Keep Your Heart

And thinked now I say Happy New Year as we

get into this, because honestly, it's one of my favorite holidays.

I know, we don't really kind of do much like

festive wise for New Year's I mean, except for New

Year's Eve, but I'm not talking about New Year's Eve.

I'm talking about the New Year is one of my

favorite holidays, especially because we don't do much festive wise,

because we get to work, we get to focus, we

get to reprioritize. And somebody asked me earlier whether or

not I write out New Year's resolutions. I have some years,

some years I don't. But I always am energized by

the opportunity for a fresh start to tackle the things

that are most important and to be refreshed about what

is most important. And that's what brings us to Proverbs four,

verse twenty three. John Flavel the Puritan wrote an entire

book on Proverbs twenty three and stressed its great importance

for the life of the Christian. It is one of

those one of those verses, one of those commands, one

of those instructions that is at the top tier of importance,

and he wrote this entire book on it. I'll give

you the title in Puritan form, it's this, here's the

title Saint indeed, or the great work of a Christian,

and keeping the heart in the several conditions of life.

I'm glad we don't title things that way anymore. You

kind of lose the importance of it in that title.

But Proverbs for twenty three, or keeping the heart, it

is the kind of thing that should be right at

the center of your dashboard for twenty twenty six and

in actuality for all all of your life. Let me

read it. I'll read it in the ESV, the translation

I normally preach from. I'm gonna also read it in

a couple of other translations to get a whole feel

of it. Goes like this, Proverbs four twenty three keep

your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the

springs of life. Here it is in the net translation,

watch over your heart with all diligence. From it flow

the springs of life. And then here it is in

the NIV version. Above all else, guard your heart, for

everything you do flows from it. Above all else, Above

all else, keep your heart. And at the beginning of

this year, if you were like me and you are

taking stock and you were realigning priorities with what matters most,

about what those above all else things in life should be.

Then I want to say, as the priority of your life,

least of all year, keep your heart. It matters most.

It's an above all else sort of thing. Now, I've

gone a bit on about how important it is, the

priority that it is, but I haven't really said anything

about what it is. And so that's what I want

to tackle. First, the matter of it, what it means

to guard your heart or keep your heart. That's the

first part of this verse. Then we're going to move

on to the second part, which is the manner. So

there's the matter, then the manner, that's the second part

of this verse. How do we go about it? How

do we go about keeping our heart? And then the

third part is the motivation? Why should we keep our heart?

So that's how we'll break down this verse for the

purposes of preaching here this morning. We'll just look at

the matter, the manner, and then the motivation. So let's

start with the matter. What is it to keep our heart?

It's so important above all else? What is it to

keep guard watch over? Imagine a garden? That's one I

think helpful analogy for this. Imagine a garden from which

your family ate all their meals. That's it, that's all

you get. There's no hib there's no Walmart, no Trader Joe's.

It's this garden. From it flows all the food of

the family. You would spend some time weeding and feeding

that garden. You would be out there every day. You

would be keeping the pests out, you'd be putting the

fertilizer in, plenty of water, doesn't matter what the restrictions

from saus says. You would be watering that thing, and

you would be weeding that thing. It's a good analogy

for what it means to keep your heart, to weed

and feed your heart. Now, just a quick aside on

what it does not mean. First of all, we're not

talking about cardiology. That's not the kind of heart we're

talking about, although that's worth paying attention to as well.

I'm going for a blood draw tomorrow morning. New year

knew me. But this isn't a cardiology verse, nor is

it a romance verse. It's not a romance verse. I've

heard this verse used to mean like to guard your

heart means to not have any romantic relationships of any sort,

to not develop any emotional connections or relational connections with

the person with a person of the opposite sex, because

that would mean to not guard your heart. A couple

of comments on that, that's not what this verse means.

That's not what this verse means. Comment number two that

this verse still has a lot to say about like

a boyfriend go for our relationships. It actually applies strongly.

