Our speech is a great revealer of what is in our hearts. Jesus said that from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Whatever is in your heart will come out when you speak. You can't hide it for long. Why do people belittle others, pass remarks and jokes about other people that hurt them? Why do they do it? Because they are not like Christ.

We need to see the glory of Jesus; only then we can be like Him. The Holy Spirit wants to show us how Jesus lived. And then says, "Now let me make you like Him." He doesn't just say be like Him; He says, "Let me make you like Him." Isn't that good? Supposing the Holy Spirit just showed me the glory of Jesus and said, "Be like Him," I'll just give up in discouragement. I'll say, "Lord, I can't." But that's not what the Holy Spirit says. The Holy Spirit shows us the beauty of Jesus in the way He spoke, and then says to us, "Now my son, my daughter, will you allow Me to make your speech also like that? Pure, good, loving. Will you let Me control your tongue? Will you let Me control your speech from today onwards?" This is the fullness of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is self-control,. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit, so that we never hurt anybody with our words or any such thing. He leads us along the path of death to ourselves.

Jesus used His tongue in a positive way to encourage people, to correct people. He made His tongue an instrument of life in God's hands. We read a wonderful verse in Isaiah 50:4 where it says concerning Jesus' tongue; it's an amazing word, it says, "You have given me the tongue of a disciple so that I can know how to speak a right word to a weary person." Just think if you could have a ministry like that, you don't have to be a preacher. You may never stand at a pulpit; but just to have the right word for weary people.

Do you know how many weary people come across your path everyday? How many people do you think you meet in a day? In your office? In your neighborhood? There must be at least some. And some of them are weary. And do you have a word to encourage them, or do you just sit back and discuss politics, and the weather, and they remain with their heaviness? God wants to use your tongue. God wants to use your tongue to speak a word of encouragement, and sometimes a word of correction too. Jesus used His tongue also as a sword, to cut down the proud and the haughty. Think of how the Roman centurion must have been encouraged when Jesus said, "I've never seen such great faith;" or the Syrophoenician woman, when Jesus praised her for her faith. You read that in Matthew 8 and Matthew 15. Think of that sinful woman in the house of Simon the Leper in Luke 7 who was encouraged when Jesus praised her for washing His feet. Mary of Bethany was praised for her sacrificial offering. They would never have forgotten these words of Jesus. Think of how Peter was strengthened when Jesus said, "I'm going to pray for you." Just a few words, what strength! Many people must have heard words like these from Jesus' lips; and they can come from your lips too if you ask the Holy Spirit to give you the love of God in your heart for people.