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We were all shocked to hear about the tragic
death of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. We were stunned, not that he
died, for he faced tremendous dangers on a daily basis…we were, rather,
surprised by the way that he died. About the only way that a
Stingray could kill you is to stab you directly in the heart with his barbed
spine. Who would have thought that the great Crocodile Hunter would go in
this fashion? If ever we expected him to have a great injury we would think
it would be his leg, his hand, or maybe his head…but no, it was his heart!
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out
of it are the issues of life.” The word “issues” is defined in Strong’s
Concordance as - “boundaries” - “sources” - “outgoings”; We could term
it as “Central Focus”. We use the phrase “the heart of the matter”, meaning
the same.
Irwin was keenly in tune with nature, and
knew his boundaries. He was very ‘centered’ and ‘focused.’
The word heart has reference to the center of
an object. In the Hebrew it means the “kernel of the nut”. It has to do with
one’s feelings, the will, and even the intellect. It is that object that
does the decision making for the individual.
Today most of the health education is focused
on keeping the heart healthy. Tomorrow my wife and I will have cholesterol
checks. Why? More people die from a heart attack than any other killer.
The same is true spiritually.
God always begins with the heart, then works
outward. The heart comes first. This speaks of the inner life.
“Keep” is a personal responsibility. God
would not give us an assignment that we cannot keep, or accomplish. All
excuses are removed.
“Keep thy heart”--This is not optional. This
is not speaking about a certain conviction. This is a direct command from
God. Therefore, our action is to begin immediately “to keep thy heart”.
The heart is to be guarded at all cost. In
armed warfare the vital part of the body is always protected. In our
Christian realm that is always the heart. The reason we have so many
casualties spiritually is because the heart is ignored.
David writes about a “fixed heart”. (Psa
112:7) "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed,
trusting in the LORD."
Notice also the term, “with all diligence.”
The heart should receive the greatest effort. We protect our homes with
security alarms, and dead bolts locks. We have security lights. Some have a
weapon on guard, yet we ignore our heart. Too many Christians try to live
their Christian life with no effort. The instructions “with all diligence”
tell us it is a constant warfare and will require much spiritual energy.
If an athlete ignores his training and
discipline and partakes in the wrong social life and diet, he will not be a
very good athlete. If he lets his body follow the desires of the flesh, his
athletic days are over.
The success of your Christian life depends
upon following the principles that God has given us, and He gives those
principles in Vs. 24-27.
I. KEEP YOUR MOUTH RIGHT
Vs. 24.
I’ll never forget the look on the Crock
Hunter’s face one time when he was unexpectedly bitten by a small, non
poisonous snake he was holding. He was explaining that the creature would
only strike if it perceived movement…and so, he held very still. That is,
except for his lips, which moved as he explained himself…and then the little
thing quickly bit him right on the mouth!
(Prov 4:24) "Put away from thee a froward
mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee."
Froward has to do with that which is bad. It
speaks of uncontrollable, perverted, dirty, or foul language.
A. Your Mouth Will Have A Bearing On
Your Heart.
Evil speech is a sure indicator of an evil
heart. 1 Cor 15:33 "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good
manners."
People can somewhat control their speech when
they want to, when it is in their best interest to do so. A foul-mouthed man
will control his language in the presence of a boss who will not allow foul
talk. But James says “the tongue can no man tame.” Only God can totally fix
this problem, and He does it by changing out heart!
Prov 6:2 "Thou art snared with the words of
thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth."
Prov 6:12 "A naughty person, a wicked man,
walketh with a froward mouth."
There is a connection between our tongues and
our hearts.
B. You Will Become Like What You Talk
About.
(Mat 12:34-36) "O generation of vipers, how
can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart
bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure
bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be
condemned."
C. Your Mouth Will Do More Damage To
Your Heart Than Anything Else.
Therefore in keeping your heart like it
should be means you must also keep your mouth right. A wrong mouth and a
right heart will not occupy the same body.
D. Don’t Allow Your Mouth To Overload
Your Heart.
I know of situations where a person had
talked so much until they had to do what their mouth said to keep face with
their peers. That’s not keeping your mouth right.
E. The Tongue Is Uncontrollable.
(James 3:8) "But the tongue can no man tame;
it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison."
The greatest problem most churches have is
loose talk. Loose talk damages innocent people.
