Big Hearted People

Dave Roever is a good friend, and I chose to use this clip to introduce the message this morning because I know what a good-hearted man Dave is. He loves people. I’ve seen him minister at men’s conferences, Winning With Integrity sessions, and ran into him during wartime. He remembers stories and names.

He often tells the story about being interviewed on TBN by Jana Crouch. She looked at him and said, “Do you know why you have those scars?” Her question arrested him because he had often wondered why it happened to him. She continued, “It is because God knew you could handle them.” His life shows that he could. But I think that the reason that he could handle them is because he has a big heart for people – and a big heart for the lost.

God Sees the Heart

Our world is filled with talented and gifted people. Some of them use those gifts and talents for good but others are manipulative or even destructive with their gifts and talents. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference when you first meet them. The gifts and talents shine but the heart is hidden. This is not a problem for God, God sees the heart.

A great example of a Bible character that had a good heart was David who seemed to be an insignificant shepherd boy, the last of 8 boys. His father didn’t even invite him to come along with the rest of the family to meet the prophet, Samuel.

1 Samuel 16:1–13 NIV

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

Verse 7 is a remarkable revelation for those of us who are ordinary people but understand that God is challenging us to be (Not So) Ordinary. God does not look at the things people look at. God is interested in the heart.

There is a story about King Richard and a minstrel. The two had enjoyed singing together and had made up a song with several verses. Apparently, King Richard was captured and taken to Germany where he was imprisoned. The minstrel, Blondel, went looking for the king. As he traveled from town to town and prison to prison, he would begin to sing the song the two had written. Prison after prison, Blondel sang alone until one day he sang it in the right place. From deep within the prison King Richard began the second verse. He had found the king!

David wrote, “8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.[1] God knows the song. I wonder what David was doing in fields while the rest of the family was headed off to the celebration with Samuel? Maybe it was Psalm 27 that he was singing. God saw David’s heart.

(Not So) Ordinary People Guard Their Hearts

Be Sure You Have an Obedient Heart

Many centuries after the reign of King David, the Apostle Paul would point out a defining characteristic of David’s heart, obedience.

Acts 13:22 NIV

After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

The answer to why David was considered a man after God’s own heart is found right in the verse: David did whatever God wanted him to do. King Saul had failed in this area. Saul thought that sacrifice without obedience would work, but it never does.

When God takes the measure of a man, He does not put a tape measure around his mind to see how much he knows, but He puts it around his heart, to see how much he obeys. Reputation is what men think of you (Saul was tall and handsome), but character is what God knows to be true about you (David a man after God's own heart)! Indeed, "“the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His."

[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you. C.S. Lewis

Be Sure You Have a Confident Heart

In the NT we find Jesus challenging people to have confident hearts. He often used the phrase, “Take heart!” By it He meant ‘to have or be marked with confidence or assurance’. It is interesting that it is only Jesus that uses this phrase in the Bible.

· To a paralyzed man

Matthew 9:2 NIV

Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

· To the woman with an issue of blood

Matthew 9:22 NIV

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

· To the frightened disciples on a stormy sea

Matthew 14:25–27 NIV

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

· To Paul as he was being tried in Jerusalem

Acts 23:11 NIV

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

David wrote in Psalm 73

Psalm 73:26 NIV

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Be Sure You Have an Undivided Heart

David was passionate about serving God. Probably the best example was his triumph over Goliath. You’ll remember his statement,

1 Samuel 17:45–47 NIV

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Those of you that know the story of David may be saying, “Hang on Pastor. Have you considered ALL the evidence about David?” I know about the murder of Uriah, his adultery with Bathsheba, his disobedience in taking a census, and other cases of cruelty and vengeance. But there is something redemptive about his heart. He had learned to wash in repentance so he could have an undivided heart.

In 1818, Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis was born into a world of dying women. The finest hospitals lost one out of six young mothers to the scourge of "childbed fever." A doctor's daily routine began in the dissecting room where he performed autopsies. From there he made his way to the hospital to examine expectant mothers without ever pausing to wash his hands. Dr. Semmelweis was the first man in history to associate such examinations with the resultant infection and death. His own practice was to wash with a chlorine solution, and after eleven years and the delivery of 8,537 babies, he lost only 184 mothers--about one in fifty.

He spent the vigor of his life lecturing and debating with his colleagues. Once he argued, "Puerperal fever is caused by decomposed material, conveyed to a wound. . .I have shown how it can be prevented. I have proved all that I have said. But while we talk ,talk, talk, gentlemen, women are dying. I am not asking anything world shaking. I am asking you only to wash...For God's sake, wash your hands." But virtually no one believed him. Doctors and midwives had been delivering babies for thousands of years without washing, and no outspoken Hungarian was going to change them now!

Semmelweis died insane at the age of 47, his wash basins discarded, his colleagues laughing in his face, and the death rattle of a thousand women ringing in his ears. "Wash me!" was the anguished prayer of King David. "Wash!" was the message of John the Baptist. "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me," said the towel-draped Jesus to Peter. Without our being washed clean, we all die from the contamination of sin. For God's sake, wash.   Boyce Mouton.

David learned to wash. Because he did, he could say…

Psalm 86:11–13 NIV

Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths, from the realm of the dead.

Psalm 101:1–2 NIV

I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise. I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart.

There are certainly more lessons that we could learn from David about how to be (Not so) Ordinary People. Clearly, following the example of David by having obedient, confident, and undivided hearts is a great start.

How Can I Have the Big Heart That I Need?

The truth is that you can’t do it through your own strength. You get to be empowered by the Spirit. God Places His Spirit in the Hearts of People Who Love Him

1 Samuel 16:11–13 NIV

So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

Initially, Eliab was the likely king. Saul was head and shoulders above the rest, but he failed to obey God. He had checked off all the boxes for leadership and the people were initially excited about him, but his character didn’t match the exterior. God is interested in the heart.

Some people make the mistake of letting their heads grow faster than their hearts.

If your child should have a rapid growth in its arms but not in its legs, or if its legs should lengthen but not its arms, what a strange being it would be! What a monster! It is the growth of each limb in proportion that brings the man to perfection.

So when our heads grow faster than our hearts, it is an ill sign. Yet how many know a great deal more than they feel, and criticize much more than they believe! It is also an evil thing when a man’s tongue grows bigger than his head; when he has more to say than he knows or does; when, like Mr. Talkative [of Pilgrim’s Progress], he can talk about the road to heaven but makes no progress in it.

God give you an abundance of his Holy Spirit, that you may never deserve our Lord’s rebuke to the Pharisee, “It was necessary to do these things while not neglecting those,” but “Whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are right, whatever things are pure, whatever things are pleasing, whatever things are commendable, if there is any excellence of character and if anything praiseworthy, think about these things” (Phil 4:8). May you have them all.[2]

The World Needs Us to Be Big-Hearted People

In the final days of David while he was an old man, he spoke to the nation of Israel one last time. I love to look at last words. They are often very significant, and it is no mistake that David references the heart.

1 Chronicles 29:17–18 NIV

I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.

David was not perfect…neither are we. But David is another example of someone that initially seemed insignificant, but God knew he was Big-Hearted.

Psalm 139:23–24 NIV

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 27:8. [2]Charles Spurgeon, 300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon, ed. Elliot Ritzema and Lynnea Smoyer (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017).

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