Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017089A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello, and welcome again to 3ABN Today. 01:11 We're so glad that you're joining us, 01:13 and just want to take this moment 01:15 to thank you so much 01:16 for your love, and your prayers, 01:18 and your financial support of 3ABN. 01:20 I'm Shelley Quinn, and today is not an interview, 01:24 even though I'm sitting in a host's seat, I'm not... 01:27 I'm kind of a traffic director, if you will. 01:31 What we will be discussing is a Bible topic, 01:36 and the topic is, Muzzle Your Mouth. 01:39 And so we want you to stay tuned 01:42 because I don't think we're always aware 01:45 of how much we sin with our tongue. 01:48 Let me start with this scripture 01:51 found in Psalm 39, 01:53 you'll see where I got this topic. 01:54 Psalm 39:1, and David says, 01:59 "I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue. 02:04 I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle." 02:08 So we need to learn how to bridle our tongue. 02:10 Let me introduce our special guests to you. 02:13 They're all members of our 3ABN family, 02:16 the staff here at 3ABN. 02:19 First we have my very precious friend 02:21 Mollie Steenson, 02:22 who is the general manager and vice president. 02:26 Mollie, what part of muzzle your mouth 02:28 are you going to be discussing? 02:29 Well, I'm going to be discussing 02:31 gossip and backbiting, 02:32 but I wanted to paraphrase your scripture that you used, 02:37 this is Mollie's paraphrase, 02:38 "Take advantage of every opportunity 02:40 to keep your mouth shut." 02:42 That's my paraphrase. That's a good paraphrase. 02:44 But I will be talking about gossiping and backbite. 02:47 Okay. 02:48 And the next we have with us, my precious husband, 02:51 and, JD, what will you be discussing today? 02:55 I'm gonna be talking about unwholesome speech 02:58 or unhealthy speech. 02:59 Okay, that sounds good. Yes. 03:01 And I'll be anxious to hear that. 03:03 And then we have with us John Dinzey 03:05 who is the general manager of our 3ABN Latino. 03:09 Johnny, what is your segment? 03:11 Well, for some reason, 03:14 I have to talk about deceitfulness, 03:16 exaggeration, and, you know, it's interesting that people 03:20 can even use flattery to manipulate people. 03:24 So we'll try to work a little bit about that. 03:25 Amen. 03:26 And then my part, I took what was leftover, 03:29 is on grumbling, and I'll tell you what, 03:31 I think that the Lord made sure that I got this part. 03:36 So we want you to stay tuned 03:38 because this is gonna be a fascinating Bible study. 03:41 First though, we know how much you love music, 03:44 and we do as well, and our musical guest, 03:48 our favorites of mine, especially Sandra Entermann, 03:51 my dear sister, she's going to be with Kristie Sipec, 03:55 and Aleta King, and they will sing, 03:58 "He will carry you". 04:10 There is no problem so big 04:14 God cannot solve it 04:21 There is no mountain so tall 04:25 He cannot move it 04:31 There is no storm so dark 04:35 God cannot calm it 04:42 There is no sorrow so deep 04:46 He cannot soothe it 04:51 If He carried the weight of the world 04:56 Upon His shoulders 05:03 I know, my brother 05:05 That He will carry you 05:12 If He carried the weight of the world 05:18 Upon His shoulders 05:24 I know, my sister, 05:26 That He will carry you 05:39 There is no problem so big 05:43 God cannot solve it 05:50 There is no mountain so tall 05:54 He cannot move it 06:00 There is no storm so dark 06:04 God cannot calm it 06:11 There is no sorrow so deep 06:15 He cannot soothe it 06:20 If He carried the weight of the world 06:26 Upon His shoulders 06:32 I know, my brother 06:34 That He will carry you 06:42 If He carried the weight of the world 06:47 Upon His shoulders 06:53 I know, my sister 06:55 That He will carry you 07:02 He said come unto me 07:09 All who are weary 07:14 And I will give you rest 07:25 There is no problem so big 07:29 God cannot solve it 07:35 There is no mountain so tall 07:39 He cannot move it 07:45 There is no storm so dark 07:49 God cannot calm it 07:56 There is no sorrow so deep 08:00 He cannot soothe it 08:05 If He carried the weight of the world 08:10 Upon His shoulders 08:17 I know, my brother 08:19 That He will carry you 08:26 If He carried the weight of the world 08:31 Upon His shoulders 08:38 I know, my sister 08:40 That He will carry you 08:48 I know, my brother 08:50 That He will carry you 08:59 I know, my sister 09:02 That He will 09:05 Carry you 09:27 We're very thankful to our sisters 09:29 from down under, that was Sandra, Kristie, 09:32 and Aleta for that beautiful song. 09:34 If you are joining us just a little late, we will, 09:38 on this program, discuss the Bible topic 09:41 of Muzzling Your Mouth. 09:44 And once again, with us is Mollie Steenson, JD Quinn, 09:48 and John Dinzey, and I'm so thankful 09:50 each one of you are here to contribute to this 09:53 because I think it's going to be 09:55 very eye-opening for all of us. 09:59 Let's begin, I want to lay just a little ground work, 10:02 so turn to Matthew 12, and we'll start with verse 36. 10:07 This is something that Jesus said. 10:09 Sometimes it is taken out of context, 10:12 it can be misunderstood, but it's so important. 10:16 In Matthew 12:36, Jesus says, "I say to you, 10:22 that for every idle word men may speak, 10:26 they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment." 10:31 An idle word is a word that does not minister grace 10:37 or instruction to someone. 