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00:01 Good morning church. Please stand with me as we read God's word.
00:08 Today's scripture passage is taken from 1st Samuel chapter 16 vers 1 to13.
00:17 Samuel anoints David. The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will
00:23 you mourn for Saul? Since I have rejected him as king over Israel,
00:31 fill your horn with oil and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of
00:37 Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king." But Samuel said, "How can I
00:45 go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me. The Lord said, "Take a heer with you
00:53 and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord."
00:58 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to
01:04 anoint for me the one I indicate." Samuel did what the Lord said. When he
01:11 arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled. When they met him, they
01:18 asked, "Do you come in peace?" Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace I have come to
01:25 sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice
01:30 with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the
01:37 sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Ilia and
01:43 thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord." But the
01:50 Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have
01:56 rejected him." The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look
02:02 at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
02:08 Then Jesse called Abinab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But
02:15 Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either." Jesse then had Shama
02:22 passed by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the Lord chosen this one." Jesse had seven
02:29 of his sons passed before Samuel. But Samuel said to him, "The Lord has not
02:35 chosen these." So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is
02:42 still the youngest," Jesse answered. "He is tending the sheep." Samuel said,
02:47 "Send for him. We will not sit down until he arrives." So he sent for him
02:55 and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance
03:01 and handsome features. Then the Lord said, "Rise and anoint
03:07 him. This is the one." So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the
03:13 presence of his brothers. And from that day on, the spirit of the Lord came
03:20 powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Rama. This is the word of God.
03:32 Good morning everyone. Can you hear me? Okay. Good morning, brothers and sisters in Christ. Okay. Um, before I start,
03:39 next week, uh, brother Arnold will be speaking on Saul's selfdeception part
03:45 two, 1st Samuel 15. It's supposed to be backtoback part one and then part two this week, but I couldn't make it next
03:51 week, so switch back. Um, the Lord's Beloved, 2 Samuel chapter 12, uh, Dr.
03:57 Peter, uh, and David and Bashiba, very famous text. Uh 2 Samuel chapter 11:14
04:04 and chapter 12 by brother Alex. Okay. So um let me check and see. Okay, it's
04:09 working good. All right. Uh before we begin, let's bow our heads and ask the Lord's blessing in this prayer. Our
04:16 father, we come before you and we acknowledge that you have told us in your word that we do not see as you see.
04:24 You look on the heart while we look on the outward appearance. Pray, Father,
04:29 that you will teach us now to see the same way that you do, to look for the same things, to focus on the same
04:35 things, and that you will also transform our hearts into hearts of men and women
04:42 after your very own heart. And we ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Okay. Good morning once
04:50 again, everyone. Well, let's try that one more time. Good morning. Okay. All
04:55 right. Okay. So today we're looking at a man after God's own heart. And this actually um David's story and David's
05:02 story is actually quite um significant because he is actually a person that has
05:07 written about in the Old Testament and um very lengthy at that as well. So the background to this story is in 1st
05:14 Samuel chapter 9. Right? So what happened is that um we learned about Saul last week. Um I think there was uh
05:22 how Saul was you know going after the Amalachites and then the problem was that there was a commandment given
05:28 destroy everything you know the Amalachites were you know people who were unjust they you know um killed
05:35 people who you know and and and took their children you know killed their children he says likewise you're going to make this man um his mother childless
05:43 you know king A you kill him it's not about cruelty it's about justice And
05:50 Saul didn't quite get the point, right? He didn't want to obey. He still decided to do things his own way. So he he
05:56 partially obeyed, not truly obeyed, right? But he was selected, right, as king in 1st Samuel 9, many chapters
06:02 before, about six chapters before. We are told that there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish and he has
06:08 a son, right? And so this man of Benjamin, he he was a man of wealth. And
06:14 verse two, he had a son whose name was Saul. handsome young man. You know, there was not a man among the people of
06:19 Israel more handsome than he. So, he's very good-looking. And then from his shoulder up, he was taller than any of
06:24 the people. Wow. You know, everyone is shorter than him, you know, shoulders down, you know. So, he was big. He looked like a warrior. Okay. And that
06:31 was the obvious choice for a king, you know, as people wanted a king based on the outward appearance rather than what God is looking at. So, Saul was soon
06:38 disqualified because of said earlier disobedience. So, God rejected him.
06:44 Okay. So in 1 Samuel 15 uh this is the key to obey is better than sacrifice.
06:50 Okay. So that's a quick recap. Now let me tell you a few stories before we we
06:55 start. Okay. Um I'm a bit hesitant to tell this because uh some Okay. Uh never
07:01 mind. Okay. The point is this. Okay. Um I I am a person who likes books. All
07:07 right. And um I decided to take someone to the bookstore. Uh, but she doesn't
07:14 quite like books, right? She doesn't quite like to read. And it turns out,
07:20 um, I was just perusing my books, just looking around here and there, and looking for my next book to to look at,
07:26 and then suddenly she picks up this really thick novel, and I was like, "Wow, this very impressive for someone
07:32 who doesn't like to read, you know, you're picking up very big novel." And I was like, "Wow, it's thick." Then I
07:37 asked, "What's so interesting about this book? Like, why why did you pick this one up?" I was like, "Oh, because it's
07:42 really pretty." You know, it's like what they have what is called um sprayed
07:48 edges. All right, sprayed edges means the edges of the book are actually painted. So, it's actually very very
07:53 pretty. All right? And by the way, this person I I ended up marrying. So, yeah,
08:00 judging a book by its cover, right? So, so number one is lesson number one. Don't don't judge a book by its cover.
