Heart-Healing for the Righteous vs. Heartsickness of the Wicked

I'm going to skip around a little bit this morning because we already covered most of chapter 13 three weeks ago when we were going through Proverbs 11, I think.

So I think we're going to start verse 12, chapter 13, go through verse 9, and then we're going to jump to chapter 14 and read verses 1 to 15.

So I'll start in chapter 13, verses 12 to 19.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Good sends wind's favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.

Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.

A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.

Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honor.

A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

Let's skip ahead a little bit to chapter 14, verses 1 to 15.

The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.

Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is devious in his ways despises him.

By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.

A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.

Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.

Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance.

The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.

The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways,

and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

We have an oversized box of Cheerios at our house that we've been trying to finish for the last few months.

It has a picture of a red heart-shaped bowl on the cover,

and a caption that says,

It can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart-healthy diet.

But even though it's supposed to be a healthier alternative

to virtually all the other sugary breakfast cereals,

our family still hasn't managed to finish that one box over the last several months.

And the reason for that is quite simple.

It only has two grams of sugar.

And if it had any less sugar, it will taste like you're eating the cardboard box itself.

And that's because we want healthy hearts in theory,

but not necessarily in practice.

And this illustrates kind of the spiritual problems that we have all experienced,

that the desires of our hearts are not aligned with the will of God.

We don't desire the things that we should desire.

We don't want the things that God wants.

We don't have a strong enough appetite for godly, heavenly things.

And so we need new hearts, realigned hearts.

And this passage teaches us that only those who humbly receive God's word

will have the desires of their hearts fulfilled.

It speaks of the desires of the heart, chapter 13, verses 12 to 19.

And it speaks of the deceptiveness of the heart, chapter 14, verses 1 to 15.

And I also bring in chapter 15, verses 11 to 19 later,

which I didn't read earlier, and talk about the delight of the heart.

And since, as I mentioned, I already preached on Proverbs 13 three weeks ago,

along with chapter 10,

I'm not going to dive into those verses in detail this morning.

But just to remind you of the context,

chapter 13 teaches that the righteous gain lasting wealth

by working diligently and saving gradually.

And so chapter 13, verse 11 gives us a flavor of that.

It says,

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,

but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

Now, it's in that context we get the teaching of chapter 13, verses 12 to 19,

which talks about the desire of the heart, desires of the heart.

And verses 12 to 19 is a subunit of its own,

and it's structured concentrically.

First half is mirrored by the second half.

So verse 12 is matched by verse 19,

verse 13 by verse 18,

verse 14 by verse 17, and so on.

And it's helpful for interpreting when we look at those matching verses together.

And so verse 12 and 19,

they bracket this unit,

and they both speak of how the desires of the righteous will be fulfilled.

Verse 12 says,

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

And similarly,

verse 19 says,

A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

The wicked cannot resist the lure of get-rich-quick schemes,

whether it's by cheating or stealing or gambling.

But wealth, Proverbs teaches us,

wealth that is gained hastily will dwindle.

Only he who gathers little by little through hard work will increase it.

And for this reason,

they will not have the wicked who seek to gain quickly through unjust means,

will not have their desire fulfilled.

To the wise, however,

who desire the things of God,

the fulfillment of a righteous desire is sweet to their soul.

But to the fool who does not desire the things of God,

turning away from evil is an abomination to him.

He says,

So the wise,

this is telling us,

the wise have a taste,

an appetite for godly things,

while the fools have a taste only for ungodly things.

And they have a great distaste,

in fact,

for the righteousness of God.

So it prevents them from turning away from evil.

And this is why,

Proverbs teaches us,

the appetite of the wicked will not be satisfied,

ultimately speaking.

And that's why verse 12 goes on to say,

hope deferred makes the heart sick.

The wicked will have their hope deferred,

meaning not merely delayed temporarily,

but denied indefinitely.

This disappointment and frustration will lead to sickness of heart.

Earlier in Proverbs chapter 4,

Proverbs 4:23

verse 23,

it said that,

it said,

The Bible describes the heart,

which represents the inner being of the person,

as a source from which our lives flow,

what we say,

what we do.

It is like the root of a plant.

When the root is rotted,

the plant does not long survive.

