Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW190032A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:12 I am Shelley Quinn. I am JD Quinn. 01:14 And we are so glad that you are joining us. 01:18 Tonight, we will talk 01:21 about taming the tongue. 01:24 You know, the Apostle James said that 01:28 the tongue is like a fire and boy, is it ever. 01:33 Honey, why don't you introduce our family at the table. 01:37 Our family at the table, 01:39 this is Ryan, Ryan Day is my buddy. 01:45 Tim is my buddy. I am your buddy too, sure. 01:46 Amen. 01:48 My best buddy is my Shelley. 01:50 Oh, thank you. 01:51 Welcome to our table. 01:53 Yeah, you know, I have to say this, 01:55 when I was first looking at the topic, 01:58 I came up with 31 pages of scripture 02:02 on sins of the tongue, 02:04 and I'm just gonna kind of categorize them real fast. 02:07 Lying, that includes white lies, exaggerations, 02:10 insincere flattery, gossip, backbiting, 02:14 slander, and finger pointing, 02:18 cutting sarcasm, withering criticism, 02:22 discouraging and destructive words, 02:25 angry words, rage, cursing, murmuring 02:27 and complaining especially against God, 02:31 insulting remarks, quarrelsome, it striped, 02:35 of course, joking, and negative self talk. 02:40 I mean, there is page upon page 02:43 of problems that we all have with our tongue, 02:46 but the way we look at this 02:48 is that since this is such a common problem, 02:52 because the Bible says no one contain the tongue, 02:55 it has to be by the Holy Spirit. 02:58 So what we thought we do is come up with some thoughts 03:01 about how to tame the tongue. 03:03 Amen. 03:04 Let me read this to you, 03:06 and then we're going to do our song. 03:07 But this goes perfectly. 03:08 Proverbs 18:21 says, 03:12 "Death and life are in the power of the tongue 03:17 and those who love it will eat its fruit." 03:21 What does that mean? 03:22 The destructive power of the tongue 03:26 can scar a child for life. 03:28 It can ruin a marriage, 03:30 it can ruin somebody's reputation, 03:33 and it can change your life fortunes. 03:36 But when we think about the life giving power, 03:41 when we have the Word of God 03:42 in our heart, in our tongues, 03:44 we can spread the gospel, 03:47 we can encourage child, 03:49 we can do wonderful things 03:52 to bring about peace with our tongue. 03:56 So when it says 03:57 those who love it will eat its fruit, 04:00 if we give our tongue, free brain, 04:04 and we speak out and do harm, guess what? 04:08 It boomerangs. Yes. 04:09 It comes back on us, doesn't it? 04:11 So let's have an opening prayer 04:14 and then we'll talk about how to tame the tongue. 04:17 Amen. JD? 04:18 Yes. 04:20 Father, as we come to You in the name of Jesus, 04:22 just want to thank You, Lord, for Your many blessings. 04:24 Thank You for the Sabbath day. 04:25 Thank you for the opportunity, Lord, 04:28 to be able to get into Your Word 04:30 and learn more about taming the tongue. 04:32 Lord, we love You and we thank You 04:33 and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 04:36 Amen. 04:37 So what's our song gonna be? 04:39 Well, as it should be, Wonderful Words of Life. 04:43 Amen. 04:44 And I know if you like to sing as much as we love to sing, 04:46 it's page 286 in the Seventh-day Adventist hymnal, 04:50 that's page 286, Wonderful Words of Life. 04:54 Tim has moved over to the piano. 04:56 So he's gonna carry us. 05:06 Sing them over again to me 05:10 Wonderful words of life 05:13 Let me more of their beauty see 05:17 Wonderful words of life 05:21 Words of life and beauty 05:24 Teach me faith and duty 05:28 Beautiful words, wonderful words 05:31 Wonderful words of life 05:35 Beautiful words, wonderful words 05:39 Wonderful words of life 05:42 Sweetly echo the gospel call 05:46 Wonderful words of life 05:49 Offer pardon and peace to all 05:53 Wonderful words of life 05:56 Jesus, only Savior 06:00 Sanctify forever 06:04 Beautiful words, wonderful words 06:07 Wonderful words of life 06:11 Beautiful words, wonderful words 06:14 Wonderful words of life 06:19 Amen. 06:21 Amen. I love that. 06:23 Praise the Lord. I did too. 06:24 So, taming the tongue, 06:29 the first thing that came to my mind 06:33 was what Jesus had to say, 06:35 who wants to take Matthew 12:34-37. 06:40 I'll take that. 06:41 All right, if we're going to tame the tongue, 06:44 we've got to store up good in our heart, don't we? 06:46 Sure, absolutely. 06:48 So Matthew Chapter 12 you said? 06:51 34-37, 06:54 trying to get there real quick. 06:57 So I think this is an interesting topic 07:00 because it's one of those, lot of people don't talk about. 07:03 And when we were talking 07:04 about preparing this particular topic, 07:05 and you had, you know, 07:07 we had talked about what we were gonna speak about, 07:08 and you said, "What about this?" 07:10 I thought, you know, this is a perfect topic, 07:11 because it's one of those things 07:12 you just don't hear people talk about often. 07:14 Yeah. 07:15 And it's one of those we certainly need. 07:16 So Matthew 12:34-37, 07:19 and the Bible says, "Brood of vipers," 07:25 this is Jesus speaking, "Brood of vipers, 07:27 how can you being evil speak good things? 07:31 For out of the abundance of the heart, 07:33 the mouth speaks. 07:36 A good man out of the good treasures of his heart 07:39 brings forth good things 07:41 and an evil man out of the evil treasure 07:44 brings forth evil things. 07:46 But I say to you that 07:47 for one idle word every man speaks, 07:51 they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. 07:54 For by your words, you will be justified 07:57 and by your words, you will be condemned." 08:00 Those are strong words. 08:01 Those are strong words. Very strong words. 08:03 And you know, 08:04 when you think of when he says, 08:06 "I say it to you for every idle word you speak. 08:09 If I did a word study on idol, 08:12 it's inoperative, nonworking, 08:15 barren, unfruitful, 08:18 bringing about to inactivity or destructive. 08:22 And sometimes, 08:24 I think people forget that we will be judged 08:29 or condemned by what we speak. 08:32 So what's the solution and if, 08:35 out of the abundance of the heart, 08:39 the mouth speaks. 08:40 If we're going to tame the tongue... 08:42 Change your heart. 08:43 Got to have a change of heart, don't we? 08:46 It's trying to jumped off 08:47 of the scriptures name was treasure, 08:50 you know, there's that treasure box 08:51 that we've heard about all of our life, you know, 08:54 and that in our treasure box 08:57 is where we keep the important things. 08:59 So basically, that's what's really important to you. 09:01 And those are the things that you grasp first, 09:04 let's just say that the fire was coming. 