Keeping a Pure Heart
Proverbs 4:20-27 New King James Version
I. 2024 Is a Year of Blessing (If you have not watched First Sunday’s message, please do so)
Genesis 1:28 New King James Version
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
a. The Lord is going to bless the households and gatherings of East Gate with more of His
i. Voice – God said
ii. Presence – Be fruitful
iii. Purpose – and multiply
iv. Authority – fill the earth (our hearts with His fruit), subdue it (our flesh), have dominion
b. We are beginning the stewardship of this prophetic word by “Tending the Garden of our Hearts”
i. His voice (word) is the seed that He plants in our hearts desiring for it to bear His fruit
Luke 8:11-12 New King James Version
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
c. Why is the Lord so Invested in Tending the Garden of Our Hearts?
i. God the Holy Spirit cares for His Dwelling
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 New King James Version
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
ii. God the Son cares for His Bride
Song of Solomon 4:12 New King James Version
12 A garden enclosed Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed.
iii. God the Father cares for His Children
II. My Son… A Father’s Greatest Gift
a. Proverbs – David giving Solomon his most treasured possession, his “one thing”
1 Samuel 13:14 New King James Version
14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
Psalm 27:4 New King James Version
4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.
b. A father’s hard-won wisdom and experience freely given to his beloved son
i. Give attention to my words – the holy scriptures
ii. Incline your ear to my sayings – Holy Spirit’s voice
1. Invitation and intimacy
2. Easy to miss lifechanging sayings if you’re not listening for them
iii. Do not let them depart from your eyes
1. Give, for your lifetime, your focus/attention to the word of God
iv. Keep them in the midst of your heart
1. Make them the focus of your thoughts, feelings, and desires
v. Life to those who find them
1. Not everyone finds them
vi. Health to all their flesh
1. Leads not only to a healthy heart, but a holistically healthy and abundant life
III. David’s Journey to This Place
a. Qatan – the young, small, insignificant, unimportant, one
1 Samuel 16:11 New King James Version
11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
b. Lessons from a spiritual father
i. Only God can provide a new, pure, and clean heart
1 Samuel 10:9-10 New King James Version
9 So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
1. Saul did not keep his heart and lost both God’s presence and anointing
2. Saul could no longer encounter God and needed David to worship for him
3. Saul could no longer lead God’s people and self-destructed
c. David’s revelation and devastation
Psalm 24:3-4 New King James Version
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
Psalm 51:10-11 New King James Version
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
IV. How Do We Guard, Protect, and Keep Our Hearts?
a. Not referring to consistency, but locking away something valuable (like in a safe)
i. If we don’t guard it, things seem to spring forth suddenly, but these things only spring forth because we haven’t been keeping our hearts
b. The Lord sanctifies our hearts, we consecrate our mouths, eyes, and feet
i. God sanctifies – supernaturally set us apart unto Himself as holy
ii. We consecrate – willfully and practically commit to living unto Him as holy
c. Guard Your Tongue
i. What is a deceitful (crooked, distorted) mouth?
1. Signs of a deceitful mouth
a. Exaggerating the truth
b. Withholding a portion of the truth
c. Deceptive or untrue communication
ii. What are perverse (desire to behave in an unreasonable or unacceptable way) lips?
1. Signs of perverse lips
a. Unreasonable or unacceptable ways make you smile
b. Unreasonable or unacceptable ways make you smile
c. Perverse joking
d. Cruel speech
e. Gossip
f. Manipulative
g. Intimidation
h. Dominant
iii. How do we put them far away from us?
1. Confession and Repentance
Romans 10:10 New King James Version
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
a. Telling on yourself
b. Telling on the devil
c. Telling the truth
2. The fruit of our lips
Hebrews 13:15 New King James Version
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Psalm 100:4 New King James Version
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
Romans 1:21-24 New King James Version
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
a. The more you praise and thank the Lord, the more of His presence you encounter and He restores your heart
d. Protect Your Eyes
i. Let your eyes look straight ahead
1. Never stop aiming for Jesus
Colossians 3:1-4 New King James Version
3 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
2. Jesus is leading you into Himself, nowhere else
3. He is the goal, the purpose, the greatest prize
ii. And your eyelids look right before you
1. Focus on what is right in front of you
2. What is today’s obedience/assignment?
e. Keep Your Feet
i. Ponder the path of your feet
1. If I just continue living life as I am today, where will my life take me?
2. If I don’t confront my addiction, laziness, anger, cowardliness, passivity, procrastination, etc. where will my life go?
ii. Let your ways be established
1. Live life on purpose!
2. Allow your life and future to be determined by intentional, not passive, rhythms and practices
3. Allow the word of God and Holy Spirit to lead you and establish you in His presence, as Holy Spirit’s dwelling, Jesus’ bride, and God the Father’s child
iii. Do not turn to the left or the right
1. Pick a path!!!
2. What could happen if you chose a path, stuck with it, and gave it 100% of your effort?
iv. Remove your foot from evil
1. Step off of the paths that are killing you and hurting the people around you
2. Close the doors to every wile of the devil intending to steal from you, kill your relationships, and destroy your future
V. Following in David’s Footsteps
a. David learned how to have His heart restored on the other side of disobedience, adultery, deception, murder and the death of his baby boy
i. God is giving us the fruit of that lesson for free
ii. We can have our hearts restored again today without losing a child
Psalm 51:10-12 New King James Version
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
b. If you know your heart needs to be restored I invite you to stand, lift your hands or place them over your heart, and cry out to the Lord with me:
i. Create in me a clean (pure) heart
ii. Renew a steadfast spirit within me
iii. Restore me to the joy of your salvation
iv. Uphold me by Your generous Spirit
