Keep Your Heart
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Before we begin I want to put your minds at ease…even though I look like I’m about ready to go into labor at any time, my due date is not until August. So there is no chance you are going to have to rush me off to the hospital. And, no, I am not having twins. I just get really huge.
Ok, now that we have that taken care of… I want to thank you for having me here today. I think this summer it will be 11 years since my husband and I left this church to accept a ministry position in Wisconsin. At that time our oldest was 1 and we were expecting our second. We were only here at Berean for two years but in that time we made many lasting friendships and still keep in contact. One of my fond memories here was that we were here during the time the church had 4 missionary families on deputation…the Flincks, Harmons, Balls, and Caasis and it was a wonderful opportunity to get to know them. Our church in Oconomowoc actually has the privilege of supporting one of those families, the Harmons, and because of the friendship we had with them here we have been able to pray for them with more understanding and knowledge.
I was talking to Judy a couple months ago and she shared with me a few of the devotionals you have had this year centered around the theme “The Heart of a Godly Woman” such as a thankful heart, a giving heart, a wounded heart, a joyful heart, and so on. As I began to think and pray about what I would talk about today I decided to look up the word “heart” in the concordance and was surprised how many times it is used in the Bible. In the KJV the word translated heart is used 762 times! I read through verse after verse that mentioned or talked about the heart and I started thinking “How in the world am I going to decide on just one of these?”
And then I began to think. Since the Bible talks so much about our hearts, they must be pretty important! And what do we do with something that is very important to us? We protect it, right? We think about protecting our family or our money or our freedom, but do we ever think about protecting our hearts? Right away I though of . If you have your Bibles you can turn there, otherwise I have all the verses I’m going to be using on the screen for you to follow along. This verse, alone with one other verse, is my key verse today but since this is a topical study I will be using many other verses as well.
Keep thy heart with all diligence;
For out of it are the issues of life.
says “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Let’s pray.
King Solomon, the wisest man in history, was instructing his son in this verse to keep his heart with all diligence. Many questions may come to mind as we ponder this such as “Why?” Why should I keep my heart? What should I keep my heart from? How can I keep my heart? Well, we are going to start with the “why” and that is number one on your outline…
I. Why should I keep my heart?
I. Why should I keep my heart?
Before we answer this question I want to define a couple words.
What is the “heart”?
1. The literal heart
2. Also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the center of anything
Will - But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
Intellect - Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
What does it mean to “keep”?
1. To watch, guard, keep
2. To preserve, guard from dangers
3. Other uses in the Bible:
He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
I think we see from these examples that the word “keep” can be understood as “guard” or “protect”. So Solomon was instructing his son to guard and protect his heart, or the real him, his inner being. And that brings us back to our question…why should I keep or guard my heart?
A. Because God should be the most important thing in my life
A. Because God should be the most important thing in my life
And if I don’t guard my heart, other things will steal the love that He deserves. This is going to be a key idea throughout the rest of this time so be listening for it! And this is going to be my other key verse:
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Wow, I am challenged every time I read that verse. I think these two ideas go hand in hand. If we want to keep our heart, then we need to love God with all our heart. And if we want to love God with all our heart, then we will keep and protect our heart. God didn’t leave anything out here. He wants the whole “us”. Not just bits and pieces or the leftovers. He doesn’t want to share our hearts with sinful lusts and desires; He wants us to love Him with ALL our heart! And God has given us a really good verse to show us how we can tell if we are loving Him with our whole heart. In . Jesus says:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
So then we have another question…How do we know what we treasure? I’m going to ask for a little feedback here…What are some ways that you can tell what your treasure is, what is really important to you? (Where you spend your time, money, efforts).
And what are some common things that people will spend a lot of their time, money, or efforts on? (Many people spend their time and money on their business or career, their car, or their hobbies.)
There are many things I treasure, my family, friends, ministry, home… I put a lot of time and effort into each of those things and I treasure them but I need to be careful that I am not treasuring them more than my relationship with God. We have so many things that can steal our hearts away from God, sometimes without us even realizing it. They can even be things that are good in themselves but if they become more important to us than God, if they steal our love away from God, then they become idols in our lives. This is why we need to guard our heart, to keep this from happening.
Let’s take hobbies for example. This is kind of a silly illustration but hopefully it will help get this idea across. Do any of you enjoy shopping? I enjoy shopping! I don’t know about you but with five boys, homeschooling, church activities, housework, music lessons, and basketball practice, I don’t get a lot of time to myself. But when I get to go shopping, I get to get away from all that for a while, my husband watches the boys and I get to spend some “girl” time with my mother-in-law or one of my sisters. Now you understand that girl time is hard to come by in my house…! Once in a while I go shopping in the evenings and if I get back late enough, Jon has to put the boys to bed and I don’t have to! It’s great!
