Antivirus for the Heart Drive

AIM: To understand that the best security for the Heart against Satan is the word of God.

Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the LORD:”

Introduction

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

A computer is mainly composed of two things—hardware and Software

Hardware is the physical machinery, while Sotware are the programs that run on the
hardware. One of the most important hardware components of a computer is the
Harddrive. This a magnetic disk composed of cylinders. The Hard drive is the disk where
much of the data that users interact with is stored. If you have to store music, videos,
letters or anything else you may want to save, you save it on the hard drive. All the
programs that you install on the computer are installed on the hard drive. The most
important of all programs on a computer is a system program called an Operating
System. This is the program that sits in between you the user and the hardware of your
computer. You give instructions to the Operating System, and the operating system
communicates with the hardware to carry out your commands. The operating system also
resides on the harddrive.

Our sermon is entitled; “Antivirus for the Heart drive”; not hard drive. Well we now
know what a Hardrive is and how important it is. We’ve seen that this is the place where
all information on a computer is stored. Now, Antivirus means against Virus, so what is a
virus in computer language. We know of the HIV virus, H5N1 flu virus and many others
which are biological viruses. A computer virus is a computer program—(i.e. a set of
instructions) that reproduces itself by attaching itself to some other program and does
some damage on your computer, just like biological viruses do. For a computer virus to
work, it has to be stored somewhere on the harddrive and then carry out some malicious
work sometimes using operating system features. What then is an antivirus? An antivirus
is also a computer program that catches, removes and protects the computer against
viruses.

The human heart is also like a computer hard drive. The Bible says, out of it are all the
issues of life. Now Proverbs says “Keep thy heart with all diligence [carefulness,
thoroughness, and attentiveness]”. This means that it also has viruses that seek to attack
it, it also has thieves that want to break into it, therefore keep it secure with all diligence.

Highly Secured Houses but not hearts

When you walk around in some of these nice suburbs and townships, you will see how
rich people pay very much attention to securing their property. You will find that they
have their houses surround by wall fences, the wall fence has an electric fence on top, in

Antivirus for the heart drive—Muke (25th August 2009) 1

addition to that, there is a security guard at the gate, and this security guard has a shot
button and may be a gun as well. He also has a vicious dog with him. The house has
strong timber doors with grilled doors and windows with bugler bars. The owner of the
house may even be sleeping with a gun as well beside his bed. All this is done to secure
that nice flat screened TV, those millions not yet deposited in the bank, and several other
property including their own lives. They keep their property and their physical lives with
all diligence least thieves should steal from them. I have used the term physical lives
because little do they pay attention to the security of their spiritual lives which depends
on how well they keep their hearts.

Yes, there is a silent thief who is ever seeking an entrance to your heart. While you lock
yourself in the house thinking that you are secure from thieves, there is always one thief
who even helps you to lock. He does not seek your TV, or your millions of money. He
wants you, and the only way he can get you is by getting into your heart. This thief comes
to kill (your love for and trust in God), steal (your allegiance and heart from God) and to
destroy you, and this is why the Bible says, keep your heart with all diligence.

Doors of the human heart

The human heart has doors through which Satan may enter. Temptations that appeal to
the physical nature have been more successful because they work mostly on the senses.
The five human senses are the doors through which Satan enters the human heart. These
doors are; the eyes (vision), the ears (hearing), the taste, the smelling, and feeling.

Satan as a Python

You see, the Bible portrays Satan as a serpent in Rev 12:9. He is like a Python. Gen 3:1
tell us that the serpent was more subtle meaning more cunning or clever than any animal
in the Garden. The Spirit of Prophecy also adds that the snake was the most beautiful
creature in the garden of Eden. It never used to craw but used to fly, and as it could fly, it
used to sparkle like diamonds. It produced such a splendid display of brightness that you
would be attracted to it. A python works in a similar fashion, it does not run around
chasing for animals to eat. It just sits and limps upon any that comes near it.

Satan does not really chase after us so much. He sits their while he presents attractions
that will draw us to himself. You will just go to him on your own because of the
allurements he presents. Satan presents many things today, TV, Music, and Sport, dance
halls, parties of pleasure, games, mobile phones, internet, magazines, and novels as
attractions that bring people to himself. He does not have to go so much chasing after
them. The Bible says, keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are all the issues of
life.

