I'll ask you, if you will, this
morning to turn in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter four. Proverbs chapter 4, beginning
in verse 20. My son, attend to my words, incline
thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine
eyes. Keep them in the midst of thine
heart. For they are life unto those
that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart
with all diligence. for out of it are the issues
of life. Put away from thee a froward
mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes
look right on, let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder
the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Turn not to the right hand, nor to the left. Remove thy foot
from evil. My text this morning is verse
23. Keep thy heart with all diligence,
for out of it are the issues of life. In opening up the text, I want
to ask and answer three questions. I pray that God will bless and
God will give all of us ears to hear. and hearts to receive
his word. Keep thy heart with all diligence,
for out of it are the issues of life. My first question is,
what does the Bible mean by heart? What does the Bible mean by heart? Obviously, it is not speaking
of the physical organ in our bodies, The physical organ is
all important. And out of it, we might say,
are the issues of physical life. It causes the blood to go out
to all of the cells carrying oxygen and food for energy. It is all important to our physical
life. Solomon, who wrote the book of
Proverbs, also authored the book of Ecclesiastes. And in that
last chapter of that book, in speaking of old age, bringing
on death, speaks of the physical heart as the pitcher, the pitcher
being broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Speaking of both parts of the
heart, the pitcher being broken at the fountain, or the will
broken at the cistern. When the will is broken, the
pulse stops, the blood ceases to flow, and death results. But when the Bible speaks of
the heart, as in our text this morning, Keep thy heart, my son,
keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues
of life. We know this does not refer to
the physical organ. This refers to the being of man. And it includes these three things. It includes the mind, the intellect. When the Bible speaks about the
heart, it refers to the mind. And it refers to the emotions,
and it also refers to the will. The mind, the emotions, and the
will. So that's what our text is speaking
of. What does the Bible mean? By
heart, it means your mind, your emotions, and your will. My second question is this, and
please, Please listen to it. How does a person have a heart
that is worth keeping with all diligence? Let that sink in. We're admonished from the Word
of God, each and every one of us here today, to keep our hearts,
our mind, our emotions, our will, with all diligence, but how does
a person have a heart that is worth keeping with all diligence? And I have two answers to that
question, one negative and one positive. First, the negative. How does a person have a heart
that is worth keeping with all diligence? It is not by our first
birth that we have a heart that is worth keeping. It's not by
our first birth, our birth into this world that we have a heart
that is worth keeping with all diligence. Consider what we read
in Jeremiah chapter 17 in verse 9 about the heart of man. The heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Does that sound
like a heart? that is worth keeping with all
diligence, a heart that is desperately wicked and deceitful above all
things? The Lord Jesus said this, for
out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, False witness, blasphemies, these are the things
that defile the man. Does that sound like a heart
that is worth keeping with all diligence? A heart out of which
comes murders and lies and blasphemies, those things that defile the
man. The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter
1 in verse 21, he speaks of man having a foolish heart. A foolish
heart which causes some men to change the glory of the incorruptible
God into an image made like unto corruptible man and to birds
and four-footed beasts and creeping things. Does that sound like
a heart that is worth keeping with all diligence? A heart that
would cause a man to make an image of another man, or a bird,
or a cockroach, something creeping on the ground, and worship that? Does that sound like a heart
that's worth keeping with all diligence? A darkened heart that
would cause that? If you will, look with me, keep
your places here, but turn with me to Ephesians chapter four. Ephesians chapter four. Verses 17 and 18. Paul is writing to believers. Verse 17, this I say therefore,
and testify in the Lord, that you henceforth walk not as other
Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding
darkened. What did I say the heart consists
of? The mind, the emotions, the will. Having the understanding, the
mind darkened being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
heart, who, being past feeling, have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." A blinded heart. That's what
all men have. That's what you have. That's
what I have. That's what we have inherited
from our father, Adam. We all spring from him. And in
Adam, we all sinned and we all fail. And we all come into this
heart, into this world rather, with a heart that is not worth
keeping. A wicked heart. a deceitful heart,
a blinded heart, a heart that is described in 1 Corinthians
2, the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know
them, because he has a heart, a deceitful heart, a blinded
heart, a fallen nature. Neither can he know them. We come into this world, my point
is we all come into this world with a heart that is not worth
keeping. How does a person have a heart
that is worth keeping? And this is the positive answer.
