Sermon Tone Analysis

How to Guard Your Heart | Proverbs 4:20-27

Our sermon title this morning is "How to Guard Your Heart" and it is based off Proverbs 4:20-27.

So, if you want to find that chapter in your bibles, now would be a good time to do that.

Growing up, my brother and I always had to lock the door behind us, make sure the bar was in the windows, and before bed we always had to lock up, and double check everything.

We didn't exactly live in a bad neighborhood, but this was just something we did.

It has always fascinated me that people in and around my neighborhood leave stuff in their driveways, they leave their garage doors open all day, and how I hear that some people still don't lock the doors when they're home or lock their car doors overnight when its parked in the driveway.

Why do we do this?

We do this for protection.

Think about the things that we protect.

We protect our valuables by locking them in a safe.

We further protect our homes by installing cameras and security systems.

We protect our cars by locking them or storing them in the garage.

You see, we protect - or guard - things that we feel are worth protecting.

All the things I just mentioned are definitely worth protecting, but let's be honest, they all can be replaced.

There's one thing, however, that is much more valuable to protect and guard, and that's our hearts.

You see, I initially planned on speaking today on several areas of the heart according to the Scriptures, but after studying this topic this week, I believe that the idea of guarding your heart is essential in the life of a Christian, and once again is applicable in most other areas.

So, we will start with a reading of the text, then we'll dive into answering that very question: How to guard the heart.

20 MY SON, BE ATTENTIVE TO MY WORDS;

INCLINE YOUR EAR TO MY SAYINGS.

21 LET THEM NOT ESCAPE FROM YOUR SIGHT;

KEEP THEM WITHIN YOUR HEART.

22 FOR THEY ARE LIFE TO THOSE WHO FIND THEM,

AND HEALING TO ALL THEIR FLESH.

23 KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL VIGILANCE,

FOR FROM IT FLOW THE SPRINGS OF LIFE.

24 PUT AWAY FROM YOU CROOKED SPEECH,

AND PUT DEVIOUS TALK FAR FROM YOU.

25 LET YOUR EYES LOOK DIRECTLY FORWARD,

AND YOUR GAZE BE STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU.

26 PONDER THE PATH OF YOUR FEET;

THEN ALL YOUR WAYS WILL BE SURE.

Verse 23 is the key verse in this passage, from there we will speak heavily on this topic.

And it is from this verse that we can identify our main idea:

A fool proof heart is a guarded heart.

Before we shift further along, however, I believe the best thing to begin with is a definition or understanding of the term "heart" in respects to the original language and culture.

Since I am not an expert in Hebrew, I came across this video that breaks this term down in an easy-to-understand way:

Video (3.39 minutes)

Simply stated, the heart - according to the Jews - is the key instrument for thoughts, emotions, fears, joy and peace, and the overall conscience of a person.

One pastor said the Hebrew thought for the heart was that it was the "real you," the "whole person."

It is the center of all parts of human existence.

Because of this, they understood that the heart must be renewed.

We'll touch on this throughout the sermon this morning.

Hopefully this will allow us to appreciate this passage a little more.

Notice, Solomon in verses 20-22 pleads with his son to listen to his words.

If you are familiar with Solomon's story, you will know that back in 1 Kings 3, Solomon had the green light from the Lord to ask for anything he desired, and he asked for wisdom, so the Lord was very pleased, and gave him wisdom beyond anyone else, and he was also blessed with wealth and fame.

So, when he writes these proverbs, the words he is asking his son to listen to were not his own, but from the wisdom of the Lord.

Notice the progression of how Solomon's son was to listen to these instructions.

Let's quickly go through it:

* First, Solomon says to: be attentive to his words

o Incline them to your ears, he says.

In other words, listen carefully to my words.

o I'm sure I'm not alone in being guilty of hearing someone speak, but not actually listening because I'm thinking of something else, or looking at my phone, or watching my mindless TV shows or watching the Dodgers.

o This whole section really helps us to see how we are to do this.

Beginning with ...

* Let them not escape your sight

o Seems odd that Solomon would connect listening with your ears to letting them not escape your sight.

o He's telling his son to put these words before him, to follow this very intentional path that leads to wisdom and righteousness.

o This is accomplished by ...

* Keeping them within your heart

o We'll see what this looks like shortly with the rest of the passage.

Next,

* They are life to others

o The Word of God is alive, Solomon says.

o And, he says it is also ...

* Healing to their flesh

o This wisdom, God's Word can be healing as it can lead us away from temptation.

It can lead us away from destruction.

You see, in the preceding verses, Solomon is urging his son to pursue God, and to pursue wisdom, and not so surprising, to guard that wisdom from wickedness.

In verse 15, Solomon says to avoid the path of the wicked all together.

Because we are talking about the heart, we see here that these words were more than just good advice, rather they were life altering and life directing, as we saw moments ago.

With this, I think we can draw out our first principle:

* A wise person goes to the Word.

o Consider Psalm 119:11

I HAVE STORED UP YOUR WORD IN MY HEART,

THAT I MIGHT NOT SIN AGAINST YOU.

o Solomon was leaning on the wisdom he gained from the Lord, and doing the best thing a father can do, passing it on to the next generation.

So, what was his word to his son?

* Guard your heart.

* Solomon is saying, "I'm going to share with you the wisdom that I have received, store it up, keep it in front of you, guard it."

You may have noticed that the ESV doesn't say "guard," as it uses the term "keep."

Other translations may use "watch."

But they all refer to the same action: preserving and protecting the heart.

Just like we talked about earlier, we protect the things that are worth protecting.

Now, this may be a good time to put some pieces of the puzzle together.

In our video we watched earlier, the narrator made mention of Jeremiah's assessment of the heart - that it was deceitful, and naturally evil.

So.

What makes this heart, the one that Solomon is warning about keeping safe, acceptable to guard?

Well, it implies a changed heart.

I was reading Romans last week and was reminded of these words from chapter 10:

9 BECAUSE, IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED.

10 FOR WITH THE HEART ONE BELIEVES AND IS JUSTIFIED, AND WITH THE MOUTH ONE CONFESSES AND IS SAVED.

As I look around, I believe that all or most of you here have already done this, but if you have not, don't leave today without speaking with Pastor Pat or I about the most important decision you'll ever make.

Because, you see, when the heart has been changed, it is worth guarding.

So, lets discuss ...

HOW TO GUARD YOUR HEART

First, we must guard our hearts ...

* With vigilance (23)

o This idea of vigilance here is the way that the heart is protected.

It describes a place of confinement, or even a prison or jail.

It's the action that is taken to keep something guarded.