(The Tongue of a Disciple) the Importance of Our Speech — Zac Poonen

The Need for Continual Filling With the Holy Spirit

We have often spoken about the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit and I believe that most if not all of us have asked God to fill us and probably have at some time in the past experience being filled with the Holy Spirit too.

And in my observation of many people in many churches that emphasize the baptism of Christ and the Holy Spirit is that when you see them after some time, sometimes even after a year, they are not filled with the Holy Spirit, at least there is no evidence of that.

Jesus said, by their fruit you shall know them and there doesn't seem to be much fruit. And we can imagine that once we were filled with the Holy Spirit, that's it. And forever after it's like a driving license I get and renew every five years.

It's not like that. You can be filled with the Holy Spirit one day and not be filled the next day. You can start backsliding the next day. It says in Hebrews 3 .13 that it requires only 24 hours to become a backslider.

Encourage one another daily, otherwise you will be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. So hardening takes only 24 hours. So anyone who is not walking with the Lord daily, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4 .16 that the inner man is being renewed day by day.

You either allow it to be renewed or to be hardened. So since the Holy Spirit is pictured by Jesus as water, it should be gushing out of our hearts. We know that water in a vessel can leak if there is a hole in it.

And that leakage can come through sin, sin that we are conscious of. But as I've observed many, many believers and sought my own heart and searched my own life, I found that very often that leakage comes through the tongue, through a careless use of the tongue or a misuse of the tongue.

The Tongue as a Fountain or a Source of Leakage

So here it says in Proverbs 10 .11, we have seen what the Bible says about the righteous should live by faith. We have seen the path of the righteous is something that is to shine more and more until the perfect day.

Proverbs 4 .18, here it says the mouth of the righteous is to be a fountain of life. And the only alternative to that is the mouth of the wicked, which conceals violence. You can either have a fountain of life or, like the Message Bible says, the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave full of abuse, etc.

So if we don't allow the Holy Spirit to take complete control of our tongue, not just when we are going to share the Word, but all the time, there's going to be leakage. Particularly when you are with your relatives, unconverted friends, maybe at home where you feel you can relax and speak as you like, that's fine.

But you can speak as you like and there can be leakage. And the next time you want to be used by the Lord, He doesn't use you because there's no power left. It's like a petrol tank that's got a hole in it and it's all leaked out, even though you filled it up yesterday, it's all leaked out.

And you wonder where all the petrol went. There was a hole in the tank and that hole is in the tongue. It's through the tongue that the leakage takes place. You've seen Jesus said that in Matthew chapter 12.

You know, this is so important that if you take just this one message seriously, I believe it can radically change your life. Anybody, young or old, brother or sister. In Matthew 12, Jesus says, verse 33 onwards, Matthew 12, 33.

The fruit is what comes out of the tongue, but he says you can't make the fruit good unless the tree is good. You can't just hang good fruit on a bad tree. You can fool people, but it's not really the fruit of the tree.

So Jesus says you need to make the tree good. Then you don't have to worry about always making sure that the good fruit is hanging on the branches. It will only produce good fruit. And the tree is the heart.

The branches, the branches, the tongue from which the fruit comes out, the words. So the tree is the heart. The tongue is the branch. The words are our fruit. So he says you've got to make the tree good.

Then its fruit will be good. The tree is bad. Fruit is bad. And the tree is known by its fruit. So the condition of your heart is known by the words you speak. That's basically what he's saying in verse 33.

And he turned to these Pharisees and said, you brood of vipers. How can you, when your heart is evil, produce what is good fruit? Do you see now where all the anger and the bitterness and the foul language and the dirty jokes and the laughing at the dirty jokes and everything comes from?

It comes from a heart that we're not allowed the Holy Spirit to deal with. We can control our tongue. It's like chopping off the bad fruit. We can say nice words. That's like hanging good fruit on a bad tree.

But Jesus said that's all deception. It's all hypocrisy. Deal with the heart and then the branches and fruit will be okay. Because the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The mouth is like an overflow valve.

So whatever is in the heart spills out through the mouth. Particularly when there's pressure. It could be the pressure caused by somebody provoking you. It could be the pressure caused by somebody hurting you.

