Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 223

August 10;   Matthew 12:34;   12/260(II);   ‘The Abundance of Your Heart’

Matthew 12:34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.       NLT

The Pharisees, who were prominent religious leaders, hated the Lord Jesus because Jesus did miracles and they could not.  They were jealous of Jesus and wanted to kill Him because of His power and the people, who had always followed the religious leaders, were now turning to the Lord.  If you read the Bible, it is very clear, that the Lord Jesus still heals today, through His Church (Christians), by the power of the Holy Spirit.  If you attend a church that does not believe in healing and criticizes those who do believe in healing, pray and ask the Lord to reveal to you whether or not you should remain in that church.  The time will come when all of us will have a physical challenge.  If the church you attend does not believe in healing, they cannot help you be victorious over the physical attack.  Not only were the Pharisees hateful toward Jesus and jealous of Him, they accused Jesus of healing by the power of the devil.  Jealousy has its root in pride, which is the foundation of all sin.  “You have what I do not have, and I hate you because you have it.”  The Lord makes a profound statement, the Pharisees could not speak good, since their spirit was filled with pride, jealousy and hatred.  Once we become a Christian, the Holy Spirit removes our spirit of stone and gives us a spirit alive unto the Lord.  It is up to us to renew our mind with the Word of God, which will fill our spirit with good information, the Word.  As we continually read the Word, the faith that is in our spirit grows.  The Word of God teaches our spirit, our renewed mind agrees and we begin to speak good things to bless others and ourselves.