Sunday Sermon 11.11

Sermon Passage: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Sermon Title: He Looks on the Heart
Sermon By: Pastor Davy (Youth)
​Sermon Summary:

After weeks of walking through the first kingship of Israel, we finally arrive at the chapter that introduces to us King David.

In the beginning of this chapter, we see that Samuel is grieving for the rejection of Saul. Samuel, seeing that God had judged Saul, grieves and mourns for the potential and promise that he saw when he first anointed Saul. And unlike how the modern church reacts to sin and the sinner, Samuel grieves. The modern church, you and I, most often judge and look down on fellow brothers and sister who fall to temptations. and the bigger the sin, the bigger the judgment. But Samuel recognizes that judgment is the work of God and that we are called to a community which forgives and looks beyond our sins and sees the helpless soul behind the sin.

Then in verse 7, the most important verse in this whole book, Lord proclaims that he does not look at the outward appearance but rather the heart. When Samuel calls the sons of Jesse, he first is introduced to Eliab who stands tall and manly, fit to be a king. But the Lord rejects him! We should remember that when Saul was chosen to be king, he stood a head taller than any man in Israel. And the Israelites put their hope in this man to lead them into battles and to win wars for this nation. But YHWH makes it clear that this time around, he wont choose a man with height and stature but rather with a heart.

And Samuel ends up anointing the youngest of Jesse’s son who is a shepherd boy. God flips the script on the culture and on the Israelites expectation. In this culture, and even our own, outward appearance takes a big place in our hearts. But God doesn’t care about the outward appearance. He looks on our hearts. that’s what matters to him.

When we look at the church today, do we see a church that cares for the heart of the members? or do we see a church that really cares for the outward appearance, the acts of service, the amount of offering and eloquent prayers? The Bible tells of to change. To live by the Word of God. To look on the heart just as YHWH does.