Wisdom Regarding Speech: The Power of the Spoken Word

Proverbs has so much to teach us about how we can live with wisdom in our daily lives and so I’m excited to dig into Proverbs again this morning. The title of our message is Wisdom Regarding Speech, The Power of the Spoken Word. We’re gonna read from Proverbs 18 21 and then and then we’ll turn in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 12 verse 36 through 37. So as you’re finding that in your Bible or your smartphone would you go ahead and stand with me? And we stand because we believe that the Bible is God’s Word. We stand to give honor to the Word of God as we read it. So we’re gonna read first Proverbs 18 verse 21. The tongue has the power of life and death and those who love it will eat its fruit. And then if you’ll turn over with me to Matthew chapter 12 verse 36 through 37. But I tell you that everyone will give it will have to give a count on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned. Lord Jesus we we thank you for the power of your Word that has been given to us in the Bible. Lord we believe that the Bible is God-breathed, inspired, that as human authors wrote down these words you were there with them. Lord we thank you for the Word of God. For the Word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword. Your Word is able to divide the innermost parts of our being. To bring awareness to sin, to convict of sin, to bring comfort where comfort is needed. Lord we pray that your Word would work and be alive in our life today as we hear from wisdom from Proverbs in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. You may be seated this morning. So our message this morning is entitled the power of words we confess. Power of words we confess. But before I get started I want to just share a story that I came across that again emphasizes the power of words in our relationships. Researchers studying marriage study couples over the course of not just years but decades. What they are discovering is maybe a little bit surprising or even unsettling. None of the factors one would guess might predict a couple’s durability actually does. Not how in love a newlywed couple says they are or how much affection they exchange you know whether they’re huggers or not or even how happy they are with their sex life. Come on church. We live in a culture that wants to convince us that if you’re not happy in that area of your life you’re just not happy. How much they fight or what they fight about. None of that was a predictor in these marriages on whether they would last or not. In fact couples who stick together and last for a lifetime are notable for one unique quality. They say nice things about each other. That’s what the research showed. When psychologist Cliff Notarius of Catholic University and Howard Markman of the University of Denver studied newlyweds over the first decade of marriage they found a very subtle but telling difference at the beginning of the relationships. Among couples who would ultimately stay together five out of every 100 comments made about each other were put downs. Among couples who would later split 10 out of every 100 comments were insults. That gap of course magnified over the following decade until couples heading downhill were finding five times or they were flinging I’m sorry they were flinging five times as many cruel and invalidating comments at each other as were the happy couples. So here’s a quote from these researchers. Hostile put downs act as cancerous cells that if unchecked erode a relationship over time. And they later went to write a book about it but the point is your words matter. Your words have power. That’s what the Bible teaches us and that’s what the researchers are discovering that when you give people negative nicknames or you label them negative things eventually that’s going to destroy the relationship. And there’s power not only in God’s word but there’s power in the words that you confess. Now just a moment I want to turn in our Bibles and if you would turn to James chapter 3 verse 1 to 12 we’re going to look at those verses because James gives almost an entire chapter to the impossibility of taming your tongue. But before we get there I want to remind us that there is power in words. Why? Well in the Bible we see that God created the world. He created the universe just with his spoken word. How many times in the Old Testament in Genesis 1 or 2 we see, and God said and there was light. And God said. So it was just with his words. In the Old Testament the prophets would speak for God and they would come to the people of God and say, thus says the Lord. In other words they were relating the words of God. The word of God. And in John’s gospel Jesus is the word. He’s the expression of the words of God. He is the logos of God. And of course we know that Jesus in Matthew 15 verse 18 he connected your heart with the words you speak. Isn’t that interesting? So Jesus is the one who taught us that when we speak certain words that’s because those things are in our heart. It’s coming out of our heart. And Paul of course says in