Transcription
I want to talk to you about the things that you speak that can bring destruction to your spiritual life. Whenever we talk about sin, our minds automatically go to what we would label as the big sins. Fornication and stealing and murder and betrayal. And of course, those are sinful behaviors. But what we often don't consider are the sins that we speak, the sins of the tongue.
Sins that we speak can damage the reputation of people we love. Sins of the tongue invite often God's correction in our lives. If you can't take control of the words that you speak, it can damage your Christian testimony. The words that you speak can sow doubt in the heart of a person who would have otherwise had faith. The words that you speak can bring discouragement in the mind of someone who otherwise would have been encouraged. The words that you speak can bring division where God wants to bring unity.
Proverbs 18:21 declares, "The tongue can bring death or life. Those who love to talk will reap the consequences." There's an old saying that goes that wise men speak because they have something to say. Fools speak because they just have to say something. The Bible very clearly describes for us the fact that there is power in the words that you speak. With the words that you speak, you can either encourage or discourage. You can inspire faith or doubt. You can invite holiness or compromise. You can further the influence of the Holy Spirit or you can open the door to demonic influence. You can speak truth that brings clarity of mind or you can speak deception that sows confusion. You can speak words that bring healing and unity or you can speak words that birth bitterness and division. Be careful of what you speak because God has given you a power in your speech.
Now, as I often do, I like to balance things because some are on either extreme. There are some believers who think that the words they speak don't really matter at all. "I'm just saying what I say. It's just how I am. No big deal. You'll get over it." That's not godly. That's immaturity. Or they'll say, "Well, I just tell it like it is." Not really. You tell it like you see it. And there's not really that self-control that allows you to know when and when not to speak.
But then on the other end of the spectrum, we have believers who are so paranoid about their words that they become a little superstitious with it. "I have a little headache. IT MIGHT BE ALLERGIES. DON'T SPEAK THAT INTO EXISTENCE." I remember one time I was working a prayer line laying hands on different individuals who needed healing in their body. I came to one lady. I said, "Ma'am, what do you need prayer for?" She says, "Pray for my eye." I said, "What's wrong with your eye?" She says, "Nothing is wrong with my eye." I said, "So, what do you need?" She says, "I need prayer for my eye." I said, "Well, what's wrong with your eye?" She says, "Nothing is wrong with my eye." Eventually, I realized that she was so superstitious in her thinking that she thought that by speaking about the sickness that she was somehow causing it.
Now, I want to say that yes, the words you speak can bring about actual results. The Bible's very clear about it. So, you continue to speak negatively, yes, that can affect your health because it affects the way you think. Like a program for a computer, words are for the mind. So the words that you speak program certain thought processes, certain certain patterns and and those patterns affect everything about you. Your attitude, your mindset can actually affect your physical health. And so be careful of the words you speak because not only do they program your own mind, they influence the minds of those around you.
Furthermore, God has given us authority in declaration. When you speak what God speaks, your words have creative power. "I like to word it this way. God's words have creative power. Our words have cultivating power." You say, "Well, don't we have creative power?" Indirectly, when we repeat what God repeats, that's when there's the creative power because He's the source of that creative power. But if you think you have creative power on your own, just try to speak another highway into existence when you're facing traffic. Speak a couple zeros into your account. While you're at it, speak them into mind as well.
Now again, balance. It is true. You speak prosperity. You speak life. You speak positively. Eventually that does bring about results. But when I talk about creative power, I'm talking about the instant materialization of that which you declare. God spoke and the world came into existence. Thankfully, there is a time gap. There is time that has to pass, process. You have to go through mindsets, you have to develop actions you have to take. But that doesn't mean that the words don't still have power. So your words can affect the world around you. Again, balance. They're not so powerless that you can be careless, and they're not so powerful that anything you speak will instantaneously materialize. Unless, of course, you're speaking according to God's will and word.
James 1:26 says, "If you claim to be religious, but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself and your religion is worthless." James 3:3-10. "We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire for it is set on fire by hell itself."
Now this is hyperbolic phrasing, okay? Doesn't mean that literally Satan owns your tongue. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely my brothers and sisters, this is not right. The word that you use, the the mouth that you use to praise God should be used for godly speech.
So what are these different expressions of speech that can bring forth destruction? Number one, it's not what you'd expect. We wouldn't see it necessarily as sinful, but it is. Number one is complaint. Philippians 2:12-15 says this, "Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Do everything without complaining and arguing so that no one can criticize you." You notice here, complaint ruins your testimony. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. When you complain, it dims the light of God that's supposed to shine brightly through your life.
