Book of Proverbs
Living God’s Way
Lesson 10
Part 2
Look, chapter 18 and verse 21 of Proverbs,
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it
will eat its fruit.”
Once you realize how powerful your words are, you just, you start being very careful what you
say.
God says My Words have the power, look at this, to heal or to wound.
Chapter 12. And we read this two days ago, but look at chapter 12, verse 18 of Proverbs.
18There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
“There is one who speaks like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health.”
The Lord says you can either injure people by what you say and spear them,
stab them with your words, or you can be like medicine or like healing blessing to them.
Next, the Lord says this, God wants me to know the limitations of my words. This is the balance. God says words are
never a substitute for deeds. Remember James said that. If someone comes to you in need and you say, “Oh, God bless
you” and you don’t help him, God says, what’s wrong with you? So, words are never a substitute for deeds. With
people that you speak to as a witness too. It was nice that I said, you’re going to die and go to Hell. But if I hadn’t
followed up with a Gospel tract and a Gospel presentation, it wouldn’t have been effective because he would have thought
it was a criticism.
Now here, God is big on, on us being truthful. We should not alter the facts. Proverbs 26 says, and God says we’re
to be honest, not false.
That’s 12:22, few, not many.
“Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.”
The Lord says that we should measure our words and, oh, this
next one, God is listening all the time, and He will resist in my life and your life, boastful words, and
argumentative words. Have you ever met people that when you talk to them, it’s like you’re in a boxing match? You
say something and they say something back. God says, I resist someone that is argumentative,
and I resist those that are boastful that, that try to inflate themselves.
God resists gossip. Have you ever heard the names of Satan, one of his names is that he is the diabolos. There are
many Greek words for Satan, but Satan is the devil, which is the diabolos, which means slander. He is the accuser.
It says in Revelation 12, Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. If you remember Job, one of the biggest
pictures of Satan in the Bible is in Job. Job is on Earth, and all of a sudden in the book of Job, chapters 1 and 2,
the camera goes up to Heaven, and we see God on His throne, and then we’re shocked. Satan walks up in front of the
throne of God. And we go, Satan in Heaven? What’s going on? Did you know God allows, sitting on His throne, He
allows Satan to come up and do stuff. And you know what Satan does? He goes, God, look at Job. Job, you think Job’s
one of yours. He’s not. I can make him curse You. God says you can’t make him curse Me. Satan says yeah, I can.
And he starts accusing Job. That’s what the whole book of Job is about, this horrible thing Job goes through.
Satan, it says in Revelation 12, when God is explaining that whole scene in Job, He said he is the accuser and the
slanderer. And then that same word shows up in Titus 2, where it says, “not gossiping.” It talks about older women
aren’t gossipers. It’s the very word for Satan. What he says is, Paul says to them, God is watching. Don’t let
your tongue be a tool of the devil by slandering and accusing people of stuff, and so God says don’t spread slander,
and use reasonable words.
And use peaceable and gentle words. Let me read Proverbs 15:1 to you,
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
“a soft answer turns away anger.” You want to try something get someone that’s all worked up and upset that you took
their parking space, or you sat in their chair, or you whatever, you know, got ahead of them in line. You go. Oh,
“Here, can have the parking space, you can have my spot in line, it’s okay.” They don’t know what to do. It shocks
people when you don’t fight back. That’s what gentle and peaceable words are, and that’s why I keep referring to
this James 3:17 verse.
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy
and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”
“The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable and gentle.” And God blesses that.
And God wants me to have an apt word, this is what I’m talking about with people we witness too. We need an apt
means it’s right at the right moment. One time I was reading my Bible, and this fella, he came by and said,
you’re reading the Good Book, and I said, yes, I teach the Bible, and we talked, and he left. And as soon as he left,
I thought, I should talk to that man.
I pass out tracks everywere I go. It is amazing how people open up and start talking about their lives to me.
