Proverbs 4:23 Out of the Hearts Springs the Issues of Life

To go along with what Brother Keith said, it's amazing how the Southern Baptists have moved so far.

I would think most of them don't even know that their confession is a confession that has so much, the Philadelphia Confession of Faith, that they use as their confession, and which speaks of a sovereign God, and how many in the Southern Baptist Association would not even consider that.

So it is amazing, and it's a caution to all of us, right? Because let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he falls.

So, all right, so if you have your Bibles tonight, then if you would, let's go back to Proverbs chapter four.

And we broke this into two separate messages, and we didn't meet last week because of the Easter festivities.

So we looked at verses one through 19 in Proverbs chapter four, and tonight I wanna finish the chapter before Brother Keith comes back next week in chapter five, and deal with verses 20 through 27, but in light of the fact that we haven't met in the chapter for a week, let's just read the whole chapter together, and then our thoughts will be from verses 20 through 27.

So, let us hear the word of God.

Proverbs chapter four.

Hear my children the instruction of a father.

Give attention to no understanding, for I give you good doctrine.

Do not forsake my law.

When I was my father's son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, he also taught me and said to me, let your heart retain my words.

Keep my commands and live.

Get wisdom, get understanding.

Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

Do not forsake her, for she will preserve you.

Love her, and she will keep you.

Wisdom is the principal thing.

Therefore, get wisdom, and in all you're getting, get understanding.

Exalt her, and she will promote you.

She will bring you honor when you embrace her.

She will place on your head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory.

She will deliver to you.

Hear my son and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many.

I have taught you in the way of wisdom.

I have led you in right paths.

When you walk, your steps will not be hindered.

When you run, you will not stumble.

Take firm hold of instruction and do not let go.

Keep her, for she is your life.

Do not enter the path of the wicked.

Do not walk in the way of evil.

Avoid it.

Do not travel on it, that they do not sleep unless they have done evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.

For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence, but the path of the just is like the shining sun that shines even brighter unto the perfect day.

The way of the wicked is like darkness, and they do not know what makes them stumble.

My son, give attention to my words.

Incline your ear to my sayings.

Do not let them depart from your eyes.

Keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them, and health to all flesh.

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life.

Put away from you a deceitful mouth.

Put perverse lips far from you.

Let your eyes look straight ahead.

Let your eyelids look right before you.

Ponder the path of your feet.

Let all your ways be established.

Do not turn to the right or the left.

Remove your foot from evil.

Let's just ask God's blessing.

Father, again, as we open your word, if we realize, Lord, that your word is a well of life to us, and we pray, Holy Spirit, that you would give us living waters tonight, that you would guide our thoughts, that you would help us to understand not only who you are, but who we are to be, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died on Calvary's tree to redeem us from the slave market of sin.

So bless us tonight, Lord, and again, do what only you can do, Lord, and that is to make your word real to us, and then by your great grace to transform our lives so that we'd be more and more like the Savior in whose name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay, so as I said, I wanna look at verses 20 through 27, and I suppose if you're familiar with Proverbs at all, if you're familiar with the Bible, I would think that for many, verse 23 is a memory verse that's probably, to some, been in your mind and in your heart for a long time.

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs or flows the issues of life.

But in this section, this closing section of Proverbs chapter four, as we continue to look at it, in these seven verses, to me, there is just a wealth of spiritual truth that is set before us, and we need to follow, and this is, again, something that we could spend the whole amount of time, we need to follow God's instruction.

We don't just need to hear it.

We need to follow it.

We need to make it our own.

We need to implement it in our life as much as possible.

And so even as we look at how he says this in verse 20, my son, give attention to my words and incline your ear to my saying, that you and I would realize the great need that's there for us to hear the word of God, to have the word of God not only spoken to us, but that it would enter into our lives.

And again, even as I said here, I took a couple of quotes from some commentators on that thought about the importance of, in essence, just hearing the word of God.

And I liked what Matthew Henry said and what John Gill said.

So let me just repeat what they said.

So Matthew Henry, as far as what Solomon says in verse 20, my son, give attention to my words and incline your ear to my saying, Matthew Henry said, attentive hearing of the word of God is a good sign of the work of grace begun in the heart and a good means for carrying it on.

And I thought that was a well-pointed statement, much thought in a few words.

Attentive hearing of the word of God is a good sign of the work of grace begun in our heart.

Certainly we would agree to that.

