SERMON SUBJECT: IT PAYS TO FOLLOW GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY

SERMON TEXT: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”(Matthew 5:8)

SERMON THESIS: The heart and the mind are the windows to the outside world.

INTRODUCTION: How do you view your world? Are you a pessimists? Are you optimistic? Are you basically negative in your world view? Are you basically positive in your world view? When you look at a glass containing a mid water level, do you see it as half-empty, or do you see it half-full? Are you fatalistic in your world view, i.e., whatever will be will be? Or do you see God at work in your world; at work for good, and at work for your good, according to Romans 8:28? Your paradigm, i.e., the lens through which you view your world will be determined by the condition of your mind and heart. The heart and the mind are the windows to the outside world. For the view of your outside world to be right, your inside world must be right. This whole premiss is based on Matthew 5:8. The principle behind this verse is giving one’s whole heart to God?

To show how this biblical principle works in one’s life, I will attempt to contrast two Old Testament characters: Solomon and Caleb. One of these individuals followed God fully, and the other one did not. First, we will develop this principle as seen in the life of Solomon, and learn this truth...

I. REFUSAL TO FOLLOW GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY BRINGS LOST OPPORTUNITIES.

Perhaps you have heard it said, “There are three things that cannot be reclaimed–a spent arrow, a spoken word, and a lost opportunity.” Focusing on the last of these, a lost opportunity, we observe in the life of Solomon, in the Scripture written about him, that his refusal to follow God fully, or with his whole heart, resulted in the loss of God given opportunities.

The sad commentary written across the pages of Solomon’s life begin to appear in I Kings 11:1ff.

¹ “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter-Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. ² They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. ³ He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. ⁴ As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been” (I Kings 11:1-4 NIV).

This sad commentary on Solomon’s life came after many accomplishments, admonitions and, yes, warnings from God, to not turn away from the living God to serve other gods. In addition to all that, the Bible says, “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore”(I Kings 4:29). Yet in spite of all that, the Bible says, “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been”(I Kings 11:4).

Oh! My friends, does not the Bible admonish us with these words, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”(Proverbs 4:23). Prior to the dedication of the temple, God had said to Solomon, “So that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey His commands, as at this time” (I Kings 8:60-61).

As a result of Solomon’s refusal to follow God wholeheartedly, he lost many opportunities and so will we. What resulted in Solomon’s refusal to follow God with his whole heart? Some of his loses are recorded in Scripture. For example...

1. He lost a right standing with God. God became angry with Him. The Bible says...

⁹ “Now the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, ¹⁰ and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the LORD had commanded” (I Kings 11:9-10). 

2. His kingdom was divided.

¹¹ “So the LORD said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant” (I Kings 11:11). 

“And it came about at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on road. Now Ahijah had clothed himself with a new cloak; and both of them were alone in the field. Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹ He said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes ³² (but he will have one tribe, for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel” (I Kings 11:29-32). 

3. He lost sight of God. This, I would suggest to you, was the worst loss of all. You may ask, “Pastor, where do you get that idea?” Did not Jesus say in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God?”(Matthew 5:8). In The Message, Eugene Peterson, paraphrases this verse like this, “You’re blessed when you get your inside world–your mind and heart–put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.” Remember the principle behind this Beatitude–the principle is giving one’s heart to God. According to this principle, Solomon lost sight of God in the outside world the moment “his heart turned after other gods.”

The Bible tells us that God had appeared to Solomon at least two times prior to his turning his heart after other gods. The Bible says...

¹ “Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all that Solomon desired to do, ² that the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon” (I Kings 9:1-2) 

Now that his heart was not fully devoted to God, I believe that he lost sight of God. Talk about lost opportunities! The paradigm, i.e., the lens through which we view our world is distorted when we lose sight of God.

Yes, my friends, refusal to serve God wholeheartedly brings lost opportunities.

Now let’s contrast the life of Solomon, with the life of Caleb. As seen in the life of

Caleb...

II. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO FOLLOW GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY - Again we read from our text, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”(Matthew 5-8). Now remember the principle. The principle is giving one’s heart wholly to God.

As seen in the life and experience of Solomon, “His heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God”(I Kings 11:4). As a result, he lost many God given opportunities. Now in contrast, we observe the life of Caleb.

You will remember that Caleb, was Joshua’s counter part, and one of the twelve spies sent to spy out the land and bring back a report. Early on we observe Caleb’s positive attitude in the midst of a pessimistic attitude concerning going into the Promised land and possessing it. The Bible says...

³⁰ “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it" (Numbers 13:30).

Apparently, as expressed in Caleb’s attitude, he saw God in his outside world. He saw God in his outside world because his inside world was right, i.e., his mind and heart had been put right. We discover the secret to Caleb’s positive attitude in the following Scriptural passage. The Bible says...

²⁴ "But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it” (Numbers 14:24). 

The idea expressed here is in the word WHOLEHEARTEDLY. Caleb, unlike Solomon, had followed God fully, i.e, with his whole heart and mind. Scripture further expounds upon Caleb’s follow-ship...

⁶ “Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know the word which the LORD spoke to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh-barnea. ⁷ "I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. ⁸ "Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the LORD my God fully” (Joshua 14:6-8). 

Caleb had applied the Scriptural principle behind Matthew 5:8, in that he had given his heart wholly to God. As a result, God lavished His blessing upon him, as in our Beatitude which reads, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Or as we read in 1^st John...

¹"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him” (I John 3:1 NIV).

What were the blessings/happiness lavished upon Caleb, as a result of his wholehearted follow-ship?

1. He was blessed with a long life.

¹⁰ "And now behold, the LORD has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today” (Joshua 14:10).

2. He was permitted to go into the Promised Land and possess it.

⁹ “So Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God fully’”(Joshua 14:9). 

See his attitude at age eighty-five...

¹² "Now then, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out as the LORD has spoken." ¹³ So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. ¹⁴ Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite until this day, because he followed the LORD God of Israel fully. ¹⁵ Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. Then the land had rest from war”(Joshua 14:12-15). 

3. His physical body was strengthened.

¹¹ "I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in” (Joshua 14:11). 

Yes, my friends, it does indeed pay great dividends to follow the Lord wholeheartedly.

CONCLUSION: Has your heart like Solomon, turned away after other gods? Or is your heart like Caleb, wholly devoted to God? Remember: 1) Refusal to follow God fully brings lost opportunities as seen in the life of Solomon. 2) Blessed are those who follow God wholeheartedly as seen in the life of Caleb. What will it be for you–a blessed life? Or a life filled with lost opportunities and sad regrets. Will you come to the end of your life with a mind full of “if only’s?” Or will you come to the end of your life with the blessings of God upon you. The choice is yours! It is, indeed, a matter of the heart.