You may be seated and open your Bibles to the book of Proverbs, the book of wisdom, and the scriptures. This is part two of God's wisdom on destructive speech. God's wisdom on destructive speech. In the book of Proverbs, we have 130 references to speech, and about half of them deal with negative speech. So we're surveying those. We will get to, Lord willing, constructive, positive speech. But we need to see the types of speech that need to be avoided. Some years ago, I heard a testimony of a man who was a new believer and he was working in Detroit, I think in one of the industries related to automobile production. And he'd been on the job for a very short time and someone came over to him and said, you're a Christian, aren't you? He said, well, yes, I am. How did you know? He said, two ways. You've been here, I think he said 10 minutes, but it might have been an hour or whatever it was. And he said, I haven't heard you cuss yet. And secondly, you are whistling a hymn. So out of our mouth comes evidence of what's in our heart. Our speech reveals what's in our heart. So I'd like to begin today with the applications that we closed with last week. Our speech is, first of all, an internal indicator. It reveals what is going on in the heart. Our needs, our sins, And also our help and our salvation are exposed through our words, our speech. It's an internal indicator. It indicates something going on. If you're driving along in your car and a red light flashes on the instrument panel, and it says engine needs maintenance and you say forget the red light and you just keep driving on and on and on, you may very likely have a serious internal problem in your vehicle. The light is simply an indicator. Our speech is an indicator of what's going on inside. Secondly, from last week's application, our speech has powerful potential. Life and death in the power of speech, harm and help, encouragement and discouragement are in its grasp. A kind word can make such a difference in the life of someone else, or an angry, resentful, hateful word can ruin someone's day. Speech has powerful potential and then our speech needs convicted confession. When we sin with our speech, we need to confess to God the sin of that speech and find His cleansing, His forgiveness. Let me ask two questions to begin today. Is your speech destructive or constructive? does it demolish or edify? Does it tear down, demolish, or does it build up, edify? Let's pray. Father open our hearts and minds to the truth in the wisdom book of Proverbs about speech. I pray Lord that as we see these negative patterns of speech that you will convict us if we have been using these negative patterns. And Lord, if it's an indicator that we've never had a new heart through Christ, I pray that you will speak to anyone who's not trusted Christ, that they would see they need to call on the name of the Lord and be saved. Lord, if it's one of your children, and we see that we have been guilty of such destructive speech that we'll confess it and ask for your help to have speech that builds up and that encourages. Speak to us we pray in Jesus name, Amen. Notice with me Proverbs chapter 12 verses 13 and 14 is our text today. Proverbs 12 verses 13 and 14 The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through trouble. A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth." By what his mouth produces, that is, in speech. So, we see positive and negative speech here. Ensnaring speech by the transgression of lips. or speech that satisfies and gives fruit. Notice first of all, and we're continuing the lettering from last week, we looked at A through J, and now we come to K. Tail-bearing speech, destructive speech. Proverbs chapter 11, verse 13. Proverbs 11, 13. A tale bearer, what is a tale bearer? It's one who bears tales, not an appendage to the body, but a story, a piece of information, one who bears information or a gossip even. A tale bearer reveals secrets. But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter. There are some who delight in sharing things which ought not to be shared, and they delight in sharing things with the wrong people and at the wrong time. There are those who break confidences and share the wrong information, and they share it with people they shouldn't know. These kind of folks don't make trustworthy friends. We need people that we can trust with our speech. If we are guilty of always revealing to others the secrets of a friend that they've shared with us, then we are guilty of this kind of negative speech. Their absence reduces strife. When they're not there, the tail bearer causes strife to go away. Watch out for this. Those who like to be collectors of tales, information, who love to go from person to person and collect little pieces of information. And then they have a unique ability to repackage it. It goes through their personal factory and it gets repackaged. And then they spread it all around for their destructive purposes. They put it on the marketplace, as it were, and it sells like hot cakes. It goes like crazy. That's tail-bearing speech. Watch out for those who gather little pieces and then put together something to meet their destructive agenda and then they share it on with others. This is something to be avoided and it is so common. families, workplaces, churches are often destroyed by bearers of tales, collectors of tales. This is something to watch out for. Let's just survey a few other verses. We won't look at all the text in the notes, but I would encourage you to get alone with your Bible and to look at them at another time. But I do want to look at these quickly. Chapter 16 of Proverbs, verse 28. This is not an isolated verse. 