The Heart Matters
#3- Guard Your Heart!
With the ‘Matters of the heart’ I see sort of an interesting dilemma. On the one hand, we need to be open and receptive to the Spirit of God. There’s a required willingness on our part to ‘deny ourselves’, put other’s needs before our own, to be ‘givers’ rather than ‘takers’. To serve rather than be served, to ‘take no thought for tomorrow’, ‘lean not on our own understanding’, etc… These things require an openness and vulnerability. The other side of this can almost be a contradiction when we are told to ‘count the cost’, be ‘wise as serpents’, ‘Be good stewards’, etc…
How do we balance the two? Is there a happy medium between the two?
Yes! The solution is to Guard your Heart! In finding balance, and to protect your heart in the Christian life, the first thing and most important thing is to trust God! Trust is the opposite of worry! The core text today comes from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians:
Phil 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
The next thing (closely related to the first) is to pay attention to the Word of God!
Proverbs 4:20-23 NLT
20 My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words.
21 Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
22 for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.
23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Pay attention-
Listen Carefully- Heb 5:11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.
Don’t lose sight- James 1:23-24
23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.
Let them penetrate-
What are the benefits? - (Prov 4 vs 22-23)
Guarding your heart brings life and healing to your whole body-
Guarding the heart determines the course of your life!
We do our part, and God promises to do His-
Our part:
Luke 21:34 : “But watch (guard) yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation (overindulgence) and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
God’s part:
Psalm 121
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
1 I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.
Let’s be determined to be ‘On Guard! Let our lives be examples of life lived in the protection of God’s Word, and to reflect the image of Jesus to the world!
