The Power of Words II

The Power of the Tongue

Fred R. Coulter—August 26, 2023

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Also, the power of tongue, because you don't have words unless you can write, unless you can speak. Isn't it interesting that everything in the Bible has to do with that? But before we get to that, let's cover a little news:

It hasn't been reported much here in the West, but China has been suffering terrible floods because they get the monsoon rains. Some of their towns have received up to 27 inches of rain. So, that's causing flooding in China; causing a lot of problems in China. That also means that China is going to have to start taking care of things at home.

Now, then, there's another thing. that the Chinese and Russians are trying to do. They're trying to bring about what is called the BRICS. Brazil, India, China. Russia and South Africa.

They want to create a new international currency for trade. However, the Chinese are now in no position to bring that forward, and here's why: The Chinese have a lot of bankruptcies beginning to take place because of their fast development of the high rise dwellings that they're trying to force everyone into, and a lot of them are empty.

Now, they have billions and billions and billions of dollars that they have in loans, which they get from the Western countries. So, China will not be able to do what it wants to do, nor will Russia be able to do what it wants to do in the time period that they think they need to do it.

Here's another one on health. Chlorine Dioxide Kills Super Bugs.

Chlorine dioxide is available and it will kill a lot of different things when people become infected. I just bring that up to you for you to check out.

The power of words!

• How important is that?
• How important it is in relationship to:
• our thinking
• our emotions
• what we do
• how we do it
• how we say it
• how people respond to it

I want you to think on this: The whole book of Proverbs is a very detailed study on how:

• to think
• to speak
• to understand the difference between sin and righteousness
• to understand self-willedness
• to understand haughtiness

Now, here's a problem that happens in the Church. And it also happens in the world.

Proverbs 18:19: "A brother offended..."

We'll talk about offenses a little bit later on, but people offend one another, and many times they don't realize that they're doing it, and it has causes a lot of hurt feelings.

Same way in the world! Look at the offensive speech that is taking place in the world today. A lot of that is perpetuated and carried on with the mainstream media, the fake news.

Verse 19: "A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city…"

• Have you ever offended someone, and you don't know that you have offended them?

or

• You don't care whether you offend them or not?

So you think on that!

"…and their disagreements are like the bars of a fortress" (v 19).

How strong is a person's individual mental capacity? Very strong!

Verse 21—I want you to take special note of this, because we'll cover this in the New Testament, as well. What we know and understand is that the Old Testament and New Testament agree with each other. One reinforces the other.

Verse 21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue…"

• Isn't that true?
• Who ultimately determines life or death? God does!

It also has the power with offense to cause people to hate one another, and sometimes that hatred comes about that you're completely unaware of. So, this is why the messages going through the power of words.

Verse 21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat the fruit of it."

Matt. 12—let's see what Jesus said, and let's think about what it means for us and how we need to conduct our lives and how we need to control what we say and what we speak.

Jesus speaking to the scribes and Pharisees who continually ridicule them:

Matthew 12:34: "Offspring of vipers, how are you able to speak good things, being evil?…."

We see that today on television and people's opinions, forcing upon the society their way of thinking, and they don't even understand what's right and wrong.

Part of that is because of the punishment that God is bringing upon us, because of rejecting God in the first place.

"…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (v 34)

That's why there's a proverb which says, 'When a person holds his tongue, he is counted as wise, because he will listen first.'

Verse 35: "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings out good things; and the wicked man out of the wicked treasure brings out wicked things." We see that today!

• Does that influence people in the Church? Yes!
• Does that influence what we do with each other? Yes!

Verse 36: "But I say to you..."

Now listen carefully, I want you to tie this in with offence, where we started, that sometimes we offend people, we don't know we offend them. Or sometimes we offend them, and we don't care whether we offend them or not. So, offenses come, and emotions and problems get involved; but notice this:

Verse 36: "But I say to you, for every idle word that men may speak, they shall be held accountable in the Day of Judgment."

Think of that especially among brethren! That's important to understand.

Verse 37: "For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned."

Now, that tells us an awful lot! What I want everyone to do is this: I want you to think about your approach to people and especially to brethren.

There does come a time to tell sinners in no uncertain terms they're sinning so that they can repent. There are other times when difficulties come along that we need to learn how to handle them properly.

Let's come back here to the book of James and see what James told us about the tongue. Quite an amazing thing! Now, stop and think about all the things in the New Testament that have to do with how brethren get along with each other.

