WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.080 If you turn in your Bibles to Matthew 12 .33 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:07.480 and Karen will be reading from that verse to 00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:15.980 verse 37. Thank you Gary. So Matthew chapter 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:19.019 12, if you have one of these blue Bibles it will 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:24.039 be on page 793. The black one will be on page 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:37.259 1515. These are the words of our Lord Jesus Make 00:00:37.259 --> 00:00:41.840 a tree good and its fruit will be good Or make 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:45.600 a tree bad and its fruit will be bad for a tree 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:51.700 is recognized by its fruit You brood of vipers 00:00:51.700 --> 00:00:56.500 How can you who are evil say anything good? For 00:00:56.500 --> 00:01:01.320 the mouth speaks what the heart is full of A 00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:04.480 good man brings good things out of the good stored 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:08.579 up in him, and an evil man brings evil things 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:13.359 out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:18.280 you that everyone will have to give account on 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:22.340 the day of judgment for every empty word they 00:01:22.340 --> 00:01:26.739 have spoken, for by your words you will be acquitted, 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:30.730 and by your words you will be condemned. This 00:01:30.730 --> 00:01:38.930 is God's word. Thanks Karen. Good morning again 00:01:38.930 --> 00:01:43.010 church. Just to let you know in today's newsletter 00:01:43.010 --> 00:01:47.030 we're experimenting with the outline of the sermon 00:01:47.030 --> 00:01:49.810 so if you haven't received a physical copy of 00:01:49.810 --> 00:01:54.230 this we have emailed it out online but just to 00:01:54.230 --> 00:01:56.790 let you know if you want to follow along today 00:01:56.790 --> 00:02:00.810 with the passage that we're looking at you'll 00:02:00.810 --> 00:02:05.230 find the outline there. But before we get into 00:02:05.230 --> 00:02:07.150 the word of the Lord this morning, why don't 00:02:07.150 --> 00:02:10.490 we pray together and ask for our Lord's help 00:02:10.490 --> 00:02:17.050 in understanding these words. Father, we ask 00:02:17.050 --> 00:02:20.449 this morning that your word would be illuminated 00:02:20.449 --> 00:02:24.069 to us, that you would enlighten the eyes of our 00:02:24.069 --> 00:02:27.150 heart by the work of your Holy Spirit. that this 00:02:27.150 --> 00:02:32.050 morning our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that 00:02:32.050 --> 00:02:36.210 He would be centre in all we do. We ask this 00:02:36.210 --> 00:02:41.490 in Jesus' name. Amen. Church, I wonder if you 00:02:41.490 --> 00:02:46.689 would be able to finish this sentence for me. 00:02:47.270 --> 00:02:52.530 Sticks and stones may break my bones, but brilliant. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:58.000 nursery rhyme indeed that reminds the little 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:03.259 ones among us that words might be hurtful, but 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:05.900 they shouldn't be the things that destroy us. 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:12.219 But in saying that, do words matter? Do the things 00:03:12.219 --> 00:03:16.080 that we say with our mouths just disappear into 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:21.250 the air, never to be thought of again? Or is 00:03:21.250 --> 00:03:24.210 there something more to say on the way that we 00:03:24.210 --> 00:03:27.710 speak? Well, in the passage that we have before 00:03:27.710 --> 00:03:31.650 us this morning, Jesus teaches us something profoundly 00:03:31.650 --> 00:03:35.669 sobering about the connection between our hearts 00:03:35.669 --> 00:03:40.580 and our words. He tells us that our words aren't 00:03:40.580 --> 00:03:44.580 just little vibrations that tickle each other's 00:03:44.580 --> 00:03:48.780 eardrums for better or worse, but are a reflection 00:03:48.780 --> 00:03:54.680 of what's going on inside, deep inside, deep 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:58.780 inside of our hearts. And that when we speak, 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:02.159 we're actually revealing the condition of our 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:07.520 hearts for better or worse, healthy or unhealthy. 00:04:08.810 --> 00:04:12.729 And more than that, Jesus warns us that we will 00:04:12.729 --> 00:04:16.490 give an account of every word that we speak. 