The Tongue and the Heart — Zac Poonen

Jesus’ Teaching on the Tree and Its Fruit

I'd like to turn to what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 12. You know Jesus spoke about, if you want a good tree, you must start with the root. That's what he said in verse 33, if the tree is good, the fruit will be good.

In other words, it's not by concentrating on the fruit, it's by concentrating on the tree and the roots from which that tree comes. And we've all heard this, if the tree is bad, then the fruit is bad.

And a tree is known by its fruit. We all know that. You don't look at a tree and see what it is, say what it is. You look at an apple hanging there and then say that's an apple tree, or you see mangoes hanging there and say it's a mango tree, or coconuts and you say coconut tree.

The fruit tells you what the tree is like. Jesus used very simple illustrations and you think of it, it's really true. We look at the fruit and we know the tree is like that. So what was he trying to teach us?

Words Reveal the Condition of the Heart

If you read the subsequent verses, he's saying, listen to a man's words, what he speaks in normal conversation and you'll find what type of person he is. It's not by his going to church, it's not by his reading the Bible, it's not by his knowledge of the Bible, it's not by saying 15 years ago I asked Jesus to come into my heart, all that is worth nothing.

Because those can be empty words. And a person may have said Lord Jesus come into my heart, it didn't really happen because he did not surrender his heart. Some evangelist told him say those words and you're saved.

You're not saved by saying words, you're saved by turning away from sin and trusting Jesus completely as your savior. And the fruit of it, if it is really a good tree, if it's really a tree that God planted, there will be fruit and the fruit will not be bad.

It's not that things bad cannot come, but if a person is walking with the Lord, the Holy Spirit immediately corrects him and it's cut off. So it's very important to understand that and so that's what he was speaking about in Matthew 12, 33.

It's very, very important because Jesus gave great importance to the use of the tongue. You never find much importance given to that in the Old Testament except in the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is about the only book that speaks a lot about the use of the tongue and speech.

And in one sense, the book of Proverbs has got a lot of new covenant truths back there, but all the other books in the Old Testament, it only speaks about your actions and not about the words we speak.

Whereas Jesus gave a lot of importance to that. In fact, he said if your words are not what it should be, look the words he uses in verse 34. It's very strong. You brood of vipers. What a word to use about human beings.

To tell a human being you're a viper, you're a snake. Because we know that what comes out of the mouth of a viper is poison. We know that a snake stings and the snake bites with its tongue and hurts people.

That's why he used the word viper. When you use your language and your tongue to hurt somebody else, listen to these words, you viper. Jesus is saying you're exactly like a snake. And yet, how many Christians have taken that seriously?

There are husbands and wives who are vipers at each other. Stinging, stinging back, stinging, stinging, stinging back. And they say they are Christians. Oh, we have accepted the Lord 25 years ago. Garbage.

You shall know them by their fruit. And the reason is not that they don't believe, they have not repented. The trouble with a lot of Christians today is they believe without repenting. And repenting means turning from sin.

If they have not turned from sin and they believe, that faith is empty. They live in their sin and say, I believe in Jesus. The world is full of such people. And all of that is exposed by the fruit. You shall know the tree by its fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth bad fruit. You brood of vipers, verse 34. If you're evil, how can you speak what is good? It's like saying, if the tree is rotten, it's going to produce rotten fruit. So don't be careful, just cut off that fruit.

You take a scissors and cut it off, tomorrow another bad fruit will come. Then you cut that off, day after tomorrow another bad fruit will come. It will keep on coming. And that's why you see so many Christians who have heard so many messages on holiness and things like that.

But they never cease to be vipers. Stinging, stinging, stinging. There needs to be a radical change within. That's what Jesus is saying. He was very strong in his words. A lot of people think of Jesus as the meek and lowly Jesus who loved people.

But it's because we love people, that, because Jesus loved people, that he spoke like that. If a doctor loves a cancer patient, he will cut that person open and remove the cancer. A doctor who's only interested in making money will tell the patient, you're okay, you can go home.

And that patient goes home and dies. A loving father will correct his children so that they learn to speak properly. They learn to speak respectfully. An irresponsible father or mother will allow their children to grow up any way they like.