We'll talk about why and how before we get to

the end. But this isn't a romance heart, and this

isn't a biology heart that we're being encouraged to keep

here to guard here. You know what the context here

shows us is that this is about feeding what is

godly in your heart, the thoughts and motives and the

biblical instructions and promises, feeding what is godly in your heart,

and weeding what is ungodly in your heart. Again, thoughts, feelings, motives,

worldly ways and temptations, weeding feeding. It is one of

those above all else commands that has a few brothers

in scripture. And you think of some of those above

all else commands that are brothers to this in scripture,

like shall worship the Lord your God and him only?

Or you should love the Lord your God with all

your heart and all your mind, and all your strength

and all your soul, or abide in me. I love

my words, abide in you. These are these top tier

above all else, commands and scripture that all share the

common DNA that what we're talking about here is attending

to a heart level relationship with God through union with

the Living Christ, a heart level relationship in which sin

is actively killed and worship and gratitude actively flow. His

instructions and wisdom are gladly taken up. Our thoughts and

our feelings are being directed and propelled by the Holy Spirit.

Our conscience is being shaped by communion with God's character

through his word, recognizing freedom where God allows freedom, and

constraints where God commands constraints, being daily or hourly brought

to confession and repentance with a sense of refreshment in

His grace. Who wants that. That's keeping your heart, that's

abiding in him. That's loving the Lord your God with

all your heart and soul and mind and strength. This

is what we must have above all else. And this

is a great struggle. I think we're just all going

to do ourselves a whole lot of favors. Right now,

we just all admit together this is a great struggle.

We want it. It's hard. In fact, John Flavl puts

it this way, long quote here, hard work is hard work. Indeed,

to shuffle over religious duties with a loose and heedless

I hear it will cost no great pains. But to

set yourself before the Lord with real attendance upon him,

this will cost you something. To repress the outward acts

of sin is no great matter, but to kill the

root of corruption within, to set and keep up a

holy government over your thoughts. This is not easy, amen,

John flavor. And yet this is what we must have.

This is what we desire. This is an above all

else thing. This is worth our highest prioritization. So how

do we do it? That's the matter. What's the manner?

How do we keep our art? Well, let's just look

at the instruction that we have here. There are a

lot of instruction that we receive from all over scripture

about these things. But here we have a particular instruction

that coaches us towards the manner in which we go

about keeping our heart. And it's pretty simple right here.

In Proverbs for twenty three it's this keep your heart

with all vigilance, with all vigilance, or another translation says,

with all diligence, with intentional urgency and intensity and discipline discipline.

This is where the idea of spiritual disciplines comes in. Vigilance.

Discipline is key to the whole manner which I know

we all have a rocky relationship with. But it is necessary.

It's absolutely necessary for anything of value that you desire,

Discipline is required. My relationship with my wife requires discipline.

We want a good relationship. We desire a good relationship.

We know so much flows from a good relationship. But

if we don't actually discipline ourselves to set up time

to communicate and come together and patterns of how we're

gonna live together and operate like it takes discipline or else,

it's all gonna fall apart. She's nodding vigorously up here.

But would it be right for me to say that

my relationship with my wife is just discipline, that discipline

is the essence of my relationship with her. That would

not be right, and that would not be That would

not reflect well on her and or me. It would

it would It would probably mean that I was a

pretty dumb husband. I'd be coming about it all the

wrong way. Not because I was coming about it with discipline,

but I didn't understand the place of discipline in it.

So I want to talk about the disadvantages and the

advantages of the idea of spiritual disciplines, because here's the disadvantage.

