SERMON OUTLINE:
The Choice to Guard the Heart (vs 10-19)
The Command to Guard the Heart (vs 23a)
The cause and effect of a Guarded Heart (vs 23–27
SERMON BODY:
iLL:
• There is a myth that says the Great Wall of China.
• Is the only man-made structure that can be seen on the moon.
• But it’s just a myth, you cannot see from the moon this impressive structure.
• The Great Wall of China is great but not that great!
• Now, it is an impressive 3,460 kilometres (2149 miles) long.
• And was built over a period of 2,000 years.
• It was built so high that nobody could climb over it,
• And so thick that nobody could break it down.
• Yet during the first 100 years of the wall’s existence,
• China was invaded three times.
• Yet not once did the enemy ever break down the wall or climb over it,
• Question: How did they enter the city?
• Answer: Simples…
• Each time the enemy simply bribed the gatekeeper and they just marched on through.
Now walls are meant to protect us:
• i.e., In ancient times when invaders came to conquer a town,
• The inhabitants all retreated to the castle and defended themselves from behind walls.
• A city whose walls are broken down has no defence.
• Any invader force can march in and take possession of the city.
Note:
• The key verse in this chapter is verse 23,
• It is the centrepiece of this section,
• Around this verse the rest of the chapter revolves.
“Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.”
The word translated into English as “guard” means to keep, to protect, or to maintain.
• Note: this verse assumes that the thing guarded will be attacked,
• This is not a maybe but rather a will be warning!
• And the one guarding the heart (owner) should be aware that attacks are coming,
• And as a result of that correct attitude,
• The one guarding the heart (owner) will be on the lookout.
Ill:
• The streets of London may not be paved with gold,
• But did you know there is certainly a huge amount stored underneath them.
• About 6,500 tons of gold is stored in seven vault-systems under the city.
• The largest by far lies in the Bank of England.
• It holds three-quarters of the gold in London, or 5,134 tons.
• You try finding it, or even worse stealing it!
• You ain’t gonna get your hands on it because,
• It is guarded, protected, secured, defended, shielded, caged and kept safe.
• TRANSITION: That is the idea here, “guard your heart,”
• Secure it, caged it and protected it, because of the attacks that it will face.
Every day, as believers in Christ we face a spiritual battle for the heart.
• God wants your heart.
• So does the enemy Satan.
• And often he wins the battle via an inside job!
• i.e., Like the Great Wall of China, so often we open the door and let him in!
• But we can also close the door and keep him out,
• James in his letter (chapter 4 verse 7) reminds us,
• “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
• That brings me nicely to my first point.
(1). The Choice to Guard the Heart (vs 10-19)
Quote: verses 10-11.
“Listen, my son, accept what I say,
and the years of your life will be many.
I instruct you in the way of wisdom.
and lead you along straight paths.”
• Verse 10 contains the fifth instruction in the book of Proverbs from a father to his son,
• And it might sound familiar,
• You should be aware by now that the father will repeat his instruction again and again.
• Question: Why the repetition?
• Answer: Cause, we dads know that nobody ever listens to us!
• The better answer is that repetition is a good teacher!
Ill:
• In the world of advertising,
• Modern research believes that the average consumer,
• Needs to view an ad at least 7-8 times before it really sinks in.
• Repetition is one of the cornerstones of any advertising campaign,
• And especially important in today’s world of one-second pop-ups,
• And social media hungry short-term memories.
• TRANSITION: The book of Proverbs works on a similar basis,
• It takes a theme and repeats it again and again, slightly changing it each time.
• And in these warnings (chapters 1-9) there is a lot of repetition,
Now, in this section, we have a familiar idea of choosing one of two ways:
• First the way of wisdom and righteousness.
• Second the way of folly and sin.
• Over and over again in these chapters, the father will remind his son,
• That it is wise to be good and moral,
• But it is foolish to be impure or to pursue wrong.
Ill:
• A friend of mine asked a group of teenagers, why they are not living for Jesus,
• One teenager was honest to reply, “Because I want to live a little first!”
• My fried said, “As long as you ignore Jesu that is all you will do – live a little!”
• TRANSITION: It is ironic that although everyone wants to get the most out of life,
• We so easily ignore the one prescription that never fails to give it.
• God has told us how to live so as to know his favor, and therefore to know life!
• Verse 13.
“Hold on to instruction, do not let it go.
guard it well, for it is your life.”
Ill:
• Last week on our Houseparty,
• Penny interviewed a few of the leaders, one of the questions she asked was,
• When you were a child what did they want to be?