If someone has no desire to hear the word of God, then you would truly call into question whether they have a desire for God at all, regardless of what they said, right? Because again, and I wanna try to stick to my notes, but you can't separate God's word from God because God's word is a reflection of who? Of who? God.

It's a reflection of his will.

It's a reflection of his character.

It's a reflection of his being.

So certainly attentive hearing, if we have no desire to hear it, to take it in, to absorb it, well then, there's an issue.

And I also like what John Gill said.

And so he made a point that the reason why we ought to give attention to the hearing of God's word, he said it will help to keep, just listen to the areas that he breaks out.

He says it will help keep the mind from vanity, the understanding from error, the will from perversiveness, the conscience clear of guilt, the affections from being inordinate and set on evil objects, the thoughts from being employed on bad subjects, and the whole from falling into the hands of the enemy or being the possession of Satan, great diligence had need be used in keeping it since it is naturally so deceitful and treacherous, a strict eye is to be kept upon it.

I thought that was, again, a great amount of wisdom in that, that you and I, even as we consider God's word, not only is it that it's able to transform us and it's able to cause us to be able to worship him in spirit and truth, but we have such a propensity against it.

And again, I'm not just talking to the unbeliever.

We know that the unbeliever, he's under the bondage of sin, right? He cannot receive the things of God.

It's foolishness to them.

But at the very same time, even for us who lay hold of the Christian faith, that you and I would realize that although the dominion of sin and although the dominion of that bondage has been broken, there is still that which remains in us until that day when, in that sense, I won't need a Thompson chain Bible in heaven.

I won't even need a King James Bible in heaven.

Because there will be no need for it because I will be completely renewed.

So again, from the propensities and the issues that we find in our own heart, it is so important for us just to heed, again, the continual, if you will, cry, warning, plea of Solomon to give attention to his words and to incline our ears to understanding.

And again, I guess that's the stress for tonight is I want us to think about the importance of maintaining ourselves and how hearing the word of God is but one part of working out our salvation.

Not working for, but working out.

That there are many other components that are involved in it, and not only that, and as I hope to show you here shortly, he lays it out in very vivid terms because he will talk about several things.

And so certainly even in verse 20, he talks about the ear, right? Incline your ear to my saying.

And then in verse 21, don't let them depart from your eyes.

And then again in verse 21, he talks about your heart.

And if you continue to read through this, he brings into focus how important it is for us to hear the word of God because it is really that which directs our life in all its different outworkings, even to the point as we get a little further in the verses, he'll talk about a deceitful mouth and perverse lips.

And then he talks about the path of our feet.

You see, you and I need to understand the reason why we need to attend and be attentive to the word of God is because again, let me put it this way.

And this is the way I wrote it to myself to remember.

I believe these verses will prove that a careful heart will lead to a careful life.

A careful heart will lead to a careful life and a prosperous life as long as again, we rightly understand prosperity.

But again, he's going to continually lay these pleas and exhortations out to us and again, not just that we would just take in head knowledge but that it would be that which actually affects and is effectually in every possible area of our lives.

And not only in the areas of the thoughts that we think but also in the area of the things that we do and the things we won't do.

Of the places we will go and the places we won't go.

Of the stand we will take and the stand we won't take.

And again, a lot of that has to do with, what's that old song they used to teach the kids? Be careful little eyes what you see, right? Careful little feet where you go for the Lord is up above and he's looking down and low.

So be careful.

I'm not singing the whole thing, so just so you know.

But it's so important for us, isn't it? That you and I would understand it.

Certainly, even as a young person that, and I say that to you that if you're young here tonight and you determine at what point you're young and what point you're not young.

But even for you young people that you would realize that one of the reasons why your parents and we in the church are so desirous to see you take in the word of God is because we know the issues that are gonna come out in your life, and isn't it great, and I remember it was so good to have my kids in my house, right? Because I was the controller, right? I can control much of what they saw, did, where they went, where they couldn't go.

But there's also that great need to prepare them so that what? So when their feet have to go by themselves, and when their eyes have to go by themselves, that they have good understanding, and again, that's why it's such an important reason for us to, even as he will say in verse 23, keep our hearts with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life.

So again, I really believe that not only will a careful heart lead to a careful life, but the opposite is true.

In other words, and I would, I know it to be true, how many times we, I'll keep it in the realm of raising children, how many times we raise our children, and we cling to, raise up a child in a way he should go, and when he's old, he will not depart from it.