Romans chapter 10, 9 and 10 that the way we apply salvation to our lives is we believe the gospel in our heart but what else do we do? We confess it with our mouths. Romans 10, 9 and 10. So what we confess matters. You can’t save yourself. Come on church. You can’t save yourself by what you confess. I’m not preaching that. Okay. Jesus and the grace of God and what Jesus did on the cross that’s what saves you. It’s what he’s already done. But when I confess what Jesus has done for me in my life something begins to get applied to my life. I go from being a hearer to a doer. I begin to live out and walk out the salvation that God has purchased for me in Christ Jesus on the cross and through the resurrection. And Paul says how do you apply that to your life? You believe in your heart and then you start confessing it with your mouth. Romans 10, 9 and 10. Let’s turn to James chapter 3. The first truth that we see in James chapter 3 is the tongue is a powerful evil. I want to just read through this if you’ll be patient with me. We’re going to end up in Proverbs looking at all kinds of Proverbs that relate to our speech and the words we use. But let me just read this because there’s a lot of good truths here. It starts in verse 1. Not many of you should become teachers. Will someone pray for me right now? That’s a scary verse. Not many of you should become teachers my fellow believers because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. So James here as he begins to talk and write about the words we speak, what he’s really saying is and when I see that word perfect it reminds me of Matthew I think it’s 5 verse 48 where Jesus said to his disciples, be ye perfect as your father in heaven is perfect. And so when James says anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, he’s going to go on to say that that’s humanly impossible. That the tongue is like a fire and it’s without God’s help you can’t control it. Have you ever had that experience? That sometimes things just come out and you’re like oops I shouldn’t have said that. I need to go apologize. I need to ask forgiveness. I didn’t mean to say that but that’s what was in my heart I guess and so that’s what came out. But James goes on to compare the tongue to a horse’s mouth or a bit that directs a horse to a ship, a large ocean going ship that can be directed by a rudder and the rudder is like your tongue. And then he also says that your tongue, the human tongue is like a small fire or spark that can start a whole fire. Let me read these verses starting in verse 3. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body but it makes great boast. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire, verse 6. A world of evil among the parts of the body, it corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. I want to pause and we’ll read a little bit more here in a moment, but I want to pause and say we need to pay attention to the words that are coming out of our mouth. I’m pointing all fingers at me, so I’m preaching to myself here at this point. We need to give attention to the words that are coming out of our mouth about ourselves. In other words, what are you saying to yourself about who you are? What are you saying to others in your life? She’s preaching with me and that’s just fine. Keep preaching. Let’s bring more babies into the church, okay? Amen. What are you saying to yourself and what are you saying about others when you speak? What are you even saying about God when you speak? Lord, help us be more aware of what’s coming out of our mouths, of how we’re using our speech and our tongues. You see, what James is ultimately saying in verses 9-12 is your tongue can be a powerful tool of blessing or cursing. Verse 9, with the tongue we praise our Lord and Father and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God’s likeness. Now, I’m sure it’s not just you, but I’ve been around others, not me of course, but I’ve been around others who when they’re driving can turn everyone else on the road into an idiot or a moron. I mean, we’ve got all kinds of very colorful English words that can describe other people in the way they drive. Come on, I see you’re laughing, so I guess it is you and me who do this too sometimes. And that’s just one little funny, silly way, right, that we can illustrate what James is talking about. James is saying we’ve got to be very careful what we say with our tongue about other people because they are created in the image of God to represent God. They have value whether they share our faith or not. Isn’t that a beautiful thing about the Christian faith? Is someone else doesn’t have to be a Christian for me to love them, value them, and treat them with dignity. Come on, church. Because our Bible teaches us that every human being, regardless of their faith affiliation, regardless of their ethnicity, regardless of their bank account, regardless of their background, they have dignity as a human being because they’ve been created in the image of God. And James says it just shouldn’t be that we praise God with our tongue, but also curse other people we interact