Guard Your Heart (2)

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

It’s a Place of Life

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

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 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

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

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

What is in 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

Proverbs 28:26 NKJV

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

1 Corinthians 6:11 NKJV

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.

Ephesians 2:1 NKJV

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

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

Proverbs 23:7 NKJV

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

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

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

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 are the natural tendencies of your heart that you need to be on guard for?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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