Introduction: The Difficulty and Necessity of Keeping the Heart

Weaver introduces the topic, stating that keeping the heart is the most difficult yet needful exercise for believers, and that God seeks those whose hearts are perfect toward Him.

Now that we have the tech taken care of, that's great. It's good to be here again. Good to see each one of you. Last time I was here, I really got sick. Allergies, sinus, something. If I get sick this time, I'm going to blame it on Brother Samuel. He told me he was sick right before I got here. So if it's communicable, I'll probably catch it. But anyhow, let's open our Bibles tonight, if you would please, to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter four, and we're going to be reading verses 23 through 27. I want to preach a message tonight that I'm going to call absolutely elementary fundamental. If you've heard this message before by listening to sermon audio, well, that's fine. This is a message I preach to myself practically every day. So I want you to look at it.

The title of it is basically Keeping the Heart. Notice Proverbs 4, verse 23:

Do you understand that the most difficult thing and yet the most needful exercise for the child of God is that of keeping our hearts? Our hearts are like water. They're not easy to keep, and oftentimes they run out of bounds.

They always follow the course of least resistance. When you consider the heart and when you consider the Bible, very few people really genuinely keep their heart. I'm going to tell you based upon 2 Chronicles chapter 16 and verse 9, and let me just read it for you. The Bible says,

So it's almost as if God is looking for individuals who are keeping their heart. And once he finds someone's heart who is perfect toward him, he uses those individuals. So the point I'm going to make tonight is just simply this. The doctrine is very clear. It is the keeping and the right managing of the heart under every condition and every situation and every circumstance is the great business of the Christian's life. Because only as we keep our hearts can we honor our Lord and obey our Lord. It's just simply that simple. The greatest difficulty in conversion is winning the heart.

A Clear Command: 'Keep Thy Heart with All Diligence'

The command in Proverbs 4:23 is examined, with the Hebrew meaning 'keep above all keeping' or 'set double guards.' Weaver explains that the heart is not the physical organ but the mind, understanding, and reasoning, using Scripture to define it.

Secondly, implied in this is a personal responsibility. You keep your heart with all diligence. And thirdly, there's an explanatory reason: "for out of it are the issues of life." So let me begin with the first point, a clear command: "Keep thy heart." When you look at Proverbs 4 and verse 23, the Bible says very clearly, "Keep thine heart with all diligence." So I believe that if you look at the Bible and you read the Bible and you believe the Bible, you can understand here's the command that you and I must indeed keep our hearts. Actually, in the Hebrew, it's "keep above all keeping," or "set double guards around your heart." In other words, your heart has to be kept first and foremost. So I said, "Keep thy heart with all diligence." Now, before you can keep your heart, you have to know what your heart is. Obviously, when God says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence," he is not referring to the physical organ in our chest. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of thankful that this physical organ in my chest is an involuntary muscle.

By that, I mean, it just keeps pumping and pumping and pumping. And I don't have to stay awake at night saying, "Pump, heart, pump." It just pumps. And one day it'll stop pumping. And there's not one thing I can do about it. So when God says, "Keep my heart with all diligence," very obviously, he's not talking about the physical organ in your chest. I've often asked people, "What in the world is a heart?" And people respond many different ways. Usually it goes something like this. "What is your heart?" "Well, you know, it's the innermost being of man." "Well, wonderful. What's the innermost being of man?" "Well, you know, it's your soul." "Really? Well, what's your soul?" "Well, you know, it's the innermost being of man." You know, when God commands us to keep our hearts, it would pay for you and I to understand what we are to keep. I want to give you some Scriptures, and if you can't put two and two together, by the time we get to the last one, I'm going to be showing you what the heart really is. If you look in your Bibles to the book of Genesis, chapter 6 and verse 5, you're going to find the very first time the word "heart" is mentioned in the Bible. This is known as the law of first mention. And usually, according to the law of first mention in hermeneutics, the way something is used in the Bible the first time, usually that's going to be the way it's used throughout the Bible, unless the context make otherwise known.

So look in Genesis 6 and verse 5, the Bible says,

Now look:

God saw that every imagination of the thoughts of the heart. So whatever the heart is, it can think and it can imagine because God saw the thoughts and God saw the imagination. If you turn in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 27 and look very quickly at verse 41, you remember how Jacob has stolen the blessing from Esau. Actually, that blessing went with the birthright.

But he had taken it by deception. And the Bible says in Genesis 27 and verse 41,

Now watch:

So whatever the heart is, now it can speak. For Esau said in his heart. So the heart can think, the heart can imagine, and the heart can speak. If you would turn right over to the book of Proverbs chapter 5 and look at verse 12. Proverbs chapter 5 and notice if you would please verse 12. Notice what the scripture says here. Proverbs 5 verse 12. The Bible says, "And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof." So the heart then can not only think and imagine, it can not only speak, and it can either receive reproof and instruction, or it can despise it. And then if you turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew 5, and look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 27 and 28.

Matthew 5. Notice what our Lord says in verse 27. Matthew 5, verse 27. He said, "You have heard that it has been said of them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So somehow the heart then is intimately connected with the eyes. Because whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery already in his heart. So the heart can speak. The heart can imagine. The heart can think. The heart can either receive or refuse instruction, and somehow the heart is intimately connected with the eyes.

