God Sees The Heart | 1 Kings 8:39 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

As we come to the end of yet another year, it's my prayer and desire to share with you a truth from the scriptures that greatly impacted me earlier in 2025. It is an observation that has stayed with me and was deepened throughout the year, and it is my sincere longing that it will be a revelation that blossoms in the years to come. But my prayer also is that it will be of help to you as it was to me in shaping how we perceive the Lord. I truly believe that this insight will accomplish at least two things. For the child of God who sincerely longs to worship, live, and please the Lord, but frequently is frustrated or disappointed with themselves in that pursuit, This can provide a level of rest to your soul that can help you as you seek to honor God.

If you really seize these glorious insights and you take them home with you and you meditate on them in the days to come, I believe with all my heart that it can encourage a fresh and strong adoration, a God word adoration. On the other hand, for the person who claims to love Christ, but is not true. In fact, habitually you are living in spiritual adultery, loving the world and its pleasures more than the creator and the savior of the world. This message may unsettle you, and I actually hope it does. I pray that it disturbs you enough to prompt repentance so that you would flee to Christ, confess your sin, and experience true satisfaction and joy that only he can offer.

And the truth that I am speaking of today can be found in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple in first Kings chapter eight. And I invite you to turn with me in your bibles to that portion of scripture. First Kings chapter eight verse 38 down to verse 39. And I will wait for you. This great king says the following as he is seeking God before the nation.

In verse 38, whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands towards this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know according to all his ways. For you, you only know the hearts of all the children of mankind. I want to speak to you today about how God sees and knows our hearts. What a remarkable admission Solomon makes in the middle of this petition. You only know the hearts of all the children of mankind.

Why is he saying that here? Well, we have to remember that in this prayer, at the dedication of this incredible achievement, the dwelling place of God on the earth in the temple, Solomon understands humanity's tendency to go back into their ways of rebellion and idolatry and habitual sin. Even for people like this Israel that is especially privileged to know God in such a unique fashion. And so knowing what may come in the days after the dedication, Solomon seeks the Lord and he says, oh God, if and when the people do sin and continue to live in that place, but they repent, I'm asking you to extend mercy and restoration to your children. I'm asking that you would not push them away.

You would not turn your back on them, but that you would welcome them again. And it's important to remember that Solomon is not offering this prayer in solitude. This is a public event, and so the peoples are there observing it and listening to his very prayer as he makes it before God. And so you can say that Solomon is not only seeking the Lord, but indirectly teaching the people and reminding them of something concerning the Lord in our repentance. That God alone knows the sincerity of someone's contrition and desire to be right with God.

That's why he's mentioning God's omniscience in this context. He's not telling God, God knows this about himself. He's telling the people that should they choose to live in sin even after this great reward of God choosing to be him in their midst and to fellowship with them, And if they were to turn back after realizing their foolishness, God knows if you're sincere in your repentance. God really knows what's going on in your heart. And we see here that through this supplication, Solomon is also reminding the people that no one has and no one ever will be able to deceive God with insincere or formulaic confessions of sin.

He alone perceives the intentions and the integrity of our hearts. He alone can see what is really occupying our motives and what is really behind our actions. So he can tell the difference between someone who wants to forsake their sin in order to please God and one who is merely seeking to escape its consequences. And so they go through perhaps a ritualistic type of repentance. But knowing the genuineness of one's repentance is not the only thing that the Lord is aware of.

There's something that he says in the same chapter, a few verses back. That was the verse for me a few months ago that was opened in such a way that I'm still drawing refreshment from it. Look what Solomon says about his father David back in verse 17 of first Kings eight. He says, now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord said to David my father, whereas it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that was in your heart.

Nevertheless, you shall not build the house, but your son who shall be born to you shall build the house for my name. You know what's so remarkable about this passage? That you have God almighty commending a man named David, but he does not praise king David for constructing the temple. He simply accepts and appreciates the fact that David had a desire to do so. What God is highlighting in David was never materialized.