The disadvantage of the idea of spiritual disciplines is what

they would say in Latin. They would say it this

way x opere operado. In other words, if you do

the work, the work is done. Just doing the thing,

the thing is done. We have example after example in

the scriptures of people doing the things, and in here

the thing ain't done. You know what I'm saying. It

is not true that spiritual disciplines is the same thing

as guarding your heart. It is not true that discipline

in your Christian life is the same thing as a vital,

nourished relationship with the living God. The power is not ours,

as Flavor would say, we're as able to stop the

sun in its course as we are to rule our

own hearts. We may as well be our own saviors

as be our own keepers. And yet, and yet keep

your heart. The duty is ours though the power be gods.

The duty is ours though the power be gods. We

step out in faith, trusting the work of the Holy

Spirit through His word as we attend to this command

of God, and we are met with the exciting and

assisting strength of Christ. So it's not discipline for discipline's

own sake, lest we become like the Pharisees from John five,

those who search diligently the scriptures but won't come to

the one that the scriptures point to. And the self

righteousness or the self loathing that comes from checklist Christianity

is real. It's not about mere mere discipline. It's about

a disciplined approach to a real relationship. See The disadvantage

of the idea of spiritual disciplines is that we would

think that just doing the things the thing happens. Not true.

But the advance to thinking about spiritual disciplines is that

it's absolutely biblical. We should think and speak of spiritual

disciplines because keeping your heart takes discipline. So just keeping

a garden, that garden that your whole family is eating from,

if you just like weed and feed when you feel

like it, skinny kids takes discipline. This is what the

Bible says with all vigilance. And if you think a real, thriving,

vital relationship shouldn't take discipline, you haven't been married very long.

You say, what if I get discouraged? What if I

get discouraged in my desire for a discipline approach to

keeping my heart before the Lord? Well, I would say

that's nothing new. This is hard. It's hard for several reasons,

in some of which we're going to get into. And

if you are constantly and consistently discouraged, I would say

this is a good place for you to get some

pastoral guidance, because you might need some help. But if

you are discouraged from time to time, if it happens

that in the short terms you find that you get

discouraged as you go, let me just say, that's a

fine time to come to the Lord and bring what

is from your heart that discouragement to him and say, Lord,

let's talk about it, because you already know vigilance is

key to the manner. Vigilance is key to the manner.

You say, well, I'm sorry to admit it, but somewhere

along the way, I got so discouraged that I just

stopped trying really to keep my heart with any real discipline.

And what I think I really want to know is

what kind of reception should I expect from Christ coming

to him now? After all this time, and I have

let sins grow over in my heart like weeds, some

just of my own thoughts and some of my own feelings,

some of them outward, some of them private, some of

them all of them embarrassing to actually unload. Before Christ.

I have let his graces just lay there, unenjoyed, unimproved.

What should I expect to hear from Him if I

go to him? Now? Here's what He said in Revelation

three to a church in that condition. They ought to

see it. He said, to those whom I love, I

reprove and I discipline. Pause. If you've been miserable in

this state, that's a good sign. Be zealous and repent.

Christ says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I

will come in to him, and I will eat with him,

and he with me. In other words, opening your heart

which has overgrown with weeds of sin and neglected graces

and neglected benefits He's given you. It can be humbling,

it can be embarrassing, It could kind of make you sick.

And we may be tempted to expect a cold reception

from him. But he died to make you his loved one.

His call to you is open the door, and I

will come in, and I will eat with you, and

you with me. He is more eager for a communion

with you than you are with him. Expect a warm

and gracious reception from a savior who died to bring

you in as a repentant sinner, even a repentant sinner

who has neglected his graces for a long long time.

Your heart, I tell you, is desperate for time with

the one who died for you. And he will not

cast aside those who come to him. Keep coming vigilantly.

Vigilance is key to the manner. Vigilance over your heart.

Vigilance over your heart. Examine your heart before the Lord.

That may be the hardest part of the whole thing

is that you have to take that thing out of

your chest, put it on the Bible, get on your

knees and say, I see what's there. It's squirmy. I

think it brings a lot of clarity to the biblical

command to watch, watch and pray, watch watch what watch here.

