Proverbs 4:20-27
20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
· John Flavel very wisely observed that, "The greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God; and the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God." Christianity affects the heart. It is not a system of moral conduct. It is the life of Christ in a person’s soul. Salvation is the work of God in a person’s heart. The conviction of sin, repentance, faith, and, worship are all works of the heart. The kingdom of God is not in meat and drink, things of the body; but in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. These are things of the heart.
* The state of a person’s natural life depends upon the soundness and vigour of his heart. And the state of a person’s spiritual life depends on the good or evil condition of his heart. Inasmuch as the heart of a person is the most important part of his being, "for out of it are the issues of life", it is only reasonable that it should be guarded "with all diligence". Therefore, I want to say to you today— Keep Your Heart.
· J. Stowell, Fan The Flame: “Heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as "the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity," "the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will," and "the centre of a person. The place to which God turns."
* There is no responsibility placed upon the shoulders of a believer of greater importance than the keeping and proper government of his heart in all conditions, by faith in Christ the Lord.
1 Reconstruction of the Heart
* Before anyone can keep his heart in a manner that will please God – There Must Be A Complete Reconstruction of the Heart
20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.
* The heart must be made new – by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit:
Ezekiel 36 24 ”‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
* The human heart is ruined by the plague of sin. But that has not always been the case. God created Adam with a pure and holy heart. In the original creation, our father Adam had a heart that loved God. He enjoyed the sweet fellowship and communion of God. His life was governed by the will of God. It was his pleasure to serve God. Adam was made a holy and happy creature, with no bias to evil. But Adam fell by the temptation of Satan. He sinned against God; and, immediately, his heart was corrupted. And now every child of Adam inherits that corrupt heart; so that all people’s hearts are by nature plagued with sin.
· How does a worm get inside an apple? Perhaps you think the worm burrows in from the outside. No, scientists have discovered that the worm comes from inside. But how does he get in there? Simple! An insect lays an egg in the apple blossom. Sometime later, the worm hatches in the heart of the apple, then eats his way out. Sin, like the worn, begins in the heart and works out through a person’s thoughts, words, and actions.
* "God saw that . . . every imagination of the thoughts of people’s heart was only evil continually." The prophet states this very plainly. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Our Lord himself declared that every kind of evil in the earth proceeds "out of the heart" (Matt. 15:19). Because the human heart is evil, a person’s entire being is corrupt, and subject to the wrath and curse of God.
· Maxwell Droke: “An Indian fable says that a mouse was in constant distress because of its fear of the cat. A magician took pity on it and turned it into a cat. Immediately it became afraid of the dog. So the magician turned it into a dog. Immediately it began to fear the tiger. So the magician turned it into a tiger. Immediately it began to fear the hunter. Then the magician said, “Be a mouse again, you have only the heart of a mouse and I cannot help you.”
* The world says that reconstruction of the heart is too difficult and too costly, so the world tries to tackle the problem of the heart in a number of ways:
1.1 The solution of psychoanalysis
* The psychologist and the psychiatrist forget the ruin of the human heart, and try to change the heart by human powers that will do no good. As valuable as psychology and psychiatry are, without a change in the heart, without a complete reconstruction of the human heart, it is all pointless.
1.2 The solution of social work
* Some try to help people by social reformation. They suppose that the problem with people is outside of a person. Therefore they try to change the environment to help them. As badly as we need Christian social workers, if we simply change peoples’ environments without allowing the Holy Spirit to change their hearts, then we are not offering a solution at all, we are merely transferring the problem, rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship.
1.3 The solution of intellectualism
* Many today think that human problems all arise from ignorance. And they try to help by enlightening peoples’ understanding. As important as it is to exercise our minds, if our hearts are not changed, then what we think is also deficient.
* The only hope of a person whose heart is plagued with sin is the complete reconstruction of his heart by the sovereign power of God. Only a new creation will do the dead sinner good. People whose hearts are corrupt are totally unable to change their own hearts. The Holy Spirit must come in sovereign, life-giving power, and create the heart anew in Christ Jesus. The new birth is nothing less than a new creation. It is a spiritual resurrection! The Holy Spirit implants within us the new principle of faith which works by love. He gives us a new will, which hungers and thirsts after the righteousness of Christ. Where there was blasphemy, there is praise. Where there was pride, there is humility. Where there was despair, there is hope. Where there was death, there is life!
* But, how does the Holy Spirit accomplish this mighty work? The only instrument he uses is the gospel of Christ. He sovereignly applies the preaching of the gospel to the hearts of men and women who are in need of a new heart. He opens their hearts. He enlightens their hearts. And he wins their hearts to Christ.
· Bob Jones, Sr: Years ago I was standing by the deathbed of an old minister down in Alabama. The old man had been a preacher for fifty years. I saw his son, who also was a minister; kneel by his father’s bed.
“Father, you have preached for fifty years, and have done more good than any man I know.” The old man, with feeble but distinct voice, said: “Don’t tell me about that, son. Tell me about the blood of Jesus. Nothing but the blood of Jesus will do for a dying man.” If a man who had preached for fifty years and who had lived a pure, straight life, in his dying hour had to rely upon the blood of Jesus Christ, don’t you ever think there is any hope for you aside from this atoning blood?
What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
* Have you been given a new heart? Have you been created anew in Christ Jesus? Your religious badge is meaningless; you need a new heart. Your religious exercises are meaningless; you need a new heart. If you have not yet gotten a new heart, go to Christ, the Great physician. He alone can heal the plague of sin in your heart by creating it anew.
2 The Regulation of the Heart
* The heart, therefore needs complete reconstruction, it needs to be broken and put back together.