09:07 You pick up your safety box, your treasure box, 09:09 whatever, you know, those things, 09:11 maybe your marriage covenant or whatever, 09:14 and then you rush out with them. 09:15 Yeah, that's good. 09:16 And so here it's letting us know how important this is. 09:21 Yeah, there's just no way to approach this topic 09:24 without just jumping full fledge 09:26 into the deep end of the pool. 09:28 Amen. 09:31 It's our heart that has to change. 09:33 That's right. 09:34 I love that as we're listening to the open of the program, 09:38 hear that song that Danny sings 09:40 it says, Lord, let my words heal a heart that hurts. 09:44 So we have to, our prayer, 09:47 constant prayer has to be out of compassion and love 09:51 and so that's what our heart needs to constantly be. 09:55 I love quick wit. 09:57 You are quick witted. 09:59 Well, and I like a dry wit 10:01 and I like I think it's funny personally, 10:04 but not everybody appreciates that. 10:06 And some people think you're being sarcastic. 10:09 And let's be honest, I am fluent in sarcasm. 10:12 But you know what, I really don't mean any harm. 10:15 I just like to be funny, you know and so, 10:19 but as you were mentioning those some of the words 10:23 in the examples, the cutting sarcasm, 10:29 you know, I have to be very careful 10:31 that I don't offend someone. 10:33 Sure. 10:34 So, you know, I have to scale it back. 10:36 So if, as a friend of mine says, 10:41 you'd be happy if you knew how much I was editing. 10:44 If you don't think I'm editing, 10:46 you'd be surprised how much I'm having to edit. 10:48 So anyway, 10:49 it's just interesting to me and yes, absolutely. 10:51 So when you're saying editing, 10:52 you're talking about mental filter. 10:54 In my mind, yes, I'm filtering what I am saying. 10:58 So yeah, 10:59 but it's out of the treasure of your heart, 11:01 you know it is the abundance of the heart 11:04 that the mouth speaks. 11:05 So I want to be sure that my heart 11:07 is full of compassion, 11:08 loving, and in my prayer is 11:10 Lord, let my words heal a heart that hurts. 11:12 Absolutely. 11:13 You know, there may be, 11:14 I just have to say this just for simplistic reasons, 11:17 there might be someone watching, 11:18 we often hear ourselves as Christians 11:20 use that language, 11:21 you know, you hear people say follow your heart 11:23 or, you know, his heart is pure. 11:26 And so, you know, we know as Christians 11:28 what this means often and then the Bible, 11:30 obviously the heart, we're not talking about 11:32 the cardiac pump in your chest 11:35 that's making the blood flow we're talking about, 11:37 most of the time, it's talking about the mind, 11:39 it's talking about the spiritual mind of a person, 11:41 the spiritual character of a person. 11:44 And so it's interesting as we're speaking about this 11:47 and there's this mind as we would say, 11:49 heart, word connection, 11:51 heart, lip, heart tongue connection. 11:53 And it makes me think of that there's some little thing 11:56 that's hanging in ET's office 11:57 or was in ET's office at one time 11:59 that set something along the lines 12:00 of I wish that I had a speed bump 12:03 between my brain and my mouth. 12:06 Right, exactly. 12:07 You know, and often sometimes 12:09 I wish that was the case for myself as well 12:11 because sometimes we habitually kind of unknowingly 12:15 say things, make remarks, 12:18 and we might not have put much thought into it. 12:21 But nonetheless, the mind is producing that. 12:24 It's a heart issue. 12:26 And so it's interesting here that Christ in that passage 12:30 that you just read in 12:34, 12:32 He starts with brood of vipers, brood of vipers. 12:36 When you think of a snake, a viper is a snake, 12:38 what is the most deadly part of a snake? 12:40 You know, it's the mouth and, 12:44 but when most people think of a snake, 12:46 they think of, you know, 12:47 that's how a snake 12:48 that's where he receives its main senses from 12:50 is its tongue. 12:51 And so, it's got a deadly poisonous bite 12:54 and when he's referencing there, 12:57 you brood of vipers, 12:58 he's talking to religious leaders. 13:00 Yes. 13:01 Religious leaders, and we often think of this 13:03 as you know, obviously, this is a humanistic thing. 13:06 We're all kind of stamped with this, 13:09 kind of this fallen nature 13:10 that we're constantly tugging 13:12 and being pulled in a direction 13:14 to say and do things that we shouldn't. 13:16 But you know, at the end of the day, 13:17 you know, this is still an issue 13:19 that even Christians have to pay attention to 13:21 and certainly must talk about. 13:23 Amen, because the words of our mouth 13:27 are with the window to our soul, if you would. 13:30 It tells us what our attitudes are, 13:33 and what our thoughts are. 13:35 And like, I love that sign, we need a speed bump 13:38 because sometimes, 13:40 you know, it's just like people who talk about lust, they say, 13:44 if you see something and it flies over you, 13:48 you can't help that as long as you, 13:51 I mean, a lustful thoughts tries to come, 13:54 you have to pray about it, get rid of it, 13:57 but you don't want to let it nest, 13:59 but If you've got a thought in your mind 14:02 and you let it out too fast, 14:04 once a word is out there, 14:06 there is power of life and death of the tongue. 14:08 Oh, yeah. 14:09 And somebody get sensitive, 14:11 you could scar them for a long time. 14:14 It really be interesting you know, for a while, 14:16 there's 25 different issues that you just read up 14:22 to starting with lying, 14:24 white lies etcetera and etcetera. 14:25 Boy, it'd be interesting when you said, 14:28 "Boy, I need to work on my sarcasm." 14:31 That's on here. Yeah. 14:33 Okay. Oh, yeah, don't remind me. 14:34 And, boy, all of a sudden, you looked in it, 14:38 wow, that could be me there, 14:39 that could be me there, that could be me there. 14:42 Murmuring and complaining from it. 14:45 It doesn't have to seem like a big thing. 14:48 Right. It's right there. 14:49 I mean, these are things that we all need to work on. 14:51 Yeah. 14:53 So we want to then know that 14:56 we have to store up good in our heart, 14:59 but the next thing we have to do 15:02 is purposefully guard our mouth. 15:07 Who wants to take Proverbs 21:23? 15:11 I'm just going to say it, 15:12 "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue 15:14 keeps his soul from troubles." 15:17 And go ahead read 1 Peter 3:10 15:19 'cause it's New Testament in, oh, this is good. 15:22 "For he who would love life and see good days, 15:25 let him refrain his tongue from evil 15:28 and his lips from speaking deceit." 15:30 You talk about a recipe, that's a good one right there, 15:33 he who would love life and see good days. 15:36 Who wouldn't want to love life and see good days? 15:39 Let him refrain his tongue from evil 15:41 and his lips from speaking deceit. 