It was never realized. It never manifested. It wasn't something you can touch. It wasn't something you can measure necessarily. What God here is pleased with is a passion in David's heart.

And so he lets him know you did well that it was in your heart. Do you understand the implications of this? For the true Christian, you may have had and you may still have holy aspirations. Christ honoring dreams and wishes. And because of God's providence and his will for you may prevent you from ever seeing it happen.

And that may disturb you. That may frustrate you. But you have to understand that such intentions and longings even if never fulfilled due to God's will are still commended and appreciated by him. What a thought. God honors our aspirations, not only our actions.

You You know what I find interesting about David after this point? There is no record of him ever protesting this prohibition. You have to understand, David had such a zeal for God's house that according to the Psalms, when it came to him desiring to build a house for him, he couldn't sleep at night. He stayed up all night because to him, he's like, look at me in my palace, and God's God's presence signified in that ark is in a tent. It became his his one goal to do something about this, to exalt God's name.

And it wasn't very long after David confessed his desire to do this that he was told prophetically, you will not build the house for me. Now here's what's so amazing. He doesn't protest I believe, perhaps, in part. The reason why David could receive this and rest in this is because he realized that the Lord's pleasure was known simply in his longing. Because that's what David was after anyway.

He wanted to to bring the light to the Lord, and God wants to let him know. God knowing his heart, you're doing this for my glory. In my wisdom, I cannot let you build my house, but I wanna let you know that you achieved your aim. I am pleased by the fact that you simply want to do it. This is the God that we serve.

That he actually considers what is hidden. What we meditate on. What we long for. And as encouraging as this may be, our sinful hearts have a way of twisting such truths to justify our unwillingness to act in faith. You've probably had this conversation with somebody, I know I have, Maybe you've even said it, and I hope today will be the last time you ever do.

Or somebody who is clearly living outside of God's will. Somebody who is actually rejecting commands by God through his word for selfish reasons and sinful reasonings. And they say things like, well God knows my heart. Have you heard that? Well God God knows my heart.

As though the Lord condones compromise. This is not speaking about that. Far from it. Cause David's concern and excitement for the temple did not come in brief spurts or fluctuated day by day. It consumed him.

It was something he really wanted to do. It was something he was ready to do. It was something that he was willing to sacrifice anything for. And when he was told by God, you will not do it, he did the next best thing. Okay.

Fine. You won't let me build it? Then I'm going to fund it. And so he gave and he gave of his own personal treasures and savings in order to leave this world making an eternal impact. More than anything, this passage is meant to encourage those who have always wanted to serve God in a particular way, but have experienced providentially redirection or hindered by the Holy Spirit.

I want to let you know this afternoon, be assured that the Lord sees your heart and the desires in it and delights in them. This also serves as a warning for those who have hidden agendas or covetous motives and are willing to hide behind spiritual offices or camouflage themselves within the church circles to satisfy those impulses. Many people know Elisha was Elijah's assistant, but there are very few who remember the lessons that they can learn from Elisha's apprentice. Does anybody remember his name? Gehazi.

Gehazi. Gehazi had so much potential. Gehazi, who knows what could have been accomplished through him as he was given access to twenty four seven discipleship, living under the tutelage of this mighty man of God, Elisha, but he squandered it. Gehazi blew it. Why did Gehazi blow it?

Because his greed got the best of him. He so desired materialism that he threw away his calling. And the Bible gives us the moment that happened. The Bible actually tells us step by step when this took place, and it teaches us so much about what God knows about our hearts. One of the most incredible miracles that Elisha was able to perform by God's power was the healing of Naaman the Syrian.

This gentile, who from a servant girl that was kidnapped from Israel, learned that there was a prophet in that land that they were at war with, who had a relationship with God that can bring miracles into people's lives. And he is riddled with this disease. And sickness has a way of making people, even those who are unbelievers, desperate. Sickness has a way of humbling us. Sickness has a way of reminding us that we're human and we are not God.

