"Watch Over Your Heart \.

Jith Al Diligence"
(Proverbs 4:20-27)

Introduction: Everything that happens can be traced back to sometJnng that

made it happen. There are no exceptions to this law \vhich the Lord has built
into His creation. For every child which is born, there must be the parents
who conceived it. For every river which flows, there must be the contribuLing
rainfall and streams. For every tear that is shed, there must be that pain or
disappointment that caused it Everything that happens has its source, the
fountainhead from which it came, The Bible says that this is also true about
everything which comes from your life. All of your thoughts, all of your
words, all of your deeds have a source. a place from which they come. The
Scripture calls that source, your heart. It is that which motivates you; it
is that "'hieh compels you to do all that you do. When your heart is full of
love, then yonr. life is filled with the fnlits of love. You think loving
thoughts. You speak loving words. And you show that love to other people.
On the other hand, when your heart is full of hatred and anger, then your life
is filled with those bitter. fruits. Since your heart is the source of the
fruits which come ont of your life, it should be very important to you what
kind of condition it is in. It is esped_ally important because the Lord is
constantly looking at your heart to see what it is that motivates your
actions. What we want to consider this morning J.s the importance of watching
over your heart. And what I want you to see is that,

S_ince your heart determines what you are Like and what you will do,
it is very important that you carefully protect it.

I. First, Solomon TelLs Us That the Heart Is the Source of All of Our Life.
"FRON IT FLOW THE SPRINGS OF LIFE."
A. Our Phys:ical Heart Is the Source of Our Pl1YE>-1ca1 Life and Actions.
1. There are many vi tal organs in our body, organs which we canDot
Live wi thotlt.
2. One of the most important of those is the heart.
a. It is that organ which pumps blood to all the other organs.
b. It :is that which brings 1ife-gjving oxygen to every cell of
the body and carries away its wastes.
c. It is that which, if it were to stop beating, ",]ould
immediately end our life.
d. This is why it .is called the heart:. It is the center of' our
physical 1iEe.

B. In the Same Way, the Heart of Our Soul Is the Source from Which
Spring Al1 of Our Motives, Thoughts and Actions.
1. Keil, in bis commentary on the Proverbs, {.vrites, "What is said of
the beart in tbe 10wer sense of corporea1 TTi ta.li ty, is true in the
higher sense of tbe intelJectua.l soul~life • • • • Tbe heart is the
instrument of the thinking, willing, perceiving life of t.he
spirit; .it .is the seal: of the knowledge of our relation to Gad,
and also or the law of God impressed 011 our moral nature; .it .is
the workshop of ollr individual spiri tua1 and etbical [arm o.f life
brought about by self-activ_ity, -- the life .in its higher and .in
its lower sense goes out from it, and receives from it the impulse
of the direction which it takes; and how earnestly, therefore,
JnllSt we feel ourselves admonished, how sacredly bOllnd to preserve
the heart in purity (Ps. lxxiLi.l), so that from this spring of
life may go t"orth not mere seeming life and a caricature of life,
but a trlle Jit"e well-p.leasing to God!" (Proverbs 115-J6).
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2. The heart is that from \il7hich flow' the springs or decisions of

our Jives.
a. Our heart lllay be said to be the inclination at· our minds.
(i) Our minds halTe the abiLity to think about things, to
understand, to look at them, and to make decisions.
(ii) We also have within ourse.Zves inclinations for or
against things. Tl1ere are things their we Uke find
there are things that we do not like.
(iii) The mind, together witl1 :its .inc1inations, is called the
heart.
(iv) For .instance, we lIdgbt say that someone c.ither has a
heart for the work, or he does not b f,/hat this means is
that he either approves of the idea of working or he
does not.
tv) You ei ther have a heart for the Lord or you do not.
This means that you either have a desire to serve Him
or you don't.
(vi) These likes and dislikes, these inclinaLions and
disinc.linations are W/Ult form your dec.isions to do or
not to do anything.
(v.ii) This is your heart; this .is the source of your Life.