Likewise,

a sick heart ultimately leads to death.

A sinful heart leads to eternal death.

And this is why verse 12 continues,

but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

This is not a shallow statement about how people who get what they want are happy,

but people who don't get what they want are sad.

It's rather contrasting the desires of the wicked from the desires of the righteous.

And we know this because an evil desire fulfilled is never described elsewhere as a tree of life,

which is a symbol of vitality,

healing,

and ultimately eternal life.

So the wicked's desires then are thwarted,

and because their hearts are contrary to the will of God,

for this reason they end up getting hearts sick.

But the righteous desire are fulfilled,

because their desires are aligned with the will of God.

And so they find healing,

life,

walling up to eternal life in the end.

The wicked might flourish,

this assumes,

for a little while,

but when they do,

they are like a plant that sprouts up quickly,

because it has only a shallow root.

And it will soon wither away,

for the lack of its depth.

In contrast,

the righteous might suffer for a little while in this life,

like a plant that seems to have trouble sprouting up,

but all the while it's laying deep roots,

and soon it will outgrow and outlast the wicked,

and the righteous will be rewarded in eternity.

And that's the reason why verse 13 exhorts the reader to heed the divinely inspired wisdom of God's word.

Read with me in verse 13.

It says,

Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself,

but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.

Now verse 13 is matched by verse 18.

Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction,

but whoever heeds reproof is honored.

Poverty and disgrace stalk those who ignore instruction,

but honor accompanies those who heed reproof.

In other words,

those who think highly of God and his word will be honored,

while those who think God's word beneath them,

because they think too highly of themselves,

will be disgraced.

And as we have seen throughout the book of Proverbs,

the word poverty is used consistently in a negative way,

in contrast with the word poor,

which is used primarily in a positive way.

The poor refer to those who are poor

because of injustices in the world,

through outside circumstances,

outside of their control.

Poverty, however,

is used to refer to God's judgment

on those,

on people,

on sinners and the wicked,

for their, for example,

laziness,

stinginess,

love of luxury,

or carelessness.

And poverty and disgrace come to them,

prideful sinners who ignore God's instruction.

And then in verses 14 and 17,

Solomon commends himself

as the wise instructor

who faithfully conveys the wisdom of God.

He says in verse 14,

the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life

that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Right?

This is compared to verse 12,

which spoke of a desire for the foot as a tree of life.

So here now it says,

the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life.

If you wish the fulfillment of the desires of your heart

like a tree of life,

then you should heed the teaching of the wise,

which is a fountain of life.

And this is matched by verse 17.

A wicked messenger falls into trouble,

but a faithful envoy brings healing.

There are wicked messengers

who do not faithfully convey the message

that they have been sent to relay

by the author,

the sender.

They sow discord through their failure.

or intentional or not.

They sow discord between the sender and the recipient.

They separate us from God

through their false teaching.

Their words are like snares

that ultimately lead to death.

And these messengers,

these wicked messengers,

will become subject themselves

to the trouble that they cause others.

But in contrast,

if you listen to the wise,

like Solomon who's teaching here,

the faithful envoy brings healing.

There are wisdom teachers like Solomon

and other contributors to the book of Proverbs,

and their teaching leads to life.

And so he's encouraging us to heed it,

listen to it.

And then verse 15 is matched by verse 16.

This is the center of the concentric structure.

It continues the exhortation.

Good sense wins favor,

but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.

Every prudent man acts with knowledge,

but a fool flaunts his folly.

And this is really the main point

of this entire passage,

that only those who humbly receive God's word

will have the desires of their hearts fulfilled.

The fool desires treachery and folly,

and so he will not follow God's word,

and will not therefore be rewarded in the end.

So that's what this passage teaches us

about the desires of the heart.

Now, only if it were easy to discern

the desires of the heart,

we would have no trouble distinguishing right from wrong

and aligning ourselves and our desires

with the will of God.

Unfortunately, however, it's not easy,

and that's due to the deceptiveness of the heart.

It's what chapter 14, verses 1 to 15 speak of.

Solomon builds his case gradually

by continuing the contrast

between the righteous and the wicked first.

He says in verse 1,

The wisest of women builds her house,

but folly with her own hands tear it down.

