Introduction
A waymaker is someone who opens up a path, and that path leads to Jesus. Having already shown that a waymaker must know Jesus, and then know how to comfort, Vittoria now turns to a third dimension: the waymaker must speak. He cannot stay silent. God himself is the ultimate communicator: he created everything through his Word. And if you truly carry Jesus in your heart, you cannot hold back from sharing him. What fills your heart will always eventually come out through your mouth and your life.
Outline of the message
1. What fills your heart comes out through your mouth
- God is the ultimate communicator: he created everything through his Word, and we, his creatures, are communicative beings.
- Vittoria holds up a small jar: it represents your heart. Whatever is inside eventually comes out, through your words, but also through your actions.
- Jesus says it clearly: "It is from within, out of the heart of man, that evil thoughts come" (Mark 7:21), and "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).
- Take an honest look: what are you overflowing with? What do you talk about most often? If what comes out doesn't build anyone up, your heart needs a change.
2. Only the Word transforms the heart so it overflows with Jesus
- The only thing that can change your heart and turn it into a source of living water is the Word, and that Word has a name: Jesus.
- He goes deep down, to places you yourself don't even know need to change yet, and he revives the seed of faith that God has planted in you.
- Faith comes from hearing, but the ear alone isn't enough: the heart has to open, otherwise the word goes in and comes back out without transforming anything.
- Paul sums it up this way: "With the heart one believes, and with the mouth one confesses" (Romans 10:10). First believe, then speak.
3. The waymaker speaks because there's urgency
- Everyone who came to believe needed someone to introduce them to Jesus. Today, it's your turn to introduce him to others.
- Jesus himself was the first witness to the truth: "Receive the Holy Spirit, you will be my witnesses," starting at home, then around you, then to the ends of the earth.
- Paul was eager to share the good news: "How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?" (Romans 10:14-15).
- There is a world out there dying for eternity. The church cannot close in on itself. If you have received Jesus, you cannot not speak.
4. The Holy Spirit wants to shake you open
- Vittoria compares many believers to a tightly sealed jar: the power is inside, but it doesn't come out. The Holy Spirit is the one to ask for, to be opened.
- She shares a dream she had never told anyone: standing by a pool with crystal clear water, a desperate person shakes her while crying, "Please, tell me about Jesus."
- The image of a can of Coca-Cola: if you're shaken up and then opened, all the power inside you spills out onto everyone around you.
- Around you, many smile like puppets but are hurting deeply inside. Your voice can open a door for them that no one else will open.
5. Speak with your mouth, but first with your life
- Jesus says: "You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others" (Matthew 5:14-16). This isn't optional.
- "Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words." The first message you carry comes through your behavior.
- Paul says: "You are a letter from Christ." People read you before they listen to you, because most of them don't read the Bible.
- James 1:21-22 gives the command: put away what is not good, receive the Word with meekness, put it into practice, don't just listen to it.
Key takeaways
- A waymaker who knows Jesus and knows how to comfort must also know how to speak: it's the natural next step, not an option.
- What comes out of your mouth reveals what lives in your heart; change the heart before trying to change the words.
- Faith isn't passed on by magic: someone spoke so that you would believe, and someone is waiting for you to speak so they can believe too.
- The consistency between your life and your words is your first sermon, people read you before they listen to you.
- It isn't you speaking: it's Jesus speaking through you. Ask the Holy Spirit to shake you and open you up.
Personal application
- What is your heart overflowing with right now? Listen to what comes out of your mouth most often this week, it's the mirror.
- When did you last talk about Jesus to someone who doesn't know him? What held you back?
- Who around you resembles that person in Vittoria's dream, smiling on the outside but desperate on the inside? What can you say to them this week?
- Does your life back up what your mouth says? Where is your "letter" easy to read, and where does it blur the message?
- Are you a sealed jar? Take a concrete moment to ask the Holy Spirit to shake you and open you up.
Verses cited
- 2 Corinthians 4:13
- Mark 7:21
- Matthew 12:34
- Romans 10:10
- Romans 10:14-15
- Matthew 5:14-16
- James 1:21-22
Frequently asked questions
Why must a Christian talk about Jesus?
Because faith comes from hearing (Romans 10:14-15). If no one speaks, no one believes. A waymaker opens up a path to Jesus for someone else: he cannot stay silent, as Paul wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke" (2 Corinthians 4:13).
How do I talk about Jesus when I'm shy or afraid?
Ask the Holy Spirit to shake you and open you up, like a sealed jar or a shaken can. It isn't you who speaks, it's Jesus speaking through you. Start at home, then around you, then further out, but start with your life: people read you before they listen to you.
What does "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" mean?
In Matthew 12:34, Jesus says that whatever fills your heart will always eventually come out. If your heart overflows with Jesus, you'll talk about him almost without realizing it. If something else occupies it, something else will come out. The question to ask yourself: what is my heart filled with?
to take notes and ask questions.