10:40 And idle is a word that instead of edifying 10:43 and building up, it tears down. 10:47 And I really was fascinated, 10:49 I found the corresponding Hebrew word, 10:52 and the corresponding Hebrew word can mean 10:55 an idle word is vain, it is empty, 10:58 it is something that can be wicked or injurious. 11:03 So idle words are not just idling, 11:07 they're tearing down. 11:09 And this is something that I thought about, 11:12 when a policeman arrests a perpetrator, 11:16 what does he say to him. 11:19 Your words, anything that you say, what? 11:23 Might be used against you. May be used against you. 11:26 And Jesus is giving us a similar warning right here 11:30 that our words will rise up 11:33 and be used against us in the judgment. 11:36 So what we need to do is confess our idle words, 11:39 and ask God to grant us forgiveness and repentance. 11:43 But then He goes on in verse 37, and He says, 11:46 "For by your words, you will be justified 11:50 or declared innocent, and by your words, 11:54 condemned, declared guilty." 11:57 Now what does He mean by your words, 11:59 what we say is the outward evidence 12:03 of the attitudes of our heart. 12:06 And if we are really belonging to Christ, 12:08 if we belong to the Lord, we'll have a new heart in us. 12:13 So our thoughts are expressed in words, 12:16 and our words reveal the nature of our heart. 12:20 You know, Jesus said, "Out of the mouth..." 12:23 What did he say? How did he say? 12:25 What comes out of the mouth flows from the heart, 12:28 and this is what defiles a man or makes him unclean. 12:34 My favorite scripture, when it comes to thinking about 12:39 the power of our words, is Proverbs 18:21 that says, 12:45 "There is power of life and death in the tongue, 12:49 and those who love it will eat its fruits." 12:52 So our words are very powerful 12:55 they have the potential to build up or to tear down. 12:59 We can either advance the Kingdom of God, 13:03 or we can attack the Kingdom of God. 13:06 Harsh words wound 13:10 whereas critical words can destroy. 13:13 So it is very, very important that... 13:17 I think of it this way, careless words are like 13:22 a loaded gun that is used recklessly. 13:26 And, boy, once you've cocked that 13:27 and opened your mouth, and shot off that bullet, 13:30 that careless word that goes out, 13:32 it cannot be brought back, 13:35 it's out there to do its damage. 13:37 And you can be held accountable for the damage that's done 13:44 by the weapon of your mouth. 13:45 So this is something we will discuss today. 13:49 Johnny, I think that your segment 13:52 is on deceitfulness, 13:54 and why don't you share what the Lord has given you? 13:58 Okay, well, you know, what you're saying is so true. 14:03 And we, as human beings, 14:08 have to be constantly under guard 14:11 because the devil tries to take advantage 14:14 over our minds just wandering. 14:17 It's amazing how fast the mind works, you know, 14:20 you can be talking to somebody, they can say, 14:22 "Wow, are you ugly?" 14:24 And right away, you have come with something 14:26 to counter that person, to cut that person down. 14:29 I remember, when I was going through high school, 14:32 I went to public school, and for some reason, 14:34 it seem to be like an art to find some way 14:40 to bring the other person down. 14:42 Have a comeback? 14:43 Some comeback. 14:45 And so when we look at the Bible, 14:48 and you see James 1:19 says, 14:51 "Let every man be slow to speak, swift to hear," why? 14:57 Because your mind can work so fast that sometimes 15:03 like you said a bridle or guard over my mouth 15:07 that we have to be always under the control 15:11 of the Holy Spirit that we may speak words 15:15 that will edify, like you said, and not tear down. 15:19 And so one of the hardest things to do 15:24 is when somebody is attacking us, 15:27 how do you maintain that Christian attitude? 15:34 Somebody is tearing you down, especially when you have 15:36 not done anything against the person. 15:39 And Satan works so hard to try to create divisions, 15:42 he will create situations, and people can actually think 15:48 you have done something wrong 15:50 or said something wrong when you haven't. 15:51 Yes. 15:52 So by God's grace, we should be watchful, 15:57 and careful, and ask the Lord for discernment 16:02 when the devil is trying to lead us astray. 16:03 I can tell you that I have been in situations 16:06 where we're in a group of people, 16:09 and all of a sudden, I say to myself, 16:11 "How did we get into this horrible conversation?" 16:13 People are arguing back and forth, and I say, 16:16 "Lord, how did this happen? 16:17 Help me to figure out what to say 16:19 to bring this conversation to something good." 16:22 And I start thinking about it, and it's like the Lord said, 16:25 "It's because you said this." 16:27 And so that's why when you say we have to set a guard 16:31 over our mouth, set something like a muzzle over our mouth 16:34 to be slow to speak. 16:35 But we have to understand in James 3:6, 16:39 I'm gonna read verse 7 through 8, 6, 7, and 8, 16:42 and it says, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. 16:48 So the tongue is set among our members, 16:50 spotting all the body and then inflaming 16:52 the course of nature, and being inflamed by Hell. 16:55 For every kind of animals, and all birds, and of reptiles, 16:58 and of sea-animals, is tamed, 17:00 and it has been tamed by mankind. 