Reply-To: "Stu" <[log in to unmask]>
From: "Stu" <[log in to unmask]>
"You'd Better Watch Your Mouth!"
Good morning folks, it is so good to have you here withme me this
fine morning! I hope I said that the proper way and I pray with all
of my heart that when I open my mouth to speak, that the right thing
always comes out!
Proverbs 18:6-8.
6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the
innermost parts of the belly.
The book of proverbs is a Christian library and drug store all rolled
into one. It's a book of wisdom, as well as a book of remedy. There
is something in this book to instruct, or heal, anyone who suffers
any type of spiritual malady.
God here, through Solomon, has condescended (or stooped down) from
His heavenly throne to become our spiritual ombudsman on the affairs
of life. These inspired words and instructions are plain, sharp, and
to the point.
Besides the threat of God's judgments, we are warned against the evil
of idleness, laziness, drunkenness, debauchery, injustice and verbal
abuse. That last evil I mentioned is the one we're focusing on today,
because there is a need for each of us to understand that what comes
out of our mouths carries great power.
Someone might say, "Well Pastor ... they're just words." But brothers
and sisters, I've come to tell you that: words can bring life to a
dead situation, or words can bring death, destruction, or a whole lot
of trouble if misused!
For instance:
Cold words freeze people.
Warm words loose people.
Hot words scorch people.
Cool words calm people.
Bitter words bite people.
Kind words sooth people.
Positive words bring positive results, while negative words bring
negative results! I tell ya. there is power, there is great power
within our words! And I believe that the devil recognizes the power
that's in our mouths, and so many times, he convinces us to say the
wrong words ... so as to derail this Gospel train we're riding on.
They tell me that it doesn't take much to derail a train. Just a
kink, or a break in the tracks, or something that has
'intentionally', or maybe 'unintentionally' been placed on the tracks
... can cause a train to jump its rails and cause a lot of
destruction, or maybe even death.
Now I don't like to give the satan credit, but the boy's a genius! He
knows that in order to cause a train wreck in the body of Christ, all
he really has to do is to get one Christian to talk about another
Christian, (or someone who's thinking about becoming a Christian).
And if he can succeed in doing that,
he'll succeed in getting that Christian to leave the church, and go
back out into the world.
Think about it. It's not people in the world who cause some of us to
leave the church, it's folks right in the church who, many times,
don't realize that they're on hell's payroll, nor do they realize
that, one day, eternal damnation will be their retirement benefit!
That's why I stopped by to tell you today
"You'd Better Watch Your Mouth!"
When I was a child, that's what the old folks used to say to us when
we said something we had no business saying. "Boy... or Girl ...
You'd Better Watch Your Mouth!" Sometimes, they acted before they
said it, and some of us found ourselves picking our lips up from off the floor!
Well, I'm not suggesting that you slap anybody (that's neither a
Godly, or a healthy thing to do), but sometimes, brothers and
sisters, I think that some of us need to slap ourselves, because we
often say things we really have no business saying!
As believers, we must understand that we're living in a time, where
the enemy is going to and fro, seeking whom he may devour! The devil
is busy!He's not taking a coffee break, and he's not on vacation! And
the devil recognizes that if he's going to bring down, as many
Christians as possible, he
has to work over-time! Not only is he working over-time, he's working
triple time! Matter of fact, while you're on your job, in church, or
even sleeping
at night, the devil is plotting up something to get you! That's why,
before you go to work, to church, or to bed, you need to pray over
yourself. Pray and ask God to season your words.
Somebody said, "Much prayer, much power, little prayer, little power,
no prayer, no power!" When I think of seasoning, I think of salt.
Salt is flavorful. Salt preserves. Know this: God has called us to be
the salt of the earth. In other words, God has called us out of the
darkness into the marvelous light to be good seasoning in a tasteless
world. And God wants us to "preserve."
Watch this: You can't preserve nobody when you gossip about them!
You've got to be careful that you don't say the wrong things in the
wrong way, and cause a person to turn totally away from God, and miss
out on their salvation, because if they miss it because of you, their
blood is on your hands!
That's why before we speak, we need to get out your biblical library
cards, check out the Good Book, and see what God and Dr. Solomon have
to say about our mouths, because God desires for us to use our words
as instruments of praise, faith and righteousness, but in order to do
that, we must recognize the fallen nature of the tongue, and the
dangers it poses to destroy our lives and those around us.