11, 13, about a tailbearer. Notice what Proverbs 16, 28 says. A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates the best of friends. A whisperer, someone who gets a little tail from this person, a little tail from that person, and goes from another person and turns a friend against another friend. It says a whisperer does that. Proverbs 17 and verse 9. He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates the best of friends." The one who repeats a matter separates the best of friends. Let me ask you husbands, let me ask you wives, let me ask you brothers and sisters, could you look at your husband or your wife, could you look at your brother, your sister, your uncle, your aunt, your cousin, Could you find something wrong with them? Of course you could. There's something wrong with all of us. So what if you take that and then you multiply it, and you use it then to separate the friendship, separate a marriage, separate a family. This says there's a better way, there's a high road. cover a transgression, seeking after love. Love covers a multitude of sins. Can you forgive that fault? Husbands to wives, wives to husbands, brothers to sisters and so on. Can you forgive that fault rather than amplify it and then speak it so that someone turns on your mate or someone turns on your relative or your friend? He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates the best of friends. Look at chapter 18 and verse 8. Chapter 18, verse 8. The words of a tale-bearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body. I picture here a cookie shop, a bakery, or a candy shop, and you go into the bakery and behind the glass you see all of these varieties. all of these cookies, and you see back there all the pastries, tasty things. And what do you do when you're faced with so many options? Well, when in doubt, just have one of each. No, don't do that. It wouldn't be good for your diet. But here we have all of these tasty trifles. Isn't this interesting here? The words of a tale bearer are like that. Oh, what did you find out? Oh, you did? She did? You're kidding! No way! Yeah, she did! Tasty trifles! And it says they go down into the inmost body, into the inmost being, and oh, we enjoy that juicy bit of gossip. Perhaps that's why it's so common. A tasty trifle. The words of a tail bearer are like that. But you know what? They go down in the inmost body and they have a tendency to turn bitter and sour. And they will hurt someone. Look at chapter 20, Proverbs chapter 20 verse 19. Proverbs 20 verse 19, he who goes about as a tale bearer reveals secrets. Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with the lips. Sometimes the flatterer is there to collect the tale, to get the information so they butter someone up and say nice things to them so they'll reveal secrets. Some years ago, my wife taught a lady's Bible study, and she, it was on the Air Force Base in the chapel, and she made a particular biblical point of doctrine, and there was a lady there who disagreed with it. And right away, she went to the head chaplain, the colonel chaplain, who was my boss, to complain. And the chaplain, who liked us, Praise the Lord, saw me in the hall and he said, so and so, and I knew this lady, came to me and he said the first thing I said to her was troublemaker. And then he gave me the instruction he wanted me to have. But it was interesting, basically he was telling me I have her number. If someone comes to you who is a tail bearer, what should you do? Don't associate, it says here, with one who fighters with the lips. He who goes about as a tail bearer, if someone comes to you and they're just sharing troublesome information because they want to make some issue out of something, perhaps you should do this, especially if it's about another person. You know, I don't really need to hear that, but it sounds like you have a legitimate problem, so let's go. I'll go with you, and let's go talk to so-and-so. It'll make a difference. It'll make a difference. and the tune may change. Or if they come to you and you say, you know, I don't know if this is really helping you or me to hear this, but if we just say, oh yeah, that's great, tell me more, give me more tasty trifles, it will yield bitter fruit and it will divide something or somebody. Look at chapter 26 of Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 26. You see how common this one theme is in the wisdom books on one topic of speech? Proverbs 26, 20, where there is no wood, the fire goes out. I love the simplicity and power of inspired wisdom. The wisdom from God. Jesus spoke like this. He could give one sentence and silence his critics. It was just amazing. He had wisdom from the Spirit of God on how to speak. I want you to notice the simplicity of this. If there are no sticks in the fire, if there's no wood on the fire, guess what? The fire goes out. It's pretty evident, isn't it? Now notice the comparison, what it says here. And where there is no tail-bearer, strife ceases. So do you want to be like a piece of firewood? Do we want to be like that? And it's better that we just are consumed and burn up, that we're out of the way, where there's no tailbearer, the strife ceases, when there's a commotion, a stir. and you trace it back, sometimes you see that it started with somebody's tail, something they said. It may be true, or maybe