Respectful Speech and Parental Example

I've noticed this very much here in the United States. A lot of our young children grow up without any respect for older people. And the fault is not with them. The fault is 100 with their parents. Who have never taught them to speak respectfully to older people.

There's something about the culture here. I see, I've lived with 80 years in a Hindu culture. 98 of India is non-Christian. And one of the things, even in the villages, they teach the young children is to be respectful.

To parents, respectful to older people. But that's, and I'm sure 100 years ago it was exactly like that in the United States. Where even a young, a child will always speak respectfully to an older person.

Saying, Mr. So-and-so or Mrs. So-and-so. Now they don't do that. They just call even a person three times their age, they call him by their first name. That's a complete lack of respect. Because Christianity is gradually disappearing from this country.

The values that this country had, America had 100 years ago is gone. And one mark of it, you see it in the children. Who do not know how to speak respectfully. So be very careful, my dear brothers and sisters, when we speak about wanting to be the light of the world.

It's primarily seen in the way we speak. And children learn from their parents. Where do they learn? Where do your children learn language? For example, why is it your children speak a particular language?

Because the parents are speaking that language. You go into the villages of India, nobody speaks English. The children don't speak English. Because that's not the language the parents speak. So it's not only language, it's also the way we speak is picked up by our children.

So if your children are rude and disrespectful, where do you think they learned it from? They learned it at home. I've seen that also in some of the families back in my own home, Bangalore Church. All the children from one family will be very respectful.

And all the children from another family will be thoroughly disrespectful. I mean, it's not because the children are different. People say, oh, children are different. But how is it all the children from one family are very respectful in the way they speak.

And all the children from another family are disrespectful. All the children from one family are very disciplined and well-behaved. All the others are very unruly and unbehaved. It's got nothing to do with the children.

It's got 100 to do with the parents. Take that seriously, my brothers and sisters. Otherwise, however good you may be and however spiritual you may think you are, you'll be raising up another generation to live for the devil.

Jesus’ Strong Warning About Final Judgment

It's a very strong word. I never use words as strong as Jesus. I mean, some of the things I said now may sound strong, but I never use the word vipers. Jesus, you're vipers. Have you stopped for a moment and thought of that?

You brood of vipers? Boy, I've never heard a preacher use that. Jesus was the strongest preacher of all. And I'll tell you why. Because he knew the reality of heaven and hell more than any other person.

He knew that hell is a real place where people who play the fool with God and play the fool with religion will go despite what they say they believe. And I don't want any of my children to go to hell.

And that's why I've been very strict with them right from the very young age. I didn't care what other people thought about it. I try my best to make sure that the children in the churches I preach in will also be like that.

But it's not entirely up to me because I see those children one day a week. And then they go six days a week to their parents, and they may learn something else. So despite all my effort, one day a week to try and bring them up straight, they may not turn up straight, and I've seen that.

Because it's all cancelled out by the way that parents talk to each other at home and the parents know what they teach their children at home. So I want to share this with you, my brothers and sisters.

The Heart Is the Source of Every Word

True Christianity is tested in the way we use our tongue. He goes on to say, whatever you may say, people say, Oh, it was accidental what I said. No, don't ever say that. Say what Jesus said in the last part of verse 34.

The mouth always speaks what was in the heart all along. It did not come out accidentally in a moment. No. It was in your heart, you suppressed it, suppressed it, suppressed it, you didn't control your speech and control your speech, but one day what was in your heart came out, and you say that was accidental.

No. I believe the word of Jesus that what I speak comes out of my heart. It cannot come out of my mouth if it's not first in the heart. Like that godly saint said, if you take a cup of sweet water, however much you shake it, only sweet water will come out.

But if the water is bitter, you can hide it for a long time, but when you shake it, bitter water comes out. So, if we want to control our tongue, what we need to do is deal with our heart, because that's the spring from which the words come.

And further he went on to say in verse 35, A good man has got good treasure in his heart, so what comes out of his mouth is good, or a good woman. But an evil man, from the evil treasure in his heart, brings out what is evil.

So, it's good to ask ourselves, the words that you speak, are they good or are they evil? Do they produce good results or evil results? Can you think what will happen in your home, if you decide, father and mother, that you're going to cleanse your heart of every wrong attitude?

