I don’t know if you have ever looked at someone; maybe they are being recommended for a certain position, or you have heard something about someone and you’re meeting them for the first time, and the moment you lay your eyes on them, you’re like they definitely look the part! You see, we often make the mistake of judging people by their appearances, or the uncommunicated impression they make. It’s a natural inclination, a natural fault in us because we cannot read the secrets of another’s heart. But the sad thing is that the value we attach to semblance in this generation is almost to the level of idolatry. But not everyone that has a noble aspect has a noble spirit. And this doesn’t just apply to our judgment of the rest of the world. We make the same error of judgment even towards ourselves. Sometimes we also hold ourselves in such high regard that we manage to convince ourselves that we’re doing okay. We listen to what everyone else says about us and let it get into our heads that we are without error. We blind ourselves to the faults in our faith. To the faults in our relationship with God. Because we have projected a certain image to the world and the world reflects it back to us. But we said that this month we’re addressing the state of our hearts. We want to pursue something deeper than countenance and stature. We are seeking to polish not just how we look in everyone else's eyes but who we are. Our concern is how we appear before the God who judges men by the heart. Our question this month should be, can God esteem us by the goodness of our hearts? Is He pleased with the inward condition and the endowments of our minds? Does our outward briskness and liveliness match what is within our hearts? You see, the Lord looks deep into the core of our hearts. His light searches deep for the integrity, the mercy, and goodness that is expected of those that have the fear of God in their hearts. And this is why He cautioned Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7, against looking for the countenance and stature of the man that was to be king because He, the Lord looks at the heart. He looks at the raw potential. That which cannot be dressed up to look pretty. He looks at what one is. He measures someone on a different scale. He looks for the part of us that identifies with Him. The part that does not change whether we’re stripped down or added to. That which we cannot conceal from Him even if we managed to conceal it from the world. He searches for the foundation of our lives. And so as we continue with the discussion on the Matters of the Heart, I want us to ask ourselves; what sort of hearts do we have? If your heart was laid bare before the Lord, what would He find there? What lies in the closet of your soul? Beyond the peripheral things and the externals of this life, who are you? Is God satisfied by the condition of our hearts? Would God vouch for who we are on the inside? It is my prayer today that we may seek to be right in the sight of God. That we desire to develop the kind of spiritual character that God is looking for. The kind of love for God and attachment to righteousness that sets us apart. That disposition of the heart where everything else becomes subordinate to God. May we desire to have hearts that are set upon truth and righteousness. Hearts that are set upon God. Hearts that are right with God. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pastor-lucy-paynter/support