partially true, or it may have been something that was 100% true, but just not necessary to be known. And it caused strife, and it caused commotion. This is such a common problem. But where there's no wood, the fire goes out. May we have warmth and fire with tongues that are aflame, speaking the truth of God and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but not sharing tasty trifles that bring destruction to others. Look at chapter 26 and verse 22. The words of a tail-bearer are like tasty trifles. They go down into the inmost body. Here that picture is repeated again. So the first item for destructive speech today is tail-bearing speech. Has anyone in this room ever been guilty of this? I have. If you haven't, God bless you. We'll learn from you. If we have, may we cease being those who bear tails to cause destruction and trouble. Notice the next pattern of speech here. Speech which clearly leads to sin. Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 13, our text. Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 13. This is the next item of speech. Proverbs 12 and verse 13. It is transgressing speech. Transgressing speech. The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through trouble. Have you ever heard someone say this? His mouth gets him into You've heard it. Her mouth gets her into trouble. We've heard this before. The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous will come through trouble. So when our lips transgress, they say things they ought not. It brings a snare on us. It brings trouble on us. And sometimes we look back and we say, my big mouth got me into trouble. I said something I ought not to have said, and now I'm reaping the consequences for what I've said. There is a reason, I believe, that in the human anatomy we have two ears and one mouth. Two ears and one mouth. Many reasons for that. But our tongue is often quick to get us into trouble, to transgress. We can so easily sin with our tongue. Go over to the book of James. James is a New Testament counterpart to the book of Proverbs. So we have a short book of wisdom in the New Testament, the book of James, and there's such practical instruction here. In fact, James gives a lengthy discussion on the tongue. A very lengthy discussion in James chapter 3, but what I want you to see is chapter 1 verse 19. James chapter 1 verse 19. James 1.19. Not only should we think before we speak, but we should hear before we speak. Look at James 1.19. Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Ever notice how we reverse the order? We blow up, we're quick to wrath, we are quick to speak, and then we're slow to hear. Oh, that's what he meant? and we've already blown up. Oh, that's what she said? I didn't hear that part. Moms and dads, have you ever had this? Your kids come to you, they're crying, and you start setting the record straight and rebuking and correcting, and then there's maybe a little one that just says something so mildly, and you realize, oh, I didn't understand the situation. It reminds me of the little kid at the table that said, please pass the biscuits. He was sitting there, a whole table of gas, and he was so hungry. Please pass the biscuits. No one heard him. Please pass the biscuits. Please pass the biscuits. And then he stood up on his chair. Please pass the biscuits. And they said, what's wrong with him? Look at him. How could he do that? Look at the obnoxious kid. But the poor guy had been asking for it and no one heard. So often we're like that. We are quick to respond. We're quick to wrath. We're quick to speak, but we haven't heard. God gives us an order here, swift to hear, we have two ears, slow to speak, we have one tongue, and slow to wrath. So here is transgressing speech, may we have it in the order that God wants us to have and hear and listen before we act. And then if we go back to Proverbs chapter 12 and verse 18, there's another kind of destructive speech, chapter 12 and verse 18. And you'll notice, again, the way Proverbs is woven together. All of these different subjects woven in a beautiful tapestry. It's not that all the verses on speech are in one chapter in Proverbs. They're all throughout the book, as we saw also in the subject of work. So here is not only transgressing speech, but the next one here is irritating or rash speech. Proverbs chapter 12. And verse 18, Proverbs 12, 18, There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health. Some speech causes irritation because of its rashness or its recklessness. The ESV says, There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts. but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Reckless, rash speech. Notice it is opposite to healing. There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health. What are our words like? The sword thrashing and thrusting and cutting and hurting and maiming. Or do our words bring healing? Now sometimes our words need to have rebuke in them, they need to convict. But whenever we rebuke, it should be with the idea of restoring to wholeness and to health. There is a way to rebuke a sinning brother or sister. Notice Galatians, the book of Galatians in the New Testament. The book of Galatians. What amazing words here. Galatians chapter 6 verse 1. Brethren, I'll wait till you get there. Galatians 6, 1. Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one. Restore such a one in a spirit of what? Meekness, gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted, bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. What's the law of Christ? Love one another. Bear one another's burdens. So, how do we restore someone who is in sin? We call it just thrashing with the sword and cutting? No, a spirit of gentleness, considering ourselves, so there's humility there. There is a desire to see healing, and that's exactly what should be done in disciplining our children in the home. It's not punishment just to inflict pain, it's to bring correction, to bring about a change of attitude, a change of behavior. a new lifestyle to point them to Jesus. Here is irritating, rash speech because it hurts. Notice chapter 29 of Proverbs. Chapter 29. Chapter 29 in verse 20. Do you see a man hasty in his words? That would be rash. That would be irritating. Hasty in his words. There is more hope for a fool than for him. Cutting speech, speech is like the thrusting of a sword that cuts, can have humor in it. I've noticed this, let's say it's a youth group, and someone cuts someone, and then someone else makes another cut, maybe the first one or two were just completely in jest, but then it goes serious, and then there's some truth that's spoken in jest, but they didn't have the courage to say the truth, and so it cuts, it hurts. I remember as a teenager there was a young man who had a very biting tongue. And he was just, he could always come out on top on the last insult, the last cut. And one day we were on a youth activity and we were in canoes. And I was in the canoe with him and there was a missionary with us. And this missionary was a smart man and had figured out this young man. And so there was a cooler of cokes there in the canoe. And this young man with a biting tongue said, give me a coke. And he held out his hand. And the missionary opened the coke and poured it on his hand. He didn't have much to say. And you say, well, that wasn't right. Well, maybe it fits in the category in Proverbs, answer a fool according to his folly. He has to be wise in his own eyes. The irritating, the cutting speech at that point didn't seem to have an answer. Now, that may not be the method that we need to pick all the time, but irritating speech is to be avoided because we want speech that heals, that blesses, that encourages. others. Proverbs 29 20. Do you see a man hasting his words? More hope for a fool than for him. The next category is foolish speech. Go back to Proverbs 14. Proverbs chapter 14 in verse 7. Wow! Let's put this in the break room. There you are in the break room. And you have read the scriptures and you have some wisdom from scripture and you hear absolute foolishness, might be filthiness too, being spewed there in the break room. What should you do? Entertain it? Ask for another dirty joke? No. Go from the presence of a foolish man when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge. The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit. Go from the presence of a foolish man Listen very carefully. This is not just for young people, but young people, listen. Choose your friends carefully. Adults, listen. Choose your news sources carefully. Do they operate from the premise of the fear of the Lord or do they operate from an atheistic evolutionary premise? If they do, don't trust everything that is spoken. It may be foolishness being spread abroad. Look at Proverbs chapter 15 verse 2. The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness." Just pours forth foolish things that has no truth. How do you know the difference? The plumb line of the Word of God. You take what you hear and we test it against the truth of the Word of God. And that's what we need to do with everything that we hear inside and outside the church. Listen, all kinds of foolishness is spewed on the airwaves, the internet waves, the television waves. It's spewed. And there's wisdom too. But we need to hear the wisdom. What is wisdom? If it lines up with the Scriptures. The Word of God is inspired, profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. So what I hear needs to be filtered through the truth of the Word of God. That's why we make much of the Bible. We must make much of the Bible in this confused age. to find out what is truth. Listen, there is a bedrock of truth in the Word of God, and that's what we need. Hosea said, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. We need the truth of God, and Christian people have been born again by faith in Christ, need the truth of the Word of God to not make foolish decisions with our lives. The devil would have us live as if there were no absolute authority of scripture. May we not do that. May we go to the scriptures continually. Foolish speech is all around us. May we go to wise speech. Have you ever been around someone? I had a professor like this. He's with the Lord now. And another professor said this of him. Whenever he opens his mouth, he says something. He was a man of few words. But when he opened his mouth, he said something, something meaningful. And I can remember seeing him on the stairs, going upstairs to the classroom at the seminary, and he looked at me and he said, how are you doing? And he was really asking. He wasn't saying hello. And the reason I knew that is because if you said to him, how are you doing? He would say, is it a greeting or do you really want to know? He said something. How are you doing? And he meant it. And he had wisdom. May we open our mouths and say something. And if we can't say anything, if it's just foolishness, maybe we should just keep them zipped. So here we have in Proverbs 14 and