17:02 But no one can tame the tongue, it is an unruly evil, 17:07 full of deadly poison." 17:09 And so right now, we see right away 17:11 that we are at a disadvantage because our tongue 17:15 and our minds are so quick to think, 17:19 and so quick to speak. 17:20 And so on top of that, we think of Jeremiah 17:9, 17:24 that says, "The heart is deceitful 17:26 above all things and desperately wicked. 17:30 Who can know it?" 17:32 And for these reasons, 17:34 we need to be surrendered to the Lord. 17:37 And before we step out of the door of our house, 17:39 before we step out of the bed even, 17:42 pray to the Lord, place ourselves in His hands, 17:45 and let Him take our will, let Him take our tongue 17:48 that we may speak as James says, 17:52 "Words seasoned with grace." 17:54 Actually it's in Colossians I think, 17:55 "Words seasoned with grace." 17:59 Otherwise we are going to use deceit, 18:02 we are going to lie, 18:04 we are going to use flattery to even cause somebody 18:08 to do something for us where we should appeal 18:12 instead to their kindness because there are people, 18:16 I remember one time, we were taking some classes 18:22 because we were about to going door to door 18:26 to ask people to consider 18:28 purchasing some Christian books. 18:30 And one of the videos that somebody shared, 18:34 or something somebody said, it says 18:36 when you go to somebody's house, 18:37 find something to praise them about. 18:41 And so you're asking what do you mean? 18:44 And so somebody said, "Well, it has to be honest 18:47 and sincere praise." 18:49 So if you're going to praise somebody, 18:51 be sincere about it. 18:52 And say, "You know, 18:54 I really appreciate this about you. 18:56 It encourages me that you are always saying 18:59 please and thank you." 19:01 Instead of using deceit to manipulate people 19:04 because people do that. 19:06 They try to manipulate with words and deceit 19:10 to try to gain something for themselves. 19:12 And the Bible warns against that kind of flattery. 19:13 And the Bible warns against that. 19:15 So flattery is a dangerous thing. 19:18 And so I even remember Sister Ellen G White saying, 19:23 after you preach a sermon and somebody tells you, 19:26 "What a wonderful job you did!" 19:28 That you say, "Well, thank you, 19:30 but the devil already told me that." 19:32 And so this is... 19:34 Praise is something difficult to handle sometimes. 19:37 So we have to be surrendered to the Lord 19:40 and ask the Lord to help us. 19:41 You know, one of the commandments says, 19:44 "You should not bear false witness 19:46 against your neighbor." 19:47 So we're talking about lying and deceit, 19:50 and how dangerous it is. 19:53 You've mentioned exaggeration at the very beginning. 19:55 Exaggeration, yes. 19:56 It is telling a half truth, a lie, 19:59 or if you're exaggerating the results or something, 20:03 is that a lie? 20:05 Yes, I believe it is. 20:07 Amen. I believe it is. 20:11 Anything you do with malicious intent 20:14 to get praise for yourself, 20:17 to get something out of the person 20:21 using deceit of any kind is not according to the way 20:25 the Lord works because the Lord speaks the truth, 20:30 speaks the truth out of love, 20:31 and we are to exhort one another in love as well. 20:34 And so love, it should be 20:38 the motivating factor in our conversations 20:43 and in our dealings with other people 20:46 because we are told to love our neighbor as ourself. 20:49 So I ask myself, 20:51 "Would you want to be manipulated 20:54 by deceit and these type of things?" 20:56 "Oh, no, I wouldn't want to do that." 20:58 You know, that's why we can think 20:59 of some people call it the golden rule, 21:01 "Do unto others as you will 21:03 like for others to do unto you." 21:05 So I don't wanna be lied to, manipulated, with deceit, 21:10 or any type of exaggerations 21:12 to make me think something else. 21:14 And, you know, sometimes, people exaggerate things 21:18 because the reality is not... 21:23 They want to impress people. Yes. 21:25 And so that's why exaggeration comes, 21:27 but the Bible says, 21:29 "Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. 21:32 Whatsoever is more than these cometh 21:34 from the evil one." 21:36 So when we think of these things, 21:38 we really have to be careful, especially when we try to 21:41 like you said a half truth because the mind works, 21:44 what can I say... 21:45 "If I say this then they're not gonna think 21:48 well of me or I'm not gonna get what I desire." 21:51 So a half truth can be a deadly weapon, if I can say, 21:57 an exaggeration, it can be a deadly weapon 22:00 that we use cooperating with the devil in his desires 22:05 to cause division and to cause problems. 22:07 And so I have seen it throughout my life, 22:10 and I'm sure that I've done it one time or another, 22:13 exaggeration or leaving some truth out, 22:17 not telling the whole story. 22:19 And by God's grace, we should... 22:21 Our pattern, our example is Jesus Christ. 22:25 And I want to mention the words of, I think it's in Peter, 22:28 if I have it here in my notes, concerning Jesus Peter said 22:33 in 1 Peter 2:21-23, "For even hereunto 22:39 were you called because Christ also suffered for us, 22:42 leaving us an example, 22:44 that you should follow his steps, 22:46 'Who did no sin, neither was guile 22:49 found in his mouth,'" that's deceit. 