Guard your Heart
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Above all that you guard…..guard your heart; for out of it comes all the ups and downs….all the joys and griefs,….all the issues of life.
(Our natural hearts are spoken of in Mark 7:20-23, and in:
Ephesians 2:3 “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
But God has plans for our hearts…..they are to be filled with Him…..His joy and peace; His love and kindness….so we are warned:
1 John 5:21 “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
Jude 21 “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”)
The “issues of life” are those things that count for eternity….for real life has it’s foundation in fellowship with God.
Our action concerning the Will of God, comes from our will….but our hearts either move our wills to run after God…..or after the world.
So God looks to see: Who or what do we love?
Proverbs 4:20-22 “My son, attend to My Words; incline thine ear unto My sayings.
Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart,
For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”
Proverbs 4:11-13 “I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.”
Most believe that love is a whimsical emotion that comes unbidden.
But “agape”, is that love of God that comes from our yielding to the Holy Spirit within….for it “rejoices in the truth, bears all things, never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:6-8)
1 John 2:5 “But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him.”
Guarding our hearts for God, is our duty to Him. He claims our whole being…..for He redeemed all of us.
He then asks us to guard it for Him….and it is a “guard” or wall of separation from the world.
(In the Song of Solomon the believer is seen as a “enclosed” garden (Song of Solomon 4:12)…..one which is for the pleasure of the Lord.
“Let my Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits.” (Song of Solomon 4:16).
But if we guard it not….then the things of this world can enter into it….and stay there, influencing our willed actions:
lust (I want it and I want it now),
and pride (the arrogance and lifting up of self interests, over God)
1 John 2:15-16 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
So, we are to guard our hearts……but how?
First we are to have that wall of separation from the world…..a wall made of:
Prayer, praise, and peace….
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (garrison) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
At the gate of our hearts, we will ask the Holy Spirit to place faith and grace as guards…..
Faith sees God….and helps establish us…
Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him:
Rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Grace is our support and help….
2 Timothy 2:1, 3 “Now therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Now therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
Let us guard our hearts….for Him; keeping ourselves in His love……and learning to: (1 Corinthians 13)
“Suffer long, and be kind”
“Envy not”
“be not puffed up”
“Thinks no evil”
“Rejoices in the truth”
“Bears all things”
“Believes all things”
“Hopes all things”
“Endures all things”
“Never fails”
These are all the things which can come from our hearts…..when it is separated to Jesus Christ., and guarded.
How much He has for us…..will we begin to learn?
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 