Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / God Sees The Heart | 1 Kings 8:39 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

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God Sees The Heart | 1 Kings 8:39 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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As we come to the end of yet another year, it's my prayer and
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desire to share with you a truth from the Scriptures that greatly
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impacted me earlier in 2025. It is an observation that has
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stayed with me and was deepened throughout the year, and it is
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my sincere longing that it will be a revelation that blossoms in
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the years to come. But my prayer also is that it
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will be of help to you, as it was to me, in shaping how we
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perceive the Lord. I truly believe that this
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insight will accomplish at least two things for the child of God
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who sincerely longs to worship, live, and please the Lord, but
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frequently is frustrated or disappointed with themselves in
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that pursuit. This can provide a level of rest
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to your soul that can help you as you seek to honor God.
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If you really seize these glorious insights and you take
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them home with you and you meditate on them in the days to
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come, I believe with all my heart that it can encourage a
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fresh and strong adoration, a God word.
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Adoration, on the other hand, for the person who claims to
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love Christ but is not true. In fact, habitually you are
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living in spiritual adultery, loving the world and its
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pleasures more than the Creator and the Savior of the world.
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This message may unsettle you, and I actually hope it does.
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I pray that it disturbs you enough to prompt repentance so
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that you would flee to Christ, confess your sin, and experience
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true satisfaction and joy that only He can offer.
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And the truth that I am Speaking of today can be found in
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Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple in
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First Kings chapter 8. And I invite you to turn with me
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in your Bibles to that portion of Scripture, First Kings
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chapter 8, verse 38 down to verse 39, and I will wait for
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you. This great king says the
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following as he is seeking God before the nation in verse 38.
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Whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all
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your people, Israel, each knowing the affliction of his
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own heart and stretching out his hands towards this house, then
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here in heaven your dwelling place, and forgive and act and
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render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways.
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For you, you only know the hearts of all the children of
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mankind. I want to speak to you today
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about how God sees and knows our hearts.
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What a remarkable admission Solomon makes in the middle of
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this petition. You only know the hearts of all
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the children of mankind. Why is he saying that here?
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Well, we have to remember that in this prayer, at the
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dedication of this incredible achievement, the dwelling place
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of God on the earth in the Temple, Solomon understands
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humanity's tendency to go back into their ways of rebellion and
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idolatry and habitual sin, even for people like this Israel that
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is especially privileged to know God in such a unique fashion.
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And so knowing what may come in the days after the dedication,
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Solomon seeks the Lord and he says, oh God, if and when the
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people do sin and continue to live in that place, but they
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repent, I'm asking you to extend mercy and restoration to your
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children. I'm asking that you would not
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push them away, you would not turn your back on them, but that
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you would welcome them again. And it's important to remember
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that Solomon is not offering this prayer in solitude.
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This is a public event. And so the peoples are there
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observing it and listening to his very prayer as he makes it
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before God. And so you can say that Solomon
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is not only seeking the Lord, but indirectly teaching the
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people and reminding them of something concerning the Lord in
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our repentance. That God alone knows the
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sincerity of someone's contrition and desire to be
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right with God. That's why he's mentioning God's
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omniscience in this context. He's not telling God.
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God knows this about himself. He's telling the people that
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should they choose to live in sin even after this great reward
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of God choosing to be him in their midst and to fellowship
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with them, and if they were to turn back after realizing their
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foolishness, God knows. If you're sincere in your
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repentance, God really knows what's going on in your heart.
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And we see here that through the supplication, Solomon is also
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reminding the people that no one has and no one ever will be able
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to deceive God with insincere or formulaic confessions of sin.
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He alone perceives the intentions and the integrity of
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our hearts. He alone can see what is really
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occupying our motives and what is really behind our actions.
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So he can tell the difference between someone who wants to
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forsake their sin in order to please God and one who is merely
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seeking to escape its consequences.