00:04:17.769 --> 00:04:20.529 Church, this passage challenges us to take a 00:04:20.529 --> 00:04:23.949 good look, a good hard look at our speech, our 00:04:23.949 --> 00:04:27.689 actions and more importantly, our hearts. To 00:04:27.689 --> 00:04:31.209 put that as simply as I can, what we're hopefully 00:04:31.209 --> 00:04:34.050 going to see today is that our words actually 00:04:34.050 --> 00:04:38.259 say something about us. And in the end, they 00:04:38.259 --> 00:04:42.699 were either just justify or condemn us. Now all 00:04:42.699 --> 00:04:46.000 of this has come off the back of the Pharisees 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:50.600 verbally challenging Jesus on his very presence 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:54.500 in Israel. And since these verbal challenges 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:57.980 starting in chapter 12, there's been a contrast 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:01.439 of characters that have kind of come bubbling 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:05.709 to the surface. A contrast between our righteous 00:05:05.709 --> 00:05:10.990 and holy Lord and that of the hard -hearted religious 00:05:10.990 --> 00:05:15.149 leaders of the day. In the first 14 verses we 00:05:15.149 --> 00:05:18.310 saw an exchange about the Sabbath and it was 00:05:18.310 --> 00:05:22.350 there that Jesus told the Pharisees that they 00:05:22.350 --> 00:05:25.750 just pay lip service to the command, taking the 00:05:25.750 --> 00:05:29.649 law to the extreme and making it a burden for 00:05:29.649 --> 00:05:33.810 the people. Whereas Jesus brings true and eternal 00:05:33.810 --> 00:05:38.629 rest for all those that come to him because he 00:05:38.629 --> 00:05:42.550 is the Lord of the Sabbath. Again in verses 15 00:05:42.550 --> 00:05:47.350 to 21, in contrast to the character of the Pharisees 00:05:47.350 --> 00:05:51.569 who condemned and continually tore people down, 00:05:52.050 --> 00:05:56.029 we thought about the beautiful song of the servant. 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.939 and how Israel was to expect a compassionate 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:06.160 and merciful savior who Jesus clearly is as revealed 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:12.480 in all that he did and all that he said. And 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:16.899 then last week in verses 22 to 32 we saw our 00:06:16.899 --> 00:06:19.500 Lord address the sin that will never be forgiven. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:22.879 And we saw this particularly in the context of 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:26.899 the Pharisees that said with their mouths They 00:06:26.899 --> 00:06:30.339 had an absolute rejection of the Holy Spirit's 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:35.620 revelation of who Jesus is. Which brings us to 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:37.720 the text that we have before us this morning. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:41.220 And it's here that I think our Lord shows us 00:06:41.220 --> 00:06:45.339 four things in relation to our hearts and our 00:06:45.339 --> 00:06:48.560 speech. Four things that we would do well to 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:51.569 reflect on this morning. First, Jesus is going 00:06:51.569 --> 00:06:54.529 to give us a bit of a picture about a couple 00:06:54.529 --> 00:06:57.689 of trees and what fruit they bear so we can kind 00:06:57.689 --> 00:07:00.889 of get our heads around just how important all 00:07:00.889 --> 00:07:03.990 of this really is. Second, he's going to again 00:07:03.990 --> 00:07:08.009 reveal the traits of hard -heartedness. Third, 00:07:08.290 --> 00:07:11.709 words matter but so do our actions. And then 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:14.110 finally, Jesus is going to tell us that we have 00:07:14.110 --> 00:07:17.689 to pay careful attention to all of this because 00:07:17.689 --> 00:07:20.810 at the end of the day, It's all going to really 00:07:20.810 --> 00:07:24.170 matter. So if you have your Bibles with you this 00:07:24.170 --> 00:07:27.350 morning, read with me just that first verse there, 00:07:27.529 --> 00:07:31.649 verse 33. These are the words of our Lord, make 00:07:31.649 --> 00:07:35.509 a tree good and its fruit will be good. Or make 00:07:35.509 --> 00:07:41.089 a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree 00:07:41.089 --> 00:07:45.500 is recognised by its fruit. Right, so straight 00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:48.579 off the bat, it's worth mentioning that Jesus 00:07:48.579 --> 00:07:53.759 is directly addressing the Pharisees here. But 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:56.420 as he speaks to them, as he challenges them with 00:07:56.420 --> 00:08:01.399 this picture, we learn something of the character 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:06.319 of Jesus as well. You see, in context, the Pharisees 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:10.139 had been saying that Jesus was doing good things, 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:13.259 like healing people, and though they couldn't 00:08:13.259 --> 00:08:18.300 deny those good deeds, they also added that he 00:08:18.300 --> 00:08:22.480 was essentially an evil person. You might remember 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:26.459 that from last week. Jesus had healed a man, 00:08:26.540 --> 00:08:30.560 a great thing to happen indeed. But then these 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:34.679 