08:07 Don't judge your future life partner by whether she likes or he likes to read or don't doesn't like to read. So that's
08:13 number one. Story number one. Okay. Now the other thing that I would like to mention about is uh on the 20th of
08:19 October right there I think everyone knows about this most people who knows about this news. Okay. Okay. Not talking
08:27 to okay for those who are not aware. Okay. This is called the L I know how no idea how to pronounce it. Lou L. Okay.
08:36 You know what it is? It's a museum in Paris. All right. Is it in Paris? It's France. Okay. So, um there was a heist.
08:44 All right. A very big one at that. 88 million euros worth of jewelry was
08:49 stolen in broad daylight. All right. Broad daylight. That's the best part. You know, it's not like it came at night, you know, and then took it. Broad
08:55 daylight. How in the world did they pull this off? This is not the Italian job.
09:00 This is like the French job. I don't know how they did it, man. So they brought uh you know a truck with you
09:06 know that uh you know the lift and the elevator and then they went all the way with with high visibility jackets you
09:13 know so so they acted like you know sort of contractors nobody better than I nobody cared you know it's like oh yeah
09:18 you know these are contractors okay you know so with this high visibility jacket apparently now today you can actually go anywhere in the world without getting
09:25 caught so that's what happened you know they smashed the glass they quickly took it they ran you know and and they
09:31 finally got caught but I mean for them to actually get that far. It's actually quite the achievement. All right. So,
09:36 what do these two stories have in common? And actually, the the word is misdirection. All right. Now, it's very
09:42 tough to explain this because I'm not a magician. I can't do magic tricks. All right. But I will try to, you know, help
09:49 you and myself to, you know, see whether we can understand this better. All right. So, what I'm going to do is that
09:55 I'm going to ask you to help me with spelling something. All right? And I
10:00 want you to observe where I spell wrongly. All right? So, let's try that.
10:05 I'm going to sign you an alphabet and you're going to say out what that alphabet is. Okay? And then at the end,
10:12 we'll check and see whether the spelling is correct or not. Okay? All right. So, I'll try one just just a test run.
10:20 What's this P? All right. Everyone says it's a P. Okay. Uh let's try another one.
10:27 Okay. Good. Okay. So for the people at the site, sorry you may not be able to see. Let's try that. Okay. With a full
10:34 word. All right. Um let me let me I have to put this down because yeah.
10:40 So let's start. Next one.
10:47 And then after that and then
10:54 Okay. And then uh so what did I spell action? Did I spell
11:01 it correctly? Yeah, but there are other things I didn't spell correctly. Uh if you look
11:06 on the screen is it's a bit jumbled up, right? It's no longer misdirection. It's is
11:11 miss something. Do do you see what I've done is to bring
11:16 your attention somewhere while something else happens somewhere else. Something something else happens somewhere else.
11:22 Yes. So that's misdirection. Okay, these two stories, what they have in common is misdirection. When you judge a book by its cover, you're looking at at what
11:29 really doesn't really matter about the book, right? The content matters more. And for people who managed to get to the
11:35 L and actually carry out the heist, it's really because they have actually managed to pretend to be just like
11:43 someone in the background. You won't actually look their attention is misdirected. Same thing. So this is how
11:49 people pickpocket, right? So you if you travel you know you realize there's some certain people who come to talk to you you actually have to be very cautious
11:54 because especially if say a pretty lady comes up and you know sir you know what and then if there someone else you know will be picking your pocket while your
12:01 attention is actually directed somewhere else. So misdirection this happens a lot and our attention is easily easily
12:08 easily misdirected and 1st Samuel 16 is no different and this is why we actually had to go
12:14 through all those so you have an idea. All right. S Samuel says um you know he
12:20 was actually grieving about Saul because Saul was selected by God and then you know um after that you know it didn't
12:26 turn out he was selected based on his appearance remember. So Samuel says how long God says to Samuel how long will
12:32 you grieve over Saul I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn and go you know I will send you to Jesse the
12:38 Bethlehemite for I have provided myself a king among his sons. And then he says you know you shall anoint him you know
12:44 whom I declare unto you. And when he came, the first one came, Eli came. Surely the Lord's anointed is before
12:49 him. Surely is this this the man? Surely because he's big, you know, he's tall. He's strong. He says, you know what God
12:56 says? You know, do not look on his outward appearance or on the height of
13:01 his stature. He was tall because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward
13:08 appearance, but God looks on the heart. Then you know he passed by. Neither has
13:13 the Lord chosen this. And then Shama neither this one you know and then seven all seven sons came along and says none
13:19 of these have God have chosen and Samuel said to Jesse you know all your sons here just all these ones he clearly
13:25 there's one that you know God has chosen is none of these so the only way I can eliminate these possibilities is that
13:31 there must be another son that you're not that you haven't brought they say oh yes there remains the youngest you know he's keeping the sheep you know and he
13:37 says go and get him you know uh we will not sit down until he comes so when David came along. You know, he
13:45 was described as ruddy, beautiful, and handsome. Oo, interesting. You know, I thought say we weren't supposed to choose based on the outward appearance.