Now, if you hadn't put two and two together, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Daniel chapter four. Daniel chapter four. And let's look, if you would please, at verse 16 to begin with, because now we're going to read about Nebuchadnezzar. Notice if you would, Nebuchadnezzar was a very proud, arrogant, haughty monarch. And God decided he's going to teach Nebuchadnezzar a lesson. He's going to teach him who's really in charge of this world. And so God issues a command in Daniel 4, verse 16, in reference to Nebuchadnezzar. Look at it very carefully.

The Bible says,

So here's the decree that comes from God.

Now in this same chapter, if you would skip down to say verse 27, because Daniel is now talking to the king, and he says this, "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility." Now watch. "All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, and the king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?" Pride, arrogance. "While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee." Watch carefully, "and they shall drive thee from man."

"And thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee eat grass as oxen, and seven times, or seven years, shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it whomsoever he will." The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven from men, and he ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers, and his nails like bird's claws." So for seven years now, Nebuchadnezzar's literally insane. It's a condition known as boanthropy. Here's a man crawling around on hands and knees, eating grass like an ox, his fingernails grow, his hair grows like bird's feathers. He's a nutcase for seven years.

Now, let me call your attention to something. What did God say in verse 16?

Now, if you haven't put together yet what the heart really is, based upon Genesis 6 and verse 5, the heart can think and the heart can imagine. Genesis 27, it can speak. Proverbs 5, it can receive or despise instruction. Matthew chapter 5, somehow it's connected with the eyes. Watch. Daniel chapter 4, beginning there with verse 34.

"Now, at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me. And I have blessed the Most High, and I have praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest Thou?"

Now, isn't it interesting when you look in verse 34? He said, "Mine understanding returned unto me." What is the heart? It was the heart that was changed. So, the heart then is the understanding. And if you'll skip down to verse 36, he says the same thing, but just a little differently. He says, "At the same time, my reason returned unto me." So what is the heart? The heart is your understanding. The heart is your reasoning ability. The heart is your thinking ability. The interesting thing is this, when God says in Proverbs 4, verse 23, "Keep thine heart with all diligence," the Hebrew word there for heart is the word "lev," L-E-B. And it is translated in our Bibles "mind" 11 times and "understanding" 20 times. So the same word that's translated as heart is translated mind and understanding. Why? Because your mind is your understanding. So let me give you another word. I want you to look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Acts chapter 24 and verse 16, because oftentimes we get all of these terms confused.

You know, you've heard the old adage, "Let your conscience be your guide." And of course, that's not true. The Word of God should be your guide. But I want you to know what the Bible says in Acts chapter 24 and verse 16. The Apostle Paul made this statement. He said,

A conscience void of offense toward God and toward man.

So let me ask you a question. What is your conscience? I know what some people are going to say, they'll say, "Oh, I know what the conscience is. That's that little thing when you start to do something wrong, says you better not do that." Well, that's probably true. But let me explain it. The word "conscience"—it's from the Greek word "suneidesis." "Sun" is a preposition with "eidesis" means to know. All the word conscience means is that which you know with. When you look at our English word "conscience," "con" is a preposition with "science"—to know. Your conscience is that which you know with. What is your conscience? It's your mind. It's your understanding. That's why when you start to do something wrong, your mind says, "I don't do that," because you understand that it's wrong. You know that it's wicked.

I want to show you something. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2nd Corinthians chapter 10. I want to show you this in relationship to your mind, in relationship to your understanding. Look in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10. Begin there with verse 3. 2nd Corinthians chapter 10, verse 3, the Apostle Paul says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh." And then he says this in verse 4, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds."

The Heart Defined as the Mind and Understanding

Through Genesis 6:5, Genesis 27:41, Proverbs 5:12, Matthew 5:27-28, and Daniel 4, Weaver demonstrates that the heart thinks, imagines, speaks, receives instruction, and is connected to the eyes. He concludes the heart is the understanding and reasoning ability.

So look in Genesis 6 and verse 5, the Bible says,

Now look:

God saw that every imagination of the thoughts of the heart. So whatever the heart is, it can think and it can imagine because God saw the thoughts and God saw the imagination. If you turn in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 27 and look very quickly at verse 41, you remember how Jacob has stolen the blessing from Esau. Actually, that blessing went with the birthright.

But he had taken it by deception. And the Bible says in Genesis 27 and verse 41,

Now watch:

So whatever the heart is, now it can speak. For Esau said in his heart. So the heart can think, the heart can imagine, and the heart can speak. If you would turn right over to the book of Proverbs chapter 5 and look at verse 12. Proverbs chapter 5 and notice if you would please verse 12. Notice what the scripture says here. Proverbs 5 verse 12. The Bible says, "And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof." So the heart then can not only think and imagine, it can not only speak, and it can either receive reproof and instruction, or it can despise it. And then if you turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew 5, and look, if you would please, beginning there with verse 27 and 28.

Matthew 5. Notice what our Lord says in verse 27. Matthew 5, verse 27. He said, "You have heard that it has been said of them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So somehow the heart then is intimately connected with the eyes. Because whosoever looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery already in his heart. So the heart can speak. The heart can imagine. The heart can think. The heart can either receive or refuse instruction, and somehow the heart is intimately connected with the eyes.

