Abundance of the heart – Praying Pint

14.n. “These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters”

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Psalms 5:9     For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.

Psalms 73:7-9     Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.  They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.  They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.

Psalms 52:2   Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.

Matthew 12:34-37    You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,  for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jude 1:13-16    These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

Proverbs 10:31-32    The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

Free speech does not give the right, in the sight of God, to say or speak every thought that comes to our mind. Lying to influence or appeal to people is wrong. The intent, purpose, ambition, object, plan, scheme, and target are all wrong. The same can be said about deception where it might not be an outright lie but the expected truth is far away from what this deceiver is saying. We hear it from politicians, businesses, celebrities, news outlets, strangers, friends, family, etc….. The human heart, apart from Jesus Christ, has a way of making deceit right in its own eyes. Their heart is hardened like stone and they believe they are not going to be held accountable by God. They have no fear of Him. Lies, boasts, and arrogance flows from their mouths like a river. In a nation that has Free Speech we may be free to say what we want but what we say can have consequences both now and in the future and for sure at the Judgement Seat of Jesus Christ.

If we want to apply Free Speech let us do it in the way Jesus Christ intended. Do not be confused by what the culture determines is right and true. Let the Word of God be your guide. We are to speak truthfully, build others up, and use our speech to praise, honor, worship, and glorify Jesus Christ. Put your thoughts and words you are about to speak through the strainer of God’s Word. If it is not the truth, or building someone up, or to the honor, praise, glory, or worship of Jesus Christ keep it to yourself.

Who Understands?

Psalms 53:1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

Psalms 92:6 The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever;

Psalms 10:4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Psalms 10:6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”

Psalms 10:13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

Romans 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

Ezekiel 16:47 Not only did you walk in their ways and do according to their abominations; within a very little time you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

Ephesians 5:12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

Romans 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks

For sure scripture is clear that mankind has a natural heart deep track away from God and if left unchecked and not acknowledged tracks further and further away. With this is the natural bend of our heart we have to be mindful of it, confess it, train it, replace it by the renewing of our heart and mind with His word. What we put into our mind and heart is what comes out of our mouth. We are bombarded constantly by our culture with things that are approved by man but far from what God desires. If we use this culture for our christian expectation gauge we will not be on a path following God. We fool ourselves if we think we can stay close to Him without daily feeding our heart, mind and soul with His word and desiring to be a humble servant that honors, follows and obeys Him. We need to encourage each other to stay in His word and speak hope into the lives of those without it. Our heart, mind and soul desire for Him needs to be one of single purpose. There is so much out there that will invade, overtake, and replace humbly serving Him.

Known by his acts

“By steadfast loveand faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.”

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness”

Psalms 36:1 Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.

Proverbs 20:11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.

Matthew 7:16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Romans 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

The heart of man is deceitful and full of arrogance and pride. We can know this and always be on guard for when it wants to raise its ugly head. Or, we can say it is not there and never be looking. How sad is it when we choose to deny there is any thing wrong with our thoughts, intents, words and actions? Out of the abundance of our heart our mouth speaks. It is also true that what fills our mind and thoughts feeds our heart. How is a person to recognize right and wrong thoughts, intents, speech, and actions? A live time could be spend on what it means to Love, and the same for Joy, or Peace, or Patience, or Kindness, or Goodness, or Faithfulness. The only way to understand our own heart is to examine it in light of scripture and seek God to reveal that which is opposing to living, acting, speaking in such a way that humbly serves, honors and obeys Him. Filling our mind with His word on a daily basis will start this never ending growth in our service to Him. Rejecting or putting off time with His word allows our heart to become complacent and hard. We are unable to grow, unable to display fruits of His indwelling in our lives, unable to serve Him, and unable to honor and glorify Him. Our actions, thoughts and words are a direct reflection of our walk with God. David wanting to humbly serve, honor and obey God put it this way. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” You know you are on the right path when your prayer is in line with this.

The heart of man

” Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”

Isaiah 6:5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Judges 13:22 And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.”

Job 42:5-6 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

Luke 5:8-9 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Matthew 12:34-37 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Isaiah 29:13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

Jeremiah 9:3-8 They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 33:31 And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.

James 3:6-10 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

I read this comment today: “When men refuse God’s offered grace, every refusal hardens.” Having the right understanding and reverence of and for God has an affect. We see those who say; “woe to me”, “we shall surely die”, “I despise myself”, “I am lost and a man of unclean lips” and “depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord”. We also see the opposite affect on people who choose not to humbly serve, honor and glorify God. “they hear what you say but will not do it”, “their heart is set on their gain”, “they do not know me”, “they honor me with their lips”, “their hearts are far from me”, “how can you speak good when you are evil”, and “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”. There is no middle ground, no grey area. It is either either seeking, following, and obeying God or rejecting Him. A great love was shown mankind and a great price was paid to redeem them. The choice of every heart will be judged. Believing it is not so does not mean it is not. Nor does believing there will not be judgement mean it will not happen. No one leaves this world alive. All will die and all will enter eternity and all will be judged. Those who choose to seek, follow and obey God will be welcomed into heaven and those who do not will be cast into hell. Repent, believe in the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ, and live a life that reveres, seeks, follows and obeys God. Eternity, Judgement and either heaven or hell awaits everyone.

Precept upon Precept

“And the word of the LORD will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken”

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Psalms 9:15
The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

Psalms 7:15
He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.

Psalms 35:8
Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it—to his destruction!

Proverbs 5:22
The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

Proverbs 22:8
Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail.

Proverbs 6:2
if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, and save yourself

Proverbs 12:13 An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble

Isaiah 28:13
And the word of the LORD will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

Psalms 83:17-18
Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever; let them perish in disgrace, that they may know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth.

Our Christian walk is either getting closer to God day by day or getting further away day by day. There appears to be no ground where we can stand that isn’t on the path of one or the other. Both paths have something in common, they both have a single time point where there is a step closer or a set away. I like what is said in Isaiah: “And the word of the LORD will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little”. Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little there a little are exactly the steps taken in either walking on a path closer to God or one that is moving away. Do you want to have a clue on what path or direction your on? Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks – what is it that comes out of your mouth most of the time? What are the thoughts that roam around in your head? Do you find opportunity to speak God into the lives around you? Does His word come to you while you are listening to songs or driving or listening to others speak? Start a new day – purpose to read 5 min of His word each morning and let the beginning of “Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little guide your path from here to that time when time on this world nears it’s end and eternity is knocking at your door step.