I'm going to skip around a little bit this morning because we already covered most of chapter 13 three weeks ago when we were going through Proverbs 11, I think.
So I think we're going to start verse 12, chapter 13, go through verse 9, and then we're going to jump to chapter 14 and read verses 1 to 15.
So I'll start in chapter 13, verses 12 to 19.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Good sends wind's favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.
Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.
A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.
Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honor.
A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.
Let's skip ahead a little bit to chapter 14, verses 1 to 15.
The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.
Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises him.
By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them.
Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.
A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.
Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.
Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance.
The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.
The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.
The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways,
and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.
The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
We have an oversized box of Cheerios at our house that we've been trying to finish for the last few months.
It has a picture of a red heart-shaped bowl on the cover,
and a caption that says,
It can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart-healthy diet.
But even though it's supposed to be a healthier alternative
to virtually all the other sugary breakfast cereals,
our family still hasn't managed to finish that one box over the last several months.
And the reason for that is quite simple.
It only has two grams of sugar.
And if it had any less sugar, it will taste like you're eating the cardboard box itself.
And that's because we want healthy hearts in theory,
but not necessarily in practice.
And this illustrates kind of the spiritual problems that we have all experienced,
that the desires of our hearts are not aligned with the will of God.
We don't desire the things that we should desire.
We don't want the things that God wants.
We don't have a strong enough appetite for godly, heavenly things.
And so we need new hearts, realigned hearts.
And this passage teaches us that only those who humbly receive God's word
will have the desires of their hearts fulfilled.
It speaks of the desires of the heart, chapter 13, verses 12 to 19.
And it speaks of the deceptiveness of the heart, chapter 14, verses 1 to 15.
And I also bring in chapter 15, verses 11 to 19 later,
which I didn't read earlier, and talk about the delight of the heart.
And since, as I mentioned, I already preached on Proverbs 13 three weeks ago,
along with chapter 10,
I'm not going to dive into those verses in detail this morning.
But just to remind you of the context,
chapter 13 teaches that the righteous gain lasting wealth
by working diligently and saving gradually.
And so chapter 13, verse 11 gives us a flavor of that.
It says,
Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,
but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
Now, it's in that context we get the teaching of chapter 13, verses 12 to 19,
which talks about the desire of the heart, desires of the heart.
And verses 12 to 19 is a subunit of its own,
and it's structured concentrically.
First half is mirrored by the second half.
So verse 12 is matched by verse 19,
verse 13 by verse 18,
verse 14 by verse 17, and so on.
And it's helpful for interpreting when we look at those matching verses together.
And so verse 12 and 19,
they bracket this unit,
and they both speak of how the desires of the righteous will be fulfilled.
Verse 12 says,
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
And similarly,
verse 19 says,
A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.
The wicked cannot resist the lure of get-rich-quick schemes,
whether it's by cheating or stealing or gambling.
But wealth, Proverbs teaches us,
wealth that is gained hastily will dwindle.
Only he who gathers little by little through hard work will increase it.
And for this reason,
they will not have the wicked who seek to gain quickly through unjust means,
will not have their desire fulfilled.
To the wise, however,
who desire the things of God,
the fulfillment of a righteous desire is sweet to their soul.
But to the fool who does not desire the things of God,
turning away from evil is an abomination to him.
He says,
So the wise,
this is telling us,
the wise have a taste,
an appetite for godly things,
while the fools have a taste only for ungodly things.
And they have a great distaste,
in fact,
for the righteousness of God.
So it prevents them from turning away from evil.
And this is why,
Proverbs teaches us,
the appetite of the wicked will not be satisfied,
ultimately speaking.
And that's why verse 12 goes on to say,
hope deferred makes the heart sick.
The wicked will have their hope deferred,
meaning not merely delayed temporarily,
but denied indefinitely.
This disappointment and frustration will lead to sickness of heart.
Earlier in Proverbs chapter 4,
verse 23,
it said that,
it said,
The Bible describes the heart,
which represents the inner being of the person,
as a source from which our lives flow,
what we say,
what we do.
It is like the root of a plant.
When the root is rotted,
the plant does not long survive.
Likewise,
a sick heart ultimately leads to death.