13:51 And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he." You know, sounds a bit like making a mistake again. And then
13:57 Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. So, this is the
14:03 text we're looking at today. Samuel repeats his mistake the first time, right? Look, our appearance. Saul,
14:10 remember, he was taller than everyone else, handsome. No other man more handsome in Israel. And then after that,
14:15 look at Jesse's sons. You know, Samuel looks at Eli who's also big, you know, and so strong, resembles Saul and God
14:21 says, "Look, you're getting your pockets picked again. You're repeating the same mistake. You're you're buying into false
14:27 advertising." Same problem that you had before, you're doing it again. So, lesson number one, we learn about a man
14:35 after God's own heart. God looks on the heart. Number one. Okay. So, how do we know that God looks on the heart? He
14:41 says that already, right? And what does he look at? Saul, he had no character. He was a king, but he was not kingly. He
14:46 never served his people. He had size, he had strength, he had money, he had pedigree, everything that you wanted
14:52 so-called in a king. Great education and connections, you know, but his heart was not fit to be a king. He was a
15:00 narcissist. His chief concern was about himself. You'll see this in the text later. It was not to pro protect the
15:06 people or defend the weak. about how he's going to be the most influential man around and that he's going to be admired. That's his main concern. In
15:13 God's eyes, beauty is on the inside. It's internal and it's not on the outside. So, let's look at some biblical
15:20 examples. You know what did the Lord notice? You know, this widow with two mites, you know, she is very little
15:25 money. She threw in all her living into the temple offering and the Lord Jesus when he she he saw it he just said this
15:33 lady has put in all you know that she had there you know is worth more than all the other rich people throwing in their money you know there's way more
15:39 than her the Lord Jesus looking at her heart right the parable of the Pharisee
15:44 and the tax collector you know so so there there's um one tax collector there you know saying you know oh you know I
15:49 I've sinned against the law you know and it's like I can't even you know raise my face towards heaven you know and and the
15:56 text. No, the Pharisee comes along and says, "You know what? I've done, you know, what I needed to do. I've tithed,
16:01 you know, I've given to the poor, you know, I have, you know, done all these sacrifices. I've done this. I've done
16:06 that. You know, I'm better than the tax collector over there, you know." And what does God see? It's not not what the
16:11 Pharisee brought is at the heart. The tax collector had repentance and the Pharisee didn't. God always looks on the
16:18 heart. That's just two examples. What kind of inner beauty on the heart is God talking about? You know, so so these are few questions you can ask yourselves.
16:25 Are we less prone to selfishness or self-pity? Are we less prone to envy or vanity? Are we less sensitive to
16:31 criticism, you know, than we were, you know, maybe two to three years ago? Are we wiser, you know, are we happier? Are
16:37 we less anxious? You know, are the daily vicissitudes of life, the circumstances, do they change us? Do they concern us as
16:43 much? Do we know how to love and be loved? You know, these are things that matter on the inner side. So the
16:49 question is why not look at externals? Why don't we look at the externals? God sees the beauty that is internal, right?
16:55 He says, "Don't look at the externals. Don't be fooled by appearances. Don't get your pockets picked." Why not?
17:00 Because internal beauty grows and is permanent. External doesn't. Right? So
17:06 the external beauty and attractiveness is just temporary. A lot of things that you know on the outside is only temporary. The internal beauty has
17:12 capacity to grow stronger and stronger and stronger and it endures not only throughout your life, but if you believe
17:18 in the Lord Jesus Christ, it endures for eternity. Right? It's the only beauty that can last and grow forever. And it's
17:26 what that truly matters because what makes a kingdom go well in the context of a king right when they selected
17:31 whether Saul or David does it really matter whether the king was you know great a great warrior to a lot of people
17:38 yes you know like Alexander the great right you know he didn't last very long but do you realize that they are chosen
17:44 based on how they can conquer and all that but it wasn't a great kingdom it was big but it wasn't like you know the
17:51 people were happy or anything right so it's not about being a brilliant tactician Not beauty, not intelligence,
17:56 not talent, not these things don't matter so much to God. What really matters is the king's heart. Is he wise?
18:04 Does he know how to judge between right and wrong? Is he a loving king? That's what these are the things that make a
18:10 kingdom go well. We'll see some examples after this. If you know Queen Elizabeth II and then compare her with Diana,
18:17 right? Diana was rejected out of the royal household for, you know, reasons.
18:23 You know, my my mom is a huge fan of Diana. And August 31st, 1997, we were
18:28 passing by, I think, in front of S P in the car and she was crying just because she heard Diana died.
18:33 Interestingly enough, right, um,
18:39 she was known as the people's princess, right? and and she
18:45 yes on the outward she's definitely looking better than than Elizabeth II but but but in the on the inner side in
18:51 that in that sense people treasured her more because she was willing to breach that barrier with the people that the
18:58 royalty wouldn't right so people like queen Elizabeth I will always have this
19:04 you know um decorum that she has about her you know we will not do this and we will not touch you know all but but but
19:11 Diana was very different. So what people tend to also appreciate
19:17 but don't really see is actually what's on the inside, right? Um again I'm not
19:23 talking about whether we should be like Diana or the queen. That's not the point. I'm just saying that it's more important to look at character. Okay?