22:51 "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again, 22:54 when he suffered, he threatened not, 22:56 but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." 22:59 So Jesus gave us an example that we should not have 23:02 deceit in our mouth or in our tongues 23:07 considering that the heart is deceitful 23:11 and desperately wicked, 23:13 we need to surrender our heart to the Lord 23:15 that He may give us a purified heart. 23:18 You know, this is a perfect segue 23:20 into Mollie's because you're talking about 23:22 deceit and passing rumors on that or half truth. 23:29 But then even sometimes, Mollie, 23:31 we may know the truth about somebody, 23:34 and be guilty of gossip or backbiting, 23:38 but what does the Bible have to say about that? 23:41 Well, gossip, I've got the scriptures on gossip. 23:45 But first I thought I would define 23:47 what gossip and backbiting are. 23:50 Yes. 23:51 Gossip is casual or unconstrained conversation 23:57 or reports about other people. 23:59 And it doesn't matter whether It's the truth or not. 24:01 Right. 24:03 It's reports about other people typically involving details 24:07 that are not confirmed as being true. 24:11 Unconfirmed idle talk about the private affairs of others. 24:17 And people so want to know the details 24:22 of other people's lives. 24:24 The salacious details, we just almost feed on it, don't we? 24:26 Yeah. 24:28 And so in Proverbs 20:19, the Scripture says, 24:34 "He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, 24:39 therefore do not associate with a gossip." 24:43 Calls it out, don't associate with a gossip. 24:46 Now let me just take a little pause here. 24:50 Have you ever been in a situation 24:54 where all of a sudden the conversation turned, 24:57 and you realized this is gossip, 24:59 and I don't want to have any part of it? 25:02 Well, what I want you to do in a few minutes is give you 25:06 weapons of warfare to keep you 25:10 from allowing the gossiper 25:13 to use your ear as a garbage dump. 25:16 But let's go on now. 25:17 Let's look at backbiting because backbiting and gossip 25:22 aren't identically the same thing. 25:24 Backbiting is malicious talk about someone 25:29 who's not present, it's rumors, secrets, or lies, comments, 25:35 and whispers behind your back. 25:38 A backbiter bites your back, 25:42 talks about you behind your back. 25:46 And in Galatians 5, I'm gonna look at verses 14 through 16. 25:51 Okay. 25:53 The Scripture says, "For all the law is fulfilled 25:55 in one word, even in this, 25:58 "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 26:01 But if you bite," there's that word, bite, 26:05 backbiting, "If you bite and devour one another, 26:10 beware lest you be consumed by one another. 26:14 I say then, walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill 26:19 the lust of the flesh." 26:20 So what is backbiting, gossiping, and devouring? 26:24 It's lust of the flesh, it's an act of the flesh. 26:27 Our spirit indeed is willing, we've got weak flesh, 26:33 and some of us like to listen to gossip. 26:36 We've got to be rid, allow the Lord to rid us 26:41 of this sinful tendencies. 26:44 Proverbs 4:23 says, and this is the way to rid us 26:50 of these tendencies, 26:52 "Keeping guard your heart with all vigilance, 26:55 and above all that you guard, 26:57 for out of it flow the springs of life." 26:59 Keeping guard what? 27:01 Your heart with all vigilance and above all that 27:04 you guard for out of it flow the issues of life. 27:08 So how did you guard your heart? 27:10 See, things can only enter into your heart 27:13 one of two ways, that's what you hear, 27:16 and what you see. 27:17 So how do you keep things from entering your heart 27:20 through your ear? 27:22 Sometimes you have to tell people, 27:23 "Oh, I don't want to hear that." 27:25 By what you see, you have to turn the TV channel 27:29 from what you're watching over to 3ABN. 27:32 That's a good way. 27:34 But it's guarding your heart. 27:36 See, it takes two to gossip. Now think about that. 27:40 You can say, "Oh, sister..." So and so. 27:42 She said you gossip, "You would not believe what she told me." 27:45 Well, honey, it took two to gossip, 27:48 one to do the speaking, 27:50 but it takes one to listen to it, 27:56 and those words go into ears. 27:57 And do you know once you've heard something, 27:59 you have to deal with it whether it's true or not, 28:02 you have to deal with everything 28:04 that goes into your ears. 28:05 And remember the Scripture says 28:07 to guard your heart with all vigilance. 28:10 And so let's say, you are prayed up, 28:13 you are confessed up, you are standing before God, 28:17 you've got clean hands and a pure heart before you, 28:20 before the Lord, and then someone comes 28:22 and starts telling you the most malicious gossip 28:26 about someone. 28:28 And it's going into your ear, 28:29 and you know where it's going to wind up? 28:31 Right in your heart. 28:32 And so you have clean hands and a pure heart, 28:35 and now you don't. 28:36 What you have just done is allowed someone 28:40 to use your ear as garbage dumps 28:43 to put their garbage in. 28:45 And so I wanted to just give you 28:48 a couple of ways to stop that. 28:51 The number one way is when someone is gossiping, 28:55 they're telling you something that you don't want to hear, 28:58 you ask them, 28:59 "Where did you get your information?" 