Now, if you hadn't put two and two together, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Daniel chapter four. Daniel chapter four. And let's look, if you would please, at verse 16 to begin with, because now we're going to read about Nebuchadnezzar. Notice if you would, Nebuchadnezzar was a very proud, arrogant, haughty monarch. And God decided he's going to teach Nebuchadnezzar a lesson. He's going to teach him who's really in charge of this world. And so God issues a command in Daniel 4, verse 16, in reference to Nebuchadnezzar. Look at it very carefully.

The Bible says,

So here's the decree that comes from God.

Now in this same chapter, if you would skip down to say verse 27, because Daniel is now talking to the king, and he says this, "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility." Now watch. "All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, and the king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?" Pride, arrogance. "While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee." Watch carefully, "and they shall drive thee from man."

"And thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee eat grass as oxen, and seven times, or seven years, shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it whomsoever he will." The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven from men, and he ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers, and his nails like bird's claws." So for seven years now, Nebuchadnezzar's literally insane. It's a condition known as boanthropy. Here's a man crawling around on hands and knees, eating grass like an ox, his fingernails grow, his hair grows like bird's feathers. He's a nutcase for seven years.

Now, let me call your attention to something. What did God say in verse 16?

Now, if you haven't put together yet what the heart really is, based upon Genesis 6 and verse 5, the heart can think and the heart can imagine. Genesis 27, it can speak. Proverbs 5, it can receive or despise instruction. Matthew chapter 5, somehow it's connected with the eyes. Watch. Daniel chapter 4, beginning there with verse 34.

"Now, at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me. And I have blessed the Most High, and I have praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest Thou?"

Now, isn't it interesting when you look in verse 34? He said, "Mine understanding returned unto me." What is the heart? It was the heart that was changed. So, the heart then is the understanding. And if you'll skip down to verse 36, he says the same thing, but just a little differently. He says, "At the same time, my reason returned unto me." So what is the heart? The heart is your understanding. The heart is your reasoning ability. The heart is your thinking ability. The interesting thing is this, when God says in Proverbs 4, verse 23, "Keep thine heart with all diligence," the Hebrew word there for heart is the word "lev," L-E-B. And it is translated in our Bibles "mind" 11 times and "understanding" 20 times. So the same word that's translated as heart is translated mind and understanding. Why? Because your mind is your understanding. So let me give you another word. I want you to look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Acts chapter 24 and verse 16, because oftentimes we get all of these terms confused.

New Testament Emphasis on the Mind

Weaver cites 1 Peter 4:1, Philippians 2:5, Romans 12:1-2, and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 to show the importance of renewing the mind and bringing every thought captive to Christ.

I want to show you something. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2nd Corinthians chapter 10. I want to show you this in relationship to your mind, in relationship to your understanding. Look in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10. Begin there with verse 3. 2nd Corinthians chapter 10, verse 3, the Apostle Paul says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh." And then he says this in verse 4, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds."

Now, just stop there just for a moment. And the Apostle Paul is not condemning carnal weapons. All he's saying is this, carnal weapons are of no use in the warfare that you and I are waging in our minds. So your pastor could come up and put a pistol to my head and say, "Now, Brother Weaver, I want you to think this and this." And I'd say, "Yes, sir," but I'm not thinking that. How would he know? Carnal weapons no good.

Now, look carefully at verse 4. He says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." You know what a stronghold is? It's your place of defense. It's where you think you're safe. So if someone came through that back door, shooting a .357 Magnum, I'm going to drop down behind this pulpit. This pulpit would be my place of defense. It'd be my stronghold.

You said, "That's not much." No, but it's better than what you've done right now. You understand what I mean? But it'd be my stronghold. And if you fell down under the pew, that'd be your stronghold. You want to see what man's stronghold is? Look at it. Look in verse 4. He says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations and every high thing..." Literally, every high thought that exalted itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Unbiblical, ungodly, fleshly, carnal, sensual thoughts—are you allowed to have? None. Every thought is to be brought into captivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. So now, when God says, "Keep your hearts with all diligence," He's telling you, you better keep your mind.

I'm going to tell you why just momentarily. You not only better keep your mind, you better make sure that you're thinking, that your understanding is all biblical, that you're basing it upon the Word of God. So here is this clear command: "Keep thy heart with all diligence." Here's the second point: a personal responsibility. You keep your heart with all diligence. Obviously, if your heart is your mind, if it's your understanding, you're the only one that really can have the responsibility to keep it. It's not your pastor's responsibility to keep your mind. It's not a deacon's responsibility. It's not a church board's responsibility. It's your responsibility. God gave you your mind. He gave you your reasoning ability. You are responsible to keep it, and no one else can keep it for you. I can't make you think rightly. I can't make you think biblically. I can't make you think morally. That is your responsibility. By the way, if you understand what I'm saying, you're going to understand another very important precept from the Word of God.

A Personal Responsibility: You Keep Your Heart

The responsibility to keep the heart is personal; no one else can do it. Weaver argues there is no such thing as a sudden sin, as actions stem from thoughts, and believers must actively reject wicked thoughts.

