We're going to be in our Bibles tonight, Proverbs chapter 4, verse 23. Proverbs chapter 4, verse 23. Now, when you find a place you can stand with me, if you would, we'll read the Word of God together. Proverbs chapter 4, verse 23. Thankful, Lord, we have somewhere that we can go, someone to go to. Don't always understand necessarily why he loves us, maybe perhaps so much, but I'm thankful that he does, despite ourselves. I'm very thankful that he's as good to us as he is. Lots of things we don't understand in life. How many of you got some things you just don't understand, ain't figured it out yet? You know what else I don't understand? I don't understand how you can put socks and shoes on a bear and you still walk around barefoot. How do you do that? I don't know. Let's read the word of God tonight. Proverbs chapter 4, verse 23. The Bible says, keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Let's pray. Father, we come to you tonight. Lord, we thank you for your goodness. Lord, you are faithful. Lord, I'm thankful for the song that was sung tonight that tells us that we have someone we can go to, which is you. You have somewhere we can go in that prayer closet, God, to get along with you in that secret place. Lord, I'm thankful tonight that we have a God that cares about what we go through in life, cares about our everything that we do. Lord, I pray this evening you'd help us as we go through your work tonight. God, that you would give us what we need this evening. Lord, that you would speak to our hearts. Lord, that you would show us some wonderful things out of your work tonight, and that we would be better equipped, Lord, as your people, to live in this world Lord, as pilgrims passing through, Lord, I'm thankful my name is written down in heaven and that my citizenship is there. Lord, while I'm here, God, I pray that you'd help me and those others around here tonight, Lord, to make much of you, to point people to you, and to learn to know as much about you while we're here as we possibly can so that we can continue to tell others, God, about your grace, love, and longsuffering, Many other things, God, that we can tell about you. Lord, I pray that you bless us tonight. Keep us safe. We love you and thank you for it all. In this we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. As we look at our text tonight, the Bible says there in Proverbs chapter 4 verse 23, Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. The title of the message tonight is Standing Guard. standing guard. We live in a world where people are probably thinking more and more about security than they ever have before. Cameras all over the place. We've got them in our homes, our businesses, our cars, and folks have them out in the woods looking at people as if they're coming by and killing their deer and things like that. We have locks of all sizes that are made. We have security cards, security guards, security doors. Security protocols, security on just about everything that we can think of. I remember watching an episode of Andy Griffith one time. How many of you enjoyed that show? Andy Griffith, what a blessing. I enjoyed that. I still watch that. I still watch it. It's on my television at the house. I've probably watched through it five times. And I still chuckle every time I read, every time I watch it, I read it. this episode in particular, there was this truck that was going through Mayberry that had all this money on it. Anybody remember this episode? It was this truck, it was going through Mayberry, it had all this money on it. I think it may have been like, I don't know, I think it was like four or five million dollars or somewhere around like that. And of course they came in and I don't think Andy was in there at the moment. I think Barney was in there and this guy, I think, I think that's how it went. Nonetheless, Barney can't keep a secret. We know that one, right? Barney can't keep a secret. So, of course, he gets on the phone and he starts telling everybody, you know, accidentally that there's a truck coming through Mayberry that's got tons of money on it, you know, and gold and all this kind of stuff. Well, this secret truck that's supposed to come through, of course, eventually the whole town knows about it. And this truck that nobody's supposed to know about, they end up throwing a party for it. And it comes through, it comes through Mayberry, you know, and it's got some armed guards with it. Well, come to find out there's not even any money in the car. It was a decoy. It wasn't even anything in it. The real one had went around somewhere else. But unlike that, unlike that truck, and we look at our verse here tonight, unlike that truck that was empty, didn't have anything in it, our hearts tonight are full and we have lots of things that are in it. Bible tells us here in the text, the Bible says, keep the heart with all diligence, grounded in all the issues of life. And so we have a lot of things that are inside our hearts tonight. Lots of things that are inside our minds this evening. And so despite that truck, though it was empty, our hearts tonight are full and there are lots of things that are inside of it. And our text says tonight that to keep the heart with all diligence, That word there for keep there has the idea to guard, to watch, to preserve and to protect. It has the idea of actively watching and protecting something