Dear Reader,

Lately a phrase keeps running through my mind: "Out of the heart, the mouth speaks..."  My first thought was, what was I saying or commenting recently that the admonishment could be for me? Had I been harboring thoughts in my heart that do not represent the Character of Christ? Possibly. What had I been cultivating or entertaining recently in my thoughts and with whom I talked?

All good questions and it is good to first see how a word that resonates  in our prayer time or reading applies to us personally before sharing the truth with the corporate body of the Church.

So I did. I made sure that  what I said and thought about was not contrary or cultivating a negative or critical spirit within. And still the thought persisted. Time to do more research and find out where that quote was from and what was happening when it was said.

And this is what I found:

The complete quote that this phrase hales from is Matthew 12:34 and it says:

 "“Either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. [we get that, apple trees bear apples, etc...]

"You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. " [Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. They were pretending to be "good" and the people believed them because they knew the Scriptures better than they did].

Continuing with the passage...

"The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. [Sometimes evil can look good, but only through deception--remember Adam and Eve..]

"But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  [According to this passage, it is our own words that condemn us. We choose what we cultivate in our hearts and the direction we follow...]

The setting of Matthew 12 opens with Jesus and the disciples walking through the grain fields. They get hungry so as they pass the grain growing, they pick some and eat it.  Seems harmless, doesn't it?

Enter the Pharisees. Apparently they were with them or watching in some way. Can't you just see them trying to be nonchalant about spying on the disciples and Jesus and waiting for one of them to violate the law?

"Oh, we just happened to pass by and saw...!"

Funnier still,  maybe they were trying to be covert and spying by moving from tree to tree along the outside edge of the grain field peeking around the trunk of the tree and from out of the bushes to watch...? 

Seriously, I"m thinking maybe they were following not far behind waiting for someone to violate some law so they could accuse. Others among them probably wanted to hear what Jesus was saying, not fully convinced He was doing anything wrong...

Jesus then stops and rebukes them when they accuse the disciples of violating the Sabbath by "laboring" in the fields on the day of rest.  Jesus uses a familiar quote from Isaiah that they should be familiar with, "if you had known what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, RATHER THAN SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent."(References)  He is referring to much more than that one incidence. For the Pharisees did that all the time as they exercised their power and authority over the people.

Then further in Matthew 12, there are more questions and explanations regarding the Sabbath. The pharisees continue to point out the violations regarding what is allowed on the Sabbath. The Spirit of the law puts mercy and grace over the letter of the law and he points to the the prophecies of Isaiah regarding the Messiah (Lord of the Sabbath) for them to consider what they are doing. ( See References).

The encounters in Matthew with the Pharisees and teachers of the law reveal the following conflicts.

1. We know the Pharisees had the truth regarding the Law and the prophets of old and they believed it was their duty to protect it. They believed they had the right interpretation. They were educated, the average person was not. So the average person relied on the religious leaders to tell them the truth. This gave the Pharisees and teachers of the law an authority over the people.
2. Because the leaders should know the right applications of the law, they should also know better than to corrupt it with their own personal agendas and power-seeking.
3. The sermon on the mount Jesus uncovered the heart behind the law. His ultimate sacrifice in fulfilling the law showed His love for humanity and His desire to break the hold of the accuser (the devil) over them. The Pharisees behavior reveals the accuser's intent and manipulation through those willing to partner with him. (Jhn 8:44; Acts 13:10; Eph 4, 6)
4. When we read Matthew 5-7, we can see Jesus is describing the Kingdom of God reality in the face of distortion for the sake of someone else's power over them.
5. Like vipers, the altering of truth poisons the lives of those who live by the alteration of the Truth communicated.  Jesus is admonishing those who should know better because what they proclaim, decide and teach, is inconsistent with the representation of the office they were to represent.  They were to not only accurately teach the letter of the law, but the heart of the Father behind it.

So that is a little background regarding the phrase given to me. Why was it given? What was I thinking about? I was listening to the news and the many points of view. I was getting tired of the do's and dont's of those who presumed to be experts on  what to believe, to eat, to say...etc. Even the Spiritual leaders of our day have different points of view!!!