19:28 And you come to realize that you know during her funeral you know I think there were 2.5 billion viewings around the world and the queen Elizabeth I
19:34 think barely anyone better than I internal beauty what truly matters don't let your pockets get picked. All right.
19:40 When you're distracted, you know, and you're looking at the wrong things. When you're looking at the outward appearance of a person, you're being pickpocketed.
19:47 That's how your pockets get picked. So don't be distracted, you know, by beauty, by polish, by sleekness, talent,
19:53 success. These things don't really matter as much as your heart character. None of these things really really
19:58 matter. All right? Character is more important than the externals. All right?
20:04 So they are inconsequential compared to their character. If we look at them and are obsessed with them all the time or
20:09 even just think we are more concerned about the outside whether someone has more money but it doesn't matter so much whether he has good heart or a bad heart
20:16 we are blinded we are having our pockets picked so remember heart character to
20:21 God in God's eyes is more important than physical appearance all right is is very
20:26 easy for us to go off track and just say yeah so I have to be a better person right but that's not the point now why is this so important I think this is a
20:32 way that I can illustrate this if I have what's on the outside right okay so Imagine this. This is scalpel. All
20:37 right, for use for surgery. In the hands of a surgeon, it's lifegiving.
20:44 But in the hands of this man, it's life-taking. Right? You get the point, right? It's not about the tool. It's
20:50 about who is using the tool. What heart does the person have? It's not about having looks. It's what the person do
20:56 about the looks, right? Is or what about the person who has money. It's not not just about having money. It's what he
21:01 does or she does about that money. The tool, right? We are also obsessed with the tool but we are not obsessed with
21:08 the heart that's using the tool and and the same thing with people in power you know in the right hands it can lift a
21:14 third world country into a first world country and in the hands of a wrong person is just to enrich himself
21:21 it's all about me myself and I look at the heart is it for the people or is it for me right so remember the miseries of
21:28 this world are not caused by the lack of intelligence lack of money lack of power lack of it's it's not a lack of talent,
21:36 you know, or brilliance. It's not that. It's a lack of love. It's a lack of character. It's because of pride,
21:42 selfishness, hate. These are the things which cause the miseries they have from wars to broken relationships.
21:48 It's a categorical statement. Every person is counted in this. When God says
21:54 that man looks on the outward appearance, he's not just saying, "Oh, yeah, you know, Samuel, you don't." No, man. Everyone. All right. No one is
22:00 exempted. Not even myself. Everyone tends to look at their own appearance and it's because of sin, right? But
22:07 let's dial back a little bit and we will talk about a little bit more about culture. All right? It's an abiding problem in all cultures in all times.
22:14 It's universal. All right? Everyone is easily distracted and has our pockets
22:20 picked. So we think more about the physical more than any group in history and in our
22:28 world in any other century. more than any other century and any other culture. All right? And I want to show you why.
22:36 Now, first, Martin Luther King Jr., he was a civil rights activist many many years ago. And he had a very very famous
22:42 speech. He's one of the best orators in our history. All right? And and it's a
22:48 it's a fascinating uh speech that one because you you you go and listen to it to yourself and you realize it was
22:54 electrifying. the the the black people, they were, you know, very heavily
22:59 scrutinized, you know, marginalized, sorry. Uh they were treated harshly. They didn't quite get jobs. You get onto
23:05 a bus, you know, if it's a black person sitting on a seat, a white person comes up, you have to actually stand up and give your seat to the white person.
23:12 There was a lot of discrimination and he was using words. He moved an
23:17 entire nation. And this part of his speech was one of his most powerful. I have a dream that my four little
23:24 children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content
23:32 of their character. This is really summarizing the heart of our text today.
23:38 This is what God is looking at and this is really the key. We tend to judge people by the outward appearance not by
23:45 the content of their character. And actually this goes a lot deeper because
23:51 in today's world we have things that change it and turn it the other way
23:56 around. All right. We now tend to judge people by the quality and the shape and
24:03 the color of their skin more so than their character. Just by looking as whether someone's pretty or not.
24:10 And actually you come to realize that this is because sin hab deeply
24:15 habituates us to look at things differently than God does. Right? So when we walk down the street, we we find
24:22 our heads are turning, you know, to look at what God deems spiritually inconsequential and unreal.
24:30 In fact, one of the great epidemics of our time is pornography. Why? because it
24:36 deeply habituates people to look at just what is skin deep and not the person.
24:43 You're objectifying people and there goes the person out of the window. It's just how they look that really matters.