Well, guess what? That's not an absolute, and you and I realize that when our kids get out, and all of a sudden, we're like, what are you doing? Why are you doing this? Why won't you do that? What's gone on, and can it be that they never really laid hold of the truth, of maintaining their own heart, and it led them down what? The pathway of evil.

And you know, people have this idea that, again, I know I'm starting off, I'm starting to drift, but people have this idea that, especially in ministers, that ministers' kids are perfect.

Well, I will tell you what, they ain't.

And so again, the importance of hearing the word of God, allowing the word of God to penetrate, and not only that, but allowing it to dictate, dictate our lives, not just our minds, but our lives.

So as you think about this, and we look at these verses, I wanna point out also that this, to me, it is the principle that's laid out here.

So verses 20, first couple of verses.

My son, give attention to my words, incline your heart to my sayings.

Do not let them depart from your eyes.

Keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them, and health to all flesh.

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life.

And here's my point, it takes the whole person, man or woman, it takes the whole man to be a whole Christian.

I think we sometimes lose sight of that.

It takes the whole woman to be one who lives the whole Christian life.

It involves everything, and again, that's why I'm trying to highlight this idea of our eyes, and our ears, and our feet, and our mouth.

And I often, well, I pretty much do it every day now, because I guess I'm just convicted of it.

Every morning I wake up, and I look at the Bible, and I pray back to God's Psalm 144, verse three, where it says, keep the doors of my lips shut.

Keep back my mouth.

And just a thought, and you think about it, God's almost given us two gates.

You got your teeth, and then you got your lips.

And yet, for whatever reason, and we all know the reason, even if I had a muzzle on me, I'd still probably say things I shouldn't say, right? But it takes the whole person to be a whole Christian, and that should be our desire, to be a whole child of God.

Totally given over to the truth, and that's a principle that I really believe is important for us, because if you look what it says, in verse 22, it says, continuing along that thought, he says, for they are life to those who find them, and health, look, to all their flesh.

All of it.

Again, if we begin to put truth in buckets, compartments, silos, rather than have the word of God and the desires of our heart permeate every part of us, then there's gonna be lack.

And again, it takes, this is not, I say it this way.

We are all saved by grace, amen? Amen.

The walk that we walk is not an easy walk.

And if it is an easy walk, if it's so easy that you do not struggle with it, then I suggest to you, you're not walking in it the way you ought to.

Because it doesn't come easy.

Being a child of God in an ungodly world is not a simple task.

It's a great work of the spirit of God, yes, but there's also our part in this.

Again, you and I need to understand that the whole man needs to be wholly given over to the worship and obedience to God, and that in doing that, every part of us will be affected.

Every part of us, is that not what we are seeking to have transformed by the renewing of our mind? Every part of us, everything and anything that hinders us from glorifying God.

Now, there are those who would say that that just seems a little bit excessive.

Well, my answer to that is, no, it's not, in simple terms, it's not.

Considering what he has done for us, what we ought in gratitude and in thankfulness do for him, in bringing our own body into subjection.

Isn't that what Paul says? Remember what Paul says, and let me just read this to you.

Remember what Paul says as far as himself? I want to make sure that I say it just the way Paul says it.

So, 2 Corinthians 13, I'll turn there, just read through, 2 Corinthians 13, where Paul says this, he says, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith, prove your own selves.

Do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you? Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless, indeed, you are disqualified? But, we need to examine ourselves, and not just examine our religious activity, but examine ourselves before God.

Does God's word affect my feet? Does God's word affect my eyes? What I will allow my eyes to see, where I will allow my feet to travel, where I will control, as much as I can, my own soul, even in private.

Because we're good at it doing publicly, right? We're good, all of us are good publicly to demonstrate many things, just like the Pharisees.

Outwardly, they were what? They looked good, but inwardly, they were like tombs with dead men's bones.

So, you and I have to think about these things, and again, I say to you, this is a principle that I believe is important, and I know I've mentioned it already, but I think to at least understand, and it's interesting to me, as I was reading this, how the progression goes.

So, just follow this thought for a minute, maybe you'll agree.

He says, in verse 20, give attention to my words and incline your ear to my saying, and that's what we've been dealing with right now.

The first thing is we gotta hear it, right? We gotta take it in, it's gotta enter.

And then, if you think about it, there's a progression, and then it goes, what? It goes from the ear, and it's to go next into our hearts.

