Keeping the Heart

Text—these are the very words of God

Proverbs 4:20–27 ESV

My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Introduction

In 1907, someone stole the crown jewels of Ireland.

And they are still missing.

Kept in giant safe at Library of Office Arms

There were two keys held by one guy—Sir Arthur Vicars.

He kept one on him and put the other in his desk drawer.

The desk key was stolen and in July 1907, the jewels were lifted!

They’ve never been recovered.

They are worth around $5 million today.

How does that happen?

How could Vicars be so careless to toss the key in a drawer like a pencil eraser?

How can you let the crown jewels of a proud nation be taken by some thief?

In short, how can you let something so valuable be stolen away?

Well—if you heart is not being kept for the Lord this morning...

...if it has been given away to foolishness...

...Solomon would ask the same question to you.

How can you let something as valuable as your heart to be stolen?

Context

Still in the 6th of 10 “heart to hearts” between Solomon and his son

This heart-to-heart showed that there were two paths you can choose to walk on:

The way of wisdom which is the path of the righteous

The way of the wicked which is the path of darkness

Solomon wants his son to understand that those who are on the Way of Wisdom will be those who Keep the Heart.

Big Idea

Those who are wise keep the heart.

Outline

Question 1: What is the heart?

Question 2: How is the heart kept?

1. Be vigilant about what goes in.

2. Be vigilant about what stays in.

3. Be vigilant about what comes out.

Intro to Question 1

The key verse for the passage is found in v. 23:

Proverbs 4:23 ESV

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

This verse prompts us to ask two questions:

What is the heart?

How is it kept?

Question 1: What is the heart?

The Hebrew word for heart is referring to the inner self.

It is the seat of principles, and the foundation of actions.

John Flavel

What you really believe lies in the heart

How you behave flows from the heart

The Bible sees the heart as a sort of control center for life

Emotions, intellect, affections, will, morality and ethics

Flavel says that the heart is the worst part of a person before they are saved:

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

And yet, the heart is the best part of a person once they are converted:

Ezekiel 36 promises that God’s life-giving Spirit will make the spiritual heart alive and new

Jeremiah 31 promises that in the New Covenant, the Word will be engraved onto the heart

It goes from being dead and depraved to alive and an ark for God’s Word.

The heart is incredibly important in God’s Word.

God is eager to give you a new heart

He wants us to love Him with all our hearts

In Colossians 2 we learn that he wants our hearts knit together in love inside the church

In light of its importance—it must be kept!

And hopefully better than the crown jewels of Ireland!

Question 2: How is the heart kept?

The heart is kept with vigilance.

The Hebrew word for vigilance is mishmar.

It means to guard or watch...

...the way armed forces would watch over the city gates by day and by night

You are probably familiar with the idea of a vigil.

They are often held after tragic events where human life is lost

The purpose to stay up and pray—to keep watch

So that is what it means to be vigilant.

It means you keep watch.

This is the great business of the Christian life—

To keep vigil over your hearts

To stay alert and watch over them

To be on guard for our hearts

This is to be done in all seasons.

In times where everything is going well

In times where things are not going well

In times where the church is being persecuted and oppressed

In times where society is in an upheaval over current events

In times where we don’t have much money and we have wants

In times where we draw near to God

In times where we are mistreated by others

In times where we suffer from affliction and grief

In times where we are tempted by Satan to sin

In times where we are doubting

In the time where sickness has us and we know that the end of life is imminent

There is simply no season in which we are to be relaxed about keeping guard over our hearts

Intro to Three Points

So then, if we are wise, we must listen to what God’s Word has to say about the heart this morning.

1. Be vigilant about what goes in.

About the Ears

In this passage, Solomon uses the body as a metaphor more than once:

Hands, feet, mouth, ears

This is about the ears.

You see it in v. 20

The son is to pay attention to his father’s words...

...He must incline his ear

When it comes to words, we pay attention with the ears

Solomon’s words and sayings are synonymous with “wisdom”

V. 20 is a call to pay attention to and incline the ear to wisdom

The need to pay attention to wisdom has been stressed throughout each of Solomon’s “heart to hearts”

Repetition = Importance—but how is it done?

Hearing Christ in the Word

It starts with this: Jesus is the Wisdom of God.

He showed God’s wisdom in how He lived His life in obedience.

He showed us the wisdom of God with every Word of truth that He spoke

He showed us God’s wisdom in dying on the Cross according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God

So we can say with Paul:

1 Corinthians 1:24 ESV

but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Jesus is the wisdom of God.

If we want to hear from Jesus, where do we find Him?

Jesus says this to a group of Jews who want to kill Him for saying He is equal to the Father:

John 5:39 ESV

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

So then... Jesus is the Wisdom of God and we find Jesus in the Scriptures.

Therefore, concentration on the wisdom of God = hearing the Son of God in the Word.

The best way to take the wisdom of God into your ears is to hear the voice of Christ in the Scriptures!

The Ears and the Heart

When wisdom is in the ear, it is good news for the heart.

There is a connection between the ear and the heart.

