is a faithful messenger to those who send him he refreshes the soul of his masters. May God richly bless both the reading and the hearing of his holy word. I want to just spend a few moments tonight to return to a subject that I I try to return to quite frequently and that is the importance of the gift of speech that we have been given. I'm of the mind that the scriptures when you consider the two dimensions of our speech our speech to and about God as well as our speech to and about one another that probably there's more in scripture that governs that talks about human behavior there is more discussion on the language or the speech of individuals than any other aspect of our of our conduct or our behavior as it relates to God we are to say right things about him we are not to take his name in vain we are not to blaspheme the Holy Spirit we are not to be false prophets we so we we have a responsibility to give God the praise that is due to his great name to honor him in our speech when we speak about him we are to pray and I like what Paul says that we don't even know how to pray as we ought so therefore so that our prayers and not an offense to God the Holy Spirit edits our prayers and takes our yearnings and make them known before God. God requires that we speak sound doctrine the the apostles are very clear and very distinct on those who would who would poison the the minds of listeners with false doctrine so much is said about what we say to God we don't say just anything to him we speak to him in reverence even in prayer it's an intimacy but it's still it's a reverent intimacy we don't we're reverent we speak intimately to our parents as well but we don't speak reckless to them we speak to them with reverence or we speak about them with reverence and so it is with God on the horizontal plane God has required and look at how many scriptures that that admonish us to not bear false witness against our neighbors to to not Jesus equates murder with speaking with with being angry with our brothers without a cause we are told not to not only bear not bear false witness but to not lie not to to tear them down not to speak falsely about a falsely to our brothers and our sisters we are told that we are to speak words of edification we are to sing the word of God we are to speak the word of God we are to be driven by the word of God in our speech to others and about others we are to speak in love we we are reminded that our sins of tongue are many we can be guilty of blasphemy we can be guilty of cursing we can be guilty of bearing false witness we can be guilty of grumbling we can be guilty of complaining we can be guilty of gossip now that's a lot of activity for one little member of the body see that's a lot that you can do you can mess up with that thing in a lot of different ways and so we we want to in fact I was I was thinking just over this past week there there's it's an interesting evolution in the term politically correct the way it was first used back in the 17th century is far different from the way that it is used in contemporary times in fact the way that it's used most of the time today really has its genesis probably in the late 1900 or 19th 20th century 1990s in response to a book that was written by Alan Bloom the closing of the American mine and and it just kind of talked about how in times past we've been careless and things that have been said and so forth so in any event into the early 21st century a term began to develop called political correctness and basically what was meant by it is that political correctness is is now being careful in what you say about individuals now it's it's in response it's in response to something else the need for political correctness on the in the part of academia or in politics or in the media to be careful in what we say and how we say certain things is because it's responding to a long standing problem where empowered people felt the need or the right to speak however they wanted to those who weren't empowered so they had the ability to speak about marginalized people in pejorative and derogatory terms and and without even blinking an eye and and so therefore because the people who were not empowered didn't have the right to say you can't say that about me well the marginalized people have have gained an ascendancy over the years and and so all of a sudden certain things just weren't cool to say anymore it's interesting watching old films and especially watching watching old film from war war two uh that era when they were talking about going to war and to hear some of the pejorative terms that were used against Japanese people it's it's like they and they you hear it now it's like whoa wait a minute did they get away with that that would that would be censored today and so all of a sudden you couldn't say certain things or it wasn't it wasn't considered right conduct to speak any kind of way about any group of people at any given time and that became that became what was known as politically correct now granted we are not a people of moderation as I think it was Francis Schaeffer that said the hardest thing for man to maintain since the fall is balance so therefore in over responding to careless speaking and just loosely saying anything in the media by politicians by pundits and so forth then people became more careful and then all of a sudden it became so sensitive now to the point that you can't say anything it seems and now that extreme statement that I just made that you can't say anything has led to another extreme reaction against political correctness so therefore we are seeing it even in the conversations that are taking place during this season of political of presidential