The Tongue and the Heart - Zac Poonen - September 22, 2019
http://rlcfchurch.org/tongue-and-heart http://rlcfchurch.org/growing-spiritually River of Life Christian Fellowship 1306 N Lincoln Avenue Loveland, Colorado - 80537, USA
Summary
Jesus taught that a person's true nature is revealed by their actions and words, comparing it to a tree by its fruit. The speaker emphasizes that mere words of belief are insufficient; true faith requires a radical surrender of sin. He stresses the profound importance of the tongue, warning that careless speech can be as damaging as poison, and that parents are primarily responsible for teaching their children respectful speech.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Good trees produce good fruitJesus explains in Matthew 12 that a tree is known by its fruit, pointing to the principle that you must start with a good root rather than just concentrating on the outward fruit.
Words reveal what kind of person you areTrue spirituality is not measured by church attendance, Bible knowledge, or empty words, but by what a person speaks in normal conversation.
You brood of vipersJesus used strong language to confront religious people whose speech stings and hurts others like a poisonous snake, showing they have not truly repented and turned from sin.
The mouth speaks from the heartWhat comes out of our mouths is not accidental; pressure merely squeezes out what was already stored in our hearts all along.
Accountability for every careless wordJesus warns that people will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every single careless, useless, or angry word they speak.
The absolute seriousness of even one sinGood works cannot blot out past sin, and even if there were only one sinner who committed one sin, Christ would still have had to die to forgive it.Isaiah 64:6
An axe to the root, not just a pair of scissorsJohn the Baptist and Jesus came with an axe to completely replace the old life inherited from Adam with a new birth, rather than merely trimming bad fruit.
James and the warning against dead faithThe book of James was written to address believers who misunderstood grace, emphasizing that faith without works—specifically the inability to control the tongue—is dead.
Righteous anger versus sinful angerBelievers are told to be angry without sinning, which means getting angry over things that concern God's glory and the exploitation of the vulnerable, but never when personally provoked.Ephesians 4:26
The danger of an uncontrolled tongueIf someone thinks they are a wonderful Christian but cannot control their tongue, they are deceiving themselves and their Christianity is worth zero.
The lesson of Moses striking the rockEven though God used Moses, Moses was severely disciplined from entering Canaan because he lost his temper and disobeyed God's instruction to speak to the rock.
The tongue is a fire set by hellJames describes the tongue as an untamable fire set on fire by hell, capable of blessing God on Sunday and cursing fellow humans on other days.
Seeking the tongue of fire firstWhen the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, a tongue of fire rested on each person, indicating that God's primary focus in the New Covenant is to use and control our speech.
Communicating the life of Jesus through our wordsWhen we yield our tongues to the Holy Spirit and pursue a holy tongue, He will communicate the life of Jesus through our conversations and correspondence.