James 3:1: "My brethren, do not many of you become teachers, knowing that we will receive more severe judgment."

What did Jesus say? You're going to be judged by what you say!

Verse 2: "Because we frequently offend, every one of us...."

I want you to stop and think, have you offended someone? Maybe you haven't thought about it, whether you have or not. But I want you to think about it and:

• think about how you answer
• think about how you talk

"...If anyone does not offend in what he says..." (v 2).

What does this tell us? All of us can cause problems because of:

• the tongue
• the mind
• the heart

All combined!

"...If anyone does not offend in what he says, this one is a perfect man and is able also to hold in check the whole body" (v 2).

Then he says, 'I want you to learn a lesson here.'

Verse 3: "Remember, we put bits into horses' mouths in order that they may obey us, and we direct their entire bodies. Consider also that ships, being so large, and being driven by strong winds..." (vs 3-4)—or driven by the motors!

But what guides it? A rudder! (v 4). A very small thing compared to the ship.

Verse 5: "In the same way also, the tongue is a little member, but it boasts great things. see how large a forest is set ablaze by a little fire."

Now, this past two weeks, Maui is recovering from the fire that took place. All of the stupidity of men combined to make it a greater disaster than is imaginable. But none of them are willing to take credit for what they did that wasn't right.

Verse 6: "And the tongue is a fire..."

• Isn't that what people like to do?
• How many times do we have an opinion where we judge their thoughts?

We don't know what they're thinking, and maybe they're just misspeaking. We have no idea.

"...a world of unrighteousness. So has the tongue been among our members... [among Christians] ...the one member that defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of life, and is set on fire by Gehenna" (v 6). That's the tongue! We're going to be judged by it!

Verse 8 tells us it's a lifelong thing that we need to understand.

Verse 8: "But the tongue no human being is able to tame…"—unless you choose to do so!

Unless we educate ourselves in a way so that we become aware so that we can speak things in a right way, and hopefully not offend one another. Sometimes the offenses are piled on one after another and are like it says in the Proverbs, like the bars of iron.

"…it is an unrestrainable evil, full of death-dealing poison. With it we bless God the Father, and with it we ourselves curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes out blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so!.... [then he adds one more thought to it]: ...Does a fountain pour out of the same opening sweet water and bitter water?" (vs 8-11). No, it doesn't!

Same way with a tree, it can only bear whatever fruit that it is.

Verse 13: "Who is wise and understanding among you?...."

• let's hope we'll be wise and understanding
• let's hope that we will learn
• let's hope that we apply these things to ourselves

Because living in the world, the most important day is the Sabbath Day. We have six days, and it's all we can do to get to the Sabbath where we can have some rest, where we can:

• learn God's way
• learn God's Truth
• be corrected

As I said last time, self-correction with the Word of God and the Spirit of God, that's how we can control the tongue!

The power of words, the power of the tongue:

• it is many times used for good
• it is many times used improperly
• it is many times it's used for evil

The book of James has some really good things for us to understand.

Considering self-exaltation and envy against the Truth:

James 3:15: "This wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic."

That's what we see with so much speech in the world today.

Verse 16: "Because where bitter envying and selfish ambition are, there is dissension and every evil thing."

That's exactly what's happening in the world. People are fighting back and forth, and those who are the ones who are evil are trying to gain the upper hand. Those who are trying to keep things where they're decently law-abiding have to fight real hard against it.

Verse 17: "But the wisdom from above is first pure... [talking within the congregation] ...then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and without hypocrisy."

So, there's the contrast. We need to keep this in mind. When we come out of the world, we have to be totally re-educated in our heart and mind and everything that we do.

This is why God has His Word to teach us so we can learn. All of us as elders, we have to learn, because what we say can have a great effect upon people.

Verse 18: "Now, the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace."

So it seems like you have a contradiction here. Kind of like a two-sided coin. Those who get offended and those who make offenses.

Sometimes people who get offended get offended for no reason. But many times they're easily offended, and if that's the case, then you have to figure out why. If you are bringing things to people that offend them, think about what you're doing and saying! Don't be impetuous, that is blurting out your answers.

Here's what we're also dealing with: we're dealing with overcoming human nature. I don't think there's a one of us, yet, who have perfect control over human nature! Not any of us. Not me, and no one else!

James 4:5: "do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The spirit that dwells in us lusts with envy'?"