campaigning that people in trying to respond against political extreme political correctness now feel the need and the right to be able to say anything and don't have any consequences as a result of it or don't expect any consequences as a result of it here's my point when it comes to the use of our tongue we are a mess in fact it's this for this reason that James James the brother of our Lord in James chapter 3 in verse 6 he says this about the tongue he says or I'll go back to verse 4 beginning with verse well I'll begin with verse 1 he says not many of you should become teachers my brothers for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness for we all stumble in many ways and if anyone does not stumble in what he says then he is a perfect man able also to bridle his whole body if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey they obey us we guide their whole bodies as well look at ships also although or though they are so large and are driven by strong winds they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs so also the tongue is a small member yet it boasts of great things how great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire and the tongue is a fire a world of unrighteousness the tongue is set among our members straining or staining the whole body setting on fire the entire course of life and set on fire by hell hey man now that's that's the fall in tongue James is writing to believers and he's writing to believers so that they would take their use of the tongue more seriously brothers and sisters families churches organizations are destroyed because of loose lips as one put it loose lips sink ships and loose lips just careless speech I remember Evie Hill former pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Los Angeles California he had he brought a young man on his staff at one point he was a young white guy and he was brought him on staff I forget what he brought him on staff for but in any event he had him to to meet with the group of the older ladies in the church the the senior mothers of the church and this young white guy he gets up first thing he says is how you gals doing to these distinguished young these distinguished black women he says how you how you gals doing and and Evie pulled and was I said man you about to get yourself killed you you're not going to make it a month if you he says you need to back up and and he saw nothing wrong with what he was saying and that's the reason we have what we what is called political correctness but the other side of it is that because people are reacting and trust me I I'm I'm I'm astonished every time he sings because it seems like every other week there's somebody that has to get on television and apologize for something they said and and and so every time I hear all of these apologies because of what people have said it just reminds me yes we have gone overboard with with with careless speech or political correctness in our speech but brothers and sisters don't let the extremes fool you there is a need for the image bearers of God and particularly those who have been washed in the blood of Christ to continually bring our tongue to the cross of Christ and if Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 that I die daily we die individually daily our individual members as he says in Colossians to put to death the members of our flesh we probably need to crucify our tongue on a daily basis so what I want to do in fact I was reading an article in New York Times the writer did a piece on the lingering effects of off-handed comments and and how you can and he gives the example of or he uses one of the one of his that the people that he cite is a preacher and the preacher says he's a Catholic priest and the priest talks about how at the end of a service that people will come up and and someone will say you know great message great message or someone he says you know and they say well you know very fine homily in the Catholic church very fine homily and then someone else will come along and say well that was interesting he says now with all of the encouragement the thing that lingers is the statement that was interesting he says because and for whatever reason in his point is what people say matters another example that was given is this writer the writer himself said a friend of his called him up and told him that that there was a big publisher that wanted to speak with him and and they were familiar with his work and so she was trying to set up an appointment where he could come and have dinner with the guy and she went on to say yeah it's casual you can dress any kind of way you want and and she says and try to be more effusive and then went on to say and and and dinner's going to be at eight and he says the only thing that stuck out in his mind was be more effusive because in that she's saying something about him lingering lingering effects of off-handed comments and so because we as a friend of mine who teaches at Wheaton College calls us verbavours he says that we are verbavours that God has created us with the facility of language because of the seriousness of this I want to look at these at these three verses here in proverbs and and just kind of chart away forward that we would take our use of speech even more seriously here's the first thing that that I think it's it's a good place to start and that's in verse 13 and don't get lost in the imagery there's a point that's being made there in verse 13 the writer says like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him he refreshes the soul of his masters here's the first thing part of our service to God is to represent him in our use of speech and what the