It's interesting to me that God gives us these portals in our bodies, our ears, and our eyes, and our nose, and I don't know how many of us use our nose to take in the word of God, but it's interesting how the progression is.

We first have to absorb it, it has to enter, and then it has to go where? Into the heart.

Has to go into our inner being, and I was gonna spend some time talking about the different ways in which to understand the inner being of man, and I even brought it up Sunday, and I'm so sorry I said what I said as far as dichotomous, trichotomous, and hippopotamus.

But, let me just say this, it's so important for us to understand that we need to take it in, as I quoted to you from Matthew, Henry, and John Gillett, the importance of being attentive, and it goes down to our heart, and then look how it progresses, because it then is to be kept in our hearts, and as you watch it go out, it put away from you a deceitful mouth, and perverse lips, in verse 24, and then your eyes let them look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you, and then it affects your feet, right? Ponder the path of your feet.

Do not turn from the right or the left.

Somewhat similar to what it says in Psalm 1, right? Blessed is the man who does what? He don't stand in the counsel of the ungodly? It's many times I repeat it, right? Someone, somebody.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.

He stands, sits, and abides.

And I just have a mental, but nevertheless, it's a progression, right? And so the same thing with listening to the word of God, listening to the wisdom of God, listening to God's instruction, it's gotta come in, it's gotta be absorbed, it's gotta be mixed around, and then it is to affect everything that comes out.

Even as Jesus said, what? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

That there's this connection between the invisible and the visible.

The thing that is tangible, and in that sense, the thing that is intangible.

That you and I would realize that this must come down and it must enter into our being and take root, and then to be mixed with faith, and then manifested itself in the life and movement of our eyes and our mouth and our feet, and all those other things.

Again, brothers and sisters, I realize in the first chapters of Proverbs, it's somewhat repetitive, and I think I mentioned this last time.

The reason why Solomon spent so much time in the opening chapters, going over and over and over the same thing, is because it's needed over and over and over again, right? We need to hear the word of God over and over and over and over again.

Because we have this great tendency to drift.

And we have this great tendency to, especially as we go on in the Christian faith, I think there is more of a tendency to let down your God.

Because, and I relate it to my own experience of when I came to Christ, where you couldn't hold me down.

I'm not kidding you.

My poor wife, she's been so faithful to me.

When I first became a Christian, I threw all the toys out of the house.

All the kids' dolls.

I'm not kidding you.

I literally threw the TV out.

Christmas trees, no way.

My music that I listen to, records, in the dumpster.

I mean, I just, you couldn't hold me down.

I would talk to a dog about the gospel if he holds still long enough.

But as you go on in the Christian faith, although that fire, I hope, burns cleaner and stronger, sometimes there's a tendency to just let it get a little cold.

You and I need to stir ourselves up.

You and I need to continually be attentive to the word, because, again, the greatest deception is when you know you're not being deceived.

Often thinking, and even when we had the little kids back there, we talked about, in the Song of Solomon, where it talks about beware of what? The foxes.

The little foxes that come and they steal the grapes, and one by one, they just pluck them off the vine, and then before you know it, the vine is empty.

Right? And that's not what we, I trust that's not what we want.

So these words, to me, are just, again, a wealth of reminder, a wealth of truth, a wealth of wisdom, and that you and I need to pay attention, that if we're going to walk before God, it's going to involve our whole being.

If you think about it, is that not, in many ways, what the Apostle Paul continually stressed, particularly in the pastoral epistles of Timothy and Titus? If you go back and you read those epistles, you'll see that Paul spent a great deal of time with Timothy and Titus to remind them and to cause them to give attention to the things that he had taught them, and, of course, the things that he had taught them were the things of God.

So it wasn't Paul just saying, you know, just do as I do, he'd say do as I do because I, what, I follow Christ.

Let me remind you, in Paul's address to Timothy, he says, let no one despise your youth, right? Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Till I come, give attention to reading, exhortation to doctrine.

Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you by the prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.

Meditate on these things.

Give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to what? All.

Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine.

Continue in them.

And then he says this.

For in doing this, in doing this, you will save both yourself and those that hear you.

Many times people have come up to me and I'm sure you also, people say, well, I'm just not sure what the Lord wants me to do.

I'm not really sure what the will of God is for my life.

You know what the perfect answer is? This is the will of God, even your sanctification.

That's what, that's what the will of God is.

I'm not really sure what my gift is.

Pursue holiness, you'll find it.