And so this Naaman, the Syrian, makes a petition to the king of Israel, and he makes his way to Israel. He gets a hold of Elisha, And Elisha gives him commands that required humility, and Naaman complied and he was healed miraculously. And Elisha, who was the conduit to which God performed this miracle, is approached by Naaman. And Naaman is so moved he now acknowledges the God of Israel is a true God. How can I pay you back?

How can I compensate? How how can I express my appreciation? And Elisha was a wise minister. He understood this is a gentile who's just being introduced to the God of Israel. In no way am I going to take anything from him, lest he should be confused and think to himself that this relationship with this living God is a matter of give and take.

I want to show him that God is a God of grace. So he looks at Naaman and he says, go your way. I'm not asking anything from you. And so Naaman with his entourage make their way back to Syria. But who's there listening in on that conversation?

Elisha's servant. His personal assistant. And when he discovers this, we have the record of his thinking where he says, my master is foolish, essentially. Why would he let go of this opportunity? And so when Elisha is tucked away in his own place, Naaman is on his way to Syria, Gehazi makes his way and follows Naaman.

And when he follows him, I want you to see what he asks of him in second Kings chapter five verse 21. In second Kings five twenty one, we read, so Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, is all well? And he said, all is well. Pause.

We've seen that before in second Kings, haven't we? We've seen this before. Where the Shunammite woman, when her son died, approached Elisha. And Elisha asked her, is all well? And she said what?

All is well. It was true for her. Her soul was well. She had trust and faith in God. Now Gehazi is being asked, is all well?

And he says, all is well. Is all well with Gehazi's soul? No. It's it's very dangerous to perceive the condition of our own spirituality outside of God's light. Gehazi thinks all is well.

At least he says it when in reality it's not. And we're about to discover that. All is well. My master has sent me to say that I've just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim, two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.

What is this? Deception. What is this? Manipulation. What is this?

It's greed. And keep in mind exactly what Gehazi requested because at first, it won't seem to match what Elisha says when he confronts his assistant. Scroll down now to verse 25. This is when Gehazi makes his way back to Elisha's presence. And he thought that he can escape the prophet's knowledge of his whereabouts.

Second Kings five twenty five. He went in and stood before his master and Elisha said to him, where have you been Gehazi? And he said, your servant went nowhere. But he said to him, did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants?

Elisha, what are you talking about? What did we read back earlier? What what did Gehazi ask for specifically? Just just some money and a few changes of clothing. Right?

But what does Elisha include? He includes all look at this catalog. Was it a time to accept not just money and garments, but olive orchards and vineyards, sheep, oxen, male servants and female servants? What's happening here? I I'll tell you exactly what's happening here.

God not only revealed to Elisha what Gehazi asked from Naaman, he also showed the prophet what truly lodged in Gehazi's heart. His true aspirations and desires, his true ambitions to acquire property, estates, servants, to live in luxury. That's what Gehazi really wanted and he was willing to. Even with his ministerial position, even with the vulnerability of people's needs. Execute his authority and take advantage of others in order to realize that aim in life.

In other words, God knew what was really in Gehazi's heart. It wasn't to glorify God. It wasn't to extend grace. It wasn't to preach the truth. It was to actually utilize his position to pursue his selfish ambition, thinking that it was indiscernible.

Clearly, he forgot to pay attention or remember what Solomon prayed back in first Kings chapter eight, that God alone knows the hearts of all the children of mankind. There's an amazing contrast between Gehazi and Naaman in this story. If you remember, Naaman earlier, after being told that he can go back in peace, was concerned with something. He was concerned about returning to his duties because he was a high official in the Syrian government, And his responsibilities were vast, but he also had a close relationship with the king of Syria. And one of the things that Naaman had to do was assist this aged king into the temple of a false god.

And when he would bow down to worship this false god, he would lean on Naaman's arm and Naaman would have to bow down with him in order to help him. So he brings his predicament up to Elisha. And he says, oh, please may your Lord pardon me when I do this. And Elisha reassures Naaman. Yes.