b. What you are within, what you are in your heart, is what YOIl
are really .like.
(1) If your heart is full of righteousness, then YOllr life
wil.l be filled with the fruits of righteousness.
(1i) If your heart is full of evi.l, then your Life will be
filled with the fruits of evil.
(iii) But sometimes the things £¥'e see our neighbors do can be
mis1 eading. They can 1ead us to one conclusion about
the heart, when in fact i t: .~is jus t the opposite.
(iv) Take for instance the person who gives all of his
possessions to feed the poor. The Rible says tl1at if
.it ,"is donE' without love, then itls worthless. It can
be done with the wrong motive.
(v) Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, "YOU ARE LIKE
WHITEW.4SHF:D TOMBS WHICH ON THE OUTSIDE APPEAR BEAUTIFUL
TO HEN, BUT INSIDE THEY ARE FULL OF DEAD MEN'S BONES
AND ALL UNCLEANNESS. EVEN SO YOU TOO OUTWARDLY APPEAR
RIGHTEOUS TO MEN, BUT INWARDLY YOU ARE FULL OF
HYPOCRISY AND LAWLESSNESS" (Matt 23:27-28).
(vi) On the other hand, we see someOlle who c.laims to be a
Christian become angry and lash out at someone. Don't
forget that Christians are not perfect, and they have a
breaking point as vle}1 as anyone. This cannot be the
pattern of their lives If it is, then they i'~re not:
ChrIstians at all. But iF we were only to see this one
instance we might assume that they were unconverted.
(vii) The point is, tbat although our outward actions may be
dece:iving, if we could see the heart, we would not be
deceived, even as God sees the heart, and He is not
deceived.

II. But: Since God Sees Our Heart and Knows What It Is Like, What Should We
Do Hake Ollr Hearts More Pleas:ing to H.im? Secondly, Solomon Tells Us
that We Ought to Watch Over I t DLligently. And We Should Do So in TIm
Ways:
A. First, We Should Watch Over I t By Be.ing Carefu.l What Goes Into It.
1. You have heard the expression, "Garbagein, garbage out.;r
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a, Wha.tever you put into your heart will be what comes out of
it. Whatever your life :is saturated with will be that 'Vl!hich
GOffleS.fJlJt. of-it. ,:4u..c4 &"'<'. 2-{~.
b. We are all a mixture of our genes, our upbringing, and B.l1
of our experiences. 8'MJ'L-YJf.~;f~ ;it":v-~~...k~ e/!..,..,o""',:, 2i:;...."-";:~~ ?F- 61,-,-"
I'" .. : '
,};j.. "tI­ • .ot~~t.k<.... !2:."~'iVX.'.:k'~ cP-'-' ~"':"'.>A;, j);'\ifA, ~,.,(. <..
l:tn.;t Hr.....-{ .",<:> ~ '!.,,(.,.\:.
2{!> -!f8weveF, The most important thing that is within our hearts is
our moral:inclinat:ion.
a. This is something which is determined for us when we come
into this wodd.
b. We an come into the !.;Iorldinclined toward evil. Tn Ada.m,
alJ die (Rom. 5: 12). In OUT flesh we are all hostile toward
God and are not a.b.le to subject ourselves to His Lal" (8:7),
As a result, "THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN
ONE" (3:12).
c. And God is the only One who can change your inclination.
(1) No matter what you do, you cannot give yourself a love
for God and for His Law.
(ii) You might pretend to love Him and His (-lord, but you
",.ill never have a sense of' the beauty of holiness apart
from His grace.
(iii) He 111USt: incLine you tm<lard Himself, or you tvi.l1 never
come.

3. T11is does not mean, however, that what you do is the:refore

unimportant.
a. If you are unconverted, there are means by which tl1eLord
brings you to Himself',
(1) God does not normally convert people out of the bine.
(1i) There are those instruments and trutl1s that He uses to
bring men and women to Himself.

b. And .if you are a Chri.sLian here this morning, there are
those important means of grace that thell Lord uses to bui.ld
you up _in the faith. The same means that He uses to bring
the Jost to JUmself.
~;t ,,~:~ ~~ .:ct.J: .;.A- (;~ ~ ~, f';::'~~
4. And so ",,7hat are those means? Solomon gives some of them i"'o us O\r~#.A:U(......~ ~
here.
a. You must first give attention to His Word and not refuse to
listen. "MY SON, GIVE ATTENTION TO MY WORDS; INCUNE YOUR
EAR TO MY SA:YINGS. /I
(i) Solomon, you will recall, is explaining to his son the
appLication of the Law of God to el,reryday life.
(i1) The law is necessary to instruct the r:ighLeous in
J'ighteolls living.
(iii) And it is aJso necessary to bt'ing conv_iction to the
unrighteous tl1a t they 'i'~¥ turn from their sins to
Christ.
(iv) And so you must fi.rst pay close and careful attention
to what God's Word says.