As I mentioned before,

the word house, like in English,

can refer to a physical building,

but also to your family,

to your household.

And so here,

the building and tearing down of the house

figuratively represents

what a wise woman does to her household.

The wisest of women builds up her household.

She makes her family flourish.

In contrast,

folly with her own hands tears it down.

Of course,

no one in her right mind

would tear down her own household

with her own hands,

but the woman of folly,

that's the point,

has no idea that's what she is doing.

By her own incompetence,

by her own lack of discretion,

by her own hot temper,

by her own failure to bridle her tongue,

these are the things we see throughout Proverbs,

the foolish woman tears down her own household.

And in verse 2,

continues the contrast

between the righteous and the wicked.

Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord,

but he who is devious in his ways

despises him.

Whoever walks upright,

whoever fears the Lord,

walks in a straight path,

uprightly,

but he who despises the Lord,

goes astray,

deviates.

He has devious ways,

crooked ways.

And then verses 3 and 5,

both contrast the speech of the righteous

with the speech of the wicked.

By the mouth of a fool

comes a rod for his back,

but the lips of the wise

will preserve them.

So the foolish speech of the fool

is his own doing.

It's as if his tongue itself

becomes a rod

with which he lashes his own back.

In contrast,

rather than being attacked

and jeopardized by their own words,

the wise are preserved,

it says,

by their words.

And the things that the wicked say

are not only characterized by folly,

but also falsehood,

as verse 5 says.

A faithful witness does not lie,

but a false witness

breathes out lies.

Whenever he opens his mouth,

there is a lie.

He lies as frequently

and mindlessly

as he breathes.

He does not care for the truth.

He has no regard for God

and his commands,

but only about getting

his own selfish way.

And then this brings us

to verse 4,

which shows us that

the wicked person's folly

is not seen only in his speech,

but also in the way he works.

It's a very cool proverb.

Verse 4 says,

Where there are no oxen,

the manger is clean,

but abundant crops

come by the strength

of the ox.

A farmer can save himself

a lot of labor and cost,

of course,

associated with keeping oxen

by getting rid of all

of his oxen.

But if you did that,

you would have no oxen

to do the work

so that you could have

and enjoy

an abundant harvest.

And the word clean

and word abundant

are right next to each other

in this verse.

And the two words

in Hebrew

are spelled

exactly the opposite.

So if you spell

clean backwards,

it would be abundant

in Hebrew.

So this kind of

highlights the contrast

and this inversely,

this inversely

proportional relationship

between having

a clean manger

and having

an abundant crop.

Yes, it's nice

not to have

to clean

a dirty manger,

but if you don't

have a dirty manger

to clean

because you have

no oxen,

then you lack

abundant crops

only oxen can bring.

There's so much

wisdom in this verse.

Foolish people

do not want to

roll up their sleeves

and work

and get dirt

under their fingernails.

They want easy money.

Their mentality

is cheat on that exam,

plagiarize that paper

to get a good grade,

fudge the data

or forge the evidence

to win your argument.

They want all the pleasure

without any of the pain,

all the acclaim

without any of the work,

but that's not how

God has created

this world to work.

Human flourishing

comes through

the hard and messy

work of life.

If you are hospitable,

your house is not

going to remain

in its pristine condition

for long

as people come and go.

If you haven't

raised children,

they're going to

derail some of your plans,

perhaps some of your

most cherished plans.

If you cook and eat,

you're going to have

dirty dishes to clean.

If you form a team

to work on something

you can't do by yourself,

you're going to have to deal

with interpersonal conflict.

If you want to grow

and scale up your business,

you're going to have

to invest in new systems,

staff, and equipment.

But this wisdom

is beyond the reach

of the fool.

It says in verse 6,

The scoffer seeks

wisdom in vain,

but knowledge is easy

for a man of understanding.

And that's because

wisdom entails

humble submission to God.

The scoffer,

one who scoffs

at God's wisdom

is by his very nature

incapable of gaining wisdom

because wisdom requires

humbling oneself before God.

In contrast,

knowledge is easy

for a man of understanding.

The person who is

in right relationship

with God readily

gain new knowledge.

So it says in verse 7,

Leave the presence

of a fool,

for there you do not

meet words of knowledge.

