, you won't see. Let your heart therefore be perfect
with the Lord our God to walk in His statutes and to keep His
commandments. 1 Kings 8, 61. You see, only
Christ who is pure can give us a pure heart. A pure heart is
a product, a result of the new birth. Anything and everything
that comes from God is pure. A pure heart is a heart that
does not sin. Now, in 2 Samuel chapter 24,
we'd be here all night if I turned you to these, so I'm just gonna
tell you about it. 2 Samuel 24 verse 10 tells us something of
a smitten heart. When God brings one to repentance,
their heart will be smitten. When God smites your heart, you'll
stop vindicating yourself. You'll stop justifying yourself. You'll stop blaming others for
your sin. Oh, I still do, and then I catch
myself, and I'm like, who am I trying to fool? This is my
fault. This is because of my sin. The psalmist said my heart is
smitten and withered like grass because of sin. The heart God
gives us is a smitten heart. And the heart God gives us is
a heart of wisdom and understanding, according to 1 Kings 3, verse
9. That kind of heart will cause
a sinner to understand their need of the Lord Jesus. You know,
we talk to people and they just don't see their need of Christ.
I have children who don't see their need of Christ. They're
doing so well on their own. I don't have a need. But when
God gives you a heart, it's a heart that understands. It's a heart
of wisdom. And it's a kind of heart that
says, oh, I need help. I'm in trouble. I need help. God, help me. God's given you
a heart of wisdom and understanding if you feel that way, if you
trust Christ alone. He certainly has. In most cases,
we understand that we don't understand. And you know what I mean by that.
Well, you seem to have a real understanding of the Scriptures.
Yes, I understand that I don't have much understanding. The
more I study the Scriptures, the more I see I don't know.
And the more I see my need of Him. I don't need to know everything. I just need to know Him. I do have enough wisdom and understanding
to know that. If I don't have Christ, I'm in
a heap of trouble. You know, I don't understand
the Trinity. I don't understand how God can be three persons
in one. Do you understand that? No, no
one can. I don't understand God becoming
a man. How can God become a man? I don't
understand that. And I definitely don't understand
God becoming sin. People talk about figuring things
out in the Bible. We try to figure that out. God
becoming sin. A man and then a sinful man. I don't understand
how I'm made the righteousness of God in Christ. I really don't.
How can someone that still feels the way I feel inwardly and does
the things I do and thinks the thing I think be considered righteousness? I understand only in Christ.
I understand that. God's given me that much wisdom. God gave me a heart of understanding. That's the only way. And then
in 1 Kings 4, verse 29, God gave Solomon, it says, largeness of
heart. Largeness of heart, not a narrow
heart. In 1 Kings 9, verse 4, God gave
Solomon a heart of integrity. That word integrity is surprisingly
translated as simplicity. This is a heart with a simple
object of faith. You know, usually we call somebody
simple or simpleton. We just mean they're the town
idiot. Every town seems to have one.
But when we look at the word and what it means in the scripture,
it means integrity. It means simple mind, a heart
with a simple object of faith. This is a heart that believes
and trusts in Christ alone. The one who has integrity looks
to Christ alone. It's simple. Our gospel is simple. Don't be deceived by the simplicity
that's in Christ. It's a heart of simplicity and
integrity. David said, created me a clean
heart, renew a right spirit in me. You and I can't clean our
hearts up. I remember that was my standard
answer in religion. Well, you need to give your heart
to Jesus. Well, I'm gonna straighten up some things first. It was
just to get him off my back. We can't straighten up a fire,
right? We can't clean up what sin's messed up. It's a creative act of God alone,
a heart that looks alone to Christ. That's God's word. Turn with
me to Ezekiel. I think we looked at it. Yeah,
we looked at chapter 33. It's right before, is it before or right after Daniel? I can't remember. But anyway,
Ezekiel chapter 36. I want you to see this one. Very
familiar scripture. Ezekiel 36 and verse 26. 36, 26. This is God speaking. And He says, a new heart also
will I give you. That's what we're talking about,
a new heart. And a new spirit will I put within you. Who's gonna put it within you?
God is. And I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh. And I will give you a heart of
flesh. And I will put my spirit within
you and cause you to walk in my statutes. And ye shall keep
my judgments and do them. because of this new heart that
God gives us. Verse 28 says, ye shall dwell
in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ye shall be my people,
and I will be your God. Is there any doubtful language
in that? These are all the results of
God giving us a new heart. God's people love the I wills. I love the I wills of God. and
they shalls. I will, they shall. It's the
only way it can be. If they don't, God never willed. I will, they shall. What a glorious
revelation. Whatever God wills comes to pass. You can count on it. And then
in verse 29, look what he says, I will also save you from all
your uncleannesses. And I will call for the corn
and will increase it and lay no famine upon you. That's talking
about a famine of the word of God. And I will multiply the
fruit of the tree and the increase of the field that ye shall receive
no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall you remember
your own evil ways." And that goes back to what I was saying
earlier. Only a regenerated heart, only a renewed mind can see how
evil we used to be. When we were blind in our evilness,
we couldn't see it. We thought we was A-OK, didn't
we? He said, then you shall remember your own evil ways, verse 31,
and your doings that were not good. And what will you do? You're gonna loathe yourselves
in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Now
there's a description of the believer and the heart that God
gives them. We loathe ourself, poor myself. That's what comes with a new
heart that God gives. Our hearts become so clean in
Christ that we loathe our own selves. And I know I'm not the only one
this way, but sometimes when I, I become so hard headed and
I just, you know, and I know I'm wrong, but I'm not going
to confess I'm wrong. And I'm, and, and man, that's
just, that's just torture in me. But God shows us our iniquities
and we see what we are because he's given us a new heart. We
gotta thank God for it. Our hearts have been made clean
and perfect. And we see that old man within. And then in the New Testament,
these hearts are called a believing heart. Boy, I like that. A believing
heart. It's with the heart that man
believeth unto righteousness. You cannot believe God's imputed
righteousness without a believing heart. It's with the heart. It's with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation because it's the heart that believes
it. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. It's a heart that believes the
gospel. Why is it that we didn't believe
the gospel before? We didn't have the heart. It's a heart that relies upon
Christ. Why didn't we rely upon Christ
before? God hadn't given us a new heart. It's with the heart that we believe
Jesus Christ is God. How do you know Jesus Christ
is God? I just know. I just know that I know. I can't
give you an outline on how I know. I just know that I know because
God gave me a believing heart. It's a heart that we believe
Jesus Christ is God. Paul didn't say, I believe I'm
saved. He didn't say, I believe I'm one of the elect. He didn't
say, I believe that I'm born again. But he did believe that Jesus
Christ was the son of God. And by God's grace, so do I.