Now, is there anything wrong with shopping? No. But what would happen if shopping became too important in my life? What if I started spending more and more time away from home and my responsibilities began to slide? Or I get grumpy if I don’t get my shopping time in. I’m not spending the time with my family that I need to, the housework isn’t getting done, and I even am losing out on some of my devotion time… Maybe I decide that I can skip a church service or two. That hobby has become a treasure in my heart. I am spending my time, my money, (well, my husband’s money), and my efforts on something that is stealing my heart from God.
We can also tell what we treasure by how we respond to things. What happens when someone deletes that important file you’ve been working on so hard? Or messes up the house you’ve worked so hard to clean? Or scratches your brand new car? Your response will show where your heart is. Did I blow up and get angry? If so, I am allowing that specific thing a love in my heart that only God should occupy. Now, does that mean that I can’t enjoy anything but God? No, obviously not. But everything we do should be guided by the constant motivation of our love for Him. I’m not going to spend more time shopping than I should because I love the Lord and want to please and honor Him with my time and money. I’m going to respond differently to the person who scratched my car because that car is temporary and will not matter in eternity.
Maybe your hobby is not shopping. Maybe it is cooking, or reading, exercising, crafts, sports, cars, you name it! Look into your life. What are your time, money, and efforts being spent on? Are those things stealing the love that God deserves?
B. Because my heart is prone to sin
B. Because my heart is prone to sin
Thus far in my challenge I have been speaking to those who have already accepted Christ as their Savior but I don’t want to assume that everyone here has asked the Lord to save them from the punishment of their sin and put their trust in Him. There may be one here today who has never had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If so, then maybe none of what we have been talking about so far has made sense. Humans in their natural, sinful state are not able to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind because we have been separated from Him by sin.
1. Our hearts are evil and in need of a Savior
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
The heartis deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Many people believe that they can earn forgiveness of this sin through religion or good works but,
Many people believe that they can earn forgiveness of this sin through religion or good works but,
a. It is not enough to have “religion”
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Many people depend on works they have done to earn their way to heaven such as church membership, baptism, good works, and living a good life but God says salvation is not by works.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the father, but by me.
So, if our hearts are naturally evil and we can’t earn eternal life through our own efforts, then how can we be saved from the punishment of our sin?
b. God has provided a way for our hearts to be made right with God through the salvation He provided through the death of His Son on the cross.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I hope and pray that if there is anyone here today who has not accepted Christ as their Savior, who has not experienced the joy of forgiven sin and a clean heart, that you would talk to one of us today! Mrs. Flinck, myself or any of the ladies here would be thrilled to take you to God’s Word and show you how you can be sure of eternity with God!
But do you know what?
2. Even once we are saved, we still struggle with letting sin into our hearts.
There will always be things every day of our lives that try to pull our hearts away from our Lord. It can be any number of things, unforgiveness, pride, worry, gossip. Each of you knows the areas you struggle with. One of the things I struggle with is when my expectations are not met.
Some of you know my husband, Jon. Jon is an awesome husband and father and I am so blessed to have him as my lifelong companion. I could not hope for a better husband. But can I tell you a secret? He is human and he will not always meet my expectations. I can remember times when I am tired, exhausted, and have a bazillion things to do before I can go to bed. I have baths to give, vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, mopping, cleaning dishes, and on and on the list could go. And as I am struggling with exhaustion, trying to get these things accomplished, I start thinking to myself, Jon knows how tired I am and he also knows how much I have to do so he will probably come upstairs soon to help me out. (Here is my expectation). But do you know what? An hour goes by and he still hasn’t come up. Two hours and no Jon. And during that time, do you know what I am doing? I start listing things in my head of what I think he could be doing if he were here and when I end up doing those things myself, I start feeling sorry for myself, and building up a huge pity party. Then, inevitably, at midnight, just as I am finishing up, Jon comes up and asks me “how’s it going?” Do you have any idea what is going through my head right about then? And I feel justified for my thoughts because my heart is more focused on myself than it is on God. I have let sin come and steal my focus away from God. I am no longer loving God with all my heart. And where were my expectations set? Were my expectations set on God? No! My expectations were set on my own perception of what was right.
Now did you notice where that sin took place? In my heart, my mind. It was not a visible sin but it was robbing my joy and fellowship that I could have been having with God during that time. And it caused me to get angry at Jon even though he hadn’t done anything and he probably had no idea that I was so upset. My heart is prone to sin and I was not keeping or guarding my heart from that sin. Now I don’t know what your struggles are but I’m sure each one of you can think of something right away that takes your love away from God.
