GARDE TON COEUR PLUS QUE TOUTE AUTRE CHOSE

 

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CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION

SUNDAY JUNE 2^ND 2019

Sermon by Pastor Marc E Simeon

GARDE TON COEUR PLUS QUE TOUTE AUTRE CHOSE

KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE

LECTURE : Proverbes 4:20-27

20 ¶ Mon fils, sois attentif à mes paroles, Prête l’oreille à mes discours.

21 Qu’ils ne s’éloignent pas de tes yeux; Garde-les dans le fond de ton cœur;

22 Car c’est la vie pour ceux qui les trouvent, C’est la santé pour tout leur corps.

23 Garde ton cœur plus que toute autre chose, Car de lui viennent les sources de la vie.

24 Écarte de ta bouche la fausseté, Éloigne de tes lèvres les détours.

25 Que tes yeux regardent en face, Et que tes paupières se dirigent devant toi. (Stay focus ; look ahead ; don’t be distracted.)

26 Considère le chemin par où tu passes, Et que toutes tes voies soient bien réglées;

27 N’incline ni à droite ni à gauche, Et détourne ton pied du mal.

ENGLISH

Pr 4:20 ¶ My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.

21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;

22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.

23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you.

25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.

26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.

27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

INTRODUCTION

• The Bible is indeed a complete book. While its main focus is to prepare a person to spend eternity with God, the bible also has everything one needs to have a happy and prosperous earthly life.
• The book of Proverbs seems to have a target group, although its message is relevant to all.
• You can picture a successful and seasoned father talking to his young son.
• He is teaching him about the facts of life
• He is inculcating good senses to the minor
• He is teaching him prudence
• He is equipping him to have a successful life.
• He is teaching his son where God should be in the equations of his life.
• He is teaching about the fear of the Lord.
• He is teaching how he needs wisdom in all his endeavors.
• He is teaching him how to differentiate what truly matters in life.
• He is teaching him how to differentiate the fake from the real.
• He is warning him against certain types of women to avoid.
• He warning him against procrastination and laziness.
• He is equipping his son to identify the fools and the wicked, their way of life and how to stay away from them.
• He tells him about the virtuous women as the best reward a man can have in life.

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• The young men in this generation suffer the lack of time investments from their fathers.
• We are dealing with the problem of absentee fathers in this generation.
• So many kids are born out of wedlock these days, and these kids are left to be raised by struggling moms.
• We have another type of absentee fathers these days that live under the same roof with their children. They each live their separate lives. The fathers burry themselves doing two, three jobs, and never have time for some one to one moments with their children.
• Consequently, we see a lot of foolishness going on in this generation. So many people are having identity crises because they did not have a father figure instilling senses in them.
• Sometimes it seems as a generational curse where even the father in the picture lacks all the senses to process his own life less to say that of another be it his own child.
• Today, with the grace of God, we will take an excerpt in this masterpiece body of literature. We will consider some verses in Proverbs Chapter 4, but our focus will be in the first part of verse 23 that says :
  • Pr 4:23 Garde ton cœur plus que toute autre chose, Car de lui viennent les sources de la vie. (LSV)
  • 23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (NKJV)

THE ANATOMY OF THE HUMAN HEART

• The physical heart is a pump organ that weights 8 to 12 ounces.
• Every single day your heart beats an average of 100,000 times.
• The average heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood every 24 hours.
• The heart pumps the blood to deliver oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body and removes all the waste products from the cells.
• The heart is like an irrigation system, and it is also a navigation system.
• The physical human heart is recycling system.
• It is vital; it is complex; it is hidden; it is fragile; it is smart; it works the hardest, and it works the longest than all the other parts of the human body.

THE ANATOMY OF THE SPIRITUAL HEART OF MAN

• As a triune being, humans also have an astral or spiritual construction.
• The heart of man is used in a spiritual sense to determine the distinctive of each person based on his character.

“According to the Bible, the heart is the center not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life.

The heart is the “home of the personal life,” and hence a man is designated, according to his heart.”

Source: web.mst.edu/~rossh/Bible_resources/Bible_-_HEART-study.doc

The following quotes are from: Dictionaries – Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology – Heart

• The Bible talks about the heart more than 1000 times.

