• Proverbs 4:5-7 (NIV)
[5] Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. [6] Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. [7] Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
• Proverbs 4:6 (MsgB)
Never walk away from Wisdom—she guards your life; love her—she keeps her eye on you.
Wisdom is supreme; it is number one! Above all else in life Solomon instructs his son to pursue wisdom. Without wisdom we are a fool.
What is wisdom? Remember we have said wisdom is much more than just a collection of intellectual head knowledge and facts. Wisdom begins with the proper use or application of knowledge; wisdom is doing or saying the right thing at the right time, in the right place for the right reason. Therefore, the wise are known, not by what they know, but by how they live from day to day.
• 1 Corinthians 1:24 (NLT)
To those called by God to salvation . . . Christ is . . . the wonderful wisdom of God.
Wisdom is the mind of God, revealed and make know in our lives through Jesus. How do we know what the right thing to say or do is? How can we live a life of wisdom? JESUS TELLS US HOW TO LIVE FROM DAY TO DAY!
How does Jesus make wisdom known to us? He does so through His Word and the inner voice of the Holy Spirit to our minds. Jesus will speak to us through the Bible and in our thoughts; we just need to be listening!
ILLUSTRATION: Someone shared with me this week about a very difficult situation they are going through. They were looking for answers and help but finding little reassurance that things were going to turn out the way they wanted them to. As they were driving they stopped at a red light not knowing what to do next. The Lord spoke to them in that moment saying “Go home and trust me.” And that’s what they did. Some might think they should go here or there and see this person or that person. God said the wise thing to do is to just go home and trust Him.
Over the last several weeks we have looked at the book of Proverbs in a series “Wisdom for Right Living.” So far we have looked at eight keys to gaining wisdom for our daily lives.
Key #1: Start with God; Fear the Lord. (Proverbs 1:7)
Key #2: Learn wisdom from those who fear the Lord. (Proverbs 1:8-19)
Key #3: Answer wisdom’s call; wisdom is found in our daily choices. (Proverbs 1:20-21)
Key #4: Remember the Law of the Harvest; consequences follow your actions. (Proverbs 1:22-33)
Key #5: Let authentic love lead you everyday; make love your guide and your motive. (Proverbs 3:3-4)
Key #6: Depend fully upon God alone; in everything rely upon God with absolute confidence and hope. (Proverbs 3:5-8)
Key # 7: Wealth and possessions are not ours to own; everything belongs to God and is ours on loan. (Proverbs 30:8-9)
Key #8: The path to wisdom is not always easy; it sometimes goes through the hard places of discipline. Discipline leads to wisdom through instruction in righteousness. (Proverbs 3:11-18)
• Proverbs 4:23-27 (NIV) STAND TOGETHER
[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.
Key #9: Safeguard your heart. (Proverbs 4:23-27)
Solomon begins this fatherly discourse with his son by reminding him wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom, even if it cost you everything you have. Don’t forsake wisdom because wisdom will protect you and keep you safe. As Proverbs 4 closes Solomon show the way to have wisdom for daily living; “GUARD YOUR HEART, FOR IT IS THE WELLSPRING OF LIFE.”
• Proverbs 4:23 (MsgB)
Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.
What does Solomon mean by “your heart?” When the Bible talks about your heart what does it mean? How many of you know we are not talking about the organ the size of your fist, located in your chest pumping blood throughout your body? It is important to take good physical care of your heart; life will come to an end if it stops beating. However, when the Bible talks about the heart it means something else all together.
Biblically the heart is your center—the heart speaks about who you really are as a person. The heart is “the wellspring of life” (NIV). From out of the heart flows “the issues of life” (KJV), the heart “affects everything you do” (NLT).
The heart is the totality of your MIND (intellect), your EMOTIONS (feelings), and your WILL (choices).
Key #9: Safeguard your heart. Protect your mind; preserve your emotions; prop up your will. (Proverbs 4:23-27)
Has your heart been kept safe? Solomon shows us a barometer or an indicator of the condition of our heart. If you want to know how secure you are keeping your mind, emotions and will then listen to what you say. (Maybe you might need to have someone you trust evaluate the things you are saying for you too.)
• Proverbs 4:24 (NIV)
Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
What’s Solomon saying? Listen to yourself, and when you hear yourself talking the wrong way take action to change what you’re saying—in other words change your heart.
Jesus said, “Whatever is in your heart determines what you say” (Luke 6:45 NLT). A bucket can only be filled with the water in a well; likewise, the mouth will say what is within the heart.
Listen carefully to what people say. The more you hear, the more you will learn who they are. No one can hide their heart; it comes out with every word they say.
Solomon said, “above all else guard your heart.” Our ninth key to right living said, SAFEGUARD YOUR HEART. How do you do that? Solomon gave some good instruction in verses 25-27 (it might be a good idea to follow the directions passed down from the wisest man to have ever lived). Let’s look more closely at how we can safeguard our hearts:
1. PROTECT YOUR MIND,
2. PRESERVE YOUR EMOTIONS, and
3. PROP UP YOUR WILL.
1. PROTECT YOUR MIND.
• Proverbs 4:25 (NIV)
Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
“Garbage in—garbage out.” As a man thinks in his heart so is he. (Proverbs 23:7 KJV)
• Psalm 101:3 (NIV)
I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.
What you choose to listen to, what you watch—these things make their way into your heart. What you choose to put into your heart will find expression in what you say and do.
• Luke 6:45 (NIV)
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
• Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
2. PRESERVE YOUR EMOTIONS.
• Proverbs 4:26 (NIV)
Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
ANGER
Proverbs 29:11 (NIV)
A fool gives full vent to his anger,
but a wise man keeps himself under control.
James 1:20 (NIV)
for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Ephes. 4:26 (NIV)
"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
FEAR
1 John 4:18 (MsgB)
There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.
WORRY
Proverbs 12:25 (NIV)
An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
Philip. 4:6-7 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philip. 4:6-7 (MsgB)
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. [7] Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
3. PROP UP YOUR WILL.
• Proverbs 4:27 (NIV)
Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Psalm 51:10 (NIV)
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 119:5 (NIV)
Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!
Psalm 119:5 (MsgB)
Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set;
1 Thes. 4:3-8 (NIV)
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; [4] that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, [5] not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; [6] and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. [7] For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. [8] Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
2 Cor. 10:4-5 (NIV)
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [5] We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
