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Transcript

Guard It or Lose It · Men's Morning Devotional

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Gentlemen, every day is a battle.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A battle for your faith, your family, and your purpose.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: The men who stand strong don't prepare when the battle arrives.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: They prepare before it begins.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the men's morning devotional.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get into God's word.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to man up.
• 0:26
  Chris Alessi: Good morning and welcome back to the Men's Morning Devotional.
• 0:30
  Chris Alessi: My name is Chris Alesi, and I'm glad you are here for another week as we dive into Proverbs.
• 0:36
  Chris Alessi: We're going to look at Proverbs chapter seven, but before we do, I just want to say we've been getting some great feedback on this podcast.
• 0:43
  Chris Alessi: Many of you are sharing it with other men, and we want to encourage you to keep doing that.
• 0:48
  Chris Alessi: Hopefully, you're enjoying the wisdom coming from the book of Proverbs and from our family.
• 0:53
  Chris Alessi: And hopefully you can send it out to a couple of men that absolutely need it.
• 0:58
  Chris Alessi: Now, on this Monday, to get us started in Proverbs chapter 7, uh, it actually shares a lot of similarities to the truth that we would have read back in uh Proverbs 2 on the last week that I hosted.
• 1:11
  Chris Alessi: But we've got something fresh today.
• 1:12
  Chris Alessi: Here's our man-up moment.
• 1:14
  Chris Alessi: What you don't guard, you will lose.
• 1:19
  Chris Alessi: Solomon is back in Proverbs chapter 7 with another warning, another portrait of wisdom, another man standing at a crossroads.
• 1:29
  Chris Alessi: But I think we can see something in the opening verses of chapter 7 that makes this week special on its own.
• 1:37
  Chris Alessi: It's a single word that appears three times in the first two verses.
• 1:42
  Chris Alessi: That word is keep.
• 1:44
  Chris Alessi: Look at this, Proverbs 7, verse 1.
• 1:46
  Chris Alessi: My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you.
• 1:50
  Chris Alessi: Keep my commandments and live.
• 1:53
  Chris Alessi: Keep my teaching as the apple of your eye.
• 1:57
  Chris Alessi: Three times in two verses, Solomon says, keep.
• 2:00
  Chris Alessi: That's not on accident.
• 2:02
  Chris Alessi: That word in the original language meant to guard, to watch over, to protect.
• 2:08
  Chris Alessi: It's the word used for a soldier, standing watch.
• 2:13
  Chris Alessi: Not passive holding, but active guarding.
• 2:16
  Chris Alessi: Solomon isn't asking his son to simply remember the wisdom he shared.
• 2:21
  Chris Alessi: He's calling him to stand over it, like it's something worth defending.
• 2:26
  Chris Alessi: Most men treat wisdom like a resource they consume.
• 2:30
  Chris Alessi: A podcast like this one that they listen to, a sermon they nod along with, a verse they read, agree with, and then think of who else needs to hear that verse.
• 2:39
  Chris Alessi: But Solomon is describing something closer to how a man would guard his home, his family, or his reputation.
• 2:46
  Chris Alessi: You know, when you first move into your house, it's hard to go to sleep unless you know the door is locked, the alarm is on, all the windows are closed.
• 2:54
  Chris Alessi: We don't just kind of casually guard our home or uh occasionally guard it.
• 3:00
  Chris Alessi: We guard the things that matter to us constantly with everything we have because we understand what's at stake if we let our guard down.
• 3:10
  Chris Alessi: Now, after all that, Solomon adds the most striking phrase.
• 3:14
  Chris Alessi: He tells his son and tells us, keep my teaching as the apple of your eye.
• 3:20
  Chris Alessi: Now, the apple of your eye is actually the most sensitive, protected part of your body.
• 3:25
  Chris Alessi: You actually have an instinct to defend your eye without thinking.
• 3:30
  Chris Alessi: Solomon says that's how a man should relate to wisdom, not just casually, but with this reflexive protection of something he cannot afford to lose.
• 3:40
  Chris Alessi: So here's our man-up question to set us up for the week, but to have a really good Monday as well.
• 3:46
  Chris Alessi: What are you actually guarding in your life right now?
• 3:49
  Chris Alessi: Because whatever you protect most reveals what you value most.
• 3:53
  Chris Alessi: The principled man guards wisdom like his life depends on it.
• 3:58
  Chris Alessi: Because according to Solomon, and we'll see it the rest of this week, it kind of does.
• 4:03
  Chris Alessi: So here's your man-up challenge.
• 4:05
  Chris Alessi: Take some inventory today.
• 4:07
  Chris Alessi: What are you actively guarding in your life?
• 4:09
  Chris Alessi: Your marriage, your mind, your integrity, your time with God, or is it your comfort or your pride?
• 4:16
  Chris Alessi: The question is, what have you left unguarded that needs your attention?
• 4:22
  Chris Alessi: And maybe name one thing you've been passive about and decide today to become intentionally guarding it.
• 4:31
  Chris Alessi: Let's pray.
• 4:32
  Chris Alessi: Father, we want to be men who keep your words, not casually, but like a guard.
• 4:38
  Chris Alessi: Show us where we've left our guard down.
• 4:41
  Chris Alessi: Give us the instinct to protect what matters.
• 4:45
  Chris Alessi: We choose today to keep your commandments as the apple of our eye.
• 4:49
  Chris Alessi: In Jesus' name, amen.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: All right, gentlemen, you've heard God's word.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now go live it.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Lead well, stand strong, honor God in everything you do.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Share this devotional with another brother.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, every day is another opportunity to man up.