like a security guard that is watching over a building. Or like a security guard that is watching maybe perhaps over a bank vault or something that has a lot of valuables inside of it. The idea is to watch and observe carefully, to look, to behold, to make sure you keep your eye on. The Bible tells us here in our text tonight to guard the heart with all diligence. for out of it are the issues of life. The very first truth I want us to see here tonight as we take a look at and jump this down is the very first truth is the priority. The Bible says to keep the heart with all diligence. Now, if you're going to keep your heart with all diligence, you know what that means? That means you're going to make every effort possible. You're going to do every single thing that you can with all diligence. You're going to do everything you can to make sure that you're guarding that which is extremely valuable. So what is that here tonight when the Bible calls it our heart? But we understand this evening that we're not talking about the heart in essence as a physical organ. We're talking about our words, our actions, our thoughts, and these types of things. Because out of us does proceed our deeds and our thoughts and our actions and our words and these types of things. And so what we want to do is make sure that we guard that in all possible. The Bible says, keep thy heart with all diligence. And all diligence means to make every single effort possible. It means that nothing else is really as important at this moment than making sure that you guard your heart with all diligence, at all speed, with everything you got. Make sure that you guard this place of your heart, this sea of emotions and thought and words and where deeds are thought of and then ultimately performed. This should be a priority in life. So we see the very first truth here tonight is the Bible says to keep the heart with all diligence. And so we see that we see that the guarding of our heart is a priority. Guarding what comes into us is a priority. Guarding what goes out of us is definitely a priority. Guarding what is inside of us is something that is a priority of every single one of us. The heart is the command post in essence of our life. And out of it flows the issues of life. The Bible tells us here. guard thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Jot this down. You can Luke chapter six, verse 45. The Bible says a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. And so what we see here tonight is that we have to make sure that we do all of our diligence, that we do everything we can to guard our heart because we don't want anything that doesn't need to come inside of it to come inside of it. Because when we allow it to come inside of us, well eventually, if we're not careful, it will probably come out. It will. And so the Bible says we need to guard our hearts. I mean, when we think about a bank vault, we think about, and the guards that stand in front of it that make sure that no one or no unauthorized personnel are allowed to come inside. Listen, our lives should be the same way, that we make it that we're making sure that we are setting up a guard and a watch in our lives, that we're making sure that nothing is coming into our hearts, into our minds, into our ears, that it doesn't need to. Because if we're not careful, what will happen is, is we may let some things slip by. And then the next thing you know, it manifests itself in our deeds, in our actions, in our words. And so we want to make sure that we are, that we have a guard, that we are setting a watch. The Bible says, listen, with all diligence, With all diligence, this is a priority in life. You ever had some priorities in life? Sometimes, listen, we got priorities in life and things we have to manage and things we have to make sure that we put into the right place. Guarding our heart is a priority to protect what influences our inner thoughts and our beliefs in what we do in life. Making sure nothing gets in that does not things to come in that are not good. A good heart leads to righteous living, while an evil and a corrupt heart leads, of course, to sinful living. And in life, we have to prioritize things. Some things are just more important than others. And we want to make sure that we don't major on the minors and minor on the majors. We want to make sure that we got things prioritized and in the right order. And listen, our heart needs to be one of those priorities, making sure that we are guarding that, making sure that we are setting the watch. making sure that we're not allowing things to come into us that will eventually mess us up on the inside and then come out of us, which will be a nasty mess as well. And so the Bible tells us that listen, that we need to prioritize. Listen, our hearts, keep the heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Listen, we cannot make the mistake of not prioritizing our heart. We cannot make the mistake of making sure that we don't like it needs to be guarded. Listen, the devil, as you've heard me say this before, the devil's always willing to capitalize on our failures and our mispriorities or our underrated priorities. Because listen, we may say, well, I don't think this is important. The devil says, well, I'm glad you said that. I don't think this is all that important. Well, I'm so thankful you said that. Now I know exactly where I need to