Get A Grip of Your Lip to Produce Good Fruit
ICS Daily Devotions
Matthew 12:33-37 (NKJV) 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. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 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. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgement. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
A big ship can carry about 10,000 to 20,000 containers. Although the rudder is small as compared to the ship, it is what sets the course at sea. Likewise, though the tongue is a small part of our body, it affects our lives either positively or negatively by the words that we speak. As such, what we say will affect the destiny of our lives!
The words that we speak carry power regardless of our positions in society, but the words of those in positions of authority carry more weightage in either the natural or spiritual realm. Therefore, the words that we speak affect not only the lives of others, but also release the authority over our own lives to either the enemy or to God to act.
In the opening passage, Jesus was dealing with the scribes and Pharisees—the religious people. The problem with the religious people of His time is their focus on their outward acts and practices whereas Jesus was more concerned about their hearts and what came out of their mouths. A bad tree can never produce good fruits. Likewise, we cannot deal with our lips unless we first address the root issues, which are found in our hearts, but once we deal with the root issues, it will be easy to produce the right fruit.
What Jesus taught us in this passage is that the words that flow out of the heart—or the fruit—reveal the condition of the person. People’s words expose their attitudes, motives, and intents. Complaints, bad vibes, strife, and arguments all stem from the issues of the heart. What Jesus was effectively saying is that if our heart or inner life was right, it would produce the right kind of fruit, and turning to God for help is the only way we can address the issues of our hearts.
Sermon Series: Cell Group Campaign