You said, "That's not much." No, but it's better than what you've done right now. You understand what I mean? But it'd be my stronghold. And if you fell down under the pew, that'd be your stronghold. You want to see what man's stronghold is? Look at it. Look in verse 4. He says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations and every high thing..." Literally, every high thought that exalted itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Unbiblical, ungodly, fleshly, carnal, sensual thoughts—are you allowed to have? None. Every thought is to be brought into captivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. So now, when God says, "Keep your hearts with all diligence," He's telling you, you better keep your mind.

I'm going to tell you why just momentarily. You not only better keep your mind, you better make sure that you're thinking, that your understanding is all biblical, that you're basing it upon the Word of God. So here is this clear command: "Keep thy heart with all diligence." Here's the second point: a personal responsibility. You keep your heart with all diligence. Obviously, if your heart is your mind, if it's your understanding, you're the only one that really can have the responsibility to keep it. It's not your pastor's responsibility to keep your mind. It's not a deacon's responsibility. It's not a church board's responsibility. It's your responsibility. God gave you your mind. He gave you your reasoning ability. You are responsible to keep it, and no one else can keep it for you. I can't make you think rightly. I can't make you think biblically. I can't make you think morally. That is your responsibility. By the way, if you understand what I'm saying, you're going to understand another very important precept from the Word of God.

Do you realize there is no such thing as a sudden sin? I preached for nearly 54 years. And I've had men come up to me and say something like this. "Brother Weaver, I didn't mean to run off with that woman. It just happened." That's hogwash. You thought about it before you ever did it. You planned it. You wanted it. "I didn't mean to steal. The money was just there." No, no, no. You thought about it before you ever did it. There's no such thing as a sudden sin.

You can't act without thinking. You may not be thinking rightly, and you may not be thinking for a long period of time. But whatever you do, listen, if I'm going to pick up that paper, I've got to think about picking up that paper before I'm going to pick up that paper. There's no such thing as a sudden sin. So don't come around telling me or your pastor or your elder, "Well, it just happened." No, it didn't just happen. Let me show you something else. This has been an amazing discovery for me. But do you realize, no matter how hard you try, you cannot think about one thing at a time? Have you ever—has that ever entered your mind? For instance, if I were to reach in my pocket and pull out this and ask you, "What is this?" And you say, "Well, that's a tube of Chapstick." If I ask you what color? Well, you say it's black and white. OK, fine.

Now, would you please tell me what you see and what I'm holding in my hand now? You said the Bible. Well, what color is the cover? It's red. Now, here's the thing. While you were thinking about this chapstick, you're not thinking about the Bible. You can't think of one thing at a time, no matter how hard you try. So when an ungodly or wicked thought comes in your mind, you have to reject it. You have to say, "I'm not going to think like that. I'm not going to let that be in my mind. That's wicked. That's wrong. That's a violation of God's law. I'm going to think about that which is biblical and right and holy and godly," and you have to purposely put your mind on that truth of God.

You know, we have an old saying down in South Georgia, maybe you have it here, too, I don't know. But the old saying goes like this: "You can't stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop him from building a nest in your hair." What's that mean? Do you realize the world, the flesh and the devil can throw thoughts in your mind quicker than lightning can flash? And it's really not a sin for that thought to enter your mind. The sin comes when you stop it and back up and say, "Yeah, let me think about this." I tell people when I was a boy, and it's the absolute truth. When I was a boy, you had to pay to go to a burlesque show. I've never been to one, but some of my relatives and friends did, and they had to pay to get in. Today, all you got to do is stop at a red light. You see what I'm saying? It doesn't matter where you are. Ungodly, unholy, unbiblical thoughts can thumb in your mind just like that. And what you have to do is say, "I'm not going to think on that. I reject that. I refuse that." And you have to purposely put your mind upon Jesus Christ or upon His Word.

Keeping Certain Things Out and In

Believers must keep evil thoughts out (Matthew 15:18-20) and keep themselves in the love of God by obeying His commandments (Jude 20-21; 1 John 5:3).

I've never been to one, but some of my relatives and friends did, and they had to pay to get in. Today, all you got to do is stop at a red light. You see what I'm saying? It doesn't matter where you are. Ungodly, unholy, unbiblical thoughts can thumb in your mind just like that. And what you have to do is say, "I'm not going to think on that. I reject that. I refuse that." And you have to purposely put your mind upon Jesus Christ or upon His Word.

Now, let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Matthew 15. Matthew chapter 15. I want you to see how clear that our Lord makes this. Look in Matthew chapter 15 and let's begin reading there. Oh, let's say with verse 15. Our Lord has just given a parable,

Now look what he says.

He's trying to teach it's not eating with unwashen hands that defiles you. Watch what he says. "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man." I want you to notice the first thing that comes out from the heart. "For out of the heart proceedeth evil thoughts." The heart can think. "Murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." Notice if you went out of the heart, he says that's what defiles the man. And the very first thing that comes out of the heart happens to be evil thoughts. You cannot commit evil without thinking evil. So God is telling us that you are responsible to keep certain things out of your heart, out of your mind, out of your reasoning ability, out of your understanding, out of your imagination. You say, "I never have anything bad enter my mind." If you can tell me that truthfully, all I can say is you've never prayed.