writers is is pointing out here in other words the purpose God's purpose of of in giving us the gift of speech he has given us the gift of speech to glorify him now here's here's something to to go along with that there is not a time that we open our mouths to others or to God where we are not serving him with our mouth because God gives us the use of now you say well no not every time no every time we open our mouth we are representing God now that doesn't mean every time we open our mouths we represent him right but every time we speak because God has given us the gift of speech for a particular purpose and the reason he has given us the gift of speech is to refresh him that's the point of verse 13 the master who sends the person with sends a messenger is refreshed when that messenger is faithful in delivering that message and brothers and sisters God has created us in his image and we above every other creature has been given the gift of speech for particular purpose it is in our and it's in possessing the gift of speech that we reflect are being created in the image of God it's not just what we say about him I know we are we are we have been given speech to be God's mouthpiece in the creation and so therefore it is a part of our prophetic function but just the use of speech the use of our of words to be able to convey feelings to to convey abstract thought the use of words is our reflection of the image of God and it is one of the means by which we exercise dominion in the earth Adam the first job that he was given after the Lord created him involved speech God created the animals now what do you want to call them so Adam is able to reflect his creator by speaking about what his creator has created and God has created us to to to speak so that we can represent him and here's an interesting image that the that the writer gives us here in Proverbs that when we are faithful in the discharge or in the use of language we refresh our master it is a refreshment to him now granted that is to some degree an anthropomorphic term in other words that is in some degree that's using a human way of describing something about God but we find it elsewhere when we are told in Ephesians to not grieve the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit is not grieved as we are but there are ways in which we can grieve God we can grieve the Holy Spirit in the same way we can bring him delight here's the goal here's what ought to be the goal of our lives the goal ought to be in our life that every time we speak that we give pleasure to the heart of the Father now isn't that a tall task yeah and sometimes it's so daunting that we say well here's what we'll say nobody I can't do that I you know no it's it's it is it is a tall task it's it's asking much of us because we recognize the familiarity and the truthfulness of what James says brothers and sisters it's not until we understand that tall task that we understand the gravity of what James actually says you see here's the task every time we speak the goal of our speaking ought to bring glory to the Father you see because everything he he's given us and in fact Jesus tells us he says that every idle word and thought just think of the unbeliever they're going to have to give an account for every idle word that's those throwaway lives that's those those those lingering those throwaway lines that the writer in the article says have such a lingering effect they will have to give an account for every idle thought and word that they have spoken which means that those of us who are in Christ every idle word has been redeemed by Christ and therefore part of our sanctification is bringing our tongue under control now here's what the writer is telling us is that the gift of speech and speech is a gift I was sharing with the group last week that the the most powerful free thing that any of us will ever have access to apart from grace are words that's the words are available to you all over the place and they are powerful they are far more powerful than we give them credit for but here's our understanding that the gift the purpose of our gift of speech is to bring glory to the Father every time we open our mouths here's a second thought that the writer fleshes out for us basically tells us in verse 11 he uses a phrase about words that are thickly spoken a word that is fit me spoken and here what he does is he describes it to something that is ordinate and beautiful now here's the question what is a word that is fitly spoken well if Jesus condemns us for every careless word every thoughtless word and here's what he is admonishing those who are his image bearers to do is to be careful when we speak I like what Steve Brown said a number of years ago about Peter he said Peter often had nothing to say but it never stopped him from saying it and brothers and sisters we just think about the careless words here's what what we are not because every time we speak we are our aim ought to bring glory to the Father whether we are speaking about him or whether we are speaking to our neighbor about our neighbor our responsibility is to glorify God with our speech which is why Paul says our use of communication in Ephesians he says therefore let no corrupt communication proceed from your mouth but that which is necessary for edification and I've often said this that just because the thing is true doesn't mean you have to say it right now now that doesn't mean you skate from the truth because a lot of people will hide behind I'm speaking the truth for the brutality of what they said I mean you say well I'm only telling the truth you know if you have a person in your family that that was set back for two grades and and