with in life. Verse 11, can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? The idea is, well, no. Verse 12, my brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. I wasn’t as good at this when I was younger. I’m getting better at it. I’m getting better at listening to the things I’m saying. And yes, the Holy Spirit helps you, and your friends will help you if you give them that permission. And you get better as you walk with the Lord of Listening. Did I just say that? And what am I really choosing to believe because I’m saying that? Oh, that’s what’s in my heart. Okay, maybe I don’t trust God like I say I do. Which, by the way, when we worship on Sunday morning, there’s some Sundays when I’m singing, I trust in God. Oh, yeah, boy. And in my, well, I just need a piano, brother. And I’m singing that, you know, and I mean, I am believing it. You know, I’m like, it’s one of those Sundays where I’m trusting God and I’m feeling good about it. But the reality is there’s some Sundays when we come and we worship and we’re doing that because we just need to remind our emotions. We need to remind ourselves, we need to remind our heart that, yeah, I trust in God. And maybe right now I’m not feeling like I trust God or I’m not experiencing that in my life, but I just need to remind myself, again, it’s just like even in worship, we’re just rehearsing the words about God that we need to confess and we need to hear in our own ears, from our own heart. So the tongue can be a powerful tool of blessing or a powerful tool of cursing. So let’s dig into the book of Proverbs now. So there’s so many Proverbs. What I had the fun to do is I went through every proverb I could find in the book of Proverbs about our words and about our speech. And I came up with seven truths. I can’t share every verse because there’s so many, but I’ve come up with seven truths that I believe Proverbs teaches us about how to use our words. The first truth is let go of lying. Here’s one proverb, Proverbs 12, verse 22, the Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. Now when the book of Proverbs focuses on lying, it’s not lying to like protect yourself or to get personal gain. You know, maybe like we would do when we were children, where did you, Tommy, how many cookies did you, oh, I just had one cookie. You know, you know, those little white lies were in and they can get bigger, right? And we go through life and we lie because we’re trying to get personal advantage. We’re trying to protect ourselves. We don’t want people to know what’s really going on because we’re trying to get ahead or we’re trying to do it our way. And of course the Bible is clear that we shouldn’t lie. The devil’s a liar and a father of liar. We need to be truth tellers. We need to be like our father in heaven who is a God of truth and he hates lying. But Proverbs really, when it’s talking about lying, it’s talking about lying others, not covering up something so that we can get personally ahead, but it’s really dealing more with slander. We’re, we’re, we’re going around and we’re, we’re, we’re making up stories. We’re a tail bearer. It’s, it’s in some ways it’s close to gossiping and we’ll, we’ll get there. There’s many Proverbs in the Bible about gossiping, but here the command is that if we want to live with wisdom in, in what we say, we’ve got to let go of lying. We’ve got to let go of telling stories about other people that aren’t true. Ephesians chapter four, verse 25 says, therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor for we are all members of one body. Now, if you’re a fisherman like me, you know that sometimes stories can get stretched. You know, was the fish this big, this big, this big? And that’s why pictures really do help. Although you can, you can even affect how big it now, maybe I shouldn’t give that secret away, but if you’re not a fisherman or a fisher woman, you may not know this, but depending on how far you hold the fish out, it sometimes affects how, how big the fish looks. So I think what, what this is really saying is we need to lean into truth and not allow the things we say to have a mixture, a little bit of falsehood here, a little bit of falsehood there, but before long, your story isn’t even recognizable for what really happened or worse. I’ve seen this happen many, many times. You’re sharing a story and you weren’t even a part of it. You weren’t even, you’re, you’re, you’re certain you know the truth about what happened, but you weren’t in the room. You weren’t there. You don’t really know who did what or the Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. And I would add truthful according to Ephesians four 25, a second truth we see about our words in the book of Philippians is we need to flip the flattery to genuine kindness. What we see in Proverbs is Proverbs really condemns flattery. What is flattery? Flattery is where you say all those nice things to someone or about someone in the hope to get something from them. That that’s really what, how the Bible defines flattery. It’s insincere or it’s deceitful praise to win another’s favor or to