Sermon

Spiritual Health Check-Up: How’s Your Heart

January 7, 2018 Pickens First Baptist Church

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Here we are at the beginning of a new year, first Sunday of a new year.
A lot of people have resolved to get in better physical condition.
And that's good.
Now, I don't want to point any fingers or anything like that.
But a lot of us, and I'm one, we do need to get in better physical condition.
And it's not just someone who's overweight.
You can be, you know, appear to be in good shape and still not really be all that healthy.
We need to be more health conscious.
And at the top of our list, we need to take better care of our heart.
You know this. It's no secret.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women in this country and really in the world.
It is wise for us to pay close attention to the condition of our heart.
That organ, this beating inside of our chest right now.
But that's not the only heart we need to be concerned about.
I want you to look with me.
It's going to be on the screen.
I want you to look at a passage, Proverbs chapter 4.

Proverbs 4 chapter mention
And it is a great example of how the Bible talks about the kind of heart that every Christian needs to be concerned about.
Look at it.
Proverbs chapter 4, verse 23.

Proverbs 4:23
He tells us,
Keep your heart with all vigilance.
For from it flow the springs of life.
The ESV, English Standard Version, New American Standard,
they're being more literal in trying to convey exactly how the Hebrew states it.
The NIV is concerned about being accurate for sure.
But the NIV puts it a little bit freer like this.
Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.
On this first Sunday of the New Year,
we need to understand that God considers guarding our hearts
to be one of the top priorities,
or should be one of the top priorities of our lives.
Think with me.
Look at the passage.
One of life's top priorities for us should be
guarding, protecting who we are on the inside.
What the Bible calls our heart.
You see, the condition of our heart
affects everything about us.
If we took the time to really just interact with one another this morning,
sit down face to face,
have a conversation with one another in depth
about some substantive things,
we could figure out
the condition to a certain extent
of each other's heart.
You see,
the condition of our heart
affects our attitude.
It affects our words.
It affects our actions.
The attitude of our heart
affects the kind of relationship
that we have with God.
It reflects
the kind of relationship
that we have
with other people.
what's going on inside us,
the condition of our heart.
It affects our own well-being.
Psychologically,
emotionally,
and to a certain extent,
physically.
The importance of this kind of
heart health
that I'm talking about
will become
more clear
as we look at what Solomon
and other biblical writers
have to say about it.
So I want you to pay close attention this morning.
First Sunday of the new year,
we're focusing on something
that God makes clear,
and it'll be even clearer to you
as we go through this.
God wants you and me
to make
protecting,
guarding our hearts
one of the top priorities
of our lives
every day.
I want us to pray together
and ask God
to help us to really focus,
take this seriously,
and listen and learn
how we can do this.
Okay?
Let's pray.
Dear God,
help each one of us
in this room right now
to see
that through this book of wisdom,
through this wise man,
Solomon,
you are giving us
some of the most important
and helpful counsel
we could ever receive.
Help us to understand that,
to take it seriously,
and to put forth the effort
every day
to guard our heart.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Let's think.
What does it mean
to guard our heart
above all else?
The first thing
we need to be clear about
is what this word heart
is referring to
in this passage,
and in a lot of places
when it's used like this,
hundreds of places actually
in the Bible.
A lot of people think
that when you talk about
guarding your heart,
doing something with your heart,
you're just talking about
your emotions
and your feelings.
Well, that's not true.
It's more than that.
When Solomon
and the other biblical writers
use the word heart,
like we see here,
he's talking about
the depth of our being.
He's talking about
who we really are
on the inside.
Look at how Chuck Swindoll
describes it.
He says it refers
to our inner being,
our seat of consciousness,
our core of decision making,
the center of our mind,
our emotions,
and our will.
When the Bible uses
the word heart like this,
when Solomon says
guard your heart,
he's talking about
who you are
deep down.
He's talking about
guard your thoughts
and your attitudes.
Guard your desires
and your feelings.
All of this.
It's comprehensive.
Now, I want you to note
this is not just something
that we can take casually
because the Bible
doesn't take it casually.
Note what we're told to do.