24:49 That's the problem. That is why the whole world is turning upside down because sin makes us look at these
24:55 things more and more and more. We are in a culture where we are
25:00 obsessed with what we see. All right? It's based on appearance in the media. And I will just jump through this very
25:06 very quickly. Right? We are obsessed with image status success, you know, and images are powerful. They speak more
25:12 than words. It's all about images and not about ideas anymore. If I can get my image, if I can get my video to be
25:18 viral, right? Even if it's wrong, it's still going to go through. That's why Trump won, right? So, we live in a
25:24 culture where visuals ring. So, many many years ago, I don't think it's quite
25:29 recent anymore, not many of us will, you know, have this in our home nowadays. All right. This is what we call a
25:34 library. All right, in case anyone doesn't know because in the advent with the advent of the television, everybody
25:40 started looking at visuals, right? I'm oversimplifying this, but you get the point. And now we have a we have a
25:46 television in our pockets, you know, we don't even need to to have a library anymore. Some people still read on their phones. Great. But because visuals are
25:53 so appealing more than words and ideas, people tend to follow those images more and videos more. And there's this study
25:60 done in the US, you know, national assessment of educational progress long-term. I'm not going to read the whole thing. Anyway, the the point is
26:06 there's a decline in reading, all right, among youths, you know, 50%
26:11 actually now almost there of teenagers don't really read in their leisure time,
26:17 hardly ever. Do you see the increasing trend and the decreasing of trend of people who say almost every day right
26:24 now? Interesting enough, that spike happened when the iPhone was released 2007. All
26:31 right, that was when the iPhone was announced and released and you know, lo and behold, nobody wants to read
26:36 anymore. Everybody wants to see videos. So, yeah, that's the advent of Instagram and how the smartphone reveals to us
26:44 what our thoughts are captivated by, by what we see, right? What you see that's
26:50 why we are so taken by the our appearance. It's not to say that we only start looking at our appearance uh only
26:55 in this day and age. It has happened for a long time. But our day and age has actually accelerated that by a lot more.
27:02 All right? So we pay attention to thing we can see. Now let's talk about the why, right? Rather than the things we cannot see. This is important, right? We
27:09 can we we cannot see moral goodness. We cannot see people's inner character. You can't see it with your eyes. And so we
27:16 have nothing left but externals to really judge and assess people or things, right? So we judge based on what
27:22 we can see rather than things that we can't see. So the externals, what money and looks, right? We are trained and to
27:28 judge and assess all the time by what we see and we because it's easier to measure anyways, right? So that's why
27:35 Samuel, he was fooled again. You know, fool you once, you know, yeah, you know, it's all right. But fool you twice, you
27:41 now you're the fool, right? Would you choose a king just based on his height or his character? Oh yeah, he's very tall. You know, doesn't matter whether
27:47 he can rule well or use money well. as long as he's tall, you know, uh because there's an assessment. It's a proxy that
27:54 he looks, oh yeah, he's big and tall, so he's going to be able to protect us from people. It's just a a symbol as it were. It's not real, right? His character is
28:01 more important. Okay? Would you choose a prime minister based on his charisma or his integrity? We know how that worked
28:08 out for the US, right? So, one has charisma, the other has integrity, but people choose the one with better
28:13 charisma. You know, oh yeah, he speaks better. you know he can give his ideas but even if his false ideas he can present it better you know so would you
28:20 choose a pilot based on his height or his skills right so I'm using the height
28:26 factor more and more and more just see how ridiculous this is right just because a pilot is short doesn't mean
28:31 he's unskilled you know it doesn't mean he's tall he's better skilled right there's no correlation are you going to
28:36 choose a husband based on his height or his capacity to love right just because he's tall and handsome doesn't mean he's
28:42 actually going to be a loving husband right We we tend to look on the outward appearance because we see as a proxy.
28:47 All right? It's easier to measure wealth than character. So, we use wealth as a proxy. Now, I'm going to ask, what do
28:53 you use as a proxy when judging people or yourselves? What do you use as a proxy? You know,
28:60 height is just one thing. It can be income. It can be wealth. It can So, so yeah, it's so many different things that
29:06 you can use. You can how Yeah, think about it, right? Would you choose a
29:11 husband based off his income or his capacity to love? Same question again right would you choose based on
29:17 externals or internals naturally we will choose the externals right so it's not the
29:24 outward that matters so much it's the heart that matters the more important question to ask now is this because if
29:29 if I stop here right our main takeaway is that oh yes uh you know we are just supposed to you know uh look better at
29:36 other people you know we don't look at superficialities we don't look at the shallow things in people we look at the deeper things and then full stop that's
29:42 the end of this sermon No. All right. This is not the point of the sermon. It's point of this point number one is that God looks on the heart more than
29:49 the outward. So that begs the question, should we focus on our outward
29:56 appearance or our inward heart? Of course, that's a rhetoric question, right? Rhetorical question. We have to
30:02 focus on what's inside. So is that does that mean I just have to be a better person? Right? God's priorities are
30:08 different from ours and we values inner character more than the external. So what does God see when he looks at my
30:14 heart? We have to ask ourselves this question. Right? Jeremiah 17:9 very famous verse. You know the heart is
30:20 deceitful above all things and exceedingly wicked the heart. All right.
30:26 God has seen our heart. Each and every one of us we have a deceitful heart. Desperately wicked it's is true of
30:33 everyone. All right. No one's exempted. And sin has spiritually blinded us to see what truly matters. And so we are
30:39 groping in the dark. you know when we try to find our way around you know this world you know oh yeah you know this one
30:44 this this person looks okay you know I feel he's okay you know very tall handsome okay you know or very pretty
30:50 beautiful okay you know so so if God looks on heart then what kind of heart does he seek all right we if we we don't
30:57 want to be blinded we want to see how God seeks what kind of heart does he seek right and that brings us to point number two God seeks those after his own
31:06 heart now where do we get this from it's actually from a verse in 1st Samuel 13:14
31:12 and also in Acts chapter 13:22. I will quote the 1st Samuel 1 and then
31:17 we'll look at the Acts chapter 20. No, Acts chapter 13 one later. Okay. So the Lord has sought out a man after his own
31:24 heart. He's saying now Saul I have rejected you and I'm going to find someone after my own heart. We will see what this means. All right. What does it
31:30 mean to be after God's own heart? David was ignored. You know in in David we see the inner beauty is superior. Right?
