Proverbs 4:23 The Battle for Your Heart

INTRODUCTION:

·       Spiritually speaking there are battles going on that we are at times oblivious to. 

When the servant of the man of God got up early and went out, he discovered an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. So he asked Elisha, “Oh, my master, what are we to do? ”

 Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.”

Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. — 2 Kings 6:15-17 (CSB)

“Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision refers to those days.” — Daniel 10:12-14 (CSB)

·       The New Testament also affirms this in Paul’s letter to the early church in Ephesus.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.  — Ephesians 6:12 (CSB)

·       There is a spiritual battle going on in your own life.  This battle is also the title of today’s message, “The battle for the heart”. 

BATTLE FOR THE HEART:

Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. — Proverbs 4:23 (CSB)

·       “guard” – to watch or guard, to preserve or be blockaded (Occurs 63 times in OT)

You, Lord, will guard us; you will protect us from this generation forever. — Psalm 12:7 (CSB)

·       “source” – a place from which a thing goes forth, a gate. 

·       Let’s look at this battle and answer three questions.

1.     Who are we guarding ?

“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.  How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. — Matthew 7:13-14 (CSB)

Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.  I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. — John 10:7-10 (CSB)

·       Who is this thief?  This is how Jesus described him. 

You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. — John 8:44 (CSB)

·       What is his authority?

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” — Matthew 4:8-9 (CSB)

2.     What is the Devil’s ?

1)     He wants to your heart. 

“No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” — Genesis 3:4-5 (CSB)

BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE: If we entertain it, the enemy is ready to present what appears to be a sensible reason to walk in the opposite direction of God’s will. 

o   If we listen too long, we will always end up at Verse 6.

The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. — Genesis 3:6 (CSB)

2)     He wants to your heart away. 

He had seven hundred wives who were princesses and three hundred who were concubines, and they turned his heart away. When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. — 1 Kings 11:3-4 (CSB)

Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception. — Hebrews 3:12-13 (CSB)

BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE:  The enemy will offer things on the wide road that will turn our hearts away from God.

3)     He wants to (damage) your heart. 

He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.  — John 12:40 (CSB)

BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE:  Sin and pain will harden your heart and prevent you from experiencing the love of God and others. 

EMOTIONAL PAIN LADDER:

The list below shows the progressive damage to the heart of unhealed hurt.

1. Hurt

2. Pain

3. Frustration

4. Anger

5. Depression

6. Anxiety

7. Stop talking

8. Pull away from relationships

9. Lose your sense of personal identity

10. Impulsive decisions

11. Despair

12. Suicidal thoughts

BIBILICAL PRINCIPLE: You can repent of sin, but you cannot repent of pain.  Pain needs to be healed. 

3.     What is God’s for your heart?

o   God promises to give you a heart. 

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances. — Ezekiel 36:26-27 (CSB)

·       God promises to your broken heart. 

The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the Lord to glorify him. They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the former devastations; they will renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. — Isaiah 61:1-4 (CSB)

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.” — Luke 4:20-21 (CSB)

EMERALD CITY: 

1. 1. Is there an area of yeart heart that needs healing?
   2. Have you been turning away towards something you know you need to stop?
   3. Is there a lie you are believing that is affecting your heart?
      

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. — John 10:11 (CSB)

My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.” — John 10:27-30 (CSB)