You've just never prayed. Because your flesh still hates prayer. And your flesh hates you in that sense of the word. But not only are you responsible to keep certain things out of your mind, you're also responsible to keep certain things in your mind. So, I usually tell people like this, based on that old Alka-Seltzer commercial, I just say it like this: for fast, fast, fast relief, turn off the TV set. And that's true. And listen, I know not everybody has a TV set, but most of the stuff on that TV set is not worth watching. It's just not worth watching. And I'm going to tell you, to be absolutely honest, I refuse to watch anything that there's going to be something wicked or violent. I'm just not going to watch it. And you just can't watch anything today with that. You say, "Well, you must not watch much TV."

No, I probably haven't had a TV in the house in 15 years or 20 years. I don't know. I had a phone call from the telephone people, and they said, "Now, Mr. Weaver, you've been a loyal customer for 30 years. We can save you money." I said, "You can?" I said, "I'm interested in that." I said, "How are you going to save me money?" She said, "Well, we can bundle everything up and we can give you your phone, your Internet and your TV all for one price." I said, "Well, I don't think you can beat my TV price." She said, "Oh, I don't know about that." "How much do you pay?" Well, I said, "I don't pay anything." "You must have an antenna." "No, I don't have an antenna." "Well, how do you get it without paying anything?" "I don't have a TV." She said, "What? What do you do?" I said, "Have you ever heard of reading?" I said, "We read. That's how we learn. We read." Listen, you are responsible to keep certain things out, but you're responsible to keep certain things in.

You're responsible to build yourself up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost. You're responsible to pray in the Holy Ghost. Now, look what he says. "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Wow. God holds you accountable to keep yourselves in the love of God. Now, here's a question. How are you going to keep yourself in the love of God? See, most people, maybe I'll get to preach on this before I leave, I don't know. But most people equate love with feelings and emotions and things like that. That's not love according to the word of God. And most people think love is some kind of abstract thing or some ethereal thing floating out in the atmosphere somewhere. That's not love. God requires you to keep yourself in the love of God. You say, "Well, what is the love of God?" Well, turn back just a page or two to 1 John 5, and look, if you would please, at verse 3. 1 John 5, verse 3. Now remember, God requires you to keep yourself in the love of God. So here's what it is. 1 John 5 and verse 3, "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments."

"And His commandments are not grievous." So how do I keep myself in the love of God? Well, here's how I do it. When this ungodly thought comes in my mind, I say, "Oh, Lord, I can't have that. I refuse that. I reject that. Thou hast said thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou hast said thou shalt not covet. Thou hast said thou shalt not steal." And I begin thinking about what God has commanded me to do. Keeping myself in the love of God means I'm keeping myself in His law. I'm keeping myself in His word.

Ability and Responsibility: God's Work and Man's Agency

Proverbs 16:1 and Hosea 10:12 show that while God prepares the heart, man has the responsibility to govern and guide it. Hebrews 3:12-13 warns against an evil heart of unbelief through neglect.

Now, I want you to turn to two passages just so I can compare them for you. I want you to turn to Proverbs 16 and the book of Hosea chapter 10. Look in Proverbs chapter 16 first, then we're going to go to Hosea chapter 10. So notice Proverbs chapter 16 and verse one, and really I only need just a part of that verse. So notice, if you would, Proverbs chapter 16 and verse one. Look what the Bible says. Proverbs 16 verse one.

"The preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord." The preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord. Your heart is ever prepared to pray, God prepared it. If your heart is ever prepared to study, God prepared it. If your heart is ever prepared to come to Jesus Christ, God prepared it. If your heart is ever prepared to do anything holy, godly, God prepared it. The preparation of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Now, look if you would please, Hosea chapter 10 and verse 12. Look what God says. Hosea 10 and verse 12. He says,

Now, wait a minute. Proverbs 16, verse one says the preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord. Now, Hosea 10 and verse 12, we have to sow to ourselves in righteousness. We have to reap in mercy. We have to break up our fallow ground. That's a contradiction. No, that's not a contradiction. You see what Proverbs chapter 16 in verse one is talking about is ability—the preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord. What Hosea 10 in verse 12 is talking about is responsibility. We have a responsibility to keep our hearts, we have a responsibility to make sure that our fallow ground is broken up. We have a responsibility to make sure that we sow in righteousness. But the ability is God's.

It is God's work, but it is man's agency. And our obedience is His instrumentality. Let me just show you. Look in Proverbs, Chapter 23. Proverbs, Chapter 23. Here are three verses that will kind of put it together for you. Proverbs, Chapter 23. Notice, if you would please, Verse 12, Proverbs 23, verse 12, he says,

Now, I'm going to just take the word "apply." I'm going to put another word in its place just so it'll help you remember it. I'm going to put it like this: "Govern thine heart unto instruction and thine ears unto the words of knowledge." So God requires you to govern your heart. Now, if you'll skip down to verse 19, look what he says now. After "govern your heart," he said, "Hear thou my son and be wise and guide thine heart in the way." So now you're going to ask me, "How do I govern my heart and how do I guide my heart?" Well, the answer is skip down to verse 26.