29:01 And they probably won't tell you 29:04 or the next way to surely stop before they tell them, 29:08 "Well, may I quote you on this?" 29:10 And they're going to tell you, "No, I just..." 29:13 See, a gossip doesn't want to be found out. 29:16 First and foremost, ask them where they got 29:18 their information, and then can you quote them, 29:21 and if the answer is no, you just tell them, 29:23 "I don't want to hear it," because then you're having 29:26 to deal with a heart that has been contaminated. 29:30 Gossip is a nasty disease, 29:33 it's a poison that kills relationships. 29:36 And that's Proverbs 16:28, "A perverse man sows strife, 29:42 and a whisperer separates the best of friends." 29:46 Poison, that's what whisperer will do, 29:50 it will kill a friendship. 29:52 Proverbs 17:9, "He who covers a transgression seeks love, 29:58 but he who repeats a matter separates," 30:01 what, "close friends." 30:04 And I wanted to just speak a minute 30:06 and I'll hurry on this. 30:09 It says that... 30:10 Go ahead. Don't hurry. 30:12 Okay, it says, "He who covers a transgression seeks love." 30:18 He who does what? Covers a transgression. 30:22 The Scripture tells us that, "A talebearer reveals secrets, 30:27 but he who is of a faithful spirit," 30:30 this is Proverbs 11:13, "conceals a matter." 30:34 Proverbs 10:19, "Hatred stirs up strife, 30:38 but love covers all sin." 30:40 I believe it's the King James Version 30:42 says that, "Love covers a multitude of sin." 30:46 So we've got one here that says, covers, 30:49 conceals a matter, and then... 30:53 Let me ask you this. 30:55 Love covers a multitude of sins, who is love? 30:59 Jesus. God is love. 31:00 The scripture tells us that 1 John 4:8, 31:04 "He who does not love does not know God, 31:06 for God is love." 31:07 Doesn't say God is loving, that is an adjective. 31:11 It says God is love, that's a noun. 31:15 God is pure love that's what He is. 31:17 And this Scripture says love covers a multitude of sin. 31:21 Well, let me hurry with this. 31:22 "Hatred stirs up strife." 31:24 The scripture says that, this is Revelation 12:10, 31:30 "Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 31:32 'Now salvation, and strengthen, and the Kingdom of our God, 31:36 and the power of His Christ has come, 31:38 and the accuser of the brethren, 31:41 who accused them before our God day and night 31:45 has been cast down." 31:46 What is the accuser of the brethren do? 31:49 He accuses. What does God do? 31:52 God loves us, God covers us. 31:55 It doesn't mean that we deny that someone has an area 32:00 in their life that needs help, that needs correction, 32:03 but it means that we don't reveal it. 32:06 We don't... It's the accuser of the brethren 32:08 that reveals the secrets about others. 32:12 So you have an opportunity when you're in a position 32:17 to identify the person that is talking to you. 32:21 Are they exhibiting the attributes of God, 32:24 are they covering, or are they exhibiting 32:28 the attributes of the accuser of the brethren, 32:31 are they revealing, are they exposing? 32:35 God covers, the enemy exposes. 32:37 I wanted to say just these last two things 32:40 or three things. 32:42 Do not repeat anything you will not sign your name to. 32:46 I'm going to say it again. Amen. 32:47 Don't repeat anything you won't sign your name 32:50 to always remember, if they will gossip to you, 32:54 they will gossip about you. 32:56 And, Johnny, concerning what you had to say earlier 32:59 about flattery, gossip is saying 33:02 behind their back 33:04 what you wouldn't say to their face. 33:06 Gossip behind their back 33:08 what you wouldn't say to their face. 33:09 But this is flattery saying to their face 33:13 what you wouldn't say behind their back. 33:15 Remember, we want God to keep us with clean hands 33:18 and a pure heart. 33:19 To do that, we guard our heart, we don't allow our ears 33:23 to hear, our eyes to see those things 33:26 which are displeasing to God. 33:28 So the next time you're tempted to gossip or to talk 33:31 about somebody behind their back, backbiting, 33:34 then just remember that you need 33:37 to muzzle your mouth because you're sinning 33:39 with your tongue is what the Bible is saying. 33:40 Absolutely right. 33:42 And, JD, I think that you have unwholesome speech. 33:47 Man, I tell you, my mind is 33:49 just going all over the place right now. 33:51 Me too. Help me, Jesus. 33:58 First of all I want to... 33:59 Let me tell some words out to you, 34:01 what is unwholesome mean. 34:03 And then I'm gonna go into my first experience, 34:07 I guess, dealing with a... 34:10 I got my hand slapped. 34:13 Wholesome, unwholesome is being unhealthy, 34:16 that's the simple word for me is being unhealthy. 34:19 It can also mean corrupt, decayed, evil. 34:23 Remember, we're talking about speech, 34:25 so we're talking about corrupted speech, 34:28 decayed speech, evil speech, harmful speech, immoral, 34:31 impure, offensive, unclean, toxic, 34:34 and probably about a hundred more. 34:37 That's the kind of unwholesome speech 34:41 that we're talking about. 34:44 I remember when I was probably five or six years old, 34:50 Momma kept telling us no... 34:52 I grew in a very puritanical home, and boy, 34:55 we played by the rules, if we didn't play by the rules, 34:58 we got a little hand slapped and everything. 35:01 And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, 35:02 we're started talking about the soap and mouth. 