That's the law of sin and death within us, which we have to fight against. Overcoming and developing character in how we speak, what we think and what we do is all the process of conversion.

Verse 6: "But He gives greater grace. This is the reason it says, 'God sets Himself against the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.'"

How are we humble?

• when we love the brethren.
• when we love each other.
• when we're just not looking at them to be critical of this, that or the other thing

Verse 7: "Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

That's why we have Sabbath services! Think of how quickly all of this would disappear:

• without the Sabbath
• without the Word of God
• without the Spirit of God
• without the teaching and reinforcing, repeating and understanding

I was talking with someone here recently, and the discussion was the importance of repetition. I mentioned, 'That's why we have the Sabbath every seventh day. Not ten days, not three days, but seven.'

On this day, when we come to God, His presence will be here with us, with His Spirit in us!

Verse 8: "...Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded!"

That's very interesting. It starts out in James 1 that if anyone is double-minded, he's unstable in all his ways.

Look at it this way. You can't have one foot in the world and one foot in the Church. So, in the world, you please those in the world; then you have one foot in the church so you think you can do right. No! You've got to have both feet in the Church! That's what he's saying there.

Verse 9: "Be grieved and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into grieving, and your joy into mourning." That is the joy of thinking evil against someone!

Verse 10: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you"—that is in due time!

What is the ultimate exaltation coming? The resurrection! That's what every elder and minister needs to understand. We are here to serve and to teach! Not rule over! Not to treat the brethren as if they are our possessions!
But to:

• love them
• teach them
• encourage them
• help them

That's what God wants!

Verse 11:  "Brethren, do not talk against one another...."

We'll look at some of the Proverbs about that! Do not make fun against them!

• you don't like to be made fun of, don't make fun of them
• you don't like sarcastic remarks coming to you, don't give sarcastic remarks to someone else

If someone does something that isn't right, that doesn't mean you have to correct them! Sometimes you need to, but other times...

I'll give you a clue: what will help more than anything else is prayer! Pray about it! If you pray about these things, instead of:

• talking against each other
• railing against each other
• putting people down

That's what comedians do all the time, they put people down, there's hardly any good comedian around anymore. I was talking to someone the other day about years ago! Years ago when they used to have good comedy on television. Now, there's no such thing as good comedy. It's hard to have it.

"...The one who talks against a brother, and judges his brother, is speaking against the Law and is judging the Law...." (v 11).

Notice what James says because here's what happens. When people start to put others down with snide remarks, what are they doing? Exalting themselves!

We can't be doing that! That's not right!

"...But if you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law; rather, you are a judge" (v 11).

How many times have each one of us—how far back, or just recently—done that?

As we covered last time in Matt. 7: Don't condemn someone else lest you be condemned!

Then, Jesus said, 'How can you take the sliver out of your brother's eye when you've got the beam in your own eye?' So, these all tie together.

Verse 12: "But there is only one Lawgiver... [and that is God, He is the One]: ...Who has power to save and to destroy. Who are you that you presume to judge another?"

Let's see that what we're covering here is common to all people. I mean, you can even check out at the store. And what do they have? Half of the magazines there are all about gossip, all about sin and all about exalting the self!

It's amazing how much of these things are in what is called the Old Testament, but how that they're all reinforced in the New Testament, as well.

Lev.19:16—here is a Law, and if you judge the Law, you're judging God. IF you're judging someone by what you think and you don't have any understanding of what's really going on, THEN you're condemning them! And IF you turn around and start talking about it, think on this:

Leviticus 19:16: "You shall not go as a slanderer... [talebearer] ...among your people..."

When there's trouble going on, whatever you hear, you've got to double-check, because things can be distorted very easily.

"...you shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor. I am the LORD. You shall not hate your brother in your heart.…" (vs 16-17).

• What are we to do?
• What did John say? We are to love one another, even with the faults and mistakes that we all have!

Keep that in mind.

"…You shall always admonish your neighbor, that you may not bear sin because of him. You shall not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD" (vs 17-18).

That's what we need to do, especially today, since when we get together. We're not a very large group, are we?

• What are we going to do if we bite and devour and savage each other?
• What are we going to do if we ridicule and rail against each other?
• What is that going to lead to?

It leads to no good!

Let's see that this carries through in the book of Proverb. Let me just suggest this: The book of Proverbs is a great spiritual lesson on how:

• to talk
• to think
• to react
• to understand
• right and wrong
• good from evil
• contact with God
• loving our neighbor

How many times has something come up that you heard over the phone from someone somewhere about something, and you can't wait to hang up the phone and call someone else and tell them immediately what you just heard?