• Well, we had the usual answers, a nurse, an astronaut, a footballer etc.
• No-one gave the simple philosophical answer, “I want to be happy!”
• TRANSITION: That is what these verses are telling us will happen,
• If we guard the heart and make wise choices.
Note: The father shows the son two pathways, and he must choose one!
• Guard your heart and choose the way of wisdom and righteousness.
• Or an unguarded heart will choose wrongly and lead to the way of foolishness and sin.
Now, notice the contrasts.
The guarded heart or the wise choice - verse 10:
“When you walk, your steps will not be hampered.
when you run, you will not stumble.”
The unguarded heart or the foolish choice - verse 14:
“Setting foot on the path of the wicked.
and walking in the way of evildoers.
• We might paraphrase that verse this way,
• ‘Choosing bad company, and allowing that bad company leads you into bad ways.’
• Verses 16-19 explain at length the reason why,
• We must guard the heart and avoid sin at all costs.
“For they cannot rest until they do evil.
They are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of wickedness.
and drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness.
they do not know what makes them stumble.”
• To summarize these verses (this fifth warning vs 10-19),
• The father cautions his son to prize wisdom for his own good and to avoid sin at all costs.
(2). The Command to Guard the Heart (vs 23a)
• I mentioned earlier on in my talk,
• That this is for me the key verse in this chapter,
• It is the centrepiece of this section around this verse the rest of the chapter revolves.
“Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.”
Ill:
• You may remember the old joke,
• A newspaper advert reads,
• “Man with farm seeks woman with tractor – please send picture of tractor!”
• TRANSITION: we find that sort of joke funny,
• Because it is obvious the man is only interested in the tractor,
• That is his true intention!
• Now the phrase, “Guard your heart,”
• Is normally used by a parent, grandparent, or a friend,
• Used in the context of someone they care about becoming romantically entangled.
• The parent, grandparent, or friend,
• Thinks there is something unclear or suspicious about this new love,
• And is concerned that it will end in tears, in heartbreak!
The point of using those words is to say,
• Be careful about giving too much of your heart,
• And forming too many personal attachments too quickly or too carelessly.
• Or to put it another way, don’t let emotions override your common sense.”
• Here in verse 23 the same exact advice is given,
• “Guard your heart” could be translated as,
• “Guard your heart with all guarded-ness.”
Question: What is meant by this word, “heart”?
Answer:
• It obviously doesn't mean the actual, blood-pumping organ in your chest.
• In the Bible, "Heart" (Hebrew lebab/leb [ b'bel ], Gk. kardia [ kardiva ]),
• Occurs over one thousand times,
• Making it the most common anthropological term in Scripture.
In our modern usage, “heart” refers primarily to our emotions.
• But in the Bible “heart” is a much broader term,
• That includes our thinking, emotions, decision making, and more!
• e.g., Thought and understanding (Mark chapter 2 verses 6-7)
• e.g., Knowledge and memory (Job chapter 22 verse 22)
• e.g., Emotions (Acts chapter 2 verse 26)
• e.g., Decision making (Ezra 7:10; Luke chapter 21 verse 14)
• e.g., Attitude or Disposition (Matthew chapter 11 verse 29)
• e.g., Moral character (1 Kings chapter 9 verse 4)
• To put it simply,
• The heart is dimensionally threefold, thinking, feeling, and choosing.
• The instruction from the father to the son is simple, when it comes to the heart,
• Guard, defend, protect, look out for, shield. maintain and watch over it!
Ill:
• You all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
• When she went to visit her grandmother,
• The Big Bad Wolf knew that she was coming.
• So, he got rid of Grandma and disguised himself to look like Grandma in bed.
• Little Red Riding Hood may have suspected that something was out of order,
• But she kept inching closer and closer saying, “My, what big eyes you have, Grandma!”
• The wolf answered, “All the better to see you with, my dear,”
• Little Red Riding Hood replied, “My, what big ears you have, Grandma!”
• The wolf said, “All the better to hear you with, my dear!”
• Finally, Little Red Riding Hood said, “My, what big teeth you have, Grandma!”
• To which the wolf replied, “All the better to eat you with, my dear!”
• Then the wolf leaped out of bed to grab her,
• And Little Red Riding Hood just about escaped with her life.
• TRANSITION: The moral of that story is that without discernment,
• You put yourself in serious jeopardy.
• Discernment or good judgement,
• Will keep you from flirting dangerously with enemies who want to destroy you.
• That is why the father in verse 23 gives the same exact same advice,
• “Guard your heart” or, “Guard your heart with all guarded-ness.”