But telling the fool

apart from the wise

is the work of wisdom,

isn't it?

Verse 8 says,

The wisdom of the prudent

is to discern his way,

but the folly of fools

is deceiving.

The prudent are discerning,

they are careful

in their way,

and therefore

will not be fooled.

The fools, however,

are deceiving.

They deceive others

and are themselves deceived

by their lack of discernment.

And verses 8 to 15

here in chapter 14

are also structured

concentrically,

like chapter 13

verses 12 to 19.

And so the second half

mirrors the first half.

So verse 8

is matched by verse 15.

It says,

The simple believes everything,

but the prudent

gives thought to his steps.

Again, prudent discerns his way,

gives thought to his steps,

but the folly of fools

is deceiving.

The simple believe everything.

Things are not always

as they seem

because the folly of fools

is deceiving.

Therefore,

it's imperative

that the prudent,

the wise,

the shrewd

give thought to their steps

instead of believing everything.

And fools who do not

take heed to their ways

are incapable of making amends.

Verse 9 says,

The fools mock at the guilt offering,

but the upright

enjoys acceptance.

They laugh at the idea

of a guilt offering

because they always

see themselves

to be in the right

and therefore see no need

to make amends.

They see no need

to make the guilt sacrifice.

And so they,

and so that,

but the righteous,

on the other hand,

they acknowledge

their guilt freely

and because they

humble themselves

in that way,

they make the appropriate sacrifice

and in doing so,

find acceptance

before God.

And this verse

is matched by verse 14,

which also speaks

of the consequences

of sin and righteousness.

The backslider in heart

will be filled

with the fruit of his ways

and a good man

will be filled

with the fruit of his ways.

Exact same phrases

highlight

that they will both

get what they deserve.

The backslider in heart

who does not repent,

but instead mocks

at the guilt offering,

will be filled

with the fruit of his ways,

what his pride

and scoffing deserve.

And likewise,

good man

who perseveres

in his righteousness

will be filled

with the fruit

of his ways.

In the final analysis,

God is perfectly just

and he sees

into every human heart

both the righteous

and the wicked

and therefore

they will get

what they deserve.

And so in the end,

there will be

a clear separation

between the righteous

and the wicked,

but we need to remember

that in the present,

things are not always

as they appear.

The heart

has its own secrets

that no one knows of.

It says in verse 10,

the heart knows

its own bitterness

and no stranger

shares its joy.

Such a poignant proverb.

Bitterness and joy

represent the full range

of human emotions.

And your heart,

it is saying,

has secrets

that are known

to no one else

but you.

The heart

has its own secrets.

This proverb speaks

to the profound loneliness

of human existence

apart from God.

Of course,

your family and friends

can share

your joys and sorrows

in part,

but there is a sense

in which everyone

outside of you

is a stranger

to your emotions,

to your own heart.

They cannot fully share

the bitterness

or joy

of your heart.

In fact,

even you

do not fully understand

the motivations

and emotions

of your own heart.

Only God sees

us wholly

and knows us

perfectly.

And this verse

is matched

and complemented

by verse 13.

Even in laughter

the heart may ache

and the end

of joy

may be grief.

Even those

who are laughing

and playing

and partying

and living it up

might be masking

a deep heartache.

A smile

on one's face

might be hiding

deep bitterness

of heart.

The end of joy

may be grief.

For them,

it actually simply says

the end of joy

is grief.

Why is the end

of joy grief

for such people?

To understand this,

we need to look at

verses 11 to 12.

It says,

The house of the wicked

will be destroyed,

but the tent

of the upright

will flourish.

There is a way

that seems right

to a man,

but its end

is the way

to death.

These two verses

match each other.

First,

the house of the wicked

is contrasted

with the tent

of the upright.

The house

is a more permanent

and secure

dwelling place

than the tent.

That's why

King David

expresses his desire

to build a temple

for God

in this way

in 2 Samuel 7,

2 Samuel 7:2

verse 2.

He says,

See now,

I dwell in a house

of cedar,

but the ark

of God

dwells in a tent.

He saw

the incongruity

of that.

He saw that

that needed

to be corrected.

