"The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks." Luke 6:45 (Amp.)
A good tree brings forth good fruit; we are what we say, to a large and evident extent. As a fig tree will only bring forth figs, the Christian has all the potential to produce fruit of righteousness stemming from his right standing with God through faith in Christ. The challenge is: How good and healthy are we as a tree which we cultivate in Christ? And, how fruitful are we?
To be a good tree, the ground of our heart (the inward man) has to be receptive to the imperishable seed of God's words. This is how Hosea 10:12 (NKJV) addresses the condition of our uncultivated heart, "Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you."
A fallow ground, as explained by Charles G. Finney, is "ground which has once been tilled, but which now lies waste, and needs to be broken up and mellowed, before it is it is ready to receive grain." It is up to us to soften our heart of flesh and open the valves for God's word to renew and refresh us.
Our spirit man need to arise and tune-in to what the Holy Spirit has to teach, instruct and reveal to us from the word of God -- that which our intellect cannot comprehend. Our intellect, which is insistent on getting answers to the what-how-where-who-why, will hinder us from grasping spiritual truths.
Thus, we need to humble ourselves before God and let our every thoughts be subject to the authority of God's words. As we obey God's words, eventhough we do not yet see the truth of His words being manifested fully in our current reality, we may have to tackle certain unscriptural (wicked, evil, false, misguided) thoughts which have become so ingrained in us that they form a stronghold in our mind. We need to renew our mind by the hearing of God's words so that we can be set free from this stranglehold of erroneous thinking and believing so that we can lay hold of the ideal Christian life that God has all along intended for us.
As we feed on the word of God which is like a life-giving river, we can flourish as a fruitful tree. So, we need to position ourselves to be in the word of God and let His words passed our mind and into our heart (spirit). This is the picture that we can hold up in our mind and spirit from Psalms 1:1-3 (Amp.):-
Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.
But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.
And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].
Jesus likens us to branches that are joined to Himself, our True Vine, from whom we draw our nutrients. When we are truly in Christ, we can ask God expectingly for our life to produce fruit. Jesus said, "If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you." John 15:7 (Amp.)
God loves to be oversee our frutifulness. Today, I caught a glimpse of this truth from the following 2 verses while writing:-
"When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine." John 15:8 (Amp.)
"I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing." John 15:11 (Amp.)
It is thus vital for us to guard what gets into us as we sojourn on this earth and approriate God's supreme powerful rule over our life. Whether we spout poetry or talk thrash; speak life or death; bless or curse; or makes positive or negative confessions, it has a lot to do with the sources of these words that we are hanging out with.
For example, there is a whole spread of resources on the internet that are of this world fighting for our attention. But, thankfully, there is also a growing presence of God's words, too, in writings, music and video. Which would we choose?
Much like food, we don't have to choose what we know is bad for us. For the believers, our constant decisions, wise or poor, will develop into habits, shape us and, ulitmately, affect our destiny in terms of salvation and rewards.
God's desire for us is to bear fruit and one prominent aspect of this fruifulness would be in the words that come forth from our mouth. He is looking for His kind of Life-giving water from the fruit of our lips. Consider the following:-
"Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life." Proverbs 4:23 (Amp.)
"He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water. But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor)." John 7:38-39 (Amp.)
When we feed on God's word as we learn at His feet under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, mix His words with faith and obey them, our speech will be gracious and packed with God's authority; for out of the abundance our heart, our mouth speaks. Check these out:-
"Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt, [so that you may never be at a loss] to know how you ought to answer anyone [who puts a question to you]." Colossians 4:6 (Amp.)
"Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes abundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it)." 1 Peter 4:11 (Amp.)
Yes, we can minister to one another in the Body of Christ with our words. But, hey, we can also bless God with the fruit of our lips. While it is true that God is omnipresent, don't you think that there are places and persons that He rather be at and with?
Psalms 22:3 speaks of God dwelling in the praises of the descendants of Israel (Jacob), to whose faimly the Gentile believers belong by adoption in Christ Jesus, while John 14:23 speaks of God making His home with those who keep His words (obey His teaching).
What shall we say then?
"Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Hebrews 13:15 (NKJV)