31:37 Jesse had eight sons. Only seven of them passed by, you know, and were brought to Samuel. David was left behind. He wasn't
31:43 even an afterthought to Jesse, you know. Let me try to illustrate this how, you know, one day by one they brought and
31:48 how they rejected you and say, well, not this one, not this one, not that one either, you know. And it's like, well,
31:54 you know, God said he is definitely had a king that he sees among your seven sons here and he was said none of them
31:60 are. So, so is there is there another one? Do you have any other sons? You know, clearly because he's he's not here by process of elimination. No, he's not
32:06 here. Then Jesse, oh yes, you know, I forgot. Yeah, there there there's one other son, you know, that's left in the
32:11 field, you know. So, so David was written off, you know, 1st Samuel 16, he was the youngest, you know, that remains
32:18 yet the youngest. Okay, in the English translation is very sort of mal, you know, very censored, you know. Why it
32:24 says that? It's because the word youngest was in the in the Hebrew is very pjorative in its meaning. It's
32:29 saying that he's the runt of the litter, you know, he Yeah. Oh, yeah. That's the run of the litter. You know, the one that doesn't really matter so much. He's
32:36 he's keeping the sheep you know and then you realize the run of litter really means right uh the smallest in the in a
32:42 little pack you know actually all dogs or cats you know they are born with litters so all of them are born at the
32:47 same time but the smallest one tends to never be able to get to the you know to
32:53 to to the milk right and and because of that all the bigger ones push the run aside and the run gets smaller and
32:58 smaller as the others get bigger and bigger and bigger so the run of the little really just continues to stay very small and David was the run of the
33:06 letter. Okay. So, quick aside, huh? Uh be very careful who we write off. Okay.
33:13 Be very careful because we may be writing off a prince or a princess of God. For those of us here who are
33:18 looking for life partner, think about the criteria that we establish for the opposite gender when we consider marriage. I fell into the trap. All
33:23 right. Now, um uh anyway, um I I I was single once, right?
33:32 Okay. I was single once. Okay. I'm not saying my my wife has a a good heart. I'm saying uh in the past, okay, before
33:39 that. Okay, let's let's let's make that clear. Otherwise, I'm not going to have a bed to sleep tonight. Um so, um
33:47 uh where was I? I was single once, right? I was single once. And you know, usually we come into a room and then you
33:53 start to look at everyone, you know, around your age and then you you you begin to be like a 3D scanner.
33:60 Not this one, not that one. 10. You know, based on what? Based on how they look. Oh, this one. Uh, the face. No.
34:06 Okay, that one. Uh, you know, a bit too chubby. No, no, no, no, no. So, so it's horrible, you know. Right. Right. I I I
34:14 I believe I'm not the only one who does this. Okay. I I I believe it to be true that most people do. Okay. It's only
34:20 natural, you would say. Right. So, be very careful who you write off. Okay. Like David was written off. He say, "So,
34:26 we will not sit down until he arrives." Okay? We will not sit down until he arrives. is the posture for a king. We are going to stand. Okay. Now, it's very
34:34 odd because you realize that David was handsome. He was ruddy. He had beautiful
34:40 eyes. He was handsome. And then you're saying, well, don't look at the outward appearance, you know, and then now you're saying he's handsome and no,
34:46 still God looks at the heart. The lesson is this. God does not reject physical beauty. He just don't prioritize it.
34:51 That's the difference. God doesn't reject physical beauty because you see that he's very much into beauty. He's a
34:56 God who is beautiful, right? Psalm 27:4 last time we looked at this you know I one thing I've asked of the Lord to gaze
35:02 upon the beauty of the he's beautiful God right so our lesson here is this it's not that you know you have to say
35:08 oh no no now I cannot uh you know um you know just say oh yeah I must pick the
35:14 the most unattractive person to me in this room you know you know the one that's attractive I cannot no the point
35:19 of the matter is not to say we reject based on those criteria the criteria is look on the heart don't look on our appearance whether our appearance is
35:25 beautiful or not doesn't really matter that's the point it's not about whether you know it can be beautiful can be ugly
35:32 or you know it doesn't matter heart matters more than that right it's priority don't turn second things into
35:38 first things and don't turn first things into second things or we do so at our own peril right weigh in the balance
35:44 carefully all right so was David's heart intrinsically better than Saul's
35:49 important question to ask you know God looks on your heart oh I choose you because you are you're a better person than Saul actually David was just as bad
35:57 if not worse than Saul, right? David and Bashibba, you know the story. He committed adultery. You know, Saul didn't even commit adultery. David did.
