Guard Your Heart
In order to stay different and not let the world’s system and culture
affect our lives, we must guard our hearts. 2 Tim. 1:14 “With the
help of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard what has
been entrusted to you.” NLT Something has been
entrusted to you – what is that something that was entrusted to you;
that you are to “guard?” He has entrusted His very being – His heart
– His spirit – His life. He’s given it to you. He’s put it in your
heart. Your heart is precious to Him. “Guard this precious thing
placed in your custody by the Holy Spirit who works in us.” The Message To put it another way look at 1 Timothy 6:20,
“Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care.” The lives
of a lot of people are hanging on your life. They really are – the
people you come in contact with – the people you pray for. Or how about
the people you don’t come in contact with or the people you haven’t
prayed for. We’re affecting their lives too because we could have come
in contact with them or we could have been praying for them.
“More than any other one thing that you can do to make your
life count, guard your heart.”
Let’s look at it another way. Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else,
guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.” NLT
More than any other one thing that you can do to make your
life count, guard your heart. Be careful what gets in your heart because
it affects everything you do – everything – your speech, your conduct,
the way you view school, the way you view the Bible, the way you look
at God, the way you look at your parents, the way you look at the
policeman, the way you look at your speedometer, the way you look at
your clothing, the way you look at your face, the way you look at
anything. What you put in your heart affects everything – everything.
Look at that scripture in the CEV version, “Carefully guard your
thoughts because they are the source of true life.” How do things
get into your heart? You think about them. You hear them. You speak them.
Speaking…hearing…thinking…watching. You hear something; it’s going to
spark a thought. You see something; it’s going to spark a thought. Those
thoughts; we meditate on them, think about them. They’ll get in your
heart. You see it enough times; you hear it enough times – it’s going to
become normal to you. It’s no big deal to walk through the underwear
section in Wal-Mart or Victoria's Secret in the mall. Fifty years ago it
wouldn’t be displayed like that. The Victoria's Secret fashion show is
no fashion show – it’s pornography! OK what about the swimsuit version of
Sports Illustrated – there’s no sport they’re advertising there. So what’s
the problem with “little” stuff like cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana –
it will kill you just as dead – It just takes a little longer. It will
kill your heart.
Why do we have to live differently? Because we have to guard our hearts.
Carefully guard those thoughts because they are the source of true life –
do you want to live or do you want to die – those are your choices.
You can die slowly or you can die quickly – or you can LIVE! You can
continue to affect the world. But you can’t affect the world if you’re
dead - spiritually or physically! You can’t get anybody saved if you’re
dead. We have to guard our hearts.
Before we can guard our hearts, we have to have something worth guarding.
Here is the most important part.
[Raise-Live-Guard]
[Raise the Standard]
[Live the Difference]
[The Bottom Line]
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