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
* But the text, which we read together this morning, goes further than this and speaks of The Careful Regulation of the Heart. This is an exhortation to believers. God has graciously given us a new heart. Now it is our responsibility to keep this heart "with all diligence". This work, "guard " means to guard diligently against the enemy, or to regulate with careful discipline, or to maintain with proper supplies. Now I want to raise just two questions about this matter of keeping your heart. I trust that the answer to those questions will be helpful to you.
2.1 Why?
* The first question is this - Why must we diligently guard our hearts? What is the importance of this exhortation, "Keep thy heart with all diligence?" The answer is not hard to find. Solomon gives it to us plainly. We must diligently guard our hearts, because out of the heart are the issues of life. Our Lord said, "A good person out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil person out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Christianity is a heart matter. If our hearts are not right, our lives cannot be. If our hearts are right, our lives will be. If our lives are full of bitterness, hatred, malice, slander, drunkenness, and adultery, it is because our hearts, the fountain of life, are evil. If our lives are such as bring forth fruit unto God, of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, it is because God has graciously implanted within us a new heart.
* And this is the most important work. Our Father constantly calls to us, "My son, give me thine heart." If our hearts are not right before God, all of our religious exercises are mere formalities; and abominations before God. Unless our hearts are right before God, all that we do is rejected by him, no matter how much it is applauded by people (Is. 66:2-4; I Cor. 13:1). But heart worship, unseen by people, is recognized and rewarded by God.
2.2 How?
* The next question is this - How can we keep our hearts with all diligence? The motive for keeping our hearts must be the glory of God. If we are God’s children we seek to magnify him in our hearts. We love him, and endeavour to keep our hearts for him, just as a loving wife keeps herself for her husband. We delight in the assurance of God’s love; and the only way our hearts can be assured is if they are kept for Christ. If we keep our hearts, it will bring the beauty of holiness into our lives, and sweeten our spirits with the grace of heaven. Now let me give you some suggestions for keeping your heart.
2.2.1 Keep Your Heart Full.
* Keep it full of God, full of heaven, full of Christ, full of the cross, and full of eternity. A full-hearted person is a powerful person. A full head is good, but a full heart is better. People who are full of God, have power with God. May God give us full-hearted Christians and not just full-headed Christians. With that he would give his churches power. Let your heart be filled with the love of Christ, and you will be "filled with all the fullness of God."
2.2.2 Keep Your Heart Pure.
* Friends, we must keep our hearts pure, for if the heart is not pure, the life cannot be. "Whatsoever things are pure ... think on these things." Carnality, covetousness, division, strife, pride, slothfulness, and unbelief, may all be traced back to a corrupt heart.
2.2.3 Keep Your Heart Loyal.
* Give your heart to Christ alone. Do not divide your affections with anyone, or anything else. Live for Christ’s glory. Serve no master, but Christ. Let this be your prayer:
"Here’s my heart, 0 take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above."
2.2.4 Keep Your Heart Soft.
· Traditional: If you live in a graveyard too long you stop crying when someone dies.
* "Let your gentleness be known unto all people, the Lord is at hand." Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, and forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you." Keep your heart tender toward people, sympathizing with them, rejoicing with them, forgiving them. And "Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us." And keep your heart tender toward God.
2.2.5 Keep Your Heart Generous.
* "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that tough he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be made rich." Was there ever a heart so generous as the heart of our Redeemer? Let us follow his example. Be generous toward God and human beings. "For God loveth a cheerful giver." A cheerful giver is one who rejoices in his heart to give.
3 The Responsibility for the Heart
* The heart needs to be reconstructed and it needs to be regulated.
24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
* To conclude, I want to say a word or two about The Complete Responsibility for the Heart. We are promised that God does keep our hearts, as we trust him by faith. "The peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7), but we also have a responsibility to keep our hearts.
3.1 Tongue
* Watch what you say: let only wholesome talk come out of your mouth. Confess those things that are positive: many people are sick because they have convinced themselves that they are sick
· Aesop tells us that there were four bulls which were great friends. They went everywhere together, fed together, and laid down to rest together, always keeping so close to each other that if any danger was near they could all face it at once.
Now there was a lion which had determined to have them but he could never get at them singly. He was a match for any one alone, but not for all four at once. However, he used to watch for his opportunity and, and when one lagged the least bit behind the others as they grazed, he would slink up and whisper that the other bulls had been saying unkind things about him. This he did so often that at last the four friends became uneasy. Each thought the other three were plotting against him. Finally, as there was no trust among them, they went off by themselves, their friendship broken. This was what the lion wanted. One by one he killed them, and made four good meals.
3.2 Eye
* Watch what you watch: Be careful what Internet sites you log on to. Be careful what books you read and what TV programs you watch. Ask yourself, “Is this wholesome, beneficial and productive in my walk with the Lord?”
· The expressive power of the human eye is so great that it determines, in a manner, the expression of the whole countenance. It is almost impossible to disguise it. It is said that gamblers rely more upon the study of the eye, to discover the state of their opponents’ game, than upon any other means. Even animals are susceptible of its power. The dog watches the eye of his master, and discovers from it, before a word is spoken, whether he is to expect a caress or apprehend chastisement. It is said that the lion cannot attack a man so long as the man looks him steadily in the eyes.
· National Geographic News: Chinese jade dealers watch a buyer’s eyes to judge whether he will pay a high price for a specimen. Confirming this cunning practice, psychologists have established that the pupils of a person’s eyes widen when he is looking at something that pleases him.
3.3 Step
* Watch where you walk: Whom do you spend your time with? What do you spend your money on? What are your hobbies?
* Child of God, "Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Keep your heart by Prayer. Keep it by resisting temptation. Keep it by reading and hearing the Word of God. Keep it by exercising your faith. Keep it in communion with Christ. "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
