Welcome to the Message Behind the Tee. The book of proverbs was written by the wisest man ever lived, King Solomon. In Proverbs 4:23-27 he says, “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil”. Solomon is warning us about some physical body parts that get us in trouble when it listens to the flesh. The heart which in Hebrew is translated to the mind. This part of the body that must be guarded at all costs because whatever it decides, the rest of the body parts agree because that's where decisions are made in the mind. The mind is where the enemy targets us, he plants his thoughts in order to deceive us. This is why Solomon puts the mind as the top priority for security, guarding it from thoughts that turn into action. The heart or mind is the source and control center of life. What we allow inside through media, relationships, and negativity shapes our decisions and destiny. Jesus says in Luke 6:45, “a good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of”. Above all the parts of the body, the mind needs extra care and protection. The bible also says to take captive every thought and bring it under subjection to the obedience of Christ. In other words, be careful what you allow to take root or fester in your mind because it produces the next thing you say, the next place you go and the next thing you do. As children of God our actions and words matter to God. It allows people to see the fruit that we are producing. Our mouth and lips are the next part of the body that if we are not careful gets us in trouble. The verse says the position of our mouth should be far from speaking things that are lies and dishonest. There is a saying that goes ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. This is definitely not true because Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:29 that “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs”. So, if words build then words can do some damage or even destroy. What comes out of mouth should produce things that edify. We are told to cleave our tongue to the roof of our mouth meaning to be quick to hear and slow to speak. Words are hard to take back once they leave our lips. God wants us to bless with our mouth, to uplift with our lips and speak life over dead situations. In the beginning of creation in Genesis we see how powerful words are because it was words that created the universe. Make a decision to speak life over your life and others. God is a God that likes to keep us moving ahead, going forward and if we keep looking back at our past, we will be unable to see what is ahead. So, God tells us to keep our eyes looking straight ahead and fix our gaze directly before us. Our eyes are used to see the incoming dangers and warnings that are before us. Always be on the lookout as a good soldier would. The enemy also uses what happened in the past to keep us stuck in the past, never moving past the things God already forgave us of. Scripture says forget those things which are behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead. If you are looking behind you, you will miss what God has for you that is before you. God needs your eyes to see the new blessings, the new favor and the new opportunity that is ahead of you. To walk through that open door, you must be gazing ahead to know when to cross over that threshold. So, keep your eyes focused ahead because what is before you are greater than what is behind you. Our feet take us wherever we want to go but should we go everywhere? The answer is no. As children of God, we must be careful of the paths we take. Some paths will lead us to our destiny and eternal life, while others will lead us to destruction. The path that usually leads to destruction may seem green or golden, but the end is death. God says if we trust Him with all our heart and lean not to our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him, He will direct our path. God wants to order our steps and guide us in the path He has chosen for us, but we must be steadfast always. Meaning using His Word as a foundation for everything we do. We must be intentional about the things we do and the places we go. The path that is right may seem hard, but in it we will have something the world does not have. We will have peace that surpasses all understanding and unspeakable joy that no one can take. Why is God’s Word vital for life? In it there is life. It is what holds us together in a fallen world. Solomon’s wisdom and godly advice are divine counsel that we can use as guardrails to prevent us from falling into sin. Physical guardrails are found everywhere, in subways, on roads that prevent vehicles from dangers of steep slopes and embankments. Guardrails are there as shields from potential dangers that may harm us. It is the same with wisdom that God provided through Solomon, that we may hear these words and listen, because somehow, they will protect us from potential dangers ahead that the enemy of our destiny wants to destroy. Many people believe that God’s word has too many rules and regulations, but these same words are protective shields that give us boundaries to remain on the narrow path. When the enemy shoots a fiery dart this same wise counsel will quench them, protecting us from harms and dangers. So how do we get these guardrails working for us? Well, we do as Joshua 1:8 wise counsel says, “keep this book of law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful”. Our lips should always be repeating these wise sayings because we have thought about them so much throughout the day and night that they become our daily actions, which eventually becomes our kingdom lifestyle. Another wise counsel says be doers of these words and not just hearers. Hearing alone does not get things done but actually programming our minds and being intentional and consistent gets the job done. So do not just see God’s words as mere laws and rules but see it through the lens of having a divine therapist and personal adviser, the Holy spirit, who gives us daily advice to handle situations and circumstances to make our life better each day. Thanks for watching the message behind the tee. If this message has blessed you, please share, like and subscribe. And remember Jesus loves you purposefully and intentionally.
Leave a comment