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And so they go through perhaps a ritualistic type of repentance.
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But knowing the genuineness of 1's repentance is not the only
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thing that the Lord is aware of. There's something that He says
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in this same chapter a few verses back.
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That was the verse for me a few months ago that was opened in
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such a way that I'm still drawing refreshment from it.
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Look what Solomon says about his father David back in verse 17 of
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First Kings 8. He says now it was in the heart
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of David my father, to build a house for the name of the Lord,
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the God of Israel. But the Lord said to David, My
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father, whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my
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name, you did well that was in your heart.
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Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son,
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who shall be born to you, shall build the house for my name.
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You know what's so remarkable about this passage?
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That you have God Almighty commending a man named David,
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but he does not praise King David for constructing the
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temple. He simply accepts and
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appreciates the fact that David had a desire to do so.
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What God is highlighting in David was never materialized.
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It was never realized. It never manifested.
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It wasn't something you can touch, it wasn't something you
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can measure necessarily. What God here is pleased with is
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a passion in David's heart, and so he lets him know you did
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well, that it was in your heart. Do you understand the
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implications of this for the true Christian?
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You may have had and you may still have holy aspirations.
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Christ honoring dreams and wishes, because of God's
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Providence and His will for you may prevent you from ever seeing
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it happen. And that may disturb you, that
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may frustrate you. But you have to understand that
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such intentions and longings, even if never fulfilled due to
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God's will, are still commended and appreciated by Him.
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What a thought. God honors our aspirations, not
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only our actions. You know what I find interesting
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about David after this point? There is no record of him ever
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protesting this prohibition. You have to understand, David
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had such a zeal for God's house that according to the Psalms,
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when it came to him desiring to build a house for him, he
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couldn't sleep at night. He stayed up all night because
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to him he's like, look at me in my palace.
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And God's, God's presence signified in that ark is in a
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tent. It became his, his one goal to
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do something about this, to exalt God's name.
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And it wasn't very long after David confessed his desire to do
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this that he was told prophetically, you will not
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build the house for me. Now here's what's so amazing.
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He doesn't protest. I believe perhaps in part, the
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reason why David could receive this and rest in this is because
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he realized that the Lord's pleasure was known simply in his
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longing. Because that's what David was
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after anyway. He wanted to, to bring the light
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to the Lord, and God wants to let him know.
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God knowing his heart, You're doing this for my glory.
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In my wisdom. I cannot let you build my house,
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but I want to let you know that you achieved your aim.
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I am pleased by the fact that you simply want to do it.
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This is the God that we serve, that he actually considers what
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is hidden, what we meditate on, what we long for.
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And as encouraging as this may be, our sinful hearts have a way
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of twisting such truths to justify our unwillingness to act
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in faith. You've probably had this
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conversation with somebody. I know I have.
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Maybe you've even said it. And I hope today will be the
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last time you ever do. We're somebody who is clearly
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living outside of God's will, somebody who is actually
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rejecting commands by God through His word for selfish
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reasons and sinful reasonings. And they say things like, well,
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God knows my heart. Have you heard that?
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Well, God, God knows my heart. As though the Lord condones
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compromise. This is not speaking about that.
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Far from it. Because David's concern and
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excitement for the temple did not come in brief spirits or
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fluctuated day by day. It consumed him, It was
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something he really wanted to do.
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It was something he was ready to do.
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It was something that he was willing to sacrifice anything
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for. And when he was told by God, you
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will not do it, he did the next best thing.
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OK, fine, you won't let me build it, then I'm going to fund it.
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And so he gave, and he gave of his own personal treasures and
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savings in order to leave this world, making an eternal impact.
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More than anything, this passage is meant to encourage those who
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have always wanted to serve God in a particular way, but I've
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experienced providentially redirection or hindered by the
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Holy Spirit. I want to let you know this
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afternoon and be assured that the Lord sees your heart and the
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desires in it and delights in them.