Trojan Horse

There is one type of virus that is very interesting. This virus is called a Trojan
horse. This is a program that appears to be something good but actually has some code

Antivirus for the heart drive—Muke (25th August 2009) 2

that does damage to your computer. It may be a nice computer game, or music player or
anything you may think you need but it has deadly code. When a fisherman wants to
catch fish, he does not present a naked hook, he covers the hook with a nice morsel which
the fish will scramble for, and the fish that first gets hold of the morsel is the doomed
one. Satan does not present things that we don’t like to attract us, he knows that we wont
be attracted by them. He brings us things that appear good, things that we feel we need,
things that seem like when we have them they will solve a number of our problems, but
alas, those things come with deadly hooks that leads us as captives to Satan. Look at the
things you enjoy doing, look at the music you like listening to, look at your wardrobe,
look at your Kitchen and see if there is nothing there with Satan’s hook to pull you to
him. Rat poison is 99% food and 1% poison but it’s the 1% that kills the rat! Poison is
poison no matter how much food it may have, it will still kill. Today you may say, No, I
just watch this cartoon or that movie for leisure, I don’t follow what they do, but I can
assure you that there is a hook in those things that is leading you to Satan. You may say, I
see nothing wrong with this food, I see nothing wrong with this dress, I see nothing
wrong with this movie, or song or TV show, I see nothing wrong with this brother or
sister, but that is beacase you are seeing those things in the light that Satan would like
you to see them, for “many behold things in a perverted light, in the light in which Satan
would have them see.”—Bible Commentary vol. 7, p. 961 par.7 (1894)
Ask Jesus to give you eyesalve and you will see the hook hidden waiting to catch you.
There is a hook in that un healthy food that is leading you to Satan without you realizing.
There is a hook in your kitchen, a hook in the wardrobe, Keep your heart with all
diligence is God’s plea.

A roaring Lion
The Bible in 1Peter 5:8 presents Satan as a Roaring Lion. He is depicted to be walking
about, not running around. What does a roaring Lion do to animals, it makes them fear.
When a Lion comes to a Kraal, it does not break in, it simply roars outside and the cattle
in the kraal gather fear and panic and then jump out. And then the lion catches which ever
it wants. The cattle forget that by jumping out of the Kraal, they are jumping out of their
only security. Satan will come to us and roar with problems and many times we fear and
panic and then jump out of God’s hands. He will roar with a financial crisis then we jump
out of God’s hands by not returning tithe, he will roar with sickness, then we jump out of
God’s hands by going to witch doctors, he will roar with some malnutrition, then we
jump out of God’s hands by going back to meat eating, he will roar with gossipers, then
we jump out of God’s hands by not going to church, but we fail to see that by so doing
we actually take ourselves into his hands.

Satan’s two most important principles

Satan works on two most important principles; Attraction and Fear. He will try by all
means to attract you, if he fails, he will make you fear so that you lose your hold on God,
you lose your faith and trust. With attraction he brings pride, selfishness and love of the
world, if he fails to get you by these, he brings persecution and problems so that you lose
your trust and faith in God. Beware of these two principles.

Antivirus for the heart drive—Muke (25th August 2009) 3

The problem
Jer 7:9 says “The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can
know it?” and Mathew 12:33-35 says “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or
else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by [his] fruit.
12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and
an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.”

What is full in the heart is what comes out of the mouth. If Jesus is full in our hearts, we
shall love to speak of him to our friends, we shall love to sing to him. Our words shall be
seasoned with grace that they may minister grace unto the hearers.

The Solution

A question is posed: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?” and the answer
comes: “ by taking heed [thereto] according to thy word. Thy word have I hid in mine
heart, that I might not sin against thee. ” Ps 119:9,11. The word of God is the Antivirus
for our hearts. The only security guard we can have against all temptations.

Antivirus for the Heartdrive

But how does an antivirus work? If you just get that CD on which the AV is and place it
on top of the computer, nothing will happen. What needs to be done is to install that
program. It has to be on the harddrive, it has to integrate with the operating system—that
is the only way the virus will be removed. It does not matter how many Bible versions
you have, how many Spirit of Prophecy books you have. What matters is that the word of
God is in you and becomes part of your life. The word of God shapes your words and
actions, the word of God is in all you do and say, in all you see and hear, in all you touch
and feel, in all you smell and taste—then and only then will you keep your heart with all
diligence.

Jesus says in John 5:39 “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me.”

Study His word prayerfully. Lay it not aside for any other book. This book convinces of
sin. It plainly reveals the way of salvation. It brings to view a bright and glorious reward.
It reveals to you a complete Saviour, and teaches you that through His boundless mercy
alone can you expect salvation. {MYP 268.1}

The truths of the Bible, received, will uplift the mind from its earthliness and
debasement. If the word of God were appreciated as it should be, both young and old
would possess an inward rectitude, a strength of principle, that would enable them to
resist temptation. {8T 319.3}

Amen.

Antivirus for the heart drive—Muke (25th August 2009) 4