Uprooting Every Bad Heart-Plant

davidwpalmer

Jul 3

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ssUx5F7fgjhgv2ZZeHfJn?si=4_o_L_5qREK_sz64RQ_tdA

David W. Palmer

(Matthew 15:11, 13 NLT) "It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth." ... {13} … "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted."

These are the words of our amazing Lord Jesus. He is God's apostle sent to us on earth to teach us about life and reality; he explained how things really work. For example, Jesus showed the connection between what we treasure in our hearts—allowing it to take root and produce fruit there—the words that overflow from it, and the resultant good or evil that our lives bring forth:

(Luke 6:45 NKJV) "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."

We are sometimes so used to the devil's warped world system that when we hear the truth, it sounds like disconnected poetry, fables, or pious ideals. It seems fictitious to believe that what we treasure, then speak is creative—the first use of spoken words was creation; it leads to our life's fruit and outcomes. But that's what the Master said, and what he said is exactly right; it is perfectly true, and it flawlessly describes reality—the truth about how life works, how God is, and how he interacts with us.

In Matthew 15:11 (above), Jesus said that our lives can be "defiled" by the words that come out of our mouths. Over the course of this series of devotional studies, we have seen this truth repeatedly. And we have seen the parallel truth that the words we use our tongues to release can control, direct, and shape our lives for good or bad. Plus, we can use them to steer the lives of those over whom we have God-given authority—families, employees, team members, congregations, friends, etc. (See: James 3:2–5).

In verse 13 of the opening passage, Jesus spoke of plants in the context of the heart. He is talking about what we allow to grow in the fertile soil of our hearts, because that's where the [steering, creative, or destructive] words emanate:

(Matthew 15:8, 13, 18–19 NKJV) "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. ... {13} … Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ... {18} But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. {19} For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."

In his key parable—the one that unlocks all other parables—Jesus spoke of the human heart as soil into which various seeds are planted (See: Mat. 13, Mark 4, Luke 8). In the following section, he was talking about the planting of God's word into the soil of the human heart:

(Luke 8:11, 15 NKJV) "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ... {15} But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

Jesus says that the seed of God's word is planted into the "heart," and then it can grow to a harvest that multiplies whatever seeds take root there. Thus, Jesus shows us clearly that plants and even trees can grow in the human heart. Then, in Matthew's narration of the parables that Jesus spoke that day, he shows that these heart-plants will all be harvested, assessed, judged, and sentenced:

(Matthew 13:24–26, 30 NKJV) … "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; {25} but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. {26} But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. ... {30} 'Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

In another parable, Jesus spoke of a tree that was destined to be destroyed if it didn't produce fruit for his kingdom:

(Luke 13:6–9 NKJV) He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. {7} Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' {8} But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. {9} And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"

And through John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit said:

(Matthew 3:8, 10 NKJV) "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ... {10} And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

Throughout Jesus's teaching and through John the Baptist, God emphasised that not only can the soil of our hearts produce plants from the seed they receive; but also that God would judge, cut down, uproot, and burn the devil's plants.

Today, let's think about our own hearts; let's invite the Holy Spirit to reveal those plants and trees that have been growing in our hearts that do not, nor ever will, produce good fruit for God's kingdom. Let's invite him to begin the pruning, uprooting, and cutting down of every wrong plant/tree that we have allowed to take root in our hearts.

Yes, the cutting, pruning, and uprooting may be uncomfortable, painful, turbulent, messy, or even very testing, but it will afterward allow the good seeds planted in our hearts to produce the fruits of righteousness:

(Hebrews 12:11 NKJV) Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

God will uproot "every plant" that he didn't plant. He will assess and judge the harvest from our hearts (probably by listening to our words), and he will cut down the trees that do not produce the right fruit. Begin right now; turn from the wrong seed sources, get rid of the wrong plants they have produced—by God's grace—and reserve the exclusive use of your heart's soil for the planting of God's seeds. They will grow to a harvest of good words, which will be used by God to creatively bring forth good things.

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