It could be pressure due to any circumstance. But what fills the heart overflows. Now occasionally something very good happens and then our heart's temporarily filled with some thankfulness to God. And that overflows through our mouth.

Thank you, Lord, for doing that. Praise the Lord. But it's only temporary for a short time. Then that's squeezed out and the rest of the time our heart is filled with all types of other thoughts about other people.

Whenever you speak about other people, not when you're guarded. When you're guarded, be careful. I'm talking about when you're not guarded. Usually when you're talking to your wife or husband at home.

We're not usually guarded there. Or when you're talking with your very close friends of your own age. You're not usually guarded there. And there you know what's really in your heart. Don't examine yourself by the way you speak to the elders or older brothers.

Because that could be put on. But if you really want to know the condition of your heart. See how you speak to those who you're closest to on earth. There we are not guarded. There we're not clipping off the bad truth.

We're just saying everything that's in our heart. There if you want to discover it. You'll discover what's in your heart. And that's why I believe the way you speak to your husband or wife at home. Is a very accurate test of the condition of your heart.

And it's not how you speak to each other on Sunday morning at the meeting. So the mouth is the overflow valve of the heart. And the good man, because he's got good treasure in his heart. It only brings forth good.

You know like Amy Carmichael said. If you carry a glass of sweet water. No matter how heavily somebody shakes you. It's only sweet water that can spill out. You can't say that man made my heart bitter.

That is impossible. He only shakes you by his provocation, irritation. What spills out is what's in the heart. That is always there. Maybe somebody shook you and you discovered it. You got to thank him for shaking you up.

Because otherwise you may not have discovered what was in your heart. I tell you we really have to thank God for enemies. For those who provoke us. Those who irritate us. Those who make us angry. Because they shake us and we discover what's inside our jar.

And we got to be so thankful. Lord I never knew it was like this in my heart. I'm fooling myself because I speak so nicely to all the believers. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good.

And the evil man brings out his evil treasure. What is evil? And listen to this. These are some very serious words. I tell you that every careless word that people speak. Words that are spoken to hurt, to injure.

Careless words. They'll give an account in the day of judgment. My conviction is that perhaps 99 of believers don't believe that verse. You know it's like if I was working in an office here and they gave me 500 ,000 rupees in cash in a box.

Saying take this on the train to Delhi. And give it in the office there. I wouldn't sleep during that two day journey. Because I wouldn't want to lose one rupee from that box. While I'm asleep somebody could steal it.

I'd be so careful because when I go there I know they're going to count every rupee. Why do I take that seriously? Because I know I'm accountable for every single rupee in that box. Now why don't we feel like that about the words we speak?

Because we don't believe that when we reach the other end we have to give an account for every word we speak. How many of you can honestly say, you've got to answer this to yourself. That you really believe that every single word you spoke.

At least from the time you were born again and understood this verse. Every single word, every single thing you said in secret about other people. It's going to come up on the screen and through the loudspeakers on the day of judgment.

And the Lord's going to ask you, why did you say that? And everybody's going to hear it. Jesus said that, what you whisper in the ears will be proclaimed from the housetops in that day. He said that. So, if you really believed it.

I know I've had a hard time believing it for many years. But I've learned to be very, very careful. Jesus said, the Bible says in Isaiah 66, I will look at the man who trembles at my word. Who sees a word and says, God, I'm going to tremble at that.

Every single word I speak I'm going to give an account in the day of judgment. And then, here is a tougher word than that, verse 37. You're going to be justified, not just by your faith. You know, James says, faith without works is dead.

So, he said, that's not real faith. If you really have faith, he says, it will be seen in your works. And Jesus said that first. He said, you're going to be justified by your words. Jesus hardly ever spoke about being justified by faith.

That's Paul's great theme, it's true. But many people have misunderstood faith. It's a faith which is just in their head. Doesn't seem to change their life in any way. And therefore, it's most probably a dead faith.

So, just like James says in chapter 2, check up your faith by your works. Jesus would say, check up your faith by the words you speak all the time. And those words will tell you whether you've got real faith or not.