Bad words will never come out, and your children will learn that over a period of time. And whenever they speak something, you can correct them. But if when you correct them and they turn around to you and say, but dad, you speak like that, why are you telling me to speak differently?

Or mom, you speak like that, I hear the way you speak to your mommy, I hear the way you speak to daddy, I'm just learning from you. What will you say? That's why parents really need to humble themselves and judge themselves before God.

It is out of your heart that the words come. Don't ever say, it was a moment of pressure. The pressure only pushed out what was in the heart. The pressure did not create words in the heart, the pressure just squeezed out.

It's like a toothpaste tube. You squeeze the tube, what comes out? Whatever is inside. You can't say that you created something at that moment. It's the pressure of circumstances, squeezes and brings out what is in the heart.

The treasure in the heart could be evil, could be what is good. And now these are some very, very serious words. Verse 36 and 37. Jesus spoke so much about our language. And I fear that it is not spoken about sufficiently in Christendom.

Accountability for Every Careless Word

I tell you. Now why does a person have to say those words, I tell you? Why doesn't he just say straight away what he wants to say? It is for emphasis. You're talking to somebody and then you say to him, I tell you.

You're underlining. Listen to what I'm saying. I'm underlining it. I tell you that every single careless or that means a useless word that people speak, they will give an account in the day of judgment.

I want you to stop for a moment and read that and ask yourself whether you really believe it. Do you really believe that every single careless, useless, angry, disrespectful word that you spoke from the time you became born again, one day you have to give an account in the day of judgment.

I tell you 99 .999 of Christians do not believe it. I've seen very few Christians who believe it. I myself did not believe it for so many years after being born again. That's how I know. You can be born again, you can be careless.

And I'll tell you why I did not believe it. Because in my entire life, I never heard a man preach on that verse. Have you heard somebody preach on that verse? You tell me. I've lived longer than almost all of you here.

And I've been born again 60 years ago and I've never till today heard a single preacher preach on that verse saying every word you speak, you'll give an account in the day of judgment. I found out that verse myself and I began to take it seriously.

And it changed my life. I tell you it changed my life. And it gave me a greater anointing when I speak the word, not only in the pulpit, but even when I converse with people. That when I converse with people, I can say the right word to them to help them or correct them or encourage them because I'm being careful with my words all the other times.

Do you know that the tongue is a tremendous weapon that the devil can use or the God can use. And the devil desperately wants to use your tongue to fulfill his purpose, to destroy your home, to destroy other people, to make your children grow up in the wrong way.

Don't be foolish. So many of us have got so much knowledge of the scripture. We can teach others and say so many other wonderful things. But the important thing is, is the devil still able to use your tongue?

Determine today one thing. Even if you never become a preacher in your life, determine one thing that you are going to yield your tongue over to the Holy Spirit every single day. It will take some practice.

You won't suddenly become spiritual tomorrow. But if you start today, it's like telling a person who is very obese, you can become a strong muscular man if you start exercising regularly and watch your diet from today.

You will not suddenly become strong and muscular tomorrow. But if you start listening to me, watching your diet and exercising regularly, you will see a difference in one month. And in one year, others will notice.

In four or five years, you would have got rid of all your excessive fat and become strong and muscular and healthy. That's exactly what I say when it comes to speech. You will not see a difference tomorrow.

But you work on it from today. Think of the people who take so much care. I don't want to eat junk food. It's very good. I fully believe that. We should not eat junk food because it's bad for our health.

But do you know what Jesus said? He said what goes into the mouth is not as bad as what comes out of the mouth. Do you know that? It's the junk that comes out of the mouth which is a million times worse than the junk food you eat.

Even Christians are so careful about the junk food they eat and not careful about the junk food that's coming out of the mouth. That's okay for the world. But what about Christians who have understood?

Every careless word that people speak, they will give an account in the day of judgment. And I believe that very strongly. As a preacher, I firmly believe that if I don't tell people the truth, because I'm afraid somebody will get offended and never come back to the church again.

God will ask me in that day, in the final day, why did you not speak about that? Were you afraid that somebody won't come back to the church? I decided I don't care if everybody leaves the church. My duty is not to build numbers, not at all.