C. Because what is in my heart is going to come out
C. Because what is in my heart is going to come out
That brings us back to one of our key verses:
Keep thy heart with all diligence;
For out of it are the issues of life.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
If we allow idols, sin, or other loves to creep into our hearts, those things will guide and control our lives. Out of our hearts are the issues of life. Our hearts are the true us.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
I think one of the things we ladies struggle with is our words…at least I do! Our mouths tend to speak a lot, don’t they? And sometimes, the things that come out of our mouths are not coming from a heart that is being controlled by God but by our old sinful nature. We need to guard our hearts because what is in our hearts is going to come out. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Have any of you ever said something you instantly regretted? And then you say “Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” But that is what was in your heart and that’s what came out.
A lot of times those things we said are things we’ve allowed ourselves to think about and stew over and eventually they came out whether we wanted them to or not. Ladies we need to guard our hearts from what we allow ourselves to think.
And you know, many times, the things we mull over and stew over in our hearts aren’t based on truth. Oh, it may have a grain of truth to it but it gets blown way out of proportion! I know I am guilty of that. And then, because I am not protecting my heart from these thoughts, they begin to control what I am thinking and saying instead of God. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart”! If my heart was full of love for God, there wouldn’t be room for these other nagging thoughts.
Let the words of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Ps 19.14
There is a direct link between what we say and what we think in our heart. And Who is the One who can help us with this balance? The One Who should be in control of our hearts to begin with. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength…”.
We can be assured that we don’t need to control our thoughts on our own strength because God has promised us His strength.
So now we have the “how,”
II. How can I keep my heart?
II. How can I keep my heart?
A. By dealing with known sin in my heart
A. By dealing with known sin in my heart
You know that nasty tendency to sin we were just talking about? If we are to protect our heart and love God with all our heart, that sin needs to be dealt with on a regular basis. Since we still struggle with the passions and lusts of the flesh, we will have this ongoing battle to keep our hearts free from sin.
Can you imagine with me a city with high, strong walls and trained soldiers guarding those walls. This city is well guarded but yet there are a few enemies within the walls…and nobody is doing anything to get rid of the enemy in the city. In fact, they are allowing that enemy to live and do business there! That’s not a very good defense strategy you might say but how different is that from allowing sin to abide in our hearts? We need to root out that enemy, oftentimes daily, even moment by moment! And you know what? God has given us an amazing promise:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
King David, a man after God’s own heart had to root sin out of his life. After his sin with Bathsheba and after being confronted with his sin he pled this prayer:
Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
He wanted God to have first place in his heart and he knew that in order for that to be possible, he had to deal with the sin that had taken his love away from God. How about that certain thing in your life? Maybe it’s a relationship or a hobby that is taking God’s place in your heart; that is taking your time and money and attention. You look forward to spending time doing that specific thing more than you do spending time with your Lord.
So let’s pray with the psalmist,
Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
B. By studying and obeying God’s Word
B. By studying and obeying God’s Word
Not only do we need to find the enemy, the sin, in our heart, but we also need to fill our mind with God’s truth and learn how to love Him more and how He wants us to live. Replace those wrong thought patterns with the truth of God’s Word. When I have expectations that aren’t being met, instead of allowing myself to dwell on self pity, I could be reminding myself of what I read in my last devotions, or praying for someone, or believe it or not, I could be praising God! Count your blessings instead of focusing on the negative. Another idea is memorizing scripture.
With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.
10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
If we are focusing on God’s Word there will not be room for those sinful thoughts to control us. There will not be room for that hobby to become too important. If I am spending quality time in God’s Word and learning to love Him more through the time I spend with Him then shopping, or whatever that thing is that you are spending your time and money on, will lessen in importance under your great desire to love and know God.
Also, time spent getting to know God through His Word is one of the major ways He has of revealing things in our lives that are taking our love away from Him.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
God’s Word is powerful! And we can use it to help us keep our heart and reveal to us where our love is.
C. By guarding my thought life
C. By guarding my thought life
Sin begins in our heart, in our thoughts. We don’t just wake up one day and decide “I am going to make shopping more important in my life than God”. So to protect and keep our heart we need to carefully guard what we allow into our minds.
Let the words of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Ps 19.
The meditations of our heart, what we allow our heart to dwell on, should be acceptable in His sight! Do you think my self-pity over unfulfilled expectations was acceptable in His sight? How about the things in your thought life? Are there things there that are not acceptable in His sight? Pride? Worry? Criticism? If God is our first love, the thoughts of our heart will be acceptable to Him. It is when our hearts are drawn away by something other than God that we begin ungodly thought patterns. So I say with Paul,
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
The heart of a godly woman is a true treasure and so must be protected and kept from the many things that pull our hearts away from God. So confess that sin, spend quality time in God’s Word, and guard your thought life. Keep your heart!
Keep Your Heart
Keep Your Heart