The Overflow of Our Hearts ~ Luke 6:43-45 October 13, 2013 ~ New City Church Calgary ~ Pastor John

Ferguson Intro: Ive always been intrigued by talent shows like American Idol. On the one hand, there is the intrigue of the truly undiscovered talent. That wow moment that every person dreams of. Then there are those who are promising, but dont make the cut. They receive constructive criticism well and are determined to learn from it and grow by it. On the other hand, there are those who clearly do not have the talent they think they have. The judges try to give them accurate feedback and the contestant wants nothing of it. You dont know what you are talking about. Ive often wondered, where are the people in their lives who can tell them the truth? I like to look at them and smugly think, Im glad Im not like them. But am I? Do I want people to tell me the truth about myself? Do I surround myself with yes people who will tell me what I want to hear? One of the amazing things about Jesus is that he loves us enough to help us see ourselves as we really are. Hes not interested in pumping us full of sunshine, or inflating our poor selfesteem or supporting our fragile egos. Instead, hes calling us to a radically new way of being human that is so radically different that it will require nothing less than a radical change of heart. Specifically, Jesus is going to teach us by way of a simple analogy from nature that something as seemingly insignificant as our words reveal something very significant about ourselves, which if listened to, will give us deep insight into who we are, and our deep need for that which only Jesus himself can provide.

Context: hypocrisy, specifically, a warning about being judgmental. 6:41-42, Why do you see the speck that is in your brothers eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brothers eye. 43 For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 1. The example: a tree can only produce the kind of fruit that it was designed to produce. Fig trees produce figs, grapes vines produce grapes, thorn bushes produce thorns. Good healthy trees produce good healthy fruit. Sick & diseased trees produced sick diseased fruit.

2. This simple truth from nature illuminates a spiritual truth about people. People are like trees, and our lives will produce the kind of fruit that is in our hearts. Building on this analogy, Jesus now tells us that our lives will show forth what is in our hearts.

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The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the heart his mouth speaks. 1. A persons heart is the control center of a persons being. Its the real you. Mark 7:21-23, For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. See tree chart Ryken 293, There is a living, organic connection between the people we are on the inside and the lives we lead out in the world. Whatever fruit we produce whether good or evilis rooted in the true condition of our souls. We can only produce the kind of spiritual fruit that it is in our nature to produce. The reason we say the things we say and do the things we do is that we are the people we are.

2. Jesus uses the word evil. We must be careful or well miss what hes saying because we have a tendency to redefine evil. Biblically, evil is anything that is not in line with Gods will for human flourishing. Its not simply the mass murder, but also the mass gossiper. Its not simply the person who has stolen millions of dollars, its also the greedy person. Its not simply the one who has wrecked peoples lives by their wanton lies, its also the person who shades the truth to make himself look better.

Summary: Put simply, our mouths obey our hearts. Our eyes obey our hearts. Our hands and feet obey our hearts. If good is treasured in our hearts, there will be good fruit. If there is evil treasured in our hearts, our lives will produce evil fruit. Main Idea: Your words show [demonstrate / illustrate / prove / confirm / give you an idea / let people see] what is in your heart. My words reveal my heart. Sinclair Ferguson: our use of the tongue is the hinge on which the door into our souls swings open in order to reveal our spirit. In effect, our words are like so many media people rushing to file their reports on the condition of our soul.

If your words are critical, you have a critical heart [critical, angry, envious, hateful, rude, mean, complaining, judgmental, filthy, spiteful, jealous, denigrating, insensitive, snarky; graceless, foul, bitter, unforgiving, belittling]

The reason why Jesus cares about your words is because he cares about your heart. Jesus loves us enough to tell us the truth about ourselves; and he loves us enough to die for us. The careless, cutting, mean, hateful, judgmental things that we say nailed him to the Cross. And having dealt with them there, he calls us to turn from them and follow him in a new way of being humanthe new way of life in the Kingdom of God.

Application: 1. Examine your fruit. What kind of words do you use? Are you even aware of how other people experience you? What do they think when you walk in the room? Do you have the courage & humility to do an honest inventory of your speech? o Matthew 12:36, How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak. Such an examination can serve to diagnose our true spiritual condition.

2. Learn to trace the fruit to the root. P. Tripp, War of Words, Word problems reveal heart problems. The people and situations around us do not make us say what we say; they are only the occasions for our hearts to reveal themselves in words. E.g, I said something very insensitive to my wife last week, and then harshly blamed her for being insensitive. I had to apologize for my words AND for my heart.

3. Cry out for a good heart! (1) If you are not yet a Christian, then you need a new heart. (2) If you are a Christian, you need a deeper work of the Spirit in your heart. Gal. 5:22-23, The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Conclusion: Jesus is calling his followers to become aware of the condition of their hearts by looking at the fruit of their lives, especially the fruit of their lips. He is calling us to use words of healing because his kingdom is about healing [redemption; kindness; edification; compassion; truth]. Jesus didnt come just to give you some good advice; he came to make you new and to bless you to bless others. 3