35:07 If you're old enough, you know, that boy... 35:10 I think that every young kid, I'm going to wash your mouth 35:12 out with soap, if you do not do A, B, C 35:15 or if you say this or say that. 35:18 Well, I guess, as most kids, 35:19 you're pushing the envelope constantly. 35:22 So I guess I pushed the envelope too far. 35:24 But my mother was a very fair person. 35:26 She was going to wash my mouth out with soap, 35:29 and then she forgot about it. 35:31 I'm going to wash your mouth out with soap, 35:32 she forgot about it. 35:34 So then I kind of thought, 35:35 well, she's just all bark and no bite. 35:37 Oh, boy, did I make a mistake. 35:41 The day she came she says, went by Jimmy, 35:45 "Jimmy, choose your soap." 35:48 "What?" 35:50 And she had about 35:51 five different brands of soap there. 35:54 And she says, "Today is the day of reckoning." 35:57 And I could see it in her eyes. 36:00 And I chose ivory soap 'cause I thought 36:05 that was probably the most mild and it floated on water. 36:08 So anyway, I thought she was still just... 36:13 Not going to... 36:14 She was just talking, 36:15 but then the toothbrush came out, 36:18 soap that thing up, and I mean, I get a soaping, did I get... 36:23 My mouth has never been cleaner than it was 36:26 that particular day. 36:29 But I learned a valuable lesson. 36:31 Number one, don't push momma too far. 36:34 Number two is soap does not taste good. 36:38 And number three, these are consequences 36:41 to saying things that you don't want to say. 36:46 I liked it when we started off this, 36:48 "But I say to you that for every idle word 36:50 men may speak, they must give an account of it 36:53 on the Day of Judgment." 36:54 Well, the truth is how many people really stop 36:56 and think about what that says because we're so reactionary. 37:00 "Don't push me, I don't push you." 37:02 And that's the reason, that probably bottom line is 37:06 every day that you wake up, 37:08 "Lord, empty me of me and fill me with You," 37:10 because, man, it's tough out there. 37:15 And the scriptures that were given to me 37:17 dealing with this, and then we'll go back 37:19 of how we start every day. 37:21 Let's go with Ephesians 4. 37:24 And I mean, we can go to Ephesians 4 37:26 and start with verse 25 and we'll go down. 37:31 Each of you, that's everybody, 37:34 "Each of you must put off falsehood 37:38 or lying and speak truthfully to His neighbor." 37:40 His neighbor is... 37:41 that's our brotherhood, that's who we're dealing with. 37:44 It's not necessarily your next door neighbor, 37:46 it could be your wife, it could be your brother, 37:48 your friend, it could be your enemy. 37:52 "Speaking truthfully to his neighbor, 37:54 for we all are one members of one body, one body. 37:59 In your anger do not sin." 38:02 Oh, Johnny, that's a tough one right there 38:04 because, you know, we just get pushed and pushed, 38:07 but as I started researching this, 38:10 this is not necessarily talking 38:11 about putting the boxing gloves on, 38:13 this is talking about righteous and ignition. 38:15 This is talking about resentment. 38:17 Mollie may say something to me that may hurt my feelings, 38:21 but that's no need to put the boxing gloves on. 38:23 That just means, 38:24 "Hey, I need to work on my attitude 38:27 or we need to talk to see what this issue is," 38:31 because I don't want something 38:33 between Mollie and me, I mean... 38:36 So this is being Christ-like. 38:39 "Lord, be with me today as I start my day out, 38:43 fill me with You, get this all niceness out." 38:47 And then, "Do not let the sun go down 38:50 while you are still angry 38:52 and do not give the devil a foothold." 38:53 I guess that we've all heard that, 38:55 especially if you are married. 38:57 If you are having an argument or something like that, 38:59 don't let the sun go down until you up righted that. 39:03 And that's really quite simple or it can be very difficult. 39:08 Who are you serving this day? 39:10 Are you serving Jesus? It'll be easy. 39:13 "Shelley, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that, 39:15 I mean, I guess I reacted over something, 39:18 you know, I got stopped today by the police 39:21 and I just haven't got past that." 39:22 Whatever it may be or you can just work 39:26 right into what the devil. 39:28 "Shelley, I'm not gonna forget this." 39:30 You know, shame, shame, shame. 39:32 "Lord, please help me today as I start this day 39:35 'cause you're gonna have to empower me, 39:37 I can't do this by myself." 39:39 And then we're gonna down here to Ephesians 4:29, 39:45 "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, 39:47 but what is good for necessary edification." 39:50 Now that's what we were talking about 39:51 that edification is building someone up. 39:54 That's what we want to do 'cause that's reciprocation. 39:57 We don't want to be a stumbling block. 39:59 We want to be there to assist other people 40:02 in building them up that it may convey, 40:07 impart grace to the hearers. 40:09 Thank you that we have that option 40:10 because remember we've got to give an account 40:14 on the Day of Judgment. 40:16 So what's coming out of our mouth, counts. 40:18 That's a biggie, I never really had thought about that. 40:22 I know there is the book of remembrance. 40:25 I mean, all this is being written. 40:27 Wow, this thing is getting heavy 40:29 all of a sudden. 40:31 It's not just the matter of pushing the envelope. 