In reading the book titled The Power of Your Words by Pastor Robert Morris, I am incredibly challenged. However, as I consider this message I’m reminded of the following scripture:
Luke 6:45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
I am convicted that while my speech definitely needs attention, the driving force behind my tongue is my heart. Instead of trying to bandage the problem, I need to get to the “heart” of the problem (insert smiley face!).
The first scripture that comes to mind is in 1 Samuel and again summarized in Acts. David was a man after God’s own heart. What are the qualities God considered when He made this statement?
When God spoke these words to Samuel, David was not a king, he was a shepherd. While God in His omniscience knew what kind of leader David would make, I wonder if He didn’t also look at the kind of young man David was when speaking to Samuel. He even told Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7b)
On that day, Jesse and all but one of his sons met with Samuel for a sacrifice. The missing son, is in the pasture tending the sheep. Later it was said of him that he is a brave man, a warrior, speaks well and is a fine-looking man. Now, we know that the last statement made no bearing on God’s decision because of what He said earlier; however, the other descriptions are worth investigating.
Remember the story of David and Goliath? When David approached Saul about fighting, David says, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock; I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by the hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine.”
They weren’t David’s sheep. They were his father’s. He wouldn’t allow anything to come against them. He fought with the power and authority he knew in the Lord and gave all praise to the One who delivered him.
So what does it mean to have a heart like God’s?
I will care for the Father’s sheep. I will protect the Father’s sheep even at the risk of my own life. I will give God all the glory for His deliverance.
Psalm 100:3 says “It is He who made us, and we are his; we are His people, the sheep of his pasture.” John quotes Jesus as saying, “I am the good shepherd...I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Who is the wild animal that comes to prey on the sheep? “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
I must be watchful for the enemy and if he comes after one of the sheep, I must go after it, strike him and rescue the sheep. And when he comes after me, I must seize him by the hair, strike him and kill him.
As this all unfolded in front of me, it became very clear. Our Father loves us so much and His heart is towards us. To have a heart like His, I will love His sheep as He does. Now, that kind of overflow will bless Him and others and definitely change the words that come from my mouth!
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