He says, "My son, give me thine heart and let thine eyes observe my ways." So we have ability and we have responsibility. Now, if you'll turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter three. Hebrews, chapter three. Still trying to tie some of this together for you, and I want you to understand where I'm coming from. Hebrews three. Look, if you would please, at verse 12. And of course, the apostle is writing to Hebrew believers. And look what he says in verse 12,

What? A brother better take heed, lest there be in him an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. And then he tells us, verse 13, to exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of us be hardened through deceitfulness of sin. How in the world can we have an evil heart if we are children of God, if we are Christians? And the answer is by neglecting our heart. And what is our heart? It is our mind. It is our understanding. It is our imagination.

It's our reasoning ability. You see, here's where we are today. Practically, no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. We learned from our father Adam quite well. "Adam, what have you done?" "It wasn't me, Lord. It was the woman that You gave to be with me. She gave me of the fruit and I did eat." "No, no, no, Lord. It wasn't me. It was the serpent. He beguiled me and I did eat." So it's not Adam's fault. It's not Eve's fault. It's the serpent. Who made the serpent? Well, God, it's your fault. If you hadn't made him, it wouldn't have happened. Have you ever noticed?

Taking Responsibility for Reactions

Weaver illustrates that getting angry or offended is a failure to keep the heart, citing Proverbs 16:32 and 25:28. He shares personal anecdotes about blaming others and the need to control one's spirit.

"Preacher, my boy is a good boy. It's those other boys that drew him away and influenced him." Really? How did they draw him away and how did they influence him? Because of his own wicked heart. I was a principal of our Christian school, a teacher in our Christian school for so many years. I normally preached and taught in school. I was a principal. And when you came to our Christian school, you had to sign a paper saying that we had the right for corporal punishment. In other words, we could whip your child if we needed to. Now, usually what I would do, I would call the parent and say, "I'm going to whip your child."

"He's done such and such. If you'd like to come down here and watch me, I'll wait on you." But you know, anytime I called, I'd much rather talk to Daddy than Mama. You know why? Mama start crying. "My baby, he wouldn't do that." I'd tell Daddy what he did. "Whip his butt, preacher, and when he gets home, I'll whip him too." Have you ever noticed when people leave a church, it's always somebody else's fault? I've noticed this years ago. People used to sit on the front row or in the front.

Next thing you know, they're in the middle. Next thing you know, they're on the back. Next thing you know, they're missing Wednesday. Next thing you know, they're missing Sunday night. Next thing you know, they're missing Sunday morning. Next thing you know, they're just gone. Have you ever wondered about that? Let me tell you something. I want you to think with me now. I'm going to show you some Scriptures. But do you realize if you ever leave mad, that's your sin. That's your fault. I can't make you mad unless you allow me to make you mad. If you keep your heart, I can't make you mad. I can't make you jealous. I can't make you envious. I can't upset you if you keep your heart.

I never will forget years ago. In our church building. Long time ago, you came in the back door. And as you opened like these doors, there was a little recess on each side that held two pews and all the other pews were forward. Well, I stood up ready to preach, and I saw one man come in the door, go back in the corner and sit. And so I went ahead and preached, I mean, he didn't get in for the song service, he just slipped in. So after the service was over, everybody was going home. He tarried. So after everybody left, he came up to me and said, "Preacher, I just want you to know, I won't be coming back to this church." First time I'd ever seen him, really.

I said, "Why is that?" He said, "Well, because your people are unfriendly. Nobody spoke to me, nobody shook my hand." And he should not have said that. I looked at him, I said, "Sir, let me tell you something. I saw you come in late. I saw you sit in that corner and you sat in that corner where no one could see you. I said, our people didn't even know you were there. I said, well, let me ask you another question. Did you offer to shake somebody's hand?" "No." I said, "I know you didn't, because you stayed in that corner until everybody was gone. I said, did you know the Bible said he that hath friends must show himself friendly? I said, you never showed yourself friendly. I said, let me tell you something else, sir."

"If the only reason you came to this church was to get your hand shaken, you come back next Sunday, and I'll have a mule's tail lathered out there to the best of you, and you can stand out there and shake it all during the service, all you like." I said, "Let me tell you, you don't come to shake hands. You come to worship God, and if you're not interested in worshiping God, you're wasting your time and mine anyhow. It'd probably be best if you didn't come back." You understand what I'm saying? I've had so many people tell me, "Oh, brother so-and-so made me mad," or "sister so-and-so said something and it just upset me." That's your sin. You didn't keep your heart. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles, if you would please. First of all, to Proverbs chapter 16. Go to Proverbs chapter 16 and look, if you would please, at verse 32. Proverbs 16, verse 32.

Here it is very plainly stated. Proverbs chapter 16, notice verse 32, the Bible said, "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." God said if you can control your spirit, you're better than a warrior who can take a city. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 25 and verse 28. Proverbs 25, verse 28, here it is again. Look what he says. "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls." What is a city without walls like? You can walk in, get what you want and walk out. Now, I will tell you this. My father, who's now dead, been dead a number of years, used to box, and he boxed professionally for a while. And he was good. He was left handed. He'd only been knocked out one time in his life. And he was fighting another left handed man. And they both hit each other at the same time and knocked each other out. But my dad taught me how to box.