Nothing is ever good enough. If something good is happening, all you're thinking about and talking about is how it could have been better. And when you don't get everything that you want, it comes pouring out of your mouth and it's rapid fire, tearing people down, tearing ministries down, tearing churches down, tearing families down. And if you're not careful, that attitude that causes you to complain will affect your ability to enjoy the blessings of God in every season. Because the season you're complaining about today is possibly something you prayed for yesterday.
Complaint is the opposite of praise. Thank you God for this church. Thank you God for these people. Thank you God for the home in which I live. Thank you God for the car I drive. Thank you God for the job you've given me the ability to work. Thank you God for breath and for time and for friends and for family. Thank you God for every moment of life. It is a gift from you. That's the speech that should come forth. Instead we complain. It's the ego expressing itself. It's entitlement coming through speech. I'm not saying you can't strive for more. I'm a man of the kingdom. I believe in building big and I believe in building grand and beautiful things and I believe in in reaching your maximum potential and prospering and expanding your vision. All of that is wonderful, but complaint comes from an attitude where you lack thankfulness unto God. Complaint reveals lack of gratitude. Lack of gratitude reveals a heart not focused on Jesus.
Hebrews 13:5 says, "Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have." WHY? FOR he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. When you are thankful for the presence of God, that thankfulness for the presence of God causes you to be grateful for everything else. And when you complain and it becomes a consistent problem in your life, not only do you discourage people around you, not only is that not a lot of fun to be around, but what begins to happen now is as you complain, you lose your focus on the presence of God that you have in your life. When you recognize that the presence of God is all you need, then you live with gratitude, allowing you to enjoy the blessings God has given you.
A powerful man of God by the name of Phil Muny, good friend of mine. He said something so profound actually he wrote it on Instagram. I reposted it the other day. He talked about thankfulness being like losing everything you have in life and then getting it all back in an instant. Not necessarily changing your circumstance, but changing your perspective on everything you've been given. We complain about others. We complain about what we don't have. We complain about what is or is not happening. Of course, you acknowledge problems, but complaint means there's no room for praise.
Number two, lying. And lying isn't just giving false information. It's more than that. Colossians 3:8-10. "But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature and be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like him." God does not lie. Lying isn't just giving you false information. Lying is also making an understatement. Lying is also making an exaggeration. Lying is also giving your word and then willingly breaking your word. You see, there are circumstances like if I say I'll be there in 10 minutes, and then I get a flat tire, that's not lying. But if I say I'll be there in 10 minutes, and I haven't even started getting ready yet, I'm lying.
We lie to avoid conflict. We lie to avoid accountability. We lie because we don't like tension. We lie because we don't want responsibility. We lie because we're lazy. We lie because we want people to think of us as better than we actually are. We lie because we want to make understatements that make problems seem smaller so that we don't feel like we're getting in trouble for them. Lying is a sin of the tongue that destroys not just your life, but your reputation and people's trust in you. Lying is leaving out information to manipulate the situation. I may not have told you an outright lie, but I left out enough information to cause you to think differently about it than it actually was.
Number three, gossip. This can damage your reputation even more than lying. And by the way, gossip and slander are different. I'm going to differentiate them right now. Proverbs 20:19 says this. "A gossip goes around telling secrets. So don't hang around with chatterers." Listen to this. This is so key. This is so key. We, me and my close friends, we all have this this phrase. We say we say, "Can you put this in the vault?" That means I'm telling you private information about a situation, about a sensitive topic, and I need you to make sure this doesn't get to anybody. They take the information, put it in the vault, and they don't talk about it to anybody else. Now, I have a vault with different people. Jess and I have a vault. My friends and I have vaults. And we make sure that nobody can break into the vault. Nobody has the combination but the person who puts something in there.
Here's the issue, and I'm going to challenge some thinking here. For example, even Jess and I, let's say Jess counsels a young woman. And that young woman comes and she shares with Jessica things that she's been through when she was a child. And she's ashamed of these things. She's afraid to share these things. But she goes to my Jessica and she says, "Jess, here's what's happening with my life. Here's why I'm struggling so much. I'm only telling you, please don't tell anybody else." Now, if Jess tells her, "It's okay. Your secret's safe with me. We're going to work through this together." And then she goes behind that woman's back and comes to me and says, "Well, I got to tell him anyway because he's my husband." Got it gotten even more quiet than it was a moment ago. I felt that in the air. It's such a high school mentality of relationships. "Well, I have to tell them because they're my spouse." Look, there should be no secrets between you and your spouse in terms of your marriage. But if somebody else comes to you in confidence, shares something with you that doesn't affect your marriage, has nothing to do with your spouse, you are not to share that with even your spouse.