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This also serves as a warning for those who have hidden
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agendas or covetous motives and are willing to hide behind
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spiritual offices or camouflage themselves within the church
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circles to satisfy those impulses.
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Many people know Elijah was Elijah's assistant, but there
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are very few who remember the lessons that they can learn from
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Elijah's apprentice. Does anybody remember his name?
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Ghazi Ghazi. Ghazi had so much potential.
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Gehazi, who knows what could have been, what could have been
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accomplished through him as he was given access to 24/7
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discipleship, living under the tutelage of this mighty man of
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God, Elijah. But he squandered it.
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Gehazi blew it. Why did Gehazi blow it?
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Because his greed got the best of him.
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He so desired materialism that he threw away his calling.
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And the Bible gives us the moment that happened.
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The Bible actually tells us step by step when this took place,
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and it teaches us so much about what God knows about our hearts.
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One of the most incredible miracles that Elijah was able to
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perform by God's power was the healing of name in the Syrian.
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This Gentile who from a servant girl that was kidnapped from
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Israel, learned that there was a prophet in that land that they
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were war with, who had a relationship with God that can
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bring miracles into people's lives.
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And he is riddled with this disease.
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And sickness has a way of making people, even those who are
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unbelievers, desperate. Sickness has a way of humbling
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us. Sickness has a way of reminding
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us that we're human and we are not God.
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And so this name in the Syrian makes a petition to the king of
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Israel, and he makes his way to Israel.
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He gets a hold of Elijah, and Elijah gives him commands that
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required humility. And Naman complied and he was
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healed miraculously. And Elijah, who was the conduit
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through which God performed this miracle, is approached by Naman.
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And Naman is so moved, he now acknowledges the God of Israel
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is a true God. How can I pay you back?
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How can I compensate? How how can I express my
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appreciation? And Elijah was a wise minister.
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He understood this is a Gentile who's just being introduced to
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the God of Israel. In no way am I going to take
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anything from him less he should be confused and think to himself
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that this relationship with this living God is a matter of give
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and take. I want to show him that God is a
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God of grace. So he looks at name, and he
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says, go your way. I'm not asking anything from
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you. And so Naman, with his
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entourage, make the way back to Syria.
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But who's there listening in on that conversation?
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Elisha's servant, his personal assistant.
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And when he discovers this, we have the record of his thinking
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where he says, my master is foolish, essentially.
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Why would he let go of this opportunity?
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And so when Elisha is tucked away in his own place, Naman is
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on his way to Syria, Gehazi makes his way and follows
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Naaman. And when he follows him, I want
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you to see what he asks of him in Second Kings chapter 5 verse
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21. In Second Kings 521, we read.
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So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone
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running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and
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said, is all well. And he said all is well.
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Pause we've seen that before in Second Kings, haven't we?
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We've seen this before with a Shunamite woman when her son
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died approached Elijah and Elijah asked her is all well and
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she said what all is well? It was true for her, her soul
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was well. She had trust and faith in God.
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Now Gehazi is being asked us all well and he says all is well is
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all well with Gehazi soul. No, it's it's very dangerous to
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perceive the condition of our own spirituality outside of
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God's light. Ghazi thinks all is well, at
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least he says it, when in reality it's not.
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And we're about to discover that all is well.
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My Master has sent me to say that I've just now come to me
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from the Hill Country of Ephraim, two young men of the
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sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of
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silver and two changes of clothing.
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What is this deception? What is this manipulation?
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What is this? It's greed.
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And keep in mind exactly what Ghazi requested because at first
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it won't seem to match what Elijah says when he confronts
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his assistant. Scroll down now to verse 25.
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This is when Ghazi makes his way back to Elijah's presence and he
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thought that he can escape the prophet's knowledge of his
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whereabouts. Second Kings 525 He went in and
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stood before his master, and Elijah said to him, Where have
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you been, Ghazi? And he said, Your servant went
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nowhere. But he said to him, Did not my
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heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you?