b. Secondly. you must keep them fixed In your eyes arld in your
heart. flDO NOT LET THEM DEPART FROI1 YOUR SIGHT; KEEl' THEM
IN THE MIDST OF YOUR HEART."
(1) To have them before you constantly by reading them _is
the best way to get tbem into your mind.
(ii) I t i8n' t unUl the meaning of the Word is opened to you
through careful thought thatH wiLl henre any effect.
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( i i i ) And so as a believer, you must meditate on the Ward and

let i t sink deep into your heart. Let your heart be
like a safe which stares the t:cuths of
Scripture safely so that 110 one and nothing can take
thelll from you,
(iv) .And i f you are an unbeliever, you must keep God's truth
before your eyes as well so that its convicting pm<ler
may be felt more keenly in your heayi. to convince you
of sin and to keep you seeking after the Lard that YOII
might be freed from it.

e. You must thirdly, of course, not put anything .in your hearts
which will nulLify all of your effol:"ts.
(i) You klill bene.f.it from an of the Ward t118t you can get
into your mind and heart.
(ii) But you win destroy Ju'.: effects i f your pour the wor.ld
in after it. You vlill dilute its powerfu.l in.f.luence.
(ii.i)And 80 first you must be careful to guard your heart by
what you put .into .it c

B. Second, You Should Watch Over Your Heart By Be.ing Care.ful What Goes
Out Of It.
J. For those of you who are beLievers, you must ca..refully guard the
things that came aut of your heart.
a. You stilJ have the pollution o.f sin ."in your SOLd, and as
lang as you do you w_ill have to wrest.le with sinful desiyps
and act.ions.
b. To you Soloman says, "PUT AWAY FROM YOU A DECEITFUL MOUTH,
AND PUT DEVIOUS LIPS FAR FROM YOU." Do nat ten Lies. Do
nat t:ry and deceive others. Let only the truth came out of
your month, especia11y when the truth hurts you, Adorn your
life with Christ-Likeness, and nat the likeness of the
prince o.f darkness.
c. So.lomon further says, "LET YOUR EYES LOOK DIRECTLY .AHEAD,
AND LET YOUR GAZE BE FIXED S1~~IGHT IN FRONT OF YOU." Set
your eyes 011 the heavenly goal.. Do not let anything turn
your attention from the things above to drag them dawn to
the T-torthless things of the earth. But fix your eyes on the
joy set before you, and endure whatever you must to enter
God's kingdom.
d. And Jastiy he says, "WATCH THE PATH OF YOUR FEET, AND ALL
YOUR WAYS WILL BE ESTABLISHED. DO NOT TURN TO THE RIGHT NOR
TO THE' LEFT; TURN YOUR FOOT FROM EVIL." Jesus said, "ENTER
BY THE N.4RROW GATE; FOR THE GATE IS WID"', AND THE WAY IS
BROAD THAT LEAD$' TO DESTRUCTION, AND MANY ARE THOSE WHO
ENTER BY IT. FOR THE GATE IS SMALL, AND THE WAY IS NARROW
THAT LEADS TO LIFE, AND FEW AllE THOSE WHO FIND IT" (Matt.
7:13-14).
e. It _is not a broad road that you have to travel all. You do
nat have room for your sin and for the world. There .is room
only for you and Christ. YOIl must travel the mirrow road of
righteousness, and do not let yourse.l.f step to one side or
the ather.

2. For those of you who are llnconverted, you must realize that ,in
the eyes o.f t fie Lord, only evil comes from your heart.
a. Jesus said, "FOR OUT OF THE HEART COME EVIL THOUGHTS,
MURDERS, ADULTERIES, FORNICATIONS, THEFTS, FALSE WITNESS
SLANDERS" (Matt. 15:19).
 b. He said, "EVERY GOOD TREE BEARS GOOD FRUIT; BUT THE BAD TREE
BEARS BAD FRUIT" (l1att. 7: 11). And, "THE LAMP OF THE BODY
IS THE EYE; IF THEREFORE YOUR EYE IS CLEAR, YOUR ~IHOLE BODY
WILL BE FULL OF LIGHT. BUT IF YOUR EYE IS BAD, YOUR WHOLE'
BODY WILL BE FULL OF DARKNESS. IF THEREFORE THE LIGHT THAT
IS IN .YOU IS DARKNESS, HOI." GREAT IS TH"; DARKNESS!" (l1att.
6:22-23).
c, You mllst turn from your evil and do what is right. You win
not find the mercy of Godin the paths of but in the
paths 0.[ righteousness.
rI. You cannot expect to find Gorl's mercy i f you cOlltinnal.ly
turn your nose up at His Lar4.
e. I f you indulge in sin then bell becomes increasingly l1elli.sh
for you. God .wi1.l every deed you haw~ done into
account and gi've you a just punishment for everyone of
them. If one sin requires an eternity of hell for its
punishment, then how much more wi.ll thousands of sins
require?
f. Also .if you conU.l1ue to indulge in sin then your heart .w.ill
become harder and harder to the things of God, and the
convicLing pm4er of His Word will become less and less.
g. You must i'P~ turn from 1y.ing to the truth, from YOIlY
eyes on the things of the world to fixing them on the things
of heaven, and from Ivalking in sin to walking in
righteollsness.
h. Doing these things will not cllange your heart, but by doing
them you are putUng yourself .in the place where the Loyd
most o[te11 bestows His saving mercies.