You might not like what you see, but you can

take it to the one who can do something about it.

Vigilance over your heart, vigilance over the word, pressing the

word against that heart. Yeah, you know what, quiet time.

That's not a term found in the Bible. Devotional life,

that's not a term found in the Bible. And yet

that's exactly what these kind of commands. Love the Lord

your heart with all, Love the Lord your God, with

all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and

abide in me, and let my words abide in you.

These kind of commands are obeyed through this pressing the

word against your heart, quiet time. Like, there's a reason

we've been instructed by generations and generations of how to

do these proverbs for twenty three stuff. And the Word

tells us. The Word tells us how to do this.

There are scriptural ways of going about it. We don't

have to go exploring crystals and oils and vain repetitions.

I can't tell you how many different things I read

and I'm talking I'm not even talking about like new

age stuff. I'm talking about stuff that has infiltrated the

church for centuries of things that are completely extra biblical

that people talk about like, you know, like I'm exploring

this way of loving the like the Bible tells you

how to obey the Bible, do it vigilantly. If you're

just jotted this down in my notes, if you're interested

in practical handholds for what it looks like to devotionally

engage with the Word, come to First Wednesday this Wednesday,

seven forty five pm. It's a churchwide prayer meeting, and

we're designing this Wednesday to be a workshop in how

to devotionally engage with scripture as individuals. We're going to

spend a lot of time in private prayer and talking about, Hey,

how do I press the Word against my heart and

see what's there? How do I do that as a like,

as a person, how can I repeat this? That's what

First Wednesday is going to be built around. Come six

forty five, we'll do it. Vigilance over our hearts, vigilance

over the word, vigilance over our time. Vigilance is key

to the manner, and that includes vigilance over our time,

which for me means going to bed earlier. So that

the priority of my life actually shows up as a priority.

Means vigilance over my over busyness. Listen, if your ship

is overloaded with cargo, you're gonna sink. You gotta get

rid of something. What's the waterline in your schedule? Look like?

Vigilance for consistency, vigilance for using the times that just

pop up here and there that have now been soaked

up like by phones. Hate the phones. Hate the phones.

I hate the phones. You hate the phones, and they

eat up every little minute. Vigilance. Vigilance is key to

the manner it is. Vigilance is not the ess of

the thing. By relationship with my wife is not discipline.

That would be terrible, But it takes discipline, and anyone

who wants to believe that it doesn't setting themselves up

for failure. That's the matter, that's the manner. What about

the motivation? If I was just gonna guess, I would

say that we're probably a room full of motivated people

for this, Like we want this, we want to keep

our heart before the Lord. We want to love the Lord,

your God with all your heart and soul and mind

and strength. We're motivated. And the scriptures actually give us

a variety of motivations towards that end. This scripture gives

us this one. This scripture gives us this motivation. Here

it is why should you keep your heart? From it

flow the springs of life. From it, flow the springs

of life. That's everything. Everything that we do, everything that

we say, think and feel, flows from the heart. Let

me give you a few examples. Make this like frame

up this picture. I got eight I'll go fast. For example,

from from the keeping of your heart or the neglect

of your heart flows nevertheless, from your heart springs number

one a godly or an ungodly sense and tone and

quality to all your endeavors. John Piper put it this way.

He said, I can't remember where or when. He said

about ninety percent of everything that we do is like

spontaneous and unconscious, like we're not playing out our tone,

I'm not planning out the way exactly we're gonna say things,

or our facial expressions or even like most of what

we do, it just goes. It just flows. Unfortunately, it

flows from our hearts. That's horrifying, which means that to

keep our heart, to attend to this with vigilance is

actually more important than parenting or time with our spouse,

or mutual ministry or skill development, because the actual quality

of those things, in a spiritual sense will come from this.

It's certainly more important than working out. Hey, and I'm

all about it. Let's go work out. Yay January and

let's get past January. But listen, physical training is of

some value. Spiritual training is of value in every way.