I'm not interested in increasing the numbers of any church in the world. I'm interested in teaching purity. Showing people the way to Jesus Christ, the way to God. And that way is a pure way. And if some people get offended with what Jesus said, so be it.

And if they want to walk away, I say goodbye. I hope you will find it to the kingdom somewhere else. So, the other thing Jesus said here is, in verse 37, which is equally strong. How are we justified?

Justification by Faith and the Evidence of Words

All of us know, we're justified by faith. It's not by works. It's a favorite teaching in Christendom. And I believe it myself. I can do a million good works and that will not forgive one of my sins. Isaiah 64 verse 6 says, All our good deeds, our righteousness, is like filthy rags in God's eyes.

So imagine what our bad deeds are like. We've got good deeds and bad deeds, all of us in our life. When we look back at our past. And the good deeds are like filthy rags. The bad deeds, even worse. That's the meaning of, I cannot be saved by works.

That means, if I do a million good works, that will not blot out one sin of my past. No. No amount of good works will cleanse my sin in the past. The only way to get rid of one sin is through the death of Jesus Christ.

And let me put it like this. If everybody in the world was good and I was the only sinner in the world. Listen carefully. I'm the only sinner in the world. If I was the only sinner in the world. And in all my life I committed only one sin.

Okay. I'm the only sinner in the world and I committed only one sin. And all the other people are good. Jesus would still have come down from heaven to die for my sin. And since I'm the only sinner, I would have been the one who killed him.

For my sin. That is how serious sin is. It's not because there were millions of sinners who committed millions of sins that Jesus came and died. If there was one sinner who committed only one sin, Jesus would still have to die.

Because there is absolutely no way sin can be forgiven. Except by the death of Christ. Even one sin. And I'll tell you, that's what made me, when I realized that, take my sins seriously. And even one sin is so serious.

And it's because people don't understand that, that Christians don't take so many sins seriously. They have a dirty thought and they think, oh that's okay. As long as we live in this world, we will have dirty sexual thoughts.

You have dirty sexual thoughts and you think that's okay. It's like eating poison. And saying it's okay. An illiterate person or a one-year-old child eating poison because it's ignorant and foolish is okay.

What about a grown-up person taking poison? That's how it is. If you think that dirty thoughts, immoral thoughts are okay. Something is seriously wrong with you. Goodness is not just on the outside. It's on the inside.

Jesus always said, it's the inside of the cup that I'm interested in. Not the outside. He always went to the root of a problem. You know in the Old Testament, the law was like a pair of scissors. Bad fruit comes out, cut it off.

Another bad fruit comes out, cut it off. Cut it off, cut it off, cut it off. John the Baptist was the last of the prophets. He said, Jesus has come with an axe. He didn't come with a pair of scissors.

He came with an axe to the root. He's going to pluck out this old tree completely and plant a new one. And that's what I want to ask every single person sitting here. Have you allowed Jesus Christ to put an axe to that natural life which you got from Adam, through your parents, which I also got.

Have you allowed Jesus to pull that out completely and plant another life inside? That's the only way. It's not by improving the life of Adam. It can never be improved. That bad tree can never be improved.

It has to be cut down by an axe and thrown into the fire, John the Baptist said. And a new tree to be planted. That's what the Bible means by being born again. And when that really happens, and a person has taken it seriously, that new tree will begin to produce fruit.

But it also depends on how much we yield to it. Because it's not just a once for all event and that's it. Even a tree that you plant, you can have the best seed in the world, and you plant it, and you don't water it, and you don't care for it, and you don't put any fertilizer for it, it won't grow properly.

Even though it's the best seed in the world. So it's not just a question that the Lord began a good work in you. Have you watered it? Have you fertilized it? Then it grows up well. Otherwise, over a period of time, that tree can dry up and become dead.

That's how a person can lose his salvation. The Bible says that. So, by your words you will be justified. You say, hey, I thought I'm going to be justified by faith in Christ, death on my cross, right.

But the proof of that is your words. So there's no contradiction. And by your words, you'll be condemned. In the day of judgment, words are going to play a great part in us. When God plays on the screen the videotape of my memory, as I said the other day, there's a videotape running in my memory from the day I was born that's recorded every word, every thought, every attitude, every motive, every action.

