Matthew 12:34……….Working

Matthew 12:34……….Working

12:34 You brood (generation) of vipers, (The Pharisees were like Snakes who were filled with deadly poison intent, deception, legalism, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, treachery)  how can you who are evil (The overall depravity of the human heart that is born into sin from Adam on.) say anything good? (Was a rhetorical questions,. No one could answer this if they tried.) For out of the overflow of the heart (The heart is usually the seat of emotions and feelings. But here the idea is the place of thinking and reasoning of the mind and the will)  the mouth speaks. (For Complete Expository See Book)

Extended Sermons

“Teaches how words are a window into the heart revealing the real you. (You can fake it for a while but it will ultimately come out.)”→ You can fake goodness for a while, but eventually a ugly heart will find you out. You can modify behavior, but eventually, the real you leaks out. Have you ever said something off the cuff and then tried to take it back? “I was upset or I was just venting and needed to let off some stem.”  More times than not, what we said is what we meant, we just wished we wouldn’t have said it. Often our words reveal our true thoughts. You can mask it for a season, you can manage it for a while, but without genuine heart transformation the real you will surface. That’s why transformation at the heart level will always be better than behavior modification. Behavior modifications is like trying to fake being a Christin. Or controlling yourself from being bad. But without letting God get to those roots and behaviors it’s only going to last so long. It will always be temporary, lasting only for a season. Quiet jealousy will show up as criticism. Buried pride will reveal itself in defensiveness. Unresolved anger will erupt in moments of pressure. You can polish your image, but you cannot hide your heart. Trying to fake being a Christian is like trying to spray perfume on a rotten tree — it may smell better for a moment, but the fruit will always expose what’s underneath. Trying to fake being a Christian is like trying to tape apples to a dead tree. It might look convincing from a distance, but up close it’s obvious the tree has no life in it. Trying to fake being a Christian is like painting over mold. You can cover it for a while, but the rot eventually bleeds through. Trying to fake being a Christian is like wearing a jersey for a team you never played for. You can dress the part, but the field exposes the truth.  As believers don’t settle for behavior management. Don’t settle for looking spiritual. Don’t settle for temporary self‑control. Let God change the source, not just the symptoms. If you don’t let God deal with the heart, the heart will eventually deal with you. But if you let Him transform the inside, the outside will follow with power and consistency.

“Teaches before speaking ask are our words building others up not tearing them down. (Can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all.)” → Will you weigh your words carefully before you speak. Will you pause and ask yourself how is this going to come across? Is there a level of self-control when you speak, or do you say whatever pops in your head? Is there at least two seconds of reflection before you actually open your mouth to speak. Before you speak pause and reflect: Give yourself a few seconds before reacting to digest your emotions so you don’t speak out of frustration or anger. Before speaking “Evaluate Intent”: Ask yourself: Is this comment helpful? Or is it going hurt, insult, of injure them? If the answer to all three is “no,” it is usually better to remain silent. Before speaking “Reframe the Message”: If the critique must be shared, find a way to phrase it constructively. Focus on the situation and a potential solution rather than launching a personal attack.

“Calls for examining our hearts by asking the hard & difficult questions of what’s behind our words” →  Harsh, bitter, and negative words are not personality traits, they’re heart traits. Nothing changes until we stop defending ourselves and start diagnosing ourselves. As long as we keep saying, “That’s just how I am,” or “I didn’t really mean it,” or “People know my heart,” we stay blind to the very things God is trying to heal. Spiritual maturity only begins where excuses end. When we finally slow down and ask, “Lord, why did that come out of me?” “What was I hoping to gain”?   “What am I trying to protect by explaining away my words?” We move from self‑protection to Spirit‑led transformation. Those question opens the door for God to show us the motives we’ve ignored, the wounds we’ve buried, the pride we’ve justified, and the attitudes we’ve allowed to grow unchecked. Only by facing the “difficult” questions of why we said what we said God can start to transform our hearts. When we stop defending ourselves, we start discovering ourselves. Honest questions drag those hidden places into His presence, where grace can do what excuses never will. Transformation happens when we: Own what we said. Acknowledge where it came from. And invite God to reshape the heart behind it. The goal isn’t to feel bad about what we said — it’s to become better than who we were. The goal is to let our words become a “mirror”—a mirror that shows us where God is inviting us to grow, surrender, and be made new. God doesn’t transform the version of us we pretend to be — only the one we’re honest about. God never asks us to fix ourselves — He asks us to face ourselves. When we bring the truth of our heart into the light, grace meets us there. The uncomfortable questions become the doorway to:  healing, humility, growth, and Christlikeness.