And I never will forget what he said. He said, "Now, son, listen to me. He said, if you ever need to hurt a man, first, make him mad." You know why? Because when a man gets mad, he doesn't think. He reacts. And when you're a boxer, and this man just draws back to do a haymaker on you, you just step in and pop him three or four times and he'll never hit you. He'll never hit you. What did he say? Make him mad first. Because when you get mad, you have lost control. You've lost control of your own spirit. You've lost control of your own mind. You've lost control of your own body.

And the truth of the matter is this, folks. We need to learn to take responsibility for what we think, what we say, what we do, how we act. And if Brother Ashwood comes up and makes me angry, that's my sin. It's not his sin because I have not controlled my spirit. If Brother Barber stood up and cussed me out and everybody in this room is my witness, you heard him cuss me out. Does that give me the right to cuss him back? No, I have to do right even if he doesn't do right. You see, you have a responsibility to keep your heart. You have a responsibility to keep your thoughts. You have a responsibility to keep your mind. You have a responsibility to keep your imagination. You have a responsibility to think and act biblically no matter where you are and what you're doing or what the situation is. So listen, Proverbs 4:23, that's all I'm talking about. "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."

An Explanatory Reason: 'For Out of It Are the Issues of Life'

The Hebrew word for 'issues' means 'outgoings.' Everything in life flows from the heart. Verses 24-27 show that keeping the heart leads to right conduct. Weaver uses Acts 8 to show that the heart is revealed by words and actions.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence." That's the clear command. The personal responsibility is you keep your heart. Here's the last point: an explanatory reason. "For out of it are the issues of life." The little word "issues" is "totsaoth" in the Hebrew. It is translated in our Bibles "going forth" one time, "going out" eleven times, "issue" two times, and "outgoing" seven times. In other words, out of the heart are the issues. Everything comes from the heart. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

Have you ever noticed God said in Hosea 4 and verse 6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"? Do you realize we do not really understand how ignorant we are until we get in an emergency situation and we need to know something and we don't know it? How do you handle certain things? See, I'm not a mechanic. I'm not mechanically inclined at all. On the old trucks, yeah, if my truck quit and I drift over the side of the road, I knew enough to open the hood, check the wires. Back then you had a coil. You could open it and see if there was moisture there and put it back on. Today, you can't do anything like that. You've got to have a computer. So if my truck pulls over and won't run, I'm in trouble. The only thing I can do is pray or try to call somebody or wait on somebody because I'm not a mechanic. But you let the same thing happen to a mechanic.

It's no problem to him because he knows what the problem is and he probably has the tools with him to fix it. So what was the problem? He was not a problem. Have you ever noticed you don't have a problem if you know what to do? It's only when we don't know what to do that we have problems. And have you ever thought about this? You do what you do because you think the way you think. If you act unbiblically, it's because you're thinking unbiblically. You act ungodly, it's because you're thinking ungodly. If you act biblically, it's because you're thinking biblically.

Look back in Proverbs 4 and verse 23. Look at this. Look at it. Just let me show you this. Look what he said. Proverbs 4, verse 23. He said, "Keep thy heart with all diligence." Why? "For out of it are the issues of life."

Now, if you're keeping your heart, watch verse 24, you'll be putting away from thee a froward mouth and perverse lips. If you keep your heart, in verse 25, you'll let your eyes look right on and you'll let your eyelids look straight before you. If you're keeping your heart, verse 26, you'll ponder the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. If you're keeping your heart, verse 27, you won't be turning to the right hand or to the left hand and you'll be removing your foot from evil. You follow that? In other words, what he's saying is if you keep your heart, your conduct is going to follow. Your life is going to follow. Now, I want you to turn to one passage, Acts chapter 8, and as you're turning that passage, I'm going to make a statement. And I want you to think about what I'm going to say. And I do not want you to call me a heretic. Because I'm going to show it to you from the Scripture. But here it is.

I can tell you what is in your heart. "Come on, Brother Weaver. Nobody but God knows heart." No, no, no, no. That's not what the Bible says. It is true, no one but God knows the heart perfectly. But the Bible says, "God looketh upon the heart." God does not look as man looks. But I'm going to show you a passage where one man read another man's heart. And I can read your heart and you can read my heart if you understand what I'm going to tell you. So look in Proverbs—not Proverbs, I'm sorry—Acts chapter 8.

And let's begin reading there with verse 17. See, there's been a great revival now. The disciples have come down. They have laid their hands upon the disciples, the converts, and they've received the Holy Ghost. Well, the interesting thing, here's a man by the name of Simon. Simon was a sorcerer. And if you look down, watch verse 13. Acts 8 verse 13, "Then Simon himself believed also, and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done." So here is Simon, who was a sorcerer now. The Bible says he believed and he was baptized, and he wondered. Now watch verse 14, "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost."

"And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whosoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thine heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee." Whoa, Peter, you just said a mouthful. You told this man his heart was not right with God. How could you say that, Peter? Only God knows the heart. That's hogwash. And you know what Peter said?

I'm going to tell you. He said, "Thy money perish with thee." Do you know what the word "perish" means? Look it up in your Strong's Concordance when you get home. Here's what Peter actually said. "Your money go to hell with you," because that's exactly where you're going. That's what Peter said. He said, "Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter." In other words, you're not a Christian.