III. So F.irst We Have Seen How the Heart Is the Source of All of Our
Actions, Secondly, that Therefore We Should Carefully Watcb What We
Put Into It and What We Allow to Come Out of It. Thirdly, Solomon
Tell.s Us That I f We Wil1 Listen to God's Word and Hold It Fast in Our
Hearts, what We Will obta.in. "FoR THEY ARE LIFE TO. THOSE WHO FIND
THEN, AND HEALTH TO ALL THEIR WHOLE BODY" (v. 22).
A. This Can Apply to the Christian and the Non-Christian.
1. There is in Scdpture the promise that i f you will live a life
of careful godliness and forsake an else to fol1ow Chr.ist
conscientiously and f.rom the heart, then you w i l l . , usually be
b.lessed w.ith a Jong life and with health, unless the Lord has
other plans for you through which you will bring H.im grea.ter
glory and honor,
2. And :it may be said of the unbeliever that i f you wLll live
according to God's Law that you can usually expect to live
longer and halTe a more prosperous .life.
a. It is not that your works earn anything, or that God .is
bound to give you anything,
b. But to try and do what Gorl requires is better than throwing
His Laws aside to walk after your own {vays.
c. J1JI8 His way of do.lng things .:is better tl1an your own. It
.w.ill result ill more prosperity to you.

B. But There Is Another Quality of Life Which Is Promised for

Godliness.

1. For the person who lays hold of Christ and trusts and believes
on Him, and turns from all his sins, there is the promise of a
heightened quality of life now.
a. Jesus said, "1 CAME THAT THEY NIGHT HAVE LIFE, AND NIGHT
HAVE IT ABUNDANTLY" (John .10:10).
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b. This quahty of life beg:ins as soon as you turn to the Lord

with all of your heart. It is fellowship with the most
glorious per-8on in the universe, the Prince of Peace, the
Lord ot- lords.
c. If Y011 are a Christian here this morning, then you know this
abundance of Life, There are t.imes ot-c£r§iltfr joy and less,
but you know that you would nevey tnlcie ~1(t''to go back to the
things of the world which are infinitely below :it.
d, For those of you who are not; Christ's here this J17orning, you
t,yil.l nevey urlderstand what this life is unt.i1 you embrace
the Prince of Life, the Lord Jesus t.
(:i) You must come to Him, and tyust in Him and .in His Work
to save you from your sins.
(ii) You must throw yourself upon the mercy of God and ask
H.im to change your heart and make you wiLling to come.
(iii) And then you will understand the fullness of peace and
joy wh:ich Christ offers in the midst of the worst
circumstances.

2. But there is a.lso that quality of life which is still future,

that eternal life which stretches endlessly into the future.
a. Not only wiLl you not suffer the punishments of he1.l, but
the Lord wilJ also grant to you that you might enjoy
eternity with Him.
b. On that [ina1 day He will a.lso raise your body from the
grave and gJor:ify it to become like His own glorious body,
It is the ultimate health insu:rance, for your transformed
body will never be sick or feel pain ever again!
c. Then He will openly own you as His own and receive you in
tbe day of His judgment. And He t,yill give you gracious
rewards according to your works of love for Him.
d. Christian, seeing that God gives you so much in your Savior,
Jesus Christ, won't you watch over your heart with all
diligence and keep your feet from the paths of l.;lickedness?
e. And you who are without Christ, seeing what awaits you
outs:ide of Christ, and seeing ~"hat bJessings there are in
Him, won't you come to Him this morning that YOll mighf
receive life? Won 't YOll c.'ilJ out to Him to change the
inclination of your heart, so that you can embrace Hi11l with
new and holy aEfections'l I pray that you will and that you
too will watch over your heart with an diligence, that YOLl
might serve Him with all your heart, mind, soul and ddftfiy. t-t0
Amen • ~~..,. .t ) ."