Christ First Forum

by **Remnant** » 16 Nov 2009, 18:50

What's in your heart?

The scriptures tells us whatever comes out of the mouth reveals what's in the heart of that person!

A persons heart is the treasure house of their soul. Whatever you deposit there becomes a resource for your thoughts, your emotions and your decisions. All the issues of your life pass through your heart. So be careful what you place in it and what you allow to be at home there.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

Proverbs 18:21 says: Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

One must pay close attention to what comes out of the mouth for it reveals the intent of the heart or what lies therein.

If we treasure our relationship with God then we will treasure His word as well and we will meditate on it day and night so that what we say will be a reflection of God in our words.
Psalm 119:11 says: Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

The Word of God reveals the treasure of your heart, but so do your own words. Jesus said, In Luke 6:46 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks"

Some things are obvious. What is not always clearly seen is what you feed the spiritual man. Only God sees the inward man, or what you really are. No one can see inside of you and visualize what you really look like, or can they?

In Matthew 15:16-20
16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding?
17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication's, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

A physical change in a person is easy to see. The spiritual man is more subtle and difficult for someone else to understand what is going on inside. We can’t view the real person inside the person. An X-ray or CT scan won’t show what another person is really like inside. But Jesus said there are signs of what is inside a person even though we can’t see with the physical eyes.

The mouth is a direct picture of the heart of man. If you want to know what a person is really like, listen to what they say, and the type of language they use. It is amazing sometimes to just sit and listen to people as they speak. Filthy jokes, racist slang words, off-color stories and comments about the opposite sex, flow as freely as water from a mountain spring. James three, verse three, says that a fountain can’t send forth both sweet and bitter water. The same mouth can’t send forth both praise to God, and cursing. Just as fig trees can’t bring forth grapes, or grape vines bring forth olives, the man or woman of God cannot glorify God and use words that are offensive to both God and man.

James may remind you of what our Lord said in Matthew 7: "You will know a tree by the fruit it bears!" You could say in light of James 3, you will also truly know a heart by the fruits that the tongue bears! Our Lord in Matthew 12 gives further insight on the importance of watching our words and this relationship to what comes from our hearts. (In this context he is speaking to the Pharisees, the teachers of Israel).
32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
33 " Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
34 "Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."Praise from the tongue is the fruit of a heart that has been graciously redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ!
It is a heart that is full of gratitude because it knows that it once was a dead heart full of bitterness and hatred toward God- - without knowledge of sin!

There is an important connection taught here between what someone says and who they truly are! Remember our Lord's teaching in Matthew 15:
11 "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."… 15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." 16 So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?
17 "Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 "These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."
What comes out of the mouth, comes from the heart! This is our great problem.
Illustration: Imagine that tonight, you were not told this, but some of your family members, some of the people with which you work and others from church have been asked to speak and give a testimony about you! Now, all things being equal, and with hopes that they would be honest and fair, what would they say about you? Those at home, work, and school- - would they be able to say you are one who uses your tongue to praise God- - or do you curse other men? Do you gossip? Are you bitter with sarcasm and anger? These things are difficult to think about, but they are necessary for us as Christians to consider. We must constantly remember our hearts!

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