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Our minds and hearts should be in constant preparation for “spiritual exertion”. So what are the good things Jesus refers to that a good man is to store up in his heart? Our hearts are to be a treasury of all His graces – encouragements, comforts, exhortations, love and Truth. ![]() “It should be more our care to be good really, than to seem good outwardly.” Matthew Henry 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” Matt 7:15-20 (NIV) 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Earlier in Matthew Jesus addresses this subject as well:ġ5 “Watch out for false prophets. They often appear to us as sheep - donning cloaks of righteousness - but in reality, inwardly, they are ferocious wolves. We are told over and over again in Scripture that one will be recognized by the fruit they produce and we are called to be on our guard against those who would lead us astray. ‘Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Sam. When He examines and evaluates our motives, words, and actions, are we commended, as was Abel, or are we condemned, as was his brother Cain? ‘The Lord does not look at the things man looks at,’ God told the prophet Samuel. ![]() “The most important thing in life isn’t what we think about ourselves or what others think about us, but what God thinks about us. Is that not like Satan? When we are not on our toes or not paying attention or wrongly thinking we stand secure, unlikely to fall or unable to be tempted is the very time the adversary likes to strike – catching us off guard and taking us down. Jesus calls these Pharisees a “brood of vipers” – snakes which were poisonous and malignant as well as camouflaged to appear as sticks to trick the unobservant into a deadly bite. The salting of grace into this corrupt flowing fountain is the only cure to purify corrupt conversation. Evil words are the natural and genuine product of an evil, sinful heart present from birth on. Unless the heart is transformed the life will never be thoroughly reformed. In our verses for today our Lord clearly states: “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” A person’s words reveal from whence they hail – the Lord’s or the adversary’s. It is the fountain from which the streams of our words flow. The heart is the root and the language the fruit. If the heart of one is sanctified it will appear in the words they speak. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Not a very good witness for the Lord Jesus to be sure! I am reminded of the words Paul penned in Romans 8:ħ the sinful mind is hostile to God. Also, a believer in the Lord Jesus - who indulges and gives way to his sinful nature – sadly, behaves as the unsaved. The unsaved live totally void of spiritual life and ability - the product of corruption reigns in their hearts and flows through their veins. ![]() Make no mistake about it we should not expect regenerate behavior from an unregenerate.
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