prioritize. Listen, here in the scriptures we can see the Bible says to guard your heart with all diligence. And the devil will always capitalize on our failures to prioritize things that need to be prioritized. And that is, of course, one of those things is our heart. The Bible says to guard it with all diligence. Everything you got, make sure that this is something that you are guarding in your life. to making sure that you're keeping those, man, those influences, those things coming in your heart, in your mind, in your life. Keep those things out, man. Set a watch for it. Filter it out. A good heart leads to righteous living in Luke 6, 45. A good man of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. And an evil man of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil. And so we ask ourselves, what is it that we are allowing inside of our life that is also ultimately coming out of us? Because what comes in will generally come out and we need to make it and we're going to allow something to come inside of us. We need to make sure that what comes out of us is good and is right and is righteous. And if we're not careful and we don't set a watch and we don't prioritize our heart, then we will be invaded by things that are evil and wicked and nasty. And these things will then come out of our, these things will then come out of our lives and we'll make a mess. Proverbs and here in our text in verses, even in verses 20, all the way to verse 27. I'm going to read it tonight, but we can see here that really the, uh, the, the, the heart, uh, and when you see as a priority of life, it's not just, this was not just a good idea for today or just for tomorrow, but it's something that we need to make sure that we prioritize for our lifetime. The Bible says, listen, with all diligence, make every effort to guard this. It is purposing in your life to prioritize and make progress in righteousness, to produce righteous fruit in your life. Prioritize what comes in. That way what comes out is righteous. That way what comes out is good. And the reason why we prioritize these things is because it's important. Listen, your heart's important. What comes into your mind's important. What comes out of your mouth is important. The fruit that we bear is important in our life. And so we have to prioritize these things. The Bible says, keep the heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. The most secure bank in the world is Federal Reserve Bank in New York. It's 80 feet. below street level, behind 90 feet deep blast-proof reinforced walls with steel and concrete. As 140 ton steel cylinder door that seals the vault airtight, as 24-7 armed guards with motion sensors, biometric access controls, requires multiple authorized approvals to enter. contains 6,200 tons of gold, which is around $400 billion. It's a lot of security. There's a lot of walls. There's a lot of concrete. There's a lot of steel. There's a lot of 24-7. There are guards that are there watching over this place to make sure that there's nothing that gets in that shouldn't get in. Making sure they're doing everything they can to protect that. Making sure they're doing everything they can to keep what's on the inside good and make sure nobody comes in and takes anything. But listen, tonight we got to understand that we said, yep, that's a lot of money. Yes, that's I mean, I can only imagine what is in there at all and how much money is. I've never seen any amount of money like that. I've never experienced having any amount of money like that, you know, but listen, when you think about what all that is, it's behind those doors and how valuable it is and how important it is. But yet the Bible tells us in Mark 8, 36, so what shall I profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? And so we think about that aspect here tonight. We think to ourselves, well, really, $400 billion is nothing compared to our soul. 400 billion dollars is nothing compared to the value of a man's soul. But yet we'll do this. We'll set up all these cars behind 80 feet down, behind 90 feet thick of concrete walls and steel and barriers and all these things that are red to you tonight to keep the robbers from coming in and to make sure that nothing happens to them. But yet we don't have nothing guarding our hearts. which is more valuable than anything else. Being able to walk around with nothing guarding our hearts, but put so much emphasis on guarding these things. But when it comes to ourselves, when it comes to guarding our hearts, no guards whatsoever. We allow, listen, if we're not careful, we just allow all kinds of things to come into our hearts and minds. All kinds of things to infect and all kinds of things, we can call it a virus if you want to or whatever, but all kinds of different things that can come into our hearts and minds and don't do us any good. And so, listen, we got to make sure that we are keeping our hearts a priority and we are guarding ourselves. Second truth tonight, not only do we see the priority, but we see the We're going to guard our hearts. What are we going to guard it from? Well, we got to guard it from things which corrupt and poison our lives, right? I mean, you know what we're talking about? I mean, if we're going to guard something, then listen, that means that whatever's on the inside is good. And you don't want it to be corrupt. You don't want it to be poisoned. You