Outflow of the Lips - a Spirit filled Heart

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. ~Matthew 12:34

The Chattering Recluse
I love technology! Normally I’m a quiet guy but get me talking about one of my passions and I quickly forget my shyness. So why do I speak volumes about technology and so little about Christ though I am – at times – passionate about Him? The answer is that it’s easy to speak about what is filling your heart.

There’s a name for your condition.
Every day, I live, breathe and work technology for at least 8 hours. The cumulative effect is that my heart is filled to overflowing and the result is that –-at the least prodding— the words spill out. In the same way, I can be filled with Christ so that the natural outflow of the heart is a flood of words about Him.

Living Proof
A recent example of this happened to me last night on the bus ride home from work. I had been invited to participate in an upcoming evening of bus evangelism and since that time, my daily commute found me brooding over what would make the difference on that bus ride. You see, my habit was to ride the entire trip in silence. Oh, I knew I would speak about Christ because there would an accountability partner riding with me but it would be awkward – certainly not the natural outflow of my heart.

But 2 nights ago, God brought a simple portion of a verse to mind and taught me new meaning of it last night. While I had missed the bus I intended to ride by a mere couple of minutes, God put me on the next bus with a sole Hispanic rider. At first, my intention wasn’t even to witness but it had been some time since I had spoken in Spanish so I struck up a conversation. He was immediately engaged and I realized I had full freedom to lead the conversation where I pleased.

I began to talk about religious things and when I found out his name was Abraham, a miracle happened. I said, “That’s a name in the Bible and so is mine. In fact, they were related.” Then I began to share the genealogical relationship and the floodgates of my lips broke open. I shared how Abraham was a man of faith and that God tested his faith by asking him to sacrifice his only son. Then I explained how that God provided a lamb substitute that day and that Jesus was the Lamb of God – our substitute for the death we deserved. Our time came to an end but I gave him a tract and my phone number and told him that I gave Bible studies every week in English and while it had been some time since I had done it in Spanish, I would love the opportunity to do it again. He was very receptive to everything I shared with him.

Filled and Overflowing
As I shared this testimony with another Christian, he made a connection I had never seen before. The fullness of the heart which causes us to speak of Christ IS the filling of the Holy Spirit. Think about the verse, “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.” Our hearts are too small to hold all that the Spirit has for us in the filling. The outflow of the lips IS the Spirit – the same One that indwells, outflows!

Bleed Kindness

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