God understands you may have to physically prostrate yourself not because you're worshiping this false god, but because you have this position that requires you to help this elderly king realize that you should be in peace. Be in peace. But then now fast forward in the same chapter, we learn what? We just read it. That you have Gehazi who outwardly looked like a true minister.

What was his posture? He stood in the presence of his master. When somebody stands in the presence of someone else, that often means that they are ready to serve at a command. He looked spiritual. He looked promising.

He was the closest man to Elisha. But inwardly, what did he want? What did he truly desire? Fields and servants and affluence, and was willing to even exploit others through the ministry to arrive there. Teaching us what?

God knows our hearts. He does not evaluate externally. He looks internally and he considers the purity, the sincerity of what we long for. He looks at our hearts above all else. You know Gehazi and Judas Iscariot share many similarities.

From the outside, Judas appeared to be what? A genuine disciple. I mean he with the other 11 walked away from their daily routines, the familiarity to follow this rabbi wherever he went. More than that, don't forget this, that when Jesus commissioned the 12 along with other disciples, Judas himself operated under the same power that these others did. Through Judas's hands, the sick were healed.

Through Judas's voice, in the name of Jesus, demons were cast out. I mean, from the outside, this this man Judas looked like the real deal. Even the others among him thought the same. But there was someone in the midst. There was someone in Judas' life who really knew his true character, Christ.

And regularly in the gospels, especially especially in the gospel of John, the Holy Spirit shows us how Christ all along in that three year tenure, in that three year ministry route, understood exactly who Judas was even though he was on staff. Do you remember what Jesus said in John six verse 70? Did I not choose you the 12 and yet one of you is what? A devil. Not one of you is going to be a devil.

One of you right now is a devil. What a shocking claim. What does it show us? That God knows. He can see through the veneers of Gehazi's and Judases.

And he also sees the sincerity and the purity of uninformed people like Naaman who have the desire to to worship the true God but may not know all that he is, all that he has to offer. The revelation of God's awareness of what resides in our hearts is so prevalent in the Bible, it goes back as far as Genesis. And I wanna show you one strong example of this from Genesis chapter 20. Let's turn there together. What's happening in Genesis 20, at least in the beginning of it?

Abraham makes his way to Gerar with his family. And when he arrives at Gerar, like before, he was afraid because of the beauty of his wife. Can you imagine that? He was so worried that people would perceive and see just how beautiful his wife was that he had to lie. And he did this before so that no one would try to take him out if he stood in the way from having her.

So Abraham repeats his mistake. Sarah, if anybody asks you, tell them you're my sister. So they do that. And Abimelech, the king of Gerar, took notice of Sarah. So he takes her for himself.

And oh, thank God. He supervised over his plan of redemption because Abraham, this man of faith supposedly, right, blew it at a very critical time. The Lord had promised Abraham that within a year's time, Sarah would conceive the miracle child. And he still is willing to put her at risk of being taken by another man which would what? Compromise that plan.

So God himself intervenes. And this is what we read in Genesis 20 verse three. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, behold you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife. Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, she is my sister?

And she herself said, he is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands, I have done this. And God said to him in the dream, yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart. And it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Isn't that amazing?

Sinning against me. You know, some people say, well, it's not it can't be wrong if I'm not hurting anybody. Well, actually you are hurting someone with every sin you commit, and that's God. Sinning against me, therefore, I did not let you touch her. What kind of trouble might have Abimelech got himself into if God was a God who judged only actions?

And not considering motives, intentions, or even ignorance. I believe it would have ended right there and then actually. Why do we see this in our bibles? Because the Lord wants to show us that he looks at the heart and Abimelech confesses that he did not pursue Sarah knowing that she was another man's wife. He was under the impression that she was single and therefore available.

