Keep Your Heart with All Vigilance A Special Yearend Message Proverbs 4:20-27 December 30, 2012 Pastor Paul K. Kim 2

Proverbs 4:20-27 [ESV] 20 My son, be attentive to my words;     incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight;     keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them,     and healing to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,     for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech,     and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward,     and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet;     then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;     turn your foot away from evil.

Proverbs 4:20-27 [ESV] 20 My son, be attentive to my words;     incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight;     keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them,     and healing to all their flesh. 23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,     for from it flow the springs of life. 24 Put away from you crooked speech,     and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward,     and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet;     then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;     turn your foot away from evil.

Proverbs 4:23 KEEP your heart with all viligence, for from it flow the springs of life. [ESV] Above all else, GUARD your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. [NIV]  KEEP vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. [MSG] GUARD your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. [NLT]

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KEEP/GUARD THE “HEART”? The Hebrew term “heart” has a much broader meaning that includes: the mind, the emotion, and the will. It refers even to the center seat of the inner person (as in Proverbs 4:23). Therefore, to “keep the heart” means to to keep/guard the condition of our inner center/being.

WHY KEEP THE HEART WITH ALL VIGILANCE? The heart is the source of everything we do and become. Keep your heart with all vigilance,     for from it flow the springs of life (v.23). For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7)

WHY KEEP THE HEART WITH ALL VIGILANCE? The heart is the source of everything we do and become. The heart is wicked and vulnerable if left alone. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jer. 17:9)  As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (Heb. 3:15)

WHY KEEP THE HEART WITH ALL VIGILANCE? The heart is the source of everything we do and become. The heart is wicked and vulnerable if left alone. The heart is where the fiercest spiritual battle happens for sin or real transformation. But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. (Matt. 15:8)  “You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” (Matt. 23:25)

WHY KEEP THE HEART WITH ALL VIGILANCE? The heart is the source of everything we do and become. The heart is wicked and vulnerable if left alone. The heart is where the fiercest spiritual battle happens for sin or real transformation. The heart requires our vigilant “soul work” for the inner life—like a garden that needs to needs perpetual tending. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Cor. 3:3) according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love (Eph. 3:16-17)

WHY KEEP THE HEART WITH ALL VIGILANCE? The heart is the source of everything we do and become (Prov. 4:23; 1 Sam. 16:7). The heart is wicked and vulnerable if left alone (Jer.17:9; Heb. 3:15). The heart is where the fiercest spiritual battle happens for sin or real transformation (Matt 15:18-19; 23:25-26). The heart requires our vigilant “soul work” for the inner life—like a garden that needs to needs perpetual tending (2 Cor. 3:3; Eph. 3:16-17).

Like a Garden Which Needs Tending For me the appropriate metaphor for the inner spiritual center is a garden, a place of potential peace and tranquility. This garden is a place where the Spirit of God comes to make self-disclosure to share wisdom, to give affirmation or rebuke, to provide encouragement, and to give direction and guidance. When this garden is in proper order, it is a quiet place, and there is an absence of busyness, of defiling noise, of confusion. The inner garden is a delicate place, and if not properly maintained it will be quickly overrun by intrusive under-growth. God does not often walk in disordered gardens. And that is why inner gardens that are ignored are said to be empty. - Gordon MacDonald

WHAT DOES THE RIOT AT EPHESUS TEACH US ABOUT TRUE GOSPEL? 1)   Begin WHERE YOU ARE with honest admission of your need. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23-24 Know the condition of your heart.

You are here!

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WHAT DOES THE RIOT AT EPHESUS TEACH US ABOUT TRUE GOSPEL? 1)   Begin WHERE YOU ARE with honest admission of your need. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23-24 Know the condition of your heart. Admit your desperate need and acknowledge the Spirit’s work within you heart even before your awareness. Focus on self-examination—not on introspection. Choose to stay in the “bright room” not in the “dark room.”

WHAT DOES THE RIOT AT EPHESUS TEACH US ABOUT TRUE GOSPEL? 2)   Cling to LIFE-GIVING THINGS for the vitality of your heart. 20 My son, be attentive to my words;     incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight;     keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them,     and healing to all their flesh. (vs. 20-22) Cling to God’s Word and wisdom (Ps. 119:105:131). Cling to godly thoughts and values (Phil. 4:8-9). Cling to spiritual friends/community (2 Tim 2:22). Cling to convictions and leading of the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-18). Cling to seeking Jesus’ way (John 10:10).

WHAT DOES THE RIOT AT EPHESUS TEACH US ABOUT TRUE GOSPEL? 3)   Put away LIFE-DRAINING THINGS from your heart. 24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 7 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. (vs. 24-27) Put away all known sins, rationalizations, & compromises that weaken your heart (vs.24-27). Put away negative self-talk & cynical thought/victimization that confuses your heart (2 Cor. 10:5). Put away subtle pride that hardens your heart (James 4:7-10). Put away fear/anxiety that burdens your heart (Phil 4:6-7). Put away activities/habits that snare your heart (Heb. 12:1-2).

WHAT DOES THE RIOT AT EPHESUS TEACH US ABOUT TRUE GOSPEL? 4)   CREATE INTENTIONAL SPACE to tend your heart/garden as a regular rhythm in your life. 15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:15-16 Daily Space: daily Quiet Time & journaling. Weekly Space: spiritual community & spiritual friends Occasional Space: timely “mini retreats” as needed. Seasonal Space: cultivate holy traditions—seasonal retreats, journaling, seasonal solitude & silence days (with yearly spiritual direction statement and quarterly Top 10 List).

Solitude & Silence as a Central Rhythm When we are willing to wait in solitude and silent prayer before God, the Holy Spirit begins to re-center our lives, picking through all the distracted fragments and confusion, to the heart of who we are, to the place where God’s love waits to welcome us. There we wait in hope and longing for the unfolding of the great secret, kept in God’s love . . . the secret of who we are becoming. - David Runcorn

THREE PRACTICAL QUESTIONS FOR OUR EVERYDAY LIFE What do I need to admit about the condition of my heart? What will I do about it? What do I need to put away from my heart? What do I need to cling to for my heart? How will I create intentional space to tend my heart/garden in the coming week? In the New Year, 2013?