36:05 David and Uriah after that, you know, because of the adultery, he decided to kill Uriah, you know, murder him, you know, in cold blood and say, "Never mind
36:11 because I can't cover up. I'm going to, you know, send him out to die." Sounds
36:16 much worse than Saul, right, in a sense. But let's compare. Saul's heart sought
36:21 his own glory. He obeyed partially, justified his sins. He built monuments for himself. You know, David's heart, he was imperfect, but he surrendered to
36:27 God. He was responsive. He was humble. He was repentant. That was what God wanted. A man after God's own heart,
36:34 repentant, right? Let's look and compare these two and see what I mean. All right? How did this Saul repent when he
36:42 did wrong? When he was called out for the Amalachite, the issue, you know, with not killing AKC and, you know, the rest
36:49 of the the sheep and the cattle, you know, he says, "I have sinned. Yet, honor me now. you know, please, I don't
36:54 want to lose face, you know, in front of the people, you know, before the elders of my people, before Israel, please, you know, don't let me lose face, you know, don't make me not the king. I I I I
37:01 cannot afford that. It's like he's not really repentant. He's remorseful about what he's done because he's going to
37:06 lose the kingdom. So, he's like, "No, no, I don't want to lose the kingdom. Please, please, please don't take it away from me." It wasn't after God's
37:11 heart. It was after his own heart. David, on the other hand, when he pointed out of his sin of adultery and
37:18 murder, he just said, "I have sinned against the Lord." this guy Saul
37:24 that I may bow before the Lord your God, right? He's saying that, "Oh, Samuel, this is your God, not my God." You know,
37:30 and and and David was like, he's just there. I've sinned against the Lord. Full stop. I'm not going to justify it.
37:37 There is no way I can word my way out of this. I can't. And you see David's
37:43 repentance in Psalm 51. And it's a beautiful psalm that talks about how he
37:49 comes to God. It doesn't matter whether the kingdom is taken away from him or not. What really matters he says, I want
37:54 God, right? Have mercy on me, oh God. Blot out my transgressions.
37:59 God can forgive. He say, please forgive me. It's not a matter whether I'm going to be king or not. Just I want your forgiveness against you and you only
38:05 have I sin. You know, it doesn't matter whether I've sinned against Bashiba or Uriah. Yes, there's big sin. But what matters to me is you. You are the one
38:12 that really matters to me, God. Your heart. Against you only have I sin, you So create me a new heart, a clean heart,
38:19 and renew a right spirit within me. All this is Psalm 51 only. I'm not going anywhere else. You know, verse 11, do
38:25 not cast me away from your presence and not take your Holy Spirit away from me. The repentant heart. That's what God
38:33 saw. It's about response. David listened. He repented and he obeyed. Saul resisted. He excused
38:41 himself and he justified. It's about repentance. What does it mean to repent? Right?
38:47 Okay, it's a difficult topic, a difficult thing to understand. But repentance really is making a U-turn.
38:53 He's saying, you know, I will change from my way to your way, God. You know, you telling me that I'm in the wrong way
38:58 and I need to turn back to you. All right, I'll do that. That's repentance. It's making a 180°ree U-turn. All right?
39:06 And living according to what God wants me to do, right? He wants me to live righteously. I live righteously. But
39:12 it's not about living righteously only. I say you're not going to live righteously and be righteous. I want you to trust in my son. So repentance and
39:20 faith in the New Testament really means I turned away from my sin and yes, I trust Christ for my salvation. That is
39:27 God's way. That's true repentance. I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart who will do all
39:34 my will. That's the definition of after my own heart to do God's will. A man
39:41 after my heart is just a man who does my will, what I want. So are we men or
39:46 women who do what God wants? It's difficult because you just say, "Oh yeah, it's just about obeying." You come
39:51 to realize it's not that simple. David failed. He tried his best. He failed,
39:56 right? But he had what we call fertile ground in his heart where God can mow
40:02 using his spirit. So being after God's own heart is to do his will. God desires
40:07 people who align their hearts, their wills with his will, not their own.
40:12 Right? So to be after God's eye is to not be perfect, but to choose to pursue God's will above your own. So we said
40:22 choosing God is not enough. Made that very clear. It's not enough. Even a man like David still had a sinful heart. So
40:31 repentance does not change our heart. It remains just as sinful. But repentance does one thing. Repentance allows God to
40:39 change our hearts. We can't change our hearts, but God can. How does God change our hearts? Now, that brings us to our
40:45 last point, right? So, God looks at the heart. God seeks those after his own heart. God transforms our hearts in
40:52 Christ. How does he transform it? We need a substitute, right? Our hearts are
40:58 corrupt. If David, the best of men, couldn't sustain a pure heart, what hope
41:04 do we have? David, you know, he was called a man after God's own heart. He
41:09 need we need a substitute, right? Okay. The problem is not that our hearts are
41:15 broken and need fixing. The problem really is that our hearts are sinful and
41:21 need replacing. We need a replacement. And we talk about this heart. It's not a physical heart. We're talking about the
41:26 heart as in our inner soul, right? Our spirit within us. We need that to be
41:32 cleansed and made whole, made new, the inner heart, the inner character. Ultimately, David points us to the
41:40 greater king. Jesus was a true man after God's own heart. You will see that he's a bit of a type, a shadow as it were.