Pharisees said that Jesus was only able to do 00:08:34.679 --> 00:08:38.200 any of this because he was in cahoots with the 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:42.440 devil himself and thus deceiving the nation of 00:08:42.440 --> 00:08:45.440 Israel. And so it's here that our Lord brings 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:50.059 attention to their rhetoric and says either approve 00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:53.759 of me and my deeds or condemn me and my deeds 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:58.419 but don't say that I do good but I'm evil at 00:08:58.419 --> 00:09:02.950 the same time. It doesn't make sense. That's 00:09:02.950 --> 00:09:06.070 the challenge of Jesus to the Pharisees here. 00:09:06.330 --> 00:09:09.649 He essentially says don't say that I'm an evil 00:09:09.649 --> 00:09:13.450 man going about doing good things, make up your 00:09:13.450 --> 00:09:18.470 minds and you can do that by looking at my actions 00:09:18.470 --> 00:09:23.429 because it will tell you something of my heart. 00:09:24.850 --> 00:09:27.509 That's why this picture here is so helpful to 00:09:27.509 --> 00:09:34.990 us. An apple tree doesn't produce pears. And 00:09:34.990 --> 00:09:40.889 a pear tree doesn't produce dragon fruit. A tree 00:09:40.889 --> 00:09:45.029 is known by its fruit. And that's what Jesus 00:09:45.029 --> 00:09:48.350 is saying here. He's saying the way we evaluate 00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:55.370 the heart is by what it produces. And so with 00:09:55.370 --> 00:09:58.529 that in mind, if we think of our Lord Jesus here, 00:09:59.149 --> 00:10:02.389 From the get -go, from the very beginning of 00:10:02.389 --> 00:10:06.429 this gospel that Matthew has given to us, we've 00:10:06.429 --> 00:10:11.250 seen Jesus draw all manner of people into the 00:10:11.250 --> 00:10:16.549 kingdom of heaven by his deeds and his words. 00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:20.159 From the get -go, everything that Jesus has done 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:25.399 has reflected something of the true nature of 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:28.799 Him being the Son of God, the Saviour of the 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:33.899 world, the servant of God. His words and deeds 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:39.659 have reflected that every step of the way, He 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:43.559 has been Emmanuel, God with us. That's been the 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:48.159 fruit of the tree, so to speak. Now, contrast 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:52.580 that with the Pharisees. I mean, they acted like 00:10:52.580 --> 00:10:57.159 these great men of God, but they spoke wickedly 00:10:57.159 --> 00:11:01.820 towards the Son of God continually. They've said 00:11:01.820 --> 00:11:05.139 one thing about how to obey scripture, but haven't 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:07.879 followed it themselves. They've followed their 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:12.159 traditions. Again, not so with our Lord. No, 00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:16.019 we can assess Jesus by what Matthew has given 00:11:16.019 --> 00:11:20.259 us to know him and he's revealed him time and 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:23.860 time again to be the Son of God because his life 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:27.919 reveals his heart. His life reveals to us a man 00:11:27.919 --> 00:11:31.200 who is humble, a man who's caring and compassionate, 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:34.980 a man who served the weakest and most broken 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:40.019 and a man who loved not just in word but in all 00:11:40.019 --> 00:11:46.029 that he did as well. To put that simply, the 00:11:46.029 --> 00:11:52.649 fruit reveals that the tree is good. Very, very 00:11:52.649 --> 00:11:58.429 good. So in light of that, I might ask this morning, 00:11:59.309 --> 00:12:03.009 what do your words reveal about the deepest part 00:12:03.009 --> 00:12:07.710 of you? If you were to say that someone was to 00:12:07.710 --> 00:12:10.730 film your life for a good few weeks and then 00:12:10.730 --> 00:12:14.470 you were to watch it back in a Netflix special, 00:12:15.809 --> 00:12:20.570 what kind of drama would it be? What kind of 00:12:20.570 --> 00:12:25.529 show would you be flicking on? A humorous thought 00:12:25.529 --> 00:12:28.750 maybe, maybe not. But this is the sort of thinking 00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:33.019 behind what Jesus is giving to us here. He gives 00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:36.940 us something in these verses by which we can 00:12:36.940 --> 00:12:41.220 truly examine ourselves. Our actions and our 00:12:41.220 --> 00:12:46.440 speech indicate what's really going on inside 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:51.940 of us. It's the fruit of the tree, so to speak. 