In other words, this man was not driven by sinful compulsion. He wasn't perverted. He didn't have evil intent in this moment. The basis of his actions was pure and God himself confirmed it. I can I can confirm and affirm, Abimelech, that you are innocent in this regard?

What lessons can we take from this? I think a few. Let me offer a couple. Number one, it's very likely that you and I have made mistakes of various kinds. Some more consequential, some less.

Yet they arose from a place of moral integrity. You know who makes these kind of mistakes very often? Young Christians when they first get saved, who do a lot of things from the place of righteous zeal, but lack wisdom. And sometimes in their decisions, sometimes with their words or confrontations or even their attempts to do something right, they do more harm than good. Right?

Maybe if we're all a little bit honest, we can say, yeah, that's that's true of me when I was first born again. There's some things that I think back to and I'm like, I'm cringing just thinking about it. And if you have a particularly sensitive conscience, that may be enough to help you not be able to move on from past blunders. You're almost chained to your past mistakes because you can't seem to just get over how you missed it. And yet we come to a truth like this that reminds us that God sees the integrity of our hearts.

He he sees the innocence. He sees how maybe we were even operating under a limited awareness of how things should be done, but we really want to do something good. So if that describes you, take comfort in knowing that the Lord's assessment of our choices are not surface level. They are never surface level. He's incredibly patient.

He considers other factors. He he looks at our motives. He looks at our limited knowledge that we may have had at the time of our failures. Another point to consider is how there will be times when we will be misjudged by others, sometimes even accused while God fully recognizes our innocence. When David sent some of his servants to the land of the Ammonites to console and comfort Hanun, who was the son of the late king Nahash, the princes of the Ammonites whispered in the ear of Hanun and convinced them David sent spies here.

You think that this is an act of kindness? No. He's here to actually see your weak spots. This is his intelligence agency and Hanun believed him. He believed the whisper of the princes and it caused an unnecessary war.

Here's David just trying to do the right thing and it was misunderstood, misconstrued, and caused bloodshed. You and I have to be prepared to be misunderstood or wrongly accused by others, yet at the same time be ready to take refuge and to take comfort in the thought that God himself knows the integrity of our hearts, even if others do not. Because ultimately, his judgment matters the most. I love the apostle Paul for many reasons. One of the things that I so appreciate about this great man of God is the confidence he had in living in light of God's evaluation of his efforts, his ministry, his character.

This man who sacrificed so much, this man who took beatings, this man who faced death on on behalf of others for the sake of the gospel, for the sake of other believers. At one point was severely scrutinized by these Corinthian Christians. These Corinthians who dare to question his ambitions and his motives, to compare him to other teachers. And so at one point in his first letter to this group of believers, he says, it's a very small thing for me to be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I love this part.

He goes on to say, I don't even judge myself. I don't rely on my own assessment of my own heart because sometimes I'm too hard on myself or sometimes I'm too light. No. No. No.

He ends up saying this. It is the Lord who judges me. Ultimately, it's God it's God who knows the depth of my being. It's the Lord who knows who knows why I do what I do. It's a very small thing to be judged by you Corinthians.

My identity is not in your assessment. Your conclusions, your speculations, your comparisons. That's not where I find my identity nor do I find it in any human court. I rest in God and in God alone. We can go on and on with examples, can't we?

You're saying, can you just pause and and remind me why we're going through these passages? Because I want you to leave with one thing this afternoon. God knows your heart. That's it. But I believe there are at least more applications that we can derive.

How should we respond to these scriptural insights? What do we do with them? I believe that there are two major applications. One that deals with our horizontal attitudes toward one another and one that concerns our vertical relationship with the Lord. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul on how we should treat one another, perceive one another in light of the fact that God knows our hearts.

Turn with me to the new testament now in first Corinthians chapter four, and look at verse five. Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. So again, the Corinthians were guilty of making judgments of various leaders in the church, including the Apostle Paul, to the point that it was causing divisions and fostering spiritual pride. And so he's confronting this.