don't want it to be bad. And so we're going to guard it. We're going to keep the bad on the outside, keep the good on the inside. And that way, whatever it is that comes out of us will be good. And it'll be righteous the way we want it to be. The Bible shows us here that, listen, that we need to make sure that we are preserving some things. He says, keep the heart with all diligence routed all the issues of life. And so if we're going to guard our heart, then there's one thing that we need to do because there's not only stuff coming in, but there's stuff going out. And if we want what's going out of us to be right, then there must be some sort of preservation method that is done with inside of us. And so there is something worth guarding. And what is that? It is your holiness. It is your purity. It is. It is a good conscience. It is. It is all these things on the inside that we need to make sure that stays intact, that we need to make sure that it's not divided, that we need to make sure it stays holy and pure and righteous before an almighty God. We need to make sure that we are guarding ourselves because there is a reason for preservation to make sure that to make sure of things and poisonous things that come into our life. And these things can be numerous. It can be media things we listen to, books we read, shows we watch, people we're around, relationships. I mean, there's all kinds of things that can be toxic in our life. We have to preserve what's on the inside to keep the outward corruption out. Does that make sense? When I would go hiking, this is a bigger one than what I normally take, but whenever I go hiking, I take this. It's a Sawyer. I take it everywhere I go. It's a water filter. Even if I was only going on a day hike, I would still take this with me. But the one I usually take on a day hike is a lot smaller than this, probably about half this size. It's considerably not quite as round as this. But when I go hiking, I would take one of these with me every single time. The purpose is so I can drift around the water because there's a lot of impurities that are in the water. And what I want to happen is, is I don't want to be drinking some water. Hey, it may look good. You say, oh man, that water looks clear. Just because it looks clear, don't mean there ain't nothing swimming around in there that ain't going to hurt you. Just because it looks clear, just because it looks good, don't mean that there ain't some things swimming around in there because this is, I can't see all those thing, but I can tell you this. Now I ain't the one you say, well, I don't let a preacher that water looks good. I'm just going to drink it. Hey, you might be right. You might not, but I tell you what, if there's nothing, if it does have some stuff in there, once it hits your belly and it starts to, it starts to multiply, you're going to wish it had one of these. You start vomiting and your stomach starts getting upset and you're out in the woods and ain't nothing you can do about it and you feel like your guts is being about to be ripped out and you start getting sick, you're going to be saying, I wish I would have filtered that water. I wish I would have never just took it for granted. I wish I would have took that saw here and I would have put it down in there and I would bottle, I'd have put it on my wrist, I'd have used it, I had it, I should have used it. And I take one of these things, I take it with me every time I go for that very same purpose. Listen, sometimes it's those small things that get in that make such a big difference and make us sick. Sometimes it's those small things that get in that make us vomit, that get our stomachs upset. Sometimes, listen, there's some things, some nasty using this right here to filter these things out. And listen, we got to be on guard. We got to feel for ourselves because listen, we got to preserve that which is good. Amen. We got to preserve that which is good. And so we got to make sure that we are preserving ourselves, preserving our hearts, preserving our minds from things on the outside that are infecting, from things that are parasitic, from things that make us sick and unhealthy. Philippians 4.8 says, what are some of these things? Well, Philippians 4.8, the Bible says, finally, brethren, and especially the things that deal with the mind. The Bible says in Philippians 4.8, finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. And so when it comes to the mind, the Bible says, listen, if we want to make sure we do everything we can to filter out the impurities, if we want to do everything we can to make sure that we're keeping out the things out of our mind that don't belong there, then let's do this. Let's make sure we take the filter of God and let's filter these things out and think of the things that God told us to think about. Because I tell you what, every single day, the devil is doing everything he can to say, you know what? You don't really need that. You don't really need that. You can't see nothing there. Oh, it's all right. You got to worry about that. Look, that's as clear as day. Man, don't that water look good? Reach your hand down there and touch it. Isn't it cold? Man, it sure does look good. It sure does feel good. You know, you're thirsty. Go ahead and drink it up. I just put away that filter. You don't need that filter. You don't need that in your life. You don't need