Within man, there is both a "physical" heart, and a "spiritual" "heart". Just as the condition of a person's PHYSICAL heart is essential to his PHYSICAL well-being; Likewise, the condition of his SPIRITUAL heart is essential to his SPIRITUAL well-being. And actually, this "spiritual" heart, or "inner man", is the most important aspect, for it governs the course of a person's whole life, and indeed affects his ETERNAL DESTINY. Have you ever heard the expression, "The real 'you' is on the inside"? Well this is true! Nowadays we see people by the multitudes going to the theaters to see the latest movies. And yet, if one would examine (even casually) the individual lives of the ACTORS in these movies, one would not see a "pretty picture", for the real person BEHIND the "mask" has a life ravaged by ... "SIN" (which is the universal problem of man in general!). Many people we know who do not have acting CAREERS, are actors NONETHELESS in their personal lives. They seem to have split personalities: One person in PRIVATE, and another person IN FRONT OF PEOPLE, to put on a good "show" or "appearance".
God ... cuts "right to the chase", and He sees the REAL person in private. God in the flesh- JESUS- addressed this issue to some "religious actors" of His day: the Pharisees, in Lk. 16:15. "And He said unto them, 'Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but GOD KNOWETH YOUR HEARTS: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God'." The Greek word for "heart" here us "kardia". In a general sense, it signifies "the middle or central or inmost part of anything"; And specifically, as it pertains to us, it refers to "the centre and seat of spiritual life", "the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, and endeavors". And most crucially, as it pertains to our ETERNAL DESTINY, it is this "HEART" or "INNER MAN", which either BELIEVES (TRUST/ FAITH) or DOUBTS (UNBELIEF) GOD'S WORD! "For with the HEART man BELIEVETH unto righteousness..." -(Rom. 10:10)
Jesus in His earthly ministry spoke at length on the subject of the HEART of man, and how that it is connected with WHAT COMES OUT OF HIS MOUTH (ie: THE WORDS THAT HE SPEAKS). "(18) But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the HEART; and they defile the man. (19) For out of the HEART proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." -(Matt. 15:18-19). *See also Matt. 12:34-36. There are many scriptures which plainly state that God looks at the HEART of man: (1 Chron. 28:9; 29:17; 2 Chron. 6:30; Psa. 7:9; Jer. 11:20; 17:10; 20:12; Jhn. 2:24,25; Acts 1:24; Rom. 8:27; Rev. 2:23). God HATES "a heart that devises wicked imaginations" (Prov. 6:16,18); In fact, this is what prompted God to decide to send the wordwide FLOOD in Noah's day. "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his HEART was only evil continually." -(Gen. 6:5)
Along with the HEART being connected to our WORDS, it is also connected to our ACTIONS (or "WORKS") as well (Although one can have correct works WITHOUT the correct "MOTIVES", which God ALSO hates!). "I the LORD search the HEART, I try the 'reins' (Hebrew: "kilyaw"- means "seat of emotion and affection"), even to give every man according to his WAYS, and according to THE FRUIT of HIS DOINGS". -(Jer. 17:10). The HEART of every person, as the result of "the fall of man (Adam)" in the garden of Eden, is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked..." - Jer. 17:9; And consequently, it contains a "SIN nature". According to 1 Jhn. 1:8 (written to CHRISTIANS, by-the-way), if a person says that he HAS NO sin nature, he "deceives himself, and the Truth is not in him.". Upon regeneration, at "the new birth" (see Jhn. 3:3-8), the person is given a "DIVINE nature" (2 Pet. 1:3-4), and this Divine nature governs the person- AS HE KEEPS HIS FAITH IN CHRIST AND HIS BLOOD SACRIFICE ON "THE CROSS" (see Rom. 6:14; 8:1-2; 1 Cor. 1:18; Gal. 2:19-21; 5:1-5,22-24; 6:14-15); Not in "self" and works ("LAW").
This subject of "the Heart" is far more important than most professing Christians realize. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to "KEEP (GUARD) thy HEART with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." This is what DAVID did, and which WE are to do as well!: "(23) Search me, O God, and KNOW MY HEART; try me, and know my thoughts: (24) And see if here be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." -(Psa. 139:23-24). Of course, God already DOES those things with EACH of us, and TRIES to lead us in the right Way: However, the crucial element to this is that DAVID WANTED to please God (denotes "free will"); Thus David's heart, like clay, was "soft and moldeable" for God ("the Potter") to be ABLE to change! This is the key: Is our heart "good ground"? "good soil"? ... for the Holy Spirit and the Word to come in, to germinate, and to produce "a tree of Righteousness" (Isa. 61:3) that will "bear good fruit" (Matt. 3:10; 7:19; 13:3-4,8,18,23)?!