Everything's gonna flow from this. Number two. From the keeping

of our heart or the neglecting of it, vigilance springs

either a great defense against sin or an openness to it. Right, porn,

bad entertainment choices, immoderate drinking, that inappropriate relationship with that

boyfriend or that girlfriend. Now we're back to that dating thing.

How does this apply to like actual relationships? Right? Like

those things will make your time with God miserable, or

your time with God will make those things miserable, and

one will push you to let go of the other.

Choose well, choose well. Yes, that relationship with that person

may be a matter of guarding your heart before the

Lord from it. From the keeping of your heart or

the neglecting of it will spring Number three. A readiness

for or an unfitness for whatever providence God puts you in,

whatever condition, whatever circumstance God puts you in, you will

either be ready for it or you will be unfit

for it to the degree that your heart is kept

before the Lord. Here's what I mean. For some of

you in twenty twenty six, or even already right now,

the condition and circumstances of your life involve a lot

of hurt, hurt. It's hard, or it's gonna get hard.

Will you be ready? Will you be ready to take

that as a real potential medicine from God with contentment,

or will you bite down on that pill in discontentment

and embitter your soul? In many ways, your readiness will

be marked by keeping your heart and may be worse.

For some of us in twenty twenty six or even

right now, what God is going to bring our way

providentially circumstantially is prosperity a dangerous thing. Will our relationship

with the Living God at a heart level have prepared

us for generosity and stewardship and humility, or will we

find ourselves unfit and lean towards selfishness pride in the

prosperity that comes along and has swept away many many

a soul that professed Christ, will we be ready. Our

readiness will spring from the keeping of our heart. Number four.

From the keeping or neglecting of our heart will spring

a return from backsliding, a return from backsliding, or a

maintenance in a lost condition. It actually may present you

an opportunity for real conversion. You may go to keep

your heart before the Lord and find a love for

Christ that had never been there or had gone cold

a long time ago. But that will all very likely

spring from keeping your heart. Number five, the keeping or

neglecting of heart. From it will spring either a constant

readiness for prayer or a flat footedness in it. And

keeping your heart will prepare you to be a fountain

for prayer and ways that your mind is already on

the things of God. Your repentance was recent, your confessions

are still clear, or when it comes time to pray,

your mind's a blink. It's been a while. The keeping

of your heart, or the neglecting of it before the

Lord in his word will from it will spring Number six,

a cent for the truth or a dulness to it.

A cent for the truth or a dulness to it.

By this you will have a taste for the truth

and a discern because you've we're not all going to

be scholars. But when we put the truth to work

in our hearts, we get a sense of how it operates,

and we will be much less prone to error and

false teaching as we have a scent and taste for

the truth. But if we would neglect this, we will

be dull. Number seven, Keeping or neglecting our heart before

the Lord and his word from it will spring assurance

in him or uncertainty about our real spiritual condition. Keeping

your heart before him with vigilance, you will know your sincerity.

You will know your assurance. When the question comes, if

I died right now, would I see the Lord? The

answer is yeah, I us talking to him, and he

was straightening me out. Number eight. From keeping of your

heart or the neglecting of it will spring a sweet

and lasting enjoyment, or rather a boredom with all the

other aspects of our Christian life. You want to enjoy

singing together, keep your heart with all vigilance. You want

to enjoy gathering together for corporate prayer. For that to

be sweet and for that enjoyment to last, Keep your

heart with all vigilance. You want to be bored with it.

You want to find it like a flash in the pan.

Neglect your heart before the Lord and his word. If

you would keep your heart with all vigilance, you'd even

get stuff out of my sermons. But if you won't,

Lord help you. It sets right so much it colors everything.

From it flow the springs of life. It should be

and stands as the center of our dashboard for our

lives and certainly for our year. Keep your heart all vigilance.

From it flow the springs of life.