41:48 David was a shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ when he comes. He's the true son of Bethlehem. They were tending. They
41:54 were with the sheep at the beginning. One was born in the midst right of the cattle. And you come to realize they
42:02 were not paid attention to. Nobody bothered about you know them. God uses
42:08 the small things, the insignificant, inconsequential things to people. The one who is not beautiful. God cared
42:15 about the leasers, not the Rachels. God cared about those who didn't have power
42:21 rather than the ones who had power. He uses those and changes things inside and
42:27 out. So it ultimately points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what David does. He's the perfect fulfillment of
42:33 that. A man after God's own heart. David reflected it partially imperfectly, but
42:40 the Lord Jesus embodied it completely perfectly. So we need a substitute and
42:47 God says never mind I'll provide you a substitute. So Christ, he had the perfect heart. I'm going to give it for
42:54 your corrupt heart. So Jesus took our sin upon himself. Every impure motive, every rebellious desire, every failure
43:01 of the heart. And in exchange, he gives us his righteousness. He says, "Your
43:06 perfect heart will be mine. and my imperfect heart. He
43:11 will take it upon himself. The Lord Jesus Christ fully God and
43:17 fully man. He has the perfect heart. Fully aligned with the father. How do we
43:22 know this? Not my will but yours be done. Not my heart but your heart be
43:28 done. Not my will but yours. The perfect man after God's own heart. For our
43:37 sakes, he was made sin, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
43:42 of God in him. Jesus was treated as if he had your
43:47 heart so that you could be treated as if you had his.
43:53 What's the means? There is union through faith and the spirit. You're going to ask, how does that substitution become
43:60 ours personally? How is it going to become personal? When we place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy
44:05 Spirit unites us to him. And so when we are united with Christ, what is true of the Lord Jesus Christ becomes true to
44:11 us. That's what the spirit does. By faith, we agree the spirit does that. Romans
44:17 chapter 6 verse 5-6. If we have been united with him in a death like his, we
44:22 shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
44:28 Remember this, repentance and faith is signing the consent form for God's heart
44:34 transplant. That is very very important. Do you have a heart after God's own
44:41 heart? Do you have that repentance and faith? That is what God is looking for. It's the response. It's the repentance.
44:47 Just like David, he responded to God's grace. He responded to God's spirit. The
44:53 Holy Spirit was given to Saul. The Holy Spirit was also given to David. What was the difference?
44:58 One responded, the other didn't. That's key. So, what is our heart like? Are we
45:07 signing on the form for God's heart transplant? So, when you come to the
45:13 Lord Jesus Christ, your dying heart is transplanted, is taken out, and his
45:18 living heart is given in its place. What's the result? Before we sing our final song,
45:26 we will begin to live from his heart. That's the result.
45:31 Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me. When you know the king, his
45:38 spirit forms his heart in you. That's key. Our heart is transplanted. And only
45:46 then through the Holy Spirit given through Christ can our hearts truly reflect God's heart. God desires all men
45:54 to be saved. Believe in him and you shall have everlasting life. This is what the father wills. The will of my father. We need a heart transplant.
45:60 Ezekiel chapter 36 gives it that way. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove from you
46:08 your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Is not a heart adjustment.
46:13 This is transplant. We need transformation not behavior modification. So ask God, "Search our
46:21 heart." Psalm 139, "Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me and know my
46:26 thoughts. See if there be any grievous way in me and leave me in the way everlasting." God will show you if
46:31 you're willing to repent. If you're willing to change your ways, if you're struggling to see things the way God
46:36 does, he will make you see things the way he does. If only you would come to him. God will change your heart. If only
46:44 you would let him. That's repentance and faith. David's heart shows us what God
46:50 desires. Didn't show it perfectly yet. He wasn't
46:55 a perfect person, but our heart show us why we need help. And the Lord Jesus heart shows us what God provides.
47:04 So through the cross, the perfect heart of the Lord Jesus Christ is given to sinners like us. And when you come to
47:09 him, he doesn't just clean you up. It's just not cleaning you up. It's not just a patch job. He takes your heart of
47:17 stone and gives you a heart of flesh. You don't earn that heart. You receive
47:22 it by faith. It's not earned. And from that moment on, your heart beats in
47:27 rhythm with his. So ask God the way that David did.
47:33 Create in me a clean heart, oh God. Renew a right spirit within me. And you know what God will do? He will keep his
47:39 promise. I will give you a new heart and a new spirit. Ezekiel chapter 36:26.
47:46 Come, let us bow our heads in prayer. Oh father, we ask that you will help us to see things the
47:52 way you do to look at ourselves to reflect that it's not what the outward appearance that should really matter.
47:58 It's not what we achieve. It is not our success. It is not our fame. It is not
48:05 our worth. It's not our wealth. It's not our looks. These things don't matter to
48:10 you. And father, if we see things the way you do, we pray, Father, you see us how sinful we are in our hearts and that
48:17 we need a new heart and that through repentance and faith, we will be able to
48:23 attain that new heart. Not be because we have done well, but because your son has
48:28 done well, your son has that perfect heart that he's so willing to give, to donate on our behalf to us who do not
48:36 deserve it, yet you still gave your son. And father, all you ask of us is just to
48:41 respond, just to repent, just to have faith in him because you loved us so
48:47 much. And father, we thank you that you have shown us and revealed your heart to us in your son. We pray, Father, for
48:54 every head bow before you that we will learn what it means to repent and to turn to you to look at our Lord Jesus
49:01 and say, "He is enough for me." So, Father, we pray for your help. We pray
49:06 for your guidance and we pray for your blessing in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
49:12 Shall we stand to sing our final song? 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 5.
49:20 May the Lord direct our hearts to the love of God
49:27 and to the steadfastness of Christ. And all of God's people say, "Amen." Thank
49:33 you all for coming. Service now over at the blessed