A sinful heart leads to eternal death.
And this is why verse 12 continues,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
This is not a shallow statement about how people who get what they want are happy,
but people who don't get what they want are sad.
It's rather contrasting the desires of the wicked from the desires of the righteous.
And we know this because an evil desire fulfilled is never described elsewhere as a tree of life,
which is a symbol of vitality,
healing,
and ultimately eternal life.
So the wicked's desires then are thwarted,
and because their hearts are contrary to the will of God,
for this reason they end up getting hearts sick.
But the righteous desire are fulfilled,
because their desires are aligned with the will of God.
And so they find healing,
life,
walling up to eternal life in the end.
The wicked might flourish,
this assumes,
for a little while,
but when they do,
they are like a plant that sprouts up quickly,
because it has only a shallow root.
And it will soon wither away,
for the lack of its depth.
In contrast,
the righteous might suffer for a little while in this life,
like a plant that seems to have trouble sprouting up,
but all the while it's laying deep roots,
and soon it will outgrow and outlast the wicked,
and the righteous will be rewarded in eternity.
And that's the reason why verse 13 exhorts the reader to heed the divinely inspired wisdom of God's word.
Read with me in verse 13.
It says,
Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself,
but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
Now verse 13 is matched by verse 18.
Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction,
but whoever heeds reproof is honored.
Poverty and disgrace stalk those who ignore instruction,
but honor accompanies those who heed reproof.
In other words,
those who think highly of God and his word will be honored,
while those who think God's word beneath them,
because they think too highly of themselves,
will be disgraced.
And as we have seen throughout the book of Proverbs,
the word poverty is used consistently in a negative way,
in contrast with the word poor,
which is used primarily in a positive way.
The poor refer to those who are poor
because of injustices in the world,
through outside circumstances,
outside of their control.
Poverty, however,
is used to refer to God's judgment
on those,
on people,
on sinners and the wicked,
for their, for example,
laziness,
stinginess,
love of luxury,
or carelessness.
And poverty and disgrace come to them,
prideful sinners who ignore God's instruction.
And then in verses 14 and 17,
Solomon commends himself
as the wise instructor
who faithfully conveys the wisdom of God.
He says in verse 14,
the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life
that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Right?
This is compared to verse 12,
which spoke of a desire for the foot as a tree of life.
So here now it says,
the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life.
If you wish the fulfillment of the desires of your heart
like a tree of life,
then you should heed the teaching of the wise,
which is a fountain of life.
And this is matched by verse 17.
A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
but a faithful envoy brings healing.
There are wicked messengers
who do not faithfully convey the message
that they have been sent to relay
by the author,
the sender.
They sow discord through their failure.
or intentional or not.
They sow discord between the sender and the recipient.
They separate us from God
through their false teaching.
Their words are like snares
that ultimately lead to death.
And these messengers,
these wicked messengers,
will become subject themselves
to the trouble that they cause others.
But in contrast,
if you listen to the wise,
like Solomon who's teaching here,
the faithful envoy brings healing.
There are wisdom teachers like Solomon
and other contributors to the book of Proverbs,
and their teaching leads to life.
And so he's encouraging us to heed it,
listen to it.
And then verse 15 is matched by verse 16.
This is the center of the concentric structure.
It continues the exhortation.
Good sense wins favor,
but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.
Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
but a fool flaunts his folly.
And this is really the main point
of this entire passage,
that only those who humbly receive God's word
will have the desires of their hearts fulfilled.
The fool desires treachery and folly,
and so he will not follow God's word,
and will not therefore be rewarded in the end.
So that's what this passage teaches us
about the desires of the heart.
Now, only if it were easy to discern
the desires of the heart,
we would have no trouble distinguishing right from wrong
and aligning ourselves and our desires
with the will of God.
Unfortunately, however, it's not easy,
and that's due to the deceptiveness of the heart.
It's what chapter 14, verses 1 to 15 speak of.
Solomon builds his case gradually
by continuing the contrast
between the righteous and the wicked first.
He says in verse 1,
The wisest of women builds her house,
but folly with her own hands tear it down.
As I mentioned before,
the word house, like in English,
can refer to a physical building,
but also to your family,
to your household.