I say, has anyone ever shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with you? And they looked at me and it is the most amazing
thing to me. It is like, I can’t believe you’re doing this to me and talking to me, and I gave them my Be Sure tract.
I am always thinking about that. I thought, God wants my words to be apt, on target, timed with His plan for my life.
I am alway asking The Lord God Almighty to give me an opportunity to give someone a tract and the time to speak to them.
Okay. God says a person’s words reveal their character. Out of a godly heart are good words.
Out of the ungodly heart are proud words. It’s what Jesus already said in Matthew. God says your words reflect your
companions.
Our words also reflect what’s invisibly inside of us. That’s why I said, if you want to date someone, before you
go out and spend time with them, spend time in a group and listen to them because you will find out what’s invisibly
inside of them. Let’s look at how God puts it. Look at Proverbs 15:28.
“The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.”
“The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.” If you see someone
that studies, that pauses, when they’re asked a question, they go, there’s that hesitation, and they think about it,
and then they give this answer. You go, Okay, that’s good. But look what’s bad. The mouth of the wicked, and what
comes out, not only a lot comes out, but it’s evil, verse 28 says, okay.
So, what does God want? God wants men and women of grace to have sound speech. Look at Titus 2.
1But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
2That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
3The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine,
teachers of good things;
4That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
5To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
6Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
7In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
8Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to
say of you.
9Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
10Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world;
13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
15These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Remember I told you that’s the only curriculum in the whole Bible that names in one spot, men, women, older and younger.
So, every group within the Church. It’s before Hebrews, Titus, Philemon. Here we go, Titus 2, verse 8. Sound speech. Now,
sound the English word is sound. The Greek word is hugiaino. The English translation of hugiaino is hygiene. You
ever heard of hygiene? Good hygiene means you wash your face, brush your teeth, wash your hands. Good hygiene?
That’s from this word hugiaino, but in the Bible, the translation of that word into sound means healthy. In other
words, if you practice hygiene, it’ll keep you healthy. Okay, so there’s a word study. Now look at Titus 2. 8.
Healthy speech that cannot be condemned. That’s what sound speech is. God wants our words to promote health,
spiritual health, encourage people, bless them. Why? Because we live in a very unhealthy world.
So, let’s go to Ephesians 4:15.
“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”
The book of Ephesians is the most practical guide of all of Paul’s epistles to areas in our life we need to
correct. Now remember, Ephesus was the largest church of the ancient world. Of the churches in the New Testament,
Ephesus was huge. The city was huge. It was the third city of the empire. It went Rome, and then after that, you
could either do Alexandria or Antioch, and then Ephesus. It was huge. It was big, it was like Seoul or Tokyo. It
was big. So, Paul writes to them and this is what Paul starts with.
Look at verse 15 of chapter 4, “but speak the truth in love. Speaking the truth in love, he may grow up in all
things into Him who is the head Christ.” What Paul said is, how you talk affects your relationship with Christ.
Okay.
Now, how do you fix your talk? Ephesians 4:22.
22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
This passage is the most important. If you’re ever going to disciple someone, I hope all of you
disciple people. This passage has the put off, the put on, and be renewed. Sequence and I’m going to show it to
you. This is how you help people change. You want to change? And that’s helping people change. Discipleship is not telling
someone to change, it’s showing them how to change, and using the Word of God.
So how do you change? That you “put off concerning your form of conduct, the old man which goes corrupt according
to deceitful lusts.” So put off. Let’s look at it this way. If I was out here working and digging up, and doing
the groundwork, and blowing the leaves and everything, before long I’d get all dirty. And if I got all dirty and
went into our little house there, and we were living here long term, Naomi would say, Honey, you’re going to get
the house dirty, why don’t you go take a shower? So, what would I do? I would take off my
clothes that were all dirty and then I would go in the shower to get all the dirt off. See that this is very
practical.
But look at Ephesians 4:23
23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
and “be renewed in the spirit of your mind,” that’s where we get the Bible, Scripture memory,
Biblical principles. We believe the truth, and then “put on the new man.” If you have dirty clothes and you take
them off, you have to go in and get clean clothes and put them on. Spiritually, what we do is we put on.