Jesus plainly said that we shall know if a person is of HIM, or of the DEVIL by their "fruit". Does the person have "the works of the flesh"? or "the fruit of the (Holy) Spirit"? (see Gal. 5:19-23). This "fruit" is dependent upon the type of "tree" that a person is: A "good" one, or a "bad one". "(16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." -(Matt. 7:16-18). THREE CRUCIAL ELEMENTS can help you discern if a person is a true Cristian abiding in Christ: #1) his WORDS (Matt. 15:18; 12:34-35), #2) his ACTIONS (Jer. 17:10), and #3) his "CHARACTER FRUIT" (Gal. 5:19-23). Through a COMBINATION OF THESE THINGS, it will be overly obvious which kind of "tree" this person is! Do the WORDS, ACTIONS, and "CHARACTER FRUIT" match that person's profession of being a "Christian"?
Let's look now at "DAVID, A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART": Now, as would be overly obvious, if a person has read his Bible, he knows that David was FAR from perfect morally. 2 Samuel, chpt. 11 records him committing one of the most dastardly sin acts that anyone could do: Committing adultery with another man's wife, and then to cover it up, having that woman's husband killed in a sneaky manner! And actually, throughout the life of David, there were other times of sins committed, and of unbelief. So WHY then, did God basically "hand-pick-choose" David to be king over Israel? And call him "a man after My Own HEART"? Obviously, God liked what He SAW when He looked at David's heart! Let's look now, scripturally, at the traits which God saw.
David had a HEART.....
#1) ... that was truly repentant over sin with a VERTICAL repentance (HIM toward GOD vertically). David did not blame other people (horizontal) for his sins. He said...
"I have sinned against THE LORD..." -(2 Sam. 12:13)
"Against THEE, THEE ONLY, have I sinned, and one this evil in THY sight..." -(pSA. 51:4)
"I said, LORD, be merciful nto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned AGAINST THEE." -(Psa. 41:4)
See that? Vertical.
#2)... that "feared" the LORD. ("Fear" in terms of a "reverence and fright" of offending/ sinning against a holy all-Powerful God!)
"The secret of the Lord is with them that FEAR Him; and He will shew them His covenant." -(Psa. 25:14)
"Behold, the Eye of the Lord is with them that FEAR Him; upon them that hope in His mercy." -(Psa. 33:18)
* Also see Prov. 8:13; Psa. 34:7,9; 85:9; 103:11,13,17; 111:5; 145:19 147:11)
#3) ... that was "perfect" towards God ("perfect": Hebrew word "tamiym"- "complete, whole, entire, sound, healthful, wholesome, innocent, having integrity; That which is entirely in accord with Truth and fact."). The idea of a heart being "perfect" towards God is that it is sincere and upright before Him, honestly desiring to please Him! David ... HAD that, and God LOOKS for this in an individual!
"For the Eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose HEART IS PERFECT toward Him. -(2 Chron. 16:9)
"(2) I will behave myself wisely in a PERFECT WAY. O when wilt Thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with A PERFECT HEART. (3) I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me." -(Psa. 101:2-3)
(* See also 1 Ki. 9:4; 11:4; 15:1-3,14; 2 Ki. 20:2-3).
Complementary to this concept of the "PERFECT" heart is the New Testament concept of "the PURE heart". Jesus said "Blessed are the PURE IN HEART, for they shall see God." -(Matt. 5:8). This is of e-x-t-r-e-m-e importance, and I shall deal with this shortly in closing!
#4)... that loved God supremely (WHOLE-hearted devotion to God, above all else!)
"(1) I LOVE THE LORD, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. (2) Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live." -(Psa. 116:1)
"I WILL LOVE THEE, O LORD, my Strength." -(Psa. 18:1)
Indeed, this is THE greatest commandment given by God to man, as stated clearly by Jesus (God in the flesh!):
"(37) ... Thou shalt LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) THIS IS THE FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT." -(Matt. 22:37-38).