Look at what Proverbs 18, verses 6,7 & 21 has to say: Verse 6 says:
"A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for
strokes." In other words, "A fool's lips bring him strife, and his
mouth invites a beating." Another way of saying it is: The words of a
talebearer [are] as wounds, and incite
a riot.
I've discovered that it doesn't take much for some church folk to
jump on the gossip bandwagon, and before you know it, the whole
church is turned upside down! Some of us say things, and wonder why
folk beat up on us, but it's because many times, we speak before we
pray! That's why I never preach a sermon that I haven't first prayed
about. Because I don't want what is going to be said to come from me,
I want it to come from God!
"A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for
strokes." But not only that, but, verse 7 says: "A fool's mouth is
his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul." In other words, what
you say can bring destruction on YOU! It can ruin YOU!
If I had the time, I'd go a little further, because verse 8 says:
"The words of a talebearer are as wounds ..." Tale-bearers are those
who, secretly, carry stories from house to house, which MAY have some
truth in them, but are secrets not fit to be told, or are basely
misrepresented, and false colors are put upon them, and are all told
with design to blast men's reputation, to break their friendship, to
make mischief between relations and neighbors, and set them at variance!
It's amazing to me how some of us can get on the telephone and talk
about other folk, get off that call and call somebody else, and talk
about the person we just got off the phone with! Tell somebody,
"You'd Better Watch Your Mouth!"
What we fail many times to understand is the reality of verse 21:
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it
shall eat the fruit thereof." In other words, "Words can bring death
or life!" Talk too much, and you may have to eat everything you say!
I'm gonna leave you alone in a minute, but the reason (sometimes) we
have so much trouble in our lives is because we've spent so much time
in the past talking or gossiping about other folk, that we've spoken
judgement into our own lives and own homes! We're on the telephone
chattin' and chewin' on what's
wrong in the Deacon's house, and the Choir member's house, and the
Trustee's house, and the Usher's House, and the Missionarie's house,
and the Preacher's House, and the Pastor's house, and while we're
chattin' and chewin' on other folks woes, we are in reality speaking
words of death into our own homes...
AND ... one day, we're going to have to eat every word we've said!
Now ... don't misunderstand what I'm saying here. If someone's life
is headed for destruction because of sin, yes ... you and I have a
responsibility to help them try to get their lives in tune, and in
line with God's word, but remember that you and I are only
instruments, and an instrument cannot play itself, it has to be
played by someone who knows what he's doing!
What I'm trying to say to you is that "of yourself", ... (that is, of
your human nature) ... anything that comes out of your mouth has the
potential to be a snare to YOUR SOUL or someone else's soul, but when
you recognize that God wants to use your tongue to bring praise,
faith and righteousness into a situation, you'll not only say
something, but you'll say the "Right Something." And I believe, as
Christians, that we need to consider four things, before we say
anything to anybody. We need to ask ourselves:
#1: "Is It True?"
#2:: "Is it complete?"
#3: "Is It Necessary?"
#4: "Is It Kind?"
First, "Is It True?" Before you repeat a statement, MAKE SURE IT'S
TRUE!!! Someone said "I believe half of what I see, and nothing of
what I hear!" Just because someone said it, doesn't make it true!
It's easy to jump to a wrong conclusion!
It's like the dog who was named August. August was always jumping and
snarling at other dogs, but one day he jumped and snarled at a wolf.
Guess what day that was? It was the last day of August! Before you
believe something, before you repeat something, make sure it is true!!!!
Next: "Is it Complete?" It's easy to get half of the story.
Sometimes, what's said is true, but the information we get is not
always complete! Some folk like to leave out certain information,
because it makes their gossip spicier. But tell somebody, "Make sure
you get the whole story!"
#3. "Is it Necessary?" What you say may be true, it may be complete,
but is it NECESSARY? If it's not going to build up, then maybe we
need to shut-up!
Ephesians 4: 15 says, "Speak the truth in love that we may be more
like Christ."
God wants us to build people up in the faith, not tear them down.
They know they're down. We need to tell them how to get up, and we
need to do it with the love of God!
Finally, we need to determine: "Is It Kind?" Romans 12 and 10 says:
"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour
preferring one another." And then I heard Paul say in Ephesians 4 and
31-32), "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and
evil speaking, be put away from
you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
Well. . . I'm getting ready to close, but I heard a commercial on the
radio the other day for a product called VERBAL ADVANTAGE. It's a
vocabulary building program that claims to increase your status in
society by teaching you how to speak. The commercial says, "VERBAL
ADVANTAGE: EVERY TIME YOU SPEAK, PEOPLE JUDGE YOU BY THE WORDS YOU USE."