those things. And listen, what can we think? Well, I tell you what, this right here sure is a good filter for life, amen. I mean, we can take this right here and use it as a filter. And this right here, listen, it shows us how to live. It even tells us what we need to think about, amen. It tells you what to think about. Think on things that are good and things that are honest and things that are just, things that have a good rapport. Listen, things that are true. Listen, all these things. And if there's any virtue whatsoever in it, then think on these things. But I tell you what the devil done for her. They can say, hey, why don't you think about this? And I said, what'd you think about that? And why don't you start thinking about this? And why don't you start thinking about that? Listen, and you know just as well as I do, man, the devil has an AA on your mind. Does he not? Devil has a heyday on our mind. And then the next thing you know, we done got all discouraged and dissolved. Listen, I get you. I know where you're coming from. And the next thing you know, we can sing the world's over and it's all coming to an end. But listen, why don't we try to filter out these things and say, God, help me to think on the things that you're telling me to think about things that are things that are just, things that are pure, things that are honest and good, Lord, things that are virtuous. God, please help me to think on these things and filter this mess out because your mind is something that needs to be preserved. Your heart is something that needs to be preserved because the is, is what comes out of you is not good. Amen. What comes out of you is not good. And so the Bible says in verse 23, keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. And so when it comes to our minds, Philippians 4, 8, tremendous. Second Corinthians 10, 5. The Bible says, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. and cause havoc as a must. And nearly, if not all situations, what we allow into ourselves will eventually flow out of ourselves. And so we have to make sure we are guarding our minds and guarding our hearts, making sure that we are preserving that which is good. The third truth is, so we see the priority that we need to make. We see the importance of the preservation. What else is there? Well, the third thing is, of course, the product. I finished the verse. The Bible says in verse 23, keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of likeness. So there's something that's coming out of our heart. And our heart, as we've already designated, is our thoughts. It is what is coming out of us. If our thought life gets tainted and our words are tainted and corrupt and the direction we're looking is tainted and corrupt, then the byproduct of that which came in that was no good, it comes out of us, which is also no good, which is also something that's evil, which is also something that's wicked. And so we have to make sure that the product of what we're producing in life is something that is righteous, something that is holy, something that is pure, something that is pleasing. to the sight of God. The Bible says, because out of our heart comes the issues of life. And so if out of our heart is going to come the issues of life, then we want to make sure that we preserve our heart the best we can. And in order to do that, we're going to have to set a watch in front of our heart and say, I'm only going to allow this and this and this to come in. You're not invited. You're not invited. You're not invited. You ain't coming in. You ain't coming in. You ain't coming in. Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Yes, you can. But know, out of God, you can't come in. Amen? You guard your heart, and you take every thought No, you guys can come in and you guys cannot. I'm sorry, but today I'm thinking on things that are loving and pure and just and honest and good. Because we'll meet a lot of things that are not that way to come in. It's the devil and the devil uses to bring out of your life things that are rich, things that are evil, and things that are defiling. making sure that the product is good, that it is righteous. And in order to do that, we must make a priority on that which we are going in our life. The Hebrew word for the word issues there is the word that means to go out or to proceed and flow forth. It has to do with, as I said, our thoughts, our words, our actions, our decisions. So the things that come out of us, our words, our thoughts, our actions, our decisions, we need to make sure that we are preserving those things in purity and righteousness. And the way to do that is to make sure that we set a priority of our hearts and our minds that we only allow certain things in. Because if we allow other things to come in that don't need to be there, the devil will use it as a vehicle to defile us and defile other people. And so we've got to make sure that we are prioritizing this thing so we can preserve that which is good, so that that which comes out of us is righteous and pure and holy. Amen? Does that make sense? And so we can see the product. And so we ask ourselves tonight when we look at ourselves, are we prioritizing our heart? Are we prioritizing what's coming in to our heart and into our minds? Are we prioritizing these things? Are we preserving these things in our life so that what does eventually come out is