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:56.139 So would you say that your life and actions reflect 00:12:56.139 --> 00:13:04.120 a life that's been transformed, that's been graciously 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:08.340 born again by the work of our Heavenly Father? 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:11.879 Would you say that your words and actions towards 00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:15.980 those around you, even your enemies, has been 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:20.159 seasoned with the love and the grace of God? 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:24.419 It's amazing what we can learn about ourselves 00:13:24.419 --> 00:13:29.019 and others when we stand back and look at the 00:13:29.019 --> 00:13:34.730 fruit. Well, here that we learn that Jesus' fruit 00:13:34.730 --> 00:13:43.149 reveals a good and godly character. And the Pharisees' 00:13:43.149 --> 00:13:47.269 character, well, it was revealed by their fruit 00:13:47.269 --> 00:13:51.529 as well. And we see here in our text this morning 00:13:51.529 --> 00:13:57.580 that Jesus, he calls them on it. saying in verse 00:13:57.580 --> 00:14:11.519 34, essentially what Jesus is saying here is 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:14.980 that the Pharisees are talking snakes in that 00:14:14.980 --> 00:14:19.120 they want to look good but reveal their slithering 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:25.370 slimy characters by their slanderous words. They 00:14:25.370 --> 00:14:28.750 might try their hardest to put on a good, godly 00:14:28.750 --> 00:14:33.190 persona out there in the world, but to the King 00:14:33.190 --> 00:14:37.509 of Kings, there was no pulling the wool over 00:14:37.509 --> 00:14:43.549 his eyes, because their words, their words reveal 00:14:43.549 --> 00:14:49.110 their hearts. Brothers and sisters, this truth 00:14:49.110 --> 00:14:52.990 still stands today. I think it's a warning to 00:14:52.990 --> 00:14:55.529 those in the church that deceive themselves. 00:14:56.870 --> 00:15:00.070 I mean, you might preach, you might write books, 00:15:00.190 --> 00:15:02.929 you might do missionary work, you might evangelise, 00:15:03.149 --> 00:15:07.690 play music, all the while having a heart that's 00:15:07.690 --> 00:15:13.250 deceived. That's the verdict that our Jesus pronounces 00:15:13.250 --> 00:15:18.830 on these men here. They were the religious elite 00:15:18.830 --> 00:15:23.190 of the day. They were the visible shepherds that 00:15:23.190 --> 00:15:27.490 Israel looked to, but Jesus, he calls them on 00:15:27.490 --> 00:15:31.990 their hypocrisy. He calls them on their actions 00:15:31.990 --> 00:15:35.429 as revealing their true characters. And that's 00:15:35.429 --> 00:15:39.870 because at the end of the day, they didn't really 00:15:39.870 --> 00:15:44.149 know God. They didn't really know his love or 00:15:44.149 --> 00:15:50.519 his grace or his mercy. And we see that in the 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:54.620 way that they speak about Jesus, who is the revelation 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:59.559 of God in the flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. I 00:15:59.559 --> 00:16:03.919 mean, we saw it last week. They saw God operating 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:08.620 in their very midst, casting out a vicious, tormenting 00:16:08.620 --> 00:16:12.159 demon. And instead of standing back and praising 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:16.039 and glorifying God for this amazing work, they 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:21.100 opposed Jesus to his face. with slanderous speech, 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:27.279 which revealed their hearts towards God. In one 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:31.620 way, they worked so hard to keep up a public 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:36.220 persona of godliness and piety, but their speech 00:16:36.220 --> 00:16:42.360 gave them away. Their speech exposed their hearts 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:47.370 as being utterly darkened and hardened. to the 00:16:47.370 --> 00:16:55.129 things of God. Church, this is a pretty terrifying 00:16:55.129 --> 00:16:58.950 passage if we think about what's going on here. 00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:04.130 I mean, we can work really hard to make the outside 00:17:04.130 --> 00:17:11.369 look so nice and shiny. But if we haven't been 00:17:11.369 --> 00:17:14.680 transformed by God's grace on the inside, It 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:16.779 might not happen straight away but there will 00:17:16.779 --> 00:17:21.680 be some area where the truth of the heart is 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:25.799 exposed. And the warning here is that you might 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:29.900 try really hard with the makeup and with the 00:17:29.900 --> 00:17:34.019 masks but there will always be an area of our 00:17:34.019 --> 00:17:36.779 lives where the truth will break through and 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:40.500 expose what's really going on. The Pharisees, 00:17:40.500 --> 00:17:45.690 they looked so good and shiny but their darkened 00:17:45.690 --> 00:17:50.789 