40:34 Ephesians 5:4, 40:36 "Let there be no filthiness," in other words, 40:39 "Let's don't bring shame into this situation, 40:42 let's don't have any indecency or obscenity, 40:45 let's don't be foolish, let's don't be sinful." 40:48 Boy, sinful, that's a tough one right there 40:50 because you can feel though 40:51 all kind of innuendos out there today, 40:54 just those little bitty birds that go under the saddle. 40:58 And, boy, by the time that you've ridden that horse 41:00 all day long, those little birds, 41:03 they've been birding into that horses back, 41:05 and I'll guarantee that horse like my mother, 41:10 that envelope's been pushed far enough 41:12 and that horse is going to buck you off. 41:14 So watch those little innuendos, 41:16 those little ways of trying to get back at somebody. 41:18 And sometimes we can just kind of have an agenda 41:22 and try to be silly about something. 41:25 And it also tells us in 2 Timothy 2:16, 41:28 we have gone from Ephesians 4 now, 41:30 I say 25, 30. 41:31 Before you leave Ephesians 5, when you were talking 41:34 about the, "Don't let there be filthiness, 41:38 foolishness nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting." 41:43 And I think of unwholesome speech 41:46 that coarse jesting is important. 41:49 You bet. You bet. 41:51 Yeah, now that we are not sitting here talking about 41:54 just having a good time, you know, 41:56 laughing about something that's wholesome. 42:00 No, of course... 42:01 Yeah, we're sitting here, sitting around the water cooler 42:05 and having a one-upsman and things get out of hand 42:08 so quick because either of our inadequacy 42:11 because I want to be accepted. 42:15 Boy, I just keep going back to this, 42:16 of course, I'm an old mature horse 42:18 so I look through different set of eyes. 42:20 I keep going, boy, this is fantastic. 42:22 Every idle word, you're going to have to get account of that. 42:26 Boy, that will stop in your tracks. 42:29 So, Lord, let me muzzle my mouth. 42:34 Amen. Muzzle my mouth. 42:35 Amen. 42:37 And then it goes on and says, one more, Shelley. 42:39 And we're talking about the grumblers, the murmurers, 42:42 the complainers. 42:43 Oh, my goodness, oh my, boy, they're everywhere. 42:46 Walking accord to their own selfish lust, 42:49 that they mouth great swelling words, 42:53 those little bitty tiny words and... 42:57 Jack can tell the story a little bit brighter 42:59 I had a few more verbs and adjectives 43:03 and everything until finally we have 43:05 an inflated story here that didn't even happen. 43:07 Amen. 43:09 And then, of course, we have talked about 43:12 this enough about the flattering to people 43:14 to gain advantage. 43:16 Amen. So anyway... 43:18 So unwholesome speech you've set it up 43:21 perfectly though, 43:22 just kind of segues into the last scripture 43:25 you read was on the grumbling, and murmuring, and complaining 43:28 which is the little segment I have. 43:31 And let me just... 43:32 We're gonna start with 1 Corinthians 10:10. 43:35 I've just got about four scriptures 43:36 that I would like to share with you. 43:38 We're talking about ways we sin with our mouth, 43:41 we've looked at lying, and deceitfulness, gossip, 43:44 and backbiting, unwholesome speech, 43:47 coarse speech, but, boy, this is one as I said 43:50 I think the Lord let me get this on purpose 43:54 'cause if any of this hasn't gotten you, 43:56 I bet this one does. 43:57 In 1 Corinthians 10:10, Paul writes and says, 44:02 "Do not grumble." 44:05 That's murmuring or muttering under your breath 44:08 in a complaining attitude. 44:11 He says, "Do not grumble as some of them did 44:15 and were killed by the destroying angel." 44:18 And I don't know exactly which scripture 44:21 he was referring to here, probably Numbers 24, 44:25 when they were grumbling, and murmuring, and complaining. 44:28 Numbers 21. 44:29 When they were grumbling, and murmuring, 44:31 and complaining against Moses and Aaron. 44:35 And what God do He sent fiery serpents to kill them 44:40 and then they had to set up the bronze serpent 44:42 which represented Jesus Christ. 44:44 So that they looked to Him to that and be saved and... 44:49 But when we think about it, 44:51 what is at the root of murmuring? 44:55 It's unbelief. 44:57 When you're murmuring, and grumbling, and complaining, 45:01 it's unbelief, it's a denial of the goodness 45:05 in the mercy of God. 45:07 And we know that if it's unbelief, 45:10 that's without faith and Paul said in Romans 14:23, 45:15 "Whatever is not a faith is," what, "sin." 45:19 So here the reason God judged them 45:24 and destroyed the people is that 45:26 they were being totally faithless, 45:28 they were murmuring, and grumbling, and complaining 45:31 against Moses and Aaron. 45:33 And it was their faithlessness. 45:36 So when he says do not grumble, that's a call for us 45:39 to keep a faith-filled positive attitude 45:43 in our heart. 45:44 And, you know, the Israelites were so good 45:47 at grumbling and complaining. 45:49 I know that on another occasion. 45:53 They just totally forgot about God's blessings 45:56 that He was delivering them, 45:57 He was setting them up as a nation, 45:58 He was gonna give them a land of inheritance. 46:02 So what He did on another occasion, 46:04 what they did, 46:05 they were grumbling, and murmuring, and complaining 46:07 because they missed the wonderful Egyptian food 46:12 that they left behind. 