Bill Johnson talks about heart health and the importance of keeping your heart healthy in session 7 of The Pursuit of Wisdom devotional series. Proverbs 4: 23 urges readers to “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life”. Heart health is central to every area of your life and success, including your physical health. Keeping your heart healthy is not about soul-searching or introspection, but about recognizing thoughts and attitudes that are not consistent with God’s word. Bill Johnson also talks about parenting and raising kids to manage their own attitudes and respond well to the situations they face. This is Session 7 of The Pursuit of Wisdom devotional series. Join Bill Johnson for a journey through the book of Proverbs. This weekly study will take you through Proverbs, focussing on a new chapter each session. Learn keys for walking in biblical wisdom so that you would reign in life, leading and serving those around you well. Growing in divine wisdom is key to walking in the fullness of God’s purposes for our lives. Subscribe for the full series. The Pursuit of Wisdom Series (new videos added weekly):    • The Pursuit of Wisdom Devotional | Bi…   Subscribe for weekly videos: https://bit.ly/bjmYoutube

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Scripture References: Proverbs 3: 5-6 Proverbs 4: 23 Romans 10: 10 Proverbs 4: 22 Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor with a rich heritage in the Holy Spirit. He is senior leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and is passionate about seeing Revival and God’s Kingdom established and revealed in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and nations. Bill’s teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven, hosting the Presence, and the renewed mind has helped thousands around the world to step into their true identity in Christ, God given purpose, and walk in a supernatural lifestyle displaying both purity and power. #BillJohnson #BethelChurch #Devotional #HeartHealth