We're going to look
at several things here
in this one first half
of the verse.
The ESV,
what I'm reading
and what's on the screen,
says keep your heart.
The New American Standard
says watch over your heart.
And several translations
like the New International Version
say guard your heart.
Solomon is saying to us
this morning,
keep a close eye
on your heart.
Watch it like a hawk.
Guard it.
Protect it.
That's not all he says.
Look at how we are instructed
to guard our heart.
It says with all vigilance.
New American Standard says
with all diligence.
NIV above all else.
God considers our heart
to be crucial
to our well-being
in so many dimensions.
listen.
Guarding our hearts,
our thoughts,
our desires,
it is vitally important
if we really want to
please God
and live in close fellowship
with Him
and enjoy
healthy relationships
with other people.
Let's think about
this idea of guarding.
What are you guarding
right now?
I would say
that most everyone
in here,
when you left home
this morning,
you made sure
you locked
your house up.
I know one man,
not in this church,
he is so consumed,
obsessed
with guarding
his house.
He's got all kinds
of security cameras
and everywhere he goes,
including church
every Sunday morning,
he's sitting there.
People think
he's reading the Bible
with his smartphone.
He's watching
his house.
He's guarding
his stuff
and I'm not
making that up.
That's a fact.
You probably
locked your car.
That's good.
Wise.
If you've got money
in some kind of
financial institution
and you do anything
with it,
you take care of it,
manage it mainly
online,
that,
your money's
password protected
at least
in two different ways.
Even if you don't
bank or do
things online,
you don't leave
your bank
passwords just
lying around
where anybody
and everyone
can come in
and see it,
do you?
We protect
our money.
Let's think about
something even
more important.
If you have
children at home
or if you have
children like
grandchildren,
nieces and nephews
that come into
your home,
don't you try
to protect
them?
You don't let
your little
children just
turn on the TV
and watch
whatever they
want to watch,
whatever's there,
do you?
Surely not.
You don't let
your children
just have
absolute free
access to
anything under
the sun they
want to look at
online.
You don't leave
guns just out
in the open,
a loaded gun
just where they
can walk by
and look at it,
play with it,
or anything like
that.
Things that we
value, we
guard, we
protect.
All of us do
it.
We are right
now in some
way familiar
with what Solomon
is saying here
about we're
guarding children.
another person,
money, house,
something.
What Solomon
is telling us
here now,
in no way
is the Bible
or would God
minimize the
importance of
guarding your
stuff, protecting
the people that
you're responsible
for.
That's important.
But on top of
that, above
all else,
guard your
heart.
Now let's
think about
that.
Do you
guard what
comes into
your mind,
what comes
into your
heart, what
comes into
your life,
what you
think about,
what you
dwell on,
what you
desire?
Do you
guard it as
carefully, as
faithfully, as
diligently as you
do this other
stuff?
or these important
people in your
life?
That's where we
need to start
at this point.
That's how
serious God is
in telling us to
guard our hearts
above all else,
with all diligence,
with all vigilance.
We cannot guard
our hearts
enough.
Now,
it may be that we
don't guard our
hearts like we
should because we
don't understand why
it's so important.
So let's answer
another question.
Why should I guard
my heart?
Why should I do
it?
Well, Solomon
answers that
question with the
next phrase.
Look at it.
For from it flow
the springs of
life.
That's how the
English Standard
Version and the
New American Standard
translate that.
The idea is like
this.
Our heart
produces a
stream of water.
To use that
illustration.
It's like our
heart produces a
stream of water
that continuously
flows out from
us and into the
lives of other
people.
The NIV says it
this way.
For everything you
do flows from
it.
Here's the idea.
Whatever is in
our hearts,
whatever we're
dwelling on,
whatever is
concerning us,
whatever it is
we're focused on,
that is having an
effect on people
around us.
What's in our
heart is flowing
out from us
and it's touching
the lives of your
family members,
your friends,
people you work
with, people you
go to school with,
whether you're
conscious of it or
not.
I want you to look
at something Jesus
said about how
that which is within
us flows out.