It is by a new birth. It is by a new birth that men
have a heart that yes, is worth keeping with all diligence. The Lord Jesus said to a religious
man one night years ago, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. He cannot
perceive the things of God. Why? Because he has a heart that
is blinded. And so a man must, a woman must,
a boy or girl must be born again to see the kingdom of God, to
receive a heart that, yes, is worth keeping with all diligence. The new birth is the work of
God, God the Holy Spirit. And in the new birth, a new creature,
a new creature, a new man is produced. A new heart is given. Yes, it is this new heart that
is worth keeping with all diligence. A new heart is one of the promises
of the new covenant, as it is given in Ezekiel. Then will I
sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean. A man
must be cleansed, a woman must be cleansed from our filthiness. That filthy heart, that evil
heart, That's sinful nature. Our Lord, after He told Nicodemus,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. Then He said two verses later,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
I will sprinkle clean water. Now, we are not washed from our
sins in water. But water is a symbol of cleansing,
and it is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from sin. This is one of the promises of
the new covenant. God promised in that day, I will
open a fountain, a fountain open, and it's a fountain open for
filthiness and for sin, that sinners plunged into that fountain,
washed in And that fountain loose all our guilty stain. Then will I sprinkle clean water
upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness. No
question about it, no doubt, no ands, ifs, maybes, or buts,
no. When God, the new birth is the
work of God the Holy Spirit. And He says, I will sprinkle
clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your
filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. We
sang that hymn just a few minutes ago, Rock of Ages left for me. Isn't that what Augustus' top
lady was saying? Could my tears forever flow? Could my zeal no lancer know? These for sin cannot atone. Thou must save, and thou alone. Let me go on reading this promise
of the new covenant. First the cleansing, but now
second, a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit
will I put within you. And I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. What's the difference between
stone, something that's hard, and something that is fleshly,
soft? In the new birth, God gives a
new heart, and it is a new heart that has new desires. And with the new heart, it enables
a person to know God. Now, men may know that there
is a God. All men know that. The fool has
said in his heart, there is no God. All men, I hope you'll read
the article on the back of the bulletin, not now, but later. something a Greenlander in the
1600s on that island, without any knowledge of the scriptures,
but yet reasoning, there must be a God, there must be a creator. Oh yes. And now we live in a
day when foolish men deny the existence of God, deny His creative
work, How foolish, how foolish, and how men and women are asking
because of a deceitful heart, a heart that's desperately wicked.
But when God gives a new heart, we come to know God as the God
of all grace. To know God in Christ is to know
His work of reconciliation. How is it that we may be reconciled
unto God? How is it that we may have peace
with God? It is only through Jesus Christ
and his sacrifice, through his obedience and his sacrifice,
that we have peace with God. We're reconciled to God. In this new heart, there are
new desires. One new desire a person has who
is born of the Spirit of God, he desires to know more. Tell
me more about Christ. You don't have to beg people
to come to hear the Word of God. You don't have to use gimmicks
and tricks and all of that when a person has received a new heart. He desires, she desires to go
where the Word of God is proclaimed, where I may learn more. More
about Jesus would I know. New desires. He also has new delights with
his new heart. He delights to hear of Christ. He delights to worship God, delights
to sing and glorify God. A new heart means that the mind
that was darkened is now enlightened to see the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ. The emotions are no longer absorbed
with self. That's the way we all are by
nature with a deceitful heart. It's all about me, self, self,
self. When a person receives a new
heart, He's no longer self-absorbed. He loves Christ, who first loved
him. And when a person has a new heart,
he has a new will. And that new will, it's no longer
my will, but it is thy will, O God. Our Lord taught his disciples
to pray. Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done on earth, even as it is in heaven. That's a prayer from
a new heart, isn't it? Thy will be done. Why? Because
we have a new king. New king set up his throne. You may be here this morning
and you might say, well, preacher, I believe what you said so far.
But I'm not sure that I have been born again. I want you to turn with me to
1 John. This is something that certainly every child of God
desires to know, wants to know. I would say, personally, if you want to know, you've been born
again. A lost man has no desire to know
God. Oh, he may desire to know the
God he's imagined in his mind, but I'm speaking about the God
of the Bible, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
God in whose hands we all live and move and have our being. God who is almighty. He's not this grandfatherly figure
that some people imagine up in heaven, wringing his hands and
hoping and worrying if his creatures will do things that he wants
them to do. Oh, no. He's God almighty. His throne is established in
the heavens. ruleth over all. He works all
things, the Apostle Paul said, after the counsel of his own
will. Not your will, not my will, not the will of some committee
or some organization. His will. His will. In 1 John chapter 5, I want to
point out a few of these verses here. In verse 1, Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. Do you believe that? Do you believe
Jesus is the Christ? Can you say with the Apostle
Peter when he came to our Lord and our Lord said, well you also
go away speaking to his 12 disciples because the multitudes had gone
away saying, that's a hard saying. what the Lord said. That's a
hard saying. Who can hear it? Except you eat
my flesh and drink my blood. You have no life in you. That's
a hard saying. And so they turned and went away.
And our Lord turned to the 12 and said, will you also go away?