Everything has been recorded. And one day when God rewinds the tape and plays it for the whole world to see, you will see every word that you spoke and the motive with which you spoke it. And I'll tell you this, if you're a parent, you'll see that you'll be responsible for your children as well.

Do you take that seriously? I do. Because I believe Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away, but these words will not pass away. I take the words of Jesus very seriously because I believe those are the only reliable words in this false universe.

In this world which is full of, let me use a very popular expression, fake news and fake information. Thank God there's one book which is not fake, which is every word can be relied upon, that's the Bible.

And I have proved that in 60 years. And I believe with all my heart, I believe with all my heart for myself. And when I stand before the Lord and the videotape of my memories played back, every careless word that I spoke of which I did not repent of, I will have to account for.

The only way to get rid of it is by repentance. If you repent and say, oh Lord, I'm sorry that I spoke that word, please forgive me. And you got to do something else also. You have to apologize to the person to whom you spoke it.

Do you apologize to your husband or to your wife? I have apologized numerous times to my wife. I was not perfect from the day I was born again, not at all. I had to learn slowly what it is to control my tongue.

I had to take seriously because I was not taught these things when I was born again. All I was taught when I was born again is you're justified, you're on your way to heaven. Because you said Jesus come into my heart.

When I went into the Bible, I found there's a lot more there than just believing that Jesus died for me. Turn with me to James. In Christian history, we read that the first book of the New Testament that was written was James.

About 15 years after the Day of Pentecost, James was the first book written long before the other books were written. And it's very interesting when I keep that in mind. What did the Holy Spirit inspire James to write about?

15 years after the Day of Pentecost, the gospel was being preached for 15 years. And the true gospel, salvation, you are saved by faith, you are saved by the grace of God, not a works that any man should boast.

By grace are you saved through faith. That was the message that from Peter time onwards, the apostles, Paul, all preached. Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. By grace you can be saved through faith.

Now that was preached for 15 years. And the Holy Spirit saw that a lot of people were just taking advantage of that. It was a false grace. They didn't understand grace properly. They didn't understand faith properly.

They thought faith was believing in the head. Oh, I believe. And their life did not change. And then the Holy Spirit inspired James to write the first book of the New Testament. And what was it? James says, James Chapter 2, Faith without works is dead.

The last verse of James 2. James 2 verse 26. Just like the body without breath in it is dead. That's the example he uses. James 2 verse 26. When a body can have 10 fingers, 2 legs, 2 eyes, 2 ears, everything is there, but the breath is gone, the man is dead.

And the man is dead, it's no use counting his toes and fingers. And when real living faith is gone, that means there are no works that come out of it, it's no use counting whether the doctrines are all correct.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God? Do you believe that He died for your sins? Do you believe He rose from the dead? Do you believe He's coming back? Do you believe that repentance and faith will save you?

Do you believe all that? That's like counting the fingers of a dead man. Works. Faith without works is dead. If there is faith, real faith, there'll be works. And what works is He thinking of? Now remember, this is the first book of the New Testament written.

And the Holy Spirit was seeing how Christendom was drifting away with the wrong understanding of grace and faith like it is today. Thinking that if I just believe in my head, everything is okay, it doesn't matter how I live.

And that's why you see so many even so-called born-again Christians. If you go into their homes, it's not much better than the homes of many other non-Christians. The same amount of fighting and quarreling and yelling and calling each other names and all that type of stuff.

And children who are wild and wayward just like in any other home. I said, then what's the difference? Yeah, James saw that and he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write. And see how much he writes about the tongue.

Listen to this, James chapter 1, verse 18. In the exercise of God's will, James 1, verse 18, He brought us forth by the word of truth so that we can be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. He brought us to new birth so that we'll be a demonstration of what the kingdom of God is going to be like among all of His creation.

So, beloved brethren, verse 19, since you are to be like that, let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. This is what the Holy Spirit inspired James to write after watching Christianity for the first 15 years.

I find people are not quick to hear. They're very slow to hear. They don't listen carefully. But they're very quick to speak and very quick to get angry. That's the bad tree. The definition of the bad tree is quick to speak, quick to get angry, and very slow to hear God speaking through His word.

