Guard your heart

Proverb writer says Keep thy heart with all diligence;

For out of it are the issues of life. This translated 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it

for everything you do flows from it

The writer warns us to guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.

The psalmist said 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. We must guard our heart for our own sakes for we know Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart

The heart, v. 23 says, is “the wellspring of life.” “Heart,” here as always, refers not to the physical organ but to the mind and even the whole personality of the individual. So our heart guides who we actually are! We heard . 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The heart is your sacred space or what has been called your secret place. King Solomon called it your "heart space". It is that place where the real you lives. It is where the core of your being is located.

Nothing reveals more about our hearts than our words and actions. Our heart contains the motivations for what we do and why we do it. We are encouraged through scripture to pay attention to our hearts with due diligence. As we continue to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ—our hearts will become more convicted about sin and more tender towards people especially the lost.

The heart is so vital. It is “the wellspring of life” in that the capacity to live with joy and vigor ultimately comes from within and not from circumstances. The corrupt heart draws one down to the grave.

That’s really what i want to talk about today. When we are faced with challenges, setbacks, adversities, difficulties the one thing that is important is that we guard our hearts. we must allow our challenges to make us better not bitter.

WE must be like David and be a man after Gods own heart. Part of why David is called a man after God’s own heart is that he had absolute faith in God.

Another reason David was a man after God’s own heart is that he absolutely loved God’s Law. David said “For I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.”

David was a man after God’s own heart in that he was truly thankful. Many of the psalms David wrote were psalms of thanksgiving.David’s life was marked by seasons of great peace and prosperity as well as times of fear and despair. But through all of the seasons in his life, he never forgot to thank the Lord for everything that he had. It is truly one of David’s finest characteristics. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (, ESV). As followers of Jesus Christ, we would do well to follow David’s lead of offering praise through thanksgiving to our Lord.

David was truly repentant. David’s sin with Bathsheba is recorded in . The mighty fall hard, and David’s fall included adultery, lying, and murder. He had sinned against God, and he admits it in : “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ David’s prayer of repentance to God: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" ().

Heart Check 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, (). .

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Spiritual Check

A Believer's spiritual health is accomplished through good spiritual hygiene. The scripture abounds with admonitions that encourage the practice of spiritual hygiene. Here's the list - just four: (1) Read your Bible, (2) Pray, (3) Fellowship with other Believers and (4) Share your faith with others.

Reaction Check

Self-control has been defined as the ability to control one’s emotions and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. Every action has a reaction!

How we reaction is a good indicator of who we are. The proverb writer follows verse 23 with some actions to avoid Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.

keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;

fix your gaze directly before you.

26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet

and be steadfast in all your ways.

27 Do not turn to the right or the left;

keep your foot from evil.

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Garrett, D. A. (1993). Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of songs (Vol. 14, p. 88). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart

Garrett, D. A. (1993). Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of songs (Vol. 14, p. 88). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

The New International Version. (2011). (). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.