15:43 You know, the Psalm 141:3, 15:48 Psalm 141:3, 15:51 "I used to pray that over my life every day, 15:56 set a guard at the doorpost of my lips, oh Lord, 16:00 and keep watch over the door of my lips." 16:04 And I have somewhere along the line 16:09 ceased to pray that 16:10 but after researching and going into this topic, 16:13 I've decided, you know, 16:15 that's a good thing to be praying every day 16:17 'cause, you know, we feel like as a Christian, 16:21 I would never purposefully hurt anybody. 16:23 You know, I would be very careful not to lie. 16:28 There's things that we feel like we have control of, 16:33 but we're not always aware of what we say and do, 16:38 how it affects other people, so the Holy Spirit, 16:42 when we say set a guard over our mouth. 16:45 Sure. 16:46 That's the Holy Spirit. 16:48 It's a spirit of self control, isn't it? 16:49 And that's one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 16:52 Right. It's a spirit of self control. 16:53 Absolutely, and let me read this very quickly, 16:56 take it on down 16:57 to follow up what we're saying here, 16:58 well, how do we do this? 17:00 Yeah. 17:01 And it says, you just read 1 Peter 3:10. 17:04 Now I am gonna take it down to verse 12. 17:06 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, 17:10 and His ears are open to our prayers. 17:14 But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." 17:17 So you know, if our heart, if we're sitting here, 17:19 and we say that there's an issue here 17:21 that we probably could do better, 17:23 and we can lift it up to Him, and He has the ears to hear. 17:27 Amen. 17:29 He cares and He's going to assist us. 17:31 And so this is not if you find yourself 17:34 murmuring and complaining. 17:36 That's not who you are, 17:37 that doesn't define who you are. 17:39 You can make the necessary changes, 17:42 and you've got assistance in doing it. 17:43 Right. Amen. 17:45 I think it's fantastic. That's right, sure. 17:47 I think, I heard a story just recently, 17:51 a gentleman is talking about, it's a longer story, 17:54 but I'll just, the punch line was, 17:57 it's easier and this applies again to me, 18:00 it's easier to be clever than kind. 18:04 Again, it goes back to my sarcasm 18:08 whenever some situation happens, 18:11 it's always easy to try 18:12 to make a joke out of it or you know, 18:15 and that might again hurt someone, 18:18 so it's easier for me to be clever. 18:20 I can think, oh, that this would be 18:22 a good punch line for that, for your situation. 18:23 Yes, yes. 18:25 But how about if I try kindness? 18:26 Well, that's harder. 18:27 I've actually got to be, you know, 18:30 get past my little sarcastic, 18:33 my little wanting to be the class clown 18:35 or, you know, make everybody laugh, 18:37 because sometimes it's just not appropriate. 18:39 I mean, it's fun for everybody 18:41 to be, you know, happy 18:43 and make light of some things, 18:44 even especially if it's me, 18:46 I can make jokes of myself, 18:48 but so all that to say, 18:52 keeping our heart and our mind, 18:55 exactly what you said in that verse 12, 18:57 I like that. 18:59 For they ask Lord, they're on the righteous. 19:00 Yeah. That's right. 19:02 But on the flip side there, 19:03 you know, you can't take it too far 19:04 because one of the issues that we deal with 19:06 is insincere flattery. 19:07 So you could have turned that around, you see 19:09 and maybe exaggerated the other side. 19:13 Oh, you just look so wonderful. 19:17 My God, he didn't brush today, 19:19 you don't want to sit there 19:20 and they haven't bathed in three days 19:21 and you know that, hey, wait a minute here, 19:23 here's an issue. 19:25 So what we're looking for here and this is where at least, 19:30 I think that my God list, to me he's looking for balance. 19:32 Sure. You know, so. 19:35 You know, and I'm gonna tell myself right now, 19:37 I think that my main problem in that list is murmuring. 19:44 And this is horrid, but, but I hate a whiner. 19:49 I don't like to be around whining people. 19:52 But I find myself sometimes 19:54 when I've overbooked myself and we're traveling a lot. 19:59 You're working hard and you just go for months 20:01 on the end without a day off, 20:04 that I start murmuring and complaining about, 20:07 well, I've got to do this or we've got to go somewhere. 20:11 And, you know, 20:12 then I catch myself and I'll say, 20:14 "Oh, Lord, thank you that I've got the opportunity 20:16 that I get to go to this 20:19 'cause once you get there, 20:20 you're always happy to minister. 20:23 It's just the travel. 20:24 People don't understand sometimes how, you know, 20:29 if you have a job where you travel alot, 20:31 sometimes the hassle of travel is just overwhelming 20:35 if you're starting off your trip tired, right? 20:38 So that's where I've got to zip my lip, 20:42 you know, just put a little lock on it here 20:45 and bridle my tongue 20:46 because I can't complain about 20:51 what God has asked me to do. 20:53 Sometimes I think we overbook 20:55 and He hasn't asked us to do all of that though. 20:58 All right, so, Honey, why don't you take James 126 21:02 'cause if we're going to guard the mouth, 21:06 we've got to keep it tight rein on our tongue. 21:09 What does James have to say? 21:10 Boy, and he's talking to a lot of us right now, he says, 21:13 "If anyone among you think he is religious 21:17 and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart. 21:22 This one's religion is useless. 21:26 Boy, Lord, please help me. 21:32 Yeah. 21:33 Because it's so easy, it's so easy, 21:35 number one, we have an enemy out there 21:37 that's just setting everything up 21:38 that he possibly can for deception 21:41 and here, you know, 21:42 you can just be self deceived here, 21:45 and if something could come out of your mouth so quick, 21:49 that you would say," Oops, do over." 21:51 You know, and the older I get, 21:53 I don't think there's anything wrong with that. 21:54 If I were to say something to Ryan 21:57 that maybe I said nice 21:58 because the dog bit me this morning, 22:02 you know, Ryan, I didn't mean that, 22:04 and that's something I think we need to work on. 22:06 Sure. Yeah, absolutely. 22:09 You know, I'm thinking while we're going through 22:10 some of these texts. 22:13 First of all back to 22:15 how we can respond to this problem. 22:19 It says we must bridle the tongue. 22:21 And to bridle the tongue means to obviously restrain it. 22:25 You want to have control over it. 22:27 You don't want to, you know, 22:29 just allow yourself to just say any old thing, 22:31 but to allow yourself 22:33 to have some type of self control in that area. 22:34 But I think the key to that also 22:36 in order to be able to bridle 22:38 or control that tongue is found in, 22:40 actually in the verse that you just read, 22:41 Psalm 141:3, notice how it says, 22:45 "Set a guard, oh, Lord, on my mouth." 