Proverbs 11:13 "A tale-bearer is a revealer of secrets…"
 
Now then, for all elders and everybody else: never, under any circumstances, discuss someone's problems and difficulties that you have been counseling them on. Never discuss that with anyone else, not even your wife!

I never, in all the years being a minister, discussed these things with my wife. She doesn't need to be burdened down with other people's problems. Notice what it says, the last part of it here:

"…but one who is of a faithful spirit keeps the matter hidden" (v 13).

Because when there are difficulties, we want to find a solution to work it out. That takes prayer, study, and counseling.

You will see, if you start studying through the book of Proverbs, that it's full of everything!

Proverbs 26:22: "The words of a tale-bearer..."

• Who's a tale-bearer?
• If they're a gossip, what's the first thing that they ask and they get on the phone?
  • Have you heard?

or

• Did you know?

"...are as wounds"

Same thing with ridicule and putting people down, you hurt them. That's why Jesus said (through the Apostle John), 'Love one another as I have loved you.'

Verse 22: "The words of a talebearer are as wounds and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."

That's what happened. Some people have a hard time, and they can't forgive.

We'll talk about forgiveness too, because that's also central into the solution of the problem, of the power of words and the power of the tongue.

Verse 23: "Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a broken piece of pottery with silver dross."

Sidebar: I can say, look at Fulton County, Georgia, with what they're trying to do with Trump! I think his picture was perfect!

Verse 24: "He who hates and disguises it with his lips stores up deceit within himself."

We are to hate to sin, but remember, most of those who are out there sinning are blinded, so what we need to do is blame the devil, right? And then tell them what God wants.

Verse 25: "When he makes his voice gracious, do not believe him, for seven hateful things are in his heart."

There were those that came into the Church who did that and took it down, because those who were the leaders were not being faithful to God or faithful to the Word of God as they should have been! God knows!

Verse 26: He whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be revealed before the congregation."

Eventually, evil will come out, and then evil has to be dealt with properly:

• with proper judgment
• getting all the facts
• knowing what transpired
• understanding what occurred
• realizing the results of what happened

Verse 28: "A lying tongue hates those afflicted by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin."

That's exactly what happened in worldwide. The exaltation of a man so high that the vanity destroyed the Church. However, he did repent. I'm sure that God recognizes that repentance.

How bad can a person sin and when there's real repentance and God forgives? Look at what happened to Ahab! Remember what happened there?

God told Elijah, 'You go to Ahab and tell him that he's the worst wicked person in the world, and he is going to die.'

So Elijah went down there and told Ahab what was going to happen, and surprise what happened. He put on sackcloth and ashes and walked tenderly.

So before Elijah got home, God said to Elijah, 'Look at my servant Ahab, how he has humbled himself. So you go back and tell him that the judgment that you gave him will not happen till later on.' God will accept repentance! That's important.

Proverbs 20:19: "A talebearer goes about revealing secrets; therefore do not mix with him who flatters with his lips."

Prov. 18—there are a lot of verses about the tongue.

Proverbs 18:8: "The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly." That is your emotions!

Now, remember the message that Eduardo Elizondo gave: Truth In the Inward Parts, how that everything that we do affects our mind, affects our heart, and affects our gut! All of it!

So, these things become really some important things for us to understand.

Verse 4: "The words of a man's mouth are like deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is like a flowing stream."

• when you have good words
• when you have things that are encouraging
• when you have things that will help people
• then it comes like that

It's a whole lot different!

Proverbs 19:20: "Hear advice and receive instruction, so that you may be wise in your latter end."

Proverbs 27:1: "Do not boast yourself of tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."

Isn't that true? Yes! I've seen that happen many, many times. It doesn't work out the way that you expect.

Verse 2: "Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."

I wish someone could convey that to Donald Trump. I think that would help him.

Verse 4: "Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming, but who is able to stand before jealousy?"

Now then, does that mean we never correct? No! We do correct. Like I've been covering, the best correction is self-correction with the Word of God and the Spirit of God!

Because each one of us know our own thoughts, and all the things that we have up in our mind that we never tell anybody else about, which God knows! So, when it comes time for correction and someone must bring it:

Verse 5: "Open rebuke is better than secret love."