You may have made a profession and you may have been baptized, but you are not saved, sir. Your heart is not right in the sight of God and you better repent. How in the world did Peter know that Simon's heart was not right with God? The answer is, by what Simon said and what Simon did. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Do you know, if you will read through the Old Testament, any time there was a good king, you will find this upon his death: "And his heart was right with God as was David his father's." And when there was an evil king, you will find this upon his death: "And his heart was not right with God, as was David's heart." How did they know the king's heart was either right or not right?

By the way he lived, by the way he ruled, by what he did. All I have to do is watch you and listen to you, and I can tell you what's in your heart. All you have to do is watch me and listen to me, and you can tell me what's in my heart. You see, your heart is your understanding. It's your mind. And out of the heart, the mouth speaketh. And proceeding from the heart are the evil thoughts and all this other stuff that trashes us and reveals us.

Applications: Obedience, Sincerity, and Duty

Keeping the heart is required for obedience, evidence of sincerity, and fulfilling Christian duties like prayer and witness. Weaver also refutes the Arminian notion of opening one's own heart, emphasizing God must open the heart.

Now, let me make just a couple of applications. The first one is this. Keeping the heart is an absolute requirement for obedience to the Word of God and an understanding of the things of God. Stop and think about this. I'm not going to make you turn to Mark 4, verses 24 and 25. But the Bible tells us this. Obviously, if we want more truth, we must obey the truth that God has already given us. Here's my question. Our Lord said, "To he that hears shall more be given." Why should God give you any more truth if you will not obey the truth that He's already given you? God is not going to give us more truth until we learn to obey that which He's already given.

There's a story going around down south that's been around for years about the old black preacher who went to the church, and his first sermon was, "Thou shalt not steal." His second sermon, "Thou shalt not steal." Third and fourth sermons, "Thou shalt not steal." Finally, after about two months, one of the deacons asked him, "When are you going to preach something else?" And his response was, "When you start obeying what I'm already preaching." God's not going to give us more truth, folks, until we learn to obey. It is absolutely fundamental that we learn to keep our thoughts and keep our mind and keep our imaginations. Keeping the heart supplies one of the best evidences of our sincerity and the reality of our faith. Why? You can't see my heart. I mean, you might know what's in it after you listen to me and watch me, but you can't see it. You don't know what I'm thinking. You don't know what's going on in my mind. But God does.

May I remind you that the Pharisees made the platter clean. They always cleaned up the outside. Our Lord said they're like whited sepulchers. They're beautiful. They're painted on the outside, but on the inside they're full of dead men's bones. One of the greatest proofs that you're not a Pharisee, you're not a hypocrite, is that you are trying to keep your heart right when no one else sees and no one else knows but God alone. One of the greatest proofs is when we're by ourselves and what we allow ourselves to think and to imagine. It is only as we keep our hearts that we are enabled to discharge our duties as we should. Do you realize if you don't keep your heart, you can't worship God? What did David say? David said in Psalm 66:18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Just the mere regarding it causes God not to hear. You can't pray if you're regarding iniquity in your heart, if you're thinking about it. You're certainly not going to witness to anyone if you're regarding iniquity in your heart.

Can you imagine this? Here's a man contemplating and thinking adultery. You're thinking thievery and whatever, murder maybe. It's just in his mind. And he tries to witness to someone. And the next thing you know, that conscience says, "How are you to tell him how Jesus Christ delivers from sin? Look what you've got in your mind." You cannot even fulfill the most basic fundamental Christian duties—praying, studying, being a testimony—unless you learn to keep your heart. One other thing.

I want you to understand this. If you understand that the heart is the mind, if you grasp that the heart is the understanding, you would then see the fallacy of the Arminians who try to ask people to open their heart to Jesus. When you get to Acts 16, and though the Apostle Paul was down by the riverside with this beautiful lady by the name of Lydia, what does the Bible say? As Paul preached, the Bible said, "And the Lord opened her heart," with the result that she attended to the things spoken by Paul. The Lord opened her heart. When you get to Luke 24, it was the Lord who opened the understanding of His disciples so that they might understand the Word of God. The Apostle Paul told Timothy, "Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding." If we're going to pray for our lost loved ones, we better learn to pray, "Lord, You open their heart. You open their eyes. You open their understanding."

Conclusion: The Blessing of a Kept Heart

Weaver concludes with an illustration of church division over carpet color, urging repentance and heart-keeping for unity. He prays for grace to keep the heart.

Because you're the only one that can do so. The preparations of the heart in man are from the Lord. You have a duty, a responsibility and an obligation to keep your heart. If everyone in this congregation kept his heart, can you imagine the unity, the unison, and the blessedness that would exist? I'm going to give you one illustration. I preached in a church in South Carolina. The pastor was relatively new to that church. And he told me, when he went to the church,

he tried to broach a subject and asked the people what they thought. No one said anything. Finally, the pastor said, "Is someone going to say something?" And finally, one man said, "Let one of them on that side say something." He said, "What? What are you talking about?" They had had an argument over the color of the carpet in the church. And those that wanted this color sat over here. Those that wanted this color sat over there. And they were still at each other's throats. The pastor said, "Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something right now. I'm not pastoring two churches in one building. And you better get your heart right and you better repent or else I will not be here. You can't live like this. Keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Father, help us, give us grace, teach us, build us up in the most holy faith, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we pray, amen.