Guard Your Heart (2)
Proverbs: Living Like You Love Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 48:27
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Introduction
Introduction
Proverbs is an abundant wealth of great wisdom
Teaches us that worship of God is deeply practical
You aren’t truly worshipping God if your only idea of worship is about what we do at church
Worship is about what you do with every detail of your life
I’m choosing a few gems from the treasury of God’s wisdom
Last week we examined the beauty of godly happiness
This week we we’ll handle one of the most beautiful jewels of the treasure-trove - the heart
Read Prov. 4:20-27
Bible has a lot to say about our hearts
Often uses different words like mind, soul, bowels
This instruction comes as part of the fatherly instructions to his son
This gem, the heart, is something we need to teach and be taught from a young age
e.g. Gaither’s kid song: Input, Output
Teaches what we put into our lives determines what comes out of our lives
Proverbs speaks of the heart in 78 verses
1st instance: Proverbs 2:2 “So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;”
Not just know truth but understand it
Last instance: Proverbs 31:11 “The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.”
We have influence in the hearts of others
As you look through Bible you realise that God is very concerned about your heart
Why is it so important that we guard our heart?
The Importance of Your Heart
The Importance of Your Heart
It’s a Place of Life
It’s a Place of Life
Your Inner Being
Your Inner Being
When the Bible speaks of your heart it’s not speaking about the physical heart
Though we can make comparisons
By pumping it gives life to the whole body
Its a vital organ that needs the protection your ribs give it
By heart the Bible means the source of life, your innermost being
Included in Bible idea of heart is your emotions, will, affections, motives, intellect, principles
KJV sometimes uses ‘bowels’ to describe same thing
That’s where you feel emotion
Butterflies in stomach, or knots in stomach
In modern language we’re more inclined to use heart
“Baby, you make my liver quiver” doesn’t sound quite as romantic
Your Mind
Your Mind
We do tend to understand heart in a more sentimental way now
Bible also uses ‘mind’ to speak of the same thing
That is, we are talking about what controls us, how we understand the world, make decisions, interact
This is why Paul exhorts us to
“Let the mind of Christ dwell within you” (Col. 3:16)
“Be renewed by the transforming of your mind” (Rom. 12:2)
It’s a Guide to Life
It’s a Guide to Life
It’s how you make decisions
It’s how you make decisions
For Solomon, wisdom and the heart are connected
Our society puts them at odds with each other
“To follow your heart” or “Go with your gut” are expressions urging us to live based on emotion, do things that don’t necessarily seems wise or logical
Solomon teaches the heart is at it’s best when it follows wise paths
That doesn’t mean it’s empty of emotion but not driven by emotion
It’s where you choose who to follow
It’s where you choose who to follow
This becomes clearer the deeply understand the issue of heart within the Bible
That’s at the heart of Prov. 4:25-27
That is why the Bible speaks so strongly about how we control our heart or mind
Your life depends on how you cultivate your mind
It depends on who you listen to & who you choose to follow
Those decisions shape your happiness, success, attitudes, reputation & eternity
It’s the Essence of Life
It’s the Essence of Life
Your heart is a description of the depths of who you are
Right down to your spiritual core
Call to guard your heart is a call to guard the most precious part of you
Just like your physical heart your biblical heart is vulnerable
Damage, injury, mistreatment of your heart affects every area of your life
Clarify guarding your heart
Doesn’t mean keeping it from getting hurt
Doesn’t mean hard outside but soft inside - God gives ‘armour’ to protect it so that it will stay soft
Very important part of Christian life is to give your life, your heart, in love to others
Guarding your heart doesn’t mean avoiding all hurt
It means keep it safe from what is truly dangerous
The Integrity of Your Heart
The Integrity of Your Heart
What is in your heart?
What is in your heart?
Natural state of your heart
Natural state of your heart
Paul tells us that our minds/hearts need to be transformed
Why? Transformed from what?
Transformed from this world, our natural way of thinking
Eph. 2:1-3.
Transformed from our attitude of rebellion/disobedience against God
Transformed from pursuing selfish lusts of our heart
Transformed from our cheating & lying, transformed from pursuing sensual desires, from our greediness, covetousness, thieving
Where does all of this come from? It comes from within us, our natural heart
Jeremiah 17:9 “9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
The wickedness we see in the world doesn’t start outside of us but originates within us
This is why we are warned not to follow our own hearts
26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.
This is why the Bible speaks about washing and renewing (Titus 3:5)
This is the message of the Gospel
Sin has spoiled your heart, your inner most being, essence of you
Sin causes you to seek selfishness not God
Sin hardens your heart against all that is good and right
Which is why the Bible says that we are dead in our sin - our heart has no life
Jesus came to give life to dead hearts, to transform rebellious & selfish minds
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
How are you cultivating your heart?
How are you cultivating your heart?
Reason we must guard our heart is because we are still tempted to pursue the old way of life
How can we practically shape our hearts, transform our thinking, live wisely?
Here are a few things that Proverbs says affects the condition of our heart
What we think about
What we think about
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.
Who we are & what we become is shaped by what we think about
Why is the Bible so strong on renewing the mind? What you think about is what you become
Your thoughts leads to your actions
Ever made a conscious effort to evaluate your thought patterns? Scary!