He explained it in
Luke chapter 6

Luke 6:45
verse 45 very
clearly.
Look at it.
The good person
out of the good
treasure of his
heart produces
good and the
evil person out
of his evil
treasure produces
evil.
For out of the
abundance of the
heart his mouth
speaks.
I want you to
think about some
of the conversations
you've had this
past week.
Think about some
of the conversations
you've had with
your family members
there in your
home.
Both good and
not so good.
Think about some
of the things you
and your buddies
have talked about,
some of your
friends have talked
about.
Think about some
of the things,
topics,
attitudes that have
come forth as
you've talked with
your co-workers.
That which we have
spoken of,
been excited about,
been angry about,
that which we have
emphasized this
past week.
It has revealed the
condition of our
heart.
The attitudes we
display, the words
that we speak, are a
good indication of
how seriously we have
taken this command to
guard our hearts
above all else.
Now, I want to
pause here for a
moment.
Think about what
Jesus is saying in
this verse, the
first part of it.
The good person,
out of the good
treasure of his
heart, produces
good.
Now, I'm sure
there's people in
this room, you're
thinking, well, I
thought the Bible
only talked about
our hearts being
evil.
And may have
come to your mind
a verse like
Jeremiah 17, 9.
Look at it.
The heart is
deceitful above
all things and
desperately sick.
Who can understand
it?
Jeremiah is
pointing out how
we are all born
with a sinful
nature.
How sin has
corrupted everything
about us, the way
that we think.
Sin causes us to
be selfish and
self-centered.
Think more in
terms of how I can
live life.
my way to
please me instead
of God's way to
please him or
even to please
other people.
There is much
evil about us and
our hearts in no
way are pure because
we're born with a
sinful nature that
taints, that
corrupts, that
poisons every
aspect of our
lives to some
degree, not
totally, obviously.
But what I want
us to understand is
what Jeremiah says
in 17.9 about the
heart being deceitful
above all things,
that's not all he
says.
I want you to look
with me at
Jeremiah 31 verse

Jeremiah 31:33
33.
He describes how
one day God's
going to do a new
work in people.
He's talking about
the new covenant,
the New Testament
times.
Jeremiah is looking
forward to the day
when Jesus would
come, the Messiah
would come, he
would come and
save people through
his death and
resurrection.
He would send
back into heaven,
he would send
his Holy Spirit
and this is
something that was
going to be in
the future,
Jeremiah prophesied
about.
Look at it.
I will put my law
within them and I
will write it on
their hearts and I
will be their God
and they shall be
my people.
The heart, just
like Jesus says,
there's good in it
and there's evil in
it.
Wayne Grudem,
great Baptist
theologian, he
does a good job of
explaining how a
Christian's heart can
produce good things
as well as the evil.
Look at some of the
things he says.
He says several
verses in the New
Testament speak in a
quite positive way
about the condition of
our hearts.
If we've been born
again, there is a
goodness to them that
has to be protected.
That's why Solomon
says, guard your heart.
Look at what Grudem,
he cites some New
Testament passages.
Look at Romans 5, 5.
God's love has been
poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit
who has been given to
us.
When God saves us, when
God does this work of
regeneration, he puts
his spirit in us and you
can even think, he puts
his spirit in our heart,
in our inmost being.
And then the verse says
God's love has been
poured into our hearts.
So if God's love has
been poured into our
hearts and the spirit
indwells us, there is
good within every
Christian.
Look what else he says
in Romans 6, 17.
You have become
obedient from the heart
to the standard of
teaching to which you
are committed.
Grudem is pointing out
here in this passage
that Paul thinks some
of these Christians,
they're truly loving God
and obeying God from
their heart.
They're genuine.
Some Christians have
this idea, God's never
satisfied with me.
God can never be
pleased with me.
Well, that's wrong.
We can know God and
love him, have a close
relationship with him
where he accepts us
because of our being
united to Jesus.
And he is pleased with
us when we obey him.
Look at one more.
1 John 3, 21.
Beloved, if our heart
does not condemn us, we
have confidence before
God.
Now, Grudem goes on to
say, however, that's not
the whole New Testament
story.
