Words That Shape The Heart

Rituals can polish the outside, but Jesus points us to a deeper diagnosis: the tongue reveals the heart. We open Matthew 15 and uncover why defilement isn’t about unwashed hands or spotless dishes, but about the words we choose and the desires that drive them. From Peter’s request for clarity to Jesus’ plain-spoken answer, we trace how careless speech, slander, and stubborn talk don’t appear randomly—they overflow from a heart left unguarded.

We get practical with Proverbs 4, mapping a path to reshape the inner life: attend to God’s words, keep them before your eyes, store them in your heart, and guard that wellspring with diligence. Rather than swapping a few bad phrases, we pursue a deeper renovation where Scripture becomes both soap and seed—cleansing the mouth and planting new patterns of thought, gratitude, and courage. Along the way, we challenge the lines we repeat without thinking, like I’m just a victim, replacing them with identity-rooted truth that aligns our confession with God’s promises.

This conversation also carries weight for families and communities. Parents and mentors set the tone for how faith sounds under pressure, modeling how conviction and kindness can live in the same sentence. We highlight the risks of brushing aside “small” sins of speech and the freedom that comes when we put away perverse talk and practice blessing. If your mouth leaks what your heart stores, then it’s time to change the inventory—feeding on Scripture, choosing life-giving words, and letting peace govern the way we speak.

If this message helps realign your words and your heart, share it with a friend, subscribe for weekly episodes, and leave a review to help others find the show.

"The Flowers You Are Picking Today Come From the Seeds You Planted Yesterday. Don't Like Your Boquet Of Flowers? Then Change the Seeds You Are Planting Today." Chaplain Terry 

Transcript

Welcome And Episode Context

Setting The Text In Matthew 15

Tradition Versus True Defilement

What Comes Out Makes You Unclean

Peter’s Question And Jesus’ Clarification

From The Heart Flow Words And Sins

Note: All timestamps are within duration

Training The Heart To Bear Good Fruit

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Hello, friend. Chaplain Terry Warner here. This is podcast Spear Not Bible Versus Part 3. It'll be this uh in Matthew 15 where we'll be today. It's season 2025 and it's episode number 47. Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Let's start in Matthew 15 and verse 15. Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat. That's Matthew 15, one. Then Jesus went on to lecture the Pharisees and teachers of the law that eating food out of dirty dishes may make you sick, but it doesn't defile you. Not washing your hands or following certain rituals is going to defile you. So following a bunch of man made rules will have no effect on your spiritual condition. Jesus says his words were spirit and they were life. That should have been a key right there that they should have picked up on. So what does defile a man? In God's view. Verse 10. Jesus called the crowd to him and said, Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him unclean. But what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean. Matthew 15, 10 and 11. You know, I think about words that are idle and non-profitable an expression. I'm just dying to go. That tickles me to death. I I can't get sick. I'm I'm sick. I'm this, I'm that, I'm a victim. No, you're not. You're a child of God. You've been made the head and not the tail. Starting in verse 15, Peter said, Explain the parable to us. And Jesus said, Are you still so dull? Jesus asked them, Are you still so dull? Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth, your words, in other words, come from the heart, not your brain. That's this is my ad lib to it. And these defile a man and make him unclean. For out of the abundance of the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false, testimony, slander. These are what makes a man unclean, but eating with your hands not being washed does not make him unclean. Matthew 15 verses 15 through 20. Stop and think about it. All that stuff's coming out of your heart. So what's in your heart? Gun smoke? Golf? Race cars? Doing things, doing your own things, your hobbies. What's in your heart? When you're born again, that spirit man is born again. But the heart has to be trained and fed correctly in order for it to produce good fruit. Otherwise you're gonna get a bunch of junk out of your mouth. Let's go to Proverbs, starting in verse 20. This is chapter four, starting in verse twenty. My son, attend to my words, that be God's words, Jesus' words. Incline thine ear unto the saint my saints. Let them not depart from thine eyes. Keep them in the midst of thine heart, for they are life unto those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it the heart are the issues of life. Put away from thee a fraud, difficult to deal with, contrary mouth, and perverse speaking of a person of their actions, and showing and showing an obstinate stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or chosen course of action, despite attempts to persuade one to do so, and perverse lips, in other words of a person of their or their actions, showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, put it far from you. Proverbs four, twenty through twenty four. And it is God who puts us here. It is our responsibility to show others how, how to live, how to speak, and how to behave in a godly manner. It is our responsibility to teach our children how to live a godly and Christian lifestyle, and quit brushing aside our sinful words that in bad behavior give the devil the authority to entrap souls, entrap souls that need to be saved from their destruction and eternity in hell. Let God's word be the soap that washes the filth out of your mouth. You have a blessed day in Jesus' name. Amen. This has been Chaplain Terry Warner. My podcasts come out every Monday morning. When you go to my website, thechaplainscorner.net, there will be a drop-down menu for my website. If you would like to sign up for my newsletter, be assured that your information will never be sold or given out. The Chaplain's Corner podcast and articles are being used for Bible lessons and sermon notes for home and small church groups in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Africa, also Kenya, and other places all over the world. The Chaplain's Corner is no longer a 5013C corporation. Your donations are not tax deductible. However, all monies donated will be used strictly for the ministry. Thank you so much for listening to my podcast. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace in Jesus' name. Amen.