And he reminds this group of believers, hey hey hey hey hey hey. God alone knows the intentions of the human heart. You can't come to a definite dogmatic arrival at why a minister does what he does. That's the context here. Because sometimes our judgments are premature.

Sometimes they're conclusions based on incomplete information. Other times they're influenced by our own insecurities. So Paul tells his believers, there is a time coming though where the Lord will reach down into every heart and pull out the intentions of it. So you Corinthians, instead of spending your energy and causing problems with verbalizing and sharing your personal understanding supposedly of why someone is the way they are, why they preach or minister or serve in the way that they do, reserve that for examining your own heart and preparing your own heart to be evaluated by God himself. And that's perhaps one way we can grow in our sanctification regarding this truth.

He says that there will be a time coming when the purpose of the heart will be revealed and that's God's prerogative alone. You know, we live in an age today where everybody can grab a microphone and share something with the world. And especially with the political climate we're in and how everything is accessible, the culture war, all these things, the things people share online that they're not even sure about and the havoc and confusion and chaos that it's causing. Listen, if the world wants to do that, let them do that, but let's not bring it in the church. Instead of murmuring, instead of trying to be your own private investigator and bringing others in and deeming if somebody's truly righteous, really authentic, leave that to God and worry about your own heart.

But there's a vertical element to this. Do you remember what David's prayer was after giving one of the most comprehensive explanations of the wonders and purposes of the word of God in Psalm 19? We we spoke about this psalm back at the conference, but let me remind you how he ends, how he responds right after giving this wonderful description, this bullet point kind of explanation of the applications and the treasures of the word of God. This is what he says in Psalm 19 verse 14. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

I do not believe for a moment that it is accidental that immediately right after speaking and giving a catalog of what the word of God is and what it can perform in a in a human soul, David responds in this way. It's as though David arrived at the same conclusion that you and I did this afternoon. That the Lord, he sees the heart. He considers the heart. And so David doesn't end his prayer with, let the words of my mouth.

That deals with outward piety. That's what other people can hear. He says, not not just outside. I'm asking you. Clean this heart, the hidden private secret part of who I am.

I'm asking you, God, that the meditations that nobody else knows about would be acceptable in your sight. This is David's response to what he knew about the word of God and what you and I are being reminded of in the word of God. That he sees our hearts. May that be our prayer also. Let's do that now.

And before before I even pray, I wanna give you a short time to do business with God. And perhaps that looks like you worshiping the Lord in with glee because you had these aspirations that were never realized. You never understood why you prayed about it. You were willing to give up everything for it and God has a different path for you. And you might be frustrated with your life but, oh, remember that the Lord praised David for his desires alone.

Take comfort, servant of Christ, if that's you. Perhaps you're riddled with guilt even still in 2025 because of things that have been done, though you did it from a pure place. Take comfort in knowing that God knows your heart, the integrity of it. It may have not been the best choice. It may have been a wrong action, not the wisest, but be liberated and move on in the grace of God.

You might be a Gehazi in this place and your heart is filled with worldly ambitions, carnal cravings. You know the right words. You look the part, but there is nothing of God in your affections and your ambitions. It can change today. God can renew that heart of yours and fill it with the desires that were meant to be there.

Lord, we pray that the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts leaving this place would be acceptable in your sight. Thank you, Lord, that you are not just the great revealer of hearts, you are the healer of hearts. You are the regenerator of hearts. You perform spiritual heart transplants. You can take these stony hearts, these cold icy hearts, these critical hearts and put your heart instead.

And we pray that we would experience that. Though we will never know it perfectly on this side of eternity, we want as much of it as possible. And so Lord, we sit here patiently and humbly asking for you to do what only you can do in these hearts. In Christ's name we pray, amen. If you desire to stand and sing with us, you can do that.

If you still want to stay seated so that you can better pray and seek the Lord, you can do that as well. Whatever you choose to do in this moment, do it from a place of worship. Let's let's seek the Lord and thank him for speaking to us today.