And so here,
the building and tearing down of the house
figuratively represents
what a wise woman does to her household.
The wisest of women builds up her household.
She makes her family flourish.
In contrast,
folly with her own hands tears it down.
Of course,
no one in her right mind
would tear down her own household
with her own hands,
but the woman of folly,
that's the point,
has no idea that's what she is doing.
By her own incompetence,
by her own lack of discretion,
by her own hot temper,
by her own failure to bridle her tongue,
these are the things we see throughout Proverbs,
the foolish woman tears down her own household.
And in verse 2,
continues the contrast
between the righteous and the wicked.
Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord,
but he who is devious in his ways
despises him.
Whoever walks upright,
whoever fears the Lord,
walks in a straight path,
uprightly,
but he who despises the Lord,
goes astray,
deviates.
He has devious ways,
crooked ways.
And then verses 3 and 5,
both contrast the speech of the righteous
with the speech of the wicked.
By the mouth of a fool
comes a rod for his back,
but the lips of the wise
will preserve them.
So the foolish speech of the fool
is his own doing.
It's as if his tongue itself
becomes a rod
with which he lashes his own back.
In contrast,
rather than being attacked
and jeopardized by their own words,
the wise are preserved,
it says,
by their words.
And the things that the wicked say
are not only characterized by folly,
but also falsehood,
as verse 5 says.
A faithful witness does not lie,
but a false witness
breathes out lies.
Whenever he opens his mouth,
there is a lie.
He lies as frequently
and mindlessly
as he breathes.
He does not care for the truth.
He has no regard for God
and his commands,
but only about getting
his own selfish way.
And then this brings us
to verse 4,
which shows us that
the wicked person's folly
is not seen only in his speech,
but also in the way he works.
It's a very cool proverb.
Verse 4 says,
Where there are no oxen,
the manger is clean,
but abundant crops
come by the strength
of the ox.
A farmer can save himself
a lot of labor and cost,
of course,
associated with keeping oxen
by getting rid of all
of his oxen.
But if you did that,
you would have no oxen
to do the work
so that you could have
and enjoy
an abundant harvest.
And the word clean
and word abundant
are right next to each other
in this verse.
And the two words
in Hebrew
are spelled
exactly the opposite.
So if you spell
clean backwards,
it would be abundant
in Hebrew.
So this kind of
highlights the contrast
and this inversely,
this inversely
proportional relationship
between having
a clean manger
and having
an abundant crop.
Yes, it's nice
not to have
to clean
a dirty manger,
but if you don't
have a dirty manger
to clean
because you have
no oxen,
then you lack
abundant crops
only oxen can bring.
There's so much
wisdom in this verse.
Foolish people
do not want to
roll up their sleeves
and work
and get dirt
under their fingernails.
They want easy money.
Their mentality
is cheat on that exam,
plagiarize that paper
to get a good grade,
fudge the data
or forge the evidence
to win your argument.
They want all the pleasure
without any of the pain,
all the acclaim
without any of the work,
but that's not how
God has created
this world to work.
Human flourishing
comes through
the hard and messy
work of life.
If you are hospitable,
your house is not
going to remain
in its pristine condition
for long
as people come and go.
If you haven't
raised children,
they're going to
derail some of your plans,
perhaps some of your
most cherished plans.
If you cook and eat,
you're going to have
dirty dishes to clean.
If you form a team
to work on something
you can't do by yourself,
you're going to have to deal
with interpersonal conflict.
If you want to grow
and scale up your business,
you're going to have
to invest in new systems,
staff, and equipment.
But this wisdom
is beyond the reach
of the fool.
It says in verse 6,
The scoffer seeks
wisdom in vain,
but knowledge is easy
for a man of understanding.
And that's because
wisdom entails
humble submission to God.
The scoffer,
one who scoffs
at God's wisdom
is by his very nature
incapable of gaining wisdom
because wisdom requires
humbling oneself before God.
In contrast,
knowledge is easy
for a man of understanding.
The person who is
in right relationship
with God readily
gain new knowledge.
So it says in verse 7,
Leave the presence
of a fool,
for there you do not
meet words of knowledge.