The heart is impacted by what comes through the ear, the way the stomach is impacted by what comes into the mouth.

Christ’s words in the ear doesn’t guarantee wisdom in the heart (plenty hear and do not receive truth)

However, without His words in the ear, wisdom will never get into the heart

But once wisdom is in the ear, now it is a matter of application.

So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;

Proverbs 2:2, NKJV

When the wisdom of Christ is applied to the heart, it has a two-pronged effect:

It grows us in grace—Wisdom makes us wise—we fear God and live like it

It weakens our corruptions—Wisdom deals body blows to the sin that remains in us

It exposes its foolishness

Compels us to turn away from it

Like Rain on the Fields

It is like when rain falls on a field.

On one hand, the rain washes away salts and minerals that would be hindrances to growth

On the other hand, the rain causes what is planted to grow by nourishing it.

God’s Word is similar:

Draws us away from the sin that entangles

Grows us in grace so we can run our race

Pursue Christ in His Word

We must pursue Christ in His Word.

We must fill our ears with His message

This is how we make sure wisdom gets into the heart.

What do you fill your ears with?

What goes your ear—so often—is going to your heart.

Are you struggling to live wisely right now?

Are you harboring pet sins?

Do you find yourself becoming more worldly if you are honest?

If your answer to these questions are a YES, then you have let the wrong things in your ears and it is poisoning your hearts.

See, We live in a world of messages.

Each movie

Each podcast

Each social media post

Each friend

Each new show

Each new book

They are all saying something

Which messages are your ears tuned to?

Which ones are you paying attention to?

Do you find your heart starting to agree with the world about things like:

Sex?

Money?

Pleasure?

Work?

How you view your neighbor?

Then you are hearing too little of Christ.

Be attentive to wisdom.

Incline your ear to Christ’s voice in His Word.

Be watchful about what you let in and who you let speak.

This is one way we keep the heart.

By watching what goes in.

Philippians 4:8 ESV

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

2. Be vigilant about what stays in.

About the Eyes

We hear hundreds of messages everyday, but what is sticking?

This is where we go from talking about the EARS to the EYES.

There are two statements about where we are looking in this passage:

v. 21: Let them not escape from your sight...keep them within your heart.

v. 25: Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze will be straight before you

Wisdom Kept in the Heart (v. 21) —> More Holy

Solomon’s son must cage his father’s wisdom in his heart and keep it there

He needs to kennel the wisdom so it won’t get away

How do we go this?

We keep the Word in our heart by familiarity and memorization.

We should give ourselves to study the Word with the church

We should study to give ourselves to study the Word in private

And we should be intentional about remembering and storing up what we learn

The Wisdom of the Word in the heart helps guard the heart from sin

Psalm 119:11 ESV

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

When we are careful about keeping God’s wise Word in our hearts it has a holy effect on us.

Therefore—

Make sure the Bible is in your hand everyday

Make efforts to get the Bible in your heart everyday

Meditate upon the Word

Memorize the Word

Keep wisdom in the heart and you will be more holy!

The Reward of Life (v. 22)

Verse 22 also shows us that:

Wisdom in your heart = Life and healing to your flesh

This is motivation for keeping wisdom in the heart.

Our spiritual life begins with the wisdom of the Word:

We are saved by grace through faith

And faith comes through hearing God’s Word

By hearing wisdom we have believed

And by keeping wisdom in the heart, the spiritual life is sustained

Distance from sin is kept

Closeness with God is maintained

Spiritual life flourishes

Keep wisdom in your heart and LIVE.

Eyes Straight Ahead (v. 25)

Keeping your eyes on wisdom and not letting it escape the heart:

Grows us in holiness (21)

Sustains our spiritual lives (22)

Keeping wisdom in the heart will also direct your steps

Verse 25 —> look straight ahead.

We are not to let our gaze slip to the right or to the left.

This will keep us on the straight line of God’s wisdom.

This will keep us from losing track of our Way of Wisdom and stumbling

We must be like tight-rope walkers at the circus.

They do not look down.

They do not look around.

They look straight ahead.

They find a fixed point.

Our fixed point is God’s wisdom.

His Son—who is our Wisdom

His Son’s Word—which is wisdom for our souls

Knowing God’s wisdom makes us holy and brings healing, we should stare right at it

We should keep our eyes on Christ and all that He has shown and taught us

Hebrews 12:1 ESV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

We have a race to run, like all of God’s people before us.

How can we be sure that we will not lose our way or our footing?

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Keep wisdom in the heart, so that your steps may be directed.

Keep wisdom in the heart, so that you will arrive at your destination and finish your race!

Memorizing the Test

Pastor Ben told me about his grandfather who wanted to join the military and serve his country.

He had terrible eyesight and would never pass the test.

He memorized the eye chart so that they wouldn’t know!

He kept the data of the eye chart in his heart so that he could be able to do his duty.

The Impact of What We Look At

This is how we have to be with the wisdom of God.

We have to keep God’s wisdom within the heart so that we can do our duty and run our race.

Are you doing this? Are your eyes fixed on the North Star of God’s Wisdom?

