WHAT COMES UP OUT OF YOU?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

Matthew 12:33-37

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As you take account for your actions each day, what do you discover?

Do you find that what you have done is good? Or do you find what you have done is bad? Or maybe, you’re in the middle…finding that you did some good but also opted to act badly as well.

So what does the Lord expect from us?

Well, yesterday we saw Jesus teach that there is no middle ground when it comes to following Him. You’re either with Him or you are against Him. (Matthew 12:30) And so, we are either predisposed to do good and righteous acts if we allow Christ to live and abide in us…or wrong, evil acts if we choose to side with Satan instead.

And so again…when others witness your actions, what do they see? Do they see Jesus in you?

You see, we choose how we live and in turn the fruit we bear through that life. In today’s scripture, Jesus explains that the kind of fruit that a person bears will be determined by how the person (or tree) is made. If a person is made good…and this only will come through a commitment to allow Jesus to be Lord of your life…then the fruit they bear will, in turn, be good. But is a person commits to a life of sin and wrongdoing, then their fruit will be bad. In the end translation, the fruit you bear will always reveal whether you are good or bad…righteous or wicked.

So what fruit do you bear? When people see you, what does your fruit tell them about you?

Jesus uses one other illustration to discuss the good and bad in people. For He proclaims:

“…out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”

What comes out of a person is what they produce from the overflow of their heart. If your heart overflows with goodness, then that’s what you will bring up…good things. But if your heart is dark and overflowing with evil…well…then you will evil will be brought up out of you in the way you act, speak and think.

Keep in mind the words of Jesus during His Sermon on the Mount. For in Matthew 6:21, He said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If Jesus is your treasure, then that’s where your heart will be and you can ensure that the overflow of your heart will contain all the goodness found in Christ.

But if you so choose to make something else your treasure, then stand by. Because you are opening up yourself to Satan entering in and turning your heart from good to bad…from right to wrong…from righteousness to evil. And this does not come without consequence.

For as our passage closes today, here these powerful words of warning from Jesus:

“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

We are not just free to live our lives as we so choose without having to stand and be accountable. No…on the day of judgment, man and woman will be judged for every careless word they've spoken with the penalty, acquittal or condemnation, based on those very words.

So forget about how others see you for a minute. What does the Lord see in you? Would He be pleased or disappointed?

Well, the answer to that question depends on you...on what comes up out of you. Why not make things easy and allow Christ to live inside your heart forever? It’s the only true way you can ensure that anything that you do will be seen as right…by those you associate with on earth and by the Father and Son who are in heaven reigning over us and all creation.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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