And whether you'll be justified or not in the final day. And if those words tell you that your Christianity is a lot of rubbish. It's just an act put on on Sunday morning. And you're talking about being filled with a spirit and maybe some of you even speak in tongues.

It's just all hot air. Maybe once upon a time you did have a genuine experience and perhaps what you received at that time was a genuine gift. But Satan got some gifts before he became the devil. In fact, all the gifts Satan has today, God gave it to him before he became the devil.

And God didn't take it away. You know, just like you give a birthday gift to somebody, one day it turns around and becomes your enemy. You don't want to ask for your gift back. So, let him have it. So, God also gave gifts to the angel, the archangel.

And when he became the devil, God didn't ask for the gifts back. And that's how Satan has all this power. And a person can have a genuine gift to the spirit, exercise it and be lost eternally. It's an amazing thing.

Only Jesus said things like that. You will say to me, many will say to me, Lord, we cast out demons in your name, we prophesied in your name, we did miracles in your name. And I'll say, I never knew you.

Get away from me. That's really going to be true. So, by your words you'll be justified. By your words you'll be condemned. So, for a moment, let's forget about our faith and our doctrinal understanding that Christ died for us.

Let's forget all that. And let's just think of the words we have spoken in past years. Or, let's say one year, if you can't remember everything. If you take the sum total of those words that you spoke in the year 2006, would you be justified at the judgment seat of Christ?

It's a very important question. Jesus said it. Faith without works is dead. I'm only trying to save people from having a counterfeit faith. A faith that doesn't change their life, that doesn't change their speech.

Pentecost and the Spirit Within

Now, you know, there were no words like this in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, they didn't speak much about the tongue at all. But something happened on the day of Pentecost. Why the Old Testament didn't speak about the tongue?

Because the Holy Spirit was only on the outside of people. In the Old Testament, in fact, like people wearing a shirt or a sari covers you, but it's only on the outside. And you can take it off. That's exactly how it was.

Samson would put it on and take it off. Just like you go home and take off your shirt or sari and put something else. Samson would put it on and then he'd go to the prostitute's house and take it off and wear something else.

And Gideon, he had, it says the Spirit of God clothed Gideon. That's how it says in Judges 6 .34, the margin. He clothed Gideon. And then, you'll read in the next couple of chapters, he took it off and started worshipping idols.

The entire Old Testament was like this. Saul, one day, the Spirit of God upon him and he was chained into another man, we read in 1 Samuel 10. And then, a little later, you read in chapter 18 that an evil spirit came on him.

The Spirit had left him. The Holy Spirit had left him. So, that's how it was in the Old Testament. But Jesus said, now something different is going to happen. From the innermost being, this river will start flowing.

John 7 .38. So, the difference is, in the New Testament, what happened on the Day of Pentecost, the spirit that for so many years was only on the outside and that could never dwell inside a man. Because man's heart was filthy.

And the Spirit of God will never dwell inside a filthy heart. And all the blood of bulls and goats that they sacrificed. It was only a picture. That couldn't cleanse anybody's heart. It was a picture.

They were saying, one day we believe the Messiah will come and die. But then Jesus came. He was the first person who walked on the earth in whom the Spirit dwelt. Because his heart was pure. And he told his disciples, the same Spirit is going to dwell in you.

Then you'll have a power which you don't have right now. I mean, they had power. Elijah had power to raise the dead. So, with external power, they split the Red Sea, pulled down the walls of Jericho, they raised the dead.

Elijah raised a dead person even after he died. Have you read that? They threw somebody into Elijah's grave and the guy rose up from the dead. There was more anointing in Elijah's dead bones than in a lot of living people today.

That's how it was. But it was only on the outside for external things. But Jesus said it's not going to be like that now. The Spirit of God is going to come inside you and he's really going to give you a power within which you just don't have up till now.

Any amount of Bible study, any amount of listening to the greatest preacher on earth, that was Jesus Christ, for three and a half years, won't change you. Imagine listening to the greatest preacher on earth for three and a half years, walking with him, living with him, his example, his words.

And, you know, every time Jesus spoke, it says that people's hearts were warmed. Your hearts may be warmed when you hear something. It's only temporary. After some time, the stove cools off and there's no heat left.