When the heart is not kept, the spiritual life will struggle.

This is when the heart begins to backslide.

Is your heart lacking interest in spiritual things?

Is your love for others waning?

Is your faith in decline and are your doubts increasing?

Friend—if this is the case, then it is time to ask yourself what you are keeping within your heart.

You must ask yourself what you are really keeping tabs on.

If a Christian is losing track of wisdom, the heart will not be kept.

When the heart is not kept, we end up over-loving things of this world.

We created idols.

And we keep track of those things.

Have you traded in wisdom for idols this morning?

It will be devastating to your spiritual life.

It will be devastating to your spiritual walk.

Idols are like a cancer to the heart that try to choke out all life.

If you have lost track of wisdom, it is time to slay your idols.

Get your eyes back on wisdom.

Keep track of it.

Cage it up and don’t let it out of your heart again.

Wisdom kept IN, Idols kept OUT.

This is how the heart is guarded.

The heart is kept with vigilance, when wisdom is kept before our eyes and in our hearts.

3. Be watchful about what comes out.

What Goes In is What Comes Out

The second part of v. 23 helps us understand our final teaching point.

From the heart flow the springs of life...

This simply means that everything you do comes from your heart.

This is why John Flavel called it the foundation of actions.

Solomon gives us two examples of how this works in this passage.

Example #1: Turn away from crooked speech (v. 24)

If we have heard wisdom and kept it in the heart, our mouths will bear the fruit

We will put away all crooked speech and devious talk

Similar to Paul’s command:

Ephesians 5:4 ESV

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

If the heart is kept by wisdom being heard and tracked, the mouth should have wisdom coming from it (in this case the wisdom of thanks to God)

If the heart is storing up foolishness, the mouth will have foolishness falling from the tongue

How the heart has been kept...

How the ears and eyes have related to wisdom...

...Impacts action.

The mouth reflects the heart

Matthew 15:18 ESV

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

Example #2: Turn away from evil ways (v. 26-27)

The mouth is not the only body part impacted if the heart is kept.

Verses 26-27 are about the feet

In the Bible, how you live is often described by “walking”

Your walk is how you live and move in your day to day

Foolish people have feet that are swift to do evil

They are described by Isaiah 59:7

Isaiah 59:7 ESV

Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their highways.

But the wise consider the path of their feet (v. 26)

Their ways are sure and confident because they have made plans (v. 26)

Because wisdom has come through the ear and eye to the heart, the feet walk securely according to God’s Word

Because they live by God’s wise Word, they do not swerve from the Way of Wisdom

Their feet turn from evil

With each option for swerving, the one who has been keeping the heart is able to discern right from wrong and make God-honoring choices

But Don’t Miss the Big Picture

Don’t miss the big picture

So much religion wants to start with this third point

It is only interested in what comes out of your life

But what comes out is the result of what goes in

Too many read v. 24 and v. 26-27 and say, “I want a life free from crooked speech and crooked living,” but try to do it in their own strength

They make the mistake of missing the connection between what is in the heart and how we live

They try to modify behavior, only becoming discouraged and frustrated with the commandments of religion—missing the heart!

Changing the Pipes

It is like a house with rotten water.

You don’t just keep changing the pipes and hoping for a change.

You have to do down in the well and purify the source.

God’s wisdom purifies the heart and transforms it.

Then—with the heart transformed by wisdom AND kept by it, the mouth and the feet change.

There is an Order to Things

So there is an order to things:

What comes in the ears often goes to the heart

What the eyes gaze at impacts the heart

And then what has come INTO the heart impacts what COMES OUT of the heart

If the order is understood, then the heart will be kept with vigilance.

The believer will understand that the water source must be made pure if what comes out of the pipes is going to be different

The only recourse for action MUST BE—to yield the heart to the wisdom of God, that the same could be said of the mouth and the feet.

Do you want to sound holy?

Then the heart must be kept.

Do you want to walk holy?

Then the heart must be guarded.

If it is not, then Jesus warns that what comes heart will be evil and dishonoring to God.

It is certainly what has the ability to condemn.

Matthew 15:19 ESV

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Friend—what is flowing out into your life?

That tells you everything about the state of your heart.

Conclusion

I get an annual physical.

They run tests on all my body parts to make sure nothing is wrong.

I am sure you are familiar.

Ultimately, this is a passage that should lead to a self-examination.

This passage deals with the ears, the eyes, the mouth, the feet.

What are you listening to?

What are you looking at?

What is coming out of your mouth?

What does your living look like in your day-to-day walk?

The answers to these questions will tell you all that you need to know about your heart

What is the state of it today?

Has it been kept?

Or does it lie unguarded?

Pillaged and plundered on the regular

Has it been kept?

Or is it producing all sorts of wickedness?

Evil thoughts?

Murder?

Adultery?

Lust?

Hate?

Sexual immorality?

theft?

Lies?

Slander?

If the heart is lost, all is lost.

Therefore pray like David in Psalm 86– ask God to unite your heart to fear his name.

The fool forgives his heart away.

The wise man keeps his heart.

What will you do?