hearts manifested itself in blasphemy and slander 00:17:50.789 --> 00:17:54.630 and it gave them away as men that didn't really 00:17:54.630 --> 00:17:58.170 know the God of Israel who had sent his only 00:17:58.170 --> 00:18:02.130 begotten son into this world to serve and to 00:18:02.130 --> 00:18:08.589 seek and to save the lost. Brilliant sermon done 00:18:08.589 --> 00:18:12.329 on this very passage was done by Augustine in 00:18:12.329 --> 00:18:16.140 the fifth century. And he says this, the words 00:18:16.140 --> 00:18:20.700 of men betray the secrets of their hearts. John 00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:23.839 Calvin, the great reformer, says the tongue is 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:26.779 the mirror of the heart. If a man's words are 00:18:26.779 --> 00:18:33.140 evil, it's evidence that his heart is evil. All 00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:37.079 this to say our words, our speech, it comes from 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:40.599 the abundance of our hearts. It's the fruit, 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:44.920 it's the language of the soul. we might say. 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:49.519 And Jesus here, he points out a way for us to 00:18:49.519 --> 00:18:53.880 know what's going on in our hearts. And it's 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:58.059 here that we see that even people who might go 00:18:58.059 --> 00:19:01.819 to church, their whole lives can be utterly deceived 00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:11.220 about the very real state of their hearts. This 00:19:11.220 --> 00:19:15.079 is the thing, brothers and sisters. We're not 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:19.140 going through this text this morning because 00:19:19.140 --> 00:19:23.559 we're going through it because Jesus doesn't 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:28.799 want us going the same way. Jesus doesn't want 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:33.240 people to be self -deceived. No, this event, 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:37.599 these words that have been inspired in Holy Scripture 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:41.779 is because Jesus wants us to stand back and really 00:19:41.779 --> 00:19:45.990 take a long hard look at what is coming out of 00:19:45.990 --> 00:19:51.990 our mouths. So we might think of this like a 00:19:51.990 --> 00:19:56.349 tool in which we can test ourselves somewhat. 00:19:57.529 --> 00:20:01.170 Granted, our speech doesn't ultimately make us 00:20:01.170 --> 00:20:03.710 righteous, we'll get to that in a moment, but 00:20:03.710 --> 00:20:09.130 it does, as we see here, reflect something that's 00:20:09.130 --> 00:20:14.579 going on deep down inside of us. Jesus would 00:20:14.579 --> 00:20:20.099 have us reflect this morning on how we speak 00:20:20.099 --> 00:20:27.200 because it tells us a lot about ourselves. As 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:30.859 many of you know I was a drummer before I became 00:20:30.859 --> 00:20:34.319 a pastor and I got a chance to travel around 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:38.619 quite a bit and it always struck me that anywhere 00:20:38.619 --> 00:20:42.299 you went in the world you could an Aussie accent 00:20:42.299 --> 00:20:45.359 with just a couple of words of them speaking. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.220 Be it in a crowd, at a sporting match, or at 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:54.259 a party, as soon as you hear, g'day Cobber, radio, 00:20:54.819 --> 00:21:00.180 striker lights. I always felt that sense of familiarity 00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:05.140 and homeness. And I want you to think about this 00:21:05.140 --> 00:21:09.480 because I never heard the Aussie accent and ever 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:13.470 wondered where on earth that person was from. 00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:18.730 Now when I heard the harsh Aussie lingo, which 00:21:18.730 --> 00:21:21.690 by the way stands out like a sore thumb in Europe, 00:21:22.529 --> 00:21:26.549 I knew exactly what part of the planet that person 00:21:26.549 --> 00:21:31.210 was from. And I think Jesus would have us think 00:21:31.210 --> 00:21:36.430 the same way about our speech. It informs us 00:21:36.430 --> 00:21:40.460 of which kingdom we belong to. A language that 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:44.240 is continually and unapologetically slanderous, 00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:49.339 blasphemous and hateful reveals that one doesn't 00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:54.099 really have a claim of having an accent that 00:21:54.099 --> 00:21:57.839 reflects a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. 