Jesus also said very plainly in two scripture passages (Matt. 10:35-39 & Luke 14:25-37), that unless one loves HIM more than any family member, any person,or anything he possesses, that THAT PERSON CANNOT be His disciple! Jesus, in fact, DEMANDS that we either be COLD or HOT, in our devotion toward Him, and if we are "lukewarm" (noncommittal, wishy-washy, HALF-HEARTED), He is NAUSEATED ! (see Rev. 3:14-18
#5) ..... that hungered for GOD'S Righteousness, recognizing that his OWN was not sufficient!
"I will praise the Lord according to HIS Righteousness..." -(Psa 7:17)
"He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake." -(Psa. 23:3)
* (see also Psa. 5:8; 11:7; 24:5; 35:24,28; 36:6,10; 40:10; 50:6; 71:2,16,19,24; 85:13; 89:16; 98:2; 119:142; 132:9)... See More
Jesus declared, in Matt. 5:6, "Blessed are they which do HUNGER AND THIRST (HEART motives) AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS: for they shall be filled." Paul the Apostle DESCRIBES this perfect Righteousness of God, and declares exactly HOW it is attained: "And be found 'in Him' (Christ), not having mine OWN righteousness, which is 'of the law', but that which is through the faith of Christ, the 'Righteousness which is of God by faith'." -(Philip. 3:9)
#6) ...... that desired God's TRUTH.
"Lead me in Thy Truth, and teach me..." -(Psa. 25:5)
"O send out Thy Light and Thy Truth: let them lead me; Let them bring me unto Thy holy hill and to Thy tabernacles." -(Psa. 43:3)
"Thou desirest TRUTH IN THE INWARD PARTS; and in THE HIDDEN PART Thou shalt make me to know wisdom." -(Psa. 51:6)
* (see also Psa. 26:3; 40:10; 51:6; 57:10; 61:7; 86:11; 91:4; 119:30,43,142; 145:18)
It is very sobering to note that if a person does NOT desire to love and believe the Truth in their heart, then God will allow that person to be DECEIVED AND DAMNED! (see 2 Thes. 2:10-12).
God the FATHER is called the "GOD of Truth" (Deut. 32:4; Psa. 31:5); The Son- JESUS is called "THE Truth" (Jhn. 14:6); The HOLY SPIRIT is called "the SPIRIT OF Truth (Jhn. 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:13-14); And the Bible is callled "the WORD of Truth" (Psa. 119:43; 2 Cor. 6:7). Jesus declared to the Roman governor Pilate that "everyone who is 'OF the Truth' heareth My Voice." -(Jhn.. 18:37)
So, in review, a "man after God's own HEART" (which was DAVID'S) has a heart that... 1) is "vertically repentant over sin", 2) fears God, hating and turning away from evil, 3) is "perfect towards God", honestly desiring to please Him in integrity, 4) loves God supremely, wholly above anyone or anything else, 5) hungers for GOD'S Righteousness above his OWN, and 6) desires GOD'S TRUTH. As we can see, there are SIX of these. The number "six" in the Bible is the "number of MAN". "SEVEN" is considered GOD'S number, a number of "COMPLETION". And indeed, there is a SEVENTH "character trait" of a "HEART that God loves":
#7) .... that was PURIFIED BY FAITH. Oh hallelujah!!!!!!
In closing, as I promised, I would now like to "hone in" on the New Testament concept (Matt. 5:8) of having a "PURE" heart (although David understood this well before that time!). The Greek word for "pure" in Matt. 5:8 is "katharos", and it means "clean, free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt; Free from any MIXTURE of what is false; BLAMELESS, INNOCENT, UNSTAINED WITH THE GUILT OF ANYTHING." And HOW is a heart "purified"? Again, by.... FAITH.
"(8) And God, WHICH KNOWETH THE HEARTS, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; (9) And put no difference between us and them, PURIFYING THEIR HEARTS BY FAITH." -(Acts 15:8-9). See that?
Now, in terms of Righteousness: A heart being made PURE FROM SIN, again, is by FAITH. But in WHAT OBJECT? You see... man within himSELF, in his own plans, schemes, and efforts ("the flesh") cannot change his own sinful heart, CANNOT CONQUER the "sin nature beast" that dwells within Him. BUT GOD, but God, but... G-O-D!!!..... THE LORD JESUS CHRIST changed all that on.... THE CROSS. Hallelujah!!!