verse 23, not only foolish speech, but we have empty or idle speech. Proverbs 14 In verse 23, in all labor there is profit, there is benefit, there's blessing, but idle chatter leads only to poverty. There are those who talk about work and there are those who work. On the job site, the Christians, the believers, should be the best workers. Not just talking about the job, but doing the job. Not trying to get out of work, but doing the work. In all labor there is profit, but just talk. Idle speech leads to poverty. Mere talk, one version has, and mere talk does what? Produces no ultimate good. Words are easy and sometimes unproductive. Work is hard but productive. And so may we be those who speak wisdom and work with wisdom as well and don't have idle, empty speech. Alright, this next category is a big category. It really covers everything that's destructive. It is evil speech. Evil speech. Proverbs 15 and verse 28. The heart of the righteous studies how to answer. but the mouth of the fool pours forth evil. The mouth of the fool, or the wicked, the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. Can you imagine a water treatment plant And here is a big pipe of polluted, dirty water from all the city sewers. And here, this big pipe is filling up these reservoirs so the water can go through the purification process, and it's just pouring out sewage. Some people speak like that. Just filthy, evil speech. It's a broad category. It may be from deception and lies to pornographic evil speech. And you know what? We have so-called music that is filled with evil speech. Can a Christian be immune and listen to that? Oh, I'm not listening to the words. I just don't buy that. You know why? Because this brain between our ears is the original computer God made. The advertising industry spends thousands, millions on creating a little musical jingle that might last 20 seconds and it lodges into your head and you're going down the aisle in the grocery store and you see a certain kind of cereal, let's say, and this tune pops in your head and you say, well, I'm going to look at that cereal. Ah, they accomplished what they wanted. That was worth spending all the money on that little jingle because it goes to the brain. We hear stuff. Think of this. Have you ever gone into a room, you smelt a smell and you had a memory from 20 years ago from something you smelt? Have you ever heard something and immediately it took you back to years ago and you said, I haven't heard that in years. I remember in junior high when I was listening to that. Powerful, this computer that records and records. So if we have on our ears and earbuds and everything else all of this piped in evil, Beware lest we act it out. I remember some years ago a young man who killed, I think it was his parents, in New Jersey. And guess, they found music that he was listening to about killing the police, killing your mother, killing whatever. I forget all the details, but we said, oh, that had no impact on that. It had no impact. When we're programming our minds to think these things and say these things, I think it has impact. A man told to me once, a Christian brother, he said, I love, I just love country music. But he said, oh, I can't listen to it. It takes me the wrong direction. I can't go there. Evil speech, and if it's said to music, that doesn't sanctify it. If it's evil, if it's saying, suggesting evil things that are ungodly, unbiblical, unchrist-like, why would we want to listen to them? We need to draw the line and say, I'm not going to hear that, I don't need to hear that, it doesn't help me. It won't edify me and help me to think pure thoughts. The battle today, my friend, is for our minds. if our minds can be captivated by the evil one and we're hearing all of his messages. Maybe that's why sometimes there's little difference between the church and the world because we're all listening to the same stuff. And it's programming us against the Lord instead of to the Lord. Carefully watch. and guard what comes into our ears. Is it evil speech? As would be expected, the wicked pour forth evil speech. Their speech is consistent to their character. It answers to their character. The heart of the righteous studies how to answer. The mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. Let us not listen to evil speech. Notice chapter 16, verse 27. Chapter 16 and verse 27. Here's another form of evil speech. An ungodly man digs up evil and it is on his lips like a burning fire. Wow. Ungodly man wants to dig up evil and then he wants to speak it as like a burning fire on his lips. May God help us to be godly and to have godly speech. Let's go to another one. Proverbs chapter 18. Opinionated speech. Opinionated speech. We all have opinions. The problem is when we think that no one else has one. And we only want ours to be heard. A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart." Fools enjoy being heard and giving a piece of their mind, though they have nothing to say. The real problem here is not just the existence of an opinion, but it's that we don't care if our opinion is wrong. We don't really want to come to an understanding. We just want to say what we think, and we are unwilling to hear the Word of God. We're unwilling to hear. We want to speak, but we don't want to hear. I love this version. A fool finds no pleasure in understanding, but delights in airing his own opinions. No delight in understanding, just airing his own opinions. A fool does not delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own