46:13 And listen to what Moses said in Exodus 16:8-9, 46:19 Moses says, 46:21 "This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat 46:24 to eat in the evening, 46:25 and the morning bread to the full. 46:27 For the Lord hears your complaints 46:30 which you make against Him." 46:32 When we are murmuring and complaining, 46:35 we're murmuring and complaining against God. 46:38 He says, "'What are we? 46:40 Your complaints are not against us, 46:43 but against the Lord." 46:45 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, say to all the congregation 46:48 of the children of Israel, come near before the Lord, 46:52 for He has heard your complaints."' 46:55 Wow, so when we're murmuring and complaining 46:58 about our circumstances that God allowed 47:01 to be orchestrated in our life, 47:03 we're murmuring and complaining against God. 47:06 You know, people murmur and complain 47:08 about their pastors sometimes. 47:12 God put that pastor in place, 47:14 you're murmuring and complaining against God. 47:17 So let's look at Numbers 14 because I really... 47:23 I remember the first time that this scripture hit me 47:26 straight between the eyes and this was about 47:30 15, 20 years ago. 47:33 In Numbers 14:3, the Israelites are murmuring, 47:40 and complaining, and they said, 47:43 "Why has Lord brought us out here to fall by the sword, 47:48 that our wives and our children should become victims? 47:53 Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" 47:57 So here God has delivered them from bondage, He saved them. 48:01 And now they're saying, 48:02 "Oh, He's brought us out here today to die." 48:06 And in Numbers 14:27, here's what God says to them, 48:13 "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation 48:17 who complains against Me? 48:18 I have heard the complaints 48:20 which the children of Israel make against me. 48:22 Say to them, as I live, says the Lord, 48:27 just as you have spoken in my hearing, 48:29 so I will do to you." 48:31 So they are saying, 48:32 oh, they are being totally faithless, 48:34 God didn't bring us out here to deliver us, 48:37 He brought us out in the wilderness to die. 48:40 And God says, "Okay, if that's what you think, 48:43 that's what I'll allow." 48:44 Here they are standing 48:45 at the edge of the Promised Land, 48:47 God commands them to turn around 48:49 and they get to go back and wander around the mountain 48:51 one more time for 40 years, 48:53 one more time, and one more time. 48:55 So in Hebrews, it says that they were shut out 49:00 of the Promised Land by unbelief. 49:03 And in Philippians 2. 49:07 Is this getting to you? 49:09 Do you realize when we kind of grumble, and murmur, 49:11 and complaining, we are guilty of it. 49:13 Philippians 2, I'm going to read this 49:15 from the Amplified in verses 14-16. 49:20 It says, Paul says, "Do all things 49:23 without grumbling and faultfinding 49:26 and complaining against God, 49:29 and questioning and doubting among yourselves 49:32 that you may show yourself to be blameless and guileless, 49:34 innocent and uncontaminated, children of God 49:38 without blemish, faultless, where you cannot be rebuked." 49:43 He says, "In the midst of a crooked 49:45 and wicked generation, 49:47 among whom you are seen as bright lights 49:51 as you hold out to the world and offer it the word of life." 49:56 So Paul is saying, don't grumble, 50:00 you're murmuring against God, but here's... 50:03 Our time's all gone, I can't believe it. 50:06 Here is the bottom line to what we are talking about 50:09 and you all can jump in here. 50:11 When the promise of the New Covenant 50:13 is God will give us a new heart. 50:15 Amen. 50:16 See, cleaning up our speech alone 50:20 won't solve the heart problem. 50:22 We've got to have Jesus living in our heart 50:25 by the power of the Holy Spirit, 50:27 we've got to have this spirit of God in us. 50:29 So muzzling your mouth and just cleaning up 50:31 your speech isn't enough, 50:33 you've got to have the Holy Spirit within you 50:36 and bring every, only by him can you 50:38 bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 50:43 So yes, we've got to muzzle our mouth, 50:47 put that bridle on our mouth. 50:49 And either speak in faith or lock it up, 50:54 and don't speak at all. 50:56 In Psalm 141:3, David prays, 51:02 "Set a guard, O Lord, 51:05 over my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips." 51:10 And that's what we've got to pray, 51:11 isn't it, Mollie? 51:12 Yes, and the scripture plainly says 51:14 out of the abidance of the heart, the mouth speaks. 51:18 And it's about those very words that we are justified, 51:22 made righteous or condemned, and that is where 51:26 that pronouncement is placed over them. 51:28 So it is about the words that are in our heart 51:33 and that's where we pray... 51:34 Shows the attitude of your heart. 51:36 Yeah. 51:37 Ask God, "Search me, O God, know my heart, 51:39 try me and know my thoughts." 51:40 Amen. 51:41 "See if there any evil way in me 51:43 and lead me in the path everlasting." 51:44 I just want to thank you each of you 51:45 for your contribution to this Bible topic 51:48 and it just seemed to flyby. 51:51 Did you have a comment? 51:53 Well, I know we've got a news break coming up. 51:55 Oh, yes, we do have a news break. 51:57 Thank you. But this has just flown by. 51:59 We're going to come back in just a moment, 52:01 and we'll have a final word, 52:03 but stay tuned for that final word. |
Revised 2018-01-03