Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Matthew 12:33-37 Jesus said ... Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
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A person can speak things to deceive us, and we, being of good heart, want that person's words to show him to be of God, or honest, but at some point the deception that is in him will come out from his heart through his mouth. And by this we are warned about him.
Jesus says:
Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
We can't afford to excuse away that which they do and say that is wrong. For we know them by their words and by their fruits.
Pam Padgett is getting ready to do some minor remodeling at her house. One contractor who came to see the project had a partner who spoke deceptive words to her. Pam did pay attention and chose not to take his bid. Another contractor wouldn't pick up his phone when she called him. Pam chose not to work with him. A third contractor has so far been straight forward, answering his phone when she calls him and being direct with her.
I have a small tree trimming job needed. My regular lawn person gave me a list of men who do tree trimming. I first spoke to one named Billy. I explained that I do not have an answerphone connected to my phone since I am very visible with a blog. Billy said, "I won't tell anyone your number." He didn't understand what I was telling him and he misinterpreted it. I excused him and I should have paid attention and not tried to work with him. He was to come over the next day and look at the job and give me a price. He did not call the next day nor did he show up.
I spoke with another man named Chad. He was to come over on Monday. He did not show up.
Pam did a project about 12 years ago, basically remodeling her upstairs bath and closet. The contractor told her it would take approximately 6 1/2 weeks. He started the project and then began to skip days. (This is not unusual. Contractors frequently take a job, tear up portions of the house, and go to another job. This way they keep several people on the hook at a time.)
Pam's bath/closet ended up taking 6 1/2 months. It put great emotional stress on Pam and at one point she "exploded" when the job drug on unreasonably.
We can keep ourselves from some grief and stress if we pay close attention at the little things they say and do and act "wisely". We, as the church, would not treat another person badly, taking advantage of him. But in the secular projects we are not dealing with the church but the world. Therefore Jesus warns us to "be wise as serpents by harmless as doves."
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If we see a tree filled with leaves, we might not know what kind of tree that is before us.
But if we see an apple hanging on it, we immediately know that is an apple tree.
It is that simple.
If a tree is covered with thorns and thistles and every time we reach into that tree we are punctured, we can know that tree will constantly hurt us.
They always show themselves by the words of their mouth for that which is in their heart will come out of their mouth. They can try to conceal their thoughts but at some point they will speak and not be able to keep silent.
Therefore Jesus says: Matthew 10:26 there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
What kind of fruit hangs on their tree?
Usually you can tell by that which comes from their mouth. If the person can't seem to understand what you are saying, it will be trouble to try to work with him. If the person is twisted in his thinking, you will be troubled by him and to try to go forward with him will steal your peace.
We want to make excuses for them rather than to face reality.
We hurt our own selves when we excuse them.
We must position ourselves to live in peace, without spot and blameless as we await the return of Jesus. We will not be able to live in peace if they are twisted and deceptive and cause trouble for us.
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