That's how those disciples were. In the presence of Jesus, they'd have some faith and different things, but once he was away, they're back to normal. But Jesus said it's going to be different after the Day of Pentecost.

You're going to get a power within you that's really going to change your life. And those who were hungry for that waited for that power. 1 Corinthians 15 says that Jesus appeared to 500 people after his resurrection.

500 people saw the risen Lord, but only 120 of them had a hunger to wait for this inner power. That teaches us something, that not everybody who believes has a great hunger for this power. They think it's too much botheration to wait on God for a power because they're quite happy the way they live.

Yeah, well, I lost my temper 20 years ago. I'll still lose it. I presume I'll continue losing it till the day I die. I'll keep confessing my hope. They're not bothered. Yes, I do speak bad words now and then, but the blood of Jesus cleanses me.

Do you think such people will get power in 100 years? No. Those folks got it in 10 days. But some folks won't get it in 100 years because there's no thirst. They're not desperate. They're happy to live their Christian life, whatever God's given them.

God's given them this wonderful gospel. It's like getting a Mercedes-Benz car, but you don't put any petrol in it. You keep pushing it all your life. A lot of Christians, I really believe, they go to Mercedes-Benz car, the most fantastic gospel in the whole world, and you see them pushing it and sweating and struggling and hardly moving at all.

People under the law, who didn't have the car, they walk faster. These Christians are walking slower because they're pushing the car. They're not meant to be like that. They're supposed to have a power in that car that drives it to fantastic speed.

They can go 50 times faster than those people who walk, than the people under the law. But it's not like that because they don't have this terrific hunger for power. So, in Acts chapter 2 you read that when this power came upon these people in Acts chapter 2, it says there was this violent, Acts 2 verse 2, there was this violent rushing wind, you know, symbolizing the Holy Spirit coming upon, just like a gale or tornado that swept into that room where these 120 people were praying and it filled the whole house and then immediately after that, the very first thing you read is, before they spoke in tongues, tongues of fire, you know, the shape of a tongue, a fire in the shape of a human tongue rested on all the 120 people's heads.

What was that message? You know, I wish the Pentecostals and Charismatics had spoken more about Acts 2 .3 than about Acts 2 .4. Acts 2 .3 is the tongue on fire of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 .4, after that, is speaking in tongues.

So, what I see from that is that what the Lord was saying is that once the Spirit comes inside you and gives you this power that I told you you'll get, one of the first things He's going to do is to control your tongue.

Your whole tongue will be under the control of the fire of the Holy Spirit. That's what John the Baptist said. When Jesus comes, He'll baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. He's going to purify every part of our body.

He's going to purify the way we look. We'll overcome lust. He's going to purify the way we do things with our hands. He's going to purify especially our tongues. That's the meaning. I mean, the Lord could have put a hand of fire or an eye of fire or a leg of fire.

All these instruments God uses in the body but it was a tongue. Please remember this. It was a tongue set on fire. And then, after that, they were filled with the Holy Spirit all simultaneously and they began to speak in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.

So, that was a gift. In the day of Pentecost it was used to preach the Gospel to so many people who were of different languages over there because they all heard in their own tongue. Peter didn't speak all those languages but they all heard in their own tongue it says.

But all the disciples spoke in unknown languages. It's one of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives. 1 Corinthians 14 says it's primarily today for communication with God to relieve the pressure from our hearts to help us to overcome discouragement to help us to overcome the pressures we face from the world around.

We can release our heart in speaking in unknown languages to God. It's not primarily for public use. 1 Corinthians 14 makes that clear. But, before that I said this tongue is of fire. In other words, the Holy Spirit first wants to control our mother tongue and then give us other tongues.

So, if you only got the Holy Spirit giving you other tongues but he can't control your mother tongue you missed the main thing. You missed the tongues of fire and you just got the unknown tongues. That's sad.

It's happened to lots and lots of people. It's the tongues of fire that came first and that's what I want. And 1 Corinthians 12 says God doesn't give tongues unknown languages to everyone but the tongue of fire, that's for everyone.