here they are you know 14 years old in the sixth grade you know if you for you to say it at the at thanksgiving well you know look at junior over here 14 years old in the sixth grade is it true it might be there's nothing edifying about that and it's something that doesn't need to be said 14 year old junior knows that he's still in the sixth grade and 14 year old junior is wearing something internally because he's 14 and in the sixth grade and for you to say it you're speaking truth and people say well I only speak the truth yeah that is true but there's nothing edifying in you saying it you see brothers and sisters here's what the writer says as he tells us that we want to refresh the heart of our master when we speak and it's because we want to refresh the heart of our master when we speak then our words ought to be fit they ought to be appropriate they ought to be fitly chosen not just fly off the handle and and I know because we are fallen and sometimes you'll get in a situation that that you just you you can't hold back even though you need to and here's our point brothers and sisters the speech that proceeds from our mouths ought to be carefully weighed out and he says when you see the idea is that that when you are careful in the choice of the words that you speak and there are sometimes there are some situations that do need to be addressed but not right now but when you are careful in the words that you speak then you are not you you you lessen the opportunity for other parts of your fallen nature to show through because we can say a lot with bad words we can reinforce a lot of negative things with bad words and we can't just we it's time for Christians to grow up and just say well that says how I am I just speak what's on my mind have you looked at your mind lately now the combination of your heart that Jeremiah describes as being deceitful above all things the tongue that that that James describes as being set on fire from hell and your mind that is darkened do you think that is really the best course of action for you to just freely speak what's on your darkened mind by your tongue set on fire from hell from a heart that is so deceitful it doesn't know itself sometimes we need to back up before we speak and so here's what the writer is telling us because we are the servants of God who has created us in his image and has given us the unique gift of speech every time we open our mouths we represent and we serve our master and so since we serve our master here's what what what what the writer is telling us then be careful in how you speak because the beauty the flip side of it is is words that are thickly chosen words that are thickly spoken words that are carefully thought out they are or Nate and beautiful and I don't mean by but with I don't mean with with with rhetoric but in terms of the effect it it it soothes situations and words are carefully chosen it and even if it doesn't soothe or change the situation words that are carefully chosen are at least a good service to the father that at the very least you bring refreshment to his heart even if it's not properly received the point that's being made here is because we have been given speech as a means by which we reflect and represent our heavenly father then we need to be careful in what we say it's interesting how people will back themselves into a corner because of words that they have spoken that's why I tried to admonish couples especially that be careful in communication be careful of extreme language don't don't say you know well she never takes me anywhere because if you guys have been together for 40 years and he took you one some place one time then he just destroyed the credibility of your whole argument because never would exclude the one time he took you so he could say no I took you someplace back in 1966 now you're a liar
what else do you have to say he said yeah but that was it no no no no what you said is I never and if I did it once I might take you someplace again in 2066 so we have to be careful of extreme language we have to be careful what we say to and about others and so the writer here of the proverbs the point that's being made is to take time to figure out what you what you are going to say and sometimes in figuring it out it'll determine whether you need to say it sometimes as you put something on paper and you think about you know what on second thought let me just write this letter to myself because this doesn't need to go out but here's the third thing that we see and this is in verse 12 God uses words he uses his word through others or the word of others to bring correction to his people and so therefore in verse 12 in verse 12 it says like a gold ring another comparison like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear now notice the two parts that are there a wise reprover not a bull in a china shop not someone just recklessly saying things but a wise reprover and who is the wise reprover the wise reprover is one who has the responsibility of bearing a message of reproof or rebuke but he has carefully chosen his words see in other words it's what's described in verse 11 it's one he who was who was looking for a word thickly spoken appropriate for the season appropriate for the situation so the it speaks first off of the wise reprover and the wise reprover for believers especially is one who has been commissioned by God either intentionally or unintentionally unconsciously to them when God sends reproof he does it sometimes formally through the opening in the public proclamation of his word but sometimes he does it especially if we find ourselves in good relationships in good Christian relationships God sends a wise reprover