00:21:59.920 --> 00:22:03.799 As a church, who do you sound like? What is your 00:22:03.799 --> 00:22:10.299 speech full of? What is it flavoured with? Our 00:22:10.299 --> 00:22:15.720 words are a language into the soul by which we 00:22:15.720 --> 00:22:19.819 get a gauge of what kingdom we belong to. Jesus 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:23.640 then sort of revisits that first illustration 00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:27.359 here in our text of trees and fruit, but this 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:31.319 time with storerooms out of which people kind 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:35.059 of bring things that have been stacked up in 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:39.400 there. Saying in verse 35, A good man brings 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.599 good things out of the good stored up in him 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:46.900 and an evil man brings evil things out of the 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:52.380 evil stored up in him. See what Jesus is getting 00:22:52.380 --> 00:22:56.700 at here is that each person's heart is like a 00:22:56.700 --> 00:23:00.460 storehouse in which we bring out the things that 00:23:00.460 --> 00:23:04.200 have been stored and kind of stacked up in there. 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:08.779 I remember when Haley and I moved to England 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:13.359 and in order for us to have all our things overseas 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:17.980 we had to put our entire lives which was mainly 00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:21.599 my drum kits and awesome record collection in 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:26.019 a shipping container so that when we got to England 00:23:26.019 --> 00:23:30.660 we wouldn't have to start from scratch. Now not 00:23:30.660 --> 00:23:34.700 for a moment did we expect that when the shipping 00:23:34.700 --> 00:23:39.559 container arrived that when we opened it, that 00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:42.559 there would be a car in there, that there would 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:46.380 be a boat in there and a whole stack of cash 00:23:46.380 --> 00:23:51.440 just waiting for us to take out. And our Lord's 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:55.740 point is this, you can't bring something out 00:23:55.740 --> 00:24:00.680 that isn't there in the first place. So when 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:03.839 we bring forth good things that's pleasing to 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:08.119 God, that's righteous in His sight, that's a 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:12.099 great sign that God's grace is at work in one's 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:19.039 heart. But when we continually bring forth things 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:24.160 that are evil, it's either a sign that we're 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:26.740 contradicting the work of the Holy Spirit in 00:24:26.740 --> 00:24:32.500 us, or that we're totally empty and void of spiritual 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:38.339 goodness altogether. Church, the desire, the 00:24:38.339 --> 00:24:43.160 want to do good, to praise God, to worship God, 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:47.599 and to obey his commands, well, that's a wonderful 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:51.839 indication of a spiritual work that is really 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:56.819 going on in our hearts. But when our hearts are 00:24:56.819 --> 00:25:00.579 continually set on evil things and our words 00:25:00.579 --> 00:25:03.980 are consistently tearing down and destroying 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:07.359 and slandering and gossiping about others and 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:13.700 irreverent towards God, will you be the judge? 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:20.259 Our Lord is clear here. The storehouse, the shipping 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:24.500 container. We can only bring out what's stacked 00:25:24.500 --> 00:25:27.960 up in there, which is to say our hearts can only 00:25:27.960 --> 00:25:32.900 bring out what's going on inside of us. And that's 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:36.160 heard in the way that we speak and seen in the 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:40.359 way we act. And Jesus would have us reflect on 00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:45.359 these things, not because our works ultimately 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:51.180 save us. But they are key indicators to what's 00:25:51.180 --> 00:25:56.220 going on. deep within our hearts. You see, the 00:25:56.220 --> 00:26:01.779 true children of God want to sound and act like 00:26:01.779 --> 00:26:05.619 their father. That's what children want to do. 00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:09.799 They want to be like their father. That's what 00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:13.700 we ought to long for. We ought to long to speak 00:26:13.700 --> 00:26:16.880 and act like the one we proclaim to follow with 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:21.470 all that we are. And this can only happen because 00:26:21.470 --> 00:26:26.569 of God's grace towards us. It will come as no 00:26:26.569 --> 00:26:29.609 surprise to you, but one of the hardest things 00:26:29.609 --> 00:26:37.009 to tame is the tongue. It's like a sword that 00:26:37.009 --> 00:26:40.910 slashes and dashes and dices people to pieces. 