Now, what do we put on? Look over two books. Go from Ephesians, Philippians to Colossians 3:12.
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind,
meekness, longsuffering;”
This is what we put on.This is your wardrobe. This is what you should grab every day as you’re wanting to grow in
Christ. “Therefore, as the elect of God,” Colossians 3:12, “Holy and Beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness,
humility, meekness,long suffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another,” verse 14, “put on love.”
Wow, okay, Paul says put off the old bad way you talk, learn verses, put on, or I mean be renewed, and then put on
the correct. Okay, continuing, look at Ephesians 4:25,
“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.”
“put away lying.” Who’s Paul talking to? Christians. Did you know Christians don’t speak truth to each other
sometimes? And Paul says put away lying, speak truth. He doesn’t stop there. This is all about changing our talking.
Look at Ephesians4:29-32,
29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it
may minister grace unto the hearers.
30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
“let no..” and I put in brackets [imperative]. That’s the Greek. It’s a command. I
command you, don’t let “corrupt words proceed out of your mouth.” The word corrupt means words that corrupt, like
rotting old fish that’s rotting or, blood from a chicken that stinks. Don’t let anything stinky, or another form of
that word corrupt means cutting, like that sword tongue… don’t let anything stinky or cutting come out of your
mouth, but what is good for edification, and then he goes on verse 31. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor,
and evil speaking be put away from you.”
Did you know that’s what God wants us to do? He wants us to encourage each other to the right way.
So, look at this. This is the verse we studied. Neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor coarse jesting.
And it’s not fitting.
What should we be doing? Giving thanks. Don’t have empty words, Paul goes on to say. And don’t have fellowship with
the unfruitful works of darkness. Do you know why a lot of people talk badly? Because they’re like, do you remember
I told you my son came home and said a word that I’d never heard him say before? It was because he was around people
that said those words. Look at this. Don’t have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose
them. That’s another imperative, command from God, that we say, hey, that kind of person always is off color. You
shouldn’t be involved with that. It is shameful to even speak of the things which are done of them in secret. Paul
said, what should we be doing? This is the product of being full of the Spirit. By the way, you can’t speak dirty
stuff and be full of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit fills us and controls us. So, when we surrender and
put off and put on, we speak to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and we give thanks. Our words
change.
And as Ephesians 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make
known the mystery of the gospel.
You see Paul just keeps going. It’s three chapters later. We even stopped threatening people. You
ever had someone threaten you? Say, if you do that one more time, I will do this. That’s a threat. And what should
we do with our mouth? Ask the Lord that we boldly open our mouth to make known the mystery of the Gospel.
Number two, we’re going to share the last time we opened our mouth and boldly shared the Gospel.
This will, the second thing will totally revolutionized your church. Because every single week, we need to say where
are you reading in the Bible? Number two, who’s the last person you shared the Gospel with? Guess what
happened the next meeting? Can you imagine? You will have people who who can not wait to tell you what? Who they shared the
Gospel with.
Do you see that’s how we encourage one another. That’s what Christian fellowship is all about. And we pray that we
speak boldly.
Why don’t we do it? Because Satan wants to infect our communication. James tells us and it says that he’s earthly,
sensual, demonic. What does Jesus want us to do?
Jesus wants to clean our mouth. Did you know Jesus wants to sanctify our mouth so that we speak words that are
healthy. He wants to heal our communications by having us think what we say before we say it. Say less and not
put it off. We shouldn’t put it off and say, ah, that’s something I’ll do later. No. Start now wanting to speak
life. If you get a chance to open your mouth and say anything, say something that will please the Lord and affect
other people for eternity.
This is the last Lesson 10 Part 2 of our studies in the Book of Proverbs.
“Only one life to live and soon is past
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.
Book of Proverbs Living God’s Way Lesson 10 Part 2