He's the Son of God. And He loved me and He gave Himself
for me. I know that. How do I know? I
can't tell you. I just know. I just know. His
Spirit bears witness with my spirit that it's so. A believing
heart understands that only God can give it. In Acts chapter
two, let me read this to you. Verse 36, Peter preached, therefore
let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made
that same Jesus whom you've crucified, both Lord and Christ. I believe that. I believe that
he's both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they
were pricked, pierced in their heart. That's the next kind of
heart that God gives, a pricked heart, a pierced heart. And they
said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren,
what shall we do? What are we going to do? We see what we are. What are
we going to do? And Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost. You see, a believing heart is
a heart that's been pierced. It's a heart that's been pricked.
Our hearts have experienced deep conviction and emotional pain
over the realization of our sin. There's nothing that tears me
up worse than the realization of my sin. We've been cut to
the heart. Many experience the same thing
they did when Peter preached when Stephen preached. In Acts
chapter 7, when they heard these things, it says in verse 54 of
Acts 7, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed on Him
with their teeth. And I remembered a time not so
long ago, I mean, they actually bit on Him? No, that's not what
that means. They used their words against
Him. The Gospel has two effects on
men and women's hearts. one of conviction and repentance,
and the other of anger and violence. Both Peter and Stephen's message
cut to the heart. But Peter's message brought the
first result, conviction and repentance. Men said, what must
we do to be saved? How are we going to get out of
this mess? And Stephen's brought the second
result, anger and violence. And after hearing Peter's message,
they said, what can we do? And after hearing Stephen's message,
they stoned him to death. The king's heart's in the hand
of the Lord to do what he wills as the king of kings. Then there's singleness of heart. Oh my, Lord, give me the singleness
of heart. Acts 2, 46, and they continued
daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from
house to house did eat their meat with gladness and singleness
of heart. This is a heart that has a single
object of faith, just like we talked about simplicity. We know
who and what that object of faith is, don't we? It's a heart that
looks to Christ and nowhere else. If you lack faith, look to Christ.
If you lack hope, look to Christ. If you lack peace, look to Christ.
If you don't have any rest, look to Christ. We look to Him for
everything. And when we experience the most
pain and suffering is when we don't. It's called singleness
of heart. The Bible then refers to a circumcised
heart. I'm about finished. It's found
in Romans chapter two, verses 28 and 29, for he's not a Jew,
which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is
outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly,
and circumcision is back of the heart, in the spirit, and not
in the letter of the law, whose praise is not of men, but of
God. The new circumcised heart is praised by God. God loves
it. Whose praise is not of men, but
of God. It's the work of His grace. And
that's why He praised it. It's His work. Peter calls it
the hidden man of the heart, 1 Peter 3, 4, but let it be the
hidden man of the heart. in that which is not corruptible,
even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the
sight of God, a great price." Peter there is addressing believing
women, specifically wives, and he's telling them, don't focus
on external beauty, the plaiting of your hair, the wearing of
gold, putting on fancy apparel. Our concern should be to focus
on our inner character, the hidden man in the heart. That part of
the heart that truly believes God. That's the new heart, the
hidden person of the heart. And that refers to who we are
inwardly. Our character, our attitude,
our spiritual maturity that God has freely given us in Christ.
That meek and quiet spirit doesn't mean that you're timid or voiceless. It means being humble and self-controlled
and peaceful rather than loud, harsh, and self-promoting. I'm
convicted just saying that, but that's what it is. Peter says
that kind of spirit doesn't fade like outward beauty does. Outward
beauty fades. We all know that if we're honest
with ourselves. God values this inward beauty. This is the heart that God looks
upon. So, closing, look at Hebrews
10 with me. Verse 22. The last one I'll tell you about
is a true heart. That's the best of all, a true
heart. Hebrews 10, verse 22. The writer says, let us draw
near. Near what? Near to God. With
a true heart. In full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water. The heart that draws near to
God with faith in Christ, friends, is the new and true heart. and God gave it to us. Everything
else is false. This is the heart that the Lord
beheld in David. He was truly a man after God's
own heart. And that's what I so desired
to be, a man after God's own heart. I fall so short in and
of myself, but not in Christ. Not in Christ. I want to be a
man after God's own heart and only in Christ can I be. But God sees things as they are,
as they truly are. And in Christ, I am a man after
God's own heart. And you're a woman after God's
own heart. We ought to praise God for just that wonderful revelation. Man looks on the outside, but
the Lord looks on the heart.