righteousness? good and holy and pure and just and pleasing in the sight of God. Are we preserving these things in our life? Are we filtering these things out so that whenever this stuff comes in, that it doesn't make its way to us? We want to make sure that we are preserving and prioritizing so that the Whether it's our actions, whether it's our words, whether it's our decisions, whatever it is, that it is good and righteous and holy and pure. And so we ask ourselves, what is the product of our heart today? Because all day long, we've been issuing products of our heart. So we ask ourselves, What is the product of my heart? Well, the product of my heart is the things that decisions I've made, actions that I've done, words that I've said, thoughts that I've been thinking. Then what is the product of our heart? What is that? What's the byproduct? What we've allowed to come into our lives. So the product of our heart, what is that? The product of our heart reveals what's on the inside. He reveals what's on the inside. So then we think about this, what fruit are we bearing today? What is it that we're bearing today? I mean, the Bible, we read Luke chapter six, verse 45, it says, And out of the good treasures of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. And an evil man, out of the evil treasures of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And so when we think about this, what is coming out of us? What is the byproduct of our life? What we are producing today, what we're producing right now, is just the byproduct of what we've allowed to come into our lives. Whether it's been all day today, yesterday, the day before, the day after. Just what we're producing is the by-product of what we've allowed in. So what are we producing here tonight? What is coming out of us? Is it something that is holy? Is it something that is just? Is it something that is good? Is it something that's pleasing in the heart of God? I mean, what are these things? What is going on? Matthew chapter 7, verse 16 and 20, jot this down. The Bible says, you'll know them by their fruit. He says, the men gather grapes of thorns, Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth forth not good fruit is hung down and cast into the fire, wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. And so we ask ourselves, If out of our heart comes the issues of life and what we do and the decisions that we make and things that we say are byproducts of our heart, then what are we producing? It makes us think about what kind of tree we are. The Bible says you know them by their fruit. James chapter 3. I mean a lot that is said here. James chapter 3 and verses 8 to 18. The Bible says the tongue can not maintain. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Therewith bless me God, even the Father, and therewith we curse men. Which are made out of the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessings and cursings. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Do the fountains send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Get the fig tree, my brethren, bear all the berries, either of thine figs. Soak in no fountain of ill salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his word with meekness and wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory not, then lie not against the truth. This wisdom descended not from above, but is earthly and sensual and devilish. For where ending and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and of good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of the righteous is so in peace of them that make peace. And so we ask ourselves here tonight, what is it that is coming out of me? What is the by-product of my heart tonight? What is the by-product of my actions? What is the by-product of my decisions? What is the by-product of my words that's been in here? What have I allowed to come in here that's tainted me to such a degree that I've allowed it to then go out and become evil? Many years ago, back when I was in my early 20s, I had just graduated high school. I got a job at a place called the Dixie as a furniture company in town. I worked there in the packaging department and I was the very last one really to touch the furniture before it got packed up. So we had this machine, I'll use this right here, I'll stand right here, and there was a conveyor belt. Anybody ever done factory work like that where things come around on a conveyor belt and stuff like that? So you know what I'm talking about. And there was this conveyor belt, you know, and you could watch the furniture, man, it would come down and come from all over the place, from where it originated, you know, with the wood. And it would come on down, finally it would come, it finally would come in our department, it would come around, and it was standing straight up, and it would get right over here, and there was this machine, these guys, they laid it down on this machine, and they would flip it up, upside down. And then whenever it would come to me, my job was, was I had a sander in my hand, electrics, We had to sand the stain off of the feet so that whenever these people went to go put their furniture in their house they wouldn't have stain on the bottom of it that would stain their carpet. So my job was to take the sander and I had to get up on this little pedestal thing and I would get up on top of it because some of the