mind, another version. Many opinions exist, but look for the absolute truth of the Word of God about all of life. Listen, there are all kinds of opinions going about, about abortion, about homosexuality, about sinful relationships, sensual relationships before after marriage, all kinds of opinions floating around. How can you sort it out to tell the truth? You go to the Word of God. But secular foolish people who may be very brilliant often stop freedom of speech when it comes to contradicting their agenda. And there's no freedom of speech. You've heard about academic freedom. Sometimes the last place where there's academic freedom is in academia. There's academic freedom if it goes with the agenda that they have that's oftentimes against truths of the Word of God. Where are things being promoted like homosexuality and abortion and licentiousness? Oftentimes it's in academic circles. Do you know there's a man at Princeton University an ethicist who suggests that after children are born, and I don't want to misquote here, I don't know if it's age two or age three or even higher, that he suggests that there's some deformity or some reason that they're not the way they should be, that their life could be taken. How do we get there with those kind of opinions when we disregard the Word of God? Here is the truth of God. How do we sort that out when we hear such heinous things? How do we sort out what ISIS is doing today, crucifying Christians and beheading children. How do we sort that out? Jeremiah 17, 9, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? It comes from the sinfulness of the human heart. That's God's truth. That's how we sort out the confusion of the world today. We see it that it's in the Word of God. How do we sort out all that's happening today in the United States of America? Listen to this. Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. 1 Timothy chapter 4. In 2 Timothy, listen to this, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. Men will be lovers of themselves. Here it is in the scriptures. It makes sense. We're getting closer to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're closer today than we were when Paul wrote this in the first century. And so things make sense. Why all the turmoil in the Mideast? What's going on over there? How do we sort this stuff out? We go to the scriptures to find answers. And there we find hope and we find this as well. For the child of God, the best is yet to come. We don't need to be discouraged and disheartened. fool only delights in his own opinions even when they're wrong has no delight in understanding that is opinionated speech apart from biblical truth let's go to this one in Proverbs 24 verse 24 we have here hypocritical speech Proverbs 24 24 hypocritical speech Proverbs 24 verse 24 Let's start with verse 23. These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to show partiality in judgment. He who says to the wicked, you are righteous, him the people will curse. Isn't this interesting? The one who says to the wicked person, you're righteous. That's not going to go well. The people curse that one. Nations will abhor him. But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them. when a society says to wickedness, this is righteousness, there is a huge moral dilemma and moral problem. And the way we sort it out is to seek the truth of the Scriptures. This is hypocritical speech, to call that which is ungodly right and to honor that which God dishonors. Hypocritical speech is in Proverbs 25 and verse 14. Proverbs 25 14 Whoever falsely boasts of giving in the clouds is like clouds and wind without rain. Whoever falsely boasts of giving is like clouds and wind without rain. The Kendrick Brothers who produced the Christian film Fireproof had an earlier movie they did and I think it was in that one there was this scene, a church scene, and the man was sitting there and he was being very hypocritical. And when the offering came by, he put in for show an empty envelope, but it was showing the crookedness of his heart because he was a crooked businessman and had a greedy heart. It was an interesting scene there. Notice this verse, whoever falsely boasts of giving is like clouds and wind without rain. We all have a tendency to say things to make ourselves look good. and then there's no production. Many people produce nice things about themselves, but the Bible says a faithful man who can find, a faithful woman. That's what God wants. May we not have hypocritical speech. May we be who we are all the days of the week and speak the truth and not falsely boast of something that is not there. Look at Proverbs chapter 26 and verse 23. fervent lips with a wicked heart are like earthenware covered with silver dross. Here's hypocritical speech. Fervent lips but a wicked heart, like a piece of broken pottery covered with silver. And verse 24 also, Proverbs 26 verse 24, He who hates disguises it with his lips and lays up deceit within himself. When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart. Though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the whole congregation. Have you ever known someone who was peaches and cream to your face and a dagger to your back? That's hypocritical speech. May God purge us from it. And then Proverbs chapter 27 verse 1 is boastful speech. Speech that's displeasing to the Lord because it presumes on His sovereign plan and demonstrates arrogance. Proverbs 27.1, Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring