Hello Dear Listeners, welcome to overcoming temptations. My name is Oyisi Okatahi. Today our topic is titled: Guard your Heart. Our Bible reading is taken from Proverbs 4:23 and it says King James Version- Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. The NIV version says Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Let me illustrate the power of the heart in animals. I like dogs a lot. One of the most dangerous dog in the world is a small dog called the pitbull. The pitbull is a cross breed of the bull dog and the terrier. The bull dog is strong but not very agile while the terrier is agile but so strong so the pitbull is both strong and agile. Now where you see this dog it is quite small in size but this dog is recorded to have killed more people and animals than any other dog. The dog is actually a monster. German Shepherds, Rottweiler’s, Caucasian Shepherd and Doberman Pinchers are types of dogs that are bigger than the pitbull, but the pitbull will win them in a fight. So here comes the saying “it is not the size of the dog in a fight but the size of the fight in the dog”. So it does not matter your size your gender your race or your age. What matters is how determined you are to succeed.
Solomon said guard your heart because that is where everything in life comes from. When I talk of heart I am not just referring to the physical heart but I am also referring to your mind, your soul. Do not allow lust come in, do not allow fear come in, do not allow frustration or depression to come in, do not allow discouragement to come in. Guard it from all the negative things because everything will flow from it. When you allow pornography into your heart it destroys your person, and leads to masturbation, fornication or adultery. When you are allow sadness into your heart, it leads to depression or suicide. The enemy is always trying to get into your heart so you must guard it with the word of God, prayers and worship. The way a soldier guards the house of his commander so also you need to guard your heart.
A good decision is a combination of the brain and heart. Men usually take decisions with their brain, they check if the decision makes sense or not. While women usually make decisions with their heart they feel if the decision is right or wrong. Now the best is when you combine the two, do not only listen to your head, listen to your heart.
Success flows from your heart, there is a saying that whatever the mind or heart can conceive and believe then it can achieve. So do you have big dreams, do not give up, start to apply them in a small way and before you know it things will begin to grow, do not be afraid of failure or setbacks., Everyone fails in life the difference is you should not give up until you succeed. Probably just one more trial and you will succeed. Remember it is the fight in the dog that counts not the dog in the fight.
You see people do not just wake up and do something good or bad. They would have conceived it over a period of time, then will achieve it. That is why you need to guard your heart. There was a man who was always watching violent films on shooting, stabbing, killing and so on. One day he got into a fight and he did not know when he stabbed someone to death. Because he had exposed his heart to violence, he found himself doing something he never knew he could do. So guard your heart. Fill it with peace, love, joy, care and so on and it will lead you to live a godly life by Gods grace.
Wish you a blessed day in Jesus name.