00:26:40.990 --> 00:26:46.130 It's why we teach our children that nursery rhyme 00:26:46.130 --> 00:26:49.349 that you all remembered this morning. Well done. 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:53.220 Because our words are powerful and they hurt. 00:26:54.500 --> 00:27:00.140 They cause great harm to others. But our words, 00:27:00.140 --> 00:27:04.079 they can also build up. They can rally the troops. 00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:08.839 They can inspire whole nations. I don't know 00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:11.500 if you've listened to Winston Churchill lately, 00:27:12.180 --> 00:27:15.890 but his stuff is inspiring. And the children 00:27:15.890 --> 00:27:19.309 of God ought to desire to lean in on the Holy 00:27:19.309 --> 00:27:24.009 Spirit's work in our lives to see the real transformation 00:27:24.009 --> 00:27:27.470 that He is doing in this area. And that's the 00:27:27.470 --> 00:27:31.029 thing, no one will see real transformation unless 00:27:31.029 --> 00:27:34.950 the Holy Spirit is truly present and at work 00:27:34.950 --> 00:27:39.700 in their lives. As He is the One. He is the agent 00:27:39.700 --> 00:27:43.140 that gives the new heart to deeply desire to 00:27:43.140 --> 00:27:47.180 want to obey our God with all that we are and 00:27:47.180 --> 00:27:50.440 to want to bring things out that are pleasing 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:54.779 to our Father and Friends that only happens when 00:27:54.779 --> 00:27:58.740 one believes on the Lord Jesus Christ when one 00:27:58.740 --> 00:28:04.440 accepts his claims and Receives him as the only 00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:09.569 Savior of our souls 16th century reformer Thomas 00:28:09.569 --> 00:28:13.150 Cramner, he once put it like this, our words 00:28:13.150 --> 00:28:18.569 are a testimony of our repentance and faith in 00:28:18.569 --> 00:28:24.410 Christ. And all of this leads to verses 36 and 00:28:24.410 --> 00:28:28.609 37, where our Lord says, but I tell you that 00:28:28.609 --> 00:28:32.210 everyone will have to give an account on the 00:28:32.210 --> 00:28:35.029 day of judgment for every empty word they've 00:28:35.029 --> 00:28:38.890 spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted 00:28:38.890 --> 00:28:44.029 and by your words you will be condemned. Jesus 00:28:44.029 --> 00:28:47.529 couldn't be any more clearer. Our words either 00:28:47.529 --> 00:28:51.069 condemn or acquit. Now you might be here this 00:28:51.069 --> 00:28:54.730 morning and thinking to yourself, but wait, I 00:28:54.730 --> 00:28:57.690 thought all I had to do was believe that Jesus 00:28:57.690 --> 00:29:03.150 was a real person at some point in history. Well, 00:29:03.750 --> 00:29:07.579 that's a good start. We do have to believe, but 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:13.900 belief as the Bible defines it is to trust Christ 00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:19.079 implicitly with all that he claims to be and 00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:23.039 do for us. And what our Lord brings out here 00:29:23.039 --> 00:29:26.759 is that our words make manifest if they're a 00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:33.359 life defined by that grace and that truth or 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:40.309 a life That really hasn't surrendered at all. 00:29:41.009 --> 00:29:43.750 Friends, there will come a day when each and 00:29:43.750 --> 00:29:47.150 every single one of us, not just in this room, 00:29:47.170 --> 00:29:49.809 but on the face of the planet, will give an account 00:29:49.809 --> 00:29:54.230 for what we've said and done. And it's here that 00:29:54.230 --> 00:29:57.970 Jesus reminds us that our hearts will manifest 00:29:57.970 --> 00:30:01.869 a life that's either trusted and obeyed or like 00:30:01.869 --> 00:30:06.880 the Pharisees. has been self -deceived and hypocritical. 00:30:08.619 --> 00:30:10.759 We don't like to think about this much in our 00:30:10.759 --> 00:30:13.660 day and age, but in light of the revelation of 00:30:13.660 --> 00:30:17.940 God as manifested in His Son, as revealed by 00:30:17.940 --> 00:30:21.339 the Holy Spirit of God, our words don't just 00:30:21.339 --> 00:30:24.900 disappear into the air, never to be thought of 00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:32.559 again. God takes note. And slanderous grievous 00:30:32.559 --> 00:30:39.420 evil words are displeasing to our God. So in 00:30:39.420 --> 00:30:42.380 thinking about all of what we've looked at this 00:30:42.380 --> 00:30:48.599 morning, what is the general and consistent tone 00:30:48.599 --> 00:30:53.680 of your speech? Is it gracious and loving and 00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:57.759 godly and edifying or is your tongue like a cesspool 00:30:58.039 --> 00:31:04.039 that has the accent of darkness to it. Well, 00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:07.220 