• Isn't that what God does? He rebukes us, He corrects us!
• How?
• through His Word
• through His Spirit
• through circumstances
• through others

Verse 6: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend..."

If someone corrects you, take the correction. It won't hurt you. It may hurt your feelings. And sometimes it may not be entirely correct, but take it for what it's given!

"...but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful" (v 6).

Prov. 10:20—this is telling us how we need to use our tongues, how we need to speak to each other, and to upbuild each other.

Remember this: Whenever you put someone down in a sarcastic way, you're trying to exalt yourself!

Proverbs 10:20: "The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom" (vs 20-21).

Self-explanatory! We can see that every day in everything in the world. Take the book of Proverbs as self-instruction from God to you directly, and education to help you overcome. And that's what God wants. God condemns sin so that we can repent, so we can overcome?

Matt. 9—remember that the scribes and Pharisees were always self-righteous, and looking down on everyone else. When Jesus came, He didn't come to them. That was their big beef against Jesus all along, because He didn't come and join them politically.

Rather, He pointed out what needs to be done correctly, because in the self-righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes and Sadducees, they put down other people. So, here's what happened.

Matthew 9:10: "Then it came to pass when Jesus sat down to eat in the house that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples."

How can it be a man of God if he comes to sinners? Well, Jesus came to call them to repentance!

Verse 11: "And after seeing this, the Pharisees said to His disciples, 'Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?'"—instead of us?

Look what happened when He ate with the Pharisee there (Luke 7 & 11).

Verse 11: "And after seeing this, the Pharisees said to His disciples, 'Why does your Master eat with tax collectors and sinners?' But when Jesus heard it, He said to them, 'Those who are strong do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick. Now, go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice.".... [God wants us to be forgiven] ...For I did not come to call the righteous... [or the self-righteous] ...but sinners to repentance" (vs 11-13). That's what God wants!

So if in any of these things we find ourselves that we're sinning, let's learn this lesson right here. God is not interested in the sacrifice of self-righteous condemnation. He is interested in repentance.

Now, let's come here and see what else that we need to do.

Psa. 86 and keep this in mind. One of the best ways to help someone who needs some correction is not necessarily to go and correct them.

• you pray about it
• you ask God to lead them to it
• you ask God to help them to overcome
• you ask God to forgive them and lead them

Now, we're going to learn something here:

• How does God forgive our sins?
• When they're forgiven, where are they? They're as far as the east is from the west!

Here's a prayer of self-correction, yieldedness to God and forgiveness:

Psalm 86:1: "Bow down Your ear, O LORD, answer me, for I am poor and needy."

• Isn't that true? This is David!
• What was David? King! He's over everyone else!
• Is it ever written that David stood up and told all the people, 'I am king over every one of you. You all bow down to me'? No! He turned them to God!

Verse 2: "Preserve my soul, for I am Holy; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You."

He knew he needed to be saved! All of us do! That's why in the daily prayer, and we'll get to that in just a minute, we pray: 'Forgive us our sins.' Then there's another part of it that we'll look at a little bit later here.

Verse 3: "Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I cry unto You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O LORD, do I lift up my soul, for You, LORD, are good and ready to forgive…." (vs 3-5).

Now, think about that! Should we not be ready to forgive one another? Some will say, 'They haven't asked for forgiveness.' Well, forgive them anyway!

• What did Jesus do?
• What were the first words He said when He was lifted up on that cross?

All of the hateful ones were there, the soldiers were there, those who were cheering and saying, 'If you're the Son of God, take Yourself down from here and we'll believe you.

• What did He say? 'You just wait till I come back, and I'll take every one of you down.'
• No!
• What did He say? He said, 'Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.'

When you come to God, remember this:

Verse 5: "For You, LORD, are good and ready to forgive and rich in mercy to all those who call upon You.."

When you're in an attitude of, 'I am poor and needy.'

Verse 6[transcriber's correction]: "Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplications."

That's quite a thing to always remember! God wants forgiveness, and we need to forgive one another. And forgive even if they haven't asked for it.

Pray that they may ask for it. Pray that they may overcome and in their study and end their prayers and end the things that their minister teaches them that will lead them to repentance. That's what God wants.

Verse 7: "In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me."

Verse 11: "Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your Truth; unite my heart to fear Your name." That's what God wants!

That's why we don't go around as tale bearers. That's why we don't condemn each other and try and judge their minds.

Let's look at another aspect of this. Because there's something else of our forgiveness that we need to understand. We all want to be forgiven our sins that we have against God!

