Part 3 in Be Clean in 2014
A Clean Heart
Recently we all had a good laugh at my two year old granddaughter Emelia. Christina walked into our guest room where she and the boys were playing. The boys had just come from the movie, Legos, and this was one of those rare occasions when the boys were actually letting her play lego’s with them. The legos, much tinier than her large, girly pastel colored legos, were considered a choking hazard and were not something Emelia was accustomed to having within her grasp. As Christina poked her head in the door Emelia immediately sensed the outcome and assuming her most threatening, I’m in control voice, pointed at the legos and stated robustly, (for a two year old little girl) ME PLAY”, pointing to the door she said, “YOU OUT”. Past experience clearly defined the words of her sweet little mouth! She was feeling threatened and taking a stance!
Do you find that there are times you are astounded at the words that come out and spew all over someone you love, when you open your sweet little “Christian” mouth? You are not alone!
Mathew 12:33-37
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
“For by your words you will be justified,
and by your words you will be condemned.”
James 1:26 ESV
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
We all have a past! Our past is riddled with all kinds of experiences good and bad. All of which are meant to give us a better grip on life! Experiences that God wants to take and weave into a beautiful testimony that will touch and bring hope and healing to others. Heart wounds are caused by addictions, emotional & physical abuse. Abandonment, rejection and verbal abuse can cause a huge crack in our hearts. Out of that crack will flow words that will either intentionally or unintentionally hurt others.
Brian Zahnd the founder and lead Pastor of “Word of Life Church” asks these questions in his book, “Unconditional”, “So what is your story? Who has been cruel to you? Perhaps bitterly cruel. What injustice have you suffered? How have you been mistreated? Perhaps miserably so. Who has cheated you? Abused you? Lied to you? Lied about you? Maybe it was last week. Maybe it was a lifetime ago.”
So often the pieces of our heart are held together by threads of un-forgiveness towards those who have hurt us, circumstances beyond our control and even anger toward God. Our broken hearts have not mended properly because consciously or sub-consciously we are still holding on to those hurts. Hurts we ourselves do not and will not ever have the power to heal. Sometimes we withhold our forgiveness because we actually think we can hurt the other person for hurting us.
Our mouth and what comes out of it is a barometer, if you will, of how healthy our heart is. If you find that you continually speak words that are opposing our “play by play” hand book, Gods Word, then I believe your heart needs His healing touch.
Lets look for a moment at some verses that help us to analyze if we have “heart trouble”.
Hebrews 12:15 ESV
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
Roots of bitterness buried in a hurting heart will make their way to the surface of your life if not cut off at the pass. It may be today, it may be tomorrow. Scripture tells us you cannot bury a root of bitterness caused by unforgiveness. It WILL surface someday. It will surface because God desires reconciliation! Yes we may have been used, abandoned and abused in the past but if it is a Spirit filled life of loving others and being loved that you want for yourself you have to cut your way out of those tangled roots. How? How do you stop the onslaught of ugly verbiage that seeps out covering those we should hold near and dear with sludge? How do we face the one we haven’t spoken to for decades? Forgiveness is the answer. Forgiveness… Accepting Jesus forgiveness of your sins is the first step. Forgiving those who have hurt you is the second!
Mathew 6:14-15
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions”.
The key word in that scripture is “if”. Will you ask God to show you who it is that is holding you hostage to your past and not allowing you to step into a happy future. I will bet you already know without asking! Jesus loves you and wants to set you free.
It’s been said that to forgive is to set a prisoner free and then find out the prisoner was you!
The best reason of all to forgive is because God commands it! He knows the damage it does to us and the paralyzing hurt it causes those we love when the unforgiveness causes rejection and abandonment or the words of our mouths come from less than honorable hearts and rip and destroy those near and dear to us. The worse part of it all is that hurting people hurt people. So those we hurt will in turn hurt someone else and the dance goes on and on until Jesus cuts in!
Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue
and those who love it will eat its fruit
Mathew Henry had this to say about that verse.
A man may do a great deal of good, or a great deal of hurt, both to others and to himself, according to the use he makes of his tongue. Many a one has been his own death by a foul tongue, or the death of others by a false tongue; and, on the contrary, many a one has saved his own life, or procured the comfort of it, by a prudent gentle tongue, and saved the lives of others by a seasonable testimony or intercession for them. And, if by our words we must be justified or condemned, death and life are, no doubt, in the power of the tongue.
The real key to verses 19-21 lies in the preceding verse, Proverbs19:18
“A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle”.
Your rejection of another or your tongue could be setting up those around you for a life of destruction for which you will one day be held accountable for.
Mathew 12:36 says, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.”
Forgiving someone does not mean they are or were right or justified in their words or actions. It means that you have made a choice. A very noble and a very wise choice to admit your hurt to God and tell Him you choose to forgive. You no longer want to be held captive to your past. It takes a lot of courage and guts to face this truth but you can do it! You can do all things through Him who gives you strength! Sit with God and tell Him how that person hurt you and how it made you feel. Tell Him that you choose to forgive him/her. Then walk out that forgiveness.
You may or may not share what you have done with that other person. Do what God leads you to do. It is very freeing for you to tell that person “you really hurt me but you know I just want you to know I forgive you”. Or to go to another and say, “You know I really hurt you by saying so many awful things. Will you forgive me?” Please remember- No Buts! No details! Short and sweet! Dont allow those roots to re-tangle. You are sincerely just being obedient to Christ! He will in turn be faithful to bring healing!
Another thing is crucial. When the enemy comes with his negative, lying thoughts (and he will whisper sweet nothings in your ear to get you riled up) stand firm in the decision you made, NO MATTER WHAT! Tell him, “I have been forgiven and I have forgiven”! There will then be “fruit” of that forgiveness somewhere, somehow!
Forgiving does not mean forgetting. So many respond when I share this, “How can I forgive when I can never forget?” You are choosing to walk in God’s truth by forgiving. Leave the forgetting up to Him! To intentionally hold back your forgiveness of another person is to directly oppose God’s Word!
Mark Twain said, “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
Jesus wants to take the broken threads of your heart and weave them into a beautiful testimony of what His love can do. A testimony of freedom, and a heart that overflows with life. Like the crushed violet, allow Him to make you a fragrant offering to God and to those around you!
Mathew 12:33-37
33“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34“You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35“The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 36“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
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