Peter answered for them, Lord, to whom shall we go? We believe
and are sure Thou art the Christ, the Son of God. And our Lord told Peter in Matthew's
Gospel, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood
did not reveal that unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. All right, turn back to chapter
3 of 1 John. Verse 14, We know that we have passed from
death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth
not his brother abideth in death. We know we've passed from death
unto life because we love the brethren. Look back to chapter 2 of 1 John,
verse 29. If you know that He is righteous,
you know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him. You walk in the paths of righteousness
for His namesake or in the paths of wickedness. If you desire, really desire
to know if you've been born of the Spirit of God, go to this
first letter of John and get down on your knees and seek God. Read the scripture. Don't believe
what some man like myself or any other man says. Listen to
God. Listen to God, His words. Speak. And you'll know. You'll know. Turn back to Proverbs now. And I must say this, we must
not forget that receiving a new heart does not mean that the
old heart or the old nature is eradicated or removed. When born
again, there is now two principles in each person who is saved,
one called the old man, and the other called the new. And our
Lord said this. He said, that which is born of
the flesh is flesh. That's the old man. He's born
flesh, gonna die flesh. That which is born of the spirit
is spirit. Born of the spirit and will never
die. Will never die. Well, here's
my third question. How should the heart be kept
with all diligence? If God has given us a new heart,
how is the heart to be kept with all diligence? Well, let's continue
on from our text. Our text is verse 23. Keep thy
heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. But now let's look at these next
few verses. Put away a froward heart. mouth
and perverse lips. Now the words froward and perverse,
they literally mean the same thing and they are defined as
turned aside. Put away the froward, the perverse
lips and mouth that is turned aside, distorted from the right. As I looked at this passage this
past week, I thought, we are exhorted to keep the heart with
all diligence, this new heart. And the first thing mentioned
concerns the mouth, the lips. And then I thought about the
fact that the Lord Jesus Christ said this, recorded in Matthew
12 and verse 34, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. This tells me that we must, with
all diligence, be careful and watchful as to what we allow
to enter, because out of the heart the mouth speaketh. In Philippians, the apostle gives
us a test when he said, Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things
are honest, whatsoever things are just, Whatsoever things are
pure. Whatsoever things are lovely.
Whatsoever things are of a good report. If there be any virtue,
and if there be any praise, think on these things. A good test
of what we take in to the heart. I heard this saying once years
ago, I don't remember who said it, but it's a good saying. They
said, garbage in, garbage out. Garbage in, garbage out. If you read, look, and listen
to that which may be called garbage, you will not be keeping the heart
with all diligence. Again, I want to read from Ephesians,
and then I'll come right back here. But in Ephesians 5, keeping
the heart with all diligence means that we watch what enters
in. We're careful about what enters
in. Chapter 5 of Ephesians, verses
11 and 12, Paul said, And have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather reprove them, for it is a shame
even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. There are some things that you'd
just be better off not reading, not hearing, not looking at. Number two, back in our text,
let thine eyes look right on. Let thine eyes look right on,
and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. One of the gates,
you know, in John Bunyan's, one of his works, he talks about
man's soul. And one of the gates into man's
soul is the eyes. If you think of the examples
we have in the Word of God that are given to us, warnings That
things began by looking. By looking. I thought about Achan. You remember Achan? Let's read
about him. Turn back to Joshua. Achan is a man that brought judgment
upon the nation of Israel. And he brought destruction upon
himself and all of his family. They were stoned. Why? Because of his sin. And when
he confessed his sin, as Joshua admonished him to do, he reveals
unto us, I believe, how it all began. Joshua chapter 7, verse
19. Joshua said unto Achan, my son,
Give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make
confession unto him, and tell me now what thou hast done, hide
it not from me.' And Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed, I have
sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have
I done, when I saw, when I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonius
garment, 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of 50 shekels
weight. Then I coveted them and took
them, and behold, they were hid in the midst of my tent. It all began with C, the eye
gate into the soul. Who can not think of David, King
David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, a man after God's own
heart. And yet the scriptures tell us
that one evening when he should have been with his armies, he
remained in Jerusalem and walking on the top of his house, he noticed
a woman bathing and she was beautiful. And he looked upon her, and he
took her. Do you think when he glanced
over the wall to see that he ever thought that that one look
would lead to him being guilty for the blood of her husband? Look, we are told, keep thy heart
with all diligence. Our Lord said this, he said, For whosoever looketh on a woman
to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart. One last thing, verse 26 and
27. Ponder the path of thy feet.
Ponder. Think upon it. Think upon your
way. Ponder the path of thy feet. Walk in the path of God. You
say, well, what is the path of God? Here it is. Here it is. Here it is, given to us in the
word of God. Thy word is a lamp under my feet
and a light under my path. Ponder. And look back to verse 18 in
chapter four of Proverbs. But the path of the just is as
a shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect
day. Ponder the path of thy faith.
Stay on this path, the word of God, and you will find it's like
a shining light, shineth more and more and more unto the perfect
day, when you're called home and in the presence of God. I
pray that the Lord would bless this word. It's God's word and
it's the truth. And I can't emphasize too much that if God's
given you a new heart, it's a heart worth keeping with
all diligence. God help us. David, if you will
come and we'll sing a hymn. Number 227.