If a young man comes to me and says, "Hey, I have this lust problem." Or, "Hey, I have I have this drug addiction. I'm battling and I'm ashamed of it. I don't want anybody to know about." And and that young man shares that with just me, I'm not going to call Jess and say, "Hey, Jess, you got to hear this." And if it's something I feel like I should share with Jessica, I will tell the person. If you're so convinced that you should tell your spouse everything, then before you take people's secrets, let them know. At least you keep your integrity that way. We don't just do that with spouses. Some of you have that close childhood friend. "I tell them everything. Everybody, they should already know that." We say, "Well, no, that's gossip." What does the Bible say a gossip does? Look, look again. A gossip goes around telling secrets.
Now, slander, we're going to get to that next, is when you badmouth somebody, tear down their reputation. But gossip is when I share that information given to me in private, and I spread it around. It's not yours to share. And that's where you have to become a trusted person. Now again, I want to emphasize this so nobody misunderstands. Say, "Well, Pastor David said I don't have to tell my wife everything." No, listen. I'm talking about things that don't affect your marriage or have anything to do with them. I'm talking about other people's issues. And I'm talking not just about spouse. I'm talking about close friends and family members. Because sometimes we like to share information. Other people are, listen to me, other people are vulnerable with us. They trust us. It took everything in them to get the courage to speak out. and then we go and share what they gave us for a form of entertainment. That's gossip. Not only does it hurt your reputation, it causes the person who shared that with you to feel like they have no one they can trust.
Now, number four is slander. Colossians 3:8-10 says this, "But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage." We just read this. Malicious behavior. Slander. Slander is speech with the intent to harm someone's reputation. This attempt at controlling the story. And and here here's here's a sign of spiritual immaturity when you are trying to get people to dislike who you dislike. God, that again, you can cut cut that tension with a knife. I could feel that. I want to feel the glory, not the tension. Why? Because the Holy Spirit's convicting us where where we go around speaking negatively of people. We do it with families. We do it with friends. Isn't it amazing that you can maybe have a friend for 20, 30, 40 years, decades of good friendship, they offend you once and suddenly it's now I see the real them. What is it about human nature that equates the positive with the fake and the negative with the real? What is it about human nature that takes that flaw in the one we love and says this is the means by which I will judge them and then to take that and to go in so strife in your family about that uncle about that cousin about that neighbor whoever it may be and we do so because because there's there's this sometimes it comes from ego sometimes it comes from jealousy sometimes it comes from bitterness. Sometimes it comes as self-righteousness. We compare them to us, deem them as unworthy because they're not as good as we think we are, and therefore we slander them. Be careful.
Number five is cursing. Luke 6:27-28. "But to you who are listening, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you." Now here the word curse means to insult in anger or to wish harm upon. In some context as you study the word to curse someone is to wish upon them separation from God and to invite the punishment of God upon them. Where out of anger we speak things to people that cut them down. Sometimes we do that in slow motion. We're processing as the words are coming out and the Holy Spirit is almost like stopping time and saying, "Hey, stop what you're doing. Don't say it." And we release those words anyway. Do you realize that when you when you insult someone, wish harm upon them, criticize them unfairly, that that you are speaking that way about someone created in the image of God. The same Holy Spirit in you is the Holy Spirit in them. And we speak these things out of anger. We speak these things out of hurt. We speak these things out of frustration.
What kind of words are you speaking over your loved ones, over your fellow church members, over co-workers? My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would inspire in us words that are lifegiving. Not cursing people, but blessing them. Not slandering people, but speaking well of them. I challenge you today to talk good behind someone's back. And if anybody ever hears that you've been talking about them, may it be that they heard that you said something good about them. Amen.
May we be trusted with vulnerable information that people share with us because remember that someone who gossips about others in front of you is likely gossiping about you in front of others. May we be people who speak the truth. No exaggerations, no understatements, no manipulation, but the truth in love. And may we be people who are filled with praise and not complaint. Lord, let it be done in the name of Jesus. Holy Spirit, in those moments, we're asking you, remind us. Remind us in those instances where we want to say something that's ungodly. Convict us deeply over the ungodly words that we speak. And precious Holy Spirit, I pray that if we've wronged anyone, that you would give us the courage to go and make it right. Help us to be vessels of unity and encouragement and truth and praise. Give us the words to speak. May our words reflect your nature. May our words declare your truth. May our words align with your word.
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Let our mouths be your mouth. Speak through us that we might shine brightly. that we might be testimonies of your goodness. In Jesus name we pray. And the church said, "Amen."
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