brothers and sisters, only you can sit back and 00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:10.859 judge yourself in the spiritual mirror this morning, 00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:14.619 but I do want to say a couple of things as we 00:31:14.619 --> 00:31:20.220 end in our text here. First, if you claim Jesus 00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:24.079 as savior, then these words that we have heard 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:28.609 this morning are the words of God. And they remind 00:31:28.609 --> 00:31:33.950 us that it's impossible, absolutely impossible 00:31:33.950 --> 00:31:39.250 for any of us to walk perfectly before our God. 00:31:40.630 --> 00:31:43.769 Our tongue teaches us a few things, yes, but 00:31:43.769 --> 00:31:47.390 it also is the instrument in which we can confess 00:31:47.390 --> 00:31:55.910 our sin and ask Him that by His grace, He would 00:31:55.910 --> 00:31:59.640 forgive us. and that he would strengthen us in 00:31:59.640 --> 00:32:04.180 this area so that our speech would more and more 00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:10.000 and more reflect a life that has been truly transformed 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:15.559 by the power of God in us. Second, if you're 00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:18.619 here this morning and you haven't called upon 00:32:18.619 --> 00:32:21.599 the name of the Lord, then you need to know that 00:32:21.599 --> 00:32:24.779 there's no amount of effort or works on your 00:32:24.779 --> 00:32:29.319 behalf to keep the reality of your heart condemning 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:32.980 you in the end. The Bible says without holiness, 00:32:33.539 --> 00:32:36.680 no one will see the Lord, but this is the thing, 00:32:36.859 --> 00:32:40.900 dear friend. There is one who has been perfect, 00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:44.779 who has been holy, who has been pure, has been 00:32:44.779 --> 00:32:47.759 righteous, has the perfect fruit, has bought 00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:51.700 out the perfect things from the storehouse. And 00:32:51.700 --> 00:32:54.480 the Bible says that if you declare with your 00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:58.359 mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart 00:32:58.359 --> 00:33:00.759 that he was raised from the dead, you will be 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:03.839 saved. For it's with your heart that you believe 00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:07.359 and are justified. It's with your mouth that 00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:16.259 you profess your faith and are saved. Brothers 00:33:16.259 --> 00:33:21.019 and sisters, none of us are accepted because 00:33:21.019 --> 00:33:24.400 of our own storerooms and shipping containers. 00:33:25.450 --> 00:33:31.190 In other words, no one is accepted because of 00:33:31.190 --> 00:33:36.269 our own lives. No, it is only by the life, death 00:33:36.269 --> 00:33:40.990 and resurrection of Jesus Christ truly being 00:33:40.990 --> 00:33:45.430 credited to us that we will ultimately be accepted. 00:33:47.049 --> 00:33:50.970 Do you believe that in your heart today? Do you 00:33:50.970 --> 00:33:55.559 confess that with your mouth today? If so, may 00:33:55.559 --> 00:33:59.019 our God give you the strength over your tongues 00:33:59.019 --> 00:34:03.200 and over your actions by continually changing 00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:07.200 and renovating and refining your heart, conforming 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:11.719 you more and more into the image of our Lord 00:34:11.719 --> 00:34:21.179 Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father God, these are 00:34:21.179 --> 00:34:26.380 potent words. but words that are from you and 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:31.579 your word is a double -edged sword. And we thank 00:34:31.579 --> 00:34:34.119 you for the words of eternal life that cause 00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:38.699 us to raise our eyes to the Lord Jesus and to 00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:44.599 confess him as our only way. Lord, this morning 00:34:44.599 --> 00:34:48.780 as you have worked in and among us, by your word 00:34:48.780 --> 00:34:53.429 we ask that by your spirit we would Confess with 00:34:53.429 --> 00:34:57.789 our mouths where we have fallen short. Confess 00:34:57.789 --> 00:35:02.409 where we trust the gospel. And believe in our 00:35:02.409 --> 00:35:06.150 hearts that as we go out into the world that 00:35:06.150 --> 00:35:09.110 you are the one who is continually conforming 00:35:09.110 --> 00:35:12.070 us into the image of your son. Lord, we ask that 00:35:12.070 --> 00:35:15.750 you would use us as a living sacrifice, this 00:35:15.750 --> 00:35:18.269 church, this community, as a living sacrifice 00:35:18.269 --> 00:35:22.239 to be a light on the hill here in Armidale. We 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:24.639 ask for these things in Jesus' name and for your 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:24.980 sake.