So,

but surprisingly,

this proverb says,

The house

of the wicked,

that more permanent

and secure

seemingly dwelling,

that will be destroyed,

but the tent

of the upright

will flourish.

Even though

during this short

lifespan here on earth,

the wicked

may seem to be

more established

and secure.

They might seem

to prosper more.

In the end,

it's the righteous

who will be established,

who will endure.

And that's because

there is a way

that seems right

to a man,

but its end

is the way

to death.

This teaches us

that it's not

always wise

to follow your heart.

it is not

always wise

to obey

your conscience

because of the

deceptiveness

of our hearts.

It's not

our consciences

sometimes

need to be

recalibrated,

adjusted,

realigned

with the teachings

of God's Word.

Our sense

of right

and wrong

itself

can be wrong.

There is a way

that seems

right to a man,

but its end

is the way

to death.

Our deceptive

hearts

must be

subjected

to the truth

of God's Word.

Only the all-knowing

and all-seeing

God

can be a sure

guide to eternal life.

That's what this passage

is teaching us.

We can't rely

on sinful humanity

to discover

spiritual truths

on its own.

We must rely

on what God

has revealed

to us

in His Word.

No matter

how right

and true

and good

a way of life

might seem

to you,

if it is not

the way

of the Lord,

its end

is the way

to death.

And this

illuminates

verse 13.

Even in laughter

the heart

may ache

and the end

of joy

may be grief.

The end

of joy

is grief.

For those

who do not

know God,

for those

who do not

possess the wisdom

of God,

no matter

how much

you flourish

and thrive

in this life,

the end

of joy

is grief

because it

ends finally

in death.

There's a way

that seems

right to a man

and its end

is death.

One Bible

commentator

puts it this way,

quote,

since humans

die,

joy inevitably

ends in grief.

The party

always ends.

Acts of love

cease.

We have a similar

English proverb

don't we?

It says,

all good things

must come

to an end.

The unavoidability

of death

means that

all the joys

of life

eventually

come to

an end,

leaving only

regret

and resignation.

If you look

at an

electrocardiography

reading,

the heart

measuring the

graph

has all

these spikes

and imagine

that that's

like the

joys of life.

But the

depressing reality

is that

that graph

in the end

always ends

in that

flat line.

That's the

reality of life.

That's the

backdrop

behind all

of your

joys

that is

the destiny

of every

human being.

If

you do not

have the

eternal life

that God

offers you.

If even

in the

laughter

the heart

may ache

and the

end of

joy may

be grief,

if there's

a way that

seems right

to a man

but its

end is the

way to

death,

if our

hearts are

deceptive

and cannot

reliably guide

us to the

way of

life,

where can

we turn?

Jeremiah

17,

9-10

says this,

the heart

is deceitful

above all

things and

desperately

sick.

Who can

understand it?

And here's

the answer,

I the

Lord

search the

heart and

test the

mind to

give every

man according

to his

ways,

according to

the fruit of

his deeds.

The answer

is we need

to turn to

the Lord

because only

those who

humbly

receive God's

word will

have their

desires fulfilled.

heart.

And that

brings us to

the third

point,

the delight

of the

heart.

We need

to realign

our hearts

to the

ways of

the Lord

by delighting

ourselves

in him.

Turn to

chapter 15

verses 11-17

with me.

We'll

preach on

this in

two weeks,

so I'm

not going

to get

into too

much detail,

but this

makes an

important

contribution

to the

understanding

of the

human

heart that

we're

talking about

today.

It says

in chapter

15,

verse 11,

Sheol and

Abaddon

lie open

before the

Lord.

How much

more the

hearts of

the children

of man.

Sheol and

Abaddon are

figurative,

poetic terms

for death

and destruction.

They're the

shadowy

realms that

are completely

inaccessible

to humanity.

And yet

even they

lie open

before the

Lord.

The

mysterious

realm of

the dead

is like an

open book

to God.

If that's

the case,

how much

more than

do the

hearts of

the children

of man,

which,

even though

yes,

it's complex,

are far

less mysterious

than Sheol and

Abaddon,

how much

do they,

our hearts,

lie open

before God

who is all

knowing and

all seeing.

Our hearts

are transparent

to Him.

He sees

through it

all.