When that is reversed, then a godly man, he's quick to hear God's word, slow to speak, and slow to anger. He's very careful. There are things we should be angry with. When I see people making money in the name of religion, like Jesus went into the temple one day and He saw people making money in the name of religion, selling sheep and doves at expensive prices for the poor people who came from Galilee who couldn't bring the sheep and doves all the way from there.

You can get it in Jerusalem, in the temple, but you have to pay a much higher price because of the commission. And Jesus saw these merchants making money in the name of religion. You know what He did?

He didn't say, will you gentlemen please not do this here. He took a whip and chased them out and saying, my father's house is a house of prayer. And I'll tell you, He did not lose His temper. He had a holy anger.

And I believe that every true servant of God must have a holy anger when He sees people on television making money out of these poor people who sit in their congregation. And there's a lot of it going on today.

Almost every single Christian television speaker. You look at the congregation there. I sometimes see it. Poor people sitting there and these guys swindling their money in the name of Christ. Jesus, if He comes here today, will use a whip again.

In all these mega churches, I'll tell you, there is a righteous anger. But anger which is not connected with the glory of God, Jesus never had. You know, the Bible says, I'll come back to this, in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 26.

Ephesians 4, verse 26. Be angry, but don't sin. See there? That's another verse which I never heard anybody explain to me in all my life. I had to find out myself. It says be angry, that's a command. But don't sin in your anger.

In other words, there is an anger which is without sin, and there is an anger with sin. So many years ago I discovered, to use an example, when I read a word in English and I don't know the meaning of it, I take a dictionary.

Oh, that's a new word for me, I've never understood it. So I take a dictionary and I get the meaning of the word. That's the right thing to do. That's how you learn English. When I read something in the Bible, which I don't understand, I go to my spiritual dictionary, which is the life of Jesus Christ.

I look at Jesus' life, and that's a dictionary. And I find out the meaning. So here, I find a word I can't understand. Be angry, but don't sin. I can't understand it, Lord. I look at the life of Jesus, and I find out, aha!

That's what it means. When you see people making money in the name of religion, get angry at them. When you see people not allowing a poor man with a withered hand to be healed, get angry at them. What about today?

When you see women being exploited and little children being molested, and human trafficking going on, get angry. If you don't get angry, something's wrong with you. But, if they spit on your face, don't get angry.

That's what I see in Jesus. When they call you prince of devils, don't get angry. So what do I learn from the life of the dictionary? What do I learn from the dictionary? Whenever people do something to hurt me, if I get angry, it is sinful anger.

Whenever people do something to provoke me, to irritate me, and make life difficult for me in some way, or inconsiderate towards me, if I get angry, whatever the provocation, it is sin. But if it concerns the glory of God, people not preaching the whole counsel of God, people not preaching against sin, I must be angry.

But what do I see among most Christians today? I see Christians sitting back and wondering at this wonderful preacher who goes on preaching so many clever things with all his fake healings. And they sit with their mouth open thinking this is a great man of God, and not at all angry that this guy is swindling poor people of their money.

Where they should be angry, they are not angry. And then you see these same Christians who don't get angry at this preacher making money, their wife does something wrong at their home, they lose their temple like anything.

They are the exact opposite of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ would be angry at that and he would be not angry here. You see how so many Christians and I am talking about so called born again Christians, they are angry at the wrong thing.

They have not understood that out of the mouth, out of the heart, the mouth speaks. Come back to James, he said there, now remember, this is after 15 years of Christianity, the Holy Spirit inspired James to write the first book of the New Testament.

And he says something, he says here in James chapter 1, if anyone thinks himself to be, let me paraphrase it, anyone thinks himself to be a wonderful Christian, I think many people do, but he cannot control his tongue.

Here is a guy, man or a woman, who think they are wonderful Christians, but they cannot control their tongue at home or in their office or when there is road rage on the streets, when the traffic is all piled up and somebody cuts into your lane and all that and you cannot control your tongue, you are deceiving your own heart that you are a child of God.

Your Christianity is worth zero. That's what it says. Your Christianity is worth zero if you cannot control your tongue. You don't even get 1%. You see that's a bit extreme. No it's not. You never find this verse in the Old Testament and I'll tell you why.