22:49 You know, we can try all day long 22:51 and I'm certainly not trying 22:53 to take the responsibility off of us 22:55 'cause we do have a responsibility. 22:57 We don't want to, you know, downplay that at all. 23:00 I think that, you know, sometimes Christians try to use 23:03 that as an excuse to say, 23:04 "Well, I just can't help myself, 23:05 you know, to sin." 23:07 You know, you got an excuse for sin, 23:08 you know, well, 23:09 it's, it's my nature, I can't help, 23:11 but it's just something that I do, 23:12 something I sin is constant as breathing, 23:13 but the Lord, you know, He has grace on me. 23:16 Oh, He made me like this. 23:17 Right, He made it. 23:19 Yeah, I inherited this fallen nature 23:21 from Adam and therefore, 23:22 you know, I can't help it. 23:24 I'm a backbiter, I'm a liar, I'm this, I'm that. 23:27 But at the same time, we also have to realize 23:29 that in order to gain complete victory 23:31 over something like this, 23:33 it does take us humbling ourselves 23:36 in God's presence and saying Lord, 23:39 "Only You and I think, you know, 23:42 a lot of us including myself, 23:43 I have to throw myself in here all of us. 23:44 I think a lot of us 23:46 need to have an Isaiah conversion experience. 23:47 Oh, amen. 23:49 I think that go back to Isaiah's conversion 23:50 in Isaiah Chapter 6. 23:52 He saw God sitting on His throne, 23:54 he saw God's righteousness. 23:55 In God's righteousness, there is no sin. 23:58 There is no lying. There is no backbiting. 24:00 There is no, you know, exaggeration. 24:02 There is no sarcasm. 24:03 There is no... 24:04 He saw God's righteousness and then he looked at himself 24:06 and he saw his filthiness, 24:08 and then outcomes the confession 24:10 and the repentance, woe is me, Lord, 24:13 because I'm a man of unclean lips. 24:16 And what was the response of his confession? 24:18 His repentance. 24:19 The angel grabbed the coal from of the altar, 24:22 and went and touched his lips. 24:24 And he was, 24:25 that's an action of forgiveness. 24:27 He was forgiven and he was cleansed, 24:29 and that's I think we have to realize 24:31 and we have to reach a state 24:34 where we're in a balanced state, 24:36 it's not, 24:37 you're not so far left or so far right. 24:39 The far left is gonna say, 24:41 "Well, you know, I just can't help it. 24:42 You know, that's just who I am." 24:44 The far right is gonna say, you know, 24:45 "I've got to wide knuckle this thing 24:46 all by myself to try to get through it." 24:48 Because I can make myself you know, be a better person 24:51 and not say these things and do these things. 24:54 I think we have to find the balance 24:55 and realize that it's our job to surrender it to the Lord. 24:59 It's our job to surrender our will 25:00 to Him to recognize that, 25:02 yes, we do have somewhat of a control in the sense 25:04 that we have a mind. 25:06 He has given us free will and free choice. 25:07 But in order for us to be able to exercise 25:09 that free will and free choice, 25:11 we have to be dependent on what did he say, 25:13 Oh, Lord, safeguard, oh, Lord, my mouth. 25:15 We have to go and say, Lord, I'm a man of unclean lips. 25:18 I need you to cleanse me, God, 25:20 I need Your power to help me overcome. 25:22 That's the bottom line. Yeah. 25:24 I think also, 25:27 we need to be aware of circumstances 25:32 that are displeasing to the Lord in situations. 25:35 For example, 25:38 and just forgive me for saying this, 25:39 but in the church, probably the, yeah, 25:43 bridle your tongue Shelley, 25:45 Everybody's in here doing like, but in the church, 25:49 I think the, you know, you don't hear people cursing. 25:53 You don't hear many angry words. 25:57 There's, I certainly would be shocked 25:59 if somebody was lying. 26:00 But what you do see 26:03 is gossip and the murmur mill, 26:07 and sometimes people come to you, 26:12 in the guise of, this is a prayer request. 26:16 Let me share this with you, we need to pray for so and so. 26:20 Now gossip, it takes two people, 26:22 it takes one talking and one listening. 26:26 And it's, you know, 26:27 when you think about gossip, it's garbage in. 26:32 And when you've got gossip, 26:33 if you're letting somebody dump garbage in your ears, 26:37 it's more than just guarding your mouth. 26:39 You got to guard your ears. 26:41 Some people want to be in the know, 26:44 so they're just like, you know, somebody is telling something, 26:46 they say, what, what? 26:48 And then some people are really out to be malicious. 26:52 But let's look at Proverbs 11:13 26:58 because this lets you know 27:01 what God thinks of it. 27:03 Proverbs 11:13, "A tale bearer reveals secrets. 27:08 But he who is of a faithful spirit 27:11 conceals the matter." 27:14 And this is the most powerful one. 27:16 But the reason I chose this one is 27:20 let me give you, 27:22 if you know somebody, you know, I remember 27:24 and I'm gonna talk about my precious mother-in-law 27:27 who is resting in the Lord right now, 27:29 precious woman of God. 27:32 But we get on the phone, 27:33 and she'd be talking about somebody in the family. 27:35 And so one day I said, 27:36 Mom, we gotta quit this, this is gossiping. 27:38 She said, "You're right. 27:39 We're not going to do this anymore." 27:41 And we'd start off on the next conversation 27:44 the next day would be talking, and then she'd be saying, 27:46 "Well, you know what they did." 27:49 And I just be going, blah-blah. 27:52 It's so easy to fall into that. 27:55 But if somebody comes to you, 27:59 who is a gossip, you know, 28:01 they're going to tempt you to listen. 28:03 Here's four questions that I want to give you. 28:06 This is how to guard your ears. 28:10 Ask them, why are you telling me this? 28:14 Do you know for a fact that this is true? 28:18 What is the source of your information? 28:22 And the one that'll really get them, 28:23 may I quote you on this? 28:28 That's genius. 28:29 That will shush up a gossip, 28:34 but then when we're bridling our tongue 28:37 and putting a guard on our tongue, 28:39 we've got to do the same thing. 28:41 Why am I sharing this? 28:43 What is my motivation for sharing this? 28:46 Do I really know that this is true? 28:50 Is my source reliable and sure? 28:53 And would I be willing to say what I'm about to have, 28:59 what I'm about to share as being quoted. 29:02 Right. 29:03 That will be a good way to bridle your tongue. 29:06 Absolutely. 