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Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and
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vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?
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Elijah, what are you talking about?
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What did we read back earlier? What?
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What did Gehazi ask for specifically?
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Just just some money and a few changes of clothing, right?
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But what does Elijah include? He includes all.
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Look at this catalog. Was it a time to accept not just
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money and garments, but olive orchards and vineyards, sheep,
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oxen, male servants and female servants?
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What's happening here? I'll tell you exactly what's
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happening here. God not only revealed to Elijah
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what Gehazi asked from Naaman, he also showed the prophet what
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truly lodged in Gehazi's heart. His true aspirations and
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desires. His true ambitions to acquire
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property, states, servants, to live in luxury.
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That's what Gehazi really wanted, and he was willing to,
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even with his ministerial position, even with the
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vulnerability of people's needs, execute his authority and take
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advantage of others in order to realize that aim in life.
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In other words, God knew what was really in Ghazi's heart.
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It wasn't to glorify God. It wasn't to extend grace.
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It wasn't to preach the truth. It was to actually utilize his
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position to pursue a selfish ambition, thinking that it was
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indiscernible. Clearly he forgot to pay
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attention or remember what Solomon prayed back in First
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Kings chapter 8, that God alone knows the hearts of all the
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children of mankind. There's an amazing contrast
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between Gehazi and Naman in this story.
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If you remember, Naman earlier, after being told that he can go
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back in peace, was concerned with something.
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He was concerned about returning to his duties because he was a
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high official in the Syrian government and his
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responsibilities were vast. But he also had a close
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relationship with the king of Syria.
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And one of the things that Naman had to do was assist this aged
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king into the temple of a false God.
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And when he would bow down to worship this false God, he would
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lean on Naaman's arm, and Naaman would have to bow down with him
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in order to help him. So he brings his predicament up
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to Elijah, and he says, oh, please, may your Lord pardon me
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when I do this. And Elijah reassures Naaman,
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Yes, I God understands you may have to physically prostate
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yourself, not because you're worshipping this false God, but
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because you have this position that requires you to help this
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elderly king realize that you should be in peace.
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Be in peace. But then now Fast forward in the
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same chapter, we learn what we just read it that you have
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Gehazi who outwardly look like a true minister.
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What was his posture? He stood in the presence of his
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master. When somebody stands in the
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presence of someone else, that often means that they are ready
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to serve at a command. He looks spiritual.
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He looked promising. He was the closest man to
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Elijah. But inwardly, what did he want?
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What did he truly desire? Fields and servants and
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affluence and was willing to even exploit others through the
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ministry to arrive there. Teaching us what God knows.
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Our hearts, He does not evaluate externally.
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He looks internally and He considers the purity, the
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sincerity of what we long for. He looks at our hearts above all
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else. You know, Gehazi and Judas
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Iscariot share many similarities.
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From the outside, Judas appeared to be what?
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A genuine disciple. I mean, he, with the other 11,
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walked away from their daily routines, the familiarity to
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follow this rabbi wherever he went.
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More than that, don't forget this, that when Jesus
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commissioned the 12 along with other disciples, Judas himself
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operated under the same power that these others did.
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Through Judas's hands, the sick were healed.
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Through Judas's voice, in the name of Jesus, demons were cast
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out. I mean, from the outside, this,
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this man, Judas looked like the real deal.
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Even the others among him thought the same.
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But there was someone in the midst.
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There was someone in Judas's life who really knew his true
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character, Christ, and regularly in the Gospels, especially,
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especially in the Gospel of John, the Holy Spirit shows us
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how Christ all along in that three-year tenure in a
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three-year ministry route, understood exactly who Judas was
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even though he was on staff. Do you remember what Jesus said
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in John 6 verse 70? Didn't I choose you the 12?
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And yet one of you is what a devil.
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Not one of you is going to be a devil.