And to complicate things is the reality that even those who, (like the Pharisees of Matthew 12), point out the inconsistencies, can be deceived, repeating opinions without knowledge.

 OH what a tangled web...how are we to decide what to believe? It does make one want to just close the door on the whole thing and hibernate until it is all over.

But we can't. Not if we want to be the Church Jesus is building. We have to discern and speak up with out voice, our vote and our pens, make a phone call if needed. But we cannot continue to abdicate the responsibility as citizens of the Kingdom of God and members of His body (His hands and feet upon the earth).

( We have the Scripture, the Holy Spirit and Truth on our side?)

It is all a matter of the heart. "the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart." And this is how we, in this present day, can decide whom to listen to and of whom to be weary. Words and actions will betray the deceiver and testify for the believer, regardless of how the words are wrapped.

Pay attention.

Pray.

Remain close to the heart of the Father so His voice can be heard amongst the clatter of opinions.

Take care of the heart.

When Scripture speaks of the heart, is in reference to that place were our soul and our spirit meet. It is where "who is in charge" is decided. And God knows the heart of everyone better than we do (Ps 44:21, Acts 15:8, 1 Jn 3: 20), so He will help us when we are confused when we remain in Him.  What we cultivate in relationships and entertainment; what we fill our heart with  in the places we go and what we study, they all contribute to how our perspective on life is formed and how clearly we hear the guidance of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 5:6,Pro 9:6,Pro 13;20,Ti 2:16-18,Heb 12:15,2 Peter 2:2, 18-20). 

Proverbs 4:23 (NASB) says, we are to "watch over [our]heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life."

The NIV says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

When we are converted, our soul (our mind, our reasoning, our intellect and our emotions) is required to change allegiance from personal agendas to Jesus as Lord. The struggle to put aside our soulish desires and what we think is best can be difficult.  It is a change of allegiance from the kingdom of darkness with its law of sin and death (old covenant thinking) to choosing allegiance according to the Kingdom of God and the Law of the Spirit of Life which, when cultivated, brings freedom. (Romans 8)

Whatever the heart is full of, will spill out of our mouth, eventually and then there will be no doubt.  All will discern what "spirit" a person is speaking from by what they say, backed up by what they do... Do they follow through with the promise? Or do they conveniently "forget" and fail to be accountable?  Is what they promised simply a twisting of words?

Do you remember the story of Jesus admonishing the disciples for wanting fire from heaven to come down and strike the Samaritan village who refused to welcome him? Jesus said to them,“You do not know what kind of spirit you are of;" (Luke 9:55).

The Luke passage above reveals there are times when we need to examine a little more carefully what we have allowed to affect our heart. For example,  I love to read a good story, and even if the story is fantastic, I KNOW when I need to put that book away and not pick it up again. I don't have to know why, my heart is just trained to KNOW when a story is having a negative effect on what I am cultivating in my heart.

Psalm 141: 3-5 requests :

"Set a guard, LORD, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds of wickedness
With people who do wrong;
And may I not taste their delicacies."

Believing the worst, entertaining/harboring bitter feelings of disappointment and unbelief cultivates the law of sin and death. Where we focus our attention determines the lens through which we form our perspective.

In closing, consider the Apostle Paul and the history we know of him as he advises the following in Philippians 4:8:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Words, whether written or spoken in private or public, reveal  our predisposition toward life. While we are to believe the best about people, and think on good things as the Apostle Paul advises, it does not mean we are  to ignore the discernment given regarding  what to people say, promise, and preach.

We have a good measure to discern the words, the times and the seasons in the precepts of Scripture. We can know how to respond by that good measure of Faith if we know what that measure entails. We do not need to be ignorant and easily manipulated, sucked into ideologies that do not measure up to the Standards of His Faith that we are given.

We must know the truth. Even in these blogs, Dear Reader, you need to know the truth for yourself so you can discern rightly what I am "saying." Weigh the Truth I glean from my experience before you adopt anything as your own. Most of all pray that you might gain what God has for you.

Remember:

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart." Luke 6:45

Grace and Peace,

Anne