James warns Christians
about some things that
can go wrong in their
hearts.
Now, look at this.
Look at both sides of
the story.
If you have bitter
jealousy and selfish
ambition in your
hearts, do not boast
and be false to the
truth.
James is just pointing
out the reality.
As a Christian, we can
still have bad attitudes.
We can be bitter.
We can be jealous.
We can have nothing but
selfish ambition.
We want to run over
everybody.
We want to be better
than everybody.
We want to put people
down.
We want to walk on them
if necessary.
We can do that.
We do that sometimes.
When our heart is filled
with sin and selfishness.
James is saying it.
Look out.
Verse 4, chapter 4, verse
says, purify your hearts.
He says, you double-minded.
Sometimes our hearts are
not pure.
A lot of times they're not.
Isn't that right?
Grudem continues.
So, even though the New
Testament talks about our
hearts as having been
cleansed when we're born
again, James says you can
have bitter jealousy in
your heart as a Christian.
You can have selfish
ambition.
And you can be double-minded.
And so, while our hearts
aren't perfect, there is a
goodness in them by Jesus'
work within us that needs to
be protected and guarded.
Keep your heart with all
vigilance because it can go
astray.
Let's come back to what we
looked at a moment ago.
We need to make, every one
of us need to make guarding
our heart our highest
priority, one of the highest
priorities in our lives.
Because the condition of our
heart determines how we
think, how we speak, how we
act.
And Jesus makes that painfully
clear in His explanation of
the source of some of our
sinful attitudes and words
and actions.
I want you to look at what
Jesus said in Mark 7.
For from within, out of the
heart of man come evil
thoughts, sexual immorality,
theft, murder, adultery,
coveting, wickedness, deceit,
sensuality, envy, slander,
pride, foolishness.
All these evil things come from
within and they defile a
person.
We don't like to think about
this, but we need to.
The truth is, if we have
problems with selfishness,
with lust, with greed, with
gossip, and all these kinds of
things, it's because those are
the attitudes and the feelings
that's within us.
That's where it comes from.
That's not all that's in us,
within us we're Christians.
We've seen there's some good
things that God has done in us.
But we cannot deny the truth
about sin in our heart when it
comes out so clearly, so loudly
in our words, in our actions, and
in our attitudes.
Now, we don't always mean all the
things that we say.
Sometimes we say hurtful things,
painful things.
Sometimes we mistreat another
person, not because we really have
a problem with them, but because of
the problem that's going on inside of
us.
Sometimes our anger toward another
person, it's not really about them,
or what they have done or said.
What happens, what they did or said
triggered something within our
hearts that caused us to erupt like
a volcano all over them.
You know, we're all good at playing
the blame game, aren't we?
I'm sure some of you in this room,
I've thought it, said it.
My parents caused me a, it's my
parents' fault that I have the
attitude I have sometimes to say
some of the things that I say.
Or it's that certain person.
They just bring out the worst in me.
They provoke me.
They make me mad.
No.
No.
Your spouse is not your problem.
Your child is not your problem.
Your parent is not your problem.
Your friend is not your problem.
They may trigger some emotions.
They may trigger some desires,
some feelings, some attitudes.
But what's coming out of your mouth,
what you are demonstrating with your life,
it comes from within.
It's a heart problem.
It's your inner heart problem
that is the source of all this
Jesus says.
Sometimes an explosion
of anger,
of profanity,
of hatefulness.
Sometimes it comes out
because of the spiritual battles
that are raging within us.
The first thing that probably comes to your mind,
mine too,
is sometimes
God's working in us,
convicting us of a certain sin
that we need to confess,
we need to repent of,
some things in our life
that needs to change,
and we just won't do it.
But if we're really Christians
and the Spirit of God lives within us,
He's not leaving us alone.
He's making our life miserable.
He's putting the pressure on us
to cause us
to be so miserable,
so uncomfortable
that we will forsake it.
We will seek God's forgiveness.
We will repent.
We will seek God's help
to overcome it.
And that may be what
your problem is.
It's not a problem
with anybody in your life.