• It denotes a person’s center for both physical and emotional-intellectual-moral activities;

• sometimes it is used figuratively for any inaccessible thing.

• “The hiddenness and inaccessibility of the physical heart give rise to its figurative sense for anything that is remote and inaccessible.” Baker

• The Heart as Center of Hidden Emotional-Intellectual-Moral Activity. “Man looks at the outward appearance, ” says Samuel, “but the lord looks at the heart” ( 1 Sam 16:7 ).

• ( 1 Cor 4:5 ). In the time of judgment God will expose the hidden counsels of the heart

• The heart experiences its full range of emotions:

• The emotional state of the heart affects the rest of a person: “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit” ( Prov 15:13 );

• “a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” ( 17:22 ).

Source: Dictionaries – Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology – Heart

Pr 4:23 Garde ton cœur plus que toute autre chose, Car de lui viennent les sources de la vie. (LSV)

23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (NKJV)

• The heart is susceptible to changes
• The heart can be influenced by the elements of its environment
• The heart of man is like a laboratory test, each element in the mix can cause a different reaction.
• The heart is like a sponge that absorbs gases and liquids from its surroundings.
• The heart is like a cooking pan, every ingredient and every spice you put in will affect the taste and the sanitary condition of the food.
• The heart of men is like a safe haven to be guarded from dangerous animals and culprits and criminals.

Garde ton Cœur plus que toute autre chose.

Keep your heart with all diligence.

• The safe keeping of the heart is serious business.
• All manners of security are used to safeguard a person of importance.
• Kings, presidents, state men and women, rich and famous people surround themselves with security because they represent a great liability, and their lost would have a great effect upon society.
• Evil people prey on these famous people to draw attentions to themselves.
• Some people are so eager to get their names in the history book, if by destroying a person of importance gives them a ride to notoriety, they will spare no one for that glance of exposure.
• The Bible warns us to safeguard our hearts more than all else.
• We need to be very discriminative to who and what we yield access to our hearts.
• Mademoizel, se pa tout moun kap di-w psit pou’w vire gade.
• Se pa tout chen kap jape pou’w bay enpotans.

We use diligence in all that matters to us.

• We do our best to safeguard ourselves
  • Against poverty, sicknesses, diseases, failure, old age, impotence
  • For good health, dominance, comfort, luxury, family legacy, bright future, etc.
• We safeguard our legal papers: Deeds, Car titles, checkbook, passports, etc.

• We often neglect on the spiritual aspects of souls.
• The Bible asks us to prioritize the safe keeping of our souls above all else.
  • Making sure we walk around with a pure heart at all times
  • Making sure we maintain a clean heart at all times
  • Making sure we guard our heart against pride and arrogance.
  • Guarding our heart against self destructive thoughts of inferiority, low self esteem and guilt.
  • Guarding our heart against the spirit of failure, poverty, and inadequacy.
• Guard your heart from certain people who can sow discord, anger, bitterness and jealousy in your heart.
• Do not allow your heart to become a garbage dumpster where people can throw all sorts of filthiness.
• Guard your heart from feelings like: envy, pride, lust, haughtiness, arrogance, self-importance, overconfidence.
• Guard your heart against settings that are conducive, that can lure you to lose grips on your safeguard.
  • Free stuffs
  • Gratuities
  • Treats
  • Compliments
  • French benefits
  • Freebies
• Remember why Satan was kicked out of heaven.
  • He was in the presence of God for a long span before the existence of time.
  • Until iniquity was found in him, that is in his heart.
• Satan is the father of lies and all deceits; therefore you must keep a good watch on him at all times.
• He is roaring around us as a devouring lion seeking whom he can destroy.

VEILLE AU MATIN

Auteur : S. Zuberbühler

1

Veille au matin, quand un ciel sans nuage
Semble annoncer un jour calme et serein,
C’est dans ton cœur que peut gronder l’orage
Qui fait tomber le pèlerin.

Refrain

Veille au matin, veille le soir,
Veille et prie toujours.