manipulate. And what the Bible teaches us is that that can bring ruin to your life. Proverbs 29 verse five, those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet. And so what the Bible would teach us is instead of flattery, we need to just be filled with kindness. Kindness in our Sunday school class this morning in our Bible study, we, a part of it, we are studying the fruit of the spirit. Galatians five 22 and 23. And what what Paul is teaching us in Galatians is that when we, when we live to the new nature and live by the spirit, the spirit of God begins to grow his fruit in us so that we start looking more like Jesus. We start seeing love and joy and peace and patience and long suffering and goodness and kindness and self-control growing in our life. And here, what’s the opposite of just going around and trying to flatter everyone so that you can look good and feel good and maybe you can get something you need or want? What the Bible would say is we just need to be people of kindness. We need to treat others with dignity. We need to treat others with kindness. Colossians four verse six says, let your conversation always be full of grace and seasoned with salt so that you may know how to answer everyone. Wow. Grace seasoned with salt. Proverbs also deals with gossip. If we’re going to walk in wisdom, we’ve got to give up on gossip. Proverbs 26 verse 20 says without wood, a fire goes out. Without a gossip, a quarrel dies down. So Proverbs in Proverbs 11, 13, Proverbs 16, 28, Proverbs 17, 9, Proverbs 20 verse 19, Proverbs 30 verse 10. I’m not going to do that for every point, but I’m telling you there’s like five, six, seven verses for every one of these truths in the book of Proverbs. What Proverbs is teaching us is that gossip destroys trust. Gossip destroys friendships and relationships. A gossip is like someone who lies. They are a tail bearer. They like to go around and spin stories and stretch truth. I will read Proverbs 20 verse 19. He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip. You see a gossip, a person who likes to tell stories about others, they cause conflict, they cause strife. Proverbs 30 verse 10, do not slander a servant to their master or they will curse you and you will pay for it. We should be very careful what we say about other people when they’re not present. Whatever thinking, whatever thought, whatever needs to be said, we should go directly to them and share with them what our thoughts are. Not to others. We should go directly to them. A fourth truth that we see in the book of Proverbs about how we use our words is Proverbs is clear. We should correct our cursing. In other words, we should stop cursing. Proverbs 20 verse 20, if someone curses their father or mother, their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness. Now it’s interesting, in the Bible there’s at least three types of cursing. So in Proverbs chapter 20 verse 20, which I just read, cursing is speaking bad words about someone, especially an employer or a parent, someone in authority. And we’ve all got to be careful about this, right? If you’re in the military, it’s easy to start thinking bad things about those who are in charge of you and telling you what to do. In our work world, sometimes as employees, if we’re not careful, we can start to get a bad attitude about those who are our bosses or superiors or the employer. And before long, we’re going around thinking bad things, saying bad things. And so the idea here in Proverbs 20 verse 20 is that all people are, remember James 3.9, created in the image of God, so we shouldn’t be going around saying bad things about them, cursing them, especially parents, employers, and those in authority, but that includes everyone. Another type of cursing in the Bible refers more to unwholesome language. And it doesn’t take long to just hang out in the locker room or be at school or even in all of our entertainment. There just seems to be something about the old sinful nature that is very quickly moves toward unwholesome talk. Talk that’s just not uplifting. Our guest speaker on Saturday for the men’s breakfast, his opening verse was Philippians 4.8. Think on noble things. Think on virtuous things. Think on those things that are good. Wow, I’m so thankful for the encouragement that comes from God’s word that reminds us God is good, life is good, let’s think on the good things. Let’s think on the noble things. Let’s think on the things of virtue, the things of righteousness. Because we have a tendency in our cursing to not only say bad things about other people, but also to just move in the direction of unwholesome language. That’s what it means in Ephesians 4.29 if you turn with me in your Bibles. Ephesians 4.29 reads like this, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. Remember the passage of scripture we read in Matthew where Jesus said at the end you’re going to be held accountable for your words? And the word there is empty word. And the Greek is like idle, like powerless. It’s just those words that don’t really mean anything and we didn’t have to say them, it didn’t help us communicate