Guard Your Heart

2 Corinthians 6:14–16 NLT

14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? 16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Proverbs 4:23 NLT

23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Main point:

The way we guard our hearts is to “yoke” up to Jesus daily!

Matthew 11:29 NLT

29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

What is a yoke?

This is a YOLK

This is a YOKE

When we say we must Yoke up to Jesus daily, we are saying that we must remove yokes that guide us away from Jesus and put on yokes that guide us with Jesus, and ultimately closer to Jesus!

Remove a Yoke

Q: Does it promote evil and make me enjoy evil?

When removing yokes...

We don’t want to create rules and more rules.

We are creating boundaries to protect our souls.

We are forgiven when we fail because of Jesus’ sacrifice

We are operating FROM righteousness… NOT for righteousness...

Yokes To Remove

Video Games

Murder, sexual sin, stealing, etc.

Music

Cussing, sexual sin, violence, idolatry, etc.

Phones and Tablets

Wasting my time? Sexual sin. Making me want things I don’t have?

Close Friendships

Do they help me love Jesus? Do they want me to sin?

Apply a Yoke

Q; What will enable and help me to love Jesus more?

Jesus tells us to yoke up to Him. So He needs to be the center of the yokes we apply!

When applying yokes...

We don’t want to create rules and more rules.

We are creating habits to heal our souls.

We are forgiven when we fail because of Jesus’ sacrifice

We are operating FROM righteousness… NOT for righteousness...

Yokes to Apply

Video Games

Something that doesn’t tempt me to sin

Music

Music that glorifies God and produces worship in me

Phones and Tablets

Apps that draw me near to Jesus and connect me to other Christians

Close Friendships

Friends that encourage me in my faith and are honest with me when I sin

All of this is meant to help us to love Jesus.

You are never going to be able to do this stuff perfectly. But, the point is that we, Christians, have seen in Jesus something better than all other things we could ever gain in this world!

Look at what our Creed Verse tells us!

Colossians 1:16–20 ESV

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.