Our Words Reveal What the heart contains.

Our words can get us into trouble or keep us from trouble.

?Bible says “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.” (Proverbs 21:23)

Two reasons why words are important:

First Because of the sheer quantity of words, we use. ?

According to researchers, each person will open his/her mouth an average of 700 times in a day. In those 700 times, he/she will use an average of 18,000 words. Those 18,000 words would translate to about 54 printed pages. That means that in one year, an average person would fill 66 books of 800 pages each. Remember what comes out of our mouths is the result of what we have deposited in our hearts.

Look at how Jesus explained this principle. He said, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words, you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned.".” (Matthew 12:35-37)

Jesus puts forth this simple principle. You know a person by their words. If their heart is good, their mouth will flow forth good words. If their heart is bad, their mouth will flow forth bad words. This is the main point of what Jesus said at the end of verse 34, "for the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart." Solomon, likewise, instructed us, "Watch over your heart will all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life" (Prov. 4:23). In?Matthew 15:18, Jesus says that "the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and those defile the man." To deal with your speech, you need to deal first with your heart.?To deal with your heart, deal with your thoughts.?Adrian Rogers, “What’s down in the well, comes up in the bucket.”

According to Jesus, an evil heart cannot speak of good things. Nor can a good heart speak of evil things. It is exactly what James said: James 3:11-12 “Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. “

Our words prove what is in our minds. This is why Jesus then says, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned” The Bible says that there is not a word on my tongue but that the Lord knows it all together (Psalm 139:4). He even knows my thoughts afar off (v. 2). I can admit the truth to Him. And I can turn to Him and say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (vv. 23-24).

If your mind is constantly full of infidelity, Sooner or later, that will come out of your mouth. If your mind is full of cursing, or bitterness, or hatred, or deception. Sooner or later, that will come out of your mouth. “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” In other words, you can tell the condition of a person’s heart by the substance of their speech. Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds. This is why David prayed: Psalms 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;”

Man’s problem isn’t Bad influences, or Bad parents, or too much temptation.

It isn’t Ignorance or even Stupidity. Man’s problem is a carnal heart.?That won’t accept God or the things of God. You can’t overcome a carnal heart without repentance before God. If my words indicate a carnal heart, then the only option is to repent. And ask Christ to give a new heart. Ask Him to give a heart that allows us to confess Him And speak truth and righteousness. It all starts with the heart, and only Christ can change it.

In fact, listen to what Paul said about salvation. Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” A person first believes in their heart, and then the confession comes out of their mouth. But the point is that it is the heart that must change. we needed to acknowledge that their heart was sinful and they needed to repent of that and ask Christ for forgiveness.

Hebrews 3:12 “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” In short, in order to change my heart, I need to invite the living God into my heart with repentance and faith.?Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Second, Because of the amazing power of words.

?Think of what a few words put together can convey. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits”. (Proverbs 18:21)

Everything you have said today has either been life-giving or death-dealing, and there is nothing in between. Your words can either corrupt... or they can build up, in grace. - The tongue has the power to kill, to destroy, to hurt, to maim and to assassinate...but it also has the power to give life & encouragement.

The wrong words are like hooks. These hooks have been defined as fallacious arguments because they are misleading and deceptive. There is a dark side — very dark — to the power of speech. The greatest violation of speech imaginable is when man employs his tongue to deny the very One who created him. Bible says “The fool says: “There is no God” (Psa. 14:1; 53:1). A terribly serious violation of the gift of speech is the distortion of the truth. Words manipulate people into becoming tools others can use.

The right words can inspire a person’s heart, motivate a nation, lift a friend’s spirits, destroy a child’s ego, propel a man to the highest position, and bring a fresh smile to a tear-drenched face. You can avoid offending others when you use wisdom with your words and always operate in love. Your words determine whether you display the character of integrity. Words have power and what you say can impact others in a profound way.

As the Scriptures indicate, they can create and destroy, build and burn down, save and condemn. The triune God created and upholds us by his Word redeems us by re-narrating our lives by his gospel, and directs us by his commands so that our words become more conformed to God’s Word.

?Given this reality, do you take time to think about your words? Yes, in your face-to-face conversations. But also, in your texts and emails, and social media posts. Honestly, think about your words from this morning, or from yesterday, or from last week: which sphere best describes those words: the sphere of death, that is, getting, grabbing, jabbing, toxic, tearing down, divisive, destructive... OR, the sphere of life: giving, gracious, loving, building up, healing, mending, gentle, kind, truth-filled?

Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote to followers of Jesus in?Ephesians 4:29...?“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Our words must become words of grace.?

There are?careless?words in every remark we make, every curse we utter, every lousy joke we tell, every comment we post and later deleted on social media, and every word we say reveals something of our?heart. And our own?words will?either justify or condemn us?in the day of judgment.

“If you say, ‘See, we did not know this,’

Does He who weighs the hearts not consider it?

And does He who watches over your soul not know it?

And will He not repay a person according to his work?”

(Proverbs 24:12)

Our?words?are a key indicator of what is in our?hearts:

?“Watch over your heart with all diligence,

For from it flow the springs of life.”

(Proverbs 4:23)

Choose your words carefully. Whoever controls the language controls the conversation.