anything. And so Jesus was teaching us watch out for your empty words. Ephesians 4.29 Paul is saying watch out for unwholesome words. But a third kind of cursing that we see in the Bible can be connected to making a vow stronger. So let’s say I’m going to go buy a piece of property and I shake someone’s hand and I sign a contract. And then I say I will fulfill my part of this deal based on the Greek gods of ancient world. That’s another kind of cursing that in the days of Jesus when people were making deals with one another they would try to bring God in it and say well in the name of God I will do this and that. And you know what Jesus said? Jesus said don’t do that. Let your yes be yes and let your no be no. You should be a truthful person, an honest person and you shouldn’t have to curse and call down heaven and earth on the agreement for someone to know that you’ll do that. They should just know because you’re a person of God that when you say yes it’s going to happen. And when you say no it’s going to happen. You’re an honest trustworthy person. I remember hearing about the days, I don’t know that I’ve lived too many experiences like this, but I remember hearing about the days especially in the rural community, farmers, etc. Just on a handshake thousands of dollars could exchange, nothing written. Just on a handshake and because the communities were so tight people knew I had to fulfill my word or I won’t be doing any more business in this community. Now things have changed a lot in our world today so if you make a deal even for a hundred dollars or a few hundred dollars you better get it in writing. You better get it something written down. But for us who are following the Lord the Bible is saying to us not only should we not curse in the sense of speaking bad words about our parents or authorities or our bosses, our employers. Not only should we not curse in the sense that we just allow ourselves to speak about all kinds of unwholesome things but we should also not curse in the sense that we need to make all kinds of vows to make sure that we do what we said we would do. We should just be trustworthy and honest. Proverbs also encourages us to live with good words. Proverbs 12 verse 25, anxiety weighs down the heart but a kind word cheers it up. There’s so many Proverbs that encourage us like Proverbs 10 verse 11 and Proverbs 10 verse 20 and 21 that we should live with and speak with life giving words. Because there’s power in our words and so we should speak words of righteousness that produce life in those around us. This is so true in marriage, it’s so true in parenting, it’s so true even with your co-workers where you work. It’s true in church that if you’re the kind of person that goes around and just builds people up, not only, and friends that’s not flattery. When you’re just sincere and kind and gentle and you just with your words encourage other people up, you know what happens? Is those other people start to believe the things you’re saying about them. I remember a story from years ago from Focus on the Family that there was a couple that came in for counseling because they had a young lady that was 10 to 12 coming in her teenage years and really acting out, just rambunctious and just difficult. And then the counselor asked, well, you know, what are the kind of nicknames and things you call her? And they had some of these most outrageous, critical, really horrible nicknames for their daughter. And so the counselor made a simple suggestion. Let’s call her, you know, little light of your life or something. I mean, I’m making, I don’t remember what they suggested, but they came up with this really positive nickname. Hey, come see me in six months. They came back in six months, guess what happened? That little girl who was such a terror started living up to the new nicknames. Started living out what her parents were saying about her now rather than living out what they were saying before. I want to encourage you as parents. If you’re seeing one of your children go through a difficult stage, start calling out of them with your words as a parent who you know they can be in Jesus Christ. And I want to encourage each of us here this morning as we walk with the Lord, you need to start in your own self-talk. You need to get some scriptures. You need to get some word, the word of God memorized. And you need to start calling out the greatness of God, the gifts of God, the child of God that you are in your life. You need to get the word of God and just begin to speak that over your life. I want to share just a quick story in my own life. There was a season that I went through after I had pastored a church for about 10 years and then we had to close that church and I honestly was broken. I was not a happy camper. And in my next job I had to do a lot of public speaking but it was in a different environment. And there were some times that I would get up to speak and I could feel my whole like throat tightening up to the point where I went to Jenny one time and said, honey, I think I’m having heart problems. She said, well, you better go get that checked