And guess what? It'll find you.

You don't have to find it, it'll find you.

But I wonder sometimes if we kind of have it backwards.

I want to do this for the Lord.

I want to do that for the Lord.

And I want to be this and I want to be that.

And I want to, I want to street preach and I want to be a minister or I want to be an evangelist or whatever, a missionary.

Okay? Great, God bless you.

Take heed to yourself.

Be attentive to God's word.

Keep your heart with all diligence.

Mind yourself.

Pay attention.

And if you think about it, even in the Old Testament, that was the, one of the great desires was that the prophets continue, and even as Moses, provoking the people of God to what? To listen, to take it in, to obey it, to implement it.

Right? Deuteronomy says, "'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

"'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, "'with all your soul, with all your strength.

"'And these words which I command you today "'shall be in your heart.

"'You shall teach them diligently to your children "'and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, "'when you walk by the way, when you lie down, "'when you rise up, you shall bind them "'as a sign on your hand, "'and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

"'You shall write them on the doorposts of your house "'and on your gates.'" No matter what.

We would agree with the thought, no matter where I go, I need to take the word of God with me, right? Well, let me also suggest to us to think about this.

Not only should, wherever we go, take the word of God with us, but let me add this to it, that the word of God should lead us where we ought to go.

Not just that I'll take the word of God with me wherever I go, but the word of God should be that which causes us to go, provokes us to go, directs us to go.

And that you and I would see it that way and the only way, again, is to walk in faith and to live the Christian life and that it's totally encompassing, brothers and sisters.

If people wanna call us fanatics, I'm fine with that.

I'm fine with it if people wanna call me, and again, this is a term from a couple decades, Jesus freaks.

I got a book, actually, I forgot who wrote it, but the title of the book is Jesus Freaks.

And you people are all too serious about this stuff.

Come on! Those people don't know what's involved.

Those people don't know what it is to be a child of God.

Those people don't know what it is to be saved.

People don't know what it is to have met the Lord of glory, to have been rescued from running into the rocks spiritually and it's because their lives have a controversy with the word of God, see? And you and I need to be attentive to it.

And if we have a controversy with the word of God, the controversy is with us, not with the word of God, right? It's our issue, not the word of God's issue.

And so when you read what Solomon is saying here, and again, may I remind you over and over again that the very things that Solomon teaches us, what? He fell into many of the traps that he warns us not to fall into, particularly when it came to the issue of women, as Brother Keith will bring up, and it's kind of splattered throughout the book of Proverbs.

He fell victim because he didn't take his own teaching to heart.

And again, let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

And again, we can spend a whole lot of time on this great verse of verse 23, keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it flows, springs the issue of life, and that you and I would understand how it's to guide all of us.

He talks about this totality in many ways in these verses, and let me just show you what I mean by that.

So, my son, give attention to my words.

Incline your hearts to my saying.

Don't let them depart from your eyes.

Keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them and help to all their flesh, okay? Look at verse 23.

Keep your heart with what? All diligence, for out of it flows the issues or springs the issues of life.

Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips from you.

Let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you.

Ponder the path of your feet and let what? All your ways be established.

All of us, our eyes, our ears, our mouth, our feet, our hearts, our words, our desires.

It's amazing to me how we can learn so much from so many that do not have even the slightest concern for the things of God, and what I mean by that is it's amazing to me how we can notice how people who have no regard for the things of Christ, no concern for the things of God, and yet they have so much concern and to a point of consumption of maintaining all that they have, and they mean it all.

I mean, which one of us would say, well, I don't really care about all the things in my house, so if a robber wants to come in, as long as he doesn't take this and as long as he doesn't take that, I guess I'm okay with that.

Brother was ready to break a board already.

It's all my house, stay out of my house, right? No, if you need it, I'll give it to you.

You're not coming and taking it.

I was so mad, it was a couple months ago, somebody broke into my car, stole my change.

I'm like, what in the world? Is it that important for you to take my $3 in quarters and dimes and nickels, and I had them all lined up nice and neatly in the little tray and everything? And he did it to Candy's car too, stole her change.

But it's amazing to me how much this world is so consumed and so diligent and so desirous to protect all that they have, and yet for all that they have no regard about the word of God and the glory of God and the worship of God.

That's why I say there's many things we could learn from the ungodly, remembering that, but for the grace of God, why? There goes I.

