A good person is someone who _________________.

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart.” Luke 6:45a NIV

If you can tell an orange tree is an orange tree because it has oranges on it and you can tell an apple tree is an apple tree because it has apples on it, then you can tell a good person because they will have good stored up good inside of them. The good actions or the good words of a man or woman come out of a good heart, meaning the inside - the real person.

An evil person is someone who ______________________.

“. and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.” Luke 6:45b NIV

If evil actions and evil words come from someone, it’s because that’s what is inside them too. If you want to know why someone does the things they do or says the things they do - it’s because that’s what they have been saving up. Our lives are like a bank account which grows with compound interest. And it can grow in one of two directions - for the good or for the evil. Store good, good comes out. Store evil, evil comes out.

As Christians, we have been taught about the grace of God: our only good comes from Him. So we sometimes have the mistaken idea that no work is necessary on my part to become good. That is wrong. There is no work involved in becoming a Christian - that’s all grace. There is work involved in becoming a good Christian. Once we are a Christ-follower, we follow Christ’s example of storing up the good! How?

So what am I storing up in my heart? 4 ways…

1. ________________________________?

“Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” Proverbs 4:23 GNT

What we put into our minds shapes the person we become. We are what we think the most about. We shape who we are and what we become by choosing what we think about. What we read. What we watch. What we allow to play over and over again in our minds.

The challenge for most of us is that we don’t filter anything that goes into our minds. We think about anything that just comes wandering along. What we don’t realize (unless we consciously choose…) is that we live in a negative, garbage-filled world. If we let just anything in, then “garbage in - garbage out” is what will happen!

2. _______________________________?

“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’” 1 Cor 15:33 ESV

Few things influence us more than the words and actions of people we choose to become friends with. Am I thinking seriously about that? Do I have a plan to find good influencers, who will encourage me to become more of a Christ-follower? Or is my approach to relationships more of an accidental approach?

How do I find good and faithful friends? 2 steps. First, start by becoming the good person you are seeking. The second step is to consciously look for positive, influencing friendships in the right places.

3. ______________________________?

“Our people must learn to use their lives for doing good deeds to provide
what is necessary so that their lives will not be useless.” Titus 3:14 NCV

Our purpose for doing good deeds is NOT just so that good will be done, but that we will begin thinking and acting this way in all areas of our lives. It takes practice to work for the good of others rather than for our own selfish needs and desires. It takes effort to think about others first. The more I practice, the better I get at it.

Notice how these first 3 things fit together. I don’t really get the benefit out of practicing good works if I’m not thinking about the why behind the what. And it sure helps if I can practice those good works together with someone else - a positive, influencing friend, who is also doing and thinking about storing up the good to actually be good!

4. _______________________________?

“Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another -
showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes,
training us to live God’s way.” 2 Timothy 3:16 MSG

Filling your mind everyday with God’s Word is literally the spark which lights all the other paths to storing up the good. When we immerse ourselves in the Bible, it’s like having a direct link to God Himself. Every part of Scripture comes from Him “is God-breathed.” When we say the Bible is inspired by God, this is what we mean.

When we focus on God’s Word each day it does 4 things for us.

#1 - it shows us the truth - it literally is our “teacher” so we can discern the false evidences of life from the right, good & true. #

#2 - it stops us in our tracks when we are purposely moving down the wrong road against God and His wishes.

#3 - it corrects our mistaken thoughts, which can so easily go down the wrong path when we’re hurt or angry or anxious.

#4 - God’s Word is our ultimate trainer to live for God the way He intends us to live. Do you see how important this is? So I need to be learning it. Reading it. Memorizing it. Meditating on it. Allowing myself, my thoughts, my friendships, my actions all to be formed based on God’s desire and direction for me.

How do we apply this teaching to others?

Easy, you might think. Jesus just told us not to judge others. Well, Jesus actually said more than just that. He goes on in these verses to tell us what to look for when we need to make judgments. There are times when it’s really important to make good judgments about other people.

When I must evaluate someone, consider the _____________.

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.” Luke 6:43-44aNIV

God would not have you become foolish or compromised in your relationships with other people. Of course you must evaluate those people, whom you allow to influence you. So how do you evaluate? Not by trying to figure out what is inside a person. You simply cannot do that. No one can really see or understand the heart of someone, except for God.

Jesus gives us not only permission but instruction to go ahead and evaluate people on the basis of the outcome of their life. What are they doing? How are they doing it?

Do you recognize what God’s Word tells us is “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23) in the outcome of his or her life? Love? Joy? Peace? Forbearance? Kindness? Goodness? Faithfulness? Gentleness? Self-control?

Remember that what you see coming out of their life is the primary evidence you have of what is inside of their life.

Transition: How do I evaluate what someone tells me about themselves?

Actions always _____________ than ___________.

“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45cNIV

Jesus brings our talk full circle. What someone says about themselves must be consistent with their actions, with the outcome of their lives - because that is the primary evidence (the fruit of their life) that we have of what is inside them. Good stored up leads to good actions. Evil stored up leads to evil action. The good words of someone’s life can only be evaluated and accepted in view of the good actions of someone’s life.

When someone has stored up the good things of God so much that their life overflows with the good actions of God, they will want to put words to the actions: “This isn’t me. This is all God! To God be all the glory!”

But it is also possible for evil people, full of evil storage, to want to say the good things because it could impress you. Someone wants the benefit of a godly character without the work of godly, good storage ahead of time… Without the character building habits God uses to make someone usable for Him. (another way of saying “holy.”)

When you are deciding to allow someone to pour into your life, to influence you - as partner, as pastor, as boss, as business, as friend - be discerning. Don’t just listen to their words. Listen to their heart.