READ: PROVERBS 23:19-35
My son, give me thine heart

 It ultimately matters little where the sinner is when he hears this call/God to him
First of all, it is the voice of God
Many folk think the gospel call is merely the call of the church
This was the mistake young Samuel made, confusing the voice/Eli with that of God
Subsequently many (seeing the many blemishes/church) refuse to heed the voice
But it is the voice of the Highest authority i.e. that of God Himself

 [i] As our Creator – we are the sons/God by creation (Acts 17:28-29)
This sons/God relationship has no redemptive value: John 3:3
But it does entitle God to address us with all the authority/Father
[ii] They are not only words of authority, but words of great tenderness
I do not want to reduce God to being a beggar, but they are pleading words
They are spoken in the same spirit as those of Christ in Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 
God is love – He delights in mercy and is slow to anger
Therefore, we can hear His accents in these words

 Perhaps the sinner hears them (as Samuel did) when within the confines/church
Religious sinners need to be converted too
The Lord seems to be saying to religious sinners:
You have given me so much! You read my word – you even pray!
You attend my House on a regular basis - While there is no merit in doing what is required, yet these things are not to be demeaned
But the Lord is saying: Until you have given me your heart, then you are still unsaved
You can describe as religious, but under no circumstance can you say that you are redeemed if you have not given me your heart

 Perhaps the sinner is as far away from the things/God as he can be
His knowledge of the Bible is minimal if anything at all
Even in the vilest den on earth – Here is a voice designed to awaken him to better days for his soul
The voice/God penetrates the thick darkness and says; (text)
It is a word therefore for all sinners in all circumstances at all times
3 main thoughts

1)      GIVE ME YOUR HEART THAT IS FULL OF SIN AND ANGUISH

 A/ We have already alluded to the sinner in our introduction
It is a description of us all for the Bible condemnation is universal
If we make differences between sinners (cp introduction) then it is difference only in degree but not in kind
The one size fits all when all is said and done 

B/ Let us gaze into the heart even of the most religious sinner
What do we see there?
We see the vile ravages of sin and anguish lurking within
There has perhaps been a fair bit of paint and varnish applied
But a little scraping shows that it is but a veneer and the application of some Biblical paint stripper will bring out all that is basically/fundamentally  bad
This is the work of the law of God: Romans 3:20
I remind you: Rich young Ruler who sought out Christ re: Eternal life
Unaware of the rottenness/own life, he proceeded to speak of his life long adherence to the commandments of God
What did he know about keeping them?
He thought that the outward observation constituted obedience
He had never stolen or slept around with any ones daughter
But there was a darling sin that he would not forsake
When he was told to sell all that he had and follow Christ
(i.e. Have no gods before Christ) then he crumbled spiritually
God had been saying to him for years: Give me thy heart
And all these years, he was saying “No”
“You can have everything else – I’ll not run with the rakes/town – I’ll be refined, respectable and religious – but I cannot give you my heart”
He went away very sorrowful because he was still a sinner

 C/ The heart of the vilest sinner is exactly the same in kind
It is just stripped down a bit more and there is no pretence 

D/ But here’s the point: God knows the sinful state of our hearts
He is not like one of those property buyers who purchases a house without looking at it and has his high hope shattered when he discovers that the foundations are poor and the house fit to be tossed
He knows what is in  our hearts better than we do ourselves
He knows the depths/our depravity and our bondage/sin and Satan
Yet He still says: My son...give me thine heart
He is like the specialist doctor who looks for the sickest cases to be brought
He knows that he can do something for those whom he bids come to Him

 2) GIVE ME YOUR HEART THAT MY SON DIED TO REDEEM ON THE CROSS:

 A/ This explains how the Good and Holy God/Heaven can make this request
Doesn’t explain why for this is rooted in grace and is beyond our ken
But we can and must understand the grounds of God’s loving calls to the sinner
It must be rooted in holiness/justice otherwise God compromises Himself
He is not asking for the heart in order to condemn it
The heart in regards to justice is already under His remit
The judicial authorities of this land have all sorts/warrants that do not necessarily require your co-operation – How much more God?
Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. (Joel 3:13)
God is asking for the heart in order to redeem it
To this end –God in His sovereign love sent His Son to die for wicked hearts
Whether the sinner has his surface coating of religion or not
He is a candidate for salvation by the fact that Christ died for the ungodly

 B/ A lot of things flow from Christ’s great sacrifice upon the Cross
They are not always known or appreciated by the world at large
But every day out of hell can be traced back to this great sacrifice
Every good and perfect gift can be traced back to this great sacrifice
Every restraint that Heaven puts upon the wickedness/man can be traced back
How foolish are those folk who attribute every averted disaster to good luck!
How grieving that must be to God whose merciful hand has been ignored
But all these things flow from the Crosswork of Jesus Christ

 C/ Yet...the main redemptive reason Christ died is this:
That sinful hearts might know freedom from the guilt/power of sin
That they might know the forgiveness of their past
God says: Give me that heart for which my Son died to redeem
It is vile and full of sin...but here is a cleansing stream filled with blood
Here is you chance to have the slate wiped clean – all charges dropped
Here is the chance to have those heavy, cruel changes smashed forever
The law/God got its pound of flesh and no dishonouring compromise ensued
This is why Christ died – this is the captivity that He died to overthrow
This is why God can have it shouted from the rooftops: Give me thy heart
The very offer and invitation indicates to us that all is well
Illustration: They say that you can tell how prosperous a city is by the number of cranes in its skyline – the number of ships in its cities harbours etc.,
Well... this cry from a Holy God “Give me thine heart” is a healthy indicator that God is reconciled to guilty sinners and that there is mercy to be had
He is not asking for your heart to mock it or to refuse it His salvation
Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out (John 6:37)

 3) GIVE ME YOUR HEART SO THAT I CAN MOULD IT FOR MY GLORY:

 A/ Indicated by the second half/text: ...let thine eyes observe my ways.  (Pro 23:26)
This further exhortation gives assurance/first command for us to yield our hearts
When we observe the ways/God then we cannot but be very impressed with what/see

[i] We see all the glorious attributes of God – some of which we have been extolling

[ii] We see clear evidence that those who so yield their hearts to God greatly prosper (if not in earthly things) certainly in spiritual and eternal things
God takes the sinful wicked heart that long defied Him and He changes it
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. (Ezekiel  36:26 )

 B/  There is no basic package with God
For all who are born into His family (evidence: the giving of the heart to Him) He (to quote the WCF S/C) gives  the right to all the privileges of the sons/God
[i] They are not only pardoned and justified for all eternity
[ii] They begin a new life altogether with God
He makes them a new person with new leanings and desires
He makes them witnesses for Him – bright lights in an evil and perverse generation
He took Abraham (a poor benighted heathen idolater) and made him the friend/God
He took David and made him the man after His own heart
He took the Christ hating Saul/Tarsus and made him: A chosen vessel unto me
These men yielded him their hearts in conversion
They quit fighting against God and His marvellous grace
One day, the Lord Jesus stood (as he had always done) outside their heart’s door:
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  (Revelation 3:20)
What is this, but a graphic way of saying: My son, give me thine heart?
One day, he took the heart of Lydia – a very successful but yet unconverted business woman in Philippi and divine grace caused that heart to be opened and yielded to him
That poor, rich business woman became a Christian and lived her life to God’s glory

 C/ What can God  not do with your life today?
He is not interested in the periphery end/your life or the unwanted parts of it
He wants your heart – its very nerve centre – and he will mould it into something beautiful for Himself 
Will you yield it either in salvation or (if saved) consecration?

Appeal

THE END