But telling the fool
apart from the wise
is the work of wisdom,
isn't it?
Verse 8 says,
The wisdom of the prudent
is to discern his way,
but the folly of fools
is deceiving.
The prudent are discerning,
they are careful
in their way,
and therefore
will not be fooled.
The fools, however,
are deceiving.
They deceive others
and are themselves deceived
by their lack of discernment.
And verses 8 to 15
here in chapter 14
are also structured
concentrically,
like chapter 13
verses 12 to 19.
And so the second half
mirrors the first half.
So verse 8
is matched by verse 15.
It says,
The simple believes everything,
but the prudent
gives thought to his steps.
Again, prudent discerns his way,
gives thought to his steps,
but the folly of fools
is deceiving.
The simple believe everything.
Things are not always
as they seem
because the folly of fools
is deceiving.
Therefore,
it's imperative
that the prudent,
the wise,
the shrewd
give thought to their steps
instead of believing everything.
And fools who do not
take heed to their ways
are incapable of making amends.
Verse 9 says,
The fools mock at the guilt offering,
but the upright
enjoys acceptance.
They laugh at the idea
of a guilt offering
because they always
see themselves
to be in the right
and therefore see no need
to make amends.
They see no need
to make the guilt sacrifice.
And so they,
and so that,
but the righteous,
on the other hand,
they acknowledge
their guilt freely
and because they
humble themselves
in that way,
they make the appropriate sacrifice
and in doing so,
find acceptance
before God.
And this verse
is matched by verse 14,
which also speaks
of the consequences
of sin and righteousness.
The backslider in heart
will be filled
with the fruit of his ways
and a good man
will be filled
with the fruit of his ways.
Exact same phrases
highlight
that they will both
get what they deserve.
The backslider in heart
who does not repent,
but instead mocks
at the guilt offering,
will be filled
with the fruit of his ways,
what his pride
and scoffing deserve.
And likewise,
good man
who perseveres
in his righteousness
will be filled
with the fruit
of his ways.
In the final analysis,
God is perfectly just
and he sees
into every human heart
both the righteous
and the wicked
and therefore
they will get
what they deserve.
And so in the end,
there will be
a clear separation
between the righteous
and the wicked,
but we need to remember
that in the present,
things are not always
as they appear.
The heart
has its own secrets
that no one knows of.
It says in verse 10,
the heart knows
its own bitterness
and no stranger
shares its joy.
Such a poignant proverb.
Bitterness and joy
represent the full range
of human emotions.
And your heart,
it is saying,
has secrets
that are known
to no one else
but you.
The heart
has its own secrets.
This proverb speaks
to the profound loneliness
of human existence
apart from God.
Of course,
your family and friends
can share
your joys and sorrows
in part,
but there is a sense
in which everyone
outside of you
is a stranger
to your emotions,
to your own heart.
They cannot fully share
the bitterness
or joy
of your heart.
In fact,
even you
do not fully understand
the motivations
and emotions
of your own heart.
Only God sees
us wholly
and knows us
perfectly.
And this verse
is matched
and complemented
by verse 13.
Even in laughter
the heart may ache
and the end
of joy
may be grief.
Even those
who are laughing
and playing
and partying
and living it up
might be masking
a deep heartache.
A smile
on one's face
might be hiding
deep bitterness
of heart.
The end of joy
may be grief.
For them,
it actually simply says
the end of joy
is grief.
Why is the end
of joy grief
for such people?
To understand this,
we need to look at
verses 11 to 12.
It says,
The house of the wicked
will be destroyed,
but the tent
of the upright
will flourish.
There is a way
that seems right
to a man,
but its end
is the way
to death.
These two verses
match each other.
First,
the house of the wicked
is contrasted
with the tent
of the upright.
The house
is a more permanent
and secure
dwelling place
than the tent.
That's why
King David
expresses his desire
to build a temple
for God
in this way
in 2 Samuel 7,
verse 2.
He says,
See now,
I dwell in a house
of cedar,
but the ark
of God
dwells in a tent.
He saw
the incongruity
of that.
He saw that
that needed
to be corrected.