Rom 16:17 "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark
them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye
have learned; and avoid them."
II. KEEP YOUR EYES RIGHT
Vs 25.
If you watched the Crock Hunter as much as we
did you will notice that he always kept his eyes on the animal, not on the
camera. It wasn’t rude for him not to look our direction…if he did not, he
would have died long ago. He came to know instinctively about what an
animal was thinking by watching it. He admitted that he was somewhat out of
his element in the water, and certainly vision is not as clear under such
conditions.
(Prov 4:25) "Let thine eyes look right on,
and let thine eyelids look straight before thee."
What your eyes see will affect your heart.
Keep your eyes straight ahead.
A great bit of the temptation you face is
brought on through your eyes. If the eyes are controlled you will eliminate
one-third of the temptation. (1 John 2:16) "For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is
not of the Father, but is of the world."
(Psa 81:12) "So I gave them up unto their
own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels."
Where does “heart lust” come from? It has to
come from the eyes. What the eyes see the heart will want. Thus, the
importance of keeping the eyes right. When you allow your eyes to run freely
without any control you will have a “heart attack.”
“Oh, be careful little eyes what you see.”
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus.”
The eyes are the most influential part of the
body. Most of your memory if formed by the eyes. You can remember more than
80% of what you see and only about 11% of what you hear.
Satan’s strategy in the garden of Eden was to
persuade Eve to look. He succeeded in getting her to fix her gaze on the
forbidden fruit. How desirable it appeared! The longer she looked, the more
her desire grew. The longer she looked, the more difficult it was to tear
her eyes away. Soon she lost all sense of proportion. She forgot about her
husband, all about God’s warning of sure and certain judgment. The tree and
its fruit was all she could see. At last the look became a lust.
Gen 3:6 "And when the woman saw that the
tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to
be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and
gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
III. KEEP YOUR FEET RIGHT
Vs. 26-27
Most stingray injuries come when they are
stepped on. They love to bury themselves beneath a thin layer of sand.
Experts say that if you ‘shuffle’ your feet [drag them] the ray will just
swim away as you approach them.
(Prov 4:26) "Ponder the path of thy feet,
and let all thy ways be established."
A. A Planned Walk. (“Ponder the
path...”)
Where your feet trod will cause a heart
response. Don’t just turn your feet loose to go anywhere they want to go.
“Ponder” means to “weigh mentally”; “Choose
well”. Don’t make rash decisions. Use wisdom in choosing your path of life.
I’ve made some decisions in life that I wish
I had pondered first.
Before you buy a home, buy a car, plunge
yourself into debt for 5 to 30 years, ponder it over first. Seek advice.
Then follow advice. I find most people only come to me after they have
already made up their mind about a certain thing. They don’t really want the
preacher’s advice, but his approval.
B. A Protected Walk. (“Remove thy
foot from evil.”)
Be careful whom you walk with. Amos 3:3 "Can
two walk together, except they be agreed?"
Remember with me the steps of Abraham and
Lot. On that eventful day when Abraham suggested to Lot that they part
company because of the squabbling of their herdsmen over available pasture,
both men made a choice. Gen. 13 records their decisions: (“Lot pitched his
tent”) Gen 13:12. (“Abraham removed his tent”.) Gen. 13:18. There in a
nutshell is the difference between Abraham and Lot.
Lot’s feet took him into the city of sin and
shame. Abraham’s feet took him far away. He couldn’t wait to put distance
between himself and the filthy cities of the plains.
IV. KEEP YOUR EARS RIGHT
5:1-2.
There’s no hearing under water. If Steve
Irwin’s companions were trying to warn him that he was getting too close,
they could not.
Ill--In our pool this summer my son would try
to yell things to me while we were submerged…but a ‘mouthful’ is about all
that came to pass for him [of water!]
It’s only wise to make sure ‘you got your
ears on!’
Prov 5:1-2 "My son, attend unto my wisdom,
and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion,
and that thy lips may keep knowledge."
On the other hand, the ears hear things at
times that they should not hear. They may hear correctly what was said, but
there are times when we must put earplugs in our ears and go on and serve
God.
You must “keep your heart with all
diligence”. If you do not keep the heart protected you face serious
spiritual injury. The barbs of this world will pierce through and through,
and there may be no reviving you!
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