29:08 Those questions, 29:09 if you're asking them if someone talking to you, 29:12 or if you just ask yourself, 29:16 and that's a good practice to be in. 29:18 Absolutely, yeah. 29:19 You know, I think of this whole situation, 29:21 I don't think anyone, 29:23 we'll just take Christian, professed Christian 29:26 who's practicing deceit or gossip or lying 29:29 or whatever it may be, 29:31 I don't think any of them would consider themselves, 29:34 you know, not saved in the sense that, 29:37 you know, most Christians are gonna admit proudly, 29:39 you know, I'm saved, I'm a Christian. 29:41 You know, I'm a follower of Jesus. 29:42 But you know, when we do those things, 29:44 I don't think that we realize that we, 29:45 as the Bible says, 29:47 "We are of our father the devil." 29:49 What is this type of, this type of sin 29:52 'cause this is a sin. 29:53 God considers this 29:55 what we're talking about taming, 29:56 the taming of the tongue, the sin of, 29:57 of all those things you just listed up here, 30:00 the, you know, the lie, the white lies, 30:01 the exaggerations and going down that list, 30:03 angry words and you know 30:05 the course joking the murmuring, 30:06 complaining all these things, 30:08 negative self talk that is of the devil. 30:10 Amen. 30:12 So we to just call it for what it is. 30:14 And it's interesting that when we look in Scripture, 30:17 the Bible calls the devil, he is the father of lies. 30:22 How was he able to divide the kingdom of God? 30:26 The Book of Revelation says he did it by his, 30:29 he drew a third of the stars with his tail 30:32 and we know symbolically that T, that tail, 30:36 we know it's his actual tale, t-a-l-e 30:40 in the sense that he told a tale, 30:42 he told lies, he is the father of it. 30:45 And when we are practicing these things 30:47 knowingly or unknowingly, 30:48 consciously or self consciously or subconsciously, 30:51 however you want to describe it, 30:53 unconsciously, if that's possible, 30:58 truthfully, we don't realize that 31:01 that is the spirit of the enemy trying to cause division. 31:04 And you know, you would expect something like this 31:06 to happen in a life of a person 31:09 who's not connected to Jesus, 31:10 who's not a professed Christian. 31:11 But when you start to see it inside God's Church, 31:15 you know, there have been entire... 31:16 I have known, I have been a part 31:18 of church bodies and groups of people 31:21 who have been divided because of this. 31:24 It's strong, it's powerful, 31:26 and entire church bodies, groups split, 31:29 because someone said this and someone said that 31:31 and then they all pick sides they, 31:33 "Oh, well, I believe this person 31:34 because they're my friend and they wouldn't tell a lie." 31:36 Well, I believe this person and blah-blah. 31:38 And all of this is the spirit of the devil, 31:40 the devil is sitting back just laughing 31:41 and having a good old time because he's like," 31:43 Hey, look, I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. 31:47 I've got them divided. 31:48 I've got them conquered in this 31:50 what most would consider a little white lie. 31:53 It's not really that bad. 31:54 It's just a misunderstanding, but it's serious. 31:57 That's why James says, 31:58 "If anyone among you thinks he's religious, 32:01 you know, I mean, you've got the religion. 32:04 I've been in ministry. 32:06 I was raised in a Christian singing family 32:08 so we were always in, 32:09 we were singing in churches and all through my life, 32:12 I've been in several different ministries. 32:15 And I have, 32:18 I mean there are some tales, I could tell not tales, 32:21 I could tell you actual letters 32:23 that people have written, 32:25 you know, that were hurtful, 32:28 you know, and these people 32:30 should have been guarding their tongue 32:31 and instead of complaining or commenting, 32:34 you know, making ugly comments 32:36 about maybe a song or a style 32:39 or clothes I was wearing or something. 32:43 Anyway, if they would have, you know, 32:45 maybe done it in a better way, you know, 32:48 confronted me in a loving way, instead of saying, you know, 32:52 we'll never listen to you again, 32:54 you know, whatever. 32:56 And how Christian is that? 32:58 Yeah, instead of building up and again, 33:01 I don't want them to falsely approve 33:05 of what I'm doing. 33:06 Because just, you know, well, he doesn't know better. 33:09 I want them to speak into my life. 33:11 And I want them to have the freedom to do that. 33:13 But it's that spirit, it's the intent. 33:17 And so that's what I think you were saying. 33:19 And again, when you know that you're bearing a tail, 33:24 I mean, you know, you know. 33:26 I want to tell you the story that is just amazing to me. 33:29 And it's about, it's a balloon fest of '86. 33:32 There's a town, I can mention it, 33:34 but it doesn't matter. 33:35 But the event was a world record releasing 33:39 of almost one and a half million balloons. 33:43 Wow. 33:44 And so this city released these balloons, 33:48 and the event was intended to be a harmless, 33:50 fundraising, publicity stunt. 33:52 But the balloons drifted back over the city 33:55 and landed in the surrounding area 33:57 and caused problems for traffic 33:59 and a nearby airport, 34:01 the event also interfered with a search for two boaters 34:06 who had gone missing 34:08 and were later found dead, drowned. 34:11 In consequence, 34:12 the organizers and the city faced lawsuits 34:15 seeking millions of dollars in damages. 34:17 Wow. 34:18 And cost overruns put the event at a net loss. 34:21 All that to say these balloons, 34:23 it was a great idea they thought, 34:25 you know, but really their intent was 34:27 to set a world record. 34:30 And I think, you know, 34:32 sometimes we have selfish intents, 34:34 but the resources that they wasted, 34:37 you know, the manpower that it took 34:39 to blow up these balloons. 34:40 These were helium balloons 34:42 and now you might know that we're in a, 34:45 there's a deficit of helium. 34:46 If they had looked down, down the calendar 34:49 and seeing this all these hundreds of what, 34:52 one and a half million balloons, 34:54 they're wasting all of this helium for just folly, 34:58 and then the balloons that fell in the lake, 35:02 there was a cold front that came in that 35:05 didn't allow the balloons to shrink 35:07 like they would have normally 35:08 in the air and then drop, 35:10 they dropped and still blown up. 35:14 And so, you know, 35:15 when the people were out there 35:17 searching for these two men in the water, 35:19 they couldn't tell whether that was a head 35:21 or a life jacket 35:23 or what it was between all different colors. 35:25 So it's just a fiasco of an event. 35:27 Well, you know what words are? 35:29 They go out with wrong intent, that you can't get them back. 35:33 That's right. They're hot air, yeah. 35:35 How many, right, 35:36 and how many millions of words do we speak 35:38 over our lifetime that, 35:40 oh, I think, man, I've just, 35:44 there are so many situations you can imagine 35:46 if you have said anything wrong. 