A Spiritual Heart Check
Listen.January 24th, 2010
Rev. Dr. Craig A. Wagner
Introduction
Did you know that 2400 people die of this disease every day? Do you realize that $48 billion are spent each year in the United States to prevent it from taking so many lives? Are you aware that 17 million people world-wide die from this disease each year? What is it? It’s heart disease! The interesting thing is that this disease is largely preventable by eating right and exercising. The problem is that good habits are difficult to do. In fact, I could suggest that we all just stand up and do some jumping jacks, or run in place during the sermon! Since the paramedics are not here, I’ll pass on that suggestion.
What we can do however, is to take our pulse. It’s simple: just place your index, second and third finger on the palm side of your other wrist not far from the base of your thumb. Or you can place your index and second finger on the base of your neck on either side of your windpipe and press – not too hard – until you feel the pulse. Feel it? Good that means you’re alive!
How’s the health of your heart today? If a medical doctor were here with his stethoscope she could listen to your heart and determine more than we can by feeling our pulses. If the doctor were to use a CT scanner or do a cardiac MRI the doctor could determine to a greater degree the health of your heart. But all of this would simply tell us how healthy we are in physical form. Today we want to take a heart check of our relationship with God. God takes our spiritual pulse and looks at the inside of our being.
In the Bible we discover that the heart is the center of our emotions, desires, passions, appetites,. It is where our moral, spiritual and intellectual life resides according to the biblical writers. The emotions of joy, love, courage, anger, and sorrow are all attributed to the heart. It is who we are.
This morning we look at that pivotal figure David; that great hero of the bible. We read that he was a man after God’s own heart. With that in mind let’s begin to do a spiritual heart check in our life.
How is your heart of WORSHIP?
The first part of our checkup concerns our worship of the one true God. As we have read about David, we discovered that he was focused on worshipping God. In fact, we could say that he was driven to worship. David was so focused on worship of God that he would always worship and pray before any activity. He even wanted to build a temple in which to house the Ark of the Covenant so that there would be a central place to worship God. He wanted to honor God and to assure that God would have a central place in the life of the people and of the nation. He was even willing to pour physical resources into the building of the temple.
However, the prophet Nathan told him “no” This is not want God desires. What God desires is to build a dynasty through you, but the dynasty will be of people. This dynasty, the people of God, will be built through your descendants and eventually, as we know, will include Jesus himself. The Messiah will come through the family of David.
David felt extremely sad because he lived in a palace while the Ark of the Covenant resides in a tent. He wanted to build the temple. But Nathan told him that his son Solomon would build it. David had set aside money for the temple. He wrote music to be used in worship in the temple, he designed the temple and he was driven to worship God. His heart was directed to worship the Lord. This was true even when his plans were upset he looked to God and worshipped him.
How is your heart for worship? Are you driven to worship? Is it a top priority in your life? Or do other things, events and problems come between you and a worship experience? When I speak of worship, I’m not just referring to our gatherings on Sunday morning in this building. Just because we’re here today dos not mean this is enough. If our heart is focused on worshipping the Lord, then at all times God becomes the focus of our existence.
The issue: do we show reverence to God. Do we offer the esteem that is due him? Do we conduct our lives in such a way that God is glorified? If so, then our heart is inclined toward worship – focused on God, then our heart check will show a healthy spiritual life. Heart check #1 – worship.
How is your heart of REPENTANCE?
As we know, not all of David’s actions were admirable. Sure he was person whose heart focused on God, but there were other problems in his life. In fact, when we think of David, two stories come to the front of our mind; David and Goliath and then David and Bathsheba.
King David saw from his roof top this beautiful woman bathing. He wanted her but she was married to a man named Uriah. Uriah was a soldier. David summoned the woman and had sexual relations with her. She became pregnant. David then sends for Uriah thinking that if Uriah arrives in Jerusalem, he will stay at home, but Uriah does not…and so the plot thickens. Eventually, David sends Uriah into the fiercest part of the battle. He tells his commanders that when Uriah is on the front of the battle line, the rest of the army should take a few steps backward, exposing Uriah and allowing the enemy to kill him. Uriah dies in battle and David marries Bathsheba!
David at this point in his life was deceitful, adulterous and murderous. This is not a picture of a great warrior or a devoted man after God’s own heart. (Government hasn’t changed much, has it?) But it’s what happened after this that shows us David’s heart. He confessed his sin to God.
He did not try to hide it, or cover it up, or deny it. He tells the truth and begs God for forgiveness. He doesn’t try to escape from punishment nor does he try to blame someone else: he didn’t even try to blame Bathsheba by saying, “She enticed me!” He confessed, begged for forgiveness and then moved forward to do God’s will. He changed his heart and mind and once again focused on God.
Do we blame others for what we have done? Do we forgive others? Do we hold grudges against other people? Ask yourself: What do I do to myself when I sin? Do we acknowledge our sin or try to hide it? Do we blame others for our sinful actions? Do we forgive ourselves- to easily or do we punish ourselves to hard? Do we allow the forgiveness of Christ to touch our lives and lift the burden from us?
Ask yourself: When others around me sin do I hold them in contempt? Do I forgive others as I have been forgiven? Do I judge others harshly? We are called to repent – to turn around, change our minds and focus of Jesus. Heart check #2 – repentance!
How is your heart of TRUST?
When the going gets tough, where do you place your trust? David placed his trust in God. Who has had a more stressful time than David? He was at war almost constantly, he hid in caves when Saul was after him (I haven’t had to do that yet!), and he even went up against that giant of a Philistine, Goliath. He had a son who raped his daughter and another son Absalom who staged a coup to attempt to become king. David certainly had a series of stresses and messes in his life.
His response to the stresses and the overwhelming odds against him at various times was to lean on God. When he had doubts and worries he trusted God would see him through. When he went to do battle against Goliath, he took off his sword and armor and wielded the stunning blow with a sling shot – then the sword! Trusting in God David was able to endure the situations and the stresses in which he found himself.
What of our response to stress and problems; frustrations, anxieties, struggles, and difficult situations? Have we learned to lean on Jesus? Remember the first commandment, “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.” When we fail to place trust and faith in God only, then the problems will overwhelm us. We need to trust in the Lord in all areas and aspects of life – worship God and then everything else falls into place. Heart check #3: Trust in God.
How is your heart of HUMILITY?
David was in the top tier of successful leadership. He was king over all Israel, he killed enemy #1, he battled successfully against the enemies of Israel and still he gave all the credit to God. This great leader who rose from a life as a simply shepherd received acclaim from many people for all of his great exploits. People wrote songs about him. The bible said that all Judah and Israel loved David.
How did he respond to success? He gave God the glory! In everything he did, he had great success because the Lord was with him…And he acknowledged God’s presence. To God be the glory; people have even ascribed Psalms to him…many songs.
How do we handle success? How do we handle favor? If we are heart healthy, we give glory to God for all circumstances. We praise God for God’s presence. When we are richly blessed we need to remember to bless God and move away from pride of self and ambition to glorify the one who has given us so many great blessings. Heart check #4 – humility.
Conclusion
David was one of the greatest leaders in the bible. God blessed him with much talent and ability. But God was really pleased with David’s heart – worshipful, repentant, trusting and humble. As we read the Bible I pray that these four traits will be in our lives and that we become people who truly strive after God’s own heart. Amen.