2

Veille à midi, quand les bruits de la terre
Font oublier le céleste séjour;
Trouve un instant pour être solitaire
Dans la prière et dans l’amour

3

Veille le soir, quand se fait le silence :
Pense aux bienfaits de ton céleste ami;
Cherche avec soin sa divine présence,
Verse en son cœur tout ton souci

4

Veille toujours, en tous lieux, à toutes heures,
Car l’ennemi te guette à chaque instant,
Pour se glisser dans la sainte demeure
Où doit régner le Tout-Puissant.

THE HEART IS THE HEADQUATER OF THE SOUL

• Guard your heart, because the condition of the heart determines that of the rest of your being.

Mathieu 12:35

35 L’homme bon tire de bonnes choses de son bon trésor, et l’homme méchant tire de mauvaises choses de son mauvais trésor. (LSV)

35 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. (NKJV)

Marc 7:21-23

21Car c’est du dedans, c’est du cœur des hommes, que sortent les mauvaises pensées, les adultères, les impudicités, les meurtres, 22 les vols, les cupidités, les méchancetés, la fraude, le dérèglement, le regard envieux, la calomnie, l’orgueil, la folie. 23 Toutes ces choses mauvaises sortent du dedans, et souillent l’homme. (LSV)

21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 “thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 “All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (NKJV)

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Mathieu 15:19

19 Car c’est du cœur que viennent les mauvaises pensées, les meurtres, les adultères, les impudicités, les vols, les faux témoignages, les calomnies. (LSV)

19 “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. (NKJV)

GUARD YOUR HEART BECAUSE GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART

• God told Samuel “Men look at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.”

Psaume 139:23-24

23 Sonde-moi, ô Dieu, et connais mon cœur! Éprouve-moi, et connais mes pensées! 24 Regarde si je suis sur une mauvaise voie, Et conduis-moi sur la voie de l’éternité!

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

Jérémie 17:9-10

9 Le cœur est tortueux par-dessus tout, et il est méchant: Qui peut le connaître? 10 Moi, l’Éternel, j’éprouve le cœur, je sonde les reins, Pour rendre à chacun selon ses voies, Selon le fruit de ses œuvres.

9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

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WHAT YOU STORE IN YOUR HEART DETERMINES WHO YOU ARE AND WHO YOU WILL BECOME

Lu 6:45 L’homme bon tire de bonnes choses du bon trésor de son cœur, et le méchant tire de mauvaises choses de son mauvais trésor; car c’est de l’abondance du cœur que la bouche parle. (LSV)

45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (NKJV)

Mathieu 15:18

18Mais ce qui sort de la bouche vient du cœur, et c’est ce qui souille l’homme. (LSV)

18 “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. (NKJV)

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SAFEGUARD YOUR HEART FROM LEAKING OUT THE MEMORY AND THE FEAR OF GOD

Deutéronome 4:9

9 Seulement, prends garde à toi et veille attentivement sur ton âme, tous les jours de ta vie, de peur que tu n’oublies les choses que tes yeux ont vues, et qu’elles ne sortent de ton cœur; enseigne-les à tes enfants et aux enfants de tes enfants. (LSV)

9 “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, (NKJV)

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STEER YOUR HEART IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Proverbes 23:19

19 ¶ Écoute, mon fils, et sois sage; Dirige ton cœur dans la voie droite. (LSV)

19 ¶ Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way. (NKJV)

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HINTS FROM THE BIBLE IN HELPING YOU TO MAINTAIN A GOOD HEART

Psaume 119:9

9 ¶ Comment le jeune homme rendra-t-il pur son sentier? En se dirigeant d’après ta parole.

9 ¶ How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

Daniel 1:8

8 ¶ Daniel résolut de ne pas se souiller par les mets du roi et par le vin dont le roi buvait, et il pria le chef des eunuques de ne pas l’obliger à se souiller. (LSV)

8 ¶ But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (NKJV)

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CONCLUSION

Pr 4:23 Garde ton coeur plus que toute autre chose, Car de lui viennent les sources de la vie. (LSV)

23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (NKJV)

• All the issues of life are processed from the standpoint of one’s heart.
• The tree will be known by its fruits.
• Have a heart check up right now.
• Don’t trust yourself alone with that test; ask others their honest opinion about you.
• Don’t trust the opinions of people as much, but rather ask God to do a heart diagnostic on you.
• Prepare to do some serious shaping up to get your in the right position and to maintain it there.
• May God add His blessings to His words!

• AMEN!