out. I went to the doctor, no heart problems. Like what is going on? I love speaking. What is going on? Well, as I prayed, as I talked to the Lord about it and I began to realize I’m struggling with some anxiety over my gift of speaking. I didn’t realize because I always love to speak. But it was because of the hurt of closing down the church. The brokenness that I was feeling. And so you know what I had to do? I had to get some scripture. And every time I’d feel that anxiousness, every time I’d feel that tightness, I just began to quote Joshua 1, 6 and 9. You are strong and courageous. And I hope that doesn’t burst your bubble about your pastor. I’m just telling you, I’m human just like you. I’ve got struggles and hurts and bruises and things that have gone on in my life too. I’ve got all kinds of things in my story just like you’ve got in your story. And at some point, you’ve got to get a hold of a scripture. You’ve got to get a hold of the word of God and say, Lord, I’m going to start believing this more than I believe what the enemy is trying to do in my life. Amen. And so parent, you can do that for your child. You can help your child as they grow to believe the things that God believes about them, that the word of God says about them. But even as adults, we need to do that for ourselves. The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel when David was going through a very low moment in his life. I mean, his men were so upset with him because they’d lost their property. They’d lost their families. The enemy had come in and stolen some things from them, their families, their property. And the Bible says, 1 Samuel, I forget the chapter, it’s verse 30, that they wanted to stone King David. They were so upset with him. And you know what the Bible says? The Bible says, and David encouraged himself in the Lord. Ooh. So you may, well, let me just say, you will, if you’re not now, you will go through difficult seasons in your life. Where maybe it’s something emotional. Maybe it’s a circumstance going on in relationships or finance or the dreams God has given you like Joseph. And now you’re in the pit. You’re not living the dream, whatever it may be. You’re going to go through stuff. And it’s in those moments you’ve got to get the word of God in your heart and you’ve got to begin to confess that. No, no, I’m not anxious. I’m strong and courageous. I’m not fearful. I’m trusting in God. You’ve got to get your emotions to line up with what the word of God says is true. That’s where health comes from. That’s where wisdom comes from. You can’t remain in your anxiety, your fear, your worry. You can’t remain in what your flesh is saying about your life. You’ve got to get into the word of God. Study it for yourself. Get some scripture for yourself and begin to confess God’s word over your heart, over your life. It’s God’s word that does it. But when we confess it, we cooperate with the power of God’s word in our lives. You see, anxiety, Proverbs 12, 25, weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. This week, practical application. Let’s go give somebody a kind, encouraging word. Let’s find somebody that we come across this week. Let’s start at home. Let’s give a kind word to our spouse. Let’s give a kind word to our child. Let’s give a kind word to a co-worker, because a kind word will cheer you up. A sixth truth, and I’m beginning to close. In fact, if the worship team wanted to slip to the piano, that would be just fine. A sixth important truth from Proverbs comes from Proverbs 15, 23. Proverbs 15, 23. A person finds joy in giving an apt reply. And how good is a timely word? I want to be honest here. I pray more about this than anything else. Lord, teach me. Lord, speak to me about what I should say, when I should say it, how I should say it. There’s been numerous times in my life where I, from my heart, I meant well, but I didn’t say it right. And can I just say at the risk of not saying it right, that our culture is very sensitive these days. I’m going to step down here because I feel like you understand me a little more. It’s more like family. I want to have the right tone. It’s really important that we understand today that how we say things is just as important as what we say. And I’m going to be the first to raise my hand that I have not always gotten that right. There’s been times when I meant well. There’s been times when my heart was right. If you just let me explain what I meant to say. But however I said it, I didn’t slow down enough, or my tone wasn’t right. And so I love this proverb that just reminds us that we need to be praying about a timely word. What to say, when to say it, how to say it. There’s even a proverb that says, for you to be silent would be wisdom. That’s in the Proverbs. And I’ve allowed the Lord to apply that to my life more than once. And so we not only need good, kind words, but we need timely words. Parent, there’s sometimes when you just need to listen to your child. They don’t need an answer from you. They just need to have someone who will listen to them. Spouse, sometimes your spouse needs to just