"GOD MEASURES THE HEART!"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte

PROVERBS 4:20-27

1. GOD MEASURES OUR HEART BY OUR LOVE OF TRUTH: V24:
1. Hear Solomon again, "Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put devious lips far from you." Be men of truth.
2. I can hear my own dad to this day: "I hate a liar! If I don't want to tell you something I'll say 'it's none of your business!' but I won't lie to you!" And woe to me if I got caught in a lie.
3. God is a God of truth! God's nature is truth! God also hates untruth!
1. Proverbs 12:22 (NIV): "The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in men who are truthful."
2. Proverbs 19:5 (NIV): "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who pours out lies will not go free."
3. Psalms 51:6 (NIV): "Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place."
4. Romans 1:18 (NIV): "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, .."
5. Ephesians 4:25 (NIV): "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body."
6. Consider some ramifications of that in life. A heart that loves truth will:
1. Speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Not like the father who told his son, "If you lie, a huge monster with one eye will come down off the moon and take you away! Now, you will never lie again, will you?"
2. Refuse to give the wrong impression about something by misleading innuendoes, half-truths or exaggerations.
3. Refuse to practice hypocrisy and pretense. Let life and lip, what you do and what you say, coincide in practice.
4. Take responsibility for your mistakes and failures, don't falsely blame others for them.
5. Give a full day's work for a full day's pay. Don't cheat at the time clock.
6. Pay your debts.
7. Keep your promises.
8. Fulfil your responsibilities.
9. Banish all untruth, deceit, falsehood and misrepresentation from your life, speech and actions.
4. King Henry III of England wanted a governess for his children. A Scottish lady was recommended to him on the basis of her integrity and goodness. He offered her the position and she humbly declined, saying, "Royal children need a much more learned person than I am." King Henry, however, persisted, saying, "I wish you to accept the position because you are an honest, good woman. I can employ others who are possibly better prepared scholastically than you, but I cannot buy integrity and honesty!" Be men of integrity and honesty, be men whose hearts measure up by love of truth.

2. GOD MEASURES OUR HEART BY OUR CHOICE OF THE RIGHT PATHWAY: V26:
1. Solomon instructs us, "Watch the path of your feet." The NLT puts it like this, "Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe." There is a safe and an unsafe pathway before each of us. Choose wisely the safe and right pathway.
2. The right way is the way Jesus walked. "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6 (NIV). He walked in the right way. What is that way?
1. It is the way of the cross; self-denial, sacrifice and if need be, suffering. It is dying to the world. Jesus said, ""If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow Me." Matthew 16:24 (NLT).
2. It is the way of light which represents goodness, rightness, truth. "If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:6-7 (NIV).
3. It is the way of obedience: "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands." 2 John 6 (NIV).
4. It is the way of love: "As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love." 2 John 6 (NIV).
5. It is the way of wisdom: "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16 (NASB).
3. Which way are you going? The way of the world? The way of personal selfish ambition and gratification? The way of least resistance? Or are you carefully and deliberately choosing the way Jesus went and walking in it?
4. A little girl followed her father as he carefully stepped through a new garden, walking only on the dry soil, missing the muddy parts. She stepped exactly where he stepped, carefully placing her little foot in each of her daddy's footprints. She said, "Daddy if you don't get mud on your feet, I won't get any mud on mine!" Be men whose hearts measure up by walking in the right pathway - there are little feet matching your steps.

3. GOD MEASURES OUR HEART BY OUR COMMITMENT TO DOING RIGHT: V27:
1. Solomon said, "Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil." The insight of the NLT is clear, "Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil."
2. We must have a sense of what is right; we must have clearly defined persuasions, we must have definite belief, and absolute dedication to it. This means
1. No compromise of conviction, no floating along with the crowd and no lowering of our moral and ethical standards for any reason.
2. No deviation from truth with every wind of doctrine, whim, or fad that comes down the pike.
3. No turning aside to do wrong even when it's easier or more convenient or profitable to do so.
4. No walking in the middle of the road without any clear cut stand on moral and ethical issues. The only thing you'll find in the middle of the road are yellow lines and dead skunks.
3. We need the commitment of
1. Joseph who wouldn't sin with the seductive wife of his master and ended up in jail because she falsely accused him for revenge.
2. Daniel who wouldn't eat the king's fancy food because it was defiling to Jewish boys.
3. The three boys who were tossed into the furnace because they wouldn't bow to the king's idol.
4. Elijah who stood seemingly alone against 450 false prophets on Mt. Carmel.
5. Paul who withstood hardships and privations and even imprisonment and martyrdom to carry the gospel to the gentiles.
4. We can learn from the story of a teenager who wanted to quit school. It was too difficult and demanding and besides it took time from more recreational pursuits. His father said "Well, you can't quit. All the people who are remembered in history didn't quit; Abe Lincoln, he didn't quit; Thomas Edison didn't quit; Douglas MacArthur didn't quit. Then there's Elmo McCringle." "Who???" interrupted the son, "Who in the world is Elmo McCringle? I've never heard of him!" The dad said, "Of course you never heard of him! He quit!" Choose what is right, be committed to it and do not quit!

We all believe in, stand for, and live for something. We all follow some course in life. If we'd have hearts that measure up in God's sight, we must let all that we are and do revolve around Jesus Christ and His will and way. Man looks at the outside, but God sees the heart. So, no secret part of our lives must be untouched by His will and authority. Every part of all that we possess or control should be given freely to Him. If you want to be a father whose heart measures up, live today and for the rest of your life with Jesus in mind. Set your values, make your decisions, chart your course asking, "What did Jesus do? And what would Jesus want me to do as well?" When you find that out, and live by it, when God measures your heart, He will find a heart that measures up.