So,
but surprisingly,
this proverb says,
The house
of the wicked,
that more permanent
and secure
seemingly dwelling,
that will be destroyed,
but the tent
of the upright
will flourish.
Even though
during this short
lifespan here on earth,
the wicked
may seem to be
more established
and secure.
They might seem
to prosper more.
In the end,
it's the righteous
who will be established,
who will endure.
And that's because
there is a way
that seems right
to a man,
but its end
is the way
to death.
This teaches us
that it's not
always wise
to follow your heart.
it is not
always wise
to obey
your conscience
because of the
deceptiveness
of our hearts.
It's not
our consciences
sometimes
need to be
recalibrated,
adjusted,
realigned
with the teachings
of God's Word.
Our sense
of right
and wrong
itself
can be wrong.
There is a way
that seems
right to a man,
but its end
is the way
to death.
Our deceptive
hearts
must be
subjected
to the truth
of God's Word.
Only the all-knowing
and all-seeing
God
can be a sure
guide to eternal life.
That's what this passage
is teaching us.
We can't rely
on sinful humanity
to discover
spiritual truths
on its own.
We must rely
on what God
has revealed
to us
in His Word.
No matter
how right
and true
and good
a way of life
might seem
to you,
if it is not
the way
of the Lord,
its end
is the way
to death.
And this
illuminates
verse 13.
Even in laughter
the heart
may ache
and the end
of joy
may be grief.
The end
of joy
is grief.
For those
who do not
know God,
for those
who do not
possess the wisdom
of God,
no matter
how much
you flourish
and thrive
in this life,
the end
of joy
is grief
because it
ends finally
in death.
There's a way
that seems
right to a man
and its end
is death.
One Bible
commentator
puts it this way,
quote,
since humans
die,
joy inevitably
ends in grief.
The party
always ends.
Acts of love
cease.
We have a similar
English proverb
don't we?
It says,
all good things
must come
to an end.
The unavoidability
of death
means that
all the joys
of life
eventually
come to
an end,
leaving only
regret
and resignation.
If you look
at an
electrocardiography
reading,
the heart
measuring the
graph
has all
these spikes
and imagine
that that's
like the
joys of life.
But the
depressing reality
is that
that graph
in the end
always ends
in that
flat line.
That's the
reality of life.
That's the
backdrop
behind all
of your
joys
that is
the destiny
of every
human being.
If
you do not
have the
eternal life
that God
offers you.
If even
in the
laughter
the heart
may ache
and the
end of
joy may
be grief,
if there's
a way that
seems right
to a man
but its
end is the
way to
death,
if our
hearts are
deceptive
and cannot
reliably guide
us to the
way of
life,
where can
we turn?
Jeremiah
17,
9-10
says this,
the heart
is deceitful
above all
things and
desperately
sick.
Who can
understand it?
And here's
the answer,
I the
Lord
search the
heart and
test the
mind to
give every
man according
to his
ways,
according to
the fruit of
his deeds.
The answer
is we need
to turn to
the Lord
because only
those who
humbly
receive God's
word will
have their
desires fulfilled.
heart.
And that
brings us to
the third
point,
the delight
of the
heart.
We need
to realign
our hearts
to the
ways of
the Lord
by delighting
ourselves
in him.
Turn to
chapter 15
verses 11-17
with me.
We'll
preach on
this in
two weeks,
so I'm
not going
to get
into too
much detail,
but this
makes an
important
contribution
to the
understanding
of the
human
heart that
we're
talking about
today.
It says
in chapter
15,
verse 11,
Sheol and
Abaddon
lie open
before the
Lord.
How much
more the
hearts of
the children
of man.
Sheol and
Abaddon are
figurative,
poetic terms
for death
and destruction.
They're the
shadowy
realms that
are completely
inaccessible
to humanity.
And yet
even they
lie open
before the
Lord.
The
mysterious
realm of
the dead
is like an
open book
to God.
If that's
the case,
how much
more than
do the
hearts of
the children
of man,
which,
even though
yes,
it's complex,
are far
less mysterious
than Sheol and
Abaddon,
how much
do they,
our hearts,
lie open
before God
who is all
knowing and
all seeing.
Our hearts
are transparent
to Him.
He sees
through it
all.
