*** Note: Before I get started today, I want to provide you a quick update from yesterday. Isabella and I are in the Dominican Republic. We are here because the Lord put it on our hearts to sponsor a Haitian school in this country. We originally prayed about sponsoring one in Haiti. Yesterday we visited five Haitian schools and the Lord led us to sponsor one Pastor who is running two schools. We believe this to be the Lord’s will and we trust God has already made provisions for the funds. Our ministry will cover the expenses for both schools long-term. If you feel led to provide tax-deductible donations, please do so. Here is the link to donate: https://rickpina.cloverdonations.com/donations-form/.
Also, if you want to see some of the pictures from yesterday, please visit our Instagram feed: https://instagram.com/rickpina/.
Now, let’s get into the Word.
(Read Matthew 15:1-20)
This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”. We have been studying the life of the Apostle Peter and our study has brought us to Matthew chapter 15. For the past few days we have been looking at a passage where Jesus had a ‘run in’ with a group of Pharisees and teachers of the Law. They were upset because Jesus and His disciples ate something without washing their hands first. Jesus was upset because they were hypocrites. Jesus scolded the religious group. Later, after things died down, Peter asked Jesus for clarification of what He meant when He scolded the Pharisees. One of the things Jesus said was that it is NOT what goes in the mouth the defiles us, but rather what comes out. Yesterday’s message was about the link between your heart and your words. Today’s message will flow in the same vein.
Matthew chapter 12 where Jesus said, “If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. You snakes! You are so evil. How can you say anything good? What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts. Those who are good have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil.” (Matthew 12:33-35).
So what does this mean to you today? A few quick things:
- Jesus’ message was simple. Whatever you have filled your heart with — good or bad, blessing or cursing — will come spilling out of your mouth.
- You must carefully manage what you watch, hear, and read, in order to protect the treasure of your heart.
- Your mouth will only speak what your heart contains. Don’t fool yourself. If you said it, then good or bad, it is IN your heart.
- Our words are so powerful and important to God that Jesus said there will come a day when we will have to give account for every “idle” (non-productive) word we have spoken.
- God wants your words to be purposeful and not purpose-free. Purpose-free words are useless and non-productive.
- Your words can bring about Godly change when they are spoken on purpose.
- When you speak words that are in-sync with heaven, you come in agreement with God and you position yourself to experience heaven on earth.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. You made plans for me before the world began. Heaven is in sync with Your divine plans for my life. I live in the earth and You want me to live in alignment and agreement with those plans. I live ON EARTH in sync with HEAVEN. One of the ways I come in agreement with heaven is with my words. I know my mouth will only speak what my heart contains. So I fill my heart with good things. I meditate Your Word day and night. And then I speak ONLY that which is in alignment with heaven. Living this way, I get to experience HEAVEN ON EARTH every day of my life. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
