A Call to Diligence

Proverbs 4:20-23 – Keeping Your Heart Focus on Proverbs 4:20-23. Verse 20: “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.” Verse 23: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” The Enemy’s Attack The enemy is after every heart, saved or lost. Yielding to the enemy leads to destruction of oneself and family. The enemy will tear down everything you love and leave you with nothing. Personal Responsibility There is a responsibility to keep our heart. Not keeping oneself, but guarding the heart from the enemy’s attacks. Need help from the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the church. This does not relieve the personal responsibility to pray and keep your heart according to the Word of God. Letting your guard down allows the enemy to ruin your testimony and steal your joy and peace. Importance of Heeding God’s Word Pay attention to God’s word to avoid a high price from the enemy. Focus on and remind yourself of the adversary. The adversary seeks to devour and can tear up your home, family, and work. This happens when we open our heart and don’t keep it with all diligence. Personal Responsibility and Holiness Importance of personal responsibility in serving God, walking right, and living right. God has called everyone to righteousness and holiness. The only way to please God is to do what He says. The Heart as the Source of Issues Every issue comes from the heart. Mark 7:21-23: Out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile the man. The heart is capable of both good and evil. Luke 6:45: A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. The heart needs attention and care. People are often more careful about their flesh and mind than their heart. When something not of God is in your heart, it will manifest one day. The Example of David David’s failure as an example of not guarding the heart. David saw Bathsheba and lusted after her because his heart had not been guarded. He should have been with his men in battle, but he was idle in the king’s castle. If you’re going to guard your heart, you better be where you’re supposed to be. If you’re in a place you ain’t supposed to be, you need to get out of there. David didn’t wake up wanting to commit adultery, but he didn’t keep his heart. If he had kept his heart, he would have been with his people and not in a position where the enemy could tilt his heart. The suffering David endured after his sin wasn’t worth it. If your heart is leaning toward something, make sure you’re keeping it with all diligence. Introspectively look and see where you’re at with God. Every evil thing starts in the heart. Giving attention to the flesh leads to being in a mess like David. It took a year for David’s heart to get right with God after Nathan’s message. David’s actions after getting Bathsheba pregnant. Calling on Joab to send Uriah home. Writing a letter for Uriah to carry, which was his death warrant. David thought he had fooled God, but Nathan revealed his sin. God spared David’s life but took the life of the child. The sword would never depart from David’s house. David recognized the problem started in his heart. Psalms 51:10: “Create within me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” He fell to the snare of the enemy because something was hidden and neglected in his heart. God restored David, but it cost him his son’s life and Uriah’s life. David showed up at the temple, but still fell. Diligence and Focus on the Heart Keep your heart with all diligence. Diligence means being focused and having all your attention pointing to it. Focusing on the flesh will lead to a road that will cost you dearly. Prayer is essential for keeping your heart. Commitment to prayer, getting serious with God, and opening yourself before Him. Let the Holy Spirit look in you. David asked God to search him and see if there was any wicked way in him. If you’re not praying, you’re leaving the door wide open for the devil. God helps every time you pray, either strengthening you, blessing you, or giving you what you need. Make time for prayer. You don’t have time not to pray. Our ancestors had a commitment to prayer. The Word of God is full of truth and stands against the lies of the world. Hide the Word in your heart that you might not sin against God. Give attention to the Word of God. The Word of God shines into our heart. Need to get focused on our heart and honest before God. Ask God to cleanse and purge your heart. The Word of God, prayer, and the Holy Spirit of God work together to fortify, restore, protect, and keep your heart. Three Key Actions for the Heart Love God with all your heart (Deuteronomy 6). Love Him more than the world, your husband, your wife, or your children. Seek God with all your heart (Psalm 119:2). Blessed is the man that keepeth his commandments, and seeketh the Lord with all of his heart. Trust in the Lord with all your heart (Proverbs 3). Loving, seeking, and trusting God with all your heart provides help. Consequences of Neglecting the Heart If they had kept their focus on their heart, they wouldn’t have failed. David would have gone back and done things differently if he could. He would have gotten out of the castle and back to where he was supposed to be. Need help to protect our heart from the world, its wickedness, deception, and lies. There is too much at stake to fall. Issues of life, good or bad, come from the heart. Romans 10:10: With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. God saved the invisible part, the soul. We ought to do our part. Need the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and prayer every day to build fortification around us. When the heart falls, the flesh quickly falls. God is a God of second chances. Confess your sin, and He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Each person has a responsibility to keep their heart and an opportunity every day to love God, seek God, and trust God. If you don’t keep your heart with all diligence, the enemy will exploit that weakness. Take this message into your heart and remind yourself every day to ask for God’s help to focus on your heart. Final Encouragement Every person is important and precious in the eyes of God. God has given us prayer, His Word, and the Holy Spirit to help us. The Holy Spirit will help you when you look over the fence or off the terrace like David did. The enemy wants to destroy you, your family, and every opportunity of salvation they might get by making you fall. Do what David did: go back to God. David begged God for seven days to spare the child. David knew he had lost his heart and prayed for forgiveness. When the child died, David got up, cleaned up, ate, and went to the house of God and worshiped. David began to focus on his heart again that day. There are issues of the heart that will get you. Do everything you can to guard your heart. If you need to pray, come pray. If you haven’t prayed about your heart in a while, get started. Give up whatever you have to in your life to get back to focusing on your heart.