things were really tall and I had to get up on top of it and I'd take that sander and I'd sand all the feet. So I start right here, and by the time I get to that sand, I'm like leaning way over here. Then I slide my chair over, and I get up on top of it again, and I get my hammer out, and I get four tacks. I had these four tacks. These four tacks, what they did was they had to hit them into the bottom of the feet, so that whenever they pushed the furniture around in their home, it would slide across the floor. And so I'd take these four tacks, and I'd get up there after I'd sanded them and made sure it was all done. I'd take those four tacks, I'd put them up there, and I'd hit it. Boom. And I'd hit this one. Boom. And I'd hit this one. Boom. I don't know how many times I hit my fingers. It is uncounted. I'm surprised I can feel them. I'm surprised I have them, to be honest. But I don't know how many. I went home all the time with my fingers just swollen and hurting. But I would hit those tacks. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Go on to the next one. Sanding those feet. I mean all the way down. And I tell you what, when that thing was pushing, buddy, it was tough. Because you'd have the boss, man, he's down here on this side. And man, if it wasn't going as fast as he wanted, he'd be up here pushing that line. And here you are trying to sand and nail and sand and nail and sand and nail. Man, I tell you what, that was a tough job for $7.25 an hour back in the day. That's a tough job. Back in my early 20s, probably 20 years old. Man, that was tough. No air conditioning, nothing at all. Boy, those were hard times. So I was the last one. But if I seen something that wasn't right, sometimes a foot would come in and we'd split. If I seen something that wasn't right, I'd look over to one of the guys and I'd say, one at it and say, this was no good. But we also had a guy. that when he'd go to put the crates in, he would look at it one last time. And we also had a quality control guy that stood at the very end that would look at everything and make sure everything's right before it went out the door. What we need in life is that quality control. You know who that quality control is in our life? You know who we call that? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's there watching what's coming in and out of our life. And he's saying, oh, That's not good. You better not send that out. Well, I don't care what you say. I'm sending it out anyway. Let's be honest. Let's be real. You better not send that. I'm going to send it out anyway. I'm sending it. I am sending it. I am sending it. Holy Spirit, you better not. You better not send that out. I'm going to send it. I'm sending it right now. You know what happens a little bit later? Quality control gets a call. They just want to let you know that you didn't send out some good furniture and the customers are upset. They just want to know you sent some stuff out that wasn't good. Now we got some problems. What we need is some good quality control. Some good Holy Spirit obedience in our lives. So that when everything's coming to our mind and our hearts and our minds, we think it's all good and dandy to send it out. And we would just be obedient to the Holy Spirit of God and say, listen, you better not send it. Some good, old-fashioned quality control. I remember those days. Those days were hard and those days were difficult. But as I think about this quality control, we got to ask ourselves tonight, Are we sending it out? Are we being obedient to what God is telling us to do? What's coming out of our mind, is it a by-product of our own heart? Is it a by-product of our own ambition? Is it a by-product of our own bitterness? Is it a by-product of our own anger? Is it a by-product of our own selfishness? Or is it something that's rooted, really, in the Holy Spirit of God? The quality control department. The Bible shows us here, keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Let's pray tonight. Father, we come in this evening, we thank you, Lord, for your goodness. Lord, I pray tonight and bless thee. Lord, I pray tonight that you would help us, God, to be the amendment of God that you want us to be. Lord, I pray this evening that you would help us, God, to guard our hearts. Lord, there's so many things, Lord, that we can do for your honor and glory. So many ways that we can just be pleasing in your sight. Lord, I pray that you'd help us tonight to guard our hearts. Help us, God, to seek the value of preserving that which was in us so that which goes out of us, Lord, is good and holy and righteous and faithful. Lord, I pray that you'd help us tonight to be the men and women of God that you need us to be. Lord, I pray that you'd watch over us throughout this week. God, keep us safe. Lord, I pray for our Bible study on Friday night. God, that you would just move in our midst here on that Friday. Lord, that you'd just speak to us once again through your word and bless our fellowship together. Lord, I pray for this weekend. God, for Mother's Day. Lord, I pray that you'd bless that as well. Lord, I pray that you'd just give us a tremendous weekend and just help us to honor you and just love on you and love on the moms and just have a great weekend. Lord, we love you. We thank you for all that we know you're going to do with these things. We pray and ask you, Jesus, by your name.