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One of you right now is a devil. What a shocking claim.
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What does it show us that God knows?
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He can see through the veneers of gehazis and Judases, and He
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also sees the sincerity in the purity of unformed people like
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Naman who have the desire to to worship the true God but may not
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know all that He is all that he has to offer.
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The revelation of God's awareness of what resides in our
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hearts, it's so prevalent in the Bible.
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It goes back as far as Genesis, and I want to show you one
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strong example of this from Genesis chapter 20.
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Let's turn that together. What's happening in Genesis 20,
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at least in the beginning of it, Abraham makes his way to Guerrar
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with his family. And when he arrives at Guerrar,
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like before, he was afraid because of the beauty of his
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wife. You imagine that he was so
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worried that people would perceive and see just how
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beautiful his wife was that he had to lie.
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And he did this before so that no one would try to take him out
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if he stood in the way from having her.
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So Abraham repeats his mistake. Sarah, if anybody asks you, tell
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them you're my sister. So they do that, and Abimelech,
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the king of Gerard, took notice of Sarah.
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So he takes her for himself and all.
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Thank God he supervised over his plan of redemption.
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Because Abraham, this man of faith supposedly right, blew it
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at a very critical time. The Lord had promised Abraham
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that within a year's time Sarah would conceive the miracle
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child, and he still is willing to put her at risk of being
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taken by another man, which would what compromise that plan?
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So God himself intervenes, and this is what we read in Genesis
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20, verse 3. But God came to Abimelech in a
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dream by night and said to him, Behold, you are a dead man
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because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's
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wife. Now Abimelech had not approached
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her, so he said, Lord, will you kill an innocent people?
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Did he not himself say to me, She is my sister?
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And she herself said He is my brother.
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In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands, I
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have done this. And God said to him in the
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dream, Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of
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your heart. And it was I who kept you from
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sinning against me. Isn't that amazing?
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Sinning against me? You know, some people say, well,
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it's not. It can't be wrong if I'm not
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hurting anybody. Well, actually you are hurting
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someone with every sin you commit, and that's God sinning
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against me. Therefore, I did not let you
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touch her. What kind of trouble might have
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Abimelech got himself into? If God was a God who judged only
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actions and not considering motives, intentions or even
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ignorance, I believe like would have ended right there and then.
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Actually, why do we see this in our Bibles?
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Because the Lord wants to show us that he looks at the heart.
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And Abimelech confesses that he did not pursue Sarah knowing
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that she was another man's wife. He was under the impression that
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she was single and therefore available.
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In other words, this man was not driven by sinful compulsion.
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He wasn't perverted. He didn't have evil intent.
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In this moment, the basis of his actions was pure, and God
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Himself confirmed it. I can, I can confirm and affirm,
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Abimelech, that you are innocent in this regard.
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What lessons can we take from this?
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I think a few. Let me offer a couple.
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Number one, it's very likely that you and I have made
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mistakes of various kinds, some more consequential, some less,
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yet they arose from a place of moral integrity.
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You know who makes these kind of mistakes?
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Very often young Christians when they first get saved, who do a
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lot of things from the place of righteous zeal but lack wisdom.
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And sometimes in their decisions, sometimes with their
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words or confrontations or even their attempts to do something
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right, they do more harm than good, right?
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Maybe if we're all a little bit honest, we can say, yeah, that's
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that's true of me when I was first born again.
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There's some things that I think back to, and I'm like, I'm
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cringing just thinking about it. And if you have a particularly
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sensitive conscience, that may be enough to help you not be
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able to move on from past blunders.
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You're almost chained to your past mistakes because you can't
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seem to just get over how you missed it.
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And yet we come to a truth like this that reminds us that God
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sees the integrity of our hearts.
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He sees the innocence. He sees how maybe we were even
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operating under a limited awareness of how things should
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be done, but we really want to do something good.
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So if that describes you, take take comfort in knowing that the
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Lord's assessment of our choices are not surface level.