Philippians 4:8 “8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
2 Corinthians 10:5 “5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”
Not just what we think about but also how we think about things
Do we dwell on the negative? Do I give place in my mind to worry, doubts, fears?
Am I thinking the best about others or the worst?
Who we walk with
Who we walk with
Prov. 1:10-15.
Yes, those you spend time with, make friends of have a large influence on you
Prov. 1:11 also speaks of needing courage & wisdom to standing against peer pressure
1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: “Evil [communications] company (associates, etc.) corrupts good [manners] habits.””
What we hear
What we hear
Proverbs 22:17 “Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge;”
Notice how often Solomon calls us to hear the words of wisdom and to listen to godly counsel
What we hear affects how we think, how we think changes our actions & character
What are you listening to? More importantly, who are you listening to?
e.g. Taylor Swift is immensely popular with huge influence over many young people.
Result is they listen to her opinions and she is not moral much less godly
What social commentators, podcasts are you hearing? Who’s social media/TikToks are you following? What ‘experts’ are you listening to?
The ‘ear’ is a large gate to the heart & so must be guarded well
As a companion to this we must also consider what people hear from us, what we say
Be someone worth hearing, be someone that is speaking wisdom into the ears of others
What we look at
What we look at
Proverbs 4:25 “25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.”
The eyes are another very large gate to the heart
Why do you think social media is increasingly designed for pics & videos?
Why will we sit and watch a 3 hour movie?
Because we are stimulated by visual
We may think we’re switching the brain off but we’re not - we’re letting our guard down
Proverbs warns about looking at others for comparison
Warns about looking at riches and fame
Warns about looking at others in lust
What does your heart want?
What does your heart want?
What are the natural tendencies of your heart that you need to be on guard for?
Your Heart Naturally Repulses Reproof
Your Heart Naturally Repulses Reproof
Proverbs 5:12–13 “12 And say: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! 13 I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me!”
Sin & pride mean we tend to refuse reproof & instruction
Answer to this is to feed on humility
Proverbs 12:1 “1 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.”
Your Heart Naturally Seeks Pleasure
Your Heart Naturally Seeks Pleasure
Prov. 7:24-26.
Our hearts naturally desire what is lustful, sensual, immoral
Proverbs 23:26 “26 My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.”
Your Heart is Naturally Susceptible to Anxiety, Gloom & Depression
Your Heart is Naturally Susceptible to Anxiety, Gloom & Depression
Part of ruin of sin is that we are prone to see dark side of life
Even in beauty we see ugliness & focus on it
Proverbs 17:22 “22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”
Allow joy to bring relief, find your happiness in God
Your Heart is Naturally Opinionated
Your Heart is Naturally Opinionated
Proverbs 18:2 “2 A fool has no delight in understanding, But in expressing his own heart.”
“I have opinions and you must know them”
By nature we are less concerned with truly understanding and more concerned about expressing ourselves
Proverbs 5:2 “2 That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge.”
Learn discretion & wisdom in speech
The Instructions for Your Heart
The Instructions for Your Heart
Listen to Godly Instruction
Listen to Godly Instruction
Proverbs 4:20 “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.”
First place Solomon always points to for wisdom is to God, to His Word, Law
You will not know wisdom if you’re not studying God’s Word
If you’re not studying & applying God’s Word you will have an undisciplined, ungodly heart
Result will be a life that is unsatisfying, unhappy & in the end ruined
Give yourself to learning & following Wisdom, following Jesus
Watch Where You are Going
Watch Where You are Going
Proverbs 4:21 “21 Do not let them depart from your eyes...”
You must pay attention to your life, you must live intentionally
You must keep Jesus at the centre of your life (Prov. 4:25)
“If you wanna be somebody, if you wanna go somewhere, you gotta wake up and pay attention.” (Song from Sister Act 2)
Don’t just go with the flow, follow the crowd - follow Jesus, on purpose
Determine to Follow Wisdom
Determine to Follow Wisdom
Proverbs 4:21 “21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;” Proverbs 4:23 “23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
Make this an intense priority
Solomon isn’t making a suggestion here, written as a command
Set the boundaries, gates of your heart and hold fast
Your heart determines the kind of life you live
Your heart determines who you become
Guard it vigilantly
If you don’t you will not be able to discern the will & Word of God
Your life will be rendered useless
Conclusion
Conclusion
The most important thing you need in this life is a new heart
A heart that has been made alive from sin, a heart that trusts Jesus
Dead hearts will not lead to eternal life - just more death
My first call this morning is to ask, have you been made alive by Jesus
Jesus’ death and resurrection is the only way to have sin & rebellion against God forgiven
It is that sin, that heart of rebellion, which makes me spiritually dead
Being forgiven of that sin by believing Jesus gives me a new heart, a living heart, a life-giving heart
2 Corinthians 5:17 “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
My second call is to those with a new heart - guard your heart with all diligence
Where have you let your guard down? Where does fortification need strengthening?
Fix your eyes on Christ and His Word, follow that path with discipline
Remember the lesson of last week: holiness leads to happiness
Guard Your Heart sung by Steve Green
The human heart is easily swayed
And often betrayed at the hand of emotion
You dare not leave the outcome to chance
You must choose in advance
Or live with the agony
Such needless tragedy
Guard your Heart
Guard your Heart
Don't trade it for treasure
Don't give it away
Guard your Heart
Guard your Heart
As a payment for pleasure
It's high price to pay