Derek Smith, Lead Pastor LHBC

1 Samuel 16:1-13
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

A man has a heart attack and is brought to the hospital emergency room. The doctor tells him that he will not live unless he has a heart transplant right away. Another doctor runs into the room and says, “you’re in luck, two hearts just became available, so you will get to choose which one you want. One belongs to a lawyer and the other to a social worker”.

The man quickly responds, “the lawyer’s”.

The doctor says, “Wait! Don’t you want to know a little about them before you make your decision?”

The man says, “I already know enough. We all know that social workers are bleeding hearts and the lawyer’s probably never used his. So I’ll take the attorney’s!”

The heart. It’s a pretty important part of the body, some might even argue the most important. Without it, precious life-giving blood doesn’t flow throughout the body and your brain and organs soon shut down. Cardiovascular health seems to be the number one topic on most Americans minds when it comes to considering one’s overall wellness. There’s another aspect of your life, the most important aspect, where the heart matters most. It’s your spiritual life. Your spiritual heart condition determines everything else about you. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts for the heart is the wellspring of life. The Lord told Samuel here that man may look on the outside, but the Lord judges the condition of the heart.

Samuel has been sent out by God to anoint the next King of Israel from the house of Jesse. He goes through the sons and finds the most leaderly looking one based on outward appearance. But the Lord says, “that ain’t him!” Then the Lord tells him to anoint the teenager, David, who hasn’t even grown into his tunic yet. Why? Because of His heart. He was a young man after God’s own heart willing to go anywhere, say anything, and do anything the Lord would ask of him.

The appearance of our life is not what matters most, it’s the condition of our heart that matters. So, what does your heart look like? Is it dirty with sin or hardened by pride? From time to time we all need some spiritual stents put in to clear out the worldly, fleshly stuff that is clogging up the life-blood of the Spirit. Today, let me challenge you; don’t live by appearance or judge by appearance. Get your heart right and learn to look and listen to the hearts of others. Let the Spiritual Cardiologist of Heaven clean out your arteries so you can effectively serve Him once again. When your motives are pure and your conscience is clean, now you can serve and worship the Lord with gladness and sincerity.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Father God, search me and try me. Show me if there is anything in my heart that is not honoring to You. My desire is to live pleasing to You and to express Your love to all I come in contact with. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
1 Samuel 16:7
For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.