And you know, that's the truth! Your words and what you say tells
much about you. That's why it was so important, when Jesus was tested
in the wilderness by the devil, that He chose the right words to beat
satan at his own game.
You see, when Satan attempted to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, he
was trying to subdue Jesus' mission to the cross. When Satan came up
against Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus didn't say, I don't know what
I'm going to do; He opened his mouth and quoted the Words of God. He
said, "It is written". So if Jesus can speak the Words of God, (and
He did say "these things I do, you can do, and even greater") then
somebody in here ought to be able to say something anointed and
powerful that will break the yoke in somebody's life!
When the Devil comes at you like a roaring lion, carrying some
gossip, or foolish talk to us, we need to speak back it him, and tell
him: "I don't have time for that cause' I'm too busy talking about my
blessings!"
Matter of fact, I need to get a praise on right now, because it was
said at one time in my life, somebody said that I wouldn't be anything!
Somebody said that I wouldn't make it!
Somebody said that I was washed up! Some of it was true, but most of
it was a lie! But that's alright.
I've been lied on, cheated ... talked about, mistreated, Buked,
scorned, talked about as sure as your born!
I know you heard the gossip about me ...
I've been up, down, almost level to the ground. But as long ... as I
got King Jesus, I don't need nobody else! And when I think of His
goodness and all that He's done for me, my soul cries out,
Hallelujah! I thank God for saving me! And so, you can say what you
want about me ... I'm still gonna praise God!
If I don't praise Him ... "if I hold my peace, the rocks will cry
out!" I don't know about you, but I want no rock crying out for me!
I've been through too much to let a rock steal my praise!
Is there anybody here besides me who has been through some stuff, and
now that God has delivered you, you don't care what folk say about you anymore?
I may be poor ... but I'll praise Him!
I may be dirty... but I'll praise Him!
My kids may be on drugs ... but I'll praise Him!
My marriage may be on the rocks ... but I'll praise Him!
I may be on welfare ... but I'll praise Him!
I may be sick ... but I'll praise Him!
... And because I praise Him, I have power in my words!
I can speak to my empty pockets, and tell them to fill up!
I can lay my hands on my hearts desire, and claim it in the name of Jesus!
I can speak to devils, and send them back to Hell!
I've got power!!!! Power!!! Power!!! in my mouth!!!
If you know you've got that power, slap three people a high five, and
tell them ... "I've got the power, because I've got the right word!"
Epilogue:
There once was a little girl who had a bad temper. Her mother gave
her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her temper,
she must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the
girl had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as
she learned to control her anger,
the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. She
discovered it was easier to hold her temper than to drive those nails
into the fence.
Finally, the day came when the girl didn't lose her temper at all.
She told her mother about it and the mother suggested that the girl
now pull out one nail for each day that she was able to hold her temper.
Well ... the days passed, and the young girl was finally able to tell
her mother that all the nails were gone. The mother took her daughter
by the hand and led her to the fence.
She said, "You've done well, my daughter, but look at the holes in
the fence. The fence will never be the same. My brothers and sisters,
when you say things in anger, or in gossip ... they leave a scar,
just like the ones in the fence.
Likewise, brothers and sisters, you can put a knife in a person and
draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the
wound is still there.
A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Physical wounds heal, and
bruises disappear. Words spoken out of anger or malice stay forever
imbedded in our heart and mind. Be careful of what you say and how
you say it. "Watch Your Mouth!" You never know, how what you say,
will affect someone's life!
Let's go to the Lord in prayer! Gracious Heavenly father, thank You
so very much for the ability to say the things that will lift people
up, and not bring them down. Thank You for letting us walk in Your
footsteps and let's pray that all of us keep that walk in a straight
line with You. Thank You, Lord, for
all of your blessings, and we pray You will forgive us of our many sins!!
If there is anyone here this morning who has not accepted You as
their Personal Savior, there is no time like the present to do just
that. What a wonderful feeling to know You, and be able to walk with
you through life.
Stu
Stuart Swartz
616 E. Boothe
Cleveland, Tx. 77327
281-659-0629
[log in to unmask]
IF YOU WORRY, YOU DIDN'T PRAY. IF YOU HAVE PRAYED, DON'T WORRY.
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