share. Lord, help us. Help us to have timely words. And then seventh and finally, Proverbs tells us that we need to bless others with beneficial words. Proverbs 15, 1 and 2. Lord, help us to have words that build others up. Gentle words, wise words. And sometimes, less is better. Proverbs 10, 19, when words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. This morning, I’ve put a prayer card in your seat there, souls. You should see that. And I realized that after I asked our office staff to make that, they had it the right size. And I wasn’t in the office and I told them to make it smaller. So we want you to have that, but we’re going to make some bigger ones. So if you’re like me, I think anybody over 40, it’s like, what does that say? So we’re going to make it a little bigger the next time. But I made you that prayer card because it focuses on scriptures. What is God thinking about me? I want you to take that home. Begin to dig into some of those scriptures. Memorize some of those scriptures. Remind yourself that God loves you. God is working for the good in your life. No matter what you’re going through. And begin to quote those over your life. Begin to speak those truths, those biblical truths to your lives. I hope you understand that I’m not saying you can produce your own salvation or you can produce your own spiritual life. That is not what I’m preaching. That’s not what I’m teaching. But what I do believe is that one person could be experiencing great salvation. They could be experiencing great health in their life. And someone else isn’t. They’re struggling in worry, anxiety, and fear. What’s the difference? Well, one person has figured out how to believe in their heart and confess with their mouth. They figured out how to get the word of God past the preacher and the podium and get it into your daily lives. So that you’re believing it and you’re confessing it. So I hope you’ll take that prayer card today. And let that influence your walk with the Lord. What you think about yourself. What you believe about yourself. And what you speak to other people. Because they are also created in the image of God with dignity and value. Will you stand with me this morning? There’s great power in our words. And what you say matters to God and to others. And so Lord, help me to speak your words of life and blessing not only to myself but also to those around me. And so today I’m choosing. I want to speak words of life to my spouse, to my kids, to my grandkids. Especially when I’m having difficult conversations. I’m going to be honest, I don’t get this. I think if you know me well, you already know this to be true. I don’t always get this right. Sometimes I’m in too much of a hurry. Sometimes I’m thinking about what I need to get done rather than what you need to get done. I don’t always get this right. But I’m praying, Lord, help me to be more sensitive to you, oh Lord. Help me to be more in tune with what others need. Lord, help me to speak words of life and blessing to those around me. Lord God, thank you for the power of the word of God in our lives. Thank you for the gift of speech. Thank you that we can communicate. Lord, we pray that by your spirit you would help us to tame the tongue. So that it would be a tool of blessing. So it would be a tool of encouraging to others around us. Lord, if there’s anyone here this morning that needs convicting, I pray that you would convict them. If there’s anyone that needs comforting, I pray that you would comfort them. If there’s anyone that needs guidance in this area of their life, give them guidance. Help them to grow. To be able to use their words to honor you and to build others up. We give you all the praise and the glory. Thank you, Lord. Hi, I’m Pastor Tom Ragsdell. I’m Pastor Ellis Benus. And we’re from Columbia First Assembly. We are a church that’s on mission with Jesus. Our vision is simple. We want to make Jesus famous in your heart and in our community. Absolutely. Thank you so much for connecting with us online. We would also love to connect with you in person. We are located at 1100 North 7th Street, right in the heart of Columbia, Missouri. Right across the street from Hickman High School. So if you’re in the central Missouri area and you’re looking for a home church, come hang out with us. If you’re just connecting online and you’re nowhere near us, then please connect with us in the comments. If you have a prayer request, if you have a question. If you’re wondering anything about the Lord or Christianity, please let us know and we would be happy to engage with you in the comments. We believe God’s doing something special at our church and we want you to be a part of it. We’re a multi-generational church. We have people from all different backgrounds. We’re a church of the Word. We’re a church of the Spirit. We believe Jesus can transform your life. That’s why we’re on mission with Him. And we want to help you know God. We want to help you grow in God. And we want to share hope in our community. So connect with us and we want to connect with you. Awesome. Have a wonderful and a blessed day.