The religious leaders often accuse Jesus of having a demon that assisted him in the performance of his miracles. They attributed his power to “Beelzebul” which was another name for Satan. Jesus explains the fallacy of the Kingdom of evil fighting against itself and then confronts the religious leaders for their motives and evil intentions. Jesus says that he doesn’t expect anything good to come from the mouths of the religious leaders, because he know what’s in their hearts. In Verse 34 of Chapter 12, Jesus says, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
America is a land filled with church buildings. These buildings are no guarantees of God’s favor. He does not count buildings but examines hearts. The real issues of life proceed out of the heart. One of the major lessons we all learn from the Watergate fiasco is that it’s extremely easy for us to yield to the temptation that is so strong in each of us that achievement is more important than integrity or character.
Proverbs 23:7 teaches us that we need to watch out what we allow in our “hearts” because “out of the heart springs the issues of life.” Solomon added in Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Someone once said, “You are not what you think you are; but what you think, you are.” Jesus also said that the heart was the dwelling place of sin; that out of the heart arise those things which defile us (Mark 7:17-23; Luke 6:45).
Chuck
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 11:15