forth. What does the book of James say? We ought to say, if the Lord wills, We will live and do this or that. See, James answers to Proverbs. Proverbs 27.1, don't boast about tomorrow. Now, this is not a prohibition against planning. We're told to do that. Go to the end, slugger. Prepares your food in advance. But it's a prohibition against arrogant planning. I will do this, do or die. Nothing will sink this ship, not even God, said of the Titanic. That's boastful, arrogant speech, and it won't last. Proverbs 27.2, let another man praise you, and not your own mouth, a stranger, and not your own lips. Boasting speech needs to be gone in our lives. And we say, if the Lord wills, and it's by the grace of God that I was enabled to do this or that. Always need to understand it's only the goodness of God. Proverbs 14.3, in the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise will preserve them. That's boasting speech. And let me finish with this. Proverbs 27 verse 14. This is also a broad category. Inappropriate speech. If there's something that was missed here, it would probably fit under this. Proverbs 27 14. He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it will be counted a curse for him. What's the problem here in this speech? Imagine the setting in Israel, and here is a housetop, and right next to it is a housetop, much like the houses in New York, and it's a hot summer night, and so the people would go up and sleep on the rooftop, out under the stars, and the neighbor's over here. So this neighbor is an early riser, wakes up early in the morning, hey George, how you doing? And George is still on the sack because he worked the night shift. He was insensitive speech. It was inappropriate. So there's a reason we need to hear, that we need to listen, and we need to think before we speak, was that appropriate? Maybe I shouldn't say that. Maybe that's not the right time. Later I can greet George with a loud voice, but right now it's going to irritate him. He who blesses his friend with a loud voice rising early in the morning, it will be counted a curse to him. You've heard, you've seen maybe those coffee mugs that say something on it like, don't speak to me before I have my coffee or something like that. Well, we need to be sensitive that we not that we have not speech that's inappropriate. One last one, Proverbs 6, 2. If you are snared by the words of your own mouth, you're taken by the words of your mouth, so do this, my son. This is ensnaring speech. Words entangling one in a pledge, A pledge of relationship to another for their debt is to be avoided in snaring speech. So here are destructive speech patterns. Quite a list in the book of Proverbs. Tail-bearing speech, transgressing speech, irritating speech, foolish speech, idle speech, evil speech, opinionated speech, hypocritical speech, boasting speech, inappropriate speech, ensnaring speech. Let me draw it to close with two words. If we are guilty of some destructive speech, God convicts us of it. Let's confess it. Whether it was destructive, as in inappropriate, whether it was tail-bearing, whether evil speech we're giving and entertaining ourselves, let's confess it to God. and then empowerment. Let's seek the power of the Holy Spirit to speak in a way that glorifies God and points people to Christ. Will you bow your heads with me? If you have not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, your speech may well indicate your need of Christ. I have great news. The grace of God will forgive and will cleanse and will give you a new mouth. I remember hearing a lady's testimony once that when she was saved, immediately her foul language left her. It was a new heart. You can't conquer that yourself. You need Christ. And if you're here and you've not trusted Christ to save you, I just urge you to call on the name of the Lord. Say, God, I know I'm a sinner, but I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and rose again. I'm asking you to save me today. He will do that. Believers, are we convicted? Is there some speech that Maybe it's a pattern we grew up with, we learned it, but we see that that's not godly speech. Or maybe we're entertaining speech, might even be in the form of music, but it's ungodly, it's not edifying. We need to confess it. Let's do that right now in this quiet moment. Our Father, we see our need of you. How often we sin with our tongues. Point out those patterns we have that are not edifying, they're not godly, they're destructive. And give us grace to confess them and find cleansing and forgiveness and, most of all, empowerment to live and speak a new way through the Holy Spirit. And may, as we grow in the Christian life, may our speech become more and more winsome, more and more like Christ. May we know how to answer those who don't know Christ. Help us, Lord. We need you in this area. Speak to our hearts and convict us, and may we find cleansing and power. And Lord, if there's anyone here who's not yet trusted Christ, I pray they would do that today. With our heads bowed and our eyes closed, is there anyone who would say, I see my need of Jesus and I'm asking him today to save me, to give me eternal life. Would you just slip up your hand? I see my need of Christ and I'm asking him to save me, forgive my sins, give me eternal life. I won't embarrass you, but I will pray for you. Will you slip up your hand? Our Father, we thank you for your word. Speak to our hearts. Draw us near to the cross. Make us like Jesus. In his wonderful name we pray. Amen.