He knows
all the
hidden murmurings
and motivations
that even we
ourselves are not
aware of.
And for this
reason,
we need to
humbly submit
to God
His sober
judgment and
assessment of
ourselves and
our condition
rather than
relying on our
own indulgent
assessment of
ourselves and
our state.
We need to
be corrected,
we need to be
receptive to
learning.
And so verse
12 says,
A scoffer does
not like to be
reproved,
he will not
go to the
wise.
But those who
humbly receive
God's word will
have the desires
of their hearts
fulfilled.
So it says
in verses
13 to 14
of chapter 15,
A glad heart
makes a cheerful
face,
but by sorrow
of heart the
spirit is
crushed.
The heart of
him who has
understanding
seeks knowledge,
but the mouths
of fools feed
on falling.
It's the heart
that has
understanding
that seeks
further knowledge
and that kind
of heart is
a glad heart.
and a glad
heart cheers
up even
our face,
uplifts
even our
own spirit.
And verses
15 to 17
continue,
All the days
of the afflicted
are evil,
but the cheerful
of heart
has a
continual feast.
Better is a
little with the
fear of the
Lord than
great treasure
and trouble
with it.
Better is a
dinner of herbs
where love is
than a fattened
ox and hatred
with it.
The word
cheerful is
repeated in
verse 15
from verse 13
and the word
better is
repeated twice
in verses
16 to 17.
And the two
words,
word cheerful
and better
are actually
variations of
the exact
same Hebrew
word.
And so if we
render the
word better
as cheerful,
we can see
the logical
connection
between these
verses a
little more
clearly.
Because it
says that
all the days
of the wicked
are afflicted
with evil,
right?
But the
cheerful of
heart has
a continual
feast.
But how
can this
be the
case when
we know
from other
proverbs that
we've seen
that this
world is
full of
injustice,
where other
proverbs
acknowledge that
sometimes the
wicked prosper?
How can the
cheerful of
heart have a
continual feast?
The answer is
in verses 16
and 17.
Cheerful,
better,
remember the
same word,
cheerful is a
little with
the fear of
the Lord
than great
treasure and
trouble with
it.
Cheerful is a
dinner of herbs
where love is
than a
fattened ox
and hatred
with it.
The cheerful
of heart has
a continual
feast.
Even when he
only has
meager herbs
for dinner,
even when he
only has
little treasure,
because his
heart is
satisfied in
the fear of
the Lord,
because his
heart is
characterized by
his love for
God and his
neighbor,
the cheerful
heart that
loves the
Lord has a
continual feast.
his cheerfulness
does not
depend on
health and
wealth,
and therefore
it overcomes
all affliction.
So then all
the days of
the wicked are
afflicted with
evil even when
they enjoy
health and
wealth.
In contrast,
the cheerful
of heart has a
continual feast
even when he
is sick and
poor,
because the
delight of his
heart is in
the Lord.
No matter
what happens,
I will be
making my
food to do
the will of
him who
sent me.
That's the
attitude,
that's the
heart that
has a
continual
feast.
As Psalm
37 verse
4 says,
delight yourself
in the Lord
and he will
give you the
desires of
your heart.
this doesn't
mean that he
will cater to
our every
whim.
This doesn't
mean that God
is a genie
or a butler,
but those who
delight in the
Lord.
In other words,
those who think
God's thoughts
after him,
those who love
the things that
God loves,
they will find
that God gives
them the desires
of their hearts
because every
true Christian's
deepest desire
and longing
is the glory
of God.
to love
and serve
him with
our whole
life.
And that
desire will
never be
disappointed.
It's those
whose hearts
delight in
the Lord,
those who
humbly
receive God's
word who
have the
desires of
their hearts
fulfilled.
So we've
talked about
the desires
of the heart,
the deceptiveness
of the heart,
and the delight
of the heart,
but I've been
dancing around
the question
that I posed
at the beginning
of the sermon.
What are we
to do when
the desires
of our hearts
are not
aligned?
When we,
when our
hearts don't
delight in
the Lord
and desire
the things
of God?
If you are
not yet a
Christian,
please don't
think that
this is
something that
you can attain
with little
adjustments in
your desires
and habits
here and
there.