a number of occasions sat down with my

whole family I said you guys know all I

want to do is honor Jesus all I want to

do everything with my life is simply to

bring Jesus

Glory if you see anything that is not

consistent with that I’m not just giving

you permission to point it out I’m

asking you to point it

out well hey there welcome back glad uh

so glad that you’re joining us um have

you thought all about last week Proverbs

3:5 and 6 I don’t want to spend a lot of

time there but there’s one thought or

one point that I think would be worth

making and that is it says in all your

ways acknowledge Him if you remember

from last week we talked about all of us

have different areas like maybe you’re a

school teacher you have that way of your

life you may be in charge of a committee

you may be a uh in charge of a

neighborhood group you have all these

different responsibilities in

life and what the challenge is for us us

is to recognize God in that assignment

but then come to experience him in that

assignment and here’s the point I wanted

to make it explains to me why sometimes

you’ll have a guy uh that will be a a

genius in business and really represent

the lord well he’ll uh be generous he’ll

be kind he’ll uh only do business that’s

a win-win situation so that everybody

involved uh prospers the business that

they buy from the people they sell to so

it’s a win-win so Godly in that sense

and so you find this a businessman who

has come to know the Lord as a steward

of resource and ideas and people but he

never came to know the Lord as husband

or maybe father and so his home life

sometimes is really a mess and it’s not

because it’s not because he uh doesn’t

know the Lord It’s just lit literally

he’s never come to know the Lord in that

way that would influence his life to

represent Jesus well in that part of his

life here’s the invitation I throw it

out again every one of us can come to

know Jesus

experientially that means that encounter

with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ

experientially in such a way that he

impacts the course of our life and the

success and that is a biblical term the

success of that direction in our life

all right now let’s go to chapter uh

four of Proverbs and I had a friend oh

goodness this would be um it was it was

a few months before I was married and

I’ve been married 48 years so it was it

was actually it was actually about 49

years ago I had a friend come to me and

he said bill I want to share this verse

with you it’s it’s like one of the most

important verses of my life and it’s in

Proverbs 4:23 just take a look at it

says keep your heart or the the

translation I learned it in watch over

over your heart with all diligence

because from it flows the issues of life

and as soon as he shared that with me it

from literally from that I believe it

was a December a December of

19 uh

72 he shared that verse with me and it

so pierced me that it has shaped my

thinking my values ever since then watch

over your heart I don’t believe that’s

an invitation to be introspective

because I know for me introspection just

really cost me a lot hurt me a lot

because I you know I I’ve never met

anybody that went deep inside soul

searching and came out encouraged I mean

I’ve never met anybody that came out

saying wow wait till you see what I

found you know it doesn’t happen that

way we go soul searching we find

problems so I don’t think it’s that I

don’t think the Lord is inviting us to

that kind of a naval gazing approach to

life but what it is is it’s it’s an

alarm that says watch over your your

heart because attitudes and values come

out of that place of your heart and if

you see uh uh impatience you see uh

certain things that are not right they

suddenly become appealing where there’s

an appetite for something that’s not

right not healthy as soon as those

things begin to just take any form or

shape immediately they have to be

repented of been dealt with immediately

we used to do this with our children we

um our discipline in our home in raising

our kids is we discipline based on

attitude we based we based it on on

heart and that way we actually prevented

a lot of bad conduct we would see

something develop of impatience or uh

bitterness or you know whatever just the

stuff that you go through is is as

people and we would see that in a child

and we’d say all right son go to your

room I’m going to give you 10 minutes to

take care of that and they would learn

over time that they had to really

they weren’t controlled by the people

around them but they had Mastery if you

will Mastery over their own hearts and

that was something that we required of

them just in growing up and had to learn

it ourselves I actually uh a number of

occasions sat down with my whole family

I said you guys know all I want to do is

honor Jesus all I want to do everything

with my life is simply to bring Jesus

Glory if you see anything that is not

consistent with that I’m not just giving

you permission to point it out I’m

asking you to point it out address it

even my children I did that now

obviously they still have to maintain

respect all the other parts of protocol

for family you figure that out in your

own home but for me there were times I I

remember uh this uh guy that almost uh

almost hit us with his car and I I laid

into my horn I was very very angry with

him and later pulled over the family I

said guys I am so sorry I I responded

outside of uh the character of Christ

and I don’t remember how I how I worded

it I just I turned to them and I said I

was so wrong and I remember Eric my

oldest son he says yeah Dad you were

really wrong that was

wrong and and I couldn’t get mad at him

because I actually invited him to do

that I want I want people around me to

say um it feels like you’re getting

careless here it feels like you should

pay more attention there what is that

it’s watching over the heart why because

everything in your life flows out of

that one place that one place the heart

is the seat of affection listen to this

out of the heart man believes so the

heart is the place where faith is

nurtured and developed all the things

that are are valuable to us the love of

God God flows to us and through us from

our own Hearts to humanity around us

everything about our life that is of

great significance is connected to the

heart and so it’s really vital that when

you when you see uh um you taste salt

water coming out of that part of your

life you go H that’s not right that’s

not right that’s that that has a tinge

of resentment or or sarcasm or whatever

it might be that’s not good I’ve got to

make sure to clean that up so we get

before the Lord we repent repent deeply

we’re going to wrap it up with just a

couple more vers vers

here it says

um in verse uh 22 it says for they are

life these are the words of of God the

words of wisdom they are life to those

who find him and health to all their

flesh here’s what I want to do I want to

throw something out that I’m going to

cover more thoroughly in weeks to

come wisdom by Nature has Divine Health

attached to

it wisdom by Nature has abundance

attached to it there are certain things

that they it’s almost like they come

with the package it’s in the design of

those who reign in life to have the

resources they need to accomplish their

purpose and to be radically generous to

affect the people around them wisdom has

with it the attachment of a Divine

Health a way of approaching life that

Keeps Us in a place of physical strength

emotional mental strength so I pray that

for you I pray that that every one of us

would get to not just explore but

actually Delight in and enjoy in the

coming uh weeks and months the U

manifestation of wisdom as it affects

Health as it affects our finances as it

affects our family life our

relationships that every one of us would

see the beautiful fruit of reigning and

life I pray that over you right now in

Jesus Jesus name I bless you with that

amen amen next week we’re going to uh

take a look at uh a very interesting

verse out of Proverbs 5 and this whole

concept of of the purpose of the

community that’s what we’ll look at next

join us