Guard your heart week 1

1.    When we talk about the heart…I’m not referring to the one that pitter patters when you first saw him or her.

a.    It is not the one that beats super fast when adrenaline kicks in.

i.    The heart we are dealing with tonight is the REAL YOU!

b.    There are several verses in the bible to back up the fact that YOUR HEART is the most IMPORTANT part of you! 

ii.  The INSIDE you! The secret you!

There are scriptures like:

Luke 6:45 “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

Matthew 6:21 “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

Proverbs 27:19 “As a face is reflected in water,

so the heart reflects the real person.”

It’s this simple take a look at what you have been SAYING, THINKING and DOING–you will SEE the REAL YOU–can’t fake that!

Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

When we talk about “ABOVE all else”

•        This is the HIGHEST form of WARNING and WISDOM coupled together.

•        If you LOSE your heart…you lose YOU!

•        Your HEART is the SOURCE of your DESIRES and DECISIONS!

•        It’s the core of who and what you are.

•  Some people can’t stand themselves and so they get frustrated, depressed, down cast because of what others tell them to be or feel.

•  When you have a right heart before God you won’t have to worry about those issues you will be confident, collected, passionate about Him and that will make all the difference in you.

•  We must not allow ANYTHING to “COME IN” or “FLOW OUT” that is not PLEASING to GOD!

•  There are ENTRY ways into your HEART and YOU are the only one responsible to keep these areas GUARDED!

•        Your EYES! (What you WATCH!)

•        Your EARS! (What you LISTEN to!)

•        Your Emotions! Your Touch (What you allow to control you!) (What you feel…your physical senses are directly tied to your heart!)

•  ONE wrong IMAGE or ONE wrong IDEA…your heart takes off running.

Jeremiah 17:9, 10 "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve."

Matthew 6:33 “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”

•        The whole issue to GUARDING your heart is what YOU focus on!

•        If your true priority is PLEASING God in everything that you do, you are ACTIVELY in His WORD, His house and really LIVING THIS THING out…YOUR HEART will be and stay in the RIGHT SPOT!

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.”

See the RESULT of KEEPING GOD FIRST is a HEART that is plugged into him!

•        You will HEAR is VOICE!

•        He will SHOW you the DIRECTION (this is a given if you are in His word…)

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

•        He will Guide your EVERY STEP!

•        Doors will be OPENED and Doors will be SHUT! He deals with the past, present, future.

The OPPOSITE heart or failure to guard your heart results in:

•        LOSS of GODS HAND and BLESSING on your life!

•        LOSS of DIRECTION and GUIDANCE!

•        Failure to GUARD your heart will eventually result in the DESTROYING of your relationship with God!

Proverbs 7:1-2,22-27 "Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. [2] Obey my commands and live! Guard my instructions as you guard your own eyes. [22] He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, [23] awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life. [24] So listen to me, my sons, and pay attention to my words. [25] Don't let your hearts stray away toward her. Don't wander down her wayward path. [26] For she has been the ruin of many; many men have been her victims. [27] Her house is the road to the grave. Her bedroom is the den of death."

•   WE GUARD our HEART so that the HAND of GOD will NEVER leave our LIFE!

•   Sin and compromise is the den of death!

1 Peter 5:8 "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."

•  There are some that he can not devour.

•  Some who are so dead set against him, his antics and his devices and they, every one have guarded their heart.