Sermon Tone Analysis
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A Pure Heart
For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
Matthew 12:34b (NASB)
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
(ESV)
For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
(GNT)
For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.
(HCSB)
It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.
(The Message)
The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart.
(NCV)
For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.
(NLT)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue…
Proverbs 18:21a
What you say can preserve life or destroy it… (GNT)
Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.
(The Message)
*Purpose:* To lay the foundation for 2007’s (through the retreat) focus on how we use our tongues, with the final result that our speech becomes more honoring to God.
*Crux:* Our speech can only please God when what is in our hearts pleases God.
*Problem:* Our hearts are not right.
This year, from now through our retreat in September, our focus will be on our speech.
But your program says our theme is “A Pure Heart.”
How does that work?
Matthew 12:34 says that “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”
Proverbs 18:21 follows that up by saying that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
When I said that I’m a work in progress, I meant two things by that.
First, God is working on me to sanctify me and make me like Christ, just as He wants to do the same with all of His daughters.
That means I’m not there yet.
I will make mistakes.
I’m not perfect, and will never try to represent myself as such – to do so would be to lie to you, to myself, and worse, to God.
So I just want to lay this out right now: Whatever I say to you, I am first applying it to my own life.
I may teach you the Word, but the Spirit is first teaching me.
We’ll work on these things together.
But the fact that I’m a work in progress also means something else.
I come to you with baggage.
We are all human, and we all have memories, and life is not perfect, so that means that we all bring hurts – both received and given – and sin to the table when we join it.
Someone once said that if you’re looking for the perfect church, and think you’ve found the perfect church, its perfection will be ruined the instant you walk in the door.
Funny, but true.
Matt and I are both honored to be part of Martinsburg Church.
If you’ll excuse the expression, we are so proud of who you have become.
There are a lot of really great things happening here, and the potential is there for so much more.
We are /so/ excited to be a part of building God’s kingdom here with you.
But that said, Martinsburg Church is not a perfect church, by any stretch of the imagination.
And if it was before, its perfection was ruined the instant I walked in the door.
I may be a “Pastor’s Wife,” but I want you to know that I view that totally as an act of God’s grace.
I don’t consider it a position of special privilege, or that I have a higher measure of wisdom or Godliness that God just had to choose me.
It just happens to be the role that I fill here.
I am married to the pastor.
I support him as he leads this congregation, and I am /part/ of this congregation, just as any of the rest of you are.
But back to the baggage, because that’s the fun part.
Proverbs 11:11 says that a city is torn down by the mouth of the wicked.
The church we came from was absolutely torn apart by slander and gossip.
Our ministry ended there because of the power of words.
So this issue is near and dear to my heart, not out of a desire for revenge, but out of a desire to save other church families from what that church body went through.
Out of a desire to truly help others to grow in Christlikeness so that a watching world will have cause to /glorify/ God, not defame Him because of the actions of those who call themselves His children.
But you know, that church wasn’t really all that unusual.
Some of the same issues exist here.
Feelings have been hurt, friendships damaged, reputations ground into the dust because of how people talk.
When I say that, I’m not judging anyone in particular.
I’m just expressing the reality, that we are just like any other church, in that we none of us guard our hearts and tongues as well as we should.
James 3:2 says that if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is perfect.
We’re none of us succeeding in this area as we should.
But how do we fix that?
Listen to the words of Solomon in Proverbs chapter 4:
/My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart.
For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body.
Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you.
Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established.
Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil./ (20-27, NASB)
Did you catch the progression there?
1.
hear and obey the Word
2. watch over our hearts.
Why?
Because of what comes next –
3. what happens in our hearts shows up in our words and actions.
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.
(GNT)
Solomon wisest ever – 18.21.
What you say can preserve life or destroy it… (GNT) Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.
(The Message)
HeartàMouth link in Scripture
Psalm 51:10, 13: Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me…/then/ I will teach transgressors Your ways…
Prov.
10:20: The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, the heart of the wicked is worth little.
Prov.
12:19-20: Truthful lips will be established forever, But a lying tongue is only for a moment.
Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.
Prov.
15:26: Evil plans are an abomination to the Lord, but pleasant words are pure.
Matthew 12:34: How can you, being evil, speak what is good?
For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
Matt.
15:18: The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
Luke 6:45: The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil.
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