Do you think God wants even one child of His not to have his tongue controlled by the Holy Spirit? Not even one. So, I want to encourage you. You may never God may never for I don't know the reasons but God may not give the gift of speaking in tongues or interpreting tongues to everybody.

In fact, 1 Corinthians 12 says do all speak in tongues. The answer is no. Do all, are all apostles? The answer is no. Same type of answer. So, just like you all can't be apostles all will not speak in tongues but all can have a tongue controlled by the Holy Spirit.

The tongues set on fire by the Spirit of God. And you must not rest until that is real in your life. Because all leakage is through the tongue. You can get the greatest man of God to lay hands on you and pray for you and you're filled with the Holy Spirit.

And in one day it's all gone. Because the vessel is leaky. And before the day is out it's gone. We wouldn't go and collect milk in a vessel that's got a hole in it. Not even one hole. We'd plug every hole before we even collect water which is so cheap.

Why are we careless when it comes to the river, the living water flowing through us? I want you to turn with me please to Ephesians in chapter 5. This is the only place in all the episodes where we have a direct command to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Being Filled With the Spirit Through Humility and Repentance

There is no other command like that anywhere from Romans to Jude. I mean there are examples of it in Acts of the Apostles. But as a command you must be filled with the Holy Spirit. It's only one place in the episodes.

Ephesians 5 verse 18. And I don't know Greek but I read from those who have studied it that the actual word is continuous tense. You know like you say walked, that happened. Walking means you're still doing it.

So here the meaning is continuous. Be being filled with the Holy Spirit all the time. That's the meaning of that verse. That's how you got to read it. Be being filled all the time. I can't fill myself.

It doesn't say fill yourself with the Spirit. No, because how can I do it? I have to ask the Lord to fill me with the Holy Spirit. And he will do that continuously. If I keep the holes plugged if I confess sin immediately soon as I'm aware of the sin if I confess it if I always humble myself because water always flows to the lowest place remember that water always flows to the lowest place first.

So the more you humble yourself chances are that you'll be filled with the Spirit sooner than other people who think too much of themselves. And especially the tongue. Now the only way to plug the hole is by immediately as soon as you're aware that you've told a lie perhaps you confess it to God and to the person to whom you told the lie.

And I'll tell you this it's easier to confess to God than to confess to the person to whom you told the lie. Because the first requires no humility. The second requires humility which many people don't have.

You ask yourself when you've told somebody a lie isn't it easy to go to God and say Lord I'm sorry I told a lie there? That doesn't require any humility at all. But try going to that person two minutes later and saying Brother I'm sorry I told you a lie two minutes ago.

There's where we see many of us who think we're very humble can discover in that moment your humility is pretty close to zero. You know these are moments of revelation. I've gone the same way myself. When I've hesitated to go and apologize the Lord says there you discover that your humility is pretty close to zero.

I'm not preaching to you what the Lord has not shown me myself. But when I've seen it I've said Lord thank you for showing me. I'm not going to fool myself. Imagine if you fool yourself all your earthly life thinking you're a very humble brother very humble sister and you stand before the Lord on the final day and the Lord exposes you as the proudest of all people.

How will you feel? And you discover that he couldn't give you grace because you kept up this impression of humility and when the Lord gave you a revelation here is a situation where you're not willing to go and apologize to that person.

You've tossed it around your mind and I'll tell you what happens after two or three days you forget it. And you say oh it's okay. It's not okay. The wound is now festering inside. The outside is all sealed up.

But now it's festering inside and one day it'll kill you. So the best thing is face up to what God is saying and if you spoke a rude word to somebody confess it to God. Go to that person and say I'm sorry I spoke rudely to you.

As soon as you're aware of it doesn't matter who it is I tell you believe me if you follow my prescription you will plug all the holes in your life pretty quickly. I know you agree with me. I don't know whether you'll do it.

You know that verse where Jesus said it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And we think in terms of money oh well I don't have money so I'm okay.

No hang on. Riches are not just money. You can be rich intellectually and look down on others who are not so smart and clever as you. It's difficult for you to go through that needle's eye. You can be rich with a sense of your own importance.

Very difficult for you to go through the needle's eye. You may be very poor financially but very rich with a sense of how important a person you are that you won't stoop to ask forgiveness from someone.