It's you
and your unwillingness
to humble yourself before God,
to admit the problem,
admit the sin,
and respond the way
you know He wants you to.
But on the other hand,
it could be,
it's not a bad thing,
it could be that God's dealing with you
about something
that He wants you to do.
And you know you need to do it.
But you just won't.
The best example I've known of this,
I have a friend,
many years ago,
when he was an older teenager,
his mother told this story.
His dad was winding up
a 20-year military career.
This was a committed Christian family.
The father,
winding up his 20 years,
going to retire
from military service,
and he was,
God was dealing with him
about him going
into the preaching ministry.
He was struggling
over whether or not
God was calling him to preach,
and he really believed
that he was deep down,
but I don't know
if he was really wanting
to do it at the time,
or make the commitment
at the time,
and there was a lot of frustration
in his life.
One day,
this man,
this faithful Christian man,
in whom God's working,
calling him to preach,
40-something years old,
one day,
he just erupts in anger
and just explodes
all over that older teenage boy.
It's happened so much,
and they know what's going on,
and that boy looks at his dad
and says,
Dad,
when are you going to surrender
to God's call to preach
so we can have peace
in this family?
And that was really
one of the turning points.
But what I'm saying is,
it could be that God's
working in your life
wanting you to do something,
to teach,
to go on a mission trip,
to do something
that's very positive and good.
It's not a sin issue.
It's a sin because you're not
obeying him,
but it's a good thing.
And you're frustrated
because you just won't
trust God.
You won't get out
of your comfort zone.
You won't step out in faith.
And so it could be
that your whole problem
with your heart
is you just need to say yes
and cooperate with God
and move on
and do what it is
He's wanting you to do.
We need to listen
to Solomon's wise counsel
above all else.
Guard your heart.
Guard your heart
because what's going on
inside you
will flow like a river
from your heart
into the lives
of everybody around you.
You know, this may be,
this may help explain
why sometimes
we mistreat those
we are closest to
more than anyone else
in our lives.
It may be that we mistreat
people closest to us
because they can't
get out of the way
of what's flowing
out of our hearts
when other people can.
And that doesn't
excuse our behavior
but it may help us
understand it
a little bit better.
Let's answer one more
question very quickly.
How can I guard my heart?
Since Solomon tells us
to guard our heart,
we know we can.
God doesn't call us,
doesn't tell us
to do anything
that he won't give us
the ability to do.
Well, Solomon describes
some of the ways
that we need to guard
our heart,
how we can,
in the remainder
of this chapter,
verses 24 through 27.
But right now,
I want to just look at two
as we wind this message up.
One way to guard our heart
is to keep it pure.
Don't pollute your heart.
It could be that there's people
or a person in your life
whose presence,
whose influence,
it really pollutes your heart.
And what you need to do
is you need to recognize that
and move away from them.
Don't let them be a part
of your life.
Or if you can't help it,
they may live close to you.
You may have to work with them.
If that's the case,
what you need to do
is to consciously recognize
that person
is a bad influence
on me.
And so I'm going to be
on guard constantly
and not let them
corrupt my heart.
Don't admire them.
Everybody else may.
Don't admire them.
Don't follow their example.
Let their attitudes
and let their words
become offensive to you.
Don't let them
have the wrong kind of influence
on you.
And maybe you know
that there are other factors
that pollute your heart.
Certain types of movies
or TV shows
or internet websites
or books
or music.
You know,
you know what
helps you
to be a better Christian,
helps you to love God more,
to think of Him more,
to want to do His will more.
You know what helps you
to want to love people
and be patient with people
and serve people more.
And you know what
causes you
to not even think about God.
You know what causes you
to be rebellious,
to have an attitude,
to separate yourself
from God's people,
to separate yourself
from godly people.
I don't know what
it might be for you,
but you know
what it is for you.
God,
guard your heart
from anything
that hinders you
from having a close
and growing relationship
with the Lord
and having healthy relationships
with the people in your life
that you should have
healthy relationships with.
You know,
anyone who writes
on this subject
of guarding our heart
or growing as a Christian,
they're going to stress
the importance
of personal Bible study
and prayer.