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They are never surface level. He's incredibly patient.
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He considers other factors. He he looks at our motives.
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He looks at our limited knowledge that we may have had
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at the time of our failures. Another point to consider is how
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there will be times when we will be misjudged by others,
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sometimes even accused, while God fully recognizes our
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innocence. When David sent some of his
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servants to the land of the Ammonites to console and comfort
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Hanoon, who was the son of the late King Mahash, the Princess
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of the Ammonites whispered in the ear of Hanoon and convinced
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them David sent spies here. You think that this is an act of
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kindness? No, he's here to actually see
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your weak spots. This is his intelligence agency
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and Hanoon believed him. He believed the whisper of the
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Princess and it caused an unnecessary war.
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Here's David just trying to do the right thing.
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And it was misunderstood, misconstrued, and caused
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bloodshed. You and I have to be prepared to
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be misunderstood or wrongly accused by others, yet at the
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same time be ready to take refuge and to take comfort in
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the thought that God Himself knows the integrity of our
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hearts, even if others do not, because ultimately His judgement
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matters the most. I love the Apostle Paul for many
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reasons. One of the things that I so
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appreciate about this great man of God is the confidence he had
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in living in light of God's evaluation of his efforts, his
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ministry, his character. This man who sacrificed so much,
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This man who took beatings, this man who faced death on on behalf
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of others for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of other
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believers, at one point was severely scrutinized by these
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Corinthian Christians, these Corinthians who dare to question
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his ambitions and his motives, to compare him to other
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teachers. And so at one point in his first
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letter to this group of believers, he says it's a very
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small thing for me to be judged by you or by any human court.
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In fact, I love this part. He goes on to say I don't even
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judge myself. I don't rely of my own
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assessment of my own heart because sometimes I'm too hard
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on myself or sometimes I'm too light.
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No, no, no, He ends up saying this.
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It is the Lord who judges me ultimately is God.
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It's God who knows the depth of my being.
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It's the Lord who knows who knows why I do what I do.
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It's a very small thing to be judged by you, Corinthians.
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My identity is not in your assessment, your conclusions,
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your speculations, your comparisons.
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That's not where I find my identity, nor do I find it in
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any human court. I rest in God and in God alone.
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Oh, we can go on and on with examples, can't we?
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You're saying, can you just pause it and remind me why we're
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going through these passages? Because I want you to leave with
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one thing this afternoon. God knows your heart.
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That's it. But I believe there are at least
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more applications that we can drive.
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How should we respond to these scriptural insights?
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What do we do with them? I believe that there are two
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major applications, one that deals with our horizontal
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attitudes toward one another and one that concerns our vertical
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relationship with the Lord. Listen to the words of the
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apostle Paul on how we should treat one another, perceive one
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another in light of the fact that God knows our hearts.
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Turn with me to the New Testament now in First
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Corinthians chapter 4 and look at verse 5.
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Therefore do not pronounce judgement before the time before
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the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden
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in darkness, and will disclose the purposes of the heart.
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Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
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So again, the Corinthians were guilty of making judgments of
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various leaders in the church, including the apostle Paul, to
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the point that it was causing divisions and fostering
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spiritual pride. And so he's confronting this and
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he's reminds this group of believers, hey, hey, hey, hey,
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hey. God alone knows the intentions
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of the human heart. You can't come to a definite
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dogmatic arrival at why a minister does what he does.
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That's the context here. Because sometimes our judgments
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are premature. Sometimes there are conclusions
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based on incomplete information. Other times they are influenced
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by our own insecurities. So Paul tells his believers
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there is a time coming though, where the Lord will reach down
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into every heart and pull out the intentions of it.
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So you Corinthians, instead of spending your energy and causing
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problems with verbalizing and sharing your personal
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understanding supposedly of why someone is the way they are or
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why they preach or minister or serve in the way that they do,
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reserve that for examining your own heart and preparing your own
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heart to be evaluated by God Himself.