“Warns what you fill your heart with will eventually spill out. Harbor lust, vulgarity will spill out, harbor ill-will, angry words will spill out.” → Think of your heart as a bottle: when you bump into it, whatever is inside will spill out.  If you fill a cup with dirty water, dirty water comes out. If you fill it with poison, poison comes out. If you fill it with vinegar, bitterness comes out. Fill it with jealousy, comparison and criticism will spill out. Fill it with insecurity mean words will result. Fill it with pride, and belittling others will spill out. Fill it with fear, and anxious, controlling words will spill out. Fill it with bitterness, and every conversation becomes a chance to reopen old wounds. The opposite is also true. Fill your heart with warm feelings and loving words will result. Fill it with kindness and kind words will follow. Fill it with worship, and praise spills out. Fill it with peace, and calm spills out. Fill it with faith and preaching is going to result. Fill your heart with the Word, and truth will spill out. Fill it with gratitude, and praise will spill out. Fill it with mercy, and gentleness will spill out. Fill it with the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit will spill out. The bump doesn’t create the contents — it only reveals it. The moment of provocation is the moment your heart speaks honestly. It’s the same with us. There are moments when life bumps you — stress, temptation, conflict,  a sharp word, an unexpected setback, a disappointment you didn’t see coming — and whatever spills out in that moment reveals what’s been filling your heart all along. Just like a bottle doesn’t spill anything except what it contains, your heart can only pour what it’s been holding. If frustration, jealousy, or bitterness come rushing out, it’s because those things have been quietly stored inside. But when the heart is filled with God’s Word, with gratitude, with the steady peace of His presence, then even when you’re bumped, what spills out is grace. One of the ways you can tell where your walk with the Lord is, how do you respond when some provokes you. Do you respond with grace and patience, or with irritation and defensiveness? Today will you look honestly at the contents of your heart. Not with shame, but with hope — because God is willing to refill what life has emptied and cleanse what has become polluted. Let Him pour something new into you so that what spills out of you reflects Him. Remember the “bump” isn’t the problem — the contents are. And with God the contents can be changed.

“Even today, in times of pressure and stress what comes spilling out? When someone makes you angry what comes spilling out? Sharp words or or words of forgiveness? When good things happen to others what comes spilling out? Resentment and bitterness or joy and celebration?”→ Stress doesn’t create what wasn’t already there — it “exposes” it. Pressure doesn’t invent character — it “reveals” character. Anger doesn’t create what wasn’t already there — it “reveals” what was hiding beneath the surface. When someone else gets the promotion, the recognition, the breakthrough, the opportunity, the relationship, the healing, the open door—? Are you able to genuinely rejoice with them and celebrate their blessings? Or do you stay bitter and resentful? The true condition of our hearts is revealed not only in our struggles but also in how we handle the successes and joys of others. Remember, Jesus teaches that our words and reactions are a reflection of what’s stored up inside us. If our hearts are filled with God’s love and truth, it will show in our responses—whether we’re being squeezed by difficulty or watching others receive what we wish we had. Take time to examine your responses honestly. Are you quick to forgive, slow to become angry, and eager to show kindness? Or do you find bitterness, jealousy, and harsh words rising up? Let these questions guide you to a deeper heart check, bringing any unhealthy attitudes to God in prayer and asking Him to fill you with His Spirit so your life overflows with love, peace, and grace toward others.

Additional Notes & Applications

Teaches though Jesus is meek and mild, He has no tolerance for the hypocrisy. (Truth and righteousness must always be confronted)

Warns you might think your fooling others, but Jesus can see right through you.

Calls for vigilance over our language and words, that we’re not bringing dishonor or reproach upon the name of God.

Teaches how a word problem displays a heart problem.

Calls for being careful not only what we say, but what we text, email, and posts on social media

Calls for asking are our words & actions drawing people to Jesus or pushing them away from Jesus?

Teaches are our words defending God’s truth while all the time working against His Saving purpose?

Note: The word “Viper” describes a variety of poisonous snakes. Vipers were young venomous snakes who were born out of their mother at a rate of 12 to 50 at a time. Vipers were not only known for being deadly, but also deceptive. Vipers would rest in the sand or among rocks or shrubs, and would attack you without warning. A good example of this is when the Apostle Paul, after surviving a shipwreck and being stranded on the island of Malta. After gathering up some sticks to make a fire. As he put his hand into the pile to light the fire a viper reached out and latched onto his hand. It looked liked a dried up stick, when in reality it was waiting there to attack anything that came near.-(Acts 28:1-6) That’s the way Jesus is describing the Pharisees who traveled around in a group poisoning those who came near. They’re deadly because their teachings were spiritual poison. They were deceptive because the gave the appearance of being religiously holy and righteous.

Note: The “Heart” is often thought of as the seat of our feelings, emotions, and desire. When it’s really the thought, will, and mind. The heart is the core of human identity—It represents our true-self and our capacity for profound, intuitive understanding. In the bible Proverbs regularly refers to the “heart” as the center of one’s inner life and orientation to God, from which a person does all thinking, feeling, and choosing. “Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”– (Prov. 4:23) In Jerimiah we Find: The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it?-(Jer. 17:9)

Note: Because we still have this flesh and indwelling sin nature living in us the tongue is something were going to have to learn to control, and will be a battle for the rest of our lives. There is nothing more harder to control than the tongue. It’s going to take a lot of discipline and self-examination,