You can't
fix a
spiritually
malfunctioning
heart by
being a
little more
religious
and observing
a few
more rules.
This is
not something
that can
be remedied
with spiritual
antacids.
It requires
a heart
transplant.
And that's
precisely what
God promised
us in
Ezekiel
chapter 36
verses 25
to 27.
I will
sprinkle
clean water
on you
and you
shall be
clean from
all your
uncleanness.
And from
all your
idols I
will cleanse
you and
I will give
you a
new heart
and a
new spirit
I will
put within
you and
I will
remove the
heart of
stone from
your flesh
and give
you a
heart of
flesh.
And I
will put
my spirit
within you
and cause
you to
walk in
my statutes
and be
careful to
obey my
rules.
That is
the only
hope for
change,
only hope
for salvation
and God
fulfilled this
promise to
give us new
hearts through
the person
and work
of Jesus
Christ.
He says
in Hebrews
chapter 10
verses 19
to 22,
Therefore,
brothers,
since we
have confidence
to enter the
holy places
by the
blood of
Jesus,
by the
new and
living way
that he
opened for
us through
the curtain
that is
through his
flesh,
and since
we have a
great priest
over the
house of
God,
let us
draw near
with a
true heart,
in full
assurance of
faith,
with our
hearts
sprinkled
clean from
an evil
conscience,
and our
bodies washed
with pure
water.
This is the
way God
gives us
new and
true hearts.
This is the
way God
gives us
a new
nature,
and gives
us full
assurance of
faith.
This is how
God sprinkles
our hearts
clean,
just as a
heart transplant
physically requires
someone else's
death.
spiritual
regeneration,
receiving of
new hearts,
requires
someone else's
death,
and Jesus
died that
death for
us.
He bore
our sins,
he took
our place,
he shed
his blood
for the
cleansing of
our own
hearts,
and it's
when we
repent of
our sins
and believe
in him
for our
salvation
that God
pours out
his holy
spirit into
us so
that we
have a
new life
principle
pulsating
from within
us.
And it's
only then
can we
walk in
the statutes
and be
careful to
obey rules.
Now,
this doesn't
mean that
everything is
smooth sailing
once you
become a
Christian.
Even after
someone has
a heart
transplant to
replace a
defective
heart,
though he
has a
new heart,
he still
needs time
to learn
to breathe
and live
on his
own.
So for
a little
while,
after the
surgery,
he'll still
be hooked
onto a
ventilator
and a
variety of
catheters.
And it's
only when
the patient
after surgery
has grown
much stronger
that those
things can
be removed
from his
body,
and the
new heart
begins to
pump blood
and life
into the
rest of
his body
so that he
can start
a new
life.
similarly
for us,
we have
been made
new in
Christ,
and we
have been
given new
hearts,
but our
flesh is
still accustomed
to the
old life.
It still
operates like
it has a
defective
heart.
And it
takes time
for us to
be weaned
off from
those old
ways and to
function fully
with the
new hearts
God has
given.
And that's
what is
happening
throughout
our entire
lives.
That's the
process that
we call
sanctification.
Until we
die and
we shed
our old
flesh,
and then
when Christ
returns,
we will be
retrofitted
with these
new glorious
resurrection
bodies that
will be
worthy of
the new
hearts we've
been given
through Jesus,
through his
costly
sacrifice.
And I
want to
encourage you,
brothers and
sisters,
those of you
who are already
Christians,
followers of
Christ,
are you
discouraged that
you do not
love the
Lord as
you ought
to?
Are you
disappointed
that you
do not
desire God
and delight
in him as
much as
you should?
Let me ask
you,
isn't that
desire,
isn't that
desire to
desire him
more?
Isn't that
desire to
be more
pleasing to
him?
Isn't that
desire also
a sign of
your new
birth?
A sign of
your regeneration?
Is that
not evidence
that you
have tasted
and delighted
in him?
Is not
God tenderly
and patiently
walking beside
you to
strengthen you
every step
of the way?
Remember
what Christ
did for
you.
Take hold
of him
by faith
and his
love poured
into your
hearts will
renew you,
renew your
love for
him and
enable you to
persevere to
the end.