Guarding Your Heart

I attended a talk by David Holdaway (an Elim minister since 1984 and currently based in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales earlier today on "Guarding Your Heart". I was tremendously blessed by it and felt led to share what he shared.


1. Why is it important to guard our hearts?
The Bible says the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). We can justify everything in our lives if we look hard enough for a reason. "I couldn't help it" is often quoted as an excuse - a husband cheating on his wife or a wife cheating on her husband says "I couldn't help it. I've fallen in love with the other person". How can something that seems so right be so wrong? But the fact of the matter is that we can help it because it's a choice we make.


Reflection:
- When God says no, do we still go ahead regardless?
- Are we doing what we want to do or are we doing what God asks us to do?


2. What happens when we don't close the doors of sin to our hearts?
When we don't guard our hearts, we're subject to sin and the consequences that come with it.


Example: A man is sitting inside an airplane. He decided to press the "do not press" button and an exit door of the airplane is opened. He jumps and then says: "I can't help it - I'm falling because of the law of gravity!" Yes, at that point, he can't help it because he's now subject to the law of gravity but the important thing to note is that he should not have opened the exit door in the first place.


Life is about choices and consequences: good choices bring about good consequences. It's not the circumstances per se but how we respond to the circumstances and whether we let them take root in our hearts.


If we make good choices, we reap good consequences; if we make bad ones, there could be hell to pay.


The things that have captured our hearts determine our actions and our words, and ultimately, our lives. When our hearts are not aligned with God, everything else in our lives will also not be aligned with God's purposes.


The head determines what we think; the heart determines how we think. What we love influences what we think.


Reflection:
- What has captured the passion of ours hearts?
- Are there any idols that have replaced God's place in our hearts? Money? (1 Timothy 6:9)
- How do we go about making good choices?


3. What are the dangers of a divided heart?
The heart is the gateway to our spirit. It either pollutes or purifies our spirit; weakens or strengthens our spirit; and draws us away or draws us closer to God.


Character example: Solomon - his divided heart (lust of the flesh) led eventually to a divided kingdom.


Character example: Daniel - he purposed in his heart to follow God.


If we have a divided heart, we will have a divided mind.


The path back from a divided heart is repentance - being broken before God and seeking God again. Floyd McClung (author of The Father Heart of God) had this revelation at one stage when he was leading a mega-church with a successful ministry: "I had an evangelical mind with a Babylonian heart." He repented before God.


4. How do we cultivate an undivided heart for God? And how do we guard our hearts?
We can know God through a personal relationship with Him. God made Himself known through Christ. It's possible to be intellectually brilliant and yet spiritually ignorant.


We guard our hearts by dealing with our issues quickly, developing a thankful heart, learning to keep our hearts inspired through the Bible and testimonies as well as worship and praise, and spending time with God in prayer and meditation.


The renewing of our mind is not adding new information but changing how we think, that is, developing the mind of Christ. (Romans 12:2)


5. What does it mean to have a heart after God?
God would rather use a soldier who wants to fight rather than a general who wants to retire; it's not about the level but the direction and having the burning passion to be more and more like Christ.


The parable of the sower: the seed was the same; it was the soil that determined the harvest. Our heart determines the harvest in our lives; good soil is clean, pure and deep.


Reflection:
- Where are our hearts at? When you're tempted and you know you won't get caught, what you do next will be determined by your heart.
- The Devil thinks he can buy us at a price; he thought so of Jesus by tempting Him three times (Matthew 4:1-11). Would we say no to the Devil if he comes at us with a very attractive offer? Would we refuse to be bought at any price? (Luke 12:34)


6. Prayer points
- Lord, completely captivate our hearts. We are a work in progress. Let us pursue You with an undivided heart. Amen.
- Psalm 51
- 1 Peter 3:8
- Matthew 6:21