He knows

all the

hidden murmurings

and motivations

that even we

ourselves are not

aware of.

And for this

reason,

we need to

humbly submit

to God

His sober

judgment and

assessment of

ourselves and

our condition

rather than

relying on our

own indulgent

assessment of

ourselves and

our state.

We need to

be corrected,

we need to be

receptive to

learning.

And so verse

12 says,

A scoffer does

not like to be

reproved,

he will not

go to the

wise.

But those who

humbly receive

God's word will

have the desires

of their hearts

fulfilled.

So it says

in verses

13 to 14

of chapter 15,

A glad heart

makes a cheerful

face,

but by sorrow

of heart the

spirit is

crushed.

The heart of

him who has

understanding

seeks knowledge,

but the mouths

of fools feed

on falling.

It's the heart

that has

understanding

that seeks

further knowledge

and that kind

of heart is

a glad heart.

and a glad

heart cheers

up even

our face,

uplifts

even our

own spirit.

And verses

15 to 17

continue,

All the days

of the afflicted

are evil,

but the cheerful

of heart

has a

continual feast.

Better is a

little with the

fear of the

Lord than

great treasure

and trouble

with it.

Better is a

dinner of herbs

where love is

than a fattened

ox and hatred

with it.

The word

cheerful is

repeated in

verse 15

from verse 13

and the word

better is

repeated twice

in verses

16 to 17.

And the two

words,

word cheerful

and better

are actually

variations of

the exact

same Hebrew

word.

And so if we

render the

word better

as cheerful,

we can see

the logical

connection

between these

verses a

little more

clearly.

Because it

says that

all the days

of the wicked

are afflicted

with evil,

right?

But the

cheerful of

heart has

a continual

feast.

But how

can this

be the

case when

we know

from other

proverbs that

we've seen

that this

world is

full of

injustice,

where other

proverbs

acknowledge that

sometimes the

wicked prosper?

How can the

cheerful of

heart have a

continual feast?

The answer is

in verses 16

and 17.

Cheerful,

better,

remember the

same word,

cheerful is a

little with

the fear of

the Lord

than great

treasure and

trouble with

it.

Cheerful is a

dinner of herbs

where love is

than a

fattened ox

and hatred

with it.

The cheerful

of heart has

a continual

feast.

Even when he

only has

meager herbs

for dinner,

even when he

only has

little treasure,

because his

heart is

satisfied in

the fear of

the Lord,

because his

heart is

characterized by

his love for

God and his

neighbor,

the cheerful

heart that

loves the

Lord has a

continual feast.

his cheerfulness

does not

depend on

health and

wealth,

and therefore

it overcomes

all affliction.

So then all

the days of

the wicked are

afflicted with

evil even when

they enjoy

health and

wealth.

In contrast,

the cheerful

of heart has a

continual feast

even when he

is sick and

poor,

because the

delight of his

heart is in

the Lord.

No matter

what happens,

I will be

making my

food to do

the will of

him who

sent me.

That's the

attitude,

that's the

heart that

has a

continual

feast.

As Psalm

Psalms 37:4

37 verse

4 says,

delight yourself

in the Lord

and he will

give you the

desires of

your heart.

this doesn't

mean that he

will cater to

our every

whim.

This doesn't

mean that God

is a genie

or a butler,

but those who

delight in the

Lord.

In other words,

those who think

God's thoughts

after him,

those who love

the things that

God loves,

they will find

that God gives

them the desires

of their hearts

because every

true Christian's

deepest desire

and longing

is the glory

of God.

to love

and serve

him with

our whole

life.

And that

desire will

never be

disappointed.

It's those

whose hearts

delight in

the Lord,

those who

humbly

receive God's

word who

have the

desires of

their hearts

fulfilled.

So we've

talked about

the desires

of the heart,

the deceptiveness

of the heart,

and the delight

of the heart,

but I've been

dancing around

the question

that I posed

at the beginning

of the sermon.

What are we

to do when

the desires

of our hearts

are not

aligned?

When we,

when our

hearts don't

delight in

the Lord

and desire

the things

of God?

If you are

not yet a

Christian,

please don't

think that

this is

something that

you can attain

with little

adjustments in

your desires

and habits

here and

there.