David knew that a REDEEMER was coming (and placed his trust in what the animal blood sacrifices typifed- the sacrificial death of that Redeemer, causing his heart to be purified); He also spoke in the Psalms of the marvellous Work that God would do for man's heart!:
"(1) Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. (2) Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit (HEART) there is no guile." -(Psa. 32:1-2)
You see, friend, THE LORD CAN INCLINE OUR HEART TOWARDS HIM (1 Ki. 8:57-58; Psa. 119:36), and moreover, can change our heart totally, as our faith, for (GOD'S) righteousness, is totally in CHRIST AND HIS BLOOD SACRIFICE (IE: "THE CROSS"). Hallelujah!!!!
"Therefore if any man be 'IN Christ' he is a NEW CREATURE (a "good tree"): Old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new." -(2 Cor. 5:17)
"But this shall be the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their INWARD PARTS, and write it in THEIR HEARTS; and will be their God, and they shall be My people." -(Jer. 31:33)
"(26) A NEW HEART also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will give you a HEART OF FLESH (soft). (27) 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." -(Ezek. 36:26-27)
"(3) Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of THE HEART... (5)... our sufficiency is of God; (6) Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament: not of the letter, but OF THE SPIRIT: for the letter ("LAW") killeth, but THE SPIRIT." -(2 Cor. 3:3,5,6) GIVETH LIFE." -(2 Cor. 3:3,5,6)
As long as our faith is "in the Blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:10-11), Jesus Christ... in His Sacrificial Finished Work on "THE CROSS", we are "imputed", "freely given BY HIS GRACE, His perfect, SPOTLESS Righteousness. Oh Hallelujah! And then, the HOLY SPIRIT OF LIFE, given to us by God, WITHIN us, makes us (and KEEPS us) "free from the law of sin and death (see Rom. 8:1-2)! HE (not "us") also "leads us and guides us into all Truth, and glorifies Jesus (see Jhn. 16:13-14)
But it needs to be a DAILY thing (Lk. 9:23), where we "deny our SELF" and "take up our Cross" (speaks of taking up the BENEFITS of His Sacrifice, by FAITH). This... is "the Message of the Cross for SANCTIFICATION/ LIVING FOR GOD: A daily trust in HIS Sacrifice, not in OUR sacrifices! Hebrews 3:14 declares that "...we are made partakers of Christ IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end."; The key BEING... "Harden not your HEART" (Heb. 3:13), "through the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb. 3:13). This wonderful and glorious Way of Living, of "abundant Life" (see Jhn. 10:10), whereby one simply trusts in Jesus and His Sacrifice for all Righteousness, "walking after the (Holy) Spirit" (Rom. 8:1), is called "the simplicity that is 'IN CHRIST'" (2 Cor. 11:3). HALLELUJAH, friend you do not have to spend one more day "dry" spiritually. There is an OASIS in the dry desert of life for you, paid for... with THE BLOOD OF JESUS; An OASIS OF HIS Life, "LIVING WATERS" of His Spirit. "...WHOSOEVER WILL, let him take of the Water of Life FREELY." (Rev. 22:17)
And you, yes I said y-o-u, can have a.... "dancing" HEART"!
"...IN THY PRESENCE is FULLNESS OF JOY; At Thy Right Hand are pleasures for evermore." -(Psa. 16:11)
"For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." -(Psa. 107:9)
Remember this: "The Message of the Cross never grows old. It MAKES the heart pure (salvation), and it KEEPS the heart pure (sanctification), as we daily place our faith EXCLUSIVELY in that BLOOD SACRIFICE OF CHRIST for HIS Righteousness.... imputed to us! (Psa. 32:1-2; Rom. 10:4; Col. 1:14; 2:13-15)!"
If you have been dry spiritually and God has seemed distant, say this prayer with me, and you can be instantly restored to fellowship with God "the Fountain of Living Waters" (Jer. 2:13; 17:13; Song of Sol. 4:15):
"Father God, am am sorry for all of my sins; Wash and cleanse my heart from all unrighteousness. Help me to place my trust solely in Jesus and His Blood Sacrifice on the Cross for all righteousness, every day. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord, and I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead. My life is YOUR'S, Lord, from this day forward, and I place YOU above any person, thing, or activity. Please keep me in Your "abundant Life" every day, as I "walk by faith, not by sight". In Jesus' Name.
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