35:50 That's amazing, yeah. 35:52 Let me share a story of our pastor in Houston 35:56 because, you know, you said you can't get them back. 35:59 He was being convicted of exaggeration, 36:03 which is a lie. 36:04 I mean, and he said, 36:06 "You know, God has really convicted me 36:08 that when I'm telling this story 36:10 and I exaggerate, I'm lying." 36:13 And so he told the Lord, 36:16 "Okay, Lord, from now on, anytime that happens, 36:19 You show me, you know, 36:21 let the words of the meditation in my heart, 36:24 the words of my mouth be pleasing unto you." 36:28 So he started preaching. 36:31 And all of a sudden, this was on a Sunday, 36:33 this is when I was a Sunday keeper, 36:34 this is on a Sunday morning. 36:36 And he's telling the best story. 36:39 He had everybody on the edge of our seats. 36:42 And all of a sudden, 36:43 he just stopped and he looked 36:46 and he said and God had told him 36:49 you can't say, you're exaggerating, 36:51 you gotta say that's a lie. 36:53 So he just stopped and he said, 36:56 "That's a lie." 36:59 And you know, 37:01 I appreciate it so much the heart of this man, 37:05 because this is the sin 37:08 when you were talking about Satan, 37:11 what he does. 37:13 What Satan does 37:14 is he takes 90% truth, 95% truth, 37:20 and then he twists just a degree or two 37:24 just to get enough of a lie in there. 37:26 There's enough truth 37:27 that you're kind of being gullible one. 37:29 Oh, yeah, yeah, but it's a lie. 37:33 So I appreciated the heart of this man. 37:38 And it comes down to, 37:41 we can't provide if the tongue is at fire, 37:46 we can't provide fuel for that fire. 37:50 Oh, yeah, that's so true. 37:52 Let me read James 1:19-22. 37:54 Yeah. 37:56 I'm gonna do that. Sure. 37:57 Following what you just said right there. 37:59 "So then my beloved brethren, 38:01 let every man be swift to hear, 38:05 slow to speak, slow to wrath, 38:08 for the wrath of a man does not produce 38:10 the righteousness of God. 38:12 Therefore lay aside all filthiness 38:14 and overflow of wickedness 38:15 and receive with meekness, the implanted word, 38:19 which is able to save your souls. 38:22 And the one that we hear most often, 38:24 so, the doers of the word 38:27 and not hearers only, deceiving yourself." 38:31 And there are so many times 38:34 whenever we do set ourselves up, 38:36 sometimes artificially so that become a reality. 38:40 And maybe misheard, misread, and... 38:45 One thing that God has been teaching you 38:47 and I really appreciate this about JD. 38:50 You know, when you think of it, 38:52 the swift to hear and slow to speak, 38:55 He gave us two ears and one mouth, right? 38:58 But something that God started impressing you about, 39:03 probably four or five years ago, 39:05 is, I'd be telling JD, 39:08 "Did you know what such and such said," 39:10 you know, and I'm talking in, and he said, 39:14 "Honey, we don't have enough information yet." 39:17 And so JD is very, 39:20 and I don't consider myself a judgmental person, 39:23 but there's times you know, something well, 39:25 and you think, okay, but some, 39:27 he'll almost always say to me, 39:29 "Well, we just don't have enough information yet." 39:31 And it's true. 39:33 You need to hear both sides of every story. 39:35 It is wise. 39:36 You know, that was one of those, 39:38 I remember, 39:40 we're very fortunate in pastoral, 39:42 in that there's not a boring minute, 39:44 because there's so many different personalities 39:47 and so many hurting people 39:48 that are calling in and saying help. 39:51 Our responsibility is very simple. 39:53 They encourage us. 39:55 God has an answer. 39:57 Let's allow Him to be God 39:59 and let's keep us out of the way. 40:01 Well, so everyone wants to be heard. 40:05 I mean, they'd rather be heard than having a real issue. 40:07 A real answer you mean? 40:09 A real answer, thank you. 40:11 And so, I and if you are 40:15 a compassionate person by nature, 40:18 it's easy to empathize and you know, 40:21 it's easy to become as one. 40:23 And so as you're listening, there's so many times 40:25 when you're just, you're lost. 40:30 You don't know where to go or what to do. 40:33 And you call upon Jesus name, in Jesus name, 40:36 but Jesus, only Jesus. 40:40 And then finally, 40:42 this was one of those ah-aha moments 40:43 and let's just say if you're fortunate, 40:45 you may have five ah-aha moments in your life. 40:49 Something that's really, really profound. 40:52 And, boy, it just dropped right in a beautiful night. 40:56 JD, you've been a fixture all your life. 40:59 Remember the old TV program name that tune? 41:05 I can name that, 41:07 I can just see Tim, 41:08 I can name that tune and seven notes, 41:11 rhymes I can name it in six, folks, 41:14 it becomes notes. 41:16 Now, here's a little JD, I can name it in four. 41:19 Come on get serious. 41:21 But yet it's our nature to the optimist. 41:25 Right. 41:27 I no more no one song than another song. 41:28 But yet I want to win the game so it got in the way. 41:31 Right. 41:32 So anyway, 41:35 I'd have to learn that it's really easy to say 41:39 we just don't have enough information. 41:41 Yeah. 41:42 That is profound. 41:43 Yeah, that is profound. 41:45 And it doesn't cost a lot of money 41:47 to sit and say, hey, let's take 41:50 a little bit more information here and little, 41:52 then maybe we can see rather than be a fixer. 41:55 I can fix that, I can name that tune. 41:59 Hey, you can't even more name that tune 42:01 than man in the moon, you know. 42:03 You're right. 42:04 They just, they do want to be heard 42:05 and so for you to say, 42:07 I don't have the answer, but I can pray with you. 42:09 Amen. 42:11 That's at least, you have a wonderful position 42:14 and we all have that position. 42:16 We all have and hopefully we all do, 42:18 you know, it's just that, but, boy, it's powerful to me. 42:22 It is very powerful. 42:24 So be swift to hear and slow to speak. 42:28 Amen. 42:29 You want to hit those two in Proverbs there? 42:31 Sure, yeah, for lack of wood. 42:33 That's Proverbs 26:20 in the Amplified. 42:36 Okay, yes. 42:37 Proverbs 26:20, 42:39 "For lack of wood, the fire goes out 42:41 and where there is no whisperer, 42:43 contention ceases." 42:46 So you gotta cut the fuel line. 42:47 Yeah, right. 42:48 Just cut the supply line, yep, that's true. 42:51 Zip it. 42:52 Then Proverbs 10:19 says, 42:54 "In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking, 42:58 but he who restrains his lips is wise." 43:01 Amen. 43:03 You know, I just want to add to this 43:05 as we're discussing this, 43:06 you know, don't provide fuel for the fire, 43:09 you know, more or less, 43:11 it's a probably rhetorical question. 