Very difficult to go through the needle's eye when Jesus said the way to life is narrow. How narrow is it? Six inches? One inch? One centimeter? One millimeter? I think it's pretty close to one millimeter.

Little less than that actually. It's because Jesus defined it. The narrow way is the width of the hole of the needle's eye. How wide is that? It's less than a millimeter by the way. It's the thickness of a thin thread.

That's the size of the gate and that's the size of the way. Anybody can find it. Anybody can walk that way. Anybody can understand. If they want to humble themselves, that's all that's required. This big man has to become small and he'll go through.

A camel finds it difficult. Even a mouse will find it difficult. But there are little creatures in the world called amoebas. Amoebas is almost the smallest living being. It's so small you've got to see it through a microscope.

And you tell this amoeba, you find it difficult to go through the needle's eye? Oh, he said, not at all, it's so broad, I can just walk through it. I can run through it, he says, because it's so small.

It finds the needle's eye so big, it just runs through it. It's all a question of smallness. Small people go through the needle's eye very quickly. Those that are rich with a sense of their own importance find it very difficult.

So in the use of the tongue, if you want to plug the hole, if you're serious about plugging the hole, Jesus said, the way to life is narrow and few there be that find it. Now there's a difference between understanding it and finding it.

Many understand it. I think what I'm saying today is simple enough for all of you who understand a little bit of English to understand what I'm saying. But it doesn't mean you've found it. That will be tested in this week.

Whether you found this way or not, you understood it? Oh yeah, sure. You probably can understand it so well that you can even explain it to somebody else. But to find it, Jesus didn't say, few there be that understand it.

Many there be that understand it, but few there be that find it. So Ephesians 5 .18 says, Be filled with the Holy Spirit in contrast to don't get drunk with wine. See, one negative, one positive. Negatively, don't get drunk with alcohol, but be filled with the Spirit.

It's like a coin with two sides. Now what would you think of a brother who came here to Sunday morning drunk and tottering into his seat? I'm sure you'd all be talking about him after you go home. Did you see that, brother?

What would you think of a brother who came here without being filled with the Holy Spirit? Nobody would talk about him. Oh, that's OK. Do you see how we think one is such a terrible sin to be drunk with wine?

And the other, oh, it's a sort of a suggestion. Is it a suggestion? Don't get drunk? It's in the same verse. Don't get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now I apply this to the parable that Jesus spoke about a man who had a demon.

Let's say the demon is a demon of drunkenness. He's a slave to drunkenness. His demon is controlled and drunk, drunk, drunk, drunk, drunk. And one day, Jesus casts out that demon. Now what did Jesus say?

He leaves his heart empty. The demon of drink is gone. What should he do with his heart? According to this verse, be filled with the Holy Spirit. He doesn't do that. Oh, that's not important. I got rid of the demon.

You know what will happen? What did Jesus say? Eight of them will come. That one plus seven more. A guy will get more drunk. Now it may not be drunkenness. It may be something else. Be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you know what's going to happen? The three things mentioned here, all three have got to do with the tongue. That's very interesting. When you're filled with the Spirit, you'll start speaking.

And you won't be speaking like you used to speak in the old days. You'll start speaking in things that glorify God. That's the main point. Speaking to one another's songs and hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart.

And I told you what's in your heart will overflow through your mouth. There'll be a song in your heart. There'll be joy. There'll be love. And that's what's going to come out of your mouth. Speaking, singing, and the third thing, giving thanks.

That's also with the tongue. Speaking, singing, giving thanks. For everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So there again we see the connection between being filled with the Holy Spirit and the tongue.

It's consistent there throughout Scripture. The Day of Pentecost, the only place in the Epistles where it says be filled with the Holy Spirit, again the tongue. I want to show you one more thing. A couple more verses.

Do Not Grieve or Quench the Holy Spirit

If you turn back to chapter 4 of Ephesians, the opposite of being filled with the Holy Spirit in relation to the Holy Spirit himself is verse 30. Ephesians 4 .30 Don't grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Here it is positively be filled with the Holy Spirit, but before that in Ephesians 4 .30 it says don't grieve.