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And that's perhaps one way we can grow in our sanctification
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regarding this truth. He says that there will be a
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time coming when the purpose of the heart will be revealed, and
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that's God's prerogative alone. You know, we live in an age
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today where everybody can grab a microphone and share something
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with the world. And especially with the
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political climate we're in and how everything is accessible,
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the culture war, all these things, the things people share
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online that they're not even sure about and the havoc and
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confusion and chaos that it's causing.
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Listen, if the world wants to do that, let them do that.
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But nuts, let's not bring it in the church instead of murmuring,
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instead of trying to be your own private investigator and
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bringing others in and deeming if somebody's truly righteous,
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really authentic, leave that to God and worry about your own
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heart. But there's a vertical element
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to this. Do you remember what David's
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prayer was after getting one of the most comprehensive
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explanations of the wonders and purposes of the word of God in
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Psalm 19, we we spoke about this Psalm back at the conference.
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But let me remind you how He ends, how He responds right
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after giving this wonderful description, this bullet point
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kind of explanation of the applications and the treasures
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of the Word of God. This is what He says in Psalm
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19, verse 14. Let the words of my mouth and
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the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, oh
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Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. I do not believe for a moment
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that it is accidental that immediately right after speaking
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and giving a catalog of what the Word of God is and what it can
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perform in in a human soul, David responds in this way.
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It's as though David arrived at the same conclusion that you and
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I did this afternoon that the Lord he sees the heart.
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He considers the heart. And so David doesn't end his
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prayer with let the words of my mouth that deals with outward
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piety. That's what other people can
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hear. He says, not not just outside.
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I'm asking you clean this heart, the hidden private secret part
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of who I am. I'm asking you, God, that the
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meditations that nobody else knows about would be acceptable
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in your sight. This is David's response to what
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he knew about the Word of God and what you and I are being
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reminded of in the Word of God, that He sees our hearts.
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May that be our prayer also. Let's do that now.
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And before, before I even pray, I want to give you a short time
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to do business with God. And perhaps that looks like you
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worshiping the Lord in with Glee because you had these
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aspirations that were never realized.
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You never understood why you prayed about it.
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You're willing to give up everything for it, and God has a
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different path for you. And you might be frustrated with
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your life, but oh, remember that the Lord praise David for his
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desires alone. Take comfort, servant of Christ.
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If that's you, perhaps you're riddled with guilt even still in
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2025 because of things that have been done.
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Though you did it from a pure place.
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Take comfort in knowing that God knows your heart.
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The integrity of it may have not been the best choice.
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It may have been a wrong action. Not the wisest, but be liberated
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and move on in the grace of God. You might be a Ghazi in this
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place and your heart is filled with worldly ambitions, carnal
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cravings. You know the right words, you
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look the part, but there is nothing of God in your
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affections and your ambitions. It can change today.
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God can renew that heart of yours and fill it with the
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desires that were meant to be there.
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Lord, we pray that the words of our mouths and the meditations
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of our hearts leaving this place would be acceptable in your
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sight. Thank you, Lord, that You were
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not just the great revealer of hearts.
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You were the healer of hearts. You are the regenerator of
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hearts. You perform spiritual heart
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transplants. You can take these Stony hearts,
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these cold icy hearts, these critical hearts, and put your
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heart instead. And we pray that we would
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experience that, though we will never know it perfectly on this
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side of eternity, we want as much of it as possible.
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And so low. We sit here patiently and humbly
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asking for you to do what only you can do.
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In these hearts, in Christ's name, we pray.
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Amen. If you desire to stand and sing
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with us, you can do that. If you still want to stay seated
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so that you can better pray and seek the Lord, you can do that
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as well. Whatever you choose to do in
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this moment, do it from a place of worship.
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Let's let's seek the Lord and thank Him for speaking to us
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today, Yeah.