43:12 But you know, why do you think people? 43:15 Why do you think we do that? 43:16 Why do you think we kind of get sucked into 43:19 to continue allowing that fire to burn? 43:23 We want to have our say, 43:25 I think we want to, 43:27 we think people care more than they do about our opinion. 43:30 That's true. Honestly. 43:32 How true. 43:33 I'm bad about that, I think that you really do care 43:35 what I think about your hair. 43:36 But, you know, 43:38 and so we'll say something about it 43:41 and that wasn't even necessary to say, you know, and that's. 43:44 How true. 43:45 So, you know, if we will stop, my mother's, she... 43:49 Oh, she hated the word shut up. 43:52 Right. 43:53 And I know a lot of people do and it's not a good word, 43:55 but you know what? 43:57 It do us all the good. Shut your trap. 44:00 It would do us so good just to, 44:02 if we had on our on the inside of our eyelid, shut up. 44:06 Yeah. 44:07 You know, so that we just shut our mouth. 44:09 We don't have to say and for lack of words, 44:12 for multitude of words sin is not lacking, 44:15 more words we use, 44:17 the more you're going to say something 44:20 that you shouldn't. 44:21 And you know sometimes some people 44:23 just get caught up in the whirl. 44:25 There's a one absement. Yeah. 44:27 You know if I can get a little bit more, 44:30 I can tell a better story than that, you know. 44:33 And all of a sudden now we're swapping tales 44:36 and tales become white lies. 44:39 Well, you know, the reason I'm sighing 44:41 is because that is an area in which I have to be careful 44:46 because I was kind of taught 44:48 that was bonding was to swap stories. 44:51 So somebody tells their story and I'm going to tell mine, 44:54 or they're telling about their back surgery coming up, 44:57 so I am gonna tell them all about my back surgery 45:00 to help them feel better, 45:01 but it can be perceived as a selfish, 45:07 self centered type thing. 45:09 And we all have to be careful. 45:11 I love the thought that one more thing 45:16 to help us tame the tongue is to be thoughtful. 45:21 Proverbs 29:20 says, 45:26 "Do you see a man hasty in his words, 45:31 there is more hope for a fool then for him." 45:35 Sometimes words just come rushing out, 45:39 and so that's where we've got to be careful. 45:43 The New Testament has much to say about this. 45:46 Why don't you? 45:47 Sure, it's Colossians 4:6 says, 45:50 "Let your speech always be with grace, 45:53 seasoned with salt, that you may know 45:56 how you ought to answer each one." 45:59 So that's an interesting text. 46:01 1 Peter 3:9-11, 46:04 and this is from the Amplified Version. 46:07 Bible says, "Never return evil for evil 46:10 or insult for insult, 46:12 but on the contrary, blessing, 46:16 praying for their welfare, happiness and protection 46:19 and truly pitying and loving them 46:22 was what that would mean." 46:23 It says, "For know that to this you have been called 46:27 that you may yourselves inherit a blessing from God 46:31 that you may obtain a blessing 46:33 as heirs bringing welfare and happiness and protection." 46:37 Verse 10 says, 46:38 "For let him who wants to enjoy life 46:41 and see good days. 46:42 Good whether apparent or not, 46:45 keep his tongue free from evil 46:47 and his lips from guile," of course, 46:50 that would be treachery and deceit. 46:52 "Let him turn away from wickedness 46:54 and shun it and let him do right. 46:57 Let him search for peace 46:59 that is harmony and undisturbed from fears, 47:01 agitation, passions, and moral conflicts," 47:05 it says, "And seek it eagerly, 47:07 do not merely desire peaceful relations 47:11 with God with your fellow men and with yourself, 47:14 but pursue, go after them." 47:17 You know what I see in that? Yeah. 47:18 Those are what I have to do. Right. 47:21 It's not what you can do for me. 47:23 Right. 47:25 It's what I have to do, 47:26 this is let him turn away from wickedness and shun it. 47:29 So it doesn't say you go turn around 47:31 and you go correct him. 47:32 You go tell him what he's done wrong. 47:35 I need to turn away from wickedness and shun it. 47:37 You know, and this is when you think about this. 47:41 I'm pretty good. 47:44 Not I but the Lord in me. 47:46 If somebody insults me, 47:48 I'm not one to lash back at them right away. 47:53 Right. 47:55 But you do see 47:56 a lot of really wonderful people 48:00 that, you know, good Christians 48:03 that you insult them 48:05 and man, I'll tell you something. 48:07 Game on. 48:08 Something changes, it is game on and so 48:11 but that's feeding the situation, isn't it? 48:14 That's right. 48:16 That's the most brilliant thing about an argument, you know. 48:20 Yeah. 48:21 Just you say, "Oh yeah, you're right, 48:23 I admit it 48:25 or you don't even have to admit it, 48:28 just say you might have a point there 48:30 and it deflects and it's like they've got nothing, 48:33 fire goes out and they're just mad 48:35 'cause they got no fight as you were saying. 48:37 They have no oil to burn. 48:39 Right. 48:40 Yeah so, something that we always teach 48:46 in marriage counseling. 48:48 And, honey, I'll let you take 2 Timothy 2, 48:52 is learn to attack the problem, 48:58 not the person. 49:00 Yeah. 49:01 You know, and usually 49:03 if somebody comes in there insulting 49:04 and they're mad at you and they're berating you, 49:06 there's a problem. 49:08 You need to identify the problem 49:10 and learn to attack that problem, 49:13 but not the person. 49:15 Yeah, It tells us in 2 Timothy 2:23-26, 49:21 "But avoid foolishness and ignorant disputes 49:23 knowing that they generate strife, 49:26 and a servant of the Lord must not quarrel 49:28 but be gentle to all 49:30 able to teach patience, and humility, 49:36 correcting those who are in opposition, 49:39 if God perhaps will grant them repentance 49:41 so that they may know the truth, 49:43 and that they may come to their senses 49:45 and escape the snare of the devil, 49:47 having been taken captive by him to do his will." 49:51 Now, you know, I'm honest... 49:55 And I didn't learn to tame my tongue 49:57 but we're identifying the problem. 49:59 Yes. 50:00 There are some people 50:02 who are in the church who are zealots. 50:07 And they don't speak the truth in love. 50:12 They pound people 50:15 to get them to see it their way. 50:19 Right. 50:20 And, you know, this says right here, 50:24 I love what Paul wrote, 50:26 in humility, correcting those who are in opposition, 50:32 in hopes that God can bring them to repentance. 50:37 You cannot bring anyone to repentance. 50:40 And if you jump in and you're quarrelsome, 50:45 you're aggressive, you're not gentle. 50:49 It's foolish, it's ignorant is what he's saying here. 50:53 And you're not gonna turn anyone away. 50:55 And this is true 50:58 especially with in your marriage 51:01 and with children. 