Today we continue to teach on our overall theme for the year: “GREAT FREEDOM.” Within this series, we have been honing in on the importance of your words. We will continue to flow in this vein today by going back to 2 Corinthians 4:13 and adding to it something Jesus taught in Luke 6.
(2 Corinthians 4:13 NKJV)
And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak.
(Luke 6:43-45 Contemporary English Version)
A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces. You cannot pick figs or grapes from thornbushes. Good people do good things because of the good in their hearts. Bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts. Your words show what is in your heart.
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s learn a few things from what Jesus said.
1. Trees produce fruit. Humans produce words.
a) Please read what Jesus said in Luke 6:43-45 carefully and prayerfully. Jesus makes it clear that there is a direct relationship between the words a person speaks and the type of person he or she is. Just like a fruit tree is known by the fruit it produces — an apple tree produces apples, an orange tree produces oranges, and neither can produce something it is NOT — Jesus made it clear that we would be known by our fruit. In the passage we are looking at this morning, the fruit Jesus is talking about is our words.
b) Just like trees produce their own fruit, we literally produce our own words. The quality of the fruit is a direct reflection of the makeup of the tree. The same holds true for humans. Jesus taught that a good tree is incapable of producing bad fruit and a bad tree is incapable of producing good fruit. Why? Because the quality of the fruit is a direct representation of the composition (or makeup) of the tree. This is how it is with our words. Jesus said, “Your words show what is in your heart.” In the King James Version, this portion is translated, “…for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” The point is that the quality and type of your words are a direct indication of the content and quality of your heart.
c) Your heart is your reservoir. Your heart is your deposit. What is IN you abundantly will come OUT of you consistently.
2. You and your words are ONE.
a) If Jesus put so much emphasis on the importance of our words, then shouldn’t we? Can we honestly think that we can pray (using words) in-faith in the morning and then speak words of fear, doubt, and unbelief all day long, and still expect to see results? Absolutely not. This is why we must learn to SPEAK THE WORD ONLY! Our words of prayer must be followed by words of faith until we see what we prayed!
b) People know you by your words, just like we know God through His Word. Similarly, most of you (who receive Today’s Word) don’t know me personally, but you know me by my words. By knowing my words you know me. My words are just as much me as I am myself. My words are birthed out of the reservoir of my soul. My words are an outward expression of the internal content and condition of my heart. Therefore, I cannot separate my words from me and neither can you. You and your words are ONE.
3. Your words are telling everyone outside of you what is going on inside of you.
a) The words you speak are a litmus test for the condition of your heart.
b) Daily, your words are telling everyone who you are, by exposing what is going on on the inside of you.
c) If you don’t like the message your words are portraying about you, then it is time to make a change. The only way to change your words is by changing what is in your heart. Your heart is a reservoir (or deposit). Your eyes and ears are gateways to your soul. Whatever you allow through your eyes gets down in your heart. Whatever you allow through your ears gets down in your heart. To change your heart (deposit) you must change your input: what you see and hear.
d) If you can change your input you can change the content/quality/condition of your heart. Once you change what is in your heart, you will change the quality of your words.
e) The message I am driving home in this series is to SPEAK THE WORD ONLY. Well, you cannot SPEAK the Word if you do not have the Word down in your heart. To change what is coming OUT, you must change what you allow IN, and also change what you give your attention to. The good news is that change IS possible.
You can RENEW your mind with the Word of God. If you consistently get the Word through your EYE gate and EAR gate, it will get down in your heart. Once it is there, if you meditate and medicate on it day and night, you will literally change the way you think to line up with God’s thinking. Once you change the way you think, you will change the way you speak. Once you change the way you think and speak, it will spill over into changed actions. Once you have changed the way you think, speak, and act, to line up with God, then guess what? YOU HAVE CHANGED!
You will wake up one morning and realize that you are SPEAKING THE WORD ONLY! You are at a place in your development where you never allow a negative word or a word that does not line up with God’s will, to come out of your mouth. This is certainly possible. I will keep preaching and teaching this because I am convinced that the Father wants you to get to the point where we SPEAK THE WORD ONLY!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for this teaching. I know my words flow out of the abundance of my heart. My heart is filled with what I SEE and LISTEN TO. From this day forward, I declare that I shall check my input to ensure I am filling my heart with good things. As I fill my heart with things that are pleasing to You, my words will expose the condition of my heart. My words will be words of blessing and not cursing, help and not hurt, good and not evil, success and not failure. Once my input is pure, my heart is right, and my words are righteous, I cannot help but be blessed. My words will support my prayers and never cancel them out. I am looking forward to changing my life by changing my words. I SPEAK THE WORD ONLY! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
