Message from the Youth Pastor
Bro. Mark Beaver
Archived: November 2001
The Hardest Thing To Handle
King David knew that it was very important to keep self- control over the things which he spoke. He made it a purpose for himself that he not speak anything unpleasing to God. Not even by accident. What things did he place importance on?
Ps.17:3
Thou hast tried my heart; Thou hast visited me by night; Thou hast tested me and dost find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. NAS
Ps.34:13
Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. NAS
He challenged himself and stood strong. We all know that even though this is no easy task. How would you think King David would manage to do this?
Ps.35:28
And my tongue shall declare Thy righteousness and Thy praise all day long. NAS
Ps.37:30
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice. NAS
Ps.39:1
I said, "I will guard my ways, That I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle, While the wicked are in my presence." NAS
King Solomon was blessed by God with divine wisdom to rule over Israel. I chose verses from 19 chapters which had verses dealing with the importance of the words which proceed from our mouths. There are more verses than those which I used. Proverbs gives us those words of wisdom. If there was not much importance in the words we speak, then there would not have been much mention, right? Lets look at them, plus a few from some other areas of the Bible.
What about our speech does God not like?
Pr.6:17
A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, LIV
Pr.21:6
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death. NAS
Pr.26:28
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, And a flattering mouth works ruin. NAS
Pr.17:4
An evildoer listens to wicked lips, A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. NAS
Pr.4:24
Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. KJV
Pr.17:20
He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief. KJV
Pr.25:23
The north wind brings forth rain, And a backbiting tongue, an angry countenance. NAS
Mt.12:34
O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. KJV
Pr.10:19a
When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable
Pr.10:14b
Only a fool blurts out everything he knows; that only leads to sorrow and trouble. NAS
Pr.11:9a
The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor
Pr.10:11b
the mouth of the evil man is filled with curses. LIV
Ja.4:11
Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. KJV
There are benefits to developing self-control. The biggest motivation is the end result of disobedience. What can happen to us if we do not learn to develop self-control over the things which we speak?
Pr.10:11b & 31b
... the perverted tongue will be cut out. NAS
Pr.6:2
Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. KJV
Pr.13:3b
The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. NAS
Pr.18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. NAS
We now know you can lose your tongue, that is scary enough! Then, we may possibly move into a snare, and enter into a place of captivity, and then be ruined. Lastly, we can bring death upon ourselves. What direction can we take to make a change in the current condition of our speech?
Pr.2:6
For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. NAS
Pr.4:5
Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. KJV
Pr.8:6
Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. KJV
Pr.8:7
For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. KJV
Pr.8:8
All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. NKJ
Pr.16:23
The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips. NKJ
Are there benefits to properly controlling your tongue?
Pr.10:11a
There is living truth in what a good man says. LIV
Pr.10:31a
The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom. NAS
Pr.10:19b
he who restrains his lips is wise. NAS
Pr.13:3a
The one who guards his mouth preserves his life. NAS
Pr.15:4
A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but perversion in it crushes the spirit. NAS
Pr.12:19a
Truthful lips will be established forever. NAS
Pr.12:18b
the tongue of the wise brings healing. NAS
Pr.15:4
Gentle words cause life and health; griping brings discouragement. LIV
Pr.21:23
He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles. NAS
Pr.11:12b
a man with good sense holds his tongue. LIV
Pr.15:2
The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly. NAS
Pr.17:27
He who restrains his words has knowledge, And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. NAS
Mal.2:6
The law of truth was in his mouth, And injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, And turned many away from iniquity. NKJ
Pr.25:15
By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone. NAS
Jesus also taught regarding the things which we speak. He knew that we will stand before God and make an account to Him for the things which we have said during our lives. What were some of the penalties we may face?
Mt.12:37
"For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." NAS
Mt.15:11
"Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." NKJ
Mt.15:18
"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. NKJ
Lu.6:45
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. NKJ
Mt.5:37
"But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; and anything beyond these is of evil. NAS
Mt.12:36
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. KJV
The Apostle Paul also taught on matters concerning the use of the tongue. He brought on some good details for us to refer to as well. What kinds of things must we be careful of?
Tit.3:2
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. KJV
Ep.4:29
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. NKJ
Col.3:8
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. NKJ
James had some direction he gave to the early Christians regarding the way we treat others as we speak. What worth did he place upon the walk of a Christian with no control over their tongue?
Ja.1:26
Anyone who says he is a Christian but doesn't control his sharp tongue is just fooling himself, and his religion isn't worth much. LIV
Ja.1:19
Dear brothers, don't ever forget that it is best to listen much, speak little, and not become angry; LIV
James 3:1-18
1 Dear brothers, don't be too eager to tell others their faults, [a] for we all make many mistakes; and when we teachers of religion, who should know better, do wrong, our punishment will be greater than it would be for others. If anyone can control his tongue, it proves that he has perfect control over himself in every other way.2 [b] 3 We can make a large horse turn around and go wherever we want by means of a small bit in his mouth.4 And a tiny rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot wants it to go, even though the winds are strong.5 So also the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A great forest can be set on fire by one tiny spark. 6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness, and poisons every part of the body. And the tongue is set on fire by hell itself and can turn our whole lives into a blazing flame of destruction and disaster.7 Men have trained, or can train, every kind of animal or bird that lives and every kind of reptile and fish, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is always ready to pour out its deadly poison.9 Sometimes it praises our heavenly Father, and sometimes it breaks out into curses against men who are made like God.10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Dear brothers, surely this is not right! 11 Does a spring of water bubble out first with fresh water and then with bitter water? 12 Can you pick olives from a fig tree, or figs from a grape vine? No, and you can't draw fresh water from a salty pool.13 If you are wise, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth. And if you don't brag about them, then you will be truly wise! 14 And by all means don't brag about being wise and good if you are bitter and jealous and selfish; that is the worst sort of lie.15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, inspired by the devil.16 For wherever there is jealousy or selfish ambition, there will be disorder and every other kind of evil.17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere.18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness. LIV
Simon Peter was not silent on this issue as well. Look what he had to say. If you wish to enjoy life and have great days, then what must you do?
1Pe.3:10
For, " Let him who means to love life and see good days Refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. NAS
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