So, in the model prayer, Matthew 6:12: "And forgive us our debts..." [that means the debt of the sin that we have against others] ...as we also forgive our debtors."

We're going to see we're not to hold a grudge. That's important to understand, and what will happen if we don't.

Verse 13: "And lead us not into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one...." And boy, he is out there working overtime today!

"...For Yours [God] is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (vs 13-14)

Verse 15: "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." That's why we're not to hold a grudge!

Matthew 18 is all about offenses all the way through. I'll let you read it. I'll let you look at the things. We're supposed to, if someone sins, Peter says, 'If my brother sins against me, how many times do I forgive him? Seven times?' And Jesus said, 'No! seven times seventy.' That's 490 times! Does that not demonstrate the faithfulness and patience of God?

Let's come here to verse 35, the very last verse. It summarizes the whole thing, everything there in:

Matthew 18:35: "Likewise shall My heavenly Father also do to you… [not forgive your sins] …if each of you does not forgive his brother's offenses from the heart.." No grudges!

Now, let's cover just a couple of other things. Let's come here to Eph. 4. Here is the whole goal of all the elders, all the ministers and so forth

Here is the whole goal of all the elders, all the ministers, and so forth, not his overlords, but what God wants.

Ephesians 4:12:  "For the perfecting of the saints..."

• the upbuilding
• the strengthening
• not condemning
• not looking down upon
• not ruling over

"...for the work of the ministry, for the edifying..." (v 12)—the building up!

Now, when you're building up, there are also some things you need to take away that hinder the building, so you do that!

Verse 13: "Until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

That's what God wants!

• What happens when something occurs and you get angry?
• What does God tell us?

Verse 24: "And that you put on the new man, which according to God is [being] created in righteousness and Holiness of the Truth. Therefore, let each one put away lies and speak the truth with his neighbor, because we are members of one another. When you become angry, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger" (vs 24-26).

That's important! How many times have you been so angry you couldn't sleep? Well, you go and repent before you go to bed and ask God to help you have peace of mind, because notice the next verse.

Verse 27: "Neither give place to the devil." This is all part of our warfare in overcoming!

We're living in a world where there is more evil projected upon us and upon all the people of the world than at anytime in the history of the world. So, we need to be aware of that. Now, here's what Paul says so that we understand what we need to do:

2-Corinthians 10:4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal..."

You're not going to find any psychological answer to solving the problems that we have discussed unless you come to the Word of God to get the answers.

"...but mighty through God to the overthrowing of strongholds" (v 4). What are those strongholds in the heart and mind and our reactions?

• we all have weakness
• we all have things that would tend to take us down
• we need to be aware of those and overcome it

Verse 5: "Casting down vain imaginations..."

Now, today we have a lot of things that are thrown at us, especially with everything that we have with all the digital devices and television and radio and music and all of this sort of thing everywhere you go. You can't even go into a store that they don't play music.

"...and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God..." (v 5). That is, you have to know these things that Satan puts out there so we can cast them down!

"...and bringing into captivity... [in other words, controlling your mind] ...every thought... [focus on that and you will see that is a full-time job] ...into the obedience of Christ" (v 5).

That's the self-control and self-correction that I've been talking about here recently in the different messages that I have been bringing. Because in spite of all that's going on around us, we can't let those things overwhelm us.

• we stay close to God
• we love one another
• we serve God
• we continue to yield to God

This is the key:

• "...casting down vain imaginations..."
• "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ"

This is how we can control:

• what we say
• what we hear
• what we know

Let's look at these things and apply them so that with the upcoming Feast that we have coming, that we can have a good Feast:

• in loving each other
• serving each other
• helping each other

Scriptural References:

• Proverbs 18:19, 21
• Matthew 12:34-37
• James 3:1-6, 8-11, 13, 15-18
• James 4:5-12
• Leviticus 19:16-18
• Proverbs 11:13
• Proverbs 26:22-26, 28
• Proverbs 20:19
• Proverbs 18:8, 4
• Proverbs 19:20
• Proverbs 27:1-2, 4-6
• Proverbs 10:20-21
• Matthew 9:10-13
• Psalm 86:1-7, 11
• Matthew 6:12-15
• Matthew 18:35
• Ephesians 4:12-13, 24-27
• 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Matthew 7
• Luke 7; 11

Also referenced: Message:
            Truth in the Inward Parts by Eduardo Elizondo

FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 8/30/23

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