sometimes and in the person of a friend or in the person of of someone that you are in that you are in fellowship with sometimes it could be someone that will definitely bring God's word and say hey I know you you said this I know you didn't mean this but but this is what you said you know or it could be someone that the Lord dispatches and they don't even know they've been dispatched to bring you under conviction for something that you thought it was all right sometimes as in the case of in the case of David the Lord sent a wise reprover we read from as part of our response of reading it included the 51st Psalm well the 51st Psalm is the result of David having been reproached or approached by a wise reprover and the wise reprover was in the person of Nathan the prophet of God who gave him a story that showed the moral outrage of David against a particular injustice and then at the end of it after David is really ready to go and and have this man hung and then Nathan says but oh Lord you are that man and right away David doesn't hear the words of Nathan David hears the word of God brothers and sisters God sends wise reprovers and sometimes God calls us to be the wise reprover Matthew 18 that deals with we always talk about the passage it deals with church discipline but really it deals with interpersonal relationships within the body of Christ and he says if a brother offends you then go to that brother and you be the wise reprover you be the one to to show them their fault and do it in a way that that that that is honest that this is God's word it's not just about me and you it's about you and God and then if they don't hear he says then bring in other witnesses but the point is God dispatches wise reprovers to check the conducts sometimes of his of his people but then also it speaks in this in this particular verse not just of the wise reprover but he also speaks of those who have a listening ear and you need both you need both the wise reprover because if the reason in Matthew 18 the reason the final step is excommunication is not because there wasn't a wise reprover and it wasn't because there wasn't the witness of two or three but it because it's because there wasn't a listening ear the writer tells us in verse 12 that talks about a wise reprover to a listening ear and brothers and sisters God as I said dispatches or God uses his word through an individual publicly and intentionally from the word of God to sometimes bring us rebuke and reproof and sometimes he will use someone who is unconscious of what they are doing they have no idea that they are doing the will of God but he will deliver a person to our in our path that will speak a word to us to get us to see what we are here's my prayer is that we would have a listening ear when God speaks because when God speaks to us it's for our good it's to help us so that we could be better representatives of God in the word itself and so therefore when we speak of the use of speech that we have been given I understand we live in a climate and a culture where people are so reacting to political correctness that we are returning to the dark ages of careless communication but brothers and sisters don't let the extreme get us down let us not let us let us not be caught up in the in the extremes and either way either being overly politically correct or in being so in responding so much against political correctness that we become careless and reckless in our speech but now that just seems like well okay something else for me to do here's here's where it comes down to if what James says is true that the tongue has been set on fire from hell and if what the Proverbs writer tells us is true that good speech or faithful use of speech glorifies the father and yet we have a tongue that's set on fire from hell well here's my point brothers and sisters let us never be slow to take our tongue daily to the cross of Christ because sometimes we can't hide behind good intentions and say well I didn't mean it that way and that's not no let's own what we say and let's season what we say I like what Paul says in Colossians chapter four in verse four he says our verse six he says let your speech always be gracious season with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer each person brothers and sisters the way we do that is to take our speech daily to the cross of Christ and let us see in his crucified body all of our sins of speech that he has borne our stripes for and let us therefore be conscientious of the fact that now we can speak because here's what my speech is here's what my speech by itself deserves but here is what God has said he has laid the burden on him so that now I can speak freely and I can season my language with grace let the grace that we have received from God in Christ Jesus calls us to be careful in what we say to God but also what we say to and what we say about our brothers because brothers and sisters if the unbeliever will be judged for every thoughtless word indeed let us not take lightly the fact that among the things that Jesus died for on that cross is our sins of speech and therefore when we come into his presence we pray I pray that you would have ears to hear the fit word of God's gospel that sin too is paid for in the blood of Jesus so therefore let us leave as Jesus told the woman caught in a adultery and he says where are your accusers? Well they're gone then you go and you send no more so I pray that when you speak understand that as you have spoken you've sent you haven't spoken right but know that Jesus has a tone for that and as you hear his word of pardon I tell you now go and speak sin no more amen let's pray gracious God our Father we come to you