51:02 Oh, man, yeah. 51:04 I mean, you have to be careful. 51:06 Absolutely. 51:07 You know, just what you just said mentioning, 51:09 you know, with children in a marriage. 51:12 This is what we're talking about this entire topic 51:15 is important all around 51:16 in every situation inside and outside the home, 51:20 but I would say especially in the home, 51:25 I have been in situations 51:27 where I have seen parents 51:31 gossip in front of the children. 51:33 What are they teaching their children? 51:36 They will share their opinions, their thoughts, bash, 51:40 whether it's each other, 51:42 or someone from church, someone from work. 51:46 Children are like sponges, they soak that stuff up. 51:49 And you're teaching those little ones to, you know, 51:52 grow up and be that same way that it's okay, 51:55 somebody makes you mad, disagree with them 51:58 or whatever you're teaching them to do that. 52:01 On a same note, I have seen, you know, parents, 52:06 not that I am giving examples, but I've seen this, 52:09 observed this, in some situations 52:10 where parents speak to their children 52:13 in a way where they may be name calling, 52:16 it may be addressing them in such a way 52:19 or talking about the father, 52:21 when the father's not around in a way, 52:22 downgrading him, 52:24 the father talking about the mother 52:25 in a way to the children. 52:26 I'm just giving some examples, 52:28 but these situations are very, very real. 52:31 And, you know, 52:32 the scripture that came to my mind earlier 52:34 as we were talking about the seriousness of this topic 52:37 and how it is a sin and it is something 52:39 that needs to be paid attention to. 52:41 We were talking about the judgment 52:42 that comes with that. 52:43 And very famous text that comes to my mind 52:47 is Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, 52:50 which we know 13 talks about, 52:52 let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. 52:54 Fear God and keep His commandments 52:55 for this is man's all 52:56 or this is the whole duty of man, 52:58 as the King James Version says, 52:59 but in verse 14 says this, 53:02 "For God will bring every work into judgment, 53:06 including every secret thing, 53:09 whether good or evil." 53:11 And so I think sometimes we have to realize that this 53:13 and I know, you know, 53:16 since we're on the confession, 53:17 we all have confessed something here, 53:19 I have to confess 53:20 as I'm looking through this list here, 53:22 I am one in and yes, I'm almost ashamed 53:26 and terrified to say this, 53:27 but I can be one that murmurs and complaints 53:31 and I never have even considered at times 53:34 that the state of murmuring and complaining, you know. 53:37 I may, I mean, 53:39 there may be a situation that happens 53:40 even in ministry, that I'm like, man, what, 53:43 because I'm a very analytical thinker. 53:46 If I see something happen, a decision that's made, 53:49 whatever the case may be, 53:50 I'm very analytical, it can be a blessing, 53:53 it can also be a curse, 53:55 and I will literally pick that situation apart 53:58 and try to put myself in the mind of that person 54:00 who made that decision. 54:02 And at the end of the day if it didn't line up 54:03 with the way I think things should be 54:05 I find myself sitting and roasting on that going, 54:08 what in the world? 54:10 And then it'll go as bad and I've done this, 54:12 I'm guilty of this and I had to repent of it 54:15 but it is true, 54:16 I will let it roast in my head so much 54:18 to get me so worked up 54:20 that I will go find someone else. 54:22 Whether it's a friend in ministry, 54:24 a pastor and think to myself, wait a second, 54:27 am I thinking this through, 54:29 let me go shar the situation with him 54:30 and see if they think that I'm wrong, 54:34 or if that person's right and you know all a while, 54:37 I've done this I never even thought once like, 54:39 that's gossip. 54:42 You're taking this and spreading this fire 54:44 but you know how many other people 54:45 have probably been in the same situation? 54:47 I know it because it happens in ministry all the time. 54:50 Oh, did you hear about what so and so did? 54:51 Yeah, I heard that. 54:53 What were they thinking? Don't they know that? 54:55 And then it just starts and then I think sometimes, 54:57 you know, we kind of pad the situation with 55:00 well, that's my friend or that's my board family, 55:03 you know, we're like that with each other, 55:05 we're tight like that, 55:07 but it still don't change the fact 55:08 that you know and in my murmuring 55:10 and complaining 55:12 I'm doing more bad than I am good. 55:15 And man, this is a study that you very rarely ever hear 55:20 and I'm glad we talked about this. 55:21 I don't like it. 55:24 Jesus, I don't like it. 55:25 Oh, listen, we only have two minutes left. 55:28 So let's just get down to the bottom line. 55:33 Psalm 139:23-24, 55:39 "David, praise and he says, 55:41 "Search me, O God and know my heart. 55:44 Try me and know my anxieties 55:47 and see if there is any wicked way in me 55:52 and lead me in the way everlasting." 55:54 When he says know my heart, it's know my thoughts. 55:57 That's right. 55:58 It root out the unrighteousness in me, Lord. 56:02 And then we know that 1 John 1:9 says, 56:04 "If we confess our sins, 56:06 He's faithful and just to forgive us of our sins 56:09 and cleanse us of all unrighteousness." 56:11 So we got to ask God 56:13 'cause some people are like, 56:14 I don't have a problem with my tongue. 56:16 Well, that's not what James says. 56:18 That's not what the Bible says, we all do. 56:21 But as we confess our sin, 56:25 then what he does, you know, 56:27 it's just like in Psalm 51, 56:29 "Oh, create in me, a clean heart, O God, 56:33 renew a steadfast spirit in with me. 56:38 Do not cast me away from your presence. 56:40 Don't take your Holy Spirit away from me, 56:43 but restore to me the joy of your salvation, 56:46 then I'm gonna teach others your way. 56:50 So the whole conclusion of the matter 56:52 as you said earlier, 56:54 we've got to keep our heart with diligence 56:56 for out of it springs the wellspring of life, 57:01 and we've got to learn to zip it. 57:06 Yeah, a multitude of words just came out. 57:10 Guess what? Our time is all done. 57:11 I can't believe this went by. 57:13 So, pastor, 57:14 thank you so much for joining us. 57:16 Thank you. 57:18 And we want to thank you at home. 57:19 Our prayer for you is that the grace 57:21 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 57:23 the love of the Father 57:25 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:27 will be with you today and always. 57:31 And just praise the Lord. 57:35 Amen. Amen, yeah. |
Revised 2019-10-07