And that's sort of a given.
There's absolutely
no substitute
if we're going to
guard our hearts
from spending time
with our Lord,
developing a growing
close relationship
with God
by talking to Him
on a regular basis
in prayer,
by listening to Him
as we read His Word
and He's talking to us,
and then putting it
into practice.
Not just getting up
in the morning
and having devotion,
but learning to live
in a conscious awareness
of God's presence,
learning just to talk
to Him
as we just go down the road,
as we live life,
learning to think about
the truth of His Word
like what we're looking
at this morning.
Guard your heart.
Guard your heart.
I want to encourage you
right now
to examine your heart
and determine
what condition it's in.
To do that,
I want you to think
about your overall attitude
toward God.
What do you really
think about Him?
How do you think about Him?
What's your overall attitude
just toward life?
Toward the people around you?
Toward your spouse?
Toward your children?
Toward your parents?
What's your overall attitude
toward the people
you work with?
Toward your job?
Toward school?
Toward school?
Think about the conversations
you've had this past week.
Think about
the way you have spoken
to people
in your home
and at work.
Think about the kinds of things
you have talked about,
laughed about,
cried about,
been serious about,
been flippant and casual about.
Now,
what do those attitudes
and those words
reveal
about the condition
of your heart?
Does it reveal
that your heart's healthy?
It very well could.
Does it reveal
that it is
somewhat healthy?
Or as you just think
back about
just this past week,
do your attitudes,
do your words
reveal that
your heart
is very unhealthy?
What
what do you need
to do
to start
guarding your heart
above everything else?
What do you need
to start
or stop
in order
to protect
your heart
or make
protecting your heart
number one priority?
If you know,
then ask God
to help you
start doing
those things
right now.
Ask God
to help you
to just stay
focused on Him
every day,
to guard your heart
every day,
especially in those
situations where you know
it's going to be difficult.
Make it not just
a commitment
this morning,
make it a daily commitment.
Make it a
make it a part
of your relationship
with God
to seek His help
and to seek to
be obedient to Him
in such matters.
If you don't know
what you need
to do,
ask God
to show you.
Ask God
to make it clear
through His Word.
Here's something risky.
Ask people
that you know
who are faithful Christians,
who love you
and who will tell you
the truth,
ask them
what they see
in your heart
by living with you,
by being around you,
by working with you,
going to school with you,
playing,
doing all,
doing whatever.
Ask some people
that you trust.
If you don't know,
you wonder,
ask some people.
Based on what we're looking at,
what do you think
the condition
of my heart
is right now
based on what you see
in me,
based on what you hear
from me?
You know,
if you're not a Christian
more than anything else
this morning,
you need to understand
that your heart
is not right with God.
It's like what Jeremiah
talks about,
being evil,
maybe not the worst
you could be,
but
it's selfish.
It's
not godly.
And I want to encourage you,
if that's the case
and you want
God to change your heart,
admit to Him
this need,
truly repent of your sin,
change your mind about it,
put your trust in Jesus
that He paid the penalty
for your sins
when He died on the cross,
call upon Him
to save you,
to change you,
to purify you,
to give you a new heart.
Listen to the Lord
right now.
Ask Him how you need to respond
so that you can have
a more healthy,
spiritual,
inner heart
in 2018.
Let's pray together.
Dear God,
show us right now
what we need to do
to please you
in our response
and help us to do that.
In an attitude of prayer,
you listen to the Lord
and you obey Him.
Do what He's telling you to do.
If you would like me to pray with you
during this time,
I'll be here at the front
and I would love to do that.
But listen and obey Him
resolved by His grace.
You're going to
guard your heart
in 2018.
Above all things,
you respond with it.
His bowed, eyes closed,
attitude of prayer,
you respond as God speaks.
When you arrive to verdade,
how cute old man since they End Was
with prayer,
what she should live with you
and then reorganize again.
In와 todasIE'
with skills,
and women may
have created,
like anyone who can find so
crying today.
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will call us
in 2019.
Right,
word of prayer,
and we will show you
how zoe an example.