And I need to say this, and we'll start to close it down, but I need to say this, we need to be careful too that the manner of our life is dictated by the word of God and the desire to please God, and that it's not just controlled by outward morality.

That we need to be careful because listen, there are many people who are very careful about the life that they live.

They're very careful that they would never go this place or that place, they would never use this kind of language or that kind of language.

They would never allow this or that or the other thing.

And so we need to be careful.

This can't just be an issue of outward morality.

It has to be an issue of the heart, doesn't it? It has to be that which we, from desire, want to bring forth.

Again, I say to you, there are many moral people in this world that would put us to shame for the things that they do.

But their desires are not right.

Their heart is not right.

It's not God's glory, it's their glory, right? We need to be careful that we have things straight in our minds.

Again, I say to you, the first thing is, be attentive to the word.

And not just the word that you like, the word of God, right? Just like, we believe, we uphold the sovereignty of God.

But I tell you this, brothers and sisters, with all sincerity, I know my brothers would agree with me.

We're not gonna stand up here for 52 weeks a year and preach the sovereignty of God.

And yet, the sovereignty of God will come out 52 weeks a year, don't misunderstand me.

But we're not gonna just ride that one horse all the time.

Because the Christian life is all-encompassing, isn't it? It needs to affect everything.

So maybe that would be a question for us to think about.

Is the word of God affecting my eyes? Is the word of God affecting my feet? Is the word of God affecting my mouth? Is the word of God affecting my whole being, that I wanna bring it into captivity, as Paul says, what? To the obedience of Christ.

Brother Keith and I were talking before about prayer and different aspects of it.

And I said to him, and I meant it, I'm finding myself more and more, well, what I said to him was, when I get up in the morning, I pray in confession for what I dreamt about.

I'm finding myself more and more captivated with the thoughts that I had while I was sleeping.

And I'm seeking to confess them before I move on to the day.

Because I know I've offended God in my dreams.

You might think, I don't know what you might think, you might just think I'm talking cuckoo.

But guess what? You're not much different than me.

And you can't sit there and tell me that you have spiritual dreams 24 sevens.

But I guess what I'm trying to say is it needs to encompass all of us.

We're responsible.

I even mentioned to him, we can't do the Flip Wilson stuff.

Not the devil that made us do it, maybe they're tempted.

We're responsible for our whole being.

Thoughts that we think, the words that we use.

Again, the time that we have.

How many of us are concerned about how we use our time? I'll guarantee you we're more concerned how we use our money than how we use our time.

Because money is important.

And it is, but so is our time.

Because it's time to set our minds on the things above.

There's no idle minute in the Christian life, brothers and sisters.

There really isn't.

Again, we put it in buckets.

Well, this is the time I study.

And this is the time I do this.

And this is the time I go to church.

And this is the time for this, that, the other thing.

Well, let me say this to you.

And that might very well be the case because we live very busy lives.

But even that time that God gives us, we ought to be seeking to be attentive to his word and have it work out in our lives.

It must really be a work of grace, right? And it must be a work of grace in that it's motivated by a debt of gratitude.

Jesus was not a half a savior, was he? Jesus didn't just put some effort and some labor and some ministry into place.

Every single thought.

Just use that as I close as an example.

The Lord Jesus Christ never had a sinful thought.

How are we in seeking to be like him? Do thoughts count or is there only actions? Do what? Does what I do in private really matter? Just like the world says, well, everybody does whatever they want behind closed doors.

No, God sees behind the doors, doesn't he? Put away deceitful mouth, perverse lips.

Let your eyes look straight ahead.

Let your eyelids look right before you.

Ponder the path of your feet.

Let all your ways be established.

Do not turn to the right or left and remove your foot from evil.

And I pray that as we continue to look through the Book of Proverbs and see these principles come out over and over again, that we would take heed to them.

Not just, again, hear them and say, man, that's right, and then forget them.

But that would really be, in that sense, a work in progress for us.

So may God bless us and may God be pleased to do a great work of grace in us as we pilgrim through this land till we get to that day when we shall see him face to face.

Let's pray.

Our Father in God, thank you for, Lord, I just thank you for your word.

Your word is so clear and it's so vivid and it's so full of wisdom and grace and mercy and goodness.

And Lord, help us to be attentive to it.

Help us to realize that you did not just save us that we would be saved from hell, but that you saved us that we might bring you glory in this life and that we might bear more and more the image of the Son of God who so loved us that he gave himself for us.

In his name, amen.