Jason Sneed Examine Yourself

Examine Yourself – What Is Upon My Lips?

As we come to our third topic in this “Examine Yourself” series, we move to an area that is difficult for most people – controlling their lips.

Warren Weirsbe has said this, “Whatever is in the heart will ultimately come out of the mouth”. How very true this is!

In the book of Proverbs, the words mouth or lips are mentioned over 40 times, so Solomon is warning us to be careful with our speech. In the passage we are looking at in this series (Proverbs 4:20-27), verse 24 says this,

 “Put away crooked speech and put devious talk far from you” (ESV)

Crooked speech is speech that is used to deceive someone or some group either by directly lying or by intentional misdirection to achieve a selfish or self-centered purpose. (1)

The word devious means – “showing a skillful use of underhanded tactics to achieve goals” (2)

As christians, we must be careful with the way we use our lips. So many times we use our lips to tear down other people INSIDE THE CHURCH! How much since does that make? We don’t like the way the song leader sings or we don’t like the type of music he does or we think that the preacher goes too long or we think this or we think that! I am all for everyone having their own opinions because the world would be a very boring place if everyone where to agree with me 100% of the time, but the point that I am making is this – instead of complaining with our LIPS about things, we need to use our LIPS to praise God above and share HIS love and not use crooked speech or devious talk against other people.

THE WORLD IS WATCHING THE WAY WE LIVE OUR LIVES! They are watching our every move and the first time we slander someone or tear down a co-worker – BAM! That is when they will begin to call us a hypnotic! “You say you believe in the Bible and that is how you act” or “You say you’re a christian and you talk like that”.

If we have repented and confessed that Jesus is Lord then we are a peculiar people! We are different because we have Christ inside of us. Let’s act and talk like it! We must look into our lives and examine ourselves to make sure that what is coming out of our lips is what is pleasing to God.

Solomon warns us again other ways that we can use our lips:

  • Lying lips
  • Flattering lips
  • Deceptive lips
  • Undisciplined lips

Just like the heart – we must be careful to guard it everyday!  “Proverbs 13:3 – Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
 he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Examine yourself today to see how you are using your lips!

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(1) – The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (The B Series) – Warren Wiersbe | (2) – Websters Dictionary
Jason Sneed Examine Yourself

Examine Yourself – What Is Within Your Heart?

Last week I began a series of posts about how we, as Christians, need to examine ourselves (II Corinthians 13:5) to make sure we are living out what God has told us to do.

In today’s post, we take a look at the heart. I love this quote – “Whatever the heart loves the ears will hear and the eyes will see”. So my first question is this – What does your heart love the most? Now before you jump in and answer that question with a resounding “JESUS”, please really think about the question and examine your life and the way you live it.

Think about where you spend most of your time. Think about what motivates you and what drives your passions and your desires. Look inside yourself and see where a majority of your time is going. Does your heart love:

  • Family
  • Children
  • Spouse
  • Job
  • Possessions
  • Pleasures
  • Bank Account

The list above is a list of things that are not bad things at all, but when they take the #1 spot in our lives, they become nothing more than idols that have taken the place of God.

So, whatever the heart loves the ears will hear and the eyes will see.  What do you hear and see the most in your life?

Again, I am not looking for fake answers here – I am looking for each of us to really look deep inside and find the real answer that is in all of us.

Solomon warns us in Proverbs 4:23 that we must guard our hearts:

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

The definition of the word vigilance means “Alert watchfulness”. Solomon is telling us that we must always be on the alert about our heart. We must monitor it all the time because Jeremiah 19:7 says,

“The heart is deceitful above all things,
 and desperately wicked;
 who can understand it?

The wisest man that has ever lived told us that we must guard our hearts because he knew that our hearts would lead us astray and would get fixed on other things besides God.

When Robert Robinson wrote the words to the song “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” , he understood a little about how the heart could lead us astray if we are not careful to guard it. He wrote these words,

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee;

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it; Seal it for Thy courts above.

We must guard against a heart that is pulling us away from God. We must guard our hearts against things like our job, our money, our possessions, our family & even our church. Because if we love them more than God, our heart is leading us astray.

We need to daily pray Psalm 139:23 – “Search me, O God, and know my heart”

“Whatever the heart loves the ears will hear and the eyes will see”.