How the Heart Shapes What We Speak - Quinn Brechbill

The title of what I have to share this morning is Where Words Begin: How the Heart Shapes What We Speak. So here at CCF, and as Kingdom Christians, we often talk about being disciples of Jesus. We emphasize the importance of following Jesus' commandments. We discuss being part of another kingdom. We believe that it is a physical reality that we are to be a part of the Kingdom of God, whose King is a King of peace, not war, and of love, not anger.

We talk about discipleship and transformation and how that is to be lived out.

But one could ask the question, why so much focus on these topics, and why are they important? I believe we emphasize these topics because we believe they are essential for transformation in our lives, our families, and our churches. It is what we must do to truly follow Jesus as our King. It is what we must do to overcome the circumstances that we live in. Our focus is how to overcome our own failures, to get back up, and to choose to let our circumstances transform us from the inside out into true followers of Christ.

I recently came across a book, and the author shared a simple lesson that I wanted to pass on to you. He said this: What happens when you put a carrot into hot water? Anyone?

It becomes soft. It becomes soft. And what happens? And it becomes soft because of the heat around it, right? We put it into hot water. What happens when you put an egg into hot water? What happens to the egg inside?

It gets hard. It gets hard. It's hardened on the inside because of the environment that it's in.

And what happens when you put a coffee bean into hot water?

It transforms the water around it into something better from the inside out.

If you put one bean into hot water, within an hour you will have coffee, even though it is not ground up. I want us to think of the hot water as the life that we are living. So often we're like the carrot where we let it weaken us from the outside in.

And sometimes, like the egg, we let life's circumstances harden us on the inside. But our life does not have to be this way. We have the power within us as followers of Jesus to become transformed, to truly be the coffee bean.

People who transform the world around them radiate love for one another, and people willing to acknowledge and confess their own faults. People with the power to turn the other cheek and to forgive their enemies.

This is why you hear true Christ followers care about everything: our thoughts, our actions, our appearance, and even the words that we use. We want our entire lives to be totally transformed by the power and the gifts that Jesus has for us.

So with that in mind, I want to zoom in and take a look and talk about the words that we use. I often hear it said that actions speak louder than words, and it's true. They do. However, that doesn't mean our words don't matter, because they definitely do.

When we wake up every single day, we face various choices. Some we make consciously, while others are made almost automatically, shaped by our thoughts and our habits. One of the most important yet overlooked choices is how am I going to use my words today?

Will I be the person who uses my words to build up, complement, and encourage the people around me? I want to share some thoughts about communication and the power that it holds, either to build others up or to tear down. Let's first take a look at what James has to say about the power of our tongue. He says this: My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that you shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things, and if anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in a horse's mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.

Look at ships. Although they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a force a little fire kindles. And the tongue is a fire, a word of iniquity. The tongue is so set among its members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature. It is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird and reptile and creature of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no man can tame the tongue. It is true; it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison.

With it, we bless God the Father, and with it, we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessings and cursings. My brethren, these things not ought to be so.

Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus, no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

So this passage can be quite sobering, and there's a lot to learn from here. James points out that if someone does not stumble in their words, they are a perfect man, able to control their entire body. And at first, this might not seem like a big deal, but the idea has some real weight to it. If we can learn to control the words that we use, the rest of our body follows.

James has some examples. Think of a horse. We need them to obey us, so we put a bit in their mouth, and that is what we use to control their whole body. Now, my sisters have horses, and when I try that, that's not really the case. We're going to go with James' example anyway.

Think of a giant ship. They sail, and they catch a lot of wind, but all you need to do is steer the rudder, and you're going anywhere you would like. It is the same way with our tongue, which is just a small member of our body, but by choosing the words we use, we can guide our entire body.

I think because of this, we have a lot of warnings in the Bible about our tongue. James warns us that we can defile our whole body and that no one can tame it. We either use our tongues to praise God or to condemn people. If we use it to condemn others, it reveals that we have an issue within us.

James compares this contradiction to a spring trying to produce both fresh water and bitter water. It can't happen. Just as a fig tree can't bear olives, our words cannot be both bitter and sweet. So something has to change within us.

Jesus addressed the same issue with the Pharisees in Matthew 12 when they came, accusing him of doing something wrong and that he was using the devil to heal someone on the Sabbath. This was Jesus' response to them. Matthew 12:34-37 says, "Brutal vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the mouth, the heart speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasures of his heart brings forth evil things."

Jesus makes it clear. Our words reveal what's in our hearts. Think about it like a large treasure chest. We choose what we put in there. What we choose, what we put in there is what will come out.

Chrysostom said this: "Even in goodness, the virtue within is more than the words without." To put another way, our words are just the surface or a symptom. A truly good heart even holds more goodness than can be expressed. That, to me, is very encouraging, but it's also a warning at the same time because it also means that when we let bitterness or gossip slip, it reveals that our hearts, it reveals that we have it in our hearts.

The quote is this: "Even in goodness, the virtue within is more than the words without."

We must be choosing what we store in our hearts. The Apostle Paul gives us practical direction on what we should be filling our hearts with. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, my brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, and if there is any virtue with, and if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things."

This is where we find the antidote to a divided or careless tongue. We have a choice every day to fill our minds and our hearts with truth, beauty, and virtue, and to let those things uproot any negativity, gossip, or anger.

But this kind of heart filling takes, but this kind of heart filling takes some intentional effort, being mindful of the media and the voices that we listen to. Ask whether your conversations build up or tear down. Let gossip and negativity fall on deaf ears.

Also, Ephesians 5 says this: "Be very careful then how you live, not as the unwise, but as the wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunken on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, songs, and songs from the Spirit.

Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." We're instructed not to get drunk, but rather fill ourselves with spiritual drinks, psalms, hymns, and songs, always giving thanks to God for everything. We are to consistently fill our hearts with these treasures that God has given us.

Chrysostom says this about these verses. He says, "Do you wish," he says, "to be cheerful? Do you wish to employ the day? I give you spiritual drink, for drunkenness even cuts off the articulate sound of our tongue and makes us lisp and stammer and distorts our eyes and the whole frame together. Learn to sing psalms, and you shall see the delightfulness of the employment. For they who sang psalms are filled with the Holy Spirit, as they who sang satanic songs are filled with an unclean spirit."

So if you drink coffee every morning like I do, let that cup of coffee be a reminder each day that today I'm going to be the coffee bean, allowing the circumstances around me to impact me for the greater good of God's kingdom.

If we learn to lean on Jesus' commands, he will transform us, that we can respond, talk, and walk as he did. And at the end of each day, we can take a moment to reflect how we did. We can ask ourselves, "How did I do with my words today?

Did I build others up or tear them down?

Did I complement or criticize? Did I encourage or discourage? What am I storing in the treasure chest of my heart?" And when we fall short, we can confess to God, ask him for help, and begin again, choosing to fill our hearts with the good that Jesus has for us, building others up and avoiding an unbridled tongue.

That's all I have.