It Came from Within! - Notes from Andy Stanley's Series Part 2

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

(Guard: 1. To protect from danger; to secure against surprise, attack, or injury; to keep in safety; to defend; to shelter; to shield from surprise or attack; to protect by attendance; to accompany for protection; to care for.

We must be attentive to what comes in and monitor what comes out.

We’ve not been taught to guard our hearts but to edit our behavior.

We need to regularly ask the questions: Is everything okay in your heart? Are you hurt? Are you mad at anyone? Has anyone hurt your feelings? Has anyone broken a promise?

How long will we let those things control our life? We need to keep short accounts. Deal with the heart issues.

If we are having physical heart issues and we go to the physician. He may say…we can help your heart. You must exercise every day. If we say back to him, but I can’t exercise! I get tired and out of breath. Just fix my heart so that I can! The doctor would return to us saying…if you will exercise – it will help to fix your heart! You say…but I can’t! Just fix my heart so that I can! Etc…

The words you “accidentally” speak and the actions you later regret are actually in keeping with what’s hiding in your heart. Andy Stanley examines four conditions at the root of sour attitudes, hurting relationships, and regretful actions: guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy.


1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

And to keep them these things at bay, you'll need to embrace four new habits: confession, forgiveness, gratitude and celebration. These "habits of the heart" can allow it to maintain the rhythm for which it was designed.