• Because without discernment or good judgement,
• The enemies will be out to destroy you.
(3). The cause and effect of a Guarded Heart (vs 23–27
“Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 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.
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.”
Question: Did anyone notice how many body parts were mentioned in those verses?
Answer:
• 5 verses 4 body parts.
• The heart (vs 23), the mouth (vs 24), the eyes (vs 25), the feet (vs 26-27).
• And if you go back a couple of verses to #22, the ear also gets a mention!
• “Turn your ear to my words.”
• The ear: what we hear.
• The mouth: what we say.
• The eyes: what we look at.
• The feet: where we go.
• The heart: the choices we make.
• This father is stressing to his son,
• That the wisdom of God is designed to shape all of life,
• It will shape who we are, what we say, what we look at, and where we go.
Ill:
• There is a children’s Sunday School song we used to sing:
• Called, “O be careful little feet where you go!”
“O be careful little feet where you go!
O be careful little feet where you go!
For the father up above is looking down in love,
O be careful little feet where you go!”
The other verses that follow on are:
• Be careful little hands what you do!
• Be careful with a little tongue what you say!
• Be careful with little eyes what you see!
• Be careful little ears what you hear!
• TRANSITION: That song is not a condemning song, but rather a warning song.
• Reminding us that “For the father up above is looking down in love, “
• “In love” he is warning us because he wants what is best for us!
In Summary:
• For the third time in this sermon (I told you reputation was good!),
• I want to emphasise, point out once again the key verse in the chapter (#23),
• It is the centrepiece of this section; around this verse the rest of the chapter revolves.
• NIV:
• “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
• ESV:
• “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
• KJV:
• “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
• NLT:
• “Above all else, guard your affections. For they influence everything else in your life.”
Ill:
Melvin Maughmer writes,
• “When I was in the U.S. Army, I remember we had to pull guard duty many times.
• The purpose of guard duty was to ensure that other soldiers, equipment,
• Our areas were protected from the enemy.
• I can recall that in basic training, or boot camp,
• We had to memorize three General Orders and the first one was,
"I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved."
• When we were properly relieved,
• There was a password that was spoken between the person on guard duty,
• And the one that was relieving them.
• If the improper password was given, you were not properly relieved.
• The safety of all that was being guarded depended upon you,
• The person on guard duty.
• If something went wrong,
• Or the enemy was able to get access into that which you were responsible for guarding,
• Then you were held accountable, and punishment was inevitable.”
• TRANSITION: If you guard the heart,
• It seems to me you protect the rest.
• i.e., the mouth (vs 24), the eyes (vs 25), the feet (vs 26-27).
• i.e., if you guard the heart then you guard the mouth: what we say.
• i.e., if you guard the heart then you guard the eyes: what we look at.
• i.e., if you guard the heart then you guard the feet: where we go.
• i.e., if you guard the heart then you guard the mind, will & emotions: the choices are made.
Quote:
• Proverbs chapter 27 verse 19 says,
• “As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”
• In other words, your heart is who and what you are.
• The heart is our “center,” the seat of personality.
• Quote the saying,
• “You’re not what you think you are, but what you think, you are.”
• Your “heart” is the real you.
• And because of that truth, this father says to his son,
• “Guard above all else.” - priority #1.
• And guard it with, all vigilance, all watchfulness, all diligence, all attentiveness, all care!
• Guard it above every other responsibility, protect who you are inwardly.
Question: Why?
Answer: Because verse 23 tells us,
• “Everything you do flows from it. “
• or as another translation says, “from it flow the springs of life.”
• Everything about you springs from who you are on the inside.
• Who and what you are inwardly - in your mind, your affections, your will,
• And your desires.
• The heart determines everything about you,
• All the choices you make and all that you do.
• So, guard it well!
And finally:
• This principle from Proverbs chapter 4 has a New Testament twin.
• Living in Colossians chapter 3 where the apostle Paul talks about Christian behavior.
• He instructs us against such things as immorality, malice, slander, and obscene talk.
• He instructs concerning relationships in the home and the workplace.
• He instructs us to such virtues as,
• Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and unity.
• And the apostle teaches that it all comes from the inner man, the heart!
• i.e., We are to be people whose heart is set on “things above,” (vs 2).
• i.e., people in whose heart experience the “peace of God” rules (vs 15)
• i.e., and people in whose heart the Word of Christ “dwells richly.” (Vs 16)
• In short, we are to be people who are transformed from the inside out.
• God changes the heart, and we are to guard it!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=1hyuskmmVRasm8TI70y7UYJGCzPh7jWf
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/7NVY03MM--g
