TIME OUT with Pastor Ben - Proverbs 4

Morning family It is Tuesday This is another timeout.

My name is Benjamin Talley, I'm the associate pastor at Witten Memorial Baptist Church Just came to spend some time on the word today, what's up Richard?

What's up Tara? It is a good day to be alive in Jesus Christ Good day, what's up Bill?

Spend some time in the word. We are in Proverbs today Proverbs probably my favorite book in the

Old Testament Just cuz it's got it's full of wisdom and I know we all need wisdom.

I know I need wisdom So Solomon writes the book of Proverbs and in the book of Proverbs he writes chapter 4 and in chapter 4 there is a lot of Wisdom a lot of stuff so Let's just dig into it and we will start with verse 23 in chapter 4 of the book of Proverbs And it says this it says

Guard your heart above all else For it is the source of life

Don't let your mouth speak dishonestly and Don't let your lips

Talk deviously let your eyes look forward Fix your gaze straight ahead

Carefully Consider the path for your feet and all your ways will be established

Don't turn to the right or to the left Keep your feet away from evil so there's several things

I want to point out and kind of talk about First let's look at verse 23

Verse 23 says guard your heart above all else for it is the source of life now

Some translation says from it flow the issues of life now guard your heart simply means

Good morning, Teresa Good morning Good morning,

Gwen so It means Guard your heart means keep your heart

You know keep watch over your heart now Calvin Calvin the famous pastor

John Calvin had it right. He said that the heart Lust it produces a idle factory

The heart is an idle factory Because it lust it covets it desires it does all these things

See you have we live in a culture where it says follow your heart and and the heart is

Deceitful above all things we know that from Jeremiah So the heart is deceitful above all things so we have to keep careful watch over our heart

So he says guard your heart above all else for From it flows the issues of life or for it is the source of life

I Like from it throws the issues of life just because it kind of gets the whole

Meaning of the text so We we see that from it flows the issues of life

It it gets the idea of All things see the heart is the seat of our emotions

It it shows that from the heart all of our emotions and all of our worries and all of our cares and everything flow from the heart, so That's just that's what we get that's what happens with us

So we have to keep a careful watch over our hearts, and then he says this he says don't let your mouth speak dishonestly

And don't let your lips talk Deviously see we know from Luke chapter 6 that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks so that's a real problem if the heart is deceitful above all things and From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks then we got a real problem

And we really need to keep close to watch over our heart so mark chapter 7 verses 9 through 23 says that even more he says

Jesus said what comes out of a person is what defiles him from within all out of people's hearts comes evil thoughts

Sexual morality thefts murders adulteries greed evil actions deceit self -indulgence envy slander pride

Foolishness all of these evil things come from within and defile a person now that just shows

The heart of the human condition we are sinners. That's a problem, but uh you know

God offers grace to us and That's what that's what's so beautiful about grace the fact that he offers us what we don't deserve so that's the beauty of the cross so But uh, you know, he says in verse 24

Good morning, Angie Thank you for joining us. He says don't let your mouth speak dishonestly and don't let your lips talk deviously

So saying keep careful watch over what you say now our words and what we say morning,

Amber He says keep careful watch over what you say, you know, what we say is simply like a toothpaste

You know, you can squeeze all the toothpaste out of the tube, but you can't put it back in You know, that's that's a problem.

We can't put back our words. We can't take our words back So we have to be careful what we say

So it says Let your eyes look forward fix your gaze straight ahead

Carefully consider the path for your feet and all your ways will be established

Don't turn to the right or to the left keep your feet away from evil so You know, we can't look at what evil doers are doing we can't look at the evil in this world

We will be sidetracked we will be discouraged You know,

I heard an illustration once where? Where you give a cup of water to someone and you tell them to walk around the building and They're watching other people as they walk around the building.

They're gonna spill that water But if they focus on the cup and the water in the cup they'll be less likely to spill the water because they're focused on not spilling the cup as opposed to Focusing on what everybody else is doing.

They're gonna spill the water. I hope that makes sense But you should not focus on what evil people are doing

You should not focus on what the world is doing. You should focus on your own spiritual walk with the

Lord building up your brothers in Christ and Focused on what the word is calling you to do as a believer.

So I think that gets my point across. So let me just encourage you

You know James says You know resist the devil submit to God and He will lift you up, you know humble yourself in the sight of God and he will lift you up so We have a

God who looks at our impurities Who looks at our faults who looks at our sins and he lifts us up as we humble ourself

So he helps us to guard our heart above all else he sees that we struggle with our

Sin nature and he helps us look at him for all the answers he's how he helps us look at him for He is the author and the perfecter of our faith and the in the finisher of our faith so we are looking to him our gaze should be set on him as our mediator as our

Example and he helps us in doing that He gives us the power we are not left alone to our own devices

We have the Holy Spirit. So be encouraged. You're not alone in this battle. You're not alone in this fight

He guards us and we have a new Comforter we have a counselor. We have a wonderful counselor living inside our hearts who we are being renewed every day

Every day we're being renewed every day praise God so God is good y 'all

That is a good thing that God is good to those who are perishing

That may not be a good thing because God is good and he's gonna judge sin But to us that means that he is good to us and he does what is right and what is just so be encouraged

God loves us and he follows After his own

Righteousness and holiness he he he loves us man and man, that's something to rejoice about we stand in the presence of him and He he he loves us

So let let's just uh, let's pray together and I'll let you go forward in your day in God's presence

Praising and worshiping him God, I thank you for this group. I pray

God that you help us walk in your ways today I pray that you help us be encouraged and just Follow after you and seek your face today and Lord, I pray you just to give us the strength and the ability to do everything you called us to do in Jesus name.