You can't

fix a

spiritually

malfunctioning

heart by

being a

little more

religious

and observing

a few

more rules.

This is

not something

that can

be remedied

with spiritual

antacids.

It requires

a heart

transplant.

And that's

precisely what

God promised

us in

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 36:25–27

chapter 36

verses 25

to 27.

I will

sprinkle

clean water

on you

and you

shall be

clean from

all your

uncleanness.

And from

all your

idols I

will cleanse

you and

I will give

you a

new heart

and a

new spirit

I will

put within

you and

I will

remove the

heart of

stone from

your flesh

and give

you a

heart of

flesh.

And I

will put

my spirit

within you

and cause

you to

walk in

my statutes

and be

careful to

obey my

rules.

That is

the only

hope for

change,

only hope

for salvation

and God

fulfilled this

promise to

give us new

hearts through

the person

and work

of Jesus

Christ.

He says

in Hebrews

Hebrews 10:19–22

chapter 10

verses 19

to 22,

Therefore,

brothers,

since we

have confidence

to enter the

holy places

by the

blood of

Jesus,

by the

new and

living way

that he

opened for

us through

the curtain

that is

through his

flesh,

and since

we have a

great priest

over the

house of

God,

let us

draw near

with a

true heart,

in full

assurance of

faith,

with our

hearts

sprinkled

clean from

an evil

conscience,

and our

bodies washed

with pure

water.

This is the

way God

gives us

new and

true hearts.

This is the

way God

gives us

a new

nature,

and gives

us full

assurance of

faith.

This is how

God sprinkles

our hearts

clean,

just as a

heart transplant

physically requires

someone else's

death.

spiritual

regeneration,

receiving of

new hearts,

requires

someone else's

death,

and Jesus

died that

death for

us.

He bore

our sins,

he took

our place,

he shed

his blood

for the

cleansing of

our own

hearts,

and it's

when we

repent of

our sins

and believe

in him

for our

salvation

that God

pours out

his holy

spirit into

us so

that we

have a

new life

principle

pulsating

from within

us.

And it's

only then

can we

walk in

the statutes

and be

careful to

obey rules.

Now,

this doesn't

mean that

everything is

smooth sailing

once you

become a

Christian.

Even after

someone has

a heart

transplant to

replace a

defective

heart,

though he

has a

new heart,

he still

needs time

to learn

to breathe

and live

on his

own.

So for

a little

while,

after the

surgery,

he'll still

be hooked

onto a

ventilator

and a

variety of

catheters.

And it's

only when

the patient

after surgery

has grown

much stronger

that those

things can

be removed

from his

body,

and the

new heart

begins to

pump blood

and life

into the

rest of

his body

so that he

can start

a new

life.

similarly

for us,

we have

been made

new in

Christ,

and we

have been

given new

hearts,

but our

flesh is

still accustomed

to the

old life.

It still

operates like

it has a

defective

heart.

And it

takes time

for us to

be weaned

off from

those old

ways and to

function fully

with the

new hearts

God has

given.

And that's

what is

happening

throughout

our entire

lives.

That's the

process that

we call

sanctification.

Until we

die and

we shed

our old

flesh,

and then

when Christ

returns,

we will be

retrofitted

with these

new glorious

resurrection

bodies that

will be

worthy of

the new

hearts we've

been given

through Jesus,

through his

costly

sacrifice.

And I

want to

encourage you,

brothers and

sisters,

those of you

who are already

Christians,

followers of

Christ,

are you

discouraged that

you do not

love the

Lord as

you ought

to?

Are you

disappointed

that you

do not

desire God

and delight

in him as

much as

you should?

Let me ask

you,

isn't that

desire,

isn't that

desire to

desire him

more?

Isn't that

desire to

be more

pleasing to

him?

Isn't that

desire also

a sign of

your new

birth?

A sign of

your regeneration?

Is that

not evidence

that you

have tasted

and delighted

in him?

Is not

God tenderly

and patiently

walking beside

you to

strengthen you

every step

of the way?

Remember

what Christ

did for

you.

Take hold

of him

by faith

and his

love poured

into your

hearts will

renew you,

renew your

love for

him and

enable you to

persevere to

the end.